* best dramatic writer living; and we look upon Macready as very nearly the best tragic actor The chief fault which some people pretend to find with Knowles is, that he trusts too much, to situation, and too little to poetry. This objection arises from not understanding the proper mode of producing dramatic effect. What is it that the dramatic writer aims at ?it is to obtain a command over the passions of his reader or his auditor. There are two ways of doing this, either by making the persons in his play describe the strong emotions which they feel, or by putting them directly and distinctly in such situations that it is impossible for them to avoid feeling strong emotion, whether they describe it or not. The great talent of a dramatic writer is, to conceive such situations, and to make them succeed each other in a rapid and apparently natural order. It is here that Knowles excels; his plays are full of dumb poetry, which nevertheless speaks to the heart far better than a long array of words could do. In a stage representation, we must see fully as much as hear. The dramatic poet approximates nearer the painter and the sculptor than any other poet. Do we deny the artist genius because the groups which he conceives, and the attitudes into which he throws them, are silent? Then do not let us deny genius of the highest order to Knowles, when we find that his living pictures take a still stronger hold of our recollections. It is a vulgar mistake that all poetry must be written. Whatever excites the soul, and touches the heart, is full of poetry; and he who created that exciting cause, is a poet. Would the flower be more beautiful, were it to speak and proclaim its loveliness, or the sun more glorious, were it to declare itself so, as with the voice of a trumpet? At the same time, let it not be supposed that we think Knowles's words feebler than his conceptions. His composition; on the contrary, is full of fire and energy, and did space permit, we could at this moment quote a hundred passages to make good our assertion. He catches a thought, and states it in a line, or half a line, and then looks out for a new thought. There is with him no beating about the bush, no lingering by the way. Every fresh sentence adds something to the general stock; and the whole taken together make a tragedy, instinct with animation from beginning to end. We know there are many who will think we have carried our praise too far; and the reason is, that to the literary world, Knowles personally is scarcely known at all. Authors are like a bundle of sticks, they prop up each other. If a writer, with moderate talents, has a numerous circle of literary friends, there is no fear of him,they will carry him through in spite of fate. If, on the contrary, he either shuts himself up from mankind, or buries himself in a large mercantile town, as Knowles has done, c'en est fait, there is no hope for him; he is looked on as an interloper, an upstart, somebody that nobody knows any thing about. We rejoice to observe, that Knowles has been spoken of more than once in the LITERARY JOURNAL, and always with that respect which genius, such as his, is entitled to. But why are the Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews, Blackwood's Magazine, the New Monthly, and the Old Monthly, all silent regarding one, whose " Virginius" has been played on every stage in the kingdom, in America, in France, and in Holland? We have almost lost sight of Macready; but the praises we have bestowed upon Knowles, will illustrate our feelings towards him. He is an actor worthy of the poet. In bringing out the nicer beauties and graces of a charac ter, he is probably inferior to Young; but whenever there is any thing difficult to be done, Macready is the man to do it. In smooth sailing, many a light craft might pass him by; but let the gale come and the sea grow rough, and show us the actor who will ride through the storm better than Macready. It is this that we value in a great tragedian; we care little or nothing for one who is perpetually smooth and correct; we want a man to show us that he has his whole soul in what he is about, Let him a thousand times rather strain after effect, till his straining becomes unnatural, than sink into tame blameless ness-into that drowsy negative species of acting, with which no one can find fault. What man was ever great, å with whom, and with whose works, there were not a thousand faults to be found? Macready stirs us inte powerful emotion, and therefore the end of his calling is fulfilled; he does nearly all that a tragic actor is expected to do. Unless his benefit be better attended on Monday than his performances have hitherto been, we conceive a stain will be cast upon the dramatic taste of Edinburgh, which it will be difficult to wash out. Miss Jarman continues to maintain her place in our estimation. Her performance of Virginia is excellent ; it [ is touching, simple, and unaffected. Her Belvidera we did not like quite so much. We shall take an early opport nity of offering Miss Jarman a few hints, to which she may perhaps think it worth while to listen.The ma nager has had the liberality to re-engage Miss Philips, who was here with Braham. She is a highly respectable addition to the operatic strength of the company. Old Cerberus. ORIGINAL POETRY. SONG. 