515

Without attempting to enumerate the feveral parishes which this learned antiquary has defcribed, we fhall clofe this article with informing our readers, especially thofe who are in poffeffion of Mr. Thorpe's former curious publication, the Registrum Roffenfe, that the prefent volume contains corrections of feveral miftakes which had unavoidably crept into that work.

The plates, in number 56, are views of churches, alms-houses, remains of antiquities, monuments, &c. and are neatly engraved. The frontispiece exhibits a reported ftrong likeness of Mr. Thorpe, at the age of feventy-two.

ART. X. The Athenaid. A Poem, by the Author of Leonidas. 12mo. 3 Vols. 9 s. fewed. Cadell. 1788.

M

R. Glover's poetical abilities are already well known. His Leonidas, though not in the higheft clafs of Epic Poems, had, at its first publication, many admirers; and, in spite of its profaic numbers, is ftill perufed with pleasure. The Athenaid, which is a fequel to Leonidas *, is a pofthumous piece, prefented to the world by the Author's daughter, Mrs. Halfay. Though death prevented Mr. Glover from giving this work his laft revifal, it is not altogether unworthy of his pen: It is, indeed, fo much a counterpart to Leonidas, though ftill more profaic, as to fuperfede the neceffity of a particular critique. He who admires the bold fpirit of Liberty, and the generous, tender, and noble fentiments of the former poem, will be pleased to find the fame characteristics in the prefent work, Those who think Leonidas defective in its machinery and incident, and too abrupt and laconic in the structure of its periods to fuit the melody of verfe, will difcover the fame imperfections in the fequel. We fhall therefore leave the Athenaid on the fame fhelf with Leonidas, after giving our readers a fpecimen of the work in the following epifodical tale, related (to The miftocles) by an unfortunate youth;

Then Hyacinthus: Mighty chief, recal

Thy first fucceffes, when Euboea's maids
Saw from her hores Barbarian pendents low'r'd

To thine, and grateful pluck'd the flow'rs of May
To drefs in chaplets thy victorious deck.

Then, at thy gen'rous inftigation fir'd,
The men of Oreus from their walls expell'd
Curit Demonax, their tyrant. On a day,
Ah! fource of thort delight, of lasting pain!
I from the labour of a tedious chace,
O'erfpent by thirst and heat, a forest gain'd,
A rill, meandring to a green recefs,

I track'd; my wonder faw a damfel there

In fumptuous vesture, couch'd on fragrant tufts

The death of great Leonidas aveng'd

By Attic virtue'

Of

Of camomile, amid furrounding flow'rs
Repofing. Tall, erect, a figure ftern
Was nigh; all fable on his head and brow,
Above his lip, and fhadowing his cheeks
The hair was brifled; fierce, but frank his eye
A grim fidelity reveal'd; his belt
Suftain'd a fabre; from a quiver full
On fight of me an arrow keen he drew,
A well-ftrung bow prefented, my approach
Forbidding loudly. She, upftarting, wak'd
My afpect, furely gentle when I first
Beheld Cleora, more of hope than fear
Infpir'd; the crav'd protection-What, ye fates!
Was my protection-O fuperior man,

Can thy fublimity of foul endure

My tedious anguifh! Interpofing mild

Th' Athenian here: Take time, give forrow vent,
My Hyacinthus, I forbid not tears.

He now purfues: her fuppliant hands she rais'd,
To me aftonish'd, hearing from her lips,
That Demonax was author of her days.
Amid the tumult his expulfion caus'd,
She, from a rural palace, where he stor'd
Well known to her a treasure, with a flave
In faith approv'd, with gold and gems of price
Efcap'd. All night on fleeteft fteeds they rode,
Nor knew what hofpitable roof to feek.

