MRS. HEMANS' POETRY. 77 debated point. They smell down two roads, and if both have been trodden before, they rush at once down the third, though it may lead to nothing, like a blind alley. So it is with the Edinburgh Reviewer; he perks up his nose, and tries to say some third thing, which never has been said before, and which is the worst thing of the three. II. "The shaping Spirit of Imagination "-Mrs. Hemans. To her Husband. Ilchester, Somerset, October 25, 1836.-Chemists say that the elementary principles of a diamond and of charcoal are the same; it is the action of the sun or some other power upon each that makes it what it is. Analogous to this are the products of the poet's mind: he does not create out of nothing, but his mind so acts on the things of the universe, material and immaterial, that each composition is in effect a new creation. Many of Mrs. Hemans' poems are not even in this sense creations; she takes a theme, and this she illustrates in fifty different ways, the verses being like so many wafers, the same thing in blue, green, red, yellow. She takes descriptions from books of natural history or travel, puts them into verse, and appends a sentiment or a moral, like the large red bead of a rosary at the end of several white ones. But all these materials have undergone no fusion in the crucible of imagination. We may recognize the author's hand by a certain style of selection and arrangement, as we might know a room furnished by Gillow or Jackson, according to the same rule; but there is no stamp of an individual mind on each separate article. To the Same. III. "The Remains" *-Metaphysics like Alum. Ilchester, November, 1836.-How delightful are the "Remains!" I quite grieve to find the pages on my left hand such a thick handful. One wants to have such a book to dip into constantly, and to go on reading such discussions on such principles and in such a spirit, on a thousand subjects. It does not seem as if the writer was especially conversant with this or that, as Babbage with mechanics, and Mill with political economy; but as if there was a subtle imaginative spirit to search and illustrate all subjects that interest humanity. Sir J. Mackintosh said that "S. T. C. trusted to his ingenuity to atone for his ignorance." But in such subjects as my father treats of, ingenuity is the best knowledge. Like all my father's works, the "Remains" will be more sold at last than at first. Like alum, these metaphysical productions melt slowly into the medium of the public mind; but when time has been given for the operation, they impregnate more strongly than a less dense and solid substance, which dissolves sooner, has power to do. Why? Because the closely compacted particles are more numerous, and have more energy in themselves. By the public mind I mean persons capable of entertaining metaphysical discussions. IV. Abbott's "Corner-Stone," and other Religious Works-Comparison of Archbishop Whately with Dr. Arnold, in their mode of setting forth the Evidences of Christianity-Dr. Chalmers-The Greek Language. TO MISS ARABELLA BROOKE. Ilchester, November, 1836.- My dear Miss Brooke *Published now under the following titles :-Lectures on Shakespeare, etc.; Notes on English Divines; and Notes Theological, Political, etc.-E. C. ABBOTT'S RELIGIOUS WORKS. 79 Though I am under orders to write to no one except my husband and mother, or sister, I must thank you with my own hand for thinking so affectionately of me in my trouble,* as you evidently have done, and as I felt sure you would do. Since I saw you, I have read with great attention, and I humbly hope, not without profit, Abbott's " Young Christian," "Corner-Stone," and "Way to do Good." In a literary point of view these works are open to much criticism, though their merits in that way may be considerable; and certainly, in several points, the author is far from being what a sincere member of our Church can call orthodox. For instance, his view of the Atonement seems to me below the right standard; he dwells solely on the effect produced in man, entirely leaving out of sight the mysterious propitiation towards God; and his illustration of the "Lost Hat" strikes me as inadequate and presumptuous. But notwithstanding these exceptionable points, and several others,-his very diffuse style, and a frequent want of harmony between his expressions and the deep reverential feelings which he aims to excite,-I think very highly of Abbott, as an energetic, original, and freshminded writer; and I think his works calculated to do great good, by leading those who peruse them to scrutinize their own spiritual state, and the momentous themes of which he treats with zeal and fervour, if not always with perfect judgment. I wish I could put into your hand a book from which I have derived great pleasure, Whately's "Essays on some Difficulties in the Writings of St. Paul." The Ar chbishop does not seem to be a profound, subtle, metaphysical writer, neither does he aim at anything of the kind. What he A serious illness, which detained my mother for several weeks at Ilchester on her way home from a visit in Devonshire.-E. C. does aim at he seems to me to have well accomplished. He reasons clearly to particular points from a general view of Revelation, not from the nature of things in themselves; and his style is vigorous, simple, and perspicuous. In this respect it resembles that of Dr. Arnold, but the latter does not so exclusively address the understanding; he does more in the way of touching the heart, at the same time that (when party spirit is out of the question) he reasons forcibly and clearly, as far as I can judge, I mean. The substance of what pleases you in Abercrombie,* I have lately read in Chalmers's Bridgewater Treatise; t and, oh! when the wordy Doctor does get hold of an argument, what a splutter does he make with it for dozens of pages. He is like a child with a new wax doll, he hugs it, kisses it, holds it up to be admired, makes its eyes open and shut, puts it on a pink gown, puts it on a blue gown, ties it on a yellow sash; then pretends to take it to task, chatters at it, shakes it, and whips it; tells it not to be so proud of its fine false ringlets, which can all be cut off in a minute, then takes it into favour again; and at last, to the relief of all the company, puts it to bed. I wish very much that some day or other you may have time to learn Greek, because that language is an idea. Even a little of it is like manure to the soil of the mind, and makes it bear finer flowers. My dear Ayour truly affectionate friend, SARA COLERIDGE. * Inquiries concerning the Intellectual Powers and the Investigation of Truth. By Dr. Abercrombie.-E. C. On the Adaptation of External Nature to the Moral and Intellectual Constitution of Man. By the Rev. Dr. Thomas Chalmers.-E. C. LETTERS TO HER HUSBAND, MISS TREVENEN, 10, Chester Place, 1837.—I cannot think that the English Beppoists have any authority among the Italians for their style. Ariosto conceived his subject to a certain degree lightly and sportively; and Pulci has a vein of satire; but these ingredients in them are interfused so as to form a tertium aliquid-not grape-juice and water, but wine. Their satire and their sentiment, their joke and their earnest, do not intersect each other in distinct streaks, like the stripes of red and blue in the Union Flag. II. “Phantasmion, a Romance of Fairyland "-Defence of Fairy Tales by Five Poets-" Mary and Florence," by Miss Tytler-"Newman's Sermons" "Maurice's Letters to the Quakers." To Miss ARABELLA BROOKE. 10, Chester Place, Regent's Park, July 29, 1837.-This little book* was chiefly written the winter before I last saw you, when I was more confined to my couch than I am now; and whether any friends agree with my husband (the most partial of them all) in thinking it worth publishing or no, they will attach some interest to the volume as a record of some of my recumbent amusements, and be glad to perceive that I often had out-of-door scenes before me in a lightsome, agreeable shape, at a time when I was almost * Phantasmion.-E. C. G |