There it wavers, shines, is gone; When the morning star hath shone Onward, onward, through the night! I am moving in a might Dwelling in the dark and me. My own being tells me where IV. Joy! oh, joy! the eastern sea On a thousand waves at once! This is what I saw at night! From the bay like light we glance; How the ocean tumbles there! For the wild waves know not me; Look below. Each watery whirl 6. M. D. 448 Literary Notices. Cloud-shadows: Atcherley; and Miscellaneous Poems. By JOHN WILLIAM FLETCHER, Author of 'The Battle of the Alma,' 'Tryphena,' Longman. 1857. and other Poems, &c. Mr. Fletcher has a great power of throwing off musical verse; his writing is always pure in sentiment, and sometimes elevated. Here are some lines of his from a poem entitled 'Come Away : '— From the world's bewitching glances, From its perilous advances, From its sharp and shining lances, From its error and delusion, Mirages whose light illusion From its fading joys, and slender But a meretricious splendour, Like the sunset's pomp and play; From its currents flowing under, From its friendships rent asunder With a sound like distant thunder; Hast thou changed the wreath of gladness Does the fiery fiend of madness Glare upon thee by the way? Are the dead, like billows, breaking Where the moonbeams never glimmer Ere his pulse has ceased to play; If any of our readers belong to that (apparently) large public which accepts this class of writing for poetry, they will be delighted with Mr. Fletcher's volume. To ourselves, trying to see the images suggested and grasp their application as we go along, all this (and much more which has received the seal of public approbation) reads almost like burlesque. We have never read verse more musical than some of Mr. Fletcher's; but music does not quite satisfy us. We entreat Mr. Fletcher coolly to read those verses we have quoted, and try and translate them to himself. We feel sure that a gentleman who has paid so much attention to poetry will per ceive, upon its being pointed out to him, how poor in conception is his verse, and that his incongruous heaping up of similes only exhibits the poverty in a stronger light. We do not know Mr. Fletcher's age, opportunities, experience of life, or powers of self-discipline; but it will be a great pity if, after a trial or two more, the melodies he throws off should remain as inarticulate as now. The only simile which dwells in our memory after closing his volume is this— "And Rose was prim and proper Like a prayer-book in a pew ;' and the reason why it stays with us (the reason over and above the alliteration), is full of instruction for Mr. Fletcher and all poets of reckless fancy-it is appropriate, and really lights up the idea with which it is in apposition. Poems and Songs, by JAMES M'DOUGALL. Arthur Hall, Virtue, & Co. It is pleasant to come into contact with a mind like Mr. M'Dougall's, as it is shown in this modest volume, which contains some charming passages of sentiment and description. This is a very pretty verse: 'My song shall be of those I love, As nature loves her baby-flowers, In the following the first two lines are commonplace; the rest are pretty : : 'List, lady, list! my song is born Of love that from thee cannot part; Come, lady, come! the moon is up, Mr. M'Dougall does not tease his reader by making everything 'like' something else three or four times in a page; his sea is not always 'surging' and 'spooming;' he does not 'ring out his being to the stars;' or climb the Infinite with quivering feet, till, like a shell, by the exasperate sea, that foams with rage, flung starkly on the beach, he welters downward through the abyss of thought, while all the spheres pass, pulsing one by one, across the horizon into cold-grey space; like trooping bridegrooms by the Eumenides scared from the throbbing bosoms where they laid their burning brows, like Dian by a brook, under the dim hush of the starried heaven, while winds go whispering low in woodland nooks, or tell the tree-tops of Endymion, till they are swirled into a whispering smile, like bridesmaids wondering how the cake will cut, and oh! if Henry should forget the ring! or anything of that kind. Mr. M'Dougall is occasionally imitative (as in Love Thoughts,' interchanged between a Poet' and a 'Lady'), but never affected. 