church. Very rarely, on the contrary, and then, as in Amos v. 6. under good patronage, does Mr. Noyes abandon the Masoretic reading; a caution which we cannot but think commendable and necessary in the present state of textual criticism.

Nor have we any more hesitation in speaking of the superior taste evinced in the style of this version to that of its predecessors. Nothing of the kind can be more beautiful, either in the conception or expression, than Lowth's own criticisms on parts of the Hebrew poetry; but his English version is not seldom deformed by modern, artificial, sometimes dainty phrases, inconsistent with the simple majesty which ought to have been studied in the language. He has for instance the words inanity, negociator, envoy, plebeians, disparting rills. Mr. Blayney in like manner makes Jeremiah speak of a gratuity, of cavalry, of the privy council of Jehovah, and the environs of Jerusalem; and Newcome, who censures both for this fault, and is much more rarely chargeable with it, writes, however, excision, retaliate, inflict, and despicable, which are hardly of better currency. We incline to think our American translator unequalled in the plain and graceful purity of his English. Must, for new wine, is, from the necessity of the case, no exception; though it might be wished that Saxon customs had allowed him to have a word, for the exigency, from a better mint.

Of Mr. Noyes's great skill in the management of passages, which, it would seem, could hardly be translated, a fair specimen may be seen at Isaiah iii. 17. Occasionally he adds great force by the simplest expedient, as by the introduction of the definite article into Joel iii. 14.

"The multitudes, the multitudes, in the valley of judgment !"

At other times it seems to be nothing but the difference of a little care in looking at the original, which has given him the advantage over King James's translators, of presenting a clear and fit meaning, as in the following texts, where the latter, whose version we have subjoined, had no excuse of difficulty, for writing what were as well not read. "A man's relative, or a burner of the dead, shall take

him up,

To carry his bones out of the house,

And he shall say to him that is in the innermost part of

the house,

Is there any yet with thee?

And he shall answer, No one!

Then shall he say, Keep silence!

For it availeth nothing to call upon Jehovah."

"And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue; for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord." - Amos vi. 10.

"Until Jehovah have removed the men far away,
And there be great desolation in the land.

And though there be a tenth part remaining in it,
Even this shall perish by a second destruction;

Yet as, when the terebinth and the oak are cut down,
Their stem remaineth alive,

So shall a holy race be the stem of the nation."

"And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten; as a teiltree, and as an oak whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof." Isaiah vi. 12, 13.

"The darkness shall not remain where now is distress;

Of old he brought the land of Zebulon, and the land of
Naphtali, into contempt;

In future times shall he bring the land of the sea, beyond
Jordan, the circle of the Gentiles, into honor."

"Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations." - Isaiah ix. 1.

The transfer, in this version, of the last clause, from the sixth chapter of Hosea to the beginning of the seventh chapter, in disregard of a division which has no critical authority, relieves the former text of obscurity, and adds greatly to the emphasis of the latter. Newcome saw the difficulty, and a scholar whom he quotes had suggested the

remedy; but for some unexplained reason he neglected to adopt it.

Though it is ill disputing with Mr. Noyes on the sense of a Hebrew word, we venture to doubt his authority for the translation, prophesied and prophecies, in the introductions to Amos and Isaiah. Seer and prophet, it is true, are to some extent, convertible terms; but the former has reference to the discernment, the latter to the utterance of truth; and we submit, whether the rendering of the root of one word as if it were equivalent to the root of the other, is not, at least, enlarging so far the translator's into the commentator's office.

We conclude with expressing our firm persuasion, that the great importance of these works will not fail to be permanently and increasingly estimated. It is not to the credit of our countrymen, if their author is not already reaping some benefit from them, additional to his own consciousness, and their acknowledgment, of his having devoted high powers to a high object.

ART. VIII. - Poems and Prose Writings. By RICHARD H. DANA. Boston. Russell, Odiorne, & Co. 1833. 12mo. pp. xi. and 450.

