With the memory of that dire demon in my central fire,

On my eyes' interior mirror like the shadow of a Fate!

X.

Ah! the fiendish fire had smouldered to a white and formless heap, And no knot of oak was flaming as it flamed upon my sleep; But around its very centre, where the

demon face had shone,

Forked shadows seemed to linger, pointing as with special finger

To a BIBLE, massive, golden, on a table carved and olden:

And I bowed, and said, "All Power is of God-of God alone!"

Our able contemporary, the Southern Literary Messenger, has been presenting to its readers for some months, a novel, called "Greenway Court, or, the Bloody Ground," which, if we mistake not, is the latest production of Jno. Esten Cooke. We have perused the successive chapters of this tale with deep and ever-increasing interest.

It is truly a powerful novel, one of its author's very best.

How admirably his descriptive powers are illustrated in the following chapter, entitled "The Devil's Garden," which, as it is partially isolated from the rest of the narrative, we quote entire : "It is the evening succeeding the scenes which have just been related.

The sun is near its setting.

A stream of crimson light, as red as blood, bathes the valleys and mountains, colouring tree trunks, and mossy rocks, and flowing streams, with its ruddy splendour.

As the day declines, the deep flush ascends the trees, and creeps up the precipices-with a stealthy crawl, like some variegated wild animal, disappearing in the depths of the gorges.

Finally it raises the golden crown from the top of the Blue Ridge-fades from the pines of the wave-like Massinutton, and lingers for an instant on the Great North Mountain, and those serried ranges which extend, like the huge ribs of some prostrate giant. through the region which is watered by Lost River.

One pinnacle only at last remains illuminated. It raises its mighty head abruptly from the valley, at a point not many miles south of the spot where Lost River sinks and disappears at the base of the mountain, which vainly seeks to bar its advance.

There is something no less curious than majestic about this vast pile, which is appropriately styled, by one who has

described it, 'a truly wonderful work of Nature.'

Between two ranges of the bristling mountain, a strip of ground, about half a mile wide, commences ascending from the head of Trout Run,' and continues to mount gradually for the distance of three miles. Then it suddenly terminates in a dizzy precipice-a vast Titanic pile of dark granite, such as the giants who warred against the gods might have heaped up as a memorial of The imone of their slain brethren. mense mass is entirely separate from the surrounding mountains-yawning chasms upon each hand present an impassable gulf-in front the precipice descends as straight as an arrow to the depth of five hundred feet.

The details of this singular natural wonder are no less striking than the object itself.

A portion of the summit is covered with flat rocks, forming a natural pavement-interrupted here and there by fissures; and on the eastern edge stands a gigantic bust in granite-the head, neck and shoulders, clearly definedthe whole presenting to the eye a

frowning and terrific appearance.' Near this figure, which gives its name to the peak, formerly stood a granite pillar, ten or twelve feet high-two or more feet in diameter, and four square. This pillar has been broken from its base by some convulsion of the earth or the elements, and reclines in the form of an arch across one of the fissures of which we have spoken.

This is the summit. But the strange details of the peak are not exhausted. About a hundred feet below the base of the statue a door leads into deep caverns in the rock. After leaving the entrance, the explorer finds himself in an apartment with level floor and ceiling-from which a flight of stone steps ascend to another still larger. In like manner twelve flights of steps give access to twelve apartments-the last of which is just beneath the pavement of the summit, and is lighted by one of the fissures already described.

Such is the Devil's Garden.' And to this wild scene we now beg the reader to accompany us.

For a time no living thing is seen, except some huge eagle, sailing by on broad wings, above Lost River, a flying fallow deer, or a bear, slowly shaking his black head, and vanishing in the tangled thickets of the mountain side.

The sun slowly sinks, and his last beams linger on the weird-looking statue, and the vast mass of piled-up granite which soars above.

The wild scene, with its billowy ranges, and glimmering torrents grows

wilder-the denizens of the night begin to awake in their lairs and prowl abroad to seek their prey-over the immense horizon, all bristling with jagged peaks and precipices, the solemn gran. deur, and rude magnificence slowly yield to a brooding gloom-the scene is an overturned world, convulsed and shattered-the very genius of desolation descends and reigns on his bloodred throne of mountains.