'Tis true, I may smile; but they guess not, my heart, How dark are the thoughts in thy depths that abide ; How unknown amid friends and all lonely thou art— Pale sorrow thy birthright, and nothing beside! Though sad is the doom of the Exile who roves— Estranged from the land of his happiest years; Though, when Fancy restores him the scenes that he loves, All his soul gushes forth in a fever of tears; Yet 'tis sadder by far in a dear home to dwell, I envy the Exile, and gladly would roam, But the fountain is seal'd! and, as flowers veil the tomb, TO VIVIAN. BELOVED! when death is o'er me stealing, With fond and gentle eye, Beloved! when willows wave above me, →→ GERTRUDE. His Majesty, it is stated, has graciously permitted George Colman to dedicate his Random Records, now nearly ready, to him. The Records of Captain Clapperton's last Expedition to Africa, by Richard Lander, his faithful attendant, and the only surviving member of the expedition, with the subsequent adventures of the author, are nearly ready for publication. Captain Dillon's Voyages in Search of the Wreck of La Perouse will appear speedily. Messrs Westley and Davis announce for publication, early in the ensuing year, an edition of the Old Testament, with the substitution of the original Hebrew names in place of the English words Lord and God, and of a few corrections thereby rendered necessary; with Notes by the Editor. Mr Carne's new work consists, we understand, of Recollections of Travels in Syria and Palestine that could not be included in his two volumes of "Letters from the East," to which, therefore, the present may be considered as a third volume. Besides much personal adventure, the subjects described are, the Valley of Zabulon, Source of the River Jordan, Scene of the Prophets, Sacrifice, Valley of Ajalon, Sepulchre of the Virgin Mary, Seene of the Encampment of the Host of Israel, Village of Endor, Cave of Elijah, Waters of Mara, and other sacred localities on which the pious mind often dwells in serious ineditation. The Rivals, a new novel, by the author of The Collegians, will ap pear this month. The next Number of the Family Library will be the second volume of the Lives of British Painters; after that, the concluding volume of Milman's History of the Jews; and then the first volume of the Life of George the Third. are glad to perceive, by an advertisement in last Saturday's Journel, that this society seems now to be fairly established. It meets every Wednesday evening for the discussion of a literary question; and, once a-month, a night is set apart for hearing the productions of the members, whether in prose or verse. We certainly think that me chanics and others may benefit by this society, especially if a few per We understand that Mr William Anderson of Edinburgh, (at pre-sons of experience and judgment take the lead in its proceedings. sent connected with the Glasgow Courier,) has a volume of Poems in the press, which will appear shortly after Christmas, under the title of Poetical Aspirations. LOUIS XVIII.-The Private Memoirs of the Court of this monarch, announced for immediate publication, are said to be written by a Lady who enjoyed his particular confidence. They relate, it appears, to that eventful period which immediately preceded and followed the Restoration of the Bourbons to the throne of France, after an exile of more than twenty years, and they disclose the secret intrigues during that time of the most intriguing capital in Europe. Almost every person of note in France, since the downfall of Napoleon, is, we understand, pourtrayed in the Work. BOTANY. Dr Greville's excellent treatise on the Cryptogamic class, Algae, is in progress, and will in all probability be published in the course of January. WORKS IN THE PRESS.-The following works are in the press, and will shortly appear :-Hours of Devotion, for the Promotion of true Christianity and Family Worship: translated from the original German.-Patroni Ecclesiarum; or a List (with Indexes), Alphabetically arranged, of all the Patrons of Dignities, Rectories, &c. of the Church of England and Ireland.-The Etymological Spelling-Book, by Henry Butler, author of Gradations in Reading and Spelling. Inductive Grammar, by an Experienced Teacher.-A View of the Scripture Revelations concerning a Future State, laid before his Parishioners, by a Country Pastor.