POETRY. PALMYRA. A Tale...Continued. PALMYRA, mark'd his sorrows as they rose, lov'd When rous'd to arms, the hurried soldiers pour, Eager, from all the camp; with tor tured heart, Shrieks, tears, and prayers, Palmyra sees them go; On her fond father's breast she weeps in vain, And strong in anguish holds him to her heart; Torn from his arms, she lifts her streaming eyes, Pyrocles pensive meets them-O! what floods Of fiercer torture seizes on her soul! She dared not weep in torrents, dare not call On heaven, by all her love, to spare his life; She dare not catch him to her bursting heart, And die in grief delirious in his arms; What can she do? her offer'd hand he takes, Prints it with kisses grateful, and departs Fix'd like a statue, marble, cold, and mute, Awhile she gazes on him, then falls SEMPER REFULGET. No. 30. Boston, Saturday, November 22, 1806. ORIGINAL PAPERS. FOR THE EMERALD, THE WANDERER, No. 55. MADOC......CONTINUED. Come listen to a tale of times of old, The adventurous sail, explored the Ocean ways And quelled Barbarian power Fair blows the wind,-the vessel drives along, Her streamers fluttering at their length, her sails All full, she drives along, and round her prow Scatters the ocean spray.... prepares her for his return. Her answer is natural and affecting; it contains a smile almost spontaneous in a female bosom. The feelings of the mariners at the long wished for return are naturally described, but they are such as are regularly witnessed at the ending of every long voyage. Urien, the foster father of Madoc, meets him on the beach at his landing, and conducts him to the palace of his brother. On their way he gives a concise but melancholy picture of the civil commotions of their coun try. URIEN then informs the sisTHE time at which the poem ter of Madoc that he had now confiopens, gives the writer an opportu-dence of soon seeing her brother, and nity, after the manner of Virgil, to make the hero repeat what is supposed previously to have happened, and represents him like Eneas at the Tyrian court, refitting against. his meditated voyage. Madoc, son of the deceased King, and brother of the reigning monarch of Wales, had left his native country with a few selected companions, in quest of a world beyond the sea: he had landed, as is supposed, on the south. ern or western part of the present American continent, several hundred years before the expedition of Columbus; there he had planted a After meeting his sister, Madoc colony, and returned home for a reinforcement of adventurers. The story commences when his returnIng bark was just within view of her port: years, Il-judging kindress! said the maid, Have I not nurst for two long wretched That miserable hope, that every day Grew weaker, like a baby sick to death, Yet dearer for its weakness, day by day! Why day by day is added, unless to make out the ten syllables, is not easy to determine; this a liberty our author frequently assumes. goes in company with her, and Urien to the apartment of the King, who was celebrating his recent marriage with a Saxon princess, the hereditary enemy of his country. In the description of the reception and [The fourth Book is a description entertainment of Madoc, Mr. S. has of the voyage, and is merely the faithfully adhered to the custom of first voyage of Columbus done into those ancient times. The two broth-verse; there is nothing new unless ers now join discourse on the af- it be the conjectures of where they faits of the Kingdom, which leads were, or how the Ocean ended; for Madoc rather impolitely to express the ingenuity of which, being all his bold hatred of the Saxon, and borrowed, the poet is entitled to love for his brother Hoel, whom the very little praise. We find howevKing David had overthrown in fighter the occasional marks of a good in order to secure the throne. The poet, in correct description. The anger of David is well illustrated, following is a forcible line. and very happily contrasted with -Almost it seemed the influence and gentle attraction That we had past the mortal bounds of of his amiable bride. Madoc too, space, who met Emma's reproaching And speed was toiling in infinnity. glance," thus gallantly and ingenious-And the abrupt, yet natural reflecly answers: -I pray you pardon me, My sister queen! nay, you will learn to love This high affection for the race of Owen, tions of the speaker, on the remem bered terrors of the storm, is easy natural and amusing. 'Tis pleasant, by the cheerful hearth, to hear Of tempests, and the dangers of the deep, And pause at times, and feel that we are safe; The conversation then turns on the "world beyond the ocean," and Madoc promises on the morrow to Then listen to the perilous tale again, gratify their curiosity. This numAnd, with an eager and suspended soul, ber concludes with the song of the The roaring of the raging elements, Woo terror to delight us-but to hear Bard whose Hymn, "Thee, fath-To know all human skill, all human er, thee eternal ONE," is in rather, abstruse and metaphysical terms for such rude age, This finishes the two first books. strength, Avail not; to look round and only see, The mountain wave incumbent, with its weight Of bursting waters o'er the reeling bark,... once, Of such an hour, doth never hear the storm In the third, Madoc recounts the inducements of his adventurous ex-O God, this is indeed a dreadful thing! pedition, and introduces an affect- And he who hath endured the horror, ing story of Cynetha. The exact reason for which, or its connection with the Poem, we cannot readily perceive. It is among the desultery liberties of the story. There are in this number some fine pencil lines of description. Take the fol lowing: Bright with dilated glory shone the west; But brighter lay the ocean-flood below, The burnished silver sea, that heaved