The blazing shield at last sinks beneath the horizon, and night stretches its broad pall, prepared to throw it over the whole.

At this moment a slight rustling might have been heard at the entrance to the caverns, on the declivity of the peak, and a swarthy face appeared at he opening, followed ere long by a strange and repulsive-looking figure, which remained for a time motionless in the gathering gloom."

a

Since Miss Bacon (or some absurd old maid in England), wrote a book to prove that Shakspeare was "fifth-rate actor," who did not write, because he could not have written, the plays which bear his name, nothing so preposterous has appeared as the recent articles calling in question the right of Bunyan to be considered the author of "The Pilgrim's Progress!"

"Glorious old John" settled that doubt

himself in an "Advertisement to the

Reader," prefixed to his "Holy War," published in 1682. Here it is:

Some say "The Pilgrim's Progress" is

not mine,

Insinuating as if I would shine

In name and fame by the worth of another,

Like some made rich by robbing of their brother;

Or that so fond I am of being sire,
I'll father bastards; or, if need require,
I'll tell a lie in print to get applause.

I scorn it; John such dirt-heap never

was

Since God converted him. Let this suffice

To show why I my "Pilgrim” patronize; It came from mine own heart, so to

my head,

And thence into my fingers trickled ; Then to my pen, from whence immediately

On paper I did dribble it daintily.

Manner and matter, too, was all mine own;

Nor was it unto any mortal known,
Till I had done it; nor did any then,
By looks, by wits, by tongue, or hand,
or pen,

Add five words to it, or wrote half a line

Thereof; the whole, and every whit is mine.

Also for this, thine eye is now upon, The matter in this manner came from

none,

But the same heart, and head, fingers, and pen,

As did the other. Witness all good men;
For none in all the world, without a lie,
Can say that this is mine, excepting I;
I write not this of any ostentation,
Nor 'cause I seek of men their com-
mendation;

1 do it to keep them from such surmise, As tempt them with my name to scandalize;

Witness then my name, if anagram'd to thee,

The letters make-“No honey in a B.”

JOHN BUNYAN.

The History of South Carolina, from the first European Discovery to its Erection into a Republic, with a Supplementary book, bringing the narrative down to the present time. By William Gilmore Simms. J. Redfield, New York. 1860.

We well remember the delight with which, as a boy at school, we read this animated and picturesque narrative of the progress of our State, beginning with the earliest records of European discovery and colonization, and proceeding through the various fortunes of the Revolution, down to the close of the War which established our Independence. A re-perusal of the work, besides reviving old and pleasing associations, has convinced us that our boyish impression of its merits as a literary production, was by no means false. In deed, this history possesses all the charms of a romance.

The style is so clear and spirited, the grouping of events and arrangement of the different eras so artistic and concise; above all, the story is told with so much of patriotic pride, and such direct, manly simplicity, that we are compelled to feel an interest in it, and to follow the historian cheerfully to the end.

For the benefit of those unacquainted with the book, we would observe that the author originally conceived it with a view to the instruction of an only daughter. He found the then existing histories of the State unsatisfactory, at least for the enlightenment of the young.

The volumes of Hewatt, Drayton, Ramsay, Moultrie, &c., were too cum brous and diffuse. They were loaded with prolix, political discussions, and irrelevant details.

The necessity, therefore, of preparing a history, at once "cheap and compact," fitted for the use of schools, and of the general reader as well, seemed

to be obvious. With characteristic energy, Mr. Simms set himself to the task.

As regards his material and authorities, he acknowledges a large indebtedness to Johnson's Life of Green; upon which he has relied in preference to all others, 66 during that long period, crowded with fluctuating events, which followed the defeat of Gates at Camden, to the conclusion of the War."

For the account of the early settlement of the Huguenots in Carolina, the author has followed the "simple and affecting narrative of Laudonnier in Hakluyt."

The work of Hewatt, the narrations of Archdale and Glenn, contained in Mr. Carroll's "Historical Collections of South Carolina," and the comprehensive sketch of the condition of the State from its first colonization to the Revolution of 1719, which we owe to the industry and talent of Prof. Rivers, of Columbia, (this name is curtailed of its proportions in the preface, having been printed as Rives,) furnish Mr. Simms' authorities, next ensuing, down to the conflict of the Colonies with Parliament, and the repeal of the Stamp Act.

