Oh, idly glorious wave, Where once the brave Slaked their last thirst, and swell'd the crimson tide- To gaze on Ida's groves, And dream of Troy by Dardan Xanthus' side! Thy river, murmuring still of days no more— Their deeds and fates to tell Who bled, or triumph'd, on Scamander's shore ? His harp, and fire his soul with awful joy, Immortal navies rode, And Ida smiled upon a deathless Troy !- All the rich sunshine back of clouded years- From this, their world of tombs, To crown the bowl, whose wine so oft is tears! Should o'er their hearts in sunny beauty roll, That spreads a mournful pall O'er the cold world, and o'er its votary's soul. By the dim waves of time, Till farthest years roll'd brightening in his fame! Strikes his loved lyre beside a stranger wave! Be pour'd the enthusiast strain, Which breathes his deep hope of a glorious grave! His heart and lyre,— To him the far and phantom Past unfold,— The Star of Glory ride, And tinge its dark waves with prophetic gold! Ages may pass, revering nations burn ; Green Ida's floods may Immortal tears for me, be And even green Ida's self her Minstrel's urn! J. BRITISH GALLERIES OF ART.-NO. XIV. The British Museum.-Part 2. We have now to take a glance at that part of the collection of antique sculpture which consists of fragments alone. And first of the Egyptian ones. The wonders which modern discovery has placed before us, in connexion with the arts of Egypt, exercise an almost painful and oppressive effect on the imagination, when we permit it to be directed fully and exclusively towards them. They aggrandise, to a vast extent, our notions of the physical power of the race of beings to which we belong, without in a proportionate degree-or indeed without in any degreeelevating our conception of the intellectual power which is allied to it. It is unquestionable that, since the authentic annals of the world, no human means could have produced the temples, tombs, statues, &c. in the presence of the merest fragments of which, as they exist in this collection, we cannot stand, without a feeling of awe-stricken amazement. What I mean is, not that the art of constructing them is lost, if we had the necessary materials; but that no single will could now so influence and direct the wills of others, as to achieve the works in question. And yet who shall deny that, in point of knowledge, the present day surpasses that of any other which has preceded it? What becomes of the maxim, then, that "knowledge is power?" Leaving this question for the philosopher to solve, let us examine a few of these evidences of the past existence of a power which nothing but a new deluge can ever restore to the world-if we should not rather say, inflict upon it. It may be worth while, however, first to say a few words on the characteristics of Egyptian sculpture in general, as distinguished from all other, and particularly from Greek and Roman, and the modern imitations of these.--As compared with the abovenamed, the character of Egyptian sculpture would generally be called rude. But I cannot think that this epithet is applicable to it; because I conceive that the effect which it produces upon the spectator is exactly that which it was intended to produce. I do not conceive that the sculptured objects we meet with in and about Egyptian temples were in any case intended to represent merely human beings; or that, in fact, they were intended to represent any natural beings whatever, in their natural state. The astonishing skill exhibited by the Egyptians in almost every art at present known among us, forbids the supposition that, if their object had been to present us with mere imitations of what they saw about them, they could not have succeeded better than they have done. They had, in fact, too little reverence and respect for themselves to think of perpetuating their mere outward and visible forms. They had high abstract notions of their power, as a race of people; and well they might--considering the stupendous evidences of that power which were constantly before their eyes! But they had but little respect for each other, or for themselves, individually; especially when thought of in connexion with those objects to which they paid worship and adoration. Was it likely, then, that they should one day be setting up a statue dedicated to one of their deities, and the next day to one of themselves?—It is only in a state of society verging towards over refinement, that men set up graven images to one another. --In conformity with this view, I conceive that no Egyptian sculpture is to be judged of with a direct reference to the human form in its natural state, or to be considered good or bad in proportion as it assimilates to or departs from the best models of that form. On the contrary, there is a shadowy character about it, added to a total absence of any thing like perspective (if the word may be so used) which seem to indicate that the forms, of whatever class, which it represents, were imaginative ones entirely ;-that they were founded in something which the designer had actually seen; but that they were not intended to represent, or even to remind the spectator of any thing real.