unconstrained, I was led to suspect that the old woman had given her some intimation of the real purport of my visit. I perceived also that I was regarded with looks of unusual scrutiny and curiosity by all the company, and imagined that I was the subject of a good deal of the whispering I saw going forward. Not particularly desiring such a distinction, I felt much relieved by the summons to the dining-room. At table, I was placed between my two new friends, the sons of the host, nearly at the upper end, among the most distinguished guests. The conversation was by no means general, almost every one confining his discourse to his immediate neighbour. That of the elder merchants turned almost exclusively upon topics connected with commerce, the price current, and the state of the markets; subjects which their juniors carefully avoided, discussing only the latest fashions, the merits of horses, the theatres, singers, dancers, and occasionally making a transition to literature. None, however, forgot to do justice to the good things before them, so profusely provided by the liberal host, who, like another Jove, by a single motion of his brow, regulated the attendants, and was the main-spring of the whole mechanism of the feast. Before the repast was ended, a multitude of bottles had been drained of the last drop; and the constant discharges of corks indicated the extensive slaughter that was going on among the champagne and other excellent wines. The lacqueys, too, seemed to have come in for their share of the booty, for the manner in which they staggered about, every now and then spilling wine upon some one of the company, showed that they did not consider forbearance from tasting it as any part of their duty. In the meanwhile, the ladies, who did not participate much in the conversation, made amends for their silence, by the satisfaction with which they evidently enjoyed the dessert. My attention, however, was principally directed to the members of the family, of which I flattered myself that Hymen would shortly bestow on me the rights of freedom and denizenship; and observed that the hopeful sons were by no means reserved in remarks at the expense of their parents. These witticisms, for such they appeared to consider them, were uttered in French, a language unintelligible to the worthy people, who therefore were highly delighted at the mirth thus produced, which they of course imputed to the cleverness and facetiousness of their well educated offspring; nor did any one endeavour to undeceive them. I must do myself the justice to confess that I was more shocked than amused by this unnatural levity, and at the ungrateful misapplication these young men made of the education they had received; neither could I altogether excuse the parents themselves, who, eager to procure for their children instruction in fashionable accomplishments, appeared to have neglected the more important duty of moral instruction, and to have given themselves no concern on this head. It is to this perverted education of their children, and to the eagerness with which our principal merchants endeavour to elevate their families to the rank of nobility, that I attribute the paucity of mercantile families, of any standing, among us. Holland, England, France, and other commercial countries, there are wealthy mercantile houses which continue through a succession of generations, and which, as well by their respectability as their opulence, reflect credit upon their respective countries. But with us, no sooner has a family enriched itself by commerce than it abandons it as illiberal and plebeian; and hence that credit and respectability, which are the result only of a long-continued establishment, are unknown in Russia. This is the chief cause of the little progress of commerce here in comparison with other countries. Amidst these unpleasant reflections, I comforted myself by forming the determination of supporting to the utmost the credit of the firm of Moshinin, and applying myself sedulously to commerce, In 'After 'After dinner several of the company adjourned to play at whist and boston, while a party of the young men, among whom was myself, retired to another room, for the purpose of smoking our pipes, quaffing champagne, and conversing more unreservedly. 'After a short time, the elder of Moshinin's sons invited us to follow him to one of the drawing rooms, which had been fitted up as a temporary theatre, where a little French comedy was to be performed. The author of the drama, which was entitled "The Generous Parents, or the Good Children," was M. Furet, the sons' tutor. The plot was evidently intended to insinuate a lesson to the papa and mamma of this hopeful family, as it inculcated the policy of a wealthy merchant's indulging his children in every fashionable extravagance, in order that his daughters may marry princes, counts, and generals, and his sons obtain some high official situations. His children at length obtain a title for the merchant himself, and the family being all thus ennobled, the curtain fell. Although nothing could be more clumsy than the construction of the piece, or more insipid than the dialogue, and notwithstanding that the young Moshinins, who took a part in this strange performance, evidently enough betrayed that the champagne they had drank, however it might increase their assurance, did not at all add to their ability; the audience conceived themselves obliged to applaud almost every speech.