There, sight to embolden and inspire! In open victory o'er the weight Eyes dark and strong; and on his head And thus, with girdle round his waist, Nothing, we think, for a moment, can be more beautiful and admirable; but the poet soon shews us a character and a devotion far higher, in Francis Norton, the eldest son, who singly opposes and attempts to dissuade his father and brothers from this enterprise; and is repulsed as a coward and a renegade by the indignant father and the silently contemptuous sons. The wise spirit and unflinching fortitude of this English Abdiel impress us with a respect and veneration that are not easy to be heightened; and yet they are heightened by finding Francis, instead of satisfying himself with having striven to dissuade— and that vainly—and quietly sitting down to wait the result, or feeling resentful of the rude repulse and wrongful imputations received from them, now shewing that the devotion and nobility of his nature are of a far loftier stamp. He follows them unarmed, and, unmindful of their taunts or their suspicions, watches with patient endurance for that moment of reversed fortune which he is sure will come, and when he hopes to render assistance that may be accepted and available. That moment of reverse soon arrives; but the indignant father only heaps fresh and more trying scorn on his faithful son; and it is only when the vengeance of the offended law dooms the father and the sons in arms to perish in their blood, that the sleepless and affectionate attentions of Francis, to soothe, and serve, and comfort them, break down the barrier of thick prejudice from the old man's heart, and he sees and acknowledges the wisdom and magnanimity of his. devoted son. Here one scarcely knows whether most to admire, the frank confession of the old warrior and the confidence he immediately places in Francis, or the filial piety with which, to gratify the mind of his dying father, Francis undertakes a task, hopeless, and fatal to himself. The following out of these great human impulses; the portraiture of this sublime character of Francis Norton, than which none in history or fiction is greater; and, besides this, the beautiful sketch of his sister, equally devoted, equally strong in principle, though not so comprehensive and commanding in intellect as her brother; she Whose duty was to stand and wait; In resignation to abide The shock, AND FINALLY SECURE O'ER PAIN AND GRIEF, A TRIUMPH SURE:- these, altogether, were elements of heart and spirit, of character and action, in which the soul of the philosophical poet, who has sought to link fast to our theory of metaphysics the system of the affections, was sure to revel; although on one occasion we saw him, strangely enough, as the author of "Peter Bell," and of this poem, lay down a volume of a contemporary, full of the same elements, and actually of a most kindred nature, saying that he could not read of "sin and sorrow, finding enough of them in the world about him." Notwithstanding this paradoxical assertion, he has here, in his own case cast over the sorrows of the Nortons a profound sympathy, and a golden glory over the Scenery of the White Doe of Rylston; over Bolton Priory; the Vale of Wharf; over Barden Tower and Norton Tower, on the grim Rylston Fells-which, as it drew us thither, shall draw thither also, from generation to generation, other pilgrims as devoted to the charms of nature, of poetry, of history and tradition, as ourselves. It A visit to Hampton Court Palace, is one of the bravest pleasures that a party of happy friends can promise themselves. Especially is it calculated to charm the thousands of pleasureseekers from the dense and dusty vastness of London. lies in a rich country; on the banks of the Thames,-there unmuddled by commerce, but flowing free and pure, amid the greenest meadows, scattered villas, and trees overhanging its clear waters, and adding to its glad aspect the richness of their beauty. From the swelling hills of Richmond, Esher, and St. George, the palace is seen standing aloft amid |