her savage temper. The most apparent touch that distinguishes Macbeth from Satan, is in his cowardice and mean preva rication; he exclaims,

'Thou canst not say I did it,'

to Banquo's ghost, because he only commanded his assassination: Milton's hero gloried in his undoing; and,

1

fierce with grasped arms,

Clash'd on his sounding shield the din of war,
Hurling defiance to the vault of heav'n.'

"Shakspeare is like a cataract: at one time rushing through rocks and caverns, foaming and terrifying; then sinking into a sluggish calm, with nothing but the bubbles of his former sublimity. Milton is a full, not overflowing river; and, like the river to the sea, hastening towards his illustrious design, never pausing, and seldom dangerous to the passengers. The foibles of one are delusive and charming; but the other, if ever he should

very

descend, is flat, and liable to inferiority from the nature of his performance. The wild scenery of Shakspeare is the unconnected magic of Merlin, variously diverting: that of Milton is like Plato's Elysium; enchanting, yet built on the basis of an opinion which bears the air of probability.

"In a word, the former was a man of many faults and many virtues; the latter, nearly a pattern of perfection-perfection attained by study and dint of learning. Shakspeare was the child of fancy; Milton, the child of judgment. Milton was the poet and critic too: Shakspeare the poet only; but such a one as

'We ne'er shall look upon his like again.''

SENTIMENTAL COGITATIONS ON A PIPE OF TOBACCO.

"THAT a simple weed should be of such unparalleled service to the whole junto of philosophers, politicians, parsons, and poets;

that a small tube with a competent bore should invigorate their spirits, and kindle up their brain; is most marvellous. That the peasant may imbibe cheerfulness, the hypochondriac disappoint the bile and the va pours, and the statesman save a whole state, for a halfpenny, is verily incomprehensible and mysterious. The poet may get inspiration for his Muse, brown paper to scribble on, and humour to please his countrymen, at so small expence. Oh, the blessings of a kind legislature; which thus obliges the world, and exalts the sad hearts of thousands! For my part, I would travel from Connamara to Jerusalem, and thence to the Antipodes, to find at last á social smoker, a-lively coal-fire, and a clear-drawing pipe.

"Lost in the clouds of thy influence, sable nymph of India! and in the depth of thy Castalian tankard, I would defy the world, the pope, and the devil. Besides, thy intoxications are harmless, thy votaries

* An obscure barony in the western extremity of Ireland.

all sentimental, and all (in spite of thy fogs) pervious to the imploring eye of pity, the warm tear of gratitude, and the eloquent sigh of misfortune. Fortunatos nimium !' Golden feast! second course to the acorns of simplicity, and the unbought dainties of Eden. Light lie the sod on the wight who first explored thee, and long may thy own balm allay the labour of the swarthy slave who planteth thy luxuriant seeds !”

THE ANCIENT COMEDY OF ENGLAND, AND THE MACHINERY OF SHAKSPEARE.

"THE manners of men are variable: the fashion of literary performances, especially of the dramatic kind, must changè also. The obsolete language of Elizabeth would appear as incongruous in the mouth of a modern actor, as the ruff and trunk hose of her time would be on one of our, present coxcombs. The fops of antiquity can scarcely excite a smile now: we must

have something of our own date to laugh at. The Bobadil of Jonson has forced applause for a few nights, and Morose may have diverted some congenial spirits; but we still join with hearty risibility in the tricks of Scapin, or the quaint archness of Jeremy. Yet there are many dramas that pleased our grandfathers, which might again please us: for instance, Love's last Stake, the Plain Dealer, with many others of Jonson's, Shadwell's, &c. which are now resigned to oblivion by the supercilious taste of our present splenetics.

"Our declension in tragedy was rapid. We must allow our ancestors superiority on this head at least. Are we to compare our gold-leaf to their sterling bullion? Are our Clementinas and our Alziras to be placed in the same rank with the Actor of Massinger, the Philaster of Beaumont and Fletcher, or the Sejanus of Jonson ? All our excellent productions of the Tragic Muse have stood the test of seventy years. I