ment; it is a convulsive gallop, rather something in man requiring both a fiercer than a great kindling race. Compared cautery and a nobler balm to cure. "The with the "Prometheus" of Eschylus, nature of man still casts 'ominous conShelley's poem is wordy and diffuse; lacks jecture on the whole success.' Till that unity and simplicity; above all, lacks be changed, extended plans of human imwhatever human interest is in the Gre-provement, laws, new institutions, and cian work. Nor has it the massive systems of education, are only what may strength, the piled-up gold and gems, be called the sublime mechanics of dethe barbaric but kingly magnificence of pravity." And what, we may add, can Keats' "Hyperion." change that, short of an Omnipotent fiat as distinct as that which at first spake darkness into light-chaos into a world? Of lyrics, and dramas, and poetic dreams, and philosophic theories, we have had enough; what we want is, the new master-word of Him who "spake with authority, and not as the scribes."

yet its memory shall continue dear to all lovers of genius and man. Many a traveller, looking northward from the banks of the Kur, or southward from the sandy plains of Russia, to the snowy peaks of the Caucasus, shall think of Prometheus, and try to shape out his writhing figure upon the storm-beaten cliffs. Every admirer of Grecian or of British genius shall turn aside, and see the spectacle of tortured worth, crushed dignity, and vicarious valour, exhibited with such wonderful force and verisimilitude by Eschylus and his follower.

Beauties, of course, of a rare order it possesses. The opening speech of Prometheus his conversation with the Earth-the picture of the Hours-one or two of the choruses-and, above all, the description of the effects of the "many-folded shell" in regenerating the world, are worthy of any poet or pen; The great Promethean rock shall be and the whole, in its wasted strength, visited by poet for poetic treatment no mixed with beautiful weakness, resem- more again for ever. It is henceforth a bling a forest struck with premature "rock in the wilderness," smitten not autumn, fills us with deep regrets that into water, but into eternal sterility. his life had not been spared. Had he, But, although no poet shall ever seek in twenty years later, a healthier, happier, it the materials of another lofty song, and better man, "clothed, and in his right mind," approached the sublime subject of the "Prometheus," no poet, save Milton and Keats, was ever likely to have so fully completed the Eschylean design. The last act of this drama is to us a mere dance of darkness. It has all the sound and semblance of eloquent, musical, and glorying nonsense. But, apart from the mystic meanings deposited in its lyrics, Shelley's great object in this play, as in his "Queen Mab" and "Revolt of Islam," is to predict the total extinction of evil, through the progress and perfectionment of the human race. Man is to grow into And those who see, or think they see, the God of the world. We are of this in the story of this sublime, forsaken, and opinion, too, provided the necessity of tormented Titan-the virtuous, the bedivine sunshine and showers to consum- nevolent, the friend of man-a faint shamate this growth be conceded. But Shel- dow of the real tragedy of the cross, ley's theory seems very hopeless. We may where the God-Man was "nailed," as leave it to the scorching sarcasm, invec- Prometheus is said to have been, was extive, and argument of Foster, in his "Es- posed to public ignominy, had his heart say on the Term Romantic." The Ethiop torn by the vulture of a world's substiis to wash himself white; the leper is to tutionary anguish, and at last, at the bathe away his leprosy in Abana and crisis of his agony, and while earth, and Pharpar, not in Jordan! We will be- hell, and heaven were all darkening lieve it, as soon as we are convinced that around him, cried out, "Why hast thou human philosophy has of itself made any forsaken me?" (a fearful question, where human being happy, and that there is not you dare not lay the emphasis on any

one, but must on all the words), cannot acknowledged type of the Crucified, susbut feel more tender and awful emotions pended among the crags of the Caucasian as they contemplate this outlying and un-wilderness.

GEORGE BUCHANAN.*

Samuel Brown. In preaching, we have a Knox, a Blair, a M'Laurin, an Andrew Thomson, a Wardlaw, a Chalmers, and an Irving. In painting, we have a Ramsay, a Wilkie, a Raeburn, a Thomson, a David Scott, and more innumerable. In travelling, what names brighter than those of Bruce and Mungo Park? In general literature, we have a Mackintosh, a Robert Chambers, a Hugh Miller, and very narrowly lost the opportunity of having a Macaulay. In philological lore, we have a Pinkerton, a Sibbald, a Chal

arts, time would fail us to speak of the Watts and Bells, and the thousand others to whose names all our mills, and factories, and steam-ships are offering up continually their hoarse hymn of praise. And in religious literature, we have our Knox, Melville, Rutherford, Erskines, Blair, Campbell, Hill, M'Crie, Dick, Chalmers, Wardlaw, Irving, and a hundred besides.

