VOL. 6.] Guilt; or, the Anniversary. And from the half-burnt churches thou shalt hear "Te Deum!" wailing forth. Ber. (Shuddering ) Oh, horrible! I had no thoughts like these. I wish'd thee rather Hugo. Well then! my disposition is not evil- Ber. Leaning on him, and weeping.) Hugo. (Moved.) See now-thou weep'st; Think'st thou I fear to die? DEATH HAS FAR LESS OF TERROR THAN REPENTANCE! The dead perchance are happy. Yet even here his soul makes manifest its pollution, and a new thought of guilt enters his mind. Hugo. It shall-by Heaven it shall! Dispatch that letter. The lost provinces Shall be re-captured ;-but not for the king; They shall belong unto the conqueror.— I will exalt the injur'd exil'd son High on the throne of power;--will sew with dia monds Elvira's rich dark tresses; till like stars, Her graceful form with gold embroider'd purple : Ber. Ay, true, indeed! Hell will not let escape 301 is brooding upon the idea of immediate self-destruction; but the imitation of Hamlet is here too evident, and the poetry far far inferior. He is interrupted by Valeros and there follows a scene which is, perhaps, the most daring in the tragedy, and which, although we have far transgressed our limits, we cannot resist giving entire. It is quite worthy of a Ford or a Webster. HUGO, VALEROS. His sword at his side, and carrying another cautiously concealed under his cloak. Val. (Yet in the back-ground, and in a deep protracted tone.) OTTO! Hugo. (Who starts violently, and his knees tremble as he turns towards the door.) Oh, is it you? And Bertha's, and Elvira's, I must forfeit Val. (Unimpassioned,but firmly.) Revenge Hugo. (Stepping back.) What? You would that I He fell to-day; and therefore now shall fall The murderer of my Charles or I! Hugo. [Shuddering ] Alas !-Could'st thou but read my soul? Val. Well may the combat To thee seem horrible :---but as a debt Val. Well so much the better ! Hugo. And, if the father o'er the son prevail'd, Val. (Interrupting him, and proudly.) To draw such false conclusions ?---Don Valeros Val. [Significantly.] Like a coward ?---No Hugo. (Feeling the rebuke.) TRADE? Father! Val. Come on, I say! we may be interrupted.--Will thou not fight? Hugo. (Depressed.) No! Val. How!Thou bear'st the name Of two heroic lines, and art a coward? Hugo. (Forgetting himself.) Who dared to say so? Val. Coward and assassin!... father and the son-a reconciliation which is not the less deep and tender, because neither of the reconciled entertains any prospect of felicity either for himself or in the other. After this, the unhappy pair are left alone upon the scene, and we feel that the presence of any third individual would be a profanation of their retirement, and a needless insult to that love which even in guilt preserves something of its nobility. A deep stillness prevails for some minutes, during which Hugo sits on his chair, and prays with apparent tranquillity in silence. Elvira kneels by her harp opposite to him, and prays earnestly, but without moving her lips. The clock strikes twelve; and the Anniversary of Guilt is at a close. A slight sbuddering seizes Elvira-she rises slowly from prayer, and calmness is spread over her countenance. Hugo, when the clock has ceased striking, rises slowly from his chair and approaches Elvira. Hugo. The hour has call'd! Sweet wife, Now give me what thou hast, and I require. Elv. Oh I can understand thee-- It is this? (She draws forth the dagger.) Hugo. Aye--there, Hugo. (Enraged, takes up the sword.)--- Where sister, friend, and wife at last unites, Death and hell! Val. (Stations himself,and draws his sword.) Unsheath thy sword !...Fall on...have at my heart!... (He breaks the sword, still in the scabbard, Go--and may rust devour thee !-- Val. (Struggling with unconquerable rage.) Ha!-caitiff! if thou dar'st not risque the combat, Then die at once!-- The same chaste bond. Then give it me--and fly !-Elv. Softly! (She retires from him, and takes hold with her left hand of the harp, which rests on a chair; then adds resolutely, and with dignity.) To me, even as to thee, for ever Is peace destroy'd ; and equally has guilt Oppress'd my soul. Now, therefore, since the time Has come for parting, I shall boldly go Before thee through the dark and unknown path That leads to life eternal. She stabs herself; her knees faulter, (He suddenly takes his sword, and turns the harp falls sliding from the chair to it in his hand like a dagger.) We cannot both survive! When Valeros is just about to stab Hugo, they are interrupted by Elvira -and another beautiful scene occurs, which ends in the reconciliation of the the ground, and she sinks down upon it, holding the dagger in her right hand. At this moment the whole persous of the drama rush in, alarmed by the noise of Hugo's fall-but we cannot quote any part of the heart-rending scene which follows. As soon as both have YOL. 6.] The Fog Spectre and the Spectre of the Broken. expired, Don Valeros draws the dagger from the wound of Hugo, and exclaims If the spirit When thus the body falls, is free---then