66 No, replied the blue-ey'd chief, I will never yield to man. Dark Cuchullin will be great or dead." His order immediately afterwards to strike the fhield of war, to call together his heroes, is natural, and beautifully expreflive of that juft and heroic resentment he might be fuppofed to conceive at fuch an affront. The effects of the found of the fhield, both on animate and inanimate fubjects, are alfo finely reprefented: "He went and ftruck the bofly fhield The hills and their rocks replied. The found fpread along the wood. Deer start by the lake of roes. Curach leapt from the founding rock, and Connal of the bloody fpear. Crugal's breast of fnow beats high. The fon of Favi leaves the dark-brown hind. It is the field of war, faid Ronnar; the fpear of Cuchullin, faid Lugar. Son of the fea, put on thy arms! Calmar, lift thy founding fteel! Puno! horrid hero, rife. Cairbar, from thy red tree of Cromla. Bend thy white knee, O Eth, and defcend from the ftreams of Lena. Ca-olt, ftretch thy white fide as thou moveft along the whifling heath of Mora: thy fide that is white as the foam of the troubled lea, when the dark winds pour it on the murmuring rocks of Cuthona." The epithets our poet bestows on his heroes are indeed unpardonable, not one of them being defcribed by any corporeal or mental qualification that might denote the warrior, or diftinguish them from each other; not lels than three of them being characterized by the fame mark of effeminacy, whiteness of skin. Their coming on, however, in obedience to the call of war, is lively and picturesque: "Now I behold the chiefs in the pride of their former deeds; their fouls are kindled at the battles of old, and the actions of other times. Their eyes are like flames of fire, and roll in fearch of the foes of the land. Their mighty hands are on their fwords, and lightning pours from their fides of steel. They came like ftreams from the mountains; each ruthed roaring from his hill. Bright are the chiefs of battle in the armour of their fathers. Gloomy and dark their heroes followed, like the ga thering of the rainy clouds behind the red meteors of heaven. The founds of cralhing arms afcend. The gray dogs howl between. Unequally burits the fong of battle, and rocking Cromla echoes round." This is truly grand and sublime, the fimiles being juft, and aptly illuftrating the figures they accompany. The heroes arriving, a council of war is held among the chiefs; of whom Cuchullin, Connal, and Calmar, are the only perfons who fpeak: the first, though he had determined to oppose Swaran, asking the advice of the reft, whether they fhould fight, or give up their country to the foe? The fecond, like a magnanimous hero, is for giving the enemy their wealth and half the land, for a truce till Fingal fhould arrive with fuccours. This propofal the fpirited Calmar treats with difdain, and no further debate is held about the matter. Neither the arguments which would naturally have arisen from the fenfations of brave men, nor those which reafon must neceffarily dictate, were made use of. Calmar urges not the scandal of tamely giving up their country without engaging in arms, nor Cuchullin the abfurdity of parting with half the kingdom, without conteft,at the moment of expecting fuccour. The reader will do well to compare this council with that called by Agamemnon, in which it is debated whether or not the Greeks fhould return home from the fiege of Troy. War being refolved on, Cuchullin orders a review of his tribes; inquiring, in the mean time, after three other heroes; two of which, Cathbat and Duchomar, are killed; and the third, Fergus, comes in luckily at the moment when he is afked for, to tell the story of their death: which, with the fate of Morna, is the subject of the first episode in the piece. Its introduction, however, appears both unnatural in itself, and unartful in the poet, it feeming a little improbable to us, that Cuchullin fhould not before have heard of the fate of the two heroes: at leaft, his asking Fergus if they fell by the fons of Lochlin, ftriving in the battle of heroes, carries with it a manifeft impropriety, fince he could not but know there had been as yet no engagement. From the tale of Fergus we learn, that Duchomar had flain Cathbat; that Morna, beloved by the latter, had flain the former; and that, juft before Duchomar expired, he had flain her. We shall enter a little particularly into the probability of the circumstances, juftnels of