[399] With respect to the claim of priority, or who first denounced the injustice and horrors of slavery, we believe the following is a correct historical narrative on this important subject.

The celebrated De Las Casas (born at Seville in 1474, and who accompanied Columbus in his voyage in 1493) was so deeply impressed with the cruelties and oppressions of slavery, that he returned to Europe, and pleaded the cause of humanity before the Emperor Charles V. This prince was so far moved by his representations as to pass royal ordinances to mitigate the evil; but his intentions were unhappily defeated. The Rev. Morgan Godwyn, a Welshman, is the next in order. About the middle of the last century, John Woolman and Anthony Benezet, belonging to the society of Friends, endeavoured to rouse the public attention. In 1754, the Society itself took up the cause with so much zeal and success, that there is not at this day a single slave in the possession of any acknowledged Quaker in Pennsylvania. In 1776, Granville Sharp addressed to the British public his "Just Limitation of Slavery," his "Essay on Slavery," and his "Law of Retribution, or a Serious Warning to Great Britain and her Colonies." The poet Shenstone also wrote an elegy on the subject, beginning:—

"See the poor native quit the Lybian shores," &c. &c.

Ramsey and Clarkson bring down the list to the time of Cowper, whose indignant muse in 1782 poured forth his detestation of this traffic in his poem on Charity, an extract of which we shall shortly lay before the reader. The distinguished honour was, however, reserved for Thomas Clarkson, to be the instrument of first engaging the zeal and eloquence of Mr. Wilberforce in the great cause of the abolition of the Slave Trade. The persevering exertions of Mr. Fowell Buxton and those of the Anti-slavery Society achieved the final triumph, and led to the great legislative enactment which abolished slavery itself in the British colonies; and nothing now remains but to associate France, the Brazils, and America, in the noble enterprise of proclaiming the blessings of liberty to five remaining millions of this degraded race.

[400] The trial of Warren Hastings excited universal interest, from the official rank of the accused, as Governor-General of India, the number and magnitude of the articles of impeachment, the splendour of the scene, (which was in Westminster Hall,) and the impassioned eloquence of Mr. Burke, who conducted the prosecution. The proceedings were protracted for nine successive years, when Mr. Hastings was finally acquitted. He is said to have incurred an expense of £30,000 on this occasion, a painful proof of the costly character and delays of British jurisprudence. Some of the highest specimens of eloquence that ever adorned any age or country were delivered during this trial; among which ought to be specified the address of the celebrated Mr. Sheridan, who captivated the attention of the assembly in a speech of three hours and a half, distinguished by all the graces and powers of the most finished oratory. At the close of this speech, Mr. Pitt rose and proposed an adjournment, observing that they were then too much under the influence of the wand of the enchanter to be capable of exercising the functions of a sound and deliberate judgment.

[401] The poet addressed some complimentary verses on this occasion to Mr. Henry Cowper, beginning thus:— "Cowper, whose silver voice, tasked sometimes hard," &c. Henry Cowper, Esq. was reading clerk in the House of Lords.

[402] Private correspondence.

[403] The date having been probably written on the latter half of this letter, which is torn off, the editor has endeavoured to supply it from the following to Mrs. King.

[404] Private correspondence.

[405] We here beg particularly to recommend the perusal of the Memoirs of Mrs. Hannah More. They are replete with peculiar interest, not only in detailing the history of her own life, and the incidents connected with her numerous and valuable productions, but as elucidating the character of the times in which she lived, and exhibiting a lively portrait of the distinguished literary persons with whom she associated. The Blue Stocking Club, or "Bas bleu," is minutely described—we are present at its coteries, introduced to its personages, and familiar with its manners and habits. The Montagus, the Boscawens, the Veseys, the Carters, and the Pepyses, all pass in review before us; and prove how conversation might be made subservient to the improvement of the intellect, and the enlargement of the heart, if both were cultivated to answer these exalted ends.

[406] See Poem on Charity.

[407] These verses were set to a popular tune, for the purpose of general circulation, and to aid the efforts then making for the abolition of the slave-trade.

[408] The slave trade was abolished in the year 1807; declared to be felony, in 1811; and to be piracy, in 1824.

[409] The following lines from Goldsmith's "Traveller," have always been justly admired, and are so much in unison with the verses of Cowper, quoted above, that we feel persuaded we shall consult the taste of the reader by inserting them.

The celebrated Dr. Johnson once quoted these lines, with so much personal feeling and interest, that the tears are said to have started into his eyes.—See Boswell's Life of Johnson.

[410] "In the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty." Deut. xv. 12, 13.

[411] It is computed that there are two millions of slaves belonging to the United States of America; a similar number in the Brazils; and that the remainder are under the control of other governments.

[412] The force and beauty of this passage will be best understood by the following statement. A slave, of the name of Somerset was brought over to England from the West Indies, by his master, Mr. Stewart. Shortly after, he absented himself, and refused to return. He was pursued and arrested, and by Mr. Stewart's orders forcibly put on board a ship, the captain of which was called Knowles. He was there detained in custody, to be carried out of the kingdom and sold. The case being made known was brought before Lord Chief Justice Mansfield, in the Court of King's Bench, June 22, 1772. The judgment of Lord Mansfield, on this occasion, was as follows:—"A foreigner cannot be imprisoned here, on the authority of any law existing in his own country. The power of a master over his servant is different in all countries, more or less limited or extensive; the exercise of it therefore must always be regulated by the laws of the place where exercised. The power claimed by this return was never in use here. No master ever was allowed here to take a slave by force, to be sold abroad, because he had deserted from his service, or for any other reason whatever. We cannot say the cause set forth by this return is allowed or approved of by the laws of this kingdom, and therefore the man must be discharged." "In other words," says a report of the case, "a negro slave, coming from the colonies into Great Britain, becomes ipso facto Free."

[413] With what feelings of deep gratitude ought we to record the final emancipation of eight hundred thousand Negroes, in the West India Colonies, by an act which passed the British legislature, in the year 1834, dating the commencement of that memorable event from the first of August. The sum of twenty millions was voted to the proprietors of slaves, as a compensation for any loss they might incur. Mr. Wilberforce was at this time on his dying bed, as if his life had been protracted to witness this noble consummation of all his labours. When he heard of this splendid act of national generosity, he lifted up his feeble hands to heaven, exclaiming, "Thank God, that I have lived to see my country give twenty millions to abolish slavery."

The noble grant of the British and Foreign Bible Society (to commemorate this great event) of a copy of a New Testament and Psalter to every emancipated negro that was able to read, deserves to be recorded on this occasion. The measure originated in a suggestion of the Rev. Hugh Stowell. It was computed that, out of a population of eight hundred thousand negroes, one hundred and fifty thousand were capable of reading, and that an expenditure of twenty thousand pounds would be necessary to supply this demand. Forty tons cubic measure of New Testaments were destined to Jamaica alone. The Colonial Department was willing to assist in the transfer, but the Government packets were found to be too small for this purpose. It is greatly to the honour of some ship-owners, distinguished for their benevolence and public spirit, in the city of London, that they offered to convey this valuable deposit, free of freightage and expense, to its place of destination. The sum of fifteen thousand pounds was eventually contributed.

[414] Private correspondence.

[415] Cowper's books had been lost, owing to his original illness, and his sudden removal to St. Alban's.

[416] Private correspondence.

[417] Lady Balgonie.

[418] Dr. Ford was Vicar of Melton Mowbray, well known and respected, and a particular friend of Mr. Newton's.

[419] The author of this work proved to be Miss Hannah More.

[420] Well known for his celebrated works, on the "Being and Attributes of God," and the "Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion."

[421] They were, after all, never appropriated to that purpose.

[422] The interests of commerce were too much at variance with this great cause of humanity not to oppose a long and persevering resistance to its progress in parliament. Though Mr. Pitt supported the measure, it was not made a government question.

[423] Thoughts on the Manners of the Great.

[424] Private correspondence.

[425] Private correspondence.

[426] For his version of Homer.

[427] Mr. Gregson was chaplain to Mr. Throckmorton.

[428] He alludes to engravings of these two characters, which had acquired much popularity with the public, especially Crazy Kate, beginning,

"There often wanders one, whom better days," &c. &c.

[429] Mrs. Montagu.

[430] The Blue-stocking Club, or Bas-bleu.

The following is the account of the origin of the Blue-stocking Club, extracted from Boswell's "Life of Johnson:" "About this time (1781) it was much the fashion for several ladies to have evening assemblies, where the fair sex might participate in conversation with literary and ingenious men, animated by a desire to please. These societies were denominated Blue-stocking Clubs, the origin of which title being little known, it may be worth while to relate it. One of the most eminent members of these societies, when they first commenced, was Mr. Benjamin Stillingfleet, (author of tracts relating to natural history, &c.) whose dress was remarkably grave, and in particular it was observed that he wore blue stockings. Such was the excellence of his conversation, that his absence was felt as so great a loss, that it used to be said, 'We can do nothing without the blue stockings;' and thus by degrees the title was established. Miss Hannah More has admirably described a Blue-stocking Club, in her 'Bas Bleu,' a poem in which many of the persons who were most conspicuous there are mentioned."

[431] A large mansion near Newport Pagnel, formerly belonging to Miss Wright.

[432] The Rev. Mr. Powley married Mrs. Unwin's daughter.

[433] Poor Kate and the Lace-maker were portraits drawn from real life.

[434] Mr. Chester, of Chicheley, near Newport Pagnel.

[435] Private correspondence.

[436] Mr. Henry Cowper, who was reading-clerk in the House of Lords, was remarkable for the clearness and melody of his voice. This qualification is happily alluded to by the poet, in the following lines:—

*Lord-Chancellor Cowper, and Spencer Cowper, Chief-Justice of Chester.

[437] This essay contributed very much to establish the literary character of Mrs. Montagu, as a woman of taste and learning, and to vindicate Shakspeare from the sallies of the wit of Voltaire, who comprehended his genius as little as the immortal poem of the "Paradise Lost." It is well known how Young replied to his frivolous raillery on the latter work:—

[438] Mr. Hill.

[439] Private correspondence.

[440] Mr. Van Lier was a Dutch minister, to whom the perusal of Mr. Newton's works had been made eminently useful. We shall have occasion to allude to this subject in its proper place.

[441] These verses, "On Mrs. Montagu's Feather Hangings," are characterised by elegant taste and a delicate turn of compliment. We insert an extract from them, as descriptive of her evening parties in Portman-square, the resort of cultivated wit and fashion, and so frequently alluded to in the interesting Memoirs of Mrs. More.

[442] Miss Theodora Cowper.

[443] General Cowper was nephew to Ashley Cowper.

[444] Private correspondence.

[445] The Picts were not our ancestors.

[446] Private correspondence.

[447] The credit of having introduced this regulation is due to the late much respected Sir William Dolben, Bart.

[448] Lord Thurlow, it will be remembered, pledged himself to make some provision for Cowper, if he became Lord Chancellor.

[449] We have elsewhere observed that they never were printed as ballads, but were inserted in his works.

[450] The Miss Gunnings, the daughters of Sir Robert Gunning, Bart.

[451] Private correspondence.

[452] A book full of blunders and scandal, and destitute both of information and interest.

[453] The celebrated seat of Lord Orford, near Richmond, where Lady Hesketh was then visiting.

[454] The well-known translator of Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History.

[455] Cowper's strictures on Lavater are rather severe; in a subsequent letter we shall find that he expresses himself almost in the language of a disciple. We believe all men to be physiognomists, that is, they are guided in their estimate of one another by external impressions, until they are furnished with better data to determine their judgment. The countenance is often the faithful mirror of the inward emotions of the soul, in the same manner as the light and shade on the mountain's side exhibit the variations of the atmosphere. In the curious and valuable cabinet of Denon, in Paris, which was sold in 1827, two casts taken from Robespierre and Marat were singularly expressive of the atrocity of their character. The cast of an idiot, in the same collection, denoted the total absence of intellect. But, whatever may be our sentiments on this subject, there is one noble act of benevolence which has justly endeared the name of Lavater to his country. We allude to the celebrated Orphan Institution at Zurich, of which he was the founder. It is a handsome and commodious establishment, where these interesting objects of humanity receive a suitable education, and are fitted for future usefulness. The church is shown where John Gaspar Lavater officiated, surrounded by his youthful auditory; and an humble stone in the churchyard briefly records his name and virtues. His own Orphan-house is the most honourable monument of his fame. It is in visiting scenes like these that we feel the moral dignity of our nature, that the heart becomes expanded with generous emotions, and that we learn to imitate that Divine Master, who went about doing good. The Editor could not avoid regretting that, in his own country, where charity assumes almost every possible form, the Orphan-house is of rare occurrence, though abounding in most of the cities of Switzerland. Where are the philanthropists of Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Norwich, and of our other great towns? Surely, to wipe away the tear from the cheek of the orphan, to rescue want from destitution and unprotected innocence from exposure to vice and ruin, must ever be considered to be one of the noblest efforts of Christian benevolence.

[456] Private correspondence.

[457] Cowper's fancy was never more erroneously employed. The portrait he here draws of Mrs. King possessed no resemblance to the original.

[458] The Dog and the Water-Lily.

[459] Private correspondence.

[460] It was a singular delusion under which Cowper laboured, and seems to be inexplicable; but it is not less true that, for many years, he doubted the identity of Mr. Newton. When we see the powers of a great mind liable to such instances of delusion, and occasionally suffering an entire eclipse, how irresistibly are we led to exclaim, "Lord, what is man!"

[461] The late Rev. H. Colbourne Ridley, the excellent vicar of Hambleden, near Henley-on-Thames, distinguished for his parochial plans and general devotedness to his professional duties, once observed that the fruit of all his labours, during a residence of five-and-twenty years, was destroyed in one single year by the introduction of beer-houses, and their demoralizing effects.

[462] This celebrated oak, which is situated in Yardley Chase, near Lord Northampton's residence at Castle Ashby, has furnished the muse of Cowper with an occasion for displaying all the graces of his rich poetical fancy. The poem will be inserted in a subsequent part of the work. In the meantime, we extract the following lines from "The Task," to show how the descriptive powers of Cowper were awakened by this favourite and inspiring subject.

The Sofa.

[463] This has already been inserted.

[464] Private correspondence.

[465] Mrs. Battison, a relative of Mrs. King's, and at this advanced age, was in a very declining state of health.

[466] There is a little memoir of Cowper's hares, written by himself, which will be inserted in his works.

[467] Private correspondence.

[468] Private correspondence.

[469] Mr. Greatheed was now residing at Newport Pagnel, and exercising his ministry there.

[470] Private correspondence.

[471] Author of the "Observer," "the West Indian," and of several dramatic pieces.

[472] Private correspondence.

[473] We have already alluded to Mr. Van Lier, a Dutch minister of the Reformed Church, to whom the perusal of Mr. Newton's writings was made instrumental in leading his mind to clear and saving impressions of divine truth. He communicated to Mr. Newton an interesting account of this spiritual change of mind, in the Latin manuscript here mentioned, which was transmitted to Cowper, and afterwards translated by him, and finally published by Mr. Newton. It is entitled "The Power of Grace Illustrated," and will be more particularly adverted to in a subsequent part of this book.

[474] Sir John Hawkins is known as the author of four quarto volumes on the general History of Music, and by a Life of Johnson. The former is now superseded by Burney's, and the latter by Boswell's.

[475] Private correspondence.

[476] The unfortunate malady of George III. is here alluded to, which first occurred, after a previous indisposition, October 22nd, 1788. The nation was plunged in grief by this calamitous event, and a regency appointed, to the exclusion of the Prince of Wales, which occasioned much discussion in parliament at that time. Happily the King's illness was only of a few months' duration: his recovery was announced to be complete, Feb. 27th, 1789. Few monarchs have been more justly venerated than George the Third, or have left behind them more unquestionable evidences of real personal piety. The following lines, written to commemorate his recovery, merit to be recorded.

[477] Private correspondence.

[478] The author of the translation of Aristotle.

[479] Private correspondence.

[480] We insert these verses, as expressive of the loyal feelings of Cowper.

ON THE QUEEN'S VISIT TO LONDON,

The Night of the Tenth of March, 1789.

[482] Private correspondence.

[483] We regret that we have not succeeded in procuring any traces of these poems of Cowper's brother.

[484] Private correspondence.

[485] The daughter of General Goldsworthy.

[486] Tour to the Hebrides.

[487] Rev. John Newton.

[488] The distinguishing merit of Boswell's Life of Dr. Johnson is precisely what Cowper here states. In perusing it we become intimately acquainted with his manner, habits of life, and sentiments on every subject. We are introduced to the great wits of the age, and see a lively portraiture of the literary characters of those times. However minute and even frivolous some of the remarks may be, yet Boswell's Life will never fail to awaken interest, and no library can be considered to be complete without it.

"Homer," says a popular critic, "is not more decidedly the first of heroic poets—Shakspeare is not more decidedly the first of dramatists—Demosthenes is not more decidedly the first of orators, than Boswell is the first of biographers."

"A book," observes Mr. Croker, "to which the world refers as a manual of amusement, a repository of wit, wisdom, and morals, and a lively and faithful history of the manners and literature of England, during a period hardly second in brilliancy, and superior in importance even to the Augustan age of Anne."

[489] This truly amiable and accomplished person afterwards became Sir George Throckmorton, Bart.

[490] Private correspondence.

[491] Formerly Mrs. Thrale, the well-known friend of Dr. Johnson, and resident at Streatham. Her second marriage was considered to be imprudent. She wrote Anecdotes of Dr. Johnson, and was also the authoress of the beautiful tale entitled, "The Three Warnings," beginning,

[492] It cost Lord Lyttelton twenty years to write the Life and History of Henry II. The historian Gibbon was twelve years in completing his "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," and Adam Smith occupied ten years in producing his "Wealth of Nations."

A stronger instance can scarcely be quoted of the mental labour employed in the composition of a work, than what is recorded of Boileau, who occupied eleven months in writing his "Equivoque," consisting only of 346 lines, and afterwards spent three years in revising it.

Cowper sometimes wrote only five or six lines in a day.

[493] Private correspondence.

[494] At Wargrave, near Henley-on-Thames.

[495] Olney.

[496] We subjoin an extract from this Sunday-school hymn, for the benefit of our younger readers.

[497] Private correspondence.

[498] The character of this work is given by Cowper himself in a subsequent letter to his friend Walter Bagot.

[499] The reveries of learned men are amusing, but injurious to true taste and sound literature. Bishop Warburton's laboured attempt to prove that the descent of Æneas into hell in the 6th book of the Æneid, is intended to convey a representation of the Eleusinian mysteries, is of this description; when it is obviously an imitation of a similar event, recorded of Ulysses. Genius should guard against a fondness for speculative discursion, which often leads from the simplicity of truth to the establishment of dangerous errors. We consider speculative inquiries to form one of the features of the present times, against which we have need to be vigilantly on our guard.

[500] Private correspondence.

[501] Revision is no small part of the literary labours of an author.

[502] The French revolution, that great event which exercised so powerful an influence not only on European governments but on the world at large, and the effects of which are experienced at the present moment, had just commenced. The Austrian Netherlands had also revolted, and Brussels and most of the principal towns and cities were in the hands of the insurgents.

[503]

[504] Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France.

[505] In his "Emilie." The memorable remark of Madame de Pompadour will not soon be forgotten; "AprÈs nous le DÉluge," "After us, the Deluge."

[506] Rousseau's prophecy of this great catastrophe has been already inserted; but the most remarkable prediction, specifying even the precise period of its fulfilment, is to be found in Fleming's "Apocalyptic Key," published so far back as the year 1701. In this work is the following passage. "Perhaps the French monarchy may begin to be considerably humbled about that time: that whereas the present French King (Lewis XIV.) takes the Sun for his emblem, and this for his motto, "nec pluribus impar," he may at length, or rather his successors, and the monarchy itself, at least before the year 1794, be forced to acknowledge that in respect to neighbouring potentates, he is even singulis impar."*

We add one more very curious prediction.

"Yes; that Versailles, which thou hast made for the glory of thy names, I will throw to the ground, and all your insolent inscriptions, figures, abominable pictures. And Paris; Paris, that imperial city, I will afflict it dreadfully. Yes, I will afflict the Royal Family. Yes, I will avenge the iniquity of the King upon his grand-children."—Lacy's Prophetic Warnings, Lond. 1707, p. 42.

*By referring to Revelation xvi. 8, it will be seen that the fourth vial is poured out on the Sun, which is interpreted as denoting the humiliation of some eminent potentates of the Romish communion, and therefore principally to be understood of the House of Bourbon, which takes precedence of them all.

[507] Psalm xlviii. 12-14.

[508] Private correspondence.

[509] Private correspondence.

[510] A German critic, distinguished by his classical erudition and profound learning.

[511] In this laborious undertaking, Cowper was assisted by the following editions of that great poet.

1st. That of Clarke, 1729-1754. 4 vols. Gr. et Lat.

This is the most popular edition of Homer, and the basis of many subsequent editions. The text is formed on that of Schrevelius and of Barnes. The notes are grammatical and philological, with numerous quotations from Virgil of parallel passages. The want of the ancient Greek Scholia is the principal defect.

2ndly. That of Villoison. Venice 1788. Gr.

This edition is distinguished by a fac-simile of the text and scholia of a MS. of Homer, in the tenth century, found in the library of St. Mark, Venice. The Preface abounds in learned and interesting matter, and is in high estimation among scholars. Wolf, Heyne, and the Oxford, or Grenville edition, have profited largely by Villoison's labours. His industrious search after valuable MSS. and care in collating them with received editions; his critical acumen, sound scholarship, and profound erudition, entitle him to the gratitude and praise of the classical student. He died in 1805.

3rdly. That of Heyne. Leipsick. 1802, 8 vols. Gr. et Lat.

The text is formed on that of Wolf. The editor was assisted in this undertaking by a copy of Bentley's Homer, in which that celebrated critic restores the long-lost digamma; and by an ancient and valuable MS. belonging to Mr. Towneley.

Of this edition it has been observed that "the work of Professor Heyne will in a great measure preclude the necessity of farther collations, from which nothing of consequence can be expected. When the Greek language is better understood than it is at present, it will be resorted to as a rich repository of philological information."—Edinburgh Review, July 1803.

[512] Dr. Warton (Joseph) head master of Winchester School upwards of thirty years, where he presided with high reputation; author of "Essay on the Writings and Genius of Pope," and of an edition of the Works of Pope, in 9 vols. 8vo. He was brother to Thomas Warton, well known for his History of English Poetry. Died in 1800.

[513] Private correspondence.

[514] January was a season of the year, when the nervous depression under which Cowper laboured was generally the most severe.

[515] The poet's kinsman was made chaplain to Dr. Spencer Madan, the Bishop of Peterborough.

[516] These Odes proved to be forgeries. They were reported to have been found in the Palatine Library, and communicated to the public by Gasper Pallavicini, the sub-librarian. We have room only for the following:—

There is a false quantity in the first stanza, which affords presumptive evidence of forgery.

The title of the second Ode is, "Ad Librum Suum."

[517] Mrs Bodham was a cousin of Cowper's, connected with him by his maternal family, the Donnes.

[518] The manner in which Cowper speaks of his kinsman is uniformly the same—kind, affectionate, endearing.

[519] Mrs. Bodham was always addressed by Cowper in this playful and complimentary style, though her Christian name was Ann.

[520] No present could possibly have been more acceptable to Cowper than the receipt of his mother's picture. He composed the beautiful verses, on this occasion, so tenderly descriptive of the impression made on his youthful imagination by the remembrance of her virtues. We extract the following passage:—

[521] Dr John Donne, an eminent and learned divine, whose life is written by Izaak Walton. Born 1573, died 1631.

[522] The Rev. J. Johnson's sister.

[523] Mrs. Ann Bodham.

[524] This expression alludes to the situation of the rooms occupied by him at Caius College, Cambridge.

[525] The following is the passage alluded to.

Expostulation.

The Test Act is now repealed.

[526] Private correspondence.

[527] A common provincialism in Buckinghamshire, probably a corruption of uncouth.

[528] Mrs. Carter.

[529] Longinus compares the Odyssey to the setting sun, and the Iliad, as more characteristic of the loftiness of Homer's genius, to the splendour of the rising sun.

[530] No man ever possessed a happier exemption, throughout life, from such a title.

[531] The poem on Audley End, alluded to in a former letter to Lady Hesketh.

[532] Cowper is often very sarcastic upon the clergy. We trust that these censures are not so merited in these times of reviving piety.

[533] We subjoin the lines to which Cowper refers:—

Book v.—Winter Morning's Walk.

[534] The Bishop of Peterborough.

[535] Private correspondence.

[536] The sportive title generally bestowed by Cowper on his amiable friends the Throckmortons.

[537] The residence of the Throckmorton family in Berkshire.

[538] Lady Hesketh suggested the appointment of the office of Poet Laureat to Cowper, which had become vacant by the death of Warton in 1790. The poet declined the offer of her services, and Henry James Pye, Esq. was nominated the successor.

[539] To Cowper's strictures on the University of Cambridge, and his remark that the fame there acquired is not worth having, we by no means subscribe. We think no youth ought to be insensible to the honourable ambition of obtaining its distinctions, and that they are not unfrequently the precursors of subsequent eminence in the Church, the Senate, and at the Bar. We have been informed that, out of fifteen judges recently on the bench, eleven had obtained honours at our two Universities. Whether the system of education is not susceptible of much improvement is a subject worthy of deep consideration. There seems to be a growing persuasion that, at the University of Cambridge, the mode of study is too exclusively mathematical; and that a more comprehensive plan, embracing the various departments of general knowledge and literature, would be an accession to the cause of learning. We admit that the University fully affords the means of acquiring this general information, but there is a penalty attached to the acquisition which operates as a prohibition, because the prospect of obtaining honours must, in that case, be renounced. By adopting a more comprehensive system, the stimulants to exertion would be multiplied, and the end of education apparently more fully attained.

When we reflect on the singular character of the present times, the instability of governments, and the disorganized state of society, arising from conflicting principles and opinions, the question of education assumes a momentous interest. We are firmly persuaded that, unless the minds of youth be enlarged by useful knowledge, and fortified by right principles of religion, they will not be fitted to sustain the duties and responsibilities that must soon devolve upon them; nor will they be qualified to meet the storms that now threaten the political and moral horizon of Europe.

Dr. Johnson, in enumerating the advantages resulting from a university education, specifies the following as calculated to operate powerfully on the mind of the student.

"There is at least one very powerful incentive to learning; I mean the Genius of the place. It is a sort of inspiring Deity, which every youth of quick sensibility and ingenuous disposition creates to himself, by reflecting that he is placed under those venerable walls, where a Hooker and a Hammond, a Bacon and a Newton, once pursued the same course of science, and from whence they soared to the most elevated heights of literary fame."—The Idler, No. 33.

[540] This enigma is explained in a subsequent letter.

[541] Private correspondence.

[542] The Dutch minister here mentioned, was Mr. Van Lier, who recorded the remarkable account of the great spiritual change produced in his mind, by reading the works of Mr. Newton. The letters were written in Latin, and translated by Cowper, at the request of his clerical friend.

[543] Professor Martyn lived to an advanced old age, endeared to his family, respected and esteemed by the public, and supported in his last momenta by the consolations and hopes of the gospel.

[544] At Chillington, Bucks.

[545] Dr. Lewis Bagot, previously Bishop of Norwich.

[546] The distinctions of rank were abolished during the French Revolution, and the title of citizen considered to be the only legal and honourable appellation.

[547] Private correspondence.

[548] This title was not long merited.

[549] Dr. Donne, Dean of St. Paul's, and Chaplain to King James the First, belonged to that class of writers, whom Johnson, in his Life of Cowley, describes as metaphysical poets. Their great object seemed to be to display their wit and learning, and to astonish by what was brilliant, rather than to please by what was natural and simple. Notwithstanding this defect, the poetry of Donne, though harsh and unmusical, abounds in powerful thoughts, and discovers a considerable share of learning. His divinity was drawn from the pure fountain of Revelation, of which he drank copiously and freely. Of his fervent zeal and piety, many instances are recorded in that inimitable piece of biography, Izaak Walton's Lives. We subjoin a specimen of his poetry, composed during a severe fit of sickness, and which, on his recovery, was set to music, and used to be often sung to the organ by the choristers of St. Paul's, in his own hearing.

HYMN TO GOD THE FATHER.

1.

2.

3.

Divine Poems.

[550] Private correspondence.

[551] Dr. Benamer was a pious and excellent man, whose house was the resort of religious persons at that time, who went there for the purpose of edification. Mr. Newton was a regular attendant on these occasions.

[552] Newton had suggested the propriety of Cowper trying the effect of animal magnetism, in the hopes of mitigating his disorder, but he declined the offer.

[553] The Rev. J. Johnson's sister.

[554] What are they which stand at a distance from each other, and meet without ever moving?

[555] Private correspondence.

[556] Private correspondence.

[557] Mrs. King presented the poet with a counterpane, in patch-work, of her own making. In acknowledgement, he addressed to her the verses beginning,

[558] Private correspondence.

[559] The wife of the Rev. Thomas Scott, the author of one of the best Commentaries on the Bible ever published. Mr. Scott was preacher at the Lock Hospital at this time.

[560] Private correspondence.

[561] We here subjoin the letter which Cowper addressed to Johnson, the bookseller, on this occasion.

Weston, Oct. 3, 1790.

