Comic Dramas, in Three Acts. By MARIA EDGEWORTH. 8vo. London, 1817. THERE is no department in which prophecy can be less safely hazarded, than in regard to the productions of the human intellect. It is natural to imagine, when we discover a writer signally excelling in any one branch of literature, that a moderate effort will raise him to like eminence in another closely allied, and affording scope for similar talents. Yet there are powerful, though almost invisible, barriers, separating those provinces of mind which seem to lie almost in immediate contact. The most vigorous energies, also, are those which most require to follow their own train, and can least be bent and modified at the will even of their possessor. We believe it is more common for genius to extend her conquests over intellectual regions widely remote, than over provinces of the same region which are separated by any marked natural boundary. These remarks seem strikingly exemplified by the publication now under review. Could we have ventured to indulge a prediction, it certainly would have been, that Miss Edgeworth, in the Comic Drama, would display to advantage all those qualities with which, in her Tales, we have been so often and so highly delighted. Not only are humour, and the just observation of human manners her leading excellencies; but the dialogues, in their frequent occurrence, are so marked by truth and spirit, and, indeed, so much the most brilliant part of the composition, as to make it seem scarcely possible that her works should not gain by becoming entirely dialogue. We cannot wonder, then, if persons of the best taste should have solicited Miss Edgeworth to attempt filling up this blank in the literature of the present day. Among the number of these advisers, we find, by the preface, was a gentleman whose name bears the very highest authority, Mr Sheridan, the first wit and first comic writer of the age, who not only urged Miss Edgeworth to write comedy, but even suggested subjects on which her vein might be exercised. To this influence was added that of her father, a much more slender suffrage indeed, but one to which it was most natural that deference should be paid. Miss Edgeworth seems to have felt a secret conviction that such was not her vocation; but, being thus sore beset, she was at length, against her better judgment, prevailed upon to make the trial. The result has been the three,-not comedies, but comic dramas, which compose the little volume before us. She publishes them "to feel her way," justly conscious "that failure in such a humble attempt cannot be attended with much disgrace." In this stage of the attempt, candour seems indispensable; and we have, therefore, no hesitation in saying that the failure is total. It is not very easy to develope the causes. Though dialogue be the life of Miss Edgeworth's tales, it is a different sort of dialogue from that which can figure in comedy. It has usually something sedate and deliberate, not those quick and rapid turns, which alone are dramatic. The writer had also a great advantage, when she could make her choice of the time and occasion for introducing the dialogue, and when narrative was always at hand to illustrate, connect, and carry it from one advantageous point to another. In fact, there is nothing pointed or piquant in these dramas; no lively interest either in the incidents or situations; no force of comic effect. The plot moves on in a slow unvarying tenor; and the catastrophe, never longed for, is brought about at last by very clumsy and improbable instruments. The only merit is, that the language is always natural. This makes them readable, and would even gain reputation to another writer than Miss Edgeworth; but it is altogether insufficient to support a name that stands otherwise so high. Viewing the subject in the light now stated, we do not conceive that either analysis or extracts of these dramas could be made with any edification to the reader. Two of them are entirely Irish, and exhibit, we are convinced, a very faithful picture of national manners. We doubt if even this be dramatic. One or two Irish characters may be introduced into comedy with the best effect; but there ought to be an English ground, to set off and give them effect. Besides, we believe a national character is best represented with only the national peculiarities; it is always so viewed by a foreigner; and the mixing with it a number of individual features has rather a confused and perplexing effect. The third drama (the second in order) is drawn from fashionable life. Here, too, the dialogue is natural, though not quite so natural. The play has no other merit. At the close of these observations, we are apprehensive that some goodnatured reader may demand why our observations should be thus invidiously confined to the dramas, when the new volumes of Tales might have afforded subject of much more grateful observation. Be it known, then, that the said Tales had actually been laid upon our table, in order that our critical powers might be employed thereon: nay, that ideas and remarks were forming in the recesses of our brain, which we fondly hoped might have obtained some favour in the eyes of our readers. Just, however, as we had taken up the pen, to embody them in permanent characters, the door opened, and the Edinburgh Review was placed before us. This is an event which