when the virtuous govern, the wicked often reign. Light is not the less real for being delusive. Brono asserts that before Orcan came to Kazan,

*

"A needy, hungry, bold adventurer,
Houseless and ragged;
the realm
By wholesome counsel and sound Policy
Was rul'd most prosperous."

This we presume was not the Policy with whom Orcan was so familiar, nor any relation of that monster; but entirely of another family. The poet, however, ought to have given both cognomens; lest, peradventure, a careless observer might mistake the one for the other. After urging the necessity of continuing the war, Brono's speech is interrupted, ere finished, by a summons to attend the king.

Presented to the wond ring gaze below
The empire's great domains, unfurl'd entire.”

That the roof was not propt down by the columns we know, without being informed that it was propt up. We are a little surprised that Mr. Eustaphieve does not perceive how much the majesty of poetry is diminished by the introduction of such useless words. Concave should have the accent on the first syllable. History makes the Khanate, in ancient times, populous and extensive: it must however have been, at this time, very small; or the roof very high; if from it the kingdom could be “unfurled entire.”

The monarch, in a short speech from the throne, declares that he shall be governed by his council, whether to continue the war against the Tartars, or rest "on their laurels" in peace. Brono makes a long harangue in favour of war: uttering harsh reproaches against one Intrigue, an

"Abject, low born worm that in the palace lives, And in the cottage dwells, despised by all, Yet hurtful, fatal, when it is not crush'd."

This appears to be a relation of Orcan's Policy; perhaps the same, under a different appellation. He urges the propriety of continued war till Manay is destroyed. Though himself a warrior,

he disclaims fighting for fun, or because it is his trade.

"Should it be said

War is my trade, and therefore is my choice,
The charge so foul and wanton, ere 'tis made,
With honest boldness I repel. Heaven knows
I never can be, never was the wretch
Who fights for fighting's sake.

Orcan, assisted by Policy and Intrigue, makes a highly poetical and argumentative oration in favour of peace: giving due praise however to the eloquence and integrity of Brono.

"Yet he is just, and justice he will grant,
Nor think all those disloyal, or devoid
Of honour, who may differ from himself;
Whose error (and who errs not?) from the head,
Not from the heart proceeds."

He uses one urgent reason for concluding a peace:

"Sooner or later we must end this war; Then why not now?"

And ends his speech in the following majestic manner:

"Much I respect The arguments of the illustrious chief Tuphold the war; yet, with due deference, I think we can command, and therefore should Obtain, a lasting honourable peace."

Trouvor is outrageously enraged at the sentiments of Orcan; and is about to reply; but is prevented by Osmond; who, fearing his brother knight might do some mischief in his wrath, attacks Orcan tooth and nail, like a valiant knight as he is: whose cause he declares bad;

"Which dares not call
Plain sense and reason to its aid, but tries
By fancy conjur'd up."
To pass under some surreptitious form,

He also is of opinion that Mamay should be utterly destroyed; asserting, with three successive and successful rhetorical similitudes, that his strength and ability to do mischief remain unimpaired.

"No, Sire, we've only crack'd the shell, and left
The serpent safe within. We've brush'd away
Th' ensnaring web, while in his secret hold
The tyrant, he that spread it, still remains
Unhurt, full eager, watchful for his prey.
Soon as some branches were struck off, we stopp'd
And pluck'd not growing mischief by the root,
Which last we should and might have done, but
which

We left undone.

How precisely is this in the scntentious manner of Milton; a vast thought expressed in a few words. Mamay, it ap

"I pass

In silence what I deem the greatest loss,
The loss of honour, from our broken faith,
Which, in the eyes of honest, thinking men,
From victors to the vanquish'd would reduce
Gur character."

Should we not mar the pleasures of curiosity, we might here admit our readers to a secret. "Broken faith" has reference to a promise that Selima shall become the wife of the prince of Moscow; which prince of Moscow is this very Trouvor in disguise; whose name at home is Demetrius; the hero of this very heroic poem. Trouvor now makes a speech, and gives the character of Demetrius, alias Alexander; and of Mamay, alias Bopaparte;

"A wretch, an outcast from the lowest herd,
A vile usurper, who by erimes alone
Rose to that power which he by crimes alone
Hopes to preserve.

