Un linceul, tout saigneux, à son dos s'estendoit, His "Marc-Antony," though it possessed no other beauty, would deserve notice for the following single verse, which anticipates the stately and affecting grandeur of Corneille, when the nobleness and simplicity of that great poet are least impaired by declamation. Marc-Antony, vanquished at Actium, betrayed by Cleopatra, and abandoned by all the world, exclaims, "Je demeure tout seul, reste de ma fortune!" The image here is the more powerful from being but barely, indeed imperfectly, sketched by the poet. The imagination of the reader completes it beyond the utmost touching and colouring of language in detail. It presents Antony with all the moral attributes of his former greatness magnified by pity,-himself, sole surviving remnant of his wrecked fortunes, cast naked upon the beach. "Bradamante," though the most elaborate, as well as the last of Garnier's performances, more than counterbalanced the improvement which his preceding pieces had made in the drama. It was the first of that monstrous species called tragi-comedy, a thing so utterly absurd in its essence, as to carry a solecism of expression in its very title. "Bradamante," as the name suggests, was taken from the Orlando Furioso. That bewitching poem, by its chivalrous sentiment, romantic adventure, gorgeous magnificence-by its draughts of valour, beauty, glory, and love, mingled as in an enchanted cup, seems to have fascinated Garnier's imagination, and extinguished his purer taste. Thus early did the romantic dame commence that dispute for empire with the classic Muse, which divides the literature of imagination throughout Europe at the present day. The way once open, tragi-comedy, no longer an association of the grave and gay, but a mixture of horror with libertinism and buffoonery, overspread the drama, until it reached its acme and its death in Francis Hardy, the contemporary of Shakspeare, and predecessor of Corneille. W. his eyes sunken, his face, beard, and hair covered and clotted with miry gore. A shroud, all bloody, torn, hung from his shoulders to his heels. He unclosed his teeth all covered with skin, and these words came forth, "Thou sleepest, Cornelia," &c. ADDRESS TO THE MUMMY AT BELZONI'S EXHIBITION. AND thou hast walk'd about (how strange a story!) In Thebes's streets three thousand years ago, When the Memnonium was in all its glory, And Time had not begun to overthrow Speak! for thou long enough hast acted Dummy, Not like thin ghosts or disembodied creatures, Tell us for doubtless thou canst recollect, To whom should we assign the Sphinx's fame; Was Cheops or Cephrenes architect Of either Pyramid that bears his name? Had Thebes a hundred gates, as sung by Homer? By oath to tell the mysteries of thy trade,- In Memnon's statue which at sunrise play'd? Or doff'd thine own to let Queen Dido pass, I need not ask thee if that hand, when arm'd, Long after thy primeval race was run. Thou couldst develop, if that wither'd tongue Contain❜d no record of its early ages? Still silent, incommunicative elf? Art sworn to secrecy? then keep thy vows; But prythee tell us something of thyself, Reveal the secrets of thy prison-house; Since in the world of spirits thou hast slumber'd, What hast thou seen-what strange adventures number'd? Since first thy form was in this box extended, We have, above ground, seen some strange mutations; The Roman empire has begun and ended, New worlds have risen-we have lost old nations, And countless kings have into dust been humbled, Didst thou not hear the pother o'er thy head And shook the Pyramids with fear and wonder If the tomb's secrets may not be confess'd, A heart has throbb'd beneath that leathern breast, Statue of flesh-Immortal of the dead! Posthumous man, who quitt'st thy narrow bed, If its undying guest be lost for ever? H. SPECIMEN OF A PROSPECTIVE NEWSPAPER. The North American Luminary, 1st July, 4796. A CELEBRATED professor of chemistry has discovered a method of composing and decomposing the surrounding atmosphere, so that any farmer can, with the greatest facility, and at a small expense, avert rain, or produce it in any quantity necessary for the perfection of his crops. The professor recently dispelled the clouds over the city of New York and its suburbs for the space of a week, converting the cold, damp weather of our winter into a clear and comparatively warm season, By this useful contrivance, any mariner may allay the violence of a hurricane, or give the wind the direction and degree of force best suited to the objects of his voyage. The corporation of Baltimore have subscribed a sum for erecting one of the newly-invented telescopes. It is to be liberally appropriated to the use of all the citizens, so that the meanest mechanic may amuse himself in his leisure moments by viewing the different occupations of the inhabitants of the The effect of this invention upon morals is beyond all calculation. The labouring classes now give up the enjoyment of spirituous liquors for the superior pleasure of contemplating the wonders which this invention exposes to the human senses. The army of the northern states will take the field against