1832.] The Two Professors. 519 



But these are not considerations that weigh with our Quarterly Re- 

 viewer. 



But Professor Wilson would not for the world lag behind his brother bard 

 in the ambling strife of panegyric. He sets off, indeed, rather awkwardly ; 

 but in spite of sundry capricious caracoles and curvettings, he contrives 

 to beat the other hollow long before the conclusion of the race. He then 

 gets upon a platform, as it were, and rearing into the air a huge trumpet, 

 shouts to this effect, with a kind of Bartholomew-fair emphasis : 



" It has been published, and it has been performed j and already the 

 public voice has declared that it is, not only for one so young, but in itself, 

 a great achievement." 



He forthwith falls into unmerciful extraction of passages from the 

 play ; and coming at length to a rather spirited scene, (the only one in the 

 tragedy,) breaks out into open admiration, whereof the following is the 

 climax : 



" Nor do we hesitate to say, that in dramatic power and effect it is 

 equal, if not superior, to any thing in our language since the old masters." 



We do not know what Professor Wilson hesitates to say, but of his 

 review of Miss Fanny Kemble's tragedy of Francis the First, " we do 

 not hesitate to say, that in impotent twaddle and solemn nonsense, it is 

 equal, if not superior, to any thing in our language since the old mis- 

 tresses," our venerable aunts and ancient grandmothers. 



It would be useless to argue with Mr. Wilson about the merits of this 

 " admirable production :" that would be in other words avowing our 

 belief that his praise of the performance is sincere, which we do not 

 believe. He knows better, we think, than to rate " Francis the First" 

 one tenth so highly as he would fain urge us to suppose j and, no doubt, 

 he will laugh heartily at our simplicity and want of penetration. But 

 what the deuce does he mean by this ? This is carrying the joke rather 

 too far. " But the prime merit of the play is the composition. We mean 

 thereby the language and the versification. The structure of both is 

 admirable, quite after the immortal fashion of the great old masters " 



The old masters again ! We depute a gross of hyenas to laugh in one 

 stud, while we expose the audacious impudence of this assertion. Sup- 

 pose, by way of remote illustration, some well-pleased sign-painter, whose 

 shapeless daub of vermilion is no more like the red cow intended to be 

 pourtrayed, than the Red Sea. Suppose this artless artist to be told, 

 that his monstrous conception is like the " great old masters j" it were 

 natural to enquire, after decent gravity had been restored to the exhausted 

 muscles, to which of the old masters it bore any affinity. Just so in the 

 present case, to which of the old masters, we beg to ask Mr. Wilson, 

 does this play bear any resemblance ? We need scarcely inform him, 

 that the language and versification of the old masters are essentially dis- 

 tinct and various. Marlowe is no more like Chapman or Connor, than a 

 leopard is like a wild boar ; nay, Beaumont, and Fletcher, and Shakspeare, 

 are remarkably unlike each other in both particulars, while Massinger is 

 equally apart from the three. 



Nor is the Professor more honest in his review of the characters in the 

 play He cannot make up his mind to admire their consistency altogether, 

 and yet he is loth to say so. " The character of the Queen Mother is 

 strongly, and, we dare say, truly drawn out," &c. And again : " Great 

 power is displayed in the character of Gonzales, but we fear it is not a 



