• 
 
POEMS AND LETTERS 
 
 BY THOMAS GRAY. 
 
 » 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2014 
 
 https://archive.org/details/poenislettersOOgray 
 
O E M 
 
 AND 
 
 LETTERS 
 
 BY 
 
 THOMAS GRAY 
 
 LONDON 
 
 PRINTED AT THE CHISWICK PRESS 
 1863 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 POEMS. 
 
 Page 
 
 J^^^^^^DE on the Spring ......... 3 
 
 W^w^^\Y) Death of a Favourite Cat, drowned in a Tub of 
 
 Pv^^^^/n Gold Fifties 7 
 
 Ode on a Diftant Profpe^t of Eton College . . . . 11 
 
 Hymn to Adverfity ........... 17 
 
 The Progrefs of Poefy. A Pindaric Ode ....... 21 
 
 The Bard. A Pindaric Ode ......... 29 
 
 Ode for Mufic ............ 39 
 
 The Fatal Sifters. An Ode 45 
 
 The Vegtam's Kivitha ; or the Defcent of Odin. An Ode . . . . 51 
 
 The Triumphs of Owen. A Fragment ....... 59 
 
 The Death of Hoel. An Ode 63 
 
 Sonnet on the Death of Mr. Richard Weft 67 
 
 Epitaph on Mrs. Jane Clarke ......... 69 
 
 Epitaph on Sir William Williams ........ 71 
 
 Elegy written in a Country Church-yard ....... 73 
 
 A Long Story ............ 83 
 
 Ode on the Pleafure arifmg from Viciflitude . . . . . . . 93 
 
 Hymn to Ignorance. A Fragment . . . . . . . . loi 
 
[ ] 
 
 Page 
 
 The Alliance of Education and Government. A Fragment . . . . 105 
 
 Stanzas to Mr. Bentley. A Fragment . . . . . . . . 1 1 1 
 
 Sketch of his own Charadter . . . . . . . . . 113 
 
 Amatory Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 
 
 Song .. .. . .. . . .. . .. 117 
 
 Impromptu, fuggefted by a view, in 1766, of the Seat and Ruins of a Deceafed 
 
 Nobleman, at Kingfgate, Kent ........ 119 
 
 The Candidate ; or, the Cambridge Courtfhip . . . . . . 121 
 
 EXTRACTS. 
 
 Propertius, Lib. iii. Eleg. iii. v. 41. Imitated ...... 125 
 
 Taflb, Gerus. Lib. Cant. xiv. St. 32 . . . . . . • . 131 
 
 POEMATA. 
 
 Hymeneal on the Marriage of His Royal Highnefs the Prince of Wales . . 135 
 
 Luna Habitabilis ........... 139 
 
 Alcaic Ode ............ 145 
 
 De Principiis Cogitandi. Liber Primus 147 
 
 ,, Liber Quartus ....... 159 
 
 EXTRACTS. 
 
 Rime di Petrarca. Sonetto 170 ......... 162 
 
 From the Anthologia Graeca : — 
 
 In Bacchae Furentis Statuam . . . . . . . . 165 
 
 In Alexandrum, aere effi£lum . ....... 165 
 
 In Medeae Imaginem, nobile Timomachi opus ..... 167 
 
 In Niobes Statuam .......... 167 
 
 In Veneris Statuam . ......... 167 
 
[ vii ] 
 
 From the Anthologia Graeca : — Page 
 
 In Amorem Dormientem . . . . . . . . . 169 
 
 *' Itur in Idalios tradtus, felicia regna" . . . . . . . 169 
 
 In Fontem Aquae Calidse . . . . . . . . . 171 
 
 " Irrepfifle fuas murem videt Argus in aedes " . . . . . 171 
 
 " Hanc tibi Rufinus mittit, Rodoclea, coronam . . . . . 173 
 
 Ad Amorem ........... 173 
 
 Notes TO THE Poems 177 
 
 LETTERS. 
 
 Letter 
 
 I. To Mr. Weft. A Tranflation of fome Lines from Statius . . . 195 
 II. To Mr. Weft. On the little Encouragement which he finds given to 
 Claffical Learning at Cambridge. His Averfion to Metaphyfical 
 and Mathematical Studies ........ 208 
 
 III. To Mr. Walpole. Excufe for not Writing to him, &c. . . . 211 
 
 IV. To Mr. Weft, Thanks him for his Poetical Epiftle. Complains of 
 
 Low Spirits. Lady Walpole's Death, and his Concern for Mr. H. 
 Walpole . . . . . . . . . . . 213 
 
 V. To Mr. Walpole. How he fpends his own Time in the Country. Meets 
 
 with Mr. Southern, the Dramatic Poet . . . . . 215 
 
 VI. To Mr. Walpole. Suppofed Manner in which Mr. Walpole fpends his 
 
 Time in the Country . . . . . . . . 218 
 
 VII. From Mr. Weft. Sends him a Tranflation into Latin of a Greek 
 
 Epigram ........... 220 
 
 VIII. To Mr. Weft. A Latin Epiftle in Anfwer to the foregoing . . 223 
 IX. To Mr. Weft. A Sapphic Ode, with a Latin Poftfcript, concluding 
 
 with an Alcaic Fragment ........ 225 
 
[ viii ] 
 
 Lette r Page 
 X. To Mr. Walpole. Congratulates him on his New Place. Whimfical 
 
 Defcription of the Quadrangle of Peter-Houfe .... 230 
 XI. To Mr. Weft. On his own Leaving the Univerfity .... 232 
 XII. To his Mother. His Voyage from Dover. Defcription of Calais. 
 
 Abbeville. Amiens. Face of the Country, and Drefs of the People 234 
 
 XIII. To Mr. Weft. Monuments of the Kings of France at St. Denis, &c. 
 
 French Opera and Mufic. A£tors, &c. ..... 238 
 
 XIV. To Mr. Weft. Palace of Verfailles. Its Gardens and Water-works. 
 
 Inftallation of the Knights du S. Efprit ..... 244 
 
 XV. To his Mother. Rheims. Its Cathedral. Difpofition and Amufements 
 
 of its Inhabitants 249 
 
 XVI. To his Father. Face of the Country between Rheims and Dijon. 
 
 Defcription of the latter. Monaftery of the Carthufians and 
 Ciftercians .......... 253 
 
 XVII. To Mr. Weft. Lyons. Beauty of its Environs. Roman Antiquities 256 
 XVIII. To his Mother. Lyons. Excurfion to the Grande Chartreufe. Solemn 
 and romantic Approach to it. His reception there, and commen- 
 dation of the Monaftery ........ 260 
 
 XIX. To his Father. Geneva. Advantage of a free Government exhibited 
 in the very look of the People. Beauty of the Lake, and plenty 
 of its Fifli .......... 264 
 
 XX. To his Mother. Journey over the Alps to Turin. Singular Accident 
 
 in palling them. Method of Travelling over Mount Cenis . . 268 
 
 XXI. To Mr. Weft. Turin. Its Carnival. More of the Views and Scenery 
 
 on the Road to the Grande Chartreufe. Wild and favage Pro- 
 
 fpe£ts amongft the Alps, agreeable to Livy's defcription . . 272 
 
 XXII. To Mr. Weft. Genoa. Mufic. The Doge. Churches and the 
 
 Palazzo Doria .......... 277 
 
 XXIII. To his Mother. Paintings at Modena. Bologna. Beauty and Rich- 
 
 nefs of Lombardy ......... 281 
 
 XXIV. To his Mother. The Apennines. Florence and its Gallery . . 284 
 
[ ] 
 
 Letter Page 
 XXV. To Mr. Weft. Journey from Genoa to Florence. Elegiac Verfes, 
 occafioned by the fight of the Plains where the Battle of Trebia 
 was fought .......... 288 
 
 XXVI. To Mr. Wharton. Propofals for Printing his Travels. His Arrival 
 
 at Florence 290 
 
 XXVII. To his Mother. Death of the Pope. Intended departure for Rome. 
 
 Firft and pleafing appearance of an Italian Spring . . . 300 
 XXVIII. To his Mother. Cathedral of Sienna. Viterbo. Diftant fight of 
 Rome. The Tiber. Entrance into the City. St. Peter's. In- 
 trodu£tion of the Cardinal d'Auvergne into the Conclave . . 302 
 
 XXIX. To his Mother. Illumination of St. Peter's on Good Friday, &c. . 308 
 XXX. Mr. Walpole and Mr. Gray to Mr. Weft. Defcription of the Ruins 
 of the Temple of Minerva Medica. Some account of the Car- 
 dinal Corfini ; his great Riches. Abftemious Living of the Chief 
 Princes. Cardinal Albani called extravagant for laying out a 
 Crown for his Dinner and Supper. Humorous Defcription of fome 
 of the Clergy. Vifit to St. Peter's, and infpeition of a piece of the 
 True Crofs, St. Longinus's Spear, and St. Veronica's Hand- 
 kerchief. Defcription of the Proceffion at St. Peter's . . 310 
 
 XXXI. To Mr. Weft. Comic Account of the Palace of the Duke of Modena 
 at Tivoli. The Anio. Its Cafcade. Situation of the Town. 
 Villas of Horace and Maecenas, and other remains of Antiquity. 
 Modern Aquedu£ls. A grand Roman Ball . . . . 317 
 XXXII. To Mr. Weft. An Alcaic Ode. Ludicrous allufion to Ancient Roman 
 Cuftoms. Albano and its Lake, Caftle Gondolpho. Profpedt 
 from the Palace j an Obfervation of Mr. Walpole's on the Views 
 in that part of Italy. Latin Infcriptions Ancient and Modern , 324 
 XXXIII. To his Mother. Road to Naples. Beautiful Situation of that City. 
 
 Its Bay. Of Baiae, and several other Antiquities. Some 
 Account of the Firft Difcovery of an Ancient Town, now known 
 to be Herculaneum . . . . . . . . 331 
 
[ X ] 
 
 Letter Page 
 
 XXXIV. To his Father. Departure from Rome and Return to Florence. 
 
 No likelihood of the Conclave's Rifmg. Some of the Cardinals 
 Dead. Defcription of the Pretender, his Sons, and Court. 
 Proceflion at Naples. Sight of the King and Queen. Mildness 
 of the Air at Florence ........ 335 
 
 XXXV. To Mr. Weft. Some Account of Naples and its Environs, and of 
 
 Mr. Walpole's and his Return to Florence .... 339 
 
 XXXVI. Mr. Walpole and Mr. Gray to Mr. Weft. Divifions in the Conclave 
 
 on the Election of a Pope. Walpole's Sarcafm on the Ladies 
 
 p and W , and Lady M W M . Gray's 
 
 Defcription of the Method of Palfing his Time at Florence . 345 
 
 XXXVII. To his Mother. Excurfion to Bologna. Election of a Pope ; De- 
 
 fcription of his Perfon, with an Odd Speech which he made to 
 
 the Cardinals in the Conclave ...... 350 
 
 XXXVIII. To Mr. Weft. Defcription in Latin Hexameters of the fudden rifing 
 of Monte Nuovo near Puzzoli, and of the deftrudtion which at- 
 tended it ......... . 354 
 
 XXXIX. To his Father. Uncertainty of the Route he ftiall take in his Return 
 to England. Magnificence of the Italians in their Reception of 
 Strangers, and parfimony when alone. The great applaufe which 
 the new Pope meets with. One of his Bans Mots . . . 362 
 XL. To his Father. Total want of Amufement at Florence, occafioned 
 by the late Emperor's Funeral not being public. A Proceflion 
 to avert the ill eff"e£l:s of a late Inundation. Intention of going 
 to Venice. An Invafion from the Neapolitans apprehended. 
 The Inhabitants of Tufcany difiatisfied with the Government . 365 
 XLi. To Mr. Weft. The time of his Departure from Florence determined. 
 
 Alteration in his Temper and Spirits. Difference between an 
 Italian Fair and an Englifti one. A Farewell to Florence and its 
 Profpedts in Latin Hexameters. Imitation, in the fame Lan- 
 guage, of an Italian Sonnet ....... 368 
 
[ xi ] 
 
 Letter Page 
 XLii. To Mr. Weft. Earneft hopes for his Friend's better Health, as the 
 warm Weather conies on. Defence of Tacitus, and his chara£ler. 
 Of the new Dunciad. Sends him a Speech from the firft Scene of 
 
 his Agrippina 373 
 
 XLiii. To Mr. Weft. Thanks for his Verses. On Jofeph Andrews. De- 
 fence of old Words in Tragedy . . . . . . . 387 
 
 XLiv. To Mr. Weft. Has laid afide his Tragedy. Difficulty of tranflating 
 
 Tacitus ........... 393 
 
 XLV. To Mr. Weft. Of his own peculiar fpecies of Melancholy. Infcription 
 for a Wood in Greek Hexameters. Argument and Exordium of a 
 Latin Heroic Epiftle from Sophonifba to Maffinifla . . . 404 
 
 Notes to the Letters . 413 
 
" MR. THOMAS GRAY. 
 
 (BY THE HON. HORACE WALPOLE.) 
 
 E was the fon of a money fcrivener, by Mary 
 Antrobus, a milliner in Cornhill, and lifter 
 to two Antrobus's, who were ufhers of Eton 
 School. He was born in 1716, and edu- 
 cated at Eton College, chiefly under the direction of one 
 of his uncles, who took prodigious pains with him, which 
 anfwered exceedingly. He particularly inftrudled him in 
 the virtues of ftmples. He had a great genius for mufic 
 and poetry. From Eton he went to Peter Houfe at Cam- 
 bridge, and in 1739 accompanied Mr. H. W. in travelling 
 to France and Italy. He returned in 1741, and returned 
 to Cambridge again. His letters are the befl: I ever faw. 
 
[ ] 
 
 and had more novelty and wit. One of his firft pieces of 
 poetry was an anfwer in Englifb verfe to an epiftle from 
 H. W. At Naples he wrote a fragment, defcribing an 
 earthquake, and the origin of Monte Nuovo, in the ftyle 
 of Virgil ; at Rome an Alcaic ode, in imitation of Horace, 
 to R. Weft, Efq. After his return he wrote the inimitable 
 ode. On a Diftant Profpedl of Eton College ; another 
 moral ode ; and that beautiful one on a cat of Mr. Wal- 
 pole's drowned in a tub of gold fifhes. Thefe three laft 
 have been publifhed in Dodfley's Mifcellanies. He began 
 a poem on the reformation of learning, but foon dropped 
 it, on finding his plan too much refembling the Dunciad. 
 It had this admirable line in it : 
 
 ' And gofpel-light firft flajhed from Bullen's eyes.' 
 
 He began, too, a philofophical poem in Latin, and an 
 Englifh tragedy of Agrippina, and fome other odes, one 
 of which, a very beautiful one, entitled, ' Stanzas written 
 in a Country Churchyard,' he finiftied in 1750. He was 
 a very flow, but very corredt writer. Being at Stoke in 
 
[ - ] 
 
 the fummer of 1750, he wrote a kind of tale, addreffed 
 to Lady Schaub and Mifs Speed, who had made him a vifit 
 at Lady Cobham's. The Elegy written in the Churchyard 
 was publifhed by Dodfley, Feb. 16, 175 1, with a £hort 
 advertifement by Mr. H, W., and immediately went 
 through four editions. He had fome thoughts of taking 
 his Doctor's degree, but would not, for fear of being con- 
 founded with Dr. Grey, who publiflied the foolifTi edition 
 of Hudibras. 
 
 " In March, 1753, was publifhed a fine edition of his 
 poems, with frontifpieces, head and tail pieces, and initial 
 letters, engraved by Grignion and Miiller, after drawings 
 of Richard Bentley, Efq. He lofi: his mother a little 
 before this, and at the fame time fini£hed an extreme fine 
 poem, in imitation of Pindar, On the Power of Mufical 
 Poetry, which he began two or three years before. In the 
 winter of 1755, George Hervey, Earl of Briftol, who was 
 foon afterwards fent Envoy to Turin, was defigned for 
 Minifter to Lifbon : he offered to carry Mr. Gray as his 
 fecretary, but he declined it. In Auguft, 1757, was 
 
[ ] 
 
 publifhed two odes of Mr. Gray ; one, On the Power and 
 Progrefs of Poefy, the other, On the DeftrucStion of the 
 Welfh Bards by Edward I. They were printed at the new 
 prefs at Strawberry Hill, being the iirfl: produdion of that 
 printing-houfe. In Odober, 1761, he made words for an 
 old tune of Geminiani, at the requefl: of Mrs. Speed. It 
 begins, 
 
 * Thyrfisj when we parted, fwore.' 
 
 Two ftanzas the thought from the French." 
 
 ***** 
 
POEMS. 
 
ODE 
 
 ON THE SPRING.' 
 
 O ! where the rofy-bofom'd Hours, 
 Fair Venus' train, appear, 
 Difclofe the long-expeding flowers, 
 And wake the purple year ! 
 The Attic warbler pours her throat, 
 Refponflve to the cuckoo's note, 
 
 The untaught harmony of fpring : 
 While, whifp'ring pleafure as they fly. 
 Cool Zephyrs through the clear blue fky 
 Their gather'd fragrance fling. 
 
[ 4 ] 
 
 Where'er the oak's thick branches ftretch 
 
 A broader browner fhade, 
 Where'er the rude and mofs-grown beech 
 
 O'er-canopies the glade,* 
 Befide fome water's rufhy brink 
 With me the Mufe fhall Cit, and think 
 
 (At eafe recHned in ruftic ftate) 
 How vain the ardour of the crowd, 
 How low, how little are the proud. 
 
 How indigent the great ! ^ 
 
 Still is the toiling hand of Care ; 
 
 The panting herds repofe : 
 Yet hark, how through the peopled air 
 
 The bufy murmur glows ! 
 The infed-youth are on the wing. 
 Eager to tafte the honied fpring, 
 
 And float amid the liquid noon : 
 Some lightly o'er the current fkim, 
 Some fhow their gayly-gilded trim 
 
 Quick-glancing to the fun.'^ 
 
[ 5 ] 
 
 To Contemplation's fober eye 
 
 Such is the race of Man : 
 And they that creep, and they that fly, 
 
 Shall end where they began. 
 Alike the Bufy and the Gay 
 But flutter through life's little day. 
 
 In Fortune's varying colours drefl: : 
 Brufh'd by the hand of rough Mifchance, 
 Or chill'd by Age, their airy dance 
 
 They leave, in duft to reft. 
 
 Methinks I hear, in accents low. 
 
 The fportive kind reply : 
 Poor moralift ! and what art thou ? 
 
 A folitary fly ! 
 Thy joys no glittering female meets, 
 No hive haft thou of hoarded fweets, 
 
 No painted plumage to difplay : 
 On hafty wings thy youth is flown ; 
 Thy fun is fet, thy fpring is gone — 
 
 We frolic while 'tis May. 
 
[ 7 ] 
 
 ODE 
 
 ON THE DEATH OF A FAVOURITE CAT, 
 DROWNED IN A TUB OF GOLD FISHES.' 
 
 ' "^^^^^ WAS on a lofty vafe's fide, 
 
 Where China's gayeft art had dyed 
 
 The azure flowers, that blow ; 
 Demureft of the tabby kind, 
 The penflve Selima, reclined,* 
 Gazed on the lake below. 
 
 Her confcious tail her joy declared ; 
 The fair round face, the fnowy beard. 
 
 The velvet of her paws. 
 Her coat, that with the tortoife vies. 
 Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes. 
 She faw ; and purr'd applaufe. 
 
C 8 ] 
 
 Still had fhe gazed ; but 'midfl: the tide 
 Two angel forms ^ were feen to glide, 
 
 The Genii of the ftream : 
 Their fcaly armour's Tyrian hue 
 Through richefl: purple to the view 
 
 Betray'd a golden gleam. 
 
 The haplefs nymph with wonder faw : 
 A whifker firft, and then a claw, 
 
 With many an ardent wifh, 
 She ftretch'dj in vain, to reach the prize. 
 What female heart can gold defpife ? 
 
 What Cat's averfe to fifli 
 
 Prefumptuous maid ! with looks ^ intent 
 Again fhe ftretch'd, again fhe bent, 
 
 Nor knew the gulf between. 
 (Malignant Fate fat by, and fmiled) 
 The flipp'ry verge her feet beguiled. 
 
 She tumbled headlong in. 
 
C 9 ] 
 
 Eight times emerging from the flood 
 She mew'd to ev'ry watVy God, 
 
 Some fpeedy aid to fend. 
 No Dolphin came, no Nereid ftirr'd : 
 
 Nor cruel Tom, nor Siifan heard. 
 A fav'rite has no friend ! ^ 
 
 From hence, ye beauties, undeceived. 
 Know, one falfe ftep is ne'er retrieved, 
 
 And be with caution bold. 
 Not all that tempts^ your wand'ring eyes 
 And heedlefs hearts is lawful prize. 
 
 Nor all, that glifters, gold. 
 
