We scarcely know how to do justice to the high character of the series
of volumes now publishing under this denomination. In printing and
embellishment they take the lead of the Periodical Works of our day,
(and some of these are extremely beautiful,) while their literary
worth is even of superior order. Although they are matter-of-fact
works--as in history and biography--they are not mere compilations of
dry details and uninteresting lives; but they are so interspersed with
new views, and the facts are so often re-written, that the whole have
the appearance of original works. Excellent principles, and economy of
cost are, likewise, two important points of their recommendations; for
many works which have already appeared on the same subjects, have
been deformed by party spirit, and written to serve a sect, or are
so expensive as to be purchaseable only by the wealthy ranks, and
scarcely accessible by the middle classes of society; whereas the
Family Library is published at a rate within the reach of two-thirds
of the reading public, who may therefore possess what they read,
and appreciate the value of these volumes as works of reference and
authority.

The division of the series which has called forth this notice, is No.
5, or the first volume of the _History of the Jews_, to be completed
in three volumes, by the Rev. H.H. Milman, Professor of Poetry at
Oxford, and the author of the splendid poem--The Fall of Jerusalem;
and judging by the portion before us, this work will form one of the
most attractive in the whole series. In proof of this it would be easy
to select many passages which are beautifully picturesque; a few,
however, will suffice: