With these truths daily impressed upon our minds, and remembering how lately we have perused Lord Byron's Sardanapalus with its two companions, and his Cain, his Vision of Judgment, his Heaven and Earth, cum plurimis aliis quæ lectio justa docebit, and hearing, also, that two or three new cantos of Don Juan were already going to the printer's devil, we exclaimed, that poor De Vega, hitherto the most prolific of authors, was fairly distanced by his Lordship, and would lose the proverbial distinction of his muse. At the same time we took up Werner, as we have already observed, prepared to find marks of taste, of crudity, and of undigested materials. Whatever proceeds from the pen of Lord Byron must of necessity bear occasional impressions of his lordship's genius. And thus, in Werner, we have frequent instances of a strong condensation of sense, a vigorous delineation of the highest feelings of pride, and of the deepest anguish of a mortified spirit; with a felicitous sketch of that playfulness of female character which proceeds from purity, innocence, and a mind at ease. We have also a delineation of that conjugal fidelity or singleness of affection, which was so well pourtrayed in one of his lordship's earliest works, the Corsair; with an attempt at humour in the character of a steward, which, if it be indifferent, is at least infinitely better than the attempt at humour in the dull, tedious, and wearisome character of the steward in Sir Walter Scott's Bride of Lammermoor. Those, who are so prone to qualify their praises of Lord Byron by protests against his principles, will find that Werner is at least free from any thing which can offend or alarm the most fastidious. There is a preface of two pages (written in a very careless style) in which his lordship informs us that he has taken his drama from the "German's Tale, Kruitzner," in "Lee's Canterbury Tales," and that he has adhered closely to his original in the characters, plan, and even in the language and which, in our opinion, is to be regretted, as the character, plan and language are, we conceive, capable of great improvement. His lordship proceeds to state, that "when I was young, about fourteen I think, I first read this tale which made a deep impression upon me, and may, indeed, be said to contain the germ of much that I have since written." We much doubt, from this passage, if his lordship is a competent judge of what intimately relates to himself, and whether he has not, in this instance, strangely confounded cause with effect. To us it appears that the noble author's temperament and the bent of his genius have been so decidedly marked by nature, that, had he been nurtured in a region of German romances and tales of horror, it could not have created, but only have fed a disposition formed by nature to that intense mode of thought and of feeling which is the real germ, not of much, but rather of all which has issued from his lordship's pen. The tale of Kruitzner in Lee's Canterbury Tales no doubt made a strong impression upon Lord Byron's juvenile mind, it was a tale strictly in unison with his tone of feeling and with his most prominent class of ideas. But the only part of the preface, that is important, is the passage where his lordship tells the public that he had begun a drama upon this tale so far back as in 1815, "the first," says his lordship, "I ever attempted, except one at thirteen years old, called Ulric and Ilvina,' which I had sense enough to burn." So that Werner is really a literary curiosity, as the coup d'essai of his lordship's dramatic powers. We cannot agree with Lord Byron as to the sense of burning his Ulric and Ilvina, written at the age of thirteen, for although the piece in itself may not have been worth preserv ing, it would have been of value as the first link in the chain of his lordship's mental labours. Pope's Essay on Solitude is, as a piece of poetry, of but little value, but as a fact in his mental history, as a feas ture of his mind at the age of twelve, it has been very properly preserved, Finally, his lordship has committed, in the second page of his preface, a palpable solecism, and an error of precisely the same nature occurs in page 25. Surely Lord Byron ought to know that distributive pronouns or particles require a connection with words of the singular number. To say that "every one must judge according to their own feelings," and that " pain or pleasure which tear," is a proof, we suppose, of the truth of that dictum which his lordship has prefixed to his poem of Don Juan," Difficile est proprie communia dicere.” Werner, a fugitive struggling under squalid poverty with the retrospect of his former errors and of his former grandeur, is drawn with all the charasteristic energy of Lord Byron's pen; and Werner's fidelity of attachment to the equally proud but more patient and enduring Josephine, the solace of his sufferings, is pourtrayed with equal skill and genius.The scene between them is very affecting, and we much doubt whether passages in some of Werner's speeches will not be applied by every reader to Lord Byron himself; whilst, in these times of fallen fortunes and general distress, many lines are calculated keenly to touch the feelings of hundreds who will peruse the play. Werner exclaims "I have been full oft My spirit where it cannot turn at bay, The word lonely produces reflections upon his misery involving her whom he loves. Josephine says, none hold us here for aught save what we seem.' Werner exclaims, "Save what we seem!