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ses, more readily than an Englishman, unacquainted with the language in its ancient form. But as it is impossible for a person to feel thoroughly the last niceties of any foreign language, so Shakspeare is perhaps of all others, the author where most of these niceties occur; because in all cases they spring, not from the cultivation of a language in the hands of the critics, but from the peculiarities it has unconsciously assumed in actual life: and every one knows that it is this language of actual life, which Shakspeare has, more than all others, caught up.-A new translation of, Shakspeare is announced by the Vossii, (I thank our English brethren, for authorizing me to use this convenient plural) father and sons. I saw lately at Heidelberg in MS. that portion of it which is to be given by the former. This veteran translator-himself a poet of no ordinary merit, informed me that he had, in many cases, restored to verse, what the unfortunate editors had made prose, and discovered long passages, which the editions have unmercifully given as the latter, where the rythmus is unbroken. This is very probably true, for with all our veneration for Shakspeare, it must be owned that the sweet bard has left us many a passage, which authorizes the definition of poetry; 'Lines beginning with a capital letter,' and which it would do well to place by the side of the first lines of Milton's Sonnet to the lady Margaret Ley. With respect to Mr. Voss' translation of Shakspeare, it remains to be seen, whether it will equal Mr. Schlegel's, which, as might be expected from one so deeply versed in Shakspeare, as his lectures show him, is certainly admirable. A branch of study now pursued in Germany with great zeal, and which we know hardly by name at home, is archæology. The Germans use this term for the history and explanation of ancient art, and I spell it with an Æ instead of an AI, meo periculo.-This study, you know, as a science, is of German origin, and not known in Europe till the Abbe Winckelman, (as they call him in the mother country) published his history of the ancient art. This, with all the works of Winckelman, has lately appeared in a new edition at Dresden, with an admirable commentary by Mr. Meyer of Weimar, who, in his long residence in Italy, thoroughly qualified himself for

the task:-A History of Architecture. is also expected from Mr. Hirt of Berlin, equally prepared, by a sixteen years residence, at the eternal city, for a work of this nature. His Mythological Picture-Book has long gained him the credit of a very skilful amateur in this department. Would one become an amateur himself, I would counsel him, next to going to Italy, to make a pilgrimage to Dresden-where Winckelman imbibed the first nourishment of his enthusiasm-and attend the lectures of Mr. Bættiger, in the Hall of Antiques, in that beautiful city.-I have yet met with nothing abroad, that gave me a deeper impression of the rich resources of European instruction, than the lectures I heard from this most learned and amiable man, in the hall of the Japan palace, surrounded by the monuments themselves of ancient art. You know that in this gallery are contained the vestals, improperly so called, which led to the discovery of the ruins of Herculaneum, and are the noblest fragments of antiquity (if we except perhaps the rolls, of which the worth is again sub judice) which these ruins have yielded. When Bonaparte walked through the principal hall of the library at Dresden; which is also in the Japan Palace, surveyed the beautiful landscape from its windows, which look down on the banks of the Elbe, within the distance of a few rods, with delightful gardens between, and cast his eyes on the collonade of two and twenty splendid yellow marble pillars, which lines the hall, he is said to have exclaimed, it is too fine', and to have added, that Paris and Dresden are the only two cities, where the muses dwell in palaces.' He had not perhaps been informed, that the Gallery of Paintings, which certainly surpasses any transalpine gallery, and contains the Madonna of Sixtus V. was in the former Electoral Stables. The Dresden library contains one thing, which ought to interest us, a Mexican MS. described in Humboldt's Atlas Pittoresque.

***

Interesting works lately printed or announced in England. Nightmare Abbey, by the author of Headlong Hall.

A Treatise on the Law of Merchant Ships and Shipping, by Francis L. Holt.

Journal of a visit to South Africa, in 1816, by the Rev. C. I. Latrobe.

An Essay on Spanish Literature, containing its history down to the present time.

A View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, by Henry Hallam, Esq.

The Brownie of Bodsbeck, by James Hogg. Tales in prose.

A Code of Political Economy, founded on statistical inquiries, by Sir John Sinclair.

The Civil and Constitutional History of Rome, from the foundation to the age of Augustus, by Henry Bankes, Esq. (long remarkable as one of the most independent and intelligent Members of the British Parliament.)

Lectures on the English Poets, delivered at the Surry Institution, London, by Mr. Hazlitt. (From the specimens which we have read of these Lectures, we infer that they will be replete with original and piquant criticisms.)

