So pure, so innocent she seems, [hours; But every night, to him unknown,— The mortal slumbering at her side,- snore! She's off, with all her fairy daughters,- But to return. The story of Sir Walter Scott, which he told to the late Duchess of St. Alban's, called "The Foreign-bred Chief," has in it such extreme improbability, as evidently convinced him that it could never form the basis of a popular or successful narrative. We will now make such extracts as in our wisdom seems fit. SONG. By William Congreve, dramatist, written in 1720. (From Congreve's Autograph, the MS. penès Lord Buchan.) False tho' you 've been to me and Love, I still am grateful for the past. May future change forgive; The Unjust Steward: a supposed Lampoon, taken literally from the Autograph Copy written by Charles Duke of Richmond. Dated 1667. In a white Hall there once were Stewards three Head-Steward, House-Steward, and Faire-Steward, ye there might see: But the Head-Steward thereto would not agree, As passing well Faire-Steward estemed he; R. 1667. forgiven, and the young Duchess was appointed Lady of the Bedchamber by her kind mistress. So from White Hall ye 2 he made to flee. Oh! unjust Steward, many would feel full glee If thou sholdest loose thy place and every fee: Thy father's head-long course was shorten'd legalie. Head-Steward, beware!-that name ill omenns thee. "This lampoon, preserved in the author's autograph by the descendents of his relatives, was written when he was banished from Whitehall. The House-Steward means himself; the Head-Steward Charles the Second; and the Faire Steward the beauteous grand-daughter of Walter Steward, Lord Blantyre;-the three were related. The Duke was first struck with Miss Stuart's charms at one of Queen Catharine's masquerades, in 1664. When the Queen was at one time given over by her physicians, it is said she named this young lady to Charles as the successor she wished to have to the Throne. On Catharine's recovery, Lord Clarendon took a fancy that his Royal Master might seek a divorce in order to offer his hand to this Maid of Honour; he therefore promoted her marriage with the Duke of Richmond. When this was suspected, the Duke was banished from Court. Miss Stuart eloped with him, and was married in 1667. The circumstances, however, were soon "An adventure of her's with the Queen is given by Mr. Henslow, in the Paston Papers, dated Oct. 30, 1670. 'Last week, there being a faire near Audley End, the Queen, the Dutchess of Richmond, and the Dutchess of Buckingham had a frolicke, to deguise themselves like country lasses, in red petticoats and wastcotes; and so goe to see the faire. Sir Bernard Gascoigne, as a Countryman, rode before the Queen, and two other gentlemen of the Court before the Dutchesses. They had all so overdone it in their deguises, and looked so much more like antiques than country volk, that as soon as they came to the faire the people begun to goe after them. But the Queen going to a booth to buy a pair of yellow stockings for her swete-heart, and Sir Bernard asking for a pair of gloves sticht with blue for his swete-heart, they were soon by their gibberish found to be strangers, which drew a bigger flock after them. One amongst them had seen the Queen at dinner, knew her, and was proud of telling it; and this brought all the faire to stare at the Queen. Being descovered, they got on their horses; but as many of the faire as had horses got up, with their wives and children, or swetehearts behind them, to get as much gape as they could, till they brought them to the Court-gates. Thus by ill conduct was a merry frolic turned into a penance." We shall follow this extract by another, written in 1761, by Philip Lord Chesterfield, called TRUTH AT COURT. Now, fie upon 't! quoth Flattery; Thou who "-abrupt he turn'd away; A DOUBLE ACROSTIC OF And yet, or greatly I mistake, CHESTERFIELD. 