en from the necessity of a rigid adherence to the laws of honor
and the rules of decorum. I neither claim such privilege, nor indulge it
in others." This has been called affectation; but we have no doubt that
Burr uttered the truth in the sentences quoted. He was exactly the man
to observe the rules of decorum, and those of honor, as he understood
them, in political warfare. The strong language that is so common in
political disputes is proof as much of the abundance of men's sincerity
as it is of their want of good breeding. They are honestly moved by the
evil words or deeds, or both, or what they consider such, of their
opponents, and speak of them coarsely. The man who is indifferent to all
opinions, principles, and actions, but who is nevertheless ambitious, is
never tempted to the utterance of disparaging language concerning his
political foes. He may laugh at their zeal, but he cannot be offended by
it. Burr was utterly indifferent to all political principle. He never
really belonged to any party, and was as ready to act with Federalists
as with Democrats; and it was only through the force of circumstances
that he did act generally with the latter. A party man never would have
done as Burr saw fit to do when the Presidential election of 1801
devolved on the House of Representatives. The party to which he
professed to belong intended, as everybody knew, that Jefferson should
be President; and yet Burr allowed himself to be used against Jefferson.
That "all is fair in politics" was his creed. He may have been "a man of
honor," but what Lord Macaulay says of Avaux is strictly applicable to
him, namely,--"that of the difference between right and wrong he had no
more notion than a brute."

REVIEWS AND LITERARY NOTICES.

_Memoirs of the Life of William Shakespeare, with an Essay toward the
Expression of his Genius, and an Account of the Rise and Progress of the
English Drama to the Time of Shakespeare._ By RICHARD GRANT WHITE.
Boston: Little, Brown, & Co.

Mr. White's closing-up of his Shakespeare labors has been long in
coming, but comes good and acceptable at last. The volume now in hand,
however, does not form a part of his edition of the poet; it stands by
itself; though a portion of its contents is repeated in the first volume
(the last published) of this edition. It is rich in matter, and the
workmanship, for the most part, capital. All Shakespearians are bound to
relish it; and if any general reader doe