PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 239 



thrown forward and swooned, Derwent, in stooping to raise her, 

 was saved from perishing by the fall of the nxast, but only re- 

 served for a more agonizing death ; the vessel was in deep water, 

 from midships, abaft, she heeled over and sank stern foremost. 



While he was for a moment buoyed on the surface of the water 

 by the light clothing of the beautiful Mignonne, who — senseless-^- 

 was clasped in his arms, before he sank beneath the waves for 

 ever — a loud, horrid, maniac laugh rent the air and pierced his 

 hearing. 



It was a desolating laugh. It would make the mirthful shed 

 tears, and would turn sorrow into the darkness of despair. 



With his dying look he could see Ellen Grame spring from 

 the dizzy clift'and fall, with a deadly plunge, into the ocean. 



And they went down into their graves together. F — z. 



PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 

 PROCEEDINGS IN THE ATHENiEUM. 



October 9th. — Rev. Dr. Jacob's Lecture on Greek Tragedy. 



In the commencement of his paper, the Lecturer mentioned 

 the attachment which almost all persons have to poetry ; and 

 shewed that even he who condemned its tendency, because it 

 attempts to realize that which has no existence in nature, is 

 himself frequently guilty of the same offence which he charges 

 against the poet. Because there are few who do not indulge 

 their fancy by depicting to themselves fairer scenes and brighter 

 prospects than those in which they live and move. Few who do 

 not, for a brief season at least, dwell in the realms of fancy — 

 shut out the present moment and the present scene, and surround 

 themselves with recollections of the past, or with anticipations of 

 the future. He then shewed what powerful influence the poet 

 obtains over his readers during the perusal of what they know to 

 be imaginary events and passions ; and, that, consequently, how 

 much greater was the force of the illusion when the dramatic 

 poet presented us not with words only, but with actions, when 

 events are not merely narrated, but enacted before us. The step 

 therefore from descriptive poetry to the drama was at once easy 

 and natural. Accordingly traces of a drama are to be found 

 among all nations. The Chinese and Hindoos have dramatic 

 writings of very great antiquity, the nature of which the lecturer 

 slightly touched upon. The dramatic character of the book of 

 Job, and of the Song of Solomon, with the remarks of Bishops 

 Warburton, Hurd, and Lowth, were laid before the Society, as 

 was also a brief account of the play written by the Jew Ezechiel, 

 fragments of v/hich have been preserved by Eusebiusand Clement 

 of Alexandria. 



The Lecturer then proceeded to the more immediate subject of 

 his paper, premising that, in order to form a proper opinion of 

 Greek Tragedy, we must divest ourselves as far as possible of all 



