him on being the best. From a wilful perversity of taste, or an incorrigible defect of ear, his poetry is distinguished by harshness of numbers, perplexity of phrase, and obscurity of thought, which constitute the very deformities most conspicuously opposed to the peculiar graces of the Sonnet,-melodious versification, elegant diction, and lucid arrangement of ideas. In the following example of Mr. Lofft's favourite manner, sense is racked, and language broken on the wheel of a Sonnet.

The Sports of the Field.

Sports of THE FIELD!...deadly or maiming Blow
Aim'd at a gentle Bird!-the timid Hare
From her half slumber in warm brake to scare,
And drive her o'er the track betraying snow
To death, by Chace embitter'd....From the Bow
The Rook, not yet of strength to cleave the Air,
To slaughter, trembling on the Nest!-to tear
The bowels of the Fish!-deliberate, slow,

Play with the agonizing Worm !-to find
Amusement, when the dauntless Fox is torn
By furious Dogs:-or when the beauteous Hind,
Wing'd by her unavailing fears, is borne

From yell of Hounds and Horn;-or the Stag dies

With silent Tear!..... Thus Man enjoys Earth, Water, Skies!
Sonnet CCCLXXIII. Vol. III.

From the exclamation in the first line to the coup de grace in the last, this is fairly putting the question with the cruelty of an Inquisitor, for the purpose of extorting a confession from thoughts and words, which both would have made more readily, if they had been treated with common humanity.

We next offer a favourable specimen of Mr. Lofft's style of translation from Prudenza Gabrielli Capizucchi, in which a noble-minded mother gives counsel to her son, worthy of the Roman Cornelia.

Not with soft Plumes, my soN, thy fair Locks grace;
Nor with a Band of Gold thy Breast adorn:

Guide the Numidian Courser's ardent pace:

And wield the faulchion with a Warrior's scorn

Of Peril, deathless Glory to embrace.

Wisdom of Age be thine in Youth's bright Morn;
And thoughts intent, ranging o'er ample space,
O'er Baltic Seas and o'er the Tuscan borne.
Modest thy look, and sage thy language be;
Win the Phobean Wreath with studious care;
Firm to thy Prince, to Heaven, thy Fealty:
Rule, o'er thyself and thy vain Passions, bear:
That in thy Acts and Valor ROME may see
What the HORATII and the MARII were.'

Sonnet DCCLXIX. Vol. V.

Many, both originals and translations, of equal merit with the foregoing, will be found among Mr. Lofft's contributions to this work. Among these, though not among the best, are several Sonnets to his Dog, called Fox. We shall give one, which illustrates the Author's general tone of versification, and also his habits of feeling and moralizing. Fox himself might have barked the two first lines, they are written in such snappish monosyllables.

To the favourite Terrier.

Fox, Thou with me ten Years this day hast spent;
Years which to me have brought much joy, much pain;
But when of Anguish most severe the reign
Thy mute Affection it's mild Comfort lent.

Thee to this sheltering Roof a Spirit sent

Kind to us both!-nought happens here in vain :
And Causes which our Thoughts can least explain,

Small in appearance, teem with great Event.

The Day which brought thee hither has to me

Been fraught with Cares and Blessings of high Cast:
May those Cares teach my Mind; those Blessings last!
And may'st thou long my walk's Companion be!
Who in ten Years with me hast trackt a space
That might half Earth's Circumference embrace.'

Sonnet CCVII. Vol. II.

There are various pieces by the same writer, in the characters of Lover and Husband, These are principally intermingled with Sonnets by Sarah Watson Finch, now Mrs. Loft,' which prove the lady to be a worthy poetical partner to Mr. L. Should these volumes ever be re-printed, the Editor will probably have the discretion to omit his Sonnet, (No. 63, Vol. II.) entitled Absence, as there are expressions in it liable to be grossly perverted.

Of the hundreds of Sonnets and Quatuorzains by other Authors, in this miscellany, we can find room for only four.-Dr. Donne, that master of rugged numbers and coarse thoughts, for once sung sweetly and sublimely.

Thou hast made mè: And shall thy Works decay?
Repair me now; for now mine End doth haste.
I runne to Death; and Death meets me as fast;
And all my Pleasures are like Yesterday.
I dare not move my dimme eyes any way.

Despaire behind and Death before doth cast
Such terrour; and my feeble flesh doth waste
By Sinne in it, which it towards Hell doth weigh.
Only THOU art above:--and when toward Thee
By thy leave I can looke, I rise againe:
But our old subtile Foe so tempteth me
That not one houre myself I can sustaine.

Thy Grace may wing me to prevent his Art,

And Thou, like Adamant, draw mine iron Heart.'

Sonnet DCCCCXVI. Vol. V.

Mrs. Charlotte Smith has long and deservedly been ranked among our purest Sonnet writers.

• Should the lone Wanderer, fainting on his way,
Rest, for a moment of the sultry hours,

And though his path through thorns and roughness lay,
Pluck the Wild-Rose or Woodbines gadding flowers,
Weaving gay wreaths beneath some sheltering tree,
The sense of Sorrow he awhile may lose:
So have I sought thy Flowers, fair POESY,

So charm'd my way with Friendship and the Muse.
But darker now grows Life's unhappy Day;
Dark with new clouds of Evil, yet to come:
Her Pencil sickening Fancy throws away;

And wearied Hope reclines upon the Tomb,
And points my Wishes to that tranquil shore
Where the pale Spectre, Care, pursues no more.'

