The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-12-17 00:00:00

LITERARY NOTICES

(SECOND NOTICE.)
tr Poems: By Chas. Swain. J.Walms..

The Mind, and oth

ice of this very charming poem, We
now turn to •the third part, which opens with stanzas upon
tion and Fancy." An allusion to the spirituality

ley, Liverpool

'esume our n

of the fai

.mythology is very graceful :

From the bright chambei of the vestal rose,
No more the fairies to their revels bound :
The lily's ivory halls no more disclose
Their elfin tribe—nor fays with goss'mer crowned '
Slow float on silver blossoms to the ground :
No more-we hear their viewless minstrels play,
As when in emerald rings they danced around:
The vision and the grace hhve left our day,
i's fairy world passed with its youth away !

described Ar

of flowers upon the imagination is sweetly
ng others of merit, we find the following :

Haveynot the flowers a language? Speak, young rose!
Oak, bashful sister of the footless dell!
,ng loves, thy sheet regards disclose.
! for many a legend keep'st thou well :
of Wars—crusading knights who fell,
trade the minister their latest sighs!
Speak, gray-haired daisy—ancient printrave, tell!
Ye vernal harps ! ve-syNan harmonies!

Oh, spea
Old tales

Speik, poets of the fields! rapt gazers on the skies !
The following stanza must paint to the " mind's eye" a
perfect Claude-like scene=just such a picture as Wilson
would have given us to illustrate the passage :

rid Natu

_.cis quiet pathways deep,
a flowery page together read :
How ocean-like the billowy branches sweep!
glOom is just the light we need ;
`awns—how silently they feed!
d statue-like—half life, half dream !
wood-dove, like a spirit freed;
rams now a swan comes sailing up the stream,
And o'er the waters dark floats like the morning beam.
v.,ture's works upon the mind is shewn

And the your; f

mounts t

the sub

he ,write

mark him

enth, nineteenth, and twentieth stanzas. On
e the poet soars in elevated language:

with, an enthusiastic feeling upon its progress

The elements most subtle in their range,
Fire,—water,—are thy servants ; and the air—
The boundless air obeys thee !—thou canst change
The barren dales of earth, to valleys fair !
Touch the bleak waste, and leave a garden there !
From stagnant marshes drain the vernal rill ;
Give to confusion, beauty !—and repair
The scathe of years with grace-directed skill ;
Even from noxious herbs the dews of life distil!
The appearance of a ship in full sail is beautifully described
—these stanzas, especially the first, we account as peculiarly
graceful.

A. glorious object breasts the stately main
A winged wonder of the sunny air
With loveliness to make a seraph vain,—
With strength the armament of kings to bear ;
To front the tempest in his treacherous lair,
And dash the ruin, smili from her wings !
Oh gaze upon her, looks she'not most fair
Of all terrestrial, perishable things,
Save only that which from the eternal Godhead springs ?
Onward to distant climes—romantic lands—
Where'er the glowing waves of ocean roll,
The queenly ship conveys her wide commands
From realm to realmv—from pole to utmost pole—
Reckless of danger—vanquishing control—
She seems the agent of a throne divine
A living creature with a dauntless soul,— •
A for 6 in which the finer powers combine,
And, Science, this great gift—this noble work is thine !
Upon the subject of commerce, Charles Swain shows his
whereabout " His residence in Manchester could not fail to
give him a reverence for Watt, and inspire a verse for the
loom." The following may be supposed to describe the
013 steam-engine—and Watt the parent of the
mighty creature.

Wintry and pale the gray-eyed Day awoke
And drew the cloudy curtains of his sleep;
Dawn—like a smile—upon the cold town broke,—
The footless pavement—and the silence deep :
Yet there watch'd One who ceaseless thought did keep
Upon the movement of an iron rod ;
As though fame, power, and fortune, at one leap
Would reach the spot that pale mechanic trod,—
Were—where his Engine moved like some orgauic-godl—

guette which heads this part is as a sweet view of a
h rocks water, and figures, by Greatbach, from a

urth and concluding part, we find the Mind meta-

ally considered—

norninz Wind that lingers o'er the rose,—
with the willow,—or the harp-string finds,—
s perfume,—music,—grace ;—but where are those
d say grace, perfume, music—were the Winds?
e• there agencies of many kinds
ng intelligence by thousand ways ?•
mcy, taste, and feelirig,—are the Mind's
gencv is but

Over our s

e wind that plays
pirit's chords ; and nature's law obeys !
e egisode of " Knox before the Lords of the Cougrega-

s powerf

ritten. Mr. Swain has given a vivid

picture of that extraordinary scene—wherein Knox defied
Hamilton to his teeth, although threatened with instant death,
iersisted in preaching his doctrines. It is given in a
.otestant spirit. The influence Of the Sabbath is shown
intentness rod fervour that greatly enhances, in our
1, the character of this poem, and places the author in
A Sabbath Morning is feelingly described.

