Lo! God hath wreath'd the laurels round thy brow,

His arm is with thy sword-that thou should'st bring [Eternal King. The wandering tribes of earth, to earth's Branch of a stately stem, now fair and

tender!

Young scion of a race, far dearer care Of Heaven than all the imperial pomp and splendour, [bear! That the broad bosom of the west doth See thine own warlike shield: for present there, [tory, Gleams the dread sign of ancient vicSymbol that once Heaven's monarch deign'd to wear

The form of man, and died on earth that we [hell be free. Might from the bondage dire of sin and Lord of a thousand lands! whose empire wide [beam, First smiles beneath the morning's early Shines out, when in mid-heaven the sun doth ride,

And glows beneath his latest evening gleam; [arm we deem Oh, King! whose sword, whose potent Full soon the power of Ishmael's sons shall shake, [dream Startle the eastern Turk from his dull Of ease and of security, and make The dark Gentoo that drinks the sacred river, quake, &c.

legitimation per subsequens matrimonium.' The first of these papers is the only one that possesses any great interest on this side the Tweed, and we shall take advantage of the opportunity it affords us of laying before our readers some brief remarks upon the questions respecting the death of Richard II. which have been recently agitated amongst antiquaries. We shall thus be enabled to do justice to the present author, by clearly exhibiting the new information he has contributed. Before entering, however, upon the subject, we must express our displeasure at the scornful and contemptuous style which he too frequently adopts in his allusions to Mr. Tytler. Such a style ought to be carefully abstained from in all merely literary controversies, and certainly, in the present case, is most unjust. Mr. Tytler may be right or wrong in his opinions respecting Richard II., or any other disputed point of history, but his great merits as an historian are unquestionable. His works entitle him to the respect of all his fellowlabourers, and more especially of those whose attainments do not exceed the comparatively humble standard of the present author.

On the 27th October, 1399, Richard II. was sentenced to perpetual imprisonment in some unfrequented place. He was to be guarded by sure and sufficient persons; no one who had formerly belonged to his household was to be permitted about his person, and these directions were to be carried into effect with the greatest possible secresy. At the time of passing this 'judgment,' Richard was confined in the Tower of London. He was afterwards conveyed to Leeds Castle, in Kent, and thence to Pontefract.

Early in the succeeding year a formidable conspiracy for his restoration was treacherously disclosed, and easily defeated. The conspirators comprised the Earls of Kent, Huntingdon, and Salisbury, the Lords Lumley and Despencer, and many of the most faithful of the relatives and adherents of Richard. The premature discovery of their plot rendered success impossible, and all the persons we have enumerated were arrested and put to death The in various parts of England.

Mr. Fox properly states that "It is now ascertained beyond all doubt, that alliteration is the chief characteristic of Anglo-Saxon verse; and this is also accompanied with a rhythm which clearly distinguishes it from prose; but in many parts of these metres, as they stand in Junius's MS. and Rawlinson's printed edition of 1698, there is neither alliteration nor rhythm; to say nothing of the obscurity which arises from this faulty collocation. It has, therefore, been my endeavour in this edition to restore the text to what I conceive to have been its original purity, by preserving the alliteration and rhythm; and by this change in the punctuation, the sense of passages which before was in many places doubtful, is become clear and obvious. This alteration, as it is merely a change in the punctuation without any variation in the original orthography, will not, I trust, be considered an unpardonable liberty."-p. 5, Pref. - "The change in punctuation occurring very frequently, it would be tedious to remark upon every case; the reader is, therefore, referred to Rawlinson's edition, if he question the correctness of the present text. As it has been my desire to present a pure and correct edition of the Saxon text, I hope those who differ with me in opinion will consider the difficulty as well as importance of the undertaking."p. 6, Pref.

fidence, and an unwillingness to make unlimited assertions. Mr. Fox has written under this conviction, and has produced a work most creditable to himself, and useful to Anglo-Saxon students. We wish the discussion concerning the Oxford professors had partaken more of the spirit here commended. When the professor's chair at Oxford next becomes vacant, we feel convinced Mr. Fox's modest but well-deserved claims cannot be forgotten.

There can scarcely be a greater cause for suspecting that a man is wrong, than his over-confidence that he is right; his contracted view only allows him a limited prospect, hence he sees no difficulties, and is dogmatical and dictatorial. Such a spirit injures the cause, however good, which it espouses. On the other hand, when a mind is so enlarged as to take an expanded view, difficulties are seen, and, therefore, generally avoided. It is in literature and science as in nature, the higher the mountain is ascended, the more extended is the view. One height after another has successively brought so many new objects before the mind, and enabled it to look down upon old objects with an enlarged view, in so clear a light as to bring a deep conviction that another elevation may still extend the prospect. This experience ever produces a modest dif

Specimen of a New Translation of the Luciad of Camoens, &c. by Henry Christmas, of St. John's coll. Camb.

