The Sun.
London, England, 1818-12-16 00:00:00

LITERARY REVIEW.

THE WIDOW.of NAIN, and Other Poems; by an Under.
Gr►duate of the University of Cambridge.

We have perused this Poem• with much satisfac-
tion, and though the limits of our Paper will not
permit a very critical review, yet, in justice to
our Readers, we ought not to withhold front
th,m the opportunity of sharing our gratification
We deem the Author to he young; but he evinces
so much talent, that we feel it right to encourage
hint, since, though a few inaccora e expressions
'nay perhaps he met with, we discover much of
the file of original genius. The following lines
cannot, we think, be read without interest ; they
conclude the 4th Section of the Poem, in which
the widowed mother has been anxiously watch-
ing the couch of her son, on whose cheek con-
sumption's hectic blush too clearly indicates the
severe loss she is so soon likely to sustain

Where time has rent the lordly tower,
And moss entwines the archos grey,
Springs mane a light and lovely flower,
That lends a lustre to decay.

Thus while existence wanes away,
Consumption's fevered cheek will bloom,
And beauty's brightest beams will play
I❑ mournful glory—o'er the tomb."
After describing the sufferings of the fond pa,
rent, while watching the last agonies of her son,
on the motonig of his death, in a vein of poetry
highly creditable to the Author, the Poem pro-
ceeds, and our Readers wilt, we are sure, com-
mend us for selecting the following description of
the fot torn state 01 the widowed matron under
her affliction :

" Noon came and fled—and evening grey,

Cast o'er the room a sombre shade;
Alike to her were night and day,
Ilex eye was never turned away

From the low couch where he was laid.
Sl.•e could not weep—she could not pray,
Her son] was dark—and with despair
Devotion mingles not—the prayer
Breathed hopelessly, was breathed in rain ;
Her ail of beii:g centered there,
And dragged he, thoughts to earth again,

Her eye is fixed upon the bier,
Her cheek is cold, and colourless:
The struggling'sigh, the starting tear,
Hare passed from sorrows wild excess
To still unconscious fixedness.
For strung emotions, when they fade,
Cast o'er the brow a deeper shade,
And sate') passion sinks the breast
To silence—apathy—not rest."
In the same easy and affecting style the Poem
advances, and the " Widow of Nail)," atter having
lost her beloved child, is attending' his last re-
mains in serious sadness to the tomb, amid num-
bers-of her neighbours and friends, when.the vil-
lage minstrel suddenly struck his harp—
" For well he knew the soft controul
Of music o'er the human soul."
The effect of which on 'the mind of the poor
'widow, is, we think, most happily described in
the passage that follows— ,
" Yes, while the notes of magic last,
The present fades into the past,
The scenes of other days return,
And youth's unquenched emotions burn:
The ardent-hopes that charmed and tied—
The fond remembrance of the dead,—
The gentle eye, that beamed to bless,
The look, whose smile was tenderness;
The voice once wont with lore to thrill,
Now mute, yet nnforgotten still—
The form that but with life can
'Whose monument is memory."
Some lines hetray a loftiness of tone and an
impassioned depth of feeling, wl►ich often di-
rected our though's to Lord liltsoN, but a sim-
plici►y which would be inconsistent with the ge-
neral character of Lord BYRON'S poetry, and
still more a religious and moral tendency, which
we have not yet'been encouraged to expect from
his Lordship's pen, precludes the association. Had
our selections been less copious, we could have
wished to have ►uirled to their number the beau-
tiful description of the approach of the SAlnotla
of MANKIND to the bier on which the body of the-
young man was being conveyed to the tomb ; but
we forbear, lest we should be taking too great
liberties with the Author, or deprive the Public
of that pleasure which the perusal of this part of
the poem cannot fail of exciting. We conclude,
therefore, by giving to the work our most hearty
commendation.

SUDDEN DEATHS.—OIi Sunday night last, Mr.
Osborne, a young Naval Officer, who bad not
long returned from sea, took lodgings at the Bed-
ford Coffee-house, in St. Martin's-lane, and pre-
vious to retiring to his chamber he complained
of illness, and the morning after he was found
dead. An Inquest has since been held on the
body, and front the evidence adduced, it appeared
that .the deceased had laboured under * long ill
'less. He was an Irish Gentleman, and his fa icuds
are at present in Ireland. Verdict--'' Died by
the Visitation of God." —An Implisition was
taken yesterday evening, at the sign of the Fea-
thers, Hart-street, near Covent-Garden Theatte,
before THoM AS HIGGs,Esq. Coroner, on the body
of Mr. It. Shitley. tobacconist, of Hart-street,
Covent-Garden, Verdict—" Died by the Viita-
t.on 01 God."

