304 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 



'Mid what stern pomp thy towering branches rise ! 

 How wild — how lonely — is thy dwelling place ! 

 In the rich mead a God of love we trace, 

 "We feel His bountj' in the sun and shower ; 

 But here His milder glories shun our gaze, 

 Lost in the one dread attribute of power. 

 I cannot chuse but wish thou hadst a fairer bower. 



•' Yet, to the scene, thy stately form doth give 

 Appropriate grace ; and in thy mountain hold. 

 Like nowers with zephyrs, ' at the shut of eve,' 

 Thou with the storm hast dallied from of old. 

 But stateliness of form and bearing bold 

 Are not thy only boast : there dwells in thee 

 A soft, sweet spell (if we be rightly told). 

 Which waiteth but the touch of harmony, 

 To soothe the brow of care, and make e'en sorrow Hee. 



" Thus be't with me ! When storms of trouble rise — 

 Which all of woman born, alas ! must know — 

 Built on a rock, and looking to the skies. 

 Like thee, undaunted may I meet the blow. 

 Not so when called to hear of others' woe : 

 Then may soft pity touch some chord within, 

 Prompting the tear of sympathy to flow. 

 And words of tealing, such as gently win 

 The mourner's scricken heart, and pour soft comfort in. 



The volume, which, in its outward embellishments, displays great 

 taste, contains twenty-six coloured engravings of trees, from draw- 

 ings by the accomplished authoress. Of these it is but justice to 

 say that the outline of the foliage is most strikingly correct. Re- 

 luctant as we are to 



" Hint a fault, or hesitate dislike," 



we cannot speak in the same unqualified terms of the colouring, 

 since we have heard those to whose judgment we must bow in this 

 point question its trutlifulness. This fault, however, lies not with 

 the authoress, and is easy of correction in the future copies and edi- 

 tions. 



On the Natural History and Classification of Birds. By William 

 Swainson, A.C.G., >.R.S., F.L.S., &c.' Vol. II. Loudon : 

 Longman & Co., anci John Taj'lor. 1837- 



After the critical notices which we have from time to time 

 given of 3Ir. Swainson's works, and considering the long acknow- 

 ledged ability of that gentleman as a scientific zoologist, we shall, 

 on the present occasion, confine ourselves to a few words ; indeed, a 

 considerable portion of the volume scarcely admits of analysis. 



The early part of the book is dedicated to a continuation of the 

 explanation of the orders and other larger groups of modern Orni- 



