this, as upon every other occasion, he acted from the most honourable motives;" nor have we any reason to believe that his design was not such, as it is here stated to have been; "to do away, as far as might be practicable, the mischievous effects of difference in religious opinions; to guard the Established Church by more powerful sanctions against both Papists and Protestant Dissenters; and to give the cause of Religion that additional protection which the prevalence of Infidelity demanded" but by what means that design was to be accomplished, it is far beyond our powers of imagination even to conjecture. On the contrary, we are fully persuaded, that the repeal of the Test Laws, and what is, most absurdly, called Catholic Emancipation, whatever legislative provisions might have been adopted in lieu of them, would have shaken the Established Church to its very foundation; and have been productive of the most ruinous effects. We lament, however, that Mr. Tomline has neglected to afford us some competent idea of those measures which would, in the judgment of Mr. Pitt, "have been better adapted to the present times, and far more effectual than the existing Lates." We have often had occasion to observe, that Mr. Pitt shone as much in opposition as in power; and Mr. T.'s observations perfectly concur with our own avowed sentiments on this subject. "In his retirement we see him displaying the same greatness, the same activity, the same patriotism. His loyalty depended not upon office: his love of his country was equally evident in every situation. Instead of a peevish secession from the discharge of his public duty, or a hostile obstruction to the measures of the new administration, which must instantly have sunk under the weight of his opposition, he gave them their best claim to credit in the country, by an open declaration in their favour, and by a direct avowal of his determination to assist them while they acted upon those principles which had been the rule of his own condnet. This assistance he gave publickly and privately, with a zeal and disinterestedness of which there is no other instance in the history of political parties. The renewal of war, after a short and insidious peace, involved the nation in fresh difficulties and dangers; and ministers having ceased to listen to the advice of Mr. Pitt, soon betrayed their own weakness and incompetency. this moment the commanding superiority of Mr. Pitt was universally felt. and unequivocally acknowledged: all former difference of opinion, all political animosity, was instantly buried in oblivion: the perilous situation of the country required the union of all the talents it possessed; and all parties, and all descriptions of persons, concurred in expressing a wish to see Mr. Pitt at the head of this union. It is always considered as a strong testimony in favour of one of the most distinguished characters of antiquity, that his countrymen agreed in giving him their second vote of merit but here all rivalry was laid aside, all competition was silenced: and the first place was with one voice yielded to Mr. Pitt. This deference At * Θεμιστοκλεῖ, καίπερ ἄκοντες ὑπὸ φθόνου, τὸ πρωτεῖον ἀπέδοσαν ἅπαντες· ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἀναχω ζήσαντες εἰς τὸν Ἰσθμὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ βωμοῦ τὴν ψῆφον ἔφερον οἱ στρατηγοί, πρῶτον μὲν ἕκαστος ἑαυτὸν πέραινεν ἀρετῇ, δεύτερον δὲ μεθ' ἑαυτὸν Θεμιστοκλέα. ΡευTARCH. vol. 1. p. 905, Liu, Bryan was was an infallible proof of what was really thought of his talents by his rivals and opponents, and of the principles upon which he had acted in the most arduous contest in which any nation was ever engaged. The failure of this plan to concentrate abilities and unite the divisions of party, exhibited the greatness of his character, if possible, in ́a still stronger point of view: for when disappointed of the assistance of the ablest and most powerful of those whom he had expected to be his colleagues in office, he not only resisted all opposition at home, and added considerably to our naval and military force, but also surmounted those obstacles which had hitherto prevented a junction of the different powers upon the Continent. By his efforts, that confederacy was formed, which, had it been properly directed, might have contributed to the deliverance of Europe; and its want of success was owing to causes over which he could have no controul. The merit of this last measure of Mr. Pitt's government is but too evident from the consequences its failure has produced; and the treatics will ever remain a monument of his political wisdom, and of the high estimation in which he was held in foreign courts." There is so much truth in the following