Poetry.

COUNTRY LIFE.

Happy the man who has the town escaped;
To him the whistling trees, the murmuring brooks,
The shining pebble preach

Virtue's and wisdom's lore.

The whispering grove a holy temple is
To him, where God draws nigher to his soul;
Each verdant sod a shrine,

Whereby he kneels to heaven.

The nightingale on him sings slumbers down-
The nightingale rewakes him, fluting sweet,
When shines the lovely red

Of morning through the trees.

Then he admires thee in the plain, O God!
In the ascending pomp of dawning day,
Thee in the glorious sun,

The worm-the budding branch

Where coolness gushes in the wavering grass,
Or o'er the flowers streams the fountain, rests;
Inhales the breath of prime,

The gentle airs of eve.

His straw-decked thatch, where doves bask in the sun, And play and hop, invites to sweeter rest,

Than golden halls of state

Or beds of down afford.

To him the plumy people sporting chirp,
Chatter and whistle, on his basket perch,
And from his quiet hand

Pick crumbs, or peas, or grains.

Oft wanders he alone, and thinks on death;
And in the village churchyard, by the graves,
Sits, and beholds the cross,

Death's waving garland there.

The stone beneath the elders, where a text
Of scripture teaches joyfully to die;

And with his scythe stands Death
An angel, too, with balms.

Happy the man who thus hath 'scaped town!

Him did an angel bless when he was born-
The cradle of the boy

With flowers celestial strewed.

Review.

THE SUFFERING SAVIOUR: or Meditations on the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. By the REV. F. W. KRUMMACHER, D.D., Chaplain to his Majesty the King of Prussia. Author of "Elijah the Tishbite," &c. Translated under the express sanction of the Author by SAMUEL JACKSON. Second Edition, revised. 8vo., pp. 479. Edinbro': T. & T. Clark; London: Hamilton, Adams, & Co. THESE "Meditations" were originally published as a series of discourses. In preparing them for the British public the translator has, with the sanction of the author, pared off what seemed extraneous, and moulded them into their present form. The same plan had been adopted in Dr. Krummacher's earlier works, and, as the sales showed, not without complete success. The translator was therefore the more readily inclined again to follow the same course.

The object of the book, as a whole, is, says the author, "to display at least a portion of those riches which are contained in the inexhaustible treasury of our Saviour's sufferings;" and in following out this design, he divides his essays into three parts, severally headed "The Outer Court," "The Holy Place," "The Most Holy Place." He assures us that this division is "intended merely to point out the different stages of the Redeemer's sufferings, from their commencement to their close, and that he by no means attaches a less or greater importance to them." Still we cannot but regard this arrangement, however explained, as somewhat fanciful. The plan pursued will be better understood from an examination of the contents of the three sections. "The Outer Court" includes eleven meditations, headed "the announcement; the anointing; the entry into Jerusalem; Christ washing the disciples feet; the passover; the institution of the Lord's-supper; Lord, is it I? Judas Iscariot; the woe denounced; the walk to Gethsemane; and the converse by the way.' The "Holy Place" contains twenty-nine meditations, headed, "Gethsemane-conflict and victory; Gethsemane-import and result; the sudden assault; the traitor's kiss; the sword and the cup; offering and sacrifice; Christ before Annas; the judicial procedure; the fall of Peter; the great confession; Peter's tears; 'Prophecy to us, thou Christ;' Christ before the Sanhedrim; the end of the traitor; Christ before Pilate; the accusations; Christ a King; 'What is truth?' the Lamb of God; Christ before Herod; Pilate our advocate; Jesus and Barabbas; Barabbas; the scourging; Ecce Homo; the close of the proceedings; the way to the cross; Simon of Cyrene; and the daughters of Jerusalem.” The last division, "The Most Holy Place," includes thirteen meditations, headed, "the crucifixion; the dividing of the raiment; the inscription; Father, forgive them; the malefactor; the legacy of love; Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani;' 'I thirst;' 'It is finished;' Father, into thy hands I commit my Spirit;' the signs that follow: the wound of the lance; and the interment."

It will at once appear that this volume abounds in topics linked indissolubly in every pious mind with holiest thoughts and aspirations. In their treatment Dr. Krummacher has pursued no uniform nor artistic method. He has allowed his fancy to follow her own sweet will; now preparing us for the scene or the subject by devout reflections; now eliminating some practical lesson; and now uttering some pious ejaculation. Ab uno disce omnes. In his essay entitled "Ecce Homo," he first pictures Gabbatha, and then hints at what might be supposed would be the world's reception of her great King. He continues :

"What, and was it not so? My friends, lift up your eyes, and look toward Gabbatha. 'Gracious heaven!' you exclaim, 'who is yonder sufferer?' O, my friends, whom do you take him to be? Look him narrowly in the face, and say if wickedness could have vented itself worse than it has done on this person! Alas! they have made of him a carnival king; and as if he were unworthy of being dealt with seriously, they have impressed upon him the stamp of derision. Look at the mock robe about his shoulders, the theatrical sceptre in his hands, and on his head, which is covered with wounds and blood, the dreadful crown of thorns. But who is this man thus horribly disfigured? I

