To wait for ever on this lonely rock,
Than be a lackey at the heels of Jove,

And do his errands.-Those who dare t'insult,
Are answered best in their own way,-by insult.

HERMES. Thou seemest well pleased with this thy present

state.

PROMETH. Pleased! would that I might see my foes thus pleased,

And you among them, for I hold you one.

HERMES. And why reproach me for thy evil fortune?
PROMETH. In short I tell thee that I hate them all,
All-every god-who from me have received
Good offices, and thus entreat me ill-

HERMES. Thou'rt mad, I find, Prometheus,-not a little!
PROMETH. If hatred towards my foes be any madness,

It is a madness which I would not lose.

HERMES. If thou wert happy, who could bear with thee? PROMETH. Alas!

HERMES.

Such sounds Jove has not learned to utter.
PROMETH. Time teaches all things, as it older grows.
HERMES. But from it you have not learnt wisdom yet.
PROMETH. I should not else address thee-a base servitor.
HERMES. Thou then will answer nought to what Jove asks.
PROMETH. If I did owe him kindness, I'd repay it.
HERMES. And you have rated me, as if a boy.
PROMETH. Art thou not one, more foolish than a boy,

If thou canst hope to hear replies from me?
There is no treatment, be it e'er so harsh,

No contumely, no device at all,

By which Jove can induce me to declare

What he would know, till from these painful fetters,
He who confined me in them, sets me free.
Then let him hurl his blazing bolts around,
Disturb the face of heaven with furious whirlwinds
Of whitening snow-and let him in his ire,
With earth-conceived thunder, shake the world.
Nothing shall bend me from my purpose stern,
His power, his terrors ne'er shall make me say
What force shall wrench the sceptre from his gripe.
HERMES. Consider if this course will aught avail thee.
PROMETH. This have I seen and long before revolved.
HERMES. Too bold and rash thou art, but learn, thus daring,
Rightly to estimate thy present pains.

PROMETH. Thou troublest me in vain with thy advice; Like busy waves upon the solid rock

Thy words fall idly on mine ear-I heed them not.

But never think of me, that dread of Jove,
And of the punishment he may inflict,
Will move my mind to womanish lament,

Or to entreat my hated adversary,

With suppliant hands stretched out, as females use,
To free me from these chains. Far be it from me.
HERMES. I see indeed my words will nought avail-
That thou art hard and stubborn-that no prayers
Will soothe or soften thy determined soul;
For like a steed, in youth and mettle high,

Thou champ'st the bit-and though in vain th'attempt,
Still strugglest fiercely with the guiding reins.
Thou'rt haughty still, though impotent thou be.
But stubborn pride, if not combined with reason,
Is less than nought at all. But mark my words,
See, if thou wilt not be obedient to my bidding,
An unavoidable and endless storm

Of woes in triple ranks shall burst upon thee;
This rugged chasm will Jove rend apart
With thunder and with lightning, and will cover
Thy body with the ruin: and the rock, with arms
Of stone, shall keep thee bound and fettered fast.
At last, accomplished a long space of time,
To light thou shalt return: and then the bird-
That winged hound of Jove, the bloody eagle,
Shall tear thy mangled body-piece by piece-
A daily but unwelcome guest-and riot
Each day upon thy torn and blackening liver.
Expect no termination to these pangs,
Until some god shall come, willing to take
Thy place and undergo the pains for thee-
And venture to the rayless realms of Hades,
And the dark depths of Tartarus profound.
Therefore reflect for these no words of boast,
Patched up in sounding terms, but truly said.
The mouth of Jove knows not to frame a lie ;
But what he says will come to pass. Do thou
Be cautious and be prudent-nor believe

A stubborn pride better than friendly counsel..

CHORUS. The words of Hermes seasonable appear,

To us at least-he bids thee lay aside

Thy haughty spirit, and to follow out

The wise suggestions of thine own good counsel:
Oh, be advised; for it is not becoming

That one as wise as thou should foully err.

PROMETH. His message well I knew before he showed it : That foe from foe should suffer pain extreme

Cannot be strange, or even unexpected;

Then let him hurl on my defenceless head

His curling flames and double-pointed lightnings,
And with his thunder let the vault of heaven
Be set at strife against itself; while warring gales
In contest meet, and rend the upper sky;
And let the fierce abyss-engendered wind
Make earth to totter from its very base,
And shake in all her roots; and let him dash
The heaped-up surges of the bellowing main;
Let him the stars in one dread ruin blend,
And tear them from their paths. Nay, let him hurl
Me-bound by chains of dire necessity,

And drawn within her whirlpool-down at once
To gloomy Tartarus; and let him do

All this and more-but he shall ne'er succeed

To quench th' immortal spirit that lies in me.

