The Sun.
London, England, 1817-05-26 00:00:00

THE

To pursuance of our professed design, we shall
now proceed to submit to our Readers more pa-
rallel- passages from DRYDEN'S, and from the re.
ccntly published translation of the great Roman
poem. LI the execution of this task, we have
avowed it to be our intention to select the most
brilliant paragraphs from the Old Translation, and
to confront them with their correspondents in the
New. With any undue biass on our minds in
favour of the latter, it would be easy for us to
produce. slovenly and mean passages from al-
most every page of DRYDEN, and thus to en-
sure an easy triumph fur the subject of our
preference. But the establishment of truth is
all that we have in view : and the accom-
plishment of this object will be the most per-
fectly attained by the exhibition of the elder
poet in his fullest .strength and splendor. We
shall thus also consult the entertainment of
our Readers ; and by laying_ before them the best
poetry of bavnc:4, we shall convert their task of
decision into an office of amusement. As the
Fourth Book of the )ENEIS may be regarded as
the most interesting in the original poem, it
Seems most to have engaged the attention and
Nave awakened the you era of the great English
Poet in his translation of it. •From this, there-
fore, we shall continue our selections on this oc-
casion ; and we 511411 begin them with transcrib-
ing the celebrated description of the stillness of
the night in its opposition to the mental tumult
of the sleepless .and wretched Queen. The pas-
sage in the original begins with 1. 522, " Nox
erat,7 &c. and concludes with 1. 552

" Non servata fides, cincri prowissa Sychwo."

We shall only premise, that in the first extract
the expression of " bodies closing their eyes,"
strikes us .as awkward : that "soft repose '
lowing " balmy:Sleep" is a weak amplification of
the.bilme idea : that the circumstance, of " no
murmuring tides.disturbmg the flood," is an ex-
aggeration beyond nature, for which VIRGIL is
nor!answerable: that th 4 beautiful idea of Peace
with her downy wings brooding on the ground,
belongs not to the original, and is a sort of emu-
MOD. place of the tran,lator's ; and that to stretch
the porti- coloured fowl that haunt the woods,
equally with the flock and the herds upon the
quiet earth, seems to be a careless inaccuracy.
But the, passage is on the whole flue, and what
immediately succeeds to it is perhaps still finer :

'Twas dead of night, when' weary bodies close
Their eyes in balmy sleep and soft repose.

The winds no longer whisper through the woods: •
Nor murmuring tides diiturKthe gentle floods.
The stars in silent order ►uav'd around,
And Peace with downy wings was hrotiding on the ground,
The docks and herds, and parti-colour'd fowl,
Which haunt the woods, or swim the weedy pool,
Stracted on the quiet earth securely lay,
Fu►getting the past labours of the day.
All else of Nature's com►uon gift partake :
Unhappy Dm° was alone awake.

Nor sleep nor ease the furious Queen can find:.
Sleep fled her eyes. as quiet tied her mind.
Despair and rage and love divide her heart :

Dcopair and rage had some, but love the greater part.

"Then thus she mill within tier secret mind r
What shall 1 do ? what succour shall 1 Gad'?
Became a suppliant to iilAaBAS' pride? •
And take my turn to court and ha denied.?
Shall I with. this ungrateful Trojan go ? ,
Forsake an'empire, and attend aloe ?
Himself I refuged ; and his train relieved •
"Ds true :--but am I sure to be received ? • .
Can gratitude in Trojan souls have place ?
LAOMEDONI yet lives in all his race.
Then, shall I seek alone the churlish crew?
Or with my fleet their Hying sails pursue ?
What forie hale I but those, whom scarce before
I drew reluctant front their native shore ?
Will they again embark at my desire?,
Once more sustain the seas, and qttit their second Tyre ?
Bather with steel thy guilty breast invade;
And take the fortune thou thyself bast made.
Your pity, Sister, first seduced toy mind:
Or seconded too well what I designed.
These dear bought pleasures had I never known;
Had I continued free and still my own, •
Avoiding love, I had not known despair;
But shared with savage beasts the cOntmon air;
Like them a lonely life 1 might have led;
Nut mourn'd the living, nor disturh'd the dead.' "
DRYDEN.

On the last seven lines of this. citation it may
be cursorily remarked, that they are the represen-
tatives of only four of iltaatt.:'s, of which they
bear a very imperfect resemblance, and express
very doubtfully the sense. But, in comparing
the two translations, it is not our purpose to no-
tice the numerous deviations of Dit in 14 from his
original. Our object is to place before the English
Header the two productions, merely as they are
English poems : and here is the version of the
passage by our contemporary Bard :-
44 Twits night, and Slumber's soft and balmy band
Threw healing influence o'er the weary land.
The woods repose; the Inlll4 waves murmur low;
In their mid course the stars serenely glow.
Hushed are the fields: the tenautcof the brake,
The mead, the forest, and the limpid lake,
Beasta and gay-einctur'd birds, in sleep's delight
Forget their labours, and enjoy the night..
Nut so the unhappy Queen: with transient rest.
Night cannot seal her eyes or calm her breast.
Contending cares distract her; Lore returns
To war with anger, and the conflict burns.

" What shall I do? Alt! whit is now the p3it
My fortunes prompt?", She questions thusber heads
" Shall J my former suitors try to pore?
Beg, where I would not give, the boon of lore?
Court Lybiair nuptials with submitting pride;
And., scuttling oft, now sue—aud bg denied?