Mr. Newton having again requested that the Preface which he wrote for my first volume may be prefixed to it, I am desirous to gratify him in a particular that so emphatically bespeaks his friendship for me; and, should my books see another edition, shall be obliged to you if you will add it accordingly.

W. C.

[562] John i. 29.

[563] Isaiah xliii. 25.

[564] 1 John ii. 1, 2.

[565] Rom. v. 1, 2.

[566] 1 John i. 7. Isaiah lxi. 1-3. Luke ii. 9-13. John xiv. 16, 17.

[567] The mother of the late Earl Spencer, and of the Duchess of Devonshire, and the person to whom he dedicated his version of the Odyssey.

[568] Private correspondence.

[569] The office of Poet Laureat, mentioned in a former letter.

[570] Private correspondence.

[571] In Norfolk.

[572] Private correspondence.

[573] This counterpane is mentioned in a previous letter, dated Oct. 5th, in this year: so that, unless it was taken back and then returned in an improved state, there seems to be some error, that we do not profess to explain.

[574] Miss Stapleton, afterwards Lady Throckmorton, and the person to whom the present undertaking is dedicated.

[575] The wife of Sir John Throckmorton.

[576] See mortuary verses composed on this occasion.

[577] Private correspondence.

[578] These innocent peculiarities were in a less degree retained to the end of life by this truly amiable and interesting man.

[579] This letter contained the history of a servant's cruelty to a post-horse, which a reader of humanity could not wish to see in print. But the postscript describes so pleasantly the signal influence of a poet's reputation on the spirit of a liberal innkeeper, that it surely ought not to be suppressed.—Hayley.

[580] Private correspondence.

[581] "Sir Thomas More," a tragedy.

[583] Private correspondence.

[584] Johnson's remark on Milton's Latin poems is as follows: "The Latin pieces are lusciously elegant; but the delight which they afford is rather by the exquisite imitation of the ancient writers, by the purity of the diction and the harmony of the numbers, than by any power of invention or vigour of sentiment. They are not all of equal value; the elegies excel the odes; and some of the exercises on gunpowder treason might have been spared."

He, however, quotes with approbation the remark of Hampton, the translator of Polybius, that "Milton was the first Englishman who, after the revival of letters, wrote Latin verses with classic elegance."—See Johnson's Life of Milton.

[585] We are indebted to Mr. Buchanan for having suggested to Cowper the outline of the poem called "The Four Ages," viz. infancy, youth, middle age, and old age. The writer was acquainted with this respectable clergyman in his declining years. He was considered to be a man of cultivated mind and taste.

[586] The labour of transcribing Cowper's version.

[587] See his version of Homer.

[588] May and June.

[589] The "Rights of Man," a book which created a great ferment in the country, by its revolutionary character and statements.

[590] As a transcriber.

[591] There is a similar passage, in Mickle's "Lusiad," so full of beauty, that we cannot refrain from inserting it:—

[592] Mrs. Bodham.

[593] Mrs. Hewitt.

[594] Mrs. Hewitt fully merited this description. She departed a few years before her brother, the late Dr. Johnson. Their remains lie in the same vault, at Yaxham, near Dereham, Norfolk.

[595] The celebrated American Edwards, well known for his two great works on "The Freedom of the Human Will," and on "Religious Affections." Dr. Dwight's Sermons are a body of sound and excellent theology.

[596] Private correspondence.

[597] The publication of the translation of Homer.

[598] The name he gave to Mrs. Bodham when a child.

[599] Miss Johnson, afterwards Mrs. Hewitt.

[600] Mr. Johnson.

[601] Private correspondence.

[602] The Rev. Henry Venn, successively vicar of Huddersfield, Yorkshire, and rector of Yelling, Huntingdonshire, eminent for his piety and usefulness. He was the author of "The Complete Duty of Man," the design of which was to correct the deficiencies so justly imputable to "The Whole Duty of Man," by laying the foundation of moral duties in the principles inculcated by the gospel. There is an interesting and valuable memoir of this excellent man, edited by the Rev. Henry Venn, B.D., his grandson, which we recommend to the notice of the reader.

[603] Mr. Berridge was vicar of Everton, Beds; a most zealous and pious minister.

[604] The riots at Birmingham originated in the imprudent zeal of Dr. Priestley, and his adherents, the Unitarian dissenters, who assembled together at a public dinner, to commemorate the events of the French revolution. Toasts were given of an inflammatory tendency, and handbills were previously circulated of a similar character. The town of Birmingham, being distinguished for its loyalty, became deeply excited by these acts. The mob collected in great multitudes, and proceeded to the house of Dr. Priestley, which they destroyed with fire. All his valuable philosophical apparatus and manuscripts perished on this occasion. We concur with Cowper in lamenting such outrages.

[605] Private correspondence.

[606] Dr. Douglas.

[607] See verses addressed to John Johnson, Esq.

[608] An alarming attack with which Mrs. Unwin was visited.

[609]

[610] Warton informs us that the distinguished brothers alluded to in Milton's elegy are the Duke of Brunswick and Count Mansfelt, who fell in the war of the Palatinate, that fruitful scene of warlike operations. The two latter are the Earls of Oxford and Southampton, who died at the siege of Breda, in the year 1625.

[611] Private correspondence.

[612] Private correspondence.

[613] Lord Bagot.

[614] How much more charitable is Cowper's comment, than the injurious surmise of Warton!

[615] The present Dowager Lady Throckmorton.

[616] Private correspondence.

[617] The residence of the late Mrs. Hannah More, near Bristol.

[618] The establishment of her schools, comprising the children of several parishes, then in a most neglected and uncivilized state. See the interesting account of the origin and progress of these schools in the Memoir of Mrs. More.

[619] Mrs. Martha More.

[620] Of autographs.

[621] Fuseli was associated with Cowper's Milton, and Boydell interested in Hayley's, which produced a collision of feeling between them.

[622] Private correspondence.

[623] He alludes to the dispute between Boydell and Fuseli the painter.

[624] The Rev. John Cowper, Fellow of Bennet College, Cambridge.

[625] Private correspondence.

[626] Mrs. Martha More had requested Cowper to furnish a contribution to her collection of autographs. The result appears in the sequel of this letter.

[627] In the present edition of the Poems the lines stand thus, on a farther suggestion of Lady Hesketh's:—

W Cowper.
March 6, 1792.

[628] This alludes to the new colony for liberated Africans, at Sierra Leone; in the origin of which Mr. Henry Thornton and Mr. Zachary Macauley were mainly instrumental. For interesting accounts of this colony, see the "Missionary Register of the Church Missionary Society," passim.

[629] Private correspondence.

[630] Afterwards Sir George Throckmorton.

[631] Private correspondence.

[632] Mezzotinto engraving. Mr. Park, in early youth, fluctuated in the choice between the sister arts of poetry, music, and painting, and composed the following lines to record the result.

T. P.

[633] Drummond, an elegant Scottish poet, born in 1585. His works, though not free from the conceits of the Italian School, are characterised by much delicacy of taste and feeling. There is a peculiar melody and sweetness in his verse, and his sonnets particularly have procured for him a fame, which has survived to the present time. An edition of his Poems was published in 1791, by Cowper's correspondent, Mr. Park.

[634] Private correspondence

[635] We have already stated that Hayley was engaged in a life of Milton, when Cowper was announced as editor of Johnson's projected work. With a generosity that reflects the highest credit on his feelings, he addressed a letter on this occasion to Cowper, accompanied by a complimentary sonnet, and offering his kind aid in anyway that might prove most acceptable. The letter was entrusted to the bookseller, who delayed transmitting it six weeks, and thereby created great anxiety in Hayley's mind.

[636] A juvenile offering of gratitude to the place where the writer had received his education.

[637] Dr. Douglas.

[638] Lauder endeavoured to depreciate the fame of Milton by a charge of plagiarism. Dr. Douglas successfully vindicated the great poet from such an imputation, and proved that it was a gross fiction on the part of Lauder.

[639] Private correspondence.

[640] Rev. John Buchanan.

[641] The prospect of a marriage between Miss Stapleton, the Catharina of Cowper, and Mr. Courtenay, Sir John Throckmorton's brother.

[642] Vicar of Dalington, near Northampton.

[643] See page 377.

[644] Young's testimony in favour of blank verse is thus forcibly, though rather pompously expressed:—

"Blank verse is verse unfallen, uncursed; verse reclaimed, re-enthroned in the true language of the gods."

See Conjectures on Original Composition.

[645] For two other versions of this passage, see Letters, dated Dec. 17, 1793, and Jan 5, 1794.

[646] See Dr. Johnson's sketch of the Life of Cowper.

[647] This Elegy is inserted in Mr. Park's volume of sonnets and miscellaneous poems.

[648] This wish is expressed in the following lines:—

See Verses addressed to Miss Stapleton, p. 343.

[649] We have succeeded in obtaining these verses, and think them worthy of insertion:

TO WILLIAM COWPER, ESQ.

ON READING HIS SONNET OF THE SIXTEENTH INSTANT ADDRESSED TO MR. WILBERFORCE.

S. M'Clellan.
April 25, 1792.

[650] Warren Hastings, at that time under impeachment, as Governor-general of India.

[651] This friend was Mrs. Carter.

[652] Some unexpected difficulties had occurred in obtaining a curacy, with a title for orders.

[653] The celebrated poem of "the Botanic Garden," originated in a copy of verses, addressed by Miss Seward to Dr. Darwin, complimenting him on his sequestered retreat near Lichfield. In this retreat there was a mossy fountain of the purest water; aquatic plants bordered its summit, and branched from the fissures of the rock. There was also a brook, which he widened into small lakes. The whole scene formed a little paradise, and was embellished with various classes of plants, uniting the Linnean science, with all the charm of landscape.

