The Sun.
London, England, 1821-10-08 00:00:00

" The style of Addison we would liken to a clear and tran-
sparent stream, whose motion is too gentle to ruffle the surface
or sully the purity of its waters ; whilst that of Dryden
has the impetuosity of a torrent, which often tears
the weeds from its banks, and stirs up the ooze from
the • bottom of its channel ; but that ooze is mixed with
grains of precious gold, and those weeds contain amongst
them flowers of the most delightful hue and odour; whilst the
very swiftness of the current fixes our regard more intently than
the tranquil surface of the gentler stream. He seems to have
principally aimed at being strong and forcible, and' to this ob-
ject every minor consideration is . sacrificed. To use the lan-
guage of a noble poet, he wreaks his thoughts upon expression,
and conveys them to the reader in the full force and energy of
their first conception. He never appears to regard the mere
structure of a sentence, nor is careful to wind it up in the neatest
manner ; neither are here marks of any subsequent labour to
polish and elaborate his style. We know indeed, that he has
been at the pains to revise some of his prose works, but his cor-
rections are merely those of verbal inaccuracies, and ungram-
matical structures, which crept into the most finished writings
•of that period ; but in general, he seems to have left his sen-
tences just as they were struck off in the first heat of composi-
tion. There are, in consequence, some that have been roughly
cast, which look rude and unfinished ; sometimes there is a
sharp edge, or abrupt projection, Which a more fastidious taste
might wish to see planed down, or rounded off; and generally
speaking, there is not that high polish, which is visible in the
compositions of a later date, but all sense of this is lost in ad-
miration of that matchless strength and occasional felicity,
which are seldom found associated with strict correctness and
undeviating propriety. He is indeed the very reverse of that
correct and' frugal genius which he somewhere describes—he is
no judge, to a hair, of little decencies, nor afraid to hazard
himself, so far as to fall—he does not move cautiously and care-
fully on, and deliberately put' his staff before him to feel his
way—his motion is that of a giant, who delights to run his
course, and exults in his strength—the elasticity of whose step,
the firmness of whose tread, and the immortal vigour conspicu-
ous in every motion, leave no eyes for any ungraceful attitude,
or occasional impropriety of gesture."
Under the head of " The Early English
Draia," there is a highly interesting account of
kAIRISTO MIER MAR LO W, the precursor of SII
SPEA RE, a critical examination of the whole of his
works, and a number of extracts of extraordinary
merit. There is also an eloquent article on
" The Political-Works of Andrew Fletcher;" of
c -1
oftitoun,---11,0 GER Ascu AM'S loxophilas.—Ar-
nalte and Lucenda a very rare Poem,--DAvEN-
.
Poat's King John and Matilda, a Tragedy,—
LOVELA C E7S Lucasta—and Sir JOHN NV YNNE'S
History of the Gwedir

* We noticed the commencement of this interesting Work as
a most valuable-additioh to BritiSh Literature, and having at-
tentively observed its progress, we have had no occasion to alter
the favourable opinion which it first excited. We have no con-
neiliodwith the Publisher or its literary Conductors, and de-
liver our sincere conviction of the merit of the original plan, and
of the advantage which the world will derive from a candid re-
view of works ;Many of which have long been popular, and con.
sequehtlY from d due estimate of their real pretensions to•publie
favour and permanent celebrity. • It is Our intention, when op-
portunity:offers, to insert eV:acts from most of the respectable
periodical works in circulation, and we have no doubt that THE
Rii,TitOSPECTIVE REVIEW will foiin a conspious feature
arrionk:those occasional 'selections.