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And every tiny fold, and bofom fair,

Is obvious to the eye, though hid its hue.

"See fome o'erlook the hufhed divan, who stake A village on the turning of a card.

"Or does the crowded theatre precede

Thefe midnight orgies? there, too, Folly rules,
And crowns her votaries with ephemeral bays,-
While far apart, the Tragic Mufe, inspired
By Shakespeare's fpirit, fpeaking from a cloud
Of thunder, meditates her lofty theme,
And awes, or melts, by turns, a listening world.
"Perhaps the feaft of mufic draws the crowd,
Who, glutted even to furfeit, ftill with praife,
With yawning admiration, daub the man,
That, with bold fingers, gloriously afcends
Three ftraw-breadths higher, on the tortured string,
Than his compeers, and thence extracts *

A fqueak, a little fqueak, that much delights,-
Becaufe lefs grating than most other squeaks.

"Such are the scenes which rob the wintry months
Of thofe, whom duty, intereft, pleasure, call
A country life to lead. How far furpafs
The pleasures which the few, who ftill obferve
The good old cuftoms of the Christmas tide;
Who fee their halls with happy faces thronged,
The rich, the poor, the old and young, all joined
In focial harmony,-how far furpafs

Their pleasures, thofe extracted from the round
Of city life, from various fameness, dull
Laborious merriment, and all the falves,
The antidotes against the bane of Time!

"Of all the feftive nights which customs old,
And waning faft, have made the poor man's own,
The merrieft of them all is Hoggmanay+.

Then from each cottage window, 'mid the gloom,
A brighter ray shoots through the falling flakes,—
And glimmering lanterns gleam, like Will-a-Wifp
Athwart the fields, or, mounting over ftiles,
Evanish fuddenly: no dread is now

Of walking wraith, or witch, or cantrip‡ fell ;

* A defective verse.-Rev.

"In Scotland the last night of the year is called Hogmanay, moft frequently pronounced hockmanay. For an ingenious account of the origin of this name, fee Dr. Jamieson's Dictionary.

"Wraith, properly an apparition in the exact likeness of a perfon; fuppofed by the vulgar to be feen before or foon after death."-JAMIESON.

“Cantrip, a charm, fpell, an incantation.”—JAMIESON.

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For Superftition's felf this night affumes
A fmiling afpect, and a fearlefs mien,
And tardy Prudence flips the leafh from Joy.
To meeting lovers now no hill is steep,
No river fordless, and no forest dark;

And when they meet, unheeded fweeps the blaft,
Unfelt the fnow, as erft from fummer thorn,
Around them fell a fhower of fading flowers,
Shook by the fighing of the evening breeze.

"With smutted vifages, from house to house,
In country and in town, the guifarts * range,
And fing their madrigals, though coarse and rude,
With willing glee that penetrates the heart.
O! it delights my heart, that unftained joy

Of thoughtless boyhood. Spurn you from my door !-
No, no, rush freely in, and share my fire,

And fing through all your roll of jovial lilts.

"But older folks their chairs and stools draw in
Around the fire, and form a circle blythe.
With riddles quaint, and tricks, and ancient tales,
They pafs the time, while oft the reaming horn,
From hand to hand paffed round, arrefts midway
The ftory-teller in his long-fpun tale,-.
Which, not thus baulked, he foon again refumes,
And interweaves full many an episode.

"The temperate banquet done, their feveral homes
Timely they feek, refolved, ere morning dawn,
With fmoaking pints, to greet friends, lovers, kin.

"Gyfer, gyfard, a harlequin; a term applied to those who disguise themselves about the time of the new year."---Jamieson. "Whan gloaming gray comes from the east, Through a' the gyfarts venture,

In farks and paper helmets dreft."---NICOL's Poems.

"The custom of difguifing now remains only among boys and girls, fome of whom wear masks, and others blacken their faces with foot. They go from door to door, finging carols that have fome relation to the feafon, and afking money or bread, fuperior in quality to that used on ordinary occasions."---JAMIESON.

"On firft coming to a door, they cry or chaunt,

"Hogmenay Trololay,

Give us your white bread,

And none of your gray." P. 341.

"Some

"Some blyther bevies, till the midnight hour,
Around the cheerful board their mirth protract,
To drink a welcome to the good new year;
Then croffing arms, with hands enlinked all round,
All voices join in fome old song, and full

The tide of friendly harmony o'erflows!" P. 230.

One note, on the fisheries of Scotland, feems to us, in a political light, too important to be omitted.

