Let the fancied admirers of Burns look to it. Enough is said to put them on their guard against the delusion of believing, that they know the value of the jewels, when, in truth, they have not yet seen the interior of the casket. To return to the subject proposed at the commencement of these remarks, the genius of Burns, which is undervalued by some, in consequence of and in proportion to, the extravagance of the estimate made by others. Burns appears to have been one of those beings, whose minds are so delicately constructed, as to be incapable of preserving their tone for any length of time, or under any but the most favourable circumstances. He seems to have been formed for the most exquisite enjoyments; but as the keenest edge is the most easily turned, and the highest polish is the most susceptible of blemish, so the temper of Burns, by collision with uncongenial minds and adverse fortune, sustained irreparable injury. His humour, his benevolence, and his ardent love appear natural; but his occasional melancholy, and even illiberal invective, sit awkwardly upon him. His wit, though, as it has been just remarked, not easily understood by English readers in general, is of the rarest and most felicitous kind; his philanthropy conspicuous, when accidental vexation does not depress his spirits; and his particular attachments, whether of the nature of friendship or of love, to his "Davie❞ or his "Jean," ardent in the highest degree. It may seem strange to a superficial observer of the character of Burns, that he has succeeded rather in his humourous attempts than his grave ones. "Tamo' Shanter," the Address to the Deil," "Holy Fair," "Death and Dr. Hornbook,' "the Twa Dogs,' ""Scotch Drink," and "Lines on Captain Grose's Peregrination," are among the happiest efforts of his muse, and will bear comparison with any thing of the same character in the English language; while the "Cotter's Saturday Night,"" Man was made to Mourn," and, indeed, nearly all the English poems, though they bear strong marks of genius, and the first especially contains a faithful and animated picture of the manners of the Scottish peasantry, are written, nevertheless, in a narrow and somewhat squalid kind of sentiment, which leaves an uncomfortable impression on the reader's mind. It was Burns's misfortune to be poor, and to feel some of the hardest consequences of poverty in his youth. Had not the experiment been made so unrelentingly, and at such an early age, his strength of mind would, most probably, have brought him to a just appreciation of wealth. As it happened, he fell into the vulgar affectation of despising it, and adopted the practice of indiscriminately reviling its possessors; a conduct which never fails to betray discontent and envy lurking in the heart. It was the chilly air of poverty alone which depressed the mercury in Burns's constitution. It was his nature to be revelling in the summer heat of mirth and jucularity; and the best of his poems are those, which were composed under the influence of this his predominant passion. From these remarks it is to be inferred, that Burns excelled in joyous, light-hearted descriptions of the manners and characters of the Scottish peasantry, and in a light and delicious humour, sometimes bordering on the satirical, such as we find in the "Lines on Captain Grose's Peregrination through Scotland," the "Address to the Deil," the "Lines to (pardon it, delicate reader!) a Louse," and several others, which it is needless to mention. Not that there is wanting a strain of sweet pathos, equally removed from mirth and despondency, that, in "the Lines to a Mountain Daisy," the "Death and Dying Words of Poor Maillie,” &c. and the "Lines to a Mouse, on turning up herNest with the Plough," raise the poet to a more exalted station on the heights of Parnassus, than is usually assigned to the tuneful votaries of Euphrosyne. Nothing, perhaps, that was ever written, exceeds in beauty the following stanza in the Lines to a Mountain Daisy :". "Alas! it's no thy neebor sweet, It is to be regretted, that in each of these last mentioned pieces, there should be a tendency to that fault which has been before observed,— a vulgar declamation against the partiality of Fortune. There is a certain meanness in the sentiments contained in the "Death and Dying Words of Poor Maillie," which is far from captivating; and the reflections, which conclude the other two poems, are equally painful and unjust. How much is it to be wished, that poets were always pre-eminently versed in moral philosophy; and regretted that the talent of conveying, with all the force which imagination can lend, the sentiments which are to impress our minds, imbue our characters, and influence our conduct, is not invariably united with the profoundest knowledge, and most perfect judgment. Had Burns been as sound a moral philosopher as he was a fine poet, what effect might he have given to the rising wisdom of our age! And who but must lament that, in his "* Epistle to a Young Friend," he should have condescended to inculcate such meanness and dissimulation as this! "An' free aff hand your story tell, In his songs Burns was particularly happy, if we except certain awkward English attempts to exceed the limits of his powers. It must have been observed, that there is an eager and pernicious curiosity_in what Sterne would have called "Inquisitive Readers," to know how and in which way poetry is made, as if it were like conjuring on a pack of cards. The publication of every scrap of the correspondence between Burns and Thomson the bookseller, which forms the major part of the fourth volume of Currie's edition, is an endeavour to gratify this appetite. In this we are admitted into the very workshop, as it may be called, of the bard and his publisher. There we have songs made to the measure of old tunes, turned, taken in, pieced, furbished, and re-fitted. Here is snicking at one thought and stretching at another; trimming this expression and unpicking that. What has a reader to do with all this? If it be true that a grocer has no fondness for figs, or a pastrycook for sweetmeats, it is rational to suppose that a bookseller has but little taste for literary compositions. He should therefore be more discreet than to run the hazard of surfeiting the public by admitting them into his very kitchen, and allowing them a perusal of his receipt