The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 12, No. 344 (Supplementary Issue)

Various

Various

The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction / Volume 12, No. 344 (Supplementary Issue)

Ehrenbreitstein on Rhine

Here Ehrenbreitstein, with her shattered wall,

Black with the miners' blast, upon her height,

Yet shows of what she was, when shell and ball

Rebounding idly on her strength, did light;

A tower of victory! from whence the flight

Of baffled foes was watched along the plain:

But peace destroyed what war could never blight,

And laid those proud roofs bare to summer's rain,

On which the iron shower for years had poured in vain.

В В В В Childe Harold.

SPIRIT OF THE "ANNUALS."

We have the pleasure of presenting to the readers of the MIRROR, the completion of our notices of these very elegant publications; and in pursuance of the plan of our former Supplement, we are enabled to assemble within the present sheet the characteristics of eight works, whilst our quotations include fourteen prose tales and sketches, and poetical pieces, of great merit.

The above engraving and its pendant are copied from the Literary Souvenir, specially noticed in our last Supplement. The original is a drawing by J.M.W. Turner, R.A. and the plate in the Souvenir is by J. Pye—both artists of high excellence in their respective departments:—

The waters of the Rhine have long maintained their pre-eminence, as forming one of the mightiest and loveliest among the highways of Europe.

But among all its united trophies of art and nature, there is not one more brightly endowed with picturesque beauty, or romantic association, than the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein. When the eye of our own Childe Harold rested upon its "shattered wall," and when the pencil of Turner immortalized its season of desolation, it had been smitten in the pride of its strength by the iron glaive of war: and its blackened fragments and stupendous ruins had their voice for the heart of the moralist, as well as their charm for the inspired mind of genius. But now that military art hath knit those granite ribs anew,—now that the beautiful eminence rears once more its crested head, like a sculptured Cybele, with a coronet of towers,—new feelings, and an altered scale of admiration wait upon its glories. Once more it uplifts its giant height beside the Rhine, repelling in Titan majesty the ambition of France; once more, by its united gifts of natural position and scientific aid, it appears prepared to vindicate its noble appellation of "the broad stone of honour."

The Musical Souvenir

This is an elegant little collection of seven songs, a trio, duet, and glee, set to music, or "as they are appointed to be said or sung." As we have not our musical types in order, we can only give our readers a specimen of its literary merits. The first piece is Akenside's beautiful Invocation to Cheerfulness; this is pleasingly contrasted with a Song to the Forget-me-not, by Mrs. Opie. Then follow five pieces from recent volumes of Friendship's Offering and the Amulet. The three remaining compositions (expressly for the work) are a Song by T. Bradford, Esq.; a Scotch Song, by Mr. Feist; and the following pathetic Lines, by the Rev. Thomas Dale:—

Oft as the broad sun dips

Beneath the western sea,

A prayer is on my lips,

Dearest! a prayer for thee.

I know not where thou wand'rest now,

O'er ocean-wave, or mountain brow—

I only know that He,

Who hears the suppliant's prayer,

Where'er thou art, on land or sea,

Alone can shield thee there.

Oft as the bright dawn breaks

Behind the eastern hill,

Mine eye from slumber wakes,

My heart is with the still—

For thee my latest vows were said,

For thee my earliest prayers are pray'd—

And O! when storms shall lour

Above the swelling sea,

Be it thy shield, in danger's hour,

That I have pray'd for thee.

Whether we consider the purity of its sentiments and the amiable tone of feeling, or its merit as a musical work, we are induced to recommend t