invariably causes a temporary suspension of all other operations; the pen was therefore laid down, and the book opened,-when we descried, with no small consternation, in the table of contents, the very work on which we were about to exercise our own critical vein. This alarm was not diminished, when, on perusing the article, we found a coincidence with our own ideas so close, that almost nothing seemed left but to say the very same things-worse. Considering, therefore, that we could scarcely expect to find a reader to whom this provoking anticipation would not be already familiar, we finally determined to shun such formidable rivalship, and to refer our readers to this source of information, where they will really find every thing that can best be said upon the subject of " Harrington and Ormond." A Narrative of the Briton's Voyage to Pitcairn's Island; including an interesting Sketch of the Brazils, and of the present State of Spanish South America. By Lieut. J. SHILLIBER, R. M. Illustrated with sixteen etchings by the Author, from drawings on the spot. Second edit. 8vo. London, 1817. THE writer of this narrative begins with apologizing for the imperfections which he is sensible must adhere to it, in consequence of his own total inexperience in literary composition. The work certainly stands much in need of apology. The author possesses not a single requisite for narrating the voyage, except that of having actually perforined it. He seems, indeed, a plain well-meaning man; but he has neither the faculty of observing what he sees, nor of describing what he observes, nor of clothing the description in tolerable English. We are no friends to the mysteries of book-making; but really, in the present instance, the employment of a duly qualified person to put the narrative into a decent shape, and even, by proper queries, to extract information, which the original narrator must have possessed, without knowing its value, would have been not only veAlthough, too, nial, but laudable. we are no friends to the lavish use of ornamental appendages, yet it seems going much into the other extreme, to present us with a sailor's rude scratches," the first productions of his attempts at graphic delineation," -etched by himself; and which, accordingly, can scarcely vie with those specimens of art, which adorn the titlepages of penny ballads. Had the intelligence of the author at all corresponded with his opportunities, this would have been a most interesting work. Even with all its imperfections, it contains a small portion of very curious information, of which some notices may be acceptable to our readers. The Briton touched first at San Sebastian, now capital of the Portuguese dominions in South America, and residence of the Prince Regent. Our author, however, does not give any idea of the manner in which the government is administered by that sovereign, nor of the degree of affection with which he is viewed by his transatlantic subjects. The following is almost all the information here conveyed:-The chief trade is in gold and diamonds; but, besides that the Portuguese are adepts in knavery, the residence of the Court has attracted such a number of English, Scotch, and Irish adventurers, that any one who is not profoundly skilled in the articles, is almost infallibly cheated. There is a Chinese warehouse at San Sebastian, and the tea plant has been introduced and cultivated with such success, as will soon, it is said, enable Brazil to supplant China in this very extensive branch of commerce. Mr Shilliber gives a very gloomy contradiction to the impressions which we had received respecting the comparatively humane treatment of slaves in the Portuguese settlements. On the contrary, avarice seems here to have dictated more atrocious inhumanity than even in the West India colonies. A trade is carried on by a number of persons, who, having purchased a number of slaves, teach them trades, and send them out to earn their own subsistence, with the condition of bringing in to their master a certain daily sum. All above, indeed, is their own; but the rate is usually fixed so high, that not one in ten is able to reach it; and, in case of failure, the lash is applied without mercy. Many slaves are said to be found lying dead in the streets, being, when thought past recovery, thrown out and disowned by their masters, in order to evade the expences of a funeral. The vessel having left San Sebastian, nothing occurs in passing Cape Horn, nor till it reaches the groupe of the Gallapagos. These islands are entirely covered with black lava, vomited by a number of volcanic craters, several of which are still burning. The rocks appear, even from the imperfeet sketch of the author, to be thrown often into the most picturesque forms. One of them is covered with beautiful plants and shrubs, growing immediately out of the masses of rock. The islands are uninhabited. Mr Shilliber sailed next to the Marquesas, but adds nothing material to the information communicated by Krusenstern. On his return, however, to the American coast, a truly interesting occurrence took place. The crew being, it appears, a little out of their reckoning, came unexpectedly in the night within view of an island. Day-break soon after enabled them to discover huts, cultivation, and people; while some of the latter were launching canoes and pulling, towards them. But when one