imagery, and propriety of fentiment contained in this epilode. Duchomar, it feems, having flain Cathbat, the lover of Morna, returns, with a prefent of a ftately deer, to the maid, and folicits her love. Morna tells him, however, that fhe loves him not; that Cathbat, the fon 2 April 1762. Fingal, an ancient epic poem. fon of Torman, was her love; and that fhe then waited his coming. To which the gloomy Duchomar answers, "And long fhall Morna wait; his blood is on my fword: he fell at Branno's ftream." He tells her, however, that high on Cromla he will raise his tomb; and bids her fix her love on him, whofe arm is ftrong as a ftorm. This circumftance of Duchomar's promifing to raile the tomb of his murdered rival, is well calculated to footh the grief and refentment of Morna; fuch an act being reprefented, through the whole poem, as one of the greatest marks of refpect that can be fhewn to the me. mory of the deceased. "And is the fon of Torman fallen? faid the maid of the tearful eye. Is he fallen on his echoing hill, the youth with the breast of snow? He that was first in the chace, the foe of the ftrangers of the ocean?-Duchomar, thou art dark indeed, and cruel is thy arm to Morna. But give me that fword, my foe; I love the blood of Cathbat.-He gave the fword to her tears; but the pierced his manly breast. He fell, like the bark of a mountain-stream; ftretched out his arm, and faid, Daughter of Cormac-Cairbar, thou haft flain Duchomar; the fword is cold in my breast: Morna, I feel it cold. Give me to Moina the maid; Duchomar was the dream of her night. She will raife my tomb, and the hunter fhall fee it, and praise me. But draw the fword from my breaft, Morna; the fteel is cold. -She came, in all her tears; fhe came, and drew it from his breaft. He pierced her white fide with fteel, and fpread her fair locks on the ground. Her burfting blood founds from her fide, and her white arm is stained with red. Rolling in death fhe lay, and Tura's cave answered to her fighs." The first thought which would naturally be fuggefted to a man who had killed a rival preferred to himself, would certainly relate to the manner in which he might reconcile that action to the object of his love; for which reafon, he would not abruptly tell her that he had murdered him, and directly folicit her love. The natural way would have been, to introduce the act with every circumstance that might soften and extenuate its guilt, imuting the rafinefs of the deed to the irrefistible impulfe of his pattion for her, and infinuating, that so ardent an affection deferved a reciprocal return, and that beauty delighted in rewarding the brave. 203 After this he might, with propriety, have mentioned the railing the tomb of the deceased, as a proof that no malice or refentment against Cathbat entered into the caufe of his death. Such an apology had not only been very natural in itlelf, but would have as naturally fuggefted to Morna the means of difguifing her design under a plausible pretext. She might have hence feemed to acquiefce in his fentiments, respecting the reward of fuperior valour; and, affecting to renounce her paffion for Cathbat, have asked, with propriety enough, to fee that fword which flew the man whom she had before thought invincible. But as the paffage is here circumftanced, it was the most unnatural of all methods of feduction, after calling Duchomar her foe, to requeft him to give her his fword, because it was stained with the blood of her lover; a caufe, for which fhe muft naturally have detefted its fight. The weakest of men, therefore, could not have been induced to part with his fword on fo groundless a pretext. But, by Morna's proceeding in the manner just mentioned, that eagerness in lovers, to believe every thing which tends to put them in poffeflion of their wishes, had been cajolled in Duchomar, and would have afforded a probable caufe for complying with her requeft; when, taking it in her hand, the might have plunged it in his breaft, breaking out at the fame time into fome expreflion of vindictive joy. In like manner Duchomar's contrivance to draw Morna near him, in order to avenge himself, is a very poor one indeed. His defiring her to draw the cold fword from his breast, is a plea inadequate to the occafion. His pretext to deceive her fhould have been calculated for that recoil of the foul, which generally follows the commiflion of fuch acts of horror. Had he feigned a joy in dying by the hand of her he