luminous. Throughout his work we "Hohenlinden,' In the margins of his pages, Mr. Taylor has given the authorities to which he has referred, many of which are of high respectability. So far as a transient perusal of these volumes has permitted us to judge, we think the account is given with much impartiality, without those disgusting dogmas which excite prejudice, while their authors intended them to make converts. We have charity to suppose, that every man believes the creed he embraces to be true, but this will not place him in the chair of infallibility, nor teach him to hurl his anathemas upon those who view the same subject in a different light. A consciousness of the possibility that we may be wrong, is perfectly consistent with a conviction that we are right, and these persuasions constitute the true balance of Christian liberality. Of this fact, Mr. Taylor seems never to have lost sight, and from this source his work derives an additional claim to recommendation. "The Mariners of But it is not always the case that the latter works of a poct are his best. It is possible that the lustre of renown may enervate his mind and benumb his pen. The source of his inspirations may be frozen or dried up. The flame of genius may be dimmed by sorrow, sickness, or any other contingency; it may be totally quenched. The latter we will not affirm of Mr. Campbell. The embers are still ruddy, bright, flickering; but the great and shining body of flame has disappeared. Perhaps there is a want of fuel, or proper attention has not been paid. We, and most men, had allotted to this poet a lofty station on the pillar of fame. His head was in the clouds. Alas, bow are the mighty fallen! The higher a man rises, of course, the lower he must sink, when he descends; and no sooner had Mr. T. Campbell sent "Theodric" into the world, than he toppled down headlong. It requires a combination of excellence, which very few possess, to invest common domestic scenes with poetical importance. Mr. Wordsworth here greatly excels all his contemporaries. He possesses a certain magic art of gifting the tamest, tritest, most insignificant incidents of everyday life, with a strong, an irresistible claim to the finest sympathies of human nature. He is a matchless painter; he lays on his colours with exquisite skill; be clothes the most unlikely objects with glowing beauty and elegance. He is a master-musician; he suddenly wakes a deep and REVIEW.-Theodric; a Domestic Tale, thrilling chord in the breast, which with other Poems. By Thomas Camp-heretofore lay unnoted. When he atbell. 8vo. pp. 149. London. Long-tempts the reverse, in our very humble man and Co. 1825. opinion he comparatively fails. We have long been sincere and ardent admirers of Mr. Campbell's poetry. He was but a young man when the splendour of his reputation, as author of the "Pleasures of Hope," gleamed over the whole country. All men thought how glorious must be the more mature productions of a mind so brilliant when so young! His next production, after a long interval, was, we believe, "Gertrude of Wyoming." | It contained a vast deal of smooth, pretty, elegant language; but little of the fire and eloquence of the former. Afterwards came the charming, brilliant morceaux, "O'Connor's Child," 78.-VOL. VII. Now, Mr. Campbell, although he partakes considerably of the character of his great contemporary, possesses his distinguishing excellence in a limited degree. His mind is less rich and fertile. He cannot strike into bold and rich scenery of himself. He must be guided. No man can better follow up a hint. His eye-sight is very keen, (to use a somewhat common metaphor,) when assisted with an excellent pair of spectacles. Conduct Mr. Campbell to the gate of a flower garden, shew him in,-take him round the walks,-point out the particular beds of choice flowers,-expatiate on 2 N their beauties, and no one shall cull you out a prettier and more tasty bouquet. Leave him to wander in a wild and gloomily romantic country, where are awful forests, mighty mountains, and thundering cascades, with a stern ruin frowning in the distance, and he shall but half comprehend it. He will be bewildered. We cannot help assimilating to him the fancy, that his mind is cut into angles, triangles, quadrangles, parallelograms, &c. with mathematical exactness, even although he be a poet, and one of very repectable pretensions. Notwithstanding all this, he has occasional glimpses of bold, brilliant, and magnificent imaginings. Who can, for a moment, ever forget the magic of this single line?