dour by similar translations of entire plays, and to make us regret that so much imagination should be wasted in illustrating the use of a particle, or the neglect of some metrical canon. It is scarcely possible to decide whether the work was meant to be elementary or not; parts of it being worthy of the attention of the most advanced inquirers; others presenting to our notice all the first principles in which our grammars and our teachers have already instructed us. Perhaps this may be considered as a merit; but now that the preface of Hermann and the supplement of Porson are in the hands of every aspirant to this kind of knowledge, that at all places of public education rhythm and metre are the first topics to which the attention of the pupil is directed, great indeed has been our surprise to find the construction of the senarius served up to our tables with no additional or piquant observations, and copious examples of the use of some phrase, undisputed for its genuineness, and scarcely remarkable for its eccentricity. Take instances at random. Line 18, 47, 159, 168, 188, 214, &c. and the reference to Kidd on Dawes, 1. 487. Why, we would ask, has the learned editor sacrificed the playfulness, the feeling of his earlier productions, to a system of useless citation, long repudiated on the continent, and now falling into disrepute among our scholars. There is little in these minutia which convey any amusement or information beyond that with which the pages of Matthiæ have furnished us; and this, together with the introduction of extraneous matter, form, in our eyes, the grand errors of the work. Again we think that among many beautiful ideas, acknowledged to be derived from Schomann, &c. Mr. M. is too often led away by the admiration of what is novel, nor will all the arguments of Welcker induce us to sacrifice the position of Bentley, 1. 13, for the sake of adopting a pun unworthy of the lowest audience even of a modern theatre. In line 348, we cannot help clinging to the old opinion, that Euripides is the poet of science and shrewdness, and not Eschylus, and the very passages quoted, in which the epithet is applied to the forensic poet, so much recommended by Quintilian, serve to strengthen the idea. In 1. 586, the two correspondents are undoubtedly right; in 1. 599, Mr. M. himself probably so. In 1. 625, add from Juvenal a parallel passage. We could have excused him for inserting "Curtum sermone rotato Torqueat enthymema.” In 1. 647, there is a little over-refinement. But enough of this. If a man ever was fitted to illustrate Aristophanes, the present editor is the man; but let him not slumber on his post. Already is a German edition preparing already is a translation in progress at Cambridge; but we would exhort Mr. Mitchell, for the credit of English attainment, for the maintenance of his own reputation, to write more from the suggestions of his own ardent imagination, and the field may yet be his own. One word more. Though it would be foreign to the system of this review to animadvert on the principles developed in the preface, yet with the pages of Müller before our eyes, and all the noble feelings of the Doric constitution still glowing in our hearts, we cannot arrive at the conclusion that even the deep searching spirit of Aristophanes could have foreseen the issue of this momentous struggle. Defeated in Sicily, only to be beaten on the shores of the Bosphorus, outwitted by the talents and the venatility of Alcibiades, that personification of the very principle, for the subversion of which he long laboured in unison with the Spartans, conquerors under his auspices, vanquished only in his absence, by what was Athens at last overpowered save by the spirit of its own raising, the policy of its own creation.* * Vide Note, p. xvii. k. As it would be unfair to dismiss the work without giving a specimen of Mr. Mitchell's ability as a translator, we will quote three passages well calculated to convey to the general reader some idea of the moral pleasantry and easy transitions of the attic poets. First of their pleasantry. In the Lysistrata, 1. 554; ridiculing the holiday captains of the time, one of the female reformists is made to say "The other day (Jove be my witness that These eyes were partners in the sight) I saw You had been sworn twas Tereus, such a presence Took terror at the sight, and fled amain : Our hero stopp'd his march, fed at free cost, Nor thank'd the Gods, who sent him such a banquet." Page 128. The following fragment of Philemon must have found an answering echo in the breast of every uncorrupted citizen :— "Think not, Niceratus, that they Whose life has been one holiday of revel, Up and be doing' I would bid thee; 'pluck from Filch, plunder, steal; or, pettier gains foresworn, And reap the harvests of a wholesale guilt. Be not deceived; Death hath its solemn courts, Where He presides, whose name-holy and fearful— Seals and shuts close the mouth of guarded Reverence; And life, though running to extremest verge, Is but a larger date allowed the criminal To meet that day of awful retribution." Page 151. We believe that this lively burden to a chorus of the peace, is from the pen of the Right Hon. J. Hookham Frere. We had intended to have proceeded with a series of critical remarks on this and other plays of Aristophanes, but want of time, and some necessary avocations, oblige us to defer this for the present. However, we cannot help exclaiming against the character which Mr. Mitchell has attributed to the politics and the poetry of Euripides. Inferior to his great reader, Eschylus, in grandeur, surpassed by his contemporary, Sophocles, in dignity of design and elegance of diction, yet who can listen to the pathos of his dramas without a sigh at least of sympathy for his heroines; or without acknowledging the poet's deep acquaintance with all the secret springs which actuate the mind of man. The encomium of Quintilian is just and expressive, and at a future opportunity we will add a few observations in support of Mr. Tyrwhitt's theory, that Euripides, as an advocate for war, and supporter of novel and, perhaps, chimerical designs, was naturally the political enemy of Aristophanes. In our next number we design to offer a few remarks on Süvern's Essay on "The Birds" of Aristophanes-a German book recently published, and we will now only observe, incidentally, that in the translation of 1. 