and flashed Its restless rays, intolerably bright. Howl round his home, but he remembers it, And thinks upon the suffering mariner! The description of the storm is admirable. It is a fine coincidence of sense and sound : High rolled the mighty billows, and the blast Swept from their sheeted sides the showe ry foam. Madoc's feeling at the song of tri From this studied and brilliant introduction we expected to have found the details of private life, to have been introduced to the is borrowed, but the licence is am-acquaintance and friendship of the one, man, to become familiar with his private avocations and public employments. But instead of the fascinations of biography we find only the rude materials of public history. We see the political conduct of the prime minister of England; but never are in the circles of the 66 youngest son of Chatham." We witness the popular eloquence of the chanceller of the exchequer, but are never better acquainted with it than common auditors in the gallery of St. Stephen. In fact the work before us, trusting to the reader's information for the history of the times, illustrates the sentiments and conduct of the premier by extracts from his speeches arranged in the order of delivery.. It gives a good Exceeding wise, fair spoken, and persuad-idea of those astonishing and trap ing: Lofty, and sour, to them that lov'd him SHAKESPEARE, Henry VIII. Philadelphia: Published by John Watts, 1806." "In the harmonious family of Literature, History and Biography are sisters. They are twins; and both are beautiful. The port of the one is stately and martial, but the air of the other, if less dignified, is more alluring. One generally commands us to repair to the cabinet or the camp, while the other beckons to the bower. History has respectful and staunch friends, but Biography has passionate lovers. There are some, who are indifferent to the charms of the first, but there are none who do not admire the winning grace and sensible conversation of the latter." scendent talents which conducted for so many years the destinies of England, and of that assiduous and and indefatigable labor which the severity of public duty required, but is entirely destitute of those " peculiar interests which biography should always excite." The biographer rarely allows himself in observation or remarks ;but is contented with noting the various times at which parliament assembled and the subjects of public interest that engaged its attention. The work is not calculated to last beyond the present day, but it will be read now with considerable advantage. The speeches are tolerably reported: they give the sentiments of the speaker and they were not expected to retain the fire of his eloquence. The notes are a valuble addition. POR -THE EMERALD. THE ORDEAL.....No. 5. Horace. Tu quid ego & populus mecum desideret Virgil. den scene encreased our satisfaction, while it reproved our discontent. We have often thought, and still think the personation of Sterling, by Mr. Dickenson, a respectable performance. The first requisite of a performer is memory, the next capacity; from the wretched appearance of the Clandestine Marriage, (Coleman and Lovewell of this evening, we should Garrick.) and Paul and Virginia.be apt to consider Mr. Fox deficient Wednesday, Nov. 12. in both; we are always ready to give him full credit when he exhibits any Mr. Usher's Sir John Melvil, passes in the Ordeal, as it did in the play, without much notice. It would be absurd to deny, in justice to the reputation of Mr.Gar-proofs of correctness in his diarick, as a dramatic writer, that his logue, and chasteness in his deportaim was always to afford a lesson of ment. instruction to the virtuous; to punish vice and ridicule folly; and also, that his arrows never fell bloodless, orcame short of their mark for want The Fanny, of Mrs. Poe, certainof barb or feather. In the Clandes-ly deserves commendation, particutine Marriage, the character of Lord Ogleby is avowedly his; though Coleman takes credit for one half of the play. The incidents in this The incidents in this comedy are by no means forced, yet highly interesting; the language is elegant without exuberance, and comic without drollery; and the catastrophe is sufficiently moral to render the mind repugnant to the clandestine union, which is the basis of the piece. larly in the scene of embarrassment with Lord Ogleby; in which her looks and expression were discrimi native and correspondent. Mrs. Shaw's excellence consists mostly in Old Maids, and Mrs. Heidelburg is one of that cast. Ca rying this in mind, she will do well to resign tragedy, to those who bet ter become it. We expected to observe a larger audience, than attended the repetithis play. tion of such acting as is, exhibited in Wife of two Husbands, (translated by P. Hoare) and Blue Beard. Friday, Nov. 14. There are few persons to whom the representation of this elegant comedy would not be interesting, when supported by the powers of Mr. Bernard, in Lord Ogleby; who, as has before been said of his predecessor Mr. King, carried the play upon his own shoulders. Most In this play there is a violation good actors have some particular of nature, reason, or character in characters which they generally en-almost every scene. It does not gross and Mr. Bernard in sustain-contain a part of even common im ing Lord Ogleby without a rival, portance. It is unworthy the fiare must be considered for that part a- ticularity of criticism, because the lone, a judicious, as well as gentle-consequence of such investigation, manly performer. We have wit- would be universal censure. . nessed the toilet scene better performed: which we attributed to the influence of repetition; but the gar From such an opinion of the play it cannot be expected of us to offer many remarks on its performance. |