a thing which has been done again and again, for 150 years past, and fo commonly, that writers, properly called modern, now ufually avoid the fnare. In the verfification of Mr. H. there is facility, and what the French call verve, that is, a natural flow, proceeding from genius; but his Imitations appear to us too lax, and remote. We must fay too that the imitator of the Manciple's Tale, of the Tale from Boccace, and the editor of fome of the Amatory poems in this collection, has little reafon to fatirize Mr. Moore, alias Little, for the tendency of his effufions. The verfes on the Buft of Voltaire (p. 246) feem to imply a defiance of all principle, which, from fome other paffages in the book, cannot we hope juftly be imputed to the author. Their tendency however, is very mif chievous, fince they hold up as a model of perfection, a writer who was never more truly characterized than in this couplet, "Thou art fo witty, wicked, and fo thin, Thou ferv'ft at once for Milton, Death, and Sin.” After all, we must give a fpecimen of Mr. H.'s talent, and we give a fhort one, because it is perfect in its kind. IMPROMPTU TO A LADY. "With fuch a form divine, and heav'nly face, What need that beauty fhould enchant us too?" P. 82. To conclude, we fhall be glad to meet Mr. H. again, when time and academical ftudies fhall have formed his judgment, and fettled his principles; and we entertain no flight expectation of meeting him with unmixed fatisfaction, when that period fhall arrive. ART. 15. Petrarch Tranflated, in a Selection of his Sonnets and Odes, accompanied with Notes, and the original Italian; alfa with the Head of Petrarch from an Antique Bronze; by the Tranf lator of Catullus. 8vo. 268 pp. 10s. 6d. Miller. 1808. This volume, elegant both in form and in its contents, ought not to have been fo long overlooked. The author has made a very judicious felection of feventy fonnets, and ten ødes (or Canzoni) out of the very copious collection, (more than 300) left by the Italian Bard. Among the most beautiful of the original fonnets are thofe that form the fecond volume, which were all written after the death of Laura. Among these we will take as a fpecimen that which pleafes us moft; notwithstanding the high encomiums paffed by fome authors upon others, and the fault justly pointed out in the tranflator's note, which we shall alfo tranfcribe. It is the 56th of this collection, the 261ft of the original. " My "My fancy bore me to that region, where To the third heav'n, lefs haughty, and more fair. Still fhalt thou dwell with me, if hope prove kind, My fair veil caft on earth, thou didst fo love.' Had nearly render'd me heav'ns lafting gueft." P. 193. The note is this: "La Ceva beftows the moft enthufiaftic encomium on the prefent fonnet: the conclufion," fays he, "is of celestial caft; kà un non so che di celefte. Yet he, with great propriety criticifes it, for having improperly blended the Chriftian [doctrine] with the pagan mythology. In the beginning, our poet places Laura in the third heaven, or fphere of Venus, according to the Platonists; and in the first terzetto, he makes her fpeak, as a Christian, of the refurrection of the body." P. 255. Though we have been obliged to mark a grammatical inac curacy in the fecond line of this fonnet, and the omiffion of a very neceffary word in the note, we have no wish to fuggeft that the author is often incorrect. In the first fonnet, we would propose to read " my prefent felf," for "the prefent man," which, as it ftands, is rather obfcure. The notes are generally about the length of that here inferted, but they are judicious and inftruetive. The tranflator fuggefts, and we believe correctly, that a good collective edition of the works of Petrarch, Latin and Italian, is yet wanting to literature; and that there are even unpublished works in foreign libraries. Who the author is, from the defigna. tion of "Tranflator of Catullus," we do not now recollect, if we ever knew. But he has chosen his patron well, in dedicating to Mr. Heber, DRAMATIC. ART. 16. The Traveller; or, the Marriage in Sicily. In Three Acts. 8vo. 5° PP.. 2s. 6d. Richardfon. 1809. This is one of the moft whimsical dramatic pieces that have come within our notice. It appears by the dedication, and indeed from the ftyle and language throughout, to be the work of a foreigner, and is altogether the molt unmeaning mixture of fcenery fcenery and dialogue that was ever exhibited in print. A traveller (who or what he is does not appear) lands in Sicily, and has much converfation with the English Conful and Factors, Si. cilan Custom-houfe officers, and various other perfons, chiefly on mercantile concerns. An English Ambaffador, Admiral, and Ge. neral make their appearance, and talk a great deal with fome Si cilian Noblemen, in the interest of England, about a treaty to be made with his Sicilian Majefty, placing Sicily,. if we rightly understand it, at the difpofal of the British Government. accomplishment of this treaty is announced with great folemnity, and the traveller takes a Sicilian wife, whom we know only by name. The confidants of his paffion are his Factor and the King's Optician; the latter of whom, we fuppofe, was to fpy the lady's defects, if any; the former to conduct the negotiation in a mercantile way. The We know not what can be learned from this drama, except "the rate of Exchange at Palermo," which, it seems, was 52 tari below par." What idea of dramatic compofition can a writer have, who fends forth fuch a production? NOVELS. ART. 17. Calebs fuited, or the Opinions and Part of the Life of 322 Sir George Rover is defcribed as an Irish Baronet, making his first tour in England, and writing to his friend Charles Raftock, Efq. an account of what he fees and hears; which he does with livelinefs, and generally with good fenfe. The reference which the book has to the much admired novel of Calebs, is merely this, that the author seems to think the purfuit of utility, in the moft trivial actions, carried rather to excefs in that work, and likely to produce ridiculous confequences, fome of which he defcribes. On the whole it is a flight performance, but the author intimates at the end, a readiness to continue it, if the