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M[nCH.1.<\NEOL'S i M Tut I'WKTICO. Air* of Palc?.ine, <& Poem, l>y Jt hu Picrp^nt, E}q. \V elcomb a-, the caiav n, that 0. ought life reuuVaUon, to the cxtiaused hatues of W\ Bey atitl his followers, in toe desert sands oT Moroco? *? Sweti as *ht imisrck of the fcatheicd songMers, that swep through th?r groves of his beloved Semelilai. were the Aira of J alcx'inr, to our eniaptuicd ears. To the American Ke^iew^r. wlio has been doomed to depend upon material* from abroad Wr tire exercise of nis trade ? who has M^ncd over the wild, unculti vated fields of science and of song, at home ?who has languished for the time, when he might proudly claim, for his country men, a name and place, in the meat Re public of Letters? this d',m<stick Poem, will briny; a transport of delight, unfelt be fore. - Hut let not - the enthusiasm of pa triot ick feelings, scduce us into forgei ful ness of our office. We are no paneg\ nsts ?we are siern, impartial critick-*, whom no selfish motive can influence, to disre gard the dictates of truth and justice ; bu^ if ihe ore of our Poet should yield, in the crucible of analysis, a pure, a rich, original*, elementary metal, we may be permitted to boast, that that metal comes from -an Am'-rican m nr ? we may be indulged in the pride of .proclaiming, that the Poet is our compatriot. The object of t4ie Poem is to shew the influence aiKi power r?f Sacred Musick. Jn his method of treating this subject, the uudior has fbNowed no be a' en track : lie ha9 been ifiae aui moduli /actor. The Bible is the Helicon, at which his Muse has quaffed the rich draughts of holy in spiration? his lyre, Ike tl?e harp of Ouvid is strung to the glory of the great Jehovah, ? Wuhan invention wholly original, and an imagination tru y p >etical, the au thor has chosen that epoch of the world, when, by the Ahnighty Jiui% the bond which linked mankind together, was sever ed, and themselves dispersed, to introduce his subject, as the only tie that-could bring them again into communion, and stand in the p ace of unity of language. This in troduction is, in ihe highest degree, ar'ful and imposing. We are disposed to re gard, witli enthusiast ick reverence, that power bv whose universal inHuence, the curse ot Babel is half averted, and all crea ted bcingsown one common intelligence ??wild with souls thus properly attuned to harmony, we feel the magick of every chord that vibrates to the poet's touch. After hritfly relating the event, to which w have alluded, and describ.ng the wrath of the offonded Majesty of Heaven, at the daring presumption of man, the poet adds-; i4Yef, round the Avenger's brow, that frowu'd ubove, Play'd Mercy's beama-*- the lambent liirht of LoVtt M Alua ck was the gift of this Heavenly mercy ? how sublime a subject, then, for the poet's pen! But in this vast unbounded field, various paths presented themselves, to the step of the traveller ; it was neces sary to stop, and survey the prospect ? to pause* and' hr?ath the freshness of the ^mountain air " A thousand beauties caught his eye, at every turn ? a thousand melodies were wafted to his listening ear. by every breeze. On one hand, the tune ful pipe of Maro wooed him to Itai in groves; on the other, the lofty strains of Homer's Lyre, tempted him to seek the shotes of Greece. In this variety of temptation ? in this perph xity of choice, the pnetf burning with the tire ol devotion, bursts out into a flame of eloquence, and p ety, exquisitely beautiful . l,No? no ? a lonelier lovelier path be mine : Greece and her charms I leavenfor Pales tine. Thvire/)wrrr streams through haft/iier val lies flow ; And tweeter flowers on holier mountains blow. I love to breath where Gtlead shed her balm ? I love to walk on Jordan's banks of palm ? I love to wet my foot in Hermcm's dews ? 1 love the promptings ol Isaiah's muse .