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Enacting laws, advising horrid war,

Or planning schemes of amity and peace.'

Our author's view of the season beyond the polar circle and within the tropics, is not only new, but extremely amufive and poetical. In the fecond book, the profpect from the top of Etna, and the wood-fcene, are finely painted. The author here takes an opportunity of paying the deserved tribute of applause to his great exemplar, whom he has fo happily imitated, in these beautiful lines:

Nor, gentle fon of Tweed, be thou unfung,
Thou who, reclining on thy parent's bank,
In childhood bad'it the neighb'ring woods refound
To sweetest strains of Arcady. Of all
Thou best can't find a paffage to the heart,
And fway the rifing bofom at command.
With Nature's charms delighted, I adore
Thy lofty flights; but, of an humbler wing,
Endeavour not to foar fublime with thee.
Content to revel in the vernal gale,

I ride not on the thunder-storm, nor fweep
O'er earth in Autumn with the fhadowy clouds,
Nor mount on Winter's tempests. These are heights,
Amazing heights, by thee alone attain'd!'

We recommend the whole Poem to our readers, as well worthy of their attention.-If the two books were divided into three or four, and fupplied with another title, we doubt not but it would meet with general approbation.

Biographical Anecdotes of William Hogarth; and a Catalogue of his Works chronologically arranged; with occafional Remarks. 870. 35. Nichols.

THIS may be confidered as an agreeable enlargement of Mr.

Walpole's life of Hogarth: the author, who figns only the initials of his name (J. N.) feems to have been well acquainted with many of that painter's intimate friends, from whom he has occafionally collected a number of little incidents, and entertaining anecdotes, of Hogarth's private life and manners; he has likewife been able to draw, from the fame fource, a difcovery of feveral prints and drawings, not taken notice of in Mr. Walpole's, or any other catalogue of this artist's ingenious performances, to arrange them in chronological order, and to trace the rife and progrefs of a genius fo ftrikingly original.

The

The following anecdote of Hogarth's marriage is not unentertaining.

In 1730, (fays our author) Mr. Hogarth married the only daughter of Sir James Thornhill, by whom he had no child. This union, indeed, was a ftolen one, and confequently without the approbation of Sir James and his lady, who, confidering the extreme youth of their daughter, then barely eighteen, and the flender finances of her husband, as yet an obfcure artist, were not eafily reconciled to the match. Soon after this period, however, he began his Harlot's Progrefs; and was advised to have fome of his pictures placed in the way of his father-in-law. Accordingly, one morning early, Mrs. Hogarth undertook to convey feveral of them into his dining-room. When he arofe, he enquired from whence they came; and being told by whom they were introduced, he cried out, " Very well; the man who can produce reprefentations like thefe, can alfo maintain a wife without a portion." He defigned this remark as an excufe for keeping his purfe-ftrings clofe; but foon after became both reconciled and generous to the young couple. Lady Thornhill's forgiveness was but flowly obtained, though it followed at last.'

Our author has acquainted us with a project of Hogarth's, which we believe is not generally known, and which we shall therefore lay before our readers.

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Hogarth had projected a Happy Marriage, by way of counterpart to his Marriage à la Mode. A defign for the first of his intended fix plates he had sketched out in colours; and the following is as accurate an account of it as could be furnished by a gentleman who, long ago, enjoyed only a few minutes fight of fo imperfect a curiofity.

The time fuppofed was immediately after the return of the parties from church. The fcene lay in the hall of an antiquated country manfion. On one fide, the married couple were reprefented fitting. Eehind them was a group of their young friends of both fexes, in the act of breaking bride-cake over their heads. In front appeared the father of the young lady, grasping a bumper, and drinking, with a feeming roar of exultation, to the future happiness of her and her husband. By his fide was a table covered with refrefliments. Jollity rather than politenefs was the defignation of his character. Under the screen of the hall, feveral ruftic musicians in grotefque attitudes, together with fervants,, tenants, &c. were arranged. Through the arch by which the room is entered, the eye was led along a paffage into the kitchen, which afforded a glimpfe of facerdotal luxury. Before the dripping-pan flood a well-fed divine, in his gown and caffock, with his watch in his hand, giving directions to a cook, dreft all in white, who was employed in bafting a haunch of venifon.

Among

Among the faces of the principal figures, none but that of the young lady was completely finished. Hogarth had been often reproached for his inability to impart grace and dignity to his heroines. The bride was therefore meant to vindicate his pencil from fo degrading an imputation. The effort, however, was unfuccefsful. The girl was certainly pretty; but her features, if I may ufe the term, were uneducated. She might have attracted notice as a chambermaid, but would have failed to extort applause as a woman of fashion. The parfon, and his culinary affociate, were more laboured than any other parts of the picture. It is natural for us to dwell longest on that divifion of a fubject which is moft congenial to our private feelings. The painter fat down with a refolution to delineate beauty improved by art; but feems, as ufual, to have deviated into meannefs; or could not help neglecting his original purpofe, to luxuriate in fuch ideas as his fituation in early life had fitted him to exprefs. He found himseif, in fhort, out of his element in the parlour, and therefore haftened, in queft of ease and amusement, to the kitchen fire. It must be allowed, that fuch a painter, however excellent in his walk, was better qualified to reprefent the vicious parent, than the royal preferver of a foundling.

