, ON falconer's shipwreck. 133 



Impatient Hope the midnight path explored 

 And led me to the nymph my soul adored." * 



" Ossian/' says Dr. Blair, " almost never express- 

 es himself in the abstract/' his hill is the hill of 

 Cromla ; his storm that of the Lake of Lego ; a mode 

 of expression highly favorable to descriptive poetry. 

 Falconer's work abounds in beauties of this class ; 

 his clouds rest on Mount Ida ; — a ruin on the shore 

 is the tomb of Jupiter, and the last point of the 

 coast Cape Spado. May I venture another remark 

 in this place? — The season of the year at which the 

 ^^ Shipwreck" occurs — " when sailing was now dan- 

 gerous," as well as other local and atmospherical 

 particulars, forcibly remind us of the voyage and 

 wreck of the apostle Paul. 



As in the writings of Homer — and especially of 

 our own Shakspeare-:— the characters of the shipwreck 

 bear a marked diversity ; — each one is essentially 

 different from the other. 



The chief mate, Rodmond's disposition claims 

 our praise for candour rather than amenity. 



" Blunt was his speech and naked was his heart." 



That this picture was drawn to, as well as from, 

 nature, I can readily conceive. The school in which 

 this first rate seaman had been bred, was then pro- 

 ducing a Cook ; and in both cases the talents of the 

 sailor seem to have been shaded by austerity in the 

 man. 



* Notwithstanding the beauty of this Episode, I venture on 

 classing among the defects of the poet's fable that its action is 

 almost necessarily devoid of the charm of female life; — and yet 

 this makes a good figure on shipboard, witness the 2nd Canto of 

 Marmion. Sir W. Scott archly unites, with the wonder of the 

 nuns in their novel situation, the coquetry natural to their sex. 



" One eyed the shrouds and swelling sail, 



****** 



Another at the snrge grew pale, 



Whyl 



And one would still adjust her veil 

 Disorder'd by the summer gale." 



" Perchance because such action graced 

 A fair turned arm and slender waist." 