My father's fifter, Glaucé, close behind.
This fane of Juno dwelt, her priestess pure,
My kindest parent. To her roof I brought-
O Glaucé what-O deareft, most rever'd!
To thee I brought Cleora! Horror pale
Now blanch'd his vifage, fhook his loos'ning joints,
Congeal'd his tongue, and rais'd his rigid hair.
Th' Athenian calm and filent waits to hear
The reaffum'd narration. O ye flow'rs,
How were ye fragrant! forth in tranfport wild
Burts Hyacinthus: O embow'ring woods,

How foft your fhade's refreshment! Founts and rills

How sweet your cadence, while I won the hand
Of my Cleora to the nuptial tie,

By fpotlefs vows before thy image bound,

O goddefs hymeneal! O what hours

Of happiness untainted, dear efpous'd,

Did we poffefs! kind Glaucé fmil'd on both.
The earliest birds of morning to her voice
Of benediction fung; the gracious found
Our evening heard; content our pillow fmooth'd.
Ev'n Oxus, fo Cleora's flave was nam'd,
Of Sacian birth, with grim delight and zeal
Anticipates our will. My nuptials known
Brings down my father, whofe refentment warm
Th' affinity with Demonax reproves,
A helpless vagabond, a hopeless wretch;

For

For now my fword at Salamis prevail'd,
This form Cleora calm'd; the gen'rous fair
Before father laid her dazzling gems;

my

She gave, he took them all; return'd content;
Left us too happy in exhauftlefs ftores

Of love for envious fate to leave unspoil'd.

Meantime no rumour pierc'd our tranquil bow'r,
That Demonax in Oreus was replac'd;
That he two golden talents to the hand,
Which should reftore Cleora, had proclaim'd,
To me was all unknown. Two moons complete
Have spent their periods fince one evening late
Nicomachus my prefence fwift requir'd,
A dying mother to embrace. By morn
I gain'd Caryftus; by the clofe of day
A tender parent on my breaft expir'd.
An agitation unexpected fhook

My father's bofom as I took farewell.
On my return- I can no more

Yes, yes,

Dwell on each hideous circumftance, my tongue;

With horror tear my heartstrings till they burft:
Poor Hyacinthus hath no cure but death.

The fun was broad at noon; my recent lofs
Lamenting, yet affwaging by the joy
To fee Cleora foon, ne'er left before,
(A tedious interval to me) I reach'd

My home, th' abode of Glaucé. Clos'd, the door
Forbids my paffage; to repeated calls

No voice replies: two villagers pafs by,
Who at my clamours help to force my way.
I pafs one chamber; ftrangled on the floor,
Two damfel-minifters of Juno lie.

I hurry on; a fecond, where my wife
Was in my abfence to partake the couch
Of Glaucé, fhews that righteous woman dead.
The dear impreffion where Cleora's limbs
Sleep had embrac'd, I faw, the only trace
Of her, the laft, thefe eyes fhall e'er behold.
Her name my accents ftrong in frenzy found:
Cleora makes no anfwer. Next I fly
From place to place; on Sacian Oxus call:
He is not there. A lethargy benumbs
My languid members. In a neighb'ring hut,
Lodg'd by the careful peafants, I awake,
Infenfible to knowledge cf my ftate.
The direful tidings from Caryftus rouse

My friends; Nicanor to my father's home.

Tranfports me. Ling'ring, torpid I confum'd

Sev'n moons fucceffive; when too vig'rous youth

Recall'd my ftrength and memory to curfe

Health, fenfe, and thought. My rafhnefs would have fought

Cleora ev'n in Oreus, there have fac'd

The homicide her fire; forbid, with-held,

Nicanor

Nicanor I deputed. When I march'd

To bid thee welcome, on the way I met

That friend return'd-Perfift, my falt'ring tongue,
Rehearse his tidings; pitying Heav'n may close
Thy narrative in death-The Sacian flave
Produc'd Cleora to her favage fire;
So fame reports, all Oreus fo believes.
But this is trivial to the tragic scene

Which all beheld. Her hand the tyrant doom'd
To Mindarus, a Perfian Lord, the chief
Of his auxiliar guard; but fhe refus'd,

And own'd our union, which her pregnant frait
Of love too well confirm'd. The monfter, blind
With mad'ning fury, inftantly decreed

That deadlieft poifon through thofe beauteous lips
Should choak the fprings of life. My weeping friend
Saw her pale reliques on the fun'ral pyre.