-The forms of Egyptian sculpture are, in their general character, like those which we see in feverish dreams, and which haunt us in that nervous affection called the nightmare; and these are obviously founded on something that we have previously seen, though they are more unlike any thing belonging to the real world than we could possibly imagine in our waking hours. In a word, Egyptian sculpture, properly so called, like the annals of the country which produced it, and the associations which we are accustomed to connect with those annals and that country, more resembles "a phantasma and a dream," than a reality. In Egypt, sculpture was not an "imitative art." It would probably be difficult, even in Egypt itself, to find collected in one point of view, so many and such fine illustrations of the above remarks, as are to be seen in the room of the British Museum marked No. 9.-I have said that Egyptian sculpture has a shadowy character belonging to it. What I mean will perhaps be better understood by examining the fragment of stone which stands on the left hand immediately as you enter this room. (It has no number-being one of the new acquisitions.)-It consists of a solid block of granite, from the surface of which projects a company of figures linked together hand in hand, as if engaged in dancing. Now, though there is a total want of expression in these figures-a uniform smoothness of surfacewhich precludes all appearance of life or action-yet the workmanship cannot be called rude. In fact, the figures lie upon the surface, not like imitations of any thing real, but like shadows. There is nothing distinct about them-nothing made out. There is no detail. They are all like each other, too; and like nothing else. "There is no speculation in them." In a word, the huge block of stone before us is scarcely at all changed in its character by the sculptures that are upon it. It is not a piece of sculpture, but a piece of stone.-Now it is not improbable that this effect is what was intended to be produced. In Egypt sculpture was an art devoted exclusively to religious purposes; and in this instance the desired impression seems to have been that of shadowy forms, passing by us as if in a dream; --scarcely seen, and not to be remembered as visible objects; but only to be felt, as we feel the impression of a dream long after we have forgotten all the detail of its forms and circumstances. Turning from the above-named object, to the beautiful head of the younger Memnon (so called)-(No. 11.) we shall find that a somewhat similar character prevails even in this, with all its high finish, and notwithstanding its enormous size. Nothing can be more beautifully executed, in point of mere workmanship, than the face of this noble fragment; but there is no life in it-no character-no expression. It is like a beautiful mask. There cannot be a more striking evidence than is here afforded, that mere features do not make up a human face, however (what is called) regular and perfect they may be. We do not feel the least degree of human sympathy with this face; because there is nothing individualized about it. The impression is therefore merely shadowy -like that of an outline. And surely, supposing this figure to have represented a Deity, this want of individualized expression is more appropriately expressive than any thing else can be. The Jupiters and Apollos, the Minervas and Venuses, even of the Greeks, were actual likenesses of individual men and women that most of us may have seen in the course of our lives. But no one ever saw a likeness of this Memnon, any more than they did the Deity himself. This magnificent fragment formed part of a colossal statue which stood in front of the great temple at Thebes, called the Memnonium. It is mentioned in the Synopsis as having been presented to the Museum by Mr. Salt and the late Mr. Burckhardt. But is it by an oversight, or an intentional omission, that the name of Belzoni is not in any way connected with it? This is the object the acquirement of which for this country would have alone immortalized that extraordinary man, if there had been nothing else to do so. And though it is true that the actual money expended on the undertaking, of bringing it from Thebes to Alexandria, was paid by Messrs. Salt and Burckhardt, yet the time, trouble, and skill (which were undoubtedly of much more value) were all supplied by Belzoni. Nay--it is expressly stated by Mr. Burckhardt, in a MS. letter quoted in the Quarterly Review, that he particularly wished Mr. Belzoni's name to be mentioned in connexion with this curious relic "because" (adds he) "he was actuated by public spirit fully as much as ourselves *" Opposite to the beautiful head of Memnon just described, is placed another head, of nearly equal dimensions, and but little inferior in beauty of workmanship. This also possesses the same characteristic want of character. It is, in fact, a block of granite cut into the representation of a human face, but without any individual expression whatever; and even without any sexual expression. It has a national character; but nothing more. Perhaps nothing that has been seen in this country, or even in Egypt itself, is calculated to convey a more true and at the same time favourable impression of Egyptian art, than this beautiful fragment: for the workmanship of it is exquisite--there is enough preserved entire to enable us to judge of the whole statue almost as well as if it stood before us--and as to the state of what is preserved, it is as fresh and perfect as on the day the sculptor's hand quitted it, the stone of which it is composed being indestructible, except by force or fire.