were frequently seen holding conference and exchanging frankly with each other, all the kind urbanities of life, previously to their being engaged in those scenes of slaughter, where common sense and the better feelings of humanity were altogether lost sight of; a feature, however, in these conflicts, which bespeaks how far the intelligence of the present age has softened the ferocity of former times, and which forms a strong contrast, even to the period of no distant date, when the youth of this country were taught to cherish hatred, and look upon the French as their natural enemies. In denouncing war, with all its horrors, we are, nevertheless, aware, that there are amongst military men, many generous and high-minded individuals, who, perhaps, impelled by the force of circumstances and family connection, have in early life entered the army, but who now silently condemn in their hearts, that system of barbarism, which the wisdom of our legislators seemingly is so ambitious to maintain. To be impressed with the truth of this, we have only to refer to the private letters from China, that have lately appeared in the newspapers; the following extract from one, written by an officer of rank, leads us to lament that an individual imbued with so much sympathy of human feeling, should have been destined by his profession, to be the eye-witness of such cruel and unhallowed atrocities. After describing the storming and capture of Teheang Keang, the writer goes on to say, "I walked through a part of the town next day with an escort. It was almost entirely deserted, at least no further resistance was offered by its now terror-stricken inhabitants. need not say, the most disgusting sights met the eye at every step. The dead and wounded of the enemy, (although most of them had been carried away) were lying about in all directions, no attention whatever being paid to the latter. Already had the houses and shops been broken open, and the most valuable property (as teas, bales of silks, furs, &c.,) was scattered about like rubbish. All the houses which were supposed to have any connection with government, or government offices, were either burnt or being burnt. As at other places, we have taken from the Chinese, suicides were committed to a fearful extent; men, women, and children, were found strangled, or taken out of the wells by dozens;—but why dwell on scenes so repulsive! scenes at which humanity should blush: but which are the too frequent and unavoidable concomitants of war?"

I

NOTE 21, PAGE.

The civil wars of the white and red rose, that ensued out of the contention of the Houses of York and Lancaster, and which are so faithfully narrated in the historical dramas of Shakspere, afford some striking instances of the deadly spirit of revenge prevailing in those rude and barbarous times: among the most remarkable which tradition has recorded, there are, however, none so deeply accompanied by so many romantic and peculiar circumstances, as that which took place between two old Scottish families in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, viz., Stephen Bruntfield, laird of Craig-house, and Robert Mowbray, of Barnbougle :-their feud had its origin in the wars carried on in Scotland by the friends and enemies of Queen Mary, after her departure into England, and was productive of an event connected with the passion of revenge, which, characterised as it was, by a spirit of devoted energy, combined with an enthusiasm of religious bigotry, so as to have obliterated in the breast of the Lady Bruntfield, every feeling of maternal affection, is perhaps unparralelled in the annals of ancient or modern history. "The story is extant," and may be found in an early number of "Chamber's Edinburgh Journal."

NOTE 22.

The grosser name which is here alluded to by the Queen, is sufficiently indicated by the botanical term given to this flower by the ancients; in some parts of England, it is known by the the name of dead mens' hands, and is ranked by modern botanists, as the Digitalis Purpurea; it has a place in the London Pharmacopæia, but its action as a medicine, has given rise amongst medical writers to much controversy.

NOTE 23, PAGE

The introduction of farce in the midst of tragedy, lessens, it is said, the solemnity and value of the drama;-the scene of the grave-diggers gives, however, a beautiful illustration, how successfully the genius of Shakspere could soar beyond the rules of the Aristotelian-school. Garrick, in his representation of the play of Hamlet, suppressed this scene, but the vitiated taste which induced the Roscius of the last century, to exhibit Macbeth in the costume of a modern general, with a cocked hat and tie-wig, had perhaps some share in guiding him when he endeavoured to improve the productions of our dramatic bard :—a great disposition formerly prevailed, to alter the dramas of Shakspere-we have Colley Cibbers futile attempt of making the last act of Henry VI. the commencement of Richard the Third, and which met with the sanction of Stevens, an alteration that obscures altogether the fine philosophic distinction given by Shakspere of Richard's character; our poet, uninfluenced by the credulity of a superstitious age, by the superiority of his genius shows, that the deformity which appeared at the birth of the usurper, was not the primary cause of his ruthless ambition-these defects were considered by the vulgar, as the omen and prognostic of his future villainy, but setting aside this common prejudice, Shakspere considers the unshapely form of Richard, not as presaging, but instigating his cruelties. The ungovernable thirst of dominion by which the tyrant was swayed, arising from a sense of his ineapacity for the softer enjoyments of life, excited in him that severity and harshness of temper which throughout mark his perfidious career, -the opening speech of the play well illustrates this, where Richard says,

"And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover,

To entertain those fairwell spoken days,

I am determin'd to prove a villain.'

The alteration of Lear by Namun Tate, that of Romeo and Juliet by Garrick, with various others, are equally objectionable; efforts that have proved truly abortive, the taste of the present day very judiciously rejecting them. Hazlitt, in his criticisms, has remarked, "The manner in which Shakspere's plays have beeen generally altered, or rather mangled, by modern mechanists is a disgrace to the English stage. The patchwork

Richard the Third, which is acted under the sanction of his name, and which was manufactured by Cibber, is a striking example of this remark."

Mr. Boswell, when alluding to the scene of the grave diggers, has justly observed, "That it shows in a striking point of view, Hamlet's good-natured affability. The reflections which follow afford new proofs of his amiable character. The place where he stands, the frame of his own thoughts, and the objects which surround him, suggest the vanity of all human pursuits; but there is nothing harsh or caustic in his satire; his observations are dictated rather by feelings of sorrow than of anger; and the sprightliness of his wit, which misfortune has repressed, but cannot altogether extinguish, has thrown over the whole a truly pathetic cast of humorous sadness. Those gleams of sunshine which serve only to show the scattered fragments of a brilliant imagination, crushed and broken by calamity, are much more affecting than a long uninterrupted train of monotonous woe.

LONDON:

C. ARMAND, PRINTER, 46, RATHBONE PLACE, OXFORD STREET.