To Moultrie, Ramsay, Drayton and Johnson, the author confesses his obligations, for what succeeds, to the termination of the Revolutionary contest, and the erection of Carolina into an independent republican State.

From the elaborate, and often tedious, details of what we may style, our old chroniclers, Mr. Simms has composed a lucid, well-connected, logical compend of events, illustrated by sagacious, original remarks, and so presented as to impress the memory of every attentive student.

Moreover, the work has undergone a thorough, searching revision; it has been stripped of needless matter. and pruned of all redundancies. Finally, in order that a narrative of the completest kind should be given to the public, Mr.

Simms has added to the History, as originally published, a "last chapter," or, "Supplementary Book," which is a remarkably satisfactory abstract of events "from the close of the War of the Revolution to the present time i. e.. from 1732 to 1860."

The relation in this "Supplement," of the famous nullification difficulty in South Carolina, is told with admirable spirit, and deserves to be given as a specimen of the author's clear, vigorous style:

The nullification," he says, "by the sovereign authority of South Carolina. of an Act of Congress, which forbade the obedience of its citizens to the Federal authority, in all matters involved in the said Act, called forth from Andrew Jackson, then President, a proclamation, denouncing the Ordinance of Nullification, and commanding the obedience of her citizens to the federal law.

"This proclamation was promptly answered by Hayne, as Governor, with another, asserting the sovereignty of the State, and calling upon the citizens to be firm in its maintenance.

"The proclamation of Jackson was denounced in South Carolina as the sublime of despotism, and as a total surrender of all the rights and securities of the States to a consolidated and central usurpation.

"The State prepared for invasion. The President, a man of notorious will and great determination, having, at the same time, a personal feeling of hostili ty-an absolute quarrel, indeed-with some of the chief men of South Carolina, prepared to coerce it; and armed vessels were already sent to the port of Charleston to enforce the revenue laws, and compel the submission of the community.

"Meanwhile, the preparations of the State went on; troops were organized, large supplies of cannon and other weapons of war, with the other munitions, were bought; and a call was made for volunteers.

Even out of the limits of the State, it was understood that more than fifty thousand men had volunteered to maintain South Carolina; while it was also reported, that quite as many had volunteered to the President, to enable him to subdue the disaffected State.

It is probable, that both accounts are exaggerated. To attempt to COERCE a State into the Confederacy must be the signal for the subversion of it.

Free States are not to be cemented into brotherly harmony by blood and fire.

"Fortunately for the peace of the country, the crisis was such as to com

pel a pause in the action of the stronger power in Congress. A compromise measure was introduced, by which the Tariff was to undergo such a degree of modification, within a limited period of time, that Mr. Calhoun and the representatives from South Carolina declared themselves satisfied.

"The compromise was probably the fruit of wisdom and moderate counsels, but it has proved a delusion, &c., &c.

"The fatal policy which drove South Carolina to the final issue is still, to too great a degree, the policy of the majo rity in Congress. Its fruits will probably develope themselves in future mischiefs which will find no remedial agency. But it is not our province to anticipate."-(p. 422)

Not less noteworthy is Mr. Simms's brief but comprehensive account of the senatorial controversy between Hayne and Webster:

"The debate was a protracted one, and brought forth to their fullest extent the respective powers of the two great champions.

"The States-right party held and be lieved, that the argument was with Hayne, and that it was unanswerable. The Federal party held otherwise, of course Hayne was an adroit and able debater; lucid, logical, with a well-balanced mind; graceful and impassioned as a speaker: sweet and winning in his eloquence, and wonderfully persuasive in manner.

"Webster, on the other hand, was one of the most remarkably endowed men whom New England has ever produced; broad-fronted in opinion, stera and inflexible of doctrine, powerful in exhortation, in assault, in defence; a scholar of large reading and pure style; simple. bold; and capable, because of a fine imagination, to rise into flights of grandeur and eloquence which few men could equal or approach.

It was admitted, that his powers were never more severely tried. It is asserted, that his logic was not equal to his eloquence. Carolina claims, that Hayne's argument is irrefutable; and that it required all the didactic skill of Webster, all his adroitness as politician and lawyer, all his eloquence as a classical scholar and deeply-endowed imag inative thinker, not to answer, but to obscure and slur over the question."(p. 419.)

