While the guards and his own people now surrounded the king, the assassin was seized by the populace, who were tearing her away, no doubt to fall the instant sacrifice of her murtherous purpose, when the king, the only calm and moderate person then present, called aloud to the mob: 'The poor creature is mad! Do not hurt her! She has not hurt me!' He then came forward, and shewed himself to all the people, declaring he was perfectly safe and unhurt; and then gave positive orders that the woman should be taken care of, and went into the palace, and had his levee. There is something in the whole of this behaviour upon this occasion that strikes me as proof indisputable of a true and noble courage: for in a moment so extraordinary an attack, in this country, unheard of before -to settle so instantly that it was the effect of insanity, to feel no apprehension of private plot or latent conspiracy-to stay out, fearlessly, among his people, and so benevolently to see himself to the safety of one who had raised her arm against his life-these little traits, all impulsive, and therefore to be trusted, have given me an impression of respect and reverence that I can never forget, and never think of but with fresh admiration. If that love of prerogative, so falsely assigned, were true, what an opportunity was here offered to exert it! Had he instantly taken refuge in his palace, ordered out all his guards, stopped every avenue to St James's, and issued his commands that every individual present at this scene should be secured and examined; who would have dared murmur, or even blame such measures? The insanity of the woman has now fully been proved; but that noble confidence which gave that instant excuse for her was then all his own. SARAH HARRIET BURNEY, half-sister to Madame D'Arblay, was authoress of several novels, Geraldine, Fauconberg, Country Neighbours, &c. This lady copied the style of her relative, but had not her raciness of humour, or power of delineating character. WILLIAM BECKFORD. In 1784 there appeared, in French, the rich oriental story entitled Vathek: an Arabian Tale. A translation into English, with notes critical and explanatory, was published in 1786; and the tale, revised and corrected, has since passed through many editions. Byron praises the work for its correctness of costume, beauty of description, and power of imagination. 'As an Eastern tale,' he says, 'even Rasselas must bow before it: his Happy Valley will not bear a comparison with the Hall of Eblis.' It would be difficult to institute a comparison between scenes so very dissimilaralmost as different as the garden of Eden from Pandemonium; but Vathek seems to have powerfully impressed the youthful fancy of Byron. It contains some minute Eastern painting and characters-a Giaour being of the number-uniting energy and fire with voluptuousness, such as Byron loved to draw. The Caliph Vathek, who had 'sullied himself with a thousand crimes,' like the Corsair, is a magnificent Childe Harold, and may have suggested the character. WILLIAM BECKFORD, the author of this remarkable work, was born in 1760. He had as great a passion for building towers as the caliph himself, and both his fortune and his genius have something of oriental splendour about them. His father, Alderman Beckford of Fonthill, was leader of the city of London opposition in the stormy times of Wilkes, Chatham, and the American discontents (see notice of Horne Tooke in this work, vol. i. page 797). The father died in 1770, and when the young heir came of age, he succeeded to a fortune of a million of money, and £100,000 a year. His education had been desultory and irregular-partly under tutors at Geneva --but a literary taste was soon manifested. In his eighteenth year he wrote Memoirs of Extraordinary Painters (published in 1780), being a burlesque guide-book to the gallery of pictures at Fonthill, designed to mislead the old housekeeper and ignorant visitors. Shortly afterwards, he wrote some account of his early travels, under the title of Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents, but though printed, this work was never published. In 1780, he made a tour on the continent, which formed the subject of a series of letters, picturesque and poetical, which he published (though not until 1835) under the title of Italy, with Sketches of Spain and Portugal. The high-bred ease, voluptuousness, and classic taste of some of these descriptions and personal adventures have a striking and unique effect. In 1782, he wrote Vathek. It took me three days and two nights of hard labour,' he said, 'and I never took off my clothes the whole time.' The description of the Hall of Eblis was copied from the Hall of old Fonthill, and the female characters were portraits of the Fonthill domestics idealised. The work, however, was partly taken from a French romance, Abdallah; ou les Aventures du Fils de Hanif, Paris, 1723. In 1783, Beckford married a daughter of the Earl of Aboyne, who died three years afterwards, leaving two daughters, one of whom became Duchess of Hamilton. He sat for some time in parliament for the borough of Hindon, but his love of magnificence and his voluptuary tastes were ill suited to English society. In 1794, he set off for Portugal with a retinue of thirty servants, and was absent about two years. is said to have built a palace at Cintra-that 'glorious Eden of the south,' and Byron has referred to it in the first canto of Childe Harold: He There thou, too, Vathek! England's wealthiest son, Once formed thy paradise. The poet, however, had been misled by inaccurate information: Beckford built no 'paradise' at Cintra. But he has left a literary memorial of his residence in Portugal in his Recollections of an Excursion to the Monasteries of Alcobaça and stood still. At another, even the royal works of Batalha, published in 1835. The excursion was St George's Chapel, Windsor, were abandoned, made in June 1794, at the desire of the Prince- that 460 men might be employed night and day regent of Portugal. The monastery of Alcobaça on Fonthill Abbey. These men were made to was the grandest ecclesiastical edifice in that relieve each other by regular watches; and during country, with paintings, antique tombs, and the longest and darkest nights of winter, the fountains; the noblest architecture, in the finest astonished traveller might see the tower rising situation, and inhabited by monks, who lived like under their hands, the trowel and torch being princes. The whole of these sketches are interest-associated for that purpose. This must have had ing, and present a gorgeous picture of ecclesi- a very extraordinary appearance; and we are told astical pomp and wealth. Mr Beckford and his that it was another of those exhibitions which friends were conducted to the kitchen by the Mr Beckford was fond of contemplating. He is abbot, in his costume of High Almoner of Portugal, represented as surveying the work thus expedited, that they might see what preparations had been the busy levy of masons, the high and giddy made to regale them. The kitchen was worthy of dancing of the lights, and the strange effects proa Vathek ! Through the centre of the immense duced upon the architecture and woods below, and nobly groined hall, not less than sixty feet in from one of the eminences in the walks, and diameter, ran a brisk rivulet of the clearest water, wasting the coldest hours of December darkness containing every sort and size of the finest river- in feasting his sense with this display of almost fish. On one side, loads of game and venison were superhuman power.' These details are characheaped up; on the other, vegetables and fruits teristic of the author of Vathek, and form an interin endless variety. Beyond a long line of stores esting illustration of his peculiar taste and genius. extended a row of ovens, and close to them In 1822, Mr Beckford sold Fonthill, and went to hillocks of wheaten flour, whiter than snow, rocks live at Bath. There he erected another costly of sugar, jars of the purest oil, and pastry in vast building, Lansdowne House, which had a tower a abundance, which a numerous tribe of lay-brothers hundred feet high, crowned with a model of the and their attendants were rolling out, and puffing temple of Lysicrates at Athens, made of cast-iron. up into a hundred different shapes, singing all the He had a magnificent gallery built over a juncwhile as blithely as larks in a corn-field.' Alas! tion archway; the grounds were decorated with this regal splendour is all gone. The magnificent temples, vases, and statues; and the interior of monastery of Alcobaça was plundered and given the house was filled with rare paintings, sculpto the flames by the French troops under Massena tures, old china, and other articles of virtù. His in 1811. old porter, a dwarf, continued to attend his master as at Fonthill, and the same course of voluptuous solitude was pursued, though now his eightieth year was nigh.' Looking from his new tower one morning, Beckford found the Fonthill tower gone! He was not unprepared for the catastrophe. The master of the works at Fonthill confessed, on his death-bed, that he had not built the tower on an arched foundation; it was built on the sand, he said, and would some day fall. Beckford communicated this to the purchaser, Mr Farquhar; but the new proprietor, with a philosophic coolness that Beckford must have admired, observed he was quite satisfied it would last his time. It fell, however, shortly afterwards, filling the marble court with the ruins. Of the great Abbey only one turret-gallery now remains, and the princely estate, with its green drive of nine miles, has been broken up and sold as three separate properties. Mr Beckford died in his In the year 1796, Mr Beckford returned to England, and took up his residence permanently on his Wiltshire estate. Two burlesque novels from his pen belong to this period-Modern Novelwriting, or the Elegant Enthusiast, two volumes, 1796; and Azemia, two volumes, 1797. They are extravagant and worthless productions. At Fonthill, Beckford lived in a style of oriental luxury and seclusion. He built a wall of nine miles round his property, to shut out visitors; but in 1800 his gates were thrown open to receive Lord Nelson and Sir William and Lady Hamilton, in honour of whom he gave a series of splendid fêtes. Next year he sold the furniture and pictures of Fonthill, pulled down the old paternal mansion, with its great Hall, and for years employed himself in rearing the magnificent but unsubstantial Gothic structure known as Fonthill Abbey, and in embellishing the surrounding grounds. The latter were laid out in the most exquisite style of landscape-gardening, aided by the natural inequality and beauty of the ground, and enriched by a lake and fine silvan scenery. The grand tower of the abbey was 260 feet high, and occupied the owner's care and anxiety for years. The structure was like a romance. 