The Sun.
London, England, 1847-12-30 00:00:00

but God and the poet. Ile is the creator of the good,
the beautiful, the true.
" The conventialisms of daily intercourse, the super-
ficial, artificial, habits of society, these are lies, for they
conceal eternal facts from us, would hide them, would
not recognise them, would trifle them away into mere
nothingness. The poet, like the inspired men of old,
lifts the veil of nature, and declares the mysteries which
lie, unknown to us, within our own souls, and the secrets
of a higher state of existence.
" ' If man were just to himself, he would perceive
that his sublimest and deepest aspirations belong to him
permanently, eternally. They are essentially the man;
they alone will live for ever. He would also feel con-
scious that the mere life he leads does not satisfy these
aspirations; it does not agree, nor harmonize with them.
It therefore must be false, if it be discordant with prin-
ciples which, in themselves, are, as I assert, true.
•' 0, my friend, let us not deceive ourselves. Our
daily routine of thoughts, words, and actions, is too
often at variance with the spirit within us. We will not
obey the dictates of our higher faculties, but fritter them
away on the merest trifles. We endeavour to stifle their
voice. Hence our characters are deficient in harmony
and proportion; hence are we discontented, dissatisfied,
because our spiritual nature is not satisfied, because
itA powerg are unexercised, its mighty influence dis-
regarded.'"
_ -

Here is a poetical eulogium uponia tear
" I love the tear of pity! what holy feelings prompt
its flowing; what tender influences bid it to leave its
crystal cell, to come forth like a good hermit, on
active missions of duty. Beautiful is its cause, its
effect, knitting heart to heart in one sweet embrace of
human sympathy. It rivets the links of that great chain
that binds man to man; it is the eloquent language of
the purest affection, of religious hope, of exceeding joy,
of sorrow for the dead—or the living who are as if they
were dead. It glitters on the velvet cheek of youth and
beauty; it traces its coarse along the furrows of age. It
is the offering of pity on the altar where human hopes
and invs lie sacrificed, but it sanctifies and ennobles
them."
In one place it is very truthfully observed that
" human weaknesses are as the bonds by which tIT,
Titans of old were restrained from soaring to heaven.
In another very effective simile the gloom which
occasionally overspread the soul of Tasso is com-
pared to " the rushing of dark waves over the
smiling scenes of industry ;" and in another
place, " A marriage without love is as a lifeless form ;
the soul, the divine essence, is absent. The cold and
earthly body alone is present. Say that there is
wealth ; it is but decking the corpse with jewels ; it
cannot restore the spirit which has fled." There is,
perhaps, too much truth in this brief but beautiful
,ientei.ce—" Life is one long tragedy to those who
feel." Some references to religious persecutions, to
war, and to the punishment of criminals, elicit the ex-
pression of some very generous and noble sentiments,
in perfect unison with the liberal tendencies of the
present day. In the general condemnation of war,
even the Crusades, celebrated by Tasso, are included.
"I can understand," says Leonora—for she it is who
expresses these sentiments—" I can understand the wars
carried on by the Greeks, the Romans, the Trojans,
and the Carthaginians; for their worship was of
gods, the chief of whom were but military heroes
delighting and taking part in the bloody victories of
their creatures. I can comprehend the Saracens love
of war, for Mahomet established his empire by the
sword, and encouraged its use among his followers.
But for Christians, worshippers of the God
of Peace, disciples of the Prince of Peace,
to engage in the shock of battle, to de-
stroy their fellow-men, to take away that which
they cannot restore, to make widows and orphans—
this I cannot understand. Would He, think you,
who lay in that sepulchre three days and nights, have
sanctioned their attempts ? Would he have desired his
tomb to be made the motive and the scene of murderous
warfare ? Oh, no !" In this condemnation of the
holy wars there are very few who will coincide, but
the expression of such opinions evidences the very
benevolent and humane sentiments of the authoress
of " Leonara." We are almost tempted to give the
touching picture of Leonara's death ; but it is better,
perhaps, to leave it to be perused at the conclusion of
the story of her hapless existence. The closing scene
of Tasso's life is also very powerfully depicted. How
beautiful is the conclusion of the history, where the
poet dies as he is summoned to his coronation !
" Hush! he is not suffering pain, but joy. Let the
broken spirit pass away in peace; his sorrows are at an
end; his pilgrimage is finished. Hark! the people shout
aloud for Tasso. To the Capitol! To the Capitol!'
lie is in heaven with Leonora!"
This beautiful work reminds us of Byron's noble
eulogium on his brother poet and his indignant de-
nunciation of Alfonso of Ferrara, the brother of
Leonora, who consigned her lover to prison as a
madman for presuming to love his sister. Speaking
of Este and Ferrara, Byron beautifully and truthfully
exclaims—

" And Tasso is their glory and their shame.
Hark to his strain ! and then survey his cell !

