ment. runs quickly forward in its unravelEmerick, who had come on a hunting expedition to Casimir's seat, is struck with the beauty of Lady Sarolta. Introduced into her chamber by the treachery of a babbling, weak, and villanous servant, Laska, he attempts to violate the chaste Sarolta. She resists him, till Bethlen comes in fully armed,-we are at a loss to know how. In the fight which ensues, and after Emerick has been disarmed, Casimir comes in, and, though he had been warned of the tyrant's designs on his wife, makes rather absurdly no instant attempt to avenge the insult, but defers his vengeance. In the fourth act, Casimir and Rudolph concert means for avenging themselves on Emerick. Rudolph is to lead the hunt, in which Emerick joins, to a part of the forest where Casimir, with a chosen band, is to set on him. Laska, the villanous servant, is, with Pestalutz, an hired murderer, on an errand of assassination against Casimir,-when they are encountered singly by Bethlen. Laska is about to stab him in the back with a javelin, when the villain is killed by the faithful Glycine, who had been at the cave with Zapolya and Raab Kiuprili, near which the encounter takes place. The heroic girl saves her lover's life with a bow and poisoned arrow, which the half wild Laska had but the moment before laid down there in reserve for Pestalutz, the assassin, to whom he is acting as guide, and who falls, almost at the same moment with himself, under the sword of Bethlen. Casimir, who had been threading this part of the forest, watching to execute his vengeance on Emerick, meets at the cave his injured father, Raab Kiuprili, and is reconciled to him. Emerick at length arrives and stumbles on the dead body of Pestalutz, over which, as Casimir's mantle had been thrown on it, he exults; till, lifting up the mantle, he has just time to vent an exclamation of astonishment,-when Casimir rushes in, and, after a momentary struggle, kills the tyrant with the very sword of Raab Kiuprili, which he had picked up on his entrance to the cave. The confederates against Emerick proclaim Andreas, the quondam Bethlen, King of Illyria. Glycine is found to be the daughter of Chef Ragozzi, who had saved the VOL. I. lives of Zapolya and her son. To this affectionate girl Zapolya gives the hand of her son the king. Such is this drama, which has glimpses of poetry, and a polish, and a sort of high-toned and picturesque beauty, which, it is likely, no other poet now living could have given to it in an equal degree with Mr Coleridge, without also giving it more force and effect,-without bringing home a tangible interest,-and making it tell on obvious and general feelings. In its present shape, we conceive it has about it that indescribable something, which, if not the dead weight of mediocrity to sink it, will ensure a speedy neglect from the bulk of readers, and check for ever the hopes of Mr Coleridge's admirers in him as a dramatic writer. There is not a tittle of interest in this story as he manages it. To understand the plot, and keep in view its progress, the reader must take some pains; and this is what no reader will ever do, except in a case where his attention may have been called off for a while by some excellent bye-play. Our author's idea of passion is by far too elementary. He wants adaptation. Much of the most striking parts of his story is related, and not acted. He has always before him, as it were, a good map of the chief lines and figures of passion, but then he does not enforce these with the exact sentiment which is to body them forth to the reader or hearer, and to serve also, in pushing on the story, that purpose of dramatic action for which they were copied or sketched out,both at once, and in the quickest possible manner. But this is what a dramatic writer must do. Zapolya, then, as a drama, will never succeed. Nor, as a tale, is there any thing in it to captivate. It must exist as a poem; and, even in that case, we decidedly think it is too long. We shall, as fair critics, however, point out a few of the beauties which have occurred to us. "O most lov'd, most honour'd ; The mystery that struggles in my looks, Betrayed my whole tale to thee, if it told thee This, we think, is a true, and what constitutes great merit, a succinct and striking picture of the uncertainty, the doubt, and feverish excitement which prevail when contending parties are secretly at work with the great machine of human affairs. Emerick the usurper tries, in the subsequent passage, we think very forcibly, to stagger the strong representations of honest Raab Kiuprili in favour of the direct line of succession. "Conscience, good my Lord, Is but the pulse of reason. Is it conscience, That a free nation should be handed down, Like the dull clods beneath our feet, by chance, And the blind law of lineage? That whether infant, Or man matur'd, a wise man, or an idiot, Hero, or natural coward, shall have guid ance Of a free people's destiny, should fall out In the mere lottery of a reckless nature, Where few the prizes, and the blanks are countless ? Or haply that a nation's fate should hang On the bald accident of a midwife's handling The unclos'd sutures of an infant's skull ?" Zapolya is thus finely and impressingly introduced with her infant in her arms, when she had fled, after the death of her husband, from the usurper of his throne: "Hush, dear one! hush! my trembling arm disturbs thee! Thou, the protector of the helpless! Thou, The widow's husband, and the orphan's father, Direct my steps! ah whither? O send down Thy angel