Sonnet CLXXIX. Vol. II:

Michael Angelo Buonarotti, the man of mightiest mind, perhaps, in the annals of art, did not disdain to body forth his noble imaginations occasionally in Sonnets. Here is one, in honour of Dante, a kindred spirit, of giant powers, and melancholy temperament.

"He from the World into the blind Abyss

Descended, and beheld the Realms of Woe:

Then to the Seat of everlasting Bliss

And God's own Throne, led by his thought sublime,
Alive he soar'd; and to our nether Clime,,

Bringing a steady Light to us below,
Reveal'd the Secrets of Eternity.

Ill did his thankless Countrymen repay

The fine Desire !-That which the Good and Great
So often from the insensate many meet,

That evil Guerdon did our DANTE find.
But gladly would I, to be such as He,
For his hard Exile and Calamity
Forego the happiest Fortune of Mankind?

Sonnet DCCCCLXIX. Vol. V.

A Quatuorzain, by Sir John Carr, will almost excite a smile, and seem a very incongruous sequel to the praises of Dante, sung by Michael Angelo. But we do not hesitate to call it one of the very best and most pathetic effusions in these five volumes, notwithstanding its imperfect rhymes, and feeble versification. The image of Death watching his poor Victim,

while he inhaled the fresh breeze from the Ocean, and deemed it new life, is awfully picturesque and poetical: and the closing couplet must make every one who reads it feel his own mortality, and think of eternity.

Upon the breezy cliff's impending brow

With trembling step the Hectic pausd awhile:
As round his wasted form the sea-breeze blew
His pale cheek brighten'd with a transient smile.
Refresht and cherisht by its balmy breath,
He dreamt of future bliss, of years to come;
While with a look of woe the spectre, Death,
Oft shook his head, and pointed to the Tomb.
Such sounds as these escap'd his laboring breast
"Sweet Health, thou wilt revisit this sad frame;
Slumber shall bid these aching eyelids rest:

And I shall live for Love-perchance, for Fame."
Ah, poor Enthusiast !-in the day's decline
A mournful knell was heard, and it was thine.'

Sonnet CCCXXV. Vol. III.

These volumes are printed with some affected peculiarities of orthography. We fear that the publication, on which it is evident that the Editor has bestowed much time and labour, will add little to the popularity of the English Sonnet.

Art. XI. Individuality; or the Causes of Reciprocal Misapprehension in six Books, illustrated with Notes. : By Martha Ann Sellon. 8vo. pp. vi. 438. price 12s. London. Baldwin. 1814.

THIS is exactly one of those productions which, were it not

for their commonness, we should have some amusement in surveying, we will not say perusing, as intellectual phenomena of a description to excite curious speculation. It is, however, by no means one of the ordinary productions of common dulness. It possesses a certain sort of originality which we feel at a loss how specifically to characterize It is a philosophical poem,-not, certainly, to be received with less deference, because it is-by a lady.

• Conscious that on a subject so intricate and infinite in its nature, she would soon be led beyond her depth, did she attempt to dive into the researches of philosophy, the Authoress has only presumed to bring forward some of the more leading and prominent arguments to explain the doctrine: but by way of illustration, she has selected the almost infinite variety of religious tenets which prevail in the world; whereby she has endeavoured not only to relieve the mind of the reader from the fatigue of dry and abstract reasoning,

but to introduce subjects and occurrences, both foreign and domestic, which have of late arrested the attention of the public, and stamped so peculiar and sensible an impression upon the present æra.'

The fairest method both to the fair Authoress and to our readers, and the pleasantest to ourselves, will be to transcribe the first paragraph of the poem as a specimen. If they wish to dive deeper into the philosophy or the poetry of " Individuality,” we have given them the name of the Publisher.

Of blessings deemed superlative, refined,
Peculiarly adapted to the mind,

Behold how prominent the welcome good
Of being accurately understood !
Of pouring on the listening heedful ear
The narrative conception renders clear;
Of finding that the thing you would explain

Has almost, ere you willed it, reached the brain;
Has scarcely left your lips, ere full inhaled
With all its inatter lateral entailed;

Has on the nerve the subtile feeling pressed
By quick perception instantly confessed;
Attracted morally by power its own,
As that by northern magnetism shown ;
Of proving that the sentiment conveyed
Carries its purposed and appropriate shade;
Of seeing the articulating eye

The nice de ciencies of speech supply,
Giving its radiance eloquence so pure
As confidence unclouded must ensure;
Of meeting self, reflected-self, endeared,

Sustained, conjoined, directed, soothed, and cheered!

pp. 3-4..

Art. XII. Familiar Scenes, Histories, and Reflections. By the Author of "Cottage Sketches," ""Antidote to the Miseries of Human Life," &c. 12mo. pp, 166. Price 3s. 6d. Gale, Curtis, and Fenner. 1814.

IN our review of the History of Charles Felton, we suggested

a wish that some intelligent, pious persons of good taste, would devote a few leisure hours occasionally to the truly beneyolent task of writing tracts for the poor. At the first view, nothing appears more easy than the composition of a Tract; but we will venture to say that few things require more judgement and good sense. What is the design of a tract but to win the attention to religion-to the Bible? It should be so written, therefore, as to soften prejudice, and allay disgust. It should be plain, pathetic, and natural; entirely devoid of all technieality, by which term we mean that set of phrases, generally