16 JULY 1842, Page 15

MACKAY'S SALAMANDRINE.

THE idea of this poem is taken from Le Comte de Gabalis ; a book, says POPE in his dedication to the Rape of the Lock, "which

both in its title and size is so like a novel, that many of the fair sex have read it for one by mistake." According to the Rosicru-

clan system which it was the object of Le Comte de Gabalis to unfold, the flour elements are inhabited by spirits, called Sylphs,

Gnomes, Nymphs and Salamanders. POPE, as his readers well know, has availedhimself of the Sylphs and Gnomes—the spirits of air and earth, to form the machinery of his Rape of the Lock.

Mr. MACKAY has chosen the heroine of his Salamandrine from the

Salamanders ; and they mingle in the action of the story, as well as influence its conduct.

The Salamandrine is founded on the Rosicrucian doctrine, that

the souls of the spirits are mortal, though having a duration of many years, and must eventually perish unless they contract an alliance with man-

" If from a human heart we win

A love devoid of guile and sin, A love for ever kind and pure, A love to suffer and endure, Unalterably firm and great Amid the angry storms of fate, For ever young, for ever new,

For ever passionate and true—

This gained, all wo is past, all joy begun, Heaven is our hope, Eternity is won !

"The doom of death that we deplore Lies in our suffering souls no more : We share the threescore years and ten, And the eternal heaven of men !"

The story of The Salamandrine narrates the love of Amethysta for Sir Gilbert, a knight : which at first he returns, but, having known the Salamandrine only as a peasant, he is tempted by wealth and ambition to marry the lady to whom he was be- trothed, with a lurking intention of making Amethysta his concu- bine. In the height of the wedding-dinner gayety, however, the fire and lights take on a supernatural air ; the company is startled by music equally unearthly ; and in the midst of the wonderment, Amethysts enters in her own character, and by the influence of a spell leads Sir Gilbert forth to his doom. This would have been death, but the heroine intercedes with the Salamanders; the false knight is only condemned to premature old age, with a mark of ever-burning flame upon his brow. In this condition, even his parents do not recognize him, and he wanders forth a disowned and aged outcast. Exposed to want, beset by dangers, and endur- ing much misery, his mind returns to Amethysta; and, after going through a severe probation, the reader may imagine that love is rewarded at last.

The first objection that strikes us regards the structure of The Salamandrine. Unless the existence of supernatural beings is be- lieved, or the adientures formed part of a religion not yet obso- lete, their introduction into a story, other than as machinery, weals injudicious. In all the great works both of ancient and later date this rule obtains. The Gods of antiquity, the Witches of SHAKSPERE the Sylphs and Gnomes of POPE, even the Angels and Devils of MILTON, interest by their influence upon the fortunes of human beings. They themselves are too superior to be traced to a marriage or a death ; their immediate work accomplished, they Pass on in their accustomed way : even the punishment of Satan, when he returns successful from Paradise, is known to be tempo- rary, and only affects us through our sympathy with Adam. The Metamorphoses are the great instance against this view ; but they, as well as the popular Fairy tales, narrated the traditional adventures of supernatural beings, in whom the bulk of the people had a lurk- ing if not an absolute belief; and nearly two thousand years have passed since they were written, part of which has been distinguished. by fixing the exact boundaries of the universe, as well as by extra- ordinary discoveries in natural philosophy—the four elements of Le- Comte de Gabalis have been analyzed, and found to be elements no longer. If this objection is valid, the reason of its validity seems to be, that such subjects have no prototype in nature or the general mind, and. that it is difficult to sustain with the requisite consistency the cha- racters and incidents of a story when some of the actors are human. and some supernatural: besides which, there is no fair stru.,ae be- tween man and superior beings, unless there be a super-superior to take his part—in fact, a machinery. This is felt in The Sala- mandrine. It may be questioned whether the conditions laid down. in the passage we quoted are fulfilled ; for the love of a man .who marries another mistress without a pang, and only returns to his Salamandrine lady when every human hope and object is closed against him, and he has so terribly felt the consequences of his want of faith, cannot be considered

"A love devoid of guile and sin, A love for ever kind and pure, .A love to suffer and endure."

There is occasional awkwardness and unsatisfactoriness in the earlier conduct of the story, as well as in the conclusion ; and the- inconsistency is palpable of sometimes endowing the Salamanders. with supernatural knowledge, and at other times representing them as- having, like mortals, to learn events by experience or testimony.. Mr. MACKAY, too, has very unskilfully degraded Sir Gilbert in a. way which removes the reader's regard for him. It was so easy and so obvious to have made him consent to the mortal marriage as a point of honour instead of a point of avarice, that it is aston- ishing how the author missed it.

The structural objection to The Salamandrine, however fatal to. its enduring existence, is one that will have little effect upon that present class of readers who are likely to be most attracted by the- poem ; and its execution will please them even by its faults. The versification is fluent, tripping, smooth, and melodious, with a good. deal of variety in its metre; which Mr. MecaAr seems to inti- mate is sottiewhat new—though we do not perceive the novelty every kind of irregularity can be found in English verse ; and in. style The Salamandrine reminds us of COLERIDGE, though the resemblance is general and the imitation judicious. As regards- sentiments and images, there is little to remark upon ; they are seldom strikingly appropriate, but ,often sufficiently apt : and the manners are such as might belong to the indefinite period in which the poem is laid. But the defect of The Salamandrine is a per- vadin4 flimsiness. Its melody is pleasing, but it leaves no impres- sion ; its characters do not affect us with an idea of real existence— they "come like shadows so depart " : with some few exceptions, the incidents are well contrived to carry on the tale ; but beyond the hold upon the future which all stories possess, they inspire little interest, and the thoughts and images, with occasional excep- tions, are as fit for any thing similar as for the place where they are. In short, The Salamandrine resembles an opera where the fable is sufficient and the melodies are pleasing, but where all is over as soon as the curtain drops.

