text:  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