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ence between any two things, and should inquire where that word 'exactitude' was found, and supposing it to mean accuracy or exactness, how it could be applied to the measurement of a feeling or an idea. Such writing as this, however, betrays not only an ignorance of our language, but a want of common sense; the paragraph is a fair specimen of the empty and affected dissertations which are interspersed throughout the work, in order, we should imagine, to compensate for its want of originality in all other respects..

Although Mr. Galt says that he was often with Lord Byron in the winter of 1811, yet he derives his history, during that period, entirely from Mr. Dallas and Mr. Moore. We are wrong. We have found out that Mr. Galt and Lord Byron once, during that period, met at the Opera; that they conversed in Italian, and that during the whole time the noble Lord had a scowl upon his brow! Added to this information we have a hint, a guess,-no, only a suspicion, that Lord Byron puffed himself in the Morning Post! Nay, more, Lord Byron, when going down to the House of Lords, used, it seems, sometimes to call upon Mr. Galt, who then lived at the corner of Bridge Street, to know if he wanted a frank! Soon after these important incidents Mr. Galt married a wife, and he saw no more of Lord Byron.

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Such are the grounds-accidental meetings in some five or six places with Lord Byron-perhaps as many tête-à-tête interviews at periods few and far between,-upon which Mr. Galt has built up that second sight,' that irresistible destiny, which has compelled him to attempt the life of the noble poet. It is not to be concealed that the events of his life, those which are in any way worth recording, are altogether borrowed from works already in the hands of the public. Of these events, so borrowed, the volume is princi pally composed: but by way of fulfilling the promise given in the preface, of confining himself as much as practicable to the intellec tual features of Lord Byron, Mr. Galt indulges his fancy in sundryv criticisms upon his Lordship's principal poems.png (27) độ, Tis

Mr. Galt, as we have already seen, thinks that Mr. Moore has painted only the sunny side of Lord Byron's character. Certain it is, however, that Mr. Moore has not attempted, nor do we imagine that he will try, to vindicate his memory upon those points which have left upon it its deepest literary stains. This was an enterprise left for the chivalry of Mr. Galt, and one which he has under taken, although we could not have expected it from his preface. It is, we believe, or at least has been, pretty generally thought by critics as well as by the general mass of readers, that there is a blot in that otherwise fine dramatic composition entitled "Manfred," which classes it amongst the immoral publications of Lord Byron. For our own parts we do not look upon it as a poem in any respect dangerous even to young minds, for although we understand it in the sense that is generally ascribed to it, nevertheless nature, inde pendently of instruction, has provided so many and such sacred

guards upon this subject, that we have infinitely greater confidence in her influence, than we have fear of Manfred. We have no hesitation therefore in quoting the passage.

'She was like me in lineaments; her eyes,
Her hair, her features, all to the very tone
Even of her voice, they said were like to mine,
But soften'd all, and temper'd into beauty.
She had the same lone thoughts and wanderings,
The quest of hidden knowledge, and a mind
To comprehend the universe; nor these
Alone, but with them gentler powers than mine,
Pity, and smiles, and tears, which I had not;
And tenderness-but that I had for her;
Humility, and that I never had :

Her faults were mine-her virtues were her own;
I loved her and destroy'd her-————

WITCH..

With thy hand? ...

" MANFRED.

Not with my hand, but heart, which broke her heart.
It gazed on mine, and wither'd. I have shed
Blood, but not hers, and yet her blood was shed;-
I saw, and could not staunch it.'-p, 216.