[ II ] 
 
 ODE 
 
 ON A DISTANT PROSPECT OF ETON COLLEGE/ 
 
 ''A^6pco7rof , Ixai/v 7rpo(p(x,(rt(; £t? to Svittv-^sTu. 
 
 Menander. Incert. Fragm. ver. 382, ed. Cler. p. 245. 
 
 E diflant fpires, ye antique towers, 
 That crown the wat'ry glade, 
 Where grateful Science ftill adores 
 Her Henry's^ holy fhade ; 
 And ye, that from the ftately brow 
 Of Windfor's heights th' expanfe below 
 
 ■ Of grove, of lawn, of mead furvey, 
 Whofe turf, whofe fhade, whofe flowers among 
 Wanders the hoary Thames along 
 His fllver-winding way : 
 
[ 12 ] 
 
 Ah, happy hills ! ah, pleafing fhade ! 
 
 Ah, fields beloved in vain ! 
 Where once my carelefs childhood ftray'd, 
 
 A ftranger yet to pain ! 
 I feel the gales that from ye blow 
 A momentary blifs beftow, 
 
 As waving frefh their gladfome wing, 
 My weary foul they feem to foothe. 
 And, redolent of joy and youth,^ 
 
 To breathe a fecond fpring. 
 
 Say, father Thames, for thou haft feen 
 
 Full many a fprightly race 
 Difporting on thy margent green, 
 
 The paths of pleafure trace ; 
 Who foremoft now delight to cleave, 
 With pliant arm, thy glafTy wave ? 
 
 The captive linnet which enthral ? 
 What idle progeny fucceed 
 To chafe the rolling circle's fpeed,^ 
 
 Or urge the flying ball ? 
 
[ '3 ] 
 
 While fome on earneft bufinefs bent 
 
 Their murm'ring labours ply 
 *Gainfl: graver hours that bring conftraint 
 
 To fweeten liberty : 
 Some bold adventurers difdain 
 The limits of their little reign, 
 
 And unknown regions dare defcry : 
 Still as they run they look behind, 
 They hear a voice in every w^ind, 
 
 And fnatch a fearful joy. 
 
 Gay hope is theirs by fancy fed, 
 
 Lefs plealing when pofTeft ; 
 The tear forgot as foon as fhed, 
 
 The funfhine of the breaft : 
 Theirs buxom health, of rofy hue. 
 Wild wit, invention ever new. 
 
 And lively cheer, of vigour born ; 
 The thoughtlefs day, the eafy night, 
 The fpirits pure, the {lumbers light, 
 
 That fly th' approach of morn. 
 
[ 14 ] 
 
 Alas ! regardlefs of their doom 
 
 The little vidims play ; 
 No fenfe have they of ills to come, 
 
 Nor care beyond to-day : 
 Yet fee, how all around 'em wait 
 The minifters of human fate, 
 
 And black Misfortune's baleful train ! 
 Ah, fhow them where in ambufh ftand. 
 To feize their prey, the murth'rous band ! 
 
 Ah, tell them, they are men ! 
 
 Thefe fhall the fury PafHons tear. 
 
 The vultures of the mind, 
 Difdainful Anger, pallid Fear, 
 
 And Shame that fculks behind ; 
 Or pining Love fhall wafte their youth. 
 Or Jealoufy, with rankling tooth. 
 
 That inly gnaws the fecret heart ; 
 And Envy wan, and faded Care, 
 Grim-vifaged comfortlefs Defpair, 
 
 And Sorrow's piercing dart. 
 
[ 15 ] 
 
 Ambition this fhall tempt to rife, 
 
 Then whirl the wretch from high. 
 To bitter Scorn a facrifice. 
 
 And grinning Infamy. 
 The ftings of Falfehood thofe fhall try, 
 And hard Unkindnefs' alter'd eye, 
 
 That mocks the tear it forced to flow ; 
 And keen Remorfe with blood defiled. 
 And moody Madnefs laughing wild 
 
 Amid feverefl: woe. 
 
 Lo ! in the vale of years beneath 
 
 A griefly troop are feen. 
 The painful family of Death, 
 
 More hideous than their queen : 
 This racks the joints, this fires the veins, 
 That every labouring finew flrains, 
 
 Thofe in the deeper vitals rage : 
 Lo ! Poverty, to fill the band, 
 That numbs the foul with icy hand. 
 
 And flow-confuming Age. 
 
C i6 ] 
 
 To each his fuff'rings : all are men, 
 
 Condemn'd alike to groan ; 
 The tender for another's pain, 
 
 Th' unfeeling for his own. 
 Yet, ah ! why fhould they know their fate. 
 Since forrow never comes too late. 
 
 And happinefs too fwiftly flies ? 
 Thought would deftroy their paradife. 
 No more j — where ignorance is blifs, 
 
 'Tis folly to be wife. 
 
[ 17 ] 
 
 HYMN TO ADVERSITY.' 
 
 QiVTO. xvpiu? fpc^'"- 
 
 ^scH. Agam. ver. i8i. 
 
 AUGHTER of Jove, relentlefs power, 
 Thou tamer of the human breaft, 
 Whofe iron fcourge and tort'ring hour 
 The bad affright, afflidt the beft ! 
 Bound in thy adamantine chain, 
 The proud are taught to tafte of pain. 
 And purple tyrants vainly groan 
 With pangs unfelt before, unpitied and alone. 
 
 D 
 
[ '8 ] 
 
 When firfl: thy lire to fend on earth 
 
 Virtue, his darling child, defign'd, 
 To thee he gave the heav'nly birth. 
 
 And bade to form her infant mind. 
 Stern rugged nurfe ! thy rigid lore 
 With patience many a year fhe bore : 
 What forrow was, thou bad'ft her know, 
 And from her own fhe learn'd to melt at others' woe. 
 
 Scared at thy frown terrific, fly 
 
 Self-pleafing Folly's idle brood. 
 Wild Laughter, Noife, and thoughtlefs Joy, 
 
 And leave us leifure to be good. 
 Light they difperfe, and with them go 
 The fummer friend, the flatt'ring foe ; 
 By vain Profperity received. 
 To her they vow their truth, and are again believed. 
 
[ '9 ] 
 
 Wifdom in fable garb array 'd, 
 
 Immerfed in rapt'rous thought profound, 
 And Melancholy, filent maid, 
 
 With leaden eye that loves the ground. 
 Still on thy folemn fteps attend : 
 Warm Charity, the gen'ral friend. 
 With Juftice, to herfelf fevere. 
 And Pity, dropping foft the fadly-pleafing tear. 
 
 Oh ! gently on thy fuppliant's head, 
 
 Dread goddefs, lay thy chaft'ning hand ! 
 Not in thy Gorgon terrors clad. 
 
 Not circled with the vengeful band 
 (As by the impious thou art feen) 
 With thund'ring voice, and threat'ning mien. 
 With fcreaming Horror's fun'ral cry, 
 Defpair, and fell Difeafe, and ghaftly Poverty : 
 
[ 20 ] 
 
 Thy form benign, oh goddefs, wear, 
 
 Thy milder influence impart, 
 Thy philofophic train be there 
 
 To foften, not to wound, my heart. 
 The gen'rous fpark extindt revive. 
 Teach me to love, and to forgive, 
 Exadl my own defed:s to fcan, 
 What others are to feel, and know myfelf a Man. 
 
[ 21 ] 
 
 THE PROGRESS OF POESY.' 
 
 A PINDARIC ODE. 
 
 Xar/^fj. Pindar. 01. ii. v. 152. 
 
 I. I. 
 
 WAKE, ^olian lyre, awake,' 
 And give to rapture all thy trembling firings. 
 From Helicon's harmonious fprings 
 
 A thoufand rills their mazy progrefs take : 
 The laughing flowers that round them blow, 
 Drink life and fragrance as they flow. 
 Now the rich ftream of muflc winds along. 
 Deep, majeftic, fmooth, and ftrong. 
 Through verdant vales, and Ceres' golden reign : 
 Now rolling down the fleep amain. 
 Headlong, impetuous, fee it pour; 
 The rocks and nodding groves rebellow to the roar. 
 
[ 22 ] 
 
 I. 2. 
 
 Oh ! Sov'reign of the willing foul,^ 
 Parent of fweet and folemn-breathing airs, 
 Enchanting fhell ! the fullen Cares 
 
 And frantic PafTions hear thy foft controul. 
 On Thracia's hills the Lord of War 
 Has ciirb'd the fury of his car, 
 And dropt his thirfty lance at thy command. 
 Perching on the fceptred hand"^ 
 Of Jove, thy magic lulls the feather'd king 
 With ruffled plumes and flagging wing : 
 Quench'd in dark clouds of flumber lie 
 The terror of his beak, and lightnings of his eye. 
 
 I- 3- 
 
 Thee the voice, the dance, obey,^ 
 Temper'd to thy warbled lay. 
 O'er Idalia's velvet-green 
 The rofy-crowned Loves are feen 
 On Cytherea's day j 
 
C n ] 
 
 With antic Sport, and blue-eyed Pleafures, 
 Frifking light in frolic meafures ; 
 Now purfuing, now retreating, 
 
 Now in circling troops they meet : 
 To brifk notes in cadence beating. 
 
 Glance their many-twinkling feet/ 
 Slow melting ftrains their Queen's approach declare : 
 
 Where'er fhe turns, the Graces homage pay. 
 With arms fublime, that float upon the air. 
 
 In gliding ftate fhe wins her eafy way : 
 O'er her warm cheek, and riflng bofom, move 
 The bloom of young Deflre and purple light of Love.^ 
 
 ir. I . 
 
 Man's feeble race what ills await ! ^ 
 Labour, and Penury, the racks of Pain, 
 Difeafe, and Sorrow's weeping train. 
 
 And Death, fad refuge from the ftorms of fate ! 
 The fond complaint, my fong, difprove. 
 And juftity the laws of Jove. 
 
[ 24 ] 
 
 Say, has he giv'n in vain the heav'nly Mufe ? 
 
 Night and all her (ickly dews, 
 
 Her fpe6tres wan, and birds of boding cry. 
 
 He gives to range the dreary fky ; 
 
 Till down the eaftern clifFs afar^ 
 
 Hyperion's march they fpy, and glitt'ring fhafts of war. 
 
 II. 2. 
 
 In climes beyond the folar road,'° 
 Where fhaggy forms o'er ice-built mountains roam. 
 The Mufe has broke the twilight gloom 
 
 To cheer the fhivering native's dull abode. 
 And oft, beneath the od'rous fhade 
 Of Chili's boundlefs forefts laid. 
 She deigns to hear the favage youth repeat. 
 In loofe numbers wildly fweet, 
 Their feather-cin<3:ured chiefs, and dufky loves. 
 Her track, where'er the goddefs roves, 
 Glory purfue, and gen'rous Shame, 
 Th' unconquerable Mind, and freedom's holy flame. 
 
[ 25 ] 
 
 11. 3- 
 
 Woods, that wave o'er Delphi's fteep," 
 Ifles, that crown th' ^gean deep, 
 
 Fields, that cool Iliffus laves. 
 
 Or where Masander's amber waves 
 In lingering lab'rinths creep. 
 
 How do your tuneful echoes languifh, 
 
 Mute, but to the voice of anguifh ! 
 Where each old poetic mountain 
 
 Infpiration breathed around ; 
 Ev'ry fhade and hallow'd fountain 
 
 Murmur'd deep a folemn found : 
 Till the fad Nine, in Greece's evil hour. 
 
 Left their Parnaffus for the Latian plains. 
 Alike they fcorn the pomp of tyrant Power, 
 
 And coward Vice, that revels in her chains. 
 When Latium had her lofty fpirit loft. 
 They fought, oh Albion ! next thy fea-encircled coaft. 
 
 E 
 
[ 26 ] 
 
 III. I. 
 
 Far from the fun and fummer-gale, 
 In thy green lap was Nature's Darling" laid, 
 What time, where lucid Avon ftray'd, 
 
 To him the mighty mother did unveil 
 Her awful face : the dauntlefs child 
 Stretch'd forth his little arms and fmiled. 
 
 This pencil take (fhe faid), whofe colours clear 
 Richly paint the vernal year : 
 Thine too thefe golden keys, immortal Boy ! 
 This can unlock the gates of joy ; 
 Of horror that, and thrilling fears. 
 Or ope the facred fource of fympathetic tears." 
 
 III. 2. 
 
 Nor fecond He,'^ that rode fublime 
 Upon the feraph-wings of Extafy, 
 The fecrets of th' abyfs to fpy. 
 
 He pafs'd the flaming '"^ bounds of place and time : 
 
C 27 ] 
 
 The living throne, the fapphire blaze, 
 
 Where angels tremble while they gaze, 
 
 He faw ; but, blafted with excefs of light, 
 
 Clofed his eyes in endlefs night.'^ 
 
 Behold, where Dryden's lefs prefumptuous car, 
 
 Wide o'er the fields of glory bear 
 
 Two courfers of ethereal race, 
 
 With necks in thunder clothed,'^ and long-refounding pace. 
 
 III. 3. 
 
 Hark, his hands the lyre explore ! 
 Bright-eyed Fancy, hov'ring o'er. 
 
 Scatters from her pidlured urn 
 
 Thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.'^ 
 But ah ! 'tis heard no more — 
 
 Oh ! lyre divine, what daring fpirit 
 
 Wakes thee now ? Though he inherit 
 Nor the pride, nor ample pinion, 
 
 That the Theban eagle bear. 
 Sailing with fupreme dominion 
 
[ 28 ] 
 
 Through the azure deep of air : 
 Yet oft before his infant eyes would run 
 
 Such forms as glitter in the Mufe's ray, 
 With orient hues, unborrow'd of the fun : 
 
 Yet fhall he mount, and keep his diftant way 
 Beyond the limits of a vulgar fate, 
 Beneath the Good how far — but far above the Great. 
 
r 29 ] 
 
 THE BARD.' 
 
 A PINDARIC ODE. 
 
 I. I . 
 
 UIN feize thee, ruthlefs King ! 
 Confu{ion on thy banners wait ; 
 Though fann'd by Conqueft's crimfon wing, 
 They mock the air with idle ftate/ 
 Helm, nor hauberk's^ twifted mail. 
 Nor e'en thy virtues, Tyrant, fhall avail 
 To fave thy fecret foul from nightly fears, 
 From Cambria's curfe, from Cambria's tears ! " 
 Such were the founds that o'er the crefted pride^ 
 
 Of the firft Edward fcatter'd wild difniay, 
 As down the fteep of Snowdon's^ ^^^ggy 
 
 He wound with toilfome march his long array. 
 
[ 30 ] 
 
 Stout Glo'fter^ flood aghaft in fpeechlefs trance : 
 " To arms ! " cried Mortimer, and couch'd his quiv'ring 
 lance. 
 
 I. 2. 
 
 On a rock, whofe haughty brow 
 Frowns o'er cold Conway's foaming flood, 
 
 Robed in the fable garb of woe. 
 With haggard eyes the poet ftood ; 
 (Loofe his beard, and hoary hair 
 Stream'd, like a meteor, to the troubled air)^ 
 And with a mafter's hand, and prophet's fire, 
 Struck the deep forrows of his lyre. 
 " Hark, how each giant-oak, and defert-cave. 
 
 Sighs to the torrent's awful voice beneath ! 
 O'er thee, oh King ! their hundred arms they wave, 
 
 Revenge on thee in hoarfer murmurs breathe ; 
 Vocal no more, fince Cambria's fatal day. 
 To high-born Hoel's harp, or foft Llewellyn's lay. 
 
[ 31 ] 
 
 I- 3- 
 
 " Cold is Cadwallo's tongue, 
 
 That hufli'd the ftormy main : 
 Brave Urien fleeps upon his craggy bed : 
 
 Mountains, ye mourn in vain 
 
 Modred, whofe magic fong 
 Made huge Plinlimmon bow his cloud-topt head. 
 
 On dreary Arvon's^ fhore they lie, 
 Smear'd with gore, and ghaftly pale : 
 Far, far aloof th' affrighted ravens fail ; 
 
 The famifh'd eagle ^ fcreams, and paffes by. 
 Dear loft companions of my tuneful art. 
 
 Dear as the light that viftts thefe fad eyes,'° 
 Dear as the ruddy drops that warm my heart. 
 
 Ye died amidft your dying country's cries — 
 No more I weep. They do not fleep. 
 
 On yonder cliffs, a griefly band, 
 I fee them fit, they linger yet. 
 
 Avengers of their native land : 
 
C 32 ^ 
 
 J 
 
 With me in dreadful harmony they join, 
 
 And weave with bloody hands the tiffiie of thy line. 
 
 II. I. 
 
 Weave the warp, and weave the woof, 
 The winding-fheet of Edward's race. 
 
 Give ample room, and verge enough 
 The charadlers of hell to trace. 
 Mark the year, and mark the night. 
 When Severn fhall re-echo with affright 
 The fhrieks of death, through Berkley's roof that ring," 
 Shrieks of an agonizing king ! 
 
 She-wolf of France,'* with imrelenting fangs. 
 That tear'ft the bowels of thy mangled mate. 
 
 From thee be born, who o'er thy country hangs 
 The fcourge of heav'n.'^ What terrors round him wait ! 
 Amazement in his van, with flight combined. 
 And forrow's faded form, and folitude behind. 
 
[ 33 ] 
 
 II. 2. 
 
 " Mighty vid:or, mighty lord ! 
 Low on his funeral couch he lies ! 
 
 No pitying heart, no eye, afford 
 A tear to grace his obfequies. 
 Is the fable warrior fled?'^ 
 Thy fon is gone. He refts among the dead. 
 The fwarm, that in thy noontide beam were born ? 
 Gone to falute the rifing morn. 
 Fair laughs the morn, and foft the zephyr blows, 
 
 While proudly riding o'er the azure realm 
 In gallant trim the gilded veffel goes 
 
 Youth on the prow, and Pleafure at the helm ; 
 Regardlefs of the fweeping whirlwind's fway, 
 That, hufh'd in grim repofe, expedis his ev'ning prey. 
 
 II. 3. 
 
 " Fill high the fparkling bowl, 
 The rich repaft prepare, 
 
 F 
 
[ 3+ ] 
 
 Reft of a crown, he yet may. fliare the feafl: : 
 Clofe by the regal chair 
 
 Fell Thirft and Famine ^cowl 
 
 A baleful fmile upon their baffled gueft.'^ 
 Heard ye the din of battle bray, 
 
 Lance to lance, and horfe to horfe?'^ 
 
 Long years of havock urge their deftined courfe. 
 And through the kindred fquadrons mow their way. 
 
 Ye towers of Julius,'^ London's lafting fhame, 
 With many a foul and midnight murder fed, 
 
 Revere his confort's^° faith, his father's fame, 
 And fpare the meek ufurper's^' holy head. 
 Above, below, the rofe of fnow," 
 
 Twined with her blufhing foe, we fpread : 
 The briftled boar"^ in infant-gore 
 
 Wallows beneath the thorny fhade. 
 Now, brothers, bending o'er the accurfed loom. 
 Stamp we our vengeance deep, and ratify his doom. 
 
[ 35 ] 
 
 III. I. 
 
 " Edward, lo ! to fudden fate 
 (Weave we the woof. The thread is fpun.) 
 
 Half of thy heart we confecrate.'''^ 
 (The web is wove. The work is done.) 
 Stay, oh ftay ! nor thus forlorn 
 Leave me unblefs'd, unpitied, here to mourn : 
 In yon bright track, that fires the weftern fkies. 
 They melt, they vanifh from my eyes. 
 But oh ! what folemn fcenes on Snowdon's height 
 
 Defcending flow their glittering fkirts unroll ? 
 Vifions of glory, fpare my aching fight ! 
 
 Ye unborn ages, crowd not on my foul ! 
 No more our long-loft Arthur we bewail. 
 All hail, ye genuine kings, Britannia's ifiue, hail ! 
 
 IIL 2. 
 
 " Girt with many a baron bold 
 Sublime their ftarry fronts they rear ; 
 
 And gorgeous dames, and ftatefmen old 
 
[ 36 ] 
 
 In bearded majefty, appear. 
 
 In the midfl: a form divine ! 
 
 Her eye proclaims her of the Briton-Hne ; 
 
 Her lion-port/^ her awe-commanding face, 
 
 Attemper'd fweet to virgin-grace. 
 
 What ftrings fymphonious tremble in the air, 
 
 What ftrains of vocal tranfport round her play. 
 Hear from the grave, great Talieffin,^^ hear ; 
 
 They breathe a foul to animate thy clay. 
 Bright Rapture calls, and foaring as fhe fings, 
 Waves in the eye of heav'n her many-colour'd wings. 
 
 III. 3. 
 
 The verfe adorn again 
 
 Fierce war, and faithful love,"^ 
 And truth fevere, by fairy fidion dreft. 
 
 In bufkin'd^^ meafures move 
 Pale grief, and plealing pain, 
 With horror, tyrant of the throbbing breaft. 
 
 A voice, as of the cherub-choir. 
 