'On one occasion, when this lofty tower was pushing its crest towards heaven, an elevated part of it caught fire, and was destroyed. The sight was sublime; and we have heard that it was a spectacle which the owner of the mansion enjoyed with as much composure as if the flames had not been devouring what it would cost a fortune to repair. The building was carried on by him with an energy and enthusiasm of which duller minds can hardly form a conception. At one period, every cart and wagon in the district was pressed into the service, though all the agricultural labour of the county *Literary Gazette, 1822.-Hazlitt, who visited the spot at the same time, says: Fonthill Abbey, after being enveloped in impenetrable mystery for a length of years, has been unexpectedly thrown open to the vulgar gaze, and has lost none of its reputation for magnificence-though perhaps its visionary glory, its classic renown, have vanished from the public mind for ever. word, a desert of magnificence, a glittering waste of laborious idleIt is, in a ness, a cathedral turned into a toy-shop, an immense museum of all less, in the productions of art and nature. Ships of pearl and seas that is most curious and costly, and, at the same time, most worthof amber are scarce a fable here-a nautilus's shell, surmounted with a gilt triumph of Neptune-tables of agate, cabinets of ebony, light, satin borders, marble floors, and lamps of solid gold-Chinese and precious stones, painted windows shedding a gaudy crimson pagodas and Persian tapestry-all the splendour of Solomon's temple is displayed to the view in miniature-whatever is far-fetched and dear-bought, rich in the materials, or rare and difficult in the workmanship-but scarce one genuine work of art, one solid proof of taste, one lofty relic of sentiment or imagination. The collec tion of bijouterie and articles of virtù was allowed to be almost unprecedented in extent and value. Mr Beckford disposed of Fonthill, in 1822, to Mr Farquhar, a gentleman who had amassed a fortune in India, for £330,000 or £350,000, the late proprietor retaining only his family pictures and a few books.-Gentleman's Magazine, Oct. 1822, house at Bath on the 2d of May 1844. His body was inclosed in a sarcophagus of red granite, inscribed with a passage from Vathek: Enjoying humbly the most precious gift of Heaven, Hope.' More appropriately might have been engraved on it the old truth, Vanitas vanitatum, omnia vanitas. Of all the glories and prodigalities of the English Sardanapalus, his slender romance, the work of three days, is the only durable memorial. The outline or plot of Vathek possesses all the wildness of Arabian fiction. The hero is the grandson of Haroun al Raschid (Aaron the Fust), whose dominions stretched from Africa to India. He is fearless, proud, inquisitive, a gourmand, fond of theological controversy, cruel and magnificent in his power as a caliph; in short, an Eastern Henry VIII. Description of the Caliph Vathek and his Magnificent Palaces. Vathek, ninth caliph of the race of the Abbasides, was the son of Motassem, and the grandson of Haroun al Raschid. From an early accession to the throne, and the talents he possessed to adorn it, his subjects were induced to expect that his reign would be long and happy. His figure was pleasing and majestic ; but when he was angry, one of his eyes became so terrible that no person could bear to behold it; and the wretch upon whom it was fixed instantly fell backward, and sometimes expired. For fear, however, of depopulating his dominions, and making his palace desolate, he but rarely gave way to his anger. Being much addicted to women and the pleasures of the table, he sought by his affability to procure agreeable companions; and he succeeded the better as his generosity was unbounded and his indulgences unrestrained; for he did not think, with the caliph Omar Ben Abdalaziz, that it was necessary to make a hell of this world to enjoy paradise in the next. He surpassed in magnificence all his predecessors. The palace of Alkoremi, which his father, Motassem, had erected on the hill of Pied Horses, and which commanded the whole city of Samarah, was in his idea far too scanty; he added, therefore, five wings, or rather other palaces, which he destined for the particular gratification of each of the senses. In the first of these were