In scene third, which is again on the summit of the Jungfrau mountain, Manfred does not appear at all, but it is wholly occupied by the Destinies and Nemesis. These very awful abstractions exult together over the miseries and madness of the world; and one of them sings either a triumphal song upon Buonaparte's return from Elba, and the bloody field of Waterloo or a prophetic strain on his destined escape from St Helena, and the rivers of blood which are yet to overflow France.-His Lordship's imagination seems to be possessed by this throne-shattering emperor. The following passage is a specimen of the song in which the Destinies express themselves. "First Destiny. of them; and there follows a scene of Man. Too much, as I loved thee; we were not made To torture thus each other, though it were "The moon is rising broad, and round, And I would hear yet once before I perish, and bright; And here on snows, where never human foot And this most steep fantastic pinnacle, Pause to repose themselves in passing by Nemesis utters a higher strain. Marrying fools, restoring dynasties, 'In scene fourth, we are introduced into the hall of Arimanes, Prince of Earth and Air, who is sitting, surrounded by the Spirits, on his throne, a globe of fire. The seven spirits chant a wild song in his praise-the Destinies and Nemesis join in the glorification; and meanwhile Manfred enters, unappalled by the threatening visages of this dread assemblage. Nemesis asks, "Whom wouldst thou Man. One without a tomb-call up Astartè." At the invocation of a spirit, her phantom rises and stands in the midst The voice which was my music-Speak to soul from ruin, religion-and the promise of redemption. This salvation Manfred is too far gone in anguish, sin, and insanity, to dare or wish to accept-and the Abbot leaves him in sullen and hopeless resignation to his doom. The conclusion of their colloquy is most impressive. Man. Look on me! there is an order Of mortals on the earth, who do become Some of disease-and some insanity-- Man.- -Old man! I do respect Thine order, and revere thine years; I deem Thy purpose pious, but it is in vain: Think me not churlish; I would spare thy. self, Far more than me, in shunning at this time All further colloquy-and so-farewell. [Exit Manfred." The final catastrophe is now at hand, for the hour of his dissolution, foretold by the phantom of Astartè, is come: he is in his solitary tower at midnight, with the Abbot, when the spirits commissioned by Arimanes come to demand his soul. The opening of this scene is perhaps the finest de scriptivé passage in the drama; and its solemn, calm, and majestic character throws an air of grandeur over the catastrophe, which was in danger of appearing extravagant, and somewhat too much in the style of the Devil and Dr Faustus. Manfred is sitting alone in the interior of the tower. Manfred alone. 66 The stars are forth, the moon above the tops I stood within the Coloseum's wall, 'Midst the chief relics of Almighty Rome;→→ The trees which grew along the broken arches Waved dark in the blue midnight, and the stars Shone through the rents of ruin; from afar Within a bow-shot--where the Cæsars dwelt, And dwell the tuneless birds of night, amidst A grove which springs through levelled battlements, And twines its roots with the imperial hearths, Ivy usurps the laurel's place of growth; Grovel on earth in indistinct decay.- Our spirits from their urns. "Twas such a night! "Tis strange that I recall it at this time; But I have found our thoughts take wildest flight, Even at the moment when they should array Themselves in pensive order." The Spirits enter; and while they are threatening to tear him to pieces, Manfred meets them with taunts and mockery, and suddenly falls back and expires in the arms of the Abbot, We had intended making some observations upon this extraordinary production, but, to be intelligible, we could not confine them within the limits which necessity imposes. On length into the philosophy of the subsome other occasion we may enter at ject; but we have given such an account as will enable our readers to comprehend its general character. One remark we must make on the versification. Though generally flowing, vigorous, and sonorous, it is too often slovenly and careless to a great degree; and there are in the very finest passages, so many violations of the plainest rules of blank verse, that we suspect Lord Byron has a very imperfect knowledge of that finest of all music, and has yet much to learn before his language can be well adapted to dramatic compositions, ANALYTICAL NOTICES. THE QUARTERLY REVIEW. No 32. Reviewers, "respecting the geography and natural history of the great desert 1. An Authentic Narrative of the of Africa, amounts to very little, and Loss of the American Brig Commerce, that little not very accurate.”—A large wrecked on the western coast of Africa, portion of this article is occupied with in the month of August 1815, &c. By the travels of Sidi Hamet, Riley's masJAMES RILEY, late Master and Super- ter, who remained for a fortnight in cargo. The sufferings which Riley Mr Willshire's house, and who, be and his crew endured, at the time of sides entertaining them with an ac their shipwreck and afterward, while count of his expeditions to Tombucthey remained in captivity among the too, introduced them to the knowArabs, were so severe, that the Re- ledge of a country to the south-east viewers would have felt inclined to of it, wholly new to Europeans, conwithhold their belief from some parts taining the city of Wassanah, situated of the narrative, if they had not been on the Niger, above sixty days joursatisfied with regard to the writer's ge- ney from Tombuctoo, and twice its neral veracity, from the well authenti size. Upon the authority of the same cated documents which they possess. traveller, the Reviewers proceed to Nothing can place in a stronger light