1767. The MS. of the above is in the collection of the late Earl of Buchan. We ought now to select some modern specimens of poetic talent; but the Honourables and Right Honourables are not in their most brilliant moods, and we think nothing so clever as the self,-Le voilà little jeu d'esprit of the fair editor her 'UNITE 99 AND 'UNTIE.' By Louisa H. Sheridan. Unite and Untie are the same,—so say yo-U: had observed in his Tour to the Lakes, and as Wordsworth has remarked"the sound of streams, inaudible by day"—but the whole Sonnet itself is very bad; it has no natural ideas, nor poetical conceptions. Lady Stuart Wortley is improving; but her Ladyship writes too much, and in too Byronian a style. The " Water-side," by Mr. Liddell, is above mediocrity— Lord Viscount Maidstone below it, and the Marquis of Granby lower still. Lady Nugent is better, because more simple; Miss Camilla Tomlins should go back to school, and be kept to bread and butter, and her lessons; Lord Viscount Jocelyn should write better than "Whither shall Iwander-where?" In Miss A. Farren's lines, the third should be, "The Heart [is] by turns a rebel or a slave;" as it is, it is not grammatical. Some of the prose tales, as that by Lord Nugent and Mrs. Shelley, are clever; and two of the plates quite charming-giving a real value to the volume,—we mean, May Danvers by Mr. Dyce, and the Reefers by Chalon. The publishers have done their part extremely well; but there is a sad lack of poetical talent and feeling among their noble contributors. Their verses remind us of a mawkish bottle of capillaire, or a puff of raspberryjam soddened in the sun. It is very lucky that they have other supporters than their Muse. For the ladies, it does not so much signify; for we believe their husbands can tell who pays the Printer's bill! Forget Me Not. Edited by Frederic Shoberl. A pretty little Annual, got up with taste, but there is too much prose to our taste; and we think our Annuals ought to be more sprightly and jocund and airy than they are. Yet, while this is our opinion, we are going directly against it in the extract we select; but, oh! Mary Howitt! how we can look on any other poetry when thine is present? From her casement at Esher, To her sweet Serenade. The living and the dead, when the plague rag'd I' th' city-it was he who, in the war-time, Laid in the hospital among the wounded, Tending them with the kindness of a woman, And comforting and cheering them in death. Woman. God's blessing on him! Man. He was one time sent for,When or wherefore I know not,-to the king, And offered lands, and some great bribe in gold, So he would sell himself to do their will, Which was for evil. mates, Woman. As if his life were nothing! Thou shouldst hear Spurn'd from its presence as a thing unholy, Smoothing the price on't to an easy conscience. drowning rain; Without-in tatters the World's poor child Grasps her throat-whispering huskily, "What dost thou in a Christian land?" (Within.) The skies are wild, and the blast is cold, Yet Riches and Luxury brawl within ; Slaves are waiting in crimson and gold— Waiting the nod of a child of Sin. The fire is crackling, wine is bubbling Up in each glass to its beaded brim; The jesters are laughing, the parasites quaffing [him. "Happiness," honour," ," and all for (Without.) She who is slain 'neath the winter weather, Disdain, despair; by to-morrow's light The rugged boards and the pauper's pall; And so she'll be given to dusty Night. Without a tear, or a human sigh, She's gone-poor life and its fever's Oh let her in calm oblivion lie, [o'er, While the World runs merry as heretofore. (Within.) He who yon lordly feast enjoyeth He who doth rest on his couch of down, He it was who threw the forsaken Under the feet of the trampling town. Liar-betrayer-false as cruel What is the doom for his dastard sin? His peers, they scorn? high dames, they shun him?— Unbar yon palace and gaze within. There yet his deeds are all trumpet sounded There, upon silken seats recline Maidens as fair as the Summer morning, Watching him rise from the sparkling wine. GENT, MAG. VOL. X. Mothers all proffer their stainless daughters, Men of high honour salute him "friend!" Skies, oh! where are your cleansing waters! World, oh! where do thy wonders end? Thomas Miller writes very fairly. J. C. S. the author of some lines on Love-is an ASS! Mr. Harrison's "Who's there?" is clever and amusing. We should say there was a preponderance of prose tales in this volume, but that we know how rare an article even tolerable poetry is! However, they are in general very pleasing ;some are very good ;-and the unambitious little volume does credit to the Editor's taste. Oh! Smith and Elder, steer a middle way, Aim not to be too fine, too grand, too gay; Keep Barry Cornwall always in your pay: And then you'll be-the general Protegé. Jennings's Landscape Annual, or Tour ist in Portugal, for 1839. THE narrative of this volume is written by Mr. W. H. Harrison, the author of the Tales of a Physician; and it is illustrated from paintings by Mr. James Holland. The author mentions that he has derived much curious information from a MS. journal of the late Mr. J. C. Murphy's, which he obtained through Mr. Crofton Croker. This is not a work from which any extracts could be made with advantage; but we are bound to say, that the views are most judiciously selected, the plates beautifully engraved, and the narrative written with clearness and elegance, while some interesting anecdotes and stories are interwoven in it, which were connected with the localities described. Heath's Picturesque Annual for 1839, Versailles. 