A SCOTCHMAN has a right to be proud of, | scientific truth-we have a Nichol and a and delighted to write upon, the glories of Scottish genius. These, when we consider the comparatively recent growth of civilisation among the Scotch, and the size of Scotland, as a country, have been truly marvellous. In what department, not merely of literature but of science, philosophy, invention, and manly enterprise, have not the children of the North excelled? In poetry, we have our Buchanan, Thomson, Scott, Burns, Blair, Beattie, Campbell, Hogg, Smith, Wilson, and a host of others. In philosophy, we have our Hume, our Reid, our Stew-mers, and a Jameson. In the mechanical art, our Brown, our Mackintosh, and our Hamilton. In science, we have our Napier, our Playfair, our Leslie, our Watt. In the art of instruction, one of the most valuable of all arts, have appeared our Jardines, Pillanses, and Sandfords. In the drama, we have our Lindsay, our Ramsay, and our Home. In scholarship, we have Buchanan, Johnstone, Ruddiman, Hunter, and Halley. In fiction, we have Smollett, Scott, Wilson, Galt, Lockhart, Ferrier, Hogg, and others past all reckoning. In history, we have Buchanan, Hume, Robertson, Fergusson, Gillies, Mackintosh, M'Crie, Laing, and Alison. In political science, we have Adam Smith, Miller, and MacCulloch. In biography, we have, besides fifty others, Boswell, whom Macaulay truly calls the best biographer that ever lived. In brilliant imitation of the old, or shall we rather call it splendid forgery, if England has a Chatterton, "Scotland has a thief as good"-she has a M'Pherson. In criticism, we have a Jeffrey, a Wilson, a Lockhart, an Allan Cunningham, and a Carlyle. In lecturing-the exposition of *Irving's Life of George Buchanan. Edinburgh: Blackwood.

Such is a most imperfect catalogue of our "Scots Worthies," and indeed many compartments we have altogether omitted. But we have enumerated enough to prove the fact, that no country in proportion to its size has contributed so much as Scotland to the great solid stock of intellectual wealth which is constantly accumulating in the world. Another thing must have struck the reader in glancing over these names. It is the versatility of the Scottish genius; a fact proved by this-that the same names frequently re-appear in different compartments. Thus, Hume was at once a historian and a metaphysician, besides being a writer on general literary topics. Thus the names of Lockhart, Wilson, and Scott appear both as fictionists and as poets. It is the same with Smollett,

Hogg, Cunningham, and others. Thus thusiasm its Knox, its Buchanan, its Mackintosh was at once a historian, a Burns, its Chalmers, and its Christopher metaphysician, and a man of general lite- North. These favourites are treated in rary attainments. Thus Blair, Chalmers, a very singular way. They are at once Irving, and Wardlaw, are found in the loved and laughed at-worshipped and list both of preachers and of religious au- made topics of endless wonder and merthors. And thus George Buchanan is at riment; and it is hard to say whether once a poet, a scholar, a historian, and, their good qualities or their foibles furwe might add, a dramatist, a controver-nish matter of more delectable conversialist, a schoolmaster, and a political writer. The common notion is, that the genius of Scotland has been hard and unbending; confined to a few broad topics, and hemmed in by a few narrow principles, that, even when ardent, its ardour has been rather that of a fenced-in furnace, than of a free star; but the "plain tale" we have told above should-and for ever-put this misconception down. The perfervidum ingenium Scotorum has not unfrequently been as broad in its range, as it has been burning in its radiance.

