With loud Hofannahs fill the world around, Scarce dawn'd the third dread morn with dubious ray, But faintly stretch'd the mountains faffron height, Or chafed the beams of filver mantled night; When death fubdued in chains eternal led, The author we prefume to be a young writer; but when the fervour of youthful imagination fhall be tempered by maturer judgment, we think he will arrive, or may arrive, at great poetical excellence. He has a very good car and good tafte, and still a little of the Darwinian monotony appears in the rhythm of his verse, but the Poem contains many very beautiful paffages. The notes which are fubjoined are creditable both to the author's piety and reading. We lately examined a Poem by the author on a very different subject, "The Pleafures of Love." Since this time he is much improved. ART. 14. Poems, chiefly Defcriptive of the fofter and more delicate Senfations and Emotions of the Heart; original and tranf lated; or imitated from the Works of Gefner. By Robert Fellowes, A. M. Oxon. 12mo. 151 PP. 4s. 6d. Mawman. 1806. We cordially rejoiced to meet with this author on any other ground than that of theology, trufting that here at least we fhould be enabled to give undiminished praife to his ingenuity. The truth, however, is, that we have encountered only medio. rity. Verfes intended to defcribe "the fofter and more delicate Senfations and Emotions of the Heart," fhould themfelves be foft and delicate; but an imperfection of car feems to have oppofed this effect, for the verfes are by no means eminently fweet; and occafionally are very unmufical. Nor are the ideas often otherwife than trivial and common. A poem, which, by a whimsical blunder of the prefs, is entitled "the Senfations of Infipient* Love," will exemplify all thefe pofitions; and we do not think that many could be found in the book, which would not. "O, why thefe unufual emotions I feel? Why flutters my heart? from my breast soft fighs fteal? Why from thee are my eyes fo unwilling to ftray? Unless you're by my fide, my mind's never at ease, Should you gaze on another, 't would torture my foul; Ah, I love thee-that's it! if of love I may tell, We almoft fear that fome readers will think, when they read thefe lines, that the title of them is rightly fpelt. The moft confiderable poem in the volume is the laft, which is entitled, "the Firft Seaman; or Love teaching the Art of Navigation;" a poem, founded on a most improbable fiction, and by no means well conducted. A promontory is torn from the main land, and made an ifland, three perfons are left upon it, and continue to live there without difficulty. Even after the man dies, who is the hufband and parent of the others, the two females continue to fubfift, without undergoing any hardship, as it feems, but that of being cut off from fociety. The young woman is educated without the knowledge that there are any other perfons in the world, or even that the ever had a father, who must therefore have died in her extreme infancy. A young man, on the main land, falls in love with her in a dream, and makes a boat very awkwardly, and goes to her. This was not much worth verfying, but if at all, was worth verfifying better. Here we have various irregularities. An Alexandrine, beginning a couplet, (p. 97), imperfe&ions in measure, and many in expreffion. But, what is wort, from the total want of probability, the tale is never made interesting. This is rather beyond the beginnings of love.-RED. Алт. ART. 15. Trafalgaris Pugna: the Battle of Trafalgar; a Latin Poem: enumerating most of the leading Circumftances of that memorable Day; with a literal Tranflation in English Profe. By Juvenis. 4to. 25. York, printed, fold at Bath, &c. 1807. That youthful ardour for literature fould be encouraged, and laudable attempts to fucceed in it commended, is not only juft but ufeful. But when very young perfons are pushed forward, as candidates for public fame, the cafe is very different. Vanity is. likely to be the chief fruit of fuch prematurè authorship, and the caufe is really brought before a tribunal incapable of judging it. For the merit of fuch productions cannot be abfolute, it is merely relative; it can be measured only by the knowledge of the exact age, the courfe of education, the opportunities and affiftances which the young pupil has enjoyed: to all which circumftances the world in general must be a ftranger. That which would be extraordinary at a private fchool, would be defpifed at Weftminfter, Eton, and Winchefter; and that which was performed without any adequate education, might be very extraordinary in itfelf, and yet not fit for any learned man to read. By intelligence conveyed to us with this poem, we find that extraordinary pains have been taken (doubtlefs with the very best intentions) to circulate it, and to obtain commendations of it. We conjure the young author, who doubtlefs is ingenious, not to be intoxicated by this very injudicious proceeding, but to believe that the politenefs of the perfons confulted, rather than their judgment, dictated their replies. For our parts, where the welfare of a perfon entering into life is concerned, we muft prefer fincerity to truth. We can affure him that the exercifes of the schools we have mentioned very often by far furpafs his production; and that, if he had belonged to either of them, he would have feared the ridicule, much more than he would have fought the glory of being thus brought forward to the world. We refrain from making a quotation, left we fhould excite the farcaftic wit of fuch readers. Let him read Virgil diligently, till his mind is full of the ftyle and refinement of that admirable writer, and then let him read his own again if he can. A profe tranflation is annexed, doubtlefs for the benefit of the young ladies of the author's family and acquaintance. If any of them will take the trouble to turn their fide of the book into English verfe, they will probably be encouraged to fhine in another publication. ART. 16. Some Occafional Verfes, on the opening of the Reading Literary Inflitution. By John Berkeley Monck, Efq. For the Benefit of the Reading Girls' School. 4to. Is. Reading, printed; fold by Cowilade, &c. 1808. It is a great thing for one country town to produce not only a Literary inftitution, but a poet to celebrate it. Nor will the lines be thought unworthy of the occafion, by thofe who shall perufe the following exordium: "Where filver Kennet, like a wedded dame, Defenceless bulwarks, now a peaceful walk, Huge, mouldring walls, where plaintive echoes talk, And only well exchang'd for ufeful trade, With trim-built houfes, and with gardens green, Such Reading was; But, hence fhall Reading be, Reflect in manhood fplendour on its birth." P. 3. Every friend to literature will naturally wish well to fuch an undertaking; and fince charity is united with the celebration of it, will think the poet worthy of more kinds of praise than one. It ought to be added, that the author of thofe lines may, with more juftice than any other perfon, be confidered as the parent of the inftitution he celebrates. Not only the fuggeftion of this very useful and liberal defign came from him, but its rules and regulations were, we understand, very principally the refult of his careful and ftudious comparifon of fimilar focieties already established. Talibus inceptis nos omnia faufta precamur. ART. ART. 17. The Epics of the Ton; or the Glories of the Great World; a Poem, in two Books, with Notes and Illuftrations, I 2mo. 269 pp. 75. 6d. Baldwin. 1807. We have here no common fatyrift. We thought for a time of the author of the Purfaits of Literature; but not finding fuffi cient fimilarity of fentiment, in fome parts, relinquished that conjecture, and have formed no other. Perhaps it is a new writer, and if fo, we rejoice to find fo able an addition to the poetical corps. We fhould have rejoiced more if he had not taken Satire as his walk; but as he has done fo, our regard for truth requires us to fay, that he is formed to be confpicuous in it. But he is alfo an able panegyrift, and as that is the more pleafing, and indeed more difficult effort of the mufe, we shall cite his lines on four noble ladies, the daughters of a lady celebrated before. Their initials are thus printed, "L-M-P; D-of R-; M-C-; "Say not my epic quill o'erflows with gall |