To bind with evergreen the brows of guilt,
Whose fame is but on desolation built!

Turn from the theme- a gentler claims the lyre,
A gentler verse Sabina's strains require.

X.

The song hath ceased-a stealing languor filled
The air, as from her notes it sweetly thrilled;
It seemed a lingering memory in the breeze,

Were pleased to sigh her song, or sighed to find it cease,
Languishing o'er the notes.

Thus memory

will

Run o'er the chords of former pleasures still.

XI.

Now his declining disk Apollo shrouds
Deep in his gold-and-purple-broider'd clouds ;
O'erhovered with dark-red, dense, vapory shades
Of dusky glory his pavilion spreads,

Till the west's setting smile less lovely glows,
And night's dim curtains o'er his slumbers close:
The cloud of darkness mountain Ida shields,

Her daughter-dews descend, to freshen the green-fields.

Yes! thou hast gone in glory to thine hall!
And did the dews to weep thine exit fall?
And heaven bewail thy loss? who gav'st the day,
Magnificent, along the ethereal way!

Who can behold thee in thy course, and yet,
Not wish like thee to rise-like thee to set?
To tread the immortal hemisphere of fame,
Like thee, an honor'd light, a shining name,
To all conspicuous, travelling alone,

Sublime in strength, and brightness of our own!
Oh, at my setting-(for death claims us all,
Priest, patriot, poet, prince, alike must fall)—
May my departure be in glory too,

And Fancy love the distant trace to view;
And Wisdom and Esteem shed many a tear,
With Honour and Religion o'er my bier!
"Tis this which urges me against my fate,
Else might I sink beneath the thickening weight,
And through the sordid cloud emit no ray,-
But now I strive, ambitious of the day!

For though thou risest with the storm o'ercast,
Yet in thy brightness mayst thou set at last-
Thou hast set in thy glory! fare thee well!
Thy seal is on my spirit like a spell.

THE earliest examples of letter-writing, which continue to adorn the literary world are, I believe, those of Plato, which are chiefly remarkable for solidity of judgment, and for a sublime and luxuriant eloquence, whilst those of Isocrates are more fascinating from the flowers of rhetoric with which he ornaments them.

Declining, however, any comparison between these writers, I shall submit a few observations on the letters of CICERO and PLINY.

It is not possible that a style can be more elegant and flowing than that of Cicero; good sense and acute feeling guide his graceful pen. As far, therefore, as these essential qualities contribute to the perfection of Epistolary Correspondence, his letters are models, yet do there appear to me fewer bursts of genius than (I am certainly bold to assert) distinguish a few of the letter writers of modern times. To no one can Cicero yield for general vigor, for rèfined art, for uniform and correct language; but still there are wanting those invaluable sprinklings of attic salt which pervade the epistles of Pope, Swift, and Johnson, although these latter must be allowed, upon the whole, to have written letters of an inferior order.

The request of Cicero to Lucius Luceius to transmit to posterity his life and fame, is contained in one of the most curious letters the world has seen. His vanity, the subtlety of the inducements with which he seduces his inordinate greediness for posthumous celebrity, and the grossness of his flattery, give a most unfavourable impression of his heart.

With far more modesty, the Consul Pliny offers his pretensions to the notice of Tacitus the historian; yet a French critic of eminence, De Carlencas, whilst applauding the letters of Cicero as perfect specimens, exclaims against the vanity of

Pliny; but we find the French critics exceed all others, in the praise of Cicero,-and it need not excite our astonishment when we recollect, that the majority of their authors indulge in a declamatory style, in overcharged descriptions; and delight in ringing all possible changes upon a sentiment: a mode of torturing literature, of which Cicero was not guiltless. In some of his letters, within a few sentences, one idea has five or six modes of expression, and this paucity of thought affords the French a staunch bulwark for their grand literary vice.

These long and ponderous sentences ushering in one another with pompous monotony, excited the admiration of Corneille and of Racine, and this taste descends to the present day, though with feebler attractions; Marmontel, Montesquieu, and Madame de Stael, having raised successful opposition by their more comprehensive styles. Madame de Sevigné was however, its most bitter enemy, seizing on the contrary extreme, with an ardour and tenacity which are sometimes ludicrous. Not, however, intending to draw the smallest comparison between the sparkling tinsel of this Queen of Gossips, and the solid magnificence of Cicero, I return to him to point out that his letters to Varro, to Trebatius, to Tiro, and to Titius, are among the firmest supporters of his imperishable fame. That to Papirius Pætus, exhibits his talent for humour; a fine vein of which runs, indeed, through many of his letters. But more even than to those of Cicero, was I always partial to the letter of condolence from Servius Sulpicius, in the same series,-a wonderful pattern of forcible and consolatory argument. With truly Roman virtue, he remonstrates upon the unmanliness of indulging grief for a single individual, when Rome has just lost its liberty and honour; and he varies his positions and draws his conclusions, with an eloquence which is scarcely to be paralleled! There is a letter on the same subject from Cicero to Tirius, but it is exceedingly inferior.

