July i elegant language, -a alfo. The fol. is borrowed from Actpeare. doth own, have ferv'd thee place, t been ufted thee world contains, ineous poems; fourteen tyle, though not withand genius; and four or abic meafure, all of them g Penitent' talks, like other the innocent pleafures of her y hours, and the horrors of tons' is the work with which and which we are still most e highly coloured, and more as are bolder, and the exprefy of his later productions.poem, which profefles to deort view of the evidences upfounded. There are fome good the awe and veneration which s of Italy when they came fuddenly men were chanting their evening and of war-fong in praife of the Bri2 goed deal of spirit,- Bamborough volume, was written fo long ago some ftriking images and very We can only afford the following fiest , when the bark fhall ride g to the wave below, aks against the paffing prow, Shall Shall thoughtful turn, where dimly to his eyes Through the pale night thefe mellow'd turrets rife ; And, as he mufes on fome friend most dear, Rais'd by thy mercy from a watery bier, Swelling at heart, fhall o'er the tranquil wave Give thee a figh, and blefs thy hallow'd grave. p. 191. 192. Upon the whole, though we do not think Mr Richards a first-rate poet, we are inclined to place him very high among writers of the fecond order, and are fatisfied that he has much more merit than many that make much loftier pretenfions. ART. VIII. An Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Public Wealth, and into the Means and Causes of its Increafe. By the Earl of Lauderdale. 8vo. pp. 486. Edinburgh, Conftable & Co. London, Longman & Rees. Twe wo good confequences have always refulted from men of high rank beftowing their attention upon literary pursuits; an ufeful example has been fet to thofe whofe fituation in life gives them abundance of leifure for fpeculative employment; and that occupation, which is in its own nature the most dignified, has been exalted alfo in the eyes of the multitude. If any branch of science deferves fuch patronage, it is furely the ftudy of political economy, both on account of its extenfive importance to fociety, and its peculiar claims upon thofe who are born to a high intereft in state affairs. We are inclined, therefore, to offer Lord Lauderdale our unfeigned thanks for the zeal with which he has devoted his retirement to the cultivation of this great field of inquiry, and to exprefs our conviction, that an example, fo laudable, will be followed by many perfons who are at prefent lavishing the influence of their rank and fortune upon objects far lefs worthy of their regard,-upon the affairs of practical policy, for which very few are fitted by nature, or upon the empty trifles of fashionable life, which are equally below their station and their fex. We truft, alfo, that Lord Lauderdale having begun to deferve well of the fcientific world, by his fair and honeit endeavours, will be encouraged to perfevere, until he shall augment the obligation by more fuccefsful exertions. Nor have we any doubt, that, constrained as we now are thus to limit our praifes, we fhall obtain from his candour fuch a patient perufal of our remarks, as may at once correct the estimate which he appears to have formed of his prefent work, and excite him to farther enterprifes, which fhall fecure a tribute of more unqualified approbation. There are errors indeed, as it appears to us, in the prefent publication, of a tendency fo dangerous as to counteract much of the benefit which the noble author's patronage After the defperate refolution of general fuicide has been adopt ed, the fame female Chorus fpeaks as follows: This pile adorn'd with folemn facrifice And you, ye babes, feated upon the pile, An equal glory, and more profperous fortune : Now you must fall unknown, unnam'd, unhonour'd, Or your young hearts have beat to war and glory.' p. 84. 85When the divine command has been fignified for their migration, the Chorus thus addreffes the regions which they are about to abandon: One look, yet one look more, Though they be veil'd beneath the mafk of night, At distance from your dells and copfes green. p. 110. 111. The preceding extracts are rather favourable fpecimens of the work now before us. Among other traits of claffical imitation, those who are acquainted with the ftyle of the Greek tragedians will recognize the happy effect with which Mr Richards has introduced thofe extended apoftrophes or invocations to places and inanimate objects, which, though in a manner profcribed by the ufage uage of modern authors, appear to have been the favourite fi gre of the ancient masters of eloquence. A great part of the poetry and intereft of the delightful drama of Philoctetes in Lemnos, will be found to confift in the use of it; and we think Mr Richards has fhown that it may be employed with a very happy effect in the more paffionate parts of English compofition. Odin, when about to immolate himself, exclaims O Tanais, and ye fhores Wafh'd by the founding Euxine, Odin calls, And the Chorus, in the fame fpirit, adds the following claffical addrefs: O hills, the laft Of Odin's realm, mountains and rocks, infcrib'd p. 24. Farewell, ye fhores, wath'd by the Cafpian wave, Once travers'd with delight, now to the eye Diftrefsful, fpread around with Roman tents. Though the compofition be in general dignified and elegant, there are fome low, and feveral heavy paffages. A warrior, defcribing the agitations of Odin in his troubled fleep, fays Threat'ning he hook ;' high uprais'd his clenched fift an image which is abfolutely ludicrous. Another, while the battle is raging, calmly obferves A field like this, Were headed by the Pontic King. In vain We flood expectant,' &c. All this is very tame and injudicious; though, foon after, we meet with fome vigorous lines in the paffage where Odin anticipates his dreary march through the defert regions of the North, where not a foe fhall cheer the way with conqueft.' The ftory of Emma, we think, is ill-chofen, and unfkilfully conducted. We have the feduction and fentimental diftrefs of a modern novel combined with the ufages of chivalry, and prefented in the form of a Grecian drama. The public is fick, we believe, of tender-hearted daughters, betrayed damfels, and highminded old barons, even in profe narratives. The accompaniments of blank verfe and moral lyrics are not likely to make them Y 3 more more palatable. Yet there is a great deal of elegant language, and fome poetry and pathetic effect in this drama alfo. The fol. lowing fpeech thould be good, fince the idea is borrowed from Homer, and the caft of the diction from Shakespeare. Hadft thou been true, There's not a charm, a power which earth doth own, Should have eftrang'd my love: I would have ferv'd thee Friends, kindred, brother, father, native place, And friend, and native place: I had trusted thee With an unbounded fway o'er my warm heart; There's not a joy, which the wide world contains, But had been plac'd within our eafy reach.' P. 196. The fecond volume contains mifcellaneous poems; fourteen odes, written in a verbofe and heavy ftyle, though not without occafional indications of vigour and genius; and four or five other pieces in the ordinary iambic measure, all of them upon ferious fubjects. The Dying Penitent' talks, like other ladies in her unhappy fituation, of the innocent pleafures of her childhood, the agitation of her guilty hours, and the horrors of her remorse. The Aboriginal Britons' is the work with which we have been longest acquainted, and which we are still most difpofed to admire. It is more highly coloured, and more clofely wrought; the conceptions are bolder, and the expreffion more nervous than in any of his later productions.The Chriftian' is a didactic poem, which profeffes to deliver, in regular heroic verfe, a fhort view of the evidences upon which our facred religion is founded. There are fome good lines towards the clofe, defcribing the awe and veneration which was felt by the Gothic invaders of Italy when they came fuddenly to a monaftery where the holy men were chanting their evening prayers. Britannia' is a kind of war-fong in praife of the Britifh navy, and is written with a good deal of fpirit, Bamborough Caftle, which terminates the volume, was written fo long ago as the year 1792, and contains fome ftriking images and very harmonious verfification. We can only afford the following fiest extract: At folemn midnight, when the bark fhall ride Shall 1 |