-There is no number to this object, nor any ac It may be worth while to correct an error into which the Quarterly Reviewer of Belzoni's book seems to have fallen, on this point. He says, "We regret to perceive any feeling of irritation on a matter which appears to us of no importance, and on a point, too, wherein the merit of our author has never been called in question. The name of Belzoni alone is coupled with the bust of Memnon in the Museum ; and this, we should think, ought to satisfy him."—Qua. Rev. v. 24. p. 144. Now the fact is, that, in the Synopsis of the Museum, the object in question is described as " presented, in 1817, by Henry Salt, Esq. and the late Louis Burckhardt, Esq."-without a word of Belzoni! count of it in the Synopsis; but if we mistake not, it was discovered by Belzoni about six or seven years ago, at Thebes; and was then considered to represent Orus. The head wears a lofty mitre-like cap; and the dimensions of it are ten feet from the neck to the extremity of the cap.-Behind this head lies a granite arm belonging to the same statue. The next objects which claim attention in this room are two sarcophagi; one composed of a beautiful green breccia, and entirely covered with hieroglyphics, within and without; and the other of black granite, ornamented in a similar manner. The first of these (No. 5) which was brought from the mosque of St. Athanasius, at Alexandria, is that on which the late Dr. Clarke has written a most learned, ingenious and entertaining dissertation, tending to prove (and really with very considerable shew of probability) that it was actually the tomb in which the body of Alexander the Great was buried. We must now quit this department of the Museum, and betake ourselves to the last and noblest portion of it-that containing the marbles from Phigalia, and from the Parthenon. On entering these rooms, (numbered 14 and 15), I feel at once that any thing like general reflections must be avoided. To say nothing of my plan precluding the necessity of these, the Elgin marbles have been spoken of in general terms by nearly all the most accomplished practical as well as theoretical authorities of the day, and nothing adequate to their claims has been said of them yet. I am therefore not disposed to add one to the number of the failures. But besides this, I very much doubt whether any thing can be said of them, that shall either increase the impression they are calculated to convey to those who are susceptible of that impression, or create any impression in regard to them which they cannot create for themselves. I shall therefore merely place the reader before the most striking and remarkable of these objects, and then let them as it were speak for themselves :-for it is as objects of immediate sight that these fragments are chiefly valuable; and those reflections and sentiments which they do not call forth from any given spectator at the moment of seeing them, they cannot be made to call forth at all by any adventitious means. It is true there are some noble and inspiring associations connected with them, which have little to do with their intrinsic merits. But it is of these latter that I am speaking; because it is on these that their chief, not to say their sole interest and value depend. If the sculptures from the Parthenon had possessed a less superlative degree of excellence than they do, it would have been a share and a sacrilege to have brought them away from that hallowed spot. But as it is, all real lovers both of art and of antiquity must rejoice that they have been placed out of the reach of accident, and it may almost be said of Time: -for, being as they are the most perfect specimens of art in the world, England possesses in them a school of study that may lead to the production of something not absolutely unworthy of such models; while Athens is as rich in those associations which they, when there, did but assist in gathering around her, as she was before they were taken away: in short England is infinitely richer than before she possessed them, and Athens is no poorer than before she lost them. The building at present containing the Elgin and Phigalian marbles is merely a temporary one. On descending the stairs which lead out of the principal gallery of sculpture, we find ourselves in a sort of anti |