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pears to consist in an attempt to unite the French and German schools of dramatic literature. Perhaps when that bastard epic, "Don Juan," had been completed, he would have attempted the legitimate Epopee. In "Manfred," and "Cain," and "Heaven and Earth," and, finally, in the present drama, "The Deformed Transformed;" he aspired to a higher order of composition, embodying therein some of the loftiest creations of intellect, and the most daring speculations of philosophy. In these he has imitated Goethe, and evidenced that feverish state of the intellect, which, in its ravenous appetite for the wild, the wonderful, and the new, grasps even at the monstrous, the præter-human, and the unique. But this would soon have subsided; the soberness of manhood would have come upon him-his autumn was at hand-and, doubtless, the harvest would have been manifold and excellent. The blight smote him in the ripe ear.

The present work is characterized by his lately adopted inaccuracy of versification, some indiscretions of language, and violations of grammar; but there is now no fear of his being imitated in these particulars; the excitement of his frequent appearance is no more, and his productions will begin to be examined at the bar of refined taste, and sober reason. This drama is now in the hands of the public; any summary of its contents is unnecessary from us. It has already been analyzed by almost every periodical, and our analysis would be supererogatory. We shall, however, close this notice with extracts from some of the best passages. It is not the time now to expatiate on defects; the period has arrived when his excellencies may only be remembered.

ROME.

Those walls have girded in great ages;

And sent forth mighty spirits. The past earth
And present phantom of imperious Rome
Is peopled with those warriors; and methinks

They flit along the eternal city's rampart,

And stretch their glorious, gory, shadowy hands,
And beckon me away.

They clasp

And raise, and wring their dim and deathlike hands,
And with their thin aspen faces and fixed eyes

Fascinate mine.

ACHILLES.

The god-like son of the sea-goddess,

The unshorn boy of Peleus, with his locks
As beautiful and clear as the amber waves
Of rich Pactolus rolled o'er sands of gold,
Softened by intervening crystal, and

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Rippled like flowing waters by the wind,
All vowed to Sperchius as they were-
And him as he stood by Polixena,

-behold them!

With sanctioned and with softened love, before
The altar, gazing on his Trojan bride,

With some remorse within for Hector slain
And Priam weeping, mingled with deep passion
For the sweet downcast virgin, whose young hand
Trembled in his who slew her brother.

So

He stood i' the Temple! Look upon him as Greece looked her last upon her best, the instant Ere Paris' arrow flew.

CHORUS.

'Tis the morn, but dim and dark,
Whither flies the silent lark?
Whither shrinks the clouded sun?
Is the day indeed begun?
Nature's eye is melancholy
O'er the city, high and holy:
But without there is a din,
Should arouse the saints within,
And revive the heroic ashes,
Round which yellow Tiber dashes.
Oh! ye seven hills! awaken,
Ere your very base be shaken!
Hearken to the steady stamp!
Mars is in their every tramp!
Not a step is out of tune,
As the tides obey the moon!

As they march, though to self-slaughter,
Regular as rolling water,

Whose high waves o'ersweep the border

Of huge moles, but keep their order,

Breaking only rank by rank.

Hearken to the armour's clank!

Look down o'er each frowning warrior,

How he glares upon the barrier:
Look on each step of each ladder,

As the stripes that streak an adder.

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The following chaunt concludes the volume.

The hound bayeth loudly,
The boar's in the wood,
And the falcon longs proudly
To spring from her hood;
On the wrist of the noble
She sits like a crest,
And the air is in trouble

With birds from their nest.

Oh! shadow of glory!

Dim image of war!

But the chace hath no story;

Her hero no star,

Since Nimrod, the founder
Of empire and chace,
Who made the woods wonder
And quake for their race.
When the lion was young,

In the pride of his might,
Then 'twas sport for the strong
To embrace him in fight;
To go forth, with a pine,

For a spear 'gainst the Mammoth,
Or strike through the ravine,

At the foaming Behemoth;

While man was in stature,
As towers in our time,
The first born of Nature,
And, like her, sublime!

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Travels in Brazil, in the Years 1817-1820. Undertaken by Command of his Majesty the King of Bavaria. By Dr. Joseph Baptist Von Spix, and Dr. C. F. Philip Von Martius, Knights of the Royal Bavarian Order of Civil Merit, and Members of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Munich, &c. &c. 2 vols. 8vo. pp. 327-298.