loved, fince he could not poffels ber living, and implored one last embrace, which the chafteft maid might give in pity, though not in love, this might natu raily have induced her to approach him. This ftory, therefore, improbable in its circumstances, is yet more imperfect in the manner of its narration. It is, indeed, in this inftance, as throughout the whole poem; though the objects of perception are frequently embellished with poetic defcription, yet the poet appears to have underflood little of the human mind, and of the application of its vari ous faculties in the conduct of mankind, E e 2 in order to give cause for, and verifimilitude to, the actions he describes. The above story being finifhed, Cuchullin bids his heroes gather together their tribes. But the poet does not draw them up in any order of battle, place their leaders at their head, or characterize them by different corporeal powers or mental difpofitions. All is general and indiftinet. Very differently has Homer made the Greeks and Trojans take the field, having communicated to the reader the general characteristics even of the common foldiers of both armies. The latter are described as wafting their spirits in idle prate, as they marched to battle, Τρῶες μεν κλαίγῇ τ' ἐνοπῇ τ ἴσαν, ὄρνιθες ως ftudded with gems, bend on the stately necks of the steeds." Indeed, the great object of the fon of Arno's fear feems to be the finery of the chariot and prancing horfes of Cuchullin; for, in the defcription of that hero himself, there is nothing very martial or terrible. It is true, his "red cheek is like the polifhed yew. The look of his blue-rolling eye is wide beneath the dark arch of his brow. His hair flies from his head like a flame, as bending forward he wields the spear; and [he is faid to come] like a storm along the ftreamy vale." In confequence of what he had feen, however, the timid fcout advifes Swaran to fly; and is answered much in the fame manner as Cuchullin anfwers the son of Fithill. In this great fimilarity of circumftance and expreffion the fterility of the poet's invention is obvious. What need was there that both fcouts fhould be cowards? It had, at leaft, been with much greater propriety, had the latter concluded that Cuchullin was weak and 'effeminate, from the magnificent foppery of his car; a foppery, by the way, little confiftent with that penurious fimplicity of manners described in other parts of the poem. [To be continued.] LONDON. A fecond argument in defence of Christianity, taken from the ancient prophecies, applied to the of Jefus Chrift. By the author of An argument taken from the conceflions of the most ancient adverfaries. [Dr Sharpe]. 55. Newbery. most remarkable events in the life and character The noise made by the coming on of Cuchullin's heroes, induces Swaran to fend forth a scout, to fee what was approaching. The fon of Arno afcends a hill, and immediately returns trembling, and in the utmost amazement; "his eyes rolling wildly round, his heart beating high; and his words faltering, broken, and flow." In this fituation, however, he defcribes the car and horfes of Cuchullin, as minutely as if he had himself been the charioteer for half a century. It is nevertheless clear, as well from the fhortness of his stay, as from the panic with which he was ftruck, that he could not poflibly have attended to fuch particulars. "The car of battle comes, fays he, the [The reff of the London books deferred.] rapid car of Cuchullin. -Its fides are EDINBURG H. emboffed with ftones, and sparkle like A collection of original poems. By Scotch the fea round the boat of night. Of po- gentlemen. Vol. 2. [xxii. 557.]. 2 s. fewed. lithed yew is its beam, and its feat of the Donaldfon. To the advertisement in the Efmootheft bone. The fides are replenish- dinburgh papers concerning this book, the fol ed with fpears, and the bottom is the lowing note is fubjoined. "The public are defootftool of heroes. Before the right fide fired to take notice of three Erratas, being three of the car is feen the fnorting horfe. The pieces infert in pages 134. 170. and 176. Thefe, high-maned, broad-breafted, proud, high- by mistake, are faid to be written by James Mac leaping, ftrong fteed of the hill. Loud pherfon, whom some have supposed to be the fame and refounding is his hoof; the fpread- perfon who tranflated Fingal. We are now cer ing of his mane above is like that ftream tainly informed they are not compofed by him. of mole on the heath; bright are the Thefe pieces were taken from the Scotch Magefides of the fteed, and his name is Sulin-zine, (xxi. 527. 