Or sirs‘i I go arid seek the 'Projan hands;'
A suppliant, crouchiug fur their 410 commands?
l'es!--rtruly, those I succoui'd will be kind!
Already have they shown their grateful mind!
But, grant my 'soul could stoop thus meanly low,
Would their proud ships receive me as I bow
And art th,Pa yet to learn, ah, wretch undone !
How base is each Laoniedontian son?
Then—shall I singly !.:zo, prepared to meet
The taunts and pity of the sfrouting fleet?
Or shall I bring my Tyre to swell their train;
A second host of exiles on the inaln :
And, whom front Sidon's shores I hardly dreW,
Throw to the perils of the sea anew
No! die, fond wretch! to die is thy desert:
The sword must still the throbbings of thy heart,
Front thee, ray Sistet —thee derived my woe:
Moved by my tears thou gayest me tq the foe.
Ali! wherefore was I not allow'd to prove
The life of Nature, free from nuptial hive,
And far from cues like these ? I suffer now
For wroog'd Sychasus and my broken vow."
SYMMONS.

LALLA ROOKII.

The vast, and, indeed, unprecedented, price which
has been given for this Poem, not less, we are as-
sured, than THREE THOUSAND POUNDS, the ad-
venturous liberality of the Booksellers by whom
it was purchased, Messrs. LONGMAN and Co,, the
high reputation of the Author, ANACREON MOORRI
and the impatience of the Public to peruse a work
from so popular a Poet, render it proper that we
should take some notice of an event so extraor-
dinary in the Annals of BIBLIOGRAPHY. LALLA
ROOKH, the title of the Poem, means TULIP-
CHEEKS, and is the name of the Heroine. The
fable consists of the journey of this Princess front
the Court of her father, an Asiatic Prince, to
that of another Prince, the father of her destined
husband. She is accompanied on her expedition,
which is of the most splendid and gorgeous nature,
and which calls forth all the descriptive magnifi-
cence of the Author,by the GRAND CHAMBRRLAIN,
and a young MitzsTagt. who attends the Train,
and who amuses the Princess, at the several places
Where she rests on her journey,• with. poetical re-
citals of terrific and pathetic narrations. In the
course of these recitals the GRAND CHAMBERLAIN
favours the company with his criticisms ; and here,.
we conceive, that the Author has ingeniously in-
tendkl to obviate those common-place Remarks
which he may expect to encounter from envy and
malevolence. This character is placed in a very
ludicrous light. The PRINCESS is described as
lovely and amiable in the highest -degree, The
MINSTREL is one of the chief, if not the chief
personage in the Poem, We will not check the
interest, or forestall the pleasure of the Readers,
by detailing the story or stating the catastrophe,
. .
but We can assure them, that they will feel them-
selves powerfully agitated by the work in general,
and we have no doubt that its success will shun•
dandy recompence the Proprietors for their enter-
prizing patronage.

ARGYLE Roosts.—Mr. and Mrs. LACY bad their
Annual Concert on Saturday last at these-Rooms,
The place was ..crowded with a very elegant au-
dience. The Duke of Sussexwas the only Mem-
ber of the Royal Family present. The chief vo-
cal performers were, Mr. and Mrs.,' LACY, whose
talents require no eulogium on thil occasion, and
who exerted them %vitt, great effects CAMPOREsE,
CRIVELLI,AMBKOGETTI, BEGRIZ, Miss WILLIAMS;
awl Mrs. Saultuti, also considerably aided the
general treat, which. was augmented by the Flute
Concerto of Dnotlrr. The Band was led by
'WEICHSELL with his usual excellence, and the or-
chestra was well supplied.
MU. JORDAN.—Reports are still in circulation,
implying that this admirable comic Actress is still
living, and many persons are credulous: enough to
believe it. Nor would it be wonderful if the fol-
lowing paragraph does not shake their credulity :
'Fur LATE M ay. JORDAN.---Letterii of Administration of
the effects Of this telebrated Actress passed the Pren,gative
Court of Canterbury, in Doctor's Commons, on Saturday
lust, the 24th instant. The property sworn Was under a 001.4
Mr.'KEMBLIt read Mrs. Smootas, much to their
honour, have volunteered their services to Mr.
CHAtti.US Ktsißut•for his Benefit, and are to per-
form in Macbeth. We need not doubt that there
will be a bumper long before the Banquet Scene.
_ _

• Mr. HENRY Jourisow and liamtratt, it seems,
are to be added to the company of the gngliith
Opera-house in the ensuing season.
YOUNG and MATH aws are said to be engaged
for:Drury-lane Theatre. IVhy is- Mrs. C. K amace,
the most general Comic Actress-of the time, to be
wholly left out of the arrangements of the London
Theatres ? The Managers; by this exClusion,'nei-
ther consult their own interest nor the gratifica-tiOn of the Public. •

Summit of. EvauLT BARON VON AACEIRN.—
Saturday night an Inquisition was taken at the
Goat, in Pall-mall, upon the body of Evault Baron
Von Aucken, lately a Captain in the German Le-
gion, who shot himself -at Carlton Ironic gate, on
Friday afternoon. We stated in Saturday's Paper
the particulars of the suicide, which were given in
evidence. Mrs. Martha Duneombe, of No. 47,
Bridge-street, Westminster, said the deceased came
to her louse about a month ago, three days after
he came to England, and ever since boarded and
lodged there ; at first he had a good •leal_of mo-
ney, which he spent in a foolish manner. He ap-
peared dejected and melancholy, the cause he
often mentioned; but nut having► any knowledge
'of the German language she could not understand
him, she believed, however, he was disappointed
in his expectations. Lie sometimes would ding
out of the window articles he had purchased, and
she bad no doubt of his being in an insane state of
mind. verdict—!‘ Insanity.: