graved by DEANE from an original _ de ung by WEST Published by GB Whittaker for La Brie A Stable new series N38 ir Fb. 188 Pry's published by M Coinaghi 23. Cockspur St LA BELLE ASSEMBLÉ E, FOR FEBRUARY, 1828. ILLUSTRATIVE MEMOIR OF LADY BURKE. Ir is with great pleasure that we find ourselves enabled to present the readers of LA BELLE ASSEMBLEE with a portrait of Lady Burke, beautifully engraved, by Dean, from a fine picture by West, the American artist, whose painting of Lord Byron obtained for him a well-merited celebrity.* eight children; six boys, and two girls; of whom, the eldest son, Thomas, is heirapparent to the title and estate. Sir John Burke derives his descent from one of the numerous branches of the Bourke or De Bourgh family, one of the most ancient in the United Kingdom, and from which the noble families of Clanricarde Lady Burke, wife of Sir John Burke, of and Mayo are also descended.*-John Marble Hill, in the county of Galway,|| Bart., and a Colonel in the army, is the eldest daughter of John Calcraft, Esq., M.P.,† of Rempstone Hall, in the county of Dorset. Her mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Pym Hales, of Howletts, in the county of Kent, Bart. The birth of Miss Calcraft occurred about the year 1792, or 1793; and, on the 18th of May, 1812, she gave her hand in marriage to Sir John Burke. Her family, by this gentleman, consists of ⚫ Of Mr. West's portrait of Lord Byron, it is remarkable, that it is the last for which his Lordship sat-that, in resemblance, it differs essentially from all other alleged likenesses of the noble bard that it is the only portrait with which, for its characteristic truth, Lord Byron's friends expressed themselves satisfied--and that it has been at least three times engraved :-first, by Engleheart, for The Literary Souvenir; secondly, by Wedgwood, at Paris; and thirdly, by Turner, in London. It is further remarkable, that the three engravings all differed essentially one from the other; and that two of them, at least, differed as widely from the original. Turner's was the finest print, and the most faithful to the painter.-Vide LA BELLE ASSEMBLEE, vol. iv. page 266; and vol. v. pages 43 and 88. + One of the representatives of the Borough of Wareham, in Dorsetshire. Mr. Calcraft's son, John Hales Calcraft, Esq., M.P., is the other representative. No. 38.-Vol. VII. Burke, of the county of Galway, Esq., married Carroll; by whom he had a son, Sir Thomas Burke, of Marble Hill, in the county of Galway, Baronet; so created, on the 5th of December, 1797. He married Christiana, daughter of Browne, Esq., by whom he had issue :-1. John, his successor, the present Baronet, and husband of the lady whose portrait we have now the pleasure of introducing in LA BELLE ASSEMBLEE ;-2. James ;-3. Maria, married to Michael O'Connor, Esq., and mother of the Countess of Dysart ;4. Julia, married to Malachi Daly, Esq.;5. Eliza, married, on the 17th of March, 1799, to John Thomas De Burgh, late Earl of Clanricarde (the mother, by him, of Ulick John, the present Marquess, who married, April 4, 1825, Harriet, only daughter of the late Right Hon. George Canning; and of the Marchioness of Sligo, and Countess of Howth);-6. Anne, married to Sir Henry Tichborne, Bart. ;—and 7. Ellen, married to Viscount Strangford. * Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, was one of the greatest subjects in Europe, in the reigns of King John, and Henry III. His uncle, Adelm de Burgh, settled in Ireland, and was ancestor of Richard de Burgh, Lord of Connaught and Trim, who died in 1243, leaving two sons, Walter, Earl of Ulster, and William, ancestor of the Earls of Clanricarde. G A GLANCE AT THE POETRY OF SPAIN. PERHAPS there is no country, the literary history of which is more calculated to excite and to sustain the enthusiasm of the poet, than that of Spain. Climate, scenery, and various other accidents, must influence the character of a nation's poetry, as much as they must influence the minds of its people. Thus, in the words of a contemporary foreigner, "Climate, which affects all the parts of organization, and which gives more or less elasticity to vital action; the aspect of a country, that continually presents nature to the eye, either wrapped in gloom, or dressed in smiles here varied with mountains and woods, there presenting the monotony of plains; religion, which, from the earliest period of life, takes possession of the ideas and sentiments, and stamps them with a seal, whose impression is deepened by the desire of reward and the fear of punishment; the habits of nations, which engage them in sanguinary and tempestuous struggles, or in the peaceful occupations of pastoral or agricultural life; such are, in general, the circumstances that determine the prevailing character of poetry; and if we study the poetic history of all the nations of the earth, we shall every where find traces of their influence. Rome exhibits a poetry, rude, harsh, and barbarous as the founders of the eternal city; Arabia, a sweet and pompous poetry, monotonous as the desert, and all impregnated with the warmth of the climate