The Sun.
London, England, 1850-10-23 00:00:00

LITE ItATURE.

THE VIRGIN TVID OW. A Play. By Henry

Taylor.
A poetic effusion of any kind coming to us from
tha author of "Philip Van Artevelde ' is always
welcome, more especially if of a dramatic character.
His pure and cultivated taste, his ornate but not over-
elaborated finish, his diction at once t musical and
sonorous, impart to all the emanations of his fancy a
charm which never fails to gratify the first require-
ments of the critic, although it seldom succeeds in
arousing anything but a very moderated enthusiasm.
From the original outpourings of Mr. Taylor's imagi-
nation it was at one time conjectured that to him we
might look with some degree of confidence for the
revival of the ancient glories of our dramatic litera-
ture. It was conceived that while the romance of
Knowles, the satire of Jerrold, the sensibility of
Marston, the sprightliness of Bourcicault, the versa-

tility of Lytton, the ingenuity of Lovell, and the
classical eloquence of Talfourd collectively, succeeded
in sustaining the drama at a period which for some
time threatened to witness its decadence, the genius
which had created a soul " under the ribs of death"
in the instance of "Philip Van Artevelde," might by the
union of some at least, if not all, of these great qualities
originate some school of dramatic composition worthy
of competing with those of ai Otway or a Massin-
ger. Unfortunately, this expectation of his admirers
has been long since dissipated. Instead of inaugurat-
ing a new era in this department of literature, Henry
Taylor has contented himself with adding works
of singular beauty, though of no remarkable splen-
dour, to those of his many gifted rivals and contempo-
riries. In his " Statesman" and his " Eve of the
Conquest," in his " Edwin the Fair" and his " Isaac
Commenus," he has displayed, it is true, poetic capa-
cities of a different order from those revealed in his
"Philip Van Artevelde;" yet, while showing the wider
scope of his intellect, he has failed altogether in elevat-
ing his reputation. Perhaps the mos t ripened fruits of his
mind are the prose essays in which he has vindicated
his powers of cogitation, the " Notes from Books"
and the " Notes from Life," in which are stored to-
gether the truths of philosophic reverie. To those
who had admired his reflective fancy, even
when disporting in the trammels of verse,
it was matter of satisfaction to listen to
him when discoursing on the profoundest problems
of existence, on the " Life Poetic " or on the " Choice
in Marriage," to hear him in the unchecked flow of
his meditations talking to us on such themes as those
of "wisdom" and of "children," of "money," "hu-
mility," and " independence." Yet even the gratifi-
cation derived from the perusal of -these admirable
productions could not prevent many from longing to
witness a somewhat truer and nobler dompletion of so
much and such brilliant intellectual promise. The
truth was we had been spoilt by the excellences of
" Philip Van Artevelde." We looked to the author
of that composition not for works of merit,but forftnas-
terpieces. Hitherto our hopes in this regard have re -
mained unrealized. The " Virgin Widow," in spite
of its many graces, cannot be viewed as any such
bright dramatic achievement. That it will charm
even the most fastidious might almost have been
predicted before its examination, and now, after
devouring the five successive acts of the play,
might be averred with confidence. Nevertheless
with all this, we are perforce necessitated
to close the volume with a certain sense of disappoint-
ment. Mr. Taylor, in selecting as the framework of
his drama the romantic and poetic comedy, has chosen
well, but he might, considering the peculiarities of
his genius, have chosen better. True that this style
of composition includes, as he himself expresses it,
" though not the four seasons, yet the spring, summer,
and autumn of nature ;" tree, moreover, that the
dramatist
ble reluctance to adventure upon the production of
a tragedy in these his days of manhood, " tragedy of
a avows, in addition to this, an unconquer-
able
any kind" appearing to him " to demand more of the
says he, "1 may say the hard-
ness notwithstanding these assurances
hardihood,
af y a
youth"—yet,
uLh perhaps,"
in his preface, we cannot help regretting that he did
not endeavour to contradict their accuracy afterwards.
As it is, however, we accept,the " Virgin Widow"
gladly, and a perusal proves it to be most acceptable.
Solicitous as we are that more should read the book
itself, we abstain from attempting any synopsis
of the plot. Among the numerous characters, six
women and fifteen men, particularised by name in the
list of the dramatis persona, besides actors, marshal-
men, courtiers, citizens, sailors, and the rest of a mot-
ley population, the best discriminated are—Rosalba,
the heroine, and her lively friend Fiordeliza, with
the lover of the former lady, hight Silisco, Marquis
of Malespina. As the titles might indicate, the scene
of the play is cast on the soil rendered classic by the
Idylls of Theocritus. Occasionally the exceeding purity
of the composition is flawed by eccentricities of phrase
not unlike those sometimes indulged in by Robert
Browning. For instance, we find it written in one
part (p. 17), " Take it, mate, and begone ; and by
sunset let the good ship Middelena look small in the
offing, like a lobster with its legs up ;" another while
it is said (p. 123), " If there be anything strange left
us here below, I pritbee tell it; for I thought that
every- day droppings had worn the world as smooth
as a wash-ball,' and yet more at another (p. 128),
" Tell that to my youngest daughter, and you shall
see her quiver again with joy like the tail of a lamb
that sucks" Without being grotesque or fantastic
Mr. Taylor can be infinitely humorous,—as where he
makes Fiordeliza indicate jestingly the sluggishness of
Ruggiero thus—
"lie's slow,—slow as a tortoise,—once
He was tun over by a funeral!"
The following passage descriptive of autumnal
and flying fades. The sun
variations may remind some in part of Mr. Taylor's
well-known description of the forest trees :
Nesatthaerayear,
greets
him
with a changing cheek.
Comes not so like a bridegroom from his bed
" ASondfli9
The willows wash their tresses in the brook
That shrunk before, but swells to meet them now;
The plane-tree leaf is piebald with black blots;
Upon the snowberry-bush the big drops bead;
And the goose plants starred patterns of her toot
In the moist clay."_
The handsome form of Silisco is thus charmingly
described by Rosalba :—" In a summer-house which
was once a temple, is a statue of Silisco, made when
he was a boy. A statue of Antinous stands opposite
to it, and Silisco's is the more beautiful of the two."
Of an unnatural matrimony between the aged Ugo
and the young Rosalba, it is said very exquisitely by
Ruggiero—
" A chaplet of forced flowers on Winter's brow
Seems not less inharmonious to me
Than the untimely snow on the green leaf."