WHILE all lovers of poetry must admire the spirit and elegance of Mickle's translation of Camoen's noble Poem, they at the same time might justly desire one more faithful to the Poet's meaning, and more closely resembling the original in the form and structure of the metre. This Mr. Christmas has attempted to do in the present specimen, and not we think without success. His versification is harmonious and correct, his language elegant, and his conception spirited and poetic. We will give a short specimen of the rival versions.

Mickle.

Arms and the heroes who from Lisbon's shore, [before; Thro' seas where sail was never spread Beyond where Ceylon lifts her spicy breast, [waste, And waves her woods above the watery With prowess more than human forced their way

To the fair kingdoms of the rising day. What wars they wag'd, what seas, what dangers past, [at last; What glorious empire crown'd their toil Venturous I sing, on soaring pinions borne, [adorn. And all my country's wars the song What kings, what heroes of my native land Thunder'd on Asia's or on Afric's strand. Illustrious shades! who levelled with the

dust

The idol temples and the shrines of lust; And where e'erwhile foul demons are rever'd,

To holy faith unnumber'd altars rear'd; Illustrious names with deathless laurels crown'd, [nown'd. While time rolls on in every clime reLet Fame with wonder name the Greek [bore; no more; What lands he saw, what toils at sea he

Lo! God hath wreath'd the laurels round thy brow,

His arm is with thy sword-that thou should'st bring [Eternal King. The wandering tribes of earth, to earth's Branch of a stately stem, now fair and tender!

Young scion of a race, far dearer care Of Heaven than all the imperial pomp and splendour, [bear! That the broad bosom of the west doth See thine own warlike shield: for present there, [tory, Gleams the dread sign of ancient vicSymbol that once Heaven's monarch deign'd to wear

The form of man, and died on earth that we [hell be free. Might from the bondage dire of sin and Lord of a thousand lands! whose empire wide [beam, First smiles beneath the morning's early Shines out, when in mid-heaven the sun doth ride,

And glows beneath his latest evening gleam; [arm we deem Oh, King! whose sword, whose potent Full soon the power of Ishmael's sons shall shake, [dream Startle the eastern Turk from his dull Of ease and of security, and make The dark Gentoo that drinks the sacred river, quake, &c.

This specimen we consider to be quite good enough to induce the author to proceed in his undertaking. It will be seen that a few of his expressions are weak, and some not so skilfully turned as they ought to be; but his measure we decidedly prefer to Mickle's; and thus differing from his predecessor, both in the structure of his verse and in the plan of execution, we shall willingly accept two versions of Camoens, executed on different principles, as we possess two versions of Homer.

Tracts, Legal and Historical, with other Antiquarian Matter, chiefly relative to Scotland. By John Riddell, Esq. Advocate. Edinburgh. pp. 224, 8vo, 1835.

THIS volume contains three antiquarian papers, the first being a reply to Mr. Tytler's remarks upon the death of Richard II.;' the second, ‘Observations upon the representation of the Rusky and Lennox families;' and the third, Remarks upon the law of

legitimation per subsequens matrimonium.' The first of these papers is the only one that possesses any great interest on this side the Tweed, and we shall take advantage of the opportunity it affords us of laying before our readers some brief remarks upon the questions respecting the death of Richard II. which have been recently agitated amongst antiquaries. We shall thus be enabled to do justice to the present author, by clearly exhibiting the new information he has contributed. Before entering, however, upon the subject, we must express our displeasure at the scornful and contemptuous style which he too frequently adopts in his allusions to Mr. Tytler. Such Such a style ought to be carefully abstained from in all merely literary controversies, and certainly, in the present case, is most unjust. Mr. Tytler may be right or wrong in his opinions respecting Richard II., or any other disputed point of history, but his great merits as an historian are unquestionable. His works entitle him to the respect of all his fellowlabourers, and more especially of those whose attainments do not exceed the comparatively humble standard of the present author.

On the 27th October, 1399, Richard II. was sentenced to perpetual imprisonment in some unfrequented place. He was to be guarded by sure and sufficient persons; no one who had formerly belonged to his household was to be permitted about his person, and these directions were to be carried into effect with the greatest possible secresy. At the time of passing this judgment,' Richard was confined in the Tower of London. He was afterwards conveyed to Leeds Castle, in Kent, and thence to Pontefract.

Early in the succeeding year a formidable conspiracy for his restoration defeated. The conspirators comprised was treacherously disclosed, and easily the Earls of Kent, Huntingdon, and Salisbury, the Lords Lumley and Despencer, and many of the most faithful of the relatives and adherents of Richard. The premature discovery of their plot rendered success impossible, and all the persons we have enumerated were arrested and put to death in various parts of England. The