distinct view, of their language and the various changes it has undergone from its earliest dawn to the present age, much superior to any of the accounts of the progress of our own language hitherto existing. We have several AngloSaxon grammars indeed, as also several historical views of the fate of our language in its middle age, but scarcely any grammatical sketch or sketches of it during that whole period; the authors present us with specimens enough, even valuable remarks on these 'specimens, but they leave to the reader the most essential and difficult part of their task, to extract the grammar of those specimens, or to exhibit the system of inflection and construction used at each particular time. For want of such grammatical sketches, or of due attention to the grammar of the middle period, we suppose it is that our old songs and other monuments have been so often misunderstood, or even misinterpreted. As a proof of this fact we proceed to quote a passage from an old song in praise of the cuckoo, written about the end of the reign of Henry III. together with the translation of it given by the Reverend Mr. J. Bosworth in his AngloSaxon grammar, p. 16, note 20. It runs thus:

Summer is come in ;

Loud sings the cuckoo,

Now the seed grows and the mead blows,
And the wood springs.

The cuckoo sings, &c.

This translation we cannot admit to be correct, for if the verb sing were to be understood in the third person of the present, it would have been written singh analogously with spring) and the two other verbs in this passage: we take it in both places to be the imperative, and understand the passage as an apostrophe, thus: Summer is come in, sing loud (then), cuckoo! the seed grows and the mead blows and the wood springs now; (therefore) sing, cuckoo !' Such stumbling-blocks would be removed, if we had a separate grammatical sketch of our language for each of the subordinate periods of its middle age. The representation which Dr. Grimm gives of what he calls middle English, is so very short and unsatisfactory, that he might almost as well have left it out altogether. As to the verbs, of which here is the question, he says, p. 981, 'The middle English verb I for this time omit,' &c. Besides, there is a strange disorder in the whole plan of Dr. Grimm's work, which, preventing in great measure the use of it, deserves especial censure, viz., that he does not treat of each language for itself, but mixes them all (together in one enormous grammatical system, or rather one chaotic mass, so that he speaks first of the letters of them all fifteen, (viz., six of the ancient Gothic stock, four of the middle Teutonic branch, five modern ones of both branches,) and this treatise of mere letters has nearly the double size of Mr. Petersen's whole volume. Next the German author treats of the nouns substantive of them all, then of the adjectives, and so on; mostly, indeed, in separate paragraphs, but nevertheless, in masses of letters, declensions, conjugations, &c., which will be found perfectly bewildering to every adventurous reader who may attempt the perusal. Seeking there for instance, some information of our middle English, we find the treatise of letters, p. 506–517; that of the nouns, p. 694 and 695; the declension of adjectives, p. 751; the comparison, 759; of the pronouns and numerals, merely the third person noticed, p. 788; and of the verbs merely nine lines, p. 981; so that we must look at six different places for this very scanty account of the English tongue during three or four centuries, which after all is most copious for the letters and most deficient in the verbs-the very inverse of what the intelligent reader is likely to desire. Our Danish author has fortunately avoided this mistake, treating in his first volume only of the Danish in its different periods, though the question proposed by the society did not determine whether the three middle dialects of Scandinavia were to be treated sepa

