The Sun.
London, England, 1828-10-11 00:00:00

-(THIS DAl')

LITERATURE.

0 UNIVERSAL PRAYER, DEATH, &c. &c.
ffsi RONEKT MONTGOMERY—LONDON', 1828. •
ie.The gras.cep 4ttThos -quarto volume, which is headed by a
e.ring likeness of the author, engraved, as we
s are now Put° , _re
bsri
tar
,informed in the advertisement, from a pors
blown very • -e4 'alb by' .Hobday • possesses much of the spirit
WO- 111(tp • • "
as now poetic talent that characterised the "
.Pte • -
Oinni-
srr., from , aeose of the Deity." It is, however, but a
Ai; ,Ati.'aus reading of that eloquent poem—the same
to 5.,1 4.5-.0
of appeal to the Deity, the same style of
'a a.- .
Duke
of Rent, . :wrought invocation,' the same sentiments,
almost the. same incidents being preserved
Dale, 14fil*
,7110°tit- The " Universal Prayer" might,
be 00. .or act, just as well be called the "Omnipresence
the Deity ;,, the only difference between the
for twp.
Paul Pryf a; consisting in the circumstance that One is in
rum Tonle rhyme, and the other itiblank verse. Still, not-
N. B.; 1011 P-, 4 ;nibued Withstanding. this blemish, it is a fine poem,
with an impassioned spirit of piety, full
runmsywesitcralilor; sib, :44 iove fl •
• i
r ow.lng of the most amiable sentiments,
nrnpitry;rl' to the praise of being an excellent and virtuous
sing man.
n, Davis, fc°lll 11(1:1r• Montgomery's mind is one of an emi-
; a great pot co,
.I.ly devout caste, not however in the mere
. b: worldly sense of the term, but in the far
—lt is blot "I6re exalted spirit of the poet :he has a quick
ner.'
--The sch°°: rsprehension of the beautiful in nature, is per-
dder and b. id
A. id • yat home on subjects of grandeur and subli-
Roausteas, Nty, .
sso (and this, let it not be forgotten, is a fine,
•hooner Fro 7 141c1
.(1. • We' may add, a peculiar trait of character
)int with los 0. 11 so ,
I, is dischargit its°. Soling a . man), and is thus lured
r. The PP'
0:„. Jeligion through, the medium of the ima-
two miles nori; 1112i°11. Few, people can peruse unmoved his
her hold. 010(
es"ent and frequent.appeals so the Deity ; few
J, with. 100 41 fail to admire the striking garb in which they
all clothed,appreciate tact which
or to the
'every to 7PPIe with the most difficult of all topics, free
on Thuro*
'lkefrom affectation on the one side, and bombast
°t
__tbe other. Our favourite poem in the present
r
Nleetion •is decidedly that on Death. It
411ati d ••n in stirring, we might almost say, dramatic
.:!strast ; the incidents " hold dazzling fence"
with
each other, and come thronging • upon the
4sl with all the carelessness of a -rich and ex-
ant fancy. The different aspects iii which the
phantom" makes his appearance, are enn-
Nted with a fearful distinctness; the shipwreck,
111 articular, of a vessel, described as " shape-
andta,, wild as by the storm begot" (this is
."4117 a splendid line), is replete with appropriate
jerY.- In this poem also occurs the fol-
:ving sweet picture :
' The stars like ruminating spirits walk
.„n.O mellow sky, from whence the queenly•moon
,"Oh maternal aspect, eyes the earth,
'ran cedinto dreamy stillness by her smile ;
Tl, not a breeze or bird is on the wing ;
"Ihrsweet flowers have shut their dewy lids;
r'nd distant trees, upon the dark-brow'd hills
‘-ike shadowy sentinels are ranged.—And now -
The reign of heart-romance! the lulling hour
When aspirations from the charmed heaven
Suffused, awake the high-toned mind with thoughts
~„
f wonder, yet divine : but see ! beneath
Inn hill, down where the wrinkled brooklet. flash
In liquid revelry, the mighty deep
Lies bare unto the moon ; and on her breast,
In swan-like glory glides a white-wing'd boat,
Calm as a cloud along its blue career.
Within, like beings from a purer sphere,
A youth and hi* confiding maiden sit,
lier yielding waist environ'd with his arm.
Above'them,—beautiful the starry dome !
Ileneath, naught but the sighing of the waves
Woke from their slumber, or th' harmonious swell
0f tide—the panting of the world's great heart !
freaks in the pleasing calm."
A Vision of Heaven" and " A Vision of
liaVe too much the appearance of set
Zees of piety to be generally- acceptable ; they
Zees
ease, especially the latter, which is eon-
klled in a very mistaken spirit of devotion.
sdditionto this, the idea is borrowed from a
e book in the " Course of Time," wherein
411: Angel describes the different characters whom
Raw classed and tortured in Tophet. But not
44ICed with this obvious plagiarism, Mr. Mont-
erg has been presumptu'ous enough to
Ater the lists with Pollok, in his character of
wYhi'c'n ; and thus Indirectly to force a comparison,
ere no comparison, from the immeasurable
erioriti of Mr. Pollok's mind, can possibly
We must also enter our most serious protest
:inst that exclusive and Pharisaic spirit- that
641 d bar The door of redemption on all who hold
11
14rent tenets from itself. This is the vulga-
g"---the plebeianism of piety, and is beneath the
its of a mind like Mr. Montgomery's, which,
al le before observed, has so much true poetry
11 it- and is usually so talented and liberal.
what does this young man mean by say-
-4,t, in allusion to Byron, "an atheistic shade
ttking his lines ?" Does he really mean to
7rt that Byron—the illustrious in birth, the
ik'At iversat in mind, the comprehensive and en-
tpi enedin religion, the experienced and sworn
olt'Q of freedom—was really an atheist? Shame
thil the narrow mind that can thus falsely read
Rpirit of his publications !—that can thus pass
ttt his thousand glowing invocations to the
when e'en the forest leaves seem'd
prayer," (as the unequalled
11
with
`lllll has said, in an Address to the Virgin
ary,.-which even Mr. Montgomery himself
41-41 d find it hard to equal) ; shame, we repeat,
the mind, that can pass over these matchless
t'4lies, -for the poor purpose of fixing on some
t li
411essphrase, or inadvertent sentiment, which
b generous exuberance of a noble spirit has
4
tle elicited
0,
I Again, with regard to Napo-
pl44, is this young Puritan serious when he
(‘ 43 him in a spot which we will not shock
4tspolite" by mentioning ? If so, we fear
thiti
we have expressed far too high am opinion
of h..
IR charit and mistaken for devotion that
Ishio
11 Was simply sectarianism.
kh We will not part in anger with an author
c/illt Whose genius there is so much more to
italse than to condemn. Let it suffice to say that in
3 Present volume be has shown glimpses of a
ggl'
poetic order, which it pnly requires time
4td 641-110 US a lication to bring to a healthful
klatirs s pp
ItY' His blank verse, with the exception
one or two slovetaly inaccuracies, is correct,
• somewhat -sterile—it wants fullness and
graders With respect to his imagery,i
it
s
Lifbrhily beautiful, now and then transcendantly
, ii. 1 description of a cloud " black with
taeding . thunder." He is, however, too much