*-With this sample, we beg to conclude. Forsægtil en Videnskabelig Dansk Retskrivningslære, af R. Rask.-Attempt at Scientific Danish Orthography. Copenhagen. 1826. THE above work introduces to the Danish public a journal on the subject of Danish antiquities, under the title of Tidsskrift fer Nordisk Oldkyndighed, founded and supported by native scholars of the first rank, as Nierup, Thorlazius, Rabech, Sanddtvig, Rask, &c. We think the selection of the introductory subject extremely appropriate, as it attempts to fix the rules of orthography, which have hitherto been very vague and variable in Danish literature. When a nation has reached a certain point of literary cultivation, a settlement of the orthographical rules of its language becomes absolutely necessary, a duty which, in some countries, as in France, Spain, and Sweden, is discharged by the legislative power of the academies. Remonstrances have been repeatedly made against such an authority, as retarding the progress of a language; but we think that its operation is generally confined to the establishment of orthographical rules, without obstructing the progress or extension of the language which depend chiefly on the writers. Language must necessarily keep pace with the progress of cultivation and science. New terms are thus created, which, though at first beheld with astonishment and contempt, gradually become incorporated into the language. In countries where the academic authorities just mentioned do not exist, the arrangement of orthographical rules must be supplied by distinguished individual scholars, as Johnson and Walker have done in England, and Adelung in Germany. In Denmark Mr. Rask has begun, by the above-mentioned treatise, to establish orthographical rules, which, we doubt not, will be generally adopted by his enlightened countrymen. These rules are for the most part founded on the authority of previous Danish scholars, as Peter Siv and Højsgard, of the 17th and 18th centuries, and Professor Bloch, a distinguished grammarian of our own times. Mr. Rask proceeds upon the simple fact that orthography must be founded on the true pronunciation. We do not hesitate to say that his work is one of the soundest and most acute treatises that have appeared on Some passages of the original have been omitted, and in one or two places the narrative has been a little abridged, as it would otherwise have occupied more room than we could spare. the the subject, and we hope the author will succeed in expelling from the Danish language the broad aa by the substitution of the Swedish a. The work is divided into two parts, the first treating of the intuitive, and the second of the practical orthography, with constant reference to the old Icelandic and Danish language, as also to the kindred language of Sweden. Noveller af Ingemann.-Novels of Ingemann. Reitzel. Copenhagen. 1827. THIS branch of Danish literature is extremely poor, and we think Mr. Ingemann has contributed but little towards its enrichment by the four novels contained in this volume. Their titles are the "Cursed House;" "the Monument;""the Old Rabbi;" and "the Rope Dancers;" none of which possess any peculiar merit of plot or execution. They all treat of the ordinary events of modern social life, and all end alike with an hymeneal festival. The second may be taken as a fair specimen of the sort of production put forth by Mr. Ingemann in the present volume. "Louisa, the heroine of 'the Monument, laments the loss of her youthful husband, the curate of the village, with so much sincerity, that she captivates the heart of his reverend and handsome successor. On her part, however, there is a most determined opposition to the very thought of love, so much so that she orders a monument to be raised to the deceased, on which she has her own name inscribed, with a blank space for the day of her death, within the year of widowhood. Notwithstanding such resolute opposition, love contrives to inspire the widow with an affection for the curate, whose talents for condolence appear to be of a very persuasive kind. Louisa becomes first aware of the state of her heart during the preaching of the divine, but, recalling the image of her husband, she is taken ill of a fever, and dies within the year of her widowhood. The clergyman bears this misfortune with Christian patience, and consoles himself by marrying the widow's sister, who, though hitherto disregarded, had long loved his reverence very fervently." Thus much of the "Monument." We will not detain our readers by an analysis of the other three novels, but we may generally remark that the author of " Valdemar the Great," Valdemar the Victorious," and so many other works of merit, should have employed his pen to better purpose than he has done in the present volume. Nya Dikter of Karl August Nicander. Hörberg. Stockholm. 