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If language be plain and unequivocal, this is. It clearly intimates that Manfred not only allowed, but encouraged his sister to entertain for him more than a sister's love, and that the same madness which generated that unholy passion drove her to the commission of suicide. The words can bear no other construction. But Mr. Galt has found out that Astarte 'had been self-sacrificed in the pursuit of their magical knowledge.' Human sacrifices,' he adds, were supposed to be among the initiate propitiations of the demons that have their purposes in magic, as well as compacts signed with the blood of the self sold. There was also a dark Egyptian art, of which the knowledge and the efficacy could only be obtained by the noviciate's procuring a voluntary victim, the dearest object to himself, and to whom he also was the dearest; and the primary spring of Byron's tragedy lies, I conceive, in a sacrifice of that kind having been performed, without obtaining that happiness which the votary expected would be found in the knowledge and power purchased at such a price.' If this commentary were the true explanation of Astarte's suicide, what is to be done with the lines:→→

'Not with my hand, but heart, which broke her heart.

It gazed on mine, and wither'd.'

We need not pursue the subject. We have alluded to it for the purpose of shewing the inconsistency with which Mr. Galt complains of Mr. Moore's having exhibited only the sunny side of Lord Byron, whereas he himself not only leaves that sunny side

unblemished, but endeavours to bring within its brightness the really dark parts of the poet's intellectual character.

Again, this hater of Lord Byron's sunny side' speaking of the play of Sardanapalus, a composition which contains perhaps as much of questionable ethics as Don Juan itself, sums up its merits in these words: 'Pleasure takes so much of the character of virtue in it, that but for the moral taught by the consequences, enjoyment might be mistaken for duty,' and immediately after, he talks of the 'fond reveries of moral theory.' He moreover tells us that the period in which "Sardanapalus" was written, was the happiest of Lord Byron's life, for then, the Guiccioli was to him a Myrrha,' and he was in the enjoyment of 'festal repose! These phrases, we imagine, need no commentary. Mr. Moore's sunny side' is gloom itself compared with such licentious apologies as these."

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"Cain" too, that darkest of all spots upon Lord Byron's literary fame, is brightened up in a similar manner. The outrageous points are softened down; the critic does not affect indeed to be a theologian, but really he is not sensible to any of the impiety imputed to this composition. One passage seems to him orthodox, though perhaps daringly expressed.' Another has its shadow amongst the twilights of the "old religion"-that is to say, it is simply Pagan. He thinks it unfair to ascribe to the poet the sentiments expressed by Cain, and Mr. Galt ventures to make this assertion with Dr. Kennedy's book lying on his table, which literally justifies every part of the imputation. Talk of Moore's "sunny side'→→ we should like to know what is there otherwise than sunny' in Mr. Galt's representation of Lord Byron's character. Even Don Juan is defended! It is nothing more than a poetical novel; it merely unmantles the decorum of society.' It is really nothing more or less than the story of a young gentleman who is whirled by the vigour and vivacity of his animal spirits into a world of adventures, in which his stars are chiefly in fault for his liaisons! In perfect keeping with this excellent morality is the opinion given by Mr. Galt of Shelley, that indeed there was some defect in his understanding by which he subjected himself to the accusation of atheism!'

We have, however, given more time and more space to this work than it deserves. We have protested against the plan upon which the series to which it belongs has set out. We have shown that Mr. Galt's original contributions to the history of Lord Byron do not weigh a feather in the scale; that its narrative is a mere com pilation from other and better works; and that the pretence put forth in the preface of presenting a less favourable character of Lord Byron than Mr. Moore had given, is a downright imposition. Upon the score of morality Mr. Galt's volume is so objectionable, that we should form no favourable opinion of the virtues of any family in whose drawing-room we should find it.

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ART. VIII.-Description of a new Method of Propelling Locomotive Engines, and Communicating Power and Motion to other Kinds of Machinery. By Wm. Mann. 8vo. London: Taylor. 1830.

