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Article LITERARY NOTICES. Page 1 of 6 →
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Literary Notices.
LITERARY NOTICES .
The llaud-Book of Masonry . By the Rev . G . Oliver , D . D . Spencer . This , the latest emanation from the pen of the masonic historian , has reached us too late for present notice . It shall , however , meet our attention in the ensuing Number . Latomia . Vol . XL , Part 11 . Leipsic . AA'e cannot close the volume of this year without calling tlie attention of the Craft to the continuous publication above named , and of
which we have had frequent occasion to speak . At the same time , we take the opportunity of thanking the proprietors of that periodica ! for its transmission to us , its-papes having served us frequently with matter for translation , and have afforded our readers both instruction and amusement . AA'e shall be glad to find it enjoying the large circulation to which its merits entitle it , for the promulgation of its doctrines will assist to extend the true principles of Freemasonry .
To the Operatives of Great Britain , on Life Assurance . By Anthony Peck , B . A . A modest , unpretending , but highly valuable digest , addressed to the working classes , with a truthful sincerity , and , it may be hoped , with considerable effect . The higher classes should also read it as a means whereby they may perceive how great are the opportunities of doing good .
Madonna Pia , and other Poems . By J . G . Grant . Smith and Elder . To those who are familiar—as who is not?—with Dante ' s immortal masterpiece , the " A'ladonna Pia" of Air . Grant will be especially welcome , if not informed with the severer spirit of the stern old Florentine , it is nevertheless pervaded by a pathos that is eminently Dantesque . The subdued wail of suffering humanity ; the undertones in which the heart of woman—desolate and sorrowing—gives utterance to the woe which
crushes it , fill every verse with sad and solemn nmsic . In the emotion which it begets , and in the painful interest which it excites ancl continuously sustains , this poem may indeed compare—we had almost said take equal rank—with the " Gierke ' s Tale" of Chaucer , Byron ' s " Prisoner of Chillon , " and the " Haunted House" of Hood . Less diffuse than the poem of Sestini upon the same subject , it is equally vigorous , musical in dictionand direct iu the appeals it makes to the active imagination antl
, quick sympathies of the attentive student . The poem opens with a burst of sunshine , brief and fitful as the sunshine of an April day . The betrothal antl the bridal of Pia and Pietra , fraught with the promise of a happy future , would seem to prelude all that woman ' s sanguine trusting heart could well desire :
" For hope and full fruition were at strife Which should make loveliest the paths of life . Never should hope or fear their steps divide—Never should love in their deep hearts decay—Never should joy or sorrow , side from side Sever their rich affections , night or day ! Never should jealousy ( the jaundice-eyed Arid canker-hearted ) make of them a prov !— ¦ ' Never , oh never 1 ' blinding Passion cried'Never , oh never ! ' blinded Faith replied ! "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Literary Notices.
LITERARY NOTICES .
The llaud-Book of Masonry . By the Rev . G . Oliver , D . D . Spencer . This , the latest emanation from the pen of the masonic historian , has reached us too late for present notice . It shall , however , meet our attention in the ensuing Number . Latomia . Vol . XL , Part 11 . Leipsic . AA'e cannot close the volume of this year without calling tlie attention of the Craft to the continuous publication above named , and of
which we have had frequent occasion to speak . At the same time , we take the opportunity of thanking the proprietors of that periodica ! for its transmission to us , its-papes having served us frequently with matter for translation , and have afforded our readers both instruction and amusement . AA'e shall be glad to find it enjoying the large circulation to which its merits entitle it , for the promulgation of its doctrines will assist to extend the true principles of Freemasonry .
To the Operatives of Great Britain , on Life Assurance . By Anthony Peck , B . A . A modest , unpretending , but highly valuable digest , addressed to the working classes , with a truthful sincerity , and , it may be hoped , with considerable effect . The higher classes should also read it as a means whereby they may perceive how great are the opportunities of doing good .
Madonna Pia , and other Poems . By J . G . Grant . Smith and Elder . To those who are familiar—as who is not?—with Dante ' s immortal masterpiece , the " A'ladonna Pia" of Air . Grant will be especially welcome , if not informed with the severer spirit of the stern old Florentine , it is nevertheless pervaded by a pathos that is eminently Dantesque . The subdued wail of suffering humanity ; the undertones in which the heart of woman—desolate and sorrowing—gives utterance to the woe which
crushes it , fill every verse with sad and solemn nmsic . In the emotion which it begets , and in the painful interest which it excites ancl continuously sustains , this poem may indeed compare—we had almost said take equal rank—with the " Gierke ' s Tale" of Chaucer , Byron ' s " Prisoner of Chillon , " and the " Haunted House" of Hood . Less diffuse than the poem of Sestini upon the same subject , it is equally vigorous , musical in dictionand direct iu the appeals it makes to the active imagination antl
, quick sympathies of the attentive student . The poem opens with a burst of sunshine , brief and fitful as the sunshine of an April day . The betrothal antl the bridal of Pia and Pietra , fraught with the promise of a happy future , would seem to prelude all that woman ' s sanguine trusting heart could well desire :
" For hope and full fruition were at strife Which should make loveliest the paths of life . Never should hope or fear their steps divide—Never should love in their deep hearts decay—Never should joy or sorrow , side from side Sever their rich affections , night or day ! Never should jealousy ( the jaundice-eyed Arid canker-hearted ) make of them a prov !— ¦ ' Never , oh never 1 ' blinding Passion cried'Never , oh never ! ' blinded Faith replied ! "