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visitor during the latter period. That Pope should have
noted his emendations in the copy Thomson had prepared
for the reception of his own, is, therefore, not only highly
probable, but seems to be the course which common con-
venience would have rendered most desirable for both.
The " small and beautiful writing," not likely to be mis-
taken by any one familiar with Pope's hand, supplies
another evidence of their authenticity ; and the importance
attached to them by Thomson helps to confirm their
authoritative source. If they were not Pope's, whose were
they? Certainly not Collins's, nor Hammond's, nor
Mallet's, the latest of Thomson's literary associates.
Lyttleton'a undoubtedly they were not, as the specimens
of the changes made by his lordship in the teat introduced
amongst the notes to this edition will enable the reader to
determine for himself. The negative testimony is quite as
strong in favour of Pope as the affirmative.

It is astonishing how much of the dubious
appertains to parts of Pope's literary work.
The reasoning in the foregoing passage is
fairly balanced, and yet it is not perfectly
conclusive. After the opinion of Pope on
descriptive poetry,. " that it was a composition
"as absurd as a feast made of sauces," one
could scarcely imagine his taking up the
" Seasons " for minute emendation. To the
writer of poetry we know of no better exercise
than to compare the changes made (no matter
by whom) in the successive editions of the
" Seasons." They remind us of the curious
correspondence between Gray and Mason
relative to the emendations in the beautiful
epitaph by the latter on Miss Drummond
(" Correspondence of Gray and Mason," p.
396), and they instruct young writers on the
necessity of being fastidious, and to learn, as
Sir Philip Francis told Burke, that " polish is
" essential to preservation."
We have been pleased in a high degree
with Mr. Bell's " Thomson." It justly sup-
ports the title of " Annotated Edition." We
should like to linger over some of the cor-
rected passages, but our space warns us to
close.

Speeches of Eminent British Statesmen during
the Thirty-nine Years' Peace. First Series.

London : Griffin and Co.
No department of literature possesses so little
general interest as that occupied with
" speeches." The fact is, that orations are
" made to be spoken, and not to be read" ;
and what had great success in the delivery
often appears tame in perusal. The occasion
has passed away, the passions have subsided ;
antipathies on one side, and enthusiasm on
the other, have disappeared. What was once
a fiery torrent has become a cold bed of lava,
and we can scarcely imagine that volcanic
force accompanied its eruption.
The partisanship and half-thinking of
speeches also detract from their enduring in-
terest. In a divided age, when society is split
into classes, and when party sways the Senate,
speeches seldom can possess a moral unity.
They rarely rise to be expressive of national
will ; and in a Parliament of debaters mere
dramatic oratory would he felt to be unreal.
Forensic eloquence in cases that appeal to the
heart is free from those defects ; and hence,
with the exception of Burke, no orators of the
Senate have had so many posthumous readers
as Erskine and Curran.

The speeches in this volume are not well
selected. They contain single specimens of
Lord Liverpool, the Earl of Durham, Sir S.
Romilly, Sir J. Mackintosh, Viscount Castle-
reagh, Lord J. Russell, Mr. Huskisson, George
Canning, the Duke of Wellington, and Earl
Grey. In some passages it may be admitted
that many of these speeches exhibit elo-
quence, but amongst these debaters there was
only one orator. Lord Liverpool, amiable
and well informed, with the calm manners of
an English gentleman, had personal weight of
character, but no force as a speaker. Lord
Durham had violent principles, and an elocu-
tion more waspish than vehement. His in-
spiration was of the spleen ; he had no
circumspective logic in debate, and he was
without any of the ideal in his nature, which
was not, however, deficient in atrabilious
energy, from which his friends suffered as
often as his foes. Sir Samuel Romilly was
Hugonotic on his legs as in his pedigree.
Often admirable in his purposes, he was re-
pulsive in his austerity, and in his highest
words he could only attain to the sour sublime
in eloquence. Yet he had the pliancy of an
advocate) and ha had moral tuaiitits in his

