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Sfar&art  CoHcge  J/ibrarg 

BEtlUEATHED    BY 

« 

•«Mi« 

CHARLES   DUDLEY   MARC 

II, 

»»,.., 

OF  GREENLAND,  N.  H. 
^Clui  of  ilto). 

Received  Sepl.  9.  iSSg. 

i 

^H^    'mmim^^     i 

^* 


^ 


C) 


THE  RELIQUES 


OF 


FATHER   PR 


LATE  P. P.    OF  WATERGRASSHILL, 

IN  THE  COUNTY  OF  CORK.  IRELAND. 


COLLECTED  AND  ARRANGED   BY 


OLIVER  YORKE,  Esa  (Rev.  FRANCIS  M AHONY). 


ILLL'STKATBU   bY 


ALFRED  CROQUIS,  Esa  (D.  MAGLISE,  R.A.). 


NEW   EDITION 


LONDON: 
BELL  &  DALDV,  YORK  STREET,  COVENT  GARDEN. 

1873- 


zoif.it^'( 


March  BequeeU 


LONDON : 

ritlNTED  BT  WILLIAM  CLOWES  AND  80X8, 
dTAUrOllD  aTRRBT  AKD  CHASDfO  CKOdd. 


PREFACE 

TO  THE  PRESENT  EDITION. 


Oliver  Goldsmith,  in  hia  green  youth,  aspired  to  be  the 
rurid  pastor  of  some  village  Auburn  ;  and  m  after-life  gave 
embodiment  to  his  earlier  feacies  in  b  Vicar  nf  Wakefield. 
But  his  Dr.  Primrose  bad  iraroense  advantages  over  Dr. 
Prout.  The  olire  branches  that  sprang  from  the  vicar's 
roof-tree,  if  they  divided,  certainly  enbanced  the  interest  felt 
iu  his  character ;  while  tlie  lone  incumbent  of  Watergrasshill 
was  thrown  on  hie  own  resources  for  any  chance  of  enlisting 
gympathj.  The  "great  defender  of  monogamy"  could  buy 
a  wedJiug  gown,  send  his  boy  Moses  to  the  fair,  set  out 
iu  pursuit  of  ilia  lost  daughter,  get  into  debt  and  jail ; 
exploits  wbieh  the  kindly  author  felt  be  could  have  himself 
achieved.  Prout's  miaogamy  debarred  him  from  these 
stirring  social  incidents :  he  had  notbiug  left  ibr  it  but  to 
talk  and  write,  and  occasionally  "  intone"  a  gonial  song, 

From  such  utterances  the  nund  and  fecilings  of  the  man 
hare  to  be  distilled.  It  requires  no  great  palieontoiogifal 
acumen  to  perceive  that  he  belonged  to  o  class  of  mortals, 
now  quite  gone  out  of  Irish  exialence,  like  the  elk  and 
wolf-dog ;  and  it  has  been  a  main  object  m  this  hook  out  of 
hia  ■  relics '  to  '  restore  '  him  for  purposes  of  comparative 
inatomjr. 


IT  PREFACE   TO  THE   PEESERT  EDITIOIT. 

It  will   be  noticed    tint  the  Father's  rambles  an  tt' 
limited  by  any  harrier  of  caste,  or  coat,  or  cflterie  ;  hit  KH 
is  multilateral,  hia  talk  multifariouB,  yet  free,  it  !■  heaei, 
from  garrulity,  and  decidedly  exempt  from  credulity.    Hi 
eeems  to  have  had  a  shrewd  eye  for  Bcanniag  Humbug,  mi 
it  ia  well  for  him  (aud  for  others)  that  be  has  vacateid  hit 
parish  iu  due  courso  of  nature.     He  would  bare  stoutly  i» 
sisted  in  Ireland  the  late  attempted  process  of  Italian  Cii 
leniKHtion.     For  though  lie  patronised  the  effort  of  Loi 
Kingston  to  naturaliie  in  Muneter  the  siJiworni  from  thi 
peninsula  (see  bis  version  of  good  Biabop  Vida' 
page  523),  mere  caterpiUare,  snails,  and  slimy  crawlen, 
would  have  put  his  foot  on. 

From  Florence  the  poet  Browning  has  sent  for  thia  edi- 
tion some  lines  lately  found  in  the  Euganeian  bills,  tracdj 
oil  a  marble  slab  that  covered  the  bones  of  Fietro  di  Abano^ 
leld  in  his  old  age  to  be  BQ  astrologer. 

"  Btudigndo  le  mie  cifre  con  rompuaa 
Kilovo  ebo  Bari  preato  BOf  t(-  tvm  ; 
Percb^  del  mio  uper  si  fa  gran  obiaaeo, 
E  gli  ignontnti  mi  buuia  moeeo  guorra." 

Of  whicb  epitaph  the  poet  has  supplied  this 
deting  uerbalim. 

"  Studying  my  cyphere  with  (he  compaM, 
I  find  I  aball  be  eoon  uruter  tho  daisy  i 
Because  of  my  lore  folka  maka  auch  a  rumpuB, 
Thftt  erery  dull  dog  ia  Ihereat  unauy." 

Broiming'a  attempt  suggests  a  word  or  two  on  Proat' 

9WU  theory  of  translation,  as  largely  exemplllied  it>  this  to 


PItr.FACE   TO  TIIS   PKE3EST   EDITION.  » 

The  only  perfect  reproduction  of  a  couplet  in  a  dif- 

;  idiuin  occurred  in  a.d.  1170,  when  thd  Arclibisbop  of 

fork  wnt  a  ealmoa  to  the  chronicler  of  Malineabnr)',  tritli 

)quc-st  for  A  receipt  iu  verse,  which  was  bonded  to  benrer 

II  duplicate — 

"  UlUttur  in  dUoa  mihi  pUcu  sb  archi^nsco- 
■Po  HIM  poaetor  niri  poliu.  Pol '.  mihi  detur." 


I 


'^Op,  1>  not  f ul  feiif.  ^qaS !  1)1  sint  not  tiiirt." 
Sense,  rhythm,  point,  and  even  pim  are  hero  roiriiculously 
Kproduced.  Prout  did  his  best  to  rival  him  of  Mslmesbiirr, 
but  be  held  that  in  the  clear  failure  of  one  language  to  elicit 
from  ita  repertory  on  eioct  equivalent,  it  becomes  not  only 
proper  but  imperative  (on  the  law  principle  of  Cetini  apret  in 
of  trtiatB)  to  fall  bnck  on  an  approximate  word  or  iden 
of  kindred  import,  the  interchange  in  vocabulary  showing; 
Bt  times  even  a  balance  in  favour  of  the  substitute,  as  hap- 
pens in  the  ordinary  course  of  barter  on  the  markets  of  the 
world.  He  quite  abhorred  the  clumsy  servility  of  adliering 
to  the  letter  while  allowing  the  spirit  to  evaporate ;  a  mere 
verbal  echo  distorted  by  natural  anfractuosities,  gives  back 
neithur  the  tone  nor  quality  of  the  original  voice ;  while 
tUi?  caeo  and  curious  felicity  of  the  primitive  utterance  is 
marred  by  awkwarduess  and  effort ;  spontaneity  of  song 
being  the  quiatcaseuco. 

Afodest  distrust  of  his  own  power  to  please  deterred  Prout 
from  obtruding  much  of  hia  personal  musings  ;  he  preferred 
clitfwiog  the  cud  of  classic  fancies,  or  otherwise  approved 
aod  aubstantial  stuff;  delighting  to  invest  with  uew  nnd 
rari<.-«I  fonus  what  had  long  gained  universal  recognition. 


Tl  PBEFACE  TO   THE   PHESENT 

He  hod  strict  notions  as  to  what  really  constitute  the  Beltet 
letlrea.  Brilliancy  of  thought,  depth  gf  remark,  pathos  of 
sentiment,  sprightliness  of  wit,  rigour  and  aptitude  of  HtylA, 
with  lome  acbolarship,  were  reijuisites  for  his  notice,  or 
claim  to  be  held  in  his  esteem  a  literary  man.  It  is  useleas 
to  add  how  much  of  reeent  growth,  and  how  many  pre> 
tenders  to  that  title,  he  would  have  eschewed. 

A  word  as  to  the  Etchings  of  D.  Maclise,  B.  A.  This  great 
artist  in  hjs  boyhood  knew  Prout,  and  has  fijced  his  true 
features  in  enduring  copper.  The  only  reliable  outline  erf 
Sir  Walter  Scott,  as  be  ap|x:ared  in  plain  clothes,  and  with- 
out ideal  halo,  may  be  seen  ac  page  54, 
the  Blarney  Stone"  on  his  visit  to  Prout  in  the  Bunimer  of 
1S25.  Tom  Moore,  equally  et\  ilethabiUt,  can  be  recogniEed 
by  all  who  knew  him,  perpetruting  one  of  his  "  rogueriea' 
at  page  150.  The  paintet's  own  aUin  and  then  youthful 
figure  is  doing  homage  ti>  L.E.L.  on  a  moonlit  bank  ok 
page  229,  while  the  "garret"  of  Bi^ranger,  page  299,  the 
"  night  before  Larry's  execution,"  page  267,  and  "  Maadj^ 
fins  robing  Venus  in  silk,"  page  633,  are  specimens  of 
French,  Irish,  and  Chinese  humanity. 

But  it  is  hifl  great  cartoon  of  writers  in  Fraser,  amia 
1935  (/rojit.).  that  will  most  interest  coming  generations. 
The  banquet  he  has  depicted  was  no  fiction,  but  a  frequent 
fact  in  Itegent  Street,  212.  Dr.  Magimi  in  the  choir,  ad- 
divsaine  the  ataS*  contributors,  has  on  his  right,  Bany 
Cornwall  (Procter),  Hobert  Soutbcy,  Pcrcival  Bonkes, 
Thackeray,  Churchill.  Scijeant  Klnrphy,  Macnish,  Ain^ 
worth,  Coleridge,  Ilogg,  Gait,  Dunlop,  and  Jerdan.  Fraser 
is  croupier,  haling  on  his  right  Croiton  Croker,  Lockhort, 


PB£fAC£   TO   TUE    tUESE.fT    EDITIO 


lUeodore  Hook,  Sir  David  Brewster,  Dr.  Moir  (Delta), 

bm  Carlyle,  Count  D'Orsay  (talking  to  Allan   Cuiming- 

m),  Sir  i^ertoD  Brydgea  ;  Hev.  G.  H,  Gleig,  chaplain  of 

VCbelKs  hospital  j  Eev.  F.  Maiiony,  Rev.  Edward  Irving  (of 

I  unknown  tongues),  a  froqaent  writer  in   Eraser,  and 

requenter  of  bis  sanctum,  where  "  oft  of  a  stilly  night "  he 

■tuiired  glenJivat  with  the  learned  Editor. 

Of  these  twenty.seven,  only  eight  are  now  living ;  Mr. 

rocter,  lunacy  commissioner  j  Serjeant  Murjihy,  insolvency 

the  Author  of  Vanity  Fair ;    the   vigorous  word- 

ieldcr,  who  then  was  supplying  Fraser  witli  Sartor  Ee- 

;  Ainaworth ;  Gleig,  the  worthy  and  efEcieut  chaplain- 

lenenil  of  Her  Majesty's  Forces;  Sir  David,  and 


FRANK  MAHONY. 


P*Bi8,  A'cp.  20.  ia59. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION. 


is  much  to  be  regretted  tbat  our  Author  should  be  do 
ger  in  the  land  of  the  living,  to  fumiah  a  general  Pre- 
ble, eiplMiatory  of  the  scope  and  tendency  of  Lis  nuilti- 
loua  writings.  By  us,  on  whom,  with  the  conteuts  of  hia 
fer.  hath  devolved  the  guardiamthip  of  bis  glory,  such 
iciencT  is  keenly  felt ;  having  leomt  from  Epictetua  that 
ay  mAitunary  thing  has  two  haodlea,  (<rai  s-fuy/ux  iuat 
u  )jt0ai),  and  from  experience  that  majikind  are  prone 
take  hold  of  the  wrong  one.  King  Ptolemy,  to  whom  we 
re  Ibe  first  tranaLation  of  the  Bible  into  a  then  vulgar 
D^e  (and  cousei^uently  a  long  array  of  "  centenary  ceie- 
xtinriB"),  proclaimed,  in  the  pithy  inscription  pla<^  by 
'to  order  over  the  entrance  of  the  Alexandrian  Library, 
ttat  books  were  a  sort  of  phyeic.  The  analogy  is  jnat,  and 
^nuing  it,  we  would  remark  that,  like  other  patent  medt- 
~""  they  should  invariably  be  accompanied  with  "  directions 
.jc"  Such  o-joXiyoiiiiKi  would  we  in  the  present  ease  he 
idighted  ourselves  to  supply,  but  tbat  we  have  profitably 
Mated  the  fable  of  La  Fontaine  entitled  "VAneqmportail 
fci  Sr;.yur#."     (liv.  v.  fab.  14,) 

la  giving  utterance  to  regret,  we  do  not  insinuate  that 
lie  present  production  of  the  lamented  writer  is  iin- 
hiihed  or  abortive :  on  the  contrary,  our  interest  prompts  us 
b  proraonnre  it  complete,  as  far  as  it  goes.  Prout,  as  an  nu- 
ttor,  will  be  found  wlut  he  was  in  the  desh^"  lotus  tfret 
WJw  rotundwt."  Still  a  suitable  introduction,  furnished  by  a 
fcrnlfed  genius,  would  in  our  idea  be  ornamental.  Tlie  Fan- 
won  of  republican  Some,  perfect  in  its  simplicity,  yet 
itsind  a  supplementary  grat:e  from  the  portico  superadded 
^  A^rippiiu 
Much  meditating  on  the  materials  that  fill  "  the  cheat," 
id  iiily  more  impressed  with  the  merit  of  our  author,  we 
Kna^ht  it  a  pity  that  his  wiadom  should  be  sutfered  to 
~  ~  '     '  I  magaiine  squibs.     What  impression  could,  in 


rKBTACB  TO  TUE  FIBST  EDITION. 

Bootb,  be  made  on  the  public  mind  by  such  desultory  ex> 
ploaiouB  ?  Never  on  the  dense  masg  of  readers  can  isolatec 
random  shots  produce  thfi  effect  of  a  regulttr/eu  de  pehtoH 
For  this  reaaon  we  have  arranged  in  one  volnme  his  fi' 
of  mental  musketry,  to  secure  a  simultaneous  diachaKii 
The  hint,  perhaps,  of  right  belongs  to  the  ingenious  Fiewu 
(1835). 

"We  have  left  prefixed  to  each  paper  such  iutroductot^ 
comlnents  as  at  the  time  we  indulged  ill,  with  relerenoe  t" 
contemporary  oucurrencea— and,  on  looking  back,  we  fin 
we  have  been  on  some  occaaiona  historical,  on  others  pro 
pheticol,  on  some  perhaps  rhapsodical.  This  latter  chiu  " 
we  hereby  "  confess  and  avoia,"  pleading  the  advice  ■ 
example  of  Pliny  the  Younger:  " Iptd  varietale"  aie  I 
words,  "  tentamu9  efficfre  vt  alia  aliia,  qaiedam /ortatie  a 
nibus pfaceant."  This  wouldappear  to  constitute  the  wholl 
theory  of  miscellaneous  Writing 

We  have  hitherto  had  coDsiderahle  difficulty  in  estatiliah' 
ing,  to  the  satisfaction  of  refractory  critics,  the  fact  of  oi 
author's  death.  People  absurdly  persist  in  holding  him  in  tl 
light  ofa  living  writer:  hence  a  saa  waste  of  wholesome  advic 
which,  if  judiciously  expended  on  some  re  claimable  sinnei 
would,  no  doubt,  fructify  in  due  season.  In  his  case  'tis  i 
de.ad  loss — Prout  is  a  literary  mummy  !  Folks  should  look  t( 
this:  Lazarus  will  not  come  forth  to  listen  to  their  stria 
hires  (  neither,  should  they  happen  to  be  in  a  complimentatj; 
mood,   will   Samuel  arise  at   the  witchery  of  commenda 

Objects  of  art  and  virtii  lose  considerably  by  not  bein 
viewed  in  their  proper  light ;  and  the  common  noonday  ef 
gence  is  not  the  fittest  for  the  right  cont«mplation  of  cer 
eapi  d'  opera.  Canova,  we  know,  preferred  the  midnigb 
taper.  Let,  therefore,  "  «l  /maris  TeliqniU,"  {Phasd.  lib.  i 
fab.  22.)  the  dim  penumbra  of  a  sepulchral  lamp  shed  i 
solemn  influence  over  the  page  of  Prout,  and  alone  presidl 
at  its  perusal. 

Poatbumoua  authorsbip  posaeases  infinite  advantages  j  ani 
nothing  BO  truly  serves  a  book  as  the  writer's  remova 
from  the  sphere  or  hemisphere  of  his  readers.  The  "M 
nioirs  of  Captain  Bock"  were  rendered  doubly  interestii 
by    being  dated  from   Sidney    Cove.    Byron  wrote  frofll 


TO   TEE    FlBSt  EDUIOS 

e  with  increased  effect.  Nor  can  we  nt  all  Hympatliiae 
Kith  the  exiled  Ovid's  plnintive  utterance,  "  Sine  me,  liber, 
I  urbem."  His  abaence  from  town,  he  must  bare 
aiown,  was  a  right  good  thing  for  his  publisher  under 
e  pillars."  Hut  though  distance  be  useful,  death  is  uq* 
ut«tioDnblv  better.  Far  off,  an  author  is  respected  ;  dead, 
e  is  beliJT^.      Brtinetu*.  amabitur. 

We  were  strutk  with  a  practical  application  of  thia  dw- 
trine  tocoaMnerwal  euterprise,  when  wc  last  risited  Paris. 
The  2d  of  Koveiuber,  being  "  All  Soula'-daj,"  hod  drawn 
■  S  oucouxse  of  melancholy  people  to  Phre  la  CAaise, 
Kivea  with  the  rest ;  when  our  eye  was  arrested,  in  a 
k  of  thftt  romantic  nccropoha,  bj  the  faint  glimmering 
wf  a  deliciouB  little  lamp,  a  glow-worm  of  bronie,  keeping 
wilenl  and  eentJnieQtal  vigil  under  a  modest  um  of  black 
irble,  inscribed  thua ; — 


Ci-un  FoFRSisB  (Pian*  Tiofcr), 

Invcntour  btifeiS  dea  Umpea  diles  luu  Sii 

BtuIbuI  uni:  reDtime  d'huile  i  I'lieure. 


CoDtmue  gon  oontmerce,  Bne  >ui  Ours,  So,  19. 

EUf  lait  def  euTOtB  dam  Un  depATtemeDs. 

N^  oe  pa*  coufondre  iTec  In  boutique  en  face  B.T.i 


We  had  been  thinking  of  purchasing  an  article  of  the 
a  our  return,  we  made  it  a  point  to  pass  the  rue 
',  and  give  our  custom  to  the  moimiiul  Artemisia. 
Un  entering  the  shop,  a  rubicund  tradesman  accosted  ua ; 
but  we  intimated  our  wish  to  transact  businesB  with  "  the 
widow — hi  veuve  inconsolable."  "  BA,  pardieu  !  e'eat  moi  ! 
je  euis,  moi,  Pierre  Foumier,  inTenteur,  &c. :  la  eeatt 
We»l  qv'ua  tyiriMe,  un  taythe."  We  admired  his  ingenuity, 
and  bought  his  lamp ;  by  the  mild  ray  of  which  patent 
contrivance  we  have  profitably  puiBued  our  editorial  laooura. 

OLIYEE  TOBKE- 


c 

LIST    OP    ENGRAVINGS 

BY  D.  1IACLI3E.  B.A 

I.    TBB    FBASBB1AK8    (COBTEIBUTOBS     IS    1835    TO 

riiASKB's  MiOAzisE)          .                        Froa 

tispieef 

u.  nvm  PLiirnso  of  thk  potato  in  ireiand  FigneUe  Title       | 

m.    AH  APOLOGT  FOB  tEST         ... 

Page  9 

IT.    PACE  ntPLOEA                    

28 

T.    nS  WALfEU  SCOTT  AT  TK£  BLARNKT  9T0NB  . 

34 

TI.   Tfll  WBACITLOTm  BaAUGHT 

.       95 

TJl.    A  TALK  OF  A  CHCKR 

129 

Tin.    fOBTRAIT  OP  L.  E.  L. 

.     13S 

n.  mBBOaoEBieaorTou  vooitK  . 

ISO 

X.  it£:rBT  a'BUur 

.     162 

XI.   lOtTTBS  PESBESr  BTM  A  LA  PI!>  DO  HORDE  , 

198 

XII.  rmw  piiimso  o»  the  vrrii  m  oaot 

.     210 

mi.    KZSI  ME  BY  MOOaLMHT  ALOJtK 

229 

XIT.    I'il  DABTii  SON  TEBSE 

250 

XT.   TOE  NIOHT  BKFOBE  L*BET  WAa  BTBSMHEB  . 

267 

ITl.    DANB  US  OBKNIKB  gc'oK  EST  BIEN  A  TIKGI  AIM 

299 

xTU.  TOKiBArt  op  bbhahoeb    .... 

313          J 

xrnt.  Tint  wTKB-cup  BE8P0KEK 

329          M 

XIX.    M  DlEtH  ASH  la  CaEBTEI) 

347           1 

XX-  TSK  airr  at  yesvs     . 

S65           ■ 

J 

b 

^m 

**  At  Covtnt  Crarden  a  9aered  drama,  on  the  story  of 
Jephthoy  conveying  eolemm  impresnonSf  is  fbohibited  as  a 
PBOFAKATIOK  of  the  period  of  foBting  and  mortificatioH  ! 
There  U  no  d-oubt  where  the  odium  should  foe — on  the  Lord 
Chamberlain  or  on  the  Bishop  of  Lostdon.  Let  some  inteU 
ligent  Member  of  Parliament  bring  the  question  before  the 
House  of  Commons." 

Times.  Feb.  20  and  21, 1834. 


E  E  L  I  Q  U  E  S 

OF 

FATHER    PEOUT. 


PBOUT 

OBSEQUIES, 


FOEIENT:     Hla    DEATH, 
)  AS   ELECT. 


k 


Etendait  tea  *irbm  lou." — Gresssi. 
nniMu  abound — &va1i  prraohBM  aro  sent 
lu  teasau  of  lait  and  Borrow ; 
0  loan  it  complete — for  file  preaphar  is — Irtjot, 
Is  hii  •ennon  De'a  apt  to  horrow." 

AtSS.  if  tht  iaie  Tom  lngold$!,y. 


RS  bas  bei-D  thin  sciutiu  ia  town  a  sad  otitcry  against 
Li-nt,  For  the  first  week  the  metropoiia  waa  ia  a  complete 
U|>Ti>ar  at  the  suppression  of  the  oratorio;  and  no  act  of 
authority  sinw  the  fatal  ordonnancea  of  Charlea  X.  bid 
fairer  to  revolutionise  a  capital  than  the  itjeBsuge  »eDt  &oni 
Bishijp  Blomfieid  to  Manager  Bunn,  That  storm  has 
happily  blown  over.  The  Cockneys,  having  fretted  their 
idle  hour,  and  vented  their  impotent  ire  through  their 
'  aafely- valve,"  the  press,  have  resumed  their  cuatomary 
tmlm.  The  dramatic  "  murder  of  Jepbtba"  is  forgotten. 
In  trulJi,  after  nL,  there  waa  something  due  to  local  re- 
Eainisccncea ;  aad  when  the  present  tenants  of  the  "  Gar- 


3  PATUZB   PBOUI  8    EELKJnCH. 

deo  "  recollect  thut  in  by-gone  days  tbeee  "  deep  solituda 
and  avvful  cells  "  were  the  abode  of  fanting  and  austerity 
they  will  not  grudge  the  once-hallowed  premisee  to  com 
niemorate  in  eober  stillneBs  the  Wednesdays  and  Fridayi  o 
Lent.  But  let  that  rest.  An  inAHngement  on  the  &%edoD 
of  theatricals,  though  in  itself  a  grievance,  will  not,  in 
likelihood,  be  the  immediate  cause  of  a  coUTuleion  in  tl 
realms ;  and  it  will  probably  require  some  more  palpabli 
deprivation  to  arouse  tlie  sleeping  energies  of  John  BuU 
and  to  awake  bis  dormant  anger. 

It  was  characteristic  of  the  degeneracy  of  the  Bomani 
that  while  they  crouched  in  prostrate  servility  to  each  im? 
penal  monster  that  awayed  their  destinies  in  successioa 
they  never  would  allow  their  amusementB  to  be  invaded 
nor  tolerate  a  cessation  of  the  sports  of  the  amjibitbeatra 
so  that  even  the  despot,  white  he  rivetted  their  uhaini 
would  pause  and  ehudacr  at  the  well-)cnowa  ferocious  c 
of  '■  Panem  et  CiretRtn  .'"  Now,  food  and  the  drama  sta 
relatively  to  each  cither  in  very  diSerent  degrees  of  i 
portence  in  England;  and  while  provisions  are  plentiful 
other  matters  have  but  a  minor  influence  on  the  populu 
sensibilities.  The  time  niaj?  come,  when,  by  the  bunglioff 
measures  of  a  Whig  administration,  brought  to  their  fUlI 
maturity  of  mischiel  by  the  studied  neglect  of  the  agricul- 
tural and  shipping  interests,  the  general  disorganisation  of 
the  state-machinery  at  home,  and  the  natural  results  ofi 
their  intermeddling  abroad,  a  dearth  of  the  primary  artir 
cles  of  domestic  consumption  may  bring  to  the  English' 
man's  fireside  the  broad  conviction  of  a  misrule  and  mia 
management  too  long  and  too  sluggishly  endured.  It  maj 
then  be  too  late  to  apply  remedial  measures  withefficacyi, 
and  the  only  resource  left,  may  be,  like  Caleb  Balderstoiw 
at  Wolfs  Crag,  to  proclaim  "  a  general  fast."  When  thai 
emergency  ah^l  arise,  the  quaint  and  origiuai,  n^,  son: 
times  luminous  and  philosopbc,  views  of  Father  Front  i 
the  fast  of  Lent,  may  afford  much  matter  for  speculation 
the  British  public ;  or,  as  Childe  Harold  says, 

"Much  th»t  may  give  ui  pause,  if  pondered  flltluglj." 

Before  we  brmg  forward  father  Prout's  lucubrations  < 


'  rnn  lert.  3 

itfl  grave  subject,  it  roay  be  Allowable,  by  way  of  pre- 
ninaiy  obaeifation,  to  remark,  that,  aa  far  as  Lent  is 
ntuemed.  aa  well  indeed  as  in  all  other  matters,  "  they 
ftDage  tfaeee  things  differently  abroad."  In  foreign 
mntries  a  carnival  ia  the  appropriate  prelude  to  abstemi- 
~  mess ;  and  folks  get  auch  a  surfeit  of  amusemeDt  during 
!  aatumalian  da^i  which  precede  its  observance,  that 
^y  find  a  grstetul  repose  in  the  sedate  quietude  that 
lues.  Tiic  custom  is  a  point  of  national  taste,  which  1 
ve  to  its  own  merits ;  but  whoever  has  resided  on  the 
lOntinent  must  have  observed  that  all  this  bacchanalian 
ot  suddenly  terminates  on  Shrove  Tuesday  ;  the  fun  and 
olic  expire  with  the  "  brouf-gras  -,"  and  the  shouts  of  the 
evellen,  eo  boisterous  and  incessant  during  the  preceding 
eek,  on  Ash  Wednesday  are  heard  no  more.  A  singular 
iremony  in  all  the  churches — that  of  sprinkling  over  the 
ineregatioD  on  that  Wediiesday  the  pulverised  embers  of 
le  Doughs  of  an  evergreen  (meant,  I  suppose,  as  an  em- 
em  and  record  of  man's  mortality) — appears  to  have  the 
istantancouB  efiect  of  turning  tbeir  thoughts  into  a  dif- 
:«nt  channel :  the  busy  hum  subsides  at  oni.«  ;  and  leameU 
■amentators  have  found,  in  the  fourth  book  of  Virgil's 
}eorgic8,  a  prophetic  allusion  to  this  magit!  operation : 


The  non  consumption  of  butchers'  meat,  and  the  substi- 
Aion  of  flab  diet,  is  also  a  prominent  feature  in  the  coii- 
uiatal  form  of  observing  Lent ;  and  on  tliis  topic  Father 
rout  hai)  been  remarkably  discursive,  as  will  be  seen  on 
itiiaa\  of  the  following  pages.  To  explain  how  I  becnuie 
le  depository  of  the  reverend  man's  notions,  and  why  he 
d  not  publish  them  in  his  lifetime  (for,  alas !  he  is  no 
ore — peace  be  to  his  ashes !)  is  a  dutr  which  I  owe  the 
sder,  and  from  which  1  am  far  from  snriukiug.  1  admit 
M  some  apology  is  required  for  conveying  the  lucid  and 
ied  ideas  of  a  great  and  good  divine  through  the  opaque 
:  profiine  medium  that  is  now  employed  to  bring  them 
ler  the  public  eye ;  I  account  for  it  accordingly. 
am  a  youocer  son.  I  belong  to  an  ancient,  but  poor 
,  dilapidated  house,  of  which  the  patrimonial  estate  was 


4  FATHER   PBOUT'S    BELIQUE8. 

barely  enough  for  my  elder ;  hence,  as  my  share  resembled 
what  is  scientifically  called  an  evanescent  quantity,  I  was 
directed  to  apply  to  that  noble  refuge  of  unprovided  genius 
— ^the  bar !  To  the  bar,  with  a  heavy  heart  and  aching 
head,  I  devoted  year  after  year,  and  was  about  to  become  a 
tolerable  proficient  in  the  black  letter,  when  an  epistle  from 
Ireland  reached  me  in  Furnival's  Inn,  and  altered  my 
prospects  materially.  This  despatch  was  from  an  old  Ca- 
tholic aunt  whom  I  had  in  that  country,  and  whose  house 
I  had  been  sent  to,  when  a  child,  on  the  speculation  that 
this  visit  to  my  venerable  relative,  who,  to  her  other  good 
qualities,  added  that  of  being  a  resolute  spinster,  might 
determine  her,  as  she  was  both  rich  and  capricious,  to  make 
me  her  inheritor.  The  letter  urged  my  immediate  presence 
in  the  dying  chamber  of  the  Lady  Cfresswell ;  and,  as  no 
time  was  to  be  lost,  I  contrived  to  reach  in  two  days  the 
lonely  and  desolate  mansion  on  Watergrasshill,  in  the  vici- 
nity of  Cork.  As  I  entered  the  apartment,  by  the  scanty 
light  of  the  lamp  that  glimmered  dimly,  I  recognised,  with 
some  difficulty,  the  emaciated  form  of  my  gaunt  and  withered 
kinswoman,  over  whose  features,  originally  thin  and  wan, 
the  pallid  hue  of  approaching  death  cast  additional  ghastli- 
ness.  By  the  bedside  stood  the  rueful  and  unearthly  form  of 
Father  Prout ;  and,  while  the  sort  of  chiaroscuro  in  which  his 
figure  appeared,  half  shrouded,  half  revealed,  served  to  impress 
me  with  a  proper  awe  for  his  solemn  functions,  the  scene 
itself,  and  the  probable  consequences  to  me  of  this  last 
interview  with  my  aunt,  afiected  me  exceedingly.  I  invo- 
luntarily knelt ;  and  while  I  felt  my  hands  grasped  by  the 
long,  cold,  and  bony  fingers  of  the  dying,  my  whole  irame 
thrflled ;  and  her  words,  the  last  she  spoke  in  this  world, 
fell  on  my  ears  with  all  the  effect  of  a  potent  witchery, 
never  to  be  forgotten !  "  Frank,"  said  the  Lady  Cresswell, 
"  my  lands  and  perishable  riches  I  have  bequeathed  to  you, 
though  you  hold  not  the  creed  of  which  this  is  a  minister, 
and  I  die  a  worthless  but  steadfast  votary :  only  promise 
me  and  this  holy  man  that,  in  memory  of  one  to  whom 
your  welfare  is  dear,  you  will  keep  the  fast  of  Lent  while 
you  live ;  and,  as  I  cannot  control  your  inward  belief,  be  at 
least  in  this  respect  a  Boman  Catholic :  I  ask  no  more." 
How  could  I  have  refused  so  simple  an  injunction  ?  and 


H  AS   A70L0QT   FOB  tJLST.  3 

HriiBt  junior  member  of  the  bar  would  not  hold  a  good  rental 
Kjr  to  easy  a  tenure  ?  In  brief,  1  was  pledgpil  in  tlint  aolemti 
Boar  to  Father  Pruut,  anil  to  mv  kiud  and  simple- hearted 
Kant,  whoBe  grave  is  in  Batbcooney.  and  wUoae  aoul  is  in 

W  Diiriug  niy  short  stay  at  Watet^raashill,  (n  wild  and  ro- 
Bnantic  distrirt,  oF  whicli  every  brake  aiid  fell,  every  bog 
Kod  qoagmire,  ia  well  known  to  Crofton  Croker — for  it  is 
Hie  verr  Jreai/ia  of  hiB  fiirtionB),  I  formed  an  intiiaaey  with 
Ipiia  I'ather  Andrew  Front,  the  pastor  of  the  uplivnd,  and  a 
Kiftn  celebmttrd  in  the  south  of  Ireland.  Ke  wna  one  of  tbnt 
Bftire  of  pricBts  now  unfortunately  eitinet,  or  very  nearly 
Kt>.  like  the  old  breed  of  wolf-dogs,  in  the  ieland :  1  allude 
^fe  those  of  hJ9  order  who  were  educated  abroad,  before  the 
B^«neh  revolution,  and  had  imbibed,  from  associating  with 
H^  polisbed  and  bigii-bom  clergy  of  the  old  Gidlicmi  chureL, 
M  loftier  range  of  thtiught,  and  a  supenor  delicaey  of  eenti- 
^bent.  Henoe,  in  his  evidence  before  the  House  of  t.ords, 
V  the  elorions  Dan  "  has  not  concealed  the  grnd^c  he  feel» 
Bcm'ards  thoae  elergymen,  educat«d  on  the  continent,  who, 
Bcving  witnessed  the  doings  of  the  tannculottet  in  France, 
Bkve  no  fancy  to  a  relienrsal  of  the  same  in  Ireland.  Of 
Kis  elasH  was  Front,  P.P.  of  WatiTgraaehill ;  but  hia  real 
Kftlue  was  Terr  faintly  appreciated  by  his  rudo  flock  :  !ie 
Hru  not  underatood  by  his  contemporaries ;  his  thoughts 
Hrrre  not  their  thoughts,  neither  could  be  commune  with 
■^dred  suula  on  that  wild  mountain.  Of  his  genealogy 
KtOtbiDg  was  ever  known  with  certainty ;  but  in  this  he 
Knembled  UelchizeJeki  like  Eugene  Aram,  he  had  excited 
■he  moat  intense  ijiterest  in  the  highest  quarters,  still  did 
Bb  fltudiously  court  retirement.  He  was  thought  by  some 
ma  be  tkep  in  alchemy,  like  Friar  Bacon ;  but  the  gangers 
■brer  even  suspected  Mm  of  distilling  "  potheen."  He  was 
^nowD  t«  have  brought  from  France  a  spirit  of  the  must 
BfcjTaltniia  gallantly  \  still,  like  Fi^qi^oq  retired  from  the 
Hhirt  ot  Iiouis  XIV.,  he  shunned  the  attractions  of  the  sex, 
Bbrtbe  sake  of  his  pastoral  charge:  but  in  the  rigour  of 

bb  abstinence,  and  the  frugality  of  his  diet,  be  resembled 

no  one,  ami  none  kept  Lent  so  strictly. 
Of  bia  gallantry  one  anecdote  will  be  sufficient.     The 

bahiunable    Mrs.    Pepper,  with    two  female    compamuus, 


6  TATHER   PE0UT8    llLLl^Cl-S. 

travelling  througb  the  county  of  Cork,  Btopped  for  Divine 
service  at  the  chapel  of  Watergraaahill  (whii'n  is  on  the  big^ 
road  DU  the  Dublin  line),  and  entered  its  rude  gate  whui 
Prout  was  addreaaing  bis  congregation.  His  quick  eye  boO) 
detected  hia  fair  visitaotB  standing  behind  the  motley  crowd 
by  whom  they  were  totally  unnoticed,  so  iutent  were  all  oi 
the  diacourae ;  when,  interrupting  the  thread  of  bis  bomily; 
to  procure  suitable  accommodation  for  the  atrangera, 
"  Boys !"  cried  the  old  roan,  "  why  don't  yo  give  thre 
chairs  for  the  ladies  ?"  "  Three  cheers  for  the  ladies !"  rt 
echoed  at  once  the  parish -clerk.  It  was  what  might  b 
termed  a  clerical,  but  certainly  a  yery  natural,  error ;  an 
ao  acceptable  a  proposal  was  suitably  responded  to  by  tha 
frieBe-eoated  midtitude,  whose  triple  shout  shook  the  Tery 
cobwebs  on  the  roof  of  the  chapel! — after  which  slight  in- 
cident, service  was  quietly  resumed. 

He  was  extremely  fona  of  angling ;  a  recreation  which^ 
while  it  ministered  to  hia  necessary  relaxation  from  the  toili 
of  the  misaion,  enabled  him  to  observe  cheaply  the  fish  die) 
imperative  on  fast  days.  For  this,  he  had  established  hq 
residence  at  the  mountain-source  of  a  considerable  brook, 
which,  afl«r  winding  through  tho  pariah,  joins  the  BUcIt* 
water  at  Fermoy ;  and  on  its  banks  would  he  be  found, 
armed  with  hia  rod,  and  wrapt  in  his  strange  cassock,  fit  t« 
pereonate  the  river-god  or  presiding  genius  of  the  stream. 

His  modest  parlour  would  not  ill  become  the  hut  of  on^ 
of  the  fishermen  of  Galilee.  A  huge  net  in  festoons  cur* 
tained  bis  casement ;  a  salmon-spear,  sundry  rods,  and  fish'; 
ing-tackle,  hung  round  the  walls  and  over  hia  bookcaa^ 
which  latter  object  was  to  him  the  perennial  spring  o| 
refined  enjoyment.  Still  be  would  sigh  tor  the  vast  libraries 
of  France,  and  her  well-appointed  scientific  bolls,  where  ha 
had  spent  his  youth,  in  converse  with  the  firat  litenur 
characters  and  most  learned  divines  ;  and  once  be  directed 
my  attention  to  what  appeared  to  be  a  row  of  folio  volumes 
Bl'the  bottom  of  his  collection,  but  which  I  found  on  trial 
to  be  ao  many  large  etone-fli^,  with  parchment  backs,  bear- 
ing the  appropriate  title  of  Cobnblii  X  Lapide  Opera  qy^. 
extant  oniiiiav  by  which  semblance  of  that  old  Jeeuit'9 
commeutaries  he  consoled  himself  for  the  absence  of  the' 
original. 


Jjr    APOLOQT  roB   tEST.  7 

Hia  classic  ncquiTcineDts  were  considerable,  aa  will  appear 
"7  hiaesasy  on  Lent;  and  while  tbey  made  him  a,  most  in- 

^— ?  eotnpnnioii,  hi*  unobtrusive  merit  left  the  most 

>!e  impression.  The  general  character  of  a  cbnrcli- 
1  is  eiognlarly  improved  by  the  tributary  accomplisL- 
^ts  of  the  scholar,  and  Itt'Cniture  is  like  a  pure  gram  of 
kraby'a  incense  in  the  golden  censer  of  religion.  Hia  taete 
vr  tbe  fine  arts  was  more  genuine  thanniii^ht  be  conjectureil 
roro  tlie  scanty  specimenB  that  ndomeid  hia  apartment, 
though  perfectly  in  keeping  with  his  favourite  sport ;  for 
H>pre  hung  over  the  mantlepiece  a  print  of  Kaphacl'e  cartoon 
the  "  Miraculous  Draught ;"  here,  "  Tobilh  rescued  by  an 
Aueel  from  the  Fiah  ;"  and  there,  "  St.  Anthony  preaching 
to  Ibe  Fishes." 

With  this  learned  Tbeban  I  held  lon^  find  senoua  con- 
;  on  the  nature  of  the  antiquati^d  obserranee  I  had 
!p1edge<!  myself  to  keep  np ;  and  oft  have  we  discussed  the 
foatter  at'his  frugal  table,  aiding  our  conferences  with  a 
plate  of  water-cresHcfl  and  a  red  herring.  I  have  taken 
"Tpiooa  notes  of  Father  Front's  leading  topics  ;  and  while  I 
m  Touch  them  as  his  genuine  arguments,  I  will  not  be 
imswerable  for  the  style ;  which  may  poasiblj'  be  my  own, 
BD<]  probnhlv,  like  tbe  subject,  exceedingly  jejune. 

I  publish  them  in  pure  self-defence.  1  have  been  eo  often 
ailed  on  to  explain  my  peculiarities  relative  to  Lent,  that  I 
iBust  resort  to  tlie  press  for  a  riddance  of  my  perBecutora.  Tlie 
•prine.  which  exhilarates  all  nature,  is  to  me  but  the  herald 
igf  tribulation  ;  for  it  is  acconipanied  in  tbe  Lent  season  with 
1  recurrence  of  a  host  of  annoyances  consequent  on  the 
tenure  by  which  1  hold  my  aunt's  property.  1  have  at  last 
TMolvcd  to  state  my  case  openlv  ;  and  1  trust  that,  taking 
im  arms  against  a  aea  of  troubles,  I  may  by  eipoaing  end 
tnem.  Po  blessing  comes  unalloyed  here  below;  there  ia 
'  a  cankerworm  in  the  roae  ;  a  dactyl  is  sure  to  be  mixed 
rilh  a  spondee  in  the  poetry  of  life ;  and,  as  Homer 
tmgs.  there  stand  two  urns,  or  crocks,  beside  the  throne 
of  Jove,  from  which  he  doles  out  alternate  good  and  bad 
jifts  to  men,  but  mostly  both  together, 

1  grsnt,  that  to  rppine  at  one's  share  of  tbe  common  allot- 
Bent  would  indicate  bad  taste,  and  afford  evidence  of  ill- 
kiunour:  but  atitl  a  passing  insight  into  my  case  will  prove 


8  FATHEB   PBOUT*S   BELIQITES. 

it  one  of  peculiar  hardship.  As  regularly  as  dinner  is 
announced,  so  surely  do  I  know  that  my  hour  is  come  to  be 
stared  at  as  a  disciple  of  Pythagoras,  or  scrutinised  as  a 
follower  of  the  Venetian  Comaro.  I  am  "alien"  at  "feed- 
ing-time." To  tempt  me  from  my  allegiance  by  the  proffer 
of  a  turkey's  wing,  to  eulogise  the  sirloin,  or  dwell  on  the 
haut  ffoUt  of  the  haunch,  are  among  my  friends*  (?)  practical 
sources  of  merriment.     To  reason  with  them  at  such  unpro- 

Eitious  moments,  and  against  such  fearful  odds,  would  be  a 
opeless  experiment ;  and  I  have  learned  from  Horace  and 
from  Father  Prout,  that  there  are  certain  mollia  temporoj 
fandij  which  should  always  be  attended  to  :  in  such  cases  I 
chew  the  cud  of  my  resentment,  and  eke  out  my  repast  on 
salt-fish  in  silence.  None  will  be  disposed  to  question  mj 
claim  to  the  merit  of  fortitude.  In  vain  have  I  been  sum- 
moned by  the  prettiest  lisp  to  partake  of  the  most  tempting 
delicacies.  I  have  declined  each  lady-hostess's  hospitable 
offer,  as  if,  to  speak  in  classic  parlance,  Canidia  tractavit 
dapes;  or,  to  use  the  vernacular  phraseology  of  Moore,  as  if 

"  The  trail  of  the  serpent  was  over  them  alL*' 

Hence,  at  the  club  I  am  looked  on  as  a  sort  of  rara  avis , 
or,  to  speak  more  appropriately,  as  an  odd  fish.  Some  have 
spread  a  report  that  I  have  a  large  share  in  the  Hungerford 
Market ;  others,  that  I  am  a  Saint  Simonian.  A  feUow  of 
the  Zoological  Society  has  ascertained,  forsooth,  from  certain 
maxillary  appearances,  that  I  am  decidedly  of  the  class  of 
t^duofayotf  with  a  mixture  of  the  herbivorous.  When  the 
truth  is  known,  as  it  will  be  on  the  publication  of  this 
paper,  it  will  be  seen  that  I  am  no  phenomenon  whatever. 

My  witty  cousin,  Harriet  B.,  will  no  longer  consider  me 
a  fit  subject  for  the  exercise  of  her  ingenuity,  nor  present 
me  a  copy  of  Gray's  poems,  with  the  page  turned  down  at 
"An  Elegy  on  a  Cat  drowned  in  a  tub  of  Gold  Fishes."  She 
will  perhaps,  when  asked  to  sing,  select  some  other  aria 
besides  that  eternal  barcarolle, 

"  O  pescator  dell'  onda, 
Yieni  pescar  in  quk 
CoUabellAtuabarcar 

and  if  I  happen  to  approach  the  loo-table,  she  will  not  think 


fi 


A3    AFOLOOY    rOR   LENT,  9 

Q  neceteATV  to  Liiution  the  old  dowagers  to  tuke  cnre 
ir/.J. 
!«•  A  no*  poitiont.  When  last  I  gitpped  witli  Fatlier 
a  the  ere  of  my  departure  from  ^Vatei^nie^iiiU  (luid 
9  uulr  comjtare  my  reniiulscences  of  that  clussic  biwquet 
"RUOjilioD'a  account  of  the  aviuposion  of  PlaloJ,  ■'  Toung 
nan,"  said  he,  "  vou  li&da  goodaimt  in  the  Lady  Oresawell; 
ind  if  you  thougiit  as  we  do,  that  the  orisone  of  kindred  and 
hends  caobenelit  the  dead,  you  eliould  pray  for  Iter  na  long 
13  yoo  lire.  But  you  belong  to  a  different  creed— dillif rent, 
I  mean,  as  to  thia  particular  point ;  for,  as  a  whole,  your 
Aurch  of  England  Vars  a  close  resemblance  to  ours  of 
Kom<'.  The  daughter  will  ever  inherit  the  leadin^r  I'eaturet 
£the  mother ;  and  thougli  in  your  eyes  the  fresh  uod  un- 
^bnvd  fa«ciaatioiiit  of  the  new  faith  may  fling  into  the 
e  the  more  matronly  graces  of  the  old,  Homewhat  on  the 
acrpte  of  Horace,  0  inatre  pulckrH  JiUn  puhhrior  !  still 
)ur  sncieiit  worahip  many  and  potent  charms.  I  could 
dly  dwell  on  the  historic  recoUectiona  lliat  pmblaKon 
f  escutcbeoin,  the  pomp  and  pageantry  of  her  gorgeous 

1  me,  reverend  friend,  1  interposed,  lest  he  should 
Krge.  as  waa  hia  habit,  into  Bome  long-winded  argument, 
KiKn  to  tha  topic  on  which  I  sought  to  be  informed, — 1 
^not  utulervaliie  the  matronly  graces  of  your  venerable 
:  but  (pointing  to  the  remnant  of  what  had  been  a 
(dberring)  let  ub  tidK  of  her  fish-diet  and  fiist  days, 
"Aj,  you  are  right  there,  eliilJ,"  resumed  Prout ;  "  I  per- 
■>  iihere  my  panegyric  must  end — 

'Dounit  JnjHfmn  mulier  formoM  aupprni? !' 

■  will  get  a  famous  badgering  in  town  when  you  are 
'id  out  to  have  foraworn  the  flesh-pots ;  and  Lent  wiU  be 
.  hI  KiuoD  for  you  among  the  Egyptians.  But  you  need 
ll  be  unprovided  with  plausible  reasons  for  your  abstinence, 
a  the  sterling  considerations  of  the  rental.  Notwith- 
g  that  it  has  been  said  or  sung  by  your  Lord  Byron, 


in  P4TIIKK   PKOrx's   HELIi}CES. 

still  that  noble  poet  (I  speak  from  tbe  record  of  his  life  t 
habits  furnished  ua  by  Moore)  habitually  eschewed  aniii 
food,  detested  gross  feeders,  and  in  hie  own  case  lived  niai 
Irugally,  I  might  even  say  ascetically  ;  and  this  abstemlou 
ness  he  practised  from  a  refinement  of  choice,  for  ht  h 
registered  no  tow  to  heaven,  or  to  a,  maiden  aunt,  13 
observance  will  no  doubt  prove  a  trial  of  fortitude  ;  but  t 
your  part  at  the  festive  board,  were  you  so  criminal  ai  t 
transgreBS,  would  not  the  spectre  of  the  Lady  " 
like  the  ghost  of  Banquo.  rise  to  rebuke  you  ? 

''And  besides,  these  days  of  fasting  are  of  the  most  n 
antiquity ;  thejf  are  referred  to  as  being  in  vogne  at  the  fi. 
general  council  that  legislated  for  Christendom  at  Nice,  i 
Bitbyuia,  ad.  S25  :  and  the  subsequent  aasembly  of  bisht^ 
Ht  Laodicea  ratified  the  institution  &.n.  364.  Its  disciplu 
la  fuUv  developed  in  the  classic  pages  of  the  accomplishe 
Tert,ullian,  in  the  second  century  (Tract,  dej^uniu).  I  m 
no  more.  These  are  what  Edmund  Burke  would  call  'giw 
and  reverend  authorities,'  and,  in  the  silence  of  Holy  vfa 
may  go  aa  historic  evidence  of  primitive  Christianity ;  bi 
if  you  press  me,  I  can  no  more  show  cause  under  the  prop 
hand  and  seul  of  nn  apostle  for  keeping  the  fast  on  " 
days,  than  I  coo  for  keeping  the  Sabbath  on  Sunday. 

"  I  do  not  choose  to  notice  that  sort  of  criticism,  in  i 
dotage,  that  would  trace  the  custom  to  the  well-know 
avocation  of  the  early  disciples :  though  that  they  y 
fishermen  is  most  true,  and  that  even  after  they  had  b 
raised  to  the  apostolic  dignity,  they  relapsed  occasional 
into  the  innocent  pursuit  of  their  primeval  calling,  sti 
haunted  the  shores  of  the  accustomed  lake,  and  love 
to  disturb  with  their  nets  the  crystal  surface  of  Genm 
aareth. 

"  Lent  is  t^n  institution  which  should  have  been  long  sii 
rescued  from  the  cobwebs  of  theology,  and  restored  to  t 
domain  of  the  political  economist,  for  there  is  no  prasp) 
of  arguing  the  matter  in  a  ftur  spirit  among  conflictii 
divines ;  and,  of  all  things,  polemics  are  the  most  stale  U 
unprofitable.  Loaves  and  fishes  have,  in  all  ages  of  tl 
church,  had  charms  for  us  of  the  cloth  ;  yet  how  few  woul 
confine  their  frugal  bill  of  fare  to  mere  loaves  and  fisha 
So  far  Lent  may  be  considered  a  stumbling-block.     ~ 


AV   ArOI.OOI   FOB   LENT.  11 

bere  I  diRiniaa  theology ;  nor  ehall  Z  further  trespass  on 
your  paitienw  by  angling  for  arguments  in  tho  muddy  stream 
of  church  history,  as  it  rolls  )ta  troubled  wntera  orer  the 
middltf  ttgee. 

**  Your  black-letter  acquirements,  I  doubt  not,  are  cou* 

ndnvble ;    but   have  you  adverted  to  a  claune  iu  Queea 

Bixabeth'fl  en&rtment  for  the  improvement  of  the  shipping 

I  intereats  id  the  year  15)31  ?     You  vill,  I  believe,  tiad  it  to 

I  ran  thus : 

"v*«»o  So  Elii.  cap.  V.  $eet.  11: — 'And  for  encrease  of 
provision  of  fishe  by  the  more  usual  eating  thereof,  hee  it 
ftirther  eoacted,  that  from  the  feast  of  St.  Mighell  th'arcli- 
angell,  ano.  Dui.  fiftene  liundreth  threescore  foure,  every 
Wedneedsye  in  every  weeke  through  the  whole  yere  shal 
be  hereafter  observed  and  kepto  as  the  Saturdays  in  every 
wceke  be  or  ought  to  be  ;  and  that  no  person  shal  eat  any 
flcKhe  DO  more  than  on  the  common  Saturdays. 

Stet.  12. — 'And  bee  it  further  enacted  by  th'auctoritee 
aforesaid,  for  the  commoditie  and  beniRt  of  this  realme,  as 
well  to  growe  the  navie  aa  in  sparing  and  encreaae  of  fleshe 
rictual,  that  from  and  after  the  feast  of  Pentecost  next 
coming,  yt  shall  not  be  lawful  for  any  p'aon  to  eat  any  fleshe 
upon  ouy  days  now  usually  observed  as  flsh-dnys;  and  that 
any  p'eon  offending  herein  sbaL  forfeite  three  powndea  for 
ever?  tyme.' 

"  1  do  not  attach  so  much  importance  to  the  act  of  iier 
royal  successor,  James  I„  who  in  IGia  issued  a  proclama- 
tion, reminding  his  English  subjects  of  the  obligatiiiu  of 
keeping  Lent ;  because  bis  Majesty's  object  is  clearly  ascer- 
tained t-o  have  been  to  encourage  the  traffic  of  his  country- 
miea  the  Scutch,  who  had  just  then  embarked  largely  in  the 
herring  trade,  and  for  whom  the  thrifty  Stuart  was  aniious 
to  secure  n  monopoly  in  the  British  markets. 

"  But  when,  in  1627,  I  find  the  chivalrous  Charles  I.,  your 
mnrtynid  king,  sending  forth  from  the  banque ting-room  of 
Whitehall  his  royal  decree  to  the  same  etfect.  I  am  at  a  loss 
tu  trace  his  inotives.  It  is  known  that  Archbishop  Laud's 
advice  went  to  the  effect  of  reinstating  many  customa  of 
Cstholicity  ;  but,  from  a  more  diligent  consideration  of  tho 
uibjcct,  I  am  more  inclined  to  think  that  the  king  wished 
,  by  thi»  display  of  austere  practices,  to  soothe  and 


12  TiTnER   PEorT'B   BELliJClB. 

conciliate  tbe  Puritanical  portiuu  of  lila  subjects,  whom 
religioiifl  notions  were  Bupposed  (I  know  not  how  justly)  tl 
have  a  tendency  to  Belf-denial  and  the  mortification  of  Ifal 
flesh.  Certaui  it  is,  that  the  Calvinists  and  Boundimd 
were  greater  larouritea  at  Billingsgate  than  the  high-cburd 
party ;  from  which  we  may  conclude  that  they  consume 
more  Hah.  A  fact  corroborated  by  the  contemporary  teettr 
mony  of  Samuel  Butier,  who  says  that,  when  the  great 
struggle  commenced, 

'  Eneb  SBherwomim  loclicd  her  fish  up, 
And  trudged  abroad  lo  cry,  No  BisUop !" 

"  I  will  only  remark,  in  furtherance  of  my  own  views,  thit 
the  king's  beefeaters,  and  the  gormandising  Cavaliers  d 
that  period,  could  never  stand  in  fair  fight  against  the 
tere  and  fasting  Cromwelltana. 

"  It  is  a  vulgar  error  of  your  countrymen  to  con 
valour  with  roast  beef,  or  courage  with  ptum-puddinj 
There  esista  no  such  association ;  and  I  wonder  this  u&tioni 
mistake  lias  not  been  duly  noticed  by  Jeremy  Bcntbam  i 
his  '  Book  of  Fallncies.'  As  soon  might  it  be  presumed  thl 
the  pot-bellied  Falstaff,  faring  on  venison  a.ud  sack,  routi 
overcome  in  prowess  Owen  Glendower,  who,  I  suppose,  let 
on  leeks ;  or  that  the  lean  and  emaciated  Cassiue  was  not  i 
better  soldier  than  a  well-known  sleek  and  greasy  rogB 
who  fled  from  the  battle  of  Philippi,  and,  as  he  Uimse 
unblushingly  tells  the  world,  left  his  buckler  behind  him 
'  Relictd  non  bme  parmvld.'' 

"  I  cannot  contain  my  bile  when  I  witness  the  mode  i 
which  the  lower  orders  in  your  country  abuse  the  Preocfa 
for  whom  they  have  found  nothing  in  their  Anglo-SaxM 
vocabulary  so  espressive  of  contempt  as  the  terra  '  frog 
eater.'  A  Frenchman  is  not  supposed  to  be  of  the  9xan 
flesh  and  blood  as  themselves ;  nut,  like  the  water-snokt 
described  in  the  Georgtcs— 

*  PiBcibiu  atmin, 
ImprobuB  ingluTiom  r&uUque  ioquocibui  Implet.' 

Hence  it  ia  carefully  instilled  into  the  infant  mind  (wl 
the  young  idea  is  taught  how  to  shoot),  that  you  won  thi 
victories  of  Poitiers  and  Agincourt  mainly  by  the  superio 
rity  of  your  diet.    In  hewing  down  the  ranks  of  the  foeman, 


tat  iPOMar  ro»  lest. 


»A  of  tl»e  Englieh  army's  tiui.-wm  is  of  course  attributed 
the  dexterous  manaf^ement  of  l)ieir  crass-bills,  but  eun- 
JOTabl;  more  to  their  bill  of  tire.  If  I  could  reaeon  witli 
ich  iimpletooa,  1  would  refer  ttiem  to  tlie  recordB  of  the 
nmiaeariat  deimrtment  of  that  day,  and  open  to  tLeir 
lew  gSM  the  folio  vii.  of  Kymer's  Failfra,  where,  in  the 
einii  year  of  Edward  III,,  i.D.  X338,  at  page  1021,  they 
iu!d  find,  that  preiHouB  to  the  victory  of  Creasy  there  were 
ipped  »t  Purtsuiuuth,  for  the  use  of  these  gaUunt  troops, 
ly  tons  of  Yarmoulh  kernngt.  8uch  were  the  supplies 
tllitT  unusual  now  ia  the  cootracts  al  Somerset  House) 
hich  enabled  Edward  and  bin  valiant  sou  to  drivt-  the  hunts 
France  before  them,  and  roll  on  the  tide  of  war  till  the 
*-er8  of  Paris  yielded  to  the  mighty  torrent.  After  a 
■aty  rena«t  on  such  simple  diet,  might  the  Black  Prince 
tpropnatdy  addreas  bis  girded  knights  in  Shakespearian 
nue, 


The  enemy  sorely  grudged  them  their  supplies.  For  it 
ipears  by  the  chromcka  of  Euguerrand  ue  Mouptrellet, 
e  continuator  of  Frotssart,  that  in  1420,  while  the  English 
iww  besieging  Orleana,  the  Duke  of  Bedford  sent  from  his 
id-quartert',  Paris,  on  the  Ash  Wednesday  of  that  jear, 
If  bundred  i-nrts  kdeu  nitli  berringfi,  for  the  use  of  the 
np  during  I«nt,  when  n  party  of  French  noblemen,  viz. 
lititntillr.  I.abire,  De  la  Tour  de  Chavigny,  and  the  Che- 
ier  de  Lafayette  (ancestor  of  the  revolutionary  Tcteran), 
le  a  desperate  effort  to  intercept  the  convoy.  But  the 
^iifih  detachment,  under  whose  safeguard  was  this  pre- 
lUB  deposit,  fought  firo  nris  et  focit  in  its  defence,  und  the 
ntibuita  were  routed  with  the  loss  of  six  score  knights  and 
lUch  plebeian  slaughter.  Bead  Bapin's  occouot  of  the 
*"  iv,  which  was  thence  called  '  lajoumte  drs  hamgt.^ 
What  M-hoolboy  is  ignorant  of  the  fact,  that  at  the  eve 
the  battle  of  Hastings,  which  gave  to  your  Norman  an- 
tora  tbe  conquest  of  the  island,  the  conduct  of  theAnelo- 
itoua  was  strongly  contrasted  with  that  of  the  invaders 
m  J^Buee ;  for  while  in  Harold's  eamp  the  besotted  na- 
w  Rpent  the  night  in  revelling  and  gluttony,  the  Norman 


rATUEK   PBOUT  B   RELIQPKS. 


cbivalry  gave  their  time  to  fastiog  and  devotion. — (Galil' 
tmil/i,  A.D,  1066.) 

"  It  has  not  escaped  the  penetrating  miud  of  the  sagocioiu 
BuffoD,  in  hia  views  of  man  aud  man's  propensities  (which^ 
after  all,  are  the  proper  study  of  mankind),  that  a  predilec- 
tion for  light  food  and  epare  diet  has  always  been  thft 
characteriatic  of  the  Celtic  and  Eastern  races ;  wbile  thft 
Teutonic,  the  Sclavonian,  and  Tartar  branches  of  the  hmnatt 
fiiniily  betray  an  aboriginal  craving  for  heavy  meat,  and  an 
gross  feeders.  In  many  countries  of  Europe  there  has  been 
a  slight  amalgamation  of  blood,  and  the  iuteraatioDsl  pedi* 
gree  in  parts  of  the  Continent  has  become  perplexed  and 
doubtful :  but  the  most  obtuse  observer  can  see  that  ths 
phlegmatiu  habits  of  the  Prussians  and  Butch  argue  &  dit 
ferent  genealogical  oiigia  from  that  which  produced  tht 
lively  ^Espositioa  of  the  tribes  of  southern  Europe.  Tha 
best  specimens  extant  of  the  genuine  Celt  are  the  Oreek^ 
the  Arabians,  and  the  Irish,  tJl  of  whom  are  temperate  i 
Ibeir  food.  Among  European  denominations,  in  proportion 
as  the  Celtic  infusion  predominates,  so  in  a  corresponding; 
ratio  is  the  national  character  for  abstemiousness.  Nor 
would  1  thus  dwell  on  an  otherwise  uninteresting  specula^ 
tion,  were  I  not  about  to  draw  a  corollary,  and  shew  hoW 
these  secret  influences  became  apparent  at  what  is  called 
the  great  epoch  of  the  Beformation.  The  latent  tendencj 
to  escape  from  feating  observances  became  then  reveole^ 
and  what  bad  lain  dormant  for  ages  was  at  once  developed* 
The  Tortar  and  Sclavonic  breed  of  men  flung  off  the  yok^ 
of  Borne;  while  the  Celtic  races  remained  faithful  to  t' 
successor  of  the  '  Fishermau,'  and  kept  Lent. 

"  The  Hollanders,  the  Swedes,  the  Saxons,  the  Prusaian^ 
and  in  Oermany  those  circles  in  which  the  Gothic  blool 
run  heaviest  and  most  stagnant,  hailed  Luther  as  a  delivered 
from  salt  fish.  The  fatted  calf  was  killed,  bumpers  cf 
ale  went  round,  and  Popery  went  to  the  dogs.  Half  Kuropo 
followed  the  impetus  given  to  free  opinions,  and  the  con- 
genial impulse  of  the  gastric  juice ;  joining  in  refomij 
not  because  they  loved  Rome  less,  but  because  thev  Iotm 
substantial  fare  more.  Meantime  neighbours  differed.  Tfas 
Dutch,  dull  and  opaque  aa  their  own  Zuidersee,  growled  de- 
fiance at  the  Vatican  when  tlieir  food  was  to  be  eoatrolled  t 


AW   APOLOQT    FOE  LEKT.  15 

,  being  a  shade  neiLrer  to  the  Celtic  fnmiiy, 
MbauHcd  tu  the  fast.  While  Hamburg  clung  to  ita  iff/, 
and  Westphalia  preserved  her  Aaau,  Munich  and  Bavaria 
adhered  to  the  Pop^  anil  to  sour-erout  with  deBperate 
lidclitT.  As  to  the  CoBBuokB,  and  nil  that  set  of  northern 
mnrnuderB,  thev  nerer  kept  Lent  at  any  time ;  uud  it  nould 
be  amnt  folly  to  expect  thiit  the  boreeinen  of  the  river 
Don,  and  the  Esqiiininux  of  the  polar  latitudes,  would  think 
of  restricting  their  ravenous  propeuaitieH  in  a  Christian 
fnshiijQ  :  the  very  syatem  of  cookery  adopted  by  these 
terrible  hordes  would,'  1  fear,  have  given  Dr.  Kitehiner  a  fit 
of  cholera.  The  npparatiia  is  graphically  described  by 
Samnel  Butler;  I  wiif  indulge  jou  with  part  of  the  (juo- 
tstioa; 

'For  like  thtir  eounCryinen  the  Huna, 
Thejf  itew  their  nie*l  Under  t 

All  day  ou  lionea'  bnclis  they  slraddte, 
Then  ererj  man  cats  up  his  eaddie !' 

A  atnuige  process,  no  doubt :  but  not  without  some  sort  of 
precedeot  la  cIbmic  records ;  for  the  Latin  poet  introduces 
voung  lulna  at  a  picnic,  in  the  >^eid,  eicloiming — 


"  Tq  Kugland.  as  the  inbabitnnts  are  of  a  miied  descent, 
and  as  there  has  ever  been  a  disrelish  for  any  alteration  in  the 
habitfl  and  fireside  traditions  of  the  country,  the  fish  diLvn 
were  remembered  long  after  every  Popish  observance  had 
become  obsolete ;  and  it  was  not  until  1608  that  butchers' 
loeat  finaUv  established  ita  ascendency  in  Lent,  at  the 
arrival  of  tlie  Dutchman.  We  have  seen  the  exertions  of 
Ihe  Tudor  dynasty  under  Elizabeth,  and  of  the  house  of 
Stuart  under  James  I.  and  Charles  I.,  to  keep  up  these 
liuta.  which  had  flourished  in  the  days  of  the  Flantasenets, 
which  the  Heptarchy  had  revered,  which  Alfred  and  Canute 
bad  ecnipulonaly  observed,  and  which  had  come  down  poai- 
tirely  recommended  by  the  Venerable  Bede.  William  III. 
gave  ft  death-blow  to  I^ent.  Until  then  it  had  lingered 
imopg  the  threadbare  curates  of  the  coiintiy,  exlrema  ptt 

t  HwUbru,  Cutto  a.  L  275. 


16  lATHEB  PBOUT'B   EXLlQfTES. 

illos  excedens  terris  vestigia  fecitf  having  been  long  before 
exiled  from  the  gastronomic  hall  of  both  UniTersities.  Bui 
its  extinction  was  complete.  Its  ghost  might  still  remain, 
flitting  through  the  land,  without  corpox^  or  ostensible 
form ;  and  it  vanished  totally  with  the  fated^  star  of  the 
Pretender.  It  was  William  who  conferred  tlie  honour  of 
knighthood  on  the  loin  of  beef;  and  such  was  the  progress 
of  disaffection  under  Queen  Anne,  that  the  folks,  to  mani- 
fest their  disregard  for  the  Pope,  agreed  that  a  certain  ex- 
tremity  of  the  goose  should  be  denominated  his  nose ! 

''The  indomitable  spirit  of  the  Celtic  Irish  preserved 
Lent  in  this  country  unimpaired ;  an  event  of  such  import- 
ance to  England,  that  I  shall  dwell  on  it  by  and  by  m<»e 
fully.  The  Spaniards  and  Portuguese,  although  GK>thic  and 
Saracen  blood  has  commingled  in  the  pure  current  of  their 
Phoenician  pedigree,  clung  to  Lent  with  characteristic 
tenacity.  The  Gallic  race,  even  in  the  days  of  CsBsar,  were 
remarkably  temperate,  and  are  so  to  the  present  day.  The 
French  very  justly  abhor  the  gross,  carcase-eating  propen- 
sities of  John  Bull.  But  as  to  the  keeping  of  I^nt,  in  an 
ecclesiastical  point  of  view,  I  cannot  take  on  myself  to 
vouch,  since  the  ruffianly  revolution,  for  their  orthodoxy  in 
that  or  any  other  religious  matters.  They  are  sadly  defiant 
therein,  though  still  delicate  and  refined  in  their  cookeiy, 
like  one  of  their  own  artistes,  whose  epitaph  is  in  Pto  la 
Chaise — 

'  Ci  git  qui  d^  Vige  le  plus  tendre 

Inventa  la  aauee  Robert ; 
Mais  jamais  il  ne  put  apprendre 
Ni  son  credo  ni  son  pater* 

"  It  was  not  so  of  old,  when  the  pious  monarchs  of  France 
dined  publicly  in  Passion  week  on  fasting  fare,  in  order  to 
recommend  by  their  example  the  use  of  fish — when  the 
heir-apparent  to  the  crown  delighted  to  be  called  a  dolphvn 
— and  when  one  of  your  own  kings,  being  on  a  visit  to 
France,  got  so  fond  of  their  lamprey  patties,  that  he  died  of 
indigestion  on  his  return. 

''  Antiquity  has  left  us  no  document  to  prove  that  the 
early  Spartans  kept  certain  days  of  abstinence  ;  but  their 
black  broth,  of  which  the  ingredients  have  puzzled  the 


A5    AFOLOOT   TOR  LEST.  17 

Iranied,  must  liave  been  a  fitting  substitute  for  the  soup- 
maigrf  of  our  L«Dt,  ninee  it  I'equired  a  hard  run  on  the 
Imnltii  vf  tbe  Eurotns  tii  make  it  somewhat  palatable.  At 
all  eriiitB.  tlaeir  great  inwgiver  wua  nn  eminent  ascetic,  aod 
apfilieil  UimBelf  much  tu  restrict  the  diet  of  his  hardy  couq- 
trrmeii ;  asd  if  il  ia  certain  that  there  existed  a  mystic 
bond  Gf  union  among  the  300  Laced  em  oniana  who  etood  in 
the  gap  of  Thennopylw.  it  aasuredly  was  not  a  beef-ateak 
club  n(  vrhii'h  Lconidaa  was  president. 

"Tbe  Athenians  were  too   cultivated   n  people   not    to 

anpreeiate  the  value  of  periodical  days  of  self-denial  and 

■1>at«Tnioiisnf88.      Accordingly,   on  the  eve  of  i.'ertain  fea- 

tiTals.  they  fed  esclusively  on  figs  and  the  honey  of  Muunt 

Hytncttus.      Plutarch  expressly  tella  us  that  a  solemn  fa^t 

jircc*(Jeil  the  celebration  of   tlie  Tliermophorin  ;    thence 

tcnned  itjonia.     In  Itiokiiig  over  the  works  of  tbe  great 

oeographer  Strabo  (lib.  liv.),  I   find  sufGcient  erideuce  of 

BWe  respect  paid  ta^>A  by  the  inhabitants  of  a  distinguished 

Bfireek  city,  in  which  that  erudite  author  says  the  arrival  of 

^mK  fishing-smocks  in  the  harbour  was  announced  joyfully 

^k  aounding  the  "tocsin;"  and  that  the  musicians  in  the 

^■pblic  pt»»i  were  left  abruptly  by  the  crowd,  whenever  the 

^ki  UtOfd  for  the  tiaJe  of  tbe  herrings :  xi^a^cgilAu  iviAuxnifiitau 

^HatC  /tn  axftai^ai  Tatvai-  Hi  it  a  xwJut  o  xorix   ritv   t-^^ie^inXiai 

^Ht«{iiM  larctXprsiTff  aTiXitii  cm  ra  o^ot.     A  custom  to  which 

^Biilnrch  also  refers  in  his  Symposium  of  Plato,  lib.  iv.  cap. 

HL    ^iii    c^i   i^9-jo<rv>.iaii    aittiiiaarai    xai    rou    xwiiarei   e^i>i; 

B  "That  practicttfl  similar  to  our  I<eat  existed  among  the 
pBixium*,  Buty  be  gathered  from  various  sources.  In  OVid'a 
I  /<a«fi  (not  with  si  an  ding  the  title)  I  find  notlnug :  but  from 
fttfie  reU4{uos  of  old  sacerdotal  memorials  collected  by 
■KephAno  Morcclli,  it  nppcnrs  that  Xuma  fitted  himsf'lf  by 
^■■tiilg  for  ail  interview  with  the  niysteriouB  inmate  of 
^Eeh«'«  grotto.  Ltvy  tells  iis  that  the  decemvirs,  on 
^K  Dceumuce  of  certain  prodigies,  wore  instrncted  by  a 
^Etf  of  the  Bcmate  to  consult  the  Sibylline  books;  and 
^b  resolt  was  the  cst.iblishmetit  of  a  fast  in  honour  of 
^^ma,  to  bo  obwrred  perjietuolly  every  fi\e  years.  It  is 
^Kd  to  tcU  wbether  Humee  is  in  joke  or  lu  eanieat 
V  >  See  TniiLiUlion  in  Bahu'a  Strabo,  Vol.  iii.  p.  37. 


18  FATHSB  PBOUT'S  KELIQUES. 

» 

when   he    introduces   a  vow  relative  to    these    days   of 

penance — 

*  Frigida  si  pueruin  quartana  reliquerit  illo 
Man^  die  quo  tu  mdieii  p^unia  nudus 
In  Tyberi  stabit !'     Serm,  lib.  iL  sat  8.  T.  290. 

But  we  are  left  in  the  dark  as  to  whether  they  observed  their 
fasts  by  restricting  themselves  to  lentils  and  vegetable  diet, 
or  whether  fish  was  allowed.  On  this  interesting  point 
we  find  nothing  in  the  law9  of  the  twelve  tables.  HoweTcr, 
a  marked  predilection  for  herbs,  and  such  frugal  fiure,  was 
distinctive  of  the  old  Eomans,  as  the  very  names  of  the 
principal  families  sufficiently  indicate.  The  Eabii,  for  in> 
stance,  were  so  called  from  faha,  a  bean,  on  which  simple 
aliment  that  indefatigable  race  of  heroes  subsisted  for  many 
generations.  The  noble  line  of  the  Lentuli  derive  theur 
patronymic  from  a  favourite  kind  of  lentil,  to  which  they 
were  partial,  and  from  which  Lent  itself  is  so  called.  The 
aristocratic  Pisoes  were  similarly  circumstanced ;  for  their 
family  appellation  will  be  found  to  signify  a  kind  of  yetches. 
Scipio  was  titled  from  cepe,  an  onion  -^  and  we  niay  trace 
the  surname  and  hereditary  honours  of  the  great  Itoman 
orator  to  the  same  horticultural  source,  for  cicer  in  Latin 
means  a  sort  of  pea ;  and  so  on  through  the  whole  nomen- 
clature. 

"  Hence  the  Eoman  satirist,  ever  alive  to  the  follies  of  his 
age,  can  find  nothing  more  ludicrous  than  the  notion  of  the 
Egyptians,  who  entertained  a  religious  repugnance  to  yege* 
table  fare : 

*  Porrilun  et  oepe  nefas  riolare  et  frangere  monu, 
O  sanctaa  gentes !'  Jut.  Sat.  16. 

And  as  to  fish,  the  fondness  of  the  people  of  his  day  for  such 
food  can  be  demonstrated  from  his  fourth  satire,  where  he 
dwells  triumphantly  on  the  capture  of  a  splendid  tunny  in 
the  waters  of  the  Adriatic,  and  describes  the  assembling  cl 
a  cabinet  council  in  the  ^'Downing  Street"  of  Bome  to 
determine  how  it  should  be  properly  cooked.  It  must  be 
admitted  that,  since  the  Whigs  came  to  office,  although  they 

*  Here  Prout  is  in  error.  Seipio  means  a  **walking-6tick,"  and  com* 
memorates  the  filial  piety  of  one  of  the  gtna  ConUUa^  who  went  about 
constantlj  supporting  hu  tottering  aged  &ther.<— >0.  Y. 


AS   AKILOQT    I 


19 


hsTe  had  many  a  pretty  kettle  of  ftsh  to  deliberate  upon,  thej 
faaT«  Bbown  uotbuig  liolf  no  digniiied  or  rational  in  tbeif 

tRioua  iu  the  imperial  privy  couucil  of  Domitiati. 
The  nugniliceDce  displayed  by  the  moaters  of  the  world 
ettiugiip  fiah-ponda  is  a  fa«t  which  every  aeboothoy  has 
at,  aa  irell  as  that  occaeioniilly  the  murana  were  treated  to 
luxury  of  a  tlave  or  twu,  flung  in  alive  for  their  nutri- 
meut.     The  celebrity  which  the  maritime  yillasof  Baiffi  ob- 
taioed  lor  that  tashionable  watering-place,  is  a  further  argu- 
awat  iu  jKiint ;  and  we  know  that  when  the  reprobate  Verres 
was  driven  into  eiile  by  the  brilliant  declamation  of  Cicero, 
he  cutiaolt-d  himself  at  Marseilles  over  a  local  ditth  of  Anguilla 
i  la  MarteiUaiie. 
"  Simplicity  and  good  taste  in  diet  gradually  dechning  in 
Up  Boninn  empire,  the  ginuitic  frame  of  the  colossus  itaelf 
Bfcw  hastened  to  decay.     It  burst  of  ita  own  plethory.    The 
VnUnple  of  the  degenerate  court  had  pervaded  the  provincea ; 
*nd  looa  the  whofe  bodf  politic  reeled,  aa  after  a  surfeit  of 
'  ■baocherr.     Viteliins  liad  gormaudieed  with  vulgar  glut- 
'iit  ;  the  Emperor  Maiiminus  was  a  living  sepukhre,  where 
'iinle  becatouibs  of  butchers'  meat  were  dady  entombed ;' 
wd  DO  R)odem  keeper  of  a  tnilt  d'kSte  could  stand  a  suc- 
CMsion  if  such  guests  aa  Heliogaholua.      Oibhon,  whoae 

e^netrattng  eye  nothing  has  escaped  in  the  causes  of  the 
ecline  and  Fall,  notices  tiiia  vile  propensity  to  overfeeding ; 
and  shows  that,  to  reconstruct  tiie  nughty  system  of 
ilominioD  enlabliebed  by  the  rugg«<d  republicans  (the  Fabii, 
llie  [^ntnli,  and  tbe  Pisoes),  nothing  but  a  bond  fide  return 
to  simplij  fare  and  homely  pottnge  could  be  effectual.  The 
ft|nt  was  duly  acted  on.  Tbe  Popes,  frugal  and  abstemious, 
Bpeende^  the  vacant  throne  of  the  Caasara.  and  ordered  Lent 
Hpl^e  observd!  throughout  the  eastern  and  weetem  world. 
fc  "The  Iheorj-  of  fasting,  and  its  practical  appUcation,  did 
«anil'-T»  in  that  emergency.  It  renovated  the  rotten  cou- 
Eliiiiti.in  ijf  Europe — it  tamed  the  hungry  hordes  of  despe- 
rate eaiiigL-s  that  rushed  down  with  a  war-whoop  on  the 
u«lral«  ruina  of  the  empire — it  taughf  them  self-control, 
i  gave  them  a  mosterdom  over  their  barbarous  propcnsi- 
—it  did  mure,  it  originated  civilisation  and  commerce. 
hit  i»  mhI  tlinl  in  it  ein^le  da;  he  could  devoor  fori;  paimda  otmMl 
■  diinl  &a  Biciphon  of  wiuc 


20  FATHEB  PBOUT*S  BELIQVS8. 

*'  A  few  straggling  fishermen  built  huts  on  the  flats  of  the 
Adriatic,  for  the  convenience  of  resorting  thither  in  Lent, 
to  procure  their  annual  supply  of  fish.  The  demand  for  that 
article  became  so  brisk  and  so  extensive  through  the  vast 
dominions  of  the  Lombards  in  northern  Italy,  that  from  a 
temporary  establishment  it  became  a  permanent  colony  in 
the  lagunea.  Working  like  the  coral  insect  under  the  seas, 
with  the  same  unconsciousness  of  the  mighty  result  of  their 
labours,  these  industrious  men  for  a  century  kept  on  en« 
largins^  their  nest  upon  the  waters,  till  their  enterprise  be- 
came lully  developed,  and 

'  Venice  Bat  in  state,  throned  on  a  hundred  isles.* 

"  The  fasting  necessities  of  France  and  Spain  were  minis- 
tered to  by  the  rising  republic  of  G^enoa,  whose  origin  I 
delight  to  trace  from  a  small  fishing  town  to  a  mighty  em- 
porium of  commerce,  fit  cradle  to  rock  (in  the  infant  Co- 
lumbus) the  destinies  of  a  new  world.  Few  of  us  have 
turned  our  attention  to  the  fact,  that  our  favourite  fish,  the 
John  Dory,  derives  its  name  from  the  Genoese  admiral, 
Doria,  whose  seamanship  best  thrived  on  meagre  diet.  Of 
Anne  Chovy,  who  has  given  her  name  to  another  fish  found 
in  the  Sardinian  waters,  no  record  remains ;  but  she  was 
doubtless  a  heroine.  Indeed,  to  revert  to  the  humble  her- 
ring before  you,  it^  etymology  shews  it  to  be  well  adapted 
for  warlike  stomachs,  heer  (its  German  root)  signifying  an 
army.  In  England,  is  not  a  soldier  synonymous  with  a 
lobster  ? 

"  In  the  progress  of  maritime  industry  along  the  shores  of 
southern,  and  subsequently  of  northern  Europe,  we  find  a 
love  for  freedom  to  grow  up  with  a  fondness  for  fish.  Enter- 
prise and  liberty  flourished  among  the  islands  of  the  Archi- 
pelago. And  when  Naples  was  to  be  rescued  from  thraldom, 
it  was  the  hardy  race  of  watermen  who  plied  in  her  beau- 
teous bay,  that  rose  at  Freedom's  call  to  effect  her  deliverance, 
when  she  basked  for  one  short  hour  in  its  full  sunshine  under 
the  gallant  Masaniello. 

'*  As  to  the  commercial  grandeur,  of  which  a  constant 
demand  for  fish  was  the  creating  principle,  to  illustrate  its 
importance,  I  need  only  refer  to  a  remarkable  expression  of 


is  iP(iLOor  FOR  LisT,  21 

lliat  dorp   poHlii-iaii,  and    exceetliiiylj-    clever    economist, 

CharUw  Vt  wlien,  oii  a  progress  tliruugb  a  part  of  bis  do- 

Lminiuna,  oo  nbii'h  the  bud  at  that  period  never  went  down, 

■  tiB  happened  to  pass  througii  Amsterdam,  in  cotnpanj  with 
P  tiw  Quren  of  Hungary :  on  that  occaeion,  being  compli- 
'  IiU9it«d  in  the  usual  form  by  the  burgomasterB  of  nia  faith- 
ful city,  lie  asked  lo  see  the  mausoleum  of  John  Bachalen, 
the  famuus  herring-baireler ;  but  when  told  that  his  grave, 
Ftmple  and  unadorned,  lay  in  his  native  island  in  the  Zuyder- 
we, '  What!'  cried  the  illustrious  visitor,  'ia  it  thus  that  Div 
people  of  the  NetherlanilB  shew  their  gratitude  to  so  grent 
a  man  ?  Know  ye  not  that  the  foundiitiona  of  Amsterdam 
aie  laid  on  herriug-boDes  't'  Their  majesties  went  on  a  pil- 
j^nsago  to  his  tomb,  na  is  related  by  S\r  Hugh  Wiiloughby 
in  bis  •ilistorieof  Fishes.' 

"  It  would  lie  of  immense  advantage  to  these  countries 
wtn>  i*e  to  returo  unaniuiously  to  the  ancient  practiee,  and 
r  reitow  to  the  full  eitent  of  their  wiae  policy  the  laws  of 
m  Htubetfa.  The  revival  of  Lent  is  the  sole  remedy  for  tije 
IvBUional  complaints  on  the  decline  of  the  ehippiog  interest. 
K'tbe  sole  (Tsy  to  meet  the  outcry  about  corn-laws.  Inst^iad 
Kvf  Sir,  Attwood's  project  for  a  change  of  currency,  ilr. 
■"Wilmut  Hortiiu's  panacea  of  emigration,  and  Miss  Marti- 
Knesu'i  preventive  check.  rc-ena«t  Lent.  But  mark,  I  do 
KMOt  go  Ml  far  M  to  ray  that  by  this  means  all  and  every- 
■tlling  doaitsble  can  be  accomplisbed,  nor  do  I  undertake  by 

■  It  to  pay  off  the  national  debt — though  the  Lords  of  the 
nlVeB>ury  miglit  learn  that,  when  the  disciples  were  at  a  Josb 
P^  c!i«el  tiie  demand  of  tai-colle«tora  iu  their  day,  they 
■MUKbt  a  tish,  and  found  in  its  gills  sufficient  to  satisfy  the 
Herroue.     (.S7.  MaftArw.  chap,  xrii.) 

L  "  Of  all  tho  varied  resources  of  this  great  empire,  the 
^fasat  important,  in  a  national  point  of  view,  has  long  been 
^Kv  portion  of  capital  nQoat  in  the  merchantmen,  and 
^Bt  •trength  invested  in  the  navy  of  Great  Britain.  True, 
^^fe  Bnliib  thunder  has  too  long  slept  under  a  sailur-kiug, 
^^M  uodi-r  K)  mauy  galling  national  insults ;  and  it  were 
^^ul  ttm«  to  say  that  it  shall  no  longer  sleep'  on  in  the 
^Kkve  where  Sir  James  Qmbam  has  laid  it.  But  my  xon- 
^^kn  ia  principally  for  the  alarming  depression  of  our  oier- 
^^BBla'  prvipertj  in  vessels,  repeatedly  proved  in  evidence 


i 


22  FATHEB  PBOITT's   BELIQFE8. 

before  your  House  of  Commons.  Poulett  Thomson  is  right 
to  call  attention  to  the  cries  of  the  shipowners,  and  to  that 
dismal  howling  from  the  harbours,  described  by  the  prophet 
as  the  forerunner  of  the  fall  of  Babylon. 

"  The  best  remedial  measure  would  be  a  resumption  of 
Hsh-diet  during  a  portion  of  the  year.  Talk  not  of  a  resump- 
tion of  cash  payments,  of  opening  the  trade  to  China,  or  of 
finding  a  north-west  passage  to  national  prosperity.  Talk 
not  01  *  calling  spirits  from  the  vasty  deep,'  when  yon  neg- 
lect to  elicit  food  and  employment  for  thousands  from  its, 
exuberant  bosom.  Visionary  projectors  are  never  withoat 
some  complex  system  of  beneficial  improvement ;  but  I 
would  say  of  them,  in  the  words  of  an  Irish  gentleman  who 
has  lately  travelled  in  search  of  religion, 

'  They  may  talk  of  the  nectar  that  sparkled  for  Helen — 
Theirs  is  a  fiction,  but  this  is  reality.' 

Melodiei, 

Demand  would  create  supply.  Flotillas  would  issue  from 
every  sea-port  in  the  spring,  and  ransack  the  treasures  o( 
the  ocean  for  the  periodical  market :  and  the  wooden  walls 
of  Old  England,  instead  of  crumbling  into  so  much  rotten 
timber,  would  be  converted  into  so  many  huge  wooden 
spoons  to  feed  the  population. 

"  It  has  been  sweetly  sung,  as  well  as  wisely  said,  by  a 
genuine  English  writer,  that 

'  Full  many  a  gem  of  purest  ray  serene 

The  dark,  un&thom*d  caves  of  ocean  bear.* 

To  these  undiscovered  riches  Lent  would  point  the  national 
eye,  and  direct  the  national  energies.  Very  absurd  would 
then  appear  the  forebodings  of  the  croakers,  who  with  some 
plausibility  now  predict  the  approach  of  national  bankruptcy 
and  famine.  Time  enough  to  think  of  that  remote  contin- 
gency when  the  sea  shall  be  exhausted  of  its  live  bullion, 
and  the  abyss  shall  cry  '  Hold,  enough !'  Time  enough  to 
fear  a  general  stoppage,  when  the  run  on  the  Dopger  Bank 
shall  have  produced  a  failure— when  the  shoals  of  the  teem* 
ing  north  shall  have  refused  to  meet  their  engagements  in 
the  sunny  waters  of  the  south,  and  the  dra^s  of  the  net 
shall  have  been  dishonoured. 
-^    '<  I  admire  Edmund  Burke ;  who  in  his  speech  on  Amen- 


COttCiliAtion,  haa  an  argtimentum  piscalorium  quite  to  tii; 
f.      Tollt !  itge  .' 

Ab  to  the  wealtli  wbich  these  colonies  liave  ilorived 
torn  the  e«a  b^  their  fisheries,  you  had  all  that  matter  fuUr 

rued  at  your  bar.  Tou  surely  thought  these  acquisitioiia 
iratue ;  for  they  evcu  seemed  to  extite  your  envy.  And 
:  the  Bpint  witn  which  that  enteqiriiiing  employment  has 
m  Bxerei*ed  ought  rather,  in  my  opinion,  to  have  raised 
ir  eotceni  and  udmiratioii.  And  pray,  sir,  vhat  in  the 
rid  is  equal  to  it  ?  Look  at  the  manner  in  which  tht- 
)ple  of  Sew  England  have  carried  on  their  fishery. 
Chile  ve  follow  them  among  the  tumbling  mountains  uf 
penetrating  into  the  deepest  recesses  of  Hudson's 
r ;  while  we  «re  looking  for  them  beneath  the  arctic 
iircle,  we  hear  that  they  nave  pierced  into  the  opposite 
igtuu  uf  polar  cold. — that  tliey  are  at  the  antipodes,  and 
Imaged  under  the  froz.eu  acrpent  of  the  south.  Falkland 
laud,  wliich  seemed  too  remote  and  romautic  an  object  for 
e  grasp  of  national  ambition,  is  but  a  stage  aud  restmg 
■ce  in  the  progress  of  their  victorious  industry.  Nor  is 
be  e<]tiinoctiaI  beat  more  discouraging  to  them  than  the 
Drumulfttvtl  winter  of  both  the  piSes.  We  know,  that 
rhilc  some  of  tbem  draw  the  line  and  strike  the  harpoon 
n  the  coast  uf  .U'rica,  others  run  the  longitude,  find  pursue 
heir  gigantic  gnnie  along  the  shores  of  Brazil ;  no  sen  thnt 
p  tu)t  rexed  by  their  fisheries,  no  climate  that  is  not  wiluesit 
D  their  toils !' 
"Such  glorious  imaginings  and  beatific  dreams  would  (I 
esk  advisedly)  be  realised  in  these  countries  by  Leut'ii 
igic  spell ;  and  1  have  no  doubt  that  our  patriot  King, 
e  patruu  of  .no  many  very  questionable  reforms,  will  see 
e  propriety  of  restoring  the  laws  of  Elizabeth  in  this  ni.il- 
r.  Stanislaus,  the  late  pious  king  of  Lorraine,  so  endeared 
dlDself  to  his  subjects  in  general,  and  market-gardeners  in 
articobir,  by  his  sumptuiu'y  regulations  respecting  vege- 
ible  diet  in  Lent,  that  in  the  hortut  ticeva  of  Nancy  his 
'    ■  been  placed,  with  an  appropriate  inscription  :— 


**  A  Ktmilar  compliment  would  await  his  present  Majesty 


21  FATHEB    FBOUia   BELII^rES. 

Willinm  IV.  from  the  Hliipownere  and  the  '  wonhipfi 
i'lBhrnongerB"  Company,'  if  he  should  adopt  tlie  BUggestia 
thrown  out  here.  He  would  figure  coji^sally  in  Tratiilgi 
Square,  pointing  with  hia  trident  to  Hungerford  Silarkel 
The  three-pronged  iustininient  in  his  hiuid  would  be  a  moi 
appmnriate  emblem  (nmL-h  more  90  than  on  the  pinnacle  c 
Buckingham  Palace),  Bim;ij  it  would  signify  equally  well 
fork  with  which  he  fed  his  people,  and  the  sceptre 
which  he  ruled  the  world. 

'  Lc  trident  da  IIcpliiriD  »t  U  emptn<  ilu  monde !' 

"Then  would  be  solved  tlie  grand  problem  of  the  Com-Iai. 
queBtion.  Hitherto  my  Lord  FitEwilliam  baa  taken  notliitig 
by  his  iiiotionit,  But  were  Lent  proclaimed  at  Charina 
Cross  and  Tojnple  Bar,  and  through  the  market  towni  m 
Engloud,  u  speedy  full  iu  the  price  of  graziug  stock,  thou^ 
it  might  afflict  Lord  Althorp,  would  eventually  harmonua 
the  jarriiig  interests  of  agriculture  and  mauufiu'turtng  tti^ 
dustry.  The  superabundaat  populatiou  of  the  farming  6» 
triotfl  would  crowd  to  the  coast,  and  fiud  employment  in  tb< 
tishenes;  while  Sovonshire  liouse  would  repudiate  for  1 
time  the  huge  sirloin,  and  receiving  ae  a  substitute  the  p  ^^ 
deraua  turbol.Spilallietds  would  exhibit  on  her  frugal  boarj 
aalt  liug  flanked  vk-ith  |)otstoeB.  A  salutary  taste  for  fia' 
would  oe  created  iu  the  inmost  recesses  ot  the  island,  ■ 
epoch  most  beneficial  to  the  country  would  tuke  ilate  (iroiB 
that  enactment. 


Kar  neeil  the  landlords  take  alarm.      Peoiile  would  i 
plough  the  ground  less  because  they  might  plough  the  deef 
more;  and  while  Bmiiing  Ceres  would  still  walk  througfi 
our  isle  witb  her  horn  of  plenty,  Thetis  would  follow 
train  with  a  rival  cornucopia. 

"Murk  the  effects  of  this  obBervnnce  in  Ireland, 
il   continues  in  it4    urimitive  austerity,  uudiuiiuished,  uii> 
•horn  of  ita  beams,     I'he  Irish  may  be  wrong,  but  the  "■"- 
sequences  to  I'rolestaut  England  are  immense.     To 
Tou  owe  the  eonueiion  of  the  two  isliiuds;  il  is  the  goldcQ 
link  that  biuda  the  two  kingdoms  together.   Abolish  Dtatiog,' 


AS  APOLOOr  Tub  lbst.  25 

•md  from  that  evil  liour  no  beef  or  pork  would  bo  Buffi-Tx-d 

by  tbe  wild  nalifes  to  go  over  to  your  Eo^liah  mnrkotH  ;  and 

the  export  of  |>rorisioDs  wo\ild  be  discontiuiied  by  n  people 

th&t   kad  Htdenrned  tbe  leasona  of  striirvfition.     Adien  to 

shipments  of  live  Hlot^k  aud  L-ouBi^iiieiits  of  biu^on!     Were 

there  not  e.-inie  potent  mysterious  spell  over  this  couutrj-, 

thiuk  you  we  i^bould  allow  the  fat  of  the  land  to  be  ever- 

lattingiy  abstracted  p     Let  ua  leam  that  there  ia  no  virtue 

ill  Cent',  and  repeal  is  triumpbnnt  to-morrow.     We  nre  in 

tnitb  n  most  ribstemioiia  race,    Ueni^e  our  great  siiiieriority 

over  our  Proteataut  fellow-tountrj'ineii  in  tliu  jury-box.     It 

having  been  found  that  they  could  never  holil  out  against 

hunger  as  we  eao,  when  locked  up,  and  that  the  verdift  was 

generally  carried  by  popish  obstinacy,  former  ndmiuistra- 

tionB  discountenanced  our  admiHsioti  to  serve  on  juries  at 

nil.    By  im  oTereight  of  Sergeant  LelJv>y,  all  tin's  has  escaped 

the  fnuners  of  t  he  new  jury  bill  for  Ireland. 

■     ~Tt>  return  to  tbe  Irish  exports.     The  principid  item  is 

■Ifaat  of  ptga.     The  hog  is  as  ensential  au  Inmate  of  the  Irish 

Habiu  aa  lie  Arab  steed  of  the  shepherd'B  teut  on  the  pluiua 

^■f  Mecopotamia.     Both  are  lookea  on  as  part  of  the  hoiise- 

^Bold;  and  the  affectionate  oinnncr  in  which   these  dumb 

Hbenda  of  tbe  family  are  treated,  here  aa  well  as  there,  is  a 

Hb>)t  of  national  resemblance,  denoting  a  common  origin. 

HWo  are  quite  oriental  in  most  of  our  peculiarities.     The 

BjeKrned  Vallaneey  will  have  it,  that  our  oonaanguinity  is 

I  witb  llie  Jews.     I  might  elucidate  the  colonel's  (ilacovery, 

Lty  shewing  how  the  pig  in  Ireland  plays  the  part  of  the 

ucape-gont  of  the  laraelitea  :  he  ia  a  sacred  thin^,  gets  the 

B|||Q  ot  the  kitchen,  is  rarely  molested,  never  killed,  but  alive 

Hfaid  baoyaut  leaves  the  cabin  when  taken  off  by  the  land- 

Hbrd's  drirer  for  arrears  of  rent,  and  is  then  ahipped  clean 

^hit  of  the  country,  to  be  heard  of  no  more.     Indeed,  the 

Hngs  of  Inland  bear  this  notable  resemblance  to  their  cou- 

Hina  of  Judea,  that  nothing  can  keep  them  irom  the  aea, — 

^■tendency  which  atrikea  oil  travcUers  in  the  interior  of  the 

^■laod  whenever  they  meet  our  droves  of  awine  [jrecipitatiug 

^BKnucWvn  towards  the  uutports  for  shipment. 

^f"  Toordinary  observers  this  forbearance  of  the  moat  ill-fed 

^Beople  on  the  face  of  the  globe  towards  their  pigs  would 

^fcpcar  inexplicable;   and  if  you  have  read  the  Ici^eud  of 


26  atheb  fbottt's  beliqves. 

Saint  Anthony  and  his  pig,  you  widl  understand  the  value  of 
their  resistance  to  temptation. 

"  They  have  a  great  resource  in  the  potato.  This  capital 
esculent  grows  nowhere  in  such  perfection,  not  even  in 
America,  where  it  is  indigenous.  But  it  has  often  stmck 
me  that  a  great  national  delinquency  has  occurred  in  the 
sad  neglect  of  people  in  this  country  towards  the  memoir  of 
the  great  and  good  man  who  conferred  on  us  so  valuable  a 
boon,  on  his  return  from  the  expedition  to  Virginia.  To 
Sir  Walter  Saleigh  no  monument  has  yet  been  erected,  and 
nothing  has  been  done  to  repair  the  injustice  of  his  contem- 
poraries. His  head  has  rolled  from  the  scaffold  on  Tower 
Hill ;  and  though  he  has  fed  with  his  discovery  more  fami- 
lies, and  given  a  greater  impulse  to  population,  than  any 
other  benefactor  of  mankind,  no  testimonial  exists  to  com- 
memorate his  benefaction.  Nelson  has  a  pillar  in  Dublin : — 
in  the  city  of  Limerick  a  whole  column  has  been  devoted  to 
Spring  £*ice ! !  and  the  mighty  genius  of  Baleigh  is  forgotten. 
I  have  seen  some  animals  feed  under  the  majestic  oak  on 
the  acorns  that  fell  from  its  spreading  branches  (jfland€ 
sues  l<Bti),  without  once  looking  up  to  the  parent  tree  that 
showered  down  blessings  on  their  ungrateful  heads." 

Here  endeth  the  "  Apology,"  and  so  abruptly  terminate 
my  notes  of  Front's  Lenten  vindicia.  But,  alas !  still  more 
abrupt  was  the  death  of  this  respectable  divine,  which  oc- 
curred last  month,  on  Shrove  Tuesday.  There  was  a  peculiar 
fitness  in  the  manner  of  Anacreon*s  exit  from  this  life ;  but 
not  so  in  the  melancholy  termination  of  Front's  abstemious 
career,  an  account  of  which  is  conveyed  to  me  in  a  long  and 
pathetic  letter  from  my  agent  in  L*eland.  It  was  well 
Known  that  he  disliked  revelry  on  all  occasions ;  but  if  there 
was  a  species  of  gormandising  which  he  more  especially 
abhorred,  it  was  that  practised  in  the  parish  on  pancake- 
night,  which  he  frequently  endeavoured  to  discountenance 
and  put  down,  but  unsuccessfully.  Oft  did  he  tell  his  rude 
auditors  (for  he  was  a  profound  Hellenist)  that  such  orgies 
had  originated  with  the  heathen  G-reeks,  and  had  been  even 
among  them  the  source  of  many  evils,  as  the  very  name 
shewed,  irav  xaxcv !  So  it  would  appear,  by  Front's  etymo- 
logy of  the  pancake,  that  in  the  English  language  there 


Alt  APOI.OOT   FOE   LEST. 


muif  terniB  wMch  anewer  the  deecHption  of  Horace, 
'  Otsco  fonte  RBdunt  pu-ce  d«tor1a.' 

Contrnry  to  his  own  better  taste  and  aounder  judgment, 
'  e  was,  bowever,  on  last  Shrove  Tuesday,  at  a  weadiiig-Jeaflt 
r  some  of  my  tonantrj,  indutjed,  from  complacency  to  tlie 
ewly-ioarried  couple,  to  eat  of  the  proi'ane  aliment ;  and 
never  was  the  Attic  deriTation  of  the  pancake  more  wofully 
aec-omplished  than  in  the  sad  result— for  his  condescension 
cost  him  his  life.  The  indigestible  nature  of  the  compost 
itacir  might  not  have  been  bo  destructiTe  in  an  ordinary 
Uae ;  but  it  was  quite  a  atrauger  and  ill  at  ease  in  Father 
Ttiiut's  stomach :  it  eventually  provt'd  fatal  in  ita  efi'ecte, 
■nd  buTTJed  hira  away  from  this  vale  of  teara,  leaving  the 
pariib  a  widow,  and  making  orphans  of  all  his  poriehiouera. 
Xj  agent  writes  that  hia  funeral  (or  bernng,  as  the  Irisb 
ill  it)  waa  thronged  by  dense  multitudes  from  the  wliolc 
maty,  and  was  aa  well  attended  as  if  it  were  a  monster 
neeting.  The  whole  body  of  his  brother  clergy,  with  tin.- 
isliop  as  usuiU  in  full  pontificals,  were  mourners  on  tht- 
Iccasion ;  and  a  Latin  elegy  was  composed  by  the  most 
tsueA  iii  the  order.  Father  Ma^rath,  one,  like  Prout,  ol 
«  old  school,  who  had  studied  at  Florence,  and  ia  still  a 
Drreapondent  of  many  learned  Societies  abroad.  That  elegj- 
\  have  subjoined,  as  a  record  of  Prout's  genuine  worth,  and 
.M  a  specimen  of  a  kind  of  poetry  called  Leonine  verte,  little 
cultivated  at  the  present  day,  but  greatly  in  vogue  at  the 
revival  of  letters  under  Leo  X. 

nc   MOBTSIC   TXKE&ABILIS   AKSBEX   PBOCT,   C&BllES. 

Quid  ju*nt  m/iu'eAro  Sanctoe  dormire  lefiuMre! 

Optimua  uique  bonoi  naaue  maiiFbit  Himot  f 
Flrba  iawafitiS  Putori*  condidit  oan, 

SplSDilida  Slid  mfri  mena  petit  aitra  viri. 
Fort*  p«t«ns  nio  I  voilimi  reeeretiir  honnto, 

Noe  >it  L  Pttra  Jusaus  abire  rrlro. 
1o\m.  malmn  mritm  aibi  Art  viciniB  inDr(n»^ 

1j  t  pro  patfe  tbitnl  undique  nira  doimi ; 
ScH  furei  gaiidml ;  sacaK»aactenhe  autltnl 

I>t«lurbftni  S"!/",  nm  mage  tua  ttgn. 
Audio  trnf/tiUiu,  rilna,  miierosqne  tumaltH*, 

VX  pietu  Iw'i  Mbrietuque/ivif. 


28 


PATHEB  PBOUT's  BELIQUE8. 


Naraque  furore  brevi  liquid&que  ardentis  aqtue  vi 

Antiquua  Nicholas  perdidit  Offricoiat, 
Jam  patre  de/uncio,  meliores'  flumiue  eunei9 

Lsetantur  pUcet  obtinuisse  vicet. 
Exultans  almOy  Istare  sub  sequore  aalmo  ! 

Corpe,  o  carpe  diea^  nam  tibi  parta  quiet ! 
Gaiident  anguillof^  quia  tandem  est  mortuus  Ule, 

Presbyter  Jndreas,  qui  capiebat  eat. 
Petro  pitcator  placuit  pius  artis  amatar, 

Cui,  propter  mores,  pandit  utrosque/ore*. 
Cur  lacluymd  funus  justi  comitabitur  unut  T 

Flendum  est  non  tali^  sod  bene  morte  mali : 
Munera  nunc  Flora  spargo.     Sic  flebile  rore 

Florescat  gramen.     Pace  qui^cat.     Amen. 


Sweet  upland !  where,  like  hermit  old,  in  peace  sojoum'd 

This  priest  deyout ; 
Mark  where  beneath  thy  Terdant  sod  lie  deep  inum'd 

The  bones  of  Prout ! 
Nor  deck  with  monumental  shrine  or  tapering  column 

His  place  of  rest, 
Whose  soul,  above  earth's  homage,  meek  yet  solemn. 

Sits  mid  the  blest. 
Much  was  he  prized,  much  loTed ;  his  stem  rebuke 

O'erawod  sheep-stealers ; 
And  rogues  fear'd  more  the  good  man's  single  look 

Than  forty  Peelers. 
He's  gone ;  and  discord  soon  I  ween  will  visit 

The  land  with  quarrel^ ; 
And  the  foul  demon  vex  with  stills  illicit 

The  village  morals. 
No  fatal  chance  could  happen  more  to  cross 

The  public  wishes ; 
And  all  the  neighboiu*hood  deplore  his  loss, 

Except  the  fishes ; 
For  he  kept  Lent  most  strict,  and  pickled  herring 

Preferred  to  gammon. 
Grim  Deatli  has  broke  liis  angling-rod ;  his  berring 

Delights  the  salmon. 
No  more  can  he  hook  up  carp,  eel,  or  trout. 

For  fasting  pittance, — 
Arts  which  Saint  Peter  loved,  whose  gate  to  Prout 

Gave  prompt  admittance. 
Mourn  not,  but  verdantly  let  shamrocks  keep 

His  sainted  dust ; 
The  bad  man's  death  it  well  becomes  to  weep,— 

Not  so  tlie  just. 


"  Bewkrr,  bewaro 

or  IbH  black  &iu-. 
Wliu  Bittotli  b;  Noru^ui  nunc  : 

For  lie  multcrs  hu  prater 

In  the  loidiiigbt  air, 
And  lu!>  mui  of  the  dart  that  arc  gone," 

SmcB  tbe  public&tion  of  this  wortby  mau's  "  Apology  for 

Xent,"  whicli.  with  same  ui^couiit  of  fiis  Intaentea  deatti  and 

vll-atlinided  funeral,  nppeared  in  oiir  Inst  Number,  we  have 

rittea  to  liia  eiet-utors — (one  of  whom  is  Father  Mat.  Hor- 

Saa,  P.  P.  of  the  neighbuuring  village  of  Bkrnev ;  and  the 
er,  oor  elegiac  poet,  Father  Mflgratb) — in  the  hope  of 
King  »b1e  to  negotiate  for  the  valunblo  posthunious  eaaaytt 
wid  fneitire  pieces  which  we  doubted  not  had  been  let^ 
behind  in  great  abundance  by  the  deoeaiied.  These  two  dis- 
ntereated  divines— fit  asaoeiates  and  bosom -companions  of 
Front  during  bia  lifetime,  and  whom,  fram  their  joint  letters, 
ire  should  think  eminently  qualified  to  piek  up  tbe  fallen 
Dnntle  of  the  departed  prophet — have,  in  the  most  hand- 
OTtie  manner,  promised  us  all  the  literary  and  philosophic 
reutiaes  bequeathed  to  thoin  by  the  late  incumbent  of 
VatergrBMhill ;  expressing,  in  the  very  complimentary  not« 
rhich  they  have  transmitted  ua,  and  which  our  modesty 
ireveDts  us  from  inserting,  their  thanks  and  that  of  the 
rhole  parish,  for  our  sympathy  and  condolence  on  this  metan- 
ioly  bereavement,  and  iiitimating  at  the  same  time  their 
egret  at  not  being  able  to  send  us  also,  for  our  private 
emsal.  the  collection  of  tlie  good  father's  parochial  ser- 
loos ;  the  whole  of  which  (a  most  valuable  MS.)  had  been 
1  otf  for  bis  own  use  by  the  bishop,  whem  he  had 
:  bia  residuary  legatee.    Tbe«e  "  sermons"  must  be 


30  PATHEB  PBOUT'S  BELIQUSS. 

doubtless  ^ood  things  in  their  waj — a  theological  ft^^a 
BaufMt — weU  adapted  to  swell  the  episcopal  library;  but 
as  we  confessedly  are,  and  suspect  our  readers  likewise  to  be, 
a  very  improper  multitude  amongst  whom  to  scatter  such 
pearls,  we  shall  console  ourselves  for  that  sacrifice  by  plung- 
ing head  and  ears  into  the  abundant  sources  of  intellectual 
re&eshment  to  which  we  shall  soon  have  access,  and  from 
which  Frank  Creswell,  lucky  dog !  has  drawn  such  a  draught 
of  inspiration. 

*'  SacroB  auflUB  redudere  fbntes  !** 

for  assuredly  we  may  defy  any  one  that  has  perused  Prout'a 
vindication  of  fish-diet  (and  who,  we  ask,  has  not  read  it  con 
amore,  conning  it  over  with  secret  glee,  and  forthwith  calling 
out  for  a  red-herring  ?),  not  to  prefer  its  simple  unsophisti- 
cated eloquence  to  the  oration  of  Tully  pro  Bomo  sud,  or 
Barclay's  "  Apology  for  Quakers."  After  all,  it  majr  have 
been  but  a  sprat  to  catch  a  whale,  and  the  whole  aSair  may 
turn  out  to  be  a  Popish  contrivance ;  but  if  so,  we  have 
taken  tlie  bait  ourselves :  we  have  been,  like  Festuis, ''  almost 
persuaded,"  and  Prout  has  wrought  in  us  a  sort  of  culinary 
conversion.  Why  should  we  be  ashamed  to  avow  that  we 
have  been  edified  by  the  good  man's  blunt  and  straight- 
forward logic,  and  drawn  from  his  theories  on  fish  a  higher 
and  more  moral  impression  than  from  the  dreamy  visions  of 
an  "  English  Opium-eater,"  or  any  other  "  Confessions  "  of 
sensualism  and  gastronomy.  If  this  "  black  friar  "  has  got 
smuggled  in  among  our  contributors,  like  King  Saul  among 
the  regular  votaries  of  the  sanctuary,  it  must  be  admitted 
that,  like  the  royal  intruder,  he  has  caught  the  tone  and 
chimed  in  with  the  general  harmony  of  our  political  opinions 
— no  Whigling  among  true  Tories,  no  goose  among  swans. 
Argutos  inter  strepere  anser  olores. 

How  we  long  to  get  possession  of  **  the  Prout  Papers!"  that 
chest  of  learned  lumber  which  haunts  our  nightly  visions ! 
Already,  in  imagination,  it  is  within  our  grasp ;  our  greedy 
hand  biastily  its  lid 

•*  Unlocks, 
And  all  Arcadia  breathes  from  yonder  box  l** 

In  this  prolific  age,  when  the  most  unlettered  dolt  can 
find  a  mare's  nest  in  the  domain  of  philosophy,  why  should 


A   fLEA  Fens  FlI-QBIUAQtS. 

also  VTj,  Eu{ijKa|!K» !  How  much  of  novelty  in  hia 
Itow  tnnch  embryo  diBcoverr  rnuet  not  Prout  imlbltl ! 
It  were  indeed  a  pity  to  consiga  tee  writings  of  so  eminent 
~i  ttcliuLar  to  oblivion ;  nor  ought  it  be  said,  in  scriptural 
ibra»e,  of  him,  what  is,  alas !  a.pplicable  to  bo  many  other 
mrued  divines  when  they  are  dead,  that  "  their  works  have 
■llowed  them."  Suvh  was  the  (.-ose  of  that  laborious  French 
iergyjuan,  the  Abbe  Trublet,  of  whom  Voltaire  profanely 


lich  epigram  hath  n  recondita  meaning,  not  obvious  to  the 
'ef  on  ft  first  perusal ;  and  being  interpreted  into  plain 
ish,  fur  the  use  of  the  Loudon  Univervity,  it  may  run 


Surh  may  be  the  fate  of  Lardner  and  of  Trublet,  such  the 
ultimate  destiny  tbat  awaits  their  literary  labours ;  but 
Dieither  men,  nor  gods,  nor  our  columns  (those  graceful  pil- 
bin  thut  support  the  Muses*  temple),  shall  suffer  this  old 
winti  U>  remain  in  the  unmerited  obscurity  jrom  which  Frank 
Crvaawell  fimt  essavod  to  draw  him.  To  that  young  barrister 
«e  liave  written,  with  a  request  that  he  would  furnish  us  with 
Airther  details  conei^raing  Prout,  and,  if  possible,  a  few 
■dditioDul  spei^imena  of  hie  colloquial  wisdom ;  reminding 
hjin  that  modem  taate  has  a  decided  tendency  towards  il- 
lustrious private  gosaip,  and  recommending  to  him.  as  a 
•iiblinic  mtMlel  of  the  dramatico-biograpliic  style,  my  Lady 
EUeftsington's  "  Conversfttions  of  Lord  Byron,"  How  tat  he 
haa  succeeded  in  following  the  ignu/atutu  of  her  ladyship's 
lantern,  and  how  many  bo^  he  haa  got  immerged  in  because 

"  the  dangerous  hint,  which  we  eave  him  in  an  eiil  hour, 
judieitnis  reader  will  soon  find  out.  Here  is  the  com. 
'""'*'°''-  OLIVEB  TOEKE. 

U^  1.  1S». 


^2  FATHER  PB0UT*8  BELIQUES. 


FwnivaV*  Inn,  April  14. 

Acknowledging  the  receipt  of  your  gracious  mandate^ 
O  Queen  of  Periodicals  !  and  kissing  the  top  of  your  ivory 
sceptre,  may  I  be  allowed  to  express  unblamed  my  utter 
devotion  to  your  orders,  in  the  language  of  .£olus,  quondam 
ruler  of  the  winds  : 

'  Tuus,  O  Kegina,  quid  optes 
Explorare  labor,  inilii  jussa  capessere  hs  est!'' 

without  concealing,  at  the  same  time,  my  wonderment,  and 
that  of  many  other  sober  individuals,  at  your  patronising  the 
advocacy  of  doctrines  and  usages  belonging  exclusively  to 
another  and  far  less  reputable  Queen  (quean  ?)  whom  1  shall 
have  sufficiently  designated  when  I  mention  that  she  sits  upon 
seven  hills ! — in  stating  which  singtdar  phenomenon  con- 
cerning her,  I  need  not  add  that  her  fundamental  maxima 
must  be  totally  different  from  yours.  Many  orthodox  people 
cannot  understand  how  you  could  have  reconciled  it  to  your 
conscience  to  publish,  in  its  crude  state,  that  Apology  for 
Lent,  without  adding  not«  or  comment  in  refutation  of  such 
dangerous  doctrines ;  and  are  still  more  amazed  that  a  Popish 
parish  priest,  from  the  wild  Irish  hills,  could  have  got  among 
your  contributors — 

'*  Claimed  kindred  there,  and  have  that  claim  allowed.'* 

It  will,  however,  no  doubt,  give  you  pleasure  to  learn,  that 
you  have  established  a  lasting  popularity  among  that  learned 
set  of  men  the  fishmongers,  who  are  never  scaly  of  their 
support  when  deserved ;  for,  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  the 
"  worshipful  company  "  last  meeting-day,  the  marble  bust  of 
Father  Prout,  crowned  with  sea- weeds  like  a  Triton,  is  to 
be  placed  in  a  conspicuous  part  of  their  new  hall  at  London 
Bridge.  But  as  it  is  the  hardest  thing  imaginable  to  please 
all  parties,  your  triumph  is  rendered  incomplete  by  the 
grumbling  of  another  not  less  respectable  portion  of  the 
community.  By  your  proposal  for  the  non-consumption  of 
butohers*  meat,  you  have  given  mortal  offence  to  the  dealers 
in  horned  cattle,  and  stirred  up  a  nest  of  hornets  in  Smith- 
field.  In  your  perambulations  of  the  metropolis,  go  not  into 
the  bucolic  purlieus  of  that  dangerous  district ;  beware  of 
the  enemy's  camp ;  tempt  not  the  ire  of  men  armed  witli 


A   PLEA  FOK  PILORIMi-Oes.  BH 

cold  Rtc«l,  el§e  the  luug-donuaiit  fires  of  that  land  celebrated 
m  every  ace  a»  a  fierra  del  Javgii  may  be  yet  rekimiled,  and 
vmAi:  "  red  with  uocomraon  wrath,"  for  yoiir  eapedal  roaat- 
ing.  Lord  Althorp  is  no  warm  friend  of  youni ;  ami  by 
your  mskiug  what  In;  i-alls  "  a  most  unprovoked  attack  ou 
the  gnuiero,''  you  Lave  not  propitiated  the  winner  ot'  thu 

"  Fixnum  liabrt  in  portiii, — huno  tu,  Bonianc,  cnrato  !" 

la  vain  would  you  eeek  to  t-ajole  the  worthy  chaiifelior  of 
his  Majesty's  uniortunatc  eichequer,  by  the  desirable  pro»- 
[wct  of  a  nti  revenue  from  the  ocean  :  you  will  make  no  im- 
[itpsaioo.  His  mind  is  not  acceasible  to  any  reaBimiMR  im 
^nhnt  snbjert  ;  and,  like  the  shield  of  Telamou.  it  is  wrapt  in 
^■he  iinpeuetrabte  folds  of  seven  tough  bull-hides. 
Ht  But  eliminating  at  once  these  insignificaDt  topics,  anil 
^■ettiug  aaide  all  minor  things,  let  me  addreas  myself  to  the 
^ftnmd  subject  of  my  adoption.  Verily,  since  the  days  of 
^^bat  unmiiieut  of  the  priesthood  and  pnde  of  Venice,  Father 
^Baul.  no  diriue  has  shed  such  lustre  on  the  Church  of  liome 
^KlFxthcr  tVoul.  Hie  brain  was  a  Htorehouse  of  inexhaustible 
VkDowtedge,  and  )iia  memory  a  haKaar,  in  which  the  iiitel- 
I  lectual  nclifs  of  past  ages  were  classified  and  arranged  in 
ft, aurrellciua  and  brilliaut  assortment.  When,  by  the  libe- 
rnliW  of  his  executor,  you  shall  have  been  put  in  possession 
K  ^bu  writings  and  poathumous  papers,  you  will  Jind  1  do 
■■not  eiiiggrrat« ;  for  though  his  mere  conversation  waa 
Ijl^waTa  instructive,  still,  the  pen  in  his  hand,  more  potent 
^ban* the  wnnd  of  Proapero,  embellished  every  subject  wil)i 
^Ki  oJirial  chann  i  and  whatever  department  of  literature  it 
^Btaebed  on.  it  was  sure  to  illuminate  and  adorn,  Irom  tlii! 
^■ulitest  and  most  ephemeral  matters  of  the  day,  to  the 
^|CM>c8tand  most  abstruse  problenisof  metaphysical  inquiry  ; 
^Bgorous  and  philosophical,  at  the  same  time  that  it  is  minute 
^^£l  pUyful  ;  huWne  no  parallel  unless  we  liken  it  to  the 
^^hilKwds  of  an  ele[^ant,  that  can  with  equal  ease  shift  an 
^beli«k  oiiil  crack  a  nut. 

^B  >'or  did  he  confine  himself  to  prose.  lie  waa  a  chosen 
^^bourit^  of  the  nine  sinters,  and  Itirtcd  openly  with  tiieru 
^BL  his  vow  of  ctlibaey  preventiup  his  formmg  a  penaajti^ 
^Blianctf  with  iine  alone,     Uence  pastoral  poetry,  elegy,  suu- 


ii4  FATHER   FBOUT's   BILIQUES. 

uets,  and  still  grander  efiusions  in  the  best  style  of  Bob 
Montgomery,  flowed  from  his  muse  in  abundance ;  but,  I 
must  confess,  his  peculiar  forte  lay  in  the  Pindaric.  Be- 
sides, he  indulged  copiously  in  Greek  and  Latin  versifica- 
tion, as  well  as  in  French,  Italian,  and  High  Dutch;  of 
which  accomplishments  I  happen  to  possess  some  fine  spe- 
cimens from  his  pen ;  and  before  I  terminate  this  paper,  I 
mean  to  introduce  them  to  the  benevolent  notice  of  the 
candid  reader.  By  these  vou  will  find,  that  the  Doric  reed 
of  Theocritus  was  to  him  but  an  ordinary  sylvan  pipe — that 
the  lyre  of  Anacreon  was  as  familiar  to  him  as  the  German 
flute — and  that  he  played  as  well  on  the  classic  chords  of 
the  bard  of  Mantua  as  on  the  Cremona  fiddle ;  at  all  events, 
he  will  prove  far  superior  as  a  poet  to  the  covey  of  unfledged 
rhymers  who  nestle  in  annuals  and  magazines.  Sad  abor- 
tions !  on  which  even  you,  O  Queen,  sometimes  take  com- 
passion, infusing  into  them  a  life 

"  Which  did  not  you  prolong, 
The  world  had  wanted  manj  an  idle  song." 

To  return  to  his  conversational  powers :  he  did  not  waste 
them  on  the  generality  of  folks,  for  he  despised  the  vulgar 
herd  of  Corkonians  with  whom  it  was  his  lot  to  mingle; 
but  when  he  was  sure  of  a  friendly  circle,  he  broke  out  iu 
resplendent  style,  often  humorous,  at  times  critical,  occa- 
sionally profound,  and  always  interesting.  Inexhaustible  in 
his  means  of  illustration,  his  fancy  was  an  unwasted  mine, 
into  which  you  had  but  to  sink  a  shaft,  and  you  were  sure 
of  eliciting  the  finest  ore,  w^hich  came  forth  stamped  with 
the  impress  of  genius,  and  fit  to  circulate  among  the  most 
cultivated  auditory :  for  though  the  mint  of  his  brain  now 
and  then  would  issue  a  strange  and  fantastic  coinage,  ster- 
ling sense  was  sure  to  give  it  value,  and  ready  wit  to  pro- 
mote its  currency.  The  rubbish  and  dust  of  the  schools 
with  which  his  notions  were  sometimes  incrusted  did  not 
alter  their  intrinsic  worth  ;  people  only  wondered  how  the 
diaphanous  mind  of  Prout  could  be  obscured  by  such  com- 
mon stuflT:  its  brightness  was  still  undiminisued  by  the 
admixture ;  and  like  straws  in  amber,  without  deteriorating 
the  substance,  these  matters  only  made  manifest  its  trans- 
paieucy.    Whene'er  he  undertook  to  illustrate  any  subject 


A   PLKA   FOR   PlLOBIMAdEt!.  SS 

Korthr  of  tim,  he  was  nlways  felicitous.     1  oliail  give  jou 
aa  inataQci.-. 

Tht-re  etaixia  on  the  borders  of  his  pfirisli,  near  tlie  villngi' 
of  Blarnev.  an  old  eAstle  of  tlie  M  Carthv  fsmilv,  ridiui; 
abruptly  from  a  bold  cliff,  at  the  Tout  of  w'hidi  rtllla  a  not 
inconsiderable  Btrentn — tim  fond  and  frequent  witness  of 
I'miifa  angling  propensities.  The  well-wooded  demesne, 
dimprisini;  an  eit*nsive  lake,  a  romantic  cavern,  and  an 
artificial  wilderness  of  rocks,  belnnga  to  the  family  of  Jef- 
fewys.  which  boaala  in  the  Dowajrer  Countess  Glengall  a 
ini-.'t  (iititingiiished  scion;  her  ladyship's  mother  bay'ng 
Wn  iiiiroortalised  under  the  title  of  "  Lady  Jeffers,"  willi 
the  oiher  natural  euriositie*  produced  by  this  celebrated 
Bpot.  ill  that  never-suSlciently-to-be-encored  soug,  the  Giovri 
if  Blnrnry.  But  neither  the  stream,  nor  the  lake,  nor  the 
cajlic.  nor  tho  village  (a  sad  ruin !  which,  but  for  the  recent 
ctlaMi^liment  of  a  spinning-factory  by  somo  patriotic  Cork- 
oTiinn.  would  be  swept  away  altoeether.  op  poBsessed  by  the 
(iwU  03  a  grant  from  Sultan  ifabmoiid)  ;— none  of  thesu 
[i:itiir<-HijU';  i.hjecta  has  earned  such  notoriety  for  "the 
Gnivi-s"  as  a  certain  stone,  of  a  basaltic  kind,  ratner  unusual 
in  the  tiiitrict.  placed  on  the  pinnacle  of  the  main  tower, 
and  endowed  with  the  jiroperty  of  communicating  to  the 
li.ippv  icmgHe  that  comes  in  contact  with  its  polished  surface 
ttvc  srirt  of  gentle  insinuating  speech,  with  aott  talk  in  all  ita 
nuniticntii'nB,  whether  employed  in  vows  and  promiseB  light 
aa  uir.  trta  m^tira,  such  na  lead  captive  the  female  heart ; 
ur  elaliiirate  my stiii cation  of  a  grosser  grain,  such  as  may 
do  for  the  House  of  Commiius ;  all  summed  up  and  charac- 
terised by  the  mysterious  term  Blarney. • 

Front'*  theory  on  tliia  subject  might  have  remained  dor- 

t  —    r-    -      "    irf  lifilong*  the  meril  of  eliH^idnting  this  obscitru 

■   ilml  iiilG02,wben  llie  Spaniftrda  wero  einling 

-<    lliB  Rngliih  enthorities,  Cormap  M'DBrmol 

I  li.r  deiienJimciea,  tho  cutlo  of  Blamej,  nni)  Imtl 

..  idi  tlu'  Iprcl-praideBt,  oo  condition  of  mirrmi- 

ni^on,     Day  oftfr  lUv  did  lus  lordBliip 

,  R't  i  wliile  thu  Irish  Pozio  di  BorKn, 

..Id  M  Biiii»ia  lo  relinqui.th  tho  Dii^ 

I  -uft  promian  uid  dtliuli 

iciii  li   !>.■.,=...■  ;.,;:nliing-stockof  Eli»abeth'B 

kJ  -ii^nrg  laLk"  iiruyiiliiuL 


36 


lOrr's  iiELiijL'ifs. 


maut  for  ages,  aud  i)erlia|iB  been  ultimately  Iu«t  to  IL 
wurld  at  large,  were  it  not  for  an  event  wliicfi  ocvumd  i 
the  summer  of  1S25,  wLiie  I  (a  youuker  llien)  bappcMd  fl 
be  on  tUat  visit  to  my  aunt  at  Watergraaalnll  which  e*e 
tnally  secured  nie  her  inLeritam^e.  The  occurrpnce  1  ■ 
about  to  commemorute  was,  in  truth,  one  of  the  firat  t 
iiitude,  and  well  caioulated.  from  its  importance,  to  forui  ■ 
i-]i()('b  in  the  Annuls  of  the  Parish.  It  was  the  arrival  i 
Siu  WiLTER  Scott  at  Blarney,  towards  the  end  of  tl 
montli  of  July, 

Years  have  now  rolled  away,  and  tlie  "  AriusUi  of  tl 
North"   is  dead,  and  our  ancient   constitution    has  ■ 
faltea  under  the  hoofs  of  the  AVbigs;  quenched  ia  maafll 
bear  ou-liglit  in  church  and  state — Prout  himself  is  no  nuxttJ 
and  plentiful  indications  tell  us  we  are  come  upon eril dajlifl 
but  still  may  I  be  allowed  to  feel  a  pleasurable,  tbou^l 
somewhat  saddened  emotion,  while  I  revert  to  that  iutcllnn 
tual  meeting,  and  bid  memory  go  back  in  ''  dream  sabHuM 
to  the  glorious  eibibitioa  of  Front's  mental  powers, 
was.  in  sootb,  a  great  day  for  old  Ireland;  a  greater  St 
for  Blarney  ^  but,  greatest  of  all,  it  dawned,  Prout,  on  tbo 
Then  it  was  tliat  tby  light  was  taken  from  under  it«  aaca 
dotal  bushel,  and  plarad  conspicuously  before  a  man  St  tO 
appreciate  the  effulgence  of  so  brilliant  a  luwiuarv— »  light 
which  1,  who  pen  these  words  in  sorrow,  alasl  shall  tiCT^ 
gti/e  ou-miire!  alight 


That  day  it  illuuiiued  the  "cave,"  the  "sbiidy  wnlks." 
the  "sweet  roi-k-dose,"  and  sent  its  glad di-uing  bciun  ill 
the  gloomiest  vaults  of  tbc  ancient  fort ;  for  all  thi^  recoi 
ditc  recesses  of  the  castle  were  explored  in  succvaaioa  I 
th«  distinmiishfd  poet  and  the  learned  priest,  and  Pttx 
held  a  candle  to  Scott. 

We  read  with  interest,  in  the  historian  Folybiiu,  tl 
account  of  Hannibal's  interview  with  Seipioon  the  pUii 
of  Zama ;  and  often  have  we,  in  our  scliool-hoy  dan  1 
unsuphislicatcd  fecliug,  sympathised  with  Ovid,  when  t 
told  us  that  be  only  got  a  glimpse  of  Virgil;  but  8oo 
basked  for  a  whole  summer's  day  in  (he  hia/c  of  IVout 


A    fLtX    TOR    PILRRIUAOES.  37 

wit,  and  nitnMBcd  the  coruMations  of  hi»  lesniing.  Tlio 
^TCat  Jlarius  is  said  ne\er  to  bove  appeared  f<i  sul-Ii  advau- 
ijige  aa  when  eenteil  on  th?  ruias  of  Cartbaee  :  with  emial 
dignity  Prottt  sat  on  the  Blarney  atone,  amid  ruiuB  of  kin- 
drtd  glory.  Zt no  taught  in  the  "porch;"  Pinto  loved  to 
miise  aluno  on  the  bold  jutting  promontory  of  Cape  Suiiium  ; 
Socratea,  bent  on  finding  Truth,  "  in  lytvU  Aeademi  quai  -re 
eiWTiiH,"  sought  her  araoug  the  bowers  of  AcademuB;  Prout 
oonrted  the  same  coy  nynnth,  ajid  wooed  her  in  the  "  groves 
i/f  Bianiey." 

I  aaid  tbat  it  was  in  the  summer  of  1825  that  Sir  Waller 
Scott,  in  ihf  progreaa  of  his  tour  through  Ireland,  readied 
L'orfa,  and  forthwith  intimated  hia  wish  to  proL-eed  at  onee 
oo  a  visit  to  Blarney  Castle.  For  him  the  noble  river,  Iho 
maguiliecnt  estuary,  and  unriralled  harbour  of  a  city  that 
pwudly  bears  on  her  civic  escutcheon  the  well-appIiL-d 
motto,  "  Statio  bent  Jiiia  carinU,"  had  but  little  nttractiun 
when  placi-d  in  competition  with  a  spot  sacred  to  the  Muses, 
and  WkNlded  to  imniortal  verse.  Such  was  the  interest  which 
its  conueiion  with  the  popular  literature  and  traditionary 
stories  of  the  country  had  excited  in  that  master-mind- 
such  the  predominance  of  its  local  reminiscences — such  the 
transcendent  inllHeQce  of  song!  For  this  did  the  then 
'■  Givat  Unknown  "  wend  hia  way  through  the  purlieus  of 
"  Golden  Spur."  traversing  the  great  manufacturing  faux- 
bourg  of  "  Black  Pool,"  and  emerging  by  the  "  Hed  Forge  ;" 
*o  intent  OD  the  classic  object  of  his  pursuit,  ae  to  disregard 
the  uupromising  aspect  of  the  vestibule  by  which  alone  it  ia 
approachable.  Many  are  the  splendid  mansions  and  hospi- 
table halls  that  stud  the  suburbs  of  the  "beautiful  city," 
each  boasting  ita  grassy  lawn  and  placid  lake,  each  docked 
with  park  and  woodland,  and  each  well  furnished  with  that 
paramount  appendage,  a  Aatterie  de  euiiine :  but  all  these 
Mjf/M  wen^  passed  imhecded  by,  caren(  juioPB/eiaero,  G'.tr- 
Ct-ouM  residences,  picturesque  seats,  magnificent  villas,  they 
he,  uo  doubt  1  but  unknown  to  literature,  in  vain  do  they 
{.lame  Ihcmaelvefl  on  their  architectural  beauty  ;  in  vain  do 
lh«y  fpn-ad  wide  their  well-proportioned  wi»ff*— they  cuniiDt 
soar  a^ift  to  the  regiona  of  celcDrity- 

On  ibe  eve  of  that  memorable  day  I  wss  sitting  on  a 
ttool  in  the  priest's  parlour,  poking  the  turf  fire,  whiJe 


33  FATHER  PBOUT's  BELIQUES. 

Prout,  who  had  been  angling  all  day,  sat  nodding  over  bii 
"  breviary,^*  and,  according  to  my  calculation,  ought  to  be 
lit  the  last  psalm  of  vespers,  when  a  loud  official  knock,  not 
usual  on  that  bleak  hill,  bespoke  the  presence  of  no  ordi- 
nary personage.  Accordingly,  the  "  wicket,  opening  with  a 
latch,"  ushered  in  a  messenger  clad  in  the  livery  of  the 
ancient  and  loyal  corporation  of  Cork,  who  announced  him- 
self as  tlie  bearer  of  a  despatch  from  the  mansion-house 
to  his  reverence  ;  and,  handing  it  with  that  deferential  awe 
which  even  his  masters  felt  for  the  incumbent  of  Water- 
grasshill,  immediately  withdrew.     The  letter  ran  thus : — 

Council  Chamber^  July  24^  1825. 

Very  Eeverekd  Doctor  Prout, 

Cork  harbours  within  its  walls  the  illustrious  author 
of  Waverley.  On  receiving  the  freedom  of  our  ancient  city, 
which  we  presented  to  him  (as  usual  towards  distinguished 
strangers)  in  a  box  carved  out  of  a  chip  of  the  Blarney 
stone,  he  expressed  his  determination  to  visit  the  old  block 
itself.  As  he  will,  therefore,  be  in  your  neighbourhood  to- 
morrow, and  as  no  one  is  better  able  to  do  the  honours  than 
you  (our  burgesses  being  sadly  deficient  in  learning,  as  you 
and  I  well  know),  your  attendance  on  the  celebrated  poet  is 
requested  by  your  old  friend  and  foster-brother, 

George  Knapp,*  Mayor, 

*  The  republic  of  letters  has  great  reason  to  complain  of  Dr.  Mfgin"! 
for  his  non-fiilfilment  of  a  positive  pledge  to  publish  "a  great  historical 
work"  on  the  mayors  of  Cork.  Owing  to  this  desideratum  in  the 
annals  of  the  empire,  I  am  compelled  to  bring  into  notice  thus  abmptlj 
the  most  respectable  civic  worthy  that  has  worn  the  cocked  bat  and 
chain  since  the  days  of  John  Walters,  who  boldly  proclaimed  Perkin 
Warbeck,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.,  in  the  market-place  of  that  beau- 
tiful city.  Knapp's  virtues  and  talents  did  not,  hke  those  of  Donna 
Ines,  deserve  to  be  called 

"  Claasic  all, 
Nor  lay  they  chiefly  in  the  mathematical," 

for  his  favourite  pursuit  during  the  canicule  of  1825,  was  the  extermi- 
nation of  mad  dogs  ;  and  so  vigorously  did  he  urge  the  carnage  during 
the  summer  of  his  mayoralty,  that  some  thought  he  wished  to  eclipse 
the  exploit  of  St.  Patrick  in  destroying  the  breed  altogether,  as  the 
taint  did  that  of  toads.    A  Cork  poet,  the  laureate  of  the  mansion* 


A   PLKA    FUU   fILUlllUAOES.  39 

XpTer  stitJI  I  forget  (be  bciim  of  trium])h  tlial  )it  iiji 
e  old  toAu'R  features  on  tlie  perusnl  of  Kna;i|i's  pitliy 
_iamuu9  ;  and  rislit  waimly  did  he  respond  to  my  ci'iigni- 
llatioDa  onitip  prospect  of  thus  coining  in  contact  wit)i  so 
itLnguished  sm  jiuthor.  "  You  arc  rigbt,  diild !"  anid  be  ; 
id  BS  I  perririvcd  b^  bis  manner  that  be  wna  about  to  ^nter 
)  one  of  tbose  rambling  tnuiis  uf  thought — balf-bomily, 
llf.Boliloquv— iu  wbich  bp  was  wont  to  indulge.  I  settled 
yself  by  the  fire-place,  and  prepared  to  go  through  my 

weustomed  part  of  an  attentive  lislener. 

"  A  grejit  mnn,  Tronk  !     A  truly  great  man  !     No  token 

of  ancient  dajre  escapiw  liis  eagle  glance,  no  ^eneriible  memo- 
ir of  former  tiini»  his  obaen-aat  scrutiny ;  and  still,  even 
B,  versed  as  he  is  in  the  monumentary  remains  of  bygoni: 
s,  may  yet  learn  sometlung  more,  and  have  no  cause  to 
_ret  his  visit  to  Blarney.  Tes!  since  our  'groves'  are  to 
B^bonoured  by  the  presence  of  the  learned  baronet, 

'  Sjlix  tint  cDDtulc  digue !' 
I  US  make  them  deserving  of  his  attention.  He  shall  fis 
a  intiquarian  eye  and  rivet  bis  wondering  gaze  on  the 
lAe  basaltic  iiiaas  that  crowns  the  battlements  of  the  main 
iwer;  for  lliougb  be  miiy  have  seen  the  "chair  at  Scone," 
btn  the  Caledirnian  kings  were  crowned ;  though  be  may 
■re  et&miued  that  Scotch  pebble  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
hicb  the  Cockneys,  In  the  eiercise  of  a  delightful  credu- 
y,  believe  to  be  "  Jacob's  pillow- ;"  though  he  may  have 
■ited  the  niisbapen  pillars  on  Salisbury  plain,  and  the 
xk  of  Ciwhel,  and  the  "Hag's  Bed,"'  and  St.  Kevin's 
trifled  mAtelas  at  Qleudalough.  and  niony  a  cromlech  of 
ruidicsl  celebrity, — there  is  ostone  yet  unexplored,  wbitb 
I  atjill  contemplate  to-morrow,  and  place  on  record  ainoni; 
a  most  profitable  days  that  on  wbicti  he  abali  have  ptiid  it 
mage: 

•,  MaOTine,  6ifm  numera  meliore  lopillol' 


wild  youth  I  have  seen 


r-MlebrMad  Knspp'i  prowtM  in  a  didnctip  com 

""■■      a  f  win  ,  in  which  tlic  mnyor  U  likened 

bofovs  l>o;,  in  tbe  oprniug  of  tbc  Iliad: 

Xriap  fiimt  rfret  if'  (a«re  itoi  iiToe  Apjou. 


40  PATHEB  PROirj's   RELIQUES. 

of  the  celebrated  writers  tbat  adorned  the  decline  of  the 
last  century,  and  shed  a  lustre  over  France,  too  soon  eclipsed 
in  blood  at  its  sanguinary  close.  I  have  conversed  with 
Buffon  and  with  Fontenelle,  and  held  intercourse  with 
Nature's  simplest  child,  Bemardin  de  St.  Pierre,  author  of 
*  Paul  and  Virginia ;'  Gresset  and  Marmontel  were  my 
college-friends ;  and  to  me,  though  a  fi^uenter  of  the  halls 
of  Sorbonne,  the  octogenaire  of  Femey  was  not  unknovm : 
nor  was  I  unacquainted  with  the  recluse  of  Ermenonville. 
But  what  are  the  souvenirs  of  a  single  period,  however  bril- 
liant and  interesting,  to  the  recollections  of  full  seven  cen- 
turies of  historic  glory,  all  condensed  and  concentrated  in 
Scott  ?  What  a  host  of  personages  does  his  name  conjure 
up !  what  mighty  shades  mingle  in  the  throng  of  attendant 
heroes  that  wait  his  bidding,  and  form  his  appropriate 
retinue  !  Cromwell,  Claverhouse,  and  Montrose  ;  Saiadin, 
Front  de  Bceuf,  and  Ca?ur  de  Lion ;  Hob  Boy,  Bobin  Hood, 
and  Marmion ;  those  who  fell  at  Culloden  and  Flodden- 
JField,  and  those  who  won  the  day  at  Bannockbum, — all 
start  up  at  the  presence  of  the  Enchanter.  I  speak  not  of 
his  female  forms  of  surpassing  loveliness — his  Flora  M*Ivor, 
his  Bebecca,  his  Amy  Robsart :  these  you,  Frank,  can  best 
admire.  But  I  know  not  how  I  shall  divest  myself  of  a 
secret  awe  when  the  wizard,  with  all  his  spells,  shall  rise 
before  me.  The  presence  of  my  old  foster-brother,  George 
Kuapp,  will  doubtless  tend  to  dissipate  the  illusion  ;  but  if 
so  it  will  be  by  personifying  the  Baillie  Nicol  Jarvie  of 
Glasgow,  his  worthy  prototype.  Nor  are  Scott's  merits 
those  simply  of  a  pleasing  novelist  or  a  spirit-stirring  poet ; 
his  *  Life  of  Dryden,'  his  valuable  commentaries  on  Swift, 
his  researches  in  the  dark  domain  of  demonolo^,  his  bio- 
grapliy  of  Napoleon,  and  the  sterling  views  of  European 
policy  developed  in  'Paul's  Letters  to  his  Kinsfolk,*  all 
contribute  to  enliance  his  literary  pre-eminence.  Eightlj 
has  Silius  Italicus  depicted  the  Carthaginian  hero,  sur- 
rounded  even  in  solitude  by  a  thousand  recollections  of  well- 
earned  renown — 

*  Nee  credis  inermem 
Quem  mihi  tot  cinxere  duees  :  si  admoveris  ora, 
Cannae  et  Trcbiain  ante  oculos,  Komanaque  busts, 
lit  Fault  stare  ingentem  xniraberis  uiubraxn  !'* 


t  FILGRIJIAOKI. 


I ' 

^BTet,  gresUj-  ami  diwerredly  aa  be  is  priced  by  hid  cootempo- 
I  iwies,  future  &gea  will  value  him  c»en  more  ;  nod  bis  kurt-l, 
eitr  eiteoding  iU  branches,  find  growing  in  Bi-cret  like  the 
'fiuoe  of  ilarcelkis,' wiU  overshadow  the  earth.  Posl*rit^ 
will  canonise  his  every  relic ;  &nd  hia  foirtBteps,  even  in  tbi§ 
n-mote  diBtrict,  will  he  one  day  traced  and  sought  for  by  the 
•dtniren  of  eeiiitis.  For,  notwithstaDdiri);  the  breadth  and 
briUiani^  ofeffi'i-t  witb  which  he  wnved  the  torch  of  mind 
«hile  living,  far  jiii^r  mid  more  serene  will  be  the  lamp 
that  shall  glimmer  in  !iia  tomb  and  keep  vigil  over  his  hal- 
litved  ashes :  to  that  fount  of  inepiratiou  other  and  minor 
epirita,  eager  to  career  through  the  same  orbit  of  glory,  will 
recur,  antf 

'  In  llirir  golilcn  um*  draw  light.' 
Nor  do  1  merply  look  on  bim  aa  a  writer  who.  by  the  blan- 
dishment of  bis*  narrative  and  the  witchery  of  his  style,  haa 
calmed  more  sorrow,  and  caused  more  happy  hours  to  flow, 
than  any  save  a  higher  and  a  holier  page. — a  writer  who, 
like  the  autumnal  meteor  of  his  own  North,  has  illumined 
the  dull  horiioi]  of  these  latter  days  with  a  fancy  ever  varied 
and  mdinnt  with  ioyfuhiesB, — one  who,  for  useful  purposes, 
luw  interwoven  the  plain  warp  of  history  with  the  mnny- 
coloured  web  of  hia  own  romantic  loom  ; — but  further  do  I 
hail  in  bim  the  geniua  who  has  rendered  good  and  true 
•erfit-e  to  the  cause  of  mankind,  by  driving  forth  from  the 
letBjile  of  Beligion,  with  sarcasm's  knotted  laah,  that  canting 
puntanic  tribe  who  would  obliterate  from  the  book  of  life 
cTery  earthly  enjoyment,  and  change  all  its  paths  of  peace 
uito  walks  of  bitte'meBS.  I  honour  him  for  hia  elVorlH  to 
di^molieh  the  pestilent  influence  of  a  sour  and  sulky  system 
that  would  interpose  itself  between  the  gospel  sun  and  the 
world — that  retains  no  beat,  imbibes  no  light,  and  transmits 
none  ;  but  flings  its  broad,  cold,  and  disastrous  shadow  over 
the  land  that  is  cursed  with  its  visitation. 

"  The  escrraewices  and  superfcetationa  of  my  own  church 
most  freely  do  I  yield  up  to  his  eenBure-,  for  while  in  his 
Abbot  Boniface,  'bis  Friar  Tuck,  and  his  intriguing  Euah- 
leigh,  he  has  justly  etigmalised  mouaatic  lazmcsH,  and  de- 
nounced ultramontane  duplicity,  he  has  not  forgotten  to 
eibibit  the  bright  reverse  of  the  Eoman  medal,  but  has  done 
full  roeaeure  of  justice  to  the  noljler  inspirations  of  our 


42  FATHER  PBOVT*S  BELIQUES. 

creed,  bodied  forth  in  Mary  Stuart,  Hugo  de  Lacy,  Catbe- 
rine  Seaton,  Die  Vernon,  and  Rose  de  Beranger.  Naj,  even 
in  bis  fictions  of  cloistered  life,  among  the  drones  of  that 
ignoble  crowd,  he  ha«  drawn  minds  of  another  sphere,  and 
spirits  whose  ingenuous  nature  and  piety  unfeigned  were 
not  worthy  of  this  world's  deceitful  intercourse,  but  fitted 
them  to  commune  in  solitude  with  Heaven. 

"  Such  are  the  impressions,  and  such  the  mood  of  mind  in 
which  I  shall  accost  the  illustrious  visitor ;  and  you,  Frank, 
shall  accompany  me  on  this  occasion." 

Accordingly,  the  next  morning  found  Prout,  punctual  to 
Knapp's  summons,  at  his  appointed  post  on  the  top  of  the 
castle,  keeping  a  keen  look-out  for  the  arrival  of  Sir  Walter. 
He  came,  at  length,  up  the  "  laurel  avenue,"  so  called  from 
the  gigantic  laurels  that  overhang  the  path, 

"  Which  bowed, 
As  if  each  brought  a  new  classic  wreath  to  his  head ;" 

and  alighting  at  the  castle-gate,  supported  by  Knapp,  he 
toiled  up  the  winding  stairs  as  well  as  his  lameness  would 
permit,  and  stood  at  last,  with  all  his  fame  around  him,  in 
the  presence  of  Prout.  The  form  of  mutual  introduction 
was  managed  by  Knapp  with  his  usual  tact  and  urbanity ; 
and  the  first  interchange  of  thoughts  soon  convinced  Scott 
that  he  had  lit  on  no  "  clod  of  the  valley "  in  the  priest. 
The  confabulation  which  ensued  may  remind  you  of  the 
**  Tusculanse  Quaestiones  "  of  Tully,  or  the  dialogues  "  De 
Oratore,"  or  of  Home  Tooke's  "  Diversions  of  Purley,"  or  of 
all  three  together.     La  void. 

SCOTT. 

I  congratulate  myself,  reverend  father,  on  the  prospect  of 
having  so  experienced  a  guide  in  exploring  the  wonders  of 
this  eelebrated  spot.  Indeed,  I  am  so  far  a  member  of  your 
communion,  that  I  take  delight  in  pilgrimages ;  and  you  be- 
hold in  me  a  pilgrim  to  the  Blarney  stone.  ^ 

PEOUT. 

I  accept  the  guidance  of  so  sincere  a  devotee ;  nor  has  a 
more  accomplished  palmer  ever  worn  scrip,  or  staff,  or 
scollop-shell,  in  my  recollection  ;  nay,  more— right  honoured 
flhall  the  pastor  oi  the  neighbouring  upland  feel  in  afibrding 


leltcr  snd  faoxpitnlity,  aiioh  na  every  pL^im  has  cUim  la, 
the  peoitent  will  deigu  visit  tny  liumble  duelling. 


My  vow  forbids!  I  must  not  tliink  of  bodily  refre^h- 
ent.  DF  onr  aueli  profane  aolicitiides,  until  1  go  through 
le  solemn' rouads  of  my  devotional  career— until  I  kisa 
ihe  stuDe,"  and  ciplore  the  "cave  where  no  daylight 
Iters."  the  " fracture  in  the  battlement."  the  "lake  well 
with,  fishes,"  and,  finally,  "  the  sweet  rock-doBe." 


All  these  Bball  you  duly  contemplate  when  you  shall  have 
rested  from  the  fatigue  of  climbing  to  thia  lofty  eminence, 
wbraoe,  eeated  on  these  battlements,  you  can  command  a 
Ikndscapo  fit  to  repay  the  toil  of  the  most  laborious  pere- 
grination ;  in  frutb,  if  the  ancient  observance  were  not 
mfficiently  vindicated  by  jour  ejample  to-day,  I  should 
late  thought  it  my  duty  to  take  up  tie  gauntlet  for  that 
uch-abuaed  set  of  men,  the  pilgrims  of  olden  time. 

8C0TT. 

Jn  all  cases  of  initiation  to  any  solemn  ritca.  such  as  1  sni 
■out  to  enter  on,  it  is  customary  to  give  an  introductory 
nre  to  the  neophyte ;  and  se  you  seem  disposed  to 
ighl«n  uB  with  a  preamble,  you  have  got,  reverend  father, 
ne  a  most  docile  auditor, 


There  is  a  work,  Sir  "Walter,  with  which  I  presume  you 

not  unac.juainted,  which  forcibly  and  beautifully  por- 

8  the  honest  fervour  of  our  forefetbers  in  their  untu- 

^^^.,d   views   of  Christianity:    but  if  the    "Tales  of  the 

irusadnr*  "  connt  among  their  dramatU  pert-ma  the  mitred 

nUte,  the  cowled  hermit,  the  croiiered  abbot,  snd  the 

lllont  templar,  strange  miiture  of  daring  and  devotion, — 

IT  d*>  I  prefer  the  sketch  of  that  peculiar  creation  of  Catlio- 

city  and  roraanfe,  the  penitent  under  solemn  vow,  wlin 

mea  down  fnmi  Thabor  or  from  Lebanon  to  embark  for 

Uropr ;  and  who  in  rude  garb  and  witb  unahoddeu  feet 

"U  rrtum  lo  his  nattce  plains  of  Languedoc  or  Lombnrdy, 


44  FATHEB  PBOUT*B  SELIQVEB. 

displaying  with  pride  the  emblem  of  Palestine,  and  realising 
what  Virgil  only  dreamt  of — 

"  FrimuB  Idumsoa  referam  tibi,  MantuB,  palnuq^  !** 

But  I  am  wrong  in  saying  that  pilgrimages  belong  exclu- 
sively to  our  most  ancient  form  of  Christianity,  or  that  the 
patent  for  this  practice  appertains  to  religion  at  all.  It  is 
the  simplest  dictate  of  our  nature,  though  piety  has  conse- 
crated the  practice,  and  marked  it  for  her  own.  Patriotism, 
Eoetry,  philanthropy,  all  the  arts,  and  all  the  finer  feelings, 
ave  their  pilgrimages,  their  hallowed  spots  of  intense  in- 
terest, their  haunts  of  fancy  and  of  inspiration.  It  is 
the  first  impulse  of  every  genuine  affection,  the  tendency 
of  the  heart  in  its  fervent  youthhood ;  and  nothing  but  the 
cold  scepticism  of  an  age  which  Edmund  Burke  so  truly 
designated  as  that  of  calculators  and  economists,  could  scoff 
at  the  enthusiasm  that  feeds  on  ruins  such  as  these,  that 
visits  with  emotion  the  battle-field  and  the  ivied  abbey,  or 
Shakespeare's  grave,  or  Galileo's  cell,  or  Bunnymede,  or 
Marathon. 

Filial  affection  has  had  its  pilgrim  in  Telemachus ;  gene- 
rous and  devoted  loyalty  in  Blondel,  the  best  of  trouba- 
dours ;  Bruce,  Belzoni,  and  Humboldt,  were  pilgrims  of 
science ;  and  John  Howard  was  the  sublime  pilgrim  of 
philanthropy. 

Actuated  by  a  sacred  feeling,  the  son  of  Ulysses  visited 
every  isle  and  inhospitable  shore  of  the  boisterous  .£gean, 
until  a  father  clasped  him  in  his  arms ; — propelled  by  an 
equally  absorbing  attachment,  the  faithful  minstrel  of  Uoeur 
de  Lion  sang  before  every  feudal  castle  in  Germany,  until 
at  last  a  dungeon-keep  gave  back  the  responsiye  echo  of 
"  O  Richard  !  O  mon  roy  /"  If  Belzoni  died  toilwom  and 
dissatisfied — if  Baron  Humboldt  is  still  plodding  his  course 
through  the  South  American  peninsula,  or  wsfted  on  the 
bosom  of  the  Pacific — it  is  because  the  domain  of  science  is 
infinite,  and  her  votaries  must  never  rest : 

"  For  there  are  wanderers  o'er  eternity, 
Wiose  bark  goes  on  and  on,  and  anchor*d  ue*er  shall  beT' 

But  when  Howard  explored  the  secrets  of  every  prison- 
house  in  Europe,  performing  that  which  Burke  classically 
described  as  "  a  circumnavigation  of  charity  •"  nay,  when. 


A   rLXA  FOB   riLaRtMAOEa. 


I  K  fltill  holier  errand,  three  pastern  sages  riune  &otn  tlie 

punilanrs  of  the  earlh  lu  tin  homnge  lo  a  cradle  ;  tliink  ve 

Dt  that  iu  tLeir»,  as  iu  every  pilgrim's  progress,  a  licFit 

lo  olhers  shoue  on  the  path  before  them?  derived 

lej-  But  untiring  vigour  from  the  eialt«d  nature  of  their 

suit,  feit  Ihcv  Out  "  a  piniun  lifting  everj"  limb  i"     Siieli 

the  feelings  Vhicli  Tiiaso  beautifully  desoribes  wben  he 

jgs  his  heroes  within  view  of  Sion : 


Aita  contriliUTi  i 
Di  itmoivfo  e  nTonute  nflettu. 
Omoo  BppeiiB  d'  innnU»r  lo  Ti»l« 
VtT  U  cittl,  dj  Oriato  sIbCTgo  clrtto, 
Dore  niort,  iloie  «epoll«  Tue, 
Doto  poi  civcstl  U  luetnbia  guo !" 

Canto  III. 

1  need  not  tell  you,  Sir  Walter,  thnt  the  father  of  history, 
revious  to  taking  up  the  pen  of  Clio,  explored  every  monu- 
.Bieut  of  Upper  I^pt  ?  or  tliut  Herodotus  hnd  been  pre- 
<cedi-d  by  liomer,  and  followed  by  Pythngorna,  in  this  pliilo- 
■ophii'!  pilgrimage;  tbat  Athens  aud  Corinth  were  the 
Rvourite  resorts  of  the  Roman  literati,  Sylla,  Lucullus,  and 
tlecKQaa.  when  no  lunger  the  seats  of  empire  i  aud  that 
iome  itself  ia.  in  its  turn,  become  aa  well  the  haunt  of  tlie 
ntiquartan  as  the  poet,  and  the  painter,  aud  the  Christian 
nlgnm  ;  for  dull  indeed  would  tliat  man  be.  duller  than  tlie 
tagnant  weed  that  vegetates  on  Lethe's  shore,  who  again 
iotild  put  the  exploded  interrogatory,  once  fallen,  not  la- 
stly, Irom  tbe  mouth  of  a  clown— 

"Qbc  tiuilB  fuit  Btimani  tibi  caiua  Tiddidi?" 

I  meftU  not  to  deny  that  there  eiiat  vulgar  minds  and  Honk 
rithout  refinenifut,  whose  perceptions  are  of  that  stunted 
lUlure  that  thev  can  aee  nothing  in  the  "  pass  of  Thermo- 
pyW  but  a  gap  for  eattle ;  in  the  "  Forum"  but  a  cow- 
«rd[  and  for  w  horn  St.  Helena  itself  is  but  a  barren  rock  : 
lut.  thank  Heaven  !  we  are  not  all  yet  come  to  that  uuen- 
iftble  stsigeof  utilitarian  philosophy  ;  and  there  is  stili  some 
lope  left  for  the  Jluses'  haunts,  when  he  of  Abbotaford 
'dbIw*  nnt  to  visit  the  castle,  the  stone,  aud  the  groves  of 
l&n)ey. 


40  JATHEB  PROUT's  EELIQUES. 

Nor  is  he  unsupported  in  the  indulgence  of  this  classi* 
fancy  ;  for  there  exists  another  pilgrim,  despite  of  modem 
cavils,  who  keeps  up  the  credit  of  the  profession — a  way- 
ward childe,  whose  restless  spirit  has  long  since  spurned 
the  solemn  dulness  of  conventional  life,  preferring  to  hold 
intercourse  \^ath  the  mountain-top  and  the  ocean- brink: 
Ida  and  Salamis  **  are  to  him  companionship  ;"  and  every 
broken  shaft,  prostrate  capital,  and  marble  fragment  of  that 
sunny  land,  tells  its  tale  of  other  days  to  a  fitting  listener  in 
Harold :  for  him  Etruria  is  a  teeming  soil,  and  the  spirit  of 
song  haunts  Ravenna  and  Parthenope  :  for  him 

"  There  is  a  tomb  in  Arqu^" 

which  to  the  stolid  peasant  that  wends  his  away  along  the 
Euganeian  hills  is  mute  indeed  as  the  grave,  nor  breathes 
the  name  of  its  indweller ;  but  a  voice  breaks  forth  from 
the  mausoleum  at  the  passage  of  Byron,  the  ashes  of  Pe- 
trarch grow  warm  in  their  marble  bed,  and  the  last  wish  of 
the  poet  in  his  "  Legacy"  is  accomplished : 

"  Then  if  some  bard,  who  roams  forsaken, 
Shall  touch  on  thy  cords  in  passing  along, 
O  may  one  thought  of  its  mastor  waxen 
The  swcetrat  smile  for  the  Childe  qf  Song  /** 

SCOTT. 

Proud  and  flattered  as  I  must  feel,  O  most  learned 
divine !  to  be  classified  with  Herodotus,  Pythagoras,  Bel- 
zoni,  Bruce,  and  Byron,  I  fear  much  that  I  am  but  a  sorry 
sort  of  pilgrim,  after  all.  Indeed,  an  eminent  writer  of 
your  church  has  laid  it  down  as  a  maxim,  which  I  suspect 
applies  to  my  case,  "  Qui  multum  peregrinantur  rar6  soucti- 
ficantur."     Does  not  Thomas  k  Kempis  say  so  ? 

PROUT. 

The  doctrine  may  be  sound ;  but  the  book  from  which 
you  quote  is  one  of  those  splendid  productions  of  uncertain 
authorship  which  we  must  ascribe  to  some  "  great  unknown" 
of  the  dark  ages. 

SCOTT. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  I  can  give  you  a  parallel  sentiment 
from  one  of  your  French  poets ;  for  I  understand  you  are 


i.   FLXA   rOR   ] 

^INvtaal  to  tlie  literature  of  that  in errv  nation.  Tbe  pilgrim's 
Lvudenngs  ore  conipareil  by  this  gullii]  satirist  to  the 
r  BieuiderinE!  i-oursc  of  a  tirer  in  Germanv,  wiiich,  afttr 
t  WKt«riDg  the  plains  uf  Prot^shnnl  Wirtemberg  and  Catholic 
I  Austria,  enters,  bjr  way  of  finale,  on  the  rfomaina  of  the 
Gnnd  Turk  : 

"  Tai  m  to  Dnniibe  incoiuUnt, 
Qui.  tBDiM  Calbnllque  et  laaUt  Fraieslnnl^ 
Bi'rt  Rome  et  Iintlier  de  son  oade  -, 
Mais,  eom|itHnL  apris  pour  riMi 
Romaui  et  Luthfrjen, 
Finit  so  (-aurae  TOj^ubonilo 

Par  n'drrpM  m6mo  Chretien. 

RAninent  eo  oourant  le  Dinnde 

On  derii'Dt  haninic  do  bion  !" 

By  tUe  way,  bfire  you  seen  Stothard'a  capital  print,  "  The 
Pil^iaiage  t<i  Canterbury  ?" 


Such  orgies  on  pioua  pretences  I  cannot  but  deplore,  with 
Chaocer,  Erasmus,  Dryocn,  and  Pope,  who  were  all  of  my 
i-Twd,  and  pointedly  oimdemned  them,  The  Papal  hierarchy 
in  thia  country  have  repeatedly  disco untenanceii  such  unholy 
duiuga.  Witness  their  efforts  to  demolish  the  cavern  of 
Lougiiderg,  called  St,  Patrick's  Purgatory,  that  has  no 
better  claim  to  antiquity  than  our  Blarney  cave,  in  which 
■■  bata  and  badtjera  are  forcrer  bred."  And  still,  ironceniing 
this  truly  Irish  curiosity,  there  is  a  dociiuient  of  a  droll 
dl^^l*^iption  in  Kymcr'a  "  Fcpdcra,"  in  the  3 2d  rear  of  Ed- 
ward lit..  A.D.  1858.  It  is  no  less  tbon  a  certiBcnte,  duly 
[iiade  out  by  that  good-natured  monarch,  shewing  to  all  men 
as  how  a  fort-ign  nobleman  did  really  visit  the  Cave  of  St. 
Patrick,*  and  passed  a  night  in  its  mysterious  recesses. 

■  Thia  is,  <m  beline,  what  Prout  sUudm  to ;  siiil  we  aanfeaB  it  ia  ii 
lowwiu  nlic  of  oldes  nimpliuit;,  uid  ought  to  see  the  light : — 

"A.D.  1SSS.S0.  32Edw.  in. 
"Lltl-r---  ■      ■  '  :iii'r4  in  S"  Pntricii  Purjistorio.    Hi'i 

I]    .  ;  riTMHitos  litliirac  pcrreiicnnt,  salulpin! 

">  i'ii»  de  Armitmio,  mUe?,  ad  pnc4tMttiiiiu 

:,-..--■,.  -HiOBuit  quod  ipas  uuper  k  torrjc  iubb 

i!'..>:-i,  r.-  '■  ■■!   Sancti  Fiwrii'ii,  infra  termin  no^tram 

EjiKmii  coiia'.iliilurii,  in  i!.iiiU=  corporis  tui  lulwribus  pErujjre  tisilirat, 


48  FA.THEB  PB0UT*8   SSLIQVES. 

SCOTT. 

I  was  aware  of  the  existence  of  that  document,  as  also  of 
the  remark  made  by  one  Erasmus  of  Eotterdam  concerning 
the  said  cave:  "Non  desunt  hodi^  qui  descendunt,  sed 
prius  triduano  enecti  jejunio  ne  sano  capite  ingrediantur."  • 
Erasmus,  reverend  friend,  was  an  honour  to  your  cloth; 
but  as  to  Edward  III.,  I  am  not  surprised  he  should  have 
encouraged  such  excursions,  as  he  belonged  to  a  family 
whose  patronymic  is  traceable  to  a  pilgrim's  vow.  My 
reverend  friend  is  surely  in  possession  of  the  historic  fact, 

ac  per  integrse  diei  ac  noctis  continiiatum  spatium,  ut  est  moris,  elausus 
manserat  in  eodem,  nobis  cum  instantia  supplicando,  ut  in  prsmissonun 
veracius  fulcimentum  regales  nostras  litteras  inde  sibi  concedere  digoA- 
remur. 

"Nos  autem  ipsius  peregrinationis  eoneiderantes  periculosa  discri- 
mina,  licet  tanti  nobilis  in  htLc  parte  nobis  assertio  sit  aocepta,  quia 
tamen  dilecti  ac  fidelis  nostri  Almarici  de  S^  Amando,  militis,  justiciarii 
nostri  Hybemi«,  simul  ac  Prioris  et  Conventib  loci  dioti  Purgatorii,  et 
etiam  alionim  auctoritatis  multse  virorum  litteris,  aliisque  claris  eviden- 
tiis  informamur  quod  dictus  nobilis  banc  peregrinationem  rii^  perfeoerat 
et  etiam  animosh, 

**  Dignum  duximus  super  bis  testimonium  nostrum  favorabiliter  ad- 
bibere,  ut  sublato  cujusris  dubitationis  involucre,  pnemissorum  reritas 
singulis  lucidius  patcfiat,  bas  litteras  nostras  sigillo  r^o  consignataa 
illi  duximus  concedendas. 

"  Dat'  in  palatio  nostro  West',  xxiv  die  Octobris,  1358." 

Rymer'a  FcederOy  by  Caley.     London,  1826. 
Vol.  iii.  pt.  i.  p.  408. 

•  Erasmus  in  Adagia,  artic.  de  antro  Tropbonii.  See  also  Camden's 
account  of  this  cave  in  Ids  Hybeniue  Description  edition  of  1594^  p.  67L 
It  is  a  singular  fact,  though  little  known,  that  from  the  risions  said  to 
occur  in  tliis  cavern,  and  bruited  abroad  by  the  fraternity  of  mon1», 
whoso  connexion  with  Italy  was  constant  and  intimate,  Dante  took  the 
first  hint  of  his  Divina  Commedia,  II  Purgalorio.  Such  was  the  cele- 
brity this  cave  Iiad  obtained  in  Spain,  that  the  great  dramatist  Calderoo 
made  it  the  subject  of  one  of  his  best  pieces ;  and  it  was  so  well  known 
at  the  court  of  Ferrara,  that  Ariosto  introduced  it  into  his  Orlmub 
Purioio,  canto  x.  stanza  92. 

"  Quindi  Ruggier,  poichb  di  banda  in  banda 
Vide  gl'  Inglesi,  and6  verso  1'  Irlanda 
E  vide  Ibcmia  fetbulosa,  dove 
II  santo  veechiarel  feoe  la  cava 
In  che  tanta  meree  par  che  si  trove, 
Che  r  uom  vi  ^vtrge^  ogni  sua  colpa  prara  I" 


^  rL£A   FOR  PII.UBU(A0E3,  49 

wt  the  nttme  of  Plantagenet  is  derived  from  plante  de 
netl,  a  sprig  of  iieaili,  wliich  the  first  DiJie  of  Anjou  wore 
I  bU  helmet  as  a  si^  of  penitential  buniiliatioii,  nben 
toot  to  depart  for  the  holvlimd:  though  wliv  a  broom- 
Wig  should  iiidi(»t«  lawlinesa  is  not  satisfactorily  explained. 

PEOCT. 

The  monJcB  of  that  day,  who  are  reputed  to  have  been 
y  ignorant,  were  perhaps  acquainted  with  the  "  Georgics" 
if  Vii^U,  and  rocolleeted  the  verse — 

"Quid  majors  wquar?     Suliirei  kumiln^m  Gmiitrr." 


1  suppose  there  is  some  similar  reiiondite  allnsion  in  that 
onsiCcouDtable  decoration  of  every  holy  trsveller'a  occoutre- 
meoc,  the  scollop-shell  ?  or  was  it  merely  uaed  to  quaff  the 
watore  of  the  brook  i" 


I  It  was  first  assumed  by  the  penitents  who  resorted  to  the  t 
idirinD  of  St,  Jagp  di  Cumpoalella,  on  the  west«m  coast  of  ?**' 
Spain,  to  be  to  ben  that  they  had  extended  their  penitential 
csmirsion  so  far  as  that  sainted  ebore;  just  as  the  palni- 
bnuich  WM  tiifficient  evidence  of  a  visit  to  Palestine.  Did 
not  the  soldiers  of  3  Koman  general  fill  their  belnieta  with 
cockles  on  the  brink  of  the  German  Ocean  ?  By  the  by, 
when  my  Inbnrious  and  learned  friend  the  renowned  AbM 
Trablet,  in  vindicating  thedelugeagainst  Voltaire,  instanced 
the  heaps  of  marine  remains  and  conchylia  on  the  ridge  of  the 
Pv  reuses,  the  witty  reprobate  of  Femev  ha<l  the  unblushing 
effrontery  to  asMTt  that  those  were  shells  left  behind  by  the 
pilgrims  of  St.  Jacques  on  re-crossing  the  mountains. 


1  muat  not,  meantime,  forget  the  objects  of  my  devotion ; 
and  with  your  beniaon,  reverend  father,  shall  proceed  to 
"'     "stone." 


PHODT. 

You  behold,  Sir  Walter,  in  this  block  the  most  valuable 


50  rjLTHEB  PBOUT's   BELIQ17E8. 

remnant  of  Ireland's  ancient  glory,  and  the  most  predona 
lot  of  her  PhoBnician  inheritance !  Possessed  of  thia  trea- 
sure, she  may  well  be  designated 

**  First  flower  of  the  earth  and  first  gem  of  the  sea  ;** 

for  neither  the  musical  stone  of  Memnon,  that  "  so  sweetly 
played  in  tune,"  nor  the  oracular  stone  at  Delphi,  nor  the 
lapidary  talisman  of  the  Lydian  Qyges,  nor  the  colossal 
granite  shaped  into  a  sphinx  in  Upper  Egypt,  nor  Stone- 
henge,  nor  the  Pelasgic  walls  of  Italy's  PaJs&strina,  offer 
so  many  attractions.  The  long-sought  lapis  philasophorum^ 
compared  with  this  jewel,  dwindles  into  insignificance ;  nay, 
the  savoury  fragment  which  was  substituted  for  the  infant 
Jupiter,  when  Saturn  had  the  mania  of  devouring  his  child- 
ren ;  the  Luxor  obelisk  ;  the  treaty-stone  of  Limerick,  with 
all  its  historic  endearments ;  the  zodiacal  monument  of 
Denderach,  with  all  its  astronomic  importance ;  the  Elgin 
marbles  with  all  their  sculptured,  the  Arundelian  with  all 
their  lettered  riches, — cannot  for  a  moment  stand  in  com- 
petition with  the  Blarney  block.  What  stone  in  the  world, 
save  this  alone,  can  communicate  to  the  tongue  that  suavity 
of  speech,  and  that  splendid  effrontery,  so  necessary  to  get 
through  life  ?  Without  this  resource,  how  could  Brougham 
have  managed  to  delude  the  English  public,  or  Dan  O'Con- 
nell  to  gull  even  his  own  countrymen?  How  could  St. 
John  Long  thrive?  or  Dicky  Sheil  prosper?  What  else 
could  have  transmuted  my  old  friend  Pat  Lardner  into  a  man 
of  letters— LL.D.,  F.R.S.L.  and  E.,  M.R.I.A.,  F.KA.S., 
F.L.S.,  F.Z.S.,  F.C.P.S.,  &c.  &c.  ?  What  would  have  be- 
come  of  Spring  Rice  ?  and  who  would  have  heard  of  Charley 
Phillips  ?  When  the  good  fortune  of  the  above-mentioned 
individuals  can  be  traced  to  any  other  source,  save  and 
except  the  Blarney  stone,  I  am  ready  to  renounce  my  belief 
in  it  altogether. 

This  palladium  of  our  country  was  brought  hither  origi- 
nally by  the  Phoenician  colony  that  peopled  Ireland,  and  is 
the  best  proof  of  our  eastern  parentage.  The  inhabitants  of 
Tyre  and  Carthage,  who  for  many  years  had  the  Blarney 
stone  in  their  custody,  made  great  use  of  the  privil^e,  as 
the  ^Toyerbs  Jtdes  Puniea^  Tyriosque  bilinguei^  testify.   Henoo 


A   FLEA   FOB  PlLQRIUAaES.  51 

the  origin  of  this  wondroue  tnlisman  ia  of  the  rcmotpBt 
aiiti<iuitr. 

Stnibo.  Diodorue,  and  PUny,  meation  the  arrival  of  the 
Tyriona  iu  Iftlaad  about  the  year  883  before  Christ,  accord- 
iug  to  the  chrouology  of  Sir  laaac  Newtou,  oad  the  tweoty- 
fitst  year  after  the  wick  of  Troy. 

?iow,  to  show  that  in  nU  their  niigrationa  they  carefidly 
watched  over  this  treBaun;  of  eloquence  and  souriie  of  dj- 
plomiury,  I  need  only  enter  into  a  few  etymological  detaila. 
Carthage,  where  they  settled  for  many  eeuturies,  but  which 
turns  out  to  have  been  only  a  stage  and  restiug-place  in 
the  ppoifrc«s  of  iheir  westom  wanderiugs,  bears  in  its  very 
name  the  trace  of  ita  haviug  had  in  its  poasesBion  and  cus- 
tody the  filnmey  Stone.   This  city  ia  called  in  the  Scripture 
Tariut,  or    Tarikuh,  Bny-fPi  whicb  in    Hebrew    mcana  a, 
caUabU  ttrme,  a  ttonf  o/pnee,  rendered  in  your  authorised  ( ?) 
tmion,  where  it  occurs  in  the  28th  and  39th  chapters  of 
EioduB,  by  the  specific  terra  beri/l,  a  sort  of  jewel.     In  hia 
r  txunmeniariea  on  this  word,  an  eminent  rabbi,  Jacob  Bodri- 
I  ncs  Slorcira.  tlie  Spanish  Jew,  ears  thnt  Carthage  ia  evi- 
kdcutly  the  Tarsiia  ot  the  Bible,  and  ne  reads  the  word  thus — 
llST^r,  Bceoiinting   for    the  termination  in  uh,  by  which 
mOttrtAaffo  bc<.'ome«  Canhith,  ill  a  very ^ilausible  way:  "  now," 
~rjti  W,  "  "ur  peoplish  have  de  very  great  knack  of  ending 
"  e  Torda  in  i*h ;  for  if  you  go  on  the  'Change,  you  will 
t  the  great  man  Nicholish  lt«trhild  calling  the  English 
a  monuk." — See  Jiecturti   delirered  in  tke  ITestern  Syna- 
■.*,byJ.B.M. 

'ut,  further,  doea    it  not  stand  to  reason   that    there 

C  be  aome  other  latent  way  of  accounting  for  the  pur- 

t  of  at  much  ground  a»   an   irt-liide  would  cover,  besideB 

merallv  received  and  moat  unautisfactory  eipianatiou  i* 

.tbe  Tynans  bought  as  much  land  as  their  Blarney, 

d  require  to  fix  itmelf  solidly , — 

a  qiuDtum  paliul  ciriiuiniliire  terga  ;" 
L^Utt  much,  by  the  taliamauic  stone  they 
Indei)  the  aimpte  natives,  and  finally  ha- 
f  Airica. 

BCOTT. 

ytn  have  thrown  a  new  and  unexpected  light  on 


52  ?ATHEIt  FBOTJT'S   BSLIQUS8. 

a  most  obscure  passage  in  ancient  liistoiy;  but  bow  the 
stone  got  at  last  to  the  county  of  Cork,  appears  to  me  a 
difficult  transition.     It  must  give  you  great  ^uble* 

PBOUT. 

My  dear  sir,  don't  mention  it !  It  went  to  Minorca  with 
a  chosen  body  of  Carthaginian  adventurers,  who  stole  it 
awav  as  their  Dest  safeguard  on  the  expedition.  They  first 
settled  at  Fort  Mahon, — a  spot  so  called  from  tbe  clan  of 
the  O'Mahonys,  a  powerful  and  prolific  race  still  flourishing 
in  this  countv ;  just  as  the  Nile  had  been  previously  so 
named  from  tlie  tribe  of  the  O'Neils,  its  aboriginal  inhabi- 
tants. All  these  matters,  and  many  more  curious  points,  will 
be  one  day  revealed  to  the  world  by  my  friend  Heniy 
O'Brien,  in  his  work  on  the  Hound  Towers  of  Ireland.  Sir, 
we  built  the  pyramids  before  we  left  Egypt ;  and  all  those 
obelisks,  sphinxes,  and  Memnonic  stones,  were  but  emblems 
of  the  great  relic  before  you. 

Gheorge  Knapp,  who  had  looked  up  to  Prout  with  dumb 
amazement  from  the  commencement,  here  pulled  out  his 
spectacles,  to  examine  more  closely  the  old  block,  while  Scott 
shook  his  head  doubtingly. 

"  I  can  convince  the  most  obstinate  sceptic.  Sir  "WaltJar," 
continued  the  learned  doctor,  "  of  the  intimate  connexion 
that  subsisted  between  us  and  those  islands  which  the  Bo- 
mans  called  insula  Baleares,  without  knowing  the  significatioil 
of  the  words  which  they  thus  applied.  That  they  were  so 
called  from  the  Blarney  stone,  will  appear  at  once  to  any 
person  accustomed  to  trace  Celtic  derivations :  the  Ulster 
king  of  arms,  Sir  William  Betham,  has  shown  it  by  the  fol- 
lowing scale." 

Here  Frout  traced  with  his  cane  on  the  muddy  floor  of  the 
castle  the  words 

«  BflLtfAR^f  fN*ul^=Blanue !" 


BCOTT. 

Prodigious !  My  reverend  friend,  you  have  set  the  point 
at  rest  K)r  ever — rem  acu  tetigisti !  Have  the  goodness  to 
proceed. 


X  K.IA  TOB  PHOEIKAGTS. 


I  Setting  Bail  from  Minorca,  the«'ippdition,aft«rencount«r- 
;  &  deoperate  storm,  cleared  the  Pillare  of  Hercules,  and 
ling  in  the  Cove  of  Cork,  deposited  their  treasure  in  the 
mest  spot  aud  the  ahadiest  groves  of  thia  be&utiful  vi- 

[litj. 


How  do  you  account  for  their  being  left  by  the  Cartba- 
'a  quiet  possession  of  this  invaluable  deposit? 

PKOITT. 

They  had  aoffieient  tact  (derived  from  their  connexion 
iriti)  the  stone)  to  give  out,  that  in  the  storm  it  had  been 
tlirown  overboard  to  relieve  the  abip,  in  latitude  36°  14*, 
gitude  'Zi°.  A  search  was  ordered  by  the  senate  of  Car- 
luigr,  and  the  Sfcditcrranean  was  dragged  without  effect ; 
pot  the  morineni  of  that  sea,  acoording  to  Virgil,  retained  a 
^perelitious  reverence  for  every  aubtnarine  appearance  of 
ketone  : 

'  S&iB  rocsnt  Itali  msdii*  qov  id  ftuctibui!  ursB  !" 

ind  Aristotle  dint  inellysaj-H,  in  hia  treatise  "De  Mirandis," 
oted  by  the  erudite  Justus  Lipsius.  that  a  law  was  enacted 
it  any  further  intercourse  with  Ireland.  Hia  worda 
"  In  man,  extra  Qerculis  Columnas,  insulam  desertnm 
^rrat»m  rninse  9>/tt<ii  neuioroiam,  in  quam  crebrd  Cartho^ni- 
I  commefirint,  et  aedes  etiam  nierint :  sed  veriti  ne 
I  m»ceret,  et  (.'arthago  laberetur,  edicto  cavieee  ne 
a  pwoa  capitia  eOi  deinceps  navigoret." 
^  ITie  fact  is,  Sir  Walter,  Ireland  was  always  considered  a 
bcky  spot,  and  constantly  escited  the  jealousy  of  Greeks, 
^□una,  and  [leople  of  every  country.  The  Athenians 
bititgtit  that  the  gtiosto  of  departed  heroes  vrere  transferred 
o  Mir  furtunate  island,  which  they  call,  in  the  war-song  of 
Barmodins  and  Aristogitou,  the  Ituid  of  O's  and  Macs : 

NxAfi  i'  (»  MAK  af  flN  ei  fatM  tiMi. 

I  And  tbe"  Grovea  of  Blarney  "  have  been  commemorated 
%if  tbe  Oroek  po«U  many  centuries  before  the  Christian  era. 


FATBER   I'BDCTfl   KELIQlTEa. 


iiilv  Bor 

old  song  itself ;  ana  if  Pindar  had  been  an  Irishman,  I  Uui 
he  woufd  bave  celebrated  thia  favourite  haunt  in  a  etjle  n 
rery  different  fro  in  MiUi  kin's  classic  rhapsody. 

Millikin,  the  reputed  author  of  that  song,  iraa  but 
simple  translator  from  the  Greek  original.  Indeed,  1 ' 
discovered,  when  abroad,  in  the  library  of  Cardinal  Mob 
an  old  Greek  manuecript,  which,  after  diligent  eiamiiutt 
I  am  conrinced  must  be  the  oldest  and  "  princeps  editio 
of  the  song.  I  begged  to  be  allowed  to  copy  it,  m  ord 
that  I  might  compare  it  n~itli  the  ancient  I>atin  or  Taiga 
tmnslation  which  is  preserved  in  the  Brera  at  Milan  ;  oi 
from  a  strict  and  minute  comparison  with  that,  and  with  tl 
Norman- French  copy  which  is  appended  to  DoomBdsV'boo 
and  the  Oellic-Iriah  fragment  preserved  by  Crofton  Crokc 
(rejecting  as  spurious  the  Arabic,  Armeoiaa,  and  Cbaldl 
BtiuiEna  on  the  same  subject,  to  be  found  in  the  colIectiaO' 
the  Koyal  Asiatic  Society,)  1  have  come  to  the  conclusu 
that  the  Greeks  were  the  undoubted  original  contrims  > 
that  splendid  ode  ;  though  whether  we  ascribe  it  to  lyrtM 
or  CallimachuB  will  depend  on  future  eridence  ;  and  j" 
haps,  Sir  Walter,  you  would  give  me  your  opinion,  aa  I  hi 
copies  of  all  the  versious  I  allude  to  at  my  dwelling  on  I 
hiO. 

BCOTT. 

1  cannot  boast,  learned  father,  of  much  nv(  in  Uollimi) 
matters ;  but  should  tind  myself  quite  at  home  in  the 
and  Norman-French,  to  iiistii.-et  which  T  shall  with 
accompany  you :  so  here  I  kiss  the  stone  I 

The  wondt-rs  of  "  the  caialle,"  tuid  "  cave,"  and  " 
were  speedily  gone  over ;  and  now,  according  to  the  i 
of  the  dramatist,  moiJo  Rimut,  tnitiid  jMHtt   Atheai*,  tre   i 
tho  scene  to  the  tabemncle  of  Father  Prout  on  Watergnui 
Itill,  vhero,  round  a  small  table,  sat  &;(itt,  Knupp.  and  Pro 
—a  triumvirate  of    critics    never  L*i{ualled.      The  pap< 


^H 

f^ 

^^^^ 

— ^ 

^" 

A   PLEA  FOB   mOBnuOEfl.                               55            ■ 

.fcU   into   my  hmids   when   the    tab 

e    wag   cleared    for          1 

the  flubsi^queut 

repast ;    and  thuB  I 

am    able    to    submit          1 

to  the  world's 

deciaiou  what   these 

three  could  not  de-          ■ 

cide.  rie.  vAtVA 
BlarneT." 

r.S.  At  then 

ia  the  original  veraior 

of  the  "  Groves  of     '■>  ■ 

loraent  of  eoios  to  presa  with  the  Doric,          ■ 

the  Vulgate,  and  Gallic  teita  in  juitii-position  with  the  eup-          | 

K«ed  Driginal, 

fCon-aRian)  a  Mh  ai 

jididate  for  priority 
Garibaldi  in  bivouac 

tarts  up,  the  Italic,  said  to  be  eimg  by 

■mid  the  woods 

over  Lake  Como,  May 

25,  1859. 

f  Bae(I)i  Hi  Slarnc 

bl  BUrne'  I  boMh 

Qitci  lunglii  dunijne 

lolomo,  psnni. 

Iri,  baieLi  towhj. 

Trfigo  ;  rhioiiquB 

Stolpili  msTmi 

B  Tmi  TmcW 

Vi  ton,  per  fiumi 

Tonrdnmlu^ 

Son  cerch'  in  van, 

Stupir  anooi'  j 

Dentp"  una  gmUa 

ouOOTifrtKhi 

Vi-i  lier,.  lon« 

Plutarch'  e  Ceare 

Con  Nobufhneiiere, 

Fm  gntli  »c™n'. 

Teocre  «i  Amor  • 

Ml  fuor  <i  KTb* 

Stan,  Poea  unics. 

^A'  e  nrmigU, 

m  mospo  ed  «rl)» 

Qui  senla  tunics! 

Si'  (umnn  ne  nisli 

Sedia  guprrbrt 

Menlre  comunics 

Con  altra  mar' 

IwA'CKloraM. 

S'el  Ugo  anguiUe ; 

iou^iui|r»M 

Poi  iiiegi  roiUe 

M«  cL  vuol-  Pet™™ 

iSliiSSt 

Ii'Bcqup  InnquiUo 
SIbu  per  onibnir. 

Per  Is  grau  caren 
Di  quel  Dami. 

nudi  Gifts 

Coa  cbeto  puio 

Bari  ben  biuso 

'S^rifr? 

Si  ri  a  ipSBso 

Se  ollre  puao 

Qui,  «n  che  Uuo 

Un  certo  emao 

Di  rieclii  ban, 

Si  Tiiol  Bfder ; 

D'ailoralori 

IliriitcDmintc 

In  BU  b  rnocin 

FuA  leseer  Danl« 
Oil  <uroltar  o«uti 

Di  clii  la  boocia 

Cn>Br«)iuinO 

Perenne  Iraccia 

■   mcorm-J^n. 

Delln  pkier, 

Rimaii  tulor: 

I  Un'  Croniwtilo 

Poi  w  Id  gonna 

Quel  >i  diitingufl 

BiM.ru  qmdlo 

Di  gflitil  doiini, 

Coo  uear  lingue 

Cl>'  B  mo  oilollo 

Picn  di  lb«uighB 

.    Auoliodid, 

VicQ  quik  pnuBT, 

Per  inEmnnar: 

Itt  -luv  |HTA 

FemofiBpietra! 

Ch'  Ol,.irro 

Noti  prt^xb'  in  Y»no 

Min  Dmil-  Detn 

LabrctcitAI 

S.Tcbbc  Xrimo  _ 

"ZiSX., 

66 


rATHEB  FBOUT's  EILIQUXS. 


C|)f  &xoUii  of  Slarnep.        Lb  Boib  db  Blabbatb. 


I. 

The  groTos  of  Blamej, 
They  look  so  charming, 
Down  bj  the  purlings 
Of  sweet  silent  brooks, 
All  docked  by  posies 
That  spontaneous  grow  there, 
Planted  in  order 
In  the  rocky  nooks. 
'Tis  there  the  daisy, 
And  the  sweet  camatidn, 
The  blooming  pink. 
And  the  rose  so  fiiir ; 
Likewise  the  lily, 
And  the  daffodilly — 
All  flowers  that  scent 
The  sweet  open  air. 

II. 
'Tis  Lady  Jeffers 
Owns  this  plantation ; 
Like  Alexander, 
Or  hke  Helen  fair, 
There's  no  commander 
In  all  the  nation, 
For  regulation 
Can  with  lier  compare. 
Such  walls  surround  her. 
That  no  nine-pounder 
Could  ever  plunder 
Her  place  of  strength ; 
But  Oliver  Cromwell, 
Her  he  did  pommel. 
And  made  a  breach 
In  her  battlement. 


L 

Chamumi  hoeaget  I 
Tout  me  ravissn, 
Que  d*avantogeM 
Foua  rSunUtet  I 
Rochere  iauvaget, 
Faieibles  ruitseaux, 
Tendree  ramagee 
De  gentile  oieeatue : 
Dans  ee  dowe  parage 
Aimable  Nature 
A  fait  /ialage 
jy^temeUe  verdure ; 
Et  leejleure^  k  meture 
Qu*eilee  eroieeent^  k  raieon 
De  la  belle  eaieon 
Font  brtller  lew  parurt. 

IL 

f 

(feet  Madame  de  Jefferte^ 
Femme  pleine  daddreeee^ 
Qui  eur  eee  beaux  dieerit 
R^ne  en  JUre  prineeeee. 
File  exerce  eee  droite 
Comme  dame  maitreese, 
Dane  eette  fortereeee 
Que  Ik  hautje  vois. 
Flue  eage  millefoia 
Qu*  Hilenh  ou  ClSopatre, 
Cromvtl  eeul  put  tabbdtre^ 
La  mettant  auM  aboie^ 
Quand,  allumant  »a  mtche^ 
Point  ne  tira  au  hasard^ 
Maie  bien  dane  eon  rempari 
Fit  irrfyarable  breclte. 


^H^^^^^3 

TBE   ORtjT 

a  OF  Bnusir.                         57 

'H'r>.B  Bab^xhij. 

Mhrneim  iV^iw, 

TiK  B\apriai  al  Mm 

I. 

^i^trai.  (nXXi^uXXai. 

Gnudea  ermra  tirrtU, 

•0^««Tpp.ow. 

rumgeras  rap«a 

nnyo*  ^iflfpiiouiiai* 

BUra™  sua  stupcM ! 

'BcBvra  yifmOiyru 

MunDOTB  dum  (««> 

iiivaett  tr  ajtofifBi" 

Qiu.  valuti  muloi 

Edr'  irSf'  ir^Tt^lkai'y. 

Ireperarraputaa. 

ittt  l*r'  orXa.iij.a 

MultiiB  in  hoc  lueo 

r»iiiB  (Bl  tfvOiiia. 

Kubet  imdiqua  flm  siue  fiioo, 

!»  r'  t«i  ea\D*  Tt 

Ac  ibi  forniosuiD 

Bd«iX,rar  po^cy  re. 

Comii  nbique  roaiun  i 

Ka.  X..pur  r.  f  »>.. 

BiiBTiter  M  florea 

A-fc^iXi^  rr  ;3f.-..., 

Mifcent  nt  unsbia  odoresj 

Ilavr'  arSifi'  a  KaXf/Kiv 

Neo  requiem  demue, 

r.r  inluucon"''- 

NampUcctomnenemual 

('. 

II. 

Ta.-'.KlE^Ei'F.EiA 

Ftrmiim  dui  homm 

RoXij  tai  japirpion 

Rcgiut  Jef^Rgas  loco  rum. 

Oc  ■».«».  «c  '■  "■'OS 

Paw.  virago  gmri., 

Tbu  A>.^««.ei^'°l. 

MurlpqiiB  pejor  aTii ! 

*n-i«l{  ><it'  araTBii- 

Ufvf  r"  !•■  iraig 

Componoret  ei  Cleopulram, 

0»*-.t^ni-t,v>(«.i-o 

NecDidoct.D.lare.1 

•Ot  durp  «.;.p.pD.ru. 

Non  Iiabef.  ilLi  piu'rtl. 

Turro  man  wis  i^tA 

Tn|o.  ™«o.  ro,..  ?. 

NuIU  est  riolaniia  biliati ; 

Ain-<tv  dft^iarlfovrnt. 

Turria  erat  diria 

n.Xjp.V  Jt  ^.vr. 

Hon  penetTMido  riris ; 

MarifK  vir  ^aXX"  ic  pjpiui. 

Tainen  illic  Tecit  hiatum. 

.              Zttftt.  K  iraaoc 

Et  ludtxi  hero* 

LucttinaroeferwiT                          ^^^H 

58 


VATHIB  F  bout's   BELIQUX8. 


ni 


in. 


There  ifl  a  care  where 
No  daylight  enters, 
But  cats  and  badgers 
Are  for  ever  bred ; 
And  mossed  bj  nature 
Makes  it  completer 
Than  a  coach-and-six, 
Or  a  downy-bed. 
'Tis  there  the  lake  is 
Well  stored  with  fishes, 
And  comely  eels  in 
The  Terdant  mud ; 
Besides  the  leeches, 
And  groves  of  beeches, 
Standing  in  order 
To  guard  the  flood. 


Ilegt  aan»  eei  vallont 
Vne  tombre  eaveme, 
Ou  jamais  nous  naliom 
Qu'armh  iTune  lanienu 
La  mousse  en  eette  gmtU 
Tapissant  ehaque  moUe 
Vbus  of  re  des  sofas ; 
Etlh  se  trouve  urn'e 
La  douce  symplumie 
Des  hibouM  ei  des  chats. 
Tout  jfris  on  voit  un  lac, 
Ok  lee  poissons  affluent, 
Avec  asses  de  sangsues 
Pour  en  remplir  un  sae  ; 
Et  tur  ces  bords  ehampitres 
On  a  plants  det  kitres. 


IV. 


IV. 


There  gravel  walks  are 
For  recreation. 
And  meditation 
In  sweet  solitude. 
'Tis  there  the  lover 
May  hear  the  dove,  or 
The  gentle  plover. 
In  the  afternoon ; 
And  if  a  lady 
Would  be  so  engaging 
As  for  to  walk  in 
Those  shady  groves, 
'Tis  there  the  courtier 
Might  soon  transport  her 
Into  some  fort,  or 
The  "  sweet  rock-dose." 


Jei  Vhomme  atrabilaire 
Un  sentierpeut  ehoisir 
Pour  y  smvir  a  loistr 
Son  rive  solitaire^ 
Quand  une  nymphs  erue^^ 
L*a  mis  au  dSsespoir, 
Sans  qu'ilpuisse  emoun^ 
L*  inexorable  belle. 
Quel  dousf  reposje  ffout^^ 
Assis  sur  ee  gazon  / 
Du  rossignol  j*  Scouts 
Le  tendre  diapason. 
Ah  !  dans  eet  antre  nmi 
Puisse  ma  LSonore^ 
Celle  que  man  cfeur  ad(>r'^ 
Venir  furtive  au  soir  i 


^^^H                   TUE 

mOVKS   OF    BLASKET.                       ^g|^B 

^H 

^^^1 

"<■«  atT|Mv  ,<TT- »«  ;. 

Hie  tenebroBB  (wTMUft            ^^^^| 

■0]f'  4f>lp-  oi.iror-  it^f . 

H>X<<(  Jt.  ■„,  j„\u,  ,y 

TAlpl  habiUtH  pigTD,                   ^^^^1 

AiTfi  r^iifavrai  uiiv 

Ifon  nine  fulo  Digro ;                  ^^^^^^L 

Muiciu  iaere  olli                     ^^^H 

Aj>«<c  *"«■  iSpi'ov  yi 

Btrarit  toon  (egmine  molli       ^^^^| 

-eiiirrvv  n  J<*P<»o 

L«4ictc,  ut                                   ^^^H 

H  (Hriir  wvXiH>- 

Motlior  msQt  huBiiu  :              ^^^H 

U»««.  r.  H"., 

A.f.»T|  («>  I^«pl(^^^ 

Luleonantgurgilenillli!:        ^^^^| 

K'TIP^-C  *>"»"" 

Quo  DM,  BinicB  tuti,                   ^^H 

Er  .Kvt  eaXexpp 

Hiislia  birudo  L-uLi :                     ^^^^H 

BAiXXai  T(  1W.V  aXXa 

OraidB  decua  piw,                        ^^^^| 

tqT*w  "  aX<n|  mX'  <V 

FluTii  Btaut  mgrgiuc  fagi ;           ^^^| 

Xnxi*"'  t«<  r>ru>r<i<, 

Q  uodque  t^^gunt  miDU                ^^^H 

Alc(«iITt#"Xao^"i. 

labile  BimieDsmoi                    ^^H 

3. 

^^H 

<l,fl.r-C  /  .,..  r,p«oc 

Cenii.-       hns  toUm                       ^^H 

'Bfoo  >r.pi>rur,iaiv 

Qu&  ducunt  troiuiw  uitlca,         ^^^H 

Evnuf  r<  Siini' 

HsBC  mtmie  in  sedi^iii                   ^^H 

Kar' fpqfiuu' }Xi>(<i<it-* 

Fer  medUmte  p«4cui,                   ^^H 

Eb-r.  <a.  .p-arp 

Qviequis  udes,  bvlle                   ^^^H 

Mrf-  J«.pa,.  pXa.r, 

IVuiftiius  amorc  puollre              ^^^| 

Aioviti'  1)  roi(p»'V'  5 

Aul  pa  true  csne                          ^^^H 

&.  ^-»«  X.y«^.v.  t 

Temptu  iiiBiKl  dun.'  I                       ^^^B 

E<  »c  r.  «.  J..>D...a 

Dumqup  jacee  hurbO,                     ^^^| 

Bill  mXi;  /ttvaiv^ 

Turtur  llet  vow  etii>rrb;,             ^^^H 

AX^«9urviv«"r> 

]#H{  1*  tflUtOlTl. 

Flct  phUomeU  «oiia                     ^^^| 

Ttcii^iratT' ■"»'■> 

Speluua  sppiiret                             ^^H 

Avrif  i(  uirariHra 

QuHiii  dui  Trojauiu  atiiarot,        ^^^H 

K.C  »»pr.v  r.  q  iB-c  .... 

In  umili  iiido                              ^^H 

■Ugmrrtoc],!! 

Kkin  fuit  kut  Dido.                    ^^^| 

60 


FATHSB  PBOUT'B   BSLIQVXS. 


V. 

There  are  stataes  gracing 
This  noble  place  in — 
All  heathen  gods, 
And  nymphs  so  fair ; 
Bold  Neptune,  Csesar, 
And  Nebuchadnezzar, 
All  standing  naked 
In  tha  open  air ! 
There  is  a  boat  on 
The  lake  to  float  on, 
And  lots  of  beauties 
Which  I  can't  entwine : 
But  were  I  a  preacher, 
Or  a  classic  teacher, 
In  eyery  feature 
I'd  make  'em  shine  I 


Datu  ees  dattique*  Umm 
Plus  dPune  statue  brille, 
Et  seprismU  aum  yeum 
En  parfait  d^shoHUs  ! 
Lh  Neptune  on  discerns^ 
Et  Jules  Cisar  en  plombf 
Et  Venus,  et  le  trone 
Du  Giniral  Eolofeme, 
Veut-on  voffuer  au  large 
Sur  ee  lact  un  esquif 
Offre  a  VamaUwr  eraintif 
Les  chances  d^un  naufrage* 
Que  ne  sms-Je  fin  Eugo^ 
Ou  quelqu^auteur  en  vogms. 
En  oe  genre  dSglogue, 
Je  n*aurais  pas  d'^goux. 


VI. 

There  is  a  stone  there, 
That  whoever  kisses. 
Oh !  he  nerer  misses 
To  grow  eloquent. 
'Tis  he  may  clamber 
To  a  lady's  chamber. 
Or  become  a  member 
Of  parliament : 
A  clever  spouter 
He'll  sure  turn  out,  or 
An  out-and-outer, 
"To  be  let  alone," 
Don't  hope  to  hinder  him. 
Or  to  bewilder  him ; 
Sure  he's  a  pilgrim 
IVom  the  Blarney  stone  !• 

*  End  of  Millikin's  Trsnalation  of 
t¥«  QroTes  of  BUrney. 


VI. 
Tine  pierre  s*y  reneontre^ 
Estimable  trSsor, 
Qui  vaut  s(m  poids  en  or 
Au  guide  qui  la  montre. 
Qui  haise  ce  monumentt 
Acquiert  la  parole 
Qui  doucement  cqjolei 
II  devient  Sloquent, 
Au  boudoir  d*une  dame 
II  sera  hien  re^Uf 
Et  mime  h  son  in»fu 
Fera  naitre  unejlamme. 
Homme  a  bonnes  fortunes^ 
A  lui  onpeut  sejler 
Pour  mystifier 
La  Chambre  des  Communes.f 

t  lel  finlBt  le  Po^me  dit  le  Bofs  de  BUf^ 
tuiye,  oopU  da  LiTre  de  Doomtdftye^  a.  m 
1069 


I^HIHI^^9 

Ta«   OEOTM  or   BLAEITEY.                                01 

, 

7. 

8.3I.X'  ayXailo*™ 

Plumbca  signa  Deflm 

B»Ti  iter  mrnv  n. 

Namna  ornflDt,  gnuido  tropluniml 

Tmv  ie«<«i-  tfHuv  r(. 

StMibi.Bat-ehetoes! 

T-i-  Apvae.'f  ioXmo'  re 

Nfw  iine  frugo  Cctm, 

U«ri,tur^t,  KDH^np 

Soptuiiique  »Bgo 

r  .ip..  NB,ixvJ™,«op' 

De  Oumine  turgit  imago  i 

Er  aiSpif  aitovTac 

Joliua  luc  C«>ar 

Ear'  ititv  yp/ivn-ic  ifvoJTot. 

Slat,  Nabccliud  que  Neiarl 

Bf  Xii*";  •«"  irXoiav, 

NBTieiila  meonti 

E.  fit    irXitiv  S,Koi  ay 

Dnt  ouiqiifi  perii^iiln  ponti. 

Kai  laXd  ooo'  •>»  not 

8>  quia  ejtahi  Me  cum 

Ob  (lEviifi'  irrtiruooi' 

Tult  super  ire  lacum. 

AW  ••  y-  t.qi-  Xo}r„rrflc. 

Canniui  huic  ter  sum 

H  lilanoXoc  oof  iotijc, 

Canatiu  h\c  oUdcre  yemao  i 

Tst' r|a][4«rar'  Rv  ooi 

Pauper  at  ingE^a, 

Atifoi^t  ro  ■j>a>'  <Toi. 

Pin*  niliil  intenio ! 

t 

VT. 

£iiiXiOov  r*  (i'pqmic. 

Fortunfltam  Butem 

Premuenint  ojculn  coatem 

(FingBrc  dCim  Conor 

r«r.p  JCV.  rapaxpilia 

DBbitUBhuicaic  honor): 

tVvqno.  vu  ^«•'gc, 

Quam  bene  tu  Dngis 

fiiMifi  t'  tpartiri't. 

Qui  iBii  oraculB  lingi*. 

tii^rorarf  ri  XaXHv 

Kv  jievKf  Twv  fitr'  oXXuv 

Quod  deditille  lapis  I 

Kai  .V  ™,t  o7..pn«« 

Oratus  homo  bollia 

■■  K«eoX««-t"  fi«°." 

Pit  uDctis  mcUo  Inbetlii, 

OrsEua  erit  populo 

Lu  )[..p»c  «>  cfiommi 

Oncula  daua  Bcopulo  j 

D(  <»api  j-v  ^ly-srv 

Fit  Bubita  orator. 

bH^DJOIW*  r'  apiirr^- 

Cniidlque  iMjuonte  BonaWr. 

0  AJec  avpnvof^t 

Scandcre  r'u  Kthnun  ? 

Hano  TonerHTO  petram  If 

1  E,p11rilh(cC-rm«odB  NomwiBIU.. 

iwLciir""""'  ""^ 

^^^^^^^^^1 

62  FATHER  PBOUT's  BELIQUX8. 

leif  AQ  be  leirnf  beAijAir  aij  aic  reo 
Wi*l  ceAi)FeA6f)A  A]ti  pibqA  cfne 

Cornrv^i  leici  cum  ^niAccATr  &'  r-j^SAti. 

r^  cAirleAQ  '9A  CTorocToU.  i)Aled|:?c  pleufttA, 
21  bAllATD  ceA^A  b'AnSMi)  1JA  rsitfof ; 
tlcc  Ol]beti  Cnon)fMl ;  6*^:^5  50  tax)  f. 


No.  III. 

TATHEB  PBOUT*S  OABOUSAL. 

*'  He  spread  his  regetable  store, 
And  gaily  pressed  and  smiled ; 
And,  skilled  in  legendary  lore. 
The  lingering  hours  beguiled." 

GOLDSKITH. 

Befobe  we  resume  the  thread  (or  yam)  of  Frank  CrsBS- 
well's  narrative  concerning  the  memorable  occurrences 
which  took  place  at  Blarney,  on  the  remarkable  occasion  of 
Sir  "Walter  Scott's  visit  to  "  the  groves,"  we  feel  it  impera- 
tive on  us  to  set  ourselves  right  with  an  illustrious  corre- 
spondent, relative  to  a  most  important  particular.  "We 
have  received,  through  that  useful  medium  of  the  inter- 
change of  human  thought,  "  the  twopenny  post,"  a  letter 
whicn  we  think  of  the  utmost  consequence,  inasmuch  as  it 
goes  to  impeach  the  veracity,  not  of  Father  Prout  (patrem 
quis  dicere  falsum  audeat  ?),  but  of  the  young  and  somewhat 
facetious  barrister  who  has  been  the  volunteer  chronicler  of 
his  life  and  conversations. 

For  the  better  understanding  of  the  thing,  as  it  is  likely 
to  become  a  quastio  vexata  in  other  quarters,  we  may  be 
allowed  to  bring  to  recollection  that,  in  enumerating  the 

*  Fragment  of  a  Celtic  MS.,  firom  the  King's  Library,  Copenhagen. 


IPS 


aj  eminent  men  who  hod  kisaed  the  Blarney  etone  during; 

ODt's  reflidenre  in  the  parisli — au  experience  exteoduig 

elf  orer  a  period  of  nearly  half  a  fentury — Doctor  D. 

rdner  was  triumphantly  mentioned  by  the  benevolent  and 

ipl«-ininded  incumbent  of  Watei^asshill,  as  a  proud  and 

untostable  instance  of  the  virtue  and  efficacy  of  the  talis- 

D,  Applied  to  the  moat  ordinary  materials  with  the  most 

raouiouB  result.     luittead  of  feeling  a  lingering  remnant 

gratitude  towards  the  old  pareut-hluck  for  such  super- 

inrai  interposition  on  his  beb&Lf,  and  looking  back  to  that 

kiaa"  with  fond  and  filial  recollection — instead  of  allowing 

Ibe  etono"  to  occupy  tlio  greenest  spot  in  the  '^ddemesa 

'bia  memory — "the  stone"  that  first  shariiened  his  intel- 

rt,  «Dd  oil  which  ought  to  be  iascribed  ihe  line  of  Uorace, 

otii,  Bcutuin 

■9  ipsa  secandi"— 

iEt<!sd  of  this  praiscwortliy  cspreasion  of  tributaiy  acknow- 
edgmc-nt,  the  Doctor  writes  to  us  denying  all  obligation  in 
b(^  quarter  alluded  to,  and  contrail  icting  most  flatly  the 
m>tt  impcai^huieut "  of  having  kissed  the  stone  at  all.  Hia 
At«  is  couchpd  in  such  peevish  tonus,  and  conceived  in  such 
wtful  mood,  that  we  protest  we  Ho  not  recognise  the  tame 
D(l  usually  unexcitcd  tracings  trf  his  gentle  pen ;  but  rather 
upciA  he  has  been  induced,  by  some  medieal  wag,  to  use  a 
aill  plucked  from  llic  memhrnnous  integument  ot  that  cele- 
rat^  "man-porcupijio"  who  hus  of  late  cxbibited  hia  liir- 
iteueas  at  ihe  Middleson  hospital. 

"  London  Unittriily,  May  6lh. 
"SlE, 

■'  I  owe  it  to  the  great  cause  of  '  Useful  Know- 
dgr,'  to  which  I  linvo  dedicated  my  past  labours,  to  rehut 

Tralclv,  yet  firmly,  the  assertion  rrjiorlfd  to  have  been 
hj  tte  bte  i{ev.  Wr.  Prunt  (for  whom  1  had  a  high 
*■   iu  conversing  with  the  Lato  Sir  Walter  Scott  on  the 
.  alluded  to  in  your  ephemeral  work ;  particularly  as 
■tatnment  re-asserted  by  tliat  widely-cireuhited 
B  Morning  Herald  of  yesterday's  date.      Were 
rwTerwid  dergymaa  or  the  (iistinguished  baronet 
fmng,  I  would  apfwal  to  their  candour,  and  so  shame 


64  FATHEB  PBOUT'S  BELIQUE8. 

the  inventor  of  that  tale.  But  as  both  are  withdrawn  bj 
death  from  the  literary  world,  I  call  on  you,  sir,  to  insert  in 
your  next  Number  this  positive  denial  on  my  part  of  having 
ever  kissed  that  stone ;  the  supposed  properties  of  which,  I 
am  ready  to  prove,  do  not  bear  the  test  of  chymical  analysiB. 
I  do  recollect  having  been  solicited  by  the  present  Lord 
Chancellor  of  England  (and  also  of  the  London  University), 
whom  I  am  proud  to  call  my  friend  (though  you  have  given 
him  the  sobriquet  of  Bridlegoose,  with  your  accustomed  want 
of  deference  for  great  names),  to  join  him,  when,  many  years 
ago,  he  privately  embarked  on  board  a  Westmoreland  collier 
to  perform  his  devotions  at  Blarney.  That  circumstance  is 
of  old  date :  it  was  about  the  year  that  Paris  was  taken  by 
the  allies,  and  certainly  previous  to  the  Queen's  trial.  But 
I  did  not  accompany  the  then  simple  Harry  Brougham^  con- 
tent with  what  nature  had  done  for  me  in  that  particular 
department. 

"  You  will  please  insert  this  disavowal  from, 

"  SlK, 

"  Tour  occasional  reader, 

"DioNYsius  Labdneb,  D.D. 

"  P.S. — If  you  neglect  me,  I  shall  take  care  to  state  my 
own  case  in  the  Cyclopaedia.  1*11  prove  that  the  block  li 
Blarney  is  an  '  Aerolitbe,*  and  that  your  statement  as  to  iti 
Phoenician  origin  is  unsupported  by  historical  evidence. 
Recollect,  you  have  thrown  the  first  stone." 

Now,  after  considering  these  things,  and  much  pondering 
on  the  Doctor's  letter,  it  seemed  advisable  to  refer  the 
matter  to  our  reporter,  Prank  Cresswell  aforesaid,  who  has 
given  us  perfect  satisfaction.  By  him  our  attention  was 
called,  first,  to  the  singular  bashfulness  of  the  learned  man, 
in  curtailing  from  his  signature  the  usual  appendages  that 
shed  such  lustre  o'er  his  name.  He  lies  before  us  in  this 
epistle  a  simple  D.D.,  whereas  he  certainly  is  entitled  to 
write  himself  P.R.S.,  M.E.I.A.,  P.E.A.S.,  F.L.8.,  F.Z.S., 
F.C.P.S.,  &c.  Thus,  in  his  letter,  "  we  saw  him,"  to  borrow 
an  illustration  from  the  beautiful  episode  of  James  Thomson, 

"  We  saw  him  clianning ;  but  we  saw  not  half — 
Tlie  rest  his  downcast  modesty  concealed." 


THK    WATEBGHASBDILL   CAJBOPBAt.  Gfl 

Next  as  to  date* :  bow  redolent  of  my  TJnde  Toby— 
jbout  tlie  year  Dendennonde  was  taken  by  tbe  allies." 
«  reroiois<.-eiiL-e  was  probably  one  of  wliirb  he  was  imcoo- 
uid  we  tliLTcJbrf  shall  uot  <mll  him  a  plagiary  j  hut 
y,  how  diabolically  does  he  seek  to  shift  the  onuB 
ij  gniFamen  of  the  whole  husiBeas  on  the  rickety  shoulders 
Iiis  learned  friend  Bridlegoosel  This  will  not  do,  O 
le  ThaumaturgM  !  By  implicating  "  Bridoison,"  you  shall 
"  Oxtrioat*  yourself— ■' ff  ritatd  tu  diynva,  el  hie;"  and 
ik  CrsMwell  lion  let  ua  into  &  secret.  Know  then,  all 
».  that  wnoDft  these  never-too-aniiously-to-be-looked-out- 
'  "  Proiit  Pnners,"  there  ia  a  positive  record  of  the  initio- 
in  both  of  Heury  Brougham  and  Patrick  Lardner  to  the 
einaaoory  of  the  Blarney  stone ;  and,  more  importaot 
*". — (0,  most  rare  document !) — there  is  to  be  found  amtd 
[rastlmmous  trcsHures  of  Father  Prout  the  originnl  pro- 
of a  UtihieTtUy  atBlarnty,  to  be  theu  and  there  founded 
the  united  efforts  of  Lardner,  Dan  O'Connell,  and  Ton\ 
and  of  which  the  Doctor's  "aekolithe"  was  to 
»  been  the  corner-stone." 

We  therefore  rely  on  the  forthcoming  Prout  Papers  for  a 
ifinnation  of  oU  we  have  said  ;  and  here  do  we  cast  down 
glove  of  defiance  to  the  champion  of  Stinkomalee,  even 
;b  he  come  forth  armed  to  the  teeth  in  a  panoply,  not, 
»r»e,  forged  on  the  classic  anvil  of  the  Cyclops,  however 
irioDsly  luuiunered  in  the  clumsy  arsenal  of  his  own 
dopedia." 

rhtt  prDJorlvl  ilnii«rsity  liu  alnce  wnimnl  Hnother  tliipe,  anil  a 
_f  in  Stevm's  Orn-u,  Dublin, once  tlin  reaidenpcof  "flu<t  Wbdlej," 
VntoiFiB  WhaUr^,"  (lie  lisTingwalked  there  and  bacl  for*  wagarj, 
kaaa  bought  bj  i>r.  Oullon.  to  whom  Mr  Di«r»eli  will  ^nol.  a 
'  r  u>  put  il>>iru  Ibe  "  Quean '«  college*."  Tbe  Blaroof  UDiTenitf 
I  hn*  cnkllifalnl  fun  and  tbe  geoial  dereloiinieiil  of  natiooal 
MM^  bul  tbn  CuUbd  kSkir  can  Ebtb  naught  in  oommoa  «ith 
rr.Mwtxuig 

"A  oivo  wlicre  np  dajligbt  eaten, 
But  mU  and  badgers  are  for  btbt  bred !" 
tHil  <i  t^incord,  nucoar,  hopelms  gloum.  and  Deal'  tbHtlogj,  or 
luliaa  tmiiin,  page  S5,  Iim  il, 
"In  qaceU  fn^tls 
Mii  intrrrotla 
Ti  e  ttn  lolta,  fra  gmtti  ttnui  " 


'iG  FATHER  PBOUT*B  BXLIQUE8. 

We  know  there  is  another  world,  where  eyerr  man  will 
get  his  due  according  to  his  deserts ;  but  if  there  be  a  limbui 
patruniy  or  literary  purffatory,  where  the  efl5x)nteiy  and  ingra> 
titude  of  folks  ostensibly  belonging  to  the  republic  of  letten 
are  to  be  visited  with  condign  retribution,  we  think  we  behold 
in  that  future  middle  state  of  purification  (which,  from  our 
friend's  real  name,  we  shall  call  Patrick's  Purgatory),  Pit 
Lardner  rolling  the  Blarney  stone,  h  la  Suypkus,  up  the  hill 
of  Science. 

Kai  fifiv  '2t(rvpo¥  uttuhoy  x^arsp'  dkyt*  t^J^vra 

Aaav  jSatrra^oyroe  'jrsXu^tov  afi^orf^fiaiVj 

Aur/;  s^£/ra  mdovdi  xuXiydtro  AAA2  ANAIAHZ! 

And  now  we  return  to  the  progress  of  events  on  "Water- 
grasshiU,  and  to  matters  more  congenial  to  the  taste  of  our 

Be  GIN  A. 

OLIVEE  TOEKE. 

Reffent  Street,  Ut  June,  1835. 


