"Seize the dishonour of her name,

And plunge her in the surging main.

Deep let his waters hide her shame,

And cleanse (if they can cleanse) her stain."

P. 38.

While

This dire command is executed, and Zaida is plunged into the sea. During this transaction Selim is carried by the angel to the evening-star-a dull description of which occupies a considerable number of stanzas. Hither his beloved Zaida, rising from the waves, is conveyed, and the lovers are united by indissoluble bands. Selim, upon asking the ministering spirit how they have deserved his favour, is informed that their ethereal friend was once involved in rebellion against the Eternal, who doomed him to expiate his guilt by occasionally descending to earth, there to be tormented by the sons of men. he was suffering from this decree, and was compelled, under the semblance of a poor decrepit man, to endure the revilings of the rabble, Selim interposed to protect him ;-in return for. which act of kindness the angel had rescued him from his imminent peril. Such is the outline of the story of Selim and Zaida; in the conduct of which the author evinces an accurate knowledge of Oriental manners and opinions, but offers few of those genuine traits of nature which interest the heart, and but little of that fertile imagination which captivates the fancy. The same remark may be applied to the remaining poems, which are not numerous. The following translation from the Italian of Lorenzo de' Medici is, however, neatly executed.

Othou, whom queen the shores of Cyprus hail,

Leave those bright realms that own thy gentle sway;
Leave thy lov'd isle, and hither bend thy way,
Where this clear streamlet laves the flow ry vale:
These shades invite thee; and this balmy gale,
To which the fountains murmur as they play;
And this sweet bird, who pours a melting lay,
While the woods listen to his amorous tale,

Oh, if thou com'st these lucid streams among,
Bring with thee, smiling pow'r, thy son so dear;
For here his arms, his godhead, scarce are known.
Take from Diana, take her virgin throng,
Who, wand'ring unrestrain'd, and void of fear,

His darts despise, his sovereign sway disown.' P. 87.

ART. XVIII.-Sermons by the late Rev. William Elisha Faulkner. 8vo. 10s. 6d. Boards. Rivingtons.

THESE are plain, pious, serious, practical sermons, well suited to the congregations before whom they were preached,

and better adapted to the meditations of the Sunday evening than many discourses of much greater celebrity, where language, elegance of style, arrangement, and sentiment, are the qualifications principally in vogue. The present are rather Scriptural sermons; for the writer is very liberal, and properly so, of his Scripture quotations-a practice which we cannot too much recommend to those who wish to communicate useful instruction to their parishes. A man may compose a very elegant discourse; he may be admired by hearers of education and taste; may be flattered by well-earned encomiums on his eloquence; but may yet be entitled to nothing more than the character of an orator:-the greater part of the congregation of ́ such a preacher will be able to carry but little away with them of what they hear; and the discourse which he holds in contempt, grounded on plain sense, Scripture allusions, Scripture exhortations, Scripture threatenings, and Scripture proofs, will be found far more useful to the lower classes, and may be made to contain much of what the higher classes stand most in need of. Another striking circumstance in these discourses merits notice from the younger clergy, especially at a time when such infamous notions pass current, as that the articles of religion are merely articles of peace; and when, from the prevalence of these notions, as well as the practice of too many in the pulpit, it should seem that the Thirty-nine Articles are merely to be subscribed as a matter of form, before the bishop, and are never afterwards to be consulted or thought of by the subscriber. It has not been thus with the worthy preacher whose works are now before us: he is not ashamed either of the Scriptures or the Articles; and, so far from forgetting the latter, he refers continually to them, and thus proves to his hearers that he is, not only in name, but in deed and in truth, a minister of the church. Where so much merit prevails, we feel ourselves little inclined to criticise on the inferior parts of composition, the diction and arrangement of these discourses, which, though not cultivated quite so successfully as they ought to have been, are by no means altogether neglected. How zealous the preacher has been in inculcating divine truths, our readers may perceive from the manner in which he urges a doctrine that cannot be too much pressed on every audience; viz. reconciliation by the blood of Jesus.

Brethren, you cannot but perceive the encouragement and consolation which our gracious Lord here designed to administer to every true penitent. Indeed this is the constant and uniform language of God our Saviour to poor, wretched, wandering sinners. Hear how it is expressed by Jeremiah, chap. iii. 21, 22. A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the Lord their God. Return, ye backsliding children, and I will

heal your backslidings: behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God." Yes, I may assure you, brethren, that God ever waits to be gracious, and that it is not his will that " "any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." I am warranted therefore to invite every poor sinner, "appointed unto wrath" as a sinner against God, to come unto him and sue for mercy. There is, my dear brethren, redemption, plenteous redemption in the blood of Jesus Christ; and whosoever will, may come-(if he comes truly penitent and believing)-he may come and obtain mercy. God Aĺmighty give some doubting soul to believe this! It is not improbable but that in this assembly there may be a person hanging down his head and saying, Alas, there is no hope! I have, I trust, repented of my former sins, and I am now endeavouring through grace to "bring forth fruits meet for repentance," and live to my Maker's praise; but such is the weakness and corruption of my mortal nature, and so many are my sins and temptations, that I fear and tremble for my future state.' But lift up thy head, oh poor distressed soul, and look at the compassionate Jesus suffering and dying for thy sins; and fear not, only believe. Can you so dishonour him as to think that his atonement is insufficient? Remember the verse preceding our text, and pray to God to enable you to put on "for an helmet the hope of salvation," that you may join the sweet declaration of the apostle,-" God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ."-Brethren, it is for want of more faith that so many refuse to be comforted who have been given to see the error of their ways, and made willing to be saved by the atonement of Christ. Far be it from me to speak peace to any man who wilfully continues in sin; but to the penitent sinner I would wish to open all the treasures of consolation which flow from the Redeemer's cross, that he may look forward with delight and joy to the second coming of Christ, and knowing and being assured that his complete redemption draweth nigh.' . 406.