tables continually covered with the most exquisite dainties, which were supplied both by night and by day, according to their constant consumption; whilst the most delicious wines, and the choicest cordials, flowed forth from a hundred fountains that were never exhausted. This palace was called the Eternal, or Unsatiating Banquet. The second was styled the Temple of Melody, or the Nectar of the Soul. It was inhabited by the most skilful musicians and admired poets of the time, who not only displayed their talents within, but dispersing in bands without, caused every surrounding scene to reverberate their songs, which were continually varied in the most delightful succession.. The palace named the Delight of the Eyes, or the Support of Memory, was one entire enchantment. Rarities, collected from every corner of the earth, were there found in such profusion as to dazzle and confound, but for the order in which they were arranged. One gallery exhibited the pictures of the celebrated Mani, and statues that seemed to be alive. Here a wellmanaged perspective attracted the sight; there the magic of optics agreeably deceived it; whilst the naturalist, on his part, exhibited in their several classes the various gifts that Heaven had bestowed on our globe. In a word, Vathek omitted nothing in this palace that might gratify the curiosity of those who resorted to it, although he was not able to satisfy his own, for of all men he was the most curious. The Palace of Perfumes, which was termed likewise the Incentive to Pleasure, consisted of various halls, where the different perfumes which the earth produces were kept perpetually burning in censers of gold. Flambeaux and aromatic lamps were here lighted in open day. But the too powerful effects of this agreeable delirium might be alleviated by descending into an immense garden, where an assemblage of every fragrant flower diffused through the air the purest odours. The fifth palace, denominated the Retreat of Mirth, or the Dangerous, was frequented by troops of young females, beautiful as the Houris, and not less seducing, who never failed to receive with caresses all whom the caliph allowed to approach them, and enjoy a few hours of their company. Notwithstanding the sensuality in which Vathek indulged, he experienced no abatement in the love of his people, who thought that a sovereign giving himself up to pleasure was as able to govern as one who impetuous disposition of the caliph would not allow him declared himself an enemy to it. But the unquiet and to rest there. He had studied so much for his amusement in the lifetime of his father, as to acquire a great deal of knowledge, though not a sufficiency to satisfy himself; for he wished to know everything, even sciences that did not exist. He was fond of engaging in disputes with the learned, but did not allow them to push their opposition with warmth. He stopped with presents the mouths of those whose mouths could be stopped; whilst others, whom his liberality was unable to subdue, he sent to prison to cool their blood a remedy that often succeeded. Vathek discovered also a predilection for theological controversy; but it was not with the orthodox that he usually held. By this means he induced the zealots to oppose him, and then persecuted them in return; for he resolved, at anyrate, to have reason on his side. The great prophet, Mohammed, whose vicars the caliphs are, beheld with indignation from his abode in the seventh heaven the irreligious conduct of such a vicegerent. Let us leave him to himself,' said he to the genii, who are always ready to receive his commands; let us see to what lengths his folly and impiety will carry him; if he run into excess, we shall know how to chastise him. Assist him, therefore, to complete the tower, which, in imitation of Nimrod, he hath begun; not, like that great warrior, to escape being drowned, but from the insolent curiosity of penetrating the secrets of Heaven: he will not divine the fate that awaits him.' The genii obeyed; and, when the workmen had raised their structure a cubit in the daytime, two cubits more were added in the night. The expedition with which the fabric arose was not a little flattering to the vanity of Vathek he fancied that even insensible matter shewed a forwardness to subserve his designs, not considering that the successes of the foolish and wicked form the first rod of their chastisement. His pride arrived at its height when, having ascended for the first time the fifteen hundred stairs of his tower, he cast his eyes below, and beheld men not larger than pismires, mountains than shells, and cities than bee-hives. The idea which such an elevation inspired of his own grandeur completely bewildered him; he was almost ready to adore himself, till, lifting his eyes upward, he saw the stars as high above him as they appeared when he stood on the surface of the earth. He consoled himself, however, for this intruding and unwelcome perception of his littleness, with the thought of being great in the eyes of others; and flattered himself that the light of his mind would extend