Accept,  O  Queen !  my  compliments  congratulatonr  on 
the  unanimous  and  most  rapturous  welcome  with  which  the 
whole  literary  world  hath  met,  on  its  first  entrance  into 
life,  that  wonderful  and  more  than  Siamese  bantling  your 
"  Polyglot  edition"  of  the  "  Groves  of  Blarney."  Of  course, 
various  are  the  conjectures  of  the  gossips  in  Paternoster 
Row  as  to  the  real  paternity  of  that  "  most  delicate  mon- 
ster ;"  and  some  have  the  unwarrantable  hardihood  to  hint 
that,  like  the  poetry  of  Stemhold  and  Hopkins,  your  incom- 
parable lyric  must  be  referred  to  a  joint-stock  sort  of  pa- 
rentage :  but,  entre  nous,  how  stupid  and  malignant  are  all 
such  insinuations !  How  little  ao  such  simpletons  suspect 
or  know  of  the  real  source  from  which  hath  emanated  that 
rare  combination  of  the  Teian  lyre  and  the  Tipperary  btf- 
pipe— of  the  Ionian  dialect  blending  harmoniously  with  the 
Cork  brogue ;  an  Irish  potatoe  seasoned  with  Attic  salt,  and 
the  humours  of  Donnybrook  wed  to  the  glories  of  Marathon ! 
Verily,  since  the  days  of  the  great  Complutensian  Polyglot 
(by  tne  compilation  of  which  the  illustrious  Cardinal  Zi- 
menes  so  endeared  himself  to  the  bibliomaniacal  world),  since 
the  appearance  of  that  still  grander  effort  of  the  "  Claren* 
don  "  at  Oxford,  the  "  Tetrapla,"  originally  compiled  by  the 


THE  VATEnouASBiiJiJ.  cAAocau,. 


67 


ntiwt  laborious  aod  eccentric  father  of  the  Cliurch,  Origen 
of  Aiesuidriii,  nothing  has  ieaued  from  the  press  in  a  com- 
pIi'UT  form  than  your  improved  quadruple  veraioa  of  th» 
■'  Oroves  of  Blarney-"  The  celebrated  proverb,  lucm  d  non 
luertxlo,  so  oft*n  quoted  with  malicious  mBaning  aud  for 
inTidiouB  purposes,  is  no  longer  applicable  to  your  '■  GroveB:" 
tbi<  ({uaint  conceit  has  lost  its  etiug,  atid,  to  speak  in  Gully's 
dhrawoliigj,  you  liave  takeu  the  *hi»f  out  of  it.  What  a 
kalo  of  glorv.  what  a  flot)d  of  lustre,  will  henceforth  spread 
iu>elf  over  that  romantic  ''  plaJitation  ["  How  oft  shidl  its 
echoes  retwimd  with  the  voice  of  song,  Oreeik,  French,  or 
L«tiu,  according  to  the  tnate  or  huthpTuce  of  its  European 
viaitont ;  all  diaruied  with  its  shady  bowers,  and  enraptured 
wilh  it«  dulcet  melody !  From  the  dusty  purlieus  of  High 
Holbom,  wher^  I  pine  in  a  fcetid  atmosphere,  my  spirit 
Mwn  «&r  to  that  eocbanting  scenery,  wnfled  on  the  wrnga 
uf  poMj,  and  transported  with  the  ecatacy  of  Elysium — 
"  Tiiieor  pio* 

Emirti  per  liicos,  Bumnie 

Quo*  (t  aqus  «ubeiuit  et  aur»]" 

Ulne  may  be  an  illusion,  a  hallucination,  an  "  amaOi/U  in- 
wia,"  if  you  will ;  but  meantime,  to  find  some  solace  in 
f  nile  from  the  sjiot  itself,  I  cannot  avoid  poring,  with 
iifK  tJisn  autii[uariaii  relish,  over  the  different  tests  placed 
f  TDU  in  such  tasteful  juita position,  anon  comparing  aud 
'lilting  each  particular  version  with  alteraate  guato — 

"  AnuiDl  aJlcma  CaiaicniE." 
w  pure  and  pcllncid  the  flow  of  harmony  !  bow  reaplen- 
t  Uie  well-grouj)ed  images,  shining,  as  it  were,  in  a  aort 
r  milky  way,  or  poetic  galaxy,  through  your  glorious  co- 
mns;  to  which  I  cannot  do  better  than  apply  a  line  of 
.  Gregory  (the  accomplished   Greek  father)  of  Najiiun- 

'II  nputi  frtt/t)  ft  ^iSyjiaai  jiif  1 

Diiiiiit«r  is  said  to  have  envied  bis  foreign  secretary 
'  ineffable  pk-aaure  of  reading  "  Don  Quixote"  in  the 
giaal  Spaniab,  and  it  would,  no  doubt,  be  a  rare  sigbt  to 
it  s  fvp  M  Lord  Poimcrsti^n's  French  notes  to  Talleyrand ; 


6S  FATHER  FBOUT*B  BELIQITES. 

but  how  I  pity  the  soriy  wight  who  hasn't  leamt  Greek  t 
What  can  he  know  of  the  recondite  meaning  of  certain 
passages  in  the  "  Groves  ?"  He  is  incapacitated  from  en- 
lojing  the  full  drift  of  the  ode,  and  must  only  take  it  di- 
luted, or  Felluti-edf  in  the  common  English  version.  N6runt 
fideleSy  as  Tom  Moore  says. 

For  my  part,  I  would  as  soon  see  such  a  periwig-pated 
fellow  reading  your  last  Number,  and  fanc3ring  himseu  ca- 
pable of  understanding  the  full  scope  of  the  poet,  as  to  be- 
hold a  Greenwich  pensioner  with  a  wooden  leg  tiyine  to 
run  a  race  with  Atalanta  for  her  golden  apple,  or  a  fSiow 
with  a  modicum  quid  of  legal  knowledge  affecting  to  sit  and 
look  big  under  a  chancellor's  peruke,  like  Bridlegoose  on  the 
woolsack.     In  verity,  gentlemen  of  the  lower  house  ought 
to  supplicate  Sir  Daniel    Sandford,  of    Glasgow,  to  give 
them  a  few  lectures  on  Greek,  for  the  better  intelligence  of 
the  real  Blarney  style ;  and  I  doubt  not  that  every  member 
will  join  in  the  request,  except,  perhaps,  Joe  Hume,  who 
would    naturally    oppose  any  attempt  to  throw  light  on 
Greek  matters,  for  reasons  too  tedious  to  mention.     Verb, 
Map, 

To  have  collected  in  his  youthful  rambles  on  the  conti- 
nent, and  to  have  diligently  copied  in  the  several  librariei 
abroad,  these  imperishable  versions  of  an  immortal  song 
was  the  pride  and  consolation  of  Father  Front's  old  age, 
and  still,  by  one  of  those  singular  aberrations  of  mind  in- 
cident to  all  great  men,  he  could  never  be  prevailed  on  to 
give  further  publicity  to  the  result  of  his  labours ;  thus 
sitting  down  to  the  banquet  of  literature  with  the  egotistic 
feeling  of  a  churl.  He  would  never  listen  to  the  many 
oflTers  from  interested  publishers,  who  sought  for  the  prize 
with  eager  competition ;  but  kept  the  song  in  manuscript 
on  detached  leaves,  despite  of  the  positive  injunction  of  tne 
sibyl  in  the  jEneid — 

*'  Non  foliis  tu  carmina  manda, 
Ne  correpta  volont  rapidis  ludibria  Tentia  !** 

I  know  lull  well  to  what  serious  imputations  I  make  myieU 
liable,  when  I  candidly  admit  that  I  did  not  come  by  the 
treasure  lawfully  myself;  having,  as  I  boldly  stated  in  the 
last  Number  of  BeoikAj  filched  the  precious  papers,  ditfeeh 


TKI    WATEBORASBHILL   CASODSAL.  09 

mrmbra  poelai,   when  tlie  table  was  being  cleared  by  Proiit'* 

•erTODt  maid  for  tlie  HubHequent  repast.      But  there  are 

certain  "  pioim  frauds"  <if  which  nooe  need  be  oahamed  in 

the  interests  of  science;  and  when  a  great  meda] -collector, 

(of  whom  "  TViM  ffny/anrf"  will  teU  you  the  partitulara), 

^ieing,  on  his  homeward  TOjpage  from  Egypt,  hotly  piu'sued 

f  we  A^eriueti,  swatiowed  the  golden  aeries  of  the  ftole- 

B.  wbg  ever  thought  of  blamiog  Mr.  Dufbur,  as  he  had 

mrchaaed  in  their  human  envelope  these  recondite  coins, 

T  baring  applied  purgati?eB  and  emetics,  and  every  pos- 

[ble  atrvtogeni,  to  come  at  the  deposit  of  glory  ? 

But  to  describe  "  the  repast"  bas  now  become  my  solemn 

— »  task  imposed  on  me  by  you,  O  Queen !  to  whom 

rang  relating  to  Sir  Walter  Scott,  or  to  Father  Front 

ttpears  to  be  uninteresting.     Ib  that  I  agree  with  you,  for 

'' '  g  to  my  mind  comes  recommended  so  powerfully  as 

rfaat   hath  appertained  to  these  two  ereat  ornaments   of 

hbananityi"  which  term  I  must  be  understood  to  use  in  its 

nible  seoee,  aa  relating  to  mankind  in  general,  and  in  par- 

r  to  the  Ultra  humaniortl,  of  which  you  and  I  are  rap' 

_. .  aiv  fonil,  us  Tcreoce  was  before  we  were  bom,  according 

9  the  DAcVneyed  line — 


"  SoTOO  film : 


li  nihil  1  me  alienum  puto !" 


That  banquet  was  in  sooth  no  ordinary  jollification,  no 

~  ~  '  bout  of  sensuality,  but  a  philosophic  and  rational  com- 

jling  <rf  mind,  with  a  pleaaant  and  succulent  addition  of 

liter — a  blending  of  soul  and  substance,  tj^ified  by  the 

■  JO  of  Cupid  and  Psyche — a  compound  of  strange  ingre- 

itfl,  in  which  a  large  infusion  of  what  are  called  (in  a 

/  Irish -looking  phmee)  "  animal  Bpirita"  coalesced  witb 

abundnniv  uf  distilled  ambroeia;  not  without  much  eni- 

otMiervatiuu,  and  the  interlude  of  jovial  song ;  wit  con- 

''     '  T  supremacy  with  learning,  and  fully  asserting  her 

predominoDCo  like  the  tints  of  the  rainbow  in 

fOHf  mttmhle,  or  like  the  anaile  and  the  tear  in  Erin's 

jre,  when  that  fasciniitine  creature  has  taken  "  a  drop" 

mountain  dew.     But  tbougb  there  were  lots  of 


D  «t  {*rout'H  Uble  at  nil  times,   wiiii.'U  the  lack  of  \ 


lUld 


iuterferi! 

letMjrdiug 


with  c 


way 


anotbi 
particulars 


r  have 


70  TATHSB  PEOUT'S  BSLIQUXI. 

carousal,  having  learned  with  indignation  that,  since  tlie  ap 
pearance  of  the  Father's  "  Apology  for  Lent,"  calumny  hai 
Deen  busy  with  his  character,  and  attributed  his  taste  fo 
meagre  met,  to  a  sordid  principle  of  economy.  No !  Prou 
was  not  a  penurious  wretch !  And  since  it  has  been  indus 
triously  circulated  in  the  club-houses  at  the  west- end,  thai 
he  never  gave  a  dinner  in  his  life,  by  the  statement  of  oji* 
stubborn  fact  I  must  silence  for  ever  that  '*  whisper  of  i 
faction." 

From  the  first  moment  of  delight,  when  the  perusal  o 
George  Knapp*s  letter,  (dated  July  25,  1825)  had  apprisec 
Prout  of  the  visit  intended  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  to  tb< 
Blarney  stone,  he  had  predetennined  that  the  Ghieat  Un- 
known should  partake  of  sacerdotal  hospitality.  I  recoiled 
well  on  that  evening  (for  you  are  aware  I  was  then  on  a  vini 
to  my  aunt  at  Watergrasshill,  and,  as  luck  would  have  it, 
happened  to  be  in  the  priest's  parlour  when  the  news  came 
by  express)  how  often  he  was  heard  to  mutter  to  himself, 
as  if  resolving  the  mighty  project  of  a  "  let  out,"  in  that 
beautiful  exclamation  borrowed  from  his  favourite  Milton— 

"  What  neat  repast  shall  feast  us,  light  and  choice, 
Of  Attic  taste  with  wine  ?" 

I  then  foresaw  that  there  really  would  be  "  a  dinner"  and 
sure  enough  there  was  no  mistake,  for  an  entertainment  en- 
sued,  such  as  the  refinement  of  a  scholar  and  the  tact  of  a 
well-informed  and  observant  traveller  naturally  and  unaffect- 
edly produced,  with  the  simple  but  not  less  acceptable  ma- 
terials which  circumstances  allowed  of  and  a  style  as  fiur 
removed  from  the  selfishness  of  the  anchorite  as  the  extra- 
va^nce  of  the  glutton. 

Prout  had  seen  much  of  mankind ;  and  in  his  deportment 
through  life  shewed  that  he  was  well  versed  in  all  those 
varied  arts  of  easy,  but  still  gradual  acquirement,  which  sin* 
gularly  embellish  the  intercourse  of  society  :  these  were  the 
results  of  his  excellent  continental  education — 

But  at  the  head  of  his  own  festive  board  he  particularly 
shone ;  for  though  in  his  ministerial  functions,  he  was  et' 


THB   WATEBtiBiSaniLL  CiBOlSAL.  "1 

tplarr  and  admirable,  ever  meek  and  tinairefted  at  ttiir 
r  of  bis  rustic  rhapel,  where 

"  Ilii  look>  KdontBd  the  Tenerable  place," 

till,  siirroonded  by  a  few  cboiee  friends,  the  calibre  of 
rlioee  geniH*  wag  in  anison  with  hie  own,  witli  a  bottle  of 
is  choiw  old  claret  before  him,  he  was  truly  a  paragoni  I 
ly  etartt ;  for  when,  in  liis  youthful  career  of  enrly  trnrel, 
e  b«d  sojourned  at  Bourdeauj  in  1776,  he  had  formed  an 
tauaiotaiiccflhtp  with  the  then  representatives  nf  the  atilJ 
ourisliing  house  of  Maccarthy  and  Co. ;  and  if  the  prayer* 
r  the  old  priest  are  of  any  avail,  that  firm  will  iDng  proe- 
rr  in  the  splendid  eapital  of  Gascony.  This  lonR-remem- 
a(.*<|UaiiitanceHhip  was  periodically  refreshed  by  many 
quarter  cask  of  cicellcnt  medoe,  which  found  its  way  (no 
latter  how)  up  the  rugged  by-roade  of  Watergrasahill  to 
W  Micerdotal  cellar. 

Nor  was  the  barren  upland,  of  which  he  wa«  the  pastor 
lEid  which  will  one  day  be  as  celebrated  for  baviug  been 
is  residence  as  it  is  now  for  water-crfstfi),  bo  totally 
itnnged  from  the  wickedness  of  the  world,  and  so  exalted 
bove  the  common  level  of  Irish  highlands,  that  no  whUhj 
'BS  to  be  found  there  ;  for  though  Prout  never  openly 
rantenanced,  he  atUl  tolerated  Davy  Draddy'a  public-bouse 
t  the  aign  of  the  "  Mallow  Cavalry."  But  there  is  a  spirit, 
IS  evil  one),  which  pays  no  duty  to  the  King,  under  pre- 
jQCe  of  having  paid  it  to  her  majesty  the  Queen  (Qod  bless 
BPi) — a  spirit  which  would  even  tempt  you,  0  Keoima! 
9  fiirsake  tbe  even  tenour  of  your  ways — a  spirit  which 
^kther  Prout  could  never  eifectually  chain  down  m  thi;  Bed 
M,  where  every  foul  demon  ought  to  lie  in  durance  until 
ke  vials  uf  wrath  are  finally  poured  out  on  this  sinful  world 
-4hat  spirit,  endowed  with  a  smoky  fragrance,  as  if  to 
ti[init«!  ita  caligiuous  orieia — not  a  drop  of  it  would  be  give 
(r  Walter.  He  woidd  have  wished,  such  was  his  anxiety 
It  protect  the  mornla  of  bis  parishioners  from  the  baneful 
Sects  of  private  distillation,  that  what  is  called  technically 
moon  tain -dew"  were  never  heard  of  iu  the  district ;  and 
bat  in  this  respect  Watergraaabill  hud  resembled  the  moun- 
UD  of  Oilboa.  in  the  country  of  tbe  Philistines. 

But  uf  legitimate  and  eicellent  nudt  whisky  he  kept  a 


72  FATHER  PBOTTT*S  BSLIQTTE8. 

constant  supply,  through  the  friendship  of  Joe  Hajee,  & 
capital  fellow,  who  presides,  with  great  credit  to  hunselfy 
and  to  his  native  city,  over  the  spiritual  concerns  of  the 
Glin  Distillery.     Through  his  intelligent  superintendence, 
he  can  boast  of  maintaining  an  unextinguisnable  furnace 
and  a  worm  that  never  dies ;  and  O  !  may  he  in.  the  next 
life,  through  Front's  good  prayers,  escape  Doth  one  and  the 
other.     This  whisky,  the  pious  offering  of  Joe  Hayes  to  hia 
confessor.   Father  Prout,  was  carefully  removed    out  of 
harm's  way ;  and  even  I  myself  was  considerably  puzzled 
to  find  out  where  the  good  divine  had  the  habit  of  conceal- 
ing it,  until  I  got  the  secret  out  of  Margaret,  his  servant- 
maid,  who,  being  a  'cute  girl,  had  suggested  the  hiding-place 
herself.     I  don't  know  whether  you  recollect  my  description, 
in  your  April  Number,  of  the  learned  Father's  booacase 
and  the  folio  volumes  of  stone-flag  inscribed  '^  CoBNELn  ▲ 
Lapide  Opera  qua  ext.  omn, ;"  well,  behind  them  lay  hidden 
the  whisky  in  a  pair  of  jars — 

For  buxom  Maggy,  careful  soul. 

Had  two  Btone  bottles  found. 
To  hold  the  liquor  that  Prout  loved. 

And  kept  it  safe  and  sound. 

Orders  had  been  given  to  this  same  Margaret  to  kill  a 
turkey,  in  the  first  impulse  of  the  good  old  man's  mind, 
"  on  hospitable  thoughts  intent :"  but,  alas !  when  the  fowl 
had  been  slain,  in  accordance  with  his  hasty  injunctions,  he 
bethought  himself  of  the  melancholy  fact,  that,  the  morrow 
being  Friday,  fish  diet  was  imperative,  and  that  the  death- 
warrant  of  the  turkey  had  been  a  most  premature  and  ill- 
considered  act  of  precipitancy.  The  corpus  delicti  wna 
therefore  hung  up  in  tne  kitchen,  to  furnish  forth  the 
Sunday's  dinner  next  ensuing,  and  his  thoughts  of  necessity 
ran  into  a  piscatory  channel.  He  had  been  angling  all  day, 
and  happily  with  considerable  success ;  so  that,  what  with 
a  large  eel  he  had  hooked  out  of  the  lake  at  Blarney,  and 
two  or  three  dozen  of  capital  trout  from  the  stream,  he 
might  emulate  the  exploit  of  that  old  Calabrian  farmer,  who 
entertained  Virgil  on  the  produce  of  his  hives : 

"  Scrftque  revertens 
Nocte  domum,  dapibus  mensas  onerabat  inemptiA.'* 


TftE   W*TEHQHAS8BH.L   CJUtOTTSAI,.  73 

But  whwi  Prout  did  the  thin*,  he  did  it  respectably  :  this 
VBs  no  ordia&ry  occasion — "pot  Iul-V  woidd  not  do  here. 
And  though  he  bitterly  deplored  the  imti>ward  coincidence 
of  the  foat-dny  nn  the  nrrlval  of  Sir  Wiilter,  and  waa  heard 
to  mutter  »onietUing  from  Horace  very  like  an  impreention, 
m,  "  Ille  et  nrfaalo  fe  piiauit  tli&,  quicumque"  &c.  &C. ;  still 
it  would  ill  beeoue  the  author  of  an  *'  Apology  for  Lent"  to 
deepoir  of  grtting  up  a  good  fish  dinner. 

In  this  smergenty  he  giinimoned  Tenr  CaUaghan,  a  genius 
infinitely  euperior  evMi  to  the  man-ot-&l]-work  at  Kitvens- 
worth  Castle,  the  never-to-be-forgotten  Caleb  Balderatone. 
Terry  Cailaghkn  (of  whom  we  BUBpeet  we  ehail  hare,  on 
many  a  future  ocmsion,  much  to  recount,  ere  the  star  of 
Father  Prout  shall  eclipse  itselfin  the  firmament  of  Kkoina), 
Terry  Callaghau  ia  a  character  well  known  in  the  Arcadian 
neignbourhood  of  WatergmstihiEl,  the  life  and  soul  of  the 
nlljige  itaelf,  where  he  officiates  to  this  day  as  "  pound- 
keeper,"  "grave-digger,"  "notary  public,"  and  "pariah 
piper."  In  addition  to  these  Bituatioua  of  trust  ancl  eraolu- 
m«Dt,  ho  occasi'inally  stands  as  deputy  at  the  turnpike  on 
the  mail-coach  roful.  where  he  was  last  seen  with  a  short 
e  in  hia  mouth,  and  n  huge  black  crape  round  hia  "  cau- 
Hi."  being  in  mourning  for  the  subject  of  these  memoirs. 
I  also  is  employed  on  Sundays  at  the  chapel-door  to  collect 
•  coppers  of  the  faithfid,  and,  like  the  dragon  of  the 
wperides.  keeps  watch  over  the  "  box  "  with  untameable 
F'Smocdcm,  never  hnving  allowed  arap  to  be  subtracted  for 
\  ■flw  O'Connell  tribute,  or  tiny  other  humlmg.  to  the  great 
nininiy  detriment  of  the  Berrynaue  dynasty.  In  the 
;  at  Ireragh,  where  a  geographical  chart  is  displayed 
e  wall,  shewing  at  a  glance  the  topography  of  the 
"  and  f'lhibitiug  all  those  districts,  from  Dan  to  Beer- 
_,  wtere  tlie  coppcr-minea  are  most  productive,  the 
b  of  Watergrasshill  is  marked  "  all  barren  ;"  Terry  very 
'y  eoneidtring  thnt,  if  there  was  any  surplus  in  the 
ix,  it  could  be  better  placed,  without  going  out  of  the 
t«  of  that  wild  and  impoBerished  tract,  in  the  palm  of 
I  misery,  than  in  the  all-absorbing  Charybdis,  the 
■'pocket  of  our  glorious  Dan. 
Ii  WM  the  ■'  Mercury  new-lighted  on  a  heaven-kissing 
o  fftiom  Prout  ddirered  his  jtroriiional  orders  for  the 


74  FATHEB  FBOITT's   BEUQUBS. 

market  of  Cork ;  and  early,  with  a  hamper  on  his  back,  at 
tho  dawn  of  that  important  day  which  settled  into  so  glori- 
ous an  evening  of  fun  and  conviviality,  Terry  set  off  to  lay 
the  foundation  of  the  whole  affair  at  the  fish-stall  kept  by 
that  celebrated  dame  de  la  halle,  the  widow  Desmond.  Pur- 
suant to  directions,  he  bought  a  turbot,  two  lobsters,  a  sal- 
mon, and  a  hake,  with  a  hundred  of  Cork-harbour  oysters ; 
and  considering,  prudently,  that  a  corpn  de  reserve  might  be 
wanted  in  the  course  of  tho  repast,  he  added  to  the  afore- 
said matters,  which  Prout  had  himself  specified,  a  h^ 
d^osurre  of  his  own  selection,  viz.  a  keg  of  cod-sounds ;  he 
having  obsen^ed  that  on  all  state  occasions,  when  Prout 
entertained  his  bishop,  he  had  always,  to  suit  his  lordship*8 
taste,  a  plat  ohligi  of  cod- sounds,  "  by  particular  desire." 

At  the  same  time  he  was  commissioned  to  deliver  sundry 
notes  of  invitation  to  certain  choice  spirits,  who  try  to  keep 
in  wholesome  agitation,  by  the  buoyancy  of  their  wit  and 
hilarity,  the  othen^ise  stagnant  j)ond  of  Corkonian  society; 
citizens  of  varied  humour  and  diversified  accomplishments, 
but  of  whom  the  highest  praise  and  the  most  comprehensive 
eulogy  cannot  convey  more  to  the  British  public  than  the 
simple  intimation  of  their  having  been  "  the  friends  of  Father 
Prout :"  for  while  Job's  Arabian  "  friends  "  will  be  remem- 
bered only  as  objects  of  abhorrence,  Prout's  associates  wiU 
be  cherished  by  the  latest  posterity.  These  were,  Jack  Bel- 
lew,  Dan  Corbet,  Dick  Dowden,  Bob  Olden,  and  Friar 
O'lVreara. 

Among  these  illustrious  names,  to  be  henceforth  embalmed 
in  the  choicest  perfume  of  classic  recollection,  you  will  find 
on  inquiry,  O  Queen !  men  of  all  parties  and  religious  pe^ 
suasions,  men  of  every  wav  of  thinking  in  politics  and  po- 
lemics, but  who  merged  all  their  individual  feelings  in  the 
broad  expanse  of  one  common  philanthropy ;  for  at  Front's 
table  the  serene  horizon  of  the  festive  board  ^ftas  never 
clouded  by  the  suftusion  of  controversy's  gloomy  vapours, 
or  the  mephitic  feuds  of  party  condition.  And,  O  most 
peace-loving  Keoina  !  should  it  ever  suit  your  fancy  to  go 
on  a  trip  to  Ireland,  be  on  your  guard  against  the  foul  and 
troublesome  nuisance  of  speech -makers  and  political  oracles, 
of  whatever  class,  who  infest  that  otherwise  happy  islahd : 
betake  thyself  to  the  hospitable  home  of  Dan  Corbet,  or 


•ttat   WATBBOEiBBUILL 

di  good  and  rational  fircte  of  Irish  BOciety,  where 
!Ter  yrill  a  single  drop  of  acrirnoDy  bo  found  to  mtn!;;le  in 
diaciDboaomiDgs  of  feuliog   and   the  pereuoial  tlow  of 


Biit,  in  describing  Prout'e  giicats,  rank  and  precedency 
Jong  of  right  to  that  great  modem  ruler  of  innnkind,  "  the 
r»a ;"  »nd  therefore  do  we  first  apply  ouraelves  to  the  de- 
L-ation  of  the  merits  of  Jaek  Betlew,  its  sigiiilicnnt  repre- 
itatit-e — he  being  the  wondroua  editor  of  that  nwat  aeeoiu- 
shed  newspaper,  the  '"  Cork  Chronicle." 
JackMonleequieuBe!Iew'{j»>,wA(i«ori*Mmrfnomi>io)  iraa — 
My  u>a*,  for,  aiii^ !  he  too  is  no  more :  Prout's  death  was  loo 
mch  for  hiro  'twas  a  blow  from  which  he  never  recovered  ; 
then  he  was  visibly  so  heart-hrokpn  at  the  Ions 
bis  friend,  that  he  did  nothing  but  droop,  and  soon 
"what  the  doctor  said  wsa  a  decline;)— Jack  was  the 
ery  image  of  his  own  "Chronicle,"  and,  uc«  vrrtd,  the 
CUroQiele  "  waa  the  faithfol  mirror  (f/AwXov.  or  alter  ago)  of 
[k ;  both  one  and  the  other  were  the  (jiiecrest  concemB 
I  the  south  of  Ireland.  The  post  of  editor  to  a  country 
ewHpapcr  is  one,  cenerallj  apeaJting,  attended  with  sundry  ■ 
^^^TOHoles  and  triliulationa;  for  even  the  aimjile  departnieat 
f  "  deaths,  births,  and  inarriagea,"  would  require  a  host  of 
■Itiit  and  a  euijerhuman  tact  to  satisfy  the  vanity  of  the 
nbiKTihera,  without  making  them  ridiculous  to  their  next 
eighboairs.  Now  Bellew  didn't  care  a  jot  who  earae  into 
H>  world  or  who  left  it ;  and  thus  he  made  no  enemies  by 
Uw  niggardly  panegyric  of  their  kindred  and  deceased 
riatioiiB.  There  was  an  exception,  however,  in  favour  of  an 
'  I  Bubscriber  to  the  "  paper,"  whoao  death  was  usualJy 

>  Bow  the  nimame  of  the  iUmlrious  author  of  the  Eipnl  de  Lcii, 

to  ba  uiwd  by  th«  BeliewB  in  IreUnd  Iim  puiilcd  tho  Heralda' 

ge.     Indeed,  m«ny  other  Iruh  nunes  oflVr  ■  wide  Held  for  g™™- 

■I  iaijeirj  •.  t.  g.  Sir  Utrcubt  Liuighridli,  Ctnar  Olwnj,  Eneat  Mnc- 

M.H.  HoMnital  riuDketl,  Etmnrr  Jarti,   Jonth   Barringlon  (tM> 

t  looki  v«r;  UkP  a  whale}.     Tliat  thu  Bellcne  dealt  largBl;  iu  tpirili, 

r»  to  be  opable  of  proof  i  at  any  nil<3,  the™  wu  QHTor  any  pro- 

_,J  for  r«v"'  "f"  '"*■  whftleror  might  be  \Saii  pra-chant  roruniaieM 

Tit,  fi  the  hmily  iDUinoD  StMtk  an  itqatia^  Ajv/Ui^  Uouml  Wliliky, 

'•mliif  Uontr«qiuen. 


76  FATHEB  PBOUT*S   BELIQITES. 

commemorated  by  a  rim  of  mourning  at  the  edces  of  tho 
'*  Chronicle  :"  and  it  was  particularly  when  the  suDscription 
had  not  been  paid  (which,  indeed,  was  generally  the  case) 
that  the  emblems  of  sorrow  were  conspicuous — so  much  so, 
that  you  could  easily  guess  at  the.  amount  of  the  arrears 
actually  due,  from  the  proportionate  breadth  of  the  black 
border,  which  in  some  instances  was  prodigious.  But  Jack's 
attention  was  principally  turned  to  the  affairs  of  the  Conti- 
nent, and  he  kept  an  eye  on  Eussia,  an  eye  of  vigilant  obser- 
vation, which  considerably  annoyed  the  czar.  In  vain  did 
Fozzo  di  Borgo  endeavour  to  silence,  or  purchase,  or  intimi- 
date Belle w ;  he  was  to  the  last  an  uncompromising  op- 
ponent of  the  "  miscreant  of  the  North."  The  opening  of  the 
trade  to  China  was  a  favourite  measure  with  our  editor ;  for 
he  often  complained  of  the  bad  tea  sold  at  the  sign  of  the 
"  Elephant,"  on  the  Parade.  He  took  part  with  Don  Pedro 
against  the  Serene  Infanta  Don  Miguel ;  but  that  was  attri- 
buted to  a  sort  of  Platonic  he  felt  for  the  fascinating  Donna 
Maria  da  Gloria.  As  to  the  great  question  of  repale,  he  was 
too  sharp  not  to  see  the  full  absurdity  of  that  brazen  im- 
posture. He  endeavoured,  however,  to  suggest  a  '^ Juste  mil' 
lieu,^*  a  " medius  terminus"  between  the  politicians  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  common-sense  portion  of  the 
Cork  community;  and  his  plan  was, — to  hold  an  imperial  parlia^ 
mentfor  the  three  kingdoms  on  the  Isle  of  Man  !  But  he  failed  in 
procuring  the  adoption  of  his  conciliatory  sentiments.  Most 
Irish  provincial  papers  keep  a  London  "private  corres- 
pondent " — some  poor  devil,  who  writes  from  a  blind  alley 
in  St.  Giles's,  with  the  most  graphic  minuteness,  and  a  truly 
laughable  hatred  of  mystery,  all  about  matters  occurring  at 
the  cabinet  meetings  of  Downing  Street,  or  in  the  most  im- 

Eenetrable  circles  of  diplomacy.  Jack  despised  such  fudge, 
ecame  his  own  "  London  private  correspondent,"  and  ad- 
dressed to  himself  long  communications  oated  from  White- 
hall. The  most  useful  intelligence  was  generally  found  in 
this  epistolary  form  of  soliloquy.  But  in  the  "  fashionable 
world,"  and  "  News  from  the  beaumonde,"  the  "  Chronicle" 
was  unrivalled.  The  latest  and  most  rechercM  modes,  the 
newest  Parisian  fashions,  were  carefully  described;  not- 
withstanding which.  Jack  himself,  like  Diogenes  or  Sir 
Charles  Wetherell,  went  about  in  a  most  ragged  habiliment. 


TBE   W4.TEBaBASBIlILL   CABODSAL.  77 

o  apeak  with  Sbnkspeure,  tbougli  not  well  dre§8eii  himBelf- 
e  waa  the  cause  oi  (!ress  in  otliera.  His  (iuances,  ulas ' 
o  olwajTB  miaerabl/  low  ;  no  fitting  retribution  was  erer 
>  result  of  his  literary  labours;  and  of  htm  migbt  be 
tid  wbat  we  read  in  a  spleudid  frogmeat  of  Petrooius 
Vrbiter,— 


Such  w»  BcUew ;  and  next  to  him  of  political  importance 
'in  public  estimation  was  the  celebrated  Dick  Dowden,  the 
errat  inventor  of  the  "  pyroligneous  acid  for  curing  bacon." 
Ue  WHS  nt  one  time  the  deservedly  popular  librarian  of  the 
Boyal  Cork  Institution  i  but  since  then  be  has  risen  to 
pmiuence  as  the  greatest  soda-water  manufacturer  in  the 
south  of  Ireland,  and  has  been  unaaimously  chosen  by  the 
Kober  and  n;flecting  portion  of  his  fellow-citizens  to  be  the 
pcriielual  president  of  the  "  Cork  Temperance  Society."  He 
-  -*  B  Presbyterian— but  1  believe  I  have  already  said  he  waa 
(obcerned  in  vinegar.*  He  is  a  great  admirer  of  Dr.  Bow- 
>,  and  of  the  Kajah  Eammohun  Soy ;  and  some  think 
I  inrlined  to  Invour  the  new  TTtilitarian  philosophy.  But 
^hy  do  1  speud  iiiy  time  in  depicting  a  man  so  well  known 
la  Diek  Dowden  ?  Who  has  not  heard  of  Dick  Dowden  ? 
I  pity  tbP  wretch  to  whom  bis  name  and  merits  are  un- 
blown ;  for  ht  argaes  himself  a  dunce  that  knows  not  Dow- 
Irn,  and  deserves  the  anathema  pronounced  by  Goldsmith 


"  To  eat  matton  cold,  and  cut  blocks  vlth  s  nuor  1" 

Talking  of  raton,  the  transition  to  our  third  guest.  Bob 

Pldeii  is  moat  smooth  and  natural — Olden,  the  great  inven- 

IT  of  the  wonderful  shaving-lather,  called  by  the  Greeks  bu- 

[£tKOOE5BiON  {Euxiifoyittiov)  ! — Olden,  the  reproducer  of  an 

ntheDian  cosmetic,  and  the  grand  discoverer  of  the  patent 

pTrrtler-oil,"  for  the  growth  of  the  human  hair;  a  dtiien 

r  iti£mt«  worth  and  practical  usefulness ;  a  high  cburch- 

a  eke  waa  he,  and  a  Tory  ;  but  his  "  cnnsen'ative"  eiceU 

tx  was  chieRy  applicable  to  the  epidennis  of  the  chin, 

bicb  be  effertuuUy  presented  by  the  incomparable  lather  ol 

•  ■'  A  Quaker,  sly  i  h  Preibyteriiui,  M)ur."~PoM 


78  FjLTHBB  PB0VT*8  beliqueb. 

his  Euxf /po/f  vf/oy ;  an  inyention  that  would,  to  use  the  words 
of  a  Cork  poet, 

"  Bid  eren  a  Jew  bid  adieu  to  his  beard.^ 

But  Dan  Corbet,  the  third  guest,  was  a  real  trump,  the 
very  quintessence  of  fun  and  frolic,  and  of  all  Front's  mends 
the  one  of  whom  he  was  most  particularly  proud.  He  is  the 
principal  dentist  of  the  Munster  district — a  province  where 
a  tooth-ache  is  much  rarer,  imfortunately  for  dentists,  than  a 
broken  head  or  a  black  eye.  In  Corbet,  the  kindliest  of  human 
beings,  and  sincerest  of  Corkonians,  the  buttermilk  of  human 
friendliness  was  ever  found  in  plentiful  exuberance ;  while 
the  loud  laugh  and  the  Jocund  song  bespoke  the  candour  of  his 
soul.  Never  was  a  professor  of  odontology  less  pedantic  or 
less  given  to  quackery.  His  ante-chamber  was  always  full  of 
patients,  awaiting  his  presence  with  pleasurable  anticipation 
and  some  were  known  to  feign  a  tooth-ache,  in  order  to 
have  a  pleasant  interview  with  the  dentist.  When  he  made 
his  appearance  in  his  morning  gown  before  the  crowd  of 
afflicted  visitors,  a  general  titter  of  cheerfulness  enlivened  the 
visages  of  the  sufferers ;  and  I  can  only  compare  the  effect 
proQuced  by  his  presence  to  the  welcome  of  Scarron  on  the 
oanks  of  the  Styx,  when  that  man  of  wondrous  hilarity 
went  down  to  the  region  of  the  ghosts  as  a  dispeller  of 
sorrow : 

^  Solvuntur  risu  moBstisBima  turba  silentum, 
Ciim  Ycnit  ad  Stjgias  Scarro  facetuB  aquas.'* 

I  have  only  one  thing  to  say  against  Corbet.  At  his  hos- 
pitable table,  where,  without  extravagance,  every  good  dish 
IS  to  be  found,  a  dessert  generally  follows  remarkable  for  the 
quantity  and  iron-hardness  of  the  walnuts,  while  not  a  nut- 
cracker can  be  had  for  love  or  money  from  any  of  the  ser- 
vants. Now  this  is  too  bad :  for,  you  must  know,  that  next 
morning  most  of  the  previous  yuesU  reappear  in  the  charac- 
ter of  patients ;  and  the  nuts  (like  the  dragon-teeth  bowdl 
in  a  field  by  Cadmus)  produce  a  harvest  of  lucrative  visitora 
to  the  cabinet  of  the  professor.  Ought  not  this  system  to 
be  abolished,  O  Queen !  and  is  it  any  justification  or  pallia- 
tion of  such  an  enormity  to  know  that  the  bane  and  anti- 
dote are  both  before  one  P    When  I  spgke  of  it  to  Corbet, 


THB    WATKBaBABsaitt   CAROCSAX. 


V  onJy  Btnjled  at  mjr  simplicity',  and  quoted  the  pivcedeut 
1  Horace,  (fur  be  is  a  good  clnsatc  scholar). 


"Et  DUX  ortubat  moiuuii,  di 


3  duplico  Don." 


^■iHorH 

^Knt  I  itnmediittelf  pointed  out  to  bim,  that  he  reversed  the 
^Bpnetice  of  the  Bomans ;  t'ur,  tnetend  of  tbe  figs  being  iu 
aeuUe  ralto  to  the  nuU,  it  wa«  the  latter  with  him  that  pre- 
dumiost^  iu  uuimtity,  besides  being  pre-eminently  hard 
wlieD  siibmitteu  to  tbo  double  action  of  that  delicate  lever 
the  human  jsw.  which  nature  never  (except  in  Bome  iu. 
■taocn,  Anil  these  more  apparent,  perhaps,  in  the  coaform< 
>ti<in  nf  llin  niisc  and  chin)  intended  for  a  out-cracker. 

Of  Frinr  U'Sleam  there  is  little  to  be  said.     Prout  did 
not  tkiuk  much  of   friara  ia  general ;  indeed,  at  all  times 
[  the  working  jparoohia]  clergy  in  Ireland  httve  looked  on  them 
la  ft  kind  of  undisciplined  Coasacks  in  the  Berrice  of  tbe 
iiurch  militant,  of  whom  it  cimnot  tonvonicntty  get  rid, 
Ittt  who  are  much  better  adepts  in  aliaring  the  plimder  tbau 
B  lalxiurtng  to  earn  it.      The  good  fiitber  often  explained 
B  me  how  the  matter  Bto<jd,  and  how  the  bishop  wanted  to 
iate  these  friars,  and  make  tliem  work  for  the  iustrue- 
ion  of  the  ooor,  instead  of  their  present  la^y  life ;  but  tiiej 
i*ro  a  match  for  hiui  at  Kome,  where  none  dare  whiaper  a 
■rord  against  one  of  the  fraternity  of  the  cowl.     There  are 
p  pnpcm  in  the  Prout  collection  on  this  subject,  which 
uu  gi-t  the  chest)  will  explain  all  to  you.     O'Mcara 
14  not  the  "  Voice  from  St.  Helena,"  though  he  aome- 
•  paased  for  that  gentleman  on  the  Continent)  was  a 
int  sort  of  fellow,  not  very  deep  in  divinity  or  black- 
ed knowledge  of  any  kind,  but  conversable  and  chatty, 
iog  frcqupnlly  ai-comnanied  young  'squires,  as  travelling 
>r  to  Itttly,  mueh  iu  the  style  of  those  learned  functiou- 
•  who  lead  a  dauciug-bear  through  the  market-towns  of 
tgtaud.     There  waa  no  dinner  within  seven  miles  of  Cork 
nit  O'Mears,     Full  soon  would  bis  keen  nostril,  ever 
ptonui),   (ns  Milton  sayeth)    into  the   murky  air,   have 
A  the  vcent  of  culiuory  preparation  in  the  breeze  that 
B  from  Watergrusshili  :  therefore  it  was  that  Proutsent 
B  s  oolc  uf  tovitatiou,  knowing  he  i      "  — i.  -i-- 


,  whether 


80  FATHER  PBOUT'b  BSLIQUIB. 

Such  were  the  guests  who,  with  George  Knapp  and  mj- 
self,  formed  the  number  of  the  elect  to  dine  with  Sir  Wal- 
ter at  the  father's  humble  board ;  and  when  the  covers  were 
removed  (grace  having  been  said  by  Front  in  a  style  that 
would  have  rejoiced  the  sentimental  Sterne)  a  glorious  vision 
of  fish  was  unfolded  to  the  raptured  sight ;  and  I  confess  I 
did  not  much  regret  the  absence  of  the  turkey,  whose  plump 
carcass  I  could  ^et  an  occasional  glimpse  of,  hanging  from 
the  roof  of  the  Idtchen.  We  ate,  and  confabulated  aa  fol- 
lows : — 

"I  don't  approve,"  said  Bob  Olden, "of Homer's  ideas  as 
to  a  social  entertainment :  he  does  not  let  his  heroes  converse 
rationally  until  long  after  they  have  set  down  to  table,  or, 
as  Pope  vulgarly  translates  it, 

"  Soon  aa  the  rage  of  hunger  is  repressed." 

Now  I  think  that  a  very  gross  way  of  proceeding." 

o'meaba. 

In  our  convent  we  certainly  keep  up  the  observance,  such 
as  Pope  has  it.  The  repast  is  divided  into  three  distinct  pe- 
riods ;  and  in  the  conventual  refectory  you  can  easily  oifl- 
tinguish  at  what  stage  of  the  feeding  time  the  brotherhood 
are  engaged.  The  first  is  called,  1*",  altum  silentium  ;  then, 
2**,  clangor  dentium ;  then,  3**  rumor  gentium, 

COBSET. 

I  protest  against  the  personal  allusion  contained  in  that 
second  item.    You  are  always  making  mischief,  O'Meara. 

S£I<I<!BW« 

I  hope  that  when  the  friars  talk  of  the  news  of  the  day^ 
— for  such,  I  suppose,  is  the  meaning  of  rumor  gentium — 
they  previously  have  read  the  private  London  correspond- 
ence of  the  "  Cork  Chronicle." 

PBOUT. 

Sir  Walter,  perhaps  you  would  wish  te  begin  with  a  firesh 
egg)  ^6  ^o^  as   Horace   recommends;   or  perhaps  you'd 


THE   WlTEBOHiSSKlLL   CABOUSiL.  81 

efer  the  order  described  by  Piiny,  in  his  letter  to  Septi- 
'mMjV.  a  raditk  :  2",  Ihrre  tnaiU:  and  3°,  Itoo  fggt*  Qt 
<ftten  ad  tilnlum,  as  laid  down  by  Macrobius-t 


Thssk  you,  I  can  manage  with  thU  slice  of  salmon -trout. 
[  can  rclidh  the  opinion  of  that  great  ornament  of  your 
itircb,  Thomaa  i  Kempis,  to  whose  taste  nothing  woa  more 
lelictoua  than  a  saluioo,  always  excepting  the  Ftalma  of 
David.'  ti»  he  properly  says,  MM  Ptaltni  Davidici  sapiunl 
talmunet  !% 


That  WM  not  a  bad  idea  of  Tom  Eempia.     But  my  fa- 
vourite author,  St.  ClirysoStom,  surpasses  him  in  wit.    When 
lalkiug  of  the  Bennoo  on  the  Lake  of  Tiberias,  he  marveta 
■  •t  the  aineularpoBitionof  the  auditory  relative  to  the  preacher: 
^UB  words  are,  imsf  itapM,  t'l  iy_Suti    i-^i  rri'  yK'i  "«'  o  AXuw; 
K  toXarr^ !   Serm.  de  Nov.  el  Vet.  Test. 


That  is  B  capital  tnrbot,  O  Prout !  and.  instead  of  taUt- 
^g  Greek  and  quoting  old  Chrj-eoatom  (the  eaint  with  the 
kolden  month),  yoii  ought  to  be   helping  Jack  Bellew  and 

Kti^  KiiApp. — What  sauce  is  that  ? 


e  of  Borne  decided  tbe  sauce  long  ago,  by  order 

fa nin.  Ep.  ad  Septim,  where  ho  acqusints  ue  vilhtbeproper 
Wtouaaentxag  opAralioni.  His  words  are,  "  Lautuuu  aingutoA, 
IMMi  ot«  biua."     Our  uockle  and  tbe  Frmch  word  cniOfr,  a 
. .    ,    W  derived  froni  the  Latin  eothltare ;  of  wlucli  cocktea  (a  bqbU 
V  uftwinkli)  ii  Uia  root.    Thus  we  rmd  iu  Martial — 
••  Snm  McUcb  lubili«,  kA  nw  nuigis  utilia  oiu  | 
Suinquld  KJ*  potiiu  cor  oocblcore  vooer  ?" 
If  In  the  llitrd  book  of  liit  "  tjalurnali*,"  Maorobiiie,  deacribing  tha 
~    mti  y>j  tbe  Ftimm  LstiIuIhb  to  tbe  Bomao  p«)ple  on  \\U  inslol 
jO  ofluc  praiiM  the  ho»l'«  gtmerositj,  iuaimuvh  at  be  openod  tba 
<  liT  proTtdingU  a  whet  ^^ottrtaiervdaiiiumlimjmjuevtlltL" 
Pj'Sw  Ok  Klienr  rditioa  of  Tham.  A  Etmpla,  In  vili,  p.  216. 


82  FATILEB  PBOVT'b   BELIQUSS. 

of  Domitian,  as  Juvenal  might  tell  you,  or  eyen  the  French 

translation — 

'*  Le  senat  mit  aux  Toix  cette  affaire  importante^ 
Et  le  turbot  fiit  mis  a  la  sauce  piquanie" 

KKAPP. 

Sir  Walter !  as  it  has  been  my  distinguished  lot — ^a  ciN 
cumstance  that  confers  eTerlasting  glory  on  my  mayoralty — 
to  have  had  the  honour  of  presenting  you  yesterday  with 
the  freedom  of  the  corporation  of  Cork,  allow  me  to  pre- 
sent  you  with  our  next  best  thing,  a  potato. 

SCOTT. 

I  have  received  with  pride  the  municipal  franchise,  and  I 
now  accept  with  equal  gratitude  the  more  substantial  gift 
you  have  handed  me,  in  this  capital  esculent  of  your  happy 
country. 

PHOXJT. 

Our  round  towers,  Sir  Walter,  came  from  the  east,  as 
will  be  one  day  proved ;  but  our  potatoes  came  firom  the 
west ;  Persia  sent  us  the  one,  and  Virginia  the  other.  We 
are  a  glorious  people  !  The  two  hemispheres  minister  to  our 
historic  recollections ;  and  if  we  look  back  on  our  anoalB, 
we  get  drunk  with  glory ; 

"  For  when  histVy  begins  to  grow  dull  in  the  east, 
Wo  may  order  our  wings,  and  be  off  to  the  west." 

May  I  have  the  pleasure  of  wine  with  you  ?     Q^ntlemen, 
fill  all  round. 

SCOTT. 

1  intend  writing  a  somewhat  in  which  Sir  Walter  Baleigh 
shall  be  a  distinguished  and  prominent  character ;  and  I 
promise  you  the  potato  shall  not  bo  forgotten.  The  discovery 
of  that  root  is  alone  sufficient  to  immortalize  the  hero  who 
lost  his  head  so  unjustly  on  Tower  Hill. 

KNAPP. 

Christopher  Columbus  was  equally  ill-treated :  and  uei 


^^ktitt 


THE  WATEBOBASSniLL   CABOrBAl..  89 

le  aor  Baleigh  have  eren  giren  their  name  to  tbe  ob' 
lliey    discovered.     Great  men    have  never  obtained 
IX   from    their    contemporaries. — I'll  trouble  you  for 
of  the  fina  of  that  turbot.  Front. 


Nay,  further,  ivithout  going  beyond  the  circle  of  this 
leitivo  board,  why  has  not  Europe  and  the  world  united  to 
confer  some  signal  distiuctioa  on  the  useful  inventor  of 
"  PyroligneouB  Acid  ?"  Why  is  not  the  discoverer  of  "Trolt«r 
oil"  and  "  Eukeirogeneion"  fittingly  rewarded  by  mankind  ? 
Because  men  have  narrow  views,  and  prefer  erecting  columna 
tu  Spring  Bice,  and  to  Bob  Waithman  who  sold  shawls  in 
Fleet  Street. — Let  me  recommend  some  lobeter-sauce. 

CORBET. 

Minerva,  who  first  extracted  oil  from  the  olive,  was  deifietl 
in  Greece ;  and  Olden  ia  not  yet  even  a  member  of  tJiu 
dullest  scientific  body ;  while  Dr.  Lardner  belonRs  to  them 
all,  if  I  can  understand  the  phalanx  of  letters  that  follows 
his  name. 

KNAPP. 

I  have  read  the  utilitarian  Doctor's  learned  treatise  on 
tbe  potato — a  subject  of  which  he  seems  to  understand  the 
chemical  manipulation.  He  says,  very  juatly,  tliat  'as  the 
niot  contains  saccbariue  matter,  fugar  may  be  extracted 
therffroni  ;  he  is  not  sure  whether  It  might  not  be  distilled 
into  ahuki/  :  but  he  is  certain  that  it  makes  capital  ttarch, 
and  triutnphantiy  shews  that  the  rmd  can  feed  pigs,  and 
the  ttaik  thatch  tlie  pigsty.  O  most  wonderi'ul  Doctor 
Ldrdner !  Here's  his  beidth  I  Afevunoi ! — not  a  bad  intro- 
duction to  A  bumj)er  of  claret.      [Thrte  timea  tkree.^ 


I  too  haTe  turned  my  thoughts  into  that  channel,  aud 
among  my  papers  there  is  a  treatise  on  "  the  root,"  I  have 
prcftjicd  to  my  diastTtation  this  e}iigMiph  from  Cicero's 
'i  "  (iro  ArchiSi  Poctft,''  where  the  Eoman  oratur  talis 
■  beUfi  Uttrei;  but  1  apply  the  words  much  more 
- 1  hate  metaphor  in  practical  matters  such  as 
e  2 


84  FATHXs  psorr's  beliquzb. 

these :  ''  They  are  the  food  of  our  youth,  the  sustenance  of 
our  old  age ;  they  are  delightful  at  home,  and  by  no  means 
in  one^s  way  abnwd ;  they  cause  neither  nightmare  nor  in- 
digestion, but  are  capital  things  on  a  journey,  or  to  fill  the 
w^et  of  a  pilgrim."  '' Adolescentiam  alunt,  senectutem 
oblectant ;  delectant  domi,  non  impediunt  foris ;  pemoctant 
nobiscum,  per^rinantur,  rusticantur."  So  much  for  pota- 
toes. But  there  are  other  excellent  natural  productions 
in  our  island,  which  are  also  duly  celebrated  in  my  papers, 
and  possibly  may  be  published ;  but  not  till  I  am  gathered 
to  the  grave.  I  hare  never  forgotten  the  interests  of  pos- 
terity.— Pass  that  decanter. 

SCOTT. 

Talking  of  the  productions  of  the  soil,  I  cannot  reconcile 
the  antiquity,  the  incontestable  antiquity,  of  the  lyric  ode 
called  the  **  Groves  of  Blarney,"  of  which  before  dinner 
we  have  traced  the  remote  origin,  and  examined  so  many 
varied  editions  with  a  book  of  more  modem  date,  'cslled 
^'  C(B8ar*s  Commentaries."  The  beech  tree,  CsBsar  says, 
does  not  grow  in  these  islands,  or  did  not  in  his  time :  All 
trees  grow  there,  he  asserts,  the  same  as  in  Gaul,  except  the 
lime-tree  and  the  beech — *'  Materia  fer^  eadem  ac  in  Gallii, 
pweter /a^um  et  abietem."  (Cos,  de  Bella  GalUcOy  lib.  v.) 
r^ow  in  the  song,  which  is  infinitely  older  than  Cesar,  we 
have  mention  made,  '^  besides  the  leeches,"  of  certain 
"groves  of  beeches," — the  text  is  positive. 

KNAPP. 

That  observation  escaped  me  totally ;  and  still  the  differ- 
ent versions  all  concur  in  the  same  assertion.  The  Latin  or 
Vulgate  codex  says — 

'*  Gh-ande  decuB  pagi  « 

Fluvii  stant  nuurgine  fagl'* 

The  Greek  or  Septuagint  version  is  equally  stubborn  m 
making  out  the  case^ 

*I<frafisvuv  xai  uXi} 


TBZ  ITATEBSB&SSHn.L   CAEOUBAL.  bS 

And  the  French  copy,  taken  from  Doomsday  Booh,  ia  con- 
clusiTe,  and  a  complete  poser — 

"Sur  ee»  bords  champitres 
On  aplimU  dea  sitseS." 

I  aiQ  airaid  Cffiaar'a  reputation  for  accuracy  will  bo  great!? 
*Kakeo  by  this  discovery :  be  is  a  passable  authority  in  jniii- 
liry  tai-tiL-e,  but  not  in  natural  history  :  give  me  Pliny  ! — 
Tbia  trout  is  excellent  I 

I  think  the  two  great  authors  at  issue  on  this  heerk-trte 
liuaineea  can  beconciliated  thus;  let  us  aay,  tliatby  the  Greek 
fiiyan.  and  the  Latia  fag\,  nothing  more  is  meant  than 
the  clan  the  O'Faoass,  who  are  very  thickly  planted  here- 
abouts, Tbey  are  stiU  a  hungry  race,  as  their  name  Eagan 
indicates —  sttn  nu  faj-iit. 

FEOUT, 

It  must  have  been  one  of  that  family  who,  in  the  reign  ol 
Aureliiis,  distingaiBhed  hiniself  by  his  great  appetite  at  the 
impt-rini  court  of  Eome.     Thus  Berchoux  sings,  on  the  au- 
Ity  of  Suetonius : 


t^t 


"  Dugon  fiit  en  »  genre  no  homroe  ertrBordinnirp  j 
11  aTait  i'estamar.  (gnui'lt  Diem  '.)  d'un  drounHlnire  i 
n  CuKsit  di»])iu«ttre,  en  sea  Tares  festins, 
Wi  pBTC,  un  mngliir,  un  noutoi,  et  etnlpaitu  1 1  /" 


That's  what  we  at  Paris  used  to  call  puin  i  dUcrition. — 
^Urgaret,  open  some  oysters,  and  get  the  cayenne  pepper. 

EELLEW. 

I  protest  I  don't  like  to  see  the  O'Fagana  run  down— my 

mnt  was  an  O'Fagan ;  and  as  to  deriving  the  name  from  the 

LOnelc  am  rw  fttyti;  I  think  it  a  most  gratuitous  assomption. 


I  agree  with  my  worthy  friend  Bellew  as  to  the  impro- 
■iety  of  harping  upon  names.  One  would  think  the  mayor 
if  Cork  ought  to  obtain  some  respect,  and  be  spared  the 
'  "  !tion  of  the  waggery  of  bis  fellow-townsmen.  But  no  ; 
I  clear  the  city  of  mad  dogs,  and  keep  hydrophobia 


86  FATHEB  PB0VT*8  SELIQUE8. 

far  from  our  walls,  I  am  called  the  '*  dog-  (I  had  almost  said 
kid-)  Knapper  /"  Now,  mj  family  is  of  German  extraction, 
and  my  great-grandfather  served  under  the  gallant  Dutch- 
man in  his  wars  with  the  "  Grande  Monarque,"  before  he 
came  over  with  William  to  deliver  this  country  from  slavery 
and  wooden  shoes.  It  was  my  great-grand-father  who  in- 
vented that  part  of  a  soldier's  accoutrement,  called,  after 
him,  a  "  Knapp*s  sack." 

GOBBET. 

I  hope,  Sir  Walter,  you  will  not  leave  Cork  without  din- 
ing at  the  mansion-house  with  our  worthy  mayor.  Falstaff 
himself  could  not  find  fault  with  the  excellent  flavour  of 
Knapp*s  sack. 

SCOTT. 

I  fear  I  shall  not  be  able  to  postpone  my  departure ;  but 
as  we  are  on  this  subject  of  names,  I  have  to  observe,  that 
it  is  an  old  habit  of  the  vulgar  to  take  liberty  with  the 
syllables  of  a  great  man's  patronymic.  Melancthon  •  was 
forced  to  clothe  his  name  in  Greek  to  escape  their  allusions ; 
Jules  de  TEchelle  changed  his  into  Scaliger ;  Pat  Lardner 
has  become  Dionysius ;  and  the  great  author  of  those  im- 
mortal letters,  which  he  has  taken  care  to  tell  us  will  be  read 
when  the  commentaries  of  Cornelius  k  Lapide  are  forgotten, 
gave  no  name  at  all  to  the  world — 

"  Stat  nominis  umbra !" 

PBOUT. 

Poor  Erasmus !  how  he  used  to  be  badgered  about  his 
cognomen — 

"  Quffritur  unde  tibi  ait  nomen,  Ebasmts  ? — Eras  Mub  !" 

for  even  so  that  arch  wag,  the  Chancellor  Sir  Thomas  More, 
addressed  him.  But  his  reply  is  on  record,  and  his  peiUO' 
meter  beats  the  Chancellor's  hexameter — 

"  Si  »um  Mu8  ego,  tojudice  Summus  ero!" 

*  The  real  name  of  Melancthon  was  Philipp  Schwartzerd(®d)loar^erb), 
which  means  blaci  earthy  and  is  most  happily  rendered  into  Greek  by 
the  term  Melancthon,  McXoii/ax^wv.  Thus  sought  he  to  escape  the 
vulgar  conundrums  which  his  name  in  the  vernacular  Gherman  ooold 
not  fail  to  elicit.    A  Lapide's  name  was  item 


TIIE    WATEHOBASSnrLL 


be  Bple 

the  punster  by  dedicjiting  lo  Sir  Tliomaa 
Erasmus  wns  a  capita]  fellow, 

Hie  glorj  of  the  prie«l!ioocl,  and  Uie  i! 


my.  Sir  Walter,  are  you  any  relation  of  our  great  irre* 
ible  doctor,  Duus  Scotus  ?     He  was  an  ornament  of  the 


■  0, 1  ha^e  not  that  hoooitr  ;  but  I  have  rem!  what  Eras- 
,  Bays  of  certain  membera  of  your  fraternity,  iu  a  dia- 
le  uetween  liimeelf  and  the  Ei'Ijo  : 

••  {EeiBitCB  /ajtiifur.)  — Quid  net  sBcerdotJum  t 
(Echo  re^io^fi/.)— Otiura  !" 
PBOUT. 

That  reminilB  me  of  Lardoer'a  idea  of  "  otium  cum  digni- 
"  wbicfa  be  propoBes  to  read  thus — ottum  cam  diggin' 
V  / — The  sugar  and  the  materialfl  here  for  Mr.  Bellew. 

COHKET. 

B  was  a  witty  tbing,  anrf  a  severe  thing,  said  of  the 
K._u.  jii  family  at  Kome,  when  they  took  the  stones  of  the 
Djihitheatrum  Flavium  to  build  them  their  palaz^o : 
^od  non  feeerant  Barbari,  hoc  fecerunt  Barberini."  But 
jiiuk  Jack  Bellew,  in  his  "  Chronicle,"  made  as  poiuted  u 
Biirk  on  Sir  Thomas  Deane,  knight  and  builder,  who  bought 
B  old  furniture  and  gulted  the  old  cnatle  of  Blarney : 
Cbe  Dana,"  quotU  Jack,  "have  always  been  pillaging  old 

SCOTT. 

Wboever  connived  at  or  abetted  the  deBtruetion  of  that 
^^  "  m,  or  took  any  part  in  the  transaction,  had  the 

il  of  a  Gotb  J  and  the  "  Chronicle  "  could  not  say  leas. 

COKBBT. 

Bellew  hna  vented  bis  indignation  in  a  soog,  wliich,  if 


88  FATHEB  FBOVT's   BEUQUXS. 

called  on  by  so  distinguished  an  antiquary,  he  will,  no  doubt, 
sing;.  And  first  let  me  propose  the  "  Liberty  of  the  Press  " 
and  the  ''Cork  Chronicle," — nine  times  nine,  standing. 
Hurra! 


Sacit  Selkio'i^  dong« 

AiB— "  0  %oeepfor  the  hour  /" 

Oh !  the  muse  shed  a  tear 

When  the  cruel  auctioneer, 
With  a  hammer  in  his  hand,  to  sweet  Blarney  came! 

Lady  Jeffery*8  ghost 

Left  the  Stygian  coast, 
And  shriek'd  the  live-long  night  for  her  grandson's  shame. 

The  Vandal's  hammer  fell, 

And  we  know  full  well 
Who  bought  the  castle  furniture  and  fixtures,  O ! 

And  took  off  in  a  cart 

fTwas  enough  to  break  one's  heart !) 
All  the  statues  made  of  lead,  and  the  pictures,  O ! 

Tou'rc  the  man  I  mean,  hight 

Sir  Thomas  Deane,  knight. 
Whom  the  people  have  no  reason  to  thank  at  all ; 

But  for  you  those  things  so  old 

Sure  would  never  have  been  sold. 
Nor  the  fox  be  looking  out  from  the  banquet-halL 

Oh,  ye  pull'd  at  such  a  rate 

At  every  wainscoting  and  grate, 
Determin'd  the  old  house  to  sack  and  garble,  01 

That  you  didn't  leave  a  splinter. 

To  keep  out  the  could  winter. 
Except  a  limestone  chimney-piece  of  marble,  O ! 

And  tlicre  the  place  was  lefl 

Where  bold  King  Charles  the  Twelfth 
Hung,  before  his  portrait  went  upon  a  journey,  O! 

Och!  the  family's  itch 

For  going  to  law  was  sitch, 
Tliat  they  bound  liim  long  before  to  an  attorney,  O  t 

But  still  the  magic  stone 

(Blessings  on  it !)  is  not  flown. 
To  which  a  debt  of  gratitude  Pat  Lardner  owes  : 

Kiss  that  block,  if  you're  a  dunce. 

And  you'll  emulate  at  once 
The  genius  who  to  fame  by  dint  of  blarney  rose. 


UKujIj  ,.  SCOTT, 

^A  day  tQ  ,j^  BewBw. 

K*«  I»S    '"  '»w  in  , !'""«  in  Wi  1.^  "'"I  «ftep  nJl  1 


"».. 


.  "osbkt 


'"VJoro! 


;sBn= ,,   y^      and  B..J. 


H^  "^iieut  figure  of  ttie 


00  7ATHSB  PSOUT*S  BELIQUSS. 


PBOUT. 

Swift  says  that  Jupiter  was  originally  a  mere  corruption 
of  "  Jew  Peter"  You  have  given  an  edition  of  the  Dean, 
Sir  Walter  ? 

SCOTT. 

Yes ;  but  to  return  to  your  Blarney  statue :  I  wonder  the 
peasantry  did  not  rescue,  vi  et  armis,  the  ornaments  of  their 
immortal  groves  from  the  grasp  of  the  barbarians.  I  hap- 
pened to  be  in  Paris  when  the  allies  took  away  the  sculp- 
tured treasures  of  the  Louvre,  and  the  Venetian  horses  of 
the  Carrousel ;  and  I  well  remember  the  indignation  of  the 
sons  of  France.  Pray  what  was  the  connexion  between 
Blarney  Castle  and  Charles  XII.  of  Sweden  ? 

BELLBW. 

One  of  the  Jeffery  family  served  with  distinction  under 
the  gallant  Swede,  and  had  received  the  royal  portrait  on  his 
return  to  his  native  country,  after  a  successful  campaign 
against  the  Czar  Peter.  The  picture  was  swindled  out  of 
Blarney  by  an  attorney,  to  satisfy  the  costs  of  a  law-suit. 

OLDEN. 

The  Czar  Peter  was  a  consummate  politician ;  but  when 
he  chopped  off  the  beards  of  the  Itussians,  and /breed  his 
subjects  by  penal  laws  to  shave  their  chins,  he  acted  very 
unwisely;  he  should  have  procured  a  supply  of  eukeiny- 
getteiofif  and  effected  his  object  by  smooth  means. 

GOBBET. 

Come,  Olden,  let  us  have  one  of  your  songs  about  that 
wonderful  discovery. 

OLDEN. 

I'll  willingly  give  you  an  ode  in  praise  of  the  incomparable 
lather  ;  but  I  think  it  fair  to  state  that  my  song,  like  my 
eukeirogeneion,  is  a  modern  imitation  of  a  Greek  original : 
you  shall  hear  it  in  both  languages. 


THE   WATEBOBisaa 


©nim's  J&ong. 

"""    I'-l  to  IDK  StilTr- 

If  ihe  land  o 


Or  in  £roU  •ubtaranHi 


tlip  wave,      Ocria, 


MtxliUmuieiui,  Karayaiois,  r  ty  arniagi 

Neu  Knu'*  big  crater,  Knntiy  r(  Miaiiymt/i, 

Or  nCRMi  Uie  equator,  tlapa  taiLirtf  Airvoiy 

Where,  within  St.  Helena,  there  IJeth  an  laiifiipirov  irioar  n 

It,   BDm  jeu  li«ve  got  to  Ito  Cnpe  of  'O^ev  trXtofrti' uncpov, 

DomI  Ilinw.  •■  tiyaO,\wtSotrpoc  atpav, 


Oood  Hc^ 


Tu  BTKEIPOPEKBI 


bi^n  lo  expcrieoi.'e  a  eitd  wont  of 

Bleu  your  lot 

Oh  the  ipot, 
If  you  clisnpe  to  lar  ejp  on 
A  fliuk  of  Eukcrirogi>ni:ioa  i 
Far  Ihm  jou  may  safely  rely  on 


I  till*  liquid  there  lies  no  deception 

For  CTon  old  Neptune, 

WUose  buahy  chLu  frightens  ,  , 

Tbr  grntn  ugiuul  of  Tritons—  M<yo(  EfBomy 

And  who  turns  np  the  dtiep  Aanav  i);iiiv  ru 

With  the  huge  Bowing  sweep  U  ^nttii  TpiTw 

Of  Lis  tenglhy  and  pomwron*  bcwd, —  "^"i  "'^ovti  6a* 

Shonld  he  rub  but  hii  throtOe  Oiro«ic  i|»wira 

With  Ihe  foam  of  thia  bottle,  nuyw^oc  (urofl 

He'd  find,  nAa«n/iopc  /Joi-, 

To  his  mind,  npoowwov  (,  yt 

I  a  twintiiog  tha   mop  would  have  uil  K«roi>(  afpii  ti 


fl  (™Xkc 


King  Hebuehadnewar,  NifiuxaJfa" 

"howBBluru'd  for  Ilia  iinstoagraziBi',  On  BXflpmrin  ..^   ■'-■ iv 

'or  ILbt  Hopp' J  his  aUowancB  of  praties,  "  Bcujinf  ro  oJuXdv 

ad  made  him  eat  yraes  on  the  banks  of  O  /^apSapoc  /i.,  SnXuv, 

Supbntes),  MeyoAijv  npn.pwv  Aiuif 

WhOK  sUlue  Sir  Thomna  •''"  ^A'D""-  ^wKa*-. 

Took  from  as  ■,  ^•"  ^  <•«"  P'5'  Semap. 

with  tho  ima«>  of  Csour  :  "t  yvoaimi  o  ♦PAIEAP) 

nu  r'rank  Cret«w<Jl  will  teil  liie  wholu  ^a  Eup  np.iFr  aval   if 

«ofT  to  Pnuer  :)  ^'V  "C""-  '"lOfl*'*. 

boagh  thn  Ira  him  a  eapilai  ra.or,  "  1-^"  ""  XO'T""' 

■  with  hi»  hur  E<'eflp..-oi,  wA=.,c  »v 


DT  vwit  of  Eukeiruguneii: 


eqpu 


'   EVKElI'OrEN'ElOM, 


92 


TATHXB  PSOTTTB  BELIQUEP. 


PBOTJT. 

I  don't  tlimk  it  fair  that  Frank  Cresswell  should  say  no- 
thing all  the  evening.  Up,  up,  mj  hoy !  give  us  a  speech  or 
a  stave  of  some  kind  or  other.  Have  you  never  been  at 
school  ?  Come,  let  us  have  ''  Norval  on  the  Grampian 
hills,"  or  something  or  other. 

Thus  apostrophized,  O  Queen !  I  put  my  wits  together ; 
and,  anxious  to  contribute  my  quota  to  the  common  fund  of 
classic  enjoyment,  I  selected  the  immortal  ode  of  Campbell, 
and  gave  a  Latin  translation  in  rhyme  as  well  as  I  could. 


C|)e  SattU  of  J^oi^enltnllen*     Pralium  apud  Hohenlinden. 

On  Linden,  yvhea  the  sun  was  low,      Sol  ruit  cqbIo  minnitque  lumen, 
All  bloodless  layth*  untrodden  snow,        Kix  super  terris  jacet   usquo 
And  dark  as  winter  was  the  flow  munda, 

Of  Iser  rolling  rapidly.  Et  tenebros&  fluit  Iser  undA 

Flebile  flumen ! 


But  Linden  saw  another  sight, 
When  the  drums  beat  at  dead  of 

night, 
Commanding  fires  of  death  to  light 
The  darkness  of  the  scenery. 


By  torch  and  trumpet  fast  array' d. 
Each  horseman  drew  his  battle-blade. 
And  furious  every  charger  neigh'd 
To  join  the  dreadful  rivalry. 


Then  shook  the  hills,  by  thimder 

riven; 
Then  rush'd   the  steed,  to  battle 

driven  : 
And  louder  than  the  bolts  of  heaven 
Far  flashed  the  red  artillery ! 

The  combat  thickens !  on,  ye  brave ! 
Who  rush  to  glory  or  the  grave. 
Wave,   Munich!    all   thy   banners 
wave, 


Namque    noctumus    simul  arsit 
ignis. 
Tympanum  rauco  sonuit  boatu, 
Dum  micant  flammis,  agitante 
flatu, 

Bura  malignim 

Jam  dedit  vocem  tuba!  fax  ru- 
bentes 
Ordinat  turmis  equites,  et  vltrb 
Fert    equos     ardor^    ruftilAnte 
cultro. 

Ire  fiirentes. 

Tum  sono  coUes  tremuere  belli, 
Tum  ruit   campo    sonipes,  et 

8Dther 
Mugit,  et  rubr&  tonitru  Tidetnr 
Aroerevelli! 


Ingruit  strages !  cit6,  ferte  gi«e- 
sum! 
Quos   triumphantem  rodhnere 
pulchro 


Lnd  «)iarge  with  aJI  thy  ahinJrj  t        Tcmpori  linrum  yant  I  aut  le- 


pwobr 


Sure  cupreMum ! 

tew  sbttU  [wrt  where  niuiy  Hie  nbi  eampom  premuere  molti, 

BiHel!  Trcia  quJUii  rari  potris  nde- 

fiipw  (hall   ba  their  nindkig-  bunt  I 

clievt,  Heu  •vpulchroli  lUTe  quot  m>- 

rtiwj  tod  benmth  their  feet  nebunt, 

Shall  be  »  Mldier'*  lepukhre  1  Pol  t  nee  iniilli  I 

8ucb,  0  Queea!  was  my  feeble  effort:  tad  to  your  foB- 
terrag  liiaduess  1  commit  the  luckteea  abortion.  Hoping  ta 
Ve  forgiveD  by  Tom  Campbell  for  having  upset  into  very  in- 
adequate Laiin  hia  spirit-stiiriDg  poetry.  X  made  amende, 
towwer,  to  the  jufltly  enraged  Muse,  by  eliciting  the  fol- 
lowing lUtliyrambic  &om  Dan  Corbet,  whom  I  challenged 
in  aj  turn : 

San  Cotbtt's  douf[. 
The  loory  Tooth. 

Bdiere  me,  desrProut, 
Shonir  a  tooth  e'er  grow  looee  in  joar  head. 

Or  bU  out, 
AnA  perchuice  jou'd  with  one  in  its  ■tend, 
SoOD  jou'd  see  whiU  my  Art  «iuld  conlrKe  for  je  | 

When  I'd  forth wilh  produce. 

Foe  jour  rererenee'a  use, 
A  cunt  beautiful  tooth  catrrtd  from  iiorj ! 

Which,  when  dinnE^r-tinie  nomea. 

Would  »o  well  fit  your  gums, 

That  to  male  one  aiiperior 

'Twould  puiilo  a  iairj,  or 

An;  CDte  Lepreo^wn 

Hist  trip*  o'er  the  lawn. 

Or  the  apirit  that  dwells 

In  the  looel;  harebells. 
Or  ft  nit^  from  the  big  lake  Ontario  I 

Twould  fit  in  10  tight, 

So  brilliant  and  bright. 

And  be  niade  of  audi  mpilol  atuff. 

Hint  no  food 

Huat  needs  be  eacbew'd 
On  account  of  ita  being  too  tough  t 


91  TATIUEB  PBOVT  8  BBLIQUSB. 

*Twould  enable  a  sibyl 
The  hardest  sea-biscuit  to  nibble ; 
Nay,  with  such  a  sharp  tusk,  and  such  polished  enamel^ 
Dear  Prout,  you  could  eat  up  a  camel ! 

Aa  I  know  you  will  judge 
With  eye  microscopic 
What  I  say  on  this  delicate  topic, 
And  I  wish  to  beware  of  all  fudge^ 
I  tell  but  the  bare  naked  truth. 
And  I  hope  I  don't  state  what's  irrelevant. 
When  I  say  that  this  tooth, 
Brought  from  Africa,  when 
In  the  depths  of  a  palm-shaded  glen 
It  was  captured  by  men. 
Then  adorned  in  the  full  bloom  of  youth. 
The  jaws  of  a  blood-royal  elephant. 

We  are  told. 
That  a  surgeon  of  old — 
Oh,  'tis  he  was  well  skilled  in  the  art  of  nosology ! 
For  such  was  his  knowledge,  he 
Gould  make  you  a  nose  bran  new ! 
I  scarce  can  believe  it,  can  you  P 
And  still  did  a  public  most  keen  and  diBoeming 
Acknowledge  his  learning ; 
Yea,  such  skill  was  his, 
That  on  any  unfortunate  phiz. 
By  some  luckless  chance. 
In  the  wars  of  France, 
Deprived  of  its  fleshy  ridge. 
He  d  raise  up  a  nasal  bri(^e. 

Now  my  genius  is  not  so  precocious 
As  that  of  Dr.  Tagliacotius, 
For  I  only  profess  to  be  versed  in  the  art  of  dontciugy  % 
To  make  you  a  nose 
"  C'est  toute  autre  chose ;" 
For  at  best,  my  dear  Prout, 
Instead  of  a  human  snout. 

You'd  get  but  a  sorry  apology. 
But  let  mo  alone  ^ 

For  stopping  a  gap,  or  correcting  a  flaw 
In  a  patient's  jaw ; 
Or  making  a  tooth  that,  like  bone  of  your  bo33^ 
Will  outlive  your  own. 
And  shine  on  in  the  grave  when  your  spirit  is  flown. 


TOE  V&TEBOBl.SSUtUi  CA&OCSAX. 

I  know  tlieni'a  a  blorkbcad 
Thnt  will  put  you  ■  trotli  np  with  wires, 
Ami  thru,  trhrn  tlie  clami]'  ib  ing  tires, 

Tliii  moit  inipuJent  fetlow 

WOl  quietljr  Wl  you 
To  uke  it  out  of  its  socket, 
jLid  put  it  bwk  into  jour  waiBtaiat  pocket  1 

But  'ris  not  w  with  mine, 

0  most  latmed  diriDe ! 
For  without  uij  tporiouB  auiiliorj, 
So  flrmlr  inOiod  iu  ;rour  deil«r  nuuiUarf, 

To  jour  lut  djiog  itiomaDl  'twill  sliiiie, 
UolesB  'tis  knock'd  out, 
In  some  desperaf*  rout, 
B7  m  niddea  ducharge  of  BrtiUury. 

Tluu  the  firmer  'twill  grow  is  the  wsui!r  grows  older. 
And  Ihtai,  when  in  death  you  sliull  moiUJer, 
Like  (hat  Greek  who  had  gottiui  an  ivorf  shoulder, 
The  dflight  and  unaioment  of  er'r;  beholder, 
Toa'U  he  lung  bj  tlie  poiMi  iu  your  turn,  O ! 
"  Dtnlt  PtouI  hmtUToque  Ftlopt  ituv/nii  ebamo  I 

ViBo.  G'car;.  //. 


Come,  old  Prout,  let'a  have  a  stave! 
>ur  beollib,  my  old  oouk  I 


The  excellent  old  mnn  acknowledged  tbe  toa§t  with  be- 
ymnfi  dl^niW.  and  tunefully  warbled  the  Lalitt  original  of 
M  of  "  tie  Melodies." 

^Zt^re  Snnt'i  jbons-  Prout  cantal. 

K  BnD   Ninembcr  the  days   of  O!  atimiui  sa.-ios  iu«  lerua  re<;o- 

ttrt  her  (klthlrss  sons  hetmy'd        Antfa  qiuLm  unti  Tincta  ded£ra 

irfT,  pati, 

ikoi  Ualachi  wore  the  rollar  of  OEun  UJttachu*  torqve  ut  patrio 

(olil,  defensor  hooorquo 

Wludi  his  won  from  the  proud       Ibnti  emtier^  pigniu  abhoata 

iaiader ;  ten. 


96  FATHEB  PBOUT'B  BELIQ17S8. 

When  Nial,  with  standard  of  green  Tempore  yezillo  Tiridante  eqiiit%- 

unfurrd,  bat  in  illo 

Led  the  red-branch  knighta  to  Nialue  ante   truoea  ferridoe  irs 

danger,  dnoee. 

Ere  the  emerald  gem  of  the  weet-  1^  nee  erant  annl  radiia  in  frtmta 

em  world  tyranni 

Was  set  in  the  brow  of  a  stran-  Fulgeat  ut   claria,  insula  gemma 

ger.  maru. 

On  Lough  Neagh's  banks  as  the  Quando  taoet  yentua,  Keagh«  dhm 

fisherman  strays,  margine  lentoa 

When  the  cool,  cfdm  eye*s  de-  Piscatorradit,  Tespownt  umbra 

dining,  cadit, 

He  sees  the  round  towers  of  other  Contemplans  undas,  ibi  tmres 

days  rotundas 

Beneath  the  waters  shining.  Credidit,  inque  lacika  oppida 

So  shall  memory  oil,  in  dream  sub-  nit  aquis. 

lime,  Sic  memori  in  Bomnia   res  gesia 

Catch  a  glimpse  of  the  days  that  reponitur  omnis 

are  over,  Histonoosque  dies  rettulit  ahna 

And,  sighing,    look    through   the  qaies, 

waves  of  time,  Gloria  sublimis  se  efiert  h  fluetibus 

For  the  long-feided  glories  they  imis, 

cover.  Atque  apparet  ibi  patria  cara  tibi 


PBOTTT. 

I  now  call  on  mj  worthy  friend  Dowden,  wHom  I  am 
Sony  to  see  indulging  in  nothing  but  soda  all  the  evening : 
come,  President  of  the  "  Temperance,"  and  ornament  of"  the 
Kirk,"  a  song ! 


9tc&  SoiDtlen'i^  dong* 

Ais— <<  /ftf^  Me  Maid  of  Lodi:* 

I  sing  the  fount  of  soda,  Kpurrov  fitv  ro  v^wp — 

Tlmt  sweetly  springs  for  me.  So  Pindar  sang  of  old. 

And  I  hope  to  make  this  ode  a  Though  modem  bards  — prak  f » 

Delightful  melody  ;  dor  ! — 

For  if  **  Castalian**  water  Deem  water  dull  and  oold ; 

Refreshed  the  tuneful  nine.  But  if  at  my  suggestion 

Health  to  the  Muse!  IVe  brought  her  Th^*d  try  the  crystal  spring, 

A  bubbling  draught  of  mine.  They'd  find  that,  for  diction. 

Pure  element's  the  thzug. 


Vilk  aods'i  dieerfiil  euence 

Tb'T'iJ  fill  Uie  brimming  glsiti, 
And  ueI  thn  mild  'ferreaoenue 

Of  bjdrogpn  and  nt  t 
Hat  qiuff  Qencra'*  liquor — 

Source  of  ■  thouund  illi ! 
Sot  mill  the  poisonous  ichor 

Cork  (to  btr  ahune!)  diitila. 

in  i<  k  Inrkine  rip^r, 

7^t  rtingft  tbe  nuddcnDd  Houl, 
nd  Rmi«i)n  j»\i  (lie  iiiner. 

While  Folli  dn.t<ij>  Tlie  bowl ; 
Cd  rum,  Inldr  nf  moLuiBl, 

lodinrth  nun  lo  ain  j 
nil  Car  /lOfAnn  guqiutei 

1^  (loiluil  1)1  giu. 

nl  parvt  air  in  Gitnre 

Farmdcv  tli(>  ttnia  draught, 
nd  torma  (lie  iilplilikK  mixlu 
Brewed  b;  our  girntli:  crnll. 


ILL  c*80traAL.  97 

Nor  IS  lbs  bavaisge  injured 
Wlien  UsTOUPod  willi  a  lime ; 

Or  ir,  ■hen  sliglitly  pngwed, 
'Til  uraUoved  off  in  liiae. 

Far  from  the  t»nt«  of  foper* 

Slcat  bo  roj  lot  to  dwell, 
Spoure  from  interlope™ 

At  jiesoeful  "Sundai/'i  milt." 
Free  o'er  mj  luwn  to  wander. 

Amid  ivnei  Qowers  and  fruit*  ( 
A  iid  insj  I  BliU  grow  fonder 

Of  eheDiical  punuitx. 

Through  life  with  step  unnrine 

To  glide,  nor  wenlth  to  board. 
Content  if  B  red  herring 

Adorn  my  frugul  bou^  ; 
Wtiile  Mnrlha,  mild  and  pUcid, 

Amin}f9  iha  bousehold  CHreft, 
A-nd  pyroiigneout  acid 

The  juiuy  ham  prepnres. 


That  is  II  capital  defence  of  the  Temperance  Society,  and 
'  KodAin  compounds.  Mr.  Dowden,  and  clearly  refutes  the 
■h  Mierliou  of  Horace— 


Dick,  ycu  bare  a  decided  claim  fur  a  aong  on  any  of 
leata  wlioae  melodious  pipe  we  have  not  as  yet  heard. 


I  call  on  O'Meara,  whom  I  have  detected  watching,  with 
Goretotu  eye,  somelluDg  iu  the  distant  landscape.  A  song. 


1  un  free  to  confess  that  yonder  turkey,  of  which  I  can 
rt  a  glimpse  through  the  kitchen-door,  baa  a  must  tempt- 


08 


TATHEB  FBOUT'S  BBLIQUBS. 


ing  aspect.  Would  it  were  spitted l—but,  alas!  this  is 
Friday.  However,  there  are  substitutes  even  for  a  turkey, 
as  I  shall  endeavour  to  demonstrate  in  the  most  elegant 
style  of  Franciscan  I^atinity ;  adding  a  free  translation  for 
the  use  of  the  ignorant. 


dTnar  ©'flJeara'g  Song. 

Why  then,  sure  it  was  made  hy  a  learn- 
ed owl. 
The  "  rule"  by  which  I  beg,  ' 
Forbidding  to  eat  of  the  tender  fowl 
That  hangs  on  yonder  peg. 
But^  rot  it !  no  matter : 
For  here  on  a  platter. 
Sweet  Margaret  brings 
A  food  fit  for  kings  ; 
And  a  meat 
CUnm  and  neat — 
That's  an  egg ! 

Sweet  maid, 
She  brings  me  an  egg  newly  laid ! 
And  to  fast  I  need  ne'er  be  afraid. 
For  'tis  Teg 
That  can  find  me  an  egg. 


Cantilena  Omearira. 

I. 

Nostrft  non  est  regulA 

Edenda  gallina. 
Altera  sed  edula 

Splendent  in  culina : 
Ora  manus  sedula 

Affert  mlhi  bi«ia ! 
Est  Margarita^ 
Quffi  facit  ita, 

Fuellarom  regiua ! 


Three  diflfercnt  ways  there  are  of  eat- 
ing them ; 
First  boil'd,  then  fried  with  salt, — 
But  there's  a  particular  way  of  treating 
them. 
Where  many  a  cook's  at  iault : 
For  with  parsley  and  flour 
'Tia  in  Margaret's  power 
To  make  uj)  a  dish, 
Keitliejr  moat,  fowl,  nor  fish ; 
But  in  Paris  they  call 't 
A  neat 
Omelette. 
Sweet  girl ! 
In  truth,  as  in  Latin,  her  name  ia  ft 
pearl. 

When  she  gets 
Me  a  platter  of  nice  omelettes. 


n. 

Triplex  mos  est  cdere: 

Prim6,  genuina ; 
Dein,  certo  foMlere 

Testa,  et  salinat 
Tum,  nil  herbse  Isdere 

Po»sunt  aut  flanna  | 
Est  Margarita, 
QuBB  facit  ita, 

Puellarum  reginAl 


'.   WiTEB0HAS3HU<l   CABOfSAL. 


tMi!  'til  »11  in  m^  tjo,  uid  ajoke, 
To  call  fiMlJo;  a  •orroWful  jnku ; 
tim,  of  Dutilin-bii}'  hurringt  a  kt'g, 

And  ui  eg^, 
1*  enmigli  for  nil  d^aiblr  futk  I 
%»om^  to  Ibe  fhiennt  turf-»inoko, 
A  mrU  round  the  nui  rni  the  fire  ( 
.Fhifc  Uw  BWfrt  j.;UoB  Tolk 
L  Aom  Uie  *{Eg-alieU>  in  broke 
In  ibat  inn. 
Who  mv, 
^It  ha  hare  but  the  bmrt  of  a  mui, 
N  leal  din  aaft  flaniB  of  desin^. 

it  bunu  to  •  diulur  the  liaaiot 


(Uala  e  nunfow.) 
Tempns  atulta  pleba  abhorret 

QuadrBgesiuiale ; 
Hideo  Bed  ai  in  menai  forel, 
.     H«  iret  non  tam  male ! 
Ova  dum  hue  ii;:npha  torret 
In  olU  cum  «ale. 
Eat  liUrgsrita, 
Qu«  hc\t  ila, 
Fuelliuimi  Terms. ! 


I  cuiocidr?  nitli  all  that  lias  been  said  in  praise  of  eggs  ; 
1  liATe  writt«u  a  vtiluaibous  esanj  on  the  subject ;  and  as 
to  frriui;  them  in  a  pan,  it  is  decidedly  the  beet  method. 
Tji.iT  iiiLiTiious  iniiti,  CroiVia  Crolter,  waa  the  first  among 
-'i.l  rdi.  V  nli-rs  on '■  UBcful  knowledge"  who  adorn  this  utili- 
Tn-  .1.1  I  :-icii  to  discover  the  si  rikt  ag  reserab  lance  that  exists 
U'lui'iti  iluse  two  delightful  objects  in  natural  history,  a 
•litity  and  a  fritd  tgg.  Eifga  broken  into  a  pan  seem  enrir- 
Hed  with  a  whitish  border,  having  a  yeilow  nucleifB  in  the 
crntfp;  and  the  similar  appearance  of  the  field-daisy  ought 
t(i  have  lung  since  drawn  the  notice  of  Wordsworth.  Mean- 
(iiii«,  in  the  matter  of  firing  eggs,  care  should  be  taken  not 
to  overdo  them,  as  an  old  pliilotwpher  has  said — /itXim  ro  tu*. 
But  let  nonp  imagine  that  in  all  1  have  said  I  intend  to 
hint,  in  tbo  nsmotcBt  manner,  any  approval  of  that  barbarous 
and  tmtulural  eombination — that  burrid  amalgam,  yclept  a 
pameaht,  tJmu  which  nothing  can  be  more  detestable. 


I  Bato  5011  any  objectiiTD.  learned  host,  to  our  hearing  n 
'*0  nutrumcmtal  miiaic?     Huppoae  we  got  a  tune  on  the 
e  ?     I  uuiU^nttind  your  maji,  Torry  Callaghan,  can 
c  Ui«  bofc*  t^  '>U">o  purpose. 

11  2 


100  rATHBB  PB0UT*8  BXLIQ1T£S. 

PEOUT. 

Terrjr !  come  in,  and  bring  your  pipes ! 

Teny,  nothing  loath,  came,  though  with  some  diffi 
and  rather  unsteadily,  from  the  kitchen ;  and  having 
blisbed  himself  on  a  three-legged  stool  (the  usual  » 
Fythonic  inspiration),  ^re,  after  a  short  prelude,  tfa 
lowing  harmonious  strain,  with  vocal  accompaniment  1 
the  tuneful  drone  of  the  bags :  in  which  arrangeme 
strictly  adhered  to  the  Homeric  practice ;  for  we  fine 
the  most  approved  and  highly  gifted  minstrels  of  the  '* 
sey,"  (especially  that  model  among  the  bards  of  anti 
Demodocus),  owing  to  their  contempt  for  wind-instrui 
were  enabled  to  play  and  sing  at  the  same  time ;  but  n 
the  lyre,  the  plectrum,  the  ^op/jkty^,  the  chelys,  the  te 
or  the  barbiton,  afford  such  facilities  for  the  concom 
of  voice  and  music  as  that  wondrous  engine  of  harmon; 
Celtic  bagpipe,  called  "  corne  muse "  by  the  French, 
par  excellence  "comu  musa.^*  Terry,  having  exalted  his 
sang  thus  : 

Being  a  full  and  true  Account  of  the  Storming  of  Blarney  Cast^ 
the  united  forces  of  Cromwell,  Ireton,  and  Fairfax,  in  1628 

Ant— ''Pm  akin  to  the  CaUagham,** 

O  Blarney  Castle,  my  darlint ! 

Sure  you're  nothing  at  aU  but  a  stone 
Wrapt  m  ivy— a  nest  for  all  yarmint, 

Sinee  the  ould  Lord  Clancarty  is  gone. 
Och !  'tis  you  that  was  once  strong  and  aincienti 

And  ye  kep  all  the  Sassenachs  down, 
While  fighting  them  battles  that  aint  yet 

Forgotten  by  martial  renown. 

O  Blarney*  Castle,  &o. 

Bad  luck  to  that  robber,  ould  Crommill ! 
That  plundered  our  beautiful  fort ; 

We'll  never  forgive  him,  though  some  will- 
Saxons  !  such  as  G«orge  £napp  and  his  soit. 

But  they  t«ll  us  the  day  '11  oome,  when  Dannel 
Will  purge  the  whole  country,  and  drive 

All  the  Sassenachs  into  the  chMinel, 
Nor  leave  a  Cromwellian  alive. 

O  Blarney  Castle,  Ac 


TILE    W^TEBOAASSHILL   CAKOUS&l.. 

Cnne  One  day  cliussj  KoU'i  uelj  cerpHt, 

Clod  ID  copper,  wu  aeeo  an  our  plutii  j 
When  ha  roojed  over  here  lik?  a  porfioiee, 

In  two  Qr  IhrM  liuaken  from  S)iaiD ! 
And  b«kiue  that  he  was  h  frcctimsan 

H»  mounted  b  butlering-run, 
And  into  her  mouth,  full  of  ttu»on, 

Tiretity  pound  of  gimnowder  hu'd  cram. 
O  Blarney  Castle,  Ac. 
So  oheD  the  bnve  boja  of  Cluictrtj 

Looked  otcr  their  battle menl-nuU, 
Thnr  uw  wicked  OliTer'i  partj 

All  &  ftedjog  on  powder  mod  ball ; 
jlnd  Uul  gininl  that  married  hie  daughter. 

Wid  s  heap  of  grape-Bhol  in  his  jaw- 
That'*  bonld  Iretoo,  to  iamoua  for  ilaughttr— 

And  he  wu  his  brolhcr-in-law. 

O  Blame;  Cutle,  Ac. 
Ilunr  Sred  off  their  boIleK  like  thunder, 

iliat  whizied  t  hrnneb  the  air  like  B  anatM  | 
And  thej  mitde  the  ould  castle  (no  wonder  1) 

With  all  il«  foundations  to  ahakc. 
While  the  Irith  had  nothing  to  aboot  off 

But  their  bows  and  their  orraa,  the  sowls  I 
WaTpoDt  at  for  the  wan  of  old  PtuUrch, 

And  perhaps  mighty  ftood  for  wild  fowls, 
O  Blarney  Ciulle,  te. 
Och !  'twu  Oromniill  then  gave  the  dark  l«keli— 

For  In  the  block  art  he  «««  deep  ; 
And  tho'  the  ejea  of  the  Irish  stood  open, 

Thi:^  found  themselTea  all  bsl  aileepl 
With  his  jack- boots  he  stepped  on  the  water. 

And  he  walked  clanu  righb  over  the  take  i 
While  his  sodgers  thej  all  followed  oftcr. 

As  dry  as  a  duck  or  a  drake. 

O  Bkroey  Caslte,  Ic. 
Then  the  gates  he  burnt  down  to  a  cinder. 

And  the  roof  be  demolighcd  likewise ; 
0 1  the  rsflfra  tbej  flamed  out  hke  tinder. 

And  the  buildin'jtarjrf  up  to  the  ikics. 
And  he  gare  the  estate  to  the  Jeb'ers, 

With  the  dury,  the  cow%  and  the  hay  i 
And  thpy  lieed  there  in  clover  like  heifers. 

As  their  anc«Con  do  to  this  day. 

O  Blnmuy  Castle,  Ac 

A  mw  the  song  of  Terry,  in  the  chonis  of  which  ne 
kided  hj  the  iiympatbetic    barytou  of  Jack  Bellew'i 


102  7ATHEB  PBOUT'S  BELIQ1TE8. 

voice,  never  silent  when  his  country's  woes  are  the  theme 
of  eloquence  or  minstrelsy.  An  incipient  Bomnolen<rf^  be- 
gan, however,  to  manifest  itself  in  Corbet  and  Dick  J)ow- 
den ;  and  I  confess  I  myself  can  recoUect  little  else  of  the 
occurrences  of  the  evening.  Wherefore  with  this  epilogue  we 
conclude  our  account  of  the  repast  on  Watergrasshill,  ob- 
serving that  Sir  Walter  Scott  was  highly  pleased  with  the 
sacerdotal  banquet,  and  expressed  himself  so  to  EInapp ;  to 
whom,  on  their  return  in  a  post-chaise  to  Cork,  ne  ex- 
claimed, 

^  Froniis  jucund^  coenam  produzimuB  illam.'* — Hoa. 


No.  IV. 

DEAK  swift's  MADNESS.      A  TALE  OE  A  CHUBIT. 

dTtem  ti)e  $reut  ^aperitf. 

"  O  thou,  whatever  title  please  thine  car, 
Dean,  Drapier,  Bickerataff,  or  Gulliver — 
Whether  thou  choose  Cervantes'  serious  air, 
Or  laugh  and  shake  in  Rab'lais'  easy  chair, 
Or  praise  the  court,  or  magnify  mankind. 
Or  thy  grieved  country's  copper  chains  unbind !" 

POPK. 

We  are  perfectly  prepared  for  the  overwhelming  burst  of 
felicitation  which  we  shall  elicit  from  a  sympathizing  public, 
when  we  announce  the  glad  tidings  of  the  safe  amval  in 
London  of  the  Watergrasshill  "  chest,"  fraught  with  trei- 
Hures  such  as  no  Spanish  galleon  ever  wafted  from  Manilla 
or  Peru  into  the  waters  of  the  Gruadalquiver.     From  the  re- 
mote Irish  highland  where  Prout  wasted  so  much  Athenian 
suavity  on  the  desert  air,  unnoticed  and  unappreciated  by 
the  rude  tenants  of  the  hamlet,  his  trunk  of  posthumouB 
papers  has  been  brought  into   our   cabinet ;  and  there  it 
stands  before  us,  like  unto  the  Trojan  horse,  replete  with  the 
armedoffspring  ofthe  great  man's  brain,rightwell packed  with 


BBAK    SWiyr'S    MADNKMB.  103 

Mie  stuffing — ay,  pregnant  with  life  and  glory  !  Haply  bns 
Kite  decreed  llmt  it  iliould  fall  into  proper  hands  ano  lit- 
custody  ;  eliie  to  wliat  vile  uaea  might  not  thiti  vile  boi 
mmed  lumber  have    been    iiriwittiugly  converted — we 
ikuddcr  in  "pirit  at  the  jJiMhable  deMtiny  that  would  have 
ivaited  it.     The  Caliph  Omar  wanuod  the  batli  of  Alei- 
indria  iirith   Ptoiemy'a  library ;  and  the  "  I'rout  Papers " 
gbt  ere  unw  be  lighting  tlie  pipes  uf  "  the  boys  "  in  Blur- 
j  Lane,  wliile  the  chest  itaelF  might  affurd  niuteriala  (or  a 
Siree-legged  etool — '■  Trnnem ficutuiu,  mitiUi  l^twm .'" 

lu  verity  it  oitglit  to  be  tdlowable  at  times  to  indulge  in 
jut  most  pleasing  opiate,  eelf-applause ;  and  having  made 
90  goodly  RD  acquisition,  why  Bnould  not  wo  chiiL-kk-  in- 
tnrdly  while  congratulated  from  without,  ever  and  anuu 
glancing  an  eye  of  satisfoctioa  at  the  cheat : 

"  Mllii  plaudo  ipsD  domj,  umul  bo  eontemplor  jn  nrcA  '." 

Hewr  did  that  learned  ei-Jesuit,  AngeloMai,  now  librarian 

of  the  Vatican,  rejoice  more  over  a  "palimpsest  "MS. of  some 

cruy  old  monk,  io  which  liia  quick  eye  fondly  bad  detected 

the  long-lost,  decade  of  Livy — never  did  friend  Pettigrew 

gloBt  over  a  newly  uncolfined  mummy — (warranted  of  the 

pv  of  Scsvstris) — never  did  (that  living  mummy)  Maurice 

de  IWleyrand  exult  over  a.  fresh  bundle  of  Palmerstonian 

Protocols,  with  more  internal  complacencjr, — than  did  we, 

obilating  over  this  aacerdota!  anthology, this  miscellany  "in 

POftnla,"  at  Isnt  tutfely  lodged  in  our  poaaegBion. 

ApTojmt.    We  Bhould  mention  that  we  had  jjreviously  the 

Hour  of  ret-eiving  from  his  Eicellency   Prince  Maurice 

foresaid)  the  following  note,  to  which  it  grieved   ua  to 

a  flat  negative. 
•LePriucede  Talleyrand  prie  Mr.  Olivieb  Yoeke  d'agn^er 
retpectueux  bommogea.  Ayauteu  I'avantagede  eounaitre  ' 
sonellement  feu  TAob^  de  Prout  lora  de  aes  t'tudea  d  la 
rbonae  en  1778,  il  aerait  charm^.  sitflt  qu'arrivorout  lea 
tiers  de  ce  respectable  ecclesioatique.  d'osBtater  \  I'ouver- 
du  coffre.  Cette  faveur,  qu'il  ae  flatte  d'obtenir  de  la 
reconnue  de  Monsieur  Yobee,  il  sfaura  duemeut 
ipr^cier. 

*■  Amhanait  tU  F/anet.  Hatiovre  Sf. 
"«3/"in." 


104  rJLTHJBB   PSOUT*S  BSIiIQirSS. 

We  suspected  at  onoe,  and  our  surmise  has  proTed  correet^ 
that  many  documents  would  be  found  referring  to  Marie 
Antoinette's  betrayers,  and  the  practices  of  those  three 
prime  intriguers,  Mirabeau,  Cagliostro,  and  Prince  Maurice; 
so  that  we  did  well  in  eschewing  the  honour  intended  us  in 
overhauling  these  papers — Xon  **  TaJley  "  auxilio ! 

We  hate  a  flourish  of  trumpets ;  and  though  we  could 
justly  command  all  the  clarions  of  renown  to  usher  in  these 
Proiit  ¥rritings,  let  theirown  intrinsic  worth  bethe  sole  herald 
of  their  fame.      We  are  not  like  the  rest  of  men — ^that 


is,  such  as  Lardner  and  Bob  ^Montgomery — obliged  to 
inflate  our  cheeks  with  incessant  effort  to  olow  our  com- 
modities into  notoriety.  No !  we  are  not  disciples  in  the 
school  of  Puffendorf :  FrouVsJish  will  be  found  firesh  and 
substantial — not ''  blo¥m,"  as  happens  too  frequently  in  the 
Jiterary  market.  We  have  more  than  once  acknowledged 
the  unsought  and  unpprchased  plaudits  of  our  contempora- 
ries :  but  it  is  also  to  thb  imperishable  verdict  of  posterity  that 
we  ultimately  look  for  a  ratification  of  modem  applause ; 
with  Cicero  we  exclaim — *  MemoriA  vestri,  Quirites,  nostne 
res  vivent,  sermonibus  crescent,  litterarum  monumentis 
veterascent  et  corroborabuntur!"  Yes  !  while  the  epheme- 
ral writers  of  the  day,  mere  bubbles  on  the  surface  of  the 
flood,  will  become  extinct  in  succession,  —  while  a  few, 
more  lucky  than  their  comrade  dunces,  may  continue 
for  a  space  to  swim  with  the  aid  of  those  vile  bladders,  news- 

Saper  puffs,  Father  Prout  will  be  seen  floating  triumphantly 
own  the  stream  of  time,  secure  and  buoyant  in  a  genuine 
"  Cork  "  jacket. 

We  owe  it  to  the  public  to  account  for  the  delay  exp^* 
enced  in  the  transmission  of  the  *' chest'*  from  Watergrasshill 
to  oiu*  hands.  The  fact  is,  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  parishioners 
held  on  the  subject  (Mat  Horrogan,  of  Blarney,  in  the 
chair),  it  was  resolved,  "  That  Terry  Callaghan,  being  a  tall 
and  trustworthy  man,  able  to  do  credit  to  the  village  in 
London,  and  carry  eleven  stone  weight  (the  precise  tariff  of 
the  trunk),  should  be  sent  at  the  pubUc  expense,  rt^  Bristol, 
with  the  coffer  strapped  to  his  shoulders,  and  plenty  of  the 
wherewithal  to  procure  *  refreshment  *  on  the  western  road, 
mtil  he  should  deliver  the  same  at  Mr.  Eraser's,  B^ent 
Street,  with  the  compliments  of  the  parish."    Terry,  wisely 


beat;  bwtft's  midxesi.  1(J5 

cansi<l«riD^.  like  the  CoinniisBiiinera  of  the  Deocan  prize- 
moaiBf,  that  the  occupation  vaa  too  good  a  thing  not  to 
make  it  lust  as  lotig  lu  iKjaaiblu,  kept  refrcahing  himself,  at 
the  cost  af  the  pnrochiui  committee,  on  the  great  weatem 
ro«d,  and  only  arrived  lait  weeli  lu  Eegent  Street.  Haviiig 
duly  stopped  to  admire  Lady  Aldborough'e  "  round  tower, 
»et  up  to  honour  the  Duke  of  York,  and  elbowed  his  way 
through  the  "  Sqitadrint,"  he  at  last  mode  his  appearance 
at  our  ofiioe ;  anil  when  be  had  there  discharged  nie  load, 
went  off  to  take  pot-luck  with  Feargua  O'Connor. 

Herv,  then,  we  are  enabled,  no  longer  Hefemng  the  pro- 
mised boon,  to  lay  before  the  public  tho  first  of  the  "  Ppout 
Papere  ;"  breaking  bulk,  to  use  a  seaman's  phrase,  and  pro- 
ducing at  hazard  a  specimen  of  what  is  contained  in  the 
cofier  brooght  hither  on  the  shoulders  of  tall  and  trust- 
worthy Terry  CuUa^'han. 

"  Pondera  rea  ail4  Tord  et  Catigmt  merm*." 

OLIVER  TOEKJS. 


(,  1.*  July,  1834. 


H'alrrs,rauAill,  March  1830. 
Tn  a  few  years,  and  a  full  century  shall  hare  elapsed  since 
tho  death  of  Dr.  Jonathan  Swift,  Dean  of  St.  Patrick's.  Tea, 
0  my  friends  !  if  such  I  may  presume  to  designate  you  into 
I  whose  haniU,  when  I  am  gathered  to  the  silent  tomb,  these 
I  writinga  shall  fall,  and  to  whose  kindly  perusal  I  commend 
tbem,  bequeathing,  at  the  same  time,  the  posthumous  bless- 
ing of  n  feeble  and  toil-worn  old  man — yes.  when  a  few  win- 
ter* nii'ire  shall  have  added  to  the  accumulated  snow  of  age 
tiiat  Weighs  on  the  hoary  head  of  the  pastor  of  this  upland, 
aud  a  short  period  sball  have  rolled  on  in  the  dull  monotony 
of  these  Intt«r  days,  the  centenary  cycle  will  be  fully  com- 
pU-ted,  the  secular  anthem  of  dirge-like  solemnity  mav  be 
■one,  since  the  grave  dosed  for  ever  on  one  whom  Britain 
justly  rweres  as  the  most  upright,  intuitive,  and  gii^d  of 
IWT  ngee ;  and  whom  Ireland,  when  the  fi^euiied  hour  of 
■trite  shall  have  pissed  away,  and  the  turbulence  of  parties 
riull  bare  subsided  into  a  national  calm,  will  hail  witli  t^a 


106  TATHEfi  FBOUT'b   BELIQUXS. 

rapture  of  returning  reason,  as  the  first,  the  best,  the  mighti- 
est of  her  sons.  The  long  arrears  of  gratitude  to  the  only 
true  disinterested  champion  of  her  people  will  then  be  paid— 
the  long-deferred  apotheosis  of  the  patriot-divine  will  then 
take  place— the  shamefully- forgotten  debt  of  glory  which  the 
lustre  of  his  genius  shed  around  his  semi-barbarous  country- 
men will  be  deeply  and  feelingly  remembered  ;  the  old  land- 
mark of  genuine  worth  will  be  discovered  in  the  ebbing  of 
modem  agitation,  and  due  honour  will  be  rendered  by  a 
more  enlightened  age  to  the  keen  and  scrutinizing  philoso- 

gher,  the  scanner  of  whatever  lies  hidden  in  the  folds  of  the 
uman  heart,  the  prophetic  seer  of  coming  things,  the  un- 
sparing satirist  of  contemporary  delinquency,  the  stem 
Khadamanthus  of  the  political  and  of  the  literary  world, 
the  star  of  a  benighted  land,  the  lance  and  the  buckler  of 
Israel — 

"  We  no'er  shall  look  upon  his  like  again.'** 

And  still  why  must  I  recall  (what  I  would  fain  ob- 
literate) the  ever-painful  fact, — graven,  alas!  too  inde- 
libly on  the  stubborn  tablets  of  his  biographers,  chronicled 
in  the  annals  of  the  country,  and,  above  aU,  firmly  and 
fatally  established  by  the  monumental  record  of  hia  own 
philanthropic  munificence, —  the  disastrous  fact,  that  ere 
this  brilliant  light  of  our  island  was  quenched  in  death,  to- 
wards the  close  of  the  year  1745 — long  before  that  sad 
consummation,  the  fiame  had  wavered  wild  and  flickered  fit- 
fully in  its  lamp  of  clay,  casting  around  shadows  of  ghastly 
form,  and  soon  assuming  a  strange  and  melancholy  hue,  that 
made  every  well-wisher  hail  as  a  blessing  the  event  of  iti 

•  Note  in  Prout*8  handwriting :  "  Doyle,  of  Carlow,  fiuntlj  resemble* 
him.  Bold,  honest,  disinterested,  an  able  writer,  a  scholar,  a  gentle- 
man ;  a  bishop,  too,  in  our  church,  with  none  of  the  shallow  pecumtiT, 
siUj  hauteur,  aiTant  selfishness,  and  anile  dotage,  which  maj  be  some- 
times covered,  hut  not  hidden,  under  a  mitre.  Swift  demolished,  in  his 
day,  Woods  and  his  bad  half}>cncc  ;  Doyle  denounced  Daniel  and  his 
box  of  coppers.  A  provision  for  the  starving  Irish  was  called  for  br 
'  the  Dean,'  and  was  sued  for  by  *  J.  £.  L.'  Alas  !  when  will  the  Gxh 
▼emment  awaken  to  the  voice  of  our  island's  best  and  most  enlightened 

Eatriots  P     Truly,  it  hath  *  Moses  and  the  prophets  '—doth  the  Legi^ 
kture  wait  until  one  come  from  the  dead  ?" 


Doyle  IB  since  dead — but  **  defunctus  adhuc  loquitur  T'— O.  T. 


DEAJI   BWIPT'S   SliD\E3S.  107 

iaal  extlnctitm  in  the  coiil  and  dismal  vaults  of  St.  Patrit-k't  H 
In  what  iiij-§t*rioii8  struggle  hia  t^ganlic  intyllect  liad  been 
doven  liown,  Done  could  IcU.  But  the  evil  genius  of  in- 
Woily  linil  clenrly  obtained  a  mnsterdom  over  I'aciiltiea  the 
llaoat  powerful,  tuid  cudowments  the  highest,  that  haveMl^n 
to  the  lot  of  man. 

We  are  tol  J  of  OL-t-asiooul  houra  of  respite  from  the  fanga 
i<rf  his  tormenting  tai/tut. — we  leam  of  momenta  when  the 
lOB  divintor"  was  snflVred  to  go  loose  from  its  gaoler, 
to  roam  back,  as  it  were  on  "parole,"  into  the  dorni- 
ions  uf  reasoD,  like  the  ghost  of  the  murdered  king,  ollow- 
i  to  revisit,  for  a  brief  space,  the  glimpses  of  our  glorious 
ifin&aroeDt. — but  such  gleams  of  mental  enlightenment  were 
ibut  few,  and  short  in  their  duration.  They  were  like  tbe 
flaah  that  is  seen  to  illumine  the  wreck  when  all  hope  is 
SDne,  and.  Gercelj  burating  athwart  the  darkneRS,  appears 
out  to  seal  the  doom  of  the  cargo  and  the  mariners— inter- 
's of  lugubrious  transport,  described  by  our  native  bard  » 


full  rapidly  would  that  once  clear  and  aagnciouaapirit 

Iter  and  relapse  into  the  torpor  of  idiocy.     His  large,  ei- 

— -'ve  ^■es,  rolling  wildly,  would  at  times  eihJbit,  as  it 

.  the  inward  working  of  his  reason,  essaying  ia  vain  to 

off  the  aiwhtmore  that  sat  triumphant  there,  impeding 

current  ol  thought,  once  so  brisa  and  brilliant,  ^oble 

Bud  elaaeie  in  the  very  writliinga  of  delirium,  and  ofttn 

Bublime.  he  would  appear  a  living  image  of  the  sculptured 

Xftoeoon.  battling  with  a  serpent  that  had  grasped,  not  the 

body,  but  the  mind,  in  its  eutangling  folda.     Yet  must  we 

xcpest  the  sad  truth,  and  again  record  in  sorrow,  that  the 

'"rt  two  or  three  years  of  Jonathan  Swift  presented  nothiug 

it  the  eluittered  remnants  of  what  bad  been  a  powerfully 

tnixed  being,  to  whom  it  ought  to  have  beeu  allotted, 

ording  to  our  faint  notions,  to  carry  unimpaired  and  un- 

linished   into  the  hands  of  Him  who  gave  such  varied 

id  formed  sui-h  a  goodlv  intellect,  the  stores  of 

wisdom  and  the  overflowing  measure  of  talents  well 

i|dofed :  but  such  was  not  tbe  counsel  of  an  iuscrut&bVe 


^08  VATHEB  PBOUT's  BEUQUES. 

providence,  whose  decree  was  to  be  fulfilled  in  the  pros- 
tration of  a  mighty  understanding — 

Aiog  d*  srsXs/fro  jSouXij. 

And  here  let  me  pause — for  a  sadlj  pleasing  remixiiaoenoe 
steals  across  my  mind,  a  recollection  of  youthful  days.  I 
love  to  fix,  in  its  flight,  a  transitory  idea ;  and  I  freely  plead 
the  privilege  of  discursiveness  conceded  to  the  garrulity  of 
old  age.  When  my  course  of  early  travel  led  me  to  wander 
in  search  of  science,  and  I  sought  abroad  that  scholastic 
knowledge  which  was  denied  to  us  at  home  in  those  evil 
dajrs ;  when,  by  force  of  legislation,  I  became,  like  others  of 
my  clerical  brethren,  a  "  peripatetic"  philosopher — ^like  them 
compelled  to  perambulate  some  part  of  Europe  in  quest  of 
professional  education, — the  sunny  provinces  of  southern 
France  were  the  regions  of  my  choice ;  and  my  first  glean- 
ings of  literature  were  gathered  on  the  banks  of  that  mighty 
stream  so  faithfully  characterised  by  Burdigala's  native  poet 
Ausonius,  in  his  classic  enumeration : 

"  Lentut  Arar,  Bhodanusque  eekr^  PLENUBque  GABUMzrA." 

One  day,  a  goatherd,  who  fed  his  shaggy  flock  along  the 
river,  was  heard  by  me,  as,  seated  on  the  lofty  bank,  he  gazed 
on  the  shining  flood,  to  sing  a  favourite  carol  of  the  country. 
*Twas  but  a  simple  ballad ;  yet  it  struck  me  as  a  neat  illua- 
tration  of  the  ancient  parallel  between  the  flow  of  human 
life  and  the  course  of  the  running  waters ;  and  thus  it 
began: 

**  Saint !  O  yieux  fleuve,  qui  coulez  par  la  plainel 
H^las !  un  mdme  cours  ici  baa  noiia  entraine— 

Egal  est  en  tout  notre  sort : 
Tons  deux  nous  foumissons  la  m^me  cam^re ; 
Car  un  m^me  destin  nous  m^ne,  O  riyi^  I — 

Yous  ik  la  mer  I  nous  &  la  mortl* 

So  sang  the  rustic  minstrel.  But  it  has  occurred  to  me, 
calmly  and  sorrowfully  pondering  on  the  fate  of  Swift,  that 
although  this  melancholy  resembutnce,  so  often  alluded  to  in 
Scriptural  allegory,  may  hold  good  in  the  general  fortunes 
of  mankind,  still  has  it  been  denied  to  some  to  complete  in 


^ 


DEAN   swift's   UADNESK.  109 

their  personal  history  tLe  sad  similitude ;  for  not  a  fev,  and 
thece  some  of  the  most  exalted  of  our  Hpecies,  have  been 
forbidden  to  glide  into  the  Ocean  of  Eternity  bringing 
thereunto  the  fulness  of  their  iife-current  with  its  brim- 
ming bauke  un drained. 

Who  that  has  ever  gazed  on  the  glorious  Bhine,  coeval 
in  historic  metnoiy  with  the  first  Ctpsar,  and  boftating  iiiuch 
previous  traditionary  renown,  at  the  spot  where  it  gushes 
aoia  its  Alpine  source,  would  not  augur  to  it,  with  the  poet, 
&u  luiinterrupted  career,  and  an  ever-growing  volume  of 
copious  exuberance  f 

"  An  pted  du  Hont  Addllc,  entre  mille  roaeaui, 
I«  Khiii  Innqoil,  H  fier  du  prngr^  de  sm  eftiuc, 
AppuTe  d'ane  roun  sur  Mm  uma  peaohaDto, 
ffendort  ui  bnut  Battaur  de  son  ondc  nuiBaiit«." 

BonJuiT. 

Whence  if  it  is  viewed  sweeping  in  brilliant  cataracts  through 
,  many  a  mountain  glen,  and  many  a  woodland  scene,  until  it 
glides  from  the  realms  of  romance  into  the  business  of  life, 
and  forms  ihe  majestic  boundary  of  two  riva)  nations,  con- 
ferring benefits  on  both— reflecting  from  the  broad  expanse 
of  its  waters  anon  the  mellow  vineyards  of  Johannisberg, 
anon  the  boary  crags  of  Drachenfela — who  then  could 
venture  to  foretell  that  so  splendid  an  alliance  of  usefulness 
and  gmndeur  was  destined  to  be  dissolved — that  von  rich 
flood  would  never  gaiu  that  ocean  into  whose  Dosom  a 
thousaud  rivulets  flow  on  with  unimpeded  gravitation,  but 
would  disappear  in  the  quagmires  of  Helvoetsiuys,  be  lost 
in  the  swamps  of  Eianders,  or  absorbed  in  the  sands  of 
Holland  r 

Tet  such  is  the  course  of  the  Ehine,  and  such  was  the 
destiny  of  Swift, — of  that  man  the  outpourings  of  whose 
ftbundant  mind  fertilized  ^ke  the  land  of  his  fathers  *  and 
the  land  of  his  birth  :  that  man  the  vcr^  overflowings  of 
whose  strange  genius  were  looked  on  by  his  contemporaries 
srith  delight,  and  welcomed  ns  the  inundations  of  the  Nile 
are  hajleil  by  the  men  of  Egypt. 


110  TATHEB  FBOITT's    RSLIQinBS. 

A  deep  and  hallowed  motive  impels  me  to  select  that  last 
and  dreaiy  period  of  his  career  for  the  subject  of  spedal 
analysis ;  to  elucidate  its  secret  history,  and  to  examme  it 
in  all  its  bearings  ;  eliminating  conjecture,  and  substituting 
fact ;  prepared  to  demolish  the  visionary  superstructure  of 
hypothesis,  and  to  place  the  matter  on  its  simple  basifl  of 
truth  and  reality. 

It  is  far  from  my  purpose  and  far  from  my  heart  to  tread 
on  such  solemn  ground  save  with  becoming  awe  and  with 
feet  duly  unshodden.  If,  then,  in  the  foUowing  pages,  I 
dare  to  unseal  the  long-closed  well,  think  not  that  I  seek  to 
desecrate  the  fountain :  if  it  devolves  on  me  to  lift  the  veil, 
fear  not  that  I  mean  to  profane  the  sanctuary :  tarry  iintil 
this  paper  shall  have  been  perused  to  its  close ;  nor  will  it 
faU  from  your  grasp  without  leaving  behind  it  a  conviction 
that  its  contents  were  traced  by  no  unfriendly  hand,  and  by 
no  unwarranted  biographer :  for  if  a  bald  spot  were  to  be 
found  on  the  head  of  Jonathan  Swift,  the  hand  of  Andrew 
Prout  should  be  the  first  to  cover  it  with  laurels. 

There  is  a  something  sacred  about  insanity:  the  traditions 
of  every  country  agree  in  flinging  a  halo  of  mysterious  dis- 
tinction around  the  unhappy  mortal  stricken  with  so  sad  and 
so  lonely  a  visitation.  The  poet  who  most  studied  from 
nature  and  least  from  books,  the  immortal  Shakespeare,  has 
never  made  our  souls  thrill  with  more  intense  sympathy  than 
when  his  personages  are  brought  before  us  bereft  of  the 
guidance  of  reason.  The  grey  hairs  of  King  Lear  are  silvered 
over  with  additional  veneration  when  he  raves ;  and  the 
wild  flower  of  insanity  is  the  tenderest  that  decks  the  pure 
garland  of  Ophelia.  The  story  of  Orestes  has  furnished 
Greek  tragedy  with  its  most  powerful  emotions  ;  and  never 
did  the  mighty  Talma  sway  with  more  irresistible  dominion 
the  assembled  men  of  France,  than  when  he  personated  the 
fury-driven  maniac  of  Euripides,  revived  on  the  French  stage 
by  the  muse  of  Voltaire.  We  know  that  among  rude  and 
untutored  nations  madness  is  of  rare  occurrence,  and  its  in- 
stances few  indeed.  But  though  its  frequency  in  more  re- 
fined and  civilised  society  has  taken  away  much  of  the 
deferential  homage  paid  to  it  in  primitive  times,  still,  in  the 
palmiest  days  of  G-reek  and  Boman  illumination,  the  oracles 
of  Delphi  iound  their  fitting  organ  in  the  frenzy  of  the 


HKXS   SWIFT  S   UAUSESa  111 

Pytfaonoflg  ;  and  tUrouj;))  bucIi  channels  doea  the  Latia  iTriet 
represent  the  Deity  eoramunicfttiiig  with  uiau ; 

ilenUm  MCflrdnum  inoula  Pjlliiiu." 

But  It-t  OB  tool(  into  OUT  owo  breasts,  and  acknowledge  that, 
with  »Il  the  fasttdioiis  priil*!  of  fancied  superiority,  and  in 
the  full  plenitude  of  our  uudimmed  reason,  we  cinmot  tiice  the 
hrfttthijig  ruin  of  a  noble  iiitellei^t  undismajed.  Tlie  broken 
rounds,  the  vague  inteusilv  of  that  gaze,  those  whispt-rings 
tlutl  seem  to  commune  witn  the  vorld  of  spirits,  the  plar  uf 
th^ree  fealnres,  still  iiupresHed  with  the  signet  of  immortnlity, 
though  illegible  to  our  eje,  strike  ua  ■with  that  awe  which 
the  obelisk  uf  the  desert,  with  its  insculptnred  riddles,  in- 
spires into  the  Arabian  shepherd.  An  oriental  opinion  makes 
mcli  beings  the  favourites  of  Heaven  :  and  tbe  strong  tinc- 
ture of  ejiatern  ideas,  so  disceruible  on  many  points  in  Ire- 
Innd,  is  here  also  perceptible ;  for  a  bom  idiot  among  the 
iilfcpring  of  an  Irish  cabin  is  prized  as  a  family  jju/ZarfiHw. 

To  coutt-mplnte  what  was  once  great  and  resplendent  in 
iLe  eyes  of  man  slowly  mouldering  in  decay,  has  never  been 
an  unprofi table  eiercise  of  thought ;  and  to  muse  ovei-  reason 
itKlf  fallen  and  prostrate,  cannot  fail  to  teach  us  our  com- 
plt^r  deficintcy.  If  to  dwell  among  ruins  aod  amid  seput- 
rhm — to  Mplore  the  pillared  grandeur  of  the  ttmantless 
Palmyn.  or  the  crumbling  wreck  of  that  Roman  amphi- 
tbestre  once  manned  with  applauding  thousands  and  rife 
with  joy.  now  overgrown  with  shrubs  and  haunted  by  the 
owl — il'to  siililotjuiie  in  the  valley  where  autumnal  leaves 
are  thickly  etrewu.  ever  reminding  us  by  their  incessant 
nuLlr.  aa  we  tread  tlie  path,  "  that  all  that's  bright  must 
fade ;" — if  these  things  beget  that  mood  of  soul  in  which 
tbc  suggrstiuns  of  Heaven  find  readiest  adoption, — how 
forciblv  must  tbe  wreck  uf  mind  itself,  and  the  mournful 
iihTrations  of  that  faculty  by  which  most  we  assimilate  to 
uur  Maker,  humble  our  self-sufficiency,  and  bend  down  our 
■pirit  in  stioraliun  !  It  is  in  truth  a.  sad  bereavement,  a  dis- 
•evCTing  of  ties  long  cherished,  a  parting  scene  melancholy 
to  witness,  when  the  ethereal  companion  of  this  clay  takea 
its  dcptrl  ure,  an  outcast  from  the  eartlily  coil  that  it  once 
ih  intellectual  fire,  aud  wanders  astray,  cheerless 


112  TATHEB  PBOVI*a  BSLIQUES. 

and  friendless,  beyond  the  picturings  of  poetry  to  describe;- 
a  picture  realised  in  Swift,  who,  more  tnan  Adrian,  was  ei 


**  Am'nnila  yagula,  blandula,  **  Wee  soul,  fond  mnblor,  whither,  bkj^ 
Hospes  comesque  oorporis,  Whither,  boon  comrade,  fleest away? 
Qu»  nunc  abibis  in  loca ?  Ill  canst  thou  bear  the  bitter  blasts 
Pallidula,  rigida,  nudula.  Houseless,  unclad,  affVight,  aghaat ; 

Nee,  ut  soles,  dabis  jocos  !**       Jocund  no  more !  and  hushed  the  mirth 

That  gladden'd  oft  the  Bons  of  earth!" 

JS'or  unloath  am  I  to  confess  that  such  contemplations  hare 
won  upon  me  in  the  decline  of  years.  Youth  has  its  appro- 
priate pursuits  ;  and  to  him  who  stands  on  the  threshold  of 
me,  with  all  its  gaieties  and  festive  hours  spread  in  alluring 
blandishment  before  him,  such  musings  may  come  amiss, 
and  such  studies  may  offer  no  attraction.  We  are  then  eager 
to  mingle  in  the  crowd  of  active  existence,  and  to  mix  with 
those  who  swarm  and  jostle  each  other  on  the  molehill  of 
this  world —  ^ 

**  Towered  cities  please  us  then. 
And  the  busy  hum  of  men !" 

But  to  me,  numbering  fourscore  years,  and  full  tired  of  the 
frivolities  of  modem  wisdom,  metaphysical  inquiry  returns 
with  all  its  charms,  fresh  as  when  first  I  coiu*tea,  in  the 
halls  of  Sorbonne,  the  science  of  the  soul.  On  this  barreii 
hill  where  my  lot  is  fallen,  in  that  "  sunset  of  life  "  which  is 
said  to  "  bring  mystical  lore,"  I  love  to  investigate  subjects 
such  as  these. 

*'  And  may  mj  lamp,  at  midnight  hour, 
Be  seen  in  some  high,  lonelj  tower. 
Seeking,  with  Plato,  to  unfold 
What  realms  or  what  vast  regions  hold 
Th*  immortal  soul  that  hath  forsook 
Its  mansion  in  this  fleshy  nook ! 
And  may,  at  length,  my  weary  age 
Find  out  some  peaceful  hermitage. 
Till  old  experience  doth  attain 
To  something  like  prophetic  strain  1" 

To  fix  the  precise  limits  where  sober  reason*s  well-rega* 
lated  dominions  end,  and  at  what  bourne  the  wild  region  of 
the  fanciful  commences,  extending  in  many  a  tract  of  length- 
ened wilderness  until  it  joins  the  remote  and  volcanic  terri« 


BtAN   BVIFT'3   UAD<CK8B. 


toTT  of  downright  insniiit}-, — were  a  task  wliich  tlie  most 
Jeeply-pead  psyi^hologiat  itiiglit  utleinpt  iu  vnin.  llijipek-ea 
would  be  the  endeaTuiir  to  settle  the  exact  cooHne's  ;  tVir  no- 
whrre  is  tliere  bo  much  debat^able  groutid,  bo  nmcU  un- 
marked frtintiep,  »ci  nm<;li  undetermined  boundary.  The 
degrees  ol*  lougitudi?  and  latitude  have  never  been  laid  duwu, 
nor,  that  1  learn,  ever  calculated  at  all,  for  wont  of  a  really 
•enaible  eolid  man  to  act  the  part  of  a  firat  meridiaD.  Th« 
•ame  remark  is  applicable  to  a  congenial  Bubjcct,  vi«.  thitt 
state'  of  the  iiumoji  frame  akin  to  iiisanitif,  nJid  called  inlixti. 
eafioH  :  fur  there  nre  here  alio  various  de^p^ea  of  intensity  ; 
and  where  ou  earth  (eiceiit  perhaps  in  the  person  of  my 
friend  Dick  Dowden.)  will  yuu  find,  kito.  fpi'a  ie«i  xara 
iufttt  a  ensEit  man,  according  with  the  description  iu  a  hymn 
of  our  church  liturgy  ? 

"  Qui  piiu,  prudco*,  hiuniliB,  pudloiu, 


£r  Bjficio  Bm.  Ham.  dr  timmwii  Con/,  non 
P..nl.  ad  ..,prr«,. 

I  remember  well,  when  in  1S15  the  present  Lord  Chan- 
cellor (then  simple  Horry  Brougham)  came  to  this  part  of 
the  country  (attracted  hither  by  the  fame  of  our  IJlamey- 
etnne),  having  hod  the  pleasure  of  hie  society  one  summer 
evening  in  this  bumble  dwelling,  and  conversing  with  him 
looa;  aud  loudly  on  the  topic  of  inebriation.  He  had  certaiiilv 
taken  a  drop  extra,  but  perhaps  was  therefore  better  quali- 
fied for  debating  tlie  eutrject,  vit.  at  what  firicite  point  drunk- 
ainf*t  Mil  in,  atiiitchalu  tht  exact  low  icaUr-mark.  He  firrt 
idtorated  a  tlirrf-boUU  tyatem,  hut  enlarged'  his  view  of  the 

3ijpsiiun  as  he  went  on,  until  he  re  minded  me  of  those  spirita 
i-m-rilx-d  bv  Stilton,  who  sat  apart  on  a  hill  retired,  discusa- 
ing  fretwiu,JixedfaU,foreknowtidge  ahtolutf, 

"  And  fuuad  do  cikI,  ia  wandering  mHies  lo«l!" 

jf  idea  of  the  matter  was  very  eiinple,  although  1  had  some 
'a  bringing  bioL  round  to  the  true  understanding 
1  for  he  ia  obstinate  by  nature,  and,  like  the  vUlage 
rter,  whom  he  has  sent  "  abroad," 

■  Et«ii  though  taiiqiiiibtd,  lie  can  argue  Btill." 


114  FATHER    PBOrx'S    RELIQTTES. 

I  8lie\ve(l  him  tliat  the  poet  Lucretius,  in  his  elaborate  work 
*'  l)e  Natura  Reruiii,"  had  long  since  established  a  criterion, 
or  standard — a  sort  of  clepsydra,  to  ascertain  the  final  de- 
parture of  sobriety, — being  the  well-known  phenomenon  of 
reduplication  in  the  visuai  orb,  that  sort  of  second-sight 
common  among  the  Scotch  : 

"  Bina  lucemarum  flagrantia  lumina  flammis, 
Et  duplies  hominum  Tultas  et  corpora  bina  !** 

LucBETius,  lib.  It.  452. 

But,  unfortunately, just  as  I  thought  I  had  placed  my  opinions 
in  their  most  luminous  point  of  view,  I  found  that  poor 
Harry  was  completely  fuddled,  so  as  to  be  unconscious  of  all 
I  could  urge  during  the  rest  of  the  evening ;  for,  as  Tom 
Moore  says  in  *  Lalla  Eookh,' 

"  the  dedicate  chain 

Of  thought,  once  tangled,  could  not  clear  again.** 

It  has  long  ago  been  laid  down  as  a  maxim  by  Seneca,  that 
•**  nullum  magnum  ingenium  sine  mixturi  insanise."  Newton 
was  decidedly  mad  when  he  wrote  his  comment  onBevelations; 
so,  I  think,  was  Napier  of  the  logarithms,  when  he  achieved  a 
similar  exploit ;  Bums  was  more  than  once  labouring  under 
delirium,  of  the  kind  called  tremens :  Tasso  was  acquainted 
with  the  cells  of  a  madhouse  ;  Nathaniel  Lee,*  the  dramatist, 

•  This  fact  concerning  Lee  I  stumbled  on  in  that  olia  podrida,  the 
"  Curiosities  of  Literature,"  of  the  elder  D' Israeli.  In  hia  chapter  on 
the  "  Medicine  of  the  Mind,*'  (vol.  i.  second  series  :  Murray,  1823),  I 
find  a  passage  which  tells  for  my  theory ;  and  I  therefore  insert  it  here, 
on  the  principle  of  je  preiida  mon  bieti  pariout  okjeU  (route :  "  Plutarch 
says,  in  one  of  his  essays,  that  should  the  body  sue  the  mind  in  a  court 
of  judicature  for  damages,  it  would  be  found  that  the  mindwould  prore 
to  liave  been  a  most  ruinous  tenant  to  its  landlord.'*  This  idea  seemed 
to  me  so  ingenious,  that  I  searched  for  it  through  all  the  metaphysical 
writings  of  the  Bceotian  sage ;  and  I  find  that  Democritus,  the  laughing 
philosopher,  first  made  the  assertion  about  the  Greek  law  of  landlord  and 
tenant  retailed  by  himof  CheronsBa:  Otfiai  fia\i<rra  rovAtifiOKptrov  ftircir, 
wc  <(  ''0  cotfia  SiKa<TaiTo  ry  ypvxVj  KUKtaona^  ovk  av  avrtiv  avo^vytiv. 
Theophrastus  enlarges  on  the  same  topic  :  Bto^patrroc  aXtiBtQ  eiTtv, 
iroXv  T<it  trutfiart  rcXciv  ivoiKiov  tijv  yj/vxv^'  TlKfiova  fitvrog  to  9mpm 
TtiQ  ^x^i  airoXavu  koku,  fiti  Kara  Xoyov  avri^  XP^V^^^^Q-  See  tlM 
magnificent  edition  of  Plutarch's  Moral  Treatises,  from  the  Clarendoa 
pri^s  of  Oxford,  1795,  being  HAOYT.  TAUOIKA,  torn  L  p.  87&.^ 

J?EOrT. 


fiLAS  vwi>'t's  madness. 


lis 


wtien  a  tennnt  of  Bedlam,  wrote  a  tragedy  twenty-five  acts 
long  i  and  Sophoclps  was  nccueed  before  tue  tribuuaj  of  the 
fparpia.,  and  rmiy  uciiuitted  of  insanity  by  the  recitation  of 
his  lEdip.  Colon.  Paaeal  was  a  miserable  hypochondriac;  the 
poet  Cowper  and  the  philoaoplier  RousBeau  were  subject  to 
lunacy  ;  Luis  de  Camoens  died  TOYin"  in  an  hospital  at  Lis- 
t>on ;  and.  in  an  hospital  nt  Madrid,  the  same  fate,  with  the 
same  attendant  madness,  closed  the  career  of  tho  author  of 
"Don  Quisote,"  the  immortal  Miguel  Cervantes.  Shelley 
«ru  mad  outright :  and  Bvron'e  blood  was  deeply  tainted 
with  maniacal  infusion.  His  uncle,  the  eighth  lord,  had  been 
the  homicide  of  his  kindred,  and  hid  nis  remorse  in  the 
diomal  cloisters  of  Newstead.  He  himself  enumerates  three 
of  his  maternal  ancestors  who  died  by  their  own  hands.  Last 
Frbruaiy  (1S30},  Miss  Itlitbanke,  in  the  book  she  has  put 
forth  Uj  the  world,  states  herbeUef  and  that  of  her  advisers. 
that  ■'  the  Lord  Byron  was  actually  insane."  And  in  Dr. 
Millingcn's  book  (the  Surgeon  of  the  Snliote  brignde)  we 
find  these  words  attributed  to  the  Childt :  "  I  picture  myself 
■lowly  expiring  on  a  bed  of  torture,  or  terminating  my  days. 
like  Swift,  a  grinning  idiot." — Aniedetm  of  B^ron't  Iltn«»i  and 
OtaUk,  iy  Jt'Lirs  Millikoek,  p.  120. — London. 

8lraugc  to  say,  few  men  have  been  more  exempt  from  t!io 

oaual  exciting  causes  of  insanity  than  Swifl^.     If  ambition, 

vanity,    avance,    intemperance,     and  the  fury    of   sexual 

posRon,  be  the  ordinary  determining  agents  of  lunacy,  then 

abonld  he  hate  proudly  defied  the  approaehes  of  the  evil 

spirit,  and  withstood  his  attacks.  As  for  ambitious  cravings, 

~  't  i«  Well  known  that  he  sought  not  the  smiles  of  the  court, 

lor  ever  sighed  for  ecclesiastical  dignities.  Though  a  church- 

lan.  ho  bad  none  of  the  crafty,  aspirin?,  and  intriguing 

ktiia  of  a  Wolsey  or  a  MRzoriu.    By  the  Doldnesa  and  can, 

nrof  his  writings,  he  efiectuolly  put  a  stop  to  that  eccleai- 

■lieal  pnffenneut  which  the  low-minded,  the  cunning,  and 

te  by[>iH!rife',  are  sure  to  obtaiu  :  and  of  him  it  might  be 

ntlj  taid,  that  the  doors  of  cl&ricaJ  promotion  closed  while 

^  |{at«a  of  ^lory  opened. 

But  ert-n  fflt^y  (mystic  word ! ),  has  it  not  its  fascinations, 

Kwrrful  at  times  even  for  the  eagle  eye  of  genius,  and 

Me  of  dimming  for  ever  the  intellectual  orb  that  gawa 

I  fixedly  00    ita  imdiance  ?     How  often   has  splendid 


IIG  FATHER  PROUT's  RELIQUES. 

talent  been  ita  own  executioner,  and  the  best  p^ift  of  Heaven 
supplied  the  dart  that  bereft  its  possessor  of  all  that  maketli 
existence  valuable !     The  very  intensity  of  those  feeling-: 
which  refine  and  elevate  the  soul,  has  it  not  been  found  "to 
operate  the  work  of  ruin  ? 

**  Twas  thine  owii  genius  gave  the  final  blow, 

And  help'd  to  plant  the  wound  tliat  laid  thee  low. 
So  the  struck  eagle,  stretch'd  upon  the  plain. 
No  more  through  rolling  clouds  to  soar  again, 
Views  his  own  feather  on  the  fatal  dart 
Which  wing*d  the  shaft  that  quivers  in  his  heart. 
Keen  are  his  pangs,  but  keener  far  to  feel 
lie  nursed  the  pinion  that  impelled  the  steel ; 
While  the  same  plumage  that  had  warm*d  his  nest 
Drmks  the  last  life-drop  of  his  blooding  breast." 

So  Byron  sings  in  his  happiest  mood ;  and  so  had  sung  be- 
fore him  a  young  French  poet,  who  died  in  early  life,  worn 
out  by  his  own  fervour : 

*'  Oui,  Thomme  ici  has  aux  talents  condamn^, 
Sur  la  t«rre  en  passant  subUme  infortune, 
Ne  pent  impunement  achever  une  vie 
Que  le  Oiel  surchargea  du  fardeau  du  ^cnie ! 
Souvent  il  meurt  br^e  dc  ces  celestes  feux  .  ,  . 
Tel  quelquefois  I'oiscau  du  souverain  des  dieux, 
L'aigie,  tombe  du  Iiaut  des  plaines  immort4.*lle«, 
BHUe  dufoudre  ardmt  qu*il  portait  tons  tet  ailet  !** 

CHSVEDOLLft. 

I  am  fully  aware  that  in  Swift's  case  there  was  a  commoa 
rumour  among  his  countrymen  in  Ireland  at  the  time,  that 
over-study  and  too  much  learning  had  disturbed  the  equi- 
librium  of  the  doctor's  brain,  and  unsettled  the  equipoise  of 
his  cerebellum.  The  "  most  noble  "  Festus,  who  was  a  well- 
bred  Italian  gentleman,  fell  into  the  same  vulgar  error  long 
ago  with  respect  to  St.  Paul,  and  opined  that  much  literaturo 
had  made  ot  him  a  madman !  But  surely  such  a  sad  con- 
fusion of  materialism  and  spiritualism  as  that  misconcepticm 
implies,  will  not  require  refutation.  The  villagers  in  Gold- 
smith's  beautiful  poem  may  have  been  excusable  for  adopt* 
ing  so  unscientific  a  theory  ;  but  beyond  the  sphere  of  nuitie 
sages  the  hypothesis  is  intolerable : 

**  And  still  they  gazed,  and  still  their  wonder  grew. 
That  one  imall  head  could  carry  all  he  knew  I** 


DKAIT   swift's 


117 


)W  can  the  etliereal  and  incorporate  atores  of  knowledge 

n>me  a  physical  weight,  and  turn  out  an  incumbTance, 

nerciaing  undue  preBsnre  on  the  human  brain  ? — how  can 

sntol  acquireineut  be  described  m    a  body  ponderoua  P 

"  X  folly  to  liken  the  crevioes  of  the  cerebml  gland  to  the 

'in  in  an  old  bam  bursting  witb  the  rieheB  of  a  collected 

■i— rupimn<  horrea  meises—or  to  tbe  crazy  bark  of 

Jyntti  when,  being  only  fitted  for  tbe  ligbt  waftage  of 

l^it  received  tlie  bulky  personage  of  the  ^npid  : 

Away  with  sueb  fantaaies !     The  more  learned  we  grow, 
Qie  better  organised  is  our  mind,  the  more  prejudices  we 
diake  off ;  and  the  stupid  error  which  I  coaibat  is  but  a  pre-^ 
fext  and  consolation  for  ignorance. 

The  ddiusions  of  love  swayed  not  the  stem  mind  of  the 
Dean  of  St.  Patrick's,  nor  could  the  freniy  of  passion  ever 
rrerafaadow  his  clear  underHtanding.  Like  a  Dark  gliding 
^  a  beautiful  and  regular  canal,  tbe  soft  hand  of  woman 
tOulH,  with  a  single  riband,  draw  him  onward  in  a  fair  and 
rell-nrdcred  channel ;  but  to  drag  him  out  of  hie  course  into 
my  dcTioua  [lath,  it  was  not  in  nature  nor  the  most  potent 
'uKioatiou  to  aceonipliah.  Stella,  the  cherished  companion 
f  bis  life,  his  secretly  wedded  bride,  ever  exercised  a  mild 
ifluence  oTer  his  nflectiona — 


it  hii  Acquaintauceahip 
upunJy  of  thatdescriptii: 


ith  Vanessa  (Mrs.  Vaohomrigg) 
Lppoxedtohave  been  introduced 


6y  PUlo.     For  my  part,  haring  eHibraced  celibacy,  I 
|Mnhsps  little  qunii lied  for  the  di 


these  delicatr 
.,  but  1  candidly  confess,  that  never  did  Goldsmith 
opon  ray  good  opinion,  by  his  superior  knowledge  of 
revondite  touches  that  ennoble  the  favourite  character 
reapectsble  divine,  as  when  he  attributca  serere  and 
mpromising  trnets  of  monogamy  to  Dr.  Primrose,  vicar 
'ueficld:  thai  being  the  next  best  state  to  the  ons 


118  FATHER   PBOUT'8   BELIQVE8. 

which  I  have  adopted  myself,  in  accordance  with  the  Platonic 
philosophy  of  Virgil,  and  the  example  of  Paul ; 

"  Quiqtte  sacerdotes  caati^  dum  vita  manebat ; 
Quique  pii  yates,  et  Phoebo  digna  locuti ; 
Omnibus  his  nivdl  cinguntur  tempors  Yit4  !*' 

jSneid.  VI. 

The  covetousness  of  this  world  had  no  place  in  the  breast 
of  Swift,  and  never,  consequently,  was  his  mind  liable  to  be 
shaken  from  its  basis  by  the  inroads  of  that  overwhelming 
vice,  avarice.     Broad   lands    and  manorial  possessions  he 
never  sighed  for;  and,  as  Providence  had  g^ranted  him  a 
competency,  he  could  well  adopt  the  resignation  of  the  poet, 
and  exclaim,  "  Nil  amplius  oro."  Nothing  amused  him  more 
than  the  attempt  of  his  friend  Doctor  Delany  to  excite  his 
jealousy  by  the  ostentatious  display  of  his  celebrated  villa, 
which,  as  soon  as  purchased,  he  invited  the  Dean  to  come 
and  admire.     We  have  the  humorous  lines  of  descriptive 
poetry  which  were  composed  by  Swift  on  the  occasion,  and 
were  well  calculated  to  destroy  the  doctor's  vanity.     The 
estate  our  satirist  represents  as  liable  to  suffer  *'  an  eclipse 
of  the  sun "  wherever  "  a  crow "  or  other  small  opaque 
body  should  pass  between  it  and  that  luminary.     The  plan- 
tations "  might  possibly  supply  a  toothpick ;" 

*'  And  the  stream  that's  called  '  Meander 
Might  be  sucked  up  by  a  gander  !'* 

Such  were  the  sentiments  of  utter  derision  with  which  he 
contemplated  the  territorial  aggrandisement  so  dear  to  the 
votaries  of  Mammon ;  nor  is  it  foreign  from  this  topic  to 
remark,  that  the  contrary  extreme  of  hopeless  poverty  not 
having  ever  fallen  to  his  lot,  one  main  cause  of  insamty  in 
high  minds  was  removed.  Tasso  went  mad  through  sheer 
distress  and  its  concomitant  shame  ;  the  fictions  of  his  ro- 
mantic love  for  a  princess  of  the  Court  of  Ferrara  are  all 
fuds;e :  he  had  at  one  time  neither  fire  nor  a  decent  coat  to 
his  back  ;  and  he  tells  us  that,  having  no  lamp  in  his  garret, 
he  resorted  to  his  cat  to  lend  him  the  glare  of  her  eyes : 

"  Non  ayendo  candele  per  iscrivere  i  luoi  versi !" 

Intemperance  and  debauchery  never  interfered  with  the 


DEAN   BWIFT'a    UA^OESS.  11  3 

oi«t  tencmr  of  the  Deaa's  doinestii.-  habits  ;  nod  hf  nee  tlie 
ledioil  and  constitutional  causes  of  deraugnineut  flowing 
1  tUtee  aouri'M  must  be  coualdered  aa  mill  ia  this  cast.', 
ive  att4!atively  perused  the  best  record  extunt  of  his 
rivate  life — bis  own  "  Journal  to  Stella,"  detailing  his 
dJouth  in  Iiondon ;  iind  I  find  his  diet  to  have  been  aueh  as 
could  hare  wished. 

"  London,  Oct  1711. — Mra.  Vaabomrigg  has  changed  her 
idgiiiga — I  dined  with  her  to-day.  I  am  growing  a  mighty 
srer  of  herring* ;  but  lliey  are  nmch  gmaller  hero  than  witn 
u.  In  the  afterDoon  1  visited  an  old  major-general,  and 
}  tis.  oyitfnr—Lttln-  32,  p.  384^  w  ScoWm  fiilimof  Smft. 
"I  was  invited  to-day  to  dine  with  Mrs,  Vanhomrigf-, 
ith  Hotne  eompany  who  did  not  come ;  but  I  ate  nothing 
Bt  fc-fToy-"— Sam#  Uller,  p.  388. 
"  Oct.  23,  1711.  I  WHB  fort-ed  to  be  at  the  secretary's 
IBce  till  four,  and  lost  my  dinner.  So  I  went  to  Mrs.  Van's, 
bdnutde  them  get  me  WrM  inrm^*,  which  lam  vervfondof. 
Lnd  they  area  light  tiduaU"  (tic.  in  orig .)~LetUr  33,  p.  400. 
He  further  Bhews  the  lively  interest  he  always  evinced 
ir  fi«h  diet  by  the  following  passage,  whieh  occurs  in  a  pub- 
ntion  of  his  printed  in  Dublin,  1732,  and  entitled  "  An 
lamination  of  Certain  Abuses,  CoTTuptions,  and  Enormi- 
n  in  this  City  of  Dublin.  By  Dr.  Jonathan  Swift,  D.D," 
"  The  aflirmation  solemnly  made  jn  the  cry  of  Herrings  ! 
t  against  aU  truth,  viz.  '  Herrings  alive,  ho !'  The  very  pro- 
erb  will  convince  us  of  this;  for  what  is  more  frequent  in 
.dinaiy  speech  than  to  say  of  a  neighbour  for  wnom  tbe 
eli  tolls.  He  is  dead  as  a  herring !  And  pray,  bow  is  it 
poadble  that  a  herring,  which,  as  philosophers  observe,  can- 
'  not  live  longer  than  one  minute  three  seconds  and  a  half 
out  of  water,  should  beat  a  voyage  in  open  boats  from 
Howtb  to  Dublin,  be  tossed  into  twenty  hands,  and  preaerse 
its  life  in  sieves  for  several  hour«  ?" 

The  sense  of  loneliness  consequent  on  the  loss  of  friends, 

d  tlie  witbdrawai  of  those  whose  companionsbip  made  life 

int,  is  not  unfrequently  tbe  cause  of  melaneholy  mono- 

lUiut  ■,  but  it  could  not  have  affected  Swift,  whose  residence 

_j  Dublin  bad  estranged  him  long  previously  from  those 

who  at  that  period  died  awav.     Gay,  bis  bosom  friend,  had 

'  *'    '    I  Deoember,  1732  ;  Bolingbroke  had  retired  to  Fnno« 


120  FATHKB  FROUT'S   BELIQTTES. 

in  1734 ;  Pope  was  become  a  hypochondriac  from  bodily  in- 
firmities ;  Dr.  Arbuthnot  was  extinct ;  and  he,  the  admirer 
and  the  admired  of  Swifb,  John  of  Blenheim,  the  illustriout 
Marlborough,  had  preceded  him  in  a  madhouse ! 


C( 


Down  Marlborough's  cheeks  the  tears  of  dotage  flow/ 


A  lunatic  asylum  was  the  last  refuge  of  the  warrior, — if,  in- 
deed, he  and  his  fellows  of  the  conquering  fraternity  were 
not  candidates  for  it  all  along  intrinsically  and  profes- 
sionally, 

**  From  Macedonian's  madman  to  the  Swede." 

Tims,  although  the  Dean  might  have  truly  felt  like  one  who 
treads  alone  some  deserted  banquet-hall  (according  to  the 
beautiful  simile  of  the  Melodist),  still  we  cannot,  with  the 
slightest  semblance  of  probability,  trace  the  outbreak  of  his 
madness  to  any  sympathies  of  severed  friendship. 

If  Swift  ever  nourished  a  predominant  affection — if  he 
was  ever  really  under  the  dominion  of  a  ruling  passion,  it 
was  that  of  pure  and  disinterested  love  of  country ;  and  were 
he  ever  liable  to  be  hurried  into  insane  excess  by  any  over- 
powering enthusiasm,  it  was  the  patriot's  madness  that  had 
the  best  chance  of  prostrating  his  mighty  soul.  His  works 
are  the  imperishable  proofs  of  the  sincere  and  enlightened 
attachment  which  he  bore  an  island  connected  with  him  by 
no  hereditary  recollections,  but  merely  by  the  accident  of 
his  birth  at  Cashel. 

We  read  in  the  sacred  Scriptures  (Eccles.  Ixxvii.),  that 
"  the  sense  of  oppression  maketh  a  man  mad ;"  and  whoso- 
ever will  peruse  those  splendid  effusions  of  a  patriot  soul, 
"  the  Story  of  an  injured  Lady"  (Dublin,  1725),  "  Maxims 
controlled  in  Ireland  "  (Dublin,  1724),  "  Miserable  State  of 
Ireland  "  (Dublin,  1727),  must  arise  from  the  perusal  im- 
pressed with  the  integrity  and  fervour  of  the  Dean's  love  of 
his  oppressed  country.  The  "  Maxims  controlled  "  develop, 
according  to  that  highly  competent  authority,  Edmund 
Burke,  the  deepest  and  most  stat^smanslike  views  ever  taken 
ofthe  mischievous  mismanagement  that  has  constantly  marked 
England's  conduct  towards  her  sister  island.  In  the  "Miser- 
able State,  &c.,  we  have  evidence  that  the  wretched  peasantry 
at  that  time  was  at  just  the  same  stage  'of  civilization  and 


jmn  Bwipr's  UAsusBs.  121 

eomfort  as  thej  are  at  the  preeeot  day ;  (or  we  find  tlio 
Dean  tbus  depicting  a  state  of  tbiiigs  which  none  but  aa 
Irieh  Undlord could  read  withoutblushingforhuraaE  nature — 
"There  are  thousaiids of  poor  creaturea  who  think thomselveB 
blessed  if  tliey  ciui  obtain  a  hut  worse  than  the  squire's  dog- 
kennel,  and  a  piece  of  ground  For  potato-plantation.  on  cou- 
dition  of  being  as  very  slaves  as  any  in  Ameriiai,  standing  in 
the  midst  of  plenty,"  rurtliur  on,  he  informs  lis  of  a  eln- 
gnlar  item  of  the  then  traffic  of  the  Irish . — "  Our  fruudu- 
Wt  trade  in  wool  to  France  ia  the  best  branch  of  our 
eommerce." 

And  in  bie  "  Proposal  forthe  Use  of  Irish  Manufactures," 
whifb  was  prosecuted  by  the  government  of  the  day,  and 
described  by  the  learned  jndge  who  sent  the  case  to  the  jury 
as  ft  plot  to  bring  in  the  Pretender!  we  bare  this  wool- 
tralBc  aOTiin  alluded  to:  "  Our  beneficial  export  of  wool  to 
France  hua  been  our  only  support  for  several  years :  we  con- 
vey our  woo]  there,  in  spite  of  all  the  harpies  of  the  eustom- 
bouae."  In  this  tract,  he  introduces  the  story  of  Pallas  and 
tbe  nymph  Arjiohne,  whom  the  godiless,  jealous  of  her  spin- 
ning, changed  into  a  spider ;  and  beautifully  applies  tbe 
all^ory  to  the  commercial  restrictions  impoEetl  by  the  sister- 
rouutry  on  Ireland.  "  Arachue  waa  allowed  still  to  spin; 
but  Britain  will  take  our  bowels,  and  convert  them  into  the 
web  and  warp  of  her  own  eiclubive  and  intolerant  in- 
rfuitry." 

Of  tbe  "  Drapier's  Letters,"  and  the  signal  discomfiture 
of  the  biiBe -currency  scheme  attempted  by  William  Woods, 
it  were  aaperfluous  to  speak.  Never  was  there  a  more  bare- 
faced attempt  to  swindle  the  nativea  than  the  copper  impo- 
sition of  that  notorious  hardwareman ;  and  the  only  thmg 
that  in  modern  times  can  be  placed  in  juitaposition,  is  the 
begging-bot  of  O'Couneil.  O  for  a  Drnpier  to  espose  that 
seeond  and  most  impudent  sehvme  for  victimising  a  deluded 
■ad  atarving  peasantry  ! 

rhe  Scotch  rebellion  of  1715  found  the  Dean  an  inmate 
of  hi*  last  md  dwelling — his  own  hospital ;  but  tbe  crisiu 
awakrned  all  his  energies.  And  be  found  an  interval  to  pub- 
lish tbat  address  to  his  fellow-countrymen  which  some  at- 
tributed tfl  the  Lord-Lieutenant  Chesterfield,  but  which 
I  intrinaic  evidence  of  his  pen.     It  is  printed  by  Sir 


122  TATUEB  PBOUT'S   BELIQITES. 

W.  Scott,  in  the  appendix  of  the  "  Drapier's  Letten." 
Tliere  is  a  certain  chemical  preparation  called  sympatketii 
ink,  which  leaves  no  trace  on  the  paper ;  but  if  applied  to 
the  heat  of  a  fire,  the  characters  will  become  at  once  legible. 
Such  was  the  state  of  Swift's  soul — a  universal  blank ;  but 
when  brought  near  the  sacred  flame  that  burnt  on  the  altar 
of  his  country,  his  mind  recovered  for  a  time  its  clearness, 
and  found  means  to^  communicate  its  patriotism.  Toudi 
but  the  interests  of  Ireland,  and  the  madman  was  sane 
again ;  such  was  the  mysterious  nature  of  the  visitation. 

"  O  Reason !  who  shall  say  what  speUs  renew, 
When  least  we  look  for  it,  thy  broken  clue  ; 
Through  what  small  vistas  o'er  the  darkened  brain 
The  intellectual  daybeatn  bursts  again ! 
Enough  to  shew  the  maze  in  which  the  sense 
Wandered  about,  but  not  to  guide  thee  hence— 
Enougli  to  gUmmer  o'er  the  yawning  wave, 
But  not  to  point  the  harbour  which  might  save !" 

When  Eichard  CoBur  de  Lion  lay  dormant  in  a  dungeon, 
the  voice  of  a  song  which  he  had  known  in  betttir  days  came 
upon  his  ear,  and  was  the  means  of  leading  him  forth  to  light  and 
freedom ;  but,  alas !  Swift  was  not  led  forth  from  his  lonely 
dwelling  by  the  note  of  long-remembered  music,  the  anthem 
of  fatherland.     Gloomy  insanity  had  taken  too  permanent 
possession  of  his  mind ;  and  right  well  did  he  know  that  he 
should  die  a  maniac.   For  this,  a  few  years  before  his  death, 
did  he  build  unto  himself  an  asylum,  where  his  own  lunacy 
might  dwell  protected  from  the  vulgar  gaze  of  mankind.  He 
felt  the  approach  of  madness,  and,  like  CsBsar,  when  about 
to  fall  at  the  feetof  Pompey's  statue,  he  gracefully  arranged 
the  folds  of  his  robe,  conscious  of  his  own  dignity  even  in 
that  melancholy  downfal.     The  Pharaohs,  we  are  told  in 
Scripture,  built  unto  themselves  gorgeous  sepulchres :  their 
pyramids  still  encumber  the  earth.     Sardanapalus  erected  a 
pyre  of  cedar- wood  and  odoriferous  spices  when  death  wm 
inevitable,  and  perished  in  a  blaze  of  voluptuousness.    The 
asylum  of  Swift  will  remain  a  more  characteristic  memorial 
than  the  sepulchres  of  Egypt,  and  a  more  honourable  fune- 
real pyre  than  that  heaped  up  by  the  Assyrian  king.    Ho 
died   mad,   among  fellow-creatures    similarly  viaited,  but 
sheltered  by  his  munificence ;  and  it  now  deyolyes  on 


DKAM   swift's   UADWEfiS.  123 

t(i  reveal  to  tlie    norlJ  tLe    unkuown  cause  of  tLat  soJ 
I        calamity. 

^H  1  bate  stated  tliat  his  aSectiona  were  centered  ia  that  ac- 
^Keumplished  womnn,  the  refined  and  g^oUe  Stella,  to  whom 
^V  he  bad  bi<^ii  Mtoretly  married.  The  reosoDs  for  Huch  secrecy, 
^Btbough  [ierl'i.'<^tly  familiar  to  me,  maj  not  be  divulged;  but 
^Bvn«ni»h  to  know  that  the  Bean  acted  in  tliis  matter  with  his 
^^BBuaT ugncity.  Aa  iofant  boh  was  bom  of  that  marriage 
^H^f^r  many  alengtheued  year,  aud  iu  this  cbild  were  con- 
^M  nentmted  all  the  eoergiea  of  the  £ither'a  alTectioii,  and  all 
[  the  venaibilitiea  vf  the  mother's  heart.  In  him  did  theDeau 
fondly  hope  to  live  ou  when  bis  aJlotteil  days  should  fail, 
like  unto  the  Helf-promUed  immortality  of  the  bard — "  Non 
omuls  tnoriar,  multaqtie  pars  mei  vitabit  Libitinam  !"  How 
vaia  are  the  hopes  of  muu !  That  child  most  unaccountably, 
must  myetmuutily  disappeared  ;  no  traee,  no  clue,  no  shadow 
oC  conjetture,  could  pomt  out  what  had  become  it*  destiny, 
sad  trbn  were  the  contrivers  of  this  sorrowful  bereavement. 
TliDi  b&b«  wan  gone  !  and  no  comfort  remained  to  a  despond- 
fathcir  in  this  moat  poignant  of  human  afflictions. 

eopy  of  Vtraa  comjiosed  on  kit  own  Death,  the  Dean 

«  in  a  humuroua    aoticipatioa  of  the  motives  that 

wauld  Dot  fail  to  be  ascribed,  m  determining  his  mind  to 

BUiltc  tbo  eingiikr  diapoeal  of  bis  property  which  (after  the 

loM  <i{  bia  omy  child)  he  reaolved  on : 

"He  gsTC  Uifl  liule  wealth  lie  bad 
To  builil  »  hoose  for  people  mad, 
To  then,  bj  one  tatinc  touob. 
No  nation  mnlcd  it  so  mudi" 

But  thia  bitter  plensantry  only  argued  the  sod  inroads  which 
rnef  was  making  iu  his  neart.  The  love  of  oS»pnag,  which 
Una  Givcks  call  ort^yti  (and  which  is  said  to  oe  strongest 
in  the  stork),  was  eminently  perceptible  in  the  diagnosis 
at  the  Dean's  conetitution.  Sorrow  for  the  loss  of  his  child 
bowed  diwn  bis  bead  eventually  to  the  grave,  and  unsettled 
a  mind  tbe  mo*t  dear  aud  well-regulated  that  philosophy 
^nd  Cbmliauity  could  form. 

TBESK  PAPEM  WILL  yoT  MEET    TUB    PtTDLlC    EYE    tWTlI, 
TOO  XU  XU  H08B  -   SVl'  WilEK  TBAT    DAI    BBAXL   COHI— 


124  TATHEB  PBOTJT's   BELIQUES. 

WHEK  THE  PA8T0B  OP  THIS  OBSCVBE  UPLAlfD  SHALL,  Df  i 
GOOD  OLD  AGE,  BE  LAID  IN  THE  EABTH^ — WHEN  NEITHlB 
PBIDE  OP  BIBTH  NOB  HUMAN  APPLAUSE  CAN  MOTE  TB3 
COLD    EAB  OP    THE    DEAD,   THE    SECBET    OP   THAT  CHILD*8 

HiSTOBT,  OP  Swift's  long-lost  child,  shall  be  told  ; 

AND  THE  OLD  MAN  WHO  HAS  DEPABTED  PBOM  THIS  WOMB 
OP  WOE  IN  PEACE,  WILL  BE  POUND  TO  HAVE  BEEN  THAT 
LONG-SOUGHT  SON,  WHOM  WiLLIAM  "WoODS,  IN  THE  BASE- 
NESS OF  A  VILE  VINDICTIVENESS,  FILCHED  FBOM  A  FATHEE*8 
AFFECTIONS. 

Baifled  in  his  wicked  contrivances  by  my  venerable  father, 
and  foiled  in  every  attempt  to  brazen  out  his  notorious  scheme 
of  bad  halfpence,  this  vile  tinker,  nourishing  an  implacable 
resentment  in  his  soul, 

*  JEiemum  Berrans  sub  pectore  Tuhius," 

resolved  to  wreak  his  vengeance  on  the  Dean  ;  and  sought 
out  craftily  the  most  sensitive  part  to  inflict  the  contem- 
plated wound.  In  the  evening  of  October,  1741,  he  kid- 
napped me.  Swift's  innocent  child,  from  my  nurse  at  Glen- 
dalough,  and  fraudulently  hurried  off  his  capture  to  the 
extremity  of  Munster ;  where  he  left  me  exposed  as  a  foimd- 
ling  on  the  bleak  summit  of  Watergrasshill.  The  reader 
will  easily  imagine  all  the  hardships  I  had  to  encounter  in 
this  my  first  and  most  awkward  introduction  to  my  future 
parishioners.  Oft^n  have  I  told  the  sorrowful  tale  to  my 
college  companion  in  France,  the  kind-hearted  and  sensi- 
tive G-resset,  who  thus  alludes  to  me  in  the  well-known  lines 
of  his  "  Lutrin  Vivant :" 

'*  Et  puist  d'ailleurs,  le  petit  malheureiix, 
Ouvrage  n^  d'un  auteur  anonyme, 
Ne  connaUsant  parens,  ni  legitime, 
N'avait,  en  tout  dans  ce  sterile  lieu. 
Pour  se  chauffer  que  la  grace  de  Dieu !" 

Some  are  born,  says  the  philosophic  Goldsmith,  with  a 
silver  spoon  in  their  mouth,  some  with  a  wooden  ladle ;  but 
wretched  I  was  not  left  bv  AVoods  even  that  miserable  im- 
plement  as  a  stock-in-trade  to  begin  the  world.  Moses  lay 
ensconced  in  a  snug  cradle  of  bulrushes  when  he  was  sent 
adrift ;  but  1  was  cast  on  the  flood  of  life  with  no  equipage 


riFT  S    UADSESS. 


ontRt  wbatcrrr;  and  found  iuy.<i4f,  to  i 
of  nij  JLord  Bj-ron, 


WiUi  notMiig  but  the  «l[y  for  a  great  cunt." 

lut  Eton,  1  miatake.  I  had  an  appeuduge  round  uij'  neck 
-a  truuiet,  which  1  still  cheriBh,  and  by  which  1  eveutually 
tuod  a  I'lue  to  my  real  patranage.  It  was  n  small  locket 
r  tn;  tiiiither  Stella's  hair,  of  raven  black,  (a  distinctive 
poturi- in  her  beauty,  whii'h  had  especially  captivated  tiiu 
tean)  ;  around  thia  luoket  was  a  Latin  motto  of  niy  gitled 
Itber'a  coiopositioD,  three  simple  words,  but  beuutilul  in 
beir  aiinplicity — "paorx  8tei.L4  EBFULaES  !"  So  that, 
rhen  I  waa  taken  into  the  "  Cork  Foundling  Hospital,"  I 
rw  at  once  christened  "  Prout,"  from  the  adverb  that  begins 
hr  oeiiti^uce,  and  which,  being  the  shortest  word  of  the 
hive,    it  plea«ed  the  (.-haplain  to  make  my  future  patro- 

Of  aU  the  singular  institutionH  in  Oreat  Britain,  pbilan- 

bropic-,  aatronumic,   Hunterian,  ophthalmic,  obstetric,  or 

DoIoKical,  tho  "  Royal  Cork  Foundling  Hospital,"  where  I 

'  tlir  honour  of  matriculating,  was  then,  and  ia  now,  do- 

'dljr  the  oddt^ttt  in  principle  and  the  most  comical  in  prac- 

,     Uutil  the  happy  and  eventful  day  when  I  managed, 

motfaer-wit.  to  accompliah  my  deliverance  from  its  walls, 

iring  wcaped  in  a  ehurn,  as  1   will  recount  presently),  it 

my  unhappy  lot  to  witness  and  to  endure  all  the  to- 

rietie«  of  human  misery.     The  prince  of  Latin  song,  when 

'     wishtw  lo  couvev  to  his  readers  an  idea  of  the  lower 

iona  and  the  abodes  of  Erebus,  begins  his  alTecting  pic* 

by  placing  in  the  foregroun^l  the  eouls  of  infanta  taken 

the  mischievous  policy  of  «uch  institutions  from  tbe 

■im'n  bn;a«t,  and  pensliing  by  myriads  under  the  inflic- 

of  a  miatakeu  pbllaothropy  : 

"  In&DluEnque  mninuK  Spil1«*  in  lutniiif  primo : 
(JUM  Juki*  iit«  txtoneg,  et  at  vitrv  Taylat, 
AlMtiilil  atra  dies,  ct  fUiierc  nunit  teefoo." 

m  inimitahle  and  philosophic  Scftrrou's  translation  of  tliia 
o  the  jtneid  is  loo  mueh  iu  my  fiither'a  own  atyb 
C  to  give  it  insertion  ' 


rv. 


126  7ATHEB  PB0nT*8  BXLIQUBS. 

''  Lora  il  entend,  en  ce  lieu  sombre, 
Les  oris  aiguR  d*enfants  aans  nombre. 
Pauvres  bainbins  !  ils  font  grand  bruit, 
Et  braiUent  de  jour  et  de  nvit — 
Peut-^tre  faute  de  nourrice  ?'*  &c.  &c 

Eneid  irmwmt.  6. 

But  if  I  had  leisure  to  dwell  on  the  melancholy"  subject,  I 
could  a  tale  unfold  that  would  startle  the  Legislature,  and 
perhaps  arouse  the  Irish  secretary  to  examine  into  an  evil 
crying  aloud  for  redress  and  suppression.  Had  my  perse- 
cutor, the  hard-hearted  coppersmith.  Woods,  had  any  notion 
of  the  sufferings  he  entailed  on  Swift's  luckless  in&nt,  he 
would  never  have  exposed  me  as  an  enfant  trouvS  ;  he  would 
have  been  satisfied  with  plunging  my  father  into  a  mad- 
house, without  handing  over  his  child  to  the  mercies  of  a 
foundling  hospital.  Could  he  but  hear  my  woful  story,  I 
would  engage  to  draw  "  copper"  tears  down  the  villain's 
cheek. 

Darkness  and  mystery  have  for  the  last  half  century  hung 
over  this  establishment ;  and  although  certain  returns 
have  bexjn  moved  for  in  the  House  of  Commons,  the  public* 
knows  as  little  as  ever  about  the  fifteen  hundred  young 
foundlings  that  there  nestle  until  supplanted,  as  death  col- 
lects them  under  his  wings,  by  a  fresh  supply  of  victims 
offered  to  the  Moloch  of  -sj/iu^o-philanthropy.  Horace  tells 
us,  that  certain  proceedings  are  best  not  exhibited  to  the 
general  gaze — 

"  Nee  nates  coram  populo  Medea  trucidet." 

Such  would  appear  to  be  the  policy  of  these  institutions, 
the  onlv  provision  which  the  Legislature  has  made  for  Lrish 
pauperism. 

Some  stops,  however,  have  been  taken  latterly  by  Gk)veni- 
ment ;  and  from  a  paper  laid  before  Parliament  last  month 
(May  1830),  it  appears  that,  in  consequence  of  the  act  of 
1822,  the  annual  admissions  in  Dublin  have  fallen  from  2000 
to  400.  But  who  will  restore  to  society  the  myriads  whom 
the  system  has  butchered  ?  who  will  recall  the  slain  ?  When 
the  flower  of  Roman  chivalry,  under  improvident  guidance, 
fell  in  the  German  forests,  "  Varus,  give  back  my  legions !" 


VKAir  SWIFTS    UADNESa.  127 

m  ibe  frsndc  cry  wrung  Erom  the  bittemesa  of  pntriotii' 

Jlly  illustrious  fiither  has  written,  among  other  bitter  sar- 
nums  on  tlic  t-ruel  i-ondiict  of  Government  towards  the 
Iriah  poor,  a  treatise,  which  was  printed  in  172D.  and  which 
he  entitled  "  A  Modest  Proposal  for  preventing  Poor  Chil- 
dren Irom  being  &  Burden  to  their  Parents."  He  reeom- 
mends,  iu  aohcr  sadness,  that  they  should  be  made  into  salt 
prorisiouB  for  the  uavy,  the  colonies,  and  tor  exportation  ; 
I'T  ealc-u  freiih  and  spitted,  like  roaating-nigs,  by  ihi-  alder- 
R>en  of  Cork  anil  Dublin,  at  their  civic  oauijuets.  A  ^uu. 
tatioD  from  that  powerful  pamphlet  may  not  be  unacccpt- 
ablf  lien- : 

"  Inlonl's  flesU  ([|uoththe  Dean)  will  be  iu  season  tbrough- 
i>ut  the  year,  but  more  plentifully  in  Marcli,  or  a  little  be- 
fore i  for  we  are  told  by  a  grave  author,  an  eminent  Pn-ncli 
physician,  thst  tish  beirtg  a  prolific  diet,  there  are  moi-echil- 
drra  baru  in  lioman  Catholic  couotnes  about  nine  niontiia 
ilter  Lent  than  at  any  other  senaon.  Thercfurc.  reckoning 
a  Te*r  afier  Lent,  ttie  murketB  will  be  more  glutted  tiiun 
luiial,  bpcauae  tlm  number  of  Po]iish  infanta  ia  at  least  three 
to  unie  in  the  kingdom  j  and  therefore  it  wiU  have  one  othei 
''ollateral  advantage,  by  lessening  the  numbor  of  PiipintH 

'Hi'-iw  linea  were  clearly  penned  in  the  very  gail  and  bit- 
!-rri'-r-  iif  hiK  Buul ;  auil  while  the  Irish  peasant  ia  still  con- 
-hlr  r<  >l  by  the  iniacreant  landlords  of  the  country  as  leas 
wjTiiiy  of  his  food  than  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  less 
i  ntiil.'d  to  a  legal  anpport  in  the  land  that  bore  him;  while 
thr  wllwh  demagogue  of  the  island  joins  in  the  common 
hfwtililv  to  the  claims  of  that  pauper  who  makes  a  stock- 
puTK^  lor  him  out  of  the  scrapings  of  want  and  penury  j 
thf!  proposal  of  Swift  should  be  reprinted,  and  a  copy  sent 
Iu  every  callous  and  ahnllow-pated  disciple  of  modem  poli. 
tirai  cvoaotnj.  Poor-laws,  forsooth,  they  cannot  reccmeile 
Vclear-aiglitcd  views  of  Irish  legislation  ; /rtfr  in*- 
~^ltfaoU  they  admire  ;  yrammar-tchimU  they  will  ad- 
«  half-starved  urchiuB  may  drink  the  physic  <ii 
d  forget  the  cravings  of  hunger;  and  they  wiJl 
B  the  Iwo  prtat  fnuttdlimg  hospitatt  a  rei^ptaclc  for 
!  iufuuta,  who,  in  those  "  white-woabcd  scpul- 


128  FATHEB  PB0UT*8   B£LIQ(7£S. 

chres/*  soon  cease  to  be  a  burden  on  the  communitj.  ILi* 
great  agitator,  meantime  (Otod  wot !)  will  bring  in  "  a  bill  ** 
K)r  a  grand  national  cemetery  in  Dublin  :*  such  is  the  pro* 
vision  he  deigns  to  seek  for  bis  starving  fellow-countrjmen ! 

"  The  great  have  still  some  favour  in  reserre — 
They  help  to  bury  whom  they  help  to  staire." 

The  Dublin  Hospital  being  supported  out  of  the  consoli- 
dated fund,  has,  by  the  argumentum  ad  crumenam,  at  last 
attracted  the  suspicions  of  government,  and  is  placed  under 
a  course  of  gradual  reduction ;  but  the  Cork  nursery  is  up- 
held by  a  compulsory  local  tax  on  coal,  amounting  to  the 
incredible  sum  of  £6000  a-year,  and  levied  on  the  unfor- 
tunate fcorkonians  for  the  support  of  children  brought  into 
their  city  from  Wales,  Connaught,  and  the  four  winds  of 
heaven !  Three  hundred  bantlings  are  thus  annually  saddled 
on  the  beautiful  city,  with  a  never-failing  succession  of  con- 
tinuous supply : 

"  Miranturque  novas  firondes,  et  non  sua  poma !" 

By  the  Irish  act  of  Parliament,  these  young  settlers  are 
entitled,  on  coming  of  age  (which  few  do),  to  claim  as  a 
right  the  freedom  of  that  ancient  and  loyal  corporation ;  so 
that,  although  of  the  great  bulk  of  them  it  may  be  said 
that  we  had  "  no  hand  in  their  birth,"  they  have  the  bene- 
fit of  their  coming — "  a  place  in  the  commonwealth"  (ita 
Shakespeare). 

My  sagacious  father  used  to  export  his  countrymen  to 
bum  every  article  that  came  from  England,  except  coals ; 
and  in  1729  he  addressed  to  the  "  Dublin  Weekly  Journal" 
a  series  of  letters  on  the  use  of  Irish  coals  exclusively.  But 
it  strikes  me  that,  as  confessedly  we  cannot  do  without  the 
English  article  in  the  present  state  of  trade  and  manufac- 
tures, the  most  mischievous  tax  that  any  Irish  seaport  could 
be  visited  with,  would  be  a  tonnage  on  so  vital  «  commodity 
to  the  productive  interests  of  the  community.  Were  thia 
vile  impost  withdrawn  from  Cork,  every  class  of  manufac- 
ture would  hail  the  boon ;  the  iron  foundry  would  supply 
us  at  home  with  what  is  now  brought  across  the  Channel ; 
the  glassblower^s  furnace  would  glow  with  inextinguishable 
fires ;  the  steam  engine,  tliat  giant  power,  as  yet  so  feebly 

•  H'.5iorical  fa^.     Vide  pari  proceeding — O.  Y. 


i    1 


fSAjr  STVIFT  a 


Kb 


iereXoped  tunoag  ub.  would  deligbt  to  wietd  on  our  belialf, 
eai:reu!B  untetlt?red.  and  toil  unimpeded  for  the  national 


irosperity  ;  new  onterprize  would  inspirit  the  capitalist ; 
rliile  the  humble  artiliuer  at  the  forge  would  learn  the 
'tidings  with  BtttiBfiicticin, — 

"  B«Ui  hia  ponderaus  itrengt.h,  and  lain  to  hear." 

Something  too  much  ol'  this.  But  I  bsve  felt  it  incum- 
bent on  me  to  pUcu  iiu  record  tay  houeat  conviction  of  the 
impolicy  of  the  tax  itself,  itnd  of  the  etill  greater  euorri:ity 
of  the  evil  which  it  goes  to  support.  To  return  to  my  own 
htstoi 


In  this  "  hospiU,"  which  wa*  the  firat  atma  mater  of  my 
juvi-nilf  days,  Igrudiiat^d  in  all  the  science  of  the  young 
gipaim  who  Bwamied  around  me.  My  health,  which  wna 
Uftturally  robust,  bore  up  at^inst  the  fearful  odds  ef  mor- 
tality by  which  1  was  beaet ;  and  altLough  I  should  have 
ultimately,  no  doubt,  pemhcd  with  the  crowd  of  infant  aiil- 
ffrrrs  that  shared  my  evil  detttinj,  still,  like  th&t  favoured 
Grecian  who  won  the  good  gracfls  of  Polyphemus  in  hia  an- 

(thritpoph&gous  cavern,  a  signal  privilege  would  perhaps 
liave  been  ^sutcd  me:  Prout  would  have  beeu  the  last  tu 
be  deroured. 
But  ■  my  of  light  broke  into  my  prison-hoiise.  The  idea 
fifMniN:,  a  bold  thought!  took  poBaesaion  of  my  soul.  Yet 
bow  to  Aceompliah  so  daring  an  enterprise  ?  how  elude  the 
vtgilaDcv  of  thf>  fat  door-keeper,  and  the  keen  eye  of  the 
clt^lah)  ?  Bight  well  did  they  know  the  muster-roll  of  their 
I  Kock  of  nrchinti,  itnd  often  verified  the  same : 

**  Uuqiu  die  nuDuninl  unba  giwus,  ulter  st  bvdo»." 

iHetnin,  howirvirr,  soon  granted  what  the  porter  denied.  The 
1  from  Watergraaahill,  who  brought  the  supplies 
IciiTY  mam  and  ere,  prided  himself  pnrtieularlv  on  the  sine 
I'bwiuly  of  his  chum, — a  capacious  wooJen  recipient 
Ivhich  mr  young  eye  admired  with  more  than  superBcial 

■  euho«ity.     lluving  uicidentullv'  got  on  the  wagon,  and  i 

■  plorcd  tlte  caiiaeioiis  hollow  of  (he  machine,  a  nright  s 
whispered  in  my  ear  to  secrete  myself  in  the  cavity. 
W>;  and  shortly  after,  the  gnlee  of  the  hospital  were  6ung 
■ide  fur  my  egress,  and  i  foiuid  myself  joggiug  onward  on 


I^d 


FATIIGH  pnouTa 


LlQDEf 


the  bigli  road  to  liglit  and  freedom  I  Judge  of  laf  i 
BatiouB !  Milton  uaii  aung  of  one  who,  ''  ionx  in  popoltH 
uity  pent,"  make^  a  visit  to  Higfagat«,  and,  snuffing  d 
rural  breeKe,  bleaeea  the  couutrv  air:  my  npture 
nature  that  defies  deacriptitin.  To  be  siire,  it  wj 
the  moat  boiatoroua  days  of  storm  and  tempest  ttuvt  «ti 
vexed  the  heavens  ;  but  secure  iu  the  cliura,  I  chuckled  wil 
joy,  and  towards  evening  fell  fa«t  asleep.  In  my  subwrqiu 
lil'e  1  have  often  dwelt  with  pleasure  on  that  Jdtous  cscsl. 
ajid  when  iu  my  couree  of  studies  I  met  with  tiie  followii 
beautiful  elegy  of  Simonides,  I  could  not  help  applying  it  I 
myself,  and  translated  it  accordingly.  There  have  been  tC 
sions  by  Denman,  the  Qtieek'a  solicitor  ;•  by  Elton,  by  1 
Hay,  and  by  Doctor  Jortiu ;  but  I  prefer  my  own,  m  no 
literal  and  moro  couformabte  to  genuine  Qreek  aimpljcttf. 

C))t  lAiutnt  of  Sfliiat. 

By  Simmidn.  lit  rltgmc  fort  of  Cot. 

Bf  111,1  TViuv,  xinfiuea  ri  \i/i,ta 

^HfUin  tii'-nt,  tiii'  aJlietiirniti 

napiaii,  ai*fi  if  nifaii  /3aXj 

^i^Mt  X'ft  "'■"  "'    O  ""Sfi 

(>/«►  i^M  -revf  av  f  awriic,  ya>Miti"f  r' 

llnfi  xttiaaiit  f>  artpni  tuiutrs^ 

XoXxioj'e/tf  j>r  it  »uxriX(x/4/ni 

Kvctti^  ri  itt^ifi-  eu  i'  auaXtai 

'T-ri(li  riixt  M/iair  Saliiai 

Ittfiorrs:  nu/iixrvt  tux  akiytif, 

Ki  Ji  rm  iiiiet  reyt  bimei  tji. 
Km  xsiifiait  ftj/i^arut  XtTTOu 
'T<ni^H  ouaf   xtXo/Mii,  liiit  dfi^^Ci 
Kiiitn  ii  rtm{,  iujfr«  a/tirfM  luinf, 
MaraioCeuXfQ  it  ni  patiin, 
ZiD  ^ranf,  ut  «o'   «  ri  3n  ia.faai.tn 
Erft(,  ivyBibai  rixttfi  iixat  I'm- 
*  Ws  iirrcT  ootplofod  liim. — BaotKi.   "Tmt  C*ntaa  of  B 


VXAIt   SWIFT  a   U^DNBSS, 


Ct)t  Saixtnt  of  dtclU. 


By  /'afj 


r  Prml. 


While  FQund  Uie  chum,  'mid  aleet  uid  nm, 

It  blew  a  psrlecl  huiriraae, 

Wmpt  in  alight  garment  to  protect  her, 

MeUmaghC  I  Ktw  mj  luotbar'a  »p«rtre. 

Who  look  ber  inittDt  to  ber  breut — 

11^  the  small  tenuit  of  thnt  cb«t — 

WhDfi  thiu  lbs  lolled  her  babe :  "  How  cruel 

HiTo  b«en  tbe  F«tea  to  thee,  mj  jewel ! 

But,  caring  iiaug;ht  for  toe  or  (cofier, 

Hutu  alcepot  in  Ihia  milk;  co9er. 

Cooper'd  with  brass  hoops  weether-tigUt, 

Lcperrioua  to  tbe  dim  moonlight. 

Bw  •howHT  cuinot  get  in  to  soak 

Thy  hair  or  htUe  purple  clo*li ; 

Beedleu  of  gloom,  in  du-k  lojoum, 

Thj  face  illuminal«i  the  rhum ! 

Saill  is  thine  car,  wee  babe,  tor  hearing. 

But  gnuit  my  pnyer,  yt  gods  of  Erin  1 

Ind  KUij  fblKs  find  that  this  joung  fellow 

Doe*  credit  to  bii  mother  Sttlla," 


THE   BOOITEBUa    OF   TOU   UOOBE. 

ffnm  t||(  Jprout  3papird. 
**  Orata  carpendo  thjuu  per  laborem 
Phirimum.  cim  neiutu*  uvidiquo 
Tibnris  ripa«,  opemia  fastub 

QccarDg  Hoeatius  Fliccv*, 
*  Bj  (akiDe  time,  and  same  adiica  &om  Pniut, 
A  polish  d  book  of  songs  I  Immtoered  out ; 
Bol  still  mj  Uu»,  for  sho  the  fact  cotdMites, 
HaunU  tiud,  sweet  hiU,  ronown'd  for  walor-cwsfes." 

Tbouis  L,  Moons. 

»  &v  star  of  Father  Prout  (a  geniuDe  son  of  tLi^  i 

'  i.  t.  Blameuui  uemus. 


132 


FATHES   PBOtJT  S    RELIQUBS. 


coinpIiBbed  Stella,  and  in  bicnaelf  tlic  most  eccpntric  Inni 
oary  that  hna  of  late  adorned  our  planetsiry  avstem)  1 
rose  in  the  firmameat  of  literature,  it  deservedly  attiv 
the  gaze  of  the  learned,  and  riveted  the  eye  uf  the  sage, 
know  not  what  may  have  been  the  sensation  it«  app« 
created  in  foreign  eauntrie§, — at  the  Observatoire  B 
Paris,  in  the  Val  d'Amo.  or  at  Feaok',  where,  in  Milti 
time,  the  Hona  of  Galileo  plied  the  untiring  telescope  ti 
si'ry  new  heavenly  plieDomena,  "  rivera  or  niountaiiis  i 
shadowy  moon," — but  we   can  vouch    for   the 
made  on  the  London  University ;  for  all  Stiukomuee  h 
been  perpleied  at  the  apparition.     The  learned  Chaldt 
uf  Grower  Street  opine  that  it  forebodei  noLhiug  good  t 
cause  of  "  useful  Knowledge,"  and  they  walch  the  " 
sit "  of  Prout,  devoutly  wishing  for  hia  "  exit."  With  tJ 
biug  anxiety,  night  after  uigbt  has  Dr.  Lardner  ganed  o 
siniHter  planet,  eeekiug,  with  the  aid  of  Dr.  Babbage's  c 
tatiog  machine,  to  sscerta-iD  the  probable  period  of  ita  fi 
eclipae,  and  often  muttering  ita  name,  "  to  tell  how  be  b 
its  beama."     He  hna  seen  it  last  April  shining  c 
ously  in  the  constellation  of  PUcn,  when  he  duly  coni 
over  the  "  Apology  for  Lent,"  aud  the  Doctor  Lm 
lo  the  University  Board,  that,  "  advancing  with  r 
movement   in    the    xodiac,"   this   disastrouB  orb  was    I 
perceived  m  the  mi/ki/  way,  entering  the  sign  o 
or  "the  chum."     But  w bat  do  the  public  care,  wliile  I 
general  eye  is  delighted  by  its  irradiauce,  that  a  few  tr 
and  dunces  are  siuirod  by  its  eifulgcncy  ?     The  f 
Sidua,  the  Astrium  Juliutn,  the  Soleil  d'Auntvrlitc,  ^"S 
»t  VauilwU,  tlie  Nose  of  Lord  Chancellar  Vaui,*  ■ 

*  Thn  roUowin^  Hng  wi 
pnTormar  on  the  maUitck,  in  llio  uMrrnli  of  bv 
"  &lAt  que  U  liiinitrv 
Jb  oominmiM  ms  ouriiire 


■I  !  '  '  r 

1  'I  ■■. 


.ti 


■""T  S  ','"  ""■.i  of  ,i''°"»i«??m/  :?'■■ 


»  Uif  ^.r.i' ""  from  liiVi     ^  """«  '  '1 


IBi  TATHSB  PBOUT*B   BELIQT7X8. 

The  title  of  this  second  paper  taken  from  the  Front  Col- 

Jection  is  enough  to  indicate  that  we  are  only  firing  off  the 

small  arms — the  pop-guns  of  this  atupendoufi  arscuoal,  and 

that  we  reserve  the  heavy  metal  for  a  grander  occasion,  when 

the  Whig  ministry  and  the  dog-days  shall  be  over,  and  a 

merry  autumn  ana  a  Wellington  administration  shall  meUow 

our  October  cups.     To  talk  of  Tom  Moore  is  but  small 

talk — "  in  tenui  labor,  at  tenuis  non  gloria ;"  for  Front's 

great  art  is  to  magnify  what  is  little,  and  to  fling  a  dash  of 

the  sublime  into  a  two-penny-post  communication.     To  use 

Tommy's  own  phraseology,  Front  could,  with  great  ease  and 

comfort  to  himself, 

"  Teach  an  old  cow  pater-noster, 
And  whistle  Moll  Boe  to  a  pig." 

But  we  have  another  reason  for  selecting  this  **  Essay  on 
Moore  "  from  the  papers  of  the  deceased  divine.  We  have 
seen  with  regret  an  efibrt  made  to  crush  and  annihilate  the 
young  author  of  a  book  on  the  "  Ilound  Towers  of  Ireland,** 
with  whom  we  are  not  personally  acquainted,  but  whose 
production  gave  earnest  of  an  ardent  mind  bent  on  abstruse 
and  recondite  studies ;  and  who,  leaving  the  frivolous  bou- 
doir and  the  drawing-room  coterie  to  lisp  their  ballads  and 
retail  their  Epicurean  gossip  unmolested,  trod  alone  the 
craggy  steeps  of  venturous  discovery  in  the  regions  of  Ori- 
ental learning ;  whence,  returning  to  the  isle  of  the  west, 
the  "  iBan  of  the  fire-worshipper,  he  trimmed  his  lamp, well 
fed  with  the  fragrant  oil  of  these  sunny  lands,  and  penned  a 
work  which  will  one  day  rank  among  the  most  extraordinair 
of  modem  times.  The  "Edinburgh  Review"  attempted, 
long  ago,  to  stifle  the  unfledged  muse  of  Byron  ;  these  trucu- 
lent northerns  would  gladly  have  bruised  in  the  very  shell 
the  young  eagle  that  afterwards  tore  with  his  lordly  talons 
both  Jeflery  and  his  colleague  Moore  (of  the  leadlesa  pistol), 
who  were  glad  to  wax  subservient  slaves,  after  being  impo- 
tent bullies.  The  same  review  undertook  to  cry  down 
Wordsworth  and  Coleridge ;  they  shouted  their  vulgar 
"crucifigatur"  against  Robert  Southey ;  and  seemed  to 
have  adopted  the  motto  of  the  French  club  of  witlingB, 

**  Nul  n*aura  de  Tesprit  que  nous  et  nos  amii.** 

But  in  the  present  case  they  ^will  find  themselves  equally 


TBE    BoafEBIES   or   TOH    MUO&E.  135 

ipotent  for  evil  t  O'Briun  may  defy  tham.  He  may  def? 
■  o«ra  alma  mater,  tlie  RJleot  had  unproductive  Triu.  Coll. 
)ub. ;  bfi  may  defy  the  Royal  Iriiih  Aisideniy,  a  learned  an- 
bmbly,  which,  &]aa !  baa  neither  a  body  to  bo  kicked,  nor  a 
KMil  to  be  damned  ;  and  may  rent  eecure  of  the  upplnuB-: 
^hich  Bterling  merit  chaUengeH  from  every  freeboru  iababi- 
nt  of  these  islands, — 

"  S»TB  where,  from  TOnder  iTT-mantled  tower. 
The  moping  owl  (toea  to  the  muoa  complain 
Of  Ibose  wbo,  venturing  nenr  her  aiteiit  bower, 
Moleet  her  Bociini)  solilary  reign," 

Moore^(we  beg  hia  pardon)— the  reviewer,  aaserts  that 
3'Bricn  is  a  plagiary,  and  pilfered  his  discovery  from  "  rfim- 
rod."  Now  we  venture  to  oiFer  a  copy  of  the  commentaries 
of  Cornelius  a  Lapide  (which  we  find  in  Prout's  chest)  to 
Tom,  if  he  will  abew  ua  a  single  passage  in  "Nimrod"  (which 
we  are  confident  he  never  read)  warranting  his  assertion. 
Bot.  apropot  of  plagiarisms ;  let  us  hear  the  prophet  of 
ffat«-graaahill,  whg  enters  largely  on  the  subject. 

OLIVER  yOKKE. 


Waleri/Taahill,  Fib.  1834. 

AT  notorious  tinker,  William  Woods,  who,  aa  I  have  re- 
among  the  papers  in  ray  cofl'er  somewhere,  to  spite 
Vf  illuatrious  father,  kidnapped  me  in  my  childhood,  little 
ireamt  that  the  infant  Prout  would  one  day  emerge  from 
be  Eoynl  Cork  Foundling  Hoapital  as  aafe  and  unscathed 
I  the  children  &otu  Nebuchadaezzar's  furuacCj  to  hold  up 
*•  filbuiy  to  the  execration  of  mankind  ; 

"  Hon  sine  IKs  aniuiDBiiB  iofanB  !" 

Among  the  Koroans,  whoever  atole  a  child  was  liable  by 
V  to  get  a  sound  flogging  ;  and  as  jiUiya  in  Latin  means  a 

^.  ■,  or  lath,  kidnappers  iu  Cicero's  time  were  called  pla^i- 
ii,  or  eal-o'-ninf-taU-tiUaini.     I  approve  highly  of  this  law 

ilka  twelve  tables ;  but  perhaps  my  judgment  is  biassed, 


136  TATHSB  PBOVT'B  BSLIQUIB. 

and  I  should  be  an  imfair  juror  to  give  a  verdict  in  a 
which  comes  home  to  my  own  feelmga  so  poignantly.  The 
term  plagiary  has  since  been  applied  metaphorically  to  lite- 
rary shop-bfbers  and  book-robbers,  who  stuff  their  page* 
with  other  men's  goods,  and  thrive  on  indiscriminate  piiLi^ 
This  is  justly  considered  a  high  misdemeanour  in  the 
republic  of  letters,  and  the  lash  of  criticism  is  unsparingly 
dealt  on  pickpockets  of  this  description.  Among  the  Latins, 
Martial  is  the  only  classic  author  oy  whom  the  term  plagi" 
arius  is  used  in  the  metaphorical  sense,  as  applied  to  litera- 
ture ;  but  surely  it  was  not  because  the  practice  only  began 
in  his  time  that  the  word  had  not  been  used  even  in  the 
Augustan  age  of  Eome.  Be  that  as  it  may,  we  first  find 
the  term  in  MartiaPs  Epigrams  (lib.  i.  epigr.  53)  :  talking 
of  his  verses,  he  says, 

'*  Dicas  esse  meos,  manoqae  liissot : 
Hoc  si  terque  qusterque  clamitdris, 
Impones  plagiario  padorem.*' 

Cicero  himself  was  accused  by  the  Q-reeks  of  pilfering  whole 
passages,  for  his  philosophical  works,  from  the  scrolls  of 
Athens,  and  cooking  up  the  fragments  and  broken  meat  of 
G-reek  orations  to  feed  the  hungry  barbarians  of  the  Bomau 
forum.  My  authority  is  that  excellent  critic  St.  Jerome, 
who,  in  the  "  Proemium  in  qu.  Heb.  lib.  Genesis,"  distinctly 
says,  "  Cicero  repetundarum  accusatur  d  Graecis,"  Ac.  &c- ; 
and  in  the  same  passage  he  adds,  that  Virgil  being  accused 
of  taking  whole  similes  from  Homer,  gloried  in  the  theft, 
exclaiininff,  "  Think  ye  it  nothing  to  wrest  his  club  firom 
Hercules  r"  (it.  ibidem.)  Vide  S***  Hieronymi  Opera,  tom. 
iv.  fol.  90.  But  what  shall  we  say  when  we  find  tferome  ac- 
cusing another  holy  father  of  plagiarism  ?  Verily  the  tempt- 
ation must  have  been  very  great  to  have  shaken  the  probity 
of  St.  Ambrose,  when  he  pillaged  his  learned  brother  in  the 
faith,  Origan  of  Alexandria,  by  wholesale.  "  Nuper  Sanctus 
Ambrosius  Hexaemeron  illius  compilavit"  (S***Hieronymi 
Opera,  tom.  iii.  fol.  87,  in  epistold  ad  Pammaeh),  It  is  well 
known  that  Menander  and  Aristophanes  were  mercilessly 
pillaged  by  Terence  and  Plautus  ;  and  the  Latin  freebooter! 


TUX    ROODEIUBS  OT  TOU  UOOBE.  137 

thoDglit  nothing  of  stopping  the  Thftpian  maffffon  an  the 
higbwAp  of  PamMSUS.  The  French  dramatiato  are  simi- 
lany  waylaid  bv  our  scouts  from  the  green-room, — aud  the 
plunder  is  awfiil !  What  is  TalleTranii  about,  that  he  can- 
not protect  tlie  property  of  the  French  ?  Perhaps  he  is  better 
employed  ? 

I  am  an  old  man,  and  have  read  a  great  deal  in  my  time — 
being  of  a  quiet  ditipoBition,  and  having  always  had  a  tastft 
for  books,  wbiirh  I  eonaider  a  great  blessing;  but  latterly  I 
find  that  I  msiy  dispeDse  with  further  perusal  of  printed 
volumes,  a»,  unfortunately,  memory  serves  me  but  too  well ; 
and  all  I  read  now  strikes  me  as  but  a  new  version  of  what 
1  hftd  read  somewhere  before.  Plagiarism  is  bo  barefaced 
and  BO  luivereal,  that  I  can't  stand  it  no  longer:  I  have 
shut  up  sbop,  and  won't  be  taken  in  no  more.  Quarr  prre- 
ffrimim  ?  eiatno.  I'm  sick  of  hashed-up  works,  and  loathe 
the  inked  meal)  of  antiquity  served  in  a  fricassee.  Give  me 
a  solid  joint,  in  which  no  knife  has  been  ever  fleshed,  and  I 
will  abare  your  intellectual  banquet  most  willingly,  were  It 
but  a  mi>unlain  kid,  or  a  limo  of  Welsh  mutton.  Alas ! 
whither  shall  I  turn  ?  Let  me  open  the  reviews,  and  lo !  the 
critics  are  but  repeatmg  old  criticisnis ;  let  me  fly  !«  the 
poets,  'tis  but  the  old  lyre  with  catgut  strings ;  let  me  hear 
the  orators, — "  that's  my  thunder  !"  says  the  ghoat  of  Sheri- 
dsn  or  the  spectre  of  Burke ;  let  me  listen  to  the  savers  of 
eood  things,  and  alas  for  the  injured  shade  of  Joe  ililler ! 
1  lootild  go  through  the  whole  range  of  modern  authors  (save 
"outt,  and  a  few  of  that  kidney),  and  exclaim,  with  mure 
nth  than  the  chieftain  of  the  crusaders  in  Taaso — 

"IK  ctii  cli  loi  Don  CO  U  patria  e  '1  laaet 
Quid  tpaiJK  tn'  i  ignOM  t  c  qua)  MCtU, 
Baodi^  per  1    aria  nncor  aospeHi  trerao, 
Kao  Mproi  dir  «'  i  FnutRO,  o  •'  t  it'Irlsada, 
E  qtulo  Bppunto  il  bncdo  &  ctii>  la  amniia  ?" 

Geruial.  Libfr.  oonlo  x\.  St.  18, 

''  To  state  the  simple  truth,  such  oa  I  feel  it  in  my  own 

tounction,  1  declaro  that  the  whole  mass  of  contemporary 

llteribbleioent  might  be  hound  up  in  one  tremendous  volume, 

"'"■Jed  "  Elegant  Extracts  ;"  for,  if  you  except  the  form 

^tbe  varnish  aud  colour,  all  the  rest  is  what  I  have 


138  PATHXB  FBOUT*B   BSLIQinBS. 

known  in  a  different  shape  forty  years  ago ;  and  there  is 
more  philosophy  than  meets  the  vulgar  eye  in  that  excellent 
song  on  the  transmutation  of  things  here  below,  which  per- 
petually offer  the  same  intrinsic  substance,  albeit  under  a 
different  name : 

'*  Dear  Tom,  this  brown  jug,  which  now  foams  with  mild  ale, 
Was  once  Toby  Fhilpot,  a  meny  old  aoul,**  &c.  Ac 

This  transmigration  of  intellect,  this  metempsychosis  of 
literature,  goes  on  silently  reproducing  and  reconstructing 
what  had  gone  to  pieces.  But  those  whose  memory,  like 
mine,  is  unfortunately  over- tenacious  of  its  young  impres- 
sions, cannot  enjoy  the  zest  of  a  twice-told  tale,  and  conse- 
quently are  greatly  to  be  pitied. 

It  has  lately  come  out  that  "  Childe  Harolde  "  (like  other 
naughty  children  whom  we  daily  read  of  as  terminating  their  "life 
in  London  "  by  being  sent  to  the  "Euryalus  hulk,")  was  given 
to  picking  pockets.  Mr.  Beckford,  the  author  of  "  Vathek," 
and  the  builder  of  Eonthill  Abbey,  has  been  a  serious  sufferer 
by  the  Childe*s  depredations,  and  is  now  determined  to  pub- 
lish his  case  in  the  shape  of  "  Travels,  in  1787,  through  Por- 
tugal, up  the  Ehine,  and  through  Italy;"  and  it  also  appears 
that  Saml.  Eogers,  in  his  "  Italy,"  has  learued  a  thing  or 
two  from  the  "  Bandits  of  Terracina,"  and  has  divaliai  Mr. 
Beckford  aforesaid  on  more  than  one  occasion  in  the  Apen- 
nines. I  am  not  surprised  at  all  this :  murder  will  out ;  and 
a  stolen  dog  will  naturally  nose  out  his  original  and  primi- 
tive master  among  a  thousand  on  a  race  course. 

These  matters  may  be  sometimes  exaggerated,  and  (honour 
bright !)  far  be  it  from  me  to  pull  the  stool  from  under  every 
poor  devil  that  sits  down  to  write  a  book,  and  sweep  away,  with 
unsparing  besom,  all  the  cobwebs  so  industriously  wovet* 
across  Paternoster  Eow.  I  don*t  wish  to  imitate  Fathei 
Hardouin,  the  celebrated  Jesuit,  who  gained  great  renown 
among  the  wits  of  Louis  XIYth*s  time  by  ms  paradoxes. 
A  favourite  maggot  hatched  in  his  prolific  brain  was,  that  the 
Odes  of  Horace  never  were  written  by  the  friend  of  Mecaeiias, 
but  were  an  imposture  of  some  old  Benedictine  monk  of  the 
twelfth  century,  who,  to  amuse  his  cloistered  leisure,  per- 
sonated Flaccus,  and  under  his  name  strung  together  those 
lyrical  effusions.  This  is  maintained  in  a  large  folio,  printed 


THB  auaiTEniEs  of  Toa  hoobe.  199 

Amsterdam  in  1783,  via.  "  Harduini  Opera  Varia,  -^tutt- 
ocutiua."     One  of  hia  argumeuta  ia  drawn  from  the  CTtrii- 
button*  which,  he  asserta.  occur  bo  frequeu^j-  in  tlie«e 
'.yratid,  the  "priiJse  of  celibacy;" 

"  PUUnuique  Lteteba 
Sviacit  nlmOB  i' 

Lib-  il'  ode  15. 

Sot  the  elm-tree  used  to  be  marrird  to  tbi»  vine  ;  not  bo  the 
ijmmare,  as  any  one  who  haa  been  in  Italy  must  know.  The 
luiuildiug  of  the  temple  by  Julian  the  Apostate  is,  occocd- 
ing  to  the  Jesuit,  thus  denounced : 

"  Sed  bellicmui  fnta  Qniritibus 
Hie  lege  dico,  nc  nimluDi  pii, 
Techi  Tclint  repsr»re  Trojip." 

Lib.  iii.  Ode  S. 

Again,  the  aacred  mysteries  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  the 
netaUd  nature  of  th«  dread  that  was  broken  among  the  pri- 
itive  Cbristiaiis : 

"  Vetabo,  qui  CtrrrU  lacrum 

Tulglril  arcane,  Bub  liaJcm 

Sit  tribibu*,  fragilemFe  mecum 

SoItbE  phaaeJuDi "  (■.  i.  Iht  iart  a/  PeUr). 
Lib.  iii.  odB  2. 

Ind  the  patnarch  Joseph,  quoth  Hardouin,  is  clearly  pointed 
^^ot  under  the  strange  and  un-Eomau  name  of  Proculeiua,  of 
a  pagau  history  says  nauglit : 


odeS. 

ir  the  rrat  of  Hardooin's  diacoveriea  I  must  refer  to  the 
>rk  itaelf,  aa  quoted  above ;  and  I  must  in  fairuesB  add. 
lat  hia  other  literary  efforts  sod  deep  erudition  reflect  the 
t  credit  on  the  celebrated  order  to  which  he  belonged 
Jeeuita,  and.  I  may  add.  the  Benedictinea  being  as 
_.t  and  aa  superior  bodies  of  monastic  men  to  the  re- 
aine  tribes  of  cowled  eteuobitus  aa  the  Brahmins  in  India 
to  the  begging  Farias.* 


140  PATHEB  FBOUT'B  SSLIQUXB. 

There  is  among  the  lyric  poems  of  the  lower  Irish  a  yery 
remarkable  ode,  the  authorship  of  which  has  been  ascribed 
to  the  very  Eev.  Eobert  Burrowes,  the  mild,  tolerant,  and 
exemplary  JDean  of  St.  Finbarr's  Cathedral,  Cork,  whom  I 
am  proud  to  call  my  friend :  it  refers  to  the  last  tragic  scene 
in  the  comic  or  melodramatic  life  of  a  Dublin  gentleman, 
whom  the  above-mentioned  excellent  divine  accompanied  in 
his  ministerial  capacity  to  the  gallows ;  and  nothing  half  so 
characteristic  of  the  genmne  Irish  recklessness  of  death  was 
ever  penned  by  any  national  Labruy^re  as  that  incompar- 
able elegy,  beginning — 

"  The  night  before  JJarry  waa  stretched. 
The  boys  they  all  paid  him  a  viait,'*  &o. 

Now,  were  not  this  fact  of  the  clerical  authorship  of  a  most 
sublime  Pindaric  composition  chronicled  in  these  papers, 
some  future  Hardouin  would  arise  to  unsettle  the  belief  of 
posterity,  and  the  claim  of  my  friend  Dean  Burrowes  would 
be  overlooked ;  while  the  songster  of  Turpin  the  highway- 
man, the  illustrious  author  of  "  Bookwood,"*  would  infal- 
libly be  set  down  as  the  writer  of  "  Larry's"  last  hornpipe. 
But  let  me  remark,  m  passant,  that  in  that  interesting  depart- 
ment of  literature  "  slang  songs,"  Ireland  enjoys  a  proud 
and  lofty  pre-eminence  over  every  European  country :  her 
musa pedestris,  or  '^footpad poetry, ^^  being  unrivalled;  and,. as 
it  is  observed  by  Tacitus  (in  his  admirable  work  "  De  Mori- 
bus  G«rmanorum")  of  the  barbarians  on  the  Bhine — the 
native  Irish  find  an  impulse  for  valorous  deeds,  and  a  com- 
fort for  all  their  tribulations,  in  a  song. 

belonged.  His  Collection  of  the  Councils  ranks  among  the  most  ela- 
borate efforts  of  theological  toil,  "  Concil.  Collect.  Regia,"  15  vols, 
folio,  Paris,  1715.  The  best  edition  extunt  of  the  naturalist  Pliny  is 
his  {in  usum  Delphini),  and  displays  a  wondrous  ranse  of  reading.  He 
was  one  of  the  witty  and  honest  crew  of  Jesuits  who  conduct^  that 
model  of  periodical  criticism,  the  "Journal  de  Tr^TOuz."  Biahop 
Atterbury  of  Rochester  has  written  his  epitaph  ; 

"  Hie  jacet  Petrus  Harduinvs, 
Hominum  paradoxotatos,  yir  summee  nwmoruf^ 

Judicium  expectans."  Pbovt. 

•  Prout  must  hare  enjoyed  the  gift  of  prophecy,  for  **  Bookwood' 
was  not  published  till  four  months  after  his  death  at  WatergruahilL 
Perhaps  Mr.  Ainsworth  submitted  \\\&  embryo  romance  to  the  prieet'a 
inapeotion  when  he  went  to  kiss  the  stone. — O.  Y. 


Mnny  folks  like  to  write  anonymously,  others  posthu- 
iDUsly,  others  under  on  aseiiiued  name  ;  au<l  for  each  ul'  thega 
Btethoda  of  conveying  thought  to  our  fellow-men  there  may 
be  assigned  sundiy  solid  re-nsons.  But  a  man  should  never 
>e  asbamed  to  avow  liia  writings,  if  called  on  by  an  injured 
Kirtv,  and  I,  for  one,  will  never  shrink  from  that  avowal. 
:f,  as  my  frietid  OBrien  of  the  Bound  Towers  tells  me, 
Tom  Moore  tried  to  run  him  down  in  the  "  Edinburgh  H«- 
»idw,"  after  holding  an  uneuecessful  negotiation  with  bim 
far  his  services  in  compiling  a  joint-stock  history  of  Ireland, 
wbv  did  not  the  man  of  the  paper  huUH  fire  a  fair  shot  in 
"own  name,  and  court  the  publicity  of  a.  dirty  job,  which 
le  in  the  dark  can  .lose  nothing  of  its  infamy  r  Sr,  John- 
son t«Ua  us  tliat  Bolingbroke  wrote  in  bis  old  age  a  work 
against  ChriBtianity,  which  he  hadn't  the  ctuirage  to  avow 
or  publish  in  his  lifetime ;  but  left  a  sum  of  money  in  his 
will  to  a  hungry  Scotchman,  Mallet,  on  condition  of  print- 
ing in  his  own  name  this  precious  production.  "  lie  loaded 
the  pistol,"  Bays  the  pjoiia  and  learned  lexicographer,  "but 
■lade  Sawney  pull  the  trigger."  Such  appear  to  be  the 
'tactics  of  Tomniv  in  the  present  instance :  hut  I  trust  the 
iftttempt  will  fail,  and  that  this  insidious  missile  darted 
icainst  the  towers  of  O'Brien  will  prove  a  "  telum  imbelle, 
— ue  ictu." 

The  two  most  original  writers  of  the  day,  and  also  the 
'o  most  ilUtreated  by  the  prcBs,  are  decidedly  Miss  Harriet 
artineau  and  Henry  O'Brien.  Of  Miss  Martineau  I 
lall  say  L'ttje.  aa  she  can  defend  herself  against  all  her 
ani]  give  them  an  efl'ectuitl  cheek  when  hard-pressed  in 
ry  encounterB.  Her  fame  can  be  comprised  in  one 
pentajneter,  which  I  would  recommend  as  a  motto  for 
le  title-page  of  aU  her  treatises  : 

"  FomiHB  tnctaiit '  propria  gun  nunbiia.' " 
nt  over  Henry  O'Brien,  as  he  is  young  and  artless,  I  must 
irow  the  shield  of  my  fostering  protection.  It  is  now 
ime  time  since  he  called  at  Watergraeshill ;  it  was  in  the 
unmer  after  I  had  a  visit  from  Sir  "Walter  Scott.  The 
■tnme  man  was  then  well  versed  in  the  Oriental  languagea 
nd  the  Celtic :  he  had  read  the  "  Coran"  and  the  ■'  Paalter 
of  Cnahil,"  tbo  "'  Zenduvesta"  and  the  "  Ogygia,"  "  Lalla 


142  FATHER  FBOUT^S  BZLIQVSS. 

Rookh"  and  "  Eock*B  Memoirs/'  besides  other  books  tibat 
treat  of  Phoenician  antiquities.  From  these  authentic 
sources  of  Irish  and  Hindoo  mythology  he  had  deriyed 
much  internal  comfort  and  spiritual  consolation ;  at  the 
same  time  that  he  had  picked  up  a  rude  (and  perhaps  a 
crude)  notion  that  the  Persians  and  the  boys  of  Tipperary 
were  first  cousins  after  all.  This  might  seem  a  startling 
theory  at  first  sight ;  but  then  the  story  of  the  fire-worship- 
pers in  Arabia  so  corresponded  with  the  exploits  of  General 
Decimus  Bock  in  Mononia,  and  the  camel-driver  of  Mecca 
was  so  forcibly  associated  in  his  mind  with  the  bog-trotter 
of  Derrynane,  both  having  deluded  an  untutored  tribe  of 
savages,  and  the  flight  of  the  one  being  as  celebrated  as  the 
vicarious  imprisonment  of  the  other,  he  was  sure  he  should 
find  some  grand  feature  of  this  striking  consanguinity, 
some  landmark  indicative  of  former  relationship  : 

Joumeymg  with  that  intent,  he  eyed  these  TOWSBS ; 
And,  deaven- directed,  came  this  wav  to  find 
The  noble  truth  that  gilds  his  humble  name. 

Being  a  tolerable  Greek  scholar  (for  he  is  a  Kerryman), 
with  Lucian,  of  course,  at  his  fingers'  ends,  he  probably 
bethought  himself  of  the  two  ^reat  phallic  towers  which 
that  author  describes  as  having  been  long  ago  erected  in 
the  countries  of  the  East,^  ("  ante  Sjrrise  Deas  templum  stare 
phaUos  duos  mirse  altitudinis ;  sacerdotem  per  funes  asoen- 
dere,  ibi  orare,  sacra  facere,  tinnitumque  ciere,"  &c.  Ac.) ; 
a  ray  of  light  darted  through  the  diaphanous  casement  of 
O'Brien's  brain, — 'twas  a  most  eurikish  moment, — 'twas  a 
coup  de  soleil,  a  manifestation  of  the  spirit, — 'twas  a  divine 
particula  aura, — twas  what  a  Frenchman  would  call  Theurt 
du  herger ;  and  on  the  spot  the  whole  theory  of  *'  Bound 
Towers"  was  developed  in  his  mind.  The  dormant  chrysalis 
burst  into  a  butterfly.    And  this  is  the  bright  thing  of  sur- 

Eassing  brilliancy  that  Tom  Moore  would  extinguish  with 
is  flimsy  foolscap  pages  of  the  "  Edinburgh  Beview." 
Forbid  it.  Heaven !  Though  all  the  mercenary  or  time- 
serving scribes  of  the  periodical  press  should  combine  to 
slander  and  burke  thee,  O'B. !  though  all  the  world  betray 
thee,  one  pen  at  least  thy  right  shaJl  guard,  and  vindicate 
thy  renown :  here,  on  the  summit  of  a  bleak  Irish  hiU— 


TOM   HOOBE.  Li3 

I  hm,  to  the  child  of  genius  nnd  entliuBiaBin  my  door  is  etill 
I  open  I  Mid  though  the  support  which  1  can  give  thee  is  but 
I  iKutf  portion  of  patroDoge  indeed,  I  give  it  with  good 
I  vHI,  and  assuredly  with  good  humour.  O'Brien !  hiatorian 
I  cf  roQod  towers,  boa  boitow  thy  young  daye  tiided  F 

Dora  MoDre  with  hia  nold  wing  withar 

Each  feeling  tliM  atiee  was  dear  t 
Tben,  chiid  of  roiefortimB,  oome  hither — 

m  weep  with  thee  tear  for  tear. 

