representing them by figures at once ludicrous and disgusting. We must, without suspecting the writer of any intentional irreverence, strongly censure the phrase-Poet-God,' which occurs more than once in the poem. Miss Barrett's shorter poems we regret to be compelled to pass over hastily, as we like them better on the whole than her longer ones. Many of them, in both these volumes and the one which she gave to the world in 1835, are true poetry, and some are well written. The peculiar metre which she frequently adopts is not to our taste; in some instances it seems better suited to humorous than serious verse, particularly when combined with double rhymes, as in the Lost Bower, which, nevertheless, has some good things in it. The Romaunt of the Page is spirited, and rings out like a trumpet-strain. The Rhyme of the Duchess May, (which is improved by leaving out the refrain, as we took the liberty of doing;) Caterina to Camoens; Crowned and Bedded; Crowned and Buried; a Portrait; the Dead Pan, (which we would mark with a note of especial admiration;) and the Cry of the Human, have the further praise-no slight one in Miss Barrett's case-of being perfectly intelligible! In the Swan's Nest there is something very sweet and natural in little Ellies making her discovery of that swan's nest among the reeds' the prize for her fancied lover. Of Lady Geraldine's Courtship we like neither the moral nor composition; the versification wants sweetness and smoothness. It jolts one, like a rough road. The story of a high-born lady allowing a poet of humble birth to scold her into making love to him, is harshly and prosaically told. We would not recommend any real' Mr. Bertram,' however rich in virtues,' and such unmarketable commodities, to make the experiment of storming at the first noble lady that he may honour with his preference for the chance of a similar result! Of the Cry of the Children it is needless for us to speak, save to add our tribute of praise to that which it has so deservedly earned. Its thrilling energy of thought is clothed in nervous language. A Rhapsody of Life's Progress, had it not appeared under a lady's name, might have been conjectured to have been written under the influence of opium! We have, in our anxiety to do Miss Barrett justice, bestowed more thought on her volumes than we fear she will give us credit for, seeing we have deemed it right to speak very strongly in condemnation of certain of her peculiarities, which give such a character and colouring to her productions as cannot but militate against her literary reputation. There is little in the praise which has been bestowed on Miss Barrett's poems in which we cannot heartily join, and we might have contented ourselves with citing agreeable passages and iterating that praise; but we have pursued a course more likely, we hope, to be profitable to this highly-gifted lady, and to the minds of the living and unborn on whom she has the power to confer benefit-and benefit of the highest order. We ask no greater chasteness of thought and style than some of her own fine poems exhibit; but we would venture, in all good-will and kindly estimation, to entreat her to exercise a greater severity of self-criticism, and to study better models than she appears to have done; to pay some attention to her rhymes, and adopt a more harmonious versification; for unimportant as she will consider these in comparison of that of which they are but the accessories, they are not less essential than a well-tuned instrument to the finest musical composition, or its fit setting to a jewel; to expurgate two-thirds of her compound epithets; to chasten her imagination, to the entire exclusion of fantastic images and phrases; we would say to her— 'Hold in thy fancy with the silken rein Of judgment, lest the wild careering steeds an accident which is often happening to her; never to admit into composition an idea which does not stand out clearly in her own mind, however high and mysterious may be its subject; and lastly, which we would principally rely on in her remedial course, never to write a line that would not be translatable into good intelligible prose. Then may we hope to see her occupy that position as a writer to which her abilities entitle her, but which she is scarcely likely to gain so long as bad taste, confused thinking, an imagination absolutely rampant in its unbridledness, and slovenly composition, can be appreciated either by critics or the public. She has that in her which rings well to the striker;' and one would fain remove the rubbish which obscures the clear, distinct tone she might give out. Nor have we the slightest apprehension that the fears which she expresses of its doing her some bodily injury would be realized, if, taking our advice in good part, she should in future give us her finest thoughts in such explicit phrase, as even stupid people like ourselves might understand! We will guarantee her safety, if she will only try. 353 ART. III. The Industrial Resources of Ireland. By Robert Kane, M.D. 8vo. Dublin, 1845. THE very name of Ireland is scarcely pronounced or read in these days without an involuntary and immediate association of our ideas with an interminable series of political discussions, conjectures, and imaginary remedies for her political evils. From the First Lord of the Treasury, and the present Home Secretary, down to the pettiest reader of the pettiest newspaper, the one chief theme of political thought and conversation is the unhappy "sister-country." Every prime minister, every honourable member,-nay, every scribbling pamphleteer, has not only his own thoughts on this fruitful theme, but is ever ready to propound, whether in parliament or in pamphlets, some infallible nostrum that shall speedily invigorate the sickly and prostrated sister, and shall at once invest her with those hues of health, and those captivating charms, which every one allows to be her birthright, and no one allows to be recoverable by any other political remedy than his own. In the meanwhile, the hottest and highest partisans of Whig or Conservative administration have scarcely thought the industrial resources and physical capabilities of the country to be a paramount object for combined research and illustration. Not a phase of Ireland's political aspect, not a private or public party feud, but has attracted more than its meed of observation and comment. Men read upon Ireland, men write upon Ireland, men travel in Ireland; and the usual result of their reading, their