CRITICAL OBSERVATIONS.

THE SHIPWRECK is one of those happy productions in which talent is seen in so exquisite adaptation to the nature of the subject. that it is difficult to determine whether the author is the most indebted to his subject, or the subject to the author. No one who had not passed through the circumstances which, Falcopes, describes, could have painted them as he has done; and of the comparatively few who have had the opportunity of drinking in the fearful inspiration of such scenes, and survived to tell of them, Falconer is the first who appears to have possessed the genius requisite to retain and embody the impression, with the vigour of imagination and the fidelity of memory. It was not more necessary

that he should be a poet, than that he should be a He was eminently both; and the Poem

seaman.

is as perfect in every technical excellence, as it is in respect to the simplicity of its plan, the classical elegance of its composition, and the pathos of its narrative. It is altogether a unique production.

Falconer originally designed the Poem, (as appears from an advertisement prefixed to the second edition, published in 1764,) for the entertainment of the gentlemen of the sea;" but he complains that they had not formed one tenth of the purchasers. He printed that edition in a cheaper form, expressly with a view to render it more acceptable to the inferior officers. Falconer was thoroughly the seaman; he was warmly attached to the profession, and prided himself more on his nautical science than on his literary talents. The author of the SHIPWRECK compiled a "Universal Dictionary of the Marine," a work which cost him years of extraordinary

application. The SHIPWRECK is said to comprise within itself the rudiments of navigation, so as even to claim to be considered as a grammar of the nautical science. The correctness of the rules and maxims laid down in the Poem, for the conduct of a ship under circumstances of perilous emergency, render it extremely valuable to

the seaman.

The notes originally affixed to the Poem, in explanation of the technical terms, the frequent introduction and euphonous arrangement of which, form so striking a peculiarity of the composition, were thought necessary by the Author, on account of there being, at that time, no modern dictionaries to which he could refer the reader, without forfeiting, by his implied commendation of them, his claim to the professional character he had assumed,—a claim of which he professes himself to be much more tenacious, than of his reputation as a poet.

Fresh-water critics venture out of their element in entering upon a minute examination of such a

poem as this. The care with which it appears to have been elaborated, has, however, left little for the invidious notice of criticism. In a few instances, the hand of correction has been injudiciously applied in the editions of the Poem subsequent to its first appearance; it is conjectured, that some of the alterations in the third edition, which are of this nature, are to be attributed to his having left the final revision to his friend Mallet, who, although a poet, was not a seaman. If the style of the Poem is faulty in any respect, it is in that of the too ambitious phraseology, by which it seems to have been Falconer's effort to sustain the epic dignity of the narrative. Into this fault the models of the day were adapted to seduce any young writer, and the versification he adopted, presents a constant temptation to artificial and inverted forms of expression. Thus, for instance, to weigh anchor, is paraphrased in the following line:

"Or win the anchor from its dark abode."

The frequency of the classical allusions, by which also the Poet probably intended to render his work more secundum artem poetical, is justified by their local propriety. As suggested by the surrounding scenery, they seem perfectly natural, and they are introduced, generally, with considerable skill and effect. The most pleasing parts of the Poem, however, are those in which the narration is characterized by all the simplicity of the seaman, rather than by the embellishments of a half-learned taste.

Short and simple are the annals of poor ARION's history. He was born at Edinburgh, about the year 1730. His father was a poor but industrious barber, who had to maintain a large family, under the distressing circumstance of all his children, with the single exception of William, being either deaf or dumb. Reading English, writing, and a little arithmetic, comprised the whole of Falconer's education, although he afterwards acquired some knowledge of the French,