to a houseless babe and mother, Driven forth into the cruel wilderness ! Hush, sweet one, thou art no Hagar's offspring : Thou art And tones of anxious fondness, passionate prayers, Have been talked to me! But this tongue ne'er soothed A mother's ear, lisping a mother's name! O at how dear a price have I been lov'd, And no love could return! One boon then, lady! Where'er thou bid'st, I go thy faithful soldier, But first must trace the spot where she lay bleeding Who gave me life. No more shall boast of ravine Affront with baser spoil, that sacred forest! Or, if avengers more than human haunt there, Take they what shape they list, savage or heavenly, They shall make answer to me, though my heart's blood Should be the spell to bind them." The poetical turn of those four passages, which we are now to give, is so sweet and touching, as to be, with us, a relief from the hurry and vehemence of the impassioned parts. "O she was innocent! And to be innocent is Nature's wisdom! The fledge-dove knows the prowlers of the air, Fear'd soon as seen, and flutters back to shelter. And the young steed recoils upon his haunches, The never yet seen adder's hiss first heard. By mere oppugnancy of their own good. ness, Reveals the approach of evil.” For bloody usurpation, like a vulture, And liberty shall be proclaimed alone, (Again to the infant) Poor friendless fugitive! with mother's wailing, Offspring of royal Andreas, shalt return With trump and timbrel-clang, and popular shout, In triumph to the palace of thy fathers!" It is surely to be regretted that any thing should prevent a man so highly gifted with poetical language, and knowledge, and fancies, as the author of these passages, from following out his poetical vein to its fullest extent. We could now enter into much speculation about Mr Coleridge's literary character, in which we take a real inmore to say of his poetical genius terest on many accounts,-and have than a Magazine-Review will allow us We have watchto give out at once. ed him through his career as an author pretty closely; and, though the fruit of his fair promise has been unfortunately so small-still we think a few hints on the nature of the models which he seems to have studied, (which all men of aspiring genius and a peculiar taste are likely to study, if they take to any models at all,) and on the particular direction of his fancy, might be neither unuseful nor uninstructive as discussion, nor unfair to a man of unquestionable learning and ingenuity, who has suffered much from the injudicious panegyrics of friends, and the exaggerated and malevolent misrepresentations of enemies, -- as much almost as from the awkward bent of a restive imagination, and powers of judgment rather imperfectly develop ed. At another time we mean to take up this important and delicate literary question. work is elegant, and it will form a desirable addition to the literary furniture of the drawing-room, or to the library of the green-house. The Loddiges of Hackney have long been distinguished as cultivators of rare and curious plants on the most extensive scale; and their fame is not confined to this country, but, we have access to know, has reached many parts of the Continent of Europe. The plates of this work are chiefly from drawings by Mr G. Loddiges, taken from plants which come into flower in the collection at Hackney. Some of the figures, such as that of Epacris grandiflora, are excellent, others have a good deal of stiffness and flatness about them, as if they had been copied from a hortus siccus; of this sort is the figure of Elichrysum proliferum, which is not only unnaturally rigid, but greatly deficient in downiness. The drawing of Lantana mista, by Miss Rebello, is admirable. The engraving by Mr G. Cooke, an artist of known abilities, is very good. The colouring is sometimes defective, but not more so than occurs in similar periodical works, which must appear against a certain day; in this case, it will be remembered, no fewer than ten plates must be coloured and ready for publication every month. In the letter-press, the scientific name of the plant, with the Linnæan class and order, are given, then follows a short history of the introduction of the plant into this country, if an exotic, and of any remarkable properties it may happen to possess; and, lastly, the soil and mode of cultivation suited to it, are specified. The great experience of the authors as practical cultivators, must render truly valuable their remarks on the culture of foreign plants in general, and more particularly of such difficult tribes as the heaths and bulbs of the Cape of Good Hope. The finest Cape erica may be seen constantly flourishing in perfection at Hackney or Hammersmith, while they are always dwindling and dying at the Jardin des Plantes. From our recommending the work as an appendage to the drawingroom, our readers will readily perceive that we consider it as calculated rather for the nomenclaturist and amateur cultivator, than for the scientific botanist. Such is the fact. Even where new or little known genera or species are figured, no gencrie or specific characters are given, nor are any dissections of the parts of fructification afforded. A few marks of discrimination are, indeed, sometimes interspersed with the notices concerning the history and qualities of the plant; but these are not enough. We think that, without detracting from the popular nature of the work, this defect might in future be remedied. Another fault is this; that the scientific name given to the plants is sometimes taken from