114 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 



or at least in the country ; for he discourses of its charms through- 

 out each month of the year with so much eloquence and fervour, 

 that " cold is his heart" who can remain " in populous city pent" 

 when such allurements are presented to his mind's eye. The ear- 

 nestness of his tone reminds us of The Passionate Shepherd to his 

 Love : — 



" Come, live with me and be my love, 

 And we will all the pleasures prove 

 That grove or valley, hill or field, 

 Or wood and steepy mountain yield. 

 Where we will sit on rising rocks. 

 And see the shepherds feed their flocks 

 By shallow rivers, to whose falls 

 Melodious birds sing madrigals." 



We have already presented our readers with one specimen of his 

 style, and now, anxious to give an idea of his descriptive powers, 

 are absolutely at a loss what to choose. Were we to select May, 

 few of our readers could resist the disposition to exclaim, with 

 Herrick, changing the name in his line for any other that they 

 have a preference or passion for — " Come, my Corinna, come, let 's 

 go a-Maying ! " if not to dance around the neglected May-pole, at 

 least to ' partake in the rejoicing between heaven and earth. ' We 

 give but a part of it : — 



" The woods have a very beautiful appearance this month, for the trees 

 have only put on a part of their foliage ; and where, in a few more weeks, all 

 will be clothed in a leafy darkness, now reigns a green soft light — an emerald 

 sunshine. Each tree, also, shews its fine tracery ; the wiry twigs, the fea- 

 thery branches covered with ivy and enamelled moss of various hues, and the 

 stronger boles throwing up their iron arms in every direction. There, too, 

 are the silver brooks " kissing the feet'' of tall stems with murmurs, and 

 making sweet melody as they glide along, reflecting the blue sky and the 

 young leaves which glitter around many a new-made nest. The wild-rose 

 uplifts its amber cup on the thick hedges, as if wooing the dews to alight ; 

 and the trailing wood-bine blushes along the wood-side, and loads the breeze 

 with sweet odours; while the wild-cherry, sheeted with blossoms, rears up 

 like a pillar of snow in the forest. The tulip-tree is in full leaf, the flowers 

 of the horse-chestnut are appearing, and the lilac sends forth a pleasant 

 smell : the leaves of the mulberry have put out ; the tall fir, the majestic 

 oak, and the lovely beech, are also in flower — so is the elm, the mountain- 

 ash, the alder, the horse-chestnut, laburnum, guelder-rose, and several others 

 mentioned last month. Nearly all the trees have, before the end of the 

 month, put on their summer dress; every day the woods look darker, most 

 of the flowers are in full bloom, and the birds also in full song. A thousand 

 winged insects now hum in the air — the bee is on the wing — the butterflies 

 are out in the sunshine — and the fields are filled with music." — p. 136. 



Many are the passages of equal or of greater beauty with which 

 this volume abounds, which, however, is not, nor professes to be, 

 altogether original ; on the contrary, it contains a variety of ex- 

 tracts from similar works, thus forming a collection of *'all other 

 men's sweets," as stated by the author ; 



