356 ; 
passages that have at least a secondary kind 
of beauty ; and the performance, upon the 
whole, may lay claim to that respectable 
mediocrity, above which we must rarely 
expect that a prize-poem, or college ex- 
ercise, should soar. 
Thoughts in Rhyme ; by an East Anglian. 
The humble pretensions of the title-page 
of this little volume disarm the severity of 
criticism. The author modestly warns us, 
as it were, not to look for the towerings of 
sublimity, or the splendid flights of enthu- 
siasm. He only asks us to walk with him 
at the foot of Parnassus, not to climb its 
lofty brow; and if we find a few flowers 
there, fresh in their scent and unfaded in 
their hue,—in other words, if the thoughts 
are pleasing and natural, the versification 
smooth and easy, and the rhymes tolerably 
correct, without distortion of the sense for 
the jingle, we have what we were invited 
to, and haye no reason to be dissatisfied 
with our pleasant lounge. That in this 
simple quest, the reader will not be disap- 
pointed, we might quote abundant proofs. 
One shall suffice—a few stanzas from a very 
pretty little poem (for it is not unworthy of 
the name) entitled ‘ Love-Vigils.” 
«* Oh, I have loiter’d at thy gate, 
And fann’d young Hope’s delusive fire: 
And tho’ convine’d ’twas vain to wait, 
Still something bade me not retire. 
Each distant footfall that I caught 
Amid the stillness of the night, 
Conceptive Fancy idly thought 
The fond forerunner of delight.” 
* * * * * 
«« And oft, as some unwonted sound 
Has waked a whispering echo near,— 
With breathless pause I’ve glanced around, 
And fondly hoped thy voice to hear. 
Too foolish hope!—some restless bird 
But chid the Spirit of the Breeze, 
Whose sighs, in wanton mockery, stirr’d 
The rustling foliage of the trees.” 
If we had quoted the whole seyenteen 
stanzas, the reader would not have quar- 
relled with us. 
Notwithstanding the lowly path which 
the author, generally speaking, is content 
to tread, and sometimes even with no over- 
nicely-measured step, there are some of his 
sonnets even (the one to “‘ Wedded Love,” 
in particular) that would not have disgraced 
some of cur more ostentatious pretenders 
to that very difficult species of composition : 
and another (p. 41), ascribed to Sir Fretful 
Plagiary, in which he has contrived, in the 
brief space of fourteen lines, to weave a 
cento of quotations from no less than 
eighteen celebrated authors, may be looked 
upon with envious eyes by those highly- 
educated youths, who, at public schools and 
universities, spend seven years of their lives 
in making, as they call it (i. e. patching 
together) Greek and Latin verses. Lo! the 
same thing can be done in vulgar English ; 
and so done, also, as to have the point and 
sting of satire in the doing, and turn plagia- 
Monthly Review of Literature, 
[May Il, 
rism into originality. An interesting frontis- 
piece, and beautifully-engraved vignette 
title-page, are prefixed to the volume. Z 
The Songs of Greece, from the Romaic 
Tevt. Edited by M. C. Faure, with Addi- 
tions. Translated into English Verse, by 
CHARLES BRINSLEY SHERIDAN. Crown 8vo. 
—There are some pretty and some animat- 
ing poems dispersed through this collec- 
tion. Some of the romantic ballads, in 
particular, are very beautiful. But our 
space, which almost prohibits quotation, 
must confine us to one of the little ‘‘ do- 
mestic songs,” and “ one of the distichs.”’ 
‘« No hands but those of love, may touch 
This votive lamp of gold; 
Its sleepless eye has witness’d much, 
And never yet has told. 
It lights the Fair, while she reposes 
At noon’s oppressive hour; 
Violets her pillow, vines and roses 
The curtains of her bower.’’ 
The distich ought to be entitled the 
Exiled Poet’s Return. 
«« The nightingale, who roam’d with weary wing, 
O’er realms divided by the ocean’s roar, 
Has now return’d, nor yet forgot to sing 
The native notes she warbled forth before.” 
But itis inan historical, more than a poe- 
tical point of view, that this volume is esti- 
mable. Many of the ballads themselyes— 
the “‘ songs of the Klephtai,” in particular, 
are historical documents ; and the notes, in 
general, are very acceptable illustrations. 
But the preface more especially, is worthy 
of being treasured for future reference.* 
The description of the Klephtai, &c. 
enables us to form a very different idea of 
what are called Greek ‘‘Robbers,” from 
that which is generally affixed to the name. 
There are states of society which neces- 
sarily drive all the energetic virtue of a 
country into the fastnesses that menace 
the highways ; and we are not quite sure 
that there was not a period, even in the 
history of our own country, when, if the 
account had been fairly stated between the 
outlaws of the forest and the legitimate, 
loyal and orderly community ; the balance 
would not haye been in favour of the for- 
mer. Woe to the governors who produce 
such a state of things. 
Athens, a Comedy in Verse, 8vo.—The 
preceding article has brought to our recol- 
lection the one now before us, which, by 
some culpable negligence, had been laid 
aside, so Jong indeed, that, but for the good 
old proverb, Petter late than never, it might 
be considered as out of date. Its merits, 
however, though unequal, might have 
secured it an earlier attention. It takes, 
unfortunately, 
* * It may, perhaps, be freely used in our ensuing 
Supplement, in which, we hope to be enabled to 
present our readers with something like a complete 
panoramic view of those portions of the world, in 
which the triumphs of emancipation and indepen- _ 
dence have been accomplished, or in which the strug- 
gle of Liberty is yet going on. 