"The theme of the British, and efpecially the Scottish fifheries, though thoroughly hacknied, is nevertheless a moft important one. It is not the lefs important, that the opinions of the writers on political economy, and the firm conviction of the people at large, have produced little elfe than neglect on the part of government, or, what is worfe, a mixture of wife and foolish regulations, in which the foolish greatly preponderate. The most neglected fpot of the British dominions is the Shetland and Orkney ifles. For a defcription of the miferable and grind. ing vaffalage under which the inhabitants (who are almost all fish. ermen) of these islands exift, I refer the reader to a Tour through fome of these islands by Mr. Patrick Neill. In this little book, which was violently, but impotently, attacked by fome of the Shetland landholders, or rather flave-holders, there is a great deal of useful information, to which it would be well if fome attention were paid by those who have the power to rectify abuses. While the conquest of a peftilential island on the other fide of the Atlantic, cofts the nation thousands of lives, and millions of money, the northern and western islands of Scotland, which are demon. ftrated to be encircled with a rich and inexhauftible mine of national wealth and ftrength, lie almoft neglected. The fums applied out of the prices of the forfeited eftates, towards the im. provement of the fisheries, are a mere sprinkling, a drop in the bucket. To do any good, extenfive tracts of the islands and of the fhores of the Highland mainland, ought to be purchased by government, on the fame principles, and according to the fame regulations, as lands are purchased for canals or roads. Thefe domains ought to be parcelled out in fmall portions of two or three acres, more or less according to the quality of the ground; a small house fhould be erected on each parcel, and these little properties fhould be given in perpetuity to tenants or cottars, who have been turned out of their poffeffions. The way to make the feas productive is to make the fhores populous, and for this purpose pothing can be fo effectual as encouraging fettlers with a gift of land. All other bounties are ufelefs. If fome fuch plan had been adopted twenty years ago, the miserable exiles from the Highlands and islands, instead of being under the necef fity of tranfporting themfelves to America, or identing themfelves at Cotton-mills, would have been covering the shores of

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their native country with a happy and virtuous population. As to expence, the cost of one of our expeditions would have defrayed it ten times over.". P. 315.

Mr. Grahame's verfification is in general eafy and harmonious; in a few places rather profaic, but not fufficiently often form a material objection. But it has a fault more extraordi nary, which feems to be connected with fome little defect of ear. When his poem of "the Sabbath," then anonymous, first appeared, we remarked, after praifing the whole, that his lines were occafionally defective, which we were willing to attribute to the prefs. But the fault continues, and in every book of this poem we could produce five, fix, or more lines either deficient in a foot, or redundant in the fame degree; the redundant verfes not being fo placed as to claim the privilege of defigned Alexandrines. This proves to us, that Mr. G.'s ear does not with fufficient correctness measure à verse, and that the teft of the fingers is neceffary to him to count the feet. We certainly did not appeal to that teft to discover the fault, and therefore we conclude that he does not meafure fo completely by the ear as we do. The introduction of unexplained Scottish words is rather too frequent; nor do we alway think them preferable. Gloaming is not fo good, to our apprehenfion, as twilight. We can allow the northern poets to introduce their own words, but they must not attempt to make them English, and should recollect, that on this fide of the Tweed, they are very little understood,

ART. III. A Plain Statement of fome of the most important Principles of Religions as a Prefervative against Infidelity, Enthufiafm, and Immorality. By the Rev. Thomas Watson. pp. 168. 6s. Longman. 1811.

8vo.

IN N proportion to the peculiar pleasure we receive from the perufal of fuch publications as this before us, must be the mortification and concern arifing from the reflection, that out of the great mafs of mankind, fo very few are capable of feeing things in the fame light in which the learned and worthy author of this work contemplates them. Little fhould we have of either infidelity, enthufi afm, or immorality, if men would but exert their reafon and common sense, or apply their talents in the way Mr. Watson exerts and applies the fame faculties and endow

ments.

ments. If Mr. W. had fought to difplay (as he is probably well qualified to do) any great fuperiority of learning in the arrangement of his arguments, or to dazzle his readers with any abftrufe or laboured reafoning, we might wonder lefs at the aberrations of other men; but here we find fome of the most important topics, that can engage the attention of men, difcuffed, and we think decided, in language fo plain, fimple, and unaffected, and yet with fuch weight of argument, that it is impoffible to fuppofe that truth can be against him. In fact, Mr. Watfon is a writer capable not only of giving to truth its proper colours, and fetting it forth in all its native fimplicity and grandeur, but of divefting it of the incumbrances and ftrange additions which men in general feem determined to heap upon it.

The work is divided into Seven Chapters, and thofe Chapters into Sections. We shall give only the heads of the Chapters.

On the Existence of God. On Providence. Importance of forming worthy conceptions of God.

vealed Religion.

On Religious Duties.

Feelings. On the Sanctions of the Gospel,

On ReOn Internal

Under the laft Section of the first Chapter which treats of the Juftice of God, Mr. Watfon thus arraigns the doctrine of arbitrary decrees, as embraced by certain of the followers of Calvin.

"There are many opinions however, which militate against this principle (namely the infinite juftice of the Supreme Being), which are preferved and cherished as religious principles; and by men of great worth and great popularity; which principles, however, it is impoffible to reconcile with the juftice of God. And, if it could be established, that these principles were clearly taught in Scripture, it would be extremely difficult to perfuade any rational perfon that fuch a book could come from God.

"It is afferted and ftrenuously maintained by men of thefe principles, that God, from all eternity, felected a number of men, to raise them to eternal blifs; and that without re. gard to what should be the life and conduct of fuch men. And on the other hand, it is with equal pofitiveness infifted upon and taught, that the righteous Governor of the Universe appointed from all eternity another clafs of men to be doomed to everlasting deftruction, and without any refpect to their demerits.

"It is aftonishing how fuch doctrines could find, at any time, any abettors; for they deftroy every principle of religion, and muft fcatter gloom and melancholy over all fuch as believe them.

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