public fhould give him encouragement. The Letters are not all from Sir George, other perfons occafionally write; and among them the Baronet's bailiff for fomething of that kind). Dermot O'Neil; whofe correfpondence is a good deal in the style of that of fome of Smollett's perfonages. The honeft Pat claffes things very happily, he begins one of his Letters by faying, "the new cottages are going on well, and fo is Phelin's wife; and Tanfey is in his house again, and the waters are gone down, and the barley begins to come up." This Celebs may perhaps be fufficiently characterized by the fhort account given of his particular friend Sir John Beaufield. "The fyftem he has adopted, of not exactly excluding, but not encouraging, encouraging, thofe arts which refine and embellish life, hâve made his houfe and table a dull unvaried scene of difputation." There is nothing however in the whole, which eftablithes any very valid objection against the original Colebs. POLITICS. ART. 18. The Speech of the Right Honourable Lard Grenville in dale. 1811. On a fubject of fo much national importance as that by which the public mind has lately been agitated, the former fentiments and deliberate arguments of eminent ftatefmen naturally claim attention, and command refpect. The noble Lord, whofe fpeech is here republished, filled at that period the office of Speaker of the Houfe of Commons; a fituation which only when the House is in a Committee, admits the taking of any part in debate. That oppor tunity was embraced by the noble Lord, who appears to have dif cuffed the two queftions that arofe, namely, as to the mode of proceeding, whether by addrefs or bill, and as to expediency and the nature of the restrictions to be impofed on the Regent, with great force of argument and energy of language. On the first question he contends, that "the two Houfes of Parliament muft, in this cafe, act in a legislative capacity, in fo far, and fo far only as the neceffity of the cafe requires; and no diftinction can, on any juft principle, be maintained between acts of legislation, properly fo called, and thofe proceedings which have always been adopted in cafes of a neceffity at all fimilar to the prefent." He proce ds to show, that the other mode propofed (that of first investing fome perfon with the royal functions) would, in effect, be equally an act of legiflation, and refers to the conduct of Parliament, both at the Restoration and at the Revolution, to fhow that, in cafes of neceflity, it exercifed without fcruple the functions of legiflative government. A clear, and to us a fatisfactory, anfwer is then given to thofe, who contended for the propriety of adopting the exact form of proceeding at the Revolution, by ad dreffing the Prince of Wales to take upon himfelf the exercise of the royal authority, and then proceeding, with his concurrence and affent, to the establishment of fuch limitations as circumftances might require. It is fhown, that the neceffity under which our ancestors acted at that period was of a different kind from the prefent. They were to fupply a vacancy of the throne, and effectually to provide against the return of the exiled Sovèreign to power, and against future attempts which he might make to ubvert the Conftitution and religion of the country. They could therefore take only one step, that of placing the crown im mediately mediately on the head of the Prince of Orange, the only perfon who could defend the nation against fuch attempt, by the wisdom. of his councils and the vigour of his arms. The duty of the legislature in the cafe then before them was (the noble Lord contended) of a different nature; namely, not to fupply a vacancy in the throne, but to create a new and delegated truft, for a temporary purpose, to be vested in an office unknown to the Conftitution of the Country. On the fubject of reftrictions, the noble Lord maintained the neceffity of them, on the principle of providing "a complete fecurity for enabling his Majefty, on his recovery, to re-affume the exercife of his authority fully, freely, and without embarraffment." In the inftances of former regencies, the whole power of the Crown was indeed conferred, but not on one perfon. The Regent was fettered by a fixed and permanent Council. Here it is propofed, that he should not be controuled in the exercise, but limited in the extent of his authority. This latter mode is declared by the noble Lord to be infinitely more agreeable to the fpirit of the British Conftitution. It is by no means, he contends, a juft conclufion," that the fame powers which may be intrufted to the permanent authority of a King, are equally fit to, be committed to one who is to exercife the temporary and delegated functions of a Regent." The fpeech proceeds to justify the feveral reftrictions in detail. The creation of Peers has, it is obferved, a lafting influence on the deliberations of one of the branches of the legislature; and nothing but neceffity can juftify the conferring of fuch a power, even on the Sovereign himself, much lefs fhould it be given to a Regent; the temporary and uncertain duration of whofe power would be the ftrongeft temptation to the abuse of it. The re ftraint on granting reverfions or offices for life is justified on fimilar principles, and the propofition of reducing the King's houfehold establishment is treated as unworthy of a generous people. We need fcarcely add, that this able and conftitutional fpeech (now fo feasonably republifhed) does credit not only to the talents but the feelings of the noble Lord, who, though he has fince formed different connections, did not, we truft, on the late occafion, defert any of the principles here maintained. ART. 19. Preparatory Studies for Political Reformers. 8vo. 257 pp. 6s. Baldwin. 1810. It is difficult (indeed fcarcely poffible) to give a general yet just character of the prefent work. Of its profeffed and apparently principal object, which is to difcourage all violent and intempe rate fchemes of political reform, and the means by which they have been lately attempted, we cordially approve. From many of the Author's political opinions we as ftrongly diffent; and throughout ERIT. CRIT, VOL. XXXVII. FEB. 1811. |