When Miss Seward presented her verses to Dr. Darwin, he was highly gratified, she observes, and said, "I shall send this poem to the periodical publications; but it ought to form the exordium of a great work. The Linnean system is unexplored poetic ground, and a happy subject for the muse. It affords fine scope for poetic landscape; it suggests metamorphoses of the Ovidian kind, though reversed. Ovid made men and women into flowers, plants, and trees. You should make flowers, plants, and trees, into men and women. I," continued he, "will write the notes, which must be scientific, and you shall write the verse."

Miss S. remarked, that besides her want of botanic knowledge, the undertaking was not strictly proper for a female pen; and that she felt how much more it was adapted to the ingenuity and vigour of his own fancy. After many objections urged on the part of Dr. Darwin, he at length acquiesced, and ultimately produced his "Loves of the Plants, or Botanic Garden."*

Though this poem obtained much celebrity on its first appearance, it was nevertheless severely animadverted upon by some critics. A writer in the Anti-Jacobin Review, (known to be the late Mr. Canning) parodied the work, by producing "The Loves of the Triangles," in which triangles were made to fall in love with the same fervour of passion, as Dr. Darwin attributed to plants. The style, the imagery, and the entire composition of "The Loves of the Plants," were most successfully imitated. We quote the following.

*See Life of Dr. Darwin, by Miss Seward.

We do not think that the Botanic Garden ever fully maintained its former estimation, after the keen Attic wit of Mr. Canning, though the concluding lines of Cowper seem to promise perpetuity to its fame.

[654] That a very perceptible change, generally speaking, has taken place in the climate of Great Britain, and that the same observation applies to other countries, has been a frequent subject of remark, both with the past and present generation. Various causes have been assigned for this peculiarity. It has been said that nature is growing old, and losing its elasticity and vigour. Others have attributed the change to the vast accumulation of ice in the Polar regions, and its consequent influence on the temperature of the air. Dr. Darwin humorously suggested the scheme of giving rudders and sails to the Ice Islands, that they might be wafted by northern gales, and thus be absorbed by the heat of a southern latitude. It is worthy of remark that in Milton's Latin Poems, there is a college thesis on this subject, viz. whether nature was becoming old and infirm. Milton took the negative of this proposition, and maintained, naturam non pati senium, that nature was not growing old. Cowper in his translation of this poem, thus renders some of the passages.

[655] Verses on Dr. Darwin.

[656] See p. 343.

[657] This portrait was taken at the instance of Dr. Johnson, and is thought most to resemble Cowper. It is now in the possession of Dr. Johnson's family, and represents the poet in a sitting posture, in an evening dress.

[658] Mrs. Unwin.

[659] Private correspondence.

[660] To Mrs. Bodham's.

[661] Private correspondence.

[662] This residence afterwards became the property of the late William Huskisson, Esq.

[663] This amiable and much esteemed character, and endeared as one of the friends of Cowper, was born at Bishopstone in Sussex, in 1763. He was elected Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 1793, and died at a premature age, in 1801. His claims as an author principally rest on his once popular poem of the "Village Curate." He also wrote "A Vindication of the University of Oxford from the Aspersions of Mr. Gibbon." His works are published in 3 vols.

[664] Mr. Hurdis had just lost a favourite sister.

[665] This portrait is now in the possession of Dr. Johnson's family.

[666] Private correspondence.

[667] This is one of those scarce and curious books which is not to be procured without difficulty. It is a dramatic representation of the Fall, remarkable, not so much for any peculiar vigour, either in the conception or execution of the plan, as for exhibiting that mode of celebrating sacred subjects, formerly known under the appellation of mysteries. A further interest is also attached to it from the popular persuasion that this work first suggested to Milton the design of his Paradise Lost. There is the same allegorical imagery, and sufficient to form the frame-work of that immortal poem. Johnson, in his Life of Milton, alludes to the report, without arriving at any decided conclusion on the subject, but states, that Milton's original intention was to have formed, not a narrative, but a dramatic work, and that he subsequently began to reduce it to its present form, about the year 1655. Some sketches of this plan are to be seen in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. Dr. Joseph Warton and Hayley both incline to the opinion that the Adamo of Andreini first suggested the hint of the Paradise Lost.

That the Italians claim this honour for their countryman is evident from the following passage from Tiraboschi, which, to those of our readers who are conversant with that language, will be an interesting quotation. "Certo benche L'Adamo dell Andreini sia in confronto dell Paradiso Perduto ciÒ che È il Poema di Ennio in confronto a quel di Virgilio, nondimeno non puÒ negarsi che le idee gigantesche, delle quali l'autore Inglese ha abbellito il suo Poema, di Satana, che entra nel Paradiso terrestre, e arde d'invidia al vedere la felicita dell' Uomo, del congresso de Demonj, della battaglia degli Angioli contra Lucifero, e piÙ altre sommiglianti immagini veggonsi nell' Adamo adombrate per modo, che a me sembra molto credibile, che anche il Milton dalle immondezze, se cosi È lecito dire, dell' Andreini raccogliesse l'oro, di cui adorno il suo Poema. Per altro L'Adamo dell' Andreini, benche abbia alcuni tratti di pessimo gusto, ne hÀ altri ancora, che si posson proporre come modello di excellente poesia."

It is no disparagement to Milton to have been indebted to the conceptions of another for the origin of his great undertaking. If Milton borrowed, it was to repay with largeness of interest. The only use that he made of the suggestion was, to stamp upon it the immortality of his own creative genius, and to produce a work which is destined to survive to the latest period of British literature.

For further information on this subject, we refer the reader to the "Inquiry into the Origin of Paradise Lost," in Todd's excellent edition of Milton; and in Hayley's Life of Milton will be found Cowper's and Hayley's joint version of the first three acts of the Adamo above mentioned.

In addition to the Adamo of Andreini, Milton is said to have been indebted to the Du Bartas of Sylvester, and to the Adamus Exul of Grotius. Hayley, in his Life of Milton, enumerates also a brief list of Italian writers, who may have possibly have thrown some suggestions into the mind of the poet. But the boldest act of imposition ever recorded in the annals of literature, is the charge preferred against Milton by Lauder, who endeavoured to prove that he was "the worst and greatest of all plagiaries." He asserted that "Milton had borrowed the substance of whole books together, and that there was scarcely a single thought or sentiment in his poem which he had not stolen from some author or other, notwithstanding his vain pretence to things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme." In support of this charge, he was base enough to corrupt the text of those poets, whom he produced as evidences against the originality of Milton, by interpolating several verses either of his own fabrication, or from the Latin translation of Paradise Lost, by William Hog. This gross libel he entitled an "Essay on Milton's Use and Imitation of the Moderns;" and so far imposed on Dr. Johnson, by his representations, as to prevail upon him to furnish a preface to his work. The public are indebted to Dr. Douglas, the Bishop of Salisbury, for first detecting this imposture, in a pamphlet entitled "Milton vindicated from the charge of Plagiarism brought against him by Mr. Lauder." Thus exposed to infamy and contempt, he made a public recantation of his error, and soon after quitted England for the West Indies, where he died in 1771.

[668] Now Dowager Lady Throckmorton.

[669] Private correspondence.

[670] On Fop, Lady Throckmorton's dog.

[671] A stone-mason, who was making a pedestal for an antique bust of Homer.

[672] Hayley's son.

[673] Private correspondence.

[674] Private correspondence.

[675] Hayley's Life of Milton.

[676] Private correspondence.

[677] Decisions of the English Courts.

[678] Private correspondence.

[679] Private correspondence.

[680] The question of a Reform in Parliament was at this time beginning to engage the public attention, and Mr. Grey (now Earl Grey) had recently announced his intention in the House of Commons of bringing forward that important subject in the ensuing session of Parliament. It was accordingly submitted to the House, May 6th, 1793, when Mr. Grey delivered his sentiments at considerable length, embodying many of the topics now so familiar to the public, but by no means pursuing the principle to the extent since adopted. The debate lasted till two o'clock in the morning, when it was adjourned to the following day. After a renewed discussion, which continued till four in the morning, the House divided, when the numbers were as follow, viz. Ayes 40, Noes 282.

It is interesting to mark this first commencement of the popular question of Reform (if we except Mr. Pitt's measure, in 1782) and to contrast its slow progress with the final issue, under the same leader, in the year 1832. The minority for several successive years seldom exceeded the amount above specified, though the measure was at length carried by so large a majority.

[682] There were three portraits of Cowper, taken respectively by Sir Thomas Lawrence, Abbot, and Romney. The reader may be anxious to learn which is entitled to be considered the best resemblance. The editor is able to satisfy this inquiry, on the joint authority of the three most competent witnesses, the late Rev. Dr. Johnson, the present Dowager Lady Throckmorton, and John Higgins, Esq., formerly of Weston. They all agree in assigning the superiority to the portrait by Abbot; and in evidence of this, all have repeated the anecdote mentioned by Cowper, of his dog Beau going up to the picture, and shaking his tail, in token of recognition. It is an exact resemblance of his form, features, manner, and costume. That by Romney was said to resemble him at the moment it was taken, but it was his then look, not his customary and more placid features. There is an air of wildness in it, expressive of a disordered mind, and which the shock, produced by the paralytic attack of Mrs. Unwin, was rapidly impressing on his countenance. This portrait has always been considered as awakening distressing emotions in the beholder. The portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence is the most pleasing, but not so exact and faithful a resemblance. There is however a character of peculiar interest in it, and he is represented in the cap which he was accustomed to wear in a morning, presented to him by Lady Hesketh. It was on this picture that the following beautiful lines were composed by the late Rev. Dr. Randolph.

ON SEEING A SKETCH OF COWPER BY LAWRENCE.

[683] The Hon. Mrs. Boscawen had expressed her regret that Cowper should employ his time and talents in translation, instead of original composition; accompanied by a wish that he would produce another 'Task,' adverting to what Pope had made his friend exclaim,

"Do write next winter more 'Essays on Man.'"

[684] Mr. Rose.

[685] Mrs. Haden, formerly governess to the daughters of Lord Eardley.

[686] The fifth edition of Cowper's Poems.