*

There's not a crime

*

Devis'd in fancy, or-conceiv'd in thought,
Which this unheard-of monster has not yet
Committed.
The poor
Deflow-er'd virgin, or dishonor'd wife
are but his jest, his scorn
The daily food of his unbounded lust. *
He has not yet, through will, mistake or chance,
Perform'd one, single, puny, doubtful deed,
Such as at least might virtue's semblance wear."

#

After a page or two of similar invective, Trouvor desists. Orcan suggests that a stranger, and perhaps obscurely born, is too officious in offering his advice. Trouvor clasps his sword. Osmond interferes. The king, as kings often do when they cannot control an unruly parliament,

"Surpris'd, perplex'd, and unresolv'd Which side to take, and how to act, at length Bethought himself the council to dismiss."

We now enter the third canto.

"The very day That next in Time's eternal order came, Beheid all, save its own bright smiling form Chang'd in Kazan.".

The day looking at its own form would furnish a fine subject for a fanciful painter.

-" Deep; mortal was the cruel wound He now receiv'd; and piercing, fatal came The swift wing'd shaft, sped by a treach'rous hand,

That reach'd, at length, his loyal heart."

The wound being mortal, it was deep: being fatal, it was piercing; and, at length, being mortal and fatal, it reached his heart. The effect of this wound was almost immediate. He became “an old, feeble and dying man:" yet we are informed that

"His mind, unconquerable, soon resum'd Its wonted strength, and over death itself Victorious made him."

And he makes immediately his dying speech.

"Wherefore this grief? Fail thus your hearts

-Nunc vulnus acerbum Conficit, et tenebris nigrescunt omnia circum: He dies, from want of fighting; and quite in a theatrical manner, though not much like a soldier.

"I dieOh Trouvor-Osmond-Arcas-all-farewell.”

This old gentleman is so important a personage, we part with him not without reluctance. We wish the poet had made him of less consequence, or continued him longer on the stage. Trouvor continues by the corpse; his grief in part assuaged by meditating on Selima.

"This lovely form
By nearer objects here with quicker force
Embodied, and in absence present made,
Forsook not Trouvor in his saddest hours,

:

Osmond departs privately by night: his intentions unrevealed. Brono is buried and Trouvor delivers a funeral oration. We have, in this oration, some instances of the most astonishing hyperbole.

"In vain the trembling universe again
The succour of thine arm herculean shall
Implore; more than herculean arm: so strong
That mountains, whereon stood the foe, secure
In fancy, shook beneath its pond'rous blow!
In vain! Thy godlike aspect, which alone
Controll'd the motion and the raging sea
Of war; thy ample shield and sword
Avenging, which no living mortal now
Can wield; thy shoulder of Atlantic make,
On which Kazan reclin'd in safe repose;
Thy giant-foot beneath whose heavy step
Rapid and wide, the daring guilty East
Trembled and prostrate groan'd; thy wondrous

power

"Gainst which no fickle fortune could prevail No kingdoms stand:" &c. &c.

But, eheu jam satis. What a pity that a little "fickle fortune" should have prostrated such a tremendous creature. But, he is dead, and lachrymæ volvuntur inanæ. He who

“Scorn'd threat'ning ills, soar'd above hostile fate,

Incessant toil'd impetuous warr'd, and storm'd Impossibility's own rocky hold,"

sunk at the sight of peace. This speech, of six pages, excited great tumult: but

"The solemn voice

Of [the] same sepulchral bell"

"Niggard light,

Ill borrow'd from heaven's rich exhaustless foun Slow ooz'd through narrow casements."

Here all is explained. The relation is long; but we can give the substance of it in a few words. Orcan and Mamay in disguise were the conspirators against the life of Trouvor. Selima overheard their previous conversation, and prevented his death. Orcan, being detected, begs his life, and promises to tell who is his companion. "Not while I live," says Mamay; and, so saying, seizes him, lifts him on high, and dashes him on the marble floor; so that breath he never more utters. Thus end the days of Orcan. We are not grieved in parting with him; for he all along seems to be an ugly dog. Mamay confesses who he is; and frightens the court with a declaration of his power to upset the kingdom, if inclined.