519 of the Acharnians, Mr. Mitchell is decidedly right, and Süvern (p. 49, Hamilton's Transl.) wrong, as contributions for "public banquets" are quite out of the question.* A Tour on the Prairies. By the Author of "The Sketch Book." London: Murray. 1835. The productions of Washington Irving are deservedly held in high estimation, not so much, perhaps, for their intrinsic merits as literary compositions, although in this respect they hold no mean position, as for the inimitable tracings of adventurous life which they display through all their gradations and variety, and for the interest they keep alive in the reader, without outraging nature and probability. This Tour, comprising a visit to the Buffalo Prairies, it appears by the preface, is a simple statement of facts, pretending to no high-wrought effect, published at the importunity of the author's friends-and as the scene is laid in a part of the world very rarely visited by the civilized community of any country, the narrative will afford information as well as amuse ment. Several hundred miles beyond the Mississippi, it may not be unnecessary to apprize the reader, extends a vast tract of uninhabited country, where there is neither to be seen the log-house of the white man nor the wigwam of the Indian. It consists of large grassy plains, interspersed with forests and groves, and watered by the Arkansas, the Grand Canadian, the Red River, and all their tributary streams. Over these fertile and verdant wastes still roam the elk, the buffalo, and the wild horse, in all their native freedom-and these are, in fact, the hunting-grounds of the various inhabitants of the Far West. Thither repair the Osage, the Creek, the Delaware, and other tribes, that have linked themselves with civilization, and live within the vicinity of the white settlements; and here resort also the Pawnees, the Comanches, and a variety of fierce and as yet independent rovers, the nomades of the prairies, or the inhabitants of the skirts of the Rocky Mountains. This region forms a debateable ground of these warring and vindictive people. None of them presume to erect a permanent habitation within its borders-but their hunters and "braves" repair thither in numerous bodies during the season of game; throw up their transient encampments, * The latter has a fanciful idea with respect to the Persian gibberish, 1. 96 of this play, viz. that it may be resolved into Η μην Αρταξέρξην αναπείσαι σαθρον. "It is a worn out subject to ask Artaxerxes for money,' as Artaxerxes was Shah of Persia when this drama was produced. April, 1835.-VOL. II. NO. IX. 2 c formed of light bowers, branches, and skins; commit hasty slaughter among the innumerable herds that graze the prairies, and having loaded themselves with venison and buffalo meat, retreat rapidly from the dangerous neighbourhood. These expeditions partake, always, of a warlike character; the hunters are always armed for action, offensive and defensive, and are bound to practise incessant vigilance. In their excursions, should they meet the hunters of an adverse tribe, mortal conflicts invariably take place their encampments, too, are always subject to be surprised by wandering war parties, and their hunters, when scattered in pursuit of game, to be captured or massacred by lurking foes. Mouldering skulls and skeletons, bleaching in some dark ravine, or near the traces of a hunting-camp, occasionally mark the scene of a savage act of blood, and deeply impress the wanderer with the perilous region he is traversing. To these noted hunting-grounds, a part of which had not, as yet, been scrutinized by white men, Mr. Washington Irving, in October, 1832, with a party, consisting of an Englishman, a Swiss Count, an American, an interpreter or guide, a French cook, and other attendants, set out on a journey of exploration, with the intention of joining a Government expedition; the main body of which, however, having previously started, these adventurers followed the track in the best manner they could devise, and in a short time reached the encampment without sustaining any very extraordinary difficulties. The details and daily adventures of this foraging life are written with much force and spirit-and although they often partake of the ludicrous and the marvellous, they are never vapid nor insipid. Of the mode adopted for capturing the wild horse, we annex the following particulars, which are extracted from this amusing work: "RINGING THE WILD HORSE. "About ten o'clock in the morning we came to where this line of rugged hills swept down into a valley through which flowed the north fork of the Red River. A beautiful meadow about half a mile wide, enamelled with yellow autumnal flowers, stretched for two or three miles along the foot of the hills, bordered on the opposite side by the river, whose banks were fringed with cotton-wood trees, the bright foliage of which refreshed and delighted the eye, after being wearied by the contemplation of monotonous wastes of brown forest. "The meadow was finely diversified by groves and clumps of trees, so happily disposed, that they seemed as if set out by the hand of art. As we cast our eyes over this fresh and delightful valley, we beheld a troop of wild horses quietly grazing on a green lawn about a mile distant to our right, while to our left, at nearly the same distance, were several buffaloes, some feeding, others reposing and ruminating among the high rich herbage, under the shade of a clump of cottonwood trees. The whole had the appearance of a broad beautiful tract of pasture land, on the highly ornamented estate of some gentleman farmer, with his cattle grazing about the lawns and meadows. "A council of war was now held, and it was determined to profit by the present favourable opportunity, and try our hand at the grand hunting