have been modernized and interpolated; and Mr Scott is of opinion that this must have been the cafe: but he contends, and, as we think, very juftly, that the specific marks by which Robert de Brunne (in a paffage which we shall prefently notice) defcribes it, that is, the quaint English, and the complicated conftruction of the ftanza, which was fo difficult to retain in the memory-together with a brevity and conciseness of narration totally different from the common style of romance, and an elliptical and indefinite mode of expreflion, which is the ufual characteristic of an infant language-concur in proving that the general phrascology of the poem has not been very materially altered. Indeed it appears to us, that the interpolation of many new stanzas of eleven lines would have baffled the skill of any writer of the thirteenth or fourteenth century, unlefs he had poffeffed that very uncommon facility of arranging fimilar final founds, which procured to Thomas the diftinctive appellation of the Rhymer. Having thus far confidered the authenticity and antiquity of the poem, we proceed to its hiftory, which forms the fecond divifion of Mr Scott's introductory effay. There can be no doubt refpecting the people from whom the materials of the story are derived, because Triftrem is confeffedly a Celtic hero. He is often mentioned in the Welsh triads, and by the Welsh poets; and his fame is ftill preferved in the traditions of Brittany. Marie, a Norman poetefs of the thirteenth century, in her lai dee chevrefoil' (of which a tranflation is publifhed by Mr Scott) records one of his adventures which the profeffes to have tranflated from a Breton lay, and founds on this affertion her claim to credit for its authenticity. But the alludes at the fame time to a French written history of Triftrem; and the king of Navarre, who writes his fongs at the commencement of the thirteenth century, and Chretien de Troys, who flourished at the end of the twelfth, bear witnefs to the popularity of the ftory in their time. These paffages alfo are quoted by the editor; but he still contends that Thomas did not tranflate his work from any French original, but derived his materials immediately from a Celtic fource; and he defends his opinion not only by very plaufible reasoning, but by direct and pofitive authority. Our readers will recollect that, during feveral ages after the arrival of the Saxons, the whole western coaft of this ifland, as far as the mouth of the Clyde, was ftill occupied by the Britons; and that the northern kingdoms of Cumbria and Strathclyde gave birth to three of the most celebrated Welsh poets, namely Aneurin, Merlin the Wild, and Llywarch-Hen. The Saxon chro nicle relates that the Welsh of thefe diftricts voluntarily put themselves under the protection of Edward of Athelftan; but, Ee 4 foon foon after this, they became tributary to the Scotish kings, with whofe fubjects they were by degrees completely amalgamated; though there can be no doubt that they retained, till a much later period than that when Thomas wrote, their diftinctive language, traditions and customs. Now the pofition of Ercil doune, or Earifton, is on the borders of the Celtic diftrict of Reged, the kingdom of Urien, and of Ywain, two celebrated heroes of romance; and it is certainly natural that Thomas fhould found, on this favourable pofition of his refidence, the pretenfion of fuperior authenticity for his mode of relating a story already popular, and that his pretenfion fhould be allowedby his hearers. Accordingly, Mr Scott has given us a tranflation of two metrical French fragments of the hiftory of Triftrem, which he conjectures to be the compofition of a certain Raoul de Beauvais who wrote in 1257, and in which the author profeffes that his narrative is perfectly conformable to that of Thomas. It is alfo ftrictly conformable to the story now published; and this coincidence feems to prove that the perfon meant can be no other than the Rhymer; becaufe, if we fhould fuppofe two perfons of the fame name, both poets, and both chooling the fame fubject, it is fcarcely credible that both fhould felect, from the great variety of matter which was offered to them, precifely the fame materials, and arrange them in the fame manner. The fame reasoning does not apply with equal force to a quotation from another French minitrel, who in a metrical life of King Horn, appeals alfo to a Thomas as the original author of that romance. Here indeed there is a prefumption, becaufe the fcene is laid in Northumberland, and the names of the characters are purely Saxon; but, as Mr Scott candidly admits, we have no hiftorical evidence which attributes the poem in queftion to the Rhymer of Ercildoune. But be this as it may, we are now entitled to infer not only that the Rhymer, being anterior even to Robert of Gloucefter, is by far the earliest English poet of eminence, but alfo that our language was fo far cultivat ed as to be fit for the purposes of compofition much fooner within the Scotifh dominions, than in what was then called Eng. land. This has been fufpected by others, but its truth has been afcertained by Mr Scott, who has firft explained a paffage of an ancient hiftorian (Robert de Brunne) which has often been quoted but always mifunderstood. • I made noght for no difours, Ne for no feggours, no harpours, Non That of fom copple fom is away. So Arange Inglis as thai wroght,' &c. It was always fuppofed, that, in thefe lines, the author meant to accufe the difours or feggours, of perverting the phrafeology of the metrical tales which they undertook to recite; instead of which, as Mr Scott juftly obferves, he certainly intended to defcribe the ftyle of the Rhymer and of Kendale as abounding with Arange and quaint Inglis, and the poem of the former as compofed of couples or itanzas fo complicated, that few vulgar hear ers could comprehend their meaning, and no reciter was able to recollect the whole, but always left fome flanza imperfect. He alto itates, that thefe poets wrote for pride and nobleye,' for the great and powerful, not for fuch as his fimple brethren; and though he mentions only two by name, he apparently means to defcribe the northern minstrels in general, whofe fuperior skill is attested by the general tenor of all our early poetry, and whofe peculiar privileges are recorded in ancient Scotish