rately,

rately, or conjointly. Nor do we doubt, that in the next volume he will illustrate the Swedish and Norwegian separately and with equal learning and taste, and thus fill up the chasm left by our German author in his vast picture of the whole Gothic family of languages. It was the consideration of this relation between the two learned works before us, which led us to speak of them both in this article. We sincerely hope that some able Anglo-Saxon scholar (for this quality is an indispensable requisite) will present us with a work on the history and formation of the English, like the Danish work before us; and that Dr. Grimm himself, or some other learned German philologist, may recast, in a more convenient mould, the immense mass of valuable matter he has collected. But we have still to notice the second volume of Dr. Grimm's grammar. It contains the theory of derivation and composition of words in all the Gothic tongues; and this part of grammar is very interesting, though much neglected in our usual school-books, even in those about Greek and Latin. Derivation is the chief source of copiousness in all these languages, and its proper management in grammar would greatly assist the learner's memory in laying in a store of useful and clear expressions, in seizing and penetrating the true sense of a vast number of words. The primitives are in most languages very few, so that with a knowledge of about five hundred, and of the theory of derivation and composition, one may read a whole book of an easy style without the assistance of a dictionary. Thus, there is a collection of Greek sentences, comprising, one way or another, all the Greek primitives, and this collection, together with the Latin translation, makes only eight leaves in Taylor's edition of Schreveli's Lexicon Græco-Latinum, to which it is annexed; consequently it would make only four leaves without the Latin; and from that small number of primitives has sprung the inexhaustible richness we admire in the writings of Demosthenes and Aristotle. It is therefore certainly worth while in our study of languages to pay a due attention to this part of grammar, but unfortunately the ancient grammarians not treating much of this subject, the knowledge of it is for the greatest part left to be gathered by practice. The Germans are, perhaps, the first inventors of this branch of grammar, at least we find it in some tolerably old German grammars treated of in connection and at large. The late excellent, learned, and industrious librarian, J. P. Adelung, has a long section on this subject in his great German grammar. Mr. Rask also, in his Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon and Frisian grammars, has a section of considerable extent on the formation of words. Dr. K. F. Becker has written a separatevolume in German on this matter; and we learn from the preface of Mr. Petersen's prize-essay, that even he has published a treatise on this head of Danish grammar, nor has he overlooked this subject in his work mentioned above. Dr. Grimm has written a volume of more than 1000 pages on this second part of grammar, of which however not twenty are readable, and scarcely one palatable to an Englishman, the whole consisting of an ocean of detached words and syllables, terminations, abbreviations, and quotations, and looking somewhat like the wide surface of a troubled sea. We do not doubt that it contains an immense mass of learning, but, we fear, also an immense mass of error, not to say nonsense or pedantry. As a specimen we shall only adduce pages 279, 280, where the Doctor is dividing the German and English words ben-ch, dren-ch, stor-k, fol-k, than-k wor-k, &c., declaring the ch, k, to be derivative. affixes, but not considering at all whether ben, dren, stor, fol, &c. be real roots in any lan guage, and of any meaning whatever, nor whether the ch and k be real forms of derivation, and, if such be the case, what peculiar determination of the sense they be intended to impart to the roots. Instead of this Dr. Grimm pursues the phantom in various shapes, (such as ak, ik, uk,) through all the different parts of speech, for instance, the adjective dar-k and the verb thin-k; so that, perhaps, dark should be derived from dare, and think from thin. We regret to say

that

that much erudition, sagacity, and diligence has been wasted in this volume to little or no purpose, or at least, that it seems much inferior in execution and utility to its predecessor.

Bibliothek der neusten Weltkunde.

Von Malten. 8er. Theil.

THIS interesting periodical continues to merit the support which it has hitherto received, though the present number contains only one original article, the substance of which, we think, will interest our readers. It is entitled: The illness and last moments of the Emperor Alexander, at Taganrog; by an Ocular Witness. On his return from the baths of Georgiewsk, where the writer had stayed some months for the benefit of his health, he stopped a few days at Taganrog, just as the emperor had arrived.