Q  O'Brien  consulted  me  as  to  his  future  pliuu  and 
ntpecta,  and  the  developmeDt  of  his  theory,  in  the  first 
e  confidentially  to  Tom  Moore,  I  remember  distinctly 
the  course  of  our  conversatiou  (over  a  red  herringj, 
1  cautioned  the  young  and  fervent  enthusiast  against  tim 
tricks  and  roguenes  of  Tommy.  No  man  was  better  able 
III  give  advice  on  this  subject — Moore  and  I  having  had 
many  mutual  transactionB,  the  reciprocity  of  which  was  all 
nn  one  side.  We  know  each  other  inlui  el  in  cult,  as  the 
reader  of  this  posthumous  paper  will  not  fail  to  learn  be- 
fore be  has  laid  down  the  document ;  and  if  the  ballad- 
monger  comes  off  second  best,  1  can't  help  him.  I  warned 
(yS.  against  confiding  his  secret  to  the  man  of  melody,  or 
«l«e  he  would  Burely  repent  of  his  simplicity,  and  to  his 
eoit  find  himself  some  day  the  dupe  of  his  creduJous  reli- 
while  be  would  have  the  untoward  prospect  of  seeing 
I  ;laa  discovery  swamped,  and  of  beholding,  through  the  me- 
LAom  of  a  deep  and  overwhelming  flood  of  treachery, 


r,  to  illustrate  by  a  practical  example  the  mau's  way  of 

ing  business,  T  gave,  as  a  etrilfliig  instance,  hia  "  Travels 

b  3e>reh  of  Religion."     Now,  sine*  my  witty  father's  cele- 

fmteil  book  of  '■  Gulliver's  Travels,"  I  ask,  waa  there  ever 

feinore  clever,  or  ia  every  way  so  well  got  up  a  performance 

■  this  Irish  gentleman's  ■'  steeple  chase  P"     But  unfortu- 

'  toly  memory  supplies  me  with  the  fact,  that  this  very  same 

mtical  Tommy,  who  iu  that  work  quotes  the  "  Fathers  " 

accurately,  and,  I  ma^  add  (without  goin^iuto  polemics). 

I   felicitously    and    triumphantly,  has  written   the  most 


144  TATHEB  PSOUT's   REliIQUBS. 

abusive,  scurrilous,  and  profane  article  that  erer  sullied  the 
pages  of  the  '^  Edinburgh  Beview," — the  whole  scope  of 
which  is  to  cry  down  the  Fathers,  and  to  turn  the  highest 
and  most  cherished  ornaments  of  the  primitiye  church  intc 
ridicule.  See  the  24th  volume  of  the  "Edinburgh  Eeview,"* 
p.  65,  Nov.  1814,  where  you  will  learn  with  amazement  that 
the  most  accomplished  Christian  writer  of  the  second 
century,  that  most  eloquent  churchman,  Africa's  glorious 
son,  was  nothing  more  in  Tommy's  eye  than  the  "  harsh, 
muddy,  and  unintelligible  Tertullian!"  Further  on,  you 
will  hear  this  Anacreontic  little  chap  talk  of  "  the  pompous 
rigidity  of  Chrysostom ;"  and  soon  after  you  are  equally 
edified  by  hearing  him  descant  on  the  "  antithetical  tnflins 
of  Gregory  Nazianzene  "—of  Q-regory,  whose  elegant  mind 
was  the  result  and  the  index  of  pure  unsidlied  virtue,  ever 
most  attractive  when  adorned  with  the  graces  of  scholar- 
ship— Gregory,  the  friend  of  St.  Basil,  and  his  schoolfellow 
at  Athens,  where  those  two  vigorous  champions  of  Chris- 
tianity were  associated  in  their  youthful  studies  with  that 
Julian  who  was  afterwards  an  emperor,  a  sophist,  and  an 
apostate — a  disturber  of  oriental  provinces,  and  a  fellow  who 
perished  deservedly  by  the  javefin  of  some  young  patriot 
admirer  of  round  towers  in  Persia.  In  the  article  alluded 
to,  this  incredulous  Thomas  goes  on  to  say,  that  these  same 
Fathers,  to  whom  he  afterwards  refers  his  Irish  gentleman 
in  the  catch-penny  travels,  are  totally  ^^  unfit  to  be  gmdu 
either  in  faith  or  morals,^^  (it,  ih.)  The  prurient  rogue  dares 
to  talk  of  their  ^^  pagan  imaginatiam  /"  and,  having  turned  up 
his  ascetic  nose  at  these  saintly  men,  because,  forsooth,  they 
appear  to  him  to  be  but  "  indifferent  ChristianSy^  he  pro- 
nounces them  to  be  also  "  elephants  in  battle,"  and,  chuckling 
over  this  old  simile,  concludes  with  a  complacent  smirk  quite 
self-satisfactory.  O  for  the  proboscis  of  the  royal  animiu  in 
the  Surrey  Menagerie,  to  give  this  poet's  carcass  a  sound 
drubbing !  O  most  theological,  and  zoological,  and  super- 
eminently logical  Tommy  !  'tis  you  that  are  fit  to  travel  in 
search  of  religion ! 

If  there  is  one  plain  truth  that  oozes  forth  from  the  fecu- 
lent heap  of  trash  which  the  reviewer  accumulates  on  the 

*  The  book  reviewed  by  Moore  is  entitled  *'  Select  Paasages  from  tha 
Fathers,'*  by  Hugh  Boyd,  Esq.     Dublin,  1814. 


kiuei 
Mea 


mi:  Booi'KiiiEs  OP  Tou  uoobz.  I4S 

■its  of  the  Fathers,  it  is  the  convJctiou  ia  every  obBervant 
id,  lirnwu  from  the  Bunple  peru§al  of  his  article,  that  lie 
er  re«<l  tlireo  tonaecittive  pagt'sof  their  worku  in  liis  hie. 
one  that  ever  tlid — no  one  who  hiid  batiqiiet«d  with  the 
id  nisgniliceiit  Cbrysostoni,  or  drained  the  true 
«niiui  run  of  Gregory  Nazianzene,  or  dwelt  with  the 
luent  aod  feeliugly  ilevout  Bernard  iu  the  cloistered 
of  Clairvaux,  or  mused  with  the  powerful,  rich,  and 
itinizing  mind  of  Jerome  in  hia  liennitoge  of  Palestine, — 
Id  trrite  an  article  bo  contemptible,  bo  low,  so  little.  Ilt> 
H,  Iruty  with  chnrncteriBtic  audacity,  that  he  ha^  mounted 
mONt  Inaccessible  shelves  of  the  library  iu  'JViu.  Coll. 
i>]ia,  Ks  if  be  had  wiuled  the  "  heights  of  Abruhani,"  to 
■  Mi  theorifiDal  editioua;  but  believe  him  not:  for  the 
.  folioe  would  have  become  iiifitiiict  with  life  at  the  ap- 
Acb  of  the  dwarf — they  would  Lave  awakened  from  their 
Biber  at  bis  touch,  and,  tumbling  their  goodly  voliimea 
their  diminutive  assailant,  would  have  overwhelmed  htm, 
1  Tarpcin,  on  the  very  threshold  of  his  saerilegious  iu- 
ioa. 

rowBnbi  my  young  friend  O'Brien  nf  the  taicers  he  acts  tlin 
■e  part,  appearing  in  his  favourite  character — that  of  uu 
ffijmons  reviewer,  n  veiled  prophet  of  Khoraaan.  Having 
It  negotiated  by  lelt«r  willi  him  to  extract  his  brains,  and 
ke  utw  of  him  for  hJu  meditated  "  History  of  Ireland  " — 
e  citrecpondence  lies  before  me)— he  winds  up  the  con- 
mtial  intercourse  by  an  Edinburgh  volley  of  canister  shot, 
oitp  in  a  friendly  way."  Ue  has  the  ineffable  impudence 
■ccute  O'B.  of  p'/ajriTun),  and  to  st«te  that  this  grand  and 
Hnlleleddiscot'eryhadbeen  previously  made  by  tne  author 
^Nimrod;"*  a  book  wbicb  Tommy  read  not,  neitlier  did 
art.  «o  he  plucked  the  laurel  from  the  brow  of  uiorit.  Jliit 
•ccBM  a  writer  of  plagiarism,  he  should  be  himself  irn- 

>5bii>a(I.  t?  the  Han.  RrginBld  H(!rb«rt.  1  vol.  Sva.  I.CFndan,  18^(1. 
Ik;,  a  «<irli  of  unconuDan  erudition;  but  the  IcaJin^  idol  uf 
it,lhiathiiiH- towrTtnerfJIre-allarM.     O.  B.'b  tlipory  is  nol   Iu 

■tc  Htoniihtd  it  thp  nuhini«a  of  eifitiK  (»  Kloore  ha»  done)  ■ 
idad  faolalion  from  "  Afmrurf  "  wilhout  mdii»tiiig  ir*(r«  i)  u 
hiA  with  In  Iliv  volume. — O,  T. 


FATUEB   F  BOUT  a    BELmUES. 

inaoulati! ;  imd  while  be  dwells  in  a  glass  houB^,  he  ajooi 
not  throw  stones  at  a  ninn  in  a  tower. 

Tlie  Btaj'aey-Btoneiiiniy  Detgiibourhoodhnsiittninti-illiitbi 
tnauy  an  illuBtrious  visitor ;  but  none  has  becu  so  assidunt 
a  pUgrim  in  my  time  aa  Tom  Moore.  "While  he  «aa  iti;^iigi 
in  hia  hunt  und  moEt  uneiL'ept  ion  able  work  on  the  melodioi 
ballads  of  iiis  country,  he  came  regularly  every  suniuier,iil 
did  mo  the  honour  to  share  my  humblo  roof  repentt-Jly.  B 
knows  well  how  olleu  he  plaeued  me  to  supply  liim  wil 
original  songs  which  I  ha^  picked  up  Ju  Franco  ami>ne  tl 
merry  troubadours  njid  earol-loving  inhabitants  uf^ tin 
«nce  happy  laud,  aud  to  what  extent  he  has  transTcm 
these  foreign  inventions  into  the  "  Irish  JUdodte* 
Like  the  robber  Cueiis,  he  generally  dragged  the  pluuck- 
<-attle  by  the  tail,  so  as  that,  moving  backwardu  iolD 
cavern  of  stolen  goods,  the  foot-tracka  might  not  l«ai] 
rlet«>ction.  Some  songs  he  would  turn  upside  dovn.  bv 
tigure  in  rhetoric  called  iitrtpati Tftrifm ;  others  ho  would  m 
guise  in  various  shapes;  but  he  would  still  worry  mc  I 
supply  him  with  the  productious  of  the  Galho  mum.'; '*f< 
d'ye  see,  old   Prout,"  lliu  rogue  would  say, 

"TlieWilof  allw^ji 
To  Icnglbm  our  layi, 
li  to  Ileal  >  few  Ihouglite  froiu  Ibe  Pmioli,  '  ii]t  iJivr.'  ~ 

Now  I  would  have  let  him  enjoy  unnioleated  the  mMH 
which  these  "  Melodies "  have  obtiuned  for  him ;  but  h 
laat  treachery  to  my  round-tower  friend  has  niisod  my  bit 
and  I  shall  give  evidence  of  the  unsuspected  robbcrin  : 


II  would  be  easy  to  point  out  detached  fragmeDlB  sfl 
■tray  iiietapli<>rs,  which  he  has  scattered  here  and  thent  I 
such  gs^  cont\iaion  that  every  page  has  within  its  limit* 
maae  of  felony  and  plagiariam  euSicient  to  haug  btm.  Kl 
instance,  1  need  only  advert  to  bis  '■  Bard'a  Legacy." 
on  his  dying  bed  this  "  dyin^  '^bard  "  cannot  help  uululj^ 
hia  evil  pranks;  for,  in  l)c(|ueothinc  his  "  heart"  to  U 
"miatreaa  dear,"  and  nn'oainmuding  uer  to  "bttrrott" 


TB£    BOOUEHtEa    or  TOU  MOOSE. 


■Iropa  of  pnrt  wine  to  bathe  the  relic,  he  is  all  the  while  rob- 
bing old  Clement  Mar6t,  who  thus  disposes  of  hu  remaiub : 


"  Qnuid  je  eui>  mort,  Jc  n 


I  But  I  wont  strain  at  a  gnat,  when  I  can  capture  a  camel — 
hage  dromedary  ladeu  with  pilfered  spoil ;  for,  would  yoti 
diuTe  it  if  you  tad  never  learned  it  from  Prout,  the  very 
oing  Aud  foremost  song  of  the  collection, 

"  Go  where  glorj  waiCa  thee," 

rit  but  u  literal  and  eervite  translatiou  of  an  old  French 
I  4itlT,  which  i»  among  my  papers,  and  which  I  betieye  to  havf 
1>rp-D  ct>ti)pus<!d  by  that  oeautiful  and  interesting  "  ludye," 
Frutfoine  de  Foiz,  Conitewe  de  Chateaubriand,  bom  in 
liDl,  and  the  favourite  of  Francis  I.,  who  soon  abandoned 
her:  indeed,  llie  lines  apptear  to  anticipate  his  infidelity. 
Tliey  were  written  before  the  battle  of  Pavia. 


Cliantfoit 


Com  ^oart'0 

Tramlnlwn  of  thu  Sofg  m  Ihl  /. 

Go  wliere  glory  vniU  Uiec  ; 
Bill  Blulcliinio  daM>  Ibee, 

Oh,  ilill  remenibfrr  me  ! 
mien  UiepruK  tlmu  iimtnt 
To  thin<!  MT  ii  tweetcvl. 

Oil,  tlien  rmni^inbcr  nie ! 
OUier«™i»  in«ir  prcBsthec, 
l>air«r  friends  mrna  thro — 
All  tho  jo^i  Ihat  bl^>  (liCd 

Deo«r  far  may  Ke  ; 
But  vhm  firii^iu  are  drarest, 
AiiJ  •thenJOjs  arr  nwrMt, 

Oh,  then  mucmbor  toe  1 

Whai  nt  CTP  thou  rowst 
Ej  tlic  etu  thou  lOTMi, 
Ob,  lbcDivinrn,W<..al 


lis 


Fi^THEB    PROUT^a    RELIQUES. 


Lorjijque  cette  etoile, 
Qu'uu  beau  cicl  devoile, 

Guidadeux  amans! 
Quand  la  fleur,  sjmbole 
l)'ete  qui  s'envole, 
Penche  sa  t^te  molle, 

S'exhalant  a  Pair, 
Pense  k  la  guirlande, 
De  ta  mie  roflfrande— 

Don  qui  fut  si  cher ! 

Quand  la  feuille  d*automne 
Sous  tea  pas  reaonne, 

Pense  alors  k  moi ! 
Quand  de  la  famille 
L'antique  foyer  brille, 

Pense  encore  k  moi ! 
Kt  8i  de  la  chanteuse 
La  voix  melodieuse 
Berce  ton  kme  heurcuse 

£t  ravit  tes  sens, 
Pense  k  I'air  que  cliante 
Pour  toi  ton  aniante — 

Tant  aimes  accens ! 


Think,  wlien  home  returning, 
Bright  weVe  seen  it  burning-* 

Oh,  then  remember  me ! 
Oft  as  summer  closes, 
Wlien  thine  eye  reposes 
On  its  lingering  roses, 

Once  so  loved  by  thee, 
Think  of  her  who  wore  thenh— 
Her  who  made  thee  love  them : 

Oh,  then  remember  me ! 

When  around  thee,  dying, 
Autumn  leaves  are  lying. 

Oh,  then  remember  me ! 
And  at  night,  when  gazing 
On  the  gAj  hearth  blazing, 

Oh,  still  remember  me ! 
Then,  should  music,  stealing 
All  the  soul  of  feeling. 
To  thy  heart  appealing. 

Draw  one  tear  from  thee ; 
Then  let  memory  bring  thee 
Strains  I  used  to  sing  thee — 

Oh,  then  rememb^  mel 


Auy  one  who  has  the  slightest  tincture  of  French  litera- 
ture must  recognise  the  simple  and  unsophisticated  style  of 
a  genuine  love-song  in  the  above,  the  language  being  that  of 
the  century  in  which  Clement  Mar6t  and  Maitre  Adam 
wrote  their  incomparable  ballads,  and  containing  a  kiudlv 
admixture  of  gentleness  and  sentimental  delicacy,  wbica 
no  one  but  a  ^'  ladye"  and  a  lovely  heart  could  infuse  into 
the  composition.  Moore  has  not  been  infelicitous  iu  ren- 
dering the  charms  of  the  wondrous  original  into  Engli«l» 
lines  adapted  to  the  measure  and  tune  of  the  French.  The 
air  ia  plaintive  and  exquisitely  beautiful ;  but  I  recommend 
it  to  be  tried  first  on  the  French  words,  as  it  was  sung  by  the 
charming  lips  of  the  Countess  of  Chateaubriand  to  the  en- 
raptured ear  of  the  gallant  Francis  I. 

The  following  pathetic  strain  is  the  only  literary  relic 
which  has  been  preserved  of  the  unfortunate  Marqois  de 
Ciuqmars,  who  was  disappointed  in  a  love  affiur,  and  who, 
**  to  fling  forgetfulnesB  around  him,*'  mixed  in  politics,  con- 
spired  against  Cardinal  Hichelieu,  was  betrayed  by  an  ac- 
complice, and  perished  on  the  scaffold.     Moore  has  trans- 


I 


|itaDl«<l  it  entire  ioto  his  "  Nal 
i-virfiil  not  to  give  the  Datiou  ■ 


1.1  SRittfuii  nt  crinqmarfi. 


biiku  xmgc, 
Qiu  te  fut,  li^lu '.  mi  Irop  tAt ; 


,Kas  nil  but  »  dreun  at  tlifl 
id  itilJ  irheD  hajipiest,  Booneet 


Lc  dulia  (UtruiHi  Ion  Kvenir? 
FMil-a  i)iu<  In  roM 

fart  «Ui  qu'U  «f  [liaise  it  fl^tnr  P 
1"U  n'M  iiut,  &u. 


aittn,  KBur  da  I'Bmonr  trom- 
e  rMuonr  I>  coupe  eueore  en- 

[  ArmmionUTreanDor'HncdBuri 

uecte  qui  81a 

InluB  inutile 
I  VoMjiirtronit  foislofrilfltiwu; 


VoM  pfirtr  oent  foi»  1 
Tti,  Mttour  enion 


The  hoeom  th&t  opoi 
With  earlieit  hope* 
The  toonetl  Guds  those  bopea  uu- 

Lika  Howars  that  first 
In  Bpring-timo  burnt, 
Tbe  soonnt  vrllhcr  too  ! 

Oh,  'twM  all  hot,  ic. 

Bj  frienddiip  we've  oft  bwn  lis- 

Aud  love,  ofun  lore,  Uio  euon  u 
pMlj 
ButfriendshipwUUtillbebfliei'cil, 
And  tore  trusted  oa  U>  llieisBt  ( 
Like  the  it 


Tlie 


lider  1 


liangsoei 


J  s  the  nharin  th 

Tho'  oft  w  he  « 

It  broke  by  the  breeie, 

lie  neatca  the  bright  line  ngsin! 
O!  tnu  nUbut,  &<'. 


Zvtrf  thing  was  eniiallv  at^ueptsble  in  the  waj  of  b,  soug 
^lo  Tiomiuy  ;  and  pnn-idej  1  brought  griat  to  his  mill,  he  diil 
"   t  care  where  the  produce  came  from — even  the  wild  onts 
d  tbp  thistles  of  native  growth  on  Wntergraashill,  all  was 

■  gmd  prnTTuder  for  his  Pegusua.     There  was  an  old  Latiu 

■  Jung  of  my  own,  which  I  made  when  a  boy,  smitten  with 
I  tlie  cbarnu  of  an  Irish  milk.maid,  who  troseed  by  the  Aedge- 

f  occasionally,  and  who  uecd  to  distract  my  attention 
n  "  Corderiua"  and  "  Eraam'  ^otloquia."     I  nave  often 


150 


FATHXB  PBOUT'S   BELIQUX8. 


laughed  at  my  juvenile  gallantry  when  my  eye  haa  met 
copy  of  versee  in  overhauling  my  papers.  Tommy  sa' 
grasped  it  with  avidity  ;  and  I  mid  he  haa  given  it,  ^ 
for  word,  in  an  English  shape  in  his  "  Irish  Melodies." 
the  intelligent  reader  judge  if  he  has  done  common  jui 
to  my  young  muse. 


In  puld^ram  lactttrram. 

Carmen^  Auctore  Proui, 

Lesbia  semper  hinc  et  indi 

Oculorum  tela  movit ; 
Capiat  omnes,  sed  deind^ 

Quis  ametur  nemo  norit. 
Palpebrarum,  Nora  cara. 

Lux  tuarum  non  est  foris, 
Flarama  mieat  ibi  rara, 

Sed  sineeri  lux  amoris. 
Nora  Creina  sit  regina, 

Vultu,  fn^ssu  tarn  modcsto ! 
iriTC.  puellas  inter  bellas. 

Jure  omnium  dux  esto  ! 


Lesbia  veates  auro  graves 

Fert,  et  gemmis,  juxtanormam; 
Onitiw  sed,  eheu !  suaves 

Cinotam  reliqu^re  formam. 
Norae  tunieam  pneferres, 

Flante  zephjro  volantem ; 
Oculis  et  raptis  erres 

Contemplando  ambulantem ! 
Vesta  Nora  tarn  decorA 

Semper  indui  memento, 
Samper  purs  sic  natures 

Ems  teeta  Testimenlo. 


Co  a  ieanttful  ff  tl6m. 

A  Melody,  by  Tkomat  Moo 

Leslna  hath  a  beamtng  ^e. 
But  no  one  knows  for  t 
it  beameth; 
Bight  and  left  its  arrows  flj, 
But  what  thej  aim  at^  nc 
dreameth. 
Sweeter  'tis  to  gaie  apon 
Mj  Nonih*8  Ud,   that  se 
rises; 
Few  her  looks,  bat  every  one 
Liie  unexpected  light  sorp 
O,  my  Norah  Creina  dear ! 
My  gentle,  bashful  Nor^  Ot 
Beauty  lies 
In  loan^  eyes^ 
But  Love's  in  thine,  my  S 
Creina! 

Lesbia  wears  a  robe  of  gold ; 
But  all  so  tight  the  nymph 
laced  it, 
Not  a  charm  of  beauty's  moo 
Presumes  to  stay  where  m 
placed  it. 
O,  my  Norah's  gown  for  me, 
That  floats  as  wild  as  moui 
breezes. 
Leaving  every  beauty  free 

To  sink  orswellaslfeavenple 
Yes,  my  Norah  Creina  dear ! 
My  simple,  gracefiilNorah  Ok 
Nature's  drees 
Is  loveliness — 
The  dress  you  wear,  my  N' 
Creina! 


^^^^eSlTTBIBS 


or  TOM  ttOOBS. 


0>bu  aientia  piwlort  lumen, 
QuhI  mnisciit  perlibmtori 

(1  qtDI  UpWt  llOl'  OVUIDfll. 

"^    ■  '«  »eupiiii«»  dontur? 


,  QiumdoH 


Aim 


11  i»mi|^  III 
'i«i  criMMB  rugs  roii*. 
«  bUnilK,  lui  BmiQila, 
Eipen  UMiur  IfncbrBrum, 
Cii  nor  tnul«ii  per  tot  linlL'ni 
Dutes,  Uma  iUfxbnruia  • 


.mplingof  (hei 
O.  mv  Nonh  Creina  dear ! 

My    mild,   inj   Brtles*   Numb 

Wit,  thoogli  bright, 

Hath  not  Ihe  light 

Tliat  WKrniB  jour  cjee.  my  Nor«h 


It  will  be  aeen  by  these  specimens  that  Tom  Woore  can 

Ae  out  a  lolerBbly  fair  traueilation  of  anv  given  ballad  ;  and 

idi^d,  to  trausUto  properly,  retaining  all  tbe  Are  and  spirit 

f  th*'  original,  ia  a  merit  not  to  be  sneezed  at — it  is  the 

ttxt  btwt  thing  to  liavtnt;  a  genius  of  one'a  own ;  for  lie 

»bo  ''ail  eiei'iite  a  clever  forgery,  and  make  it  pass  cmrent, 

•  aliiioBt  aa  well  off  aa  tbe  capitalist  who  can  draw  a  sub- 

intial  rlieck  on  tlie  bank  of  aterling  genius :  so,  to  give 

f  rfrvil  hiB  due,   I  must  acknowledge  that  in  terseness. 

Biiint,  pnthii*,  and  elegance^  Kloore'n  traniilatioaa  of  these 

f  rracli  and  Latin  triflea  are  very  near  aa  good  us  tbe  pri- 

Bmry  cnmpuBitivus  theiiiBelTes.     He  has  not  beeu  holi'  so 

'     '     "o  hitting  off  AnatTeon;  but  be  k&s  a,  young  man 

ad  a  "  wild  fellow  ;"  since  which  time  itis  thought 

ul  be  lia*  got  to  that  climacteric  in  life  to  which  few  poets 

ain,  vu.  the  veors  of  discretion.     A  predatory  sort  of 

•,  the  rart-er  of  a  literary  freebooter,  has  hiid  great  chamis 

r  biiti  fri)tti  bin  cradle ;  aiid  1  aiu  afraid  that  be  will  pur- 

1  to  finn]  impenitence.     He  Beeiiia  to  care  little 

biint  the  rtcm  reception  he  will  one  day  receive  from  that 

tiblc  judge,  EhadnmautbuEi,  who  will  make  him  cuufeiia 

bin  rogueries' — "  Castigatque  dolos,  subigitqiie  fateri" — 

r  bard  being  of  that  epicurean  and  careless  turn  of  mind 

O  Btnkiitgly  eipreseed  in  these  lines  of  "  Lalla  Eookb" — 

"  0 1  if  tWp  be  nn  EIrsium  on  HUlii, 
It  il  this  1  it  i>  ilui  I" 


IS2  FATHEK   FBOrT  &  REUQDEt. 

W  hich  verses,  bj-  tlie  hy,  are  nlone  enough  to  convict  k 
downright  plugiarism  and  robbury  ;  tor  th^y  Kre  (m  Tomn 
knows  right  wi>ll)  tu  be  seen  written  in  Itu-fre  letters  in  th 
Mogul  language  orer  tiie  audience- chaniber  of  tbi;  Kiotf  4 
Delhi  :•  in  fact,  to  examine  and  r>Vorl»aul  biH  "  LaUit  KonUl' 
would  be  a  moet  divertiiiE^  task,  which  1  mny  o 
dertake.  He  will  be  fouuLl  to  liave  been  a  cluirtcrod  pinC 
in  the  Peraian  Gulf,  b6  he  was  a  higbwaymiui  in  £uni[H~ 
''spoliis  Onentia  onustum." 

But  the  favourite  field  iu  which  Tommy  biu  carried  t 
hia  depredations,  to  an  almost  incredible  exb-nt,  is  tliat  1 
the  early  French  troubadours,  whose  property  he  has  thongli 
fairgame,  availinnE  himself  thereof  witnout  scruple.  In  his  Mi* 
Huiint  ''  Irish  "  Melodies,  and  indeed  in  all  his  cffusiuitB  b 
more  refined  gallnutry,  he  lias  poured  in  a  large  tDfuaion  01 
the  spirit  and  the  letter  of  southern  Frauce.  To  be  sol 
he  ban  mixed  up  with  the  pure,  simple,  and  i^nuine  insp 
rations  of  tbese  primitive  hearts,  wbo  loved,  iu  the  olden  tim 
after  nature's  fashion,  much  of  his  own  overstnuned  liuac 
strange  conceits,  and  forced  metaphors ;  but  the  itiiliati 
cAn  easily  distinguish  when  it  is  he  si)eaketh  in  jiroprid  ft 
aiind,  and  when  it  is  that  be  uses  tlie  pathetie  and  sob 
stirring  language  of  the  mfaitlreU  of  Gaul,  those  legiUtnai 
laureates  of  love.  There  has  been  a  s<juib  lircd  off  by  son 
wag  of  the  sixteenth  century  a^inst  an  old  astrologvr,  wt 
practised  many  rogueries  in  his  generation,  and  wbtofa 
think  not  inapplicable  to  Moore  : 

"  NaMrH  ilamua  otun  f&Ua  damuB,  lum  (ultDni  noatnlin  ssti 

Et  c&ui  fiilu  danius,  non  niai  Noilra  damiu," 

AihI,  only  it  were  a  profanation  to  place  two  sncb  pcna 

Xin  juitnposition,  1  would  say  that  Woore  might  uae  tk 
ting,  the  soul-rending  appeal  of  the  ill-fated  iHmrj  9li 
art,  addressed  to  that  laud  of  song  and  civjlisatioa      *'' 
■he  was  quitting  for  ever,  when  she  exclnimeil,  as  the 
shorp  reei?ded  from  her  view,  that  "  half  of  her  heart  wtii 
still  be  found  on  tlie  lovt^d  plains  of  i'rance,  and  e'en 
iiiher  half  pined  to  rejoin  it  iu  its  primitive  abodes  of 
santOMH  and  Joy."  The  song  of  the  unfortunate  quceo  i 

■  See  the  "  Aoistio  Journal "  tot  M>y,  IBM,  p.  & 


Tax  soorxRtis  u?  tom  hdobk. 


163 


•'■quiwlcly  beantiful  not  to  be  given  hoi*  by  me,  such  aa 
"•le  Miig  it  oil  the  <l(i,'k  of  the  vessel  tkint  wafted  lier  away 
■'tiHi  the  steuea  of  her  yimth  and  the  bleagingB  of  frieniisbip, 
*"  »etk  the  liismal  regions  of  bleak  barbaritv  and  murderous 
'uLsticisui,  I  oIho  give  it  because  Tomiuy  }u\a  inodelled  on 
•^  biif  nielodv,  "  As  eJow  our  ship  its  foamy  trai-'li,"  aud 
"jron  hia  "  Kntive  land,  good  night !" 


Oh,  aim  patrie  U  jiliu  dilrie. 
Qui  M  nourri  nm  JEune  enlaute — 
Adieii,  Ftmoft :  sdieu,  mta  braui 

Id  Qvf  qui  dgoinl  mea  amoun 
K'b  ici  de  moi  que  1*  moitie  ; 

VoK  part  te  r«te,  elle  e«t  tienne, 
Je  ta  fi<^  i  ton  nmitie— 

Va\ir  qnc  de  I'autrc,  il  tc  BouTJenae  t" 


"  Fm-ewell  fair  Und, 

nine  hearl'a  oounlrie  I 
Wbi?rH  Arlhood  planned 

It>  wiid  freslcs  free. 
The  bark  that  buan 


Ke«p,  keep  h«T  ir 


iol" 


I  niiw  coiue  to  a  more  Eerious  charge.  To  plunder  the 
Fimch  is  All  right ;  but  to  rob  his  own  conjitrynien  is 
Hbiit  the  late  I>ord  Liverpool  would  call  "too  bad."  I 
srluiit  tlie  claims  of  the  poet  on  the  gratitude  of  the  abori- 
i;iaal  Irish  ;  for  gloHoue  Dan  miglit  h&ve  exerted  his 
h-atlieru  lungs  during  a  century  in  haraiiEuing  the  native 
Mirni  evtotiet  on  this  side  of  the  Channel ;  but  had  nob 
the  "  3tcii)dieB  "  made  emancipation  paJatable  to  the  think- 
ing and  generous  portion  of  Britain's  free-bom  sons — hod 
no!  Ilia  poetry  Ppoten  to  the  hearts  of  the  great  and  the 
good,  and  enlisted  the  fair  daughters  of  EnglaniC  the  spoutere 
wiHild  hftTt^  been  but  objects  of  scorn  and  contempt.  The 
•-Melodies"  won  tho  cause  silently,  imperceptibly,  efl'ec- 
tukllv  1  anil  if  there  be  a  tribute  due  from  that  class  of  the 
ootive.  it  is  to  the  child  of  song.  Poets,  however,  are 
always  destined  tu  be  poor;  and  eui-b  used  to  be  the  en»e 
with  patriots  too.  until  the  riiit  opened  the  eyes  of  the 
public,  and  taught  them  thut  even  that  sacred  aud  exalted 
inWMuu.  love  of  country,  could  resolve  itself,  through  an 
Irish  alembii?,  into  an  ardent  love  for  the  copper  currency 
of  one's  native  land.  The  dagger  of  Harmodius,  whica 
id  to  be  coui.-ealed  under  a  wreath  of  myrtle,  is  now-a-days 
I  Uildea  within  the  cnvity  of  a  church-door  begging-box  :  and 
I  7o(B  Moore  can  only  claim  the  second  part  ot   the  eele- 


Ifrl  FlTUElt    FUOl'TS    XELI()CES. 

orattd  line  of  Virgil,  as  the  first  evidcDtlj-  rafcn  to  Hi 
O'Connell ; 

"  ^rr  trieni  rtroa — Murlcmquc  aoooiKterfl  otntu.*' 

But  I  am  digreBHing  from  the  BeriouB  clinrge  I  nein 
hriug  against  the  author  of  that  beautiful  meloJjr.  **  1 
Hluimpock."  Does  not  Tom  Moore  know  tliot  tfieno  i 
iiucli  a  thia^  in  France  as  the  Irisli  brigade  ?  and  liuea  hs 
Dot  foar  and  tremble  lest  tlie  k^ob**  <*'  t'""*  vnliMil  t 
w'hnm  he  has  rubbed  of  their  due  honmirs,  should,  "  in 
Btilly  ni)rht,  wlien  slumber's  chains  have  bouiid  hiiu,"  ' 
hia  dmall  carcass  to  the  Styi.  and  give  him  a  wcli-mcrita 
sousing?  For  why  should  he  exhibit  a»  his  prodoctim 
Ikrir  favourite  Bong  P  and  -what  inefiable  aiidai-ity  li  pawr 
off  ou  modern  drawing-rooms  as  hit  own  that  glurioua  cwo 
which  made  the  tents  of  Fontenoy  ring  with  its  exhilaratta 
music,  and  which  old  General  Stack,  who  lately  died  i 
Calais,  used  to  sing  bo  gallantly  ? 


It  Crtflt  t'icUnbt. 

L-Aduoo  A,  la  Bngadf,  1748. 
tTn  jour  ea  Hybernii-, 
O'AxoiTR  \o  henu  gAiic 
Kl  Ic  dieu  dc  l>  Tjutivit  Qreal  r>ci 

Atm  1o  "Hth  ElPRiT," 

Ce  drMv  qiii  (e  rit 
DatoiitorquiluiTiiml.irBncontn 

PkrUrat  Ipur  pit  nteillc* 

Vnf  herbc  k  triplo  fi>uUle, 
Qm  In  unit  humc^a  de  >«  ptcur 


" Uriodf"  nj  Tarn  i/oDni, 
Tlimiytb  Km.',  i.l^ 


Tiurtt, 
ffii'His  "  Pour 
Crtit  oilAl  qii'«Ue  me 


Ion  (uparbc. 


XUe  cnvii  liumurtel  i 
ChiMtni  iMfuriMnJ  iikI 

Old  Eriu'i  iiBti'i>  •latiu>)(AI 


ii;i  pk-     TliOH!  iMly  i^iuii  at  maminf  i" 
Alia  lectio  t  /  -rt««f  (nr  ■um  rwewiU^ 


TQB  RoorEniKS  r 

Amook  lai  dit,  "  Kon,  non, 
C«(  moi  ifuc  le  gtxaa 
HoDon  «i   DO  bijoux  qu'il   bit 

yjtii  VttL  ESTBIT  dirige 
Sur  I'lurrbe  i  Iripip  ^g» 
17&  aril  ol»<«rTBl«ur,  1  Mn  tour. 
"  Poorquin,"  dit-ll,  "  derairs 
Vu  aaud  •!  beau,  qui  aem 
oa  t;|n  RspniT,  Vai.edb,  et 

Vito  le  T«t  gMon ! 
la  purie,  urrc  vhiriu ! 
t>'«Bihl^H  cM  hvl  i!l  Um  t 


Snjsl 


"  No,  ni 


Uy  fragranl  jtalh  adoT^ima.'* 

Hut  Wit.  iK'rwivM 

The  triplo  \fart». 
And  ci'in,  "  O,  do  not  aerer 

Jk  ^pe  thut  lili-iid* 

Three  godlike  frieoda— 
Wit,  Vulour,  LoiB,  for  ererV 

O  the  aliiuunMtk ! 

Tlie  green  immortal  shunrock  I 
Choeni  l«t  of  burd  ruiil  chief, 

Old  Erin's  lutlire  >h&mratk  I 


80  finn  Ksd  fond 
Maj  la*t  tbo  bond 
Tliej  Kote  that  luorn  lugnther  j 
And  ufl*er  in^y  fikll 
One  drop  of  gnll 
'Qo'*  rentour  «i  gucment  rSiFUT    On  Wit'<  relaitial  feather '. 


Prioni  \c  GfI  qa'il  diire 
Cc  Bieuil,  c>ii  In  nature 
'ouilr»ilriiiruiir.  cIcruelkalliuiCDi 
Qu-  nnl  ,n„u  j.mai» 


Qu*  nal  I; 


Sfny  Love,  a 
His  Sa«erB  1 


elioot 
id  fruit, 


rriul«l(IaUHdtlit£I 

Vi*aloli«l«l 

Vl?o  h  rat  gtton  I 
I  U  (wtniv  IcTTc  cberic ! 

L'mitiliine  est  bel  l'I  boo  I 


Of  til 

Let  Vi 

Iliji  .lundard  roar 
jtgniiist  the  caiue  o(  freedom, 

Or  of  tlic  abamrouk, 

Tlie  gnien  immortal  ahamroi.'; ! 
Clios«n  l(«f  of  bard  a»d  ebief. 

Old  Erin's  iialive  ehamruck  I 


Ualiere  haa  written  a  pieasant  aud  inetructtve  corned}' 
itled  thtr  Fourberiet  de  Seapin,  which  I  recoiiiineDd  to 
n'spCTiiml;  niid  in  the  "  8[>elliiig-1ji)ak"  which  I  uwd 
con  iner  wheu  at  the  hedge-sfhool  with  my  I'ostfr- 
ther  Gi'uri^  Kuapp,  who  haa  since  risen  to  einiuem*  na 
rOr  "if  Verk..  but  with  whom  I  used  thfii  to  slisre  the 
ling  of  lae  ^  Uiiiveraiil  !j  gelling -Book"  (haviu^  but  one 
men  «a).  thcro  ifl  (in  awl'ul  atory  about  "  Tommy  iind 
I»rrv,"  very  ciipahle  of  ilt-ten-ing  youtliful  minds  from  evil 

M;tl(«i>,  wpei-itillv  the  hirge  wood-cut  repreBentiiig  a  lion 

irine  tiw  »touiacli  of  tlie  luckless  wight  who  led  a  carew 
wifikedneM.     Had  Tommy  Moore  been  brought  uji  pro* 

«1y  (uA  Koupp  and  I  wen;),  he  would  not  have  i-onimittcd 


156 


PATHIB  PBOrT  B  BELIQUXS. 


80  many  depredations,  which  he  ought  to  know  would  be 
discovered  on  him  at  last,  and  cause  him  bitterly  to  lepent 
his  "  rogueries." 

With  all  my  sense  of  indignation,  unabated  and  unmiti- 
gated at  the  unfairness  with  which  O'Brien  **  of  the  round 
towers"  has  been  treated,  and  which  has  prompted  me  to 
make  disclosures  which  would  have  otherwise  slept  with  me 
in  the  grave,  I  must  do  Moore  the  justice  to  applaud  his 
accurate,  spirited,  and  sometimes  exquisite  translations  from 
recondite  MSS.  and  other  totally  unexplored  writings  of 
antiquity.  I  felt  it  my  duty,  in  the  course  of  these  stric- 
tures, to  denounce  the  version  of  Anacreon  as  a  total  failure, 
only  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  extreme  youth  and  inexpe- 
rience of  the  subsequently  matured  and  polished  melodist ; 
but  there  is  an  obscure  G-reek  poet,  called  2raxxoc  Mo^ihr,;, 
whose  ode  on  whisky,  or  negus,  composed  about  the  six- 
teenth olympiad,  according  to  the  chronology  of  Archbishop 
Usher,  he  has  splendidly  and  most  literally  rendered  into 
English  Anacreontic  verse,  thus : 


{Stat  nominu  umltra.) 

^ri\l/UtfltV  OVV  KUTTtWoV 

Toif  apOi/JLOKTi  i//i'x»7C» 
Totf  ipiprarot^  ^ptvtQ  y'  a 
'Hfitv  Svvaivr'  t0ivptiv, 
Tavry  yap  ovpavovct 
Ty  vuKTi  Sh  irtTdffOaii 
Tavrifv  \iiropTig  aiat^. 
Ki  y'  OVV  £pci/(  \a9oiTO 
'VoiQ  aTififiuTtiXff'  h  TtpxptQ 
'Hfiif  fiayng  SiSutaiv, 
Oi/TTw  t^oUo^  yevoiTO, 
*Qc  yap  iraptaTif  oivov, 
Ba^ijjfiip  ecye  Kfvrii. 


&n  Wa^UkjE^  or  jftrguif. 

By  Moore, 

Wreathe  the  bowl 
With  flowers  of  soul 

The  brightest  wit  can  find  us ; 
We'll  take  a  flight 
Towards  heaven  to-night, 

And  leave  dull  earth  behind  us. 
Should  Love  amid 
The  wreath  be  hid. 

That  joy  th'  enchanter  brings  us ; 
No  aanger  fear 
While  wine  is  near — 

We'll  drown  him  if  he  stings  us. 
Then  wreathe  the  bowl,  &c  Su 


*Qg  fioi  \f  yovffi,  viKTap 
IlaXac  itrivov  'llPAl 
Kac  ZHNK2  rih  «OIBOI. 
YXiOTi  Kai  jipoToiatv 

*HfUV  TTOUtV  TO  VlKTap* 

flOAifrfov  yap  <tf^f  * 


*Twas  nectar  fed 

Of  old,  'tis  said. 
Their  Junos,  Jores,  ApoUos ; 

And  man  may  brew 

His  nectar  too — 
The  rich  receipt's  m  IbUowi: 


ttx'riotr  liopptir, 

DarfoMtp  )t  CiXy 
hit"  ^Joi-ifi' p«t9()v 
Efia-X^Cfuv  j"  irnipoi 


13K   BOHDKRIZS   OE    TOM    MOOBC. 


167 


Take  wine  like  this, 

Lc-t  liwki  nf  bli!> 
ArouiKl  il  nelt  be  blendeit  i 

Then  bnng  vut's  bonni 

To  Kirm  tha  stresra — 
And  there's  joar  uectsr  splendid. 

Then  wreBthe  ttie  buwl,  Jx.  Sus, 

S«T,  why  did  Time 

Hin  flus  aiiblinie 
Fiil  up  witii  Miids  unfligliaj. 

When  wine,  be  knew. 

Buna  brisker  through. 
And  tpftrkk*  far  mora  briglitl;  ? 


le  Eun  m  two  we  d  grro 
Mike  pleasure  glide 
III  double  tide. 
And  nil  bulh  ends  for  ever. 


iwl,Ac.4c. 

Such  carefully  Huislied  traaalatiuna  tta  this  from  irauMt. 

wliich  not  an  idea  or  beauty  of  the  Oreek  is  lost  in  thi; 
£iu;lish  Tcnrion,  must  net^ssorily  do  Tommy  infinite  credit ; 

d  tlic  only  drnnback  on  the  abimdant  praise  which  I 

:)olii  otliiTwifie  feel  inelined  to-  bestow  ou  the  Anacreontic 
tenifit-T.  is  the  fatal  neglect,  or  perhaps  wilful  treachery, 
«l:ieh  has  led  him  to  deny  or  suppress  the  Bourcea  of  his 
fciapiration,  and  induned  him  to  appear  in  the  discreditable 
"anion  of  an  Irish  jackdaw  in  tLe  borrowed  plumage  of  a 
Ircciau  peacock.  The  spleadotir  of  poeay,  like  "  Malachy's 
CoUair  of  gold,"  is  nmnd  liis  neck ;  bwt  he  won  it  from  a 
~*  Jiger:  the  green  glories  of  tbe  emerald  adorn  hia  glow- 
oeat — or,  aa  Phsdrus  saya, 

"  Kitor  •marnijili  eollo  refulget  luo — " 

nt  if  joa  raOe  hia  feathers  a  little,  you  will  tind  that  his 
ttvnry  toilette  ia  composed  of  what  the  French  cuiffrnr* 
^^■11  dn  ornemmi  postichei ;  and  that  there  was  never  il  more 
ndlt'd-for  dedaration   than  the    avowa!  which    he  btmacir 
>  of  hia  Iklelodies,  when,  talking  of  the  wild 
•  of  thv  Irish  harp,  he  admits,  he  "  wat  but  the  vind 


158  FATUfiR  pBonr's  sxt  qvbs. 

patting  ht-illtMl]f  over  "  ita  cliorda.and  that  titc  music  whI; 
DO  meaoB  lib  own. 

A  t>iii)[i!u  liiut  was  sometiniea  eiioitgli  to  tut  hitt  mvmt  t 
work  ;  and  lie  not  only  was,  to  my  kuuwiislgc,  nu  adept  ij 
translating  accurati^ly,  but  he  coiild  ako  atriug  togctiua 
nny  number  of  linea  in  anv  given  measure,  in  tmitatio*  of  ■ 
BODg  or  ode  which  caauall;  cnme  lu  bia  way.  This  is  twt 
such  arrant  robbtiry  aa  wb»l  I  hare  previously  atigmatiaod} 
but  it  is  u  sort  of  guiui- pilfering,  a  kind  uf  iiflty  luveajj 
not  to  be  eDL'ournged.  There  is,  for  iuatimce.  liia  "  NAliutuI 
Melody,"  or  jingle,  called,  iu  the  early  edition  of  Lia  pocro^ 
"  Those  Evening  Bella,"  a  "  PettnOuig  air,"  of  which  1  <.-ohU 
unfold  the  natural  hiBtory.  It  ia  this; — In  one  oi'  bi 
quent  visits  to  Watcrgraeshill,  Tommy  and  1  spent  thp 
ing  in  talking  of  our  vontinental  travels,  and  more  pailtcu* 
larly  of  Pariei  imd  its  miralrdia ;  of  whii^h  he  aeeiued  quits 
enamoured,  The  view  from  the  tower  of  tlip  central  chuidt^ 
Ji&tre  Dame,  greatly  struck  his  fancy ;  and  I  drew  tho  voa* 
veraation  to  the  subject  of  the  simiutnneoua  rinsing  of  aB 
the  bells  in  all  the  steeples  of  that  vast  metropolis  on  . 
feast-day,  or  public  rejoicing.  The  effect,  be  agreed 
me,  is  most  enchanting,  and  the  barmouy  moat  aurpnnng. 
At  tliat  time  Victor  Hugo  hod  not  vrrittea  his  glonoua  l~ 
mance,  the  llunrjihaek  Quatimtido ;  Mid,  coatwqucntly, 
eould  not  have  read  his  beautifid  deseription:  "  In  an  — 
nary  way,  the  nnist:>  issuing  frcm  Paris  iu  the  day-tit 
the  talking  of  tlie  city  ;  at  night,  it  is  the  irealhi'ag  «if 
city ;  ia  this  caso.  it  is  the  tmyin^  of  the  city.  Leud  j 
ear  to  this  opera  of  al«eples.  Uiffiise  over  the  whole 
buzting  of  hnlf  a  milliou  of  human  tvings,  the  eternal  mu 
mur  of  the  river,  the  infuiite  pi|)ing  of  tlie  wind,  the  grai 
aud  distant  quartette  of  the  four  forests,  jilactid  likv  hiK 
raense  organs  on  the  four  bills  of  the  horizon  ;  sofWu  Aa% 
as  with  a  denii-tint  all  tbnt  is  too  shrill  tind  too  harsh  in  tl 
central  mass  of  sound, — and  say  if  you  know  anythhts  in 
tlie  world  more  rieh.  more  ^laddenin^,  tnure  diucuing,  trao 
that  tumult  of  bells — than  that  furimee  of  musie— 
those  leu  thousand  brazen  tones,  breathed  all  at  uuee  fruia 
fiulet  uf  alone  three  humlrfi /ret  high — than  ttiat  eily  wl 
ia  but  one  orcbrstra — tbou  that  symphony,  rushing  *aSi 
roaring  Uke  a  tempest."     All  these  malters,  we  acnvd. 


'  TOM    MOOItE. 


loS 


'  irere  wry  fine ;  l>ut  there  is  nothing,  ofWr  all,  lilte  the  asso- 
~  iaiiona  which  early  inroaioy  attaches  to  the  well-knowu  and 
t^raniHinbered  chiniiw  ot'  our  owu  parish-eteeple  :  and  iiu 
Ugic  can  e<\usl  the  effect  »□  our  ear  ivheQ  nitumini;  after 
ing  nbernce  in  fureign,  and  {«rliaps  happier  countries.  As 
_t)  perfectly  coincided  in  the  truth  of^this  observatiou,  I 
idded,  that  long  ago,  while  nt  Boiue,  1  had  throu'[i  my  ideas 
into  tlie  ehape  of  a  song,  wliieh  I  would  slug  biiu  to  the 
e  of  the  "  Grovee," 


THE  SIIANDOS  CELLS.' 

S.ibbnU  patxQo. 
JTuntr.i  {ilango, 
Solcmniji  (Inngo. 


n  old  n 


drtjp  iffoollou 
I  Aail  itMllrrCinn 

t  oftm  tliink  uf 
^MM  Shwidon  bcUs, 
L  Wicac  Knuub  to  wild  would, 
I  In  dw  day*  of  cliildhood, 
I  Flinf  iviiuil  tny  irnuUo 
I       nuir  in«(iio  ijiiJls. 
I  On  tin*  1  jHinilvr 
I  Whonrar  I  •H.drr, 
I,  And  Uiot  gnni  fondBT. 
'      »weftCork.  of  Ihecj 

With  llij  biJli  of  Shindon. 
I  TliM  (uutid  to  gnuid  01 


But  oil  their  mueie 

9poke  uftu^liC  like  thine 
For  memory  dwelling 
Oa  ecvli  proud  iwrllmg 
Of  thebrirr;  knrllijig 

Ixe  bold  notes  Trtv, 


Hie  1.1 
Oft 


Of^arirt 


id  tulk  diiming 
IThU  bimij  ■  dime  In, 
*Teni«n  •ablime  in 
Owlicdml  ehnnp. 
L  Whil*  nt  a  gliba  nXe 

b»«f>irv<if  ?liiindnii,bui1l  oil  l.lix  ruin*  of  old  eiiniidoii  CiiUa 
■rwUicti  Mv  llut  pUlM  in  "  Pncnta  H  jbcrnin"),  in  a  iiraminvut  ubjr^-t. 
«tcr  lidB  Ihe  tiwcUar  ipprancbn  oar  beautiful  cny.     In  j 
It  M  ia  fact  ikap  101110  gcucntiona  of  the  iirit«r'i  lulU  mid  kin, 


Tve  liFonl  ball»  laUins 
Old  "Adrian's  Mole"  iii, 
Tlicir  thunder  rolling 

From  the  Faticui, 
And  cTmbajA  glorious 
Swinging  upronrioun 
In  th^orgM>u3  tumtii 

Of  ShVn  naxDft  1 
But  thy  ■Ducde  wore  >we«ler 
I'hao  the  domis  of  Pclrr 
Flings  o'cF  tliu  Tibur, 

FeaJing  BoiHiunl;  i — 


ICO  rATHEB  sai 

O!  thebeUiofSluuidon 
Sound  Ear  more  grand  oa 
XliB  pIcMsnt  wHtent 
Of  the  river  Loe. 

There's  a  b«U  in  Uoocow, 
While  on  toirer  and  kjtwk  o  I 
In  Saint  SopluK 

The  Turkman  geK, 
And  loud  in  air 
Calls  men  to  prayer 


Uora  dear  to  me, — 
'TiB  the  belb  orShandon, 
That  aauDi]  h  ^rand  on 
Tlie  pleaaant  watrr* 

OllhenverLce. 


Shortly  aH«rwards,  Moore  published  his  "  Ereninv  BtU 
a  Ptttribitrg  air."  But  any  one  cau  eee  that  he  oa^  rin 
a  few  changea  oa  my  Roman  ballad,  cunningly  shifting  t 
■cene  aa  far  north  b*  he  could,  to  avoid  detection,  "  * 
aervea  richly  to  be  sent  on  a  hurdle  to  Siberia. 

I  Ho  not  feel  bo  much  hurt  at  this  nrfsriou>  "bdW 
fltrata^em  "  regnrding  me,  aa  at  hia  wicki^dricm  towuiia  t 
man  of  the  round  towere ;  and  to  this  niAtter  I  tiu-n  in  oa 

"  O  blame  not  the  bard  !"  Boine  folks  will  no  doubt  c 
claim,  anJ  peHia]i9  think  that  1  have  been  nver-miwn  < 
Tommy,  in  my  vmdicatiDn  of  O'B. ;  I  can  only  aay,  that 
the  poet  o/all  eircU»  and  Che  idol  of  h'u  own,  na  luion  u  tl 
{losthumoua  rebuke  ahull  meet  bin  eye.  begiuH  to  rrpeut  hi 
of  his  B-icked  attack  on  my  young  friend,  and,  turning  ' ' 
from  his  evil  waya.  betakes  him  to  his  proper  trade  of  bd 
mnking,  then  shall  he  experience  the  comfort  of  living 
j>eai!e  with  all  mankind,  aad  old  Prout's  blewiug  ahslt  I 
as  a  precious  ointment  on  his  head.     In  that  cootingen 
if  (a«  I  understand  it  to  be  bis  intention)  ho  shdhld  hai 
ti»  publish  a/VctA  number  of  hia  "  Melodies,"  may  it  Iw 
nrntly  successful ;  and  m»y  Power  of  tb«  Strand,  by 
mure  eterliug  sounds  than  the  echoes  of  fame,  be 
of  the  power  of  eong — 


My  bumble  patroiuge,  it  iei  true,  cannot  do  much  fur  him  i| 
fiuLionable  oircJoH ;  fur  1  never  mixed  much  ia  the  I 


THE   BOauXRlES   Of   TOM    XOOBE.  161 

mrnlt  ^nt  Irxstiu  Ireland)  during  my  life-time,  and  can  lie  of 
a  •ervu-e  of  course  when  I'm  dead;  nor  will  hia  "Melodiea," 
fear,  tliciagh  well  adapted  to  mortal  piano-fortes,  answer 

Surposeo  of  that  (.t^li^gtial  eLoir  in  which  I  shall  then  be 
Bcure  but  eheerftil  yoc.iliat.  But  aa  I  have  touched 
D  thia  grave  topic  of  mortality,  let  Moore  recollect  that  his 
Mirae  here  below,  however  harmonious  in  the  abstract, 
iu»t  bate  a  Snale  ;  and  at  his  last  liour  let  him  not  treasure 
p  for  himself  tha  unpleasant  retrospect  of  young  genius 
ipped  in  the  bud  by  the  frost  of  bis  criticism,  or  glad  en- 
busissni's  early  promise  damped  by  inconsiderate  sneers, 
t'Briern'a  book  can,  and  will,  no  doubt,  afford  much  matter 
r  witticism  and  merriment  to  the  superficial,  the  unthink- 
g,  and  the  profaue;  but  to  the  eye  of  candour  it  ought  to 
iTe  pfL-Beuled  a  page  richly  fraught  with  wondrous  research 
'fMolent  with  all  the  perfumes  of  ilindostan;  its  leaves, 
thvy  fnilod  to  convince,  should,  like  those  of  the  myate- 
lOfl  iohu,  have  inculcated  eilenre ;  and  if  the  finger  of  me- 
on  did  not  rest  on  every  line,  and  pause  on  every  pe- 
id,  thf  volume,  at  least,  eliould  not  be  indicated  to  the 
Igar  by  the  linger  of  ai^om.  Even  grajiting  that  there 
jit  in  the  book  some  errors  of  fancy,  of  judgment,  or  of 
hich  of  us  is  without  reproach  in  our  juneniU  produc- 
na  r  and  though  I  myself  am  old,  I  am  the  more  inclined 
(orjritc  the  iuaccurwuea  of  youlh.  Again,  when  all  is 
rk.  «bit  would  object  tu  a  ray  of  light,  merely  because  ot 
f  fjutlty  or  flickering  medium  by  which  it  is  transmitted? 
td  if  llin«  round  towers  have  been  hitherto  a  dark  puzzle 
tl  ft  oijstpry,  must  we  scare  away  O'Brien  because  Tie  «p- 
MCJicti  witb  n  rude  and  unpoliahed  but  aerviceable  lantern  ? 
i;  forbid  it,  Diogenes;  and  tliough  Tommy  may  attempt 
pBt  his  citingiiisher  on  the  tomtrt  and  their  historian, 
sn  is  cnoagb  of  good  sense  in  the  British  public  to  make 
nntun  cauw.'  with  O'Brien  the  enlighteoer.  Moore  should 
MUect.  that  knowledge  conveyed  in  any  shape  will  ever 
d  a  welcome  among  us ;  and  th&t,  as  he  himself  beautifully 
aerrra  in  his  "  Loves  of  the  Augels"— 

I  rill, 

g  Bunshiiie  etill." 

my  Dwi)  part,  I  protest  to  Heaven,  that  were  I,  while 


162  FATHER  PROtT'B  KELlltrES. 

wandering  in  a  gloomy  foreat,  to  meet  ou  my  dreary  p 
the  Bmall,  fnint,  glimmering  light  even  of  a  gloiv-noiiB 
should  aliudder  at  tbe  thought  of  crusbing  with  my  fuut  h 
dim  speek  of  brilliancy  -,  and  were  it  only  for  its  Delng  i^ 
to  brighter  raya,  hoDouriog  it  for  its  relationship  to  i 
stars,  1  woiild  not  harm  the  little  lamplighter  «a  I  paa 
along  in  the  woodland  shade.  << 

If  Tommy  is  rabidly  bent  on  satire,  why  does  he  not  f 
foul  of  Doctor  Lardner,  who  has  got  the  clumsy  machinl 
of  a  whole  Cyclopiedia  at  work,  grinding  that  nonstl 
which  he  calls  "  Usefiil  Knowledge  ?"  Let  the  poet  mrf 
his  Pegasus,  or  his  Boainonte,  and  go  tilt  a  lance  a 
the  doctor's  windmill.  It  was  unworthy  of  him  to  ti 
O'Brien,  after  the  intimacy  of  private  coireapondeuee;  i 
if  he  was  inclined  for  battle,  he  might  hare  found  a  seeOH 
foe.  Surely  my  young  friend  was  not  the  quarry  on  « 
the  vulture  should  delight  to  pounce,  when  there  w 
many  literary  reptiles  to  tempt  Iiis  beak  and  glut  bie  n 
Heaven  knows,  there  is  fair  game  and  plentiful  carrion 
the  plains  of  Bceotia.  In  the  poet's  picture  of  tbe  puiwf 
if  a  royal  bird,  we  find  such  sporta  aQuded  ti 


[^Xet  Sfoore,  then,  vent  his  indignation  aud  satiate  hi*  n 
city  on  the  proper  objects  of  a  volatile  of  prey  ;  but  hej 
find  in  his  own  province  of  imaginative  poetry  a  ' ' 
dement,  a  purer  atmosphere,  for  his  winged  en 
Long,  long  may  we  behold  the  gorgeous  bird  soaring  thr 
the  regions  of  inspiration,  distinguished  in  his  Idtier  H 
bis  gentler  flights,  aud  combining,  bv  a  singular  mindji 
ornithology,  the  voice  of  the  turtle-dove,  the  eagle's  ejBij 

—wing,  with  the  plumage  of  tbe  "  bird  of  Paradise."       ' 


MZM.— On  the  28th  of  June.  1835,  died,  at  the 

Banwell,   "Henry  O'Brien,  author  of  thu  Round  TotM 

Wlrtland.'"      His  portrait  was  hung  up  in  the   galler 

vXegina  on  the  lat  of  August  following ;  and  the  fimctit^ 

fcwho  eihibits  the  "Literary  Cbontctera"  dwelt  t' 


nesHi  o'BBiEir. 


**  Au  tuDquet  do  ta  via,  inrortim^  cOnrlTe, 
J"»ppaniB  un  jour,  at  je  meurs  : 
Je  niBim,  ct  eur  In  touibe  o^  jiniue  eacor,  j'u 
Xul  no  Tiendra  Yuraor  de«  pjcuri." 


163 

n  thr  titlige  gntvitjard  of  Honvell  (wl  nil.  at  urie  lapiiltw)  ileepl 

«nic>>ul  of  jniidor  skett'li,  and  tiie  rude  forefnthcra  or  the  Smcii'. 

_  a  oonneulHl  lo  reuoiro  among  tbeai  the  claf  of  ■  Milcsion 

Hut  "  originttl"  w»»  no  •Irnneer  to  us.    Some  lime  bsck  wo 

'leTin^  tJiBt  the  oil  in  his  flickering  lamp  of  life  woiitd  soon 

U,  we  irere  not  jirep&red  to  liear  of  his  light  beiii);  thus 

5  lUliiguithed.     "  One  mom  ws  missed  him"  from  the  occua- 

ublii  at  the  library  of  the  British  Mtweuni,  where  the  pnge  of 

afttiquitj  imited  liia  peitual ;  "  another  oune— nor  yet "  wu  he  to  bg 

•ean  bcliind  the  pile  of  "Asiatic  ItoMBioheB,"  poring  over  his  fatounte 

.       Ucro^lus,  or  deep  in  the  Zendareeta.     "The  next"  brought  tidings 

^ofhi»  death. 

His  book  on  "the  Boond  Towers"  hu  thrown  more  li^ht  on  the  cerlj 

ImUirj  of  Ireland,  and  on  the  fi'ecnuuonrj  of  these  gigantic  puiilea, 

than  will  ercr  shiiie  from  the  cracked  pitdiers  of  the  "BjjjsI  Iriiih 

tdmj,"  or  the  brthing  candle  of  Tooimj  Moure,    And  it  was  quite 

(iral  that  he  ihonld  bkyg  received   &om  tbem,  during  hia  lifeliiue, 

,_.h  Iflkeos  of  mahgnant  hoatilitja*  might  Bufflcimtlj  '' tell  how  ihey 

^  hatttt  hi*  bmna."      The  "  Bojiil  Irish"  twaddlers  must  surelj  feci 

e  Mtnpunction  cow,  whea  thejr  Look  back  on  their  palirj  tmni- 

M  in  the  matter  of  the  "  priie-eaaaj ;"  and  though  wb  do  not  cx- 

h  from  "Tom   Brown  the  younger,"  or  "Tom  tittle,"  (he 

'  (undiy  Tomfudgeriea  and  Tomfooleries,  atill  it  would  not 

la  if  be  now  felt  the  neceeailj-  of  atooiog  for  Ilia  individual 

uliut  bf  doing  appropriate  peunce  in  a  while  sheet,  or  a  "  blue 

1  jallow*'  blanket,  when  next  he  walks  abroad  in  that  rii;kel;  go- 

Ewt  of  driTeUing  dotage,  the  "  Bdinbtirgh  Srview." 

V      Wliila  Cicero  was  qumtor  in  Sicil;,  ho  diseovered  in  the  suburbs  of 

y  BpVfuae  the  neelecled  grare  of  ArcluEnedea,  from  the  circumalance  of 

ft  q^mbolioal  ejlinder  indicatiDg  the  pursuits  and  favourite  theurica  of 

Um  tUoMrioiii  dead.     Orest  was  bia  joy  at  the  reoognition.    No  embhmi 

will  nurk  the  sequeatered  spot  nhere  lies  the  (Edipus  of  llie  Bound 

Imitr  liddlo — no  hierogljphu!, 

"  Save  daisies  on  I  he  mould. 
Where  children  tpall,  athwart  the  cburclijard  gate, 
Hit  nanie  and  hfe's  brief  date." 


r  arthitcclural  i7lindersi  and  each,  through  Ihoi 
that  face  the  cardinal  points,  nroclaims  to  the  fou 
ti,  trumjiet-longued,  lh«  name  ol  him  who  solved  tli 


164  7ATHSB  PBOUT'S   BSLIQITES. 

problem  of  8000  jean,  and  who  firat  diadoaed  the  drill  of  thi 
ereotione ! 

Fame,  in  the  Latin  poefs  celebrated  peraonification,  ia  deaciibed 
perched 

"  Sublimi  cnlmine  tecti, 
Turribua  aut  altia." 

That  of  0*B.  LB  pre-eminentlj  so  circumatanced.  From  these  pros 
pinnacles  nothing  can  dislodge  his  renown.  Moore,  in  the  recent  pidii 
compilation  meant  for  **  a  historj,"  talka  of  these  monuments  at  ban 
so  many  "  astronomical  indexes."  He  might  aa  well  have  said  the 
were  tubes  for  the  purposes  of  gastronomy.  *Tis  plain  he  knew  si  littJ 
about  their  origin  as  he  may  be  suppos^  to  know  of  the  "Hsngioj 
Tower  of  Pisa,"  or  the  "  Torre  degU  Asinelli,"  or  how  the  nose  of  th 
beloTed  resembled  tbfe  tower  of  Damascus. 

Concerning  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  suffice  it  to  add  that  be  wa 
bom  in  the  kingdom  of  lyoragh,  graduated  in  T.C.D.  (haTing  beei 
classically  "  brought  up  at  the  feet  of  "  the  Ber.  Charles  Boyton) ;  toe 
fell  a  victim  here  to  the  intense  ardour  with  which  he  pursued  the  toti 
quarian  researches  that  he  lored. 

"  Eerria  me  genuit ;  studia,  heu !  rapu^re ;  tenet  nunc 
Anglia :  sed  patriam  turrigeram  oecinL" 

Mf^eni  Street,  Auguui  1,  1835. 


No.  VI. 


LITERATURE    AND   THE   JESUITS. 

dTrom  ti)e  9rottt  9apers(. 

"  Alii  spem  gentis  adidtos 
£ducunt  foetus  :  alii  purissima  mella 
Stipant,  et  liquido  distendunt  nectare  cellas." 

ViRa.  Georgic  IV. 

"  Through  floweir  paths 

Skilled  to  guide  youth,  in  haunts  where  learning  dwells. 

They  filled  with  noney*d  lore  their  cloistered  cells.*' 

Pbout. 

The  massacre  this  month  by  a  brutal  populace  in  Madrid 
of  fourteen   Jesuits,  in  the  hall  of  their .  college  of  8t 


I-ITEHATCKE   *VD   TUB  JESUITS. 


idnro,  hfts  dmwn  somewhnt  of  notice,  if  not  of  sympathy, 
■thia  siBgiikr  order  of  liteniti,  wlioru  we  uevt-r  fuil,  for 
8  laat  three  hundred  yean,  to  &nd  mi»e J  up  with  every 
Eitiral  diffturbnnu?.  Th«re  ia  a  certain  ept-fies  of  bird 
a  known  to  omithologista,  but  better  still  to  inariTierB, 
uh  in  Hure  to  make  itd  appoarance  itt  etormy  weather — bo 
WauUy  indeed,  as  to  induce  HiDong  tlie  sailors  (durum 
Im)  a  belief  that  it  is  l/ir  /mcl  that  has  raised  the  tem- 
It.  Laaving  this  knotty  point  to  be  settled  by  Dr. 
tixter  in  hia  "  CycJopKdia,"  at  the  artii^le  of  "  Mother 
tej'a  chickens."  we  cnunot  help  observing,  meantime. 
It  Bnee  the  days  of  the  French  League  under  Henri 
it,  to  the  late  final  eipulsiou  of  the  branche  omfe  (nn 
fet  vliich  has  marked  the  corameacenient  of  Ueoina's 
Inrion  to  the  throne  of  literature),  as  well  ia  the  revo* 
imi  of  Portugal  as  in  the  vidBsitudes  of  Veniee.  in  the 
■Mitioii  of  the  edict  of  Nants,  in  the  eipuUiou  of  James 
tin  the  severance  of  the  Low  Countries  from  Spain,  in 
tinnsion  of  Africa  by  Dou  8ebnstian,  in  the  Scutch  re- 
Kon  of  '45,  in  the  conquest  of  China  by  the  Tartars,  in 
t^  Irish  rebellions,  from  Father  Salmeron  in  1661,  and 
Bier  An-her  (for  whom  sec  "  Facala  Hibernia"),  to  that 
Mjnwus  Jesuit  who  (according  to  Sir  Hareourt  Lees] 
m  fAc  hottte  at  the  Lord  Lieutenant  in  the  Dubliu 
Mtre  some  years  ago, — there  is  always  one  of  this  ill- 
M  moety  found  in  the  thick  of  the  confusiou — 

"And  whether  for  good,  or  wholhar  for  iU, 

Kat  *CiU  to  the  house  of  Amundeville 
He  ubidrlh  night  uid  ds;  ) 

Wlum  an  hnr  i*  bom,  lii-  »  heard  to  mourn, 

And  wbfin  ought  »  to  befnll 
Thiit  HDcient  line,  in  (he  pile  mamikme 
He  wslki  from  hull  lo  li&U." 


BnwBver.  notwithstanding  the  various  and  manifold  com- 
botit  which  these  Jesuits  have  confessedly  kicked  up  in 
[longdoms  of  Europe  and  the  commonwealth  of  Christen- 
k  Ve,  Oliteb  Yorkb,  must  admit  that  they  have  not 
■rod  ill  of  the  Jiepablic  p/  Lttlert ;  and  therefore  du  we 


16C  FATHER  PBOUT'8   BEIIQUBB. 

decidedly  set  our  face  agatnet  tbe  Madrid  process  of  knock* 
ing  out  their  braina ;  for,  in  our  view  of  tilings,  the  pi"i^ 
gliind  and  the  cerebellum  are  not  kept  io  such  a  high  gtltfl 
of  cultivation  in  Spain  as  to  render  euperfluous  a  itv  col- 
leges and  professors  of  the  literal  htimaniortt.  George  Kiupp, 
tbo  vigilant  mayor  of  Cork,  was,  no  doubt,  greatlj  to  be 
■  applauded  for  demolishing  with  hJa  civic  club  the  mud  do^ 
which  invested  his  native  town;  and  he  vr.'iuld  baievoB 
immortal  laurels  if  he  had  furthermore  cleared  that  beautifiil 
city  of  the  idlers,  gossips,  and  cynics,  who  therein  abound;' 
but  it  was  a  great  mistAe  of  the  Madrid  folks  to  apply  the 
club  to  the  learned  skulls  of  the  few  literati  they  posaeued. 
We  are  inclined  to  think  (though  full  of  respect  for  Kobeti 
Bouthey's  opinion)  that,  after  oil,  Boderick  was  not  the  IhI 
of  the  Oaths  in  Spain. 

When  the  Cossacks  got  into  Paris  in  1814,  their  tiret  ei 
ploit  was  to  eat  up  all  the  tallow  candles  of  the  conquert 
metropolis,  and  to  driok  the  train  oil  out  of  the  lamps,  I 
as  to  leave  the  "Boulevards"  in  Cimmerian  darkness.  B 
murdering  the  schoolmasters,  it  would  seem  that  the  pari, 
sane  of  Queen  Christina  would  have  no  great  objection  I 
a  similar  municipal  arrangement  for  Madrid.  But  all  th 
is  a  matter  of  national  taste ;  and  aa  our  gracious  Bsoncik. 
no  party  to  "  the  quadruple  alliance,"  ehe  has  detenniaed  I 
adhere  to  her  fixea  system  of  non-intervention. 

Meantime  the  public  will  peruse  with  some  curioeitf 

[laper  from  Father  Prout,  concerning  his  old  mutera  ; 
iterature.  "We  suspect  that  on  this  occasion  sentimenf 
gratitude  has  begotten  a  sort  of  "  drop  serene"  in  hia  e] 
for  he  only  winks  at  the  rogueries  of  tne  Jesuits ;  nor  do 
he  redden  for  them  the  gridiron  on  which  he  gently  rcw 
Dr.  Lerdner  and  Tom  JSIoore.  But  the  great  merit  of  li 
essay  is,  that  the  composer  evidently  had  opportunities  of 
thorough  knowledge  of  his  subject — a  matter  of  rare  occit 
renee,  and  therefore  quit-e  refreshing.  He  appears,  indee 
to  be  fully  aware  of  his  vantage-ground :  hence  the  tone  < 
confidence,  and  the  firm,  unhesitating  tenour  of  his  bbbgi 
tions.  This  is  what  we  like  to  see.  A  chancellor  of  Knglaa 
who  rarely  got  drunk.  Sir  Thomas  More,  has  left  this  bit  4 
advice  to  folks  in  general : 


LITXBITURE   AXI)    THE   JEBtTITS. 


mix  men  altoaei 

anDt^tc  facnliU, 

liimi  anB  mo 

B  Blmpl.  Vitrc 

Ltiai  111  bcsi  tor  s  amn 

Bbanll)  not  go  small 

mhgnxlg 

in|)hilo»DpI)i.; 

fcl  10  .ppll? 

noi  Bu^l)!  a  piDIilac 

IB  It)<  baftinns  ^c  lan, 

bciomt  a  miGtilac 

inD  tn  no  Ueii 

in  i^talsgtc  * 

» tnitipiiH 

.rting  on  this  principle,  how  gladly  would  we  open  our 
duinns  to  a  treat j»e  by  our  particular  friend,  Marie  Taglioni, 
1  the  philosophy  of  kopi! — how  cheeri'uliy  would  we  wel- 
ime  an  essay  on  heavy  mel  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Wade,  or 
■  Jack  Reeve,  or  any  other  Himilarly  qualified  Chevalier 
I  Halte  I  We  abould  not  object  to  a  tract  on  gin  from 
liarley  Pearson ;  nor  would  we  eiclude  Lord  Althorp's 
lick  notions  on  " Jtttmrnery,"  or  Lord  Brougham's  XXX. 


I  that  mild  alcohol  which,  for  the  soke  of 


peace  a 


ietnesR,  we  shall  call  "  lea."     "Who  would  not  listen  v, 

ition  to  Irving  on  a  matter  of  "  unknown  tongnes,"  or 
J'Brien  on  "Round  Towers?"  Verily  it  belongeth  to 
Benjamin  Franklin  to  write  scientifically  on  the  paralon- 
•:  and  his  contemporary,  Talleyrand,  has  a  paramount 
m  to  lecture  on  the  weather-eoek. 


La  qui  acribitit  aiquun 


Turning  {inaUy  to  thee,  O  Front !  truly  great  waa  thy 
re  of  frolic,  but  etill  more  remarkable  thy  wisdom.  Thou 
■rt  a  moat  rare  combination  of  Socrates  and  Sani^ho  Panza, 
Scnrron  and  the  venerable  Bede !  What  would  we  not 
Tc  given  to  have  cracked  a  bottle  with  thee  in  thy  hut  on 
'atergrasshill,  partaking  of  thy  hospitable  "herring,"  and 
ibibing  thv  deep  flood  of  knowledge  with  the  plenitude  of 
J  "  Medoc  r"  Nothing  gloomy,  narrow,  or  pharisaical, 
'er  entered  into  thy  composition — "  In  wit,  a  man  ;  sini- 
licity,  a  child."  The  wrinkled  brow  of  antiquity  softened 
'o  smiles  for  thee ;  and  the  Muses  must  have  marked  tiiee 


•  S«e  this  BicaUent  didsctic  poem  printed  at  lengtli  i 

-■    e  I<>   Dr.  Johnson's  Dictionary.     It  is  enHtled,  " 

8«fjeuit  would  Icam  to  plav  j'  Frerc ;  hy  Maiati-T 


elaborate 
rrrie  Jent, 


168  TATHER  PBOUT's  BXLIQUS8. 

in  thy  cradle  for  their  own.  Such  is  the  perfume  Cr 
breathes  from  thy  chest  of  posthumous  elucubrations,  <^< 
yeying  a  sweet  uragrance  to  the  keen  nostrils  of  criticm^J 
and  recalling  the  funeral  oration  of  the  old  woman  in  "Plu 
drus  oyer  her  emptied  flagon — 

**  O  suayifl  anima !  quale  te  dicam  bonnm 
Anteh^  fuisse,  iales  cbm.  sint  reliquue." 

OLIVER  YORKE. 

JRegent  Street,  1st  Sept,  1834. 


WateryrasahUl^  Dee,  1883. 

About  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  ai^er  the 
dgorous  arm  of  an  Augustinian  monk  had  sounded  on  the 
banks  of  the  Rhine  that  loud  tocsin  of  reform  that  found 
«uch  responsive  echo  among  the  Gothic  steeples  of  Germany, 
ihere  arose  in  southern  Europe,  as  if  to  meet  tlie  exigency 
of  the  time,  a  body  of  popish  men,  who  have  been  called 
(assuredly  by  no  friendly  nomenclator)  the  Janissaries  of 
the  Vatican.  Professor  Robertson,  in  his  admirable  "  His- 
tory of  Charles  V.,"  introduces  a  special  episode  concerning 
the  said  '*  janissaries ;"  and,  sinking  for  a  time  the  affairs  of 
the  belligerent  continent,  turns  his  grave  attention  to  the 
operations  of  the  children  of  Loyola.  The  essay  forms  an 
agreeable  interlude  in  the  melodrama  of  contemporary  war- 
fare, and  is  exquisitely  adapted  to  the  purpose  of  the  pro- 
fessor ;  whose  object  was,  I  presume,  to  furnish  his  reaaers 
with  a  light  divertimento.  For  surely  and  soberly  (pace 
ianti  viri  dixerini)  he  did  not  expect  that  his  theories  on  the 
origin,  development,  and  mysterious  organisation  of  that 
celebrated  society,  would  pass  current  with  any  save  the 
uninitiated  and  the  profane ;  nor  did  he  ever  contemplate 
the  adoption  of  his  speculations  by  any  but  the  careless  and 
unreflecting  portion  of  mankind.  It  was  a  capital  peg  on 
which  to  hang  the  flimsy  mantle  of  a  superficial  philosophy ; 
it  was  a  pleasant  race-ground  over  which  to  canter  on  the 
gentle  back  of  a  metaphysical  hobby-horse :  but  what  could 
a  Presbyterian  of  Edinburgh,  even  though  a  pillar  of  the 
kirk,  know  about  the  inmost  and  most  recondite  workings 


LlTERATCne   AKD    THE   JKSUIia.  100 

Catholic  freemuoiir}-  ?  What  could  he  tell  of  Jerusalem, 
'  beiDj;  a  Sainarititu?  Tnily,  frieiid  Bobcrtson.  Fatlier 
•out  would  have  takea  tbe  liberty,  had  he  been  in  the  hia- 
riaJ  workdhop  wliere  tliou  didat  iiiditu  that  ilk,  of  acting 

'    ■"     "  part  of  ■'  CjEtliiua"  in  the  eclogue ; 

Imdnttil,  'PBiturom,  Tityrp,  pingues 
Drtvt  uTitf,  diiluctum  diwre  c»rmim.' " 

What  could  have  poeisessed  the  professor  ?  Did  he  ever 
B  through  the  course  of  "  sj/iritval  exercises  ?"  Did  he  e?er 
it  a  twck  of  tmlt  nitb  Loyola's  intellectual  and  highly 
[veipluml  sons  ?  "  liud  he  ever  manifealed  hit  conseienee  f" 
Md  his  venturouB  foot  ever  cross  the  threshold  of  the  Jesui- 
ial  aaiictuvy  f  Was  hi;  deeply  versed  in  the  "  ratio 
tudiomm."  Had  his  car  ever  d  rank  the  mystic  whisperinga 
r  the  mtmila  lecrela  .'  No !  Tlien  why  the  deuce  did  he 
1  down  to  writt^  about  the  Jesuits?  Had  he  not  the 
It  of  India  at  his  serviueP  Could  he  not  take  up 
10  denuhee  of  Peraia  t  or  the  bonKca  of  Japan  ?  or  the 
hutrious  brotherliood  of  Boheuiiao  gipsies  F  or  the  "  ancient 
rderof  Druids?"  or  all  of  them  together?  But,  in  the 
Une  of  Comeliiis  k  Lapide,  whjr  did  he  undertake  to  ^^lite 
Itout  the  Ji^suils'r' 

I  am  the  more  surprised  at  tfae  learned  historian's  thua 
MJalging  in  the  Homeric  luxury  of  a  transient  UHp,  as  he 
tnrraJly  in  broad  awuke,  and  ecaus  with  scrutinising  eye 
w  duingi  of  his  fi-llow-nien  tlirough  several  centuries  of 
lUreat.     Tu  talk  about  niatlere  of  which  he  must  necessa- 
ly  be  ignorant,  never  occurs  (eicept  in  this  case)  to  hia 
nprrhGnsive  habit  of  thought:  and  it  was  reserved  for 
>df-m  days  to  product-  that  school  of  writers  who  indus- 
laly  employ  their  peua  on  topics  the  most  exalted  above 
r  Huge  of  miiid,  and  the  least  adapted  to  tljoir  powera 
r  illustration,      Tlie  more  ignorance,  the  more  audacity. 
Prince  I'nckitT  Mufknw"  and  "Lady  Morgan"  furnish 
m  bnui  idial  of  this  class  ofscnbblers.     Let  them  get  but 
I    a  p«)cp  at  the  "toe  of  Hercules,"  and  they  will  produce 
fortiiwilb    an  accurate    mcEzotiuto  drawing  of  his  entire 
et  a  footing  in  nnv  country  in  the 
intv-fuur  houra,  aua  their  volume  of 


170  FATHER   PBOTJT's    BELIQTJES. 

"  France,"  "  England,"  "  Italy,"  or  "  Belgium"  is  ready  fof 
the  press. 

'*  Oh  give  but  a  glance^  let  a  rista  but  gleam, 
Of  any  given  country^  and  mark  how  they'll  feel!'* 

It  is  not  necessary  that  they  should  know  the  commop 
idiom  of  the  natives,  or  even  their  own  language  grammati- 
cally ;  for  Lady  Morgan  (aforesaid)  stands  convicted,  in  her 
printed  rhapsodies,   of  being  very  little   acquainted  with 
fVench,  and  not  at  all  with  Italian :  while  her  EnglUk^  oi 
which  every  one  can  judge,  is  poor  enough.     The  Auatnai* 
authorities  shut  the  gates  of  Germany  against  her  impo0^ 
tures,  not  relishing  the  idea  of  such  audacious  humbug :  io 
truth,  what  could  she  have  done  at  Vienna,  not  knowiag 
German ;  though  perhaps  her  obstetric  spouse,  Sir  Charles* 
can  play  on  the  German  flute  ? 

*'  Laseiami  por*  nella  terra  11  piede 
E  vider'  questi  inconosciuti  lidi, 
Yider'  le  gente,  e  il  colto  di  lor  fede, 
E  tutto  quello  onde  uom  aaggio  m*  inridi, 
Quando  mi  gioverik  murrare  altrui 
Le  noTitIi  vedute,  e  dire,  '  io/ui  /* " 

Tasso,  Oerus.  Lib.  cant.  15,  at  88. 

There  is  in  the  county  of  Kildare  a  veritable  Jesuits 
college  (of  whose  existenfce  Sir  Harcourt  Lees  is  well  safci^^ 
fied,  having  often  denounced  it)  :  it  is  called  "  Clongowc^ 
Wood;"  and  even  the  sacred  "  Groves  of  Blarney"  do  n<p* 
80  well  deserve  the  honours  of  a  pilgrimage  as  this  haunt  o* 
classic  leisure  and  studious  retirement.     Now  Lady  Morgan 
wanted  to  explore  the  learned  cave  of  thes6  literary  ccbhO' 
bites,  and  no  doubt  would  have  written  a  book,  entitled 
**  Jesuitism  in  all  its  Branches,"  on  her  return  to  Dublin ; 
but  the  sons  of  Loyola  smelt  a  rat,  and  acted  on  the  prin- 
ciple inculcated  in  the  legend  of  St.  Senanus  (Colgan.  Acto 
SS.  Hyb.)  : 

**  Quid  foDminiB 
Commune  eet  cum  monachis  ? 
Nee  te  neo  ullam  aliam 
Admittamus  in  insulam." 

For  which  Front's  blessing  on  'em !     Amen. 

In  glaring  contrast  and  striking  opposition  to  this  systen 
o/* forwardness  and  ef&ontery  practised  by  the  "lady"  ^ 


LITERATCBE    ,(SD   THE   JESUITS,  171 

the'' prince."  stands  tlie  exenipkry  conduct  of  Denny  Mul- 
liiu.  Denny  ia  a  patriot  and  a  breeches -maker  in  the  town 
lif  Cork,  the  oracle  of  the  "  Chamber  of  Commerce,"  and 
lixikwl  np  to  with  great  reverence  by  the  radieala  and  lant 
nliAtu  who  Bwarm  in  tliat  beautiful  cit^.  The  excellence 
"f  his  leather  biuiting  unmentionablea  ib  admitted  by  the 
Mm  room  foi-himters;  wliile  his  leather  gaiters  and  his  other 
''rtft  sre  approved  -of  by  John  Cotter  of  the  branch  bank 
"f  Ireland.  But  this  is  a  mere  parenthesis.  Now  when  the 
Wysin  the  Morea  were  kicking  againet  the  Sublime  Porte, 
lo  the  great  delitrht  of  .Toe  Hume  and  other  Corinthians, 
"pwid  political  dinner  occurred  in  the  beautiful  capita!  of 
KiMter  i  at  which,  after  the  usual  flummery  about  Hara- 
UiOB  and  tlie  Peloponnesus,  the  health  of  Prince  Ypsilanti 
md  "Success  to  the  Greeks"  was  given  from  the  chair. 
^ere  was  a  general  call  for  Mullius  to  speak  on  this  toast ; 
toough  why  A*  should  be  selected  none  could  tell,  unless  for 
tw  fwiou  which  caused  the  Athenians  to  banisb  Aristides, 
"I.  tJB  being  "  too  honest."  Denny  rose  and  rebuked  their 
"•egery  by  protesting,  that,  "  though  he  was  a  plain  man, 
"^tould  always  give  a  reason  for  what  lie  was  about.  As 
'H  the  modem  Greeks,  he  would  think  twice  before  be  either 
*"««)  them  or  refused  thera  credit.  He  knew  little  about 
""iir  forefathers,  except  what  be  had  read  in  an  author 
*lJed  Pope's  '  Homer,'  who  says  they  were  '  well-guitered ;' 
^  he  had  learned  to  respect  tktm.  But  latterly,  to  call  a 
Hun  a  ■  Greek"  was,  in  hia  experience  of  the  world,  as  bad 
*»  to  call  him  ^ajtmit;'  though,  in  both  cases,  few  people 
nil  ever  any  personal  knowledge  of  a  real  Jesuit  or  a  lond 
Grecian."     Such  was  the  wisdom  of  the  Aristides  of 

Nfverthelesi,  it  is  not  my  intention  to  enter  on  the  de- 
Ltahle  ground  of  "  the  order's"  moral  or  political  character. 
(cruLti,  the  secretary  of  Mirabeau  {whose  funeral  oration 
e  was  chosen  to  pronounce  in  the  churcb  of  St.  Eustache, 
April  4.  1791),  has  written  most  eloquently  on  that  topic  ; 
ntd  in  the  whole  range  of  French  polemics  I  know  nothing 
10  full  of  manly  lo^c  and  cenuine  energy  of  Bt)-le  as  his 
vlebrated  "Apologie  des  JcBuites,"  (Svo.  Soleure.  1778). 
[e  afterwardH  conducted,  with  Babaud  St-.  Etienne,  that 
irbnind  newspaper,  "La  FeoUle  Viilageoiae,"   in  »\i\c\i 


172 


TAinEE  psoVt'b  BEi.iqrr.s. 


there  was  rpd-hot  enthueinem  enoogli  to  get  all  tb«  rtuHrmum 
roimd  PnriB  burnt :  but  the  work  of  his  joutli  n-iuaiiia  mn 
impiiriBhable  perform ance.  My  object  is  Bunjily  lu  coiuitlpr 
"tlie  JeBHita"  in  connexion  with  litrrature.  Nonr  vuuld 
1)C  tncre  opposed  than  1  to  the  introducliuii  nf  piil(*mic*  into 
1  )ie  domaiu  of  the  "  /lellei  Irttret,'"  ur  to  let  angry  tliaputatton 
lind  its  way  into  the  peaceful  rale  of  Tenipii, 
"Pour  phangep  t 

Tlie  precincts  of  FamBBBUB  form  a  "  city  of  refuge,' 
where  political  and  religious  dilferencfs  can  Iiuti?  no  acc«M, 
where  the  aapxj  passionB  Bubside,  and  the  wicked  iviuw  frun 
troubling.  Wnerefore  to  the  devil,  its  inventor,  1  bei^nnUli 
the  Qunpowder  Plot ;  and  I  ahall  not  attempt  to  nike  up  the 
bonee  ot  Guy  Fnux,  or  disturb  the  ashen  of  Doctor  'I'ltoa : — 
not  that  Titus,  "  the  deliRht  of  the  human  rnce,"  who  ron- 
Bidercd  a  day  as  Umt  when  not  sigiialiBed  by  nuine  fieop* 
fa4:tion ;  but  Titus  Oates,  who  could  not  nW\i  quiet  en 
bis  pillow  at  night  iinleaB  lie  hail  banged  a  JtiiuiL  in  thm 
morning. 

I  have  often  in  the  course  of  these  pnpers  intrnducod  i)ui>> 
tations  from  the  works  of  the  Jevuit  Gressct,  the  kind  mkI 
enlightened  friend  of  my  early  years ;  anil  to  that  pure  IbuiK 
tain  of  the  most  limpid  poetry  of  France  1  shall  ag»iti  hvn 
occasion  to  return  :  but  nothing  more  evinces  the  sterling 
cicellenee  of  this  illuBtrioue  poefa  mind  Ihnn  his  coudod 
towards  the  "  order,"  of  which  he  hlVd  heca  an  nrnaoMinl 
until  niBtters  connected  with  the  press  caused  his  withdrawal 
from  that  Bociety.  His  "  Adieux  aux  Ji^uiles"  am  au  re. 
cord,  and  deserve  the  adniimtion  which  they  cicited  at  thst 
period.  A  single  passage  will  ludicutc  the  spirit  of  tkn. 
celobrRt«d  composition: 

"  Jb  doii  lou*  me*  regret*  aux  riifn  i]urj(  quiUnI 
J'rn  perAt  atve  doiileur  I'pnlrelirn  TcKumiX  | 

El  li  daiu  Imn  fo^en  d^muii  jo  n'lwbrte, 
Mou  cour  tu  lurTit  oupr^  d'eui. 

C»r  at  1h  emu  point  IcU  que  I*  main  dc  Ton 
La  {wiiit  k  df  jcul  pr^Toiu* : 

"'  "  oiinife  que  >ur  m  qu'on  paUl* 


IbleK 


Cdr^ini 


lITKHJlTniE   AST)    THE   JES 

uim 

•r'>ii»e 

•voiles. 

e  liore's  b  heartfelt  6re*ell ! 

•iwa* 

bl«ring  » 

lliin  tLeir  loved  olois 

*r»lo 

well 

Ana 

lUT  devMt 

■  O'ecUalK  Bhali  dine 

■oundc 

low 

Full  glodlv  I  miied  Ib»r  bleated  <nivl» 

Andol 

!  I>*ed  not 

Che  >vhia|>cr  of  Eniy' 

foult. 

Ifi 

uu  list  hut 

o  her,  f  ou  muet  kuow  Uieiii 

but  U 

But  to  come  at  oDCo  to  the  pith  and  subBtaace  of  the 

ivwa^ut    iin|uify.  viz,  the  influeuce  of  the  Jesuits  on    the 

\etle*  Mlrt»,     It  ia  oDe  of  the  «trikiDg  facts  ue  meet  with 

'a  tracing  ihe  history  of  this  "  onler,''  aud  which  D'Israeli 

itBT  do  well  to  insert  m  the  next  edition  of  hia  "  Curiosities 

f  Iiittrmturc,"  that  the  founder  of  the  most  learned,  and 

tj  far  Ibd  luuHt  distiuguished  literary  corporation  that  ever 

iroae  io  the  world,  «a»  an  o/d  mldier  who  took  Ujp  hia  "  Latin 

3nmmar''  when  post  the  age  of  thirty;  at  which  time  of 

ife  Don  Ignacio  de  LoyoU  had  hia  leg  shattered  by  an 

IB-ponnder,  while  defending  the  citadel  of  Pompeluaa  against 

be  Freneh,     llie  knowleclge  of  this  interesting  truth  inay 

iBCoaragc  tlie  great  captain  of  the  age,  whom  1  do  not  yet 

teuMJi'  of  behuldiug  in  a  new  capacity,  coTering  his  laurelled 

iroir  with  a  doctor's  cap.  and  fifling  tlie  chancellur'e  chair  to 

b«  great  joy  of  the  public  and  the  special  delight  of  Oxford. 

[  hate  lera  more  improbable  events  than  tliis  take  place  in 

J  flxperit.'ni^e  of  the  world.     Be  that  ea  it  may,  tliia  lieu- 

uant  iu  the  Ca^adorea  of  bis  imperial  majesty  Charles  V., 

called  into  existence  by  the  vigour  of  his  mind  a  race  of 

highly  educated  followers.     He  was  the  parent-stock  (or,  if 

you  will,  the  primitive  block)  from  which  so  many  illustrious 

clnp«wer«  bevoi  during  theXVIIth  century.     If  he  had 

^^"t  intcllw^t  for  his  own  portion,  he  most  undeniably  created 

nmuiid  liim :  hu  gathered  to  his  standard  men  of  genius 

d  ardent  spiritH ;  he  knew  how  to  turn  their  talents  to  the 

"■,  advantage  (no  ordiuary  knowledge),  and,  like  Archi* 

'~t  at  Syracuee,  by  tlie  juxtaposition  of  reflectors,  and 

ulful  combination  of  mirrora,  so  aa  to  converge  into  a 

:•  Mai  coiicentmte  the  borrowed  rays  of  the  sun,  he  cou' 

rd  to  damage  the  enemy's  fleet  and  fire  the  galleys  of 

IfareelluH.     Other  founders  of  monastic  orders  enlisted  the 

•,  the  outward  senses,  and  not  unfrequently  the 

Q  of  mankind :  their  appeal  was  to  that  love  for  the 

u  inherent  to  the  human  breast^  aud  that  latent 


171 


F&TUEB   ptEOrt's   UtLIttUEI. 


pride  wbinli  lurked  lone  ago  under  tlie  torn  blanket  iif  Dia 
genes.  aaA  whicb  would  have  tempted  Aleiaodcrr  In  art  ti| 
a  rival  tub.  But  Loyola's  quarry  was  the  cuttieat^  mimii 
and  he  Bcomed  to  work  hts  purpose  by  any  meaner  instriw 
mentality.  When  io  the  romantic  hennitage  of  our  Lodv 
of  Montserrat  he  suspended  for  ever  over  tbe  altw  bis  ho! 
met  and  hia  sword,  and  in  the  spirit  of  most  eialted  cbiraJr 
resolved  to  devote  himself  to  holier  pursuita — one  eogw 
glance  at  the  state  of  Europe,  iuat  fresh  from  the  peviral  o' 
letters  under  Leo  X.,  taught  Dim  Low  and  with  n 
pons  to  encounter  the  rebel  Augusttnian  monk,  and  ebedc 
the  progress  of  disaffection.  A  abort  poem  by  an  o?d  adooL- 
fellow  of  mine,  who  entered  the  order  in  17M,  and  di«d  i 
miscionary  in  Cochin  China,  maj'  illuatrate  thesu  views.  Tba 
lAtin  shows  excellent  scholarship  ;  and  my  attempt  at  traa^s 
lation  coo  give  but  a  feeble  idea  of  the  original.* 


aj™ 
agla 


Ih  Maria  Sacfllo,  1522. 

gubi- 
iMViac 


Mile*  r»igno.     He  aora  buc- 

Mv  noD  profiini  t«»er<i  pt^lH 

]}epoecit  i  et  sscnu  secutus 

Aiupibio  iDcUors  portM, 

Voa  inderonu  tmufuga,  florin 

Simii  relivtii.  nil  cupientium 

Duocedo  (MUtrip,  jam  futunu 

SpUndidior  tine  elude  victor. 


Son  (gn<i(io  loyola't  Tigit 

Intki  Chtpflof-mr  Udt/ef  Ma^tmmt. 

When  at  thy  ihrinc!.  moitltnl;  mail]! 
'    The  Spaniard  hung  hit  toUto  blada. 

And  bsPMl  hia  liiJiiud  brow — 
L    Not  that  lie  reared  ■rar'*  viaag* 
I    Or  Ihat  the  balllp-fieLd  for  bim 

Und  BUght  Ui  daunt,  I  Innv  i 

"OtoTj!"  ha  cried,  "with  tin 

Fama !  thv  bright  thfatna  I  *luaR, 

To  tread  frnh  palliiraT)  no*  i 
To  trnck  thy  fool*iep«,  I^iour  t>adl 
With  Ihrabbiag  hrarl,  irilh  fcal  «•• 


Sann)  catenia  moK^lcit  llirono, 
Bl  eunota  t^mirum  »ubautn 
Curda  Deo  daro  geacit  ardor : 


With  II 

Hear  and  record  m.'j  n 

Yea,  Thou  thalt  r«iga !   Chaintd 

th^  thrune, 
The  mind  of  man  thj  »ra;  thall  ow^ 

Auil  Ui  iu  conqueror  bow, 
Oeniiu  hii  Ijre  to  Thoe  (ball  lift. 
And  intcUcvl  ila  i^ioirnl  inft 

Proudly  on  Th>«  boatow." 


•  Liku  niobt  ulhcf  "origiiial»,''  tlii»  ia  Pmul 


u-O.T. 


I  VnMdiltnigvanjsftnlbiuamulia  Straight  on  the  marble  floor  he  knelt, 

L  Xk9pntUkn(£>  «temer« ;  Hdmagu  And  in  Ilia  brciiiC  ciultiiig  Tdt 
I         XilfuU  Imllieri  triumplion  A  Tivid  fumwo  elow  ; 

OrbeiiuTg  repsrabit  lUtor!"  Fnrlh  to  hrs  liuk  the  giant  tytd, 

^  Eurth  shook  Bbrood  bcnesih  hii  tresd, 
■  Xblliugigiiiitia  aentit  iter:  ijiniil        And  idaU  irere  IsiJ  low. 


Chruti  triumjili: 


iW  Inedioa  ttuitare  Ouigc 


V  hemisplier 
Hhonc  m  the  aiure  sky  i 
And,  ttom  the  isles  of  far  Japan 
To  tlie  bruid  Andca,  won  d'ht  mui 
A  bloodieii  victorf ! 


Professor  BobertsoD  gravely  opines  tbnt  Ignatiua  was  a 
tt)«re  funadc,  wlio  never  contemplated  the  subsequent  gioriea 
•*f  hii  order ;  and  that,  were  be  to  have  revisited  tbe  earth 
*  wnturj'  alter  bis  deeeaae,  when  his  institute  was  making 
*ach  «  Qciige  in  the  world,  be  would  have  started  back, 

"  Scared  at  the  sound  himaelf  bad  nude." 

■**»er  dill  the  historian  adopt  a  more  egregious  blunder. 
'Aid  lie  had  leisure  or  patience  to  con  over  the  original  code, 
**fei  IssTiTOTViit  Soc.  Jest,  he  would  have  tbiind  in 
**tfj  pnragrapb  of  that  profound  and  crafty  volume  the 
SwjBi  of  wondrotia  future  development ;  he  would  have  dis- 
J^fred  the  long-hidden  but  most  precii>u8  "soul  of  the 
'ii*ntiate  Garriaa"  under  the  inspection  that  adorns  the 
tillp-jiage.  Yes.  the  mind  of  Loyola  lies  embalmed  in  the 
Wes  of  that  mystic  tome;  and  the  ark  of  cedar-wood, 
Wne  by  the  cliildren  of  Israel  along  tbe  sands  of  the 
•It^crt,  was  not  more  essential  to  their  happy  progress  unto 
tie  Wd  of  promise  than  that  grand  depository  of  the 
founder's  wisdom  was  to  the  marcli  of  intellect  among  the 

Brfore  bis  death,  this  old  veteran  of  Charles  V.,  this  il- 
iitt^nit«  lieutenant,  this  crippled  bpaniard  from  the  "im- 
minent and  deadly  breach"  of  Fampeluna  (for  he  too  waa 
Imoc.  like  Tyrta:us.  Talleymnd,  Lord  Byron,  Sir  W.  Scott, 
L-,  uid  App'iiis  C/om/iiii),  had  the  satiafatlioii  t^t 


176  FiTDEB   pbout'b   rei.iqfes. 

counting  twelve  "nrovitiMs"  of  his  order  ««tabliahu4  a, 
Europe,  Asia,  BrnxilB,  and  Ethiopia.  The  nifRibrrH  of  ita 
society  amounted  at  tliat  epoch  {3lst  July,  1536),  nitfieB 
years  after  its  foundation,  to  seven  tliousaud  educaUMl  mt.-a. 
Upwards  of  one  himdred  colleges  had  been  opened.  Xaritf 
hiul  blown  the  trumpet  of  the  Gospel  over  India -,  BobadilW 
had  made  a  noise  in  Germuu}' ;  tinspar  Kunes  had  gontf 
Egypt;  AliihoiiBO  Sulmeron  to  Ireland.  Mpoutime  tb» 
'boola  of  the  nuw  professars  were  attraeting.  in  ever;  put 
of  eager  pnpils  :  industry  and  teti  ' 
'sible  progntm  of  nli 


of  Europe, 

reaping  their  best  reward 

as  well  as  literature : 


"  Ferret  opui,  redolentqiw 
At  the  suppression  of  the 


10  thjmo  fngmntia  met 
',  it  numbereil  within  ■  fno- 
tion  of  tw-enty  thousand  well-trained,  well  discijilined. 
well- taught  members. 

There  is  an  instinct  in  gr^at  minds  that  tells  thorn  of  ti 
aublime  destinies,  and  gives  them  secret  but  certain  wan 
of  their  ultimate  grandeur:  like  Brutus,  they  have  sre 
spirit  of  prophetic  import,  whether  for  gixxl  or  evil,  who 
meet  Ihera  at  Philippi:  like  Plato,  they  keep  eorreapontk 
with  a  familiar  tai/^w.  Iik.e  Napoleon,  they  read  tbeir 
ridian  glories  of  successful  warfare  in  the  morning  niu 
sure  as  fate,  Loyola  saw  the  future  laurels  of  his  onW, 
placed  full  reliance  on  the  anticipated  energy  of  his  followen 
yet  unborn :  the  same  reliance  which  that  giant  ftnwl 
Arabia,  the  ostrich,  must  oat«rtaiu,  vrlieo,  depositing 
monstrous  egg  on  the  sand».  it  departs  for  i-rur,  leariag 
the  gtid  of  day  the  care  of  hatching  iiiti)  life  ita 
younR. 

Industry,  untiring  ardour,  immortal  energy  wpit>  the  o, 
racteristica  of  these  learned  enthusiasts.    .Some  dnirod  iwi 
the  Bctrumiihited  rubbish  of  the  friars,  their  iguonuit  f 
ceeaors;  and  these  were  tlie  pionnrt  of  literature, 
gave  editions  of  the  Fathers  or  the  Classics,  hitherto  p 

op  in  the  womb  of  MS,;  these  were  the  aeeourAmrt  of  kai 

ledge.     Otiiers,  for  the  usd  of  schoob,  cnrelully  fxpurgatod 
the  received  autliom  of  antiquity,  and  supi)»eased  ewrj  p 
rient  passage,  performing,  in  u»Hm  Driphini,  a  very  nenfav 
~      >  task.     I  need  not  sav  to  what  class  of  opcVatara 


LlTKBATt'llX    *Nn    Tlli;  JESCIT8. 


177 


mrgery  Ihriie  wnrtby  ffttherB  belonged.     Some  wrote  "com- 

peuMriea"  ou  Scripture,  which  Junius  undervalues;  but, 

h  oil  hit  acquiromonts,  I  wgiild  sooner  take  the  guidance 

if  Coroctius  4  Lapide  in  mattere  of  theology.    FiuaJIv,  some 

note  original  works ;  and  the  shelves  of  every  Europeou 

jr  groan  uuder  the  folios  of  the  Jesuits. 

sre  ia  not,  perliapa,  a  more  instructive  and  interesting 

:t  of  inquiry  iu  the  history  of  the  human  mind  than 

e'origin.  progress,  and  workings  of  what  are  called  moniu- 

ie  uutitutioai.     It  is  a  matter  on  which  1  knve  bestowed  not 

!  thought,  and  I  may  one  day  plunge  into  the  depths 

jereof  iu  a  dpet-ial  dissertatiou.     But  I  cannot  help  advert- 

g  here  to  some  causes  that  raieed  the  order  of  the  Jesuits 

e  (ill  the  niimerouB  and  fantastical  fraternities  to 

icfa  the  middle  ngea  had  previously  giveu  birth,     Loyola 

w  the  vile  abuses  which  had  crept  int-o  these  institutions, 

I  h&d  (he  sagacity  to  eschew  the  blunders  of  his  prede- 

Idleness  was  the  most  glaring  ei-il  under  which 

id  friars  laboured  in  those  days ;  and  hence  inces- 

wity  wna  the  watcbwortl  of  Am  sons.     The  rules  of 

Porders"  begot  a  groTelling  and  vulgar  debasement  of 

and  were  calculated  to  mar  and  cripple  the  energies  of 

i»,  if  it  ever  happened  exceptionally  to  lurk  under  "  the 

ncis  or  of  Dominick :"  but  all  the  regulations 

e  Jcsuitf  had  a  tenileney  to  develop  the  aspirings  of 

Btvllrct,  and  tn  ez{miid  the  scope  and  widen  the  career  of 

~"  J  systeni  of  mendicaney  adopted  by  each  holy 

rotherhuod  as  the  ground-work  of  its  operations,  did  not 

rike  I»yola  as  much  calculated  to  give  dignity  or  manti- 

is  to  the  human  character;  hence  he  !eil  his  elder  brethren 

iiiet  poHsession  of  that  intereating  department.     "Whea 

■*,  pravinces,  or  kings  founded  a  Jesuits'  college,  they 

■  BUre  of  /netting  value  in  return :  hence  most  of  their 

(Ditegiate  halja  were  trulv  magnificent,  and  they  ought  to 

'  i»e  been  bo,     When  of  old  a  prince  wished  to  engage  Zeno 

I  latar  to  his  son,  and  sought  to  lower  the  terms  of  the 

|>liilo*opMrr  by  stating,  that  with  such  a  sum  he  could  pur- 

c)in«e  a  «!avp,  "  Do  so,  by  all  means,  and  yon  will  have  a  pair 

of  them,"  was  the  pithy  reply  of  the  indignant  stoic. 

I  do  not  undervalue  the  real  services  of  some  "  iirders"  of 
r  iitttitutioil.     I  have  visited  with  feelings  of  deep 


178  TATHEB  PBOVT's  BELIQUXf. 

respect  the  ^rgeous  cradle  of  the  Benedictine  institute  at 
Monte  Cassino ;  and  no  traveller  has  explored  Italy's  proud 
monuments  of  Boman  grandeur  with  more  awe  than  I  did 
that  splendid  creation  oi  laborious  and  persevering  men.  I 
have  seen  with  less  pleasure  the  work  of  Bruno,  ta  Grande 
Chartreuse,  near  Grenoble ;  he  excluded  leamii^  from  the 
solitude  to  which  he  drew  his  followers :  but  I  have  bailed 
with  enthusiasm  the  sons  of  Bernard  on  the  Alps  ministering 
to  the  wants  of  the  pilgrim ;  and  I  knew,  that  while  tkeff 
prowled  with  their  mountain-dogs  in  quest  of  wayworn  tra- 
vellers, their  brethren  were  occupied  far  off  in  tlie  mines  of 
Mexico  and  Peru,  soothing  the  toils  of  the  encaverriled  slate. 
But  while  I  acknowledged  these  benefactions,  I  could  not 
forget  the  crowds  of  lazy  drones  whom  the  system  has  fos- 
tered in  Europe :  the  humorous  lines  of  Berchoux,  in  bis 
clever  poem  "  La  Qastronomie,"  involuntarily  crossed  my 
mind: 

"  Oui,  j*avaifl  un  bon  oncle  en  votre  ordre,  €ievi 
D'un  mdrite  blatant,  gastronome  aoheve ; 
SouTent  il  m*^talait  son  brillant  refectoire, 
Cetait  \k  du  couTent  la  v^itable  gloire ! 
GhuTii  des  biens  exquis  qu*enfante  I'univen, 
Vins  d*un  bouquet  cdleste,  et  mets  d'un  goiit  divers ! 

"  Cloitres  majestueux !  fortunes  monast^res ! 
Betraite  du  repos  des  Tertus  solitaires, 
Jc  vous  ai  Tu  tomber,  le  coeur  gros  des  soupirs ; 
Mais  je  vous  ai  gard^  d'^temels  souvenirs ! — 
Jc  s^ais  qu'on  a  prouve  que  tous  aviez  grand  tort, 
Mais  que  ne  prouTe-t-on  pas  quand  on  est  le  plus  fort  f" 

This  last  verse  is  not  a  bad  hit  in  its  way. 

But  to  return  to  the  Jesuits.  Their  method  of  study,  or 
ratio  studiorum,  compiled  by  a  select  quorum  of  the  ordeTt 
under  the  guidance  of  the  profound  and  original  Father 
Maldonatus,*  totally  broke  up  the  old  machinery  of  tbe 
schools,  and  demolished  for  ever  the  monkish  fooleries  d 
contemporary  pedagogues.  Before  the  arrival  of  the  Jesuit! 
in  the  neld  of  collegiate  exercises,  the  only  skill  applauded 
or  recognised  in  that  department  consisted  in  a  minute  and 
servile  adherence  to  the  deep-worn  tracks  left  by  thepasMge 

*  See  Bayle's  Diet.,  art.  Maldonai. 


CBE   ASD  THE  JESUITS.  179 

of  Aristotle's  (MimbrouB  waggoo  over  tlie  plaine  of  learning. 
I     Tlie  well-known  fable  of  Gay,  concerning 
^L  **  A  OncUn  joath  of  Ulents  rare," 

^■^KiiD  he  describes  as  excelling  in  the  hippodrome  of  Athens 
^piv  the  fidelity  with  which  he  could  drive  his  chariot- wheels 
^within  nn  inch  of  the  exact  circle  left  on  the  race-couree  by 
those  who  had  preceded,  wsa  the  type  and  model  of  acho- 
laatic    eicvlleoce.      The    Jesuits,    in    every    university    to 
which  they  could  get  acceaa,  broke  new  ground.     Various 
■nd  fierce  wcrt'  the  strugjjles  against  those  invaders  of  the 
I  terntoTj  sod    privileges   of  Bteotia;    dulnesa  opposed  his 
pld  bulwark,  (he  vii  inerfim,  m  vain.     Indefatigable  iu  their 
uit,  the  new  professors  made  incessant  inroads  into  the 
IB  of  ignorance  and  sloth ;  awfully  ludicrous  were  the 
J  convulsions   of  the  old  universitarian  system,  that 
■^tutted    like  an    incubus    for  so  many  centuries  on 
^rne.  Alcaltt,  Vidladolid.  Padua,  Cracow,  and  Coim- 
^  hxx.     But  it  was  in  the  halls  of  their  own  private  college* 
that  they  unfolded  all  their  excellence,  and  toiled  unimpeded 
fur  the  revival  of  claaeic  studies.     "  C'oniule  tekola*  Jetuifa- 
nod,"  eiclaiins  the  Lord  Chancellor  Bacon,  who  was  neither 
k  quack  nor  a  swiper.  but  "  spoke  the  words  of  sobriety  and 
truth."     {\iAe  Oput  dt  Dignil.  Stirnt.  lib.  vii.)     And  Car- 
dinal Richelieu  has  left  on  record,  in  that  celebrated  docu- 
tiipiil*  the  "Teslament  Politique,"  part  i.  chap.  2,  sect.  10,  his 
admiration  of  the  rivalry  in  the  raw  of  science  which  the 
ordi*r  created  in  France. 

Forth  from  their  new  college  of  Lafltehe  came  their  pupil 
Depcarh's,  to  disturb  the  existing  theories  of  astronomy  and 
metaphysics. and  start  new  and  unexampled  inquiries.  Science 
until  then  barf  wondered  a  captive  iu  the  labyrinth  of  the 
acbixtU  -,  but  the  Cartesian  Dsdalus  fashioned  wings  for 
hiBiM^lf  and  fur  her.  and  boldly  soared  among  the  clouds. 
Tutored  in  their  college  of  Fayenza  (near  Rimini),  the  im- 
mortal Torrindli  reQected  honour  on  his  intelligent  inatruc- 
j-  the  invention  of  the  barometer,  A.n.  1U20.  Of  the 
of  Taaso  they  may  well  be  proud.  Justus  Li psi us, 
i  in  their  earliest  academies,  did  good  service  to  the 


180  TATHEB  PSOTJT'S  BELIQUES. 

cause  of  criticifim,  and  cleared  off  the  cobwebs  of  the  com* 
mentators  and  grammarians.  Soon  afber,  CaBsini  roee  from 
the  benches  of  their  tuition  to  preside  over  the  newly  estab- 
lished Ohservatoire  in  the  metropolis  of  France ;  while  the 
illustrious  Toumefort  issued  m)m  their  halls  to  carry  a 
searching  scrutiny  into  the  department  of  botanical  science, 
then  in  its  infancy.  The  Jesuit  Kircher*  meantime  as- 
tonished his  contemporaries  by  his  untiring  energy  and  saga- 
cious mind,  equally  conspicuous  in  its  most  sublime  as  in  its 
trifling  efforts,  whether  he  predicted  with  precision  the  erup- 
tion of  a  volcano,  or  invented  that  ingenious  plaything  tbe 
"  Magic  Lantern."  Father  Boscovichf  shone  subsequently 
with  equal  lustre :  and  it  was  a  novel  scene,  in  1759,  to  find 
a  London  Eoyal  Society  preparing  to  send  out  a  Jesuit  to 
observ'e  the  transit  of  Venus  in  California.  His  panegyric, 
from  the  pen  of  the  great  Lalande,  fiUs  the  Journal  det 
Savans,  February  1792.  To  Fathers  EiccioH  and  De  Billy 
science  is  also  deeply  indebted. 

Forth  from  their  college  of  Dijon,  in  Burgundy,  came 
Bossuet  to  rear  his  mitred  front  at  the  court  of  a  despot,  and 
to  fling  the  bolts  of  his  tremendous  oratory  among  a  crowd 
of  elegant  voluptuaries.  Meantime  the  tragic  muse  of  Co^ 
neille  was  cradled  in  their  college  of  Eouen ;  and,  imder  to 
classic  guidance  of  the  fathers  who  taught  at  the  College  ^ 
Clermont f  in  Paris,  Moli^re  grew  up  to  be  the  most  exquislta 

*  Mundus  Subt^rraneus,  jinut.  1664,  2  vols.  foL  Chins  lUuitnL, 
ibid.  1667,  folio.  De  Usu  Obeliscor.  Ronue^  1666,  folio.  MuBeumKi^ 
Cher,  ibid.  1709,  folio. 

t  Bom  at  Bagusa,  on  the  Adriatic ;  taught  by  the  Jesuits,  in  tiitf 
college  in  that  town ;  entered  the  order  at  the  age  of  sixteen ;  was  mdI 
to  Borne,  and  forthwith  was  made  professor  of  mathematics  in  the  A^ 
chigymn.  Rom. ;  was  employed  by  the  papal  gOTemment  in  the  measure' 
ment  of  the  arc  of  meridian,  which  he  traced  firom  Borne  to  Biminii 
assisted  by  an  English  Jesuit,  Mayer ;  in  17S0,  employed  by  the  repub- 
lic of  Lucca  in  a  matter  relating  to  their  marshes ;  subsequently  by  tbi 
Emperor  of  Austria ;  and  was  elected,  in  1760,  a  fellow  of  the  Londoi 
Boyal  Society,  to  whom  he  dedicated  his  poem  on  the  "  Eclipses,"  i 
clever  manual  of  astronomy.  His  grand  work  on  the  propertissoi 
matter  (Lex  Continuitatis)  was  printeid  at  Bome,  4to.,  1754.  We  hsTi 
also  from  his  pen,  Dioptrics,  Vind.  1767  ^  Mathesis  UniTersa*  Taw^ 
1757  ;  Lens  et  Telescop.,  Rom.  1755  ;  Theoria  Philos.  Natur.,  Fsmm^ 
1758.  The  French  goremment  invited  him  to  Paris,  where  he  died  n 
1792,  in  the  sentimexxtB  of  un£e\g;aed  piety  which  he  erer  displayed 


UTEBiXUIUt  AKD  THB  JESITITS. 


ISl 


if  comic  irriten.    The  \yric  poetry  of  Jean  Baptistc  EousBeau 

I  nurtured  bv  them  iii  tlieir  follf ge  of  Louia  le   Grand. 

Jill  in  that  college  the  wonciroiu  talent  of  young  "  I'ran9oi9 

f  Arouet"waa  also  cultivated  by  these  holy  men,  who  little 

^  dtvamt  to  what  purpose  the  subaequent  "  Voltaire"  would 

^convert  his  abilities — 

"  Son  bos  qmesitum  nDDniu  in  luut." 

^ntta.  ly. 

yOliret,  FoBtenelle,  CrebiUon,  Le  Franc  de  PompigBan — 
here  ia  warcely  a  name  feuown  to  literature  during  the  scTen- 
r.toeitth  century  which  does  not  bear  teetiinony  to  theirprow- 
In  in  the  province  of  education — no  profeesioD  for  which  they 
fill  not  Mapt  their  Bcholars.  I'or  tae  bar,  they  tutored  the 
'  rioiis  Lomotgnon  (the  Mtecenas  of  liacine  and  Buileaa). 
B  they  wbo  taught  the  vigorous  ideaa  of  D'ArgenBon 
kow  to  Bhuot ;  they  who  breathed  into  the  young  Montep- 
I  bis  "  Esprit ;"  tliey  who  reared  tboae  ornaments  of 
?nch  jurisprudence,  Kicflai,  Moli',  Seguier,  and  Anielot. 
'  Their  disciples  could  wield  tbe  aword.  Was  the  great 
"Toodd  deficient  in  warlike  spirit  for  having  studied  among 
bem  P  w-as  Marfchal  Villara  a  discreditable  pupil  P  Need  I 
pTc  the  list  of  their  other  belligerent  scholara  ? — De  Gram- 
mt,  De  BoufflerB,  De  Hohan,  De  Briasac,  De  Etrfea,  De 

■,  De  Creqiii,  De  Lusenibourg, — in  France  alone. 

Great  names  these,  no  doubt ;  but  lileratare  ia  the  title  cf 

'    I  pR])er,  and  to  that  I  would  principally  advert  as  the 

onrilennd  peculiar  department  of  their  exeellenee.     True, 

e  Sodetv  devoted  itself  moat  to  church  hiatory  and  eecle- 

stioU  learuiug,  auch  being  the  proper  pureuit  of  a,  sacer- 

il  body  ;  and  bucccts  in  this,  as  in  every  studv,  waited  on 

r  industry.     The  nrclioiologiat  is  familiar  witn  the  worka 

f  father  PctnriuB,  whom  Grotius  calls  hia  friend;  with  the 

J  of    Fathers  Sinnood,   BoUand,  Hardouin,  Labbe, 

oin,  and  Toiimeinine.      The  admirer  of  polemics  (if 

e  be  any  each  at  this  time  of  day)  is  acquainted  with 

ifmin.  Mcnoehiiie,  SuareK,  Tolet,  Beean,  Sheffmaker,  and 

t,  tiiough  not  least)  0 !  Comeliua  4  Lapide,  with  thee  ? 

But  in  clanii:  lore,  as  well  as  in  legendary,  the  Jesuits  ex- 

nllvil.     Who  can  pretend  to  the  character  of  a  literary  man 

t  baa  not  read  Tiraboschi  and  his  "  Storia  della  Lettera- 


182  POTHER   PaOUT*S   BELIQUBS. 

tura  d*  Italia/*  Bouhours  on  the  "  Mannidre  de  bien  penser,** 
Brumoy  on  the  "  Th^tre  des  Q-recs,"  Yayassonr  "  de  LudicrA 
Dietione,"  Sapin's  poem  on  the  "  Art  of  Gardening**  (tbe 
model  of  those  b^  Dr.  Darwin  and  Abb^  Delille),  Yamere*fl 
•*  Praadium  Eusticum,"  Tursellin  "  de  Particulis  Latini  Se^- 
monis,"  and  Casimir  Sarbievi's  Latin  Odes,  the  nearest 
approach  to  Horace  in  modem  times  ?  What  shall  I  saj  oi 
Por^  (Voltaire's  master),  of  Sanadon,  of  Desbillons,  Sidro- 
nius,  Jouvency,  and  the  ''joumalistes  de  Trevoux?" 

They  have  won  in  France,  Italy,  and  Spain,  the  palm  ol 
pulpit  eloquence.    Lo^ic,  reason,  wisdom,  and  piefy,  dwelt 
in  the  soul  of  Bourddioue,  and  flowed  copiously  m>m  hiB 
lips.    Lingendes,  Cheminais,  De  la  Bue,'  were  at  the  head 
ot  their  profession  among  the  French ;  while  the  pathetic 
and  unnvalled  Segneri  took  the  lead  among  the  eloquent 
orators  of  Italy.     In  Spain,  a  Jesuit  has  done  more  to  pu- 
rify the  pulpit  of  that  &ntastic  country  than  Cervantes  to 
clear  the  brains  of  its  chivalry ;  for  the  comic  romance  of 
"Fray  Gteruudio"  (Friar  G^erund),  by  the  Jesuit  l8la,eX' 
hibiting  the  ludicrous  ranting  of  the  cowled  fraternity  of 
that  day,  has  had  the  effect,  if  not  of  giving  eloquence  to 
clods  of  the  valley,  at  least  of  putting  down  absurdity  aad 
presumption. 

They  wooed  and  won  the  muse  of  history,  sacred  aod 
profane.  Strada*  in  Flanders,  Maffeif  at  Genoa,  Mariaoat 
in  Seville.  In  France,  Maimbourg,§  Daniel,||  Boujeant^l 
Charlevoix,**  Berruyer,tt  D'OrleaiiB,JJ  Ducerceau,§§  and 
Du  HaldeJl  ||  shed  light  on  the  paths  of  historical  mquiiy 
which  they  severally  trod.  I  purposely  omit  the  ex-Jesuit 
Bavnal. 

1?hey  shone  in  art  as  well  as  in  science.    Father  Pozzi  was 

*  De  Bello  Belgico.  f  Berum  Indioar.  ffift 

X  Histor.  di  Espana.    De  Begis  Institutione,  Toledo,  1599. 

§  Histoire  de  rArianisme,  des  loonoclastes,  des  Croisades,  da  Gtl* 
rinism,  de  la  Ligue. 

II  Hist,  de  France.    De  la  Milioe  Fran^aise. 

%  Hist,  du  Traits  de  Westphalie.    Ame  des  Bdtee,  etc 

**  Hist,  du  Paraguay,  du  Japon,  de  St.  Domingiie. 

ft  Du  Peuple  de  Dieik  XX  B<^Tolutioiis  d*AxigleteKn^ 

§§  Conjuration  de  Bienxi,  &c.  &c. 

nil  Description  GMogr.  Histor.  Politic,  et  Physique  de  la  CSuaa 
LsmI.  1742,  2  vols,  folio. 


lITEKATrHE  AKD  1UF.  JESUITS.  183 

SOB  cf  R<nrie'«  best  psintpra.  A  Jesuit  waa  employed  m  the 
dninage  of  tbo  Pontine  marHhes;  another  to  devise  plana  for 
lUttaiuing  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's,  when  it  threatened  to 
criuh  iti  moBflive  supports.  In  navut  laetiea  (a  siiLject  eg- 
tnogwl  from  sucerdotal  researehefl)  the  ewlieat  work  on  the 
Wntegy  proper  to  ships  of  tlie  line  waa  written  by  PiJre  le 
Hoile.kiiowu  to  middies  as  "the  Jesuits'  hook,"  its  French 
lilie  being  "  Traits  des  Evolutions  Kavales."  The  first  hint 
mterial  navigation  came  from  Padro  Laua,  in  his  work  de  Arte 
fnrfnnao,)lilan.  Newton  acknowledges  bis  debt  to  lather 
Griin»ldi,  Je  Lumine  Coioriin*  et  Iride,  Bononis,  16ti5,  for  his 
notions  on  the  infleiion  of  light.  TliB  best  edition  of  New- 
ton'* Prixcipia  was  brought  out  at  Geneva,  1739-60,  by  the 
Jauila  LcBiieur  and  Jaguier,  in  3  vols.  In  their  miasiona 
trough  Greece,  Asia  Minor,  and  the  islanda  of  the  Archi- 
P«l»eo,  they  were  the  heat  antiquaricB,  botanists,  and  mine- 
^dzista.  They  became  watch  makers,  as  well  as  mands- 
Wa,  in  China:  they  were  astronomers  on  the  "plateau" 
«f  Thibet:  they  taught  husbandry  and  mechanies  in 
uoada:  while  in  their  own  celebrated  and  peculiar  con- 

rt  (eiDce  hllen  into  the  hauda  of  Doctor  Fran9ia)  on 
_,  plaloB  of  P*KiOCAT,  they  taught  the  theory  and  prac. 
of  civil  architecture,  civil  economy,  farming,  tailoring, 
■11  the  trades  of  civilised  life.  They  played  on  the 
e  and  on  the  But«,  to  draw  the  South  American  Indiana 
the  foresta  into  their  riliagea :  and  the  story  of  Tbebea 
g  to  the  sound  of  Amphiou's  lyre  ceased  to  be  a  fable. 
e  find  them  in  Europe  and  at  the  antipodea,  in  Siam 
U  St.  Omer'a,  in  1540  and  in  1830— everywhere  the 
■-  lAJnh,  preached  before  the  Council  of  Trent  in 
Kev.  Peter  Kenney  was  admired  by  the  North 
ID  Congress  not  many  years  ago.  TiraDoschi  was  li. 
of  the  Brera  in  1750 :  Ajigelo  Mai  (es-Jesuit)  is 
n  of  the  Vatican  in  1S33.  By  the  by,  they  were 
to  capital  apothecaries.  Who  haa  not  heard  of  Jesuits' 
yA,   Jesuits*   dropt,   Jesuits'  powders,    Jesuita'    cuphalie 

"QlUftMgio  in  t«rm  noatrj  nan  pleoa  Ubnria?" — jKntid.  t. 
lid,  alaa  I  must  I  add,  who  has  not  beard  of  the  cufis  and 


184  T-ATnEB  FROITTS   BELiqCLJI. 

Duffetiugs,  the  kicks  and  halters,  which  they  hare  mrt  vith 
in  return : 

"  QuB  caret  ora  cmore  noatro  ?" — Bar.  lib.  iL  odo  1. 

For,  of  course,  do  Bet  of  men  on  the  face  of  God'ii  eortli 
have  been  more  abuaed.  'Tia  Hie  fate  of  evorv  mortal  wh» 
raiseB  himself  by  mother-wit  above  the  common  kve]  i 
fooli  aad  dunces,  to  be  bated  by  the  whole  tribe  moat  cor. 
dially: 

"  Cril  eoini  fiilgore  suo,"  &c.—lliir,  lib.  ij.  ep.  I. 

The  friare  were  the  first  to  raise  a  hue  and  err  ■g*"**' 
the  Jesuits,  with  one  Melchior  Ciuio,  a  Domiiiicait,  for  tlirir 
trumpeter.  Ignatius  h&d  been  taken  up  by  "tbe  liiqui«j< 
tion"  three  several  times.  Then  came  the  [fedant*  oi  tbf 
unirenity  at  Paris,  whom  these  new  professors  threw  idm 
the  shade.  The  "  order"  was  next  at  loggerheads  with  thai 
BuspiciouB  f^ag  of  intriguers,  the  council  aud  doge  of  V^ 
nice  ;  the  Jesuits  were  eipelled  the  republic*  1  wipp  W— ^ 
were  eipelled  from  France,  but  thrust  out  of  the  door  tl 
came  back  through  the  window.  They  eiicount«red,  I 
Paul,  "  stripes,  perils,  and  prisons,"  iu  Poland,  in  Oermanv^ 
in  Portugal,  and  Hungary.  They  were  hanged  by  doiena  in 
England.  Their  march  for  two  centuries  through  Buro|)C 
was  odIj  to  be  coin}mred  tu  the  retreat  uf  the  ten  DiouaMid 
Greeks  under  Xenophon. 

A  remarkable  euergy,  a  constant  discipline,  a  steady 
perseveranije,  and  a  digniGed  self-rt-spect,  were  their  chw 
teristics  from  tlie  befpnning.  They  did  not  notice  I 
pasquinades  of  craiy  Pascal.t  whose  "  Provincial  LiHlri»,** 
made  up  of  the  raspings  of  antiquated  theology  and  tlM 
■cnpingB  of  forgotten  cnusiBtry,  none  who  know  lAm  e»e* 
thought  much  of.  The  Hernjons  of  Bourdaloue  wer* 
the  only  answer  such  calumnies  required  ;  and  tbe  order 
confined  itself  to  giving  a  new  edition  of  tbe  "Lettrat 
^difiantes  et  curieuses,  i^critcs  par  nos  MissionairM  dn  I«< 


t  Proul'a  rrliali  (or  gmuine  tun  i»  bars  St  laolt. — O.  T. 


LlIEliiTTBE  yso  IBS  JUaUITB.  195 

™it,de  k  Chine,  (In  Caimda,  et  in  Malabar."     "WTien  a 

flimir  BwuBfttion  vtua  preferred  ajjainst  him  of  A&ica, 

"Huncqui 

Duiit  lib  e«enil  menlum  CitrlhiigiiK-  uometi," 

^  iflcd  in  a  similar  manner,  and  siienced  his  miserable 
idvenarifB. 

K  tTpr  there  wag  an  occosinn  on  which  the  pomparative 
Wfiti  of  the  Jesuits  and  JauBcnists  could  be  brought  to 
•^"iMt,  it  waa  at  the  outbreak  of  the  pestUentia!  visitation 

t  Bmote  the  city  of  Marseilles;  and  which  history,  poetry, 

I  pietj,  will  never  allow  to  be  forgotten  : 

"Wbj  drew  MBrseQlrg'  good  biibop  purer  breath, 
When  Bstore  (ickened,  SDd  each  gale  vae  death  ?" 

Fofe'b  £i(sy  OH  Man,  ep.  4. 

'fliile  the  Pbarisees  of  that  achool  fled  from  their  cle- 

1  functions,  and  sneaked  ofl'  under  some  paltry  pretext, 

™  /auita  fame  from  the  neighbouring  town  of  Aix  to 

"tnid  the  eick  and  the  dying ;  and,  under  the  orders  of 

t*t  gallant  and  disintereeted  bishop,  worked,  while  life  was 

J*nA  them,  in  the  cause  of  humanity.      Seven  of  them 

Hwhed  in  tlie  exercise    of  tbia  noblest  duty,  amid   the 

linaj  of  their  fellow-men.     The  biahojj  hiinBelf,  De  Bel- 

«,1iad  not  only  atudied  under  the  Jeeuits.  but  hnd  been 

■tin-  o/  tie  order  during  the  early  part  of  hia  ectlesiaa- 

aaeer  at  Ais,  in  1691. 

lang  ago,  that  noblert  emanation  of  Christian  ehiralry — 

l.tMtT   in  which  valorous  deeds  were  familiar  as  the 

latin  eong"  or  the   "vesper  hymn'— the  Templars,  fell 

ricttcns  of  calumny,  and  were  immolated  amid  tlie  shouts 

t  TQlfrar  briumph;  but  history,  keen  aud  scrutiniBing, 

"rereiled  the  true  character  of  the  conspiracy  by  which 

Tice«  of  a  few  were  made  to  Bwarap  and  overwhelm,  in 

public  eye,  the  great  mass  of  virtue  and  heroism  which 

Uiluted  that  refined  and  gentlemanly  association  ;  and  a 

Ef  jiutice  has  been  rendered  to  Jacques  Molay  and  his 

itnoiu  brethren.     T]w  day  may  yet  come,  when  isolated 

■are*  and  una u then ticated  misdeeds  will  cease  to  creato 

'Uimutdcd  antipathy  to  a  society  which  will  be  found. 


166  r&TBEB   FBOCTS  KEUQUBB. 

tftking  it  all  in  all,  to  have  deserved  well  of  mankind.     Tli 
at  least,  is  Father  Prout'»  boQest  opiuion  ;  and  wh/  aboi 
J^e  hide  it  under  a  bushel  P 

The  most  couvinciog  [iroof  of  thoir  etc-riing  virtue  u  lo 
found  ia  the  docility  and  forbearance  they  evinced 
promptly  submitting  to  the  decree  of  their  auppmaion, 
atied  ix  ealheiird  bv  odc  tiuuguuelU,  a  Frnncisoan  friv,  w 
had  got  euthroDe^  Heaven  knows  how !  on  the  nanti 
ehiiir.  In  every  part  of  Euroi*  tht-y  had  powerful  bicoi 
and  could  have  "  eheivn  figiit  '  and  ''  diea  gnme,"  if  th 
respect  for  tbe  successor  of  "  the  Bshermim  "  had  not  bM 
all  along  a  distinctive  characteristic,  even  to  the  death.  I 
Paraguuy  they  could  have  decidedly  spumed  llie 
of  the  Escurial,  bached  by  an  army  of  60,000  Indiui*, 
voted  to  their  spiritual  and  temporal  benefactora.  taught 
tactics  of  Europe,  and  poBsessiug  in  1750  a  nell-Appointa 
train  of  artillery.  That  portion  of  South  America  oMsiiil 
rrlapBed  into  horbarism;  and  the  res ulle  of  their  withdrawi 
from  the  interior  of  that  vast  pejiiiisiila  have  fully  jiutifte 
the  opinion  of  Muratori,  in  lua  celebrated  vfork*  on  Par" 

f;uay,  "  II  Christianeaimo  felice."     It  was  a  dismal  (Ut  i 
iteroture  in  Spain,  Portugal,  and  Italy,  when  their  m  * 
were  shut  up  ;  and  in  France  they  alone  could  h»vo  i 
the  avalanche  of  irreligion  ;  for,  by  presenting  Chrivtiaai 
to  it«  enemies  clad  in  the  panoply  of  Scieuce,  thnr  * 
have  awed  the  scotler.  and  confounded  the  plulotopne. 
the  Vatican  had  spoken.     They  bowed;    and  quietly  ( 
ixirsing  through  the  cities  of  the  continent,  were  wfL-nn 
and  admired  by  every  friend  of  Bcieuot  and  of  pictj,     H 
body  did  not  cease  to  do  (-ood  even  after  its  diasolution  i 
17^,  and,  like  the  bones  of  the  prophet,  worked  tn'raylw  4 
usefulness  even  in  the  grave.* 

Contraxt  their  eiemplory  siihmissiveness  with  tlic  i 
and  violence  of  their  old  e'nemie»  the  Jan 
■our  and  pharisnical  sect  Pascal  was  the  muatb-|M 
the  celebrated  bull  Unigenilua  waa  issued  agoiaat  ti 
did  those  unfortunate  wighta,  whom  the  tyrant  F* 

*  "  And  it  eaiae  lo  pu*,  m  thtrj  wure  hurling  a  m 
niied  ■  bond  of  robben  1  and  tlwj'  riwl  the  inan  inio  I 
Kli*lu-  uid  when  thsmm  touchnl  (ha  butiM  urkliihklMaj 
•ad  ilood  upon  hii  feet." — X  Kingi,  chap.  liii,  Tcr.  SI. 


LITEKATCKK   AlfD   1 


a  eatdot^  in  his  brazen  cow,  rnur  an  luatily  aa  the  clique  of 
__^>^t  Eoral  on  the  oceaaioii  alluded  to.     It  was,  in  fact,  a 
most  mclaiicholy  eihibition  of  tlie  wildeet  ranaticisin, 


bond  yclept  le  Diarre  Paris,  whoae  life  waa  a  tissue  of  r 

klity,  ana  whose  remains  were  said  by  the  Junaenists  to 

rate  wondroua  cures  in  the  churchyard  of  St.  Medard. 

ijf  the  fausbouiTjs  of  the  capital.     The  devotees  of 

_.t  Ruva!  flocked  to  the  tomb  of  fhe  deacon,  and  became 

nhwitti  kytltrical  and  iniptred.     The  wagB  of  Louis  the 

Kfteenth's  time  ealled  them  "  £«  Conviihioanairet."  Things 

~~e  tABUch  a  height  of  dangerous  absurdity  at  last,  that  the 

rietery  was  shut  up  by  the  police;  and  a  wit  had  an  oii- 

TtunitT  of  writing  on  the  gates  of  the  aforesaid  churcn- 

d  this  painted  epigram  : 


I  Ajid  I  here  conclude  this  very  inadequate  tribute  of  long- 
tmenibcrcd  gratitude  towards  the  men  who  took  such  pains 
b  drill  my  infant  mind,  and  who  formed  with  plastic  power 
HntevPr  good  or  Toluable  quality  it  may  possess.  "  Si  quid  est 

II  me  ingenii,  judiees  (et  sentio  qukm  sit  exiguum),  si  qua> 
icrcjtatia  ab  optimarum  artium  disciplinis  profecta.  earum 

nun  fmotum,  sibi,  huo  jure,  debent  repetere." — (Ciceru 
V  jlrekid  poet .)  And  as  for  the  friend  of  my  youth,  the 
wnplisbed  Greeset,  whose  sincerity  and  kindness  will  be 
r  embalmed  in  my  memory,  I  cannot  shew  my  sense  of 
I  Taricd  excellencies  in  a  more  substantial  vay  than  by 
iking  ftu  effort — a  feeble  one,  but  the  best  I  can  commanil 
''a  bring  him  before  the  English  public  in  his  most  agree- 
«  production,  the  best  specimen  of  graccfid  and  harmless 
mourin  the  literature  of  Fran-ce.  I  shall  upset  Fert-ferl 
a  Bnglish  verse,  for  the  use  of  the  intelligent  inhabitants 
J  then  islands ;  though  1  mucli  fear,  that  to  transplant  so 
*"''  ^«  an  exotic  into  this  frigid  climate  may  prove  an  un- 
^lU  experiment. 


188  7ATHEB  FBOT7T*8   BZLIQVBl. 

VttUVtvt,  the  9arrot. 

▲    FOXM    BT    THB    JB817IT    OBBSSBt. 

1$S0  original  innocfncc. 

AliAB !  what  evils  I  discern  in 

Too  great  an  aptitude  for  learning ! 

And  £Eun  would  all  the  ills  unrayel 

That  aye  ensue  from  foreign  travel ; 

Far  happier  is  the  man  who  tarries 

Quiet  within  his  household  '*  Lares :" 

Bead,  and  you'll  find  how  virtue  vanishes. 

How  foreign  vice  all  goodness  banishes. 

And  how  abroad  young  heads  will  grow  diszy. 

Proved  in  the  imderwritten  Odyssey. 

In  old  Ncvers,  so  famous  for  its 
Dark  narrow  streets  and  GK>thic  turrets. 
Close  on  the  brink  of  Loire's  young  flood. 
Flourished  a  convent  sisterhood 
Of  Ursulinei.     Now  in  this  order 
A  parrot  lived  as  parlour-boarder ; 
Brought  in  his  childhood  firom  the  Antitt^i, 
And  sheltered  under  convent  mantles : 
Ghreen  were  his  feathers,  green  his  pinions,  ^ 

And  greener  still  were  his  opinions ; 
For  vice  had  not  yet  sought  to  pervert 
.    This  bird,  who  had  been  christened  Vert-  Vert ; 
Nor  could  the  wicked  world  defile  him. 
Safe  from  its  snares  in  this  asylum. 
Fresh,  in  his  teens,  frank,  gay,  and  mcious. 
And,  to  crown  all,  somewhat  loquacious  ; 
If  we  examine  close,  not  one,  or  he, 
Had  a  vocation  for  a  nunnery.* 

The  convent's  kindness  need  I  mention  f  ^ 

Need  I  detail  each  fond  attention,  ^ 

Or  count  the  tit-bits  which  in  Lent  he 
Swallowed  remorseless  and  in  plenty  P 
Plump  was  his  carcass  ;  no,  not  higher 
Fed  was  their  confessor  the  friar  ; 
And  some  even  say  that  our  young  Hector 
Was  far  more  loved  than  the  "  Director.**  f 
Dear  to  each  novice  and  each  nun — 
He  was  the  life  and  soul  of  fun  ; 

*  ^  Par  son  caquet  digne  d'etre  en  ooaTent.* 
t  **  Souvent  I'oiseau  Temporta  sur  le  Pdre.'* 


TEBT-TKRT,    TU 


.hBOT. 


Tboit^h,  k)  be  aore,  somp  biig>i  cenaorioui 
Would  ■ometimea  find  him  too  iiproarioua. 
What  did  the  parrot  care  for  thoae  old 
Dunes,  while  he  lisd  for  hioi  the  bouBebold  t 
He  hnd  not  jet  made  ha  "  profeBaioDi*' 
Hot  eome  to  yeairi  called  "  of  diaorctioa  j" 
ThBrcCore,  unblsiDod,  bs  ogb<d,  Oirted, 
And  romped  liko  anj  anconrened  i 
N«j  aomclimea,  too,  bj  the  Lord  Harrr  ! 
He  d  pull  their  cap*  and  "  icspiilarv." 
But  what  in  all  bis  tricia  aeemnl  oddeil, 
Waa  that  at  times  he'd  turn  so  modest, 
That  to  all  bralandnv  tlie  night 
Appmred  a  Gnished  h}pocrit«. 
lu  lu^ccmt  be  did  not  rcicmble 
Kean,  thongh  he  bad  the  tones  of  Eemble  i 
But  Iain  to  do  the  listen'  biddinj^, 
He  left  the  alage  to  Mrs.  Siddone. 
Foot,  hisloriaa,  judge,  financier, 
Four  problem  a  at  a  time  bc'd  aniirer 
He  hul  a  bculcj  like  Csaar'*. 
Lord  Althorp,  batlliiig  nil  his  tealert, 
0>uld  not  BurpBM  Vert-Vert  in  pniiling  t 
"  Ooodrich"  to  him  was  but  a  gosling,* 
Placed  vben  at  table  nrar  some  veelat, 
His  (are.  be  aure,  nas  of  the  best  aJl, — 
For  WCTj  eister  would  endeaTuur 
To  keep  for  him  aorne  sweet  Aori  ifiriairt. 
Eindl;  at  heart,  in  ajtite  of  vowa  and 
Cloisters,  a  nun  u  •Hor"li  a  thousand  1 
And  a^e,  if  Hoaveu  vautd  onl?  lend  her, 
I'd  h«Te  a  nun  for  a  nurse  ten'dcr !  t 

Then,  vhea  the  shade'  of  night  would  conie  i 


AndK 


Happy  tho  fevoured  one  whose  grotto 
Thu  tultan  of  a  bird  would  trot  to : 
Hosth  llie  joung  onea'  cells  bo  lojed  in, 
(Tbe  aged  siiterhood  aroidiug). 
Burv  among  all  to  find  kind  oUlRes,— 
Btitt  be  vas  piu-lia!  la  tlie  nuvi'.-ca. 
And  m  their  celU  our  anchuritv 
lloatl;  east  ancbor  for  the  night ; 


80 


«  period  it  is  roT^otten  tliat  "  FrosjierilT  Kobiuaon  "   J 

totnown  aa  "Ooose  Ooodrich,"  when  lubaequeatij  vnanoellor  ti  I 

«.— O.  T. 

■f  "Lea  petits  eoina,  lea  atleutious  fines, 

Sont  nit,  dit  on,  chei  les  UrsulinBs." 


190  7ATHXB  FBOUT'S  BSLIQUSS. 

Perched  on  the  box  that  held  the  reihoti  he 
Slept  without  notion  of  indelieacj. 
Eare  was  his  luck ;  nor  did  be  spoil  it 
B^  flying  from  the  morning  toilet : 
Not  that  I  can  admit  the  fitness 
Of  (at  the  toilet)  a  male  witness ; 
But  that  I  scruple  in  this  history 
To  shroud  a  single  £sot  in  mystery. 

Quick  at  all  arts,  our  bird  was  rich  at 
That  best  accomplishment,  called  chit-chat ; 
For,  though  brought  up  within  the  cloister, 
His  beak  was  not  closea  like  an  oyster. 
But,  trippingly,  without  a  stutter. 
The  longest  sentences  would  utter  j 
Pious  withal,  and  moralising 
His  conTersation  was  surprising ; 
None  of  your  equiroques,  no  slander — 
To  such  vile  tastes  he  scorned  to  pander ; 
But  his  tongue  ran  most  smooth  and  nice  on 
"  Deo  sit  laus"  and  **  Kyrie  eleison  j"  100 

The  maxims  he  gaye  with  best  emphasis 
Were  Suarez's  or  Thomas  k  Kempis's ; 
In  Christmas  carols  he  was  famous, 
"  Orate,  fratres,"  and  "  Oeemus  ;" 
If  in  good  humour,  he  was  wont 
To  give  a  stave  from  **  Think  wtli  onU  ;"  • 
Or,  by  particular  desire,  he 
Would  chant  the  hymn  of  "  Dies  inc.** 
Tlien  in  the  choir  he  would  amaze  all 
By  copying  the  tone  so  nasal  11^ 

In  which  the  sainted  sisters  chanted, — 
(At  least  that  pious  nun  my  aunt  did.) 

AV0  UxaXX  l&fnoiBne. 

The  public  soon  began  to  ferret 
The  hidden  nest  of  so  much  merit, 
And,  spite  of  all  the  nuns*  endeavours. 
The  flame  of  Vert- Vert  filled  all  Nevers  ; 
Nay,  from  Moidines  folks  came  to  stare  at 
The  wondrous  talent  of  this  parrot ; 

And  to  fresh  visitors  ad  libitum  ^ 

Sister  Sophie  had  to  exhibit  him.  ^ 

Drest  in  her  tidiest  robes,  the  virgin, 
Forth  from  the  convent  cells  emerging, 

•  «'  Pensez-y-bien,"  or  «  Think  wett  onX'  as  translated  bjr  th«titi^ 
bishop,  Bichard  ChaJoner,  is  the  most  generally  adopted  derotioB*i 
tract  among  the  Oatholios  of  these  islands. — Pbovt. 


TCBT-TEBT,   THK    PABHOT. 

Bring*  the  bright  bird,  and  for  his  giluniiiga 

Hnt  ohaUeiigea  unetiutfd  liumagei 

Then  to  his  eloquence  adierte. — 

"What  preacher's  «□  lurpaBa Tert-Tert'if 

Tnilj  in  oratory  few  mm 

Equal  thi>  learned  catecbumra  ; 

Praiighl  with  the  conTenfs  choipe»l  Imsodb, 

And  itulfed  with  piety's  quinteceonce ; 

A.  bird  moat  quick  of  apprehension, 

Wilh  gifta  and  gncen  hard  to  mention  : 

Stj  in  what  pulfjit  can  jou  meet 

A  ChiTxulom  hidf  «o  diBors«t, 

Who'd  foUow  in  hie  ghiitlj  miaaion 

So  cloae  the  *  fathen  and  traditiao  f  " 

Silsnt  mcADtime,  the  feathered  hermit 

Wails  for  the  sister's  gmcioua  penuit, 

Wlim,  at  a  aigoal  from  his  meiitor, 

Quick  on  a  course  of  speech  lie'U  enter; 

Hot  tluthe  carei  for  human  glory, 

Bent  but  to  sbtc  hi>  nudilar;  ; 

Hence  he  pours  forth  with  eo  much  onctioa 

Ihat  all  hu  hearer?  feel  c< 


Thai  for  a  time  did  Tert-Tert  dwell 
Ssfe  in  his  holj  citadcUe ; 
Scholared.  like  any  well-bred  abbe. 
And  loTed  by  mauy  a  cloistenHl  Hebe ; 
Ton'd  Bwew  that  he  had  crossed  the  same  bridgo 
As  any  youth  broughl  up  in  Cambridge.* 
Other  moolie  stnrre  themselres ;  but  liis  i>kin 
Was  sleek  hke  that  of  a  FnineiacBn, 
And  lar  more  clean  ;  for  this  graTe  Solon 
Bathed  erery  day  in  ecu  dr  Colognt, 
Ihns  he  indnlged  each  gniltleaa  gambol, 
Bhat  had  be  ne'er  beon  doomed  to  Run  hie ! 

For  in  his  life  there  came  ■  rrisii 
Such  aa  for  all  great  men  aritos, — 
Sudi  aa  what  NiF  to  Kussia  led,  • 

8nch  aa  the  "  fliobt''  of  Maliomed  -, 
0  town  of  Naiitil  yes,  lo  thy  boaoin 
We  M  him  go,  slas  '.  to  hise  him 


a*»/»,  O  town  famed  for 
Still  was  Tert-Vert'B  loes 
Dark  be  the  day  when  our 
From  this  to  a  far-diatant 
Twn  worcb  comprised  tho 
Words  big  with  lal«  and  1 


nore  proroking  I 
bright  Don  vent 


*  Quare — Pons  AsiDonun  1 


103  *  FATUEB  PBOUT'ft   BSLIQUXa- 

Tea,  "  he  shall  go ;"  but,  siBtera!  xnoum  je 
The  dismal  fruits  of  that  sad  journey, — 
His  on  which  Nantz's  nuns  ne'er  reckoned. 
When  for  the  beauteous  bird  they  beckoned. 

Fame,  O  Vert- Vert !  in  evil  humour, 
One  day  to  Nantz  had  brought  the  rumour 
Of  thy  accomplishments, — **  acumen," 
'*  Nowc,"  and  "  etpriiy*  quite  superhuman : 
AH  these  reports  but  served  to  enhance 
Thy  merits  with  the  nuns  of  Nantz. 
How  did  a  matter  so  imsuited 
For  convent  ears  get  hither  bruited ! 
Some  may  inquire.     But  "  nuns  are  knowing,** 
And  first  to  h%ar  what  gotiip^s  going.* 
Forthwith  they  taxed  their  wits  to  elicit 
From  the  famed  bird  a  friendly  visit. 
Girls'  wishes  run  in  a  brisk  current, 
But  a  nun's  fancy  is  a  torrent  ;t 
To  get  tliis  bird  they'd  pawn  the  missal ; 
Quick  they  indite  a  long  epistle, 
Careful  with  softest  things  to  fill  it. 
And  then  with  musk  perfume  the  billet ; 
Thus,  to  obtain  their  darling  purpose, 
Tlioy  send  a  writ  of  habeat  corpus. 

Off  goes  the  post.    When  will  the  answer 
Free  them  from  doubt's  corroding  cancer  ? 
Nothing  can  equal  their  anxiety, 
Except,  of  course,  their  well-known  piety. 
Things  at  Nevers  meantime  went  harder 
Than  well  would  suit  such  pious  ardour ; 
It  was  no  easy  job  to  coax 
This  parrot  from  the  Nevers  folks. 
What,  take  their  toy  from  convent  belles  ? 
Make  Russia  yield  the  Dardanelles ! 
Filch  his  good  rifle  from  a  "  Suliote," 
Or  drag  her  "Romeo"  from  a  "Juliet!" 
Make  an  attempt  to  take  Gibraltar, 
Or  try  the  old  com  laws  to  alter ! 
This  seemed  to  them,  and  eke  to  us, 
"  Most  wasteful  and  ridiculous." 
Long  did  the  **  chapter"  sit  in  state. 
And  on  this  point  deliberate  ; 
The  junior  members  of  the  senate 
Set  Iheir  fair  faces  quite  again'  it ; 

•  "  Les  r^verendes  mferes 

A  tout  savoir  ne  sont  pas  les  derDiere?." 

t  "  Ddsir  de  fille  est  un  feu  qui  devorc, 
Desir  de  nonne  est  cent  u>is  pis  (mooie** 


le  TerdicC  of  the  mitroni, 
I,  I  ween,  «nd  poor  tho  dinw 
,     g  the  d<mr  bird  from  NuiU. 
Hot  in  niy  mirmiM  am  I  &r  out, — 
For  bj  IMr  rote  ott  goea  (ht  puTot. 

1^0  >  (til  Vngagt. 

En  et  lemi  la,  H  imnll  canal- boat. 
CiUed  by  moat  irlironicWs  ilia  "Talbol," 
(Talbot,  h  name  wvU  known  in  France  I) 
TVarelliid  betneen  Nerers  and  JVinlc, 
Vcrt-Vert  took  ahippiog  in  this  cnJt, 


>crt-Vert  took  ahipp 
'Ti>  not  uid  ithetlici 


a  book  u  old  w  Jtutinger'i 
We  Qiid  a  tlalement  of  Ibe  passeng 
Thse  were— two  OuoaaB  uid  a  pi; 


A  brao-  of  ohildrm,  and  a  nune  ; 
But  what  TU  infinitclj  worw, 
A  dashing  (\prim  ;  while  b;  lier 
Sat  ■  tno»t  joUj-lookiuglriHr.* 

For  a  poor  bird  brought  up  in  purilj 
Twaa  a  lad  augur  for  futurity 
la  meet,  just  tree  from  hi«  indraturiv, 
And  in  the  Gnt  of  his  ulrenturcB, 
6u(4i  companj  at  formed  his  hnniel,^ 
Tiro  roguea !  1  friar  !  \  and  a  dnrimd  '.  \ ! 
Bird*  tbe  aboie  Kere  of  B  f«Iher  i 
But  to  Vprt-Vert  'I  BHB  altogatber 
Socii  ■  alnni^e  aggregate  of  svuidols 
Ai  to  be  met  but  amoDg  Vandals : 
Buda  wu  their  talk,  bereft  of  polish. 
And  calculated  to  demolish 
All  the  iiiie  nottona  And  cood-breeding 
Taut^t  bj  the  nuns  in  Ibrir  sweet  EdcQ. 
Ko  Bilhngsgate  surpassed  the  nurse^s, 
And  •!!  the  rest  indulged  in  curses  -, 


(TAait  fchoir  eu  dignas  compagnoos." 


Fi.tHSB  PB0irr*8  BELIQUIB. 

Ear  hath  not  heard  sooh  vulgar  gab  in 
The  nautic  cell  of  any  cabin. 
Silent  and  tad,  the  penaiye  bird, 
Shocked  at  their  guilt,  said  not  a  word.* 

Now  he  "  of  orden  grey,**  accosting 
The  parrot  green,  who  seemed  quite  kwt  in 
The  contemplation  of  man's  wickedness, 
And  the  bright  riyer^s  gliding  liquidness, 
*'  Tip  us  a  stare  (quoth  Tuck),  my  darling, 
Ayn  t  you  a  parrot  or  a  starling  ? 
If  you  don*t  talk,  by  the  holy  poker, 
m  give  that  neck  of  yours  a  cnoker  !'* 
Scared  by  this  threat  from  his  propriety, 
Oiur  pilgrim  thinking  with  sobriety. 
That  if  he  did  not  speak  they'd  mi^e  him, 
Answered  the  friar.  Pax  sit  tbcum  ! 
]^ere  our  reporter  marks  down  after 
Poll's  maiden-speech — "  loud  roars  of  laughter ;' 
And  sure  enough  the  bird  so  affable 
Gould  hardly  use  a  phrase  more  laughable. 

Talking  of  such,  there  are  some  rum  ones 
That  oft  amuse  the  House  of  Commons : 
And  since  we  lost  *'  Sir  Joseph  Yorke^* 
We've  got  great  "  Feargut**  fresh  from  Cork,— » 
A  fellow  honest,  droll,  and  funny. 
Who  would  not  sell  for  love  or  money 
His  native  land  :  nor,  hke  vile  Daniel, 
Fawn  on  Lord  Althorp  like  a  spaniel ; 
Flatter  the  mob,  while  the  old  fox 
Keeps  an  ^e  to  the  b^;ging-box. 
Now  'tis  a  'shame  that  such  brave  fellows, 
WHien  they  blow  "  agiialiorCt^*  bellows. 
Should  only  meet  with  heartless  scoffers. 
While  cunning  Daniel  fills  his  coffers. 
But  KeiTymen  will  e'er  be  apter 
At  the  conclusion  of  the  chapter, 
While  others  bear  the  battle's  brunt,  . 
To  reap  the  spoil  and  fob  tJte  blunt. 
This  is  an  episode  concerning 
The  parrot's  want  of  worldly  learning, 
In  squandering  his  tro])es  and  figures 
On  a  vile  crew  of  heartless  niggei-s. 

•  This  canal -boat,  it  would  seem,  was  not  a  very  re 
able  conveyance:    it  rather  remindeth  of  Horace's 
dusium,  and  of  that  line  so  applicable  to  the  parrot's 
'*  Repletum  nautis,  cauponibus,  atque  mal 


TKBT-TEET,   TBB   PABEOT. 


PoU't  bHer  address  met  \oU  of  uiiiUei* 
BidgtTwl  bj  all  hia  fdliiw-tnvullpra, 
lie  Uint  U>  mend  a  apeucb  to  ooimuUB 
By  itriking  up  with  "  Dim  Duuixui  1" 
Bui  louder  ahouts  of  Isughkf  folliin', — 
TliLi  lul  roar  beata  the  fi>nuor  boUJif, 
Auii  thum  that  it  wu  bail  ctxiuoiU]' 
To  giTtf  a  »[aTe  from  Duul<atiiioiuj-. 

Foted,  not  abaabed,  the  bird  rcfawd  to 
Indulge  a  aceiio  he  wae  not  used  to  ; 
And,  pondering  on  hia  atraiijjo  rtoeption, 
"  Thisn.-  must,"  be  thought,  "  bv  lomu  diM.-eptioi 
In  Ihe  Quni'  Tieva  of  tilings  rhctoriuol. 
And  lister  Bose  is  not  an  oracle. 
True  iril,  perhapa,  lies  not  iu  '  mallitu.' 
Sot  u  (Atir  aciiool  a  achool  of  Atbioia." 

Thoa  in  this  villanous  recqitade 
The  simple  bird  at  oune  grevr  apeptiuaL 
Doubta  land  to  hell.    The  aivh-dccoiter 
Soon  made  of  Poll  an  anbr^licTcr  j 
And  mixing  thna  in  bad  society, 
He  look  fVeach  lesTe  of  all  his  pioly. 

His  austere  maxima  soon  he  moUifled, 
And  all  Ilia  old  opinions  qualiGed ; 
For  lie  had  leunieil  tu  substitute 
For  piouR  lore  things  more  astute  ; 
Mor  was  his  condaet  unimpm^bnble, 
For  Totlth,  alaa  <  is  bat  too  teachable ; 

And  in  - 

Bneh  were  hia  eunti,  such  hia  evil 
I>ncltcM,  thai  no  aneient  dBiil,t 
Plungrd  to  the  i^hin  whau  burning  Iiot 
Into  a  holy  water-pot. 
Could  BO  blaspheme,  or  fire  a  tDlle; 
Of  oatba  so  dnar  and  melancholy. 

"  Hiitor  of  PwlisBimt"  for  this  ingenioua  penoc'e  mnidm    I 
oa  Jo*  Hume's  motion  to  all<Fr  and  enkrgo  the  old  Uoute  ci(  t 
01.      "Sir,  UU    Jivmafi  (a  laugh)— /  My   lAt    Jl^mani    (loud 
F)iwMr<JfmrflWf'ie>Hm-'  (martofdilto}.    But  UeaTen  soon    j 
vbal  Joe  Huuio  dMircd,  aud  the  old  rookury  was  hiimt  ehorlJy 


FATHKK  PBOUT  S   beliqiteb. 

Mart  the  bright  hlomoniB,  ripe  and  rudd;. 
And  Iho  fair  fruits  of  varjj  studj. 
Thua  in  their  aumnier  •auoti  croM«d 
Meot  •  nod  blighl — a  lulling  frost ! 
Must  thiit  tiIb  demon,  Moloch,  oi   ' 


aveo  from  a  joung  heart**  holocauit  f* 
juiit  the  eUd  hope  of  life'*  youDs  proniM 
Thus  in  tlie  davn  of  youth  ebb  fron 


h  U,  abu  1  the  sad  and  latt  traphj 
Of  the  yooDg  rake's  supreme  oatairtropliE  j 
For  of  what  use  are  learning's  laurels 
When  iL  Toung  man  iiiaitliout  morals ! 
Bereft  of  tuIuo,  and  grown  hciaoui. 
What  aigniBce  a  briUiant  gcnina  ? 
'  Tis  but  a  Ease  for  wail  and  mourning, — 
'Tia  but  a  brand  fit  for  the  buroing! 

Meantime  ibe  rirer  WBft«  the  barge, 
fraught  with  ita  miscollnneoua  rliarge. 
Smoothly  upon  ilB  broad  cxjianw. 
Up  lo  the  Teiy  quay  of  Hant«  i 
Fondly  witbin  the  convent  bowara 
The  sisters  calculate  the  hours, 
Chiding  the  bnteies  for  thor  tardineaa, 
And,  in  the  height  of  their  fool-hardiDws, 
Picturing  the  bmi  as  fentiy  painted — 
Lovely,  reserved,  polite,  and  sainted — 
Fit  "Uriulinc."     And  Ihit,  I  trow,  Ueitnl 
Bunched  with  every  endowment! 
~      r  these  nuna  anointed 


Will  find  their  fency  disappointed  j 
When,  lo  meet  all  those  hoiii  "  "'  ~ 
They'll  find  a  reguhir  DOM  J 


When,  lo  meet  all  those  hoiies  they  drew  oq,.X 


€lst  amfatl  Dlstobrrif. 

Scarce  in  the  port  wb«  this  amatl  PTftfl 
On  its  arnrol  telegraphed, 
When,  ^m  the  boat  homa  to  tranafer  him 
Came  the  nuns'  portrees,  "  sislflr  Juromc." 
Well  did  the  parrot  recognise 
Tlie  walk  demure  and  downcast  eye*  i 
Kor  aught  such  saintly  guidance  relished 
A  bird  by  worldly  art*  embellished  i 
8uch  was  his  taste  for  profane  gaiety. 
He'd  rather  miich  go  with  the  laity. 


TIBT-TERT,  THE  PAEBOT. 

Fut  to  the  bni-t  he  cliuigj  but  plupked  tUence, 

He  shewed  dire  ijmptoma  of  reluctance. 

And,  MsDdaliaing  each  beholder. 

Bit  the  nun's  cheek,  and  ete  her  ■boulder !  ■ 

Tbut  a  bloek  e>gle  onee,  'tis  raid, 

Bgre  off  tJie  itruegUne  Ouiirmede.t 

Thus  voA  Vert- Veit,  heart-iiuk  and  wear;, 

Brought  U>  the  heaTerly  monattetj. 

The  bell  and  tidingi  both  were  tolled. 

And  tlie  nun  a  cranded,  iroung  and  old. 

In  feut  their  eym  with  jor  uncommoa  on 

This  vondrouB  talkatiTo  pheotunenon. 

Bonnd  the  bright  etranger,  is  Biuaiing 
And  K  renownet^  tlie  aiiters  gating, 
Pmifed  the  green  glon  which  ■  warm  latitude 
Oare  to  his  neck,  and  liked  his  attitude. 
Some  by  his  gOTseoua  tail  are  imillen, 
Some  b;  hii  beak  ao  beauteous  bitten '. 
And  non«  e'er  dmiut  of  dole  or  harm  in 
A  bird  KO  brilliant  and  flo  chjutoing- 
Shade  of  Spurabelm !  and  Ibgn,  LsTater, 
Or  Gall,  of  "  bumpa"  the  great  creator  I 
Can  ye  eiplain  how  oiir  joung  hero, 
With  all  the  vicea  of  a  Nero, 
Seemed  inch  a  model  of  good -breeding. 
Thus  quite  aalraj  the  oonvont  leading  P 
Whov  on  Ail  bnul  appeared,  I  uk  from  je. 
The  "  nob"  indirstire  of  blsiphcm;  F 
Uelhink*  'twould  niuilo  ^oiir  abihtj 
To  find  Ail  organ  of  •eurnhtj. 

Meantime  the  sbbrai,  to  "  draw  Oat" 
A  hinl  CO  modest  and  devout. 
With  soothing  air  and  tongue  eare«eing 
Tht  "  pilirim  of  the  Loire"  addressing, 
Broaehea  Ihe  most  edifjing  lupitie. 
To  "start"  this  nntt'o  of  the  Ij'opiet; 
When,  to  their  seandnl  and  amaze,  be 
Broke  forlh — "MurtUvl  Ihnie nuai tre erasy !" 
(Shewiug  hmr  well  he  learnt  bi>  task  on 
The  paeket-boat  from  that  *ile  Onseon  !) 
"  Fie !  brother  poll !"  with  seal  outburaliog, 
EicUimed  the  abbess,  dame  Augustin  i 


198  PATHEB  FBOVT's  BELIQVESk 

But  all  the  ladj's  sage  rebukes 

Brief  answer  got  from  poll—"  Gkidzooks  I" 

Nay,  'tis  supposed,  he  muttered,  too, 

A  word  folks  write  with  W. 

Scared  at  the  soimd, — "  Sure  as  a  gun, 

The  bird's  a  demon  l"  cried  the  nun. 

**  O  the  Tile  wretch !  the  naughty  dog ! 

He's  surely  Lucifer  tnco^. 

What !  is  the  reprobate  before  us 

That  bird  so  pious  and  decorous — 

So  celebrated  ?" — Here  the  pilgrim, 

Hearing  sufficient  to  bewilder  him. 

Wound  up  the  sermon  of  the  beldame 

By  a  cx)n  elusion  heard  but  seldom — 

"  Ventre  Saint  Gris!"  "Parbleu!"  and  "Sacre!" 

Three  oaths  !  and  erery  one  a  whacker  ! 

Still  did  the  nuns,  whose  conscience  tender 
Was  much  shocked  at  the  young  offender, 
Hoping  he'd  change  his  tone,  and  alter, 
Hang  breathless  round  the  sad  defaulter : 
When,  wrathful  at  their  importunity. 
And  grown  audacious  from  impunity, 
He  fired  a  broadside  (holy  Mary !) 
Drawn  from  Hell's  own  vocabulary  ! 
Forth  like  a  Congreve  rocket  burst, 
And  stormed  and  swore,  flared  up  and  cursed 
Stunned  at  these  sounds  of  import  stygian. 
The  pious  daughters  of  religion 
Fled  from  a  scene  so  dread,  so  horrid, 
But  with  a  cross  first  signed  their  forehead. 
The  younger  sisters,  mild  and  meek. 
Thought  that  the  culprit  spoke  in  Ghreek ; 
But  the  old  matrons  and  "  the  bench" 
Knew  every  word  was  genuine  French ; 
And  ran  in  all  directions,  pell-mell, 
From  a  flood  fit  to  overwhelm  hell. 
'T  was  by  a  fall  that  Mother  Ruth* 
Then  lost  her  last  remaining  tooth. 

"  Fine  conduct  this,  and  pretty  guidance  !" 
Cried  one  of  the  most  mortified  ones  ; 
^*  Pray,  is  such  language  and  such  ritual 
Among  the  Nevers  nuns  habitual  ? 
'T  was  in  our  sisters  most  improper 
To  teach  such  curses — such  a  whopper  I 

•  "  Toutes  pensent  fetre  ^  la  fin  du  monde, 
£t  Bur  sou  nez  la  m^re  Cun^gonde 
Se  laissant  cheoir,  perd  sa  demiire  dent  1' 


i 


I 


TEBT-rEBT,   THE   P ABBOT. 


E« 


by  me.  for  one,  be  liindeptd 
From  being  teat  back  to  hiN  kindred  I" 
Thii  prompt  decreo  of  PoU'j  proioriplion 
Was  signed  b;  gcaeml  lubHTiptioD. 
Stmight  in  a  cage  the  niuu  inHtrt 
TliB  auUtj  penoD  of  Tert-Vert  j 
Somo  youDg  one*  tranled.  to  tletnin  bim  i 
But  the  grim  portrese  Wok  "  the  psjnim" 
Buk  to  the  boBt,  rloso  id  hu  Utter  g 
1u  iiot  said  IMt  time  tlut  hu  HI  her. 


8oji 


Badi  to  the  eonvent  of  his  jouth. 


mil, 


Sula  the  grren  moneter,  sconiMl  and  haled, 

Hu  heart  nith  ticu  (totituninatod. 

Must  I  t«!l  how,  on  his  return, 

He  acoiidkliwd  hie  old  aojoum  ? 

And  how  tho  guardians  of  his  inlanirT 

W(pt  o'er  their  quondam  child's  ddinquuiitj  ? 

Wbal  could  bo  done  ?  ihe  elders  oCtea 

Met  lo  coDBult  how  best  to  soften  ISO    1 

This  obdurate  and  hardened  sinner, 

f  inisb'd  in  vioe  ere  ■  beginner  i* 

Otte  mother  counselled  "  to  denounce 

And  let  the  Inquisilion  pounce 

On  Ihe  riio  heretic  ;"  another 

Thought  "it  vaa  beat  the  bird  to  imolhei  I" 

Or  "  send  tbe  convict  for  hia  feliiniea 
Back  lo  hia  native  land — the  colouira." 
Sut  milder  -Hews  prevailed.     Eli  seutence 

Was,  that,  until  he  >hemid  repentance,  lU   ^ 

"A  solemn  iiut  and  frugal  diet, 
fiilenor  eurt,  and  pensive  quiet, 
Should  be  hia  lot ;"  and,  for  a  blister, 
He  giM,  as  gaoler,  a  laj-siiter, 
Ugly  aa  rin,  bad-lcmpcred,  jaJoni, 
And  in  her  scruples  ovet^»ealou<. 
AJug  of  water  and  a  cvrrot 
Was  all  the  prog  the'd  give  tho  pBTTOl  i 
Bui  0TM7  eve  when  vesper-bell 
Called  sister  Rosalie  from  her  eell. 
She  to  Vert- Vert  would  gain  admittnnec. 
And  bring  of  "  comfits"  s  sweet  pitlauLi:. 
V'tM/  tn  /enninu.     There  roust  liSTe  been  a  beginning,  else  how 
IttJIiUti  (see  Eani),  unlets  Ibe  proposition  of  Ocelltis  Luoonus 
)ptcd,  ric    avaiixw  lai  orfXiuTuiov  r<  irav.     Qrcsset  simpl; 

■'  n  Tut  un  seJUrat 
Frofia  d'abord,  M  mh*  norioiol.'' 


PBOCr  B   BEI-IQUtB. 


The  Bterneat  firtap  b  thu  liulki, 

Though  cnuaiD«l  vith  richeat  B«Mtinesti,falk*. 
'Fnoght  bj  his  gaoler  sad  s<lTenitf , 

Poll  aaw  the  folly  of  perrenitj. 

And  b;  degree*  hia  hoftrt  reWted ; 

Duly,  in  floe,  "  the  lad"  repeutnl. 

HiB  Lent  patied  oa,  an-d  iiHer  Bridget 

Coaled  the  old  abbeu  to  abridge  iL 
The  prodigal,  reclaimed  and  &e#, 

Bc<rgune  again  a  prodigy, 

And  gBTe  more  ju>,  bj  irorlis  and  word*. 

Than  nioctj-niiie  canarv-birdB, 

Until  hi«  death.    WhiEh  latt  dieaMcr 

(Nothing  on  earth  Dndurea !)  came  faiwr 

Than  tfaey  imwned.    The  traniilion 

Froni  a  atarred  lo  a  ttaS'ei  coadilioii. 

From  penitenM  lo  jolliBcation, 

Brought  on  a  fit  of  ooiutipation. 

Some  think  be  wonld  be  hviog  eiiU, 

If  giien  a  "  Vegetable  Pill ;" 

But  &oin  a  thort  life,  and  a  laetrj. 

Foil  sailed  one  do;  per  Charau'a  fmj. 
Bj  toBTB  from  nuna*  Bweet  ejeUdi  ftpftt^ 

Happj  in  dcnth  tliia  parrot  ilept ; 

For  bim  ElfBiiun  oped  ite  portal*, 

And  there  he  talks  among  immortali. 

But  I  hare  road,  that  ainm  that  happjt  daj 

(So  Ttrilce  Comcliiu  i  Lapide,* 
■  Thii  author  appesrs  lo  hare  been  a  fWrotirite  with  I 
take*  erer;  opportumt;  of  recording  hii  predilection  (ride  p 

181).     Had  the  Ordtr,  hooeier,  produiwd  only  iud"  — ' 

Uui,  we  few  there  would  baie  been  little  mention 
oonnexion  withdlrrnfurt.     Qrauet'iopinion  on  the 
in  an  opiBtle   to  hia  c«nfrirf  P.  Bomeanl,  autliOT  of  tlM,9 
treatiM  Sur  I'Amt  dn  Btlti  (sea  p.  £96]  :— 


Mniiii  t^nSrvnd  qu'iunuhle  ptre, 
Voiv  dont  I'rapr.t,  le  caraetere, 

Kt  lea  air*,  ne  tout  point  moaUs 
8ur  la  ton  wttement  auatire 

Oe  cent  triatw  palamil^ 
Qui,  manquant  da  talent  de  plains 

Kt  d«  touts  UeJreti, 
Four  diatimuler  la  miiire 

D'UB  eaprit  *ani  amdiut{, 


AfficliAnt  la  atrerittf  ' 


Que  a. 

De  la  griTO  Ibi 
H^tien  de  h  ti 


TSE  aosoa  or  rsjjrcx. 

Prering,  Tri(]i  eoromenliiry  droll, 

The  trails migiBtioD  of  liic  soul), 

'Ihot  still  Vert- Vert  this  earth  dolh  haunt, 

01  cmiTeQt  batrera  a  Tint&nt ; 


"I'D <>x.u^jL^  — V.^  X 

Ao.  VTI. 

TQE   HON  OS   OF 


PUItOSOPHT, 


ChaPTBE  I. — WlH»  AND   WaB, 


Virguiibiu  puerUque  mate." 

Uoo.  Carmen  S^tuleri. 

"  With  roaiiT  »  foreign  author  grappling. 
Thus  hsTs'l,  Pniut,  Ibe  Muses'  chaijhLin, 
Trscpd  on  ReOINa's  virgin  pagos 
Songa  for  'the  bovs'  of  alWr-ujpM," 

jUr  illustrioua  utilitarian,  Dr.  Bowring,  the  knight-erraut 
'  e  trade,  who  ia  allowed  to  circulate  juet  uow  without 
er  through  the  citiea  of  France,  will  ho  in  hig!i  glee 
I  October  manifestation  of  Prout'a  wisdom.  Tho 
T  hath  found  a  kindred  bouI  in  the  PrieBt,  To  pro- 
^  ..t  the  isterehauge  of  national  commodities,  to  cause  a 
Minding  and  a  chemical  luBion  of  their  mutual  produce,  nnd 
Mloblish  an  equilibrium  between  out  uegntive  and  Ihfir 
poaitiTe  electricity  ;  such  appears  to  be  the  sublime  aepira- 
lion  of  both  these  learned  pundits.  But  the  beneficial  re- 
jnilts  attendant  on  the  efforts  of  each  are  widely  dissimilftr. 
Both  Jrcadians,  they  are  not  eqiialjy  eucceesful  in  the  rivalry 
(if  gong.  We  have  to  record  nothing  of  Dr.  Bowring  in  the 
M^  of  acquirement  to  this  i:oiuitry  ;  we  hare  gained  nothing 


202  FATHEE  P&OUT'S   BELIQUES. 

bj  his  labours  :  our  cottons,  our  iron,  our  woollens,  and  our 
coals,  are  still  without  a  passport  to  France ;  while  in  oer> 
tain  home-trades,  brought  b^  his  calculations  into  direct 
competition  with  the  emancipated  French,  we  have  en- 
countered a  loss  on  our  side  to  the  tune  of  a  few  millions. 
Not  so  with  the  exertions  of  Prout :  he  has  enriched  Eng- 
land at  the  expense  of  her  rival,  and  engrafted  on  our  litera- 
ture the  choicest  productions  of  Ghdlic  culture.    Silently 
and  iinostentatiously,  on  the  bleak  top  of  WatergraBshill,  he 
has  succeeded  in  naturalising  these  foreign  vegetables,  asso- 
ciating himself  in  the  gratitude  of  posteritv  vrith  thepbmter 
of  the  potato.     The  inhabitants  of  these  islands  may  now, 
thanks  to  Prout !  sing  or  whistle  the  "  Songs  of  France," 
duty  free,  in  their  vernacular  language  ;  a  vastly  important 
acquisition !      The  beautiful  tunes  of  the   "  Ck  ira "  and 
**  Charmante  Gabrielle"  will  become  familiarised  to  our  dull 
ears  ;  instead  of  the  vulgar  "  Peas  upon  a  trencher,"  we  shall 
enjoy  that  barrel-organ  luxury  of  France,  "  PartaDt  pour  la 
Syrie  ;"  and  for  "  The  Minstrel  Boy  to  the  wars  is  gone," 
we  shall  have  the  original,  "  Malbroock  s'en  va-t-en  guerre." 
What  can  be  imagined  more  calculated  to  establish  an  har- 
m onions  understanding  between  the  two  nations,  than  this 
attempt  of  a  benevolent  clergyman  to  join  them  in  a  hearty 
chorus  of  common  melody  ?   a  grand  "  duo,"  composed  of 
bass  and  tenor,  the  roaring  of  (he  bull  and  the  croaking  of 
the  frog  ? 

To  return  to  Bowring.     Commissions  of  inquiry  are  the 
order  of  the  day ;  but  some  travelling  "  notes  of  interroga- 
tion "  are  so  misshapen  and  grotesque,  that  the  response  or 
result  is  but  a  roar  of  laughter.     This  doctor,  we  perceive, 
is  now  the  hero  of  every  dinner  of  every  "  Chambre  de  Com- 
merce ;"  his  toasts  and  his  speeches  in  Norman  French  are, 
we  are  told,  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  comic  performance,  towards 
the  close  of  each  banquet.     He  is  now  in  Burgundy^  an  in- 
dustrious labourer  in  the  vineyard  of  his  commission ;  and 
enjoys  such  particular  advantages,  that  Brougham  from  his 
woolsack  is  said  to  cast  a  jealous  eye  on  his  missionary's  de- 
partment ;  "  invidift  rumpantur  ut  ilia  Codri."     The  whole 
affair  exhibits  that  sad  mixture  of  imbecility  and  oetentt- 
tion  too  perceptible  in  all  the  doings  of  Utihtananism.    Of 


itfioae  eommiMtionera  Plu&driia  has  long  ugo  <jtTea  the  pru- 


Dtvpe  ; 


"E*!  iinlnlinTium  qiuedam  Bonne  oi 

Trrpidi  coucunaa*,  oocup&U  in  c 
Qntifl  aQliclaAB,  tnultQm  ogimdoT 


^1     The  publication  of  thia  Paper  on  Prench  Songs   is  in- 

I      teiuled,  at  this  particular  eeaflon,   to  counteract  tlie  preva- 

Intt  epidemic,  which  hurries  a,wa.j  our  population  in  crowds 

to  Puis.      By  furaisbiug  them  here  at  home  with  Gallic 

/rieiiuer,  we  hope  to  induce  some,  at  least,  to  remain  in  the 

country,    nod  forswear  emigration.      If  our  "ureventiTe 

check '    succeed,  we  shall  have  deserved  well  of  our  owti 

mterins-placcs,  which  naturally  look  up  to  us  for  protoc- 

I'  tion  Bad  patronage.      But  the   girla    will  never  listen  to 

LpMd  advice — 

dl  DNttjr  mini  In  ber  conwicuce  tliinXs  t)iut  nothing  on  improre 
I  Cnku  ihe  Hca  tJu  Tuilcriea,  and  trips  along  the  Louvre." 
I  JJerer  ia  the  memory  of   R-EaiifA  has  Begent   Street 
infiieivd  such  complete  depopulation.     It  hnth  emptied  it- 
■elf  into  the  "  Boulevards."     Our  city  friends  will  keep  an 
_  *  OD  thii  Alonument,  or  it  may  elope  from  PiiddiDg  Lane 
I  ^  tie  "  Place  VendOme :"  but  as  to  the  Thames  flowing 
to  ibe  Seine,  we  cannot  vet  anticipate  so  alarming  a  phe- 
roe&on.  although  Juvenal  records  a  eimilar  event  aa  haviuf 

"Totui  in  Tyborim  de-Siixit  Oronto." 
Trt  there  is  still  balm  in  Gilead,  there  is  still  com  in 
^grjrt-  The  "  chest"  in  which  old  Prout  hath  left  a  legacy  of 
boitnlMl  wiitdum  to  the  children  of  men  is  open  to  us,  for 
_jBaMEoTt  and  iniitruction,  It  is  rich  in  consolation,  and  fraught 
b  goodly  ma^iims  adapted  to  every  Btat«  and  stage  of  sub- 
vy  vidHitudrt.  The  treatise  of  Boclhius,  "  de  Cousola- 
e  Philoaophin-,"  worked  wonders  in  its  day,  and  assuaged 
'  tbnlfttions (if  the  folkaof  the  dark  ages.  Tlie  sibylline 
e  consulted  in  all  cnaea  of  emergency.  Proui'a 
I  rfttber  reeembleth  the  oracular  portfolio  of  the 
i  it  chiefly  containetb  matters  written  in 
u  prose  it  oppeareth  poetical.     Versified 


204  FATHIU  ]*ltOtrT*S  &ELTQirS8. 

apopbihegms  are  always  better  attended  to  tban  mere  pro- 
saic crumbs  of  comfort ;  and  we  trust  that  the  "  Songs  of 
France,"  which  we  are  about  to  publish  for  the  patriotic 
purpose  above  mentioned,  may  have  the  desired  effl^. 

"  Carmina  Tel  codIo  possunt  deducere  lunam ; 
Carmine  Di  supen  placantur,  carmine  manes : 
Duciie  ab  urbe  domum,  mea  carmina,  ducite  Daphnim!** 

When  Saul  went  mad,  the  songs  of  the  poet  David  were 
the  only  effectual  sedatives ;  and  in  one  of  that  admirable 
series  of  homilies  on  Job,  St.  Chrysostom,  to  fix  the  atten- 
tion of  his  auditory,  breaks  out  in  ^e  style :  ^fi  ou»,  aya* 
cnjrs,  TTig  Aa^idKtig  xida^ag  avax^ovffu/Lsv  ro  '^aT^xov  fAsXo;,  mi 
rnv  avdPUKrt\>7iv  yoovreg  raXcuvu^iav  ii*X(iifLiv^  xai  r.  X.  (^Serm.  Ill- 
in  Job.)  These  French  Canticles  are,  in  Front's  manuscript, 
given  with  accompaniment  of  introductory  and  explanatory 
observations,  in  which  they  swim  like  water-fowl  gn  the 
bosom  of  a  placid  and  peUucid  lake  ;  and  to  each  song  there 
is  underwritten  an  English  translation,  like  the  liquid  re- 
flection of  the  floating  bird  in  the  water  beneath,  so  as  to 
recall  the  beautiful  image  of  the  swan,  which,  according  to 
the  father  of  "  lake  poetry," 

"  Floats  double— swan  and  shadow." 

Vale  et  fruere ! 

OLIVER  TOEKE 

Reffent  Street,  Itt  Oct.  1834. 


WatergratthiU,  Oct.  1833, 
I  HAVE  lived  among  the  French :  in  the  freshest  dawn  of 
early  youth,  in  the  meridian  hour  of  manhood's  maturity, 
my  lot  was  cast  and  my  lines  fell  on  the  pleasant  places  of 
that  once-happy  land.     Full  gladly  have  I  strayed  among 
her  gay  hamlets  and  her  hospitable  ch&teaux,  anon  breaking 
the  brown  loaf  of  the  peasant,  and  anon  seated  at  the  boara 
of  her  noblemen  and  her  pontiffs.     I  have  mixed  industri* 
ously  with  every  rank  and  every  denomination  of  her  people, 
tracing  as  I  went  along  the  peculiar  indications  of  toe  Uelt 
and  the*  Frank,  the  Normand  and  the  Breton,  the  liinaue 
d*oui  and  the  langue  d*oc ;  not  at  the  same  time  overlooking 


THE   §ON0S   OF   FHAnCK.  206 

the  endemic  fuTiturea  of  unrivnlled  Gaspony.     Ihe  raanufac- 

tnnng  iudiistrj'  of  Lyons,  the  Gothic  reminiBcenfeBof  Toum, 

tfce  historiu  uwociatioiut  of  Orl«aae,  tbe  mercaatiJe  ent«r- 

ipriae  ood  opnleDce  of  Bordeaux,  Maraeilles,  the  emporium 

of  the  LeTU>t,  each  claimed  my  wonder  in  its  turu.     It  n  as 

goodlr  scene !  nnd,  L'ompared  to  tbe  ignoble  itnd  debused 

memtion  that  now  usurps  the  Boil,  my  recolleclione  of 

ate-resolutioimry  Frauce  are  like  dreams  of  an  anttdilui-ian 

rorld.     And  in  those  days  arose  the  voice  of  song.     The 

karact^riatic  cheerfulnesa  of  the  country  found  n  vent  lor 

te  anpcmbundnnt  jov  in  jocund  carols,  and  music  woe  ut 

nee  the  ofl'i^priug  and  the  parent  of  gaiety,     Sterne,  in  his 

Sentioiental  Joiimey,"  had  seen  the  peaaantry  whom  he  so 

nphically  describes  in  that  passage  concerning  a  mam'nge- 

■st — A  grnerous  flagon,  grace  after  meat,  and  a  dance  on 

green  turf  under  the  canopy  of  approving  Heaven.    Sor 

thif  Iriah  heart  of  Ooldsmitn  (who,  like  myaelf,  rambled 

B  the  banks  of  tbe  Loire  and  the  Garonne  with  true  jiedes- 

rian  philosophy)   fail  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  jovous 

lubcrance  Which  animated  the  inhabitants  of  each  village 

brough  which  we  pssBed.  poor  and  penniless,  but  a  poet ; 

nd  he  himself  tellH  us  that,  with  his  flute  in  his  pocket,  he 

li^ht  not  fear  to  qu.irtpr  himself  on  any  district  in  the 

[lulb  of  France, — auch  was  the  charm  of  music  to  the  ear 

r  tbe  nativm  in  those  happ^  days.     It  surely  was  not  of 

Vaaue  that  tbe  poetic  tounat  spoke  when  he  opened  hia 

TnTeller  "  by  those  sweet  veraea  that  tell  of  a  loneliness 

le  eiperirnced  on  the  banks  of  the  Loire,  however  felt 

jwhere  — 

"BemoM.  utiHrimded,  aoliMTy,  tlow; 
Or  by  UiB  1«bj  Schaldl,  or  iumdanng  Po,"  4c. 
r  GoMy,  the  village  maiden  lit  up  her  brightest  smiles  \ 
bim  ifae  tidv  housewife,  "  on  hospitable  cares  intent," 
■ugbt  forth  tne  wheaten  loaf  and  the  well-seasoned  sau- 
e :  to  welcome  the  foreign  troubadour,  tbe  master  of  the 
tage  and  of  the  vineynrd  produced  his  best  can  of  wine, 
rer  loath  for  au  excuse  to  drain  a  cheerful  cup  with  au 
wst&Uow;  for, 

"  8i  bmi  cofnmeiniiii,  cdumb  sunt  qiiinqtie  bibmdi : 
Hotfiitu  adrontui,  pr^us  hA»  Btcjiic  fiitiim, 
Td  Tini  bonitM — vel  quslibel  altera  cauM." 


206  FATHEB  PBOUT'b  KELI^VSS. 

Ail  this  buoyancy  of  spirits,  all  this  plentiful  glAdnen, 
found  expression  and  utterance  in  the  national  music  and 
songs  of  that  period ;  which  are  animated  and  liyely  to  ex- 
cess, and  bear  testimony  to  the  brisk  current  of  feelingand 
the  exhilarating  influence  from  which  they  sprung.   Each 
season  of  the  happy  year,  each  incident  of  primitive  and 
rural  life,  each  occiurence  in  village  history,  was  chronicled 
in  uncouth  rhythm,  and  chanted  with  choral  glee.    ThebaP* 
tismal  holyday,  the  marriage  epoch,  the  8oldier*s  return,  the 
"  patron  saint,"  the  harvest  and  the  vintage,  "  le  jour  des 
rois,'*  and  "  le  jour  de  Noel,"  each  was  ushered  in  with  the 
merry  chime  of  parish  bells  and  the  extemporaneouB  out- 
break of  the  rustic  muse.    And  when  mellow  autumn  gav^ 
place  to  hoary  winter,  the  genial  source  of  musical  inapira^ 
tion  was  not  frozen  up  in  the  hearts  of  the  young,  nor  wa* 
there  any  lack  of  traditionary  ballads  derived  from  the  ox^* 
mory  of  the  old. 

**  Ici  le  chanvre  pii^par^ 
Toume  autour  du  fuseau  Gk)thique, 

£t  8ur  un  banc  mal  assur^ 

La  berg^re  la  plus  antique 

Chaute  la  mort  du  *  Bakfr^ 
D'uno  Yoix  plaintive  et  tragique.*' 

"  While  the  merry  fireblocks  kindle, 
While  the  gudewife  twirls  her  spindle, 
llark  the  song  which,  nigh  the  embers, 

Singeth  yonder  withered  crone ; 
Well  I  ween  that  hag  remembers 
Many  a  war-tale  past  and  gone." 

This  characteristic  of  the  inhabitants  of  G«ul,  this  con- 
stitutional attachment  to  music  and  melody,  has  been  eaAj 
noticed  by  the  writers  of  the  middle  ^es,  and  remarked  on 
by  her  historians  and  philosophers.  The  eloquent  Salvian 
of  Marseilles  (a.d.  440),  in  his  book  on  Providence  (**de 
Q-ubematione  Dei"),  says  that  his  fellow-countrymen  had  a 
habit  of  drowning  care  and  banishing  melancholy  with  songs : 
*^  Cantilenis  infortunia  sua  solantur."  In  the  old  jurispro- 
dence  of  the  Gallic  code  we  are  told,  bv  lawyer  de  Mud)- 
angy,  in  his  work,  "  la  Gkule  Po^tique,  that  aU  the  goods 
and  chattels  of  a  debtor  could  be  seized  by  the  ^editor, 
with  the  positive  exception  of  any  musical  instrument,  lyrCi 


TUB  SONOS   OF  TBANCE. 

w  (lute,  whiuh  oapjii-ntid  to  be  in  tlie  boiiBe  of  mis- 
the  luH^vera  wisely  aad  huioauely  providiuf;  a 
of  (WDsoLation  for  the  ptHir  devil  wben  oil  was  goue. 
ljf«  lumt  etill  e»me  euactments  of  Charlemagne  interwoven 
in  the  Ittbyriathineiatricacie^of  the  capitularian  law,  havine 
KfeicDce  to  tlie  minstrels  of  that  penod  ;  and  the  bode  of 
Boland,  who  frdJ  at  Bou(Xsv»iiz  with  the  ilower  of  Gmlic 
■  ivalry,  is  rtill  sung  by  the  grenadiere  of  France : 


>r,  u  Sir  Walter  Scott  will  have  it, 

•'  O !  for  •  bl»t  of  th«t  wild  hom, 
Oa  FoaUnibii'e  i>ch»e9  borne,"  3k. 

Duiing  the  crusades,  the  minstrelay  of  France  attained  n 
bigfa  degree  of  refinement,  delicacy,  and  vigour.  Never  were 
iore-odrenturefi,  broken  hearts,  and  broken  heads,  so  plenti- 
■ftil.  The  novelty  of  the  acene.  the  excitement  of  departure, 
the  lover's  farewell,  the  rapture  of  return,  the  pilgrim's  tale, 
tiie  jumble  of  war  and  devotion,  laurels  and  palni'trces^aJl 
tiicse  matters  inflamed  the  imagination  of  tne  troubadour, 
■ad  ennobled  the  effusions  of  genius.  Oriental  landscape 
added  a  new  charm  to  the  creations  of  poetry,  and  the  bard 
of  t^iivalrouB  Europe,  transported  into  the  acenes  of  volup- 
tuous Asia,  acquired  a  new  stock  of  imagery ;  an  additional 
" '  >rd  would  vibrate  on  his  lyre.  Thii^bault,  comte  de  Cham- 
jne,  who  swayed  the  destinies  of  the  kiu^om  imder  Queen 
Blanche,  while  St.  Louia  was  in  Palestine,  distinguished 
*  Inuelf  not  only  by  his  patronage  of  the  tuneful  tribe,  but 
/  hia  own  original  compositions ;  many  of  which  I  have 
D<ntrb«ulrd  amon^  the  USH.  of  the  King's  Library,  when  I 
wan  in  Paris.  Ilichnrd  Cceur  de  Lion,  whose  language, 
liabita,  and  chamcter,  belonged  to  Normandy,  was  almost  oa 
de^er  at  a  ballad  as  at  the  battle-aie:   hia  faithful  trouba- 

,  Ulondel,  acknowledges   Jiis  master's  comi>e(ency  in 

•kiagt  poetical.  But  it  waa  reeerred  for  the  immortal  Sent! 
J'AnjoQ,  called  by  the  people  of  Prorence  ie  hnn  rot/  Rmi, 
to  vonfi-r  splendour  ami  Maf  on  the  gentle  craft,  during  a 
reign  gf  singular  usefulness  and  popularity.  He  was,  in 
kinitb,  a  nre  personage,  and  well   oeserved  to  leave  hia 


208  FATHEB  PBOUT's  BXI.IQUES. 

memoiy  embalmed  in  the  recollection  of  his  fellow-countrj* 
men.  Afler  haying  fought  in  his  youth  under  Joan  of  Arc, 
in  rescuing  the  territory  of  France  from  the  grasp  of  hep 
invaders,  and  subsequently  in  the  wars  of  Scander  J^g  and 
Ferdinand  of  Arragon,  he  spent  the  latter  part  of  his  event- 
ful life  in  diffusing  happiness  among  his  subjects,  and  making 
his  court  the  centre  of  refined  and  classic  enjoyment.  Aix 
in  Provence  was  then  the  seat  of  civilisation,  and  the  haunt 
of  the  Muses.  While  to  Bene  is  ascribed  the  introduction 
and  culture  of  the  mulberry,  and  the  consequent  develop- 
ment of  the  silk-trade  along  the  Rhone,  to  his  fostering  care 
the  poetry  of  France  is  indebted  for  many  of  her  best  and 
simplest  productions,  the  rondeau,  the  madrigal,  the  triolein 
the  lay,  tne  virelai,  and  other  measures  equally  melodious. 
His  own  ditties  (chiefly  church  hymns)  are  preserved  in  the 
Biblioth^ue  du  Koi,  in  his  own  handwriting,  adorned  bjr 
his  royal  pencil  with  sundry  curious  enluminations  and  alle- 
gorical emblems. 

A  rival  settlement  for  the  "  sacred  sisters"  was  established 
at  the  neighbouring  court  of  Avignon,  where  the  temporair 
residence  of  the  popes  attracted  the  learning  of  Italy  and  of 
the  ecclesiastical  world.     The  combined  talents  of  church- 
men and  of  poets  shone  with  concentrated  effulgence  in  that 
most  picturesque  and  romantic  of  cities,  fit  cradle  for  the 
muse  of  Petrarca,  and  the  appropriate  resort  of  every  con- 
temporary excellence.     The  pontific  presence  shed  a  lu8fa« 
over  this  crowd  of  meritorious  men,  and  excited  a  spirit  of 
emulation  in  all  the  walks  of  science,  unknown  in  any  other 
European  capital :  and  to  Avignon  in  those  days  might  be 
applied  the  observation  of  a  Latin  poet  concerning  that  small 
town  of  Italy  which  the  residence  of  a  single  important  pe^ 
sonage  sufficed  to  illustrate : 

"  Veios  liabitante  Camillo, 
IIHc  Boina  fiiit."  LvciK. 

The  immortal  sonnets  of  Laura's  lover,  written  in  the  polished 
and  elegant  idiom  of  Lombardy,  had  a  perceptible  effect  ia 
softening  what  was  harsh,  and  refining  what  was  uncouthr 
in  the  love  songs  of  the  Troubadors,  whose  language  (oot 
altogether  obsolete  in  Provence  at  the  present  time)  betucii 


VBE  tOsaa  ov  nisct. 


209 


f  to  the  Italian.  But  this  "  light  of  song,"  liow- 
^  _  ing  to  the  lover  of  early  literature,  was  but  a  sort 
of  civpuBcular  brightening,  to  herald  in  th>t  lull  dawn 
of  true  tnat«  aiid  knowledge  which  broke  forth  at  the  appear- 
ance of  Frnneia  I.  and  Leo  X-  Tlien  it  waa  that  Europe's 
uudtrn  minstrela,  forming  their  lyric  effusions  on  the  im- 

Krisliaidt-  models  of  cJassica]  antiquity,  produced,  for  the 
w^r  and  the  banquet,  for  the  court  and  the  camp,  straina 
<'f  unpamlleled  eweetnees  and  power.  I  have  already  en- 
rirhed  my  papers  with  a  Bpeeimen  of  the  love-dittiee  which 
the  amour  of  Francis  and  the  unfortunate  Comtease  de 
Chal<-auhriand  gave  birth  to.  The  royal  lover  has  himself 
recorded  his  chivalrous  attachment  to  that  lady  in  a  song 
whirb  ia  nrvserred  among  the  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Bucking- 
ham,  ia  the  Biblioth^ue  du  Boi.     It  begins  thus: 

"Om  que  je  Is  tieni  w>u>  ma  I07, 
•     Plui  JBTPpie  ftmant  que  roj, 
AdifU,  TJaaget  de  cour,"  Ac.  &c. 

eonga  of  Henri  Quatre,  addressed  to  Gabnelle 
aid  of  the  ballads  of  Mary  8tuart,  it  were  almost 
,B  to  say  a  word  ;  but  in  a  profeBsed  essay  on  sii 
resting  a  subject,  it  would  be  an  uupardouablc  omiasioii 
to  mention  two  such  iliustrious  contributors  to  thi? 
ftre]sy  of  France. 
From  trowned  heads  the  tranailion  to  MaJtre  Adam  (the 
c  cjwpenter)  is  rather  abrupt ;  but  he  deserves  most 
tooourable  rank  among  the  tunefid  brotherhood.  Without 
B^fuitting  his  liumble  profession  of  a  joiner,  be  published  u 
i  volume  of  songs  <Eheima,  1650)  under  the  modest  title  of 
I  "  Dry  Chips  and  Oak  Shavings  from  the  Workshop  of  Adam 
r  Billsud."  Many  of  his  staves  are  right  well  put  out  of 
hand.  But  he  had  been  preceded  by  Cleiaenl  Marfit,  a  most 
cultivated  poet,  who  had  given  the  tone  to  French  versifica- 
tK>n.  Mnlnerbe  was  also  a  capital  lyric  writer  in  the  gran- 
iitme  style,  and  at  times  pathetic.  Then  there  was  Konsard 
sod  Pauard.  Jean  de  Meun,  who,  with  Guillaume  de  Lorris. 
ronciucted  the  '■  Bomsn  de  la  "Hme  ;"  Villon,  Charles  d'Or- 
IruiH.  Gringoire,  Alain  Chartier,  Bertaut,  and  sundry  others 
of  the  old  school,  desenedly  challenge  the  antiquary  and 
critic*!  comiiieudation.     The  BUbuiqueiit  glories  of  Voiture, 


1 


r 


210 


FATHEB  FBOUT's  BXLIQUSB. 


Scuderi,  Dorat,  Boufflers,  Florian,  Bacan,  and  Chalieu,  would 
claim  their  due  share  of  notice,  if  the  modem  lyrics  of 
Lamartine,  Victor  Hugo,  Andr^  Chenier,  Chateaubriand,  and 
Delavigne,  like  the  rod  of  the  prophet,  had  not  Bwallowed 
up  the  inferior  spells  of  the  magicians  who  preceded  them. 
But  I  cannot  for  a  moment  longer  repress  mj  enthusiastic 
admiration  of  one  who  has  arisen  in  our  days,  to  strike  in 
Prance,  with  a  master-hand,  the  lyre  of  the  troubadour,  and 
to  fling  into  the  shade  all  the  triumphs  of  bygone  minstrelsr- 
Need  I  designate  Bcrangcr,  who  has  created  tor  himself  a 
style  of  transcendent  vigour  and  originality,  and  who  ha> 
sung  of  war,  love,  and  toiney  in  strains  &r  excelling  those  of 
Blondcl,  Tyrta^us,  Pindar,  or  the  Teian  bard.     He  is  now 
the  genuine  representative  of  Gallic  poesy  in  her  amoiml 
lior  amatory,  her  warlike,  and  her  philosophic  mood :  and  the 
)>k'nitude  of  the  inspiration  that  dwelt  successively  in  the 
souls  of  all  the  songsters  of  ancient  France  seems  to  have 
trausmigrated  into  Beranger,  and  found  a  fit  recipient  in  hii 
capacious  and  liberal  mind  : 

"  As  some  bright  riTcr,  that,  from  fall  to  fitU 
Tn  many  a  maze  deficcndiDg,  bright  in  all. 
Finds  8omo  fair  region,  where,  eadi  labyrinth  past. 
In  one  full  lake  of  light  it  redta  at  last."— Zoifa  JUoUL 

Let  me  open  the  small  volume  of  his  chansons,  and  take  at 
venture  the  first  that  ofiers.  Good !  it  is  about  the  gnp^- 
/nVie  is  the  grand  topic  with  all  poets  (after  the  ladies) ; 
hear  then  his  account  of  the  introduction  of  the  grape  into 
Burgundy  and  Champagne,  effected  through  the  instTamen- 
tality  of  Brennus. 


Ou  la   Vigne  planlee  dana  lei 
Gaulet, 


Brennus  disait  aux  bons  Qaulois, 

"  Celt^rez  un  triomphe  insignc ! 
Let*  cliamps  de  Borne  ont  paj^  mes 
exploits, 
Et  j'cn  rapports  un  ccp  do  vigne ; 
Priv^s  oie  son  jus  tout-puisaant, 


Ci^e  dong  of  BrcnnnI, 

Or  the  Introthieiion  of  ike  Greqn 
into  France. 

TuNB—"The  Night  before  Lanr." 

WhenBrcnnua  ouno  back  here  from 
Rome, 
These  words  he  is  said  to  hare 
spoken: 
"We  hare  conquered,  my  boyt! 
and  brought  home 
A  sprig  of  the  vine  for  b  tokisl 


L. 


THE   SOKG 

■  eoteaoi  que  le  pampre  m- 
■  U  rictoirc. 


i   OF    FR^XCB.  211 

Cheer,  mj  hfatiiH  I  uid  welmm* 
to  G&ul 
Tiiii  plant,  whidi  wb  won  6oin 
the  foemaii ; 
Til  enoiigh  to  rcpaj  na  G>r  all 
Our  trouble  in  hniing  the  Bo- 

Bles*  the  godt  I  uid  bad 
luck  to  Uie  geuse  I 
O  t  lake  core  la  treat  weli  the  fair 
guest, 
f>oin  the  blasts  of  tiie  north  to 
protect  her ; 
Of  jour  hiUocko,  the  Bunnjeat  and 
belt 
Uake  them  liers.  for  the  aske  of 
ber  nectar. 
She  iltall  nurfle  jotir  joung  Gaul* 
with  her  JLiieoi 
aire  life  to  'the  arts'  in  libs- 
While  joor  ahipB  round  the  globe 
■ball  prounce 
Her  goblet  of  jo;  for  all  nstioni — 
B'en   the  fbeman  ihall 
tael«  of  our  cup. 
The  exile  irho  Sirs  to  our  hearth 
8lie  (hall  soothe,  all  bis  eorrom 
redreaeing ; 
For  the  Tine  is  the  parent  of  mirth. 
And  to  (it  in  its  ghada  it  a  blen 
ing." 
So  the  soil  Brsnnua  dug  vith  hi 

'Uid  the  crowd  of  Gaul's  WM 
riom  and  eago ; 
And  our  forefatherH  pitOf  of  gaj 
France 

Got  a  glimpse  through  the  (ista 

And  it  ehutdened  the 
hearts  of  the  Gauli '. 
hxeh  M  the  classical  and  genial  range  of  thought  in  whicli 
^F  loves  to  indulge,  amid  the  impretendmg  efiuaiooB 
of  »  professed  drinking  song;  embodying  liie  noble  and  pa- 
triotic bHpiratJona  in  the  simple  form  of  an  historical  ftoec- 
^le,  or  »  light  and  fanciful  allegory.  He  abounds  in 
F  2 


Qaittanl  no«  bords  litTorisfs, 
tUk  Taisaani  iront  tai  I'oadB 
■|£b  de  «iD>  et  de  llcura  pa- 

TCbca, 
tr  la  joiD  aulour  du  monde. 


■tn»  I  emboUi*  n«  dcatitu ! 
In  people  boapitalier  te  prie, 
'bh  prosorit,  B«sii  it  lios 

'Wnnt  alort  bainit  le«  Cieoi, 

Cnusc  la  tcTTG  BTec  sa  lance, 

''Wlc  U   lignet    ot  let   Gaulois 


212 


PATH£B  PB0UT*8  BSLIQUS8. 


philanthropic  sentiments  and  generous  outbursts  of  pfts* 
sionate  eloquence,  which  come  on  the  feelings  unexpedtemji 
and  never  mil  to  produce  a  corresponding  excitement  in  the 
heart  of  the  listener.  I  shall  shortly  return  to  his  glorious 
canticles ;  but  meantime,  as  we  are  on  the  chapter  of  wine, 
by  way  of  contrast  to  the  style  of  B^ranger,  1  may  be  al- 
lowed to  introduce  a  drinking  ode  of  a  totally  different  cha- 
racter, and  which,  from  its  odd  and  original  conceptions, 
and  harmless  jocularity,  I  think  deserving  of  notice.  It  ia. 
besides,  of  more  ancient  date ;  and  gives  an  idea  of  whit 
songs  preceded  those  of  Stranger. 


Iza  iElosetf  lie  TlEau. 


II  pleut !  il  pleut  enfin ! 

£t  la  vigne  alt^r^ 

Va  Be  voir  restaur^ 
Par  un  bienfieut  divin. 
De  Teau  chantons  la  gloire, 

On  la  meprise  en  vain, 
C'est  Teau  qui  nous  fait  boire 

Du  vin  !  du  vin !  du  vin ! 

Cest  par  Teau,  j'en  conviens, 

Que  Dieu  fit  le  deluge ; 

Mais  ce  souTerain  Juge 
Mit  le  mal  pr^  du  bien ! 
Du  deluge  Tbistoire 

Fait  naitre  le  raisin  ; 
Cest  I'eau  qui  nous  fait  boire 

Du  vin !  du  vin !  du  vin ! 

Ah !  combien  je  jouis 
Quand  la  riviere  apporte 
Des  vins  de  toute  sorte 

Et  de  touB  les  pays  ! 

]^Ia  cave  est  mon  arraoire — 
A  Tinstant  tout  est  plein ; 

Cest  Teau  qui  nous  fiut  boire 
Du  vin !  du  vin !  da  vin ! 


Mttu  ficbtot  to  Olater. 

.«  Life  let  ub  cherish." 


Bain  best  doth  nourish 

Eiui^h's  pride,  the  budding  vine ! 
Grapes  best  will  flourish 

On  which  the  dewdrops  shine. 
Then  why  should  water  meet  with  soon, 

Or  wliy  its  claim  to  praise  resign? 
When  from  that  bounteous  source  is  bon 

The  vine !  the  vine  !  the  vine ! 

Bain  best  disposes 

Earth  for  each  blossom  and  each  bod; 
True,  we  are  told  by  Moses, 

Once  it  brought  on  "  a  flood :" 
But  while  that  flood  did  all  immerse, 

All  save  old  Noah*s  holy  line, 
Pray  read  the  chapter  and  the  vene— 

l^e  vine  is  there !  the  vine ! 

Wine  by  water-carriage 

Bound  the  globe  is  best  oonvejed; 
Then  why  disparage 

A  path  for  old  Bacchus  made? 
When  in  our  docks  the  cargo  lands 

Which  foreign  merchants  hereoonsigni 
The  wine's  red  empire  wide  expands—* 

The  vine !  the  vme !  the  vine ! 


Par  un  terns  sec  et  beau  Bain  makes  the  nuller 

Le  meunier  du  village.  Work  his  glad  wheel  the  livelong  dtj  { 

Se  morfond  sans  ouvrage,  Bain  briags  the  Miller^ 

Jl  nt  boit  que  de  Teau ;  And  drives  dull  care  away  : 


»n  Nntre  <1biw  la  gloire 
Qiund  I'sn  rcntre  Bu 
0eil  I'aia  qui  lui  fut  boire 
[    Do  vial  da  Tin!  darml 
Kiiat-il  III)  trait  nournu? 
Ktt  unis,  }r  U  guBiie  ; 
Voyex  K  U  guinguelte 
Snlnr  w  poriear  d'eui  I 
n*  perdlsmimoire 

I ^'^  InwKm  du  uwtin  ; 

■nO^Mt  Ttaa  (jui  iui  fait  boire 
^H    Da  Tin '.  da  Tin  !  du  Tin  '. 


»Ofl  OF  7BAIfCl.  21''j 

For  without  nin  he  Wki  the  sEreom, 
And  fain  o'er  walcrj  cupa  muit  piiie  t 

But  Then  it  rnina,  he  tuarU,  I  deem, 
The  Tine !  the  vine  I  the  Tine  I* 

Though  all  good  judgea 

Water'e  worth  now  uodentand, 
Uaik  jon  chiel  who  drudges 

Wita  bucketa  in  eaeh  hand  ; 
He  toil*  with  ualff  through  the  town. 

Until  he  apies  a  certain  "sigo," 
Where  entering,  all  hia  labour  done^ 

He  draine  thj  juice,  O  Tine  I 


chanter  I'mu 

Smquci  moi  Tite  one  tejip 
Da  ct>u]L  JOB  du  tonneau — ' 
C«  Tin  rient  de  la  Loire, 
_  On  birn  dnborda  du  Rhin . 

lu  qui  Doua  (ait  boire   Qi 


But  pairc  water  singing 

Dries  full  soon  the  poet's  tongnBi 
So  crown  all  hj  briiieing 

A  draught  drawn  &om  the  bung 
Of  jonder  cask,  that  wine  contain  a 

Of  Loire's  good  vinlage  or  the  Rhine 
of  whose  teeming  margin  reign* 


I' 

■L^  A  "  wat^r-poet"  is  a  poor  creature  in  general,  and  though 
^fSmpid  and  lucid  enough,  the  foregoing  ruoH  at  a  ver^  low 
~  lerpl.  Something  more  lofty  in  lyrics  and  more  in  the  Pin- 
tlftric  vein  ought  to  follow ;  for  though  the  old  Theban  hini- 
•elf  opena  by  striking  a  key-note  about  the  excellence  of 
that  element,  he  soon  aoara  upward  far  above  low-water 
mark,  and  ie  lost  in  the  clouds — 


«  Unlta  Bin: 


n  IcTat  ai 


I  jet,  in  his  highest  flight,  has  he  ever  been  wafted  on  more 
I  duing  And  vigorous  pinions  tlian  B^rancer  ?  This  ml\  be 
L  at  once  seen.  Search  the  racing  calendar  of  the  Olvrnpio 
^touf  for  u  monr  olympiads  as  you  please,  and  in  the  nnrae- 
I  will  find  nothing  better  than  the  "  Cossack'c 
H  to  his  Charger." 

*  Thia  id(«,  containing  an  apparent  paradox,  has  been  froquentlj 
rted  up  in  the  quaint  writing  of  tlie  middle  ages.  There  is  an  old 
■tita'  riddll^  which  1  learnt  among  other  wiao  aawe  at  their  colleKe*) 
II  which  it  will  appear  that  thii  MilUr  ia  a  regular  Jei. 

Q.  "Soale  bibo  Tiaiun  quoties  mlhi  auppetit  jndai 
Uodaque  si  dnil,  quid  bibo  f" 

S.  "  Triitis  aquam  ]" 


214  f  ATHBB  PBOTTT'S  BCLIQITBt. 


Yiens,  mon  ooonier,  noble  ami  da  Ooflaqui^ 

Vole  au  signal  dea  trompettes  da  nord; 
Prompt  au  pillage,  intr^ide  k  Tattaquo, 

Pr6te  BOOB  moi  dea  ailea  k  la  mort. 
L'or  n'emrichit  ni  ton  firein  ni  ta  aelle^ 

Mais  attends  tout  da  prix  de  mes  exploits  i 
Hennis  d'orgueil,  6  mon  ooorsier  fid^le^ 

St  foule  aax  pieds  lea  peuples  et  les  rois. 

La  paix  qui  fuit  m'abandonne  tea  goidea. 

La  Tieiile  Europe  a  perdu  sea  remparts ; 
Yiens  de  tr^sors  combler  mes  mains  avidea, 

Yiens  reposer  dans  1*  asile  dea  arts, 
Betourne  boire  k  la  Seine  rebelle, 

Oil,  tout  sanelant,  tu  t'es  lav^  deux  fois ; 
Hennis  d'orgueil,  6  mon  coursier  fidMe, 

Et  foule  aux  pieds  les  peuples  et  les  rois. 

Comme  en  un  fort,  princes,  noblee,  et  prMreti 

Tous  assi^g^  par  leurs  sujets  souffirans, 
Kous  ont  crie  :  Yenez,  soyez  nos  maitres — 

Nous  serons  serfs  pour  demeurer  tyrans ! 
tTai  pris  ma  lanoe,  et  tous  vont  derant  elle 

Humilier,  et  le  soeptre  et  la  croix  : 
Hennis  d'orgueil,  6  mon  coursier  fidMe. 

Et  foule  aux  pieds  les  peuples  et  les  rois. 

J*ai  d*un  g^ant  ru  le  &nt6me  xnmiense 

Sur  nos  biTOuacs  fixer  un  osil  ardent ; 
H  s'^cria :  Mon  r^gne  recommence ; 

Et  de  sa  hache  il  montrait  TOocident  j 
Du  roi  dee  Huns  c'^tait  I'ombre  immortelle  i 

Fils  d'Attila,  j*ob^  k  sa  voix 
Hennis  d'orgueil,  6  mon  coursier  fiddle, 

Et  foule  aux  pieds  les  peuples  et  lea  roia. 

Tout  cet  ^clat  dont  FEurope  est  si  fi^re, 

Tout  oe  savoir  qui  ne  la  defend  pas, 
S'engloutira  dans  les  flots  de  poussi^re 

Qu'autour  de  moi  vont  souleTer  tes  pas 
Efface,  efface,  en  la  course  nouyeUe^ 

Temples,  palais,  moeurs,  souvenirs,  et  Ids 
Hennis  d'orgueil,  6  mon  coursier  fiddle, 

Et  foule  aux  pi  ads  les  peuples  et  lea  roia. 


