hands for that purpose, and embarrass our own made most available. But the Russian govern. future movements in the east, by consenting to ment has set its face against any improvement in give effect to a treaty which only makes her the navigation of these rivers, and compels all more powerful in an interest opposed to our own? vessels trading to the months of the Dniester to Already the inconveniences of an "alliance" perform quarantine at Odessa. In other words, 80 extraordinary and incomprehensible as this the trade and produce are all made to pass between Austria and the Western Powers are through Odessa. An invading army would find becoming apparent. But for the position of Aus- as sincere welcome in Bessarabia as in Moldavia, tria we should hardly have had the vehement ad- and although that part of the province next the vice which has lately been addressed to us, to Danube is barren and thinly populated, the reconcentrate our forces and direct them against gions to the north are rich and well capable of Sebastopol, since there is nothing to be gained feeding an army. If the country should not by invading the southern provinces of Russia. prove productive, the army is as easily commuIt would be excellent advice, no doubt, if the al-nicated with and supplied by the Pruth, as it lies could at once have moved their armies, if the was at Varna. The reduction of the fortresses siege artillery and preparations could have been on the Dniester, neither of them strongly fortified, extended instanter, and thrown upon the Crimea would give the allies the protection of that river, in a week. But we well know what time such and with their armies in this position, threatenmovements take, even to venture upon, much ing the Polish provinces, as well as Odessa, the less to execute. We also know how impossible Russians could not concentrate the bulk of it at is anything like secrecy in the present age. In- Sabastopol; against which, at the same time, an deed, whether secrecy were observed or not, the expedition from Bessarabia would be quite as Russians must know that if we avoid to pass the practicable and easy as from Varna. Danube, we can have no other aim or design There are other considerations, too, which than to take Sebastopol. But Russia knows ought to be taken into account. One is, the dethat she has nothing to fear from an Austrian cided deterioration of the Russian soldier in the army occupying the Principalities; and if it be field or in offensive operations. Every military at the same time evident that neither English man knows the meaning of the immense dispronor French are to pass the Lower Danube, the portionate loss of the Russians in generals and Russians like ourselves, can concentrate their officers. It is only to be explained by the rewhole force upon and around Sebastopol, and luctance of the soldiers to do their duty, and the the attack of that fortress, admitted to be peril-necessity that officers and generals should sacrious by sea, would become still more perilous by fice themselves in order to overcome that reland. luctance. The Russian soldier at Oltenitza, at

Is it better then, that these isolated intentions Kalafat, and now at Silistria, has shown himself against Sabastopol should be declared, and left decidedly inferior to the Turk. But a demorto take effect, than that the Turks and their al-alized army, which would not stand an attack in lies should at once advance over the Lower the open field, or make a rush over grass enDanube? Pace Austria, we must confess that trenchments, may still fight valiantly behind emwe should be for making both attempts. If occupation be found profitable and desirable by the armies of Austria on the spot, why should we not try it ourselves? Bessarabia is one of the finest provinces for the support of cavalry, and why should not the thousands of reaping-hooks which Marshal St. Arnaud has sent into Adrianople be employed on the eastern bank of the Pruth, instead of being plied upon the Turkish crops on the borders of the Maritza? Let Russia have a taste of occupation. She has peopled her provinces with military colonies formed for the very purpose of invading Turkey, and surely these are the very fields and farms which invite such a retribution.

brasures. It is precisely in such a place as Sebastopol that the Russians might show, or be made to show, most courage; whereas every experience leads to the conclusion that they could not stand the allies in the field. It is in the field, too, that great achievements or great victories are gained. Days such as those of Marengo and Austerlitz decide the fate of empires. There is more daring shown, as well as more loss suffered in storming a breach, but the result is not so decisive. The capture of Sebastopol would in no respect compare with the loss of a battle on the Pruth or the Dniester. The Pruth, too, is of evil omen to the arms of Russia. It was on the banks of that river that Peter the Bessarabia, we are to remember, is one of Rus-First was overthrown by the Turks, and comsia's ill-gotten and ill-thriving gains. It was one of the most prosperous of the countries on the Black Sea, when it was independent, and when it could export its produce to Constantinople. But Russian dominion and the Russian custom houses have reduced and ruined it. So great is the weight of taxation, and so heavy are the other disadvantages under which the inhabitants submit, that the price of land in Bessarabia is about two-thirds less than in Moldavia. Not only were the Danubian countries thus sacrificed to the greatness of Odessa, but even Bessarabia. The rivers on each side of Bessarabia, the Dniester and the Pruth, are both navigable, or might be rendered so. Both have seaports that might be

pelled to purchase an inglorious retreat from the province which he had entered as a conqueror.

