he has made his hero in love. Think of that; the devil in love! none of your inferior spirits, or fallen angels of low degree; but the arch fiend himself, desperately in love with a granddaughter of David! This, as we barely state it, appears altogether ludicrous; but in the poet's conduct of it, there is nothing ludicrous, and hardly anything which is revolting. If it had been announced at the first, as was the custom in the ancient Mysteries, that 'here comes the devil incarnate, in the shape of prince Hadad, and here comes the lady Tamar, of whom he is enamoured, our ideas of propriety would perhaps have received an irrecoverable shock; but the secret is so well kept from us in the introductory scenes, it is so gradually unfolded, or rather hinted at, in the course of the poem, and the principal character is sustained with so much dignity, that none but a serious impression is left upon the mind of the reader, and the dialogues between Hadad, or Lucifer, and the daughter of Absalom, are the most solemn and tender in the work. The general outline of the fiend is that of Milton's Satan; and it is only when we have finished the perusal of Mr Hillhouse's drama, that we are permitted to reflect how hazardous an undertaking it was, to bring forward this same lofty, solitary being, who warred with the Almighty, and preferred to reign in hell rather than serve in heaven, to bring forward this one into the Jewish court, and occupy him with an earthly love.

But let us relate the story. Those who have not read it, will desire the recital; and those who have, will make no objection to their memory being refreshed by the repetition.

The first scene introduces to us Hadad, who is a hostage in Jerusalem, conferring with Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, and endeavoring, though with little direct success, to make him renounce his allegiance to David, who is represented as the usurper of a throne, which belonged of right to the descendant of Saul. Then follows a dialogue between Hadad and Absalom, in which the jealousy of the latter is successfully inflamed against his younger brother Solomon. This conference is interrupted by the prophet Nathan, at whose appearance Hadad precipitately withdraws; and here the first suspicion is awakened with regard to that person's cha

'Nath. Why doth that Syrian shun me? Always thus
He, like a guilty thing, avoids my presence.
Where'er I find him, and I find him ever
Closely conferring, whether roofed, as now,
Or on the walls, or in the streets, or gates,
Or the resorts of men, if I appear,
His bright mysterious eye seems conscious of me,
And soon he vanishes. I touched him once.
He turned, as he had felt a scorpion; fear
And loathing glared from his enkindled eyes,
And paleness overspread his face, like one
Who smothers mortal pain. Fierce, subtle, dark,
Designing, and inscrutable, he walks

Among us like an evil Angel.'

The same distrust is expressed in the succeeding scene by the seer to King David, joined with the counsel that the suit of Hadad for Absalom's daughter Tamar, should be rejected. The king, however, does not readily admit his advice, and especially refuses to suspect the designs and fidelity of Absalom, against whose policy Nathan also warns him.

The third scene is the beautiful one between Hadad and Tamar; which has been so often quoted, that we shall forbear transferring it to our pages. In the course of it, the seeming prince attempts, with alluring words, to instil into the mind of the loving and confiding princess, doubts of the goodness of Jehovah, and a preference for the voluptuous rites of heathen worship. But the maiden is steadfast in her faith and purity.

Repulsed in one quarter, we find the tempter busy in another, laying snares for the virtue of the youthful Solomon. The introduction to this scene is a beautiful description of Jerusalem, before which Hadad is standing alone.

'Had. "Tis so; -the hoary Harper sings aright;
How beautiful is Zion!-Like a queen,
Armed with a helm in virgin loveliness,
Her heaving bosom in a bossy cuirass,
She sits aloft, begirt with battlements
And bulwarks swelling from the rock, to guard
The sacred courts, pavilions, palaces,

Soft gleaming through the umbrage of the woods,
Which tuft her summit, and, like raven tresses,

Wave their dark beauty round the Tower of David.

Resplendent with a thousand golden bucklers,
The embrazures of alabaster shine;
Hailed by the pilgrims of the desert, bound
To Judah's mart with orient merchandise.
But not, for thou art fair and turret-crowned,
Wet with the choicest dew of heaven, and blessed
With golden fruits, and gales of frankincense,
Dwell I beneath thine ample curtains. Here,
Where Saints and Prophets teach, where the stern law
Still speaks in thunder, where chief Angels watch,
And where the Glory hovers, here I war.'

Meanwhile Absalom is continually worked upon by the arts of the indefatigable seducer, till his affections are completely alienated from his father, and he plots against his crown. At the house of Obil, a creature of Hadad's, we have a meeting of the conspirators, three of whom, Ahithophel, Manasses, and Malchiah, are members of the royal council. Couriers come in, from various parts of the country, with accounts of so favorable an aspect, that the morrow is fixed on for the day of unmasked rebellion.