book. There are some dishes which are most delicious when made, but which would be insufferable if we were to know or see the process of their composition; and it is not certain that a volume of poems is not a dish of this description. It is certainly destroying the sweet illusion, under which a reader of poetry loves to repose, when he is forced to turn his eyes from effect to contrivance; from the * It is a strange coincidence that Burns himself should have made use of this very same figure of the furnisher of "our troublesome disguises." In one of his letters to Thomson, inclosing a song, is the following passage:-" Well, this is not amiss; you see how I answer your orders; your tailor could not be more punctual." contemplation of a beautiful form to the operations of the anatomist paddling in its entrails. And hence the dislike to the publication of all the letters between Thomson and Burns. This sort of literary gossip is seldom very respectable or very interesting, but in the present instance it is in a more than ordinary degree objectionable. Although many of the songs in Thomson's collection are exceedingly beautiful, and especially those of the livelier sort, there are, in a considerable number, very evident marks of the goad. And lest these marks should escape the observation of even the most unsuspecting reader, the figure of Thomson, sitting on the crupper of the bard's Pegasus and spurring him on without mercy or consideration, is displayed at full length in every page of a whole volume. This is most imprudent even in the practice of book-making. If any one doubt the truth of what has been said respecting the inferiority of those songs, which were written in the poet's melancholy mood, let him compare "Where war's deadly blast was blown," "How can my poor heart be glad,' and True hearted was he, the sad swain of the Yarrow," with "Green grow the rushes, O!" "Duncan Gray," "Last May a brave woer cam' down the lane glen," and "Oh! for ane and twenty Tam," and retain his doubt if he can. By the way, in turning over this volume, we find a very curious anecdote, which is not altogether unworthy of being extracted. It is part of one of Burns' letters. "There is an air, The Caledonian Hunt's delight,' to which I wrote a song that you will find in Johnson, Ye banks and braes o' bonny Doon.' This air, I think, might find a place among your hundred, as Lear says of his knights. Do you know the history of this air? It is curious enough. A good many years ago, Mr. James Miller, writer in your good town, a gentleman whom possibly you know, was in company with our friend Clarke, and talking of Scottish músic, Miller expressed an ardent am bition to be able to compose a Scots air. Mr. Clarke, partly by way of joke, told him to keep to the black keys of the harpsichord, and preserve some kind of rythm, and he would infallibly compose a Scots air. Certain it is, that in a few days, Miller produced the rudiments of an air which Mr. Clarke, with some touches and corrections, fashioned into the tune in question. Ritson, you know, has the same story of the black keys, but this account which I have just given you, Mr. Clarke informed me of several years ago. Now, to shew you how difficult it is to trace the origin of our airs, I have heard it in Ireland among the old women, while on the other hand, a countess informed me, that the first person, who introduced the air into this country, was a baronet's lady of her acquaintance, who took down the notes from an itinerant piper in the Isle of Man. How difficult then to ascertain the truth respecting our poetry and music! I myself have lately seen a couple of ballads sung through the streets of Dumfries, with my name at the head of them as the author, though it was the first time I had ever seen them." That Burns was a man of genius no one can doubt. That his temperament was happy, seems equally indisputable. It is pleasing to dwell on the spontaneons productions of his fertile imagination; to follow him in his poetic rambles; to be with him "at hame, a-field, at wark, or leisure," and to feel with him that it is "Sweet to stray and pensive ponder " "Tam o'Shanter" is perhaps the very best tale that was ever written, and “O! whistle, and I'll come to you, my lad," one of the very best of lively songs. It is a pity that Burns had a soldier's funeral. His remains should have been very differently attended. But sacred be the spot where he lies, and may the hearts and voices of the Scottish youth be for ever warm and clear, that his verse may be honoured for ages yet to come. J. C. H, ANALYSIS OF THIRTY LETTERS UPON SOME OF THE SWISS CANTONS. (Written in French. 8vo. 8s. 9d.) THIS work has a double merit,first, that of shewing the changes, introduced at different times, in the political system of Switzerland, by the Revolution of 1798,-afterwards by the Act of Mediation; and lastly, by the determinations of the Congress of Vienna: secondly, that of containing novel descriptions, in spite of former accounts, of several very interesting situations in Switzerland. The declaration of the month 'of June, 1814, by which Frederic William, King of Prussia, re-took possession of the Principality of Neufchatel, one of the new Cantons of Switzerland, with reserve of the rights attached to the sovereignty of the Prince, guaranteed, by a special article, the laws, immunities, good and ancient liberties, customs written or not written. Amongst the number of these immunities, one of the most precious is, that of conferring public offices upon citizens only, who are natives of the Principality, to the exclusion even of those who are naturalized; the office of government is alone excepted. The citizens, who are elected by the suffrages of the people or will of the Sovereign, are immoveable from their functions, of whatsoever nature they may be, unless they are previously convicted of incapacity, or misdemeanor, by the lawful sentence of their peers. But the important right, which the ancient inhabitants of Neufchatel possessed, of remaining neuter, or participating at pleasure in the wars carried on by Prussia, with the proviso, that they should not bear arms against that nation, a right, in which principally consisted their political liberty, has not been preserved to them in the New Constitution, and the author justly doubts, whether the advantages which result from a more intimate