But even if this were not so, and Sebastopol were the only conquest essentially worth winning, still, for the sake of being able to attack it without tremendous odds against us, we should say, let the allied armies pass the Danube, and menace New Russia, so as to compel the bulk of the Russian army to remain on the south-west frontiers, and not become in any considerable force concentrated in the Crimea. We are not for surrendering our advantages simply to give another advantage to Austria, and render more easy and agreeable her occupation of the Principalities.

THE TRIALS OF PUBLISHERS.

owing to the wording of the apology in Harper for copying an article that had "previously appeared" in Putnam.

LITTELL'S Living Age, No. 529, publishes Longfellow's poem: The Two Angels," and Whether copying and reprinting be right or credits it to Bentley's Miscellany. This poem was wrong-it is clearly not right that a work of written for Putnam's Monthly, and was first pub-genius, for the right of circulating which, a published in that Magazine in April last. Bentley lisher has fairly paid the author, should be forciappropriated it as if it were original in his pages, bly seized and advertised as belonging to someand as his magazine professes to be all original, body else. the omission to give credit was palpably intentional, and not an accident. Littell, very innocently, no doubt, takes it from Bentley and gives

him credit for it.

That choice bits of this kind should be taken at once as public property-and not only so but actually credited to a foreign journal that has stolen them, while the original publisher who alone has liberally paid the author is wholly ig nored, is entirely unjust.

[What can we say! Innocent in intention, we

ought to have taken more care; especially we ought

to read Putnam's Magazine-which we confess that we have not done. (Catch us reading any magazine we can help reading! We are, alas, in the situation of the good lady ordered to drink a quart of some excellent decoction:-" O, Doctor, it is impossible; I only hold a pint.”)

The meanness of sundry English magazines We must read Putnam; copy at once his beautiin appropriating as original in their own pages the ful poetry by Longfellow and others, giving due best articles of American periodicals, has been credit-and then when it appears as original in practised too long with impunity. As to the some of the best English magazines, we shall reappropriation itself, they find, of course, abund-collect it;-or if we copy it again, it will not be so ant example and provocation for it on this side bad as the case complained of. of the water-but, though the American journals copy so largely from abroad, it is not a common Mr. Putnam is a public benefactor: His own sin, to say the least, for them to disguise the ori-profit is never his sole object: and we desire to gin of the goods they take, except in a single acknowledge all that we owe to him in each inspecial instance. This is a meanness of which stance, as well as in this general manner.—Kiss several popular and respectable English maga- and forgive!-LIVING Age.]

zines-especially Bentley's, has been repeated

ly guilty. Indeed it is an everyday matter with them.

American reprinters therefore should have their eyes open if they would avoid dangerous trespass in taking their neighbors' property, for which their neighbors have paid as fairly, and as fully, as they have paid for their pantaloons or their breakfast.

Experienced and excellent Mr. Littell is hardly excusable for sleeping over a poem by Longfellow, when it first appears in a magazine at his elbow, and then copying it, with false credit, two months after, from an English magazine, as a foreign production.

The first sin, (as in the case of Dr. Bethune's story in Putnam's Monthly,) is the Londoner's who passed off other people's property as his own -and in that case the sin was inexcusably repeated by the New York Magazine which in turn seized it and passed it off as its own; for neither appropriator gave the slightest clue to the origin of the conveyed property. This rather glaring instance by the way, although commented upon very freely by the press at the time, seems to be even yet curiously misunderstood even by editors. A western editor, only a day or two since, incidentally congratulated Putnam's Monthly for having got the start of Harper in copying "that article" from Eliza Cook's Journal!!

DR. JOHNSON.-Johnson says somewhere that he never was in a tight place but once, and that was when he had a mad bull by the tail. Had he held on, he said he would have been dragged to death over a stubble field; while if he had not held on, the bull would have gored him to death. Now my Query is, what did Dr. Johnson do, hold on or let go?-Notes and Queries.

A book of piquant gossip, if not scandal, is announced in one of the country papers as about to appear. It is to be entitled, says our authority, Reminiscences of the University, Town, and County of Cambridge, from the year 1780,' and is written by the late Henry Gunning, for upwards of sixty-four years Esquire Bedell of the University. We read, " Mr. Gunning, whose death took place last January, was known to have been long preparing this work for the press; but those who were partially acquainted with its contents anticipated that it would not be permitted to appear. The late Esquire Bedell was a professed anecdote-monger, and had an unrivalled store of legends of the University in the olden time, which "suffered no perdition" in his Most of the schoolboys know by this time that narration. Many of his stories were certainly Putnam's Monthly copies no articles whatever, but little to the credit of Alma Mater; but they were is wholly original and copyright. Dr. Bethune's valuable as memorials of a state of things now story was written for Putnam. Eliza Cook took happily passed away; and it would have been it without credit as her own-and thence it was matter of much regret had a false delicacy concopied (again without credit) into Harper three signed them to oblivion."-We shall see in due months after it had been first published in Put-time whether this be puff or prophecy.-AtheThe western man's error was doubtless næum.

nam.