[687] Dr. Austen, who is here alluded to, was not less distinguished for his humane and benevolent qualities, than for his professional skill and eminence.

[688] Private correspondence.

[689] A name given to Ulysses.

[690] Maty.

[691] Whether this is a poetical or real dream of Cowper's, we presume not to decide. It bears so strong a resemblance to Milton's vision of the Bishop of Winchester, (the celebrated Dr. Andrews,) as to suggest the probability of having been borrowed from that source. The passage is to be found in Milton's beautiful Latin elegy on the death of that prelate, and is thus translated by Cowper:

[692] Louis XVI. the unhappy King of France, had recently perished on the scaffold, Jan. 21, 1793.

[693] Isaiah xxiv. 20.

[694] We have not been able to discover this epitaph, nor does it appear that it was ever translated by Cowper.

Cardinal Mazarin was minister of state to Louis XIII. and during the minority of Louis XIV. The last moments of this great statesman are too edifying not to be recorded. To the ecclesiastic (Joly) who attended him, he said, "I am not satisfied with my state; I wish to feel a more profound sorrow for my sins. I am a great sinner. I have no hope but in the mercy of God." (Je suis un grand criminel, je n'ai d'esperance qu'en la misericorde divine.) At another time he besought his confessor to treat him like the lowest subject in the realm, being convinced, he said, that there was but one gospel for the great, as well as for the little. (Qu'il n'y avait qu'un Evangile pour les grands, et pour les petits.) His sufferings were very acute. "You see," he observed to those around him, "what infirmities and wretchedness the fortunes and dignities of this world come to." He repeated many times the Miserere, (Ps. li.) stretching forth his hands, then clasping them, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, with all the marks of the most sincere devotion.

At midnight he exclaimed, "I am dying—my mind grows indistinct. I trust in Jesus Christ." (Je vais bientÔt mourir, mon jugement se trouble, j'espÈre en JÉsus Christ.) Afterwards, frequently repeating the sacred name of Jesus, he expired. (Se mettant en devoir de rÉpÉter aussi frÉquemment le trÈs-saint nom de JÉsus, il expira.)

Histoire du Card. Mazarin, par M. Aubery.

[695] Private correspondence.

[696] Cowper, according to his kinsman, was descended, by the maternal line, through the families of Hippesley of Throughley, in Sussex, and Pellet, of Bolney, in the same county, from the several noble houses of West, Knollys, Carey, Bullen, Howard, and Mowbray; and so by four different lines from Henry the Third, king of England. He justly adds, "Distinction of this nature can shed no additional lustre on the memory of Cowper; but genius, however exalted, disdains not, while it boasts not, the splendour of ancestry; and royalty itself may be flattered, and perhaps benefited, by discovering its kindred to such piety, such purity, such talents as his."—See Sketch of the Life of Cowper, by Dr. Johnson.

[697] Dr. Donne, formerly Dean of St. Paul's.

[698]

[699] Private correspondence.

[700] Chapman claims the honour of being the first translator of the whole of the works of Homer. He was born in 1557, and was the contemporary of Shakspeare, Spenser, Jonson, &c. His version of the Iliad was dedicated to Henry, Prince of Wales. He also translated MusÆus and Hesiod, and was the author of many other works. He died in 1634, aged seventy-seven. His version of Homer is now obsolete, and rendered tedious by the protracted measure of fourteen syllables; though occasionally it exhibits much spirit. Waller, according to Dryden, could never read his version without emotion, and Pope found it worthy of his particular attention.

[701] The real author was Robert Bage.

[702] The Poet's kinsman.

[703] Private correspondence.

[704] Paradise Lost, Book iii.

[705] He alludes to his notes on Homer.

[706] What the proposed literary partnership was, which Hayley suggested, we know not; it is evident that it was not the poem of "The Four Ages," which forms the subject of the following letter, and in which Cowper acquiesced.

[707] Hayley made a second proposition to unite with Cowper in the projected poem of "The Four Ages," and to engage the aid of two distinguished artists, who were to embellish the work with appropriate designs. We believe that Lawrence and Flaxman were the persons to whom Hayley refers. We cannot sufficiently regret the failure of this plan, which would have enriched literature and art with so happy a specimen of poetical and professional talent. But the period was unhappily approaching which was to suspend the fine powers of Cowper's mind, and to shroud them in the veil of darkness.

[708] Chapman's version is thus described by Warton: he "frequently retrenches or impoverishes what he could not feel and express," and yet is "not always without strength and spirit." By Anton, in his Philosophical Satires, published in 1616, he is characterised as

The testimony of Bishop Percy is flattering. "Had Chapman," he observes, "translated the Iliad in blank verse, it had been one of our chief classic performances."

[709] Cowper is mistaken in this supposition. Wood, in his AthenÆ, records an edition of the Iliad in 1675; and of the Odyssey in 1667, and there was a re-impression of both in 1686.

[710] The Four Ages.

[711] The poem of the Emigrants, which was dedicated to Cowper.

[712] Mrs. Charlotte Smith is well known as an authoress, and particularly for her beautiful sonnets. She was formerly a great eulogist of the French Revolution, but the horrors which distinguished that political era led to a change in her sentiments, which she publicly avowed in her "Banished Man." There is a great plaintiveness of feeling in all her writings, arising from the unfortunate incidents of her chequered life. We remember this lady, with her family, formerly resident at Oxford, where she excited much interest by her talents and misfortunes.

[713] Samuel Roberts, his faithful servant.

[714] Private correspondence.

[715] Count Gravina, the Spanish Admiral.

[716] These illustrations are executed in outline, and form one of the most beautiful and elegant specimens of professional art.

[717] 'The Rose had been washed, just washed in a shower,' &c.

[718] The lines here alluded to are entitled, "Inscription for an Hermitage;" and are as follow:—

[719] A translation of Cowper's Greek verses on his bust of Homer.

[720] The celebrated monument in Westminster Abbey.

[721] This bust and pedestal were afterwards removed to Sir George Throckmorton's grounds, and placed in the shrubbery.

[722] Miss Fanshaw was an intimate friend of Lady Hesketh's, and frequently residing with her.

[723] Private correspondence.

[724] The publication alluded to is entitled, "Letters to a Wife; written during three voyages to Africa, from 1750 to 1754. By the Author of Cardiphonia."

[725] He was appointed Professor of Poetry in the University of Oxford.

[726] The effects of the French Revolution.

[727] Lawrence.

[728]

Cowper's Version, book viii.

[729]

Cowper's Version, book xvi.

[730] Cowper here inverts the order of the names, and attributes to Teucer, what in the original is ascribed to Meriones.

The concluding lines of this passage convey a beautiful and affecting image.

[731] A production of Fielding's.

[732] Hayley's Life of Milton.

[733] Of these editions of Milton, that of Bentley has always been considered a complete failure. It is remarkable for the boldness of its conjectural emendations, and for the liberties taken with the text. An amusing anecdote is recorded on this subject. To a friend expostulating with him on the occasion, and urging that it was impossible for Milton, in so many instances, to have written as he alleged, he replied with his characteristic spirit, "Then he ought to have written so." Bishop Newton's edition has acquired just celebrity, and has served as the basis of all subsequent editions. It has been deservedly called "the best edited English Classic up to the period of its publication." Warton's edition of "The Juvenile and Minor Poems" discovers a classical and elegant taste. Its merit, however, is greatly impaired by the severity of its censures on Milton's republican and religious principles. It was to rescue that great poet from the animadversions of Warton and Dr. Johnson that Hayley engaged in a life of Milton, which does honour to the manliness and generosity of his feelings. But the most powerful defence is that of the Rev. Dr. Symmons, who, with considerable vigour of thought and language, has taken a most comprehensive view of the character and prose writings of Milton. He would have been entitled to distinguished praise, if, in vindicating the republicanism of Milton, he had not deeply fallen into it himself. In the present day the clouds of prejudice seem to have subsided, and the errors of the politician are deservedly forgotten in the celebrity of the poet. There was a period when, according to Dr. Johnson, a monument to Philips, with an inscription by Atterbury, in which he was said to be soli Miltono secundus, was refused admittance by Dean Sprat into Westminster Abbey, on the ground of its "being too detestable to be read on the wall of a building dedicated to devotion."

The honours of a monument were at length conceded to Milton himself; but the beautiful and elegant Latin inscription, composed by Dr. George, Provost of King's College, Cambridge, shows that it was thought necessary to apologize for its admission into that sacred repository of kings and prelates.*

*We cannot refrain from enriching our pages with this much admired Epitaph.

[734] The same expression is used by Cowley:

[735] Milton's father was well skilled in music.

[736] Psalm vii. 12.

[737] A popular writer paid the following eloquent tribute to these masterly specimens of professional art.

Pursuits of Literature.

[738]

Eartham, Feb. 1792.

Dear Sir,—I have often been tempted, by affectionate admiration of your poetry, to trouble you with a letter; but I have repeatedly checked myself in recollecting that the vanity of believing ourselves distantly related in spirit to a man of genius is but a sorry apology for intruding on his time.

Though I resisted my desire of professing myself your friend, that I might not disturb you with intrusive familiarity, I cannot resist a desire, equally affectionate, of disclaiming an idea which I am told is imputed to me, of considering myself, on a recent occasion, as an antagonist to you. Allow me, therefore, to say, I was solicited to write a Life of Milton, for Boydell and Nichol, before I had the least idea that you and Mr. Fuseli were concerned in a project similar to theirs. When I first heard of your intention, I was apprehensive that we might undesignedly thwart each other; but, on seeing your proposals, I am agreeably persuaded that our respective labours will be far from clashing; as it is your design to illustrate Milton with a series of notes, and I only mean to execute a more candid life of him than his late biographer has given us, upon a plan that will, I flatter myself, be particularly pleasing to those who love the author as we do.

