In real life, cases of this kind rarely occur; the important affairs of courtship and marriage are conducted and concluded, without their intervention. The present Work has few incidents of such a romantic cast; and it is no small praise to say, that its merits are totally independent of them. It is, what it professes to be, a picture of modern manners; the outlines are drawn with spirit and correctness, and the colouring, though bold, is natural and consistent. If we contemplate the several characters in detail, we shall find no instance either of super-human perfection or of diabolical deformity; the most exalted among them are represented as liable to the feelings, and susceptible of the charities of our nature; and the vicious are not so totally depraved as to have lost all sense of its compunctious visitings. With a disposition naturally good, and a strong understanding, she unites a vivacity of temper and a love of controul, which are detrimental to her own peace, and a source of anxious concern to the friends around her; too high-minded either to sus pect or to fear duplicity, she despises the timid virtue of prudence, and is disposed rather to brave dan ger than to shun it; she often errs from her better judgment from mere love of contradiction, and contempt for the opinion of the world. Secure of admiration, she deems herself proof against flattery, and she becomes the dupe of that artful species of flattery which construes failings into perfec tions. At the period when her selfconfidence has brought her to the verge of ruin, she is happily unde ceived; and the workings of so noble and ingenuous a spirit, the conflicting emotions of shame and of pride, are very powerfully described. The Author here takes occasion to animadvert, with becoming severity, on that pernicious and morbid melancholy which certain writings have a tendency to render fashionable. Lady Julia, in the gloomy languor which precedes her recovery from a severe indisposition, very naturally takes to quoting her favourite poet: " and know," she exclaims, "whatever thou hast been; 'tis something better not to be." This is a pretty strong recommendation for a dose of laudanum; for it inculcates the maxim of the Indian philosopher, that it is better to sleep than to be awake. Her cousin very feelingly and eloquently combats the proposition, and the cause of religion triumphs in the hands of so zealous an advocate. It will be said, perhaps, that Emma Oswald, who seems the favourite of the Author, is too faultless a model of female excellence, that she is too scrupulously discreet in all her conJuct, that she acts constantly from principle, and never from impulse. But let it be recollected, that this undeviating rectitude is the result of carly discipline over a heart naturally endowed with the most amiable sensibility. She is drawn suddenly from domestic seclusion to the gaiety of fashionable life; and she finds in the simple and direct practice of those duties to which she had been trained, the best safeguard against its dangers. Her modest and ingenuous diffidence is as remote as possible from the cold reserve of premature wisdom. Not a finer, not a more attractive example of virtuous effort can well be imagined, than that which she exhibits, when, in consequence of a serious misunderstanding, she is required to renounce an altachment in which her warmest affections were engaged. The effort is a painful one; but it is made without ostentation, and there is a delicacy as well as a dignity in her silent endurance, which no eloquence, how-nary capacity, he is not uniformly sueever impassioned, could have expressed, and which render the subsequent reconciliation doubly interesting. The character of her cousin, Lady Julia Fitzgerald, is of a more dazzling and volatile cast. She pos sesses many fine qualities, and even her faults are of the splendid kind, The portrait of Lord Fitzgerald is a mére sketch, but it is admirably conceived. He is a new-made peer, very anxious to maintain the dignity of his rank, but at the same time desirous not to be thought ashamed of recollecting his origin. Being, withal, a man of no very extraordi cessful in his efforts to hit the true medium between aristocratical hauteur and plebeian familiarity. We could have wished that this foible of his Lordship's had been brought more into play; but his station o the canvas, being only in the second ground, could not well admit of it. Whether Whether the other gentlemen are delineated with equal felicity of discrimi nation, or, to speak less metaphorically, whether they have enough either to say or do, we leave it to the ladies to determine; it is a question which they will discuss among themselves when they retire after dinner. It is to be admitted that Farquarson is but too true a model of the fashionable delinquents of the present day; but he stands alone in the minority; the rest of the gallants are all very fine young men-very hopeful specimens indeed. ALTHOUGH the whole tenor of this Narrative is better suited to the genius of the French, and to the idiom of their