Cb*  dong  of  tf)t  Coiiack, 

l^ae,  irouw  the*  up,  my  gsllanl  horst,  »nd  bear  tbj  rider  oh  [ 

The  commie  thou,  uid  the  fnend,   I  trow,  of  Uic  dwoUer  cm  Iha 

Don. 
Z^llage  and  Dcalh  hue  8pmd  their  ning: !   'tii  the  liour  Ia  hir 

tliee  Ibrtli, 
^nd  Hiih  tliy  boob  an  ecLo  vake  lo  the  trumpets  of  tlje  North  ! 
Koi  genu  nor  gold  do  men  behold  upon  thy  eaddle-tref  ; 
ftut  earth  sffonLi  the  weallli  of  lorJs  for  thy  maslrr  and  for  Uiec. 

■rrrij   neigh,  mj   rharger  grey  !^  thy  cliost  is  proud    uid 

!T  the  fields  o(  Franca,  ani  the  pride  of  her 


_iimpe  is  wmk^he  hath  gromi  old — her  hulwarka  are  laid  low  ; 
Bbe  is  loath  to  hear  the  hlait  of  war — she  shrinkf  th  from  a  foe  I 
Come,  in  our  turn,  let  as  sigonm  in  her  goodly  baiints  of  joy — 
Xd  the  pilliu'd  porch  lo  wave  the  torch,  and  her  pnlaces  deslivy ! 
3^ud  ai  when  fint  thou  alak'dst  iJiy  thirst  in  tho  flow  of  conqner'J 

An  ahalt  thou  Ibtc,  within  that  ware,  thy  blood-red  flanks  aguin. 
"Aai  flercnly  neigh,  my  gallant  grey !  —  thy  chest  ia  strong  and 

\j  ttoofs  aball  pranoc  o'er  the  fields  of  Traace,  and  the  pride  of  hiT 
beroca  trunple! 

Eiut  are  beJFOgner'd  on  tlisir  thronea  by  their  own  vassal  crew ; 
AnifiD  their  den  qualie  nohlemen,  and  priests  are  bcardM  loo  ; 
Attd  loud  tliey  yelp  for  the  Cosaacks'  help  (o  keep  their  bondsmen 

Anil  they  lliink  it  meet,  while  they  kiss  our  feet,  to  wear  ■  tyrant'* 

Ithecrots 


Tbeo  proudly  neigh,  my  gallant  grey  !  ^ — thy   cheat  it 
hj  hoofs  ahall  prwiCB  o'er  the  flelds  of  France,  and  the 


Xingly  hia  crest  —  aad  towards  the  West  with  bis   battle-ue  he 

pointed  t 
And  tlie  "Cirm"    I  saw  woi  Amu!   of  this  earth   the  scourge 

anoinled. 


216  FATHSB  PSOUT's  KSLIQUES. 

From  the  Cossack's  camp  let  the  horseman's  tramp  the  coming 

announce ; 
Let  the  vulture  whet  his  heak  sharp  set,  on  the  carrion  field  to  pounce ; 
And  proudly  neigh,  my  charger  grey ! — 0 1  thy  chest  is  broad  and 

ample; 
Thy  hoofs  shall  prance  o*er  the  fields  of  France,  and  the  pride  of  her 

heroes  trample ! 

What  boots  old  Europe's  boasted  fame,  on  which  she  builds  reliance^ 
When  the  Korth  shall  launch  its  avaUmche  on  her  works  of  art  and 

science  ? 
Hath  she  not  wept  her  cities  swept  by  our  hordes  of  trampling    ' 

stallions  ? 
And  tower  and  arch  crush'd  in  the  march  of  our  barbarous  battalions  ?     * 
Can  we  not  wield  our  fathers*  shield  ?  the  same  war-hatchet  handle  ? 
Do  our  blades  want  length,  or  the  reapers*  strength,  for  the  harrest    - 

of  the  Vandal  ? 
Then  proudly  neigh,  my  gallant  grey,  for  thy  chest  is  strong  and. 

ample; 
And  thy  hoofs  shall  prance  o*er  the  fields  of  France,  and  the  prids 

her  heroes  trample ! 

In  the  foregoing  glorious  song  of  the  Cossack  to  his- 
Horse,  Beranger  appears  to  me  to  have  signally  evinced  that 
peculiar  talent  discoverable  in  most  of  his  lyrical  imperson* 
ations,  which  enables  him  so  completely  to  identify  himseir 
with  the  character  he  undertakes  to  portray,  that  the  poet 
is  lost  sight  of  in  the  all-absorbing  splendour  of  the  theme. 
Here  we  have  the  mind  hurried  away  with  irresistible  graspy 
and  flung  down  among  the  wild  scenery  of  the  river  D<Hiy 
amid  the  tents  of  the  Scythians  and  an  encampment  of  the 
North.    If  we  are  sufhciently  dull  to  resist  the  impulse  that 
would  transport  our  rapt  soul  to  the  region  of  the  poet's 
inspiration,  still,  even  on  the  quiet  tympanum  of^  our  eflfo- 
minate  ear,  there  cometh  the  sound  oi  a  barbarian  cavalry, 
heard  most  fearfully  distinct,  thundering  along  the  npid 
and  sonorous  march  of  the  stanza ;  the  terrific  spectre  of 
the  King  of  the  Huns  frowns  on  our  startled  fancy :  and 
we  look  on  this  sudden  outpouring  of  Stranger's  tremendoiu 
poetry  with  the  sensation  of  Virgil's  shepherd,  >wed  at  the 
torrent  that  sweeps  down  from  the  Apennines, — 


'*  Stupet  inscius  alto 
Accipiens  sonitum  saxi  de  yertioe  pastorj 


» 


There  is  more  where  that  came  from.    And  if^  instead  of 


IBE  SOKOe   c 


217 


rientol  imagery  and  "  barbaric  pearl  and  gold."  camels, 
alm-lrees,  buibub.  houria,  I'rankinceiiBe,  silver  veils,  and 
ther  gewgawa  with  whieli  Tom  Moore  lia.a  glutted  the 
iftrket  of  literature  in  his  "  Lalla  Eookb,"  we  eould  pre- 
lil  OD  our  poetnetere  to  use  sterner  stuff,  to  dig  the  iron 
lines  of  the  North,  osd  send  their  PegnsuB  to  a  week's 
aining  ntnosg  the  Cossacks,  rely  on  it  we  should  have  more 
l^jur  and  energy  in  the  boue  and  muscle  of  the  winged 
EiuuaL  Drawing-room  poets  should  partake  of  the  rough 
let  and  maaeulme  beverage  of  this  hardy  tribe,  whose 
>okery  has  been  described  in  "  Hudibras,"  and  of  whom 
)e  swan  of  Maatua  gently  slngeth  with  becomiug  admir- 


"Etlae 


m  BanguiDD  potat  equiao." 


Lord  Byron  is  never  more  spirited  and  vigorous  than 
rhen  he  recounts  the  cntostrophe  of  Maeeppa ;  and  in  the 
rbole  of  tlie  subtitiie  rhapsody  of  "  Childe  Harold,"  there 
I  not  a  line  (whore  all  breathes  the  loftiest  euthusiaam)  to 
e  compared  to  hia  northern  slave, 

"  Butchered  to  make  a  Eoniao  holydny  !" 
[0  is  truly  great,  when,  in  the  hdnesa  of  prophetic  tnspi- 
■tion,  he  catLs  on  the  Goths  to  "  arise  and  glut  their  ire !" 
lowever.  let  none  woo  the  muse  of  the  North,  without 
olid  capabilities  :  if  Moore  wer«  to  present  himself  to  the 
ruph's  notice,  I  fear  he  would  catch  a  Tartar. 
TSe  '•  Songs  of  France,"  properly  so  called,  exhibit  a  fund 
if  incihausUble  good-humour,  at  the  same  time  that  tbcy 
sre  fraugbt  with  the  most  exalted  philosophy.  Addison 
hat  written  a  "commentary"  on  the  ballad  of  "Chevy 
Ctiaae ;"  and  the  public  is  indebted  to  him  for  having  re- 
,TBaled  the  recondite  value  of  that  excellent  old  chant :  but 
is  a  French  lyrical  composition  coeva!  with  the  En- 
ballod  aforesaid,  and  containing  at  least  an  equal 
ititjr  of  contemporary  wisdom.  The  opening  verses  may 
a  Bpecimen  of  its         ■    -  >  -    >       . .      ~., 

Uiua: 


mderfuJ  range  of  thought.     The] 


"  Lb  bon  n>j  Datfobert 
Ainit  miaaaeillolleil' 
he  ton  Saint  £lof 


218  TATHBB  PUOUT's   BBLIQ17£8. 

Lui  dit,  'O  mou  roj  t 
Voire  majesty 
S'est  mal  culott^ !' 

*  £h  bien/  dit  ce  bon  roj, 

*  Je  vaifl  la  remettare  ^  Tendroil*  *** 

I  do  not,  as  in  other  cases,  follow  up  this  French  qaotft* 
tion  by  a  literal  version  of  its  meaning  in  English,  for  several 
reasons  ;  of  which  the  principal  is,  that  I  intend  to  rereit 
to  the  song  itself  in  my  second  chapter,  when  I  shall  come 
to  treat  of  "  frogs"  and  "  wooden  shoes."     But  it  may  be 
well  to  instruct  the  superficial  reader,  that  in  this  apparently 
simple  stanza  there  is  a  deep  blow  aimed  at  the  imbecilitj 
of  the  then  reigning  monarch ;    and  that  under  the  eulotte 
there  lieth  much  hidden  mystery,  explained  by  one  Sartor 
Resartus,  Professor  Teufelsdrockh,  a  (German  philosopher. 

Confining  myself,  therefore,  for  the  present,  to  wime  and 
war,  I  proceed  to  give  a  notable  toar-song,  of  which  the  tune 

*  Dagobert  II.,  king  of  AostralisiA,  was  conveyed  away  in  his  infimcr 
to  Ireland,  according  to  the  historians  of  the  country,  by  ordert  of  a 
designing  maire  du  palais^  who  wished  to  get  rid  of  him.  fSee  Meaeraj, 
Hist,  de  Fran. ;  the  Jesuit  Daniel,  Hist.  Franc. ;  and  Abb^  Mac  G^eogfae- 
han,  Hist.  d'Irlandc.)  He  was  educated  at  the  school  of  Lismofe,  so 
celebrated  by  the  yenerable  Bede  as  a  oolite  of  European  reputation. 
His  peculiar  manner  of  wearing  his  trowsers  would  seem  to  ha,Te  been 
learned  in  Cork.  St.  Eloi  was  a  brassfounder  and  a  tinker.  He  is  tiie 
patron  of  the  Dublin  corporation  guild  of  smiths,  who  call  him  (igno- 
rantly)  St.  Loy.  This  saint  was  a  good  Latin  poet.  The  king,  one  day 
going  into  his  chariot,  a  clumsy  contriranoe,  described  by  Bouenu— 

**  Quatre  boeufs  attel^,  d'un  pas  tranquil  et  lent» 
Promenaient  dans  Paris  le  monarque  indolent** — 

was,  as  usual,  attended  by  his  favourite,  Eloi,  and  jokingly  asked  him 
to  make  a  couplet  extempore  before  the  drive.  Eloi  stipulated  for  tiie 
wages  of  song ;  and  having  got  a  promise  of  the  two  oxen,  laondied  out 
into  the  following — 

**  Ascendit  Dagobert,  veniat  bos  unus  et  alter 
In  nostrum  stabulum,  carpere  ibi  pabulum  !** 

King  Dagobert  was  not  a  bad  hand  at  Latin  verses  hima^f^^  for  he  it 
supposed  to  have  written  that  exquisite  elegy  sung  at  the  diige  for  tbt 
dead — 

"  Dies  irse,  dies  ilia 
Solvet  ssDclum  in  faviM, 
Teste  David  cum  sibyllA,"  Ac 


iSaa   OF  FBANCK. 


2X9 


h  well  known  throughout  Europe,  but  t.he  worda  and  tlie 
poetry  nre  on  the  point  of  being  effaced  from  the  euperficial 
DK-mory  of  this  fliniBy  generiition..  By  my  recording  tbem 
in  these  pntjcrB,  posterity  will  not  be  cfepnved  of  their  racy 
huiDoiir  and  eiquiaite  na'ioeU  :  nor  shall  a  future  age  he  re- 
duced to  confeaa  writh  the  interlocutor  in  the  "  Ecloguee,"  "  hm- 
NH-ninJ,  n  verba  tenerem."  Wbo  has  not  hummed  in  bie 
lifetime  the  iinmurtal  air  of  Malbbocck  F  Still,  if  the  beat 
iutiquory  were  called  on  to  supply  the  original  poetic  com- 
'poaition,  such  as  it  burst  on  the  world  in  the  decline  of  the 
eUomc  era  of  Queen  Anne  and  Louia  XIV.,  I  fear  he  would 
fe  oiuble  to  gratify  the  curiosity  of  an  eager  public  in  eo 
interesting  an  inquiry.  For  many  reasons,  therefore,  it  is 
Ughly  meet  and  proper  that  I  should  consign  it  to  the  ini- 
.perishable  tablets  of  these  written  loemorials:  and  here,  then. 
blloweth  the  song  of  the  lamentable  death  of  the  illustriona 
'John  Churchill,  which  did  not  take  place,  by  Bome  mistake, 
^Init  was  nevertheless  celebrated  aa  lullowa  : 

blbronck  i"!!!!  Tft-t-en  guerre,  Malbroucli,  the  prince  of   oom- 


Bgadl  ) 
[/«-,      We  feu 


[«  TriniW  «•  puui, 

Hi  TOO  ton,  Um  toD,-mi  rt 

t>  I^iU  H  pute. 


\  sa  tour  moDte, 

on.  Ion  ton,  mi  ron  bunr, 

X^la»h«ulqu' on  petit  moolsr  [Irr. 

EO*  roit  renir  nn  p«g^ 

Ki  iwm  tan,  ton  ton,  mi  ron  taine, 

nu  Toit  Tenir  un  page 


Anil  Eastor  is  past,  nioptWTBP  ; 
And  Malbrouck  BtUl  dclajs.'  [tir. 

Milttdy  in  her  walch. tower 
Spendt  man  J  ■  penaiTa  hour, 
Not  wsU  knowing  «hir  or  how  her 
Dear  lord  from  Engliuidata;t.[rfr. 

Wliilo  Billing  qnilo  forlorn  in 
That  lower,  ihe  spiea  returning 
A  piiige  cUd  in  deep  mourning, 
With  fftinling  slepi  and  ilow.  [(w 


220 


FATHSB  PBOTJT'S  BELIQI7SS. 


Mon  pagOi  d  mon  beau  page, 
Mi  ron  ton,  ton  ton,  mi  ron  tainei 
Mon  page,  6  mon  beau  page, 
Quelle  nouvelle  apportei  P      [l«r. 

La  nouvelle  que  j'apporte, 

Mi  ron  ton,  ton  ton,  mi  ron  taine^ 

La  nouTcUe  que  j'apporte 

Vo8  beaux  yeux  vont  pleurer.  [ter» 

Monsieur  Malbrouck  est  mort, 
Mi  ron  ton,  ton  ton,  mi  ron  taine, 
Monsieur  Malbrouck  est  mort. 
Est  mort  et  enterr^.*  Iter, 

Je  Tai  vu  porter  en  ter^e, 

Mi  ron  ton,  ton  ton,  mi  ron  taine, 

Je  I'ai  vu  porter  en  terre 

Pv  quatrez'  officiers.  [ter. 

L*un  portait  son  grand  sabre, 
Mi  ron  ton,  ton  ton,  mi  ron  taine, 
L'un  portait  son  grand  sabre, 
L' autre  son  bouclier.  [/er. 


**  O  page,  pritliee^  oome  &ftfr 
"Wliat  news  do  joa  bring  of  your 

master? 
I  fear  there  is  some  disaster, 
if  our  looks  are  so  foil  of  woe.**  [ter. 

*'  The  newB  I  bring,  &ir  hdj^* 
With  sorrowful  accent  said  he^ 
*'  Is  one  you  are  not  ready 
So  soon,  alas  I  to  hear.  [ter. 

But  since  to  speak  Fm  hurried," 
Added  this  page,  quite  flunisd, 
**  Malbrouck  isdeadandburiedr*— 
(And  here  he  shed  a  tear.)     [ter, 

**  He's  dead !  he's  dead  as  a  hening! 
For  I  beheld  his  *  berrmg,' 
And  four  officers  transferrins 
His  coipse  away  from  tbefiela.[l0r. 

One  officer  carried  his  sabre, 
And  he  carried  it  not  without  la- 
bour. 
Much  envying  his  next  neighbour, 
Who  only  bore  a  shield.         [ter. 

The  third  was  helmet-bearer — 
That  helmet  which  on  its  wearer 
Filled  all  who  saw  with  terror, 
And  covered  a  hero's  brains,  [ter. 

Now,  having  got  so  far,  I 
Find  that  ^y  the  Lord  Hany !) 
The  fourth  is  left  nothing  to  carry ; 
So  there  the  thing  remains."  [ter. 


Le  troisi^me  son  casque, 
Mi  ron  ton,  ton  ton,  mi  ron  taine, 
Le  troisieme  son  casque. 
Panache  renvers^.  [ter, 

L' autre,  jene  s^ais  pas  bien. 
Mi  ron  ton,  ton  ton,  mi  ron  taine, 
L' autre,  je  ne  s^ais  pas  bien, 
Mais  je  crois  qu'il  ne  portait  rien. 

[ter. 

Such,  O  phlegmatic  inhabitants  of  these  countries !  is  the 
celebrated  funeral  song  of  Malbrouck.  It  is  what  we  would 
in  Ireland  call  a  keen  over  the  dead,  with  this  difference, 
that  the  lamented  deceased  is,  among  us,  generally  dead 
outright,  with  a  hole  in  his  skull ;  whereas  the  subject  of 
the  pathetic  elegy  of  "  Monsieur"  was,  at  the  time  of  its 
composition,  both  alive  and  kicking  all  before  him.  It  may 
not  be  uninteresting  to  learn,  that  both  the  tune  and  the 
words  were  composed  as  a  "  lullaby'*  to  set  the  infiint  Dau- 

•  Knrai  TlarpoKXof  vtKvot  ifi  afupifiaxovrai 

Vvfivov  arag  ra  yi  rivx^*  (X'^  KopwaioXoQ  *E«ra>p. 


a  to  tieep ;  and  that,  hariiig  aucceeileil  in  the  object  of 
ioporific  efficaoy,  the  poetesa  (for  Boine  make  Madame  de 
levign^  the  nuthoreaa  of  "  Malbrouek,"  ahe  beiug  a  sort  of 
L.  ^  L.  in  ber  day)  deemed  hiatorical  accuracy  a  minor 
eonsideration.  It  ia  a  fact,  that  this  tune  is  the  only  one 
nelished  by  the  South  Sea  islanders,  who  find  it  "  most 
musical,  moat  melancholy."  Chateaubriand,  in  his  l/ineraim 
it  Jtmtalfm,  eaya  the  air  was  brought  from  FatcBtiue  by 
(Vtuaders. 

!  have  just  given  a  war^ong,  or  a  luOaby,  I  shall 


luce  a  difiereot  subject,  to  avoid  mondlnny.  I  shall 
tberefore  give  the  poet  Bfranger's  lanious  ode  to  Dr.  Lard- 
nor,  concerning  his  Cyciopiedia.  The  occasion  which  gave 
fiee  to  thia  lyrical  effusion  was  the  recent  trip  of  I>ionyeiu9 
[lOrdDer  to  Paris,  and  hia  proposal  (conveyed  through  Dr. 
Bowring)  to  Be'ranger,  of  a  handsome  remuneration,  if  the 
wet  would  sing  or  say  a  good  word  about  his  "  Cabinet  Cyclo- 
»diii,"  which  Dr.  Bowrmg  translated  as  "aon  EncyclopSdie 
bs  Cabinets"  (iTauanet?)  Lardner  gave  the  poet  a  dinner 
1  the  strength  of  the  eipected  commendntorv  poem,  when 
le  following  song  vae  composed  after  the  third  bottle : 

VCftt  Ut  SamorltS.  CI)e  Sinntr  of  fBionpiiat. 

t'DsntocieaVept^ mt  hien  DOnnua.    0!  who  hsth  not  heard  of  theawonl 
En  mige  &  tablii  il  m'a  seoibU  In  which  old  Deiiuis 

TOir  !  HunB  ovpr  Ihc  head  of  B  Stoic  t 

menafnnto   et    And  how  tho  item  aage  bore  ih»t 

terrible  mmaoo 
for^nil  ik  m'lu-        WilJi  a  forlituda  not  quite  he- 
roic P 

fe  m'irruii  que   njon  deilin  a'a-   There's  ■  Dennis   the  "tjrant  of 
ch^Te—  CwUjI'"  hight, 

Igt  iMDpe  en  mnin,  am  dooi  bruit       (Most  innccrely  1  pity  his  Isdj, 

a»  ooacerM,  oh !) 

rieoi  Denia,  je  me  ni  de  tDn   Now  tbia  Deoni*  is  doomed  for  liis 
gljjVe,  aitis  to  indite 

l(  boiSi  Je  chiLDtf,  et  je  sifflo  tea       A  "Cubii^  Cjclopiediit." 

Qua  da  mfprit  U  hkiiu  ■UKoini   He  prcued  me  to  dine,  and   li« 

lie  aauTe !"  pUwd  on  mj  head 

:I>it  oa  pMant,  qui   roiupt  un  £1    Aaapproprintr 'arlandofpoppioi 

■  pr.  L.  tad  then  ■  bill  before  the  I/ord«  for  dirorra  from  bia  Bnt 
He,  Cecilia  Flood,  pitoa  of  >h>  aelchratiul  Iriah  orator. 


222  FATHBS  PBOUT*S  BXLIQiniS. 

Le  fer  pesant  tombe  ear  ma  tfftte  And,  lo !  from  the  oeiUiig  then 
chauTe,  hunff  hj  a  thread 

J*entendB  ces  mots,  ''Denia  s^ait  A  bale  of  unsaleable  copies. 

se  vcnger !"  •*  Puff  my  writings,"  he  cried,  **  or 
Me  YoUk  mort  et  poursuiTant  mon  your  skull  shall  be  crushed  I" 

r^ve —  '*  That  I  cannot,"  I  answered,  with 
La  coupe  en  main,  je  r^p^te  aux  honea^  flushed. 

enfers,  "Be   your    name    Dkmysius    or 
O  yieux  Denis,  je  me  ris  de  ton  Tfaad^,  ah  I 

glaive,  Old  Dennis,  my  boy,  though  I  were 
Je  bois,  je  chante,  et  je  siffle  tes  to  enjoy 

Ten!  But  one  glass  and  ons  song,  still 

one  laugh,  loud  and  long, 
I  should  hare  at  your  Cyclopcsdia." 

So  adieu,  Dr.  Lardner,  for  the  present,  ass  in  preatnti  ; 
and  turn  we  to  other  topics  of  song. 

The  eye  of  the  connoisseur  has  no  doubt  detected  sundry 
latent  indications  of  the  poet's  consummate  drollery ;  but 
it  is  in  ennobling  insignificant  subjects  by  reference  to  his- 
torical anecdote  and  classic  allegory,  th^t  the  delicate  tact 
and  singular  ability  of  Stranger  are  to  be  admired.     It  will 
be  in  the  recollection  of  those  who  have  read  the  accom- 
plished fabulist  of  Eome,  Phiedrus,  that  he  commends  Si- 
monides  of  Cos  for  his  stratagem,  when  hired  to  sing  the 
praise  of  some  obscure  candidate  for  the  honours  of  the 
Olympic  race- course.     The  bard,  finding  no  material  for 
verse  m  the  life  of  his  vulgar  hero,  launched  into  an  enco- 
mium on  Castor  and  Pollux,  twin-brothers  of  the  olden  turf. 
Beranger  thus  exemplifies  his  most  homely  subject  by  the 
admixture  of  Greek  and  Eoman  associations.     The  original 
is  rather  too  long  to  be  transcribed  here ;  and  as  my  trans- 
lation  is  not,  in  this  case,  a  literal  version,  the  less  it  is  oon^ 
fronted  with  its  prototype  the  better.     The  last  stanza  I  do 
not  pretend  to  understand  rightly,  so  I  put  it  at  the  bottoim 
of  the  page  in  a  note,*  supposing  that  my  readers  may  not 
be  so  blind  as  I  confess  I  am  concerning  this  intricate  and 
enigmatical  passage  of  the  ode. 

•  "  Diogene !  sous  ton  muiteau, 

Libre  et  content,  je  ris,  je  bois,  sans  gfine ; 

Libre  et  content,  je  roule  mon  tonneau ! 
Lauteme  en  main,  dans  TAthenes  modeme 

Chercher  un  homme  est  un  dessein  fort  beaut 
Mais  quand  le  soir  voit  briller  ma  lanteme^ 

C*est  aux  amours  qu*elle  sert  de  flambera.** 


jlnerding   to   Bfmngtr,    SmigiUr, 

My  dwelling  is  wnplc. 

And  I're  >«t  on  ciutiple 
For  all  lovers  of  nine  to  follow 

If  m;  homeyou  ihould  n»k, 

I  tiATe  drnin  d  out  a  ctwV, 

And  I  dwoU  ill  the  frsgrBut  holloul 

A  ditriple  am  I  o(  Dioficuw— 

0 '.  bin  tub  a  tnost  olauinJ  ludging  u ! 

'Tig  &  brautif ul  olcore  for  tbinking ; 

Tij,  besides,  b  cool  grotlo  for  drinking: 

MoreoTer,  the  piriBh  tiiron^iout 

You  Ban  mdilj  rail  it  sbont. 

0!  the  both 

For  a  lover  of  mirth 
To  rand  in  jokes,  and  to  lodge  in  case, 
Is  the  claancal  tub  of  Diogenes  ! 

In  poLtits  Tm  no  sdepl. 
And  into  idj  tub  when  f'Te  crept, 
Thej  may  huitms  in  »sb  for  my  voto. 
For  besides,  aflcr  all  the  great  cry  and  hubbub, 
KiroBU  gate  no  "  l«u  pound  franchise"  to  my  tub  i 

80  yonr  "  bill"  I  don  I  value  a  groat ! 
And  as  for  that  idol  of  filth  and  Tulgarily, 
Adomod  noH-a-days,  and  yulept  Populvity. 
To  mv  home 

Ind  my  hogrhead'a  bright  aperture  darken. 

Think  not  to  such  smnmonB  I'd  hearken. 

So  1  rd  say  to  that  ftoule  griiu  and  gaunt, 

Tile  plumtom,  avniint  I 

Get  thee  out  of  mv  iigbt ! 
Fur  thy  clumsy  opacity  sliul«  out  tbe  light 

Of  the  gay  elonous  tun 

From  my  ctasaical  tun, 
Where  a  hater  of  cant  and  a  lover  of  fiiii 
Rin  would  revel  in  mirth,  and  would  lodge  iii  .  j»i»-« 
The  claatical  tub  of  Diogenes '. 

In  the  park  of  St.  Cloud  there  stares  at  you 
A  pillar  or  statue 
or  my  litge,  the  philoaoplitr  cyuicol: 
tbav  he  itands  on  a  pianaclck 


And  hi*  Uotoni  ia  plKcd  on  the  ground, 

While,  with  hath  eje*  llicd  vboUj  on 

The  faTOurile  hmmt  of  Nspoloon,  

"  A  KUi  I"  be  exclaims,  *'  bj  Ibe  po«sTS,  I  haT»  taoaif 
But  for  iDfi,  nben  vt  eie  1  go  uuslertiig 
On  tlie  boiAerarda  of  Athene,  "  Love"  rarrw*  mj  Uiil<fs  | 
Aod.  egad  I  though  I  walk  moat  demuralf. 
For  ■  man  I'm  not  looking  full  lurolyi 
Naj,  I'm  louictunea  brouglit  drunk  hamc^ 
Like  hoQot  Jack  Keeve,  or  like  honest  Tom 
O I  the  nest 
For  a  loTsr  of  Joat 

To  nrrc^l  in  fun,  ruid  to  lo^  in  cmo, 

la  the  clwiii^al  tub  of  Diogenoa  i 


So  much  for  tlie  poet's  cftpsbilitjr  of  embellisliiDg  i 
18  vulgar,  by  the  raagif  wnnd  of  nntique  recoUccttona ; 
prU   eoaimunia  dieere,  ia   a   secret  as  rare   as  ever.       Wbei 
Hercules  took  a  distaff  )□  hfinil,  he  made  but  a  poor  HiinoetL 

and  broke  all  the  threads,  to  the  amuHement  of  bi«  n  "' 

BerBDger  would  have  gmrefully  gone  through  Mi 
minor  accomplishment,  at  the  same  time  that  the  « 
and  the  battle-axe  lost  nothiug  of  their  power  when  « 
by  hia  band.     Such  ia  the  versatility  of  genius ! 

Con  any  thing  compare  with  the  following  ode  flf  I 
»ery  songster  of  "  the  tub."  who  herein  shews  etriliuigly 
witii  what  facility  be  can  difersi^  his  style,  vary  his  U>at{ 
run  "  through  each  mood  wf  the  lyre,  a  master  in  all  T 


Oianmn,  1822. 
L'ASbrillait.. 

Chantdit  ke  divui  dana  la  Qrioe 
oublija  I 
Koua  compariona 

Quand  un  pigeon  Tint  a'ib«tlr« 


C^c  Caattt'Dobr  o(  Sl^tttf 

A  Dmm,  1821. 

&eln>  Ml  bf  m.*  DKlf^  mnA  I  hi 

To  hpT  tip  the  gsjr  cup  in  i 

Franco  ll      Wbm  a  bird  at  our  (bot  wa  ki 
I  ulkod  of  old  r 


Swrii  diooGTre 


1  billet  ■> 


And  bi*  wing  bore  ■  | 


n  lo   portait  T 
Boia  Qans  nia  coupe,  0  caenmftr 


""^aoos-iui  rite  et  force  rt  li- 

1     "w«, 

""  »filBqn.Bt  rempUm  le  roe»- 

*~l-il   d'uiiour    parler    k   la 

^''^lle  il  porto  Bu  Did  qui  le 

f   *»ppd]e 

"*•  dmuera  toui  d'infurtuaib 

**  dnu  ma  coupe,  0  meuiueeF 

^  don  CD  pux  <ur  le  spin  de 

'U  da  billet  qurlqupi  moli  me 

tanlrroliv 
Qu'il  (•!  en  Fruioe  i  dra  Gi'oi.-* 
-      >|>l>ort/i 

i*}  Ticst  d'AlliJDiu  i  il  doit  puler 
d<el0ir«i 
"l*-fcdonc  par  drotl  de  pft- 

«  cat  Viini .'"  Ami*,  quelle 
DTellcI 
wdvUvHen  tout-t-coup  re- 


el de 


OF  fUANCB.  23S 

Thou  trt  tired— real  awhile,  and 

Thira  ilialt  «oar,  with  new  etiergT 
thrilling. 
To  the  Und  ol  that  tar-otttait  unr.-, 


ir  91 


flllinci 


I  ful- 


But  perhape  thou  dost  waft  (bu 

Of  dcvpiir,  wrong  from  ralour 
and  dutj — 
Then  dfink  of  my  cup,  tamer- 


bird! 
And   t\epp  oil 


I     b09O! 


ol 


a  are  from  Orre™! 


And  a  Viaiman  will  brook  no 
reltual. 
"  OreeceU/ret,'"  all  the  godi  Lare 

To  fill  up  our  joy'a  brimnjiug 

O  drink  of  my  C'lp,  pnrrisr  bird: 
And  Bleep  on  thi>  hosoin  of  Pleo- 


MtHbre!  Ab  t  biiTona  &  la 

la  de  DOUTesux  demi- 

n  lain,  Iremblante  de 

Il  cm  atu  Js  gloriem, 
lainaueun!  AthAne>,tou- 

plua  rouie  >u  colto  dea 

a  coupe.  0  mouagrr 


Greece  is  free !  Let  uB  dnuk  lolhnt 

To  our  elders  in  fame '.    Did  ye 

Thns  to  Blruggle  alone,  glorioin 

Froui  whose  aires  we  our  free- 
dom inherit? 
The   old   iilotia,   which    kiu|;i 
would  desl.roj, 

Greece  regaini,  nerer,  never  (o 


rATtl£H  PBOUT  B  BBUQOSS. 


Jlhine  fl  libre  I  0,  man)  dw  Pin- 
Bopryndi  Ion  ie«p(tv,et  Uljre, 


Athiiw  est  tibre,  en 
Albinf  est  Itbre. 


Buis  duiB 
flilMe 
Etdgraenpiii 


df  pit  do  bar- 

ta  dopit  dc  nuf 

uo  l'uniTer9toujour9,iiiitruitiHr 

BelrouTO  encore  Alb&nes  duii 
Foria— 

ooupe,  0  meuager 

deNerLs. 

Beau  TOTAgcuT  du  pajs  dss  Hcl- 

lin», 
B£p<w«-t4i  I    piii*    Tole    k    tea 

unoun  I 
Vole,    et    bientAt,   report^    daiit 

AtilfalH, 

Retieni  brsier  et  tjmns  et  tiq- 

A  tanl  du  roil  dont  le  trAoe  cIi&d- 

D'un  peuple  liljro  apporte  en- 

BoiB  duu  nm  coupe,  O  mstakg-er 
fidelel 

EtdortenptixmrloKiiidsNvri*. 
After  this  specimen  of  Scrangcr's  poetic  {lower*  in 
BentitneDtal  line,  I  shall  lake  le&ve  of  tiini  for  the  mnati 
of  this  chapter  ;  promisine,  howeirer,  to  liniw  largvlr  oa 
inexbauBtible  exchequer  wlien  next  I  levy  my  cantnhvt 
no  the  French.  But  I  cftnnut  get  out  of  thin  kSdm) 
delicate  mood  of  auotations  without  indulgjiie  in  Iha  )ai 
of  oue  more  ballna,  an  exquisite  one,  from  toe  pen  rfa 


e  of  AUiouI  Aj  \jt%  a 


GtT«  Aiucreau  Joj  in  hi*  to^b. 

Andgladdm  the  aiiitt  of  Phw 

Helen!  fold  that bri^l bM  to M 


!>  drink  or  mj  rup,  irinnil  gMri 
And   (Imp   od   tlio   boaOBi  < 


Bill  no,  ho  Diuit  hie  to  hi*  . 

To  the  neat  when  hii  In^* 

Soon  ■«>■»   to  our  diaat 

The  young  gloriea  of  AU 

The  bxeiMU  of  king*  lo  m 
To  blnih  our  tila  mlv 
palling  !— 
Then  drink  of  ni;  goblal,  O  dors 
And  tleep  on  the  bnaat     * 
Helen." 


favourite 


lillev< 


i  promise,  m  earl 


.ye.     Vq 
rV  life : 


Poor  young  fellow  I  he  die* 
id  these  are  the  lut  lia 


bund  tracedon  pnper.a  few  days  before  he  expired : 
village  of  Neuilly.  near  Pans,  whither  be  had  b 
iy  tiie  pbjaician,  in  hopea  of  prolonging,  by  oountiy  ■ 
me  to  dear  to  the  Miuea,     Listen  to  the  notes  uf  tbe  ■' 

o  remind  Unit 

of  Ihii  wntf  &om  AoMnoii'i 
■.  ode  16,  U»kU  mJ.  r»Ut-)—V 


TH£  sosoa  or  teakce. 


I  pour  SSloi.    ISomantr. 

.V™%  Octoire,  1S20. 

I>  (aiitoira  bourgade, 
Sennt  i  te»  maul  trutement, 


"K  "  Qmii  <ie  U  chsoiniSre, 

ITumre  de  la  priire, 

]t  tiutcmcnt  aa  be&oi ; 

'<u  fia  pTui,  prioi  ptnii  moi  I 


quind  vou*  Terra  1>  caacsde 
VoDbragsTdesambreirsmeaux, 
'«•  diret,  •  Le  jeuno  mkUde 
.  *«  iMIiirt  da  loue  ses  m«ul.' 
™»  ntimM  >ur  cetle  rivt^ 
'™'>«'  U  oatqplunto  ii»i»e, 
A  fiud  tinlcn  le  bcfrot, 
'  u  ^  priea,  pDM  poujr  EDoi  I 


By  Millecayt,  on  Jiit  Deolh-b, 


I  At  y 


milly. 


Sileut,  remote,  this  hunlet  semiu — 
Hon  hush'd  the  breeze  !  the  ere 

Light  ihrougti  mj  dying  ijiucber 

But  hope  comes  not,  OOr  heal- 

Kind  rillogere !   Qod  ble»  jqix* 

Hark !  'tis  for  prajcr — the  even- 
ing boU— 
Ob,  sU;  fuid  1 
Moidim,  for  r 


■r  mj  dinnK  t>^- 
jour  roaarj  lull ! 

Wben  IcBTCs  ahall  itrew  the  wikt«r- 


Tho  pangs  and  wo  he  siUTered 


<loi(i[Ntf;ne,  ma  aeule  amie, 
Mmobjrtd'  un  constant  amou 

Ml  jeneris  qu'uBJour! 
IW-U,  gou  de  ^a  chaumii^, 
IB.  1 1'beure  do  la  pri^ 
^  limdn  aou*  Ic  bcfroi ; 
u  qui  priei,  priei  pour  moi!" 


Somaj^e  «p«ak  ofliim  that's  gone; 

But  wboQ  jour  belfrj  lolls  mj 
knell, 
Prajfor  the  soul  of  that  lost  one — 

Maiden,  tor  roe  jour  rosarj  tell ! 

Oh  !  pity  htr,  in  sable  robe, 

Who  to  m  J  grasBj  grsve  will  come: 
Nor  seek  aludden  wound  to  probe — 


'TwBs  but  a  daj !— God'awQl  !- 


iple,  unstfected.  this  ia  true  poetry,  and  goes  to  the 

One  boUod  like  the  foregoing  is  worth  a  curt-load  'it 

\t  elegicB,  nionodiea,  aoUIoquiea,  and  "  bards'  le^- 

"     Apropos  of  melodiea,  I  just  now  recollect  one  in 

'■  own  style,  which  it  wnold  be  a  pity  to  keep  from  him 

uie  tiim  tbe  troublf  of  appropriating  it  J  haye  done  the 

«2 


228 


FATHSB  PSOUT'S   BSLIQITSt. 


job ;  and  it  maj  challenge  competition  with  his  best  eomee 
and  most  far-fetched  similes.  It  is  from  an  old  troubado 
called  Pierre  Eonsard,  from  whom  he  has  picked  up  man; 
pood  thing  ere  now. 


le  liable. 


V^i  Aour^latfK. 


La  poudre  qui  dans  oe  cristal  Dear  Tom,  d*ye  see  the  rill 
Le  cours  des  heuree  nous  retrace^       Of  sand  within  this  phial  ? 

Lorsque  dans  un  petit  canal  It  runs  like  in  a  mill, 
Souvent  elle  passe  et  repasse.  And  tells  time  like  a  diaL 

Fut  Ronsard,qui,  un  jour,  morbleu!  That  sand  waa  once  Bonsard, 
Par  les  beaux  yeuxde  saClytandre       Till  Bessy  D***  look*d  at  hir 

Soudain  fiit  tnmsform^  en  feu,  Her  eye  burnt  up  the  bard — 
£t  il  n'en  reste  que  la  oendre.  He*s  pulverised !  an  atom  ! 


Cendre !  qui  ne  t'arretes  jamais, 
Tu  t^moigneras  une  chose, 

(Test  qu'ayant  yu  de  tels  attraits, 
Le  ccBur  onqu^  ne  repose. 


Now  at  this  tale  so  horrid. 
Pray  leam  to  keep  your  smile  h 

For  Bessy's  zone  is  "  torrid," 
And  fire  is  in  her  eyeHd.t 


Who,  after  this  sample  of  French  gallantry,  wOl  refui 
to  that  merry  nation  the  sceptre  of  supremacy  in  the  dt 
partment  of  love-songs  ?  Indeed,  the  language  of  polit 
courtship  is  so  redolent  among  us  of  French  origin,  that  tb 
thing  speaks  for  itself.  The  servant-maid  in  the  court  c 
Pilate  found  out  Peter  to  be  from  Galilee  by  his  accent 
and  so  is  the  dialect  of  genuine  Ghiul  ever  recognized  b 
the  fair.  Petits  soins — air  distinguS^faite  au  tour — natvet 
— billet  doux — affaire  de  ccsur — boudoir,  &c.  &c.,  and  a  thou 
sand  other  expressions,  have  crept,  in  spite  of  us,  into  oa 

*  A  gipsy  had  cautioned  M.  de  la  Mothe  Yayer  against  going  to 
near  a  dyke ;  but  in  defiance  of  the  prophecy  he  married  a  dnnouell 
De  la  Fosse : 

'*  In  foved  qui  te  moriturum  dixit  haruspex 
Non  mentitus  erat ;  conjugis  ilia  fuit  P*  0.  T. 

t  Bonsard  has  no  claim  to  this  ingenious  concetto :  it  is  to  be  foniu 
among  the  poems  of  Jerome  Amalthi,  who  flourished  in  the  14th  century 

"  Perspicuo  in  vitro  pulvis  qui  dividit  boras, 

£t  vagus  angustum  sspe  recurrit  iter, 
Olim  erat  Alcippus,  qui,  Qallse  ut  vidit  ooellos, 

Arsit,  et  est  cssco  factus  ab  igne  cinis. 
Irrequiete  cinis  !  miserum  testobere 

More  tuo  nuM  posse  quiete  froL*' 


'■  I 


WtT-day  uaage.*  It  was  so  with  the  Boiloiib  in  refereute 
9  Ortti,  the  favourite  conversational  vehicle  of  gallantry 
mong  the  lonogers  along  the  f'ia  Satra .-  at  least  we  have 
to  any  nothing  of  Juvenal)  the  authority  of  that  eicellent 
ritie,  QuintilJau,  who  informs  us  that  hia  coutemporories, 
Boimeta  to  the  Roman  ladies,  stuffed  their  versea 
with  Greek  terms.  I  think  hia  words  are :  "  Tanto  eat 
■ermo  GrtccuB  Latino  jucundior,  ut  noatri  poetae,  quoties 
carmen  dulce  esse  voluerunt,  iilonim  id  nominibua  eior- 
Dent."  (Quint.  lii.  cap.  10,  sec.  33.)  And  again,  in  another 
paasage,  be  aap  (lib.  s.  cap.  1),  "  Ita  ut  mibi  sermo  Bo- 
numna  non  recipere  videatur  ilium  solia  conceasam  Atticis 
Venerem."  Thia  is  the  Amxti  ^Xstoj,  AristophaDeB  (Xubet, 
176).  Addifon,  in  his  "Spectator,"  complaina  of  the 
Tvst  number  of  military  terms  imported,  during  the  Marl- 
orough  compai^nB,  from  the  fighting  dictionary  of  France  : 
hv  infiuz  of  tbui  alang  he  conaidered  oe  a  great  diagrace  to 
is  fellow-countrymen,  a  humiliftting  badge  oj'  foreign  con- 
gest not  to  be  tolerated.  Nevertheless,  checaux  lU  fri»» — 
wrt  d»  combat — itiiU  lie  camp — di/M — ttat  major^irigade — 
nd  a  host  uf  other  locutions,  have  taken  such  root  iu  our 
oil.  Xhnt  it  were  vain  to  murmur  at  the  circumstance  of 
lieir  foreign  grovrth. 
By  war  of  repriaols,  since  we  have  inflicted  on  them  our 
'  ~)t  of  steamboat  and  railway  nomenclature,  I  think  it  but 
I  make  some  compensation  to  the  French  for  all  the  sen- 
bnentftl  niattera  derived  from  their  vocabulary ;  and  I  there- 
'm  conclude  this  first  esaay  on  their  Songs  by  giving  them 
■[)«cimen  of  our  own  love-ditties,  translated  as  well  aa 
ly  old  bund  can  render  the  voung  feelings  of  ]>a8alouate 
Ddrnraicnt  into  appropriate  I^'hencb  eipreasiou: 

HoffiKtns  QQaHt.  Sbbt  Irr  prout. 

rt  me  bf  Bioonlight  ilone.  Vii'iia  nil   boaquct,  m  aoir,  wni 

■     '"     "  '  '  fi^Diotn, 

Dnna  le  volkiD,  >u  e\aa  de  In 

In  (be  gnm  al  tho  rod  of  lluj      Ce  quo  Ton  t'j  dim  n"a  beioin 
nie.  Hi  dB  jour  ni  d'oraiUe  impor- 

*  la  Kinj  J«nr*  I.'i  reign  ■  Latin  plir,  ruacted  tX  W»tniin<tcr 
Aool,  ha*  ID  iLe  prolot(ui).  ''  Hi*  babcai  /michun  <]uA  iiouii  tiuiiTit 


Dmnemberlbe 
For  though  dntrlj  this  moon- 
light I  prilu, 
oare  not  for  >U  in  th»  air. 
If  I   w&nt  tho   awKt  light  cf 
thine  eyes- 
Then  meet  me  bj 


D«ligh(  mi  made  for  the  b*7i 

For  the  thoughtlnB,  the  heui- 
Isu,  the  free ; 
Hilt  there'i  aomething  about  tli» 

That  a  desreF  to  jon,  love,  and 

OhI  be  >ure  to  be  there !  for  I  raid 

I  would   ihow  to    the    nlght- 

flowerv  their  queen. 

rfar,  turn  not  slide    that  (weet 

head— 

"Til  the  binst  tiiat  erer  waa 


7ATREB  FROUT'b    nRl.lqUKt. 

to  be  there;       Mail    imrtout    rcndi-lj 
IniUir. 
C^  la  lii<.«  a  bi«i  xa 


Que  IV 
DeU 


Soil 


•□r  D'n.  i.^a  riiij>  jiiliir 

inguuHiite  ]iau|>ii:n'. 
bc>a<|iiet  au  catr  lit  la 


Pour  lea  com  aana  amour  it  ^ou 
luit, 
Le  aoleil  auz  ftotds  pouan  pri 

M^  ta  pal0  clart^  do  1ft  Most 
FaTOHM  I'amant  (t  b  giilil» 

Let  Bean  que  *on  diaqna  urfMih 
Colore,  en  lo'    — — ■  ' '- 


oonlight 


If  on  Englieh  love-song  caji  be  bo  easUy  rendered  Into  tl 
plastic  language  of  France  hj  one  to  whom  that  flexible  m 
hjumonioue  idiom  was  not  naline  (though  hotpUal 
must  be  it«  fiLpabilitiea  in  the  iiitnda  of  those  a 
the  Gallic  lyre,  Victor  Hugo,  Lnniartinf,  Chat«i 
Oelavigne,  and  Bi'ranger  P  To  their  etTuaiouH  I  a' 
dedicate  a  few  mure  papers  ;  Dor  oau  1  imagine  a 


pursuit  better  calculated  to  be^uilt 
Stable  bahiun,  the  winter-eTeninn 


ble  bahiun,  the  winter-eTeninga  that  are  approKbing. 


«HS  SOirSS   OS  VOANCK. 


TB£  80MGS   OF    FRAKC 


□  ES,    PniLOBOPlir, 


Chapter  11. — Womex  a.nd  "Wooden  Shoes. 


SaUaU 


Som. 


Cool  shade  la  tiuomer'B  haout,  flreaide  NDTcnilier'i; 
The  red  red  roee  Iheti  yields  to  glowing  embera  ; 
Etchings  b;  Daa  MscUm  iJien  place  before  ust 
Dmwinei  of  Cork !  to  aid  Prout'i  Oallic  ahoru*. 

*  O.T. 

«  thii  gloomy  mouth  our  brethren  of  the  "  brond  sheet," 
jl^igiied  to  the  anticipated  caaiialtieB  of  the  seaaon,  keep 
W  them,  ia  stereotype,  announcements  which  never  fail  to 
*  put  in  requisition ;  viz.  "  Death  by  Drowning,"  "  Ei- 
F*ordiiuiry  Fog,"  "  Mehincholy  Suicide,"  "  Peto  de  fle," 
^ti  dolefiil  hc.idingB  borrowed  from  Young's  "  Jiigbt 
flioughts,"  Ovid'a  "  TriBtia,"  Hervey  on  Tombs,  and  Zim- 
Otmum  on  Solitude.  There  is  much  punctuality  in  this 
taiirence  of  the  oationol  dismals.  Long  ago,  Guy  Faux 
maidenitely  selected  the  fifth  of  November  for  despatch- 
g  the  stupid  and  unreformed  senators  of  Great  Britain  ; 
>  cold  and  comfortless  a  month  being  the  most  acceptable, 
(  thonght.  that  could  he  chosen  for  wurming  tLeir  ho- 
Minble  house  with  a  few  seasonable  faggots  and  barrels 
'  gunpowder.  Philanthropic  citizen !  Neither  he  nor  Sir 
lUiuu  Congreve,  of  rocket  celebrity — nor  Friar  Bacon, 
«  original  concocter  of  "villanous  saltpetre" — nor  Parson 
ilJthus,  the  patentee  of  the  "  oreventive  check"  —  nor 
Eon  Swift,  the  author  of  "  A  Modest  Propositi  for  turning 
to  Salt  IVovisions  the  Offspring  of  the  Irish  Poor" — nor 
tougbara,  the  origioalor  of  the  new  ref/irm  in  the  poor 


FATBER   PBOrX  8    BStlQVES. 


oaA  thp  stanch  opponent  of  any  ^ 
tributariea — will  ever  meet  their  reward  in  this  world,  oof 
eveu  be  appreciated  nr  understood  by  their  blind  tad  un- 
grateful lellow-countrymen.  Happily,  howpTer.  for  kmd* 
of  the  above-montioned  worthiea,  there  is  a  warm  tmrnrr 
reaened.  if  not  iu  Westminster  Abbey,  mn*t  (.■nrlainljr  in 
"another  place-,"  where  alone  (God  forgive  ub!),wq  in- 
cline to  think,  their  inerita  caa  be  suitably  acknowledged. 

Sorrowful,  indeed,  would  be  the  condition  of  maukiod. 
if,  in  addition  to  other  sources  of  aiiblunary  desolation  OTcr 
which  we  have  no  control,  Fathpr  Trout  were,  like  tha  mo, 
to  obnubUate  his  disk,  and  witbdmw  the  light  of  hia  cuan- 
tenance  from  a  disconsolate  world  : 


Then,  indeed,  would  unmitigated  darhuoss  thicken  thv  al- 
ready "  palpable''  obscure ;  dtdness  plnce  another  pMl-"  Lock 
on  the  human  understandiog,"  and  knowledge  be  at  oar 
grand  entrance  fairly  shut  out.  But  such  "disaatroua 
twiligbt"  shall  nut  befall  our  planet,  as  long  u  there  » 
MS.  in  "  the  chest "  or  shot  in  the  looker.     Generatioai 

J'et  unborn  shall  walk  in  the  blaze  of  ProuL'a  wiftjutn,uul  tlw 
earned  of  our  own  day  shall  sliil  continue  to  light  lb*  pipe 
of  knowledge  at  the  focus  of  this  luminary-  So  eaaetiliAl 
do  we  deem  tlie  continuance  of  hia  essays  to  the  happiiusa 
of  our  contempornriea,  that  were  we  {juoJ  Itria  avrrtmt .') 
to  put  a  atop  to  our  accuHtonied  issues  of  "  Prom  paper." 
forgeries  would  instantly  got  into  circulation :  a  faUe  PAper 
currency  would  be  att^^-mpted ;  there  would  arisr  ^n^ 
Fronts :  but  they  would  dccttive  no  one,  much  lens  tA<  tttet. 
Farina  of  Cologne  is  obliged  to  caution  the  public,  io  tht 
envelope  of  bia  long  buttles,  against  spurious  distUlattniw 
of  his  wonderful  water:  "Rowland,"  of  llatlon  Oardfio, 
finds  more  than  one  "Oliver"  vending  a  muutrrfcit  "M»- 
caeaor."  We  give  notice,  that  no  "  Proul  paper"  is  tba 
real  thing  unless  with  label  signed  "Ouveb  Youkm." 
There  is  a  liridgewat«r  Treatise  in  eirculatiou,  said  to  b« 
from  the  pen  of  one  Doctor  Prout ;  tia  a  •hwr  hoax.  An 
arfiil  has  also  taken  up  the  nntne ;  but  he  Diust  bo  ao  in> 


THE   SONoa   OF   lEANCE. 


■,  not  known  on  Watergrasaliill.  Owing  to  the 
Kaf  celibacy,  "Ibe  Fntiier"  I'un  liuvu  left  beliind  him 
c1ii]divn,  or  posterity  wbatever ;  therefore,  none  but  himself 
can  hope  to  be  bis  parallel.  We  are  perfectly  aware  that 
he  mnv  have  "nephewa,"  and  othET  collateral  descend  an  te ; 
,  for  we  admit  the  truth  of  that  celebrated  placard,  or  lam- 
I,  stuck  on  PaaqLiin'a  statue  in  the  reign  of  Pope  Bor- 
^eae  (Paul  IV,): 

"  CFtni  lactor  remin  priraret  leDiine  clerum. 
In  SpitdtiB  TOliun  tucceuit  turb«  nepolim  !" — i.  *, 
*Of  bantlingi  vlim  our  clernrmen  were  freed  from  hsring  berin, 
IWe  neic  bhuo,  a  crowd  ««o«,  a  maltitude  of  ngvi'a  I" 

But  should  any  audacious  tbief  attempt  to  palm  himeelf 

••  a  Bun  of  this  venerable  pastor,  let  hitn  look  sharp!  for 

T«rry  Callagban.  who  ia  now  in  the  London  police  (through 

tbe  patronage  of  Feargua  O'Connor),  will  quickly  cflllnr  tbe 

iffian  in  the  roost  inatceflBible  gnrret  of  Grub  Street :  to 

rofaoe  80  respectable  a  signature,  the  fellow  must  be  what 

_ie(Ty  qlUs  "  a  bad  miinber  intirelv  ;"  ivhat  we  English  call 

li  •'jail-bird  ;"  what  the  Frencli  denominate  a  "  f rai  gibier 

**  grive  i"  termed  in  Latin,  "  eorvus  paiiiiuluriai  "  and  by 

the  Greeks,  xxmu  xtgaxat  xaxat  ailt. 

Wo  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  a  communi cation, 
rpferrinc  to  our  "  Songs  of  IVance,"  from  the  pen  of  the  fateti- 
ftut  kniglit.  Sir  Charles  Wetherell.  Great  men's  peculiarities 
■ttnirt  no  small  share  of  public  attention  ;  thua,  rx.  gr.  Jfa- 

Coleco'a  method  of  plunging  his  fure-finger  and  thumb  into 
ia  waIst<roat  pocket,  in  lieu  of  a  snuff-box,  was  tbe  subject 
of  much  European  cnmrnenlarr:  and  one  of  tbe  twelve 
Cffwn  wa«  nicknamed  Caligula  inim  a  peculiar  sort  of  Wel- 
lington boi^t  which  he  batipencd  to  fancy.  {Sucl.  m  cil/l.) 
** — e  poet  has  uotaerupled  to  notice  a  ftiuture  in  our  learned 
uidenl'a  habiliment,  alating  hiui  lo  be 

"  Much  fiuned  for  length  of  lound  tngacioui  tpeedie^, 
lion  alii!  for  brevitj  of  bPBceli™  b        ^" 
t  nnttrr  not  (]uil«  irrelevaut  to  the  topic  on  which  Sir 
Cbttrl>«  ha*  faTOured  ub  with  a  line. 

■'  ^it-la-aapellr,  Oclotrr  7. 
"  Dbaa  Tobkk, 

"  I'»e  jnat  been  her«  paying  my  Jevotiona  to 
tbe  tonib  of  Cbarlemngne,  and  on  my  return  to  my  hotel  1 


?^^1 


234  FATHEB  PB0IJT*8   SBLIQTTEB. 

find  your  laat  number  on  my  table.  "What  the  deuce  do 
you  mean  by  giving  a  new  and  unheard-of  verBion  of  the 
excellent  song  on  "  Le  bon  Eoy  Dagobert,"  who,  you  say, 
"  avait  mis  sa  culotte  d,  Venven  ;*'  whereas  all  good  editions 
read  "  de  trovers ;"  which  is  quite  a  different  sense,  tectio 
longh  emendatior ;  for  he  wore  the  garment,  not  inside  out, 
but  wronff  side  foremost.  Again,  it  was  not  of  Australesia  that 
he  was  lung,  but  of  "  Gbdlia  braccata."  Pray  avoid  similar 
blunders.  "  Yours  in  haste, 

"  C.  W." 

Wishing  him  a  pleasant  tour  through  the  Germanic  con- 
federation, and  hoping  it  may  be  long  ere  he  reach  that  goal 
of  all  human  pilgrimage,  the  diet  of  Worms,  we  bow  to  the 
baronet's  opinion,  and  stand  corrected. 

OLIVER  YOEKE. 

Nov,  Itt,  1834. 


Watergratthilt^  Nov,  1833. 

''  Ille  ego  qui  quondam,"  is  a  formula,  first  used  to  con- 
nect the  epic  coutos  of  the  iEneid  with  a  far  more  irre- 
proachable poem,  its  agricultural  predecessor.  Virgil  (like 
Lord  Althorp  when  he  thinks  posterity  will  fomve  his 
political  blunders  in  consideration  of  ms  breed  oi  cattle) 
sought  to  bolster  up  the  imperfections  of  his  heroic  cha- 
racters by  a  reference  to  the  unexceptionable  Meliboeus, 
and  to  that  excellent  old  Cdabrian  fisurmer  whose  bees 
hummed  so  tunefuUy  under  the  "  lofty  towers  of  (Ebalia.** 
Now,  in  referring  to  a  previous  paper  on  the  "Songs  of 
France,"  my  object  is  not  similar.  Unknown  to  my  con- 
temporaries, it  is  when  I  am  mouldering  in  the  quiet  tomb 
where  my  rustic  parishioners  shall  have  laid  me,  that  these 
papers  will  start  into  life,  and  bask  in  the  blaze  of  publi- 
city. Some  paternal  publisher — perchance  some  maternal 
magazine — will  perhaps  take  charge  of  the  deposit,  and 
hatch  my  eggs  with  successful  incubation.  But  let  thm  be 
care  f  akeu  to  keep  each  batch  separate,  and  each  brood  dis- 
tinct.   The  French  heu^s  family  should  not  be  mixed  up  with 


THE    SOKOB   OF   FBAKCE.  23''! 

tbe  chickens  of  the  Jtfwcocy  rfiicA,-  and  each  series  should 
bo  categorically  arranged,  "  Series  juncturaque  poUet" 
(Kor.)  For  instance :  the  present  essay  ought  to  couie 
aft«r  one  bearing  the  date  of  "  October,"  and  containing 
•ones  about  "  wine ;"  such  topic  being  appropriate  to  that 
mellow  month,  which,  from  time  immemorial  (no  doubt  be- 
cause it  rhymes  with  "  sober"),  baa  been  set  apart  for  jolli- 
fication.    The  Qermane  call  it  "  weinmonath." 

These  effusions  are  the  offspring  of  my  leisure  j  nor  do  I 
see  any  cause  why  such  hoars  should  be  refused  to  the  pur- 
suits of  literature.  The  sonnets  of  Francis  Petrarca  were 
not  deemed  a  high  miBdemeanour  at  the  papal  court  of 
Arignon,  though  written  by  an  archdeacon.  Nor  was  Vida 
s  worse  bishop  in  his  diocese  of  Albi,  for  having  sung  tbe 
ntk-worm  ("  Bombyces,"  BSle,  1537),  and  the  game  of  chess 
("  Schiaccia  Ludus,"  fioraae,  1627).  Yet  I  doubt  not  that 
tbere  may  be  found,  when  I  am  dead,  in  some  paltry  pro- 
fincial  circle,  creatures  without  brains,  who  will  stigmatize 

L  nv  writiDga,  aa  unbefitting  tbe  character  of  an  aged  priest. 

I  Tbeir  short-sightedness  1  deplore,  their  rancorous  malevo- 

■  Iroca  I  contemplate  not  in  anger,  but  in  sorrow.     I  divest 
niyself  of  all  community  of  feeling  with  such  people.     I 
t  them  off!     When  a  snake  iu  the  island  of  Malta  en- 
i  itself  round  the  ann  of  Paul,  with  intent  to  sting 

e  teacher  of  the  Gentiles,  he  gentlv  shook  the  viper  from 

l^is  irriat;  and  was  not  to  blame  if  the  reptile  fell  into  tbe 

■■Tre. 

To  rehim  to  the  interesting  subject  of  literary  researches. 

iTnl]  gladly  do  I  resume  the  pleasant  theme,  and  launch  my 

Iftmple  akiff  on  the  wide  expanse  of  song — 

"  OucB  more  upon  tliB  watera  j  yofl,  once  more  V 

tThe  minatreiay  of  France  is  happily  inexhauBtible,  The 
■dmirera  of  what  is  delicate  in  thought,  or  poliahed  in  ex- 
prCflsion,  will  need  no  apology  for  drawing  their  attention 
to  these  exquisite  trifles :  and  the  student  of  general  litera- 
ture will  acknowledge  the  connecting-link  which  uoitea, 
thongh  iinaeeD,  the  most  apparently  remote  and  seemingly 
(Huimilar  departments  of  humaa  knowledge.  "  Omuea 
enim  artes.  qu»  ad  humanitatem  pertinent,  habent  quoddam 

f  Knninnne  vinculum,"  saya  Cicero.    B'lt  in  tbe  present  case 


286  i'ATHEB  PBOUT*S  BSLIQITSS. 

the  link  is  one  of  positive  consanguinit;^.  To  what  dass  of 
readers,  since  the  conquest  of  this  fair  island  and  its  unfor- 
tunate sister  hy  the  chivalrous  Normans,  can  the  songs  of 
that  gallant  race  of  noble  marauders  and  glorious  pirat^  be 
without  thrilling  interest  ?  Not  to  relish  such  specimens  of 
spirit-stirring  poesy,  the  besotted  native  must  be  only  fit  to 
lierd  among  swine,  with  the  collar  round  his  neck,  like  the 
Saxon  serf  of  Cedric ;  or  else  be  a  superficial  idiot,  like 
"  Wamba,  the  son  of  Wit-less  the  jester."  Selecting  one 
class  of  the  educated  public,  by  way  of  exemplification, 
where  all  are  concerned, — the  Bar, — the  language  of  France 
and  her  troubadours  cometh  in  the  character  of  a  profes- 
sional requirement.  By  submitting  to  their  perusal  these 
ballads,  I  shall,  mayhap,  reconcile  them  to  the  many  tedious 
hours  they  are  doomed  to  spend  in  conning  over  what  must 
otherwise  appear  the  semi-barbarous  terms  of  jurisprudence 
bequeathed  by  William  le  Eoux  with  the  very  structure  of 
his  Hall,  and  coeval  with  its  oak  roof  and  its  cobwebs.  In 
reference  to  the  Gullic  origin  of  our  law  and  its  idiom,  it 
was  Juvenal  who  wrote  (Sat.  XV,  v.  110) — 

'*  Gallia  cauflidioos  docuit  facunda  Britannos  :** 

furnishing  an  incontestable  proof  that  poetry  akin  to  pro- 
phecy, with  "  eye  in  a  fine  frenzy  rolling,"  can  discover  the 
most  improbable  future  event  in  the  womb  of  time. 

A  knowledge  of  the  ancient  vocabulary  of  France  is  ad- 
mitted to  be  of  high  importance  in  the  perusal  of  our  early 
writers  on  history,  as  well  as  on  legislation :  in  poetry  and 
prose,  as  well  as  in  Chancery  and  Doctors*  Commons.  An 
old  son^  has  been  found  of  consequence  in  elucidating  a 
disputed  construction ;  and,  in  point  of  fact,  the  only  title- 
deed  the  Grenoese  can  put  forward  to  claim  the  invention  of 
the  mariners'  compass  is  the  lay  of  a  French  troubadour.* 
Few  are  aware  to  what  extent  the  volatile  literature  of  our 
merry  neighbours  has  pervaded  the  mass  of  British  author- 
ship, and  by  what  secret  influences  of  imitation  and  of  re- 
miniscence the  spirit  of  Norman  song  has  flitted  through  the 
conquered  island  of  Britain.   From  GeoflTrey  Chaucer  to  Tom 

•  A  ballad,  "  La  Bible,"  from  the  pen  of  Guyot  de  Provius,  dated 
A.D.  1190,  and  commencing,  **  De  nostre  p^re  rapostoile."  It  it  a  pM* 
quinade  against  the  court  of  Borne. 


Moore  (a  ruBt  intenal !},  thare  is  not  one,  save  the  immortal 
Hhiikosp^are  perhaps,  wLoee  writingB  do  not  betray  the 
eerret  workiug  of  thia  foreign  esecnce,  miied  up  witn  the 
irrude  iiiati^riBl  of  Saion  growth,  and  cauaiog  a  sort  of  gentle 
fermentation.  Take  Oliver  Goldsmith,  whom  every  critic 
nils  an  emintntly  Bnijlith  writer  of  undoubted  originality  ; 
now  place  in  juxtaposition  with  an  old  Frejich  song  bis 
"  Elegj-  on  a  Mad  Dog,"  and  the  "  Panegyric  of  Mrs.  Mary 
Blaze,"  and  judge  for  yourself: 


3oni«ntiti). 


fit  la  fHonnof r. 


Good  peojilp  nli,  of  every  sort,  Mossires,  voiu  plniiit-il  d'olilr, 

OiTH  ear  unto  mv  song,  L'air  du  fameui  La  Pnliuc? 

An'I  if  7011  find  it  wondroiu  ihon,  II  [lonmi  vi 

It  (nuinot  hold  )on  long.  " 


In  t^inglon  thM^  lived  a  mui, 
Of  vbom  the  narld  might  it 
■I>i»l  >t4[l  n  godly  ™ce  he  ran 
"      Wlimc'er  lie  went  to  pray. 


Pourvn  qu'il  voiiB  diYerUifjo. 
II  jtait  affiible  et  doui, 

De  rimmeur  At  feu  aoD  ptrej 


Bien  iostrait  dcs  le  berceuu, 
Onques,  tHtit  ^tsit  honntt^, 

n  ne  meltnit  son  rhspMU, 
Qu'il  ne  «  courril  la  l*to. 

KDte  final  catastrc^he,  and  tbe  point  wliicb  forms  the  atin(> 
f  the  whole  "  Elegy,"  is  but  a  literal  veraion  of  a  long- 
st&blialied  Gallic  epigram,  viz. : 

■Qnand  on  i-erpent  mordit  Aurelp,  Sut  bood  n  wondiir  cune  to  light, 
ifue  oroij-tu  qu'il  eu  uriva  ?  That  shewed  (he  rogues  they  lied  ; 

Jn'AuMlfmourQtf— bagBttllo!  Ilie  won  recovered  from  the  W, 
C«  tut  U  irrpml  qui  ltcib.  Tlic  dog  it  wu  that  died. 

Then  astoMra.  Blaze;  I  regret  to  aay  that  Afrrirtueaand 
^•ccompUahments  are  all  seeond-haod ;  the  jiaudv  fiaery  iu 
1  wbii^  her  poet  baa  dreased  ber  out  is  but  the  casl-otl 
I  ftippeiy  French.     Ex.  gr.  .- 


&a\tHm\iii. 


Bt  la  jnaniioft. 


..'  public  bU,  of  one  accord,  II  brillait  eomme  un  soleil, 

'    Ijunonl  for  Mil.  BUie;  Ba  clioveluro  *tait  hlonijei 

VVTho  never  wanted  a  good  word  II  n'cut  paa  eu  de  paroll, 

Vram  IboBC  wh>9^ke  hrr  prtUMe.  S'il  cut  Jtc  leul  *u  monds. 


288 


FATHEB  PBOVT's  BELIQUSa 


Mont^  mr  un  dheral  noir, 
Les  dames  le  xninaud^raat* 

£t  o*ett  Vk  qu*il  oe  fit  Toir, 
A  oeuz  qui  le  regard^reni. 

Dans  un  snperbe  toumoi, 
Prest  k  foumir  sa  carr^T«^ 

Quand  il  fut  derant  le  roi, 
Geites  il  ne  fut  pas  dernbe. 

n  fut»  par  un  triste  sort, 
Blesa^  d*une  main  cruelle  $ 

On  croit,  puisqu'il  en  est  mort, 
Que  la  playe  €taite  morteUe. 


At  ehuroh,  in  silks  and  satins  new, 

With  hoop  of  monstrous  sise, 
She  nerer  slumbered  in  her  pew 

But  when  she  shut  her  eyes. 

Her  loye  was  sought,  I  do  arer, 

B J  twenty  beaux  and  more ; 
The  king  himself  has  followed  her 

When  she  has  walked  before. 

Let  us  lament  in  sorrow  sore ; 

For  Kent  street  well  may  say, 
That,  had  she  lived  a  tweiTemonth 

more. 
She  had  not  died  to-day.* 

It  is  not  without  a  certain  degree  of  concern  for  the  cha- 
racter of  Gk)ld8mith,  that  I  have  brought  to  light  this  in- 
stance of  petty  larceny.  Why  did  he  not  acquaint  us  with 
the  source  of  nis  inspiration  ?  Why  smuggle  these  French 
wares,  when  he  might  have  imported  them  lawfully  by  pay- 
ing the  customary  duty  of  acknowledgment  P  The  Koman 
fabulist,  Phsedrus,  honestly  tells  the  world  how  he  came  by 
his  wonderful  stock-in-trade : 

'*  ^sopus  auctor  quam  materiam  reperit, 
Hanc  ego  polivi  versibus  senariis.*' 

Such  is  the  sign-board  he  hangs  out  in  the  prologue  to  his 
book,  and  no  one  can  complain  of  unfair  dealing.  But  to 
return  to  the  connexion  between  our  literature  and  that  of 
France. 

Pope  avowedly  modelled  his  style  and  expression  on  the 
writings  of  Boileau ;  and  there  is  perceptible  in  his  didactic 
essays  a  most  admirable  imitation  of  the  lucid,  methodical, 
and  elaborate  construction  of  his  Gallic  origin.  Dryden 
appears  to  have  read  with  predilection  the  works  of  Cor- 
neiUe  and  Malherbe :  like  them,  he  is  forcible,  brilliant,  but 
unequal,  turgid,  and  careless.  Addison,  it  is  apparent, 
was  intimately  conversant  with  the  tasteful  and  critical 
writings  of  the  Jesuit  Bouhours ;  and  Sterne  is  but  a  ri/a- 
cimeiito  of  the  Vicar  of  Meudon,  the  reckless   Babelais. 

*  This  joke  is  as  old  as  the  days  of  St.  Jerome,  who  applies  it  to 
liis  old  foe,  Buffinu3.     '*Grunniu8   Coroootta,  poroellus,  vixit 
Docooxcix. :  qu6d  si  semis  vixisseti  M.  annos  impldsset.** 


THE   EOKOB   OF  VSiyCJi.  286 

Who  will  qnestioD  the  influence  eierciaed  byMoliSre  over  out 
Lvmic  wTiterB^Sheridan,  FBrijuhar,  and  C  ongreve  ?  Indeed, 
our  theatre  BecoiB  to  have  a  prescriptive  rif;ht  to  import 
ite  comedies  from  Prance,  wholepale  and  duty  free.  At  the 
brilliant  and  dazzling  torch  of  La  Footoiiie,  Qay  bumbl;  lit 
his  slender  taper ;  and  Fielding  would  be  tbe  first  to  admit 
his  manifold  obligations  to  Le  Sage,  having  drank  deep  at 
the  fountain  of  "  Gil  Bias."  Hume  the  historian  is  notori- 
on»  for  his  GalHcismB  ;  and  perhaps  it  was  owing  to  hie 
long  residence  abroad  that  the  pompous  period  of  Gibbon 
was  attuned  to  the  melody  of  MaesilloQ.  If  I  do  not  men- 
tion Milton  among  our  writers  who  have  profited  by  the 
perusal  of  Oalhcan  moilejfl,  it  is  because  the  Italian 
^^■chool  was  that  in  which  ie  formed  hia  taate  and  harmon- 
^■hed  hb  rbytbrnic  period. 

^B   But,  to  trace  the  vestiges  of  French  phraseology  to  the 
^Hery  remotest  paths  of  our  literary  domain,  let  iia  examine 
^■tte  chronicles  of  the  Plantageneta,  and  eipbre  the  writings 
of  the  incomparable  Froiegart,     His  works  fonn  a  sort  of 
connecting  link  between  the  two  countries  during  the  wars 
of  Cressy  and  Agincourt :  he  was  alternately  a  page  at  the 
coort  of  BIoiB,  a  roioBtrel  at  the  court  of  Winceslaa  in  Bra- 
bant, a  follower  of  the  French  King  CharleB,  ond  a  suivant 
of  Queen  Pliilippa  of  Fjiglaud.     Though  a  cierg^'man,  be 
'      was  decidedly  to  be  claasified  under  the  genus  troubadour, 
^npKrtaking  more  of  that  character  than  of  any  eccleHiastical 
^■beculiaritieB.     For,  lest  I  should  do  inJuBtice  to  his  life  and 
^Bpiniona,  I  shall  let  bim  draw  bis  own  portrait ; 


"Au  boire  je  iirenda  grand  plaisir, 
AuBii  ftis-je  en  beau  ilntpa  Tettir : 
Oir  de  ravD^trFl  paroUeB, 
Yeoii  dimus  et  enrolls  ; 

Tiolettas  ea  lour  uiBon, 
Et  rosea  bUnehei  et  vermeiUe* ; 

To;e  toloDtien,  ear  c'eat  niaan, 
Jeu,  el  duiwB,  et  longufs  Teillea, 
£t  chamtm  pUrnei  de  candtiila  !" 


Now  this  jolly  dog  Froissart  was  the  boon  comrade  of  our 
excellent  Geoflrey  Chaucer ;  and  no  doubt  the  two  worthy 
etfrci  cracked  many  a  bottle  together,  if  not  in  Cbeopside, 
~t  least  on  this  side  of  the  Channel.     How  for  Geoffrey  waa 


2-M)  FATHSB  PSOUT'S   BSLIQVES. 

indebted  to  the  Frenchman  for  his  anecdotes  and  storiea, 
for  bis  droll  style  of  narrative,  and  the  punsent  salt  with 
which  he  has  seasoned  that  primitive  mess  of  porridge,  the 
"Canterbury  Tales,"  it  would  be  curious  to  investigate. 
But  it  is  singular  to  find  the  most  distinguished  of  Eraiice, 
England,  and  Italy's  contemporary  authors  met  shortly 
after,  as  if  by  mutual  appointment,  in  Provence,  the  land  of 
song.  It  was  on  the  occasion  of  a  Duke  of  Clarence's  visit 
to  Milan  to  marry  the  daughter  of  G^eas  II. ;  a  ceremony 
graced  by  the  presence  of  the  Count  of  Savoy  and  the  King 
of  Cyprus,  besides  a  host  of  literary  celebrities.  Thither 
came  Chaucer,  Froissart,  and  Petrarca,  by  one  of  those 
chance  dispositions  of  fortune  which  seem  the  result  of  a 
most  provident  foresight,  and  as  if  the  triple  genius  of 
French,  English,  and  Italian  literature  had  presided  over 
their  riunion.  It  was  a  literary  congresn^  of  which  the  con- 
sequences are  felt  to  the  present  day,  in  the  common  agree- 
ment of  international  feeling  in  the  grand  federal  republic 
of  letters.  Of  that  eventful  coUoquy  between  these  most 
worthy  representatives  of  the  three  leading  literatures  of 
Europe,  nothing  has  transpired  but  the  simple  fact  of  its 
occurrence.  Strll,  one  thing  is  certain,  viz.,  that  there  were 
then  very  few  features  of  difference  in  even  the  languages 
of  the  three  nations  which  have  branched  off,  since  that  pe- 
riod, in  such  wide  divergency  of  idiom : 

"  When  shall  we  three  meet  again !" 

Chaucer  has  acknowledged  that  it  was  from  Petrarch  he 
learned,  on  that  occasion,  the  story  of  Q-riselda;  which 
story  Petrarch  had  picked  up  in  Provence,  as  I  shall  shew 
by  and  by,  on  producing  the  original  French  ballad'.  But 
here  is  the  receipt  of  Chaucer,  duly  signed,  and  most  cir- 
cumstantial : 

"  I  wol  you  tel  a  tale,  the  which  that  I 
Lemed  at  Padowe,  of  a  worthy  clerc, 
As  proved  by  his  wordes  and  nis  werk. 
He  is  now  dead,  and  nailed  in  his  chest, 
I  pray  to  GK>d  to  geve  his  sowle  rest. 
Frauncis  Petrark,  the  laureat  poete, 
Hight  was  this  clerk,  whose  rhetoricke  so  sweta 
Emumined  all  Itaille  of  poetrie.** 

Prologue  to  OrUetidiu  in  **  Cant.  Toict." 


THE   BOnOS   or   FE&XCE.  2i\ 

,  "We  learn  from  "Williain  of  Malmesbury  (lib.  id.),  and 
3  contemporary  sources,  that  the  inimeiliate  huc- 
lurs  of  the  Conqueror  brought  over  from  Normandy 
mbere  of  learned  men,  to  fill  the  eccleeiastical  and  other 
»eGcial  employments  of  the  country,  to  the  exci'uaion  of 
e  native  English,  who  were  considered  dunces  and  unfit 
r  office.  AJny  one  who  had  the  least  pretension  to  be 
lered  a  sgavant  clert,  spoke  French.  In  the  reign  of 
_■  III.  we  have  Eohert  Groasetete,  the  well-known 
biahop  of  Liueoln  (who  was  bom  in  Suffoli),  writing  a 
[work  in  Frcacb  called  "  I<e  Chasteau  d' Amour ;"  and  ano- 
"  I*e  Manuel  des  Pi'chdea,"  Of  this  practice  Chaucer 
oomplsjns,  somewhat  qnaintly,  in  his  "  Testament  of  Love" 
(ed.  1542)  :  "  Certes  there  ben  some  that  speke  thyr  poyay 
mater  in  Ffrench,  of  whyche  apecbe  the  1' frenchmen  have 
u  gude  a  fantasve  as  we  have  in  hearing  of  Ffrencb  inennes 
Englyshe."  Tanner,  in  his  "  Biblioth.  Brit.,"  hath  left  us 
mAny  curious  testimonies  of  the  feeling  which  then  pre- 
Tsiled  on  this  subject  among  the  jealous  nativea  of  England. 
See  also  the  Harteian  MS.  »860. 

Bat  the  hmguage  of  the  troubadours  still  remained  com- 
mon to  both  countries,  when,  for  all  the  purposes  of  do- 
mestic and  public  life,  a  new  idiom  had  sprung  up  in  each 
jate  kingdom.  Eitraordinary  men!  These  songsters 
3  the  favourites  of  ereiy  court,  and  the  patroniBed  of 
rerery  power.     True,  their  life  was  generally  aisBolute,  and 

■  tbeir  conduct  unscrupulous ;  but  the  mnntle  of  poetic  in- 
I  ftpitstion  seems  to  have  covered  a  multitude  of^  stns.     I 

■  fazmot  better  characterise  the  men,  and  the  times  in  which 
I'fiiey  lired,  than  by  introducing  a  ballad  of  Beronger — the 

"  Dauphin :" 

Za  ^attfdiinci  Bu  Gaupffin. 

I  Efjiiffrei  que  je  tous  [)nplo. 
Jndia  Bichard,  troubadour  reuomnie, 
Amit  poor  Rof  Jmd,  Louta,  Fbilippe,  on  Charlu, 

Ke  M,-au  lequ«l,  male  il  en  ^t  aiiue. 
D'un  eroa  dnaphin  on  fStoit  In  naiBBanoe  j 

Kil■haJ^l  i  Blou  f  Uil  depuia  ud  jour : 
n  appht  \k  le  bonheur  de  la  France. 

Pour  Yotre  roi  clianlei,  gu  troubadour  ! 
Cliuit«i,  cbantfi,  jetuio  et  gai  trDubadour  : 


242  TATHSB  PBOVT'S  BSLIQU18. 

La  harpe  en  main  Biohard  Tient  siir  la  pbMs 

Chaoun  lui  dit,  **  Oiantea  notre  gai^onf 
D^TOtement  k  la  Yierge  il  rend  grace, 

Puis  au  dauphin  oonsaore  one  ehanton. 
On  I'applaudit ;  rautenr  ^tait  en  yeine : 
Mainte  beaut^  le  trouye  fidt  au  tour, 
Disant  tout  baa,  '*Il  doUplmire  a  la  reme  /" 

Pour  Totre  roi  chantez,  gai  troubadour! 
Chantes,  ohantez,  jeune  et  gai  troubadour 

Le  chant  fini,  Biohard  court  k  T^glise ; 

Qu'y  ya-t-il  faire  ?    H  cherche  un  confessenr. 
n  en  trouve  un,  gros  moine  k  barbe  grise, 
Des  mcBurs  du  terns  inflexible  censeur. 
'*Ah,  sauyez  moi  dee  flanunee  ^temelles ! 

Mon  p^re  h^lae !  c*est  un  yilain  s^jour.*' 
«  ^u>atot?ri)ou«  fait  ?"  '*  J'ai  trop  aunh  lea  beUes  r 
Pour  votre  roi  chantez,  gai  troubadour  1 
Chantez,  chantez,  jeune  et  gai  troubadour  I 


cc 


Le  grand  malheur,  mon  P^re,  c'eet  qu*on  m*aime  !** 
'*  ^tfarlc?,  mon  fils ;  txpuoncTstious  cnfin.*' 
"  J*ai  fait,  h^las !  narguant  le  diadhne, 

Un  gros  p^h^ !  oar  j'ai  fiut — un  dauphin ! !" 
D*abord  le  moine  a  la  mine  ^ahie : 

Mais  il  reprend,  **FoDB«et(S  bicn  en  coitr  ? — 
^ouTbopc^onou*  D'ant  ric^c  abbapc" 

Pour  votre  roi  chantez,  gai  troubadour! 
Chantez,  chantez,  jeune  et  gai  troubadour  I 

La  moine  ajoute ;  *'  Eut-on  fiiit  k  la  reine 
Un  prince  ou  deux,  on  pent  Stre  sauy^. 
Parlez  de  nous  k  notre  souyeraine : 

Allez,  mon  fils !  vous  direz  cinq  Ave" 
Biohard  absous,  gagnant  la  capitiue, 

Au  nouTeau-ne  voit  prodiguer  Tamour ; 
Yiye  k  jamais  notre  race  royale ! 

Pour  yotre  roi  chantez,  gai  troubadour ! 
Chantez,  chantez,  jeune  et  gai  troubadour! 


Let  me  sin^  you  a  song  of  the  good  old  times, 

About  Bichard  the  troubadour, 
Who  was  loyed  by  the  king  and  Uie  queen  for  his  rhjmm  | 

But  bj  which  of  our  kings  I'm  not  sure. 


THE   SOSQK   OF   TBASCE. 

mr  m  diuphm  nai  bom  while  the  court  wm  at  Bloij, 

And  all  Frwioe  felt  a  gladness  pure  ; 

beart  IcBjpl  for  jojf  nlion  lie  heard  'tiioB  a  bo;, 
Sing  for  TOUT  king,  joung  and  gaj  trouhadourl 
Sing  well  jou  maj,  troubadanr  jaung  and  gs;  I 


>  tbe  Tirvin  n  hjma  of  thankigiving  ho  sung, 

For  tiie  dauphin  a  new  "roiuUlaf. 

nd  our  noble)  iiocked  round  at  tbe  heart-ttirring  eound, 

And  their  damee,  digniflod  and  drmnre, 

railed  his  bold,  gaUaat  mien,  and  said  "  He'tl  jiltatt  On  fHMiif '' 


Ittt  the  aong  ii  now  hnahed,  and  the  crowd  ia  dicperaad  : 
To  the  abbe;,  lo  I  Biahard  repairs, 
nd  he  seek*  an  old  laoxili,  in  the  l^end  veQ  Teraed, 
With  a  lung  flowing  beard  and  gre;  haira. 
ad  "  Oh,  iDie  aio  ["  he  cries,  "  half  Inlher,  from  hell  ; 
'lis  a  pia«  vhich  the  aoal  can't  endurel" 
At  BOat  ajtdtl  uU  l^iDtltl;"  "  J'ai  irop  mmf  let  beUti  r' 
Siug  for  jour  king,  young  and  ga;  troubadourj 
Sing  neu  joii  nu;,  tronlradour,  j'oung  and  ga;  1 

But  the  wont  ia  untold  I"  "  %ul(,  mg  aonnt,  anD  b(  aftiibin ; 
QtU  pa  DC  qnilt—iis  muIis — ^oid  pon  ainntH,  anlj  Ijoid  dIiiti.'' 
Oh,  mj  gtiilt  it  is  greatl— can  my  no  be  forgiven — 
1\»  rttuU,  holy  monk  I  la— bIbs,  'tie  a  DAiTFiriN  I" 
ind  the  friar  grew  pale  at  bo  Blartling  a  tale, 
But  he  whiipered.  "  Jii  US,  sonnr.  nrotnri 
Bfti  sill  giant  ii,  X  nan)  abbro  lanS  (lom  ib<  qnnn." 

Sing  for  your  liing,  ;outig  and  gay  troubadour ! 
Sing  welt  jou  ma;,  troubadour  young  and  gay  1 
^han  the  monk  laid  a  prayer,  and  the  sin,  light  as  air. 

Flew  awa;  from  the  p«uilent'9  aoiil ; 
Lnd  id  Pana  wtmt  Richard  to  aing  forlhe  fair, 
"Virelai."  aonnet  gay,  and  "  carollE  :" 
lAnd  he  mingled  with  joy  in  the  feetivBl  there. 

Oh !  while  beauty  and  anng  can  allure. 
Hay  oar  old  royal  race  never  want  for  an  heir! 

°'- —  ' king,  young  and  gay  troubadour  I 

rubadour  young  and  gay  1 


Sing  for  TOUT  ki 
Siug  woll  yoQ  m 


It  does  not  enter  into  my  plau  to  eipatiate  on  the 
mural  contluBion  or  political  Kn/iviim  which  this  ballad 
■uggeets,  (ud  which  with  sarcaBtic  ingenuity  is  so  adroitly 

iouated.    It  is,  in  End,  &  lyrical  epigram  on  the  adroiren 


ir^/ 


244  FATHEB  PBOUT'S  BELIQUES. 

of  hereditary  leffislation.  To  the  venerable  owls  who  roost 
in  Heralds'  CoUege,  this  is  startling  matter :  in  sooth,  it 
sheds  a  quiet  r^  on  the  awful  sublimities  of  genealogical 
investigation.  It  may  serve  as  a  commentary  on  the  well- 
known  passage  of  Boileau  (pilfered  unceremoniously  by 
Pope),  in  which  the  current  of  princely  blood  is  said  to  flow 
"  de  Lucr^ce  en  Lucrfece ;"  but  we  do  not  expect  an  edition 
of  the  song  to  be  published  "in  usum  Delphini."  Vive 
Henri  Cinq  !  concerning  whose  birth  the  song  was  written. 

On  all  matters  in  which  the  characters  of  the  ladies  may 
be  involved,  I  recommend  constant  caution  and  the  most 
scrupulous  forbearance  to  both  poets  and  historians.  The 
model  of  this  delicate  attention  may  be  found  among  the 
troubadours.  I  more  particularly  allude  to  the  Norman 
school  of  French  poesie  ;  for  I  regret  to  state,  that  in  Pro- 
vence there  was  not  always  the  same  veneration  and  myste- 
rious homage  paid  to  the  gentler  sex,  whose  very  frailties 
should  be  shrouded  by  the  poet,  and  concealed  fix)m  the 
vulgar  gaze  of  the  profane.  In  Normandy  and  the  adjacent 
provinces,  the  spirit  of  chivalry  was  truly  such  as  described 
by  our  hot-headed  Irish  orator,  when,  speaking  of  Marie 
Antoinette,  he  fancies  ten  thousand  swords  ready  to  leap 
from  their  scabbards  at  the  very  suspicion  of  an  insult. 
The  instinctive  worship  of  beauty  seems  to  have  accompa- 
nied that  gallant  race  of  noble  adventurers  from  their  Scan- 
dinavian settlements  beyond  the  Elbe  and  the  Rhine ;  for 
we  find  the  sentiment  attributed  to  their  ancestors  by  Taci- 
tus, in  his  admirable  work  "  De  Moribus  Gkrmanorum," 
where  he  writes,  as  well  as  I  can  recollect,  as  follows :  "  Inesse 
quinetiam  foeminis  sanctum  aliquid  et  providum  putant." 
The  ballad  of  "  Griselidis,"  to  which  I  have  made  allusion  in 
talking  of  the  "  Canterbury  Tales,"  and  which  I  then  pro- 
mised to  give  in  its  original  old  Norman  simplicity,  finely 
illustrates  all  that  is  noble  and  chivalrous  in  their  respect 
for  female  loveliness  and  purity.  My  version  runs  in  the 
old  ballad  idiom,  as  nearly  as  that  quaint  style  can  be 
revived. 


IHi:    BONOS   ( 

etiStUtis. 


YBASCE. 

@ristltia. 


I  m;  ballBil,  fop  twaa  mad?  ni. 

DsniBeis,  for  joa ; 
~  ' '  br  (beyond  bU  lovelincaae) 


'IWoutn  icv  jouTBoeellMs 

Beontet  vi»rj  (lunioiieoiii, 
■Vault  mieni  estrB  Ix-db  que  belle. 

Vault   mieui   eatra    \ojtl   qno    Belter 

l**"!  LoTiiU 

outf  iwMO,  pBMo  jeiin>»iH\  F«dethfairfacB,briehtbcautTbIooiii» 

Boiit«  reste  et  gugiic  lea  ramrB;  awliil*, 

wo  dookeiir  et  genlillBBie  Soon  to  dcpnrto  j 

Eaptnea  ae  chsngcnt  en  ftenrB.     Goodnsts  ahydcth  ojo  ;  and  gemlo 

GainL-lh  j«  hcarfe. 

]MuTTeet  (ouffVetouBB,   There  lived  n  insideu,  beflulifuD  but 
Twnit  jiiis  Griseledu  ;  more, 

QoitBui  champs,  Mtoilglanooie,  Qfoouinff  y*  fieldi; 

Kloil  beau  lin,  gardoit  brebis  ;    PoorpittBuncefikpphDrd'Bcrooknpon 
rostoit  fjUfi  ie  hauJt  parBge,  y'  moor, 

K"»Toil  eomtt  nr  jotbiu  d'or.  Or  disliiff'  jielda  1 

UU  avoil  plui,  car  catnil  Bsge —     Tottho' no  coatelhora  huderer  been, 
MieuInBuItsnyi-sBequolriscr!  Jewellj  uorgolde, 

EindnrgaB  slie  hsdde  and  Tirtue ; 
thjngB,  I  ween. 
Belter  fowr  folde ! 

tag  joaf  qu'aai   chunpi  esl«it  One  dB)>BenTDlier,SirW(dt^liight, 

■eidetle.  Travelled  that  way  ; 
Tinit  1  MMor  Sire  Ganltier,  Nor  doggu  y"  shcpUerdcBaa,  nor  page 
n!  aana  ehien  ntoit  la  piUTrette,  y'  knight 
Sua  page  raloit  le  cberalier  ;                    Iladde  ou  that  day- 
Mil  co  OD  liecJe,  oil  rinoocence  But  in  lliose  times  of  ionocGnce  aud 
JTHMttenundreancundaDgtir,  tni(h. 

TCdUoit,  doiTmoit  prndente,  Virtue  alone 

1   n'auriei  pa«   du  Kept  vigil  in  our  land  ;  bright  daja. 


Whun 


Mfi, 


■eyegi 


qiM  aonuaeille  la  berg^        Long  on  y<  mnidvn,  as  iha  slept,  be 
ott  aireeuat  le  tenia  d'admirer,  guzed — 

(Ua  qu'cutT'omriat  Ib  pau-  Oould  gale  for  months  I 

pirn.  But  when  anitking,  two  lolt  oyelidi 

'7nal  tbrei  de  >'m  amoun>r  i  raised, 

Salla,"  dit-il,  "  ierex  ma  mie,  Luvcd  (ler  at  once  ! 

■S  Toiilei  renir  i  ma  cour  f"        "  Fair  one,  a  iuiglit'*  Irac  lore  canst 
Fenny,  seigneur,  toue  r(>mercie,  thou  despise, 

ffoimeur  vault  bien  pbysir  With  goldim  alore  F" 

d'amourf"  " Sir  Knight,  true  love  lvalue,  bul 

Ipriio 
Honour  for  mors !" 


246 


FATHEB  P&OUT's  BELIQUE8. 


"  Vertu,  dit-il,  passe  noblesse ! 

Serez  mft  femme  d^s  oe  jour — 
Serez  dame,  serez  comtesse, 

Si  me  jurez,  au  nom  d'amour, 
De  m'obdr  quand  devrai,  mdme 

Bien  dorement,  vous    ordon- 
ner?" 
**  Sire,  obeir  k  oe  qu'on  aime 

Est  bien  plus  doux  que  com- 
mander ?** 


"  I  too  prize  honour  abore  hi^  ds* 
scent 
And  all  beside ; 
Maiden,  be  mine !  yea,  if  thou  wiJk 
consent. 
Be  thou  my  bride ! 
Swear  but  to  do  y*  bidding  of  thy 
liege 
Faithful  and  fond." 
*<Tell  not  of  oaths.  Sir  Knightj  ii 
not  lo9€^9  pledge 
A  better  bond  ?" 

l^ot  for  his  castel  and  his  broad  do- 
main. 
Spoke  so  y«  maid. 
But  that  she    loved  y*  handsome 
knight — Love  fain 
Would  be  obeyed. 
On  y^  same  charger  with  the  knight 
she  rodde. 
So  passed  along ; 
Nor  blame  feared  she,  for  then  all 
hearts  were  good ; 
l^one  dreamed  of  wrong. 

And  they  rodde  on  untill  rose  on  j* 
sight 
His  castel  towers  ; 
And  there  that  maiden  lived  with 
that  good  knight 
In  marriage  bowers. 
Disusing  blessings  among  all  who 
dwelt 
Within  that  vale : 
Goodness  abydeth  aye— her  smile  ii 
felt. 
The'  beauty  hH ! 

Lives  there  one  with  soul  so  dead  as  not  to  admire  the 
genuine  high-mindedness  of  these  primitive  times,  expressed 
in  this  pleasing  record  of  what  was  no  romance,  but  matter 
of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  days  of  chivalry  ?  The  ballad 
has  got  into  many  languages,  and  is  interwoven  with  the 
traditional  recollections  of  many  a  noble  house ;  but  the 
original  is  undoubtedly  the  above.  Moore  has  twisted  it 
into  a  melody,  "  You  remember  Ellen,  our  hamlet's  pride  ;** 
and  he  seeks  to  connect  the  story  with  '*  an  interesting  tale 


Ke  jura  pour  estre  comtesse, 

Mais  avoit  vu  le  chevaher ; 
A  I'amour  seul  fist  la  promesse : 

Puis  monta  sur  son  destrier. 
N'avoit  besoin  de  biens^ances 

Le  tems  heureux  dee  bonnes 
mcBurs ; 
Fausses  ^toient  les  apparances, 

loobies  et  vrays  estoient  les 
ccBurs! 


Tant  chevauch^rent  par  la  plaine 

Q,u*arriy^rent  &  la  cit^  ; 
Griseledis  fust  souveraine 

De  ce  riche  et  puissant  comt^  ; 
Chascun  Taima ;  sous  son  empire 

Chascun  ressentit  ses  bienfaits : 
Beauts  pr^vient,  doulceur  attire 

Bont^  gague  et  fixe  k  jamais ! 


THE   B0NQ8   OF   rBABCE.  2i7 

nid  cf  a  certain  noble  family  in  England."*    Unfortunately 

fttr  such  attempts,  the  lays  of  tlie  Norman  troubadours,  Likti 

'"  e  Government  ropee  in  the  dock-yard  at  Portamouth,  Lave 

their  teitiire  a  certiun  twist  by  which  they  are  recogniaed 

len  they  get  into  the  poHseBsiou  of  thieves. 

""  we  Kormana  were  a  glorious  race!     No,  neither  the 

>f  Greece  in  their  palmiest  days  of  warlike  adventure 

:  A-xam>),  nor  the  children  of  the  Tiber,  that  miseel- 

y  of  bandits  and  outlaws  (turba  Remi),  ever  displayed 

h  daring  energy  aa  the  tribe  of  enterprising  Korthcma 

),  in  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  eubscquent  centuries,  af- 

..  ighted  and  dazzled  the  world  with  the  splendour  of  their 

ic&evements.    From  the  peninaula  of  Jutland,  their  narrow 

i  on  the  Baltic,  they  went  forth  to  select  the  choicest 

;he  fairest  provinces  of  the  south  for  their  portion :  the 

a  of  the  Seiue.t  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  the  island  of 

',  the  Morea,  Palestine,  Constantinople,  England,  Ire- 

—they  conquered  in  Bucceeaion.     The  proudest  names 

:h  land  through  which  they  passed  glory  in  tracing  up 

<rman  origin;  and  while  their  descendants  form  the 

t  and  most  honourable  aristocracy  in  Europe,  their 

B  ^ubadours  stiD  reign  paramount,  and  unaurpaased  in  every 

"     md  form  of  the  tuneful  mystery.    Their  architectural 

ifl  are  not  more  picturesque  and  beautiful  than  the 

I  of  their  ballads  and  their  war-songs  ;  and  Bi-- 

nnger  himself  (by-the-hy,  a  Norman  patronymic,  and  aii 

^sri&Dce  of  the  poet's  excellent  lineage)  haa  out  inherited 

e  of  that  celebrated  minstrel  who  is  described  in  a 

temporary  poem  on  the  conquest  of  this  island  : 

!r  ti  muJt  hiea  cantont,     Dim  TullTfsr,  who  tang  riebt  wsU, 
IT  UDg  cheni  kj  t<wt  aUout,      Sorne  on  a  goodly  luuideUt, 

*  Mooning,  ot  eaante,  the  marringe  of  Henr^,  Enrl  of  Eietcr,  li< 
b  HoggiDi,  of  the  Tillage  of  Hodnct,  in  Shropehini,  Ort,  3,  ITVl. 
IT  nuteriols  fur  in  /ritft  melody. 

lucb  nu  tjie  terror  njtli  whidi  they  iiiBpired  tbe  natiiea  of  Frsnee 
B  Duke  Botlo'a  coDTeraioD  to  CtmBtiouit;,  that  there  it  in   the 
«  of  tbe  Parisian  Breriuy  s  bymn,  compoaed  about  that  period, 
ling  a  prajcr  agaiiut  the  Nonnane — 
"  Auferte  gentem  perfidani 
Credeutium  de  llDibiu,"  So:.  &e.  i 
in*  to  this  daj  a  memorial  of 


248 


FATHBB  PBOVT'B  BBLIQXTXB. 


Devant  le  host  allout  cantant       Pranced  in  the  van  and  led  the  trar^ 
De  Karlemain  e  de  Bollant.         With  songs  of  Boland  and  Gharle* 

maine. 

But  I  venture  to  say,  that  never  was  Charlemagne  sung  by 
his  ablest  troubadour  in  loftier  strains  than  those  in  wnicn 
B^ranger  has  chanted  the  great  modem  inheritor  of  his 
iron  crown,  anointed  like  him  by  a  Pope,  and  like  him  the 
sole  arbitrator  of  European  kingdoms  and  destinies. 


%ti  doubenirs  Du  ^eupU* 

Biranger, 

On  parlera  de  sa  ^loire 
Sous    le    chaume   bien  long- 
temps; 
L*humble  toit,  dans  cinquante 
ans, 
Neconnaitra  plus  d*  autre  histoire. 
JA  vieiMront  les  villageois 
Dire  alors  k  quclque  vieillo ; 
Par  des  r^cits  d'autrefois, 
Mere,  abr^gez  notre  veillo : 
Bien,  dit-on,  qu  il  nous  ait  nui, 
Lo  peuple  en  cor  le  revere, 

Oui,  le  rev^re. 
Parlez-nous  de  lui,grand*m^re! 
Parlcz-nous  de  lui ! 


popular  IfleroUecttontf  of 
Suonapartt. 

They'll  talk  of  hdi  for  years  to  come. 

In  cottage  chronicle  and  tale ; 
When  for  aught  else  renown  is  dumb, 

His  legend  shall  preyail ! 
Then  in  the  hamlet's  honoured  chair 

Shall  sit  some  aged  dame, 
Teaching  to  lowly  clown  and  villager 

That  narrative  of  fame. 
*Tis  true,  they'll  say,  his  gorgeous 
throne 
France  bled  to  raise ; 
But  he  was  all  our  own  ! 
Mother !  say  something  in  his  praise— 
O  speak  of  him  always  ! 


•*  Mes  enfans,  dans  co  village, 
Suivi  de  rois,  il  passa, 
Voilk  bien  long-temps  de  ^ : 
Je  venais  d'entrer  en  manage. 
A  pied  grimpant  lo  c6teau. 
Oil  pour  voir  je  m'^tais  mise ; 
n  avait  petit  chapeau, 
Aveo  redingote  grise. 
Prfes  de  lui  je  me  troublai, 
II  me  dit,  *  Bonjour,  ma  ch^re ! 

Bonjour,  ma  chere !' " 
H  vous  a  parle,  grand'm^re ! 

II  Tous  a  parle  ! 


"  I  saw  him  pass  :  his  was  a  host : 
Coimtless  beyond  your  young  ima- 
ginings— 
My  children,  he  could  boast 

A  train  of  conquered  kings  ! 
And  when  he  came  this  road, 

*Twas  on  my  bridal  day. 
He  wore,  for  near  to  him  I  stood. 

Cocked  hat  and  surcoat  grey. 
I  blushed ;  he  said,  *  Be  of  good  cheer ! 
Courage,  my  dear !' 
That  was  his  very  word." — 
Mother !  O  then  this  really  oocurredt 
And  yo  I  his  voice  could  hear  1 


A  Pktu  fuut  UQ  jour, 

Toua  loi  nBurt  ^Uiont  cont 
On  mdminut  son  corttgn, 
Chuntn   dimic,   'Quel  be 


THE    B0S119    OF   ERA^tCE. 
loi   piuYre     "A  year  rolled   i 


It  ffotre 


Lone  woman  that  I  u 
Bhw  him  pus  b;, 
Oirt  with  lu«  peers,  to  kueel  ul 

I  knew  by  merr^chiinoHnd  signal  gun, 
God  ermited  him  a  aoDi 
And  O  1  I  we|it  for  joj  ! 

For  why  not  wiwp  »•' 


'^dil"' 


D'uo  fita  Dieu  lo  rendait  pfre.   Who  gazed  upon  that  (iglit  ao  aplen- 

Lc  rtudait  pin! !" —  did. 

Quel    bmii   jour  pour  loua. 

Quel  beau  jour  pour  tous  ! 


•  Slais  quand  i: 
pagup 

t  en  proie  am  jtringors, 
Lui,  braFRnt  tous  lea  daugers, 
it  aeul  lenir  la  campague. 


Aud  bleat  th'  imperial  boj  P 
Nerer  did  Dooiidsy  eim  fliiiie  out  bo 

O  what  a  fight  1" — 
Mother !  for  you  tbat  muat  hare  bceii 
AgloriouBsi^euol 

•e  Cham-   "But  when  all    Europe's  gathered 
atreugtb 
Bui-at  o'er    the  French  Irontier  at 
leoglh, 
'Twill  scarcely  be  believed 
r,  tout  eomme  aiyourd-   What    wonders,    single- handed,    he 
ui,  achieved. 

Jfentondi  tapper  i>  la  porte  i         Such  general  ne'er  lived ! 
1*00178,  bon    Dieul    o'etaIT    One  evening  on  my  threshold  stood 

Ln !  A  guest— 'twas  hb  !    Of  wBrriors 

Siiivi  il'nne  fiuble  eaciort«.  few 

n  a'MMoit  oil  me  voil^  Ho  had  a  lotl-wom  retinue. 

6'*m»nl ;  '  Oh,  quelle  giwrre !   Ho  flung  biniiclf  inlo  this  chnji-  of 

Oh,  quell*  ruerre !' " —  wood, 

U  a'est  SMia  A,  grand'mtre '.  UutlenJig,  mctuitinie,  with  fearful 

'Qnttle  guerre!  oh,  gHtlle  guerre!"' — 
Mother  1  aud  did  our  emperor  ait  there, 
Cpon  tJint  very  chair? 


id, '  Give  me  some  food.'— 

liudting  Srcblock* 


f  J'ni  tkim,'  dil-il ;  et  bien  viti 
~  I  wn  piqnetle  et  pHiD  bia, 
ii>  a  tvotie  BCa  habits ; 
M  •  dormir  le  feu  I'invite. 
Aa  rfrell,  voyant  mes  pleura.  To  dry  bit  claak  with  wet  bedewed. 
II  medit  1  "Bonne  eepcraDCe  I  Soon  by  thu  boony  blaze  be  slept, 
Jtf  couTB  de  Ions  tes  matheurs  Ttit'Q  waking  chid  me  (for  I  weptj<; 
IB  Farij  vsn^or  la  France  !  'Coumgv!'  he  oiied.  Til  strike  far  all 
Uriiler  tlie  aacred  waU 
Of  FroucD'a  noble  lapit*]  I' 


r--' 


TATHXm  FKOrrS  KKLIQUZS. 


1 


words:  rTwtrcMurecl 


up 


T^oos  rem  CDCor! 


With  pride  thai  mum  wine-cap ; 
And  for  its  weight  in  gold 
It  nerer  shall  be  sold  !**— 
Mother!  on  that  proud  relic  let  ui 


that  cup  ahrays! 


'  Le  Toki.    Mais  i  aa  pcfto 
Le  hflPM  fbt  entzaiiie. 
Lid,  qo*r3  Papi  a  eomonn^ 
Est  mort  dans  on  ile  d^sote. 
Long-temps  aanm  ne  Fa  cm ; 
On  disait :  11  Ta  panltre. 
Psr  mer  ilest  accoura; 
L^etranser  Ta  roir  son  m^tre. 
Qnand  ^ermr  on  nous  tira. 
Ma  dooleor  fat  bien  amere. 

Fat  bien  amenp." — 
Dien  toos  benira.  grand'mere ; 

DieuToos  benira! 


*  Boty  through  some  &tal  witchery, 
He,  whom  a  Pops  had  crowned  and 
bkst. 
Perished,  my  sons !  bj  fbolest  treach- 
eiy : 
Cast  on  an  isle  fiur  in  the  lonely 
West. 
Long  time  sad  mmoors  were  afloat~ 
The  fikfcal  tidings  we  would  spurn. 
Still  hoping  £rom  that  isle  remote 

Once  more  our  hero  would  return. 
But  when  the   dark   announcement 
drew 

Tears  from  the  rirtuous  and  the 
brare — 
When  the  sad  whisperprored  too  true, 
A  flood  of  grief  I  to  his  memory 
gare. 
Peace  to  the  glorious  dead !" — 
Mother !  may  Qod  his  fullest  blessing 
shed 
Upon  your  aged  head ! 

Such  Bon^  embalm  the  glories  of  a  conqueror  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people,  and  will  do  more  to  endear  the  memory  ot* 
Napoleon  to  posterity  than  all  the  efforts  of  the  historian. 
The  government  of  tlie  imbecile  Charles  X.  had  the  folly  to 
pick  a  personal  quarrel  with  this  powerful  master  of  the  lyre, 
and  to  provoke  the  wrath  of  genius,  which  no  one  yet  aroused 
and  got  off  unscathed  by  its  lightning.  B^ranger  was  prose- 
cuted before  the  cour  d^ assizes  for  a  son^ !  And  nothing, 
perhaps,  contributed  more  to  the  catastrophe  that  soon  over- 
took  the  persecutor  of  the  Muses  than  the  disgrace  and  ridi- 
cule which  covered  the  royal  faction,  in  consequence  of  this 
attack  on  the  freedom  of  that  freest  of  all  trades,  the  craft 
of  the  troubadour.  The  prophecy  contained  in  the  ode  was 
realised  to  the  letter :   even  Uie  allusion  to  that  old  Gallic 


_■ 

^■^^_''*L 

I 

■ 

|r 

1 

1 

^^^^^^^^   ' 

|^^H^""M.'<              .    ^^H 

^ 

5              ^ 

% 

1 

■F 

r' 


^^^^                    THE  sotta 

a   OF  rttAKCB.                                251 

emblem  the  coek,  which  Louti  Philippe  made  the  ornament  ol        ■ 

the  reatored  tricolor,  confirme  the  fact  of  inBpiration.                    ■ 

M.t  faitur  SraptAu. 

Ci)r  CijiccfCoIoiirtli  jTIflS- 

flA--V«-. 

(^j.ro.<r«/.J5o»p,) 

OomradEs,  around  thi.  Immble  bo»rd. 

gloire 

Here'«  lo  our   banner'a  by-gono 

Je  tiem  de  me  roir  entourt ; 

eplendour. 

No*  »ouTenir>  m'ont  eni»r*, 

There  maj  bo  trouson  in  that  nord— 

I*  Tin  m'a  rendu  la  mimoire. 

-ill  Europe  may  Ihe  proof  afford— 

Fier  de  mes   Biploits  et   des 

All  France  be  the  oBender  i 

ku^^ 

But  drink  the  toaet 

J'li  moD  drepesu  dam  ma  chau- 

That  gladdesu  most, 

miiM!-^ 

Fires  the  touqc  heart  and  checra  lh« 

Qkimf  ueourai-je  la  pouinere 

old- 

Qui'  Mmil  IM  nof^  coi.J»r*  . 

"  May  Franet  (met  mart 

Hfr  IrU-ohr 

Bltit  «nth  KW  /I/O  beladdr 

■  H  «t  cwh«  »ou.  rhumbla  puUt- 

Lilt  tfl  my  secret .    That  old  flw 
Under  mt  bed  of  straw  is  hidden, 

Oil  je  don,  paurre  et  mutiU. 

Lui  qui,  lAi'  de  Toincre,  a  lole 

Saored  lo  glory  1    War-worn  rag  1 

Tingt  uis  de  baKtUle  en  batniUe  ; 

Thee  no  iu/onHtr  thence  ehall  drag. 

cSsrgft  de  lauriers  et  de  fleurs. 

11  brill*  iur  I'Europe  enliirB— 

France.  I  can  Tonch, 

Qtimnd  ncourai-Je  la  poianirr 

Will,  from  iW  couch. 

Qni  lermt  mj  »obU»  couleu,'i  • 

The  dormant  ijmbol  jet  mifold. 

A^«ax»<m«>»or> 

Her  IH-eolor 

Ce  drapeau  paTait  ■  la  France 

For  erorr  drop  of  blood  we  spent. 

Tontletangqu'ilQousBFoQU  i 

Did  not  that  aag  giTo  value  plenty  T 

8ur  U  *eiD  de  la  liberty 

Were  not  our  children  a«  Iboy  went. 

iBToe  QL>  jooaimt  aTeo  »»  Ian™  : 

Qa'ilproure  eocorauiopprpa- 

Soldiers  at  ten,  heroes  at  twenty  ? 

Fhabob  1  who  were  then 

Oomtoeii  la  eloire  est  roturiirc— 

Not  Ihey   at    parchment-muBt    and 

Oirf  lemit  <o  nb/>b«  eoulturs  t 

mould! 

ShI  Ihey  mho  bore 

Your  Iri.color 

^^_ 

Wrr." 


252 


TiLTHIB  PB017T*8  BELIQUEB. 


Son  atgle  est  rest^  dans  la  poudre, 

Fatigu6  de  lointains  eirploits ; 

Bendons-lui  le  cog  des  Gaulois, 
n  s^ut  aussi  lancer  la  foudre. 

La  France,  oubliant  sea  dou- 
leurs, 
Le  rebftiira  libre  et  fi^re — 
Quand  secourai-Je  la  poussih'e 

Qui  ternU  sea  noblea  coulenra  ! 


Las  d'errer  avec  la  victoire, 

Des  LOIS  il  d^ricndra  Tappui ; 

Chaquo  soldat  fut,  grace  a  lui, 
CiTOTBN  aux  bords  de  la  Loire. 

Seul  il  pent  voiler  nos  mal- 
licurs, 
Doployons-le  sur  la  frontiere — 
Q,Hand  aecourai-Je  la  poustiere 

Qui  ternii  sea  noblea  couleura  ! 


Mais  il  est  la  pr^  de  mes  armes ! 

Un  instant  osons  I'cntrevoir ; 

Viens,  mon  drapeau!    viens, 
mon  espoir ! 
Cest  a  toi  d'essuyer  mes  larmes  ! 

D'lin  guerrier  qui  verse  des 
pleurs 
Le  Ciel  entcndra  la  pri^re — 
Qui^Je  aecouerai  la  pousaiere 

Qui  ternit  aea  noblea  couleura ! 


Leipsio  hath  seen  our  eagle  fiill, 
Brunk  with  renown,  worn  out  with 
glory; 
But,  with  the  emblem  of  old  Ghral 
Crowning  our  standard,  we'll  recall 
The  brightest  days  of  Valmj/^a  story ! 
With  terror  pale 
Shall  despots  quail. 
When  in  their  ear  the  tale  is  told, 
0/  France  once  more 
Her  tn-color 
Preparing  to  ur\fold! 

Trust  not  the  lawleaa  ruffian  chiel. 

Worse  than  the  vilest  monarch  he ! 
Down  with  the  dungeon  and  Bastille ! 
But  let  our  country  never  kneel 
To  that  grim  idol.  Anarchy  ! 
Strength  shall  appear 
On  our  frontier — 
France  shall  be  Liberty's  strong- 
hold! 
Then  earth  once  more 
The  tri-color 
With  blessinga  ahaU  behold  i 

O  my  old  flag !  that  liest  hid. 

There  where  my  sword  and  musket 
lie- 
Banner,  come  forth  I  for  tears  unbid 
Are  filling  fast  a  warrior's  Ud, 
Which  thou  alone  canst  dry. 
A  soldier's  grief 
Shall  find  relief; 
A  veteran's  heart  shall  be  consoled— 
France  shall  once  more 
Her  tri-color 
Tritunpfuintli/  ur^old  I 


After  this  glorious  dithjrramb,  worthy  of  the  days  when 
the  chivalry  of  Frauce  took  solemnly  the  oriflame  trom.  the 
Abbey  of  St.  Denis,  to  bear  it  foremost  in  the  fight,  for  the 
defence  of  their  native  land,  or  the  conquest  of  the  land  of 
Palestine ;  it  may  be  gratifying  to  produce  a  specimen  of 
the  earlier  military  songs  of  that  gallant  country.  I  select 
for  that  purpose  a  very  striking  lyric  effusion  from  the  pen 
of  old  Mar6t,  which  is  particularly  deserving  of  attention, 
from  its  marked  coincidence  in  thought  and  expression  with 


THE     BONOS     OP    FMSCE. 


253 


Qie  celebrated  SfnnriUaite  Ili/mn,  composed  at  the  liiHtance 
rf  three  centuries ;  but  it  would  be  hard  to  say  which  pro- 
,uced  on  the  icuoden-shoed  men  of  France  the  greater  im- 
ion  in  its  da^. 

Slu  Due  S'Slincon, 

Qmmcmdmt  tAvant  Garde  da  VArmtc  Fran^aiit,  1621. 
Di  yen  Ilaiiutult,  sur  lei  Rub  ilo  chanipBffDe, 

£»  arHif  le  bon  Due  d'AJeoijoa, 
Aieque  bonneur  qui  U)uJoura  i'BOCOtnpagRo 

Oomme  le  sien  propre  ot  tni  etuaaon  !  

U  peut  OD  TBoir  but  la  graado  pliiine  uuie 
Do  bon«  toudftra  son  mseigrie  munie, 
Prus  d'emplo^r  leun  bras  rulminBtoire, 
A  repaosSGr  dedans  leim  Ifrritoire 

L'ouTB  Hanvier,  gent,  ruatiquB,  et  brutelle, 
Toulsat  [QSTcher  emu  raison  pereaiptoiro 

Sur  lea  ctimBta  do  Fruico  □ii.-ident&le. 
Prenez  hnult  cceur,  donque^  France  et  Bretagne  I 

Car  «i  nt  re  camp  tenei  fiere  fn^ou, 
Fondre  Teirei  dermit  voua  rAllcmagno, 

Comme  an  M>!ei]  bbtnohe  uicgc  cl  gUfOn : 

Avrnturiere !  que  k  pique  on  muiie 
Four  les  choquer  et  mettre  en  iUKn»BoIrc, 
Car  d£JB  lont  au  TOjeX  poescaaoire  : 

Maif  oomme  je  croi*  deBtiii&  fulallo 
Teult  miner  leur  outragvuae  gloiro 

Bur  lea  climata  de  France  ocddent&le. 

Donquea  pi^tona  mareluDS  tur  la  campagne, 

Foudrojei  lout  snna  rien  prendra  a  rajnon  i 
Preux  clieTBliere,  puiaqu'lionneur  on  y  gugne, 

Tot  ennemiei  ]>ouflaci  bors  do  I'bt^od, 
Tait»  rougir  du  aang  de  GiarmaDie 
I«*  cisirg  ruuMQUi  dont  la  lorre  est  ggmie  i 
fii  uront  mis  tos  hauls  noms  ea  liiBiaiR! ; 
Frappex  doac  lou»  de  main  glidinMire, 

Qirapr^  leor  mort  et  dediucte  totalle 
Toiu  rapportiei  la  palme  de  Ticloire 

But  Ids  climat*  de  France  ncddenUle. 

Prince  t  r<qnpli  de  haul  Iob  mf  ritoire, 
FliaoiU  lei  toil*,  li  vom  me  Toulez  croirc, 

AJler  liumer  leitr  cerroise  et  godalle  -.—{j/eod  a'f  ") 
CkT  de  Ota  Tina  ont  ^and  deair  da  boire 

Su  le*  elimata  de  Franoe  ocoideutidc. 


't.< 


251  TATWEM  PSOrT*8 

r«d^  Or  2>db  ^jilmftm,  1521. 

CLEMZST  MABOT. 
Soldien!  at  leagfh^  thar  gathered  tticngth  our  mi^  is  doomed  to 

Spsm  and  Bnhant  eomflhant — ^Bararia  and  GHtfle. 

I^iota,  thcT  think  that  Franee  will  shrink  from  a  foe  that  mahes  on. 

Ami  terror  damp  the  gallant  camp  of  the  hold  Duke  d' Akn^on ! 

But  wail  and  wo  betide  the  foe  that  waits  lor  our  aasault ! 

Back  to  hu  lair  our  pikes  shall  scare  the  wild  boar  of  Hainaolt. 

La  Mease  shall  flood  her  banks  with  blood,  ere  the  sons  of  France  resigD 

Their  ^orioiis  fields — the  land  that  yields  the  <^Te  and  the  line ! 

Then  draw  the  blade !  be  our  ranks  arrived  to  the  soimd  of  the  martial 

fife; 
In  the  foeman's  ear  let  the  trompeter  blow  a  blast  of  deadly  strife ; 
And  let  each  knight  collect  bis  might,  as  if  there  hung  this  day 
The  fiftte  of  France  on  his  single  lance  in  the  hour  of  the  coming  fray : 
As  melts  the  snow  in  summer^s  glow,  so  may  our  helmets'  glare 
Consume  their  host ;  so  folly's  boast  Tanish  in  empty  air. 
Fools !  to  believe  the  sword  could  ghre  to  the  children  of  the  Bhine 
Our  Ghilic  fields — the  land  that  yidds  the  oUto  and  the  vine ! 

Can  G^ermans  (ace  our  Norman  race  in  the  conflict's  awful  shock — 
Brare  the  war-cry  of  "  BEiTAiarr  I"  the  shout  of  **  LAJfOUKDOC !" 
Dare  they  confront  the  battled  brunt — the  fdl  encounter  try 
When  dread  Bayard  leads  on  his  guard  of  stout  gendarmerie  ? 
Strength  be  the  test — then  breast  to  breast,  ay,  grapple  man  with  man  j 
Strength  in  the  ranks,  strength  on  both  flanks,  and  Tslour  in  the  ran. 
Let  war  efface  each  softer  grace ;  on  stem  Bellona's  shrine 
We  vow  to  shield  the  plains  that  yield  the  olire  and  ihe  yine  I 

Methinks  I  see  bright  Victory,  in  robe  of  glory  drest. 

Joyful  appear  on  the  French  frontier  to  the  clueflain  she  loves  best ; 

While  grim  Defeat,  in  contrast  meet,  scowls  o'er  the  foeman's  tent^ 

She  on  our  duke  smiles  down  with  look  of  blythe  encouragement. 

E'en  now,  I  ween,  our  foes  have  seen  their  hopes  of  conquest  fail ; 

Glad  to  regain  their  homes  again,  and  quaff  their  Saxon  ale. 

So  may  it  be  while  chivalry  and  loyal  hearts  combine 

To  lift  a  brand  for  the  bonnie  land  of  the  olive  and  the  vine ! 

And  now  let  us  give  truce  to  war,  and,  turning  to  calmer 

subjects,  smoke  for  awhile  the  calumet  of  peace  with  a  poet 

of  gentler  disposition.    Poor  MfUevoye !  it  is  with  a  me- 

iancholy  pleasure  that  again  I  turn  to  his  pure  and  pathetic 

nut  he  was  a  fayourite  of  the  Mua^  and,  need  I  add. 


THE   S0X03   OF  FRANCE. 


?    "WTio  can  jwruge  this  simple  melody  witbout  feel- 
g  deeplj  intereated  in  the  fate  of  ita  author  ? 


ta  Cf)ul(  lite  Jftuillt*. 
Par  Militvayi. 
Da  In  d^iouille  de  niw  bois 
L'natomne  ■TaJt  jonchf  U  teire, 
Le  bocage  £l«jt  mm  mjBt^ro, 
lie  roBtignol  JI*it  sans  roix- 
_XluT4}  et  monmiit  ^  AQn  (Ltirore, 
Un  jmme  maiadc,  i  pu  Icuts, 
h^i^'uvit  uns  ^i>  moire 
Le  boil  cher  1  ie>  pninien  uii. 


CI)t  jFall  of  tt)t  i.M&cd. 


Autum 


had  atript  the  grove,  nnd 


The  Talo  Willi  laily  carpflt  o'er— 
Shorn  of  its  mjaterj  ibe  wood. 

And  Philomel  bide  ling  no  more — 
Yet  DM  rtUI  hither  comoi  to  feed 

His  SBia  on  childhood's  merrj' 

For  him,  a\ak  jouth  [  poor  ioTolid  ! 
Lonel;  attrsctiou  gtOl  it  hath. 

"I  come  to  bid  you  fttfewell  brief. 
Here,  O  mj  infnncy's  wild  hauntl 

For  death  gives  in  eooh  falUng  leaf 
Snd  BummonB  to  jour  TuiitAn^ 

'Tnaa  a  atcm  oracle  that  told 
Mj  dark  decree,  '  The  tcoodSund 


PBoiique  j'aime,  adieu!  js  suc- 
Ton  deuil   m'aiertiC   de  mon 

Kt  dan*  obaque  feutlle  qui  tembe 
Jo  toil  un  preface  de  mort. 

Fatal  orach:  d'Epidaure, 
_      Tnm'udit, ' Lti  ftuiUet da  boia 
Lrf  ta  jKKZ  Jaunironl  eneore, 
W     Mail  c'nlpaurladerHitre/oii!" 

^XVtemel  cyprie  !e  baUuce ; 
S^L  tor  mn  t&te  en  silonce 

□  incline  s«  ranieuii : 
Ua  jeuneaae  aera  flctrie 
ATant  I'herbe  de  la  prairie, 

Araut  le  pampre  des  cfiteaai ! 

jemeoral  de  leur  froide  baleina 
U'ont  Umrhi  les  lombrea  au- 

wmme  une  ombre  Tsine 
lir  mon  bean  pRntemB. 

.  imbet  tombe,  feaille  ipb^iret   FoU  I  fall,  O  tmnaitorj  leafl 
OoQVTC beta* !  ce  Criste ehemin I       AndcorerwellthiBpDtliofiorrowi 

""   '      u  diacepoir  ile  ma  mtro       Hide  from  my  mother's  searching 
Ia  l^aoe  oil  Je  leroi  deniain  I  grief 

The  spot  nthen  Til  be  laid  to- 


ler^  thuig 

In  eilenco  o'or  mj  head. 
Tells  me  m;  joutli  shall  wither  fast. 
Ere  the  grass  fiides — yea,  ere  the  last 

Stalk  &om  the  Tine  is  shed. 

I  die!  Yes,  with  his  icy  breath, 
Fixed   Fate  has  frozen   up   my 
blood  1 


F^^-^ 


256 


FATHER  PB0TJT*8  SSLIQfTBS. 


Mais  si  mon  amante  yoil^e 
Vient  dans  la  solitaire  all^e, 

Pleurer  a  Theure  ou  le  jour  fuit ; 

Eveille,  par  un  legcr  bruit, 
Mon  ombre  un  instant  console !" 


n  dit.    S*^oigne  et  sans  rctour ; 

La  dcmiere  feuille  qui  tombe 
A  signal^  son  dernier  jour ; 

Sous  le  ch6ne  on  creusa  sa 
tombe. 
Mais  son  amante  no  vint  pas ; — 

£t  la  p4tro  dc  la  valine 
Troubla  seul  du  bruit  de  ses  pas 

Le  silence  du  mausolee. 


But  should  mj  loved  one's  biij 

tread 
Seek  tlie  sad  dwelling  of  the  dead. 

Silent,  alone,  at  ere  ; 
O  then  with  rustling  murmur  meet 
The  echo  of  her  coming  feet. 

And  sign  of  welcome  give !" 

Such  was  the  sick  youth's  last  sad 
thought : 
Then  slowly  firom  the  grore  be 
moved; 
Next  moon  that  way  a  corpse  was 
brought. 
And  buried  in  the  bower  he  loved. 
But  at  his  grave  no  form  appeared. 
No  fairy  mourner :   through  the 
wood 
The  shepherd's  treadalone  was  heard. 
In  the  sepulchral  solitude. 


Attuned  to  the  sad  harmony  of  that  closing  stanza,  and 
set  to  the  same  key-note  of  impassioned  sorrow,  are  the 
following  lines  of  Chateaubriand,  which  I  believe  have  never 
appeared  in  print,  at  least  in  this  country.  They  were  com- 
posed on  the  occasion  of  a  young  and  beautiful  girl's  pre- 
mature death,  the  day  her  remains  were,  with  the  usual 
ceremony  of  placing  a  wreath  of  white ,  roses  on  the  bier, 
consigned  to  the  earth. 

Ci^atraubrtanti. 

Sur  la  FilU  de  mon  Amit  enterrie  hier  devant  mot  au  Citnetiere  de  Pauy. 

16  Juin,  1832. 

II  descend  ce  cercueil !  et  les  roses  sans  taches 

Qu'un  p^re  y  deposa,  tribut  de  sa  douleur : 
Terre !  tu  les  portas !  et  maintenant  tu  caches 

Jeune  fille  et  jeun^  fleur ! 
Ah!  ne  les  rends  jamais  k  ce  monde  prophane, 

A  ce  monde  de  douU,  d'angoisse,  et  de  malheui* ! 
Le  vent  briso  et  fletrit,  le  soleil  brdle  et  fane 

Jeune  fille  et  jeune  fleur ! 
Tu  dors,  pauvre  Elisa,  si  legdre  d*ann^s ! 

Tu  ne  crains  plus  du  jour  le  poids  et  la  chaleur  | 
EUei  ont  acheve  leurs  fraiohes  matinees, 

Jeune  fille  et  jeune  floor  t 


^^r                   TttE  aoKflS  or  T&Ascx.                      257 

E>T  tb*t  Doffin  goei  down,  let  it  b«Ar  od  ita  lid 

Tbe  garland  of  roies 
Which  the  band  of  a  hthar,  her  moumen  wnid, 
In  sUence  deposes— 
"Tia  the  joung  mwden's  funeral  hour ! 
Ffnoi  thy  bosom,  0  mrth!  sprung  that  young  budding  roM 
And  'tia  meet  that  together  thj  lap  should  eituluu 

The  ;ouiig  maid  and  the  Bancr ! 
Kerer.  never  give  bock  [he  two  Bvmbola  ao  pura 

Which  to  thee  we  couUde  j 
From  the  breath  of  this  world  and  its  plagui'-B]>ot  securs, 
IM.  Ihom  alsep  side  by  sido— 
Thej  shall  know  not  iw  poitilant  power ! 

Or  the  fierco  uorcliing  bud,  might  parch  up  aa  tliej  grew 

The  jDuug  maid  and  the  ilower! 
Poor  Elite  1  for  thee  life's  enjojmonta  hiiTe  fled, 

But  ita  pangs  loo  are  flown  ! 
Then  go  sleep  in  the  griTel  in  that  cold  bridal  bed 

Death  raav  eall  thee  Ms  »»u— 

Take  this  handful  of  ohiy  for  thj  dower !                 ^^^M 
Of  ■  texture  wert  thou  &r  too  geutlu  to  last  t                             .^^^H 
'TwM  «  moniing  thj  life  1  now  the  matins  are  put                  .^^^^M 

For  the  maid  and  tlie  Qower                                 ^^^^H 

No.  IX. 

THE  BONQS    OF    FKASCE. 

0!f    WISE,    WAH,     WOMEN.    WOOnF.N     B11U£8,     PUIL03OPIIT, 

FHOQS     iSD    FHEE    TBADK. 

^rom  tf|r  S?rout  ^aptrp. 
■Jhapter  III. — Pnitoaopnr. 

"Quando  GaUos  cantat,  PrtruB  fl>.i;'-5u'(«  K.  Fml.  JIf-j. 
"8i  de  no*  ooqs  la  Toii  altiera          "  If  old  St.  Peter  on  his  roek 
TronbU  I'hiritiar  de  St.  Pierre,         WeiitwheQliehe.-irdllieO"llireoek. 
Grtce  aui  annates  aujourd'hui.         Haa  not  the  pood  French  be  (God 

BRBUiBaB.      laud  manj  as  e«g  for  hit  iiiccea. 
for?" 

Bkfohk  we  plunge  witli  Prout  into  the  deptha  of  Frfticii 
PhiloBophy,  we  must  pluci  a  crow  with  tbe  "  Sun."    Sot 

268  fATUSlt  PBOtT'i   BILIQUES. 

often  does  it  occur  to  us  to  notice  a  newspaper  criticism ; 
nor,  indeed,  in  this  case,  should  we  condescend  to  wax 
angry  at  the  discharge  of  the  penny-a-liner*s  popgun,  were 
it  not  that  an  imputation  has  been  cast  on  the  good  father's 
memory,  which  cannot  be  overlooked,  and  must  be  wiped 
away.  The  caitiff  who  writes  in  the  "  Sun"  has,  at  the  in- 
stigation of  Satan,  thrown  out  a  hint  that  these  songs,  and 
specifically  his  brilliant  translation  of  "  Malbrouck,"  were 
written  "under vinous  inspiration!"  A  false  and  atrocious 
libel.  Great  mental  powers  and  superior  cleverness  are  too 
often  supposed  to  derive  assistance  from  the  bottle.  Thus 
the  virtue  of  the  elder  Cato  (^prisei  Catonis)  is  most  unjus- 
tifiably ascribed  to  potations  by  unreflecting  Horace  ;  and 
a  profane  French  sophist  has  attributed  Noah's  escape  from 
the  dood  to  similar  paHiality  : 

"  No^  le  pairiarche,  **  Td  have  drown'd  an  old  chap, 

Si  c^lfebrt  par  I'arche,  Such  a  friend  to  *the  tap,' 

Aima  fort  le  iuB  du  tonneau ;  The  flood  would  haVe  felt  compunc- 

Puisqu'il  planta  la  vigne,  tion : 

Convenez  qu'^tait  digne  Noah  owed  his  escape 

l)e  ne  point  se  Aoyer  dans  l*eau!"  To  his  lore  for  the  grape ; 

And  liis  'ark^  was  an  empty  pun- 
cheon." 

The  illustrious  Queen  Anne,  who,  like  our  own  Regina, 
encouraged  literaturb  and  patronised  wit,  was  thus  calum- 
niated after  death,  when  her  statue  was  put  up  where  it 
now  stands,  with  its  back  to  Paul's  church  and  its  face 
turned  towards  that  celebrated  corner  of  the  churchyard 
which  in  those  days  was  a  brandy-shop.  Nay,  was  not  our 
late  dignified  Lord  Chancellor  equally  lampooned,  without 
the  slightest  colour  of  a  pretext,  excepting,  perhaps,  "  be- 
cause his  nose  is  red."  G^ood  reason  has  he  to  curse  his  e\  il 
genius,  and  to  exclaim  with  Ovid — 

"  Ingenio  perii  NiAO  poeta  meo  !** 

We  were  prepared,  by  our  previous  knowledge  of  history, 
for  this  outbreak  of  calumny  in  Front's  case ;  we  knew,  fiy 
a  reference  to  the  biography  of  Christopher  Columbus,  of 
Galileo,  and  of  Dr.  Fauatus  (the  great  inventor  of  the  art 
of  printing),  that  his  intellectual  superiority  would  raise  up 
■  hoai  of  adversaries  prepared  to  malign  him,  nay.  ii 


THE   SOnOB   OF    FltAKCn.  2&8 

ccuBe  him  of  witchcmft.     The  writer  in  the  "  Sun" 

vet  gone  quite  bo  fiir,  conteDtiug  himBelf  lor  tlie 

■nt  with  the  Basertion,  that  tlie  lather  penned  "  these 

inga  of  France  "  to  the  souud  of  a  gurgling  flugon — 

"  Aut  doiix  gloui  gloiu  que  fait  la  bouteillu." 

1  not  new.     When  Demoathenea  ahaied  his  head, 

and  spent  the  winter  in  a  odlur  tronacribing  the  works  of 

Thiicydidea,  'twas  swd  of  him,  on  his  emerging  into  the 

lij;lit  of  the  ^^/ia,  that  "  hia  apeeches  smelt  of  oil."     It 

was  stated  of  that  locomotire  knight,  t^ir  Richard  Blacli- 

whose  epic  poem  on   King  Arthiif  is  now  (like  Bob 

loDtgomerjr's  "  Omniprtaence  ")  present  nowhere,  that  he 

Wrole  to  the  rumbling  of  hii  ponuh-whwls," 

In  allnsion  to  Byron's  Innieness,  it  was  hinted  by  sonie 

Zoiliis  that  he  penned  not  a  few  of  bis  verses  slant  jifde  m 

•tiia.     Even  a  miui's  gonealogy  is  not  safe  from  innuendo 

and   inference;   for  Sam  Bogera  having  iliacovered,  from 

"  ■  inger's  song,  "  Le  Tiiilieur  et  U  i'^e,"  th.it  hia  father 

a  tailor,  pronounced  his  parentage  and  enrly  impressiona 

le  the  rnuae  why  he  was  such  n  cnpital  hand  at  a  hem- 

ich.    If  a  similar  analogy  can  hold  good  in  Tom  Moore's 

(whose  jiiveuiie  associations  were  of  a  grocer  sort),  it 

no  doubt  become  obvious  why  hit  compositions  are  so 

.glily  spiced,"  his  taste  so  "  liquoFish,"  and  his  mtise  so 

digul  of  "  sugar-candy." 

But  ia  it  c^ime  to  this  ?  must  we  needs,  at  this  time  of 

.y,  vindiftttfi  the  holy  man's  character  ?  and  arc  we  driven 

itake  up  the  cudgels  for  his  sobriety?— he,  wboae  frugal  life 

proverbial,  and  whose  eeal,  bucked  by  personal,  example, 

all-powerful  to  win  his  parishioners  from  tlie  seduction 

barleyoom,  and  reduce  them  to  a  habit  of  temperance, 

bonain  fragem  rediterre .'     He,  of  whom  it  might  be  pre- 

Icated,  that  while  a  good  conscience  was  the_;iiye  c 

^  bia  mind,  his  corporeal  banquet  was  a  perpetual  i 

Herring !      fFater-ertttei,  so  abundant  on  that  bleak  I 

bvere  his  only  luiury;   for  he  belonged  to    that  class  of 


Pythagorean  philosophers  of  whom  Virgil  speaks, 


ription  of  the  plague : 


u  pMcnntDr  limplicia  hwtw." — Ocory.  1 


260  FATHSB  PBOUT'S   RELIQIHES. 

Cicero  fcells  us,  in  his  Tusculan  Questions  (what  he  might 
have  read  in  Xenophon),  that  water-cresses  were  a  favounte 
diet  in  Persia.  His  words  are :  '*  Pers»  nihil  ad  panem 
adhibebant  prseter  nasturtium."  (Tusc.  Qusest.  v.  140). 
I  only  make  this  remark,  en  passant,  as,  in  comparing  Ire* 
land  with  what  Tom  calls 

*'  that  delightful  proyinoe  of  the  sun. 
The  land  his  orient  beam  first  shines  upon,** 

it  would  seem  that  ^' round  towers*'  and  water-cresses  are 
distinctive  characteristics  of  both  countries ;  a  matter  some- 
what singular,  since  the  taste  for  water-grass  is  by  no  means 
generally  diflFiised  among  European  nations.  Pliny,  indeed 
(lib.  xix.  cap.  8),  goes  so  far  as  to  state,  that  this  herb 
creates  an  unpleasant  titillation  in  the  nose :  "  Nasturtium 
nomen  accepit  -X  narium  tormento."  But  Spenser  says  of 
the  native  Irish,  that  "  wherever  they  found  a  plot  of  sham- 
rocks or  water-cresses,  there  they  flocked  as  to  a  feast." — 
State  of  Ireland,  A.D.  1580. 

When  we  assert  that  Prout  was  thu§  a  model  of  abste- 
miousness, we  by  no  means  intend  to  convey  the  notion 
that  he  was  inhospitable.  Is  not  his  Carousal  on  record 
in  the  pages  of  Eeoitj a  ?  and  will  it  not  be  remembered 
when  the  feast  of  O'Rourke  is  forgotten  ?  If  a  friend 
chanced  to  drop  into  his  hut  on  a  frosty  night,  he  felt  no 
more  scruple  in  cracking  with  his  guest  a  few  bottles  of 
Medoc,  than  George  Knapp,  the  redoubtable  Mayor  of 
Cork,  in  demolishing,  with  his  municipal  club,  a  maa-dog*8 
pericranium.  Nor  were  his  brother-clergy  in  that  diocese 
less  remarkable  for  well-ordered  conviviality.  Horace,  in 
his  trip  to  Brundusium,  says,  that  parish-priests  are  only 
bound  (on  account  of  their  poverty)  to  supply  a  stranger 
with  a  fire-side  of  bog- wood,  and  potatoes  and  salt — 

*^  Suppeditant  parochi  quod  debent  liffna  salemqus  ;** 

whereas  he  foolishly  imagines  that  nothing  can  surpass  a 
bishop's  hospitality — 

"  Pontificum  potiore  cosms." 

Were  the  poet  now-a-days  (a.d.  1830)  to  make  a  trip  to 
Cork,  he  would  find  matters  managed  vice  versd. 


TBX   t 


ir.8   OP   FBAKCE.  261 

From  ftll  we  have  said  on  this  subject,  ond  still  more  from 
e  could  add,  if  iDdiued  to  be  wrathful,  Prout's  caluin- 
niatora  may  leam  a  leason  of  forbeBrance  tuid  decorum.  Hi* 
paths  are  the  paths  of  pleasantueas  tuid  peace.  But  we  are 
determined  to  protect  him  from  assault.  Par  be  it  from  ua 
to  throw  au  &pple  of  discord  ;  but  Fivut  is  the  apple  of  our 
ejre.  Let  the  man  in  "  the  Sun"  read  how  Daniel  O'Kourke 
feU  from  "  the  moon ;"  let  bim  recollect  the  Dutch  ambasBa- 
dor'a  remark  when  the  grand  monorque  shewed  him  hia  own 
■ifOyal  face  painted  in  the  diac  of  an  emblematic  "  Sol  t"  "  Je 
tou  avec  ploisir  voire  majetl^dam  te  plus  grand  T}t,a  abtres." 
OLIVES  YOKKE. 
£«.  lit,  1834. 


WrUrgnunhia.  Da.  1833. 

PTbb  historian  of  Cborlefl  the  Fifth,  in  that  chapter  wherein 

e  diBcourseth  of  the  children  of  Loyola,  takes  the  oppor- 

inity  of  manifeating  his  astonishment  tliat  so  learned  a  uody 

'  tata  should  never  have  produced,  among  crowds  of  poeta, 

riticB,  divines,  metaphysicians,  oratore,  and  astronomers, 

rose  single  philanopher .'"  The  remark  is  not  original.     The 

nious  maggot  was  first  generated  in  the  brain  of  D'Alem- 

,  himself  an  undeniable  "philosopher."      Every  one,  1 

inagine,  knows  what  guesB-Bort  of  wiseacre  France  gave 

urtL  to  in  the  person  of  that  algebraic  personage.     1  say 

nuice  in  general,  a  -whohmle  t«rm,  as  none  ever  knew  who 

a  parenta  were  in  detail,  he,  like  myself,  having  graduated 

D  a  foundling  hoapitul.     lu  the  noble  seminary  dea  Enfant 

^nmei*,  (that  metropolitan  magazine  for  anonymouB  conlri- 

jttititmB,)  the  future  geometer  was  only  known  by  the  name 

r  "Jean  Ic  Bond,"  which  he  exchanged  in  after-lile  for 

^  He  more  sonorous  title  of  D'Alembert ;  not  rendering  him- 

Islf  thereby  a  whit  more  capable  of  finding  the  quadrature 

't  the  circle.     To  be  sure,  in  the  fancy  for  a  high-aounding 

e  be  only  imitated  his  illustrious  fellow 'labourer  in  thi.' 

nejard,  Franqois  Arouet,  whom  mortals  have  learnt  to  call 

^Voltaire"  by  his  own  pmticular  deaire.     Now  Kobertsou, 

Sfi  the  Kirk  of  Scotland,  ought  to  have  known,  wlien  he 

(dnpted,  eecond-band,  this  absurdity,  that  by  philosopher 

"  ■  French  infidel  meant  any  thing  but  a  well-regulated, 


262  Ti.THEB  ?B01TT*8   BEIilQUZS. 

sound,  and  sagacious  mind,  reposing  in  calm  grandeur  ou 
the  rock  of  Bevelation,  and  looking  on  >vith  scornful  pity 
while  modem  sophists  go  through  all  the  drunken  capers  of 
emancipated  scepticism.  Does  the  historian,  grave  and 
thoughtful  as  he  is,  mean  to  countenance  such  yagaries  of 
human  reason  P  does  he  deem  the  wild  mazes  of  the  philo- 
sophic dance,  in  which  Hobbes,  Spinoza,  Bolingbroke,  David 
Hume,  and  Monboddo,  join  with  Diderot,  Helvetius,  and 
the  D'Holbac  revellers,  worthy  of  applause  and  imitation  l 

**  Saltantes  satyros  imitabitur  Alphesiboeus  ?*' 

If  such  be  the  blissful  vision  of  Ai«  philosophy,  then,  indeed, 
may  we  exclaim,  with  the  poet  of  Eton  College,  "  'Tis  folly 
to  be  wise !"  But  if  to  possess  an  unrivalled  knowledge  of 
human  nature — if  to  ken  with  intuitive  glance  all  the 
secrets  of  men's  hearts — if  to  control  the  passions — if  to 
gain  ascendancy  by  sheer  intellect  over  mankind — if  to 
civilise  the  savage — if  to  furnish  zealous  and  intelligent 
missionaries  to  the  Indian  and  American  hemisphere,  as 
well  as  professors  to  the  Universities  of  Europe,  and  **  con- 
fessors" to  the  court  of  kings^ — be  characteristics  of  ge- 
nuine philosophy  and  mental  greatness,  allow  me  to  put  in  a 
claim  tor  the  Society  that  is  no  more ;  the  downfal  of  which 
was  the  signal  for  every  evil  bird  of  bad  omen  to  flit  abroad 
and  pollute  the  world — 

"  Obscoenique  canes,  importtmeque  volucres." 

And  still,  though  it  may  sound  strange  to  modem  democrats, 
tlie  first  treatise  on  the  grand  doema  of  the  sovereignty  of 
the  people  was  written  and  published  in  Spain  by  a  Jesuit. 
It  was  Father  Mariana  who  first,  in  his  book  '*  De  Institu- 
tione  Begis,"  taught  the  doctrine,  that  kings  are  but  trustees 
for  the  benefit  of  the  nation,  freely  developing  what  was 
timidly  hinted  at  by  Thomas  Aquinas.  Bayle,  whom  the 
professor  will  admit  to  the  full  honours  of  a  philosophic  chair 
of  pestilence,*  acknowledges,  in  sundry  passages,  the  supe- 
rior sagacity  of  those  pious  men,  under  whom,  by  the  way, 
he  himself  studied  at  Toulouse ;  and  if,  by  accumulating 

*  "  Cathedra  peitiUntia*'  is  the  Tulgate  translation  of  what  the  ao* 
thorisod  Church-version  calls  the  **  seat  of  the  soomiviL"  PtoaliD  i.  L 
— O.Y. 


doubts  and  dtu-kneRB  on  the  truths  of  Cbnetianity,  ht  hu 
merited  to  be  ctilied  the  cloud-compelling  Jupiter  among 
philoeophers,  msifjiy^tra  Ztut,  surely  aome  partideof  ^iiVo- 
MOpkic  prnise,  etjuivooai  ns  it  ie,  might  be  reeerved  for  those 
able  masters  n-ho  stunulated  hiB  early  inquiries, — excited 
Biid  fed  his  young  appetite  for  erudifion.  But  they  sent 
fortli  from  their  sc-hools,  in  Descartes,  in  Torricelli,  and  in 
Bossuet,  much  sounder  specimens  of  reasoning  and  wiedoui. 

1  hesitate  not  to  aver,  as  a  general  propoeition,  that  the 
French  character  iB  essentially  unphilosophical.  Of  the 
Qreeka  it  baa  been  said,  what  1  would  rattier  apply  to  our 
merry  neighbours,  that  they  were  "  a  nation  of  chOdren," 
possessing  all  the  Avlicsome  wildness,  oil  the  playful  attrac- 
tiTeness  of  that  pleasant  epoch  in  life;  but  deScient  in  the 
graver  faeuttiee  of  diBpasHioDate  reflection ;  'EKhrtnt  am 
muift,  ytoiin  it  'EXXijy  ouofij. — (Plato,  "  Timieua.")  In  the 
reign  of  Louip  XIV.,  P6re  Boubours  gravely  discusBea,  in  his 
"  Coure  de  Beliea  Lettres,"  the  question,  "  whether  a  native 
of  Germany  can  poBsess  wit  f "  The  phlegmatic  dwellers  on 
the  Danube  might  retort  by  proposing  as  a  problem  to  the 
University  of  Gottin^en,  "  An.  datur  philosopbus  inter 
GalloB  F"  Certain  it  is,  and  I  know  thiim  well,  that  the 
calibre  of  their  mind  is  better  adapted  to  receive  and  dis- 
eharge  "  small  shot"  than  "  heavy  metal."  That  they  arc 
more  calculated  to  Bhioe  in  the  imaginative,  the  ornamental, 
the  refined  and  delicate  departments  of  literature,  than  in  the 
sober,  sedate,  and  profound  pursuita  of  philosophy ;  and  it 
is  not  without  reason  that  history  tells  of  tbetr  ancestors, 
when  on  the  point  of  taking  the  capitol,  that  they  were 
foiled  and  discomfited  by  the  solemn  steadiness  of  a  gooae. 

Cirero  had  a  great  contempt  for  the  guidance  of  Greek 
philosophers  in  matters  appertaining  to  religion,  thinking, 
with  reaBon,  that  there  was  in  the  Uoman  gravity  a  more 
fitting  disposition  of  mind  for  such  important  inquiries : 
"Ciini  de  religione  agitur,Titum  Coruncanium  aut  Puhlium 
SoaMTolam,  ponlijieet  waiimos,  non  Zeuonem,  aut  Cleanthum, 
aut  Chrysippum  sequor."  {De  Nalura  I)eor.)  The  terms 
of  insulting  depreciation,  Griecvlai  and  Gracia  meadax,  are 
familiar  to  the  readers  of  the  Latin  classics ;  and  from 
Aristophaoes  we  can  learn,  that /royi,  a  talkative,  saltatory, 
And  unBubstantial  noun  of  multitude,  was  then  applied  to 


20i  FATHEB  PBOUT'S  BELIQUES. 

Greeks,  as  now-a-days  to  [Frenchmen.  But  of  this  mora 
anon,  when  I  come  to  treat  of  "  frogs  and  firee-trade."  I 
am  now  on  the  chapter  of  philosophy. 

Yague  generalities,  and  sweeping  assertions  relative  to 
national  character,  are  too  much  the  fashion  with  writers  of 
the  Fuckler  Muskaw  and  Lady  Morgan  school :  wherefore 
I  select  at  once  an  individual  illustration  of  mv  theory  con- 
cerning the  French  ;  and  I  hope  I  shall  not  he  accused  of 
dealing  unfairly  towards  them  when  I  put  forward  as  a 
sample  the  Comte  de  Buffon.  Of  all  the  eloquent  prose 
writers  of  France,  none  has  surpassed  in  graceful  and  har- 
monious diction  the  great  naturalist  of  Burgundy.  His 
work  combines  two  qualities  rarely  found  in  conjunction  on 
the  same  happy  page,  viz.,  accurate  technical  information 
and  polished  elegance  of  style ;  indeed  his  maxim  was  "  Le 
style  c*est  Vhomme  :"  but  when  he  goes  beyond  his  depth — 
when,  tired  of  exquisite  delineations  and  graphic  depictur- 
ings, he  forsakes  the  "  swan,"  the  "  Arabian  horse,"  the 
"  beaver,"  and  the  "  ostrich,"  for  "  Sanconiathon,  Berosus, 
and  the  cosmogony  of  the  world,"  what  a  melancholy  exhi- 
bition does  he  make  of  ingenious  dotage  !  Having  prede- 
termined not  to  leave  Moses  a  leg  to  stand  on,  he  sweeps 
away  at  one  stroke  of  his  pen  the  foundations  of  Grenesis, 
and  reconstructs  their  terraqueous  planet  on  a  new  patent 
principle.  I  have  been  afc  some  pains  to  acquire  a  com  pre* 
hensive  notion  of  his  system,  and,  aided  by  an  old  Jesuit,  I 
have  succeeding  in  condensing  the  voluminous  dissertation 
iuto  a  few  lines,  for  the  use  of  those  who  are  dissatisfied 
with  the  Mosaic  statement,  including  Dr.  Buckland : 

1.  In  the  beginning  was  the  sun,  from  which  a  splinter 
was  shot  oflf  by  chance,  and  that  fragment  was  our  globe. 

2.  9ntr  the  globe  had  for  its  nucleus  melted  glass,  with 
an  envelope  of  hot  water. 

3.  9ntf  it  began  to  t^irl  round,  and  became  somewhat 
flattened  at  the  poles. 

4.  ^ob,  when  the  water  grew  cool,  insects  began  to  ap- 
pear, and  shell-fish. 

5.  Snti   from  the  accumulation  of   shells,  particularly 
oysters  (tom.  i.,  4to.  edit.  p.  14),  the  earth  was  gradually 


nood,  with  riiiy;e«  of  mouotainB,  on  the  principle  of  thL> 

'onte  Teetucio  aX  the  ^te  of  Kome. 

6.  J4ut  the  melted  glass  kept  warm  for  a  long  time,  and 
the  arctic  climate  was  as  hot  in  those  (Java  nn  the  tropit/a 
-  jw  are :  witoeBB  a  froaen  rhinoeeroa  fouud  in  Siberia,  &e. 

c.  Ac. 

To  ah  which  diBcoveries  no  one  will  be  bo  iUihera]  as  to 
fuae  the  appropriate  acclamation  of  "  Very  fine  oysters  !"• 

As  I  have  thuH  furnished  here  a  compendious  substitute 
r  tlie  obsolete  book  of  Genesis,  I  thick  it  rit;ht  also  to 
ipply  a  few  notions  on  astronomy  -,  wherefore  I  subjoin  a 
reach  song  on  one  of  the  moat  interestiug  phenomena  of 
e  Bular  system,  in  which  efiuaion  of  some  unonynnous  poet 
ere  ia  about  as  much  wisdom  as  in  BuHon's  cosmogony. 

%a  Gdcmit  Did  lEdipdtK.  ®n  ^oUr  ^tlipitt, 

(a  new  TnEOKY.) 
(Jiifiitir  leqailnr.)  For  fhe  tut  o/IJie  /.om/en  Unittrtilg. 

jura  lo  Slyi  qui  loumoie  All  heaven,  I  Bwcar  bj  SI  ji  that  rolls 

Diaa  le  paj-s  dc  TarlBra,  ilji  dark   llood   roujid  (iiu  land  of 


Qu'i  "Colm-inulWd"  on  jouei 
r«iu!  tire 


Bort,  qu'un  Toie  Shall  pluy  tlits  day  at  "Bliiid 

b  Mrs.  luim's  buff." 

Come,  inuke  arnuigcmentt  on  tlie 

Prepan)  the  'kerchief,  dm  the  lot — 
So  JoTe  camnifuids  !     Enough  I 

bon  Soleil  I'aTWt  bieo  dit —  LotMoQSoi,:(beBtarBwerealruck 

Le  tort  loi  fcbut  en  putago :  AC  such  ui  instsnee  of  ill  luck, 

tihacun  riC  ;  et  tuWknt  I'ungc.  Tlien  Luna  forward  came, 

uaaitAt  U  Lune  t'oUHt  And  bound  wilU  gentle,  moilcsl 

Pour  lui  Toiler  sou  beau  niagc.  band. 

O'er  hie  brifjlit  brov  Hie  mualiii 

Hence  mortula  learned  the  game. 

luld  be  scandiJous  indeed,  if  the  palm  of  absurdly, 

le  bronze  mednl  of  impudence  in  philosophic  diaeovery, 

to  be  awarded  to  Butfon,  when  Voltaire  stands  a  cnu-  - 

field  of  speculutiou.     This  great  man, 

soaraing  on  a  similar  subject,  in  bis  profound  "  QueatioDii 

Front  felt  that  diiililte  of  geological  induiitioa  commoD  to  old- 

churuhmen — O.Y- 


2G6  FATHER  PROUT^S  RSLIQUES. 

Encyclopediques,"  labours  to  remove  the  vulgar  presumptiou 
in  &vour  of  a  general  deluge,  derived  from  certain  marine 
remains  and  conchylia  found  on  the  Alps  and  Pyrenees. 
He  does  not  hesitate  to  trace  these  shells  to  the  frequency 
of  pilgrims  returning  with  scollops  on  their  hats  from  St. 
Jago  di  Compostello  across  the  mountains.  Here  are  his 
words,  q,  e.  (art.  CoquU.) :  "  Si  nous  faisons  reflexion  k  la 
foule  innombrable  de  p^l^rins  qui  partent  k  pied  de  St. 
Jaques  en  Gklice,  et  de  toutes  les  provinces,  pour  aller  k 
Home  par  le  Mont  Cenis,  charges  de  coquilles  d  leurs  bon- 
nets," &c.  &c. — a  deep  and  original  explanation  of  a  very 
puzzling  geological  problem. 

But  let  the  patriarch  of  Femey  hide  his  diminished  head 
before  a  late  French/? At /o«opAic  writer,  citoyen  Dupuis, author 
of  that  sublime  work,  "De  TOrigine  des  Cultes."  This 
performance  is  a  manual  of  deism,  and  deservedly  has  been 
commemorated  by  a  poet  from  Gascony ;  who  concludes  his 
complimentary  stanzas  to  the  author  by  telling  him  that  he 
has  at  last  drawn  up  Truth  from  the  bottom  of  the  well  to 
which  the  ancients  nad  consigned  her : 

VouB  avez  bien  m^rit^  Truth  in  a  well  was  said  to  dwell, 

De  la  patrie,  Sire  DupuiB :  From  whence  no  art  could  pluck  it ; 

Yous  avez  tir^  la  verity  But  now  'tis  known,  raised  by  the  loan 

Du  puits !  Of  thy  philosophic  bucket. 

Citizen  Dupuis  has  imagined  a  simple  method  of  explain- 
ing the  rise  and  origin  of  Christianity,  which  he  clearly 
shews  to  have  been  nothing  at  its  commencement  but  an  "  as- 
tronomical allegory :"  Christ  standing  for  the  Sun,  the 
twelve  apostles  representing  the  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac, 
Peter  standing  for  "  Aquarius,"  and  Didymus  for  one  of 
"the  twins,"  &c. ;  just  with  as  much  ease  as  a  future  histo- 
rian of  these  countries  may  convert  our  grand  Whig  cabinet 
into  an  allegorical  fable,  putting  Lord  Althorp  for  the  sign 
of  Taurus,  Palmerston  for  the  Goat,  EUice  for  Ursa  Major, 
and  finding  in  Stanley  an  undeniable  emblem  of  Scorpio* 

Volney,  in  his  "  Euines,"  seems  to  emulate  the  bold  theo- 
ries of  Dupuis  ;  and  the  conclusion  at  which  all  arrive,  by 
the  devious  and  labyrinthine  paths  they  severally  tread, — 
whether,  with  Lamettrie,  they  adopt  plain  materialism ;  or, 

•  "  Bpar  Ellice"  and  "  Scorpion  Stanley*'  were  household  words  ia 
1830,  as  well  as>  Lord  Althorpe's  bucoHc  and  Palmerston's  erotic  famb. 


^Mj^^ 

^                       

TBI   SONes   OP  FBAXCB. 

I  witl»  CnntlillQc,  hint  nt  llie  posBibility  of  malirr  lieing  cnpiu 

I  ble  or  thought  ,■  or,  witli  Diderot,  fiu^  no  difleronoe  between 

'  adog  but  tbe  clotlieB  ("Vie  de  Stiii^cjue")— is, 

I  eioaucipalion  from  all  moral  tie,  and  contempt  for  all  eiiat- 

ing  inslitutions,     Tbeir  disciples  fill  the  galley§  in  France, 

1  nud  cause  our  own  Botouv  Ba)'  to  present  all  the  agree- 

\  able  varieties  of  a  philosophical  horlus  liccat.     But  Ireland 

[  haa  produced  a  grander  specimen  of  philosophy,  exemplified 

in  the  calm  composure,  dignified  tranquillity,  and  instructive 

Belf-pOMesBioD,  with  which  death  may  he  encountered  after 

I  B  life  of  usefulness.     For  the  benefit  of  the  Freucb,  I  have 

I  taken  some  paioa  to  initiate  them,  through  the  medium  of  a 

L  tranalation,  into  the  worhings  of  an  Irish  mind  unfettered 

[  by  conscimtious  acruplea  on  the  threshold  of  eternity. 


Ct)i  S"lf)  ol  dotralrd. 


Ka^artDtSDnalc. 

arrdbiidtFrixit.CurfdaMmt- 
aiue-CrttioHi,  in-h  lit  Cor*, 


BtaU  before  Lairj  km  rtwlthed,   A  U 
ha  Mj*  llu7  all  {nid  liiin  a  visit ; 
I  AbitmlUeirMtcl(a.too.ttii!yreti:he<l— 
niejr  swenUd  their  duda   till  tliej 


g"ei  _ 


f  For  tarry  whb  nlwayi  the  Ud, 

When  a  friend  kss  cundeinn«l  to 
the  iqiu-eler, 

I  Bat  he'd  pawn  all  the  togs  thnt  he  linil, 
'  ut   to  hdp  tlie  puor   hoy   lu  h 


And  moil 


hiagohTorehedied. 
dear  Lnirj," 


And  jmvniM  going  off  lika  : 
ble  I" 
*  Uoald  four  tongue  in  thot  matter," 


lui  ^tait  bien  dd, 

De  QOmbreui  aniie  U  Fisiti: ; 

Cur  elutciin  x.'aTBit  que  Lsuient 

A  w>n  lour  rendrait  la  p&reillf, 

Cbapcau  montre,   ot   vrate   cQ- 

gugeant, 

Pour  que  I'atni  put  boire  bou- 

Mi  faire,  i  goaier  §ec,  ie  Aaut. 

"  H'^lai,  notrc  gar^on  '"  luidii-jn 
"  CombienjorcgrHtBton  iorl  I 

To  TOili  fleur,  que  sur  u  tige 
Moiaaoime  la  cruelle  mort  I" — 

"Au  diahW   dil-il,   "le  roi 

^a  nte  fait  la  raleur  d'un  bou- 


My, 


he: 


"For  llie  neckcloth  I  don't  care  D 

button, 

I  And  bj  UuB  time  lo-moiToir  jou'll  eee 

Yowhtm  will  bodoadBs  mutton  ; 

AU  for  irhnt  P  'fcase  bia  coi>ra({c 

WM  goodl" 


2G8 


7ATHSB  PBOTJT  S   RELTQVES. 


Tlie  boys  they  came  crowding  in  fast ; 
They  drew  their  stools  dose  round 
about  him, 
Six    glims    round    his    coffin    they 

placed — 
He  couldn't  be  well  waked  without 

'em. 
I  axed  if  he  was  fit  to  die, 

Without  having  duly  repented  ? 
Says  Larry,  **  Thai's  aU  in  my  eye, 
And  all  by  the  darffy  inyented. 
To  make  a  fat  bit  for  themselves." 


Des  amis  d6jik  la  oohorte 

Bemplissait  son  ^troit  r^oit ; 
"  Six  cnandelles,  ho  !  qu'on  ap- 
porte, 
Donnons  du  lustre  k  cette  nuit ! 
Alors  ie  cherchai  k  oonnaitre 
S'il  s'^tait  diiment  repenti  ? 
"  Bah !  c'est  les  fourberies  des 

pr6tree  ; 
Les  gredins,  ils  en  ont  menti, 
£t  leurs  contes  d'enfer  sont 
feux!" 


Then  the  cards  being  called  for,  they 
played. 
Till  Larry  found  one  of  them 
cheated; 
Quick  he  made  a  hard  rap  at  his  head — 

The  lad  being  easily  heated. 
**  So  ye  chates  me  bekase  I'm  in  grief! 
O !  is  that,  by  the  Holy,  the  rason  ? 
Soon  I'll  give  you  to  know,  you  d^-d 
thief. 
That  you're  cracking  your  jokes  out 
of  sason, 
And  scuttle  your  nob  with  my 
fist." 


L'on  demande  les  cartes.    Au  jeu 
Laurent  voit  un  larron    qui 
triche ; 
D'honneur  tout  rempli,  il  prend 
feu, 
Et  d  un  bon  coup  de  poign 
I'affiche. 
"Ha,  coquin!  de  mon   dernier 
jcur 
Tu  croyais  profiter,  peut-etn? ; 
Tu  08C8  me  jouer  ce  tour  ! 
Prends  9a  pour  ta  peine,  vil 
traitre ! 
Et  apprends  k  te  bien  con- 
duire." 


Then  in  came  the  priest  with  his  book. 

He  spoke  him  so  smooth  and  so 

civil ; 

Larry  tipped  him  a  Kilmainham  look. 

And  pitched  his  big  wig  to  the  divil. 

Then  raising  a  Uttle  his  head, 

To  got  a  sweep  drop  of  the  bottle, 
And  pitiful  sighing  he  said, 

"  O !  the  hemp  will  be  soon  round 
my  throttle, 
And  choke  my  poor  windpipe  to 
death !" 


Quand  nous    e^bnes   cess^    nos 
^bats, 
Laurent,  en  ce  triste  repaire 
Pour  le  disposer  au  tr^pas, 

Voitentrer  Monsieur  leYicaire. 
Apres  un  sinistre  r^ard, 

Le  front  de  sa  main  il  se  frotte, 

Disant  tout  haut,  "  Yenez  plus 

tard !" 

Et  tout  has,  "  Vilain'  colotte !" 

Puis  son  verre  il  vida  deux 

fois. 


So  mournful  these  last  words  he  spoke,  Lors  il  parla  de  I'^hafaud, 

We  all  vented  our  tears  in  a  shower;  •    Et  de  sa  derniere  cravate ; 

For  my  part,  I  thought   my  heart  Grands  dieux !  que  9a  paraissait 

broke  beau 

To  see  him  cut  down  like  a  flower  I  Be  la  voir  mounr  en  Socrate  1 


On  hu  trvrela  ire  witched  hi'u  nc^t  Le  tnyet  en  cliantant  il  fit — 

dar.  La  clian«on  point  ne  tat  u 

O,  the  QBiiKiraii  1  thought  I  could  pHSuntc ; 

kill  him '.  Mnis  palit  im  pen  quund  il  vit 

Tot  one  word  did  our  poor  Larrr  aay,  L»  itatue  da  Hoj  Oiidlaiinia- 

Nor  ciiDDged  [ill  Im  came  lo  "King  Lei  pcniWds  n'aimeiit  pi 

"Williain  ;"  ce  roi ! 
Och,  in}>  dear  I  then  his  colour 
turned  »hil« '. 


Ho  was  tucked  up  lo  ocat  and  bo  Le  gibet  IHit  prfit  en  u 

prctt;;  MouranC  il  [oumn  lo  riiiise 

lie  nimbler  jugged  off  from  his  fei-t.  Vers  In  bonne  TiUe  de  DabHn. 

And  he  died  nithhia  face  lotjierilj.  II  dans*  Is  eamis|piole, 

Se  kicked  loo,  but  IhntiraB  all  pridt',  Et   mourut   commo   Ql   Ual- 

For  HK>D  jon  might  tee  'tnaa  all  brouck  ; 

OTorj  Poie  noiia  enterrftmei  ie  drflle 

nd  as  soon  as  the  DiKue  was  untied,  An  cimetiire  de  Donnjbrouk. 

Ihen  at  dnrkef  we  waked  liiui  in  Queaaniune;  aoit  en  reposl 

And  aunt  him  to  take  b  ground- 


There  hw  been  an  nttcnipt  by  Vu^tor  Hugo  to  einbod.v 
juto  a  book  tbe  prindpleB  of  Stoic  philoaophy,  wjiich  Larry 
lierem  propoimifa  to  Ilia  nBaociates ;  and  the  French  poet 
baa  spun  out  into  tbe  shape  of  a  long  yarn,  eailed  "  Le 
dernier  Jour  d'un  Coudamue,"  what  my  friend  Ueau  Bur- 
:»  bad  BO  ably  condenaed  in  bis  immortal  ballad.  But 
apect  that  Addiaon's  tragedy  of  "  Cato"  furniahed  the 
original  bint,  in  the  aublime  soliloquy  about  suicide — 


unless  we  trace  the  matter  aa  far  back  as  Hamlet'a  conver- 
■BtioQ  witii  the  grave-digger. 

The  care  and  attentioa  with  whicH  "  tbe  boya"  paid  tlie 
laat  funeral  honours  to  the  illuatrioua  dead,  ansiouS'to  tes- 
tify their  adheaion  to  the  doctrinea  of  the  defiinct  philo- 
Mpber  by  a  glorioua  "  wake,"  remind  me  of  the  pomp  and 
I'eremony  with  which  the  saiiii  culnllei  of  Paria  conveyed 
the  carcass  of  Voltiure  and  the  ashea  of  Jean  Jacques  to  the 
Pantheon  in  179i.  The  bones  of  the  ciit-throat  Marat  were 
mbsequently  added  to  the  relics  tberein  gathered ;  and  m 


270 


FATHER  Pout's  bsuquIeb. 


inscription  bitterly  ironical  biased  on  the  front  of  tho 
temple's  gorgeous  portico — 

"  Aux  grands  homines  la  pairie  reconnaissante  !'* 

The  "  Confessions'*  of  Eousseau  had  stamped  him  a  vaga- 
bond ;  the  "  Pacelle"  of  Voltaire,  by  combining  an  outrage 
on  morals  with  a  sneer  at  the  most  exalted  instance  of  ro- 
mantic patriotism  on  record  in  his  'own  or  any  other  country, 
had  emmently  entitled  the  writer  to  be  "  waked"  by  the 
viost  ferocious  ruffians  that  ev^r  rose  from  the  kenuel  to 
trample  on  all  the  decencies  of  life,  and  riot  in  all  the  beati- 
tude of  democracy.  But  when  I  denounce  their  doings  of 
1793,  there  was  a  man  in  those  days  who  deserved  to  live  in 
better  times  ;  tho'  carHed  away  by  the  frenzy  of  the  season 
(for  "madness  ruled  the  hour"),  he  voted  for  the  death  of 
Louis  XYI.  That  man  was  the  painter  David^  then  a 
mefiAer  of  the  Convention ;  subsequently  the  imperial  ar- 
tist, whose  glorious  picturings  of  "  The  Passage  of  the  Alps 
by  Bonaparte,"  of  "The  Spartans  at  Thermopyl»,"  and 
"  The  Emperor  in  his  Coronation  Bobes,"  shed  such  radiance 
on  his  native  laud.  The  Bourbons  had  the  bad  taste  not 
only  to  enforce  the  act  of  proscription  in  his  case  while  he 
lived,  but  to  prohibit  his  dead  body  from  being  interred  in 
the  French  territory.  His  tomb  is  in  Brussels;  but  his 
paintings  form  the  ornament  of  Louvre  and  Luxemburg ; 
while  fortunate  enough  to  be  sung  by  B^ranger. 

%e  ConBoi  He  BabiH, 

Peint¥e  de  VEmperent^  teX'Membre  de  la  Convention. 

Air—'*  0e  Roland." 


•* NonI  nonl  vous  ne  passeret  pas!" 
Crie  un  soldat  Bur  la  fronti^re, 
A  cetix  qui  de  David,  h^las ! 
Kapportalent  ches  noiig  la  poii>(si^re. 
"Soldat,"  disentils  dans  leur  detiil, 
"  Proacrit-on  aussi  sa  m^moire? 
Quoi,  vous  reponsMS  son  cercueil! 
Et  vous  h^ritez  de  sa  gloire !" 

*  Non !  non !  vous  ne  passerez  pas  I" 

Dit  le  soldat  avec  fiirie. — 
"Soldat,  ses  yenx  jusqu'au  trtpas 
So  sont  tonrn^H  vera  la  patrie ; 
11  en  soutenait  la  splendour 

Du  fond  d'un  exil  qui  I'honore ; 
C^est  par  lui  que  notre  grandeur 
Sur  la  toile  respire  encore." 


"  Non  I  non!  vous  ne  pasMres  pas!** 

Bedit  plus  baa  la  aentinelle.— 
"  Le  peintre  de  L^nidas 

Dans  la  liberty  n'a  vu  qn*eUt : 
On  lui  dut  le  noble  appareil 

Des  Jours  de  Joie  et  d'ent^ranee, 
Oik  les  beanz  arts  k  lenr  r«retl 
F«taient  to  r^vell  de  U  Fraaoe.'* 

"  Non !  non  I  vous  ne  pasaeres  pas  P 
Di  le  soldat;  " e'est  ma  covslgoe." 
"  Du  plus  grand  de  tous  lea  sc4dUa 
II  fat  le  peintre  le  plus  digna 
A  Taspect  de  I'aigle  si  tier, 

Plein  d'Hom^re,  et  Time  ezaltM. 
David  erut  peindre  Jnpit^r— 
IHLas !  il  pelgnit  Prom4tb^" 


'  ruisoE.  271 

■WmiT  mm  I  rmt  n(  puwrMpMr 

'Eb  (rin,  MUliininni  on  nna  |hii  < 

L«  hum  gqt  EXTju  J>  a>ml»in 
■till  111  ;>urr  ['MM  i«  Ron.*  I 


Ex-Ucntbn-  <f  Ihr  Ifattonat  CormntioH.      :-.-,     ''•■j-'  ,•_ 

[MM  in  burred!   "Full  l>•I^k !"  cut*  the  giuird  ^  "crou  sat  tha 

Franch  frontier!" 

Hh  Aolpmn  tread,  of  the  Diiled  d«d  the  flincni]  dretr  ninr. 

■r  the  aentinelle  Imiii  coticed  niill  what  no  plumo,  no  ]uU  nn  biite, 

it  jFtm  h(«r«e  eonlain*  (he  sad  rsmaint  of  a  bsniehoil  re^cidn! 

'  pit}?  take,  for  hii  glorf's  eakp."  Hid  lus  ohilHrnt  lo  Lhe  guarH  ; 

lis  nobis  art  plead  on  hi*  pun — let  a  grace  be  111*  rcwnrd  ! 

'      '    t  hour  of  fkiiie,  nor  tlio  aid  of  liia  pi^i'il 

be  the  memorj  of  the  triumph*  h*  adornml  [" 

'tis  my  dulj,  all*  '■"  said   the  froniiiT  rort- 

"Oh!  givo  to  France  ths  inlieritaDro  of  her  ptunt«r'«  funeral  urn  : 
Hu  pm^  traiMd,  on  the  Alpiuo  waste  of  the  patlilms  Mont  Bmnri<, 
Sapolaoa'i  eouna  on  the  »now-whilo  horse'— let  ojiraM  be  hin  reword! 
For  ha  loied  thit  land — af,  bis  djing  baad  to  point  her  fame  he'd  lend 

faert 
Let  hi*  jjassporl.  bo  the  memory  of  hi»  nati»e  i-oontrj'*  BplaiiiJour  t" 


tAan  bedimmed  li 
loriou*  enterprise." 


~  T«  cannot  paas,"  said  the  guard,   "ahis!  (for 


"  Her  f»V(iiirile  "ras  Iioonidas,  with  his  band  of  Spartan  men  ; 
Did  not  his  art  to  them  impart  lire's  breath,  that  Franoe  might  see 
Wliat  a  patriot  fuw  in  the  gap  could  do  at  old  ThermoprbB  ? 
Oft  bj  that  sight  for  the  eoming  flgUt  was  the  TOUtbful  bosom  fired  : 
Let  lu>  paaaport  be  the  memory  oE  the  Talour  be  inspired  !" 

"  Ya  cannot  pats." — "Soldirr,  alai !  a  dismal  boon  wo  ctbvh — 
Saj.  is  there  not  some  lonely  spot  where  lib  I'rienda  may  dig.a  grnie? 
Ob  I  pity  lake,  fnr  that  harv's  sake  wbom  lie  gloried  to  portray 
With  orown  and  palm  at  Botre  Dame  on  hii  coronalioD-daj." 


272  FJLTH£B  PSOtrx'S   RBLIQUZ8. 

Amid  that  band  the  withered  hand  of  an  aged  pontiff  roee* 
And  blessing  shed  on  the  conqueror's  head,  forgiving  his  own  t. 
He  drew  that  scene — nor  dreamt,  I  ween,  that  yet  a  little  while, 
And  the  hero's  doom  would  be  a  tomb  far  off  in  a  lonely  isle  I 

**  I  am  charged,  alas  !  not  to  let  you  pass,'*  said  the  sorrowing  sentinellc ; 
**  His  destiny  must  also  be  a  foreign  grave !" — "  'Tis  well ! — 
Hard  is  our  fate  to  supplicate  for  his  bones  a  place  of  rest, 
And  to  bear  away  his  banished  clay  from  the  land  that  he  loved  besk 
But  let  us  hence ! — Sad  recompense  for  the  lustre  that  he  cast, 
Blending  the  rays  of  modem  davs  with  the  glories  of  the  past  1 
Our  sons  will  read  with  shame  this  deed  (umess  my  mind  doth  err)  $ 
And  a  future  age  make  pilgrimage  to  the  painter's  sepulchre !" 

How  poor  and  pitiful  to  visit  on  his  cofiBn  the  error  of  hia 
political  career !  There  is  a  sympathy  in  our  nature  that 
rises  in  arms  against  any  act  of  persecution  that  vents  itself 
upon  the  dead ;  and  genius  in  exile  has  ever  excited  interest 
and  compassion.  This  feeling  has  been  admirably  worked 
upon  by  the  author  of  the  "  Meditations  Po^tiques,"  a  poet 
every  way  inferior  to  B^ranger,  but  who,  in  the  following 
effusion,  has  surpassed  himself,  and  given  utterance  to  some 
of  the  noblest  lines  in  the  French  language. 

iLa  filotre. 

A  un  Pohte  Portugais  exile,  par  Alphonse  de  la  Matiime, 

G^n^rcux,  favjoris  des  fiUes  de  memoirs ! 
Deux  scntiers  differents  devant  vous  vont  s'ouvrir— 
L'uD  conduit  au  bonheur,  I'autre  m^ne  a  la  gloire ; 
Mortels !  il  £&ut  choisir. 

Ton  sort,  O  Manoel !  suivit  la  loi  commune : 
La  muse  t'euivra  de  pr^oces  favours ; 
Tes  jours  furent  tissus  de  gloire  et  d'infortui|e, 
Et  tu  verses  des  pleurs ! 

Kougis,  plutdt  rougis,  d^envier  au  vulgaire, 
Le  sterile  repos  dont  son  cceur  est  jaloux ; 
Les  dieux  out  fait  pour  lui  tons  lee  biens  de  la  terre, 
Mais  la  lyre  est  a  nous. 

Les  siecles  sont  h  toi,  le  monde  est  ta  patrie ; 
Quand  nous  ne  sommes  plus,  notre  ombre  a  dee  fMiteli^ 
Oil  le  juste  avenir  prepare  k  ton  g^nie 
Des  honneurs  immortels. 


A  quel  prix 
Tail,  rlntoi 


TOE   SOKeil   OF   r&JLUCF,. 

Ocii,  In  gloire  t'&tUnd  !  maia  air^te  et  contempls 

luneiuaiae  ■  is  port«  du  lemph-, 
£a  garde  let  digrit. 

Id  c'eat  ee  Tieillard  que  I'lngTBte  loiiie 
A  ru  de  mon  ea  men  promcncr  >e»  malheun  t 
Areugle,  U  n^endisit,  au  prix  de  son  gime, 
Ud  pain  mouilU  de  pleun. 

JA  le  Tuatr,  br&l^  d'one  flunme  fatale, 
Elpiant  dans  leg  len  tt  glaiie  <A  BOii  amour, 
(Juand  il  Ta  recucillir  la  paline  triomphalo, 
Descend  aa  noir  b^out. 

Par-tout  des  □udheureui,  dee  proicriti,  di's  lielmiea, 
Lnttaut  contre  le  sort,  ou  oontre  les  buurrenui  i 
Oq  dinit  que  le  Ciel  mx  caurs  plus  maguaamies 
Uisure  plus  de  diduX. 

Impose  done  aileuM  aui  plaintcB  de  ta  !jni — 

Dei  eours  nea  sans  vertu  I'inforlune  eat  I'^i^ucil ; 

Ibii  toi,  roi  dctrfinf ,  que  ton  mallieur  t'iiuipice 

Un  gen  Ere  in  orgueiL 

Que  t'importe,  aprea  lout,  que  cet  ordre  harbor? 
^euduune  loin  des  bonis  qui  fUrent  Ion  berc(»ii  t 
Que  t'importe  en  quel  lieu  la  destin  lo  prepare 
Dn  glorieux  tombesu  7 

Si  Vail  vl  le  fer  de  c«s  tjrBna  du  Tags 
N 'dpchaineront  Ca  gloire  bui  bords  ou  tu  mourms  < 
Idabonne  1b  rf eUmo,  et  tolli  I't  jritage 
Que  tu  lui  laissenui. 

Ceux  qui  I'ont  mioonnu  pleiireroDt  Ic  graud  botnn* 
Atlitee  k  des  proscrlW  ouTre  aoo  FantUoiii 
OorioUn  expire,  et  lee  enrans  de  Borne 
BevDudiquent  son  nam. 

Aus  TiTagea  des  xnorta  avant  que  de  desuendre, 
Oride  Ure  au  ciel  sea  smtpUantce  nuuna  : 
Am  Bannates  barbans  il  a  l^ue  aa  conrtiv. 
St  aa  gloire  aiii  itumaua. 


^74  FATHER  PBOVT'S  BELIQITEB. 


Coni^olatton. 

Addretted  by  Lamartme  to  his  friend  and  brother-poei,  MtuwSly  ^%\%hci 

from  FortugtU, 

Ifvour  bosom  beats  high,  if  your  pulse  quicker  grows, 
When  in  yisions  ye  fancy  t^e  wreath  of  the  Muse, 
There's  the  path  to  renown — there's  the  path  to  repose— 
Ye  must  choose !  ye  must  choose ! 

Manofil,  thus  the  destiny  rules  t^y  career, 
And  thy  life's  web  is  woven  with  gloiy  and  woe ; 
Thou  wert  nursed  on  the  lap  of  the  Muse,  and  thy  tear 
Shall  unceasingly  flow. 

O,  my  friend !  do  not  envy  the  vulgar  their  joys, 
Nor  Uie  pleasures  to  which  their  low  nature  is  prone ; 
For  a  nobler  ambition  our  leisure  employs— 
Oh,  tlie  lyre  is  our  own ! 

And  the  future  is  ours  !  for  in  ages  to  come, 
The  admirers  of  genius  an  altar  will  raise 
To  the  poet ;  and  Fame,  till  her  trumpet  is  dumb, 
Will  re-echo  our  praise. 

Poet !  Glory  awaits  thee ;  her  temple  is  thine ; 
But  there's  one  who  keeps  vigil,  if  entrance  vou  claim 
*Tis  MiBFOBTTTNE !  she  sits  in  the  porch  of  the  shrine. 
The  pale  portress  of  Fame ! 

Saw  not  Gh*eece  an  old  man,  like  a  pilgrim  arrayed. 
With  his  tale  of  old  Troy,  and  a  staflf  in  his  hand, 
Beg  his  bread  at  the  door  of  each  hut,  as  he  strayed 
Through  his  own  classic  land  ? 

And  because  he  had  loved,  though  unwisely,  yet  well ; 
Mark  what  was  the  boon  by  bright  beauty  bestowed— 
Blush,  Italy,  blush !  for  yon  maniac's  oeU 
It  was  Tasso's  abode. 

Hand  in  hand  Woe  and  Genius  must  walk  here  below. 
And  the  chalice  of  bitterness,  mixed  for  mankind, 
Must  be  quaffed  by  us  all ;  but  its  waters  o'erflow 
For  the  noble  of  mind. 

Then  the  heave  of  thy  heart's  indignation  keep  down  ( 
Be  the  voice  of  lament  never  wrung  from  thy  pride  i 
Leave  to  others  the  weakness  of  srief;  take  reuown 
With  endurance  aUied. 


THE  BOKOS   OF  FBAKCE.  27S 

Ii«t  thero  bSDuh  far  off  uid  prmoribB  (for  tbef  eao) 
SsdilDDed  Portagal'a  aoa  Emin  liia  dpsp  iiiiliiu  pUins; 
!But  no  (jrant  can  plsue  Ilio  tree  toiA  uudur  ban. 
Or  the  flpiiib  in  chiuDa. 

Ko !  Ilie  {renxy  of  {action,  thouj^  hatciuL  though  strong, 
Prom  iLe  banks  of  the  Taeus  can't  baniBli  I4iy  feme  : 
&tUl  the  hoik)  of  old  Lisbon  sball  ring  with  tliv  fong 
And  fEBOund  with  tLj  name. 

Wlien  Dante's  attainder  bis  towasmea  repealed — 
When  the  sona  slamped  tht  deed  of  their  aim  nith  abliorfL'nce* 
They  suDimoned  reluPUnt  Havennn  to  yield 
Biwk  hit  fame  to  hia  Floreace. 

And  nith  both  haada  uplifted  Lore's  bard  ere  he  breathed 
Uia  Iwt  aigh,  isr  sway  Irvtu  Im  kiiidml  and  home  : 
To  the  Scythiuia  hia  asliea  hath  left,  but  bctjueathed 
All  bit  gloi7  U>  Borne. 

'Sever  doea  poetry  aBsuine  a  loftier  tone  than  wben  it  be- 
comes the  vehicle  of  calm  philosophy  or  geaeroua  conilo- 
lence  with  bumaa  sufierings ;  but  when  honest  patriotiain 
swells  the  note  aud  eialta  the  melody,  the  effect  on  a  feeling 
heart  is  truly  delightful.     List  to  B^rauger. 

%t  'F'tolon  btist. 


II  dliluwt  dsi  iDBca  (HI 
-  Da  piutn  ftourilaim. 


'  ABI>iIrt*l|ull'MatiiiI  aitendn 

Hem  dainai  eoaulcat  niol'in  d'aSiol ; 

Eut  itriit  >ic  lr°iil  dim  rul. 
Va  pnlda  diii>  iwin  Kl<'ln 
Am  ebuti  qiiVII-  luiui  liupinit 

•  Ktnussr  H  lengiraltr 


«■.'•■..-!!-"».": 


276  FATHEB  FSOUT'S  BSLIQUI8. 

Ci^e  dhrenci^  JfitMir^H  tamentatton. 

My  poor  dos  I  here !  of  jesterdaj's  ftistiTal-cake 

Eat  the  poor  remains  in  sorrow ; 
For  when  next  a  repast  joa  and  I  shall  make, 
It  most  be  on  brown  bread,  which,  for  charity's  sake^ 

Tour  master  must  beg  or  borrow. 

Of  these  strangers  the  presence  and  pride  in  France 

Is  to  me  a  perfect  riddle ; 
They  haye  conquered,  no  doubt,  by  some  &tal  chance-* 
For  they  haughtUy  said,  **  Tou  mutt  play  us  a  danoe  !** 

I  refused — and  they  broke  my  fiddle ! 

Of  our  yiUage  the  orchestra,  crushed  at  one  stroke* 

By  that  sayage  insult  perished ! 
'Twas  then  that  our  pride  felt  the  strangers*  yoke. 
When  the  insolent  hand  of  a  foreigner  broke 

What  our  hearts  so  dearly  cherished. 

For  whenever  our  youth  heard  it  merrily  sound, 

A  flood  of  gladness  shedding. 
At  the  dance  on  the  green  they  were  sure  to  be  found  { 
While  its  music  assembled  the  neighbours  around 

To  the  yiUage  maiden's  wedding. 

By  the  priest  of  the  parish  its  note  was  pronounced 

To  be  innocent  "  after  service ;" 
And  gaily  the  wooden-shoe'd  peasantry  bounced 
On  the  bright  Sabbath-day,  as  the^  diuiced  undenounced 

By  pope,  or  bonze,  or  dems. 

How  dismally  slow  will  the  Sabbath  now  run. 

Without  fiddle,  or  flute,  or  tabor — 
How  sad  is  the  haxrest  when  music  there's  none — 
How  sad  is  the  vintage  tans  fiddle  begun ! — 
Dismal  and  tuneless  labour ! 

In  that  fiddle  a  solace  for  grief  we  had  got ; 

'Twas  of  peace  the  oest  preceptor ; 
For  its  sound  made  all  quarrels  subside  on  the  spot,, 
And  its  bow  went  much  farther  to  soothe  our  hard  lot 

Than  the  crosier  or  the  sceptre. 

But  a  truce  to  my  grief! — for  an  insult  so  base 
A  new  puise  in  my  heart  hath  awoken ! 

That  affront  I'll  revenge  on  their  insolent  race ; 

Qird  a  sword  on  my  thigh — let  a  musket  replace 
The  fiddle  their  buid  has  broken. 


THI   KOHBB  OP   FaASCE.  277 

My  fruDds,  if  1  lall,  m;  old  oorf  m  in  the  crowd 

Of  nlBoghtotwl  inartjri  viewing. 
Shall  uy,  whila  thej  wmp  1117  cold  limbs  in  a  ahroin), 
*Twafl  not  Ut  fkult  if  fWM  a  barbariau  allanca 

To  daoPB  in  our  coontry*i  min !" 

It  would  be  a  pity,  while  we  are  in  the  patriotic  strain  of 
sentiment,  to  allow  the  feelings  to  cool ;  ho,  to  use  a  techni- 
i-al  phrase,  we  shall  keep  the  »team  »p,  by  flinging  into  tlie 
already  kindled  furnace  of  generous  emotions  a  truly  nati- 
onal ballad,  br  Casimir  Delavigne,  conceroing  a  well-known 
anecdote  of  tke  late  revolution,  July  1830. 

It  Ciiim  Ha  loubri.  t!ri}t  fiog  of  tf)t  Gfjrtt  JDaut 

Oaiimir  DilavtgHt.  A  SaUad,  Siptimbf  1831. 

Faoaiil!  que  ton  &ont  w  dfcoDTre !  With  genllo  tread,  villi  uiit:uTrr'o 

U  pliu  d'un  bruve  eat  endomu !  £«d, 

De*  Aeon  pour  le  mutjr  du  Loutts,         Pus  bj'  the  Lourrp-gBlP, 

Un  peu  de  pain  pour  ion  ami !  Whore  buriwl   lie  the   "  men  d 

kaH  flower*  ire  flung  by    thp 
paisera-by, 
And  tba  dog  bowls  dest'lnte. 

Tlmt  dog  had  foiighl. 

In  the  Qerce  onalougiit 
Hid  rutlicd  with  his  master  on  : 

And  both  fought  well; 

But  the  rasBter  fell— 
And  behold  Che  BurriTiug  nne  1 

By  hia  lifaleaa  clay. 
Shaggy  and  grey, 

Hia  (ellow-warrior  alood : 
Nor  mored  beyond. 
But  mingled,  fond, 

Big  teara  with  hia  mnater'a  bluo'i 

Tigil  he  keeps 

By  those  grt«?n  lieajia. 

That  tell  where  heroea  bu  ; 
No  pa«Ber-by 
Can  attract  hia  ey<*, 

For  be  knowa  "  it  ia  not  at !" 


dam  vint  lea  ■(!«□■ 


Ippelle,  et  de  i 

le  corpa  de  eon  Mrs  d'annes 
•e  conlpr  sea  groa»ea  bumea 
Aveeaon  aang. 


k7B 


FATHER  PBOUT's  SSLIQUIS. 


Au  p  jint  du  jour, 
Son  cell  86  ranime,  il  se  dresse 
Pour  que  son  maitre  le  caresse 

A  son  retour. 


Aux  Tents  dee  nuits,  quand  la  cou- 

ponne 
Sur  la  croix  du  tombeau  frlsonne, 

Perdant  I'espoir, 
n  yeut  que  son  maitre  Tentende — 
II  gronde,  il  pleure,  et  lui  demande 

L'adieu  du  soir. 

Si  la  neige  ayec  violence 

De  ses  flocons  couvre  en  silence 

Le  lit  de  mort, 
n  pousse  un  cri  lugubre  et  tendre, 
On  s*v  couche  pour  le  d^fendre 

I)efl  vents  du  nord. 

Avant  de  ferraer  la  paupi^re, 
II  fait  pour  soulever  la  pierre 

Un  vain  effort ; 
Puis  il  se  dit,  comme  la  veille 
"  II  m'appelera  s'il  s'^veiUe" — 

Puis  il  s'endort. 

La  nuit  il  r6ve  barricades — 
Son  maitre  est  sous  la  fusillade, 

Convert  de  sang  ; — 
n  Ten  tend  qui  siffle  dans  Tombre, 
Se  l^ve,  et  saute  apr^s  son  ombre 

£n  gdmissant. 

C'est   \k  qu'il   attend   d'heure   en 

heure, 
Qu'il  aime,  qu'il  souffre,  qu'il  pleure, 

Et  qu'il  mourra. 
Quel  fut  son  nom  ?     C'est  un  mys- 

t^re ; 
Jamais  la  voix  qui  lui  fiit  ch^re 

Ne  le  dira ! 

Passant!  que  ton  front  se  d^ouvre! 
lA  plus  d'un  brave  est  endormi ; 
Pes    fleurs    pour    le   martyr    du 

Louvre, 
Un  peu  de  pain  pour  son  ami ! 


That  are  hung  in  this  place  of 
mourning. 

He  will  start  to  meet 

The  coming  feet 
Of  HOC  whom  he  dreamt  retiiming. 

On  the  grave's  wood-cross 
When  the  chaplets  toss. 

By  the  blasts  of  midnight  shaken. 
How  he  howleth !  hark  I 
From  that  dwelling  dark 

The  slain,  he  would  £un,  awaken. 

When  the  snow  comes  £ut 

On  the  chilly  blast. 
Blanching  the  bleak  chqrchyard. 

With  limbs  outspifead 

On  the  dismal  bed 
Of  his  liege,  he  still  keeps  guard. 

Oft  in  the  night, 

With  main  and  might. 
He  strives  to  raise  the  stone : 

Short  respite  takes — 

"  If  master  wakes. 
He'll  call  me" — then  sleeps  on. 

Of  bayonet-blades, 

Of  barricades. 
And  guns,  he  dr^uneth  most ; 

Starts  from  his  dream, 

And  then  would  seem 
To  eye  a  bleeding  ghost. 

He'll  linger  there 

In  sad  despair, 
And  die  on  his  master's  grave. 

Hjs  name  ?  'Tis  known 

To  the  dead  alone — 
He's   the   dog  of  the    nameless 
brave! 


GKve  a  tear  to  the  dead. 
And  give  some  bread 
To  the  dog  of  the  Louvre  gate ! 
'>^ere  buried  lie  the  men  of  July, 
And  flowers   are   flung   by   the 
passers-by. 
And  the  dog  howls  dfiftolate. 


^ 


iSGS  OP  FBAscE.  279 

Wlien  Diderot  wrote  that  celebrated  sentence,  thnt  he 
•an  DO  diSereoce  between  himself  and  a  dog  but  tlie  clothes, 
he,  no  doubt,  imagined  he  had  conferred  a  compliment  on 
the  dumb  animul.  I  rather  suspect,  knowing  the  nature  of 
ft  thorough-bred  French  philosopher,  that  the  balance  of 
dimity  inclines  the  other  way.  Certain  I  am,  that  any 
thing  like  honest,  manly,  or  allectiouate  feeling  nefer  hau 
ylace  in  the  breast  of  this  contributor  to  the  "Encyclop^die," 
imd  writer  of  irreligioua  and  indecent  romances. 

There  are  Hermons  in  stones,  pltiloanphy  in  a  fiddle,  and  a 
Jeep  nndereurrent  of  ethical  musing  runs  often  beneath 
apparently  shallow  eilusions.  Yet  1  tear  Beranger'a  are  far 
from  being  sacred  songs  after  the  manner  of  Watts'  hymns 
or  Poinpignan's  Potties  Saerie*  at  wliich  Voltaire  sneered. 
"  Sacr^es  eliea  Bont  car  peraonne  n'y  louche."  Of  this  class 
France  can  show  the  odea  of  Jean  BaptUte  Eousseau,  the 
ehorua  hymJis  in  Esther  by  Bacine,  and  the  old  version  of 
the  Paalma  with  which  Clement  Marot  comforted  hia  brother 
Hnnienots. 

'file  NoeU,  or  carols  for  Christmas  tide,  are  also  found  in 
the  French  proTinces,  charming  in  thought  and  sentiment ; 
in  Brittany  especially  there  are  some  current  under  the 
name  of  AbeJard  (who  was  a  bom  Breton),  the  philosophic 
tone  of  which  bespeaks  a  scholastic  origin.  As  I  write  in 
December,  and  that  solemn  festivity  is  at  band,  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  lay  before  my  reader  one  of  them.  Oruidical 
tradition  had  its  stronghold  in  Bretagne,  which  accounts  for 
Abelard'fl  choice  of  subject  in  the  following  tinel. 

Ctit  S^iillttot,  a  toft  ot  tl]i  fecabcitiSom. 

I.  And  a  rod  from  hia  roba  he  drew — 

r  A  prophet  Mt  by  the  Temple  gale,  '^''"  "  ■"'''"'™d    buugl'  'oTO 

Aiiihe  »piAe  ««!h  pM8^  by-  „         '™8  "B? 

I„  thrillii/ToDe-wKr  word  of  ^^T,  ,^  hT"  iT  "'?''  ".^"j 

weigSit,  ""   ™  branch  long  lorn  iliow'd 


And  a™  in  bu  roUing  eye.  „   .  .  »  7" 

•■  /:««  /*^.  b,li^Jjm„!         Th«t  h«d  bio..omed  the, 


__  bud  De« 

I'aute  ihee,  bftievmff  JfW  ! 
Vnt^lT^rl'Lll^p,md«'&  And  the  bud  «-u  Ib^  hirtll  JJ 


280 


TATHEB  PBOTJT's   BBLIQVES. 


n. 

A  priest  of  Egypt  sat  meanwhile 

Under  a  lofty  palm, 
And  gazing  on  his  nntiye  Nile, 

As  in  a  mirror  cahn, 
He  saw  a  lowly  Lotus  plant — 

Pale  orphan  of  the  flood. 
Aiid  well  did  th'  aged  hierophant 

Mark  the  mysterious  bud : 
For  he  fitly  thought,  as  he  saw  it 
float 

0*er  the  waste  of  waters  wild. 
That  the  symbol  told  of  the  cradle 
boat 

Of  the  wondrous  Hebrew  child. 
Nor  was  that  bark-like  Lotus  dumb 

Of  a  mightier  infant  yet  to  come, 
Whose  graven  skiff"  in  hieroglyph 

Marks  obelisk  and  catacomb. 

III. 

A  Greek  sat  on  Colonna's  cape, 

In  liis  lofty  thoughts  alone, 
And  a  volume  lay  on  Plato's  lap. 

For  he  was  that  lonely  one. 
And  oft  as  the  sage  gazed  o'er  the 
page 

His  forehead  radiant  grew ; 
For  in  Wisdom*  s  womb  of  the  Word 
to  come, 

Tlie  vision  blest  his  view. 
He  broached    that   theme  in  the 
Academe, 

In  the  teachfid  olive  grove ; 
And  a  chosen  few  that  secret  knew 

In  the  Porch's  dim  alcove. 

IV. 

A  Sybil  sat  in  Cum»  s  cave — 
•Twas  the  hour  of  infant  Borne — 

And  vigil  kept,  and  warning  gave 
Of  the  holy  one  to  come. 

'Twas  she  who  had  culled  the  hal- 
lowed branch, 


And  sat  at  the  filent  helm 
When  Mneoa,  sire  of  Bome,  would 
launch 
His  bark  o'er  Hades'  realm. 
And  now  she  poured  her  veetal  sou] 
Through  many  a  bright  illumined 
scrolls 
By  priest  and  sage  of  an  after-age 
donned  in  the  lofty  oapitoL 

V. 

A  Druid  stood  in  the  dark  oak  wood 

Of  a  distant  northern  land ; 
And  he  seemed  to  hold  a  sickle  of 
gold 
In   the  grasp  of  his   withered 
hand; 
And  slowly  moved  around  the  girth 

Of  an  aeed  oak,  to  see 
If  a  bleesea  plant  of  wondrous  birtli 

Had  clung  to  the  old  oak  tree. 
And  anon  he  knelt,  and  from  his 
belt 
Unloosened  his  golden  blade. 
Then  rose  and  culled  the  MisiXB- 

TOB 

Under  the  woodland  shade. 

VI. 

O,  blessed  bough!   meet  emblem 
thou 

Of  all  dark  Egypt  knew, 
Of  all  foretold  to  the  wise  of  old. 

To  Boman,  Gb-eek,  and  Jew. 
And  lonff  €K)d  grant,  time-honoured 
plant. 

May  we  behold  thee  hung 
In  oottage  small,  as  in  baron's  hall. 

Banner  and  shield  amons. 
Thus  fitly  rule  the  mirth  of  Tide 

Aloft  in  thy  plioe  of  pride  ; 
Still  usher  forth  in  each  land  ofihi 
north 

The  solenm  Christmaa  tide* 


^xh  was  the  imaginative  theory  of  the  great  scholastic 
Tnth  reference  to  symbolism  and  the  mistletoe.    The  dual 


THE   B0S08  OF   FRiNCE.  281 

'of  tbe  schools  ia  Bometiiues  diamond  dust,  and  fimej-  in  often 
TOiied  up  vrith  metaphyBics.  That  Abelard'a  orLhodosy  should 
be  damaged  by  hia  lautoatic  faculties  was  a  naturol  result ; 
*s  it  also  may  prove  in  the  case  of  a  modem  light  of  the 
Gallican  church,  likewise  a  native  of  Britttiuy,  Abb^  Liim- 
,ia.  I eeeiahia eloquent "Susaiturfiiii/ijertace  enReli- 
•gtun,"  the  germ  of  much  futiu*  aberration,  and  predict  for 
bim  a  career  like  that  of  the  Abb4  Bajnal,  wbose  "  History 
i<rf  European  Commerce  in  the  two  lidies,"  full  of  impas- 
Aiuned  and  brilliant  passages,  is  as  replete  with  anti-social 
•nd  antichriHtiaa  sentiment  as  any  contemporary  declama- 
tion of  D'Holbach  or  Diderot. 

What  though  the  pen  of  some  among  those  sophists  could 
Dccssionolly  trace  eloquent  words  iu  the  advoeiicy  of  their 
diaastrouB  theories  P— what  care  I  for  the 

— *'  Tcrdant  spotfl  that  bloom 

Aroand  the  crater  i  biiruing  lip«, 
SweeWtuag  the  verj  edgo  of  doom," — 

if  the  result  be  an  eruption  of  all  the  evil  passions  of  man- 
luod  to  desolate  the  fair  face  of  society, 

It  is  with  unaffected  sorrow  I  find  the  noble  faculties  of 
Granger  devoted  now  and  then  to  similar  i-illanies  ;  but  in 
the  following  he  has  clothed  serene  philosophy  iu  appro- 
Jtriate  diction. 


ftte  (ftoilttf  ^i  filtnt. 


Sltootiiig  Utiles. 


"  Bergor  I  tn  di«  quo  notro  ftoilp  "  Shepherd  !   they  laj  th»t  a  itar  pro- 

lUgie  IKK  joura,  et  brille  am  Bidet 

eieui  ?"  Orer  Ufa  f— '"Tia  a  trulh.iny  50n  1 

Oui,  mon  oofont!  mug  de  son  IU  eeoretB  Irom   men  the  firmiinicnt 

Tode  hidps, 

I*iiuitLid*pobelnoeTeiui." —  But  tails  to  aoioc  favoured  one." — 

Barnr  1  sur  Eet  szur  banqiiille  "  Shepherd  \  the;  bbj  tlial  a  link  un- 

Da  lire  on  ie  croit  le  aecret ;  broken 

|iioUe  ret  i*tte  ftoile  qui  BIh,  Conneota  out  lute  with  aome  fBVOU- 

(Jui  il«,  file,  «t  dispart  V  rite  itar ; 

What   may   yon  iliooting   light  be- 

Tbn  faUi,  Ma,  Mid  ia  quenched 
•lar?" 


282  FATHEB  PBOUT's  BSLIQUES. 

**  Mon  enfant,  iin  mortel  expire !   **  The  deatih  of  a  mortal,  my  son,  who 

Son  ^toile  tombe  k  I'instant ;  held 

Entre  amis  que  la  joie  inspire  In  his  banqueting-hall  high  rerel ; 

Celui'ci  buvait  en  chantant.       And  his  music  was  sweet,  and  his  wine 
Heureux,  il  s*endort  mimobile  exceUed, 

Auprds  du  rin  qu*il  c^^brait.**       Life's  path  seemed  long  and  lerel : 
"  £ncore  une  ^toile  qui  file,  Ko  sign   was  given,   no   word   was 

Qui  file,  file,  et  disparatt  ?"  spoken. 

His  pleasure  death  comes  to  mar.** 
"  But  what  does  yon  milder  light  be- 
token. 
That  falls,  fiidls,  and  is  quenched 
afar?" 

**Mon  enfant !  qu'elle  est  pure   '**Ti8  the  knell  of  beauty!— it  marks 
et  beUe !  the  close 

CestceUed'unobjetcharmant;       Of  a  pure  and  gentle  maiden  ; 
Fille  heureuse !  amante  fidele  !      And  her  cheek  was  warm  with   its 
On  Taccorde  au  plus  tendre  bridal  rose, 

amant :  And  her  brow  with  its  bride- wreath 

Des   fleurs  ceignent  son    front  laden  : — 

nubile,  The  thousand  hopes  young  lore  had 

Et  de  I'Hymen  Tautel  est  pr^t."  woken 

'*  Encore  ime  ^toile  qui  file.  Lie  crushed,  and  her  dream  is  past.** 

Qui  file,  file,  et  disparait  ?"        "  But  what  can  yon  rapid  light  be- 
token. 
That  fidls,  £bJ]b,  and  is  quenched  so 
fast  ?" 

"  Mons  fils !  c'est  T^toile  rapide   "*Tis  the  emblem,  my  son,  of  quick 
D'un  tres-grand  seigneur  nou-  decay  ! 

yeau-n^ ;  *Tis  a  rich  lord's  child  newly  bom : 

TJe  berceau  qu*il  a  laiss^  ride         The  cradle  that  holds  his  inanimate 

D*or  et  de  pourpre  ^tait  ome  :  clay, 

Des  poisons  qu'un  flatteur  dis-       Gold,  purple,  and  silk  adorn  ; 

tille.  The  panders  prepared  through  li£9  to 

C*^tait  k  qui  le  nourrirait."  haunt  him 

"  Encore  une  ^toile  qui  file.  Must  seek  some  one  else  in  his 

Qui  file,  file,  et  disparait  P"  room." 

**  Look,  now !  what  means  yon  dismal 
phantom 
That   falls,  fidls,  and    is    lost  in 
gloom  P" 

'*  Mon    en&nt,  quel  fclair   si-  "  There,  son !  I  see  the  guiltr  thought 

nistre  !  Of  a  haughty  statesman  rail, 

CT^tait  Tastre  d*un  fiiTori,  Who  the  poor  man* 9  condor 4^  ./emig 

Qui  9€  eroyait  un  grand  minitire,  tought 

Quand  de  not  maux  ii  avaii  ri.  To  plunder  or  eurtaU. 


CmiiiguiBerTainitoedieafn^e   His  former  ijpophauiB  hme  ourswi 
Ont  d^i  each*  lOQ  portrait."        Tbeir  iiiol'i  buao  enJeaTouv," 
EncOK  uno  iUale  qui  Sle,  "  But  witcli  tlie  light  Umt  iidit  hu 

Qui  file,  file,  et  diipanat."  burst, 

Foils,  fnlls.  Slid  is  queacbed  for 

Uoa  ISif,  ijoels  pleon  sont  le«  "  What  a  loss,  O  my  son,  wu  there ! 

nfttrw !  Where  sbatl  hunger  nowscfk  relief? 

D'un  rii!he  nous  perdous  Tap-  The  poor,  wbo  Are  gleaners  elsewhere, 

pui :  Could  reap  in  Ait  field  full  Bhe&t! 

L'indigenneglauecheE  Inautrei,  On  the  evening  he  died,  his  door 

Mail  elle  moissonnait  obei  lui !  Wu    throned   with    a    veering 

Oe  Boir  mSroe,  sir  d'un  asjle,  crowd."— 

AsontuitlepauTreBcoournit."  "Lool.slieplierd!  Ihere'sonoslarmoK 

Kneore  une  eioile  qui  file.  That  Gdls,  and  is  quenched  in  k 

Qui  file,  file,  et  disparatt  F"  cloud." 

mari^li's  star  !    Do  llion  pr«- 

:,  my  child  1 


m  puissant  mo- 
!  gnrde  ta  can- 


6       _ 

El  qnc  ton  (toile  ne  marque 
Par  I'fchit  ni  par  la  grandeur. 
to  briUai*  sans  *tre  utile, 
A  ton  dernier  jour  on  dirsit, 
)e  n'eat  qii'unc  ftoile  qui  file. 
Qui  me,  file,  ct  dispaniit  I'" 


Tliji 
Nor  fro. 

Butt 
Of  Iht/  star,  if  the  sterila  ray 

For  no  ufeful  purpose  shono, 
At  thj  death,  '  See  tbat  star,'  they'd 

'It  falls!  fnltal  is  past  uidgoncT" 

The  pbiloBOphic  humour  of  the  next  ballad  is  not  in  so 
magnificent  a  vein  ;  but  good  sense  and  e.tcellent  wisdom  it 
most  assuredly  contametu,  being  a  comiueDdatory  poem  on 
ji  much-abused  and  unjustly  depreciated  branch  of  the 
'feathered  family. 


1,(6  <&ita  (ISIO). 

De»  chnnsonniers  damoisoaux 

iTabandonnc  lea  Toies ; 
iQuittaiit  boaqnets  et  rfaeauz, 
Je  obantfl  au  Uvu  des  oiseaui — 

LvB  oiea  1 

SoMtgnol,  en  Tain  Q  bas 

Ton  gosier  se  diploio ; 

Valgrt  tes  brillnnls  appas, 

Xn  brooke  tu  ne  raux  paa 


9  {lantguric  on  &stet  (1810) 

I  lialo  to  sing  your  haoknej'd  birds — 

So,  dores  and  iwnns,  a  truQo  1 
Tour  ncsls  hove  bei'ii  too  often  stirreil  | 
jt/ji  hero  shall  be — in  a  word — 
A  goose ! 
The  nightingale,  or  else  "  bulbul," 

By  Tommy  Moore  let  loose. 
Is  growii  intolerably  dull — 
/  from  the  the  feathrred  nation  l-uII 


284 


FATHEB  PBOUT's   BEUQUBB. 


Strasbourg  tire  vaiut^ 
De  868  p&t^8  de  foie ; 

Cette  Buperbe  cit^ 
Ne  doit  sa  pro8p^rit^ 

Quaux  oies ! 


On  peut  faiie  un  bon  repas 

D  ortolans,  de  lamproies — 
Mais  Paris  n*en  produit  pas ; 
II  B*j  trouve  k  chaque  pas 

Des  oies! 

Les  Grecs,  d*an  commun  aveu, 
8'ennuyaient  derant  Troie ; 
Pour  les  amuser  un  peu, 
XJlysse  inventa  le  jeu 

De  I'oie. 

Sur  un  aigle,  au  vol  brutal, 

Jupiter  nous  fbudroie : 
n  nous  ferait  moins  de  mal 
S'il  choisissait  pour  cheval 

Une  oie. 


Can  roasted  Pniiomei  n  lirer 

Fit  for  a  pie  produce  ? 
Fat  pies  that  on  tno  ikuiue's  sweet 

river 
Fair  Strasburg  bakes.    Flay  who's  the 
giver? 

Agoose! 

An  ortolan  is  good  to  eat, 
A  partridge  is  of  use ; 
But  mej  are  soaroe— whereas  you  meet 
At  Pans,  ay,  in  erery  street, 

Agoose! 

When  tired  of  war  the  Ghreeks  became. 

They  pitched  Troy  to  the  deuce, 
Ulysses,  then,  was  not  to  blame 
For  teaching  them  the  noble  "  game 

Of  goose  r* 

May  Jupiter  and  Buonaparte, 

Of  thunder  less  profuse, 
Suffer  their  eagles  to  depart. 
Encourage  peace,  and  take  to  heart 

Agoose! 


Wisdom  openeth  her  mouth  in  parables;  so  B^ranger 
stigmatized  the  internal  administration  of  France  (1810)  in 
his  song  Le  Rot  d'  Tvetot,  The  oriental  fashion  of  convey- 
ing a  sober  truth  by  allegorical  narrative  is  occasionally  (and 
gracefully)  adopted  by  the  poets  of  France,  one  of  whom  has 
left  us  this  pretty  line,  containing  in  itself  the  precept  and 
the  exemplification : 

"  L'aUegorie  habite  un  palais  diaphane !" 

Here  is  one  concerning  love  and  his  arch-enemy  Time,  bj 
Count  de  Segur. 

Irf  Ccmd  et  rflmour. 

A  voyager  passant  sa  vie, 

Certain  vieillard,  nomm^  le  Terns, 
Pr^  d'un  fleuve  arrive,  et  s*^crie, 

**  Prenez  piti6  de  mes  vieux  ans ! 
£h,  quoi !  soiu*  ces  bords  Ton  m'oublie^- 

Moi,  qui  compte  tous  les  instans  \ 
Jeunes  bergeres !  je  yous  prie 

TeneSy  ?enet,  passer  le  Temi !" 


THE   BOSOB   OF  rBASCa. 

De  I'sutrc  cAU,  tar  1b  plage, 

Plua  d'uae  fiUe  rrgardiiil, 
Et  Toulait  aider  bod  piuaugG 

Sur  ime  biirque  qu'  Amour  guidul  | 
Ifaifl  I'lme  d'eJles,  bien  plus  sage, 

Xi^ur  rep^tolt  era  taot*  prndens — 
**  Ah,  touTBDt  on  a  fitit  imufnigo 

En  cherchanC  L  posMr  le  Terns  I" 
Amour  gument  pousse  au  riTBge — 

II  abin^e  toat  pr^  du  Temi  i 
n  loi  propose  le  roja^ 

L'embBrque,  at  s  Bbkndonne  mis  Tentia 
Afitant  sei  runes  l^g^res, 

II  dit  et  redit  en  ses  chants — 
"Toua  Tojei,  JBUDEB  betgSres, 

Que  rjjnour  Mt  passer  le  Teias  1" 
Mais  I'Amour  bisntAt  se  Ibsbd 

Cb  fiit  U  toujoun  son  d£but ; 
I«  Tenis  prend  la  rune  &  b&  pince. 

Et  dit,  "  Eh  qooi !  quitler  aitQC  F 
Purrre  enfant,  quelle  cat  ts  foiblesse  I 

Til  dors,  Ot  je  ohanle  ■  mon  tour 
Of  vitax  re&ain  de  U  isgeese, 

Le  Terns  &it  puaser  1' Amour  !" 


Cimt  anS  loiit. 


Old  Tdo  u  a  pilgrin: 


a  for  1 


It  perfon 


Behold,  a  broad  river  appears  1 
"  Pais  nie  over,"  Time  cried  ("01  tony  not. 

For  I  count  each  hour  witli  mj  glasa  g 
Yttf  whoae  akifT  is  naoored  to  jon  pleaaont  apot— ^ 

Young  maidens,  old  TlUB  cotne  psasl" 
Uanf  maids  si 

The  old  m 


w  with  piij,  upon  the  bonk. 


hia  glass  in  eriaf; 
Their  kindlier  he  said,  ho  vould  erer 
If  thej'd 


I  batik, 


ikiff. 
While  Bomo  wanted  LovK  to  unmoor  tlie  bark, 

One  iriser  in  tbouglit  sublime  i 
"  Oft  ahipwrerks  ocuur,"  waa  tbe  ouiid'e  rcniHi  t, 

"  When  seeking  to  pass  old  TmE !" 
From  the  strand  tlie  small  skiff  IiOVZ  pusLca  ailu 

He  crossed  to  the  pilKrim'a  side^ 
A.id  taking  old  Tins  in  bis  nell-trimmud  OOai, 

Dipt  his  oars  in  the  flowing  tide. 


286 


7ATHEB  PBOUT'b  BEUQUXB. 


SweeUy  he  sung  as  he  worked  at  the  oar. 

