Pushkin is here presented solely in his _lyrical_ character; and, it is trusted, that, in the selection of the compositions to be translated--selections made from a very large number of highly meritorious works--due attention has been paid not only to the intrinsic beauty and merit of the pieces chosen, but also to the important consideration which renders indispensable (in cases where we find an _embarras de richesses_, and where the merit is equal) the adoption of such specimens as would possess the greatest degree of novelty for an English reader. The task of translating all Pushkin's poetry is certainly too dignified a one, not to excite our ambition; and it is meditated, in the event of the accompanying versions finding in England a degree of approbation sufficiently marked to indicate a desire for more specimens, to extend our present labours so far, as to admit passages of the most remarkable merit from Pushkin's longer works; and, perhaps, even complete versions of some of the more celebrated. Should, therefore, the British public give the _fiat_ of its approbation, we would still further contribute to its knowledge of the great Russian author, by publishing, for example, some of the more remarkable _places_ in the poem of "Evgenii Oniegin," the charming "Gypsies," scenes and passages from the tragedy of "Boris Godunoff," the "Prisoner of the Caucasus," "Mazepa," &c. &c. With respect to the present or _lyrical_ specimens, we shall take the liberty to make a few remarks, having reference to the principles which have governed the translator in the execution of the versions; and we shall afterwards preface each poem with a few words of notice, such as may appear to be rendered necessary either by the subject or by the form of the composition itself.