language, yet it is elegantly, and we doubt not faithfully translated by Mr.Jamieson; and, allowing for a few inconsistencies, the story is, upon the whole, amusing and interesting. The admirers of Madame de Geulis's Works will feel curious to read, in order to form their own opinion of, her present publication; of which she says, "I have never written any Work with more care or more reflection; and the character of Placide is that on which I have bestowed the most profound attention. At all events, I think that I offer to the publick a Work written, though in a short time, with all the application which my feeble talents would enable me to bestow upon it. ་་ the rest of the world, even so late as 1806; but it is doubtful whether, since that epoch, it hath not been dis. turbed by the sanguinary war which desolated Spain." The situation of the valley is thus described. "There exists in Spain, about fourteen leagues from the city of Salamanca, in the diocese of Coria, in the kingdom of Leon, and about eight leagues from Cuidad Rodrigo, a fertile valley, enclosed on all sides by a chain of enormous rocks forming around it a rampart, which during centuries had rendered this retreat inaccessible. This canton is called the vale of the Battuécas. It extends itself almost a league. During entire ages the entrance to this valley was truly inaccessible; however, it hath ceased to be so now. It is well known by a tradition preserved among the Battućcas, that towards the year 1009 the torrent of Tormes having changed its course, blocked up the only pene. trable entrance to the valley. At the end of two or three centu ries an earthquake altered, suddenly, the direction of the torrent which had enclosed their asylum. The entrance of the valley, though still very difficult of access, was, however, more free: this great event made no impression on the Battuécas, for, satisfied with their lot, they resolved not to seek another residence." 80. Rachel, a Tale. small 8vo. pp.153. Taylor and Hessey. A PLAIN moral Tale, wherein we find much of unsophisticated nature, and of good common sense-tending to prove, that acquired accomplishments, and the refinements of life, greatly contribute to soften the man'ners and improve the character, without comprising in themselves exclusive excellence. 81. Dash, a Tale. By Henry Lee, Author of Poetic Impressions, Caleb Quotem, &c. small 8vo. pp. 30. Sherwood, and Co. Every thing which is said in this Work respecting the Battuécas, their origin, their singular history, their character, their mapners, &c. is strictly true. The description of their mysterious valley is faithfully drawn. The adventure of the Duke d'Albe, who by so wonderful an accident discovered this small colony, is also an historical fact. All these details, so curious and interesting, are to be found in the Dictionary of Moréri, and in the travels of M. de Bourgoing (an author of much celebrity from his fidelity). Several Spanish writers have also spoken of these people, and all their accounts perfectly agree. This small and fortunate Republic existed in all the happiness of its obscurity, and was blessed in being unknown to Not pug nor greyhound, but of humbler THE faithful attachment of a Dog. is prettily described in this short pathetic Tale, in three Cantos, with the tender sympathies of Woodley, his kind-hearted master. "An honest brute was Dash; of courage-speed [breed: Woodley, Woodley, his master, prized the honest creature; [ture. Rever'd his worth-fidelity good-naBut, ab! good-nature is too oft abused Too oft the village rustics Dash ill-us'd! They'd kick, or cuff, or push him from his track; [his back; This boy threw stones, that clamber'd on Sometimes, by urchins teaz'd, he'd growl affright, [bite: Would angry seem, and snarl, but never Nay, tho' his sides they'd lash, his ears oft lug, [tient shrug. Still all by Dash was borne with pa"Through copse or field, in every sort of weather, [together. Woodley and Dash trudg'd on for years When Dash e'er seiz'd on prey (for be was fleet) [feet; He'd bring and drop it at his master's And Woodley never took his food alone, Nor relish'd it, till Dash had got his bone. [master, No two more happy than this dog and Till one sad night brought on a dire disaster." 82. Narratives of the Lives of the more Eminent Fathers of the Three First Centuries; interspersed with copious Quotations from their Writings, familiar Observations on their Characters and Opinions, and Occasional References to the most remarkable Events and Persons of the Times in which they lived. Inscribed by Permission to the Hon, and Right Rev. the Bishop of Gloucester. By the Rev. Robert Cox, A. M. Perpetual Curate of St. Leonard's, Bridgnorth, 8vo. pp. 402. Hatchard. "If the principal business of a Biographer be to lead the thoughts into domestic privacies, and display the minute details of daily life,' the subjects of the following Work may at first sight appear to afford a barren soil for his operations. Of some of them neither the period of their birth, nor the time nor mauner of their death, can be