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Foetry.

[VOL. 2.

POETRY.

From the Literary Gazette.

THE VISION OF SPECKBACHR.*

BY MRS. MARY ROLLS.

D Dash'd the torrent's foaming tide;

OWN lofty Iser's rugged side,

Whilst each huge o'erhanging rock
Trembled 'neath the ceaseless shock;
Black and lone the valley lay,
Clos'd the last---the fatal day!
Cold and dead the generous steed,
Ceas'd to moan, and ceas'd to bleed!
Cold, beside him on the ground,
Gor'd by many a ghastly wound,
Outstretch'd in death, the warriors brave
Press'd that earth they fought to save!
Whilst each hard and toil-strung hand,
Still firmly grasp'd the blood-stain'd brand:
Freedom's sons !---ye bravely died,
Tyrol's latest---noblest---pride!

On bed of fern and dark heath laid,
Beneath the deep worn cavern's shade,---
Where, scarce the chamois dares to climb,
O'er pointed crag and cliff sublime,---
Where shatter'd pines their dark arms wave,
See gallant Speckbachr !---warrior brave!---
He who, on the battle plain,

Latest fought th' oppressor's train,---
He whom, on that fatal field,
Wound nor force compelled to yield ;---
Lone, wild, fierce, throbbing in despair,
What varying pangs that bosom tear!
Till, every form of anguish past---
Deep-cold--faint stillness comes the last!
As slowly swell low broken sighs,
O'er the wild vale are cast his eyes;
Dark clouds obscure the moon's faint light,
And tempest rides the wings of night!---
Whilst torrent's roar, and mountain's storm,
A wild, discordant descant form!

With quick short breath, why starts the
brave?

What cold, pale arm is seen to wave ?---
To point adown the lonely dell,
Where lie the brave, who nobly fell?
What gleaming light quick flashes round ?---
What clash of arms---what trumpet's sound?
That ancient castle, which of yore
Austria's imperial banner bore,
Rises anew ---each tower and keep,
High above the lofty steep,

Shows its proud head, and mocks the hand,
Whose demon rage their ruin plann'd !---

*Speckbachr and Hofer, the celebrated Tyrolese Chiefs, having long defended their beloved country against the attacks of the French, at length sustained a defeat attended with dreadful slaughter. Hofer was shot by the order of Buonaparte, and Speckbachr remained concealed in a cavern on Mount Iser, until the retreat of the enemy. It must be gratifying to every true patriot to know, that on the restoration of the Tyrol to the Austrian Government, the Emperor Francis settled an estate on the gallant Speckbachr and the children of his deceased compatriot, which the former now cultivates for their joint benefit.

Whilst, for the eagle banner's pride, Bright silvery flame is spreading wide ;-A brighter banner,---sent by heaven,--Than e'er by mortal hand was given ! High o'er the tower it proudly waves, And mortal force, and vengeance braves! O'er the dark mountain's rugged side, Pours a scene of martial pride ;--Trumpets' sound, and warriors' cry, Float along the midnight sky; Pass the steeds in swift career--Nods the helm, and gleams the spear--Swells the loud triumphant strain :-----"Ye, who fell on battle's plain ! Freedom's sons !---awake !---arise! Your fathers' spirits, from the skies, Descend once more to hail the day, That sweeps your country's scourge away! His hour is past !---his day is o'er !--Low he falls,---to rise no more! Thou,---who mourn'st thy country low, Thou shalt share the glorious blow !--Tyrol, once again, shalt see, Happy-glorious---prosperous---free! Patriot !---calm thy anxious heart! Nobly, thou hast borne thy part! Brighter days shall gild thy fame, Future ages---bless thy name! -----Spirits of the good and brave! Ye who fill a glorious grave--Rise and join the awful lay! Ruin's storm shall pass away--Earth shall bloom---to peace restor❜d--Love and joy shall break the sword !" Lit. Gaz. Sept. 1817.

From the Gentleman's Magazine.