ART. XIX.-Old Nick: a satirical Story. By the Author of a Piece of Family Biography, &c. 3 Vols. 12mo. 10s. 6d. sewed. Murray and Highley. 1801.

IT were ungrateful to criticise severely what has much amused us, and has not failed to entertain, even when repeated. Yet we must acknowledge that the story is in general not well connected; that it is, in many parts, improbable; and that some of the most striking characters are copied from other works. We suspect, however, that this story is intended only as the vehicle of humour, and that the author considers striking situations as of more importance than originality of character. The gloomy haughtiness of Keppel, the manly dignity of Barclay, and the placid good humour of Mr. Pawlet, are well supported. Mrs. Pawlet's character is somewhat extravagant. She is the aunt of Narcissa in Roderick Random, with the edu

cation of miss Hollybourne in the Old Manor House. The whole, as we have said, is highly entertaining; and were we to add any very important objection, it would be the hasty and unsatisfactory dénouement.

We were greatly pleased with the character of the faithful Gregory, whose warm passions occasionally lead him into many scrapes. We will copy, as an instance of our author's manner, what relates to one of these.

Alas! poor Gregory, to attack thee in such a situation! Madam, she beat him with a brush, until he was obliged to cry for quarters. She then opened the door, and he was glad to sneak away disgraced and discomfited, Such, indeed, is commonly the end of most love affairs!

But to use the words of a noble lord, "The gallant who goes about to open the trenches in this manner will generally" (like Gregory)" be soon obliged to raise the siege."

Keppel's maid having never seen Gregory before, and he thinking it full as well, after what had happened, to retire without delivering his message, she could not identify the person who had been there, and, during his absence, committed such an alarming outrage on her virtue. However, as she had fought such a good fight, she was resolved not to lose all the advantage her reputation might derive from it; she therefore described every thing to her master on his return, as minutely as she was able. But she dwelt so much on her own spotless virtue, and gave such a confused account of the ravisher, that none but Keppel, who, knowing Gregory's propensity, shrewdly suspected it was him [he], could have gathered any thing from it,

Telling Barclay the circumstance next day, without intimating his suspicions, our hero exclaimed, before he had half finished, "As I live, 'twas Gregory! the scoundrel !”

"I guessed as much," cried Keppel, "but we may be both wrong-I am to dine with you to day; let us devise some plan to sound him."

This being agreed upon, at dinner, while Gregory was waiting, Barclay said in a careless manner," Did you go to my friend's with that message yesterday, Gregory ""

"Message?" he replied, in a way as if he had forgotten it.

"Yes," added the other, "the message that I told you to deliver in the course of the evening,"

Ay," cried Gregory, not wishing to tell a lie, and catching at the word deliver, "I recollect now--no, sir, I did not deliver it." Keppel seeing they were baffled here, went on thus, addressing himself to Barclay.

"A-propos of yesterday-The strangest thing happened whilst I was out, that you ever heard. A man, I know not who, called at my chambers, and, being told that I was not at home, he rushed in, and ravished my maid-servant."

Gregory kept rubbing the glasses, as if he meant to rub them to pieces.

"Bless me!" cried Barclay, with affected surprise: "Pray, what time of the day was it?"

"Sometime in the evening," replied the other..

"Well," said our hero, looking stedfastly at Gregory, whose confusion evidently betrayed his guilt, "I am glad, sir, to understand that you were not there last night."

When we say sir, to a gentleman, we mean to employ an honorable term; but when we apply it to a servant, as-" So, sir," or as it is used above, it is merely an abbreviation of sir-rah. Gregory felt the full force of the word, and knew his master's suspicions; but not caring to acknowledge the fact, he bowed respectfully to conceal his blushes, and then turned round as if he had something to do at the sideboard,

Keppel had made a little embellishment, but, finding that of no effect, proceeded to magnify still further.

"Now," said he to Barclay, "I would have forgiven the fellow for any thing that he did with the girl, since his passions might have run away with him, but I can never pardon his descending to steal the silver candlestick."

"If I did, I'll be damn'd!" cried Gregory, turning hastily around; " as I hope for mercy, I stole nothing!" Vol. i. P. 99.

A character, which does not often occur in novels, also interested us. It is drawn with much simplicity and truth. We mean that of madame, the kept-mistress of a careless man of fashion. We cannot, however, recommend this part of the story as correctly moral, or indeed proper, for a popular work.

We shall add a specimen, descriptive of the benevolent Pawlet and his pedantic wife.

After breakfast the next morning, Mrs. Pawlet and Barclay, as before, withdrew to the library, there to pursue their respective studies. They had not been there long, however, before their curiosity was excited by a great bustle below stairs. Mrs. Pawlet con sequently rang the bell, and was presently informed that the noise was occasioned by the parson, who had just learned from the gardener that his bees had swarmed. The moment Mrs. Pawlet heard this, she stalked up to the further end of the study, and whipping Virgil under her arm, bolted out of the room. Barclay, curious to see the bees swarm, followed her into the garden. Immediately Mrs. Pawlet saw the parson, she exclaimed,

"Tinnitusque cie, et Matris quate cymbala circum!"

"I have no cymbal, my dear," said the parson, "but here comes the gardener with the poker and shovel, and that must answer the purpose."

The parson now began beating away; and the bees gradually collected together and hung from the bough of a tree. Mrs. Pawlet, having during this time seated herself on a bench, began the fourth Georgic, which she read aloud, notes and all, commenting herself also as she proceeded.-Penelope was absent.