thing alarming in the very mention of Coeur de Lion, and if we wished to frighten them from perusing the Poem before us, we might imitate the Arab mothers, who, for years after the Crusade, used to excite the fears of their children by telling them "Richard was coming." In this case, however, the alarm would be groundless. In the "Cross and the Crescent," Richard is not coming; that is, as the principal personage or hero of the tale. We are told in the title-page, and it is all we are told, that the story is founded upon Madame Cottin's Mathilde. It matters, however, but little, to a poetical reader, upon what the story of a bard is built. Indeed, Mr. Beresford seems to think so to a greater extent than might be wished; for, presuming that every one is acquainted with the recorded events of the twelfth century, he does not vouchsafe a single note of explanation throughout a Poem of nine books, and (we should guess) about five hundred stanzas, containing, besides allusions not known to many, terms of armory, chivalry, and the like, such as few have met with, and of those few, some have forgotten. In saying this, we by no means complain that there is no preface. We wish there could be a law against prefaces, which, as modest apologies, mean nothing, and as abridged narratives of the coming work, mean too much. But this objection does not apply to notes, which, if not by linked learning long drawn out," would, we are satisfied, form instructive addenda, and be welcome to those readers who have not seen William of Tyre or Mathew Paris. We urge this in spite of the Poem's being styled a Romance, since it contains so many historical facts, so many names of uncommon use: "Petrary, Trabuchat, and Espringall, Scorpion, War-wolf, and dread Mangonall;" so much, in short, that requires to be accompanied with notes. .... Having remarked upon this omission, we will just hint at the commission of certain little short lines (we know not the printer's name for them) of novel use, and intended, we suppose, to aid, while, in our opinion, they puzzle the reader: at least, we were often rather bewildered by them, and are ready to declare our attachment to the good old style of punctuation. Having performed this duty, we proceed to give an outline of the story. Previous to joining the Crusaders, Richard Plantagenet, accompanied by the venerable High Pontiff of Tyre, pays a visit to his sister Matilda. She had been, from her child hood, the inmate of a "convent's lonely cell," when the presence of her brother roused new religious impulses, and occasioned her departure. Thus, while the Lady Abbess and her virgin companions," dropp'd on their knees and bless'd the cause" in which Richard was engaging, the pious Matilda desired to leave those tranquil shades, and "seek the land that kiss'd of yore her lov'd Redeemer's feet." Her wish accorded with the spirit of those times; so that, having obtained the blessings of the holy society, she prepared to embark with her lion-hearted brother. "'Tis night, -- and to her cell the maid retires: Nay-Slumber binds not with his golden chain To liberty,--and life through ev'ry vein "Thus vital joy sustain'd the wakeful fair. What marvel?-e'en the world's ignoble brood, Laugh sleep to scorn, and seem to thrive on air, By the brief twilight of terrestrial fame! Thanks the cold ground for all the rest he knows ;-- And shall the spirit drowse, when heav'nly hopes inspire ?" Book 1, stanz. 23, 4. Quitting the convent, Matilda is conveyed to Messina, where the united forces of England and France are transported, but not directly to "Salem's holy towers,” since "On Acre's billow-beaten wall First the pending stroke must fall; Then crowd the foes," commanded by the mighty Saladine. A storm, however, diverts them from their course, and the armaments are com pelled to take refuge in the Bay of Cyprus. A tempest de- ¡ scribed in verses like the following, may make our readers rejoice that it occurred. "A mortal stillness held the shudd'ring deep. Heavy with doom,-with lurid volumes hung, Groan'd thunder;-Expectation groans reply!- While, with full burst, the voice o'er head, Redoubling crack on crack, with boundless peal, At Cyprus Matilda finds a companion, and Richard one whom he shortly makes his bride in Lennora, (the Berengaria of history), Princess of Navarre, shipwrecked at the same time. No sooner, however, had Richard obtained a Queen, than war entices him from her arms, and Lusignan, the Ex-King of Jerusalem, receives his promise of support against Conrad, aiming at the vacant throne, with Philip as his friend. The jealousy thus excited between Philip and Richard, prevented them from prosecuting the siege of Acre, (or Ptolemais), though their armies were assembled beneath its walls, and Montmorenci was dispatched to Cyprus to convey away the royal ladies. During the voyage Matilda's charms make a deep, though unseen impression, upon the heart of her gallant conductor, but (such is the waywardness of fortune) Hadal, the valiant brother of Saladine, is upon the ocean, and doomed, by the capture of their vessel, to become himself the slave of the beloved Matilda. Here the Romance commences, and our narration must be contracted. In order that he may enjoy more frequent opportunities of approaching Matilda, Hadal dismisses the pious Wilhelm, together with Montmorenci. They repair to the camp, and the rival kings are persuaded, by the venerable Priest, to forget their quarrel, and attack the town. 4 With jealous ear, and with enquiring hand, Book ĮV. stanz. 