that of the southern provinces early next spring. The principal northern force will consist of 1,490,000 picked troops. General Congreve's new mechanical cannon was tried last week at the siege of Georgia. It discharged in one hour 1120 balls, each weighing five hundred weight. The distance of the objects fired at was eleven miles, and so perfect was the engine, that the whole of these balls were lodged in a space of twenty feet square. According to the census just taken by the order of government, the population of New York amounts to 4,892,568 souls, that of Philadelphia to 4,981,947, and the population of Washington, our capital, exceeds six millions and a half. Our celebrated travellers Dr. Clarke and Baron Humbold have just arrived from their researches into two of the countries of ancient Europe. By means of a new invention, Dr. Clarke crossed the Atlantic in seven days. He sailed up the ancient river Thames, to a spot which our antiquaries are now agreed must be the site of the once renowned city of London, but not a vestige of human habitation remained. There existed the mutilated portion of a granite arch, which Dr. Clarke conceived might be the last remains of the once-celebrated bridge of Waterloo. The Doctor proceeded further up the river, to an elevated situation on the left bank, which commanded a view of savage but delightful scenery. This our antiquary conjectured might be the ancient Richmond Hill, but he could not procure a single coin, or discover any one object of antiquarian research. Our traveller was extremely desirous of ascending the river yet higher, in order to reach the ancient Windsor, once the proud abode of England's monarchs, but he was so annoyed by the tribes of savages, that he found it impossible to proceed. Dr. Clarke intends next year to renew his travels in this once glorious and now almost forgotten island; and he will take with him a body of five and twenty of the United States' troops, which will effectually repel any force that the savage inhabitants can bring against him. Our traveller Baron Humbold directed his researches to France. He discovered the mouth of the ancient river Seine, The origin of this name of Waterloo is now irrecoverably lost, unless it be a corruption of the terms water low, or low water, the bridge perhaps having been built at a spot of less depth than the contiguous parts of the river. and attempted to ascend as far as the site of the once-famed city of Paris, but he found the river entirely choked with weeds; and after he had proceeded about thirty miles, the stream became a mere muddy brook. The baron, however, found the inhabitants of the country so inoffensive and communicative, that he proceeded to his object by land, protected only by two servants and three American sailors. The people could give the baron no information whatever, but seemed by far more ignorant than the savages of England; making up for this ignorance, however, by a cheerfulness of disposition at once admirable and ridiculous. These poor barbarians appeared fond to excess of decorating their heads and bodies with feathers and skins dyed in the most gaudy and varied colours. The baron observed numberless groups of these people using the most ridiculous grimaces, and twisting the body into a dozen ridiculous attitudes. They then began to dance, an exercise which they seemed so attached to, that it appeared to be their only recreation. The musical instrument to which these poor creatures were so fond of jumping and dancing, was about two feet long, and consisted of a hollow body, with a solid handle of about the same length, and curved at the extremity. It had four strings, extending from the extremity of the handle beyond the middle of the instrument itself, and being held between the chin and the collar-bone by the left hand, was played on by the right with a bent stick, curved at the two ends, being drawn together with horsehair. This we have no doubt is some species or description of that instrument so celebrated amongst the Europeans between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries under the name of fiddle or violin: for the Society of Antiquarians, in their last report, have given it as their decided opinion that the ancient fiddle, viola, violin, violincello, and bass-viol, were merely different kinds of the same instrument; and they very ably refute Dr. Camden's conjecture that the violin of ancient Europe was an instrument of parchment and bells, played upon by the knuckles. -Vide Reports of the Antiquarian Society of New York, folio, vol. 1783, p. 860.* The late voyage of Professor Wanderhagen to the moon took up a space of nearly seven months, but the present expedition, it is expected, will take up much less time. The body of the balloon will be filled with the new gas discovered by our chemist Dr. Ætherly, and which is 800 times lighter than the lightest The ancient fiddle, with its cognomen, or monosyllabic præfixture, was, we fancy, a low instrument, very generally played upon by the vulgar. Professor Von Helmont conceives it to have been not a stringed, but a wind instrument; but this is little more than conjecture. |