Mr. URBAN, The Times Newspaper has very deservedly introduced to public notice the Poems of KORVER, published at Berlin in May 1814. The Author was a Lieutenant in the Cavalry corps, which, under the command of Major Lutzow, distinguished itself so highly among the German partisans, and died of his wounds, shortly after one of the desperate engagements of the last year. These poems are not numerous; the stirring time allowed none of the leisure of composition; they are chiefly occasional---a bold summons to the country,---a lament over some fellowwarrior,--an outcry on the death of the King, who was for a while supposed to have perished at Bautzen. Such works compensate the grace of poetry by the higher and more impetuous influences almost inseparable from their day. No labour of imagination can give the impress, struck out at once by the might and sharpness of the actual scene. Study is cold to the whirl of thought that must have passed through the mind in that fiery and vehement trial,---every mo, ment full of lofty earnestness, the whole spirit of the man wound up to its sternest tension, the realities of hope and glory, and life and death, perpetually sweeping before the eye,---the poet not left to the feebleness of dreams and visions, but himself the soldier, himself exulting and swelli among the trumpets and the swords,---“the

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garments roll'd in blood, the thunder of the Captains, and the shouting." One of Korner's poems is a "Farewell to Life," composed on the night of June 17, 1813, while he lay desperately wounded, in a wood, without help, and "thought to die." The Preface simply mentions that the Duke of Mecklenburgh Schwerin, as a testimony of respect for this distinguished youth, desired that he should be buried in the Ducal vault; but Korner's companions in arms had already chosen a grave for him under an oak, near which, we believe, he fell. The Duke then did all that remained to princely regret, set apart the surrounding space of forty yards for his perpetual memorial, encircled it with masonry, and raised over the body a monument bearing a sword and lyre, wreathed with an oaken garland.

....

Translated from the German of Theodore Korner.

THE DEATH OF HOFER,

THE TYROLESE CHIEF.

"Treu hingst du deinem alten Fursten an."

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TOFER! in thy bold bosom glowed A stream as pure as ever flowed Beneath a prince's plume; Nor ever warrior's nobler toil, In battle for his native soil,

Shed glory round his tomb. Rous'd by thy horn from cot and fold, From forest glen, and rocky hold, With heart and eye of flame,--Like rushings of the mountain flood, Like lightning from the rifted cloud, Thy band of brothers came. And now that heart's rich tide is chill, That horn is silent on the hill,

The gallant chase is done;
Scatter'd and sunk the mountain band
Throw the lov'd rifle from their hand,
The soul of fight is gone!

But God is all.---Vain warrior-skill,
Vain the high soul, the mighty will,
Before the word of heaven :---
The helm that on the chieftain's brow
Flash'd fire against the morning's glow,
His blood may dim at ev'n.
Yet, Hofer! in that hour of ill
Thine was a brighter laurel still
Than the red field e'er gave ;
The crown, immortal Liberty
Gives to the few that dare to die
And seek her in the grave.
Who saw, as levell'd the chasseur
His deadly aim, the shade of fear
Pass o'er the hero's brow?
Who saw his dark eyes' martial gaze
Turn from the musket's volley'd blaze
That laid him calm and low?

1

ON RAUCH'S BUST OF QUEEN LOUISA OF PRUSSIA. Translated from Korner's Poems.

H Thy locks in auburn beauty pour;

OW lovely still, though now no more,

No more thine eye, of humid blue,
Beams like the star through evening dew:
Forbid alike to beam and weep,
Those orbs are clos'd in marble sleep,
Those braids in moveless marble twine;
Princess! thy throne is now thy shrine.

