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CONTENTS.

NO. II.-VOL. X.-FEBRUARY, 1844.

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EDITOR'S TABLE.

lar attention to this....

6. Notes on our Army-No. I. Addressed to the Hon. Thomas H. Benton..

7. The Enchanted Gifts, by Mrs. Jane L. Swift... 8. Letters from Gibralter.

French....

9. Notes on Cuba..

10. Shelley. Extract from a Lecture on the "Genius
of Shelley," by T. H. Chivres, M. D...104 25. A Word to Every Subscriber. We call particu-

11. The Influence of the Fine Arts on the Moral Sen

sibilities, by Rev. J. N. Danforth, Alexandria.....109 12. A Passage in the Life of Edward Moreland. A Tale of Washington City....

ORIGINAL POETRY.

13. The Song of the Scald, Biorne. By Henry B. Hirst..

114

72

26. College Convention of Virginia..
27. Mr. Everett and Prince Albert....
28. National Institute, John Randolph, &c.
29. Cheap Publications...

30. Notices of New Works.....

See several important Notices on the Cover.

PAYMENTS TO THE SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER.

Allen, Mrs. Louisa G....Richmond, Va...... .vol 10
Armstrong, James H....Knoxville, Tenn... ....vol 9
Allen, Charles H.... Abbeville C. H., S. Carolina...vol 9
Archer, Ro. H....K&C... Baltimore, Maryland...vol 9
Betts, John J....Heathsville, Virginia..
vol 9
Beazley, Thomas L.....Richmond, Virginia.... vol 10
Browne, James S.... Suffolk, Virginia..
Burdell, Dr. F. V. Waynesborough, Georgia.

vol 10

.vol 9

.vol 9

Kilgour, John M...

-vol 8-9

10

vol 10

vol 9

Barnett, Isaac N.....Columbia, Arkansas..
Bassett, George W.... Richmond, Virginia.
Blake, Miss C. C....Boston, Massachusetts.......vol
Bragg, Lieut. B... Charleston, S. Carolina...
Bethune, Benjamin T... Milledgeville, Georgia.
Clower, P. L... Clinton, Georgia..
vol 9
Christian, Robert W..Charles City C. H., Va.....vo! 10
Claiborne, H. A.... Richmond, Virginia..
vol 10
Calliopean Society....New Haven, Connecticut....vol 9
Custis, Miss Mary.. Accomac C. H., Va......vol 8-9
Clagett, Elizabeth A....Leesburg, Virginia.. vol 10
Cameron, Duncan.... Raleigh, N. Carolina. ....vol 10
Collins, Augustus. Red Oak, Georgia... ..vol 9
Caskie, James.. Richmond, Virginia. vol 10
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vol 9
vol 10
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Jacobson, J. C.... Salem, North Carolina.. Johnson, Wm. E......Camden, S. Carolina.. Jarratt, Dr. Wm. A....Milledgeville, Georgia.....vol 8-9 Judd, Lieut. H. B.. Charleston, S. Carolina.. Jordan, Mrs. Mary F.... Monticello, Georgia.. Kercheval, John B.. - Romney, Virginia... Key, Jesse B.... . Cuthbert, Georgia. King, Alfred.. Richmond, Virginia.. Rockville, Maryland.. Lazenby, John... .Thomson, Georgia.. Likens, T. L... Princeton, Miss.. Lowther, William....Clinton, Georgia.. Lathrop, S. P... ..Richmond, Virginia. McNemarra, Hugh C.... Richmond, Virginia....vol 7-9-9 Murray, James....Greenville, N. Carolina... McDaniel, Mrs.....Lynchburg, Virginia.. Morisy, David G..Duplin Old C. H., N. Carolina...vol 9 Mercantile Library Company..IEJ. Philadelphia...vol 9 Madeira, Lewis C..IEJ.. Philadelphia, Pa... vol 9 Merrill, E. H....K&C....Baltimore, Maryland....vol 9 Murry, Wm. H..... Red Oak, Georgia.. Mason, Mrs. E. A. C....Occoquan, Virginia.. Minor, Dr. George G.... Richmond, Virginia.. Mereweather, Mrs....Jackson, Tennessee. McGwigan, Rev. Wm.... Suffolk, Virginia.. Munford, Wm. P.... Richmond, Virginia... Maxwell, Wm....New York City.. Maury, John W. Washington City.. Maury, Robert H.... Richmond, Virginia... Mitchell, Walter H.... Milledgeville, Georgia. Motta, Jr., Jacob de La.. Savannah, Georgia. Nisbett, F. A.... Columbus, Georgia... Nixon, Miss Catharine.. Buckingham C. H., Va...vol Otey, Miss Lucy W.....Lynchburg, Virginia.. Overdier. David....Columbus, Ohio... Pickett, James H....Lexington, Kentucky. Peithesophian Society.. New Brunswick, N. J... vol 10 Pollard, Wm... Rexburg, Virginia.. Pratt, Thomas. ....Fredericksburg, Virginia.. ....vol 9 Patton, W. W....Fraziersville, S. Carolina... Gibson, Wm......Old Church, Virginia.. Prescott, Wm. H.... Boston, Massachusetts.......vol 10 Gallaher, Joseph E....Fredericksburg, Virginia....vol Peters, B. F. Richmond, Virginia. ...vol g vol 8-9 Hart, James H..FF tp....Troy, Ohio... ..vol 9 Rixey, Thomas C. Rixeville, Va.... vol 9 Howard, N. P. vol 10 Rives, Alexander....Charlottesville, Virginia. Hancock, John....Bellefonte, Alabama.. vol 9 Rucker, Ambrose B....Lynchburg, Virginia.......ro! 10 ..Aberdeen, Mississippi. ....vol 10 Rucker, Mrs. Alfred M....St. Louis, Missouri....vol 10 Hill, Jr., Richard.... Richmond, Virginia...vol 10 Rogers, C. C...CWJ.. Lexington, Ky......vol 6-7-8-9 Hill, Greene....Culloden, Georgia.... Pd. $8 on account. Rourke, Edward O....Tuscaloosa, Alabama......vol 10 Irby, Richard.... Blacks & Whites, Va... vol 10 Redwood, Dr. George E.... Boonsville, Missouri...vol 9 Jeffries, Wm. A. .. Rolesville, N. Carolina. vol 9 Reynolds, Lieut. J. F.. Charleston, S. Carolina....vol 10 Justice, Dr. John R....Newbern, N. Carolina.....vol 10 Southall, V. W....Richmond, Virginia..