As to the pecuniary interest of those persons who venture large sums in expensive decoration of Milton, I am persuaded his expanding glory will support them all. Every splendid edition, where the merits of the pencil are in any degree worthy of the poet, will, I think, be secure of success. I wish it cordially to all; as I have a great affection for the arts, and a sincere regard for those whose talents reflect honour upon them.

To you, my dear sir, I have a grateful attachment, for the infinite delight which your writings have afforded me; and if, in the course of your work, I have any opportunity to serve or oblige you, I shall seize it with that friendly spirit which has impelled me at present to assure you, both in prose and rhyme, that I am your cordial admirer,

W. Hayley.

P.S. I wrote the enclosed sonnet on being told that our names had been idly printed together in a newspaper, as hostile competitors. Pray forgive its partial defects for its affectionate sincerity. From my ignorance of your address, I send this to your bookseller's by a person commissioned to place my name in the list of your subscribers; and let me add, if you ever wish to form a new collection of names for any similar purpose, I entreat you to honour me so far as to rank mine, of your own accord, among those of your sincerest friends. Adieu!

SONNET.

TO WILLIAM COWPER, ESQ.

On hearing that our names had been idly mentioned in a newspaper, as competitors in a Life of Milton.

[739] Private correspondence.

[740] Lord Howe was at this time in pursuit of the French fleet, and absent six weeks, during which the public received no intelligence of his movements. His lordship at length returned, having only seen the enemy, but without having been able to overtake and bring them to action. Though this furnished no argument against him, but rather showed the terror that he inspired, yet some of the wits of the day wrote the following jeu d'esprit on the occasion.

Lord Howe subsequently proved his claim to the whole of this celebrated despatch of CÆsar, by the great victory which he gained off Ushant over the French fleet, June 1, 1794, a victory which forms one of the brightest triumphs of the British navy.

*Veni, vidi, vici. I came, I saw, I conquered.

[741] Sketch of the Life of Cowper.

[742] Sketch of the Life of Cowper, by Dr. Johnson.

[743] The Task, book vi.

[744] Job xxxiii. 13.

[745] The following is the result of the information obtained by the Editor on this subject, after the minutest inquiry. A lady who was on a visit at Mr. Newton's, in London, saw, it is said, this Memoir of Cowper lying, among other papers, on the table. She was led to peruse it, and felt a deeper interest in the contents, from having herself been recently recovered from a state of derangement. She privately copied the manuscript, and communicated it to some friend. It was finally published by a pious character, who considered that in so doing he exonerated the religious views of Cowper from the charge of having been instrumental to his malady.

[746] Market Street. Hayley places this village in Hertfordshire, and Cowper in Bedfordshire. Both are right, for the public road or street forms a boundary between the two counties.

[747] We deeply lament that boys frequently leave public schools most discreditably deficient even in the common principles of the Christian faith. My late lamented friend, the Rev. Legh Richmond, used to observe that Christ was crucified between classics and mathematics. A great improvement might be effected in the system of modern education, if a brief but compendious summary of divine truth, or analysis of the Bible, were drawn up, divided into parts, suited to the different gradations of age and knowledge, and introduced into our public schools under the sanction of the Episcopal Bench. Care should also be taken, in the selection of under-masters, to appoint men of acknowledged religious as well as classical attainments, who might specially superintend the religious improvement of the boys. Such are to be found in our Universities, men not less eminent for divine than profane knowledge. A visible reformation would thus be effected, powerfully operating on the moral and spiritual character of the rising generation.

[748] Ashley Cowper, Esq.

[749] Here we first observe the ground-work of Cowper's malady, originating in constitutional causes, and morbid temperament.

[750] A relative of Cowper's ought to have been the last to prohibit the perusal of Herbert's Poems, because Dr. John Donne, the pious and eminent Dean of St. Paul's, one of Cowper's ancestors, was the endeared friend of that holy man, to whom, not long before his death, he sent a seal, representing a figure of Christ extended upon an anchor, the emblem of Hope, to be kept as a memorial.

Izaak Walton bears the following expressive testimony to Herbert's Temple, or Sacred Poems.

"A book, in which by declaring his own spiritual conflicts, he hath comforted and raised many a dejected and discomposed soul, and charmed them into sweet and quiet thoughts; a book, by the frequent reading whereof, and the assistance of that Spirit that seemed to inspire the author, the reader may attain habits of peace and piety, and all the gifts of the Holy Ghost and Heaven: and may, by still reading, still keep those sacred fires burning upon the altar of so pure a heart, as shall free it from the anxieties of this world, and keep it fixed upon things that are above." See Walton's Lives.

[751] We do not know a state of mind more to be deprecated than what is indicated in this passage. It is the science of self-tormenting, that withers every joy, and blights all our happiness. That Satan tempts is a scriptural truth; but the same divine authority also informs us, that "every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed," James i. 14: that God suffereth no man to be tempted above what he is able, and that if we resist Satan he will flee from us. The mind that feels itself harassed by these mental temptations must take refuge in the promises of God, such as Isaiah xli. 10; xliii. 2; lix. 19; 2 Cor. xii. 9, and plead them in prayer. Resistance to temptation will weaken it, faith will overcome it, and the panoply of Heaven, if we be careful to gird ourselves with it, will secure us against all its inroads.

[752] Afterwards Lord Chief Justice, in the Court of Common Pleas, and created Lord Walsingham.

[753] It could hardly be called irreverent, unless the manner in which it was uttered rendered it such.

[754] Samuel Roberts.

[755] There is a considerable improvement in public manners since this period, and oaths and blasphemies would not be tolerated in well-bred society. May the hallowed influence of the Gospel be instrumental in producing a still happier change!

[756] Cowper adopted a profession, but never pursued it with perseverance.

[757] Shortness of life seems to have been peculiar to this family. The writer well remembers the two last baronets, viz. Sir John Russel, whose form was so weak and fragile, that, when resident at the University of Oxford, he was supported by instruments of steel. He died at the early age of twenty-one. 2ndly. Sir George Russel, his brother, who survived only till his twenty-second year. The editor followed him to his grave. The family residence was at Chequers, in Buckinghamshire, an ancient seat, and restored at great expense by these last direct descendants of their race. Chequers was formerly noted as the place where Hampden, Cromwell, and a few others, held their secret meetings, and concerted their measures of opposition against the government of Charles I. The estate afterwards devolved to Robert Greenhill, Esq.

[758] Poems, the Early Productions of William Cowper.

[759] See p. 36.

[760] See p. 264.

[761] See Letter, Dec. 26, 1729.

[762] Cowper believed that he had incurred the Divine displeasure, because he did not commit the crime of self-destruction; a persuasion so manifestly absurd as to afford undeniable proof of derangement.

[763] See p. 122.

[764] We are indebted for this copy to a much esteemed and highly valued friend, the Rev. Charles Bridges.

[766] There is a beautiful illustration of this sudden and happy change, in Cowper's poem entitled "Hope."

"As when a felon whom his country's laws," &c.

[767] On the 10th of March, vide supra.

[768] Cowper's Memoir of Himself.

[769] The Rev. Martin Madan.

[770] He was afterwards Bishop of Lincoln.

[771] The subject of this poem is the Argonautic expedition under Jason.

[772] Apollonius Rhodius. He had the charge of the celebrated library at Alexandria, in the time of Ptolemy.

[773] John Cowper.

[774] The idea in this stanza is taken from the 4th book of Apollonius, line 1298.

[775] Afterwards created Lord Carrington.

[776] Sister of the late Joseph Foster Barham, Esq. I cannot mention this endeared character, with whom I have the privilege of being so nearly connected, without recording my affectionate regard, and high estimation of her piety and virtues.

[777] The Saviour.

[778] Attributed to Correggio, after contemplating the works of Raphael.

[779] Alluding to the monument of Lord Chatham, in Westminster Abbey.

[780] Brown, in Cowper's time, was the great designer in the art of laying out grounds for the nobility and gentry.

[781]

"January 6, 1804.

"Among our dear Cowper's papers, I found the following memorandum:

YARDLEY OAK IN GIRTH, FEET 22, INCHES 6½.
THE OAK AT YARDLEY LODGE, FEET 28, INCHES 5.

As to Yardley Oak, it stands in Yardley Chase, where the Earls of Northampton have a fine seat. It was a favourite walk of our dear Cowper, and he once carried me to see that oak. I believe it is five miles at least from Weston Lodge. It is indeed a noble tree, perfectly sound, and stands in an open part of the Chase, with only one or two others near it, so as to be seen to advantage.

"With respect to the oak at Yardley Lodge, that is quite in decay—a pollard, and almost hollow. I took an excrescence from it in the year 1791, and, if I mistake not, Cowper told me it is said to have been an oak in the time of the Conqueror. This latter oak is on the road to the former, but not above half so far from Weston Lodge, being only just beyond Killick and Dinglederry. This is all I can tell you about the oaks. They were old acquaintance and great favourites of the bard. How rejoiced I am to hear that he has immortalized one of them in blank verse! Where could those one hundred and sixty-one lines lie hid? Till this very day I never heard of their existence, nor suspected it."

[782] The late Samuel Whitbread, Esq., was an enthusiastic admirer of the poetry of Cowper, and solicitous to obtain a relic of the Yardley oak. Mr. Bull, of Newport Pagnel, promised to send a specimen, but some little delay having occurred, Mr. Whitbread addressed to him the following verses, which, emanating from such a man, and not having met the public eye, will, we are persuaded, be considered as a literary curiosity, and of no mean merit.

[783] These lines were written prophetically, and previously to the event.

[784] The late Lord Erskine was a frequent reciter of passages from Cowper's poems. The Editor is indebted to E. H. Barker, Esq. of Thetford, for the following anecdote which was communicated to him by Joseph Jekyll, Esq., the eminent counsellor.