beyond the reach of his sight, and extort from the stars the decrees of his destiny. After some horrible sacrifices, related with great power, Carathis reads from a roll of parchment 245 tions of terror. an injunction that Vathek should depart from his vegetate. On the right rose the watch-towers, ranged palace surrounded by all the pageants of majesty, before the ruins of an immense palace, whose walls were and set forward on his way to Istakar. There,' embossed with various figures. In front stood forth the added the writing of the mysterious Giaour, I colossal forms of four creatures, composed of the leopard await thy coming that is the region of wonders: and the griffin, and though but of stone, inspired emothere shalt thou receive the diadem of Gian Ben splendour of the moon, which streamed full on the place, Near these were distinguished, by the Gian, the talismans of Soliman, and the treasures characters like those on the sabres of the Giaour, and of the pre-Adamite sultans: there shalt thou be which possessed the same virtue of changing every solaced with all kinds of delight. But beware moment. These, after vacillating for some time, fixed how thou enterest any dwelling on thy route, or at last in Arabic letters, and prescribed to the caliph the thou shalt feel the effects of my anger.' The following words: 'Vathek ! thou hast violated the condegenerate commander of the true believers sets ditions of my parchment, and deserveth to be sent back; off on his journey with much pomp. After various but in favour to thy companion, and, as the meed for adventures and scenes of splendid voluptuousness, what thou hast done to obtain it, Eblis permitteth that one of the beneficent genii, in the guise of a shep-the portal of his palace shall be opened, and the subterherd, endeavours to arrest Vathek in his mad ranean fire will receive thee into the number of its career, and warns him that beyond the mountains Eblis and his accursed dives hold their infernal empire. That moment, he said, was the last of grace allowed him, and as soon as the sun, then obscured by clouds, recovered his splendour, if his heart was not changed, the time of mercy assigned to him would be past for ever. Vathek audaciously spurned from him the warning and the counsel. 'Let the sun appear,' he said; 'let him illume my career! it matters not where it may end.' At the approach of night, most of his attendants escaped; but Nouronihar, whose impatience, if possible, exceeded his own, importuned him to hasten his march, and lavished on him a thousand caresses to beguile all reflection. The Hall of Eblis. In this manner they advanced by moonlight till they came within view of the two towering rocks that form a kind of portal to the valley, at the extremity of which rose the vast ruins of Istakar. Aloft, on the mountain, glimmered the fronts of various royal mausoleums, the horror of which was deepened by the shadows of night. They passed through two villages, almost deserted; the only inhabitants remaining being a few feeble old men, who, at the sight of horses and litters, fell upon their knees and cried out: O heaven! is it then by these phantoms that we have been for six months tormented! Alas! it was from the terror of these spectres, and the noise beneath the mountains, that our people have fled, and left us at the mercy of the maleficent spirits!' The caliph, to whom these complaints were but unpromising auguries, drove over the bodies of these wretched old men, and at length arrived at the foot of the terrace of black marble. There he descended from his litter, handing down Nouronihar; both, with beating hearts, stared wildly around them, and expected, with an apprehensive shudder, the approach of the Giaour. But nothing as yet announced his appearance. A deathlike stillness reigned over the mountain and through the air. The moon dilated on a vast platform the shades of the lofty columns which reached from the terrace almost to the clouds. The gloomy watch-towers, whose number could not be counted, were covered by no roof; and their capitals, of an architecture unknown in the records of the earth, served as an asylum for the birds of night, which, alarmed at the approach of such visitants, fled away croaking. The chief of the eunuchs, trembling with fear, besought Vathek that a fire might be kindled. 