species, accompanied by danger, would have a strong tendency to excite some feeling of the sublime. The largest snake ever seen in this country, might have some chance of exciting the feeling of sublimity, though a middling-sized one certainly would not. We call this object large, because it is large for its own species; though, going through all the chain of magnitudes, from a mountain to a grain of dust, we could hardly call such a snake a large object. Magnitude in height as a very lofty mountain-would excite the sublime, from mingling wonder with terror. In looking down from a lofty place, every one is aware of the terror mingled with the wonder. looking up to a lofty place, the terror is more faint, but still it may be distinctly recognised. The word we commonly use to express our feelings on such occasions, is awe; but such awe is most probably nothing but a distant conception of the personal danger we should experience if we were upon the height at which we are looking, if we were to slip from it, and be precipitated to the bottom. Silence is sublime to those who are unaccustomed to it, after a long residence in London. The profound silence of the country is quite affecting and impressive: "all the air a solemn stillness holds !" In The solitude of a Gothic cathedral, or that which reigns throughout an extensive ruin as at Tintern and Fountain's Abbey, - are very sublime. That such scenes of solitude and silence excite wonder in those little accustomed to them, there can be no doubt: but that faint tinge of danger is also discoverable in them which is so common an ingredient of the sublime: they remind us, however distantly, of our weak and unprotected state, and bring with them a faint and obscure image of death and danger. ""Tis as the general pulse Of life stood still, and nature made a pause- Infinity, perhaps, raises the idea of the sublime, by mixing the wonderful with terror: at least, I think there is a distinct impression of fear, produced by the notion of infinity; and certainly there is one of wonder. Immensity of any kind excites the notion of power, and the distant sense of fear. Look at a little green grass-plat before a house; nothing can be more insignificant: magnify it into a field; you are not struck with it: let it be a smooth, uniform, boundless plain, stretching on every side further than the eye can reach, and it becomes a sublime object. How vast must be the power that has arranged such a mass of matter! where does it lead to? what ends it? how dreadful it would be to cross it in a storm! how impossible to procure assistance! how remote from every human being!- these are the notions which pass rapidly through the mind, and impress it in the awful manner of which we are all conscious on such occasions. Wonder, in itself, is a pleasing passion; fear is not; and as the sublime inclines more to one or the other, it assumes different shades of character. Sometimes it borders more upon delight, from the very faint tinge of fear which is mingled with it; at others, it approaches much nearer to mere terror. There is in this description of the sublime, by Mr. Brydonne, as much delight as is well compatible with it: 66 "After contemplating these objects for some time, we "set off, and soon after arrived at the foot of the great "crater of the mountain. This is of an exact coni"cal figure, and rises equally on all sides. It is composed solely of ashes and other burnt materials, "discharged from the mouth of the volcano, which is "in its centre. This conical mountain is of a very "great size; its circumference cannot be less than ten "miles. Here we took a second rest, as the greatest part of our fatigue remained. We found this moun"tain excessively steep; and although it had appeared "black, yet it was likewise covered with snow, but 66 66 "the surface (luckily for us) was spread over with a pretty thick layer of ashes, thrown out from the "crater. Had it not been for this, we never should "have been able to get to the top, as the snow was every where frozen hard and solid, from the piercing "cold of the air. 66 "In about an hour's climbing, we arrived at a place "where there was no snow, and where a warm and "comfortable vapour issued from the mountain; "which induced us to make another halt. From this "spot it was only about 300 yards to the highest “summit of the mountain, where we arrived in full "time to see the most wonderful and most sublime "sight in nature. "But here description must ever fall short; for no "imagination has dared to form an idea of so glorious " and so magnificent a scene. Neither is there on the "surface of this globe, any one point that unites so many awful and sublime objects. The immense "elevation from the surface of the earth, drawn as it "were to a single point, without any neighbouring "mountain for the senses and the imagination to "rest upon, and recover from their astonishment in "their way down to the world: this point or pinnacle, "raised on the brink of a bottomless gulph, as old as "the world, often discharging rivers of fire, and "throwing out burning rocks, with a noise that "shakes the whole island: add to this, the unbounded "extent of the prospect, comprehending the greatest "diversity and the most beautiful scenery in nature; "with the rising sun, advancing in the east, to illu"minate the wondrous scene. 