-save what we are sick beggars Even to our very hopes. Ha! Ha!" Josephine. But to come immediately to the play itself, the story and the conduct of the plot are thus developed in the drama. Werner, a high-minded Bohemian nobleman, had been exiled by his father for early dissipation, and for an improvident marriage with Josephine, the daughter of a noble but fallen lord of Tuscany. Ulric, the produce of this union, had been fostered by the grandfather; but wild and dissipated propensities had made him fly his Bohemian inheritance ere he arrived at manhood, and just before the death of his protector. Stralenheim, a near relation of the family, taking advantage of Ulric's flight, tracks Werner through all his wanderings, and endeavours to effect his death, in order that he may inherit the family domains in Bohemia-and this, with a few episodical incidents, forms the materiel of the tragedy which is dramatized by his lordship in the following manner:-In the first act, Werner, in his flight from the agents of Stralenheim, had been stopped by the overflowing of the Oder, and had taken shelter in an old decayed and untenanted castle in Silesia, where both his danger and his sufferings are increased by an untimely illness. Stralenheim, travelling in the same direction, had been accidentally rescued from drowning in the Oder by Gabor and Ulric, and arriving at the castle he and Werner recognize each other. Stralenheim dispatches peasants to Frankfort to obtain a guard to arrest Werner, whose flight is rendered impracticable by want of pecuniary means. Werner, however, by means of a secret passage, known only to himself, enters the sleeping apart ment of Stralenheim, and tempted by the sight of money, which Stra- The second act but little forwards lenheim had laid on his table, his the catastrophe. It contains the necessity induces him to steal a recognition of Ulric by Werner and rouleau of gold. This act evidently Josephine, with Werner's mortifyaffords fiue scope for poetic painting confession to his son, that he ing. The proud and lofty minded had been the plunderer of the "Alas! That bitter laugh!" These touches of feeling are in contrast to the descriptive nature of French tragedy. The remaining incidents of this act, capable of poetic effect, are the interview between Werner and Stralenheim, and the agitation of the high-minded Werner, on being degraded by robbery. Perhaps the plan of the piece would prevent any very great deal being made of the first; and the second has not been taken due advantage of by the author. The first part of Josephine's speech, in page 43, is of the finest in this first act. Baron's gold. The scene of this confession is empassioned and well wrought; but we are astonished, that in Werner's fine fervent speech, (page 70) amidst much of good and fervent poetry, to find such a string of conceits as likening sorrow and shame to "handmaids of your cabin.""Famine and Poverty your guests at table." "Despair your bed fellow." The act ends with Stralenheim's divulging to Ulric his designs against Werner, and craving Ulric's assistance. In the third act Gabor, being pursued upon suspicion of the theft of Stralenheim's gold, accidently seeks refuge in Werner's apartment, who, to conceal him, allows him to enter the secret passage leading to Stralenheim's chamber. Stralenheim is found murdered in his room. Wer ner escapes from the castle through the instrumentality of Ulric, who previously contrives to impress Werner with the idea that Gabor is the assassin of Stralenheim. The scene, in which Ulric produces this effect on the mind of Werner, is artfully conceived; and, when in the fifth act it appears that Ulric himself had been the murderer, the denouement is proportionally effective on the reader. The fourth act is the most injudicious violation of the unity of time and place that can well be imagined. The preceding act left Werner flying in rags and misery, and the reader naturally expected that his restoration to his paternal lands of Siegendorf would form the climax of the piece: but the fourth act changes the scene to Bohemia, with Werner metamorphosed into Siegendorf, and in quiet possession of his domains. All interest in the play is therefore at an end, and wonder and perplexed conjecture, as to what is to happen,usurp the place of anxiety for the fate of the hero, which it is the object of a legitimate drama to sustain unto the final dropping of the curtain. This act also presents us with Ulric, in the new character of a leader of a band of Bohemian robbers, and gives us a scene in which Siegendorf renionstrates with Ulric upon his bringing dishonour upon his family name, and persuades him to espouse Ida, a daughter of the murdered Stralenheim, a persuasion which Ulric eventually yields to. The character of Ida is one of his lordship's creation, having no resemblance to any character in the original tale. The scene between Ulric and Ida is beautifully conceived. The fifth act brings Gabor again upon the stage, and being subjected to interrogation by Siegendorf relative to his supposed murder of Stra lenheim, divulges the fact of Ulric himself having been the assassin The subsequent escape of Gabor from the fury of Ulric is contrived by Siegendorf, who had pledged his honor for his safety. Ulric in re venge for this departure of him, who possessed the secret of his villainy, renounces all connection with his father, flies his father's halls to become the avowed leader of his bandit troop.