The bliss; but not the place. Here could I say Heav'n's winged messenger did pass the day; Under this pine the glorious angel staid : Then, show my wond'ring progeny the shade. Raph. Where'er thou art, He is; th' eternal mind Acts through all places; is to none confin'd: Fills ocean, Thou canst be no where distant: yet this place State of Innocence, Act V. After Milton, the Raphael of Dryden discloses to Adam, the future history of mankind, in a speech, which we quote for its own beauty, as well as for the purpose of introducing a passage of still greater merit. 66 Raph. Behold of ev'ry age, ripe manhood see, Those who, by ling'ring sickness, lose their breath ; "Adam. The deaths, thou show'st, are forc'd and full of strife, Cast headlong from the precipice of life. Is there no smooth descent? no painless way Of kindly mixing with our native clay? "Raph. There is-but rarely shall that path be trod, Some few, by temp'rance taught, approaching slow, Gently they lay 'em down, as ev'ning sheep On their own woolly fleeces softly sleep. "Adam. So noiseless would I live, such death to find, Like timely fruit, not shaken by the wind, But ripely dropping from the sapless bough, "Eve. Thus daily changing, with a duller taste Of less'ning joys, I, by degrees, would waste: The last passage of the play is so eminently lovely that we cannot forbear to add it to the quotations that have been already made, anxious as we are to exhaust the beauties of Dryden's forgotten dramas. "Eve. Farewell, you happy shades! Where angels first should practise hymns, and string As distant as I can; for, dispossest, Farthest from what I once enjoy'd, is best. 66 Raph. The rising winds urge the tempestuous air; And on their wings, deformed winter bear; The beasts already feel the change; and hence They fly, to deeper coverts, for defence: The feebler herd before the stronger run; For now the war of nature is begun : But, part you hence in peace, and having mourn'd your sin, "Aurengzebe" is another rhyming play, and is disfigured with as much rant and unmeaning bombast as any; nor does it contain so many of those gems, whose sparkling delights the eye of the weary passenger.-It nevertheless has its fine passages. In the first page there appears the description of the hostile armies, which concludes with an image of great beauty. "Four several armies to the field are led, Which, high in equal hopes, four princes head: His bloody arms about his slaughter'd sons." There are some other short extracts of great merit, whether for the imagery or the melody, which we will make in this place. "Unmov'd she stood, and deaf to all my prayers, As seas and winds to sinking mariners. But seas grow calm, and winds are reconcil'd: "Aur. But here she comes! In the calm harbour of whose gentle breast, * * * * * * * * * "Ind. Love is an airy good, opinion makes: Which he who only thinks he has, partakes. Seen by a strong imagination's beam, That tricks and dresses up the gaudy dream. Rais'd by high fancy, and by low destroy'd." * * * * * * * * * "Aur. Speak, madam; by (if that be yet an oath) Your love, I'm pleas'd we should be ruin'd both. Both is a sound of joy ; In death's dark bow'rs our bridals we will keep, And his cold hand Shall draw the curtain when we go to sleep." "Thou know'st, my heart, my empire, all is thine: Fair as the face of nature did appear, When flow'rs first peep'd, and trees did blossoms bear, Calm as the breath which fans our eastern groves, And bright as when thy eyes first lighted up our loves. With the first ardour of a nuptial kiss" My virtue, like a string, wound up by art, To the same sound, when yours was touch'd, took part, "I hate to be pursu'd from place to place; Th' approach of jealousy love cannot bear, He's wild, and soon on wing, if watchful eyes come near." "Fortune long frown'd, and has but lately smil'd; I doubt a foe so newly reconcil'd. You saw but sorrow in its waning form, A working sea remaining from a storm; When the now weary waves roll o'er the deep, Act IV. Sc. I. The "Rhodomontades of Almanzor" are spread over nearly half a closely-printed volume. The first and second parts of the "Conquest of Granada," in which they are to be found, are an elevated flat,-a plain, whose barren soil is burnt up by a fierce sun, and unfertilized by refreshing showers. They form together one enormous rant, which rarely sinks into tame propriety, or poetic truth. Some passages however there are, well worthy of a place in a work like the present. The description of the bull fight for instance, has a force and dignity not unbecoming the epic muse. "Aben. But what the stranger did was more than man. "Abdelm. He finish'd all those triumphs we began. One bull, with curl'd black head beyond the rest, Some toss'd, some gor'd, some trampling down he kill'd. Th' ignobler Moors from far his rage provoke With woods of darts, which from his sides he shook. Beneath each lady's stand a stop he made, And, bowing, took th' applauses which they paid. "Boab. I mark'd him, when alone Was far from the Ventanna where I'sate, But you were near, and can the truth relate." [To Abdelm. "Abdelm. Thus while he stood, the bull, who saw his foe, His easier conquests proudly did forego; Some shriek'd, while others, with more helpful care, Th' undaunted youth Then drew; and from his saddle bending low, It fell so quick, it did even death prevent; The character of Almanzor is spirited. "Vast is his courage, boundless is his mind, Rough as a storm, and humorous as wind; Honour's the only idol of his eyes; The charms of beauty like a pest he flies; |