The British Quixote, or the Surprising Adventures of Don Poplin,
Knight of the Hierring Dragon, is of course an imita- tion of the original Quixote. It is also without doubt intended to be humorous; but, after looking through the volume, we are unable to find out the jokes. Dr. Poplin, the intended counter- part of Quixote, is meant by the author for an impersonation of an Orange defender of the Establishment. His squire, an Irish peasant, whose religion is always subordinate to his interest, is a pendent to Sancho; but his allegorical use we do not perceive. The steeds and equipments of master and man are travestied with- -out fancy, felicity, or point. The adventures they meet with on the journey through the Emerald Isle are absurd without being ludicrous; and are made the vehicles of many prejudiced assaults upon the Catholics, some commonplace praise of the Dissenters and the Voluntary principle, and a powerless attack upon the Church Establishment,—powerless so far as the merit of the writer is concerned. The abuses of that crying evil are so great, that the mere facts of the case secure a certain degree of weight to any statement in which they appear.
Previous page
