CONTENTS OF NO. XLII. Poems by Mrs. Felicia Hemans; a new collection. Boston, 1828. Songs of the Affections, with other poems. 12mo. Edinburgh, 1880. Scenes and Hymns of Life, with other Religious Poems. 12mo. Memoires biographiques, litteraires et politiques de Mirabeau; écrits par lui même; par son frère; son oncle; et son fils adoptif. 8 vols. Svo. Paris, 1834-6. The Complete Gardener, or Directions for Cultivating and right ordering of Fruit and Kitchen Gardens, with divers reflections on several parts of Husbandry. By the famous M. De la Quintinye, chief director of the gardens of the French king. Made into English by John Evelyn, Esq.; illustrated with copper plates. London: Matthew Gilly flower, at the Spread Eagle in Westminster Hall; and ART. VIII. TRAVELS IN EGYPT, ARABIA, AND PALESTINE. IX. PRIOR'S LIFE OF GOLDSMITH. The Life of Oliver Goldsmith, M. B., from a variety of original sources. By James Prior, Esq., Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, Member of the Royal Irish Academy, author of the Life of Burke, &c. Philadelphia. 1 vol. 8vo. pp. 550. X. MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. Juvenal and Persius. In 1 vol. Classical Family Library, No. 35. The Economy of Health, &c. By James Johnson, M. D. 1 vol. Martin Faber, the Story of a Criminal; and other tales. By the Falkner, a Novel. By the author of " Frankenstein." New The Library of American Biography. Conducted by Jared Sparks. Nick of the Woods, or the Jibbenainosay. In 2 vols. By the Gleanings in Europe; France. By the author of the "Spy." PAGE 439 460 515 AMERICAN QUARTERLY REVIEW. No. XLII. JUNE, 1837. ART. I.-POEMS BY MRS. FELICIA HEMANS. A new collection. Boston: 1828. Songs of the Affections, with other Poems. 12mo. Edinburgh: 1830. Scenes and Hymns of Life, with other Religious Poems. 12mo. Edinburgh; 1834. The Poetical Works of Mrs. Felicia Hemans. Complete. 8vo. Philadelphia: 1835. Did we deem it necessary, at this time of day, to offer an apology for admiration of the great and gifted in song, we should refer ourselves at once to the tribute that has been paid to poetic genius from the earliest times to our own. The high rank held by poets, in almost every country, during the infancy of its civilization, or of its letters, has been retained, with those modifications, to be sure, which might be expected in the progress of society, so that we find it essentially unchanged and undisputed even among ourselves. The ancient superstition that invested the bard with a character of divinity, and his song with all the authority and sacredness of the oracles, was the natural result of the frequent exhibition of lofty and enthusiastic spirits, in powerful struggle with their strong conceptions, before a people comparatively simple and uncultivated. It is not astonishing that the flight of birds, the responses of the Sybil, or even the propitiatory thunders of Jove-the intonuit lævum-should be deemed less infallible tokens of a present inspiration, than the kindling strains of the poet, when he appealed, in glowing numbers, to the feelings or the patriotism of his auditory; or when he sang of deeds that touched their memories with an electric interest; or, more than all, when he bore them with him into the shadowy future, and there unveiled to his followers visions of glory and greatness, which by the contrivance of his wizard power, were transformed from the mere pageantry of imagination into splendid realities. It is matter familiar with our classic VOL. XXI.-No. 42. 33 associations, that bards, as well as conquerors, were followed, and courted, and crowned. It is not an easy thing to decide, whether Eschylus was less honoured than Miltiades; or whether he might not have borne additional renown from Marathon, while he was gazed at as the father of tragedy. Indeed the triumphs of kings and consuls sink to the level of common spectacles beside the classical ovations that were awarded to successful poets. There was every thing intellectual in those early tributes to mental power returned from mental victory. There is an ever-during recollection that attaches itself to honours so won and so rendered. Considered as offerings to genius, they reflect glory alike on those who brought and those who received them. A dawn of moral light seems to be coincident with the morning of social life which such homage serves to indicate; and, though the tribute is purely mental, there comes with it a hope that the heart may awaken to truth, where there is such a stirring and pressing towards the shrine of mind. Certain it is that such exertions of powerful men, demanding such