Till all the poison in his veins conceal'd, Crossing the welkin in a summer's night, And, all unconscious of his evil plight, And reckless liv'd of Blame or Scorn's retorted eye.' Such is a short outline of this recondite fiction, for all the mysteries and concealed import of which we must refer to the author's keys and the reader's ingenuity. Mr. Boyd intimates that it is a juvenile attempt, scarcely deserving of an apology. If this be not affected modesty, we must remind him that the public are intitled to some respect, and may well dispense with five cantos of a dark rhapsody which seldom rouses the feelings or interests the heart. The Royal Message, founded on the history of David and Uriah, is likewise open to various and formidable objections. In general, it is extremely hazardous to vary or to modernize the simple and popular narratives of Scripture. Nathan's affecting apologue and its forcible application, for example, must lose much of their effect when expanded into pages of blank verse. To an injudicious selection of his subject, the author has added much unnecessary complication of plot, with great display of base and intriguing characters; and, at length, he has recourse to the stale expedient of a vision, in order to introduce Scipio Africanus as one of the interlocutors. The Milesian Tales are grafted on Irish history or traditions, and manifest none of the licence which their title might seem to imply; yet their local allusions, and the languor and obscurity which more or less pervade them, will subtract from their merit in the eyes of most readers. Occasionally, however, we meet with animated description, or touching sentiment. In the introductory stanzas to the Knight of Feltrim, the poet thus apostrophizes his former residence ; 'O wood of Graigue! does fate decree J Nor e'er beneath a spreading tree Rest me upon thy flow'ry plain. • In In winter's cold and summer's heat, There oft the throstle and the lark I tended at their matins gay, And Sol's last beams 1 stood to mark, That from the green glade stole away,' &c. Many of the smaller pieces are complimentary addresses to individuals distinguished by rank, accomplishment, or virtues, Among these, the verses to Robert Anderson, Esq. of Edinburgh, the Monody on the Rev. Dr. Henry Leslie, and the imitation of Mr. Mathias's Italian Ode to Mr. Roscoe, perhaps deserve the preference. Some are republished from the Poetical Register; and that which is intitled Visions of Woodstock is said to be the Prize Poem for the year 1777.-We quote the opening of the Ode: IMITATION of an ITALIAN ODE, addressed to William Roscoe, • While 'cross my sphere of vision borne, Bends to salute the hallow'd choir, Lead thro' the maze of time, with soft control I turn, O Flamen of the Muse, Whose potent spell renews Her sacred lamp's extinguish'd light, And calls new glories from oblivion's night. Wing'd with no ignoble aim, A sounding shaft, from Pindar's bow, Whose sapient hand withdrew the pall From From many a monument of ages past, And bade their splendours all revive, with time itself to last. • Deeds heroic, arts divine, But oh! what means yon pale, indignant shade, That seems their sad, forsaken haunts to mourn? The fell oppressor and the tyrant's scorn, Which memory feeds, and long by anguish worn, He shows the mould'ring throne that good Lorenzo prest, Napoleon's axe, and midst the din of arms Fashion'd of gold and steel. The frighted shore And over Asia's climes to stretch his iron reign. While voice and hand the notes prolong.' If we rightly appreciate Mr. Boyd's talents, they are more suited to the task of translation than to original composition; and he must still bear with us when we renew our exhortations to greater correctness in rhymes and grammar. Year and bear, far and despair, flood and brood, struck and partook, assail and deal, adorn and moon, heard and veer'd, &c. &c. &c. can never satisfy polished ears. He should likewise be aware that thou and you are not interchangeable at pleasure, in the course of the same address; and that such regimens as the following are ་ are gross violations of one of the first rules of syntax; that the inflammable or spirituous parts of the liquor is detained, &c. the fatal effects of excess in drinking has long been,' &c. the low laments was heard,' My art thro' many a yearly round Have kept the reliques free from harm.' The dedication to the Marchioness of Downshire begins thus: It might seem arrogance in me, or the result of a design, too often imputed to dedications, to prefix your Ladyship's name, though by permission, to those trifles, had not the circumstances that led to it gave it a distinction,' &c. Vertere stylum in tabulis is a trite but important critical precept, which no writer ever neglected with impunity, but which Mr. Boyd seems to have treated with unwise contumacy. ART. IX. The Society of Friends, or People commonly called Quakers, examined. By John Bristed, of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. 