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life and his intellectual attainments We confess that , as the patron of literature , he does not appear to our minds so \ 'ery engaging as under other aspects He rather reminds us too much of the zealous lovers of learning among the grandees in the Sandwich Islands . That passionate veneration for words , and that over-strained conception of the good to result from mere acquisition , is very symptomatic of an age just emerging from barbarism . When we think of
Alfred , it is the range and compass of his character that we admire . From the scholar , poring over Boethius , we turn to the afflicted man of sorrows , languishing under the pains of an incurable disease , yet rising at every interval of ease with fresh heart and hope , to do good and to communicate . The patience and sweetness which triumphed over the
dangers incident to prolonged suffering , are yet less to be admired than the courage , the activity , the energy , by which he appropriated to himself all the fruits of affliction , the opportunity for reflection , the solitary hours of communion with his God , the well meditated and well-digested plan for the improvement of his subjects . Mr . Atherstone has entered into the spirit of this part of King Alfred's character , and no part of his work , probably , will be better liked thau
the scenes at the Neatherd ' s . There is , however , a want of finish in the whole : and the occasionally spirited scenes do not sufficiently redeem the work from the charge of general awkwardness and inexperience . He appears too often to be thinking about his materials , and we are led to suppose he would have writteu better , had he not consulted his few authorities so often , by the superior character of those parts of the narrative in which he has thrown them aside .
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Art V . — The Bereaved ' , Kenilworth , and other Poems . By the Rev . E . Wliitfield . London , Whittaker , Treacher , and Co . 12 mo . pp .
140 . 1830 . » Thk feelings of an amiable mind are here expressed in easy and often flowing numbers . In The Bereaved , which gives its leading title to the volume , and is the longest poem in the collection , the writer
describes the workings of conjugal and of parental grief : he represent * , too , the comfort which it receives from Christian piety , faiUi , and hope ; even thoimh it be left to mom u in solitude . Some appropriate HeiitimtntK arc blended with the narrative :
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" Why are the lovely called away So sudden , ere the fleetiug day Of life has reached its noon ? Why ere the fruits in clusters glow , Or flowers in full luxuriance blow , Recalled the recent boon ? ***** " Why do the lovely disappear ? And why the happy fade and die ? Who shall the dubious vision clear ? What hand unveil the mystery ?" Pp . 12 , 13 .
The appearance of the well-known ruins of a Baronial Castle , and the ! historical and other associations connected with its picturesque scenery , are sketched in Kenilworth . Of the minor poems , the following " Lines for an Album" are particularly agreeable and pertinent :
" The time is not lost if , on these simple pages , Some gem of the arts , pleasing treasure be found , If lays of the muse , aud the wit that engages The heart , spread their charms and their freshness around .
" The blossoms of genius and fancy I gather , Shall mingle their sweetness ,. when other blooms fade ; And if trifling they seem , yet be they mine rather Than pleasures that sting—than pursuits that degrade . "—P- 135 .
It will be the author ' s own praise that he has not written a line which in a devotional and moral view " he could wish to blot : " occasionally , he has employed words * that Impartial but Friendly Criticism will be desirous of seeing
corrected .
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£ 00 Critical Notices . —Miscellaneous .
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Art VI —IAfe and Reign of George IV . Vol . I . ( Lardner's Cabinet Library , Vol . II . ) We had occasion last mouth to speak unfavourably of the first volume of Dr . Lardner ' s Cabinet Library , in reference
to its literary merits ; it affords us great pleasure to be able to bestow decided commendation on the volume now before us . Its execution is superior to any of the publications which the late reign has yet called forth ; and its spirit is impartial , manly , and uncompromising .
• Such are " acme * , " p . 61 , " ye , " p . 63 , &c , in the accusative case , " mementos , " p . 62 [ for which " memorials might be advantageously substituted ]
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1831, page 200, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2595/page/56/
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