offer some speculations regarding the the miserable condition to which these course of the Niger. There is a strong unfortunate men had been reduced, presumption, they think, that the than the following extract from the Niger, or Nile of the Negroes, has narrative itself:- At the instance of two courses, one from west to east, Mr Willshire," (the British vice-con- by Silla and Tombuctoo; the other sul at Mogadore, by whom they were from east to west, through Wangara, ransomed), "I was weighed," says Ghana, and Kassina. This Sidi Ha Riley, "and fell short of ninety met is altogether a very respectable pounds, though my usual weight, for sort of person. "Your friend." (Mr the last ten years, had been over two Willshire) said he to Riley at parting, hundred and forty pounds; the weight" has fed me with milk and honey, of my companions was less than I dare to mention, for I apprehend it would not be believed, that the bodies of men, retaining the vital spark, should not weigh forty pounds This extraordinary emaciation was effected in about two months, the period which intervened from their shipwreck until they arrived at Mogadore, where every comfort was most humanely provided for them by the gentleman whom we have just mentioned. Were we not so positively assured by the Reviewers of Mr Riley's veracity, there are one or two points which might excuse a little scepticism; on one occasion, we read of an immediate interposition of Divine Providence in behalf of the desponding sufferers; and at another time, Riley, in a comfortable dream, saw a young man, who spoke to him in his own language, assuring him that he should again embrace his beloved wife and children, and whose features he afterwards recognised in Mr Willshire. "The addition which Mr Riley has afforded to our information," say the and I will always in future do what is in my power to redeem Christians from slavery;" a promise which, to a certain extent, he is known to have since performed. We have met with a gentleman belonging to the Surprise of Glasgow, to which the Reviewers allude, who gratefully acknowledges the personal kindness he received from Sidi Hamet in the deserts of Africa. 2. Ambrosian Manuscripts The Reviewers begin by discouraging the too sanguine expectations that have been entertained of the researches of antiquaries, in bringing to light the precious relics of Greek and Roman literature; and they then endeavour to account for the imperfect and mutilated state in which some of the ancient authors have come down to us. "The truth, after all," they say, "is, that of the Latin writers not many have perished whose loss we need greatly regret." The discoveries recently made by M. Angiolo Mai, professor of the oriental languages in the Ambrosian library at Milan, consist of fragments of six orations of Cicero, and of eight speeches of Symmachus, -ninety-six Latin epistles to and from Fronto, with two books" de Orationibus," several fragments, and seven epistles written in Greek,-fragments of Plautus, and some commentaries on Terence, the complete oration of Isæ us, de hereditate Cleonymi, of which before we possessed about one-third, -an oration of Themistius,and lastly, an epitome of part of the Antiquitates Romance of Dionysius Hali carnessensis, extending from the year of the city 315 to the year 685, which is valuable, inasmuch as this portion of the original work is not known to exist. We may judge of the labour which M. Mai has undergone in his researches, when we are told that all these relics (with the exception of the oration of Isæus) were elicited from what are called palimpsesti, or rescripti, that is, ancient MSS., which, from motives of economy, had been partly effaced, and then used by the Monks, in the middle ages, on which to transcribe the works of a very different description of writers. His discoveries, the Reviewers add, "are curious and interesting to the classical antiquary, but they are not of that importance which the learned editor attaches to them; nor do they satisfy the expectations which the first intelligence of them had excited in our minds."-M. Mai is preparing for publication, a facsimile of a very ancient MS., containing about 800 lines of the Iliad, with paintings illustrative of the descriptions of the poem. On one side of the leaf of this MS., which is of parchment, are the paintings, on the reverse the poetry; but this reverse had been covered with silk paper, on which are written some scholia, and the arguments of some books of the Iliad. M. Mai separated the paper from the parchment; which last he thinks, was written on at least 1400 years ago. 3. Narrative of a residence in Ireland, during the summer of 1814, and that of 1815. BY ANNE PLUMPTRE,A work which the Reviewers, apparently forgetful of the nec deus intersit, &c. of a very competent judge in matters of criticism, have thought it worth their while to hold up to scorn and ridicule. 4. Travels in Brazil. By HENRY KOSTER. This is a condensed, though sometimes sufficiently minute, account of what the book contains. The Reviewers tell us what course the traveller took, what he saw and did, and some of the incidental observations which he made on the appearance of the country, and on the condition of the various races of its population. The most interesting features in the state of society seem to be, the ignorance and superstition of all classes→→→→ the feeble administration of the laws→→→→ and that hospitality to strangers, which is one of the characteristics of a thinly peopled agricultural country, abounding in the necessaries of life, and uncontaminated by the selfishness and luxuries of the higher classes of civi lization and refinement. The inhabitants of the provinces are said to be greatly superior, in their moral character and in their habits, to their Spanish neighbours. Slavery, it would appear, assumes a mild form in Brazil; though the