* In Carmell's holy grots I'll court repose, And deck my mossy couch with Sharon's deathless rose." The rep tition of the comparative de gree in the epithets, of the fu st and second couplets, gives the force of antiiheni%y to expressions having no necessary contract in their meaning; and thus, we think, the author has produced a new and stri king beauty, the four succeeding lines are inexpressibly sweet, and the closing Alexandrine, adds a dignity and sublimity to the passage, which we challenge the Bards of the present age to surpass* He has shown not less taste than judgement in his selection of subjects, fr^m the inex haustible variety that attracts the eye of a poet, in reading the Bible.? .The passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea, and the song of praise raised by Moses aud his followers^ for their miraculous escape ? the pathetick farewell of this holy patrinch tp he Jew*? his death? are sung in ?ich nal sweliing strains. There are scenes \n the Bible, which possess, in themselves, f >o much of the "very soul of song," that it it difficult, for any power of language, to ' render them more poetical ; unci yet the reader may almost fancy that he hears the rearing oi tlie trumpets* and thunders on Mount Sinai ; or the still small voter that -spoke to the prophet LUjah, on MoUnl Ilortb. In ihe following passage, the imagina tion of the poet coutd have but little room to play ? he is describing a fact as related bv the Evangelist ? hut we doubt whether tht brightest fictions ol fancy, could t licit more vfvid flashes ? "While thus the Shepherds Watch'd the host oi' night' O'er heaven's blue concave flash'd a sud den li^lu. 7/T unrolling glory spread its fcrtds divine O'er the green hills and vales of Pales tine ; And lo ! descending angels, hovering there. Stretch'd their loose wings, and in the pur ple air, I Hung o'er the sleepless guardians of the fold - When that high anthem, clear and strong, and bold, On wavy fiat ha of trembling ether ran : 4Ci!ory to Ciod : ? benevolence to man ; Peace to the world : and m full concert came From silver tubes, and harps of goWen frame, The loud and sweet response, whose choral s'rains. Linger' d and languish' d on Judea'9 fi/airi *. Yon liv't.g /an0#r c/iai m d from ihrir cham ber* blur , By airs so heavenly, from the *kies with ? drew : _ ? All ? AH but one, that hung and burn'd alone, And with mild lustre over Bethlehem bhone. Chaldea's sa^es saw that orb afar Glow unextinguished 'twas Salvation's StKl\" I The song of Jesus and his disciples, on j the niglu preceding the Crucifixion, foim ; another of the poet's subjects?one line alone will show that his inspiration comes from ApoHo'a self; 14 An 1 silence leads her downy footed hours"? But our author has not confined himself ! to the Bible* 'l here ure other holy airs, than those that breathe on Carmel's hill? there are other flowers, than those that bloom u\ Sharon's valley. Though we arc not disposed to regard any of tl?c stories, related by M. de Chateaubriand. j as any thing move than r*.ere fanciful illus trations of his Beauties of Christianity ; I yet some of the Incidents which he bus furoibhtd, may be considered as legitimate I subjects, (<>v a poem designed to show the I influence of sacred musiek. The poet is not answerable for the veracity Of a fans tick priest, who would attribute to some of the Cathnlick Missionaries, evm more miraculous powersr*than those that were I granted to the cotemporary disciples of the 1 Saviour himself. Those who have read I Chateaubriand's celebrated work, will re- I mtmki the following, among the numer- I ous miracles, wrought by the Missionaries, I at Paraguay*? The Boat arrives in La Pla- I ta, amidst a horde of savages ? The Miss*. I unary and his neophytes begin the Grego- I *ian chant : * " Those unknown strains the forest war- I whoop hush : ?? Huntsmen and watr'ottrs from ihtlr cabins I rush, I Heed not the foe, that yells defiance I nigh ; See not the deer, that dashes wildly by, I Drop from their hand the bow and rattling quiver, I Crowd to the shore, and plunge into the ri- I . ver? Breast the grem waves th' enchanted bark that toss, . . * Leap o'er her tides, and kneel before the cross : While warm tears, mingling with baptis mal waters, Wash from the sou! the stain of savage slaughters." Another iscident is also taken from Chateaubriand ? and, whether truth or fic tion, certainly no incident could possess stronger susceptibility of poetick embellish ment. ? A lonely pilgrim, wandering thro' the woods, in musing, melancholy mood, is startled at the appearance of a Serpent just in the act of darting upon him, with I his envenomed fangs ? fear held him, for a I moment, in suspence, till suddenly feed* I lecting the majick power of musiek* he seizes his flute, "And meets his foe ufion enchanted grrmnd? See \ as the plaintive