5-24 



Monthly Review of Literature, 



[N T ov. 



that Henry first offered to give up Harfleur 

 to secure a safe passage to Calais on what 

 authority does not appear; and as Mr. N. 

 says nothing about any such offer, we 

 may conclude this was only another of 

 Hume's guesses to palliate, what of 

 course to him appeared a piece of teme- 

 rity. Ill this march to Calais occurred the 

 battle of Agincourt, of which it is quite 

 superfluous to speak but with respect to 

 the description of this battle, Mr. Nicolas, 

 in his preface, " anticipates, that if his 

 work be attended by any particular re- 

 sult, it will tend to remove the absurd 

 impression, that that victory must be con- 

 templated with humiliating feelings in 

 France. There is no truth with which 

 the consideration of this battle has more 

 deeply impressed him than that the bra- 

 very of the French character, its exalted 

 patriotism and chivalrous courage, instead 

 of being tarnished, acquired new lustre 

 on that memorable occasion" which we 

 venture to say is one of the drollest con- 

 clusions that author ever arrived at. 

 The French were ten to one and panic- 

 struck what, then, to any purpose, can 

 be said of the bravery of that particular 

 army? 



Though we may seem to smile occasion- 

 ally we have no desire to depreciate Mr. 

 N.'s labours ; we have too much respect 

 for them, and shall always welcome them 

 with pleasure. A little aute-diluvianism 

 is inseparable from the profession of an 

 antiquary. 



The Plea of the Midsummer Fairies, 

 fyc. by T. Hood; 1827. This poem is in 

 the Spenser stanza, and the first produc- 

 tion, of any length, of Mr. Hood's pen 

 that is, it occupies sixty-four pages. Ano- 

 ther poem, and in another stanza, nearly 

 as long, of the old story of Hero and 

 Leander follows; and then a third, in tro- 

 chaic measure ; and a fourth, in a different 

 metre still : with a lot of smaller pieces by 

 way of make-weight. 



Take the story of the Midsummer Fai- 

 ries. The poet is strolling along, as poets 

 do, something listless, one autumn even- 

 ing, about sun-set, musing upon the usual 

 themes of a poet's contemplation at that 

 particular season, when he suddenly dis- 

 covers Queen Titania and a matter of 

 very great interest it is to him holding 

 her court close to his very footsteps, and, 

 at the precise moment his attention is thus 

 drawn towards her, issuing a mandate for 

 the immediate appearance in her august 

 presence of every man, woman, and child- 

 fay in the elfin dominions. Titania, it 

 seems, was in a fit of the blue devils that 

 evening and possessed by all manner of 

 melancholy forebodings of the speedy 

 wind-up of her kingdom. Her sleep had 

 presented the most menacing prognostics, 



and the persuasion, equivalent to " this 

 night thy kingdom departs from thee !" 

 was pressing heavily upon the little lady's 

 sighing bosom. 



Like many other people, however, who 

 move in brilliant circles, she was quite 

 aware of the good policy of putting a good 

 face upon the matter; despair can at any 

 time be resorted to, while to rush into it 

 prematurely is the most hazardous step 

 possible. So the lieges being, as we said, 

 convened from their several retreats the 

 primrose-buds, harebells, cowslips, and 

 other country residences and displaying 

 themselves before her in their very best 

 court dresses, are commanded to dance, 

 either by way of bravado against the ap- 

 prehended catastrophe, or to give her ma- 

 jesty an opportunity of yielding up her 

 thoughts for a short space to the sad im- 

 pressions she had imbibed. But not long 

 could she keep up appearances ; and the 

 innocent little fays, though the sorrow of 

 their royal mistress was but too conspi- 

 cuous, were utterly at a loss for the cause; 

 and whether it were a matrimonial fracas, 

 or Oberon's absence merely, or anxiety on 

 account of the hostility of the gnomes, 

 they could not even guess. So, suspend- 

 ing the fantastic tripping, they gathered 

 round her with looks of humble and de- 

 voted solicitude, and to them she gladly 

 unbosomed her griefs, of which the sub- 

 stance appeared to be, that she had dream- 

 ed of a very awful and hoary personage, 

 'yclept Old Time, armed with his scythe 

 and usual appurtenances, who had deli- 

 vered in her ear pretty decided threats of 

 mowing- away at one fell-stroke the rem- 

 nant of her sovereignty, and herself to 

 boot and had been inexorable to all her 

 prayers. While speaking even, our old 

 acquaintance of the hour-glass in reality 

 glides in among the appalled multitude 

 presenting the very apparition, and ex- 

 hibiting the very weapon, of the doom he 

 had denounced. 



Now follows a long expostulation on 

 Titaoia's part, in which she dilates on the 

 good deeds of the fairies ; and then Sa- 

 turn's reply, in words, accompanied by the 

 still more expressive process of whetting 

 the blade. Then speaks an Eve-fay, with 

 much the same effect as her mistress; and 

 another, and another try their desperate 

 eloquence in vain upon stern Saturn, who 

 scorns all their " pleas." Their long- 

 winded deprecations of his wrath seem 

 intended mainly as expositions of the offi- 

 ces and dispositions of the fairy-race, as 

 assigned by ancient credulity, consisting 

 of the benevolent and beneficent only. A 

 good deal of fancy characterizes the detail 

 of their good deeds ; but it is terribly 

 wearisome; and we could not but wonder 

 at the patience of Old Time in listening, 

 and especially in replying, as he did occa- 



