The Sun.
London, England, 1824-01-06 00:00:00

LITERARY NOTICE:

The PILGRIM'S TALE.i guy Cuss. Lot HART,. Esq.
We hardly know in what tarsus to speak of
this unequal production. It is a►towed ly a maiden
effort, and on viewing the annouriCernent to that
effect in the preface, we were dispoied to consider
it as one more, added to the host of ephemeral
productions, which are only known to the public
by advertisement, and end after a short time
during which they are poi•fectly unnoticed, by
retiring into the obscurity :from which they
emerged. This, however, is not the case with
the work upon our table. It Is 'much, in noticing
a first production to say tiiat It is► a fair specimen
of the abilities Of the AUthor,- and that it gives a
promise of much future telenit improved by ex-
perience, but some parts -tit The Pilgrim's
Tali," warra►tt tts in thg .04.teOsion of a some-
what less equivocal troth 'cCVIS-P:abatio-ii. The
opening in which the Author adopts the► gyroniars,
stanza, introduces -us to the heroine -Donna Nina
of whom the following description is given
a very pretty girl, •
With blushing cheeks, and archness in her eye,
And silky locks, with love in every curl ;
And always smiling so, she scarce knew why,
You could not view her rosy mouth a minute,
And not perceive the pretty pearls within it."

She forms one of the many instances of filial
disinclination to obey parental authority, ex-
erted in favour of a suitor, whose.:age and person
are in direct opposition to the being which their
romantic imaginations have created. The follow-
ing extract, descriptive.of the unsuccessful lover,
will, we believes induce our readers to agree
with us, that in this instance Donna Mina's taste
is not to be censured.
" Don Grine was once young, but not so, now,
ge, wealth, and honour, had come on together ;
His glory was three,scars upon his brow,
His nose, eye, ears, and one leg gone—but whether
Young Donna Nina thought the hero equal
To one less hnck'd about, is in our sequel.

In honour's cause he fac'd his country's foes,
And lost an eye among their outer works ;
Then, in the holy wars, he lost his nose,_
His ears, and his left leg, among the Turks.
Returning laurel-crown'd, his country's pi4eon,
Dup'd by the dice of Glory and Religion."

a
On a summer's evening the family are enjoying
themselves themselves in an arbour, when a pilgrim arrives,
and is requested by the company to
story. It is here that the unequal writing is
displayed. The plot interests and is well supported,
but with reference to the poetry it has evident
proofs of its maidenhood. This is the more per-
ceptible as some of the lines have as much excel-
lence in their composition as their neighbours have
vapidity. The prevailing fault is the prosaic
Manner in which the lines read. This may do
very well in the new or "familiar" style of writ.
jog, atul is effestive indeed., in the opening, but we
cannot admit of the introductiOn of conversational
ease in the heroic metre. The story told by the
pilgrim is too long for our limited notice, or we
would willingly extract it to she w the construction
of the plot. It ends with the elopement and
marriage of Donna Nina with the pilgrim, who
proves to be a dashing
young officer who had
assumed the disguise to convey a knowledge of
his passion to his mistress, which he contrives to
effect by means of a letter delivered in the course
of the relation of his story, from which we will
give one extract to shew Mr. Lockart's style
Spare, spare, ye riewless torturers ! Oh spare
last brief moments, sacred to despair !'
" His hand is on my eyes—his blood, as fresh,
" As warm as when first shed, creeps o'er my flesh—
" The eyes of .Altainira, glaring, shine
" Triumphant that for his I've murdered mine—
" Leta, thy shriek still echoes in mine ear !
" And, as the spectres of the slain appear,
" The latest curse that turns my blood to gall,
" sondro! thy scornful laugh rings o'er them all!
" Hell is in waiting for my last life-sigh !
" Sights, worse than hell, torment the ere I die !
" And my remaining breath can scarcely plead
" To Heaven's Omnipotent, that those who bleed
" This night, may pass to Paradise, sin-free,
" And all then crimes be showed in fire on me.
'•Fair as the floweret whence thy beauty grew,
" Adultress Isabel, a last adieu
" Fernando, first-born of my sainted bride,
" Incestuous adulterer, parricide,
Forgiveness, and farewell !'.'. then kissed ha them, aria
died.

Altogether we recommend the work to our
readers, and have been thus free on parts of the
poem, that the author may correct the present
errors, and that his twit production may be,
written with a more matured pen•