-Evening Amusements, or the Beauties of the Heavens Displayed, for the Year 1830.-The Olive Branch, a Religious Annual for 1830, in Prose and Verse; with a portrait of the Rev. R. Gordon.-No. IV. of the Domestic Gardener's Manual, and English Botanist's Companion.-A new edition of Smart's Horace, the English translation corrected and improved.-A Treatise on Atmospheric Electricity, by John Murray, F.S.H.-Reflections on Insanity and its rapid progress amongst all Classes in Britain, considered in a Legal and Medical Point of View, by Charles Dunne, Esq. surgeon.-A Dissertation on Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology, by H. W. Dewhurst, Esq. surgeon, &c.-By the same author, a Series of Engravings of the Human Bones and Muscles, for the use of Artists and Students; an Essay on the minute Anatomy and Physiology of the Organs of Vision in Man and Animals; and a Series of Coloured Engravings of the Horse's Foot. PRICE OF FOREIGN BOOKS.-The abuses of bookselling importers are well known to literary men, and the heavy percentage which they are too apt to claim. It is a curious fact, that an excellent series of Japanese plants, now in the course of publication at Brussels, and sold by the London publishers at the price of 18s. per Number, has been furnished to two gentlemen in this city, by Mr Clarke, for 12s. We wish that some Westminster Reviewer, or any person who has access to correct information, would take up this matter. THE SCOTTISH ACADEMY.-Rather a long letter has appeared in the Weekly Journal, in answer to the short article upon this subje which we published last Saturday. We have no inclination to co tinue the controversy at present. Unlike the writer in the Wecky Journal, we abjure the idea of becoming partisans either on one side or other. We stated what we knew to be the simple facts of the case, solely with a desire to do justice; and now, for the sake of a concerned, we advise that the late disputes should be buried in obt vion as soon as possible. Theatrical Gossip.-Charles Kemble has written a melo-drama, which, by all accounts, appears to be rather a heavy concern. It is called "The Royal Fugitive, or the Rights of Hospitality." If we are not mistaken, this piece was acted here some two years ago, an! damned; but we believe we may say, without any undue national vanity, that a play may be damned here, and yet succeed very wel in London-Charles Kemble has quarrelled with Kean, who geze rously offered to play six nights for the benefit of Covent Garden, but very naturally requested permission to choose his own nights He chose the Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; but these being the evenings on which Miss Kemble plays Juliet, they were refused to him. Kean, therefore, accepted of an engagement at Drury Lane, The worst of the matter is, that the London critics abuse Kean, and see nothing selfish or conceited in the conduct of Charles Kemble. We beg to hint to Mr Kemble that he had better take care; we know him to have given serious offence this season in more quarters than one. The elephant which Messrs Matthews and Yates have engaged for the Adelphi has arrived in London from Paris, after rather rough passage across the channel, during which she was much trou bled with sea-sickness. An insurance on her was effected at Lloyd's for L.4000, and her freight amounted to L.45. Her age is about twenty, and her manners are said to be extremely docile. She is expected to prove a star of the first magnitude. "Quam parva saples tia gullitur mundus."-Young Kean is playing with an English en pany at the Hague.-French plays are to commence at the Engl. Opera House in January.-A certain Signor Venafra has taken the Caledonian Theatre for a few nights, and is to produce a series o ballets. We believe he and his company have been in Glasgow.Mr Murray had some new scenes painted lately, why does he not pro duce them?-The Theatrical Fund Committee have fixed the 20 of January for their public dinner. The affairs of the fund are pro pering. WEEKLY LIST OF PERFORMANCES. Nov, 28-Dec. 4. Virginius, & Rosina. MON. Venice Preserved, Brother & Sister, & Robinson Crusoe. WED. Virginius, & The Youthful Queen, THURS. King John, Na! & The Noyades. TAM O'SHANTER AT LAW.-Mr Thom engaged to furnish copies SAT. of his Tam O'Shanter and Souter Johnie, together with figures of the Landlord and Landlady, to the Earl of Cassilis. A Mr Dick subsequently bespoke copies of the whole four. Thom completed the statues ordered by the Earl, and then commenced another Landlady, which, pleasing him better than the first, he shipped it along with the other three for the noble Lord. Mr Dick lays claim to the lady. The matter has come before the Second Division of the Court of Session --Mr Jeffrey for the artist and the Earl, Mr Cockburn for the pursuer. The case was to have been argued on Wednesday, but was deferred, in hopes that the parties might be induced to come to a compromise. FINE ARTS.