and the perfumes of the east; the north, a poetry sad and gloomy as its atmosphere; and lastly, Greece, a poetry variable as the character of the Hellenes, heroic as the warriors who levelled the walls of Troy, voluptuous as the groves of Paphos, sublime and lofty as Olympus." In support of our first position, that there is no country, the literary history of which is more calculated to excite and to || sustain the enthusiasm of the poet, than that of Spain, the same elegant writer observes, "that there is no people who appear more disposed to receive the inspirations of genius, and to be affected by the illusions of fancy, than the Spanish. In the Peninsula are combined all climates, and every form of scenery. The long chains of mountains which cross it in each direction, offer every where to the eye the most picturesque combinations; the purity of the atmosphere constantly presents a serene heaven, and stars in all their brilliancy; the vegetation is full of vigour and beauty, the meadows are enamelled with odoriferous flowers; in short, all that surrounds man, in these delightful regions, charms his senses, and excites in his soul that feeling of content, that repose and tranquillity, so favourable to meditation and the free exercise of thought." Historical events, as well as physical causes, though probably not to so great an extent, affect the character of a nation's poetry. Poetry and mind—or poetry and national character-reciprocally influence each other. It has been seen that, at intervals of irregular duration, great geniuses arise: a Homer, a Tasso, a Shakspeare, a Milton, a Byron, starts into existence, produces an almost magical effect upon the poetry, and consequently upon the mind of his age. Still, we apprehend, the national poetry of different ages, or of different eras, although it may assume a variety of modifications, is essentially the same; or, in other words, that, in all its forms, traces of its original character may be discovered. Of the earliest native poetry of Spain, no relics have been preserved-nothing of a date beyond the Christian era-nothing in any of the vernacular dialects of the Peninsula later than eight or nine centuries. Of the Latin poets of Cordoba, whose compositions are also lost, Cicero speaks in very contemptuous terms. In the time of Augustus, ten languages— "Vetus Hispana, Cantabrica, Græca, Latina, Arabica, Chaldæa, Hebræa, Celteberica, Valentina, Cathalaunica❞—were spoken in Spain; and when it is known that most of these have been blended and incorporated more or less with the present Castilian tongue, we cannot feel surprised at the variety, the copiousness, or the power of Spanish poetry. Of the Gothic language, little remains in Spain; and, with the exception of a few inscriptions, and his prowess in heroic verse—they bewailed their dead at funerals in measured &c., every thing that has come down to us from the Gothic period, is in Latin. The Goths, in fact, had no national literature. | lamentations—and at their private banIn the opposition which these people raised to the purpose of Amalasunta, who was desirous of giving a liberal education to her son, Alaric, the assembled warriors exclaimed-" No! no! the idleness of study is unworthy of a Goth; high thoughts of glory are not fed by books, but by deeds of valour. He is to be a It was the Moors, the conquerors of king whom all should dread—shall he be Spain in the early part of the eighth cencompelled to dread his instructors? No." tury, who gave a character—a character Martial, who wrote in the second cenwhich still survives-to Spanish poetry. tury, occasionally refers to other Spanish | Not to poetry alone; to general literature, poets of his time; and, in the succeeding || to science, to arts, to arms, to all that has centuries, we meet with the names of Aurelius Prudentius, and Juvenius Presbiteros, who translated the Book of Genesis and the New Testament into Latin hexameters. Prudentius appears to have been really a poet; and although || sula-walls, and towers, and castles, and a translation which we have seen of some of his Latin verses, commencing "Instat || terminus, et diem," &c., can in reality throw no light upon Spanish poetry, we are tempted to transcribe a few lines in illustration of the moral and religious feeling of the period. ||quettings, as well as at their public festivals, the guests were enlivened with the minstrel's song, accompanied by the resounding notes of numerous musical instruments. The Goths are generally regarded as the first introducers of rhyme into Europe. Time's snows are on my forehead thrown- are gone, But what doth this, all this, avail ? Sin's robes away-redeem the past, If not in deeds, in words, to praise thy maker haste; In sacred hymns employ the day, In praises pass the night away, a tendency to elevate and ennoble the human mind. "Their influence may be seen- —their footsteps may be followedrelics of their glories may be discovered in almost every part of the Spanish Penin palaces, and aqueducts, and oratories, and mosques, and mesquitas, some crumbling under the attacks of ages, others