1826.] 



Domestic and Foreign. 



189 



of this pGoi)l(', study it; Gilly, Aclaiid, or 

 at least llie abstract in the Qiiiirtcily Re- 

 view, are within your rcacli. 



Leisure Moments. By Barnard Trol- 

 LOPE, Esq. — Tliis vohime bears the impres- 

 sion of having been written by a man 

 possessing many refined and amiable feel- 

 ings, and is far from being deficient in 

 poetical spirit. It contiiins specimens of 

 almost every kind of verse, from the blank 

 to the lyric, and every kind, evincing con- 

 siderable facility, and much variety of 

 thought — which is often elevated, oftener 

 tender, and sometimes playfully anacreon- 

 tic, and sometimes eccentric and wilfully 

 idle. The volume commences with an 

 Elegy on General Bowes, who was killed 

 and buried, with all his gallant men, in a 

 fort which he stormed. We quote it as a 

 fair example of the author's talents, and 

 unless we are mistaken, every reader of 

 taste will agree with us, in placing it among 

 the most successful and originally touched 

 monodies of our language. The six last 

 lines of the second stanza contain only one 

 .«, and their euphony is uncommonly 

 striking and ajjpropriate. 



'Twas in a distant, foreign laud, 



No friend was nigh, 

 To watch thy noble breast expand 



With its last sigh : 

 None but thy country's foe were near. 



Who dealt the wound ; 

 No living comrade lent an ear 



To catch the sound. 



Ami though itbless'd the sacred name 



Of one — long loved. 

 Whoso faith, far o'er the dark blue main 



Had oft been proved, 

 None echo'd it ! — the bleak wind bore 



It from thy clay 

 Cold form, and with the battle-roar 



It died away. 



None sooth'd the agonizing smart, 



That must have press'd 

 Most hca\7 on thy faithful heart. 



Ere 'twas at rest ; 

 None, when thy soul had ta'en its fliglit 



To Him on high. 

 E'en clos'd to an eternal night 



Thy fading eye. 



For none suri'iv'd thee ! all knew well 

 Their leader's cry ; 



And, rallying round, none liv'd to tell 

 Where thou didst die ! 



All gained with thee the rampart height- 

 All with thee fell ! 



And there all found with thee that night 

 A grave as well. 



They buried thee as thou didst fall. 



By foe siurrounded ; 

 The funeral shot obey'd the call 



Their trumpet sounded ; 

 The death-tuned drum raourn'd o'er thy bier — 



The note was brief ; 

 Thy grave then clos'd— and not one tear 



Bespoke their grief. 



But many since have wept — and some 



Do mourn thee still, 

 Whose tears in time may dry — save ouc. 



Hers never will ; 



No outward shew proclaims aroulul 



Her inward rricf. 

 Deep in the heart corrodes the wouml. 

 Beyond relief ! 

 The " Parent's Lamentation," excejit- 

 ing the fourth stanza, whidi is a specimen 

 of unpardonable negligence both in versi- 

 fication iiiid thoupfit, is natural, pathetic, 

 and t;istelully written. 



Ves, thou art gone ! in all thy IjIoohi, 

 By slow ilegrecs, I've seen thee sink ; 

 /Vnd, smiling, thou hast met thy doom. 



Though bitter was the cup to driuk. 

 Vet cold in death as now thou art. 



Still on thy features dwells a smile— 

 A balm to heal my sorrowing heart, 



A ray of comfort to beguile. 

 Mourn not for me, it sccsns to say ; 



Oh, why that dismal look !— so wild ? 

 Despair and sorrow cha.se away— 

 Thou hast an angel for a child. 

 Ves ! yes, 'tis so, thou art at rest. 

 Embodied with a cherub's form. 

 Ami Heav'n itself allows 'tis blest. 



With such an angel to adorn. 

 But yet, my child, ) liop'<l to save. 



To prop and rear thy drooping head. 

 That thou mights; see me in my grave, 

 .And mouni and weep for me instead. 

 But, since 'tis otherwise, 'twere vain 

 To murmur 'gainst the ^ad decree ; 

 Though never can I smile again — 

 Till on the eve of joining thee. 

 " St;inzas for Jlusic, addressed to Lady 



J ," are spirited and good. 



The ])oem on " Napoleon on Board the 

 Rellerophon" contains several fine passages, 

 and sonic uncommon cond)inations of ideii.«, 

 and has a peculiiirity in the stnicture of the 

 verse which may find wanner admirers 

 than we are of it. AVe have neither time 

 jior inclination to i>iik out faults and hold 

 them up to the public eye, though we arc 

 injustice bound to say, that there ure many 

 in the vohime, but most of them the con- 

 sequence of their idleness; v.hicli in the 

 present age is almost a crime. Mr. Trol- 

 lopehas, by this production, proved himself 

 to be capable of taking higher flights, and of 

 earning his station among the leading 

 poets of the day. To effect this he must 

 not write so much on the tender passion, 

 or ring the changes on tears and sighs quite 

 so often, but select some fine subject, and 

 then remember that no man has produced 

 what is worthy of being preserved, but by 

 diligence, thought and revision. Of this 

 we think him capable, since the higher 

 subjects in the volume are the best, and 

 the Elegy to the gallant General Bowes 

 sufficient to secure him from being placed 

 among the mere versifiers of the day. 



We conclude our remarks \vith the fol- 

 lowing neatly written anacreontic. 

 " On seeing a Bee rest on a Ladi/'s Face." 

 " 'Twas surely nothing strange to see 

 .\n epicure in sweets — a Be? 



Rest on thy dimpled smile — 

 The rose so templing scem'd to blow, 

 Mid blended with such lilies too, 

 That i:uturc bid it rest awhile." 