'A New Year's Morn' leaves a distinct impression on our mind, and a pleasant one. So does this picture, though it is inartistically drawn : 'Night, like a silent, dark-robed sorcerer, Creeps from his cave, and waves his wizard wand. Between the wide-eyed world and its blue heaven. And this is well said : 'Love is the holiday of hearts, when, tired Their home, where dwell in harmony divine Those handmaids of the soul, Faith, Peace, and Hope.' We may observe, by the way, that the doctrine 'Love dwells in opposites, not likes,' is preached by Mr. M'Dougall, as by others, in terms too wide. The usual condition of love is predominating likeness, with some points of difference in which each may supply wants or check excesses in the other. Mr. M'Dougall has no claims to richness, power, or pathos; his first long poem is a failure; his blank verse is feeble and monotonous in rhythm; parts of his volume are tedious. But his pretensions are modest, and he is free from the prevalent faults of recent verse-writing. Record of Christian Missions. MISSIONS IN BURMAH. Those of our readers who have made themselves acquainted with the history of Dr. Judson's missionary labours in the Burman empire, will be especially gratified with the following narrative of a Burman mission, and summary of the present state of Christian enterprise amongst this deeply interesting people. We give it in preference to our usual summary, the contents of the missionary journals of the past month merely consisting of reports of the May meetings. The account is compiled from letters to the Church Missionary Society, from the Rev. H. Vanmeter, Mrs. Ingolls, Mr. Wylie, and the Rev. G. Kincaid: This society (Bassein Home Mission) was formed in 1851, at the suggestion of the Rev. Mr. Abbott, and is entirely sustained by contributions from the churches in the district. Reports are made regularly at our quarterly meetings, missionaries appointed, &c. The proceedings of this society form one of the most interesting features of the meeting. The number of missionaries kept in the field would average, I think, about six. The most distant field to which they have been sent is Toungoo. They have many strange things to tell of those fierce tribes of Karens inhabiting the mountainous district that lies away off on the frontier of the newly-acquired Pegu provinces. I wished to give the full statistics of our churches for 1855, and this has been one principal cause of this long delay in my reply. The committee appointed at our last annual meeting to prepare the minutes for last year could not get full information from all the churches sooner, and I have had at last to take the matter in hand myself. A report from the churches north of Bassein, which I had expected would be in by this time, has not come. What hindrances we have had by fire, death, and sickness, you well know. All the mission records were lost in the fire. I will mention a few facts of interest now, and that is all I can do this mail. 'The Rev. Mr. Abbott began labouring in this region about the year 1837. Converts were multiplied, so that in one year, I think 1842, Mr. Abbott baptized some 1,400 with his own hands. In the following year, 1843, the first preachers were ordained. Four other men were ordained at the close of the year 1850; one of them from the Toliang Karen, and one from the Burman Karen. In 1854 two more were ordained. All of these men are still living, and sustain a good reputation. The number of churches is over fifty. The memberships range from twenty-five to three hundred. The whole number of members is about five thousand. Schools were sustained in thirty villages last year, containing each twelve to one hundred and thirty scholars. Besides, some fifty of the more advanced, and such as are preparing for preachers or teachers, went to Dr. Wade's school at Maulmein, and a few to the mission school at Rangoon. Their contributions to the fund of the Home Mission Society last year, according to the treasurer's report, was 721 rupees. Besides this, they gave largely for the support of their pastors and schools, and not a small sum for the erection of chapels. I hope soon to give you the full amount of all their contributions. There are sixty preachers here, some of whom act as principals in the high schools. Although so many have gathered into the fold of Christ from among the Karens, there are still thousands in darkness—not to speak of the Burmans, Toliangs, and Shans, all through to this region.' The following letter from Mrs. Ingolls has just been received by another friend in Calcutta: 'Rangoon, Nov. 8, 1856. 'Your very kind letter of August last came safe, and I have to thank you or your kindness. I was then deciding about my return to America; and I thought I should call upon you as I passed through Calcutta, and therefore did not reply. It seemed my duty to go home with my little girl, and I had some fears regarding the work of a single lady in Burmah. I packed my trunk, and was ready to go by the return steamer, but the woes of the heathen, and the tears of the Christians, have come before me with so much power, I dare not go yet. My fatherless child is left with but few relatives, and none of this world's goods, and I felt it my duty to seek for her a home, and see that she was decently educated, so that she might care for herself, if God called me away; but I feel the claims of these people so strong upon me, that I must remain a little longer, and trust God in regard to the future. I have, therefore, decided to remain another year. It has been a bitter struggle of duty; but if I can see my heavenly Father is guiding, then I shall not |