[ 37 ] 
 
 Gales from blooming Eden bear ; 
 
 And diftant warblings lelTen on my ear,^° 
 
 That loft in long futurity expire. 
 Fond impious man, think'ft thou yon fanguine cloud 
 
 Raifed by thy breath, has quench'd the orb of day 
 To-morrow he repairs the golden flood, 
 
 And warms the nations with redoubled ray. 
 Enough for me ; with joy I fee 
 
 The diff'rent doom our fates aflign. 
 Be thine defpair, and fcept'red care, 
 
 To triumph, and to die, are mine." 
 He fpoke, and headlong from the mountain's height 
 Deep in the roaring tide he plunged to endlefs night. 
 
[ 39 ] 
 
 ODE FOR MUSIC 
 
 (IRREGULAR.) 
 I. AIR. 
 
 ENCE, avaunt, ('tis holy ground) 
 Comus, and his midnight-crew, 
 And Ignorance with looks profound, 
 And dreaming Sloth of pallid hue, 
 Mad Sedition's cry profane, 
 Servitude that hugs her chain. 
 Nor in thefe confecrated bowers. 
 Let painted Flatt'ry hide her ferpent-train in flowers. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Nor Envy bafe, nor creeping Gain, 
 Dare the Mufe's walk to ftain, 
 While bright-eyed Science watches round : 
 Hence, away, 'tis holy ground !" 
 
C 40 ] 
 
 II. RECITATIVE. 
 
 From yonder realms of empyrean day 
 
 Burfts on my ear th' indignant lay : 
 There fit the fainted fage, the bard divine, 
 
 The few^, w^hom genius gave to fhine 
 Through every unborn age, and undifcover'd clime. 
 
 Rapt in celeftial tranfport they : 
 
 Yet hither oft a glance from high 
 
 They fend of tender fympathy 
 To blefs the place, where on their opening foul 
 
 Firft the genuine ardour ftole. 
 'Twas Milton ftruck the deep-toned fhell. 
 And, as the choral w^arblings round him fwell. 
 Meek Newton's felf bends from his ftate fublime. 
 And nods his hoary head, and liftens to the rhyme. 
 
 III. AIR. 
 
 " Ye brown o'er-arching groves. 
 That contemplation loves. 
 Where willowy Camus lingers with delight ! 
 
[ +1 ] 
 
 oft at the blufh of dawn 
 
 I trod your level lawn, 
 Oft woo'd the gleam of Cynthia filver-bright 
 In cloifters dim, far from the haunts of Folly, 
 With Freedom by my fide, and foft-eyed Melancho 
 
 IV. RECITATIVE. 
 
 But hark ! the portals found, and pacing forth 
 
 With folemn fteps and flow. 
 High potentates, and dames of royal birth, 
 And mitred fathers in long order go : 
 Great Edward, with the lilies on his brow 
 
 From haughty Gallia torn. 
 And fad Chatillon,* on her bridal morn 
 That wept her bleeding Love, and princely Clare, 
 And Anjou's heroine, and the paler rofe,^ 
 The rival of her crown and of her woes. 
 
 And either Henry there. 
 The murder'd faint, and the majeftic lord. 
 
 That broke the bonds of Rome. 
 
[ 42 ] 
 
 (Their tears, their little triumphs o'er, 
 
 Their human paflions now no more, 
 Save Charity, that glows beyond the tomb.) 
 
 ACCOMPANIED. 
 
 All that on Granta's fruitful plain 
 Rich ftreams of regal bounty pour'd. 
 And bad thefe awful fanes and turrets rife. 
 To hail their Fitzroy's feftal morning come ; 
 And thus they fpeak in foft accord 
 The liquid language of the fkies : 
 
 V. QUARTETTO. 
 
 " What is grandeur, what is power ? 
 Heavier toil, fuperior pain. 
 What the bright reward we gain ? 
 The grateful memory of the good. 
 Sweet is the breath of vernal fhower. 
 The bee's collected treafures fweet. 
 Sweet muHc's melting fall, but fweeter yet 
 The ftill fmall voice of gratitude." 
 
[ 43 ] 
 
 VI. RECITATIVE. 
 
 Foremoft and leaning from her golden cloud 
 
 The venerable Marg'ret^ fee ! 
 " Welcome, my noble fon, (fhe cries aloud) 
 
 To this, thy kindred train, and me : 
 Pleafed in thy lineaments we trace 
 A Tudor's fire, a Beaufort's grace. ^ 
 
 AIR. 
 
 Thy liberal heart, thy judging eye. 
 The flow'r unheeded fhall defcry. 
 And bid it round heav'n's altars fhed 
 The fragrance of its blufhing head : 
 Shall raife from earth the latent gem. 
 To glitter on the diadem. 
 
 VII. RECITATIVE. 
 
 " Lo ! Granta waits to lead her blooming band, 
 
 Not obvious, not obtrufive, fhe 
 No vulgar praife, no venal incenfe flings ; 
 
 Nor dares with courtly tongue refined 
 
[ 4+ ] 
 
 Profane thy inborn royalty of mind : 
 
 She reveres herfelf and thee. 
 With modeft pride to grace thy youthful brow, 
 The laureate wreath, that Cecil^ wore, fhe brings, 
 
 And to thy juft, thy gentle hand, 
 
 Submits the fafces of her fway. 
 While fpirits bleft above and men below 
 Join with glad voice the loud fymphonious lay. 
 
 VIII. GRAND CHORUS. 
 
 " Through the wild waves as they roar. 
 With watchful eye and dauntlefs mien, 
 Thy fteady courfe of honour keep. 
 Nor fear the rocks, nor feek the fhore : 
 The ftar of Brunfwick fmiles ferene. 
 And gilds the horrors of the deep." 
 
C 4-5 ] 
 
 THE FATAL SISTERS.' 
 
 AN ODE. FROM THE NORSE TONGUE. 
 
 OW the ftorm begins to lower, 
 
 (Hafte, the loom of hell prepare,) 
 Iron fleet of arrowy fliower* 
 Hurtles in the darken'd air. 
 
 Glitt'ring lances are the loom, 
 Where the dufky warp we ftrain. 
 
 Weaving many a foldier's doom, 
 Orkney's woe, and Randver's bane. 
 
 See the griefly texture grow ! 
 
 ('Tis of human entrails made) 
 And the weights, that play below. 
 
 Each a gafping warrior's head. 
 
[ 46 ] 
 
 Shafts for fliuttles, dipt in gore, 
 Sh oot the trembling cords along. 
 
 Sword, that once a monarch bore, 
 Keep the tifiue clofe and ftrong. 
 
 Mifta, black terrific maid, 
 
 Sangrida, and Hilda, fee, 
 Join the wayward work to aid : 
 
 'Tis the woof of vidlory. 
 
 Ere the ruddy fun be fet. 
 
 Pikes muft (hiver, javelins fing, 
 
 Blade with clattering buckler meet. 
 Hauberk crafh, and helmet ring. 
 
 (Weave the crimfon web of war) 
 
 Let us go, and let us fly, 
 Where our friends the conflidl fhare, 
 
 Where they triumph, where they die. 
 
C 47 ] 
 
 As the paths of fate we tread, 
 
 Wading through th' enfanguined field, 
 Gondula, and Geira, fpread 
 
 O'er the youthful king your fhield. 
 
 We the reins to flaughter give. 
 Ours to kill, and ours to fpare : 
 
 Spite of danger he fhall live. 
 
 (Weave the crimfon web of war.) 
 
 They, whom once the defert-beach 
 Pent within its bleak domain. 
 
 Soon their ample fway fhall ftretch 
 O'er the plenty of the plain. 
 
 Low the dauntlefs earl is laid. 
 
 Gored with many a gaping wound : 
 
 Fate demands a nobler head ; 
 
 Soon a king fhall bite the ground. 
 
[ 4« ] 
 
 Long his lofs fliall Erin weep, 
 Ne'er again his likenefs fee ; 
 
 Long her ftrains in forrow fteep 
 Strains of immortality 1 
 
 Horror covers all the heath, 
 
 Clouds of carnage blot the fun. 
 
 Sifters, weave the web of death 
 Sifters, ceafe ; the work is done. 
 
 Hail the tafk, and hail the hands ! 
 
 Songs of joy and triumph ftng ! 
 Joy to the vidlorious bands ; 
 
 Triumph to the younger king. 
 
 Mortal, thou that hear'ft the tale, 
 Learn the tenour of our fong. 
 
 Scotland, through each winding vale 
 Far and wide the notes prolong. 
 
C 49 ] 
 
 Sifters, hence with fpurs of fpeed : 
 
 Each her thundering faulchion wield ; 
 
 Each beftride her fable fteed. 
 Hurry, hurry to the field ! 
 
 H 
 
♦ 
 
[ 51 ] 
 
 THE VEGTAM'S KIVITHA 
 
 OR THE DESCENT OF ODIN. AN ODE. FROM THE 
 NORSE TONGUE. 
 
 Upreis Odinn allda gautr, &c. 
 
 PROSE the king of men with fpeed. 
 And faddled ftraight his coal-black fteed ; 
 Down the yawning fteep he rode, 
 That leads to Hela's^ drear abode. 
 Him the dog of darknefs fpied ; 
 His fhaggy throat he open'd wide, 
 (While from his jaws, with carnage fill'd, 
 Foam and human gore diftill'd :) 
 Hoarfe he bays with hideous din. 
 Eyes that glow, and fangs that grin ; 
 And long purfues with fruitlefs yell, 
 The father of the powerful fpell. 
 
[ 52 ] 
 
 Onward ftill his way he takes, 
 
 (The groaning earth beneath him fhakes,) 
 
 Till full before his fearlefs eyes 
 
 The portals nine of hell arife. 
 
 Right againft the eaftern gate, 
 By the mofs-grown pile he fate ; 
 Where long of yore to fleep was laid 
 The dufl: of the prophetic maid. 
 Facing to the northern clime, 
 Thrice he traced the Runic rhyme ; 
 Thrice pronounced, in accents dread, 
 The thrilling verfe that wakes the dead :^ 
 Till from out the hollow ground 
 Slowly breathed a fullen found. 
 
 PROPHETESS. 
 
 What call unknown, what charms prefume 
 To break the quiet of the tomb ? 
 Who thus afflidls my troubled fprite. 
 And drags me from the realms of night ? 
 
[ 53 ] 
 
 Long on thefe mould'ring bones have beat 
 The winter's fnow, the fummer's heat. 
 The drenching dews, and driving rain ! 
 Let me, let me fleep again. 
 Who is he, with voice unbleft, 
 That calls me from the bed of reft ? 
 
 ODIN. 
 
 A traveller, to thee unknown, 
 Is he that calls, a warrior's fon. 
 Thou the deeds of light fhalt know ; 
 Tell me what is done below, 
 For whom yon glitt'ring board is fpread, 
 Drefs'd for whom yon golden bed ? 
 
 PROPHETESS. 
 
 Mantling in the goblet fee 
 The pure bev'rage of the bee : 
 O'er it hangs the fhield of gold ; 
 'Tis the drink of Balder bold : 
 
[ 5+ ] 
 
 Balder's head to death is giv'n. 
 Pain can reach the fons of heav'n ! 
 UnwiUing I my lips unclofe : 
 Leave me, leave me to repofe. 
 
 ODIN. 
 
 Once again my call obey/ 
 Prophetefs, arife, and fay, 
 What dangers Odin's child await. 
 Who the author of his fate ? 
 
 PROPHETESS. 
 
 In Hoder's hand the hero's doom ; 
 His brother fends him to the tomb. 
 Now my weary lips I clofe : 
 Leave me, leave me to repofe. 
 
 ODIN. 
 
 Prophetefs, my fpell obey. 
 Once again arife, and fay. 
 
[ 55 ] 
 
 Who th' avenger of his guilt, 
 
 By whom fhall Hoder's blood be fpilt ? 
 
 PROPHETESS. 
 
 In the caverns of the weft, 
 By Odin's fierce embrace compreft, 
 A wond'rous boy fhall Rinda bear, 
 Who ne'er fhall comb his raven-hair. 
 Nor wafh his vifage in the ftream, 
 Nor fee the fun's departing beam. 
 Till he on Hoder's corfe fhall fmile 
 Flaming on the fun'ral pile. 
 Now my weary lips I clofe : 
 Leave me, leave me to repofe. 
 
 ODIN. 
 
 Yet awhile my call obey ; 
 Prophetefs, awake, and fay. 
 What virgins thefe, in fpeechlefs woe, 
 That bend to earth their folemn brow. 
 
C 56 ] 
 
 That their flaxen trefles tear, 
 And fnowy veils that float in air ? 
 Tell me whence their forrows rofe : 
 Then I leave thee to repofe. 
 
 PROPHETESS. 
 
 Ha ! no traveller art thou, 
 King of men, I know thee now; 
 Mightieft of a mighty line — 
 
 ODIN. 
 
 No boding maid of fkill divine 
 Art thou, nor prophetefs of good ; 
 But mother of the giant brood ! 
 
 PROPHETESS. 
 
 Hie thee hence, and boaft at home. 
 That never fhall enquirer come 
 To break my iron-fleep again ; 
 Till Lok has burft his tenfold chain ; 
 
C 57 ] 
 
 Never, till fubftantial night 
 Has reafTumed her ancient rigl 
 Till wrapt in flames, in ruin h 
 Sinks the fabric of the world. 
 
 1 
 
[ 59 ] 
 
 THE TRIUMPHS OF OWEN.' 
 
 A FRAGMENT. FROM THE WELSH. 
 
 WEN'S praife demands my fong, 
 Owen fwift, and Owen ftrong; 
 Faireft flower of Roderic's ftem, 
 Gwyneth's fliield, and Britain's gem. 
 He nor heaps his brooded ftores, 
 Nor on all profufely pours ; 
 Lord of every regal art, 
 Liberal hand, and open heart. 
 
 Big with hofts of mighty name. 
 Squadrons three againft him came ; 
 This the force of Eirin hiding, 
 Side by fide as proudly riding. 
 
[ 6o ] 
 
 On her fliadow long and gay 
 Lochlin plows the watry way ; 
 There the Norman fails afar 
 Catch the winds and join the war : 
 Black and huge along they fweep, 
 Burdens of the angry deep. 
 
 Dauntlefs on his native fands 
 The dragon-fon of Mona ftands ; 
 In glitt'ring arms and glory dreft, 
 High he rears his ruby creft. 
 There the thund'ring ftrokes begin, 
 There the prefs, and there the din ; 
 Talymalfra's rocky fhore 
 Echoing to the battle's roar. 
 Check'd by the torrent-tide of blood, 
 Backward Meinai rolls his flood ; 
 While, heap'd his mafter's feet around, 
 Proftrate warriors gnaw the ground. 
 Where his glowing eye-balls turn, 
 
[ 6i ] 
 
 Thoufand banners round him burn 
 Where he points his purple fpear, 
 Hafty, hafty rout is there, 
 Marking with indignant eye 
 Fear to ftop, and fhame to fly. 
 There confuflon, terror's child, 
 Conflid fierce, and ruin wild. 
 Agony, that pants for breath, 
 
 Defpair and honourable death. 
 
 * * * * 
 
I 
 
[ 63 ] 
 
 THE DEATH OF HOEL.' 
 
 AN ODE. SELECTED FROM THE GODODIN. 
 
 AD I but the torrent's might, 
 With headlong rage and wild affright 
 Upon De'ira's fquadrons hurl'd 
 To rufh, and fweep them from the world ! 
 
 Too, too fecure in youthful pride, 
 By them, my friend, my Hoel, died. 
 Great Cian's fon : of Madoc old 
 He afk'd no heaps of hoarded gold ; 
 Alone in nature's wealth array'd. 
 He afk'd and had the lovely maid. 
 
 To Cattraeth's vale in glittVing row 
 Thrice two hundred warriors go : 
 
[ 64 ] 
 
 Every warrior's manly neck 
 Chains of regal honour deck, 
 Wreathed in many a golden link : 
 From the golden cup they drink 
 Nedar that the bees produce, 
 Or the grape's extatic juice. 
 Flufh'd with mirth and hope they burn : 
 But none from Cattraeth's vale return, 
 Save Aeron brave, and Conan ftrong, 
 (Burfting through the bloody throng) 
 And I, the meaneft of them all. 
 That live to weep and fing their fall. 
 
 AVE ye feen the tufky boar,^ 
 Or the bull, with fullen roar. 
 On furrounding foes advance ? 
 So Caradoc bore his lance. 
 
[ 65 ] 
 
 ONAN'S name, my lay, rehearfe, 
 Build to him the lofty verfe, 
 Sacred tribute of the bard, 
 Verfe, the hero's fole reward. 
 As the flame's devouring force ; 
 As the whirlwind in its courfe ; 
 As the thunder's fiery ftroke. 
 Glancing on the fhiver'd oak ; 
 Did the fword of Conan mow 
 The crimfon harveft of the foe. 
 
[ 67 ] 
 
 SONNET 
 
 ON THE DEATH OF MR. RICHARD WEST. 
 
 N vain to me the fmiling mornings fhine, 
 And redd'ning Phoebus lifts his golden fire : 
 The birds in vain their amorous defcant join ; 
 Or cheerful fields refume their green attire : 
 Thefe ears, alas ! for other notes repine ; 
 
 A different objed: do thefe eyes require : 
 My lonely anguifli melts no heart but mine ; 
 
 And in my breaft the imperfeft joys expire. 
 Yet morning fmiles the bufy race to cheer, 
 
 And new-born pleafure brings to happier men : 
 The fields to all their wonted tribute bear : 
 
 To warm their little loves the birds complain : 
 I fruitlefs mourn to him that cannot hear. 
 And weep the more, becaufe I weep in vain. 
 
C 69 ] 
 
 EPITAPH ON MRS. JANE CLERKE.' 
 
 O ! where this filent marble weeps, 
 A friend, a wife, a mother fleeps : 
 A heart, within whofe facred cell 
 The peaceful virtues loved to dwell. 
 Affedion warm, and faith {incere, 
 And foft humanity were there. 
 In agony, in death relign'd,^ 
 She felt the wound fhe left behind, 
 Her infant image here below. 
 Sits fmiling on a father's woe : 
 Whom what awaits, while yet he ftrays 
 Along the lonely vale of days ? 
 A pang, to fecret forrow dear ; 
 A figh j an unavailing tear ; 
 Till time fhall every grief remove. 
 With life, with memory, and with love. 
 
[ 71 ] 
 
 EPITAPH ON SIR WILLIAM WILLIAMS.' 
 
 " Valiant in arms, courteous and gay in peace, 
 See Williams fnatch'd to an untimely tomb." 
 
 Hall Stevenson's Poems, ii. p. 49. 
 
 ERE, foremofl: in the dangerous paths of fame, 
 Young Williams fought for England's fair 
 renown ; 
 
 His mind each Mufe, each Grace adorn'd his 
 frame, 
 
 Nor envy dared to view him with a frown. 
 
 At Aix, his voluntary fword he drew. 
 
 There firfl: in blood his infant honour feal'd ; 
 
 From fortune, pleafure, fcience, love, he flew. 
 And fcorn'd repofe when Britain took the field. 
 
[ 72 ] 
 
 With eyes of flame, and cool undaunted breaft, 
 Vidlor he fl;ood on Bellifle's rocky fteeps — 
 
 Ah, gallant youth ! this marble tells the refl:, 
 Where melancholy friendfhip bends, and weep 
 
[ 73 ] 
 
 ELEGY WRITTEN IN A COUNTRY 
 CHURCH-YARD.' 
 
 ^^-^^HE curfew tolls the knell of parting day,' 
 
 The lowing herd winds flowly o'er the lea, 
 The ploughman homeward plods his weary 
 way, 
 
 And leaves the world to darknefs and to me. 
 
 Now fades the glimmering landfcape on the fight, 
 
 And all the air a folemn ftillnefs holds, 
 Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight, 
 
 And drowfy tinklings lull the diftant folds : 
 
 Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tow'r, 
 
 The moping owl does to the moon complain 
 
 Of fuch as, wand'ring near her fecret bow'r, 
 Molefl: her ancient folitary reign. 
 
 L 
 
[ 7+ ] 
 
 Beneath thofe rugged elms, that yew-tree's fhade, 
 Where heaves the turf in many a mould'ring heap, 
 
 Each in his narrow cell for ever laid. 
 
 The rude forefathers of the hamlet fleep. 
 
 The breezy call of incenfe-breathing morn. 
 
 The fwallow twitt'ring from the ftraw-built fhed, 
 
 The cock's fhrill clarion, or the echoing horn. 
 No more fhall roufe them from their lowly bed. 
 
 For them no more the blazing hearth fhall burn, 
 Or bufy houfewife ply her evening care ; 
 
 No children run to lifp their fire's return. 
 Or climb his knees the envied kifs to fhare. 
 
 Oft did the harvefl: to their lickle yield. 
 
 Their furrow oft the ftubborn glebe has broke : 
 
 How jocund did they drive their team afield ! 
 