And see how dearly earned Torquaio's fame,
And where Alfonso bade his poet dwell :
The miserable despot could not quell
The insulted mind he sought to quench, and blend

With the surrounding maniacs in the hell
Where he had plunged it. Glory without end
Scattered the clouds away—and on that name attend
The tears and praises of all time.
Peace to Torquato's injured shade ! 'twas his
In life and death to be the mark where Wrong
Aim'd with her poison'd arrows, but to miss.
Oh, Victor, unsurpassed in modern song
Each year brings forth its millions ; but how long
The, tide of generations shall roll on,
And not the whole combined and countless throng
Compose a mind like thine ? though all in ono
Condensed their scattered rays, they would not form

a sun."

Heartily do we commend these delightful volumes
to our readers. Their theme is a most affecting and
most interesting one, and that theme is set forth in
the most natural and attractive manner possible. And
although we have often experienced admiration and
pleasure in witnessing the writer of " Leonora" in
various characters, we have never in any character
welcomed her with so sincere a pleasure as we do in
this, her new one, of an authoress.

CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS BOOKS

GREEN'S NURSERY ANNUAL

Of the myriads of et.gant and attractivevolumes
which make their appearance at this season, it is but
fair that a considerable number should be devoted to
the amusement of the younger portion of the Com-
munity. In the school-room and the nursery, where
holidays are best appreciated,
,holiday gifts are most
appropriate. Authors and publishers, have apparently
not failed to discover this fact, and the literary

" Christmas Boxes" and " New Year's Gifts" for
1647 and 1848 present a very agreeable and attractive
variety, suited to all ages, tastes, and capacities. One of
the most elegant of these little volumes is " Green's Nur-
sery Annual." Its contents are, as its name intimates,
peculiarly adapted for very youthful readers, and to
them it carries a sufficient recommendation in its very
prepossessing appearance. Its cover is of crimson
velvet, elegantly embossed in fanciful designs, dis-
playing various youthful sports, with a golden group
in the centre. It is, of course, ornamented with nu-
merous illustrations, many of which are coloured, and
will, consequently, be esteemed doubly valuable by
the youthful connoisseurs; moreover, every page is
surrounded with a very elegant border of blue, pink,
green, or yellow, in which again children are depicted
at their sports, eager
" To chase the rolling circle's speed,
Or urge the flying ball.'
The literary department consists of simple but
pleasing tales, likely to amuse and interest those for
whom they are designed. Of these are " Arthur's
Ninth Birthday," by Miss J. Christmas ; " The
Clever Boy," by Mrs. S. C. Hall ; " The Harvest
Home." by Mrs. Sherwood ; " The Christmas Tree,"
by Mary Howitt; and several contributions by the
Editor—among others, a very interesting little ar-
ticle, " Shaking the Crab Tree," conveying a moral
somewhat similar to that of La Fontaine's fable,
"Le Laboureur et ses EVans." Mrs. Abdy has
contributed some very pleasing little poems, under
the head of " Songs of the Affections," about "My
Mother," " My Sister," &c., including
Father," " MY
also "My Kitten." To the little inhabitants of the
nursery
,we can cordially recommend the " Nursery
Annual.'

MY OWN ANNUAL.
Although this little volume would seem to belong to
whoever may read its name, its title-page describes
it as "an illustrated gift-book for boys and girls,"
while its contents seem to award it more peculiarly
to the former—namely, to the elder brothers of those
to whom we have recommended the "Nursery An-
nual." Its contents, indeed, are of a higher cha-
racter than its name would lead us to suppose. A
brief enumeration of its articles will undoubtedly be
the best recommendation for "My Owa Annual."
Among the more instructive yet very intereresting
papers which it contains are a chapter " On Stilts and
Stilt-fights ;" some anecdotes of the " Bedouin Arabs;"
descriptions of " Cairo," "Palmyra," and " Liverpool
and its Docks; " information about " Deer and
Deer-stalking," " Doves and Pigeons," "The
Pointer," and " Setters and Retrievers ;" while
among the more entertaining and attractive articles
are " The Story of Fawnia the Fair and the Prince
Dorastus ;" several chapters of "Further Adventures
in the Life of Torn Thumb," " The Star," and other
tales. The volume is of course embellished with
many illustrations, and is likely to form a very valu-
able addition to the juvenile library.

JUVENILE VERSE AND PICTURE-BOOK.

We have classed this little volume with
" Children's" Books, for among such it numbers
itself " The Juvenile Verse and Picture-Book." It
would have been more appropriate, however, had it
styled itself a Universal " Verse and Picture• Book,"
for although every way calculated to please juvenile
readers, its admirers are likely to be of no one age
or taste, or capacity. Unpretending as is its name, this
little work contains many of the gems of English