But though his heart is shut against all of woman kind, never is he beheld by any whose affections are not instantly his. Lady Mar and her stepdaughter, Helen, form the leaders of the love-sick train. Lady Mar, daring in guilt, notwithstanding the life of her husband, gives herself up entire to her passion, and occupies herself without ceasing in schemes for its gratification. All her advances, how ever, are mildly, but steadily, rejected by Wallace. Helen, on the contrary, amiable and virtuous, sees from the first that her passion must be hopeless, but still cherishes it secretly, and under the guise of friendship. She passes through various adventures along with him, and at length, when he is shut up in the tower, procures admittance, is married to him for the purpose of soothing his last moments, afterwards, when his body is brought to Scotland, dies over it. Nor is it Scottish beauties alone whom our hero tivates. When a minstrel in disguise, at the court of Edward, he is treated with such favour by Margaret, the youthful queen, as to excite a paroxysm of jealousy in the breast of that monarch.

сар

The

The following two extracts will, we think, give a sufficiently correct idea of Miss Porter's style. first is the description of the battle of Bannockburn, which will exhibit it when exerted on warlike and heroic subjects,

Bruce having placed his array, disposed the supernumeraries of his army, the families of his soldiers and other apparently useless followers of the camp, under shelter of a hill which would lie between them and the enemy, he ordered Scrymgeour to strike the royal standard deep into a stone which grew out of the ground in the centre of his Jine. By it," said he, "we must this day stand or fall!"

The following morning the whole of the Southron army appeared in sight. The van, consisting of archers and men at arms, was commanded by Earl de

Warenne; and the main body was led on by Edward himself, supported by Aymer de Valence and a train of bis proached, the warlike Bishop of Dun most redoubted generals. As they ap keld appeared on the face of the opposite hill, between the abbots of Cambus. kennethand Inchaffray, celebrating mass in the sight of the opposing armies. He then passed along in front of the Scottish lines barefoot, with the crucifix in his hand, and in few but forceful words fight with an unreceding step for their exhorted them, by every sacred hope, to righ and king! At this adjuration, which seemed the call of heaven itself, the Scots fell on their knees to confirm their resolution with a vow. The sudden humiliation of their posture excited of Edward, and spurring forward, he an instant triumph in the haughty mind shouted aloud, "They yield! They cry for mercy!" They cry for mercy!" returned Percy, trying to withhold his majesty, "but not from us. On that ground on which they kneel, they will be victorious, or find their graves!"

the earl, and inwardly believing that The king, contemning this opinion of now Wallace was gone, he need fear no other opponent, ordered his men to charge. The horsemen, to the number of thirty thousand, obeyed; and rushing forward to the shock, with the hope of overwhelming the Scots ere they could

arise from their knees, met a different destiny. They found destruction amid the pits and hollows of the way, and with broken ranks and fearful confusion, fell, or fled under the missive weapons which poured on them from the adjoining hill. De Valence was overthrown and severely wounded on the first onset; and being carried off the field, filled the rear ranks with dismay; while the king's division was struck with con. sternation at so disastrous a commencement of an action in which they had promised themselves so easy a victory, Bruce, who felt his little army much distressed by the arrows of the English, sent Bothwell round with a resolute bo dy of men to attack the archers on the height they had seized. This was instantly effected; and Bruce coming up with his reserve to fill the deficiencies which this artillery had made in his foremost ranks, the battle in the centre be

came

came close, obstinate, and decisive. Many fell before the determined arm of the youthful king; but it was the fortune of Bothwell to encounter the false Menteith in the train of Edward. The Scottish earl was then at the head of the intrepid Lanarkers. "Fiend of the most damned treason!" cried he, "vengeance is come!" and with an iron grasp throw. ng him into the midst of the Lanarkers, the wretched traitor breathed out his treacherous breath under the strokes of a hundred swords. "Se," cried the veteran, Ireland, perish the murderers of William Wallace." "So," shouted the test," perish the enemies of the bravest of men!"

At this crisis, the women and the followers of the Scottish camp hearing such an exclamation from their friends, not doubting it was victory, impatiently quitted their station behind the hill, and appeared on the summit waving their bonnets and handkerchiefs, which they had exultingly mounted on their staffs, and re-echoed with loud huzzas the shouts they had heard from below. The English, mistaking these people for a new army, had not the power to recover from the increasing confusion which had seized them on King Edward himself receiving a wound; and panic-struck with the sight of their generals falling around them, they flung down their arms and fled. The king narrowly escaped being taken; but being mounted on a stout and fleet horse, he put him to the speed before his pursuing foe, till he fund shelter in Dunbar; whence the young earl of that place, almost as much attached to the cause of England as his father was, gave him a passage to England.

The next relates the first growth of Lady Mar's violent and fatal passion

for Wallace.

in the blood of Heselrigge, and breathing vengeance against the adherents of the tyrant Edward! It was the enemy, then, of her kinsmen of the house of Cummin! It was the man for whom her husband bad embraced so many dangers: It was the man whom she had denounced to one of those kinsmen, and whom she bad betrayed to the hazard of an ignominious death! Where now was the fierce rebel, the ruiner of her peace, the outlaw whom she had wished in his grave?

