rwards to become, more perhaps than any other,
the master-mover of his spirit. It may be added, that great
judgment and taste are perceptible in this translation, which is
by no means a literal one; and in which the phraseology of
Sophocles is not ill substituted, in some passages, for that of
Dante.

"The Latin poetry of an Etonian is generally reckoned at that
School the chief test of his literary talent. That of Arthur was
good without being excellent; he never wanted depth of thought,
or truth of feeling; but it is only in a few rare instances, if
altogether in any, that an original mind has been known to utter
itself freely and vigorously, without sacrifice of purity, in a
language the capacities of which are so imperfectly understood;
and in his productions there was not the thorough conformity to
an ancient model which is required for perfect elegance in Latin
verse. He took no great pleasure in this sort of composition;
and perhaps never returned to it of his own accord.

"In the latter part of his residence at Eton, he was led away
more and more by the predominant bias of his mind, from the
exclusive study of ancient literature. The poets of England,
especially the older dramatists, came with greater attraction
over his spirit. He loved Fletcher, and some of Fletcher's
contemporaries, for their energy of language and intenseness of
feeling; but it was in Shakspeare alone that he found the
fulness of soul which seemed to slake the thirst of his own
rapidly expanding genius for an inexhaustible fountain of
thought and emotion. He knew Shakspeare thoroughly; and indeed
his acquaintance with the earlier poetry of this country was
very extensive. Among the modern poets, Byron was at this time,
far above the rest, and almost exclusively, his favorite; a
preference which, in later years, he transferred altogether to
Wordsworth and Shelley.

"He became, when about fifteen years old, a member of the
debating society established among the elder boys, in which he
took great interest; and this served to confirm the bias of his
intellect towards the moral and political philosophy of modern
times. It was probably, however, of important utility in giving
him that command of his own language which he possessed, as the
following Essays will show, in a very superior degree, a