255. and xxii. 459.], and have Sifadda. Before the left fide of the car is feen the [other] fnorting horfe: the thin-maned, high-headed, ftrong-hoofed, flect, bounding fon of the hill: his name is Duronal among the formy fons of the word. A thound thongs bind the far on bigh. Hard polished bits fine in a wreath of foam. Thin thengs, bright the initials J. M. annexed to them, which corfioned this millake. It is hoped the real author refponding with Mr Macpherson's name, occa of thefe poems will excufe this overfight." A collection of hymns for Chriftian worthip. 6 d. flitched. Crawfurd. The Affembly's Pialnis in metre; with Prof. Dickson's analy Gs. 1 s. Kobertfeus. PRO April 1762. POETICAL Tas riot ideas Strike each humorous bard: This night for want of better fimile, So (as the cant and cuftom of the trade is) dies." [Shewing a play bill. tur'd brain! Hence flow for martial minds potations strong; As for the learned critics grave and deep, "Come, fill a bumper, Jack. I will, my Lord- Sir William, what say you?"-" The best, be lieve me, In this-Eh, Jack! the devil can't deceive me." Left then this precious liquor run to wasle, ↑ The allion of the Winter's Tale, as written THE SNOW LOVE-WALK. Was Chriftmas, and the fnow was high, "Tand Cynthia rul'd the night, When William waik'd with Cicily, The wind fat north, and many a fquall Though, like the evening, chafte. Think of the driven fnow, A nymph that thinks no ill; Now, cheek to check, they'd stand a-while, Will turned another way. She fairly told him all her fears; Will vow'd her fears were vain, Will too had fears, as you shall find, And could his fears impart : Nor can I thaw it! -But the night, 1 ween, has told the caufe, That froft begins to run; William, good night, quoth Cis; Ev'n thro' and thro' his heart; In this fame love-walk pafs'd, "Come, Cicily, Cicily, take your man, For wedlock is the warming-pan. That beft can warm the bed." SONG, 1 SON G. To the tune of, The flowers of the foreft. Tinvites my fteps to yonder bower; HE midnight calm and filent hour Oft through the foreft would we ftray, Too fatal proof! how much I lov'd; .. On a certain LADY. They only make the fatire who apply it. T home, when married Lydia fits, And only poufe's friends admits, A How negligent her airs! Her handkerchief and morning-gown, With fearce a single pin in; She's dress'd complete from head to foot, So flies, when wintry feasons reign, Nor dare to 'tempt the skies; or out. Affairs relating to the Jefuits in that kingdom ftill make a great noife, as will appear from the following articles. "Paris, March 27. The fubftance of the edict concerning the Jefuits of France, which the King requires his parliaments to regifter, is as follows." The General of the order fhall nominate the provincials of the five provinces in France, and relinquifh to them all his authority. They fhall be approved of by the King, and must take an oath of allegiance before the chancellor. They fhall engage to teach the four propofitions of the clergy adopted in 1682, and make an exercife on these propofitions once a year at leaft. The fociety will be forbidden to admit therein any foreigner without the King's permiflion: and even no foreign Jefuit may come into France without fuch permiflion.The colleges fhall be maintained, but fubordinate to the parliaments, who fhall vifit them once ayear, and even every fix months, if they think fit. Congregations are prohibited, unless with exprefs permiflion of the bifhops. All proceedings against the Jefuits are fufpended for a year, the King referving to hinfelf, in this space of time, to get their conftitutions farther exami ned." "Paris, April 2. On the 26th ult. the parliament took into confideration the King's new edict relative to the Jefuits; and refolved, that the registering of that edict was not neceflary; and that they had no occafion to make any remon“ ftrances on this head, being fully convinced, that the extracts they had caufed to be made from the books of the Jefuits, by an arret of the 5th inftant, would fatisfy his Majefty, that the doctrine which the Jefuits have invariably taught, is favourable to all manner of crimes; and that his Majefty would think no more of giving the fociety a legal eftablishment in France.The first prefident went yesterday to Verlailles with this refolution, and the extract abovementioned, |