The following passage, descriptive of the close of the wars in which Sir Gilbert has been engaged, is a fair specimen of the general character of the poem.

"The woods and fields are green again, It is the month of May ; The swallow on the cottage-eaves Has built her nest of clay, And the rooks upon the castle-tower Caw merrily all the day.

" The spring has followed the winter weary, And peace come after a ruthless war; The land rejoices, And children's voices Welcome their fathers from afar.

There are smiles of love on many a cheek, Many a fond wife sobs for gladness, And sheds more tears in excess of joy Than ever she shed in all her sadness.

" The wars are over ; the peasants rejoice ; Youths and maidens sit under the tree, Or dance together In sunny weather, While the elder people flock to see. The rustic pipe makes music simple, To guide the fall of their twirling feet, And young veins tingle, As love-looks mingle, And youth and passion their vows repeat."

As an example of incident, we may take the readily-detachea passage of the supernatural appearances at the wedding.

"What is the matter with the fire ?

The sparks come rushing out ;

The writhing flames burn pale and blue, And twist themselves about ; And now they sink, now rise again, And mount the chimney tall, Casting a light Of lurid white On the rich emblazoned wall.

"What is the matter with the lamps That hang from the ceiling high ? For the flames grow dim and wan and pale, And sink as they would die ; And now they brighten merrily, And a livid radiance throw

On the fear-pale faces of the guests

That watch them from below. The lnstres shake as they would fall, And form strange shadows on the wall: There seems a spell upon them all. And still they heard the voice Amid the silence swell, Singing, ' Oh, farewell, love!

Oh happiness; farewell !

For never, never more, In Minden shall ye dwell! Misery, misery ! '

"And, as it died away, A gentler voice began A more melodious song Than e'er was heard by man ; But sad, and faint, and slow, The solemn accents fell- ' Farewell to happiness, To love and joy farewell!' For never, never more, Shall either as before Around my pathway shine

To cheer this heart of mine—

Misery!'

"'Where can this solemn music be?'

Exclaimed each wondering guest ; While the bride concealed her pallid face, Upon the bridegroom's breast. Bold in the battle-field was he, When shafta of death were near ; But now he trembled as he stood With strange unusual fear.

"It was the music of his dream, Forgotten long ago, That woke such pity in his soul When slumbering in the snow.

Be knew the mournful voice again, And thoughts of sorrow and of pain Oppressed his spirit and his brain; And whether it were of earth or heaven, His soul was awed, his heart was riven.

"There was a rushing sound of winds, The doors flew open all ; And In! a lady, mild and bright, With rustling robes of silvery white, Came gliding through the hall.

'A golden zone enclosed her waist; She wore a ruby on her breast ; And round her brow a chaplet fair, Made all of diamonds bright and rare, Of which the least conspicuous gem Was worth a monarch's diadem ; And a halo followed as she went, Most beautiful, most innocent.

"She seemed, like Melancholy's self, A living Sorrow as she passed : Her face was pale, her step was slow, Her modest eyes were downwards cast. But who she was, and whence she came, And what her lineage or her name, Not one of all the guests could tell : But Gilbert sighed, and knew her well.

"'Twas Amethysta's gentle face, Her look serene, her form of grace: And much he marvelled to behold Her diamond crest, her zone of gold, And her step of queenly dignity : No cottage-maiden could she be, But a peerless dame of high degree.

"There was deep silence in the ball ; You might have heard a feather fall, For the guests were wonder-stricken all, As the lady, like a monarch proud, Glided majestic through the crowd, And never raised her eyes so sweet Until she came to Gilbert's sent: And then she stopped,—the bride, meanwhile, Trembling and pale with doubts and fears ; And full upon the bridegroom turned Her face, all wet with gushing tears, And gazed with sad and earnest look.

The mild reproach he could not brook, But turned his guilty eyes away, Afraid to move, ashamed to stay.

"She laid her band upon his arm, And bowed her gentle head, And Moved her lips as if she spoke, But never a word she said ; Or, if sbe did, the bride was near, And not a whisper could she hear. But Gilbert started at her touch.

And pressed his burning brow ; Then rose and met her mournful glance, Resolved to bear it now : For her image, though he shut his eyes, Before his vision stole • And oh, that mild repro,:chful glance It looked into his soul!

"But before the guests had time to rise,

The lady passed away :

But bow she went, and when she went, Was nobody could say. And the holy man who married the bride

He knelt him down to prey—

'From sprites and phantoms, heavenly Lord, Deliver us alway !'"

The following quotations, descriptive of a May shower, and of the conversation of the guests as they departed from the banquet, may be given as examples of the better passages ; which, derived from observation rather than produced by fancy or copied from commonplaces, have more individual character with more general truth.

el

A MAT SHOWER.

"The rain-drops patter on the leaves Of the topmost branches small ; The fragrance from the moistened grass Floats gently over all; And the dust emits a perfnme sweet, Where the dancing rain-drops fall."

DEPARTING GUESTS.

The bridal-guests went sadly forth: The men all wondered sore; And the women vowed that thing like this Was never known before : Some said the lady was a witch, With her golden zone and diamonds rich; Some thought she was a living maid, Whom false Sir Gilbert had betrayed; Some said she was an evil sprite, That her very robes were ghastly white; But all agreed, In very deed, That 't was a mournful day, And that the glory of the house Had for ever passed away.