HERMES. These are the words and thoughts of raving madness:

In what does this fall short of hopeless frenzy ?

If he will go so far, why stop at all

On this side madness? One step more will bring him—

But ye whose tender hearts feel for his woes

Fly hence in haste, before the awful peal

Of the loud thunder stupify your sense.

CHORUS. Try other means-a different way
Thy thoughts and counsels to convey;
Where pleaded reason may prevail,
Nor business foul the specious tale.
Ill hast thou urged thy reason-ill
"Twould be for me t'obey thy will!
How! wouldst thou bid me basely turn
From him whose wretched state I mourn?
Far be it from me! for 'twere just
To suffer with him what he must-

Such is my will-for I have learned to hate
The vile betrayer of another's fate;

No crime so dark, nor other is there one

That with such loathing I do look upon.
HERMES. Well! but remember that you're warned,
Although my friendly words be scorned;

I warn you that it is too late

If ill o'ertake you, blame not fate;
Say not that Jove in ire had cast
Woes in an unexpected blast.

No, truly! chide yourselves, the same

Who did the deed should bear the blame;

For, wittingly, with rash intent,

And on your purpose firmly bent,
Neither unwarned, nor unawares,
But as a man who vengeance dares,
Senseless yourselves ye implicate

Within the tangled net of fate.

PROMETH. His words are true! the earth below

Unsteadily rocks to and fro;

The bellowing thunder loudly roars,
Startling the echoes of these shores;
And the fire-twisted bolts of heaven
Across the sky are wildly driven.
The sands in eddying whirlwinds rise-
A mighty cone the whirlwind flies;
The winds from every quarter pour,

And in a ceaseless contest roar;

Wind sounds on wind with hostile shock;

Shakes to its base the solid rock.

Earth with the skies, skies with the sea

Confounded, meet in enmity:
Behold-from Jove this furious storm,
Which beats on my defenceless form!
Thou ether-pure, eternal, bright,
And thou, dread mother, dost thou see-
Who pour'st on all thy flood of light!-
How thy son suffers wrongfully?

[Prometheus sinks into the earth.

End of Prometheus bound.

LITERARY NOTICES.

A Scamper through Italy and the Tyrol; showing the Minimum of Expense and Time necessary for a Visit to the Italian Cities. By a Gentleman. Smith.

In these days

POSITIVELY the world is at last enlightened by a modest man! of little trips and lengthy books, when all the world travels about by steam over itself, and describes itself in volumes that all the world finds it heavy to hold, arises one scamperer that compileth not a book, yet publisheth. A Scamper through Italy, the very title gives us respect for the writer-an open, honest, candid English gentleman. In 120 pages the reader scampers with the writer at a rattling pace through Paris, Lyons, Avignon, Marseilles; Genoa, Leghorn, Pisa, Naples, Rome, Florence; Bologna, Venice, Trent, and Tyrol, Rheineck, Zurich, Basle, Strasburg, Cologne, Mannheim, Aix-la-Chapelle, and Antwerp, to London, a pleasant rattle, in good sooth. Minimum of time allowed for the above scamper, fifty-two days. Fares for diligences, boats, tables d'hôtes, &c., are laid down; it is a practically useful book to a large class of people,-those who would spend a holiday of a month or two in travel, and are desirous of seeing as much as possible for their time and money. For the benefit of those of our readers of this class who do not buy the book, that is to say, we hope, for the benefit of nobody, we transcribe the author's concluding excellent advice :

-3

"If you would know the blessings of liberty, the irksomeness of restraint, the necessity of forbearance,—if you would ascertain your temper, and be rid of prejudice,-in short, if you would become wiser, happier, better,— TRAVEL. With more time, and at greater expense, you may see all that I have seen with ease; but if you would enjoy what I have enjoyed,-would fully appreciate health and strength, economy and independence,―rough it; I say emphatically, ROUGH IT!"

A Tale of a Tiger. By J. S. Cotton, 7th M. L. C. Tilt and Bogue.

We scarcely think it necessary to praise this book; every one has seen that most comical of all series of plates entitled the New Tale of a Tub; and many have wished they were not quite so expensive. The author of the plates now disclaims the polished edition of Aubry, Colnaghi, & Co., and publishes his own originals in self-defence. They are not a whit less witty than the halfguinea version.