Sonnet-The Art of Printing.

And as fair and as changeful as foam on the fountain,
Or rainbow of heaven as it shadows the mountain.

And has thou then forgot for ever,

The vows that said we ne'er should sever?
And canst thou cross yon hills of blue,

And leave the haunts our childhood knew?

Jan. 9th, 1819.

X. Y. Z

SONNET TO THE MUSE OF BURNS.

O sweetest Syren of the tuneful Nine;

E'vn thou who did for Burns thy fav'rite child
Old Caledonia's noblest laurels twine-
There, since his exit is thy lyre exil'd?
Ah me! has dark adversity's dread power
Untimely hush'd thy heavenly serenade,
Or, mourning like some lonely desart flower,
Dost thou still weep thy woes away, sweet Maid;
If so sweet Coila's nymph thy lyre O string,
Again, till antient echoes all repeat,

Thy wood-notes, sweeter than the voice of spring,
And softer than the lainbkins softest bleat.
And with the breathings of thy soul inspire,
Some Scottish breast with all great Burns' fire.
KILMARNOCK, 1st. Jan. 1819.

THE ART OF PRINTING.

Hail mystic art! which men like angels taught,
To speak to eyes and paint unbody'd thought!
Though deaf, and dumb; blest skill reliev'd. by thee
We make one sense perform the task of three.
We see, we hear, we touch the head and heart,
And take, or give, what each but yields in part.

Verscs.

With the hard laws of distance we dispense,
And without sound, apart commune in sense :
View, tho' confin’d, nay rule this earthly ball,
And travel o'er the wide expanded All.
Dead letters thus with living notions fraught,
Prove to the soul the telescopes of thought;
To mortal life a deathless witness give,
And bid all deeds, and titles last and live.
In scanty life eternity we taste;

View the first ages, and inform the last,
Arts, hist'ry, laws, we purchase with a look,
And keep, like fate, all Nature in a book.

B. A.

VERSES.

The rock riven torrent yet roared in the glen
And the time-shattered cliffs wildly echoed again
The dark'ning storm which the morning had seen,
And full loudly recalled to the awe-struck mind,
The thunders, the lightnings, the rain, and the wind,
And the clash of the element's war that had been.

I turned to look round me-how diff'rent the scene!-
The earth was all beauty, the sky all serene,

The Sun had far advanced in his western way-
Had emerged from the clouds that bedimmed his light,
And dispelled them afar in promiscuous flight

And soon was to set, with the calm close of day.

And I said to myself-in the element's strife,
And the ev'nings still sun-set see pictured man's life:
In the year's of his youth when his passions are warm,
He fires at a trifle, and spurns at all rule;-

But a age overtakes him his mind grows cool,
And imparts to his life, to his death a charm.

GLENFINART, Jan. 4th, 1819.

ROTHSEYANUS.

Extracts from New Publications.

Extracts from New Publications.

FROM THE EUROPEAN MAGAZINE.

A LETTER FROM SLEEP.

TO THE EDITOR.

SIR,

My existence may be dated from the commencement of the world, being present with Adam when Eve was first introduced to his notice, and so favourable was the impression made through my means, that man was taught to love and admire. From that time down to the present hour it has been my peculiar province to heal the woes of the afflicted, administer comfort to the sick, and soothe the anguish of the disordered mind. Often with one touch have I effaced the impressions of anger, and cooled with a breath the burning of revenge.-Often when the son of misfortune has been treated with scorn, have I shed a balm over his soul, which has calmed his sorrows, and procured him that peace the world denied him.

Possessed of such a conciliating temper, it would seem natural that I should be universally admired and followed:-but no; for though none dare deny my power, many ridicule and even try to resist it. By some I am represented as a steady sober old maid, gradually approaching with the fall of night shade, and retiring with the early gleams of morning; others affirm that I am a professed enemy to all social habits, and are angry when I thrust in my head at the close of a debauch; others still more ridiculous, fly to the gaming table and tavern to preevent my embraces, though they are fully aware I must eventually receive them :-in short, the indignities I suffer are innumerable, especially in the higher classes, where the order of things is reversed and my attendance is commanded about the time I ought to be retiring.

But though I am sometimes looked upon as an officious intruder, I candidly confess there are not wanting those who are ready to testify the general benevolence of my disposition, and give me full credit for the praises I deserve. To these I allot a larger share of my bounty, not in quantity but in quality. Where is the poet who docs. not hail my approach with delight, that I may regulate his ideas and renovate his fancy? or the lover who does not meet me with rapture, that I may beguile his imagination with the charms of his mistress?indeed from the prince down to the peasant, I am regarded as a present relief to care, and in spite of occasional rebuffs, they all confess that some of their sweetest moments are passed in my company.