inhumanity with which the Portuguese carry on the slavetrade is well known to have imprinted an indelible stain on the national character. Praise is liberally bestowed on the Jesuits for their efforts in behalf of the Indians, who are said to have now, in many places, relapsed into barbarism. That which is parti cularly interesting to this country, especially since recent events have promised to effect a very important change in the American possessions of Portugal as well as of Spain, is the growing demand for British manufactures, and the freedom of intercourse which_an enlightened policy may be expected to ensure. Both the author and the Reviewers assures us of this increasing demand for our commodities, several years before the present revolutionary movements began in Portuguese America; and there is sufficient evidence in the account which Koster has given us of his progress through the provinces, for a course of upwards of 1000 miles, that this demand must, for a long period, be limited only by the means which the people have of purchasing. All that refines and embellishes life is wanted in Brazil; but the want will be generally felt, and the means of supplying it exten sively diffused, by a liberal and independent government, in a country, the natural resources of which are incalculable.-The Reviewer gives us very little information about Koster himself, except that he resided several 1 अ years in the country; and they have displayed a singular degree of forbearance, in abstaining from all those speculations to which the scenes before them were so well calculated to lead,from all retrospect and anticipation,and, what was less to be expected perhaps from any thing like discussion, either religious or political.-For those general readers who have not access to the book itself, this article cannot fail to be a convenient substitute. 5. The Veils, or the triumph of Constancy. A Poem, in Six Books. By MISS PORDEN.-The Reviewers speak very highly of the author's powers of versification, but express their disapprobation of the manner in which she has chosen to exercise them. The poem is intended to display the "different energies of nature, exerted in producing the various changes which take place in the physical world, but personified and changed into the spirits of the Rosicrucian doctrine. A system which, as she observes, was introduced into poetry by Pope, and since used by Darwin in the Botanic Garden." The greater part of the critique is occupied with just animadversions on Darwin's personifications, so different from the tiny playful beings with whom we are so delighted in the " Rape of the Lock." 6. Laou-sing-urh, or “An heir in his Old Age," a Chinese Drama. Translated from the Original Chinese by J. F. DAVIS, Esq. of Canton.-This drama was written nearly 800 years ago, yet it is considered to be a true picture of Chinese manners and Chinese feelings at the present time. The Reviewers, though very moderate in their estimate of Chinese literature, are well pleased with this performance, of which, and of the theatrical exhibitions of China, this article contains a curious and amusing account. A poem called "London," written by a common Chinese, has been also translated by Mr Davis; and the specimen of it which the Reviewers furnish might have made a very respectable appear ance among the least extravagant effusions of Gulliver. Nearly half the article is occupied, somewhat incongruously we conceive, with particulars regarding Lord Amherst's embassy, in which, however, we do not find any thing of importance that has not already appeared in the newspapers. It has failed indeed, and yet in one sense it has not failed; for the refusal of our ambassador to submit to the degrading ceremonies of Chinese etiquette must give the celestial emperor a very high opinion of the English nation: a most comfortable illustration of the well-known fable of the fox and the grapes. 7. Fragments on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, &c. By H. REPTON, Esq.-The writer of this article must be deeply skilled in gardens-Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, and Chinese and other Asiatic gardens, as well as with the ancient and modern style of landscape gardening in England; and also with all the writers on parterres and vistas, woods and lawns, and grottos, from the times of Virgil and Juvenal downwards. The book is said to be both interesting and entertaining. 8. Tales of my Landlord.-This and the elder branches of the same family, in spite of the uncouthness of the language of a great portion of them, even to Scotsmen, and the utter inability of the mere English reader to enter into the spirit of many of the most humorous and characteristic representations, immediately upon their appearance acquired, and continue to maintain, a degree of popularity to which probably no other works of the same class, and of the same dimensions, have ever attained. Yet in all these novels there are faults or defects, which every one perceives upon a general survey of their texture, and every one forgets in their perusal. It is one main object of the present article to explain the causes of this popularity, which many of their admirers are at some loss to account for; to shew that the imperfection of the stories, and the want of interest in the principal characters, are more than compensated by the extraordinary attraction which their mysterious author has been able to give to the narrative, by his accurate and animated descriptions, and the truth and fidelity of his portraits. It was never doubted, in this part of the Island, that human beings had actually sat for these portraits, though there has certainly been much difference of opinion about their originals; but it is truly mortifying to find a London Re viewer, even with the acknowledged assistance of his Scottish correspondents, coming forward to correct our |