And  thifl  was  his  merry  song— » 
"  You  see,  young  maidens  who  crowd  the  shoce 

How  with  LoYB  Time  passes  along  ?*' 

But  soon  the  poor  boy  of  his  task  grew  tired. 

As  he  often  had  been  before ; 
And  faint  from  his  toil,  for  mercy  desired 

Father  Tike  to  take  up  the  oar. 
In  his  turn  grown  tunefxu,  the  pilgrim  old 

With  the  paddles  resumed  the  Uy ; 
But  he  changed  it  and  sung,  ^  Young  maids,  behold 

How  with  Tike  Lotc  passes  away  I" 

1  close  this  paper  by  an  ode  on  the  subject  of  "time,"  bj 
a  certain  Mr.  Thomas.  Its  author,  a  contemporary  of  the 
philosophic  gang  alluded  to  throughout,  was  frequently  the 
object  of  their  sarcasm,  because  he  kept  aloof  from  their 
coteries.  He  is  author  of  a  panegyric  on  Marcus  Aurelius, 
once  the  talk  of  all  Paris,  now  forgotten.  These  are  the 
concluding  stanzas  of  an 


i&tit  au  Cemit. 

Si  je  deyais  un  jour  pour  de  yiles 

richesses 
Vendre  ma  Ubert^,  descendre  ii 

des  bassesses — 
Si  mon  coeur  par  mes  sens  devait 

Hre  amolli — 
O  Tems,  je  te  dirais,  h&te  ma  der- 

ni^re  heure, 
H&te-toi  que  je  meure  : 
J*aime  mieux  n'^tre  pas  que  de 

vivre  ayilL 


Mais  si  de  la  yertu  les  g6n^- 

reuses  flammes 
Doivent  de  mes  Merits  passer  en 

quelques  Hmes — 
Si  je  dois  d*un  luni  consoler  les 

malheurs — 
S'il  est  des  malheureux  dont  Tob- 

scure  indigence 
Languisse  sans  defense, 
Et  dont  ma  faible  main  doit  es- 

suyer  les  pleurs  :— 

•  Prout  alludes  to  O'Connell's 


<@^e  to  Ctme. 

If  my  mind's  independence  one  day 
Fm  to  sell. 

If  with  Vice  in  her  pestilent  haunts 
Fm  to  dwell — 
Tlien  in  mercy,  I  pray  thee,  O 
Tuns! 

Ere  that  day  of  disgrace  and  disho- 
nour comes  on. 

Let  my  life  be  cut  short!  —  better, 
better  be  gone 
Than  liye  here  on  the  wages  of 
crime! 

But  if  yet  Fm  to  kindle  a  flame  in  the 

soul 
Of  the  noble  and  free — ^if  my  voice  can 

console. 
In  the  day  of  despondency,  some — 
If  Tm  destined  to  plead  in  the  poor 

man*s  defence — 
If  my  writingt  can  force  from  the  im- 

tional  aente 
An  enactment  (if  joy  for  ku 


conduct  on  the  Poor  Law  for  Ireliad. 


THE   80Sfl8  Of   FBAXCS.                                287 

O  Terns !  nispcndB  ton  vol  I   re-  Time  I   Ktanl  thT  depui  ure  I   anil 

■pert*  niB  Jeimeese  !  linmir  iwbila — 

Que  nu  m^  loog-tenu,  Umnm  Let  my  "loiigB"  aiill  awnlie  of  my 

de  mm  leadrraat,  mother  tbe  amilc — 

ScfniiB  m(«  tribuU  derecpectat  Ofmi  iiiterllieJoT,MiheiiDgB. 

d'anioar !  Bui,  O  Ulobt  Hud  VtBtDEl  four 

Bl  tout,    OLOtBil   VsftTo!   M-  canleagaee; 

f  <Ha  inmuirteUra,  Wlien  I'm  old — vhen  my  head  ibsU 

Quo  T0«  brilluilce  lilea  be  ailvcred  with  nge, 

Sur  mca  chorcui  bliuichis  »e  to-  ComBMidehtlleriaybrowwilli 

piMcnt  nn  jour ',  your  winga  I 


I 


THE   HOK08   Or   FKiNCE. 


PHILOauPHT, 


Cbafteb  rV. — Fboqs  asd  Fbee  Teaue. 


"  Boa*  T»g*Dlet  lib«m  paludibus, 
Clunora  magco  regem  petifnmt  i  JoTe, 
Qui  diiuluUM  morca  ri  compcsccrct." 

PssDBI,  Fai.  2, 

Eaglaad  Tor  fbga  t  the  siBtur-iale  for  bojii ! 
France  ii  the  land  for  liberty  and  frogs ! 
Angola  may  Hoep  o'er  man's  fantastic  tricka  ; 
But  Louia- Philippe  laughs  at  Charli-j  Bii. 
France  for  King     Loggy"  now  lioa  gol  "  i  Mork  :" 
See  Phicdni* — also  £eop. 

(Signed)     0.  ToB<e. 

Thb   more  we  develop  these  M8S.,  and    the    deeper  we 
plunge  into  the  co^^ty  of  Prout's  wondrous  coffer,  the  fonder 


2SB  f  ATHEB  PBOUT'S  BELIQrJCB. 

we  become  of  the  old  presbyter,  and  the  more  impressed 
ivith  the  variety  and  versatility  of  his  powers.  His  was  a 
tuneful  soul !  In  his  earthly  envelop  tnere  dwelt  a  hidden 
host  of  melodious  numbers  ;  he  was  a  walking  store-house  of 
harmony.  The  followers  of  Huss,  when  they  had  lost  in 
battle  their  commander  Zisca,  had  the  wit  to  strip  him  of 
his  hide  ;  out  of  which  (when  duly  tanned)  they  made  unto 
themselves  a  drum,  to  stimulate  by  its  magic  sound  their 
reminiscences  of  so  much  martial  glory:  our  plan  would 
have  been  to  convert  the  epidermis  of  the  defunct  father 
into  that  engine  of  harmony  which,  among  Celtic  nations, 
is  known  by  the  name  of  the  "  bagpipe  ;"  and  thus  secure 
to  the  lovers  of  song  and  melody  an  invaluable  relic,  an  in- 
strument of  music  which  no  Cremona  fiddle  could  rival  in 
execution.  But  we  should  not  produce  it  on  vulgar  occa- 
sions :  the  ministerial  accession  of  the  Duke  (1835),  should 
alone  be  solemnised  by  a  blast  from  this  musico-cutaneous 
phenomenon ;  aware  of  the  many  accidents  which  might 
otherwise  occur,  such  as,  in  the  narrative  of  an  Irish  wed- 
ding, has  been  recorded  by  the  poet, — 

"  Then  the  piper,  a  dacent  gossoon. 
Began  to  play  '  Eileen  Aroon  ;* 
Until  an  arch  wag 
Cut  a  hole  in  his  bag. 
Which  alas !  put  an  end  to  the  tune 

Too  soon ! 
The  music  blew  up  to  the  moon  !*' 

Lord  Bvron,  who  had  the  good  taste  to  make  a  daret- 
cup  out  of  a  human  skull,  would  no  doubt  highly  applaud 
our  idea  of  preserving  a  skinful  of  Front's  immortal  essence 
in  the  form  of  such  an  ^olian  bagpipe. 

In  our  last  chapter  we  have  given  his  opinions  on  the 
merit  of  the  leading  French  philosophers — a  gang  of  theo- 
rists now  happily  swept  off  tne  face  of  the  earth^  or  most 
miserably  supplaiited  in  France  by  St.  Simonians  and  Doc- 
trinaires, and  m  this  ct>  jntry  by  the  duller  and  more  plodding 
generation  of  "  Utilitarians."  To  Denis  Diderot  has  suc- 
ceeded Dionysius  Lardner,  both  toiling  interminable  at  their 
cyclopaBdias,  and,  like  wounded  snakes,  though  trampled  on 
by  all  who  tread  the  paths  of  science,  still  rampant  onwards 
in  the  dust  and  slime  of  elaborate  authorship.  Truly,  since 
the  days  of  the  great  St.  Denis,  who  walked  deliberatelyi 


THE   SOKQ«  OF    FKANCE. 


^Hlritb  imperturbable  cuniposiire,  bearin?  bie  bead  in  bis  as- 
^Vfonisbea  groap,  from  Monttnartre  to  tbe  fifth  milestone  ou 
the  Dorthem  road  out  of  Patis  ;  nay,  since  tbe  still  earlier 
epoch  of  the  Sicilian  icboolmast«r,  who  opened  a  "  univer- 
a\ty"  at  Corinth,  omitting  DionysiUB  of  Haliearuasaue,  and 
Dennis  the  critic  who  fifjiires  in  tbe  "  Duncind,"  never  baa 
the  name  been  borne  with  greater  Mai  than  by  its  great 
tnodero  proprietor.  His  theories,  and  those  of  Dr.  Bowring, 
Are  glanced  at  in  the  fulloving  paper,  which  concludes  tbe 
'       Kx)utean  aeries  of  tbe  "  Songs  of  Trance." 

Far  be  it  from  us  to  imagine  that  either  of  these  learned 

toctora  will  turn  from  their  crude  speeulations  ajiil  listen  to 

Hie  voice  of  the  charmer,  charm  he  ever  so  wieely ;  we  know 

e  self-opinionated  tribe  tao  well  to  timey  such  n  conaum- 

lation  as  tbe  result  of  old  Prout's  strictures :  but,  since 

Bie  late  downfal  of  Wbiggery,  we  can  aHbrd  to  iaugb  at 

what  must  now  only  appear   in  the  harmless  shape  of  a 

lolemn  quiz.     We  would  no  more  quarrel  with  them  for 

rging  their  cberiabed  doctrines,  than  we  would  find  fault 

a  the  Hussites  above  mentioned  ;  who,  when  tbe  Jesuit 

eter  Canisius  came  to  Prague  to  argue  tbem  into  concilia- 

I,  inscribed  on  their  banner  the  following  epigrammatic 

"  Tu  prouul  BstA  '  Canie,'  pro  nobis  eit'ubat '  AVG£R  1'" 

term  "  Huss"  being,  from  the  peculiarity  of  its  guttural 
d,  among^Teutonic  nations  tmBcative  of  what  we  call  n 

OLl\'EE  TOKKE. 


Watergratthill,  Jan.  1. 1832. 

k  IS  with  nations  as  with  individuals:  the  greater  is  man's 
terctiunie  with  bis  fellow-mnn  in  tbe  interchange  of  social 
Dipanionship,  the  more  enlightened  he  becomes  ;  and,  in 
e  keen  encounter  of  wit,  loses  whatever  awkwardneas  or 

idolence  of  mind  may  have  been  his  original  portion,  If 
e  Aggregate  wisdom  of  any  country  could  be  for  a  mo- 


290  FATREB  FBOUT*S   BELIQIHSS. 

ment  supposed  hermetically  sealed  from  the  interfuBion  of 
foreign  notions,  rely  on  it  there  would  be  found  a  most 
lamentable  poverty  of  intellect  in  the  land,  a  sad  torpor  in 
the  public  feelings,  and  a  woful  stagnation  in  the  delicate 
"  fluid"  called  thought.  Peru,  Mexico,  and  China — ^the  two 
first  at  the  period  of  Montezuma  and  the  Incas,  the  last  in 
our  own  day — have  the  degree  of  mental  culture  which  may 
be  expected  from  a  collective  body  of  men,  either  studiously 
or  accidentally  sequestered  from  the  rest  of  the  species ;  I 
suspect,  the  original  stock  of  information  derived  from  the 
first  settlers  constituted  the  entire  intellectual  wealth  in 
these  two  secluded  sections  of  the  globe.  On  inquiry,  it 
will  perhaps  be  found,  that  Egypt  (which  has  on  all  sides 
been  admitted  to  have  been  our  great-grandmother  in  art, 
science,  and  literature)  was  evidently  but  the  dowager  widow 
of  antediluvian  Knowledge ;  and  that  the  numerous  progeny 
which  has  since  peopled  the  universe,  all  the  ofispring  of 
intermarriage  and  frequent  alliance,  bears  undoubted  marks 
and  features  of  a  common  origin.  The  literature  of  Greece 
and  Rome  reflects  back  the  image  of  Hebrew  and  Eastern 
composition ;  the  Scandinavian  poets  are  not  without  traces 
of  affinity  to  their  Arabic  brethren ;  the  inspiration  of  Irish 
melody  is  akin  to  that  of  Persian  song ;  and  the  very  diver- 
sity of  detail  only  strengthens  the  likeness  on  the  whole : 

"  Facies  non  omnibus  una, 
Nee  diversa  tamen,  quails  decet  esse  soronun." 

Ovid. 

This  is  shown  by  the  Jesuit  Andres,  in  his  "  Storia  di  ogni 
Letteratura,"  Parma,  1782. 

St.  Clirysostom,  talking  of  the  link  which  connects  the 
Mosaic  writings  with  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
the  common  agreement  that  is  found  between  the  thoughts 
of  the  prophet  of  Mount  Carmel  and  those  of  the  sublime 
solitary  of  the  island  of  Patmos,  introduces  a  beautiful  me- 
taphor ;  as,  indeed,  he  generally  does,  when  he  wishes  to 
leave  any  striking  idea  impressed  on  his  auditory.  "  Chris- 
tianity," quoth  he,  "  struct  its  roots  in  the  books  of  the  Old 
Testament;  it  blossomed  in  the  Gk)spels  of  the  New:" 
^fl^tl^udn  fJ^iv  %v  Totg  jS/jSXio/g  Tcav  ir^^riruvy  fSXaffrtics  dt  fv  rvic 
•w«7y«XX/o/g  Toiv  aTOtfroXwv. — Homil,  de  Nov.  et  Vet.Tesi, 


THE   SO^ICOB   OF    FRAXCZ. 


^H   To  apply  the  holy  bishop's  illitstration,  I  would  say,  that 
^Bhste  &Da  re&Dement  among  modem  writers  ai-e  traceable  to 
^■il  growing  acijuaiiitaijiie  with  tlie  ancieot  clnsaics ;  an  inti- 
■      tnacy  whicb,  though  not  possessed  by  eoi'b  individual  member 
of  the  great  family  of  aulhora,  slill  influencea  the  whole, 
and  pervades  the  general  maaa  of  our  literature.     A  certain 
antique  Aon  ton  is  ud consciously  contracted   even  by  our 
female  eontrihutora  to  the  common  fund  of  literary  enjoy- 
ment ;  and  I  could  mentioa  one  (h.  !B.  L.)  whom  I  presume 
imioceat  of  Greek,  but  as  purely  Attic  in  style  as  U;  instead 
of  Cockney  diet,  ehe  had  fed  iu  infancy  on  the  honey  of 
Mount  Hymettua. 

The  eloquent  French  lawyer,  De  Marehangy,  in  hia 
"Gaule  Politique,"  attributes— I  know  not  how  justly — the 
first  rise  of  poetic  excellence,  in  Provence,  (where  taste  and 
Beholarship  made  their  first  appearance  with  the  troubu- 
doan,)  to  the  circumstance  ot  Marseilles  having  been  a 
Grecian  colony  ;  and  he  ascribes  the  readiness  with  which 
the  Praven9al  genius  caught  the  flame,  and  kindled  it  on  the 
fragrant  hills  of  tbat  beautiful  coast  of  the  Mediterranean. 
to  a  certain  predisposition  iu  the  blood  and  constitutional 
habit  of  the  people,  derived  from  so  illustrious  a  pedigree. 
"'Twaa  a  glorious  day  I"  esclaims  the  poetic  attorney-ge- 
nera], going  back  in  spirit  to  the  epoch  of  that  immigratioa 
of  the  Ffaocuins  into  Gallia  Narbonensia — "  'twas  a  noble 
spectacle  to  see  those  sons  of  eivihsation  and  commerce  land 
OD  our  barbarous  hut  picturesque  and  hospitable  shore !  to 
Bee  the  gallant  children  of  Attica  ehaJie  from  their  buskins 
OD  ourterritory  the  dust  of  the  hippodrome,  and  entwine  the 
myrtle  of  Qnidua  witli  the  mistletoe  of  Gaul !  When  their 
fiaet  anchored  in  our  gladdened  gulf  of  Provence,  when 
their  voices  uttered  sounds  of  cultivated  import,  when  the 
music  of  the  Lesbian  lute  and  Teian  lyre  came  on  the 
charmed  senses  of  our  rude  anc«storB,  a  shout  of  welcome 
wsa  heard  from  our  lulls ;  and  our  Druids  hailed  with  the 
hand  of  fellowship  the  priests  of  Jove  and  of  Apollo.  Mar- 
seilles arose  to  the  sound  of  hamiouious  intercourse,  and  to 
the  eternal  triumph  of  international  commingling!  Tou 
wotUd  have  thought  that  a  floating  island  of  Greece,  that 
one  of  the  Cyclades,  or  Deloe  the  wanderer  of  the  Archi- 
I,  bad  strayed  away  and  taken  root  upon  our  coast, 
V  2 


292  FATHER  PBOVT  S  RELIQUE8. 

crowned  with  its  temples,  filled  with  its  inhabitantSy  its 
sacred  groves,  its  arts,  it  laws,  its  perfume  of  refinement  in 
love,  and  its  spirit  of  freedom !" 

"  Free  trade*'  in  all  the  emanations  of  intellect  has  ever 
had  a  purely  beneficial  effect,  blessing  him  who  gave  and  him 
who  received :  it  never  can  injure  a  nation  or  an  individual 
to  impart  knowledge,  or  exchange  ideas.  This  is  admitted. 
From  the  sun,  who  lights  up  the  planets  and  the  "  silver 
moon,*'  to  the  Greenwich  pensioner,  whose  pipe  is  lit  at  the 
focus  of  a  neighbour's  calumet,  fire,  and  flame,  snd  bri^htneesy 
are  of  their  nature  communicable,  without  loss  or  dinunution 
in  the  slightest  way  to  the  communicant.  So  it  is  with  mind. 
But  how  stands  the  case  with  matter  ?  are  the  same  princi- 
ples applicable,  under  existing  circumstances,  to  the  produc- 
tions of  manual  toil  and  the  distribution  of  employment 
through  the  different  trades  and  crafts  ?  Is  it  for  the  interest 
of  the  material  and  grosser  world,  who  eat,  drink,  are  clothed, 
and  surroimded  with  household  necessities — who  are  con- 
demned to  look  for  support  through  the  troublesome  medium 
of  daily  labour — is  it  fit  or  judicious,  in  the  complicated  state 
of  the  social  frame  now  established  in  Europe,  to  lay  level 
all  the  barriers  which  climate,  soil,  situation,  and  industry, 
have  raised  for  the  protection  of  the  productive  classes  m 
each  country ;  and,  by  the  light  of  the  new  aurora  borealis, 
which  has  arisen  on  our  school  of  political  economy,  to  con- 
found all  the  elements  of  actual  life,  and  try  back  on  all  the 
wisdom  of  antiquity  p  As  sagacious  and  consistent  would  be 
a  proposal  to  abolish  the  quarantine  laws,  that  *^  free  trade" 
might  be  enjoyed  by  the  plague ;  to  break  down  the  dykes 
of  Holland,  that  the  ocean  should  be  "  free ;"  to  abolish  all 
the  copjTight  and  "  patent-laws,'*  that  "  piracy"  may  be  free 
to  the  aull  and  the  uninventive ;  the  "  game-laws,"  that  aU 
may  shoot ;  "  tolls,"  that  all  may  go  where  they  list  unim- 
peded ;  "  rent,"  that  all  may  live  scot-free ;  and,  finally,  the 
laws  of  property,  the  laws  of  marriage,  and  the  laws  of  God, 
which  are  more  or  less  impediments  in  the  way  of  "  free 
trade." 

Fully  aware  that  the  advantages  of  rendering  each  nation 
dependent  on  foreign  supply  for  objects  of  prime  necessity, 
by  establishing  a  nicely  bahmced  equipoise  in  the  commerdid 
relations  of  every  spot  in  the  globe,  have  been  luminonalj 


TEB  S0K9S   OF   FKiKCE. 


indicated,  in  many  a  goodly  tome,  pamphlet,  and  lengthy 
ration;  I  yet  think  the  best  practii^  treatise  on  the  Bub- 
"  ject,  and  the  most  forcible  recommendation  of  its  benefits  to 
all  concenaed,  have  come  irom  the  philoBophic  pen  of  Bi'ran- 
ger,  who  baa  embodied  the  maxima  of  "  free  trade,"  as  well 
[      tte  many  other  current  doctrines,  in  the 


l.ts  Sof)tmitnS. 


nous  Tenom  P    L'on  i 

■foit  rim. 
Ii'luraadelte, 
D'oh  Toni!  Tient-elle  ? 


]■  pajSi  uiu  prince,  et  bodi 

Notre  Tie 
Doit  jure  eoTie, 
LI  p>f  >>  uns  prince,  tans  lois, 


|3oUli(.-il3£cfitiomii  of  ll^r 
Sipfltcfi. 


To  deal  with  Seloa, 
Tall  OS  jour  gqbIoids  uid  yourrulM  : 
'   Wbcnce  UBme  ye  (o  this  tand  of  fuoli, 
On  whoin  yo  fatten  ? 

I   "WhoncBdowecome?  WHenceconiei 
the  (waUow  P 
Where  doea  our  borne  lie  F   Ti^tofol- 

L  The  wiH  bird's  Bigl.l, 

Speeding  fi-om  ninter's  rude  npproncli  t 
Such  home  a  ours.    Who  dare  en- 

Upon  our  right  P 

Prince 


Kor  magistratff  i 


d  bnpoT  tvo  d. 
Who'll  say  tl 


«■  indJpanduunouBnaiuoni, 

Sana  egliie  We  hare  no  liturgj  baptismal 

Qui  nou>  baptise !  When  we  nro  bom  j 

iniindfpeDdansnouBnaietom,    Save  the  dance  under greennood  tree, 
1  bruit  du  lUre  et  dee  clianaoos.   And  the  gind  sound  of  rereby 
With  pipe  and  bora. 


■pu  lont  digagia 
mm  ce  monde 
Oil  rerreur  ibonde ; 
■  preaiiers  paa  aont  d^ag^B 
Tionx  maillot  dea  pr^ug^e. 


At  oar  Grst  eiitraac«  on  this  globe, 
Where  Falsehood  walks  in  Taned  robe. 

Caprice,  and  whims, 
— Sophist  or  bigol,  heed  ye  this  ! — 
The  Bwathing-bandB  of  prejudioe 

Bound  not  our  limba. 


294; 


FATHEE   PE0UT'*8   BBLIQUES. 


Au  peuple  en  but  k  nos  larcins, 

Tout  grimoire 

En  peut  faire  accroire ; 

Au  peuple  en  but  ^  nos  larcins, 

n  faut  des  sorciers  et  des  saints. 


Pauvree  oiseaux  que  Dieu  b^nit, 
De  la  ville 
Qu'on  nous  exile ; 
Pauyres  oiseaux  que  Dieu  b^nit, 
Au  fond  des  bois  pend  notre  nid. 


Ton  ceil  ne  peut  se  detacher, 
Philosophe 
De  mince  ^toffe — 
Ton  ceil  ne  peut  se  detacher 
Du  vieux  coq    de    ton  vieux 
clocher. 


Well  do  we  ken  the  vulgar  minv% 
Ever  to  Truth  and  Candour  blind, 

But  led  by  Cunning ; 
What  rogue  can  tolerate  a  brother  P 
GKpsies    contend  with  priests,  each 
other 

In  tricks  outrunning. 

Your  '  towered  cities*  please  us  not ; 
But  give  us  some  secluded  spot, 

Far  from  the  millions  : 
Far  from  the  busy  haunts  of  men. 
Rise  for  the  night,  in  shady  gkn, 

Our  dark  pavilions. 

Soon  we  are  off;  for  we  oan  see 
Nor  pleasure  nor  philosophy 

In  fix^  dwelling. 
Ours  is  a  life — the  life  of  downs. 
Or  drones  who  vegetate  in  towns. 

Far,  hr  excemng  I 


Voir,  c'est  avoir !  allons  courir !    Paddock  and  park,  fence  and  endo- 
Vie  errante  sure. 

Est  chose  enivrante ;  We  scale  with  ease  and  with  compo- 

Voir,  c'est  avoir  !  allons  courir !  sure  : 

Car  tout  voir  c'est  tout  conqu^rir.  'Tis  quite  delightful  I 

Such  is  our  empire  s  mystic  chann. 
We  are  the  owners  of  each  &nn. 
More  than  the  rightfuL 

Mais  k  Thomme  on  crie  en  tout  Great  is  the  folly  of  the  wise, 

lieu.  If  on  relations  he  relies, 
Qu'il  s'agite,  Or  trusts  in  men ; 

Ou  croupisse  au  gite  ;  *  Welcome  !*  they  say,  to  babes  bom 
Mais  a  I'homme  en  crie  en  tout  newly, 

lieu,  But  when  vour  life  is  eked  out  du^, 
Tu  nais,  "  bonjour  !"  tu  meurs,  '  Good  evening  !*  then, 

"adieu!" 


Quand  nous  mourons,  vieux  ou  None  among  us  seeks  to  illude 

bambin.  By  empbr  boast  of  brotherhood, 
Homme  ou  femme,  Or  udse  affection ; 

A  Dieu  soit  notre  &me ;  GKve,  when  we  die,  our  aouls  to  God, 

Quand  nous  sommes  morts,  vieux  Our  body  to  the  grassy  sod, 

ou  bambin.  Or  *  for  disMMtion.* 

On  vend  le  corps  au  carabin. 


THE   80XG3  OF  FHAJ-CE  295 


Uti*  etojet  an  natre  gticli, 

Uftii  crojet  rti  notn  gnift^.  But  nern  hen]  (htm  : 

iU  ioHAmtr  e'tti  la  Uitrli.  Our'a  is  tbo  life  o(  pelfeot  blu»~ 

Freedom  U  luau'a  Usit  joj.  uid  tlill 
~    la  p.  ■■■ 


This  gipsy  code,  in  wiadom  far  outahining  the  "  Pandecta," 
the  "  Digest,"  or  the  "  Code  Napok'on,"  ia  aubmitted  to  the 
disciplea  of  Jeremy  Bentham,  as  a  guide  whenever  an  esperi- 
ment  (»  anima  v'tli  is  fairly  to  be  made  on  the  '■  vile  body"  of 
existing  lawB,  by  tbe  doctors  of  destruction. 

To  arrive  at  this  miUennium  is  not  an  enay  matter,  and 
the  chanoes  are  becoming  every  day  more  unfavourable.  The 
relish  of  mankind  for  experimental  innovatiuu  is  dull  in  theae 
Ifttter  daya ;  and  great  are  the  trials,  lamentable  tlie  dia- 
appointmenta  that  await  tbe  apostles  of  pn[>iila]*  enlighten- 
ratait.  "  Co-operative  theories"  in  England  have  gone  to  tho 
grave  unwept,  unsung ;  while  in  Amenca  fiob  Owen's  music 
of  "  New  Harmony,"  instead  of  developing  its  notes 


has  snapped  off  moat  abruptly. 

In  trance,  after  yeara  of  change,  and  the  throes  of  eon- 
utaut  convulaion,  the  eariy  dream  uf  young  philosophy  is  still 
unrealised,  and  tbe  sliade  of  Anacharsis  Clootz  wanders 
throueh  tbe  ■'  Elvsian  fielda"  dejected  and  dissatisfied.  Tlie 
Kb  pf  Egalite  fills  her  throne,  and  the  monarchy  Las  lost 
nothing  of  ils  controlling  power,  whatever  it  may  have  ac- 
quired of  homeliness  and  vulgarity.  The  vague  and  confused 
ravings  of  1790,  after  tliree  years'  saturnalia,  aptly  termi- 
nated in  the  demoniac  rule  of,  and  became  incarnate  in,  Eo. 
bespierre.  The  subaeijuent  years  condensed  themselves  into 
the  substantive  shape  of  military  despotism,  with  tte  re- 
deeming feature  of  glory  in  arms,  and  "all  the  walks  of  war." 
That  too  passed  away,  a  lull  came  o'er  the  spirit  of  the  demo- 
cratic dream,  while  old  Louis  XVllI.  nodded  in  that  elbow- 
chair  which  answered  all  the  purposes  of  a  throne ;  the  im- 
becile Charles  furnished  too  tempting  an  opportunity,  and 
it  wu  seited  with  the  avidity  of  truant  Bchoolbovs  who  get 


296  TATHEB  PBOUT'S  BSLIQUS8. 

up  a  "  barring  out ;"  but  the  triumph  of  the  barrieades  met 
dim  eclipse  and  disastrous  twilight,  the  citizen  king's  opaque 
form  arose  between  the  soleil  de  JuilUt  and  the  disappointed 
republicans  casting  an  ominous  shade  over  the  land  of  frogs. 
Still  loud  and  incessant  is  the  croaking  of  the  dissatisfied 
tenants  of  the  swamp,  little  knowing  (pauvres  grenouillesl) 
that,  did  not  some  such  dense  body  interpose  between  the 
scorching  luminary  of  July  and  their  liquid  dwelling,  they 
would  be  parched,  burnt  up,  and  annihilated  in  the  glow  of 
republican  fervour.  Even  so  Aristophanes  pictures  Charon 
and  his  unruly  mob,  who  refuse  to  cease  their  querulous 
outcry,  though  threatened  with  the  splashing  oar  of  the 
ferryman: 

B|£xexsxf^,  xoa§,  xoa^. 

Bar^a^.  Act  i.  Scene  5. 

**  In  our  own  quagmire,  'tia  proToking 
That  folks  should  think  to  stop  our  croaking ! 
Sons  of  the  swamp,  with  lungs  of  leather, 
Now  is  our  time  to  screech  together !" 

But  I  lose  time  in  these  extra-parochial  discussions ;  and 
therefore,  leaving  them  to  chorus  it  according  to  their  own 
view  of  the  case,  I  return  to  the  arbiter  of  song — B^ranger. 
None  of  the  heroes  who  accomplished  this  last  revolution 
felt  their  discomfiture  more  than  our  poet,  whose  ideas  are 
cast  in  the  mould  of  Spartan  republicanism.  He  resigns 
himself  with  philosophic  patience  to  the  melancholy  resmt ; 
and,  indeed,  if  I  may  judge  from  a  splendid  embodying  of 
his  notions  concerning  Providence  and  the  government  of 
this  sublunary  world,  in  an  ode,  which  (though  tinged  some- 
what with  Deism)  contains  impassioned  poetic  feeling,  I 
should  think  that  he  still  finds  comfort  in  the  retrospect  of 
his  own  individual  sincerity  and  disinterestedness.  There 
is  less  of  the  Sybarite,  however,  in  his  philosophy  than  may 
be  found  in  another  "bard"  who  in 

**  pleasure's  soft  dream 
Haa  tried  to  forget  what  he  never  could  heaL" 


TUB  aOHOa  OF   rBANCE. 


Xr  Situ  Uti  bonnrS  3rns. 

n  Mt  an  Di«u ;  derint  lui  je  m'indinei, 
Pftavpe  et  oontenl,  fans  lui  dmnaDdcr  rien. 

De  I'uniTen  obacrvant  ts  DiMhinc, 

J'y  roil  du  nnJ,  el  n'aima  qoe  le  blen  ; 

H>ii  le  plusir  k  ma  philoHphie 
SMtU  BMei  de  ama  mt^ligon*. 

Le  TOTS  en  mun,  gaiem«at  je  me  oonfie 

An  Dieu  de*  bonnes  gtai ! 

Dana  mon  rSdoit  oil  Ton  Toit  rindigence 

Othm  diu  unoure  bvrei  par  retpf  rtmce, 

U'un  lit  plus  dam  jo  reje  le  duiat ; 
Am  diem  den  oours  qu'un  autre  Mcrifie — 

Hoi,  qui  oe  oroia  qu'i  dea  diHui  indutgenl, 
Le  Terra  en  main,  gaiemeul  je  me  oonfie 

Au  Dieu  dea  bonnes  gmtl 

Va  conqufrant,  dam  ui  (artunB  ajtiere, 

Se  fit  un  jeu  dea  aceptPM  et  des  roia  ; 
Et  de  aea  piedi  I'on  peat  Toir  la  poussiire 

Empreint^  encor  eur  le  bandeau  dea  roia  i 
Youa  TSmpiez  loua,  O  roie !  qu'on  deiBe — 

Moi,  pour  braTW  de*  maltrea  oiigenna, 
Le  Terra  en  main,  gaicment  je  me  conlia 

An  Dicu  dea  bonnes  gens ! 

Dans  noa  palaie,  oQ  pres  de  Ih  lietoire 

BrillaieDt  lea  arte,  doui  fruita  doa  beaux  cUmat^ 

J*!!!  ru  du  nord  lea  peupladea  atna  gloire 
De  IniFB  manleaux  aecouer  lea  friicBti : 

8ur  noa  di^ris  Albion  noiu  dffie  : 

Mais  la  fortune  et  lea  dots  aont  chnngeans — 

Le  terre  en  main,  gaiement  je  me  i»>nlie 

All  Dieu  dea  bonnes  gain 

Quelle  menace  un  prGtre  lut  entendre  ? 

Koui  touchons  touA  i  noa  derniers  inalana  g 
LVtemiti  Ta  re  fiute  comprendre. 

Tout  T«  Bnir  runiTem  et  le  tenia  : 
Toiu.  ch^uhina,  it  la  face  boullie, 

Bereillei,  done  lea  morta  pen  diligens — 
Le  Terre  en  msiOi  faiumeut  je  me  confie 

Au  Dieu  d«  bonces  ^m 


298  FATHER  PEOUT*S  BELIQITXS. 

Mais,  quelle  en*cur !  non,  Dien  n'est  paa  coliuv  $ 

8'il  cre-a  tout,  k  tout  il  sert  d'appui. 
Yins  qu'il  nous  donne,  amiti^  tutelaira, 

Et  yous,  amours,  qui  crees  aprds  lui, 
Pretez  un  charme  k  ma  philosophic, 

Pour  dissiper  des  reves  afBigeans  ! — 
Le  yerre  eu  main,  gaiement  je  me  confic 

Au  Dieu  den  bonnes  g«Oi. 

Ci)e  &oti  of  fitrangcr. 

There's  a  God  whom  the  poet  in  silence  adores, 

But  molestfl  not  his  throne  with  importunate  prajer ; 
For  he  knows  that  the  eyil  he  sees  and  abhors. 

There  is  blessing  to  balance,  and  balm  to  repair. 
But  the  plan  of  the  Deity  beams  in  the  bowl, 

And  the  eyelid  of  beauty  reveals  his  design  : 
Oh  !  the  goblet  in  hand,  I  abandon  my  soul 

To  the  G-iver  of  genius,  love,  friendship,  and  wine ! 

At  the  door  of  my  dwelling  the  children  of  want 

Ever  find  the  full  welcome  its  roof  can  afford ! 
Wliile  the  dreams  of  the  rich  pain  and  poverty  haunt, 

Peace  awaits  on  my  pillow,  and  joy  at  my  board. 
Let  the  god  of  the  court  other  votaries  seek — 

No !  the  idol  of  sycophants  never  was  mine  ; 
But  I  worship  the  God  of  the  lowly  and  meek. 

In  the  Giver  of  genius,  love,  friendship,  and  wine ! 

I  have  seen  die  a  captive,  of  courtiers  bereft:, 

EUm,  the  sound  of  whose  fame  through  our  hemisphero  rinn  | 
I  have  marked  both  his  rise  and  his  fall :  he  lias  left 

The  imprint  of  his  heel  on  the  forehead  of  kings. 
Oh,  ye  monarchs  of  Europe !  ye  crawled  round  his  throne— 

Te,  who  now  claim  our  homage,  then  knelt  at  his  shrine ; 
But  I  never  adored  him,  but  tiuned  me  alone 

To  the  Giver  of  genius,  love,  friendship,  and  wine  ! 

The  Russians  have  dwelt  in  the  home  of  the  Frank  ; 

In  our  halls  from  their  mantles  they've  shaken  the  frost ; 
Of  their  war-boots  our  Louvre  has  echoed  the  clank, 

As  they  passed,  in  barbarian  astonishment  lost. 
O'er  the  rums  of  France,  take,  O  England !  take  pride ! 

Yet  a  similar  downfid,  proud  land !  may  be  thine  i 
But  the  poet  of  freedom  still,  sjill  will  confide. 

In  the  GKver  of  genius,  love,  friendship,  and  wine ! 

This  planet  is  doomed,  by  the  priesthood's  decree, 
To  deserved  dissolution  one  day,  O !  my  friends  i 

Lo !  the  hurricane  gathers ;  the  bolt  is  set  free ! 
And  the  thunder  on  wings  of  destruction  descends. 


[ 


THX  80SS8  or  TUiVCE.  209 

Of  thr  trumpet,  srehangel,  dilov  not  tlie  Hasl ; 

Wake  Uio  dead  in  l.iie  graTiis  wdcre  tlif  ir  bsIim  recline  : 
WUIe  ihi/  poet,  onmOTBii,  puts  his  truat  to  tbe  laft 

Id  tliB  Qiya  of  genitu,  loTe,  friendship,  and  wine  I 

But  iMiij  with  the  niglit-nuire  of  glDomT  forethought .' 

Let  the  goul  Supanlition  creep  back  lo  iti  den  ; 
Oh!  Ihi>  bir  goodlv  ^lob«,  filled  with  plentj,  was  wrought 

Bj  a  booDlifid  hand,  for  llie  children  of  men. 
L«t  me  lake  the  fiiU  scape  of  mj  yean  oa  tbej  roll. 

Lot  mo  bask  in  the  eun's  pleasimt  nvs  while  tiief  shinei 
Then,  with  ^blet  in  huid,  I'll  abandon  107  soul 

To  the  Chrer  of  genius,  love,  fi-iendship,  ind  wine  t 

WliateTer  may  be  the  failings  (md  errors  of  our  post,  due 
)  the  diBostrnus  days  on  whJeb  his  youtli  haa  faUen,  there 
I  disL'emible  id  his  writings  the  predominant  character  of 
is  mind — frankness,  single-lieartedness,  and  candour.  It 
I  impossible  not  to  entertain  a  friendly  feeling  towards 
ich  a  moil;  and  I  am  not  surprised  to  leam  that  he  is 
berisbed  by  the  French  people  with  a  fervency  akin  to 
loiatry.  He  is  no  tuit-himter,  nor  Whigling  sycophant, 
or  trolGcker  in  bia  mercbandise  of  eoug.  Neither  nos  he 
>ught  to  convert  his  patriotism  into  an  engine  for  picking 
X  pockets  of  the  poor.  He  hiia  set  up  no  pretensions  to 
obility  ;  although,  be  could  no  doubt  trump  up  a  story  of 
lonnan  ancestry,  and  convert  some  old  farm-house  on  the 
9a-coast  into  an  "  abbey."  It  is  not  with  the  affectation 
r  B  ewindling  demagogue,  but  with  the  heartfelt  cordiality 
r  one  of  themaelvea,  that  be  glories  in  belonging  to  the 
tufile.  What  poet  but  Bt'ranger  ever  thought  of  comme- 
lorating  the  garret  where  be  spent  his  earUer  days  ? 

It  &\tn\n  tst  Qtratigtr.  Ciit  &axxti  of  Stratigtr. 

>  reviena  voir  I'&sjio  aii  ma  Jeuneese  Oh  I  iC  woe  here  that  Love  hia 
De  la  miiire  a  subi  le»  U-cout :  gifts  bestowed 

J^arais  Tingt  an*,  une  foUe  maltresse,  On  jouth's  wDd  age  ! 

De  Erance  unis,  et  I'amour  des  ohaa-  OUdly   once  more  I  seek  m; 
MKU :  youth's  shade, 

BMTmnt  le  monde,  et  lea  sota,  et  les  Id  pilgrimage  : 

■ages,  HfireTiij  jDungmistreaswilli  her 
IB  sTHtiir,  richc  de  mon  pHnteius,  pni^t  ilnred 

etjoyoui.jeniontaissij  Stages —  RepLl-?'  to  Jwell ; 

on  grenier  qu'on  est  bion  i  fingt  She  wns  piiteen,  I  twenty,  and 


isl 


Thu  ai 


ccelL 


800 


FATHSB  FBOirT*B  BBLIQUS8. 


Cest  on  grenier,  point  ne  Teox  qu*on 
rignore : 
L^  fut  mion  lit,  bien  ch^tif  et  bien 
dor; 
lit  fut  ma  table ;  et  jeretrouTO  encore 
Trois  pieda  d'un  yen  charbonn^ 
8ur  le  mur. 
ApparaisBez,  plaisin  de  mon  bel  Age, 
Que  d'un  coup  d*(Bil  a  fuatigi  le 
terns! 
Vingt  fois  pour  toub  j*ai  mis  ma  mon- 

tre  en  gage — 
Dans  un  grenier  qu*on  est  bien  h  ringt 
ans! 

Lisette  ici  doit  surtout  apparattre, 

Vive,  jolie,  avec  un  frais  ohapeau ; 
jy^jh  sa  main  k  T^troite  fen^tre 
Suspend  son  schale  en  guise  de  ri- 
deau: 
Sa  robe  aussi  va  parer  ma  couchette — 
Bespecte,  Amour !  ses  plis  longs  et 
flottans : 
J*ai  su  depuis  qui  payait  sa  toilette — 
Dans  un  grenier  qu*on  est  bien  k 
vingt  ans  I 

A  table  un  jour,  jour  de  grande  rich- 
esse, 
De  mes  amis  les  yoix  brillaient  en 
choBur, 
Quand  jusqu'ici  monte  un  cri  d*al^ 
gresse, 
Q}i*k  Marengo  Bonaparte  est  yain- 
queur ! 
Le  canon  gronde — un    autre  chant 
commence — 
Nous  c^^brons  tant  de  fiiits^datans ; 
Les    rois   jamais    n*enyahiront    la 
France — 
Dans  un  grenier  qu'on  est  bien  k 
yingt  ans! 

Quittons  ce  toit,  oil  ma  raison  s'e- 
nivre — 
Oh,  qu'ils  sont  loin  ces  jours  si  re- 
grett^s! 
J*^ohangerai  ce  qu'il  me  reste  k  yiyre 
Contre  un  dee  jours  qu'ici  Dieum'a 
oompt^ 


Yes, 'twas  a  ganet!  be  it  known 
to  all. 
Here  was  Loye*a  shrine : 
There  read,  in  charcoal  traced 
along  the  wall, 
Th'  unfiniahed  line— 
Here  was  the  board  where  kin- 
dred hearts  would  blend. 
The  Jew  can  tell 
How  oft  I  pawned  my  watch,  to 
feast  a  friend 
Li  attic  cell ! 


O !  my  Lisette's  fadr  form  could 
.    Irecall 
With  fisdiy  wand ! 
There  she  womd  blind  the  win- 
dow with  her  shawl- 
Bashful,  yet  fond ! 
What  though  from  whom  she  gut 
her  dress  Fye  since 
Learnt  but  too  well. 
Still  in  those  days  I  enyied  not 
a  prince 
In  attic  cell ! 

Here  the  glad  tidings  on  our 
banquet  burst. 
Mid  the  bright  bowla  : 
Yes,  it  was  here  Marengo's  tri- 
umph first 
Kindled  our  souls ! 
Bronze  cannon  roared;  France 
with  redoubled  might 
Felt  her  heart  swell ! 
Proudly  we  drank  our  consul's 
health  that  night 
In  attic  cell ! 


Dreams  of  my  joyful  youth!  Fd 
freely  ^ye, 
Ere  niy  lifb*8  dose, 
All  the  dull  days  I'm  destined 
yet  to  liye, 
For  one  of  those ! 


Tas  aoNoa  or  isxscz.  301 

■r  riwtr  glOLM,  amour,  plaisir,  folie,  Whne  shall  I  now  find  nptuns 
Mr  w  Tie  en  peu  d'in-  that  were  felt, 

Jofs  that  bcfi'tl, 

1  long   opoir  pour  la  Toir  on-  Andhopei  thatdnwnodHttwcnt}', 
bellie—  when  I  liwelt 

:i  grenicT  qu'on  at   biao  K  lu  attic  cell  ? 

Tingt  au»l 

Kothing  can  oiler  a  more  ludicrous  image  to  the  diapas- 
nouate  obBerrer  of  pasaing  tnuisactions,  thaa  the  aBsump- 
tion  of  radical  polities  by  some  men  whose  essential  nature 
IB  thoroughly  imbued  with  contempt  for  the  mob,  while 
they  are  straining  every  nerve  to  secure  its  aweet  voices.  I 
could  name  many  who  assume  such  seutiments  respecting 
the  distiactiona  of  hereditary  rank  in  this  country,  yet 
would  feel  very  acutely  the  deprivation  of  the  rank  and 
nune  they  bear,  or  an  inquiry  into  the  devioua  and  questi- 
onable title  by  which  they  retain  them.  The  eflbrta  they 
nutke  to  conceal  their  private  feelings  before  the  multitude 

^BVDcall  a  hint  addressed  to  some  "  republicans  who  paraded 

Kthe  streets  of  Paris  in  1793 : 

^H  "  Mais  enfonoei  dana  vos  culottei 

^^B  ha  bout  de  lings  qui  pend  I 

^H  On  dim  que  lee  pttHotes 

^H  Out  deploj^  le  '  drapi-BU  blanc.'" 

^P  Autobiography  is  the  rage,  John  Gait,  the  Ettrick  Hogg, 
H^the  iWHsb  Opium-eater,  Sir  Egerton  Brydges,  Jack  Ketch, 
Grant-Thorbum,  and  sundry  other  personages,  have  lately 
adorned  this  dejmrtmeut  of  our  literature.  In  his  song,  the 
"Tailor  and  the  Fairy,"  Stranger  has  acquitted  himself  of 
a  task  indispensable  in  modem  authors.  lie  was  bom  the 
-  le  year  aa  T.  Moore,  1780. 

%t  Cailltur  tt  la  jFtr. 

Dana  ee  Parie,  plein  d'or  et  de  mia^. 

En  ran  du  Christ  mil  lept  cent  quatre-viogt, 

Ollel  on  tsillear,  mon  paurre  et  vieux  grand-pirts 
Mai  nouveau-n£,  sachei  ce  qui  m'sdiint. 

Keu  ne  pr£dit  la  glaire  d'un  OrphAe 

A  iQoa  beroeau,  qui  n'ftait  ptie  de  Beun  i 
Uaii  mon  giand-p^re,  accourant  k  mea  pleura, 

He  troDTe  un  jour  d»n«  le»  brai  i"        "" 


£t  cette  tie.  a 
Calmait  le  i 


ode 


802  TATHEB  PBOTTT'8   BSLIQUES. 


**  Le  bon  yiellard  lui  dit ;  L*&me  inqui^te ! 

A  oet  enfant  quel  destin  est  promu  ?*' 
EUe  r^pond  :  "  Vols  le  sous  ma  baguette, 

Gannon  d'auberge,  imprimeur,  et  commii ; 
Un  coup  de  foudre*  ajoute  k  mes  pr&age8— 

Ton  nls  atteint,  va  p^rir  consiim^  ; 

Dieu  le  regarde,  et  t'oiseau  ranim6 
Vole  en  chantant  braver  d'autres  orages." 

Et  puU  la  fee,  arec  de  gaiB  refraiDS, 
Galmait  le  cri  de  mes  premien  chagrins. 

"  Tous  les  plaisirs,  sylphes  de  la  jeunesse, 

Eveilleront  sa  Ijre  au  sein  des  nuits  ; 
Au  toit  du  pauvre  il  r^pand  Tal^gresse, 

A  Topuleuce  il  sauve  des  ennuis. 
Mais  quel  spectacle  attriste  son  langage  ? 

Tout  s*engloutit  et  gloire  et  liberte  ! 

Comme  un  pecheur  qui  rentre  ^pouvant^, 
II  yient  au  port  reconter  leur  naufrage." 

Et  puis  la  fici  avec  de  gais  refrains, 
Calmait  le  cri  de  mes  premiers  cha^int.* 


CI;e  ^utobtograpi)^  of  $.  3.  tie  Seranger. 

Paris  !  gorgeous  abode  of  the  gay !    Paris !  haunt  of  despair ! 

There  befell  in  thy  bosom  one  day  an  occurrence  most  yreighty, 
At  the  house  of  a  tailor,  my  grand&ther,  under  whose  care 

I  was  nursed,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty. 
By  no  token,  'tis  true,  did  my  cradle  announce  a  young  Horace — 
And  the  omens  were  such  as  might  well  lead  astray  the  unwary ; 
But  with  utter  amazement  one  morning  my  grandfaUier,  Maurice, 
Saw  his  grandchild  reclining  asleep  in  the  arms  of  a  fairy ! 
And  this  fairy  so  handsome 
Assumed  an  appearance  so  striking, 
And  for  me  seemed  to  take  such  a  liking, 
That  he  knew  not  what  gift  he  should  offer  the  dame  for  my  nmtoiD. 

Had  ho  previously  studied  thy  Legendi,  O  rare  Croftv  Croker ! 

He*d  nave  learnt  how  to  act  firom  thy  pages — ('tis  there  that  the 
charm  is !) 
But  my  guardian's  first  impulse  was  rather  to  look  for  the  poker, 

To  rescue  his  beautiful  boy  from  her  hands  vi  et  armu. 

*  B^ranger  tells  us  in  a  note,  that  in  early  life  he  had  well  nigh  pe* 
rished  by  the  electric  fluid  in  a  thunder-storm.  The  same  is  related  of 
Luther,  when  at  the  university.  The  flash  which,  in  Lather^s  caae, 
changed  the  student  into  a  monk,  in  B^ranger's  conTerted  the  tailor*! 
gooee  into  a  swan. — Psout. 


THE 


'    FBAKL'E. 


Ptiit  he  piuBiid  in  his  plui,  aiid  udoptod  a  mililer  auggeatioD, 

Forber  nttitucip,  talm  anil  uoterrifiBd.  oindo  liini  respect  lier 
fo  he  Uiought  it  wu  best  to  be  oiril,  niid  fuirly  to  quoatiua, 
Conocrniog  mj  prtxpccW  in  life,  the  beneiolmt  spectre. 
'A^d  the  lurj,  prophrtiml. 
Bead  niT  deltin/a  book  in  >  minute, 
With  all  the  particulara  in  it : 
I  outline  >be  drew  with  eisutitude  most  geometricaL 

■er  ihili  be  mingled  with  plpuuro.  tliougli  checkered  withpnin 
And  •omo  brigiit  sunny  hours  ebnll  siiceeed  to  n  rigorous  winter : 
ttc  him  first  B  ^OTO"  it  «  hoa1eb7— tlieu,  with  diKdaio 

See  him  spurn  that  tUe  iinlt,  and  apprentice  biniaolf  Id  a  printer. 
&■  B  poor  uarfereitj .clerk  »iew  him  oeil  at  his  (leak  ; — 
Mark  that  Oaah  ! — he  wili  hare  a  moat  narroi*  i»eape  from  llic  light- 

uiug: 
it  behold  after  aundrr  adrenturea,  some  bold,  aome  groteaque, 
'    The  horiion  oleara  an,  and  his  prospwts  appear  to  be  brighteni]i(t." 
And  the  foirT,  oireesing 
Tlie  infant,  iorelald  that,  ere  long. 
He  wDold  warble  uuriTallcd  in  song ; 
All  Franpo  In  the  haoiage  wliii'b  Furie  bad  paid  acquiescing. 

'  **  Yes,  the  mtise  baa  adopted  the  bo;  1  On  bis  brow  tee  the  launl  I 

In  hia  hand  'tin  Anacnson's  cup  I — with  the  Oreck  be  haa  dtBDk  it. 
IVark  the  high-minded  tone  of  bis  songi,  and  their  eiquisite  moral, 
Obing  joy  to  the  cottage,  and  heightemng  the  blaze  oEthe  banqueL 
Row  the  mture  grows  dark— M'e  the  ipectade  Ftanoe  has  become  I 
'    IGd  the  wreck  of  bis  eoimlir,  IJio  poet,  undaunted  and  proud. 
Kb  the  pnblic  complsiuta  ehall  give  ulteranee  :  slaves  ma;  be  dumb, 
f  fiat  ni^l]  ring  in  the  hearing  of  despots  defiance  aloud!" 
And  the  fair;  addmainB 
Mv  grandfather,  aomewbet  aBloniahed, 
So  miidlj  mj  Eunrdiau  admoiiiahed, 
'  wept  while  he  Taiiiahed  nwaj  with  a  smile  and  a  bleasing. 

Such  IB  the  man  whose  works  wiJl  form  the  moat  enduring 
bfunument  of  tlie  literature  of  Frnnce  during  the  firBt 
_qi)art«r  of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  is  tlie  pride  of  my 
old  age  t«  have  rcL-orded  in  these  "  papers"  niy  admiration 
of  thiB  eitraotdiuarj  writer  ;  and  when,  at  a  future  period, 
commentators  and  entice  ahall  feed  on  hia  ever- verdant  pages, 
and  disport  themselves  in  the  leaves  of  his  immortal  poelry, 
it  will  oe  perhaps  mentioned  by  some  votary  of  recondite 
lore,  that  an  obscure  clergyman,  uu  a  barren  Irish  hill, 
nutde  the  first  eflbrt  to  transplant  hither  some  slips  of  that 
^Txuriant  tree  ;  though  he  fears  that,  like  the  "  mulberry." 


FATHBE  FBOVX  S  BELiqUXB. 

it  cannot  be  natiiralized  in  these  islands,  and  mugt  stilt  ml 
tinue  to  form  the  esclusive  boast  aud  pride  of  a  happia 
climate. 

Neit  to  the  songster-laureate  of  France,  posterity  wii 
haO  in  Victor  Hugo  the  undoubted  excellence  of  origian 
thought,  and  the  gift  of  glowing  eipression.  Before  tlies 
two  lofty  minda  the  minor  poets,  Lamartioe  and  Chatcsa 
briand,  will  sink  into  comparatire  insignificance. 
Buma  and  Byron  will  he  remembered  and  read  when  Bol 
Montgomery  and  Haynes  Bayly  will  be  swept  away  witi 
the  coteries  who  applauded  them.  "  OpinioQum  conimenti 
delet  dies,"  quoth  the  undying  Tully  ;  "  nntune  judicia  coifc 
firmat."  But,  after  all,  what  is  fame  ?  It  is  a  questia 
that  often  recurs  to  me,  dwelling  frequently,  in  sober  pen 
siveaess,  on  the  hollow  futility  of  human  pursuits,  and  pom 
dering  on  the  narrow  extent  of  that  cuvle  which,  Jn  it 
widest  possible  diffusion,  renown  can  hope  to  fill  here  beloW 
Never  has  a  Pagan  writer  penned  a  period  more  replete  witi 
Christian  philosophy  than  the  splendid  passage  which  me 
niory  brings  me  here  in  the  natural  succession  of  Berioni 
reflections  that  crowd  on  my  mind : — "  Igitur  alt6  apectan 
si  voles,  et  letemam  domum  contueri,  neque  te  sermonibtt 
Tulgi  dederia,  neoue  in  prsemiis  humanisspem  posueiis  reruil 
tuarum.  Quid  ae  te  aJii  loquantur,  ipsi  videant ;  loquenti 
tamen.  Sermo  autem  omnia  ille  et  angustiis  cingitur  i 
regionum  quas  vides  ;  nee  unquam  de  ullo  perennis  fuit ;  i 
obruitur  hominuni  interitu  ;  et  oblivione  posl«ritatia  eitinn 
guitur  !"— Cic.  Sam.  Stu'p. 

To  return  to  Victor  Hugo.  It  would  be  unpardonable  ii 
me  to  have  written  a  series  of  papers  on  the  "  Songs  o 
France."  and  not  to  have  given  some  specimens  of  A»>  re 
fined  ;uid  delicate  compositions.  Hugo  does  not  addrea 
himself  so  much  to  the  popular  capacity  as  his  energeti 
contemporary  :  he  is  a  scholar,  and  seeks  •'  fitting  audiencBj 
though  few."  The  lyrical  pieces,  however,  which  I  Bub< 
join,  will  be  felt  by  lul  in  their  thrilling  appeal  to  our  sea 
sibilities. 

Though  1  do  not  regret  the  space  1  have  devoted  to  the 
beauties  of  Bi'ranger,  it  is  still  witli  a  feeling  of  embarrass 
mejit  that  I  briug  forward  thus  late,  and  towards  the  cloa 
of  my  lucubrations  on  this  interesting  subject,  so  deser\'inj 


!   BOKOS   or   FBAKCK. 


claimant  on  the  notice  of  the  public.  Be  that  as  it  may, 
bere  goes !  and,  gentle  reader,  thou  hnst  hefore  thet?  two 
gems  of  the  purest  water.    The  first  la  an  Oriental  emerald. 

It  YeiU.    (Slritnlalt. 


■•  Atu-tdiu  bit  not  prllm  n 

■«lr,t)M(Uin™.r-aB 

ngaidi  brtllonl  dwu  loi  reni. 

Otilf— praWlm-in' 

Jr  ^  mW  m'9  lufloqaie,  Car  aur  met  n-tixTda  qui  n'^tflign 

ton  vnllft  uti  liutut  i'Git  oiiv«rt.  S'^tvud  tin  vDlta  da  (rtpKH. 

faomm*  ftlon  panHa^i?  hd  hodiiaQ  «n    C^en  «4t  iia  que  du  moliu  to  m 
aftaDTcrlF  p«>l 

CI)c  'Fril.     9n  ®nmUI  SiaIo{[ut. 

Vietnr  Hwjo. 
-H»Y«  you  prty'il  lo-nlgbt,  Df.™j!mi>n.t"-SH»inri.««, 

Wliat  nfc9  happened,  my  bpolliere  P     Your  spirit  to  daj 

Some  aecrat  Borrow  linmps ; 
There's  >  cloud  on  Tour  brow.    Wttnt  hu  happened  F  ob,  s 
For  your  eyeball*  glare  oul  wil.li  b  siiiiBler  rBj, 

Like  tbe  light  of  funeral  luupe. 
Tlie  blades  of  your  poniardc  are  hslf-uuebeathed 

In  jrour  some — and  yo  frown  ou  me ! 
There's  a  wiw  uutold,  Ibere's  a  pang  unbmthed, 

In  yout  boeont,  my  brathera  three! 


806  FATHXB   PBOUT'b   BSLIQUES. 

SCDI8T  BBOTHXB. 

Oulnara,  make  answer !    Hast  thou,  since  the  dawn. 
To  the  eye  of  a  stranger  thy  veil  withdrawn  ? 

THB  8I8TEB. 

As  I  came,  O  my  brothers ! — at  noon — irom  the  bath^* 

As  I  camcr-it  was  noon — my  lords — 
And  your  sister  had  then,  as  she  constantly  hatli, 
Drawn  her  reil  dose  around  her,  aware  that  the  i>ath 
Is  beset  by  these  foreign  hordes. 

But  the  weight  of  the  noonday's  sultry  hour 
Near  the  mosque  was  so  oppressive, 

That — forgetting  a  moment  the  eye  of  the  GKaour— 
I  yielded  to  heat  excessive. 

SECOND  BBOTHXB. 

Chilnara,  make  answer !    Whom,  then,  hast  thou  seen. 
In  a  turban  of  white,  and  a  caftan  of  green  ? 

THB  BISTEB. 

Nay,  he  might  have  been  there ;  but  I  muffled  me  so. 

He  could  scarce  have  seen  my  figure. 

But  why  to  your  sister  thus  dark  do  you  grow  f 
What  words  to  yourselves  do  you  mutter  thus  low, 
Of  "  blood,"  and  "  an  intriguer  P" 

Oh !  ye  cannot  of  murder  bring  down  the  red  guilt 
On  voiu*  souls,  my  brothers,  surely ! 

Though  I  tear — from  your  hand  that  I  see  on  the  hilt, 
And  the  hints  you  give  obscurely. 

THIBD  BROTHEB. 

Gxdnara !  this  evening  when  sank  the  red  sun, 

Hast  thou  marked  how  like  blood  in  descending  it  slionc  ? 

THE  8I8TEB. 

Mercy !  Allah  !  three  daggers !  have  pity !  oh,  spare ! 

See !  I  cling  to  your  knees  repenting ! 
Kind  brothers,  forgive  me !  for  mercy,  forbear ! 
Be  appeased  at  the  voice  of  a  sister's  despair, 

For  your  mother's  sake  relenting. 

O  Ghod  \  must  I  die  P   They  are  deaf  to  my  cries  I 

Their  sister  s  life-blood  shedding : 
They  have  stabbed  me  again — and  I  hmt — o*er  my  eves 

A  Veil  of  Dei.th  is  spreading ! — 

ELDEST  BBOTHBB. 

Gulnara,  farewell !  take  that  veil ;  'tis  the  gift 
Of  thy  brothers — a  veil  thou  wilt  never  lift  I 


TBI  Bones   07  FRANCE. 

Hugo,  in  tliis  Eastern  scene,  aa  well  as  in  bis  glorious  ro- 

nance  of  "  Notre  Dame  de  Paris,"  eeems  to  take  delight  it 

[  harrowing  up  our  feelings  by  tbe  invariably  sad  catastrophe 

of  ail  bis  love  adventures.      Tbe  chonl  of  symputbj-  for 

broken  affections  and  shattered  hearts  seems  to  be  a  favour- 

I  ite  one  witb  tbis  mighty  master  of  tbe  Gallic  lyre.    Ex.  gr. 


%i  ffiaafit  Hu  CTtmbalitr- 

ficlor  llui/o. 

igneur,  le  Due  de  Bretagne, 
A  pour  \e»  combiM  nieatriers, 
DosToqui^  de  N'sQlfl  k  Mortagnu, 
Sans  1ft  pUine,  et  eut  la  campagne, 
L'uriere-bui  de  wa  gi 


Cfii  finDt  of  t||t  Cpmbalrir. 

A  BaUad. 


BaronB,  vha  dwell  in  dotijon-lieep, 
I       And  nuul-i-likd  caunt  and  pe^r, 
,   Whose   fief  i*  ieaaeA   with   lotti 


£t  floo  pourpoint  d'or  fctutaat. 

[    Dopuis  cc  joiir  Teffroi  m'agile; 
f        J'(udit,joigiuuit>Diiaartauniien, 
I  **  Ma  patronoe,  Sunte  Brigilte, 
L  Pour  que  jamais  il  ne  le  quitia, 
SurreiUei  Kn  ange  gardiea  1" 

I  3'ti  dit  i-  notre  abbf,  "  Musire, 
Prieibieopourtouaaoi  ioliiats!'" 
Et  oomme  on  nfKt.  qu'il  le  d^ire, 

B  J'u  briUi  troia  deive'i  de  eire 
Siu  L>  cblsM  de  Saint  Qildaa. 


KiiiiUe*  du  rilerin. 


Chahing  hi>  Fjmbala  forth  he  wt^nt. 
With  a  bold  and  gallant  bearing  g 

Sure  for  a  vaplaic  he  naa  meant. 

To  judge  from  hia  aeroutrauirat, 
^d  the  clolh  of  gold  he'a  Hear- 
ing. 

But  in  mj  soul  since  then  I  feol 
A  fear,  in  secret  creeping  ; 

Aad  to  SaiDt  Bridget  ofl  1  kneel, 

I'o  hia  guardian  aagel's  koeptii;!. 

Fts  begged  our  abbot,  Bemardinr. 

'        His  prayers  not  to  relai ; 

And,  to  procure  him  aid  divinf. 

I'tb  burnt  upon  Saint  QUda'ssluuir 

Three  pounds  of  virgin  wai. 

Our  Ladj  of  Lorelto  knows 
The  pilgrimage  1  TOw'd: 

■'  To  iirnr  Me  icoliop  IprotKit'. 

IfhtallS  and  tuftty  from  thijoit 
My  Uicrr  i*  allow'tt." 


30S 


FATHEB  PBOUT  S  BELIQUES. 


n  n'a  pu,  par  d'amoureux  gages, 
Absent,  consoler  mes  foyers  ; 
Pour  porter  les  teiidres  messages 
La  vassale  n'a  point  de  pages, 
Le  vassal  n'a  point  d'^cuyers. 

II  doit  aujourd'hui  de  la  guerre 
Revenir  ayec  monseigneur — 

Ce  n'est  plus  un  amant  vnlgaire ; 

Je  leve  un  front  baiss^  nagu6re, 
£t  mon  orgueil  est  du  bonbeur. 


Le  due  triomphaut,  nous  rapport<e 
Son    drapeau    dans   les    camps 
froiss(3 ; 
Venez  tons,  sous  la  vieille  porte, 
Voir  passer  la  brillante  escorte, 
Et  le  prince  et  mon  fiano^ ! 

Venez  voir,  pour  ce  jour  de  fSte, 

Son  chcval  cai)ara9on6 ; 
Qui  sous  son  poids  hennit,  s*arr^te, 
Et  marclie  en  secouant  la  t^te, 

De  plumes  rouges  couronn^. 


Mes  soBurs,  ii  tous  parer  trop  lentes, 
Venez  voir,  pr^s,  de  mon  vain- 
queiir, 
Ces  timbales  Itincclantes 
Qui,  sous  sa  main  toujours  trem- 
blantes, 
Sonnent,  et  font  bondir  le  ccBur. 

Venez  surtout  le  voir  lui-merae. 
Sous  le  manteau  que  jai  brodd ! 

Qu'il   sera  beau!      C'est  lui   que 
j'aime ; 

U  porte  comme  un  diad^me 
Son  casque  de  crins  inondds  I 


L'Egypticnne  sacrildge, 

M'attirant  derridre  un  pilier, 
M*a  dit  bien  (Dieu  me  protege !) 


No  letter  (fond  affection's  gage  I) 

From  him  could  I  require^ 
The  pain  of  absence  to  assuage — 
A  vassal-maid  can  have  no  page^ 
A  liegeman  has  no  squiie. 

This  day   will   witness,  with    the 
duke*s. 
My  cymbaleer's  return : 
GMadness  and  pride  beam  in  my 

looks, 
Delay  my  heart  impatient  brooks. 
All  meaner  thoughts  I  spurn. 

Back  from  the  battle  field  elate. 
His  banner  brings  each  peer ; 

Come,  let  us  see,  at  the  ancient 
gate. 

The  martial  triumph  pass  in  state, 
And  the  duke  and  my  cymbaleer. 

We'll  see  foom  the  rampart- vralls  of 
Nantz 
What  an  air  his  horse  assumes ; 
His  proud  neck   swells,  his  glad 

hoofs  prance. 
And  on  his  head  unceasing  dance. 
In  a  gorgeous  tuft,  red  plumes ! 

Be   quick,    my   sbters!   dress    in 
haste! 
Come,  see  him  bear  the  bell. 
With  laurels  docked,  with  true-love 

graced ; 
While  in  his  bold  hand,  fitly  placed. 
The  bounding  cymbals  swell ! 

Mark  well  the  mantle  that   he'll 
wear. 
Embroider  d  by  his  bride. 
Admire    his     bumish'd    helmet's 

ffkre, 
0*ershadow*d  by  the  dark  horse- 
hair 
That  waves  in  jet  folds  wide ! 

Thegipsy  (spiteful  wench !)  foretold 
With  voice  like  a  viper  hissing, 
(Though  I  had  cross'd  her  p2in 
with  gold). 


iMus  Of  FSAsce. 


iAj'bi  tont  pTi£  que  j*«pdre, 

P   Qua<q<ie,miMDOtitrantde  laiDsin 

""  Mpulcre,  Mm  noir  rppairc, 

viiullc,  am  rpgardi  de  vipftro, 

'"  it  ditja  rkttmdi  lidemun, 

[volons  !  plua  de  noiret  peoi^  I 
Ce  aont  Ira  UUDbaum  quo  J'ira- 
tend)  I 

a  le»  dunes  entftsecc* , 
tentea  de  pourpre  dreesees, 
Lm  fleuTS  et  Im  dnip«Hiii  Qotluin! 
ir  deux  nogs  le  cortege  ondoie: 
D'obord,  le*   piquirsr*  aux  put 

Foil,  ions  rttmdard  qu'on  deploic, 
lies  baroiu,  en  robei  de  eoie, 
A.IB1:  leun  Icqucs  do  Teloura. 

PIToici  le»  ebiiBubles  dee  prelreB  ; 
_  I.«eh4r»at«Buriin  blanceoureior; 
utenir  de»  taictlnt, 
it  I'fcmpon  de  leura  inaitrtB 
Vaat  lur  ieai  conelet  d'acier. 


re  pray  d  w 

Her  yorda  mnj  proio  unlrae  1 
Though  in  her  c»ve  Ihc  hag  aci:ur«t 
Muller'd    " /"rtjwn!    Ihet    fur- lli- 

Wiili  n  bee  of  ghuttj'  liuo. 

My  jut  her  spella  slikll  not  preveiil, 

Hark  :  I  cnn  Itear  tlie  drume  ! 

And  ladies  fnir  from  Bilkoii  tent 

Pwp  forth,  aud  eveiy  eje  is  bent 

Ou  llie  caTsleade  that  cuuif?  ! 


Pikenen,  dividing  on  both  Ilnnk», 

Op™  the  pngesnlry ; 
Loud,  aa  Ijie;  tread,  their  anDour 

And    silk-robed  barons    lead    the 
auks, 


The  pink  of  galUntrj  ! 


Armorial  prid«  devks  tlieir  sitire. 
Worn  in  remembrance  of  a  sin' 
Famed  for  heroic  deeds. 

a  Persanne  Fear'd  by  the  Pajnim'a  dark  divau, 

»  Templiers,  cretDts  de  Teiifer ;       The  Templars  oeit  advance ; 

ongue  pertuisane.  Then  the  briTe  bonmen   of  Liu- 


Lcduco'est  pss  loin:  sesbauniirp 

Flottent  parmi  Ics  ohcTaliere  ; 
Quelijues  enseignes  prieonniinH, 
"     ■  It  Us  demiires. 


Foremost  to  stsjid  in  battle's 

Against  the  foes  of  France. 

Neit  eomes  tlie  dtike  with  rs' 


:i  lestimbaUersI"   Those  of  the  foe.      Look,  sislera. 
Now  come  the  cjmbalecrf  !" 
,    le  dit,  et  u  Toe  erraate  She  spoke — with  learching  eje  sur- 

Flonge,   h6laa!  dans   les   rengs  Tcy'd 


810 


FATHER  PBOUT'S  BXLIQUB8. 


By  way  of  contrast  to  the  Gk>thic  reminisceiiceB  of  the 
olden  time,  and  the  sentimental  delicacy  of  the  foregoing 
ballad,  I  subjoin  a  modem  description  of  Ghillic  chivalry, — 
a  poetical  sketch  of  contemporary  heroism.  Nothing  can  be 
more  striking  than  the  change  which  seems  to  have  come 
over  the  spirit  of  the  military  dreams  of  the  French  since 
the  days  of  Lancelot  and  Bayard,  if  we  are  to  adopt  this 
as  an  authentic  record  of  their  present  sentiments  m  mat- 
ters of  gallantry.  I  cannot  tell  who  the  author  or  authoress 
of  the  following^  dithyramb  may  be ;  but  I  have  taken  it 
down  as  I  have  heard  it  sung  by  a  fjEur  girl  who  would  some- 
times  condescend  to  indulge  an  old  eiltbataire  with  a  snatch 
of  merry  music. 


l,a  Carrierf  ^ilttatre 

En  France, 

Ah,  lebeUtat! 

Que  r^tat  de  soldat ! 
Battre,  aimer,  chanter,  et  boire — 
VoilJi  toute  notve  histoire ! 

Et,  ma  foi, 

Moi  je  croLB 
Que  cet  6tat-U  Taut  bien 
Gelui  de  tant  de  gens  qui  ne  font 

rien! 

Talnquers,  entrons-nous  dans  une 
ville? 
Lea  autorit^s  et  les  habitans 
Mou8  Tiennent,  d*une  fafon   fort 
civile, 
Ouvrir  lea  portes  k  deux  battans : 
O'est  tout  au  plus  s'ils  sont  oon- 
tens ; 
Mais  c'est  tout  de  mSme — 
II  faut  qu*on  nous  aime — 
Kan,  tan,  plan ! 
Ou  bien  qu^on  en  fasse  semblant. 
Puis  quand  yient  le  clair  de  lune, 
Chacun  choisit  sa  chacune, 
En  qualite  de  conqu6rant. 

Ban,  tan,  plan ! 
Ah,  le  bel  ^tat,  etc. 


C|)e  jKtlttar^  9toteitfitfton 

In  France. 

Oh,  the  pleasant  life  a  soldier  leads ! 
Let  the  lawyer  count  his  fees. 
Let  old  women  tell  their  beads. 
Let  each  boobj  squire  breed  cattle, 
if  he  please. 
Far  better  'tis,  I  think. 
To  make  lore,  fight,  and  drink. 
Odds  boddekin ! 
Such  life  makes  a  man  to  a  god 
akin. 

Do  we  enter  an j  town  f 
The  portcullis  is  let  down. 
And  the  joj-bells  are  rung  by  mu* 
nicipal  authority ; 
The  gates  are  open'd  w^de, 
And  the  city-keys  presented  us 
beside. 
Merely  to  recognize  our  vast  supe- 
riority. 
The  mamed  citizens,  *tis  ten  to 

one, 
Would  wish  us  fisirly  gone ; 
But  we  stay  while  it  suite  our  good 
pleasure. 
Then  each  eye,  at  the  rising  of  tho 

moon, 
Thefiddlerstnkesupamenrtiiiia, 
We  meet  a  buxom  partner  luilsoon. 
And  we  foot  it  to  a  military  meMiir«. 


(   OF    FB4SCE. 


TOle 


lUkod  noui  qoitlons  la   When  oop  garriBon  at  ]htt  gtU  ••  ths 


"  Eeriens  t"eo  bien  ySto  !" 
Oui  ds,  ma  petite  ! 
Le  plus  BOaT^iit, 
I*  pins  BOUTCnt, 
Je  ne  aiiu  pu  pour  le  leDtimmt 
Ran,  tan,  plan '. 
TiTC  le  regiment  1 


Who  ran  adequstelj  tell 
Tlie  T^ret  of  the  fair  all  the  cit; 
througliont, 
And  the  tone  with  vhich  the;  bii 
us  "/arturU  t" 
Their  ti^ara  itould  make  a  flood — i 
perfect  rirer : 
And,  to  eoothe  her  despair, 
Each  diioonaolatfi  moid  entrc 


o( 


Et  puis  lonqu'en  maraudp, 

vhacuD  rAcle  (deutourj 
On  Ta,  te  labre  a  hi  main,  ea 
iraude, 
Fairo  ]>  cbnaee  i  la  baB«-cour, 
Faut  bien  qne  c;haque  Tictiiufl  ait 

Poullsa  inoocentes  I 
IntermanteB  I 
SaneFctour!  unsretourt 
Bdai!  Toili  TOtre  demier  jonr! 

Han,  tsD.  plan  t 

Cot !  cot !  cot !  la  Motinelle 

Tous  appele  I  ' 

ICIIm  ptifent  la  l^le  M  caqneCant, 

""    'en  Tont  )>  la  brocha  du  rfgi- 


>  to  gire  tier, 
Ere  we  go.  a  liuglo  lock  of  our  hair. 
AUb  1  it  is  not  often 
That  my  heart  can  «oflen 
Be>pauii*e  to  the  fedingi  of  the  fair  I 
[CAorw  ^  dnma. 

On  a  march,  Trhea  our  gallant  diTi 


To  Faddv'Biare,  "potatoea  and 

salt.'' 
Could  Bueh  beggartj  cheer 
Btbt  answer  a  Fronoh  grenadier  ? 
"So  '.  ne  tend  a  dragoon  guard 
To  each  neighbouHng  farm- 
jard. 
To  ooUect  the  choicest  pitiiDgi — 
TurkejA,  Bucking-pigB,  and  duck- 


■e  nutio  rapici 


Puis,  it  notre  retour  en  France, 
Chaque  Tillage,  en  goguette,  en 

Kotu  rofoit.otDur  et  tambour  bat- 

Tic,  lac,  ran,  tan,  pUn  I 
En  I'honnenr  du  raiment. 
Ah,  le  bcl  ^t ! 
Qiiol'ttat  deiohlBt! 


For  whj  should  m 

Futt«n  on  Buch  til-bid, 
Bfftter  suited  to  the  spits 
Of   our  hiuigrj  and  Talorous  bat- 
talions F 

But,  oh  !  at  our  return 
To  our  dear  native  France, 

Each  yillage  in  ita  turn. 
With  music,  and  wine,  and  merry 

Forth  an  our  jof  fill  pusage  comes ; 

And  the  pulse  of  each  heart  beat* 

time  to  Iha  drum  a. 

ICharta  itf  drumt. 
Oh,  the  merrj  life  a  soldier  leads  I 


812  FATHXB  PSOUT's  BELIQUES. 

The  military  songs  of  this  merry  nation  are  not  all,  how- 
ever, of  the  light  texture  of  the  foregoing,  in  proof  of  which 
I  subjoin  an  elegy  on  Colonel  de  B^umaaoir,  killed  in  the 
defence  of  Pondicherry,  when  that  last  stronghold  of  French 
power  in  India  was  beleagured  by  our  forces  under  Coote. 
Beaumanoir  belonged  to  an  old  family  in  Brittany,  and  had 
levied  a  regiment  of  his  tenants  and  dependants  to  join  the 
unfortunate  Lally  Tolendal  when  he  sailed  for  India,  in 
1749 :  one  of  his  retainers  must  have  been  the  writer  of  the 
following  lines  descriptive  of  his  hasty  burial  in  the  north 
bastion  of  the  fortress  where  he  fell.  Nor  is  it  necessary  to 
add  any  translation  of  mine,  the  Bev.  Mr.  Wolfe  having  re- 
produced them  on  the  ocoision  of  Sir  John  Moore's  faSing 
at  Corunna  under  siinilar  circumstances. 

Iti  #uneratlU^  lie  Scaumanoir. 

Commonly  known  m  **  The  Burial  of  Sir  John  Moore.** 

Ni  1e  son  du  tambour  ni  1a  marche  funebre 
Hi  le  feu  des  soldats  ne  marqua  son  trepas, 

MaiB  du  brave  k  la  hate  k  travers  lea  tenebres 
Momes  nouB  port&mes  le  cadavre  au  rampart. 

Be  minuit  c'etait  Theure  et  solitaire  et  sombre 

La  lune  offirait  &  peine  un  dubile  rayon 
La  lanteme  luisait  peniblement  dans  1  ombre 

Quand  de  la  bajonette  on  creusa  le  gazon. 

D'inutile  cercueil  ni  de  drap  funeraire, 

Nous  ne  daignAmes  point  entourer  le  heros, 

n  gisait  dans  les  plis  du  manteau  militaire, 

Comme  ui)  guerrier  qui  dort  son  heure  de  repoz* 

La  priere  qu'on  fit  fut  de  courte  dur^, 

Nul  ne  parla  de  deuil  bien  que  le  oceur  fut  pleL*:^ 

Mais  on  fixait  du  mort  la  figure  ad^r^ 

Mais  ayec  amertimie  on  songeait  an  demain. 

Au  demain  quand  ici  oO  sa  fosse  s*  appr^te 
Oti  son  bumide  lit  on  dresse  ayec  6angIot)>, 

L'  ennemi  orgueilleux  pourra  fouler  sa  tdto, 
£t  nous  ses  yeterans  serons  loin  sur  1m  flots. 

lis  temiront  sa  gloire !  on  pourra  les  entendre 
Nommer  Tillustre  mort  d'un  ton  amer  ou  fol, 

n  les  laissera  dire,  eh!  qu*  importe  a  sa  cendre, 
Que  la  main  d'un  Breton  a  confiee  au  sul. 


*  I 


TH5    SOSOa    OF   FBANCE. 

L'ffUVK  dnrait  enmre  qunnd  retentjt  1b  cloi'lie, 

Au  aommet  du  Befroi  et  Is  canon  lointiun, 
Tiri'  par  inlervttlk'  rn  ennomant  I'approohe, 

SignsLiit  la  Serte  de  rennami  hautsiii. 
Et  duu  aafoHe  olors  \e  mloiea  lentemenC 

Fret  du  chuDp  oil  aa  sloire  *  £14  ixuuoiiimie, 
He  miniica  >  Vendroit  □!  pierre  ni  monumcDt, 

Le  Uisaant  aeul  b  acul  arec  M  renommfe. 

But  my  pAge  is  filling;  fast,  Emd  ray  appointed  a 

Dearly  replenished.   Adieu,  then,  to  the  "  Songs  of  France !" 

BeminiacenceB  of  my  younger  life !    traditions   of   poetic 

'   Gaul!  language  of  impassioned  feeliug!  cultivated  elegance 

of  ideas  and  imagery  !  bold,  gsy,  ftiatastic  picturiogg  of  so- 

I    cial  eiiBtence  ! — farewell !    lou  have  been  to  me  the  source 

icb  enjoyment,  much  mental  luiuiy,  much  intellectual 

revelry,— farewell !     Tet  still,  like  Ovid  quitting  Eome  lor 

I   8eythia — 

"  Srpt  tile  die  .ns,  mult6ni  aum  deinda  locuhia, 
Et  quuL  diiccdcna  osciila  summa  dedi : 
Indulgena  animo,  pea  mibi  tarduB  orat" — 

loath  to  depart,  I  haye  once  more  opened  the  volume  of  the 
.   enchanter,  aud  must  indulge  myselt  in  a  lost  lingering  look 

at  one— perhaps  the  loftiest  of  Beranger's  lays.  It  is  ad- 
I  draeeed  by  him  to  a  fair  incognita ;  hut  in  mvVerBion  I  have 
[  tulc^i  the  bberty  of  giving  a  more  intelligible  and.  I  tear 
I  not  to  add,  more  appropriate  direction  to  the  splendid 
I   allegory. 


ie  Teu  pour  vona  prendre  on  ton  rnoina  fV 

Corimie !  il  fut  des  aiigea  rfvoltos  . 
Sieu  sur  teur  front  fut  lomber  ss  parole, 

Et  dana  I'abtme  ila  aont  jafeipiUs. 
Doni,  mai*  fragile,  uc  seul  dans  leur  ruine, 

Contre  *•»  maui  gnrde  un  puiiaant  uscuu 
D  reflt«  arm^  de  aa  l^re  dirine — 

Ange  aui  jeui  blcux,  protegez-moi  tonjt 
L'cnfer  mugit  d'un  e&ojable  rire, 

Quand,  d/goblJ  de  I'arguell  des  in6c)iTiii>, 
L'bd^,  qu-  pleura  en  aocordaot  aa  Ijro, 

Fait  ^claler  lea  remorda  et  sea  chanu. 


FATHza  psouT  a  BSLiqtiKa. 

Dim  d'un  regard  I'wrMhB  BU  gouffre  iramondpi 
Maii  ici  b»  Tvut  qu'U  charme  uo*  jours  i 

Li  Poena  eniTreta  le  monde — 

Ange  am  jem  blwta,  pratcgei-moj  Utujoor*  t 

Von  iiou«  ii  Tole,  en  tecouant  •«  ailaa, 

Comme  roistwi  que  I'orage  ■  mouilU  ; 
Snndain  la  terre  entend  dn  roii  nonvrllw, 

Hoinl  pcuple  errant   I'arrfle  fmerreilU. 
Tout  culle  alon  u'^Uit  que  I'hftnDonie — 

Am  BiBui  jamaii  Keu  ne  dit,  "  Soyei  sourda '" 
L'aotel  g'^ure  aui  parfuma  du  genie  ! — 

Ange  BUZ  jeui  bleiu,  prot^gez-miu  toigour*! 

En  TBJn  Von/er,  dra  olnmaun  de  i'enTJe, 

Pounuit  cet  ange,  fcJisppe  de  cte  raogi ; 
lie  rhomme  inculte  il  idDDcit  la  lie, 

£t  Hjiu  le  d^fl  montTQ  au  doigt  Jra  tjraiu. 
Tandii  qu'itout  Ba  loii  prtlaut  dm  obamiee. 

Court  Jurqu'au  pAle  ^vcillpr  lea  ainoura  i 
Dieu  comply  au  ciel  ce  qu'il  tiche  de  laraiM ! — 

Angc  Aux  jeiu  bleus,  prutegei-moi  tot^oon  ! 

Qui  p«ut  me  dire  oil  luiL  son  aureole  t 

De  aon  eiil  Dieu  I'a-t-il  nipp»l£  f 
Mais  TOui  rhantei,  roais  Totre  Toil  POnaole — 

Coriniie,  en  tou*  I'ange  I'cat  djvoile  1 
Totre  printeiUB  reut  dea  flenn  jtemellea, 

Totre  beaoU  de  oSlnles  atonn  ; 
Pour  un  long  vol  Toui  dfeplo^ei  to>  ailea  I — 

Angif aux  jeui  bleus,  pn>tegei-m<ri  tonjonrtl 


Ct)i  9iigtl  of  Voitrji. 

To  L.  E.  L. 

MS  holier  kej  alull  harmoniae  the  cliord — 
n  defence  Omnipotence  dreir  an  iTCDgiDK  raord  t 


10  bolt  had  crunhM  revoLt,  fl 


igfilp  fair  though  frail^ 


WUD'd  hii  lute,  fond  attribute  1  to  chanu  that  gloom;  vale. 

The  tjre  he  kept  his  irild  hand  gwciiit ;  the  music  he'd  awskei 

Would  *we«tlj  thrill  from  the  lonef;  hill  where  he  ut  apart  tontix^  I  fl 

There  he'd  lament  1ii>  bauighmmit,  hii  thoughts  to  grief  Bbaodjam, 

And  weep  hia  fuU.    'Twm  pitiful  to  see  him  weep,  £ur  Landau  1 

lie  went  hi»  fau^t!     Hell's  gloomy  rault  grow  yooal  with  htison«; 
But  alt  throughout  derision's  shout  burst  from  Ihe  fiuilt;  throng  i 
Ood  pitjing  Tieir'd  hit  fortitude  in  that  unliaUow'd  dan  ; 
Free'd  him  &om  hell,  but  hade  him  dwell  amid  Ihe  k        * 


THE  SONGS  OF   TE.LSCE.  8 

ladj  t  for  OS,  an  exile  thus,  immortiil  Poea; 
C«iie  upon  earth,  Bud  lutes  give  birth  lo  ■wpetest  cninatPelaj  i 
Aiid  poeli  wrought  their  Bpetlvordft,  lauglit  b;  that  Hngelic  mind. 
And  miuic  leat  toft  hlnnriinhnmnt  to  faecinite  mankiiuL 

RvliKinti  rote !  rosa  gought  repose  in  the  Bhadow  of  her  wings  i 
Miuic  [or  her  walked  hiirbingor,  and  Oeniiu  touth'd  Ilie  slririfjg  : 
Tears  froin  the  tree  of  Anibj  aist  on  her  altar  burn'd, 
Bui  earth  and  ware  moat  fmcrsnce  guie  where  Poetr;  sDJaum'd. 
Vaiul;.  with  hnte  ioteterate,  hell  labour'd  ■□  its  rage, 
To  perwwniB  that  angel's  lute,  and  croas  his  pilgriiuage  i 
TTnnioT'd  and  calm,  his  soogs  pour'd  balm  od  sorrow  alt  (ho  while  g 
Vice  he  unmask'd,  but  Tirtue  bask'd  in  the  radiunce  of  his  smile, 

O  where,  among  the  fair  and  voting,  or  in  what  kinglj-  court, 
In  what  mj  path  where  Plessiire  bath  her  faTOurite  resort. 
Where  hast  Uiou  gone,  angelic  one  ?    Back  to  tb;  tiatiTe  skies? 
Or  dost  thou  dwell  in  cloisCsr'd  cell,  in  peosire  hermit's  guise  ? 
Metliinks  I  ken  a  deaiien  of 'this  our  island— nsj, 
Lm»e  me  to  guess,  Cair  poetess !  queen  of  the  matchleaa  hxj  ! 


*ft*A-Utx\ -'tMXcvota  ~\  t-C-t.T, 


Chapteb  I. 

"  Laiilis  opinione  disseminstum  est  hoc  malum  :  manarit  non  solimi 
per  Oalliam,  sed  etiam  transcendit  Alpes,  et  obscure  serpens  mullai 
Inm  prvTincias  o'lcupBvit."  Cioiao  m  Catilinam,  Or.  IT. 

Btartjng  from  Frsnoe,  across  Mount  Cenis, 
Prout  visite  Msutua  and  Tenice  i 
Through  many  a  tuneful  proTinco  strolls, 
,  "Smit  with  the  loFo"  of  barcoroUus. 

Petrarca's  ghost  be  conjures  up, 
And  irith  old  Dmte  qtufis  a  cup  i 
Nat.  from  her  jar  Etruscan,  be 
Uncorks  the  mitse  of  Tus.™.t.  O,  Y. 

Tbou  the  contents  of  "the  chest"  hitherto  put  forth  by  uu 
to  the  gaze  of  a  diacriminBting  public,  the  sagacious  glance 


FRoOT'a    BKLlQliES. 

of  the  critic,  unless  )iia  eye  happen  to  be  Bomehow  "bj 
drop  sereae  or  dim  suSusioD  veiled,"  must  hare  sc&mied 
pretty  accurately  the  peculi&r  cast  and  chumet^r  of  old 
Prout'a  genius.  ITiough  somewhat  "Protean"  and  roulti- 
form,  delighting  to  make  his  poathumona  appearance  in  a 
diTersity  of  fani-'ifiil  ahapea,  lie  is  still  diseoverable  by  cer- 
tain immutable  features ;  and  the  identity  of  mind  ana  pur-f 
pose  reveals  itself  throughout  this  vast  variety  of  mauifeat' 
ation.  An  attentive  perusal  of  hia  "  Papers"  (of  wbioh 
we  have  now  drawn  forth  dtven,  hoping  next  month  to  envk 
the  latt  bottle  of  the  sparkliug  dozen)  will  enable  the  reader 
to  detect  the  secret  workings  of  hia  spirit,  and  discover  tha 
"  bee'a  wing"  in  the  transparent  decanter  of  hia  souL 
Prout's  candour  and  franknesa,  his  bold,  fearless  avowal  uf 
each  inward  conviction,  Iiis  contempt  for  qiyicks  and  pe- 
dants, his  warm  admiration  of  disinterested  patriotism  and 
mtellectual  originality,  cannot  but  be  recognised  throughout 
hia  writings :  he  is  equally  eathusiastic  in  bis  predilections, 
and  stanch  in  his  antipathies.  Of  his  classical  namesake, 
Proteus,  it  has  been  observed  by  Vir^l,  that  there  was  na 
catching  him  in  any  definite  or  tangible  form  -,  as  he  cou« 
st&otly  shifted  bis  poaition,  and,  with  the  utmost  violation 
of  conaiatency,  became  at  turns  "  a  pig,"  "  a  tiger,"  or  "  a 
serpent,"  to  auit  the  whim  of  the  moment  or  the  scheme  t4' 
the  hour : 

"  Firl  enim  lubitii  »mi  homdus,  ab-nvo  tigris, 
Sqimim>3Uiive  diioo,"  Gmryic.  IF. 

Sut  in  all  the  impersonations  of  the  deceased  P.  P.  of! 
Watergrasshill  the  man  is  never  lost  sight  of;  it  ie  still  he, 
whether  he  be  viewed  ahewing  hia  tusks  to  Tommy  Moore, 
or  springing  like  a  tiger  on  Dr.  Lardner's  wig,  or  lurking 
like  a  bottle-imo  in  Brougham's  brandy-flssk,  or  coiled  np 
like  a  rattle-snaKe  in  the  begging-box  of  O'Connelt. 

But  still  he  delights  to  tread  the  peaceful  paths  of  lite- 
rature ;  and  it  is  then,  indeed,  that  he  appears  m  his  proper 
element.  Of  all  the  departments  of  that  interesting  pro- 
vince, he  has  selected  the  field  of  popular  poetry  for  hit 
favourite  haunt.  "Smilltn,"  like  old  Milton,  "tutlA  Ih* 
love  of  taerrd  song,"  he  lingers  with  '■  fond,  reluctant,  a 
rouB  delay,"  amid  the  tuneful   "grovea."     BaUad-aiag'JW 


I 


TEE    BONGS   OF    ITALT.  31T 

im  his  pradommast  passion.  la  hia  youth  lie  had  visited 
■Imoet  everj  part  of  tne  continent ;  and  tlir>ugh  not  unob- 
Bervant  ofotht-r  mattera,  nor  unmindful  of  collateral  inquiries, 
be  made  the  tongt  of  each  country  the  object  of  a  most  di- 
ligent  iuvestigation.  Among  the  tenets  of  bia  peripatetic 
pniloenphy,  he  had  adapted  u  aingiJnr  theory,  viz.  that  the 
wue  character  of  a  people  must  be  collected  fi'om  their 
"■OBga."  Impressed  with  this  notion,  to  iiae  the  words  of 
'the  immortal  Edmund  Burke,  ''  he  bos  visited  all  Europe ; 
not  to  aurvey  the  aumptuouaneBS  of  palaces,  or  the  stateli- 
nem  of  temples  ;  not  to  make  accurate  measurement  of  the 
retuaios  of  andent  graodeur,  nor  to  form  a  scale  of  the 
eurioeitieB  of  modem  art ;  not  to  collect  medals,  or  to  collate 
HS8. :  but  to  pick  up  the  popular  tunes,  and  make  a  col-  ' 
lection  of  song-books ;  to  cuU  from  the  minstrelBv  of  the 
cottKge,  and  select  from  the  bacchanalian  joviality  of  the 
rintoge ;  to  compare  and  collate  the  Tipperary  bagpipe  with 
the  Cremona  Mdle;  to  remember  the  forgotten  and  attend 
to  the  neglected  ballads  of  forei^  nations ;  and  to  blend  in 
ona  harmonious  syetem  the  traditionary  songs  of  all  men  in 
All  countries.  It  was  a  voyage  of  discovery,  a  cii'CBmnavi- 
gation  of  meiodi-  " 

Lander  and  Mungo  Park  have  traced  the  course  of  the 
'iger :  Bruce  and  Belzoni  the  aoiu-ces  of  the  Nile  j  Sterne 
Joonieyed  in  pursuit  of  the  lenlitnenlal.  Syntax  in  search  of 
the  fheturuque ;  Eustace  mode  a  "classical"  tour  through 
Italy,  Bowring  an  "  utilitarian"  excursion  through  Francei 
but  we  greatly  miscalculate  if  the  public  do  not  prefer,  for 
ell  the  practical  purposes  of  life,  Prout'a  "tuneful"  pU- 
grimage.  Any  accrasion  to  the  general  stock  of  harmony, 
Buytbing  to  break  the  niouotonous  sameness  of  modern 
literature,  must  be  hailed  with  a  shout  of  welcome  ;  and  in 
Watergrasabill  cheiit  we  possess  an  engine  of  melodious 
■er,  far  preferable  to  tlie  nackneyed  barrel-organs  that 
and  stultify  the  present  generation.  The  native  Irish 
I  at  all  times  'been  remarkable  for  a  keen  perception  ul' 
imusical  enjoyment,  and  it  therefore  is  not  Bstonishuig  that 
{the  eharnis  of  sweet  sound  should  have  so  fascinated  the 
youthful  mind  of  onr  hero,  as  to  lead  him  captive  from  land 
~    '     '   -a  willing  slave,  chained  to  the  triumphal  chariot 


FATHEK   r rout's   BELIQUES. 

of  Poljhvmnia,     His  cose  hoa  been  graphically  put  by 
modera  writer  (not  Hogg) — 

"  Whm  I  ws«  B  boy  in  my  fkUuir's  mud  edifioe, 
lender  and  bare  ae  b  pig  io  &  «ty. 
Out  of  the  door  u  I  looke<I,  oith  b  atcBdr  phii, 
Who  but  Thndo  Murphy  the  piper  weiil  by  ! 

'Arrsh,  Thsdy !  the  droUB  ot  your  pipe  ao  OOmea  otot  jno, 

H»ked  ru  wuider  wliererer  yon  goes ; 
And  if  my  poor  porcnlB  should  want  to  discornr  me. 

Sure  it  woiit  be  by  dewribing  my  olotliw  !' ' 

"  Journeying  with  this  intent,"  our  excellent  divine  (a 
may  be  seen  in  the  last  four  numbers  uf  Beqika)  hath  not 
been  idle  in  France  ;  having  wreathed  a  garlimd  of  eoug 
culled  where  those  posies  grew  wild  on  the  boulerarda  o 
Paris,  the  fields  of  ^fo^mandy,  and  the  fragrant  hilla  of  Pro 
vence — land  of  troubadours.  We  have  aow  to  follow  hia 
through  other  scenes :  to  view  hJtn  seated  in  a  gondola,  a 

f  tiding  under  the  "  Bridge  of  Sighs  ;"  or  wanaeriug  on  the 
anks  of  the  Po;  or  treading,  with  pensive  step,  the  ftliltoiu 
glen  of  Vallombrosa.  'Each  guardiaa  spirit  ot  that  hallowei 
soil,  each  tutelary  geiiiaa  loci,  the  dryaiies  of  the  grove  anf 
the  naiades  of  the  Rood,  exult  at  the  appniai'h  of  so  worth] 
a  visitant,  sent  with  a  special  mission  on  an  errand  of  the 
loftiest  consequences,  and  gifted  with  a  soul  equal  to  the 
mighty  task ;  a  modem  by  birth,  but  an  old  Boma 
sentimeut — 


It  has  been  the  misfortune  of  that  beautiful  peniiu 
ever  since  tlie  decline  and  fall  of  the  Boman  empire,  to  h 
been  invaded  by  a  succession  of  barbarians  from  the  Nor 
Longobards  and  Ostrogoths,  Aloric  and  Genseric.  Sam  Hoj 
and  Frederick  Barbarossa,  Attila  king  of  the  Huns, 
Leigh  Hunt  king  of  the  Cockneys,  liave  already  spread  hi 
and  consternatiou  tiirough  that  delightful  country  ;  but 
vilest  and  most  unjustifiable  invasion  of  Italy  baa  bevn  n 
petmted  by  Ludv  Morgan.  We  know  not  to  what  est 
impunity  mav  be  claimed  by  "  the  sei,"  for  running  I.. 
and  playing  the  devil  with  olaces  and  things  ronsecmted  b 


THE   SOSOS   OF   ITA^LT.  819 

e  recollections  of  oil  that  is  noble  in  our  onture,  aad  ei- 
plted  in  tlie  hietory  of  maokiiid  ;  but  we  suppose  timt  her 
"Irish  Iftdyship  is  priviJeged  to  cairy  od  her  literary  orgiea  in 
'  :  face  of  the  public,  like  her  fair  countirwoman.  Lady 
rrymore,  of  Bmaahing  uotoriety.  Heaven  knows,  she  bus 
foften  enough  been  "  pulled  up  "  before  the  tribunala  of  criti- 
OBtn  for  her  miademeanours  ;  still,  we  find  her  repeating  her 
old  offent-ea  with  incorrigible  pertinacity  .—and  Belgium  ie 
now  the  scene  of  her  pranks.  She  moreover  continues  to 
besprinkle  her  pages  with  Italian,  of  which  she  knows  about 
*■  •  much  as  of  the  inngiia^-e  of  the  Celestial  Empire ;  for,  let 
r  take  our  word  for  it,  that,  however  acquainted  ahe  may 
aibly  be  with  the  "  Cruiskeen  lawn,"  she  has  tut  a  very 
ight  intimacy  with  the  "  Vocabulario  della  Crusca." 

OLIVER  TOEKE. 
f  Feb.  1, 1635. 


KaltrgrasiiUt,  Ftb.  1830. 

itBiNo  these  long  wintry  nights,  while  the  blast  howls 
lismally  outside  this  mountain-shed,  and  all  the  boisterous 
ments  of  dcBtruction  hold  a  "  radical"  tneetmg  on  yonder 
;, — seated  befOTe  a  snug  turf-Sre,  and  having  duly  conned 
T  the  day's  appointed  portion  of  the  Eoraan  breviary,  I 
'love  to  give  free  scope  to  my  youthful  recollections,  and 
wander  back  in  spirit  to  those  sunny  lands  where  I  speat 
my  early  vears.  Memory  is  the  comforter  of  old  age,  ns 
Hope  is  the  guardian -an  gel  of  youth.  To  me  my  past  life 
aeema  a  placid,  a  delightful  dream ;  and  I  trust  that  when  1 
shall,  at  no  distant  moment,  hear  the  voice  which  will  bid 
me  "  awake"  to  tlie  consctousnese  of  enduring  realities,  and 
the  enjoyment  of  immortal  existence,  memory  still  may  remain 
to  enhance,  if  possible,  the  Iruition  of  beatitude. 

But  a  truce  to  these  solemn  fancies,  which,  no  doubt,  have 
been  suggested  to  my  mind  by  those  homilies  of  Chrysostoni 
sod  soliloquies  of  Augustin  which  I  have  just  now  been  pe- 
rusing, in  this  day's  office  of  our  ancient  liturgy.  And  to 
resume  the  train  of  ideas  with  which  I  commenced,  a  few 
juinutes  ago,  this  paper  of  "night-thongbts,"—gliidly  do  1 
IT  to  the  remembrance  of  that  freah  and  active  period  of  mj 


320  F&TUEB  FBOtI  S   BKLIQCES. 

lone  career,  when,  buo^aot  nith  juvenile  energy,  and  flu&ha 
with  life's  joyous  ftutivipntioDs,  1  paased  from  the  soutii  < 
France  iuto  the  luxuriunt  lap  of  ItAly.  Full  eitty  vears  not 
have  elapsed  ainee  I  first  (.■roased  the  Alpine  froulier of  tbi 
enchanting  provinee  of  Europe  ;  but  the  image  of  all  I  b 
and  the  impressioa  of  all  I  felt,  remains  indelible  iu  mi 
Houl.  My  recullections  of  gay  France  are  lively  and  vivid 
yet  not  so  deeply  imprinted,  nor  so  glowingly  distinct,  C 
the  picturjngs  which  au  Italian  Bojoum  baa  left  on  th 
"  tablets  of  memory."  I  cheriBli  both ;  but  eaoh  has  its  owi 
•  pGeuliarattributes,  features,  and  physiognomy.  The  i/itrilueUt 
Madame  de  Sevign^  and  the  iinpaasioned  Beatrice  Cenci  an 
two  very  opposite  imperaonations  of  female  character,  bui 
they  pretty  accurately  represent  the  notion  I  would  wisb  ti 
convey  of  mg  Italy  and  mi/  France.  There  ia  not  more  differ 
ence  between  the  "  Allegro"  and  "  II  Penseroso"  of  MUtoD. 
France  rises  before  me  in  the  shape  of  a  merry-andrew  jing 
ling  his  bells,  and  exhibiting  wondrous  feats  of  agility;  Ita^ 
naaumes  the  awful  shape  of  the  spectre  that  stood  befoPT^ 
BrutuB  in  theeamp,  ana  promised  to  meet  him  at  Philippi. 

In  those  days  a  Franciscan  friar,  called  Oangaoell 
(Clement  XIV.),  sat  in  the  pontiGc  chair  ;  and,  aorrowfbl 
to  tell,  being  of  a  cringing,  time  serving,  and  worldly-minde  ' 
disposition,  did  considerable  damage  to  the  church  on 
which,  in  evil  hour,  he  was  appointed  to  preside.  Th 
oaly  good  act  of  bis  I  ain  disposed  to  recognise  ia  the  at 
dttion  to  the  Vatican  gallery,  called  after  him  the"  Muaeutl 
Clementinum  :"  but  tbatwaa  but  a  poor  compensation  for  thfl 
losa  which  literature  and  science  sustained  (through  liia  ia 
effable  folly)  in  the  unwarrantable  destruction  of  that  ui 
rivalled  "order"  of  literati,  the  Jesuita,*  The  sacrifice  wi 
avowedly  meant  to  propitiate  the  demon  of  Irreligioo,  the 
first  exhibiting  hia  presence  in  France ;  but,  like  all  sue 
concessions  to  an  evil  spirit,  it  only  provoked  further  exJ 
geucies  and  more  imperative  demands,  until  Tallevsahi 
by  proposing  in  the  National  Assembly  the  abolition  c 
church  property,  effectually   demolished  the    old  Oallican 

■  A  book  wai  ill  circulation  culled  "  QuognTU'lli'i  Idlers ;" 
an  iinpoiiitiDD  on  public  credulit^r.  to  be  cinsK-ii  in  thp  anniJJi  oflbmf] 
•iDngaidF  of  UacphCTsoc'a  "  Osiiui,"  ChsLtorUiti'i  "  Bowley,"  aacTlhl 
"  OeoroljtU"  of  Iiidorui  Merp»tur. — Pbopt. 


THE   BOKtiS  oP   ITALY. 

lea  of  CliriBtifinity.  and  eitinKuished  tne  lamp  that  had 
it  for  ages  before  the  altar  of  our  common  God,  It  waa, 
Ito  doubt,  an  act  of  forgetfulness  in  the  preceding  pope, 
Proiper  Lambertini  (Benedict  XIV.),  to  ojwn  a  correa- 
pondence  with  Voltaire,  to  whom,  in  return  for  the  dedi-  . 
cation  of  hia  tragedy  of  "  llahomet."  lie  Boat  bis  "  apostoli- 
""'  bleMing;"  but  it  was  reserved  for  the  friar-pope  to 
■erable  wound  on  the  c.iuae  of  enlightened 
^ion,  by  his  bull  of  the  2lat  of  July,  1773. 
I  dwell  on  this  topic  eon  atnore,  because  of  my  perBonol 
feetingBof  attachment  to  the  instructors  of  my  youth;  and 
also  because  the  subject  was  ofleu  the  cause  of  a  friendly 
quarrel  between  mvaelf  and  Barry  the  painter,  whom  I  met 
at  Some,  and  knew  intimately.  He  was  a  "  wild  fellow,"  and, 
by  some  chance,  had  for  me  a  sort  of  confiding  fondness  ; 
owing,  no  doubt,  to  our  being  both  natives  of  Uork,  or,  at 
least,  citizens  thereof :  for  /  was  horti  in  Dublin,  as  duly  set 
{Drth  in  that  part  of  my  autobiography  called  "  Dean  Swift's 
f  Uadness ;  a  Ta\e  of  a  Churn."  Now  Barry  was  so  taken  with 
t  OanganelH's  addition  to  the  Vatican  collection,  that  he  has 
placed  him  among  the  shades  of  the  blessed  in  his  picture  of 
Elysiutn,  at  the  hall  of  the  Adelphi,  London ;  giving  a  snug 
bCTth  in  "  hell"  to  Pope  Adrian  IV.,  who  bestowed  Ireland 
■  on  Henry  LI.  I  question  not  the  propriety  of  this  latter 
anungement ;  but  I  strongly  object  to  the  apotheosis  of 
Ganganelli. 

Tbia  digression,  however  unconnected  with  the  "  Songs  of 
Italy,"  may  serve  as  a  chronological  landmark,  indicative  of 
the  period  to  which  I  refer  in  my  observations  on  the  poetry 
of  tnat  interesting  country.  Ameri  had  not  j'et  rekmdled 
the  fire  of  tragic  thought ;  Manzoni  had  not  fiung  into  the 
pages  of  romantic  narrative  a  pathos  and  an  eloquence  un- 
known to,  and  lindrearot  of,  by  Boccaccio ;  Silvio  Pellico  had 
not  appalled  the  world  with  realities  far  aurpassing 
Piudemonte  had  not  restrung  the  lyre  of  Filicaia.  But 
Heaven  knows  there  was  enough  of  genius  and  exalted 
spiration  in  the  very  oldest  ornaments  of  Italian  com_ 
ation,  in  the  ever-glorious  founders  of  the  Tmcana  favella. 


■  not  seek  to  undervalue. 


822  FATHER  PBOUT'S  SELIQTTBa, 

Poets  have  been  the  earliest  writers  in  every  language, 
and  the  first  elements  of  recognized  speech  have  invariably 
been  collected,  arranged,  and  systematised  by  the  Muse. 
The  metrical  narrative  of  the  Arabian  Job,  the  record  of 
the  world's  creation  as  sung  by  Hesiod,  the  historical  poetry 
of  Ennius,  the  glorious  vision  of  Dante,  the  songs  of  Mar6t 
and  Malherbe,  the  tales  of  Chaucer,  have  each  respectively 
been  the  earliest  acknowledged  forms  and  models  on  which 
the  Hebrew,  the  Greek,  the  Latin,  the  Italian,  the  French, 
and  the  English  idioms  were  constructed.  I  have  placed 
these  six  languages  (the  noblest  and  most  perfect  vehicles 
of  human  intercourse  that  have  ever  existed)  in  the  rotation 
of  their  successive  rise  and  establishment.  Taking  them 
chronologically,  the  Hebraic  patent  of  precedency  is  un- 
doubted. The  travels  of  Hesiod,  Homer,  and  Herodotus, 
through  Egypt  and  Asia  Minor,  sufficiently  explain  the 
subsequent  traces  of  that  oriental  idiom  among  the  Greeks ; 
the  transmission  of  ideas  and  language  from  Greece  to  Italy 
is  recorded  in  set  terms  by  the  prince  of  Latin  song,  who 
adopts  the  Greek  hexameter  as  well  as  the  topics  of  He- 
siod: 

"  Ascrsumque  cano  Bomana  per  oppida  carmen." 

Georgic.  II. 

The  Italians,  when  Latin  ceased  to  be  the  European  me- 
dium of  international  communication,  were  the  first  to  form 
out  of  the  ruins  of  that  glorious  parlance  an  idiom,  fixed  as 
early  as  1330,  and  perfect  in  all  its  modem  elegance ; — so 
per&ct,  indeed,  as  to  warrant  the  application  to  it  of  the 
exclamation  of  Horace : 

"  O  matre  pulchrft  filia  pulclirior !" 

Lib.  1.  ode  16. 

France  followed  next  in  the  development  of  its  happy 
vocabulary,  under  Francis  I. ;  and  England,  under  the 
reign  of  Queen  Anne,  finally  adopted  its  modem  system 
of  phraseology.  The  literature  of  Grermany  is  of  too  mo- 
dern a  growth  for  my  notice.  It  is  scarcely  seventy  yean 
old :  I  am  older  myself. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  but  not  the  less  true,  that  Danfte 
(who  had  studied  at  the  university  of  Paris,  where  he  main- 


J 

I 


TnZ   BONOS   OF   ITALY.  323 

ioed  with  applause  a  the-BiB,  "  De  odidi  Be  acibili"),  on 
return  to  Italy,  meditating  his  graDtl  work  of  the  "  Di' 
TUiB  Commediii,"  waa  a  long  time  undecided  to  whut  dialect 
he  should  commit  the  otfapring  of  his  prolific  mind.  Hifl 
own  bias  l&y  towards  the  Latin,  and  be  even  bad  commenced 
in  that  tougue  the  deacription  of  hell,  the  opening  veree  of 
%hii.'h  has  been  preserved  i 


But  the  Irieh  monks  of  Bobbio,  having'  seen  a  specimeu  of 
the  poem  in  the  popular  version,  strongTy  adviHed  the  joimg 
poet  to  eontinue  it  id  the  vernacular  tongue  ;  and  that  deci- 
sion influenced  the  fate  of  Italian  literature. 

Petmrca  is  known  to  have  considerably  underrated  the 
of  Dante,  whose  style  and  manner  he  could  never 
indeed,  no  two  writere  could  possibly  have  adopted 
more   opposite   system  of  composition,  and  out  of  the 
—  materials  constructed  poetry  of  so  distinct  a  charac- 
Bude,  massive,  and  somewhat  uncouth,  the  terta  n'mu 
,e  "  infernal  laureate"  resembled    the  Doric  temples 
Piestum;  delicate,  refined,  and  elegant,  the  sonnets  of 
jttarca    aasimilftte    in    finish    to  the  Ionic   structure   at 
dedicated  to  Dianu.     But  the  eamoni  of  Laura's 
T  are  the  most  ei(|iusite  of  his  productions,  and  far  sur- 
in  harmony  and  poetic  merit  the  toHstti.     Such  is  the 
oi  of  Muratori,  and  such  also  is  the  verdict  of  the 
ions  author  of  the  "Secehia  liapita."     These  canxont 
in  fact,  the  model  and  the  perfection  of  that  species  of 
^  of  which  the  burden  is  totie;  and  though  some  modern 
pQet«  have  gone  farther  in  the  eipression  of  mere  animal 
passion  (such  as  Moore  and  liyron),  never  has  woman  been 
ikddressed  in  such  aL'coniplished  strains  of  eloquence  and 
sentiment  as  Donna  Laura  by  the  hermit  of  Vauiduse. 
'     There  may  be  some  partiality  teit  by  me  towiuds  Pe- 
rea.      He   belonged   to   "roy   order;"  and   though   the 
ion  of  the  priest  and  the  poet   (combined  in  the  term 
'ATsa)  is  an  old  association,  the  instances  in  the  Ronian 
CUltolic  priesthood  have  been  too  rare  not  to  prize  tiie  soli- 
tary example  of  sacerdotal  minstrelsy  in  the  arflideacon  of 
JP&nna.     Jerooio  Vida,  the  bishop  of  a  small  town  iu  Italy, 
distinguished  as  a  Lutin  poet — 

y  a 


^«ent 
B    Tl 

Hnio 


BS4  TATHES  FBOUl's   RELIQUIS. 

"  Immortal  Tida,  on  itUoaa  honour'd  brow 
The  critic's  bays  and  pool's  ifj  grow ;" 

(Pope,  Euajr  on  Critieltm.) 

ftnd  Beveral  Jesuits  have  felt  the  inspiration  of  the  Muse : 
but  the  excolleuce  of  Petrarca  as  a  poet  has  caused  hii 
theologieat  acqiiirements,  which  were  of  the  highest  order, 
to  be  quite  forgotten,  I  was  greatly  a:n  used  some  days  ago, 
in  turning  over  the  volume  of  Bellarmin,  "  De  Scriptunbiu 
Ecclesiaahcis,"  to  find  at  page  227  (4to.  Eomie,  1613)  tha 
following  notice  of  the  aonnetteer: 

"  Franciscua  Petrarea,  archidiaconus  Farmenais,  lusit 
elegantisBimis  yereibua  amorea  auos  erga  Lauram,  ut  baberct 
materiam  exercendte  musie  ;  sed  t«inpus  cousumptum  in  illia 
cantiunculia  deflevjt,  et  multa  opera  gravia  atquo  utilia 
ecripsit.     PiS  obiit  137*." 

The  learned  cardinal,  no  doubt,  valued  much  more  thesB 
ffrave  and  useful  worki,  which  are  doomed  to  lurk  amid' 
cobwebs  in  the  monastic  Ubraries  of  the  coutiaent,  than  the 
esmiisite  outjioiiringa  of  soul  and  harmony  which  have  filled 
all  Europe  with  rapture. 

Long  before  I  bad  crossed  the  Alps  I  had  been  an  admirer 
of  Petrarea.  My  residence  at  Avignon ;  my  familiar  ac- 
quaintance with  the  church  of  St.  Clair,  where,  in  his  twenty- 
fifth  year  (Friday,  April  6,  1337),  he  for  the  first  time  saw 
the  Madonna  Laura,  then  aged  seventeen ;  my  frequent  ei- 
cursiona  to  the  source  of  that  limpid  torrent,  called  by 
Pliny,  Vallisclauaa,  and  by  the  Freneii.Vaueluao,  had  drawn 
my  attention  to  his  writings  and  his  charact-er.  An  entbu- 
eiaatic  love  of  both  waa  the  natural  result ;  and  I  some- 
times, in  the  peniaal  of  his  sentiments,  would  eatch  th» 
contagion  of  his  eiquiaite  Platoniam.  Yes !  Laura,  after 
the  lapse  of  five  centuries,  bad  made  a  second  conquest ! 

L."— Dauti*. 

It  has  be«n  said,  that  no  poet'a  mistress  ever  attained 
such  celebrity  oa  the  Platonic  object  of  Petrarca'a  aSeo* 
ttons :  she  has,  in  fact,  taken  her  place  as  a  fourth  maid  of 
honour  In  the  train  of  "  graces"  that  wait  on  Venus ;  and 
the  romantic  source  of  the  Sorga  has  become  the  Castaliaa 
ipring  of  all  who  would  write  on  love. 


rax  soKQB  OF  i 


Montana  Iii  Valctfiuta. 

Sntmu  di  Franeeieo  Ptirarea. 

ClutrB,  &e9clie,  e  doici  ocque, 

Ot«  le  bvlle  membra 
)W  mIbi,  che  Willi  B  me  par 

Ocntil  nutio,  OTe  piacque 
{Con  KHpir  mi  rimemhra) 

lei  di  lore  iJ  bel  Aanco  colouna ; 
Erbk  e  flor,  chn  la  gonna 


5ttr.ii(n's  aiilirtg« 

To  (At  Summer  Haunt  i/f  Laura, 


The  virgin  frcahneag  of  wlioso  crystal 


Cod  1  wigelico  seno  ; 

r*  amor  co"  begU  oeolii  il  cor  m" 

DbW  udicnut  ineiemo 
Alio  doUnti  mie  parole  estreme. 


.fl.luherhourofre 


Bone,  *haiie  earUeat  bud 


'Iff  I 


pur  mio  destino, 
iela  io  db  a'  adopn, 
lUMl'  occhi  lagriiDBnd 


Qualche  grozia  il  mcsichino 

Coipo  fr«  TOi  ricopra  i 
knTii  r  >bna  b1  proprio  albergo 
ignndo. 
Ia  morU  Ga  men  crudn, 
Be  quwU  ipeme  porto 
A  quel  dubbioeo  puBO  : 
Che  lo  tpirito  laaso 
nn  pons  msi  in  pill  riposato 

m  'n  piEi  (rHnquilla  foaM 
Iggir  b  came  tniFBgliata  e  1' 

Tempo  Terri  nncor  tone, 


Cool  grore,  aequoeterad  grot  1 
Here  m  this  lovelj  spot 
I  pour  my  last  lad  lay,  where  I 
her  loTB  I  wooed. 

If  Boon  m  J  eartlily  woea 
Miut  slumber  in  tlie  lomb, 
Anit  if  m;  life's  ud  doom 

Muit  BO  in  sorrow  cloao  I 
Where  yonder  willow  grows, 

Close  by  the  margin  lay 


Seek  thou  thy  natire  realm, 
My  eoull  sud  when  the  fear 
Of  disEioiution  near, 
And  doubts  thsJl  OTsrwhelm, 
A  ray  of  comfort  round 

My  dyintf  coucb  shall  hover, 
If  soma  kind  band  will  cover 
'    Hy  miserable  bones  in  yonder  hal- 
lowed ground! 

But  still  alive  for  her 
Oft  mar  my  aihea  greet 
■       The  sound  of  comiug  feet ! 
And  Laura's  tread  gladden  In;  »• 
puldira' 


326 


FATUKE   l-BOUT'a  nELiQirze. 


Nil  beufdrfto  giomo, 
Volga  la  vistn  dwioea  e  liala 

Coroaiidonii !  ed,  o  piita! 
Oil  Wrm  in  fm  le  pietro 

Videndo,  smor  l  inspiri 

In  guisB,  the  sospiK 
8i  doloeineiito,  cbe  merci  m'  in 


D»'  be'  rami  Mondeis 

(Doloe  nel[>  roemoria.] 

TJna  pioggia  di  fior  aqyta 

grembo ; 

Ed  ells  Bi  Bsdea 

Umile  in  tints  glorii, 

CotertB  giik  dell'  atnoroHi 


Ch'o 

Erui  quel  dl  a  tederl 
QobI  ai  pOBSTB  in  torra, 
sull'  onda; 

Qnal  «in  un  viigo  errare 
Girando,  varea  dir,  "  Qui  r^na 


Belcnting,  on  my  gnre. 

Mi  inistref*  maj,  pmhrao^ 
w  icli  one  kind  piljing  glanes 
lIoTiour  hhe  dust  of  ber  deioli 
'Xhpa  maj  ghe  inlerceda. 

With  pntjer  and  aigh,  for  ons 
Who,  honM  for  Bver  gonc^ 
Of  raercT  ttonds  ia  Doed ; 
Aud  oliiie  for  me  hor  loauj  ill 
lells, 
Slaj  her  uplifted  ^ea 
Win  pardon  from  the  ikiw. 
Wliile  mageit  throngh  ber  r^  behob 
the  tear  tbat  iwella  I 

Tisions  of  loce  [  ye  dwell 
In  memory  still  enBhrinod. — 
'  Here,  as  the  onr:«  re<JiDed. 

A  abowoT  of  blosBouu  on  her  boson 
leU! 
^d  wbile  tb'  enamoured  trao 
fVom  all  it«  bnmcbea  tbua 
Rained  odorirennu, 
Bbe  Eat,  nnconicions,  all  liotiullty. 
Uiied  nitb  ber  golden  hair,  IhoM 
bloBaoma  aweeb 
Like  pearls  on  amber  seemed  i-- 
Some  ihoir  alldgiance  dMuwd 
to  her  Qoacbg  rob«  and  lon^ 


feet: 

Otbun,  disporting,  took 
Their  course  adown  Ibe  brook 
Others  aloft:,  wnlled  in  aiir  aponi 
Soemed  to  proclaim,  "To-ifaj  '  ~" 


Quanfe  voltfi  diai'  io 
AUor  pien  di  apaTenIo, 
"OocUi    por    fermo    nacque    i 
Paradiao  ;" 
o  d'  obblio. 


ndivi 

E  1  ToltO,    I 


Qento, 


Dall'  imma^ne  ren, 

Ch'  io  dii»a  aospirando, 

"QiU  come  TBnn'  io,oqu«ndo7" 

Oredendo   esaor   in   del,  noa  li, 


I'to  gaud  upon  thee,  JBv 
price  I 
TiU  from  mj  inmoet  tool 
This  aecrot  whisper  stole — 
"Of  Garth  do  child  art  thon,dBaghM 
of  Faradis« !" 
Such  BWBj  Ui;  beauty  bald 
O'er  the  enraptured  aaaa 
And  Buch  the  inUuonro 
Of  ninniiiit  *lnile  and  form  u 
iKtedl 


THIS    SOSflB   OF    ITALY.  327 

Wsfted  by  ma^a  wand, 
EaFih'«  narrgw  joy»  beyond?" 
pice.  0, 1  sliall  evur  count 

Mj  hAppiBAt  ditjA  Rpent  biire  by  this 
romanUc  fount  I 

In  this  graceful  effueion  of  tender  feelinga,  to  which  a 

responsive  chord  must  vibrate  in  every  breoat,  and  compared 

wito  which  the  moat  admired  of  modern  love-ditties  will 

paltry  and  vulgar,  the  tenderness,  tbo  exulted  passion, 

the  fervid  glow  of  a  noble  heart,  and  the  myaterious  work- 

_  of  a  most  gifted  mind,  eihibit  themselvea  in  every 
stanza.     Wbat  can  be  more  beautifully  descriptive  than  the 

Jning  lloes,  equalling  in  melodious  cadence  the  sweetest 
Horace, 

"  O  fon>  BftodiiBiit,  iplondidior  vitro  ;" 
bnt  infinitely  superior  in  delicaey  of  sentiment  and  pathetic 
power!     The  calm  melanciioly  of  the  succeeding  strophe 
tiiLS  been  often  admired,  and  has,  of  course,  found  great 
brour  among  the  Tom  Mooraa  of  every  country. 

Tom  has  given  ua  Aii  last  dying-speech  in  that  rigmarole 
melody, 

"Wlitni  in  (Icatk  I  shall  calm  rcolioa  i" 

tut  the  legacy  of  this  bard  is  a  sad  specimen  of  mock-turtle 
pathos,  and,  with  the  affectation  of  tenderest  emotion,  is, 
m  style  and  thought,  repugnant  to  all  notions  of  real  refine- 
ment and  simplicity.  In  the  last  will  of  Petrarca — a  most 
interesting  document— there  is  a  legacy  which  any  one  may 
te  pardoned  for  coveting  [  it  is  the  poet's  lutf,  which  he 
"beiiueaths  to  a  friend,  with  a  most  affecting  and  solemn  re- 
eommendation :  "  Magistro  Thomse  de  Terrara  lego  leulum 
meum  bouum,  ut  eum  sonet  noa  pro  vanitate  sseculi  fugacis, 
Bed  ad  laudem  Dei  tetemi." — (Testament,  Petrar.) 

As  the  Hibernian  melodist  has  had  his  name  thus  smuggled 
into  my  essay  on  the  "  Songs  of  Italy,"  it  may  not  be  irre- 
levant (aa  assuredly  it  will  be  edifying)  to  point  out  some 
of  his  "  foi/ueriet"  perpetrated  in  this  quarter.  Not  con- 
tent with  picking  the  pockets  of  the  Trench,  he  has  ei- 
.  tended  bis  depredations  to  the  very  eitremttv  of  Calahria. 
fetr&rca'e  case  ia  one  of  peculiar  hardship.     Laura's  lover, 


328  TATHSB  pbout's  bsliques. 

in  the  enthusiasm  of  eloquent  passion,  takes  a  wide  range 
in  one  of  his  songs,  and  ransacks  the  world,  east  and  west, 
for  images  drawn  from  the  several  phenomena  which  nature 
exhibits  in  each  country  through  which  his  muse  wanders 
imcontroUed.  Among  other  curious  comparisons  and  happy 
flights  of  infancy,  he  introduces  the  fountain  of  the  Sun, 
near  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon ;  and,  describing  the 
occasional  warmth  and  successive  icy  chill  which  he  expe- 
riences in  the  presence  or  absence  of  his  beloved,  compares 
his  heart  to  that  mysterious  water,  which,  cold  at  mid- day, 
grew  warm  towards  eve.  Would  the  reader  wish  to  see 
with  what  effrontery  Moore  appropriates,  without  the 
slightest  acknowledgment,  the  happy  idea  of  Petrarch  ? 
Here  are  the  parallel  passages  : 

Sctrarra*  Com  jHoore. 

"  Sorge  nel  mezzo  giomo.  "Fly  not  yet!  the  fount  that  play'd, 

Una  fontana,  e  tien  nome  del  In  days  of  old,  through  Amnion's 

Sole,  shade, 

Che  per  natura  suole  Though  icy  cold  by  day  it  ran, 

Bollir  la  notte,  e'n  sul  giomo  esser  Yet  still,  like  souls  of  mirth,  began 
fredda.  To  bum  wfien  night  was  near* 

*  *  *  •  And  thus  should  woman's  heart  and 

Cosl  ayien  a  me  stesso  looks 

Che  mio  sol  s'  allontana  At  noon  be  cold  as  wintry  brooks, 

Ardo  allor,"  &c.  But  kindle  when  the  night's  return- 
Canzoni  di  Petr.  31,  st.  4.  ing 

Brings  the  genial  hour  for  burning." 

The  learned  priest  had  been  at  the  trouble  of  perusing 
Quintus  Curtius,  lib.  iv.  cap.  7,  where  he  had  found :  "Eat 
etiam  Ammouis  nemus ;  in  medio  habet  font^m ;  aquam 
solis  vocant;  sub  lucis  ortum  tepida  manat,  medio  die  frigida 
eadem  fluit,  inclinato  in  vesperam  calescit,  medid  nocte  fer- 
vida  exaestuat."  He  had  also,  no  doubt,  read  the  lines  m 
Silius  Italicus,  "  De  Bello  P6nico,"  referring  to  this  same 
source : 

"  Qufe  nascente  die,  qu»  deficiente  tepescit, 
Quaque  rigct  medium  ciim  sol  ascendit  Olympum." 

But  his  property,  in  the  application  of  the  simile,  has  been 
invaded  by  Tom,  who  had  read  nothing  of  the  sort — 

**  Sic  Yos  non  vobis  mellificatis  apes !" 

After  all,  I  am  wasting  my  time  on  such  minor  matters. 


TH£   SOK03   OT   ITALY.  320 

In  the  celebrated  address  ftbove  quoted  of  the  hermit  of 
'aucliue  to  that  immortid  fouutum,  I  have  givea  "what  I 
iqaider  a  fair  Bpeuimen  of  Italian  amatory  poesy  :  but 
lough  the  poets  of  that  genial  climate  are  "all  Cor  loi'e," 
ill  they  are  also  "a  little  for  the  hotile."  Hence  it  is 
hat  I  consider  it  my  duty,  aa  an  essayist,  to  bring  forward 
sample  of  their  bacchanalian  songa. 

donttto  Qittramliito. 

Claudio  TaUnnei, 


i  doDti,  la  luiguA,  i  lubbri,  a 


TSdd  mi  ritrar  in  Id  piogfi*  ni  renlo. 

He  tola  o  aleUe  per  laghezta  danni ; 

Hon  puo  "1  Carro  o  Boole  alleero  farrDi — 
Oh'  Bltroro  i  la  mis  gioia  e  'I  mio  ronteuto. 

Fa  delle  riti  ed  olte  liti  uikimo 

Pendir"  dell"  utc,  e  1'  ure  ■tillin  riro, 
Ch'  io  boTO,  e  poi  dagli  occhi  ebro  distillo  j 


■nm 

ezto 

on  riwo,  OFfF  i 

bdoor 

oadonia. 

Coro 

K 

ch'  ftltro  lielo 

C  piCL  di 

■ino. 

aAmor,  Bii«o,'eBatillo! 

Cf|i  ZQfni'Cup  htspokcn. 


Qreat  Tulcui  I  ^our  dark  imokr  pslofe. 

With  theM  ingots  of  »ilcer,  1  soek  ; 
And  I  beg  7<ni  irill  mak^  me  a  cbalice, 

Like  Che  cup  joii  once  forg;ed  for  the  Greek. 
Let  no  deeds  of  Belloiia  "  the  blood;" 

EmbUioD  tbii  goblet  of  mine ; 
But  B  garland  of  grapes,  ripe  and  ruddj. 

In.  teulpture  around  it  entwine. 

The  feitoon  (which  joaTl  gracefiJIr  model) 
la,  remember,  but  pari  of  tlie  whole  « 

Lest,  perohonce,  it  miglit  enter  your  noddla 
To  diminilh  the  riM  of  the  bant 


830  FATHEB  PBOUT'S   BSLIQUES. 

For  though  dearlj  what  *s  deem'd  ornamental. 
And  of  art  the  bright  aymbolB,  I  prize ; 

Still  I  cling  with  a  fondness  parental 
Bound  a  cup  of  the  true  good  old  size. 

Let  me  have  neither  sun,  moon,  nor  planet. 

Nor  "  the  Bear,"  nor  "  the  Twins,"  nor  « the  Ooat :' 
Yet  its  use  to  each  eye  that  may  scan  it, 

Let  a  glance  at  its  emblems  denote. 
Then  awaj  with  Minerva  and  Venus ! 

Not  a  rush  for  them  both  do  I  care ; 
But  let  joUy  old  Father  Silenus, 

Astride  on  his  jackass,  be  there ! 

Let  a  dance  of  gay  satyrs,  in  cadence 

Disporting,  be  seen  mid  the  fimit ; 
And  let  Pan  to  a  group  of  young  maidens 

Teach  a  new  vintage-lay  on  his  flute ; 
Cupid,  too,  hand  in  hand  with  Bathyllus, 

May  puiple  his  feet  in  the  foam : 
Long  may  last  the  red  joys  they  distil  us ! 

Tho'  Love  spread  his  winglets  to  roam ! 


The  songsters  of  Italy  have  not  confined  themselyefl  so 
exclusively  to  the  charms  of  the  ladies  and  the  fascinations 
of  the  flask,  as  not  to  have  felt  the  noble  pulse  of  patriotic 
emotion,  and  sung  the  anthem  of  independence.  There  is 
a  glorious  ode  of  Petrarch  to  his  native  land :  and  here  is  a 
well-known  poetic  outburst  from  a  truly  spirited  champion 
of  his  country's  rights,  the  enthusiastic  but  graceful  and 
dignified  Filicaia. 


aila  Satria. 

Italia !  Italia !  o  tu  cui  feo  la  sorte 
Dono  infelice  di  beUezza,  ond'  hai 
Funesta  dote  d*  infiniti  guai 

Che  in  fronte  scritti  per  gran  doglia  porte ; 

Deh !  fossi  tu  men  bella,  o  almen  piik  forte 
Onde  assai  piili  ti  paventasse,  o  assai 
T*  amasse  men  chi  del  tuo  bello  a*  rai 

Par  ohe  si  strugga,  e  pur  ti  sfida  a  morta  • 


Che  giu  dall'  Alpi  non  redrei  lorrBDti 

Bcender  d'  HmiBli.  oi  di  Buigue  tini 
Berer  1'  onda  ild  Po  g&Uici  armenti ; 

Hi  I*  Tedrei  del  non  tuo  ferro  cmU 

FugDRT  col  bnccio  di  alnulere  geiiti 

Per  »erTir  HnupfB,  a  rincilrice  o  rir 

Co  pretttutt  tulp: 


It  thon  not  been  too  n»tion«'  queen,  fair  Italy  1  though  now 
CtuDce  giTce  to  them  tlie  diadem  Uiat  once  adamed  thy  brow  ? 
Too  bMUtifol  for  tyrant's  rule,  too  proud  for  handniwd'a  duty — 
Would  tlion  hadst  leea  of  loTelinoBi,  or  Btronglh  ns  well  aa  beftutyl 

Hie  fttal  light  of  bcBut;  bright  vith  feU  Bltnction  shone. 
Fatal  to  thee,  for  tyranle  be  the  lovera  thou  hast  won  ! 
That  forebesd  fair  it  doom'd  Co  wenr  its  shame'e  deeding  proof. 
And  ■laverT'i  print  in  damning  tint  atamji'd  b;  a  deepot'a  hoof  1 

Were  ftrenrth   and  power,  ainiden!  thy  dower,  Kum  should  thftt 

robber- band, 
Th>t  prawig  unhid  thj  Tinea  amid,  Hj  icourg'd  &om  aS  that  land ; 
Hot  wouldit  thou  fear  yon  foreigner,  nor  be  condemned  lo  ape 
Drink  in  tbe  flow  of  <!lBSBic  Po  barbariui  cavalry. 

Climito  of  art  I  th;  sons  depnrt  to  gih!  a  TnDdal'e  throne  ; 
To  battle  led,  their  blood  is  shed  in  i^onlcsts  not  Iheir  own  ;— 
Kii'd  with  jou  horde,  go  draw  tbj  aword,  nor  aak  what  enuae  'tia  for : 
—  ■"    '  ■  ia  cast — alaye  W  the  last  I  oonqucr'd  or  conqueror  I 

,   Truly  IB  Italj  the  "  climate  of  art,"  as  I  have  designated 

' —  -" y  verBion  ;  for  even  the  peasantry,  admitted  aa  tJiey 

/  are,  by  the  wiae  munificence  of  the  reigning 
ea,  to  all  public  collectiooa  of  sculpture  and  painting, 
B  aa  instinctive  admiration  of  tlie  capi  d'  opera  of  tbe 
_^  oat  celebrated  masters,  easily  diatinguiahing  them  from 
the  multitude  of  inferior  productiona  with  which  they  are 
eenerallv  surrounded.  This  itinate  perception  appeara  the 
birtfarignt  of  every  son  of  Italy  ;  and  I  have  often  liatened 
with  aurpHse  to  the  observations  of  tbe  artificera  of  Kome, 
and  the  dwellera  of  the  neighbouring  hilla,  as  they  atrolled 
through  the  Vatican  gallery,  Tliere  is  one  statue  in  rather 
8n  unirequeoted,  but  vast  magnificent  church,  of  the  Eter^ 
ul  City,  round  which  I  never  tailed  to  meet  a  group  of 


882  FATHBB  PBOUT's  BELIQTJES. 

enthusiastic  admirers  :  it  is  the  celebrated  Moses ;  in  whidi 
Frenchmen  have  only  found  matter  for  vulgar  jest,  but 
which  the  Italians  view  with  becoming  venerafcon.  One  of 
the  best  odes  in  the  language  has  been  composed  in  honour 
of  this  glorious  effort  of  Buonarotti's  chisel. 

II  HSLoae  tit  i^tcf^el  9nsrUi. 

Sonetto  di  Giambattista  Ztqtpi. 

Chi  ^  costui,  che  in  si  gran  pietra  Bcolto 

Siede,  gi^ante,  e  le  piil  illustri  e  conte 

Opre  delT  arte  avanza,  e  ha  yive  e  pronte 
Le  labbra  ai  che  le  parole  asoolto  ? 

Queatd  h  Mos^  ;  ben  me  *1  dioeva  il  folto 
Onor  del  mento,  e  '1  doppio  raggio  in  fronte  i 
Questi  h  Mos^,  quando  scendea  dal  monte, 

E  gran  parte  del  Nume  avea  nel  volto. 

Tal  era  allor,  che  le  sonante  e  vaste 

Acque  ei  sospese  a  Be  d'  intomo  ;  e  tale 
Quanao  il  mar  chiuse,  e  ne  fe  tomba  altruL 

E  vol,  sue  turbe,  im  rio  vitello  alzaste  ? 

Alzata  aveste  immago  a  questa  eguale  ; 
Ch'  era  men  fedlo  1*  adorar  costui. 

®^t  to  t]^e  Statue  of  jHof^rif 

At  the  foot  of  the  Mausoleum  qf  Pope  Julhu  IL  in  the  Church  qf  St. 
Peter  ad  Vincula,  Rome — the  Masterpiece  qf  Michael  Angfclo* 

Statue !  whose  giant  limbs 
Old  Buonarotti  plann'd. 
And  Genius  carved  with  meditative  hand, — 
Thy  dazzling  radiance  dims 
The  best  and  brightest  boasts  of  Sculpture^s  favourite  land. 

What  dignity  adorns 
That  beard's  prodigious  sweep  I 
That  forehead,  awful  with  mysterious  horns 
And  cogitation  deep, 
Of  some  uncommon  mind  the  rapt  beholder  warns. 

In  that  proud  semblance,  well 
Mv  soul  can  recognise 
The  propnet  fresh  from  converse  with  the  skies  | 
Nor  is  it  hard  to  tell 
The  liberator's  name, — ^the  Guide  of  IsrafiL 


Tin  soses  op  itjut.  S98 

Well  might  tlie  d«y  respond 
Obeditmt  to  that  voiw, 
Wbtn  on  the  Bed  S»  ihore  ho  wnrni  his  wand. 
And  bade  the  tribe*  njoiw, 
Sand  from  the  jawniDg  gulf  and  ilia  Egjptian'i  bond ! 

Fools !  in  Ibe  irildemeu 
YeniKdaaOfof  eold! 
Had  je  then  wonhipped  what  1  now  behold, 
Your  crime  bad  been  br  leas — 
For  je  liad  beni  the  knee  to  one  of  godULo  mould  ! 

There  is  a  Btrikio^  boldness  in  the  concluding  stanza,  war- 
I  nnt«d  however  by  the  awftil  majesty  of  the  colossal  figure 
Tlteetf. 

Smollett  has  giTen  us  a  delightful  "  Ode  to  Leven  Water," 
in  which,  with  enraptured  complacency,  he  dwells  on  the 
varied  beauties  of  tlie  Scottish  stream,  its  flowery  banks,  and 
ite  scaly  denizens.  By  way  of  contrast,  it  may  not  be  un- 
-'-asant  to  peruse  an  abusive  and  angry  lyric  addressed  to 
!  Tiber  bv  an  Italian  poet,  who  appears  to  have  been 
isappointeJ  in  the  uncouth  appearance  of  that  turbid  river ; 
aving  pictured  it  to  his  young  imagination  as  an  enchant- 
'  ing  silvery  flood,  The  wrath  of  tins  bard  is  amusing  ;  hut 
's  sometimes  eloquent  in  hia  ire. 


Irintd  aDhTctftfrn  to  tti  Citirc. 


fil  Ztbrn. 

Alittandro  Gaidi. 


Giaier  limpide  ed  amene  i 
E  che  qid  hobtd  e  lento 
Stcfae  il  Tento, 
E  die  d'  or  fotder  I'  areoe. 


Ua  *ag6  Inngi  dal  Tern 

n  penaiero 
In  fonnar  ai  bello  il  Qume  ; 
Or  die  in  nva  a  lui  mi  aeg 

lo  ben  tfg^o 
□  >ao  Tolto  e  il  juo  cutume. 


Hod  taught  mv  mind  to  think 
That  over  aiui^a  of  gold 
Tlij  hinpid  waiers  rolled. 
And  ever-vcrilant  laurela  grew  upon 
Ihj  brink. 

Bui  br  in  otlier  guise 
The  rude  reality  hath  mei  mine  e^ea. 
Here,  leatBcl  on  thj  bank, 


884 


FATHXB  PBOUT'S  SSUQITSB. 


Non  oon  onde  liete  e  ohiare 

Oorre  al  mare; 
PaMa  torbido  ed  oscuro : 
I  Baoi  lidi  austro  percuote 
E  gli  «ouote 
Freddo  turbine  d'  Arturo. 


Quanto  h  foUe  quella  nave 

Che  non  pave 
I  suoi  Yortici  Bdegnosif 

£  non  Ba  ohe  (ibntro  1*  aoque 
A  lui  piacque 
Di  fondar*  perigli  ascosi. 

Suol  troTarsi  in  suo  cammino 

Quiyi  il  pino 
Trik  profonde  ampie  cayeme ; 
D*improTvi80  ei  giunge  al  lito 

Di  Cocito 
A  Bolcar  quell*  onde  inferne. 


Quando  in  Sirio  il  Sol  riluce^ 

£  conduce 
L'  ore  fervide  inquiete, 

Chi  conforto  al  Tebro  chiede 

Ben*  a-'  awede 
Di  cercarlo  in  grembo  a  Lete. 


Ognun  sa  come  spumoso, 

Orgoglioso, 
Sin  con  mar  prende  oontesa, 
Vuol  talor  passar  yeloce 

L*  alta  foce, 
Quando  Teti  ^  d*  ira  aocesBa. 


Quindi  avrien  ch'  ei  fa  ritomo 

Pien  di  Bcomo, 
£  b'  ayyenta  alle  rapine : 
Si  diyora  il  bosco,  e  il  boIco, 
E  il  bifolco 
Kuota  in  cima  alle  mine. 


Fondly  I  £uicied  thine 
The  waye  pellucid,  and  tiie  Kaiad*i 
ahrme, 
In  orjBtal  grot  below ; 
But  thy  tempeBtuous  course 
Buna  turbulent  and  hoarse. 
And,  swelling  with  wild  wrath,  thj 
wintry  waters  flow. 

Upon  thy  bosom  dark 
Peril  awaits  the  light  confiding  bark, 
In  eddying  yortez  swamp*d ; 
Foul,  treacherous,  and  deep, 
Thy  winding  waters  sweep, 
Enyeloping  their  prey  in  dismal  roin 
prompt. 

Fast  in  thy  bed  is  sunk 
The  moimtain  pine-tree*8  broken 
trunk, 
Aimed  at  the  galley's  keel ; 
And  well  thy  waye  can  waift 
Upon  that  broken  shaft 
The  barge,  whose  sunken  wreck  thy 
bosom  will  conceaL 

The  dog-Btar*8  sultiy  power, 
The  summer  heat,  the  noontide's 
feryid  hour, 
That  fires  the  mantling  blood. 
Yon  cautious  swain  can't  urge 
To  tempt  thy  dangerous  surge, 
Or  cool  his  limbs  withm  thy  dark  in- 
sidious flood. 

IVe  marked  thee  in  thy  pride. 
When  struggle   fleroe  thy  disem- 
boguing tide 
With  Ocean's  monarch  held ; 
But,  quickly  oyercome 
By  Neptu&e's  masterdom. 
Back  thou  hast  fled  as  oft,  inglorious^ 
repelled. 

Often,  athwart  the  fields 
A  giant's  strength  thy  flood  redund- 
ant  wields. 
Bursting  aboye  its  brims — 
Strength  that  no  dyke  cau  (h»ok: 
Dire  is  the  haryest-wreck ! 
Buoyant,  with  lofty  horns,  th*  ai&igfat^ 
ed  bullock  swims  I 


THE    SOITQS   OF  HALT. 


n  frequeati  Uliulri  BUari, 

Qa^  onori 
r  cui  tanto  egli  si  noma 
Fi™  son  d'  aiitiohi  eroi, 

I  son  doni  alQii  ili  BouuL 


But  Btill  tliT  proudest  boast, 
Tiber!  and  what  briuga  bonour  to 
Ikee  moat, 
Is,  that  ihj  waters  roll 
Fut  hj  lb'  et«maJ  bDme 
01  aiory's  daughter.  RoMSg 
And  that  thy  billowB  bath*  'Jie  bbctmI 

li  fan  Dbiaro  H  gnm  tngitto  Famed  is  (hj  itream  for  her, 

Dell'  inrilU)  neliB,thjcurreDt'Btirgln conqueror, 

ir  di  Clelia  al  ninl  Boniano,  And  lum  who  stemmed  the  maKli 

E  il  guerner  [the  sopra  il  potite  Of  Tiueaay's  proud  host, 

■"    '"a  fronle  When,  firm  at  honour's  post, 

ontro  al  re  Toieauo.  Ha  wared   bii    blood-stained   blade 
above  the  broken  arch '. 


t 


Fu  di  Bomolo  la  gente 

Che  il  tridente 

Di  ReMuno  in  mnn  gli  pi 

Ebbe  allor  del  mar  1'  ii 

Edaltero 
ion&odo  intomo  eorsii 


OFBomulus  the  sons, 
To  torrid  Afriaina,  to  froten  Huns, 
Have  taught  thy  name,  O  Hood ! 
And  to  tliat  utnciost  lerge, 
Wliere  radiant  Ij  emerge 
Apollo's  car  of  Qnmeand  goldon-foot«d 


■tud. 


oobUa, 


I 


il  cnidel,  cbe  il  t 
EdMu 
i  spBEur  msi  sempre  il  IroDO, 
Speuo  a  Boma  insutti  rende, 
£d  oflcnde 
L'oinbre   auguate   oU'   ume   in 


ForK 


110)1  glory  lent. 


I'huu  makest  foul  return  ; 

Insulting  with  thj  ware 

Fscb  Boman  ]iero's  ^rave, 

And  Sclpio'a  dust  that  fulg  yon 

Stxrated  urn! 


Turn  we  now  to  Dante.  I  liave  alwajB  been  of  opinion, 
that  the  terxa  rima  in  which  he  wrote  was  bo  peculiar  a 
feattire  of  the  Inneiiage,  and  a  form  of  verse  so  exclusively 
adapted  tn  the  Italian  idiom,  as  to  render  any  attempt  to 
tranalate  hJm  in  the  Btttm  rhymed  measure  a  dangerous  ex- 
periment. Even  Byron,  in  hia  "  Prophecy  of  Dante,"  Iiaa 
failed  to  render  it  acceptable  to  our  English  ear.  The 
*■  Bonnet"  is  aJso,  in  my  humble  judgment,  an  unnational 
poetic  atructure,  and  Be  little  suited  to  our  northern  lan- 
guages ft«  the  Italian  villa-style  of  Palladio  to  our  climate. 
Few  English  sonnets  have  ever  gained  celebrity  among  the 
masses.  There  is  a  lengthened  but  not  unmusical  sort 
of  line,  in  which  I  think  the  old  Florentine's  numbers 
light  sweep  along  with  aomethiag  like  native  dignity. 


886  FATHSB   FBOUT'S   BELIQIISB. 

l,a  9otta  IKe(  infmiQ. 

Dante,  Cant.  III. 

**  Peb  ice  si  va  nella.  crrrk.  doientb. 
Per  ice  si  ta  kbll'  etebno  dolobb, 
Feb  he  si  ta  tea  la  peeduta  gekte. 


Din AKZI  A.  MB  NOV  TUB  008E  CBEATE, 
Se  KON  ETEBNE  ED  10  ETEBNO  DUBO, 

Lasciate  ogni  sfebakza  yoi  oh*  intbatb.^ 

Queste  parole,  di  colore  oscurOf 

Yid'  io  8(nritte  al  sommo  d'  una  porta 
Perch*  io,  "Maestaro!  il  senso  lor  m*  e  dupo." 

Ed  egli  a  me  come  persona  acoorta, 
"  Qui  81  convien  lasoiar  ogni  sospetto, 
Ogni  yiltji  convien  che  qui  sia  morta. 

Noi  sem  yenuti  al  luogo  ov*  i*  t'  o  detto^ 

Che  tu  vedrai  le  genti  doloroBe, 
Ch*  hanno  perduto  *1  ben'  dell*  intellefcto.'* 

E  poichfe  la  eua  mano  alia  mia  pose, 
Con  heto  yolto,  ond  io  mi  confortai. 
Mi  mise  dentro  alle  secrete  cose  $ 

Quivi  sospiri,  pianti,  ed  alti  guai 

Risonayan  per  1*  aere  senza  stelle, 
Perch'  io  nel  cominciar  ne  lagrimai. 

Diverse  lingue,  orribili  favelle, 
Parole  di  dolore,  accenti  d'  ira, 

Voci  alte  e  fioche,  e  suon  di  man  con  elic^ 

Facevano  un  tumulto  il  qual  s*  aggira 

Sempre  'n  quell'  aria  senza  tempo  tints^ 
Come  1  arena  quando  '1  turbo  spira. 

Ed  io,  ch'  avea  d*  orror  la  testa  cinta, 
Dissi,  "  Maestro,  che  h  quel'  ch'  i  odo  ? 
E  che  gent'  e  che  par  nel  duol  si  vinta  ?** 

Ed  egli  a  me  :  "  Questo  misero  modo 

Tengon  T  anime  triste  di  colore, 
Che  visser  senza  infamia  e  senxa  lodo» 

Mischiate  sono  a  quel  cattivo  ooro 
Degli  angeli  che  non  furon  ribeUii 
^i  fur  fideli  a  Dio  ma  per  a^  foraw 


THE  BOHOa   OF   ITALY. 

CuKiarli  i  cid'  par  nan  mmq-  men  b«lli, 

Ke  lo  pro&Ddo  infenio  gli  riivrE, 
Cb'  rIcuiw  gloria  i  rci  avrcbber  d'  elli," 

Ed  io !  "  Mieitro,  che  i  t»nto  grero 
A  lor  che  iBminitAr  gH  fa  si  forte  f" 
Bispon :  "  Dicerolti  aolto  breve. 

QuestJ  nan  huma  ■penuiia  di  mortem 

£  la  lur  decs  TitB  e  taoto  buaa 
Cbe  'DTidiosi  bob  d'  ogni  nltn  aorte. 

Fsms  di  lor  il  mondo  eater  noa  luis ; 
Mian-Lcordia  e  ([iualiiia  |;li  adpgna. 


l^t  IBoxii)  of  9dl. 

(DohU.) 

\       "  Sttt  p(  iln  pait)  liniili  6pi  1^'  tofO'd  of  ffioB  fox  aintnll  niDnala  P 

■  Al  till  ripTobatc  iliis  is  iI)e  gali.  Ifiiat  ate  Ibt  gloiiini!  potials  ! 
B-JoTBinnianS  nimt  Itom  lift  bit  if)  of  temt  Cug3<  Uaa  tf)ia  fiulii^ 

■  ]:n((rital 

V'Gnatl  In  all  Ikoft  on  ibis  tI)ris|jDlti  ftiop!  I]'"  reigns  Otspaii 
^  EKinal." 

I  md  viih  Uan  thcM  oharacton — tcora  ihed  an  man'i  behalf ; 
£arh  «orii  seemed  frnugbt  ■with  painful  tliought,  tliB  losi  aoul's  epitaph. 
Torning  diBinajed.  "  0  Diyatic  aliade  I"  I  cri^  "  my  kindly  Mentor, 
Of  comiort,  ea;,  can  no  awcet  raj  thwe  dark  dominioiu  enter  P" 

"  Mj  Bon  !"  replied  the  gluMll;  guide^  "  thia  ia  the  dark  abode 

Of  Ibe  guilty  dud — aliiiie  they  tread  hell'a  melancholy  road. 

Brace  up  thy  nerreal  tkia  hourdeaeriGt  that  3Iind  should  hsTe  rontrol, 

Aiid  bid  avauct  fbara  that  irould  haunt  the  cUj-impriaoned  iouL 

W'tin  be  the  taak.  when  Ihoii  ahalt  ask,  each  myatery  lo  aolre ; 
AnoD  loT  na  dark  Erebus  bavk  il  all  its  gales  rciolTe — 
HeQ  shall  (lisoloao  iti  deepest  woea,  tneh  puniahraeut,  each  pwig. 
Saint  hath  rerealedi  or  eye  beheld,  or  Qame-tongued  prophet  aung." 

Bates  were  unrolled  of  iron  mould — a  dumal  dungeon  yawntd ! 
We  passed — we  stood — 'tiru  toll  we  yiew'd ! — eternity  had  daimtd  I 
Space  oQ  our  aight  burst  infinite — echoes  were  heord  remolo  j 
Stuieks  loud  and  drear  startled  our  ear,  and  stripes  inteaaaut  suet*. 


33S  FATHXB  FBOTTT*S  BSLIQtTSS. 

Borne  on  the  blast  strange  wluspers  passed ;  and  er«r  and  anon 
Athwart  tlie  plain,  like  hurricane^  God's  Tengeanoe  would  come  on ! 

Then  sounds,  breathed  low,  of  gentler  woe  soft  on  our  hearing  stole ; 
Captives  so  meek  fain  would  I  seek  to  comfort  and  console : 
"  O  let  us  pause  and  learn  the  cause  of  so  much  grie^  and  why 
Saddens  the  air  of  their  despair  the  unayailing  sigh !  *' 

"  My  son  !  Heaven  grants  them  utterance  in  plaintive  notes  of  woe ; 
In  tears  their  grief  mav  find  relief,  but  hence  they  never  go. 
Fools !  they  beheved  that  if  they  lived  blameless  and  vice  eschewed, 
6k>d  would  dispense  with  excellence,  and  give  beatitude. 

They  died !  but  naught  of  virtue  brought  to  win  their  Maker's  praise ; 
No  deeds  of  worth  the  page  set  forth  Uu&t  chronicled  their  days. 
Fixed  is  their  doom — eternal  gloom !  to  mourn  for  what  is  past, 
And  weep  aloud  amid  that  crowd  with  whom  their  lot  is  cast. 

One  fate  they  share  with  spirits  fair,  who,  when  rebellion  shook 
God's  holy  roof,  remained  aloof^  nor  part  whatever  took  i 
Drew  not  the  sword  against  their  Lorid,  nor  yet  upheld  his  throne : 
Ck>uld  Qod  for  this  make  perfect  bUss  theirs  when  the  fight  was  won  P 

The  world  knows  not  their  dreary  lot,  nor  can  assuage  their  pangs. 
Or  cure  the  curse  of  fell  remorse,  or  blunt  the  tiger's  fangs. 
Mercy  disdains  to  loose  their  chains — the  hour  of  grace  has  been ! 
Son !  let  that  class  imheeded  pass — unwept,  though  not  unseen.*' 

The  very  singular  and  striking  moral  inculcated  by  Dante 
in  this  episode,  where  he  consigns  to  hopeless  misery  those 
"  good  easy  souls'*  who  lead  a  worthless  career  of  selnshness, 
though  exempt  from  crime,  is  deserving  of  serious  attention. 

From  Dante's  "  Hell,"  the  transition  to  the  "  Wig  of 
Father  Roger  Boscovich"  may  appear  abrupt ;  but  I  never 
terminate  a  paper  in  gloomy  or  doleful  humour.  Wherefore 
I  wind  up  by  a  specimen  of  jplayftil  poetry,  taken  firom  a 
very  scarce  work  printed  at  Venice  in  180i,  and  entitled 
"  Le  Opere  Poetiche  dell'  Abate  Giulio  Cesare  Cordara," 
ex- Jesuit  and  ex-historiographer  to  the  Society,  connected 
by  long  friendship  with  his  con/r^re,  the  scientific  and  accom- 
plished Boscovich,  concerning  whom  there  is  a  short  notice 
elsewhere,*  to  which  I  refer  the  reader,  should  he  seek  to  know 
more  about  the  proprietor  of  the  wig.  Nor,  perhaps,  will  a 
Latin  translation  of  this  ^>u  d'  eitprit  be  unacceptable. 

*  See  Paper  on  Literature  and  the  Jesuits. 


ruE  soBiia  OF  italy. 


AUa  Stmicca  Dtl  |9aDrt  Biiggtro  Soscobict). 

O  mne,  o  cno  che  <i<i  <D  foiti  etromeata 

Di  foUi  Bmori,  e  «ol  fetmninEa  mm. 
Or  Ki  del  wio  Auggor  fltruio  ornamento  ^ 

Conoaci  tu  1'  cccelu  toa  veacnn, 
B  ti  sareeti  mu  imnuigiDato 
Di  bre  »1  mondo  una  ai  gran  Qgura  P 


Qnal  che  si  fane  il  ct 

Foaie  pur  di  leg:^ 

Ceito  lion  fbsti  mai  t. 


nobtl  Tollo, 


Di  vsgn  donuB  in  Miute  eri  pi 
Ma  i  dl  piseari  Deghittosi  a  vifi 
A  im  laddo  crietallo  oguor  rivolto. 

Sol  peiuier  tbtu,  e  astuiie  fermainili 

Coprifi  nllor,  e  inBidioaa  rete 
Co'  tuai  formaTi  inDuiellUi  fili. 

Quando  coKtretto  lo  foUi?  Kingueta 
A  watir  d'  un'  nm&nh^  rhc  delin, 
Qiuuido  smaoie  s  veder  d'  ire  inquietf . 

ForM)  Ulor  ti  ai  BTrentd  cou  irs 

A  icspigliotti  un'  invtda  nviili!. 
Come  {othuuiu  tuol  quando  a*  adira  i 

Infin,  nido  di  gtilli  originale, 
Tntinionio  di  &odi  o  di  iDeniognc, 
T  arera  fiitta  il  tuo  deetin  IktnJs. 

Vk  i  fior  Tcrmigli  e  I'  odorate  (o^e, 

M*  la  Candida  poire,  ond'  an  aapeno, 
FaDBin  eompenao  a  taute  tae  Torgogne. 

Ha  come  (atto  sei  da  te  diFerao, 
DaocW  iwi™  dalla  tiI  conice, 

Di  Qon  tuo  c«po  io  crin,  fo  sti  njHTcrei: 

Fri  tutte  le  pcrrucche  or  lei  fblifo, 

Che  aebben'  torta,  incolla,  e  msl  vfrnte^ta 
(Come  pur  troppo  immaginar  ne  lief), 

Puoi  per6  glorinMi,  e  fnmp  testa 
Che  akra  non  In  gianunai  dal  ciel  elrtto 
A  ricoprir  si  vouaranda  le«ta  1 


840  FATUEB  PBOUT'B  BEUQUSS. 

0)le  to  tfie  8Btg  of  dTatf^n:  l^oicobkhf 

THE  CELSBBATED  A8TB0K01CSB. 

With  awe  I  look  on  that  penikei 

Where  Learning  is  a  lodger, 
And  think,  whene  er  I  see  that  hair 
Which  now  you  wear,  some  ladye  fair 
Had  worn  it  once,  dear  Boger  I 

On  empty  skull  most  beautiful 
Appeared,  no  doubt,  those  locks, 

Onoe  the  bright  grace  of  pretty  {fu» ; 

Kow  far  more  proud  to  be  allowed 
To  deck  thy  "knowledge-box." 

Condemned  to  pass  before  the  glass 

Whole  hours  each  blessed  morning, 
Twas  desperate  long,  with  curling-tong 
And  tortoise-shell,  to  haye  a  belle 
Thee  frizzing  and  adorning. 

Blight  ringlets  set  as  in  a  net, 
To  catch  us  men  like  fishes ! 
Your  eyery  lock  concealed  a  stock 
Of  female  wares — ^lore's  pensiye  cares, 
Vain  dreams,  and  futile  wishes ! 

Tliat  ehevelure  has  caused,  I'm  sure. 

Full  many  a  loyer^s  qiuurrel ; 
Then  it  was  decked  with  flowers  select 
And  myrtle-sprig :  but  now  a  wie, 
'Tis  circled  with  a  laurel ! 

Where  fresh  and  new  at  first  they  grew, 

Of  whims,  and  tricks,  and  fancies. 
Those  locks  at  best  were  but  a  nest  :— 
Their  beine  spread  on  learned  head 
Vastly  their  worth  enhances. 

From  flowers  exempt,  uncouth,  unkempt-« 

Matted,  entangled,  thick ! 
Mourn  not  the  loss  of  curl  or  gloss— 
'Tis  i^fra  dig,    Thou  abt  THE  WIQ 
Ov  BoGEB  BoaooYiCH ! 

Be  Seta  Coma  I&ogert  Soi^cobtcfitu 

Elegia, 

Casaries !  yanum  vesani  nuper  amoris 
Forsitan  illicinm,  curaque  fosminea. 


THE   eOKUS  OF   I 


t?t°i 


There  is  eitaot  among  the  poems  of  Cordftra  a  fiirther  la- 
mentation on  the  sale  of  this  wig,  affep  BoBcorich's  denth, 
to  a  Jew  broker — 

ta.  o  case  nerSdo  e  Tea  I 

from  whom  it  was  purchased  bj  a  farmer,  and  ultimately 
fixed  on  a  pole,  in  a  cabbage-garden,  to  fright  the  birds, 
"  fitr  tpaventaf  gli  uccelli." — But  I  feel  droway  to-night,  and 
cftiiQOt  pursue  the  subject.    Molly  I  bring  my  night-cap ! 


842  FA.THEB  PBOVT'S   BXn^VZt. 


No.  XII. 

THB   SOireS  OF   ITALT. 

CHAPTER  II. 


*'  ded  neque  Medorum,  bjIyib  ditiflBima,  terra, 
Nee  pulcher  G^ges,  atque  auro  turbidus  Hermus, 
Laudibus  Ttalis  oertent ;  non  Bactra,  neque  Indi, 
Totaque  thuriferis  FanchaXa  pingois  arenia." 

YiBO.  Georp.  U. 

We've  met  with  glees  ^fram  the  Chinete!**   translations  **from  ike 

Persian  ;" 
Sanscrit  weVe  had,  fipom  Hjdrabad,  Sir  William  Jones's  yersion. 
We've  also  seen  (in  a  magazine)  nice  jawbreakers  **/rom  Sckiller ;" 
And  "tales"  by  folks,  who  gives  us  "jokes,"  omitting  **/rom  Joe 

Miller.** 
Of  plain  broad  Scotch  a  neat  hotch-potch  Hogg  sends  us  from  the 

Highlands ; 
There  are  songs   too  **/rom  the  Hindis,**  and   "from  the  Sandwck 

Islands." 
'Tis  deemed  most  wise  to  patronise  Munchausen,  Gk>ethe,  Ossian ; 
To  make  a  stand  for  ^* fatherland**  or  some  other  land  of  GK)shen. 
Since  wo  must  laud  things  from  abroad,  and  smile  on  foreign  capers. 
The  land  for  me  is  Italy,  with  her  SONGS  ^from  the  Prout  Papers:* 

O.  Y. 


There  baa  arisen  in  England  a  remarkable  predilection  for 
tbe  literature  of  tbe  continent.  Tbe  great  annual  fiair  at 
Leipsic  is  drawing  more  and  more  tbe  attention  of  our  book- 
sellers ;  to  tbe  detriment  of  "  tbe  Row."  Nor  are  our  lus- 
torians  and  poets,  our  artists  in  tbe  novel-making  line  (male 
and  female),  our  bumble  cobblers  at  tbe  dramatic  buskin, 
and  our  industrious  bodmen  from  tbe  sister  island  wbo  coo- 
tribute  to  build  cyclopaedias,  tbe  only  labouring  poor  tiirown 
out  of  employment ;  but  even  our  brotbers  in  poverty  and 
genius,  tbe  old  Englisb  ballad-singers,  blind-nddlera>  and 
pipers,  bave  been  compelled  to  give  place  to  tbe  barrel- 
organ,  a  mere  piece  of  macbinery,  wmcb  bas  superseded 


lEE   B0K08  OF   ITitt. 


348 


1  talent.    The  old  national  tlaimaQta  on  public 
sulors  with    wooden    legs    aad    broken-down 
■venders,"  have  giren  way  to  Polish  "  Couatt"  and 
1 "  broom-girU."     Bulwer  thougbt  himBelf  a  lucky 
dog,  R  few  weeks  ago,  to  have  got  a  day'e  work  on  a  political 
pamphlet, — that  being  part  of  the  ciift  which  no  foreigner 
has  yet  monopolised.    The  job  was  soon  done ;  though  'twaa 
but  a  sorry  hit,  after  all.     Ue  is  now  engaged  on  a  patbetio 
loraount  of  real  life,  the  "  Laat  Daj-s  of  Grub  Street." 
Matters  must  have  gone  bard  with  Xom  Moore,  since  we 
im  with  deep  feelings  of  coiiipaBsion  that  he  is  driven  to 
compile  a  "  History  of  Ireland."     Theodore  Hook,  deter- 
mined to  make  hay  while  the  sun  shines,  has  taken  the 
~  Bull"  by  the  horns ;  we  are  to  have  three  vols.  6vo.  of 
"rost  bif."*     Theodore !  host    thou  never    ruminated    the 
riom — 

"  Un  diner  richaaffi  ne  Tilut  j&mais  riec?" 

Tom  Campbell,  hopeless  of  giving  to  public  taste  anv 
other  save  a  foreign  direction,  has  gone  to  Algiers,  deter- 
mined on  exploring  the  recondite  literature  of  the  Bedouins. 
He  baa  made  surprising  progress  in  the  dialects  of  FeE, 
Tunis,  and  Mauntania;  and,  like  Ovid  among  the  Scy- 
thians— 

"  Jum  didici  Gtetici  SarmsCicdque  1i>qui." 

He  may  venture  too  far  into  the  interior,  and  some  barbarian 
prince  may  detMu  him  as  a  laureate.  We  may  hear  of  hia 
Deing  "  bound  in  Morocco." 

This  taste  for  foreign  betlet  letlret  is  subject  to  variation 
and  vicissitude.  The  gorgeous  imaginings  of  Oriental  fancy, 
of  which  the  "Arabian  Kights,"  and  the  elegant  Eclogues 
of  Collins,  were  the  dawn,  have  bad  their  day :  tlie  sun  of 
the  East  has  gone  down,  in  the  western  tale  of  the  "  Fire- 
worshippers."  A  surfeit  is  the  moat  infallible  cure  ;  we  re- 
collect the  voracity  with  which  "  Lalla  Rookh"  was  at  first 
devoured,  and  the  subsequent  disrelish  for  that  most  luaci- 

•  The  prtjccted  republication  of  tinao  fucetue  hu  not  tnkm  nbw, 
Ihongh  iitinoan«rf  *t  tlie  time  in  lifo  volmne*  post  8to.  Alb«nv 
7(itibliini;TiF  Bubaiiquimtlj  FEprintf d  iiiti  iinidiii  frcini  llie  "  'KtamVarr.'' 


SUl  FATHEB   PBOUT'a   RELIQUE*. 

ouB  volume.  There  is  an  end  to  tbe  popularity  once  enjoyed 
by  camels,  houris,  bulbuls,  silver  bells,  silver  veils,  cinnunoa 
groves,  variegated  lamps,  and  Buch  other  etoi'k  items  aa  madft 
up  the  Oriental  (thuw-ooi.  Tbis  leads  to  a  melaucholy  tnun 
of  thought :  we  deUict  ourselves  "  wandering  in  dreams  " 
to  tbat  period  of  our  scbool-daya  when  Tom  was  ia  bigb 
feather, — 

"  And  oft  when  alo[n\  »t  the  elo«o  of  tha  year. 
We  thiitli,^I«  the  aighCingale  ainging  tliere  yel  f 
Are  the  roMS  iHll  sweet  bj  tho  aalm  Bendemeer  t" 

Ue  bas  tried  his  hand  at  Upper  Canada  and  Lower  E^ypt— 
and  speut  some  "  Evenings  in  Greece  ;"  but  "  disastrous  twi- 
light" and  the  "  chain  of  silence"  (wbatever  that  ornament 
may  be)  now  hongs  over  bim. 

"HoriB  Sinicffi"  found  favour  in  the  "barbarian 
Viscount  Kingsborough  has  been  smitten  with  the  brunette 
muses  of  Meiico.  Lord  Byron  once  set  up  "  Hebrevr  Melo- 
dies," and  had  a  season  of  it ;  but  Murray  nas  sooa  compelled 
to  bang  the  noble  poet's  Jew's-harp  on  the  willows  of  modem 
Babylon.  We  recollect  when  there  was  a  rage  for  German 
and  High  Dutch  poetry.  The  classics  of  Greece  and  Borne, 
with  their  legitimate  descendants,  those  of  France,  Italy, 
and  England,  were  flung  aside  for  the  writers  of  Scandinavia 
aud  the  poets  of  the  Danube.  Tired  of  nectar  and  ambrosia, 
my  pubfic  sat  down  to  a  platter  of  foufifraut  with  Kaut, 
Goethe,  and  Kiopstock.  The  chimeras  of  transcendental 
and  transrhenane  philosophers  found  admirers ! — 'twas  the 
reign  of  the  nightmare — 

*'  OmnigETnflinque  DeUni  monstra,  ct  laCrgtor  Anubis, 
Coatja  NeptuQuiQ  ot  Venprem,  caatraque  Minervam." 

jSittid  Fill. 

But  latterly  Teutonic  authors  are  at  a  discount ;  and,  in 
spite  of  the  German  confederacy  of  quacks  and  duncea, 
common  sense  boa  resumed  its  empire.  ?fot  that  we  object 
to  foreign  literature,  provided  we  get  productions  of  genius 
and  taste.  The  liomana  in  their  palmiest  days  of  conquest 
gave  a  place  in  the  Pantheon  to  the  gods  of  each  province 
they  had  added  to  their  empire ;  but  they  look  caro  to 
select  the  most  graceful  and  godlike  of  these  foreign  ddtiea, 
eschewing  what  was  too  u^y  to  figure  in  company  with 


THE   SCmoS   OT   ITiXT.  iU 

Apollo.     Tura  ne  dow  to  Pniut  and  his  gleaninga  in  thf 
fertile  field  of  hia  sclectiou,  "  Hcsperi^  m  uagod." 

OLIVEK  TOfiKE. 

itartt  Ul,  1B35. 


WalergraiiMll,  Ftb.  1830. 

I  HKSUME  to-night  the  topic  of  Italian  minBtrelsy,  In 
conning  over  a  paper  penned  b;  me  a  few  eremogB  ago,  I 
do  not  feel  satisfied  vitb  the  teuour  of  my  musings.  The 
rtart  from  the  fountain  of  Vaucluse  waa  fair ;  but  after 
gliding  along  the  claesic  Po  and  the  majestic  Tiber,  it  waa 
an  unseemly  termination  of  the  essay  to  engulf  itself  in  the 
cavity  of  a  bob-wig.  An  unlucky  "  cul  de  sac,"  into  which 
I  must  b''ive  strolled  under  sinister  guidance.  Did  Molly 
put  an  extra  glass  into  my  vesper  bowl  p 

When  the  frost  is  abroad  and  the  moon  is  up,  and  naught 
disturbs  the  serenity  of  this  mountain  wilderuesa,  and  the 
bright  cheerful  buruing  of  the  fragrant  turf-fire  betokeba 
the  salubrity  of  the  circumambient  atmospbere,  I  experi- 
ence a  buoyancy  of  spirit  unknown  to  the  grovelling  sen- 
analjst  or  the  votary  of  fashion.  To  them  it  rarely  occurs 
to  know  that  highest  state  of  enjoyment,  expressed  with 
curious  felicity  in  the  hemistich  ol  Juvenal,  "  Meta  tana  in 
carpore  $aao."  Could  they  relish  with  blind  old  Milton  the 
nocturnal  visitings  of  poesy ;  or  feel  the  deep  enthusiasm 
of  those  ancient  hermits  who  kept  the  desert  awake  with 
canticiea  of  praise ;  or,  with  the  oldest  of  poets,  the  Ara- 
bian Job.  commune  with  heaven,  and  raise  their  thoughts  to 
the  BeilJ"  "  w/io  gicelh  »ong»  in  the  night"  (Job  iiST.  10), 
they  would  acknowledge  that  mental  luxuries  are  cheaply 
purchased  by  the  relinquishment  of  grosser  dehghts.  A 
Greek  (Eustatbius)  gives  to  Night  the  epithet  of  lufooni,  or 
'■  parent  of  happy  thoughts :"  and  the  "  Noctes  Atticw"  of 
Aulus  Qellius  ore  a  noble  prototype  of  numerous  lucubrsk- 
tioua  rejoicing  in  a  similar  title, — from  the  "  Mille  et  une 
Nuits"  to  the  "  Notti  Eomane  al  Sepolcro  deirii  Scipioni," 
from  Young's  plaintive  "  Night  Thoughta"  to  tbe  "  Ambro- 


846  FATHEB  PBOUT'S  BEUQUES. 

Bian"  pemoctations  called  ambrosiana, — all  oearing  testi- 
mony to  the  genial  influence  of  the  stilly  hour.  The  oird  of 
Minerva  symbolized  wisdom,  from  the  circumstance  of  its 
contempt  for  the  vulgarities  of  day ;  and  Horace  sighs  with 
becoming  emotion  when  he  calls  to  his  recollection  the 
glorious  banquetings  of  thought  and  genius  of  which  the 
sable  goddess  was  the  ministiant — O  noetes  cosnteque  DeUm  ! 
TertuUian  tells  us,  in  the  second  chapter  of  the  immortal 
"  Apology,"  that  the  early  Christians  spent  the  night  in 
pious  "  melodies,"  that  morning  often  dawned  upon  their 
"songs" — antelueanis  horia  eanebant.  He  refers  to  the  tes- 
timony of  Pliny  (the  Proconsul's  letter  to  Trajan)  for  the 
truth  of  his  statement.  Yet,  with  all  these  matters  staring 
him  in  the  face,  Tom  Moore,  led  away  by  his  usual  levity, 
and  addressing  some  foolish  girl,  thinks  nothing  of  the  pro- 
posal  "  to  steal  a  few  hours  from  the  night,  my  dear  /" — a 
sacrilege,  which,  in  his  eye,  no  doubt,  amounted  only  to  a 
sort  of  petty  larceny.  But  Tom  Campbell,  with  that  phi- 
losophic turn  of  mind  for  which  he  is  so  remarkable,  con- 
nects the  idea  of  inspiration  with  the  period  of  "  sunset :" 
the  evening  of  life,  never  failing  to  bring  "  mystical  lore." 
Impressed  with  these  convictions,  the  father  of  Italian  sons, 
in  the  romantic  dwelling  which  he  had  built  unto  himself 
on  the  sloping  breast  of  the  Euganeian  hills,  spent  the  de- 
cline of  his  days  in  the  contemplation  of  loftiest  theories, 
varying  his  nocturnal  devotions  with  the  sweet  sound  of  the 
lute,  and  rapt  in  the  alternate  Elysium  of  piety  and  poetry. 
In  these  ennobling  raptures  he  exhaled  the  sweet  perfume 
of  his  mind's  immortal  essence,  which  gradually  disengaged 
itself  from  its  vase  of  clay.  "  Oblivion  stole  upon  his  vestal 
lamp :"  and  one  morning  he  was  found  dead  m  his  library, 
reclming  in  an  arm-chair,  his  head  resting  on  a  book,  20th 
July,  1374. 

"•  vTiether  the  enviable  fate  of  Petrarea  will  be  mine,  I 
know  not.  But,  like  him,  I  find  in  literature  and  the 
congenial  admixture  of  holier  meditations  a  solace  and  a 
comfort  in  old  age.  In  his  writings,  in  his  loves,  in  his  sor- 
rows, in  the  sublime  aspirations  of  his  soul,  I  can  freely 
sympathise.  Laura  is  to  me  the  same  being  of  exalted  ex- 
cellence and  cherished  purity ;  and,  in  echoing  from  this 
remote  Irish  hill  the  strains  of  his  immortal  lyre,  I  hope  to 


** 


Ore  io  fuma  ue  uiquiBlo." 

"paptrt"  may  promote  his  wishes  in  this  reBpect.  Dis- 
IDgaged  from  all  the  ties  that  bind  others  to  exiBteoce, 
•oUtarjr,  childleBs,  what  occupatioa  more  eititsble  to  mj 
reamAnt  of  life  could  I  adopt  than  the  exercise  ol'  meiaorr 
and  mind  of  which  they  are  the  fruit  ?  "Wlien  I  slitiU  seek 
my  lonely  pillow  to-night,  after  "  outwatching  the  beur,"  I 
shall  cheerfully  eonsign.  another  document  to  "  the  chest," 
and  bid  it  go  join,  in  that  miBcellaneoaa  aggregate,  the 
mental  progeny  of  my  old  age.  Thia  "  rheit"  may  be  the 
fioffin  of  my  thoughts,  or  the  cradle  of  my  renown.  In  it 
r  meditations  may  be  matured  by  some  kind  editor  into 
pkimate  manhood,  to  walk  the  world  and  tell  of  their  po- 
"nntage;  or  else  it  may  prove  a  silent  sarcophagus,  where 
ley  may  moulder  iu  decay.  In  either  case  I  am  resigned, 
y  I  enw  not  the  more  fortunate  candidates  for  public  favour: 
I  bold  enmity  to  none.  For  my  readers,  if  I  have  any,  all 
I  (uroect  on  their  part  is,  that  they  may  eihibit  towards  a 
feeble  garrulous  old  man  the  same  disposition  he  feels  for 
tbem.  'OlTtt  biamwi  lya  biarikio  f/aiinoti  rrarni  iifiai  roiRturqf 
imnXianti  /mi  <r^n;  nuravi  ro*  ctj'iitta.      (^tjfiinfS,  n^^i  enfiat.') 

This  exordium  of  that  grand  masterpiece,  in  which  the 
Athenian  vindicates  bis  tiue  to  a  crown  of  gold  presented 
by  hia  fellow-citizena,  leads  me,  by  a  natural  transition,  to 
a  memorable  event  iu  Petrarca's  life,  —  that  ebullition 
of  enthusiasm,  when  the  senators  of  Home,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Bobert,  King  of  Naples,  and  with  the  applause  and 
concurrence  of  all  tne  free  states  of  Italy,  led  the  poet  in 
triumph  to  the  Capitol,  and  placed  on  his  venerable  head  a 
wnatn  of  laurel.  The  coronation  of  the  laureate  who  first 
bore  the  title,  is  too  important  to  he  lightly  glanced  at. 
The  ingenious  Mod.  de  Stati  (who  has  done  more  by  her 
"De  I'AHemagne"  to  give  vogue  to  Germanic  literature 
than    the  whole   schiittery  of  Dutch   authorship  and   thu 


848 


fAIHER   P BOUT  a   BELI^rES. 


lanbtffelgt'nf  Teutonic  writers),  in  her  roDiance  of  "  Corii 
na,"  has  aei/ed  with  avidity  on  the  incident. 

Concerning  this  solemn  incoronation,  we  have  from  Ih 
pen  of  an  eye- witness,  Giiido  d'Arezzo,  details,  told  in  etyl 
most  quaint,  and  with  sundry  characteristic  comments.  I 
those  days  of  primeval  simplicity,  in  the  absence  of  ctct 
other  t«pic  of  excitement  (for  tlie  crusades  had  well  nig 
worn  themBclves  out  of  popular  favour),  the  icial  attendai 
on  this  occurrence  poBseased  a  sort  of  European  interest 
The  name  of  the  "  Laureate"  (now  worn  by  the  vcnerftbli 
dweller  of  the  lakes,  the  patriarch  Southey)  was  then  fij 
proclaimed,  amid  the  shouts  of  applauding  thousands,  . 
the  seven  hills  of  the  Eternal  City,  and  echoed  back  witi 
enthusiasm  from  the  remotest  comers  of  Christendom. 
a  subsequent  a^,  when  the  same  honour,  with  the  same  ii 
posing  ceremonial,  was  to  be  conferred  on  Tasso,  I  dontl 
whether  the  event  would  have  enlisted  to  the  aa 
the  sympathieB  of  Europe,  or  the  feelings  even  of  the  Ita 
lian  public.  It  were  bootless,  however,  to  dwell  on  the  pre 
bobiCties  of  the  case ;  for  Death  interposed  his  veto,  an 
stretched  out  his  bony  hand  between  the  laurel  wretitli  sa 
the  poor  maniac's  brow,  who,  on  the  very  eve  of  the  d^ 
fixed  for  his  ovation,  expired  on  the  Janiculum  hill,  in  tb 
romantic  hermitage  of  St.  Onuirio.  Oft  have  I  eat  undo 
that  same  cloister- wall,  where  he  loved  to  bask  in  the  mO 
ijay  of  the  setting  sun,  and  there,  with  Bome's  awful  volum 
spread  out  before  me,  pondered  on  the  frivolity  of  fam< 
The  ever-enduring  vine,  with  ita  mellow  freight  dependea 
from  the  antique  pillars,  clustered  above  mv  head  ;  while  a 
my  feet  lay  the  flagstone  that  once  covered  his  remains  ;  am 
"  bsSA  ToEQUATi  Tassi,"  deep  carved  on  the  marble  Soot 
abundantly  fed  the  meditative  mind.  Petrnrca's  grave 
had  previously  visited  in  the  mountain  hamlet  of  Arqu]) 
during  my  rambles  through  Lombardy  ;  and  while  I  sileotlj 
recalled  the  inscription  thereon,  I  breathed  for  both  t' 
prayer  that  it  contains — 


J  aSQrtESCiT  IN  ABCE." 


VESSXQca  JAU  t: 


"  TliB  8eT.  Lnwreuoo  Steme,  in  hia  vary  reputable   work   • 


IDE    BONOS   OF   ITiLT.  349 

But  a  truce  to  this  moralising  train  of  thought,  and  turn 

^me  to  the  gay  Bc«ne  described  5y  Guido  d"  Arezzo,     Be  it 

I  then  understood,  tliat  on  the  mormng  of  Easter  Sunday, 

1.  April  15,  1341,  a  period  of  the  ecdeeiaeticftl  year  at  which 

■•erciwda  of  pil^Jus  visited  the  shrine  of  the  spostlea,  and 

I  Some  was  tliroDged  with  the  representatives  of  every  Chri»- 

Iti&n  land,  after  the  performance  of  a  solemn  high  mass  in 

B'tbe  old  Basilica  of  St.  Feter's   (for  religion  in  those  days 

K'ipiixed  itself  up  with  every  public  act,  and  sanctitit'd  every 

Kondertaking),  the  decree  ot  Eobert,  King  of  Naples,  waa 

■<t3iily  read,  setting"  forth  how,  after  a  diligent  eiaminatioD 

md  tri^  in  all  the  departments  of  poetry  and  all  the  ac* 

mplishments  of  elegant  Uterature,  in  addition  to  a  know* 

1^  most  extensive  of  theology  and  history,  Francis  Pe- 

irca  had  evinced  unparalleled  proficiency  in  all  the  recog- 

led  acquirements  of  scholarship,  and  given    undoubted 

■pFOoia  ot  ability  and  genius;  wherefore,  m  his  favour,  it 

Keemed  fit  and  becoming  that  the  proudest  mark  of  distinc- 

■tiua  known  among  the  ancient  Romans  should  be  conferred 

|;j>ii  him,  and  that  all  the  honours  of  the  classic  triumph 

ihould  be  revived  on  the  occasion.     It  will  be  seen,  how- 

iever,  from  the  narrative  of  Guido,  that  some  slightvarintions 

■fif  costume  and  circumstance  were  introduced  in  the  course 

l.of  the  exhibition,  and  that  the  getting  up  of  the  affair  was 

laot  altogether  in  bteral  accordance  with  the  rubrics  which 

ulated  such  processions  in  the  days  of  Paulus  ^milius, 

rben  captive  kings  and  the  milk-white  bulla  of  ClytumnuB 

idomed  the  pageantry — 

"  Bamaiias  ad  templa  DeQm  duifre  triumphoe." 

Geary,  II. 

"  They  put  on  his  right  foot  (Guido  loquitur)  a  sandal  of 
d  leather,  cut  in  a  queer  shape,  and  fastened  round  the 
Jtle  with  purple  Ugatures.  This  is  the  way  tragic  poets 
e  shod.    His  left  foot  they  then  inserted  into  a  kind  of 

B"TriBt™m  Sbnndy,"  bos  tlie  effVontery  to  tranBlalfl  the  rurae  of  Emcl- 
phus.  Si  aalonluli  Dti  el  Firfinii  Dei genelriat  Maria,  "  Bj  Ilie  autho- 
BtJ'  of  God  ind  of  the  Virgin,  mother  and  f/atronai  ot  our  SiviouT  I" 

I^UB  distorting  the  orieiDal,   to  in  sinuate  prejudice  agstnit  ■  oLiae  of 

[ifctlow-airiatians.    Objection  may  be  felt  to  tbo  predommuuie  of  the 

B^eliiig  iu  question, — but  fair  phiy,  Yorick  I — Pboot. 


8S0  FATHEB  FBOTTT'S   BSLIQTJES. 

buBkin  of  violet  oolour,  made  fast  to  the  le|^  with  blue 
thongs.  This  is  the  emblem  worn  bj  writen  in  the  comic 
line,  and  those  who  compose  agreeable  and  pleasant  matters. 
Violet  is  the  proper  colour  of  love. 

''  Over  his  tunic,  which  was  of  grey  silk,  thej  placed  a 
mantle  of  velvet,  lined  with  green  satin,  to  show  that  a 
poet's  ideas  should  always  be  fresh  and  new.  Bound  his 
neck  they  hung  a  chain  of  diamonds,  to  signify  that  his 
thoughts  should  be  brilliant  and  clear.  There  are  many 
mysteries  in  poetry. 

"  They  then  placed  on  his  head  a  mitre  of  gold  doth, 
tapering  upwards  in  a  conical  shape,  that  the  wreaths  and 
garlands  might  be  more  easily  worn  thereon.  It  had  two 
tails,  or  skirts,  falling  behind  on  the  shoulders  like  the  mitre 
of  a  bishop.  There  hung  by  his  side  a  Ijre  (which  is  the 
poet's  instrument),  suspended  from  a  gold  chain  of  inter- 
woven figures  of  snakes,  to  give  him  to  understand  that  his 
mind  must  figuratively  change  its  skin,  and  constantly  re- 
new its  envelope,  like  the  serpent.  When  they  had  thus 
equipped  him,  they  gave  him  a  young  maiden  to  hold  up  his 
train,  her  hair  failing  loose  in  ringlets,  and  her  feet  naked. 
She  was  dressed  in  the  fur  of  a  bear,  and  held  a  lighted 
torch.  This  is  the  emblem  of  folly,  and  is  a  constant  at- 
tendant on  poets !" 

When  "the  business  of  day"  was  over,  the  modem 
fashion  of  winding  up  such  displays  was  perfectly  well  un- 
derstood even  at  that  remote  period,  and  a  dinner  was  given 
to  the  lion  of  the  hour  in  the  still-sumptuous  hall  of  the 
Palazzo  Colonna.  His  "  feeding-time"  being  duly  got 
through,  poetry  and  music  closed  the  eventful  evening; ;  and 
Petrarca  delighted  his  noble  host  and  the  assembled  rank 
and  fashion  of  Eome  by  dancing  a  Moorish  pas  seut  with 
surprising  grace  and  aguity. 

Covered  with  honours,  and  flushed  with  the  applause  of 
his  fellow-countrymen,  the  father  of  Italian  song  was  not 
insensible  to  the  fascinations  of  literary  renown,  nor  deaf  to 
the  whisperings  of  glory ;  but  love,  the  most  exalted  and 
refined,  was  still  the  guiding  star  of  his  path  and  the  arbiter 
of  his  destiny.  He  has  left  us  the  avowal  himself,  in  that 
beautiful  record  of  his  inmost  feelings  which  he  has  entitled 
'*  Secretum  Francisd  Petrarch®,*'  where,  in  a  £mded  dia* 


THE   SO>'OS   OF   ITALY. 


351 


e  with  the  kindred  soul  of  St.  Augustin,  he  poure  forth 
e  fulness  of  hia  heart  with  all  the  Hincerity  of  imtiire  aud 
if  genius.  No  two  clerical  characters  seem  to  have  been 
endowed  by  nature  with  more  eiquiaite  aensibilities  than 
tlie  AfricBu  bishop  and  the  priest  of  Provence.  In  the  midst 
of  hia  triumph  iiia  thoughts  wandered  away  to  the  far- 
diitant  object  of  his  aiTection ;  and  his  mind  was  at  Vau- 
dose  while  the  giddy  throng  of  his  admirers  showered 
g&rlsnds  and  burnt  ineenae  around  his  person.  He  fondly 
"ictured  to  himaelf  the  secret  pride  which  the  ladye  of  his 
we  would  perhaps  feel  in  hearing  of  hia  fame ;  and  the 
turel  was  doubly  dear  to  him,  because  it  recalled  her  cher- 
ihed  name.  The  utter  bopelessneBs  of  his  passion  seemed 
0  shed  au  undefinable  hallowedneas  over  the  aensations  of 
B  heart ;  and  it  must  have  been  in  one  of  those  momenta 
(f  tender  melancholy  that  he  penned  the  following  graceful, 
mt  mysteriouB  narrative  of  a  supposed  or  real  apparition. 

dontUo. 


Fni  due  riciere  all'  ombrs  d'  im  alloro, 
Leriuido  1  aole  nlln  atngion  aoeFba. 
Ei«  ill*  ii»t«  ti  ^olce  gnportm, 

Cb'  i'  ksciai  per  aei^rla  ogni  Uroro  i 

Come  r  aTiLTO  che  'n  cercar  tesoro. 
Con  diletto  r  sfiaiiDO  diSBC^erbn. 
"  NEsetrjr  xn  Tocom,"  si  Ijd  ooUo  d'  inlomo 

Si<ritto  ncefii  di  dintiiBDti,  e  di  topnzj  ; 
*'  LlSEBA  fABio  *].  mo  Cesabb  pabtb." 

Ed  en  '1  aol  gi^  rolto  al  mezio  ^orno 

Qli  oFchi  nuei  «taiichi  di  mirar,  iion  aMi 
QoBDd'  ia  oaddi  nell'  aciiiiB,  ed  ells  gparve. 

lE^t  Ttdfoii  of  Sctrarra. 
m  with  Kcrot  awe — nor  ken  I  what  it  wbtdb  ; 
r,  a  jfcnUe  doe  it  seemed  with  silrer  homs. 

IB  atwid,  cloie  bj  a  wood  between  two  running  stn»nut 

Did  brightlj  shone  the  morning  sun  upon  thnt  land  of  droMn*  I 
The  p)ctur«t  hind  fanoj  designed  glowing  nilb  lote  uid  hop*] 
Onoetul  she  »tep^  Imt  diatant  kept,  like  (ho  timid  antelope 


Plajrfol,  yet  eoj — with  secret  joj  nor  ir 


ntlxi^ 


le  Hoft  inHue 


:cGUed 


e  of  iweet  oblivion  iloU. 


PBOUTB   EELIQTEB. 


Ootd  I  beheld  and  emerald  on  the  coUkr  tliat  she  vore ; 
Words  too — but  theirs  won)  charartBrB  of  legondii^  lore  : 

"  CKsai'fl  "Daut  fiaifi  macii  m>  iiic ;  ant  Ibco'  bia  col'inn  tbarat, 
Bnlsuiiiil]  be  mtn  o'tr  ()ill  anD  gltn  Jr  uanlKT  b<ri  at  large" 

The  «iin  had  now  with  radlnnt  brow  (iimbrd  his  roeridiau  thront^ 

Yet  atill  mine  eje  untiringly  gued  on  that  kirelj  one. 

A  Toice  WBB  heard — quiuk   diuppoared   m;  dream.       Tlie  apell  in 

bruki^D. 
Tlien  BuiDB  distreis — to  the  conecioiuneBB  of  life  I  had  awokml 

Still,  the  soul  of  Petrarca  was  ttt  time*  acceGsible  t 
sterner  impreasions.  The  call  of  patriotism  never  failed  t 
lind  u  reBponBive  echo  in  the  hretiat  of  Italy's  most  disti» 
guished  son ;  and  when,  at  the  death  of  Benedict  XIX, 
whiuh  occurred  at  thia  juncture,  there  arose  a  faToursble 
chance  of  serving  his  country,  by  restoring  the  papal  jw 
sidence  to  the  widowed  city  of  Eome,  he  eagerly  offered 
himself  as  one  of  the  deputies  to  proceed  to  Avignon  f<a 
the  accomjiltshment  of  this  wished- for  conaummntioa 
Whether  a  secret  anxiety  to  revisit  the  scetie  of  his  eu-lj 
affections,  and  to  enjoy  once  more  the  presenile  »f  his  mil 
Ij'esB,  may  have  mixed  itself  up  with  the  aspirations  c 
patriotiBm,  it  would  not  be  eaay  to  decide;  but  he  entere 
into  the  project  with  all  the  warmth  of  a  devoted  lover  a 
Italy.  His  glorious  dithyramb  to  that  delightful,  but  con 
quered  and  divided  land,  bo  often  (Quoted,  translated,  aiM 
admired,  is  sufficient  evidence  of  hia  sentiments:  but  bi 
Laa  taben  care  to  put  the  matter  beyond  doubt  in  bis  n 
gorous  pamphlet,  "Se  Libertate  capeasendA  Exbortatio  m 
JSicolaum  Laurentium."  This  "  Nieholaa"  waa  no  other  thai 
the  famouB  tribune  Cola  Bienzi,  who,  mainly  excited  by  tbi 
proae  as  well  aa  the  poetry  of  Petrorcai,  raised  the  ataadan 
of  independence  against  the  petty  tyrants  of  the  Et«nui 
City  in  1345,  and  for  a  briei'  acace  reacoed  it  from  thraldoq 

Poetry  is  the  nurae  of  freedom.  From  Tyrtieua  to  Bi 
ranger,  the  Muse  haa  befriendeii  through  every  age  the  cauM 
of  liberty.  The  pulse  of  patriotiara  never  beats  with  boldd 
throb  than  when  the  sound  of  martial  song  swells  in  the  tal 
chorus  of  manly  voices ;  and  it  was  in  a  great  meaaur«  thi 
rude  energy  of  the  "Marseillaise"  that  won  for  the  rogg» 
and  shoeless  grenadiers  of  the  Convention  the  Tictorie«  a 
Talmy  and  Jemmappe.      In  our  own  country,  Dibdin^ 


THE   BOTIOS   OF   ITALY.  353 

iutbI  odea,  fuU  of  inspiriting  thought  and  suhlime  imogeiy, 
have  not  a  little  contributed  to  our  maiataining  in  perilous 
times  the  disputed  empire  of  the  ocean  against  Napoleon. 
Never  was  a  pension  granted  with  more  propriety  than  the 
tribute  to  geoiua  voted  in  this  case  at  the  recomnieudation 
of  George  111. ;  and  I  suppose  a  similar  reward  has  attended 
the  authors  of  the  "Manners  of  England,"  and  "The  Battle 
of  Copenhagen."  As  we  have  come  inBensihly  to  the  topic 
of  maritime  minstrelsy,  I  imagine  that  a  specimen  of  the 
stufl'  sung  by  the  Venetian  eailors,  at  the  time  when  that 
Queen  of  the  Adriatic  reigned  over  the  waters,  may  not  be 
onintereeting.  The  subject  is  the  naval  victory  which,  at 
the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  broke  the  colossal  power 
of  the  Sublime  Porte ;  for  which  occurrence,  by  the  by, 
~  inly  mdebted  to  the  eiertious  of  Pope  Pius  V, 


Eurooewas 
and  tlie  proi 
shattered  in  the  m^l^. 


»  Miguel  Cervantes,  who  had  a  limb 


)3aT}rII(lta  Ba  tantai  pir  la  TtUoria  Hi  fttpanto. 

ti  BUegrameDts,  CaDtinm  pur  oUegnunente, 

FOrsb,  pulti  !  alt^Dlameute  Come  poi  ptb  deU?  centi 

.-  _  .  "li  [b  rovina  No  fur  prcae  wnto  ciJ  ollanti 

«  Sarocina  E  dei  morti  poi  Bosaaala 

Dmo  Ii«  Dio  A  forlemente.  Uila  e  piil  di  qualia  gante. 


ChodBm  tntti  all^inuiieiite, 
."  a  itwccio  ^  Hop  dragon' 

■  Oqiunnd  il  fronte  si  cmdel^ 
~         d  piii  driusri  Tele, 
1  DUT  ais  A  poesente. 

itiktn  tutti  lUfgnoieQte, 
Itam,  putti ' 
il  ladron  d 

~  ba  I'  Aqua-BolsB  roesa 
ao  noguo  di  utrpeiite. 

Chntiam,  putti  1  aUegniiDeiite, 
Di  tre  wi  d'  otto  e  di  venti 
OiIeoHe  e  altri  legui 
f%  il  tnetMto — o  Tiirahi !  Aegm 
I IM  fPSD  fnoco  otemaicente ! 


Cantiun  tutti  aUcgramente  { 
Ma  ben  duolmi  a  dir  ch'  i  nMtfi 
Fur  da  setle  loda  od  otto 
Iri  morti  (.e  '1  yet  uoto), 
Combatt«udo  audttoemcmte. 

Canliiun  tutti  aUegramente, 
Dopo  qnesti,  nltri  guerrieri 
Vendicar  coll'  anae  in  mano 
Quelli  e  il  nom  Chriitiaiio, 
Per  Tirlit  d'  Iddlo  elomonte. 

Cajiliaui  lutti  allegrameBtB ; 
Per  colol  vittorift  e  Innia, 
Doverommo  ogni  an  far  frftn, 
Per  cho  al  mondo  altra  che  qiir-I» 
Hon  ffi  mal  d'  alcuno  in  mnilo 


I  FATHEH   PnOUT  3   EEtHirzS. 

9(i|iular  BaUaB  on  tt)t  ISattlt  of  Irpanta. 

Let  u»  sing  how  the  bout  of  Ihe  Sorocini  boat 

In  the  gulf  of  Lepnnto  wu  acstlered. 
When  each  knight  of  Ht.  John's  froru  his  cannon  of  bnmM 

With  grapo-shut  their  ftreosira  bnttcrMl. 
Oh  I  we  taught  the  Turks  thtm  that  of  Europe  the  nun 

Oould  defy  eTery  inSdel  meiuce — 
And  that  Stall  O'er  the  main  Duat  llie  gallejB  of  Spun, 

And  the  red-Lion  gtandard  of  Venioe  ! 

Quiok  we  made  the  foe  sIcuDc,  at  we  bimed  at  each  bulk, 

While  the;  left  as  a  Bplin[«r  to  Gre  at ; 
And  the  rot  of  them  Bw  o'er  the  water*,  blood  red 

With  the  gore  of  the  Ottoman  pirate  i 
And  OUT  DBTy  gave  chaao  to  the  infidel  race, 

Nor  allowed  them  a  moment  to  mil;  ; 
And  ve  fomed  them  at  length  to  aokniwledge  our  (ttnngth 

In  the  trenoh,  in  the  lieid,  in  the  guile;  ! 

Then  oor  men  gare  a  ahoul,  and  the  ocean  tbroughoiit 

Heard  of  Cliristendom's  triumph  with  rapture. 
Oaleottcs  eighty-nine  of  the  enemy's  line 

To  our  swUl-sailing  ships  fell  a  eapture  : 
And  I  flnnlj  maintain  that  the  number  of  slun. 

To  at  least  sii^  thouiand  amounted  ; — 
To  be  sure  'twas  lad  work — if  the  life  of  a  Turk 

For  a  moment  were  worth  being  i<ounted. 

We  may  well  feel  elate ;  though  I'm  sornr  to  Itate, 

That  albeit  by  the  myriad  we've  slain  ^pio. 
Still,  the  vms  of  the  Cross  hare  to  wwp  for  the  lo«a 

Of  iii  thouiand  who  fell  by  the  Pnynim. 
Full  atonement  was  due  for  each  man  that  they  slew^ 

And  a  hecatomb  paid  for  eat^h  hero : 
Sut  could  all  that  we'd  kill  give  a  son  to  OMtilci. 

Or  to  Malta  a  brave  cavalMro  ! 

Bt.  Mark  for  the  slain  intercedes  not  in  Tain — 

Tliore'a  s  mass  at  each  altar  in  Vooice ; 
And  the  sninte  we  implore  for  the  faamier  they  bore 
Are  Our  Lady,  SI.  Georye,  and  St.  DtKig. 
For  the  brato  while  «o  griere,  in  oar  hearts  they  ahall  li»e — 

In  our  mouths  BhoJl  their  praise  be  inaeatont ; 
And  i^aiu  and  ugiun  we  will  boaat  of  tlie  nieu 

Who  haTo  humbled  the  pride  of  the  Crescent. 

The  VenetiauB  have    been  ever    remarkable  for    nnr-i 
taste ;  and  the  verv  bumbleBt  classes  of  aodetr 


THE    BO!IOS    OF   ITALT.  355 

them  exhibit  a  fondneas  for  the  great  maetera  tf  their  native 
language,  and  a.  fomiliaj^tr  with  the  glorious  efiusioiie  of  the 
nationd  genius,  quite  unknown  in  the  coireHponding  rank 
of  tradesmen  antl  artiaans  in  England.  Goldoni,  whu  nTOte 
in  their  own  dialect,  knew  the  sort  of  critics  he  had  to  deal 
with :  and  it  is  a  fact  that  the  most  formidable  judges  of 
dramatic  eicellence  at  the  theatres  of  Venice  were  the  gon- 
doliers. Addtfiou,  or  rather  Isdsc  BickerstaH',  tells  us  a 
droll  story  about  a  certain  trunkmaher,  who  stationed  him- 
self in  the  gallerjr  of  Drury  Lane,  and  wit!i  a  whaek  of  hia 
oaken  cudgel  ratified  the  success  or  confirmed  the  dowufol 
of  eofh  new  tragic  performance.  I  think  the  author  of  the 
"  Spectator"  must  have  had  the  original  hint  of  that  anec- 
dote during  hia  stay  at  Venice,  where  such  a  verdict  from 
such  a  quarter  was  a  matter  of  habitual  occurrence.  There 
is  great  delicacy  of  feeling  and  polish  of  eipresaion  in  the 
foUowing  ingenious  popular  barcaroile  of  Venetian  origin. — 
Hartafollt. 

"  Prithcp,    joung  fljhirmim,    conm 


Oh  pescator  deU'  ooda, 

Fidelin, 
Tiesi  peaivr  iu  qiiA 
CoUa  licllii  euu  bnri'A. 
CoUb  belln  te  ne  vo, 

Fidelin,  hn,  lA. 
Cha  COM  vuol  ch'  io  pes 

Fidflin, 
L'anel  che  m'  c  comb, 
CoUa  bells  ma  bariMi. 
Colls  brJia  se  no  IB,  &t. 
Ti  darft  cenW  MUiii, 

Pidelkn, 
Bta  boras  ricuna, 
CsJa  bells  eiift  baroit. 
Colli  belU  K  ue  t>,  &e. 
Kon  loelio  cenlo  aeudi, 

rideliu, 
m  boTM  ricanm, 
CoUa  b«IlB  BUS  bore*. 
Colk  bellfl  ie  ne  tt,  Sx. 
Io  TO  uo  biuiii  d'  Binore, 

OiB  quel  mi  paghera. 
Colls  beLlu  «ua  bocoo. 


Hitlier  thf  light  bark  bring  -, 

Bow  to  lliia  baul!,  and  trv  recovn 

JUj  treaeure — 'tie  a  ring !" 


His  bonujboiit  >oon  brought  her. 
And  pramised  Far  her  bi'nutj'a  aak? 
To  laaruh  beoeatli  tliu  waler. 

"  m  give  Ihce,"  laid  thp  ladj-e  fair, 
"  One  liundred  eequini  brighl. 

If  Io  mj  viUs  thou  wilt  bear, 
Fialier,  thai  ring  tO'iiight." 

"A  hundred  seqaina  I'll  refuse 

WhtTi  I  sbtdl  come  nt  cte  : 
But   thc^e   is   sometliing,    if  ;ou 

Lady,  that  jou  can  giTc !" 
Tlie  ring  was    found   beneath   llui 
flood  1 
Nor  need  mj  lay  record 
—    -  thai  lady's  cm  •^•■■ 

19  that  youlli'e 


358 


FATHSB   PBOUT's  BELIQTTXS. 


Ma  86  desperazione  Perhaps  you  are  not  so  besotted 

Mai  vi  togUesse  il  Imne  As  to  be  cutting  the  "  earoiid"-^ 

H  pill  yicino  flume  But  there's  the  horsepond ! — ^there,  odd 

Potete  ritrovar.  rot  it ! 

From  such  an  end  presenre  us! 

K  this  poet  Nicodemo  be  in  reality  what  I  siirmise  he  is, 
a  literary  renegade,  and  a  wretch  whose  yenal  lyre  gives 
forth  alternate  eulogy  and  abuse,  just  as  the  political  ther- 
mometer indicates  nse  or  fall,  I  should  deem  him  a  much 
fitter  candidate  for  the  "  horsepond"  than  either  Bony  or 
Joachim.  But,  alas !  how  many  sad  instances  haye  we  not 
known  of  similar  tergiversation  in  the  conduct  of  gent  de 
lettres  !  I  just  mentioned  Dryden,  commonly  denominated 
"  glorious  John,'*  and  what  a  sad  example  is  there  of  poli- 
tical dishonesty !  After  flattering  in  turns  Cromwell  and 
Charles  IL,  King  James  and  King  William,  he  died  of  a 
broken  heart,  deserted  by  all  parties.  In  his  panegyric  on 
canting  old  Noll,  it  would  seem  that  the  poet  was  at  a  loss 
how  to  grapple  with  his  mighty  subject,  could  not  discover 
a  beginning  to  his  praise :  the  perfect  rotundity  of  the 
theme  precluding  the  possibility  of  finding  commencement 
or  end : 

"Within  a  fame  so  truly  eiretiUtr/** 

But  turning  from  such  conceits,  and  from  courtly  writers, 
to  a  simpler  style  of  thought,  may  I  think  this  trifling,  but 
genuine  rustic  lay  worthy  of  perusal  ? — 

Can^onetta.  Stllage  dong. 

Son  povera  ragazza,  Husbands,  they  tell  me,  gold  hath  won 

E  cerco  di  marito ;  More  than  aught  else  beside  : 

Se  trove  buon  partito,  Gold  I  have  none ;  can  I  find  one 


Mi  vogHo  maritar. 

Ma  chi  sa  ? 

Chi  lo  sa  ? 
lo  cerco  di  marito, 
Se  lo  posso  ritrovar  ? 

To  faccio  la  sartora, 
Questo  b  il  mio  mestiero; 
Vi  dico  8*1  dawero, 
E  80  ben  travagiiar. 

Ma  chi  sa  ? 

Chilosa.' 
To  cerco  di  marito, 
6e  lo  posso  ritrovar  ? 


To  take  me  for  his  bride  ? 
Yet  who  knows 
How  the  wind  blows— 
Or  who  can  say 
m  not  find  one  to-day  ? 

I  can  embroider,  I  can  sew — 

A  husband  I  could  aid  ; 
I  have  no  dowry  to  bestow — ► 
Must  I  remain  a  maid  ? 
Yet  who  knows 
How  the  wind  blows — 
Or  who  can  say 
I'll  not  find  one  to-di^  ? 


Oik  d'  onni  Tentinnque 
Hi  troro  coti  sola, 
Vi  giuro  e  do  porola 
•m  »mtQ  tl  fin  manou-. 

UiichJtK? 

Chibtit? 


So  I  muet  be  resigned. 
Yet  who  knows 
Hob-  tho  wijid  blows — 
Or  who  con  aaj 
I'U  not  find  one  to-daj? 


I       tbe 


I   Se  lo  pottt>  ritroTsr } 

Simplicitj' IB  the  inseparable  companion  of  the  graces; 

id  the  eitreme  perfection  of  art  ia  to  conceal  itaelf  under 

guise  of  unstudied  negligence.     This  eicellence  is  only 

in,nunable  by  a  few ;  and  among  the  writers  of  ttotiquity  is 

most  remarkabie  in  the  pages  of  Xenophon,     Never  will 

true  ease  in  writing,"  which,  according  to  that  most 

^borate,  but  still  most  fluent  writer.  Pope,  "  comes  trom 

.  not  chance,"  be  acquired  otherwise  than  by  a  diligent 
^  idy  of  the  old  claBaita,  and  in  particular  of  what  Horace 
;calls  the  txemplaria  Graea.  Flaccus  himself,  tn  his  urtno 
j>edeilrit,  as  well  as  hiB  inimitable  lyrics,  has  given  ub  beaa- 
tiAil  specimens  of  what  seems  the  spontaneous  flow  of  im< 
studied  fimcy,  but  it  is  in  realitr  the  result  of  deep  thought 
And  of  constant  limx  labor.      Menzini,  the  author  of  the 

lowing  sonnet  on  a  vei^  simple  subject,  must  have  drunk 

iply  at  the  source  of  Grecian  elegance, 

il  Capro. 

Qael  capro  maledetio  ha  pmo  in  mo 
Oir  tri  le  Tile,  e  sempre  in  lor  s'impBccia : 
Deh !  per  farlo  suordar  di  eimil  traccia, 

Tagli  d'  un  eaaeo  tra  Is  Eoma  e  '1  muBO. 

Be  Bbcco  il  guats,  ei  ■cenderi  beo  giuso 
Da  quel  auo  carro,  a  Eni  le  tigri  allaccia ; 
PiCi  feroce  lo  adegno  oltre  si  cnotis 

Quand'  6  con  quel  auo  vin'  misto  e  conftiso. 

Fa  di  icsccisrla,  Ellpin ;  la  che  noQ  eteoda 
Muligno  il  dente  ;  e  piQ  nou  roda  in  relta 

L'  ure  nascDQti,  ed  il  lor  nume  olTenda. 

Di  lui  BO  ben  cli'  un  di  1'  alUr  1'  aipettA; 

Mb  Eacira  i  da  temer  ohc  BOcor  non  pronda 
Del  capro  ioBiemc  e  del  pastor  Teudetlo. 


860  FATHEB  FBOUT*S   BELIQTTES. 

G|)e  IntruTJer. 

There's  a  goat  in  the  yineyard !  an  unbidden  guest— - 

He  comes  here  to  derour  and  to  trample ; 
If  he  keep  not  aloof,  I  must  make,  I  protest, 

Of  the  trespassing  rogue  an  example. 
Let  this  stone,  whi(m  I  fling  at  his  ignorant  head, 

Deep  imprest  in  his  skull  leave  its  moral, — 
That  a  four-footed  beast  'mid  the  vines  should  not  troad, 

Nor  attempt  with  great  Bacchus  to  quarrel. 

Should  the  god  on  his  car,  to  which  tigers  are  yoked. 

Chance  to  pass  and  espy  such  a  scandal, 
Quick  he*d  mark  his  displ^wure — most  justly  provoked 

At  the  sight  of  this  four-footed  Yand^ 
To  encounter  his  wrath,  or  be  found  on  his  path. 

In  the  spring  when  his  godship  is  sober. 
Silly  goat !  would  be  rash ; — and  you  fear  not  the  lash 

Of  the  god  in  the  month  of  October  ! 

In  each  bunch,  thus  profaned  by  an  insolent  tooth. 

There  has  perish*  d  a  goblet  of  nectar  ; 
Fitting  vengeance  will  follow  those  gambols  unco  nth. 

For  the  grape  has  a  jealous  protector. 
On  the  altar  of  Bacchus  a  victim  must  bleed, 

To  avert  a  more  serious  disaster ; 
Lest  the  ire  of  the  deity  visit  the  deed 

Of  the  goat  on  his  negligent  master. 

It  is  no  part  of  my  code  of  criticism  to  tolerate,  under 
the  plea  of  simplicity,  that  maudlin,  emasculate  style  super- 
induced  among  the  Italians  by  their  language's  fatal  fertuity 
in  canorous  rhymes.  The  very  sweetness  and  melody  of  their 
idiom  is  thus  not  unfrequently  the  bane  of  original  thought 
and  of  forcible  expression  : 

Deh !  fosse  tu  men  bella,  o  almen  piii  forte ! 

"  Nug(B  canora  "  might  form  a  sort  of  running  marginal  com- 
ment on  almost  every  page  of  Metastasio ;  and  few  indeed 
are  the  passages  in  the  works  of  some  of  his  more  celebrated 
fellow-countrymen  which  can  bear  to  be  submitted  to  the 
test  of  translation.  This  experimental  process  will  ever  be 
destructive  of  whatever  relies  on  mere  euphonous  phrase- 
ology for  its  effect ;  and  many  a  favourite  Italian  effusion 
has  succumbed  to  the  ordeal.  I  would  instance  the  ''  Bacco 
in  Toscana  "  of  Eedi,  which  the  graceful  pen  of  Leigh  Hunt 


IHE   aOHQS  OF   ITALY, 


E.  vain  to  populuriBe  in  English.  So  true  it  is  that 
■an  compensate  for  a  lack  of  ideas — not  even  Delia 
^rascan  parlance  iBsning  from  fl  "  boeca  Rumana."  Lord 
ByroB  ("  Childe  Harold,"  iv.  38),  in  vindication  ofTasso 
from  the  sarcasm  of  a  Prench  critic,  denounces,  perhaps 
justly,  Gallia's 


I. 


Ffor  it  is  admitted  that  the  metallic  strings  he  thus  attributes 
to  the  French  instrument  cannot  vie  in  liquid  harmony  with 
the  softer  eal^ul  of  its  rival.  But  were  bis  lordship  snffici- 
eotly  courersant  with  the  poets  of  France,  he  would  perhaps 
find  that  tAe^  rarely  substitute  for  rational  meaning  mare 
empty  sound.  It  cannot,  on  the  other  hand,  be  denied,  that 
when  a  language  is  thoroughly  pen'adedwith  what  the  Greeks 
call  ifiMtriXtum,  running,  in  tact,  spontaneously  into  rhyme, 
^Xt  offers  manifold  temptations  to  the  inditing  of  what  are 
^^Mlled  "  nonsense  verses."  Like  the  beasts  of  old  entering 
^^BToah'a  Ark  tcco  and  two,  the  couplets  of  the  Italian  vereifier 
^Pmir  tbemselves  of  their  own  accord  without  the  least  trouble. 
But,  unfortunately,  one  of  the  great  recommendations  of 
riijme,  as  of  metrical  numbers,  to  the  intellect  is,  the  con- 
Sdousness  involved  of  a  di^cuUij  overcome  :  and  hence  pre- 
cisely waa  the  admiration  excited  by  the  inventive  lacul^  of 
the  poet  early  characterised  in  the  words  "  trouvere"  "  trouba- 
dour." from  "  trouver,"  to  "find."  If  there  be  no  research 
reijuiaile — if  the  exploit  be  one  of  obvious  facility — the  mind 
takes  no  interest  in  the  inglorious  pursuit,  which,  under 
SQcb  circum stances,  appears  flat  and  unmeaning.  A  genuine 
poet,  as  well  as  bis  reiser,  enjoys  the  mental  chase  in  pro- 
portion t-o  the  wild  and  untameable  nature  of  the  game.  In 
s  word,  Italian  "  bouU  rimi*  "  are  tar  too  easily  bagged:  the 
sportsman's  occupation  on  PamaaBua  becomes  an  effeminate 
pastime  ;  'tis,  in  iact,  mere  pigeon-shooting :  whereas  "  optat 
tgirum"  has  been  always  predicated  of  the  classic  hunter; 
1  Jemmy  Thomson  very  properly  observes,  that 

'  Poor  is  the  triuropli  o'er  the  timid  haro  I" 

An  ingenious  Frenchman  (the  Chevalier  de  la  Fnye),  in 
"  Apology"  for  the  supposed  difficulties  of  rliyme  in  our 


FATHER  PBOCT'S   SZLiqUES. 