Considerations upon the principal events of the French Revolution,-a posthumous work of Madame de Stael, in 3 vols. octavo: the English translation executed under the superintendance of the editors, her son and sonin-law. (We have read this work, and found it worthy of Madame de Stael's high reputation. The two first volumes, and a part of the third, were fully prepared for the press by herself, and the remainder is taken literally from her manuscript. The English translation is excellent, and we are glad to find that the work is to be republished in the United States, as it deserves to be in the library of every politician and lover of letters. Eight thousand dollars were given for the copy-right in Paris.)

A Journey through Asia Minor, Armenia, and Koordestan, by Macdonald Kinnier, Esq.

Lectures on the History of Literature, Ancient and Modern, from the German of Frederick Schlegel.

History of the late war in Spain and Portugal, by Robert Southey. 2 vols. Quarto.

Manual of Chemistry, with a Prefatory history of the Science, for the use of students, by W. T. Brande, Secretary of the Royal Society of London.

The Dramatic work complete, with the Poems of the late Richard B. Sheridan, to which will be prefixed an Es

say on his Life and Genius, by Thomas Moore, Esq.

Travels in Syria, by I. L. Burckhardt, in 4to.

A copious Greek Grammar, by Augustus Matthiæ, Director of the Gymnasium at Altenburg: translated into English from the German, by E. V. Bloomfield, late Professor of Greek of Emanuel College, Cambridge University. (In all probability the most serviceable Greek Grammar extant.Bloomfield was inferior to no Hellenist of Great Britain; and Matthiæ has the highest reputation throughout Germany.)

Memoirs of the Court of Queen Elizabeth, by Lucy Aikin.

Greenland and other poems, by Mr. Montgomery.

Travels in Egypt, Nubia, and the Holy Land, by Captain Light. 4to.

Narrative of a voyage to Algiers, comprising Biographical Sketches, Observations, &c.-By Signor Pananti, translated from the Italian; with notes by Edward Blaquiere, Esq. Quarto. (This Signor Pananti published his work-in 2 vols. octavo,-in Florence, 1817, and had, as it would appear from the French Journals, passed but one day on the coast of Barbary-in confinement.)

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto 4th, by Lord Byron. (As this work is already in the hands of all the lovers of poetry, we have made no extracts but in the few short passages with which we have illustrated the text of our article on Italy. There will be, we think, but one opinion as to the superiority of the 4th Canto of the Pilgrimage, not only over the preceding ones, but over all the other productions of the same pen. It is not free of the usual faults of Lord Byron's manner; it is tinctured with his characteristic extravagance; but it has overpowering splendors of genius, and exquisite beauties of versification. We can speak of it here only in these general terms of admiration, knowing that it will be completely analyzed, and its particular merits fully emblazoned by the British Journals. It is much to be lamented that the poet did not extend his pilgrimage to the extremity of the Italian peninsula, and exert his unrivalled powers upon the objects which the Neapolitan states present; objects not inferior as themes, for his muse of

fire," to those which he has invested with a new enchantment and sublimity in his fourth Canto.

Historical Illustrations of the Fourth Canto of Childe Harold, containing Dissertations on the Ruins of Rome, and An Essay on Italian Literature. By John Hobhouse, esq. [This volume constitutes a valuable appendage to lord Byron's poem, but the principal part of it, relating to Italian antiquities, will not, however curious and ingenious,-prove very interesting to general readers. For them, the most attractive and best of its contents is the Essay on Italian Literature, which ought, we think, to be reprinted in this country, separately, with a translation of the Italian quotations. We were much disappointed at finding this Essay so limited in its scope. The author acknowledges that little has been done in comparison of what remains to do,' and subjoins, that on the reception of what is now offered will depend whether any thing more shall be attempted.' We cannot doubt but that, as a fragment, it will be received with the highest favour, and inspire a general wish for the speedy appearance of the complete treatise which he has in view. He has evidently bestowed more care upon the composition of this Essay, than upon any of his literary performances; and in treating only of the lives and works of six of the later Italian poets, he has generalized, not indeed, so as to furnish a general notion of the state of literature in Italy during the last fifty years,' but so as to display the state of poetry, and in some degree of morals, for that period.]

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Memoirs of the late Granville Sharp, esq. is preparing for the press, composed from his own MSS. and other authentic documents, in the possession of his family and the African Institution; comprising a selection of his correspondence with many eminent contemporary characters in England, France, and America.