I am not mad-ev'n that relief the gods
Deny me. All my story I have told,
Been accurate on horror to provoke
The stroke of death, yet live. . .'

Several other parts of this poem will be found equally interefting and indeed, the general character of the piece leans toward the tender, rather than the fublime,

ART. XI. A Series of Adventures in the Courfe of a Voyage up the Red Sea, on the Coafts of Arabia and Egypt; and of a Route through the Defarts of Thebais, in the Year 1777. With a Supplement of a Voyage from Venice to Latichea; and of a Route through the Deferts of Arabia, by Aleppo, Bagdad, and the Tygris, to Bufrah; in the Years 1780 and 1781; in a Letter to a Lady. By Eyles Irwin, Efq. in the Service of the Hon. the Eaft India Company. Illuftrated with Maps and Cuts. The third Edition. 2 Vol. 8vo. 12s. Boards. DodЛley. 1787.

A

S we have already given an account of Mr. Irwin's Voyage up the Red Sea, and of his route through the Defarts of Thebais, in 1777, we fhall now confine our obfervations to the fupplement which is added to this edition, and which contains the description of a Journey from Europe to the mouth of the Euphrates.

After the many hardships that Mr. Irwin underwent, and the numerous dangers to which he was expofed, during his journey from the Eaft Indies, it required no small share of refolution to re-encounter thofe difficulties which are unavoidable in croffing the Defarts of Arabia, and which he had fufficiently experienced in his former journey.

*See Rev. Vol. Ixiii. p. 401.

Mr.

Mr. Irwin's fupplement commences with the journal of his travels from Venice. He had been unexpectedly detained in London until the month of October was far advanced, and the difpatches which he had in charge from the Eaft India Company were too important to admit of much delay. The winter was alfo approaching, fo that he was apprehenfive of the ftorms that might be expected in that part of the Mediterranean which he was to pass, for he intended to embark in the Gulph of Venice, for Latichea in Syria.

From Oftend to Venice, he and his copartner in the expedition (Mr. Smyth) travelled in eleven days, fo that he had no opportunity of particularly obferving the variety of objects which Flanders and Germany presented to his view.

Nov. 14, they embarked on board a trabacula with Major Nicol, who joined them at Venice, in order to return to his regiment in Bengal. The veffel had not been long at fea before a violent tempeft arofe, and the mafter announced to his paffengers, who were fea- fick below, the utter impoffibility of faving the fhip. The ignorance of the Sclavonian failors was as remarkable as their extreme pufillanimity and villainy. The matter of the ship, with his crew, got into the boat, and left Mr. Irwin, his fervant, Mr. Smyth, and the Major, to the mercy of the ftorm, in which they remained for 24 hours, when the hip's crew returned with the boat, and brought the four paffengers on fhore on an island about 60 miles weft from Venice, at eight o'clock the next evening. Our travellers returned to Venice, and, after bringing the Sclavonian failors to juftice, procured a paffage in another fhip, which carried them directly to Latichea. It was not, however, till the 12th of December that they left Venice; fo that Mr. Irwin having leifure to see much of that city, has given his readers an entertaining account of it, and of its inhabitants.

The voyage was long, though not dangerous; and many islands in the Archipelago are described. Though the author is frequently minute in his details, yet his ftyle is not tedious; as a fpecimen, we shall tranfcribe the following paffage :

It would be unpardonable in me to quit Cyprus, without faying a word on the fubject for which that ifland was celebrated of old. The fuppofed refidence of Venus, and the land on which numerous temples were raised to her honour, could not but have produced objects the most worthy of human idolatry. Beauty and love went hand in hand in this rendezvous of pleafure; and the votaries of the goddefs paid her clofer adoration in the perfons of her unrivalled daughters. Though beauty be but an annual* flower, its fpecies, like thofe of Nature's humbler growth, is fucceffive and unperishable. The cities of Greece exhibit nothing at prefent but heaps

A happier allufion might furely have been chofen.

of