— "When the red eye of battle is shut in despair." He has evidently reaped incalculable advantage from a perusal of Shakspeare, Milton, Dryden, and Pope. He has studied intensely their delineations of character, and studied them with success. His mind is overstocked with their boisterous war-scenes. He will hit off an improvement of a rude but noble figure to admiration. But with regard to "Theodric," however, let the reader judge for himself, since it is fitting that we should give an epitome of the poem. It opens with the clever description of a mountainous scene in Switzerland, where the lakes below look like "molten gold." The author and his companion, a very communicative old fellow it seems, walk to a rustic church-yard, a most pleasant, simple place, where the guide points out a plain white marble tomb, of one Julia," a young damsel, who, as usual, "died of unrequited love.' Her father is the lord of a castle, at some small distance, and had two children, this daughter Julia, and a son, "Udolph," a gallant young officer, who "bore an Austrian banner on the Rhine," during the war of the French revolution. of Theodric, contained in her brother's representations. When he returns home, he completes her passion, by presenting her with a miniature portrait of his commander; but how, or why, he came by it, we do not know. As soon as she sees the beauty of this pictorial resemblance, she is discontented with mere love for the shadow, but covets the person also, of this paragon of manly excellence. Theodric, having first promised a visit to the family, goes over to England, where he is betrothed to "Constance," a lady of vast amiability and accomplishments. From thence, however, he soon retreads his steps to Switzerland, and visits the family of his young friend Udolph. Here he discovers the passion of our lovestricken nymph, and rebukes it "firmly." He then pays a second visit to England, where he is married to Constance, whose relatives, turning out to be vexatious folk, render his life miserable. War breaks out again in his native country; and while he is meditating a journey thither, he is startled, as well he may, by the sudden appearance of Udolph, who acquaints him that his sister Julia, after a long and unsuc cessful struggle with her fatal passion, has sunk under it, and only requests an interview with him before she dies; for what purpose is clean past our comprehension. Constance urges his compliance; and away marches our soldier to see this silly lady. effect of which, on his mind, the poem concludes. Such is an account of this meagre, improbable fiction. In prose it would be bad enough; but in poetry it is still worse. The details are dry, stiff, and common-place. The language is cold, and occasionally incorrect; the descriptions are often turgid and bombast, but more frequently weak and insipid. In support of these charges, we had prepared several examples, but our limits forbid their insertion. The smaller poems are far superior to "Theodric ;" an ode to the "Rainbow" is the best. We will conclude with giving a few very fine verses. "Triumphal arch, that fill'st the sky When storms prepare to part, I ask not proud philosophy To tell me what thou art. "Still seen as to my childhood's sight, Betwixt the earth and heaven! Mr. Tremaine is a younger branch of a high English family, who finds himself, just in the first opening bloom of manhood, unexpectedly in the possession of a large and splendid fortune. He is a man of genius; refined and polished by education, yet with the end in view, of an active life. But being thus placed above all necessity of pursuing his studies, he seeks to find relief in the scenes of fashionable dissipation. He becomes a member of parliament. He is too delicate and sensitive to endure the shock of collision with the great world, and flies, to court the otium cum dignitate, in one of his most secluded country mansions, at the age of eight and thirty,- handsome in person, graceful in manners, and accomplished in mind, to pursue philosophical studies for their own sakes. In fact, he is diligently striv→ ing to drive away the fiend ennui. It will not do. His efforts are constrained-unsuccessful. He has no settled object in view. He flies from his magnificent palace at Belmont, to a great, solemn, old hall, the seat of his ancestors, embosomed among still and hoary groves of ancient oaks, in York We think the last verse cannot shire. Here he meets with Dr. Evelyn, soon be forgotten: "For, faithful to its sacred page, REVIEW.