ftatutes, in which they are ranked with knights and heralds, and permitted to wear filk robes, a drefs limited to perfons who could spend a' hundred pounds of land-rent. While the fouthern English dialect, which apparently had its origin in the towns, was banished from the caftles of the Anglo-Norman kings and nobles, the northern dialect, compofed of the fame elements, and encouraged by the patronage of the Scotifh fovereigns, made daily advances to perfection; and became the vehicle of much fpirited and original poetry, before Robert of Gloucefter had been able to complete the long ftring of rhymes which conftitute his history. The fragments of Gawain and Gologras, and Galoran of Galoway, published by Mr Pinkerton, are probably anterior even to Sir Triftrem, and have certainly no marks of tranflation. Many others of equal antiquity are likely to have perished; but the cloud of tranflated romances, most of which are in the northern dialect, and and unquestionably written in the early part of the 14th century, fill up a confiderable chafm in our literary hiftory, and furnifh a regular gradation of ftyle from Thomas of Ercildoune to Chau cer. Upon the whole, we are much difpofed to adopt the general inferences drawn by Mr Scott from his authorities, and have great pleasure in bearing teftimony to the very uncommon diligence which he has evinced in collecting curious materials, and to the taste and fagacity with which he has employed them. But there is one of his opinions to which we cannot fubfcribe. He fays, (p. lii. & liii.) It may be thought that the British fpoken, as we have feen, by the tribes of Cumbria and Strath-Clwyd, as well as the proper Scots, ought to have entered into the compofition of the new language. But, although poflefling beauties of its own, the Celtic has every where been found incapable of being amalgamated with the Gothic dialects, from which it is radically and totally diftinct.' We prefume that there is here an accidental inaccuracy of expreffion, or, more probably, an error of the prefs, fince it cannot be meant to ftate that the British was the language of the proper Scots. But we object to the pofition; because we apprehend, that the elements of any language are capable of being admitted into any other. The modern Welfh, we believe, have adopted many English as well as French words, only fubjecting them to the Celtic mutations; the Saxons have received many from the Welsh, having firft, of course, fuppreffed fuch mutations. The French, and other romance languages, contain, together with Latin, much Celtic and fome Gothic, that is to fay, fuch a combination as is here ftated to be impoffible. If the Anglo-Danish colony of Bernicia had borrowed from the British dialect as much as the Danes of Neuftria did from the fpeech of that province, they might poffi bly have formed a language not very diffimilar to the Norman; because the Britons, like the Gauls, probably received from Rome, together with the arts of civilized nations, moft of the terms by which they were denominated. To explain, ftep by step, the nearly contemporary formation of our mixed language in England and Scotland, under very different political circumftances, is a difficult tafk; and we shall not confider the problem as definitively folved, until more light fhall have been thrown on the filiation of the other European languages. We have extended this article to fuch a length, that we must forbear to enter on an examination of the notes and gloffary, which form about one third of the volume. Of the laft, it is perhaps fufficient to fay, that it explains whatever is not inexplicables and that we could not, if weed to do fo, point out above three or four paffages where the fagacity of the editor appears to have been foiled by the author's obfcurity. With regard to the notes, they contain an almoft infinite variety of curious information, which had been hitherto unknown or unnoticed; and we are perfuaded, that they would afford much amusement even to those readers who may be too indolent to derive any from the fuperannuated poetry of Thomas of Ercildoune. We must therefore conclude, as we began, by expreffing our regret that the very limited and feanty edition now printed will preclude many from poffeffing a work which has been compiled with much labour, and which is no lefs creditable to the talte and genius, than to the learning of the editor. ART. XV. An Account of Travels into the Interior of Southern Africa. By John Barrow, Efq. late Secretary to Lord Macartney, AuditorGeneral of Public Accounts at the Cape of Good Hope, and Secretary to Lieutenant-General Francis Dundas during his Government there. Volume Second. 4to. pp. 464. Cadell & Davies. London 1804. THE HE title of this volume is calculated to deceive the reader. With the exception of a fingle excurfion up the country, narrated in one chapter, the work has no relation whatever to travels, and appears to have obtained that title, merely from the circumftance of the author having formerly published a book of travels nearly of the fame fize. Confidered, however, in its proper light, of a differtation upon the importance of the Cape of Good Hope, the work is extremely valuable. It contains a very full, indeed rathe a prolix ftatement of the argument for taking and retaining poffeffion of that fettlement. It abounds in all the matters of fact which can be brought to the decifion of this interesting question; and is interfperfed with a confiderable portion of new information relative to the points at iffue. For our own parts, we never entertained any doubts upon the fubject; but, had we been disposed to hefitate, the demonftration of Mr Barrow would have fixed our opinion. At the prefent moment, it is highly important that the public fhould be fairly informed upon fo interefting a topic of practical policy. We fhall therefore lay before our readers, an abstract of the argument, interfperfing fuch obfervations as appear neceffary to its farther elucidation, and pointing out, as we proceed, the errors into which Mr Barrow's manifelt ignorance of political economy has frequently betrayed him. We must premife one remark upon the manner in which the work is stated to have been written. If, fays he, any of the hints thrown out in this volume fhould prove beneficial to my country, by fuggefting fuch measures as may a |