ABEL.

God, who didst call the elements into

Earth, ocean, air, and fire; and with the day
And night, and worlds which these illuminate
Or shadow, madest beings to enjoy them,
And love both them and thee-all hail! all hail!

ADAII.

God, the Eternal! Parent of all things!

Who did'st create these best and beauteous beings,
To be beloved, more than all, save thee-

Let me love thee and them-all hail! all hail!

It must be owned these are beautiful addresses, and beautifully characteristic of the several characters. So is Cain's silence. He offers up no prayer, and when his silence is objected to-he then gives loose to the gloomy and bitter reflections of a wicked and self-loving spirit. His family endeavour to induce a better current of ideas, but in vain, he is left alone, and gives utterance to his thoughts.

Cain.

And this is

Life!-Toil! and wherefore should I toil? because
My father could not keep his place in Eden.
What had I done in this? I was unborn—

*

*

The tree was planted, and why not for him?
If not, why place him near it, where it grew
The fairest in the centre? They have but
One answer to all questions, "Twas His will,
And He is good." How know I that? Because
He is all-powerful, must all good, too, follow ?
I judge but by the fruits-and they are bitter-
Which I must feed on for a fault not mine.

Lord Byron has averred that, a "poet's feeling is the source of others' feeling,"-and would he have our feelings coincident with his on this occasion? for as he has rather out-stepped his au thorities, and Cain is the creature of his own coinage, we must infer that these are his lordship's own ideas. If these exclamations of Cain were answered, the evil would not be quite so great;

but there are many who will look to what is, not what might be ; especially when the poison is administered in sugar.

Lucifer now approaches, and Cain (ignorant of his person,) discourses with him: (being we must own, in a fit state for the devil's company.) And to shew what sort of a devil Lord Byron's is, we will now introduce part of their edifying conversation.

Lucifer. They say, what they must sing and say, on pain
Of being that which I am-and thou art-

Of spirits and of men.

Cain. And what is that?

Lucifer. Souls who dare use their immortality—
Souls who dare look the omnipotent tyrant in
His everlasting face, and tell him, that
His evil is not good! If he has made,

As he saith-which I know not, nor believe.
But if he made us, he cannot unmake—
We are immortal! Nay, he'd have us so,
That he may torture: let him! He is great-
But, in his greatness, is no happier than

We in our conflict! Goodness would not make
Evil; and what else hath he made?

No class of writers rule with such despotic influence over the hearts and feelings of the community, as poets. And can he, who knows this, and says that "a drop of ink may make millions think," can he make use of his powerful imagination only to create such ideas as these-and as Lucifer says

There is

A wisdom in the spirit that directs
To right,

Would he teach us that as right, which Lucifer would teach Cain? It is true Lord Byron couches his impiety under the devil's words—and that devil, in the author's words, is made to speak as spiritually as possible—and perhaps he does speak naturally, but why make him speak at all? An author has the choice of subjects, and if he makes the devil that subject, we must conclude of course, it is most at home to him. Milton indeed, has the devil for a personage-but not a chief one, nor does he seem to delight in his appearance. His words are powerless before the more powerful arguments that are objected; but here-the Devil and Cain have it all their own way-Cain's alienation from God and from good are the object. Powerful as is the execution, so much the more will this work be powerful to alienate others. Even Lucifer himself is not drawn to create that horror and detestation we ought to feel. Adah (who after they have been conversing some time on death, &c., joins them,) thus beautifully describes him :

Save in my father, who is God's own image;
Or in his angels, who are like to thee-
And brighter, yet less beautiful and powerful
In seeming; as the silent seeming moon,
All light they look upon us; but thou seem'st
Like an ethereal night, where long white clouds
Streak the deep purple, and unnumber'd stars
Spangle the wonderful mysterious vault
With things that look as if they would be suns ;
So beautiful, unnumber'd, and endearing,
Not dazzling, and yet drawing us to them,
They fill my eyes with tears-and so dost thou :
Thou seem'st unhappy; do not make us so,
And I will weep for thee.

It may be supposed that Lucifer and Cain are now become tolerably good friends. Cain agrees to accompany Lucifer on his flight beyond this world. The Second act opens in the abyss of space..

Cain. I tread on air, and sink not; yet I fear

To sink

Lucifer. Have faith in me, and thou shalt be
Borne on the air, of which I am the prince.

Cain. Can I do so without impiety?