honours as they proceeded, were the first causes as well as the first proofs of improvement among the people from whom they stood distinguished: and it is to the poets of Greece and Italy, triumphing in laurel-wreath, or the plaudits of their countrymen, that we are to look, we had almost said, as the solitary men who first kindled that spark, which eventually caused an illumination of their age, and has continued to transmit its light to the world. The influence of poetry, in the hands of the masters of antiquity, was carried to an extent that may seem almost incredible. They may be said to have formed and trained the virtues of those who heard them. They shaped the national sentiment, and moulded the opinions and wielded the sympathies of their listeners, to a degree that cannot be surpassed. They interwove public events with the drama. They excited an ambition to excel in wisdom and valour; and, by force of genius and skill, they generated among the aspiring and young the sentiments of glory that fell from the lips of their heroes. Euripides was the idol of his time. By promoting a more effectual union than had yet subsisted between moral philosophy and tragic representation, he became an object of praise and admiration with his contemporaries. His verses were on the lips of all who answered to the name of Greek. History relates, with an air of romance, that the appropriate introduction of some of his stanzas released the soldiers of Nicias from the slavery which they incurred in the expedition of that general to Syracuse; and, as if to carry the magic of his name beyond all rivalry, it has been pleasantly said, that, of old, the prisoner always found freedom by drafting his plea in the language of Euripides. Surpassing, as these instances would seem almost to do, the fabled enchantment of Orpheus, we are not left to them, and like ancient sources, alone, for proof of the high distinction ever held by the poet and his art. The golden age of every country, since the revival of letters, has been signalized by the light that poetry has shed upon it, and by the honours rendered to the inspired men who may be regarded as its stars. Italy, Spain, France, England, as the new morning of mind dawned upon them, successively beheld their mighty geniuses springing upon their paths, with a power which they delighted to reverence, and a brilliancy that could not fail to captivate. The history of literature, in all these lands, proves, to satisfaction, the talent which this class of men possessed of infusing their own into the public sentiment, as well as of fixing the public eye on themselves it is enough, also, to convince us of the fact, that such men held important place on the scale of society, and that they are calculated to exert an influence on the growing character of their country. But, while we perceive a singular power to have been sustained by the poets of high accomplishment in all ages, it is evident that, in modern times, the same power is either greatly modified, or holds a more quiet sway over the minds of the people. The principle of the power is the same. It is the power of an ardent, bold, creative nature, over spirits that cannot follow its march, but still bow to the dominion that has attended it. It is the power of a high-reaching, imaginative intellect over a passive one, yielded to the beautiful illusion that is thrown around it. It is the power of genius-penetrating to that subtle portion of the soul, which alone can claim sympathy, how remote soever it may be, with the master spirit that spells itbreathing upon it the breath of a new life, and calling it to the love of high deeds and splendid virtues, of which, before, it had but dull conception, or drowsy remembrance. Such is the power of poetry. Such is the gift of the poet: and to such power and such gifts has the world ever paid its admiration, where there have been poets to sing, or men to listen. In the progress of things, the unity of this power has passed away. Its distinctiveness has been lost in the crowding interests of life; but its agency, though more secret and diffused, is still felt, with a vigour, indestructible as ever, and almost as wonderful, when we consider the vast sphere in which it is called to operate. In the simplicity of the early, and the comparative moral inaction of the middle ages, it was a necessary consequence of the state of the times, that the poet should hold a more discernible elevation, and that the exercise of his power should be more direct, and consequently more effectual, upon the mass of mankind. As society advanced, he also, as the depositary of |