'Cru

That

think you will no longer seriously inquire. The lamblike patience, and the superhuman resignation with which he stands before you, point him out sufficiently clearly. No less does the majesty betray him, which, in spite of all abasement he experiences, still shows itself in his whole deportment, as well as the divinely forgiving love, which even now beams in his eye. Who would be found acting thus in a similar situation? Yes, it is the Holy One from on high, who stands before you the picture of agony. 'Behold the man!' exclaims the heathen judge, deeply affected, and faintly impressed with the idea of a superior being. 'Behold the man!' the hope is once more excited in the governor that he would still be able to accomplish the liberation of Jesus. cify him! crucify him!' rends the air, as if proceeding from a single tongue. which manifests itself at Gabbatha, is only the mature fruit of a seed which grows, openly or secretly, in us all. Do not call this assertion unjust. As long as we have not experienced the second birth by water and the Spirit, we do not act, with regard to Jesus, in a manner essentially different from the wretched men at Gabbatha. Like them, we are offended at the holiness of Jesus. Like them, we spurn him from us, when he is desirous of rending the web of deceit we have spun around us. Like them, we spit upon him in spirit with our scorn, when he gives us to understand that we ought to bow the knee of homage to him as our ruler. Tell me, does not Christ still wear in the world, in a hundred different forms, the purple robe and the crown of thorns? Is he not exposed to public ridicule, and treated as a liar and an enthusiast, because he bears witness to his superhuman dignity? Is not his name, even to this day, proscribed by thousands like scarcely any other? But the presence of the Divine sufferer acts not merely judicially and condemnatory. It also exercises an influence commanding homage and reverence. However deeply abased the Saviour may appear, he is still a King," &c.

Enough has been given to illustrate and justify our description of these meditations. But little discussion is attempted. They are studies," rather than finished pictures.

Excellent in spirit and uniformly good in their tendency as these essays unquestionably are, we are compelled to acknowledge that many of the scenes depicted fail to produce any vivid impression from sheer over-painting, and that the force of many lessons is frittered away by the diffusive style in which they are presented. The main fault throughout the whole book is, that too much is done for the reader. His imagination is burdened with help rather than incited to independent effort. His self reflection is described, rather than provoked. Occasional instances are not wanting, both of suggestiveness and of compression, and the relief these passages afford makes us regret their rare occurrence.

Dr. Krummacher is fond of discovering symbols in every thing connected with the person of Christ. He seems to have outdone himself, however, when he declares that "the upper garment of Christ symbolizes the outwardly operating fulness of the Saviour's power and life.” Surely we have no warrant for such ultra-spiritualizing as this. Here and there will also be found such "churchly" remarks as will detract from its usefulness among dissenters. Of this kind is the assertion that Christ acknowledged the authority of the Jewish Sanhedrim. Dr. K's. state-church leanings have led him into this error. Scores of passages might be cited to prove, not only that Christ did not acknowledge the authority of that council, but that he conceived it to be for the interest of truth to rebuke and expose the pretensions both of its members severally and its body as a whole. If he had acknowledged its claims at all, he would assuredly have done so at the commencement of his public ministry. Nothing but the bias we have referred to would ever have led one so conversant with the New Testament as Dr. K. to affirm "that Christ regarded the authority of this council as being divinely-sanctioned, and submitted without objection to its citation."

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We are grieved at the strain of reflection adopted in speaking of the "blood of Christ." It is surely in bad taste to speak of this as a rosy dew that works wonders." Nor do we admire the following allusion. It reminds one of some middle-age paintings of the crucifixion. Dr. K. is commenting on the inscription, "Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews." He says:- "Dost thou enquire, where is the majesty of this king? Truly it exists although for the time hidden, like the glittering gold of the ark beneath the ram's skins that covered it. Be not offended at the gloomy cloud that frowns around him

The

eye of faith penetrates through it, and perceives in the balmy back ground, a rainbow garland of angels' heads and seraphic faces."

These defects notwithstanding, the "Meditations" will prove acceptable to many christians. Whether their style and general character are according to our readers' tastes, they themselves will be the best judges. Of this we are certainone of these "Meditations" would prepare the mind of the devout believer for a profitable attendance at the Lord's-table.

HOURS OF SUN AND SHADE. Reveries in Prose and Verse, with translations from various European languages. By PERCY VERNON GORDON DE MONTGOMERY, author of "The Immortal," a Poem, "The Old Hall," &c. 12mo. Cloth, pp. 130. London: Groombridge and Sons, Paternoster Row.