35. We give the foregoing comparison, not because the thought is new, but because it is well expressed. The siege of Acre now commences, in a description always spirited, and frequently rising to a high point of grandeur and magnificence. It is possible our early studies may have favoured the effect of Mr. Beresford's muse. Certainly we were glad to see a contest maintained by valour and strength such as Homer would have given his heroes; while courage and the deeds of the brave were sometimes illustrated by similes and comparisons, such as the Mæonian bárd might not have disdained to use. We may have been predisposed also to view with delight a town attacked and won somewhat after the old classical style of warfare, battered to destruction by while "The brazen-fronted ram-the trav'ling tow'r, "Catapults releas'd the darts they bore." . We think, however, that they who read what has pleased us, will understand our feelings, and rejoice with us, that Mr. Beresford is not only a poet of no mean order, but a scholar also, whose mind is strongly imbued with the flavour of that literature, which ages have agreed to admire. The siege of Acre is rather a striking feature in this Poem. What ap pears throughout the whole work, is here particularly evi dent, namely, that Horace's salutary maxim of " sæpe stylum vertas," has not been neglected, and that our bard omitted nothing in his power to render that perfect, which he was abont to make public. His command of words, (we wish he had invented fewer), his flow of language, his careful selection of apt and forcible epithets, must strike every reader. Perhaps he has not sufficiently restrained himself in some respects, and the curb, which Longinus rightly thinks is often as requisite as the spur, seems to have been occasionally disused in our author's anxiety to make the construction of his lines expressive of meaning-the sound indicate the sense: an endeavour in which he has often succeeded, but which, we think, he has too frequently made. If his descriptions too appear sometimes retailed to too great a length-no wonder. He tells us, and probably with truth, of his subject, "I find its fever in my song, And feel it in my burning brain." Book IV. stanz. 33. However, we plead guilty to having turned over a leaf or two forwards, in more parts than one, of this Poem, in order to see how far the course of inspiration was to bear us along, But it is, at the same time, impossible to deny, that the poet often carried us onwards in a rapid and wonderful manner, while, with an originality almost peculiar to himself, he shortened or lengthened his verses, now adopting rhyme, now imperceptibly rejecting it-raising, in his gigantic efforts, Ossa super Pelion," till he elevated us to a high degree of poetical sympathy, and inspired us with much, if not all, of the glowing ardour that he felt. Thus Acre is besieged amid such" iron music" and "deafning discord," 66 "That e'en while ocean heav'd at hand, O'er-tumbling, bursts and bounds against the land, Our readers will easily believe that a British Bard, of the nineteenth century, could not look upon the walls of Acre, without feeling an added glow of patriotism, and weaving a crown for the warrior's brow that has lately made it the theatre of his glory. Sir Sydney Smith could not be forgotten while all that was courageous and intrepid was thus being made the theme of song, nor was the transition from him to the heroes of Trafalgar and Waterloo, avoidable, while heroism was seen to throw away its scabbard, and victory to wave its banner upon the well-fought field. They who desire that the brave defenders of our country should be immortal, will rejoice that Mr. Beresford has not neglected the opportunity which his subject afforded. But, as both with respect to the tribute of the Poet and the siege itself, our limits preclude us from extracting as we could wish, we must be content again to refer our readers to what we feel convinced their own taste for the powerful and brilliant, will not overlook in the perusal. We now return to Matilda, of whose heart the high-minded Hadal has, meanwhile, been obtaining, by degrees, a firm possession. Unfortunately for the captive maid, but happily for the readers of poetry, the conflict, raised within her breast by the opposite dictates of religion and nature, is continued in situations and among scenes, highly favourable to poetical |