Something, perhaps, may be discovered in the latter poems beyond the mere inspiration of the Muse; and it might therefore appear inexpedient to pass by, without some short notice, a circumstance in the life of our author so interesting as that which the reader may have already suspected. With the family alluded to in these poems, he had been for some time in habits of the most friendly intercourse, and frequently had the happiness of spending a few days upon a visit at their country residence, sharing in all the refined pleasures of their domestic circle, and partaking with them in the exhilarating enjoyment of the rural and romantic scenery around them. With every member of the family he soon became cordially intimate; but with one this intimacy gradually and almost unconsciously grew into a decided attachment. The attainment of a fellowship would indeed have afforded him means sufficient to realise his hopes; but, unhappily, the statute which rendered marriage incompatible with that honourable station, had been lately revived. His prospects of obtaining a competency in any other pursuit were so distant and

uncertain, that the family of the young lady deemed it prudent at once to break off all further intercourse, before a mutual engagement had actually taken place.

How severely this disappointment pressed upon a heart like his, may easily be conceived. It would be injustice to him to deny that he long and deeply felt it: but he had been habitually so far under the influence of religious principles, as to feel assured that every event of our lives is under the regulation of a wise Providence, and that by a resigned acquiescence in his arrangements, even our bitterest trials may be overruled for our best interests-our truest happiness. This circumstance, perhaps, weakened the stimulus to his exertions for the attainment of a fellowship,-but he had long before relaxed them; it does not, however, appear that it had any influence in determining the choice of his profession, as the prevailing tendency of his mind had always been towards the sacred office of the ministry.

In a short time after this severe disappointment, and a few days previous to his ordination (which took place in November 1817),

his feelings received another shock by the death of a dear fellow-student, one of his most valued and intimate friends. Under the deep impression of two such afflictive trials, he was obliged to prepare for a removal from society which he loved,-from the centre of science and literature, to which he was so much de

• The editor cannot forbear indulging his feelings by a brief record of the lamented friend alluded to in the above passage. The name of Hercules Henry Graves, with whom we were both united in bonds of the closest intimacy, will not be read, even by a common acquaintance, without awakening sentiments of regret for the loss which society has sustained in the early removal of so much intellectual and moral worth. He was the second son of the learned and excellent Dean Graves, professor of divinity in the Dublin University. With talents at once solid and shining, he combined an invincible perseverance, a masculine strength of understanding, and an energy of spirit which crowned his academic labours with the most distinguished honours, and afforded the surest pledge of rapid advancement to professional eminence. These rare endowments of mind were accompanied by quali ties of greater value,-a high moral taste, a purity of principle, a generosity of spirit, and an affectionate temperament of heart, which secured him the respect and regard of every individual of his widely extended acquaintance.

This happy union of mental and moral qualities was set

voted, to an obscure and remote country curacy in the north of Ireland, where he could not hope to meet one individual to enter into his feelings, or to hold communion with him upon the accustomed subjects of his former pursuits. He felt as if he had been transplanted into a totally new world; as a missionary abandoning

off by a constant flow of good-humour, an equability of temper, and a frankness and cordiality of manners, which diffused an instantaneous glow of exhilaration through every circle in which he appeared. He was on the point of being called to the Irish bar, and was universally allowed to be the most promising aspirant of his contemporaries to its honours and emoluments, when, unhappily, his health began to break down. He was ordered to the South of France, where he died in November 1817," in the fear of God, and the faith of "Jesus Christ," as he himself wished it to be recorded on his tomb. His illness was made the happy occasion of directing his mind more fully to the concerns of his immortal soul, which he felt he had too much overlooked in the busy pursuit of earthly objects. The study of religion had not, however, been neglected by him: with our author and two other friends he had been in the habit of reading and discussing some of the ablest works upon the evidences of the Christian faith; and it is to be presumed, that the impressions thus made upon his understanding were not lost upon his heart. They seemed to have recurred to his mind with full force in his illness.

home and friends, and cherished habits, for the awful and important work to which he had solemnly devoted himself.

At first he was engaged in a temporary curacy, not far remote from the situation in which he was soon afterwards permanently fixed. An extract from a letter to one of his college friends, will give some idea of the state of his feelings upon his arrival at the

He took special comfort in the gracious assurance, "Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out;" anxiously considering the full import of the phrase, "to come unto Christ." The view of our blessed Redeemer, as God and Man -as one "able and willing to save to the uttermost all that

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come unto the Father through him," was indeed "an an"chor of his soul, both sure and steadfast," at the near prospect of eternity. It enabled him not merely to close his eyes with resignation upon the brightest earthly prospects, but to look forward with holy hope to an imperishable happiness. May this, amongst many other similar examples, serve to shew that vital religion is not unworthy of the greatest mental powers, or incompatible with the highest attainments of secular learning; and may it impress upon the conscience of every reader, that a time will come when the strongest mind will want all the sustaining consolations which a steadfast faith in the Gospel is calculated to bestow.

ἱερον ύπνον

Κοιμαται· θνησκειν μη λεγε τις αγαθος.-EDITOR.