The Sun.
London, England, 1817-04-11 00:00:00

'ts IF, 11,EV I EIV.

• -
The ;Wise Illottrnidg ; a Poem. By JO/IV SCOTT.
i'rinteil. for Taylor and Ilessey, First-street. 8.0, 1ip...16
Price 4i. Gd.

The proceedings of Parlianient generally Inter'.
rtipt our . reviewing labours ; yO, though some
time ha's eltysed since the above title appeared in
Tire SUN,we lie our Readers to understand, that
such lapses are only pro:laced by temporary cir-
cumstances, and not by. the abmillonment of our
purpose to attend its fully to biteratore as to Po-
lities. We resume our pelt to notice a very inte-
resting, though rather an unequal production.—
The House of Mourniug is wholly personal, Nod
therefore replete with diffiCulty. • Nature is of
course the inspirer, but Art cannot be called in to
grace a subject of this sort, without either int-
pi:aching the truth of the feeling, or weakening,
while it polishes, her deep workings. A parent
writing verses on the death of an only child will
poor forth his afflictions in strong and intense,
rather than in elegant and poetical language.—
Indulging in-this luxury of woe, he will he more
opt to reach the affeating and sublime in ideas
than its words. Yet grief .is eloquent, and there
will be' a spontaneous flow of genuine sentiment,
clothing itself in appropriate expression :•inaccu-
racies, and even deformities, Which appear in such
a composition, 'are the , effects of the state of
mind of the Writer, and not the propfs of a want
of ability to do bitter, were the theme other than
real and peculiar.
Front theSe considerations, we, are inclined to
speak. very highly. of Mr. SCOTT'S Poem. -Its
blemishes are slight in comparison with its beau-
ties.. There are many pages of unmixed pathos,
and several examples of true poetry.• If the
fOrmer predominate, the cause is to be traced to
4he subject, the loss of a beloved child, inverting
the order of human calamity, and poisoning for
ever the purest springs of human felicity. We
can conceive the possibility of putting our lamen-
tations fOr such a chastening into verse, but we
would not have the heart that could point every
period and nicely weigh each line for all the tame
that genius ever brought its possessor. Despair-
ing.sorrow may rend and 'tear the wounds under
which it suffer;, but never did true misery modu-
late its groans or systematize its burstings.
These brief remarks will be better illustrated
by the selections we have annexed to th.em. These,
in our opinion, show that The House of Mourning
is indebted for its existence to an overwhelming
dispensation, which delivered the Author to the
court-poi of his feelings snore than his taste, of his
aillictions rather than his judgment. The (muse-
.finoce is, that he is oftener pathetic than poeti-
, cal, though the extracts will evince that there is
no want of a vein of sterling poetry. •The whole
places Mr. SCOTT in ,a very amiable light,: and if
we (lid not throughout applaud the skill with
which he has struck the chords, we !Mist confess
that many of them have vibrated to our inmost
soul, and at least inspired esteem fur the wailing
Father,. where they did mit raise admiration Isar
the plaintive Bard. . •
it thus that he deplores his own and partner's
irreparable loss :---
There is s blow which tortures for the time ; •
But there's a worm that gnaws for ever;
Whieh the heart feeds, sad feels it would be crime
~, ?,)iroto its companion even to seek to sever !
~ • ;1711e sting that curdles, and the coil that presses, ,
;I W!., live in lieu of our dear boy's caresses;
.I;44nd We will cherish them where he was kept,
;I.t ' „A sk d they shall harbour where our child has slept,—
• Though be escap'd us, they shall still remain,—
Our pleasure slipp'd us,--let us guard our pain;
Since we've lost him, all other loss is gain !