writing, and their travelling, is their adherence to the theories and plans of this minister and this author, or their dissent from the plans and proposals of this party and this advocacy, and their unshaken and confirmed confidence in the administrative remedies of their opponents. It is now ten years since we ourselves planned and accomplished a somewhat extended tour of the south of Ireland, performing the greater portion of it on foot, and passing a large portion of our time amongst the more intelligent of the humbler classes. Our main object was to glean some satisfactory information on the physical capabilities and geological and mineral resources of the country. Great was our astonishment to find how little was known, even in Ireland, of Ireland and her natural resources, and very insignificant was the portion of information we were enabled to gain on these matters. At that period the meeting of the British Association for the Advance ment of Science was held in Dublin, and most hospitable and splendid was the reception of its members. Well do we remember the costly entertainment given, with vice-regal patronage and presence, in the beautiful gardens of the Dublin Society. Yet how very inadequate was the information supplied to us, even at that jubilee of science and knowledge, on the natural and industrial value of the very land in whose metropolis we were so munificently entertained! In fact, it was evident that inquiries of this character were then to be set on foot; and the geological map of the country then presented to the geological section by Mr. Griffith, formed an excellent and invaluable foundation for subsequent research. A most important step in advance was the formation of the Irish Railway Commission, in 1838; the printed report of which inquiry, however partial and imperfect in some portions, yet exhibited a model of physical and statistical investigation, and recorded a mass of documentary evidence, to which nearly the whole of the present railway projects in Ireland are exceedingly indebted. The work of Dr. Kane now before us is the next step in rendering the scattered knowledge of these subjects available to the public. As the work of an individual, it merits that approbation which has been bestowed upon it, and is not undeserving of that reward which the patriotic author has recently received in the shape of government patronage. In a country where all investigations of this nature are so comparatively in their infancy as in Ireland, a work devoted to their interests must necessarily be of a somewhat heterogeneous character, and of very dissimilar amplitude in its various parts. We must not, therefore, here look for that consecutive arrangement and symmetry which we might be entitled to expect in a similar work upon the resources of a more developed country. The work before us unavoidably touches upon subjects too little known to be discussed merely in their commercial results, and yet too extensive to be illustrated at length, commencing from their elements. Within a compass of little more than four hundred pages, we have laid before us these subjects:-Fuel, wood and coal; the geological origin and distribution of the coal; the particular localities of each coal-basin; the chemical qualities and commercial application of each kind, especially the kinds capable of conversion to steam purposes; the nature of peat, its applications and modes of preparation and adaptation. The water-power of Ireland then claims its chapter, and all the considerations connected with its practical application are named in some detail. Iron, of course, must be fully discussed, the sites and kinds indicated, and the best modes of reduction and manufacture stated. The geological structure of Ireland, which in any systematic work must occupy the commencement of the series of chapters, here appears in chapter fifth. Chapter sixth naturally completes the subject of mines, metalliferous products, and metallurgy. The agricultural industry of Ireland, branching into the subjects of vegetable physiology; the correlative functions of the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms; rotation of crops, systems of culture, sizes of farms, cultivation of particular products, and especially of flax and hemp; all these matters are with difficulty compressed into two chapters. Chapter ninth takes up another most ample theme-the means of internal communication; inland navigation, lakes, rivers, and canals; and last, and at present most important, the course of railways, and the mode of forming them and conducting them to the best advantage, under the conditions presented by Ireland. The next section treats of the circumstances of Ireland regarding certain staple articles of industry, as cotton, wool, and salt; the cost and value of labour, skilled and unskilled; the actual state of capital ready to be applied to industrial investments in Ireland, and corrections of some commonly received errors on this point; -these subjects bring up the rear of the chapters, and are only succeeded by some general remarks on industrial education in and for Ireland, and especially for agriculture. The relations of industry to morality, temperance, and intelligence close the work. Four useful, though not very ornamental, maps illustrate the natural features of the island. We fear that Dr. Kane's book, however interesting its subjects may be to all the sons and all the friends of Ireland, will not obtain a very extensive circulation, much less an attentive and regular perusal. It presents anything but an inviting aspect to the swallow-skimmers of modern literature. Its business-like character and scientific look, not to mention its small type and other similar adjuncts, will deter most readers from more than a few glances at its most generally attractive portions; nor will they find the subjects they seek for so promptly as they might desire. But, as we have just observed, defects of arrangement and imperfections of an index might have been expected, and could scarcely have been avoided without considerable labour, in a work which has so much to do in the office of pioneering. We rather allude to these minor deficiencies for the purpose of justifying our own mode of treatment of this subject, within the very brief limits at our disposal. We conceive that we shall be doing an acceptable service to our readers, in endeavouring to present something resembling a summary of what is at present known, and what is desirable to be known at once, of the productive |