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: With floods of light difpels the cavern's gloom, 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 ear and good taste, and still a little of the Darwinian monotony appears in the rhythm of his verfe, 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 fubject, "The Pleasures 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 tranfiated; or imitated from the Works of Gefner. By Robert Fel loves, 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 hould be enabled to give undiminished praife to his ingenuity, The truth, however, is, that we have encountered only medio erity. Verfes intended to defcribe "the fofter and more delicate Senfations and Emotions of the Heart," fhould themselves be foft and delicate; but an imperfection of ear 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 other wife than trivial and commoni 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 unusual emotions' I feel? J Why from thee are my eyes fo unwilling to stray? Uniefs you're by my fide, my mind's never at eafe, Should you gaze on another, 't would torture my foul; Ah, I love thee-that's it! if of love I may tell, We almost fear that fome readers will think, when they read thefe lines, that the title of them is rightly fpelt. The most confiderable poem in the volume is the laft, which is entitled, "the First 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 husband and parent of the others, the two females continue to fubfift, without undergoing any hardship, as it seems, 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 awwardly, and goes to her. This was not much worth verfifying, but if at all, was worth verfifying better. Here we have various irregularities. An Alexandrine, beginning a couplet, 4p. 97), imperfections in measure, and many in expreffion. But, what is worst, from the total want of probability, the tale is never made interesting. This is rather beyond the beginnings of love.-Rev. ART. ART. 15. Trafalgaris Pugna: the Battle of Trafalgar; a Latin Poem: enumerating most of the leading Circumstances 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 fhould be encouraged, and laudable attempts to fucceed in it commended, is not only juft but useful. But when very young perfons are pufhed forward, as candidates for public fame, the cafe is very different. Vanity is likely to be the chief fruit of fuch premature authorship, and the caufe is really brought before a tribunal incapable of judging it. For the merit of fuch productions cannot be absolute, 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 circumstances 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 itself, 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 fchools 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 should excite the farcastic 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 thine in another publication. ART. 16. Some Occafional Verfes, on the opening of the Reading Literary Inftitution. By John Berkeley Monck, Efq. For the Benefit of the Reading Girls' School. 4to. 1s. Reading, printed; fold by Cowflade, &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 those 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, Every friend to literature will naturally with 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 justice than any other perfon, be confidered as the pa rent 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 comparison of fimilar focieties already established. Talibus inceptis nos omnia faufta precamur. ART. 1 1 BRITISH CATALOGUE. Poetry. 197 ART. 17. The Epics of the Ton; or the Glories of the Great World; a Poem, in two Books, with Notes and Illuftrations. 12mo. 269 pp. 75. 6d. Baidwin. 1807. We have here no common fatyrift. We thought for a time of the author of the Purfuits 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 also 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 |