Ciaalpm?  dialects,  maintains  the  theory  I  here  propound,  i 
eoiue  very  felicitous  lines,  where,  pointing  the  attention  0 
his  countryinen  to  the  numerous  jeta  d'eau  that  oraamer 
the  gardeoB  of  the  Tuileries,  VersailleB,  and  St.  ClourJ,  I 
Btepa  up  a  striking  paraDel,  not  leea  witty  than  true.  Tl 
atrophe  runs  thus  : — 

From  Ihe  rhynsa's  rwtricIiTB  rigour 

Thought  derirea  iU  impnlM  oft, 
Qcniua  draws  now  itrength  ondTigDIII 

Fane;  spriogB  and  aboota  tian. 
So,  in  leaden  oonduita  pent, 
Mitimts  Use  liquid  elemDiit, 

Bj  pressure  forced  to  dimb : 
And  he  who  feared  tlia  nile'i  rartMi) 
Finds  but  a  &iendl;  miiuitnuiC 
In  Bciuod'b  helpmate,  RsniK 


Db  la  contmiula  rigoureuso 
OJl  roaprit  aemble  rwerrS, 
II  nnjiuort  une  fonv  bcureUBfl 
Qui  I'^re  au  pliu  haut  digri, 
Telle  dsnB  dea  cniuui  prewife 
Atbo  plua  do  force  flanu^, 
L'onde  s'fl&Te  dnna  Im  airs, — 
El  lu  r^le  qui  semble  auatbe 
N'esl  igu'uD  art  plus  certain  de 

iMfpBTBbla  lies  beam  TBI*. 

I  must  add,  that  long  prcviotinly  the  same  doctrine  1 
been  included  by  the  grammarian  Vosaius,  in  his  tract  " 
Yiribus  Cantds  et  Rythmi,"  where  he  remarks,  "hde  ration 
non  ornalui  taiiliim,  ted  el  cerl/orum  contulilnr  copix."  Hend 
it  would  follow,  that  far  from  being  n  bar  to  the  birth  t ' 
genuine  poetry  among  the  Northerns,  the  difficulties  of  I 
ruder  idiom  only  give  an  impulse  to  the  exertion  of  tin 
faculty  itself,  and  a  relish  to  the  enjoyment  of  its  produ» 
tions.  It  becomes  sufficiently  obvious,  from  what  we  h 
laid  down,  that  restrictiona  and  ebackles  ore  the  very  eue: 
of  rhythmic  writing ;  by  devoting  himself  to  which,  the  po«t 
assumes,  of  bia  own  Iree  will,  the  situation,  of  "  ProtnetneQl 
vinctus ;"  and,  in  a  sijirit  akin  to  that  of  St.  Paul,  openlj 
profeases  his  predUeetion  for  "  these  bonds."  Proso  ma' 
rejoice  in  ita  Latin  designation  of  aolvla  oralio  ;  but  n  to 
luntary  thraldom  ia  the  natural  condition  of  poetry,  as  maj 
be  inferred  from  the  converse  term,  oralio  sfriela.  Tlie  It** 
lian  poet  is  distinguishable  among  bis  fellow-captives  by 
light  atrial  nature  of  bia  fetters ;  and  t>mi  tdolti  tai,y  bt 
applied  to  more  than  one  species  of  his  country'a  versincA> 
tion.  This  will  strike  any  one  who  takes  up  the  librtilo  ot 
an  opera.  Neverthelesa,  let  us  envy  not  the  smooth 
Sybarite  stanza,  nor  covet  the  facile  and  flowing  vocabularr,; 
nor  complain  of  the  wild  and  irregular  terminations  with 
which  we  have  to  struggle.     There  ia  more  dignity 


THE    BOSOS  OP   rTALT. 


B&rcl)  of  a  manlj'  barbarian  tban  in 

Ibp ;  and  fvith  all  the  cunibroua  i 

re  it  but  for  his  very  mode  of  bearing  the  chains,  a  Briton 
1  be  Btiil  admired  as  l)e  treads  the  paths  of  poetry : 


Epod-rii. 

I  shall  Dot  be  accused  of  travelling  out  of  the  record  in 
touching  incidentally  on  this  matter,  which,  indeed,  would 
jroperiy  require  a  special  disaertation.  But  to  return  to 
B>y  theme.  From  among  those  numerous  compoBitions  of 
prbich  the  "mooa,"  a  "nightingale,"  a  "grove,"  and  a 
P  lady's  balcony,"  form  the  old  established  ingredients  in  all 
inguages,  I  shall  select  the  following  Italian  specimen, 
""""*'",  if  it  present  little  novelty  of  invention,  has,  m  re- 
f,   decidedly  the  charm  of  sweetest  melody   of  ex- 


L  luicmuolotto  boIo 
Ts  da]aa  Bieiw  all'  omo 

Chaam  la  siu  lidel. 


GUu  che  U  eento  appcna 
Oul  Tien  di  frondik  m  troodi, 
B  p*r  ohe  gU  reaponds 
Non  piangere,  boq  quL 

die  Hold  nfi'etti,  o  Irene, 

Clie  gemiti  eon  quesCi ! 

Ah  1  nui  tn,  oon  mpoBti 

EUpoDdenni  coei. 


fl  dnrmaHr. 


Pale  to-night  is  tho  diu  of  the  moon,  and  of  aiuie  immiit 

Ii  the  bonn;  blue  sk;  it  liee  on  ; 
And  eilent  the  etrcaialet,  and  liiuhed  is  the  lepbjr,  and  Sxt 

Is  eat'ti  »tar  in  the  calm  horiaon  ; 
And  ^e  hamlet  is  lulled  to  repote,  and  all  nature  is  atill — 

How  Boft,  how  mild  her  alnmberB  ! 
'  naught  but  the  nightingale' a  note  ia  awake,  and  the  thrill 

Of  h'  

Hisi 

■t  renponsiyc  Mithera ! 
Zadj  I  li«t  to  the  Tocalist  I  doat  thou  not  envy  bis  love  1 
And  the  joya  hiB  male  will  grant  bim  t 


Of  hifl  sweetly  plaintive  numbers. 


864  FATHEB  PBOTJT'S  BELIQTfXS. 

Oh,  smile  on  thy  lover  to-night  1  let  a  transient  hope 

Ease  the  heart  with  sorrow  laden  : 
From  yon  balcony  ware  the  fond  signal  a  moment — and  ope 

Thy  casement,  fairest  maiden ! 

The  author  of  the  above  is  a  eertain  Vittorelli,  celebrated 
among  the  more  recent  poets  of  Italy  for  the  smooth  ame- 
nity of  his  Anacreontics;  of  which,  however,  I  regret  to 
say  that  many  are  of  a  very  washy  consistency,  generally 
constituting,  when  submitted  to  critical  analysis,  that  sort 
of  chemical  residuum  which  the  French  would  call  "  de  Veau 
elaire^  An  additional  sample  of  his  style  will  convey  a 
sufficient  notion  of  his  own  and  his  brethren's  capabilities 
in  the  sentimental  line :  but  ere  we  give  the  Italian  original 
with  our  "  translation,'*  it  were  advisable  to  attune  our  ear 
to  the  harmony  of  true  "  nonsense  verse,"  of  which  Dean 
Swift  has  left  mankind  so  famous  a  model  in  the  memorable 
ode— 

Fluttering,  spread  thy  purple  pinions. 

Gentle  Cupid  !  o'er  my  heart ; 
While  a  slave  in  thy  dominions, 

Nature  must  give  way  to  art. 

Mild  Arcadians !  ever  blooming, 

Nightly  nodding  o'er  your  flocks. 
See  my  weary  days  consuming, 

All  beneath  your  flowery  rocks. 

Gloomy  Pluto,  king  of  terrors ! 

Arm'd  in  adamantine  chains. 
Lead  me  to  the  crystal  mirrors 

Watering  soft  Elysian  plains. 

Mournful  cypress,  verdant  willow, 

Gilding  my  Aurelia's  brows ; 
Morpheus,  hovering  o'er  my  pillow. 

Hear  me  say  my  dying  vows  I 

Melancholy,  smooth  meander  ? 

Sweetly  purling  in  a  round  ; 
On  thy  margin  lovers  wander, 

All  with  flowery  chaplets  crowned— 

I.  e.  "  all  round  my  hat."     Now  for  Vittorelix. 


^     ^1 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Hlri^^^l 

^^^^r                                 THZ   BOKOS   OF   ITAXT.                                 365        1 

»l  Bonn  Hi  Wrotrt. 

C^r  eift  of  Vtmi. 

Cinta  le  bionde  chiome 

With  KBBB  wr™t!ied  around  hie  ringlets, 

Beik  uutlercH  rasa 

Steeped  in  drops  of  mntin  dew. 

Soil'  nlba  mgiadDBB, 

Gliding  soft  on  silken  winglets, 

Cupiil  to  my  study  flew  ; 

On  my  Ubte  a  decants- 

Whi^n  I  had  irith  the  enchflntar 

(Happy  biird  I)  this  intOTiew. 

B  coUs  dolM  boM* 

Sure  it  was  the  loveUest  Wiion 

MidisieiuariiilietB.— 

Ever  poet  gaied  upon — 

■■Chefugcntilpoola 

Kopt  in  e<'>ita»;  ElTsLiin, 

Or  inapired  by  cruii*™  Imun. 

jy  Itgaa  lodalorP" 

«  Foel,"  Mid  the  urchin.  »  (™  an 

So  for  favoured  among  men— 

Vi-nu.  t«n(ia  by  me  to  jou  her 

Quests  nei'OBS  peons 
Di  cigno  innnucolalc. 

"Take  lbi<  quill— 'tia  soft  and  slendo'. 

Bit  for  BTiting  Mkl,  ttotw, 

Sul  desco  fortmmto 

Fond  uvowak,  breathings  lender, 

lo  Uacio  iu  douo  n  to. 

Which  Iron^  may  peruse. 

'Tit  no  Tiilgar  acquisitioa — 

'Twas  from  no  goose  pinion  diKtm  ; 

Borrowed  from  her  (iTOurite  sfiin. 

8CTb»  U  wior,  geloM 

"  Sully  nob  the  lirgio  cBudour 

Of  ito  down  BO  wliite  and  rare  ; 

Hon  eede  il  euo  candor* 

Let  it  ne'er  bo  dipp'd  in  slander. 

C^e  a  quel  dells  lua  &. 

'Gainst  the  witty  or  the  fair. 

Lend  it  not  to  that  Fatlander 

Denny  Lafdner ;  nor  to  Watts 

{Eight  'AJaric  Jterandw'), 

Furnish  charlatans  and  aota." 

Wliat  a  difference  betw 

een  the  feeble  and  effeminate  tone 

of  thcBO  modem  effuBions,  and  the  bold,  manly,  and  fre.      ■ 

quently  sublime  eoDceptic 

ns  of  the  bards  who  wrote  in  the      fl 

golden  age  of  Leo  X.,  m 

ader  the  influence  of  that  magic      1 

century  which  gave  birth  to  Buch  a  crowd  of  eminent  per-      H 

Bonagea  in  all  the  walka  of  literature !     The  Dame  of  Michel      ■ 

artist ;  but  few,  perhaps,  will    be   prepared  to  make  his       ■ 

gives  me  satisfaction  to 

have  it  in  my  power  to  mtroduce      ■ 

the  illustrious  Buonarotti 

in  that  imeipected  character.              1 

806  FATHBB  PBOVT's  BILIQUXS. 


91  CxotiEiMo. 

CKunto  ^  gUi  il  corso  della  vita  mia» 
Per  tempestoBO  mar  con  fragil  barca, 
Al  oomun  porto,  ove  a  render  se  yarca 
Conto  e  ragion  d*  ogni  opra  tnste  e  pia. 
Ma  r  alta  affettuosa  fantasia, 

Che  r  arte  mi  fece  idolo  e  monarca, 

Canosco  or  ben  quanto  sia  d*  error  carca^ 
E  quel  che  mal  buo  grado  ognun  desia  j 
Oli  amorosi  pensier  gi^  yam  e  lieti 

Che  fien  or  s*  a  due  morte  m*  ayyicino  ? 

D'  uno  80  certo,  e  V  altra  mi  minaocia. 
N^  pinger  ne  scolpir  fia  piti  che  queti 

L'  anima  yolta  a  quel  amor  divino 

Che  aperse  in  croce  a  prender  noi  le  braccia. 

jKic^cl  angeto'tf  dTarebell  to  dculptuft. 

I  feel  that  I  am  growing  old — 
Mj  lamp  of  clay  !  thy  flame,  behold ! 
'Ctins  to  bum  low :  and  I've  unrolled 
My  life's  erentftil  volume ! 

The  sea  has  borne  my  fragile  bark 
Close  to  the  shore — now,  rising  dark. 
O'er  the  subsiding  wave  I  mark 

This  brief  world's  final  oolumiL 

Tis  time,  my  soul,  for  pensive  mood. 
For  holy  cabn  and  solitude ; 
Then  cease  henceforward  to  delude 

Thyself  with  fleeting  vanity. 

The  pride  of  art,  the  sculptured  thought, 
Vain  idols  that  my  hand  hath  wrought — 
To  place  my  trust  in  such  were  nought 
But  sheer  insanity. 

What  can  the  pencil's  power  achieve  ? 
What  can  the  chisel's  triumph  give? 
A  name  perhaps  on  earth  may  Uve, 
And  travel  to  posterity. 

But  can  proud  Rome's  Panth^n  tell, 

If  for  the  soul  of  Rafiaelle* 

Hu  glorious  obsequies  could  queU 

The  Judomskt-Ssat's  severity  ? 

*  Hb  body  was  laid  out  in  state  in  the  church  of  St  Mana  TMrrwdf 


Tet  wh;  should  Chriit'i  believer  fmr, 
Wliile  gsnng  on  yon  uiia((o  ilesr? — 
Inugii  adored,  timugrf  th«  encer 

Of  miBcrcant  bUsplicnicr. 

Are  not  those  imna  for  me  outspread  ? 
What  nieKU  tboie  thorns  upou  thj  bead? — 
And  gliHll  I,  vrpjitliud  with  laurels,  tread 

Far  from  tliy  paths,  Ksdecmer? 

Such  was  the  deeply  religious  toae  of  this  etninent  man's 

mind,  and  auch  tlie  genuine  cuiscSiia.  of  Micliel  iVngelo.     An 

unfeigned  devotedneaa  to  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  and 

ft  proud  eousciousaees  of  the  dignity  which  the  avowal  of 

tlioee  feelin^B  ie  calculated  to  confer  in  the  view  of  every 

rieht-minded  person,  are  traitB  of  character  which  we  never 

iail  to  meet  in  all  the  truly  great  men  of  that  period.  Dant«, 

I  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Taaao,  EafTaelle,  Sannazar,  Bembo,  Bru- 

I  seUeschi,  and  a  host  of  imperisliahle  names,  bear  witness 

rtothei  correctneas  of  the  remark.      Nor  is  Pctrarca   defi- 

I  dent  in  this  outward  manifeatation  of  inward  piety.     The 

I  death  of  Laura  forms  a  marked  epoch  in  his  biography; 

f  and  the  tendency  of  his  thoughts,  from  that  date  to  tne 

f  liour  of  Ilia  death,  appears  to  hare  been  decidedly  religious  : 

■  Awl  the  soft  quiet  hamlet  where  he  dwvlt 

H  Wm  one  of  that  coinpUiioii  wtiich  aofmed  madii 

H  For  one  nho  his  mortnlitj  had  felt, 

B,  Aud  souijht  s  refuge  man  liis  hopes  decnfed. 

V  Chitde  Harold,  iv.  32. 

^Hie  recollection  of  the  departed  only  gave  additional  inten- 
^Bf  to  the  fervour  of  devotion :  and  those  exquisite  sonnets, 
^■Ic  vhich  he  has  breathed  the  pious  sentiments  of  bis  soul, 
^Bfenk  among  the  most  finished  productions  of  his  muse ; — 
^KBtriking  exemplification  of  the  incontestable  truth,  that 
Hpe  poet  who  would  suppress  all  reference  to  Christian  feel- 
^Eig  oas  votuutarily  broken  the  finest  chord  of  hia  lyre. 
^UUro,  spirituulised  into  au  angelic  essence,  still  visits  his 
r  nocturnal  visions,  to  point  the  way  to  that  heaven  of  which 
I  ahe  is  a  dweller,  and  to  excite  him  to  deeds  worthy  of  a 
LliIeaBed  immortality.     The  opening  stanza  of  one  ot  these 

HUe  Panthton),  whither  all  Rome  flocked  to  honour  the  illuslriotis  dead. 
^Ei  lait  uid  most  glorious  work,  "the  TranBitgumtion,"  was  placed 
^Bbove  his  tiier )  irhiJe  Ldo'«  pontiQcal  hand  strewed  Uamen  and  burnl 
^■MRiaa  o'w  tlie  mid  remaiiu  of  departed  ^al\a.—Li/t  nf  RaffatUt, 


868  7ATHEB  pbovt'b  bsliqitsb. 

B0ii£;8,  which  form  the  second  part  of  the  collection,  (thus 
distinguished  from  those  written  during  the  lifetime  of  his 
beloved,)  will  suffice  as  a  specimen  of  the  tone  that  per- 
yades  them  all. 

Canzone  tropo  (a  fHorte  tri  9onna  Eaura. 

Quando  il  soaye  mio  fido  confoito. 

Per  dar  riposo  alia  mia  vita  stanoa, 

Ponsi  del  letto  in  su  la  sponda  manca 
G>n  quel  buo  dolce  ragionare  accorto ; 
Tutto  di  pietk  e  di  paura  smorto 
"Dico  "  Onde  vien  tu  ora,  o  felloe  alma  ?" — 

Un  ramoscel  di  palma 
E  un  di  lauro  trae  del  suo  bel  seno ; 

E  dice : — "  Dal  sereno 
Ciel  empireo,  e  di  quelle  sante  parti. 
Mi  moesi ;  e  vengo  sol  per  consolarti,*'  &c.  &o. 

Setrarca'tf  Bream. 

(After  the  Death  of  Laura.) 

She  has  not  quite  forgotten  me  ;  her  shade 

My  pillow  still  doth  haunt, 
A  nightly  visitant, 
To  soothe  the  sorrows  that  herself  had  made : 

And  thus  that  spirit  hlest, 
Shedding  sweet  influence  o'er  my  hour  of  res^ 
Hath  healed  my  woes,  and  all  my  lore  repaid. 

Last  nighty  with  holy  cahn, 

She  stood  before  my  view, 

And  from  her  bosom  drew 
A  wreath  of  laurel  and  a  branch  of  palm  : 

And  said,  **  To  comfort  thee, 
O  child  of  Italy ! 
From  my  immortal  home, 
Petrarca,  1  am  come,"  &c.  Ac. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  career,  when  the  vanity  of  all 
earthly  affection  became  still  more  palpable  to  his  under- 
standing, there  is  something  like  regret  expressed  for  having 
ever  indulged  in  that  most  pardonable  or  all  human  weak- 
nesses, the  hopeless  and  disinterested  admiration  of  what 
was  virtuous  and  lovely,  unmixed  with  the  grossn^ss  of 
sensual  attachment,  and  unprofaned  by  its  vulgarities.  Still, 
he  felt  that  there  was  in  the  pursuit  of  that  pleasing  illusioD 


THE   SOSGS   OF   ITA£T.  3(39 

ometbing  iinwortliy  of  hia  profeasion  ;  and  he  has  r&;orded 
is  act  of  ccmtrition  in  the  followiog  beautiful  lines,  witli 
RrMch  I  close : — 

r  TO  pisQgendo  I  miei  puwti  tempi, 

I  qu&i  poai  in  umu-  coaa  mortole 

8»au  Jerarmi  a  rolo,  aTeud'  lo  i'  tie, 
Fer  dar  tone  di  mo  nou  liuaei  a^rapi. 

Tu,  ehe  xedi  i  mini  mali  indegni  ed  empi, 

Ee  del  ciclo  inTuibile,  immortHlBi 

Soooorri  aU'  alm&  disvista  e  fnle, 
E  'I  auo  difetto  di  tua  paiia  udempi  i 

Si  che,  e'  io  riisi  in  guerra  ed  in  temperts, 

Mori  iu  pace  ed  ia  parCo  ;  e  bb  la  itaiiia 
Fu  vans,  Jiuen  eia  la  parlita  oowla. 

A  quel  poco  di  ricer,  die  m'  arsma 
Sd  al  morir  degni  eaaer  tua  man  presto  ; 


Cf](  £t(ptntanit  of  Pttrarca. 

Bright  daj«  of  suauj  joulh,  irrerooible  jean 
Poric>d  of  roanliood'e  prime 
er  thee  I  ahed  >ad  but  unprofitable  teare — 

X«apBe  of  retuml««H  time : 
1 !  I  have  east  avta;,  like  ao  mucb  worthleat  drogi. 
Hours  of  most  precious  ore — 
Bleat  hours  I  could  lisTe  coined  for  heaven,  jour  loia 
For  erer  I'U  deplore  1 

CoDtrila  I  kneel,  O  Qod  inacrutible,  lo  thee^ 

High  heaveo'B  iounortiLL  King! 
Thou  eiiTest  me  s  soul  Ibst  U>  thj  bosom  free 

Might  soar  on  B««ph  niug  : 
At;  mind  «ith  gifts  and  grace  th;  bounty  had  endowed 

To  cherish  Thee  aJooe — 
Tlioaa  gilta  I  have  abused,  this  heart  I  bare  oUoircd 

lis  Maker  to  disown. 

But  Irom  his  wanderings  reolaimed,  with  full,  with  throbbing  heart 

Thj'  truant  has  returned ; 
Oh !  be  tlie  idol  and  the  hour  that  led  him  to  depart 

From  Thee,  for  ever  mourned. 

If  I  hBTe  dwelt  remote,  if  I  hare  loved  the  tents  of  guilt — 

To  th;  fond  arms  restored. 
Hen  let  me  die  t     On  kIiodi  can  di;  eternal  hopes  be  built, 

SiTB  fstos  Tbieb,  0  LoBn ! 


370  FATHSB  PBOVT'S  BJBUQrXS. 


Q  THE  SONGS  OF  HOBACR 


DECADX  THB  FIBST. 
ANn  TUN  nOTAMflN  lEPHN  XaPOTSI  lUFAI. 

EUBIFID.,  AfMltOU 

*'  Quis  sub  AitOTO 

Rex  gelids  metuatur  oro 
Quid  Tiridatem  terreat,  unioe 
SeouruB  est  qui  F0in?iBU8  dttegbib 

Qaudet." — Lib.  i.  ode  xxvL* 

Deeminff  it  wasteful  and  ridiculous 

To  watcn  Don  Carlos  or  Czar  l^icholas — 

Sick  of  our  statesmen  idiotic — 

Sick  of  the  knaves  who  (patriotic) 

Serve  up  to  clowns,  in  want  oipratiei, 

"  Bepale'*  and  **  broken  Limerick  traties,** 

With  whom  to  grudge  their  poor  a  crust  ia, 

To  starving  LreLmd  "  doing  justice**— 

Sick  of  the  moonshine  called  *'  munieipal^*' 

Blamej  and  Bice«  Spain  and  Mendiz&b&l, 

Shiel  and  shilelahs,  '<  Dan**  and  '*  Maurice,** 

Pbout  turns  his  thoughts  to  Rome  and  Hosacs. — O.  Y. 


**  Chassons  loin  de  ches  nous  tons  ces  rats  du  Pamasae, 
Jouissons,  ^crivons,  vivons  avec  Horace.** — ^Yolt.,  fyiiret. 

Fbom  the  ignoble  doings  of  modem  Whiggery,  sneaking  and 
dastardly  at  home,  and  not  very  digmned  abroad — firom 
Melboume,t  who  has  flung  such  unwonted  dclat  round  the 
premiership  of  G-reat  Britain  {addens  eornua  paupert),  and 
Mulgrave,  who  has  made  vulgarity  and  ruffianiam  the  sup- 
porters of  a  vice-regal  chair  (Regis  Rupilipus  atque  9enenwtC)yX 

*  Russia  was  already  in  for  war  thus  earlv. 

t  Trial,  Hon.  G^rge  Chappie  Norton  pertut  Melbourne. 

X  Lord  Normanby  was,  at  this  date  (1836),  letting  loose  all  the  jail* 
biids  and  ribbonmen  in  Ireland.  He  has  since  come  out  in  the  cha- 
racter of  Polonius  at  the  courts  of  Florence  and  Modfloa. 


is  allowable  to  tora  aside  for  a  transient  glimpse  at  the 
uguatan  age,  when  the  premier  was  MiecennB,  and  tlie  pro* 
consul,  Agnppa.  The  poetic  seoae,  nauseated  with  the  effu. 
Bions  of  Lord  Lansdowne's  tamily-piper,  finds  relief  in  com- 
muning with  Horace,  the  refined  and  gentlemanly  Laureate 
of  Boman  Toryism.  In  hia  abhorrence  of  the  "profane 
Bodicalmob"  (lib.iii.  ode  i.) — in  hia  commendation  of  virtue, 
"  refulgent  with  uncootarainated  honour,  because  derived 
from  a  steady  refusal  to  tuke  up  or  lay  down  tlie  emblems  of 
authority  at  popular  dictation  "  (lib.  iii.  ode  ii.) — in  hia  por- 
trutureof  the  Just  Man,  undismayed  by  the  frenzied, ardour 
of  those  who  would  force  on  by  clamour  depraved  measures 
rtib.  iii.  ode  iii.)  need  we  say  how  warmly  we  participate  ? 
That  the  wits  and  aagea  who  shed  a  lustre  on  that  imperiai 
court  should  have  merged  all  their  previous  theories  in  a 
rooted  horror  of  agitators  and  taiisculottei,  was  a  natural 
result  of  the  intellectual  progress  made  since  the  unlettered 
epoch  of  &£ariuB  and  the  Gracchi.  In  the  bard  of  Tivoli,  who 
hkd  foueht  under  the  insurrectionary  banners  of  Brutus,  up 
to  the  day  when  "  the  chins  of  the  unshaven  demagogues 
were  brought  to  a  level  with  the  dust "  (lib.  ii.  ode  vii.)  Tory 
principles  obtained  a  diatinguiahed  convert ;  nor  ia  there  any 
|knce  of  mere  aubserviency  to  the  men  in  power,  or  any  evi- 
°  nee  of  insincerity  in  the  record  of  hia  political  opinions. 

The  Georgian  era  has,  in  common  with  the  age  of  Augus- 
tna,  eihibited  more  than  one  Btrikin|;  example  of  salutary 
resipisceuce  among  those  who  started  in  life  with  erroneous 
principles.  Two  eminent  instances  just  now  occur  to  us ; 
Southey  among  the  puets,  Burke  among  the  illustrious  in 
prose  ;  though,  perhaps,  the  divine  gilt  of  inspiration,  av- 
COmDonied  with  true  poelie  feeling,  was  more  largely  vouch- 
safed to  the  antagonist  of  the  French  Bevolution  than  to  the 
author  of  Rndtriek,  Ihe  lait  of  the  Galhs.  What  can  be  more 
apposite  to  the  train  of  thought  in  which  we  ore  indulg- 
ing and  to  the  actual  posture  of  afiaira,  than  the  follow- 
ing exquisitely  conceived  passage,  in  which  the  sage  of 
Beaconetield  contrasts  the  respective    demeanour  and  re- 

rcea  of   the  two  parties   into  which  public  opinion  is 

ided  ? 
When  I  assert  any  thing  concerning  the  people  of  Eng- 

'    I  speak  from  observation,  and  from  the  experience  [ 


^p^princij 
^Mnce< 

^    The 


PBOtT  a   BSlIQUIiB. 


L  a  prclty  extensive  comiiiuiu cation  with  tb6  il 

if  this  kingdom,  begun  jii  early  lite,  And  coutinut 


i'riim  certain  publicationa.  The  vanity,  restle. 
petulance  of  those  who  hide  their  intrinsic  w«d(nesa  i 
bualle,  and  uproar,  and  puffing,  and  mutual  quotation  i 
each  other,  make  you  imagine  that  the  nation'e  contemptq 
oiiB  neglect  is  a  mark  of  acquieacence  in  their  opinions.  I?i 
Hueh  thing,  I  assure  you !  Because  half-a-dozen  gnusliop 
pera  under  a  fem  make  the  field  ring  with  their  iuiportunoti 
chink,  while  thousanda  of  gre«t  cattle,  reposing  uuder  tb 
shadow  of  the  British  oak,  chew  the  cud  and  are  ailent,  pttt 
do  not  imagine  that  those  who  make  the  noise  ore  tb«  on^ 
inhabitants  of  the  6eld." 

It  is  right,  however,  in  common  fairness  towards  Hana(| 
to  remark,  that  while  fighting  in  bia  juvenile  days  undM"  tbi 
banners  of  Brutus,  even  then  he  never  for  a  moment  con 
temptated  Mob-oscendency  in  Eome  as  the  ultimate  reent 
of  hiB  patriotic  efforts.  Like  Cato  and  TuUy.  in  the  part  bl 
took  he  merely  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Senate  in  opp« 
sition  to  that  of  a.  frensied  rabble,  rushing  on,  with  swinid 
desperation,  to  political  suicide  ;  for  in  that,  as  in  every  aM 
the  deluded  multitude,  in  bis  view,  was  sure  to  become  M 
dupe  of  some  designing  and  knavish  demagogue,  uiUei 
rescued,  in  very  despite  of  itself,  br  such  interposition  a 
the  "  Sbnatorb  "  could  exercise  in  Borne ;  or,  we  may  add 
the  "  Basos's  "  in  England :  both  the  hereditary  guardioni 
of  liberty.  When  the  adhesion  of  the  comcript /alkert  had 
sanctioned  the  protectorate  of  Augustus,  the  trauaition  tc 
openly  Conservative  politics,  on  the  poet's  part,  was  ■ 
honourable  as  it  was  judicious.  The  contempt  he  fett| 
through  his  whole  career,  for  the  practice  of  propitiating  Ibi 
sweet  voices  of  the  populace  by  a  surrender  of  principtc,  ii 
as  plainly  discoverable  throughout  the  whole  of  bis  Taria 
writings  as  his  antipathy  to  garlic,  or  his   ubhorrieDce  a 

Uis  little  volume  contains  the  distilled  quinteasenoe  Ci 
Roman  life,  when  at  its  very  acme  of  retinemeot.  It  is  thd 
most  perfect  portraiture  (cabinet  sine)  that  remains  of  thl 
social  habits,  domestic  elegance,  and  cultivated  intercourM 
of  tbe  capital,  at  the  most  interesting  period  of  its  p 


THE   80N0a   OF   HOBAOE. 


873 


Tity.     But  the  philosophy  it  inculcates,  and  the  worldly 
*    n  it  imfolUs,  is  applicable  to  all  times  aud  all  countries. 
Hence,  toe  cannot  sj-mpathiae  with  the  somewhat  childish 

S3  say  the  least  of  it)  diataete,  or  indisposition,  evinced  by 
e  immortal  pilgrim,  Harold  (canto  iy.  at.  Iiiv.),  for  those 
ever-enduring  lyrics  that  formed  the  nouriahment  of  our 
intellect,  ''when  (Jeorge  the  Third  was  king."  The  very 
affectation  of  alluding  to  the  "  drilled,  dull  leBSon.  forced 
downward  for  word,  in  his  repugnant  youth,"  proves  the 
*  of  Harrow  on  the  Hill  to  have  reliehed  and  recol- 
l  the  almoat  identical  lines  of  the  author  he  feigns  to 
remember — Carmiiia  Livi  memini  flaoosuu  miAi  parvu 
fiiiUmra  diclare  (Epiat.  li.  70.) ;  and  (though  Peel  may  have 
asBiduoua  scholar)  we  can  hardly  believe  the 
beauties  of  Horace  to  have  heen  lost  on  Byron,  even  in  his 
earliest  hours  of  idleneas.  It  ia  d-propot  of  Mount  Soracfal, 
on  which  he  Btumbles  in  the  progress  of  his  peregrination, 
■  '(bat  the  nnble  poet  venta  his  "  fixed  inveteracy"  of  hatred 
kv^^i"^^  '^  ^o^  which,  at  the  some  time,  he  estola  in  terma 
"lot  less  eloquent  thau  true  : 

"  ThcTi  fnrtwell,  HoRacb  !  •rhom  I  hated  *o  j 
Not  for  thy  faults,  but  minel     It  is  a  curw 

To  undentand,  Dotjiel,  thj  Ijrio  flow. 
To  coroprBliend,  but  never  love,  thy  vent, 
AltJioiigh  no  deeper  moralist  nbearie 

Our  little  lifo,  nor  bard  prescribo  his  art. 
Nor  livelier  Bstiriat  tbe  conscience  pierce, 

Awakening  without  wounding  the  tourlicd  heart. 

FABEwmu. !  npan  SoracU'a  ridge  wb  fabi  V 

I  "We  can  readily  imagine  the  comic  nature  of  such  a 
•  parting-"  We  picture  in  our  laind'a  eye  him  of  Newstead 
nubey  bidding  him  of  the  Sabine  farm 

"  Farewell  I — a  word  that  fans  been,  and  ahall  be  i" 
rhile  we  fancy  we  can  hear  the  pithy  "  Bon  voyage,  railar," 
ith  which  significant  formula  (m  Latin)  he  is  gently  dis- 
limed  by  the  weeping  Floccus^aajijuon  ytXaifiM. 
Pbopt  was  not  addicted  to  this  aristocratic  propensity  for 
cutting  all  school-hoy  acqunintances.  In  him  was  atrikuigly 
flxempufied  the  theory  which  attributes  uncommon  intonsity 
id  durableoeas  to  first  attachments:  it  is  generally  ap- 


[ 


374  fathxb  PBorT*s  beliqueb. 

plied  to  loTe ;  he  carried  the  practice  into  the  liaisoKs  of 
literature.  The  odes  of  Horace  were  his  earliest  mistresses 
in  poetry  ;  they  took  his  fancy  in  youth,  their  fasdnatioDs 
haunted  his  memory  in  old  age— 

"l'on  ssyiskt  toujoubs 

J    S£8  PBEMliBES  AKOTrBS." 

Most  of  the  following  papers,  forming  a  series  of  Hon- 
tian  studies,  were  penned  in  Italy,  often  on  the  yery  spots 
that  gaye  hirth  to  the  e£Pusions  of  the  witty  Boman ;  hut  it 
appears  to  haye  afforded  the  Father  considerable  satisfaction 
to  DC  able,  in  the  quiet  hermitage  of  his  hill,  to  redigestand 
chew  the  cud  of  whateyer  might  hayebeen  crude  and  unmatured 
inhis  juyenile  lucubrations.  He  seems  to  haye  taken  an  almost 
equal  interest  in  the  ¥rriters,  the  glories,  and  the  monuments 
of  Paoak  as  of  Papal  Borne :  there  was  in  his  mental  yi- 
sion  a  strange  but  not  unpleasant  confiision  of  both ;  the 
Vaticani  montis  imago  (lib.  i.  20)  forming,  in  his  idea,  a  sort 
of  bifurcated  Parnassus — St.  Peter  on  the  one  pesic,  and 
Jupiter  on  the  other.  Mr.  Pojnder  has  ¥rritten  a  tract  on 
this  supposed  "  alliance  between  Popery  and  Heathenism"  which 
Dr.  ^N  I3EMAN,  in  these  latter  days,  has  thought  worthy  of 
a  pamphlet  in  reply.  The  grayity  of  the  question  deters 
us  from  entering  on  it  here ;  but,  to  reconcile  the  matter, 
might  we  not  adopt  the  etymological  medius  terminHs  of  Dean 
Swift,  and  maintain  that  Joye — Z«u;  ^arri^,  or  Sospiter — was 
nothing,  after  aU,  but  the  Jew  Petee  ? 

We  are  not  without  hopes  of  finding,  among  Prout's  mis- 
cellanies, an  elaborate  treatise  on  this  yery  topic.  Hie  French 
possess  a  work  of  infinite  erudition,  called  VHistoire  verita- 
ble des  Tems  Fabtdeus,  in  which  the  Illu)  is  shewn  to  be  an 
arrant  plagiarism  from  the  three  last  chapters  of  the  Book 
of  Judges ;  the  Leyite's  wife  being  the  prototype  of  Helen, 
and  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  standing  for  the  Trojans.  Wit, 
says  Edmund  Burke,  is  usually  displayed  by  finding  points 
of  contact  and  resemblance;  judgmekt,  or  discriminationy 
generally  manifests  itself  in  the  faculty  of  perceiying  the 
points  of  disagreement  and  disconnexion. 

But  it  is  high  time  to  resume  our  editorial  seat,  and  let 
the  Father  catch  the  eye  of  the  reader. 


THE    BONQS  OF   HOBACE.  375 

*  Willi  £uns  discourse  ibe  ereniDg  ao  tbej  paue. 
For  that  olde  man  of  pleasaunte  vtordes  hiul  itore^ 

And  well  could  file  bit  tongue  sa  smoolhe  U  gla«e  ; 
He  tolde  of  Minted  and  popes,  and  erermore 
He  Btrowed  an  Avb-MabY  after  and  befure." 

Fairy  Qimnr,  canU]  L  Blanu  85. 
At^nif  Sirtet,  June  2111. 

OLIVER  TOBKB. 

D  BAH  ATI  S  PXKSOITiE. 

I.  Pbou;.  H.  Aa  EUeeir.  \2Tho.  111.  J  Jug  of  Punch,  ito. 
SoESB . — TFa  lergrait/itU. 
Here's  a  hei»lth  to  Hobace!  "  Vivi  la  I"  Songater  of 
TiTOM,  who  alone  of  all  the  tuneful  dead,  alone  of  Greek 
and  Boman  wits,  may  be  said  to  lite.  If  to  be  quoted  and 
requoted,  until  every  superficial  inch  of  thy  toga  ha.9  become 
(from  quotatiou)  threadbare,  constitute  perpetuity  of  poetical 
eiiBtence,  according  to  the  theory  of  Etinius  {votito  vivu'per 
ora  virum.)  Buch  ilfb  has  been  pre-eminently  vouchsafed  to 
tliee.  In  the  cirele  of  thy  comprehensive  philoBophy,  few 
thin^  belonging  to  heaven  or  earth  were  unoreamt  of;  nor 
did  it  escape  thy  instinctive  penetration  that  in  yonder  brief 
tome,  short,  plump,  and  tidy,  like  its  artificer,  thou  badst 
erected  a  monument  more  durable  than  brass,  more  perma- 
nent than  an  Irish  "  bound  towbb,"  or  a  pyeamid  of  King 
Cheops.  It  was  plain  to  thy  intuitive  ken,  that,  whatever 
mischance  might  befidl  the  beavier  and  more  massive  pro- 
ductions of  ancient  wisdom,  thy  lyrics  were  destined  to  out- 
live tbem  all.  That  though  the  epics  of  VAKirs  might  be 
lost,  or  the  decades  of  Livr  desiderated,  remotest  posteritj 


would  possess  thee  (like  the  stout  of  Barclay  and  Perkins) 
"  BSTiHE"^wou]d  enjoy  thy  book,  undocked  of  its  dui 
portions,  uncurtailed  of  a  smgle  page — would  bask  i 


rays  of  thy  genius,  unshorn  of  a  single  beam.  As  often  as 
the  collected  works  of  other  classic  worthies  are  ushered 
into  the  world,  the  melancholy  appendage  on  the  title-page  of 

"  Omnia  qua  nlwnl " 
is  sure  to  meet  our  eye,  reminding  us,  in  tae  very  announce- 
ment of  the  feost  of  intellect,  that  there  is  an  amnri  aliquid  ; 
Tiz.,  that  much  entertaining  matter  has  irretrievably  perished. 


876  FATHER  PROHT'B   BZUQCF8. 

The  lorto  of  tlie  Belvidere  is,  perhaps,  as  for  bk  it  goes,  BUpa> 
riortothiiApoHo;  but  ibe  latter  is  a  complete  statue:  sGreen* 
wich  pensioner  with  a  wooden  leg  ia  though  a  nsp<M:tat>lo 
only  a  truncated  copy  of  humanity.  Thy  IJSS.  have  coins 
down  to  U8  uamutilated  by  the  [lumice-BtoDe of  palinip«e«tie 
monk,  unaiuged  by  the  torch  ot  Calif  Omar,  un^Dawpd  by 
the  tooth  of  Time.  The  perfect  preeervation  of  thy  writi] 
ia  only  equalled  by  the  universality  of  their  diffuaioa — i 
point  especially  dwelt  on  in  that  joyously  geograpliic  rhapBod] 
of  a  prophetic  soul  (lib.  ii,  ode  20),  wherein  thou  poui 
fortii  thy  full  anticipation  of  oecumenic  glory-  If  tbou  en 
hardly  be  said  still  to  haunt  the  "  shores  of  the  Bospfaorua,'' 
take  "  Oxfoed"  as  a  literal  substitute ;  though  disappointed 
of  fame  among  the  "  remote  Greloni,"  thou  bast  an  equiy^ 
lent  in  the  million  schoolboys  of  South  Ajuerica.  Should' 
the  "learned  Iberian"  chance  to  neglect  thee  amid  tht 
disasters  of  his  country,  hangine  up  thy  forsaken  tyre  on  thA 
willows  nf  the  Guadalquiver — should  they  "  who  drink  tha 
Rhone"  divide  their  atfectioas  between  (thy  brother  bard) 
B^rangerond  thee,  thou  mayest  still  count  among  " 
Dacians"  of  the  Danube  admirers  and  commentators.  Thoit 
bast  unlooked-for  votaries  on  the  Hudson  and  the  St.  Law- 
rence ;  and  though  Bums  may  triumph  on  the  Tweed,  ToiQ 
Moore  can  never  prevent  thee  from  being  paramount  oa  tin 
Shannon,  nor  Tom  D'Urfey  evict  thee  from  supremacy  on" 
Thames.  In  accordance  with  thy  fondest  aspiration,  tl 
hast  been  pointed  out  na  the  "  prime  performer  on  the  ] 
man  lyre,"  by  successive  centuries  as  they  passed  am., 
(diffito  prater eunliuiii)  :  the  dry  skeleton  of  bygone  critician 
hung  up  in  our  libraries,  so  designates  thee  with  ita  bonf 
index :  to  thee,  Pbikci:  of  Lviiic  Poets  !  is  still  directed 
in  these  latter  days,  albeit  with  occasional  aberrations  {Jot 
even  the  magnetic  needle  varies  under  certain  influences)) 
the  ever-reverting  finger  of  Fame. 

Here,  then,  I  say,  is  a  health  to  Hoeack  '.  Tlioueh  tbft 
last  cheerful  drop  m  my  vesper-bow!  to-night  be  well-nigh 
drained,  and  the  increasing  feebleness  of  age  reminds  niS 
too  plainly  that  the  wafers  are  ebbing  fast  in  my  CIcpaydn 
of  bfe,  still  have  I  a  blessing  in  reserve — a  beuistm  to  bestow. 
on  the  provider  of  such  intellectual  enjoyment  as  y 
volume  has  ever  afforded  me ;  nor  to  the  lont  shall  I  dis> 


lliitn 


sv^vyiay. 


In  the  brief  biographic  memoir  left  us  by  Suetonius,  we 
Bread  that  the  emperor  was  in  the  habit  of  comparing  the 
Fpoet's  book,  and  the  poet  himaelf,  to  a  flaoon— cum  eirevi- 
'  tUM  volumihis  nit  oyxiaisirrariii,  lieut  esl  veiitrieuli  tut.    Various 
and  mnltiform  ore  tbe  vitrified  vases  and  terracotta  j are  dug 
up  at  Pompeii,  and  elsewhere,  with  eridence  of  havinB  eerved 
as  depositoricH  for  Bamaii  sack ;  but  the  peculiar  Horatian 
shape  alluded  to  by  Augustus  has  not  been  fixed  on  bj  an- 
tiquaries.   The  Florentine  academy  Delta  Cnaca,  whose  opiu- 
ioD  on  this  point  ought  to  obtain  universal  attention,  have 
considered  tbemaelves  authorised,  from  the  passage  in  Sue- 
tODiaa,  to  trace  (as  they  have  done,  in  their  valuable  vo- 
GKbulair)  the  modem  words,  rfoecone,_/!o«co  (whence  our/a»i) 
to  Q.  Horat.  Flaccts.     The  origin  of  the  English  term 
btimptr,  it  is  fair  to  add,  has  been,  with  equal  sagacity,  brought 
home  by  Joe  Hiller  to  our  "  6on  phe,"  the  pope.      But 
conmend  me  to  the  German  commentators  for  transcendental 
ingeoaity  in  clnasical  criticism.     Need  I  more  than  instance 
the  judicious  Milcherhck'a  hint,  that  the  birth  of  our  poet 
most  have  presented  a  clear  case  of  luKiit  natura;  since,  in 
hia  ode  Jd  Jmphorum  (jLii.  lib.  iii.),  we  hate,  from  his  own 
1ms,  the  portentous  fact  of  his  having  come  into  the  world 
_^m  company  with  a  bottle,"  under  the  consulship  of  Mun- 
Kjiiu  ?    Should  the  fact  of  his  having  had  a  twin-brother  of 
l^tat  description  be  substantiated,  on  historical  and  obstetric 
Ivrindples,  we  shall  cease,  of  course,  to  wonder  at  the  simi- 
Dtnde  discovered  by  the  emperor.     Byron  maintains,  though 
without  any  data  whatever  to  warrant  bis  assertion,  that 
"  Happiness  was  born  a  twin"  (Juan,  canto  ii.  st.  172) ; 
tbe  case  was,  perhaps,  like  that  imagined  by  Milcheriick, 

My  own  theory  on  the  subject  is  not,  as  yet,  sufficiently 
matured  to  lay  it  before  the  learned  of  Europe ;  but  from 
the  natural  juxtaposition  of  the  two  congenial  objects  now 
md  the  more  than  chemical  affinity  with  which 


878  TATHEB   PBOI'T'b   UELIHrfa. 

I  find  the  contents  of  the  Elzevir  to  blend  in  harmotuon 
mixture  with  thoee  of  the  jug,  I  should  feet  quite  safe 
predicating  (if  sprightlineBa,  vigour,  and  versatility  com 
tute  BufficientW  fraternal  featureB)  that  the  "  Bpint  in  t 
leaves"  ia  hrotlier  to  the  "  bottle  imp." 

"  Alterius  bio, 
AIUtb  poBciC  op«m  rc«  et  coi^urat  nmiDJ." 
Jrl.  Poet.  410. 

The  recondite  philosophy  of  the  common  < 
"Amimal  Spikits,"  1)88  not,  that  I  am  aware  of,  heea  t 
roughly  investigated,  or  its  import  fully  developed,  by  n 
dem  nietapbyeiciana.  How  animal  matter  may  become 
impregnated,  or,  to  use  the  school  term,  "  compenetnted,' 
by  a  spiritual  essence,  aa  to  lose  its  substantive  nature  ani 
become  a  mere  adjective,  or  modification  of  the  aIl-absorbia| 
vnvitjt,  is  a  "rub"  fit  to  puzKle  Hamlet.  In  my  Lon 
Brougham's  Natural  Theology,  which  gives  the  solution  a 
every  known  question,  this  difficulty  is  unaccountably  oa 
glected.  There  is  not  a  single  word  about  animated  alcohol 
All  ingenious  doubt  was  expressed  by  eonie  great  thinka 
— Jack  Heeve,  or  Doctor  Poraou— after  a  protracted  sitting 
whether,  legally,  the  landlord  could  remove  him  o3'  the  pH 
misee  without  a  "  permit."  That  was  genuine  metsphyaia 
far  above  all  Kant's  rubbish.  How  are  we,  in  fact,  to  drai 
the  distinction  F  la  there  to  be  one  law  fur  a  living  vessa" 
and  another  for  an  inert  jar  P  May  not  the  ingredients  thi 
go  to  fill  them  be  the  same  ?  the  quantity  identical  in  bot 
recipients  ?  Why,  then,  should  not  the  Excise  anxiousl' 
tracK  the  footsteps  of  so  many  walking  gallons  of  XXX 
with  the  same  maternal  solicitude  she  manifests  in  watchiq 
the  progress  and  removal  of  spirit  in  earthenware  ?  Ti^ 
Ct^roraon-sense  view  of  the  matter  was  long  ago  taken  up  b 
Don  Quixote,  when,  acting  on  the  Bug|eBtion  of  calm  logii^^ 
he  gave  battle  to  certain  goat-skins,  distended  with  the  n 
cent  vintage  of  Valdepenas.  Cervant*s  may  sneer,  bot  tb 
onslaught  does  not  appear  to  me  irriLtianal.  Was  the  knigfa 
to  wait  till  the  same  juice  should  offer  itself  under  the  fonr 
and  colour  of  blood,  to  be  shed  from  the  bodies  of  bloatw 
buffoons  in  buckram  P     Clearly  not ! 

But  to  return.    If  by  aihuai,  spibitb  be  meant-  tha 


THX   BOKOa   OF   HOBACE.  379 

I   »tate  of  buoyancy  and  elevation  in  whicli  the  opaqne  cor- 
poreal eaaenee  ia  lost  in  the  froliceome  play  of  the  fancy, 
and  evaporates  in  ethereal  sallies,  a  coUateral  and  pamUel 
proceBB  takes  place  when  the  imBgioatiTe  and  rarified  facul- 
tiee  of  mind  are,  aa  it  were,  condensed  so  as  to  give  a  preci- 
pitate, and  form  a  distinct  portion  of  visible  and  tangible 
matter.     Ton  Elzevir  ie  a  case  in  point.     In  the  small  com- 
s  of  a  duodecimo  we  hold  and  manipulate  tbe  conceu- 
'  trated  feelings  and  falliea,  the  "quips  and  cranks,"  the  wit 
1  wisdom,  of  a  period  never  equalled  in  the  history  of 
^"^  ' :  the  current  converaatioual  tones  and  topics  are 
■"iir  to  us,  though  the  interlocutors  have  long  since 
in  the  grave.     The  true  fixebniak  wine  ripens 
1  tbe  accustomed  slope ;  the  formiakt  coujia 
e  now  barren  and  unprofitable ;  but,  owiug  to  the  nbove- 
I  mentioned  process,  we  can  still  relish  their  bouquet  in  tbe 
odes  of  Horace :  we  can  find  the  geuume  amuck  of  the  Caicu- 
t  ban  grape  in  tbe  effusions  it  inspired. 

I  recollect  Tom  Moore  once  talking  to  me,  after  dinner, 

I  of  Campbell's  Einle  of  Erin,  and  remarking,  in  bis  ordinary 

I ,  eoneetlo  style,  that  tbe  aorrowa  of  Irekud  were  in  that  elegy 

'  CBTSTALLiBED  and  made  immortal.    Tommy  was  right ;  and 

I   he  may  be  proud  of  having  done  Bometbiag  in  that  way  him- 

I   Belf:  for  when  the  fashion  of  drinking  "gooseberry  chnm- 

"  shall  have  passed  away,  future  ages  will  be  able  to 

i,  notion  of  that  once  celebrated  beverage  from  the 

[  peroBal  of  hu  poetry.     There  it  is,  crystallised  for  posterity. 

"Horace  presents  us,  in  hiB  persou,  with  oa  accomplished 

I  Bpecimen  of  the  ban  vioant ,-  such  as  that  agreeable  variety 

I  (M  the  human  species  waa  understood  by  antiquity.     Cheer- 

[  fulness  and  wit,  conjointly  with  worldly  wisdom,  generally 

I  insure  a  long,  joUy,  and  prosperous  career  to  their  possessor. 

I       I  just  now  adverted  to  the  good  luck  which  baa  secured 

[  fats   lorititiffi  against  accident  ;    his  personal    preservation 

I  through  what  Mathews  would  term  the  "  wicisaitudes  and 

I  waccinatioas"  of  life,  appears  to  have  been,  from  his  own 

I  Kcconnt,  fully  as  miraculous.     A  somewhat  profane  French 

provOTb  aaaerts,  qu'il  y  a  une  Providence  pour  lea  ivrognet ; 

but  whatever  celestial  surveillance  watches  over  the  zigzag 

progress  of  a  drunkard — whatever  privilege  may  be  pleaded 

by  the  plenipotentiary  of  Bacchus,  poetry  would  seem,  in 


380  FATHEB  PB01}|B'B   SXLIQTTXB. 

his  case,  to  have  had  peculiar  prerogatives.  Sleeping  in  his 
childhood  on  some  mountain-top  of  Apulia,  pigeons  covered 
him  with  leaves,  that  no  "  bears"  or  "  snakes"  might  get  at 
him  (lib.  iii.  ode  iv.)  ;  a  circumstance  of  some  importance  to 
infant  genius,  which,  alas !  cannot  always  escape  the  **  hug" 
of  the  one  or  the  "  sting"  of  the  other.  Again,  at  the  battle 
of  Philippi,  he  tells  us  how  he  had  well  nigh  perished,  had 
not  Mercuby  snatched  him  up  from  the  very  thick  of  the 
meiSe,  fully  aware  of  his  value,  and  unwilling  to  let  him  run 
the  risk  to  which  vulgar  chair  d  canon  is  exposed.  Subse- 
quently, while  walking  over  his  grounds  at  the  Sabine  farm, 
the  falling  trunk  of  an  old  tree  was  within  an  ace  of  knock- 
ing out  lus  brains,  had  not  Fauk,  whom  he  describes  as  the 
guardian-angel  of  mercurial  men — mercurialium  cusios  viro- 
rum — interposed  at  the  critical  moment.  To  Mercury  he 
has  dedicated  many  a  graceful  hymn :  more  than  one  modem 
poet  might  safely  acknowledge  certain  obligations  to  the 
same  quarter.  But  all  are  not  so  communicative  as  Horace 
of  their  personal  adventures. 

What  he  states  in  his  bantering  epistle  to  Julius  Florius 
cannot  be  true ;  viz.,  that  poverty  made  a  poet  of  him : 

"  Pauperiat  impulit  audas 
Ut  versutfacerem" — Ep.  ii.  2,  61. 

On  the  contrary,  far  from  offering  any  symptoms  of  jejune 
inspiration  or  garret  origin,  his  effusions  bear  testimony  to 
the  pleasant  mood  of  mind  in  which  they  were  poured  forth, 
and  are  redolent  of  the  joyousness  of  happy  and  convivial 
hours,  Boileau,  a  capital  judge,  maintains,  that  the  jovial 
exhilaration  pervading  all  his  poetry  betrays  the  vinous 
influence  imder  which  he  wrote — 

'*  Horace  a  bu  son  saoul  quand  il  voit  lei  Menadet :" 

an  observation  previously  made  by  a  rival  satirist  of  Some— 

"  Satur  est  cum  dicit  Horatius  ohb  !" 

Hints  of  this  kind  are  sometimes  hazarded  in  reference  to 
very  grave  writers,  but,  in  the  present  instance,  will  be  more 
readily  believed  than  the  assertion  made  by  Plutarch,  in  his 
'Su/j/jTofftov,  that  the  gloomy  uEschylus  ^*  was  habitually  drunk 
when  he  wrote  his  trageilies." 


THE   aOtTQB   < 


Rting  the  poetical  profesBion  Horace  bat  followed  the 
8  nature ;  thus,  lyrics  were  the  Bpontaueous  pro- 
auce  ot  bia  mind,  as  fables  were  of  a  kindred  bouJ,  the  naif 
Lttfontaine.  "  t'oild  un  figuibb,"  said  the  latter  one  day 
to  Mudflme  de  la  Sahlifere,  in  the  gardens  of  Versailles ;  "  et 
moi,je  «HU  tin  fadlieb."  Let  us  take  the  oiHeial  manifesto 
with  which  Horace  opens  the  volume  of  his  odes,  and  we 
shail  be  at  once  put  iu  possession  of  his  views  of  human  life, 
through  all  its  varied  vanities ;  of  which  poetry  is,  after  nil, 
'   _bat  one,  and  not  the  moti  ridiculous. 

Ode  I. — TO  MEca:NA8. 


"Meoeermel 


[■  ediM  regibua,"  &o. 


T  nnNV  uid  fathoic,  in  whoio  Teini  runnotli  right  roja]  blood, 
W*e  bat  lo  some  Ihu  BlPPODROMX,  the  cor,  Che  pnneitig  ttud, 
louds  of  Olympic  duet — Uii-u  mark  v\\M  ccalas;  at  soul 

hair  boBOm  feels,  as  the  npt  wheels  glowing  hsTs  graicd  the  goal. 

Uk  not  to  tfaem  of  dindem  or  K«ptre,  eave  the  whip — 
L  branch  of  palm  can  niiw  them  to  the  oodb'  compuiionibip. 

d  there  be  tome,  my  tiead,  for  whon 


Ton  homely  hind,  ealmlj  resigned  his  oarrow  farm  to  plod. 
It  with  Asia's  w«llh  to  wean  &om  hia  paternal  eod  : 
'I  prevail !  Do  TaruUhed  tale  that  Bimrle  snain  nU]  urge, 
B  galley  built  of  Ctpbds  oak,  to  plough  th' EflKiM  surge. 

isnt'marincr,  who  sighs  for  lidds  and  qiuet  home, 
Ihe  Dmin  \he  hurricane  howla  round  his  path  of  foam, 

l^ill  make,  I  trow,  full  manj  a  tow,  the  deep  for  ava  t'  esthcw. 

"«  lands — what  then  F     Pelf  prompts  again — his  ship  'a  afloat  Ui 


ft  Leiiun]  hath  ita  rotarifs.  vhoae  blias  it 


Beligion  goards  the  cradle  of  the  infant  rivulet. 


382 


FATHER   PBOUT'S   BELIQCTSB. 


He  for  his  antler^d  foe  looks  out,  or  tracks  the  forest  wheooe 
Broke  the  wild  boar,  whose  daring  tusk  lerelled  the  fragile  feoea. 

Thzb  the  pursuits  of  learning  claim — a  claim  the  gods  allow } 
Thine  is  tne  irj  coronal  that  decks  the  scholar's  brow  : 

Mb  in  the  woods*  deep  solitudes  the  Nymphs  a  dient  count. 
The  dancing  Faun  on  the  green  lawn,  the  Naiad  of  the  fount. 
For  me  her  lute  (sweet  attribute !)  let  Poltstmitia  sweep ; 
For  me,  oh !  let  the  flageolet  breathe  from  Eutebpb's  lip ; 
GiTe  but  to  me  of  poesy  the  lyric  wreath,  and  then 
Th'  immortal  haUs  of  bliss  won*t  hold  a  prouder  denizen. 

His  political  creed  is  embodied  in  the  succeeding  ode ;  and 
never  did  patriotism,  combined  (as  it  not  always  is)  with 
sound  sense,  find  nobler  utterance  than  in  the  poet's  address 
to  the  head  of  the  government.  The  delicate  ingenuity  em- 
ployed in  working  out  his  ultimate  conclusion,  the  appa- 
rently natural  progression  from  so  simple  a  topic  as  the 
"  state  of  the  weather,"  even  coupled  as  it  may  have  been 
with  an  inundation  of  the  Tiber,  to  that  magnificent  dinoue- 
tnent — the  apotheosis  of  the  emperor — has  ever  been  de- 
servedly admired. 

Ode  II. 

"Jam  satis  terris  nivis  atque  dirsB  Ghrandinis,"  &c. 


Since  Jove  decreed  in  storms  to 

vent 
The  winter  of  his  discontent. 
Thundering  o'er  Rome  impenitent 

With  red  right  hand. 
The  flood-gates  of  the  firmament, 

Have  drenched  the  land ! 

Terror  hath  seized  the  minds  of  men. 
Who  deemed  the  days  had  come 

again 
When  Pboteus  led,  up  mount  and 
glen. 
And  verdant  lawn. 
Of  teeming  ocean's  darksome  den 
The  monstrous  spawn. 

^len  Pyebha  saw  the  ringdove's 

nest 
Harbour  a  strange  unbidden  guest, 


And,  by  the  deluge  dispossest 

Of  glade  and  grove 
Beers  down  the  tide,  with  antler'd 
crest, 
Affrighted  drove. 

We  saw  the  yellow  Tibbb,  sped 
Back  to  his  Tttscan  fountain-head, 
O'erwhelm  the  sacred  and  the  dead 

In  one  fell  doom. 
And  Vesta's  pile  in  ruins  spread. 

And  Nitma's  tomb. 

Dreaming  of  days  that  onoe  had 

been, 
He  deemed  that  wild  disastrous 

scene 
Might  soothe   his    Iixi,    injured 

queep.I 


TEE   BDH&§   OT   HQBACE. 


And  comfort  give  her, 
BecHcM  though  Jon  elioold  inter- 

Diorioui  river ! 

t  Ourtonswillaali,  whjmeDorRoino 
kpww  Bguust  kindred,  frioada,  and 

hrords  Ilint  n  Peraian  becBtomb 
Might  best  iiiibUD— 
B,  In  their  Tulhers'  Seadi  become 
Foeble  and  few  I 

nuntryc&Uinsid? 
e  miut  the  patriofa  tok  be 

paidP 

Willi  oriBona  ahBlI  vntol  maid 

Fatigue  the  skim? 
Or  will  not  Vksta's  frown  upbraid 


'  comeat   TUOD  with 
Drvad  Mabb!  oui 


•fUd  1 


Whoso  t 
Whose  w 


FOCK'SEar 
se  «o  long  bade  peace 
■dogs  still  for  slaughtsr 


The  tented  field  thv  rhoaen  haonl^ 
Th^  ehild  the  Roltui, 

Fierce  tegionsr,  whoae  visage  gaunt 
Scowls  on  the  foeman. 

Or  hath  young  ElEMES,  Mjja's 

The  graoeful  guiao  and  form  put  on 
Of  thee,  AnoceTCB  F  and  begun 

(Cele»tinl  atranecr!) 
To  wear  the  name  <?luch  lUOC  haat 

"  CjESiB'a  AtknobbP" 

IT  AroiMi !  ahall  we  kocol         Blest  bo  llio  doja  of  thy  lojoum, 
1^  ran,  and  for  our  eommonwed   Diitant  the  hour  when  HoMB  aball 
l»WHh   hombled   conKiouBneas  ap-  iroum 

^        periP  The  fatal  light  of  thy  return 

Oh,  quell  the  storm  I  To  Heaven  again, 

t,  though  a  aUver  vapoM  vwl      Forced  by  a  guUty  nge  to  apurn 
Thy  radiant  form !  ""if  haunU  of  men. 

Rather  remain,  beloved,  adored, 
e  Rome,  rehaiit 


(Till  VEKua  froi 

AaA  to  our  aucrour  hie,  with  troop 

Of  laughing  Gtticis.  ami  a  group     ^^^^  AasTEu' 


To  thee  of  Jn.ius  haili  restored 


Of  Cupids  ri 


veriug  horde. 


a  fitting  tbat  eitrly  in  tbe  eeries  of  hia  lyrics  there 
ibould  appear  a  record  of  bis  warm  iutimacj  with  the 
bIt  Botnan  poet  of  them  all,  whose  genius  could  justly 
lium  eqnal  rank  with  bis.  It  ie  honourable  to  the  author 
f  tbe  ^neid  that  be  feared  not.  in  tlie  first  inatjince,  to  in- 
e  at  the  court  of  Augustus,  where  ha  own  reputation 
s  already  eatabliafaed,  one  who  alone  of  all  bis  coutempo- 
r  caries  could  eventually  dispute  tbe  laureateahip,  and  divide 
)  the  applause  of  the  imperml  circlo,  with  himself.  Virgil, 
kjiowever,  though  he  baa  caretiiUy  embalmed  in  bis  pastorals 
1  ol'  Gallue,  Asinius  Pollio,  Vorius,  and  Ciuna;  nay, 


884         FATHSB  pbout's  bxliqves. 

though  he  has  wrapt  up  in  the  amber  of  his  verse  such  grubs 
as  Bavius  and  Maevius,  has  never  once  alluded  to  Horace — 
at  least,  in  that  portion  of  his  poems  which  has  come  down 
to  us — while  the  lyrist  commemorates  his  gifted  friend  in 
more  than  a  dozen  instances.  I  should  feel  loath  to  attri- 
bute this  apparently  studied  omission  to  any  discreditable 
jealousy  on  the  part  of  the  Mantuan ;  but  it  would  have 
been  better  had  he  acted  otherwise.  Concerning  the  general 
tenor  of  the  following  outburst  on  the  shores  of  the  Adriatic, 
while  Virgil's  gaUey  sunk  below  the  horizon,  it  will  be  seen, 
that  his  passionate  attachment  leads  him  into  an  invective 
against  the  shipping  interest,  which  I  do  not  seek  to  justify 

Ode   III. — TO   THE   SHIP   BEABIKG  YIBGIL   TO    OB££C£. 

"  Sic  te  diya  potens,"  &c. 

May  Love*B  own  planet  guide  thee  o'er  the  wave  ! 
Brightly  aloft 
Helen's  star-brother's  twinkling, 
And  jEolus  chain  all  his  children,  save 
A  west-wind  soft 
Thy  liquid  pathway  wrinkling, 
Qalley !  to  whom  we  trust,  on  thy  parole, 
Our  ViBOiL, — mark 
Thou  bear  him  in  thy  bosom 
Safe  to  the  land  of  Gbi^eob  ;  for  lialf  my  soul, 
O  gallant  bark ! 
Were  lost  if  I  should  lose  him. 

A  breast  of  bronze  full  sure,  and  ribs  of  oak. 
Where  his  who  first 
Defied  the  tempest-demon : 
Dared  in  a  fragile  skiff  the  blast  provoke. 
And  boldly  burst 
Forth  on  the  deep  a  Seaman ! 
Whom  no  conflicting  hurricanes  could  daunt, 
Nor  Boreas  chill. 
Nor  weeping  Htads  sadden. 
E'en  on  yon  gulf,  whose  lord,  the  loud  Letaki 
Can  calm  at  will. 
Or  to  wild  frenzy  madden. 

What  dismal  form  must  Death  put  on  for  hint 
Whose  cold  eye  mocks 
The  dark  deep's  huge  in  dwellers ! 
Who  calm  athwart  the  billows  sees  the  grim 
Cebaunian  rocks. 
Of  wail  and  woe  tale-tellers ! — 


lUK  aONQS  OE   1 


IKACE. 


Tliough  FrDTidenre  pound  out  ita  ooean-Dood, 
Whoae  broad  eipBiiae 
Might  land  from  laEd  diseeTer, 
Oareoring  o'er  lh«  wsten,  Man  nilb»tood 
JoTe'g  ordinnnpe 
With  impiout  eDdentdur. 

I  Ihe  hunuLD  breut,  wihb  bold  BspiringB  fraught, 
ThrolH  thus  unancd, 
nnUnied,  and  unquieBMnt, 
■Sbs  from  the  akies  a  ton  o(  Japhct  brought. 
And,  fatal  fraud ! 
Made  nrth  a  ^liltj  preeBut. 
Scarce  was  the  spark  Buatcli'd  from  the  bright  abode, 
When  round  ua  straight 
A  ghaetly  phalanx  thickeniMJ, 
Feter  and  Paliy :  and  grhn  Death,  who  strode 
With  tardf  gait 
far  off, — hia  coming  quickened  \ 

Wafted  on  daring  art's  flctitioUB  plume 
The  Cretan  roie. 
And  waved  hi*  wizard  pinioni ; 
DovnwardB  Alvidea  pierced  the  realms  of  glooni. 
Where  darU;  flows 
Btjx,  tliroagh  the  dead's  dominions. 
Kaught  ia  beyond  our  reach,  beyond  our  seope, 
And  besTen's  high  laws 
Btill  lul  U)  keep  us  under  \ 
How  CBD  our  unreposing  malice  hope 
Rnpitc  or  pause 
From  Jore'a  areugiiig  thnndarP 


18  of  earthly  happiness— the  constant  ttUuBiona  to  Death, 

L  which  Btartle  ub  in  his  gayest  and  apparently  most  careleea 

B  ■trains,  is  a  reiy  distingmehing  feature  of  the  poet's  mind. 

lere  is  something  here  beyond  what  appeere  on  the  sur- 

The  ekull  so  ostentatiously  displayed  at  the  honqnete 

r  Egypt  had  its  mystery. 

Ode  IV. 

"Soluitur  acria  Iijema." 


IT  Winter  mells  bfnonlh 
rine'a  grnlal  breath, 
Aiicl  Zephyr 


Solritur  aoria  bienu 

Onta  Tice 

Vorit  Bt  FaToni  i 


J 


886 


FATHEB  PBOUT'S  SELIQXJXB. 


Back  to  the  water  yields 
The  stranded  hark — back  to  the  fields 
The  stabled  heifer — 
And  the  eaj  rural  scene 
The  ^cpherd's  foot  can  wean. 
Forth  from  his  homely  hearth,  to  tread 
^-he  meadows  green. 

Now  Venus  loves  to  group 
Her  merry  troop 
Of  maidens, 
Who,  while  the  moon  peeps  out, 
Dance  with  the  Graces  round  about 
Their  queen  in  cadence ; 
While  far,  'mid  fire  and  noise, 
Vulcan  his  forge  employs, 
Where  Cyclops  grim  aloft  their  ponderoui 
sledges  poise. 

Now  maids,  with  myrtle-bough, 
Gkurland  their  brow — 
Each  forehead 
Shining  with  flow'rets  deck*d ; 
While  the  glad  earth,  by  frost  uncheck*d. 
Buds  out  all  florid ; — 
Now  let  the  knife  devote. 
In  some  still  grove  remote, 
A  victim-lamb  to  Faun ;   or,  should  he 
list,  a  goat 

Death,  with  impartial  foot, 
Knocks  at  the  hut ; 
The  lowly 
As  the  most  princely  gate. 
O  favoured  friend !  on  life's  brief  date 
To  count  were  folly ; 
Soon  shall,  in  vapours  dark, 
Quenched  be  thy  vital  spark. 
And  thou,  a  silent  ghost,  for  Pluto's  land 
embark  ? 

Where  at  no  gay  repast. 
By  dice's  cast 
King  chosen. 
Wine-laws  shalt  thou  enforce. 
But  weep  o'er  ioy  and  love's  warm  source 
For  ever  frozen ; 
And  tender  Lydia  lost, 
Of  all  the  town  the  toast. 
Who  then,  when  thou  art  gone,  will  fire 
all  bosoms  most ! 


Trahnutqae  eiccat 

Aonecqoe  jam  stalmlti 
GhMidet  prec1]i^ 

Aut  arator  igni ; 
Nee  prati^cania 

Albicant  proinia. 

Jam  Cytherea  chofot 
Ducit  Venus, 

Imminente  Luna ;   ' 
JunctsDque  Nymphis 

GhratiflD  decentes 
Altemo  terram 
Quatiimt  pede, 

Dum  graves  Cydopum 
Vulcanus  ardens 

Urit  officinas. 

Nunc  deoet  aut  viridi 
Nitldum  caput 

Impedire  myrto, 
Aut  fiore,  terns 

Quern  femnt  solutsDb 
Nunc  et  in  umbrosis 
Fauno  decet 

Immolare  lucis, 
Seu  poscat,  agni, 

Sive  malit,  h»do. 

Pallida  mors  squo 
Pulsat  pede 

Pauperum  tabeivas, 
Beffumque  turres. 

ObeateSesti, 
Vite  summa  brevis 
Spem  nos  vetat 

Inchoare  longam. 
Jam  te  premet  nox, 

Fabulseque  Manes. 

Et  domus  exilis 
Plutonia : 
Quo  simul  means. 
Nee  regna  vini 

Sortiere  talis ; 
Nee  teneram  Lydiam 
Mirabere, 
QuA  calet  juventus 
Nunc  omnis,  et  tunc 
inoalebit 


3   OF   HOBACE. 


I  In  the  following  lines  to  Pyrrha  we  have  aet  before  tis  a 
Boman  lady's  bouUoir.  sketched  3  la  ff'aC/eau.  FemnJe 
Bckleneas  was,  among  the  Greeks,  a  subject  deemed  inex- 
haustible. Horace  baa  contrived  to  say  much  thereanent 
throughout  his  volume ;  but  the  matter  seems  to  be  as  fresh 
as  ever  among  tbe  moderns. — It  has,  no  doubt,  gives  great 
adi&eation  to  Mr.  Poyuder  to  obBerve  that  the  pagan  practice 
alluded  to,  towards  the  closing  verses,  of  hanging  up  what  is 
called  an  "  ex  roto"  in  the  temples,  still  prevails  along  the 
aborea  of  tbe  Mediterranean.  For  that  matter,  any  Coci- 
aej,  by  proceeding  only  as  far  as  Boulogne  but  Mer,  may 
-find  evidence  of  this  classic  heatkenitm  in'  full  vogue  amoug 
'  e  Gallic  fiBhermen. 

OCE  V. — PYBBHA'B   INCONSTiSCy. 


Pyrrli».  who  now.  iDayhnp, 

PouTB  on  th^  perfumed  lap, 
tbn>nwr«lh,rBir;oalh,liufoTid*d(li«aiee! 

Within  thj  Dhinaing  grot, 

For  whom,  in  gsy  love-knot, 
jtaS.j  dost  thou  bind  tlij'  yellow  tresus  f 

So  ■imple  in  th;  neatnOB  I 

AIiu  I  that  BO  much  ewMtiieia 
>nldpreliide  provB  to  diaillusiou  painful! 

He  Bhiill  bewail  loo  lot« 

Bis  Bsdl;  altered  fstii, 
mH  bjlhj  Diicn,  repellent  and  disdainful. 

Who  now,  to  fondnesB  prone, 

Deeming  thee  all  his  own, 
tds  in  golden  dresuia  of  bvoure  boundlras 

8a  bright  thy  beaut;  glowe, 

Btill  fsseinating  thoBe 
lo've  ;ct  to  learn  all  trust  in  (hee  i>  ground- 


1  the  bilae  light  forswear,  Intenlata  nitra  I 

A  «bij>wreck'd  mariner.  Mo  labul&  tacer 

fao  bang*  Uie  pointed  tlorj  of  his  euO'eriug       Votivl  parieB 
Aloft  o'er  Neptune's  ehrine  ;  Indicnt  uvida 

There  BhaU  I  hang  up  mine,  Suapenilieee  polenti 

id  of  laj  dripping  robe*  the  votive  ofTering  \  Tcatimenla  maria  Deo. 

Hie  naval  reucontrea  off  Actium,  Lepsuto,  and  Trafalgar, 


Qui»  midt£  graeilis 

To  puor  in  ros4 

PerfusuB  hquidia 

Urget  odoribuB 

Gralo.  rjrrha.iub  aiilroF 

Cui  flavam  religu  comam. 

Simplex  munditiia? 

Hou !  quotiea  fidjBm 

MiitatoBque  DeoB 

Flebit,  et  acpors 

Nigris  H>quora  venti» 

Emimbitur  iniolena. 

Qui  nunc  te  fruitur 
Credulus  aurcA ; 


388  FATHBB  PBOtrr'S  BXLIQVE8. 

offer  in  Eurapean  bistoTj  three  gigantic  *^  water-marks,"  such 
as  no  three  Dattle-plains  ashore  can  readily  furnish :  but  ihe 
very  magnitude  of  each  maritime  event  has  probably  de- 
terred slu^wd  poets  from  grappling  with  what  thej  despaired 
to  board  successfully.     Our  JJibdm's  dithyrambic, 

**'Twa8  in  Trafalgar  bay 
We  taw  the  Frenchman  lay^^  ^c, 

as  well  as  the  Venetian  barcarola, 

*'  Cantiam  iutti  allegramente"  ^c.,* 

were,  no  doubt,  good  enough  for  the  watermen  of  the 
Thames,  and  the  gondoliers  of  the  Gulf.  But  when  the 
Soman  admiral  begged  from  Horace  an  ode,  emblazoning 
the  defeat  of  the  combined  fleets  of  Antony  and  Cleopatra, 
it  required  much  tact  and  ability  to  eschew  the  perilous 
attempt.  The  following  effort  shows  how  he  got  out  of 
the  scrape.  The  only  parallel  instance  of  clever  avoidance 
we  remember,  occurred  when  the  great  Conde  offered  a 
thousand  ducats  for  the  best  poem  on  his  campaign  of 
Bocroi.  A  Gascon  carried  the  prize  by  this  audacious 
outburst : 

**  Pour  c^l^brer  tant  de  hauts  faits, 
Tant  de  combats,  et  tant  de  gloire, 
Mille  ecus !     Parbleu !    Mills  bcvs  ? 
Ce  n'est  qu*un  soir  par  Tictoire." 

Ode  YI. 

"  Scriberis  Vario,"  &c. 

Agrippa !  seek  a  loftier  bard ;  nor  ask 

Horace  to  twine  in  songs 
The  double  wreath,  due  to  a  Tiotor*s  casque 
From  land  and  ocean :  such  Homeric  task 

To  Varius  belongs. 

Our  lowly  lyre  no  fitting  music  hath. 

And  in  despair  dismisses 
The  epic  splendours  of  "  Achilles*  wrath," 
Or  the  "  dread  line  of  Pelops,"  or  the  "  path 

Of  billow-borne  Ulysses." 

•  See  "Songs  of  Italy,"  apud  not.—O.  Y 


TI1£   SOKQS   OF   nOBACB. 

The  reccrrd  of  tlie  deeds  at  Actium  icTouglit 

So  &r  tranBcendR  our  lalent — 
V«iD  Wire  the  wish  I  wild  the  presimiptuouB  thou((ht! 
To  ling  how  Cesar,  how  Afi-ipim,  fought — 

Both  foremoat  'tnul  the  galloDt ! 

The  Coif  of  War  in  adHmiintine  mail ; 

Merian,  gaunt  and  grim  ; 
Pkllaa  in  aid  ;  while  Trov's  bktUlious  quail, 
Sewed  W  the  lauFc  of  liiomeA  .  .  .  miut  ful 

To  figure  in  our  hjmn. 

Outs  is  the  banquet -■oug't  light-hearlod  itnUD, 

Boset  our  odIt  laurel. 
The  progress  of  a  lore-suiC  o< 
Out  odIj  scars  the  gashes  the 

When  romping  lorera  quarrel. 


J-  campaign, 


^  the  mania  for  foreign  residence,  wliic!i  hur- 
led off  then  ^as  it  does  now)  estimable  citij^ns  from  a  far 
e  reputable  sojouro  in  tlieir  native  country -villas,  tho 
"tioet  exDorta  Plancl's  to  give  up  bis  project  of  retiring  into 
Oiwece  (from  the  displeasure  of  Augostua),  to  continue  in 
tbe  service  of  the  stat«,  and,  above  all,  to  stick  to  the 
bottle. 

Ode  \'II. — to  McifAxirs  plancijs. 

"Laudabmit  alii  clarain  RhODoS." 

PluiiPUs  I   do  blnsta  for  ever  sweep 

Athwart  the  welkin  raucoured  ? 

Frieud  1    do    the    clouds  for  ercr 


I    Shodea,  Ephesus,  or  Mitjlene, 
1        Or  TheBwJv'*  fair  tbUbj, 
I-  Or  Corinth,  placed  two  gulfs  atwecn, 
D^phi,  or  Thebes,  sugaosC  (he  sceue 
Where    some   would  choose  to 
daUf ; 
r  OQian  in  pmi«e  of  Athens  laouch, 
I  And  poets  lirio 

kOtao^  vith  Minerra'a  oliTe-branch 
Their  panegyric. 
b  Juno's  citj  someaould  roam — 
[  Ar^O« — of  Sl4vds  productJTe ; 
n  rich  HjoenK  niakc  their  home, 
V  Snd  Idnsia  pleasautsome, 
■^    "       ■      *      n  seduetivi 


•>  Titij 


1    grot 


than  all 
The  brook'*  bright  bosom, 
id  o'er  Lmd  Anio's  wstcrlkll 
SVai(-tre«s  in  blossom. 


Then  cheer  thee  I  and  thy  sorrows 

Drown  m  a  (lowing  tankard : 
Whether  "the  campl  the  fleliil  the 

Be  BbU  thf  molto. 
Or  Tihur  to  thy  choice  afford 

A  iheltereu  grotto. 
When  Teucer  from   his  fiitber's 

For  eiilo  parleil, 
I   Wreathing  his  brow  with  poplar- 

In  wine  he  bade   his   oomradei 

Their  woc^  light-hearted ; 


890 


FATHER  PSOUT'S  BELIQUEB. 


And  thuB  he  oried,Whate*er  betide, 
Hope  shftU  not  leare  me  : 

The  home  a  father  hath  denied 
Let  Fortune  give  me ! 


Who  doubts  or 
lead? 
Hath  not  ApoUo 


dreads  if  Teucer 


A  new-found  SaUnmh  decreed. 
Old  Fatherland  shall  saperaede  ? 

Then  fearleea  follow. 
Ye  who  could  bear  ten  jears  jour 
share 
Of  toil  and  slaughter. 
Drink !  for  our  sail  to-morrow'sgalt 
WafU  o*er  the  water. 


The  old  tune  of  "  Peas  upon  a  trencher*'  has  been  adapted 
to  "  The  time  I've  lost  in  wooing,"  by  Tom  Moore.  Mr. 
Cazal^,  of  the  AsaemhlSe  Nationale,  baa  given  a  French 
version  of  the  immortal  original.^    Ex  gr. : 

"  Oar^on,  apportez  moi,  moi, 
Des  pois,  des  petis  pois,  pois  : 
All,  quel  plaisir !  quand  je  les  yois 
Verts,  sur  leur  plat  de  bois,  hois,"  &a  Ac 

I  hope  there  is  no  profanation  in  arranging  an  ode  of  Horace 
to  the  same  fascinating  tune. — The  diary  of  a  Eoman  man 
of  fashion  can  be  easily  made  up  from  the  elements  of  daily 
occupation,  supplied  by  the  following : 

Ode  VIII. 

"  Lydia,  die  per  omnes,"  &c. 


Enchanting  Lydia !  prithee, 
Bj  all  the  gods  that  see  thee. 

Pray  tell  me  this  :  Must  Sybaris 
Perish,  enamoured  with  thee  ? 
Lo !  wrapt  as  in  a  trance,  he 
Whose  hardy  youth  could  fimcy 

Each'  manly  feat,  dreads  dust  and  heat, 
All  through  thy  necromancy ! 

^\^ly  rides  he  never,  tell  us, 
Accoutred  hke  his  fellows. 

For  curb  and  whip,  and  horsemanship. 
And  martial  bearing  zealous  f 
"Why  hangs  he  back,  demurrent 
To  breast  the  Tiber's  current. 

From  wrestlers*  oil,  as  from  the  coU 
Of  poisonous  snake,  abhorrent  F 

Ko  more  with  iron  rigour 
Rude  armour-marks  disfigure 
His  pliant  limbs,  but  languor  dims 
His  eye  and  wastes  his  rigour. 


Lydia,  die  per  omnes 
Te  Deos  oro, 
Sybarim 
Cur  properas  amando, 
Perdere  ?  cur  apricum 
Oderit  campum, 
Patiens 
Purreris  atque  Solis  ? 

Cur  neque  militaris 
Inter  eequales 
EquiUt? 
Oallica  nee  lupatis 
Temperat  ora  frenis  ? 
Cur  timet  flarum 
Tiberim 
Tangere  ?  cur  olirunt 

Sanguine  Tiperino 
Gtiutiua  yitak  f 
Neque  jam 
Lirida  je.tat  armii 


And  his  emlioiTered  retreat  is 

Like  where  the  Son  oF  Tlielis 
Liirkfd  undivnlged,  while  he  indulged 

A  motlicr's  eoft  entmtin, 

Bobed  as  b  Grecian  girl, 

Lert  soldier-like  appnrel 
ICffht  raiae  a  lUme,  and  bis  kindling  tratc 

Through  the  ranks  of  tUughter  whirl. 


BrKchia,  ■a'pe  disco, 
Stepe  trsDB  fineni 

Nobilj*  eipedito  P 

Quid  Islet,  ut  mariof 

Filium  dicunt 
Thetidis, 
Sub  UdiryiaoMi  TtoJeb 
Funera,  ne  virilie 

Cultus  in  dEdcm,  et 

Proriperot  catcrraa. 


To  relish  the  ninth  ode,  the  reader  must  fipire  to  bimeelf 

f  the  hunting-boi  of  a  young  Roman,  some  miles  from  Rome, 

with  a  distant  view  ot  the  Mediterranean  in  front ;  Mount 

8oract#  far  off  on  the  right ;  a  tall  cypress  grove  on  the 

left,  backed  "by  the  ridge  of  Apennines. 

Ode  IX. 

"  Tide*  ot  allA  alet  wtg  cuididum 


See  how  the  winter  blanche* 

Soraet^'a  giant  brow  ! 
Hear  how  the  Ibrest-brtiiichra 

Oman  for  the  weight  of  snow! 
While  the  fii'd  ice  impanels 
Sl*ers  trilhin  their  ehaonels. 

Dul  with  the  (Vo«t !  eipel  hor  i 
Pile  up  the  fud-block, 
r.Asd  from  thf  honrj  collnr 
I       ProdiKe  B  Sabiae  crock  : 
I  O  lilalilirpk !  remember 

It  count  a  fourth  December. 

Qire  to  the  gode  the  gmdance 
Of  earth's  BrrangementB.     Lis! 
pThe  blast!  at  their  high  biddniice 

Vrvta  the  rei'd  deep  desiEt. 
MVor  "mid  the  cTpresi  riot  i 
■.And  the  old  elins  are  qciet. 


Vedi  tu  di  neve  in  copi» 

n  Seralle  omai  canuto 
Vedi  come  orolhui  gli  alberi 

Sotto  al  ]>cBO  1  c  '1  ge!o  acute 
Come  Bi  liunii  tril  le  sponde 
Fa  indurar  le  hquid'  onde. 

Sciogli  'I  freddo  con  man  prodiga 
Hifornendo,  O  Talinroo  1 

Legni  al  foco ;  e  pi  il  del  solito 
A  Bpillar  non  esser  parco 

Da  orecohiuto  Qvcio  Snbina^ 

Di  qunttr'  anni  '1  ptetto  vino. 

Sien  del  reelo  i  uumi  gU  arbitn 
!       Cli'  o»«  BTran  d'  Austro  o  di  Bore* 
Abflltulo  ii  ferrid  impeto 

Per  la  Toato  arena  cquorea 
Ke  i  eipreBBJ  urto  nemico 
Sruolera,  ne  1'  omo  antioo. 


392 


FATHSB  FBOTTT'S   BZLIQUXB. 


Ei\joT,  without  foreboding, 
Life  as  the  moments  run ; 

Away  with  Care  corroding, 
Youth  of  my  soul !  nor  shun 

LoTe^  for  whose  smile  thou*rt  suited; 

And  'mid  the  dancers  foot  it. 

While  youth's  hour  lasts,  beguile  it ; 

Follow  the  field,  the  camp. 
Each  manly  sport,  till  twilight 

Brings  on  the  vesper-lamp ; 
Then  let  thy  loved  one  lisp  ner 
Fond  feelings  in  a  whisper. 

Or  in  a  nook  liide  furtive. 
Till  by  her  laugh  betrayed. 

And  drawn,  with  struggle  sportive, 
Forth  from  her  ambuscade ;. 

Bracelet  or  ring  th*  offender 

In  forfeit  sweet  surrender ! 


db  indagar  fbggi  soUeetto 
Che  awenir  doman  dovrJi ; 

Guigni  a  lucro  il  di  che  reduce 
La  Fortuna  a  te  daik 

Ne  sprezzar  ne'  tuoi  firesc'  anni 
Le  Carole  e  dold  affiumL 

Sin  che  lunga  da  te  vegeto 
Sta  canuta  etk  importuna 

Campi  e  piasze  ti  riveggano ; 
E  fidele  quando  imbruna 

T*  abbia  1'  ora  che  ti  appella 

A  ronzar  con  la  tua  b^la. 

Or*  ^  oaro  quel  sorridere 
Scopritor  della  femciulla 

Che  in  on  angolo  intemandosi 
A  oelarsi  si  trastuUa, 

Ed  al  finto  suo  ritegno 

Trar  d'  armilla  o  anello  U  pegno. 


The  subsequent  morceau  is  not  given  in  the  usual  printed 
editions  of  oui:  poet :  even  the  MSS.  omit  it,  except  the 
Vatican  Codex.  I  myself  have  no  hesitation  as  to  its  genu- 
ineness, though  Bums  has  saved  me  the  trouble  of  translation. 

Ode  X. 

"  Virent  arundines." — "  GJreen  grow  the  rashes,  O  !** 


There's  naught  but  care  on  every  ban*. 

In  every  hour  that  passes,  O ! 
What  signifies  the  life  of  man, 
An'  'twere  not  for  the  lasses,  O ! 
Q^reen  grow  the  rashes,  O ! 

Green  grow  the  rashes,  O  I 
The  sweetest  hours  that  e*er  I  spent. 
Were  spent  amang  the  lasses,  O ! 

The  warly  race  may  riches  chase. 

And  riches  still  may  flee  them,  O  L 
And  when  at  last  they  catch  them  fast, 
Then*  hearts  can  ne'er  enjoy  them,  O ! 
Gh"een  grow  the  rashes,  O  ! 

Green  grow  the  rashes,  O ! 
The  sweetest  hours  that  e'er  I  spent, 
Were  spent  amang  the  lasses,  O ! 


CursB  corrodunt  Urbem,  Ru9, 

Et  sapientiim  cellulas. 
Nee  vit4  vellem  frui  plus* 
Ni  foret  ob  pueUulas — 
Virent  arundines ! 
At  me  tenellulas 
Tsedet  horarum  nisi  queis 
Inter  f*\\  puellulas ! 

Divitias  avaro  dem, 

Insudet  ami  cumulo, 
Qu»rat  quocumque  modo  rem, 
Inops  abibit  tumulo. 
Virent  arundines ! 
At  me  tenellulas 
Tsedet  horarum  nisi  queis 
Inter  fui  puellulaa! 


•  Another  MS. reads,  "Nee  viverem  diutius,"  but  the  emphasis  and 
accent  on  the  final  rhyme  is  thus  impaired,  though  the  idiom  if  improved. 


TBE  eOKGS   OF  HO  BACK. 


lOJTe  me  *  crinnj  hour  nt  e'en, 
iSj  anus  Hbout  taj  dtttrj,  O  '. 
Ehen  warij  imtes  iiiid  warljr  man 
I    H^  oU  gSDg  lapwltesiy,  O  ! 
OrccD  groir  the  nislieB,  O ! 

Qreen  grov  the  nshet,  O 
The  iwertest  houre  tUst  e'pri  apent. 


Ctm  Sol  obscnrat  epiculii, 
Slringcntt,  lit,  BDiieuli, 
Mi,  brschio  tujic  niito, 
Benim  dulcis  oblmo  I 
Virent  nnindiim  I 
At  mo  lenellulBi 
TiDdet  hornniiii  nisi  queis 


Were  Bpeut  anuuig  the  Inaaee.  0 1  Inter  foi  pudliUaB  I 


IT  je  Me  dooco  ye  ineer  at  thL 

:    T**re  iwught  but  senaelwa  tut 

She  vrisest  mui  the  world  e'er  *i 

He  dearlj  loved  tlio  laaaeB,  O 

Green  grow  the  raiibe*.  O  ! 

Grem  grow  the  reahe*,  O ! 
Theeweetust  houra  that  e'er  lepent, 
Were  apeut  amsag  the  lasses,  O  ! 
Dune  H'ahire  (weara  the  lovelj  dears 

Her  Doblett  wnrb,  ahe  ulnaaes,  O I 

Iter  pmitice  has'  she  tried  on  man, 

I    And  then  ehe  made  the  lasseg,  O ! 

Greoi  grow  llie  ruliM,  O  ] 

Oreeii  graw  the  mpbe!,  O I 
The  BWMteal  hours  that  e'er  I  appn  t, 
Were  apenl  auiniig  the  Iuks,  O  ! 


Sam  dJcea  contr&F  eanumgrei! 

An  fuit  Tir  Mgucior 
Qu^  Salomon?  aul  unquuB  rex 
In  Tirginea  ettlncior  ? 
Yireot  arundioeB  ] 
At  me  tcneliula* 
Tiedel  liorarum  nisi  queit 
Inter  fill  poelluUs  I 

Quag  cum  do  teme  thtcoIo 
Katura  fiuit  ^liulas, 

Tentavit  manum  mBMulo 
FormBTit  tune  puellulaa. 

At  me  tenellulnB, 
Tmdet  horanim  nisi  qnew 
Inter  fui  pueUulu ' 


Tin:  SONGS  OF  nOEACE. 

DECADE   THE   BECOITD. 
fiomtiuni  in  quibuadam  nolim  m(«rprelari." — Qbtnct.  Inili 


''Horacio  ee  de  Icdos  loa  poctas  latinoa  al  mas  deficil  de  mancjar. 
Doe  JlTtEB  DE  Bfboob,  p.  11.    Madrid,  li 
"  Horace  orochelte  et  fiiretle  tout  lo  magMin  dea  moie." 

Mont  Al  ONE,  Eitait. 
"  Froat'a  tnnalationa  from  HoncB  are  loo^r-M  and  easy," 

AthtHOvm,  9M  July,  t 


Joijrf,  (p^vnrnoi  fo,   irpdrtpov 

B  Moiitaigne,  a  graTp  OaatiUian, 
Jolmsou,  and  QidneliUian, 


.K\a,,ffart 


894  FA.THEB   FBOUT'S   KELIQ17X8. 

Would  say,  a  task,  by  no  fneans  hcaief 

Had  fallen  to  him  of  WatergrasshilL 

May  he,  then,  claim  indulgence  for  his 

Kenewed  attempt  to  render  Horace  F.  •  . . 

As  foryour  critic  o*  th*  Asinseum, 

We  (Yorke),  unranooured,  hope  to  see  him 

Smoking  yet  many  a  pipe,  an't  please  ye, 

With  us  at  old  Prout  s  '*  fbee  and  bast." — O.  Y. 

It  is  fiilly  admitted  at  this  time  of  daj,  that  endurable 
translations,  in  any  modem  idiom,  of  the  G-reek  and  Eoman 
capi  cToperOy  are  lamentably  few.  Bat  if  there  be  a  paucity 
of  successful  attempts  in  prose,  it  must  not  surprise  us  that 
the  candidates  for  renown  in  the  poetical  department 
should  be  still  less  fortunate  in  the  efforts  thej  have  made 
to  climb  the  sacred  hill  by  catching  at  the  skirts  of  some 
classic  songster.  The  established  and  canonised  authors  of 
antiquity  seem  to  view  with  no  favourable  eve  these  sur- 
reptitious endeavours  to  get  at  the  summit-level  of  their 
glorious  pre-eminence,  and  Horace  in  particular  (as  Maw- 
worm,  or  Mathews,  would  say)  has  positively  resolved  on 
"  wearing  a  Spenser.**  To  the  luckless  and  presumptuous 
wight  who  would  fain  foUow  him,  in  the  hope  of  catching 
at  a  fold  of  his  impracticable  jacket,  he  tunis  round  and 
addresses,  in  his  own  peculiar  Latin,  the  maxim  which  we 
will  content  ourselves  with  giving  in  the  French  of  Yol- 
taire : 

"  Le  nombre  des  elus  au  Pamasse  est  complet!*' 

"  The  places  are  all  taken,  on  the  double-peaked  mountain 
of  Greek  and  Eoman  poesy  the  mansions  are  all  tenanted ; 
the  classic  Pegasus  won't  carry  double ;  there  is  not  the 
slightest  chance  here  :  go  elsewhere,  friend,  and  seek  out  in 
the  regions  of  the  north  a  Parnassus  of  your  own." 

Whereupon  we  are  reminded  of  an  anecdote  of  the  Irish 
ilebellion  of  1798,  when  the  German  horse-auxQiaries  were 
routed  at  Ballynacoppul,  in  the  county  Wexford,  by  the 
bare-footed  heroes  of  the  pike  and  pitchfork.  A  victorious 
Patlander  was  busily  engaged  in  a  field  pulling  off  the  boots 
from  a  dead  trooper,  when  another  repealer,  coming  up, 
suggested  the  propriety  of  dividing  the  spoil — half  a-pair 
being,  in  his  opinion,  a  reasonable  allowance  for  both.  "Why, 
then,  aoighbour,"  quietly  observed  the  operator  in  reply, 


■9,  FMs^ 


XKS  aoxea  ot  mam. 

*  mit  joa  b«  tmf,  ^d  go  aai  kS  a  B 
B J  wbM  praeeas  «f  -'■^■~*-'—  tiaa  ite;  « 
now  m  OBoat  iamffi  .    -  ' 

Certatna  k,  l&at, 
Binrv  or  lev  iiiDn 
Uoxn  M,  be^'ond  aO 

rormaDfle  of  ita  kia4 ;  not  'tkat  it  totaaDf 
//>iuf— a  tait  farBonwanitelf  Kcnapbdwd  )i7  ttei 
Co«-per.  in  Aa  amwafcUe  immm — but  became  thai 

endowed  mtnd  of  Pope  hiwarif  foan  got  ita  _     ._ 

in  ererrthie'iaBd  workatlieBiBecalomof  Gneoeinthlhll 
abuodant  mouirea  of  ft*;*"*  c^itaL 

Dirden'e  fomUe  aad  r^onoa,  bat  Men  fitqueaUy 
rollickuig  and  titnbaot,  |)iugma  through  tbe  ^mttd,  mij 
Kvhile  arrevt  attention ;  nar,  ever  aai)  anon  aome  bold  pn- 
eage  wQl  f  icite  our  vonder,  at  tbe  fetidtow  bardStoodof 
"  glorious  John  :*'  but  il  would  be  as  wrong  lo  call  it  Vn- 
OIii,  as  to  tftke  the  slapdadt  plunginge  of  a  "  wild  |;o(»e  at 
play  "  for  the  gra««ful  and  majestic  motion  of  the  Swan  of 
Mantoa  gliding  on  the  smooth  Bui&ee  of  hi«  native  Itliacio, 
under  a  luxuriant  canopj  of  reeds.  The  Tacitcs  of  Arthur 
Murphy  19  not  the  terse,  significant,  (.-imdeused,  and  deep- 
Beorching  conteroporary  of  Pliny ;  no  one  would  feel  more 
pntzled  than  the  Komon  to  recognise  bia  own  semi-oraeular 
style  in  the  sonorous  phraseology',  the  ^Hofi-Gibboiuan 
jieriod,  the  "  long-impedimented  march  of  oratoric  pomp  " 
with  which  the  Cofe  man  has  enoumbered  him.  And 
yet  Murphy  tacitly  passes  for  a  fit  English  representative  of 
the  lunite  AifsixiaT,  the  seieutiSc  analtbeb  of  imperial 
Borne.  Our  Junius  alone  could  have  done  iusiice  to  the 
tnin  Latinity  of  Tacitus.  To  translate  the  letters  of  old 
"  Namiait  Hinbra  "  into  Freni'h  or  Italian,  would  be  as  hope- 
less an  experiment  ns  to  try  and  Anglicise  the  Hof/"  Lnfon- 
taine,  or  make  Metastosio  talk  his  soft  nonsense  through  ihn 
medium  of  onrrugged  gutturals.  Plutarch  was  lucky  enough 
to  have  found  long  ago,  among  the  French,  a  kindred  mind 
in  old  Amyot :  the  only  drawback  to  which  good  fortune  is, 
that  your  modem  Gaul  requires  somebody  to  trauslale  the 
translator.  Abb6  Delille  has  enridied  bis  country  with  au 
admirable  version  of  the  Grorpai  but  the  same  omiunental 
touches  which  he  used  so  euccesalully  in  etabeUisbinf^  Vir- 


896  FATHSB  PBOVT*8  SXLIQ17S8. 

gil,  have  rendered  his  translatdon  of  our  Milton  a  model  of 
absurdity. 

No  one  reads  Ossian  now-a-days  hi  England ;  his  poems 
lie  neglected  among  us — "  desolate  "  as  the  veir  "  walls  of 
Balclutha ;"  yet  in  Italy,  thanks  to  Cesarotti, "  Fingal "  still 
brandishes  his  spear  **  like  an  icicle,'*  and  the  stars  continue 
"  dimly  to  twinkle  through  thy  form,  ghost  of  the  gallant 
Oscar !"  The  affair  presents,  in  truth,  a  far  more  ornate 
and  elaborate  specimen  of  the  bombast  in  the  to9canafaveUa 
than  it  doth  in  the  original  Macphersonic ;  and  Buonaparte, 
who  confessedly  modelled  the  s^le  of  his  "  proclamations  " 
on  the  speeches  of  these  mad  Highlanders,  derived  all  his 
phil-Ossianism  from  the  work  of  Cesarotti.  Of  the  Paradise 
Lost  there  happen  to  be  a  couple  of  excellent  Italian  versions 
(with  the  author  of  one,  the  exiled  Guide  Sorelli,  we  now 
and  then  crack  a  bottle  at  Offley's)  ;  and  rEneide  of  Annibal 
Caro  is  nearly  unexceptionable.  Babelais  has  met,  in  our 
Sir  Thomas  Urquhart,  a  congenial  spirit;  but  Don  Quixote 
has  never  been  enabled  to  cross  the  Pyrenees,  much  less  the 
ocean-boundaries  of  the  peninsula.  Nevertheless,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  Westmmster  has  lately  sent,  in  Evans,  a 
rival  of  the  woful  knight's  chivalry  to  St.  Sebastian.  To 
return  to  the  classics :  when  we  have  named  Dr.  Gifford's 
Juvenal,  with  the  praiseworthy  labours  of  Sotheby  and  Chap- 
man, we  think  we  nave  exhausted  the  subject ;  for  it  requires 
no  conjurer  to  tell  us  that  Tom  Moore's  Anacreon  is  sad 
rubbish,  and  that,  in  hundreds  of  similar  cases,  the  tradot' 
tore  differs  from  a  traditore  only  by  a  syllable. 

On  the  theory,  as  well  as  the  practice  of  translation,  old 
Prout  seems  to  have  bestowed  considerable  attention; 
though  it  would  appear,  at  first,  somewhat  strange,  that 
so  eccentric  and  self-opiniated  a  genius  as  he  evidently 
was,  could  stoop  to  the  common  drudgery  of  merely  trans- 
ferring the  thoughts  of  another  from  one  idiom  into  a 
second  or  third — nay,  occasionally,  a  fourth  one  (as  in  the 
case  of  "  Les  Bois  de  Blarney  "),  instead  of  pouring  out  on 
the  world  his  ovra  ideas  in  a  copious  flood  of  original  compo- 
sition. Why  did  he  not  indite  a  "  poem  "  of  his  own  ?  write 
a  treatise  on  political  economy  ?  figure  as  a  natural  theolo- 
gian ?  turn  history  into  romance  for  the  ladies  ?  or  into  an 
old  almanack  for  the  Whigs  ?    We  believe  the  matter  has 


Ttis  80!ias  or  ho&ace.  397 

already  explained  by  iia ;  but,  lest  there  should  be  any 
miatake,  we  do  not  core  how  often  we  repeat  the  lather's 
iavount«  assertion,  that,  in  these  latter  dava,  "  obioinalitt 
there  can  be  none."  The  thing  is  not  to  he  had.  Disguise 
thyself  as  thou  wilt,  Piagiiiriam !  thou  art  still  pereeptihle 
to  the  eye  of  the  true  bookworm  ;  and  the  silent  propess  of 
nproduction  in  the  world  of  ideas  ia  not  more  demonstrable 
to  the  scientific  inquirer  than  the  progressive  metempsy- 
cfaoeia  of  matter  itself,  through  all  its  variform  molecules. 
Aa  Horace  has  it : 

"  MiUta  reaaBounlur  quie  jrun  ewidcre."— E/<.  erf  Piirm.,  70. 

Or,  to  quote  the  more  direct  evidence  o£  honest  old  Chau- 
■lio  discovered  the  incontrovertible  fact  at  the  very 
peep-o'-day  of  niodi-ru  literatuiv: 

. . . . "  iStut  o(  olbr  fdtiita,  as  man  sairlfi. 

CTamiifi  all  this  ntloc  rarnt  from  ■Qtxt  la  pMtn ; 
9ntr  out  of  alQe  boHifl,  m  gaob  laillii. 

Comitfi  all  iftia  iictiri  schiik  t^ai  mcitiit  lurn." 

Scarce  ia  an  ancient  writer  sunk  into  oblivion,  or  hia 
wtirks  vcithdruwu  Irom  general  perusal,  when  aume  literary 
Beau  Tibbs  starts  upon  town  with  the  identical  cast-off  in- 
tellectual wardrobe,  albeit  properly  "refreshed"  so  as  to 
ptusKle  any  mortal  eye,  save  that  of  a  regularly  educated  Jew 
©Id-clothes man.     Audisok  has  hinted,  somewbat  obscurely, 

s  belief  in  the  practice  here  described,  when  (recording  his 

idgment  allegorically)  he  aays — 

"Svou  aa  tbc  shadcB  of  uight  prcriul, 
Tlic  muon  Ink™  up  tbe  wondroua  tolo." 

Should  any  one  wish  to  see  tliia  truth  further  developed,  let 
bitn  purchase  a  book  called  The  Woadrmit  Tale  of  Alroy,  by 
■"  ajaniin  Disraeli  the  Younker ;  of  which,  no  doubt,  a  few 
copies  remain  on  hand. 

long  ago  as  the  seventy-second  Olympiad,  an  ingenious 
irriter  of  Greek  songs  had  already  intimated  his  knowledge 
of  these  goings-on  in  the  literary  circles,  and  of  the  brain- 
■uckine  system  generally,  when  he  moat  truly  (though  enig- 
matically) represents  the  "black  earth"  drinking  the  rain- 
wnter,  the  trees  pumping  up  the  moiatuie  of  t^  soil,  the 


398  FATHEB  PBOUT'S  S£LIQVSt. 

siin  inhaling  the  ocean  vapours  and  vegetable  juices,  tin 
moon  living  equally  on  suction — 

O  6'  jjX/o;  SaXarrav 

and  so  on,  through  a  long  series  of  compotations  and  mutual 
hobnobbings,  to  the  end  of  the  chapter.  Most  modern 
readers  are  satisfied  with  moonshine. 

Prout  had  too  high  a  sense  of  honesty  to  affect  original 
writing ;  hence  he  openly  gave  himself  out  as  a  simple  trans- 
lator. '^  Non  meu8  hie  sermo"  was  his  constant  avowal,  and 
he  sincerely  pitied  the  numerous  pretenders  to  inventive 
genius  with  whom  the  times  abound.  Smitten  with  the  love 
of  antique  excellence,  and  absorbed  in  the  contemplation  of 
classic  beauty,  he  turned  with  disdain  from  books  of  minor 
attraction,  and  had  no  relish  save  for  the  ever-enduring  per- 
fections of  the  Greek  and  Boman  muse.  He  delighted  in 
transferring  these  ancient  thoughts  to  a  modem  vocabulary, 
and  found  solace  and  enjoyment  in  the  renewed  repercussion 
of  remote  and  bygone  "old  familiar"  sounds. 

There  is  not,  in  the  whole  range  of  pagan  mythology,  a 
more  graceful  impersonation  than  that  of  the  nymph  Echo 
— the  disconsolate  maiden,  who  pined  away  until  nothing 
remained  but  the  faculty  of  giving  back  the  voice  of  her 
beloved.  To  the  veteran  enthusiast  of  Watergrasshill,  little 
else  was  left  in  the  decline  of  his  age  but  a  corresponding 
tendency  to  translate  what  in  his  youth  he  had  admired ; 
though  it  must  be  added,  that  his  echoes  were  sometimes 
like  the  one  at  Killamey,  which,  if  asked,  "  How  do  you  do, 
Paddy  Blake  .^"  will  answer,  "  Pretty  wellj  I  thank  you .'" 

OLIYEE  YORKE. 

JUgent  Street^  July  26th. 


Waiergratthill,  half-past  eleten. 

In  the  natural  progress  of  things,  and  following  the  strict 
order  of  succession,  I  alight  on  the  tenth  ode  of  book  the 
first,  whereof  the  title  is  "  Ad  Mebcubium."  This  per- 
sonage, called  by  the  Greeks  Hebmes,  or  the  inter-"  preter," 
deserves  particular  notice  at  my  hands  in  this  place ;  forai* 


.<" 


THE   80S03   or   BOKACE.  309 

t  aa,  among  tiie  crowd  of  attributes  ascribed  to  liim  by 
''  ines.  nnd  thf  vast  multiplicity  of  ocL-upstioiis  to 
is  represented  aa  giving  hia  attention  (such  aa  per- 
forming   beavenly   mesanges,   teaching    eloquence,   guiding 
gboets,  preBiding  over  highways,  patroniarng  commerce  and 
robbers),  he  originated,  and  may  be  supposed  to  preserve  a 
lingering  regard  for,  the  art  of  tramlation.     Conveyancing 
is  a  science  divisible  into  many  deportments,  over  all  which 
bis  influence,  no  doubt,  extends ;  nor  ia  it  the  least  trouble- 
■ome  province  of  all  aptly  to  eouvey  the  meaning  of  a  diffi- 
cult writer.     With  OsFitEua,  then,  may  it  be  allowable  to 
llvddrees  him  on  the  threnhold  of  a  task  like  mine — 
KXuii  liQu  Eofttm,  ^ii  ayy0.t,  x.  r.  K 
(deed  Dean  Swifl,  lu  hia  advice  to  poets,  seems  to  be  fully 
f  the  importance  to  be  attached  to  the  assistance 
X  so  useful  and  multiform  an  agent,  when  he  knowingly 
ined  the  following  recipe  for  "  the  machtneri/  "  of  an  epic : 
"Take  of  deities,  mate  and  female,  as  many  as  you  eon 
K ;  separate  them  into  two  equal  parts,  anil  keep  Jupiter 
t  the  middle :  let  Juno  set  him  in  a  termeiit,  and  Venus 
Ecmember,  on  all  occasions,  io  mixke  ui«  of 

JDI.AT1I.B  MebciTEI." 

I  The  quantity  of  businesa  necessarily  transacted  by  liim 
I  his  innumerable  capacities,  bus  furnished  that  profane 
T  at  all  established  creeds,  Lucian,  with  matter  of  con- 
aiderable  merriment ;  be  going  so  far,  in  one  of  his  dialogues, 
ae  to  hint  that,  though  young  in  appearance  (according  to 
what  sculpture  andpaiotiug  have  made  of  his  outward  scm- 
hbtnce),  he  must  fain  be  as  old  as  Japhet  in  malice.  This 
degenerate  Greek  would  seem  to  look  on  the  god  of  wit, 
eloquence,  commerce,  and  diplomacy  as  a  sort  of  pa";an  com- 
pound of  Figaro,  Bothschild.  Dick  Turpin,  and  Talleyrand. 
It  would  be  naturally  expected  that  our  neighbours,  the 
French,  should  have  evinced,  from  the  earliest  times,  on  in- 
stinctive partiality  for  so  lively  an  impersonation  of  their 
own  endemic  peculiarities ;  and  wo  therefore  feel  no  surprise 
in  finding  that  fact  recorded  by  a  holy  father  of  the  second 
century  (TerluU.  ade.  Gno*tie.  cap,  vii.),  the  same  obser- 
ntion  occurring  to  Cxsar  in  his  Commentarir*,  viz.  "  GaUi 
t  Mereuriumciilunt"  Qih.'vi.).     Hdet.  the  illus- 


400  FATHEB  FR0TJT*8   BELIQIHEB. 

tarioos  bishop  of  Avranches,  has  brought  confliderable  ability 
to  the  identification  of  Mercury,  or  Hermes  TVumegistus^ 
with  the  Hebrew  shepherd  Moses  ;  and  this,  I  confess,  has 
been  my  own  system,  long  ago  adopted  by  me  on  the  perusal 
of  Father  Kircher's  (Edipus, 

The  twisted  serpents  round  his  magical  rod  are  but  slight 
indications  of  his  connexion  with  Egypt,  compared  to  the 
coincidences  which  might  be  alleged,  were  it  advisable  to 
enter  on  the  inquiry ;  and  I  merely  allude  to  it  here  because 
Horace  himself  things  proper,  in  the  following  ode,  to  call 
his  celestial  patron  a  *^  nephew  of  Mount  Atlas :"  setting  thus 
at  rest  the  question  of  his  African  pedigree.  This  odd  ex- 
pression has  been  re-echoed  by  an  Italian  poet  of  celebrity 
in  some  sonorous  lines : 

**  Scendea  talor  degli  inaurati  scaimi 
E  risalira  alle  stellanti  rote, 
Araldo  dagli  Dei  battendo  i  yanni 
D*Atlante  11  facondissimo  nipote.** 

We  are  told  by  Apollodorus  how  the  god,  walking  one 
day  on  the  banks  of  trie  Nile,  after  the  annual  inun£ition 
had  ceased,  and  the  river  had  £illen  back  into  its  accustomed 
channel,  found  a  dead  tortoise  lying  on  its  back,  all  the 
fleshy  parts  of  which  had  been  dried  up  by  the  action  of  the 
sun's  rays,  so  intensely  powerful  in  Egypt :  but  a  few  of  the 
tougher  fibres  remained;  upon  touching  which  the  light- 
fingered  deity  found  them  to  emit  an  agreeable  tone.  Forth- 
with was  conceived  in  his  inventive  brain  the  idea  of  a  lute. 
Thus  the  laws  of  gravitation  are  reported  to  have  suggested 
themselves  to  Newton,  while  pondering  in  his  orchard  of  an 
afternoon,  on  seeing  a  ripe  apple  fall  from  its  parent  branch. 
The  Corinthian  capital  was  the  result  of  a  Greek  girl  having 
left  her  clothes-basket,  covered  over  with  a  tile,  on  a  plant 
of  acanthus.  The  steam-engine  originated  in  observing* 
the  motion  of  the  lid  on  a  barber's  kettle.  Whatever  grace- 
fulness and  beauty  may  be  found  in  the  three  first  state- 
ments (and,  surely,  they  are  highly  calculated  to  charm  the 
fancy),  the  last,  I  fear  (though  leading  to  far  more  import- 
ant consequences  than  all  the  rest),  offers  but  a  meagre 
subject  for  painting  or  poetry. 

The  Latin  name  of  Mercury  is  derived,  according  to  a 
tradition  religiously  preserved  among  those  hereditary  giiar- 


THE    BONQS  OF   HORACE.  401 

[  diaoB  of  pnimtive  i^orSQCe,  the  achoolniBstere,  from  the 

I  word  merx,  merchandise.     I  beg  leave  to  submit  (and  I  am 

l-bome  out  by  an  old  MS.  in  the  King's  Library,  Paris, 

I  marked  b.  ^.),  that,  though  the  name  of  commercial  com- 

M  nodities  may  have  been  aptiy  taken  from  the  god  euppoBcd 

Wio  preside  over  their  prosperous  interchange,  he  himaeu  was 

1  BO  called  from  hia  functions  of  messenger  between  earth  and 

f  faeaven,  quati  MEDirs  cubbens  ;  an  origin  of  far  higher  im- 

L  port,  and  an  allusion  to  far  more  sacred  doctrines  than  are 

L  to  be  gathered  from  the  ordinary  ravings  of  pagan  theology. 

Among  the  Grreeks,  he  rejoiced  in  the  equally  significant 

itle  of  Hermes,  or,  the   "expounder  of  hidden   things." 

■And  it  would  appear  that  he   waa  a»  constantly  put  in 

r  requisition  by  bis  classic  devotees  of  old,  as  St.  Antonio 

of  Padua  is  at  the  present  day  among  the  vetturini,  and 

the  vulgar  generally  throughout  Italy.      It  is,  however,  a 

•oraewhat  strange  contradiction   in  the  Greek  system  of 

divinity,  that  the  god  of  locomotion  and  rapidity  should 

also  be  the  protector  of  fixtures,  mileatonea,  land  mart*, 

monumental  erections,  and  of  matters  conveying  the  idea 

of  permanence  and  stability.     The  well-known  signet  of 

Erasmus,  which  gave  rise  to  sundry  malicious,  imputations 

against  that  eminent  priest,  was  a  statue  of  the  god  in  the 

shape  of  a  terminus,  with  the  motto,  "  cedo  nulli  ;"  and 

everv  one  knows  what  odium  attached  itself  to  the  youth 

Alcibiades,  when,  in  a  mad  frolic,  be  removed  certain  figures 

of  this  description,  during  a  night  of  jollitv,  in  the  streets 

of  Athens.     The  author  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  gives  a 

caution,  which  it  were  well  for  modem  destructives  to  take 

to  themselves,  entering  into  the  spirit  that  dictated  that 

most  sensible  admonition  (Prov.  xxii.  28),  "Eemove  not 

the  ancient  landmarks  which  tby  fathers  have  set :"     "  Ne 

trajugrtdiaris  terminoa  anliquoi  qiios  ptituerunt  palrei  lui." 

0X>E  X.— niMS  TO   MEKCDET. 

"  Mebcpbi  racimde  Nepoa  AnjirriB." 

PerRiiuive  Hpnuea  !  Alnc'iBon!  Mercuri,  fBGundeiiepos  Atlsatin. 

Who— scarce  lind  human  life  bdgun —  Qui  feroa  oiiltiis   honununi    ru- 

Amid  our  rude  forefntlier*  ihone  centum 

With  arts  instructire.  Tone  formuti  catua,  el  daoom 

And  man  to  new  refinement  wen  More  palsalrB:  I 

With  grace  Kduclite. 


402 


FATHEB  FBOVT'8   BSLIQUEB. 


Te  oanam,  magni  Joris  et  IV 

orum 
Kuntium,  correqiie  Ijrm  parai* 

tern 
Callidum,  qnidqaid  placuit,  jo- 

C060 

Condeire  fmto. 

Te,  boree  olim  nin  reddidiaaei 
Per  dolum  amotaa,  puenim  mi- 

naci 
y ooe  dum  tenet,  TiduuB  pharein 
Bifiit  Apollo. 

Quin  et  Atridas,  duoe  te^  nLp«^ 

bo8« 
Sio  dives  PriamuB  relicto, 
Thessalosque    ignee    ei   iniqin 

Troj« 

OttBtra  fefellit. 

Tu  pias  Istia  animaa  veponia 
Sedibus,  virgaqiie  lerem  ooeroei 
Aurea  tiirbam,  superia  Deonun 
Gratua  et  imia. 


Herald  ol  Jore,  and  of  hia  court, 
Hie  lyre's  inventor  and  support, 
QeniuB !  that  can  at  mil  resort 

To  glorious  cunning ; 
Both  gods  and  men  in  furtive  sport 

Aad  wit  outrunning ! 

Tov,  when  a  child  the  woods  amid, 
Apollo's  kine  drew  off  and  hid ; 
And  when  the  sod  with  menace  bid 

The  spoil  deliver. 
Forced  him  to  smile— for,  whilehechid, 

Tou  stole  his  quiver ! 

The  night  old  Priam  sorrowing  went. 
With  gold  through  many  a  Qrecian 

tent. 
And  many  a  foeman's  watchfire,  bent 

To  ransom  Hector, 
In  TOU  he  found  a  provident 

GKiide  and  protector. 

Where  bloom  Elysium's  groves  be* 

yond 
Death's  portals  and  the  Sty^^ian  pond. 
You  guide  the   ghosts  with  golden 
wand. 
Whose  special  charm  is 
That  Jove  and  Pluto  both  are  fond 
Alike  of  Hermes ! 

So  much  for  Mercury.  Turn  we  now  to  another  feature 
in  the  planetary  system.  The  rage  for  astrological  pur- 
suits, and  the  beUef  in  a  secret  influence  exercised  by 
the  stars  over  the  life  and  fortune  of  individuals,  seeoui, 
at  certain  epochs  of  the  world's  history,  to  have  seized  on 
mankind  like  an  epidemic ;  but  never  was  the  mania  so  preva* 
lent  as  after  the  death  of  Julius  Caesar.  The  influx  of  Asiatic 
luxury  had  been  accompanied  by  the  arrival  at  Borne  of  a  num- 
ber of  "  wise  men  from  the  east,"  and  considerable  curiosity 
had  been  excited  among  all  classes  by  the  strange  novelty  of 
oriental  traditions.  Among  these  remnants  of  original  reve- 
lation, the  announcement  of  a  forthcoming  Conqueror,  to  be 
harbingered  and  ushered  into  the  possession  of  empire  by  a 
mysterious  star,*  had  fixed  the  attention  of  political  intri- 

*  Th)  expressions  of  Propertius  are  very  remarkable : 

**  Quffritis  et  ccbIo  fhoenicttm  ikventa  sereno  - 

Qua  sit  Stella,"  &c  &c.— Lib.  ii.  20,  60. 


Knei 
■Een< 
■  ins 


TDB   BOKOH    OF    HORACE. 


a  fit  engine  for  working  on  popular  creduUty ;  and 
ice  the  partiaans  of  young  Octaviue  were  conBtantly  ring- 
the  cnangea  on  "  C^aAsia  Ahtepm"  and  "Julium 
8iDr8,"  until  they  had  actuallv  forced  the  populace  into  a 
•troug  faith  in  the  existence  o^  some  celeatial  pheaomenon 
connected  with  the  imperial  house  of  Ceeaar.  Those  who 
recollect,  as  I  do,  how  fomously  Pa*(Drini'«  Propheciex  aa- 
siated  the  interests  of  Captain  Kock  and  the  Dynasty  of 
Derrynane,  will  understand  the  nature  of  this  sort  of  hum- 
bug, and  will  readily  imagine  how  the  mob  of  Itome  waa 
tutored  by  the  aut/urs  into  a  firm  reliance  on  the  inter- 
ference of  hearen  in  the  business.  Buonaparte  was  too 
shrewd  a  student  of  human  weaknesses,  and  had  read  hiatory 
too  carefully  to  overlook  the  tendency  of  the  vulgar  towariui 
tbia  belief  in  supernatural  apparitions  ;  hence  he  got  up  an 
ifinU/atuia  of  his  own,  which  he  called  the  "  Soleil  n'Aus- 
TEHLITZ,"  and  out  of  which  he  took  a  particular  shine  on 
more  than  one  brilliant  occasion.  Mauy  an  old  infidel  gre- 
nadier was  firmly  persuaded,  that,  better  than  Joshua  the 
Jew,  their  leader  could  command  the  glorious  disc  to  do  his 
biding ;  and  eveiy  battie-iield,  consequeutly,  became  a 
"  valley  of  Ajalon,"  where  they  smot*  the  sourcrout  children 
of  Germany  to  their  hearts'  content.  But  we  are  wander- 
ing from  the  era  of  Augustus.  By  a  very  natural  process, 
the  belief  in  a  ruling  star,  in  connexion  with  the  imperial 
iamilv,  expanded  itself  from  that  narrow  centre  into  the 
broM  circumference  of  every  family  in  the  empire;  and  each 
individual  began  to  fancy  he  might  discover  a  small  twink- 
ling shiner,  of  personal  importance  to  himself,  in  the  wide 
canopy  of  heaven.  Great,  in  consequence,  waa  the  profit 
accruing  to  any  cunning  seer  from  the  east,  who  might  hap- 
pen to  set  up  an  observatory  on  some  one  of  the  seven  hiLiB 
for  the  purpose  of  allotting  to  each  lady  and  gentleman  their 
[own  particular  planet.  Nostradamus,  Cugliostro,  Br.  Spurx- 
meim,  and  8t.  John  Long,  had  long  been  anticipated  by  Eo- 
BB&n  practitioners  ;  and  m  the  annals  of  roguery,  as  well  as 
fnf  literature  and  politics,  there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun. 
Tn  Mr.  Ainsworth'a  romance  of  the  Admirable  Crichlan 
(which  he  wisely  submitted  iu  embryo  to  my  perusal), 
I  c&nnot  but  commend  the  use  he  has  made  uf  the 
Mtrological   practices   so    prevalent    under    the    reign   ot 


KMi 


FATHES  PBOUT'S   BSLIQ1TB8. 


Henry  de  Yalois,  and  tn  the  days  oi  Catherine  de  Medicb ;  in- 
deed, I  scarcely  know  any  of  the  so-called  historical  noveli 
of  this  frivolous  generation,  which  has  altogether  so  graphi- 
cally reproduced  the  spirit  and  character  of  the  times,  as 
this  dashing  and  daring  portraiture  of  the  young  Sootchmau 
in  Paris  and  his  contemporaries. 

The  mistress  of  Horace,  it  would  seem,  had  taken  it  into 
her  head  to  go  and  consult  these  soothsayers  from  Ghaldjpa 
as  to  the  probahle  duration  of  the  poet's  liie  and  her  own — of 
course,  fancying  it  needless  to  inquire  aa  to  the  probabiiitj 
of  their  amours  being  quite  commensurate  with  their  earthly 
career ;  a  matter  wMch  circumstances,  neyertheless,  should 
render  somewhat  problematical — whereupon  her  lover  chidfiia 
the  propensity,  in  the  following  strain  of  tender  and  affec- 
tionate remonstrance : 


Ode  XI. — AD  LSucoNOSifr. 


Love,  mine !  seek  not  to  grope 
Tlirough  the  dark  windings  of  Chaldean  witch- 
ery. 

To  learn  your  horoscope, 

Or  mine,  from  vile  adepts  in  fraud  and  treach- 
ery. 

My  Leuconoe !  shun 
Those  sons  of  Babylon. 


Tu  ne  qusesieria. 

Scire  nefas. 
Quern  mihi,  quern  tibi, 
Finem  Di  dedennt, 

Leucono^ 
Nee  Babylonios 
Tentaris  numeros.— 

Ut  melius. 


Far  better  'twere  to  wait. 
Calmly  resigned,  the  destined  hour's 

Whether  our  life's  brief  date 
This  winter  close,  or,  through  a  long 
For  us  the  sea  still  roar 
On  yon  Tyrrenetai  shore. 


Quidquid  erit,  pati, 
maturity,   Seu  plures  hiemes, 

Seu  tribuit 
futurity,         Jupiter  ultimam, 

Qu»  nunc  oppositia 
DebiHtat 

Pumicibus  mare 

Tyrrhenum ! 


Let  Wisdom  fill  the  cup  ; — 
Vain  hopes  of  lengthened  days  and  years  feli- 
citous 

Folly  may  treasure  up  ; 
Ours  be  the  day  that  passeth — unsolioitous 

Of  what  the  next  may  bring. 

Time  flieth  as  we  sing ! 


Sapias,  yina  liques, 

Ft  spatio  brevi 
Spem  longem  reseoes. 

Dum  loquimur. 

Fugerit  inrida 
^tas.     Carpe  diem, 

Quam  minimum 

Credula  postero. 


Horace  has  been  often  accused  of  plundering  the  Greeks, 


THE   BOTTQS   OF   BOSA.CE. 


Eransferring  eatire  odea  from  their  language  into 
tree.  The  charge  is  perfectly  borne  out  by  conclu- 
•iva  ittcbB,  aud  I  shall  have  perhaps  an  opportanitj  of  re- 
curring to  the  evidences,  as  afforded  in  the  subsequent 
decades  of  this  series.  The  opening  of  the  following  glori- 
ous dithyramb  ia  clearly  borrowed  from  the  Ata^ifiafftiyyts 
'T/j.iiii  of  Pindar ;  but  I  venture  to  say  that  there  is  not 
among  the  Songs  of  Horace  a  more  truly  Boman,  a  more 
intensely  notional  effusion,  than  this  invocation  of  divine 

i)rotection  on  the  head  of  the  government.     The  art  of 
yrical  progression,  the  ars  celare  artrm,  is  nowhere  prac- 
tised with  greater  effect ;  and  the  bleading  up  of  all  the 
historical  recollections  most  dear  to  the  country  with  the 
proepecta  of  the  newly -established   dynasty,  the   hopes  of 
the  young  Marcellua,  and  the  preservation  of  the  emperor's 
life^  IS  a  masterstroke  of  the  politico-poetical  tactician.    The 
very  introduction  of  a  word  in  honour  of  the  republican 
Cato,  by  throwing  the  public  off  its  guard,  and  by  giving 
.  an  lur  of  independent  boldnesB  to  the  composition,  admirably 
w  &vours  the  object  he  has  in  view.     A  more  august  associa- 
Ltion  of  ideas,  a  bolder  selection  of  images,  is  not  to  be  found 
twitluD  the  compaas  of  any  ode,  ancient  or  modem — save, 
erbaps,  in  the  canticle  of  Habakkuk,  or  in  the  "  Persian 
■"  of  Dryden. 


I 


Ode  XII.- 


t  iroTisTirs. 


Aria—"  Sublimo  w 


I  thflw 


Name  Olio,  the  man !  or  the  god. .  — for  whose  sake 
The  lyre,  or  tlie  clarion,  loud  echoei  ebHll  nuke 

On  thj  fiiToorite  hill,  or  in  Helicon's  grovtt?   ... 
Whonce  foreata  haie  followed  tha  wiaird  of  Thrace, 
"WTieii  riveri  enraptured  aiupended  their  raee, 
Wlim  tlip  eon  were  rouchaafMl  Co  the  obdurnle  oak, 
And  the  blast*  of  mount  H»niu»  bowed  down  to  the  joke 

Of  the  Diagical  minettrel,  gmndion  of  Joie. 

Fint  to  Him  raUe  the  song  i  wiiose  parealal  control 
Hen  and  gods  feel  alike  ;  whom  the  wbtcs,  u  Ihey  roll — 

Whom  the  earth,  and  tho  itors,  and  tbe  BeasuUB  obc;, 
TTnapproacbpd  in  his  godhead  i  majestic  alone, 
Sungh  Pallai  maj  itand  on  Uu  ttepi  of  Ul  thrmu^ 


4i06  7ATHEB  PBOUT'8   BELIQUES. 

Hiongh  huntress  Diana  may  challenge  a  shrine^ 
And  worship  be  due  to  the  god  of  tl^  Tine, 
And  to  archer  Apollo,  bright  girer  of  dajl 

Shall  we  next  sing  Alcides  ?  or  Leda's  twin-lights — 
Him  the  Horseman,  or  him  whom  the  Cestus  delights  f 
Both  shininff  aloft,  by  the  seaman  adored ; 

gTor  he  kens  tnat  their  rising  the  clouds  can  dispel, 
ash  the  foam  from  the  rocl^  and  the  hurricane  queU.)— 
Of  Romulus  next  shall  the  claim  be  allowed  P 
Of  Numa  the  peaceful  ?  of  Tarquin  the  proud  ? 
Of  Cato,  whose  fall  hath  ennobled  his  sword  P 

Shall  Scaurus,  shall  Eegulus  fruitlessly  crave 
Honour  due  ?  shall  the  Consul,  who  prodigal  gare 

His  life-blood  on  CannsB*s  disastrous  plain  ? — 
Camillus  ?  or  he  whom  a  king  could  not  tempt  P 
Stem  Poverty's  children,  unfashioned,  unkempt, — 
The  fiune  of  Marcellus  grows  yet  in  the  shade. 
But  the  meteor  of  Julius  beams  over  his  head, 

Like  the  moon  that  outshines  all  the  stars  in  her  train  I 

Great  Deity,  guardian  of  men !  unto  whom 

We  commend,  in  Augustus,  the  fortunes  of  Borne, 

REiaN  FOB  EVEB !  but  guard  Ait  subordinate  throne. 
Be  it  his — of  the  Parthian  each  inroad  to  check ; 
Of  the  Indian,  in  triumph,  to  trample  the  neck ; 
To  rule  all  the  nations  of  earth ; — be  it  Jove*s 
To  exterminate  guilt  from  the  god*s  hallowed  groves, 

Be  the  bolt  and  the  chariot  of  thunder  thute  own ! 

Next  comes  an  ode  in  imitation  of  Sappho.  Who  has  not 
read  that  wondrous  woman's  eloquent  outburst  of  ecststie 
passion  ?  In  all  antiquity,  no  love-song  obtained  such  cele- 
brity as  that  which  has  come  down  to  us  in  the  form  of  a 
fragment ;  but  though  many  attempts  have  been  made  to 
divest  it  of  its  Grecian  envelope,  and  robe  it  in  modem 
costume,  I  am  sorry  for  the  sake  of  the  ladies  to  be  obliged 
to  say,  that  it  never  can  be  presented  in  any  other  shape 
than  what  it  wears  in  the  splendid  original.  That  is  toe 
more  to  be  regretted,  as,  in  a  recent  volume  of  very  exqui- 
site poetry,  Letitia  Landon  has  devoted  six  glowing  pages* 
to  the  development  of  Sappho's  supposed  feelings.  If  kindred 
eloquence  could  be  taken  as  a  substitute,  and  if  the  delicate 
instinct  of  a  lively  and  fervent  female  soul  may  be  ima- 

*  Yp,  115—121  of  the   Vow    of  tkt  Peacock,  and  other  PoemM,  1% 
L,  E,  L,    1  vol.  BmaSii^^o.    ^\mdfica  and  OtUej. 


THE   80KGS    OF   HOBACE.  407 

Tguied  fully  capable  of  catching  tlie  very  apirit  of  Greek  in- 

Siration,  then  may  it  be  permitted  to  apply  the  worda  of 
_     oraee  occurring  in  ajiother  place : 

"  Spirst  ndhun  amor 
Timntque  commisBi  calorM 
Lalilia  HdiboB  puell»." — Lib.  iv,  ade  ii. 

But,  retumiog  to  the  ode  before  ub.  it  is  oot  my  province 
to  decide  whether  the  jealousy  which  our  poet  here  de- 
■cribes  wm  really  felt,  or  only  uJfected  for  poetic  purposes. 
From  the  notorious  unsteadineea  of  hia  attacumeuta,  and  the 
multitudinouH  list  of  his  loves,  including  in  the  catalogue 
Jjaiagil,  Glycera,  Leucoao6,  Netera,  Gloria,  Pyrrha,  Nenne, 
Lycs;  Phidy]^,  Cynaris,  Jfco.  &c.  (by  the  way,  nil  Gree/i  girls), 
I  should  greatly  doubt  the  sincerity  of  hia  ardour  for  Lydia, 
It  is  only  necessary,  for  the  explanation  of  "  dente  labrit 
molam,"  terminating  the  third  stanza,  in  reference  to  Boman 
ideas  of  proper  behaviour  towards  the  ladies,  to  record  what 
Jlora  sajB  of  her  friend  Pompey,  in  Plutarch's  life  of  that 
filustriouB  general : — Mi-ii/ioysuiiB  njj  w^ot  rot  rio/Knioi'  o/iiXictt 
•K  su;^  i)v  txiitifi  eutancTauila//,tniii,  A^HKTIIS  a/ri'khif.  FoF 
'the  right  underatandiag  of  tbat  singular  phraae  in  the  fourth 
rtansa,  the  "  quinteaaence,"  or  fifth  part,  of  NECTiK,  be  it 
remembered  that  the  aweetnesa  of  the  celeatial  beverage  so 
called  was  supposed  to  be  divided  into  ten  parts,  the  tenth 
tythe  whereof  conatituted  what  men  call  honey  :  To  iiifXi, 
XT-ot  Die  aifi.&^citiixi  lii^K,  quoth  Ibicus.  From  wbich  it  is 
«  plain  as  Cocker,  that  Love,  being  the  fifth  part,  or  ;, 
' '  'ee  a  fractional  sweetuesa  of  much  higher  power  aud 
iteusity. 


&L 


Odi 


XIII.^THE  POBt' 

'  Quum  tu,  Lydia.  Tele 
Ceiricem  roscain,"  ■ 


L^dis.  when  voa  taimtitigl; 

Talk  of  Telephiu.  proiiiag  liim 
For  his  bcautj.  Tauntingly 

For  b^ood  me  raising  him. 
Si<  TQSj  Deck,  Bnd  bitub  of  alabaileF, 

M;  rage  I  scarce  am  masler ! 


Quum  lu,  L^duh  Telepbi 
Cerrioeni  roseam, 
Cerea  Telophi 

LaiidaebracluaiVHi!  meum 
FerrenB  ii^tHi 
Bile  lumcr  Jccur. 


406 


VATHSS  PBOITT'S   BELIQITSS. 


Pale  and  faint  with  dizzineis,  Tunc  nee  mem  mihi,  nte 

All  my  features  presently  color 

Fadnt  my  soul's  uneasiness ;  Certi  sede  manet ; 

Tears,  big  tears,  incessantly  Humor  et  in  genas 
Steal  down  mj  cheeks,  and  tell  in  what  fierce  Furtim  labitur,  arguens 

fashion  Quam  lentis  pemtus 

My  bosom  bums  with  passion.  Maoerer  ignibus. 

'Sdeath !  to  trace  the  evidence  Uror,  sen  tibi  candidos 

Of  your  gay  deceitfulness,  Turpdrunt  humeros 

Mid  tne  cup's  improvidence,  Immodice  mero 

Mid  the  feast's  forgetfulness,  Bix»  ;  sire  puer  furens 
To  trace,  where  lips  and  ivory  shoulders  pay      Impressit  memorem 

for  it,  Dente  labris  notam. 
The  kiss  of  your  young  favourite ! 


Deem  not  vainly  credulous. 

Such  wild  transports  durable^ 
Or  that  fond  and  sedulous 
Love  is  thus  procurable : 
Though  Venus  drencn  the  kiss  with  her  quin- 
tessence, 
Its  nectar  Time  soon  lessens. 


Non,  si  me  satis  audias, 
Speres  perpetuum 
Ihilcia  barbar^ 

Laedentem    oscula,    qam 
Venus 
Quinti  parte  sui 
Nectaris  imbuit. 


But  where  meet  (thrice  fortunate !)         Fehces  ter,  et  amplius, 
Kindred  hearts  and  suitable,  Quos  irrupta  tenet 

Strife  comes  ne'er  importunate.  Copula ;  nee  malis 

Love  remains  immutable ;  Divulsus  querimoniis 

On  to  the  dose  they  elide,  mid  scenes  Elysian,      Supremft  citius 

Through  life  s  delightful  vision !  Solvet  Amor  die ! 

Quinctilian  (lib.  viii.  6)  gives  the  following  address  to 
the  vessel  of  the  state  as  a  specimen  of  well- sustained  aUe- 
gory.  It  appears  to  have  been  written  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  civil  war  between  Octavius  and  Marc  Antony,  and  of 
course,  as  all  such  compositions  ought  to  do,  explams  itself. 
There  is,  however,  a  naval  manoeuvre  hinted  at  in  st.  ii.  ad- 
mirably illustrative  of  a  passage  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
(cap.  xxvii.  v.  17),  where  the  mariners  are  descrioed  by 
St.  Luke  as  "  underyirding  the  ship "  that  carried  Paul. 
Eopes,  it  appears,  were  let  down,  and  drawn  under  the  keel 
of  the  vessel  to  keep  all  tight :  this  is  what  Horace  indi- 
cates by  sine  funibus  carina.  I  recommend  the  point  to 
Captain  Marryat,  should  he  make  St.  Paul's  shipwreck  on 
tbe  isle  of  Malta  the  subject  of  his  next  nautico-historica] 

Q0V91. 


THE   aoIfBB    or  HOEACE.  40 

|OdE  XrV, — TO  TAB  TSBSEL  OF  THE  BTATE.     AK  ALLKSOBl 

O  Bniis.  referent 
Inn; 


WLat  teeeli  perdition  nrgee, 

Oallfl;  t  tjiy  darkiome  track, 
Once  more  upon  the  aurgcB  ? 

Hie  to  the  haven  bnck  ! 
Dotb  not  the  lightning  ihow  thee 
Thou  hast  got  none  to  row  thee? 
Is  not  thj-  mAinmut  shattered  P 

Hoth  not  the  boisleroua  smith 
Thj  jotiIb  uiii  Hgifing  ecHttrred? 

In  diihabiUo  uncoutli, 
Bow  CBn»t  thou  hope  lo  weather 
'    Tlieatoniit  that  round  tliee  gather? 
B«nt  an  the  Baihi  that  deek'd  l)iee ; 

Deaf  are  tliy  goda  became, 
Tbotigh  iiumtDoncd  to  prolwt  thee, 

Tliongh  iued  to  sbto  thee  from 
The  tale  thou  moat  sbhorrcat, 
,    Proud  dauijhtar  of  the  foreat ! 

pictured  poop 

PiBB-dmberi  from  the  Fontua  ; 

Fear  leat,  in  one  fell  bwood, 

J    Punt,  pride,  and  pinl^troea  hollow, 

I   The  Mofflng  whirlpool  awaJlow ! 

\  Tte  watehed  thee,  sad  and  penaive, 
1       Source  of  my  recent  porea  I 
I    Oh,  wisely  apprehenBire, 
I        Ventura  not  nnawnres 
,   Wliere  Greece  apreada  oul  ha'  mm, 
■" id  with  Cyclades ! 


O  quid  sgia  T 
Fortiler  occupa 
Portum.     Nonne  rid»  ut 
Nudum  rsmigio  Utua 

Et  malua  celeri 

SauuiuB  Africo 

AntenniequB  gemant, 

Ac  !ine  funiboa 

Til  duraro  carina 

Possint  imperioaiuB 

^quor  ?    fTon  tibi  lUDl 

Integra  iintea, 

Non  Di  quos  itcmm 

Preaaa  voces  malo  j 
Quamvis  Pontim  pinui. 
Silvan  filia  nobilia, 

Jaetes  et  genua  et 

Nomen  inutile. 

Nil  pictia  timidui 

Navila  puppibua 
Fidil.    Tu,  nisi  rentia 
Debes  ludibrium,  cave. 


Curaqne  nou  levifl 
InlerfuM  nitenfea 
Titeii  aquora  Cjcladsa. 


The  same  "interil  de  eirconilance"  which  may  Imve  given 
"niquancy  to  the  allegory,  possibly  attached  itself  ako  to  tlie 
'  foUoniiig  spirited  lines.  Antony  and  Cleopatra  must  have 
looked  ou  tiie  aliusion  to  Paris  and  Helen  as  libellous  in 
the  citreme.  Cousidered  merely  in  the  light  of  a  political 
sqnib,  the  ode  is  capital ;  but  it  has  higher  merit  as  a 
finished  lyric ;  and  Tom  Campbell  evidently  found  it  in  tlie 
aa  well  aa  substance  of  his  popular  and  spirited  effii- 


athek  PBorT'g  seliqcts. 


Ude  XV, — TUE  BEA-aon's  wabjuso  log 

"  Pastor  cuDi  traherrt,"  4c, 

As  the  Shepherd  of  Troj,  irii^ing  over  Ibe  deep 

8id  Perfidy'a  freightage,  bore  Helen  along, 
Old  Kereus  upros«,  hushed  the  breeies  to  ■leep, 


Ah  1  homeward  thou  bringeat.  irith  omm  of  droid. 

One  whom  Greece  will  redaim  !^for  her  mllliana  hare  n 

Not  to  rest  till  thej  tear  the  lalae  bride  trom  Uij  bed. 
Or  till  Priam's  old  throue  tliair  reienge  orertum. 

See  the  struggle !  how  foam  corcn  honemen  and  M«ed<  I 
See  thy  Ilian  coDsigned  to  Ihe  bloodiest  of  fieew  ! 

Mark,  arrajed  in  her  uelmet,  Minerra,  who  rpeedi 
To  prepare  far  the  battle  her  car  and  her  cgis  ! 

Too  fondly  thou  deemeet  that  Tenus  will  Touch 

For  a  lue  which  thou  epondest  in  trimming  tbj  curln. 

Or,  in  timing,  rwlincd  on  an  indolent  couch, 
Au  cSemiiuite  lyre  to  an  audience  of  girl*. 

Though  awhile  in  TolnptuouB  pasHmit  emplored. 
Far  awa;  from  the  cont«>C,  the  tninnt  of  luat 

MnjF  baffle  the  bowmen,  and  Aja*  atoid, 

Tlij  adultemui  ringlets  are  doomed  to  the  duit  I 

See'et  thou  him  of  Ithaca,  bcouteb  of  th;  race?     * 
Gallont  Teucer  of  Salami*  I  ^eBto^  Ihe  wise  T 

How,  UTiring  hU  car  on  thj  cowardl;  Iraoo, 
Swift  athcnelus  poisei  hia  lance  ai  he  SioB  ? 

Swift  Sthenelus,  Diomed'n  brare  cliariotccr, 
ABComplished  in  combat  like  Merion  llui  Cretan,   ' 

Fierce,  towering  alofl  see  his  matter  appear, 

Of  a  breed  that  in  battle  has  never  bean  boatcni. 

Wbom  thou,  like  a  f«wn.  when  a  wolf  in  the  Talle; 

The  delicate  paaturc  comjiela  liim  to  leoTe, 
Wilt  ftr,  faint  and  breethless — though  flight  maj  ool  bill; 

With  all  thj  beloved  heard  thee  l^sat  to  achieve. 

Achillea,  retired  in  lue  aiigrj  pavilion, 

Shall  cause  a  short  respilo  to  Troy  and  her  gomea  ; 

Yel  a  few  winters  more,  and  the  turrets  of  Ilion 
Must  sinli  mid  the  roar  of  relributlTC  flames  '. 

Horace  first  burst  on  the  town  u  a  xttiru^  oat 


tiisn  one  fair  dame  must  have  had  eauae,  like  Tyndaria,  to 
ill  out  with  him.  There  ia  a  graceful  miitiire  of  playful- 
ess  and  remonstrance  in  the  following  amende  honorabU,  in 
rhich  he  dwells  on  the  unaeetnlj  appearance  of  resentment 
od  anger  in  the  features  of  benn^.  With  reference  to 
tanui  v.,  it  would  appear  that  the  tragedy  of  Thyettet,  by 
'arua,  iraa  at  that  moment  in  a  successful  run  on  the  Bo- 
on boards. 

Ode  XVI.— the  batiribt's  becastation. 

□    TXITDABtDElf. 


Cunque  lolea  modum 

Fone«  inmbis  ;  lire  Oammi, 

Siva  mkri  libet  HadrianD. 

If  on  Dtndjmeiie,  non  odjtia  quattt 
Mi^ntem  BBirerdatmn 
Ineolii  Pjlhiua, 
Ifon  Libt^r  squc,  noo  bcuIa 
Sic  geminsnt  Carjbanlet  (era. 

Trintet  utirs;  quu  h^qd  Norn'iu 

Deterret  ea»iB, 

Hec  mare  naufragiun, 

"See  esTUB  igait,  nee  trcmendo 

Jupiter  ipfe  rueoa  tumultu. 


Dt  Cfbte'H  most  aoliinin  ritcK, 
CymbaJs  of  bnias  uid  gpelii  of 

poUo'B  prie«t,  'toid  Delphic  BightB  j 
r  Bicclumal,  'mid  flerce  delighu, 

Fnsenlj  b  scene  more  tr^o 
ban  Anger,  when  it  rules  the  eoul. 

Nor  B»  nor  sirord  cao  then  sur- 

Tor  the  vei'd  olementB  control, 
liough  Jote  himself,  from  pols  to 

pole, 
Thundenng  nuh  down  to  the  en- 


■ometheiu — farced  to  ^mft,  of  old,   PerturProroethcDii  addere  prindpi 
Upoii  our  itock  a  foreign  acion,  Limo  coaelug 

il'd  np — if  WB  bo  trulj  told —  " — ^"" ' —       '' 


bmto    particl™, 
mould — 
Anger  he  galhcred  jrom  the  lion. 


thorough, 
Lnd  mimy  a  loftj  cilj'e  tiaee 
Cbused  B  proud  foeman  to  eOace, 
Plouffaing  the  site  with  hoftile 


Deieclom,  et  ii 
Tim    «tomi 

Irte  Thjeaten  eii 

UrbibUB  ulti 


X" 


TATHEB 


Oh,  be  appeued !  'twiu  nee,  in  tooth,   Hoctil*  ■ratfim  1 

Finrlookem;  song's  miric^tnior;  ComjMKV  n 

In  vilj  mnd  univfloctine  joutJi.  Mft  qiumup  pi 

d  Uif  deed  uncouth  i  TenUTit  hi  duln  innati 

Ferrur,  rt  in  cvlea  is 


lady  !  I  ewmr— mj  rec 
HeoceTorth  lo  rectify 
To  change  mj  tones  from  bUme  U) 


hijg       Miril  (urmlfm  :  ninu*  afo  mk 
Miitarv  mi^m  (naU* 

Fix  Rvaiil^tia  uoics 
OpprohrlU. 


:( 


The  ijiirjla  of  ■  sad  defaultflr  t 

Here  follows  a  bilUt-domx,  cunreying  to  tlie  bi 
lady  (whose  wrath  we  must  euppoae  to  hftvo  r 
perusal  of  the  foregoing)  a  gallant  invitation  to  thervil 
maneion  of  our  author.  To  ]«reei»e  the  diflerena:  brtWMD 
a  bond  fide  invite  and  n  mere  moonshine  propoaal,  it  is  laly 
uecvBsary  to  collate  this  with  Tom  Moore's 


Odk.  XVII.— as 


TO  hokack's  tulu. 


Oft  Tor  the  hill  where  nngei 

Mj  Subine  dock, 
Swjil-foolfi)  Faun  ciohmgn 
Arcadia's  rock, 
And,  tempering  tumnier's  ny,  Torbidi    Defmdit  •>>■ 
Uiitoward  rain  to  harm  mj  kida.  Tsqiw  net* 

And  there  in  happj  Tagraiioe, 

Roams  the  Klie-guat, 

Lured  b;  manlnl  rraKranee,  (juamiut 

Thtouah  dell*  romote  ;  Kl  thjma 

Of  each  vdd  herb  and  shrub  partAkea.  Olentia  uiona  m 

Nor  fears  the  ooil  of  lurking  sunkeL  Neo  rindsf  ad 


No  prowling  wotvea  alarm  her  i 

ijafe  from  their  grip*  Ktfdulna  hifiaai 

While  Faun,  itumorlal  clivmtf  I  iricunifur  dalr^ 

Attuii»  lus  pipe,  l^iian.  llalBlk 

A-id  down  liie  role  and  o'er  tlu  hilll  Tallos,  et  Uttic*  culiHUii 

Ustioa's  ever;  echo  OIU.  Lcm  panonacn  ■ 


TBE  ao^aa  of 

The  Oode,  their  bard  mrcasmg, 

With  kmdneaa  IruBt : 
^iBj'vefill'd  my  house  with  bleflsing— 

lij  countTF'Best, 
re  Pleotj  yoids  her  loaded  horn, 
ir  I^daris,  pnj  come  odom ! 

'   From  Biriua  in  the  lenith, 
From  tumtiwr's  glare, 
Come,  whore  the  vaUey  Boreoneth, 
Come,  warblo  there 
KiSongc  of  the  hero,  fur  vrhoso  Lore 
""  iielop6  and  CircS  itrove- 

[  Hot  thmll  the  cup  be  mntiug, 
J  So  h&nnlHi  thou, 

I-  To  grace  that  hour  enchanting 
Id  iliody  glen, 
ir  ahall  the  juiLV  our  calm  disturb, 
'  aweet  emotiona  curb  t 


DI  me  tuenlur  i 

Et  Riuu  cordi  est. 
Hlc  tibi  rapia 
Manabit  ad  pJeaum  benigno 
Biuia  boaorum  opulentacomu. 

Hie  in  redupld 
TikUe  canicule 
Vitabis  iBstUB, 
Et  flde  Ttii 
Diceg  IsboranUu  iu  uno 
Penelapen  ritreamqae  Circen. 

Pocula  Leibii 
DuiHS  sub  umbrt 
Nee  Semeleiu* 
Cum  Marte  coufundet  Tb jooeun 
Pnelis;    uec  meluea  proter 


[  Fear  not,  mj  fair  ona  1  Oyrus 

[       Shall  nor  intrude, 

I    Kor  worry  thee  dijgiroui 

>  Of  (olitude, 

■For  rend  thy  innocmt  robe,  itor  tear 

'~ie  garland  from  tliy  flowing  hair. 


SuapecCa  Cyruio 
Ne  male  diapari 
lacontinentes 


Jek  of  Alcieus.     To  the  concluding  words,  " perlueititor 
_ "  I  have  ventured  to  attach  a  meaning  whicli  the  recent 
Sscoveriea  at  Pompeii,  of  drinking  uteneihi  made  of  a  kind 
f  Bilicious  materiai,  would  Beem  fully  to  justify. 

"  Nollam,  Vare,  aacrA  vile  prius  spreria  arboroui,"  Ac. 
Mqjiv  oXXo  fvTivafs  irportpoc  ^ii'^poi'  nfiwiX^  «.  r.  X. 

SoUaDi,  Yore,  sacre  rile  prius  Bevsria  arborem 
Cirut  mile  lolum  Tiburis,  et  mmiia  Catih : 
Sit-in  ontuia  naro  dura  Deae  propoeuit ;  neqae 
Mordacee  ahtT  difl\jgtiint  loUicitudines. 
Quii  post  TOia  gnwem  militiam  aut  paupBrioni  orepit  f 
Quia  uou  le  potius,  Bacche  pal«r,  teque,  deoena  Teniu  t 
Al  Do  quia  modiei  liranailiat  munera  Ijberi, 
Centuiu-ea  mou«t  cum  Lapithis  riia  au[i«r  mcru 


4-4  TATHI2    PEOrr  8   KXLIQrXS. 

r'rr>*r.t.'i  :  —icfrt  S.ihwGii*  non  kris  Erius, 
Vi=;2!i  ^  ^-v-^  redu  ecfso  &ae  iibidinam 
I>wxrx=r;  sv^ii.    X  en  eeo  te,  candide  Baasareu, 
Ixrr^sn  z-^as=az=, ;  aee  Tvixs  obsiu  frondibus 


Sb»  xxasa  ra^cia.     Scrm  teat  com  BavcjnUiio 
Ccci^  ^T~TME-ii,  qos  fobaeqiiitiir  oecus  amor  nii, 
£S  MiGeBf  TBTcws  phif  nimio  ploria  rolioem, 
fiia  prodigB,  pcrhiridior  Titro. 


ft  IStwU,  Tanu,  Trnfre  fixed  npoo  planting 
So«z=i  Tocr  TiDa  enchanting^ 
Ofi^ttc&OsV  friend:  let  tfae  Tine  be  the  fint 


Oft  as  ether  wBdxtwa  viU  Jore  lend 
To  kaep  at  a  dirtanftf 
and  tbe  eana  that  aeeompanj  thint. 


Sd  one  talk»  aft<r  viae  abcmt  "  battles^  or  "  frmine ;" 

Boiy  if  TovcxaaiiBe, 
Xbe  praam  ol'  knv  and  good  living  are  rific; 


Tb3cz:b  onee  d^  Centaim,  *midpotationa  too  «mpk^ 

Left  a  tn^  example 
Of  abicqart  diihonoared  bj  bloodahed  and 


Far  z«Di>Tvd  be  sndi  doinga  from  ns !    Let  the  IliraciBni* 

Asid  their  Hbationt, 
Ccefjcssd  aH  the  limits  of  right  and  of  wrong  % 


vill  join  in  their  orgiea  onholj — 
I  :;Vrer  will  rally 
TSe  rises  that  to  iiinamiued  Baoctma  belong. 

Lee  Crt^>  sOence  her  prieffthood,  and  calm  her 

Braw  crmbals  and  clamour ; 
Awar  with  soch  oatborats,  nproarions  and  rain ! 

Displars  often  fiDQowed  br  Insolence  mnliah. 

And  Confidence  fo(^h. 
To  be  seea  through  and  through,  like  this  glass  that  I  drain. 

In  the  first  decade  of  Hontian  songs,  it  became  mj  duty 
to  supplv  in  the  ori^:inal  Latin,  from  the  Vatican  Codex,  a 
loDg4ost  effusion  of  tlie  Sabine  fiurmer,  commencing  "  Viretd 
mrtauKmet ;"  or.  as  the  Scotch  haTe  it, ''  Ghreen  growthe  rashes, 
O  !'*  I  am  equaUy  happy  to  be  enabled,  owing  to  the  late 
Sir  HamphvT  Davy's  experiments  on  the  calcined  Toloines 
found  at  Herculaneum,  to  supply,  in  concluding  this  second 
eMar.  mmoiAer  lost  ode  of  Horace,  which  has  been  imitated 


f  TEE  S0NG3  OF  HOEACE, 


DECADE   THE   THIRD. 


416  FATHEB   PEOUT's   BELIQTTEo. 

Des  sots  auteurs  heme  les  vers  ineptes, 
Nous  instruiBant  par  gracieux  pr^ceptes, 
Et  par  sermons,  de  joie  antidotes." — J.  B.  Ror88Ei.ir. 

Horace,  in  one  small  Tolume,  shows  us  what  it  is 

To  blend  together  eyery  kind  of  talent ; — 
'Tis  a  bazaar  for  all  sorts  of  commodities, 

To  suit  the  grave,  the  sad,  the  graye,  the  gallant : 
He  deals  in  songs  and  "  sermons/'  whims  and  oddities, 

By  turns  is  philosophic  and  pot-yaliant. 
And  not  iinfrequently  with  sarcasm  daughters 
^he  yulgar  insolence  of  coxcomb  authors. — O.  Y. 

The  "  diffusion'^^  of  knowledge  is,  we  suspect,  somehow  ir- 
reconcileable  with  \\x^t<mdensation  ;  at  least,  we  see  no  other 
way  of  explaining  the  notorious  fact,  that  one  old  standard 
author  contains  (either  in  the  germ  or  in  full  developm^t) 
more  ideas  than  a  whole  modem  "  Cyclopaedia ;"  funush- 
ing  more  materials  for  thought  and  feeling  than  aie 
now  accumulated  during  a  whole  Olympiad  in  the  ware- 
houses of  Paternoster  Bow.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  we 
gladly  revert  with  Prout  to  the  small  Elzevir  which,  towards 
the  close  of  his  earthly  career,  formed  the  subject  of  lus 
vesper  meditations,  and  cheerfully  accompany  him  throng 
another  "  decade"  of  his  classic  rosary. 

We  know  not  how  it  will  be  with  us  next  month,  or 
whether  we  shall  be  tempted  to  take  up  a  newspaper  id[ter 
the  fatal  ides  of  September  1836. 

The  removal  of  the  stamp-duty  on  the  15th,  bids  fiur  to 
open  the  floodgates  of  "  dimision,'*  so  as  to  swamp  us  alto- 
gether. Then  will  begin  the  grand  millenium  of  cheap 
knowledge ;  from  that  auspicious  day  will  be  dated  the 
hegira  of  Hetherington.  The  conquest  of  China  by  the 
Tartars  will  find  its  parallel  in  the  simultaneous  rush  of 
writers  over  the  great  wall,  which  the  sober  wisdom  of 
former  reigns  had  erected  to  restrain  such-like  inroads  of 
Calmuc  vagrancy.  The  breaking  down  of  the  dykes  of 
Holland,  and  the  letting  in  of  the  Zuydersee,  is  to  be  re- 
hearsed in  the  domains  of  literature.  The  Dutchmen  wero 
drowned  by  a  rat — we  are  to  be  inundated  by  Rice.*  Soap, 
it  is  true,  will  continue  to  be   as  dear  as  ever,  but  tiie 

*  The  Bight  Hon.  Spring  B.,  chancellor  of  the  Excheqiifir,  18S6. 


THB   SOKOe   OF   HORACE.  417 

'  "w»terBof  ioBtniction"  are  to  be  plentifully  supplied  tc 
I  the  uawasbed, 

Hie  aqua." — Itrr  Brandit. 

One  cannot  help  imagining,  that  a  concomitant  reduction 
■tm  the  former  most  useful  article  would  prove  aa  beneficial 
tn  the  Badicals  as  the  cheapening  of  brimstone  (for  example) 
would  be  to  the  writers  and  readers  of  the  Ca/etfonian  Mer- 
cury ;  but   the  WhigB,  probably,  wish    to  monopolise  yet 
while  the  staple  manufacture  of  Windsor,  for  the  eicluaive 
pose  of  blowing  bubbles  to  delude  the  rabble.     We  ob- 
re,  by  a  recently  discovered  process,  that /in(i  have  been 
Ibund  less  hard-hearted  than  tne  Chancellor,  and  actually 
yield  soap  from  silica. 

To  the  press,  as   hitherto  constituted,  we  acknowledge 

ourselves  eiceedingly  indebted.     On   a  late  occasion,*  the 

unanimous  expreasion  of  cordial  sympathy  which  burst  from 

■ferery  organ  of  public  opinion,  in  reprobation  of  a  brutal 

^Hkeault,  baa  been  to  us  consolatory  and  gratifying.     We 

^^ftall  hazard  the  charge  of  vanity,  perhaps,  but  we  cannot 

^■wlp   replying    to  such    testimonies    of  fellow-feeling  to- 

'      wards  ourselves  in  the    language  of   a  gifted    Boman : — 

"  Ett  taihijueunda  in  malis,  el  ffrala  in  dolore,  ventra  erga  tne 

vobtnlBf  :  ifd  curam  de  me  quaso  drpimilr."   (Catilinar.  iv.) 

~le   iuteresta   of  literature    are    still    uppermost    in    our 

ilOUght«.  and  take  precedency  of  any  selfish  considerations. 

Tfe  will  be  ever  found  at  our  post,  intrepidly  denouncing 

'ulgar  arrogance  of  booby  scribblers,  unsparingly  censur- 

j  the  obtrusion  into  literary  circles  of  silly  pretenders 

^oTHUt  borse'jockies,  and  brainless  bulbes. 

We  took  up  a  number  of  the  "  Carlton  C/ironirle  "  for  Inst 

|lonth,  in  which  we  read  with  some  astonishment  the  asser- 

iOn  that  Ware  Antony  "  was  juatilied "  in  causijig  M.  T. 

"'eero  to  be  waylaid  and  butchered  in  cold  blood,  as  some 

mement  for  his    "  wounded    fet'lings "  on  reading  that 

a  oration  called  the  Second  Paitrppic,    Tlie  Carlton 

jkronieU  is  conducted  by  a  young  barrister  of  eniinent  at- 

"'-menta,  and  we  therelore  experience  some  8\irprise  at  the 

r  Boman  law,  or  the  laws  of  civilized  society  (as 

•  The  brutal  BSBSult  of  Grantlej  Berkeley  on  iJie  publielier  Fra«er. 


418  FAJHER   PBOUT's   BELIQUES. 

contradistinguished  from  the  laws  of  "  Lynch,"  the  Ameri- 
can Lycurgus)  put  forth  in  this  startling  announcement. 
Our  illustrious  namesake,  Oliver,  was  not  very  serupuloiu 
in  his  respect  for  the  "  baubles  "  of  legal  arrangement ;  yet 
even  he  took  alarm  at  the  title  of  a  pamphlet,  CEdled,  '*  fil- 
ing no  Murder."  We  are  not  exactly  members  of  the  Inner 
Temple,  but  we  beg  to  question  the  propriety  of  the  above 
decision,*  which  we  cannot  otherwise  qualify  than  as 

«  A  sentiment  exceedingly  atrodona, 
Kot  to  be  found  (we  trust)  in  Pnffendorff  or  Gxotiat." 

We  rejoice,  however,  at  the  introduction  of  TuUy's  immor- 
tal  speech,  and  are  thankful  for  being  thus  reminded  of  a 
classic  precedent  for  intrepidly  exposing  to  the  scorn  of  all 
rightly  thinking  men  those  blunders  and  follies  which  force 
themselves  into  public  notice,  and,  baboon-like,  exhibit  their 
shameful  side  by  a  fidse  position  of  (heir  own  choosing. 

Cicero  had  to  replv  to  an  elaborate  composition  of  his 
stupid  adversary,  published  by  Marc  Antony  himself,  at  his 
own  expense,  at  the  bookshop  of  the  Boman  Bentley  of  tiie 
day ;  need  we  add,  miserably  deficient  in  literary  value,  and 
rich  only  in  absurdities — "  hoe  ut  colUgeres  homo  amentisoMU 
tot  dies  im  aliend  rii  id  script  it  asti  T*  {Philip,  ii.)  In  that  pro- 
duction the  booby  had  touched  upon  points  which  he  shoold 
have  been,  of  all  other  men,  careful  to  avoid.  Mark,  we 
pray  you,  gentle  reader,  the  words  of  TuUy :  "  MaximS  wuror 
wnentionem  te  heereditatum  ausum  esse  facer e  cum  ipse  hetreS- 
totem  patris  non  adissesJ*^ — //.  ibidem,* 

We  need  not  point  out  the  passage,  of  which  this  is  the 
exact  prototype ;  neither  is  it  necessary  to  indicate  where 
may  be  found  a  fac-simile  for  the  subsequent  exclamation  of 
the  indignant  orator — "  O  misene  mmtieris  fcecunditatem  es- 
lamitosam  .'"  (it.  ibidem) ;  nor  the  allusion  contained  in  the 
words  by  which  he  reproaches  his  opponent  for  the  con- 
firmed stupidity  evinced  in  his  literary  production,  albeit  he 
had  enjoyed  certain  advantages  of  family  wit — **  aiiquidemm 
milis  ab  uxore  mimd  trahere  potuisti  "  (t^  ibid.).  The  follow- 
ing picture  of  his  adversary's  personal  appearance,  and  the 

•  This  TeCen  V>  the  Wwuitt  of  the  Berkeley  iunily. 


THE   aOSOS   OF   UOBACe.  419 

EsdmiBsion  of  his  eigoal  accompliBhmeuta  in  all  the  graces  of 
MB  prize-fighter,  ought  not  to  be  forgotten  : 

bupibu!,  iitii  Utenbiu,  ulA  gUtti&torii  taliaa 
corporis  finnilalc." — /(.  iiubm, 

iWe  recommend  the  whole  diBcourse  (beyond  comparison  the 
rst  model  of  classic  eloquence  in  existence,  and  the  most 
r  Iwwerful  expoie  that  folly  and  brutality  ever  received)  to  the 
Attentire  meditation  of  those  concerned. 

"  Nullo  lueC  hoc  AntODiiu  ono'." 

In  the  couree  of  Prout's  youthful  mmhles  through  Italy, 

we  find  that  he  has  recorded  the  circumstances  of  a  devout 

pilgrimage,  undertaken  by  hiin.  to  the  very  spot  nhere  the 

lUustrious  orator — the  terror  of  oil  Eoman  ruffians,  from 

Clodiue  to  Catiline,  from  Antony  to  Verres — was  cowardlv 

BBUssinated  by  the  hero  of  the  Sfcond  Philippic*     It  is  a 

green  lane.  leading  off  the  via  Jppia  down  to  the  shores  of 

tfae  Mediterranean ;  and  close  by  the  scene  of  the  disgrace  - 

fill  event  stands  to  the  present  day,  on  the  ruins  of  the  For- 

mian  villa  which  had  belonged  to  the  murdered  statesman, 

an  hotel,  known  by  the  classic  designntion  of  "  Albergo  di 

Cicerone."    The  details  of  that  visit,  with  simdry  delectable 

Linatters  appertaining  thereunto,  remain  in  our  "chest"  for 

f  jhrther  use.  when  we  shall  have  to  entertain  our  readers 

irith  other  (and  collateral)  subjects ;  wheu  from  Horace  we 

■shall  pass  t<]  some  of  bis  contemporaries. 

To  Horace  we  now  return.  In  uiii  the  dunces  and 
fbolliea  of  Eome  found  an  uncompromising  foe — equally  for- 
I'midahle  to  "  Mavius  the  blockhead  "  and  to  "  Gorgonius 
i  he-goat,"  to  "  the  debauchee  Nomentanus,"  and  to 
**  Pantolabus  the  buffoon."  It  is.  however,  aa  a  lyric  poet 
[that  Prout  chooses  to  dwell  on  his  merits ;  and  in  this,  as 
D  moat  matters,  we  recognise  the  professional  tendency  of 
hbe  father  to  peacetul  topics  and  inoifeusive  disquisitions. 
OLIVER  YOEKE 

Kpean  to  h»ve  been  in  his  ila;  t.be  "  Udv's  man " — lor* 
know  not,  howerer,  whether  A»  wu  Fool  ^Dough  to  UJli  of 
le  matroiu  of  Rome  iuto  the  senate-house,  like  Qranlle; 


420  FATHER   PBOTt  8   fiELTqCIfl. 

Jl'elrrgraiihill,  ad  1™  pocHi  n 

Whes  first  I  took  up  the  Songs  of  Iloraoe,  with  s  rient  U 
record  my  imaginings  thereanent  (for  the  benefit  of  nij  pi' 
rishinuers),  it  occurred  to  me  that  something  in  the  shsp 
of  methodical  arrangement  would  not  be  amias,  and  thi 
these  miacellaneoua  odes  would  come  more  acceptable  if  01 
attempt  were  mode  at  closBificatioo.  In  this  aepartmenl 
the  modems  have  a  decided  advantage  over  the  writers  a 
antiquitv  ;  the  bump  of  "  ordor,"  as  it  relates  to  section  uu 
subdivision,  being  of  comparatively  late  derelopement 
Pagan  antiquity  had  been  content,  ever  since  the  goddea 
Flora  enamelled  the  earth  with  so  maay  charmiag  rarietie 
of  form  and  colour,  to  admire  them  for  their  very  coofusJoil 
and  to  revel  in  the  delightful  contrasts  they  anbrdcd; 
do  we  learn,  from  the  author  of  Genesis,  that  there  wm  i 
regular  system  of  botanical  science  understood  by  Ev«,  a 
her  state  of  horticultural  innocence :  it  was  reserved  &tr  tli 
great  Dutchman,  Limweua,  to  methodise  the  beauty  and  t 
classify  the  fragrance  of  dowers.  My  old  friend  and  school 
fellow,  I'Abb^  Moutardier,  who.  since  the  French  cmi^rt 
tion,  resides  at  Lulworth  Castle,  Dorsetshire  (where  I' 
Weld  family  have  gathered  round  him  a  small  coDg 
gation),  carries  the  practice  of  regular  claasificatiuu  to  i 
great  extent  in  his  Anglo-Gallic  addreeaes  from  the  r 
pulpit  of  the  castle-chapel ;  ex.  yr.  "  My  friuds,  the  aei 
of  twoday  vill  be  ia/ourpinlg ;  after  vich,  I  rill  draw  fo 
you  a  little  mor-ale,"  &c.  In  pursuance  of  this  praiseworlii] 
system  of  orderly  arrangement,  I  had  set  out  by  dividinj 
these  songs  under  sixcompreheuaive  heads*;  I  °  political  squibs 
2"  convivial  and  bacchanalian;  3°  love  songs;  4"  nbilo 
Bophical  effusions ;  5"  theological  bymns ;  and  6°  uiatljj 
<iertain  odes  addressed  to  Virgil,  Msceuas,  Ac.,  dictated  bj 
the  purest /cieHrf* Alp,  and  bearing,  more  than  all  the  pert,  U 
impress  of  earnestness  and  sincerity.  The  eatalogae  rntotm 
made  out  after  this  fashion,  took  ii^  I  found,  the  wholi 
range  of  his  lyrics  ;  and,  instead  of  the  wild  luxuriancy  C 
uncontrolled  prodm-tiveness — the  very  wilderness  of  ibought 
and  sentiment  which  the  book  now  presents — reduced  tbfl 
collection  to  uU  the  symmetry  of  a  civilized  parterre  laid  out 
bv  Evelyn  or  Lenfttre. 


THK   BOKOa   OF   IIOHACE.  121 

Mucli  meditating,  howerer,  on  the  peculiar  genius  of  the 
>et,  aad  fully  aware  that,  with  reference  to  the  ''  teries 
meturapie,"  be  practised  what  he  preoelied,  I  eoucluded 
tiat,  in  publishing  bis  four  books  of  occaeional  miustrelsj 
r  in  their  actual  order  of  succession,  totally  regardless  of 
*■  the  date  of  each  particiUar  composition,  he  must  have 
been  guided  by  some  hidden  principle  of  refined  taste,  appli- 
cable to  the  precise  consecutive  position  assigned  to  every 
song.  Of  himself,  as  well  as  of  the  father  of  poetry,  it  may 
be  safely  predicated,  that  ni/  molitur  ine-plf.  Hence,  on  ma- 
turer  consideration,  I  shrunk  from  interrupting  the  present 
Ikk  of  precedence,  established  by  recognised  authority  ;  and 
I  resolved  to  maictaiu  it  as  steaafastly  as  if  I  bad  taken  a 
regular  ooth  not  to  "  weaken  or  disturb  the  line  of  success- 

^■ion"  in  the  harmony  of  Horace I  have  not  vet  got 

^Hjbrough  the  first  book.     If  I  recollect  right,  a  drinking  bout 
^Kl'to    Vamus"  (numbered    ode    xviii.)  wound  up  the  last 
^E^per ;  a  love-song  "  to  Gltceba"  (ode  xis.)  shall,  therefore, 
luber  in  the  essay  of  to-night. 

Horace  was  not  very  lucky  in  his  loves.     In  spite  of  all 

the  fervour  with  which  he  eslialta  the  fascinations  and  chants 

^_^he  merits  of  the  fair  sex— notwithstanding  the  delicacy  with 

^KWhioh  he  could  flatter,  nod  the  sprightly  ingenuity  with  which 

^Bie  could  ainuse  the  ladies  of  Borne,  he  appears,  from  the 

^Hfeeponding  tenor  of  his  amatory  compositions,  to  have  made 

^"tut  small  havoc  among  the  hearts  of  patrician    matrons. 

l^ese  ditties  are  mostly  attuned  to  the  most  plaintive  strain, 

and  are  generally  indicative  of  unrequited  attachment  and 

disappointed  hopes.     He  has  made  Posterity  the  conJidanU 

mt£  niB  jealousy  regarding  "Ptbbua;"  "LrniA"  forsakes 

Ihid  for  "  Tklephub,"  who  was  probably  a  stupid  life-guards- 

pwn,  meflsunng  five  feet  eleven  ;  "  Chlob"  runs  away  from 

.  B  addresses,  begging  her  mother  to  say  she  is  "jet  too 

hroung  to  form  an  engagement ;"  be  records  the  perjured 

londuct  of  "  BiRisi"  towards  him ;  laments  the  inconstancy 

"Ne^ba,"  the  hauteur  of  "LrcE;"  makes  an  abject 

jologj-  to  "Ttkdahib,"  whose  pardon  we  do  not  find  that 

e  obtains ;  he  invites  her  to  his  villa ;  we  don't  learn  that 

e  accepted  the  invitation. 

The  fact  is,  be  wna  in  stature  a  dwarf,  with  a  huge  bead, 


422  FATHEB  PB0T7T*S   BELIQUES. 

a  la  Quasimodo ;  further  endowed  with  an  ungainly  promi- 
nence of  abdomen ;  eyes  which  required  the  constant  appli- 
cation of  unguents  and  coUyria  ;  was  prematurely  bald,  lika 
B^ranger — 

"  Moi,  k  qui  la  sagesse 
A  fait  tomber  touB  les  chereoz ;" 

and,  like  him,  he  might  break  forth  into  that  affecting  out- 
burst of  naif  despondency  derived  from  the  consdousness  of 
a  deformed  figure : 

"  Elle  est  81  BELLE, 

Et  moi — et  moi— je  suia  81  laid  !" 

By  the  way,  to  Beranger's  immortal  credit  be  it  remarked, 
that  he  is  the  only  Frenchman  who  ever,  under  any  circum- 
stances of  personal  ugliness,  made  a  similar  admission. 
"  Mons.  Mayeux"  fancied  himself  an  AnoNis ;  so  does  M. 
Thiers,  though  his  portraits  prove  him  to  be  what  Theodore 
Hook  has  imagined,  as  the  exact  symbol,  or  vera  ixuiv,  of 
Tom  Moore :  viz.  "  something  between  a  toad  and  a  Cupid." 

Still,  nothing  could  keep  Horace  from  trying  his  fortune 
among  the  girls.  "  His  only  books  were  woman's  looks ;" 
though  **  folly"  (as  in  Moore's  case)  was  positively  all  he 
gathered  from  the  perusal.  Though  his  addresses  are  repeat- 
edly rejected,  he  still  perseveres  ;  and,  in  spite  of  his  noto- 
rious scepticism  in  religious  matters,  he  actually  offers  up  a 
propitiatory  sacrifice  to  Venus,  in  the  hope  ot  forwarding, 
by  supernatural  agency,  the  object  of  his  desires.  His  case, 
in  truth,  appears  one  of  peculiar  hardship  ;  and  so  CTaphic 
is  the  picture  he  draws  of  his  hopeless  passion,  that  Kacine 
has  found  nothing  more  powerml  wherewith  to  represent 
the  frensied  feelings  of  Phaedra,  in  his  wonderful  tragedy  of 
that  name,  than  two  lines  borrowed  from  the  following  ode : 

"  Ce  n'est  plus  une  ardeur  dans  mes  Teines  cach^, 
C'est  Vejjus  toute  enti^re  k  sa  proie  attach^.'* 


Ode  XIX. 

DE  GLTCEaA. 

Love's  unrelenting  Queen,  Mater  ssra  Ciq>idiniui 

With  Bacchus — Theban  maid !  thy  wayward       ThebansBque  jubeC 
child 


THE   aOKQS  OF   BOBACE. 


Keddcro  unoribuB. 

Urit  me  Glycetw  nitor 
Splendentis  Fnrio 

Urit  grola  proterviU*, 
Et  TultUB  nimiam 
Lubricus  Bipici. 


CVpruin  (Itaeruit ; 
Rec  palilur  Scythw, 


Qlfceni  duiling  gknce, 
Tliatiritli  voluptuoui  light  my  Tieion  dinu — 

Tlie  ([Tacts  that  BoKaace 
The  Pariun  marble  of  her  BDOW-nhito  limbe, 

HaTB  left  mv  heart  no  chanoe 
■AgitimlLer  trintiiiigirilesaiid  playful  petuJance. 

Say  not  tlmt  7enu»  dwelU  In 

Id  dutimt  Cjprua,  for  she  lille  my  breast. 

And  from  that  Bhrine  cipeb 
All  other  tbumea  :  my  lyre,  by  lore  posBest, 

No  mon>  nith  war-notes  awells,  oquis 

Jlor    aioga    of  Farthinn  shaft,  nor   ScTlluan        Parthum  dicere ;  neo 

alaughter  tella.  Quie  nihil  attinent. 

Come  liitber,  alares  I  aod  pile  Ilio  viTum  mihi  ceepi- 

in  ollar  of  green  turf,  and  inceme  bum  ;  tcm,  hie 

Strew  magic  rortain,  while  Terbenas,  pueri 

I  pour  libationa  from  a  golden  urn  :  Pooite,  thuraque. 

These  riles  may  reconcilB  Bimi  num  patera  men  : 

Die  goddest  of  Beree  lore,  who  yet  may  deign  llsctatik  reuiot 

to  smile.  Lenior  hostia. 

ow  different  from  this  nielanclioly  love-lyric,  "  made 
to  IiiB  miatrcBs'B  eye-brow,'"  is  the  jovial  style  which  he 
laaeumes  when  Miecenaa  hiie  promised  to  look  in  on  his 
rustic  dwelling,  on  his  road  to  some  sea-port  "  A  friend 
»d  pitcher"  eeem  to  constitute  the  native  und  proper  ele- 
jaent  of  Horace.  Mark  how  he  disports  himself  in  the 
.eoDtemplation  of  the  prime-miniater  of  Augustus  seated  by 
Lis  cheerful  hearth,  and  partaking  of  Buch  homely  fare  as 
the  Sabine  farm  could  fumish ;  insinuating  at  the  same 
time,  without  the  least  appearance  of  caiolery  or  toadyism, 
one  of  the  most  ingenious  compliments  that  ever  statesman 
received  from  dedicatory  poet  in  ancient  or  modem  times. 
"Uuder  preteit  of  specifying  the  exact  age  of  some  bottled 
liquor,  which  he  promises  shall  be  forthcoming,  he  brings  up 
the  mention  of  a  fact  most  gratifying  to  the  feelings  of  htii 
exalted  patron.     As  Tasso  has  it, 

"  E  que!  chB  eresee  sommo  prcgio  all'  opre 
I.'  art*  che  tutlo^,  nulla  si  scuopre.'' 


42l!  FATHEB  PEOITT'b   KELIQTJES. 

Ode  XX. — "  pot-ltjck"  with  hobace. 

AD  llECENATEH. 

Since  thou,  Msecenas,  nothing  loth,  Yile  potabis  modicis  Sabmura 

Under  the  bard's  roof-tr^,  Cantharis,  Grseca  quod  effi 
Canst  drink  rough  wine  of  Sabine  growth,  ipse  testa 

Here  standi  a  jar  for  thee ! —  ConditumleyL,datiisintheatit> 
The  Grecian  delf  I  sealed  mjself,  Quum  tibi  plausus, 

That  year  the  theatre  broke  forth. 

In  tribute  to  thj  sterling  worth, 

When  Bome*s  glad  shout  the  welkin  rent,  CareMsecenasequeSjUtpaterai 

Along  the  Tiber  ran,  Flominis  rips,  simul  etjooon 

And  rose  again,  by  Echo  sent,  Bedderet  laudea  tibi  Yaticaiii 

Back  from  Mount  Vatican ; —  Montis  imago. 

When  with  delight,  O  Roman  knight ! 

Etruria  heard  her  oldest  flood 

Do  homage  to  her  noblest  blood. 

Wines  of  Falemian  yintage,  friend,  GaBCubmn  et  prdo  domitun 

Thy  princely  cellar  stock  j  Caleno 

Bethink  thee,  should' st  thou  condescend  Ta  bibes  uvam :  mea  neo  Fa- 
To  share  a  poet's  crock,  lemie 

Its  modest  shape,  Cajeta's  grape  Temperant  rites,  neqne  For- 

Hath  never  tinged,  nor  Formia's  hill  miani 

Deigned  with  a  purple  flood  to  fill.  Pocula  colles. 

Folio weth,  in  due  coDsecutive  order,  one  of  those  per- 
formances which,  in  my  catalogue  above  alluded  to,  I  nad 
set  down  as  one  of  the  "  hymns  theological."  Our  poet, 
besides  filling  at  the  court  oi  Augustus  an  office  similar  to 
the  laureateship  of  old  Nahum  Tate,  of  birthday-ode  me- 
mory, seems  to  have  combined  with  that  responsible  situa- 
ation  the  more  sacred  functions  of  Stemhola  and  Hopkins. 
The  Carmen  Saculare  was  like  Southey*s  Vision  of  Judgment 
— an  official  effusion  of  devout  loyalty  to  church  and  state. 
This  hymn,  recommending  (very  properly)  the  worship  of 
Diana  to  the  maidens  of  Kome,  while  he  exhorts  the  Boman 
youth  to  reverence  Apollo,  must  have  been  composed  about 
the  year  u.c.  731,  when  scarcity,  combined  with  the  pros- 
pect of  war,  threatened  the  country.  That  Persia  and 
Great  Britain  should  be  made  the  scapegoats  on  the  occa- 
sion seems  natural  enough  ;  the  Jews  had  similar  uncharit- 
able ideas,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the  Psalms  of  David. 
(Ixxix.  6,  and  j7a«5tm). 


THE   G0NO9  OF   HORACE,  125 

Ode  XX  I. — ad  pdbem  bohakah. 

HanuD  tenene  dirila  Tirginei,  Toa  Temp£  totidimi  tollite  Inudibua, 

Btonaam  pueiidicite  Cjntliiimi,  Nalalemque,  m&nw,  Uulou  ApolloniB, 

I«t(jnanique  Bupreme  Inaiguemqua  pliwelrll, 

Diloctam  penito*  Jovi.  FraternSque  IjunHrrum  IjtS. 

'm  laiUm  fluTiifl  et  ncinoruta   Eio  belliini  InchrTmuaum,  hax  miie- 
MID&,  ram  Cameio, 

iquc  «nl  gelido  prominet    Pwtonque  a  popiUo  at  principe  Cw 


Tostrl  nwtiu  agct  procc 

TO  THE   SIBIHQ   SECrEKATIOM  OF   BOUE. 

Worahip  Dinim.  joung  daughters  of  lUlj  ! 

Toutiu  1  ling  Apollo — both  children  of  Jove . 
Honour  Latono,  tlifir  mother,  who  miebtil; 

Triumphed  of  old  in  the  Thunderer's  b<e. 
Muds  1  ling  the  HunCreiii,  whose  hauuU  are  the  highlands, 

Who  trends,  in  a  buabin  of  silferj  ahuen, 
Each  foreat-crowned  aununit  through  Greece  and  her  ulsuda, 

From  dark  Erf  Tnonlliua  to  Cragua  the  green. 

ITrom  Tempi's  fair  xalley,  by  Phoibua  frcqaentcd. 
To  Delos  his  birthplace — the  light  quiTer  bong 

From  his  alioulden — the  Ijre  that  his  brother  iuventpd — 
Bo  each  ahrine  by  our  youth  and  each  attribute  BUng. 

Hh  jout  prajera  to  the  regions  of  light  find  admittance 

On  Casar's  bflialfi— and  the  Deitj  urge 
To  drive  from  our  iantl  lo  the  Periiana  and  Britona, 

Of  Famine  the  curse !  of  Bellona  the  scourge '. 

That  he  conBidered  himself  the  object  of  special  solicitude 
io  the  gods,  is  very  perceptible  in  his  writinga ;  that  be  ac- 
tually believed  in  the  existence  of  these  celeettol  persooagea 
. .  nevertheless,  as  uice  an  historical  problem  aa  the  pedigree 
if  Perkin  Wnrbeck  or  the  iiiety  oi  O'Connell.  Like  Bo- 
however,  be  "  thrived  on  his  ale." 


He  kept  his  skin  iutact  (4<vte  curuM  cM(e),  his  neighbours 
in  good  humour,  and  the  table  In  a  roar.  One  day, 
baring  extended  his  ramblM  beyond  the  boundary  of  his 


426  FATHER  PROUT's  RELIQUES. 

farm,  humming  as  he  went  an  ode  "  to  Lalag^,"  which  we 
have  unfortunately  lost  (unless  it  be  the  fifth  of  the  second 
book),  behold !  an  enormous  wolf  suddenly  stares  him  in 
the  face,  and  as  precipitately  takes  to  flight,  without  any 
apparently  efficient  ca^se.  The  do^,  according  to  Shak- 
speare,  barked  at  Richard ;  this  wolf  may  have  been,  pro- 
bably, frightened  by  the  poet's  ugliness :  for,  according  to 
his  own  description,  he  was  a  regular  scarecrow.  Never- 
theless, mark,  reader,  how  he  chooses  to  account  for  the 
miracle.  The  ode,  in  a  literary  point  of  view,  has  alwajr* 
been  (and  most  deservedly)  admired:  ''Aristius  fuBCUs" 
was,  however,  a  sort  of  wag,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the 
satire  "  Ibam  vid  sacrd,^*  &c.  &c. 

Ode  XXII. 

AS>  ABISTIXDf  FUBCUM. 

AristiuB !  if  thou  canst  secure  Integer  yitcs  soelerisque  pomi 

A  conscience  calm,  with  morals  pure,  Noneget  Mauri  jacuIi«,neqiiearoa» 

Look  upwards  for  defence !  abjure  Nee  venenatis  grayida  sagittis, 

All  meaner  craft —  Fusee,  pharetra ; 

The  bow  and  quiver  of  the  Moor, 

And  poisoned  shaft. 

Wliat  though  thj  perilous  path  lie   Sire  per  Sjrtes  iter  satuoeas, 

trac^  Sive  facturus  per  inhospitalem 

O'er    burning    Afric's    boundless     Caucasiun,  Tel  quss  loca  fj^Hikwiff 

waste ....  Lambit  Hjdaspea. 

Of  rugged  Caucasus  the  guest, 

Or  doom'd  to  travel 
Where  fabulous  rivers  of  the  East 
Their  course  unravel ! . . . 

Under  my  Sabine  woodland  shade,  Namque  me  ailva  lupus  in  Sabina 

Musing  upon  my  Grecian  maid,  Dum  meam  canto  Lalagen,  et  ultra 

Unconsciously  of  late  I  strayed  Terminum  curia  vagor  ezpeditis, 

Through  glen  and  meadow,  Fugit  inermem : 

When,  lo !  a  ravenous  wolf,  afraid, 

Fled  from  my  shadow. 

No  monster  of  such  magnitude  Quale  portentum  neque  mHitaria 

Lurks  in  the  depth  of  Daunia'swood,  Daunia  in  latis  alit  esculstia } 

Or  roams  through  Lybia  unsubdued  Nee  Jubes  tellns  genenty  i^^fftgw 

The  land  to  curse —  Arida  nutriz. 

Land  of  a  fearful  lion-brood 

The  withered  nurse. 


me  Rwaj  to  (kserta  wild, 
ne  Tegetalion  naxer  •miled, 
re  eunaliine  nmer  once  beguiled 

The  dreai7  (lay, 
winterB  upon  wintera  piled 

For  ajB  delay. 

I  roe  benenth  the  torrid  lone, 
e  Eoaii  to  dwell  wag  norer  known, 
(durish  etill  one  thought  olonc, 

Maid  of  mj  choico ! 
>  smile  of  thy  sweet  lip — the  tone 
Of  thy  iireet  voice  ! 


Pone  me  pigris  ubi  nulla  csmpis 
Arbor  aatiTa  rBcreatur  aura. 
Quod  latua  roundi  uebuliB  ma- 
liuque 

Jupiter  iirget ; 

Fone  aub  cumi  ni  ninm  propin- 

Solis,  in  t«TB  domibus  negata : 

Dulce  ridontero  LiUageu  aiunbo, 

Duloe  loqueatem. 


Here  is  another  love  ditty ;  and,  as  usual,  it  places  on 
record  sonie  diecomfiture  of  tiie  poet  in  his  attempt  to  play 
'Aooime  i  bonnet  for  tvna. 

Ode  XXIII. — A.  KEUOHSTBAITCB  TO  CHLOE  THE  BABBFUI.. 


Whj  wilt  thou,  Chloe,  fly  me  thui  ? 

The  yeorliiig  kid 
li  not  CDore  thy  and  timorous, 

Our  woods  imid, 
leking  her  dam  o'er  ^len  and  hill, 
lite  all  her  &ame  Tiiin  terrors  thj-ill, 

fihoulil  a  green  liiard  chance  to  stir 

Beueittli  the  bash — 
Should  Zephyr  through  the  mountain- 
fir 

Diaporling  gush — 
fith  anddeti  fright  behold  her  start, 
^ith   trembling   lueea   and    throbbing 


Vilas  hinnuleo 
Me  siniilii,  Chit*. 

Monti  bus  aiiia 
Matreni,  dod  sine  Tgno 
Aurarum  et  ailvie  meti 


Seu  Tiridea  rnbuDi 
DimoTere  lacertc, 
Etcordeotgonibua  trei 


And  canst  thou  think  me,  nisideii  fair  \  Alqtii  non  rgo  ^ 

A  ti^r  grim  ?  Tigris  ut  aspera, 

A  Lybian  lion,  bent  to  tear  Oetulusve  leo, 

Thea  limb  bj  Umh  7  Frtingere  peraequur. 

Btill  canal  thou  haunt  tiij  niolher'i  shade,  Tandnui  deaine  mutrem 

Bipe  for  a  husband,  bluotmug  maid?  Tempestira  sequi  viro. 

No  "  elegy,"  in  all  antiquity,  appears  to  have  given  euch 
^aeral  satiaiaction  as  that  whiuh  followed  Quinctilius  to 
tbe  tomb.  History  would  have  taken  no  notice  of  his 
name,  but  Horace  has  secured  him  immortal  celebrity,  All 
we  know  of  hiia  a  contained  in  the  chronide  of  Euaebius, 


428  FATHEB  PBOUT*S   BSLIQU^S. 

quoted  bj  St.  Jerome,  and  merely  refers  to  the  date  of  hi» 
death ;  nor  would  the  holy  father  probably  have  mentioned 
him  at  all,  but  for  the  eloquent*  requiem  chanted  over  hiB 
grave.  It  possesses  ineffable  sweetness  in  the  original ;  the 
tender  melancholy  diffused  throughout  the  composition 
is  still  more  saddened  by  the  absence  of  anything  like  hope 
or  belief  in  a  future  state  of  existence,  which  was  totally 
undreamt  of  in  the  Horatian  system  of  philosophy.  David's 
elegy  over  Saul  and  Jonathan  is  clouded  by  the  same 
gloomy  misgiving  as  to  the  chances  of  a  blessed  futurity : 
yet,  what  can  be  more  beautiful  than  the  Hebrew  poet*fl 
exclamation — 

"  Let  the  dew  never  fall  on  the  hills  where  the  pride 
Of  thy  warriors,  O  Israel !  Ues  slain  : 
They  were  loTely  in  life ;  and,  oh  mark !  how  the  tide 
Of  their  hearts'  blood  hath  mingled  again  P* 

Milton's  Lycidas ;  Bums's  splendid  effusion  over  Captain 
Henderson:  Malherbe's 

**  Bose  elle  a  vecu  ee  que  rivent  les  roses 
L'espace  d'un  matin !" 

Pope's  "  Unfortunate  Lady,"  and  Wolfs  "  Funeral  of  Sir 
John  Moore,"  all  deserve  to  be  commemorated  in  connexion 
with  this  ode  of  Horace.  Nor  should  I  omit  to  notice 
{honoris  causd)  Q-ray's  elaborately  mournful  Elegy,  in 
which  he  has  gathered  into  one  sepulchral  urn  the  ashea 
of  the  human  race,  and  mingled  the  tears  of  all  mankind  iu 
one  grand  "  lachryinatory." 

Ode  XXIV.— ad  vibqilium.   deflet  quikctilii  mobteh. 

Quia  desiderio  sit  pudor  aut  modus  tarn  cari  capitis  ?  Prseoipe  lugubres 
Caiitus,  Melpomene,  cui  Uquidam  pater  vocem  cum  cithara  dedit. 

Ergo  Quinctiliiim  perpetuus  sopor  urget !  cui  Pudor,  et  Justitis  soror, 
Incorrupta  Fides,  nudaque  Veritas,  quando  ullum  inrenient  parem  P 

Multis  ille  bonis  flebilis  occidit ;  nuUi  flebilior  quam  tibi,  Virgili ! 
Tu  frustra  pius,  heu !  non  ita  creditum  poscis  Quinctilium  Deos. 

Quid !  si  Threicio  blandius  Orpheo  auditam  moderere  arboribos  fideut, 
Num  Tanae  redeat  sanguis  imagini,  quam  virga  semel  horrida, 

Non  lenis  precibus  fata  recludere  nigro  compulerit  Mercurius  gregi  ? 
Dui'um !  sed  levius  fit  patientia  ouidquid  corrigere  est  neHeis. 


THK   SOSOS   OF  HOKACE, 

TO  TIBOIl.      A   COUaOlATOKT   ADDBESB. 

Why  eheci  Iho  full  oulburst  of  Borrow  ?    Why  bluili 

'Xo  vevp  for  tho  frietid  wo  adored  ? 
Baise  the  roice  ot  Inmaiit  I  let  the  awollen  tesr  goah ! 
Branoan  thee,  Helpomene,  loudly  1  nor  hueh 

The  sound  of  thy  lute'i  liquid  chord ! 

For  low  liea  Quinctiliue,  traoccd  in  that  sleep 

That  iaguu  bath  none,  nor  eeqtwl. 
Let  Candour,  with  all  her  white  aislerhood,  weep — 
Truth,  MeelincBs,  and  Juslioc,  hii  memory  keep — 

For  when  iliall  they  Qnd  liia  equal? 

Though  the  wine  and  the  good  may  bewail  hiiD,  yet  uon 

O'er  hii  elay  shed*  the  tear  mare  truly 
Tbau  you,  bc-lovcd  Virgil!     You  diajmcd  IJm  your  own 
""  hi»  eompanioniliip. — 'Twaa  but  s  loai 

the  gods  bare  withdr 


Which  the  gods  bi 


thdrawn  unduly. 


Yet  not  though  Eurvdioe'a  lorer  had  left 

Tliee  a  legacy,  Irieud,  ot  his  song  1 
Could'it  thou  woriD  the  cold  iuinge  of  life-btood  bereft, 
Or  force  denlh,  who  robbed  tliec,  to  render  the  theft, 

Or  bring  bael  his  shade  from  the  throog, 

Which  Mercury  guidei  with  imperatiTe  wand, 

To  ths  bnnki  of  the  fatal  fcrty.— 
Tie  hard  to  endure ; — but  'lis  wrong  to  despond : 
For  patience  may  deaden  l.he  blow,  Uiough  t«yond 

Thy  power,  my  friend,  to  party. 

Flowers  have,  nt  nil  timeB,  suggested  hinte  for  metaphOT 
id  allegoiy.     Poets  cannot  get  on  at  all  without  constant 
ference  to  botanical  matters ;  and  Flora,  by  right,  should 
ive  been  one  of  the  Muaes.      A   crazy  German   writer 
Dtu9  Ludwi^  Tieck)  maintnius,  that  "  the  man  who  has  no 
lete  for  posies  cannot  have  God's  grace ;"  a  sort  of  parody 
wmetbing  about  music  in  Shakespeare.     Another  mad 
itamentaliflt,  from  the  same  district,  defines  woman  to  be 
pometliing  between  a  flower  and  an  angel."     In  fact,  the 
florid  style  "  cannot  be  well  i;ot  up  without  a  due  adtnii- 
ire  of  such  fancies,  any  more  than  a  plum -pud  ding  without 
J  lums.  Aflk  Tom  Moore,  for  example,  how  he  could  manage, 
if  deprived  of  these  gay  and  gaudy  materials  for  his  con- 
cetti ?    He  might,  perhaps,  tell  yon  that  he  still  would  have 
ndniawv,  ttan,  cryslalt,  pearli,  butterflien,  and  such  other 


•floi 
■hire 


FATHim  FlOrT'S  XSUQUS8. 


bvt,  witlMHit  Corent  GSurden  Market, 
ke  wc«Sd  soon  he  si  s  Ion  to  cmnj  on  his  busiDefls.  £?eii 
m  tkp  flo«>er  department  lie  is  obliged  to  borrow.  An- 
■erg—  aad  Honce  had,  hmg  ago,  both  hit  on  an  idea, 
vWk  be  kas  a^^iropriated,  without  the  slightest  scruple  or 
atdafeowiedgment.  in  a  well-known  melody,  of  which  he  has 
flK>i&en  ibe  tone  cram  the  ^  GroTes  of  Blarney,"  and,  I  am 
w  saj,  ^uDed  it  br  some  outlandish  yanationB  of  bis 


Oot  XXV. 


re 


MXCM. 


I  ••  fime  tifk  fer  mg^ 


L«v.  kaVx.  ^satm-^t  T:  pi**  tm  tike 

&TT  VK'  m  *.2.\^r.  Smoe  Ar  Ii,<«ifvj  mre 

Hum  r*  v*  cai^ft.^.**  trf- titiep  Aim  witk 


flondt  nltimat 
Tel  Mille  mpo'  onetaaorociba^ 
At  Bone  amicamni  oohorti 
Flarib«ft  et  aoeiis  snpentat ! 


Kee  VBft  maasit  eoDsda  qua 

prop* 
Sufririomm  suatC  olentiim, 
Sospiret  ultro— quK  rnbcati 
Embeat.  pia  frona, ' 

XoD    te    rplinquam 

lagnbre. 
QussiD^lari  ferec^otiEDica! 
lere  donaitftm  aodalcs, 
Tn  reliqais  oocoes  i  to-doni ! 

Spanit  anieA  sic  foliis  mum, 
Fiaire  tristes  pergo  tilri  mens; 
Skcis  od<ffatas  per  bortmo 
Froodibtu      i     snperadde 
frondea. 

Etnisitoliin  aorieadeia,pccoor! 
Qoaado    sod&lea,    quaqoe    ni- 
cantia, 
Omant  anioonim  eovooaiB 
Gemmata,    deperevnt— pt* 
rixel 


Amd/i 
TMtHmk 


KtwiAered,  Ahrepta  fato  diaitoelalim 
mrejtetrm,     QoaiMio  tot  eben  !  eorda  jaeent 
imkaHi  homi 

itmef  Qoispoacataanoe*  TiUtali* 

Noone  foret  mera  soMtndo? 


How  much  more  creditable  and  gentlemanly  has  been 
the  conduct  of  an  old  English  song- writer,  George  Herbert, 
who  having  occasion  to  work  out  the  same  thought,  sconiB 
to  copy  with  servile  fidelity  the  Greek  or  Boman  lyric ;  but, 
giving  it  a  new  form  altogether,  makes  it,  as  fiur  as  possible, 


i    OF    BOBACK,  431 

I' his  owa  property.     Here  is  the  canzonet;  and  any  one, 
L^riio  has  tne  alightest  prt^ttueion  to  a  tuste  for  antique  eim- 
■*'city,  must  see  Low  far  superior  it  is  to  Moore'a  artificial 
ID  position : 

"  I  nude  t  pone  while  the  dir  nu  hj~^ 
Here  will  1  amell  my  ramnaTit  out,  and  tie 

M;  life  vitliiti  thia  bsnd. 

Bat  Time  did  Wkoii  to  the  flower*,  and  tktj 

;1t  did  iteal  uwaj-, 

my  Land. 

Farewell,  dear  flowers  !  (weetlj  your  time  jo  ipent  ( 
Fit  while  ye  lired  Tor  smell  or  ornameut. 

And,  &IW  death,  for  eurei. 
I  follow  itraight,  without  complaint  or  griefj 
And,  if  my  acent  be  good.  I  eare  not  if 

It  be  81  shore  aa  youra." 

[  The  date  of  the  subsequent  ode  is  clearly  fixed,  by  the 

ttluaion  it  tontaina  to  the  troubles  occasioned  m  the  northern 

narta  of  the  empire  by_  the  proceedings  of  King  Tiridates. 
It  is  addressed  to  Lamia,  a  Roman  general,  who  had  distin- 
guished himself  in  the  peninsular  war  (6ello  Caiila6rko),&ad 
8  at  that  time  enjoying  his  Imlf-pay  m  or  about  Tivoli. 


ASHO  AB   V.C.  1T30. 

Ail — "Fill  llio  bumper  fiur." 

BkdnaM — I  who  tin'  Musis  amlcui 

Deroted  to  the  Uuses,  Trtetitiani  I'l 

To  the  wild  wind  give,  Tnidam  ]iroi, 

To  waft  where'er  it  ehoosea  ;  In  itrnra  Crf-li 

what  Mvage  chief  be  choeeu  Quia  nub  nrel 

To  reigo  beneath  "tlie  Bear."  Kvx  gvhdir 

Ter  the  ilelda  for  eier  troMo.  MeluBlur  ore 


Lot  Tiriitatea  rue 

The  march  of  Rnman  Ugiona, 
While  I  luy  path  pursue 

l%tOugb  {loeay'a  ejilm  regions— 
Bidding  (lie  Huae,  who  drinkg 

From  the  founlnina  unpolluted. 
To  weave  with  flowery  links 

wmti,  to  yrieadthiii  suited. 


Quid  Tiridatem 
Terreol,  uuiei 
tiecurufi.    O  quB 
Foil  li  bus  iiite^™ 


432 


FATHXB  FBOTJT'S   BELTQITES. 


For  gentle  Lamia's  brow. — 

O  Muse  melodious  I  sweetly 
Echo  his  praise ;  for  thou 

Alone  canst  praise  him  fitly. 
For  him  thj  Lesbian  shell 

With  strings  refurnish  newly, 
And  let  thy  sisters  swell 

The  jocund  chorus  duly. 

Sadness — I  who  lire  deroted,  &c. 


Pimplei  dulcii^ 
Nil  sine  t«  mei 
Possunt  honores ; 
Hunc  fidibuB  noris, 
Hunc  Lesbio 
Sacrare  plectro, 
Teque  tuasque 
Deoet  sorores. 

Musia  amicng,  Ac. 


Next  comes  a  lively  and  animated  picture  of  Soman  con- 
viviality. The  ode  partakes  of  the  oramatic  character,  and 
would  appear  to  be  extemporaneously  poured  out  by  Horace, 
in  his  capacity  of  "  wine-king,"  or  "  toast-master,"  at  a  jovial 
meeting.  The  evening  is  far  advanced  ;  sundry  debateable 
subjects  have  been  started ;  the  retort  uncourteous  has  been 
more  than  once  interchanged ;  the  cup  of  boisterous  hilarity 
has  kindled  in  its  circulation ;  of  a  sudden  the  guests  have 
started  from  their  couches,  in  the  ardour  of  discussion,  and, 
heated  with  wine,  are  about  to  come  to  blows,  when  the 
poet  rising  obtains  silence  for  a  song.  The  ingenuity  with 
which  he  turns  their  attention  to  topics  of  a  less  exciting 
nature,  and  the  gracefully  playful  style  of  his  address,  pre- 
sent us  with  a  most  amiable  idea  of  the  poet's  disposition, 
and  prove  him  to  have  been  a  man  of  consummate  tact. 


Ode  XXVII. — ad  sodales. 

Natis  in  usum  latitise  scnrphis  Gessat  voluntas  ? — Non  aUa  bibam 

Pugnare,  Thracum  est.   ToUite  bar-  Mercede. — Quse  te  cumque  domat 

barum  Venus, 

Morem,YerecundumqueBacchum  Non  erubescendis  admit 

Sanguineis  prohibete  rixis.  Ignibus,  ingenuoque  semper 

Vino  et  lucemis  Medus  acinaces.  Amore  peccas !    <  Quidquid  babes, 

Immane  quantum  discrepat !     Ln-  age, 

pium  Depone  tutis  auribus. — Ah !  miser 

Lenite  chimorem,  sodales.  Quanta  laboras  in  Charybdi, 

£t  cubito  remauete  presso.  Digne  puer  meUore  flamma  I 


Vultis  severi  me  quoque  sumere 

Partem  Falemi  ?  dicat  Opimtis 

Frater  Mcgillce  quo  beatus 

Vulnere,  qua  pereat  sagitta. 


Quse  saga,  quia  te  solvere  Thais  alii 
M^;nus  venenis,  quis  poterit  DemF 
Vix  iUigatum  te  triformi 
PegaauB  ezpediet  QiixQjBn. 


F 


THE    S0S03   OF    I 


i    HAltlJUET-aCEyE.      TOAST   AND    HESTISIESI. 

To  make  a  weapon  of  ioy'>  cup,  my  friBnds, 

IiaTileThr>u.-uu>cu«limii 
Shame  on  such  pnu-ticos  !— tbej  mar  the  ends 
Ot  calm  aud  kindl}'  Bncchus.     Illoodalied  tcodt 

To  aatideD  and  dia^niHt  him. 

Here,  'mid  the  bowle,  vliat  bnaineta  hath  (h«  sword  ? 

Come,  alieathe  Ton  Fenjiati  dagger ; 
Let  the  briglil  Luup  ahine  OD  a  quii>t  Iwiard ; 
BecliuB  in  peace— these  houn*  we  ciui't  nltord 

For  brawling,  aoacd,  a.'  d  simgger. 

Sar,  ihaU  tout  ohnirman  fiD  hii  cup,  and  drain 

Of  brimming  bowli  miother? 
Thou,  firel,  n  TOABT  li»  maodule  ilioU  obtain  i 
He'll  kiKiw  the  njmpli  whose  >Fitr'i<!rics  enchain 

Tbe  rair  Megilla'a  brother. 

I  What!  ailent  thuB  ?    Dost  feaj' to  i imo  aloud 
The  girl  of  th;  affection  ? 
^onth !  let  tlij  choice  be  candidlj  avowed  ; 
liou  hut  a  delicate  taate,  and  art  e'loweJ 
Some  talent  for  leieetioti. 

Tet,  if  the  loud  confeagioa  thoa  wilt  ehun. 

To  my  safe  car  discoTer 
Thy  cherished  teoret.  -    .  Ah,  tliou  art  undone  1 
Wl'ial !  ihe  f    How  little  such  a  heartleaa  one 

Dcaerrea  m  fond  a  lover  I 

What  flend,  what  Thracisn  witch,  deaf  lo  remorae, 

Hatii  brewed  tlij  dire  love-potion  1 
Smtco  could  the  hero  of  the  wingjtil  hone 
Effeet  thy  rescue,  or— to  free  theo— foroe 

Tliat  drugon  of  the  ocean  1 

In  the  iisufll  editions  of  our  poet,  the  twenty-eighth  ojle 
esenta  us  with  a  rather  stunid  "dialogue"  fietweeu  one 
P  Archytaa  aud  a  Sailor."  I  nave  no  hesitation  in  substi- 
tuting, I'rom  Hardouin's  "  Y(u8o  Horatiiia"  (folio.  Aiast. 
1740),  the  proper  reailing ;  which,  on  einmination,  will  be 
found  to  preserve  tiie  easeuce  of  the  tnlloquy,  while  it  is 
much  more  Horatian  in  spirit.  MareuB  Epvio  Bibax  is  a 
well-knoira  character  in  the  auuaU  of  Home,  as  oiay  be 


434 


YATKER  FmOirT*8  BSUQUX8. 


seen  in  Niebuhr*8  admirable  work.  His  monument  (a  fini 
old  pTramidal  erection)  stands  at  the  gate  openmg  on  the 
Via  dstia,  and  adds  a  solemn  dignity  to  the  adjacent  hunai- 
ground  of  our  countrymen — ^^  II  Cimitero  degli  IngleiU* 


Ode  XXVin. 


When  Bibo  wfnt  down 

To  the  regions  below. 
Where  the  waters  of  Stjx 

Bound  Eternity  flow. 
He  awoke  with  a  crj. 

That  **  he  would  be  brought  back ; 
For  his  soul  it  was  dij. 

And  he  wanted  some  sack." 

**  You  were  dnmk,**  renlied  Charon, 

"  You  were  drunk  when  you  died ; 
And  Tou  felt  not  the  pain 

Th«t  to  death  is  aUied." 
**  Take  me  back  f*  answered  Bibo» 

**  For  I  mind  not  the  pain ; 
Take  me  back !  take  me  back ! 

Let  me  die  once  again  V* 

Meantime  the  graj  ferryman 

Ferried  him  o'er. 
And  the  crazr  old  bark 

Touched  the  Stygian  shore : 
Thenf  old  Bibo  got  out, 

Quite  unable  to  stand. 
And  he  jostled  the  ghosts 

As  they  crowded  the  strand. 

•Hare  a  care !"  cried  out  Oiaron ; 

"  Hare  a  care !  'tis  not  well : 
For  remember  you  're  dead. 

And  your  soul  is  in  helL** 

^fbral. 

«  Fm  in  hell,"  r^hed  Bibo ; 

"  Well  I  know  by  the  sign  : 
Twas  a  hell  upon  earth 

To  be  wanting  of  wioa.** 


Cum  Bibax  baiiihro 

Descenderat  imo 
Qua  loca  St^  atro 

Circumfluit  limo, 
Erigilans,  posdt 

Num  forte  Falemi 
Yas  bibere  moe  sit 

Id  r^gnis  Arerm. 

Cui  Charon,  **  VenUti 

Hue  graris  lageni. 
Sic  funeris  tristi 

Immunis  a  pceni.*' — 
Tum  Bibax,  ^  Betrorsiim 

Due  iterum  ritff, 
Ut  funeris  morsom 

Experiar  rit^" 

Sed  interim  pigrA 

Transvehitur  rate, 
Qu»  rip4  mox  nigr& 

Sistit  delicate  : 
In  littore  statim, 

Exoritur  soens. 
Umbras  caterratim 

Disturbat  arenA. 

Cui  Charon  de  nsrc : 
"  Hie  Orcus  est,  homo 

Ke  titubes  cave 
Plutonis  in  domo.** 

I'Snbop. 

**  Plutonis  carema 

Parebat  rirenti, 
Siquando  taberna 

I>eerat  sitienti.'* 


I 


THE  SON&S  OF  HORACE. 

DECADE  THX   FOUKTU. 

"  Horatii  curioaa  fdioitM." — PiTBOU.  Aebiieb,  cap,  118. 

Splendido  colorir,  d'  un  b1  fecondo 
Sublime  iiQDuigiiisr,  d'  ana  i\  ardita 
Felieiti  eioim 
Altro  mortal  dou  arrichi  nstura." 

ABHiTK  MiTiaTJBKJ,  0/»ro.tora.  lii.    Firente,  1819, 
"Sublime,  CimiliCT,  »olidp,  rajDuj^,  tendre, 
AitS,  profond,  nait,  et  fln  ; 
Viv(>,  Hornco,  avant  tout  1  runiYen  pour  Vontendre 
Aims  i  redeTenir  Latin." — La  Motte,  Poii,  Ltg. 
I  ■  Wben  Alba  warred  with  Home  for  some  disputed  frontier  Hanni, 
'    Ilirce  Horaccj  gained  fntherland  moeudancy  in  armnj 
B  A  tingle-handed  cbnmpiou  now  amid  Ibe  Ijnc  throng, 
^""'K  of  the  muup,  BlandB  forth  loplaim  Bupremaoy  in  song," 

BiHBY  CORNWILL. 

Fhes  the  celebrated    lame  poet,  Paddy  Kelly,  bad   the 

KiDour  of  being  introduced  to  (Jeorge  the  Fourth,  on  tliat 

tmonarcb'B  Mttlgraviting  visit  to  Dublin  (an  honour  extended 

'■)  several  other  diBtlnguiehed  nativea,  Bueh  as  Falvey  the 

reep,  Jack  Lawleas  the  orator,  Daniel  Donnelly  the  boxer, 

ul  another  Daitei.,  who  of  late  years  bus  practiBed  a  more 

rofitable  syrtem  of  boxing),  his  majeaty  eipressed  himself 

•irouB  of  personally  witoesBing  an  eihihitton  of  the  hard's 

temporaneouB  talent,  havir 

risouuts  of  the  facility  with  v 

■  Vent  itself  in  unpremeditated  verse.     The  Hibernian  impm. 

O^niatore  forthwith  latinehed  out  into  a  dithyramb,  of  which 

I  the  burden  appeared  to  be  a  paneeyrie  on  Byron  and  Scott, 

I  whose  pniiBes  be  aang  in  terms  of  fervid  eulogy ;  winding 

1  up  with  what  certainly  seemed  to  his  illuBtrious  auditor  a 

IBoraebow  abrupt  and  startling  conclusion,  viz. : 


1  the  honest  coiwiction  ot  tinft  \r.^ 
til 


436  TATHEB   PBOUT'S   BSUQ17X8. 

rfaai^odist ;  and  if  so,  he  had  an  undeniable  right  to  put  bk 
opinion  on  record,  and  publish  it  to  the  world.    Are  ve 
not,  every  week,  favoured  by  some  hebdomadal  LoKeisnjB 
with  ku  peculiar  and  private  ideas  on  the  fiiTBLDfi;  d 
which  the  last  new  tragedy,  or  the  latest  volume  of  verse 
(blank  or  otherwise),  is  pronounced  the  finest  model  ?  Whai 
remedy  can  the  public  have  against  the  practice  of  such  im- 
position ?     None  whatever,  until  some  scientific  man  shall 
achieve  for  literature  what  has  been  done  for  the  dairy,  and 
invent  a  critical ''  lactometer,**  bv  which  the  exact  density 
of  milk-and-water  poetry  may  be  clearly  and  undeniablj 
ascertained.    At  present,  indeed,  so  variable  seems  the  stan* 
dard  of  poetical  merit,  that  we  begin  to  believe  true  what 
Edmund  Burke  says  of  Taste  among  the  modems:  that 
''  its  essence  is  of  too  ethereal  a  nature  for  us  ever  to  hope 
it  ynH  submit  to  bear  the  chains  of  definition." 