melody is flung, The lightnings flash fades on the Serpent's I * tongue ; The uncoiling reptile, o'er each shining |foid? Throws changeful clouds of azure, green I ? and gold : ' A softer lustre twinkles in his eye ; His neck is buiutsh'd with a gloss, cr dye ; I His slippery scales grow smoother to the sight, And hta relaxing circl<s roll in li^h\ Slowly the chunn retires ; waving sides, Along it s track, the graceful list'ner glides, While musick throw her silver cloud around, And brar9 her votary off in majick folds oj ~?oundS* In the remaining scenes of the poem, the author has given the reins to his ima gination ; and has shown, that if he had Lastcand judgment to select, he had also genius to invent. The scene, wli'n h his fancy has painted from 4 t aledonia's hill," is particnlanly fine ? the conceptions uie buld and original ? the expressions strong and vigorous ? and the deeciiption in the highest degr< e poetical, t an there be a finer picture of a youtMul minstrel, roused from hi^ slumbers, by the huntsman's "clamorous horn/* and ea^er to greet the beams of day, with his song of hapmess ? "L.ai k-like, he mounts o'er grey rocks, thunder ? nven Lark-hke. he cleaves the white mist, tem pest? -driven* And Lark-Vike enrols, as the cliff he climbs \Y hose oaks were vocal with his eaihcst rhymes." And, who will read the following lines, and not feel the genial rays of a rising sun ? u heaven's gates nnbar, And on the ivOtld a tide cf gl^ry ru ties, burns on the .hill, and down Uk: valley blUvshes." Ind ed the whole of this Highland scen ery, is one continued blafce of poetu k fi e ?every line breaths the melon) of musiek ?every image has its appropriate meta phor. Night descends, with aThe dew drops d lipping from* her dusky wings " The in aje stick oaks, ?'Toss their old arms, and challenge every stor tru" And when he has led his "youthful min strel," in the gloom of night, to an old and Gothick church, to seek a shelter from the threatening storm ? o a church, in which the mouldering hand < f time had j i?t spa red enough, to raise the reverence of super stition i where "The cios*> is crumbled, and the crosier crush 'd." ? ? ? where fancy sees a Ghost, in every form, and hears a spirit, on every blast ; tne poet, fired with the sublimity of hi* conception*, rises at once to the majesty of song-? . 4'?ts \ 'tis some Spirit that those skies de forms, And wr* ps in billowy clouds that hill of storms. Yes ;Uis a Spirit in those vaults that dwells, illumesthat hall, & murmurs in those ceij*. Yes, tis *otne Spirit on the blast that rides. And wakes the eternal tumult of the tides." "That Mighty Spirit once from Teman came; . . ? Clouds were his chariot, and hit coursers flame* Bow'd the perpetual hills the rivers flc d; tireen ocean trembled to his deepest bed ; -Earth shrunk aghast '.?eternal mountains burn 'el# And his red axle thundered as it turn'd." ?it ? ? The author concludes with an address to the Deity, modest, pious, and appro priate?we have before observed, that, as the production of &n American, we have read this poem with delight / but, tlwtigh we should draw upon our backs, the whole host of English and Scoth criticks and He* viewers, we are not afraid to go still far ther, and pronounce that no poet of the present day, of any country, has evinced stronger powers of genius, clearer per ceptions, a more chastened fancy, or a more corrcct and refined taste. It may be objected, that he has deviated from the >?. gid rules of poetry, the occasional intto* duction of an Alexandrine, and the fre ?quent use of final dissyllables i thus thang ing the measure, and impairing the hcro ick gravity of pentameter verse. But we do not consider this, by any means, a defect ; on the contrary, it gives a pleasing variety, and relieves that monotony, which will sometimes fatigue the reader, even in the most sublime productions. We have re Qaiked the frequent variation of the casu ra, as a striking beauty in the poem before us-*-it forces the render to understand what } lie is reading, snd it prevents the possi bility of his running into the ting-tong tchrjol-hoy whine, which seems so naturally to belong to those poems, where the pause constantly occurs up'>n the same syllable. Nothing can be more disgusting than alli teration when too often repeated, or when it seems to be the rfTect of labour and stu dy ? but