The Sun.
London, England, 1819-04-14 00:00:00

LITERARY REVIEW.

Tnr, PEASANT OF AUBURN; on, THE OLD MAN'S

TA LE.

retch.-GPs our Readers may ermceive, from the
title of this 1.36 em, that it relates to

46 Sweet AUBURN, loveliest Vdiage of the Plain,"
which has been iminortaiized by the Muse of
Gor.nsmvin ; and if their imaginations should
have been .led so 13s, we can, at least, assure
them that the Work before us has much of the
simplicity of that Muse, and none of the fantastic
deem atinhs of modern Poetry —The tale is affect-
inq, and told in that artless manner which is cal-
etilved strongly to interest the feelings. The
character of A LrEIKI) is rculiar, but natural, and
shots the danger of giving tray to the delusions
of itn3gitiation, and the indulgence of passion.
The character altogether may he considered as
the victim of sentiment. 'The saute may be said
of MARY, another of the characters, who is de-
lineated with great delicacy, and who, unhappily—
hut we will not forestall the pleasure of the
Reader by a recital of the story, simply observ-
ing, that as the catastrophe is of a melancholy
natute, it may be inferred that the Poem is not
without foundation. Therefore, after again stat-
ing that the Work is marked by the simple energy
of truth and genuine pathos, which bold forth
very promising; omens of future excellence, if it
be the production of 9 youthful %%Triter, we shall
merely extract the passage that relates to the MA-
TFUNAL CHARACTRI:, recommending it altogether
to Readers of fteling, whose taste has not been
perverted by the horrific extravagance of most of
the later effusions of the Press, which have been
denominated Poetry ! !

Mother and child ! ah ! hearts lactroth'd wax cold,
Brothers forget the common blood they hold,
Friends look like strangers on us ;—bat the name—
The magic sound of.illothe:-, is a claim
Front first to last on man :—the lightest heart,
The coldest, dullest, sternest do not part
From their own mother, hut they melt to tears,
And look ail lonely on their coining years ;
And think again on childhood—bow she stood
Between their father arid his angry mood ;
How watch'd beyond her strength for many a day,
When ill and reckless of her cares we lay
In feverish fretful nets, and scarce bestow'd
One thankful smile for all the love she shew'd
FL.V.V ever ready in her arms to hide
Our griefs, when every other lip would chide—
Extremity's last sanctuary from the world!
The wretch, whom crimes and infamy have hut I'd
Far from all human intercourse, bath yet
One that will still be kind, and still forget—
Still south the rankling wound,—and still descry
good in man, when all the rest deny.

FOR THE SUN.

THE STATE.

MR. EDITOR-Mitch having been said since the
Revolution, about Whig and Toryism, to con-
fonnd and distract a stiff-necked people, perhaps a
concise description of our Political Body may
lead to its obvious comprehension.
The Supremacy so often talked of, and so little
understood, is a combination of terms. So is
allegiance. Both append to the ,Crown. Su-
premacy is in the'King, and allegiance is his due;
not to Parliament, which is only the Supreme
Court of the Constitution, as the House of Lords
is the Supreme Court of Justice in the last resort;
and so long as the King in his executive character
protects our rights as an associated people, be is
entitled to our allegiance. To the laws we owe
obedience, but no longer than while they arc
constitutional. When they cease to be so, resist-
ance is the law of the land.
The Constitution is as often talked of, but few
[snow where to find it. One calls it a statute,
ante her the law. In our political system there are
three powers, with others that ate subordinate,
particularly prerogative, which is vested in the
Crown ; not to counteract the higher, but to sup-
ply their occasional deficiencies. The first of these
three is the power of the People, the second is
the power of the Constitution, and the third is
the power of the Law. The third is first, because
without people, neither Constitution nor Law
would he necessary. The second is the power of
the Constitution, as the immediate effect of the
first ; and the third is the power of the Law. So
that the Constitution is derived from the people,
and the Law from the Constitution, which is a
compact, and Law the municipal rules of the
body politic, which is the STAIR. The Constitu-
firm is the agreement between the members of a
civil society in its original settlement, and the
form of their Government. It is the genus where-
of the Law is the species, fixing the relations and
duties of governors and governed. To carry this
theory into practice, Parliaments were necessary,
as a formal part of the Constitution, and as our
rights nit! the substamial. They are the Deputies
of the People, for the purpose 9t legislating
with-
in its boundaries, to secure lite and liberty, pro-
per:y and the freedom of trade, receiving its force
from an executive arm,' as a contract with the
people ; not a compact, which states what is
agreed upon, but an engagement which is to carry
it into effect. A compact is a deed executed in
itself, but a contract is a deed executory, and to
he executed; one strewing what is done, the other
what is to be done; 'otkerwise a compact might
sleep. lUagna Charts is troth, as the act of the
people, sanctioned by the King, and is out of the
power of Parliament. The rules of the Constitu-
rion are to the Parliament what the law is to the
Judges who are confined to declare it, as the Par-
liament is to the Constitution in making it. Par-
liament are the Trustees of the people ; the Con-
stitution is their deed of trust; and they are an-
swerable for i:s non-execution. it is a circle ;
the Law is the radii drawn o' surface, which
can never exceed ;. circumference, while the
people, like compasses, are fixed in the middle to
describe it.

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