Cabell, Dr. Ro. H.....Richmond, Virginia..
Cage, James.. ..Hauma, Louisiana...
Cook, James C....Columbus, Georgia..
Chandler, O. P.... Woodstock, Vermont..
Dellay, Miss Harrietta A.... De Ruyster, N. Y...vol 8-9
Dawkins, James B.... Union C. H., S. Carolina....vol 9
Dew, T. R.... Williamsburg, Virginia....... vol 9-10
Dialectic Society.... Chapel Hill, N. Carolina......vol 9
Ellett, Mrs. Frances W....Henderson, Illinois.....vol 9
Foster, Augustus J....Wakefield, N. Carolina.......... vol 8
Fry, Mrs. J. J... ....Richmond, Va......Pd. to Oct. 1844.
Ficklin, J. B. Falmouth, Virginia..
.vol 9
Ferry, G. W
Richmond, Virginia.. ..vol 9
Gilpin, Henry D...IEJ.. Philadelphia, Pa..
vol 9
Graham, G. Mason.... Alexandria, Louisiana......vol 10
Gilmour, John.... Richmond, Virginia.. Pd. to Nov. 1844.
Garland, Miss A. E.... Amherst Č. H., Va.. vol 9
Guthrie, S. S................ Putnam, Ohio...

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PUBLISHED MONTHLY, AT FIVE DOLLARS PER ANNUM-BENJAMIN B. MINOR, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.

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For nightly converse among hellish ghosts: We, from the memory of brighter days,

Orester. We tread the path of Death, and at each step Must gather strength for new heroic effort.

My soul is more composed. When to Apollo

I prayed, to free me from the avenging fiends

That ever dogged my steps, he seemed to promise,

That, in the temple of his much loved sister,

Who rules o'er Tauris, I should find assistance
And relief. This plighted God's word

So full of hope, is sure of its fulfilment,

For, with my life, my sufferings soon will end.
Beautiful Sun! how easy to resign

Thy light, to one whose heart the hand of God
Has crushed to numbness. If no laurelled death,
The price of glorious victory awaits

The sons of Atreus-if, like my brave father,

Like all my ancestors, it be my doom

To die a bloody death, so let it be."

Better to bleed before the altar here

Than in a corner, by the assassin hand

Of a near kinsman. Fiends of Tartarus,

Who dog my steps, while yet I walk the earth,

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NO. 2.

Orestes. O had I caught his hem and followed him. Pylades. Much cause have I to thank the hand that

saved thee;

For what were I without thee, since with thee, And for thy sake alone, from infancy,

I've wished to live.

