written, or at least greatly enlarged, by the famous Chretien de Troye, who flourished in the twelfth century. We cannot resist giving a very short summary of the story. Guenever, the wife of the famous Arthur, hearing, upon a time, the knights who guarded her chamber-door, telling to each other their exploits of chivalry, suddenly issues from her apartment, and commands Sir Colgrevance, who was then speaking, to continue his narration. The knight unwillingly obeys, and tells a long and marvellous adventure which had befallen him beside an enchanted well, where he had been finally discomfited by a puissant knight, the guardian of the fountain, the wonders of which are described in strong Gothic painting. Sir Ywain resolves to undertake the adventure, and, having set forth in disguise, slays in single fight the champion of the fountain, upon the threshold of his own castle gate. But the victor, enclosed in the court by the fall of the portcullis, is in the utmost danger from the followers of the slain warrior. He is rescued at length by means of Lunet, a damsel belonging to the castle, who conceals him in a chamber. he obtains a sight of the widow of the knight of the fountain, and falls desperately in love. His passion is at length successful, through the intervention of the damsel, who very sensibly reminds her lady, that the conqueror must needs more than make up the loss of the vanquished. Sir Ywain marries the dame, with whom he lives in great happiness, until he obtains her permission to visit the court of Arthur, pledging his knightly word to return within the year. But Sir Ywain forgot his promise, a

Here

circumstance which did not prevent his becoming distracted for the loss of his lady, when reminded of his breach of faith by a damsel whom she despatched to the court of Arthur, to renounce her husband, and proclaim him dishonoured and truthless. He is restored to his senses by a sage lady, whose enemies he discomfits by his prowess, and then resumes his profession of knight-errantry. While wandering in quest of adventures, he observes a lion combating a dragon, and goes to his assistance, both because the lion was the more noble animal, and on account of the ancient and irreconcilable feud betwixt knights-errant and dragons. The dragon being slain, the grateful lion attaches himself to his ally, and maintains a great part in all his future adventures. They come to the enchanted fountain, where Ywain unexpectedly meets with Lunet, the damsel to whom he had formerly been so much indebted. She is bound to find a champion against a certain day, to fight with her mistress's false steward, who had accused her of treason. Their meeting under circumstances of mutual distress, is very happily described by the old minstrel. Sir Ywain promises to appear and defend her upon the appointed day. In the mean while, he is involved in a variety of adventures, from many of which he is extricated by the lion; so that the time is nearly past when he appears to combat the steward. Lunet is restored to life and liberty, and by her subsequent address, Sir Ywain is reconciled with his lady.

"And so Sir Ywaine and his wife

In joy and bliss they led their life;

So did Lunet and the lioun ;

Untill that death have driven them doun."

The next romance, called Launfal, though a beautiful fairy tale, might have been as well omitted, as it is published by Mr Ellis in the notes to Way's translation of Le Grand's Fabliaux. We hope it was not inserted with the peevish purpose of pointing out supposed errors in Mr Ellis's edition, although we observe some explanations of the difficult passages, given with a " not as Mister Ellis says ;" and that in cases where the justice of the correction is as uncertain as the dispute is insignificant. The second volume contains Sir Libius Disconius, i. e. Le Beau Decogneu (of which Bishop Percy has given an elegant précis in his Essay on Metrical Romance); Hornchild, the King of Tars; Emare, and a metrical Chronicle of England. third volume contains Florence of Rome, the Earl of Tholouse, the Squire of Low Degree, and the Knight of Courtesy and Lady of Faguell. We believe that both the Chronicle of England, and the beautiful fairy tale of Sir Orpheo, might have been greatly enlarged by recourse to the Auchinleck MS. in the Advocates' Library of Edinburgh, to which Mr Ritson seems to have had ready access. Upon the whole, the romances are judiciously selected, and we have already praised the well-known accuracy of the editor.

The

We cannot confer the same unmixed praise on the introductory Essay on Romance and Minstrelsy. We were, on the contrary, about to bestow our very strongest and most decided reprobation upon the acrimonious spirit of vindictive controversy in which it is written, when we were in some degree disarmed by the avowal, that it was composed under the pressure of "continued ill

health and low spirits ;" and by the recollection, that the scene has been long since closed by the hand of death. But we must not, in our respect for the dead, altogether forget what is due to the living. Much coarse and insolent invective is poured on Bishop Percy, who seems to have incurred the editor's resentment in a double capacity,

-as a dignitary of the church, and a successful publisher of ancient poetry. We do not think Mr Ritson imbibed this spirit from the works which he studied. Surely, neither the gallant Sir Lancelot, nor the courteous Sir Gawain, would have given a reverend Bishop the lie direct, on account of a disputed reading in the old song of Maggie Lauder ! We would have antiquaries remember, that the ridicule which their pursuits are at all times apt to incur, becomes pointed in proportion to the indecent vehemence of their argument. Whether the controverted line (which refers to the dwelling of a certain bagpiper) ought to be read, “Come ye frae the border," or "Live you upo' the border," or, finally, "Ye live upon the border," might surely have been debated, if, indeed, it was worth debating (num pugna est de paupere regno), with the temper and manners of a gentleman. The frequent charge brought by Mr Ritson against the editor of the Reliques of Ancient Poetry, of adulterating, by modern improvements, the ancient poems which he published, appears to us to be urged with far too much grossness. We do not, indeed, approve of this species of sophistication, by which the man of taste is sometimes a gainer at the

expense of the antiquary. But when we consider, that the Reliques were published at a time when the public taste was far from encouraging the pursuits of the mere antiquary, we wonder not that the learned editor should have been tempted to render his ancient poetry more attractive by his own elegant interpolations. And we apprehend, that as few modern publishers possess the taste and judgment of Bishop Percy, so, even those as highly gifted, want, in the present day, the apology which we have pleaded for the editor of the Reliques.

In the general scope of Mr Ritson's essay, we discover much both of the defects and merits which characterise his lucubrations. The accumulation of materials bears witness to the undeviating and incessant labour of an antiquary zealously employed on a favourite topic. A number of curious facts are drawn together respecting the romances of all nations, but especially concerning those of England. The first part of the Essay treats of the origin of romances; and the author is particularly anxious to combat the system which deduces those fictions from the north of Europe. He produces some plausible arguments to prove that many of the Scandinavian romances were borrowed or translated from the French, and that the Edda of Sturleson has no claim to high antiquity. The author's ardour in controversy has, however, sometimes hurried him too far. Thus he informs us, when giving the history of Odin of Scandinavia, that this famous personage attempts to kiss Rinda, daughter to the King of the Ruthes, and receives a slap on the face. According to Torfæus, he even ravished this young

66