sation and anecdotage to their admirers. Stories which would damage other characters are told of them in mere glee, and held to be exceedingly characteristic, like "pretty Fanny's way." They are almost always called either by nicknames, or by diminutives of their own Christian names. One is amazed to find in history, that the soldiers of such awful personages, whom we look on as Angels of Destruction, as Cæsar, Suwarrow, and Napoleon, were wont to sing ridiculous and ribald songs about We come to the examination of the commanders they adored, and to give life and genius of, perhaps next to Scott, them such sobriquets as, in reference to the greatest literary character our country Napoleon, the "little corporal," till one has ever produced—the glorious gruff old remembers that similar practices occur pedant, the Dr Johnson of Scotland- every day around us. How often have we George Buchanan. Buchanan is one of heard peasant lads and lasses, with fond the greatest favourites of his country. familiarity, sitting by the ingle bleeze In every town and every land, there are talking of Rab or Rabbie Burns, recountcertain characters who, independent even ing the while strange anecdotes of him, or of their works, and often even of their singing some of his songs! The common moral character, cast grappling-irons into name by which Chalmers is known and the affections, the interest, and the ad-spoken of through all Fifeshire to this miration of their fellow-citizens or fellow-hour is "Tam Chalmers." William Ancountrymen. Such men are always re-derson and Thomas Guthrie are genepresentatives of the strength and the rally talked of in the same style. And weakness, of the merits and the faults of what child has not heard of the great the classes to which they belong, and are, moreover, distinguished by something peculiar, compounded generally of eccentricity and bonhommie. It is not mere talent, learning, or genius that uplifts them to distinction, with their neighbours at least, unless they be bizarre or outre besides. Hence, in England, the great popularity of Charles James Fox; and in Ireland, the unbounded power of one other word to add here. Almost all Dean Swift. Hence, to come to cities, those who have thus become national faEdinburgh had its Wilson, and Aber-vourites-whether in England, Ireland, deen had its Dr Kidd; and Glasgow has or Scotland-have taken the popular its William Anderson. And hence Scot-side in politics and religion; and, perland, as a country, has admired to en-haps, this is the true way of accounting

scholar, poet, and historian of Killearn, the terror of popes and councils, the tutor of kings, and the joint-Reformer with Knox of a kingdom, as Geordie Buwhinan, and has not laughed itself almost dead at the curious anecdotes, partly false and partly true, of his jests and tricks, which still float through all the Lowlands of Scotland? We have

for the mighty problem, propounded by the school of Dumbarton. His maternal Mrs Stowe, in her late travels, why uncle-James Heriot by name-struck Scott's name awakened so little enthu- by the uncommon promise of his nephew, siasm at her meetings, while that of sent him at the age of fifteen to proseBurns always threatened to bring down cute his studies at the University of Paris, the house. And yet, in spite of her where he perfected his knowledge of the statement, and of his politics, Scott is Latin tongue, acquired Greek without a deeply and warmly loved by the people master, and began to cultivate his poetiof Scotland; but he, and still more Pro- cal powers. His waggery, too, was there fessor Wilson, are exceptions to the above discovered in this curious way:—Having undeniable rule. met a woman who professed to be a demoniac, and to speak all languages, Buchanan accosted her in Gaelic, which was probably his own native speech, but she returning no answer, he came to the conclusion that the devil had not learned Erse!

George Buchanan was born in the parish of Killearn, Stirlingshire, in February, 1506, of a family, as he says himself, more ancient than wealthy. His father was farmer at a place called the Moss. The house where he was born has been frequently rebuilt, but there Two years after he came to Paris, his remained, not long ago, an inner wall uncle died, and Buchanan was cast upon and an oak beam, which had belonged to his own resources, which were absolutely the original edifice; and an enthusiastic none. To poverty, disease added its student travelled once from Glasgow, and sting, and the future pride of Scotland slept a night under the beam, hoping was nearly perishing on the streets of that he might derive inspiration from Paris. He managed, however, to crawl it! It is hardly necessary to add that home, a beggar. By his friends he was the student was an Irishman. Bucha- received kindly, and spent a year at the nan's father died prematurely, and his Moss, recovering his health. We find grandfather became a bankrupt. This him next a private soldier! What inreduced the family to a state of great duced him to list is not quite certain. poverty; and his brave, admirable mother, Whether, as in the case of Coleridge, it left with five sons and three daughters, was a love disappointment; or whether had to struggle hard ere she could bring he was simply tired of inaction, and them up to the age of maturity. She ashamed of living on his relatives; or and two of her sons continued to culti- whether, as he intimates himself, he was vate the hereditary farm. George was anxious to learn the art of war, and the third son of the family. He re- like Goethe, to know something of the ceived the rudiments of his education at " 'cannon-fever," certain it is, in 1523, he the parish school of Killearn, then, and joined the Duke of Albany's troops, and long after, famous. The school was two served in one campaign against the Engmiles from the Moss; and thither, day lish. He was at the unsuccessful siege after day, with his little can of milk in of Werk, and partook of the disgrace of his hand, and his satchel on his back, the Albany's retreat across the Border. He schoolboy, destined to be so illustrious, left the army immediately after in dismight be seen-not "creeping like snail" gust, and was confined to bed all winter. -but wending his willing way along the Yet this little dip into warfare was of banks of the Blane. Some trees planted, service to him ultimately; and his deit is said, by his hand used to be shown scriptions of battles in the "History of -particularly a fine mountain-ash, the Scotland" are done with the force, disred berries of which were regarded with tinctness, and enthusiasm of one who had enthusiasm, and seemed to rustle out the himself fought bravely; just as Scott's name of Buchanan to the autumn winds. connection even with the sham fights It is said, but without any good autho- and mimic marches of the yeomanry was rity, that he was afterwards removed to of use to him in his "Marmion" and