one author, sometimes from another,from Linnæus, Willdenow, Brown, Persoon, or Swartz; and the reader is not warned from whom it is taken. This objection might still more easily be removed than the former. The addition of the principal synonyms would be a great improvement, particularly when the plant has long been known by another name than that preferred by Messrs Loddiges; for example, Blctia Tankervilli is perhaps better known by the title of Limodorum, and Elichrysum proliferum by that of Xeranthemum. We would submit to the taste and judgment of the authors and their artist, whether it would not be proper to avoid, as much as possible, the reducing of the figures of plants below their natural size. The reduction of the figure of Crinum erubescens to one-tenth, in order to display at once to the eye the appearance of a splendid speciinen, may perhaps be excused; but one or two flowers of such a plant as the Bletia already mentioned, might have been given of the natural dimensions. Would it not, at any rate, be better, where there is so ample a field for choice, that Mr Loddiges should restrict himself to the smaller delicacies of Flora, which look charming when surrounded with the "meadows of margin" which his quarto size enables him to spread around them. Some curious, beautiful, and rare plants, which have not yet found their way into our botanical collections at Edinburgh, are here represented; particularly Cymbidium sinense; Gloccinia speciosa, the flower of which vies in brilliancy of colour with the dwarfish Gentian, (Gentiana acaulis ;) Gastrolobium bilobum, Be◄ gonia suaveolens, and Struthiola incana. This last, we are told, possesses, in a remarkable degree, the quality of giving out its scent at night, so as to perfume the whole greenhouse in which it stands; and it is added, that the fragrance is not less rich, and more delicate, than that of the Peruvian heliotrope. Amidst such rarities, we certainly did not expect to meet with any very common plant, more particularly such a plant as Veronica chamedrys, or Germander-speedwell, which is a weed of as frequent occurrence about Edinburgh, and, we believe, all parts of Britain, as the vulgar dandelion itself. It is, indeed, not destitute of beauty; but the blossom is extremely fugacious, or apt to fall off. Instead, however, of offering some apology for publishing a figure of such a plant, we were really surprised to find the authors gravely assuring us, that it requires no sort of shelter during winter, and that it may be readily increased by dividing the roots!" Is it possible that Messrs Loddiges immure themselves so constantly and completely within the walls of their green-houses and conservatories, as to keep themselves unacquainted with the native plants which flourish under the hedges in every part of the island, from Cornwall to Caithness? We would rather consider the introduction of the Germander-speedwell as an oversight to be ascribed to the bustle inseparable from the necessity of periodical publication. We would recommend to the authors to take more time. Of this fact we are pretty certain, that the subscribers to the Botanical Cabinet would not find any fault with them for occasionally publishing only five plants in the month instead of ten, when this limitation was required for the conveniency of the artists, and for ensuring the correct colouring and finishing of the plates. We trust that our criticisms will not be thought too severe, nor their motive be misconstrued. If we had not thought well of the work, we should not have taken the trouble to throw out these hints for its improvement. FOREIGN JOURNALS. WERNER. (By M. Heron de Villefosse, Inspector of the Royal Corps of Mines, Associate of the Royal Academy of Sciences, &c. From Annales des Mines, Deuxième Livraison, 1817.) [SOME writers in this country have more than once attempted to persuade the public, that the late illustrious Werner was a mere visionary, or, at best, a man fitted only for establishing distinctions amongst minerals. They have denied to him all originality of views in regard to the structure and formation of the earth,-his mode of investigating and tracing the connections and relations of rocks and minerals, has been held in derision, and his talents as a useful practical miner, have been altogether disregarded. This presumption and ignorance have not failed to call forth the indignation of all those interested in the advancement of one of the most important departments of natural knowledge, and the attacks of Chene vix, and other philosophers, have * been triumphantly answered by the this island, and by the establishment general adoption of Werner's views in of Societies, whose object is not the the earth, but the investigation of its support of any particular theory of structure and composition, according to the method first pointed out by Werner. The members of these dis tinguished associations have, within a few years, brought before the public a vast body of important information in regard to the mineralogical structure of this island, which cannot fail to be of the greatest utility to the country in general, by the clue it will afford to the miner in his researches after useful minerals. This, indeed, is another proof of the value of Werner's ideas, that lead not, as has been contemptuously remarked, always into the mazes of German metaphysics, or physics, but to those objects that add to the greatness of a country, and Wernerian Natural History Society, Geological Society of London,-Royal Geological Society of Cornwall. |