4yo 



giviiig Duuieiou* ipccimens of their 

 merits. A few passages, however, 

 taken from among many equally enti- 

 tled to praise, will, we conceive, fully 

 justify the opinion we have expressed. 



I tell Ihee, Kizaio, 

 The fHi{id and iinfeelini! thrive the best; 

 And a warm lieart, in this cold world, is lika 

 A beacon-llKht, wastinff its feeble flame 

 Upon the wintry deep that feels it not. 

 And trembling with each pitiless gust that blowii. 

 Till its faint fire is spent. 



— — 1 spake no word- 

 Inferior joys live but by utterance. 

 Bat rapture is born dumb. 



■ They little know 



Man's heart, and the intensenp>-; of its passions. 

 Who judge from outward symbols. Lightest griefs 

 Are easiest discern'd, as shallow brooks 

 Show every pebble in their troubled currents. 

 While deeper streams How smoutli as gl.iss above 

 Mightiest impedimeuts, and yield no triice 

 Of that which is beneath them. 



The picture of Gaspard's wife given 

 by the countess, and that of Mary by 

 Rizzio, evince an intensity of feeling 

 in the author for beauty, and a power 

 of describing it which we never re- 

 member to have seen exceeded. Per- 

 haps, indeed, their poetry is superior 

 even to that of the passages we have 

 quoted ; but we regret that tlieir 

 length precludes our transcribing 

 them here. The same observation 

 will ai)ply to the dcliglitfiil soliloquy 

 of Autiochns. The uuseellaneous 

 poems, though not equal to the dramas, 

 are well worthy of the autlior. The 

 song written at Dijon, and the " Lines 

 on seeing Mr. Bayley's statue of Eve 

 at the Fountain," are particularly 

 beautifal. 



From what we have said respecting 

 Mr. Nccle, and far more from the 

 specimens that we have inserted of his 

 powers, our readers will, we are per- 

 suaded, think us authorized to claim 

 for him a high rank among the poels 

 of the day. He is, indeed, a writer of 

 Tery superior talents, one "cjtt noii sit 

 publica vena." His eflusions abound 

 in the "warm, energetic, chaste." 

 Rich in mental resources, he is equally 

 happy in the judicious manner in 

 which he avails himself of them ; a rich 

 and vivid imagination, just and vigor- 

 ous conceptions, strong and deep feel- 

 ing, and a style equally correct and 

 forcible, characterise his poetry 

 throughout. With striking origina- 

 lity of ideas, he has united a merit too 

 rarely to be found in conjunction with 

 it: we are not startled with any affect- 

 ed singularities of language or expres- 

 sion; no qtiaint or obsolete terras are 

 obtruded npon us : but the style is 

 iu^c»tiv« of one that has formed him- 



Newsfrom Parnassus, No. XXIV. [Jnly 1, 



self successfully upon the careful 

 study of those writers who adorned 

 the brightest periods of English lite- 

 rature. Even his faults have their 

 origin in genius. His similes, although 

 all of them are beautiful, appear to us 

 at times redundant, and productive of 

 an excess of ornament; but this evi- 

 dently arises fiom a powerful and 

 glowing imagination, revelling, if we 

 may be allowed the expression, in the 

 exuberance of its own treasures, — as 

 the land will in some places be encum- 

 bered with produce from the too great 

 fertility of the soil. Such excesses, 

 however, easily admit of retrenchment; 

 the pruning-hook can readily be ap- 

 plied to the too luxuriant branches ; 

 but how shall we obtain fruit from the 

 barren fig-tree, or how supply the 

 " craving void" occasioned by impo- 

 tent dullness or tedious insipidity ? 



We may likewise be allowed to 

 observe, that we should rather have 

 given the appellation of " Dramatic 

 Sketches," to the three pieces at the 

 opening of the volume, than dramas ; 

 the latter term being calculated, in 

 our opinion, to raise an expectation 

 in regard to them which, with all 

 their beauties, they will hardly bo 

 found to realize. We fully coincide 

 in the remarks made by the author, in 

 his preface, on a poetical drama, not 

 designed for the stage, being exempted 

 from the necessity of many appendages 

 which arc indispensable in a piece 

 intended for representation; and he i» 

 perfectly correct in asserting, that 

 there is a « ide difference between the 

 dramatic and the theatrical. But, 

 while we admit that he has done 

 something more than write mere dia- 

 logues, we still think that in a drama, 

 whether intended to be performed, or 

 only read, there ought to be more plot 

 and incident, and less abruptness in 

 the progress, than we find in the 

 sketches before us. Considering, too. 

 the ability Mr. Neele has evinced in 

 these dramatic attempts, of delinea- 

 ting and conceiving character, we 

 think that he might reasonably attempt 

 a higher walk of the drama with every 

 prospect of success ; and we should 

 view it as a matter of regret that he 

 should restrict the exercise of his 

 powers within a sphere more limited 

 than that which they seem capable of 

 filling. 



The volume is dedicated, with per- 

 mission, to Mrs. Joanna Baillie, the 

 well-known writer of " Flays on tbo! 

 Passions;'* 



