writhings to avoid what he knows to be inevitable; and few things "O Soul be changed into small water-drops, We have seen how the hero of "El Magico Prodigioso" escapes from his bondholder. Let us now see how it fares with the "Faust of the great German poet. We shall have a word or two to say as to the close of the Second Part; but, by common literary consent, the tragedy is not unfairly considered, as a clearly intelligible matter, to end with the First Part. Margaret cries out with horror that Mephistopheles is coming to bear her away. The fiend calls to Faust to come to his side, or he will leave him in the same predicament as Margaret, who, he says, has been "judged." But a "Voice from Above says she is saved!" That is, Eternal Justice recognizes the fact that, whatever may have been her wrong-doings, they were really attributable to her brain-seething, seductive lover-the theological roué, Faust. And what becomes of him? Why, the fiend now becomes his guardian genius, having previously warned him not to stay and share the expected doom of Margaret,-and, calling him to his side, vanishes with him! That the great author did not intend him to make good his damnatory bond at this time seems evident, by this close of the drama, and next by his writing a Second Part. If any great author of a former date could uplift his head from the tomb, and note with astonishment what was said about him and his works at the present day, it may safely be assumed that no astonishment could surpass that of Master William Shakespeare. And this feeling would probably rise to its height on finding that Dr. Hermann Ulrici has proved that Shakespeare had, though unconsciously, a special ethical, philosophical, or theological design in each of his perhaps be expected regard to the Second s is vel as the translators, Ze great muliny foreign readers 3 Leep-eeing subtly inventive 2 genina at length ame to Rent in the person of William 4austic sock stitiei An Expand of the Symbolic Le Second Part of Faust. Troces itself to be a reatment of he dem Ester I Germany. Alluding Second Part, a writer in Le Sumurtas Arter observed that it belessly mystical” act to ind a great number of profound estamarera in Germany. Cae of these students and sincere one, let us and unhesitatingly aimit. is Herr Kre. To examine this tonurkkal by German book is of course impossible in this paper. We Dan only observe that an elucidatory Hagram is given in the page preceding the Introduction, something like a trapezium, or rather an paperfect, aquare with Nothing inside; and ve must then proceed at one a dash through all the physical fements, and their respective symsone dignification. &c., and come to the last act. We are here informed Chat "Faust has already accomplished a part of his prescribed task." i is consisted in hemming the bounds of the sea." This rather bold fe of rhetoric is explained to mean “rendering it more adapted for Che service of the rational man; e.. the great ocean of (religious) ntiment existing in the breast of the German nation." And this task attracted the attention of Ideal genius since the year 1750." The at names of Kant, Jacobi. Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, Feuerbach, Strauss, and others are then adduced as apostles of this work, which was to culminate in Faust! He is the Ideal Genius of rationalism, ** Mephisto is "the spirit of religious dogmatism." The era of "ideal toleration now begins, and" (without a word about real toleration) Fast is reconciled to the imagination of the world at large." How fr fire finishing up releases him from his soul's bond one cannot well perceive; but we are now told that "he ascends into heaven, guided by the ideal of eternal love." It is added, casually, that "Royalty, Aristocracy, and the Church, are no more visible. Henceforth, Ideal gening is to be regarded as the sacred power of the world at large.” Finally (and it is with extreme preparations and difficulty that we are allowed ever to get to any finality) Margaret pleads for her lover and seducer, who caused her evil-doing and pathetically tragic death, and "appeals to the higher power in heaven-to the ideal of Eternal love." "Mater Gloriosa. Komm! hebe dich zu höhern Sphären! Our author, Herr Kyle, does not stop even here; but we must; and See an excellent translation by Dora L. Schmitz. G. Bell, 1877. ↑ Nuremberg: J. A. Stein. London: Trübner, & Co. we take leave of him with great respect for what is evidently his sincere belief in this highly poetical omnium gatherum and cryptological gallimaufry, called the Second Part of Faust. One closing word as to the use-not the mere utility, but the public or private acts and advantages-derivable from the great preternatural powers which the three philosophical heroes of these three wonderful dramas have obtained by forbidden and perilous means. Beyond personal enjoyments and sundry magic pranks, they really seem not to have had the least idea what to do with their new faculties and endowments. Mr. Hewlett, in a recently published essay on "The Devil in English Poetry," remarks, and for the first time we believe, that the various acts of Marlowe's Faustus in necromantic travels and tricks are so comparatively trifling that the tragic scene of his terrific death seems almost like an anti-climax. This is a pregnant piece of criticism; for I consider that the same thing may very nearly be said of the other two great dramas on this subject. What use do the philosophical heroes make of their preternatural powers? The best things done-that is, the most poetical of them—are where Marlowe's Faustus exclaims, "Have I not made blind Homer sing to me?"