standing as if proud to bid defiance to time, attest || the wealth, the influence, and the intelligence of the Mahommedan possessors. Impelled by a spirit of victory which had been fanned by long and singular success, influenced by the proud conviction that heaven itself had declared in behalf of their triumphant prophet, they established an authority which lasted nearly three centuries, in spite of religious prejudices and enthusiasm, nearly as strong and as active as their own; in spite of innumerable difficulties, resulting alike from the habits of their opponents, from the chivalric ardour soon exerted against them,, and from the natural barriers which nature seemed to have erected on behalf of liberty." To Spanish literature-poetical And let the martyrs' praise attune the willing literature more especially, into which they lay. O what a privilege, could I The prison of mortality introduced a new order of metrical compositions-the Moors imparted that oriental colouring and glowing character by Thus burst, and, breathing forth this language, which it has ever since been distinguished die! The Goths, under whose domination Spain existed for three centuries, although they despised literature and science, were not without their national songs, and they were passionately fond of music. On the death of a king, or of a warrior, bands of youths and virgins celebrated his virtues from that of other countries. At the period of which we were speak||ing, Arabic literature was universally studied, almost to the exclusion of all the learning that existed in other languages. Even the Latin was comparatively lost; and, in many parts of Spain, particularly in the southern provinces, it was with difficulty that an individual could be found A tyrannical chief thus writes to one of competent to the task of writing a letter | his warrior opponents :— in Latin. The Moors established colleges, or schools of learning, at Cordoba and Toledo, many of the scholars from which obtained great renown. Thus the literature of Spain and of Persia-all the learning of the East-was extended throughout Europe. Amongst others it may be mentioned that Adelard, the Benedictine monk of Bath, passed a considerable time amongst the learned Moors of Spain; a time that was very profitably passed, as his different publications on medicine, &c. abundantly testify. The stock of literature in Spain was also greatly increased by translations, made by the Moors, from the most illustrious poets and historians of Greece and Rome. Poetry has ever been held in the highest estimation in Arabia. Almost from the earliest times it was a subject of general study for youth. In Spain it was cultivated and employed-blended with war, with history, with philosophy-not only by the Moorish sages, but by the Moorish sovereigns themselves. To the English reader, the insertion of Spanish verse would seem an incumbrance of our pages; || therefore, in the selection of examples, all that can be accomplished must be left to translations of acknowledged fidelity, not only as to matter but to manner. The following, by Hexim, one of the Moorish monarchs, is line by line from the original:- A liberal hand is nobler far than aught in heralds' lists enshrined, -And the mean thirst of wealth too base for any great or generous mind. Midst flowery meads, in lone retreats, be it my If thou come with peace to me, I will come in peace to thee; And my conquering sword shall shine, The reply is conceived and expressed in a truly noble spirit : By the house of God, I swear, That thy pride hath made thee blind; Will confound thy cruel pride. It would be at once a tedious and unprofitable task to enumerate the Moorish poets of Spain: their number was considerable; the talents of many of them were of a very high order; and, it is not unworthy of remark, that Andalusia, the province which first witnessed the success of the Moorish invaders, was the most fruitful in poetic genius. It would not be rendering due honour to the sex were we to pass, unmentioned, the name of || Maria Alphaisuli, a native of Seville. She flourished, as the Arabic Sappho, in the fourth century of the Hejira. It is said that the palm-tree was first introduced into Spain by Abdorrahman, one of the most favourite and distinguished characters amongst the Moorish historians. He also was a poet, and he wrote the following verses in honour of his imported tree : Noble palm! thou wert a stranger, even thou, a stranger here, Flow ever from the mighty sea of everlasting Now the soft Algarbian breezes play around thy charity : presence fair : And when the tempest rages loud, and horrid Deep beneath, thy foot is planted, and thy forewar shall frown on me, head rises high, Then shall my right arm bathe its sword in Many a mournful tear would bathe thee, wert troublous battle's gory flood My pen, my brand, both near at hand to wield for what is just and good : Careless of thee, astrology! of stars, or suns, or destiny. thou touched by grief as I; Thou art sheltered from the sorrows varying fortune pours on me, I am covered with the torrents of the stream of misery; |