In  this  vague  and  unsatisfactory  state  of  things,  Prout 
has,  perhaps,  "  chosen  the  better  part."  He  would  appear 
to  confine  the  range  of  his  admiration  within  the  happy  cutde 
of  recognised,  incontestable,  and  transcendent  excellence. 

All  this  he  has  found  supereminently  in  the  canonised 
object  of  these  running  commentaries.  He  stands  not  alone 
in  hailing  therein  Hobace  as  prince  of  all  lyric  poets  of 
every  age  and  clime.  In  so  doing,  he  merely  bows  to  the 
general  verdict  of  mankind;  which,  when  fairly  collected 
and  plainly  uttered,  constitutes  a  final  and  irrevocable 
award,  the  maxim  of  Vincent,  abbot  of  Lerins,  being, 
**  Quod  SEMPER,  quod  ubique,  quod  ab  OMifiBUS  traditum 
est.''  Geometry  and  logarithms  may  admit  of  being  de- 
monstrated in  the  abstract  nakedness  of  their  intrinsic 
e\*idences;  but  in  poetry,  as  in  religion,  the  experience 
i)f  every  day  sufficiently  shows  the  proneness  of  individual 
judgment  to  strange  and  fantastic  theories,  which  can  only 
be  rectified  by  a  reference  to  the  universal  sentiment — 
the  sensM  communis  of  the  human  species.  Prout  alwaya 
paid  deference  to  time-honoured  reputations.  Great  was, 
hence,  his  veneration  for  the  "  venerable  Bede ;"  and,  not- 
withstanding the  absence  of  all  tangible  evidences,  most 
vicjorouslv  did  he  admire  the  "admirable  Crichton."  In 
Aristotle  he  persisted  to  recognise  the  great  master-mind 
of  metaphysics ;  he  scouted  the  transcendentalism  of  Kajrr: 


THE   BOWOa   OF   nOBiCE. 

icient  for  him  was  the  coemogony  of  Moses  j  he  laughed 
.  ncorn  the  conjectiirea  of  geology.* 

This  reminds  us  of  Iho  "  astoimJiDg  discovery"  with  whicli 
ir.  BncKLAMD  is  reported  to  have  lately  electrified  the 
liatoliana.  Ephraim  JenkinBon's  ghost  must  have  heard 
ith  jealousy,  on  the  banks  of  the  Styx,  the  ehoutfl  of  ap- 
lause  whicli  echoed  the  Doctor's  assertion  on  the  banks  of 
le  Avon,  tliat  the  world  had  already  lasted  "  miUiooB  of 
irs  ;"  that  a  "  new  version  of  Genesia"  would  be  shortly 
[uired,  eince  a  new  light  "  had  been  thrown  on  Hebrew 
lolarthip!"  The  doctor's  declaration  is  very  properly 
— ibed  OS  the  only  "  original  fact"  elicited  at  the  meeting. 
fun !  to  hear  a  mite  in  the  cavity  of  a  Gloucester 
se  gravely  reasoning  on  the  streaks  (or  strata)  of  red 
—  vellow,  and  finally  concluding,  all  things  duly  consi- 
erea,  that  the  invoice  of  the  farmer  who  made  it  bears  a 
Tong  date,  and  that  the  process  of  fabricating  the  cheese 
\  question  must  have  been  begun  as  long  ago,  at  least,  as 
he  dayg  of  the  heptarchy  I 

There  is  often  more  strict  logic,  and  more  downright  com- 
Don  BcnHe,  in  a  poet's  view  of  nature  and  her  works, 
in  the  gravest  and  most  elaborate  mystifications  of 
Bi-duattt  philosophy.  We  shall,  therefore,  hesitate  nut 
ft  place  in  contraposition  to  this  Biicklandish  theory  the 
of  Chateaubriand  on  the  subject,  leaving  to  any 
iBpaaaionate  thinker  to  say  on  which  side  reason  and 
lalogy  preponderate.  "They  tell  ux,"  says  the  author 
'  the  G^nif  du  Chrittianitme,  whose  eiLact  words  we 
mnot  remember  at  this  time  of  the  eveoing,  "  tbat  the 
irth  ia  an  old  toothless  hag,  bearing  in  every  feature 
le  traces  of  caducity ;  and  that  six  thousand  years  are 
rt  enough  to  account  for  the  hidden  marks  of  age  dis- 
Werable  to  the  eyes  of  Science ; — but  has  it  never  occurred 
>  them,  that,  in  producing  this  globe  for  the  dwelling  of 
Q,  it  may  have  suited  ftovidence  to  create  all  its  com- 
lent  parts  in  the  stage  of  full  maturity,  just  as  Adam 
imself  was  called  into  being  at  the  full  age  of  manhood, 
ithout  passing  through  the  preparatory  process  of  infancy, 


■  n(  Dr.  BuckLmd,  uubaequentlj  deiu  of  Weitmiiubir. 


438  FATHEB  PBOUT's  BELIQUE8. 

boyhood,  or  youth  ?  "When  Otod  planted  the  soil  of  Para- 
dise, think  je  that  the  oak  of  a  hundred  years'  growth  was 
wanting  to  shed  its  mighty  shadow  over  our  first  parents  ? 
or  ar^  we  to  believe  that  every  tree  was  a  mere  shrub,  Just 
emer^^ing  from  the  ground  ?  Was  the  licit,  whom  Milton 
describes  so  graphicidly  as 

'  Pawing  to  get  finee 
His  hinder  parts,* 

nothing  but  a  new-bom  cub  P  I  do  not  believe  it.  I  hold 
that  the  grove  waved  its  majestic  pines,  already  bearing 
among  their  topmost  branches  the  ready-built  nest  of  the 
rook  and  the  young  family  of  the  dove ;  that  the  sheep 
browsed  on  the  green  swaro,  with  her  attendant  lamb ;  and 
that  the  bold  rock  overhung  the  running  stream,  with  the 
mantling  ivy  already  twining  through  its  crevices,  and  exhi- 
biting the  marks  of  age  on  its  hoary  surface.  Did  not  the 
Creator  understand  the  effect  and  the  beauty  of  what  we 
are  agreed  to  call  the  picturesque  ?  or,  in  his  Edbn,  did  Re 
overlook  the  graces  of  landscape  ?  What  a  clumsy  artificer 
these  men  woiild  represent  their  Maker  to  be !  What  a 
crude  and  ill-assorted  planet  would  they  describe  as  issuing 
from  the  hands  of  Omnipotence,  to  require  the  operation  of 
time  and  the  influence  of  chemical  agents  to  bring  it  to 
perfection !  '  Non !  non !  le  jour  m^me  que  I'ocean  epandit 
ses  premieres  vagues  sur  nos  rives,  il  baigna,  n'en  doutons 
point,  des  Quells  d^ik  roughs  par  les  flots,  des  graves  sem^es 
de  debris,  de  coquiliages,  et  des  caps  d^cham^s,  qui  soute- 
naient  contre  les  eaux  les  rivages  croiilans  de  la  terre ;  sans 
cette  vieillesse  originaire,  il  n*y  aurah;  eu  ni  pompe  ni  ma- 
iest^  dans  Tunivers.' " "  The  great  whales  lay 

'Floating  many  a  rood* 

at  the  first  instant  of  their  creation,  and  the  full-grown 
elephant  roamed  in  the  Indian  forest,  among  gigantic  trees 
coeval  with  a  world  of  yesterday."  So  much  for  Buckland. 
We  feel  that  we  have  digressed  from  the  professed  object 
of  this  paper,  by  going  so  far  back  as  the  hexemeroHy  or 
six  days'  work  of  the  Creator.  In  £acine*s  only-begotten 
comedy  of  the  Pleaders,  the  judge,  anxious  to  bring  an 
advocate,  who  had  indxil^d  in  a  similar  flight,  back  to  the 


THE   SOKOS   OJ  UOBICE.  439 

Btolen  capon,  which  formed  the  matter  in  dispute,  geotlr 
interposes  by  the  celebrated  joke,  "  Passoru  au  diluge."  We 
■ball  take  the  hint,  and  return  to  Horace. 

This  decade  termioatt's  thefint  book  of  the  Osxs.  Prout 
has  thus  furnished  the  world  with  a  complete  translation — 
■o  far — of  the  Sabine  sougster.  Whether  we  aball  be  able 
to  fish  up  any  further  leaves  of  the  Horatian  category  from 
the  old  trunk  la  yet  a  riddle.  Sufficient,  however,  has  been 
done  to  place  the  critic  of  WatergrasshiU  on  a  level  with 
the  long-winded  Jesuit,  Father  SaSjLDOK,  in  the  musler-roU 
of  the  poet's  commentators. 

OLIVEE  TORKE. 

Rtgenl  Street,  22d  Sfpltmber. 


fTaltryraiihiU,  al  lolilo. 

Xhe  life  of  HoBACX,  as  all  the  world  knows,  has  beeh  ^ito- 
'bdaed  by  Suetonidb,  a  Eoman  biographer,  who  (so  far  as 
ire  may  judge  from  the  portion  of  his  works  we  possess) 
nuBt  have  entertained  peculiar  notions  as  to  the  relative 
..attraction  posaessed  by  the  individual  aubjects  selected  for 
'his  memoirs.  In  Falstafl's  tavem-biU  there  appeared  hut 
one  ha'portli  of  bread  to  counterbulance  several  dozens  of 
Wick ;  SL'ETOHina  furnishes  us  with  a  miscellaneous  account 
of  celebrated  characters,  in  which  the  roles  of  proportion 
are  just  as  little  attended  to— there  is  but  one'  poet  to 
twelve  "  Cmar»." 

In  this  solitary  life  of  on  homme  de  lettrei.  which 
■eems  to  have  found  its  wav,  through  some  mistake,  into 
the  gorgeous  circle  of  imperial  biography,  there  ia  one  oc- 
currence marked  down  by  the  courtly  chronicler  with  more 
tiian  usuaJ  carefulness ;  sparing  neither  circumstantial  nor 
documentary  detail  in  hia  aniiety  to  put  us  in  full  poases- 
won  of  the  (to  bim  inexplicable)  conduct  of  the  poet  on  the 
occasion. 

One  fine  evening,  towards  the  close  of  autumn,  Flaccus 
was  seated,  alfresco,  under  the  porch  of  hia  Sabine  villa,  hia 

*  Prout  seeiTtB  to  think  that  tlie  fhiginenta  reUting  to  Luran,  Termae, 
■nd  JuTenal  kk  not  to  \x  SBcnbcql  to  llji>  biogmplier  of  Horace.  Sau- 
huM  hii  not  decided  the  qutwtioii. — 0,  T. 


440  FATHEB  PBOUT*8  BELIQUE8. 

arms  croBsed  on  his  breast  in  a  pensive  attitude,  a  taU 
Greek  jar,  filled  with  home-made  wine,  standing  out  in 
bold  relief  before  him,  his  eye  apparently  intent  on  the 
long  shadow  projected  by  the  graceM  amphora  as  it  inter- 
cepted the  rays  of  the  setting  sun. 

He  was  thinking  of  Yiboil,  who  uad  just  died  at  Naples, 
after  a  long  and  pain^  illness,  and  whose  loss  to  literatture 
and  social  companionship  no  one  could  appreciate  more 
feelingly  than  Hobace.  They  had  but  lately  wept  in  com- 
mon orer  ''  Quinctilius ;"  and  the  same  reflection  whidi  had 
dried  up  the  tear  of  the  mourners  then  (viz.,  that  ^  there 
was  no  help  for  it"),  was  probably  the  only  one  that  pre- 
sented itself  to  his  mind  to  mitigate  the  pangs  of  this  fresh 
bereavement.  A  slave  was  meantime  seen  approaching  in 
the  distant  landscape,  dressed  in  the  peculiar  costume  of  the 
labeUarii^  and  bearing,  in  the  dust  and  exhaustion  visible 
throughout  his  person,  evidence  of  a  hurried  journey  firom 
the  metropolis.  On  reaching  the  spot  where  the  poet  sat, 
absorbed  and  **  gazing  on  vacancy,"  the  arrival  ot  one  in 
whom  he  recognised  a  familiar  servant  of  Maecenas  was  suffi- 
cient to  draw  him  from  his  reverie ;  especially  when,  on 
examining  the  tablets  handed  to  him  by  the  slave,  he  per- 
ceived on  the  seal  that  closed  the  silver  thread  with  which 
the  letter  was  bound  up,  the  impression  of  a  sphynx — a 
well-known  emblem  used  by  his  patron.  He  broke  the  en- 
velope at  once,  and  read  as  follows : 

"  OcTAVius  C-ESAE,  Augustus,  Princc  of  the  Senate,  per- 
petual Consul,  Tribune  for  life,  to  C.  M^cekas,  Elnight, 
I^refect  of  Eome,  dwelling  on  the  Esquiline,  health. 

^^  Hitherto  I  have  been  able  to  find  time  for  keeping  up  a 
friendly  intercourse  by  letter  with  my  numerous  correspondents 
myself,  but  the  increasing  press  of  business,  and  my  growing 
infirmities,  now  put  it  out  of  my  power.  I  therefore  tcisk  to 
entice  our  friend  Horace  from  your  exclusive  circle.  Allow  him 
to  exchange  your  hospitable  board  for  a  residence  at  the  palace 
here.     He  is  to  act  as  my  private  secretary.     Farewell, 

•*  From  Mount  Palatine,  the  kalends  of  October^ 

Maecenas  had  transmitted  to  bis  friend  and  guest  the  un- 
*  Terbfttim  &om  Suetonius.    See  Cuvillicr  Fieuiy,  B.D.  Pans,  189(X 


f 


TUB   BOROB   OF    nORAlE. 


MI 


perial  epiiitle,  without  adding  a  eiogle  sylluble  of  note  or 
comment  to  what  was  thus  briefly  couched  in  the  handwriting 
of  his  august  cofreBpondeiit.  llorace  was  at  first  at  a  loss 
to  Account  for  this  deficiency,  but,  after  a  moment's  reflec- 
tion, could  not  but  bestow  hia  approval  on  the  delicate  re- 
serve, which  left  him  entire  liberty  to  act  according  to  his 
own  unbiassed  judgment  in  a  matter  bo  whoUj  personal  to 
himself. 

The  slave,  meantime,  stood  waiting  in  respectful  silence ; 
the  poet  motioned  him  to  follow  into  the  alriutii,  where  he 
tTBiced  a  tew  lines  for  his  master,  and  despatched  him  back 
to  Borne.  That  night,  at  supper,  Mtecenas  conveyed  to  Au- 
gustus the  result  of  his  message  to  the  Sabine  farm  :  it  waa 
a  refusal  to  accept  the  offer  of  the  emperor. 

The  secret  moti?eH  which  influenced  a  determination  so 
prompt  and  decisive  on  the  poet's  part,  he  most  probably 
did  not  communicate  to  Mtecenas.  It  is  likelv  that  he 
adopted  in  hia  reply  the  usual  plea  of  "ill  health,"  though 
hisjollv,  piump,  and  rubicund  appearance  at  their  next  meet- 
ing Bumciently  gave  the  lie  to  any  valetudinarian  pretences. 
Perhaps  he  put  forward  his  predilections  for  a  country  life, 
tnd  his  fontmesB  for  rural  solitude,  of  which  he  bos  so  often 
(ironicallv)  celebrated  the  charms  ■  such  pretext  must  have 
smnsed  tuose  who  were  best  acquainted  with  his  versatile 
disposition,  and  knew  how  little  the  dull  monotony  of  rusti- 
cation was  suited  to  his  lively  humour. 

"Anna  TVinr  anrm;  venlatiu  Tibure  Romam."—'%p,  t,  8.  13. 

Are  we,  then,  to  conjecture  that  sheer  idleness  dictated  the 
refusal  ?  Are  we  to  conclude  that  the  dolee  far  ntente  of  a 
modem  lazzarone  had  been  practically  anticipated,  and  ex- 
emplified in  the  conduct  of  an  ancient  Boman?  I  shall 
have  a  word  or  two  to  say  hereupon,  ere  a  verdict  is  given 
dishonourable  to  the  character  of  Horace.  I  merely  remark 
en  pauant,  that  the  duties  of  a  private  secretary  in  the  pa- 
lace of  Augustus  were  far  from  bearing  any  resemblance  to 
the  tedious  functions  imposed  by  the  prosy  and  long-HTnded 
style  of  correspondence  adojited  in  receut  diplomacy  :  biUet*- 
iota  of  old  were  quite  as  short  as  those  of  Lord  Melbourne.* 
•  Ei-r-:  "  How  ve  Touf     1  «lml1  ™U  at  (wo. 

(Signed)  "  SlKi.jioiTE.vs."— 0.  Y. 

lu  Trial  of  Hon.  U.  C.  Kortou  v.  MeWjQVjmtt, 


442  7ATHSB  PB0UT*8  BBIiIQITIS. 

There  were  no  foolscap  sheets  of  protocol  nonsenfle  inteh 
changed  in  those  days;  and  the  secretaryship  on  Mouot 
Palatine  woiild  have  been,  as  nearly  as  possible,  a  luxuriooi 
sinecure. 

But  may  not  he,  as  an  homme  de  lettres,  have  looked  on  tbe 
mere  technical  employment  of  "  polite  letter- writer "  ai 
something  degrading  to  his  genius,  and  derogatory  to  tiie 
high  aspirings  of  intellect ;  as  clogging  the  wings  of  fancj, 
and  impeding  the  lofty  flights  of  lyricid  enthusiasm  ?  There 
may  be  something  in  this  surmise,  yet  it  is  far  firom  affording 
a  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  matter.  The  case,  I  appie> 
hend,  admits  of  reasoning  drawn  from  analogy.  PiirpiB 
held  some  such  ministerial  appointment  at  the  Sicilian  court 
of  HiEBO,  yet  he  soared  unshackled  into  the  aerial  regions 
with  undiminished  buoyancy,  fixing  on  the  effulgent  source 
of  poetic  inspiration  an  eagle  gaze  that  neyer  faltered.  Old 
John  Milton  was  "  Latin  seeretaty^^  to  the  copper-noeed 
usurper  at  Whitehall,  yet  what  spirit  like  his  could 

"  Tempt,  with  wandering  feet,  \ 

The  dark,  uufathomed,  infinite  abyss ; 
And  through  the  palpable  obscure  find  out 
His  uncouth  way  r  or  waft  his  airy  flight. 
Upborne  on  indefifttigable  wings  ? 

Tasso  had  an  epistolary  engagement  in  the  household  of 
Este,  at  Eerrara  ;  Yida  did  the  duties  of  a  Boman  canom* 
cate,  and  held  a  Tusculan  prebend  at  the  hands  of  Leo  X 
Racine   occupied    the  post  of  "  historiographer "  to  the 
Grand  Monarque;  Addison  and  Prior,  Chateaubriand  and 
Petrarch,  have  been  each  in  his  day  members  of  the  "  eorpi 
diplomatique,^*  without  suffering  any  detriment  in  their  im** 
ginations  and  poetic  faculties.     But  of  all  the  of&cial  minis- 
trations which  have  brought  literary  men  in  contact  with 
courts  and  sovereigns,  no  two  more  similar  positions  could  be 
instanced  than  those  relatively  occupied  by  Voltaire  at  Pots- 
dam, and  (had  he  chosen  to  accept)  oy  Horace  in  the  palace 
of  Augustus.     It  is  true,  that  the  witty  French  infidel  occa 
sionally  complained  of  being  compelled  to  revise  and  retouch 
the  poetic  effusions  of  Frederick — "  Je  lave  le  linge  sale  de 
sa  majestS  ;'*  and  it  would  appear  that  the  Boman  emperor 
had  a  similar  mania  for  trying  his  hand  at  versification,  aa 


TUE   BONOS   OF    tlORACE.  413 

teventl  hesBmeter  I'rftginents  stiil  extant  eeem  to  iadicnte  : 
henco  no  doubt  he  intended  to  avail  hiniBelf  of  our  poef  a  fa- 
cility and  good  nature  to  introduce  certain  metrical  graces 
I  into  the  dull  routine  of  imperial  correspondence.  Certain 
-a,  that  (anuff,  brandy,  obscene  jokes,  and  blasphemy, 
rt)  the  petiu  touper)  of  Potedam  might  be  not  inaptly 
tnpared  to  the  noetes  eamtqur  deim  enacted  of  old  on 
Uount  Palatine. 

But  I  do  not  believe  that  the  repugnance  of  Horace  to 
Bie  proposed  arrangement  had  its  ongin  in  any  fear  of  stul- 
lifyiiig  bis  inventive  powers,  or  dimming  hia  poetic  percep- 
aODB  m  the  apprehended  drudgery  of  nn  amanuensis.  Nei- 
Ktfaer,  as  I  said  liefore,  do  I  concur  ia  the  supposition  that 
L4f>wapigbt  indolence — arrant  sloth — kept  him  m  such  hobi- 
'lual  thraldom  that  he  could  not  musl*r  energy  sufficient  for 
mdertaking  the  functions  of  secretary.  To  vindicate  him 
"im  the  charge  of  yielding  to  imbecile  lethargy,  of  suc- 
inbing  in  utter  incapability  of  all  strenuous  effort,  need  I 
»li  the  historical  fact  of  his  hadug  been  Belected  to  take 
__  mmand  of  a  regiment  in  perilous  times,  days  of  iron 
^ertion  ? 

"  Cim  mlAi  parerel  tri/iu  RomUMi  Iriiuno." 
Sal.  L6. 

feTeed  I  iiutaQce  the  further  proof  of  his  business  habits  and 
"hrldly  capacity,  afforded  us  by  the  well-authenticated  eir- 
metnnce  of  his  having  held,  and   duly   discharged,  the 
mportaat  office  of   commissioner  of  the    public    revenue 
"■  t  fmsilorius),  somewhat  equivalent  to  tne  attributions 
,  in  a  subsequent  age,  were  deemed  the  fittest  to  occupy 
B  abilities  of  Eobeht  Bttrns,  "  poet  and  exciseman"- — (not 
to  apeak  of  one  Wordsworth,  distributor  of  etamps  in  Cum- 
berland) ?     Need  1  observe,  in  corroboration  of  all  the  other 
evidences  which  prove  his  willingness   to  work,  that  he  nt 
1  time  of  his  life  went  through  the  moat  wearisome  anil 
■  iBborioUB  of  all  the  hard  taaks  to  which  flesh  ia  heir — the 
f  (Towning  drudgery  of  all  human  toils — that  of  earning  hia 
^       1  by  acribblement  and  veraemongery  ? 

^'  PauperlBB  impulit  audox 
Ut  Tereus  fnccwm." 
1,  when  they  hate  a  man  with  uncommon  abhorrence, 


414  TATHSB  PBOUT's  BSLIQUSS. 

are  said  to  driye  him  to  the  profession  of  schoolmaster :  but 
a  pedagogue  may  *'  go  further"  into  the  depths  of  miflerj, 
and  *'  &re  worse,"  should  he  be  tempted  to  worry  his  biaim 
(rov  Mvir)  in  gathering  intellectual  samphire-^ 

"  Dreadful  trade !" 

This  is  the  true  reading  of  a  fragmentary  passage  from  Ea- 
ripides,  which  is  often  misquoted : 

Orav  it  Aaifimv  avdpi  irpotfvvif  koku 
Tov  vow  itXaypt  irp^rov, 

Jncertm  Trag.,  publ,  by  BaskeS. 

What  our  poet  endured  in  passing  through  that  expiatoiy 
stage  of  his  chequered  existence  we  can  only  conjecture,  ai 
he  barely  alludes  to  it.  He  had  long  since  arrived  at  the 
enjoyment  of  a  moderate  competence,  and  if  he  still  courted 
the  Muses  and  indulged  "  in  numbers,"  it  was  (like  Pope) 


"  Because  the  numbers  came." 

Having  thus  fully  acquitted  Horace  of  a  propensity  to 
idleness,  it  is  time  to  state  my  own  view  of  the  cause  whicb 
operated  in  producing  the  rejection  of  so  tempting  an  offer 
as  that  conveyed  by  letter  to  the  poet,  "  from  the  highest 
quarter,"  through  the  instrumentality  of  Maecenas.  Fully 
to  understand  the  delicacy  of  mind  and  the  sensitive  feelings 
of  honour  he  evinced  on  this  occasion,  it  is  perhaps  expe- 
dient to  recapitulate  anterior  occurrences. 

Horace,  by  the  mere  circimistance  of  birth,  could  scarcely 
claim  admittance  into  what  we  call  the  middle  class  of  so* 
ciety.*  His  father  was  a  freedman  of  Pompet's  house, 
and,  on  his  emancipation  from  service  in  that  distinguished 
fiwnily,  had  set  himself  up  in  trade  as  a  crier,  or  collector,  at 
public  auctions :  a  social  position,  need  I  add,  far  from 
equalling  the  splendid  rank  held  in  modem  times  by  George 
Bobins  of  Covent  Garden.  He  was,  however,  an  old  man 
of  considerable  sagacity ;  and  to  him,  much  pondering  on 
the  unsettled  state  of  the  political  horizon,  there  appeared 
no  reason  why  he  should  not  look  out  for  the  chances  of 

*  He  was  not  ashamed  to  own  it : 

^Ego  pauperum  $angui9  ^ren/um."~  Ode  iL  20,  6. 


I  soyas  c 


445 


tising  up  hia  dynasty  in  the  luidet  of  the  coming  coDfuBion. 

_  Wherefore  to  the  education  of  Iiia  only  son,  Flaceus — rather 

K  nmart  buy  for  his  age — he  devoted  all  his  earuinga  and 

nergies,  so  as  to  fit  him  for  the  very  highest  fiuictiona  of 

tbe  Btate,  should  fortune  turn  favourable.     He  accordingly 

MKnt  him  to  the  tip-top  school  of  the  day— the  Eton  or  Har. 

jwow  of  Home,  kept  by  one  Orbiliua  "  for  a  select  number  of 

f  the  young  nobility  and  gentry."     Kor  haa  Uorai^e  omitted 

I  gratefully  to  record  the  pains  and  trouble  which  the  worthr 

Y  principal  of  this  academy  bestowed  on  his  studies  j  though 

[  ne  jocosely  applies  to  him  now  and  then  the  endearing  epi- 

I  ttet  of  "plagoaut,"  and  is  Huppoaed  by  the  German  philolo- 

est,  Wollf,  to  have  drawn  liis  portrait  in  the  well-known 

jGiies  about  Death : 


ing  exhausted,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  ol]  the  stock  of 
infpnnulion  posseBsed  by  Orliihus,  his  excellent  father,  be- 
grudging no  expense,  and  securely  calculating  on  a  full  re- 
turn for  the  capital  invested  in  so  hopeful  a  son,  now  sent 
htm  to  Athens,  where  Philosophy  still  sauntered  in  the 
ffhady  walks  of  Acadeiaus,  and  ^\'iadom  yet  held  forth  from 
the  porch  of  Zeno.  Here  was  congregated  all  the  young 
blood  of  £ome ;  the  promising  scions  of  every  noble  house 
were  allowed  to  grow  up  in  the  genial  sunshine  of  Greece: 
Athena  was  the  faahionable  univei-sity.  The  youthful  ac- 
quaintances formed  here  by  Horace  were,  naturally  enough, 
selected  from  the  partisans  and  supporters  of  Pomfet  ;  silch 
aa  young  Plancua,  Messala,  Varus,  fiibulus,  Cicero  (son  of 
the  orator),  and  all  that  set.  What  a  delightful  and  interests 
ing  picture  it  were  to  contemplate  the  development.  In  these 
•rdent  breasts,  of  genius,  passion,  patriotism,  and  all  the 
workings  of  the  Homan  soul ;  to  not«  the  aspirings  of  each 
gallant  spirit ;  to  watch  the  kindling  of  each  generous  emo- 
tign,  fanned  into  a  blaze  by  the  recollections  of  Grecian 
renown  and  the  memorials  of  bygone  glory  !  Nor  were  it  a 
leas  curious  study  to  observe  tCe  contrast  of  Roman  and 
Athenian  mannera  in  this  refined  and  intellectual  city,  at 
once  frivolous  and  profound,  si-r vile  and  enthusiastic;  the 
pvent  of  Pericles,  Phidias,  and  Phocion,  yet  nursing  numo> 


446 


FATHER   PROITT  S   RELIQCES. 


roua  and  genuine  specimens  of  the  Bycophant  &nd  the  ■ 
phist,  to  all  appearance  equally  indigeDuus  in  ttie  ioil  with 
the  hero  and  the  eage. 

Dwelling  with  fondneaB  on  this  young  eolonv  of  i 
Btudente,  imagination  revels  in  the  vision  of  their  joyous  uu 
animated  intercourse ;  fancy  follows  them  through  their  ptu 
suits  of  science  or  of  pleasure,  tlieir  reveries  of  Stoic  01 
Epicurean  phUosophy — (for  Paul  hod  not  yet  astounded  tit 
Areopagus  with  the  ojinoun cement  of  Sevelation) — ciJa 
dreams,  not  unmixed  with  Kpeciilations  on  the  symptoms  a 
important  ehonge,  already  but  too  manifest  in  the  politid 
BVatem  of  the  mother-country.  Of  a  sudden,  the  news  t 
OiBBar'a  murder  in  the  senate-house  burst  on  the  quiet  lei> 
sure  of  these  pleasant  hours ;  and,  to  add  to  the  eicit«iDso' 
the  arrival  at  Athena  of  Brutcs  himself,  fresh  glowing  ftoi 
the  deed  of  antique  stoicism,  communicated  an  irreeistihll 
impulse  to  the  cause,  and  sent  an  electric  shock  through  tl 
veina  of  each  young  Pompeias.  Loud  was  the  aoclaim,  si 
warm  the  weleome,  with  which  Horace  and  his  circle  hai' 
the  asserter  of  the  rights  and  priTileges  of  the  Soman  a) 
tocFBcy :  for  thia,  en  paiaant,  is  the  true  light  in  which  tfa 
hero  of  the  ides  of  March  should  be  considered  by  thai 
who  wish  to  nnderatand  the  actuating  motivea  and  politia 
views  of  that  period.  An  army  waa  to  be  organised  i  * 
haste ;  and  high  must  have  been  the  opinion  of  our  p 
personal  intrepidity  and  skill,  when  Brutus  did  not  hnitst 
to  place  him  at  once  at  the  head  of  a  reoiment  :  the  poi 
of  "  military  trlhune"  being  equivalent  to  the  functions  4 
colonel  in  our  modem  army-lists. 

Here,  then,  we  have  the  pupil  of  the  "  polu-flog-boyo 
Orbi/ius,  gallantly  aciwutred,  unflinchingly  erect  in  the  n 
of  a  LEGION,  forming  one  of  the  "sta^'  in  an  army  I 
100,000  men,  who  were  soon  to  meet  an  equal  numbtr  a 
the  disastrous  plains  of  Philippi.  It  waa  the  laat  effort  ( 
the  expiring  constitution ;  the  last  bold  stand  made  by  tli 
confederated  nobility,  the  Cavaliere  of  Home,  af^oinst  tb 
odious  idol  of  Democracy  embodied  m  the  Tnumvimtt 
Several  years  suhae^juently,  in  a  drinking-song  alluding  t 
thia  battle,  he  chargra  himsrlf  with  the  baseat  cowardice 
describing  his  conduct  as  that  of  a  runaway,  who  fluq 
JtmipBaek,  be\t,  ani  ViiicWftt  to  he  foremost  iu  the  fligt 


I 


THE   80KBS   ( 


I 


wiien  sauee  gu!  peti/  was  tlie  cry.     But  we  may  safely  look 

on  t}ie  avowal  as  merely  one  of  moek  modesty,  mejuit  to  be 

taken  rvm  i/rano»aU»:  especiaUy  aa  the  bacchanalian  Bong 

in  qaeatiou  was  addreesed  to  one  of  the  young  Pompetb 

L  {Pomp.  Groipk.),  before  whom  he  wouJd  be  loath  to  stultify 

Lor  stigmatise  himself  by  such  a  statement,  if  intended  to  be 

lUcen  Uterolly.     We  may  confidently  assert,  in  the  ab»eQce 

|f  erery  other  testimony  but  Lis  own,  that  he  behaved  with 

"roper  courage  on  the  occa^don ;  and  for  this  reason,  tie.  no 

~  e  likes  to  joke  on  matters  in  which  he  is  conscious  of  defi- 

Joe  Hume,  for  instance,  never  ventures  a  witticism 

n  the  Greek  loon. 

[  The  results  of  the  campaign  are  well  known.  Beutvb 
»de  away  with  himself  with  stoic  consistency  ;  but  a  nura- 
)f  his  lieutenants — BiBCtra,  his  brother-in-law,  Mes- 
^  Plahccb,  and  many  others,  with  14,000  of  the  troops, 
Ikpitulated,  and  made  their  submission  t<i  the  triumvirs.  A 
few  years  after,  JlesBflla  fought  at  Aetium,  under  the  banner 
of  Octavius,  and  is  reported  to  have  exclaimed  in  the  hearing 
of  Antony's  antagonist,  "  /(  ii  erer  tnt/  dealing  lo  bear  armi 
at  Ike  tide  on  which  justice  and  honour  are  arrayed."  A  Baying 
equally  indicative  of  Messala's  free  spoken  intrepidity,  ana 
the  tolerating  high-inindednesH  of  the  emperor  who  could 
listen  without  chiding  or  diapleaeure. 

Horace  followed  the  esample  of  those  whom  he  had  known 
at  Athens  in  the  intimacy  ot  earlv  youth,  when  attachments 
are  strongest,  and  the  ties  of  indissoluble  friendBfaip  are 
moBt  effectually  formed.  But  in  this  tacit  adhesion  to 
the  new  order  of  things,  old  feefings  and  long-cherished  opi- 
nions weJ«  not  readily  got  rid  of.  The  Jacobites  could  not 
yet  divest  themselves  of  a  secret  antipathy  to  the  house  of 
Hanover.  There  still  eiisted,  among  most  of  them,  a  sort 
of  Bulky  reluctance  to  fraternise  with  the  government,  oi' 
accept  its  favour,  or  incur  auy  obligation  irreconcilable  with 
the  proud  susceptibility  of  patrician  independence. 

It  becomes  obvious,  from  this  brief  expoic',  that  for  H-orai'e 
to  accept  a  situation  in  the  household  of  Augustus,  would 
be  tantamount  on  his  nart  to  a  complete  apostacy  from  oil 
his  old  familiar  friendship,  and  a  formal  renunciation  of  all 
Bi-otiaintanceship  among  the  numerous  surviving  partisans 
of  Pompey.    Every  one  who  recollects  the  abuse  ijoured  <mt 


448  7ATHEB   PSOXTT's   BELIQTTBB. 

on  Burke  (in  his  capacity  of  goyemment-penBioner),  from 
the  foul  organs  of  Holland  House,  i^ill  understand  the  an- 
nojance  to  which  our  poet  would  have  subjected  himself 
had  he  yielded  to  the  proposal  of  the  emperor.  Besides,  he 
possessed  a  becoming  share  of  national  pride ;  and  was  un- 
willing to  barter  the  &ee  sentiments  of  his  mind,  and  their 
honest  expression,  for  emoluments  and  functions  which 
would  give  to  any  support  his  writings  might  afford  the 
established  dynasty  a  semblance  of  yemdity,  stamping  him 
as  a  mere  mercenary  character.  The  friendBhip  of  Miecenai 
had  procured  for  him  the  restoration  of  some  confiscated 
property  which  his  father  had  acquired,  but  which  had  be- 
come forfeited  by  the  part  he  had  taken  in  the  civil  war: 
this  was  the  "  Sabine  farm  *'  Presents  and  yaluable  bene- 
factions had  flowed  on  him  from  the  same  munificent  source, 
but  perfect  equality  and  reciprocal  esteem  were  the  terms 
on  which  the  patron  and  poet  lived  towards  each  other. 
No  wonder,  then,  that  the  letter  of  Augustus  failed  to  se- 
duce him  from  tlie  table  of  Maecenas,  on  the  Esquiline  Hill, 
to  a  secretary's  duties,  and  accompanying  golden  shackles, 
on  Mount  Palatine. 

Such  is  the  simple  explanation  of  an  othervnse  yery  ex- 
traordinary passage  in  the  life  of  Horace.  Viewed  in  this 
light,  his  reluctance  would  appear  perfectly  justifiable,  and 
would  seem  to  evince  sound  judgment,  as  well  as  a  delicate 
sense  of  honour.  I  happen  to  have  some  very  particular 
reasons,  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  specify,  for  dwelling  on 
the  conduct  here  described ;  and  having,  I  trust,  put  the 
matter  in  its  proper  light,  I  now  return  to  my  hermeneutic 
labours. 

We  are  informed  by  Strabo  (lib.  xvi.),  that  in  the  year 
730  U.C.,  the  emperor  decided  on  sending  out  an  army,  un- 
der the  command  of  Gallus,  to  conquer  Arabia  Felix,  the 
"  land  of  Hus."  This  country,  by  all  accounts,  sacred  and 
profane  (see  Isaiah,  cap.  Ix.,  et  passim),  seems  to  have  been 
celebrated  for  its  treasure  and  renowned  for  its  luxury, 
though  very  little  traces  remained  a  few  centuries  after  of 
either  riches  or  civilization :  at  the  present  day  it  is  literally 
"as  poor  as  Job."  Such,  however,  were  the  ideas  enter- 
tained at  Home  of  this  El  Dorado  of  the  East,  that  thousands 
enrolled  theinaelve^  under      e  standard  of  Qallus,  in  the 


f 


liopes  of  making  a.  rapid  fortune  from  the  flpoila  of  tlie 
Arabe.  Tlie  eipeditiou  proved  a  wretdiej  failure.  One 
Iccics.  however,  was  among  the  deluded  Bpeculatore,  who 
joined  it  through  aheer  eagerneaa  for  pillage :  he  §old  a 
cupital  iaw-lihrarv,  to  purchase  an  outfit  and  a  commission 
in  the  newly -raifled  reg^iments.  Ilia  ahandonment  of  protes- 
sioDa!  pursuits  for  a  militafy  engagement  was  the  laughter 
of  all  Kome,  and  Horace  heartily  eujoyed  the  geoeral  merri- 
ment. Such  was  the  occasion  which  provoked  the  following 
witty  and  pohahed  remonstrance,  addressed  to  the  warlike 
lawyer : 


I 


Ode  XXIX. — the  aiOB  tdbred  soldibb. 
Ajb — "  One  bumpor  nf  parting." 


Tlie  trophifa  of  war,  and  Ihe  plunder,  leci,  beitii  nimc 

Have  fired  s  p)iiloBop!ier'«  breoBt —  Arabum  inTides 

Bo,  IcciUH.  70a  march  (mid  tlie  wonder  Oaiis,  et  bcthid 

or  all)  for  AnbU  the  blest.  Mibtinm  piras 

Full  iu»,  whan  'tis  told  to  tbe  Penian,  Kon  ante  dliictia 

That  yuu  have  abandoned  jour  home,  Sabieffl 

He'll  foe!  the  ftill  force  of  eoereion,  Eegibui,  hor- 

And  strike  lo  the  baDoetii  of  Borne  '.  ribilique  Medo 

Wh«t  ohipf  shall  Ton  ranquieh  iind  fetti<r?      TSecta  aaleniig. 

What  capUie  sholl  ciall  jon  hen  lord  f 
Ho<T  Boon  may  the  rriDJdea  fi^rgel  her 

Betrotli^  benn  doitn  b;  jour  «wordP 
Wlia!  striplinit  has  lanrj  appointed, 

From  oil  timt  their  palaceg  hold, 
To  teric  jon  with  ringlets  anointed, 

And  hand  joa  the  goblet  of  gold  ? 

His  arts  to  jonr  pastime  contribute, 

His  forei^  at^complishmeatH  shew, 
And,  taught  bir  his  parent,  eiliibit 

His  dexterous  use  of  the  bow. — 
Wlio  doubts  that  tlie  Tiber,  in  cholvr. 

Kaf ,  bunting  all  borneri  and  bars. 
Plow  bock  to  its  BOUTDe,  when  a  aeholar 

Decerta  to  the  standard  of  Mara  ? 

When  yau,  the  reeevred  and  the  prudtnt, 

Wbota  Socratofi  hoped  'o  eugnge. 
Can  merge  in  the  soldier  tlie  student, 

And  mar  thus  an  emiryo  sage — 


virginum, 

Barbara  serriet  7 

Puer  quia  ex  aul3 

Capilhs 

Ad  cjathum 

Ststuctur  unctis, 

DoetUB  sagittal 
Trndcre  Sericas 
Arcu  polemo  ? 
Quis  ueget  arduis 
ProiioB  relabi 
Poase  rivos 
Uontibus,  et 
Tiborito  rirerti, 

Quum  tu 

Utidique  I 
Libroe  Panwli 


450 


7ATHEB  PSOUT'B  BZLIQUX8. 


Bid  the  Tirioos  of  soienoe  to  Taniflh, 
And  barter  yon  erudite  hoard 

Of  Tohimes  from  Ghceeoe  for  a  Spaniflh 
CuiraBB,  and  the  pen  for  a  tword  f 


Matare  knioia 
Iberia, 
PoUidtus 
Melioi%  tflodiaF 


The  ''  Spanish**  cuiraBS  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the 
peninsida  was,  so  far  back  as  the  Augustan  age,  renowned 
for  its  iron  manufactures.  The  blades  of  Toledo  kept  op, 
during  the  middle  ages,  the  credit  of  Spain  for  industry  uid 
skill  in  this  department.  Likewise,  in  the  craft  of  jAommA- 
m^,  the  town  of  Cordoya  shone  pre-eminent :  nor  did  the 
hero  of  that  ilk,  GK>nBalve  tie  Cordoue,  confer  on  it  greiter 
celebrity  than  its  leathern  glories;  as  the  English  word 
cwrdwameTy  and  the  French  term,  cordonnier,  still  testify. 
In  an  old  MS.  of  the  Ejng's  Library,  Paris  (marked  Q.)}  e 
monkish  scholiast  has  made  a  marginal  observation  on  this 
ode  to  Iccius,  which  is  highly  characteristic  of  cloister  cri- 
ticism : — ''  Horatius  reprehendit  quemdam  qui  sua  CLEBICILU 
OFFiciA  mutat  pro  ndlitaribus  armis :" — a  clerk  who  could  sell 
his  "  office-book,"  or  breviary ^  for  a  suit  of  armour,  was  as- 
suredly a  fit  subject  for  the  poet*s  animadversion.  It  is  to 
be  regretted  that  the  same  worthy  commentator  did  not 
continue  his  glossary  throughout ;  as,  for  instance,  what 
might  he  not  discover  in  the  next  morceau  ? 

Ode  XXX. — the  dedication  op  olygeba's  chapel. 

Am—"  The  Bojne  water.** 

AD  VZKKaiM. 


O  Venus !  Queen  of  Cyprus  isle, 

Of  Paphos  and  of  Gnidus, 
Hie  from  thy  favourite  haunte  awhile, 

And  make  abode  amid  ub  ; 
Olyoera's  altar  for  thee  smokes. 

With  frankincense  sweet-smelling — 
Thee,  while  the  charming  maid  invokes. 

Hie  to  her  lovely  dwelling ! 

Let  yon  bright  Boy,  whose  hand  hath  grasped 

LoTe*8  blazing  torch,  precede  thee, 
While  gliding  on,  with  sone  unclasped, 

The  sister  Ghraces  lead  thee  : 
Nor  be  thy  Nymph-attendants  missed  : 

Nor  can  it  narm  thy  court,  if 
Hebe  the  youthful  swell  thy  list, 

With  Mercury  tke  sportive. 


O  Venus  I  Begins 
Ghiidi,  Paphiqoe 
Speme  diiectam 
Qrpron,  et  vocantis 
Thure  te  multo 
Glyoens 
Deooram 
Transfer  in  sdem. 

Fervidus  tecum 
Puer,  et  solutis 
GratisD  sonis 
Properentoue 
Nymphc, 
Et  parum  comia 
Sine  te  JuventM, 
Merouriuaqiieb 


a  OF  EoaACB. 


ist  Daeier  says,  in  his  own  dry  way  :  "  On  ne  doit  pas 
r  qu'  Horace  mette  Mercure  A  la  suite  de  Viniu;  cela 
rpfi^ue  aiseviert .'" 

bus,  in  the  year  u.c.  726,  according  to  Dion  (53. 1.), 
«mple  to  ApoUo  on  Mount  Palatine,  to  which  be 
lesed  a  splendid  library,  much  spoken  of  under  aubee- 
mt  emperors.  The  ceremony  of  its  consecration  appears 
e  called  forth  as  many  "addresses"  as  the  re-opening 
ary  Lane  Theatre,  in  the  heyday  of  Horace  Smith : 
i]y  has  been  preserved  to  posterity.  Here  is  the  Eo- 
I  laureate's  efiusion,  replete  vith  dignified  and  philo- 
C  Bentimente,  expressed  in  the  noblest  language  : 

I  Que  XSXt. — the  dedication  of  apollo's  tempi-e. 


AlB — "  Iietbia  luth  ■  beaming  eye." 


m  the  bsrd  in  wonhip,  low 
Ift  bcfbre  hid  liegv  Apollo, 
le  the  Ted  UtMtions  Bow 
PVom  the  goblet'*  golden  hollow, 
CWn  je  gniBH  hii  aruon  ? 

Qui  it  be  for  "  gnun"  be  uketh — 
Udlow  grain,  thet  in  the  Btm 
Cvr  SonUnis'i  bosom  bukcth  ? 

The  fiitlest  herd  of  kjne 
L  Xhat  o'er  Calabrian  pasture  ranges — 
Ib0  wealth  of  India's  richest  mine — 
f   Hie  Ivory  of  Ihe  distant  Qanges? 
■o — the»e  be  not  the  poet's  dronn — 
[^  Kor  acres  broad  to  roam  Ht  large  in, 

■e  loiy  Liris,  silent  stream, 
[  Blow  undermtnes  the  meadow'*  msj'gin. 

M  Undlonl  of  a  wide  domaia 
I  Hjif  gather  his  Ounptuiiaii  rintage, 
Ba  Tentnnnu  trader  uount  his  gain — 
PI  omet  not  his  ric4i  per  eentage ; 
D  for  the  merobaiidiie  he  sold 
la  the  balance  he  relied  on, 

i:ups  of  gold, 
le  with  Xyre  sua  Sidon  V 


Tales  ?    Quid  orat, 

De  patera  novum 

Pimdea  hquorem  ? 

Nod  opimn 

Sardiniie 


Hon  lestuosai 
Gisla  Calahrin 
Arments.,  non  auruni 
Aut  ebur  Indicum, 
Non  rura,  qu» 
Liris  quiett 

Mordet  aquft, 
Tacibimiu  amnie. 


Falce,  quibus  diodit 
Fortuna,  vitem  i 
Dives  et  aured* 

siocet  culnllis 
TinaSyi* 


452 


7ATHEB  PB0UT*8  BELIQUBS. 


Each  year  upon  ike  watery  waste, 

Let  him  proToke  the  fierce  Atlantio 
Four  separate  times — ...  I  hare  no  taste 

For  speculation  so  gigantic. 
The  gods  are  kind,  the  gain  superb ; 

But,  haply,  I  can  feast  in  quiet 
On  salad  of  some  homely  herb, 

On  frugal  fruit  and  ohre  diet. 

Oh,  let  Latona's  son  but  please 

To  guarantee  me  health's  enjoyment ! 
The  goods  he  gave — the  fiiculties 

Ofwhich  he  daims  the  full  employment ; 
Let  me  live  on  to  good  old  age, 

No  deed  of  shame  my  pillow  haunting, 
Calm  to  the  last,  the  closing  stage 

Of  life : — nor  let  the  lyre  be  wanting ! 


IKs  cams  ipos; 
Quippe  ter  et  quater 
Anno  reriseiu 
.£quor  Atlanticom 
Tmpune.    Me 
Pascunt  oUtc, 
Me  cichorea 
Levesque  malve. 

Fruiparatis 

£t  Talido  mihi, 

Latoe,  dones ; 

At,  precor,  integri 

Cum  mente. 

Nee  turpem  senectam 

Degere  neo 
Cithar&  carentem. 


The  following  stanzas  would  seem  to  form  a  sort  of  intro- 
ductory flourish,  or  preamble ;  and,  in  the  opinion  of  Father 
Sanadon,  were  intended  as  a  musicid  overture  to  the  Carmen 
Saculare,  In  it,  Horace  calls  the  lyre  a  te$tudo  ;  and  tells 
us  that  Jupiter  never  dined  without  an  accompaniment  of 
the  kind  :  ^^Dapibus  supremi  grata  testudo  Jovis.**  My  friend, 
William  Jerdan,  thinks,  nevertheless,  that  ^^Jine  lively  turtle" 
is  of  far  greater  acceptance,  on  festal  occasions,  than  a  mere 
empty  tortoise-shell. 

Ode  XXXII. 

LD  LTRAM. 

Poscimur...Siquidyacui8ubimibr&  Liberum,  et  Musas,  Yeneremqa^ 
Lusimus  tecum,  quod  et  hunc  in  an>  et  iUi 

num  Semper  hierentem  puerum  canebst, 

Virat  et  plures,  age,  die  Latinum,      Et  Lycam  nigris  oculis,  nigroque 
Barbitc,  carmen,  Crine  decoram. 

Lesbio  primum  modulate  civi ;  O  decus  Phcebi,  et  dapibus  supremi 

Qui,  ferox  belle,  tamen  inter  anna,  Gb*ata  testudo  JoTis  !  o  laborum 

Sire  jactatam  religarat  udo  Dulce  lenimen,  mihi  cumque  sal^e 
Litore  navim.  Rite  vocanti ! 


AX  OCCASIONAJi  PRELUDE  OF  THE  POET  TO  HIS  80NG8. 
AiE — "  Dear  harp  of  my  coimtry." 

They  have  called  for  a  lay  that  for  ages  abiding. 
Bids  Echo  it«  music  through  years  to  prolong ; 

Then  wake,  Latin  lyre  !     Since  my  country  t^kes  pride  in 
Thy  wild  native  harmony,  wake  to  my  song. 


I 


Twaa  Alesiu,  r  miiutTel  of  Oreece,  vho  flnt  m&rned 
The  toniu  of  tba  voice  lo  the  tlirill  of  tha  chard ; 

O'op  the  wsvea  of  the  sea  the  lorad  sjmbol  ho  corned, 
Ncr  relinquiihed  the  tyre  tiiough  be  wielded  the  eword. 

Qaj  BoeehuB,  the  Uo>o>,  vitli  Cupid  he  dinnl^ 
— The  boy  who  accomjuniiu  Venus  the  fnir — 

And  he  told  o'or  again  how  for  Ljoa  he  pnmed. 

With  her  bonnj  black  e;c«  and  her  dork  floning  hair. 

'Tie  the  pride  of  Apollo — he  glories  to  rank  it. 
Amid  hiB  bright  attribulea,  foremost  of  all : 

'Tia  the  solooo  of  life '.  Even  Jore  to  his  banquet 
InTitea  thee ! — O  lyre  1  over  wnko  lo  mj  call. 


1  do  not  admit  the  nest  ode  to  be  geDuine.  The  elegiaw 
Ifoet,  TibiiDuB,  to  whom  it  is  mBcribed,  died  very  youog 
I  ^twenty-sis)  ;  and,  bosideB,  was  too  great  a  favourite  of  the 
I'ladies  to  have  such  lines  as  these  addressed  to  him: 


Albi,  nc  doleas, 
Pliu  lumic  memor 
JmniitiB  Gljcerte, 
Beu  miiBrabileB 
DecoDte*  elegoe, 
Cur  tibi  j  UDior 
L»A  prceaiteat  fldo,  Ik. 


Be  not  istonlBhed,  dear  Tibnllua, 
ITial  Geklo  Komen  jilt  and  gull  ii« ! 
Ceaie  to  write  "  rltgiti,"  bsmoaning 
Qlyoera's  falsehood — idlj  groaning 
That  thou  in  her  ealeem  hast  lunl^  or 
That  ehe  prefera  a  roaring  yoimker. 
K.  T.  X. 


I  consequently  diamias  it  to  its  appropriate  place  amid 
1   the  Jpocrypka. 

It  ia  a  remarkable  fact,  though  overlooked  by  most  bis- 
toriaiu,  that  the  "Eeformation"  originated  in  a  clap  of 
thunder.  A  German  student  waa  so  terrified  by  the  Dolt 
(which  killed  his  comrade)  tbat  he  turned  monk,  and,  having 
had  originally  no  vocation  for  that  quiet  craft,  afterwards 

k broke  out,  naturally  enough,  into  a  polemical  agitator.  Ho- 
race was  nearly  converted  by  the  same  electric  process  as 
Luther.     Ex.  yr.  .■ 


454 


7ATHXB  PB0Xnr*8  BXLIQITIS. 


Odb  XXXIY.-'-thb  post's  oomrxBsioB. 


AD  iSIPBinf. 


I,  whom  ihe  Gods  had  found  a  client, 
Barely  with  pious  rites  oompliant, 
At  Unbelief  disposed  to  nibble, 
And  pleased  with  every  sophist  quib- 
ble— 
I,  whohad  deemed  great  Jore  a  phantom, 
Now  own  my  errors,  and  SBOAirr  'em ! 

Have  I  not  lived  of  late  to  witness, 
Athwart  a  sky  of  passing  brightness. 
The  Gk>d,  upon  his  oar  of  thunder. 
Cleave  the  calm  elements  asunder? 
And,  through  the  firmament  careering. 
Level  his  bolts  with  aim  unerring  ? 

Then  tremUed  Earth  with  sudden 
shiver; 

Then  quaked  with  fear  each  mount  and 
river; 

Stunned  at  the  blow,  Hell  reeled  a  mi- 
nute. 

With  all  the  darksome  caves  within  it ; 

And  Atlas  seemed  as  he  would  totter 

Beneath  his  load  of  land  and  water ! 


Parous  Beorum 
Cultor  et  infreqiUDS, 

Dum  si^ientuB 
Consulttts  erro,  nunc  lutiortuui 
Vela  dare,  atqoe  itenneiff- 
sua 

Oogor  reUotoa. 
Namque  Diespttsr, 

Igni  oomaoo 
Kubila  dividens 
Plerumque,  per  purum  t<»aatei 
Egit    equos,    volncremqiM 
currum. 

Quo  bruta  teUus, 
Et  vaga  fluminay 

Quo  Styx^  et  invisi 
Horrida  Taenari 
Sedes,  Atlantesque  finis 
Concutitur.       Valet   ima 
summis 


Yes  I  of  a  God  I  hail  the  guidance ;  Mutara,  et  insignflm 

The  proud  are  humbled  at  his  bid-  Attenuat  Deus, 

Gumoe ;  Obscura  promena. 

Forfime,  his  handmaid,  now  uplifting  Hinc  apicem  rmg^K 

Monarchs,  and  now  the  sceptre  shifting,  Fortuna  cum  stridore  aew^ 

With  equal  proof  his  power  evinces,  Sustulit,  bio  posuisse  gao- 

WhethcT  she  raise  or  ruin  Princes.  det. 

Here  is  a  specimen  of  the  poet's  more  elevated  manner^ 
a  sample  of  his  grander  style  of  composition.  He  inYokes 
the  smile  of  Fortune  on  two  impending  enterprises  of  the 
emperor :  one  an  expedition  to  Arabia,  cooiposed  of  new 
recruits  (concerning  which,  see  the  first  ode  of^this  decade) ; 
and,  secondly,  an  excursion  to  Britain.  Napoleon  would 
call  the  first, ''  VJrmie  de  V Orient ;"  and  the  other,  '*  VArmk 
(T  Angleterre"  Both  were  intended  rather  to  diYertpublic 
attention  from  politics  than  for  real  conquest.  Horaoe^ 
however,  appears  quite  in  earnest. 


r 


I    OS    HORACE, 


Ode  XXXV. — as  auukkss  to  roBTiri 


Fortune,  whose  pillared  temple  crown 

Cape  An tiumU  jutting  din. 
Whose   smiles   eoaler    euFceaa,    nhoae 

Can  change  Our  triiimphi  briaf 
I    To  fiinerali— for  life  bulii  lie  at 
I    The  mercy  of  thj  BOiereign  flnt. 

Tbkk,  Qoddeu !  ia  his  fervent  prayers, 
Fondly  the  &ugal  farmer  courti ; 

The  marmpT,  before  he  dores 

Umnoor  bin  bark,  (o  TUEI  resorts — 

That  th;  kind  faiour  maj  continue, 
—  To  blflas  hia  Tojsgfl  to  Bilhyuia. 

||Sude    Dacia's    clans,    wild    Sojtliia's 
hordes — 

Abroad— at  home — all  worship  thkbI 
I  And  mothers  of  barbsriaa  Lonis, 

And  piirfJed  (jnints,  bend  Ibo  knee 
before  tbj  shrine,  O  Maid  !  who  wemest 
"o  rule  mankind  with  power  supremeat, 

c's  piUarrd  pride 
t  Dash  to  the  dust  with  scornful  foot- 
it  Tumult,  bent  on  re^cide, 

it  djUBstj  uproot ; 
Hien  maddened  orowda,  with  Fiends 


O  Diva,  OrataiD 

QuK  regis  Anlium, 

Prtesens  Tel  imo 

Tollrrc  de  gradu 

Mortole  corpus,  Tel  superbo* 

Vertere  funeribiis  triuinphos, 

Te  pauper  ambit 
Sollieila  prece 

Burie  colonuB ; 
Te  dominam  equoris, 


aBithyna 


Carpathium  peiagus  ca 

Te  Dacus  BBper, 

To  profugi  8c;th», 


Purpur 


metuunt  t  jraoni. 


oLead'e 


Ji  thetu 


ic  at  freedom  ! 


lnjuno.o 
Ne  pede  proruas 

Sfauitem  columnam ; 
Nmi  populus  frequeuB 
Ld  anna  cessantffS  ad  arma 
Concitet,  imperiumque  frwi' 


}  XoiB  item  necessity  leads  on, 
Loaded  with  attributes  of  awe  I 
And  graiping,  grim  automaton, 

Brooxe  wedgea  in  liis  iron  claw, 
Frqtared  with  sledge  to  drive  the  bolt  in. 
Ana  aeal  it  fast  with  lead  that's  molten. 

TheeHope  adores.- In  enow.whit«To*l, 
Fidelity  (though  seldom  found) 

OUngi  to  her  li^e,  and  loviw  him  best, 
Wtien   dangers   threat  and  ills  sur- 

IB  liini  poor,  despoiled,  imprinoned, 
than  with  gold  and  gems  bedii- 


Qestans  aena. 

Uncus    abei 

ph 


italbo 


Bera  Fides  cc 

TeUta  panno, 
Nee  comitem  abnegat, 
Uleuuque  mutata  potentes 
\t»ie  domoB  inimica  lioquia. 


456 


FATHER  PBOirr'S  SBLIQVE8. 


Not  so  the  fickle  crowd ! — Kot  so  At  mlgus  wIMimt 

The  purohftBed  Beautj,  sure  to  fly  Et  meretnx  retro 

Where  all  our  boon  companions  go,  Peijura  cedit ; 

Soon  as  the  cask  of  joy  runs  diy :  Diffligiunt  cadis 

Round  us  the  Spring    and    Summer  Cum  feoe  siccatb  amiei, 

brought  *em —  Ferre  jugnm  pariter  ddoa. 

They  leave  ub  at  the  close  of  Autumn ! 


C{)f  draper. 

Gk>ddess !  defend,  from  dole  and  harm, 

Ceesar,  who  speeds  to  Britain's  camp! 

And  waft,  of  Home's  glad  youtli,  the 

swarm 

Safe  to  where  first  Apollo's  lamp 

Shines  in  the  East — the  brare  whose 

fate  is 
To  war  upon  thy  banks,  Euphrates  ! 

Oh !  let  our  country's  tears  expunge 
From  history's  page  those  years  ab- 
horr'd, 
When  Roman    hands    could   reckless 
plunge. 
Deep  in  a  brother's  heart,  the  sword; 
When  Guilt  stalked  forth,  with  aspect 

hideous, 
With  erery  crime  and  deed  perfidious ; 

When  Sacrilege  and  Frenzy  urged 
To  violate  each  hallowed  fane. — 

Oh !  that  our  falchions  were  reforged, 
And  purified  from  sin  and  shame ; — 

Then— turned  against  th'  Assyrian  foe- 
man — 

Baptised  in  exploits  truly  Boman ! 


flntu^tropl^e. 

Serves  itonmi 
Cnsarem  in  ultimot 
Orbis  Britannos, 
Et  juvenum  reoeni 
Examen  Eois  timendnm 
Partibus,  Ooeanoque  rabro. 


Eheu!  cicatricum 
Et  soeleris  pudet 

Fratrumque.    Quid  nos 
Dura  refugunus 
^tas  ?   Quid  intactum  neCtfti 
Liquimus  ?     Unde  manum 
juventuB 


Metu  Deorum 
Continuit  ?     Quibus 

Pepercit  aris  P 
O  utinam  nova 
Incude  defingas  retusum  in 
Massagetas  Arabasque  fis^ 
rum! 


The  unaffected  simplicity  of  the  next  song,  and  the  kindlr 
warmth  of  affection  it  bespeaks,  are  highly  creditable  to  the 
poet's  heart.     The  "  gentle  Lamia'*  has  already  figured  in 


Ode  XXXVI. — a  welcome  to  vvuibjl, 

AD  PLOTHTK  KUIODAJC. 

Bum  frankincense !  blow  fife  Et  thare  et  fidibus  juvaft 

A  merry  note ! — and  quick  devote  Placare.  et  vituli 

A  victim  to  the  knife,  Sanguine  debito 

*  See  last  decade. 


■CUE    SOSOS   OF   llOBACE.  ; 

[  To  Ihink  the  gUBrdiiui  powers  Cualod«  Numidee  Deoa, 

li^  from  Sjwn— lioinr  oaoe  agiiiii>  Qui  Dunc,  Hespuni 

ia  g&lkat  friend  of  ours.  iiaepeg  ^b  ultiioi, 

1^  Dear  to  u«  bU  1  Tctov 
.  IX  fairly  boiut — his  friondship  m 
[   Oh,  Ain  be  doats  upon  ! 


Cu-is  inului  eodulibus, 
Diiidil  OBCulo, 


Mulatoqtie  aiinu]  to^. 
CfchA  ne  cartat 
Pulclira  dioB  noil ; 

Neu  promptdF  modus  smpliorBB, 

Sit  roquies  pedum. 


The  gentlo  Lamia,  whom, 
Longuiedtosbnre — each  BthooIdaycai«, 
He  kned  ui  bojhood'a  bloatD. 

One  da;  on  both  ''onfemd 

1   The  garb  of  men — this  dnj,  again. 

Let  n  "  white  chalk"  record. 

^nicn  aend  the  wine-jar  round, 
LnH  bhthet;  keep— the  "  Saliau"  alop 
[   With  auDjr  a  mirtliful  bound. 

lOW  come  to  a  political  aquib  of  loud  iclnl  and  daz- 

iDg  brilliancy.     How  lie  eiulta  in  the  downfall  of  an  an- 

tmational  confederacy  !  How  he  revels  in  the  dastard  An- 
tony's discomfiture !  The  cowardice  and  effeminacy  of  the 
Ifttter  ore  not  poaitively  deecribed,  but  cannot  fail  to  strike 
UB  at  once  (as  they  did  the  contemporary  public),  by  the 
forcible  contrast  with  Cleopatra's  intrepidity.  This  ill-fated 
queCD  receives  due  honour  from  the  poet,  who  shews  that 
he  can  appreciate  a  daring  spirit  even  in  an  enemy.     To  my 

«ion  I  have  annexed  Tie/or  iftfifo'*  celebrated  French 
translation,  as  sung  at  the  Pnrle  SI.  Martin  with  rapturous 
Kiplatise,  in  his  CUopalre,  Traj/ijie,  par  VAuteur  de  Marie 
iWor. 


Htw  Int  Iha  jirlgita, 
idfU  °r  NaiDi'n  rimm, 

sptiiii  in«iB.-h«Bt., 

1  k»p  am  iltu  bjUiliuilt 


458 


FATHSB  PBOUT'b  BSLIQITES. 


While  EvTpt't  qaeen 
Vcwed  to  erase  (fond  womui  I) 

Rome's  walls,  and  e'en 
The  very  name  of  Homan ! 

airt  with  a  hand 
Of  craTen-hearted  minions. 

Her  march  she  planned 
Through  Caasar's  broad  dominions ! 

with  visions  sweet 
Of  coming  conquest  flattered ; 

When,  lo !  her  fleet 
Agrippa  fired  and  scattered  ! 

While  Ciesar  left 

Sfor  time  nor  space  to  rally : 
Of  all  bereft 

—All,  save  a  single  galley- 
Fain  to  escape 

When  fate  and  mends  forsook  her. 
Of  Egypt's  grape 

She  quaffed  the  maddening  liquor; 

And  turned  her  hack 
On  Italy's  fair  region ;—  -* 

When  soara  the  hawk 
So  flies  the  timid  pigeon ; 

So  flies  the  hare, 
Pursned  by  Scythia's  hunter, 

O'er  fallows  bare. 
Athwart  the  snows  of  winter. 

The  die  was  cast. 
And  chains  she  knew  t'await  her;— 

Queen  to  the  last, 
She  spumed  the  foeman's  fetter; 

Nor  shelter  sought 
In  hidden  harboura  meanly  ;— 

Nor  feared  the  thought 
Of  death— but  met  it  queenly ! 

Untaught  to  bend. 
Calm  'mid  a  tottering  palace— 

'Mid  scenes  that  rend 
Weak  woman's  bosom,  callous — 

Her  arm  could  grasp 
The  writhing  snake  ;  nor  waver, 

While  of  the  asp 
It  drank  the  venomed  slaver  1 

Grim  Death  unawed 
She  hailed  with  secret  rapture, 

Glad  to  defraud 
Rome's  galleys  of  a  capture  I 

And,  haughty  dame. 
Scorning  to  live,  the  agent 

Of  regal  shame, 
To  grace  a  Roman  pageant ! 


Uegtna 
Dementes  nxinas 

Funns  et 
Imperio  parabat, 

Contaminaio 
Cum  grege  tnrpium 
Morbo  Tiromm, 
Quidlibet  impotent 
Sperare,  fortnni- 
que  dulci 
Ebria.    Bed 
Minuit  fiirorem 

Viz  una  soepes 
Navis  ab  ignibuK, 
Mentemque  lymphft- 
tam  Mareotico 

Redegit  in 
Veros  timores 

Cassar,  ab 
Italia  volantem 

Bemis  adurgens, 
Accipiter  velut 
Molles  eolumbaa, 
Aut  leporem  citns 

Venator  in 
Campis  nivalis 

Homonia, 
Daret  ut  catenis 

Fatale  monstmm ; 
QuB  generosius 
Perire  qunrans 
Nee  muiiebriter 
Expavit  ensem, 
Neelatentes 
Classecit4 
Reparavit  eras. 

Ausaetjaoeniem 
Visere  regiam 
Vnltn  sereno, 
Fortis  et  asperas 
Traetare  serpentea. 
Utatrum 
Gorpore  com- 
biberet  venenum, 

Deliberati 
Morte  feroeior ; 
Snvis  Libumis 
Scilicet  invidens 
Private  deduci 
Superbo 
Non  hnmilis 
Mnlier  tiiampha 


(M^) 


Sane/  au9emt 

SeOvn; 
C/mtr  myrmd 

A  suiurt  p-^" 
Btte^  «M /u]/iBaU 

Du9mdeabard$At 


Son  aUe^emai 

Sti  prc>u, 
CiMor,  atjcmr 

Dejoy 
SmrToUam 

vogwatt       {hn*.) 

Lots  eUe^  part 

Pro9erit€, 
Fbce  Knreyari 

TaeiU 
oMF  9(M  potgnarif 

Slipnltt 
Tout  etpoirdCt- 
<happ€r.        ha) 

VoUmiaiihai 

Sontr&ne, 
San*  qne  k  eaa 

V  (tonne; 
Sant  fme  ton  bras 

Fntonne 
Unserpent  jr 

/      (K».) 


Btpareawiart 

Etqnive 
lyentrtv  an  port 

Coptim; 
AimtiU  tort 

Vomtprwe 
Romauu/  ^wtfttae 
riffolt         (Wa) 


Directions  for  supper  are  appropriately  given  in  the  con- 
cluding ode  of  the  book  :  thev  are  short  and  significant.  I 
think  I  maj  now  call  for  a  nresh  tumbler  mjaelf.  MoUj ! 
bring  me  tne  ^^  materiaU  !^* 


THE   SONGB  OF   HORACE 


159 


Ode  XXSTIII. — last  ode  of  book  thi  fibst. 
it>  MuttsTBTnt.    tintscnosa  ton  iutpkb. 

odi,  pncr,  appuratui ; 
St  nei«  pluIjrB  corn- 


81**e  I  for  tn;>  hait,  in  humUe  grot 
Let  Fereia'a  pomp*  be  all  fbrgot  i 
With  twiningE  ETw-lands  worry  not 

Th;  wear;  Gagem, 
Bor  heed  in  what  Becludod  spot 

The  kit  roBe  lingers. 

Let  but  »  modeal  iriTrtio-wreatb, 

Id  grawful  guiM.  our  temples  eheaihe — 

Hot  tliOD  nor  I  augbt  clue  herewith 


Displirt 

Uitte  eectari,  roes  quo  lD«iruni 
Skts  moretur. 

Simplici  mjrto  nihil  allabom 
BeduluHcurv^  neo  tenioletruin 
Dedeoet  injrrtug,  neque  me  sub 

Vile  bibentem. 


I 


THE  SONGS  OF  HOEACE. 


DECADE   THE   FIFTH. 

"BTL  ADMIRiRI  propo  res  est  una  Numioi 
Sohiqae  qiue  possit  hixre  et  ■erraro  beatum." 

Hoa.,  Hi.  /.,  ^M.  VI. 
"Sot  TO  Anxnv  ii  aB  Iht  art  J  ItniMii 

To  nuie  men  htppy.  and  to  knp  IJim  so ' — 

Plain  tmth,  drar  Murray,  needs  no  Qowers  of  speech : 

So  take  it  in  the  rcry  words  of  Cbeecb," 

ForE'B  ^iillt  to  Lord  MatufiebL 

"  But,  had  aona  admired. 
Would  Pom  hayo  sang,  or  HouiCE  been  inspired  ?... 
Oad !  I  must  bbj  I  ne'er  could  bm  the  Tery 
Qreat  A^wnei)  of  Uits'NIL  ABHIBASl'" 

Byboh,  Juan,  Canlo  V.,  st.  100  A  101. 

Sj  the  Bentiment  aougbt  to  be  conveyed  by  the  deepest 
moralist,  as  well  ae  the  eweetert  Bongster  of  Eome,  be  cor- 
rectly given  "  in  the  words  of  Creech,"  we  must  confesB  our 
utWr  inability  to  comprehend,  and  our  decided  repugnance 
to  adopt  it :  for,  in  the  catalogue  of  pleaaiuTible  Benaations 
irhioh  help  to  make  li&  endurable,  we  should  place  in  tho 


460  TATHEB  FBOITT*S  B£LIQU£S. 

very  hi£;be8t  rank  that  delightful  and  exalted  feeling  which  in 
psychology  is  termed  admibatton.   We  hold  the  legitimate 
indulgence  of  that  faculty  to  constitute    a    most  refined 
species  of  intellectual  enjoyment — ^not  the  less  to  be  prized, 
for  that  the  objects  which  call  it  forth  happen  to  be  scaroe, 
and  that  opportunities  are  seldom  afforaed  of  yielding  up 
the  sold  to  its  delightful  influence.     Other  and  opposite 
emotions  can  be  felt  at  every  hand's  turn.     Take,  for  ex-   « 
ample,  those  of  pity  or  coktempt.     Fit  objects  of  com- 
passion abound.     Laughteb,  also,  may  be  enjoyed  at  a 
cheap  rate.*  "  Boz"  wields  (and  long  may  he  nourish  it!) 
an  indefatigable  pen ;  £eeve  is  come  back ;  and  our  old 
favourite,  Brougham,  is  busy  bottling  up  a  rich  stock  of 
buffoonery  qua  mox  depromat  among  the  Lords.    But  admi- 
BATiOK  bides  her  time  :  her  visits,  angelic  fashion,  are  few 
and  far  between.     Yet  is  her  presence  ever  sure  to  be  felt 
while  calm  philosophy,   pellucid  reason,  and   patriot  elo- 
quence, flow  from  the  lips  of  Lrif  dhijbst. 

In  literature,  we  are  accused  of  being  over-fastidious ;  for- 
asmuch as,  perhaps,  as  we  value  our  admiration  too  highly 
to*  lavish  it  on  every  passing  scribbler.  The  North  Amerien 
Review  is  here  peculiarly  amusing.  In  its  October  number, 
just  received,  and  now  lying  in  our  waste-paper  box,  much 
comical  indignation  is  vented  on  Oliveb  YoBKE,for  slighting 
a  poor  creature,  one  "  Willis,"  who  some  time  ago  "  pendllea 
his  way  "  among  us,  and  has  been  since  forgotten.  Ail  tevcan 
remember  about  the  man  was  his  publishing  what  he  called 
a  poem,  "  edited  "  by  "  Barry  Cornwall,"  a  fictitious  name, 
under  which  one  Proctor,  a  commissioner  of  lunacy  in  our 
courts,  thought  it  part  of  his  official  functions  to  usher  him 
into  notice.  We  did  not  advert  to  that  circumstance  at  the 
time,  or  we  should  have  taken  the  hint,  and  adopted  towards 
him,  not  the  severity  of  justly  provoked  criticism,  but  the 
mild  indulgence  suited  to  his  case.  For  we  did  not  require 
the  evidence  of  this  "  reviewer*s  "  article,  to  convince  us  that 
rational  rebuke  is  wasted  when  the  mind  of  the  recipient  is 
unsound.  We  are  glad,  however,  of  the  opportunity  af- 
forded us,  by  this  casual  reference  to  American  matters,  for 
placing  on  record  our  unfeigned  and  cordial  admiration  rf 

*  Dickens  had  ]ust  begun  hit  Pickwick  Papers. 


THE   SOTIOa   OF   HORACE.  461 

Edwis  Foebest,  whom  night  aSter  night  we  ha^e  Been  tread 
our  stage  after  a  foehion  which  noue  but  the  disiugeauuus 
cnn  hesitate  to  admire  and  to  applaud. 

It  was  observed  of  Charlemain,  that  greatness  had  so 
mixed  itself  up  with  his  character,  that  it  eventually  corn- 
penetrated  his  very  name,  till  magnificence  and  Charles  were 
blended  into  the  sound  of  Cablomaone.     The  sentiment  of 
A]]MTKATio!r  has  Bimi]iLrly  worked  itself  into  individual  no- 
■neaclature  on  two  occaaians  :  viz.  in  the  case  of  St.  0-re- 
gory,  "  Thaumalurffe,"  uod  in  that  of  an  accomplished  cava- 
lier, who  burst  on  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century  as  "  the 
.  admirable  Crichton."     To  the  story  of  that  gallant  scholar 
I'  wo  have,  in  another  port  of  our  current  number,  taken  an 
■  Oi>portujii^  of  alludmg ;  and  having  therein,  aa  we  think, 
feirly  plucked  out  the  heart  of  the  mjaterv,  we  shail  not 
here  stop  to  notice  a  book  which  will  probably  be  the  /tiy* 
Sau/ta  ol  the  season. 

But  returning  to  the  "  word*  of  Creech"  do  they  feirly 
give  the  meaning  of  Horace?  We  don't  beliere  it.  The 
plain  English  of  the  maiim  is,  "  I-et  nothing  take  you  by 
aurprise  ;"  and  its  practical  efl'ect  would  merely  go  to  pre- 
serve the  equilibrium  of  the  mind  from  any  sudden  or  violent 
uptiet.  The  translation  of  Creech  afibrds  one  of  the  many 
instances  in  which  to  be  Uleral  is  to  misinterpret.  Old  Hoger 
Bacon  attributes  the  subtle  fooleries  of  scholastic  wrangbng 
which  arose  in  his  day  to  the  bad  Latin  versions  of  Aristotle. 
A  Greek  term  was  Latinised  into  one  apparently  aynonymoua, 
and  the  metaphysical  niceties  of  the  original  vanished  in  the 
process.  Fulgia  aluilenlinm  abiNiNat  cire&  male  tantlata 
are  the  words  in  which  he  of  the  brazen  head  ridicules  con- 
temporary disputation.  The  delicate  subtleties  of  poetical 
diction  are  Btifl  mure  etaneBceut ;  and  of  translations  which 
render  with  mere  eerbai  fidelity,  it  may  be  Baid,  when  they 
appear  side  by  aide  with  the  teit,  that,  though  Vehus  may 
preside  overthe  graceful  original,  the  lame  version  hobbles 
with  all  the  clumsiaess  of  VctcAu.  Such  was  the  idea  of  a 
Prench  wit,  on  perusing  Abbd  Pelcgrin's  translation  of  our 

"  L'on  devniit  (soil  dit  enlrc  nous) 

A  deux  divinilis  offrir  1m  dpu»  HoniCES  ; 

Le  tfltin  a  Teniu  la  deeie  dcs  grscfs, 

Et  le  feanfou . . .  i  boq  ^poox." — La  Afonnajfc. 


462  FATHER  PBOUT'8  BXLIQUXf. 

In  a  Venetian  folio  edition,  published  by  tbe  oelebnted 
Denis  Lambinus  (whose  style  oi  writing  was  so  tedious,  thai 
'*  Idmbiner  "  became  French  for  *'  to  loiter^*}^  there  are  some 
complimentary  yerses  addressed  to  him,  which  he  has  taken 
care  to  print,  and  which  are  too  good  to  be  *forgotteiL 
Therein  Horace  is  represented  as  coiuultin^  a  *oga^  or  So- 
man gipsy,  concerning  the  future  fate  of  his  works ;  wh^ 
alluding  to  the  ophthalmic  affection  under  which  he  is  known 
to  haye  laboured,  the  prophetic  hag  maketh  the  yatidnalaon 
following — 

JDaliA  respondit  mot&  yates  aniu  umA — 
*'  Dura  parens  gennit  te  lippum,  Flaooe ;  noreroa 
'*  Durior  eripiet  mox  ffitas  lumen  utnimqae, 
"  Nee  teipsum  agnosoes  neo  oognosoena  ab  nllo. 
"  A.t  tibi  Lambini  raptum  ooUyria  lumen 
**  Inlita  restituent :  clanuque  interprete  tanto 
**  Nee  lippuB  nee  cscus  eris  sed  et  integer  ore." 

Whereupon  Denis  triumphantly  exclaims  that  what  she  fore- 
told has  come  to  pass,  since,  by  the  operation  of  his  com- 
mentaries, such  additional  perspicuity  has  been  shed  oyer  tiie 
text,  as  to  haye  materially  improyed  the  poet's  eyesight — 

"  Yerum  dixit  anuB, — KM  sunt  oolltsii.  chabtjb  I'* 

The  personal  infirmity  thus  alluded  to  had  procured  Cor 
the  Latin  lyrist  a  sobriquet  well-known  among  his  contempo- 
raries, yiz.,  "  the  weeping  Flaccus  :"  nor  can  we  refuse  Ae 
merit  of  ingenuity  to  him  who  could  make  so  unpoetical  an 
idea  the  groundwork  of  so  flattering  a  compliment.  It  is 
singular  enough  that  these  obscure  lines  should  haye  sag- 
gested  a  celebrated  epigram  :  for  when  Lefranc  de  Pompig- 
nan,  in  his  Poesies  Sacr^s,  yersified  the  Lamentations  of 
Jeremiah,  he  receiyed  a  testimonial  exceedingly  analogous 
from  Voltaire — 

Scayez  toub  pourquoi  Jeremie,        Knowyewhj Jeremj,thathofyiiiaii, 
A  tant  pleurl  pendant  sa  Tie  ?  Spent  all  his  dajs  in  lamenta- 

tions bitter? 
(Test  qu'en  prophete  il  preroyait,     Prophetic  soul !  he  knew  that  Fdia* 
Qu'un  jour  Lentuic  le  traduirait.  pignan 

One  day  would  bring  him  out  ii 
Gallic  metre. 

That  the  labours  of  the  father  may  call  forth  a  similar 


THE   HOKQa  OF  IIOBACE.  463 

congratulatory  effusion  is  more  than  we  dare  conjecture  in 
these  critical  times.  Yet  wo  trust  tbat,  notwitli standing 
the  general  depreciation  of  all  sorts  of  scrip,  with  eschequer 
bills  at  such  an  alarming  discount,  Prout  paper  may  be  still 
negociated. 

OLITEE  TOEKE. 
Jltgml  SIrttt,  Not.  20. 


WaltTffraakilli  a/ler  i'etptn. 

A  TEW  yeare  prerioua  to  the  outbreak  of  cii-il  war  between 

OctaviuB  and  Marc  Antony,  the  poet  Horace   and  a  Greek 

professor  of  elocution  (HeUodorus)  received  an  intimation 

from  Miecenns  of  hia  wish  to  enjoy  their  company,  on  a  trip 

f      connected  with  some   diplomatic  mission  (mini  mngnti  de 

B  Tibus)  to  the  port  of  Benevento.     The  proposal  was  readily 

■  accepted  by  these  hommea  de  teltrei,  who  accordingly  started 

K    from  Borne  toward  the  close  of  autumn,  anno  v.c.  720. 

Their  intelligent  patron  hod  appointed  to  meet  them  at 

AsxuB,  a  place  better  known  by  its  more  musical  name  of 

TsbHacisa, — (two  popular  productions  contributing  to  its 

celebrity,  viz.  Horalii  Opera,  and  the  opera  of  Fra  Diavolo,) — 

whence,  haTing  received  an  important  accessionto  their  party, 

by  the  arrival  ofViROiL  and  Vaeies,  they  proceeded  by 

easy  stages  along  the  whole  line  of  the  Fia  Appin,  to  the 

utmost  terminus  of  that  immortal  causeway  on  the  Adriatic. 

Such  eicursions  were  frequent  enough  among  the  cockneys 
of  Borne;  and  forming,  as  these  things  did,  part  of  the  ordi- 
narr  occurrences  of  common-place  life,  bad  intrinsically 
little  to  recommend  them  to  the  poet  or  the  historian,  ns 
snbjecta  for  story  or  for  song.  The  proverbial  difficulty  of 
iBising  up  such  matters  to  the  level  of  elegant  composition — 
propni  eommunia  dicere  (Ep,  ad  Piion.') — was  here  pre-emi- 
nent. But  genius  is  perhaps  as  frequently  displayed  in  the 
aelectioQ  of  the  objects  on  which  to  exercise  its  faculty,  us 
in  the  working  out  of  its  once  adopted  conceptions ;  and 
mediocrity  would  no  more  have  first  chosen  such  a  theme 
I  for  its  musings,  than  tt  would  have  afterwards  treated  it  in 
K  Hm  manner  it  has  been  executed  by  Horace. 


■*  Ch*  m  ynwi  mat  duttt  tii  it\ 


464  7 ATHSB  FBOUT*a  BSLIQUZB, 

formed  the  aspiration  of  Ariosto ;  Milton  gloried  in  grap- 
pling with 


cc 


Things  unattempted  jet  in  proee  or  ihjme  j' 


and  both  exhibited  originality,  not  only  in  the  topics  thej 
fixed  upon,  but  in  their  method  of  handling  them.  The  Her 
Brundusii  was  without  precedent  in  all  the  range  of  pren- 
ously  existing  literature :  it  has  remained  unriyalled  amid 
all  the  sketches  of  a  similar  kind  which  have  been  called  into 
existence  by  its  felicitous  example. 

There  was,  doubtless,  nothing  yery  new  or  wondrous  ia 
the  practice  of  keeping  a  note-book  while  on  a  journey,  or 
in  registering  duly  such  triyial  incident  of  roadside  experi* 
ence.  But  when  this  ex-colonel  of  a  legion  at  Philippi,  in 
one  of  his  leisure  hours,  at  the  remote  outport  whither  he 
had  accompanied  an  illustrious  friend,  conceiyed  the  idea  of 
embodying  the  contents  of  his  pugillaria  into  the  graceful 
shape  which  they  now  wear  (Lib.  I.,  Sat.  V.),  giving  them  a 
local  habitation  and  a  permanency  among  his  works,  he  did 
more  than  merely  delight  his  travelling  companions,  immor- 
talise the  villages  along  the  route,  and  electrify  by  his  gra- 
phic touch  the  listless  idlers  of  the  capital :  he  positively 
founded  a  new  sect — he  propounded  the  Koban  of  a  new 
creed — he  established  the  great  school  of  "peripatetic" 
writers  ;  furnishing  the  precious  prototype  on  which  thoo- 
sands  of  disciples  would,  in  after  time,  systematically  modd 
their  literary  compositions.  By  thus  shewing  that  the  mere 
personal  occurrences  and  anecdotes  of  a  pleasure-trip  were 
capable  of  being  wrought  into  so  interesting  a  narrative, 
he  unconsciously  opened  a  new  department  in  the  theory  of 
book-making,  furnished  a  new  field  for  the  industry  of  the 
pen.  There  is  no  conjecting  how  far  a  simple  hint  may  be 
unproved  on  in  this  quarter.  Had  not  the  African  enthu- 
siasm of  St.  Augustin  suggested  to  that  most  impassioned  of 
the  Fathers  the  idea  of  publishing  ^w  "  Confessions,"  the 

Practice  of  composing  personal  memoirs,  the  art  of  auto- 
iography,  which  of  late  years  has  taken  such  wide  exten- 
sion, would,  perhaps,  have  never  been  attempted.  Peter  Ab^ 
lard  would  not  have  mustered  courage  to  enlighten  the  dark 
ages,  as  he  has  done,  with  a  full  and  true  account  of  his 
doleful  c&taatro)^he  C"  hUtoria  calamitaium  suarum  ")  ;  and  i 


THE   80SGS   OF   HOEACE. 


I  later  age  would  not,  in  all  probability,  have  been  favoured 

I  ■with  the  confeBsions  of  tbe  maniac  EouBseau.     May  it  not 

■     be  aimilarly  predicatei!  of  this  tamous  Itinerary,  that  Lad  it 

not  given  tbe  fint  impulBe,  the  world  hod  wanted  itiaoy  »n 

idle  "  ToTTR." 

"Hhymee  on  the  road,"  " pencillings  by  the  way,"  "im- 
pressions," "  diariei,"  "  ramblings,"  "  records,"  "  highways," 
'•  byeways,"  are  therefore  but  a  few  of  the  many  emanatious 
from  one  common  soarce :  and,  in  good  Booth,  all  these 
people  ebould  unite  in  some  testimonial  to  Horace.  But 
gr&titude,  I  fear,  is  rarely  manifested  in  cneee  of  thin  de- 
scription. A  striking  instam-e  might  be  given.  "  To  none, 
perhaps,  are  "  the  eminent  modern  humourous  writers " 
more  indebted  than  to  tbe  writings  of  Joe  Miller  i  yet  that 
author,  up  to  the  present  day,  ia  without  a  monument ,  his 
bones  lying,  as  all  the  world  knows,  in  the  churchyard  of 
St.  Clement,  London,  under  the  back  windows  of  Tom 
Wood's  tavern.     'Tia  true  that  a  club  was  establiehed  some 

Sears  ago,  bv  the  exertions  of  the  two  Smiths  (Horace  and 
amea),  with  Hook  and  Hood,  the  members  of  which  dine 
mcmtbiy  in  the  back  parlour  aforesaid,  commanding  a  full 
view  of  the  cemetery.  They  fully  agreed  to  levy  a  fine  of 
five  (hillings  on  each  detected  perpetrator  of  a  "  Joe,"  de- 
voting the  proceeds  to  the  purcliase  of  a  grave-Btone.  By 
this  t^me  a  goodly  mauBoleum  might  have  been  built ; 
whereas  old  Molitob  is  yet  without  even  a  modest  tablet  to 
mark  the  spot  of  his  repose.     Who  is  the  treasurer  ? 

Horace  ehould  not  be  similarly  defrauded  of  his  claim. 
A  moderate  per  centage  on  the  profits  of  each  professed 
toarist,  with  a  slight  deodand  where  the  book  falls  still- 
born, might  be  appropriately  devoted  to  erecting  a  terminal 
statue  of  the  poet  in  some  central  part  of  the  "  Eow."  None 
ought  to  plead  exemption  from  this  "justice-rent."  Inglis. 
Basil  Hnl^  Quin,  Barrow,  Kitchie,  Piickler  Muskaii,  Emmer- 
Bon  Tennant,  Professor  Hoppus,  Waterton,  the  wanderer ; 
Nick  Willis,  the  eavesdropper;  Eae  Wilson,  the  booby: 
all  should  contribute — except,  perhaps,  Holnian,  the  "blind 
traveller,"  whose  luidertaking  vras  perfectly  original. 

To  return.  1  have  just  been  reading  over,  for  perhaps  the 
hundredth  time,  the  witty  lioman's  gay  and  graceful  itine- 
mry,  gathering  from  its  perusal  a  fresh  conviction,  tta.t  \V 
*  u  u 


466  TATHEB  PBv/uT's  SELIQIDBS. 

comprises  more  humour,  point,  and  clever  writing,  withio 
the  brief  range  of  its  one  hundred  lines,  than  are  to  be  found 
in  as  many  hundred  octavo  volumes  of  recent  manufacture. 
But  let  that  pass.  The  obvious  beauties  which  distingmsh 
these  enduring  monuments  of  bygone  genius  are  not  the 
passages  which  stand  most  in  need  of  commentary  ;  and  I  am 
just  now  about  to  fix  myself  on  a  very  unimportant  expres- 
sion occurring  in  the  simple  course  of  the  poet's  narrative ; 
a  most  trivial  fact  in  itself,  but  particularly  adapted  to  my 
present  purpose.  Swift*s  meditations  on  a  broomstick  have 
long  ago  proved  that  the  Imagination,  like  one  of  TeniefS* 
witches,  will  soar  aloft  on  a  hobby-horse  of  her  own  selectioiL 
Of  late,  the  habit  of  indulging  in  reveries  has,  I  confess, 
grown  on  me ;  and  I  feel  an  increasing  tendency  to  rumi- 
nate on  the  veriest  trifles.  This  arises  partly,  I  suppose,  from 
the  natural  di8Ciu*8ivene88  of  memory  in  old  age,  partly,  I 
suspect,  from  the  long  familiarity  of  my  mind  with  the  great 
Cornelius  a  Lapide's  elucidations  of  the  prophet  Ezekid. 

The  words  on  which  I  would  ponder  thus,  after  the  most 
approved  method  of  the  great  Flemish  commentator,  are 
contained  in  the  48th  verse,  which  runs  as  follows  in  all  the 
kno^-n  MSS. : 

**  Xusam  it  j^^sccnas ;  Hormitnm  tgo  ITtrgiUnsqtK.** 

Lib.  /.,  Sat.  v.,  V,  48. 

My  approved  good  master,  a  Lapide,  would  hereupon,  sub- 
mitting each  term  to  the  more  than  chemical  analysis  of  his 
scrutiny,  first  point  out  to  the  admiration  of  all  function- 
aries in  the  diplomatic  line,  who  happen  to  be  charged  with 
a  secret  mission,  the  sagacious  conduct  of  M^cenas.  The 
envoy  of  Augustus  is  fully  conscious,  on  his  arrival  at  Capita, 
that  his  motions  are  narrowly  watched  by  the  quidnuncs  of 
that  vagabond  town,  and  that  the  probable  object  of  his 
journey  is  sure  to  be  discussed  by  every  barber  in  and  about 
the  market-place.  How  does  he  act  ?  While  the  mules  are 
resting  at  the  "  caupona,"  (for  it  appears  the  vetturinpsystem 
of  travel b'ng  is  of  very  old  date  in  the  Italian  peninsula),  the 
charts  d'affaires  seeks  out  a  certain  tennis-court,  the  most 
favourite  place  of  public  resort,  and  there  mingles  in  a  game 
with  the  citizens,  as  if  the  impending  destinies  of  the  future 
empire  of  the  world  were  not  a  moment  in  his  contemplation, 
or  did  not  rather  engross  his  whole  faculties  all  the  whik. 


TaE  sosGs  OF  noBACE.  4ti7 

Thie  anecdote,  I  believe,  lias  not  been  noticed  by  Mr.  Taylor, 
iu  hia  profound  book  called  the  Stalemnaa.  It  is  at  his  serviL-e, 

Iieaving  Mu^cenua  to  the  enjoyinent  of  hin  game  of  rackets, 
let  us  return  to  the  Capuoa  noHtelry,  and  take  cognisance 
of  wliat  may  be  supposed  to  he  then  and  there  going 
on.  Here,  then,  we  are,  say,  at  the  sign  of  "  Silenua  and 
the  Jai.'kass,"  in  the  "  fia  Nolana,"  In  answer  to  our  in- 
quiries, it  will  appear  that  the  author  of  the  Georgia  (the 
infill  was  yet  unpublished)  had,  as  usual  with  him  on  the 
sligiitest  emergencies,  found  his  stomach  sadly  out  of  order 
(crut/us)  ;  while  his  fellow  traveller,  the  distinguished  lyriiit 
of  the  day,  has  sympathetically  complained  uf  the  effect  pro- 
duced OQ  his  tender  eyelids  (lippaa)  oy  the  clouds  of  inues- 
saot  dust  and  the  glare  of  a  noonday  sun.  They  have  both, 
therefore,  previous  to  resuming  their  seats  in  the  clumsy 
velucles  (rhfde)  which  have  conveyed  them  thus  far,  decidea 
on  devoting  the  sultry  meridian  hour  to  the  refreshing  pro- 
cess of  a  quiet  aieila.  The  slave  within  whose  attributions 
thia  service  is  comprised  {decario  caliicularU)  is  quickly  sum- 
moned ;  and  but  few  minutes  have  elapsed  before  the  two 
great  ornaments  of  the  Augustan  age,  toe  master  spirits  of 
the  then  intellectual  world,  are  fairly  deposited  in  their  re- 
spective cells,  and  consigned  to  the  care  of  tired  nature's 
kind  restorer.  Whoever  has  explored  the  existing  remains 
of  similar  edifices  in  the  neighbouring  town  of  Pompeii, 
will  probably  form  a  fair  estimate  of  the  scale  of  comfort 
and  style  ot  accommodation  prevalent  at  the  head  inn  of 
Capua.  Entering  by  a  smoky  hall  {atrium),  the  kitchen 
being  on  one  side  and  the  servants'  offices  on  the  other,  your 
traveller  proceeded  towards  the  compluvium,  or  open  quad- 
migular  courtyard ;  on  each  side  of  which,  in  cloister  fashion, 
were  ranged  the  sleeping  apartments,  small  dark  chambers, 
each  some  eight  or  twelve  feet  square,  having,  at  the  height 
of  about  ail  feet  from  the  mosaic  ground-floor,  a  scanty 
aperture,  furnished  with  a  linen  blind  ;  a  crockery  lamp,  a 
broBEe  tripod  and  basin  (pe/ri»),  a  mirror  of  the  same  mate- 
rial, forming,  with  a  hard  couch  (ftragula),  the  complete  in- 
ventory of  the  movables  within.  A  knight-templor,  or 
Carthuaiim  monk,  would  feel  quite  at  home  in  your  antique 
hostelrv. 

Ltttfe  dreamed,  I  ween,  the  attendant  slave,  nia,^W^  %^ 


468  FATHER   PBOCT  8    EKLIQrZS. 

leas  the  enlightened  eaiipo  liimseli',  of  the  high  hononr  cot 
ferred  on  Iiis  establishment  by  an  hoiir'a  occupancy  of  il 
chaiiihera  on  thnt  occasion.  The  very  tall  gentlemao,  witll 
sn  ungainly  figure  and  Bli£;bt  etoop  in  the  shoulden,  soawlt 
ward  and  bashful  in  hia  addrees.  and  who  bad  eompbuned  a 
Bui'h  bad  digestion,  beiame,  no  doubt,  the  object  of  a  few  no 
orer  respeeti'ul  remarks  among  the  atrtnurs  of  tbe  bouaehold 
Nor  did  tbe  short,  fat,  Sancho-Fanza-looking  eort  of  peno 
age,  forming  in  every  respect  so  complete  a  eontrast  to  I 
demure  and  sedate  companion,  fail  to  elicit  eome  curion 
comments,  and  some  not  very  complimentary  conjecture^ 
as  to  what  might  be  hia  relative  position  in  society.  In  wh 
particular  capacity  did  they  both  follow  the  traiu  of  the  ri 
anight,  Mscenas  ?  This  was,  no  doubt,  acutely  and  di 
gently  canvassed  by  the  gossips  of  tbe  inn.  One  thing  « 
certain.  In  humour  and  disposition,  aa  well  as  in  pereoul 
appearance,  they  were  the  very  antiptodes  of  each  other,— 
a  musing  Heraclitus  yoked  with  a  laughing  Uemocritua} 
aptly  illustrative,  the  one  of  r7  penteroto,  the  other  of  CaiU 
gro,  Mine  host,  with  the  instinctive  sagacity  of  his  trib^ 
at  once  had  set  down  liorace  as  a  man  familiar  with  tlie  nfl 
tropolis,  habituated  to  town  life,  and  in  every  respect  "fitt 
travel."  It  was  equally  clear  »iat  the  other  individual  bl 
longed  to  the  agricultural  interest,  his  manner  savonring  h 
much  residence  in  the  country ;  being,  in  sooth,  not  ro»dj 
rural,  but  actually  rustic.  In  a  word,  they  were  fair  Baiii|d 
n(  the  rat  de  ville  and  tbe  rat  dea  champt.  Meantiuie  t 
unconscious  objwts  of  so  much  keen  investigation  "  alep 
on  ;"  and  "  little  they  recked  "  anent  what  was  t  bus  '■  Iigll^ 
spoken "  concerning  them  by  those  who  kept  the  sign  C 
"  Sileniis  and  the  Jackass,"  in  the  high  street  at  CapoM. 
"  Qormiium  igo  ITLrgUiautQi." 
Do  I  purpose  to  disturb  them  in  their  meridian  slumber. 
— Not  I.  Yet  may  the  scholar's  fancy  be  allowed  to  pen 
tratc  each  darkened  cell,  and  take  a  hiuried  and  furti^ 
glance  at  the  illustrious  sleepers.  Fancy  aiay  be  permit) 
to  hovt-r  o'er  each  recumbent  form,  and  contemplate  iu  sill 
awe  the  repose  of  genius,  Fanct,  after  the  faiihioQ  of  I 
sister  PsrcHE,  and  at  the  risk  of  a  similar  penalty,  may 
j|UffBcad«giktqAoa,aiLilamQialiaiid,«(r,a^ilc«»  tta  mi 


THE    SONaS    OF   HORACE. 


B  of  her  beloved,  to  survey  the  features  and  figure  of  those 
B  from  whom  she  bath  so  long  derived  such  exquisite  Beofatioui 
'    <rf  intellectual  enjoyment. 

Plutarch  delighted  to  briug  two  of  his  heroes  together, 
and  then,  in  a  laboured  parallel,  illustrate  the  peculiarities 
of  the  one  by  setting  forth  the  distinctive  character! bHcb  of 
the  other.  This  was  also  done  by  Dr.  Johnson,  in  his  grand 
juxtaposition  of  Dryden  and  Pope,  But  could  a  more 
tempting  opportunity  ever  occur  to  the  great  Beotian,  or 
the  great  lexicographer,  for  a  display  of  analysts  and  anti- 
thesis, than  the  respective  merits  and  powers  of  the  two 
great  writers  here  entranced  before  us  ? 

The  Capuan  innkeeper  had  gone  more  deeply  into  the 
subject  than  would  be  at  first  imagined,  when  be  classified 
his  guests  under  the  heads  of  "  town"  and  "  country."  The 
most  elaborately  metaphysical  essay  could  not  throw  greater 
light  on  the  relative  idiosyncrasy  of  their  minds. 

Virgil,  from  his  earliest  infancy  up  to  the  period  of  con- 
firmed manhood,  had  not  Sell  the  banks  of  the  Miscio,  or 
the  pliuns  of  Lombardy.  It  required  the  confiscation  of 
his  uttle  farm,  and  the  transfer  of  his  ancestral  acres  to  a 
set  of  quasi  CromweUian  intruders  (Octavius  Cffisar's  miU- 
tsiy  colonists),  to  bring  him  up  to  Kome  in  quest  of  redress. 
Hb  w«a  then  in  his  30th  year.  Tenderness,  sensibility,  a 
Bonl  feelingly  alive  to  all  the  sweet  emotions  of  unvitiated 
nature,  are  the  natural  growth  of  such  happy  seclusion  from 
a  wicked  world.  Majestic  thoughts  are  the  ofi'spring  of  so- 
litude. Plato  meditated  alone  on  the  promontory  of  Sunium : 
Virgil  was  a  Platouiat, 

The  boyhood  and  youth  of  Horace  (as  I  think  may  be 
gathered  from  my  last  paper)  were  spent  in  a  totally  dif- 
ferent atmosphere ;  and,  therefore,  no  two  poets  cotdd  be 
nurtured  and  trained  in  tchioU  of  poetry  more  essentially 
opposite.  The  "  late  "  academy  is  not  more  different  from 
the  gymnasium  of  the  "  sUva-fork."  Epicurus  dwelt  among 
the  busy  haunts  of  men :  Horace  was  an  Epicurean. 

The  latter  was  in  every  respect,  as  his  outward  appear- 
ance would  seem  to  indicate,  "of  the  town, townly."  Mira- 
beau  used  to  say,  whenever  be  lett  Paris,  that,  on  looking 
through  his  carriage-windows  at  the  faces  along  the  road,  he 
un  to  a  traction  how  far  he  was  &om1.\iaca^\'(Alk. 


470  JATHEB  PBOUT*8  BXLIQUXS. 

The  men  were  his  inile-stones.  Even  genius  in  the  proTinoei 
wears  an  aspect  of  simplicity.  The  Bomans  were  perfectly 
Bensible  of  this  difference.  Urbamtm  sal  was  a  well-known 
commodity,  as  easily  distinguished  by  men  of  taste  in  the 
metropolis,  as  the  verbal  provinciaUsms  which  pervade  the 
decades  of  Livy  were  quickly  detected  by  the  delicate  sensi- 
bility of  metropolitan  ears. 

In  society,  Horace  must  have  shewn  to  great  advantage, 
in  contrast  with  the  retiring  and  uncommunicative  MiLXTUAV. 
Acute,  brilliant,  satirical,  his  versatile  accomplishments  fas- 
cinated at  once.  Virgil,  however,  inspired  an  interest  of  s 
different  description.  Thoughtful  and  reserved,  "  the  rapt 
soul  sitting  in  his  eyes  "  gave  intimation  of  a  depth  of  fed- 
ing  and  a  comprenensiveness  of  intellect  far  beyond  tiie 
range  of  all  contemporary  minds.  Habitually  silent ;  yet 
when  he  spoke,  in.  the  solemn  and  exquisitely  musical  ca- 
dences peculiar  to  his  poetry,  it  was  as  if  the  "  spirit  of 
Plato"  revealed  itself,  or  the  Sibylline  books  were  umolded. 

I  can't  understand  that  passage  in  the  tenth  satire  (lib.  i.) 
where  the  Sabine  humourist  asserts  that  the  Muses  who  pa- 
tronise a  country  life  (gaudentes  rure  canutnai),  havin£  &^ 
dowed  Virgil  with  a  mild  and  lenient  disposition,  a  deucats 
sweetness  of  style,  had  also  bestowed  on  nim  a  talent  for  the 
facetious  (molle  . .  atque/acetum).  There  is,  assuredly,  more 
fun  and  legitimate  drollery  in  a  page  of  the  said  Satires, 
than  in  all  the  Eclogues  and  Georgics  put  together.  To 
extract  a  laugh  out  of  the  jEneid,  it  required  the  help  of 

SCARBON. 

Horace  was  the  delight  of  the  convivial  circle.  The  flashes 
of  his  Bacchanalian  minstrelsy  brightened  the  blaze  of  the 
banquet ;  and  his  love-songs  were  the  very  quintessence  of 
Eoman  refinement.  Yet  never  did  he  achieve  such  a  triumph 
as  is  recorded  of  his  gifted  friend,  when,  having  consented 
to  gratify  the  household  of  Augustus  and  .the  imperial  circle 
by  reading  a  portion  of  his  majestic  poem,  he  selected  that 
famous  exposition  of  Plato's  sumblimest  theories,  the  6th 
book  of  his  ^neid.  The  charm  of  his  recitation  gave  addi- 
tional dignity  to  that  high  argument,  so  nobly  developed  in 
harmonious  verse.  But  when  the  intellect  had  feasted  its 
fill — when  he  suddenly  "  changed  his  hand,"  and  appealed 
to  the  heart — ^yjheuthfc  ^omin^  episode  of  the  young  Ma^ 


elluB  came  by  surpriHe  on  tbe  nsscinbled  court,  a  fainting 
mpreee,  amid  the  mingled  teara  and  applause  of  veteran 
parriore,  confessed  the  sacred  supremacy  of  song, 
The  poetry  of  Horace  is  a  plensoTit  thought ;  that  of  Virgil 
K  delightful  dream.  The  first  had  mingled  iu  the  world  of 
■reality ;  the  latter  dwelt  in  a  fanciful  and  ideal  region,  from 
vhich  he  rarely  eame  do«'n  to  the  TulgariticB  of  actual  life. 
!rhe  tranquil  lake  rellecta  heaven  in  its  calm  bosom  i  the 
Dnning  brook  makes  acquaintance  with  the  thousand  objects 
m  its  varied  margin.  Wordsworth,  Southey,  Coleridge, 
loetbe,  Lamartiae,  belong  to  the  dreamy  race  of  writers — 
hey  are  "  children  of  the  mist" — their  dwelling  is  in  a  land 
*■  Tiaiona.  Byron,  Buranger,  Bums,  Scott,  Shakespeare, 
Ntl  with  men  and  things  ae  tbey  have  found  them,  and  as 
hey  really  ore.  The  latter  class  wiU  ever  be  tbe  most/w/jw- 
ar.  The  acute  thinker  wOl  ever  be  preferred  to  the  most 
mchaoting  "  dreamer  of  dreams." 

In  the  empire  of  Auguatus,  Virgil  saw  the  realisation  of 

Dcient  oracle* :  he  viewed  as  from  a  distance  the  mighty 

tructure  of  Koman  power,  and  imaged  in  bia  .^neid  the  vast 

dea  of  a  heaven-descended  monarchy.     Horace  took  up  his 

intern  !i  la  Diogene,  and  went  about  eiploring  the  itttai/t  of 

be  social  system,  the  vices,  the  follies,  the  passions  of  Bo- 

nan  aodety,     Hia  poetry  was  of  a  more  matter-of-fact  na- 

' :  it  came  home  to  the  bosom  of  his  readers :  it  was  the 

4  expression  of  contemporary  joys  and  sorrows. 

The  character  of  each  aa  a  poet  may  not  be  inappropriately 

ight  for  in  the  well-known  allegory  with  which  tbe  6th 

K  of  the  JEneid  doses  : 

"  Smif  J«>ti««  »w>iBi^Dr(a"  fiwrnm  allern  /rrlsr 
Comta  f  ml  rerii  /acilit  dalur  txitai  Bmirii, 

Sal  faUa  ad  attam  mitlunl  auanoaa  mwi," 

s  Dry  den  lias  it — 


I  leave  to  my  readers  the  evolving  of  this  complei:  idea, 
le  dreamy  visions  of  tbe  Platonist  may  be  placed  in  coa- 
ut  with  tbe  practical  wit  and  knowledge  of  the  world 


DUght 
iOOK  O 


472 


TATHSB  PBOUT*S   BELIQITXS. 


posseBsed  by  the  shrewd  disciples  of  EDicurufl,  the  "/".^ 
tn*omntfl"  with  the  "rtfmiimftm."  And  herewith  I  wind 
up  my  parallel. 

I  now  open  the  second  book  of  the  odes,  and  proceed  OD 
my  task  of  metrical  exposition. 

Lib.  II.    Ode  I. — to  pollio  on  his  meditated  histobt. 

▲D  C.  ASIKIUK  POLLIOKEM. 


Tlie  story  of  our  civil  wars, 

Through  all  the  changes  that  befell  ub, 
To  chronicle  thy  pen  prepares, 

Dating  the  record  from  Metellus  ; — 
Of  parties  and  of  chiefs  thy  page 

Will  paint  tlie  leagues,  the  plans,  the  forces ; 
Follow  them  through  each  yaried  stage, 

And  trace  the  warfare  to  its  sources. 

And  thou  wilt  tell  of  swords  still  wet 

With  unatoned-for  blood  ; — historian. 
Bethink  thee  of  thy  risk  ! . . .  ere  yet 

Of  Clio  thou  awake  the  clarion. 
Think  of  the  tact  which  Rome  requires 

In  one  who  would  such  deeds  unfold  her ; 
Know  that  thy  tread  is  upon  fires 

Wliich  still  beneath  the  ashes  smoulder. 

Of  Tragedy  the  weeping  Muse 

Awhile  in  thee  may  mourn  a  tr^nt, 
Whom  varnished  fiction  vainly  woos, 

Of  stem  realities  pursuant : 
But  finish  thy  laborious  task, 

Our  annals  write  with  care  and  candour ; 
Then  don  the  buskin  and  the  mask. 

And  tread  through  scenes  of  tragic  grandeur ! 

Star  of  the  stage  !  to  thee  the  Law 

Looks  for  her  mildest,  best  expounder — 
Theo  the  rapt  senate  hears  with  awe. 

Wielding  the  bolts  of  patriot  tiiimder — 
Thee  Glory  found  beneath  the  tent, 

WTien  from  a  desert  wild  and  horrid, 
Dalmatia  back  in  triumph  sent 

Her  conqueror,  with  laurelled  forehead ! 

But,  hark !  methinks  the  martial  horn 
Gives  prelude  to  thy  coming  story  ; 

In  fancy's  ear  shrill  trumpets  warn 
Of  battle-fields,  kard  fought  and  ^ry  : 


Motum  0X  MeteDo 
Consnle  ciTiciiiiiy 
Bellique  cauaaa, 
£t  vitia,  et  modos, 
Ludumque  Fortuns, 

Giravesque 
Principum  amintias, 

Et  arma 

Nondom  expiatis 
Uncta  cruoribus, 
PericulossB 
Plenum  opus  ale« 

Tractas.  et 
Incedis  per  ignes 

Suppositos 
Cineri  doloso. 

Paulum  severs 
Musa  tragosdiie 
Desit  theatris ; 
Mox,  ubi  publicas 
,  Res  ordinans, 
Chrande  munus 

Cecropio 
Repetea  cothumo. 

Insigne  mcestis 
Presidium  reis 
£t  consulenti, 
Pollio,  Curia, 

Cui  laurus 
JEtemoa  honores 

Dalmatico 
Peperit  triumpho. 

Jam  nunc  minaci 
Murmure  comaum 
Perstrinffis  aurea ; 
Jam  litiu  strepunt  i 


^^^^DlA 

i^^^^^^^^HM^BH 

THE   BONGS   OF   HORACE                                 473 

Fancj  holh  oonjured  up  the  HiBiie, 

Jam  fulgor  armoruin 

And  phantom  wurior*  crovd  besiile  ber — 

Fugao.* 

The  tquBtlroii  digbt  in  dsriling  sheen— 

Terret  rquoB, 

The  .tartled  .t«d-ll.'  aflHghled  rider  1 

Equitunique  Tulhia, 

Hark  to  the  shouta  that  echo  loud 

Wliik'  blood  and  dust  each  hero  shroud, 

Jam  Tideor  duces 

Costume  of  alaughlCT— not  unseBnilj  : 

PulTcre  sordidoB, 

Et  cuncia  tcrrwum 

Doomed  to  see  fortune  still  desert  je. 

Subacta, 

Till  all  the  world  lies  prostrate,  sayfl 

Prwter  atrocem 

Unronquer'd  Cato's  sayago  rirtue! 

Animum  Calonis. 

Juno,  who  loTeth  Afrio  most, 

Juno,  et  Dcorum 

And  eaoh  dread  tuMlarr  godhead. 

Quisquis  amicior 

Wlio  euu^s  her  black  barbaric  coast. 

Airis  iuultA 

Ljbia  with  Roman  gore  ha»e  flooded  : 
Wh&e  warring  thus  the  sous  of  those 

Ct»»erat  mipctens 

Tellure, 

WhoM  pnmefls  could  of  old  subject  her, 
Qlntting  Ihe  grudge  of  aiieicut  foes, 

Victorum  nepotea 

Reltulit  inforias 

FnU— but  to  gUd  Jugurtha's  spectre  1 

Jugurtha. 

■  -Vbera  be  tha  distent  land  but  dnmk 

Quis  nan  Latino 

m     Our  Latjum'a  nobUat  blood  in  torrents  ? 

Sanguine  pinguior 

Campus,  scpulchris 

'       Bw  iritness  to  each  foul  occurrennt. 

■Xif 

Bnde  barbsrooa  tribe*  bave  loara'd  to  seolT, 

Sure  to  oiult  at  our  undoing  ;— 

Pewin  hath  heard  with  jo;,  far  off. 

The  sound  of  Bouie's  gigantic  ruin  ! 

Sonitum  ruiOKp  ~ 

■  Joint  out  the  gulf  on  ocean's  icrge— 

Qui  gurges,  aut  qua 

V     Ths  atream  remote,  along  whose  channels 

Fluiiiina  limibris 

r  Hatli  not  been  heard  the  inoumful  dirge 

Ignara  belli  F 

Quod  mare  Daunuo 

Shew  me  the  sea—witbont  iia  tide 

Son  dwolor. 

Of  blood  upon  the  mrfuce  blushing— 

Bvercendes? 

Shew  me  tbe  sbore-wilb  blood  undjed 
From  Boman  veins  profuselj  gushing. 

Cruore  nostroF 

L  But,  Mnse !  a  truce  to  themes  Ukc  these— 

Spd  ne,  reliclis. 

■      Let  us  strike  up  some  jocund  carol ; 
P  Itor  pipe  with  old  Simonides 

Mum  proeax,  jocis, 

Cen  retmclca 

■        Ihdl  aolemo  »tt»in«.  moroseij  moral ; 

Munera  nenis  t 

Inch  me  a  new.  a  li.elier  stare- 

Mi-cum  Diouao 

And  that  we  maj  the  better  chaunt  it. 

Sub  antro 

Hie  with  me  to  the  niyslic  cave, 

Qoarc  modes 

■         QiDtto  of  HDg !  bj  Bacchus  haunted. 

Lerioro  plectnk      ^^^^B 

474 


FATHSB  PBOUT'S  BELIQUB8. 


It  is  pleasant  to  find  ''  Adam  Smith  on  the  Wealth  of  Na- 
tions" anticipated,  in  the  following  exposi  of  sound  com- 
mercial principles ;  and  the  foUy  of  restricting  the  hank 
issues  made  the  subject  of  an  ode.     It  is  addressed  to  Sal- 
lust,  nephew  of  the  historian,  who  had  amassed  considerable 
wealth  from  the  plunder  of  Africa,  during  his  praetorship  in 
that  province ;  and  had  laid  out  the  proceeds,  alter  the  most 
liberal  fashion,  in  embellishing  his  most  magnificent  resi- 
dence, the  Horti  Sallustiani,  which  to  this  day  lorms  a  splen- 
did public  promenade  for  your  modem  Bomans.     The  libe- 
rality of  Proculeius  Murena,  who,  on  the  confiscation  of  his 
brother's  property  during  the  civil  war,  had  made  good  the 
loss  from  his  own  patrimony,  and   opened  an  asylum  to 
his  orphaned  nephews,  was  apparently  the  current  subjed 
of  conversation  at  the  time ;  as  well  as  the  good  fortune  of 
Phraates,  in  recovering  the  crown  of  Persia,  which  bad  been 
jeopardised  by  some  revolutionary  proceedings.     At  this 
distance  of  years,  both  topics  appear  somewhat  stale ;  but 
we  must  go  back  in  spirit  to  the  days  in  which  such  matters 
possessed  interest,  and,  having  thus  made  ourselves  part  and 
parcel  of  contemporary  Eoman  society,  admire  as  well  a^ 
we  can,  the  grace  and  freshness  of  the  allusions. 


Lib.  II.     Ode  II. — thoughts  ok  bulliox  axd  the 

CUBBENCT. 


AD  CRIBPUM  SALLlTSTnnC. 


My  Sallust,  saj,  in  days  of  dearth, 
Wliat  ifl  the  lazy  ingot  worth, 
Deep  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth 

Allowed  to  settle, 
Unless  a  temperate  use  send  forth 

The  shining  metal  ? 

Blessings  on  him  whose  bounteous  hoard 
A  brother's  ruined  house  restored — 
Spreading  anew  the  orphan's  board. 

With  care  paternal ; 
Murena's  fame  aloft  hath  soar'd 

On  wings  eternal ! 


NuUus  argento 
Color  est  aTaris 
Abdito  terris 
Inimioe  lamnce 
Crispe  Sallusti, 
Nisi  temperato 
Splendeat  uso. 

Vivet  extento 
Proculeius  aero, 
Notus  in  fratres 
Animi  patemL 
Ulum  aget  penoi 
Metuente  soM 
Fama  superftei. 


Camt  Lhou  ooinmuid  thf  liut  for  sold  F 
Then  ■«  thou  richer,  fncnd,  follriolJ, 
Thia  if  thr  nod  the  mnrta  controlkd 

AVliere  DhicfeBt  trade  it— 
The  OirthBge*  both  "new"  and  "uld," 

The  Nile  auti  Cadiz. 


lUrlj  yon  hjdropic  lufferer,  alill 
Indulging  in  (Le  dranghli  Ihat  fill 
Hi*  btoMed  &ame, — uuatinte,  UU 

Death  «id  the  lirlil;  ; 
TJnlaas  the  latent  fount  of  ill 

Be  dried  np  quii^klj. 

Heed  not  the  vulgar  talu  tliut  mte 
^—*^He  cOuDta  culm  hours  and  hnppj  dajB 
Who  from  Ilie  Ihrorie  of  Cyrus  bwuts 


Li  by  am  reiooti* 
Gailibiu  Juiigne, 
Et  utcrqne  FcBnUH 

CreaoA  indnlg^nl 
Sibi  dinia  liTdropi, 
Nee  «itim  pcllit. 
Kisi  coma  morbi 
FtigeriC  Tenia, 
£t  aquoaoa  nlbo 

Corpore  IsnguoA'  I 
Redditum  Cjri 
Solio  FhrsKtem, 
Diesideua  plebi 
Nuniero  beotomm, 


^ippy  alone  proclaiiceth  them, 
Who  with  undiuxlod  eje  contemn 
The  pile  of  gold,  the  glittering  gem, 


Vooibui ;  regnum 
Et  diadems  tutiun 
Dcf^nma  uni, 
Propriamqiie  Isurum 
Quiaquis  ingentea 
Gciila  irratorto, 
Spectdt  avcrroa. 

Sherlock's  famoua  volume  on  deatli  has  been  equally  fore- 
4t&Ued  b^  our  Epicurean  inoraliBt ;  who,  whatever  he  may 
want  in  consolatory  nrospects  of  a  blessed  futurity,  eompen- 
ntea  for  this  otherwise  very  material  omission  by  an  imh- 
tailed  sweetness  of  versification,  and  imagery  the  moat  pic- 
turesque. 

Lib.  II.     Ode  III. — a  homilt  on  beatu. 


Thee,  whether  Pun  bbsdU 

Or  PlBMorti  pamper, 

Delliua — whiche'or  prerail — 

Keep  lhou  thj  temper ; 

Dnwed  to  boi«teroua  jo;*,  that  ne'e 

OkaMve  the*  from  th«aepulahrai 


Be1)u*  in  arduii 

Serrare  menlem, 
Hon  teouB  in  boni* 
Ab  inaolenti  lemperatam 
Lctitik,  moritun  D«UL 


476 


FATHSB  PBOUT*S   RILIQTJE9. 


Death  smites  the  slave  to  spleen. 

Whose  soul  repineth, 
And  him  who  on  the  green. 
Calm  sage,  reclineth, 
Keeping — from  grief's  intrusion 
Blithe  holiday  with  festal  jar. 


Sea  moBstna  omni 
Tempore  Tixeris, 

Seu  te  in  remoto 
Ghramine  per  dies 
Fettoa  reclinatum  bearis 
Interiore  nota  FalemL 


Where  giant  fir,  sunproof^  Qua  pinus  ingeof 

With  poplar  blendeth,  AllMuiue  populus 

And  high  o'er  head  a  roof  Umbram  hoepitalem 

Of  boughs  extendeth ;  Consociare  amant 

WhUe  onward  runs  the  crooked  rill,  Bamis,  et  obliquo  laborat 

Brisk  fugitive,  with  murmur  shrilL  Ljmpha  fugax  trepidare  rifO 

Bring  wine,  here,  on  the  grass !  Himc  vina,  et  unguents, 

Bring  perfumes  hither !  £t  nimium  breres 

Bring  roses— which,  alas !  Flores  amoenoa 

Too  quickly  wither —  Ferre  jube  ros». 

Ere  of  our  days  the  spring-tide  ebb,  Dum  rea,  et  Ktaa,  et  sororom 

While  the  dark  sisters  weave  our  web.  Fila  trium  patiuntur  atn. 


Soon — should  the  fatal  shear 

Cut  life's  frail  fibre- 
Broad  lands,  sweet  Villa  near 
The  yellow  Tiber, 
With  all  thy  chattels  rich  and  rare, 
Must  travel  to  a  thankless  heir. 

Be  thou  the  noblv  bom, 

Spoil'd  child  of  Fortune — 
Be  thou  the  wretch  forlorn, 
Whom  wants  importime — 
By  sufierance  thou  art  here  at  most, 
Till  death  shall  claim  his  holocaust. 


Cedes  coemptis 
Saltibus,  et  domo, 
Villaque,  flavus 
Quam  l^beris  lavit : 
Cedes,  et  exstructis  in  altum 
Divitiis  potietur  heres. 

Divesne,  priaco 
Natus  ab  Inacho, 
Nil  interest,  an 
Pauper  et  infimft 
Degente  sub  dio  moreris, 
'^ctima  nil  miserantis  OrcL 


All  to  the  same  dark  bourne  Omnes  eodem 

Plod  on  together —  Oorimur :  omnium 

Lots  from  the  same  dread  urn  Versatur  ami 

Leap  forth — and,  whether  Serius  ocius 

Our's  be  the  first  or  last.  Hell's  wave  Sors  exitura,  et  nos  in  s^temam 

Tawns  for  the  exiles  of  the  grave.  Exsilium  impositura  cymbc 

I,  of  course,  cannot  countenance  the  tendency  of  the  suc- 
ceeding morceau.  Its  apparent  purpose  is  to  vindicate  what 
the  Germans  call  "  left-handed"  alliances  between  the  sexes: 
but  its  obvious  drift  is  not  such  as  so  generally  correct  t 
judge  of  social  order  and  propriety  would  be  supposed  to 
mistake.    The  Te«^Q\A\bUitY>  however^  be  his  own. 


^^O  d«om  not  Ihj  lore  for  •  cBptitc  nmid  Ne  sit  nnrilliE  tibi  «mor  pudori, 

Dath,  Fhooeui,  the  hcut  of  a  Roman  Xanlhin  Pkoiwu     PriuB  maolen- 

Like  the  noble  Achillea,  'da  gimplv,  Sens  Bneeia  niveo  colore 

aimpl;,  Movit  Acliillom  i 

With  s'Sriieu"  thou  eharest  th;  bed. 


THE    HONaa   DP   BOBACE. 

Lib.  n,     Odx  TV. — ctAsaicAL  tovB  uatches. 

"  Whm  Ihf  htart  iff  ■  nn  u  ^prturd  wj/t  cart. 
The  mill  a  ditprOed  if  a  vaman  am-for; 
Likt  Mr  Boln  of  a  fiddU.  lAi 
Rainn  hit  lyiri/i  and  cAarau 


ftltinl 


TelAmon  d 


d  the  Bome,  Horit  Ajocem  Telnraone  lutum 

&  Fhrjgiui  Some ;     Forms  caplivie  rlnmmutn  Teo 
Ilught  to  ocrnt«mn  Done,  Sing  Aga-  mesBiv  ; 

Arait  AtriiJus  medio  in  triumpho 
n  bUtb  becunn.  Virgiiie  rapti. 


I  Vond  ot  a 

I  Sncli  mB  the  rule  with  the  Oreeka  of  Barbane  poitqnom  oecidom  tiir- 

nien  the;  had  conijuer'd  the  foe's  Tliesealo  Ticture,   et   ademptiu 
stronghold ;  Hector 

1  gallant   Hfclor — Troy'a  pro-  Trftdidii  tnsis  leviora  loUi 
lector —  I'ergaaia  Orsii*. 

ing,  the  kuull  of  Ilion  toll'd. 

ni;  d»m  her  orinn  Tile  and  baac?  Neeciia  an  t«  gmoram  beati 

~  It  thou  her  poiSgrec  fairlv  trace?  Fb^llidis  Qave  decoreot  psren- 
u'd  PhjUis,  aUve'tho'  .he  War 

be,  atill  ia  Begium  eerie  genus  el  penates 
I  Ih«  last,  perhaps,  of  a  rojal  race.  M:£ret  iniquoa. 

I  Birth  to  demeanour  will  sure  respond —  Oede  non  illaoi  tibi  de  acelestS 

ia  fniUiful,  FhtUis  U  fond:  Flebe  dileclom.nequeaiL-lidelein, 

□not  buy  her — then  wh;  denj'  Sic  lucro  avereatii  poluiess  rabci 
er  Matre  pudonjii. 

rank  the  baaelj  bora  bejond? 

i>  hslh  limba  di*inely  wrought,  Brachia  ot  yulluni  teretctque  »U' 
.      I  es  and  figure  without  a  fault ...  ra» 

f  Co  not  feel  j^ous,  friend,  when  a  Integer  laudo  ;  fuge  auspicari, 

[  fellow*  Cnju.  oeWTuni  Irepidant  *lai 

[iVo'tieth  year  forbids  the  thought !  Claudcre  luttrum. 

In  contiBBtiuR  VirgQ  witb  Horace,  and  in  Doticing  tlie 
(pposite  lendaiiyieu  ot  mind  atiil  disposilion  diacciverable  iii 
Vir  writings,  1  ahould  bavo  pointed  out  tbe  very  gkrUg 


478  valTHEb  PBorx's  beliqttzs. 

difference  in  their  respective  views  of  female  character.  The 
mild  indulgence  of  the  Epicurean  is  obviously  distinguishable 
from  the  severe  moroseness  of  the  Platonist.  The  very  foi- 
bles of  the  sex  find  an  apologist  in  Horace :  Virgil  appears 
to  have  been  hardly  sensible  to  their  highest  exceUencies. 
The  heroines  of  the  JEneid  are  depicted  in  no  very  amiable 
colours ;  his  Dido  is  a  shrew  and  a  scold :  his  Trojan  women 
fire  the  fleet,  and  run  wild  like  witches  in  a  Sabbat :  the 
"  mourning  fields"  are  crowded  with  ladies  of  lost  reputa- 
tion :  the  wife  of  King  Latinus  hangs  herself:  Camilla  dies 
in  attempting  to  grasp  a  gewgaw  :  and  even  the  fair  Lavinia 
is  so  described,  as  to  be  hardly  worth  fighting  for.  How 
tolerant,  on  the  contrary,  is  our  songster — how  lenient  in 
his  sketches  of  female  defects — how  impassioned  in  his  com- 
mendation of  female  charms  !  Playful  irony  he  may  occa- 
sionally emfploy  in  his  addresses  to  Bom  an  beauty ;  but,  in 
his  very  invectives,  nothing  can  be  clearer  than  his  intense 
devotion  to  the  whole  sex  .  .  .  with  the  exception  of  "  Ca- 
nidia."  Who  she  was  I  may  take  an  early  opportunity  of 
explaining  :  it  is  a  very  long  story,  and  will  make  a  paper. 

The  subject  of  the  following  ode  is  Campaspe,  the  mistress 
of  Apelles.  This  favourite  artist  of  Alexander  the  Great 
woula  appear  to  have  be^n,  like  Salvator  Eosa,  addicted  Xo 
the  kindred  pursuits  of  a  poet.  Of  his  paintings  nothing 
has  come  down  to  us;  but  of  his  poetry  I  am  happy  to 
supply  a  fragment  from  the  collection  of  Athseneus.  The 
Greek  is  clearlv  the  original.  Greorge  Herrick  has  supplied 
the  EngHsh  ;  the  Latin  has  not  been  inserted  in  any  edition 
of  .Horace  I  have  seen. 

Lib.  n.     Ode  V.^-cupid  a  gambles. 

Nostra  Campa^pe  leris  et  Cupido  Turn  labeUomxn  roseos  honores 

Ale4  nuper  statuere  ludos,  Mox  ebur  frontis — simul  banc  sub  imo 

Merx  ut  bine  illinc  foret  08<nilo-  Quse  mana  matris  fuerat  cayata 
rum  ; —  Rimula  mento. 

Solvit  at  ille. 

Pignorat  sorti  pbaretraxn,  sagit-  Solvit . .  — at  posquam  geminos  ocelloi 

tas,  Lusit  incassilliD,  menet  inde  cecus.^ 

Par  columbarum,  Yenerisque  bi-  Sic  eum  si  tu  spoliaa,  pueUa ! 

gas  Quanta  ego  foiram  ? 

Passeres  ; — ebeu !  puer  aleator 


SORQS  OF   HOBACE. 


,  -Cupid  p»ied — 
He  iitake<  hts  quiver,  howc  ui]il  arrowt'B, 
HjB  moLhei'ii  dovBt  and  tesma  of  sparroHoi  i 
Ijooms  them  loo — Ihen  downa  he  throws 
Ths  eoTtH  of  hit  lippe,  tiio  rose 
ITppon  hjt  clieek  (but  none  knows  ho*) 
With  these  the  cryetal  of  hii  browe, 
And  then  the  djtiiple  on  hi*  chioue  — 
All  these  did  mj  CampBSpe  wiune. 
At  lut  lie  eette  her  both-hig  eya  ; 
She  ■'ODD  :  tmd  Cupid  blind  did  rise. 
Oh,  Lo*e !  hath  she  done  this  to  thee  ? 
What,  iholl,  ahu,  become  ot  me  ? 

Qtoitas  Hebrice. 


rBAaUKNT  OP   THE   PAJHTEE  AKD   1 


,  A^PELIBB, 


Kafi/Tafra  auyxu^fuen 
Autfr  r  Ipwc  t^Xtifia' 

AvuXioii  r  asvaira' 
X(f>j>uc  Tiins  Iff K jo;. 
Piior  n  r«»  Ta^litiit 
(nine  oun  /ill  ourij  tiSi'), 

Tivoli  and  Tnrentiim  n 


To>  ayJjxo*  /tiraranu, 
Spaayfo/ta  XOK  yinioij' 
KO|iMro!o«'  aTavT  anihiy. 

Tu^)j;  T  ttmu^fr'  E^ui 
E(  T-aura  o«i  /uyigri 
KaiC  nS  EjBif  rortioi ; 
4><u !  cclfXjiurary;  ri 
Mi^Xii  t/tai  yitittiai ; 

two  favourite  retrents  i 


whenever  be  could  tear  himself  from  the  metropoli». 
riiP  chamis  of  both  are  relebrated  in  the  succecdiug  com- 
KMition.  It  would  appear  to  have  been  elicited  at  a  ban' 
net,  on  SeptimiuB  eipressing  hiniaetf  so  devotedly  attaebed 
o  our  poet,  that  he  would  cheerfully  accompany  tiiin  to  the 
utinoBt  boundary  of  the  Soman  empire. 


Lib  n.    Odr  vf.— Tbb  iTTHAcnoss 

■vrnttCB,  plwlfted  B-ilh  niP  lo  roam 
?hr  u  the  Hereo  lasHiAK'e  Iiodip, 
(Fhero  men  abide  not  yet  o'creomo 
Bv  Konisn  lemons. 
.nil  UjlTBrTAJiIiin  billoira  fonm — 
BartnHo  regions ! 


pTiBt 


t>  TiRKfTtnr. 


&^ptimi,  Oadea 
Aditnre  meonm,  et 
CaiitDhram  indoctnm 
Jugn  ferre  noiitra,  el 
Barbsnu  Sjrtaii, 
TJbi  Msum  sempCT 


480 


TATHBB  PB0VT*8  BELIQV£8. 


/ 


Tibub!— Bweet  colony  of  Ghr«eece! — 
There  let  my  devious  wanderingB  cease ; — 
There  woula  I  wait  old.  age  in  peace, 

There  calmly  dwellixig, 
A  truce  to  war ! — a  Rmg  release 

From  **  colonelling  I" 


Whence  to  go  forth  should  Fate  ordain, 
Ghdesus,  gentle  flood !  thy  plain 
Speckled  with  sheep — might  yet  remain 

For  heaven  to  grant  us ; 
Land  that  once  knew  the  halcyon  reign 

Of  King  PhakntuB. 


Spot  of  all  earth  most  dear  to  me ! 
Teeming  with  sweets !  the  Attic  bee, 
O'er  Mount  Hymettus  ranging  free, 

Finds  not  suwi  honey — 
Nor  basks  the  Capuan  olive-tree 

In  soil  more  sunny. 


There  lingering  Spring  is  longest  found ; 
E*en  Winter's  breath  is  mild; — and  round 
Delicious  Aulon  grapes  abound, 

In  mellow  cluster ! 
Such  as  Falemum's  richest  ground 

C^n  rarely  muster. 


Tibur,  Argeo 
Poeitom  oolono 
Sit  mee  aedes 
Utinam  senects! 
Sit  modus  lasso 
Maris,  et  viarum, 
MilitisBque! 

XJnde  si  Pares 
Prohibent  iniquc, 
Dulce  pellitis 
Ovibus  Galesi 
Flumen,  et  regnati 
Petam  Laconi 
Bura  Phalanto. 

Hie  terrarum 
Mihi  pneter  omnes 
Angulus  ridet, 
Ubi  non  Hymetto 
Mella  dec«dunt, 
Viridique  oertat 
Bacca  Venafro ; 

Ver  ubi  longmn, 
Tepidasque  prsbet 
Jupiter  brumas, 
£t  amicus  Aulon 
Fertili  Baccho 
Minimum  Falemis 
Invidet  uvis. 


Romantic  towers !  thrice  happy  scene ! 
There  might  our  days  glide  on  serene ; 
Till  thou  bedew  with  tears,  I  ween, 

Of  love  sincerest, 
Tlie  dust  of  him  who  once  had  been 

Thy  friend,  the  Lyrist ! 


nie  te  mecum 
Locus  et  beats 
Postulant  arces ; 
Ibi  tu  calentem 
Debitik  sparges 
Lacrinul  fsvillam 
Yatis  amid. 


Extemporaneous  in  its  essence,  hearty,  glowing,  and 
glorious,  here  foUows  an  effusion  of  affectionate  welcome 
to  one  of  the  young  Pompeys,  with  whom  he  had  studied 
at  Athens  and  fought  at  Philippi.  The  scene  is  at  the  Sa- 
bine farm.  The  exile,  it  will  be  seen,  has  only  just  returned 
on  the  general  amnesty  granted  by  Augustus. 


THE    SOXQB   OF   HOBACE. 


Lib.  n.  OoE  TII.- 


d  of  roy  Kiul  1  with  whom  arrajed 
_  1  atood  in  the  ranks  of  peril, 
ben  Brulus  st  Phtlippi  made 
Th»t  effort  wild  and  ilorile . . . 
Fho  balb  reopened  Borne  to  thee. 
Her  tetnptea  and  hrr  ii>mm  ; 
kckoning  ihe  rhild  of  Ilaljf 
Back  Ut  the  clime  that  bore  him  ? 

bon,  O  iii<r  earlieit  oomrade !  aay , 

Fompej.  WW  I  llij-  tfftcher 

g  baulk  old  Time,  and  drowo  the  day 

I](«p  iu  a  Bowing  piti-lier  P 

tiink  of  the  hours  we  Lhu9  coniumed. 


rith  thee  I  ihared  Fhii^iptt  rout, 

'Itiough  I.  mcthinka,  ran  faator; 
ttving  belUnd— 'twai  wrong,  no  doubt— 

Hj  aBtU.D  in  the  diaaater ; 
'en  Fortimdo  that  day  broke  down  ; 

And  the  rude  tocman  tauglit  hrr 
B  hide  her  brow's  diminiihed  frown 

Lo*  amid  heap*  of  slaughter. 

nl  Mercury,  who  kindly  watched 

Ue  'inid  I  hat  >trueg!e  deadly. 

»oped  ffoin  a  cloud,  and  quickly  snatched 

Hia  eliciit  from  the  medley, 
rblie  thee,  ahu !  the  ebbing  flood 

Of  war  releiitlwB  swallowed, 
eiilunging  tl^ee  'mid  aeas  of  blood ; 

And  yeara  of  lempeat  followed. 

iiKj  to  Jnie  the  riotim  calf, 
Due  to  the  God ; — and  weary, 
ader  my  bower  of  lanrela  qiialT 
i.  wine-cup  blithe  and  merry. 
!eI"^  wbUo  Oiy  war-worn  iinibs  repose, 
'Mid  peaceful  scenes  aojourniiig, 
ftW  nol  the  wiue..'t«Bt  kppL.il  flows 
Tft  »Bloome  Ihj  raluniing. 


Fompet.  meoniin 
Prime  lodalimn, 

Sxpe  diem  m 


Ivcvao  Philippoi 
Et  celerom  fugam 
Sensi,  relic  t& 
Non  bene  parmuli, 
Quum  fracta  virtua, 
Etminacea 


Sedit 

Merouriua  celer 
Donso  poTontu 
Suitulit  aure : 
To  rumus  in  bcUun   | 

Beaorbens 
Unda  fretis 

Xuht  setuosig. 

Ergo  obligalam 
KeddeJoti  dapom 
IiOngAipie  feBsum 
MihtJilatuB 
Depone  sub 
Lauro  miA,  dm 

libidcatinatia. 


482 


TATHEB   P&0UT*8   RELIQTTES. 


Come,  with  obliyious  bowls  dispel 

Orief,  care,  and  disappointment ! 
Freely  from  yon  capacious  shell 

Shed,  slied  the  balmy  ointment ! 
Wlio  for  the  genial  banquet  weaves 

Guy  garlands,  gathered  newly ; 
Fresh  with  the  garden's  greenest  leares, 

Or  twined  with  myrtle  duly  P 

Whom  shall  the  dice's  cast  ••  wiNE-KHro" 

Eloct^  by  Venus  guided  ? 
Quick,  let  my  roof  with  wild  mirth  ring — 

Blame  not  my  joy,  nor  chide  it ! 
Madly  each  bacchanalian  feat 

I  mean  to-day  to  rival. 
For,  oh !  'tis  sweet  thus  . . .  thitb  to  obest 

So  D£AB  ▲  FBISND'S  AB^LIYAL  ! 


ObliTioflO 
LeviaMaasko 
Ciboria  ezpte  s 
Funde  capacibiii 
Ungoenta  de 

Quia  ado 
Deproperare 

Apio  oonmat 

Cnratre  myrto  ? 
Quern  Venus  arbitnim 
Dioetbiboidi? 
Non  ego  sanius 
Baochabor  Edonis : 

Beoepto 
Dolce  mihi  furere 

JSst  amioo! 


Tlie  nursery  tradition  respecting  lies,  and  their  coiwe- 
quence,  may  be  traced  in  the  opening  staiiza  of  this  playful 
remonstrance  with  Baring.  The  image  of  Cupid  at  a  grmd. 
ing  stone,  sharpening  his  darts,  is  the  subject  of  a  fine  an- 
tique cameo  in  the  Orleans  Collection. 

Lib.  II.     Ode  VIII. — the  booue&ies  op  BABiifE. 


IN  BABnrXN. 

Barine !  if,  for  each  untruth, 
Some  blemish  left  a  mark  uncouth. 
With  loss  of  beauty  and  of  youth. 

Or  Heaven  should  alter 
The  whiteness  of  a  single  tooth — 

O  fair  defaulter ! 


Then  might  I  trust  thy  words — But  thou 
Dost  triumph  o'er  each  broken  vow  ; 
Falsehood  would  seem  to  give  thy  brow 

Increased  effulgence : 
Men  still  admire — and  gods  allow 

Thee  fi^esh  indulgence. 

Swear  by  thy  mother*s  funeral  urn — 
Swear  by  the  stars  that  nightly  bum 
(Seeming  in  silent  awe  to  mourn 

O'er  such  deception) — 
Swear  by  each  Deity  in  turn, 

From  Jove  to  Neptune : 


XJUa  si  juris 
Tibi  pejerati 
Pcsna,  Baring 
Nocuisset  unquam ; 
Dente  si  nigro 
Fieres  vel  uno 
Turpior  ungui, 

Orederem.    Sed  tu, 
Simul  obligasti 
Perfidum  votis 
Caput,  enitescis 
Pulchrior  multo, 
Juvenmnque  prodii 
PubUca  cura. 

Expedit  matris 
Cineres  opertos 
Fallere,  et  toto 
Tacituma  noctis 
Signa  cum  ooelo, 
GdidAque  Divos 
Moxte  caraates^ 


THE    SABINS   FARMEK'S   SEUKK41 


Tenua  wiil  all  her  N'rmphs  woulii  jet 
With  amilra  thy  perjury  abel — 
Oupid  would  uuch^Qo  on !  nntl  let 

Fresh  couTBge  nerre  thee : 
a  hi*  bloodstBined  wheel  he'll  wWt 

Qin  darts  to  aerve  tbea  I 


K  u  thej  grow,  our  joathi  enohaja, 

i*h  foUowera  in  bcautr's  trsia : 

Ills  they  who  IoT«d  th«e  Grat  would  Gun, 

Ohannine  dectiTer, 
.thin  thy  tbrahold  itiU  rematn, 

And  loie,  Cor  erar ! 


RiiU't  hoe,  iurjoniu, 

Simpliws  JJjTDphe. 
FeruB  Ft  Cupido, 
Semper  ardealci 
Acueni  (ugittas 
Goto  cruentt 

Adda  quod  pubc» 
Tihi  cr»cit  omnu ; 
Berrilua  crescit  novs  | 
Neo  prioras 

Domiiup  relinquunt. 


bw  ton*  from  thee  all  mothera  hidi^  i 
n  diought  of  tliDK  Item  latbiVB  diide  j 
kj  ihadow  hsnnla  lh«  new-made  bride, 

And  feara  dithearttin  her, 
■t  thou  tltTMglB  from  hor  Bide 

Her  liJe'e  young  partner. 


Te  auis  mntre* 
HeCuiint  juTencu, 
Te  aenea  pord, 
Miaeraqne  nuper 
Tir^inci  nuptc, 
Tua  no  rclardet 


THE  8ABINE  FARMEB'S  SERENADK 


nt  tnrlrida  noi 

Hori  aerundl  manf ; 
Quando  proruil  roi 

Carmen  in  bo«  inanf  ; 
Viri  miaen  ineni 

Mrditabatur  bjmen, 
Uinc  puellie  flen* 

Stabat  obaiileni  limea ; 

Bru  HBttra  L>lao£'  ; 
DvJai  Julia  dtUAai*.* 


An  Iriib  lad  ao  tight. 

All  wind  and  weather  acoming,  \ 
At  Jud;  Callaghan'e  door. 

Sitting  upon  the  palinga, 
ilia  icTe'lAle  bo  did  poiu-. 

And  ihii  waa  part  of  liia  wailing  t~ 

Yau-U  it  Mr,.  BrBliaghif,  , 

Don't  tag  nay, 
CharniBig  Judy  Callahan, 

Oh '.  lilt  to  what  1  t»y, 

Channa  vou'va  got  like  Venui ) 
Own  your  loTe  yon  msT, 

There's  but  the  wall  between  u* 


*  Callage,  matracUo.    Tenoa  dicitur  HaS 


4S4 


TATHSB  FBOUT  8  BELIQITSS. 


Toee  beitnm  he ; 

En,  dam  donnis,  Tigilo, 
Kocte  obambnkna  hie 

Domum  phmcta  ttridulo. 


Lai^oi^; 


Est  mihi 
Et 

TmiiK 

Ad 


pcggnanit  sua, 
fltabnhim ; 
etnu* 
fMbolum; 


^plendido  Totdmento, 
Tunc,  bens !  qokm  bene  te 
YeheRm  in  jumento  If 


Yoa  lie  &8t  saleq), 

Snug  in  bed  and  snoring 

Bound  tiie  house  I  cree^ 
Your  hard  heart  implaring. 

Onljf  «ay 
To^U  have  Mr.  BraUag1mn  ;        • 

Dcm^t  toy  nay, 
Ckarmmg  Judy  CaUtyhmu 

Tre  got  a  pig  and  a  sow, 

Tre  got  a  str  to  sleep  'em ; 
A  calf  and  a  brindled  oow. 

And  a  cabin  too,  to  keep  'em ; 
Sunday  hat  and  coat. 

An  old  grey  mare  to  ride  on ; 
Saddle  and  bridle  to  boot. 

Which  you  may  ride  astride  oa. 

Omiytay 
You^U  be  Mrs.  BraUagkan  ; 

D<m*t  say  nay, 
Ckarmmg  Judy  CaUagkanl 

Fve  got  an  acre  of  ground, 
Fve  got  it  set  with  praties  : 

Pre  got  of  'baccy  a  pound, 

Tre  got  some  tea  for  the  Isdiet ; 

•  1*  in  Toce  na.  Nonne  potiiis  legendum  jta,  scilicet,  ad  raccorm 
1  /  De  hoc /tone  apud  Sabinos  agricolas  consule  Scry/toret  de  n 
rmghed  passim.     Ita  Bemtkms. 

Jus  imo  antiquiseimum,  at  displicet  tox  squivoca ;  jus  etenim  c  >im 
^poiaye  aliquando  audit,  ex.  gr. 

Omne  suum  fratri  Jwcohjnt  rendidit  Esau, 
£t  Jacob  fntiijnt  dedit  omne  suum. 

Itaque,  pace  Bentleii,  stet  lectio  prior. — Prout. 

f  rekHernm  m  jmtmeuto.  Curriculo-ne  ?  an  pon^  sedentem  in  equi 
dono  ?  dorsaliter  plan^  Quid  enim  dicit  Horatius  de  uxors  sic  recti? 
Konne  **/•»/  tfuiiem  atdet  atra  eura  /" — Portom, 

\  Lac  et  tmeiia.  Metaphoric^  pro  tea  :  muliebris  est  compotatio 
GfKcis  non  ignota,  teste  Anacreonte, — 

6«Xm  Xf  ycty  tTatpm,  c.  r.  X. 

Bnmykaim, 

§  Baecki  meee.  Duplex  apud  poetas  antiquiores  habebahir  hujuMi 
Bominis  numen.     Tiucam  regebat  prius ;  po^krius  cuidam  hobc  es* 


Erit  MM/ns  LalaOS'  : 

Se  rectuea  <*e, 
Dmicis  Jmlia  CaixaoX': 

Tis  poma  teme?  sum 
Uno  drresjugere; 

Yi5  lac  et  mella^t  <^^ 
Bacchi  sucoo,§  sugere  ? 


e*ioK  prserat  quje  iokacco  audit.     Succus  utrique  optimus. — CoUridgt. 


TUB    BiBINE   FABMBIt'S   SEBEKAJ)E. 


Via  aqiuB-ritiB  liiii  ?  • 

Pltmioso  soicnum  vacoulo? 
\ib  ut  panCuB  lirii 

Tel  umulo  Tel  baculo  ?{ 


Ftp  got  the  ring  to  wed. 

Some  "bisk;  to  make  i^  gulj  i 
I've  got  a  feallicr  bed. 

And  a  huidsome  ncn  ihilekgli. 


IMtleit  Julia  CAU.AOE'. 

litteria  operam  due  i 
Lueido  fulgeB  oeulo  % 

Dotes  iniuper  quas 

Hammi  sunt  in  loculo. 

BOTI  quod  upla  bIb  g 

Ad  procrtwidotii  eobolciD  I 

CoHidM  (ncscial  quis  P) 

Srtiul  taalum  die 
u  Julia  CUiu.Sl', 


Fdu7J  have  Afrt.  BraBaghtni 

Don'l  ,ay  >,«y, 
Charming  Judy  Callaghan, 

Tou'Te  got  a  charmmg  i^e,        [ing  | 
You've  got  Bonie  spelling  uid  read- 

Tou'iB  got,  aud  BO  have  Ii 
A  ta«le  Tor  geutevl  broeding  i 

You're  rich,  and  lair,  and  joung, 
Ab  crarj-bfidj'B  knowing  j 

"     '   3  got  n  decent  tongue 
■   i  going. 


Whene'et 


You'll  havt  Mr.  BralUghmf 

Don't  lay  nay, 
CAarmnm  Judy  CallagAaii, 


iwn  tu  For  «  wife  till  drath 

"'EiBrw,  Upiduin  oor,  mil  I  am  wdling  to  take  je! 

Bllituia  perdimus,  heu,  Sul,  och !  1  wiute  oij  brcstb, 

Te  tapoT  urget.    Donut !  The  devil  himBalf  can't  trake  j^ 

■  Jjmi-Ula  Tim,  Anolo-Hjbernio*^    "  a  iimctr  of  uAiiiey,"  tO);*Ci 
J  tof  licet,  vol  pcrgriBca.— ^orr. 

l"  Plumma  mbco,  Plumarum  oongeriei  cwt6  ad  boiudob  invitaiidos 
ii  apta  I  St  mihi  per  niultos  aniios  laneiu  Ute  Bacciis,  Ang.  waoltaci, 
K  bit  apgirim^  ad  donnienduDi  idoaeiu.  Litea  eliiun  dt  land  ut  aiuni  ea- 
\^wnti4,  M>panftiraa  per  auDoa  ui.  oiercui.      Qiiot  ot  quom  pneolora 


-Proul. 

Saculo  cert£  digniiiim.  pontif — Magma. 

S  Aplatii.  Quomodo noTcnt ?  Vide  Ppoverb.  Solomonis,  csp,  in. 
T.  19.  Niai  foraau  IuIbb  fuorint  puellie  Sabisoruni  quale!  impudeiu  isle 
baUtiO  Cooneliua  caeotitnr  eiee  Dostratea. — lilomjield. 

II  laKguam  mabittm.    PrluB  enumerat  futareconjugiB  bonainmaftinai 
DOtte*  tnnatt  nd  mobiUa,  Anglioe^  ckallel  prqitrlf.     Pnccktiu   ordo 
ml— Cor.  Wellurall. 


iS6 


FATHSB  PB0rT*8  RKUQUSB. 


Inffrait  imber  trax — 
Jam  sab  terto  pellitur 

Is  quein  crastina  lux* 
Kefisret  hiio  fideliter. 

Semel  iantwn  die 
Bria  notira  Lala.Os'  ; 

Ne  recuiea  tie, 
Duleis  Julia  Calla.Ox'. 


'Tis  just  beginning  to  nin, 
So  rU  get  muW  cover ; 

To-morrow  PU  come  again. 
And  be  your  constant  iorer. 

Ynu'll  be  Mm,  BraUaghan  s 

Don*i  tojf  nay, 
Charming  Jwufy  CaUaghan^ 


TO  THE  HOT  WELLS  OF  CLIFTOJi. 

nr  FBAI8B  OF  Bxrx-PinroH. 
A  Triglot  Ode,  tu. 

lo  TlivBapov  ircpc  pivfiaro^  tfiSti, 

2*  Horatii  in  fontem  Bristolii  carmen. 

3»  ISl  lElcUcii  (anpublisit^cli)  of  *'  tf^c  anfonanatc  ^battmsn. 


FIVDAB. 

MaXXoi/  fv  vaXift 
AafiTTovir'  av9i<ri  99¥ 

2'  avrXCt 

Pcvfcari  iroXX^ 

Mi(ryii/v 

Kac  /ieXcro(  fcoXv, 

Avijp  Kfv  nf  ip^v 
fiovXfTai  ri  ftavyv 
Sot  BaKXOv  Kavapov 
Sot  ^laxpf^vvvtni 

0'  aiyiari  vafia' 
UpoBvfMOi:  T( 
Tax  ^<f<firai. 

'S.i  ^Xtyfi'  aiOaXotv 
^eipiov  aoTipoQ 
ApfioZti  irXioTopi' 
2v  KpvoQ  ridvv  #v 

Stl<TOlQ 

AvrtX«rai(Ti 

TToatc 

K'  aiBioirtiv  ^vXtp, 


HORACE. 
O  fons  Bristolii 
Hoc  magis  in  vitro 
Dulei  d^ne  mere 
Non  sine  floribus 
Vas  implereris 
Unda 

Mel  solvente 
Caloribus. 

Si  quia  vel  yenerem 
Aut  preelia  cogitat, 
Is  Bacchi  calidos 
Inficiet  tibi 
Kubro  sanguine 
Rivos, 

Fiet  protinus 
Impiger ! 

Te  flagrante  bibax 
Ore  canicuU 
Sugit  navita :  tu 
Frigus  amabile 
Fessis  vomere 
Mauris 
Praebes  ac 
Homini  nigro. 


CHATTKSIXnr. 

S  iicn  pour  lDonb« 
•*  1^01  iDcUs  *'  of 
^bal  bubble  fort( 
IBis  clear  as  rtpstal ; . . . 
Sn  parlour  snvg 
lEH  Inisb  no  botier 
^0  mix  a  (ng 
®f  l&um  ano  aSata. 

Qotb  Xobe,  poung  tfjkU 
^nc's  bosom  rnEle  ? 
SStonlH  anp  feel 
IRfpe  far  a  stnflLc  ? 
t^})t  simplest  plan 
^B  ftist  to  take  a 
9Blcll  sttScncH  can 
^f  oltt  3lamaica. 

13ciicatb  tbe  >one 
©rog  in  a  pail  or 
lilum — ^besi  alonc^ 
QcUgbts  tbc  sailor, 
^be  can  %t  sioills 
'II lone  gibes  btgoac 
In  tbe  mntillcs 
^0  tof^ite  or  nigger. 


*  x\llusio  ad  distichon  Maronianum, 

**  Nocte  pluit  tota  redeuni  tfteciacula  smdi^. 
K.  r.  \» 


•t 


Prout. 


KOLLT  CASEW. 


487 


Effffcai  ayXaif 

X  iV  KOlkt^  KVKOKI 
^vOffJtytfV  ItltQ 


Fies  nobilium 
Tu  quoque  fontium 
Me  dioente ;  caTum 
Bain  oalicem  reples 
Umamque 
Unde  loquaces 


AaXov  «(  ov 

2oi/  it  piVfia  KaOaXXtrat,  Lymphs 

DesiUunt  tu». 


tE-liiQ  tlafmft,  ®  fount* 
Scscttic  attention  • 
'lIcnccforlDarli  count 
^n  classic  mention. 
IXtSl^t  pleasant  stuff 
tirbinc  to  l^t  Up  is. . . . 
SKc  *bc  t^aU  enough 
Si  Aganippe's. 


MOLLY  CAEEW. 


TO  THE  HABD-HEABTED  MOLLT 
CABEW,  THE  LAICXITT  OF  HEB 
IBI8H  LOTEB. 

OcH  hone ! 

Oh!  what  will  I  do? 
Sure  my  love  is  all  crost, 
Like  k  bud  in  the  frost .  • . 

And  there's  no  use  at  all 
In  my  going  to  bed  ; 
For  'tis  dhrames,  and  not  sleep. 
That  comes  into  mj  head  .  . . 

And  'tis  all  about  you, 
My  sweet  Molly  Carcw, 
And  indeed  'tis  a  sin 
And  a  shame. — 

You're  complater  than  nature 
In  every  feature ; 
The  snow  can't  compare 
To  your  forehead  so  fair ; 
And  I  rather  would  spy 
Just  one  blink  of  your  eye 
Than  the  purtiest  star 
That  shines  out  of  the  sky  ; 
Tho'— by  this  and  by  that! 
For  the  matter  o*  that — 
You're  more  distant  by  far 
Than  that  same. 

Och  hone,  wierasthrew ! 
I  am  alone 
In  this  world  without  you  \ 

Och  hone! 

But  why  should  I  speak 
Of  your  forehead  and  eyes. 
When  your  nose  it  dtfiies 


▲D  MOLLISaiMA^  PTTELLAM  S  UB- 
TICA  CABUABUH  FAHILIA  OTI- 
DIIT8  NA80  LAMENTATUB. 

Heu!  heu! 

Me  tssdet,  me  piget  o ! 
Cor  mihi  riget  o  ! 
Ut  flos  sub  frigido  .  .  . 

£t  nox  ipsa  mi  turn 
Cum  yado  dormitCim. 
Infaustat  insomnis, 
Transcurritur  omnia  .  .  . 

Hoc  culpi  fit  tuA 
M!,  mollis  Cari^ 
Sio  mihi  Uludeus, 
Nee  pudens. — 

Prodigium  tu,  re 
£s,  yerky  naturse, 
Candidior  lacte  j — 
Plus  fronte  cum  h&c  te, 
Cum  istis  ooellis, 
Plus  omnibus  stellis 
Mehercule  vellem. — 
Sed  heu,  me  imbellera ! 
A  me,  qui  sum  fidus* 
Yel  ullimum  sidus 
Non  dbtat  te  magis  .  .  . 
Quid  agLB  ! 

Heu !  heu !  nisi  tu 
Me  ames, 
Pereo!  pillaleu! 

Heu!  heu! 

Sed  cur  sequar  laude 
Ocellos  aut  frontem 
Si  VASI,  cum  fraudcs 


488 


FATHSB  FBOUT^S  XXLIQUM. 


Paddj  Blake  the  echoolmaster 

To  put  it  in  rhyme  P — 
Though  there's  one  Bubxb, 
He  sajt, 
Who  would  call  it  ^^ni^lune  . . . 

And  then  for  your  cheek, 
Throth,  'twould  take  him  a  week 
Ita  beautiea  to  tell 
As  he'd  rather : — 

Then  jour  Upe,  O  machree ! 
In  their  beautiml  glow 
They  a  pattern  might  be 
For  the  cherries  to  grow. — 
'Twas  an  apple  that  tempted 
Our  mother,  we  know ; 
For  apples  were  scarce 
I  suppose  long  ago  : 
But  at  this  time  o'day, 
'Pon  my  oonsdenoe  I'U  say, 
Buch  cherries  might  tempt 
A  man*8  father ! 

Och  hone,  ¥rierasthrew ! 
Fm  alone 
In  this  world  without  you ! 

Och  hone ! 

By  the  man  in  the  moon ! 
You  teaze  me  all  ways 
That  a  woman  can  plaze ; 

For  YOU  dance  twice  as  high 
With  that  thief  Pat  Macgbee 
As  when  you  take  share 
Of  a  jig,  dear,  with  me ; 

Though  the  piper  I  bate, 
For  fear  the  oidd  chate 
Wouldn't  play  you  your 
Favourite  tune. 

And  when  you're  at  Mass 
My  devotion  you  crass. 
For  'tis  thinking  of  you 
I  am,  Molly  Carew  ; 
Wliile  you  wear  on  purpose 
A  bonnet  so  deep. 
That  I  can't  at  your  sweet 
Pretty  face  get  a  peep. 
Oh !  lave  off  that  bonnet, 
Or  else  I'll  lave  on  it 
The  loss  of  my  wandering 

Sown 


Pr»tereo  pontem  P  .  •  • 
Ast  hie  ^go  miniis 

QuiLm  ipse  LoNonctrs 

In  Terbis  ezprimem 

Hunc  nasum  sublimem  •  •  r 
De  floridA  gena 

Vulgaris  camoena 

Cantaret  in  vanum 

Per  ^wnnTTi, — 

Tum,  tibi  puella ! 
Sic  tument  labella 
Ut  nil  plus  jucundum 
Sit,  aut  rubicundum ; 
Si  primitib  homo 
CoUapsus  est  pomo. 
Si  dolor  et  luotus 
Venerunt  per  fructus, 
Proh !  etas  nunc  serior 
Ke  cadat,  vereor, 
Icta  tam  hello 
Labello  ! 

Heu  !  heu  I  nisi  tu 
Me  ames, 
Pereo!  pillaleu! 

Heu!  heu! 

Per  cornua  lunas 
Perpetu6  tu  ne 
Me  vexes  impun6  ?  .  . . 

I  nunc  choro  salta 
(Mac-ghius  nam  teciim) 
Plants  magis  alt4 
Qu^  sueveris  mecum !  •  •  • 

Tibicinem  quando 
Cogo  fustigando 
Ne  falsum  det  melos, 
Anhelus. — 

A  te  in  sacello 
Vix  mentem  revello, 
Heu !  miser^  scissam 
Te  inter  et  Missam ; 
Tu  latitas  vero 
Tam  stricto  galero 
Ut  cemere  vultum 
Desiderem  multiim. 
£t  dubites  jam,  ni^m 
(Ob  anims  damnum)   > 
Sit  fas  huno  deberi 
AuferriP 


THl  PAIHTICB,  BABBT. 


489 


Oth  hone !  like  an  owl, 
Day  is  night, 
Dear,  to  me  without  jou  I 

Och  hone ! 

Don't  proToke  me  to  do  it  t 
For  there's  girb  by  the  score 
That  loves  me.  and  more. 

And  you'd  look  very  queer. 
If  some  morning  you'd  meet 
My  wedding  all  marching 
In  pride  down  the  street 

Throth  you'd  open  your  eyes, 
And  you'd  die  of  surprise 
To  think  'twasn't  you 
Was  come  to  it. 

Andfiiith!  KattyNaile 
Ajid  her  cow,  I  go  bail, 
Would  jump  if  I'd  say, 
"  Eatty  Naile,  name  the  day.** 
Ajid  though  you're  fair  and  firesh 
As  the  blossoms  of  May, 
And  she's  short  and  dark 
Like  a  cowld  winter's  day. 
Yet,  if  you  don't  repent 
Before  Easter, — when  Lent 
Is  over — I'll  marry 
For  spite. 

Och  hone !  and  when  I 
Die  for  you, 
*Tis  my  ghost  that  you'll  see  every 

night ! 


Hea !  heu !  niai  ta 
Corikm  sis 
Cecufl  sim  :  eleleu ! 

Heu!  heu! 

Non  me  provocato^ 
Nam  vireinum  sat,  o ! 
Stant  mmi  amato  .  . . 

Et  stuperes  plan^, 
8i  aliquo  mand 
Me  sponsum  videres ; 
Hoc  quomodo  ferres  ? 

Quid  dioeres,  si  oum 
Triumpho  per  vicum, 
Maritus  it  ibi, 
Non  tibi ! 

Et  pol !  Catharinss 
Cui  vaoca,  (tu,  sine) 
Si  proferem  hymen 
Chrande  essct  discrimen  i 
Tu  quamvis,  hlc  aio, 
Sis  blandior  Maio, 
Et  heeo  oalet  rariilt 
Quim  Januarius  ; 
Si  non  mutas  brevi, 
Hanc  mihi  decrevi 
(Ut  sic  ultus  forem) 
fjxorem; 

Tum  posthlk)  diil 
Me  spectrum 
Terebere  tu  .  .  . 

Eleleu ! 


p. 


.-,C.. 


j 


Jii 


JHE  PAINTEE,  BAERY. 


';   .  '■■*-'■-  ■■'■'  "i?ome.  1769. 

"  Nothing  could  have  made  me  more  really  happy  than  your  very 
kind  letter.  It  came  most  opportunely  to  support  my  spirits  at  a  time 
when  I  was  ill  of  a  fever,  which  I  believe  was  occasioned  by  a  cold 
caught  while  working  in  the  Vatican.'* 

Jamei  Barry  (R.A,)  to  (Sir)  Joihua  Reynolds, 

"  Apparet  domus  intus  et  atria  Ibnga  patescunt, 
Apparent  Friami  et  veterum  penetralia  regum.** — jEneid  //. 

His  magic  wand  Front  waves  again,  and  opes 
Those  ludlowed  halls  inhabited  by  Fopes ; 
Where  (through  an  odd  rencontre  that  befell)  he 
Enjoys  some  **  table  talk"  with  Chmganelli.— O.  Y. 


490  FATHER  PB0U1*8   BELIQ17S8. 

The  historian  on  whom  will  devolve  the  task  of  tradn^ 
'^  a  la  Gibhon,^^  the  decline  and  fall  of  Engb'sh  literatme, 
must  devote  an  ample  chapter  to  writers  of  romance.  This 
class  has  ohtained  an  undue  predominance.  A  modej  and 
undisciplined  horde,  emerging  from  their  native  haunts  ontiie 
remote  houndary  of  the  literary  domain,  have  rushed  down 
with  a  simultaneous  war-whoop  on  the  empire  of  leaming,  and 
threaten  not  to  leave  a  vestige  of  soher  knowledge  or  dassie 
taste  throughout  the  range  of  their  Vandal  incursions ;  no 
memorahle  transaction  of  hvgone  centuries  is  held  sacred 
from  the  rude  inroad  and  destructive  battle-axe  of  the 
'' histobical"  novelist.  The  ghost  of  Froissart  revisits 
nightly  the  glimpses  of  the  moon  to  complain  of  those  who 
molest  and  torture  his  simple  spirit ;  Sapin,  Matthew  Paris, 
Hollinshed,  De  Thou,  Hume,  Clarendon,  and  Eobertson, 
undergo  a  post  mortem  persecution,  which  those  chroniclers 
scarce  anticipated  as  the  fruit  of  their  learned  labours.  The 
sisterhood  of  the  sacred  valley  have  taken  the  affair  sadly  to 
heart ;  and  each  Muse  in  her  turn  sheds  a  tear  of  condolence 
over  the  disfigured  page  of  Clio. 

Nor  has  individual  biography  been  exempt  from  devasta- 
tion.  Richelieu,  Cromwell,  Will.  Wallace,  Henri  Quatre, 
Cardinal  Borromeo,  Queen  Elizabeth,  Brinsley  Sheridan, 
and  a  host  of  victims,  have  been  immolated  with  barbarous 
rites  on  the  shrine  of  Colbum  and  Bentley.  After  disinter, 
ring  by  dozens  the  memorable  dead  who  fain  would  sleep  in 
"Westminster  Abbey,  these  goules  have  traversed  the  conti- 
nent, with  vampire  voracity,  in  quest  of  prey  ;  few  are  the 
characters  of  European  celebrity  that  have  not  fed  their  in- 
discriminate insatiate  maw.  Nay,  as  if  modem  liistory  did 
not  afford  scope  for  the  exercise  of  their  propensities,  they 
have  invaded  the  privacy  of  Eoman  life,  to  insult  the  "  lares" 
to  desecrate  the  household  gods  of  ancient  Italy ;  and  in 
the  Last  Days  of  Pompeii,  an  attempt  is  made  to  impute 
modern  foppery,  with  all  its  concomitant  peculiarities,  to 
the  masters  of  the  world. 

'*  Et,  sous  dei  nomt  Romaitu,  faisant  notre  portrait — 
Peindre  Caton  galant,  et  Brutus  dameret. 

BoiLEAU,  A,  p.  chant  in. 

All  this  is  done  for  the  purpose  of  being  read  by  sentimental 


THE    PAIVTEB,    BAnitT.  10] 

spinsters,  sehool-govemesaeB,  and  linendrapere'  apprentices, 
to  whom  "  circ  ilating  UbrnrieB"  look  for  support  nud  encou- 
ragement. 

Tbe  poet  Lucan  has  a  paasiige  in  hia  Pharialia,  wlierein 
he  relates  that  when  rude  pensants  sought  to  disturb  the 
■epulchre  of  Mabius,  the  old  Roman  skeleton  started  up  in 
anger,  aod  with  a  posthumous  glance  scared  the  saerilegioua 
wretchea  from  hia  grave. 

"  Triitia  SjUnnJ  cednere  orscula  manes, 
ToUantemquo  caput  (jolidas  Anienis  sd  aodaB, 
A?riuolte  fraoto  fttiBlDU  effiigflre  wpulchro," — ^(Lib.  i.  adfinoA^ 


Which  ihe  French  profeasor,  Laharpe,  hoiS  so  beautifully 
rendered — 

"  Du  H>c  de  Ib  chomte,  on  dit,  mi'im  Inbaareur 
Entr'ouTrit  une  tomhe,  et  »Bi>i  d'epouTante 
Vit  M^aiva  lerer  m  tSte  uienafautti, 
Et  let  (^hi^pui  epsTB.  \»  &odI  cicatriif, 
B'aueoir  pale  et  tremblant  lur  >oii  tombrau  brial." 

Ouebt  not  apprehenaion  of  outbreak  from  the  injured  tenants 
of  the  tomb  to  deter  those  reaurrection-men.  from  practising 
their  bomd  trade  on  the  classic  subjects  of  Greece  and 
feme? 

It  is  unfair  to  accuse  Sir  Walter  Scott  of  being  the  parent 
■of  this  literary  monster  :  it  vas  fuU  grown,  or  iu  its  teens, 
Birhen  he  adopted  it,  flinging  the  mantle  of  his  genius  over 
r  its  native  deformity.  Towards  the  close  of  the  last  century, 
1  the  muse  of  a  French  abbe,  Mahmontel,  brought  it  forth 
I  In  U»  Incaa  and  Belisaire;  Floriau  stood  sponsor  to  the 
I  imihin  in  Numa  Pompiliua  and  Goimatce  de  Cordoue ;  Jane 
I  Porter  acted  the  part  of  wet  nurse  in  Thaddeut  of  Wartaie. 
We  have  been  led  into  these  remarks  by  the  circumstance 
I  of  meeting  among  tbe  papers  of  our  sacerdotal  sage  a  sin- 

EL-ar  account  of  men  and  of  things  which  now  belong  to 
istury — a  narratiTe  which,  did  we  not  deprecate  the  im- 
iputation,  might  be  taken  for  an  "  historical  romance." 

■  oli\t:u  yobke. 

WaltTgrauhUl,  .Vareli,  1330. 

I  have  been  a  sojourner  in  many  lands.     Iu  youth  I  felt 
[  the  full  value  of  that  vigorous  period's  imwasted  eaergiefl, 


492  TATHEB  PBOUT's  SELIQ17S8. 

and  took  care  that  my  faculties  of  body  and  mind  shofold  nol 
be  sluggishly  folded  in  a  napkin,  and  hidden  beneath  the 
clod  ot  my  native  isle.  Hence,  wafted  jojfullj  o'er  the 
briny  barrier  that  encloses  this  unfortunate  '^  gem  of  the 
western  world,*'  I  early  landed  on  the  shores  of  continental 
Europe,  and  spent  my  best  and  freshest  years  in  yisiting  her 
cities,  her  coUegiate  halls,  her  historic  ruins,  her  battle 
fields.    Moore  and  I  may  say  with  truth,  that 

'*  We  haye  roamed  through  thia  worid.** 

But  my  proceedings  (unlike  Tommy's)  bore  no  resemblance 
to  the  conduct  of  "  a  child  at  a  feast."  It  was  not  in  pur- 
suit of  pleasure  that  /  rambled  through  distant  proTinces : 
neither,  like  "  Childe  Harold,"  did  I  travd  to  stifle  the 
voice  of  remorse — to 

"  Fling  forgetfiiliiees  around  me.** 

I  had  other  views.  A  transient,  but  not  unobservant  pil- 
grim, I  have  kept  the  even  tenor  of  my  way  thrQugh  many 
a  foreign  tract  of  interesting  country ;  rarely  mingliTig  in 
the  busy  hum  of  men,  though  carefully  noting  down  witii 
meditative  mind  the  discrepancies  of  national  thought  and 
feeling  as  I  went  along.  Keenly  awake  to  each  passing  oc- 
currence in  the  cities  where  I  dwelt,  though,  like  the 
stranger  at  Carthage,  myself  unperceived : 

"  Per  medioa,  miscetque  virig  neqae  cemitor  ullL" — {JEneid  I.) 

But  I  have  paused  longest  at  Eome.  Not  that  other 
cities  were  divested  of  attraction  ;  but  at  no  inferior  thresh- 
old, at  no  minor  shrine,  could  I  be  induced  to  depose  the 
staff,  the  scrip,  and  the  scallop  shell.  Even  now,  in  the  de- 
crepitude of  age,  the  reminiscences  of  the  seven  hills,  re- 
freshing the  verdant  enthusiasm  of  my  boyhood,  return 
sweetly,  welcomed  like  the  visits  of  early  friendship ;  although 
I  had  an  opportunity  of  renewing  my  acquaintanceship  with 
the  cities  of  France  some  thirty  years  ago,  at  the  peace  of 
Amiens,  still  the  recollections  of  my  Eoman  sojourn,  bearing 
the  remote  millessimo  of  1769,  have  kept  themselves  (to  use 
a  consecrated  expression)  ^^ greener^*  in  my  soul.  O  Borne! 
how  much  better  and  more  profitable  do  I  feel  it  to  dwell  in 
spirit,  amid  the  ruins  of  thy  monumental  soil,  than  ooipo* 


IHK   FAIHT£a,    BaHRT.  493 

really  to  reside  in  the  most  brilliant  of  modem  capitals. 
QuOTiCo  minlii  eit  ckm  retiquU  veriuri  quant  tui  laeanninie .' 

There  is  a  splendid  eoug  by  some  English  bard,  highly  ex- 
pressive of  the  patriotic  attocnment  that  he  luuat  have  fult  for 
the  island  of  his  birth — enhiuiced  bv  a  reference  to  the  proud 
position  it  holds  among  the  couutnes  of  Eurojie  iu  luios,  in 
arts,  in  all  the  comforts  of  civilisation,  commerce,  and  free- 
dom ;  the  soul  of  the  composition  is  exhaled  ia  thut  brief 
condensation  of  impassioned  eulogy,  ''  England,  the  Home 
of  the  World !"  w  bat  this  country  now  is,  Borne  was. 
Seneca  terms  it  (in  hia  treatise  De  Conso/atioiie,  cup.  6) 
eammunem  gentibus  patriam ;  the  idea  ia  re-echoed  by  the 
Daturalist  Pliny  (lib.  35,  cap.  5).  The  sensitive  Mantiinn 
shepherd  dwells  on  it  with  complacency. 

"  Eerum  pulcherrinui  Rooui ! " 
Nor  less  perceptible  are  Horace's  affections,  when  that  g(»- 
nuine  specimen  of  a  Horaan   "  man  on  town"   slyly  ei- 
borta  some  friend  to  try  the  effects  of  rustication — 

I  "  Omitle  miniri  beala 

I  Fumum  et  opes  Btrupitimiquo  Bomie !" 

Ovid's  case  is  more  peculiarly  interesting.     He  who  had 

formed  the  chief  ornament  of  polished  society,  the  sought- 

for  and  the  caressed  of  every  Roman  boudoir,  the  arbiter  ot 

refinement  and  elegance  at  the  brilliant  court  of  Augustus, 

is  suddenly  banished  to  Scytbia ;  a  province  much  resembling 

the  bogs  of  modem  Iveragh,  or  the  wilderness  of  Conne- 

mam.     Tn  bo  woful  a  predicament,  is  it  to  be  wondered  that 

he  should  envy  his  books,  which  would  go  through  so  many 

I   editions  in  the  capital,  and  be  banded  about  in  every  circle, 

I  while  he  himself  was  pining  among  the  tasteless  brutes  and 

■^ignorant  savages  of  the  paludet  PropoHt'idU  ? 

"  Parre . . .  aine  ms  liber  ibis  in  Drboin, 
llui  milii,  (juo  Donimo  nan  licet  ire  tuo  1" 

1  the  decline  of  the  empire,  that  eminent  scholar  and 
ighly-gifled  writer.  St.  Jerome,  having,  with  drawn  from  the 
■feacinations  of  the  Eternii!  City  to  a  romantic  hermitage  in 
Palestine,  compWned  sadly  that  his  retirement  was  invaded, 
and  bis  solitude  perpetually  haunted,  by  certain  fairy  visions 
of  Some,  as  is  reconled  by  Erasmus  Id  the  life  of  the  saint 


494  FATHEB  PSOUT'S   BELIQinSB. 

prefixed  to  the  editio  princeps.. .  {8^  Hierorumd  Opera^  t,  1, 
folio,  Banlea,  1526.) 

But  Borne  was  not  recommended  to  my  affectionB  and 
cherished  in  my  heart  merely  because  of  her  Pagan  exod- 
lence,  her  martial  glory,  her  hterary  fiune.  I  aspijned  to  the 
Christian  priesthood  in  that  city  which  the  code  of  Justinian, 
in  the  absence  of  mere  scriptural  warrant,  calls  the  fountain 
of  sacerdotal  honour — *^fofu  sacerdotii  ;**  in  that  city  whidi 
St.  Prosper,  a  graceful  poet  (a.I).  470),  addressed  in  tenns 
of  veneration  and  endearment : 

"  Sedes  Boma  Petri,  qiuB  pastoraliB  honoris 
Facta  caput  mundo  quidquid  non  possidet  amiis, 
Belligione  tenet ; " 

while  a  modem  French  poet,  the  unfortunate  Ghilbert,  has 
characterised  that  capital  as 

«  Yeitye  d'un  people  roi,  mais  Bsnni  encore  da  monda  T* 

I  looked  on  Borne  as  the  cemeteij  of  the  thousand  mabttbs 
whose  ashes  commingle  there  with  the  dust  of  the  Scipios, 
and  whose  bones  (to  use  the  strange  words  of  the  Bishop  of 
Antioch,  Ignatius)  were  ground  into  flour  by  the  lions  of 
the  amphitheatre,  to  become  the  bread  of  Christ ;  and  there- 
fore I  looked  on  Bome  with  the  eyes  of  old  Chrysostom, 
whose  declaration  comes  fresh  on  my  memory ;  commenting 
on  Paul's  epistle  to  the  Bomans,  he  exclaims :  E/w  jiat  rp 
Peu/ifiv  dta  Tovro  ^tXa  xai  fitaxa^i^ea  on  xai  ^uv  aurois  ftt^ovQ  ^9 
xai  rov  l3iov  i%u  xarikodi,  A/o  xai  tTiffrifi^og  ij  ^oX/;  tmuhv^  n 
aT§  ruv  aWuv  a^avruv'  xai  xa&aTi^  ffu/Jka  fitya  xcu  t^xyS^ 
o^daXfioug  i^it  8uo  Xafi/ffovrag^  ruv  ayiuv  rourAiy  rot,  eufAara, 
Exsihv  a^dyriffsro  IlauXo^,  ixsi6tv  IliTPOf  "Evvoficars  n  xou  ^f^an 
oiov  o-^tro  6%afLa  Fcajiifi,  to¥  UavXov  i^atpvfn  avierafjkswv  aro  rm 
dfiXTii  ixttvrig  /isra  HiT^ov,  xai  ai^ofisvov  tig  aTavrri^iv  rov  Ku^iov. 
O/a  a'jroffnXkii  r^  X^/(rr^  ^cda  i}  Po/^ij.  {Homilia  in  Epiit 
Paid,  ad  Romanos,  ad  finem.)  An  effusion,  thrilling  with 
enthusiasm,  the  spirit  of  which  may  be  recognised  in  the 
hymn  by  St.  Prudentius,  in  the  fifth  century,  for  the  joint 
festival  of  Peter  and  Paul : 

*'  O  Boma  felix,  que  duorum  principmn 
Es  consecrata  glorioso  sanguine, 
Horum  cruore  purpurata  cseteras 
Excellifi  orbis  una  pulchritudinee  T' 

Ek  QtJScto  Breviar,  Rom,  29  JuniL 


THE    PAISTES,   BABHT.  103 

This  topic  muBt  not,  however,  lead  me  away  from  tlie  sub- 
ject matter  of  to-night'e  paper ;  an  occurrence  that  befell 
myself  and  my  old  si'hoolfellow,  tbe  painter  Barry,  in  the 
capitul  of  the  ChriBtinQ  world.  In  the  course  of  these  com- 
positionB  I  hare  felt  cooficioua  of  over-freely  indulging  in 
illuHtration  and  aoilloquy.  I  apologiae  for  trespaaeing,  and 
I  do  eo  without  availing  msyelf  of  the  excuae  an  eiratio 
French  poet  gives : 


It  waB  towards  the  close  of  tbe  autumn  of  17G9  that  I 
reached  the  Eternal  City.  Willi  riipturoufl  exultation  I 
caught  a  glimpse,  from  the  heights  above  the  "Pone  Mil- 
viua,"  of  that  glorioua  landscape  of  niinn :  my  mind  is  still 
impreased,  at  thia  distance  of  time,  with  the  solemn  stillneaa 
(.if  those  seven  hills  —  the  deep  gliding  of  the  voiceless 
Tiber — the  frequent  cypress  rising  in  that  suburban  solitude 
— and  yon  gorgeous  dome  of  the  Oulileau  lishermiLn  swell- 
ing in  triumph  over  the  circus  of  Nero.  I  bad  alighted 
from  the  clumsy  vehicle  of  my  Florentine  velturino,  sure  to 
rojoin  him  at  the  traveller's  inevitable  rewrfeiBoui,  theDogana 
Poutificia :  alone  and  on  foot  I  arrived  at  the  gate  of  Some, 
and  stood  on  the  Piazzo  del  Popolo.  What  was  my  precise 
current  of  cogitation  I  cannot  remember,  but  I  was  sud- 
denly aroused  from  my  reverie  by  the  rough  graep  of  honest 
and  affectionate  welcome;  mine  eye  gazed  on  the  well- known 
countenance  of  James  Baabt.  Then  and  there  was  1  des- 
tined to  meet  thee,  best  beloved  of  my  boyhood,  and  earliest 
rwsoeiate  of  my  school-days  !  with  whom  I  had  often  played 
■'  e  truant  from  the  hedge-academy  of  Tim  Delany. 

"  Moorma  prime  sodaliuni ! 
Cum  ()uo  tiioniiitcni  stppe  diera 
Ftegi." — Hob.  lib.  ii.  ode  7. 

Then  and  there  was  it  my  lot  to  encounter  him.  whom  I 
risd  remembered  a  ahoelees,  stociingless  and  reckless  urchin, 
I  jet  withal  the  life  and  soul  of  fiin  in  the  classic  purlieus  of 


496  FATHER  PSOITT^S  BSLTQITES. 

BlanKfj  Lane ;  ripe  for  every  miBchief^  but  distin^iuBhed 
among  all  the  pupila  of  our  excellent  Didascalua  dj  the 
eraphic  accuracy  with  which  his  embryo  genius  could  traee 
in  chalk  on  the  school-door,  or  with  alate  pencil  on  those 
tablets  sacred  to  Euclid,  the  pedant's  bespecteeled  probosds. 
A  red  cow  in  fresco  over  MicK  Flannagan's  public-house,  still 
exists  to  attest  the  early  development  of  his  pictorial  talent ; 
even  then,  his  passion  for  the  nne  arts  was  aemonatrated  by 
the  &ct  of  his  having  removed  from  its  pedestal,  and  con- 
veyed in  the  dead  of  night  to  his  own  garret,  the  woodm 
effigy  of  a  blackamoor,  that  adorned  the  widow  Bradj's 
tobacco-shop.  I  afterwards  lost  sight  of  him  when  he  mi- 
grated from  Cork  to  the  miserable  hamlet  of  Passage  on  the 
harbour.  His  father,  who  had  been  a  builder  while  in  town, 
became  it  appears  the  owner  of  a  small  coaating-craft ;  in 
which,  sadly  against  his  inclination,  my  poor  James  was 
doomed  to  roam  the  blue  deep,  untQ  he  at  last  rebelled 
against  his  maritime  destiny,  and  '*  taking  up  arms  against 
a  sea  of  troubles,"  determined,  in  opposition  to  parental 
authority,  at  once  to  **  end  then^."  His  subsequent  fate  and 
fortunes  since,  he  had  "  cut  the  painter"  I  had  no  means  of 
acertaining.  till  thus  accosted  by  what  seemed,  to  my  startled 
eye,  the  most  unaccountable  of  apparitions  ;  nor  was  it  till 
I  had  fairly  scanned  his  outward  semblance,  and  heard  the 
genuine  Munster  brogue,  in  its  pure,  unsophisticated  Atti- 
cism, vibrate  on  his  tongue,  that  doubt  gave  place  to  the 
delii^ht  of  mutual  recognition.  Barry's  wonderment  at  dis- 
covering his  quondam  acquaintance  in  a  semi-ecclesiastical 
garb,  was  not  the  least  amusing  feature  in  the  group  we 
presented  under  the  pedestal  of  Aurelian's  obelisk,  that 
nuug  its  lengthy  shadow  across  the  spacious  piazza,  as  the 
glorious  Italian  sun  stiU  lingered  on  the  verge  of  the  ho- 
rizon. 

An  adjourment  was  voted,  by  acclamation,  to  the  newest 
hospitable  shed ;  which,  I  remember  well,  was  that  most 
clasJBicallv  named  establishment,  the  Osteria  delta  Syhiihy 
in  the  "  Corso."     There, 

**  O  qui  complexus  et  gaudia  quanta  fuerunt ! 
^Til  ego  ooutulecim  jucundo  aauus  amico." — fier  BrwuhtsiL 


THK   PAISTEH,    BABET.  497 

There  enauod  flaak  after  flask  of  sparkling  Oroieto  and  ge- 
iierous  "  laehryma ;"  nor  waa  the  swelling  tear  of  joyous 
eDthuBiasia  unnoticed  by  me  in  the  full  eye  of  kindling 
genius,  when  we  drank  to  his  "art"  and  hia  ''hopes,"  cou- 
pled with  the  health  of  "Edmdnd  Buuee,  his  noble,  hit 
genero'it  protector  !" 

We  parted  at  a  late  hour,  after  collating  our  autobiogra- 
pliies,  pleased  at  the  coincidence  that  had  reunited  ua  once 
more.  Barrr  bad  but  to  crosa  the  street  to  his  modest 
tfanzina,  in  the  "  Vicolo  del  Greco ; "  I  tarried  for  the  night  in 
the  cave  of  "  the  sybil,"  and  dreamed  over  many  a  frolic  of 
bygone  days,  over  many  a  deed  of  Boman  heroism  ;  com- 
mingling the  recollections  of  Tim  Delany  with  those  of 
Michael  Aogelo,  and  alternately  perambulating  in  spirit  the 
"  Via  Sacra"  and  "  Blarney  Lane." 

This  renewal  of  aequaiDtanceship  was  of  advantage  to  us 
both,  during  the  period  of  our  residence  at  Eoiue.  Though 
the  path  of  our  respective  pursuits  was  dissimilar,  there 
was  on  both  sides  much  of  acquired  information,  the  inter- 
change of  which  was  delightful.  In  all  that  could  illustrate 
the  memorials  of  Komau  story,  annals  of  the  republic,  tro- 
pbiee,  temples,  triumphal  arches,  deciphering  of  inscriptions, 
and  such  lore  as  could  be  gathered  from  previous  perusal  of 
what  |iad  been  written  on  that  exhauatleas  topic,  Barry  found 
in  his  friend  a  cheerful  nomenclator — an  almanac  of  relor- 
ence,  especially  in  the  records  and  proceedings  of  primitive 
Christianity ;  of  which  Borne,  its  catacombs,  its  churches, 
its  sepulchres,  and  its  MS3.,  are  t)ie  richest  depositories.* 
In  return  for  such  hints,  suggestions,  and  legends,  it  waa 
BaiTj-'a  pride  to  develop  the  sound  principles  of  taste  and 
criticism — the  theory  of  the  art  he  loved — those  views  and 
speculations  which  he  had  derived  from  nature,  and  from 
intercourse  with  the  author  oi  A  Treatise  oh  the  Sublime  and 
Beautiful.  Commingling  our  notions,  we  explored  the  mo- 
namental  remains  strevra  in  giant  fragments  over  the  seven 
hills,  ittna  that  magnificent  relic  of  imperial  grandeur, 
'W  anfileairo  Flatiu,"  to  that  utilitarian  aepoait  of  repub- 
lican glory,  the  "  Cloaca  Maxima." 

■  There  it  nn  (.'InboruU.-  nork,  b;  FntheF  iringhi,  bearing  the  qiuinl 
Je  of  Kama   S-idl'rrmifa,  2  TOle.  folia,  Roni.   1663,  vlueli  embodiM 
LM'Jek  of  the  infurmntioii  here  aliuded  U>. — Eaoui. 


49S  FATHEa   PBOCT  S   BELIQCEfl. 

Among  the  attributes  anil  peculiar) ties  of  eitraoniinsr 

intellect,  tliere  hns  been  often  niitii^ed  oji  occasionul  jilayfol 
npBS,  a  whirnaical  boyiBlmeaa,  with  wLich  the  tarne  pruiltv 
of  medioure  talent  is  rarely  chargeable.  This  ch»ractenBti 
idiosyncracy  was  observable  in  Barry :  he  bad  retained  I 
the  maturity  of  manhood  that  accompaniment  of  iabor, 
genius — the  heart  of  childhood  still  fresh  and  Karm  ii 
breuBt.  My  friend  loved  a  frolic.  I  know  not  whetlicr  j 
wRa  the  irreeistible  impulse  of  achoot-day  associations  wht 
my  presence  communicated;  but  in  the  moat  solemn  local 

itics,  when  the  spot  would  preclude  any  idea  of  fun,  a  si 

den  whim  would  take  hia  tancy— the  ^tinguiabed  painte 
would  disappear  by  some  enchantment,  and  leave  nnugt 
behind  but  the  urchin  of  the  Btreets  of  Cork.  In  examiuinj 
the  environs  of  the  Capitol,  as  we  looked  up  with  awe  at  tk 
Tiiriteian  Rock,  be  auggested  that  I  should  climb  the  rai 
na<^le,  and  p!ace  myself  in  the  attitude  of  an  auuient  cnmini 
about  to  take  the  last  fatal  step,  in  suppoHed  accurdane 
with  the  ttttatiu  cojuuUum  in  such  cases  made  and  pn>rid«d 
I  hod  scarcely  folded  my  clerical  gown  into  the  most  as 
proved  fashion  of  a  Boman  toga,  and  assumed  a  louk  c 
sublime  attachment,  even  in  death,  to  the  laws  of  mv  c 
try,  estending  my  arm  to  the  temple  of  Jiipiti-r  8tator,-« 
when  a  blow  of  a  cabbage-stump,  aimed  with  uaemiig  pre 
cisioo  from  the  kitchen -garden  where  Barry  stood  SeW, 
had  well  nigh  hurled  me  Irom  my  eminence.  Yaiiily  did  I 
claim  the  protection  of  canon  law,  which  eKcoiumunicstcr 
the  perpetrator  of  a  similar  enormity  {Si  qaU,  tuadente  d 
biilo,  eterieum  pereuarrit,  Ac.  canon  §  de  percuttorihut :  ee, 
S,  de  jaclit  caul.)  ;  lie  would  urge  my  own  quotation  fi^n 
Horace,  authorising  poets  or  nainters  to  attempt  anythinj 
within  the  range  of  human  auaacity, — qaidlihel  midemlL 

We  loved,  at  the  solemn  hour  of  sunset,  ere  twilight  gW_ 
had  flung  his  misty  mantle  over  the  scene,  to  ascend  tog6> 
ther  the  Janicuium  Hill,  because  of  the  unrivalled  prospect 
which,  from  the  grand  reservoir  of  the  Atqua  Paolina,  may  b» 
enjoyed  in  the  coot  of  the  evening,  commanding  the  ancieat 
and  modern  city, — palacea,  domes,  and  campanilt  conlnatii 
in  picturesque  confusion  with  the  giant  pillars  of  Trajan  oj 
of  Antonine,- — the  circumference  of  its  walls, — aqueductt 
stretching  in,  WoltBttMnrveancmw  the  desolate  campagmi,-* 


THE   PAISTEU,    BAEHT.  499 

tlie  silent  course  of  the  Tiber  winding  ita  Berpent  ]engtb 
througli  the  wliole  compasB  of  the  horizon,  tlie  liistant  hills 
of  Tivoli  and  Alba  on  the  verge  of  the  landeeape,  lost  among 
the  Apennines, — there  would  we  ait  and  cootemplate  awbile 
the  matchlesa  vision,  with  emotions  far  dee]ier  than  thoae 
felt  by  Martial,  whose  eye  aeauned  the  same  tract  of  land 
from  the  same  eminence  in  olden  days. 

"  Hioo  seplflin  dominoi  vidwo  monies, 
£t  lotam  licet  iPKliinBreBomiuii." 

Then  anon  the  sportive  spirit  would  rush  upon  Barry,  and 
etmngely  jarring  on  the  hannonv  of  local  reminiscences, 
amid  the  awfulness  of  historic  cogitation,  would  hurst  forth 
A  wild  and  grotesque  song,  composed  in  honour  of  the  mari- 
time village  where  he  had  spent  his  young  days,  manifestly 
.  Kn  imitation  of  that  unrivalled  dithyramb  the  "  Groves  of 
I  Blarney,"  with  a  little  of  its  humour,  and  all  its  absurdity. 

t  n/  a  /aiiianailf  Irith  lS'aleriiu/-pttKt. 

I  'Tie  Ibere  lUe  turf  is, 


And  KituBted 

Vpoa  thu  suT. 
"H»  lists  fuiil  dscent. 
And  quiLe  adj&cent 
To  come  from  Cork 

On  ■  Buramer'B  dnj ; 
Time  you  may  elip  in 


That  at 
Or  in  a  wherry 
Croa»  o'er  the  ferry 
To  Carrigaloe, 

Od  the  oilier  side. 

Mud  imbinB  sKarm  in 
This  place  to  charming, 
With  aailor  garmeaU 

Hung  out  to  dry ; 
And  eicli  abode  ta 
Snug  and  couiiuodious, 
'WitH  pig*  melodious 

In  Uieir  atraw-built  Btj. 
*  The  Mtv.  TkomoM  EnfUmd,  1 


And  lots  ol  mnrphiee. 
Dead  sprata  and  herrings, 

And  oyetcr  ihtJla  i 
Nor  an.v  lai^k,  0  I 
Of  good  tobncco— 
Tbough  ivlml  ia  smuggled 

By  lor  eiccla. 

There  aro  ships  from  CsdiK, 
And  from  BarbBdues, 
But  the  leading  Inde  is 

In  whisky -pnimh  j 
And  you  may  go  in 
Whei'e  one  Molly  Bowen 
Keeps  u  note  hotel 

For  a  quiet  lunch. 
But  land  or  dtuk  on. 
Ton  may  safciv  reckon, 
WhatsoeTer  co'unlrj 

Yon  ooine  hither  from. 
Onai 

To  a  jollifl. 
With  a  parish  priest 

That's  called  "Father  Tom."* 


fitatioi 


600  PATHEB  PBOTJT*B   BELIQU£8. 

Of  ships  there's  one  fist  There  **  Ssixon"  jailon 

For  lodging  oonvicta,  Keep  brare  repallorB, 

A  floating  *'  stone  Jug"  Who  soon  witJi  sailors 

Of  amazing  bulk ;  Must  anchor  weigh 

The  hake  and  salmon.  From  th*  em'rald  idand, 

Playins  at  bagammon.  Ne'er  to  see  drj  land, 

Swixnror  divarsion  Until  Uiey  spy  land 

All  round  this  "^  hulk ;"  In  sweet  Bot'nj  Bay. 

Some  people  will  think  this  conduct  of  mj  departed  firiend 
Teiy  drndish,  and  so  it  was,  doubtless ;  but,  to  quote  the 
language  of  his  patron,  Edmund  Burke,  in  one  of  those  im- 
mortal  pamphlets,  replete  with  a  wisdom  and  a  philosophy 
never  granted  to  the  soul  of  an  Utilitarian,  "  Why  not  gra- 
tify children  ?  lawyers,  I  suppose,  were  children  once.  Is 
Jhe  world  all  grown  up  ?  is  childhood  dead  ?  or  is  there  not 
in  the  bosoms  of  the  wisest  and  the  best  some  of  the  child*s 
heart  left  to  respond  to  its  earliest  enchantments  ?"  There 
is  a  remark  by  Coleridge  relative  to  this  propensity  of  su- 
perior mental  power  to  humble  itself  to  the  capacity  and 
the  pursuits  of  the  infant  mind,  which,  if  I  recollected  bis 
exact  words,  I  would  here  record  ;•  but  I  have  constantly 
observed,  in  my  own  experience  of  life,  and  my  own  range 
of  reading,  that  such  has  ever  been  the  tendency  of  ill 
gifted  men  in  every  age,  Inrom  Agesilaus  to  Henri  Quatre— 
from  the  prophet  who  adapted  himself  to  the  proportions  of 
infancy,  ''  his  eyes  upon  his  eyes,  his  mouth  upon  his  mouth,  kis 
hand  upon  his  hands"  (2  Kings,  chap.  iv.  ver.  34),  to  our  own 
immortal  patriot  Grattan,  who,  in  the  home  a  nation  gave 
him,  amid  the  woods  of  Tinnahinch,  played  hide-and-seek 
with  his  children ;  where  (as  Moore  says)  he  who  had  guided 
the  councils  of  the  collected  wisdom, 

**  The  most  wise  of  the  old. 
Became  all  that  the  youngest  and  simplest  hold  dear." — Monody,  ifc, 

**  a  life"  of  the  celebrated  friar,  Arthur  0*Leary,  chaplain  to  a  dub  which 
Curran,  Yelverton,  Earls  Moira,  Charlemon^  &c.  &c.  established  ia 
1780,  under  the  designation  of  "  the  Monks  of  the  Screw."— O.  Y. 

*  The  remark  of  which  Prout  only  recollects  the  substance  maj  be 
found  in  Coleridge's  Jutobiograph.  LUer^  vol-  L  p.  85,  **  7b  carry  on  the 
feelings  qf  childhood  into  the  powen  of  mmnkood  is  the  primleye  (f 
genius**  Ac  &c.  Pope  seems  to  have  had  a  foretaste  of  this  metapbj* 
sical  discovery  when  he  wrote  on  his  friend  Qay — 

^^  la  w\i  «k  mou^  «im.^licitY  a  child.** ^O,  Y, 


TnE   PAtsTBR,   BABBT.  501 

Some  TT^Ifs  pasBed  on,  and  I  began  to  see  less  of  Barry. 
Aniioua  to  store  my  mind  with  whatever  kuowledge  was  to 
be  obtained  in  the  haunts  of  learning,  I  epent  my  days  in 
frequenting  the  halls  of  the  Univer»ity  {arcldgymnaa.  rom.), 
imbibing  the  wisdom  of  its  professors,  To  some  of  these  I 
willingly  pay  the  tribute  of  acknowledgment ;  they  were 
men  of  acute  and  quick  perception,  clear  and  lucid  delivery, 
easy  and  affable  intercourse;  tneir  lectures  at  once  animated 
ana  substantial;  others  (alas!),  like  our  modern  Lardners, 
operate  on  the  crowd  of  eager  students  like  the  reading  of 
the  riot  act — dull,  plodding,  pompous,  pragmatical,  and 
empty-headed. 

wliile  1  was  thus  engaged  in  sounding  the  depths  of  Tho- 
mas Aquinas,  my  countryman  was  ardently  pursuing  hi8 
favourite  vocation,  studying  the  antique ;  I  was  busied  with 
forms  of  syllogistic  disputation,  he  tracmg  graceful  shapes 
of  &un  and  nymph — Psyche  and  Ganymede ;  I  wrestled 
with  Duns  Scotua  and  Peter  Lombard,  be  grappled  with  the 
dying  gladiator,  or  still-breathing  Laocoon ;  that  block  called 
the  Torso  was  Aii  idolatry ;  /  worshipped  an  equally  pon- 
derous folio  of  Cornelius  a  Lapide. 

Months  rolled  away, in  occasional  visits  from  the  painter; 
but  I  could  observe  that  his  brow  wore  .the  mark  of  a  dis- 
I  turbed  spirit,  and  that  be  laboured  under  fits  of  depression, 
He  made  nu  difficulty  of  communicating  to  me  the  subiect 
of  his  tribulations,  which  had  little  foundation  in  reality, 
but  were  sufficient  to  sting  to  madness  an  over-sensitive 
mind,  such  aa  my  friend  unfortunately  possessed.  He  had 
persuaded  himself  that  the  English  artists  at  Some  were  in 
a  combination  ngainat  him, — he  was  doomed  to  be  ever  the 
victim  of  jealous  envy, — his  efforts  to  gain  celebrity  would  he 
ever  thwarted  by  preferences  bestowed  on  inferior  craft  and 
intriguing  dullness.  To  these  troubles  of  his  fancy's  crea- 
tion there  was  superadded  the  straitened  circumstances  in 
which  he  was  placed — wholly  dependent  on  the  small  an- 
nuity which  ^mund  Burke  (by  no  means  wealthy  at  tlmt 
period)   contrived  to    bestow  on  him  (50(.)"     All  these 

*  But;  wm  not  tho  onl;  English  srtist  whonp  porrrtj'  at  Rome  vat 
pPOTerbinl ;  the  cmininit  Inndacaps  painter,  WUbod,  vat  ladjj  unpro- 
vided with  the  precious  metule  Hhile  s  iludcnt  in  that  capital.  There 
U  AH  odd  itoiy  lold  of  his  dolfitig  hii  ataX  one  Bne  d&j  w  «.  g^iuB  (Jl 


502  TATHXIl  PBOUrS  BSLIQUE8. 

■rmptoma  of  bis  intenial  argimiBation,  which  afterwards  in 
London  broke  out  into  such  fearful  manifestations  of  irrita* 
bilitTy  required  mj  utmost  skill  to  soothe  and  to  pacify. 
Poets  haTe  been  termed  an  angcj,  susceptible,  and  sensitire 
race — ^prone  to  take  umbrage  a£  miaginary  slight,  and  Tiaion- 
arj  wrongs ;  Barry  belonged  to  the  most  exalted  ckss  of 
the  gemus  irritaUU ;  and  this  impatience  of  mind,  denying 
intensity  from  constitutional  habit,  brought  on  death,  ere  that 
plenitude  of  £une  on  which  he  might  have  counted,  could 
be  granted  to  his  too  eager  imagination.  The  line  of  obser- 
Tstion  into  which  I  have  been  thus  led,  is  the  sentiment 
expressed  by  le  Baron  de  Fontanes,  in  his  consolatorjr 
address  to  Chateaubriand. 

**  Ainsi  les  maitres  de  la  lire  Long  tempe  one  ombre  fugitire 

P^rtout  exhaknt  leor  aiagrina,         SemUe  tromper  lear  noble  or- 

Virants  la  douleur  ks  dMiire  $  goeil ; 

£t  ces  dieux  que  U  terre  admire       La  Gloibx  enfin  pour  eux  arnTe^ 
Ont  pen  compt^  de  joura  sereinfl.    £t  toigoura  sa  palme  tardire 

Croit  plus   belle  au  pied  d'nn 

CEBCUEIL.** 


Fre  marked  the  jouth  with  talents  His  fate  had  been,  with  ardent  mind 

cors'd.  To  chase  the  phantom  Fame,— to 

Fre  watched  his  eje,  hope-lit  at  find 

first —  His  grasp  eluded  ; — calm,  redgn- 

Then  seen  his  heart  indignant  burst  ed — 

To  find  his  genius  scorned !  He  knows  his  fate— he  dies ! 

Soft  on  lus  secret  hour  I  stole,  Them  comes  BSNOWir  I  /Aen  Ctuneap- 
And  saw  him  scan  with  anguished  pears  ! 

soul  Globt  proclaims  the  COTFor  hen ! 

Glory's  immortal  muster-roll  Aye  greenest  over  sepulchres 
bis  name  should  hare  adorned !  Palm-tree  and  laurel  rise  I 

In  the  midst  of  these  vexations,  arose  on  the  destiny  of 
my  friend  a  guiding  star,  a  mild  and  holy  influence,  which, 
had  it  not  been  withdrawn  suddenly  and  for  ever,  might 
have  rescued  Barry  from  his  own  unruly  imaginings,  and 
linked  him  to  social  existence.  There  is  a  secret  spell  by 
which  the  gentle  voice  of  beauty's  admonition  finds  access 

tennis  in  the  baths  of  Caracalla  (where  the  English  had  got  up  a  sort  ot 
ball  allej),  when,  lo !  on  his  back,  by  way  of  lining  to  his  waistcoat,  a 
splendid  waterfall,  with  grotto,  &c.  &c.  became  visible :  a  contrirance, 
no  doubt,  of  his  laundress,  to  turn  his  productions  to  some  profitaUs 
purpose. 


THE    TAn-TEK,   BAfiSY.  SOS 

to  the  most  Ifotibound  and  intractable  tempers.  In  hie 
Tieita  to  tbe  Vatican,  Barry  had  been  noticed  by  tlie  oid 
cuatode  who  tenanted  tbe  Torrione  dd  T'enti  at  the  extreme 
end  of  tbe  palace.  Fabio  Centurioni  (euch  waa  tbe  ho- 
noured name  of  tbia  respectable  reteron,  tbe  senior  officer 
of  tbe  Vatican  gallery)  waa  in  himself  an  object  not  un- 
worthy of  the  antiquarian'H  attention.  He  belonged  to  a 
race  diatinct  in  character  and  feeiings  from  tbe  vulgar  crowd 
who  crawl  through  tbe  streets  of  Eome.  Of  an  old  trana. 
tiberine  familv,  he  claimed  with  the  iraiteverini  uucon- 
ditionated  pedigree,  ascending  through  tbe  viciaaitudea  oi 
intervening  barbarism  to  tbe  ancient  masters  of  the 
world.     Whether  he  traced  the  relatiouahip  up  to  Pabiue 

"  Unus  qiii  nobis  cuoctando  restituit  rom"  {Enniui) — 

1  have  omitted  to  ascertain.  But  if  solemn  gait,  gravity 
of  deportment,  absence  of  unnecessary  epeeo  in  word  or 
gesture,  were  of  genealogical  import,  his  descant  on  the 
great  Cunclalor  waa  unquestionable.  His  affection  for  young 
Banr  originated  in  a  sort  of  fancied  resemblance  to  the 
old  Boinan  character  which  he  thought  he  could  discover 
in  the  foreign  artist ;  and  certainly,  as  far  as  energy,  rigour, 
a  proud  and  generous  disposition,  and  an  uncompromising 
dignity,  were  typical  of  tbe  sons  of  Komulua,  the  Irish 
painter  justified  the  old  gentleman's  discernment.  He  en- 
tertained fur  my  friend  a  predilection  he  took  every  oppor- 
,  tunity  of  exhibiting,  being  heard  to  declare  Barry  more  of  a 
Boman  than  the  whole  tribe  of  degenerate  wretches  who 
dwelt  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river.  But  what  set  the 
seal  to  tlie  custoae's  approbation,  waa  the  unbounded  vene- 
ration both  felt  in  common  for  the  huge  Torao  at  the  es< 
tremity  of  the  gallery — a  colossal  fragment,  known  through- 
out Europe  from  the  many  costs  which  have  been  taken 
therefrom,  and  which,  in  shape,  size,  and  wonderful  attri- 
butes, can  only  be  compared  to  the  Blarney  stone ;  of  which, 
to  tbe  vulgar,  it  appears  an  exact  fae-simile.  Fabio'a  eyn 
glistened  with  delight  as  he  watched  our  enthusiast  sketch- 
ing this  glorious  block,  day  after  day,  in  every  position  and 
attitude.  An  invitation  to  his  apartments  in  the  palace  was 
the  result ;  thus  Barry  became  acquainted  with  Miireella. 


504  PATHXB  pbovt'b  beuqitss. 

Pure,  delightful,  heavenlj  being !  sixty  yean  baye  passed 
oyer  1117  heaa,  and  reyolutions  haye  swept  oyer  the  &oe  of 
Europe,  and  monarchies  haye  passed  away,  and  for  more 
than  naif  a  century  thy  ashes  haye  slept  in  the  church  d 
Santa  Cecilia  in  traslevere  ;  but  thy  ima^  is  now  before  me, 
loyely  and  animated  as  when  thy  smile  cheered  the  wild 
Irish  artist,  whom  thou  didst  unfeignedly  loye !  In  that 
church,  near  the  tomb  of  the  martyred  saint  (thy  model  and 
thy  patroness),  a  marble  tablet,  caryed  by  the  hand  of  th; 
heart-broken  father,  may  yet  be  seen,  with  the  words,— 

*'  MaBCSLLA  CeKTUBIOKI,  DI  AKKI  18,  TBBGIKS  BoMAiri, 

PACE  IHPLOBA."  That  posco  is  assuredly  thine.  Of  too 
gentle  a  texture  wert  thou  to  endure  the  trials  of  life  and 
the  rude  contact  of  adversity.  Hence  in  mercy  wert  thou 
withdrawn  from  this  boisterous  world,  and  receiyed  into  the 
harbour  of  rest.  With  grief  I  record  thy  early  fate ;  but 
I  sorrow  not  for  thee !  My  mind  loyes  to  dwell  on  the 
probable  destiny  of  my  friend,  had  Heayen  granted  him  a 
partner  through  life,  adviser,  help,  tutelary  deity,  in  her 
whom  he  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  for  ever.  Of  what 
avail  are  the  fond  speculations  of  friendship  ?  Both  are 
loug  since  no  more ;  and  I  myself  must  soon  rejoin  them  in 
the  mysterious  region  that  stretches  out  beyond  the  grave. 
Never  shall  I  forget  the  Christmas  of  1769.  In  Italy, 
the  annual  occurrence  of  that  merry  festival  is  accompanied, 
in  the  family  circle  as  well  as  in  the  public  rejoicings,  with 
certain  demonstrations  of  religious  feeling ;  it  is  not  merely, 
as  in  England.,  a  season  of  carousing  and  revelry.  The  pic- 
turesque appearance  and  grotesque  costume  of  the  rustic 
minstrels,  who  come  down  from  the  Apennines,  and  fill  the 
city  with  the  melody  of  their  bagpipes  (not  unlike  a  group 
of  JBethlehem  shepherds),  is  not  the  least  interesting  feature 
in  the  solemnity.  Church  ceremonies,  appealing  to  the 
senses  of  the  people  (for,  in  spite  of  the  march  of  intellect, 
there  must  ever  be  an  outward  and  visible  display  of  reli- 
gious worship  for  the  bulk  of  mankind),  kindle  in  a  mar- 
vellous degree  the  fervour  of  these  southern  votaries, 
impressing  them  with  sentiments  appropriate  to  the  com- 
memoration of  Christ's  nativity.  It  was  then  that  through 
Barry,  who  was  a  constant  visitor  of  I^abio  Centurioni,  in 
fact,  looked  on  in  the  light  of  an  accepted  son-in-law,  I  be* 


THE   PilKTEE,   BAEKT. 


SOS 


came  intimat*  with  the  old  eustode's  family,  nnd  mixed  with 
the  circle  that  gathered  round  his  fireside.  Countless  the 
hnppr  evenings  we  spent  in  the  society  of  those  good  and 
hospitable  people — many  the  moments  of  unmised  enjoy- 
rneut.  Excellence  in  music  is  the  birthright  of  every 
daughter  of  Italy ;  Mareella's  voice  thrilled  with  a  delicacy 
of  feeling  and  depth  of  expression  it  has  not  been  my  fortune 
to  meet  with  in  any  part  of  the  continent.  Memory  will 
■t  this  distance  bring  back  snatches  of  that  exquisite  me- 
lody :  and  just  now  a  ballad,  replete  with  graceiiil  piety, 

Hwbich  1  believe  to  be  of  her  own  composition,  presents  itself 

O  my  recollection.     It  is  but  aftagment;  but  as  I  never 

^w  it  in  print,  I  cannot  supply  the  portion  deficient  to 

mplete  the  poem,  which  contains  a  supposed  dialogue  be- 

■een  the  Virgin  Mary,  a  gipsy,  and  St.  Joseph,  in  the  land 

^Of  Egypt. 

La  Zimgartllm. 

Aggii  qua  nnii  stKUvUa 


1 


Con  quwto  bambino  bdlo 

Buoiia  por  'ela  Bomarella  j 

Che  '«Wi  con  m*  innimora  i 

Psclia  B  fleno  oe  ne  getlo, 
Ti  b  pa  tulti  lo  ricotto. 

Dio  ti  ulvi  bella  sigaon  1 

Siele  atanabi  e  mtwchiiii; 

E  tu,  T««hia™Uo,  ««li ! 

Credo,  poTBTi  pBllegriui, 

Sei  nmiilo  sempre  a  piedi  j 

Arele  fsHo,  o  bella  flglia. 

Da  trececlo  e  tante  inigUi. 

Alia  tua  bulla  pivsenxa 

0  ub-  i  hello  -sto  flglianllo 

TuHb  mi  »nitQ  rivereniai, 

Che  par  fotlo  pon  pvnnello. 

E  ancor  (Twlo  por  wrto 

Cbe  Tenite  dal  deaerto. 

Bella  madre  e  bello  BgUa. 

Side  lUnohi  dclU  ria, 

Ifon  aretd  pia  paim 

Ti  oS^ritro  la  citM  mia  -, 

T'  indoTino  l"  avenlu™, 

Betiehe  lOua  poienrlla. 

Hoi  aignora  ooal  aino. 

Sod  una  doom  ZiugareDa. 

Faedam  wmpre  1'  indoTino. 

Se  non  k  come  meriute. 

Quel  piociolin'  mi  torils  il  core 

Siguoruccia  perdonrtle, 

Quent'  onor  votete  famii? 

Famnii  graiio  Btcnnriiia 

Queeto  pUcer  rol.:le  dar.ni  P 

Daimui  i|ui  lBauBiiiauina,Jlp.i 

CI)c  jFlig^t  inter  ^Egyj)!.    9  fialUti. 

Thin's  a  ligind  thal'i  bild  of  a  i^ftj   Adl)  >1i«  lited  In  the  ityn  irhen  out  L( 
In  the  lanil  •h«re  Ihe  l^rtsldi  be :  On  hit  n»i<)igi'>  iiDinar 

■ndhMbfU  '  EgrplMllea, 


J 


506 


FAXnSB  PROUT'S  BELIQUE8. 


