poetical genius is a permanent illumination.

Mr. Townsend, the translator, well known in New York, where he
was born, lived ten years in Italy, and seven in Rome. He was a
studious, thoughtful man; quiet, secluded, scholarly; an eminent
student of Italian literature; a real sympathizer with Italian
progress. By the cast of his mind and the course of his inward
experience he was drawn towards Leopardi. His version adheres
as closely to the original as is compatible with elegance and
the preservation of metrical grace. He has not rendered into
English all Leopardi's poems, but he has presented the best of
them, enough to give an idea of his author's style of feeling
and expression. What he has done, has been performed faithfully.
It is worth remarking that he was attracted by the intense longing
of the poet for love and appreciation, and by keen sympathy
with his unhappy condition. It is needless to say that he did
not share the pessimism that imparts a melancholy hue to the
philosopher's own doctrine, and that might have been modified
if not dispelled by a different experience. The translation
was finished at Siena, the summer of the earthquake, and was
the last work Mr. Townsend ever did, the commotion outside not
interrupting him, or causing him to suspend his application.

O. B. Frothingham.

CONTENTS.

Dedication xiii
To Italy 1
On Dante's Monument 7
To Angelo Mai 15
To His Sister Paolina 23
To a Victor in the Game of _Pallone_ 27
The Younger Brutus 30
To the Spring 35
Hymn to the Patriarchs 40
The Last Song of Sappho 45
First Love 48
The Lonely Sparrow 53
The Infinite 56
The Evening of the Holiday 57
To The Moon 59
The Dream 60
The Lonely Life 64
Consalvo 68
To the Beloved 74
To