observations, that our readers will not fail to thank us for transcribing them : "When any sudden emergency required immediate action, he was fertile in resources, and prompt in decision; but where the business was of a nature to be foreseen and prepared at leisure, he was studious to collect the sentiments of others: he heard with patience, and weighed the differeat arguments with impartiality; and thus his opinion upon any important matter was the deliberate result of full inquiry, and of every information which could be procured. Hence it happened, that he had rarely occasion to abandon any measure which he once proposed. Though he was not to be diverted from his purpose by the ingenious cavils and popular harangues of a systematic opposition, yet he was always open to the force of just reasoning and well-grounded objection. In his conduct of public business he was equally free from precipitation, fear, and pertinacity. He was easy of access to persons whose knowledge or situation gave them a claim to attention; and was ever ready to listen to any suggestion or communication. Whatever was the subject of discussion, ja the wide range of the domestic and foreign, the civil, military, navat, and commercial concerns of this great and powerful kingdom, he never failed, by the extent and variety of his information, and by the acuteness and justness of his observations, to excite the surprise of those with whom he conversed. All persons, whatever were their occupations, pursuits, or professions, departed from Mr. Pitt with a conviction of their own inferiority, even upon points to which they had devoted their whole time and thoughts: Huic versatile ingenium sic pariter ad omnia fuit, ut natum ad id unum diceres quodcunque ageret.”—(Liv. lib. xxxix. cap. 40.) Next follows a brief delineation of Mr. Pitt's character as an orator, which is ably drawn; but it is not for the ability, but for the accurate likeness that we value such a portrait, "His merits as an orator baffle all description. He must have been heard, or no adequate conception can be formed of his unrivalled talents. ! : To the vigor and fire of Demosthenes, to the polished copiousness of Cicero, to the exuberant imagination of Burke, to the logical acuteness of Fox, he added a quickness and extent of comprehension, a sublimity of thought, a perspicuity of arrangement, a correctness of language, and an accuracy of judgment, which were peculiarly his own. 19s ideas appeared to flow with spontaneous promptitude; there was no pause, no repetition. Never could the alteration of a single word be wished: never was the train of reasoning interrupted by irrelevant digression, or his hearers wearied with minute prolixity. He amplified the most barren, elucidated the most abstruse, and excited attention to the most uninteresting subjects. The energy and dignity of his manner gave irresistible influence to his commanding, yet always unpremeditated, speeches. His statements of his own measures were clear and forcible; but the powers of his eloquence were still more conspicuous in his animated replies to his antagonists. Concentrating into one view whatever had been advanced on the contrary side, he left no argument unanswered, no objection unrefuted; he removed every unfavourable impression from minds not blinded by party prejudice; he extorted reluctant adiniration from his opponents, and astonished even those whom he did not convince.' We know this to be a true representation of the character and effects of Mr. Pitt's oratory. We here learn that the multifarious concerns of this mighty empire, during a most momentous crisis, did not prevent Mr. Pitt from indulging himself with occasional relaxations, in the pursuits of literature. He was an excellent classic, and his ordinary amusement, in hours of leisure, was the perusal of Homer, Demosthenes, Virgil, or Horace. We close our account of this excellent speech, which displays considerable ability and judgment, with Mr. T.'s account of the effects which the ever to be lamented death of this truly great and good man produced in the world; and of that truly Christian spirit which he displayed in his last moments. "It was not merely acknowledged that the nation had lost an able and upright minister, at a moment the most critical and awful, but almost every one felt that he was deprived of a benefactor and a friend, the person on whom, under Heaven, he relied for the preservation of his life, liberty, and religion,-for the continuance of every private comfort, and every public blessing. No one saw any ground for consolation or hope, but from a perseverance in his measures, and an adherence to his principles. Nor was lamentation for his loss confined to this country: his transcendant merits had penetrated the most cbscure and distant regions. Revered as the protecting Genius ordained to check the progress of the Scourge of Nations, Europe scemed to see in his departure a sign of her approaching fate. History will record, and posterity will appreciate, the extent and value of his services to his country, and the high and general veneration in which he was held; while his connection with this University will be perpetuated by a just tribute of respect and gratitude to his memory*.. A subscription to the amount of 75641. 