The Express.
London, England, 1859-12-31 00:00:00

LITAXATURZ

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Students andlibliopoliste are the idly people who
are generally familiar with the weeks of Robert
Fairies and of Jacob Vita. The pier emblems
poeticaliy illustrated in Fairlle's " Lyetinocomia,"
a hook nearly cootemporary with the" Reibleniata,
Morelia et (1.: onoarca" of Jacob Cam, and fully as
rare in these days, are aptly combined, in a very
sumptuous volume, jut issued by one of oar
great pu'ilishing firms, with selections from the
pages at t Ise "utch lyrist. &Odes the " &able taata."
al. fee aide writinp of Cats have been explored fir
material; and the curious reader may identify pas-
sages from the " Slone en Mince Britten" and
" Spiegel vas den Voorleden en Tepnwoordiges
Ty'''. Jacob Cate wear is Dutch and Latin verse,
of peat ochres and freedom. The diatichs in
?nosh with which he accompanied each subje t see
likewise ronarteble fur those qualities ; and, in the
Mrsage •ividness and Teutouic strength of their
phrasing, may be likened to the massive and pictu-
resque metre of the most original of modern French
poets, Victor Hugo. The emblematic verse of the
Scotch writer Foirlie, being restricted in its theme, is
not epoch in various imagery u fertile in conceits.
The figure which runs throughout hie quaint poems,'
here placed at regular intervals, is the figure el •
candle, lantern, or other artificial light. Every
poodle view of this object is taken up and ex-
hausted in separate attempts to point a religiose
moral; and tne persistent ingenuity is apt to grow
tiresome. With the fancies of Jacob Cats an entirely
opposite phenomenon is apparent. His allegory
tale-, nothing emits, and the flights of his proverbial
philosophy wou:d astonish many who have regarded
Mr. Topper's performances in this same arena with
eyes prone to elope in holy dread. The following
poem, founded on the aphorism, tt Love, like • ball,
requires to be thrown back," is, in the happily
quaint translation of Mr. Pigot, suggestive of
Cowley :
Cowley
Gir, if you would lora
Wel, iv ploy this ploseont game,
You must monks is quiet return,
'l., that I may do Ike some.
y to sinks at all,
And that I Disko play slime,
Th, n lb. shuttles rare to fall.
And the guns ot once is dome.
Murk, sweet insides, when I strike,
And attend to what I asy ;
Triune sad Love's gams slaw.
Need a quick mute of play;
Wbc, their *run mast would know,
And la equal share
la bath gram silks serf
ligeal s et la gyre NM Subs.
Lore rd Tusle beet. pley'd 111,
doe epee the pryers il,
Mee me sheensheen• ems-m al will
Te et leak the MIL
Love, fe lave Y 6mitamedvv;
Love glom la eel erregth to love ;
Led le ben amen,
Love doh meet its power prove.
Lon, of love's at ems Ma peek
And teVerd man lure Um bmt ;
Nrobiog sen le ler swim,
but Ike Moe Mal ghee t net.
It Iltnni MOW ere peal Om,
t. vr ; W be smolder' ;
hot 31 you pies uo vokons,
Ikon ..y—good. bye to you.
The designs of Adrian Van de Venne, which embel-
lish the Dutch folio edition of Cats"' Emblems," and
welch, as wears told by Sir William Beechey in hie
lite of Sir Josh.* Reynolds, exercised a potent spell
on the genius et :hat peat painter, are reproduced
in this volume with true artistic spirit, not the IN.
worthily shows in some few deviations, made fa de- •
terrace to the purer taste of the present day. The
richness and breadth of colour which we have indi-
cated se charactinisiog the verse of Jacob Cats have
corresponding qualities in the pictorial festers et
the volume. Among the artistic publications of the
MIMIC it stands prominently forth. We have men
nothing of such perfect individuality this year. As
• girt-book it is especially to be commended at the
present period. Its axiomatic form is most suitable
to the beginning of a new year, when the wisdom of
the past should be held of some account in plans for
one guidance in the titan; sad its abundance and
divemlty of subject will give it an endoriog value.