of the boats came up, no words can paint the astonishment of the crew when they were hailed in English; and when the other natives, on arriving, were found all to speak this as their native language. The amazement suffered no diminution, VOL. I. till one of the natives said, "Do you know William Bligh, in England ?" This question instantly caused the minds of the crew to revert to certain events, which cannot have escaped the recollection of most of our readers. It is well known, that Captain Bligh having in 1788 sailed with the Bounty to the South Seas, a violent mutiny arose against him; and the mutineers, headed by Christian, the first lieutenant, seized the vessel, and put Captain Bligh, with a few of his adherents, on board an open boat; in which they miraculously crossed the Pacific, and arrived at Timor. Meantime, Christian, with the rest of the mutineers, endeavoured, in 1789, to form an establishment at the island in question, commonly called Pitcairn's Island. Being involved, however, in a quarrel with the natives, they set sail for Otaheite; but after part of the crew had landed, Christian, with some of his companions, cut their cables in the night, and sailed, no one knew whither; and it remained unknown till the discovery now made by the Briton. The man being then asked about Christian, said he had been killed by a black; but that his son was just coming up, being called, by a fantastic multiplicity of names, Friday Fletcher October Christian. was the first born on the island. The only mutineer now alive was Adams, who ruled over the whole with a sort of paternal authority. The colony at present consisted of forty-eight persons. The women were Otaheiteans, each man having only one wife; and the children were well instructed. They repeated with fluency the creed, and pronounced a solemn prayer at the commencement of every meal; they had also some books still preserved. Their deportment appeared in general very correct and amiable; their quarrels few, and easily appeased by the paternal superintendence of Adams. The females were generally beautiful, and displayed nothing of that loose and forward deportment, which is almost characteristic of the ladies of the South Sea. The village is built in a picturesque situation, of an oblong form, with trees interspersed; the houses small, but regular, convenient, and excessively clean. Each family has a little spot of ground assigned to it, which is very carefully cultivated. The yam is said by our author to be brought B He to a degree of perfection which he never saw it possess elsewhere. Adams was a fine looking man about sixty. He denied having been at all privy to the conspiracy, though, when the crisis came, viewing with horror the severity of Captain Bligh, he had attached himself to the fortunes of Christian. Though sensible that he had thus forfeited all claim to his native country, and was even become liable, by its laws, to the punishment of death, he was yet possessed with the most ardent longing to revisit its shores. He had even made arrangements for returning in the Briton; but the moment this intelligence spread through the colony, it excited such a tempest of tears and lamentations, that he found it necessary to relinquish his intention. We agree with Mr Shilliber in thinking, that his very meritorious conduct in the management of this colony might well atone for guilt so long past, and in which he appears to have so slightly participated. It is to be regretted that scarcity of provisions did not permit the Briton to stop at the island. She proceeded thence to the American coast, and touched at Valparaiso, Santiago, and Callao, at which last place she remained for some time. Here, with due inquiry, most important information might have been collected. The author, however, saw little, and instead of communicating that little, he fills his pages chiefly with extracts from Robertson and other writers, whose works are in every body's hands. Some particulars are given, however, of the abolition of the inquisition at Lima. The Marquis of Concordia, on receiving orders to this effect from the Cortes, kept them back for nearly six months, till, the fact transpiring, the populace rose, burst open the gates, set the prisoners at liberty, and destroyed all the ensigns of inquisitorial power. The author saw the remains of the council chamber, and the offices of the inquisitors, which displayed the utmost splendour. The cells in which the prisoners had been immured, presented a dismal contrast. They were about eight or ten feet square, and twenty feet high, having a small opening at top for the admission of light and air. We are sorry to say that this detestable tribunal has since been reestablished. At the period of its overthrow, a gentleman of Lima obtained possession of a series of inquisitorial trials, which he afterwards put into the hands of our author, who proposes to publish them, with an English translation. We have no doubt they will possess considerable interest, provided the selection be good, and the translation be made or revised by some one who can write English grammatically. The Briton touched also at Juan Fernandez, famed for being the solitary refuge of Selkirk, and for the glowing description given of it by Lord Anson. Mr Shilliber confirms every thing which the latter reports concerning the fertility of the soil, and the