'No,' replied he; there is no time left to think of such trifles; abide where thou art, and expect my commands.' Having thus spoken, he presented his hand to Nouronihar, and, ascending the steps of a vast staircase, reached the terrace, which was flagged with squares of marble, and resembled a smooth expanse of water, upon whose surface not a blade of grass ever dared to adorers.' tain against which the terrace was reared trembled, and He scarcely had read these words before the mounthe watch-towers were ready to topple headlong upon them. The rock yawned, and disclosed within it a staircase of polished marble that seemed to approach the abyss. Upon each stair were planted two large torches, like those Nouronihar had seen in her vision; the camphorated vapour of which ascended and gathered itself into a cloud under the hollow of the vault. The caliph and Nouronihar beheld each other with amazement at finding themselves in a place which, though roofed with a vaulted ceiling, was so spacious and lofty that at first they took it for an immeasurable plain. But their eyes at length growing familiar to the grandeur of the surrounding objects, they extended their view to those at a distance, and discovered rows of columns and arcades, which gradually diminished till they terminated in a point radiant as the sun when he darts his last beams athwart the ocean. The pavement, strewed over with gold-dust and saffron, exhaled so subtle an odour as almost overpowered them. They, however, went on, and observed an infinity of censers, in which ambergris and the wood of aloes were continually burning. In the midst of this immense hall a vast multitude was incessantly passing, who severally kept their right hands on their hearts, without once regarding anything around them. They had all the livid paleness of death. Their eyes, deep sunk in their sockets, resembled those phosphoric meteors that glimmer by night in places of interment. Some stalked slowly on, absorbed in profound reverie; some, shrieking with agony, ran furiously about like tigers wounded with poisoned arrows; whilst others, grinding their teeth in rage, foamed along more frantic than the wildest maniac. They all avoided each other; and though surrounded by a multitude that no one could number, each wandered at random, unheedful of the rest, as if alone on a desert where no foot had trodden. After some time, Vathek and Nouronihar perceived a gleam brightening through the drapery, and entered a vast tabernacle hung round with the skins of leopards. An infinity of elders, with streaming beards, and afrits in complete armour, had prostrated themselves before the ascent of a lofty eminence, on the top of which, upon a globe of fire, sat the formidable Eblis. His person was that of a young man, whose noble and regular features seemed to have been tarnished by malignant vapours. In his large eyes appeared both pride and despair; his flowing hair retained some resemblance to that of an angel of light. In his hand, which thunder had blasted, he swayed the iron sceptre that causes the monster Ouranbad, the afrits, and all the powers of the abyss, to tremble. At his presence, the heart of the caliph sank within him, and he fell prostrate on his face. Nouronihar, however, though greatly dismayed, could not help admiring the person of Eblis, for she expected to have seen some stupendous giant. Eblis, with a voice more mild than might be imagined, but such as penetrated the soul, and filled it with the deepest melancholy, said: Creatures of clay, I receive you into mine empire; ye are numbered amongst my adorers; enjoy whatever this palace affords: the treasures of the preAdamite sultans; their fulminating sabres; and those talismans that compel the dives to open the subterranean expanses of the mountain of Kaf, which communicate with these. There, insatiable as your curiosity may be, shall you find sufficient objects to gratify it. You shall possess the exclusive privilege of entering the fortresses of Aherman, and the halls of Argenk, where are portrayed all creatures endowed with intelligence, and the various animals that inhabited the earth prior to the creation of that contemptible being whom ye denominate the father of mankind.' Vathek and Nouronihar, feeling themselves revived and encouraged by this harangue, eagerly said to the Giaour: Bring us instantly to the place which contains these precious talismans.' Come,' answered this wicked dive, with his malignant grin, come and possess all that my sovereign hath promised, and more." He then conducted them into a long aisle adjoining the tabernacle, preceding them with hasty steps, and followed by his disciples with the utmost alacrity. They reached at length a hall of great extent, and covered with a lofty dome, around which appeared fifty portals of bronze, secured with as many fastenings of iron. A funereal gloom prevailed over the whole scene. Here, upon two beds of incorruptible cedar, lay recumbent the fleshless forms of the pre-Adamite kings who had been monarchs of the whole earth. They still possessed enough of life to be conscious of their deplorable condition. Their eyes retained a melancholy motion; they regarded one another with looks of the deepest dejection, each holding his right hand motionless on his heart. At their feet were inscribed the events of their several reigns, their power, their pride, and their crimes; Soliman Daki, and Soliman, called Gian Ben Gian, who, after having chained up the dives in the dark caverns of Kaf, became so presumptuous as to doubt of the Supreme Power. All these maintained great state, though not to be compared with the eminence of Soliman Ben Daoud. This king, so renowned for his wisdom, was on the loftiest elevation, and placed immediately under the dome. He appeared to possess more animation than the rest. Though, from time to time, he laboured with profound sighs, and, like his companions, kept his right hand on his heart, yet his countenance was more composed, and he seemed to be listening to the sullen roar of a cataract, visible in part through one of the grated portals. This was the only sound that intruded on the silence of these doleful mansions. A range of brazen vases surrounded the elevation. 