 How bow'd the woods beneath their fturdy ftroke. 
 
[ 75 ] 
 
 Let not ambition mock their ufeful toil, 
 Their homely joys, and deftiny obfcure ; 
 
 Nor grandeur hear with a difdainful fmile 
 The £hort and fimple annals of the poor. 
 
 The boaft of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r. 
 
 And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave. 
 
 Await alike th' inevitable hour. 
 
 The paths of glory lead but to the grave. 
 
 Nor you, ye proud, impute to thefe the fault, 
 If memory o'er their tomb no trophies raife. 
 
 Where through the long-drawn i£le and fretted vault 
 The pealing anthem fwells the note of praife. 
 
 Can floried urn, or animated buft. 
 
 Back to its manfion call the fleeting breath ? 
 
 Can honour's voice provoke the fllent duft. 
 Or flatt'ry foothe the dull cold ear of death ? 
 
[ 76 ] 
 
 Perhaps in this negleded fpot is laid 
 
 Some heart once pregnant with celeftial fire ; 
 
 Hands, that the rod of empire might have fway'd, 
 Or waked to extafy the living lyre : 
 
 But knowledge to their eyes her ample page 
 Rich with the fpoils of time did ne'er unroll ; 
 
 Chill penury reprefs'd their noble rage, 
 And froze the genial current of the foul. 
 
 Full many a gem of pureft ray ferene 
 
 The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear : 
 
 Full many a flower is born to blufli unfeen. 
 And wafte its fweetnefs on the defert air. 
 
 Some village-Hampden, that, with dauntlefs breaft, 
 The little tyrant of his fields withftood, 
 
 Some mute inglorious Milton here may reft, 
 
 Some Cromwell guiltlefs of his country's blood. 
 
[ 77 ] 
 
 Th' applaufe of lift'ning fenates to command, 
 The threats of pain and ruin to defpife, 
 
 To fcatter plenty o'er a fmiling land, 
 
 And read their hiftory in a nation's eyes. 
 
 Their lot forbad : nor circumfcribed alone 
 
 Their growing virtues, but their crimes confined ; 
 
 Forbad to wade through daughter to a throne. 
 And fhut the gates of mercy on mankind, 
 
 The ftruggling pangs of confcious truth to hide, 
 To quench the blufhes of ingenuous fhame. 
 
 Or heap the fhrine of luxury and pride 
 With incenfe kindled at the Mufe's flame. 
 
 Far from the madding crowd's ignoble ftrife, 
 Their fober willies never learn'd to ftray ; 
 
 Along the cool fequefter'd vale of life 
 
 They kept the noifelefs tenour of their way. 
 
[ 78 ] 
 
 Yet ev'n thefe bones from infult to protedl 
 Some frail memorial ftill eredled nigh, 
 
 With uncouth rhymes and fhapelefs fculpture deck'd, 
 Implores the paffing tribute of a iigh. 
 
 Their name, their years, fpelt by th' unletter'd Mufe, 
 
 The place of fame and elegy fupply : 
 And many a holy text around fhe ftrews, 
 
 That teach the ruftic moralift to die. 
 
 For who, to dumb forgetfulnefs a prey. 
 This pleafing anxious being e'er refign'd. 
 
 Left the warm precindls of the cheerful day. 
 Nor caft one longing ling'ring look behind ? 
 
 On fome fond breafl: the parting foul relies. 
 Some pious drops the clofing eye requires ; 
 
 E'en from the tomb the voice of nature cries. 
 E'en in our afhes live their wonted fires. ^ 
 
[ 79 ] 
 
 For thee, who, mindful of th' unhonour'd dead, 
 Doft in thefe lines their artlefs tale relate ; 
 
 If chance, by lonely contemplation led, 
 
 Some kindred fpirit fhall enquire thy fate, — 
 
 Haply fome hoary-headed fwain may fay, 
 
 " Oft have we feen him at the peep of dawn 
 
 Brufhing with hafty fheps the dews away, 
 To meet the fun upon the upland lawn : 
 
 " There at the foot of yonder nodding beech. 
 That wreathes its old fantaftic roots fo high, 
 
 His liftlefs length at noontide would he ftretch, 
 And pore upon the brook that babbles by. 
 
 " Hard by yon wood, now fmiling as in fcorn, 
 Mutt'ring his wayward fancies he would rove ; 
 
 Now drooping, woful-wan, like one forlorn, 
 Or crazed with care, or crofs'd in hopelefs love. 
 
[ 8o ] 
 
 " One morn I mifs'd him on the cuftom'd hill, 
 Along the heath, and near his fav'rite tree ; 
 
 Another came ; nor yet belide the rill, 
 
 Nor up the lawn, nor at the wood was he : 
 
 " The next, with dirges due in fad array 
 
 Slow through the church-way path we faw him borne : — 
 Approach and read (for thou can'fl: read) the lay 
 
 Graved on the ftone beneath yon aged thorn." 
 
 THE EPITAPH. 
 
 Here refts his head upon the lap of earth 
 A youth, to fortune and to fame unknown : 
 
 Fair fcience frown'd not on his humble birth, 
 And melancholy mark'd him for her own. 
 
 Large was his bounty, and his foul fincere, 
 Heaven did a recompenfe as largely fend : 
 
 He gave to mis'ry (all he had) a tear. 
 
 He gain'd from heav'n ('twas all he wifh'd) a friend. 
 
C 8i J 
 
 No farther feek his merits to difclofe, 
 
 Or draw his frailties from their dread abode, 
 
 (There they aUke in trembling hope repofe/) 
 The bofom of his Father and his God. 
 
 M 
 
[ 83 ] 
 
 A LONG STORY.' 
 
 N Britain's ifle, no matter where, 
 
 An ancient pile of building ftands : 
 The Huntingdons and Hattons there 
 Employ'd the pow'r of fairy hands 
 
 To raife the ceiling's fretted height, 
 
 Each pannel in achievements clothing. 
 
 Rich windows that exclude the light, 
 And paffages, that lead to nothing. 
 
 Full oft within the fpacious walls. 
 When he had fifty winters o'er him, 
 
 My grave Lord-Keeper^ led the brawls; 
 The feals and maces danced before him. 
 
[ 84 ] 
 
 His bufliy beard, and fhoe-ftrings green, 
 His high-crown'd hat, and fatin doublet. 
 
 Moved the ftout heart of England's queen, 
 
 Though Pope and Spaniard could not trouble it. 
 
 What, in the very firfl; beginning ! 
 
 Shame of the verifying tribe ! 
 Your hift'ry whither are you fpinning ! 
 
 Can you do nothing but defcribe ? 
 
 A houfe there is (and that's enough) 
 From whence one fatal morning iffues 
 
 A brace of warriors, not in buff. 
 
 But ruftling in their {ilks and tiffues. 
 
 The firft came cap-a-pee from France, 
 Her conqu'ring deftiny fulfilling, 
 
 Whom meaner beauties eye afkance. 
 And vainly ape her art of killing. 
 
[ 8s ] 
 
 The other amazon kind heav'n 
 
 Had arm'd with fpirit, wit, and fatire ; 
 
 But Cobham had the polifh giv'n, 
 
 And tipp'd her arrows with good-nature. 
 
 To celebrate her eyes, her air — 
 
 Coarfe panegyrics would but teafe her ; 
 
 MelilTa is her " nom de guerre." 
 
 Alas, who would not wi£h to pleafe her ! 
 
 With bonnet blue and capuchine. 
 
 And aprons long, they hid their armour ; 
 
 And veil'd their weapons, bright and keen, 
 In pity to the country farmer. 
 
 Fame, in the fliape of Mr. P — t, 
 (By this time all the parifh know it) 
 
 Had told that thereabouts there lurk'd 
 A wicked imp they call a poet : 
 
[ 86 ] 
 
 Who prowl'd the country far and near, 
 Bewitch'd the children of the peafants, 
 
 Dried up the cows, and lamed the deer. 
 
 And fuck'd the eggs, and kill'd the pheafants. 
 
 My lady heard their joint petition. 
 Swore by her coronet and ermine, 
 
 She'd iflue out her high commiffion 
 To rid the manor of fuch vermin. 
 
 The heroines undertook the tafk. 
 
 Through lanes unknown, o'er ftiles they ventured, 
 Rapp'd at the door, nor ftay'd to afk. 
 
 But bounce into the parlour enter'd. 
 
 The trembling family they daunt. 
 
 They flirt, they flng, they laugh, they tattle. 
 Rummage his mother, pinch his aunt. 
 
 And up flairs in a whirlwind rattle : 
 
[ 87 ] 
 
 Each hole and cupboard they explore, 
 Each creek and cranny of his chamber, 
 
 Run hurry-fcurry round the floor, 
 And o'er the bed and tefter clamber ; 
 
 Into the drawers and china pry. 
 
 Papers and books, a huge imbroglio ! 
 
 Under a tea-cup he might lie. 
 
 Or creafed, like dogs-ears, in a folio. 
 
 On the firfl: marching of the troops. 
 The Mufes, hopelefs of his pardon, 
 
 Convey 'd him underneath their hoops 
 To a fmall clofet in the garden. 
 
 So rumour fays : (who will, believe.) 
 
 But that they left the door ajar, 
 Where, fafe and laughing in his fleeve. 
 
 He heard the diftant din of war. 
 
[ 88 ] 
 
 Short was his joy. He little knew 
 The pow'r of magic was no fable ; 
 
 Out of the window, wifk, they flew, 
 But left a fpell upon the table. 
 
 The words too eager to unriddle, 
 The poet felt a ftrange diforder; 
 
 Tranfparent bird-lime form'd the middle, 
 And chains inviflble the border. 
 
 So cunning was the apparatus. 
 
 The powerful pot-hooks did fo move him. 
 That, will he, nill he, to the great houfe 
 
 He went, as if the devil drove him. 
 
 Yet on his way (no flgn of grace. 
 For folks in fear are apt to pray) 
 
 To PhcEbus he preferr'd his cafe. 
 
 And begg'd his aid that dreadful day. 
 
[ 89 ] 
 
 The godhead would have back'd his quarrel ; 
 
 But with a blufh, on recolledion, 
 Own'd that his quiver and his laurel 
 
 'Gainft four fuch eyes were no protection. 
 
 The court was fate, the culprit there, 
 
 Forth from their gloomy manfions creeping, 
 
 The lady Janes and Joans repair, 
 
 And from the gallery ftand peeping : 
 
 Such as in filence of the night 
 
 Come (fweep) along fome winding entry, 
 (Styack^ has often feen the fight) 
 
 Or at the chapel-door ftand fentry : 
 
 In peak'd hoods and mantles tarnifh'd, 
 
 Sour vifages, enough to fcare ye, 
 High dames of honour once, that garnifh'd 
 
 The drawing-room of fierce Queen Mary. 
 
 N 
 
[ 90 ] 
 
 The peerefs comes. The audience ftare, 
 And doff their hats with due fubmiffion : 
 
 She curtfies, as £he takes her chair, 
 To all the people of condition. 
 
 The bard, with many an artful fib. 
 
 Had in imagination fenced him, 
 Difproved the arguments of Squib/ 
 
 And all that Groom ^ could urge againft him. 
 
 But foon his rhetoric forfook him, 
 When he the folemn hall had feen ; 
 
 A fudden fit of ague fhook him, 
 
 He ftood as mute as poor Macleane.^ 
 
 Yet fomething he was heard to mutter, 
 " How in the park beneath an old tree, 
 
 (Without defign to hurt the butter. 
 Or any malice to the poultry,) 
 
[ 91 ] 
 
 " He once or twice had penn'd a fonnet ; 
 
 Yet hoped, that he might fave his bacon 
 Numbers would give their oaths upon it, 
 
 He ne'er was for a conj'rer taken." 
 
 The ghoftly prudes with hagged face 
 Already had condemn'd the linner. 
 
 My lady rofe, and with a grace — 
 
 She fmiled, and bid him come to dinner. 
 
 " Jefu-Maria ! Madam Bridget, 
 
 Why, what can the Vifcountefs mean ?" 
 
 (Cried the fquare-hoods in woful fidget) 
 " The times are alter'd quite and clean I 
 
 Decorum's turn'd to mere civility; 
 Her air and all her manners fhow it. 
 Commend me to her affability ! 
 
 Speak to a commoner and a poet!" 
 
[ 92 ] 
 [Here five hundred ftanzas are loft.] 
 
 And fo God fave our noble king, 
 
 And guard us from long-winded lubbers, 
 
 That to eternity would fing. 
 
 And keep my lady from her rubbers. 
 
[ 93 ] 
 
 ODE 
 
 ON THE PLEASURE ARISING FROM 
 VICISSITUDE.' 
 
 OW the golden mom aloft 
 
 Waves her dew-befpangled wing, 
 With vermeil cheek and whifper foft 
 She woos the tardy fpring : 
 Till April ftarts, and calls around 
 The fleeping fragrance from the ground ; 
 And lightly o'er the living fcene 
 Scatters his freflieft, tendereft green. 
 
[ 94 ] 
 
 New-born flocks, in ruftic dance, 
 
 Frifking ply their feeble feet ; 
 Forgetful of their wintry trance 
 The birds his prefence greet : 
 But chief, the Iky-lark warbles high 
 His trembling thrilling extafy ; 
 And, leflening from the dazzled light, 
 Melts into air and liquid light. 
 
 Rife, my foul ! on wings of fire, 
 
 Rife the rapt'rous choir among ; 
 Hark ! 'tis nature ftrikes the lyre, 
 
 And leads the gen'ral fong : 
 " Warm let the lyric tranfport flow, 
 Warm as the ray that bids it glow ; 
 And animates the vernal grove 
 With health, with harmony, and love." 
 
C 95 ] 
 
 Yefterday the fuUen year 
 
 Saw the fnowy whirlwind fly ; 
 Mute was the muflc of the air, 
 
 The herd flood drooping by : 
 Their raptures now that wildly flow, 
 No yefterday nor morrow know ; 
 'Tis man alone that joy defcries 
 With forward, and reverted eyes. 
 
 Smiles on paft misfortune's brow 
 
 Soft reflection's hand can trace ; 
 And o'er the cheek of forrow throw 
 
 A melancholy grace ; 
 While hope prolongs our happier hour. 
 Or deepeft fhades, that dimly lower 
 And blacken round our weary way, 
 Gilds with a gleam of diftant day. 
 
[ 96 ] 
 
 Still, where rofy pleafure leads, 
 See a kindred grief purfue ; 
 Behind the fteps that mifery treads. 
 
 Approaching comfort view : 
 The hues of blifs more brightly glow, 
 Chaftifed by fabler tints of woe ; 
 And blended form, with artful ftrife, 
 The ftrength and harmony of life. 
 
 See the wretch, that long has toft 
 
 On the thorny bed of pain, 
 At length repair his vigour loft, 
 And breathe and walk again : 
 The meaneft floweret of the vale. 
 The flmpleft note that fwells the gale. 
 The common fun, the air, the ikies, 
 To him are opening paradife. 
 
[ 97 ] 
 
 Humble quiet builds her cell, 
 
 Near the fource whence pleafure flows ; 
 She eyes the clear cryftalline well, 
 
 And taftes it as it goes. 
 " While" far below the " madding" crowd 
 " Rufli headlong to the dangerous flood," 
 Where broad and turbulent it fweeps, 
 " And" perifli in the boundlefs deeps. 
 
 Mark where indolence and pride, 
 
 " Sooth'd by flattery's tinkling found," 
 Go, foftly rolling, flde by flde. 
 Their dull but daily round : 
 " To thefe, if Hebe's felf fhould bring 
 The pureft cup from pleafure's fpring, 
 Say, can they tafte the flavour high 
 Of fober, Ample, genuine joy ? 
 
 o 
 
[ 98 ] 
 
 " Mark ambition's march fublime 
 Up to power's meridian height ; 
 While pale-eyed envy fees him climb, 
 
 And fickens at the fight. 
 Phantoms of danger, death, and dread, 
 Float hourly round ambition's head ; 
 While fpleen, within his rival's breaft. 
 Sits brooding on her fcorpion neft. 
 
 " Happier he, the peafant, far, 
 
 From the pangs of paflion free, 
 That breathes the keen yet wholefome air 
 
 Of rugged penury. 
 He, when his morning tafk is done. 
 Can flumber in the noontide fun ; 
 And hie him home, at evening's clofe. 
 To fweet repaft, and calm repofe. 
 
[ 99 ] 
 
 " He, unconfcious whence the blifs, 
 
 Feels, and owns in carols rude, 
 That all the circling joys are his. 
 
 Of dear Viciffitude. 
 From toil he wins his fpirits light, 
 From bufy day the peaceful night ; 
 Rich, from the very want of wealth. 
 In heaven's beft treafures, peace and health." 
 
[ loi ] 
 
 HYMN TO IGNORANCE.' 
 
 A FRAGMENT. 
 
 AIL, horrors, hail ! ye ever gloomy bowers, 
 Ye gothic fanes, and antiquated towers, 
 Where rufLy Camus' llowly-winding flood 
 Perpetual draws his humid train of mud : 
 Glad I reviflt thy neglected reign, 
 Oh take me to thy peaceful fhade again. 
 But chiefly thee, whofe influence breathed from high 
 Augments the native darknefs of the fky ; 
 Ah, ignorance ! foft falutary power ! 
 Proftrate with filial reverence I adore. 
 Thrice hath Hyperion roll'd his annual race. 
 Since weeping I forfook thy fond embrace. 
 Oh fay, fuccefsful doft thou ftill oppofe 
 Thy leaden aegis 'gainft our ancient foes ? 
 
C ] 
 
 Still ftretch, tenacious of thy right divine, 
 The maffy fceptre o'er thy llumb'ring line ? 
 And dews Lethean through the land difpenfe 
 To fteep in llumbers each benighted fenfe ? 
 If any fpark of wit's delufive ray 
 Break out, and flafh a momentary day. 
 With damp, cold touch forbid it to afpire. 
 And huddle up in fogs the dang'rous fire. 
 
 Oh fay — fhe hears me not, but, carelefs grown, 
 Lethargic nods upon her ebon throne. 
 Goddefs ! awake, arife ! alas, my fears ! 
 Can powers immortal feel the force of years ? 
 Not thus of old, with enfigns wide unfurl'd, 
 She rode triumphant o'er the vanquifh'd world ; 
 Fierce nations own'd her unrefifted might. 
 And all was ignorance, and all was night. 
 
 Oh ! facred age ! Oh ! times for ever loft ! 
 (The fchoolman's glory, and the churchman's boaft.) 
 For ever gone — yet flill to fancy new. 
 Her rapid wings the tranfient fcene purfue. 
 
[ ] 
 
 And bring the buried ages back to view. 
 
 High on her car, behold the grandam ric 
 
 Like old Sefoftris with barbaric pride; 
 
 * * * a team of harnefs'd monarchs bend 
 ***** 
 
[ '05 ] 
 
 THE ALLIANCE OF 
 
 EDUCATION AND GOVERNMENT. 
 
 A FRAGMENT. 
 ESSAY L 
 
 oray , 0) yoMi rai/ yap aoidai/ 
 Out* Tra £K K'i^ot.\/ ys tov ExXfAaGo^ra (pvXa^iTi;. 
 
 Theocritus, Id, i. 63. 
 
 S iickly plants betray a niggard earth, 
 Whofe barren bofom ftarves her generous 
 birth, 
 
 Nor genial warmth, nor genial juice retains, 
 Their roots to feed, and fill their verdant veins : 
 And as in climes, w^here winter holds his reign. 
 The foil, though fertile, will not teem in vain. 
 Forbids her gems to fwell, her fhades to rife. 
 Nor trufts her bloflbms to the churlifh fkies : 
 So draw mankind in vain the vital airs, 
 
 p 
 
[ io6 ] 
 
 Unform'd, unfriended, by thofe kindly cares, 
 
 That health and vigour to the foul impart. 
 
 Spread the young thought, and warm the opening heart : 
 
 So fond inftrudion on the growing powers 
 
 Of nature idly lavifhes her ftores. 
 
 If equal juftice with unclouded face 
 
 Smile not indulgent on the rifing race, 
 
 And fcatter with a free, though frugal hand, 
 
 Light golden fhowers of plenty o'er the land : 
 
 But tyranny has fix'd her empire there. 
 
 To check their tender hopes with chilling fear, 
 
 And blaft the blooming promife of the year. 
 
 This fpacious animated fcene furvey. 
 From where the rolling orb, that gives the day. 
 His fable fons with nearer courfe furrounds. 
 To either pole, and life's remoteft bounds. 
 How rude fo e'er th' exterior form we find, 
 Howe'er opinion tinge the varied mind. 
 Alike to all, the kind, impartial heav'n 
 The fparks of truth and happinefs has giv'n : 
 
[ J07 ] 
 
 With fenfe to feel, with memory to retain, 
 They follow pleafure, and they fly from pain ; 
 Their judgment mends the plan their fancy draws, 
 The event prefages, and explores the caufe ; 
 The foft returns of gratitude they know, 
 By fraud elude, by force repel the foe ; 
 While mutual wifhes, mutual woes endear 
 The focial fmile, the fympathetic tear. 
 