picturesque beauty of the scenery. It was employed, however, for a dismal purpose,-as a prison for the exiled patriots of Chili. Here they found about sixty venerable old men, whom, a few months before, they had seen at Santiago, living in splendour, now reduced to the most abject misery. During the interval, the old government had regained the ascendancy, which, however, we believe, they have since lost. The return voyage did not present any incident deserving of record, and the Briton arrived at Plymouth on the 7th of July 1815. ly in regard to this mysterious continent. Adverting to the brilliant pictures which the ancient poets have drawn of the Hesperian Gardens, the Fortunate Islands, the Islands of the Blest,-abodes of felicity which geography has never been able to refer to any definite position,-he thus naturally accounts for that fugitive coyness with which they retired from the eager gaze of discovery : "There arises involuntarily in the heart of man a longing after forms of being, fairer and happier than any presented by the world before him-bright scenes, which he seeks, and never finds, in the circuit of real existence. But imagination easily creates them in that din boundary which separates the known from the unknown world. In the first discoverers of any such region, novelty usually produces an exalted state of the imagination and passions; under the influence of which, every object is painted in higher colours than those of nature. Nor does the illusion cease, when a fuller examination proves, that, in the place thus assigned, no such beings or objects exist. The human heart still clings, while it remains possible, to its fond chimeras. It quickly transfers them to the yet unknown regions beyond; and, when driven from thence, discovers still another more remote, in which they can take refuge. The first position of the Hesperian Gardens appears to have been at the western extremity of Libya, then the farthest boundary, upon that side, of ancient knowledge. The spectacle which it often pre sented, a circuit of blooming verdure amid the desert, was calculated to make a powerful impression on Grecian fancy, and to suggest the idea of a terrestrial paradise. It excited also the image of islands, which ever after adhered to those visionary creations. As the first spot became frequented, it was soon stripped of its fabled beauty. So pleasing an idea, however, was not to be easily relinquished. Another place was quickly found for it; and every traveller, as he discovered a new portion of that fertile and beautiful coast, fondly imagined that he had at length arrived at the long-sought-for Islands of the Blest. At length, when the Continent had been sought in vain, they were transferred to the ocean beyond, which the original idea of islands rendered an easy step. Those of the Canaries having never been passed, nor even fully explored, continued always to be the Fortunate Islands, not from any peculiar felicity of soil and climate, but merely because distance, and imperfect knowledge, left full scope to poetical fancy." Though ancient geographers were alike ignorant of the extent and of the form of Africa, accounts have been preserved of several attempts to explore the length of its coasts, or to penetrate into the depth of the interior. One celebrated expedition, undertaken, at the command of Necho, King of Egypt, by some Phoenician mariners, who are said to have sailed from the Red Sea, and to have returned by the Pillars of Hercules, (the Straits of Gibraltar,) has given rise to much discussion among the learned, both of ancient and modern times. We are inclined, with Mr Murray, to yield to the able arguments by which Major Rennell has supported the probability of this circumnavigation, while we admit the force of the reasoning employed by M. Gosselin and Dr Vincent, to prove the total inadequacy of the means which navigation could furnish, in that period of its infancy, for so important a voyage. Of the attempts to circumnavigate Africa, made by Sataspes, a Persian nobleman, at the command of Xerxes, and by Eudoxus, an enterprising adventurer of Cyzicus, Mr Murray has given an account as detailed, and interesting as the scanty notices to be found in the ancient historians and geographers enabled him to furnish. It is sufficient here barely to advert to these voyages, which seem to have been followed by no important results. No other instances are recorded of any attempts made in those early ages to sail round Africa; but several voyages were undertaken for the purpose of exploring, to a certain extent, its unknown shores. of these the most ancient, as well as the most memorable, was that of Hanno the Carthaginian, who was entrusted with an armament of sixty large the senate, and at the public expence, vessels, equipped by the authority o and was directed to proceed southwards from the Pillars of Hercules along the western coast. Through the fabulous colouring thrown over this voyage, it is not difficult to recognize a resemblance to many circumstances which more recent observations have ascertained. It is less easy to determine between the different opinions which have been entertained in regard to the extent of coast which Hanno traversed, and the various objects to which his description applies. For the different opinions upon this subject, and the grounds upon which they are supported, our |