A

"Old Mortality." Next spring, Bucha- | work-a translation of Linacre's Latin nan went to the University of St Andrews, Grammar-which was published by R. to attend the lectures of John Mair, or Stephanus in 1533. He continued for Major, a celebrated doctor of the Sor- five years with the earl in France, and bonne, then teaching in St Salvator's at the end of that period returned with College, whom he seems at first to him to Scotland. While residing at his have admired, but afterwards learned seat (a seat commemorated in Burns's to hold in little esteem, calling him "Vision" and "Hallowe'en ") in Ayrshire, solo cognomine Major. On the 3d of Buchanan was moved by the demon of October, 1525, being then an exhibi- comic power which was within him, to tioner, or, as it was called, a pauper, he write a satire on the friars, entitled took his degree of Bachelor of Arts; and "Somnium," a production distinguished the next summer he followed Mair to by wit, by biting sarcasm, and by eleFrance, where he became a student in gant Latinity, and which formed the the Scottish college, and in March, 1528, first volley of his protracted fire against took the degree of A.M. The students 'Eremites and friars, there were divided, much as they are White, black, and grey, with all their

trumpery."

"

now in Glasgow, into different nationsaccording to their respective countries- This poem, which was a happy imitaand on the 3d of June, 1529, Buchanan tion of one on a similar subject by Dunwas elected Procurator (answering, we bar, irritated the clergy to fury, the more presume, to the Glasgow Censor) to the that it was generally admired; and they German nation, which included the at once loudly exclaimed, and silently Scotch. The tenets of the lion-hearted swore vengeance, against the author. We Luther were then beginning to pervade next hear of Buchanan being appointed as Paris, and were eagerly imbibed by our preceptor to a natural son of King James manly and courageous youth. He no V., one James Stewart, son of one Eliza> sooner believed" than he "spoke," and beth Shaw; an appointment which seems for this offence he was treated as a to have saved his life at the time. While speckled bird, and for two years had to acting in this capacity, he became inticontend both with obloquy, and with the mate with Gavin Dunbar, archbishop of proverbial poverty of the Scotch scholar. Glasgow, and with Sir Adam Otterburn, He was next appointed regent or pro- a poet and statesman, whose works, howfessor in the College of St Barbe, where ever, have perished, and whose name, as he taught grammar, on a very slender David Irving for once happily remarks, salary, for three years. The miseries of "has glided into the history of Scottish this wretched position he consoled him- literature, because he was the friend of self by bewailing in one of his finest and Buchanan." What tie, unless it was commost forcible elegies, where he contrasts mon love of fun and common hatred of the profound repose and healthy cheek the monks, united Buchanan, whose of the ploughman, the day-labourer, and morals seem to have been on the whole even the sailor, with the pallid face, the pure, and the "Red Tod of St Andrews," emaciated frame, and the premature death the gay licentious "Gudeman o' Ballenof the poor student and teacher. geich," James V., we cannot tell, but they During his residence at St Barbe, he became great cronies. It was fortunate became acquainted with Gilbert Kennedy, for our poet that it was so, for the Franearl of Cassilis, a young nobleman of some ciscans were using every means to degrade accomplishments and amiable disposi- and ruin him, representing him to the tions, who in 1532 appointed him his king as a man of bad morals, and worse regular tutor. This gentleman admired belief. James, who, Gallio-like, cared Buchanan to the brink of idolatry, and for none of these things, and who admired the tutor so loved and respected his Buchanan's genius, and enjoyed his hupupil, as to dedicate to him his first mours, instead of surrendering, stimulated