incorporation with the Helvetic league can be considered a sufficient compensation. The most considerable change, effected in the government of Neufchatel, is in the formation of the General Audiences, or in the National Representation of the State; this change was the result of a second Declaration of the King of Prussia in the month of December, 1814. The author briefly notices the principal articles in the following man ner: The General Audiences are composed of ten of the oldest Counsellors of State; of fourteen noblemen, not State Counsellors, four of which, are Ministers of the Church; all these members are nominated by the King, as Prince of Neufchatel. The General Audiences are further composed of twenty-four Chiefs of Jurisdiction, and of thirty members, named by the different districts in the Principality. These last elections form, properly speaking, the democratical part of the National Representation. The people have not, however, a direct voice in the nomination of these Deputies; there are three degrees of election, the last of which, is the only one reserved to the popular Assembly, where the electors are named. Thus, when all the members of a district, convoked in a General Assembly, have fixed upon a certain number of citizens, proper to have a seat in the Audiences, these, united in the manorhouses of the district, under the presidency of the Lord of the Manor, or Mayor, proceed, secondly, to reduce their number to double the number to be elected. The result of this second scrutiny is transmitted to the Court of Justice in the district; and it is by the members of this Court, that the members of the sovereign Council are elected from among the appointed candidates. To explain this mode of election better, the author gives an example, which will be read with interest, in his letters. The noblemen, named by the King and the Deputies of districts, retain their functions for life, except in the case of forfeiture, for reasons already mentioned. The functions of the Counsellors, or Officers of State, only last while they are actually employed. The members in the 3. different orders which compose the Council, in case of absence or sickness, are replaced by persons whom the law appoints for that effect.The Deputies of districts have for proxies those citizens who had the most suffrages, next to themselves. The General Audiences assemble at least once every two years: but the Session, the Convocation, and the duration of these Assemblies, depend upon the Prussian Governor of the Principality, who is also the President. The laws, the business of general administration, and the taxes, can only be discussed in these Assemblies; but none of the Acts which are passed by them, can take effect, without the sanction of the King, in whose name they are published. The State, and particularly the town of Neufchatel, enjoys the greatest liberty in the form of its interior government. The revenues of the King of Prussia, from Neufchatel, never amounts to more than an hundred thousand crowns, according to our author, and consists in the tenth of the corn and wine, which is paid in money, and at a moderate valuation. The government of Friburgh is aristocratic; but it has undergone important changes during the last Revolution, which the author briefly mentions, as necessary to understand and appreciate the public spirit of this Canton. The sovereign authority is vested in an Assembly, consisting of 144 members, which is called, the Great Council. Admission to this body was formerly only granted to Patrician families. The new Constitution of 1814 has disposed of forty places in the Great Council, in favour of the middle class of inhabitants. Thus the democratical principle, till now excluded from Friburgh, usurps more than one-fourth of the Council. The members are appointed for life. Whenever a vacancy occurs, the Great Council elects the new member from three candidates, appointed by the suffrages of the inhabitants of the Prefecture, which the deceased member represented; and only those can be elected, whose property amounts to twenty thousand francs, about £833. sterl ing. The Great Council discusses and regulates all subjects of general administration; but the execution of its decrees, and all the Executive power of Government, are confided to the Little Council, which is subdivided into two sections, each composed of thirteen members, The first section, called the Council of State, is, properly speaking, the body in which public power is vested. -The second section, constituting a Court of Appeal, decides, finally, upon pecuniary matters, and the application of the penal laws. These two sections sit and deliberate sepa rately, except in cases of propositions of law, or capital punishments ;then they unite, and the affair, in either case, is discussed before the Great Council. There have been examples, and one very recently is related by the author, where the Great Council remitted the punishment of death, pronounced by the Little Council. It must be observed, that this last tribunal, though invested with the highest executive power, only exercises this power in suits where there is more than four thousand francs depending. At the head of the two Councils, and of the Republic, are two " AVOYERS," elected for life, the same as the Counsellors. The supreme power is divided between them, and each of them, in turn, exercises it every six months. The reigning "Avoyer" (if this expression can be allowed in a Republic,) presides over the Council of State, and becomes the head of the Government. Another "Avoyer" presides over the Court of Appeal: public consideration is their only attribute of office, and they are not distinguished from their fellow-citizens but by their private fortune. Have the changes effected in the Constitution of Friburgh had any influence upon the prosperity of that Canton? From the description given by the author, of the character and industry of the inhabitants, and of the nature of the Administration, the affirmative as well as negative may be inferred. If the Government of Friburgh, can be condemned, it is for want of vigour, activity, and, industry, Much of the land is badly cultivated the author was informed, that a great part was totally uncultivated. Industry and commerce are not more advanced: every thing languishes, every thing is neglected in the Capital, though a Republican |