'Remove the covers from these cabalistic depositories,' said the Giaour to Vathek, and avail thyself of the talismans which will break asunder all these gates of bronze, and not only render thee master of the treasures contained within them, but also of the spirits by which they are guarded.' The caliph, whom this ominous preliminary had entirely disconcerted, approached the vases with faltering footsteps, and was ready to sink with terror when he heard the groans of Soliman. As he proceeded, a voice from the livid lips of the prophet articulated these words: 'In my lifetime, I filled a magnificent throne, having on my right hand twelve thousand seats of gold, where the patriarchs and the prophets heard my doc trines; on my left, the sages and doctors, upon as many thrones of silver, were present at all my decisions. Whilst I thus administered justice to innumerable multitudes, the birds of the air, hovering over me, served as a canopy against the rays of the sun. people flourished, and my palace rose to the clouds. I erected a temple to the Most High, which was the wonder of the universe; but I basely suffered myself to be seduced by the love of women, and a curiosity that could not be restrained by sublunary things. I listened to the counsels of Aherman, and the daughter My of Pharaoh ; and adored fire, and the hosts of heaven. I forsook the holy city, and commanded the genii to rear the stupendous palace of Istakar, and the terrace of the watch-towers, each of which was consecrated to a star. There for a while I enjoyed myself in the zenith of glory and pleasure. Not only men, but supernatural beings, were subject also to my will. I began to think, as these unhappy monarchs around had already thought, that the vengeance of Heaven was asleep, when at once the thunder burst my structures asunder, and precipitated me hither, where, however, I do not remain, like the other inhabitants, totally destitute of hope; for an angel of light hath revealed that, in consideration of the piety of my early youth, my woes shall come to an end when this cataract shall for ever cease to flow. Till then, I am in torments ineffable torments! an unrelenting fire preys on my heart.' ... Such was, and such should be, the punishment of unrestrained passions and atrocious deeds! Such shall be the chastisement of that blind curiosity which would transgress those bounds the wisdom of the Creator has prescribed to human knowledge; and such the dreadful disappointment of that restless ambition, which, aiming at discoveries reserved for beings of a supernatural order, perceives not, through its infatuated pride, that the condition of man upon earth is to be-humble and ignorant. There is astonishing force and grandeur in some of these conceptions. The catastrophe possesses a sort of epic sublimity, and the spectacle of the vast multitude incessantly pacing those halls, from which all hope has fled, is worthy the genius of Dante. The numberless graces of description, the piquant allusions, the humour and satire, and the wild yet witty spirit of mockery and derision-like the genius of Voltaire which is spread over the work, we must leave to the reader. ford among the first of our imaginative writers, The romance altogether places Beckindependently of the surprise which it is calculated to excite as the work of a youth of twenty-two, who had never been in the countries he describes with so much animation and accuracy. RICHARD CUMBERLAND. His RICHARD CUMBERLAND, the dramatist, was author of three novels, Arundel, Henry, and John de Lancaster. The learning, knowledge of society -including foreign manners-and the dramatic talents of this author, would seem to have qualified him in an eminent degree for novel-writing; but this was by no means the case. His fame must rest on his comedies of The West Indian, The Wheel of Fortune, and The Jew. Cumberland was the son of Mr Denison Cumberland, bishop of Clonfert, and afterwards of Kilmore. mother was Joanna, daughter of the celebrated Dr Bentley, and said to be the Phoebe of Byrom's fine pastoral, My Time, O ye Muses, was happily spent (see vol. i. of this work, p. 633). Cumberland was born in 1732. He was designed for the church; but in return for some services rendered by his father, the young student was appointed private secretary to the Marquis of Halifax, whom he accompanied to Ireland. Through the influence of his patron, he was made crown-agent for the province of Nova Scotia; and he was afterwards appointed, by Lord George Germain, secretary to the Board of Trade. The dramatic performances of Cumberland, written about this time, were highly successful, and introduced him to all the literary and distinguished society of his day. |