THEATRICAL REGISTER.
Performed Last Night.
THEATRE RnyAt., DRuivr-LANr..---411th tinittM: Lu-
cius Junius, Mr. Kean; Tarquinia, Mrs. W. West. After
which, Is He Alii.e ?
THEATRE ROYAL, COVENT-GARDEti.—.-The Castle Spectre:
Osiound, Mr. Young; Angela,, Miss O'Neill. After
-which,
Rose D'Amour.

*it* For A FRIEND TO MANKIND (on SuicinE), see the First
Page.

PRICE OF STOCKS
Tills DAY AT TWELVE

per Cent. Red ~. 771 India 80nd5......785. 795. pr.
31 per Cent B6 Ex. Bills, id. 13s. 17s. 13s. pr.
4 per Cents. 95 Cons. for Account.. 79i
Bank L. Ann 2O 1 -lath

MAILS.
ARRIVETI.-1 Dublin, I Waterfnrcl, 1 Hamburgh.
DUE-1 Dublin, I Waterford, I Guernsey and Jersey,
1 Sweden, I Haniburgh, 1 Lisbon.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE TOMORROW.
Morning, 35 minutes after 4. Evening, 20 minutes after 5.

TIIE SUN.

!CLEM I,WD; DICERE FALSUNI AIJI)EAt

LONDON,
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1818.

We received this morning the Paris Papers of
Sunday last. The following are extracts :
" PARIS, DEC. 13.—,-The King yesterrhy held
a Council of Ministers, which sat from one
o'clock till six.

" The Duke of Wellington, previous to his
leparture this day, paid his respects yesterday
[o the King and the Royal Family.

" The last letters from Rome state that the
Prince of the Peace was dangei ously ill, and that
his life was despaired of.

" The case of General Cannel against MM.
SMinneville and Fabvicr was again on yesteiday,
before the Tribunal of Correctional Police. After
hearing i\JM. Dupin and Berryer, Advocates, a
further adjournment took place for a week.
" The Duke d'Angouletue returned to Paris

yesterday afternoon.
• " The King has bad a slight attack of the gout,
but which did not prevent him from presiding at
the Council of Ministers.
Lord Castlereagh is expected to have his
audience of leave of the King ta•day.
" It is stated in the Journal de la Belgique, that
the Commission for the Inspection of Fortresses,
which accompanied the Doke d'Algoulerne in his
journey, are of opinion, that it is necessary to re-
place by new fortresses those which have been
ceded by the Treaty of Paris.
FIVE PER CENTS.
Saturday f. au f. 63 f. 53 c.

DEFFIRRRD ST')CK.
Of the 22d March, 1817,. 75 f. 10c.
22d Sept. 1817,
22,1 MaTch, 1818, 7l f. 10 e.
22,1 Sept. 1818,

" MUNICH, DEC. 4.-The Empress Consort
of Russia is expected here in the course of next
week, and to stay some days.
" The Count Cato d'lsttia, Minister Secretary
of State to the Emperor of Rossa, arrived here
to-day. He is understood to be charged wirh a
mission from his august Sovereign to our King-.
\Ve expected here the day after to-morrow,
the Prince de Metternich, who, it is believed, will
arrange with our Court the territorial affairs.
" VIENNA, Nov. 30.—We learn with great
pleasure, that the Archduchess Leopoldine, Prin-
cess Royal of the Brazils, is pregnant.

" ZURICH, DEC. 4.—The Grand Duke Michael
is expected in Switzetland in a few days. His
Imperial Highness will first come here, and
:hen proceed to Berne, to visit his sister-in-
aw, the Grand Duchess Constantine. He will
:hen visit the Pays-de-Vaud and the Valais, and
raverse the Simplon to proceed to Italy."

New York Papers to the 16th ult. have arrived
in Ireland ; but they contain no news whatever
of the slightest itnpnrtance.

Tne FUNDS.—Stocks have remained pretty
steady ; Consols for the Account commenced at
-791, and continued so till 12 o'clock, but the
Market then looked very heavy, and they fell to
7Si, in consequence of the great quantity of Stock

thrown upon the MUI ket. The Commissioners
gave 77-.1 reduced, a►zd were served generally by
the Jobbers.

This morning bets to a considerable amount.
were made on 'Change, that the French 5 per
Cents. would be done at 56 francs on or before