 Say, then, through ages by what fate confined 
 To different climes feem different fouls affign'd ? 
 Here meafured laws and philofophic eafe 
 Fix, and improve the polifh'd arts of peace ; 
 There induftry and gain their vigils keep. 
 Command the winds, and tame th' unwilling deep : 
 Here force and hardy deeds of blood prevail ; 
 There languid pleafure fighs in every gale. 
 Oft o'er the trembling nations from afar 
 Has Scythia breathed the living cloud of war ; 
 And, where the deluge burft, with fweepy fway 
 Their arms, their kings, their gods were roll'd away. 
 
[ 'o8 ] 
 
 As oft have iflued, hoft impelling hoft, 
 
 The blue-eyed myriads from the Baltic coaft. 
 
 The proftrate fouth to the deftroyer yields 
 
 Her boafted titles, and her golden fields : 
 
 With grim delight the brood of winter view 
 
 A brighter day, and heav'ns of azure hue ; 
 
 Scent the new fragrance of the breathing rofe, 
 
 And quaff the pendent vintage as it grows. 
 
 Proud of the yoke, and pliant to the rod, ^ 
 
 Why yet does Afia dread a monarch's nod, 
 
 While European freedom ftill withftands 
 
 Th' encroaching tide that drowns her leffening lands ; 
 
 And fees far off, with an indignant groan, 
 
 Her native plains, and empires once her own ? 
 
 Can opener fkies and funs of fiercer flame 
 
 O'erpower the fire, that animates our frame ; 
 
 As lamps, that fhed at eve a cheerful ray. 
 
 Fade and expire beneath the eye of day ? 
 
 Need we the influence of the northern ftar 
 
 To firing our nerves and fteel our hearts to war ? 
 
[ ] 
 
 And, where the face of nature laughs around, 
 
 Muft fick'ning virtue fly the tainted ground ? 
 
 Unmanly thought! what feafons can control, 
 
 What fancied zone can circumfcribe the foul, 
 
 Who, confcious of the fource from whence fhe fprings, 
 
 By reafon's light, on refolution's wings. 
 
 Spite of her frail companion, dauntlefs goes 
 
 O'er Libya's deferts and through Zembla's fnows ? 
 
 She bids each flumb'ring energy awake. 
 
 Another touch, another temper take, 
 
 Sufpends th' inferior laws that rule our clay : 
 
 The ftubborn elements confefs her fway ; 
 
 Their little wants, their low deflres, refine, 
 
 And raife the mortal to a height divine. 
 
 Not but the human fabric from the birth 
 Imbibes a flavour of its parent earth : 
 As various tradls enforce a various toil. 
 The manners fpeak the idiom of their foil. 
 An iron-race the mountain-cliffs maintain. 
 Foes to the gentler genius of the plain : 
 
[ ] 
 
 For where unwearied Unews muft be found 
 
 With fide-long plough to quell the flinty ground, 
 
 To turn the torrent's fwift-defcending flood, 
 
 To brave the favage rufhing from the wood. 
 
 What wonder if to patient valour train'd, 
 
 They guard with fpirit, what by ftrength they gain'd ? 
 
 And while their rocky ramparts round they fee, 
 
 The rough abode of want and liberty, 
 
 (As lawlefs force from confidence will grow) 
 
 Infult the plenty of the vales below ? 
 
 What wonder, in the fultry climes, that fpread 
 
 Where Nile redundant o'er his fummer-bed 
 
 From his broad bofom life and verdure flings. 
 
 And broods o'er Egypt with his wat'ry wings. 
 
 If with advent rous oar and ready fail 
 
 The dufky people drive before the gale ; 
 
 Or on frail floats to neighb'ring cities ride. 
 
 That rife and glitter o'er the ambient tide 
 
 ***** 
 
 When love could teach a monarch to be wife. 
 And gofpel-light firfh dawn'd from Bullen's eyes.' 
 
[ I- ] 
 
 STANZAS TO MR. BENTLEY.' 
 
 A FRAGMENT. 
 
 N filent gaze the tuneful choir among, 
 
 Half pleafed, half blufhing, let the Mufe 
 admire, 
 
 While Bentley leads her (ifter-art along. 
 And bids the pencil anfwer to the lyre. 
 
 See, in their courfe, each tranfitory thought 
 Fix'd by his touch a lafting elTence take ; 
 
 Each dream, in fancy's airy colouring wrought 
 To local fymmetry and life awake ! 
 
 The tardy rhymes that ufed to linger on, 
 To cenfure cold, and negligent of fame, 
 
 In fwifter meafures animated run. 
 
 And catch a luftre from his genuine flame. 
 
[ 112 ] 
 
 Ah ! could they catch his ftrength, his eafy grace, 
 His quick creation, his unerring line ; 
 
 The energy of Pope they might efface. 
 And Dryden's harmony fubmit to mine. 
 
 But not to one in this benighted age 
 
 Is that diviner infpiration giv'n, 
 That burns in Shakefpeare's or in Milton's page, 
 
 The pomp and prodigality of heav'n. 
 
 As when confpiring in the diamond's blaze, 
 The meaner gems that fingly charm the fight. 
 
 Together dart their intermingled rays, 
 And dazzle with a luxury of light. 
 
 Enough for me, if to fome feeling breaft 
 
 My lines a fecret fympathy " impart ;" 
 
 And as their pleafing influence " flows confeft," 
 
 A figh of foft refledion " heaves the heart."^ 
 ***** 
 
[ "3 ] 
 
 SKETCH OF HIS OWN CHARACTER. 
 
 WRITTEN IN 1 761, AND FOUND IN ONE OF 
 HIS POCKET-BOOKS. 
 
 00 poor for a bribe, and too proud to im- 
 portune ; 
 
 He had not the method of making a fortune : 
 Could love, and could hate, fo was thought 
 fomewhat odd ; 
 No very great wit, he believed in a God : 
 A pofl: or a penfion he did not defire. 
 But left church and ftate to Charles Townfhend and Squire. 
 
[ -5 ] 
 
 AMATORY LINES.' 
 
 ITH beauty, with pleafure furrounded, to 
 languifh — 
 
 To weep without knowing the caufe of my 
 anguifh : 
 
 To ftart from fhort flumbers, and wifh for the morning — 
 To clofe my dull eyes when I fee it returning ; 
 Sighs fudden and frequent, looks ever dejed:ed — 
 Words that fteal from my tongue, by no meaning 
 connefted ! 
 
 Ah ! fay, fellow-fwains, how thefe fymptoms befell me ? 
 They fmile, but reply not — Sure Delia will tell me ! 
 
C ] 
 
 SONG.' 
 
 HYRSIS, when we parted, fwore 
 
 Ere the fpring he would return — 
 Ah ! what means yon violet flower ! 
 And the bud that decks the thorn 
 'Twas the lark that upward fprung ! 
 'Twas the nightingale that fung ! 
 
 Idle notes ! untimely green ! 
 
 Why this unavailing hafte ? 
 Weftern gales and fkies ferene 
 
 Speak not always winter paft. 
 Ceafe, my doubts, my fears to move, 
 Spare the honour of my love. 
 
[ 1^9 ] 
 
 IMPROMPTU, 
 
 SUGGESTED BY A VIEW, IN 1766, OF THE SEAT AND 
 RUINS OF A DECEASED NOBLEMAN, AT 
 KINGSGATE, KENT.^ 
 
 |) LD, and abandon'd by each venal friend, 
 
 ,^ Here H d formed the pious refolution 
 
 To fmuggle a few years, and ftrive to mend 
 A broken character and conftitution. 
 
 On this congenial fpot he fix'd his choice ; 
 
 Earl Goodwin trembled for his neighbouring fand ; 
 Here fea-gulls fcream, and cormorants rejoice, 
 
 And mariners, though fhipwreck'd, dread to land. 
 
[ ] 
 
 Here reign the bluftering North and blighting Eaft, 
 No tree is heard to whifper, bird to fing; 
 
 Yet Nature could not furnifh out the feaft, 
 Art he invokes new horrors ftill to bring. 
 
 Here mouldering fanes and battlements arife, 
 Turrets and arches nodding to their fall, 
 
 Unpeopled monaft'ries delude our eyes, 
 And mimic defolation covers all. 
 
 " Ah !" faid the fighing peer, " had B — te been true, 
 Nor — 's, R — 's, B — 's friendfhip vain. 
 
 Far better fcenes than thefe had bleft our view, 
 And realized the beauties which we feign : 
 
 " Purged by the fword, and purified by fire, 
 Then had we feen proud London's hated walls ; 
 
 Owls would have hooted in St. Peter's choir. 
 And foxes ftunk and litter'd in St. Paul's." 
 
[ 121 ] 
 
 THE CANDIDATE: 
 
 OR, THE CAMBRIDGE COURTSHIP.^ 
 
 HEN fly Jemmy Twitcher had fmugg'd up 
 his face, 
 
 With a lick of court white-wafh, and pious 
 grimace, 
 
 A wooing he went, where three fifters of old 
 In harmlefs fociety guttle and fcold. 
 
 " Lord ! lifter," fays Phyfic to Law, " I declare. 
 Such a fheep-biting look, fuch a pick-pocket air ! 
 Not I for the Indies : — You know I'm no prude, — 
 But his nofe is a fhame, — and his eyes are fo lewd ! 
 Then he fhambles and ftraddles fo oddly — I fear — 
 
 R 
 
[ 122 ] 
 
 No — at our time of life 'twould be filly, my dear." 
 
 " I don't know," fays Law, " but methinks for his look, 
 'Tis juft like the pidlure in Rochefter's book ; 
 Then his character, Phyzzy, — his morals — ^his life — 
 When fhe died, I can't tell, but he once had a wife. 
 
 They fay he's no Chriftian, loves drinking and w g. 
 
 And all the town rings of his fwearing and roaring ! 
 His lying and filching, and Newgate-bird tricks ; — 
 Not I — for a coronet, chariot and fix," 
 
 Divinity heard, between waking and dozing. 
 Her fifters denying, and Jemmy propofing : 
 From table fhe rofe, and with bumper in hand. 
 She ftroked up her belly, and ftroked down her band — 
 " What a pother is here about wenching and roaring ! 
 
 Why, David loved catches, and Solomon w g : 
 
 Did not Ifrael filch from th' Egyptians of old 
 Their jewels of filver and jewels of gold ? 
 The prophet of Bethel, we read, told a lie : 
 He drinks — fo did Noah ; — he fwears — fo do I : 
 
[ ] 
 
 To rejed: him for fuch peccadillos, were odd ; 
 Befides, he repents — for he talks about G** — 
 
 [To Jemmy.] 
 
 ' Never hang down your head, you poor penitent elf, 
 Come bufs me — I'll be Mrs. Twitcher myfelf.'" 
 
 jy. *3e. il^ ^ <^ 
 
 tS 7|C "Sff TfT 
 
[ ] 
 
 PROPERTIUS, LIB. III. ELEG. III. v. 41. 
 
 E juvat in prima coluiffe Helicona juventa, 
 Mufarumque choris implicuifle manus. 
 Me juvat et multo mentem vincire Lyaso, 
 Et caput in verna femper habere rofa. 
 Atque ubi jam Venerem gravis interceperit aetas, 
 Sparferit et nigras alba fenedla comas : 
 
[ ] 
 
 EXTRACTS. 
 PROPERTIUS, LIB. III. ELEG. III. v. 41. 
 
 IMITATED. 
 
 ONG as of youth the joyous hours remain, 
 Me may Caftalia's fweet recefs detain, 
 FafI: by the umbrageous vale lull'd to repofe. 
 Where Aganippe warbles as it flows ; 
 Or roufed by fprightly founds from out the trance, 
 I'd in the ring knit hands, and join the Mufes' dance. 
 Give me to fend the laughing bowl around. 
 My foul in Bacchus' pleafing fetters bound ; 
 Let on this head unfading flowers reflde, 
 There bloom the vernal rofe's earlieft pride ; 
 And when, our flames commiflion'd to deflroy, 
 Age flep 'twixt Love and me, and intercept the joy ; 
 When my changed head thefe locks no more fhall know, 
 And all its jetty honours turn to fnow ; 
 
[ ] 
 
 Turn mihi naturse libeat perdifcere mores, 
 
 Quis deus hanc mundi temperet arte domum : 
 Qua venit exoriens, qua deficit; unde coadlis 
 
 Cornibus in plenum menflrua Luna redit : 
 Unde falo fuperant venti : quid flamine captet 
 
 Eurusj et in nubes unde perennis aqua : 
 Si Ventura dies, mundi quae fubruat arces : 
 
 Purpureus pluvias cur bibat arcus aquas : 
 Aut cur Perrhaebi tremuere cacumina Pindi, 
 
 Solis et atratis luxerit orbis equis : 
 
[ ] 
 
 Then let me rightly fpell of Nature's ways ; 
 To Providence, to Him my thoughts I'd raife, 
 Who taught this vaft machine its fteadfaft laws, 
 That firft, eternal, univerfal caufe ; 
 Search to what regions yonder ftar retires, 
 That monthly waning hides her paly jfires. 
 And whence, anew revived, with filver light 
 Relumes her crefcent orb to cheer the dreary night : 
 How rifing winds the face of ocean fweep. 
 Where lie the eternal fountains of the deep, 
 And whence the cloudy magazines maintain 
 Their wintry war, or pour the autumnal rain ; 
 How flames perhaps, with dire confuflon hurl'd, 
 Shall flnk this beauteous fabrick of the world ; 
 What colours paint the vivid arch of Jove ; 
 What wondrous force the folid earth can move. 
 When Pindus' felf approaching ruin dreads. 
 Shakes all his pines, and bows his hundred heads ; 
 Why does yon orb, fo exquifltely bright, 
 Obfcure his radiance in a fliort- lived nighty 
 
[ ] 
 
 Cur ferus verfare boves, et plauftra Bootes ; 
 
 Pleiadum fpiflb cur coit imbre chorus : 
 Curve fuos fines altum non exeat aequor, 
 
 Plenus et in partes quatuor annus eat : 
 Sub terris fi jura deum, et tormenta Gigantum : 
 
 Tifiphones atro fi furit angue caput : 
 Aut Alcmasonis furiae, aut jejunia Phinei ; 
 
 Num rota, num fcopuli, num fitis inter aquas 
 Num tribus infernum cuftodit faucibus antrum 
 
 Cerberus, et Tityo jugera pauca novem : 
 An ficla in miferas defcendit fabula gentes, 
 
 Et timor baud ultra, quam rogus effe poteft. 
 Exitus hie vitae fuperet mihi. 
 
[ 129 ] 
 
 whence the Seven-Sifters' congregated fires, 
 
 And what Bootes' lazy waggon tires ; 
 
 How the rude furge its fandy bounds control; 
 
 Who meafured out the year, and bade the feafons roll ; 
 
 If realms beneath thofe fabled torments know, 
 
 Pangs without refpite, fires that ever glow. 
 
 Earth's monfter brood ftretch'd on their iron bed. 
 
 The hifling terrors round Aledto's head. 
 
 Scarce to nine acres Tityus' bulk confined. 
 
 The triple dog that fcares the fhadowy kind. 
 
 All angry heaven inflidls, or hell can feel. 
 
 The pendent rock, Ixion's whirling wheel, 
 
 Famine at feafts, or thirft amid the ftream ; 
 
 Or are our fears the enthufiaft's empty dream. 
 
 And all the fcenes, that hurt the grave's repofe. 
 
 But pictured horror and poetic woes. 
 
 Thefe foft inglorious joys my hours engage ; 
 Be love my youth's purfuit, and fcience crown my age. 
 
 1738. JEt. 11 
 
 8 
 
[ ] 
 
 TASSO GERUS. LIB. CANT. XIV. ST. 32. 
 
 ISMISS'D at length, they break through all 
 delay 
 
 To tempt the dangers of the doubtful way ; 
 And firft to Afcalon their fteps they bend, 
 Whofe walls along the neighbouring fea extend. 
 Nor yet in profped rofe the diftant fhore ; 
 Scarce the hoarfe waves from far were heard to roar. 
 When thwart the road a river roll'd its flood 
 Tempeftuous, and all further courfe withftood ; 
 The torrent ftream his ancient bounds difdains, 
 Swoll'n with new force, and late-defcending rains. 
 Irrefolute they ftand ; when lo, appears 
 The wondrous Sage : vigorous he feem'd in years. 
 Awful his mien, low as his feet there flows 
 A veftment unadorn'd, though white as new-fall'n fnows ; 
 
C 132 ] 
 
 Againft the ftream the waves fecure he trod, 
 His head a chaplet bore, his hand a rod. 
 
 As on the Rhine, when Boreas' fury reigns. 
 And winter binds the floods in icy chains. 
 Swift fhoots the village-maid in ruftic play 
 Smooth, without ftep, adown the fhining way, 
 Fearlefs in long excurflon loves to glide, 
 And fports and wantons o'er the frozen tide. 
 
 So moved the Seer, but on no harden'd plain ; 
 The river boil'd beneath, and rufli'd toward the main. 
 Where fix'd in wonder flood the warlike pair. 
 His courfe he turn'd, and thus relieved their care : 
 
 " Vaft, oh my friends, and difficult the toil 
 To feek your hero in a diftant foil ! 
 No common helps, no common guide ye need. 
 Art it requires, and more than winged fpeed. 
 What length of fea remains, what various lands. 
 Oceans unknown, inhofpitable fands ! 
 For adverfe fate the captive chief has hurl'd 
 Beyond the confines of our narrow world : 
 
[ 133 ] 
 
 Great things and full of wonder in your ears 
 I fhall unfold ; but firft difmifs your fears ; 
 Nor doubt with me to tread the downward road 
 That to the grotto leads, my dark abode." 
 
 Scarce had he faid, before the warriors' eyes 
 When mountain-high the waves difparted rife ; 
 The flood on either hand its billows rears, 
 And in the midft a fpacious arch appears. 
 Their hands he feized, and down the fteep he led 
 Beneath the obedient river's inmoft bed ; 
 The watery glimmerings of a fainter day 
 Difcover'd half, and half conceal'd their way ; 
 As when athwart the dufky woods by night 
 The uncertain crefcent gleams a flckly light. 
 Through fubterraneous paflages they went, 
 Earth's inmoft cells, and caves of deep defcent ; 
 Of many a flood they view'd the fecret fource, 
 The birth of rivers riflng to their courfe, 
 Whate'er with copious train its channel fills, 
 Floats into lakes, and bubbles into rills ; 
 
[ '34 ] 
 
 The Po was there to fee, Danubius' bed, 
 
 Euphrates' fount, and Nile's myfterious head. 
 
 Further they pafs, where ripening minerals flow, 
 
 And embryon metals undigefted glow. 
 
 Sulphureous veins and living fllver fhine. 
 
 Which foon the parent fun's warm powers refine. 
 
 In one rich mafs unite the precious ftore, 
 
 The parts combine and harden into ore : 
 
 Here gems break through the night with glittering beam, 
 
 And paint the margin of the coftly ftream. 
 
 All ftones of luftre fhoot their vivid ray, 
 
 And mix attemper'd in a various day ; 
 
 Here the foft emerald fmiles of verdant hue, 
 
 And rubies flame, with fapphire's heavenly blue, 
 
 The diamond there attradts the wondrous flght, 
 
 Proud of its thoufand dies and luxury of light. 
 
 1738. Mt. 11. 
 
[ ^35 ] 
 
 P O E M A T A. 
 
 HYMENEAL 
 
 ON THE MARRIAGE OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS 
 THE PRINCE OF WALES.i 
 
 GNARiS) noftrum mentes, et inertia corda, 
 Dum curas regum, et fortem miferamur 
 iniquam, 
 
 Quae folio affixit, vetuitque calefcere flamma 
 Dulci, quae dono divum, gratiflima ferpit 
 Vifcera per, mollefque animis lene implicat sftus ; 
 Nec teneros fenfus, Veneris nec praemia norunt, 
 Eloquiumve oculi, aut facunda filentia lingua : 
 Scilicet ignorant lacrymas, fevofque dolores, 
 Dura rudimenta, et violentas exordia flammae ; 
 Scilicet ignorant, quae flumine tinxit amaro 
 
[ ] 
 
 Tela Venus, caecique armamentaria Divi, 
 Irafque, infidiafque, et tacitum fub pedlore vulnus ; 
 Namque fub ingreffu, primoque in limine Amoris 
 Ludius et ultrices pofuere cubilia Curae ; 
 Intus habent dulces Rifus, et Gratia fedem, 
 Et rofeis refupina toris, rofeo ore Voluptas : 
 Regibus hue faciles aditus ; communia fpernunt 
 Oftia, jamque expers duris cuftodibus iftis 
 Panditur accefTus, penetraliaque intima Templi. 
 