Mr. Jekyll was dining with Lord Oxford, and among the company were Dr. Parr, Horne Tooke, Lord Erskine, and Mr. W. Scott, (brother to Lady Oxford.) Lord Erskine recited, in his admirable manner, the verses of Cowper about the Captive, without saying whose they were: Dr. Parr expressed great admiration of the verses, and said that he had never heard of them or seen them before; he inquired whose they were? H. Tooke said, "Why, Cowper's." Dr. Parr said he had never read Cowper's poems. "Not read Cowper's poems!" said Horne Tooke, "and you never will, I suppose, Dr. Parr, till they are turned into Greek?" When the company went into the drawing-room, Lady Oxford presented Dr. Parr with a small edition of Cowper's Poems, and Mr. Jekyll was desired by her ladyship to write in the book, "From the Countess of Oxford to Dr. Parr." Horne Tooke wrote also underneath, "Who never read the book," and signed his name to it: all present signed their names and added some remark, and among the rest W. Scott. At the sale of Dr. Parr's books, this volume fetched about five pounds, being considered valuable and curious, as the W. Scott signed was supposed to have been Sir W. Scott (since Lord Stowell.) Lord Stowell afterwards took great pains to contradict the report.

[785] THE WISH.

T. Ostler.

[786] The reasons which he assigns, in justification of this opinion, are thus specified.

"Let no pious ear be offended if I advance, in opposition to many authorities, that poetical devotion cannot often please. The doctrines of religion may indeed be defended in a didactic poem; and he who has the happy power of arguing in verse will not lose it because his subject is sacred. A poet may describe the beauty and the grandeur of nature, the flowers of the spring, and the harvests of autumn, the vicissitudes of the tide, and the revolutions of the sky, and praise the Maker for his works, in lines which no reader shall lay aside. The subject of the disputation is not piety, but the motives to piety; that of the description is not God, but the works of God.

"Contemplative piety, or the intercourse between God and the human soul, cannot be poetical. Man, admitted to implore the mercy of his Creator, and plead the merits of his Redeemer, is already in a higher state than poetry can confer.

"The essence of poetry is invention; such invention as, by producing something unexpected, surprises and delights. The topics of devotion are few, and being few are universally known; but, few as they are, they can be made no more; they can receive no grace from novelty of sentiment, and very little from novelty of expression.

"Poetry pleases by exhibiting an idea more grateful to the mind than things themselves afford. This effect proceeds from the display of those parts of nature which attract, and the concealment of those which repel the imagination. But Religion must be shown as it is: suppression and addition equally corrupt it; and such as it is, it is known already.

"From poetry the reader justly expects, and from good poetry always obtains, the enlargement of his comprehension and elevation of his fancy; but this is rarely to be hoped by Christians from metrical devotion. Whatever is great, desirable, or tremendous, is comprised in the name of the Supreme Being. Omnipotence cannot be exalted; Infinity cannot be amplified; Perfection cannot be improved.

"The employments of pious meditation are Faith, Thanksgiving, Repentance, and Supplication. Faith invariably uniform, cannot be invested by fancy with decorations. Thanksgiving, the most joyful of all holy effusions, yet addressed to a Being without passions, is confined to a few modes, and is to be felt, rather than expressed. Repentance, trembling in the presence of the Judge, is not at leisure for cadences and epithets. Supplication of man to man may diffuse itself through many topics of persuasion; but supplication to God can only cry for mercy.

"Of sentiments purely religious it will be found that the most simple expression is the most sublime. Poetry loses its lustre and its power, because it is applied to the decoration of something more excellent than itself. All that pious verse can do is to help the memory and delight the ear, and for these purposes it may be very useful; but it supplies nothing to the mind. The ideas of Christian theology are too simple for eloquence, too sacred for fiction, and too majestic for ornament; to recommend them by tropes and figures, is to magnify by a concave mirror the sidereal hemisphere."—See Life of Waller.

These remarks seem to be founded on very erroneous principles; but having already offered our sentiments, we forbear any further comment, except to state that we profess to belong to the school of Cowper; that we participate in the expression of his regret,

and that we cordially share in his conviction,

Table Talk.

[787] See the "Inferno" of Dante, where this motto is inscribed over the entrance into the abodes of woe.

[788] Job xxvi. 14.

[789] See page 451.

[790] Letter to Newton, May 20, 1786.

[791] Paradise Lost, book iii.

[792] See p. 446.

[793] Letter to Newton, Aug. 6, 1785.

[794] Letter to Newton, May 20, 1786.

[795] See page 448.

[796] Letter to Mr. Newton.

[797] Grant's (now Lord Glenelg) prize poem on "Restoration of Learning in the East."

[798] Eclectic Review. This criticism it has been ascertained is from the pen of Mr. James Montgomery; and the desire inseparably to connect what is so just and able with the works of Cowper has been the inducement, notwithstanding its length, to introduce it here.

[799] Montgomery's Essay on Cowper's Poems.

[800] Vide Josh. v. 14.

[801] Which may be found at Doctor's Commons.

[802] Alluding to the grant of Magna Charta, which was extorted from King John by the barons at Runnymede near Windsor.

[803] The Moravian missionaries in Greenland.—See Krantz.

[804] BruyÈre.

[805] See Poems.

[806] John Courtney Throckmorton, Esq. of Weston Underwood.

[807] Omai.

[808] Alluding to the calamities in Jamaica.

[809] August 18, 1783.

[810] Alluding to the fog that covered both Europe and Asia during the whole summer of 1783.

[811] Benet College, Cambridge.

[812] Miraturque novos fructus et non sua poma.—Virg.

[813] Mignonette.

[814] The author hopes that he shall not be censured for unnecessary warmth upon so interesting a subject. He is aware that it is become almost fashionable to stigmatize such sentiments as no better than empty declamation; but it is an ill symptom, and peculiar to modern times.

[815] See Hume.

[816] The Guelder Rose.

[817] Nebaioth and Kedar, the sons of Ishmael, and progenitors of the Arabs, in the prophetic scripture here alluded to, may be reasonably considered as representatives of the Gentiles at large.

[818] See 2 Chron. xxvi. 19.

[819] The author begs leave to explain.—Sensible that, without such knowledge, neither the ancient poets nor historians can be tasted, or indeed understood, he does not mean to censure the pains that are taken to instruct a schoolboy in the religion of the heathen, but merely that neglect of Christian culture which leaves him shamefully ignorant of his own.

[820] Alluding to the poem by Mr. Hayley, which accompanied these lines.

[821] It may be proper to inform the reader, that this piece has already appeared in print, having found its way, though with some unnecessary additions by an unknown hand, into the Leeds Journal, without the author's privity.

[822] It was one of the whimsical speculations of this philosopher, that all fables which ascribe reason and speech to animals should be withheld from children, as being only vehicles of deception. But what child was ever deceived by them, or can be, against the evidence of his senses?

[823] Sir Robert Gunning's daughters.

[824] Two woods belonging to John Throckmorton, Esq.

[825] Garth.

[826] Composed for John Cox, parish clerk of Northampton.

[827] Pitchkettled, a favourite phrase at the time when this Epistle was written, expressive of being puzzled, or what in the Spectator's time would have been called bamboozled.

[828] An obscure part of Olney, adjoining to the residence of Cowper, which faced the market-place.

[829] Lady Austen's residence in France.

[830] Written on reading the following in the obituary of the Gentleman's Magazine for April, 1789.—"At Tottenham, John Ardesoif, Esq., a young man of large fortune, and in the splendour of his carriages and horses rivalled by few country gentlemen. His table was that of hospitality, where, it may be said, he sacrificed too much to conviviality; but, if he had his foibles he had his merits also, that far outweighed them. Mr. A. was very fond of cock-fighting, and had a favourite cock, upon which he had won many profitable matches. The last bet he laid upon this cock he lost; which so enraged him, that he had the bird tied to a spit and roasted alive before a large fire. The screams of the miserable animal were so affecting, that some gentlemen who were present attempted to interfere, which so enraged Mr. A., that he seized a poker, and with the most furious vehemence declared, that he would kill the first man who interposed; but, in the midst of his passionate asseverations, he fell down dead upon the spot. Such, we are assured, were the circumstances which attended the death of this great pillar of humanity."

[831] Cowper's partiality to animals is well known. Lady Hesketh, in one of her letters, states, "that he had, at one time, five rabbits, three hares, two guinea-pigs, a magpie, a jay, and a starling; besides two goldfinches, two canary birds, and two dogs. It is amazing how the three hares can find room to gambol and frolic (as they certainly do) in his small parlour;" and she adds, "I forgot to enumerate a squirrel, which he had at the same time, and which used to play with one of the hares continually. One evening, the cat giving one of the hares a sound box on the ear, the hare ran after her, and, having caught her, punished her by drumming on her back with her two feet as hard as drum-sticks, till the creature would have actually been killed, had not Mrs. Unwin rescued her."

[832] This tree had been known by the name of Judith for many ages. Perhaps it received that name on being planted by the Countess Judith, niece to the Conqueror, whom he gave in marriage to the English Earl Waltheof, with the counties of Northampton and Huntingdon as her dower. Vide Letters, p. 301.

[833] Knee-timber is found in the crooked arms of oak, which, by reason of their distortion, are easily adjusted to the angle formed where the deck and the ship's sides meet.

[834] Hayley.

[835] Lady Throckmorton.

[836] This tale is founded on an article which appeared in the Buckinghamshire Herald, Saturday, June 1, 1793;—"Glasgow, May 23. In a block, or pulley, near the head of the mast of a gabert, now lying at the Broomielaw, there is a chaffinch's nest and four eggs. The nest was built while the vessel lay at Greenock, and was followed hither by both birds. Though the block is occasionally lowered for the inspection of the curious, the birds have not forsaken the nest. The cock, however, visits the nest but seldom, while the hen never leaves it, but when she descends to the hull for food."

[837] Nominally by Robert Heron, Esq., but supposed to have been written by John Pinkerton. 8vo. 1785.

[838] A village near Olney.

[839] Mrs. Unwin.

[840] The late Lady Austen

[841] The bones of Milton, who lies buried in Cripplegate church, were disinterred; a pamphlet by Le Neve was published at the time, giving an account of what appeared on opening his coffin.

[842]

Milton in Manso.