Ir is a curious fact, that when James Watt consulted the first engineer of his day, Smeaton, as to the practicability of employing steam as an agent of mechanical power, the architect of Eddystone light-house discouraged the sanguine ambition of his friend, regarding the project as a chimera. Could Smeaton at this moment look out from his grave, and behold the uses to which steam power has been made subservient, how quickly would he join in condemning that impudent philosophy, (the philosophy too of some of our wisest and our best men), which assigns bounds to the advance of human ingenuity, up to which it may go and no farther. Smeaton may well be forgiven his incredulity. But we have had philosophers in our own day, men confident in the truth of their own prophecies, and quite as presumptuous in the assertion of the justice of their anticipations, as though they had no experience of the fate which their predecessors in the same line had already encountered. Steam having been applied successfully as a substitute for human power, and for the power of water, a notion was entertained that it might also be used, in some instances, as an expedient for the winds of heaven, and for the expensive and, perhaps, not very humane servitude of draught horses. This was a chimera to be sure, and the wise men ridiculed it. But an attempt to carry the notion into effect was made, and it was found practicable, and not only perfectly feasible, but also, in its returns, as a commercial speculation, very successful. The Stockton and Darlington railway, the second experiment of this kind, although the first as a triumphant one, proved beyond all doubt that steam carriages and railways were capable of performing the duty of conveyance of goods and passengers, in such a way as no mode of land transport hitherto used could equal. But here again the philosophers interposed, and they said," true, you have gained upon us--you do travel eight miles an hour to be sure, but there you stop; more than that you will never be able to perform." This is the substance of what has been actually written on this subject. Mr. Wood, who wrote an elaborate account of the Darlington railway, literally ridiculed the idea of pushing the expeditious capabilities of steam coaches by railways beyond what they had attained on the Darlington course. His words are very remarkable. "It is far from my wish to promulgate to the world that the ridiculous expectations, or rather professions, of the enthusiastic speculist will be realized, and that we shall see engines travelling at the rate of twelve, sixteen, eighteen or twenty miles an hour. Nothing could do more harm towards their adoption or general improvement than the promulgation of such nonsense!!" Such nonsense! Well, but Mr.

Prophet Wood was made to pay a penalty which never was rash seer condemned to before; and the proprietors of the Manchester and Liverpool Railroad, with a refinement of cruelty which has no parallel in the annals of poetical justice, actually prevailed on this same Mr. Wood to form one of the judges who were to decide on the competition of the locomotive carriages in October last; that is to say they obliged him to see with his own eyes an almost living exemplification of that which, with all his experience and intelligence (for he has both), he pronounced to be impossible. The "novelty" carriage performed on the railroad twenty-one miles an hour on the trial day. But this is all very natural. There is scarcely an invention we have that was not sought to be crushed in its infancy by confident overweening prophets; as if it were a part of the economy of Providence, that every triumph of the human intellect should be in a certain degree alloyed by some proof of its liability to error-as the slave used to be placed in the car of the Roman Conqueror. There was also a great check to the progress of enterprise in the circumstance of its almost always interfering with personal interests. But it is a happy sign of the present era, that the opposition arising from these two sources to the progress of improvement, has been of a very feeble nature; and it is a striking criterion of the facility with which just notions are now circulated amongst the public, that a project, denounced as chimerieal by persons of experience and ability, and which was calculated to prejudice very extensive interests, should, in only a couple of years after it was broached, have been actually put into execution. This was the case with the Liverpool and Manchester railway, the vast achievement which will make the present year a remarkable era in the history of mechanical science. It is true with respect to the most refined improvements, as it is with respect to the rudest contrivances, that necessity is the parent of invention. So it was in the instance before us.

Every body knows that Manchester is the great site of the Cotton manufactures. Liverpool is the port which receives the raw material, the wool, from the East and West, in order to supply Manchester. Again Liverpool sends forth to the different countries of the world the same wool manufactured into cloth. Liverpool and Manchester are, therefore, in a state of incessant communication. The interchange of merchandize every day between these two towns is calculated to have been on the average 1200 tons, chiefly carried on by means of nearly 12,000 vessels. The navigation was exceedingly dilatory; it was expensive, particularly on account of the dock dues, and in summer the water was very often insufficient to carry the boats to the port, and either immense delay or great expence was the consequence. Travelling between these two towns was also in a very imperfect state; every body desired a change, but how it was to be effected was the question. Mr. James, an engineer, suggested the project of a railroad in 1822: the whole

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