-Ida is brought upon the stage merely to be made acquainted with Ulric's villainy, and the curtain falls upon her and Siegendorf expressing their anguish. To those who know the description of Lord Byron's talents, and the occasions which elicit their most powerful exercise, we need not say that such incidents, as the fifth act is composed of, would be given with all the fire and intensity of passion which his genius could infuse into any favourite subject.-The fifth act, however, is too supplementary to the general web of the drama to be admired in such connection; but as a vehicle of fine dramatic poetry it justly challenges approbation. The fervid poetry near the conclusion of the play causes the reader to shut the book with more of satisfaction, than will be continued in his mind after reflecting upon the whole piece. The first four acts, upon the whole, are feeble and we regret that the noble author selected such a subject for a drama, or that he did not bestow upon it sufficient attention, at least, to concentrate the climax of interest in the fifth act, rather than to leave it equivocal between the beginning of the fourth and the end of the fifth. LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC. INTELLIGENCE, AMERICA. FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC. After a most accurate calculation, it has been found, that in Europe there is but one deaf and dumb person in 2400: in Pensylvania there is one in 1850. Not the slightest apparent reason for such a difference has been given. Doctor Archer, an American physician, positively declares, that the hooping-cough may be cured by vaccinating the sick person during the second or third week from the commencement of the disease. Fresh trials of this remedy are to be wished for, as they are not attended with danger. The Academy of Arts and Sciences at Boston has published a set of meteorological observations of great importance. They are the result of 30 years of study and of experiments made from 1786 to 1818, at Salem in the State of Massachusets. Very advantageous offers have been made by theRepublic of LaPlata to many learned Englishmen. Mr. Beran,an able London engineer, has embarked with his family for Buenos Ayres, where he is appointed to superintend the making of the causeways on the banks of the Plata, and to introduce those European sciences, which may have a beneficial interest on the public prosperity. AFRICA. Captain Sabine has set sail for Ascension Island, for the purpose of repeating the experiments on the penduJum, &c. which he has tried under the polar circle, in order to determine the figure of the earth. ASIA. Letters from Lucknow, dated 30th January, 1822, give the following particulars of the splendid ceremonies observed at that place, on the celebration of the Indian Feast of Bussunt Punchumee. The King, the heir apparent, and all the royal family, as well as the whole court, were habited according to ancient custom in yellow. Even the Europeans in the King's service were ordered to be dressed in yellow shawls. The river was covered with vessels decorated with yellow flags, and filled with dancers, singers, and musicians. Four battalions of royal infantry, and three troops (russalas) of cavalry superbly equipped, and with their flags flying, deployed before the King, who was seated upon a throne surrounded with mirrors, Among the architectural monuments of India, those erected by the Mahometans, when at the zenith of their power, are the most deserving of attention. Of these, the monument of Tanj of Agra, is one of the most magnificent. Very correct and beautiful drawings have been made of this monument, but the Tauj, independent of its magnitude, has an expression of noble simplicity arising from the unity of its design, and from the purity and richness of its materials, which it is impossible to represent in a drawing. A model of this superb monument has been executed in ivory upon the scale of 3 inches to 10 feet. It was begun at Delhi, by the late Captain Fordyce, and was finished by Captain Hutchinson. This curious piece of workmanship has been transported to Calcutta, and will soon be sent to London. Its construction consumed twelve years of uninterrupted labour, nearly as long a period as the building of the original. REPUBLIC OF HAYTI A school of mutual instruction has been established at St. Mark, under the direction of an able master.The civil and military authorities, the magistrate of the place, the curé and a multitude of respectable citizens were present at the opening of this school, which is already frequented by a great many pupils. The Propagator, a new periodical publication which appears twice a month, will be a criterion by which foreigners may judge of the Haytian government and nation. It will contain the laws, the ordinances, and public acts, the most important news, beneficial