The flattery, amounting to adulation, which degrades the address of Cicero to Matius, is most repulsive: yet Matius receives it with great complacency. Prouder may we, therefore, be of our countryman Archbishop Herring, when, to a fulsome panegyrist, he replies, "If I did not know you to be a honest man, upon long experience, 1 should take you for a designing one. I return the enclosed without any observations upon it, but that the compliment you convey comes from a man who, it is very plain, does not know me. Excess of praise has generally as little foundation, as excess of calumny."

Pliny was peculiarly happy in his delineation of characters, which he varies, with apparently, great discrimination; and the total absence of envy towards contemporary writers, is one of the many proofs of his enchanting temper. So valuable, indeed, do I consider his account of the astonishing men who were his intimates, that persons need seek no farther for prototypes for their own conduct. The grandeur of their minds, their patriotic and heroic spirit, the regulation of their temper, and the polish and sweetness of their manners, charm alike on the perusal of their delighted biographer. A judge of the hearts of exalted Romans, he is himself dignified, sometimes sublime; in his descriptions, always picturesque.

In drawing a comparison between the letters of Cicero and Pliny, and in summing up their merits, I cannot but consider those of Pliny the more valuable: and that his description of the noblest characters, the liveliness of his imagination; his exquisite discrimination and variety; and his ardent love and inculcation of virtue, will bear me out in my conclusion. But that which I think chiefly exalts his epistles over those of his predecessor, is, that they are altogether more original. With all the grace and smoothness of Cicero, with all his display of feeling, and the high tone of the noble Roman, which never forsakes him, his sentiments and descriptions are generally less brilliant than those of Pliny, and his vanity is far more offensive.

Seneca was a dogmatist in his correspondence, and when he attempted gaiety, it became him not his sole endeavour to enliven was, by rendering his sentences epigrammatick.

RISE OF MODERN LETTERS.

THE rise of Epistolary Correspondence took place as might be expected, at an earlier period in France, than with us; yet, though a style of writing, in which from their character and the genius of their language, it might have been supposed that the French would have excelled, their collection is inferior to that which we possess. There are but two persons of an early date, who produced fine specimens: Bubesque and Casaulian. Some authors compare the latter to Grotius and Scaliger.

Two letters of a very ancient date, appear to merit some attention, being as concise as they are eccentric. As they are but little known, I must preface them by stating that, in 1323, the husband of the niece of Pope John XXII., having been guilty of atrocious cruelty, was executed by the

order of Charles Le Bel, King of France. On the day following, the Curate of St. Mary wrote thus to his Holiness. "Most Holy Father,

"As soon as I learned that the husband of your niece was on the point of being hanged, I assembled our chapter, and represented that we should avail ourselves of this opportunity to prove the very respectful attachment and profound veneration we cherished towards your Holiness.

"No sooner was your nephew fairly hanged, than we approached the gibbet with a great number of torches, took down his body, carried it into our church, and buried him most honorably,-and without making any charge of a pecuniary description Venerable Father, we continue most humbly to entreat your holy and paternal benediction.

J. THOMAS."

This Pope, who stood in some awe of King Charles Le Bel, had an opportunity of gratifying his insulted feelings eleven years after, when he wrote thus to Charles' successor, Philip the Tall :—

"We have learned that when you attend mass, you continue talking sometimes with one person, sometimes with another, disregarding the prayers which are saying for you, and for the people.

"It is further remarked, in your dominions, that the Sabbath is profaned. On that holy day, justice is administered, hair is dressed, and the beard shaved. I hereby warn you not to suffer these innovations for the future."

The letters of Rabelais are dry, but contain much historical information. Bongar's are of the same description. The epistles of Cardinal Mazarin are considered as having contributed more to his glory than did his political services: and the Abbé de la Chambre says of him, that unless you read his letters you could not suppose him so honest a man. The style of Descartes is admired and thought superior to that of Balsac, which is still, however, not without its applauders. The letters of Hubert Lanquet are political and historical, and afford much intelligence of the progress of the sciences. Those of Henry Dupuy contain fine sentiments on manners, and on virtue. Patin's are simple and lively, but full of temerity and of impious reflections. Balsac took infinite pains to attain perfection in the Epistolary Art, yet is he too fond of hyperbole, and by much too stiff. As he has, in this country, been recommended for perusal, the reader should be apprized that the French critics have not much esteem for his writings. Voiture is far more natural, though not always quite so correct, and is too gallant for our nation in general. He has had many imitators, but

VOL. III. PART I.

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