jesty; his body swells beyond the mea

sure of his chains, that burst from

' around him; and he stands redeemed,

regenerated, and disenthralled, by the 'irresistible genius of universal emanci'pation!'

The resources of this great orator's own mind are known to be nearly inexhaustible; it is therefore not probable that he borrowed any part of the above from the poet but it is pleasing to observe a coincidence of idea in two men of superior intellect, when awakened by the same animating subject.

In speaking of those who, by the mo

ral tendency of their poems, the accumulation of interesting circumstances,

and the sweetness of their versification, have largely contributed to the delight and improvement of their country, and increased the stores of light reading in England, without any intermixture of licentiousness, it would be unjust to omit the names of Gray, Collins, Beattie, and Langhorne. Of these, however, I shall here take particular notice of the lastnamed only; and of him, merely for the purpose of endeavouring to revive the public attention to his poem of "Owen of Carron."

As the story is more than legendary, though founded on an incident not totally unexceptionable, the poet cannot fairly be arraigned on that account. He has, besides, related it with infinite delicacy, enriched it with a great variety of miniature beauties, and rendered it, for harmony of composition and for pathos, one of the most interesting pieces of popular poetry extant.

The story of "Owen of Carron" is like that of the ancient ballad known by the title of Gill Morris, printed in the curious collection of the learned and venerable bishop of Dromore. It also

resembles the plot of the tragedy of Douglas, which has been a favourite with the public for above fifty years, and the fable of which, not the least of its charms, has been considered by the best judges as the most complete ever chosen by a dramatic poet, and most calculated to produce one of the chief ends of tragedy, that of affecting the mind through the mediums of terror and pity.

It may not be safe to affirm that any useful lesson is directly taught by Langhorne in this poem. Like Home, he has represented the lot of virtue as ulti

mately unfortunate; and the good are drawn as the principal victims of error and fatality, not of crime. For this, supposing it to stand in need of excuse, a sufficient reason arises from the necessity of adhering to received tradition.

In the descriptive parts, and the general machinery of the poem, the author has relied on the stores of his own genius; and with great art has magnified the simple action of the ballad into a long and very fascinating composition.

In the construction of his verse he