butes of God. The "Satires" and the "Night Thoughts" of Dr. Young had, however, already proved that it was more than possible for the same mind to be engaged on topics so widely dissimilar, and his success had demonstrated that there was nothing incompatible in this diversified direction of the same poetical talents and mental energies. With this illustrious example before him, the author called forth all his powers, and sent his "Omnipresence of the Deity" into the world. On its first appearance it was seized with much avidity by various classes of readers, many of whom were no doubt actuated by very different motives. A perusal of its pages soon gave circulation to its fame, and this was followed by a demand for copies which the first impression was inadequate to supply. One edition after another has since been called for, and the eighth is now in circulation. Of this poém many of the literary journals have spoken in terms of high panegyric; and nearly all of them, favorably. It is but fair to state, that the editor of the Literary Gazette seized an early opportunity to expatiate on its excellencies.* During the subsequent editions through which the work has passed, the author has introduced some slight alterations in the construction of several lines, and imparted to others various minute and delicate touches, which, in their combined effect, have given to the whole a stronger approximation towards perfection. Additional lines are also interspersed throughout the whole, amounting to about twenty pages, but without in the least respect altering any feature of its original character. Having called his readers to witness the birth of creation, and to see how the Holy Spirit "With mighty wings outspread Dovelike, sate brooding on the vast abyss, And made it pregnant,' the author, in the following lines, invites us to contemplate the ubiquity of God: "And thus Thou wert, and art the Foun- And countless worlds around thee live and roll; "Lord of all being, where can fancy fly, "Shall guilt couch down within the cavern's And quivering, groaning, meditate her doom? rest, * We cannot here forbear quoting a specimen from each of the reviews in the London Literary Gazette of the above works of Montgomery. They show that there must either have been a difference in the merit of the two works which one could hardly believe possible in the productions of the same pen within so short a period, or that the judgment of the editor must have been influenced, in one or both cases, by something else than the intrinsic value of the work under review. In speaking of "The Age Reviewed," the Gazette of June 9, 1827, has the following remarks:-" Other bilious creatures try to spit and sputter their phlegm out in periodicals, or, at largest, in bits of pamphlets: but here we have the disease in the afflicting form of octavo, and the quantity of froth and filth has a claim to attract more medical notice, and demand from humanity more curative physic... For the maladies of alliteration and antithesis, which constitute the whole virus of his pseudo poetry, we see no hope of cure: they are not merely in, they are the system; and it would be as easy to make a Demosthenes out of a dumbwaiter, as a poet out of such garbish..... Thus we have a compound of ignorance, incomprehensible verbiage, mean abuse, nonsense, vulgarity, folly, and obscenity-altogether one of the most despicable publications that ever insulted public taste-pushed forward with a degree of egotism and assurance, which, if ever information and judgment should accrue to the writer, (a result hardly to be hoped,) must be the source of much regret and mortification to him in his maturer years."-In a review of "The Omnipresence of the Deity," the same writer, in the Literary Gazette for Feb. 2, 1828, thus speaks of that work and its author:-"We have no hesitation in ranking it in the very highest class of English Sacred Poesy. It reflects a new lustre on the name of Montgomery; and well deserves the utmost favor both of religious and poetical readers..... We most heartily recommend this extraordinary production to all the admirers of true genius..... It is indeed a magnificent and sublime composition..... Mr. M.'s temperature is of the true and high poetic tone..... He has the soul to attempt, and the capacity to reach, the nobler, the noblest, inspirations of the Muse." blast, How did Thy presence smite all Israel's eye! How dreadful were the gleams of Deity! "There is a voiceless eloquence on earth, Telling of Him who gave her wonders birth; And long may I remain th' adoring child Of nature's majesty, sublime or wild; Hill, flood, and forest, mountain, rock, and sea, All take their terrors and their charms from Thee,- From Thee, whose hidden but supreme control Moves through the world, a universal soul." After surveying the beauties of nature with which our earth is richly adorned, and the sublimer spectacles which it occasionally presents to view, and discovering that the "mercyfountains of Divinity stream through all," he thus directs his contemplation to the starry heavens : "Now turn from earth to yonder glorious sky, Th' imagin'd dwelling-place of Deity!" Ye quenchless stars! so eloquently bright, Untroubled sentries of the shadowy night, While half the world is lapp'd in downy dreams, And