 Tuque Oh ! Angliacis, Princeps, fpes optima regnis, 
 Ne tantum, ne finge metum : quid imagine captus 
 Hasres, et mentem pidura pafcis inani ? 
 Umbram miraris : nec longum tempus, et ipfa 
 I bit in amplexus, thalamofque ornabit ovantes. 
 lUe tamen tabulis inhians longum haurit amorem, 
 AfFatu fruitur tacito, aufcultatque tacentem 
 Immemor artificis calami, rifumque, ruboremque 
 Afpicit in fucis, pidasque in virginis ore : 
 Tanta Venus potuit ; tantus tenet error amantes. 
 
, [ 137 ] 
 
 Nafcere, magna Dies, qua fefe Augusta Britanno 
 Committat Pelago, patriamque relinquat amoenam ; 
 Cujus in adventum jam nunc tria regna fecundos 
 Attolli in plaufus, dulcique accenfa furore 
 Incipiunt agitare modos, et carmina dicunt : 
 Ipfe animo fedenim juvenis comitatur euntem, 
 Explorat ventos, atque auribus aera captat, 
 Atque aurasj atque aftra vocat crudelia ; pedlus 
 Intentum exultat, furgitque arredta cupido j 
 Incufat fpes aegra fretum, folitoque videtur 
 Latior effundi pontus, fludlufque morantes. 
 
 Nafcere, Lux major, qua fefe Augusta Britanno 
 Committat juveni totam, propriamque dicabit ; 
 At citius (precor) Oh ! cedas melioribus aftris ; 
 Nox finem pompae, finemque imponere curis 
 Poffit, et in thalamos furtim deducere nuptam ; 
 Sufficiat requiemque viris, et amantibus umbras : 
 Adlit Hymen, et fubridens cum matre Cupido 
 Accedant, fternantque toros, ignemque miniftrent ; 
 
 T 
 
[ 138 ] 
 
 Ilicet haud pidlae incandefcit imagine forms 
 Ulterius juvenis, verumque agnofcit amorem. 
 
 Sculptile ficut ebur, faciemque arfiffe venuftam 
 Pygmaliona canunt : ante hanc fufpiria ducit, 
 Alloquiturque amens, flammamque et vulnera narrat ; 
 Implorata Venus juflit cum vivere fignum, 
 Foemineam infpirans animam ; quae gaudia furgunt, 
 Audiit ut primae nafcentia murmura linguae, 
 Ludari in vitam, et paulatim volvere ocellos 
 Sedulusj afpexitque nova fplendefcere flamma ; 
 Corripit amplexu vivam, jamque ofcula jungit 
 Acria confeftim, recipitque rapitque ; prioris 
 Immemor ardoris, Nymphaeque oblitus eburnes. 
 
 Tho. Gray. Pet. Coll. 
 
[ 139 ] 
 
 LUNA HABITABILIS.' 
 
 UM Nox rorantes, non incomitata per auras 
 Urget equos, tacitoque inducit fidera lapfu ; 
 Ultima, fed nuUi foror inficianda fororum, 
 Hue mihi, Mufa ; tibi patet aid janua coeli, 
 Aftra vides, nec te numeri, nec nomina fallunt. 
 Hue mihi, Diva veni ; dulee eft per aperta ferena 
 Vere frui liquido, campoque errare filenti ; 
 Vere frui dulee eft ; modo tu dignata petentem 
 Sis comes, et meeum gelida fpatiere fub umbra. 
 Scilicet hos orbes, coeli haec decora alta putandum eft, 
 
 Nodis opes, nobis tantum lucere ; virumque 
 Oftentari oculis, noftrs laquearia terrae, 
 Ingentes fcenas, vaftique aulaea theatri ? 
 Oh ! quis me pennis aethras fuper ardua ftftet 
 Mirantem, propiufque dabit convexa tueri ; 
 
[ ] 
 
 Teque adeo, unde fluens reficit lux mollior arva 
 Pallidiorque dies, trifles folata tenebras ? 
 
 Sic ego, fubridens Dea fic ingrefla viciflim : 
 Non pennis opus hic, fupera ut fimul ilia petamus : 
 Difce, Puer, potius coelo deducere Lunam ; 
 Neu crede ad magicas te invitum accingier artes, 
 ThefTalicofve modos ; ipfam defcendere Phoeben 
 Confpicies novus Endymion j feque offeret ultro 
 Vifa tibi ante oculos, et nota major imago. 
 
 Quin tete admoveas (tumuli fuper aggere fpedas), 
 Compofitum tubulo ; fimul imum invade canalem 
 Sic intenta acie, coeli fimul alta patefcent 
 Atria ; jamque, aufus Lunaria vifere regna, 
 Ingrediere folo, et caput inter nubila condes. 
 
 Ecce autem ! vitri fe in vertice fiftere Phoeben 
 Cernis, et Oceanum, et crebris Freta con{ita terris 
 Panditur i//e atram faciem caligine condens 
 Subluftri ; refugitque oculos, fallitque tuentem ; 
 Integram Solis lucem quippe haurit aperto 
 Fludu avidus radiorum, et longos imbibit ignes : 
 
[ 141 ] 
 
 Verum his^ quae, maculis variata nitentibus, auro 
 CcErula difcernunt, celfo fefe infula dorfo 
 Plurima protrudit, praetentaque littora faxis ; 
 Liberior datur his quoniam natura, minufque 
 Lumen depafcunt liquidum ; fed tela diei 
 Detorquent, retroque decent fe vertere flammas. 
 
 Hinc longos videas trad:us, terrafque jacentes 
 Ordine candenti, et claros fe attoUere montes ; 
 Montes quels Rhodope afTurgat, quibus OfTa nivali 
 Vertice : turn fcopulis infra pendentibus antra 
 Nigrefcunt clivorum umbra, nemorumque tenebris. 
 Non rores illi, aut defunt fua nubila mundo ; 
 Non frigus gelid um, atque herbis gratiflimus imberj 
 His quoque nota ardet pidto Thaumantias arcu, 
 Os rofeum Aurorae, propriique crepufcula coeli. 
 
 Et dubitas tantum certis cultoribus orbem 
 Deftitui ? exercent agros, fua mcEnia condunt 
 Hi quoque, vel Martem invadunt, curantque triumphos 
 Vidores : funt hie etiam fua praemia laudi ; 
 His metus, atque amor, et mentem mortalia tangunt. 
 
[ ] 
 
 Quin, uti nos oculis jam nunc juvat ire per arva, 
 Lucentefque plagas Lunae, pontumque profundum; 
 Idem illos etiam ardor agit, cum fe aureus efFert 
 Sub fudum globus, et terrarum ingentior orbis ; 
 Scilicet omne xquor turn luftrant, fcilicet omnem 
 Tellurem, gentefque polo fub utroque jacentes ; 
 Et quidam asftivi indefeflus ad stheris ignes 
 Pervigilat, nodlem exercens, ccelumque fatigat; 
 Jam Galli apparent, jam fe Germania late 
 Tollit, et albefcens pater Apenninus ad auras ; 
 Jam tandem in Borean, en ! parvulus Anglia naevus 
 (Quanquam aliis longe fulgentior) extulit oras ; 
 Formofum extemplo lumen, maculamque nitentem 
 Invifunt crebri Proceres, ferumque tuendo ; 
 Hasrent, certatimque fuo cognomine (ignant : 
 Forfitan et Lun^e longinquus in orbe Tyrannus 
 Se dominum vocat, et noftra fe jadlat in aula. 
 Terras poffim alias propiori fole calentes 
 Narrare, atque alias, jubaris queis parcior ufus, 
 Lunarum chorus, et tenuis penuria Phoebi ; 
 
[ H3 ] 
 
 Ni, meditans eadem haec audaci evolvere cantu, 
 Jam pulfet citharam foror, et prasludia tentet. 
 
 Non tamen has proprias laudes, nec fadta lilebo 
 Jampridem in fatis, patriseque oracula famae. 
 Tempus erit, furfum totos contendere ccetus 
 Quo cernes longo excurfu, primofque colonos 
 Migrare in lunam, et notos mutare Penates : 
 Dum ftupet obtutu tacito vetus incola, longeque 
 Infolitas explorat aves, claflemque volantem. 
 
 Ut quondam ignotum marmor, campofque natantes 
 Tranavit Zephyros vifens, nova regna, Columbus ; 
 Litora mirantur circum, mirantur et undas 
 Inclufas acies ferro, turmafque biformes, 
 Monftraque fceta armis, et non imitabile fulmen. 
 Foedera mox i6ta, et gemini commercia mundi, 
 Agminaque aflueto glomerata fub asthere cerno. 
 Anglia, qus pelagi jamdudum torquet habenas, 
 Exercetque frequens ventos, atque imperat undae ; 
 Aeris attoUet fafces, veterefque triumphos 
 Hue etiam feret, et vidtis dominabitur auris. 
 
[ 145 ] 
 
 ALCAIC ODE, 
 
 WRITTEN IN THE ALBUM OF THE GRANDE CHARTREUSE, 
 IN DAUPHIN Y, AUGUST, 1741. 
 
 H Tu, feveri Religio loci, 
 Quocunque gaudes nomine (non leve 
 Nativa nam certe fluenta 
 
 Numen habet, veterefque fylvas ; 
 Prafentiorem et confpicimus Deum 
 Per invias rupes, fera per juga, 
 Clivofque praeruptos, fonantes 
 
 Inter aquas, nemorumque nodem ; 
 Quam fi repoftus fub trabe citrea 
 Fulgeret auro, et Phidiaca manu) 
 Salve vocanti rite, feffo et 
 Da placidam juveni quietem. 
 u 
 
[ ] 
 
 Quod fi invidendis fedibus, et frui 
 Fortuna facra lege filentii 
 
 Vetat volentem, me reforbens 
 In medios violenta fludus : 
 
 Saltern remoto des, Pater, angulo 
 Horas fenedae ducere liberas ; 
 Tutumque vulgari tumultu 
 Surripias, hominumque curis. 
 
[ H7 ] 
 
 DE PRINCIPIIS COGITANDI. 
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. AD FAVONIUM. 
 
 NDE Animus fcire incipiat ; quibus inchoet 
 orfa 
 
 Principiis feriem rerum, tenuemque catenam 
 Mnemofyne : Ratio unde rudi fub pedore 
 tardum 
 
 Augeat imperium ; et primum mortalibus aegris 
 Ira, Dolor, Metus, et Cur^e nafcantur inanes, 
 Hinc canere aggredior. Nec dedignare canentem, 
 O decus ! Angliacae certe O lux altera gentis ! 
 Si qua primus iter monftras, veftigia conor 
 Signare incerta, tremulaque infiftere planta. 
 Quin potius due ipfe (potes namque omnia) fandlum 
 Ad limen (fi rite adeo, fi pedore puro,) 
 
C 148 ] 
 
 Obfciirag referans Naturas ingentia clauftra. 
 Tu caecas rerum caufas, fontemque feverum 
 Pande, Pater; tibi enim, tibi, veri magne Sacerdos, 
 Corda patent hominum, atque alt^ penetralia Mentis. 
 
 Tuque aures adhibe vacuas, facilefque, Favoni, 
 (Quod tibi crefcit opus) fimplex nec defpice carmen, 
 Nec vatem : non ilia leves primordia motus, 
 Quanquam parva, dabunt. Laetum vel amabile quicquid 
 Ufquam oritur, trahit hinc ortum; nec furgit ad auras, 
 Quin ea confpirent fimul, eventufque fecundent. 
 Hinc variae vitai artes, ac mollior ufus, 
 Dulce et amicitias vinclum : Sapientia dia 
 Hinc rofeum accendit lumen, vultuque fereno 
 Humanas aperit mentes, nova gaudia monftrans, 
 Deformefque fugat curas, vanofque timores : 
 Scilicet et rerum crefcit pulcherrima Virtus. 
 Ilia etiam, quae te (mirum) nodlefque diefque 
 Affidue fovet infpirans, linguamque fequentem 
 Temperat in numeros, atque horas mulcet inertes ; 
 Aurea non alia fe jadat origine Mufa. 
 
, [ 149 ] 
 
 Principio, ut magnum foedus Natura creatrix 
 Firmavit, tardis juffitque inolefcere membris 
 Sublimes animas ; tenebrofo in carcere partem 
 Noluit aetheream longo torpere veterno : 
 Nec per fe proprium pafla exercere vigorem eft, 
 Ne fociae molis conjundlos fperneret artus, . . 
 
 Ponderis oblita, et coeleftis confcia flammae. 
 Idcirco innumero dudtu tremere undique fibras 
 Nervorum inftituit : turn toto corpore mifcens 
 Implicuit late ramos, et fenlile textum, 
 Implevitque humore fuo, (feu lympha vocanda, 
 Sive aura eft) tenuis certe, atque leviftima quaedam 
 Vis verfatur agens, parvofque infufa canales 
 Perfluit; aflidue externis qu^ concita plagis, 
 Mobilisj incuflique fidelis nuntia motus, 
 Hinc inde accensa contage relabitur ufque 
 Ad fuperas hominis fedes, arcemque cerebri. 
 Namque illic pofuit folium, et fua templa facravit 
 Mens animi : hanc circum coeunt, denfoque feruntur 
 Agmine notitiae, ftmulacraque tenuia rerum : 
 
[ ] 
 
 Ecce autem naturae ingens aperitur imago 
 Immenfae, variique patent commercia mundi. 
 
 Ac uti longinquis defcendunt montibus amnes 
 Velivolus Tamifis, flaventifque Indus arenae, 
 Euphratefque, Tagufque, et opimo flumine Ganges, 
 Undas quifque fuas volvens, curfuque fonoro 
 In mare prorumpunt : hos magno acclinis in antro 
 Excipit Oceanus, natorumque ordine longo 
 Dona recognofcit venientum, ultroque ferenat 
 Caeruleam faciem, et diffufo marmore ridet : 
 Hand aliter fpecies properant fe inferre novellae 
 Certatim menti, atque aditus quino agmine complent. 
 
 Primas ta6lus agit partes, primufque minutae 
 Laxat iter caecum turbae, recipitque ruentem. 
 Non idem huic modus eft, qui fratribus : amplius ille 
 Imperium afFedat fenior, penitufque medullis, 
 Vifceribufque habitat totis, pellifque recentem 
 Funditur in telam, et late per ftamina vivit. 
 Necdum etiam matris puer eludlatus ab alvo 
 Multiplices folvit tunicas, et vincula rupit ; 
 
C ] 
 
 Sopitus molli fomno, tepidoque liquore 
 Circumfufus adhuc : tadus tamen aura lacefHt 
 Jamdudum levior fenfus, animamque reclufit. 
 Idque magis, fimul ac folitum blandumque calorem 
 Frigore mutavit coeli, quod verberat acri 
 Impete inafluetos artus : turn faevior adftat 
 Humanaeque comes vitae Dolor excipit ; ille 
 Cundlantem fruftra et tremulo multa ore querentem 
 Corripit invadens, ferreifque ample^litur ulnis. 
 Turn fpecies primum patefada eft Candida Lucis 
 (Ufque vices adeo Natura bonique, malique, 
 Exaequat, juftaque manu fua damna rependit) 
 Turn primum, ignotofque bibunt nova lumina foles. 
 
 Carmine quo, Dea, te dicam, gratiffima coeli 
 Progenies, ortumque tuum ; gemmantia rore 
 Ut per prata levi luftras, et floribus halans 
 Purpureum Veris gremium, fcenamque virentem 
 Pingis, et umbriferos colles, et caerula regna ? 
 Gratia te, Venerifque Lepos, et mille Colorum, 
 Formarumque chorus fequitur, motufque decentes. 
 
[ ] 
 
 At caput invifum Stygiis Nox atra tenebris 
 Abdidit, horrendasque fimul Formidinis ora, 
 Pervigilefque aeftus Curarum, atque anxius Angor : 
 Undique l^etitia florent mortalia corda, 
 Purus et arridet largis fulgoribus ^Ether. 
 
 Omnia nec tu ideo invalidas fe pandere Menti 
 (Quippe nimis teneros poffet vis tanta diei 
 Perturbare, et inexpertos confundere vifus) 
 Nec capere infantes animos, neu cernere credas 
 Tarn variam molem, et m'lrx fpedlacula lucis : 
 Nefcio qua tamen haec oculos dulcedine parvos 
 Splendida percuffit novitas, traxitque fequentes ; 
 Nonne videmus enim, latis inferta feneftris 
 Sicubi fe Phcebi difpergant aurea tela, 
 Sive lucernarum rutilus colluxerit ardor, 
 Extemplo hue obverti aciem, quae fixa repertos 
 Haurit inexpletum radios, fruiturque tuendo. 
 
 Altior huic vero fenfu, majorque videtur 
 Addita, Judicioque arde connexa poteftas. 
 Quod fimul atque aetas volventibus auxerit annis, 
 
I [ 153 ] 
 
 Haec fimul, affiduo depafcens omnia vifu, 
 Perfpiciet, vis quanta loci, quid polleat ordo, 
 Jundlurae quis honos, ut res accendere rebus 
 Lumina conjurant inter fe, et mutua fulgent. 
 
 Nec minor in geminis viget auribus iniita virtus, 
 Nec tantum in curvis quse pervigil excubet antris 
 Hinc atque hinc (ubi Vox tremefecerit oftia pulfu 
 Aeriis invedla rotis) longeque recurfet : 
 Scilicet Eloquio hxc fonitus, haec fulminis alas. 
 Et mulcere dedit didis et tollere corda, 
 Verbaque metiri numeris, verfuque ligare 
 Repperit, et quicquid difcant Libethrides undas, 
 Calliope quoties, quoties Pater ipfe canendi 
 Evolvat liquidum carmen, calamove loquenti 
 Infpiret dulces animas, digitifque figuret. 
 
 At medias fauces, et linguse humentia templa 
 Guftus habet, qua fe inlinuet jucunda faporum 
 Luxuries, dona Autumni, Bacchique voluptas. 
 
 Naribus interea confedit odora hominum vis, 
 Doda leves captare auras, Panchaia quales 
 
 X 
 
[ 154 ] 
 
 Vere novo exhalat, Florasve quod ofcula fragrant 
 Rofcida, cum Zephyri furtim fub vefperis hora 
 Refpondet votis, mollemque afpirat amorem. 
 
 Tot portas altas capitis circumdedit arci 
 Alma Parens, fensufque vias per membra reclufit ; 
 Haud folas : namque intus agit vivata facultas, 
 Qua fefe explorat, contemplatufque repente 
 Ipfe fuas animus vires, momentaque cernit. 
 Quid velit, aut poffit, cupiat, fugiatve, vicifsim 
 Percipit imperio gaudens ; neque corpora fallunt 
 Morigera ad celeres adlus, ac numina mentis. 
 
 Qualis Hamadryadum quondam fi forte fororum 
 Una, novos peragrans faltus, et devia rura ; 
 (Atque illam in viridi fuadet procumbere ripa 
 Fontis pura quies, et opaci frigoris umbra) 
 Dum prona in latices fpeculi de margine pendet, 
 Mirata eft fubitam venienti occurrere Nympham : 
 Mox eofdem, quos ipfa, artus, eadem ora gerentem 
 Una inferre gradus, una fuccedere fylvas 
 Afpicit alludens ; fefeque agnofcit in undis. 
 
[ 155 ] 
 
 Sic fenfu interne rerum limulacra fuarum 
 
 Mens ciet, et proprios obfervat confcia vultus. 
 
 Nec vero fimplex ratio, aut jus omnibus unum 
 
 Conftat imaginibus. Sunt qu^ bina oftia norunt 
 
 Hdd privos fervant aditus ; fine legibus ills 
 
 Pafsim, qua data porta, ruunt, animoque propinquant. 
 
 Refpice, cui a cunis trifles extinxit ocellos, 
 
 Saeva et in eternas merfit natura tenebras : 
 
 Illi ignota dies lucet, vernufque colorum 
 
 Offufus nitor eft, et vivas gratia formae. 
 
 Corporis at filum, et motus, fpatiumque, locique 
 
 Intervalla datur certo dignofcere tadu : 
 
 Quandoquidem his iter ambiguum efl, et janua duplex, 
 
 Exclufasque oculis fpecies irrumpere tendunt 
 
 Per digitos. Atqui folis concefTa poteflas 
 
 Luminibus blandae eft radios immittere lucis. 
 
 Undique proporro fociis, quacunque patefcit 
 Notitias campus, miflae lafciva feruntur 
 Turba voluptatis comites, formsque dolorum 
 Terribiles vifu, et porta glomerantur in omni. 
 
[ 156 ] 
 
 Nec vario minus introitu magnum ingruit Illud, 
 Quo facere et fungi, quo res exiftere circum 
 Quamque fibi proprio cum corpore fcimus, et ire 
 Ordine, perpetuoque per sevum flumine labi. 
 