8vo. pp. 359. 6s. Boards Mawman. 1 no emotions of the liveliest gratitude will be excited among the Friends by this examination of their principles and proceedings, they must read it with much more pleasure than dissatisfaction, with much more approbation than dissent, It is probable that Mr. Bristed's arguments on the peculiarities of the Quaker system will not be very successful: but the estimable society to which they are addressed will not fail to approve the great liberality, purity, and amiableness of mind, with which he writes, and to give him full credit for the very best intentions. Respect guides his pen; and while he endeayours to convince the Friends that in some instances their system is capable of amendment, he is not silent on the excellence of their general character, but holds up their morality to universal imitation. He endeavours to persuade them to consider the subject of Tithes in a political rather than in a religious light; to review their objections to the ordinances of Baptism and the Communion; to give more encouragement to public preaching in their assemblies; to compound with their consciences in the use of the plural pronoun; to abate of the extreme singularity of their garb; to enlarge their plan of education; to allow of innocent amusements; and to conquer their prejudices against the use of January, February, &c. and of Sunday and Monday, &c. as the common names of the months of the year, and the days of the week. All his objections and expostulations, however, are lost in the warm encomium which he bestows on them for the christian simplicity of their worship, and and the exemplariness of their moral conduct. Their abhorrence of oaths, and their aversion from gaming and field sports, are noticed with praise; while the tendency of their plan of education to generate amiable qualities, and of their whole system to form valuable members of society, are just grounds for Mr. B.'s extreme partiality to the society of Friends of whom he says, I have no words sufficiently forcible to represent the swelling sensations of my soul, when I contemplate the high standard of morality erected by the Society of Friends. Honesty, decency, sobriety, moral restraint, abhorrence of all violence and blood, charity, kindness, benevolence, and a long catalogue of other virtues, claim the applause and the approbation of all the human race to be poured in one full tide of tributary gratitude and admiration towards the disciples of Barclay. To this warm testimony of applause, he adds, Let my life be the life of the Friends, and let my last end be like theirs.' Into this Essay, which professes in the title to be merely an examination of the principles of a particular society, Mr. Bristed has introduced subjects of general interest, and discussed them at considerable length. Distinct dissertations are inserted on the fatal effects of Ignorance, and on the importance of Knowlege. These are followed by a detailed plan of Education, and by remarks on our Poor Laws. Mr. Bristed's observations are so manly and rational, that we wish he had assigned these parts of the present volume to a separate publication. His hints on the subject of education are deserv. ing of general attention, for if young persons could be trained up on his plan, they could not fail of becoming valuable men. The following remarks on the necessity of application are not only just, but cannot be too often enforced; since habits of industry are essential to the improvement, virtue, and comfort of the individual. The pupil should be early taught that industry is the foundation of all power, both national and individual; that the weight of mighty empires rests entirely upon the shoulders of productive labour. But, in order to bring it more home to his own business and bosom, let it be earnestly inculcated on his mind, that no enjoyment or advantage on earth can be obtained without long continued, and steadily directed previous exertion. This truth is the more necessary to be enforced, because, unfortunately for the interests of humanity, it is a too generally received opinion, that it is only incumbent on comparatively slow and weak minds, to labour and to toil, and that men of quick and of brilliant talents can perform whatsoever they list by mere fits and starts of exertion, without having recourse to patient industry But it is now full time that such a dangerous mistake should be swept away, and ob literated |