glimpses we are given of the bathing nymphs is presented in Tasso's most poetic manner-a picture of graceful and chaste voluptuousness; and the rising of their humid brows and beauties from the crystal lake, illustrated by a charming simile- Qual mattutina stella esce dall' onde," &c. -a picture which Fairfax has improved, and Spenser imitated, as he has the entire fifteenth and sixteenth

cantos.

Tasso has described, not painted, the garden of Armida; the effect is produced by accumulation of detail, and is deficient in the sense of beauty and tone which give a halo to the depiction and landscape of more imaginative poets, such as Keats and Tennyson. The introduction of the singing bird a highly cultivated parrot and perfect metricist certainly - has been reprehended as a conceit: but considering that the gardens are under the power of an enchantress, it trespasses less upon poetic taste than the mirror which Tasso has hung on Rinaldo's neck, and in which he and his mistress amuse themselves by reflecting themselves and the surrounding scenery. But of such false fancies there are many in this epic poem-a species of composition into which, above all others except tragedy, they should never be permitted to enter. The amorous dalliance of the lovers, but for this, is, however, charmingly portrayed, as are also the objects with which they are surrounded, such as the peacock which "spriga la pompa delle occhiute piume- one of the few picturesque expressions in Tasso, and only surpassed by the description of the movement of the serpent which “sè dopo sè tira." Then comes the account of the ces. tus of Armida - taken indeed from Homer, but from the very nature of the object, more attractive in the choice soft Italian verses. The sudden appearance of the warriors dazzling the lovers with the heroic flame of their golden armour as they burst upon their retreat, is a fine poetical surprise, and appropriately breaks the charm which has held Rinaldo enthralled in his Cytherean isle, prefacing the transition from the love scene to one of hatred and revenge, and the magical terrors which ensue. There are many admirable descriptive passages in the "Gerusalemme

Liberata," among which, as contrast pieces, may be mentioned, the picture of the burning autumn drought with which the Christian army are afflicted (canto 13, stan. 53 to 64), in which every verse serves to heighten the description-an abnormal state of nature, in which a dim and bloody sun looks through the feverous air on the perishing host; and of whichthe effect is as though the demoniac powers had brought hell nearer to the earth. Another exquisite passage, of a different character, is that in which Erminia is described flying to the banks of the Jordan, where she resides with an old shepherd, and passes a lonely life amid solitary pastoral scenes. The picture (c. 7, s. 5) is exquisite. Awaked by the song of birds she salutes the pale dawn, but takes no pleasure in their joy, the river murmurs in the arborage, the waves play with the air and the flowers; she opens her languid eyes and be holds the solitary dwellings of the shepherds, and a voice seems to address her from the waters and the branches which answers to her sighs and her tears. The battle before the walls of Jerusalem between the crusading hosts and the Egyptian army is a varied and magnificent piece of description. The meeting between Armida and Rinaldo then occurs; for Tasso cannot wind up without reconciling his favourite hero with his enchantress The poem concludes by Godfrey entering Jerusalem, and offering thanks to Heaven for his success in the Holy Sepulchre. From beginning to end, therefore, the action, dignified and varied to its conclusion, realizes the nature of epical conception, ending happily. As far as structure is concerned, indeed, that of Tasso has the advantage of all others; and had he possessed as much imagination and nature as invention and design-in which former respect he is not to be compared to Milton or Shakespeare his work would have been worthy of a place or the supremest summit of 1 the Olympus of ce poetry.

Of the several Engish translations which have appeared - and in this category we include the latest, that from the pen of Sir John Kingston James we cannot say that any have done all justice to Tasso's grand, interes ång, and pathetic epic of

chivalry. Though the task of reflecting in our language the beauties of the romantic poets of Italy is far less difficult than that of producing poetic translations of the classics of Greece and Rome, no adequate rendering of any of them, in toto, has yet been accomplished. Sir J. K. James appears to us to have possessed several of the fundamental requisites for the execution of the extensive labour he has essayed a sound knowledge of Italian, considerable mastery and ready application of the vocabulary of the English, a love of his subject, and much scholarly and poetic taste. His version of the "Gerusalemme Liberata" is perhaps the most literal yet produced-indeed to render it so seems to have been his primary purpose; but this, though meritorious in the main, has led him into a number of metrical inaccuracies, which, as they are possibly the result of hasty composition, will demand a rigorous excision before he again sends his work through the press. The writer states in his preface that he was induced to adopt the alternate elegiac couplet in his translation from the difficulty of sustaining the ottiva rima of the original; and it is no less certain that the labour would have been greater had he adhered to that form of verse, than that by its adoption the verisimilitude between his rendering and the Italian poem would have been more approximate. Deficient, however, as the English may be in rhymes compared with the Italian, the obstacles alluded to have been overcome by many poets, among whom it is only necessary to refer to Byron, who, throughout his longest work and masterpiece has managed that metre with a facility which should explode any objections to its use on the score of inaptitude. A good number of false rhymes also require correction; and here and there the idiomatic turns and picturesque phrases of Tasso might with effect be literally produced. An instance of the total omission of one of the latter is found in his rendering of the stanza in the 15th canto, descriptive of the serpent which guards the paradise of Armida.

Or rientra in sè stessa, or le nodose
Rote distende, e sè dopo se tira.

Of this the writer merely translates the first line, and first half of the second-

"The coy refusal, the voluptuous leer!! The feuds and truces, the heart-piercing eyes,

The tender kiss, the sympathetic tear,

The playful raillery, the broken sighs." While, remarking that in the Italian there is nothing about voluptuous leers or heart-piercing eyes, we may suggest how much more poetic a closer adhesion to the wording of any finished passage, like this catalogue of charms, renders a translation, than the most flowery paraphrase.