-Tremaine; or, the Man of the rector, a forgotten friend of his youth, and his lovely daughter Georgina. He loves her. He seeks her hand; but Dr. Evelyn tells him that his sceptical principles form an insurmountable obstacle. He solicits an interview with Georgina; it is granted: and thus is concluded volume the second. We shall present our readers with the commencement of this most interesting interview. rather did not love one another, so disconcert"Never were two people, who loved, or ed at being left together, as Tremaine and Georgina. "Her father's quitting the room, seemed to plunge her into a difficulty from which she could only be relieved by quitting it too; and this perhaps she would actually have done, had not Tremaine gathered courage to seat himself close by her; and seizing her hand with that one of his which was free, began the conversation he had so long meditated. THIS is a fine philosophical tale. It will go down to posterity, and be admired as the companion and equal of Mackenzie's Man of Feeling. Report announced it as the production of the Right Hon. Richard Ryder; but that gentleman, it seems, has publicly and unequivocally disavowed it. Whoever wrote it has done himself honour, which he need not be desirous of shrouding beneath the veil of anonymous publication. We cannot exactly call him a man of great genius; but he is certainly a highly talented one, and has improved himself greatly by acute observations on men and manners. If this really be a first produc-lated to you the conversation I had with him in that eventful morning of yesterday.' tion, we auger very favourably of his future performances. Let us attempt to give a slight analysis of the story. "My dearest Georgina,' said he, suffer last time. Would to God I might add to it, me so to call you, even though it be for the mine own Georgina!' "Georgina left her passive hand in his. "It was indeed eventful,' said Georgina, looking at his wounded hand, and you must have thought me shamefully ungrateful not even yet to have inquired after the hand that so | specting the character of his poetry, is kindly saved me.' "Alas!' answered Tremaine, I thought not of that when I called the morning eventful I was more selfish. I referred to what was of far more consequence than this trifling accident. -I alluded to my heart's best secret," &c. ** * * * The conversation, of which we had intended larger extracts, but find ourselves pressed for space, proceeds in an interesting manner, in which the character of the beautiful, blooming, hesitating Georgina, is finely, skilfully developed. Tremaine is in despair at the firm and steady refusal of Georgina, and flies off to France. There, after a considerably long residence, he suddenly encounters her and Dr. E. The last volume is taken up with several deeply interesting conversations on the Christian religion, in which the latter is set forth and defended in a most eloquent and masterly manner. He is convinced of his error, converted to the truth, and receives his reward-the hand of Georgina. We do not pretend to say that there are no faults in these volumes; but such as they are, they are eclipsed by their beauties. The language is easy and flowing, but sometimes too trite, familiar, and barbarously colloquial; and many instances of grammatical errors have caught our eye. We have, however, reaped mingled pleasure and profit from a perusal of this work; and shall look forward earnestly to the second public appearance of the author. But, verb. sapienti, let him despise the quackery of anonymous publication; let him, in propria persona, stand forth and claim, in the eyes of all men, the laurels which he has so well earned, and not cower down in ignominious self-imposed secrecy, shunning the fair and even light of mid-day, as though he had done something whereof to be ashamed. It is a trick sadly contagious in our days,but we hope to see its speedy declination. REVIEW.-Poems by William Cowper, Esq. with an Introductory Essay by James Montgomery, Esq. 8vo. pp. 564. Whittaker. London. 1824. THE public have long since passed ⚫ upon the writings of Cowper, a judgment, from which there can be no appeal. Happily, a new opinion, re | no more wanted than it is attainable. is prefixed to this edition, adverts to Mr. Montgomery, in the essay which the peculiar characteristics of Mr. Cowper's muse. To do this, few persons are more competent than the author of "The World before the Flood," and no one is more likely to award justice to the poet's reputation. In this essay, the compositions of the bard pass under his review in regular succession, as they are generally printed in his works; and during their passage, he points out defects when they appear, and calls the attention of the reader to participate in his ecstasies, while gazing on the inimitable beauties which he places full in view. As admirers of Cowper, at first we regretted that any blemishes should be brought to light, and were half inclined to suspect the essayist of severity; but on an impartial examination, we