In conclusion, it affords us pleasure to say, that the History of South Carolina thus revised and enlarged has been received with unqualified approval both North and South. It richly deserves the favour of the public, especially the Southern public.

The Fool of Quality; or, the History of Henry, Earl of Moreland. By Henry Brooke, Esq. (A new and revised edition.) With an Introduction, by the Rev. W. P. Strickland, D. D.; and a Biographical Preface, by the Rev. Charles Kingsley, M. A. Complete in two volumes. New-York: Derby &

Jackson. 1859.

This is a handsome re-print of a remarkable, though almost forgotten, work. It is very little short of a hundred years ago since "THE FOOL OF QUALITY" first appeared in an edition of five duodecimo volumes, in England.

Its author was a man of genius, who was admitted to the intimate friendship of many of the ablest and most distintinguished individuals of the day. An Irishman by birth, he became, in early life, the disciple of Sheridan, Swift, and Pope, and was subsequently the friend of Lyttleton and Pitt, the favourite of the Prince of Wales, and several others of the nobility.

Like so many other literary men, Henry Brooke commenced his practical career in life by the study of the law.

While in the Temple, he composed, and published, under the patronage of Pope, a poem, (partly religious, partly transcendental.) entitled, "UNIVERSAL BEAUTY." The work is aptly styled by Kingsley, "a sort of Bridgewater Treatise in Rhyme." "It is," the same writer goes on to say, "ambitious, dogmatic, troubling the reader much with anacolutha and forced constructions, which darken the sense.

"Noticeable throughout, is that Platonic and realist method of thought in which he persisted throughout his life." Soon after the publication of his poem, Brooke returned to Ireland. The next eight years of his career are almost a blank. Few records of them remain.

It is only known that he was settled in Dublin as a Chamber Counsel, and that he worked for so long a period in an employment utterly uncongenial, should redeem him from the charge of a want of due perseverance often urged against him."

In 1736, we find him back again in London, the welcome guest of Pope and Lyttleton, and a favourite with the Prince of Wales, "who," the biographers inform us, "caressed him with great familiarity, and presented him with many elegant and valuable tokens of friendship, china, books, paintings," &c. The Prince happened to be in the "Opposition." BROOKE warmly, and not so injudiciously as would at first appear, espoused the cause of his patron.

To further his design, and to strike a

blow against the existing administration, he brought out at Drury Lane a tragedy, called GUSTAVUS VASA, "full of patriotisms, heroisms, death to tyrants, indefeasible rights of freemen, and other common places, at which we can afford to sneer now superciliously, it being the propensity of humanity to kick down the stool by which it has climbed."

The play took, but in a fashion different from that which the author expected. After having been accepted at Drury Lane, and rehearsed carefully for five weeks, it was prohibited by the Lord Chamberlain, on account of its political tendency.

Simply, in self-defence, Brooke published his tragedy, and sold four thou sand copies, at five shillings each!

The Prince of Wales sent him a hundred guineas. Chesterfield took FORTY copies, and Dr. Johnson published an ironic "Complete Vindication of the Licensers of the Stage from the malicious aspersions of Mr. Brooke," so that Brooke gained "a complete triumph, and a thousand guineas into the bargain, took a villa at Twickenham, near Pope's, sent to Ireland for his family and wife-who (so the Prince proposed) was to be foster-mother to the yet unborn George III-and set up at the age of thirty-three as a distinguished literary character, with all that he needed, both of "praise and pudding."

Up to this period of his life, Henry Brooke had been, for the most part. a fortunate and successful individual. But a "course of chastening sorrow had been appointed for the man."

In 1740, in "the hey-day of his success," he was seized with an alarming illness. Upon his recovery, he retired to Rantavan, after having sold off his furniture at Twickenham, and rid himself of all his valuables there.

He continued to write and to publish. Among his productions of this time, we may mention his paraphrase of "The Man of Law's Tale," for Ogle's Chaucer; and "The Earl of West moreland," a tragedy, acted at Dublin, and quite "as good," Mr. Kingsley tells us, as the other tragedies of the day."

66