by the Founder to his faithful people. The admirable work of Mr. Maurice on the Kingdom of Christ will best explain our meaning. We have indeed been informed, and as we believe on good authority, that the King of Prussia, whose predilection for our Church government and beautiful Liturgy is here justly appreciated, has expressed an intention of applying to the Bishop of London to ordain ministers who may form the groundwork of an establishment in that nation upon the same principles as our pure Church. Such an opportunity of extending the influence of truth must be peculiarly gratifying to the feelings of that excellent prelate to whom no less than eighty-three churches in his own important diocese owe their existence, a fact unprecedented in the annals of episcopacy, and who, by relinquishing the critical studies in which he stood pre-eminent, to devote his splendid talents and indefatigable energies to the defence and dissemination of the Christian faith, has assured to himself an undying name among the benefactors of mankind. Nor ought this to be less satisfactory to every member of the Church, which, by its unvarying doctrines, based upon the rock of ages, its establishments formed upon the model of primitive Christianity, and its consecration derived through an uninterrupted succession from the Apostles, has won so valuable a testimony. Fervent should be the prayers of every Englishman for the success of this noble undertaking. In the interim the conflict is stoutly waged by our author, with a few truehearted allies. Numerous indeed and desperate are his antagonists; and once more we call upon our countrymen, whose ancestors, as we have seen, are in a high degree responsible for the past, and who are themselves so deeply interested in the future of Germany, to cheer the faithful band with their sympathy, and to second their efforts by an effectual and zealous co-operation. ART. VIII—1. Letters, Literary and Political, on Poland; com prising Observations on Russia and other Sclavonian Nations and Tribes. Edinburgh: 1823. 2. Insurrection of Poland in 1830-31, and the Russian Rule preceding it since 1819. By S. B. Gnorowski. London: Jas. Ridgway. 1839. 3. Historya, Literatary Polskiej przez Bentkowskiego. Warszawa. (History of Polish Literature, by Bentkowski.) WE can hardly be expected to do full justice to the important subject under consideration in the above notices, in the narrow limits prescribed to us: we can only hope to awaken the interest of our readers, by presenting to their attention a general outline of Polish literature. This we shall divide into five periods, not because such a division is natural-since the life of a nation is not like a thread which may be cut asunder and again united,but for the sake of establishing certain prominent points, from which a better survey of the whole may be taken. Our first period will embrace nearly four centuries, from the introduction of Christianity (964) to the foundation of the University of Cracow (1337). The dawn of literature in all countries is usually marked by poetic compositions; but if under this appellation are to be classed written productions alone, the inference must be that the Poles possessed no poet at all during this long period. The case is, however, widely different, for although Poland had not at that time any verse writers, yet at no subsequent epoch perhaps was that country more eminently rich in poetry. In order to judge of a nation's poetry, we must first learn how to feel it. The unassisted eye cannot separate the sun's beam into its ele ments; and the same observation is applicable to thought, which also has its own prism, through which images of the world are refracted on the mind in rays of poetry. The Poles of ancient times, after their struggles in the field or in the senate were over, had little upon which to vent the activity of their spirit. Having abandoned the toils of trade and the pursuits of art to foreigners, the nobles felt a continual craving for active occupation and diversion. Agriculture was not with them an object of study, but of amusement,-a result of their love of nature. The aspect of fields, and forests and rivers, excited in them more peaceful, but not less profound emotions than the tumult of a battle or an election. When not engaged in these, the nobles, having no domestic occupation, passed their time in visiting or receiving their friends and kindred, for the purposes of sors. amusement or discussion. On such occasions he who had the talent of tale-telling played an important part, and the emulation which this circumstance inspired was the cause of the art being so cultivated that many individuals attained in it to a considerable degree of perfection. Mere facts being found insufficient to captivate the attention of the listeners, the narrator called imagination to his aid, and thus wondrous tales were multiplied, and their authors in fact composed poetry without being conscious of it. Hence arose a class of extempore oral poets, of a character altogether peculiar to Poland. They bore no affinity to the youthful troubadours or minstrels of other lands, who, with the guitar or lute in their hand, recited songs, frequently composed by others, on some foreign warrior, or the legend of a mysterious princess, visiting baronial castles to obtain some boon from their possesThese early bards of Poland were grave nobles wearing long mustachios, who in the assembly of their equals, candidates like themselves for the throne, recited at the banquet their own compositions, recording events of domestic life, local histories, and anecdotes of persons actually present, whilst their companions drank, laughed or disputed round them, and the numerous attendants, distinguished by a variety of titles, received these narratives with tumultuous applause. The picturesque scene was still further enlivened by the grotesque appearance of revellers in strange costumes of divers colours, with half-shaven heads, and swords and girdles resplendent with gems, whilst young men, mounted