-The Directors of the Institution have allotted two thousand pounds for the purchase of old paintings. What do the members intend to make of them when they have got them? Lock them up with the models of the Duke of York's statue? Or leave them lying about the Exhibition Room, like Lord Elgin's casts, for the doorkeeper to deposit his coat and hat, or the housemaid her mop upon?-We understand that the Institution is to have no Exhibition this year, notwithstanding the report to the contrary.-We regret to hear that two of our most talented artists, Messrs Macdonald and W. Simpson, have it in contemplation to transfer their residence to London. THE SIX-FEET CLUB.-The Annual Dinner of this Club took place on Saturday last in the Waterloo Hotel,-Sir Walter Scott in the Chair-Henry G. Bell, Esq., Croupier. Upwards of eighty gentlemen were present, and the evening was spent in the most enthusiastic and pleasant manner, Professor Wilson contributing not a little to the general stock of enjoyment. We are glad to observe that Our tall friends seem to have a decided taste for mental as well as for corporeal feats of strength. Venice Preserved, William Thompson, & Obi TO OUR CORRESPONDENTS, SEVERAL new works have been received too late to be noticed this week. The communication from Derwent Conway is in types.-We have received the letter of our friend "W. D." of Guisborough, and shal attend to it. The communication from "F." shall be inserted in ce next SLIPPERS-The article by M. G. F." of Glasgow will n suit us. We are amused with what is mentioned to us by "Anti-Plagiarist," but cannot stoop to take any notice of it.-The communic tion from an Aberdeen correspondent, concerning the late Mr Charle Hacket of Inveramsay, will be of service to us." Reminiscences by "M." shall have a place, if we can find room. The verses "To a Burr Thistle," the lines entitled "The Con tents of my own Pocket," and the "Imitation of a Morisco Ballad." have found favour in our eyes, and will probably appear ere longAll the following poems, the very reading of which cost us no sight labour, must, for the present, lie over:-" The Rose of the Vale,”"Forget-Me-Not, by Delta,"-" Song, to the tune of Taste bie glad moments," To Mary,"-" The Dear One,"-" Moonhig!! "The Plighted Bride,"-" The Wager-Love and Time, THE EDINBURGH DISCURSIVE AND LITERARY SOCIETY.-We The Student, à Parody." LITERARY.CRITICISM. Apollo's Gift; or, the Musical Souvenir for 1830. Edit- 4to... PRICE 6d. light richer than that of the setting sun. To the highest and the lowest it lends an additional grace;-it paints the lily, and it gilds refined gold. The peasant girl at her cottage-door singing her mountain-melodies, far up among the Alpine heights, smooths down the rugged features of the scene, and pours out a flood of human symProse, for 1830. Edited by F. H. Burney. Lon-pathies upon the rocks and snows of ages. The noble don. Goulding and D'Almaine, Edinburgh, maiden, seated upon her castle, walls, whose ancestral towers look far over dale and down, never appears more worthy of her rank and lofty lineage, than when to the viewless air or to the stars of night, she gives forth the full soul of harmony. The music and the singer refle a mutual charm upon each other; and when did even Shakspeare paint a finer picture, or pay a nobler compli ment, than when he compared the tones of a loved voice "Ditties highly penn'd, Purdie. 4to. London. R. The Musical Gem; a Souvenir for 1830. Lavenu. 4to. .9 Or all earthly enjoyments, music is the purest. There are some which are more intellectual, and others which are more intensely sensual; but, music stands alone in the power which it exercises over human nature, and by appealing to that delicate and mysterious part of our constitution which no anatomist has ever described--no metaphysician ever explained—binds in its silken chains all ranks, and tribes, and generations. The question, why a certain succession of quick or slow notes should thrill through the frame, and penetrate the soul, with so si multaneous and universal an effect, is one which it is impossible to answer; but the fact remains unalterable. They who are bold enough to avow that they experience little delight from music, are objects more of pity than of blame. We have invariably observed that they are persons of a coarse, querulous, or vulgar temperament, -persons whose souls and hearts, if they have any, are imprisoned within a dungeon of gross flesh, and whose tastes are as uncultivated as their minds are unembel- "Whilst recollections, sad but sweet, These are the trite and commonplace results of music. to Sung by a fair queen in a summer's bower, It is a happy proof of the refinement of the age, that is unknown. The wish to avoid a charge of insensibility, now-a-days