Orestes.

Remind me not, I pray thee,

Of those bright days, when, in thy father's house,

I found a refuge, where his prudent care

Tenderly nursed the bruised and blighted blossom, While thou, forever gay and light of heart,

Sporting around me like a butterfly

O'er a dark flower hovering, to my soul
Imparted the glad cheerfulness of thine,
Till 1, forgetful of my fate, and swayed

And, like the sleuth-hound, snuff the blood that marks them, By youthful sympathy, would lose myself

Let me alone! soon I go down to you.

The light of day no more shall be polluted

By sight of you or me; nor earth's green carpet
Be stained by Demon feet. There, in your den,
I'll seek you out; there, where one equal fate
Shall seal us all in everlasting night.
Thee, Pylades, companion of my crime,
Though innocent, thee, partner of my doom!
1 gneve to bear thee to that mournful land,
Taumely snatched away. Thy life or death
Alone awakens hope or fear in me.

Pylades. Not yet, like thee, Orestes, am I ready
The abode of Ghosts to visit. Still I hope,
Among the tangled paths that seem to tend
All downward to black night, to find a way
That leads to life again. Of death I think not.
I wait the pleasure of the Gods, and hope,
That they will yet provide a glad escape.
Death, whether feared or no, comes when he will,
But when, to sever our devoted locks,
The Priestess lifts her hand, I still shall think
Only of thine and my deliverance. Rouse
Thy soul from this despondency. Our danger
is bat increased by doubt. Did not Apollo
Plight thee his word, that in his Sister's Temple
And-solace-safe return were all prepared?
The words of Gods are not ambiguous,
Though thus the afflicted and desponding deem.
Orestes. The web of destiny my mother spread
Over my infant head, and as I grew

la likeness to my father, tho' I spoke not, My presence to her paramour and her Was a severe rebuke. Alas! How often

VOL. X-9

In dreams enthusiastic.

Pylades,

It was then

My life began then when I first loved thee.

Orestes. More truly say that then thy griefs began. Horrible fate! That I, thus plague-infected And driven from society, must bear Anguish and death to others in my bosom. Go where I will, tho' all before was health, The blooming cheek grows pale at my approach And wears the marks of death, certain tho' slow. Pylades. Were poison in thy breath, Orestes, I Should be the first to perish; but thou seest me Still full of cheerful confidence and courage; And Love and Confidence are wings that bear To great achievements. Orestes. Great achievements! Yes, The time has been when we to such looked forward, When we on mount and vale pursued our prey, And hoped to see the day, when rivalling The courage and the prowess of our fathers, We too, with club and sword, might hunt the monster, Or track the robber to his cave, and then When, leaning on each other, we would sit At evening, looking out o'er the broad sea, The rippling wave breaking against our feet, And all the world spread out before our eyes: Then would we grasp the sword, and deeds of glory Through the dark future glittered like the stars Whose countless host spangled the night's black brow. Pylades. The work the soul proposes to herself

Is infinite, still burning to achieve

Deeds of such splendor, as at once may rival

The glories which are still the poet's theme,

Echoed through distant lands and distant ages.
How sweet, at evening, with the harp's full tone
To drink the strains that tell our father's deeds!
How poor and paltry, when compared with these,
Is all we can achieve! And so we chase
A shadowy phantom that still flies before us,
And thus, unmindful of the path we tread,
We see not that it is the self-same path
That still the traces of their footsteps bears.
In the far distance, o'er the mountain tops,
Floating on golden clouds, we see their shadows,
And these, our faney's creatures, we pursue.
I cannot deem him wise, whose only thought
Is how he best may win the applause of men,
And thou hast cause to thank the Gods that they
Already have achieved so much through thee.

Orestes. Let him be thankful, who is made a blessing
To those he loves. Who turns aside misfortune,
Extends his kingdom and secures his frontier,
While enemies before him fall or fly.

Me they have made their butcher, and the blood
Of a still honored mother stains my hand,
A deed accursed accursedly avenging.
This was their work, and this has been my ruin.
Trust me, against the house of Tantalus
Their hate is fixed, and I, the last, am doomed
To die a guilty and dishonored death.

Pylades. The Gods do not avenge upon the Son
The misdeeds of the Father. Good or bad,
Each the reward of his own acts receives.
The Parent's blessing, not his curse, descends
Upon his race.

Orestes.