"Radiant face

The Tartar claims Selima; and
"With Tarquin-stride

Moves towards the trembling fair."

("With Tarquin's ravishing step towards his design Moves like a ghost." Macbeth.)

Trouvor interferes; and makes himself known as prince of Moscow, Demetrius. Mamay challenges him to meet the next day in single combat; each with a squire, and no other attendant. The challenge is accepted. Selima is near fainting; but. hoping her father will prevent the intended duel, she recovers.

The fifth canto commences with an

address to love; not exactly like the ad

dress of Lucretius to Venus; as it contains some sentiments of which the Roman poet could have no conception.

"In fiercer natures cast in hotter moulds, Uncheck'd by virtue strong, or self-command, Thou art a flying conflagration dire,

Arcas informs Demetrius that he and another had been ordered to bring to Mamay his head. He endeavoured to persuade his companion to join him in rescuing Demetrius. His companion refusing, a quarrel ensued, and his associate was killed; whose head, carried by Arcas to Mamay, was by him believed to be the head of Demetrius.-He also informed Demetrius, that, centuries previous, some persons, digging into the earth, struck upon human skeletons, supposed to be the bones of some army slain in battle. The bones were placed in order; and a subcity built under Kazan. This in process of time was forgotten except by a few; but was well known to Mamay; who had access to it; and, by the assistance of Orcan, through certain secret passages, he could at any time find his way unobserved into Kazan.-Arcas also informs him that Mamay was determined, that night, to destroy Kazan and bear away Selima.

Thus concludes the sixth Canto.-The story of the city of bones under Kazan is a puerile invention; below the genius of the meanest imitator of Anne Ratcliffe. The miraculous aid to save Demetrius when prepared to be shot, is the only instance of the use of machinery. It would have been more agreeable to the general tenor of the work to have saved him by human means only. Nec deus intersit, &c.

We now come to the seventh and last Canto. Demetrius and Arcas are discovered entering the cave where are concealed a great number of the troops of Mamay. Demetrius, like Leonidas at Thermopyla, meets the leader and his companions at the narrow entrance, where multitudes are slain. At length Squire Arcas shuts for ever the ponderous gate; and for ever encloses the tenants within. The prince and his squire, now, by a secret path, ascend into the midst of Kazan. The temple is on fire. Some relations are given of the manner in which many are rescued and many are lost, not totally dissimilar to what occurred when the theatre at Richmond was destroyed by fire. A son drops his mistress, to save his mother. This accomplished, he returns to his mistress, and both are overwhelmed in the conflagration. Fire now marches to the inner temple;

"Grim Terror in his front advanc'd with crest Uprear'd, and desolation in his train Press'd on with rapid pace."

"Wild flares his gristly hair, In quiv'ring columns parts, and with the wreaths Of smoke entwin'd, waves streaming to the sky."

In this inner temple are the king, Selima and Zorana. The prince seizes Selima,

"And bears the precious charge to healthier spot.” Morna and Zorana are rescued. A full length picture is given of the conflagration, which bears a close resemblance to the burning of Moscow by Bonaparte. Lest the gigantic conflagration mount "It seem'd as if the heavens themselves alarm'd Their highest seat, drew up a dark array Of sombre vapours, dense and humid clouds, That, pending down in sable, tent-like, form, Threw round a vaulted barrier of defence."

The king having given Demetrius his ring, the signet of power, he takes command of the troops, to oppose those of Mamay, which had entered, or were now entering the city.

force

Can her vibrating axis hold. She reels,
Opens her wat'ry stores.”
She groans, and quick, obedient to the stroke,

The fire subsides. Demetrius meets Mamay, whose right hand

« A pond'rous weapon grasp'd, such as no arm Save his could wield: the other held an orb of massy weight and size, as if design'd, From Heaven's own dread artillery to shield His vast enormous bulk."

He attacks the Tartar, dealing a deadly blow with his uplifted blade. A sudden thunderbolt shivers in pieces his sword. He snatches another from a comrade; but Mamay retreats before he can use it. Most of Mamay's men are destroyed: though some escape by means of a sudden excessive darkness,

"Such as night

is given of his havoc :

VOL. III.-No. 1v.

Had first pierc'd through her sullen reign

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