SATURDAY,

nature, which gradually affected those whom
he was in the habit of addressing. As a Legal
Reformer his name deserves to be held in high
reverence, though his character was dashed
with not a few infirmities. Sir J. Mackintosh
was a rhetorician, prominent in voice and
manners, and elaborately academical in the
style of a bygone age. His views were large,
but inexact, and he could neither speak to the
heart nor sway a practical assembly. Lord
Castlereagh had many high qualities as a
speaker; he was ready, practical, and when
warmed into vehemence could excite the
House of Commons. But his language was
meagre, his sentences loose and unfinished,
and he violated grammar with flagrant fre.
quency. His political character is a subject
quite apart from his reputation as a debater.
His rival, Canning, had many of the great
qualities of the highest school of eloquence.
His language rolled with a Ciceronian flow ;
his illustrations were poetical; and he had a
grand ideal often before his mind. Hi 4
political character, also (and in another sense),
is a subject apart from his eloquence. Lord
Dudley well remarked of these two rivals
" that Castlereagh and Canning were instances
" that men succeed by their characters rather
than by their talents"; but in politics cha-
racter implies more than its conventional
meaning. Resolution, directness, power over
others, and reliability, are all implied by
" character," and these qualities in the long
run conquer mere talent, or even genius
itself, with its dazzling but often deceitful
emanatives. _ _

Of Lord John Russell as a speaker there is
an admirable portrait in " Coningsby," in which
it is remarked that the noble lord has physi-
cal defects which not even a "Demosthenic
impulse could overcome." The Duke of Wel-
lington had a certain difficulty in articulation
which impeded his efficiency in debate. If he
had been trained from early years and prac-
tised in elocution, he might have excelled as a
debater, irrespectively of the prodigious in-
fluence of his unrivalled character. By many
degrees the most remarkable oration in this
volume is his Grace's speech on Catholic
Emancipation in 1829. From such a man the
following passage was calculated to produce,
great effect
I am one of those who have probably passed a longer
period of my life engaged in war than most men, and prin-
cipally in civil war; and I must say this, that. if I could
avoid, by any sacrifice whatever, even one month of civil
war in the country to which I was attached, I would
sacrifice my life in order to do it. I say that there is
nothing that destroys property, cuts up prosperity by the
roots, and demoralises character, to the degree that civil war
does. In such a crisis the hand of every man is raised
against his neighbour, against his brother, and against his
father ; servant betrays master, and the whole scene ends
in confusion and devastation. Yet, my lords, this is the
resource to which we must have looked ; these are the
means which we must have applied, in order to have put
an end to this state of things, if we had not made the op-
tion of bringing forward the measures for which I say I sm
responsible. But let us look a little farther. If civil war
is so bad when it is occasioned by resistance to the Go-
vernment—if it is so bad in the case I have stated, and so
Much to be avoided, how much more is it to be avoided
when we are to arm the people in order that we may con-
quer one part of them by exciting the other part against
them ?

But let us carefully observe the following
arguments, penned by his Grace in support
of the measure. Let us observe how expe-
rience has refuted them :

I would ask your lordshipa, whether you are not called
upon to review the state of the representation of Ireland—
whether you are not called upon to see, even supposing
that the principle were a permanent one, if it be fit that
Parliament should remain as it has remained fur some
time, groaning under a Popish influence exercised by the
priests over the elections in Ireland. I would ask your
lordships, I repeat, whether it is not right to make an ar-
rangement which has for its object not only the settle-
ment of this question, but at the same time to relieve the
country from the inconveniences which I have mentioned.
I have already stated the manner in which the organisa-
tion I have alluded to works upon all the great interests
of the country ; but I wish your lordships particularly to
attend to the manner in which it works upon the Church
itself.
But has not " the representation of Ireland "
groaned more than ever since 1529, under the
influence of a political priesthood? Then as
to the calming effects expected from constant
concession, the Duke said :

1 have seen that any restriction upon concession has
only had the effect of increasing the demands of the Roman
Catholics, and at the same time giving them fresh power to
eeferco those deusae4s. I hare therefore eensidered it mf

