In the pursuit of that prismatic ray Of luring Hope, that, as they follow, flies, And bid the broad pavilioned Sun farewell; All silent, save the birds, and dashing spray, My Soul delights in every sylvan spot, Where she may find the Beauteous and the Grand, But not to ine 'tis given to command My flight o'er wave, rock, mountain, wood, and wild, In Thracian coil for aye, and City strife turmoiled !” In the first canto, entitled the Hermitage, the peaceful retreat of Almar, and his young friend Edwy, is broken in upon by a lawless band, which is thus well described: "Scarce to the emotions of his mind And Almar old had scarce rejoin'd Ere came the Band, with joyous rage, That shed a short and cowering light Their shouts disturb that grove, alas! Not with more noise the echoing cave Before its mouth-resounds the roar The author is fond of sentiment and reflection; in many instances, these are expressed with much strength and pathos. The following address to sleep will justify our encomium : "Sweet Sleep! the balm to toil-the dew That doth our morning strength renew; Sweet Spirit of Forgetfulness, The unfabled Lethe of Distress ; Blest soother of the Peasant's pillow, Hushed by the night flies to his rest ;- While Death is awaked by the summons so rude, As danger were not nigh; And when, like the Sun, he springs blithe from his bed, The history of Almar, as related by himself to Edwy, is exceedingly well told; it has much nerve and beauty. After his daughter, Arabel, has married against his consent, (daughters will do so even unto this day,) he exclaims, "They wed!-And then with passion wild, Oh, horrible!-I cursed my Child, And since that she had broke the band With a blank desolated heart, But why should I pursue this theme, That uttered words so full of woes? Ah! though my heart unused was then With violence from the soul, as they Bent in dejection's deepest gloom!" Arabel, who had been seized by the robber, is, by the interference of the saint, rescued from the grasp of the spoiler, and her restoration to the arms of her husband is thus feelingly depicted : "Thus snatched from fate, it seemed a vision Of Fancy, bathed in dreams Elysian, That from the ruthless grave restored Her lost and all-lamented Lord: No word might ease the extatic weight One thrilling shriek burst wildly forth, Her Husband's arms have clasped her round; As on its stem the withering blossom- So motionless and silent he They seemed but marble forms of life The Husband, and swoon-sunken Wife!" Succeeding a scene of strife and bloodshed, the following comes upon us like a tranquil evening after a stormy day. It is a fair specimen of the author's powers of description; and the volume contains many such, which prove his claim to the title of a poet : "Now all is calm-a calm so dead One extract more, and our limits compel us to conclude: "But, hark! far other sound Distant, yet sweet, the warbled strings Still more distinct, and full, and strong; Ravished the heart to extacy, With such full tide of harmony! Again the maze of music, blended With that sweet vision of light, ascended To the empyrean realm of joy, The happy dwelling of ST. LOY: And, as they reached the gates of day, Like the soft zephyr died away, And left the soul entranced to dream That still she hears the harmonious theme!" The volume concludes with some minor poems of considerable merit. "The Farewell to Tottenham," and the "Lament of the Bard," we have read with considerable pleasure. The Sonnets are also good. We have some fondness for the sonnet; and we know no better mode of embodying a single thought; and those before us are superior to many we have seen. The author is evidently a poet, and one of considerable power. He has sentiment, feeling, and a love of nature, which we augur will enable him to merit the public approbation. We hope to meet him again. In the mean time, we advise him to condense his powers, rather than to amplify, and the effect will be the greater. The Hamiltonian System.-Mr. Hamillon's Appeal. ALTHOUGH Mr. Hamilton has said, that he is left "without an avowed, or at least a successful, opposer," and, on that account, that the arguments he has employed in favour of his system are completely irrefragable, we will take the liberty of presenting a few observations upon what appear to us evident inconsistencies in his statements. In this we beg to assure Mr. Hamilton, that we wish not to appear actuated by "inveterate prejudice," "interested jealousy," "the cavils of ignorance" or "self-interest;" nor do we wish to employ any "frothy declamations of conceited interest, or the peevish personalities of interested malignity;" but candidly to consider, as far as our humble abilities will permit, the opinions brought before our notice. In reply to the gentlemen who have noticed his system, Mr. Hamilton has displayed so much astuteness in repudiating the interpretations put upon it, that we should be glad if he would tell us what we are really to understand by the regulations he lays down. But, if he is so convinced of the excellence of his system, it would prove his conviction in a much stronger degree, if, instead of making verbal objections to his antagonists' unimportant lapses, he would meet them fully upon principle, and not on form. To avoid, therefore, as much as we can, the accusation of misunderstanding Mr. H., we will merely examine his own description of the system, and his Appeal. Mr. Hamilton, at the commencement, states, with regard to his success at the different universities of America, "ladies and gentlemen of sixty and upwards, and children of eight years, and even younger, the parent and the child seated in |