when it occurs J^mply, naturally and unaffectedly, when ii?c sense is not strained to produce it, we look upon it as a pleasing embellishment. M 1 1<(jM S'jU i'ci'A ( Tririslaicd from ihc Fr eevian' m J^vtnr /. ) Citt^or M Ciie^or, General ot liii^adc irr the Kepublicin Armies, and l oinmunil crm Chief ol that of the Centre. Jo ihr inhilbilun' * of Barcmnu 1>AKC k. LON KSE-i I.ibcrty , off?l )nng of Heaven, has de scended upon the heights of Ocumait, ai d Choror) ? ard her voice, tei \ ible totyivUiu, lias resounded n. rough the dct p \ allien of Arugua, over ihc vrtst plain* ul ihc Vj/uc and the Oronoko, and in ihc silent caseins, wliLie innocence and modesty sought sin) ter from the Spaniards arr.onp tnjeis. At her crv, the nu.s; powerful bulwt?iks of de spotism crumbled into dust. Their armies were scatteied like heaps of sand driven btfore the hurricane ? and neither the strongest, most courageous, or best deci pHned of them all, were able to make a stand for a moment in the advantageous post of the Alacran, without beitu; comple'c ly destroyed. But few obstacles remain tor you to overcome? the operation of roers force and courage is brought to a^end ? and already is the time to begin the exercise of wisdom and virtue. Let a brazen wall di v do the past transactions from those which art before us ; every thing forgiven, frel no other hatred but that ol Despotism, nor any other attachment but thai to Liberty. Barcrlonete ! You will have the reward and honor of being the tir^t to assist in the furtherance ot tins illustrious transaction. Give lo the people of Venezuela, the most splen did example of republican liberality, pa tiiotism, union, and brotherly concord. Let them See that the instructions of ex perience have not been lost upon you : in short, let us endeavor to lay the foundation upon firm principles, of a government, free and beneficial, qualified to raise our country -to that exalted rank^of power and happiness, which nature spontaneously would have guided it to, but for the stupid and deplorable sway ^f the Spaniards. Heed-Quarters, at the Canto, Septem ber 1 1, 1819. (Signed) G 9 KG OR M'GREGOft. - Important from Souh dmrrica. MrrJM^Fadon, who came passen ger in the Highflyer, 32 days from B'>quilla de Picdras, has politely communicated to the Editors of the Baltimore Patriot the following important intelligence ; The fort MonteWanc, which commands the King's Road, near the cities of Orizavi and. Cordova, was coptured Nov. 1 jrh, by a forcc of two thousand five hundred Spaii r h royaiists by irfeans of treachery. Several attacks were repulsed by the fort i but two companies of roy alists, throwing down their arms, and rushing into the fort under pre tence of joining the patriots, having I arms put in their hands by the latter, in the night rose upon them, and in ; conjunction with the troops withont subdued the garison. - r Gen. Vittoria, the patriot com mander of the province, was in his turn besieging the royalists? he had a force blockading the cities of X alapa, Orizava and Cordova. ?? The* royalists were advancing from Vera Cruz, 1000 strong, up* I on Boquilla, which is garisoncd by only 75 men, and would probablf have to surrender, The Port of Guzakos was attack ed in the Month of October last, by General Tcran, who was defeated^ with the loss of 400 men.? Wm. D. Robinson, Esq. was kilted a* mong them. ? ? ..WE*' Shark eat Shark.? It will he seen by art article from the Trinidad Courant in our column* to-day, that the British are pt ey ing- upon each other, bei ng in the totirsc? of events, debarred from plating up ?n their neighbors. An obsolete law has be? u revived which gives some of thetn S Ugi~ timat e right to ssite k convert So tbfir own use, the property of others. We are told b y a master of u vessel arrlfed at thia port, . a few days since, from the West Indies, that the officers of government enter on board British merchantmen, and demand to know 1 he number of British sailors in the crew*, at the same time intimating thtir intention to impress them. The mas ter* of the vessels, fearful of the reault if thty tell the truth, repreRetit their crews to be composed mostly ot' foreigners. The ? confession, thus insidiously obtained, is made use of to procure the confiscation of the vtsstls, for a violation of the naviga^ Hon laws. 41 And so they wrap it up" Vrovidcncc Patriot ?