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THE preface to this volume has somewhat startled us. Three pleas are urged in it why criticism should be lenient; namely, that the author's desire has been to advance the Creator's glory, and the welfare of mankind; that many of the pieces were written when he was not twenty years old, and that he "is is yet but tuning his harp." To the first plea very many of the "Reveries" will by no means apply, especially those which are manifestly highly-coloured panegyrics on some lost female friend. Nor can we class among the number of pieces "which have this intent," "The old hall," ," "O come to me, love," and Lady, I think of thee." As to the second plea, the author only mentions one poem that was written before he was twenty, and this has already been published under another name. The third plea, if it means anything, says in effect that the author will do better another time. It is really too much to expect however that any pleas like these will deter readers from forming their own opinions as to the merit or otherwise of the poetry they read. If the poetry be good, it will need no criticism to puff it into note. If it be bad, or only second-rate, no amount of puffing will give it more than a galvanic and temporary existence. In the volume before us the positive amount of original pieces is small; some are acknowledged copies of Longfellow, and others are translations from continental poets. The remainder shew some ease in versification, but are very far from faultless. Here and there the lines limp fearfully, to the no small consternation of the tuned ear. Flashes of beauty occasionally appear; but we would suggest that the simple repetition of the word "flowers," even when helped out by the adjective "beautiful," is no apology for bad verse, and no proof of good. blank verse pieces are execrable. It seems to us that in this respect the first Montgomery utterly failed. The third of that name, if he values his reputation, even among his intimate friends, will never again attempt anything in what only suits the highest style of poetry. The following would have been well enough in a sonnet, but as a scrap of blank verse headed" Spring," it cannot but excite a

smile.

"She comes!-her eyes are twin forget-me-nots;
Her lips red rose-buds, sweet with honey-dew;
Her teeth pale lily-bells; her blushing cheeks
Fair snowy roses, by carnations kiss'd;
Her brow, a rich narcissus, purely white;
Her breath a wedded zephyr and a sweet;
Her voice all melody, her look all love.”

The

The prose and the "addenda" demand a word. "Thoughts on the beautiful" is nothing more than a catalogue of beautiful things, thrown together without method, without selection, and without any intelligible aim. Now he is raving about the smiles of beauty and the warrior; by and bye we have the four seasons depicted; and then we are offered a sort of ad captandum delineation of the beauties of the Bible. If this be thought, we have yet to learn what thought is. But what infatuation must have seized the author when he picked out from his common-place book scraps of figures, and mere shreds of thoughts, and gave them to the world as the golden grains of genius. These are a few: "The soul is a ray of light streaming from divinity ;" "Night's silver lamps have burnt their glory out;" "The waves leap with gladness at the beauty of the sunset, and murmur

a lay at its loveliness." One would fancy that had been written after a perusal of Ossian. "Love is the fruit of heaven, the food of angels, and God is the root from whence it springs." "Great truths are inextinguishable beacons, kindled by the children of genius, to guide us over the billows of time." "Great is the influence which one mind has upon another mind in this probationary state of existence, and greatly will that influence tell hereafter in the unerring balances of eternal truth, to the honour or shame of him whose mind has influenced anothers." These, and some fifty more paste-gems, are carefully separated from one another by the printer's art, that each may be allowed to dazzle our eyes with its own brilliance. But this is not all that may be gathered from the Thoughts and Fragments." We may learn how the rival of Sheridan and Burke in their sublimest moods, as some obscure newspaper writer styles the author, evidently to his no small delectation,—can

"Steal a thought

And clip it round the edge, and challenge him
Whose 'twas, to swear to it."

The most glaring instance of this is found in "An Address to the Ocean." All that is good in this fragment has been stolen from Byron's celebrated conclusion to Childe Harold, and where any alteration has been made, it is for the worse. Thoughts, imagery, and phrases are pilfered without the smallest acknowledgement. No excuse can justify this. The only course open to the author is to expunge with the pen this "Fragment" from every copy of his poetry that he may hereafter send forth into the world.

Speaking Phrenologically, we should say that the third Montgomery has the "love of approbation" extra large, No. 22; and we are the more inclined to this opinion from the following announcement, with which the book closes :-"The author will be happy to deliver his Lectures on 'The Beautiful,' and 'The Rise and Progress of Literature and Science in England,' gratuitously, at any time and place."

PHAETHON; or Loose Thoughts for Loose Thinkers. By REV. CHAS. KINGSLEY, Canon of Middleham, and Rector of Eversley. Crown 8vo., boards, pp. 91. Second Edition. Cambridge: Macmillan and Co.

THIS is a clever little brochure. It is just the work to put in the hands of men bitten by Emerson and Theodore Parker. The keen, searching, trenchant logic, and the rich vein of humour of the book are irresistible. We sincerely hope the author will again render help to the friends of revealed truth.

LEISURE HOUR, and SUNDAY AT HOME, from June to December, 1856. Tract Society.

THE attraction of these periodicals is in no ways diminished. Articles, illustrations, and general tone are all good.

THE BIBLE UNION QUARTERLY. Published by the American Bible Union. Edited by W. H. WYCKOFF and C. A. BUCKBEE. August, 1856. London: Trübner and Co..

THIS periodical has been mislaid or it would have been acknowledged earlier. It is solely filled up with a "Defense" "-the spelling is that given in the "Quarterly""A Defense of the Bible Union," being a reply to Dr. Maclay.

THE BIBLE TREASURY: a monthly review of Prophetic and Practical subjects. Edited by PROFESSOR WALLACE, M.A., Collegiate Tutor of the London University. London: Partridge and Oakey.

THE name of the Editor is a guarantee for the literary character of this new serial. We have already stated its general design.