The dramatist has taken a hint from one of the lovely
songs of Tennyson, where the former writes---i, The
sun is hot and the flowers are happy. But look at
yonder sunflower on one side of the arch, how it
bangs its head ! and at the hollyhock leaning over
from the other ; they are broken-hearted about the
last carnation, poor thing ! for it died yesterday."
Alfred Tennyson having long since penned that
refrain about the drooping of the flowers in autumn—
" Heavily hangs the broad sunflower
Over its grave in the earth so chilly,
Heavily hangs the hollyhock,
Heavily hangs the tiger-lily."
One of the most beautiful sentences in
the volume
before us is the one in which the loveliness of Rosalbs,
the Virgin Widow, is thus celebrated—
" She speaks not often, but her presence speaks;
And is itself an eloquence, which withdrawn,
ItT hsaete alfilsr ads
till
tthoughhens
the
ee
strain of
palpitatingmusic
With sweet pulsations."
Such are among the more prominent and noticeable
features of this elegantly-conceived and gracefully-
executed drama, a work which, without extending in
any respect, will sustain and justify uaisric ceas'd
the author's po-
pularity.

gives not
only
s service, whether
mo most
a completelisto f
BAILEY'S UNITED SERTIC. ,
INDIA RECORD. 1Vo• AV.
This is the fourth quarterly' publication of this
naval or military, but also a similar list of all officers
in the East India Company's service, the whole ar-
allaorffirccyer ashidn tchilevQydellesnt,' which
ranged alphabetically, so that by referring to the
name of any officer his rank and standing can at once
be discovered, and if on active service a reference to
the regimental list will at once show in what part of
the world he is stationed. It is, in short, a perfect
mirror of the naval, military, and East India Com-
pany's services as they were on the 19th Oct., 1850.

!AST

CEYLON.PAYNESILLUSTRATED MAP OF
of climate, from
Captain Wynn Payne has conferred. a great obli-
gation on all who take an interest. in colonial matters
by the publication of this gigantic and accurate map
of one of the most valuable, but at the same time one
tnhoeuntedmedp,erpaotussrees,siinn
of the most neglected, of our colonies.. Of fertility un-
England, and in
the vallies and ou the shore of Hin.dostan, capable of
growing with equal. advantage in its lower zone
coffee, cotton, sugar, rice, and the other productions of
gtheevnaeroyunvtaarinetsy.
of
who, during
tropical climates, and in its more elevated regions all
the cereal products of the temperate zone--Ceylon
has been so unaccountably neglected that, until the
publication of the work now under
.notice, we have had
no accurate map of tbe island. This defect, however,
ye.ars in the island, minutely
surveyed every part of it, and who has. given us the
aharsesbiedeenneseupopflimedanbyy Capt. W. ynn Pa;!'ne,
results of his labours in the very beautiful map now
under review, which not only gives us the " ground
plan," as it were, of the island, but, with its illustra-
tions, shows us the physical features of the island, and
daguerreotypes its inbaktants. As a work of art this
map is one of the most beautifulis of
of en-
graving ever produced. It of gigantic dimensions
(being something like seven foot by four), and the
and g 8 engravings of the very highest
iiialutesrtersattiing,
ons arranged round . it are as subjects most
order of 'art.