1827. LITERARY contests are good evidence that life exists; and, "where there is most life, there is victory," according to a celebrated writer. In such contests, dormant powers are aroused and strengthened; and, though neither party may acknowledge itself defeated, yet the preconceived opinions, errors, and prejudices, which were in the beginning so pertinaciously defended, subside, and are forgotten in the repose which, like Phoebus post nubila, follows such a storm of conflicting elements. In Sweden, the opposition between the Phosphorists, or romantic school, and the adherents of" the old," or French school, has produced its good consequences, among others this,-that the Academy of Eighteen, the highest literary authority, has adopted a more refined and enlightened style of criticism. The first evidence of this amelioration was perceived in the election of Tegner, Geijer, and Franzen, as members of the Academy; the productions of those great men having been written in direct opposition to the spirit of the French school. A further proof was, their tacit abandonment of the practice of giving crown prizes only for poems written in Alexandrines. The new romantic school, on the other hand, relinquished the sonnet and German mania; and thus the stream of literature in Sweden flows on calm and undisturbed. August Nicander, whose poems have given occasion for the above remarks, is one of the younger Swedish poets, who, from the strife of parties, have drawn drawn the golden rule of moderation. His first poetic work was Run Svärdet, (The Runic Sword,) a tragedy of very considerable promise, which, with a late production, "The Runics," procured for him the notice of the Crown Prince, who is the liberal patron and friend of genius. By this distinguished patronage, Nicander has been enabled to visit the land of arts and song, whence so many of his countrymen have borne away the wreath of honourable distinction. Previously to his departure for Italy, he published the volume before us, which may be taken as a powerful security that he will not disappoint the hopes of his illustrious patron and numerous friends. His poetry is distinguished by deep feeling, a noble enthusiasm for the exalted calling of a poet, and a purity of diction which eclipses the minor faults almost always found in the works of youthful writers. We may particularly notice his sometimes forced and injudicious application of images, a defect which may be remedied by a due regulation of his luxuriant fancy, for which object no better model can be given him than that of his great countryman Tegner, so remarkable for abundant and judicious imagery. The largest poem in the collection before us is a Lyric, in eleven romaunts, under the title of Enzio. The author has called forth a figure from the dark historic stores, and invested it with the golden hues of poetry. Enzio, King of Sardinia, and Viceroy of Italy, son of the great German Emperor, Frederick II, and who, according to the testimony even of his foes, was the bravest and most beautiful hero of his day, sustained an utter defeat from the Bolognese at the battle of Fossalta, 1249, and was made prisoner. The proud Republicans sentenced him to perpetual confinement; and, within the walls of his dungeon, the unfortunate prince survived the downfall and destruction of his family. Death at length came to his relief, and freed him of an existence which had long been but one continued sigh, and would have before broken his heart but for the beautiful Bolognese Lydia Vindagola, who shed a soothing beam through the long dark night of his captivity. The sorrows of this royal victim of a fate that hurled him from the height of his power to perpetual misery, and the one consoling thought that softened his anguish, have afforded the poet an opportunity for much striking and tender description. We give two Sonnets from this poem :— De la sua labbia si mova Uno spirto soave e pien d'amore Che va dicendo a l'anima; sospira! She sate beside her lamp at midnight's hour, Stole through the lattice, playfully to seek O, Honor's heav'nly martyr, Enzio brave! My My tender foot can thorny dangers brave, And die of pain and joy,-my meed is there! The Poem on the Death of Tasso obtained the prize from the Royal Academy in 1826. We give one extract from that part of the poem where the people are assembled to celebrate Tasso's coronation festival, while his songs and praises sound on every side from choirs of youths and maidens. But Tasso hears them not-he cannot hear The bliss that spreads around, o'er hill and vale; Far other music warbles in his ear! At Death's cold breast he low'rs the lofty head, Than when on earth his eye's reflection shed— Where earth and heav'n together mingling flow; Or on the stormy billow's cheerless breast, Mid joy unalter'd by the shades of woe! We have no space for quotations from his smaller poems, all of which bear marks of true poetic inspiration, particularly that on Silence, a piece of singular pathos and beauty. Campagne d'Egypte. 1. Mémoires du Maréchal Berthier, prince de Neuchatel et de Wagram, Major-Général des Armées Françaises. 1 vol. 8vo. 433 pages. Paris, 1827. Baudoin, frères. 2. Mémoires du Comte Reynier, Général de division. 1 vol. in 8vo. 412 pages. Paris, 1827. Baudoin, frères. WE arrange these two works under the same head, because they both relate to the same subject, and furnish a narrative of the expedition to Egypt. They |