Star.
London, England, 1823-08-09 00:00:00

At first It grumbles, then it swears, and then,'
Like David, flings smooth pebbles 'gainst a giant,
•
At last it takes to weapons such as men
Snatch, when despair makes human hearts less pliant.
Then cornet the tug of war'—'twill come again
r ritber doubt ; and I would fain say fie on't;
•
If I had not perceived Au revolution
Alone can save the earth from Hell's pollution !"
Then to prove its AzthOr's iweeping denunciation
and ridicule of everything ancral_or sacred. he need
only *ler his.Honour.to the 26th Stanza of the Bth
Canto, which was as follows
" I almost lately have begun to doubt
0, Whether Hell's pavement—if it be so paved—
Must not have latterly been quite worn out;
Not by the numbers good intent bath saved,
But by the mass who go below without
Those ancient good intentions which once shaved
And smooth'd the brimstone of that street of Hell,
Which bears the greatest likeness to—Pall-mall."
The Noble Author might think all this very witty ;
but his Honour would say that it was only an apo-
logy for-witticism, and that his Lordship might have
found a better subject for the exercise of his talent in
that way than by reviling everything which the great
mass of the people had always.been accustomed to
reverence and respect. There were other passages,
which were of a description so obscene as w ould, he
was certain, deter any father of a family from allow-
ing the book to be seen by his daughters. He should
only quote another passage, which strewed still more
forcibly than that which he had read before, how Bd-
voted the Noble Lord was to the propagation of his
revolutionary principles. It was where the Russian
General writes his dispatch, announcing the capture
of Ismail:

" He wrote this polar melidy, and set It,
Duly accompanied by sighs and groans,
Which few will sing, I trust, but none forget it—
For I will teach, if possible, the stones
To rise against earth's tyrants.—Never let it
1k said, that we still truckle unto thrones ;
But ye—our children's children ! think how we
Showed what things were before the world was free !
'That hour Is not for us, but 'Os for you,
And as, in the great joy of your Hillenium,
You hardly will believe such things were true,
As now occur,. I thought that I would pen you 'eta.
But may their very memory perish too!
Yet, if perchance remembered, still disdain you 'em,
More than you scorn the savages of yore,
Who painted their bare limbs, but not with gore,—
And when you hear historians talk of thrones
And those that sate upon them, let it be
As we now.gare upon the Mammoth's bones,
And wonder what old world such things could see,—
Or hieroglyphics on Egyptian -atones,
The pleasant riddles of futurity—
Guessing at what shall happily be hid
As the real purpose of a pyramid."
The author, he had no doubt, had imagined to him.
self such a Millenium as would sweep away all the
existing orders of society ; and if his writings had the
effect which he and his votaries anticipated from
them, there was no doubt that there would be ano-
ther revolution, as dangerous and as sanguinary as
the French Revolution, upon which his Lordship
looked as the beau ideal of a perfect -Government. It
was well known that his present publishers were as•
much devoted to the dissemination of revolutionary
principles as his Lordship himself; but there was anus-;
titer object to which their patriotism, as they called
it, must give way, and that was—their desire to make
money. If this were not the case, why did they not,
like their great prototype Paine, allow the indiscri-
minate publication of their wolki, and thus give ad
greater circulation to their doctrines ? Whatever
might be their motives, however, he trusted his Ho-
ilour would set the propriety of following the princi-
ple laid down by the Loid Chancellor, when he re-
fused to grant an injunction to Mr. Lawrence, whose
work was couched in scientific language, read only
by scientific persons, and consequently much less cal-
culated to do mischief than the present publication,
which was clothed in all the beautiful language of
the first but most immoral Poet of the age, and which
mask its approaches in a manner the most calculated'
to make an impression on the youthful imaginatioa,-
while, from the easy style of the versification, that
impression was not likely to be soon effaced. The
defendant concluded by thanking his Honour for his
indulgence, and requesting him to read over the whole
of the work, when he was sure he would perceive that
there was no ground for the present injunction.-
Ms. WALerteLD said, that he should not occupy
the attention of the Court very long in replying to
the strong language which the defendant had applied
to the work of his client. lie had complained of its
immoral and licentious tendency; but there was no-
thing, hb submitted, even in the passages which had
been selected, to justify such ithatte. if the justice
of the accusation trete srdetted 'in this instance.,
there was no Work 'of imagfnaliein, no play, co;
romance, in the English languake,ialstch would not
becqually liable to imputation. Hi wou'd grant that,
in reacting tliii ircA, as in reading any other work of,
the lighter kind, an iropnre and pentient imagina-
t Would be:ain't° discover Meanings and detect
Thirendos which an inndttnt aid-Wellzeihreated mind
would be totally uncbtistibus Of. • As a proof of this,
lie would ask any pertain to tattettPitte Most inoffen-1
sive of our Modern sonks-jg Wifflift etude of Edin-
boro' Tinen;" for airorie, tang `sat, if ire could not
distort the meaning of that prodaction to snniething'
just as bad is was 'attempted to be gathered from the',
dream of Duda, 'and the same Mindiha/ Would 'sari
the one was corrupt, would Aett'helitite to pronounck
that the other ought' not to We-read. The rule hid'
down was, that the wurk Thirst be-of that Criminal
tendency which aJudge, charging a Jury upon a cri=
minal prosecution, would pronounce to be libellous.
The Learned Counsel then quoted cases, and entered
at great length into a vindication of the work before
the Court, strongly contending that the injunction
ought not to be dissolved.
The VICE-CHANCELLOR said, the case was one of
'great importance, and, as he had nor devoted his
-attention much to the subject, he feared he should be
'Obliged to take some time for decision. He wished
'to know if Mr. Wakefield had been able.to.diScover
any precedents in support df his ittgatnint"? ' •
Mr. WA K ELD said he had looked Very diligently,
but had not been able to find any exactly in 'point.
After some further conversation bete/eta MtlYike-
field and his Honour, •
The VICE-CHANCELLOR said, le feared he should
be obliged to send the matter 'to a Coat of Law_ in
the first instance, but he 'Would previously 'conSulesa4ll
the Lord Chancellor as to the best course W pUritte.;
and, after giving the subject the fullest consideration,
lie would give his judgment on a future day.
The case is thetelore at present undecided.