10s. has been raised by Members of the University of Cambridge, for the purpose of erecting a Statue of Mr. PITT in the Senate House. ❝ Within "Within these hallowed walls I may be permitted to mention that the power of Religion shone forth in its full lustre in the last moments of this extraordinary man. He carly imbibed a firm conviction of the truth of Christianity; and throughout life, Religion was in him an habitual principle, influencing and governing every feeling of his mind, and every part of his conduct, public and private. In him the belief of a superintending Providence, and of a future responsibility, produced its genuine fruits-an active discharge of duty, and a cheerful resignation to the Divine will. Aware of the approach of death, he felt no self-condemnation, no self-confidence; the consciousness of upright intention was accompanied by the deepest sense of human infirmity; and, with the most humble acknowledgment of his own unworthiness, he expressed a lively hope of salvation through the merits of Christ." To this we shall only allow ourselves to add, that, although we do not think so meanly of our country, as to believe that its fate is dependent on the life of any one man, yet the death of Mr. Pitt was an irreparable loss to Europe in general, and to this country in particular; and, to use the energy of poetry with the truth of prose, we express our firm conviction, that "We ne'er shall look upon his like again." The Penance of Hugo: A Vision of the French Revolution, in the tioned briefly in the Preface: the death of Basseville, an agent of the Convention, who, on the 14th of January, 1793, was put to death by the Roman populace, in consequence of his machinations against the Papal Government, in favour of Jacobinical principles. The Poem commences at the moment when the spirit of Basseville is dismissed to the other world, claimed by an infernal agent, and rescued by a guardian angel, who, by way of Penance, exhibits all the horrors of the French Revolution and its consequences, to the new inhabitants of the other world. It seems a conspicuous instance of poetical artifice, Mr. Boyd justly observes, from such an occasion as the fate of an individual, to present an exhibition of such horrible magnificence, to trace the origin of those evils to the spirit of irreligion brought on by vice, and the influence of pride, avarice, ambition, and revenge. In the original poem the noble simplicity of Dante is happily imitated. Mr. Boyd denominates his a free translation. It is so free, indeed, as, in many parts, to have the air of a paraphrase. This appears most clearly in the very commencement, on a comparison of the translation with the original. "Gia vinta dell Inferno era la pugna, E lo Spirito d'Abbisso si partia. Restem Restemmando L' Eterno e le Commosse "The contest paus'd; th' infernal claimant flew Hiss'd through the gloom, but from the deadly strife, Smit with alternate anguish and dismay, Now on his gory members where they lay, He looked aghast, and now with deeper awe, The world of spirits from afar beheld, Half warm'd by hope and half by fear repell'd, New to the second life's mysterious law." The description of the appearance of the vindictive angel (P. 5.) is more faithful to the original. "Rolo di Fiamma gli occhi relucente." "Fierce were his kindling eyes, his length of hair And like a planet seem'd around to shed In its terrific undulations far, Disease, and funeral scenes, and deadly war. Where'er his flaming tresses seem'd to spread, His fiery falchion threw a sanguine light, "Rompea la notte e la rendea piu truce." The word seemed in the first stanza ought not to have been repeated. -The death of the executioner at Marseilles, who fell a victim to the rage of the populace for refusing to perpetrate an unheard of indignity upon a crucifix, is well described (P. 10.) the aerial voyage of the spirit and his guide is next delineated, and the scenes which they are supposed to have observed are marked with a rapid but lively colouring. Their approach to Paris is thus described: E l'aria intorno tenebrosa e mesta, &c." Silent with hasty wing he sped along Thro' night's dim canopy around them hung And |