Passing over these and other defects, chiefly metrical, a tendency to inversion, &c., we must compliment the writer on the general fidelity and spirit with which he has turned the twenty cantos into English verse. The combat between Tancredi and Clorinda, and her death, the entire of the 16th canto, are particularly well rendered, while many shorter passages, of the most varied poetic character, exhibit a congenial adaptability of poetic power and versification, and a choice of diction by no means common. Take as a specimen of the fidelity in which the work is executed, the picture of the enchanted garden, in the 16th canto :-"But when they had passed those labyrinthine bowers,

In gay aspect the lovely garden opes: Still water, springing crystal, myriad flowers,

All kinds of herbs and plants, rich sunny slopes,

Grottoes and groves, dark vales' inviting shade,

Were grouped together in one fairy

scene;

And what more beautiful the picture made, Art, that did all, remained herself un

seen.

"So blent was waste with ornament, you'd deem

All strictly natural: the art of Nature Was such, that she, in frolic mood, would

seem

For sport to imitate her imitator. The very air was formed by magic powers That caused perennial spring: undying

fruit

For ever bloomed amid undying flowers, And one was ripe when the other 'gan to shoot.

"On the same stem, and 'twixt the selfsame leaves,

One fig is ripe, while 'neath, another blows;

To the same bough the golden apple cleaves,

As that on which its green successor grows;

In rank luxuriance the meandering vine Creep to the sunniest aspect you behold; Here flowering buds their tortuous tendrils twine;

Here, big with nectar, rubies form and gold.

"Beautiful birds, among the frondous boughs,

Vie with each other in seductive spells; O'er wood and water gentle Zephyr blows, And them to murmur as she strikes compels.

When cease the birds, loudly the air replies;

When sing the birds, more soft its

tones appear;

Or chance or art the voices harmonise,

Or in alternate numbers charm the ear.

"One bird there was, that 'mong the others flew,

Of variegated plume and purple beak, Whose untied tongue such sounds articu late drew,

That like a man he almost seemed to speak;

And with such art continued to prolong

a late debate on the motion of Mr. Hennessy, the Member for King's County, that the condition of Ireland is the question of questions" for England.

The apprehension of this fact has doubtless been quickened by the imminence of a General Election. But the motive matters not. The statement of Mr. Lowe was literally correct. Every thoughtful Englishman sees that he will be inexcusable if he have not clear notions as to the state of things in Ireland, and do not exhibit a real concern for her welfare. There are many pleasing evidences that the desire to understand and to help this western island has become conscientious and general among the people of England. The changed tone of the London press, not less than of the recent Parliamentary discussions, indicates that a ready audience will henceforth be found for any temperate and wellintended essay on Ireland and her interests. The subject, if, until a short time back tabooed, possesses now a fresh and acknowledged attraction. Besides the speeches referred to, which bear traces of careful preparation and earnest purpose, numbers of pamphlets have appeared during the last few months, some marked by considerable ability, showing that the recent vitality of the topic is no accident, but the culminating effect of out-of-doors op.nion upon the Legislature. It is just, however, because the English mind is turned upon Ireland that a few cautionary hints seem required. The British public act promptly, often impulsively, and it might happen that, in their new zeal to remove supposed impediments, they would commit mistakes, and retard the work they meant to further. There are doctrinaires and there are party, men ready to draw them hither and thither. If they would serve Ireland, they must beware of ministering to the influences that have been her bane, out of any crude idea that they are completing the principle of equality, or permanently satisfying any considerable section of her people. The desire to benefit her must be kept under the control of reason, and ed by the teachings of experience, good is to be done. There may ick political as well as quack

pecuniary concessions; and both, by drawing off attention from what is sound and abiding, would engender fresh evils.

In treating this topic there is no occasion to travel back to the bitter Past as the Abbé Perraud did, and as persons of his class always do. If the object were to perpetuate animosities, and destroy all possibility of a prosperous future, that course would be pursued; but if, on the contrary, the wish of the inquirer is to know how the case of Ireland stands to day, and what should be the policy adopted under present circumstances, he will see the wisdom of leaving bootless references to penal laws and ancient strifes and inequalities to the apostles of ill-will, literary or clerical. There are no political or religious differences in the position of Irishmen before the law now to speak of the sentimental grievances occasionally started as such would be to subject oneself to general ridicule-- and whatever may at present interfere with advancement, the most fanatical cannot pretend that the "intolerance of a Protestant government" bears any share of blame. For many years the government of Ireland has been mild and liberal to the extent of suffering many forms of incipient sedition to pass unchastised, lest excuse might seem to be given to agitators for declaring that the spirit of persecution survived. What, simply, are the faults, hindraness, needs, and prespects of the Irish people in 1863'}

At the outset of the important inquiry there is a difference of opinton encountered as to the actual position of affairs. Is Ireland retrograding f There would seem to be little room for controversy on a point which ascertainable facts and figures should determine; and yet, within a few weeks, at an Irish table where a fair representation of the intelligence of the country was assembled, it was insisted as positively by men of one party that stark Ruin was hastening over the island, as by the other that "the corner was turned again," and that a period of Prosperity had begun. In Ireland, if anywhere, the maxim applies as to matters equally of fact and opinion, that the middle course is safest. If an individual be professionally employed to make out a prosperity case for the Government,