240 The Malediction of Minerva; qualities of the cytisus, but they furnish a very imperfect description of it, and the moderns differ very much respecting the plant which ought to bear that name. Some have conjectured it to be the medicago arborea L. but M. de Berneaux is of opinion, that it is more probably the cytisus laburnum L. But as Pliny clearly speaks of the latter tree by the name of laburnum, and considers it as being distinct from the cytisus; as on the other hand, some particulars in the description of the cytisus given by Dioscorides, are [April 1, not perfectly applicable to it; the opinion of M. de Berneaux on this subject is still attended with some difficulties. A circumstance which, indeed,will always throw difficulties in the way of such inquiries is, that neither Pliny nor most of the ancient naturalists, had sufficient sagacity to avoid treating, unwittingly, of the same plant under different names, or of different plants under the same name, in the compilatious which they have left us. ORIGINAL POETRY. THE MALEDICTION OF MINERVA ; OR, THE ATHENIAN MARBLE-MERCHANT. SLOW sinks now lovely ere his race be run, Along Morea's hills the setting sun; Gilds the green wave that trembles as it flows Since o'er the Dardan fields in arms she rang'd! Gone were the terrors of her awful brow, 'Scap'd from the ravage of the Tusk and Goth, What more I owe let gratitude attest, Th' insulted wall sustains his hated name.* Below, his name; above, behold his deeds. none, But basely stole what less Barbarians won: their own, The last base brute securely gnaws the bone. The olive branch, which still she deign'd to Behold, where DIAN's beams disdain to shine: clasp, Shrunk from her hand and wither'd in her grasp. And ah! though still the brightest of the sky, WOC. * * One of the latest of our oriental travellers relates this anecdote:-When the wholesale spoliator alluded to visited Athens, he caused his own name, together with that of his wife, to be inscribed on a pillar of one of the prin cipal temples: this inscription was executed in a very conspicuous manner, and deeply engraved in the marble, at a very considerable elevation. Notwithstanding which pre Mortal! ('twas thus she spoke) that blush cautions, some person (doubtless inspired by of shame Proclaims thee Briton-once a noble name- Le here, in spite of war and wasting fire, the patron-goddess) has been at the pains to get himself raised up to the requisite height, and has obliterated the name of the laird, but left that of the lady untouched. The traveller in question accompanied this story by a remark, that it must have cost some labour and contrivance to get at the place, and could only have been effected by much zeal and determination. 1815.] or, the Athenian Marble-merchant. Some retribution still might PALLAS claim, not; ATHENA! no-the plunderer was a Scot.* towers Survey Boeotia: Caledonia's powers, [Here follow, in the original, certain lines which the Editor has exercised his discretion by suppressing; inasmuch as they comprise national reflections which the bard's justifiable indignation has made him pour forth against a people which, if not universally of an amiable, is generally of a respectable character; and deserves not in this case to be censured en masse for the faults of an individual.] Dispatch her reck'ning children far and wide: Some east, some west, some ev'ry where but north. And thus accursed be the day and year Shake off the mossy slime of such a land, Bear back my mandate to thy native shore. Hear then, in silence, Pallas' stern behest; The plaster wall on the west side of the temple of MINERVA-POLIAS bears the following inscription, cut in very deep cha 241 To sell, and make (may shame record the day) The state receiver of his pilfer'd prey. Hiâtus valde deflendus. And last of all, amidst the gaping crew, "Nor will this conduct (i. e. sacrilegious plunder of ancient edifices) appear wonderful in men, either by birth, or by habits and grovelling passions, barbarians, (i. e. Goths) when in our own times, and almost before our own eyes, persons of rank and education have not hesitated to disfigure the most ancient and the most venerable monuments of Grecian architecture, to tear the works of Phidias and Praxiteles from their original position, and demolish fabrics, which time, war and barbarism had respected during twenty centuries. The French, whose rapacity the voice of Europe has so loudly and so justly censured,did not incur the guilt of dismantling ancient edifices: they spared the walls, and contented themselves with statues and paintings, and even these they have collected and arranged in halls and galleries, for the inspection of travellers of all nations; while, if