New Publications-Letter from Sleep.

There is, indeed, one species of animal, who for the sake of indulging himself in sensual delights prevents my approach as long as possible; and when at last he is compelled to sink into my arms, rails at me for putting a stop to his conviviality-nor is my presence on such occasions at all calculated to soothe him, for where the mind sinks into gross lasciviousness, and the body is disturbed with intemperance, my characteristic peacefulness is lost, and my influence destroyed.

But there is one feature in my character which will at least testify my independence; for I am not like many interested beings, so attached to the persons of the rich and powerful, as to neglect the poor and needy-nay, often have I slighted the urgent solicitations of the great, while reclining upon his luxurious couches and surrounded with every apparent comfort, to visit the cottage of the humble labourer, where, as a reward for his day's toil, I have shed my influence over his pallet of straw-and while the votary of wealth is offering in vain some of his vast possessions for a single smile, I bestow it unsolicited upon the very being whose poverty has subjected him to contempt.

It has often been asserted, and I confess with some degree of justice, that I am a notorious deceiver; but as iny frolics in this way have seldom, if ever, been attended with sinister consequences, I hope they will be thought excusable, especially as I am only partly coneerned in their fabrication. It is true I have often converted the palace of a prince into the state of a mechanic, and raised a humble labourer to the dignity of a king.-I have loaded poor men with abundance of wealth, and on the contrary, made rich men poor-I have married a man to a second wife, while the first was living, and have restored an infuriated virago to her husband, the very day he was congratulating himself upon her departure to say nothing of the quantity I have killed over and over again, or sent upon a long journey the very day they came home from the West Indies, with many, many others too tedious to enumerate:-suffice it to say, that notwithstanding these whimsical vagaries, I have the satisfaction to reflect that the delusions are but temporary, vanishing with myself, and causing no other than a momentary sensation.

There are, indeed, some who behold my approach with terror, and revile me because I cannot procure them that peace they seek for— I mean such as are too much accustomed to vice to enjoy my society pure and unadulterated-but on themselves be the curse, for wretched must they be who have rendered themselves incapable of receiving me by the ill regulated state of their minds-The first essential necessary for my reception being a clear conscience. I may soothe misfortune and calm solicitude but vice soars beyond my reach, and it is vain for me to attempt to bless that man who has identified himself with it.

But while I fly from such degrading instances of human nature, I turn with delight to more congenial feelings, to bless those who

From Dr. Hodgson's Synod Sermon.

yield with pleasure to my embraces. Health receives fresh vigour from my smiles, and sickness throws off her languishing at my approach. The mind is renovated, and the body strengthened. Innocence never looks half so beautiful, or age so venerable, as when reclining in my arms:— in fine, wherever virtue reigns there I rest with peculiar satisfaction, refreshing the whole system of human nature. Your humble servant,

SLEEP.

FROM DR. HODGSON'S SYNOD SERMON.

There is a country of small geographical extent; whose shores have been pronounced unhospitable, whose sky has been described as ever foul with clouds and whose surface is drenched with frequent rains, its produce is scanty, and its people have been represented as stretching out their hands to other nations for support. But to this country, the eyes of Europe have been directed, assembled senates make choice of it as their best example; when in high debate, they resolve the question of the advantages of knowledge: and orators delight to expatiate upon it as the land of educated men. Do you know that country my hearers? I am well persuaded that you distinguish its features, and rejoice in the proud peculiarity. Yes; and I am satisfied that there is not a mechanic, or a labourer among us who would not deprive himself of the comforts and even of the necessaries of life, in order to educate his children. And I offer thanksgiving to Almighty God, the father of mercies that there is not an individual in our streets, whose face would not glow with the deepest blushes, were he to utter the language which the poet has put into the mouth of the peasantry, in ano̟ther part of the island.

Approach and read, for thou canst read the lay,

(Thou canst read, but I cannot)

Graved on the rock, beneath yon aged thorn.

Or, if there be any individual, to whom the name of Scotchman can be applied, so sunk in the infamy of hopeless degradation, as to utter without emotion such a sentiment as this, we own no tie of brotherhood, and claim no community with him.

"Shall we, therefore, lightly esteem the men who have procured for us the high blessings of education? We revere their injured memory. Their names shall ever drop with sacred estimation from our lips; we will speak of their failings if we speak of them at all, as a child would allude to the failings of a parent; we will dwell on their bright example.".