The ostensible object of his majesty in this journey was to accompany his consort, who was unwell, to the milder climate of southern Russia. Her life was visibly declining. The emperor, who had long neglected his excellent consort, began now to treat her with unexpected tenderness. He became sensible of, and appreciated, the pure and devoted love of that angel in human shape. His anxious care and returning tenderness for her seemed to have prompted him to attend her on this journey, whilst he, in fact, was equally, if not more strongly, urged by other motives, to repair to Taganrog. These were of a nature purely political, and derived from the events of the moment. They, at the same time, afforded the autocrat an opportunity for visiting the southern provinces of his empire. He had intended there to introduce useful reforms, and, at the same time, desired to be absent from his residence whilst an important political concern was to be decided. The monarch had personally discovered symptoms of an alarming fermentation agitating a large number of enlightened and energetic young officers, who were fomenting hostile designs, not against his house, but against privileges which degraded a great majority of their fellow-subjects, in favour of a few powerful families. This plot had in some measure been formed for the purpose of effecting the very change the emperor intended to bring about. But, as these reforms could be effected only legally, it was impossible for the emperor to sanction the means by which they were to be introduced: he could not but oppose and condemn them. The time was fixed for crushing the conspiracy in its birth; and Alexander repaired to those distant parts of his empire, to avoid being present, when the conspirators were to be seized and committed to the avenging arm of justice. He arrived at Taganrog at the latter end of August, 1825. This town is situated in a sterile, sandy plain, on the shore of the sea of Azow. It is small, its harbour shallow, and large vessels are obliged to anchor at one hour and a half's distance from it. The trade of the place is confined to the exportation of grain, and of the produce of its fishery. The emperor soon grew fond of Taganrog. He resolved to enlarge and embellish it, and, for this purpose, designed with his own hand plans, which, if executed, would have rendered it equal, both in size and beauty, to the finest city in Europe. It is even now a pleasant place. Its streets are broad and rectangular. The houses are built of wood and brick, and the view of it from the land-side is extremely picturesque. It has a population of from 7000 to 8000 inhabitants. The mansion in which the emperor resided (the palace of the present governor) is situated on the sea-shore, over against the fortress of Azow.' Having premised this local description, the traveller proceeds to a concise account of the occurrences he witnessed there in November, 1825; after having previously given a few hints concerning the late emperor's character. They, probably, will serve to cast the requisite light on the interests he has detailed.

"Alexander,' he says, 'was a sincere favourer of mental enlightenment. When

ever circumstances required that he should render his subjects sensible of his absolute sway, he always intended to promote the public good, and to intro duce what, to him, appeared useful improvements. His severest blows frequently were levelled at the higher classes, because they opposed most obstinately the execution of his humane designs. Yet he hesitatingly withdrew the hand of autocratic power, wherever he experienced greater resistance than he had apprehended, as it was guided rather by a feeling heart, than by the impressions of a grand design. The views which occupied the emperor's soul were more the effects of the excellent education he had received, and which corresponded in every respect with the demands of the age in which he lived, and of the prevailing spirit of the times as observed in France, England, and Germany, than the effusions of a superior mind. The views by which he was guided, were not the consequence of his own reflections, but rather of impressions he had received in his converse with distinguished and eminent men. Nevertheless, his mind was not a common one; neither did he want circumspection and penetration. His plans of reform, which long before had ceased being secrets, had irritated the ancient nobility, who were hostile to all changes, however beneficial, that threatened danger to their privileges. Alexander's perseverance had caused some disagreement even in the imperial family. The empress-mother, whose firmness had been experienced already on various occasions, and whose influence seemed to be growing, found herself, by her situation and disposition, at the head of the disaffected party.'..... . I frequently saw the emperor at Taganrog. He was wont to take a solitary walk every morning. At a later hour he was to be met walking arm in arm with his august consort, entirely unattended. On these walks the imperial couple were extremely condescending to every one. The emperor endeavoured to make himself acquainted with the wishes and wants of all inhabitants, who approached him with confidence and love.'. . . . . . .' One morning I met his majesty in the public garden of Taganrog. He was by himself. Seeing him, I proceeded on my walk by a side-path. But he soon came near me, directing to me a few kind inquiries. He paid great attention to what I said, and, after a conversation on general topics, dismissed me very graciously. A few days after, I met him a second time, at the skirts of the town. He was just stepping out of a cottage, and kindly returned the salutations of the passers by. I was informed afterwards, that he had been carrying some cordials to a poor sick widow, and left 500 rubles on her table.'. ....... His countenance was less serene than when I saw him the first time some heavy sorrow seemed to depress him.-Whilst the empress was sojourning at Taganrog for the recovery of her health, the emperor made several excursions on the banks of the Don, stopped some time at Toherksk, and was just proceeding to Astrachan, when Count Woronzow, the governor-general of Odessa, whom Alexander honoured with his friendship and confidence, arrived, and by his communications put a sudden stop to it. After an audience of two hours, the emperor resolved to repair to the Crimea, in order to relieve personally the distress of the population of that province. This excursion was intended to be a long one. The emperor first visited the southern coast of the Crimea. On his arrival there he suddenly felt himself indisposed, which he ascribed to a slight cold; but being soon afterwards seized with a fever, he was obliged to stop at a castle belonging to Count Woronzow. His physician Wylie, a Scotchman, administered to him a potion, after which he grew considerably worse, and gave orders for his being carried back to Taganrog immediately. I saw him, when he arrived there. He was wrapped in a gray cloak. His countenance betrayed both bodily and mental suffering. The increasing danger of the emperor was kept secret in the beginning. It is rumoured that he was struck with a horrible suspicion, and obstinately refused to take any more medicine, though strongly entreated by the empress. Only once, he permitted the appli