come, Oh, friendly steel! and give me freedom too! 303 Mr. Gillies, the author of Childe Alarique,) has exhibited masterly skill in the management of our dramatic blank verse-but that is the least of his praises. He has shewn himself to be not a skilful versifier merely, but a genuine poet, Bertha wrests the dagger from him, for no man but a true poet can catch and says, I and give back again as he has done the fleeting and ethereal colours of poetry and passion. He has produced a work which is entitled to take its place as a fine English tragedy-the finest, we have no difficulty in saying, that has for many years been added to that part of our literature. Our readers will observe,that the translation has not as yet been published. The author has merely had a few dozens of copies printed for the use of his friends, and he has been so kind as to send us one of them. It is a very fine specimen of typography, one of the most elegant that ever issued from the press of Ballantyne. But we trust he will soon give the world a large edition. The encouragement this play must receive, will also, we hope, stimulate Mr. Gillies to further efforts in the same style. What a fine field lies open for one who possesses, in such perfection as he does, the two richest languages in Europethe German and the English. THE FOG SPECTRE. PHENOMENON. To the Editor of the Literary Gazette. SIR, LATELY read an account of the figure, which,under some peculiar state of the atmosphere, appears on the Hartz mountain, in Germany. It reminds me of an extraordinary illusion to which I was once exposed; if it have interest enough for publication, it is at your service. About seven years since, I was one evening, in the month of October, returning late from a friend's house in the country, where I had dined, to the neighbouring town, about a mile distant the night was exceedingly dark, and I had been requested to take with me a lanthorn; a pocket one could not be found, and I was provided with that which the servants generally carried swung in the hand. I had to pass thro' some fields over high ground: soon after I had entered the second of these, I observed something large moving along with me. I placed the lanthorn on the ground, and walking toward it, saw a gigantic figure retiring with astonishing speed. immediately perceived that it was my own shadow on a fog, which I had not before observed. The appearance of retiring was phantasmagoric, and arose from my interruption of the rays of light from the lanthorn, at a lesser angle, as my distance from the light increased. My return to the light was terrific; the figure appeared to advance upon me with frightful rapidity, till it seemed forty feet high. If I had been ignorant of the cause of this appearance, the effects might have much alarmed me, and led to my telling such stories as I should not have gained credit by relating but aware of the cause, I was delighted with the singularity of IN my situation; and might have been thought mad by an observer, for every fantastic attitude and action I could assume I did, to be mimicked by my new and shadowy acquaintance. I am, sir, your obedient servant, W. CORNUCOPIA. From the London Magazines, November and December, 1819. ENGLISH VEGETABLES. N the former part of the reign of King Hen. VII. there did not grow in England a cabbage, carrot, turnip, or other edible root-and even Queen Catherine could not command a sallad for dinner, till the king brought over a gardener from the Netherlands.-The artichoke, apricot, and damask rose, then made their first appearance in Eng land. IRISH COINS. There is now in the possession of Mr. Glenny, of Glenvale, in the county of Limerick, an ancient medal, found on his land, on which St. Patrick is represented as in the act of expelling noxious animals from Ireland On the reverse, King Brian Boroimhe is. represented playing on the ancient Irish harp, with his crown and sceptre placed before him. THE ANTS OF VALENCIA. M. Humboldt informs us, that ants abound to such a degree near Valencia, that their excavations resemble subterraneous canals, which are filled with water in the time of the rains, and become very dangerous to the buildings. EMERSON.* William Emerson, the eminent mathematician, was born at Hurworth, near Darlington, and died there in 1782, aged about eighty-one. He was a man of great singularity in his manners, dress, and conversation; but, beyond his scientific acquirements, it does not appear that his character exhibited any thing agreeable yet it is desirable to preserve anecdotes of so extraordinary a man; and the writer of this is induced to do it, from having recently seen some * See Ath. vol. 1. p. 576. of his works in manuscript, containing numerous rude sketches of philosophical instruments, &c. His own apparatus must have been equally rude, as, it is said, his telescope consisted of three or four cask-staves, and his microscope was a small lens, set in the top of a spring window-fastener.