157

Yet, matchless as in life, the spell
Loves on that pallid lip to dwell;
And still the soul's immortal glow
Is radiant on thy dazzling brow.
Soft be thy slumbers, soft and deep,
Till start thy people from their sleep;
Till thousand beacons, blazing bright,
Shake their wild splendours on the night;
Till on the mountain-breeze's wing,
The shout of War thy Landsturm fling;
And gleams in myriad hands the sword,
So deep in old Invasion gor'd.
God is the guide !--thro' woe, thro' fear,
Rushes his chariot's high career;
God is the guide !---thro' night, thro' storm,
Speeds his resistless angel's form;
And red in many a doubtful fight,
Our fathers' swords carved out their right,
And still thro' field, and fire, and flood,
We'll seal the proud bequest with blood,
And give our babes the boon they gave,--
The glory of a Freeman's grave.
Bring, spirit, bring the splendid day,
That sees our ancient banners play:
Then shall be heard the trumpet-tone,
Where all is silent now, and love:
From forest deep, from unsunn'd vale,
Shall gleam the sudden flash of mail;
Sudden along the grey hill's side,
Shall proud and patriot squadrons ride;
Keen as his mountain eagle, there
Shall bound the fatal Tirailleur ;
There swift as wind, the dark bussar
Wheel his broad sabre for the war:
And mountain nook and cavern'd glen
Give up their hosts of marshal'd men.
Then, Form of Love! no longer sleep:
Thine be it on the gale to sweep,
With Seraph smile, with Seraph power,
To lighten on our gloomy hour,
To bid the fainting land be wise,
With wisdom from thy native skies;
Give the strong heart, the hero-will,
Angel! and yet Protectress still.

From the New Monthly Magazine.

JOY AND GRIEF.

WHO has not mark'd on infant's check,

When tears obscure his wonted smiles
How soon their home the exiles seek,
As new-born joy his grief beguiles?
Thus from the Rose's tender flower,
When beams the Sun's enliv'ning ray,
The last dear relics of the shower
The dew-drop's self is borne away.
Thus, if perchance with idle skill
Some hand should touch th' Eolian lyre,
One moment's pause the mind they fill,
Then fade, forgotten, and expire.

But should the Minstrel chance to fling
Some notes endear'd by days gone by,
The ear still listens for the string,

The bosom still returns the sigh.

Thus there are wounds which haughty pride,
Which proud disdain inflicts on man,
Tears which, as soon as shed are dried,
And griefs that live their narrow span.

As April sun, as April shower,

Alternate empire hold on high---
As fades the dew-drop from the flower,
So griefs alternate live and die,

158

But tell me ye who e'er have known
The pangs of disappointed love,
Whose bud of Hope is overblown,
What joys can your regrets remove ?
In vain shall mimic Fancy weave

A garland form'd of every flower,
In vain each op'ning blossom breathe
Some new born odour every hour.
The image of the long lost maid
Shall Memory's mirror still reveal,
The lover's vow still unrepaid,

Each wish denied that Love can feel.

For know, whate'er hath been the past,
So shall the memory of it be,
And as gay Joy's impressions last,
So also those of Misery.
August, 1817.

From the European Magazine.

ODE*

By Mr. T. CAMPBELL,

R. D.

Author of the "Pleasures of Hope," &c.

RIDE of the British Stage,

PRI

A long and last Adieu!

Whose image brought th' heroic age
Reviv'd to Fancy's view.

Like fields refresh'd with dewy light,
When the Sun smiles his last,

Thy parting presence makes more bright
Our memory of the past.
And Memory conjures feelings up,
That wine or music need not swell,

As high we lift the festal cup,

To" Kemble, Fare thee well.”
His was the spell o'er hearts,
Which only Acting lends---
The youngest of the Sister Arts,
Where all their beauty blends.
For ill can Poetry express

Full many a toue of thought sublime;
And Painting, mute and motionless,
Steels but one glance from Time.
But, by the mighty Actor brought,
Hlusion's wedded triumphs come---
Verse ceases to be airy thought,
And Sculpture to be dumb.
Time may again revive,

But ne'er efface the charm;
When Cato spoke in him alive,
Or Hotspur kindled warm.
What soul was not resign'd entire

To the deep sorrows of the Moor?
What English heart was not on fire,
With him at Agincourt?
And yet a majesty possess'd

His transport's most impetuous tone,
And to each passion of his heart
The Graces gave their zone.

High were the task---too high,
Ye conscious bosoms here,

In words to paint your memory,
Of Kemble and of Lear.

Poetry.

But who forgets that white discrowned head, Those bursts of Reason's half-extinguish'd glare,

Those tears upon Cordelia's bosom shed,
In doubt more touching than despair?