discoveries, national and foreign literature, &c. The Lyceum of Port-auPrince proceeds in the most prosperous manner; Latin and French verses and well-made speeches attest the progress of the students, and pay a high compliment to the professors. St. Domingo, in all its splendour, did not possess such literary talent as Hayti can boast of, even in its present poor state, with a government'scarcely formed, and institutions but now springing up. This people have broken the fetters of slavery, have shewn themselves capable of the greatest improvements, and are proudly desirous of placing themselves on a level with the most enlightened nations. GREECE. The official Gazette of the Greeks is published under the title of the "Orthodox Gazette of Corinth." As the affairs and religion of the Greeks are at present of so much importance to every civilized community, we presume that the following confes. sions will be interesting to our readers. We make the extract from the work entitled "Acta Historica eccle, nostri temporis." More than ten centuries have now elapsed since the separation of the Greek from the Latin church, and yet the articles of faith have always continued the same. 1. I confess and acknowledge the apostolic doctrines and canons confirmed by the seven general Councils, and also the ordinances of the RussiauGreek church: I likewise interpret the holy scriptures according to the sense, which has been given to them by the holy Eastern church, and which she gives to them at present, 2. I acknowledge seven sacraments in the New Testament, viz. Baptism, Consecration, the Lord's Supper, Con fession, Sacerdotal Ordination, Marri age, and Extreme Unction, and which are instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ to obtain the grace of God. 3. I acknowledge, that in the Holy Supper, the true body and blood of our Lord are received under the mystical forms of bread and wine, in order to obtain pardon of sins and life eternal. 4. I acknowledge that the saints, who reign in Heaven conjointly with Jesus Christ, ought to be invoked and adored according to the meaning of the holy Oriental church, and that the prayers of saints and their intercession with the God of mercy will co-operate to our salvation. It is equally agree. able to God to venerate their relics as the sacred remains of their virtues. 5. I acknowledge that we ought to venerate, not to deify, the images of Jesus, of Mary, and of other saints, in order by contemplating them to encourage ourselves to piety, and to the imitation of the works of those holy persons whom these images represent. 6. 1 acknowledge that the prayers of the faithful, addressed to God, for the safety of the souls of those de. parted in the faith, are not disdained by divine mercy. 7. I acknowledge, that our Saviour, Jesus Christ, has given to the Catholic church the power of binding and unbinding, and that which is bound or unbound on earth will be equally so in Heaven. 8. I will firmly preserve by God's help this orthodox faith of the Russian Greek church, in all its particulars, and without alteration, to the end of my life. SWEDEN AND NORWAY. The public mind at Stockholm is at present occupied with a very important medical discovery. It is well-known that, sometime since, M. Peter Anderson of Sudermania, whojwas present as the deputy of his order at one of the last diets, had been accustomed to remove, by means of fumigation, the most ob stinate syphilitic disorders, and even those which had been pronounced incurable. The College of Health, desirous of examining his mode of treatment and the result of his system, invited him to Stockholm, and induced him, by the payment of his expenses, to undertake the treatment of several individuals in the hospital, afflicted with such disorders. Eight of them, on whom a course of mercury and diet produced no effect, were completely established in two, three, or five weeks, as the evil was more or less seated in their constitutions. Six other patients submitted to the same treatment. M. de Weigel, president of the College of Health, and some other physicians of this city, who had observed with the greatest attention this method of eure, paid a just tribute of praise to M. Anderson, and caused the Directors of the Hospital to make him a present of 366 rix dollars banco, and to promise him an equal sum, if the health of the individuals he has cured suffers no alteration within two years, which can be ascribed to their former attack. The Society of Medicine will, no doubt, soon publish an account of the means used by M. Anderson. GERMANY. An Hungarian traveller, named Gregory Jackschics, had passed the years from 1810 to 1813 travelling through the mountains of Caucasus in search of every vestige, or object of antiquity relating to the ancient establishments of his countrymen in those regions. In 1815 he again set out to the same mountainous districts, and, having renewed his researches, returned to his native country in 1821. He is now about to publish his travels, the compilation and editing of them being confided by him to his friend Ladislas Nagy de Peretseny, an Hungarian writer of celebrity. PRUSSIA. Public instruction. - Prussia contains five universities, frequented by 3,397 students, viz. at Berlin, 1162; at Bonn, 571; at Breslau 539; at |