duty, in making this act of concession, to make it as large
as any reasonable man can expect it to be, seeing clearly
that any thing which might remain behind would onlygive
ground for fresh demands, and being convinced that the
settlement of this question tends to the security of the
State, and to the peace and prosperity of the country.
I have already stated to your lordships my opinion re-
specting the expediency of granting seats in Parliament to
Roman Catholics; and I do not conceive that the conces-
sion of seats in Parliament can in soy manner affect any
question relative to the Church of England.
The anticipations in this speech, if put in
parallel columns with the results of the last
twenty years, would have all the effect of
" cross readings." Unqualified emancipation,
without any national securities, was conceded
by the same statesman who had opposed the
settlement of the Catholic question upon the
guarded system of Grattan. Never did the
Legislature act so recklessly as in 1829; and it
deserves to he constantly recollected that the
concessions in that year were not of the sort
contemplated by Mr. Pitt.
Earl Grey's speech on the Reform Bill
closes this volume. " Grey was great, but it
" was not in oratory," wrote Lord Byron. His
person was imposing and his manner dignified,
though rather stilted. There was a querulous
tone in his style which deprived it of com-
manding force. More perspicuous than power-
ful, more graceful than original, Earl Grey
was a rhetorician bred in a Parliamentary
school, and ho reminded us agreeably of the
lights of other days. He seemed as if he
was always thinking how he would look in his
robes, perched upon a pedestal, in a British
political pantheon. It deserves to be recol
lected that he was the first Whig in his family.
The line of baronets to whose property and
influence his courtly father succeeded were
all Tories in the last century.*
This volume would be greatly improved if it
were well annotated with illustrative notes.

The Illustrated Book of French Songs. From the
Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Century. Translated
and Edited by John Oxenford. London: Ingram
and Co.

IN a concise introduction to this volume the trans-
lator traces the origin of French song from about the
year 600, at which date a song to celebrate a victory
Is still in existence, but from that period to the end
of the eleventh century no traces remain of the
songs of the age. Early in the twelfth century the
Troubadours rose to a certain distinction, more from
the poetry of their words than from the beauty of
their music, for the musical art in those days was
wholly in its infancy, and the " dull, plain song "
composed in notes of equal value contrasted strangely
with the light and gallant themes of the poetry."
During the succeeding ages poetry was highly culti-
vated and encouraged by monarchs and nobles of
all countries, but in France especially by Francis 1.,
whose songs are carefully collected in the National
Library at Paris, and by a still more famous sove-
reign, Henry IV., who took a high place among the
poets of his day. During the reign of Louis XIV.
song degenerated into the wretchedly artificial, pas-
toral style, although Voiture, Scarron, and particu-
larly the Abbe de Lattaignant were distinguished as
much for the beauty of their style as for their facile
talent for very de sociiti. In the history of a nation
it is remarkable to note the effect which the popular
tendency of the day has upon the literature of that
particular period. As the business of a people can
be told by their proverbs, so can the taste of a peo-
ple be inferred from their poetry; and the singular
licentiousness of French poetry of the early part
of the eighteenth century is no exception to
this rule, and forms no bad prelude to the fero-
cious sentiments of the revolutionary era. On the
accession of Napoleon song lost its savage and
solemn tone, and once more regained its light and
jovial expression. A club of the poets of the day
was formed, a theatre for the performance of light
musical pieces established, and although the Vaude•
vile Club soon fell to the ground, yet it gave a right
impetus, and led to the formation of similar
societies, which regularly collected and published
their yearly contributions of song to the literature
of their day. Desaugiers, Beranger, Charles Lepage,
Pierre Dupont, and many equally celebrated men,
belonged to this and similar societies established
over France, and from their collections—a huge
mass of matter, it must be remembered—Mr.
Oxenford has made so choice and careful a selec-
tion as leaves no class of song unrepresented, and
gives us as popular and attractive a work as we
could desire.
Of the merits of Mr. Oxenford's translations
a better judgment may be formed, as in many in-

• For some curious particulars about the Grey family see
WiWawa's " Life of Biz T. Lawrence."

stances the original French is given together with the
English version. Poetic translation, at all times a
difficult task, is particularly so in the case of French
song, as the delicate sentiment, like an illusion of the
eye,* apt to vanish in the very effort we make to pre-
cisely distinguish it. Positive excellence on the part
of any translator is absolutely unattainable, anti the
praise given to the most successful must be largely
qualified with exceptions. While it is not permitted
him to excel his original (for that would be destruc-
tive of the fidelity required), he must of necessity
often fall below it. In the following verses from a
charming song, attributed to Henry IN., Mr. Oxen-
ford we fancy is found tripping :
Morning bright V lens, Aurore,
Rise to sight, Je
Glad am I thy face to see ; Je suits gal quami je to vol.
One I love, La bergere,
All above, Qui meet there,
Has a ruddy cheek like thee. Est vermeille comme tol.