the undisguised and unblushing hater of musie in this respect, has perhaps forced some to seek for refuge under the mask of affectation; and it is not unusual to of his plaudits.. Yet, as a judicious writer, has well redetect the pretended amateur yawning in the very midst preponderance of opinion, among the refined part of somarked, "the very existence of this affectation proves the ciety, in favour of musie; and as the ear becomes well is acquired, music will make, the proper impression, and trained, and a knowledge of the principles of the science animals are said to derive from it, in common with mannot convey the merely indefinite physical pleasure which kind." Were it for no other reason than the influence which music, exercises over female manners and dispositions, and consequently over those of men, its cultivation could not be too much encouraged. Conjured by the magic of soft tones, every natural asperity lays itself down and hallowed associations, congregate together, like fairy and sleeps, whilst wreathed smiles, and pensive fancies, elves in moonlight; and all that makes life lovely, and the domestic circle dear, and distant friends remembered, and past injuries forgiven, and future pleasures anticipated,→→ all that elevates humanity, and removes that harassing discontent which at times creates in us a dissatisfaction with ourselves and all the world, rises up like flowers, or rather like the incense of flowers, colouring and enriching the surrounding atmosphere. seription of the smallest achievement of music. Language But language toils and sweats in vain to compass a demay move round music, and occasionally seem to approach it; but music is a sun which absorbs into itself, and gives forth again in one ray, the united words of ages. Blessed, for ever blessed, be those mighty masters of the art, who have taken it, as it were, out of the spheres, and brought it down to this lower earth of ours! And blessed, for ever blessed, be those gentle, delicate, and noble natures, who have executed what the others designed, and whose sweet, immortal voices soft and low, or full-toned and clear have obtained a mastery oyer us, which the thun The three works, whose titles we have copied above,, are a new species of publication, taking their rise from, and suggested by, the success of the literary animals. Their contents consist principally of original music, both vocal and instrumental, calculated for the meridian of the drawing-room, and well suited to afford both amusement and improvement to all who take delight in this fascinating art. In point of external appearance and embellishment, the whole three are a good deal like each other, and they are all elegant and attractive. We shall go over, a little more in detail, the contents of each. der, high among the clouds, the ocean, roaring from its caverns of gloom, or the wind, sweeping the desert and threading the mountains, never possessed! The key to man's most glorious hopes lies in music. That we are capable of enjoying poetry, is nothing wonderful; for whatever presents a distinct and tangible idea to the mind, creates a pleasurable sensation,—the necessary reward of an intellectual exertion; and wherever there are words, there is a reference to something defined and material. But music possesses in itself no ideas, yet is it the parent of a million. In its very nature it is aërial and impalpable, yet what food did we ever eat, what liquid did we Apollo's Gift, or the Musical Souvenir, is edited by ever drink, which so immediately affected our whole con- two gentlemen of acknowledged musical reputation, Cle stitution? Can we for a moment suppose that any sen- menti and Cramer. It is embellished with five lithogra sual and material appetite would find its food in music? phic drawings, exceedingly spirited and distinct. Those yet there is a part of our nature which does find its food entitled," Arthgarvan," " Venice, by Moonlight,” and in music. What is the conclusion? It is, that music" The Moorish Maiden," are three of the best speci has to do with the soul, and with the soul alone. There are, of course, various kinds of music; but the whole may be pretty safely classed under three great heads:-the music which speaks to the understanding,the music which speaks to the heart, and the music which speaks to both. Under the first class, we comprehend all those pieces of learned contrivance, which, while they display the ingenuity and labour of the composer, are more like mathematical problems, measured by line and rule, than a succession of sounds appealing to the passions. It was not the older composers alone who delighted in these exercises; - Kalkbrenner, Pixis, and Moscheles, are men of the same order, possessing a great deal of science, and deriving intellectual enjoyment from its possession--but with as little feeling (in the better signification of the word) as one of their own instruments. By the second kind of music—that which speaks to the heart alone we mean such simple and inartificial melodies as, though pleasing, could not take a lasting hold of the memory, unless strongly attached to it by some particular associations, such as those of home and country. Almost all national melodies are in this predicament. It is not the music alone that endears them to us, for that is in many cases too simple and monotonous, and even rude; it is, that we have been accustomed to hear them in the midst of all that we love, and that they become, therefore, memorials of past happiness. There can be no doubt that it is to the third species of music-that which appeals both to the heart and the head-that we must look for its highest triumphs; and for those strains, | which, when heard, even for the first time, and under any circumstances, and in any country, take the listener captive at once, and rouse into energy all the varying emotions of his nature. To men such as Handel, Mozart, Hadyn, Beethoven, and Weber, belongs this mighty spell. Before their compositions, the music-mad passages of the Canons are no more thought of, and the pretty unadorned airs of the mere beginner fade away into insignificance ;-music asserts her power, assumes her golden throne, extends her all-touching sceptre, and the nations bow down before her. This is a long preamble to the more immediate subjectmatter of this article; but we could not resist the opportunity of expressing, however feebly, the intensity of our feelings regarding music,--feelings in which we are certain our readers will participate, for most of them, like us, must owe to music some of the happiest hours of their existence. Let us then chronicle the fact for them, as well as for ourselves. Whether it may have been upon the tented field, in the solemn cathedral, in the glittering and crowded theatre, alone, or with a multitude, from the full-choired orchestra, or the lips of one we loved, at the banquet-hour, beneath a thousand lights, or in the summer-glen, with the meridian moon smiling from a starless sky,-oh! wherever, or whenever, it may have been heard, never let it be forgotten that music has fallen upon our spirit like the light of Paradise upon her who stood without the gate. 66 mens of the art we have seen. The contents of the va lume are classed under the two heads of Vocal and Instrumental Music. In the first department, the best pieces are these ;-" The Song of Harold Harfager," the words by Sir Walter Scott, and the music by Mr John Thomson, of Edinburgh. We have seen no composition by Mr Thomson which pleases us more than this; it is remarkably bold and spirited, (particularly in the first part,) and, what is always of importance, the music is admirably adapted to the words:-" Placa gli sdegni tuoi,"-Italian words, set to a beautiful duet of Cherubino, every-way worthy of the gifted author of "Crudel Perche." Cherubino's music seldom fails to charm. We remember the delight with which we heard his overture to "Anacreon" encored at the first musical festival here:-" Lutzow's Wild Hunt," translated by Mr George Hogarth, from the German, the music by Weber. Weber was the Lord Byron of modern music. His "Lutzow's Hunt" is a splendid piece, but it should be heard only with the original German words, which make the effect wild and impressive in the highest degree. A harp accompaniment is also a great improvement, and gives a fine, full, swelling sound to the whole. Few things are more to be lamented by the lovers of music than Weber's premature fate. He had a genius and a style which have died with him; and which, for originality of conception and vigour of execution, we scarcely expect to see equalled again in our time:-"The Moorish Maiden," composed by Horn. This is a very delightful little melody, full of a lively archness, and with a character of its own, which is a great thing in songs of this sort. We foretell that many a bright-eyed damsel, between this Christmas and the next, will sing this song to her lover, and the smiling glances she will fling towards the poor youth as she sings, will seal his fate for ever. We are sorry we cannot extract the music, and give it a place here; but the words, which are also sprightly, will afford some notion of the air; and hers they are: THE MOORISH MAID. By J. A. Wade. "Oh! lullaby, lullaby, father dear!' Thus sigh'd a young Moorish maid, While a captive she loved to her bower came near, And whisper'd this serenade:Oh! list to me, Abra! morning breaks; "Twill soon be too late for our flight' Hark! hark! Ben Helim suddenly speaks, 'Whose music is this to-night?" "Tis my lullaby, lullaby, father dear,' The trembling Abra said; "I would sing you to rest, but my lute, I feel, I was wrong in the sounds I play'd." |