8vo. WE think the subject of this volume to be very judiciously chosen; to which we may add, that it is as elegantly executed. The Narrative, which, under the History of Versailles, contains a light and pleasing sketch of the History of the Court of France, from the birth of Louis XIV. to the time of the present King, is the composition of some French writer, and has been translated with additions to it by Mr. Leitch Ritchie. The perusal of it has afforded us an evening of considerable amusement. There 3 N are twenty engravings, including views of Versailles from various points, with some portraits of the Grand Monarque's favourite mistresses. We think the one at p. 244, representing the Court of Louis XV. at play, as interesting as any. They are well engraved, and the whole volume is such as will not fail to attract and deserve the public approbation. It is, however, curious that neither the author nor the translator has gratified public curiosity with the amount of the enormous sum sunk on the palace; so large as to embarrass the finances of the country, terrify even the mind of the Grand Monarque, and make him thrust the documents into the fire. The amount might have been found in Voltaire and other writers of memoirs of the time. Caunter and Daniell's Oriental Annual. THE united talents of Mr. Caunter and the late Mr. Daniell have made a volume of no ordinary interest and beauty. Many of the beautiful and picturesque Indian sketches of the latter are engraved to illustrate the allusions of the text; while Mr. Caunter has woven into two pleasing and affecting tales much of the peculiar feelings and manners of the people he describes. The Hindoo legend, called the Royal Devotee, is a "Curse of Kehama" in prose; the Mohammedan story, the Omrah of Cauduhar, is written in a manner to satisfy the interest which it soon excites. The conception of both is judicious, and the style and language clear and elegant. A short but affecting tribute is paid in the preface to the memory of Mr. Daniell by his friend. But I must leave these Indian bowers, A Tract; a Bishop's Charge; a Sermon ; One pile of books unfinish'd stands, SYLV. URBAN. in Spain, as in every other country of Europe, and it is now seen in the overthrow of the church, the first point of attack in all social changes, and in such civil disorder as will last, we fear, for a long time to come. We recommend the second section, p 21, on the Papal Church in Spain, to the attention of our readers, as containing much valuable matter; and whenever hereafter the civil war now beginning becomes a subject of history, the author's account of the siege of Bilboa will be referred to as the documents upon which the truth of the narrative is to rely. Six Years in Biscay, 1831-1837; with Narrative of the Sieges of Bilboa. By J. F. Bacon. 8vo.-We have been exceedingly interested, not only with the copious and authentic narrative which Mr. Bacon, an eye-witness of the siege of Bilboa, by the Carlist forces, has given of them; but more particularly with the Introduction which the author has prefixed to his work, and which gives us much important information regarding the state of parties in Spain, and the effect which the reforms (say revolutions) in civil and ecclesiastical affairs has had on the country. It is from such persons as Mr. Bacon, long resident in a country, and familiarly acquainted Dramatic and Prose Miscellanies of with its language, inhabitants, and social Andrew Becket. Edited by Dr. Beattie. and municipal institutions, and in daily 2 vols. 1838.-To those who have read connexion with the opinions and feelings and esteemed the work by which Mr. of the people, that any true and valuable Becket is best known to the world of letinformation is alone to be obtained. The turs- Shakspeare's Himself again,". conflict of principles, of hereditary power the present volumes, containing a sketch against popular claims, has been going on of the author's Life and some Miscellane |