that enough similarity in the genius of Shakspeare and Scott exists, on which to found a comparison, without the supposition of perfect equality, or rivalry in merit. When Plutarch drew his parallels, he did not insist upon these conditions ;-upon Numa being so great or good a man as Solon, or that Cæsar was exactly upon a par with Alexander, although a kindred genius guided the destinies of both. I shall endeavour to show in what points Scott has exceeded, and in the sequel it will be seen how he has fallen short of his great model.

I find no mean apology also in the outset for the use of the word parallel, in the curious fact that the epithets of " sorcerer " and "wizard" have, by general consent, grown into equal use in speaking of these remarkable men and it must be familiar to you all, that in the critiques and eulogies that have been lavished upon Scott, constant reference has been made to his great prototype; and his noble personifications are referred to the standard of Shakspeare, as to the standard of truth and nature,—the only true source of all ideal excellence. Direct contrast or comparison of their several productions is, for the most part, avoided; but frequent allusions are made to their strong resemblance, and broad hints of the only fraternization offered in the history of polite letters. Poets celebrate a new incarnation of the spirit of the bard of Avon-painters hasten to embody the creations of a fancy, not so fine, perhaps, but as original and pure, and the most prosaic of readers find in the endless variety of Scott a charm only to be equalled in the pages of the splendid original.

I do not propose to be very formal in my criticisms, nor is it necessary that I should be so; but that we may have some plan to guide us in our research, I will venture to say that I mean, in the first place, to bring into view the general characteristics of Scott, as compared with those of Shakspeare, and afterwards to glance at some particular points of resemblance; and to shew how much the novelist had his dramatic prototype in view, though, perhaps, not always sensible of it: for, to the close observer, such resemblances appear more numerous than the generality of readers would readily believe.

If Scott was sensible, in himself, of the influence of the writings of Shakspeare, and desired to treat in the steps of so great a master, he had the prudence not to avow it, or to challenge comparison by any sort of intimation that he was thinking of his matchless creations when employed in embodying his own; and here appears one of the first tests of the high genius of Scotta genius that enabled him to move in the same, or a similar orbit, with Shakspeare, without being a servile imitator. Innumerable planets move around in the boundless regions of human invention without danger of collision, or without necessary interference with each other.

One of the chief attributes of the genius of Shakspeare, and that which has always been allowed him, under some mode of expression or another, is his universality. This term is of so comprehensive a nature, that you will, perhaps, be startled at my claiming the

same excellence for Scott. I mean to express by itthe power of identifying himself with every kind and condition of existence. It is not necessary now to inquire if this be an intuitive or unborn quality, or the creature of education and habit, or, what is most probable, the joint result of both: but it is this quality, combined with another of the great characteristics of Scott-his candour-which is expressed by the word manysidedness, lately introduced to you by the admirers of Goethe *. With all my admiration for the Gothic original of our language, I cannot say that I wish to see the expression naturalized among us; nor do I think we require it.

This felicitous power of the mind has been the theme of panegyric with all the writers on Shakspeare, and in it we recognize the great charm of Scott's productions. Its great characteristic is fitness, and to its exercise we owe the admirable impersonations of both our authors: the splendid procession of princes, nobles, simple citizens, and peasants, with all their general and particular attributes, each clothed in his proper garb, and each speaking the sentiments of his kind. Nor is this vivid and distinct representation confined to vague generalities or generic distinctions; it deals equally with individual features and specific differences-such as are to be found in the moral, as in the natural world.

In this general sympathy with man in all his natural and social relations, we recognise the very essence of the dramatic character; and how it can be said that the

*Mrs. Austin's "Characteristics of Goethe."

genius of Scott is not dramatic, I cannot divine. His romances are dramas in everything but the precise form. But of this we shall have more to say, by and by.

Nor is this sort of spontaneous metempsychosis confined to the moral condition of man, and his relations to external things; we may observe the exercise of the same many or rather every sidedness in relation to things themselves, the same fitness, propriety, and verisimilitude; and circumstances and scenes are ever as much before the mind of the reader as the persons who move in them. If this be conceded for Shakspeare-and I suppose we can bespeak nothing for his genius that will not be conceded-it is only necessary to call to mind such scenes in the most popular works of Scott as are presented in " Old Mortality," "Marmion," " Ivanhoe," and indeed any other. Or, to be more particular, take for example, the magnificent opening of "The Talisman"-the graphic scene in the Desert, and the single combat of the two heroes of the tale. Or the escape of Sir Arthur Wardour and his daughter from the sea and ascent from the cliffs, in "The Antiquary;" or the more familiar but spirited scene in the Clocksmith's-shop in Fleet-street, in the commencement of "The Fortunes of Nigel;" or the tragic end of the poor usurer Trapbois, in the same tale; or any other of those living pictures in which the actors, and the natural accompaniments, harmonize with the features of surrounding objects, like all the parts of the finest performances of the sister art.

But the best test of this power of delineating the

thoughts, actions, and passions of human nature, in their various phases, is, as I have before hinted, to be found in the manner in which the same passions, the same virtues or vices are made to operate differently in different persons, according to their several constitutional castes of character, situation in life, or other ruling circumstance. Take, for instance, in Scott, his various modifications of religious enthusiasm. In Beaumanoir, the rigid adhesion to prescribed forms, the devotion to the preservation of the privileges of his "order;" a bigotry grounded in selfishness and constitutional coldness of heart. In the Abbot Eustace, the same objects operating with warm and kindly affections. The religious enthusiasm of David Deans again, is homely, stedfast, and patient in suffering. In Balfour, selfish, superstitious, and brutal. But we have in that chef d'œuvre of Scott, the tale of " Old Mortality," in illustration of this test of universality, a whole tribe of fanatics, in which the same general features are preserved with an individuality of form and colouring that makes each a distinct and perfect portrait; and the whole together one of the finest exemplifications of the crimes and follies of men, who mistake the vain workings of their own imaginations, and the impulse of their own selfish passions, for the dictates of the divine spirit. The maniac Mucklewrath, the savage Burley, the gentle but energetic Macbriar: after these come the shallow and wordy Kettledrumle, and the prudent and conforming Poundtext: not to mention the wellimagined dogged ignorance of Mause, and the easy faith of Cuddie Headrig, whose religion rests upon the means

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