The idea was distraction!-She could have fallen at his feet, and bathing them with her tears have implored his forgiveness. Even as the thought passed through her mind, she asked herself, Did he know all, could he pardon such a weight of injuries? She cast her eyes with a wild expression upon his face. The mildness of heaven was there; and the peace too, she might have thought, had not his eye, which was turned to the discourse of Lord Marr, carried a chastened sadness in its look, which told that something dire and sorrowful was buried deep within. It was a look that dissolved the soul which gazed on it. The Countess felt her heart throb violently. At that moment Wallace ad. dressed a few words to her, but she knew not what they were; her soul was in tumults, and a mist passed over her sight, which for a moment seemed to wrap all her senses in a trance.

The unconscious object of these emotions bowed to her inarticulate reply, supposing that the mingling voices of others had made him hear her's indistinctly; and not observing her changing complexion, he again turned to the conversation of the Earls.

Lady Mar found her situation so ble, that feeling it impossible to remain strange, and her agitation so inexplicalonger without giving way to a burst of tears, for which she could not have accounted, she rose from her seat, and foreing a smile, curtseyed to the company, and left the room.

When she gained the saloon, she threw herself along the nearest couch, and striking her breast with a strong emotion, exclaimed, "What is this that is within me? How does my soul seem to pour itself out to this man! Oh how does it extend itself, as if it would ab

sorb

sorb his, even at my eyes! Only twelve hours-hardly twelve hours, have 1 ṣeen this William Wallace, and yet my very being is now lost in his !"

As she spoke, she covered her face

with her handkerchief; but no tears now started to be wiped away. The turbulence in her veins dried their source; and with beating temples and burning blushes she rose from her seat." Fatal, fatal hour! Why didst thou come here, too lovely Wallace, to rob me of my peace? O why did I ever look on that face? or rather, Blessed saints!" cried she, clasping her hands in wild passion," why did I ever shackle this hand by giving it to a man old enough to have been my father, why did I ever render such a sacrifice necessary? Wallace is now free, had I been free! Powers of Heaven," cried she, "grant me patience to bear all that is pressing on this heart!" she gasped for breath, and again seating herself, reclined her head against the tapestry.

She was now silent; but thoughts, not less intense, not less fraught with selfreproach and anguish, occupied her mind. Should this god of her idolatry

ever discover that it was her information

which had sent Earl de Valence's men to surround him in the mountains; should he ever learn that at Bothwell

she had betrayed the cause on which he had set his life; she felt that moment would be her last. For now, to sate her eyes with gazing on him, to hear the sound of his voice, to receive his smiles, seemed to her joy which she could only surrender with her existence. What then was the prospect of so soon losing him, even to crown himself with honour, but to her a living death!

Vol II. p. 165 Miss Porter's peculiar excellence consists, we think, in her power of expressing ardent and enthusiastic passion. This is perhaps the highest excellence of composition which can be possessed by a work of fancy. Wit, humour, description, are in their turn all pleasing; but they cannot communicate the same gratification which is afforded, when the high emotions and passions of the human heart are strongly and eloquently delineated. Of this excellence both the passages which

we have quoted will afford examples, and they are widely scattered throughqut the volumes. We must however

observe, that Miss Porter, like many other female writers, does not sufficiently know the art of letting herself down. Human genius cannot always continue on the wing; a great propor tion of every work must be devoid of any brilliant beauties, and it is important that the absence of these should be supplied by a tasteful simplicity which, if there be nothing to delight, may present also nothing to disgust. But where writers have conceived the ambition of making all equally fine, equally brilliant, bombast and meretricious ornament must be sought for, to fill up the pauses of real beauty.

We must say, that we consider the above remarks as not wholly inapplicable to Miss Porter, who appears to us to be inspired with some portion of the ambition above alluded to. In there is a mixture of false ornament, many, even of her finest passages, which sometimes greatly predominates. There is another circumstance which we are anxious to impress on her attention. Nothing is more essential to the beauty of any passage than that the different parts of it should harmonize together; that one tone, whether that tone be sublime or tender, grave or humourous, should prevail throughout, and should not be interrupted by any thing of an opposite character, One passage may be lofty, another familiar, but when the two are blended in one, the effect is unpleasant, and even borders on the burlesque this is a mixture which, it appears to us, Miss Porter, like many writers of the present day, has a great tendency to make. That our readers may understand what we have in view, we shall give the following examples;

Yet

"England shall hear more of this!" cred Mar, as he threw himself across the horse. "Give me that fatal box: I will buckle it to iny saddle bow." There is nothing, we think, in the tendency of these volumes which does not merit approbation. The standard of morals is pure; the love of virtue, of generosity, of genuine heroism, is expressed with ardour in every page. A fervent religious spirit, truly ration al and unaffected, appears strongly on all occasions. Love only appears to reign supreme, and to take possession of the breasts of its votaries, to a degree, hardly suitable, we think, to such characters and such circumstances. But, as we observed above on a similar occasion, Miss Porter may have prudential reasons for doing what her taste and judgment might otherwise have led her to avoid.

