followed by the treason of Judas, who, repairing to the Sanhedrim, proposes the betrayal of his master. The priests and elders, after accepting the offer, retire, and Satan and his peers immediately assume their seats, and decree, and perform an ovation to Mammon for his success, but on the appearance of Chemos, who had been stationed as a spy on the Mount of Olives, and had been wounded by the spear of Gabriel, Satan suddenly dissolves the assembly, and rushes forth to encounter that archangel. Christ meanwhile, protected by Gabriel, undergoes the agony in the garden, and upon the approach of Satan this supporting angel prepares to chastise and dismiss him, when Christ, drawing near, by the word of power casts him to the ground in torAt this moment Judas advances, and Christ is seized, while Satan, unable to rise, bursts into lamentation, till, at length, discovered through the gloom by Mammon, he is assisted, and once more stands erect. Conscious to the power of Christ he prophecies his impending doom, and immediately, lifted from the earth, is hurled by a tremendous tempest to the regions of the damned. The condemnation of Christ, the denial and contrition of

ments.

Peter now follow, with an implicit adherence to the gospel narrative, and are succeeded by the remorse of Judas Iscariot, who, instigated by Mammon, destroys himself, whilst that evil spirit taking wing repairs to the wilderness, convenes the demons, informs them of Satan's expulsion from the earth, and warns them to flight ere the hour of Christ's crucifixion; they accordingly disperse and the crucifixion, wit nessed by Gabriel and the angels who are stationed on the mount, immediately ensues. The poet next hastens to describe the descent into the regions of Death whither Christ, borne on the wings of angels, is instantly, conveyed. Here, prostrate at the throne of that formi dable phantom, whose person and palace are described at large, and whose assistance the enemy of mankind had been in vain imploring, Satan is discovered by the Messiah, and, at his command, hurled by the vindictive angel, into the bottomless pit; its horrors are de scribed, and Death, conscious that his power is overthrown, tenders his crown and key at the feet of the Redeemer, and the revivification of those saints who are destined to the first resurrection immediately commences. These are now received by Christ, who appears to

them enveloped in glory; they pay him homage, and are assured of immortality as the reward of virtue.. Abraham confers with Christ, and is shewn the vision of the heavenly Jerusalem, as described in the Apocalypse. Christ reascends to earth, and after an address from Gabriel, explaining the purport of the resurrection, and a conference between Moses and that angel, a paradise springs up within the regions of Death, and the poem terminates with the departure of Gabriel.

Such is the outline of this arduous undertaking which, though requiring much judgment. and genius to conduct with propriety, appears to be well adapted for epic action, and is free from the objections commonly made to the Paradise Lost of Milton, who has been frequently censured for its melancholy catastrophe, for the abject condition in which our first parents are left, and for having chosen the Devil for his hero. Without enquiry concerning the justness of these remarks, we may observe of Calvary, that it is not obnoxious to similar spleen, the Messiah, though exposed to the machinations of Satan, and suffering all that man could inflict, being repeatedly and finally triumphant.

Nor will it be any ground for rational objec tion, that the allegorical personage Death acts so conspicuous a part in this poem, for, though Milton has felt the lash of criticism for per sonification of this kind, in Calvary, the introduction of the King of Terrors was almost a necessary part of the action, few circumstances being more frequently insisted upon by the authors of our Testament than the conquest and humiliation of Death by the Messiah, and the consequent resurrection of his saints.

If we now advert to the characters of Mr. Cumberland we may remark that, though not in possession of originality, they are well drawn and well supported. The materials he has made use of, and the models he has copied from, are of transcendant excellence, and to have woven these into a new whole, to have imitated these sublime writings without losing a portion of their first spirit and raciness, is to have achieved a work of difficulty and danger, that claims and will acquire both grateful and durable praise. No characters in the whole range of literature are so exquisitely conceived, so beautifully delineated and coloured, as those of our Saviour in the writings of the

Evangelists, and of Satan in the Paradise Lost. The tender mercy and compassion of our Redeemer, the universal philanthropy and meekness of his character, his pathetic appeals, to the virtues and feelings of his auditors, his patient and heroic suffering, his numerous acts of goodness and stupendous power, are given with such touching simplicity of language, with such minuteness and accuracy of detail, with such conviction of the truth and dignity of the. theme, that whilst no compositions are so interesting to the uncorrupted heart, none are more pleasing to the purest taste. On the other hand, in a style elevated to the utmost pitch of grandeur, Milton has pourtrayed a Being of terrible sublimity, author of every dreadful and gigantic evil, and contending for the supremacy of heaven; breathing revenge, hatred and despair, armed with archangelic strength, and clothed with the majesty of power. With these tremendous attributes he has mingled such a portion of beauty and grace, of mental activity and invincible courage, that while we gaze and tremble at the awful demon, we feel a thrilling sensation of pleasurable wonder, of admiration and of horror stealing through every nerve. to