The Sun.
London, England, 1836-01-01 00:00:00

MAGAZINE DAY.

BLA.CKWOOD'S MAGAZINE.
We have read better'Numbers than the one,before
us, which, however, is not amiss, though it were to
be wished that it had a little more variety ; and more

particularly that it comprised a " Noctes," in which the
ghost of the Shepherd might detail his experiences of
that spiritual world of which, whedin " the flesh,"
he was so fond of dreaming. Why should he not be
made to furnish us with the particulars of his first
interview with Shakspeare, and Burns, and Scott, in
the realm of the great and good ? We know one
man—and but one—who could put the fitting lan-

guage into his mouth, and treat us to as rich and rare
a feast of the imagination as ever hungry critic sat
down to. In some auspicious moment when fancy i• 3
astir within him, and memory is turning a soft and

solemn look on the past, we hope he will bear this in
mind, and indulge us again with one of those "nodes
ccenteque Deztm," of which the contemplative and the
spiritual form the best portion of the intellectual ban-
quet, as used to be the case when North and the

Shepherd held earnest discourse together, on themes

purely abstract and imaginative. Meantime, in the
absence of the " Noctes," we must make the most of

what is placed before us. The notice of " Joanna
liaillie's Dramas," is sketchy, but felicitous in its

selection of extracts, and does no more than justice

to the high faculties of one of the most observant and
deep.thoughted of modern writers. Mrs. Baillie is
the Only dramatist of the day, of whose works it may
be said, that they contain single lines in which as
much meaning and power of thought are condensed,
as in the very best of Shakspeare's ; and which, once
read, take an imperishable hold on the memory.
Who forgets her colloquy between two ruffians during
a midnight thunder-storm, where the one, struck for
the first time in his life with a sudden sense of awe by

the fearful conflict of the elements about him, replies
to the scoffs of his more obdurate companion, with—
" All men are honest on a night like this !" If this
be not true sublimity, clad in its most appropriate crarb

of simplicity, we know not what is. Yet Mrs. Baillie's
name is ,scarcely heard of now-a-days—thanks to the
march of mind—which, we suppose, has shot a-head
of her. However, we are far from sorry that she has
Ceased to challenge attention, by any new productions ;
she has done quite enough to insure the gratitude of
posterity; and may console herself for her forbearance,
by reflecting that—
The nightingale if she should sing by day,
When every goose is cackling, would be thought
No better a musician than the wren.

The " Huguenot Otptain" contains some startling
facts relative to the closing days of the " Massacre of
St. Bartholomew," which, taken in connexion with
the atrocities perpetrated during the " Reign of
Terror," convince us that craft and ferocity are the
chief features in the French character ; though the
tiger's paw is covered with the specious velvet of civila-
zation. Barnaby Palms" is a stern, sarcastic idea
Worthy of Swift, but clumsily and hastily worked out.
Dramatic tact is evident throughout it, especially in
the abrupt little incident of the "over-fresh eggs,"

Which would tell with startling effect in a sober comedy
of real life, like the " Clandestine Marriage." Still the
article is not such as one takes to heart, and recurs to
with pleasure. We acknowledge its force, but it leaves
a painful impression on the mind. " Foreign Policy"
is a' useful essay of the statistic school ; " Edward
Lonsdale," a clever but nowise remarkable tale ; and
"The Future," amusing from the bonhommie and sim-

plicity—say. rather impudence----with which it rebukes
the people " for their feverish desire for social ameliora-
tion," which is quite as good in its way as Lord Castle-
reagh's objurgations of the same people for " their ig-
norant impatience of taxation." From the " Journal of
an Alpine Traveller" we select a passage or two,
which exhibit no ordinary descriptive skill :

"We began the descent. The danger, from its steep-
ness, was so great that we were directed to proceed with
caution across the slope towards the passage in the rocks.
Garinot led Trag's mule in the course we were to follow.
Trag had disputed the propriety of the path we pursued,
and descended more abruptly towards the lake to-reconnoi-
tre, intending to proceed towards the rocks from the bottom
of the glacier. Garinot had no confidence in him, and con-
tinued his march. Soon Trag's voice thundered up the
glacier, announcing, that it would be certain destruction to
proceed by the course Garinot was taking ; for, from where
he was, he could see immediately below us a fissure in the
glacier half a mile long, and varying, in width from one to
five or six feet. This was concealed from us like a hawhaw,
because the lower side had sunk 'below the plane of the
upper. Garinot, however, persevered, after desiring us to
stand firmly where we were. Trag- prayed, entreated, and
cursed his obstinacy. At length the syndic saw his danger,.
and, getting the lad to assist him, attempted to turn the
mule and retrace his steps. In doing so, the poor beast
slipped from them, and rolled over and over -down the
glacier, to our horror. It crossed the crevice at a spot
which was fortunately narrow, but continued its frightful
descent towards the lake, imbedding andleaving our luggage
in the snow as it rolled over. Garinot lost not a moment ;
he dashed downwards in a sitting posture, with greater speed
than the mule rolled, and shot safely across the fissure.
Trag also slid forward, perfectly understanding Garinot's
action. They met below the mule, and, when near the
bottom, succeeded in stopping it. Our situation during
this scene cannot be imagined. We stood perfectly still ;
the lad had rushed down to aid the men with the mule ;
and, at length, one lifting it by the bridle, and another by
the tail, the poor beast was poised and placed trembling
upon its legs, and left there, to allow it time to rest and
recover itself. The boy and Garinot then came to assist
us down. Retracing part of our path, to avoid the danger
of the creVice, we passed it safely. As we proceeded, the
syndic was very desirous of impressing us with a knowledge
of the danger we had providentially escaped. We climbed
up to a part of the fissure, and, when near it, crawled along,
and evenlaid ourselves as fiat as possible on the snow, lest,
near the edge, the ice should be dangerously thin. At length
we looked into the horrible abyss of the crevice, unable to
perceive its bottom, probably a hundred feet below us ; but
the beautiful and brilliant display of every tint of blue, from
the most delicate azure near the surface, to the intense
blue in the darkness of its deptlf,--was must-ztriking. The-
upper edge along the whole line was fringed with enormous
icicles several feet long, and much larger than my arm.
With a stick we succeeded in knocking off some, and, as
they fell into the caverns of ice below, the noise they occa-
sioned, until it subsided and was lost in the depth, was most
awful."