 Nunc age quo valeat pa6lo, qua fenfilis arte 
 Affedare viam, atque animi tentare latebras 
 Materies (didlis aures adverte faventes) 
 Exfequar. Imprimis fpatii quam multa per ccquor 
 Millia multigenis pandant fe corpora feclis, 
 Expende. Haud unum invenies, quod mente licebit 
 Ampledi, nedum propius deprendere fenfu, 
 Molis egens cert^, aut folido fine robore, cujus 
 Denique mobilitas linquit, texturave partes, 
 Ulla nec orarum circumcasfura coercet. 
 Haec conjunda adeo tota compage fatetur 
 Mundus, et extremo clamant in limine rerum, 
 (Si rebus datur extremum) primordia. Firmat 
 Hxc eadem tadus (tadlum quis dicere falfum 
 Audeat ?) haec oculi nec lucidus arguit orbis. 
 
 Inde poteftatum enafci denfiflima proles ; 
 
[ 157 ] 
 
 Nam qiiodcunque ferit vifum, tangive laborat, 
 
 Quicquid nare bibis, vel concava concipit auris, 
 
 Quicquid lingua fapit, credas hoc omne, neceffe eft 
 
 Ponderibus, textu, difcurfu, mole, figura 
 
 Particulas prasftare leves, et femina rerum. 
 
 Nunc oculos igitur pafcunt, et luce miniftra 
 
 Fulgere cundla vides, fpargique coloribus orbem, 
 
 Dum de fole trahunt alias, aliafque fuperne 
 
 Detorquent, retroque docent fe vertere flammas. 
 
 Nunc trepido inter fe fervent corpufcula pulfu, 
 
 Ut tremor asthera per magnum, lateque natantes 
 
 Aurarum flu6lus avidi vibrantia clauftra 
 
 Auditus queat allabi, fonitumque propaget. 
 
 Cominus interdum non ullo interprete per fe 
 
 Nervorum invadunt teneras quatientia fibras, 
 
 Senfiferumque urgent ultro per vifcera motum. 
 ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 
 
[ 159 ] 
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 
 
 ACTENUS haud fegnis Naturae arcana retexi 
 Mufarum interpres, primufque Britanna per 
 arva 
 
 Romano liquidum deduxi flumine rivum. 
 Cum Tu opere in medio, fpes tanti et caufa laboris, 
 Linquis, et ceternam fati te condis in umbram ! 
 Vidi egomet duro graviter concufTa dolore 
 Pe6tora, in alterius non unquam lenta dolorem ; 
 Et languere oculos vidi, et pallefcere amantem 
 Vultum, quo nunquam Pietas nifi rara, Fidefque, 
 Altus amor Veri, et purum fpirabat Honeftum. 
 Vifa tamen tardi demum inclementia morbi 
 CefTare eft, reducemque iterum rofeo ore Salutem 
 Speravi, atque una tecum, dilecSe Favoni ! 
 Credulus heu longos, ut quondam, fallere Soles : 
 
C i6o ] 
 
 Heu fpes nequicqiiam dulces, atque irrita vota ! 
 
 Heu masftos Soles, fine te quos ducere flendo 
 
 Per defideria, et queftus jam cogor inanes ! 
 
 At Tu, fandla anima, et noftri non indiga ludlus, 
 
 Stellanti templo, fincerique aetheris igne, 
 
 Unde orta es, fruere ; atque 6 fi fecura, nec ultra 
 
 Mortalis, notos olim miferata labores 
 
 Refpedles, tenuefque vacet cognofcere curas ; 
 
 Humanam fi forte alta de fede procellam 
 
 Contemplere, metus, ftimulofque cupidinis acres, 
 
 Gaudiaque et gemitus, parvoque in corde tumultum 
 
 Irarum ingentem, et faevos fub pediore fludus ; 
 
 Refpice et has lacrymas, memori quas idlus amore 
 
 Fundo ; quod pofTum, juxta lugere fepulchrum 
 
 Dum juvat, et mut^e vana hxc jadare favillse. 
 ***** 
 
EXTRACTS. 
 
[ ] 
 
 RIME DI PETRARCA. 
 
 SONETTO 170.1 
 
 ASSO, ch' i' ardo, ed altri non mel crede 
 Si crede ogni uom, fe non fola colei 
 Ch' e fovr' ogni altra, e ch' i' fola vorrei 
 Ella non par che '1 creda, e si fel vede. 
 Infinita bellezza e poca fede, 
 Non vedete voi '1 cor negli occhi miei ? 
 Se non fofle mia ftella, i' pur devrei 
 Al fonte di pieta trovar mercede. 
 
 Queft' aider mio, di che vi cal si poco, 
 E i voftri onori in mie rime difFufi 
 Ne porian infiammar fors' ancor mille : 
 
 Ch' i' veggio nel penlier, dolce mio foco, 
 Fredda una lingua, e duo begli occhi chiufi, 
 Rimaner dopo noi pien di faville. 
 
[ ] 
 
 ROR, io ; veros at nemo credidit ignes : 
 Quin credunt omnes ; dura fed ilia negat, 
 Ilia negat, foli volumus cui poffe probare ; 
 Quin videt, et vifos improba diffimulat. 
 Ah, duriffima mi, fed et, ah, pulcherrima rerum ! 
 
 Nonne animam in mifera, Cynthia, fronte vides ? 
 Omnibus ilia pia eft ; et, fi non fata vetafTent, 
 Tarn longas mentem fledleret ad lacrymas. 
 Sed tamen has lacrymas, hunc tu, quem fpreveris, ignem, 
 
 Carminaque audori non bene culta fuo, 
 Turba futurorum non ignorabit amantum : 
 
 Nos duo, cumque erimus parvus uterque cinis, 
 Jamque faces, eheu ! oculorum, et frigida lingua, 
 
 Hae fine luce jacent, immemor ilia loqui ; 
 Infelix mufa aeternos fpirabit amores, 
 Ardebitque urna multa favilla mea. 
 
[ i6+ ] 
 
 nOEEIAinnOT slg (rrvjXriv ^AXe^dv^pou rov MoiKsSovog. 
 
 AvjiZTTs 'kXolgtix I<iKV(^vis, ^ocpaxXsY) X^Vj 
 Hspaocr (Tvyyv^y.Yi fiovcii Asovra (pvyelv. 
 
I 
 
 [ 165 ] 
 
 FROM THE ANTHOLOGIA GR^CA. 
 
 EDIT. HEN. STEPH. 1566. 
 IN BACCH^ FURENTIS STATUAM.i 
 
 REDITE, non viva eft Masnas ; non fpirat 
 imago : 
 
 Artificis rabiem mifcuit acre manus. 
 
 IN ALEXANDRUM, JERE EFFICTUM.^ 
 
 UANTUM audet, Lyfippe, manus tua ! furgit in aere 
 Spiritus, atque oculis bellicus ignis adeft : 
 Spe£tate hos vultus, miferifque ignofcite Perfis : 
 Quid mirum, imbelles fi leo fparfi.t oves ? 
 
[ '66 ] 
 
 ANTia)IAOT But^oivrlov slg sUova. 
 
 ^Q,v TO [JLsv slg opyoiv vsvs, to J" slg sXsov, 
 '■^Ajucpw ^' s'^XripCfJcrsv opoc tvttov sv yocp oiirsiXa, 
 
 AocMpvoVy sv J" sAsw ^vfxog dvocdTpsipSTOCi. 
 'ApKsl 3" a. ftsAArju/c, s(pa. cro(pog' ixliioL Js TSKvm 
 
 ''^ETTpSTTS MyI^SIYI, KOV ys^), TillO^JLOL'/OV. 
 
 Etf (x.yaXf/,a. Niol3vig. 
 
 'Ek i^s ^so) Tsv^oiv T^i^ov sk Xi^oio 
 
 ZW)9V H^OL^ITsMQ SllTtOLXlV slpyOidOCTO. 
 
 AOTKIANOT et? uyoiX[/,oi 'Acppo^/rij^. 
 
 So? f/,op(pYig oivs^Yim TSYig TrsptmXXsg ocyocT^fxoc, 
 KvTT^i, TSY\g iiop(pr,g (psprspov ov^sv sy(j£V. 
 
[ i67 ] 
 
 IN IMAGINEM, NOBILE TIMOMACHI OPUS.^ 
 
 N ubi Medeae varius dolor aeftiiat ore, 
 
 Jamque animum nati, jamque maritus, habent 
 Succenfet, miferet, medio exardefcit amore, 
 
 Dum furor inque oculo gutta minante tremit. 
 Cernis adhuc dubiam ; quid enim ? licet impia matris 
 Colchidos, at non fit dextera Timomachi. 
 
 IN NIOBES STATUAM.* 
 
 ECERAT e viva lapidem me Jupiter ; at me 
 Praxiteles vivam reddidit e lapide. 
 
 IN VENERIS STATUAM.5 
 
 tibi, fanda, fero, nudam ; formofius ipsa 
 Cum tibi, quod ferrem, te, Dea, nil habui. 
 
[ .68 ] 
 
 YZ^iq dyfUTTvovc sTroiyccv ^vr\Tolai [xep((Ji,vocg ; 
 Ov TcevKYiv TTvposcraocv s7nrif)y,svoCy ov^ CK(pv^ocxTOV 
 
 My} [xoi xou xv^aam ttix^ov ovsipov 'i^rig. 
 
 nAATXlNOS 6»? "EpuToc ev uXasi 
 
 OuJ" sx^v lo^oxov (potpsTpYjv, ov xocfAvrvXa, ro^oc' 
 'AAA^ to. fAsv ^sv^psacriv vtt evitsToCkoiai xpsfAOiVTo, 
 
[ ] 
 
 IN AMOREM DORMIENTEM.6 
 
 OCTE puer vigiles mortalibus addere curas, 
 Anne poteft in te fomnus habere locum ? 
 Laxi juxta arcus, et fax fufpenfa quiefcit, 
 
 Dormit et in pharetra claufa fagitta fua ; 
 Longe mater abeft ; longe Cythereia turba : 
 
 Verum aufint alii te prope ferre pedem, 
 Non ego ; nam metui valde, mihi, perfide, quiddam 
 Forfan et in fomnis ne meditere mali. 
 
 TUR^ in Idalios traclus, felicia regna, 
 
 Fundit ubi denfam myrtea fylva comam, 
 Intus Amor teneram vifus fpirare quietem, 
 
 Dum rofeo rofeos imprimit ore toros ; 
 Sublimem procul a ramis pendere pharetram, 
 
 Et de languidula fpicula lapfa manu, 
 Vidimus, et rifu molli didu6i:a labella 
 Murmure quae affiduo pervolitabat apis. 
 
[ I70 ] 
 
 MAPIANOT o-%oXao-r<JCOi; slg l3ocXau£iov. 
 
 KoL\t.7j:oi.Q J" wV EipXs^s Kou v^ocTOC, dep^ov im^EV 
 
 AOTKIAAIOT. 
 
 'H^v (5" 0 y.vc yeXiX(70CC, [^Yj^sv (ptxe^ (prio-), (poM^I?' 
 
[ ] 
 
 IN FONTEM AQUM CALID^." 
 
 UB platanis puer Idalius prope fluminis undam 
 Dormiit, in ripa depofuitque facem. 
 Tempus adeft, fociae, Nympharum audentior una, 
 
 Tempus adeft, ultra quid dubitamus ? ait. 
 Ilicet incurrit, peftem ut divumque hominumque 
 
 Lampada colledlis exanimaret aquis : 
 Demens ! nam nequiit faevam reftinguere flammam 
 Nympha, fed ipfa ignes traxit, et inde calet. 
 
 RREPSISSE^ fuas murem videt Argus in asdes, 
 Atque ait, heus, a me nunquid, amice, velis ? 
 Ille autem ridens, metuas nihil, inquit ; apud te, 
 O bone, non epulas, hofpitium petimus. 
 
[ ] 
 
 POTOINOT. 
 
 HsfXTT^/i croi, 'Fo^ozXsioi, to^s (TTs(poCy oiv^scri TrXs^ocg, 
 AvToi; v(p Yiiiere^oLi; ^^e\[jixiievQg TraT^oifAotig. 
 
 'AvOsT^, xoii T^riyeig xou crv xou o crTs(f>xvog. 
 
 nosEiAinnoT. 
 
 ''^AXXov, del (5" sV s[aoI tttyivix. ysovTOC ^sXrj, 
 
[ 173 ] 
 
 ANC'° tibi Rufinus mittit, Rodoclea, coronam. 
 Has tibi decerpens texerat ipfe rofas ; 
 Eft viola, eft anemone, eft fuave-rubens hyacynthus, 
 
 Miftaque Narciflb lutea caltha fuo : 
 Sume ; fed afpiciens, ah, fidere define formae ; 
 Qui pinxit, brevis eft, fertaque teque, color. 
 
 AD AMOREM.'i 
 
 [AULISPER vigiles, oro, compefce dolores, 
 Refpue nec mufas fupplicis aure preces ; 
 Oro brevem lacrymis veniam, requiemque furori : 
 
 Ah, ego non pofllim vulnera tanta pati ! 
 Intima flamma, vides, miferos depafcitur artus, 
 
 Surgit et extremis fpiritus in labiis : 
 Quod j(i tarn tenuem cordi eft exfolvere vitam, 
 Stabit in opprobrium fculpta querela tuum. 
 Juro perque faces iftas, arcumque fonantem, 
 Spiculaque hoc unum figere dodajecur^ 
 Heu fuge crudelem puerum, faevafque fagittas ! 
 Huic fuit exitii caufa, viator, Amor. 
 
NOTES TO THE POEMS. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 Page 3, note i. 
 
 HE original manufcript title given by Gray to this Ode was 
 " Noontide." It appeared for the firft time in Dodfley's 
 ColledioHj vol. ii. p. 271, under the title of" Ode." 
 
 P. 4, note 2. — " A bank o'er canopied with lufcious wood- 
 bine."— MzWj. iV. Dr. Ad. ii. Sc. 2. 
 
 P. 4, note 3. — " How low, how indigent the proud. 
 
 How little are the great!" — Dodjley. 
 
 P. 4, note 4. — " Sporting with quick glance, fhow to the fun their waved 
 coats dropp'd with gold." — Par. L. vii. 405-6. 
 
 " While infeds from the threfhold preach," Green, in the Grotto. Dodfley, 
 Mifc. v. p. 161. 
 
 P. 7, note I. — This Ode firft appeared in Dodfley, Col. vol. ii. p. 274, 
 with fome variations. 
 
 P. 7, note 2. — " The penfive Selima reclined, 
 
 Demurefl of the tabby kind." — Bodjley. 
 
 P. 8, note 3. — " Two beauteous forms." — Dodjley. 
 
 P. 8, note 4.—" J foe to ^{h."— Dodfley. 
 
 P. 8, note 5. — Looks.'] Eyes. — MS. 
 
 A A 
 
178 ] 
 
 P. 9, note 6. — " nor Harry heard. 
 
 IFhat favourite has a friend?" — Dodfley. 
 
 P. 9, note 7. — Strikes. — MS. 
 
 P. II, note I. — This, as Mafon informs us, was the firjl Englijh produdllon 
 of Gray which appeared in print. It was publiftied in folio, in 1747, and 
 appeared again in Dodfley, Col. vol. ii. p. 267, without the name of the author. 
 
 P. II, note 1. — King Henry the Sixth, founder of the College. 
 
 P. 12, note 3. — " And bees their honey redolent of fpring" Dryden's Fable 
 on the Pythag. Syjlem. 
 
 P. 12, note 4. — " To chafe the hoop's elufive fpeed." — MS. 
 
 P. 17, note I. — This Hymn firft appeared in Dodfley, Col. vol iv. together 
 with the " Elegy in a Country Churchyard." 
 
 P. 21, note I. — Finiflied in 1754. Printed together with the " Bard, an 
 Ode," Aug. 8, 1757.— MS. 
 
 When the author firfl: publiflied this and the following Ode, he was advifed, 
 even by his friends, to fubjoin fome few explanatory notes ; but had too much 
 refpedl for the underflianding of his readers to take that liberty. 
 
 P. 21, note 2. — "Awake, my glory: awake, lute and harp." — David's 
 Pfalms. 
 
 Pindar ftyles his own poetry, with its mufical accompaniments, Ai'oAi? fxoXTrr!, 
 Aloxl^ig y^op$x\, Alox'iSuv irvoa.) auAwv, ^olian fong, i^lolian fl:rings, the breath of 
 the jEolian flute. 
 
 The fubjed and fimile, as ufual with Pindar, are united. The various 
 fources of poetry, which gives life and lufl:re to all it touches, are here defcribed ; 
 its quiet majeftic progrefs enriching every fubjedl (otherwife dry and barren) 
 with a pomp of didion and luxuriant harmony of numbers ; and its more rapid 
 and irrefifl:ible courfe when fwoln and hurried away by theconflidt of tumultuous 
 paflions. 
 
 P. 22, note 3. — Power of harmony to calm the turbulent fallies of the foul. 
 The thoughts are borrowed from the firfl: Pythian of Pindar. 
 
[ 179 ] 
 
 p. 22, note 4. — This is a weak imitation of fome beautiful Hnes in the fame 
 ode. Pyth. i. ver. 10. 
 
 P. 22, note 5. — Power of harmony to produce all the graces of motion in 
 the body. 
 
 P. 23, note 6. — Mapjuapuya? ^mTTO TtoSuv' 9«u'jaa^£ S\ 9u/aw. 
 
 Horn. Od. 0. ver. 265. 
 
 P. 23, note 7« Aa'jtATrEJ S l-n-\ iroptpvfivitTi 
 
 Tlaptiyiiri ^u; 'ipuro;, 
 
 Pbrynicus apud Athenaum. 
 
 P. 23, note 8. — To compenfate the real and imaginary ills of life, the Mufe 
 was given to mankind by the fame Providence that fends the day, by its cheerful 
 prefence, to difpel the gloom and terrors of the night. 
 
 P. 24, note 9. — " Or feen the morning's well appointed ftar 
 
 Come marching up the eaftern hills afar." — Cowley, 
 
 P. 24, note 10. — Extenfive influence of poetic genius over theremotefl and 
 mofl: uncivilized nations : its connexion with liberty, and the virtues that 
 naturally attend on it. [See the Erfe, Norwegian, and Welfli fragments, the 
 Lapland and American fongs.] 
 
 " Tutta lontana dal camin del fole." — Petr. Canz. ii. 
 
 P. 25, note II. — Progrefs of Poetry from Greece to Italy, and from Italy to 
 England. Chaucer was not unacquainted with the writings of Dante or of 
 Petrarch. The Earl of Surrey and Sir Thomas Wyatt had travelled in Italy, 
 and formed their tafl:e there. Spenfer imitated the Italian writers ; Milton 
 improved on them : but this fchool expired foon after the Reftoration, and a new 
 one arofe on the French model, which has fubfifl:ed ever fince. 
 
 P. 26, note 12. — " Nature's darling." Shakefpeare. 
 
 " The flowery May, who from her green lap throws 
 The yellow cowflip, and the pale primrofe." 
 
 Milton^ Son. on May Morn. 
 
[ ] 
 
 P. 26, note 13. — Milton, P. L. vi. 771. 
 
 P. 26, note 14. — " Flammantia moenia mundi " — Lucret. i. 74. 
 
 " For the fpirit of the living creature was in the wheels. And above the 
 firmament that was over their heads, was the likenefs of a throne, as the 
 appearance of a fapphire ftone. This was the appearance of the glory of the 
 Lord." — Ezek. i. 20. 26. 28. 
 
 P. 27 J note 1 5' — Oip^xX^uv ja£i/ ol[j.s[>(TB' Ji'J'ou n^iTxv ccoiSYiv, 
 
 Horn. Od. 0. ver. 64. 
 
 P. 27, note 16. — "Haft thou clothed his neck with thunder?" — Job. 
 This verfe and the foregoing are meant to exprefs the ftately march and founding 
 energy of Dryden's rhymes. 
 
 P. 27, note 17. — " Words that weep, and tears that fpeak." 
 
 Cowley, Prophet, vol. i. p. 113. 
 
 We have had in our language no other odes of the fublime kind, than that 
 of Dryden on St. Cecilia's Day ; for Cowley, who had his merit, yet wanted 
 judgment, ftyle, and harmony, for fuch a talk. That of Pope is not worthy of 
 fo great a man. Mr. IMafon indeed, of late days, has touched the true chords, 
 and with a mafterly hand, in fome of his chorufes ; above all in the laft of 
 Caradlacus : 
 
 " Hark ! heard ye not yon footftep dread ?" &c. 
 
 P. 27, note 18. — A(o? Trpo? oV'X'* ^uov, Olymp. ii. 159. Pindar compares 
 himfelf to that bird, and his enemies to ravens that croak and clamour in vain 
 below, while it purfues its flight, regardlefs of their noife. 
 
 P. 29, note I. — This ode is founded on a tradition current in Wales, that 
 Edward the Firft, when he completed the conqueft of that country, ordered all 
 the Bards that fell into his hands to be put to death. 
 
 P. 29, note 2. — " Mocking the air with colours idly fpread." 
 
 King John, Adl v. Sc. i. 
 