ascertained; of others little is known, except the circumstances connected with their martyrdom; and even of those, whose actions and characters have most escaped the ravages of time, scarcely any thing can be accurately ascertained respecting their retired mo ments, or domestic peculiarities. After we have given, however, full weight to these objections, it may still be con dently asserted that the subjects of these narratives possess some peculiar biographical attractions. The more early of the Fathers, whose lives are here recorded, were intimately acquainted with the Apostles of our Lord, were them selves deservedly styled apostolical men,' and manifested a degree of zeal and piety scarcely inferior to that of their inspired predecessors. Even those of them who were the most remote from the times of the apostles, though they rarely possessed the evangelical simpli city of their earlier brethren, still flourished during that interesting period of the Church when persecution was continually developing the character of nominal Christians, clearing the sacred inclosure of the noxious weeds of hypocrisy, and maturing the consecrated fruits of genuine Christianity. Of such persons, whilst we lament the loss of a minute detail, every cir cumstance is interesting. Every incident in their lives, and almost every expression of their writings, is important: the one exhibits the habits of the early disciples, the other their sentiments; and both not unfrequently sup ply a satisfactory comment on the Saered Writings. At the same time the family likeness, which pervades the whole circle, evidently indicates that its different members, though distin guished from each other by a variety of features and complexion, are all children of the same parent.". "Whilst the Compiler feelingly laments the scantiness of his materials, and still more deeply regrets his own inability to do justice to such as are actually in his possession, he cheers himself with the hope that his humble publication will not prove altogether uninteresting; and that even those who may justly censure its execution will candidly acknowledge that its tendency is good-a tendency to promote the interests of our common Christianity. With these pleasing-may they not prove fallacious-expectations, he submits the following narratives to offering to that gracious Being who, the public eye, as a humble thankwhen the ability to provide a more suit able one was wanting, did not reject the widow's mite." The Lives here given, and on which Mr. Cox has reputably performed the task he has undertaken, are those of Simeon, son of Cleopas; Clement, Bishop of Rome; Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch; Justin Martyr; lian, Presbyter of Carthage; Origen, Irenæus, Bishop of Lyons; Tertul Catechist of Alexandria; Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage; and Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria;-names deservedly high in the estimation of good Christiaus of every denomination, however varying in shades of religious opinion. The The Volume is thus inscribed : "To the Hon. and Right Rev. Henry Lord Bishop of Gloucester, in whose solid Piety and active Benevolence, whilst a Private Clergyman, his friends could not but trace features of resemblance to the Presbyters of the three first Centuries; and whose holy zeal, wisdom, moderation, and effective and incessant labours in his Episcopal Office, remind the public of the Bishops of the same period; whilst all the praise is ascribed by himself, and should be ascribed by that Church which he loves and benefits, to the Grace of God, these Narratives of the Lives and Sentiments of the early Fathers are inscribed as a small token of the Author's cordial esteem and unfeigned respect." 83. Lalla Rookh, an Oriental Romance, By Thomas Moore; 4to. Longman and Co. Mr. number of attendants, a poet of the name of Feramorz, who at every station, to amuse the princess, relates, in her presence, the tales which are the ground-work of the romance and poems contained in this volume. At the end of their journey, the princess, to her great joy, finds that the poet, for whom she had entertained a secret passion, was the young King of Bucharia himself, who had contrived to accompany his intended bride in disguise, and had thus succeeded in winning her love by that innocent stratagem. The stories which were related during the journey are four in number: the first is called The Veiled Prophet of Kho-, rassan; the second, Paradise and Peri; the third, The Fire Worshipers, and the last, The Light of the Haram. We should be very happy to give our Readers a sketch of every one forbid us that indulgence. To make of them; but our limits expressiy up, however, for that deficiency, we shall readily indicate a few of the features which must stamp the seal of immortality on this most admirable work. Where every thing is good, there can be no difficulty in the choice. We shall begin by the portrait of Zelica, the heroine of the first poem : page 27. Light, lovely limbs, to which the spirit's play IT seldom happens that