"Alexandria, first called Belhaven, is laid out upon the plan of Philadelphia, and being well built and paved, in point of uniformity and neatmess it somewhat resembles that city on a small scale. Its situation is elevated, commanding a view of the river and the opposite shore of Maryland. The navigation of the Potomack, on whose banks the town is built, is very good. I question whether a line of battle ship might not come up from the sea, and it alongside of the what, which is a divance of 289 mies. Six miles higher on this river is the city of Washington, but a bus inpedes the navigation up to ike navy-yard of government.” CLASSICAL CLASSICAL AND POLITE CRITICISM. On the SHAH NAMU of FERDOUSEE. [From Mr. WARING'S TOUR to SHEERAZ.] We have not thought ourselves at liberty to change the system of orthography here employed in decyphering oriental names, and which Mr. Waring seeS to have imbibed from Mr. Gilchrist.] "TH THE most stupendous monument of Easteru literature, is the Shah Name of the poet Ferdousee; a work consisting of sixty thousand couplets, which has probably been praised as much for its length, as for its intrinsic merit. This poem was composed under the patronage of Mahmood, Sultan of Ghizni, who, excepting his conduct towards this poet, appears to have been particularly liberal in his treatment of learned men. Ferdousee was happily born at a period when learning and talents were universally encouraged; nor did he fail to meet with protection and assistance, when he was persecuted by the enmity of his offended sovereign. I shall not repeat Ferdousee's well known story; nor should I have ventured these remarks if Sir William Jones had executed the design which he proposed in his learned Co-mentarii. The world may, on two accounts, regret its disappointment; at being deprived of the work of so distinguished a scholar, and at its having allowed of the following observations. I do not profess giving a full account of the Shah Namu; a poem consisting of sixty thousand couplets would require a separate work, and, perhaps, more time than the gene rality of my readers are willing to bestow. "The celebrated poem of Ferdousee has survived, in a country by no means distinguished for its regard for works of genius, a period of mot less than eight hundred years. The patron of Ferdousee is known for his cruelty, and is immortalized for his infamy; but this splendid monument of human genius and invention, rests upon a more certain basis. Kings have succeeded kings, and dynasties have followed dynasties; the works of imperial grandeur have fallen before the ravages of time, but Ferdousee lives fresh in the remembrance of the East, and, instead of suffering by a lapse of time, his fame rests upon a more solid and durable foundation. He rules by a prescriptive right. His work has become a model for imitation; and although his successors have partly changed his language, they have not dispensed with the assistance of his images and fables. The poets of the East have been unanimous in their opinion of this poem, and have come forward in a manner which does honour to their candour, and credit to their judgment. But when we allow it is unequalled in the East, we must pause before we pro nounce nounce it to be equal, or to approach very nearly the divinest poem of the West. So bold a comparison should be offered at least with caution; and I must confess that I would sooner be esteemed the Zoilus of Ferdousee, than the Zoilus either of Virgil or Milton. "The Shah Namu is called (improperly, I think) an epic poem, and by Sir William Jones a series of epic poems. It is of little consequence, perhaps, what title a poem receives; those, however, who are only acquainted with it by name, will naturally imagine that it resembles or equals the epic poems of the Western world. "The whole of the poem takes up a period of not less than 3,700 years; and although critics have not determined the time of the epic action, they would not yield their assent to so enormous a number of years. The part which Sir William Jones assumes, and which he says is truly epic, occupies a period of three centuries. If Bossu's definition of the epic poen be just, I have little besitation in declaring, that the Shah Namu is entirely excluded from ranking with Homer or Virgil, although it resembles Lucan's Pharsalia, by being an historical poem. The Shah Namu may be fairly defined, an historical poem heightened by fable.' I cannot discover that the poet wishes to inculcate any moral maxim, or that he has any other view than that of embellishing the facts which have been handed down to him by tradition, and in the legions of the Gubrs. The stories in the Shah Namu are intricate and perplexed, and as they have a relation to each other, they can only be understood by a knowledge of the whole. Episodes are interwoven in episodes; a peace and war succeed each other, and centuries pass away without making any alteration in the conduct of the poem. The same prince continues to resist the Persian arms, the same hero leads them to glory; and the subterfuge of supposing two Afrasiabs, or two Roostums, betrays, at least, the intricacy and confusion of the whole fable. The character of Nestor answered the most important ends; his eloquence and experience had a wonderful effect in soothing the contentions of a divided council; but the age of Zal or of Roostum answers no purpose, for they only share longevity in common with their fellow creatures. "It is, perhaps, uncandid to try the merits of the Shah Namu