deceased, it ought to be distinguished for its conciseness, and above all for delicacy of expression.

A word of reproach or blame can only find a place in the epitaphs of those whose lives have been notoriously wicked.

Ex.-"Sufficit huic tumulus cui non suffecerat orbis."Epitaph of Alexander the Great, from Aristotle.

The epitaph upon the celebrated M. de Turenne runs thus:

"Turenne a son tombeau parmi ceux de nos Rois;

Il obtint cet honneur par ses fameux exploits,
Louis voulut ainsi couronner sa vaillance,

Afin d'apprendre aux siècles avenir,

Qu'il ne met point de difference
Entre porter le sceptre et le bien soutenir.”

"This peaceful tomb does now contain

Father and son together laid;

Whose living virtues shall remain

«Ο

When they and this are quite decayed."-Congreve.

ye whose cheek the tear of pity stains,

Draw near with pious reverence, and attend!
Here lie the loving husband's dear remains,

The tender father, and the generous friend.

The pitying heart that felt for human wo;

The dauntless heart that feared no human pride;

The friend of man, to vice alone a foe;

'For even his failings leaned to virtue's side.'"-Burns.

"Requiescat in pace."

ART. 4. OF THE EPIGRAM.

306. An EPIGRAM is a striking or pointed thought happily expressed, and in few words.

The exposition of the subject or thing which has given rise to the thought or sentiment upon which it turns ought to be precise, rejecting every thing feeble or superfluous. The wit of the epigram ought to be lively, naïve, ingenious, unexpected or satirical, and this is called its point.

Ex.-On a flower painted by Varelst.

"When famed Varelst this little wonder drew,
Flora vouchsafed the growing work to view;
Finding the painter's science at a stand,
The goddess snatched the pencil from his hand,
And finishing the piece, she smiling said,
Behold one work of mine, which ne'er shall fade."

Prior.

"Non amo te, sabidi, nec possum dicere quare,

Hoc tantum possum dicere; non amo te."-Martial.

Τεσσαρες αι Χαριτες, Παφιαι δυο, και δεκα Μουσαι;
Δερκυλίς ενι πασαις Μουσα, Χαρις, Παφιη.”—Anthologia.
"Sous vos atours bien fournis
D'or garnis,

A venus vous resemblez

Sous le bonnet me semblez

Adonis."-Mariot.

"Classic Querno in the size
Of his works is very wise;
For he prints to sell, and so
Prints them all in folio;

Knowing that the pastry cooks

Ever buy the biggest books."

Transl. from the Italian

"Superbe monumens que vostre vanitè

Est inutile pour la gloire

Des grand Heros dont la memoire
Merite l'immortalite!

Qui sert-il que Paris aux bords de son canal

Expose de nos rois ce grand original,

Qui sceût si bien regner, qui sceût si bien combattre ?
On ne parle point d'Henri quatre,

On ne parle que du cheval.”

ART. 5. OF THE MADRIGAL.

307. The MADRIGAL only differs from the epigram in the character of the thought and turn of the expression.

In an epigram the thought is fine and pointed, generally the vehicle of wit and satire; in a madrigal it is tender and delicate, and specially devoted to convey praise, or to the expression of some lively or beautiful sentiment. The turn of the expression, and particularly the closing line in an epigram, is lively and piquant; that in a madrigal, on the contrary, is sweet, simple, and graceful.

Ex.-"If this fair rose offend thy sight,
It in thy bosom wear;

'Twill blush to find itself less white,
And turn Lancastrian there."

"Un roi qu'on aime et`qu'on révère

A des sujets en tous climats;

Il a beau parcourir la terre,

Il est toujours dans ses etats."-Champfort.

ART. 6. OF THE SONNET.

30S. Among the poems of the class we are considering may be ranked the sonnet, the rondeau, rondo, or roundelay, the canzonet, and the ballad,

The mechanism of these pieces may be learned from the prosody of the language in which they are written. Their chief merit consists in the regularity of the measure or versification, which follows some prescribed rule, but which in English is very various and difficult to be observed, and on that account, by careless and inferior writers, but little regarded.

309. Of these the sonnet presents the greatest difficulties in the composition. It does not allow the least wandering from the subject, it admits no feeble or negligently constructed line, no improper or superfluous expression, and no repetition of the same word. Hence Boileau has not hesitated to say of the sonnet:

"Un sonnet sans defaut vaut seul un long poème."

"Thy cheek is pale with thought, but not from wo,
And yet so lovely, that if mirth could flush
Its rose of whiteness with the brightest blush,
My heart would wish away that ruder glow;
And dazzle not thy deep blue eyes—but oh!
While gazing on them sterner eyes will gush,
And into mine my mother's weakness rush,
Soft as the last drops round heaven's airy bow.
For, through thy long dark lashes low depending,
The soul of melancholy gentleness

Gleams like a seraph from the sky descending,
Above all pain, yet pitying all distress;

At once such majesty with sweetness blending,

I worship more, but cannot love thee less."-Byron.

The rondo or roundelay is a piece consisting

usually of thirteen lines, divided into three couplets, at the end of each of which the beginning of the rondo is repeated.

The canzonet is a short lively song for one, two, or three voices.

Ex.-"Black eyes most dazzle in a hall,

Blue eyes most please at evening fall,
The black a conquest soonest gain;
The blue a conquest most retain;
The black bespeak a lively heart,
Whose soft emotions soon depart;
The blue a steadier flame betray,
That burns and lives beyond a day;
The black may features best disclose ;
In blue may feelings all repose.
Then let each reign without control,

The black all mind,-the blue all soul."

A ballad is the story of some adventure or transaction related in verse, which may be set to some simple or plaintive air. Its style should be simple and unaffected.

Ex.-Chevy Chase; the Percy reliques abound with examples.

"The Moorish king rides up and down
Through Grenada's royal town;
From Elvira's gates to those

Of Bivarabla on he goes.

Wo is me, Alhama!" etc.-Byron.

LOCHINVAR.

"Oh! young Lochinvar is come out of the west! Through all the wide border his steed was the best, And save his good broadsword he weapon had none, He rode all unarmed, and he rode all alone.