Have blessings brought us hither?
Pylades. It is at least the high will of the Gods:
Orestes. And so their will has brought us to destruction.
Pylades. Do thou their bidding, and await their will.
His sister to Apollo bear, that they
Henceforth in Delphi may together dwell
Revered by high-souled Greece, and for this deed
The illustrious pair will grace thee with their favor
And from the fiends of Tartarus rescue thee,
This holy grove already screens thee from them.
Orestes. Then I may hope at least a quiet death.
Pylades. Quite different, and not I think unskilful
Has been my augury of the event

From that which is and has been. Who can say
That in the councils of the Gods this work,
Long since decreed, is not now ripening.
Diana longs to leave this rugged shore,
The rude barbarians and their human victims.
We to this noble deed have been appointed,
On us it is imposed, and here we see
That force conducts us to the enterprise.

Orestes. How happily dost thou accommodate
To thine own wish the counsels of the Gods!
Pylades. What is Man's prudence, if it listens not,
With heedful ear, to aught that indicates
The will of those above? They call the hero,
Whose hand is stained with crime, to expiate
His guilt by high achievement. Things that seem
Impossible are set before him. He succeeds,
And by his penance serves both Gods and Men
Who honor him.
Orestes.

If 'tis my destiny
Again to live and act, then from my brow⚫
I pray some God to take the dizzy-spell,
That onward to the dead urges my feet,
Along a path slippery with Mother's blood;-
The fount, that, gushing from a Mother's wounds,
Still pours its strains upon me, let him dry.

Pylades.. Be not impatient. You increase the evil,

And on yourself the Furies' office take.
Compose yourself, and leave to me the task
Of thinking for us both: then when the hour
Of action comes, when we must move in concert,

I call on thee, and we advance together
With well considered boldness to our purpose.
Orestes. Surely it is Ulysses speaks.
Pylades.

Nay, mock not.
Each one must choose a hero to his taste,
Whose footsteps, up the steeps of high Olympus
He toils to follow. Let me frankly own,

That, in my view, bold deeds are not disgraced
By being joined with prudent weariness.

Orestes. I deem him brave, who goes straight to his aim.
Pylades. And therefore have I not consulted with thee
In the step I've taken. From our guards I learn,
That here a foreign and a Godlike Woman
Restrains the bloody law, her only offerings
Incense, and prayer, and a pure heart. They praise
Her gentleness, and think her of the race

Of Amazons, from dire misfortune flying..

Orestes. It seems her light sway now has lost its power. The criminal, who bears upon his brow

A curse as broad as night, no sooner comes
Than pious blood-thirst straight to our destruction
Strikes off the fetter from the ancient custom.
No woman now could sway the tyrants mood.

Pylades. Well for us 'tis a Woman: for a Man-
The best among them,-quickly trains his mind
To cruelty, and makes at last a law

Of that he once detested. Constant Woman
Clings to the purpose she has once conceived,
Stedfast for good or ill-but most for good.
But peace! She comes. Leave me to deal with her.
'Twould not be safe at once to tell our names,
Or trust her with our fate. But step aside,
And shun her, 'till I speak with you again.

SCENE 2.

Pylades. Iphigenia.

Iphigenia. What and whence art thou, stranger? To my

eye

Thy aspect speaks thee rather Greek than Scythian. [She takes off his chains.]

I give thee dangerous freedom. May the Gods
Avert the dreadful doom that threatens thee!

Pylades. Sweet voice! O! welcome sound! My mother

tongue

Spoke in a foreign land, at once recalling

My home's blue mountains to my captive eye.
Oh! Let my manifest delight assure thee
That I too am a Greek; for while my spirit
Dwelt on thy beauteous aspect, I forgot
My helpless wretchedness. Unless some spell
Has sealed thy lips, then tell me, I beseech thee,
The stem whence thou thy godlike lineage drawest.
Iphigenia. A Priestess, chosen by the Goddess self,
And consecrated by herself, speaks to thee.
Let this suffice thee. Say now who thou art,
And what unhappy fate has brought thee hither
Together with thy friend.

Pylades.

The task is easy

To tell the dire evil that pursues us.

Oh! that thou couldst to us,-Oh! heavenly maid, The light of hope as easily impart.

We come from Crete. Adrastus is our father."
My name is Cephalus-his youngest son,"

And he, the oldest hope of our house
Is called Laodamas. Between us stood
Another wild and rude, who in the sports

Of Childhood (the cement of brother's love)
Already stood aloof. While yet my Father
Fought before Troy, we all obeyed our mother;
But after his return, laden with spoils,
His sudden death a fatal strife engendered

Between these brothers for the crown contending.
The elder I supported. Soon his brother
Fell by his hand, and the blood-guilty wretch,

The Furies now with fiery rage pursue.

