— 13—

racters and the death of the two brothers are pictured with wonderful vividness; the gradual effect of sequestration, of absolute solitude on the mind, even to vacancy and anibilation, till the appearance of a living thing, a bird, awakens sympathy and consciousness,— all this forms a masterly picture of psychological pathology. But then there is no action nor movement in it, nothing to relieve the continuous strain of painful feelings, no dawning prospect even that the prisoner's country will„conquer with his martyrdom“, he himself„regaining his freedom with a sigh’. The real history of Bonnivard Byron did not know when he composed his „Prisoner“, and the imaginary history which he suggests is so vague, we cannot even guess its outlines.

„This was for my father's faith

I suffer'd chains and courted death“, the prisoner says; but this is scarcely sufficient to fix us as to the real cause and circumstances.

And then „At last men came to set me free,

l asked not why, and reck'd not where“. But awe should like to know.

But our chief objection is this: We do not know, nor can we guess or imagine when, to whom, under what circumstances Bonnivard gives this account of his captivity. Is it a soliloquy? Why then and for whom does he describe the situation of Chillon? And many other passages, beautiful though they be in themselves, are quite ſas unaccountable under this suppo- sition. Or are we to suppose that he relates his past sufferings and feelings to those who delivered him, whoever they were? This seems to be the only admissible supposition; else how

could he say: „— in these limbs its(the iron's) teeth remain

With marks that will not wear away, Till I have done with this new day, Which now is painful to these eyes, Which have not seen the sun so rise For years———? And yet this hypothesis also renders the description

„Lake Leman lies by Chillon's walls“ etc.

altogether unaccountable, as well as the concluding narrative: „At last men came to set me free“ etc.

The truth is, there is no plan of composition at all, and this is the case with many of Byron's pieces, a fatal defect as soon as they are of some length. Compare with the„Pri- soner of Chillon“ Chamisso's„Salas y Gomez“ and you will at once see the advantage derived from a simple plan and a well defined outline as a kind of frame.