We'll find relief in sense Of deep enduring ;
We'll seek delight in thinking ill past curing;
And we will shoe allegiance to our'cltild, ,'•
Fix'd as his love for us,—cliangeless and mild t
flours, 451, and' months, and years, shall pass away,
,klis sightly form, now starred, shall decay,
His eyes our pride, his limbs our decent care,
His gentle mouth, his clean and Silhy hair,
• His round and restless hand, that warned and slid
Intmrs,--Alia feet still running where we hids—
liis.arins that drew bin; to his mother's breast;
Ills lips that kiss'd tier when he went ta rest,—
. The graceful, teuder, carriage of his joy,
When she came forth, led by her darling boy;
Who, as the morning grew, and she lay sleeping,
Was looking, listening, and on tip-toe creeping,
Restless, yet checking his solicitude,
Lest aught should reach her of disturbance rude,—
Then springing like a bird, when gleaned her eye,
That her first sight'on his blest sthile might lie; • -
The total disregard of all future object/ is finely
expressed in the following short simile :—:, • •
Life must run °flood wants TRIM have their means,
But we will walk the field like one who gleans
After the sheaf is carried,—stooping low
For little; without heart or power to sow,
.o,'-,,Bub.picking what is scatter% as we downward go.
trWitat feillows forms part of an affecting passage,
wlrichidtrelk with melancholy minuteness on all
the vodi;arwents of the departed child ...--
t,, Glad harbinger was be when friends would. ealle-s
: ' • Flinging a ray, like suushipe on a wall,—
Gfancing in comas, darting on the floor,
Chasing ourgutngs,•,playing round our darer;
Midst stares aod.troublex.: still a shiniug spot,
Which threw altest,•aud ilighoad all our lot,
niconscinus of each foul end evil thing,
1 : fie drew around o.urßtiasi hallow'd 44, ' ..
. ' within whose bounds, whew grief or wilifitraird;
We stood, and found a charm tart neverlaird. •
-Ott, native fragrance; *Veit enjoy d than told I
Blest spark of wartatb , o'er which we cower d when cold I
Sweetest diffusion of domestfc balm, . . .
,Oor table's olire-Ibrancli, our parinues palm;
;:ilie.silver tongue struck every short hour's close,
- it sad which a shadowy band now duttiltlygeses.
What would have been the Wain's-thoughts,'

. •
liy LelieCn 'Orisc:Otil of the of detitti, is
well:iota/y.O
•twouti have been thought his soul to loare;,

Young as it wa.,--4tliat he Should beno where:
And we where he taka
And see his Intitots,—and he not to,be seem,
.A.ll this. se feel, bittrione of it be telt,-7-,
Ile went unennseionsly, as snows that Melt.
'Proli roils; that for A season shine In white,. •
And, when the;r ;Myst is gone, reject the light.... i•
' When his eyes thawed and glaz'd, belittle knew
That, as he lost us, 'twas his:tinal View ;'
Thouzli his arm's drOpt front the fond hold lie took;
ills spirit'starticd not,.us Hint-souk : •
. And this blest Usitorange is our Sole blessing,
We content. nieasiire it--'tit port txltre9sittg!
I•Tic it 111liitr• one pain,
. elan eitriine at itA chain
- • The .I4rt that olight.iiive beers'a sting
To drive o!Ir silturri.wild and Make them ...emir
~nr reel;- like it reature.iin the Whiff,—
Or as it vilased by some infernal ;p:iyver ! ,
. hat_bgrrnr, if our ore.morici were to rear
l'crpetti:cl spectrci front hi. &i nn; fear !
After describing like death-heti watch, the
drecirul pi•esence of ,the awful Visitant is thus
finely painted :

At last it citine,--inid something told its coming ,
As midnight drew, we heard, or felt a titimming,
As if utt ain:ged wheels approa:lietl ayuwer
Thntrotild elision- our 'souls, nod blot the hour !
We IitIVA• a fatal Presence in the boom,
And knew that it was come to take our boy ;
Prom sliadawy wings there to spread it gloom
To make elistrilt:r pant, and sniothei joy -
A freezing instinct told us Dentb,was near;

. .
Our henrti shriek'd inwardly in mortal fear
Yet we were unite,—and on the sufferer's bed
We threw onrselres, and. held his breat 4ing head
Held-. him, as one who drowns luilds to the sand,
' That:Crumbles as he clings,—and falls about his hand.
The4kitti, of the child is also very beatitiM.
It shim?: him but a little,—!twas soon o'er,—
lie made one effort, and he made 011 more: .
Life rippled as it left the shore it knew, .
' And Me surge roughen'd as the wave withdrew :
• Wr saw him struggle,—and we still look'd
We saw him settle,—and our child was gone.!

We would continue these extracts,
.but we will
not deprive our .Readers of much melancholy gra7
tification in the perusal of the Poem. We ought
perhaps to have said that the-Author is the same
to whom we are indebted for the pleasant Tours
entitles! " Paris Visited •' and." Paris Revisited."
It wits in l'aris that be had the misfortune
.to lose
his offspring, and this too well accounts for the
latter work nut being su full of entertainment- as
its- precursor.
The faults which most offend ns in the House
qf Mourning it IT those of the Lake School
ways' •puling and afftcted, the flowers ot. that
Garden -do ill to •tiiek a tomb. , ,But we will not
descend to minute criticism. The miseries and the
mind of 'the Writer hate secured Our sympathy,.
and we cannot stop to point, out where he has
offended our-taste-or judgment. •
• There. are !several other:: Poems on different
subjects.