REVIEWS. 493 



Out of Britain, after enduring much from the '■^ great white Dragon 

 of the stormy North," the " Tigers of the Sea," and other ravagers, — 

 Merlin foi'etells that a nation by a happy amalgamation of friend and 

 foe, was destined to arise : — • 



" Like a strong oak amid the forest trees, 

 "Which, growing slowly, ceases not to grow, 

 But fastens firmly, as it aims aloft 

 And spreads its branches far on every side, 

 A shelter to the stranger of all lands." 



In every king that should reign over the people, thus originating 

 from such a complex union, some reflection, as it were, of Arthur would 

 be recognized : — 



" And if there be a king of soul impure — 

 Or if there be a king of hand unjust — 

 Or if there be a king who weighs himself 

 Against the nation's weal (such kings there are, 

 And ever shall be, until Arthur wake), — 

 It is the real king the people serve. 

 The Blameless Prince that never can do wrong, 

 And not the false usurper of his name." 



In the series of British rulers there were to be queens; and when 

 the third of these had " slept for many years," a fourth was to 

 ari.se, " heir to the ripe fruit of long centuries." She was to be " fair, 

 good and wise," and to be loved '* by all the land of Britain, and by 

 many lands on every sea." In her day the nation was to enter on an 

 era of increased light, and to enjoy the benefit of extraordinary dis- 

 coveries and inventions. 



• " The earth and air 



Shall yield strange secrets for the use of men, — 

 The planets in their courses shall draw near, 

 And men shall see their marvels, as the flowers 

 That grace the meads of Summer, — time and space 

 Shall know new laws, and history shall walk 

 Abreast with fact o'er all the peopled world: — 

 For words shall flash like light from shore to shore, 

 And light itself shall chronicle men's deeds. 

 Great ships shall plough the ocean without sail. 

 And steedless chariots shoot with arrowy speed 

 O'er hill, and dale, and river, and beneath 

 The solid floor we tread, — the silent rocks 

 Shall tell the story of an infant woi-ld, — 