report does not deceive us, our plunderers have ransacked the temples of Greece to sell their booty to the highest bidder, or at best. to piece the walls of some obscure old mansion with fragments of Parian marble, and of attic sculpture." (Eustace's Classical Tour through Italy, p. 158.) ***** "But alas! all the monuments of Roman magnificence, all the remains of Grecian taste, so dear to the artist, the historian, the antiquary; all depend on the will of an arbitrary sovereign, and that will is influenced too often by interest or vanity, by a nephew, or a sycophant. Is a new palace to be erected (at Rome) for an upstart family? the Coliseum is stripped to furnish materials. Does a foreign minister wish to adorn the bleak walls of a northern castle with antiques? the temples of THESEUS OF MINERVA must be dismantled, and the works of Phidias or Praxiteles be torn from the shattered frieze. That a decrepit uncle, wrapped up in the religious duties of his age and station, should listen to the suggestions of an interested nephew, is natural; and that an oriental despot should undervalue the master-pieces of Grecian art, is to be expected; though in both cases the consequences of such weakness are much to be lamented; but that the minister of a nation, famed for its knowledge of the language, and its veneration for the monuments of ancient Greece, should have been the prompter and the instrument of these destructions is almost incredible. Such rapacity is a crime against all ages and all generations: it deprives the past of the trophies of their genius and the title-deeds of their fame; the present, of the strongest inducements to exertion, the noblest exhi 212 The Convicts; or, the Power of Conscience. In silent admiration, mix'd with grief, Shall ve geance follow far beyond the tomb. THE CONVICTS; STEROPES. OR, THE POWER OF CONSCIENCE. (Continued from page 135.) Though guilt may pall it in hell's dunnest veil, Though all the ends of human justice fail, Though God's vicegerent in the human breast May leave off chiding and appear supprest; Yet come it will, or soon or late, that hour When conscience will assert her awful power; Like flames of fire she rages unconfin'd, [street, Wraps in its flaming spires the house or Nor ceases till destruction's work's complete. Say, who can stand unscathed by the storm, Nor dread the stings of conscience' deathless worm ? 'Tis he alone whose constant aim and end Are to engage bright virtue as his friend. These miscreants vile cut off from all the Deep in a dungeon's gloom by justice hurl'd, Despair retorts,-too great to be forgiven. bitions that curiosity can contemplate; the future, of the master-pieces of art, the models of imitation. To guard against the repeti tion of such depredations is the wish of every man of genius, the duty of every man in power, and the common interest of every civilized nation." (Ibid. p. 269.) ***** This attempt to transplant the temple of Vesta from Italy to England may, perhaps, do honour to the late Lord BRISTOL's patriotism, or to his magnificence; but it cannot be considered as an indication of either taste or judgment. (Ibid. p. 419.) [April 1, At midnight's hour, when all else soundly slept, Each night the wretch an awful vigil kept, Each night were heard loud issuing from his ceil The groan of anguish, terror's frenzied yell, The fierce attack of horror and despair; Untouch'd would stand from time to time his food, His gloomy soul by conscience was subdued. One morn when they unlock'd his dungeon door, Exanimate he lay upon the floor; His hollow eyes with deathlike film were glaz'd, Rous'd by the noise unconsciously he gaz'd. Through it they flee, it closes on them all; My words reject not, spurn not my request, Remove me from this den with horrors fraught, Horrors so dire surpassing human thought; Urg'd by entreaties which he hourly made, Before a justice was the wretch convey'd, With quiv'ring lips and many a frantic start This conscience-smitten rogue unfolds his heart: 1815.7 Proceedings of the University of Oxford. I hear that doom while awe suspends my breath, Which gives the culprit to the stroke of Dragg'd from the bar my fetter'd form I view Death's apparatus dire I shuddering see, Behold thy doom, thou wretch to mercy lost, Thou dream'dst not then of retribution's Thy victim's blood to Heav'n for vengeance cries, The bolts of vengeance glitter through the Hark how the fiends with one accordant yell 243 Till nature, quite subdu'd with deep affright, No knowledge or device within the grave, life. I've told my horrors, now my crimes I'll tell: On me may justice all her fury cast, At next assizes was the culprit tried ; Him from her soil his injur'd country sends, INTELLIGENCE IN LITERATURE AND THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. PROCEEDINGS OF UNIVERSITIES. OXFORD, Feb. 4.