14th of January 1793, as he was proceeding in his carriage, on fome defign of this nature, he was met by the populace, who furrounded his coach, and without any fymptom of outrage, at firft endeavoured to prevent his journey. Baffeville, incenfed at the interruption, fired a pistol among them, which raised their fury to fuch a degree, that they immediately dragged him out of the carriage, and dispatched him on the fpot. The tumult immediately fubfided, no other Frenchman received the leaft injury; and the widow and child of this victim of his own arrogance and folly, were taken care of by the humanity of the reigning Pope." Preface, p. vii. The poem opens at the moment when the foul of Baffeville is difmiffed from his body, and relates the firft emotions and views of the Frenchman in the world of fpirits, under the guid ance of his guardian angel. The Italian is lenient to the delinquent, and confiders him as liable only to purgation for his crimes, not ultimate condemnation. We can have no hesitation in faying of the original, and of the tranflation, that they are very fine poems. Poems which excite attention, and well reward it. A fhort fpecimen of each muft fuffice, which we shall take from the clofe of the 1ft canto. After viewing fome of the horrors of the Revolution; Fremè d'orror, di doglia generofa, E fi fè del color ch'il cielo è quando E tutta pinta di roffor, com 'era Chì la piena del cor lo contendea, Ma la fcorta fedel, che dall' afpetto Sofpendi il tuo terror, frena la tua S'or si forte ti duoli, oh! che farai E non E non fini; che tal gli fopravenne The Italian lerza rima has feldom been attempted in English, and Mr. Boyd has fubftituted for it our stanza of fix lines, thus: But to his better feeling rous'd at laft, To fee the frenzy of the godlefs crowd. Such was his colour as the clouds put on, They feem in difmal red his fall to mourn; The falt'ring accents died as foon as born. His heart was full of its uneafy gueft, The winged faint, companion of his way, Nor let weak grief your mental powers betray. You fcarce have left the ftrand, and little know, Muft ftem the ftorm, before you feek the fhore; More fhall you foon behold"-he meant to say, But The tranflator here does not quite fo well as the original con vey the idea of the murder of Louis XVI, to which the spirit is fuppofed to allude; and which follows in the second canto. his verfion in general is fpirited, and fufficiently exact. The original is in four cantos; Mr. Boyd has added two, on the fortunes of Bonaparte, with great vigour and fublimity of ima gination, and felicity of ftyle. We would willingly give a fpecimen of thefe alfo, but muft pause. To Mr. Mathias's edi. tion of the ode is prefixed a fketch of the life of Baffeville, 7 which fhould have been tranflated, as it throws much light on the fubject. Instead of this, Mr. Boyd has prefixed a poetical addrefs to Mr. Mathias; and has fubjoined a fpirited parody of Gray's descent of Odin, alluding to Bonaparte. Both the English and the Italian are illuftrated with notes. Monti has written, befides this poem, two applauded tragedies, and some fmaller pieces. ART. 16. The Song of the Sun. A Poem of the Eleventh Century; from the more ancient Icelandic Collection, called The Edda. Imitated by the Rev. James Beresford, A. M. Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. With a Preface, Notes, and Short Account of the Author. 8vo. 189 pp. 3s. 6d. Johnfon. 1805. In a well-written preface to this imitation of an Icelandic Poem, Mr. Beresford admits (what indeed cannot be wholly denied) that "the ancient and genuine fire of poetry has been long and vifibly abating in our ifland ;" and, as a remedy for this evil, he recommends (if we rightly understand him) translations or imitations from foreign writers of earlier times: for, as he expreffes it, "what we cannot grow may be obtained by importation; and in the present inftance, we have hitherto but fparingly reforted to certain regions from which our wants may be amply fupplied." Every attempt to enrich the ftores of Englifn poetry is fo confonant to our wishes, that we will not enter into the queftion whether this opinion be not rather too fanguine, or ftate with what abatements we would receive it. Undoubtedly there are in the Edda, and other ancient collections, many poems worth transfufion into the English language; and we think the Solar Liod, or Song of the Sun, is one of that number; though it will not, we appre hend, be found to merit the very high encomium bestowed on it by the prefent tranflator, or imitator. Our limits will not permit us to follow him through the various difcuffions contained in his preface (which the reader will