By Dr. E. D. Clarke, with numerous engravings, Travels through Denmark, Sweden, &c. with a description of Petersburgh, during the tyranny of em peror Paul; being the third and last

part of the author's Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Among the most remarkable of the recent productions of the Parisian press, are the following. Treatise upon the Character, Instruments, and Supplies of War; at different epochs of Civilization, by Carion Nisas. Paris 1817. Abridgment of Universal History, Ancient and Modern, for the use of Youth, by the Count de Ségur of the French Academy. The part of Ancient History comprised in sixteen volumes 12 mo. is published, and in our possession. So far it corresponds in the execution, to the fame of the author as a writer and statesman. We should prefer it, for young persons, to any abridgment of Ancient History with which we are acquainted. The part of Modern History will be included in twenty-eight duodecimos. Tactics of Legislative Assemblies, followed by a Treatise on Political Sophisms, a work digested from the manuscripts of Jeremy Bentham; by Stephen Dumont of Geneva. This is a highly valuable book, prepared from excellent materials, by a writer whose style and method are the reverse of those of Mr. Bentham. If there be an English translation of it, it should be reprinted in this country, and would, we doubt not, soon be deemed indispensable for those who do or may com pose our legislative assemblies. We must note, as an extraordinary circumstance, that M. Dumont has overlooked the existence of any such Assembly on this side of the water; and that M. de Ségur has not assigned a distinct station in his Universal History, to these United States, but seems to have included the whole American Continent in the history of the nations which colonized it.

Memoirs of the Duke of la Rochefoucauld published now for the first time from his manuscripts, 1818. Picturesque Travels in North America, with observations on the Political Situation of the United States-on the Religious Sects of the Quakers and Methodists; with an article on the dances of the native Indians of North America. Published in the Russian language at St. Petersburg, and in

We

the German at Riga. By Mr. Paul Svinine the companion of General Moreau. Many of our readers may recollect this author as an amiable gentleman skilled in the art of drawing, but seemingly very little qualified to discuss our political institutions. may be amused with the pictures of his book, but shall probably regret for his sake that he ever passed from his palette to his ink-stand. Shipwreck of the American Brig Commerce, lost upon the west coast of Africa. Translated into French from the English of Captain James Riley. 2 vols. oct. This work has excited a lively interest in Paris.

Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy, by Wm. Paley. Translated into French from the nineteenth English edition. The French critics remark, in noticing this translation, that there is no example in France of a book of Morals and Politics reaching a nineteenth edition.

An abridged History of the Treaties of Peace of the European Powers, since the treaty of Westphalia, continued to the treaties of 1815. by F. Schoell. Prussian counsellor of Legation.

Views of Men and Society, by J. B. Say, author of the Treatise on Political Economy. 1818.

Traité des caracteres Physiques des Pierres Precieuses. By the Abbé Haury. Paris 1818. This work is celebrated in the Parisian Journals as of the greatest ingenuity and practical utility.

Hudibras. A Poem of Samuel Butler Translated into French verse. 3 vols. 12 mo.

The History of Modern Philosophy, from the revival of letters, to Kant by J. G. Buhl, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Gottingen, 1817. Translated into French. 7 vols. large

octavo.

Treatise of Elementary, Theoretical, and Practical Chemistry, by Thénard, Member of the Institute, 2nd edition enlarged, Paris 1818.

Memoirs of Military Surgery, by Baron Larrey. 4th volume. Paris 1818. Last volume of the French translation of the works of Euclid by Peyrard. Military Ephemerides, from 1792 to 1815 by a society of officers and men of letters, for which the two thousand battles fought by the French in a quarter

of a century, furnish the materials. Paris, 1818.

On the Condition of the Protestants in France from the 16th century to the present time; by M. Aignan, member of the French Academy. Paris 1818-an important and able work.

The Complete Works of Bernardin de St. Pierre, with several inedited pieces. 1818.

Moral and Political Gallery, by the Count de Ségur. 1818.

History of Astronomy, third Quarto Volume, by M. Delambre, of the French Academy of Sciences. 1818.

Course of General Literature, by N. Le Mercier, member of the French Academy, and Professor of the Belles Lettres at the Athenæum of Paris.

1818.

History of the Republic of Venice, by M. Daru, member of the French Academy.