-He wore, as he sat by the fire in winter, two pieces of bark on his shins, to prevent their being injured by the heat. He was constantly in the habit of walking to Darlington, except in the latter part of his life, and then he rode a horse, which was valued at not more than half aIt is crown, exclusive of its skin. scarcely necessary to add, that this was a slow mode of travelling, which made him "Ye'll say to some passengers, beat me, for ye're a-foot." He was on his way home (on foot), the only opportunity my father had of seeing this celebrated man, and then he was carrying a sheep's-heart and lights, and, being in a state of intoxication, the road was nothing too wide for him: but the bloody load was thrown first over one shoulder, and then over the other, as be reeled along. Once attending a meeting of the Royal Society, one of the servants attempted to intercept his progress, supposing he had missed his way, and that a man of his mean appearance was not likely to be admitted: all his reply was, "I's Emerson!" which he supposed would be sufficient,-knowing that his works had found admission before him. DETONATING MUD. M. Humboldt informs us, that Don Carlos del Pozo has discovered, in the Llanos of Monai, at the bottom of the Quebrada de Moroturo, a stratum of VOL. 6.] Lantern of Maracaybo-Ladies' Charity-Rousseau's Villa,&c. 305 clayey earth, which inflames spontaneously, when slightly moistened and exposed for a long time to the rays of the tropical sun. The detonation of this muddy substance is very violent. It is of a black colour, soils the fingers, and and emits a strong smell of sulphur. COACHES. Coaches were introduced in 1585; before which time, Queen Elizabeth rode, on public occasions, behind her Lord Chamberlain. THE LANTERN OF MARACAYBO. A meteoric phenomenon, (according to M. Humboldt,) is seen every night on a mountainous and uninhabited spot on the borders of the river Catatumbo, near its junction with the Sulia. Being nearly in the meridian of the opening of the Lake of Maracaybo, navigators are guided by it as by a light-house. This light is distinguished at a greater distance than forty leagues. Some have ascribed it to the effects of a thunderstorm, or of electrical explosions, which might take place daily in a pass in the mountains; while others pretend that it is an air volcano. M. Palacios observed it for two years at Merida. Hydrogen gas is disengaged from the ground in the same district: this gas is constantly accumulated in the upper part of the cavern Del Serrito de Mo. nai, where it is generally set on fire to surprise travellers. LADIES' CHARITY. In the letters of Madame D. upon England, which have just been published, we find the following passage, which shows how little a woman used to the coteries of Paris can appreciate the purest of our christian charities."The most elegant women in London have a certain day, upon which they go to a large room surrounded with counters, at the end of Argyle Street; they go in person, to sell, for the profit of the poor, the trifles, which they amuse themselves in making doring the course of the year. You may imagine that a young gentleman who pays his court to to a young lady, is not permitted to besitate at the price of the work of her 2P ATHENEUM VOL. 6. fair hands. In fact, I saw several who were really foolishly extravagant, and the bank-notes were showered down on the counters of these ladies. ་་ "I observed in this assembly the prettiest young woman I ever saw in my life; all the men loiter delighted before her counter, and it was she whose stock was the soonest disposed of. The last man who stopped at it took a handful of bank-notes, and exchanged them for a watch-ribbon. I departed, enchanted with this scene." CHIMNEYS. In the age next preceding Queen Elizabeth, there were few chimneys, even in capital towns: the fire was laid to the wall, and the smoke issued at the roof, or door, or window. The bou.. ses were wattled, and plastered over with clay; and all the furniture and utensils were of wood. The people slept on straw pallets, with a log of wood for a pillow. ROUSSEAU. The beautiful estate of Ermenonville is advertised for sale, and its delightful gardens will probably soon be destroyed by some mercenary speculator. Perhaps, on the return of spring, the isle of poplars will have disappeared, together with the tomb which encloses the ashes of Jean-Jaques :-The plough will trace its furrows in the groves of Julia, and we shall look in vain for the cottage whither Rousseau retired to close his life and his misfortunes. The cause of his death still remains unknown, but almost all the papers of the time concur in stating that it was voluntary.-(French Paper.) COCHRANE'S FOLLY. Lord Cochrane's famous steam vessel, which, we believe, was left behind his expedition rather from want of means to complete it, than from insufficiency in its construction, is now cearly finished, and about to be employed as a packet between London and Edin burgh. "To such base uses may we come at last"-instead of releasing Buonaparte, to carry sea-sick passengers and lumbering luggage! |