and then the rag becomes a doll; and although the rag doll has Hand link'd in hand on buoyant step they rise, Economy of Vegetation, Canto IV. v. 31, 40. In the fine vision of Owen, the soldier, we are told that he saw Adam lying beneath the tree of life, with the expression of joy on one side of his face, and of sorrow on the other, a grotesque emblem of the blended feelings which may be supposed to arise in our common father, on beholding the strange combination of wisdom and of folly in his children. Each individual shares more or less in the frailty of his kind: and Darwin is a lamentable example of the treacherous strength of the human intellect. Whatever contempt we may bestow upon his verse, he nevertheless deserves high praise in those pursuits to which his studies had been directed. In physiology and in general science his acquirements were extensive. His views of nature were clear and profound; and if, in an evil hour, the wicked demon of rhyme had not possessed him, his name would have gone down in good odour to the after-time. No one can really taste the beauty of poetry without a real love of knowledge and of learning. And Darwin's poetry abounds with knowledge and learning, polluted indeed, and degraded by the skipping jingle of his rhymes, but yet of stirling worth. The matter which he has selected is unfit for song, but it is one of the noblest themes which can offer itself to the mind; and one which, however treated, must always retain some share of dignity and attraction. Our reasoning faculties are gratified by the subjects which he introduces, although our tastes ought to be offended at the manner of their introduction. The geologist stoops and examines the rich and varied minerals which the author of the fabric has collected, and becomes indisposed to arraign the hand which has disposed them in whimsical grotto work. The botanist attends to him whilst he traces the plant from its germ to its maturity, and at length becomes reconciled to the gaudy Flora of the Botanic Garden. Hence it is principally to the well-informed that Darwin is a dangerous author; for they allow themselves to indulge in the gratification which he affords, without considering the real sources whence that gratification arises. And although Miss Porden's poem is not, by any means, to be considered as an imitation of Darwin, yet we must suppose that it is by his example that she has been seduced into the attempt of clothing subjects which are purely and drily scientific in the language of poetry. The story of the poem, the loss and restoration of the veils, was originally a little and elegant fairy romance written in short cantos, and its extension into its present form, at once allegorical and didactic, was an afterthought. We had rather have seen it in its original simplicity and unity; and we should have been well contented to receive such a vivid and forcible delineation, as is afforded by the following lines, alone and unaccompanied by the personifications of volcanic' fire, which she has afterwards introduced. 'On lofty Stromboli the sky was bright, As when it sparkles with the northern light, And brighten'd ocean with a glow of red; Like distant thunder, burst a hollow sound, Disturb'd the quivering air, and shook the shores around.'—p. 205. 'At morn, attended by a trusty guide, The fearless nymph ascends the mountain's side, Which tower'd above the vast volcanic pile, The giant parent of the rocky isle. Long was the steep ascent; the path was strew'd With stony fragments, ponderous, loose, and rude; The faithless sands her sinking steps betray. A plain with sable sand and scoria spread.'-p. 207-8. thro' numerous openings came Yet thro' the crust sulphureous odours breathe, A moment might the dreadful gulf disclose, Its slumbering fury wake and rage anew. Westward her course the bold adventurer bends, And now the mountain's loftiest peak ascends; The marks of former fury, strew the ground. · Descending now, she reach'd a rocky height, Saw from the gulf the orbs of lava rise, And clouds of dusky vapour veil the skies, And shuddering thought how soon the hour might come, A spirit then appears at the bidding of the Fire-king, and under his guidance Leonora plunges into the blazing gulph. 'The fearless nymph obey'd-her tender feet The lava press, yet scarcely feel its heat; O'er solid fire proceeds the undaunted dame, And breathes amid an atmosphere of flame, Which round her form, by frequent currents driven, 'How vast the fiery realm! around her stood Unnumber'd Sprites, that various tasks pursu'd.'-p. 212. There is so much poetic spirit in this passage, that we will not destroy the impression of poetical reality which it produces, by extracting extracting the enumeration of the labours of the spirits of the volcano: they would dispel the illusion which the fancy of the writer has created with such ability. We shall therefore pass on to the return of Leonora to the realms of day. The sweetness of the lines, and the contrast between their calm and softened imagery, and the fiery scene from which Leonora has rushed, remind us of the first stanzas of the Purgatorio.' 'Thro' the deep gulf again she mounts to air. Miss Porden thinks vigorously, and she always expresses herself with terseness. Such passages as the following may be instanced for their condensed and apophthegmatic turn. long and keenly smarts the rankling wound, 'Misfortune oft in mirthful guise appears, Book iv. v. 880-4. Book iii. 700 -4. Nor can she be otherwise than lively and elegant when we clear away the primitive and secondary rocks, which she afterwards thought fit to superinduce upon her fairy tale. We shall conclude our extracts with the nuptials of the Water-king and his beneficent bride. Yet many a youth that to the tourney came, And And marvell'd much how envy found a place Twas true their queen was gracious, good and fair, "To see one nymph thus rais'd o'er all the rest, But mutter something of a broken vow.'-p. 182—3. The personifications of metals and minerals,' and of the agencies of volcanic fire,' as may be expected from the specimens which we have given of Miss Porden's poetry, are managed with great talent and ingenuity, and they exhibit a thorough knowledge of the subject. But they are materials upon which talent and inge nuity should not attempt to work. They are either too refractory to be moulded into grace, or too rarified and penetrating to be rendered visible and tangible. Nor could these difficulties be surmounted, even if, as Miss Porden wishes, the operations of her Rosicrucian mythology had been directed by a person' possessing the scientific knowledge of Sir Humphry Davy, and the energy and imagination of Lord Byron and Mr. Scott.' The privilege of personification is an important one, and therefore it should be used charily. The forms bestowed by the poet must be indicated, not defined. The vitality which he bestows must be breathed into the object in an instant, and for an instant only. Like the mock life produced in the slaughtered animal by the powers of galvanism, as soon as the subtle influence has darted through, its effects must cease; and inert nature must relapse into its primitive quiescence. Thus, Jura answers through her misty shroud Back to the joyous Alps who call to her aloud.' But although the voices of the mountains were heard during the raging of the midnight storm, we do not find that they continued to hold a dialogue after it had subsided. The themes of poetry must be such as can agitate or allure us; the lessons of poetry must be such as can enter into alliance with our virtues, nay, even with our errors. But science soars above the troubled region of passion and feeling, and dwells in the calm and cloudless heaven where all is light and tranquillity. ουτ' ανέμοισι τινασσεται. ούτε ποτ' όμβρῳ δεύεται ουτέ χιων επιπιλναται. αλλα μαλ' αιθρη πίπταται αννέφελος, λευκη δ' επιδέδρομεν αιγλη. The |