n the Qum.ll
y, and

DAY.)

.YE Oar'
omewliat
nts from 148tPi
Consols opetiej,
tely after,,Ye
fitter price for,
and are 121
India Nil
ul!
xeltequer

dormant state;
great leader °
purchase 4
3; Portugues6

alteration, and

yesterday ,
al intelligence;
to army befoll
it is a ger'°'
it necessary IC
hese import°,
oss which 11181
repair in thei
the closing °

3, for AceO►t'
$4 6 pm.;

Ayres, 41 111
nigh, 41i gi
r Cent., 73 4;
28/ 9 ; D.
mtuguese, 56 $1

Brazilian, 60 !,
185 195 lit?' .
145 155

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Isols to sal;
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the commend
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'CL OCK.

DAY.)

!ATE.
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ent off briikiP

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in nut
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id9pted,
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re given

t, has i}eel~
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very coldses

given to starting pompous discoveries, coeval, or
nearly so, with the Deluge ; when, for instance,
we are solemly assured that—

" Death is the dark and universal doom,
• • " The past bath braved it, and the future shall :
also that—

" I sing of death, yet soon perchance may be
" A dweller in the tomb :
moreover that—
" Come it will, however late, .
" That glorious day when death himself shall die :
we are almost tempted to cry out with
Horatio, when my Lord Hamlet informed him
that most men in Denmark were villains,
" There needs no ghost come from the grave, my Lord,
" To tell us that."

parting with Mr. Montgomery we have
merely to request—and we do so in a spirit of
the most friendly sincerity—that in his future
publications he will bring a little, a very little.
more liberality to his task. It will improve his
judgment, and not detract from his imagination.
The days are gone when the fulminations of
narrow devotees were the passports to popula-
rity and preferment. Even the fancy of Mr.
Irving, which is of a first-rate quality, has not
prevented his celebrity from drifting by a short
cut into the Dead Sea. Let Mr. Montgomery
improve by the hint, and aim to coincide with,
not run counter, to an age of which he is no
slight ornament.

FASHIONABLE INTELLIGENCE.