Iphigenia. Is Troy then fallen? Stranger tell me truly.
Pylades. "Tis fallen. Oh! assure us of escape.

Accelerate the aid a God has promised.

Have pity on my brother. One kind word
I earnestly entreat you to vouchsafe him.

Shaken by Memory, or Joy, or Pain,
His inmost soul is presently assailed

By feverish insanity, which gives

His beauteous mind a victim to the Furies.

Iphigenia. Severe thy fate. But for a while forget it, Till you have told me what I long to learn.

Pylades. The lofty City, which, for ten long years Withstood the hosts of Greece, now lies in ruins, Fallen to rise no more. But there the graves

Of

many of our heroes keep alive

The sad remembrance of that hostile shore.

There lies Achilles, with his handsome friend.

Iphigenia. Ye godlike images!-Are ye but dust? Pylades. And Palamedes-Telamonian Ajax, These too their native country saw no more.

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Iphigenia. Unhappy Man! I loose thy bonds, a sign
Of a more wretched fate. The Sanctuary

Gives liberty, which, like the flickering ray
That lights the last glance of the sick man's eye,
Is but the messenger of Death. As yet

Iphigenia. He speaks not of my father: names him not I can not, dare not, to myself admit

Among the fallen. Still he lives to me,

And I may hope to see him. O, my Heart!

Pylades. But happier far the thousands that there met

A bitter-sweet death from a hostile hand

Than they for whom the offended Gods prepared
New forms of terror, and, instead of triumph,
Death unexpected, waiting their return.
Does then the voice of Man ne'er reach you here,
Telling, where'er it spreads, of horrid deeds
Such as have filled Mycena's halls with mourning?
Is it still new to thee, that Clytemnestra
Assisted by Egystheus, slew her husband,
[pon the very day of his return?

I see that thou dost reverence the race

Of this great King, and that thy breast in vain
Struggles against the horror of my words.
Art thou the daughter of a friend? Art thou
Sprung from a neighboring State. Conceal it not;
And do not bear me hard that I am first
To announce these horrors.

Iphigenia.

How was it done?

Pylades.

O! the dreadful deed!

The day of his arrival,
Refreshed and rested, coming from the bath,
From his wife's hand the King his garment asked,
When she a tangled web of many folds
Over his noble head and shoulders threw ;
And as he vainly strove to disengage

Himself therefrom, the traitorous Ægystheus
Stabbed him; dismissing to the realm of death,
With veiled head, this mighty prince.
Iphigenia.

But say

What recompense rewarded the accomplice.
Pylades. A Crown and Bed that were already his.
Iphigenia. Then 'twas vile lust that caused the mon-
strous deed.

That you are lost. Can I with murderous hand
To death devote you? And, while here I rule
As Priestess of Diana, none besides

Shall touch your heads. But if I should decline

The office which the angry King demands,
One of my maidens he at once will choose
As my successor, and my burning wishes
Will then be all that I can give to aid you,
Dear Countryman; if the most abject slave
Has touched the hearth of our paternal Gods,
Here, in this foreign land, he were most welcome.
What blessings on thy head should I invoke,
Who com'st in likeness of the god-like heroes,
Whose names my parents taught me to revere,
Soothing and flattering my inmost heart
With bright hopes kindled by the thought.
Orestes.

Does prudence

Injoin concealment of thy name and race,
Or may I hope that she who meets me here,
In form a Goddess, will disclose herself?
Iphigenia. Thou shalt know me. But first explain to me
That which thy brother has but half revealed;
The cruel fate which at their threshold met
The Chiefs who from the fall of Troy returned.
Tho' young when hither brought, I well remember
The shrinking eye with which, in awe and wonder,
I gazed upon those heroes. As they moved,
It was as if Olympus had sent down
The forms of ancient glory to affright
The towers of Ilion: and among them there

Stood Agamemnon, lordly above all.
Oh! tell me. Entering his house, he fell
By treason of Ægystheus and his wife?
Orestes. Thou sayest it.

Iphigenia.

Poor Mycena! Wo to thee!

And thus the wild hands of the race of Tantalus

Pulades. That and a cherished sense of old resentment. Have scattered curse on curse; and like the weed,

Iphigenia. How had the King offended?

By a deed

Pylades.
Which, could such murder ever be excused,
Might have excused it. It was when a Goddess

Shaking its withered head, have strewed around
Innumerable seeds, from which have sprung
Kindred assassins for their childrens' children,
And mutual hate implacable. Oh! tell me

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