-when he has heard the "melodious harp (of Orpheus) that built the walls of Thebes ;"-and when we witness his rapturous love-scene with Helen of Troy. The rest of his thaumaturgic feats are, for the most part, coarse nonsense, whoever wrote them. In "El Magico Prodigioso" we hear of mountains being made to shift sides-of trees being frightened at the menacing groans Cyprian utters-that flowers faint away-that the birds hush their sweet melodies at his weighty incantations (prodigios graves) that wild beasts are dazzled and confused, &c.; and after all this, Cyprian says boastively he has now made it evident that his estudio infernal has not been in vain! In fact, he is now able to teach his master (Que puedo dar leccion á mi maestro). All the necromantic things Faust does, or gets done for him by Mephistopheles in Auerbach's Cellar, in the Hartz mountains, or elsewhere, are of no greater importance than the above, when we think of the dreadful price he has agreed to pay for them. If this view be accepted, we may say, and with profoundest respect for the "dead kings of melody," that another fable of Faustus may yet be imagined, though not very easily written. Thus :-extreme personal enjoyments and egoistical triumphs can only charm for a few years; and the world around needs all sorts of improvements and peaceful glories. When thou hast obtained preternatural power-O Faustus of a nobler time!-what wilt thou do with it? R. H. HORNE. THE SUN'S CORONA AND HIS SPOTS. The cross wat ten times brighter than in the eclipse of 1871, thus in finating a pariation with the marimm and minimum rus-spot periods."-Telegram from the Eclipse observers, July 29, 1978. NE of the most important results of observations made upon the eclipse of July 29th last indicates the existence of a law of sympathy, so to speak, between the solar corona and the sun-spots. The inquiry into this relation seems to me likely to lead to a very interesting series of researches, from which may possibly result an interpretation not only of the relation itself, should it be found really to exist, but of the mystery of the sun-spot period. I speak of the sun-spot period as mysterious, because even if we admit (which I think we cannot do) that the sun-spots are produced in some way by the action of the planets upon the sun, it would still remain altogether a mystery how this action operated. When all the known facts respecting the sun-spots are carefully considered, nothing yet advanced respecting them seems at all satisfactory, while no approach even has been made to an explanation of their periodic increase and diminution in number. This seems to me one of the most interesting problems which astronomers have at present to deal with; nor do I despair of seeing it satisfactorily solved within no very long interval of time. Should the recognition of a sympathy between the corona and the sun-spots be satisfactorily established, an important step in advance will have been made,-possibly even the key to the enigma will be found to have been discovered. I propose now to consider, first, whether the evidence we have on this subject is sufficient, and afterwards to discuss some of the ideas suggested by the relations which have been recognized as existing between the sun-spots, the sierra, the coloured prominences, and the zodiacal light. The evidence from the recent eclipses indicates beyond all possibility of doubt or question, that during the years when sun-spots were numerous, in 1870 and 1871, the corona, at least on the days of the total solar eclipses in those years, presented an appearance entirely different from that of the corona seen on July 29th last, when the sun was almost free from spots. This will be more fully indicated further on. At present it is necessary to notice only (1) that whereas in 1870 and 1871 the inner corona extended at least 250,000 miles from the sun, it reached only to a height of some 70,000 miles last July; (2) in 1870 and 1871 it possessed a very complicated structure, whereas last July the definite structure could be recognized only in two parts of the inner corona; (3) in 1871 the corona was pink, whereas last July it was pearly white; (4) last July the corona was ten times brighter than in 1871; lastly, in 1871 the light of the corona came in part from glowing gas, whereas last July the light came chiefly, if not wholly, from glowing solid or liquid matter. I must here point out, that the evidence of change, however satisfactory in itself, would be quite insufficient to establish the general theory that the corona sympathizes with the solar photosphere in the special manner suggested by the recent eclipse observations. There are few practices more unscientific, or more likely to lead to erroneous theorizing, than that of basing a general theory on a small number of observations. In this case we have, in fact, but a single observed correspondence, though the observations establishing it form a series. It has been shown that so far as the special sun-spot period from the minimum of 1867 to the minimum of 1878 is concerned, there has been a certain correspondence between the aspect of the corona and the state of the sun's surface, with regard to spots. To assume from that single correspondence that the corona and the sun-spots are related in the same way, would be hazardous in the extreme. We may indeed find, when we consider other matters, that the probability of a general relation of this sort existing is so great antecedently, that but slight direct evidence would be required to establish the existence of the relation. But it must be remembered that before the recent eclipse was observed, with the special result I have noticed, few were bold enough to assert the probable existence of any such relationship; and certainly no one asserted that the probability was very strong. I believe, indeed, that no one spoke more definitely in favour of the theory that the corona probably sympathizes with the sun-spots than I did myself before the recent eclipse; but certainly I should not then have been willing to say that I considered the evidence very strong. We must then look for evidence of a more satisfactory kind. Now, although during the two centuries preceding the invention of the spectroscope, and the initiation of the solar physical researches now in progress, observations of eclipses were not very carefully conducted, yet we have some records of the appearance of the corona on different occasions, which, combined with the known law of sun-spot periodicity, may enable us to generalize more safely than we could |