on magnificent chargers, exercised themselves under the eyes of the guests in various warlike sports, riding the ring or displaying their dexterity in cutting off the heads of wooden or paper figures, representing infidels. To these men, whose existence may be said to have been one uninterrupted festival, the slightest meditation was a fatigue, and to this may be traced the absence of literary productions. Such men cared nought for posterity, singing, to use the expression of an early Polish author, for themselves only the events appertaining to themselves. In their disregard of the illusion called fame, their boundless enjoyment of the present, how much vigour of mind was there, how much poetry! Even in our days one of these poets of the ancient time has again appeared. Prince Radziwill, Palatine of Wilno, enjoyed as an oral poet greater celebrity than any of his contemporary authors, and his compositions, though never printed, were in the mouths of all. This nobleman, whom 12,000 soldiers acknowledged as their lord,-who, when required to swear allegiance to Catherine, told her ambassador that he would rather make the Empress a gift of his wide domains for pin money,—reciting his marvellous tales with the gravity of a palatine, may furnish an idea of what oral poets must have been at the period in question. No festival was ever held without dances, which are also one of the national characteristics, and present a curious picture of Polish habits. Pre-eminent amongst these is the Polonaise, a dance suited to every age and station. It breathes no passion, but seems to be a triumphal procession. The most distinguished person of the company takes the lead, and this is termed reywodzic, to act a chief or king: it also bears an appellation signifying to act a marshal, owing to certain privileges being attached to this distinction which correspond to those of a diet marshal. Notwithstanding the respect paid to the leader, he may yet be deposed by one of the dancers exclaiming odbiianego (retaken by force), under which manoeuvre is designated the famous liberum veto. The leader then resigns the hand of his partner to the new pretender; each male dancer dances with the female of the couple next to him, so that the last in the order remains excluded, unless by calling odbiianego in his turn, he places himself at the head of the dance. As however the too frequent exertion of this privilege would produce confusion, two means have been devised for averting the evil. Either the leader interposes his authority and terminates the dance, or the gentlemen, falling back, leave the ladies in the middle of the room, who continue dancing, selecting their partners, and excluding the disturbers of order; which process bears allusion to the confederacies formed for carrying into execution the decision of the majority. As the Polonaise is always accompanied by singing, it opens a field to oral poets, who on such occasions usually celebrate the merits of some distinguished character or queen of beauty. In our own times Kosciuszko was once thus honoured. Foreigners have perverted the peculiar character of this dance, and not even in Poland can it now be seen with its true and original features, except occasionally in some small circle of intimate friends. The Cracowiak (la Cracovienne) is a more lively dance, and though in its figures it resembles the former, it is simpler, and indicates a less advanced state of society. It is however not so easy, as each dancer must also become a poet, and sing a couple of extempore verses. The Cracowiak is much in vogue with the people in the vicinity of Cracow. Collections are made of these compositions, and they are highly esteemed in the literature of the country for their freshness of expression and vigour of thought. The Mazur or Mazurka, deriving its name from the province of Mazovia, is perhaps the most national, as well as one of the most graceful dances of Europe. Any young Pole in warlike VOL. XXV. NO. XLIX. M costume, and distinguished for boldness and amiability, soon becomes the hero of this dance. It is as eminently martial as the two former, and allows a still freer scope for activity, a suitable expression of the ancient Polish freedom. In familiar circles it is also accompanied by singing; and thus the Mazurka furnished an opportunity to oral poets for recording the most remarkable events of the national history. Every one has probably heard of the celebrated "Poland is not yet lost, while we live," with which the Poles now advance to battle. The spirit of poesy pervaded the whole social frame, lending its hues to historical events, and transforming them into poetic legends. There wanted but a Homer to weave these into a Polish Iliad; and as attempts of this kind have been already made, perhaps this expectation may yet one day be realized. A heroine, though the reverse of the Grecian Helen, exists in Wanda, who, averse to unite herself with a foreigner in a marriage which would have entailed injury to her country, voluntarily perished in the Vistula; and her countrymen raised to her, as they have since to Kosciuszko, a mountain, as an enduring monument. Such legends, together with the traditional songs common to all classes, have now become the palladium of nationality, which will be preserved in the memory of the people in defiance of every human effort to destroy it. They are also considered the purest sources of Polish poetry. The best modern authors have sought inspiration in them, and several collections of them have been made, to which attention has been powerfully awakened by the following eloquent lines by Mickiewicz. We rejoice in appending such lines on popular song, which we have illustrated from the literature of the noble Swede in the present number, to the equally noble, though unhappy Pole: I. "Tradition's lore! thou ark of covenant Between the present and the by-gone years! II. Song of the nations! Guardian of the fane III. The pictured records flames may yet consume, But song shall live: it passes by the crowd, |