a New book is introduced to the publick with so many auspicious circumstances as the present work. Moore's reputation has long since been very high as a lyric poet; and as soon as it was known that a new poem from his pen was to issue from the press, the public curiosity was excited, not only among the Literati, but also amongst the highest and most distinguished personages of these Realms, whose meritorious impatience urged them to make several attempts to procure copies before the book was ready for publication: in a word, the public eagerness was such, that the whole edition was sold Lips in whose rosy labyrinth when she in one day. When expectations run so high, it requires no small share of merit in the performance to prevent disappointment. In the present case Mr. Moore has greatly increased his fame, and far exceeded the most sanguine hope of his admirers by the subfimity of the pictures which he has drawn from Nature, and which cannot fail securing him a place on the summit of Mount Parnassus. Gave motion, airy as the dancing spray, The soul was lost; and blushes, swift and wild, ment. As are the momentary meteors sent glimpses of the Heav'n her heart had lost; The flashes of a bright but troubled soul, The History of Lalla Rookh is written in prose; and the Oriental By style is admirably well imitated; it In every glance there broke, without conhas not many incidents, but is employed as a medium to bind the four poems together. Lalla Rookh is a princess who travels from Delhi to Cashmere, where she is to meet, for the first time the young King of Bucharia, her intended husband; she bas in her service, amongst a great Like lightning, round the ruins it had made." Page 30: a beautiful simile; "Yet, one relief this glance of former [floods of tears, years Brought, mingled with its pain,-tears, Long Long frozen at her heart, but now like rills [bills, Let loose in spring-time from the snowy And gushing warm, after a sleep of frost, Through valleys where their flow had long been lost!" Page 35 a very strong passage upon the false Miracles: "Ye too, believers of incredible creeds, Whose faith inshrines the monsters which it breeds; [to rise, Who, bolder ev'n than Nimrod, think By nonsense heap'd on nonsense, to the skies; [too, Ye shall have miracles, aye, round ones Seen, beard, attested, every thing-but [seek true. Your preaching zealots, too inspir'd to One grace of meaning for the things they speak; [blood, Your Martyrs, ready to shed out their For truths too heavenly to be understood; [the lore And your State Priests, sole venders of That works salvation; -as on Ava's shore, [to trade Where none but priests are privileg'd In that best Marble of which Gods are made; [cious stuff They shall have mysteries-aye, preFor knaves to thrive by mysteries enough; [can weave, Dark, tangled doctrines, dark as fraud Which simple votaries shall on trust receive, [believe." While craftier feign belief, till they The forced flight of Mokana is admirably described, and accompanied with the following beautiful simile: page 95. might "As a grim tiger, whom the torrent's [night, Surprizes in some parch'd ravine at Turns, ev'n in drowning, on the wretched flocks [the rocks, Swept with him in that snow-flood from And to the last, devouring on his way, Bloodies the stream he hath not power to stay!" From the Second Poem, Paradise and Peri, we shall select the Eulogy of Liberty, page 140. "Though foul are the drops that oft distill [this, On the field of warfare, blood like For liberty shed, so holy is, It would not stain the purest rill That sparkles among the bowers of bliss! Oh! if there be, on this earthly sphere, A boon, an offering Heaven holds dear, 'Tis the last libation Liberty draws From the heart that bleeds and breaks in her cause!" We recommend also, particularly to our fair Readers, the exquisitely drawn portrait of All-Hassan's child, and the simile that terminates it. Page 180: from the poem called Fire Worshipers: "Light as the angel shapes that bless An infant's dream, yet not the less Rich in all Woman's loveliness ;With eyes so pure, that from their ray Dark Vice would turn abash'd away, Blinded like serpents, when they gaze Upon the emerald's virgin blaze! Yet, fill'd with all youth sweet desires, Mingling the meek and vestal fires Of other worlds with all the bliss, The fond weak tenderness of this! A soul too, more than half divine, Where, through some shades of earthly feeling; Religion's soften'd glories shine, Shedding a glow of such mild hue, Also the childish despair of perfect innocence: page 188. "Oh! ever thus, from childhood's hour, I've seen my fondest hopes decay; I never lov'd a tree or flower, But 't was the first to fade away; And love me, it was sure to die!" A strong apostrophe to Rebellion, with an appropriate simile, page 203. "Rebellion! foul dishonouring word, Whose wrongful blight so oft has stain'd The holiest cause that tongue or sword Has sunk beneath that withering name, Whom but a day's, an hour's success, Had wafted to eternal fame! Page 205, the character of Hafed. Polle |