• The sketch already defcribed was made after the appearance of Marriage à la Mode, and many years before the artist's death. Why he did not perfevere in his plan, during fuch an interval of time, we can only guefs. It is probable that his undertaking required a longer fucceffion of images relative to domeftic happiness, than had fallen within his notice, or courted his participation. Hogarth had no children; and though the nuptial union may be happy without them, yet fuch happiness will have nothing picturefque in it; and we may obferve of this truly natural and faithful painter, that he rarely ventured to exhibit scenes with which he was not perfectly well acquainted.'

In the course of this work we meet with fome verses written by Garrick, prefixed to two or three of the prints; some elegant Latin poetry by Loveling; together with fome fenfible remarks, by the author, on Hogarth's performances which form all together an agreeable farrago, and may afford entertainment to the admirers of Hogarth, and the lovers of virtù.

Scottish Tragic Ballads. Small 8vo. 2s. 6d. ferved.

Nichols.

To O the admirers of ancient Scottish poefy, this little volume will afford confiderable entertainment. It contains Hardyknute; Child Maurice; Adam o Gordon; Sir Hugh, or the Jew's Daughter; Flodden Field; Edward; Sir Patrick

Spence;

Spence; Lady Bothwell's Lament;, Earl of Murray; Sir James the Rofe; Laird of Woodhoufelie; Lord Livingston; Binnorie; Death of Menteith; Lord Airth's Complaint; and I wish I were where Helen lyes; with two or three fragments of old tragic ballads. Moft of thefe compofitions, as the editor acknowleges in his preface, have appeared already; but in this edition, we are told, they are given much more correct, &c. Hardyknute, published, as fome of our readers may remember, fome years ago in a small volume, entitled the Union, a collection of Scotch and English poems, now appears in its original perfection, with alterations and additions; for which the editor, as he informs us, was indebted to the memory of a lady in Lancashire, who, we fuppose, had it by tradition; to whom we are alfo obliged for feveral pieces exhibited in this collection. To these, the editor has added two prefatory differtations, one on the oral tradition of poetry, and the other on the old tragic ballad: in the latter of thefe, our editor, speaking of the caufe of our pleasure in feeing a mournful event reprefented to us, or hearing it defcribed judiciously obferves that it feems to arife from the mingled paffions-of the art of the author-curiofity to attend the termination-delight arifing from reflection on our own fecurity, and-the fympathetic fpirit.'-This is, we think, one of the fulleft and beft explanations of the pleasure above mentioned, that we have hitherto met with. What fol lows is equally juft and fenfible.

It is amufing, fays he, to obferve how expreffive the poetry of every country is of its real manners. That of the Northern nations is ferocious to the highest degree. 'Nor need we wonder that thofe, whofe laws obliged them to decide the most trifling debate with the fword, delighted in a vein of poetry, which only painted deeds of blood, and objects horrible to the imagination. The ballad poetry of the Spaniards is tinged with the romantic gallantry of that nation. The hero is all complaifance; and takes off his helmet in the heat of combat, when he thinks on his mistress. That of the English is generous and brave. In their most noble ballad, Percy laments over the death of his mortal foe. That of the Scots is perhaps, like the face of their country, more various than the rest. We find in it the bravery of the English, the gallantry of the Spanish, and I am afraid in some instances the ferocity of the Northern.'

Of the few new ballads here prefented to the public, the following is the beft, with which we fhall therefore treat our readers,

THE

THE DEATH OF MENTEITH.

From TRADITION.

· Shrilly fhriek'd the raging wind,
And rudelie blew the blast;

Wi awfum blink, throuch the dark ha,
The fpeidy lichtning past.

"O hear ye nae, frae mid the loch,
Arife a deidly grane?

Sae evir does the spirit warn,

Whan we fum dethe maun mane.

“I feir, I feir me, gude fir John,
Ye are nae fafe wi me:

What wae wald fill my hairt gin ye
Sold in my castle drie !"

Ye neid nae feir, my leman deir,
I'm ay fafe whan wi thee;
And gin I maun nae wi thee live,
I here wad with to die."

His man cam rinning to the ha
Wi wallow cheik belyve:

"Sir John Menteith, your faes are neir,
And ye maun flie or strive."

"What count fyne leids the cruel knicht ?"
"Thrie fpeirmen to your ane:

I red ye flie, my master deir,

Wi fpeid, or ye'l be flain."

"Tak ye this gown, my deir fir John,

To hide your shyning mail:

A boat waits at the hinder port
Owr the braid loch to fail."
"Owhatten a piteous fhriek was yon
That fough'd upon my eir?"
"Nae piteous fhriek I trow, ladie,
But the rouch blast ye heir."

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To the Ballads the editor has fubjoined fome useful notes and a gloffary; an article which, though of little fervice to a Scotchman, will be found extremely neceffary to the mere English reader.

We cannot conclude this article, without remarking, that the tragic ballad called Lady Bothwell's Lament, which is re

printed

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