Upon the whole, though we have animadverted upon this work with suficient freedom, we trust that we have not failed in the respect due to the talents and character of the author. It has been our wish to excite her to the production of a work which may minister still more than the present to the public gratification; for though the pleasure afforded by it be great, yet we do not think it equal to what might be conveyed by Miss Porter. It would be wise in her, we think, to chuse a subject which might afford greater scope to her imagination, and might enable her better to preserve those unities, which are equally requisite to the perfection of a work of fancy, whether in poetry or prose. Occasional sallies of humour and gaiety might enliven so long a work. At the same time it is with great diffidence that we recommend their introduction, for it would be necessary

beforehand to ascertain that they were quite suited to the genius of the writer.

Memoirs of the PROGRESS of MANUFACTURES, CHEMISTRY, SCIENCE, and the FINE ARTS.

CORRESPONDENT of the PhilosoA phical Journal states; that cam. phor is contained in considerable proportion in the seeds of carraway; I lb. of seed yielding about 4 ounces of oil, and an ounce of camphor.

A German author, in a work lately published, states the following curious fact:-A person having an artificial magnet suspended from the wall of his study, with a piece of iron adhering to it, remarked, for several years, that the flies in the room, though they frequently alighted on other iron articles never settled on the artificial magnet ; and even that, if any of those insects approached it, they again in a moment removed to some distance. "It is worth the trouble," says professor Voigt, who repeats this circumstance in his journal," to make further observations on this phenomenon; and were it confirmed, magnetised iron might be employed to preserve it from being soiled by flies, and perhaps also for other purposes."

The Austrian government has lately proposed the following prize-questions, relative to substitutes for various foreign articles in the materia medica. 1. What indigenous or European productions, distinguished by specific effects, may be substituted for these now brought from India? 2. A substitute for camphor. 3. A substitute for Peruvian bark. 4. What species of plants may replace senna, jalap, and ipecacuanha? 5. A substitute for opium.--The prize for each question is five hundred ducats.

For the inquisitive traveller, a ba rometer is an instrument of the highest necessity, as it is not only servi ceable for meteorological observations,

but

but also for measuring heights in the countries through which he passes. The common barometers are unfit for this purpose, as the weight of the quicksilver would break the glass tubes in the carriage. For this reason, M. de Luc, of Gottingen, a considerable time since, contrived a travelling barometer, which was highly approved. Dr Schultes has recently invented a new instrument of this description, which may be placed horizontally, or vertically, without suffering the air to penetrate into the interior cavity.

M. Lampadius, of Freiberg, has discovered a method of condensing vapours in distillation, more rapidly than has yet been done. This is accomplished by means of a disk, attached to the tube of the still, which has the figure of a lens flattened as much as possible, and is made of copper. It produces a much better effect than the worms hitherto employed for that purpose.

M. Geitner has, by the aid of various substances, extracted from the green shells of horse-chesnuts very beautiful yellow and brown colours, and the latter in the greatest diversity of hues. They are found to stand both on woolens and silks, though the stuffs have been wetted and wrung out, and some of them even washed in caustic liquids.

Christoph. Heeren, organ-builder at Gottesbuhren, in Westphalia, has invented a loom, which performs all the operations of itself. Without the intervention of the weaver, it sets the treadles in motion, throws the shuttle, and stops it at the opposite side; loozens the web, when a certain portion is finished, and winds the cloth upon the axle. Every thing is kept in proper order; and the picce of stuff, when finished, is smoothed. An index, attached to the machine, shows at any time the number of ells that are wo

been exhibited on a small scale to connoisseurs, and has obtained the highest approbation.

We have already noticed the experiments of M. Degen, of Vienna, to raise himself into the air. As his weight exceeded the power of the machinery with which he effected this, by thirty-four pounds, he conceived the idea of combining with it an airballoon, imagining that, by means of the latter, he could be supported in the air, and at the same time have it sufficiently under his command. The experiments which he made with it, towards the conclusion of last year, in the Prater, before a numerous company, were completely successful. He flew at pleasure in all directions; raised and lowered himself; and the balloon followed him spontaneously which ever way he turned. The diameter of the latter was nineteen feet five inches.After deducting the weight of Degen and his flying-machine, the balloon possessed a power equal to thirty-two pounds.

A very simple contrivance has been invented by M. Fabroni, for transformning any good common balance into an hydrostatic balance. It is a moveable column, which, being placed in a vessel proper for the urpose, beneath any balance whatever, provided it be exact, renders it capable of giving specific gravities, without the necessity of recurring to the extraordinary and expensive methods with which the machines now called hydrostatic balances are attended..

M. Gonzatti has discovered a liquid. which instantaneously extinguishes fire. The following experiments were publicly made with it at Venice. Some resin and oil were set fire to, and scarcely had a few drops of this liquid been roured on the flame, when it immediately disappeared, leaving be hind not the least trace of fire. Billets of wood, besmeared with pitch and resin, and afterwards dipped in this

liquid,