Fainter far, De roses
Roses are, Arrosee,
Though with morning dew- La rose a moius de fraieheur ;
drops bright, Tine hermiue
Ne'er was fur Dist moms hue;
Soft like her, Le lait a moine de blimeheur.
Milk itself is not so white.

" Ne'er was fur soft like her" is evidently a mis-
conception on the part of Mr. thenford. Again, in
" Les Souhaita " :
If an hundred tongues I had, Si j'avals cent voix,
They should speak of nought Elles ne parleraient quo
but thee ; d'elle;
If an hundred tongues I had, Si j'avais cent yoM,
All should talk of thee, like mad. Touts. rediralent ila foie:
Oh, my dearest, itc. Ma min, ticc.

" All should talk of thee, like mad" is a transla•
tion more vulgar than correct; but in" Poor J acques"
the sentiment has been beautifully rendered:—
Poor Jacques, when I was close Pauvre Jacques, quand retitle
to thee, pres de tot,
No sense of want my fancy Je ne imitate pas ma misere;
cross'd ; Mais a present quo to via loin
But now thou livest far from de moi,
me, Je manque de tout stir la
I feel that a:I on earth is lost. terre. (Ida.)

When thou my humble toil
would'st share,
I felt my daily labours light;
Then ev'ry day appear'd so lair ;
But what can make the pre•
sent bright?

I cannot bear the sun's bright
ray,
When on the furrow'd plain
it falls;
When through the shady wood
I stray,
All nature round my heart
appals.

Quand to venais partager mes
travaux,
Je trouvais ma tiehe Legere,
Ten souvient-il T tours les
jours etaient beaux;
Qui me rendre ce temps
prospere 7 (bit.)
Quand le soleil brille sur nos
guerets,
Je ne puissouffrir la lumiere :
Et quand je suis i l'otubre des
forks,
J'aceuse la nature entiere.
(bit.)

Poor Jacques, when I was close Pauvre Jaques, quand yetais
to thee. pres de tot,
No sense of want my fancy Je ne sentais pas ma misere;
cross'd; Mats I present qua to via loin
But now thou livest far from de moi,
me, Je mauque de tout sur la
I feel that all on earth is lost. terre. (bis.)

Many of the choicest songs of Beranger are given
in this volume, but it does not strika us that Mr.
Oxenford improves on the efforts of his predecessors
to clothe them in an English dress. The famous
" Depart pour la Syrie" as rendered here reads
tamely, compared with the common version by
Sir Walter Scott. We quote the two first verses of
Mr. Oxenford's translation:—
To Syria young Dun ola will go, Partant pour la Syrie,
That gallant, handsome Le jeune et beau Dunois
knight, Venait prier Marie
And prays the Virgin to bestow De benir see exploits:
Her blessings ou the tight. " Faites, reine immortelle,"
"Oh ! thou who reign'at in Lui, (Weil, en partant,
Heaven above," " Que j'aime la plus belle,
He prayed, " grant ,this to Et sots le plus vaillaut."
me—

The fairest maiden let me love,
The bravest warrior be."

He pledges then his knightly Il trace sur la pierre
word, Le serment V honneur,
His vow writes on the stone, Et vs suivre Ila guerre
And following the Count, his Le comie, son seigneur.
lord, Au noble vceu fidile,
To battle he has gone. 11 dit en combatant:
To keep his oath he ever strove, " Amour ila plus belle.
And sang aloud with glee: Honneur au plus vaillant.'
" The fairest maid shad have
my love,
And honour mine shall be."
The spirit of the original (to try a version of c
own) might perhaps be better rendered by soi
such lines at these
Parting for holy Palestine,
Dunois, the young and brave,
Knelt low before the Virgin's shrine
Her gracious aid to crave.
" May this, 0 Queen of Heaven," he prayed,
" Find favour in thy sight—
That I may love the fairest maid
And prove the bravest knight."
On stone he graves his plighted word;
His vow of honour sworn,
Then joins the standard of his lord
To share the battle's storm.
True to the noble vow he paid,
His cry was in the fight—
"May love attend the fairest maid
And fame the bravest knight."

Though we cannot congratulate Mr. Ozenford on
complete success in his translations, we yet willingly
receive his book as a most pleasant specimen of a
very delightful branch of French literature; for
(Janie anthology has this double claim on our notice,
that it faithfully reflects the sentiments of the peo-
ple, while illustrating their history.