Recited after the Dinner on occasion of Mr. KEMBLE'S Retirement from the Stage.

[VOL. 2.

If 't was reality he felt---
Had Shakspeare's self amidst you been,
Friends, he had seen you melt,

And triumph'd to have seen!

And there was many an hour
Of blended kindred fame,
When Siddons' auxiliar power
And Sister Magic came.
Together at the Muse's side

Her Tragic Paragons had grown---
They were the children of her pride,
The columns of her throne.

And undivided favour ran

From heart to heart in their applause--Save for the gallantry of Man,

In lovelier Woman's cause.

Fair as some classic dome
Robust and richly grac'd,

Your Kemble's spirit was the home
Of Genius and of Taste--

Taste, like the silent dial's power,
That, when supernal light is given,
Can measure Inspiration's hour,
And tell its height in Heaven.
At once ennobled and correct,

His mind survey'd the Tragic page;
And what the Actor could effect,
The Scholar could presage.
These were his traits of worth---

And must we lose them now?

And shall the scene no more shew forth
His sternly pleasing brow ?

Alas! the moral brings a tear---
'Tis all a transient hour below,
And we that would detain thee here
Ourselves as fleetly go.

Yet shall our latest age

This parting scene review--.
Pride of the British Stage,
A long and last Adieu!

From the Monthly Magazine.
SONG,

BY HENRY NEELE.
Tune--"My Peggy is a young thing."
THE heart's a sweet but mild flow'r,
That needs a sheltering hand;
With a little care, 'twill blossom fair,
With a little care, beyond compare ;
But, oh! when once the tender bud
Has felt the nipping blast,
It may linger for a moment,

But its beauty fades at last.
If the worm, that feeds in secret,
Is at the fair flow'r's root,
The only way the foe to slay,
Is to pluck the root itself away:
So secret grief will prey upon
The fibres of the heart;
And you must tear the life away
Before you find the smart.

Then, all that grief can utter

Is wept o'er the remains,
In many a tear, as pure and clear
As ever dropt from Pity's sphere:

Yet what avails the flow'r, when once
The ground its beauties strew,
Though its wither'd leaves may glitter
With the morning's brightest dew!
Kentish-Town, June 28, 1817.

VOL. 2.]

London Literary and Philosophical Intelligence,

From the London Literary Gazette.

INFANT LOVE;

OR,

THE KISS.

And he was taller of the two,

My infant heart began to doat
Un lovely Chloe's eyes of blue.
Een then I thought her form so fair

goat,

It seem'd of more than mortal birth;
Her voice, her smile, her winning air

To nought could be compar'd on earth.
Her heart a mountain shepherd bless'd
Ere I had words to tell my love ;
Yet something in my looks express'd,
I too could fond and faithful prove.
For once she said "Go simple boy"--
And press'd upon my lips a kiss---
"You still with Love may safely toy;
Youth guarded from his pains and bliss."
At length, alas! I've reach'd that state,
When man begins to love in truth---
Where many stormy passions wait
To chase the peaceful scenes of youth.
Still Chloe's days are days of joy,
Forming her shepherd's only bliss ;

She thinks not of her loving boy---
But I remember well her kiss.
Sept. 1817.

159

A. T. P.

From the Monthly Magazine.

TO A LADY AT THE PIANO;
BY JAMES EDMESTON.

HOSE chords are the reins of my soul,
And thou dost direct me along,

Like a courser that bends to control,
Through the turnings and windings of songs
With the dance of those fingers

My spirits are glad,

But, when the sound lingers,

They droop and are sad;

For the gloom of my spirit, or summer shine,
Sorceress, follow that spell of thine!
To many a vision enwrought,

From the spindle of phantasy bright,
Those notes were the wings of my thought,
And thou hast directed their flight:
The city's rattle,

Or mead and flower;
The roar of the battle,
Or lady's bower;

Each has arisen to Fancy's eye,
While thou the enchantress sat charming by.
Aug. 1817.

