The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-03-13 00:00:00

(For the Liverpool Standard.)
Though Falsehood be an inmate of thy heart,
For once thou bast forgot the liar's art
Art did I call it ? Such it well may be
To others, but 'tis natural to thee ;
And only in those moments rare, when Truth
Wonders to find an echo in thy mouth,
Art aids thy labour, and, with effort high,
Enables thee to curb the native lie :
The native lie back to thy bosom's core
Returns, and, leaguing with a thousand more,
Too potent for restraint, they utterance gain,
And Falsehood re-asserts her abject reign.
E'en veriest facts, heard from such lips as thine,
Seem but the dross of Fiction's foulest mine ;
So lamely dost thou dare the unwonted task—
Such large credulity thy speeches ask !
Yes, I can well believe that thou couldst view,
With eyes unmoistened by the tender dew
Of Nature, scenes that all the tears should claim
Of those who bear a husband's, father's name.
A widower twice, the funerals of thy mates
Pained not thy gaze ; nor could the ruthless fates,
Which gave thy firstborn to an early,tomb,
Make tbee acquainted with the mourner's gloom ;
And thou couldst witness, with a calm as base,
The same dark portal close o'er all thy race,—
Conscious that scarce a mockery of woe
Can seem to mourn when thou art couched below :
Not he, the touch of whose heaven-gifted wand
Could fountains from the desert rock command,—
Not Israel's chief owned such high potency,
To work a weeping miracle in thee!
Thus, with foul boast, it still is thine to say
Thy life had past without one troubled day ;
Thus bath thy folly, with unmeasured stride,
Somewhat outgone the vileness it could hide,
And blabbed self-satire, that each tongue confirms,
More amply keen, though couched in such brief terms,
Than if all they who scorn thee had combin'd
To paint at fullest length thy murky mind.
But as the surgeon's knife inflicts no pain
"Where gangrene is, so shalt thou still retain
Thy loathsome quiet ; armed in proof, secure
In mental rottenness, thou mayst endure
The edge of truth, and thus mankind convince
That all their justice cannot make thee wince.
Then hither turn, 0 rare and signal wretch!
Gaze on the hideous outlines of this sketch,
And, wondering at the mitigated traits,
Half thank the painter for his neutral praise,
While I rejoice that it transcends my art
To shadow forth thy Pharasaic heart.
Who shall achieve what weakly I've essay'd—
Bronze all the lights, and blacken every shade ;
Unmask each semblance of humanity,
Till all the pictur'd horror teems with thee ?
Here let some demon Raphael now display
His sombre talent, for such only may
Feel with congenial mind what they pourtray,
And stamp an image, true in every line,
Not unto human nature, but to thine.
Everton, March, 1840.

N. M. A.

LI7'ERARY NOTICES.

Blackwood's Magazine. March.

This is a truly brilliant number. The continuation of
" Ten Thousand a Year" more than justifies our previous
commendations of this exquisite picture of life. It abounds
with passages of the most affecting character. The author,
whoever he is, is destined to occupy a prominent position
among the best writers of the age. He has left Dickens and
a host of imitators at an immeasurable distance behind him.
" The Plagiarisms of S. T. Coleridge" is an article which
must have startled the literary public. The charge is abun-
dantly proved. Where, after this exposure, shall we look
fol. originality ? The " Ode on the Marriage of the Queen
of England" is worthy of the subject. We cannot pronounce
a higher encomium on any composition. The review of
" Leigh Hunt's Legend of Florence" is conceived in a ge-
nerous spirit, and ably executed. " The Nameless Man" is
a capital tale, worthy of a niche in Blackwood, which is
praise enough to satisfy any ordinary mortal. " Literature
in the Jungles" displays a rich vein of poetry and philosophy
combined. The account of " Jerusalem," with its copious
statistical details respecting the Jews, will be found highly-
interesting. " War with China, and the Opium Question,"
is well worth a careful perusal. The " Vote of Confidence
in Ministers" is a slashing political article, of which Croker
himself need not be ashamed.

Fraser's Magazine. March.
This number opens with 'an excellent essay upon " Elo-
quence." The illustrative extracts are extremely appropriate,
and are taken from Maillard, Menot, Latimer, Amyot,
Montaigne, Balzac, Bossuet, Thucydides, Milton, Jeremy
Taylor, Hooker, Chrysostom, the respective styles of which
authors are very happily contrasted. We are not sorry that
"My Irish Tutorship" has been brought to a close. Its
specimens of Irish wit are very poor and pointless. In the
" Hints for Biographers" we are furnished with many very
interesting, and not a few original anecdotes of departed
worthies. " Chess without the Chess-board" is a cleverly
written article, from the pen of one who is evidently a master
of that incomparable game. The initials we take to be those
of Walker himself. " Modern Egypt" contains much im-
portant information, conveyed in a pleasing style. The
" Epistles to the Literati" are highly amusing. One of the
best articles in this number is that headed " Scenes in the
Desert." It is fraught with romantic incident. We per-
fectly agree .vith the views propounded in " The Opium
Question and the Suspended Trade with China." The author
has deeply studied his subject, and handled it with ability.