View of the State of Europe in the Middle Ages.
By Henry Hallam, LL.D. Three Vols. Vol. I .
London : Murray.
Tais is the first volume of anew edition of Mr. Ii allam's
histories. It is excellently printed and very cheap,
and as the previous editions of this author's works
have never been depreciated in price the present
issue will afford a favorable opportunity to persons
who may wish to possess them. Mr. Hallam's repu-
tation has been of steady growth. His great learning,
large views, and perfect impartiality, render him a
sure guide through the often tangled transactions
of that period when the great States of Europe were
in course of consolidation. The " History of the
Middle Ages" traces, in fact, the progress of those
nations which, from having been originally split into a
number of independent States, became, from alliance
or conquest, united under one head. The continuous
growth of those nations in the midst of intestine
division and external war, and of constant opposition
of interests, presents a most instructive spectacle ;
and while Mr. Hallam sets it forth with the greatest
breadth and distinctness, he also explains the princi•
pal causes to which it is attributable. In the first
chapter of this volume, for example, occupying only
a hundred pages, we mark every step made towards
the consolidation of the French monarchy, from the
time when Hugh Capet ascended the throne and
found himself surrounded by a number of indepen-
dent princes almost equal to himself in power, till
Charles VIII., by his acquisition of Brittany, united
all the fair provinces of France under his supreme
authority. Thus Normandy, Toulouse, Champagne,
Guienne, Flanders, Burgundy, and Brittany, became
successively absorbed, and France, says Mr. Hallam,
was consolidated into a great kingdom:—
The vigour of Philip Augustus, the maternal wisdom of
St. Louis, the policy of Philip the Fair, had laid the foun-
dations of a powerful monarchy which neither the arms of
England, nor seditions of Paris, nor rebellions of the
princes, were able to shake Thus having con-
quered herself, if I may use the phrase, and no longer
apprehensive of any foreign enemy, France was prepared,
under a monarch flushed with sanguine ambition, to carry
her arms into other countries, and to contest the prize of
glory and power upon the ample theatre of Europe.
It is that capacity of masterly survey possessed
by Mr. Hallam which renders his historical retro-
spects so valuable as they are. For the general
reader they' relate the most important facts, mark
the principal epochs, and reveal the guiding princi-
ples of modern history, while to the student they
suggest instructive reflections on the law by which,
up to a certain point, small States gravitate towards
greater ones. That, law is seen iu uniform opera-
tion in this history of the Middle Ages : it has con
tinued since ; and the speculative philosopher may
amuse himself by considering what causes are
likely to disturb its force, and at what point it Is
likely to cease. If those are the best books which
induce the reader to think for himself, there can be
no question of the high place these histories of Mr.
Hallam should occupy, as they combine in an
eminent degree the merits of historical record, with
comprehensive survey and philosophical disquisition.

Works of the Rev. Thomas 111Trie, D.D. A New and
Uniform Edition. Edited by his Son. Part I.
Life of John Knox. London: Blackwoods.

- ----
A STOUT polemical historian, if he happen to be a
Presbyterian, has the opposite fate to that of the
prophet. He has much honour—in his own country.
Dr. M'Crie was a man of clear mind, sincere faith,
and sublime prejudice, and he lived in a time when
his peculiar style of thought and course of reading
found an opportunity for their display. When the
author of Waverley was gilding by his genius the
crimes of popish 'arrogance and feudal oppression,
he delineated Knox as only a man of true Presbyte-
rian " sterness to inflict and steadfastness to endure "
could have drawn that most uninviting of Reformers.
If one sat down to imagine a biographer for the
fearless and feelingless victor of Scottish popery,
he could not have conjured up a better than
Dr. Thomas MiCrie. He unquestionably did "nothing
extenuate," for in his deep admiration of his sub-
ject he could see nothing worthy of extenuation ; and
he set down nought in malice, for, to say the truth,
the episcopal and priestly manners that were com-
pounded of Italian popery and Scottish pride set ex-
aggeration at defiance. To this hour that perfervidum
ingenium has made Scotland the scene of the most
merciless controversy. The rage against the bishops
in the time of Knox was re enacted against the
Establishment in our own day, and to such a publics
Dr. hrCtie's work is addressed.