manœuvre, which is called ringing the wild horse. This requires a large party of horsemen well mounted. They extend themselves in each direction singly, at certain distances apart, and gradually form a ring of two or three miles in circumference, so as to surround the game. This has to be done with extreme care; for the wild horse is the most readily alarmed inhabitant of the prairie, and can scent a hunter at a great distance, if to windward. "The ring being formed, two or three hunters ride towards the horses, who start off in an opposite direction. Wherever they approach the bounds of the ring, however, a huntsman presents himself and turns them from their course. In this way they are checked and driven back at every point, and kept galloping round and round this magic circle, until, being completely tired down, it is easy for the hunters to ride up beside them and throw the lariat over their heads. The prime horses of most speed, courage, and bottom, however, are apt to break through and escape; so that, in general, it is the second-rate horses that are taken. "Preparations were now made for a hunt of this kind. The pack-horses were taken into the woods, and firmly tied to trees, lest, in a rush of the wild horses, they should break away with them. Twenty-five men were then sent under the command of a lieutenant to steal along the edge of the valley within the strip of woods that skirted the hills. They were to station themselves about fifty yards apart, within the edge of the woods, and not to advance or show themselves until the horses dashed in that direction. Twenty-five men were sent across the valley to steal in like manner along the river bank that bordered the opposite side, and to station themselves among the trees. A third party, of about the same number, was to form a line stretching across the lower part of the valley, so as to connect the two wings. Beatte, and our other half-breed Antoine, together with the everofficious Tonish, were to make a circuit through the woods so as to get to the upper part of the valley in the rear of the horses, and to drive them forward into the kind of sack that we had formed; while the two wings should join behind them and make a complete circle. "The flanking parties were quietly extending themselves, out of sight, on each side of the valley, and the residue were stretching themselves, like the links of a chain, across it, when the wild horses gave signs that they scented an enemy; snuffing the air, snorting, and looking about. At length they pranced off slowly toward the river, and disappeared behind a green bank. Here, had the regulations of the chase been observed, they would have been quietly checked and turned by the advance of a hunter from among the trees: unluckily, however, we had our wildfire, Jack-a-lantern little Frenchman to deal with. Instead of keeping quietly up the right side of the valley, to get above the horses, the moment he saw them move towards the river, he broke out of the covert of woods and dashed furiously across the plain in pursuit of them; being mounted on one of the led horses belonging to the Count. This put an end to all system. The half-breeds, and half a score of rangers, joined in the chase. Away they all went over the green bank; in a moment or two the wild horses re-appeared, and came thundering down the valley, with Frenchmen, half-breeds, and rangers galloping like mad, and yelling like devils behind them. It was in vain that the line drawn across the valley attempted to check and turn back the fugitives. They were too hotly pressed by their pursuers. In their panic they dashed through the line, and clattered down the plain. The whole troop joined in the headlong chase; some of the rangers without hats or caps, their hair flying about their eyes, others with handkerchiefs tied round their heads. The buffaloes, that had been calmly ruminating among the herbage, heaved up their huge forms, gazed for a moment with astonishment at the tempest that came scouring down the meadow, then turned and took to heavy rolling flight. They were soon overtaken; the promiscuous throng were pressed together by the contracting sides of the valley, and away they went pell-mellhurry-scurry-wild buffalo, wild horse, wild huntsman, with clang and clatter, and whoop and halloo, that made the forests ring. "At length the buffaloes turned into a green brake on the river bank; while the horses dashed upon a narrow defile of the hills with their pursuers close at their heels. Beatte passed several of these, having fixed his eye upon a fine Pawnee horse that had his ears slit and saddle-marks on his back. He pressed him gallantly, but lost him in the woods. Among the wild horses was a fine black mare far gone with foal. In scrambling up the defile, she tripped and fell. A young ranger sprung from his horse and seized her by the mane and muzzle. Another ranger dismounted and came to his assistance. The mare struggled fiercely, kicking and biting and striking with her fore feet; but a noose was slipped over her head, and her struggles were in vain. It was some time, however, before she gave over rearing and plunging and lashing out with her feet on every side. The two rangers then led her along the valley by two long lariats, which enabled them to keep at a sufficient distance on each side to be out of the reach of her hoofs, and whenever she struck out in one direction she was jerked in the other. In this way her spirit was gradually subdued. "As to that little scaramouch, Tonish, who had marred the whole scheme by his precipitancy, he had been more successful than he deserved, having managed to catch a beautiful cream-coloured colt, about seven months old, that had not strength to keep up with his companions. The mercurial little Frenchman was beside himself with exultation. It was amusing to see him with his prize. The colt would rear and kick and struggle to get free, while Tonish would take him about the neck, wrestle with him, jump on his back, and cut as many antics as a monkey with a kitten. Nothing surprised me more, however, than to witness how |