means correfponds to the expectations which are likely to be excited by the greatnefs of the fubject, or the reputation of the author. Yet neither Gualdo, in his life of Walflein; nor Chemnitz and Puffendorff, in their account of the wars of Gustavus; nor even the elegant Bougeant, in his hiftory of the treaty of Weftphalia, have fo far exhaufted the interefting fubject, as to leave no room for a fucceeding hiftorian. The tranflator thinks himself authorized to fpeak with contempt of Mr. Harte, who however, fhows uniformly great information. and fenfe; whofe faults were thofe of ftyle; a fubject, on which thofe who betray ignorance of their own language, ought to be fober and fparing in their criticifms. The work before us feems to contain no facts which are not within the compafs of common reading, and very few reflections which are not either obvious or falle. There are many parts of it in which the narrative is too thort for the uninformed reader, and fome in which it is too minute for the importance of the events. It may notwithstanding have merit as an elegant abridgment. But that fort of merit muft depend upon choice and arrangement of expreffion; and thefe are matters which, even if we had read the original, we muft, as foreigners, have left to the taste and judgment of learned Germans. The tef timony of Mr. Wieland, with refpect to the popularity of the History in Germany, is certainly not without its weight; though we cannot help obferving, that the enthusiasm with which a work is received, in a country where literature, and efpecially hiftory, is almoft new, muft neceffarily afford a very doubtful criterion of its merit. But if the admirers of German literature be defirous that the work of Mr. Schiller fhould become popular in England, they must produce a new tranflation of it. From the prefent it is utterly impoffible to form any eftimate of its merits. The innumerable inftances of this tranflator's grofs blunders are aftonishing, even to us, condemned as we are to wade through all the wretched publications of an age, in which men write before they have read, decide before they enquire, and lay down fyftems of morality and government for the regeneration of the world, before they have acquired the first rudiments of their native language. The character of the age is that of prefumptuous ignorance. To reprefs and chaftize this prefumption, and to teach the ignorant the neceffity of learning before they afpire to teach, are matters of more importance than they may at first fight appear. Mr. B. pleads, in extenuation of his faults, that he is young. It is our duty to tell him, that men Thould write, but youth fhould ftudy. If it were an exercife impofed upon him, his plea might be admitted; but as as it is a voluntary undertaking, he muft abide by the confequences of his adventure. It is the duty of the critic not to spare even those bad writers, who have the much stronger plea of neceflity to urge in excufe for the faults of their publications. It would be tedious to produce a number of examples fufficient to justify our general judgment of this tranflation; and it is always ufelefs to animadvert at length on any faults but thofe of good writers. On this ground, Mr. B. has fome claim to exemption from cenfure, or at leaft from elaborate criticism. We fhall, however, lay before our readers fome paffages, which will be fufficient to show, that whatever may be his knowledge in German, there is a language which he has yet to learn. "The abolition of the profcution of the court" (P. 71); this fucceffion, whofe individuity was guaranteed" (p. 72); "mankind are almost without exemption captivated with prefent advantages" (p. 77); "the prefent conduct of the Proteftants left him only a ferious alternative" (p. 91); he did not fail to increafe" (p. 99) inftead of magnify or exaggerate; "St. Bartholomew's night" (p. 105) for the maffacre of St. Bartholomew; "gained by the principles" (p. 107); "abdicated" (p. 119) for violent depofition; "drawn into univerfal confusion" (p. 134); "the double capacity of the ·Popedom was obliged to follow different fyftems" (p. 147) ; arbitrary meeting" (p. 254) we prefume, for a mere voluntary meeting unauthorized by law ; "fovereign primate" (p. 285) applied to the Landgrave of Heffe; "conjunction" (p. 286) for conjuncture; "two imperial commiffaries, accompanied by as many jefuits, and fifteen musketeers, repaired to this peaceful valley to preach the Evangelift of Heretics" (vol. ii, p. 70) meaning, we prefume, to preach the Gospel to Heretics; the entire of this order" (p. 145) an Hibernicifm; "Wallenftein was feen, amidst a fhower of bullets, encouraging the neceffitous (p. 155); "Oxenstiern loft the author of his fortune, the friend of his foul, and the object of his ideas" (p. 179). Thefe are a few fpecimens of the phrafeology of this tranflation. Expreffions, almost equally incorrect, may be found in every page. Some of thofe paffages which, we have quoted are fo obfcure, that it requires fome reflection to conjecture what the writer intended to say, and no small candour to afcribe to them any rational meaning. We leave it to the fagacity of our readers to difcover what the writer wished to exprefs by the following feries of words, for we cannot call them a fentence." Europe on the following morning was to behold its greatest general, and a victor oppofed to the vanquished." (vol. ii, p. 146) As far as we can prefume to guefs the meaning 481 meaning of the last words, they are not peculiarly defcriptive of the battle of Lutzen. In molt battles one party muft gain a victory, or at least an advantage; and in every victory there must be both "victors and vanquished," though, after the victory indeed, the vanquished" feldom "oppose the victor." Will this tranflator have the goodness to tranflate into English the following fentence, which, taken with its context, is, we will venture to fay, abfolutely unintelligible. "The clamour for juftice was inceflant before the Imperial throne ; but fuch as had recourfe to it were fecured against the indignation of the oppreffed Princes." Val. i, p. 190. The meaning of these words is diametrically oppofite to what the context These are not examples of that requires they fhould mean. fort of obfcurity which is justly confidered as one of the greatest vices of compofition, because it hinders every reader from difcovering immediately, and without effort, the meaning of the writer. They are inftances of that much worse obfcurity, through which no understanding can penetrate, and which arifes either from the dark nefs and confufion of the writer's ideas, or from his ignorance of the language in which For this fecond kind of obfcurity there is an aphe wrote. propriate term in the English language; but we fshall refrain from applying it on this occafion, because, though it be very fignificant, it is fomewhat coarfe. We conclude this article with earnestly exhorting this tranflator to recollect, that compofition is an art which can only be learnt by ftudy and long ufe; that the modern fashion of intruding on the public the crude exercises of youth, is as injurious to the writers themselves as it is infulting to the national tafte; and that there are examples enough in the hiftory of literature, which, if he has real talents, may teach him, that the failure of his youthful publication fhould infpire him with diligence rather than fill him with defpair. ART. IV. Poems, epiftolary, lyric, and elegiacal, in Three THE HE career of Mr. Maurice, as a poet, commenced very early in his life; and if his talents of this kind have at times appeared to be dormant, it has been for the fake of public utility that he has torn himself from his darling purluit to devote his more ferious labours to the hiftoric Mufe. Yet, even even in his hiftorical ftyle, the poetic ardour and imagery fre.. quently appear, and if we do not find the "fcattered limbs of a poet," we cannot, however, fail to perceive the ebullitions of a poetical fpirit. Nor has he quite forgotten Parnaffus during his Indian labours. Thrice, fince the beginning of our work, have we had occafion to consider him as the author of poetical compofitions. His "Elegy on Sir William Jones," animated at once by gratitude, and Oriental lore, feized the palm against all. competition; his "Crifist," united patriotifm with poetry; and his celebration of Dr. Lettfom's Villa at "Grove Hill," brought him back to the exertion of thofe defcriptive powers which he had formerly displayed at Netherby and Hagley. Of the poems now mentioned, the Elegy and the Crifis are reprinted in the present volume; Grove Hill is, we believe, the property of the perfon celebrated in it; but the Ode to Mithra, which accompanied that poem, is here inferted. This volume of Poems is divided into three parts, the first containing juvenile effufions; the fecond poems of a higher order, chiefly lyrical; and the third, defcriptive and elegiac compofitions. In the first of these divifions it is impoffible not to distinguish "the School Boy," written when that character actually belonged to the author, and the "fortunate means," as he tells us in a note, "of his introduction to Dr. Johnson, who spoke of it publicly in fuch terms, as alone could have induced him to reprint it." If by this fentence the author would intimate that it is lefs worthy of republication than his other poems, we cannot but differ very widely from him; and remark it as an additional inftance, to many already known, how little any writer is capable of estimating his own compofitions, in comparison with each other. The School Boy, though a mock-heroic, is more happily verfified, and finished with more care and fuccefs than any other of his poems; the reft have many rays of genius, and many happy lines, but few are free from marks of relaxed attention, which in this are not discoverable. Whatever circumstance led to the careful finishing of this poem, whether the praife of Johnfon, or whatever other caufe, we cannot but with, for the fake of the author's fame, that the impetuofity of his Mufe had been confined to equal circumfpection in every other inftance. The praise of Dr. Johnson, as we learn from other information, was of a very exalted kind; he is reported to have faid, that "he fhould be proud to be the father of a son, *Brit. Crit. vol. v, p. 510. Ibid. vol. xiii, p. 588. + Ibid. vol. xii, p. 65. who, who, at fo early a period of life, could compose a poem of fuch varied excellence." That fuch words, from fach autho-rity, thould confirm in the young writer's mind a lafting ardour for poetie fame, cannot be wondered. We will now enable the reader to judge how far the praife of the great critic. was indulgent or accurate; in our opinion, it was by no means exaggerated. It opens thus, with a refemblance, but not too clofe, of the Splendid Shilling, which it profefledly imitates. Thrice happy he, whofe hours the cheering fmiles Of freedom blefs; who wantons uncontrol'd With horns, and hounds, and thund'ring fhouts he drives To neighbouring tavern blithfome he resorts With boon companion, where they drown their cares In fprightly bumpers, and the mantling bowl." P. 23. Then follows the contrast, well-imagined and well-expreffed. "Far otherwife within thefe darkfome walls And rang'd Ely fian valleys,-now I quaff A |