THAT the present age is more distinguished in the walks of literature or the practice of virtue than any which has preceded it, may be, as it has been disputed; but, in the examination of the works of nature, in the accurate investigation of physical phenomena, and the ardent and successful pursuit of scientific inquiry, it has taken the lead, and undoubtedly ranks far above all others. Science has erected her standard on the broad basis of practical utility, her dogmas are no longer the creations of visionary theorists, but the certainties of philosophical induction. Looking at the vast strides which have been made in chemistry, zoology, geology, and the whole circle of physical sciences within the last forty years, and the great benefits which have resulted from them, we are at a loss whether more to admire the skill and perseverance displayed, or the success with which they have been crowned. Our own country has been active in every branch of philosoFrance has produced many excellent chemists, but Germany bears away the palm in mineralogy and geology;

phy.

sciences intimately connected with each other, and the latter perhaps the most practical of those which date their origin in modern times. A spirit of observation has been excited; expeditions have been planned and executed, whose object has been the advancement of scientific knowledge by the collection of facts. Much has of late been added to the stores of geography; and the unremitting and perilous exertions of our own Parry have been most honourable to himself and to his country. The discovery of the Western World gave an impulse and direction to philosophical investigation: while the bold and enlightened observer ranges its extensive Savannahs, climbs its lofty mountains, penetrates its mines, and explores its mighty waters,-meeting with objects above, beneath, and around him, to excite his admiration, and increase his stores of knowledge. The philosopher and statesman behold, with a scrutinizing eye, the silent, yet rapid march of civilization among a people, whose enterprizing character, and local situation, destine, at no distant period, to attain a degree of commercial and political importance, rivalling, if not surpassing, the nations of the Old World. It must be confessed, however, that we are still in a great measure ignorant of the internal geography of the southern portion of this extensive continent; and, although the scientific researches of Humboldt, and his companion Bonpland, have brought us better acquainted with the regions colonized by Spain, yet the interior of Brazil, partly owing to the difficulties presented by nature, and still more to those created by the jealousy of the government, has remained comparatively unexplored; notwithstanding it occupies that portion of the southern continent, which is, beyond comparison, the best situated to attain commercial eminence. It is, therefore, with pleasure we call the attention of our readers to the work before us. The project entertained by the king of Bavaria, as long back as 1815, of sending out to South America persons of distinguished ability to make observations on the whole range of scientific subjects, does him infinite credit; and, from the manner in which this object has been effected, the choice of the individuals appears to have been most judicious. On the marriage of her imperial highness, Caroline, Josepha Leopoldina, archduchess of Austria, with his royal highness Don Pedro D'Alcantara, crown prince of Portugal, an embassy was appointed by the imperial court to conduct the princess to Brazil, and which was composed of many learned and scientific men. So favourable an opportunity was not to be lost; and, in the early part of 1817, Drs. Von Spix and Martius set off for Vienna on their way to Trieste, where they were to embark. The royal academy of sciences

at Munich had been directed to furnish them with such hints and instructions as were calculated to assist them in their labours. Dr. Spix undertook the departments of Zoology and Geology, and Dr. Martius that of Botany: in addition to a careful attention to every thing within their own departments, they were instructed to examine into the hitherto problematical production of gold, diamonds, and precious stones; to observe the declination, inclination, and daily variation of the magnetic needle; to experiment upon seawater, and ascertain its temperature, transparency, colour, phosphorescence, and saltness, at various depths, and in various situations; also the temperature of the atmosphere, the phenomenon of the Fata Morgana, the periodical oscillation of the barometer in short, they were required to note every fact, the knowledge of which might in the remotest degree advance the cause of science. It is with less regret that we pass over the pertinent observations made by our travellers at Vienna, the mines of Idria (which they visited,) and the port of Trieste, as they are all well known. We now proceed to lay before our readers such a synopsis of the work as our limits will permit, and which will serve to recommend it to their notice. Departing from Trieste in an Austrian frigate, they were soon overtaken by one of those sudden storms, to which the Adriatic, in common with all inland seas, is liable; and which, after carrying away the bowsprit, forcing in the cabin windows, and exposing them to considerable danger, obliged them to bear away to Venice to refit. They were afterwards detained by contrary winds at Malta, of which we have an interesting and animated account: a change of wind enabled them to leave this place on the 1st of May, for the Straits. They observe :

"Several phenomena indicated that we were drawing nearer to the great ocean, among which we may particularly mention the greater phosphorescence of the sea. On the voyage from Trieste, we had hitherto seen only detached luminous points in the sea; but now the ship seemed, in the night-time, to swim in liquid fire, and, as it glided along and beat against the waves, the deck was illumined by a bright light. The sight of this grand and magic nocturnal phenomenon excites the admiration of every beholder, especially if it is the first time he had the opportunity of traversing the liquid element in such splendour. The sea was covered with luminous balls, as large as a hazel-nut, and with every wave that dashed against the ship in its course, it seemed to throw out sparks like hot iron, when it is hammered, or like a catherine-wheel, and lighted up all the surrounding objects. Besides these innumerable balls of fire, there were other larger insulated luminous bladders, most frequently near the ship, but likewise at a distance from it, in places where the waves broke in foam. The darker the night grew, the more

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