THE NEW EDITION OF BYRON'S WORKS.
THE Seventh Volume of the Winits of Lord Byron commences the poetical and principal part of his writings. It has been deter- mined to arrange the poems in the chronological order of their composition : consequently this volume contains the " Hours of Idleness," the " English Bards and Scotch Reviewers," and a variety of Miscellaneous Pieces, many of them now first printed, written between 1807 and the summer of 1810. The Poems of Lord BYRON will thus form a species of autobiography, for the verse of BYRON was the outpouring of his spirit, an interpretation of the passion of the moment, or else the reflections induced by the pass- ing of events before him. A psychological critic might, we are convinced, write the history of his mind from this edition of his poems alone. The musings of other poets wander in the illimit- able regions of fancy: memory is called in to the aid of inspiration, and the slightest occasion gives birth to a stroke of their métier. Not so with BYRON—he wrote verse because it was the readiest outlet of passion; it was his nature's vent. He sung not of Ilium or of Paradise, but of Man—himself the type. The cha- racter of BynoN is to be found in his writings, and not in his idle after-dinner sayings, nor yet in his dress correspondence. It is inscribed in every page of his poetry ; and in this beautiful volume is his youth—with all its waywardness, passion, pride, and also its warmth of feeling, its generosity and amiableness. Great care has been taken in the getting up of the work : a sedulous editor has thrown every light on the various contents of the volume, that time and death have permitted to be made public : and such indeed is the plan of the publisher, and the power within his hands, that it may be said of the present edition with justice, that no one will possess any other, who can procure this.
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