round the lattice creep your midnight beams, How sweet to gaze upon your placid eyes, "And when, oblivious of the world, we stray No stormy murmurs roll upon the waves. A dizzy chain of yellow lustre plays, strand : Cent'ries have glided o'er the balanc'd earth, Still, yon sky-beacons keep a dimless glare, And king and kingdom from their pride are Sublimely calm, they run their bright career, In speaking of man's immortality, the author, in the following extract, inquires how, if this doctrine is not true, we are to account for the high aspirations of the soul. "And shall the soul, the fount of reason, die, pire ? Then why were godlike aspirations given, These quotations will give to those of our readers who have not read the volume from which they are taken, a better idea of its nature and merits than any remarks we could make. Faults may be detected in these specimens, and throughout the work; but we think the candid reader will agree with us that they are such as almost necessarily belong to the early years of the author, and are infinitely more than atoned for by the genius and beauty with which they are accompanied. In May, 1828, but four months after the appearance of his "Omnipresence of the Deity," Mr. Montgomery came again before the public as the author of a work of a very different character, entitled, "The Puffiad: a Satire." The object of the author in The lull'd winds, too, are sleeping in their this poem seems to have been to at caves, tack the practice of Puffing, and its professors, particularly those in the literary line, against whom he pours out a flood of wrath. The charges of being too personal in his attacks on eminent individuals, of using mean comparisons, and coarse and vituperative language, were preferred against him by more than one periodical journal; and we must give it as our opinion, that although there are many clever passages in the poem, the Puffiad was not worthy of the high fame which its author had so recently and deservedly acquired. We can only quote the following lines, in which Mr. M. speaks in no very flattering terms of his contemporary poets. create so much surprise as his "Omnipresence of the Deity," although, as a whole, in no degree inferior to that work; for the genius and strength of talent displayed in it were not so unexpected, the perusal of the former having given its readers a knowledge of what the author was capable in treating of subjects which require that the Poet should "Tread on shadowy ground, sink Deep-and aloft ascending, breathe in worlds To which the heaven of heavens is but a veil." As a review of this volume has already been published in the Atheneum,* it will be unnecessary at present to do more than select a few short "Like a mix'd herd of pigs, the sons of extracts. From the fate of Genius rhyme, Methinks I see them up Parnassus climb: Another, half between a grunt and groan, She drivels nonsense whensoe'er he choose; "And round him, when he takes his quill in What viewless, trash-inspiring Spirits stand! And nimble Nonsense cackling as she goes! In October, 1828, Mr. M. again appeared in the field in which he had previously reaped so rich a harvest of fame-that of Sacred Poetry. The work which he now presented to the public consisted of four poems,-"A Universal Prayer; Death; a Vision of Heaven; and a Vision of Hell," and two minor pieces: the whole in blank This volume was well received by the public. It did not indeed verse. we quote a portion, as an example "To have thy glory mapp'd upon the chart "Romantic boy! ambition is thy curse; The grave will hold thee and thy buried hopes. To feeling hearts, all gifted though they be, And that fierce rack on which a faithless world * See page 240, vol. 1. O that mine eye could pierce yon azure cope! Thus stirred the daring thought; and while it warm'd Within, a trance like heavenly music stole Of youth, in manhood's more imposing cares. He recognises Milton in the celes- That may administer to unborn time, tial regions; but, "Fairest of all fair visions seen above, Remember'd loves and unforgotten friends Were recognised again! Along a mead Of bright immensity I saw them stray; Not anguish-worn, or rack'd with inward fears, But shining in the beauty of the bless'd :Oh! ye in life so loved, in death so mourned! How oft affection through the desart world Delights to track ye where your feet have trod, Thro' fav'rite walks, or fancy-haunted bowers! On twilight breezes wing your voices? or In fairy music fraught with infant years, Are echoes woven from your hymns above? In mournful days and melancholy hours We think of you: we shrine ye in the stars, And recreate ye in celestial dreams!" We must quote one eloquent burst of personal feeling. "How oft,-be witness, Guardian of our days! In noons of young delight, while o'er the down, Humming like bees, my happy playmates roam'd, I loved on high and hoary crag to muse, "And now, And tell some lofty soul how I have lived What need of any panegyric, after quoting passages like these? From the preceding sketch it will be seen that Mr. Montgomery is still a very young man. Through a train of favorable circumstances, but more by intrinsic merit, he has written himself into reputation; we hope he will have the prudence not to write himself out of it. We would strongly caution him against venturing his chabeen less successful would rejoice at racter for trifles. Many who have his downfall, and even lend a helping hand to accomplish his overthrow. The pinnacle to which he is elevated is hazardous in the extreme.