6

cation

cation of leeches. From this period the emperor's illness grew more alarming every day. Wylie now began to publish diurnal bulletins. The inhabitants besieged the mansion of their august protector and benefactor day and night. The emperor suffered the most excruciating pains, but still obstinately refused to take medicine. It was even reported, that he had driven his physician out of his apartment, because he had importuned him too much. He continually demanded of his attendants to be supplied with ice-water, declaring that alone afforded him relief, whilst Wylie's medicines burned his intestines. One day, when the emperor enjoyed a few moments of ease, he wrote a letter, and sealed it himself. The taper of which he had made use being left burning, he said to a servant, "Pray, extinguish that light, lest people should imagine that one of us has died." Wylie refused to admit the physicians of the empress to a consultation. Strofrenne alone was admitted once to the august patient, by the urgent desire of the empress. Alexander's illness lasted eleven days. A young French physician, who happened to be at Taganrog, had likewise requested the favour of being admitted to assist at a consultation; but his anxious solicitations were rejected. I met him on the day previous to the emperor's death, when he mysteriously hinted to me his suspicion. "The emperor," he said, "cannot be saved;" and Alexander actually died on the following day (December 13, 1825). He expired some minutes after ten o'clock in the forenoon. It was rumoured that he died the evening before. I saw the corpse some hours after the official publication of the emperor's decease. His countenance was strikingly altered. When the corpse, three days after, was publicly exposed, the face was covered with a veil. It had grown completely black. The corpse was publicly exhibited three days, when it was put into a coffin, and with great solemnity removed to the church. There it remained four days, and was then transported to Petersburg. A confidential servant of the late emperor, who had constantly been about his person for some years, attended his remains, which were guarded by two adjutants, who were seated on the hearse, and escorted by two squadrons of Cossacks. When the corpse was opened, a gathering of water was found to have taken place on the brain. Two days after the autopsy, which was performed immediately on the emperor's decease, the whole body turned yellow -a circumstance the more striking, as the weather was extremely cold. Express orders had been given to the adjutants, not to suffer the coffin to be opened, on any pretext, before its arrival at Petersburg.-The unfortunate empress had nursed her august consort with the most exemplary solicitude to his last moment. Her frame was completely exhausted, though her soul had been animated by her care for her "angel," as she used to call him. When she had lost him, she insisted upon attending all the numerous prayers to be performed over the corpse, and faithfully acquitted herself of this painful duty, fainting, however, repeatedly during the performance of these melancholy rites. As to the few moments of earthly life remaining to her, she was completely indifferent: the world had no more charms for her. When the corpse of her departed lord had been removed into the church, she made his sick-chamber her residence, and when it was to be conveyed to Petersburg, she staggered to the church, to be present at the last ceremony, at which she assisted in an uninterrupted swoon. The loss of her consort seemed to have dissolved all the bonds that had connected her with this world; and after the expiration of four mournful months, she left Taganrog for the government of Kaluga, where a beautiful estate had been purchased for her. But she had scarcely finished one-third of the road, when she felt herself completely exhausted, and expired soon after at Below, a small town in the government of Kursk.-Wylie was deeply affected by the emperor's death, locking himself up in his apartment, and refusing to see any one. It was rumoured he was deranged, when, contrary to all expectation, he suddenly set out for Petersburg, having been appointed physician to the new emperor.

Gemälde