448 



Critical Notices of New Books 



firm that judgment. So far fioin avoid- 

 ing the subject of liis domestic uuluippi- 

 ness, Lord Byron openly alludes to i(, 

 coninienciiig with tiie following beau- 

 tiful stanzas : — 



Is tliy face like thy motlicr's,my fair child! 



Ada ! sole daiijjhter of ray home and 



heart ? 



When last I saw thy young blue eyes they 



smiled, 



And then we parted — not as nowwe part, 



But with a hope. 



Awakinc with a start, 

 The waters heave around nir; and on high 

 The wuids lift up their voices : I depart, 

 Wliitlicrlknownot; butthclioin''s goneby, 

 When Albion's lessening shores could 

 grieve or glad mine eye. 



Once more upon tlie waters! yetoncemore! 

 And the waves bound beneath nie as a 

 steed 

 That knows his rider. Welcome, to their 

 roar ! 

 Swift be their guidance, wheresoe'er it 

 lead! 

 Tliough tlje strain'd mast shoidd quiver as 

 a reed, 

 And the rent canvas, fluttering, strew 

 the gale. 

 Slid must I on ; for I am as a weed 



Flung from the rock, on Ocean's foam, 



to sail 

 Where'er the surge may sweep, the 

 tempest's breath pievail. 



In various parts of tlio ])ocni he de- 

 scribes himself as one unfit to mix with 

 general society ; and slightly hints at a 

 youtii so given up to " phantasy and 

 flame," as to render alteration of cliarac- 

 tcr impossible. All litis lie will doubt- 

 less bear of again tlirou!;li U>u Ihonsand 

 channels. A\ hen he diops himself, the 

 deep tone of feeling, of pbiloso[)liy, and 

 of exalted fancy, with wliieli he treats of 

 tiie themes suggested to him by the 

 scenery he Las recently encountered, 

 is always affecting, but .sometimes 

 peculiarly grand. When it is added 

 that Waterloo was one of them, much 

 may be conjeclured of no incon- 

 siderable part of the poem. The follow- 

 ing address to Bonaparte will shew the 

 value of the appreciating gaze of a By- 

 ron, as distinguished from that of mi- 

 nor and sycophant poets. 

 Conqueror audcapti ve of the aarth art thou! 



She tierobles at thee still, and thy wild 

 name 

 Was ne'ei more hruited iu men's minds 

 than now 



That thou art nothing, save the jest of 

 Fame, 

 Who woo'd thee once, thy vassal, and be- 



[Dec. 1, 



The flatterer of thy fierceness, till thoii 



wert 

 A god unto thyself; nor less the same 

 To the astounded kingdoms all inert, 

 Who dcem'd thee for a lime whate'er 



thou did'st assert. 



Oh more or les" than man — in high or low. 

 Battling witli nations, Hying from the 

 field ; 

 Now making monarch's necks thy foot- 

 stool, now 

 More than thy meanest soldier taught to 

 yield ; 

 An empire thou could'st crush, command, 

 rebuild. 

 But govern not thy pettiest passion, nor. 

 However deeply in men's spirits skill'd. 

 Look throuijli thine own, nor curb the 



hist of war. 

 Nor learn that tempted fate will leave 

 the loftiest star. 



Yet well ihy soul hath brook'd the turning 

 tide 

 With that untaught innate philosophy. 

 Which, be it wisdom, coldness, or deep 

 pride. 

 Is call and wormwood to an enemy. 

 When the whole host of hatred stood hard 



by, 



To watch and mock thee shrinking, tUon 

 hast smii'd 

 With a sedate and all-enduring eye ; 



When Fortune fled her spoil'd and fa- 

 vourite child, 



He stood unbowed beneath the ills upon 

 him piled. 



Sager than in thy fortunes; for iu them 



Ambition steel'd thee on too far to show 

 That just habitual scorn which could con- 

 temn 

 Men and their thoughts; 'twas wise to 

 feel, not so 

 To wear it ever on thy lip and i)row. 

 And spurn the instruments thou wert to 

 use, 

 Till they were turn'd unto thine overthrow; 

 'Tis but a worthless world to win or lose, 

 So hath it proved to thee, and all sucli 

 lot who chose. 



Lord Byron's summing-up of the ef- 

 fects of Ihc French revolution, and soma 

 disappointment which subsequent ar- 

 rangements have produced, is thus con- 

 veyed — 



But this will not endure, nor be endnr'd ! 

 Mankind have felt their strength, and 

 made it felt : 

 They might have used it better, but, allur'd 

 iiy their uew vigour, sternly have they 

 dealt 

 On one another; pity ceased to melt 

 With her once natural charities. But 

 they, 

 Who in o()pression8 darkness caved had 

 dwelt > 



They 



