to his branch of the art. "The poet
who executes best," said he, "is the highest, whatever his department,
and will ever be so rated in the world's esteem." We have no doubt of
the justness of that remark; it is the only principle from which sound
criticism can proceed, and upon this basis the reputations of the past
have been made up. Considered in this light, Mr. Halleck must be
pronounced not merely one of the chief ornaments of new literature, but
one of the great masters in a language, classical and immortal, for the
productions of genius which have illustrated and enlarged its
capacities. There is in his compositions an essential pervading grace, a
natural brilliancy of wit, a freedom yet refinement of sentiment, a
sparkling flow of fancy, and a power of personification, combined with
such high and careful finish, and such exquisite nicety of taste, that
the larger part of them must be pronounced models almost faultless in
the classes to which they belong. They appear to me to show a genuine
insight into the principles of art, and a fine use of its resources: and
after all that has been said and written about nature, strength, and
originality, the true secret of fame, the real magic of genius is not
force, not passion, not novelty, but art. Look all through Milton; look
at the best passages of Shakspeare; look at the monuments, "all Greek
and glorious," which have come down to us from ancient times, what
strikes us principally, and it might almost be said only, is the
wonderfully artificial character of the composition; it is the principle
of _their_ immortality, and without it no poem can be long-lived. It may
be easy to acquire popularity, and easy to display art in writing, but
he who obtains popularity by the means and employment of careful,
elaborate art, may be confident that his reputation is fixed upon a sure
basis. This--for his careless playing with the muse, by which one time
he kept the town alive, is scarcely remembered now--this, it seems to
me, Mr. Halleck has done; Mr. Halleck, Mr. Bryant, and Mr. Poe, have
done above all our authors.

THE BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS OF NEW-YORK.

No city in the world is more justly entitled to consideration for
active, judicious, and liberal benevolence, than New-York, though it
must be confessed that in some respects others may make a more splendid
display of the machinery of philanthropy, and even seem in the
subscriptions made every year to particular cha