History of the Inquisition, drawn from original records of the Supreme Council and inferior Tribunals of the Holy Office, by D. John A. Llorente, former Secretary of the inquisition of Madrid, Chancellor of the University of Toledo, &c. 3 vols. oct -The whole of this important work has appeared in Paris, and the authenticity of its extraordinary details appears to be admitted on all hands. The author had, in his official capacity, access and recourse to the two hundred and fifty folio volumes of manuscripts which he specifies as composing the archives of the Supreme Council, and furnishing a complete history of the institution from its establishment by Ferdinand V, to the reign of Ferdinand VII.

Waverley, Guy-Mannering, and the Antiquary, have been translated into French, and they are the subject of several elaborate articles of the French Journals. It is difficult to say which are the most ludicrous, the versions themselves, or the criticisms. Translators and critics both grope in the dark, from the impossibility on the part of the one, of rendering, and on the part of the other, of understanding, the language of those admirable novels. The title "Old Mortality" of one of the Tales, has proved an invincible puzzle, and given birth to formal definitions, laughably wide of the mark.

COMMODORE MACDONOUGH.

[To the readers of this magazine it is unnecessary to recapitulate the circumstances that distinguished the achievement of this gallant officer on Lake Champlain. The merits of a victory whichfrustrated the advance of a powerful army into our territory, so universally felt, have already been recorded in our pages,* and are attested by a grateful memorial of its fame, a grant of land, situated upon the bay where the victory was achieved, being voted by the state of New-York, to the Commodore, with a farm commanding a view of the scene of action.

Believing that any illustration connected with this subject will be considered acceptable, we have given, in a vignette, a view of the farm, and are indebted to another hand for the following lines to accompany it.]

THERE is a wreath of gorgeous hue,
That gathers life from victory's dew;
Whose leaf immortal verdure wears,
Unfading in the grasp of years;
A grace o'er Roman brows it shed,
And flourish'd where the Spartan led;
Thro' ev'ry age, in ev'ry clime,
Enrich'd by tributary time,
Where virtue woo'd, or valor won,
Or lore its letter'd mazes spun,
A ravish'd world obey'd its claim
And bent before the tire of fame.

Since freedom's sacred ray no more
Breaks on the dwindled Grecian's shore,
And glory scarce a stone retains
On humbled Rome's deserted plains,
That wreath transferr'd from distant spheres,
Green on Columbia's soil appears,
Blooming o'er regions widely free,
The diadem of liberty.

Yes, o'er her wide unconquer'd plains,
Reviv'd, the Spartan genius reigns;
The free-born nature, loth to live,
Shorn of its just prerogative-
The spirit, soaring, unconfin'd,
Embellish'd from the mint of mind-
Courage, enduring as the wave
Whose snowy surfs her borders lave-
And manners, undebas'd and free
From foul, corrupting luxury.
Her sons, like teeming bulwarks, stand
The Atrides of their native land;

Biography of Commodore Macdonough. VOL. 7. p. 214.

Amorous of peace, yet bold in strife,
Curst with no avarice of life;
At glory's call prepar'd to yield
All save their freedom and the field.
As Helen lovely, but in fame
Chaste as the fair Collatian dame,*
Like Niobes, her daughters stand,
To grace and animate the land;
Of glorious feat, and daring deed,
At once the stimulus and meed.

On all the embryo seed of time
A WASHINGTON shall break sublime;
Laurels shall shade his honour'd bust,
And ages own the tribute just.
But towering, green to later skies,
See shoots of living genius rise;
See Liberty's propitious ground
Teem with unnumber'd heroes round;
Wide and more wide the line expands,
From northern to Atlantic strands,
A bold, unconquerable zone,
The fortress of a realm's renown.

Where spacious Champlain's liquid stores
Yield tribute to Canadian shores;
When pride of pow'r, or lust of prey
Marshall'd oppression's stern array;
Ardent for fame, MACDONOUGH stood,
The rival genius of the flood:
No coward doubts his soul depress'd,
But all the hero stood confess'd,
As swelling o'er the broad expanse,
He mark'd his threat'ning foe advancé,
And rang'd his scantier force, to dare
The dangers of th' unequal war.
Vain o'er the lake's internal sweep
The hostile thunders shook the deep;
The blazing air on ev'ry side
In vain their vivid lightnings plied;
Bootless the braggart threat that dar'd
To ravage, 'ere the sword was bar'd,
And scorn'd the raw, unpractis'd crew,
Struck by the mighty hand of heaven,
It lack'd the vigour to subdue.
The feeble spell of pride was riven,
And Victory's glowing genius way'd
The olive o'er the land she say'd.

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