THE works of a great and thinking mind should always be received with respect and treated with delicacy. They are addressed, not to one circle, one nation, or one age, but to all men in all ages. They contain the essence of a man's intellectual being, and are, as it were, an impersonation of his immortality. To tamper with them lightly, is to tamper with the higher moods of the soul. Through their medium, unborn generations of men will hold communion with the spirit that gave them being, form their judgment of its character, and give it a dwelling among the thoughts and feelings and opinions which go to make up their own.

The volume, of which the title is placed at the head of this article, contains some of the most remarkable works that our country has ever produced. They are full of power, but of a

dark and gigantic character, enlivened here and there by the softest traits, like sun-lit and verdant openings among bare and rugged and desolate hills. Most of these pieces have been published before, and are generally known among the reading community. The first part of the volume is taken up with the poems, and the remainder with the prose writings; the former, with two or three exceptions, appeared some years ago by themselves, and the latter consist of Mr. Dana's contributions to "The Idle Man." We propose to offer a few remarks on their character and merits.

The first and longest poem is "The Buccaneer." It is a tale of piracy and murder, and a terrible supernatural retribution. The poem opens with a beautiful description of the island where

"Nor holy bell, nor pastoral bleat,

In former days within the vale ;
Flapped in the bay the pirate's sheet,
Curses were on the gale;

Rich goods lay on the sand, and murdered men ;

Pirate and wrecker kept their revéls then."-p. 2. To this succeeds the character of the Buccaneer, Matthew Lee, which is drawn in a few bold and masterly lines. Disappointed in an effort to engage in honest trade, Lee makes up his mind to renew his former manner of life. A young bride, whose husband has fallen in the Spanish war, seeks a passage in his ship, to some distant shore, where she may "wait amid her sorrows till the day

His voice of love should call her thence away." The ship is at sea. The murderer is meditating the deed of death. The fearful scene follows. How strong, distinct, and terrible is the description.

XXIX.

They're gone. - The helmsman stands alone;
And one leans idly o'er the bow.

Still as a tomb the ship keeps on;

Nor sound nor stirring now.

Hush, hark! as from the centre of the deep

Shrieks

fiendish yells! They stab them in their sleep!

XXX.

"The scream of rage, the groan, the strife,
The blow, the gasp, the horrid cry,
The panting, throttled prayer for life,

The dying's heaving sigh,

The murderer's curse, the dead man's fixed, still glare,
And fear's and death's cold sweat

XXXI.

they all are there!

"On pale, dead men, on burning cheek,
On quick, fierce eyes, brows hot and damp,
On hands that with the warm blood reek,
Shines the dim cabin lamp.

Lee looked. They sleep so sound,' he laughing, said, 'They'll scarcely wake for mistress or for maid.'

XXXII.

"A crash! they 've forced the door,

and then

One long, long, shrill, and piercing scream
Comes thrilling through the growl of men.
'Tis hers! O God, redeem

From worse than death thy suffering, helpless child!
That dreadful shriek again-sharp, sharp, and wild!

XXXIII.

"It ceased. With speed o' th' lightning's flash,
A loose-robed form, with streaming hair,

Shoots by. A leap — a quick, short splash!
'Tis gone! There's nothing there!

The waves have swept away the bubbling tide.
Bright-crested waves, how calmly on they ride!
XXXIV.

"She's sleeping in her silent cave,
Nor hears the stern, loud roar above,
Nor strife of man on land or wave.
Young thing! her home of love

She soon has reached! - Fair, unpolluted thing!

the sea.

They harmed her not! - Was dying suffering?"-pp. 10, 11. The effect of the above scene on Lee's mind and manner is strikingly conceived. The dead bodies are thrown into Even the horse is cast overboard, and his appearance and frightful voice amidst the waters, give occasion for another of those peculiarly startling descriptions, in which Mr. Dana's genius so much delights. At length the pirates land on the island, and indulge in their horrid revelry. The anniversary of the murder comes round, and they resolve to celebrate it

"With royal state and special glee."