-John Scott, of Brasennose Coll, and Thos. Mayo, of Oriel, masters of arts, and students in medicine, were admitted bachelors, and had licences to practise in medicine. Feb. 14. The following gentlemen were admitted to degrees: M. A.-Rev. J. C. Williams, of Worcester Coll. B. A.—Mr. B. Edwardes, of Christ Ch. B. D.-Řev. T. W. Mead, of St. John's M. A.—Mr. J. P. Ord, of University Feb. 21. In a convocation, the following appointments were made:-Rev. Matth. Rolleston, M. A. fellow of University Coll. select preacher in the room of the Rev. Mr. Taylor, of Christ Ch. resigned.-Rev. G. L. Cooke, B. D. fellow of Corpus Christi Coll. and Rev. Wm. Corne, B. D. student of Christ Church, public examiners; to succeed next Michaelmas. In a congregation were admitted to degrees: M. A.-Rev. Jos. Sheppard, of St. John's. Same day, in convocation, it was decreed to grant 5001. from the University Chest, in aid of the fund for erecting and establishing a Lunatic Asylum in the county of Oxford. Feb. 28-In a full convocation, the Rev. Jas. Ingram, B. D. fellow of Trin. Coll. and late Saxon professor, was elected keeper of the archives of the university, in the room of the very Rev. the Provost of Worcester Coll. who had resigned. In the same convocation, T. H. Bobart, superior bedel of law was elected one of the coroners for the university, in 244 Proceedings of the University of Cambridge. the room of Wm. Rhodes, M. A. deceased. March 1.-The following gentlemen were admitted to degrees: B. D.--Rev. T. E. Bridges, and Rev. S. M. A.—Rev. H. Taylor, and Rev. B. B. A.-Mr. H. Porter, of Brasennose. The Sedleian professor of natural philosophy proposes to begin a course of lectures on the Principles of Mechanics, on the 18th April. They will be free of admission to all bachelors and undergraduates of the university. March 11.-The following gentlemen were admitted to degrees: M. A.-Rev. H. Shrubb, of Exeter Coll.; March 14-Rev. Jas. Parsons, M. A. vice-principal of St. Alban Hall, was admitted B. D. March 16.-In a convocation the honorary degree of M. A. was conferred on Thos. Lloyd, esq. gentleman commoner of Brasenuose, and on Rich. Atkinson, esq. gentleman commoner of Queen's Coll. CAMBRIDGE, Feb. 18.- Mr. J. L. Dampier, of King's Coll. was admitted fellow of that society. Feb. 20.—Mr. Fisher, of Jesus Coll. was admitted bachelor in physic. The silver cup annually given at Clare Hall to the commencing bachelor most distinguished for regularity of conduct, is this year adjudged to Mr. Rob. Ridsdale, formerly of Leeds. Two students have been recently expelled from Sidney Coll. charged with assaulting an inhabitant of the town. The late Dr. Smith's two annual prizes for the best proficients in mathematics and natural philosophy among the commencing bachelors of arts, are this year adjudged to Mr. Leicester, of Trin. Coll. and Mr. Calvert, of Jesus Coll. the first and second wranglers. March 1.-The following gentlemen were admitted to degrees: B. D.-Rev. Chas. Phillips, and Rev. March 2.-Rev. Jos. H. Batten, of [April 1, Trin. Coll. professor in the E. Ind. Coll. Hertford, was admitted D. D. by royal mandate. Same day, Rev. J. S. Dunn, of St. John's Coll. was admitted B. A. March 6.-The chancellor's two me dals for the best proficients in classical learning, are adjudged to Mr. Waddington, of Trinity, and Mr. Owen, of St. John's.. March 10.-The following gentlemen were admitted to degrees : D. D.-Rev. Jas. Satterthwaite, late Hon. M. A.-Hon. R. J. Smith, of Christ M. A-H. W, Salmon, and J. Tindall, B. Med.-F. Thackeray, Emanuel Coll. Same day, Mr. C. Thirlwall, and Mr. J. H. Fisher, both of Trinity Coll. were elected university scholars on Dr. Bell's foundation. March 13.-F. R. Hall, M. A. and F. Fallows, A. F. Williams, and W. Owen, Bachelors of Arts, of St. John's Coll. were elected foundation fellows of that society; and J. Bullen, B. A. a Platt fellow. The Rev. Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Vicar of Harrow, has in the press a poem entitled De Rance. Mr. RICHARD BENSON, of Newry, Ireland, has announced by subscription a poem entitled Morni, an Irish 'bardic story. Mr. WM. WORDSWORTH will publish, early in April, a new poem, under the title of The White Doe of Rylstone, or the Fall of the Nortons, in a 4to. volume. The Rev. Dr. LEDWICH, the venerable author of the Antiquities of Ireland, is preparing for the press a new translation of Sir JAMES WARE's Antiquities of that part of the United Kingdom, ornamented with numerous maps and plates from original drawings, and considerable additions. Marshal DE VAUDENCOURT is prepar |