INTELLIGENCE:
LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL.

turesque Tour through France, Switzerland, and part of the Netherlands, just published, will serve either to convey just notions to the fireside traveller, or the tourist who chooses to pursue the route of the author. For this last purpose, it is provided with maps of the route, on a scale of utility.

A Supplement to Junius Identified, is published consisting of fac-similes of Hand-writing

and other illustrations.

Madame de Stael's posthumous work, entitled "The French Revolution," in three octavo volumes, is about to be published. The two first volumes embrace the era from the administration of her father to the battle of Waterloo: the third is devoted to England.

boiler, and should certify his opinion of its sufficient strength, and of the security with which it might be employed to the extent proposed.

with two sufficient safety valves, one of which That every such boiler, should be provided should be inaccessible to the engine man, and the other accessible both to him and to the persons on board the packet.

That the inspector shall examine such safety valves, and shall certify what is the pressure at which such safety valves shall open, which pressure shall not exceed one-third of that by which the boiler has been proved, nor onesixth of that which, by calculation, it shall be

reckoned able to sustain.

We have great pleasure in announcing the That a penalty should be inflicted on any commencement of another of those useful col-person placing additional weight on either of lections which are honourable testimonies of the safety valves. the present general thirst of knowledge, by the title of the Oxford Encyclopædia, or Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature. It will be published in 25 parts, forming, when complete, five 4to volumes.

The regulations recommended by the Committee of the House of Commons appointed to consider of the means of preventing the mischief arising from explosion on board Steamboats are as follows:

That all steam-packets carrying passengers for hire should be registered at the port nearest the place from or to which they proceed.

That all boilers belonging to the engines by which such vessels shall be worked should be composed of wrought iron or copper.

That every boiler on board such steam-packet, should, previous to the packet being used for the conveyance of passengers, be submitted to the inspection of a skilful engineer, or other person conversant with the subject, who

Swallow Tribe, with collateral statements of Observations of the Natural History of the facts relative to their Migration, and to their brumal torpidity; and a copious table of reference to authors; illustrated by figures of which is added, a general Catalogue of Britfive species, engraved on wood by Willis: to ish Birds, with the Provincial Names for each, &c. by T. FORSTER, is just published.

The Rev. DAVID WILLIAMS will have ready for publication in the middle of September, in one volume 12mo, The Preceptor's Assistant, or School Examiner in Universal History, Science, and Literature, containing a compre hensive and interesting view of the liberal and polite Arts; 2dly, the Useful and Mechanic Arts; 3dly, the Fine Arts; 4toly, Universal History; and 5thly, Science and Literature in general,

works carrying on
Lately as three men employed on the new
t Sheerness dock-yard,

160

London Literary and Philosophical Intelligence.

ANIMAL MAGNETISM.---This quackery has gone to such a pitch upon the Continent, that "Society of Magnetism" has been formed, and a prospectus issued at Paris, of a quarterly publication of their "Memoires," at the price of eight francs a Number!!

[VOL. 2.

were descending in the diving bell, some Bridge, that Mr. Stevenson was induced, in accident occurred, and the signal to be drawn 1815 and 1816, to extend his observations to up not being understood by the men above, that river by a train of experiments from about two out of the three were unfortunately opposite to Billingsgate all the way to Gravesdrowned; the one who was saved made his end. Opposite to the gates of the London escape from under the bell, which the others Docks the waters of the Thames were found were unable to effect: as soon as recovered to be perfectly fresh throughout; at Blackthe bodies were taken to the surgery, and wall, even im spring tides, the water was means used to restore animation, but unhap- found to be only slightly saline at Woolwich pily without effect. the proportion of salt water increases, and so on to Gravesend. But the strata of salt and fresh water is less distinctly marked in the Thames than in any of those rivers in which Mr. Stevenson has hitherto had an opportunity of making observations. These inquiries he means to extend to most of the principal rivers in the kingdom. From the series of observations made at and below London Bridge, compared with the river as far up as Kew and Oxford, Mr. Stevenson is of opinion that the waters of the Thames seldom change, but are probably carried up and down with the turn of the alternate tides for an indefinite period, which, in his opinion, may be one, if not the principal cause of the extreme softness of the waters of the Thames.