find amufing and inftructing) but we must haften to the poem itfelf; the plan of which is thus delineated: "The author," fays Mr. B. " affumes the character of a father, who, after his death, returns to earth, for the purpose of delivering admonitions, reciting examples, and revealing the condition of departed mortals, in the infernal and celeftial worlds, to his fon. The above communications are fuppofed to be made through the medium of dream or vifion." сс The poem begins rather inaufpiciously. It defcribes a "man of blood," who had long robbed and flain the children of the earth," fuffering by the first good deed, and only which he seems ever to have done, being treacherously flain by a traveller, whom he had received with Lindness and hofpitality. No punishment is inflicted on the murderer; but the foul of the man of blood” (who indeed we are told had repented an hour or two before his 9 death) death) is conveyed by angels to heaven. This is furely not very confiftent or interefting. It is however but juftice to fay, that no other part of the poem is liable to the fame objection. Detached inftances of the ill effects of love, pride, and credulity are next given, followed by a number of proverbial fentences and admonitions. But the paffages in which the ftate of departed fouls is defcribed, have the moft force and fublimity. We felect the following as a specimen. eyes, "Now, hear me tell what fights affail'd mine Next, from the South, the Solar Stag I saw, I look'd, and tow'rd the North, together spied The winds were dumb; each torrent ftay 'd it's courfe Stones, dafh'd with blood, were thofe black Beldams feen- Their hearts, gore-dropping, far out-hung to view, There is a wildness and incongruity in this defcription; but it is the wildness of a real poet. A copy of the original is fub. joined, with a literal translation in Latin, from which, Mr. Beref ford candidly confeffes, his Imitation is derived, he being, as he admits, unacquainted with the Icelandic language. After the fpecimen which we have given, it is needlefs to add, that the Imitation is executed with spirit and energy. DRAMATIC. DRAMATIC. ART. 17. The Honeft Soldier, a Comedy: in five Acts. 8vo.! 172 pp. 35. Longman, &c. 1805. It was facetiously faid (we believe by Swift), that "if you meet a woman with a band-box under her arm, it is ten to one but he is a woman of eafy virtue, and if you meet a woman without a band-box,-it is ten to one but she is so too." We may thus truly aver of modern dramas, that if we meet with a play which has been performed, we ufually find it execrable; if with one which has not been performed, it is equally or even more fo. Dulnefs, indeed, rather than abfurdity, is the 'prominent feature of the drama before us. It would be useless to give a sketch of its plot, or a delineation of the characters, as we never met with a play fo unlikely to be read by any perfons, except reviewers. We may obferve, however, that the title of "Honeft Soldier," feems to have been chofen after the model of the famous derivation of Lucus, a non lucendo: for this foldier's honesty confifts in his passing himself off for a peer, and thus deceiving the father of a lady whom he loves, and obtaining his confent by this impof ture. ART. 18. The School of Reform; or how to rule a Hufband. A Comedy in five Acts, as performed! at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. By Thomas Morten, Efq. 8vo. 88 pp. 2s. 6d. Longman and Co. 1805. The moft abfurd, incoherent, improbable, impoffible tiffueBut hold. There is nothing characteristic in thefe expreffions. They apply, almoft equally, to every modern English Comedy. Let us endeavour to be more defcriptive. "Lord Avond. What my wife --my child ?-both, both reftored?-O All-merciful! Accept my contrition, deign to re- * ceive my gratitude. (The curtain flowly falls, while Lord Avondale kneeling, lifts his hands to heaven. Emily leans on the shoulder of Frederick, who with one arm infolds her, while the other points with affection to Lord Avondale. Julia takes the other hand's of Emily. General Tarragan refts on his flick, with his handkerchief to his eyes. Tyke, with joyful fatisfaction, points to the group.") To this conclufion is brought, after the true German style, the long abfurdity of the play. The implied moral of which is, that Lord Avondale, one of the moft degraded fcoundrels that ever difgraced a ftage, is fuppofed in a moment to be in the way to pardon and perfectibility, because he had, most impoffibly found both his wife and fon, in a moment; both of whom he had abandoned, and the former of whom he had endeavoured, by the cruelleft means, to deftroy. Formerly Dramatifts attempted to exprefs |