-We must say of him, in conclusion, and it is his most encouraging praise, that we think him capable of much more than he has done : he has feelings that require to be cultivated by thoughts, -there are high models for him to emulate, and a store of years that may be sown for golden harvest ;—and our parting advice is, "While we commend you for the present, let your own hopes dwell upon the future,-for futurity is the poet's best heritage." THE SPLENDID ANNUAL. [The following humorous description of the pleasures and pains attending an elevation to, and fall from, rank and power, is by the author of " Sayings and Doings.' It is from the July number of a monthly journal intended as a continuation of the Anniversary," an Annual, which last year ranked among the first of the many elegant volumes of the same character. Mr. Scropps says, in his introduc 66 tion, that having heard this work called a splendid annual, he is induced to publish in its pages his own history, hoping for sympathy from its readers, seeing that he has been a SPLENDID ANNUAL" himself.] My name is Scropps-I am an Alderman-I was Sheriff-I have been Lord Mayor-and the three great eras of my existence were the year of my shrievalty, the year of my mayoralty, and the year after it. Until I had passed through this ordeal I had no conception of the extremes of happiness and wretchedness to which a human being may be carried, nor ever believed that society presented to its members, an eminence so exalted as that which I once touched, or imagined a fall so great as that which I experienced. I came originally from that place to which persons of bad character are said to be sent-I mean Coventry, where my father for many years contributed his share to the success of parliamentary candidates, the happiness of new married couples, and even the gratification of ambitious courtiers, by taking part in the manufacture of ribands for election cockades, wedding favors, and cordons of chivalry; but trade failed, and, like his betters, he became bankrupt, but, unlike his betters, without any consequent advantage to himself; and I, at the age of fifteen, was thrown upon the world with nothing but a strong constitution, a moderate education, and fifteen shillings and eleven pence three farthings in my pocket. With these qualifications I started from my native town on a pedestrian excursion to London; and although I fell into none of those romantic adventures of which I had read at school, I met with more kindness than the world generally gets credit for, and on the fourth day after my departure, having slept soundly, if not magnificently, every night, and eaten with an appetite which my mode of travelling was admirably calculated to stimulate, reached the great metropolis, having preserved of my patrimony no less a sum than nine shillings and seven pence. The bells of one of the churches in the city were ringing merrily as I descended the heights of Islington; and were it not that my patronymic Scropps never could, under the most improved system of campanology, be jingled into anything harmonious, I have no doubt I, like my great pre decessor Whittington, might have heard in that peal a prediction of my future exaltation; certain it is I did not; and, wearied with my journey, I took up my lodging for the night at a very humble house near Smithfield, to which I had been kindly recommended by the driver of a return postchaise, of whose liberal offer of the moiety of his bar to town I had availed myself at Barnet. a As it is not my intention to deduce moral from my progress in the world at this period of my life, I need not here dilate upon the good policy of honesty, or the advantages of temperance and perseverance, by which I worked my way upwards, until after meriting the confidence of an excellent master, I found myself enjoying it fully. To his business I succeeded at his death, having several years before, with his sanction, married a young and deserving woman, about my own age, of whose prudence and skill in household matters I had long had a daily experience. In the subordinate character of his sole domestic servant, in which she figured when I first knew her, she had but few opportunities of displaying her intellectual qualities, but when she rose in the world, and felt the cheering influence of prosperity, her mind, like a balloon soaring into regions where the bright sun beams on it, expanded, and she became, as she remains, the kind unsophisticated partner of my sorrows and my pleasures, the friend of my heart, and the guiding star of my destinies. To be brief, Providence blessed my efforts and increased my means; I became a wholesale dealer in everything, from barrels of gunpowder down to pickled herrings; in the civic acceptation of the word I was a merchant, amongst the vulgar I am called a drysalter. I accumulated wealth; with my fortune my family also grew, and one male Scropps, and four female ditto, grace my board at least once in every week; for I hold it an article of faith to have a sirloin of roasted beef upon my table on Sun |