The fourth act opens with a scene on the top of Mount Olivet, which is crowded with fugitives from Jerusalem. King David, driven from his throne by his unnatural son, is worshipping among his household; while Joab, Benaiah, and other chieftains, marshal the multitude. We will extract a part of the scene for our readers, principally because the fierce and impetuous character of Joab is so well preserved

in it.

Ben, Go bid yon loiterers hasten over Kedron,
If they would march with us.
Joab. Let them abide ;-

Why crawl they after us? What seest thou, ho?

Addrenning a Soldier stationed in a tree above him.]

Noldier, Nothing, my lord, but people from the city

Hurrying this way.
Joab

Look not

Thine eyes upon the south.

b, my lord.

Joab. What seest thou toward the Prince's pillar?

Noldier, Nothing.

Joab. On that same open height beyond it?

Noldier, Nothing.

Joab. Well, nail thine eyes there. - Will the old man's prayer

Stretch out till doom? Benaiah, we lose time;
We should be now beyond Bahurim.

Ben. Be patient;

The stroke was bitter, and his heart seemed fraught
Almost to bursting.

Joab. Better rive at once,

Than meet the tender mercies of his son

By loitering here. By heaven, I'll rouse him
Ben. Hold,

Hold, Joab!

People. Stand aside-Back there-The King! [KING DAVID comes forward among the People; Enter HUSHAI, with his garments rent; he falls to the ground, and clasps the King's feet.]

Hush. God save my lord the King! Live I to see
My master thus! the Light, the Rock of Israel !

K. Dav. Once, Hushai, once the candle of the Lord
Beamed on my head, and like a shadowing rock,
His buckler sheltered me. Thou seest me, now,
Dark and defenceless; all my leprous sins
Wrathfully visited upon my people.

First People. What will become of us?
Second People. Alas! alas!

Heaven hath forsaken us!

Third People. Wo, wo, alas!
Joab. (Going among them.)

Peace with your howling! Peace! or ye shall feast
The wild beasts of the wilderness. My lord,

We linger here while death is at our heels.

K. Dav. Hushai.

Hush. Command thy servant.

K. Dav. Turn thou back;

Mix with his council; seem as they. Thy words
May blast Ahithophel's, whose malice, else,
Will work our ruin; With us thou canst nought.-
Abiathar and Zadok stay behind,

By my commandment, with the Ark; To them
Communicate what thou canst learn of import;
They will despatch it to me by their sons,
Where I shall wait them in the wilderness.
Joab. Depart ere thou art seen.
Hush. God guard the King,
And bring him home to Zion.
K. Dav. May it please Him!'

The whole of this part of the poem is hardly more than a dramatic version of the original story, as it is related in the second book of Sanuel. Obedient to the desire of his master, whose prudence and foresight are awakened, instead of stupified, by misfortune, Hushai, the faithful counsellor, returns to the city, in order to countermine and defeat the purposes of Absalom. It was the usurper's interest to press on immediately with his forces, and overwhelm his father before he could collect his friends and recover from his confusion. It was consequently Hushai's part to induce delay, by representing it as the wisest and safest course. This he effectually accomplishes. But the whole of the council scene, in which the debate takes place, is so favorable a specimen of Mr Hillhouse's powers, that we shall present it in his own words; and the rather, because, though it is inferior to none in the poem, we have not seen it extracted in any of the notices which have been given to the public.

'The council-hall. ABSALOM, AHITHOPHEL, MANASSES, MALCHI-
AH, HUSHAI, and others, in debate; AHITHOPHEL speaking.
Ahith. My lord, you know them not-you wear, to-day,
The diadem, and hear yourself proclaimed
With trump and timbrel Israel's joy, and deem
Your lasting throne established. Canst thou bless,
Or blast, like Him who rent the waters, clave
The rock, whose awful clangour shook the world
When Sinai quaked beneath his majesty ?
Yet Jacob's seed forsook this thundering Guide,
Even at the foot of the astonished mount!-
If benefits could bind them, wherefore flames
The Ammonitish spoil upon thy brows,
While David's locks are naked to the night dew?
Canst thou transcend thy father? is thy arm
Stronger than his who smote from sea to sea,
And girt us like a band of adamant?-
Trust not their faith. Thy father's root is deep;
His stock will bourgeon with a single sun;
And many tears will flow to moisten him.-
Pursue, this night, or ruin will o'ertake thee.

Ab. What say'st thou, Hushai? Speak to this, once more.
Hush. I listen to my lord Ahithophel,

As to a heaven-instructed oracle;

But what he urges more alarms my fears.