Mark, too, a little further on, how gloriously our author reproduces the iron-rattle and fiery jostle of the tourney: “Into the lists Sir Gawen rides, Manful upon his charger black,” to break a lance for his lady’s sake. “At signal of a bugle blast— Sharp and sudden sound, The knights set forward, fiery fast, And met in middle ground; Met with stern shock of man and horse, And din of crashing spears; But neither champion won the course, They parted there like peers. Again! again! and respite none Will not Lord Siampi yield, Swift he demands, with haughty tone, Renewal of the field! Whereto, Sir Gawen urged to speak, Answers as haughtily, ‘By God! sir knight, I nothing seek So much as strife with thee.’ Thus spake he, and his visor closed, As to his post he passed; Again the armed men opposed Await the signal blast! Sudden it came, with hearts of flame, The champions, at the sound, Drove each his steed at furious speed, And met in middle ground. The Frankish champion struck amain— Struck with a force so dire— On Gawen’s helmet, that his brain Streamed with a flood of fire. But Gawen smote the knight of France, Full on his sturdy breast, And driven, perforce, the trusty lance Through shield and corselet prest— Crashing through steel, the weapon good, Lord Siampi’s bosom found, Nor broke until the sudden blood Gushed darkly from the wound. Manful against the lance’s force Lord Siampi bore him well, And passed Sir Gawen in the course, All upright in his selle— But with the gallop of his horse, He reeled—and swayed—and fell!” “The Mountains,” “Florence Vane,” the poem of “The Bards,” and “Young Rosalie Lee,” are exquisite gems. Altogether, this volume of “Froissart Ballads, and Other Poems,” fully deserves the hearty reception, which we are glad to see so universally extended to it by the press. * * * * * _A System of Intellectual Philosophy. By Rev. Asa Mahan. Second Edition. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1 vol. 12mo._ This work is written by one who has evidently studied intellectual philosophy with all the ardor of a lover. The book presents, in a compact form, a system of metaphysics, whose basis is spiritualism. The author acknowledges his indebtedness to Coleridge, Kant, and Cousin. The leading ideas of these philosophers frequently appear in the work. We are aware of no book which gives in a small space, so much that is valuable to the student and thinker. We have been particularly pleased with the analysis of Imagination and Fancy, and the accounts of the various German systems of metaphysics. * * * * * _An Exposition of the Apocalypse. By David N. Lord. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1 vol. 8vo._