The Tavistock Canal, forming a communication between the town of Tavistock and the river Tamar was opened on the 24th of June. It was commenced in 1802, and has cost about 70,000. The Duke of Bedford who is the proprietor of one eighth of the concern, has very liberally contributed to its support, by giving to the Company the whole of the land through which the canal is cut. Though its level is about 280 feet above that of the Tamar, it runs for a mile and three quarters in a tunnel cut under Morwell Down at the depth of 450 feet from the summit of the hill.

The late Mr. RICHARD LOVELL EDGEWORTH is said to have left some memoirs of his life, which will soon be given to the public.

A translation of ORFILA'S Elementary Treatise of Chemistry will shortly appear.

A gentleman of Bristol is about to publish, from authentic sources, a Narrative of the Life of Caraboo, the extraordinary female impostor, who recently appeared in the neighbourhood of that city.

The eighth Edition of Dr. Chalmers's Discourses, is now in the Press. Since February last, between 10 and 17,000 Copies of this popular work has been printed; a satisfactory indication, that in these favoured realms the spirit of piety and religion maintains a blessed ascendancy even in times of laxity, innovation, and scepticism.

At a late meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a paper by Mr. STEVENSON, Civil engineer, on the operation of the waters of the ocean and of the river Dee in the basin or harbour of Aberdeen was read. It appears that the author in the month of April 1812, with the aid of an instrument of which he exhibited a drawing, raised salt water from the bottom while the surface was quite fresh, and that he has satisfactorily ascertained that the tidal or salt waters keep in a distinct stratum or layer under the fresh water of the river Dee. This anomaly in regard to the salt and fresh waters appears in a very striking manner at Aberdeen, where the fall of the Dee is such as to cause the river waters to run down with a velocity which seems to increase as the tide rises in the harbour, and smoothes the bed of the river. These observations show that the salt water insinuates itself under the fresh, and that the river is lifted bodily upward; thus producing the regular effect of flood and ebb tide in the basin, while the river continnes to flow downward with a current which for a time seems to increase as the tide rises.

These facts with regard to the continual course of the Dee downward, present such a contrast to the operation of the waters of the Thames, as seen by a spectator from London

Mr. Stevenson has made similar experiments on the rivers Forth and Tay, and at Loch Eil, where the Caledonian Canal joins the Western Ocean. The aperture of Curran Ferry, for the tidal waters of that loch, being small compared with the surface of Loch Eil, which forms the drainage to a great extent of country, it occurred to Mr. Stevenson that the water of the surface must have less of the saline particles than that of the bottom. He accordly raised water from the surface at the anchorage off Fort William, and found it to be 1008,2; at the depth of nine fathoms, 1025,5 at the depth of 30 fathoms in the central parts of the loch, 1027,2; indicating the greater specific gravity, consequently more of the saline parts as the depth of the water is increased.

Shortly will appear a new edition of the Abridgement of Ainsworth's Latin Dictionary, revised by J. CAREY, LL. D.

Madame Genlis, of revolutionary and literary celebrity, lately retired to a Convent of Carmelites, but growing weary of solitude, she left the Convent after a few days, and returned to her family.

The favourite project of Napoleon, for improving the harbour of Dieppe, upon which undertaking more than 2,000 men were employed, until his banishment to Elba, is now renewed with spirited activity. Last Saturday 300 men were engaged, and 700 more will be employed. The Authorities at Dieppe have contracted to finish the excavations in five weeks.

The picture of DAVID, representing Capid and Psyche, has been purchased by the Count of Sommaravi, for 30,000 francs.

The Dey of Tripoli has presented the Prince Regent with such remains of antiquity as are moveable at Lebyda, which is famous for be ing the site of Carthage. The Weymouth storeship, Mr. Turner commanding, is now on her voyage thither, for the purpose of receiv ing and carrying to England those ancient monuments which are represented as highly curious, and illustrative of that once splendid capital. It is stated that the Dey has offered protection, as far as his authority extends, to any European who is willing to attempt the journey from Tripoli to Tombactoo.

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