by the standard of Homer or of Virgil ; but do not let it then aspire to a standard which it will not admit. Let the enthusiastic admirers of the Shah Namu determine a standard of their own, but as long as it is called an epic poem, it must be tried by the rules which have been assented to by successive ages. "The ground work of this poen is a history of Persia, which occupies a period of 3,700 years, and upon which is raised a stupendous monument of fable and romance. The authority for this history is said to be some legends of the ancient Persians, which, as we learn from Ferdousee, were undertaken to be turned into verse by Munsoor Duqeeqee. How much he executed of this task I am unable to determine; nor can I discover whether Ferdousee availed himself of the labours of his predecessor. Upon his death, Ferdousee undertook this laborious work, and has performed it in a manner which must delight and astonish every lover of Eastern literature. After Ferdousee had "The poetical part of the Shah Namu can hardly be said to commence before the period of the usurper Zohak, who overthrows Jumshyd's government, and puts him to death. His enormities, at length, become so excessive, as to excite his subjects to throw off his authority, and to espouse the cause of a blacksmith, whose two sons were murdered by the orders of the tyrant. Gawu raises his leather apron as a standard of rebellion, and which afterwards became the consecrated banner of the Persian empire. A descendant of the ancient family of Persia is discovered in the person of Feridoon, who succeeds to the throne of his ancestors. The education of Feridoon may be supposed to have been remarkable. He was brought rade a ronsiderable progress in his work, he fell ill, and apprehending that it would be left imperfect, he entreated his master, the celebrated poet Asidi, to assist him, and who composed four thousand verses, which have been grafted on this poem. This is all the assistance we know him to have received; and as there is no prior claim to the machinery of this poem, he cannot be denied the merit of invention. We cannot but regret that he has made so little use of it; for although a fabulous bird presided over the birth of Roostum, and reared up his father Zal, his aid 'is only resorted to upon the most desperate cases, and when all other means had failed to command success. He strictly observes Horace's rule, " nec Deus intersit," &c. which applies, how-up by the cow Poor Mahee, and miever, to tragedy, and not to epic poetry. Excepting in one or two instances, his storms are effects of natural causes; the demons of Mazenderan fight with human arms, and either scorn, or fail to resort to the powerful aid of magic or incantation. Whether this be a beauty or blemish, I shall not determine; it is at least contrary to the practice of the most admired authors of antiquity. The demons of Mazenderan appear to have been infinitely more cultivated than their neighbours the Persians. They were acquainted with letters, and imparted their knowledge to Tumoorus, the sou of Hoshung. This is doubtless a table, as well as the story of a navigation being carried on with foreign states in the time of Jumshyd. This strange a-sertion is in direct contradiction to the established principle of the Magian religion, and betrays an uncommon ignorance of the customs of the ancient Persians, raculously escaped the diligent search of the usurper Zohak. The whole of this story is related with a considerable degree of poetical spirit; but as I have reserved my remarks for a future period, I must pass over this in silence. "Feridoon divides his empire be tween his three sons, which gives rise to the celebrated feuds which afterwards prevailed between the Persian and Tooran governments.-Eeruj, the youngest son, receives the whole of Iran, or Persia, as his portion; and this preference is beheld with envy and indignation by the two brothers. Soolmi and Toor resolve upon attacking their brother. Eeruj endeavours to mollify their anger, and falls the victim of his own moderation. The lamentations of the unfortunate old king are extremely affecting, and forcibly describe the anguish and disap#pointment of a fond and partial pa rent Το And hastes, vain hope! to meet his son elate. The richest wines Irania's vintage yields, And the gay minstrels charm the martial fields; On elephants the drum and tabor play, And splendid arches, such as grace the day Of Persian triumph, all prepar'd to go, When from afar, with solemn dirge and slow, Midst clouds of dust, a man of sorrow rose, His face the picture of corroding woes! Deep were his sighs; a golden urn he bore (With silk the head of Eritch cover'd o'er!) By sorrow worn his livid face appears, And all his cheeks were dew'd with purple They all dismount, each soldier weeps aloud; As when all heaven, by some tempestuous cloud, Is darken'd o'er. Their sorrowing breasts they tear, All call on Eritch with a wild despair. The stars, they cry, who mark'd thy fatal end, Will change their course, and to thy murderers bend. One truth attend, let not the meteor blaze On this vain world, delude with dazzling rays; "Tis vain, 'tis idle, a delusive dream' Nor fancy fortune is as she may seem. Should foes acknowledged strive to wound your breast, Harbour no vengeance, and relieve distrest; But if a friend assures of high esteem, Watch all his actions, varying with his theme. Sore griev'd each warrior, and with anguish tore, Loudly lamenting on the sounding shore.' The king to Eritch's garden bends his |