true Pr

at Sea is thus mentioned-

rrayer on the waters--o'er the wintry Sea,
ilrliere, like a Spire, the, lonely mast appears,
Lifting the Seaman's thoughts to Deity !
Prayer on the waters! Prayer to Him who hears
All human wrongs—all human sorrow cheers ;
Prayer, the best anchor of a soul deprest
Though sunk in doubt, the shipwreck'd spirit fears
The grave to-come, with horrors unconfest ;
A shall that anchor save,-clasped to a drowning breast
Alorn„Noun, or Eve—oh Sea! solemn or wild,
1 list the myriad echoes of thy tongue—
'l), first low matin to the morning mild,
• chorus to the Son God deep and strong,
~,,,ely vesper to the starry throng !-
-try of waters—blending free
race nd
_,k; thoughts of melodies to besong—
thy sounding shore, thou reverential Sea !

;nies of beaut

ioubt whether two finer stanzas on thesa;l;;;ct can be
language. The following on " Love"
We have often admired Knowles's de-
This is equal to any of his ; that is

!e ;1y written,

Lcti cuce what it is to love ! •
It is to build with human:thoughts a shrine,
Where Hope sits brooding liked beauteous dove;
Time•sectus yozex g —and Life a thing diviue..
All tastes—ail pleasures—all desires combine
To consecrate this sanctuary of bliss.
'Above—the stars in shromiless beauty shine,—
Around—the streams their flowery wargio6
And ifthere!s heaven on earth, that heaven is surely this.
The episode, of which the aboVe is a pot tion, alludes to the
death of a young maid. The following is gracefully given—

Where.

And, oh ! that wreath—the last her sister twined— ,
Whose heart-shaped leaves, slow falling, seetn'd to say
Thus shall the friends forsake thee—left behind,—
Thus pass thy memory froai'their souls away :
Orr but in transient thought, unlovely, stray,
Like a poor flower that welcomeless Appears
Bat, no, she wronged. thew ;, where they used to play,
Oh, many yet would speak of her with tears;
and think of all her love, her truth, in those gone years

uo concludes NKth en " Apostrophe tv the SW a

ludea Or

Salvation !• bid the earth resume the sound,
•
Sing it—ye forests—lift your boughs in song.
And thou—vast ocean—to thine utmost bound—
Swell the bright tidings of the Cross along.
And you—ye giant mountains—with a tongue
Majistic as the thunder harp above,
Sound forth Salvation to the world's wide throng !
Again the ark is saved—by Christ—the Dove !--.7
And mind redeemed through God's almighty endless love!

We have now gone through this poem arid pointed out
what we consider to be the best stanzas in it, not that we
have given them as the best—or that the rest are inferior to
them—but as the best for our purpose—that of showing the
construction and quality of the production altogether. It will
be seen that the poem is one possessing extraordinary merit,
in a literary point of view, and an acquisition to 'the library.
We have gone into it at some length, because at this period
there is really a dearth of works of this description, and
standing in merit. The miscellaneous poems we shall re-
serve for another number.

Smallwood's Magazine. Smallwood, Bond-street, London.
`• M iss Muckleston's Pic Nic Party" commences the num-
ber. The story opens with the longest-winded paragraph we
have met with in the course of our reading. Ilhe subject is
a description of Mount Edgecumbe. Dr. Shepherd's inte-
resting and valuable " History of Venice" reaches the 9th
chapter. " The Prisoner of the Palais Royal" is concluded.
It shows that a man may see plenty of the world, and be
prosperous—after a fashion—while living in a very small
space. The paper upon " Milton" contains many curious
anecdotes of him and his family. " A Summer in Germany"
is a silly story—horribly feminine and sloppy. " The Wolf,"
a Norwegian tale, is not much better. "The Happiest
Days of my Life" is another maudlin contribution. The
extract from " Old Harry's Scrap Book" presents us
with Fitzfireball's "Devil's Stork." We are happy to find
it concluded. " The Impenitent" is continued. We have
sat liked this story from the commencement, and it ha :not
improved upon acquaintance. So much for the prose, which
we regret to say is far below the standard of excellence in
periodical literature. The poetry consists of an Italian ode,
by Gabriel Rossetti. Mrs. James Morris contributes a grace-
ful sonnet on " Friendship," and Mr. Morris a clever poem
•ntitlod " The Birth of Muaiu." " Tho Birthday," by
Charles Lewis, is of a Melancholy cast ; the subject, a widow
lamenting for her deceased lord• on his birthday. The
" Stanzas for Musio" would be found very unsuitable for the
purpose. " The Perjured Knight" is sad stuff. We really
regret to see the mlgazine so badly supplied. We have been
hitherto pleased with its contents. Mr. Smallwood must
bestir himself for the next number. The review of Madame
Laffarge's nasty book is well written. Madame is cut up
into ribbons. The colonial review does not contain much ;
the most interesting article is on the subject of Assam tea.