admit the justice of his remarks, though we make the acknowledgment with a reluctant submission. On the excellencies of the poet, Mr. Montgomery, on the contrary, does not hesitate to dwell with complacent satisfaction, and we follow him with rapture into those bowers where immortal amaranth, celestial perfumes, and ambrosial fruit, vie with each other to regale our senses, and charm our souls. It must not, however, be dissembled, that, although the delineations are just, they are exhibited on a very contracted scale, innumerable beauties remaining unnoticed, which poets of no ordinary reputation would be proud to own. On these, the essayist was forbidden to expatiate, by the limits assigned to his introduction. On the whole, we are so highly pleased with what he has written, as to regret that his essay is not more extended. REVIEW.-Works of the Rev. John Maclaurin, late one of the Ministers taker. London. 1824. MR. Maclaurin was a celebrated divine of the last century, and his works are well known in the theological world. They have passed through several editions, and hold a conspicuous rank in the libraries of those ministers who are generally denomi nated evangelical. In the volume the superintending providence of God before us, his essays and sermons are displayed in a conspicuous manner, combined; to these a biographical supporting his pious followers in the sketch of his life is prefixed; and this midst of encircling dangers, and in the is preceded by an introductory essay most unexpected manner working a by the Rev. John Brown, occupying way for their escape. This work about thirty pages. In this essay we seems to be but little known amongst discover nothing remarkable. It un- modern readers, but it is well worthy doubtedly has an immediate bearing of being preserved, and merits the on the subjects to which the author numerous editions through which it refers, but we do not perceive that has passed. Maclaurin has been laid under any peculiar obligations to the writer. The design of Chalmers and Collins, of Glasgow, for whom this work is printed, seems to be, to publish a series of the works of select Christian authors, with introductory essays by some modern writer of known celebrity. Many volumes, appearing in this character, we have already had occasions to notice, and no person acquainted with the writings of Maclaurin, can doubt that they are entitled | to the honourable place in this valuable collection, which they now occupy. REVIEW.--The Evangelical Rambler. Vol. II. Svo. Westley. London. 1824. THE first volume bearing this name, passed under our review some months since, and the second now presents itself for inspection. It consists of tracts, which, after having been published in a detached manner, are now combined together, and offered to the public in the form of a volume. The articles which compose it are highly miscellaneous, partaking the character of dialogues, narratives, discussions, mental conflicts, historical incidents, REVIEW.-An Abstract of the Dealings sign is to entertain and instruct youth, and biographical sketches. The deof God with several Eminent Chris- and for this it is admirably adapted. tians, in their Conversion and Suffer-The tales and events are well selected, ings. By Samuel James, M. A. and many of them can hardly fail to 8vo. Pp. 170. Westley. London. make a deep and lasting impression on the youthful mind. The type is small but clear, and the pages are without an exuberance of margin. The paper is rather coarse and thin, but the price is moderate. If the Evangelical Rambler is not exactly what the title imports, it is free from reprehension, nor have we found a sentence which delicacy could hesitate to peruse. 1824. Of the volume before us, this is the ninth edition. It contains an account of the trials and sufferings of the Rev. Thomas Mountain, Mr. Lawrence Spooner, Mrs. Rebecca Combe, Mrs. Gertrude Clarkson, Mrs. Mary Churchman, Mrs. Agnes Beaumont, and the Rev. Samuel James, the author. It was the lot of these exemplary Christians to fall on evil days, when the demon of infallibility, in the days of queen Mary, lighted up the torch of persecution in Smithfield, and deluged the land with blood. The artless narratives delineate the spirit of the times, and tell us, by contrasting with the ecclesiastical tyranny of our predecessors, the mild and tolerant government under which we live, how highly we ought to value the blessings we enjoy. Independently of this consideration, the memorials are in themselves highly interesting, from the awful conflict between truth and power which they exhibit. In the various and diversified incidents recorded, we perceive REVIEW.-The Ocean spiritually Re- |