Lucifer. Believe-and sink not! doubt-and perish! thus
Would run the edict of the other God,

Who names me demon to his angels; they

Echo the sound to miserable things,

Which, knowing nought beyond their shallow senses,
Worship the word which strikes their ear, and deem

Evil or good what is proclaim'd to them

In their abasement. I will have none such :

An hour, when, toss'd upon some water-drops,
A man shall say to a man, "Believe in me,
And walk the waters;" and the man shall walk
The billows, and be safe.

During their passage, Cain breaks out into the following beautiful effusion,

And unimaginable ether! and

Ye multiplying masses of increas'd

And still increasing lights! what are ye? What

Is this blue wilderness of interminable

Air, where ye roll along, as I have seen

The leaves along the limpid streams of Eden?

Is your course measur'd for ye? Or do ye

Sweep on in your unbounded revelry
Thro' an aerial universe of endless

Expansion, at which my soul aches to think,
Intoxicated with eternity?

Oh God! Oh Gods! or whatsoe'er ye are,
How beautiful ye are! how beautiful

Your works or accidents, or whatsoe'er
They may be!

*

*

Spirit! let me expire, or see them nearer.

They are lost in the clouds and re-appear in Hades, or regions of death-in the next scene.-The speculations and theories here introduced, are innocent and beautiful, and through the whole of this act, we know not whether to admire the wonderful imagination which can thus, at pleasure, play with worlds and their past inhabitants, or execrate the depravity which can out of every thing, produce evil. But as the immoral parts cannot be pleasant to our readers, and we have quoted more than enough to justify our conclusions, we will refer but to the beauties.

We think that the following description of Adah will be universally acknowledged as one of unalloyed felicity; with us, it has already found a place, with the Zuleikas, Medoras, and Julias of our earlier love.

Cain. My sister Adah--all the stars of heaven-
The deep blue noon of night, lit by an orb
Which looks a spirit, or a spirit's world-
The hues of twilight-the sun's gorgeous coming-
His setting indescribable, which fills

My eyes with pleasant tears as I behold

Him sink, and feel my heart float softly with him
Along that western paradise of clouds-

The forest shade-the green bough-the bird's voice-
The vesper birds, which seems to sing of love,

And mingles with the song of cherubim,

As the day closes over Eden's walls ;

All these are nothing, to my eyes and heart,

Like Adah's face: I turn from earth and heaven

This is beautiful-but we doubt whether it would have been possible in the perturbed chaos of Cain's feelings, for him to have ever thus felt the lovely aspect of nature.

In the third act we find Cain returned to earth, like many other travellers, little improved by his journey-indeed he excited even Lucifer's surprise once or twice during his travels. His gloom on his return, forms a fine contrast with the state of peace and domestic felicity he finds at his own home, where his wife is watching the sleep of their little son Enoch;

Adah. Soft! he awakes-Sweet Enoch !

Oh Cain! look on him; see how full of life,

Of strength, of bloom, of beauty, and of joy,
How like to me-how like to thee, when gentle,
For then we are all alike, is't not so Cain?
Mother, and sire, and son, our features are
Reflected in each other; as they are

In the clear waters, when they are gentle, and
When thou art gentle. Love us, then, my Cain;
And love thyself for our sakes, for we love thee.
Look! how he laughs and stretches out his arms,
And opens wide his blue eyes upon thine,
To hail his father; while his little form
Flutters as wing'd with joy. Talk not of pain!
The childless cherubs well might envy thee
The pleasures of a parent! Bless him, Cain!
As yet he hath no words to thank thee; but
His heart will, and thine own too.

Cain.

Bless thee, boy!

If that a mortal blessing may avail thee,
To save thee from the serpent's curse!
Adah.

Surely a father's blessing may avert
A reptile's subtilty.

It shall;

The previous occurrences have now well prepared us for what is to follow. Abel seeks Cain, and requests him to join in a sacrifice. Cain at length consents-they choose two altars. Abel, at Cain's request, commences praying.

Accept from out thy humble first of shepherds,
First of the first-born flocks-an offering,
In itself nothing-as what offering can be
Aught unto thee!-but yet accept it for
The thanksgiving of him who spreads it in
The face of thy high heaven, bowing his own
Even to the dust, of which he is, in honour,
Of thee, and of thy name, for evermore!
Cain. (Standing erect.)

Spirit! whate'er or whatsoe'er, thou art,
Omnipotent, it may be-and, if good,
Shown in the exemption of thy deeds from evil,
Jehovah upon earth!-and God in heaven!
And it may be with other names, because
Thine attributes seem many, as thy works-
If thou must be propitiated with prayers,
Take them! If thou must be indued with altars,
And soften'd with a sacrifice, receive them!

As were the prayers, so is their acceptance. Cain's offering is