66 "The whole atmosphere by degrees kindled up, and "showed dimly and faintly the boundless prospect "around. Both sea and land looked dark and confused, as if only emerging from their original chaos, "and light and darkness seemed still undivided; till "the morning by degrees advancing, completed the "separation. The stars are extinguished, and the 66 "shades disappear. The forests, which but now "seemed black and bottomless gulphs, from whence no ray was reflected to show their form or colour, appear a new creation rising to the sight; catching "life and beauty from every increasing beam. The 66 66 66 66 66 scene still enlarges, and the horizon seems to widen "and expand itself on all sides; till the sun, like the great Creator, appears in the east, and with its plas"tic ray completes the mighty scene! All appears en"chantment and it is with difficulty we can believe we are still on earth. The senses, unaccustomed "to the sublimity of such a scene, are bewildered and "confounded; and it is not till after some time, that "they are capable of separating and judging of the "objects that compose it. The body of the sun is seen rising from the ocean, immense tracts both of sea "and land intervening; the islands of Lipari, Panari, "Alicudi, Stromboli, and Volcano, with their smoking "summits, appear under your feet; and you look "down on the whole of Sicily as on a map; and can "trace every river through all its windings, from its source to its mouth. The view is absolutely bound"less on every side; nor is there any one object, "within the circle of vision, to interrupt it; so that "the sight is every where lost in the immensity: and "I am persuaded it is only from the imperfection of our organs, that the coasts of Africa, and even of "Greece, are not discovered, as they are certainly "above the horizon."* 66 66 This description, by Sir William Hamilton, of the eruption of Vesuvius, is of a totally opposite character; and the sublimity of it, is almost entirely destroyed by the horrors it contains: 66 "In an instant," he says, 66 a fountain of liquid fire began to rise, and, gradually increasing, rose to the "amazing height of 10,000 feet, and upwards: the "blackest smoke accompanied the red-hot, transparent, * Brydonne, vol. i. p. 200. 66 "and liquid lava, interrupting its splendid brightness "here and there, by patches of the darkest hue. Within "these clouds of smoke, at the very moment they broke "out, pale electrical fire was seen playing about in ob"lique lines. The wind, though gentle, was sufficient "to carry these blasts of smoke out of the column of "fire, and a collection of them by degrees formed a "black and extensive curtain behind it, while other parts of the sky were clear, and the stars entirely 66 bright. All this time the miserable inhabitants of Ottajano were involved in the utmost distress and "danger, by the showers of stones which fell upon "them. Many of the inhabitants flew to the churches, "and others were preparing to quit the town, when a "sudden and violent report was heard, and presently "fell a vast shower of stones and large pieces of "scoriæ, some of which were of the diameter of seven or eight feet, and must have weighed, before they "fell, above one hundred pounds. In an instant, the "town, and country about it, was on fire in many 66 66 66 places. To add to the horror of the scene, incessant "volcanic lightning was rushing about the black "cloud that surrounded them, and the sulphurous "smell would scarcely allow them to draw their "breath. In this dreadful situation they remained "about twenty-five minutes, when the volcanic "storm ceased at once; and Vesuvius remained sullen "and silent." The sublimity of the first of these descriptions approaches the confines of the beautiful; in the last, of the horrible. We must take great care, in the selection of sublime objects, not to choose those which are too horrible; or which remind us too intimately of danger; because, as the sublime always implies some mixture of pleasure, strong compassion and violent horror entirely destroy it." All sounds," says Mr. Alison, "in general are sublime, which are associated "with the idea of danger; the howling of a storm, "the murmuring of an earthquake, the report of |