This  Egyptian  held  ooDverse  with  magie, 
methinks, 
And  the  future  was  given  to  her  gace ; 
For  an  obeiiiik  marked  her  abode,  and  a 
sphinx 
(m  her  tbi-eshold  kept  vigil  always. 
She  was  pensive  and  ever  alone,  nor  was 
seen 
In  the  haunts  of  the  dissolute  crowd ; 
But  communed  with   the  ghosts  of  the 
Pharaohs,  I  ween. 
Or  with  visitors  wrapped  in  a  shroud. 

And  there  came  an  old  man  from   the 
desert  one  day, 
With  a  mHid  on  a  mule,  by  that  road ; 
And  a  child  on  her  bosom  reclined— and 
the  way 
Led  them  straight  to  the  gipsy's  abode : 
And  they  seemed  to  have  travelled  a  wea* 
ritiome  path, 
From  their  home  many,  many  a  league— 
From  a  tyrant's  pursuit,  from  an  enemy's 
wrath. 
Spent  with   toil,  and  o'ereome   with 
fatigue. 

And  the  gipsy  came  forth  from  her  dwell- 
ing,  and  prayed 
That   the   pilgrims   would  rest  them 
awhile ; 
And  she  nflfered  her  couch  to  that  delicate 
maid, 
Who  had  come  many  many  a  mile ; 
And  she  fondled  the  babe  with  affection's 
csresH, 
And  she  begged  the  old  man  woald  re- 
pose; 
Here  the  stranger,  she  said,  ever  finds 
free  access. 
And  tiie  wanderer  balm  for  his  woes. 

Then  her  guests  from  the  glare  of  the 
noonday  she  led 
To  a  seat  in  her  grotto  so  cool ; 
Where   sli«  spread  them  a  lM[nqnet  of 
fruits  — and  a  shed. 
With  a  manger,  was  found  for  the  mule : 


With  the  wine  of  the  pelra-tcee,  wifk  fki 
dates  newly  called. 
All  the  toll  of  the  road  she  begvUed; 
And  with  song  in  a  language  mysteiloaf 
she  lulled 
On  her  boacun  the  wayfaxing^Ud. 

When  the  gipey  anon  in  her  Ethiop  had 

Placed  the  infant's  diminutive  pala, 
Oh  'twas  fearfhl  to  see  how  theieatoTM 
she  scanned 
Of  the  babe  in  his  alomber  so  calm  1 
Well  she  notod  each  mark  and  each  to> 
row  that  crosaed 
O'er  the  tracings  of  deatiny'a  line : 
"  Whbxcx  caxb  tb  r  she  cried,  hi  astoo- 
ishment  loat, 

"  FOBTHIB  OBIU>  IB  OF  LDTBAOB  Dmnr* 

** From  the  village  of  Raaareth*  Joseph 
replied, 
"Where  we  dwelt  in  the  landof tke 
Jew; 
We  have  fled  firom  a  tyrant,  whoee  gir> 
ment  is  dyed 
In  the  gore  of  the  children  be  dew: 
We  were  told  to  remain  till  an  angd's 
command 
Should  appoint  us  the  hoar  to  rrtuni: 
But  till  then  we  inhabit  the  for^ignefi 
land. 
And  in  Egypt  we  make  our  soJoarD.** 

"  Then  ye  tarry  with  rae  P  cried  the  gipif 
in  Joy, 
**  And  ye  make  of  my  dwelling  joaz 
home : 
Many  yearn  have  I   prayed  that  the  Is- 
raelite boy 
(Blessed  hope  of  the  Gentiles!)  would 
come." 
And  she  kisned  both  the  feet  of  the  iofkot 
and  knelt. 
And  adored  him  at  once ; — then  a  smile 
Lit  the  face  of  his  mother,  who  cheerfolly 
dwelt 
With  her  host  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile. 


The  character  and  prospects  of  Barry  Dever  presented 
themselves  to  his  frienas  under  a  brighter  aspect  than  dur- 
ing the  period  of  his  intimacy  with  the  amiable  indwellers 
of  the  Torrione  de*  Venti  in  the  Vatican  gardens.  The  sooth- 
ing influence  of  milder  affections  became  manifest  in  the 
quasi  filial  attention  with  which  he  deferred  to  the  counsels 
of  Marcella's  father,  who  having,  in  virtue  of  his  office,  seen 
many  successive  generations  of  young  enthusiasts  engaged 
m  the  same  professional  walk,  was  qualified  to  guide  and  to 
advise.   The  privilege  of  access  to  the  gallery  at  hours  when, 


THE    PAIHTEB,  BARBT. 


B^blished  regulations,  all  otbers  were  excluded,  was  _ 
itft^  whicli  Barry  kaew  how  to  appreciate ;  and 
lotiee,  because  it  gave  occasion  to  an  occurrence  I 
alone  witnessed,  and  which  I  prtimised  during  his  lifeliniB 
never  to  disclose.  Since  hia  death  I  have  no  motive  for 
either  publishing  or  concealing  this  anecdote;  to  tell  the 
truth,  I  apprehended  that  its  very  singularity  would  perhaps, 
in  the  estimation  of  many,  be  a  reoeon  for  refuaing  credence 
to  the  narrative  j  but  in  the  eyes  of  the  few,  for  whom  I 
write  {contentuB  paucU    Uctoriivs),    I  hope  tbe   romantic 

P«i»hire  of  the  traoaaction  will  not  damage  the  atatemcnt,  or 
jtidice  my  veracity ;  it  being  a  trite  saying,  that  matters 
re  estraordinary  occur  in  real  life  than  are  recorded  in 
ion. 
3ftrry  loved  to  study  in  the  Vatican  gallery  by  night ;  an 
indulgence  the  mildness  of  the  season  (it  was  now  the  close 
of  May  1770)  would  allow  of.  The  custom  of  jvermitting 
foreigners  to  eiplore  the  museum  by  torchlight,  on  payment 
of  fees,  had  not  been  established;  James  had  no  apprehension 
of  intruders  on  the  privacy  of  his  studious  hours.  There,  by 
the  glare  of  a  bronze  lamp,  he  would  sit  while  the  city  was 
hushed  to  repose ;  and  while  the  glimmering  £ame  would 
cast  a  shadowy  lustre  on  the  contours  of  some  antique 
group,  he  would  sketch  the  forms  of  the  mighty  dead,  drink- 
ing deep  at  the  fount  of  &reek  inspiration.  I  have  before 
_adverted  to  the  notion  he  had  imbibed,  that  the  English 
at  Borne  were  jealously  watchful  of  his  studies  ;  that 
ought  to  appropriate  the  conceptions  of  bis  teeming 
,  ,  and  to  rob  bim  of  his  originality,  Hence  to  Barry 
itbe  consciousness  of  being  unobserved  constituted  the 
charm  of  these  noctiiraal  pursuits :  none  but  I  had  been 
allowed  access  to  his  vigils  in  the  gallery — a  mark  of  friend- 
ship I  have  reason  to  remember.  On  the  evening  of  the 
20th  of  May  we  had  both  been  staving  up  late  with  the  old 
custode  in  the  Torrione.  Barry  h.id  been  rather  warmly 
engaged  with  his  host  Jn  a  controversy  respecting  the  rela- 
tive  merits  of  the  recumbent  Cleopatra,  and  the  reclining 
fignre  of  a  colossal  river  god,  supposed  to  be  the  Nile,  As 
I  took  some  interest  on  behalf  of  his  favourite  the  Cleo- 
patra, he  oifered  to  accompany  me  thither,  with  the  old  cus- 
tode'a  permission,  and  give  me  ocular  demonstration  of  tba 


■•rti 
Ke: 
Bbn< 


508  PATHSB  ^bout's  beliqites. 

correctnefls  of  his  views.  As  by  this  time  (it  was  nesr  mid- 
night) we  had  demolished  not  a  few  flasks  of  petuano,  I  felt 
nothing  loath ;  so  we  folded  our  cloaks  about  us,  and  I  bore 
the  torch.  I  question  whether  Diomed  and  Ulysses,  in  thdr 
night  excursion  across  the  plain  of  Troy,  experienced  loftier 
emotions  than  did  we,  as  with  echoing  tr^d  we  paced  the 
solemn  halls  of  the  pontifical  palace,  ^tween  ranKs  of  an- 
tique statues,  confronting  us  in  every  possible  variety  of 
attitude, — menace,  grief,  admiration,  welcome,  or  terror. 
Nothing  appeared  so  illustrative  of  a  visit  to  tike  shades  of 
Erebus, — 

**  Ibant  obscuri  boU  Bub  nocte  per  ombrmm 
Ferqae  domos  Ditb  Tacuas  et  inania  r^gna.*' — Mn.  vi. 

Barry  would  pause  before  some  marble  favourite,  introduce 
me  to  its  individual  merits,  teach  me  to  throw  the  light  ju- 
diciously, delivering  himself  withal  of  some  of  those  s&iking 
theories  which  I  loved  to  trace  in  his  subsequent  print^ 
lectures  on  the  art  he  adored.  But  as  we  slowly  approached 
the  sola  de  Cleopatra,  the  term  of  our  appointed  pilgrim- 
age, a  sudden  and  unaccountable  start  on  the  part  of  my 
inend  dashed  the  torch  out  of  my  hand  —  and  ''  I'll  be 
hanged,  Prout  !*'  cried  he,  *'  if  the  ruffians  dont  listen  to 
every  word  I  utter :  did  you  not  see  that  scoundrel  NoUe- 
kens  lurking  behind  the  Antinous? — by  Gr — d,  'tis  he!"— 
"  For  shame !"  I  rejoined ;  "  can't  you  keep  from  cursing 
at  this  hour  of  night,  and  in  the  very  residence  of  the  eoTe- 
reign  pontiff  ?" — "  *Tis  true,  by  hell  I"  cried  out  my  infu- 
riated friend,  reckless  of  that  stem  reporter  for  the  celestial 
press,  the  recording  angel,  who  no  doubt  dropped  a  deter- 
sive tear  on  an  oath  the  decided  offspring  of  monomania ; 
''  but  I'll  soon  teach  the  rascal  to  exercise  elsewhere  his 
talents  as  eaves  dropper,  spy,  and  plagiarist!" — So  saying, 
he  rushed  to  the  spot  where  he  fancied  he  had  seen  his  foe ; 
and,  spite  of  the  obscurity  of  the  hall,  on  the  floor  of  which 
lay  the  semi-extinguished  torch,  I  could  still  perceive  that 
lie  had  in  fact  grappled  not  with  a  mere  creation  of  his  trou- 
bled fancy,  but  with  a  bond  fide  human  shape,  muffled  in 
the  ample  folds  of  a  long  ecclesiastical  robe,  and  vieldiDg 
apparently  without  resistance  to  the  rude  energy  oi  its  u- 
sauant.    Barry  soon  relaxed  his  grasp,  when  he  had  dearly 


THE  PiixTEn,  bakhy. 


SOS 


Mccrtained  that  hia  prisoner  wfts  an  old  prieat  and  ao  Italian; 
but  muttered  atill,  with  indomitable  wrath, "  You  may  thank 
your  Btare,  my  hoy,  that  you  wem't  that  blackguard  Nolle- 
kena." — "^  Grazie  tunle  /"  waa  the  ejaculation  of  the  venerahle 
captive,  when  he  had  sufficiently  recoyered  from  his  at&ight: 
"your  mistake  had  well  nigh  had  consequences  which  none 
would  regret  more  than  yourselvea.     You  are  foreigners, 
.  and,  if  1  may  judge  from  yomf  idiom,  English  ;  I  am  a  resi- 
l  dent  of  the  palace,     ^o  doubt  a  love  for  the  arts  has  occa- 
il  jour  presence  bexe  at  this  unusual  hour.     'Tia  welt. 
w  me  towBJ'ds  the  tola  di  SanDamaio."  There  was  some- 
liiing  authoritative,  ae  well  as  conciliatory,  in  the  tone  of 
)iui  new  acquaintaDce ;  and  as  I  ahewed  a  disposition  to  oc- 
bept  the  invitation  of  one  whom  I  guessed  to  he  a  dignitary 
'  the    Papal   court,  Barry    did    not   hesitate  to  accom- 
pany me. 

We  paused  not,  we  spoke  not.  Onwards  we  went  through 
the  diji'ereut  corridors  and  antechambers  that  separate  theVo- 
ticou  gallery  &om  that  portion  of  the  palace  which  our  guide 
hadmentioned.  Each  iuwk,  each  door,6eemed  to  recognise  the 
passage  of  a  master,  flying  open  at  his  touch.  At  length  we 
entered  what  appeared  to  be  a  study.  The  walls  were  bung 
with  riemieh  tapestry;  and  a  bronze  lamp  of  antique  fashion, 
dependent  from  the  gilt  oak  ceiling,  faintly  illumiaed  the 
Hpartmeut.  In  the  centre,  a  table  inlaid  with  exquisite 
mosaic  waa  strewed  with  various  documents,  seemingly  of  an 
official  charsetrer ;  amongst  which  a  single  book,  though  torn 
and  dis6gured,  jjuickly  attracted  my  eye.  I  itnew  at  a 
glance  the  familiar  folio.  It  was  a  copy  of  the  standard 
regulations  of  my  old  tutors,  "Ihstitutcm  Societatia 
Jbsc."  We  were  seated  at  the  Italian  prelate's  request. 
A  servant  in  the  papal  livery  waa  summoned  by  a  rapid 
signal  from  an  adjoinmg  room ;  a  brief  order  to  bring  vnne 
and  refreshments  was  delivered,  and  executed  with  magic 
promptitude.  Meantime  Barry  kept  bis  eye  on  me  to  ascer- 
tain what  I  thought  of  our  singiilar  position.  Our  host  left 
no  spa4!e  for  reflection,  but  preaaed  us  with  genuine  hospi- 
tality to  partake  of  what  lay  before  us.  Wine  is  the  great 
disHolvent  of  distrust,  and  generator  of  cordiality  Never 
was  tbia  more  forcibly  ezemplihed  than  in  my  friend'a  case, 
who,  totally  oblivious  of  the  late  awkvttkrd  aculfle  between 


510  VATHXB  PBOT7T*8   BBLIQTJE8. 

himself  and  the  most  reverend  dignitary,  launched  out  into 
a  diversity  of  topics  connected  with  the  fine  arts,  of  which 
our  entertainer  appeared  to  he  a  sincere  and  enlightened 
admirer. 

Thinking  it  high  time  to  mix  in  the  conversation,  ^  I  am 
happy  to  find,'*  said  I,  quaffing  a  glass  of  Malaga^  *'  that  the 
Jesuits  have  a  friend  at  the  court  of  Qanganelli." 

"  Speak  you  thus,  abbatino  f "  rejoined  our  host.  "  Y<m 
are  then  an  admirer  of  Loyola's  institute.  Are  there  many 
such  in  France,  where  it  appears  you  have  studied  ?" 

I  described  the  G^Uican  episcopal  body  as  unanimously 
adverse  to  the  proposed  destruction  of  that  society. 

*'  The  king  of  France,  the  kiags  of  Spain  and  Portugid, 
think  differently,  young  man,"  said  the  prelate  with  some 
warmth,  and  with  a  tone  that  only  served  to  kindle  my 
seal  in  defence  of  my  old  professors. 

*'  The  Due  de  Choiseul  and  Madame  de  Pompadour  may 
have  persuaded  the  imbecile  Louis  XV.  to  adopt  the  views 
of  the  writers  in  the  EncyclopSdie — ^the  minister  of  his  most 
Catholic  Majesty  of  Spain  may  fancy  the  property  of  the 
Society,  in  the  mother  country,  in  South  .^onerica,  and  in 
the  East  Indies,  a  fur  object  of  plunder.  Marquis  de  Pom- 
bal  may  entertain  similar  opimons  at  Lisbon ;  but  surely 
the  judgment  of  a  knot  of  courtly  conspirators,  acting  in 
unhallowed  concert,  should  find  its  proper  weight  in  the 
balance  of  the  sanctuary.  Catherine  of  Bussia  and  the  great 
Frederick  of  Prussia  think  differently  of  these  men,  and 
profess  their  readiness  to  offer  them  an  asylum.  But  if 
it  be  true  (as  it  is  rumoured  in  the  Piazza  Colonna)  that 
the  restoration  of  Avignon,  estreated  by  France  during  the 
late  pontificate,  is  to  be  the  reward  of  Qanganelli's  subser- 
viency to  the  court  of  Versailles,  I  must  say,  and  I  don't 
care  who  hears  it,  that  a  more  flagrant  case  of  simony  and 
corruption  never  disgraced  the  annals  of  the  Vatican.  As 
to  the  wretched  province  regained  by  such  means,  it  may 
well  bear  the  denomination  given  of  old  to  the  Potter's 

field,  HAKEL  DAMA  ! " 

A  dismal  scowl  passed  over  the  brow  of  my  interlocutor. 
"  Is  it  not  the  first  duty  of  the  supreme  pastor,"  he  hastily 
observed,  "  to  conciliate  the  heads  of  the  Christian  flock  ? 
Your  own  country  teaches  a  lesson  on  pontifical  obstinacy. 


THE   PAISTEB,    BABDY. 


611 


Had  Clement  VTI.  shewn  lesi  rigour  in  refusing  to  your 
eighth  Harry  liia  Jemimd,  by  inaiating  on  the  veir  doubtful 
canon  law  of  the  cnse,  England  would  at  this  Aay  be  the 
most  valuable  ffeoffof  St.  Peter's  domain.  In  bygone  days, 
the  request  of  Philippe  Le  Bel,  backed  by  the  emperor,  the 
kings  of  England  and  Spain,  was  deemed  sufiieieat,  in  the 
teeth  of  evideuL-e,  to  condemn  the  noble  brotherhood  of  the 
Temple.  These  "ordert"  are  of  human  institution;  the 
Jesuits  must  be  yielded  up  to  the  exigency  of  the  times. 
To  calm  the  effervescence  of  the  moment,  the  Pope  majr 
■afelv  dismiss  his  '  Janissariee.'  " 

"  Yet  the  day  may  come,"  I  replied.  "  when  Christianity 
may  want  the  aid  of  acience  and  of  literature — when  the 
paltry  defence  of  ignorant  bigotiy  will  be  no  longer  of  any 
»*ftil — when  all  the  motley  host  of  remaining  monks  and 
friars,  white,  black,  and  gii^y,  will  find  their  inability  to  fill 
the  space  left  void  by  the  suppression  of  that  intellectuftl 
snd  redeeming  obder  which  once  destroyed  can  only  re 
appear  in  a  feeble  and  inefficient  imitation." 

Two  hours  had  now  elapsed  since  our  midnight  ndvenlurc ; 
and  the  warning  chime  of  the  palace  belfry  gave  me  an  o|]- 
portnuity,  in  accordance  with  Barry's  repeated  signals,  to 
take  leave.  The  prelate,  having  carefully  ascertained  our 
names  and  address,  placed  us  under  the  guidance  of  the  at* 
tendant  in  waiting,  who  led  us  by  the  eorlile  dn  Suitttri  to 
the  Seala  regia ;  and  we  finally  stood  in  front  of  St.  Peter's 
Church.  We  paused  there  awhile,  little  dreaming  that  it 
was  the  lost  night  we  should  pass  in  Some.  The  moon  was 
up,  and  the  giant  obelisk  of  Sesostris,  that  had  measured 
the  sands  of  Lvbia  with  its  shadow,  now  cast  its  gnomon  to 
the  verj'  foot  of  that  glorious  portico.  Gushing  with  peren- 
nial murmur,  the  two  immense  jelt  d'eau  flung  out  their 
cataracte  on  each  side  of  the  sublime  monument,  and  alone 
broke  with  monotonous  sound  the  silence  of  thf^  night. 

Poor  Marcella !  those  two  hours  had  been  a  space  of 
severe  trial  and  sad  suspense  for  thee ;  but  we  knew  not 
till  months  had  elapsed  the  fatal  consequences  that  ensued. 
Barry,  when  he  parted  with  her  father,  had  promised  to  re- 
main but  a  moment  in  the  gallery  ;  and  old  Centurioni  bade 
his  daughter  wait  up  for  his  guests,  while  he  himself  sought 
hia  ^uiet  pillow.     Hours  rolled  on,  and  we  came  nut.     The 


612  7ATHIB  PROUT's   BELIQUES. 

idea  of  nocturnal  asBassination,  imfortonatelj  too  familiar 
to  the  Boman  mind,  awakened  b  j  the  non-appearance  of  the 
Irish  urtist,  took  rapid  possession  of  her  kindling  im^na. 
tion,  as  she  watched  in  the  Torrione  in  vain  for  his  return 
The  transition  from  doubt  to  the  certainty  of  some  indefr 
nable  danger  was  the  work  of  an  instant.  Yielding  to  the 
bold  impulse  of  hereditary  instinct,  she  seized  the  bronze 
lamp  that  burned  on  the  mantelpiece,  misped  a  Damascus 
blaae,  the  weapon  of  some  crusader  in  olden  time,  and  ghding 
with  the  speed  of  thought,  was  soon  far  advanced  in  her 
searching  progress  through  the  corridors  and  galleries  of  the 
palace.  Ilad  the  statue  of  Lucretia  leaped  from  its  pedestal 
it  might  present  a  similar  appearance  m  gesture  and  deve- 

Sortment.  Alas,  she  was  never  to  re-enter  the  parental 
welling !  Ere  the  morning  dawned  the  romantic  girl  was 
a  prisoner  in  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo,  under  suspicion  of 
bemg  employed  by  the  Jesuits  to  assassinate  Gunganelli ! 

Strange  whispers  were  current  at  break  of  day  : — "  An 
Irish  painter  and  an  Irish  priest,  both  emissaries  of  '  the 
Society y*  had  been  detected  lurking  in  the  Vatican:  an  assault 
had  been  committed  on  the  sacred  person  of  the  pontiff: 
they  had  avowed  all  in  a  secret  interview  with  his  holiness, 
and  had  confessed  that  they  were  employed  by  Lawrence 
Ricci,  the  general  of  the  order."  At  the  English  coffee- 
house in  the  Piazza  di  Spagna,  the  morning's  ^ssip  was 
early  circulated  in  Barry's  hearing :  the  truth  flashed  on  his 
mind  at  once.  He  ran  to  my  apartments.  I  was  thun- 
derstruck. 

Nothing  had  as  yet  transpired  concerning  Marcella's  im- 
prisonment ;  and  we,  unfortunately,  resolved  on  a  step 
which  gave  a  colourable  pretext  to  accusation.  In  the  hurry 
of  our  alarm,  we  agreed  on  quitting  Eome  at  once.  Barry 
took  the  road  to  Bologna ;  ana  I  was  by  noon  in  the  Pontine 
marshes,  on  my  way  to  Naples.  Our  friends  thought  us 
safely  immured  in  those  cells  which  the  "holy  office"  still 
keeps  up  at  its  head-quarters  in  the  Dominican  convent, 
called,  inmically  enough,  " La  Minerva" 

Old  Centurioni  was  debarred  the  privilege  of  seeing  his 

damrhter ;  in  silent  anguish  he  mourned  over  his  child,  and 

bemoaned  the  fate  of  the  young  foreigners,  who,  he  doubted 

f%  QcyodiULyvii  Vm  Vsjsnda  of  '*  justice."    But  the  wont 

jma«    ^^)A9^  «Di9^^  \)KSSi%,^  ^^(^^2M^  To&ooaft.  ^;«A  too 


L    SERIES   OF   MODEHS   LATIH   POETS. 


SIS 


\ 


pure,  ond  vjoae  spirit  was  too  iofty,  to  endure  tbe  diegrace 
tad  inf&ray  imputed  to  lier,  remained  haughtily  and  indig- 
nantly passive  under  the  hnrsli  and  unmerited  infliction. 
She  gave  no  sign.  An  inflammatory  fever,  the  combined 
result  of  her  uncertainty  concerning  the  fate  of  her  lover, 
and  irritation  at  the  very  thought  of  such  heiooua  guilt 
thua  laid  Jo  her  charge,  closed  in  leas  tlian  a  fortnight  her 
krthly  career.  Her  death  set  the  seal  to  my  friend's  evil 
destiny. 


1  ■^^{*i.--fy<^.  "  '-_ 


'-^T-V^O^; 


A  SERIES  OF  MODEEN  LATIN  POETS.        ■" 
Cbapteb  I. — The  Silevtobm,  a  Fobu.    By  Jerome  Vroi. 

*'  Scfc  AlflBBandrO  il  mio  eignor  FanU!si; ; 
O  dotta  compagniH  che  oeco  rncna ! 
Bloaio,  Pierio,  e  Vmi  OemoneBB 
D'alU  fttcondu  inmaicnbil  Tens." 

AbioStO,  Orl.  Far.  cant.  alU,  at.  liiL 

"  Immortal  TiDi  !  oo  whote  honoured  brow 
The  poet'i  btys  anil  critic'i  ivy  grow." 

Pork's  awy  on  CrlUcam. 

W  tile  aouthern  extremity  of  the  French  metropolis  there 

lieth  an  extensive  burying- ground,  which  rejoiceth  (if  any 

each  lugubrious  concern  can  be  said  to  rejoice)  in  the  name 

o{ "  Cimetiire  d»  Mont  ParmiAu."     Some  Cockney  tourists 

hare  had  the  curiosity  to  visit  this  Parnassian  grave-yaru, 

under  the  impression  that  it  waa  a  kind  of  Gallican  "  Poeta' 

Corner,"   or  sepulchral   "limbo,"  set    apart    for    the    de- 

ceaaed  children  of  the  muse,  in  the  same  national  spirit  that 

..nised  the  "  H6t«l  des  Invalidea,"    and  inacrihea  on  the 

I  efaurch  of  Ste.  Genevieve,  or  "Pantheon"  (where  Marat 

■  sod  Mirabeau  and  Voltaire  were  entombed),  that  lapidary 

lampoon,  "  Aux  grands  kommet  ia patrie  reconnaiisonlr."    Kw 

Boch  object,  however,  appears  to  have  been  contemplated  by 

the  monicipal  authorities  of  Paris,  when  they  inclosed  the 

il  fidd  thua  whiniBcally  designated. 


514  TATHXIt  pbovt's  mSUQUXS. 

m 

A  collection  of  poetical  effusiona  in  any  one  of  the  ^si 
langoagea  would,  we  apprehend,  considering  the  present 
state  and  prospects  of  literature,  turn  out  to  be,  in  the 

goomiest  sense  of  the  word,  a  grave  undertaking.  Hebrew, 
reek,  Latin,  and  Anglo-Saxon,  are  truly  and  really  dead, 
defunct,  mute,  unspoken. 

«  Monsieiir  Malbrook  at  mort,  est  moit  et  intori.'* 

Hebrew  is  dead,  and  no  mistake! — the  Wandering  Jew  must 
have  found  that  out  long  since.  We  yenture  to  affirm  that 
Salathiel  (who,  according  to  Croly,  lurkis  about  the  syna- 
gogue in  St.  AIban*8  Place)  has  often  laughed  at  the  tketai 
of  our  modem  Babbim,  and  at  those  pothooks  ''  with  points" 
which  are  hawked  about  among  the  learned  as  copies  of  the 
original  Hebrew  Scriptures.  As  to  the  idiom  of  King 
Alfied,  to  say  nothing  of  Queen  Boadicea,  how  few  of 
our  literati  are  conversant  therein  or  cognisant  thereof! 
Kemble,  Wright,  and  Lingard  (pauci  quos  aquus  amavit 
Jupiter),  enioy  an  undisturbed  monopoly  of  Anglo-Saxon — 
Greek  exhibits  but  few  symptoms  of  vitality ;  no  Barnes, 
no  Porson,  no  Wolff,  grace  these  degenerate  days :  nay, 
the  mitre  seems  to  have  acted  as  an  extinguisher  on  the 
solitary  light  of  Bloomfield.  Oxford  hath  now  nothing  in 
common  with  the  Bo^f  000;  but  the  name,  and  the  groves 
of  Cam  have  ceased  to  be  those  of  Academus.  Things  are 
not  much  better  on  the  Continent.  While  Buonaparte  from 
the  rock  of  St.  Helena  still  threatened  Europe,  we  recollect, 
in  a  provincial  city  of  France,  a  candidate  for  the  office  of 
to^^Ti-librarian,  who  was  outvoted  by  an  ignorant  competitor, 
and,  on  inquiry,  found  that  many  of  the  royalist  constitu- 
ency, hearmg  of  bis  being-  an  ardent  "  Hellenist,''  had 
fancied  him  a  very  dangerous  character  indeed.  Latin  is  still 
the  language  of  the  Bomish  liturgy,  and  consequently  may 
have  some  claim  to  rank,  if  not  as  a  living  tongue,  at  least 
as  one  half-alive  :  "  defunctus  adhuc  loquitur.*'  Though,  in 
sober  truth,  if  we  are  to  judge  from  the  quality  generally 
met  with  in  that  quarter,  we  should  be  inclined  to  say  that 
the  tongue  of  Cicero  had  long  since  gone  to  the  dogs. 
Weare  tempted,  however,to  try  onthese  "  unknown  tongues** 


.    BEBIES   OF   MOBEUX   LATIIf  fOETS.  i>l5 

the  eflVcta  of  tbat  galvajiic  process  which  ia  kuown  to  lie  so 
ailcceseful  in  the  case  of  u  dead  frog.  We  opeu  the  under- 
taking with  a  name  that  maj  give  aasurance  to  our  first  at- 
tempt, and  preveat  uncharitable  folka  from  applpng  to  our 
operatioDB  the  old  Burgicnl  sarcasm  of  experimenlum  in  animd 
vili.  The  beautiful  poem  of  Vida  ahall  fitly  introduce  our 
Beries,  and  usher  in  tlieae  "  modem  instances  "  of  Lvelv"  com- 
positiou — lively  even  in  a  dead  language.  It  will  soon  Se  seen 
whether  Prout  can  be  allowed  by  the  local  authorities  to  cany 
on  the  trade  of  resurrectionist  in  the  Cimetiirt  du  Mont  Par- 
naue.  If  the  "  subjects  he  has  disinterred  "  be  not  found 
iresh  enough  for  the  purposes  of  "critical  disBection,  still  we 
do  not  despair;  something  may  be  made  of  the  most  thin 
and  meagre  anatomies,  and  a  good  price  is  occasionally  got 
foraskeletou,  Thehermit  of  Watergrasshill  never  pretended 
to  enjoy  the  faculty  of  old  Ei;ekiel — to  clothe  with  substantial 
flesh  the  dry  frame-wort,  the  "  disjecta  memliru"  the  poetical 
bones  scattered  over  the  vale  of  Tempt; ;  though  such  mi- 
raculous gift  might  find  full  scope  far  its  exercise  in  the 
Golgotha  of  Parnassus.  "And  behold,  there  were  very 
mBoy  bones  in  the  open  valley,  andlol  Ikey  were  ver^  dry." — 
Ezekiel,  xuvii.  2. 

We  bad  first  decided  on  calling  this  new  batch  of  Prout 

Papers  a  "  modern  Latin  anthology,"  but,  on  reflection,  we 

have  discarded  that  common-place  title  ;  the  term  anthology 

bearing  obvious  reference  to  a  still  blooming  flower-garden, 

I  and  being  far  too  fresh  aud  gay  a  conceit  for  our  purpose. 

r  Prefixed  to  a  poetic  miscellany  in  any  of  the  /ii>jn^  tongues, 

^  it  might  pass,  and  even  be  deemed  suitable ;   applied  to 

Latin  or  Greek,  it  would  he  a  palpable  misnomer.     Dried 

plants,  preserved  specimens,  and   shrivelled  exotics,  may 

perhaps  make  up  a  horlm  ttccus ;  but  not  a  garland  or  a 

nosegay. 

Dead  languages  have  one  great  advantage,  however,  over 
r  ■  living.  These  latter  are  fickle  and  perpetually  changing 
r  (like  the  sex),  t-arium  el  mutabile :  whereas  the  former, 
like  old  family  portraits,  are  fiied  in  form,  feature,  and 
expression.  Flesh  and  hlood,  confessedly,  have  not  the 
durability  of  a  marble  bust ;  the  pariance  of  the  ancients  is 
effectually  petrified.  There  is  nothing  "  movable  "  in  the 
"  charactera  "  of  Oreek  and  Latin  phraseology:  all  is  Bt«ct!>i- 


616  7ATHEB  PBOUT'B  BELIQITEB. 

type.  It  18  pleasant  to  compose  in  an  idiom  of  which  every 
word  is  long  since  canonised,  and  has  taken  its  allotted  pla<» 
equally  beyond  the  reach  of  vulgarism  and  the  fear  of  Yidssi- 
tude.  Poor  G^ffirey  Chaucer  knows  to  his  cost  the  mise- 
ries attendant  on  the  use  of  an  obsolete  TocabularY.  Some 
modem  journeyman  has  found  it  expedient  to  dislocate  all 
his  joints,  under  a  pretext  that  his  gait  was  awkward :  to 
rejuvenate  the  old  feUow,  it  was  thought  best  to  take  him  to 
pieces  on  the  plan  of  those  G-reek  children,  who  boiled  their 
grandfather  in  a  magic  cauldron,  and,  as  might  be  expected, 
found  "  death  in  the  pot."  Who  can  now  relish  Sir  Walter 
Baleigh,  or  sigh  with  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  or  sing  the  merry 
ballads  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  whose  popular  poems  graced 
the  dawn  of  metrical  composition  in  England  P  Alas ! 

"  Every  wave  that  we  danoed  on  at  morning  ebbs  firom  us, 
And  leayes  \xb  tit  ere  on  the  oold  beach  alone." 

Dr.  Maginn,  in  his  younger  days,  deeply  pondering  on  the 
fleeting  nature  of  the  beauties  of  modem  compositions, 
and  the  frail  and  transitory  essence  of  all  living  forms  of 
speech,  had  a  notion  of  rescuing  these  charming  things  from 
inevitable  decay,  and  announced  himself  to  the  public  as  a 
poetical  embalmsb.  He  printed  a  proposal  for  wrapping 
up  in  the  imperishable  folds  of  Greek  and  Latin,  with  sundry 
spices  of  his  own,  the  songs  and  ballads  of  these  islands ; 
which,  in  a  few  centuries,  will  be  unintelligible  to  posterity. 
He  had  already  commenced  operating  on  "  Black-eyed 
Susan,"  and  had  cleverly  disembowelled  "  Alley  Croaker ;" 
both  of  which  made  excellent  classic  mummies.  "  Wapping 
Old  Stairs,"  in  his  Latin  translation,  seemed  to  be  the  veri- 
table Gradus  ad  Pamassum;  and  his  Greek  version  of  "'Twas 
in  Trafalgar  Bay  "  beat  all  -Sschylus  ever  sung  about  Sala- 
mis.  What  became  of  the  project,  and  why  the  doctor 
gave  it  up,  we  cannot  tell :  he  is  an  unaccountable  cha- 
racter. But  while  we  regret  this  embalming  plan  should 
have  been  abandoned,  we  are  fr'ee  to  confess  that,  in  our 
opinion,  "  Old  King  Cole,"  in  Hebrew,  was  his  best  effort. 
It  was  equal  to  Solomon  in  all  his  glory. 

These  prolegomena  have  led  us  in  a  somewhat  zigzag  path 
fax  away  from  our  starting-point,  which,  on  looking  back. 


to  be  Jerome  Vida'e  poeiu  of  the  "  Silkworm." 
From  a  niemorandum  in  the  ehest,  we  learn  that  Prout  wm 
induced  to  undertake  this  translatioQ  in  the  year  1825,  when 
400,000  mill  berry-trees  were  planted  on  the  Kingston 
ertates  by  what  was  tailed  "  the  Irish  Silk  Company,"  with 
s  view  to  "  better  the  condition  of  the  peasantry  in  the 
south  of  Ireland."  That  scheme,  somewhat  Bunilar  to  the 
lottery  humbug  lately  got  up  by  Messrs.  Bish  and  O'Con- 
nell,  produced  in  its  day  what  is  sought  to  be  again  effect«d 
by  designing  ecoundrela  now- — it  created  a  temporary  mysti- 
fication, and  stayed  off  the  enactiost  of  poob-i^wb  for 
the  seaaoti.  Prout  early  discovered  the  hollow  treaohery  of 
all  these  projects,  and  locked  up  his  MS.  in  disgust.  Hu 
■eemt,  however,  to  hare  reperused  the  poem  shortly  before 
his  death ;  but  the  recollection  of  so  many  previous  attempts 
at  delusion,  and  the  persevering  profligacy  with  which  the 
dismal  farce  is  renewed,  seems  to  have  bo  strongly  roused 
his  indignant  energies,  that,  if  we  decipher  right  the  cross- 
inga  in  red  letters  on  the  lost  page,  tne  aged  clergyman, 
deeming  it  an  act  of  virtue  to  feel  intense  hatred  for  the 
whole  of  the  selfish  crew  that  thrives  on  Irish  starvation, 
has  laid  bis  dying  curse  on  the  heads,  individually  and  col- 
lectively, of  tord  Limerick,  Spring  Bice,  and  Daniel  O'Con- 
nell, 

OLIVEE  TOEKE. 


WalcrgTauMU,  May  1825. 

Whes  at  the  revival  of  letters  the  beauties  of  ancient  lite- 
rature burst  on  the  modem  mind,  and  revealed  a  new  world 
to  the  human  intellect,  the  first  impulse  of  all  who  had  the 
luck  to  be  initiated  in  the  mysteries  of  classic  taste,  was  to 
model  their  thoughts  and  expressions  on  these  newly-dis- 
covered originals,  and,  like  Saul  among  the  prophets,  to 
catch  with  tne  very  language  of  inspiration  a  more  exalted 
range  of  I'eelinga  and  a  strain  of  loftier  sentiment,  The  lite- 
rati of  Europe  conversed  in  Latin,  and  corresponded  in 
Greek.  It  had  not  yet  entered  into  their  heads,  that  the 
rude  materials  of  Italian,  French,  and  English,  might  be 
wrought  up  into  foriDa  of  as  eiijuisite  perfection  as  they 


513  7ATHEB  PBOUT'S  BELIQUES. 

then  possessed  in  the  remnants  of  classic  eloquence  and 
poetry.  They  despaired  of  making  a  silken  purse  out  of  i 
sow's  ear.  The  example  of  Dante  and  Petrarch  had  not 
emboldened  them ;  the  latter,  indeed,  always  considered  bis 
Latin  poem,  written  on  the  second  Punic  war,  and  entitled 
"  Africa,''*  as  much  more  likely  to  ensure  him  permanent 
renown  than  his  sonnets  or  eanxoni ;  and  the  former  had  to 
struggle  with  his  own  misgivings  long  and  seriously  ere  he 
decided  on  not  trusting  his  Cammedia  to  the  custody  of  Latin. 
Ariosto  has  left  two  vcnumes  of  Latin  poetry.  It  was  deemed 
a  hazardous  experiment  to  embark  intellectual  capital  on 
the  mere  security  of  a  vulgar  tongue ;  and  to  sink  the  riches 
of  the  mind  in  so  depreciated  a  concern  was  thought  a  moet 
unprofitable  investment.  Hence  genius  was  expended  on 
what  appeared  the  more  solid  speculation,  and  none  but 
Greek  and  Latin  ^cripta  were  "  quoted  "  in  the  market  of 
literature.  All  this  "  paper  "  has  wofully  fallen  in  value : 
I  see  little  prospect  of  its  ever  again  looking  up. 

Lord  Bacon  and  Leibnitz,  Newton,  Grotius,  and  Milton, 
long  after  modem  languages  had  become  well-estabhshed 
as  vehicles  of  valuable  thought,  still  adhered  to  the  safer 
side,  and  thus  secured  to  their  writings  European  perusal. 
An  Universal  Language,  a  GJeneral  Pacification,  and  a  Com- 
mon Agreement  among  Christian  sects,  were  three  favourite 
day-dreams  of  Leibnitz ;  but,  alas !  each  of  these  projects 
seems  as  far  as  ever  removed  from  any  prospect  of  reali- 
zation. Latin,  however,  may,  in  some  sense,  be  considered 
the  idiom  most  universally  spread  throughout  the  repubUc 
of  letters.  The  Roman  empire  and  the  Eoman  church,  by 
a  combined  effort,  have  brought  this  result;  and  Yirgil  seems 
to  have  a  prophetic  vision  of  both  these  majestic  agents 
actively  engaged  in  the  dissemination  of  his  poetry,  when 
he  promises  immortality  to  Nisus  and  Euryalus : 

"  Fortunati  ambo  j  si  quid  mea  carmina  possunt 
Nulla  dies  unquam  memori  vos  eximet  sto 
Dum  domug  yEnea  capitoli  immobile  aaxum 
Accolet,  imperiumque  Faier  Romanus  habebit.** 

If  by  domus  JEne<B  he  mean  the  dynasty  of  the  Cteears, 
the  Pater  Romanus  must  allude  to  the  popes ;  and  Leo  the 
Tenth  was  probably  in  his  mind's  eye  when  he  made  this 
vaticvnatioii. 


I   OF   HODESX   LA  CI 


POETB. 


519 


To  excel  in  Latin  poetry  was.  under  that  golden  pontifi- 
cate, a  favourite  accompliehment.  Vida  and  Saimazar, 
Bembo  and  Fracoator,  cultivated  with  buccgsb  this  branch 
of  the  humanities  in  Italy.  The  reformer  Theodore  Beza 
WBB  a  distinguished  Latin  poet  at  Qeneva,  thougji,  in  the 
eeteetiou  of  some  of  his  Bubjects,  he  shews  a  taste  rather 
Akin  to  that  of  our  own  Theodore  Hook  than  marked  bv  any 
evancelical  tendency.  The  Jesuits,  while  they  upheld  the 
papal  empire,  powerful^  contributed  also  to  enlarge  the 
dominionB  of  tlie  Roman  muse ;  and  Casimir  Sarbiewski, 
Eapin,  Vaniere,  and  Sidronius,  were  at  one  time  the  admiiw 
ation  of  all  European  academies.  Buchanan  is  far  better 
known  abroad  by  his  caroiina  than  by  hia  Scotch  history ; 
and  the  Latin  poems  of  Addison,  MOton,  Famell,  with 
those  of  that  witty  Welshman,  Owen  (not  to  speak  of  the 
numerous  Magte  Anglieaaa,  Muta  Eioneaiei,&e.  &c.),  have 
'  fully  established  our  character  for  versification  on  the  conti- 
nent. It  is  not  sufficiently  known  that  the  celebrated  poem, 
De  Connubiis  Ftorum.whicb  gave  the  hint  of  the  Lovei  of  the 
PlanU,*  and  of  Darwin's  Botanic  Garden,  was,  in  fact,  the 
production  of  an  Irishman,  who,  imder  the  name  of  Deme- 
trius de  la  Croix,  published  it  at  Paris  in  1727.  He  was 
from  Kerry,  and  his  real  patronymic  was  Diarmid  M'Eli- 
croe  if  though,  like  his  immortal  countryman,  DinnitA 
Ii&rduer,  he  exchanged  that  for  a  more  euphonous  appella- 
tion. Scotland's  illustrious  aon.  the  "  admirable"  Cncnton, 
whose  brilliant  career  and  character  should,  one  would 
imagine,  have  attracted  the  notice  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  they 
'  "ng  wonderfully  suateptibie  of  historico-romantic  deve- 
lopment.! possessed,  among  other  singular  accomplishments, 
the  faculty  of  exleinporising  in  Latin  Terse ;  and  on  one 
occasion  before  the  assembled  literati  of  Mantua,  having 
previously  dazsiled  hia  auditory  with  a  display  of  philosophy, 
mathematics,  divinity,  and  eloquence,  he  wound  up  the  day's 

*  ThcBo.  in  tbeir  turn,  produced  the  "Loves  of  the  Triuglea,"  in 
the  Jnli'JaeobiH, 

t  Set  Biilanietn  Faruienit  of  I>eTBilluit,  edit,  by  Boerliave,  p.  3. 

J  We  arc  glad  to  find  that  the  author  of  Roukaood  liaa  taken  uplh« 
cndgela  for  thii  neglect «lii<Mjt.     We  antioipale  a  ronumco  in  the  true 
Ml   tpirilo   iU\e   idreadv  ernploved  eo   fdiuitduaif  in 
"■dminblo"  lurpin.     Of  Uiia  more  uiou. 


G90  TATBXR   PBOUT'b  BELIQVXS. 


by  leciidng  a  whole  poem,  on  a  subject  fur- 
nifliied  bj  bis  antagomst,  and  dismiBsed  the  astonished 
crowd  in  raptmes  with  his  nnpremeditated  song.  Thomai 
Dempsteroa,  another  native  of  "  that  ilk,"  won  his  laureli 
in  tiiia  department  of  composition ;  aa  did  William  Lilly, 
tlie  grunmanan,  and  Thomas  Moms,  the  chancellor,  in  Eng- 
land. In  Holland,  Jokaa»e9  Seamdms  gained  renown  b j  hia 
~  m;  Hugo,  by  his  Pia  Detideria;  not  to  mention  I>uuel 
-^ — HB  and  BoxhonL  In  Spain,  Arias  MtmUums^  so  well 
bj  his  edition  of  the  Hebrew  Bible,  was  not  iuele- 
nnft  as  a  Latin  Yersifier.  Cardinal  Barberini  (afterwards 
Pope  Urban  VILL)  ranks  high  among  the  favoured  of  the 
mnae :  tlie  Oxford  edition  of  his  poems  (e  typis  Clarendon. 
1726)  ties  now  before  me.  Ang.  Folitian  S^iger  and 
Sfoodnt  (fie  rupim  Hekmai)  should  not  be  omitted  in  the 
Domendatnie  of  glorj :  neither  should  the  Jesuit  Maffeus, 
who  recited  his  daily  breyiary  in  Gh'eek,  lest  the  low  lan- 
guage of  our  liturgy  might  corrupt  the  pure  Latinity  of  his 
styk ;  and  who,  deeming  the  epic  action  of  Virgil's  poem 
incoBiplete,  has  written  a  thirteenth  /  canto  for  the  ^tuid. 
Bat  of  all  who  at  the  restoration  of  classic  learning  trod  in 
the  footsteps  of  Horace  and  Virgil,  none  carae  so  close  to 
theaa  gMt  masters  as  Jerome  Vida;  and  the  encomium 
wkidi  rope  takes  an  opportunity  of  passing  on  him  is  not 
ondeaerved. 

**  But  s«e !  each  muse  in  Leo*8  golden  days 
$tart5  from  her  trance  and  trims  her  withered  bajs, 
Rome's  ancient  Oenius  o*er  the  ruinB  spread. 
Shakes  off  the  dust,  and  rears  its  rererend  head. 

Tben  Sculpture  and  her  sister  arts  rerire ; 
Stones  leap  to  form,  and  rocks  hegin  to  live ; 
With  sweeter  notes  each  rising  temple  rung, 
A  Baphael  painted,  and  a  Yida  sung." 

The  author  of  the  Essay  on  Criticism  has  more  than  once 
dwell  with  evident  complacency  on  the  merits  of  Vida,  but 
It  was  by  largelv  borrowing  from  his  writings  (as  also  in 
the  ca^e  of  Boileau)  that  he  principally  manifested  hia 
esteem  and  predilection.  The  celebrated  lines  on  adapting 
the  sound  to  the  sense, 

**  Soft  is  the  strain  when  tephyr,"  &c. 


A    BEBIES   OB   UODEHN   LA.TIS   POETB.  521 

a  nearly  literal  trnnatntion  of  a  passage  in  our  Italian 
bishup's  poem,  De  Arte  Poetica  ;  a  ta4:t  Pope  iudiuates  in 
tbe  eurly  editious : 

"  Turn  ti  Itela  canunt  hilari  qiioque  carmiDS  vultu,"  &o. — 
Lib.  ill.  T.  403. 

Pa  raore  flagrant  instance  of  plftgiarism  occurs  in  the  Rape  of 
/Ae  £ocA,  where  curd-playing  being  introduced  (cnnto  iii.), 
not  only  ia  the  conduct  of  the  narrative  borrowed  from 
Vida's  Svhacchia  ludus,  {"  game  of  chese,")  but  whole  similes 
are  uuliesitatingly  appropriated. 

"Ctubg,  diunondi.  beuU,  In  wild  dia-    "NonmllI«'c«nplt''f>9Hl«i«iiitriiiqui 

Wllb^llHl«^lu^ToodllfcM'tn^lloIlaaT,  niMoi,  '  "     P«- 

ThB  Brnw  Iniulliiai  dliuolMd  UJ  igmcn." 

la  liupe  OD  bupi — ous  ttu  iiwilu  thim  ^dkudUa,  c.  I.  t.  Btt. 


Fottka  candldlj  coufeBsea  how  he  went  to  work 


"  Cum  Tnu  cullis  muUris  furta  poclii 
Caiitiui  ingrt'dere  et  raplui  diemoF  occu]*-  Mriii, 
ffrieruM  indieiii  atque  ordine  fnlla  kgcnt«>."<~Lib.  ii 


I     Like  the  robber  Cacue,  in  Virgil,  who  to  elude  pursuit 
dragged  cattle  backward  by  the  tail,  tlma  interting  the  foot- 
tracks, 
aitif 
vas 


"Cnudi  in  spcluncam  Iraotoi  mmitqui  ciaiiim 
Indiciii  rajilot  sBio  (H-cultubiil  opai'u."— ^'nriif,  lib.  i 


Vidu  wns  bom  at  Cremona,  and  graduated  at  tlie  utiiver- 

mties  of  Fadim  and  Bolofrna :  at  the  accession  of  Leo  X.  he 

r  was  a  resident  euuon  at  the  church  of  St,  John  Lateruu. 

Hie  peculiar  cicellcuce  as  a  Latin  poet  pointed  him  out  to 

Leo  for  theesecution  of  a  project  which  that  prelate  had 

long  wished  to  see  realised,  vix.  a  grand  epic  on  the  esta- 

iTimeut  of  Christianity.      Vidaliud  sagacity  to  perceive 

,t   it   would    require  a  greater    genius   than  the  Man- 

fiuan   hard   himself  to  achieve,   witL   the  severe  materials 

f  tbe  Gospel,  an  imagi native  epic  such  aa  the  pontilT  had  in 


522  FATHER  FBOUT'S   BZLIQUEB. 

I 

contemplation.  But  the  wishes  of  his  illustrious  patron  could 
not  be  disregarded ;  especiallj  as  the  request  came  accompa- 
nied with  the  gift  of  a  rich  priory  (St.  SilTOster,  at  Tuscu- 
lum).  The  result  of  his  Tusculsn  meditations  on  the  Chnstian 
epop^ta  was  not  published  till  after  the  death  of  its  pontifical 
projector,  and  then  appeared  Chtistiados,  iibri  XII. ;  a  poem 
of  merit,  but  l&r  from  realisuig  the  beau  idM  of  a  ^'  religious 
epic,"  that  glorious  consummation  reserved  for  John  Muton. 
The  comparison  with  the  JEneid  was  fatal  to  its  success. 

"  Mantua !  ts  misene  nimiiiin  Ticina  CremoiUB  T' 

Clement  VIII.,  however,  rewarded  the  bard  with  a  bi- 
shopric :  Yida  was  promoted  to  the  see  of  Alba.  To  him  the 
inhabitants  were  indebted,  for  protection  against  a  French 
army,  and  his  conduct  at  that  crisis  is  eulogised  b j  the  histo- 
rian Paul  Jovio.  Than  Yida  no  more  distinguished  prelate 
sat  at  the  Council  of  Trent. 

Such  is  the  personage  from  whose  poems  I  select  a  speci- 
men, guided  in  my  choice  by  circumstances  of  a  local  nature. 
The  introduction  of  the  mulberry  tree  into  Cork  district  by 
the  Earl  of  Kingston  (1820),  to  afford  industrious  occupa- 
tion to  the  Munster  peasantry,  has  engaged  my  wishes  for 
the  success  of  so  philanthropic  an  experiment ;  and  I  shall 
feel  happy  if  Yida's  poem,  De  Bombycibus,  can  be  made  sub- 
servient to  the  purposes  of  the  "  Irish  Silk  Company."  I  fear 
the  habits  of  my  countrymen  (so  dissimilar  from  those  of 
the  Italian  peasantry  who  cultivate  this  delightful  branch  of 
iudustrv)  will  prove  an  obstacle  to  its  permanent  establish- 
ineut ;  \)ut  a  fair  trial  ought  to  be  given  the  worms. 

The  sun  that  illumines  all  creation  shines  not  on  the 
mere  Insh ;  and  alma  mater  tellus  is  to  them  but  an  injusta 
nort^rca.  But  "  let  that  pass."  On  the  subject  of  poor- 
laws,  and  the  conduct  of  those  who,  for  palpable  purposes, 
oppose  their  enactment,  I  cannot  enter  with  a  steady  pulse. 
Now,  to  Yida. 


JIBOME  tida'8  silkworm.  528 

C|)e  dtlltlDorm.    9  9ocm. 

CimO  VIB8TL 

L 

Liet  to  my  laj,  daughter  of  Lombard^ 

Hope  of  GK)nzaga'8  house,  fair  Isabelle ! 
Graced  with  thy  name,  the  simplest  melodj, 

Albeit  from  rural  pipe  or  rustic  shell. 

Might  all  the  music  of  a  court  excel : 
Light  though  the  subject  of  my  song  may  seem, 

'Tis  one  on  which  thy  spirit  loves  to  dwell ; 
No?  on  a  tiny  insect  dost  thou  deem 
Thy  poet's  labour  lost^  nor  frirolous  my  theme. 

IL 

For  thou  dost  often  meditate  how  hence 

Commerce  deriveth  aliment ;  how  Art 
May  minister  to  native  opulence, 

The  wealth  of  foreign  lands  to  home  impart, 

And  make  of  Italy  the  general  mart. 
These  are  thy  goodly  thoughts — how  best  to  raise 

Thy  country  B  industry.     A  patriot  heart 

Beats  in  thy  gentle  breast — no  vulgar  praise ! 
Be  then  this  spinner-worm  the  hero  of  my  lays ! 

III. 
Full  many  a  century  it  crept,  the  child 

Of  distant  China  or  the  torrid  zone ; 
Wasted  its  web  upon  the  woodlands  wild. 

And  spun  its  golden  tissue  all  alone, 

Clothmg  no  reptile's  body  but  its  own.* 
60  crawled  a  brother-worm  o'er  mount  and  glen. 

Uncivilised,  uncouth  ;  till,  social  grown, 
He  sought  the  cities  and  the  haunts  of  men — 
Science  and  Art  soon  tamed  the  forest  denizen. 

IV. 

Rescued  from  woods,  now  imder  friendly  roof 
Fostered  and  fed,  and  sheltered  from  the  blast. 

Full  soon  the  wondrous  wealth  of  warp  and  woof — 
Wealth  by  these  puny  labourers  amassed, 
Bepaid  the  hand  that  spread  their  green  repast : 

Bight  merrily  they  plied  their  jocund  toil. 
And  from  their  mouths*  the  silken  treasures  cast. 

Twisting  their  canny  thread  in  many  a  coil. 
While  men  looked  on  and  smiled,  and  hailed  the  shining  spoiL 

*  Tenui  nee  honos  nee  gloria  file ! 


624  FATHEB  PBOUT'S   SELIQIHSt. 

V. 

Sweet  IB  the  poet's  miniBtrj  to  teach 

How  the  wee  operatiTee  should  be  fed ; 
Their  wants  and  changes ;  what  befitteth  eMh  | 
•  What  mysteries  attend  the  genial  bed. 

And  how  successive  progenies  are  bred. 
Happy  if  he  his  countrymen  engage 

In  paths  of  peace  and  industry  to  tread ; 
Happier  the  poet  still,  if  o*er  his  page 
Fair  Ibabklla's  een  shed  radiant  patronage ! 

VT. 

Thou,  then,  who  wouldst  possess  a  creeping  Bock 
Of  silken  sheep,  their  glossy  fleece  to  shear, 

Learn  of  their  days  how  scanty  is  the  stock : 
Barely  two  months  of  each  recurring  year 
Make  up  the  measure  of  their  brief  cai^eer ; 

They  spin  their  little  hour,  they  weave  their  ball, 
Ajid,  when  their  task  is  done,  then  disappear 

Within  that  silken  dome's  sepulchral  hall ; 
And  the  third  moon  looks  out  upon  their  funeraL 

vn. 

Theirs  is,  in  truth,  a  melancholy  lot, 

Never  the  offspring  of  their  loves  to  sec ! 

The  parent  of  a  thousand  sons  may  not 
Spectator  of  his  children's  gambols  be, 
Or  hail  the  birth  of  his  voung  figmiily. 

From  orphan-^gs,  fruit  of  a  fond  embrace. 
Spontaneous  hatched,  an  insect  tenantry 

Creep  forth,  their  sires  departed  to  replace : 
Tlius,  posthumously  bom,  springs  up  an  aimual  raoc^ 

vm. 

Still  watchful  lest  their  birth  be  premature. 
From  the  sim's  wistful  eye  remove  the  seed, 

WhUe  vet  the  season  wavers  insecure, 

Whue  yet  no  leaves  have  budded  forth  to  feed 
With  juicy  provender  the  tender  breed ; 

Nor  usher  beings  into  life  so  new 

Without  provision — 'twere  a  cruel  deed ! 

Ah,  such  improvidence  men  often  rue ! 
Tis  a  sad,  wicked  thing, — if  Malthus  telleth  tru& 

IX. 

But  when  the  vernal  equinox  is  passed. 
And  the  gay  mulberry  in  gallant  trim 

Hath  robed  liimself  in  verdfuit  vest  at  last 
("Tis  well  to  wait  until  thou  seest  him 


riDAS    BILKWOEM. 


ftfethmbB  that  here  some  gentle  maiden  begt 

To  know  hon  bent  this  genial  deed  is  done  : — 
Somi;  on  s  nsplin  Mrev  the  little  egg>. 

And  eimpljr  halcli  their  siikwortiiB  in  (he  aun ; 

But  thcre'd  a  bettor  plan  to  fii  upon. 
Wrapt  ill  B  mnalin  kerchief,  pure  and  wamt, 

La;  Ihoin  within  thy  boaom  aafe  ;*  nor  ahim 
Nature's  kiud  office  tiU  the  tin;  swarm 
Begina  to  creep.     Fear  not ;  thoy  uannot  do  thee  han»i. 

XI. 

Meantime  a  fitting  reeidenoe  prepare, 

Wherein  th;  pigmv  artisuiB  mn;  dneU, 
And  fumiah  forth  their  faGt<>ry  with  aire  ; 

Of  aesion'd  timber  build  the  spinner'a  cell. 

And  be  it  lit  and  Tentilaled  well ; 
And  range  them  upon  insulated  t<helTM, 

Bising  above  each  other  parallel ; 
There  let  (hem  crawl^there  lot  the  little  elres 
On  carpeltiog  of  leaf  gsil;  disport  thanuelre*. 

XTI. 


a  wicked  hen 
Obtained  admittance  hj  manisuTre  hold. 
Slaughtering  the  iUBecta  in  their  Uttle  den  ; 
If  I  luid  caught  her  there, — ahe  hftd  not  come  again, 

XIII. 

Stop  up  each  ererice  in  the  ailk  worm-houae, 

Each  gaping  orifice  be  sure  to  £11 ; 
For  oftcntimCB  a  aaeril^iouH  mouse 

Will  fatal  inroad  make,  intent  on  ill, 


526  FATHER  PS0I}T*8   BXLIQUEt. 

And  in  cold  blood  the  gentle  spinnen  kilL* 
Ah,  cruel  wreteh !  whoee  idol  is  thy  b^j. 

The  blood  of  innocence  why  doet  thou  K>ill  f 
Dost  thou  not  know  that  »iik  is  in  that  jelly  ? 
CK>  forth,  and  seek  elsewhere  a  dish  of  Tormioelli. 

XIV. 

When  thy  young  caterpillars  'gin  to  creep, 
Spread  them  with  care  upon  the  oaken  planks ; 

Ana  let  them  learn  from  infancy  to  keep 
Their  proper  station,  and  preserre  their  ranks— 
Not  crawl  at  random,  playing  giddy  pranks. 

Let  them  be  taught  their  dignity,  nor  seek, 
Dress*d  in  silk  gown,  to  act  like  mountebanks : 

Thus  careful  to  eschew  each  vulgar  freak. 
Sober  they  maun  grow  up,  industrious  and  meek. 

XV. 

Their  minds  kind  Nature  wisely  pre-arranged. 
And  of  domestic  habits  made  them  fondf; 

Barely  they  roam,  or  wish  their  dwelling  changed. 
Or  from  their  keeper's  rigilance  abscond : 
Pleased  with  their  home,  they  travel  not  beyond. 

EUe,  wo  is  me !  it  were  a  bitter  potion 
To  hunt  each  truant  and  each  vagabond : 

Haply  of  such  attempts  they  have  no  notion. 
Nor  on  their  heads  is  seen  "  the  bimip  of  locomotion.** 

XVI. 
The  same  kind  Nature  (vrho  doth  all  things  right) 

Their  stomachs  hath  from  infancy  imbued 
Straight  with  a  most  tremendous  appetite ; 

And  till  the  leaf  they  love  b  o'er  them  strew*  d. 

Their  little  mouths  wax  clamorous  for  food. 
For  their  first  banquetings  this  plan  adopt — 

Cull  the  most  tender  leaves  in  all  the  wood. 
And  let  them,  ere  upon  the  worms  they're  dropp'd. 
He  minced  for  their  young  teeth,  and  diligently  chopp'd. 

XVII. 

Pass'd  the  first  week,  an  epoch  will  begin, 
A  crisis  which  maim  all  thy  care  engage ; 

For  then  the  Uttle  asp  will  cast  his  skin. 

Such  change  of  raiment  marks  each  separate  stage 
Of  childhood,  youthhood,  manhood,  and  old  age : 

A  gentle  sleep  gives  token  when  he  means 
To  doff  his  coat  for  seemUer  equipage ; 

Another  and  another  supervenes. 
And  then  he  is,  I  trow,  no  longer  in  his  teens. 

*  Improbus  irreptat  tabulis,  ssevitque  per  omnas. 


\ 


xTrn. 

Until  that  pf  riod,  it  importeth  raucli, 
That  DO  nngentie  band,  with  conlact  rodc^ 

Visit  the  shelvw.     Let  the  ddlghtrul  louoL 
Of  ItUj'»  fair  daughters— tir  and  good  1— 
Administer  nlone  lo  thnt  young  brood. 

Mark  bow  yon  maiden's  breast  witb  pitj  jeanu, 
TendiuE  her  charge  with  fond  Holicitude, — 

HeH  be  the  blrssing  she  so  richij  earoa  ! 
BooD  may  ahe  xie  bci  oim  wee  brood  of  bonnj-  batru*  I 

YTT 
Foliigc,  (rash  gslher'd  for  inunedisl«  lue, 

Bs  the  green  psslure  of  thr  sillen  sbeep, 
For  whon  fonnenta  the  Tegatable  jnice, 

Ther  loathe  (be  leaTes,  and  from  th'  iiiit«atea  heap 

With  disnppoiutment  languishing] j  creep. 
Hio  to  the  forest,  evening,  noon,  and  mom  ; 

Of  bnmmiag  baskets  quick  suucosioD  keep  i 
I«l  the  green  grove  for  them  be  freel;  shorn, 
Ar.l  smiling  Flcnl»  »oid  her  well-rep!eniBhcd  bom. 


Ples»i 


:  the  mur 


XX. 

Lr  of  tlicir 


louths  to  benr. 


The  daint]'  leaves  deuioUsh'd,  disaupeai 
One  after  olie.    A  fresh  supply  is  cast- 
That,  like  the  former,  Tanisheth  as  fast. 

But,  caatiauB  of  TtpUtian  («ell  jclept 
The  fatal  fount  of  sickness),  oeoso  at  last  i 

iling  no  mora  food>— theii  fodder  intercept. 
And  bo  it  laid  aiido,  and  for  their  supper  kept. 

XXI. 

To  gaze  upon  the  dew-drop's  glittering  gmi, 
T'  inhalo  the  moisture  of  the  morning  air, 

Is  pleasantness  to  us  ; — 'tis  death  to  them. 
Shepherd,  of  dank  humidity  beware, 
Moisture  maun  viljale  the  freshest  fare  j* 

Cull  not  the  lcaTe«  at  the  Urst  hour  of  prim^, 
While  jet  the  sun  his  arrows  through  the  air 

Shoots  horiiontal.    Tarry  till  he  climb 
Half  bis  meridian  height :  then  is  thy  barreet'time. 


■        Jlau  bis  meriduin 


528  FATHER  PBOUT'S  BELIQUES. 

xxn. 

Tlicre  be  two  fisters  of  the  mulbeny  race,* 

One  of  complexion  dark  and  olire  hue ; — 
Of  taller  figure  and  of  fairer  &oe. 

The  other  wins  and  captiyates  the  view, 

And  to  maturity  grows  quicker  too. 
Oft  characters  with  colour  correspond  ; 

Nathlees  the  silkworm  neither  will  eschew. 
He  is  of  both  immoderately  fond — 
Still  he  doth  dearly  love  Uie  gently  blooming  hloiidCi 

XXIII. 
With  milder  juice  and  more  nutritious  mUk 

She  feedeth  him,  though  delicate  and  pale ; 
Nurtured  by  her  he  spins  a  finer  silk. 

And  her  young  sucVlings,  vigorous  and  hale^ 

Aye  o'er  ner  sister's  progeny  prevaiL 
Her  paler  charms  more  appetite  beget. 

On  which  the  creepers  greedily  rejgale : 
She  bears  the  bell  in  foreign  lands ;  and  yet 
Our  brown  Italian  maids  prefer  the  dark  brunette.t 

XXIV. 
The  dark  brunette,  more  boimtiful  of  leaves. 

With  less  refinement  more  profusion  shews ; 
But  often  such  redundancy  deceives. 

What  though  the  ripen*d  berry  ruddier  glows 

Upon  these  tufted  branches  than  on  those  F 
Due  is  the  preference  to  the  paler  plant : 

Then  her  to  rear  thy  tender  nurslings  choofe, 
Her  to  thy  little  orphans'  wishes  grant, 
Nor  use  the  darker  leaves  unless  the  white  be  scanu 

XXV. 

Ovid  has  told  a  tender  tale  of  THissft, 

Who  found  her  lifeless  lover  lying  pale 
Under  a  spreading  mulberry.     Let  this  be 

The  merit  and  the  moral  of  that  tale. 

Sweet  is  thy  song,  in  sooth,  love's  nightingale ! 
But  hadst  thou  known  that,  nourish'd  nrom  that  tree, 

Love's  artisans  would  spin  their  tissue  frail. 
Thou  never  wouldst  of  so  much  misery 
Have  laid  the  scene  beneath  a  spreading  mulberry. 

*  Est  bicolor  moms,  bombyx  vescetur  utHlque 
Nigra  albensve  fuat,  &c.  &o. 
The  worm  will  always  prefer  to  nibble  the  white  mulb«rry«tre% 
and  will  quit  tlie  black  for  it  readily. 

\  (^\i3ixas\A  K.v)AQ)Xk^  \aNx^l\3X  uigTH  puellii. 


JZBOUE   TIDA  B   SILKITOBM. 

XXVI. 
How  ehould  a  fiiilura  of  llie  amibenj  crop 

Send  fiuniiie  to  Oie  threshold  of  thy  door. 
Do  not  dpApEiir ;  but,  cliinbiiig  to  tho  top 

or  the  tall  elm,  or  kindred  (jramnrc, 

Touug  budding  ganns  with  sesrching  ejo  ei[>!nra. 
Prai'iKe  B  pioui  iritud  upon  th;  flock, 

With  bile  lupplies  and  irountorreited  ttate  ; 
ThuB  for  a  while  their  Utile  stomachs  mook. 
Until  thou  canst  proiide  of  leares  a  gonuiua  itook. 

xxvn. 

But  ne'er  a  timple  village  maiden  Mk 

To  climb  on  trece,* — for  her  waa  never  meant 
The  rude  npoture  of  auch  uncouth  task  ; 
Lest  while  she  tries  tho  periloue  ascentl 
On  pure  and  liospitable  thought*  inl«at, 
A  wicked  Faun,  that  lurka  behind  some  hush. 
Peep  out  with  upward  eye — rude,  itiautuntl 
Oh,  lUe  and  desperate  hardihood  1     But,  hiuh  I 
Nor  let  Buch  matters  nioia  the  baaUful  Muse  Ut  bloib. 
XXV  III. 
The  maiden'e  ministrf  it  is  to  keep 

Incesgant  vigil  o'er  the  gilktromi  fold, 
Bapplj  fresh  fodder  to  Ihe  nibbling  aheep, 
CIranae  and  remove  the  renmanla  of  the  old. 
Guard  against  influence  of  damp  or  cold. 
And  ever  and  anon  mlloct  them  all 

In  dose  divan  :  and  ere  their  food  ia  doled, 
'Wsah  out  with  wine  each  stable  and  each  «UU, 
Lett  foul  diaeue  tlie  flock  through  feculenDO  beUL 
XXIX. 
Changes  will  oft  come  o'er  their  outward  form. 
And  each  transition  needs  th;  aniious  cares  : 
Four  timej  tbejCMt  their  akin.     The  spinner-worm 
Four  Boft  succeeeirc  suits  of  velvet  wears  ; 
Naltire  ouch  pliant  envelope  prepares. 
But  liow  can  the.v,  in  previous  clolliing  pent, 
6el  riddance  of  Ihat  shaggy  rr>t>e  of  theirs  ? 
Tliey  keep  a  three.daj«'  fast.  Vihen  bj  that  Lent 
Grown  lean,  their  dofl' with  ease  their  old  aeooutremeut. 
'  The  good  bishop's  gallantry  is  herein  displnjed  to  advanlM 
Nee  robora  dur» 
Aseendat  permille  in  ryVt'is  innuba  virgo ; 
Att  openim  patiena  anua,  ct  cui  durior  annii 
Bit  cutis  (ingrain  Aicilis  jactura  aenectf  I), 
Uunere  fuiiKihu'  tali.    Ne  torii  quis  alii 
Egrcaaus  ajlvl  ■atjrorum  c  gente  procaci 
Boijiicial,  teiieneque  pudor  ootsl  ot»  ^uoQk. 


530  ]rATH£B  PB0UT*8   SELIQUBS. 


Now  are  the  last  important  days  at  hand — 
The  liquid  gold  within  its  living  mine 

Brightens.    Nor  nourishment  they  now  demand. 
Nor  care  for  life  ;  impatient  to  resign 
The  wealth  with  which  diaphanous  tbey  shinfe  I 

Eager  they  look  around — imploring  look. 
For  branch  or  bush,  their  tissue  to  entwine  ; 

Some  rudimental  threads  they  seek  to  hook. 
And  dearly  lore  to  find  some  hospitable  nook. 

XXXI. 

Anticipate  their  wishes,  gentle  maid  ! 

Hie  to  their  help  ;  the  fleeting  moment  catch. 
Quick  be  the  shelves  with  wicker-work  o*er>laid ; 

Let  osier,  broom,  and  furze,  their  workshop  thatch« 

With  fond  solicitude  and  blithe  despatch. 
So  may  they  quickly,  mid  the  thicket  dense. 

Find  out  a  spot  their  purposes  to  match  ; 
So  may  they  soon  their  industry  commence. 
And  of  the  round  cocoon  plan  the  circumference. 

XXXII. 
Their  hour  is  come.     See  how  the  yellow  flood 

Swells  in  yon  creeping  cylinder  !  how  teema 
Exuberant  the  tide  of  amber  blood  ! 

How  the  recondite  gold  transparent  gleams. 

And  how  pcUucid  the  bright  fluid  seems  ! 
Proud  of  such  pregnancy,  and  duly  skill'd 

In  Dffidalean  craft,  each  insect  deems 
The  glorious  purposes  of  life  fulfilled, 
If  into  shining  silk  his  substance  be  distilled  ! 

XXXIII. 
Say,  hast  thou  ever  mark'd  the  clustering  grape 

SwoU'n  to  maturity  with  ripe  produce, 
When  the  imprisou'd  pulp  pants  to  escape, 

And  longs  to  joy  "  emancipated  "  juice 

In  the  full  freedom  of  the  bowl  profuse  ? 
So  doth  the  silk  that  swells  their  skinny  coat 

Loathe  its  confinement,  panting  to  get  loose : 
Such  lon^ig  for  relief  their  looks  denote — 
Soon  in  their  web  they'll  find  a  "  bane  and  antidote.* 

XXXIV. 

See !  round  and  round,  in  many  a  mirthful  maa^ 
The  wily  workman  weaves  his  golden  gauze ; 

And  while  his  throat  the  twisted  thread  purrcya^ 
New  hnes  with  labyrinthine  labour  drawi, 
Vlylu^  his  pair  of  operative  jaws. 


L 


From  mom  to  noon,  from  nonn  to  Bilent  cv*. 

He  toilelh  without  interval  or  pouac,* 
His  inonuriirnlsl  tropbj  Lo  nuliii've. 
And  luB  sepulchral  sheet  of  silk  niplimdent  weave  '. 
XXXT. 
Apj-'Hiiicli,  and  yiew  thj  nrtisana  at  work ; 

At  thj  woe  tpinnen  tuke  a  parting  gluoca  g 
Fur  soon  Meh  pun;  labourer  will  lurk 
Uiiiler  his  ailkm  cunopj's  eipuiae — 
Tutef\il  nlcove  1  boudoir  of  edeguice  : 
There  will  tba  wearj  worm  in  peace  repoac, 
And  languid  lethargy  hit  Umbi  entnuioe; 
There  his  career  of  usefidneu  oill  close  ; 
Who  would  not  live  the  life  and  die  the  death  of  Uioie  if 
SXSVL 
Mostly  tliej  spin  their  aolilory  shroud 
Biusle,  apart,  like  ancient  niicliorct ; 
Te'.  oft  a  loving  pair  will,I  if  allow'd, 
In  the  same  sepolohre  of  silk  well  met,' 
Sestle  like  Koveo  and  Jvijbt. 
From  luch  commmiing  bo  thej  not  debarred, 

Minilful  of  her  who  ballow'd  Parodct ; 
Even  in  Iheir  silken  oenotaph  'twere  hard 
To  part  a  Ezloibb  from  her  lored  Aseubd. 
XXXVII. 
The  taak  it  done,  the  work  ia  now  complete  ; 

A  still;  silence  reigns  throughout  the  room  I 
Sleep  on,  blest  beingsl  be  your  slumbers  sweet. 
And  calmly  rest  within  your  golden  tomb — 
Best,  till  restored  lo  renovated  bloom. 
Bursting  the  Ijvmmcla  of  that  dark  lojount, 
Forth  yc  shall  issue,  and  rejoiced,  resumi^ 
A  glotified  sppearBDce,  and  return 
To  LTe  a  wiugSd  thing  from  monumental  um. 

xxxviir. 

Fain  would  I  pause,  ond  of  inj  tuneful  text 
Reserve  the  remnant  far  a  Uttvr  time ; 

Another  song  remains.     The  summit  neit 
or  double-peak'd  PamasauB  when  I  climb, 
Onuit  me,  ye  gods !  the  radiant  wiags  of  rhyme  I 

•  Query,  wilieHl  paut  t — P.  Oefil. 

t  Millt  legunt  rel^untquo  rliis,  atque  orhibua  oib<« 
AggloKiumut,  don  PC  kboo  ^e  rarwre  condanl 
Sliunte  euA.  Tsnla  est  eilendi  gloria  lUi ! 

]  Quia  et  nonnullB  paribus  communis  i:uria 
Assacioiit  opera,  et  nebultt  clitudautui  eAdem. 


532  TATHEB  PBOVT's  BSLIQlTXa. 

Thus  may  I  bear  me  up  ih*  adTentarous  road 

That  winds  aloft— an  argument  suUimel 
But  of  didactic  poems  *tis  the  mode, 
No  canto  should  conclude  without  an  episode. 

XXXTX. 

Vektb  it  was  who  first  inyented  SILK— 

LiNSN  had  long,  bv  Ceres  patronised. 
Supplied  Olympus :  ladies  of  that  ilk 

■No  better  sort  of  clothing  had  derised — 

Linen  alone  their  garde  de  robe  comprised. 
Hence  at  her  cambric  loom  the  "  suitors"  found 

PENELOpk,  whom  hath  immortalised 
The  blind  man  eloquent :  nor  less  renown*d 
Were  "  Troy's  proud  dames,"  whose  robes  of  lii\en  "  svrept  Utfl 
ground." 

XL. 

Thus  the  first  female  f&shion  was  for  flax  ; 

A  linen  tunic  was  the  garb  that  graced 
Exclusiyely  the  primitive  "  Almack's." 

Simplicity's  costume !  too  soon  effaced 

By  vain  inventions  of  more  modern  taste. 
Tlien  was  the  reign  of  modesty  and  sense. 

Fair  ones  were  not,  I  ween,  more  prude  and  chaste. 
Girt  in  hoop-petticoats*  circumference 
Or  stays — Honi  9oi  the  rogue  qui  mal  y  pente. 

XLI. 
Wool,  by  MnfEEVA  manufactured,  met 

With  blithe  encouragement  and  brisk  demand } 
Her  loom  by  constant  buyers  was  beset, 

**  Orders  from  foreign  houses"  kept  her  hand 

Busy  supplying  many  a  distant  land. 
She  was  of  woollen  stuffs  the  sole  provider, 

Till  some  were  introduced  by  contraband : 
A  female  called  AsACHNft  thus  defied  her, 
But  soon  gave  up  the  ti'ade,  being  turned  into  a  spider. 

XLII. 
Thus  a  complete  monopoly  in  wool, 

"  Almost  amounting  to  a  prohibition," 
Enabled  her  to  satisfy  in  full 

The  darling  object  of  her  lifers  ambition, 

And  gratify  her  spiteful  disposition. 
Yenits*  she  had  determined  should  not  be 

Suffered  to  purchase  stuffs  on  no  condition  g 
While  every  naked  Kaiad  nymph  was  free 
To  buy  her  serge,  moreen,  and  woollen  drapperie. 

*  TantilUn  nuda  Venus  mcerebat  muneris  eipt^rs 
IglCrt^am  o\)  Ic^TTSivoi  \.<bvtxicv  invisa  Minen  a. 


K ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

^^^^K     • 

*  i 

E)4 

mm 

u^  f^^-^mt 

IB 

^H. 

'^""  ■  "*n>t^^^^^^^^^^^H 

JZSOHE  TID1.S   BILE1F0RM.  &38 

XLnr. 

Albeit  "irhm  unsdomed  ndomed  the  moit," 

Tba  goddess  could  not  brook  to  be  outnitUid 
How  QOuld  abe  bear  her  riral'i  bitt«r  bomit, 
If  to  thU  taunt  the  quietlj  aubmittcd  ! 
OLTlCTlTg  (roWleiB  oa  ahe  wu>  e)iB  quitted. 
Full;  detumimed  to  bring  back  ai  fins  a 

Tlren  ni  waa  erer  woTen,  spun,  or  knitted  ; 
Europe  the  searchonj,  coneolted  the  CxiBinA, 
jlnd,  tiding  oDod  advice,  crosa'd  o'er  "  the  wall"  to  Ckika. 
XL  IT. 
Long  before  Europeans,  thf  Chinew 

Foueu'd  the  oompaai,  ailkwormi,  and  gimpoirdw, 
And  tjrpcs,  And  Ua,  uid  other  nritiei. 

China  (with  gifts  since  Nature  hath  endoB-ed  hcrj 
Ii  prood;  Hliat  land  hath  reason  to  be  prouder? 
Utr  let  tbe  dull  "  Barbarian  E;e"  rmpect, 

And  be  her  priiileges  all  allowed  her  g 
She  i»  the  widow  (pleaw  to  recollect) 
Of  ora  the  Deluge  drown' d,  Pbimobdul  IhtkllbciI 
XLV. 
He  good  inhabitant*  of  Peeiv,  wIicd 

The;  uw  the  dame  in  downriebt  dishabille, 
Were  ahocVd.    Such  light  was  far  beyond  the  ken 
Of  tlieir  COMCCLUI  notiona.     Full  of  leal 
To  guard  the  moralj  of  lh«  commonweal, 
ThoT  itmight  deputed  Syle,  a  nmndarin, 

Humbl;  before  the  Fisitant  to  knee! 
With  downciut  eye,  and  offer  Beautj's  queen 
A  licli  neplendent  rot>e  of  gorgeoua  bombaiin. 
XLVL 
Tmua  receiTcd  the  Tature  nothing  loath, 

And  nach  ita  gloss,  its  softness  much  admired, 
And  pnuaed  that  aperimen  of  foreign  growth. 
So  splendid,  and  so  cheaply  loo  acquired  ! 
Quiuk  in  the  robe  bra-  gmccfiil  limbs  attired, 
8he  MFks  a  mirror— there  delighted  daUies  ; 

So  rich  ■  dress  nu  all  could  be  desiriKt. 
How  she  rejoiced  to  diimppotnt  the  malice 
Of  her  uuf«eling  foe,  the  vile,  Tindiclive  Pauus  1* 
XL  VII. 
But  while  she  praised  tlie  gift  aod  thank'd  tlie  girer 

Of  apinner-worciB  the  sued  for  a  supply. 
Forthwith  the  good  Chinese  SU'd  Cupid's  quiror 
With  the  cocooiM  in  which  eanh  worm  doth  lie 
Snug,  QDlil  cluui^cd  into  a  butlerfl;. 
The  light  eocMHt  wild  Cupid  Bhower''d  o'er  Qraeos) 

And  o'er  tlie  ialea,  and  urer  Italj, 
Into  the  lap  of  inihistry  and  peace  ■, 
AiadUieghtd  nalions  liail  J  the  long-fcnif\it"Go\ic[\'?\s»M:'\ 

•  Belfidit  iiisignea  tunicaa,  niliil  in^^oVwa. 

*  0rw(um  opua  Auaoiuii  dum  vaWoxvX,  IU&  v^cAnb. 


534  PATHEB  PB0UT*8   BELIQIHES. 

HODEBir  LATIN   POETS. 

Chap.  II. — Casimib  Sabbiewski,  S.  Saknazab,  Jebomi 

Fbacastob. 

*'  In  omnibus  requiem  qusesivi  et  non  inyeni  nisi  in  nookivs  et  in 
booltins,**  (quod  Teutonic^  sonat  in  angulis  et  libellis). — Thomab  a 
Kbicfib.    See  Elzevir  edition  of  Imilat.  Xti.,  p.  247,  in  vitd, 

'*  I  beg  to  la  J  particular  emphasis 
On  this  remark  of  Thomas  k  Kempis's." — Pbott. 

Surely  so  gifted  a  man  as  the  late  incumbent  of  Water- 
grasshill  must  have  felt  himself  miserably  misplaced  in  that 
dull  and  dreary  district.  We  are  informed  by  Archdeacon 
Paley,  in  his  Natural  Theology ^  that  to  meet  with  a  stone  on 
a  barren  heath  is  a  common  incident,  whereas  to  find  a 
chronometer  in  such  an  out-of-the-way  place  would  imme- 
diately suggest  a  bright  chain  of  argument,  and  lots  of  con- 
jectural cogitation.  What  would  Paley  have  said,  had  he 
stumbled  on  the  curiously  wrought  pericranium  of  Prout  in 
his  rambles  over  the  bogs  and  potato-fields  of  the  parish, 
met  him  on  "  bottle  hill,"  or  found  him  on  the  brink  of  the 
"  brook  that  flows  fast  by  the"  castle  of  Blarney  ?  There 
would  seem  to  be  something  chronologically  wrong  in  the 
disposal  of  so  much  antique  wisdom  on  a  flimsy  and  a 
frivolous  age.  Properly  speaking,  Prout  should  have  lived 
at  another  epoch  oi  the  world  for  his  own  sake,  not  for  ours. 
With  a  mind  habitually  recurring  to  standard  models  of 
everlasting  elegance,  he  must  have  had  the  disagreeable  con- 
sciousness of  being  here  on  earth  an  incarnate  anachronism) 
an  Etruscan  vase  surrounded  by  vulgar  crockery. 

In  "  happier  hours"  and  a  happier  climate,  Prout  would 
have  developed  in  a  grander  form.  Had  he  flourished 
with  ViDA  at  the  court  of  the  Medici,  like  him  he  would 
have  worn  a  mitre,  and  like  him  would  have  shed  lustre  on 
"his  order,"  instead  of  deriving /r<wi  it,  as  some  do,  impor- 
tance in  society.  Had  he  lived  at  Madrid  in  the  days  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  he  would  have  been  (under  Cardinal 
Ximenes)  chief  editor  of  the  great  Complutensian  Polyglott ; 
and  we  can  fancy  him  at  the  court  of  Louis  XIV.,  indulging 
at?  once  his  literary  and  piscatorial  propensities  by  coediting 
the  classics  in  usum  Delphini, 


In  the  vnlderoeBB  of  WatGi^raseliill  he  was  a  mere  ^bid) 

ilfi/iV,  *nd  the  eiemplarr  old  paelor'p  reeemhlance  to  the 
Baptist  was  further  visible  in  his  pecuHarity  of  diet;  for 
■mall  do  we  deem  the  difference  between  a  dried  locust  and 
&  red  herring. 

When  we  Bay  he  was  unappreciated  in  Ireland  during  his 
lifetime,  we  make  one  exception  in  favour  of  a  citizen  of 
Cork,  the  Boecoo  of  that  seaport,  James  Boche.  It  was 
mid  of  Boscoe  by  Washington  Irving,  that,  like  Pompey's 
piUar  on  the  shore  of  Alexandria,  he  rose  above  the  com- 
jnercial  vulgarities  of  Liverpool,  and  stood  forth  to  the  eye 
of  the  stranger  a  eonsDicuous  but  solitary  specimen  of  an- 
tiqne  and  classic  grandeur.  Such  is  the  eminent  scholar  to 
FDom  we  allude,  and  of  whom  Cork  may  be  justly  proud. 

He  detected  the  merits  of  the  Padre,  and  urged  them  on 
folks  until  the  aged  Chryses,  chaplain  of  Apollo,  was  not 
more  popular  in  the  camp  before  Troy  than  Father  Prout 
among  the  reading  public. 


AIACI£e«l  8'  I 


A' 23. 

OLI\'EK  TOEKE. 


fralers""'*'^''  ^fp'-  1S£6. 

9t,  Gregory  of  Tours,  in  his  tract  Be  Giorid  Martynan, 
lib.  i.  cap,  95,  talks  of  seven  youths,  who,  flying  to  a  moun- 
tain-cave from  the  persecution  that  raged  in  Ephesus,  fell 
there  into  a  miraculous  slumber;  whence  awaking,  after  two 
centuries  of  balmy  rest,  they  walked  abroad,  and  were 
■tartled  at  the  sight  of  a  cross  triumphantly  emblazoned 
over  the  gates  of  the  eity.  Still  greater  was  their  Burpriee 
when  a  baker,  to  whom  they  tendered  what  they  considered 
the  cnrrent  coin  of  the  empire,  eyed  them  suspiciously, 
Jtaldng  where  they  had  dug  up  that  old  medal  of  the  pagan 
^persecutor  Decius,  and  hinting,  that  in  the  new  Tfaeoaosiim 
code  there  were  certain  laws  relative  to  treasure  trace,  which 
might  possibly  concern  them.  I  fear  that  my  appearance 
in  the  literary  market  with  ppecimens  of  antiquated  and  ex- 
ploded composition,  a  coinage  of  the  human  brain  Jong  since 
gone  out  of    circulation,  may  subject  me   to   the   incou- 


536  7ATHSB  PB0UT*8   KELI^trXS. 

yeniences  experienced  by  the  seven  sleeperg,  and  to  s  Bunilu 
rebuke  £rom  the  critical  j&atemitj.  But,  nnproyided  with 
the  specie  that  forms  the  present  circulating  medium,  I  muil 
needs  obtrude  on  the  monetary-  system  of  the  daj  B(«ie 
rusiy  old  denarii  and  sestertia. 

I  trust,  howeyer,  that  comparing  mj  operations  in  this 
matter  to  the  proceedings  recorded  in  the  legend  d  those 
"  Bleepers,*^  the  snatches  of  Latin  poetry  I  produce  may  not 
receiye  the  equiyocal  compliment  of  the  eclogue— yiz : 

**  Tale  taum  oarmen  nobiB^  divine  poetoi 
Quale  Mgwr  y" 

it  being  my  assiduous  care  to  keep  my  readers  awake  during 
the  progress  of  each  paper,  preferring  to  wear  occasionaUy 
the  cap  and  bells  of  innocent  Folly,  rather  than  the  cotton 
nightcap  of  solemn  Dulness. 

Casimir  Sarbiewski,  in  his  day  hailed  by  all  Europe  as  the 
Horace  of  Poland  (which  I  learn  from  the  Cambridge 
pocket-edition  of  his  poems  dow  before  me),  belonged  to 
one  of  the  noblest  houses  of  the  kingdom,  and  was  bom  in 
1596.  Initiated  among  the  Jesuits  at  their  college  of  Wilna, 
he  rose  to  eminence  in  that  fraternity,  and  was  subsequently 
induced  by  Count  Nicolai  to  accompany  him  on  a  tour  of 
classic  enjojrment  to  Italy.  They  were  waylaid  and  robbed 
in  the  mountains  of  the  Tyrol ;  for,  alas !  our  Latin  poet, 
not  hayine;  written  in  a  yuJgar  tongue,  could  not,  like  Ariosto, 
oyerawe  the  brigands  by  reyealing  his  name,  and  claiming 
the  safeg^rd  oi  the  Muse.  Nicolai  never  recoyered  from 
the  effects  of  the  adventure,  and  died  on  his  arrival  at  Borne ; 
but  Sarbiewski  had  within  him  that  which  consoled  the  ship- 
wrecked Simonides,  and  being  enabled  to  exclaim  '*  Owmia 
mea  mecum  porto,*^  was  but  Httle  affected  by  his  disaster. 
We  find  him  at  Kome,  studying  archeology  and  numismatics 
under  the  illustrious  Donato,  and  soon  attracting,  by  the 
sweetness  of  his  poetic  talent,  the  notice  of  a  brother  bard, 
Pope  Urban  VIII.  (Barberini).  By  orders  of  the  pontiff, 
he  undertook  the  reyision  of  the  hymns  of  the  Boman  bre- 
yiary ;  and  to  him  may  be  attributed  some  of  the  pathetic 
and  classic  touches  occasionally  perceptible  among  the  rude 
canticles  of  our  liturgy. 

Sarbiewski  made  friends  among  the  dignitaries  of  the 


MOiJEElf   LATIN   P0ET3. 


537 


rilomaii  purple  and  the  noblee  of  Italy  :  but  t!ie  family  of 
[  Pope  Urban,  diatiuguialied  from  the  earliest  period  in  arts 
and  arms,  enjoyed  moet  the  poet's  Botiety.  lo  his  poutifit'al 
Sliecenaa  he  Lad  addressed  many  of  his  odes,  and  I  cull 
from  the  number  the  following  gnU'eful  speeimen,  because 
of  its  melodioua  tadencee  and  eniuisite  Latinity  : 

OdiruiQ,  Lib.  3,  Ode  XV. 
An  Apes  Babbebinas. 
Mellru-m  venutt  Sircalum. 

B  lepM,  Uborloili  <|ii1d  Ju»t  TDlnObiii 

pAriiDbulAn  DTOilbua, 


VlrBlniB 


li  ll.yii.1 


SI  Bin 


Uniigynl  f|»I1I 
reti  und  Ddmn, 

ilsf  thgroMl 

Uavtnglloairofj'Utnl 
-7  plut  and  Sown  jt  Uaih  in, 

Bm  lirichL,  vhlch  [n  nnbroldAr, 
Ue  bir  knighl  kw  hr  tirtr. 

Fulrj  Sogers  nlghl  ■□cl  ili^  1 

a.lboBgli  plHHd  yant  fligbt  I  gue  i 
-  "■•  ™f.d  or  UiD  BeW, 

jTiiuu  jDunrtn^flaibUzoa 

IS  BuberiDi  slililil  I 


'  4  pmitlir  rvl^iHtli. 


'Drkmvii  blltbfl  nni  brmnla ; 
lab  Roinui  Hqueiliict. 
IrophsctSi  rnJ  ailing 


oiioats  having  one  in  his  posseasioiij  was  induced  to  try 


538  TATHEB  FBOUT'S  BELIQUES. 

an  experiment  as  to  its  migratorr  propensities.  He  accord- 
ingly set  it  free,  having  previouslj  attached  to  its  neck  a  tin 
collar,  or  label,  on  which  was  inscribed  a  poetical  indication 
for  the  use  of  those  whom  it  might  visit,  viz. : 

"  HJEC  CICONIA^ 
EX  POLONIA." 

The  liberated  stork  flew  o'er  the  Carpathian  monntaing, 
across  Tartary ;  and  having  performed  the  "  overland  jour- 
ney to  India,"  was  caught  by  some  Jesuit  missionaries  on 
the  coast  of  Malabar.  The  learned  fathers,  with  the  saga- 
city of  their  order,  easily  understood  the  motive  which  had 
dictated  that  inscription ;  they  therefore  substituted  for  the 
tin  label,  one  of  gold,  and  the  carrier-stork  was  subse- 
quently recaptured  in  Poland,  when  the  lines  were  found 
altered  thus : 

"  INDIA  CUM  DONIS, 


ALITEM  BEMITTIT  POLOKIS." 


Such  appears  to  have  been  the  generous  conduct  of  Urban 
towards  Sarbiewski.  On  his  departure  for  his  native  land, 
he  loaded  him  with  presents ;  and  some  biographers  make 
especial  mention  of  a  ponderous  gold  medal,  valued  at  one 
hundred  sequins,  which  the  holy  father  bestowed  on  the 
child  of  song. 

On  his  return  to  Wilna,  appointed  professor  of  rhetoric 
m  the  society's  college,  he  for  several  years  poured  forth  the 
sunshine  of  his  genius  on  the  heads  of  his  delighted  compa- 
triots. While  he  taught  the  young  idea  how  to  shoot,  he 
was  not  unmindful  of  giving  a  patriotic  direction  to  the 
studious  exercises  over  which  it  was  his  pleasing  duty  to 
preside ;  and  it  is  probably  about  this  period  that  he  com- 
posed many  of  those  inspiriting  war-songs  which  crowd  the 
pages  of  his  book,  and  bear  eWdence  of  his  pride  in  the 
military  glories  of  his  countrymen.  I  lay  the  following 
before  my  readers,  in  the  full  confidence  of  their  being  on 
its  perusal  impressed  with  the  vigour  of  the  poet's  mind. 
The  victory  it  commemorates  was  of  immense  importance 
to  Europe  at  that  period,  the  young  sultan,  Osman  II., 
having  advanced  to  the  frontiers  of  Christendom  with  an 
army  of  four  hundred  thousand  men  ;  and  were  it  not  for  the 
prowess  of  Poland,  placed  as  it  were  by  Providence  at  the 


MODERN   LATIN   POETS. 


539 


post  of  peril,  and  shielding  the  whole  family  of  civilised 
nations  from  the  inroads  of  barbaric  strength,  the  Turk 
would  infallibly  have  overrun  our  fairest  provinces,  and 
spread  desolation  throughout  the  whole  western  continent. 


Ode  IV.,  Lib.  4. 

In  Fotfmorttm  etUbrfm  de  Osmano  TViroi- 
nnn  Imp^ratort.  Victoriam,  A.o.  Mbcxxi. 
SepUmhris  Idibua. 

Cabimircs  Sarbiktius,  S.  J. 

Dives  GAleMns.  fertilis  accols, 
OaleMQH  Ixtri,  dum  hua  Dacicia 
Fatigat  in  cnnipiH  aratra, 
£t  galeaa  clypeosque  passim,  ae 


Magnornm  acerros  emit  Asstam ; 

Vergente  Keniin  sole  Rub  henpenim 
FeMBus  resedlHse,  et  soliitos 
Non  solito  tenuisse  cantu 


Fertur  jiirencos ;  "  Carpite  dum  licet, 
Dura  tiita  vobis  otia ;  carpite 

OblitA  iHin  vobiM  vireta, 

Emeriti,  meacura,tauri  I 


Victor  Poloniis  dnra  pofliti  snper 
Ke.sptrat  hantA.  ttic  etiam  vigil 

Snvusque.    Proh  I  quantis,  Polone ! 

Moldavici  tegis  arva  campl 


Thraenm  ruinlR  1  qnaa  ego  Bistonam 
Ilic  cemo  straf^en!  qiixnta  per  avios 

Disjecta  late  Hcnta  cuIleH ! 

Quie  QeticiB  vacua  arma  truncis ! 


HAc  acer  Ibat  Sarmata  (Thraeibiu 
CaptivuH  olim  nam  meniini  puer^ 
Hie  ere  sqiialenteH  et  auro 
ConcanuH  explicuit  catervas. 


Hea  quanta  vidi  pralia  eum  feroz 
Rigeret  hastis  campus,  et  horridi 
Collata  terapeMtas  Qradivl 
Amblguis  fluitaret  armis. 


8a«penBa  paullum  subfitltit  alltla 
Prncella  ferri,  donee  ahenea 
Hlnc  inde  nubes  Mulpliiirato 
Flurinia  detonulsset  Igui. 


Ode  IV.,  Book  4. 

OdA  on  thf.  aiffnal  Dtf^at  of  the  Sultan  (V* 
man,  by  tht  Army  of  PoUtnd  and  her  AUitn, 
S^pUmher  16'21. 

Casimir  Sarbirwski. 

Ab  Blow  the  plough  the  oxen  piled, 
CloHe  by  the  Danulra'H  rolling  tide. 
With  old  Galeslci  for  their  guide^ 

The  Dacian  farmer — 
Ids  eye  amid  the  furrows  Hpied 

Men's  bones  and  arraonr. 

The  air  was  calm,  the  sun  was  low, 
Cairo  wax  the  roiKhty  river's  flow. 
And  silently,  with  footxteps  slow. 

Laboured  the  yoke ; 
When  fervently,  with  patriot  glow, 

The  veteran  spoke : 

"  Halt  ye,  my  oxen  !    Pnune  we  here 
Where  valour's  vextiges  appear. 
And  IsIaam'M  rclirs  far  and  near 

l^urk  in  tlie  soil ; 
While  Poland  on  victorious  spear 

Kests  from  her  toil. 

Aye !  well  she  may  triumphant  rest. 
Adorn  with  glory's  plume  her  crest. 
And  wear  of  victory  the  vest, 

Elate  and  fluitlied : 
Oft  was  the  Payuim's  pride  repressed— 

Hkrk  it  was  chushro! 

Here  the  tremendous  deed  wan  done. 
Here  the  transcendant  tropl»y  won, 
Where  frHginents  lie  of  Nword  and  gun. 

And  lance  and  Khield, 
And  Turkey'H  giant  Mkeleton 

Cumbers  the  field  I 

Heavens !  I  remember  well  that  day, 
Of  warrior  men  tlie  proud  dJHplay. 
Of  brass  and  xteel  the  dread  array — 

Van.  flank,  and  rear ; 
How  my  young  lie«rt  thf  charger's  neigh 

Throbbed  high  to  liear  I 

How  gallantly  our  lancers  stood, 
Of  bristling  spears  an  iron  wood, 
Fraught  with  a  desperate  hardihood 

That  naught  could  daunt, 
And  burning  for  tlie  bloody  fend, 

Fierce,  grim,  and  gaunt  I 

Then  rose  the  deadly  din  of  fight; 

Then  shouting  charged,  with  all  his  migh^ 

Of  Wilna  eHch   IVnfonic  knight. 

And  of  St.  .iohti'H. 
While  ftaMwTVR  ovvV.  ^txavcv  ncntv^^t  \a\^\ 


540 


FATHSB  FBOTTT'S   BSLIQUXS. 


Turn  vero  slgnit  Bigna,  Tlria  Tiri, 
Dextneque  dextris,  et  pedlbas  pede^ 

Et  tela  respondere  telit 

Et  olypeif  clypei  rotQndi« 


Non  Unta  eampos  grandtne  rcrberat 
Nivalis  AretoB ;  non  Aragor  Alpiom 
TantuB  renltentea  ab  Imo 
Choi  yiolens  aglt  AoBter  onoa. 


Bine  quantna,  atqne  hine  Impetus  nreo 
DlfloBUB  Imbrl  I    Mlscet  opus  frequens, 
Fnrorque,  virtnsque,  et  perenni 
Immoritur  brevis  Ira  famn. 


jyitk  sapreniain  nntat  In  aleam 
Fortuna  belli.    Stat  numerosior 

Hlnc  BesBus :  bine  contra  Polonns 

Exiguus  metaendos  alia. 


9ed  qnid  Cydones,  aut  pavidi  Dah«, 
Mollesque  campo  cedere  Concani ; 
Quid  Seres,  averKoque  pugnax 
Paribus  equo,  Cilicumque  turmn. 


Contra  Beqnacls  pectora  Sarmate 
Fossent  fugaces  ?     Mine  niit  Impiger 

POLONUS,  illlnC  LlTHUANUS ; 

Quale  duplex  nilt  axe  fulmen. 


Pol !  quam  tremendns  fulminat  nneo 
Bonissus  igni  I  non  ego  Livonum 
Pugnaset  InconKulta  vitas 
Translerim  tua  Russx  aigna  I 


Vobis  fugaces  vidi  ego  Blstonnm 
Errare  lunaH,  signaque  barbaria 

Direpta  vexillis  et  actani 

Retro  equltiim  peditumque  nnbem. 


Vlrtute  pngnant  non  nnmero  virl, 
Et  una  sylvara  sajpius  emit 
Bipennis,  et  pauc«  sequuntur 
Innnmeras  aquilao  columbas. 


Hen  quie  Jacentnm  strata  eadavera, 
Q'lalenique  vobis  ^donii  fugft, 
Cnnipum  refex^rel     Hie  Polonaic 
Mordet  adhuc  Otoxaxvub  haatam. 


Dire  was  the  atroggla  fn  tlM  raa. 
Fiercely  we  grappled  man  with 
Till  Bo<m  tbe  Paynim  chiela  begaa 

For  breath  to  gasp ; 
When  Warsaw  folded  lapaltaa 

In  deadly  graifp. 

So  might  a  tempest  grasp  a  pine^ 

Tall  giant  of  the  Apennine, 

Whose  rankling  roots  deep  nndermfaM 

Tbe  moantain's  bauM : 
Fitting  antagonists  to  twins 

In  stem  embrace. 

Lond  rung  on  helm,  and  eoat  of  maU, 
Of  musketry  tbe  rattling  hail ; 
Of  wounded  men  load  rose  the  wail 

In  dismal  nmt ; 
And  now  alternate  would  prevail 

The  victor's  about. 

Txmg  Ume  amid  the  vapoan  dense 
The  fire  of  battle  raged  intenae, 
While  VtCTOBY  held  in  Huapenas 

The  scales  on  high : 
Bat  Poland  in  her  Farra's  defence 

Maun  do  or  die  I 

Rash  was  the  hope,  and  poor  the  dianeS; 
Of  blunting  that  victorious  lance ; 
Though  Turkey  from  her  broad  expanaa 

Brought  all  her  sons. 
Swelling  with  tenfold  arrogance. 

Hell's  myrmidona  I 

Stoat  WBB  each  Cossack  heart  and  hand. 
Brave  was  our  Lithuanian  iMod, 
But  Gallantry's  own  native  land 

Sent  forth  the  Poles; 
And  Valour's  flame  shone  nobly  fanned 

In  patriot  souls. 

Large  be  our  allies'  meed  of  fame ! 
Rude  RuHsia  to  the  rescue  came. 
From  land  of  f^ost,  with  brand  of 

A  glorious  horde : 
Huge  havoc  here  these  hones  proclaim, 

Done  by  her  sword. 

Pale  and  aghast  the  eresoent  fled. 
Joyful  we  clove  each  tnrbanned  head. 
Heaping  with  holocausts  of  dead 

Tbe  foeman's  camp : 
Lond  echoed  o'er  their  gory  bed 

Our  horsemen's  tramps 

A  hundred  trees  one  hatchet  hews ; 
A  hundred  doves  one  hawk  pursues; 
One  Polish  gauntlet  so  can  bruise 

Their  miscreant  clay : 
As  well  the  kaliph  kens  who  rues 

That  f«Ul  day. 

What  though,  to  meet  the  tug  of  war, 
Osman  hsd  gathered  from  afar 
Arab,  and  Sheik,  and  Hospodar, 

And  Copt,  and  Gu^bre, 
Quick  yielded  Psgan  scimitar 

To  Christian  sahre. 


MODE EN   IATIN    1 


&  tTTKIIDa.    Bp«»  nlmUi 


Weeper  ia  bKl»l  of'o.UoM  ip 


UMKhHtn 
rwlhi.pt 


'    PriKlplti  [ooDeL  fcXD  Tc 


.t-indnlorr'ai 


0  exasperated,  we  may  add,  were  the  JaniBsarieB  at  the 
untoward  result  of  the  campaign,  tliat  they  murdered  the 
voung  eultan  on  his  return  to  C.  P.  He  was  the  eiiteenth 
leader  of  the  faithful,  counting  from  Mahomet,  hut  ih»  JirU 
whose  life  terminated  in  that  tragical  manner;  albeit  euch 
im  event  has  since  been  of  common  occurrence  on  the  banks 
of  the  Boaphorus, 

Id  the  year  1636  a  ceremony  took  place  at  the  university 
of  Wilna.  The  degree  of  "  doctor"  was,  with  unusual  pomp, 
confenred  on  the  poet,  in  presence  of  King  Wladislas  and 
thetighest  personageH  of  the  realm;  bis  royal  admirer  took 
the  ring  from  bis  own  finger,  and  begged  it  mi^ht  be  ustrd 
in  the  ceremony  of  wedding  the  learued  bachelor  to  his  , 
doctorial  dignity,  Tliat  ring  ia  still  preserved  at  Wilna, 
And  ia  used  to  the  present  day  jn  conferring  the  doctocato 
ftr  annnlum  on  the  students  of  the  university. 

The  patronage  of  royalty  was  now  secured  to  Sarbiewski, 
and  WladiHloB  insisted  on  his  B^^companyiug  hint  even  in  his 
hunting  excursions.  In  an  epistle  of  I'linv  to  Tacitus,  the 
proconsul  invites  the  historian  to  partake  oi  the  pleasures  of 


542  TATHEB  PROTJT'S   BELIQITES. 

the  chase ;  and  tells  him,  that  during  his  visit  to  the  moors  he 
may  still  prosecute  his  favourite  studies :  "  Exptrie$ 
Palladem  non  minus  libenter  venari  in  ^montibus  quam  Dia- 
nam"  I  find  mentioned,  in  the  catalogue  of  his  works, 
poems  entitled  Silviiudia,  referring  to  the  woodland  achieve- 
ments of  the  northern  Nimrod.  He  also  appears  to  have 
written  an  epic  poem,  on  the  exploits  of  some  ancient  Polish 
monarch  {LechiacfoSy  lib.  xii.)  ;  but  it  may  be  classed  with 
the  Kinp  Arthur  of  Sir  Hichard  Blackmore,  the  Colomlnad 
of  Joshua  Barlow,  the  Charlemagne  of  Lucien  Buonaparte, 
and  many  other  modern  epics  too  tedious  to  mention.  His 
last  occupation  was  writing  a  commentary  on  St.  Thomas 
Aquinas,  before  the  termination  of  which  enterprise  he  died, 
A.D.  1640.  I  intend  writing  one  myself,  if  I  live  long 
enough. 

Turn  we  now  to  Actius  Sincerus  d  Sto.  Nazaro,  vidgarlj 
called  (for  shortness)  Sannazar..  The  township  forming  the 
family  inheritance  is  situated  between  the  Po  and  the  Tesi- 
no,  but  he  himself  was  bom  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Vesuvius, 
in  1458. 

Like  Dante,  Tasso,  and  Petrarch,  in  youth  he  visited 
France,  where  he  wrote  a  book — known  by  the  same  name 
as  the  work  of  our  own  euphuist,  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  being 
entitled  Arcadia^  amazingly  popular  in  its  day  throughout 
Italy.  On  his  return  to  Naples  in  1492,  he  appeared  in 
the  character  of  play-writer  to  the  court,  which,  being  prin- 
cipally composed  of  Spanish  hidalgos  (a  branch  of  the  Ma- 
drid family  holding  at  that  period  the  sovereignty),  must 
have  been  pleased  at  the  subjects  selected  by  him  for  drama- 
tic illustration  ;  viz.  the  Conquest  of  Grenada^  and  the  Fall 
of  the  Moors.  These  comedies,  written  in  the  slang  of  the 
lazzaroni,  though  well  received  on  their  appearance,  have 
fallen  now  into  oblivion. 

He  next  took  to  the  sword,  and  joined  his  royal  patron 
in  an  inroad  it  pleased  the  King  of  Naples  (a  vassal  of  the 
holy  see)  to  make  on  the  patrimony  of  St.  Peter,  then  owned 
by  the  ruffian  Alexander  Borgia ;  the  gallant  Ludovico 
Sforza  (aided  by  the  French  under  Charles  VIII.)  drove 
the  invaders  out,  rolled  back  the  tide  of  war  into  the  enemy's 
territory,  and  swept  the  Spanish  dynasty  from  the  thron*. 
Faithfvd  to  the  fallen  prince,  Sannazar  became  the  comp  v- 
nion.  of  hia  \)axiis\iai<&u\.,«jsi'^Njt^^O^^^^^ 


MODERN   L4TIS   POETa.  543 

ind  soutbern  France.  At  this  time  he  formed  a  TrieDdship 
with  tlie  I'linious  Oonzalvo  of  Cordovn.  Oa  the  restoration 
of  the  piiled  house  to  the  throne  of  Naples,  Frederick,  who 
■ucceeded  Ferdinand  11.,  conferred  on  hia  adherent  tlievilln 
of  Margellina.,  in  the  vicinity  of  that  dt-tjghtt'ul  capital ;  in 
the  rural  repose  of  this  euhurban  retreat  he  gave  bimseif  up 
_  to  the  cultivation  of  Latin  poetry. 

Of  his  reputation  at  the  revival  of  claaeic  taste  throiigh- 
t  Europe,  an  idea  may  be  collected  from  the  epitaph  writ- 
hifl  tomb,  close  to  that  of  Virgil,  by  Cardinal  Bembo, 
in  the  same  walk  of  literature: 


K  And  no  two  sepulchres  could  be  more  appropriately  placed 
in  jujtapoBition  on  the  romantic  promontory  of  Pausilippc, 
The  grand  poem  of  Sannazar,  De  parla  Virginit,  which  occu- 
pied twenty  years  of  his  life,  ia  replete  with  evidence  of  a, 
fine  imagination  and  an  exquisite  perception  of  rhythmic 
melody,  Burpaasing  in  both  these  respects  Vlda  on  a  similar 
l.aubject  (^Cltnst'uidva,  lib.  xii.}.  Some  few  lines  will  warrant 
F  ay  jndgmetit.  The  following  extract  refers  to  the  arrival  of 
3(.  Joseph  and  the  Virgin  at  Bethlehem :  it  is  preceded  by 
\  magnificent  description  of  the  etmua  ordered  to  be  taken 
Buoughoul  the  Roman  empire  by  Augustus  Ciesar,  when 
■'  ftll  went  to  be  taied,  every  one  in  bis  own  city." — LvJce, 


Burs  Tliabor,  ipaFSftinque  jugU  Simaritido  lem 
Ptdmiferui ; — Solymaa  e  \a!\lli  liquorat  ktcds 
Cum  *uqul  B  [itiuulo  muroB  et  tecti  domorum 
Proapoiil,  ]iatricquB  ignovit  mmnu  («rrm  ; 
Conlinoo  lachc^mU  ucb«Tn  venerntur  obortia, 
lolanditqus  msnui,  eC  lb  ima  peotore  &tar. 

BelUemiiE  tnrm !  et  dod  olMUura  mecrum 
Ito^a  patruin,  mBgniijue  olim  ulreta  pennlca  I 
Tuguo  0  Mr™  1  pirras  rogum,  yijunique  regem 

Cm  Sol  e'-  gcmJQi  fr — ^ — *" ''■-' 

IhlTa  iterum  !     H'b 

florn^iwt  ponistquti 

Fura  loquor !  [iruiiu  vBDieut  diaiiemsti^  lupplci 

111*  ]>ot(>n*  rciruui  Ccrrvruoitjue  ini-lytH  Ronm, 

Atqup  (u'bia  dviuliiiuu  Bubiuitlet  ad  oacuk  frontuui  T 


S44  TATBEB   FB0UT8    SELlQCBt. 

Prom  the  pen  ot'  Sannazar,  beaides  tliiti  epie,  wt 
books  of  elegiet  two  of  hiicul  ajid  sniHcellaDeous 
the  six  pUealoritil  eclogues  ua  which  lits  btop 
resto.     The  elegies  are  addressed  to  the  frivods  wl 
the  calm  eveaiD^  of  bjs  days,  and  fi«qurtit  alluaina 
to  the  delightful  recideoce  of  the  rilla  Mof^geUina,  tbe  gift 
of  lUs  royal  beneiactot 


De  FonU  8H.  Nat, 


nt  Fanlaht  ^Sl.  .Vuw*. 


Font  (nniMum  iirnw  llicui,  undt  Siirliflnf  iii>  on  (w  Mri  •.■■*  amittt. 


Gal  ftwuWBUiiiilJtJi  p"pulU  lulurti  ■»••••  ™  !»•<■■■■•■_  ■  ^^^«. 


Ta  puuli*  or  tb*  StJnl'a  totenuiioii ! 

His  pastoral  poetry  boa  obtiuned  him  celebrity ;  ifpatlo' 
ral  it  may  be  called,  since  it  chiefly  refers  to  the  bay  of 
K&plee,  and  the  mannerfl, customs,  aud  lovea  of  the  fiahemien. 
There  was  novelty  in  the  idea  of  maritime  ecloguei ;  the  some 
&eshneas  of  imagery  which  gave  a  sort  of  vogiie  to  the  Ori- 
ental pastorals  of  Collins,  rendered  attractive  iE  this  case  aD 
otherwise  dull  and  sonrniTerous  sort  of  compoaition.  The 
crook  was  happily  exchanged  for  \H\q  fithing-rod,  and  well'te- 
plenished  nets  were  substituted  for  bleating  folds.  On  look- 
ing over  thoee  jiatloraU,  I  alight  on  an  odd  idea,  atbi- 
buted  by  the  poet  to  a  Neapolitan  fisherman,  respecting  the 
phenomenon  of  ocean-tides.  The  Mediterranean  being  ex- 
empt from  them,  the  lazarone  waterman  puts  forth  the 
following  theory : 
I  "Et  qtue  canilem  pronul  aspioit  ora  Bntiuiiii» 

I  Qui  (niii  v&DB  Terunt)  quolito  maris  Uuds  resedit 

,  IiidigenD  captuit  Dudao  per  littora  pisuL'S." 

The  ebbing  and  flowing  of  the  tide  would,  doubtless,  have 
iiimifihed  the  early  Greek,  and  Boman  poets  with  abundant 
tntoal  and  poetiotu  allusion,  had  they  such  a  transition  con- 
stuit^  before  their  eyes  as  we  have  ;  and  I  make  no  apo- 
logy for  noticing  in  this  place  a  robbery  of  Tom  Moore,  who 
baa  made  use  of  a  French  autiior's  ideas  on  tills  topic,  traos- 
ferring  the  whole  piece  into  his  Meludiea,     Ex.  ijr. : 

rritt  writtm  ty  fontmillt  in  the  JUnm  of  JVJnaii  di  I'Bmloi. 

Moom'i  "  [  HW  rrom  tbe  bsuU.'  ,b:.  in. 
TOjMndiiriv.Ko,  111  Lotnr  dB  L'.u-    Onin'»ii.nWI«p.lxotUg1n(n.tl™lo, 


I^WIUI  d<Ulu«  par  Is  Saldt-  Lunii 

ml*  dl)  ■!«■:  '  Cart  I'asqgir  dn  Qai  ma  i 

b«l»g., 

i1  1v  tli'i  dnbanJieLir  quL  Id  bcrcn  Oi^tD'> 

U  nil*iii  vWili  I'tpbiafn  doiila  I  ^ol  I'J 


546  7ATHXB  PSOUT'S   BELIQI7E8. 

Littile  else  remainB  to  be  said  of  Sasmazar,  wbo  died  al 
the  age  of  72,  on  the  margin  of  that  delicious  baj  where  he 
had  judiciously  pitched  his  tent  towards  the  close  of  a  long 
and  adventurous  career,  and  where  he  had  surrounded  him- 
self with  all  that  can  make  existence  pleasaiit — ^the  charmB 
of  friendship,  the  pursuits  of  literature,  and  the  consolations 
of  religion,  a.d.  1530. 

Jerome  Fracastor  saw  the  light  at  Verona  in  1483.  He 
exhibited,  on  his  first  appearance  in  this  clamorous  world, 
the  anatomical  rarity  of  a  mouth  so  hermetically  sealed,  hps 
so  perfectly  adhering  to  each  other,  as  to  require  the  sur- 
geon's bistouri  to  make  an  aperture  for  vocal  sounds.  Not 
less  extraordinary  was  a  subsequent  occurrence  in  the  histoiy 
of  his  childhood.  One  day,  while  in  the  arms  of  his  mother, 
the  electric  fluid,  during  a  thunder-storm,  was  pleased  to  de- 
prive the  parent  of  life,  leaving  the  infant  poet  unscathed. 
At  nineteen  he  was  deemed  fit  to  fill  the  chair  of  logic  at 
the  universiiy  of  Padua.  Having  embraced  the  medical 
profession,  he  quickly  attained  eminence  in  the  healing  art ; 
and  such  was  the  splendour  of  his  name  throughout  Italy, 
that  he  was  summoned  to  Borne  and  invested  i^-ith  the  poit 
of  ap^iar^og,  or  state-physician  to  Pope  Paul  III.  In  this 
capacity  he  attended  the  Council  of  Trent,  and  there,  on  the 
appearance  in  1547  of  certain  symptoms  of  a  contagious  dis- 
temper in  that  neighbourhood,  the  physician  waved  his  wand, 
dissolved  the  meeting  of  the  oecumenical  fathers,  and  ordered 
them  to  transfer  their  labours  to  the  more  salubrious  city  of 
Bologna ;  which  mandate  was  at  once  obeyed  by  that  as- 
sembly, duly  impressed  with  the  wisdom  of  Fracastor.  He 
died  in  1553,  at  the  advanced  age  of  sevent}' ;  beyond  which, 
according  to  the  Psalmist,  there  is  nothing  but  trouble, 
dulness,  and  drivelling.  My  contemporary",  old  Talleyrand,  w, 
however,  an  exception. 

To  speak  of  the  works  of  our  poet  is  now  the  dilBculty ; 
for  his  principal  claim  to  renown  as  a  writer  is  founded  on 
a  didactic  poem,  of  which  the  name  cannot  be  breathed.* 
We  may,  however,  indicate  the  subject  on  which  his  muse 
has  chosen  to  expatiate  with  all  the  naiveU  of  unsophisti- 

♦  Olvi  Prout  appears  rnther  squeamish  in  this  matter :  Ladj  Bl«»- 
vingtoti  Vvas  Vvayd  no  scruple  in  dwelling  on  the  praises  of  Fracastor  in 
her  \aat  no^d.  The  Tv>o  Fi^endiA'^^^^^^  ^  ^.  210.— O,  Y. 


MO  DEES  LATIH    POBTB. 


Li,  by  atatiag  that  it  beare  aomo  analogy  to  tLe 
es  of  Julius  Ctesar,  De  Bella  Gallico.     Perhaps 
^ ^  lines  will  be  more  eiplanatory : 

"  Qui  OMUB  reruni  Tiirii,  qua!  aamina  morbiun 
Ineurtum  neo  loneti  uUi  per  Biecula  Tisum 
Atlulcrint  g  DOetii.  qui  tempostate  per  omnom 
Eun)]>aiu,  pnptBmque  AsisB,  Ijirb^ffique  par  ujbe« 

(BiPTiiti  in  Latium  vero  per  Cristia  belln 
P  Oallonim  irnipit,  noniflnque  a  gente  recepit ; 

I  Sine  ciujQEV  iooipiiim.     aatum  suavibas  horti 

'  Floribus  inTtUtnt  et  aixumUs  mirs  Camcsiuel" 

The  fostidiousneas  of  modem  taste  does  not  allow  a  cri- 
tical dissection  of  this  eitraordinaty  work,  in  which  there  is 
■  marvelloua  display  of  inventive  ingenuity,  of  eiuberaiit 
&iicy,  great  mpotcid  skill,  and  great   maaterdom  over  the 
technical  terms  of  the  art,  so  aa  to  blend  them  with  the 
Bmooth  current  of  poeay.     The  episodes    are  particularly 
deserving  bf  commendation,    and    the  whole   performance 
stuops  the  author  as  a  man  of  superior  accompliahmeuts 
Uid  nigh  philoBopby,    But  the  subject  is  intractable. 
I      He  was  not  the  hrst  who  adopted  this  metrical  method  of 
I  eouveying  medical  theories :  the  school  of  Salerno,  in  the 
"ieventh  century,  had  clothed  their  precepts  ia  verse;  and 
'~e  diaticbs  of  the  Schola  Satemitana  were  long  quoted  with 
.  veienee  by  the  faculty.     They  are  addreaaed  to  Ilobert  of 
■ormimdy,  who  stopped  at  Salerno,  on  bis  return  I'rom  the 
)ly  Land,  to  get  bis  arm  cured  of   an  issue ;   and  as  ho 
a  OD  his  way  to  take  posseesion  of  the  throne  of  England, 
ifl  saluted  as  king  in  the  opeoing  of  the  book,  though  he 
L  never  lived  to  sway  the  sceptre  of  these  islands : 

"Angloruni  regi  Bcrtbit  Schola  tots  Salami,"  &c. 

[.  Chap.  III.— Theodoee  Beza,  TATHEtt  Vasieke,  Geobge 
Bdchakas. 
"  Th»  ButuIuBTc  fuat  niillo  diecriniino  hafaobo." — ^nrid,  lib.  i. 
Je  He  decide  pas  entro  Qendvo  ot  Rome." — Hrnriadt,  oaat.  ii.  r.  G. 
I  PMnt  eoDJurCB  up  Ihree  ghoBls,  tn  aup  to-night  on  a  rad-berring ; 
ISme  ffhoSlIy  guesla  lie  iiitere»l« — on  tbi'  ort  they  lored  ponfarring; 
■  "With  a  cordial  greet  the  Jenu-it  hails  the  two  other  gBmnipn — 

■"le  caniiiB  Scot,  with  the  Huguenot  from  the  bordcrsof  Lakclif'nan. — 

o.  y. 

iKTAiir  crauiological  proceediagB    are  reported  to  hava 


546 


TATUER  rBons  aiLiQcn 


lakeo  place  in  Dublin.    'E-vcry  one  wbo  hu  rvfld  t1 
published  by  U8  in  July.  1«34,  cnlitM   "Swift**  ' 
k  Tale  of  a  Chum,"  diubI  Icnuw  that  Prout'a  narrata  ■ 
tlic  DfAii  and  the  accutojilishcd  StelU.     Mr.   BuHr,  (m 
Sir  Bernard)  geoealogjet,  aiid   Ulstpr  king-«t  armi,   lui 
mittcd  the  fact.     Now  it  Appears  thnt  a  "  Mrnvlific 
ciation"  (a  hIiow  got  up  on  the  ]trinripl<r  of    WuBibm 
trarelling  menagerie)  bas  been  Tisiiin^  tbe  Irisli  nptT 
and  in  return  fur  sundry  capers,  exhibited  J      "      "" 
has  Teqiiested  (out-Bcrixling  Uebodias!)  that  the  dralhd 
Swi Hand  Stella  should  be  presented  on  a  chargn-fc 
s|>eetion.     The  result  of  the  phrenoU^cal  iaqimt  m  ■ 
DQunced  to  be  the  disi-overy  of  "  Ihr  oryas   nf  e 
in  Prout'H  fetber  "very    large:"    that  of   ~rfnirvr 
eoually  bo,  "  iril"  being  at  n  very  low  tiiark — **ii 
tib1e."     We  cannot  let  this  plies ;  we  rrprl  Uw  i 
sinuation  thnt  Prout  iuberilcd  from  tbe  Dron  tlie 
and  dtilruelive   bumps  aluiig*ilii  the"  impere 
of  wit  which  we  are  willing  to  admit  lell  to  I 
formed  indeed  (with  a  lock  of  tJtcUa's  hair)  bia  sole  [ 
mony.     MJId  and  tolerant,  ever  ready  to  make  alloiianc*  fa 
other  people's  prtjwtliceB.  gympiithisinff  with  all  I 
there  vue  not  nn  ntom  of  pugnactty  tn  bit 
an  nulopeia  taken  ploee  at  hia  death,  tb«  (^•bla 
have  been  found  empty.     He  was  particularly 
that  epidemic,  which  has  ever  nt|;ed  niunnc  rivrg 
petvuasioiie,  the  scurvy  disorder  called,  by 
Theoloffieum.     This  immedicable  disIeinM'r   lur 
slightest  inroad  on  his  conatitution.     To  hia  bre 
eloth  he  recommended  the  brUtt  Ultra  an  an  c' 
pbylnctie ;  one  of  bia  innocent  euprratitiooa  i 
raetalinn  sprine  possefiBcd  an  efficacy  akin  tn  tl: 
Tertullian  nseribeB  to  "  hoi  v  water,"  and  tliat,  like  the'"*) 
/tttlralit,"  it  could  equally  "banish  ttil  spirits,  i 
and  vampires,  and  lay  ths  ghost  of  byguntt  dtaae 
ever  it  was  sprinkled. 

ilaring  thuB  disposed  of  ihr  " combative  bnmp."  ««  f 
to  the  "  destrui-tive"  pniluWrauoe  which,  it  is  bintcd.  Si 
transferred  to  his  Tenerablo  child.  Yc  gods!  l*n»t  a  « 
Btruetive!  No.  no,  the  jiaiir.'  waa  no  pneatlv  sanamlatl 
and  Vinegar  llill  veM  not  the  muust  on  which  ha  pMid  I 


UOOEBH    LATIN    FOETB.  549 

political  adoratioDB.  Like  Edmund  Burkp,  tie  ^fished  to 
Bee  ■■  no  min  OQ  tlic  face  of  the  laiiil."  His  joulhful  re- 
miniaeeneea  of  the  Jacobin  Club,  of  Marat,  of  Dnnttin,  and 
of  Sttiiterre  (who,  Lke  Dan,  kept  a  brewery)i  had  given  n 
ccfflBervative  tone  to  bis  feelinga.  As  for  the  lay  abbot  trf 
Denynane  "  Abbey,"  be  had  watched  bis  early  proceeding 
with  a  certaui  degree  of  interest ;  he  soon  smoked  the  ehar- 
tatan,  when  the  accounte  of  "the  Associiition"  began  to  get 
Bomehow  "  unaccountably  mixed  up"  with  hia  own  balances 
in  the  banker's  ledger ;  which  mistake  happened  au  earlv  as 
1S27  ;  and  Prout's  prophetic  eye  foresaw  at  once  the  law- 
yer's bag  distending  itself  into  the  subsequent  dimensions 
of  the  beggar's  waflet.  In  one  of  his  sermons  to  the  faith- 
fnl  of  Watergraaahill  (the  MS.  is  in  the  chest),  !ie  employs, 
as  usual  when  he  seeks  to  illustrate  any  topic  of  importance, 
W  B  quotation  from  one  of  the  holy  fathers  ;  and  the  puBsagt) 
^  be  setecta  is  from  a  homily  of  St.  Angustin,  addressed  to 
the  people  of  Hyppo  in  Africa : — "  I'roterbium  nutiim  eit 
Punicum  quod  qutdem  Latini  vobtt  dieam  quia  I'anici  non  amnt* 
nmlit ;  KUMUiru  qdxbit  pebtilentia  F  Buoa  illi  sa,  £T 
DUCAT  SB  !"  (Serm.  CLXyil.  Sti.  Aug.  Optra,  tome  V.  p. 
8M,  Benrdktint  Ed.)  i.e.  "There  is  an  old  prorerb  of  jour 
f  FhomicdaQ  ancestors  which  I  will  mention  in  Latin,  as  you 
I' don't  all  speak  the  Funic  dialect :  '  Dues  tue  plauoe  fct 

l<rOBTH  ITS  HAJin  FOBiLLMS?    INSTEAD    OP    A    PEKNT    QITK 
TWO,  THAT  TOP    MAT  BE  UOBE  Bl'EEnILT  RID  OF  TUE    OSIH 

AJPLiCAST.'     Now,  my  good  parishioners,  this   aphorism  of 
our  Carthaginian  roreialhers  (I  am  sorry  we  have  not  bees 
fevoured  by  St.  Augustin  with  the  onginal  Celtic)  would 
hold  good  if  the  mendicant  only  paid  us  a  fortuitous  visit , 
but  if  he  were  found  to  was  importunate  in   proportion  to 
the  peace-offering  of  pence,  and  if  this  claimant  of  elee- 
mosynary EUd  announced  to  us  a  perpetual  and  periodical 
visitation,  we  should  rather  adopt    the  resolution  of  one 
b  Jjaurence  Sterne  (who  has  written  sermons),  and,  buttoning 
I  up  our  pocket,  stoutly  refuse  to  give  a  single  sou." — Sermon 
'  /or  Tribute  Sundai^,  in  MS. 

The  lits  of  periodical  sturration  to  which  the  ogrii-ultoral 
labourers  throughout  Ireland  (farmers  tliey  cannot  be 
colled)  are  subject — the  screwing  of  reuts  up  to  an  ad  ti~ 
iHum  pressure  by  the  ownera  of  tlie  soil— the  "  clearing  of 


550  7ATHXB  PROITT'S   SELIQUES. 

estates,"  against  wbicb  there  is  no  legal  remedj,  and  which 
can  onlj  be  noticed  hj  a  Bockite  hilUt-doux — the  alow, 
wasting  process  of  inanition,  which  carries  off  the  bulk  of 
the  peasantry  (for  there  is  a  slow-fever  of  hunger  endemic 
through  the  land,  permanent  like  the  malaria  ^  Italy)  ; — 
these,  in  Front's  view  of  things,  are  (and  have  been  since 
the  days  of  Swift)  the  only  r^  grievances  of  the  countrr. 
The  ejected  peasant  of  the  Irish  hovel  Is  suffered  by  law  to 
die  in  a  ditch ;  and  the  gratifying  of  sectarian  vanity,  bj 
what  are  called  liberal  measures,  G;ave  Prout  no  pleasure 
while  the  cottier  was  allowed  to  be  trampled  on  by  the 
landlord  (Popish  or  Protestant)  with  uniform  heartlessness 
and  impunity. 

"  Pellitur  in  sinu  ferens  Deos, 
£t  Tir  et  uxor  sordidoBque  natos.** — Hob. 

As  to  a  provision  for  the  poor,  IVfr.  O'Connell  appears  to 
think  that  enforced  alms  are  only  desirable  in  his  own  case. 

**  Un  jour  Habpaoov,  touchy  par  le  prdne 
De  son  Cure,  dit :  '  Je  vaia  m'amender ; 
Bien  n'est  si  beau,  si  touchani  que  I'aumdne, 
£t  de  ce  pas,  je  rais — la.  DE]CAia>EB !' " 

Any  debt  due  to  him  by  his  co-religionists  for  oratorical  ex- 
ertions, was,  in  the  fother's  estimate,  long  since  discharged. 
*  K'XCLsittTtii  6  ^)cto; ;  Prout  would  ask,  in  the  words  of  JEs- 
chines,  and  with  him  answer,  OO;^ !  a>Xa  fLtyray.cf^  (in 
Ctesiphont.) 

These  were  Prout's  politics ;  some  may  prefer  his  poetry. 
We  like  both. 

OLIYEK  TOEKE. 

Watergra$*hiU,  OcL  1826. 

Besuming  to-night  the  subject  of  modern  attempts  at 
Latin  versification,  a  name  suggests  itself  sufficiently  dis- 
tinguished in  the  annals  of  ecclesiastical  warfare,  but  not 
as  familiar  as  it  deserves  to  be  in  literary  circles.  I  allude 
to  Beza.  Those  who  imagine  that  the  successor  to  John 
Calvin,  in  that  snug  little  popedom  G^eneva,  would  influence 
my  judgment  as  to  nis  poetical  merits,  don't  know  my  way 
(d  qtyi^g  Y^\\»Bfi«&.    To  tliooe  of  our  doth,  the  recollectioitt 


itmnected with  that  neighbourboodarenot  delectable.  Ican- 
Dt  Bay  with  Byron — 
"Lake  Lemui  wooa  roe  with  her  crjatal  faw."— (Cnato  iii,  »t.  68.) 
A  strange  attraction  Beema  to  have  drawn  to  the  borders 
'Of  this    roinautic  fishpond  Calvin  tind  Madame  de  ISto^l. 
SouBseau  and  Gibbon,  Beza  and  Sir  Egerton  Brydges,  Vol- 
taire  and  SirHumphrej  Daiy  (or,  ne  the  Italians  called  him, 
Zoromfridevi,)  John  Kemble,  St.  Francia  de  Saiea,  Monsieur 
Meeker,  Monsieur  de  Hallcr,  and  a  host  of  celebrities  in  re- 
ligion, politics,  and  literature. 

"  Lsumnni;  snd  Farnej  '.  je  liare  been  the  abodei 
Of  nnines  which  unto  yoa  bequailhed  >  name — 
MortaJs  who  nought  luid  found,  b;  dangeroue  roada, 
A  path  to  perpetuity  of  fajue." 

Whatever  was  the  fascination  of  this  lake  on  sensitive 
■oule,  it  eierciaed  a  wholeaome  influence  on  the  bodUv  health 
ot'  the  denizens  on  its  margin ;  for,  not  to  mention  tne  octo- 
geoariaa  author  of  the  Ilfariade,  our  Theodore  himself  eked 
out  a  career  of  almost  a,  full  century,  being  bom  in  1519. 
And  deferring  his  departure  front  this  lite  to  the  protracted 
mille*imo  of  1605 !  Vezelai,  a  village  of  Burgundy,  was  his 
cradle  i  in  iulancy  he  was  bTinaferred  to  the  house  of  an  old 
nude,  Mich,  de  B^ze,  a  lawyer  in  Paris,  whence,  at  the  age 
of  ten,  he  vas  removed  to  Orleans,  and  placed  imder  the 
tuition  of  Melchior  Wohnar,  a  acholnstic  luminary  of  the 
day :  from  him  the  embryo  reformer  imbibed  the  first  prin- 
eiplea  of  free  judgment  in  charch  matters.  In  his  last  vrill 
and  testament  he  "  thanks  God,  that  at  the  eorty  age  of  ail- 
teen  he  had  already,  in  liis  secret  aoul,  shaken  off  the  tram- 
mels  of  popery."  This  did  not  prevent  him  from  accepting 
■the  clerical  tonsure  and  pelil  ealUt  to  qualify  for  a  church 
living,  vii.  the  priory  of  Longjiimeau,  which  he  held  until 
the  year  1548.  He  had  expectations  from  an  uncle,  who 
would  have  lel^  him  ecclesiastical  revenues  to  the  amount  of 
15,000  livrca :  things  turned  out  otherwise.  He  mixed  for 
jrears  in  the  gaieties  of  the  French  capital,  publishing  in  the  in- 
terralB  of  fun  and  frolic  his  Poemala  JiweHi/ia  j  when  a  serious 
attachment  to  a  young  lady  of  great  mental  accomplishmenta, 
udalfioalit  of  Bickness,  called  a  cliange to  coTiico'erthe  spirit 
ot  Mb  life's  young  dream.     On  recuvery  from  his  illnew, 


552  TATHSB   FBOVT^S  BELIQUSS. 

iuring  which  he  had  enjoyed  the  seryioes  of  a  most  amiable 
nurse-tender,  he  renounced  his  priory,  bade  adieu  to  hii 
ayuncular  prospects,  and  fled  to  Geneva,  where  his  acknow- 
ledged scholarship  caused  him  to  be  received  with  acclama- 
tion. I  had  forgot  to  add  that  Candida,  the  lady  of  hia  love, 
was  the  partner  of  his  flight.  If  we  are  to  judge  of  her 
beauty  and  sylph-like  form  by  the  standard  of  Beza's  glowiop 
verses,  Ad  pedem  Candida, 

**  O  pes !  quern  gemins  premunt  ooSninnir,"  &c.  Ac. 

she  must  have  been  a  fitting  Egeria  to  supply  the  new  legis- 
lator of  divinity  with  graceful  inspirations.  He  waa  made 
Greek  professor  at  Lausanne,  an  occupation  to  which  be 
devoted  ten  years ;  there  he  vnrote  a  Latin  tragedy,  called 
the  Sacrijice  of  Abraham,  which  drew  tears  from  old 
Pasquier's  eyes.  At  Lausanne  he  also  published  a  French 
translation  of  the  New  Testament,  and  carried  on  a  contro- 
versy against  Sebastian  Castalio,  a  brother  reformer  and 
rival  translator.  This  f  astalio  had  the  impudence  to  censure 
Calvin  for  burning  Servetus,  and  Theodore  wrote  a  book  in 
his  master's  defence,  which  was  printed  by  Eobert  Etienne 
(1  vol.  8vo.  Paris,  1554),  "  under  the  sign  of  the  olive," 
and  entitled  De  Hareticis  a  civiii  Magistratu  puniendis.  The 
doctrine  of  putting  heretics  to  death  is  more  strenuously 
enforced  in  this  tract  than  even  in  Dens'  stupid  book  of 
theology.  Beza  little  thought  what  use  might  be  made  of 
his  own  doctrines ;  that  foresight  which  Horace  praises  in 
Segulus  did  not  form  part  of  his  character :  he  did  not  look 
to  the  consequences. 

"  Hoc  carerat  mens  provida  Keguli 
Dissentientis  oonditionibus 
Sflevis  et  exempix)  trahbxti 

P£RNICI£M  VENIKNS   IN    ^TC1€." 

Hob.,  Ode  r.  lib.  iiL 

It  is  right  to  add,  that  Melancthon  difiered  totally  from  the 
tenets  of  his  brethren  at  Geneva  on  this  matter. 

The  death  of  Calvin  left  him  the  recognised  chief  of  Eu- 
ropean Protestantism  in  1564,  previous  to  which  he  had  ap- 
peared as  the  representative  of  the  cause  at  the  famous 
CoUoque  de  Poissy ;  which,  like  all  such  exhibitions  of 
religious  wrangling^  ended  in  each  party  being  aa  wise  aa 


LATIN    POETB, 

erer.  He  presided  at  the  synod  of  Roclielle  in  1570,  and 
bis  wife,  Candida,  dying  in  1583,  he  reniiimed  a,  jouiig 
spouse,  whom  he  calls  tiie  "  Shimamite  :"  a,  gay  thought  for 
a  theologinn  in  hia  seveaty-third  year.  Tliia,  however,  is  no 
business  of  ours.     I^et  us  have  a  stave  of  his  poetry. 

Most  of  Ilia  verses  are  in  the  heodecasyilabic  metre,  the 
choice  of  which  indicates  who  were  his  favourite  author* 

long  the  poets. 


L 

XKS  TIT  B^ 

Si,ft^""d 

o 

>  Hldlar  iw 
aa  iDiirt  bi 

>Uiaainlilaba)uir 

Irl  rlctlini  *ihaoa 
a  Iwr  hoUMiiali 
ImhI  (Ish  nfuM 
'K  U  bl>  innaa. 

tcisaiir^iiii'aisrF.ii'i'^" 

WhMBiftwh 

1  HtrlBH  aelael, 

4' 

¥S1 

lnk...Ob*piirB'>l< 
gnjl",  yim  ■«  tor 

I'  To  (Kttt'bl -^MSrt™! 
Tn  fUi  mihi  "  Leablkm"  I 


or  UU,  Uir  atmiuch  iuA  bran  pulUl 


llUl"ol''r"" 


Quiere,  Ilauk,  >  tome  f— JVinler'i  D«U, 


I   PKOCT  ■    BE  Lt  go  KB. 


I  know  not  whether  Southey,  whone  nuign  nf  rMiliai 
tftkea  in,  like  the  wliirlpuol  of  the  luilian  ocaux.  ii,*.«nl 
and  straws,  as  well  aa  IVigiitea  niid  mcrvhaatmen.  bu  M* 
found,  in  this  obscure  poem  of  Bexa,  the  [iroCotfpc  id  ' ' 
fanciful  lines 

"(Ma  tt-vrm  w  t*f  fiut." 
Kiy,  (>(b«r  BAI  (hit  titiart.  XrBhnlu  ;        Bm  aq 


Hill 


il>1lto. 


II  van  u  n.]r  tl.lnr  I"  M«*  il""! ""»,      Vm  Ilit  whH.  ai^UMI^  WMffc 

RncuilT  oaf  illUilniti  IwdutniTMl  I       II  nn  *  Imi  i  i  iwn«iii|>^« 
Bflt-tl>»l  m  ll»  ^wsr  Df  nwrulmnB     T- 1*  «>k.rMlM  iko.:  (rfKH^ 
Ta  aind  iba  rrunn  of  ■  Mton-iliBll.       —  '    ■■  .    .    ._ 

IU4k  NUHn-^MoD  [i>M^(%m  ar-    J'.l'Cu, 

iDcriH*  nal  Uiou  the  Dtmbitrt  btn  tha    Ar  i 

GBHlof  ■iih'idbMlnKinnih  tlH  (hrir*    <<^ 

But  pethnpB  Lafontnine's  mt,  n 
intercourse  to  the  henuitoge  of  a/r 
real  aourw  of  Souther's  iuepiintio: 

In  an  jtber  effusion,  which  he  has  cnlitled  Ad  ffif ''  fl  i  am^ 
Beza's  enthuBinsm  for  the  writers  of  riMsio  uilitjuilT  bnak* 
out  in  fine  style ;  and  as  th^  enumemtion  of  hi*  fjiTciurtttC 
may  poase«a  some  intereat,  tiiHomuch  a»  it  afiiinis  k  d  lo  !«-, 
his  early  course  of  reading,  I  insert  a  tVneiiient  uf  Ihi*  cld> 
rious  nomcndature.     1'he  <-iitalogiii-  require  --  * 1-*;  —  - 


UODEBK   LATIN    POETS.  SuiJ 

The  lines  wliii;h  I  bare  marked  iitit&!:^  convey  the  theory 
■ubaequently  broat-hed  by  ProfesBor  Wo'iT,  and  maintaiiiBd 
with  Biii^h  prodigious  U'aruing ;  viz.  that  llomer  was  a  mere 
en*  rationif,  a  nominia  umbra,  repruaenting  no  individual  of 
the  Bpeciea — aiich  poet  never  having  eiiated — but  that  the 
various  rhapsodies  forming  Iliaif  and  Odynsfg  were  collected 
throughout  Greece,  and  the  authorship  aaeribed  to  thiairaa- 
r  gjiary  personage  about  the  time  of  Lycurgus.  The  seepti- 
I  ciain  of  BeEa  would  greatly  corroborate  rhe  Wolthan  doc 

We  have  no  list  of  nis  favourite  autbore  among  modern 
F  wn^tera,  but  it  would  appear  that  he  had  a  partiality  for 
I  fmok  Eabeiais,  and  relished  eiceedingiy  the  learned  buf- 
f  foonery  of  that  illustrious  Theboa.  Witness  the  following 
B^distich : 

"  Qui  vio  nugatur,  tractantem  ut  urii  rinmt. 
Saris  uuni  coribcl,  die  modo  qunlii  erit?" 


Of  Beza  as  a  religionist,  it  does  not  become  me  to  say  a 
Plrord. 

A  notice  of  the  Jesuit  Jacques  Vanifere  must  Im  necessft- 
riiy  brief,  as  far  as  biographical  detail.  His  was  the  quiet, 
peaceful,  but  not  illiterate  life  of  the  cloister ;  days  of  csbn, 
unimpassioned  eiistence,  gliding  insensibly,  but  not  unpro- 
fitably,  onvrards  to  the  repose  of  the  grave  and  tho  hopes  of 
immortality.  He  was  bom  in  the  south  of  France,  near 
Montpellier,  in  16<)4 ;  was  enrolled  among  the  Jesuits  at  the 
age  01  sixteen ;  and  died  at  Toulouse  in  1739,  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  seventy-three. 

Schoolboys  are  not  aware  that  they  owe  him  a  debt  of 
gratitude  j  he  being  the  compiler  of  that  wondrous  ladder 
of  Jacob  yclept  Qradas  ad  Parmumm. 

His  great  work  ia  the  Pntdium  Ruitien.ii 
juishedby  a  brilliant  iancv,  akindly  feeling,  a 
(or  the  pursuits  of  rural  file.     Tlie  topics  -■ 


fishponds,"  "  poultry,"    "  gardeaiug," 
'  "  sheep-walks ;" 


poem  distin- 

a  keen  relish 

'  vineyards," 

game- p  reserves," 

do  X  know  any  book  whu'h  conveys 

loh  a  detailed  picture  of  farming  operations  in  France 

Tore  the  Bevolution.     Since  tbat  event,  the  whole  system 


666 


fatkek  pboft's  KU-iqDTS. 


of  landed  property  hMviae  been  dashed  to  pteoM,  a  totally 
different  atnte  of  societj-  baa  aHperrened. 

There  lire  sereral  eiogular  notions  broached  in  Ibu  }>oA: 
ex.  gr.  iu  deprecating  the  destructioD  of  fon:*t»,  irar  yoA 
points  out  the  value  of  Jlre-vnod,  much  lanitaititii;  vnn  Utt 
neceBsitj  vchich  compels  the  Eaglbh  io  bum  coals,  aadtbta 
reflort  to  Montpcllier  to  get  cured  of  aub*M)iieDt 


Aspice  d 
QuilD]  m 


'c<to  iti  tsbewentibci  ipi« 

is  ojieia  Milrrit  palmambni  itr." 


The  digging  of  the  canal  of  Langne'loc,  "mmmo  fiaim 
commercia  piinto."  forms  a  glorious  episode  (lib.  I.);  U  alM 
doefl  the  memorable  plague  of  Mnr»eilles  (lib.  iii.),  oelebrawd 
br  Pope,  and  during  which  our  poet 'anin/r^rMdistdipiuialtfd 
theniBelved  b^  their  lieroio  devoiednenfl.  The  d«.-acri|itti)ii  4iC 
a  villagf-feetival,  iu  liouour  of  the  patron-saiot  (lib,  ni),  \iM 
been  dcBervedly  admired. and  baa  bi-en  tranAlatrd  by  VeWt^ 
The  famous  year  of  the  hard  frost,  whicli,  lo«ard»  the  clcac 
of  the  reign  of  Loiiia  SIT.,  destrofrd  all  the  nli*v  pi*"*** 
tiona  in  the  south  of  Franr«,  if  also  fittingly  aung  (lib.  niL), 
but  comineud  nie  to  a  cock-fight  (lib.  ziL): 


"OIU  rlgrni  hlnuu  Jr 


The  vanoni  habits  of  Ihc  swan,  the  pcarooV,  tb*  torby, 
and  other  feathered  suhje^rts,  arc  capitally  [lit  olT;  vtM 
in  there  a  mure  pathetic  puMoge  in  the  SorTDv*  ofWrrt^ 
than  the  one  dest^'riptive  ol  »  ben 'a  grief,  Ttiia  ben  ia  wiit 
to  "  ait"  on  n  batch  of  duck's  eggs,  and  wbrn  the  ducUinfl 
have  appforcd  she  still  believra  thmn  to  b"  cbickuia.  101 
B<-ts  aeconliiigly,  until,  by  som«  fatal  t-hanm,  they  are  l«d  la 
the  brink  nf  a  nond  -,  when  lo  1  thr  i«cret  of  their  hirtb  ia 
revealed,  aud  tliey  rush  instinctively  into  the  drvp.    !%• 


MOUEBU   LATIH    1 


passage,  however,  which  1  have  selected  for  traaislatio 
■  higher  key. 

Fram  YlNitEE'B  Fradiam  SHtlieum.  lib.  si. 


uRncehl    Outlulol 


ifltHitationS  in  a  VXHiiwCtURx. 


Witfdnd  llio  prupiDK-book.  >Dit  pitod    Niugbt  iT 


proDdl;  down  U»  c 
fnfDTe  oBCh  pipe,  d 


ED  beftts  bul  kTe  h 


DUlddg  >p.ll 

If  J-iKihanniMl  bii  In  Ibli 
Brirf, 
10,  Cimins-       Lai  them  be  Jiill  onei ;  let  Ihe 

tEcl^  DiitplTe4>f  d^ptitei,  UDitI 

'       'Twen  iKtter  that  Iliu  In  » 
enlnroiuf^E  VThtn  wmitlliie  podmM  ■ 


Bn  emiiith  not  ■  puptt  otQur  Fim.  FoIiod  (ho  pleulng  hmiri  (oc  nui's  nil- 

O'sr  tnurnulilB  priclln*  tu  bi»o4  Joymeol  ucuiU 
WIlbklhMdnii.'UKli'vrLliaUliido; 

AI*lllLcpVoueJ»lm.him(cirii».-o,  Dolh  ronderouli  of  BriaounDTroijlno 

TH*1>>>  >b«  Undltfgt  iriBpiUilsa  Tlwt  uiDe  pnrei  Ui  bruUiii  vf  Bo»- 


658 


FATHER  PBOUT's  BXLIQUI8. 


Is  old  Qaeuxka  Jealous  of  the  Rhixs  f 
Oaul,  or  the  grape  Qermanlc  vine- 
yards grow  ? 
Doth  Xbrbs  deem  bright  Lachbtva 
his  foe  ? 
Oo  the  calm  banks  that  fHnge  the  bine 

MOMKLLB, 

On  LsMAx's  margin,  on  the  plains  of 
Po, 
Pnre  fh>m  one  common  sky  these  dev- 
drops  fell. 
Hast  thou  prenerved  the  Jaioe  in  parity  f 
'Tis  weU ! 

Lessons  of  love,  and  light,  and  liberty, 

Lurk  in  these  wooden  volumes.  Preie- 

dom's  code 

Lies  there,  and  pity's  charter.    Poetry 

And  genius    make   their   favourite 

abode 
In  double  range  of  goodly  puncheons 
stowed ; 
Whence  welling  np  freely,  as  firom  a 
fount, 
The  flood  of  fancy  in  all  time  has 
flowed, 
Gushing  with  more  ezubeiance,  I  count, 
Than  from   Pierian  spring  on  Greece's 
fabled  mount. 

School  of  Athenian  eloqnence  I  did  not 
Demosthenes,  half-tonsured,  love  to 
pass 
Wintew  in  such  preparatory  grot. 
His  topics  there  in  fit  array  to  class. 
And   stores   of    wit   and  argument 
amass? 
Hath  not  another  Greek  of  late  arisen, 
Whose  eloquence  partaketh  of  the 
glass, 
Whose  nose  and  tropes  with  rival  ra« 
diance  glisten, 
And  unto  whom  the  Peers  night  after 
night  must  listen  ? 

Say  not  that  wine  hath  bred  dissen- 
sions—wars ; 
Charge  not  the  grape,  calulhnions, 
with  the  hlnme 
Of  murdered  Clytus.     Lapithe,  Cen- 
taurs, 
Drunkards  of  every  age,  will  aye 

defame 
The  innocent  vine  to  palliate  their 
shame. 
O  Thyrsus,  magic  wand !  thou  mak'st 
appear 


Man  in  his  ovn  true  eoknn— fki 

^rocIaim 
my — sin  its  fool  flgnre  rear. 
Like  the  recumbent  toad  looched  hj  Ithm- 
rial's  spear  I 

A  savifcfl^  may  the  glwioos  sun  rerik,* 

And  ihoot  his  arrovs  at  the  god  ii 

day; 

Th*  nngratefnl  ^thiop  on  thy  banks,  0 

Nile! 

With  barbarous  shoat  and  insult  may 

repay 
Apollo  for  his  vivifying  rar. 
Unheeded    by    the   god,  whoas  iarjr 
team 
Prances  along  the  sky's   immortal 
way; 
While  from  his  brow,  flood-liks,  the 
boonteous  beam 
Bursts  on  the  stupid  slaves  vho  gnee- 
lessly  blaspheme. 

That  savage  outcry  some  attempt  to  ape. 
Loading  old  Baochns  with   absord 
abuse; 
Bat,  pitying  them,  the  father  of  the 
grape, 
I  And  conscious  of  their  intellect  ob- 
tuse. 
Tells  them  to  go  (for  answer)  to  the 
juice: 
Meantime  the  god,  whom  fools  woold 
faiii  annoy. 
Rides  on  a  cask,  and,  of  his  vine  pro- 
fuse, 
Sends  up  to  earth  the  flood  withoot 
alloy, 
Whence  round  the  general  globe  eirdes 
the  cup  of  joy. 

Hard  was  thv  fate,  much-injui'd  Ht- 
LAS  I  whom 
The  roguish  Maiads  of  the  fount  ss- 
trapped; 
Thine    was,  in   sooth,  a   melancholy 
doom — 
In  liquid  robes  for  wint'ry  wardrobe 

wrapped, 
And  "  in  Elysium**  of  spring-water 
"  hipped  r 
Better  if  hither  thoa  hadat  been  ss- 
tictid, 
Where  casks 'abound  and  generoos 
wine  is  tapped ; 
Thou  would'st  not  feel,  as   now,  tby 
limbs  all  iced. 


*  "  Le  Nil  a  vu  sur  ses  rivages 

Les  noirs  hahitans  des  deserts 

Insulter,  par  de  cris  Kauvages, 
L'astre  brillant  do  Tunivers. 

Oris  impuifisansl  fureors  bisarresl 


Tandis  que  ces  monstn^s  barbares 

Poussent  d'inutiles  clameum, 
Le  Dieu,  ponrsuivant  sa  cafhire^ 
Verse  des  torrens  de  luml^re 
Sur  sea  obsours  blasph^matenrs." 


DHIUlRg  tbb  OTI  of  JDJ  tbn  glDBilM 

CKLLAh,  thiuf li  dark  uid  dnuj,  yat 
IMpAl   uf  brlehlut    InUlteol  [hmi 


Of  George  Buirhanan   Scotlaod  may  be  juatly  proud ; 

'lougti  I  suspert  theje  exiata  amon^  our  northern  fnendB  a 

reater  dispoaition  to  glory  in  the  fame  he  hiis  acquired  for 

a  than  an  ansiety  to  read  hia  worka,  of  which  there  was 

:r  an  edition  published  on  the  other  Fiide  of  the  great 

all  of  Antonine  aave  one,  and  that  not  until  the  year  1715, 

f  Buddiman,  in  1  vol.  folio.     The  continental  editions  are 

LQUiuerable.     The  Scotch  have  been  equally  unmindful  of 

rtain  earlier  celebrities,  Bucli  aa  John  Holybnah,  known 

tbrood  by  the  name  of  Sacrobosco,  who  flourished  in  1230 ; 

"     B  Scotua,  who  made  their  name  famouB  among  the  Oen- 

in  1300,  and  concerning  wbom  a  contemporary  poet 

bought  it  necessary  to  observe — 

Phen  there  was  John  Mair,  a  professor  of  Sorbonne,  bom 
mong  them  in  1446;  not  to  speak  of  Tom  Dempster,  pro- 
r  at  Bologna,  and  Andrew  Melvin  tba  poet,  on  whose 
Rtymic  the  follovring  execrable  pun  was  perpetrated  : 


1  to  the  Admirable  CricLton,  the  pupil  of  Buchanan,  I 

n't  much  blame  them  for  not  making  a  fuas  about  Aim,  as 

Qie  only  copy  of  his  works  (in  IMS.)   is  in  my  possession, 

iiscovered  by  me  in  an  old  trunk  in  Mantua.     To  return  to 

Buchanan,  he  boa  taken  the  precaution  of  writing  bis  own 

'Quitlcai  EC  lieu  qCi  ma  rauon  ■'eiuTre." — BKRAxaKD. 


600  TATHISB  PBOUT'S   BELIQUES. 

life,  conscious  that  if  left  to  some  of  nature's  joomejiDen  it 
would  be  sadly  handled.  Bom  in  1506,  in  the  shire  of 
Lennox,  poor  and  penniless,  he  contriTed  to  get  over  to 
Paris,  where  having  narrowly  escaped  starvation  at  the  uni- 
versity (the  fare  must  have  been  very  bad  on  which  a  Cale- 
donian could  not  thrive),  he  retunied  "bock  agin,"  and 
enlisted  at  Edinburgh  in  a  cooipany  of  French  auxiliaries, 
merely,  as  he  says,  to  learn  "  military  tactics."  He  spent  a 
winter  in  hospital,  which  sickened  him  of  martial  pursuits. 
So  to  Pans  he  sped  on  a  second  spree,  and  contrived  to  get 
appointed  master  of  grammar  at  the  college  of  Ste.  Barbe. 
Here  a  godsend  fell  in  his  way  in  the  shape  of  Kennedy, 
Earl  of  Cassilis,  who  brought  nim  to  Scotland,  and  intro- 
duced him  at  Court.  James  made  him  tutor  to  one  of  his 
bastard  sons ;  another  being  placed  under  the  care  of  Eras- 
mus. These  lads  were  bom  with  a  silver  spoon !  Meantime 
Buchanan's  evil  star  led  him  to  lampoon  the  Franciscan 
fiiars,  at  the  request,  he  says,  of  the  king,  who  detested  the 
fraternity ;  but  it  cost  him  dear.  Were  it  not  for  the  kind 
offices  of  the  young  princess  Mary  (whom  he  subsequently 
libelled),  it  would  have  gone  hard  with  him.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  he  contrived  to  get  out  of  prison,  fled  from  the  venge- 
ance of  Cardinal  Beaton  into  England,  where  Henry  was 
then  busy  bringing  to  the  stake  folks  of  every  persuasion ; 
wherefore  he  crossed  the  Channel,  but  found  Beaton  before 
him  at  Paris :  so  he  proceeded  to  Bordeaux,  and  met  a 
friendly  reception  from  Andre  Govea,  the  Portufi^^uese  rector 
of  that  Gascon  university.  While  in  this  city  he  composed 
the  tragedy  of  Jepht^,  to  discourage  the  foolish  melodramea 
of  that  period  called  "  mysteries,"  of  which  Victor  Hugo 
has  given  such  a'ludicrous  specimen  in  the  opening  chapters 
of  his  Xofre  Dame ;  he  also  presented  a  complimentary  ad- 
dress to  Charles  V.  on  his  passage  from  Madrid  to  Paris. 
Govea  subsequently  took  him  to  Coimbra,  of  which  cele- 
brated academy  he  thus  became  one  of  the  early  promoters. 
But  the  friars,  who  never  yet  lost  sight  of  a  foe,  got  him  at 
last  here  into  the  clutches  of  the  Inquisition ;  and,  during  a 
long  captivity  in  Banco  St.  Dominici,  he  was  at  leisure  to 
execute  his  glorious  translation  of  the  psalms  into  Latin 
lyrical  verse. 

From  Yort^^Ve  T£v«xvMgi^\ft  ^aaa.^  in  a  Turkish  vessel 


UODEBN    LATIN    POETS. 


5U1 


bound  for  London,  and  thence  repaired  to  France,  for  wbieh 
country  he  appears  to  have  bnd  o  peculiitr  predilection.  He 
there  got  ecipioymeut  tut  tutor  in  the  Marechal  Brisaac's 
family ;  and  meantime  wrote  verees  is  bonotir  of  every 
leading  contemporaiy  event,  such  ae  the  raising  of  the  siege 
of  Metz,  the  taking  of  VercelleB,  and  the  capture  of  Calais 
by  the  Due  de  Guise  in  1557.  This  latter  occurrence  is  one 
of  such  peculiar  interest  to  an  English  reader,  and  gives 
Buchaaan  such  an  opportunity  of  eipressing  his  real  senti- 
ments towards  England,  that  1  have  selected  it  for  transla- 
tion. It  is  strange  that  in  his  autobiography  be  abuses  the 
heiro  whom  he  celebrates  in  his  ode,  and  who  was  no  other 
tbau  the  celebrated  Guise  le  BaiafH  (so  called  from  a  scar 
on  his  letl  cheek),  whose  statue  may  be  seen  in  our  own 
day  on  the  market-place  of  Calais,  and  whose  military  genius 
and  activity  much  reaembled  the  rapjd  conceptions  and 
brilliant  execution  of  Buonaparte.  The  allusiou  to  the 
prevalent  astrological  mania  at  court  is  quite  characteristic 
of  the  philosophic  poet,  ever  grave  and  austere  even  in  the 
eiercise  of  fancy ;  but  the  abuse  lavished  on  the  ei-emperor 
Charles  V.  is  not  a  proof  of  Buchanan's  consistency. 


BdchimaS,  Scotut. 

QaORQK  BUCHiBiW. 

Or  Stib  la  hBiTsn'i  hlgb  UDopr, 

ICsniu  oylfei  noiiorilur  orbem. 

WiIhra.gitgIO-                 "* 

ShlniDg  DQ  id«d'>  dKItUt, 

gM  ar«a.  la.rttn.  «,«j™  J,H«l, 

B.U.t.0klBg!benrW0EDUa 

Of  •Tery  MHlily  f  nurprin 

Thsbiddanmorgii 

DwrnooUifLou*™. 

Prompt  lo  ixDDie  the  righfi  dargoM 

[tat  a  prr<u>Tvie  l»t[i<i  luporliin, 

M*njy  tiBtt>  m*  mMk  dliponiw. 

Curb  111*  n.d*  J>w.  or  liOgloiU 

EtUctiiT"i"liiUi«ltrliuBphIi. 

WKhblLidbrtdK. 

And  Hoiirge  tha  cblcl  irboM  bmskln 

Bum.teiii.idol. 

Eun.p1>  loKgt »  remUiD ;  CD  T  ]u.t 

FtKiuiiinf  e(  f  ■.'tw'.  quem  grsttlo  «uo 

W1.C.  imole  lh«  mostnh  of  Midild, 

"  Top^w«(Mwellt 

662 


TATBXR  PB0UT*8  SELIQUSS. 


Mee  ta  ■6cniidk>fla]iiIiM  qttmn  snper 
Felleitatit  Tezerat  nqnorm 
Henrieel  Tirtna, — iMMiisti, 
DmbrilenB  frwnltw  proceUe. 


Sad  pertfnaz  hnat  testos  adhne  pmnit, 
DrjcetqiM  preMum,  et  progeniem  sui 
ndodiqae  pari  tamentem, 
Clada  pari  ezagitet  PhiUppnm. 


Te  qui  mhiorein  te  suparit  gerit, 
Ci^pamqae  ll«tu  dilais  agnium, 
Mitit  parens  placatus  audit, 
Et  Mlitum  camnlat  faTorem. 


Sadintegrmtc  nae  tiM  gratUs 
Obacura  promit  aiciia.    Sob  algldo 
Nox  Caprieorno longa  ternm 
Perpetoia  tenebria  premebat, 


RIgebat  anria  bnima  niralibaii, 
Amnea  acato  oonstiteraDt  g«Ia, 
Deformia  horror  incubatNit 
Jngeribas  Yidais  coIodo. 


At  signa  caatris  Franctis  nt  extnlit 
Dvctorque  Franci  Guii^ua  agminis, 
ArrUit  algenti  sub  arcto 
Temperiea  melioris  anrs. 


HTems  retaso  languida  spiculo 
Vim  mitigavit  frigoris  asperi, 
Siccis  per  hybemam  serenam 
Nttbe  cavft  stetit  imber  arris. 


Ergo  nee  altls  tnta  palndibas 
Tuere  rirea  moenia  Oallicas; 
Nee  arcibas  tut«  palodea 
Praeipitem  tenners  cnnvm. 


LoB^KK  prlncepa  I  pmelpao  Del 
Favore  feliz,  praseipuas  Dens 
Cui  tradidit  partes,  superboe 
Ut  piemeres  domitrice  dextri. 


Unins  anni  eurrlculo  aeqnens 
Viz  oedet  ttUa  ptomMlUa  \&Ml 


Tlioa,  too,  bast  Icnown  mlsfertOBe's 
Tempests  have  bent  thj  stately  masl 
And  nigh  upon  tbe  breakers 

Thy  gallant  ship : 
Bat  nov  tbe  hnrrieane  is 

Hashed  is  the  deep. 

For  Phiup,  lord  of  AKaoov,  ' 

Of  haaghtj  Chaklks  the  hanghtr  soa, 
Tbe  clouds  still  gather  dark  aad  dna. 

The  akr  still  scovls; 
And  roand  his  gorgeous  gaIMn 

Tbe  tempest  howls. 

Thou,  when  th'  Almighty  nilar  dealt 
Tbe  blows  thy  kingdom  latalT  folt. 
Thy  brow  anbelued,  nnbound  thy  bdt, 

Thy  feet  ansbod. 
Humbly  before  tbe  fastener  knelt. 

And  kissed  tbe  rod. 

Pardon  and  peace  thj  panaaee  boaght; 
Joyful  the  seraph  Biercy  broaght 
The  oliTe-bougb,  with  blessing  ten^t 

For  thee  and  France ; — 
QoD  for  thy  captive  kingdom  wroaght 

Deliverance. 

*Twas  dark  and  drear  t  'twaa  winter's  reiga! 
Grim  horror  walked  the  lonesome  pl^n; 
The  ice  held  bound  with  crystal  ehsin 

Lake,  flood,  and  riU  ; 
And  dinnal  piped  the  hurricane 

His  music  shrill. 

But  when  the  gallant  Gmss  displayed 
The  flag  of  Fbakcs,  and  drew  the  blade. 
Straight  tbe  obsequious  season  bade 

Its  rigour  cease  ; 
And,  lowlv  crouching,  homage  paid 

The  Fleub  dx  Ltb. 

Winter  his  violence  withheld. 
His  progeny  of  tempeats  quelled. 
His  canopy  of  cloudis  dispelled, 

Unveil'd  the  sun — 
And  blithesome  days  OBparalleled 

Began  to  run. 

Twas  then  beleagaered  Calaia  found. 
With  swamps  ana  marshes  fenced  aroaa^ 
With  counterscarp,  and  moat,  and  meond. 

And  yawning  trench, 
Vainly  her  hundred  bulwarks  frowned 

To  sUy  the  French. 

Guise !  child  of  glory  and  Lorraine, 
Ever  thine  house  hath  proved  the  b. 
Of  France's  foes  I  aye  from  the  chain 

Of  slavery  kept  her. 
And  in  the  teeth  of  haughty  Spain 

Upheld  her  sceptre. 

Scarce  will  a  fhtars  age  believe 
The  deads  one  year  aaw  thee  aehieva 


HODEBK   LATIN   F0ET3. 


CsuHim  Htlw  nlBguldl.  el 


Yon  Alp>iheirb«n1«r»w  lh«liom, 
Wllb  ilper  tlliiK, 


JBqoor  pni«ll!i,  um.  ptludllrai. 


ThTjmiM 
Hor  ton*  bec^rc  wl 


Blgbl  jojrul  aaw  tb 


f 


Reglni,  prnm  nascli  peTpoll 


iiriacli  iglUDt  iguria. 


■I  ih;  trianplUDl  tnad 


Every  schoolboy  knows  tbat  thia  event  broke  Queen  Mary'e 
Heart,  so  inconaolable  wne  bIib  I'or  the  Iobs  of  those  "  keys  of 
France"  which  the  monarcha  of  Eogland,  from  Edward  to 
the  bluff  Harry,  had  gloried  in  wearing  guspended  to  tbe 

tyal  girdle. 


[    *  BuchuioD  BppMn  to  hare  the  raUowing  Terae  o[  Hniod  in  iti 


6(}4  FATH£B   PBOUT'a   BKLlQCia. 

Of  Buchanan's  career  od  bis  returo  to 
rnnduL't  as  a  politician  and  tourtiM',  I  shall 
As  a  poet,  his  career  terminated  when  the  ^ 
intrigue  were  thrown  open  to  him,  bo  1  hid  hii 
the  threshold.     Ilia  Maia  CaUndie,  his 
death  of  Johu  Calrin,"  his  poem  Dt  Sfjuerd. 
from  EuripideB,  his  elegiac  poetrj,  all  hia  tii 
were  already  won.     By  the  way,  John  million  hu 
hia  tragedy  of  BaptUlet,  if  we  are  to  credit  Pock. 
it  is  that  Buchanan's  Dr  Jart  Regni  apud  Seotot,  k  wi 
step  in  radicalism  for  that  day,  waa  the  prolotypr  of  1 
Cromwellian  secretary's  Df/ent,io  pro  Pitpulo  AnfUemmm. 
appears  that  Buchanan  hnd  some  ahani  in  the  rducstiDn 
Michel  Montaigne, — agloriuus  feather 
ton  was  certainly  his  scholar :  and  no  better  proof  of  iIm 
can  be  afforded  than  the  following  lyric  (from  the  MS.  ia  ■ 
poBBessiou),  a  copy  of  which  I  faucj'  gnt  abmad  in  Bum*' 

tinii),  for  he  has  somehow   tninsterred  Lhe  jser'- *-  * 

expresses,   most   lileralty.     However,  it  ia  cle«r 
ton's   ckini    cannot   be  invalidated    by  aaj  (V  fatt 
concern.     Thu  thing  epealu  for  iVuAf. 


MODZBK  LATUT   POSTS. 


h»  taHBltom,  Jun  Teleren  t«w» 

Vanun  oee  nili  endTili.  nee  llbl, 

f>MIM  rel  taeBHi',  ve[  miiDDi. 

U.unn|>erp'>u«.ni»»e. 

Bill  1  tbiak  fa-n  •}*  the  >une  to  i 

Propaga  Bobli  Ml*  pMwiHioi. 

At  tut  iD  UDbonm  ul°i>M> 

H»»nil  »lllorl  QuUe  ■uiMrvenlt— " 

John  Adder™  nr  Jn,  John. 
Ani7el."y''d7.rJoh"ABd«^ 

A^r:£,",."i/zn'.*.;.- 

I'm  ninr5GD'Ll  ne'er  ujnri, 
TbDugh  Iba  da7>  'te  gua  Ihil  ye  bm 

PatrU  Toluplu  qunti  dniaeitlcam 
IDom  eorde  miUr  pelpiut  intimD) 

D^tTu  b"ialll>'u'b*niB! 

HOTH  pumiloai,  reddere  TnlOhm 
VnlM^elernDplDfldelee 
SHHlvt  ran.  pnxl*  Ol  jmpoin. 

Jobn  Andcnon  niT  jo,  Jnhn, 
Whatplea>mi.ae^ll«Te 

And^lkS  iid  uid''u^jDK°'° 

H*ka  perfect  hemn^i™  od  eutl, 
jDhnABdenaam^Jii. 

Bn  1  III  J«DB»i,  T.»porl.  •lite 

Fmnl  9»M  ™l.  qu«^^e  boni  dies 

Utnunque  fugeranl  1  mpreio* 

JamqaabnTlpropenliltbDn^ 

KoniB  pnliiiDdll  deilen  coiOnges 

Nee  ibH  ifa  meUorlii  sri  1 

JobnAnde™)iiB,).j8,JabB. 

Fru  yrmt  U  7  w  we're  p»«. 
Add  «»n  Ibel  Teu  niHa  »«.•,  J«ln 
-  WUIbclngd.UoE.rlut; 
BdI  let  not  th.1  .(Tri^t  d.,  John, 

Our  haarU  were  na^er  our  ftia. 
While  In  iDKHient  delight  w*  UTed, 

John  Andec«n  mj  jo. 

M«I«s  luani  vieimiu  mnint, 

Jnhn  Andemon  my  Jo,  John, 

We've  dambed  Ibe  bill  togllbar. 
And  monle  a  untie  day,  lohii. 

"Wlien  Harrison  Ainaworth,  then  a  young  writer  of  pro- 
mise,  took  up  Jamea  Cricbton  in  place  of  Dick  Turpin,  a 
noble  field  !ay  before  him.  I  aketcHed  the  plan,  and  pointed 
out  to  him  tnat  the  story,  in  all  biographieB,  of  Crichton's 
having  been  killed  in  a  drunken  brawl  at  Mantua,  by  Duke 
Goniaga,  on  tbe  3rd  July,  1583,  was  manifeatly  untrue,  as 
there  was,  to  my  knowledge,  at  Paris,  in  the  Bibliotkequt  du 
Bai,  a  printed  broadsheet  of  verBes  iy  him,  on  tlie  death  of  St. 
Carlo  Eorromeo,  who  died  on  the  4th  November,  ISS-l  (a  fact 
ho  W8B  able  to  verify  bv  getting  another  copy  from  Milan). 
IVom  other  sources  I  showed  thnt  there  were  secret  reasons 
I  fijT  his  reported  death,  that  he  lay  concwiei  ^t'SsmKft  w* 


5C6  VATHIB  PBOVT'B   fiXLIQITES. 

corrector  of  the  press  for  Aldus  Manutius,*  "P  ^  1585,  wbi 
made  private  secretary  at  Borne  to  Pope  Peretti  when 
*'  Sixtus  Quintus*'  became  monarch  in  central  Italj,  and  that 
he  was  the  life  and  soul  of  that  great  man's  short  reign ;  I 
had  proof  that  he  was  at  Lisbon  in  1587,  and  that,  in  1588, 
he  sailed  thence  with  his  friend  Lope  de  Vega  on  board  the 
Invincible  Armada,  to  avenge  the  death  of  Mary,  Queen  of 
Scots.  That  his  galleon,  driven  up  the  German  sea  and 
rounding  Scotland,  was  wrecked  in  the  winter  of  that  year 
on  the  coast  of  Ayrshire. 

That  disgusted  with  the  triumphant  reign  of  Elizabeth, 
the  revolt  of  the  Low  Countries  from  Spain,  the  edict  of 
Nantes  granted  to  the  Huguenots  by  Henri  Quatre,  and  the 
general  aspect  of  Europe,  he  gave  up  continental  affiurs, 
settled  down  as  a  tranquil  farmer,  married  a  highland  lassie, 
and  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  as  evidenced  by  his  well-authen- 
ticated song  of  John  Anderson  my  jo. 

This  startling  narrative  of  what  was  in  some  sort  the  post- 
humous history  of  his  hero,  Ainsworth  did  not  grapple  with, 
but  stopped  at  Pans,  making  him  a  kind  of  fencing-master, 
rope-dancer,  and  court  dandy,  marrying  him  to  some  incre- 
dible princess  of  the  blood,  and  so  K)rth. 

That  Crichton,  during  his  long  life  in  Ayrshire,  under  an 
humbler  name,  was  author  of  most  of  the  popular  songs  and 
tunes  that  have  enriched  the  Land  o'  Cakes  is  known  to  a 
few  only ;  but  Eobert  Bums  was  in  the  secret,  as  the  reader 
has  already  discovered. 

In  1841,  on  returning  from  Hungary  and  Asia  Minor 
by  the  south  of  Prance,  I  learnt  that  Ainsworth  had  left 
the  tale  of  Crichton  half  told,  and  had  taken  up  with  Blue- 
skin  and  Jack  Sheppard,  Plitches  of  Bacon  ana  Lancashire 
Witches,  and  thought  such  things  were  "  literature."  Hence 
this  ballad,  in  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  express  what  I 
know  would  have  been  the  sentiments  of  old  Prout,  in 
language  as  near  his  own  as  I  can  command. 

Paris,  Nov.  1, 1^69.  F.  IL 

*  The  presses  of  Aldus,  and  Crichton's  sharo  in  their  efBdencj, 
suggest  to  me  the  propriety  of  acknowledging  the  debt  due  bj  the  de- 
funct Prout  to  the  keen  and  accurate  supervision  of  Mr.  W.  S.  Bohn 
while  the&e  %\iee\A  '^ec^  m  '^vo^jress.  Quick  perception,  and  intimato 
acquamtatiQe  m>i^  V!k^  %)CTCw\.\iaN^\^^Bb  >aiK^  \s^  '^vs<s&^  vectified  man? 


TH£   BBS-BBEAST  OF   AQDITAITEA. 


THE  EED-EEEAST  OF  AQUITANIA. 


irrnol  Iwn  •parrmettiiid/uT  afnlhag  t  i/tl  not  one  of  thna  il 
a  int  srouad  v-Uhoul  your  Fathtr."—Wi.  JkUrramv,  s.  29. 
"  Oallos  sb  Aquilaiiu  Oarumna  flumeti." — Jdlivb  C.CS4B. 
"Sermons  in  Btonca,  bdiI  good  In  BFerjthiug." — SttiBSfSRl. 
"  QoniuB,  left  to  iliiver 
Oil  tlie  bulk,  'tis  Baid, 
Died  of  tbat  cold  river." — ToK  MooBi. 


,   Oh,  "Iwm  bittor  cold         jj; 
Ai  our  eteam-bont  roU'd    ■" 
k  Donti  the  pnthwa;  old      ^ 
^      Of  the  deep  Qaroau^ —  ^J, 
'  And  tlie  peaaaot  Unk,        'dI 
'    While  Ilia  saic*  Batik 
In  the  BDonr-tlad  bank. 
Saw  it  roU  on,  on. 
L  And  ba  hied  bim  borne      ^' 
To  hie  toil  dt  ehaunt  i      n^ 
,   And  for  those  wbo  roam   £^ 
On  the  broad  bleak  flood  •" 
Cored  he  F  Not  a  thought; 
For  his  beldame  broogbt 
His  wioB-flflek  fraught 
With  tbe  inrape  B   red 
blood. 
'•*  And  the  wood-block  bUie  Pj 
Fed  biB  TBcant  gaze  in 

li  Aa  we  trod  the  maia  K' 

Of  the  river  down.         Jj; 
Soon  wu  loft  behind  ipi 

On  tbo  (roicn  wind 
All  farther  mind 

Of  thit  vacant  clown. 

Aa  WB  jouroej'd  on  n 

■   Down  the  deep  Garonne,  " 
An  aocjiuiintanov, 
Wbiuh  we  deem'd.'l  count. 


?»3b»  'TwM  a  atrangcr  drait 
I  oi  lUii  In  n  downy  tcbI, 
"'«*■  'TwBS  a  wee  Ked-breast, 
"X-       C"'^  "•  "-^"airoH,") 
>  But  ■  wanderer  tneek, 

Wbo  fain  would  seek 
O'er  the  boBom  bleak 
Of  that  flood  to  cro»«. 
'"""  And  we  watcb'd  hiin  oft 
uU^ikAshcBOar'daloft 
jUrXfOnhispinionasoft, 
■^  Poor  wee  weak  thing, 

And  WH  soon  could  mark 
That  be  Bought  our  bark. 
As  a  reeling  ark 

For  his  woarj  wing. 


nay  aj: 
And  shot  for  a-beai 
„      Of  the  tinj  bird. 
And  quicker  in  the  van 
Bcr  swift  wheelB  ran, 
Aj  the  quickening  fan 
Of  bia  wingtflt«  stirr'd. 
I    Vain,  rain  pursuit! 
It  Toil  without  fruit! 
For  bis  forkid  foot 

Shall  not  anclior  Ibere, 
Tlio'  tho  boat  meanwbila 
Down  the  stream  beguila 
For  a  bootlcM  mile 

'^W  ^ODT  i^u^  (A  wt\ 


508 


VATHEE  FSOUT*8  BKUQITSS. 


Tls 


And  'twas  plain  at  last 
He  was  flagging  tut, 
**  ^  That  hia  hour  had  past 
In  that  effort  rain ; 
Far  from  either  bank, 
8mu  a  saying  plank, 
Slow,  slow  he  sank. 
Nor  uprose  again. 


?■««•»»•   And  the  cheerless  ware 
Just  one  ripple  gaye 
As  it  oped  nun  a  graye 

In  its  bosom  cold. 
And  he  sank  alone. 
With  a  feeble  moan. 
In  that  deep  Ghronne, 

And  then  all  was  told. 


And  well  would  it  seeia 


•rawi«*«»- 


That    o' 


Idfe's    dark 


Easj'  task  for  Him 

In  his  flight  of  Fsme, 
Was  the  SWward  P^ 
O'er  the  bOlow's  wrsth, 
That  for  Genius  hath 
£yer  been  the  same. 

And  I  saw  him  soar 
From  the  morning  shore, 
While  hisfresh  wings  bore 

Him  athwart  the  tide, 
Soon  with  powers  unspent 
As  he  forward  went, 
His  wings  he  had  beat 

On  the  sought-for  side 


vwpetii  for  Wiped  a  tear  awaj ; 
fa^S^  of  In  the  broad  Biscaye 
BiM.,e.  He  had  lost  his  boy ! 

That  sight  brought  back 
On  its  furrowed  track 
The  remembered  wreck 
Of  long  periah'd  joy ! 

^"i^      And  the  tear  half  hid 
SSm:  Sa  In  soft  Beauty*8  lid 
Sl/tSSST  Stole  forth  unhid 
itgfT*.  Pop    that    red -breast 


bird; — 
And  the  feeling  crept» — 
For  a  Warrior  wept ; 
And  the  silence  kept 
Found  no  fitting  word. 


tS^Si!^  ^^*  while  thus  he  flew, 
CTcfc  tnm  Lo !  a  yision  new 
Smmi!  *    Caught  his  wayward  riev 
With  a  semblance  fair, 
And  that  new-found  wooer 
Could,  alas !  allure 
From  his  pathway  sure 
The  bright  child  of  sir. 

5JJ!^*«,  For  he  tum'd  aside, 
ikuu  cvju    And  adown  the  tide 
For  a  brief  hour  plied 

His  yet  unspent  force. 
And  to  gain  that  goal 
C^aye  the  powers  of  soul 
Which,  unwasted,  whok, 
Hadachieyed  bis  courMw 


Ittljfc 


nliMth 
anent  y 
binie. 


ou.ij.i-.  But  /  muMd  alone,  ~yt5 

■•417  mo-     For  I  thought  of  one         i^V 
Whom  I  well  had  known  hambie 

In  my  earlier  days. 
Of  a  gentle  mind. 
Of  a  soul  refined. 
Of  deserts  design'd 
For  the  Palm  of  Praise. 


A  bright  Spirit,  young, 
Unwept,  unsung. 
Sank  thus  among 

The  drifts  of  the  streami 
Not  a  record  left, — 
Of  renown  bereft. 
By  tby  cruel  theft, 

O  DKLUaiyS  DBSAM. 


TBI  lEQtyS   OV   A.KXTHrSA. 
MVOY  TO  W.  H.  AINSWORTH,  ESQ. 


^wtj     ^l""  '■"'l?  ^  thought 
nxUibi  iB    Am  that  bird  unsought 
iwX>'iu  TbereiDembninoe brought 
— ^-  -1,       Of  thy  bright  day  i 
And  I  penn'd  fbll  aoon 
Thw  Dirge,  oliiJe  the  mixni 
On  tlie  broftd  Oaranna 
Shed  a  wintry  roj, 

F.  M. 

THE  LEGEND  OF  ABETHUSA, 


IB  of  AFcodie, 
In  the  day!  bight  olden, 
'iTed  her  wlule  flock  close  Ifl  Ihe  »M  ; 
'Twai  the  age  called  golden. 

That  age  of  gold  1  yet  nought  STailed 

To  aaie  troai  nidenesi. 
To  keep  unsullied — anauaiLsd 

Such  gentle  goodneas. 

The  c^m  oomposure  of  ■  lils 

Till  then  anchequered, 
VVIiHt  rudo  sltompt  befell?  "tii  rife 

In  Ovid's  reuord. 

Poor  (hiinking  maid — deapairiDg,  left 

Without  reliance ; 
Of  brother'i,  father's  aid  bereR, 

She  called  on  Dian's. 


The  boon  I  sik  you ! 
To  die—ere  I  diihonoursd  be  1 

Speed  Ui  my  reacue." 

Sudden  beneath  her  ibolet«p>  oped 

The  daiaied  meadow ; 
Bie  paaaionate  arms  that  wildly  groped, 

Qraiped  but  a  ehndow. 

Torth  bina  the  loil  where  Bank  abaorbrd 

That  rryatal  rirgin, 
Ou*hed  a  bright  hnno^ — par*,  iindiaturbeci— 

With  pebbly  margiu 


TJLTHSB  PBOUT'S   BSUQITM. 

Aim!  onward  to  the  se»-Bhore  tped^ 

Its  course  fulfilling } 
Till  the  ^gean's  brin  j  bed 

1^>ok  the  bright  rill  in. 

When  lo !  wss  wrought  for  aje  a  th«s:* 

Of  special  wonder ; 
Fresh  and  untainted  ran  that  stream 

Hie  salt  seas  under. 

Proof  against  erery  waye's  attempt 

To  interfuse  it ; 
From  briny  mixture  still  exempti 

It  flowed  pellucid. 

And  thus  it  kept  for  many  a  mile 

Its  pathway  single ; 
Current,  in  which  nor  gall  nor  guib 
,      Could  erer  mingle. 

And  all  day  long  with  onward  mardu 

The  streamlet  glided ; 
And  when  night  came,  Diana's  torch 

The  wanderer  guided ; 

Till  unto  thee,  sweet  Sicily, 

From  doubt  and  danger. 
From  land  and  ocean*s  terrors  fre^ 

She  led  the  stranger ; 

And  there  gushed  forth,  the  pride  and  vaunt 

Of  Syracusa, 
The  bright,  time-honoured,  glorious  fount 

Of  .Arethusa. 

O  hidye,  such  be  thy  career, 

Such  be  thy  guidance ; 
From  every  earthly  foe  and  fear 

Such  be  thj  riddance  1 

Safe  from  the  tainted  eril  tongue 

Of  foes  insidious ; 
Brineless  the  bitter  wares  among 

Of  "  friends"  perfidious. 

Such  be  thy  life— Utc  on,  lire  on  I 

Nor  couldst  thou  choose  a 
Kame  more  appropriate  than  thine  own^ 

Fair  Arethusa ! 


THI  LADTE   OT  LIS — LITE,  ▲  BUBBLE. 


671 


THE  LADTE  OF  LEE. 

There's  a  being  bright,  whose  beams 
Liffht  my  days  and  gild  my  dreams, 
Ti&  my  life  all  sunshine  seems — *tis  the  ladye  of  Lee. 

Oh !  the  joy  that  Beauty  brings, 
While  her  meny  laughter  rings, 
And  her  voice  of  silyer  sings — how  she  loves  but  me ! 

There's  a  grace  in  every  limb, 

There's  a  charm  in  every  whim. 

And  the  diamond  cannot  dim — the  dazzling  of  her  e'o  i 

But  there's  a  li^ht  amid 
All  the  lustre  oi  her  Ud, 
That  firom  the  crowd  is  hid — and  only  I  can  see, 

*Tis  the  glance  by  which  is  shown 

That  she  loves  but  me  alone ; 

That  she  is  all  mine  own — this  ladye  of  Lee. 

Then  say,  can  it  be  wrong, 

If  the  burden  of  my  song 

Be,  how  fondly  I'll  belong  to  this  ladye  of  Lee  f 


LIFE,  A  BUBBLE.— A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  THEREOF. 


Lm,  plule  aa  bassin  fait  des  bulles ; 

Lea  hirondelles  Mur  le  toit 
Tienneut  des  conciliabulea 

Void  rhiverl  void  le  froidl 

Ellea  s'aaaemblant  par  centainea. 
Be  concertant  pour  le  depart, 

L'un^  dit,  Oh  que  dans  Athines 
II  fait  bon  sur  le  vieuz  rempart. 

Toufl  lea  ans  j'y  vais,  et  Je  niche 
Aux  metopes  du  Parthenon ; 

Hon  nid  bouche  danH  la  comiche 
Le  tron  d'un  boulet  de  canon. 

L'antre.  J'ai  ma  petite  ehambre 
A  Smyme  au  plafond  d'un  cafif ; 

Lea  Hac^is  comptent  leur  (prains  d'ambre 
Bar  le  aeuil  d'un  rayon  chaufle, 

CaUe  d,  J'habite  un  triglipbe 
Aa  fronton  d'un  temple  a  Baalbec, 

Je  m'j  suspends  par  ma  griffe 
Snr  mes  petita  a  large  bee. 

A  la  aeconde  eataracte. 

Dit  la  derni^re,  J'ai  mon  nid, 
J*«D  ai  not^  la  place  exacte, 

Dana  le  cou  d'un  roi  de  granit. 

Tbxo.  Gaittibb,  19th  Sept,  Momiemr, 


Down  comes  rain  drop,  bubble  follows 
On  the  bonse  top  one  bj  one 

Flock  the  synaffogue  of  awallows. 
Met  to  yote  that  autumn's  gone. 

There  are  hundreds  of  them  sitting. 

Met  to  vote  in  unison ; 
They  resolve  on  general  flitting. 

"  I'm  for  Athens  ofiT,"  says  one. 

"  Every  year  my  place  is  filled  in 
Plintii  of  pllliu^d  Parthenon, 

Where  a  ball  has  struck  the  building, 
Shot  from  Turk's  besieging  gOto.'* 

"  As  for  me,  Tve  got  my  chamber 

O'er  a  Smyrna  coffee-ahop. 
Where  his  beadroll,  made  of  amber, 

Ha^i  oounta,  and  sips  a  drop." 

"  I  prefer  Palmyra's  scantlings, 
Architraves  of  lone  Baalbec, 

Perched  on  which  I  feed  my  bantlinga 
As  they  ope  their  bonnie  beak." 

While  the  last,  to  tell  her  plan,  says, 

"  On  the  second  cataract 
I've  a  statue  of  old  Ramsea, 

And  his  neck  is  nicely  enek'd.** 
20th  Sept,  Glob$,  r.  Bt 


INDEX. 


knmLAMD,  on  the  mistletoe,  S79. 
Adrian's  death-song,  new  rersion  o(^  IIS. 
Aerolite,  the  BUtmey  Stone  an,  according 

to  Lardner,  66. 
Ainsworth,  aathor  of  "  Bookwood,**  408. 

519, 669. 
Anaereon,  i86. 

Andrea,  "Storia  di  ogni  Letteratora,**  S90ii 
Angel  (the)  of  Poetry,  to  L.E.L.,  818. 
Animal  spirits,  378. 
Anne  Chevy  a  heroine,  80. 
Anne  (Queen)  accused  of  tippling,  868. 
Armehnd  the  nymph,  Ireland  compared  to, 

121. 
Ariosto  quoted,  48. 
Aristotle  quoted,  63. 
Aristophanes  quoted,  296. 
Ausonius  cited,  106. 
Autohiography  the  rage,80t;  that  of  B4- 

ranger,  ib. 
Avignon,  seat  of  the  muses,  808 ;  of  the 

popedom,  ib. ;  visited  hy  Front,  884. 

B. 
Bacon  an  admirer  of  Jetralt  colleges,  179. 
Barcarolle.  "  O  pescator,"  366. 
Barry  the  painter,  821,  4B9, 498. 
Bellew  (Jack),  editor  of  the  "  Cork  Chro- 
nicle," 76;  his  song,  88. 
Bells— the  "  Shandon  Bells,"  169;  Victor 

Hugo  on  the  bells  of  Paris,  15a 
Benedict  XIV.  (Prosper  Lambertini) 

Voltaire  his  blessing,  321. 
Biranger,  eulogy  of,  210. 

Song  of  Brennus,  ib. 

Song  of  the  Cossack,  814. 

Ode  to  Lardner,  221. 

Song  of  Diogenes,  223. 

Le  Pigeon  Messager,  224. 

The  Dauphin's  Birth-day,  841. 

Recollections  of  Bonaparte,  248. 

The  Tri-coloured  Flag,  251. 

The  Painter's  Funeral,  a  F3«m,  870' 

Les  Etoiles  qui  filent,  281. 

Lea  Boh^miens.  293. 

Le  Dieu  des  bonnes  Qeos,  897. 

Le  Orenier,  299. 

Le  TaUWuT  et\a?6e,»A. 

U  Ange  exiU,  ^V^ 


Ben,  Theodorei  SBC;  Uaee  by, SSk 

Black  broth,  16. 

Black  earth,  fukatva  x#wv  (MeUaefhsi^ 

86. 
Black  Prince,  18. 
Blarney,  Castle  of;  86;  ploodered  br  Um 

Danes, 87;  Bang  of  Jack  Bellew ttier*- 

npon,88;  stonned  by  OllTer  Cramwdl, 

as  per  song,  100. 
Blamev,  Groves  of;  in  English,  FreBdi, 

Greek,  Latin,  and  Irish,  56;  aeoBtro> 

verted  point  in  the  song,  84. 
Blarney  Stone,  true  history  of,  60. 
Blessington  (Lady),  her  "  C<mvemti<»6 

of  Byron,"  31. 
Blindman's  bnft;  origin  of,  865. 
Blomfield,  Bishop,  1. 
Boethios  de  Conaolatione  Philoaophici, 

203. 
Boileau  quoted,  109. 
Bonaparte.  "Popular  RecoUeetioiis  of," 

248;  "  FUght  of,"  356. 
Boscovich,  his  works,  180 ;  his  wig,  SS8. 
Bowring  (Dr.),  knight-errantry  of,  901, 

208. 
Brennus,  song  of,  on  planting  the  vine  is 

Oaul,  210 ;  ancestor  of  the  O'Brennaas, 

ib. 
Brougham,  Henry,  initiated  at  Blarney, 

66;  disputes  with  Prout  on  drunken- 
ness, 113 ;  his  letter  to  Lord  LyndhuTst^ 

Nov.  1834, 138 ;  his  modesty  at  the  Tnl- 

leries,  161. 
Buchanan,  George,  661. 
Buffon,  14 ;  cosmc^ony  of,  864. 
Bulwer  (E.),  takes  to   pamphleteeilBg, 

848. 
Burke  (Edmund),  on  fisheries,  883;  the 

"  protector^  of^  Barry,  497 ;  on  chUdren, 

600. 
Byron  cited,  8,  9,  29.  361,  873,  877,491; 

his  Hebrew  Melodies,  344. 


Cesar's  Commentaries,  84 ;  his  statue,  89. 

Callaghan  (Terry),  his  character,  78;  his 
song,  100;  brings  "the  chest"  to  Lo» 
y  don,  104 ;  is  made  a  policeman  thnxi^ 
\    %«Kc^e(».Qr^^vccKsc^>LS.^8SS« 


Cuiph*ll.  bil  -'  UnlieDlIlldni"  4 

Cmw,  U.'itT  IA*f  1 1^i,  *SI- 
CuuLTtl  nd  A>)i  WcdoeidtT.*- 
CnruitaB  fouglit  ■(  Lepanto.  8S3 


C:h*l««ii6rlnid  (ComlMMiB),  Imr   mm, 

CHPtfl  de,  ft  mum  bf ,  tfifl- 
Chuser,  ud  Fniluirt.  33B;  ci>p!il  IWnn 
Patnnh.  340i  coiuiildiit  of, Ml;  Orl- 


Cl»n),lMliplaKlubt,Ua)  qnoWd.aSS, 
MO,  MS,  SM.  SIfi. 

•Mg,  "lh»  Itott  Toolh,"  M. 

CaWiu  ■  Lipids,  e,  ise.  iw,  itt,  isi, 

M0,M>1. 
Ci*si-iU,  Fruk,  Ui  fomid  obHTiuice  ol 

Crtu-ell,  IJ^T;  *■__ 


Dinlwrt  HUB  utiiHit,  SlTi  ednated  ' 
rreluu),  218. 

Dude,  UmaDt  of.  ISt^ 

Duto  d[i««i«*  by  "h*  oi™*»  of  Bobb 
frui  vrftiii  i>  Z<u»,  3U;  bi>  "for> 
oT  Ball.'  BBS;  hi'  i*™  rliiH,33fi. 

Dmiiiba,  Udh  od  ilia,  «T. 


Daild  lb*  Mintir,  •  regtcldo,  «0;  Un 
Iiiuml  i^i  poem  by  MnDK>r,  ib. 

Duna.  eiiThoDiu,  knight  and  bulldir 
B7.  W. 

Da  UVlKm{CMiBilr),h1»  "Dog  of  thi 
P       ThiM  DaTir  ft  billuL  :t77. 


jlt  of  Ctaljl.  ft  long  ftboii 
vr  «r, "  pyroIIgDeout  uid 


n.pni.,  "Origtiie  dea 
abftiirdltj  ofj  lA. 


FBg>,pnl«of,ge. 

EI07.  8t,«Unli>ri 
EpIMami  an-'-'    ' 


aplnlDDOti  Piitritk'i  piitgb 
•m  as  bt>  nania.  8S;   Elt 


FftlherTm.dM. 
Fiddler'a  (the  Fnub)  L 


dial  "To  am 


IneiwDca  Dt  Fnwdi  vrlUri  an  Uia 
EnglaDd.  O, :   Bangi  of,  iOI,  Ml, 
MI ;  ftdlan  Id  lb*  Bonn  ar,  313. 
Fna-ITftde,  lliaaiT  afj  ^. 

FroliHTt  ft  pHnt,  X» ;  akaWh  of,  K 


1IU  ■  rogoe,186,  310'.  lalnrla* 

iha]  of  lUnngar.  H». 

.Ddlng  Dt  IbB  I'hoceftDi  Id  OalHa 

'-  'tKolbgd,  :ai  1  plftnUngol 


574 


HTDSX. 


Qod  (the),  of  B^rmnger,  a  deiatical  poem, 
897. 

Ooderieh  (Lord),  known  as  a  f^ooea,  189. 

Qoldcmith  in  France.  SOS;  robs  a  French- 
man, 287 ;  and  a  French  lady,  Uadm. 
Blaise,  ib. 

Good  drr  Lodgings,  a  song  by  Diogenes, 
283. 

Griselda,  orlfrinal  Nonnan  ballad  of,  8i6. 

Guy  d'Arexco,  his  narrative,  848. 

Gypsies,  political  economy  of  the,  a  song, 
by  arranger,  293. 


H. 
Haidouin's  diseoreries,  186, 189 :  fand  his 

epiteph,  140. 
Hastings,  battle  of,  IS. 
Hayes  (Joe),  master-spirit  of  the  Glen 

distillery,  78$  his  warm  never  dies,  ib. 
Herbert,  his  Nlmrod,  146. 
Herbert,  George,  480. 
Herrings— ia/oitfii^  de»  harengt,  18;  sale 

of.  In   Greece,  17;   warlike  food,  80; 

foundation  of  Amsterdam  laid  on  her- 

ring.bones,  21. 
Homer  quoted,  89, 66, 80. 106, 880,847, 868. 
Horace,  Songs  of,  870, 393,  415, 436.  469. 
Horace  cited,  9, 12, 18,  63,  79,  97,  102, 126. 

131, 139, 184,  801, 318^  388,  827, 397, 660. 
Hudibras,  16. 
Huns,  cookery  of  the,  16 ;  king  of  the,  315, 

318. 
Huss  fJohn),  anecdote  concerning,  289. 

I. 

Irish  erports,  their  chief  item,  25. 

Irish  namoH,  76. 

Italy,  Songs  of,  315,  342. 

J. 

James  I.,  a  patron  of  Scotch  Herrings.  11. 

Jeffers,  Lady,  35. 

Jerome  (St.)  quoted,  136. 238. 

Oesoits,  massacre  of,  at  Madrid,  164 ;  ever 
in  hot  water,  165;  not  understood  by 
Robertson,  168;  Cerutti's  "  Apologie,^' 
171 ;  Gresset's  '•  Adieuz,"  172 ;  founded 
b^  an  old  soldier,  173 ;  InsHtuttum  Soe. 
Jesu.  175;  rapid  progress  of.  176;  dis- 
tinguishable from  other  monks,  \b. ;  ratio 
Mtidicrum,  178;  their  pupils,  179;  their 
learned  men,  180,  182;  their  ill-treat- 
ment, 183 ;  tlieir  missions,  ib. ;  conduct 
during  the  plague  at  Marseilles,  185: 
fell  like  the  Templars,  183;  defence  of, 
fi(19 

Juvenal  cited.  18, 203,  236, 845. 


K. 

Kidnappers,  cat-o'-nine-tail-villains,  135. 
Kingsborough's  (Visct)  "  Mexican  Anti 

qultles,"  S44  \  muWMitrj  ^VKaVaX^ktm.  wn 

•state  of,  517. 


l> 


Knapp,  mayor  of  Cork,  a  foe  to  aai 
88;  theknapp*a  iaek,86;  Prostfs  f» 
terJorother,  UB. 


Ladies,  three  chaws  for  the,  6. 

Lake  Leman,  its  attracdona,  SSL 

LamartiiM,  a  poem  by,  oa  the  edit  ef 
Manoel,878L 

Lame  heroes  and  writers,  176u 

Landon  (Miss),  gives  her  name  to  tj^mm 
<eae«^138;  lines  addressed  to, 814. 

Lardner  (Dr  DenisX  a  compiler,  81 ;  a 
man  of  letters,  60,  83;  never  vtstlsi 
Blarney,  68;  his  purgatory,  66;  hto 
tract  on  the  potato,  83;  ideas  on  astrs 
nomy,  132 ;  B^rango's  Ode  to,  88L 

Larry,  "The  night  befinre  Lany  was 
stretched,"  a  song,  887. 

Laura,  Front  in  love  with,  34S. 

Lee,  Nat,  the  dramatist,  1144 

Leipeic,  the  annual  book-fsir  of,  848. 

Lent,  apology  for,  9;  olda8TertidliaB,10; 
traced  to  Lentnlos,  18. 

Leonidas,  not  president  of  a  beef-etesk- 
club,  17. 

Lepanto,  song  on  the  battle  of,  868. 

Literary  renegades,  punishment  for,  S6. 

Loyola  (Don  Igna^io  de),  an  old  mMitr, 
has  a  leg  shattered  at  Pampelona,  178^ 
his  diivalrous  vigil  at  Montserrat,n4* 
lame  heroes.  175. 

Lacan  {PharaaUa,  v.  8SX  206L 

Lucretius  quoted,  114. 


Macrobius  quoted.  81. 

Madness,  thoughts  on,  110 ;  mad  authors. 

115. 
Maginn.  Dr.,  a  literary  embalmer,  616^ 
Malbrouck.  song  of,  219;  effects  of,  oc 

South  Sea  Islanders,  221. 
Marchangy,  *•  la  Qaule  Poetique,"  806. 
Margaret.  Front's  servant,  72 ;   song  iz 

honour  of.  96;   makes  the  punch   tM 

strong,  345. 
Marot  fCIement).  poem  by.  258. 
Marseiilais  hymn,  original  of,  fSAJf, 
Martial  quoted,  81. 

Martineau,  Harriet,  able  to  defsad  her- 
self, 141. 
Masauiello,  20. 

Mazarin,  a  saying  of  Cardinal,  887. 
Medical  theories  in  verse.  546,  517. 
Melancthon's  real  name.  86. 
Monsini's  "  II  Cspro.*'  "There's  a  goat  Ic 

the  vineyard !"  359. 
Michel  Angelo,  his  "SUtue  of  Moses." 

his  ''Farewell  to  Sculpture,"" •<  cr»- 

q/bso,"  366. 
Miller  (JoeX  Josephus  Molitor,  818. 
Millevoye,  a  true  poet,  %4 ;  "  La  ChoM 

des  FeulUes,"  256 ;  "  Priez  pour  mol,* 

a  ballad,  227. 
^QA«nv  Latin  poets,  513. 
^^ILwswJ^"  \itN.^A\vx^xx»»sia«t'QQi^  4ai^a^ 


CBrtu  (Bmaj),  hU  tvIiku   uquin- 


.nwBl^  Ul;  hli  dttth 
I'GvmwngvtDarfall 


CT.';™;; 


IO'U»i>,i»lliie"  Voice  rnno  aLHeJtu 
-.\  aUwi  Ilia  pniH)  »/<«•,  SS. 


te«^) 


FukditH  oCOraxk  Drigln.  M 
PhoI'i -liittrei  PniTlnclii 

hirpsehoodrju,  ISS. 
PuoulBulB,  a  Bamam,  139. 
PlIU  [he  ijreil  rUopn  off  (1 

tta*  RoUiftDd,  BO, 

hvmic^lili  Hiiireli  ODi  CO 


Wby  tboa,  nun  i[  vu  madi  by  ■Icun- 

«{  on)  (A'tl.  a  Lai.\  88. 
O,  BltneTCutLa.uTilullnt.  lOO. 
AdiifeD*B  dAfclh-aiNlff,  lift, 
BI.1I.'.    IU..M,   ^WWlB  r»iid   Ul. 

cbarB.-l<f'-itA-^.).tai. 
A  CbuDMLtofd  MDK  (CaUM].  1S>. 
OawhaniBlorjlJity.  a  ffajt),  HI, 
O  'tiTM  (il  bul  4  drum  [Juj,  x  CaU, , 

149. 

MnnBaMArtrCflO.),  US- 


Kama  ia*il.tl  Alitl.).^' 
•■  II  pleui,  II  pleul  anaB,"— BMo  bam 

The  Kng  of  Iba  Coiuck  <.i»«l.  N  GaN.) 

I-fl  bou  Roy  IHgnbcrt.  317. 

L'lpJi  da  Dunouln  — The   diBMr  m 

Clonyain.  ( G«U,  1  Ai.il.\  Bl. 
11/ dir.lli.iB  H  Mipla.  fdW. 

-Ilaw  l«ai)liBUB8binirg«4B,"-  Pny  foi 


676 


*-  L«  Mbler— Th«  boor^UM,  S28. 
Meet  me  hy  moonlight  (AmgL  et  OaU.}, 

SS9. 
Good  people  ell  (Anf^  et  OiOL),  SS7. 
The  pablic  all  of  one  eocord  iAa^  «< 

FroliMrt'a  song  (OdOX  SS9. 

"La  NaiBsanoe   da   Dauphin,**  —  The 
Daaphin's  birthday,  841. 

Ballad  of  Gri8elda(yonn<M  imdBngiitk), 
246. 

•On  parlera  de  sa  gloire,**— They'll 
talk  of  HIM  for  yean  to  oome,  848. 

"Le  y^eux  drapean,**  —  The  tric(doiir 
flag,  851. 

Clement  Marot^i  song  to  the  rangoaid 
of  the  French  {GdU.  et  Angl.\  868. 

**  De  la  dipouiUe  de  noa  bois,**— Automn 
had  stript  the  groTe,  866. 

"  II  descend  ce  eereneil^''— En  that  cof- 
fin goen  doim,  266. 

"  No^  le  patrUrehe,''  868. 
La  theorie  dee  teUpaea," — Blindman's 
bufE;866. 

**  La  mort  de  Socrate,**— The  night  be- 
fore Larry  was  stretched.  207. 

"  Le  convoi  de  David,"— The  painter's 
funeral,  270. 

'*G<n4renx,  faToris,"— If   your  bosom 
beats  high,  272. 

"Le  violon  bris4."— The  French  fid- 
dler's lament,  276. 

"  Le  ohien  du  Luurre,"— The  dog  of  the 
Three  days,  277. 

The  Mistletoe,  a  type  of  the  Uearen- 
bom.  279. 

"  Lea  (toiles  qui  filent,"  —  Shepherd, 
they  say  that  a  star  presides,  S81. 


**  Les  Dies,'* — A  panegyric  on  geese,   _ . 
"  Le  Temps  et  r  Amour,"— Old  Time  is 

a  pilgrim,  284. 
"Si  je  derais  un  jour,"— If  my  mind's 

independence  one  day  I'm  to  sell,  286. 
''  Les  Boh6miens,"  a  gypsy  song, — Sons 

of  witchcraft,  293. 
"  Le  Dieu  des  bonnes  gens,"— There's  a 

God  whom  the  poet,  297. 
"  Le  grenier,"— The  garret  of  B^ranger, 

299. 
"Le  tailleur  et  la  f^e,"— Autobiography 

of  a  poet,  301. 

•  Le  voile :  orientale,"— What  has  hap- 
pen'd,  my  brothers  ?  (Victor  HngoX 

•  Monseigneur  le  due  de  Bretagne,**— 
The  bride  of  the  cymbaleer  (Victor 
Hugo),  307. 

"Ah,  le  bel  <tatl  que  I'^tat  de  eoldat  1" 
—The  French  soldier's  life,  810. 

Les  Funerailles  de  Beaumanoir  lO<iU.), 
312 

•  L'ange  exiW,"— Lady,  for  thee  (to  L. 
E,L,),313. 

Petrarca'a  od«,— "^m«ftl  tc^nnUlu  of 


Non  mi  fiur.  O  Yoteaa,"— The 
cap  benKAen,  889. 

*  Italia !  ItaUaT— FilicU'a  song.  83ri. 

*  Chi  «  ooetal,''— Statue,  whose  giasi 
limbs,  888. 

*  To  credea,"— Tiber!  my  early  drsia. 


•Per  me  si  Ta,"  (DanteX— Seek  ye  yt 
jpath.886. 

•  O  erine,  o  erin,**— With  awe  I  look  «e 
that  peruke,  380. 

"  Una  Candida  oenRa,,"— A  iorm  I  stv 
with  secret  awe,  861. 

•Cantiam'  tntti,"— Song  ob  the  battls 
of  Lepanto,  863. 

*0  pescator/*— Fiythee,  yeoaf  Aiber- 
man,  866. 

«  La  fbga  di  Napoleone."— Whca  Bo- 
naparte overcome,  366. 

"Son  povera  ragaaaa,"  a  village  sob|(, 


•  Quel  capro  maledetto."  —  There's  % 
goat  in  the  vineyard!  8S9. 

"  Gnarda  che  biancha  luaa  P  a  serenade, 

862. 
"  Fluttering  spread  thy  porple  pinions,** 

864. 
•11   dono   di   Venere,"  —  With  roert 

wreathed  around  his  ringlets,  366. 

•  Al  crocifisso,"- Michel  Angelo's  ftrr- 
well  to  sculpture,  868. 

Petrarch's  dream, "  Qaando  il  soave  mio 
fido  conforto,"  —  She  has  not  quiu 
forgotten  me,  868. 

•  r  vo  piangendo  i  miei  passati  tempi." 
— Bright  days  of  sunny  youth  !  369. 

The  attractions  of  a  fashionable  Irisb 

watering-place,  499. 
La.    Zingarella  —  "  Ben   venuto.    vm- 

chiarello,"— The   flight  into    Bgypi. 

606. 
"Gives  Hymetti,"— Citiaeas  of  Mount 

Uymettus,  637. 
"  Dives  Galesus,"— As  slow  the  plouf^h, 

638. 
•Est   mihi   rivo   vitrens   peretmi,"  — 

There's  a  fonnt,  644. 

•  Je  voyais  du  rivage,"  646. 

•Si    rogat   Cererem,"  —  The    soldier 

soothes,  668. 
Nay,  gather  not  that  fiJbert,  664. 
Meditations  in  a  wine-cellar,  567. 
Ode   on  the    taking  of  Calais  (laLd 

AngL).  661. 
The  old  housewife's  address  to  her  gnde- 

man  (Jjat.  el  Anal.),  664. 
The  Red-breast  of  Aquitaaia,  567. 
The  legend  of  Arethusa,  669. 
There's  a  being  bright,  671. 
Life  a  bubble  (Fr.  aAn^),  A. 
Poetry,  the  nurse  of  fteedom  tnewy  age, 

868. 
Poets,  tiie  earliest  writem  ia  •wy  Ian 
guage,  828. 


nllwilrr,  A ;  fond  of  uiglkiu,  fli  bit  ! 
flbmiT.  a,;  dentb  ud  buiiii. Ti  g«-  i 
plan. S3;  ^DVwLfKlf^  at  the  world. TO' 

BsfUjTa;  hli  kinc.M;  •Mtaiof  fal 

binb  uid  p«nDUgB.  134 ;  It  kldmpped,   B 
B, ;  m  lock  af  hii  ■DoUier'i  hair,  lis ; 
Rf>7>l   Cork    roundlliig   UMplOI.  H---, 


Ugatn-.  (lUcteil  by  Itia  "  Sun*' iv 
p>pu,  SIS;  bli  fnittl  Ufa,  MO; 
tiueAil  HnU.asS]  bl>  iBcoUeellDii 
lUlT,  no;  remitiw  lo  mix  bii 
pHDCbfor  Ibfl  fumreiSU;  bopei  ta 


Englnd,"  it  "Oltlionu  Abbtj'.Yiwk- 

Strib^qUKlid,  17,  SI. 

-'  Sun-'  nawipiper.  qiumi  with.  U7. 

Sv[R.  eulogr  of,  loei;  bis  mulngai  ■  my- 
Moif,  lU ',  But  ocuiiwiwl  br  too  nncji 
UuiUdu,  US;  qor  bronnaalCad  Iotb, 

UtnpanDiiB.  IIS^  iH>rluii]rMwd«,tt.; 
nor  tun  ol  annuy,  IM :  nolirllluUDt- 


I  ■  d«>Ui.bbir  w  the  old  Oilllun 

;h.BW, 

Tmk,  midiiei 


Rh7nn,«n«poLogy  for,  by  UFaya.Ml. 
BJcbicd  Caur  de  Uia.  U,  lU,  SOT, 

Bucfaa  [.lima,  E>q.  of  Cotk).  (  trlud  «l 


e>gur.  isl  .•  «!«  to  Tlnu,  by  Tbomti, 


[SmiidlinrFnitlilibl  nf  t 
H.Sf;  deKribed  br  Liu 


lilTnloi  Rdh,  eniitilat  fmn,  2 
Uriu,  or  UuwUW,  qnoMd, 


or  d^,  aong  DD  Ihfl,  W 


Fnttil'A  pftiM^Tlc  cm,  Mi   JclHft 
SerlKne.  ITudime.  nOd  bi  bg  (1 


-    VenlcB,  origiQ  (o,  ^ 


578 


OTDEX. 


Vidft,  Bketob  of  his  Ufe,  613;  hia  poem 

«TheBilkvonn,''68a. 
yilUffe  eong,  eoMMietta,  868L 
yii«a<dtad,  U^  49, 68,  eB,  7S.  86^  117, 118; 

10«k  181, 188,  S16, 817, 8S2, 842, 844,  849, 

60^618. 
Ylttorelli, "  Giuurda  ehe  bUoea  Imutr  « 

serenade,  868;  "II  dono  di  Yeaese,**— 

The  gift  ef  Venus,  80S. 
Volulte,  bis  opinion  of  the  shells  of  the 

Pyxenaes,  SW :  his  oceopatioa  at  Pots- 
dam, 44S. 


W. 

Watergrmasbill  oB  temn  on  the  mi^  at 
DeriTnane,  and  irhy,  78;  why  like  the 
mountain  of  Gilboa?  71;  the  Arcadia 
of  Crofton  Croker,  6. 


Wetherell,  Sir  C,  letter  from,  abo«tEii« 

Dagobert,  238. 
Whalley,  Jeraaalem,  66. 
Wig  of  Koger  Bo«»Tieb,  "  AlU  perraee^' 

De  ficti  eomi,  Ac.  839. 
Wine  debtor  to  water,  212. 
Woods,  Wm.,  his  base-enrrewy  tcbeMb 

121 ;  a  kidnapper,  124,  136. 


Y. 

Yarmonth  herrings.  18. 

Yorke.  OUver,  editor  of  the  Reliqiaat 


Z. 

Zisea,  his  skin  made  into  a  dram,  29& 


THC    KNO 


fiCnXiK:   PBOltED 


Bt  waiuM  Gtown  avd  son^ 


>,W,M^H^«^^ 


jjtf^H»»> 


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