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man deserved poetical honours, Ariosto did; and ifever poet deserved the curse of posterity for the prosti-tution of high talents, Ariosto does. Without pre-suming to judge him, even for his worst offences,beyond the present world, it had been better for manyof his readers, — why should we not say, at once, for allof them ? — that he had never been born. Whateverbe her beauty, his Muse has a cancerous sore upon herface, which cannot be looked upon without loathing byany eye, not wilfully blind, where it ought to be eagle-sighted.