 P. 29, note 3. — The hauberk was a texture of fteel ringlets, or rings inter- 
 woven, forming a coat of mail that fat clofe to the body, and adapted itfelf to 
 every motion. 
 
[ i8i ] 
 
 P. 29, note 4. - " The crefted adder's pride." — Dryden^ Indian ^een. 
 
 P. 29, note 5. — Snowdon was a name given by the Saxons to that moun- 
 tainous trad which the Welfli themfelves call Craigian-eryri : it included all the 
 highlands of Caernarvonfhire and Merionethfhire, as far eaft as the river Conway. 
 R. Hygden, fpeaking of the caftle of Conway, built by King Edward the Firft, 
 fays, " Ad ortum amnis Conway ad clivum montis Erery ;" and Matthew of 
 Weftminfter, (ad ann. 1283) " Apud Aberconway ad pedes montis Snowdoniae 
 fecit erigi caftrum forte." 
 
 P. 30, note 6. — Gilbert de Clare, furnamed the Red, earl of Gloucefter and 
 Hertford, fon-in-law to King Edward. 
 
 Edmond de Mortimer, Lord of Wigmore. 
 
 They both were Lord Marchers, whofe lands lay on the borders of Wales, 
 and probably accompanied the king in this expedition. 
 
 P. 30, note 7. — The image was taken from a well-known pidlure of Raphael, 
 reprefenting the Supreme Being in the vifion of Ezekiel. There are two of 
 thefe paintings, both believed to be originals, one at Florence, the other in the 
 Duke of Orleans' colleftion at Paris. 
 
 P. 3 1, note 8. — The fhores of Caernarvonfliire oppofite the ifle of Anglefey. 
 
 P. 31, note 9. — Camden and others obferve, that eagles ufed annually to 
 build their aerie among the rocks of Snowdon, which from thence (as fome 
 think) were named by the Welfh Craigian-eryri, or the crags of the eagles. At 
 this day (I am told) the highefl: point of Snowdon is called the Eagle's Nell. 
 That bird is certainly no ftranger to this ifland, as the Scots, and the people of 
 Cumberland, Weftmoreland, &c. can teftify : it even has built its neft upon the 
 peak of Derbyfhire. [See Willoughby's Ornithol. by Ray.] 
 
 P. 31, note 10. — " As dear to me as are the ruddy drops 
 
 That vifit my fad heart." — Jul. Cajar^ Ad ii. Sc. i. 
 
 P. 32, note II. — Edward the Second, cruelly butchered in Berkley Caftle. 
 
 P. 32, note 12. — Ifabel of France, Edward the Second's adulterous queen. 
 
[ l82 ] 
 
 p. 32, note 13.— Triumphs of Edward the Third in France. 
 
 P. 33, note 14. — Death of that king, abandoned by his children, and even 
 robbed in his laft moments by his courtiers and his miftrefs, 
 
 P. 33, note 15. — Edward the Black Prince, dead fome time before his 
 father. 
 
 P. 33, note 16. — Magnificence of Richard the Second's reign. See Froiflard 
 and other contemporary writers. 
 
 P. 34, note 17. — Richard the Second, as we are told by Archbifhop Scroop 
 and the confederate Lords in their manifefto, by Thomas of Walfingham, and 
 all the older writers, was ftarved to death. The ftory of his aflaflination by Sir 
 Piers of Exon is of much later date. 
 
 For the profufion of Richard II. fee Harding, Chron. quoted in the Preface 
 to MaforCs Hoccleve, p. 5 ; Daniel, Civil Wars, iii. 87 ; and Pennant y London, 
 p. 89, 4to. 
 
 P. 34, note 18. — Ruinous wars of York and Lancafter. 
 
 P. 34, note 19. — Henry the Sixth, George Duke of Clarence, Edward the 
 Fifth, Richard Duke of York, &c., believed to be murdered fecretly in the 
 Tower of London. The oldeft part of that 'ftrudlure is vulgarly attributed to 
 Julius Casfar. 
 
 P. 34, note 20. — Margaret of Anjou, a woman of heroic fpirit, who 
 ftruggled hard to fave her hufband and her crown. 
 Henry the Fifth. 
 
 P. 34, note 21. — Henry the Sixth, very near being canonized. The line 
 of Lancafter had no right of inheritance to the crown. 
 
 P. 34, note 22. — The white and red rofes, devices of York and Lancafter, 
 
 P. 34, note 23. — The filver boar was the badge of Richard the Third; 
 whence he was ufually known in his own time by the name of the Boar. 
 
C 183 ] 
 
 p. 35, note 14.. — Eleanor of Callile died a few years after the conqueft of 
 Wales. The heroic proof flie gave of her affedion for her lord is well known. 
 The monuments of his regret and forrow for the lofs of her, are ftill to be feen 
 at Northampton, Gaddington, Waltham, and other places. 
 
 P. 35, note 25. — It was the common belief of the Welfh nation, that King 
 Arthur was ftill alive in Fairyland, and would return again to reign over Britain. 
 
 Both Merlin and Talieffin had prophefied, that the Welfh ftiould regain 
 their fovereignty over this ifland ; which feemed to be accompliftied in the houfe 
 of Tudor. 
 
 P. 36, note 26. — Speed, relating an audience given by Queen Elizabeth to 
 Paul Dzialinfki, ambaflador of Poland, fays, " And thus ftie, lion-like rifing, 
 daunted the malapert orator no lefs with her ftately port and majeftical deporture, 
 than with the tartnefle of her princelie checkes." 
 
 P. 36, note 27. — Talieftin, chief of the bards, flouriftied in the fixth century. 
 His works are ftill preferved, and his memory held in high veneration among 
 his countrymen. 
 
 P. 36, note 28. — " Fierce wars and faithful loves ftiall moralize my fong." 
 Spenfer, Proeme to the F. ^ 
 
 P. 36, note 29. — Shakefpeare. 
 
 P. 37, note 30. — The fucceflion of poets after Milton's time. 
 
 P. 37, note 31. — The original argument of this ode, as Mr. Gray had fet 
 it down in one of the pages of his common-place book, was as follows : " The 
 army of Edward I., as they march through a deep valley, (and approach Mount 
 Snowdon, ms.) are fuddenly ftopped by the appearance of a venerable figure 
 feated on the fummit of an inaccefTible rock, who, with a voice more than 
 human, reproaches the king with all the mifery and defolation (defolation and 
 mifery, ms.) which he had brought on his country ; foretells the misfortunes of 
 the Norman race, and with prophetic fpirit declares, that all his cruelty fhall 
 never extinguifh the noble ardour of poetic genius in this ifland ; and that men 
 fhall never be wanting to celebrate true virtue and valour in immortal ftrains, to 
 
[ ^84 ] 
 
 expofe vice and infamous pleafure, and boldly cenfure tyranny and oppreflion. 
 His fong ended, he precipitates himfelf from the mountain, and is fwallowed up 
 by the river that rolls at its foot," 
 
 " Fine (fays Mr. Mafon) as the conclufion of this ode is at prefent, I think 
 it would have been ftill finer, if he could have executed it according to this plan ; 
 but, unhappily for his purpofe, inftances of Englifh poets were wanting. Spenfer 
 had that enchanting flow of verfe which was peculiarly calculated to celebrate 
 virtue and valour ; but he chofe to celebrate them, not literally, but in allegory. 
 Shalcefpeare, who had talents for everything, was undoubtedly capable of expofing 
 vice and infamous pleafure ; and the drama was a proper vehicle for his fatire ; 
 but we do not ever find that he profefledly made this his objedl ; nay, we know 
 that, in one inimitable charadler, he has fo contrived as to make vices of the 
 worft kind, fuch as cowardice, drunkennefs, diflionefty, and lewdnefs, not only 
 laughable, but almoft amiable ; for with all thefe fins on his head, who can help 
 liking FalftafF? Milton, of all our great poets, was the only one who boldly 
 cenfured tyranny and opprefjion : but he chofe to deliver this cenfure, not in poetry, 
 but in profe. Dryden was a mere court parafite to the moft infamous of all 
 courts. Pope, with all his laudable deteftation of corruption and bribery, was a 
 Tory ; and Addifon, though a Whig, and a fine writer, was unluckily not 
 enough of a poet for his purpofe. On thefe confiderations Mr. Gray was necef- 
 fitated to change his plan towards the conclufion : hence we perceive, that in the 
 laft epode he praifes Spenfer only for his allegory, Shakefpeare for his powers of 
 moving the paffions, and Milton for his epic excellence. I remember the ode lay 
 unfinlfiied by him for a year or two on this very account ; and I hardly believe 
 that it would ever have had his laft hand, but for the circumftance of his hearing 
 Parry play on the Welfii harp at a concert at Cambridge, (fee Letter xxxv. 
 fedl. iv.) which he often declared infpired him with the conclufion. 
 
 " Mr. Smith, the mufical compofer and worthy pupil of Mr. Handel, had 
 once an idea of fetting this ode, and of having it performed by way of ferenata 
 or oratorio. A common friend of his and Mr. Gray's interefted himfelf much 
 in this defign, and drew out a clear analyfis of the ode, that Mr. Smith might 
 more perfedlly underftand the poet's meaning. He converfed alfo with Mr. 
 Gray on the fubjed, who gave him an idea for the overture, and marked alfo 
 fome paflages in the ode, in order to afcertain which fiiould be recitative, which 
 
[ '85 ] 
 
 air, what kind of air, and how accompanied. This defign was, however, not 
 executed ; and therefore I fhall only (in order to give the reader a tafte of Mr. 
 Gray's mufical feehngs) infert in this place what his fentiments were concerning 
 the overture. ' It fhould be fo contrived as to be a proper introdudlion to the 
 ode ; it might confift of two movements, the firft defcriptive of the horror and 
 confufion of battle, the laft a march grave and majeftic, but expreffing the 
 exultation and infolent fecurity of conqueft. This movement fhould be com- 
 pofed entirely of wind inftruments, except the kettle-drum heard at intervals. 
 The iia capo of it muft be fuddenly broke in upon, and put to filence by the 
 clang of the harp in a tumultuous rapid movement, joined with the voice, all 
 at once, and not ufhered in by any fymphony. The harmony may be ftrength- 
 ened by any other ftringed inftrument ; but the harp ftiould everywhere prevail, 
 and form the continued running accompaniment, fubmitting itfelf to nothing but 
 the voice.' 
 
 " I cannot (adds Mr. Mafon) quit this and the preceding ode, without fay- 
 ing a word or two concerning the obfcurity which has been imputed to them, 
 and the preference which, in confequence, has been given to his Elegy. It feems 
 as if the perfons, who hold this opinion, fuppofe that every fpecies of poetry 
 ought to be equally clear and intelligible : than which pofition nothing can be 
 more repugnant to the feveral fpecific natures of compofition, and to the pradtice 
 of ancient art. Not to take Pindar and his odes for an example, (though what 
 I am here defending were written profefledly in imitation of him,) I would afk, 
 are all the writings of Horace, his Epiftles, Satires, and Odes, equally perfpicu- 
 ous ? Among his odes, feparately confidered, are there not remarkable differences 
 of this very kind ? Is the fpirit and meaning of that which begins, ' Defcende 
 coelo, et die, age, tibia,' Ode iv. lib. 3, fo readily comprehended as ' Perficos 
 odi, puer, apparatus,' Ode xxxviii. lib. i ? And is the latter a finer piece of 
 lyrical compofition on that account? Is ' Integer vitas, fcelerifque purus,' 
 Ode xxii. lib. i, fuperior to ' Pindarum quifquis fl:udet asmulari,' Ode ii. lib. 4 : 
 becaufe it may be underftood at the firft reading, and the latter not without 
 much ftudy and refledlion ? Now between thefe odes, thus compared, there is 
 furely equal difference in point of perfpicuity, as between the Progrefs of Poefy, 
 and the Profpedl of Eton College ; the Ode on the Spring, and the Bard. 
 * But,' fay thefe objedtors, ' the end of poetry is univerfally to pleafe. Obfcurity, 
 
 B B 
 
[ ] 
 
 by taking off from our pleafure, deftroys that end.' I will grant that if the 
 obfcurity be great, conftant, and infurmountable, this is certainly true; but if 
 it be only found in particular paflages, proceeding from the nature of the fubjed 
 and the very genius of the compofition, it does not rob us of our pleafure, but 
 fuperadds a new one, which arifes from conquering a difficulty ; and the pleafure 
 which accrues from a difficult palTage, when well underftood, provided the paffiage 
 itfelf be a fine one, is always more permanent than that which we difcover 
 at the firft glance. The Lyric Mufe, like other fine ladies, requires to be 
 courted, and retains her admirers the longer for not having yielded too readily 
 to their folicitations. This argument, ending as it does in a fort of fimile, will, 
 I am perfuaded, not only have its force with the intelligent readers (the 2YNETOI), 
 but alfo with the men of fafhion : as to critics of a lower clafs, it may be fuffi- 
 cient to tranfcribe, for their improvement, an unfinifhed remark, or rather maxim, 
 which I found amongft our author's papers ; and which he probably wrote on 
 occafion of the common preference given to his Elegy. ' The Goiif de com- 
 parifon (as Bruyere ftyles it) is the only tafte of ordinary minds. They do not 
 know the fpecific excellence either of an author or a compofition : for inftance, 
 they do not know that Tibullus fpoke the language of nature and love ; that 
 Horace faw the vanities and follies of mankind with the moft penetrating eye, 
 and touched them to the quick ; that Virgil ennobled even the mofl common 
 images by the graces of a glowing, melodious, and well-adapted expreffion ; but 
 they do know that Virgil was a better poet than Horace ; and that Horace's 
 Epiftles do not run fo well as the Elegies of Tibullus.' " 
 
 P. 39, note I. — This Ode was performed in the Senate-Houfe at Cambridge, 
 July I, 1769, at the Inflallation of His Grace Auguftus Henry Fitzroy, Duke of 
 Grafton, Chancellor of the Univerfity. This Ode is printed with the divifions 
 adopted by the compofer. Dr. Randall, then ProfefTor of Mufic at Cambridge. 
 
 P. 41, note 2. — Mary de Valentia, Countefs of Pembroke, daughter of Guy 
 de Chatillon, Comte de St. Paul in France ; of whom tradition fays, that her 
 hufband, Audemar de Valentia, Earl of Pembroke, was flain at a tournament on 
 the day of his nuptials. She was the foundrefs of Pembroke College or Hall, 
 under the name of Aula Mariae de Valentia. 
 
 Elizabeth de Burg, Countefs of Clare, was wife of John de Burg, fon and 
 
[ ] 
 
 heir of the Earl of Ulfter, and daughter of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucefter, 
 by Joan of Acres, daughter of Edward the Firft. She founded Clare Hal). 
 
 P. 41, note 3. — Elizabeth Widville, wife of Edward the Fourth, hence 
 called the paler rofe, as being of the Houfe of York. She added to the foun- 
 dation of Margaret of Anjou. 
 
 P. 41, note 4. — Henry the Sixth and Eighth. The former the founder of 
 King's, the latter the greateft benefadlor to Trinity College. 
 
 P. 43, note 5. — Countefs of Richmond and Derby ; the mother of Henry 
 the Seventh, foundrefs of St. John's and Chrift's Colleges. 
 
 P. 43, note 6. — The Countefs was a Beaufort, and married to a Tudor : 
 hence the application of this line to the Duke of Grafton, who claims defcent 
 from both thefe families. 
 
 P. 44, note 7. — Lord Treafurer Burleigh was chancellor of the Univerfity 
 in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. 
 
 P. 45, note I. — To be found in the Orcades of Thormodus Torfasus ; 
 Hafnia?, 1697, folio; and alfo in Bartholinus, p. 617. lib. iii. c. i. 4to. (The 
 fong of the Weird Sifters, tranflated from the Norwegian, written about 1029. 
 Wharton, ms.) 
 
 P. 45, note 2. — " How quick they wheel'd, and, flying, behind them (hot 
 Sharp Jleet of arrowy JhowW." — Par. Reg. iii. 324, 
 
 " The noife of battle hurtled in the air." — Julius C^far, A6t ii. Sc. 2. 
 
 P. 51, note I. — The original is to be found in Sasmund's Edda, and in 
 Bartholinus, De Caufis contemnenda Mortis; Hafnias, 1689, quarto, Lib. iii. 
 c. ii. p. 632. (See Warton, Hift. of E. Poetry^ vol. i. p. xli. And Warton's 
 Pope, vol ii. p. 70. " This Ode, I think with Lord Orford, equal to any of 
 Gray's.") 
 
 P. 51, note 2. — Hela, in the Edda, is defcribed with a dreadful countenance, 
 and her body half flelh colour, and half blue. 
 
[ ] 
 
 P. 52, note 3. — The original word is Valgalldr ; from Valr mortuus, and 
 Galldr incantatio. 
 
 P. 54, note 4. — Women were looked upon by the Gothic nations as having 
 a peculiar infight into futurity ; and fome there were that made profeffion of 
 magic arts and divination. Thefe travelled round the country, and were received 
 in every houfe with great refpedl and honour. Such a woman bore the name of 
 Volva Seidkona or Spakona. The drefs of Thorbiorga, one of thefe prophetelTes, 
 is defcribed at large in Eirik's Rauda Sogu, (apud Bartholin., lib. i. cap. iv. 
 p. 688.) " She had on a blue veft fpangled all over with ftones, a necklace of 
 glafs beads, and a cap made of the fkin of a black lamb lined with white cat-fkin. 
 She leaned on a ftaff adorned with brafs, with a round head fet with ftones ; and 
 was girt with an Hunlandifli belt, at which hung her pouch full of magical 
 inftruments. Her bufkins were of rough calf-fkin, bound on with thongs ftudded 
 with knobs of brafs, and her gloves of white cat-fkin, the fur turned inwards," 
 &c. They were alfo called Fiolkyngi, or Fiolkunnug, i. e. Multi-fcia ; and 
 Uifindakona, i.e. Oraculorum Mulier ; Nornir, i.e. Pares;. 
 
 P. 59, note I. — From Evans, Spec, of the Weljh Poetry^ 1764, quarto, p. 25, 
 where is a profe verfion of this Poem, and p. 127. Owen fucceeded his father 
 Griffith app Cynan in the principality of N. Wales, a.d. 1137. This battle 
 was fought in the year 1157. Jones, Relics^ vol. ii. p. 36. 
 
 P. 63, note I. — See S. Turner's Vindication of Ancient Britifh RoemSy p. 50. 
 Warton's Engl. Poetry, vol. i. p. Ixiii. 
 
 P. 64, note 2. — This and the following fhort fragment ought to have 
 appeared among the Pofthumous Pieces of Gray ; but it was thought preferable 
 to infert them in this place, with the preceding fragment from the Gododin. 
 See Jones, Relics, vol. i. p. 17. 
 
 P. 69, note I. — This lady, the wife of Dr. John Gierke, phyfician at Epfom, 
 died April 27, 1757 ; and was buried in the church of Beckenham, Kent. 
 
 P. 69, note 2. — " To hide her cares her only art. 
 Her pleafure, pleafures to impart. 
 
[ i89 ] 
 
 In ling'ring pain, in death refign'd, 
 Her lateft agony of mind 
 Was felt for him, who could not fave 
 His all from an untimely grave." — MS. 
 
 P. 71, note I. — This Epitaph was written at the requeft of Mr. Frederick 
 Montagu, who intended to have infcribed it on a monument at Bellifle, at the 
 fiege of which Sir W. Williams was killed, 176 1. 
 
 Sir William Peere Williams, bart., a captain in Burgoyne's dragoons. 
 
 P. 73, note I. — The manufcript variations in this poem, in the Wharton 
 papers, agree generally with thofe publifhed by Mr. Mathias, vol. i. p. 65, in his 
 edition of Gray's Works. 
 
 p. 73, note 1— " fquilla di lontano 
 
 Che paia '1 giorno pianger, che fi muore." 
 
 Dante, Purgat. 1. 8. 
 
 P. 78, note 3. — " Ch' i' veggio nel penfier, dolce mio fuoco, 
 Fredda una lingua, e due begli occhi chiufi 
 Rimaner doppo noi pien di faville." — Petr. Son. clxx. 
 
 P. 81, note 4. — " paventofa fpeme." — Petr. Son. cxiv. 
 
 P. 83, note I. — Gray's Elegy in a Country Church-yard, previous to its 
 publication, was handed about in manufcript ; and had amongft other admirers 
 the Lady Cobham, who refided at the manfion-houfe Stoke Pogeis. The per- 
 formance inducing her to wifti for the author's acquaintance, her relation, Mifs 
 Speed, and Lady Schaub, then at her houfe, undertook to efFedl it. Thefe two 
 ladies waited on the author at his aunt's folitary habitation, where he at that time 
 refided ; and not finding him at home, they left a card behind them. Mr. Gray, 
 furprifed at fuch a comphment, returned the vifit. And as the beginning of this 
 acquaintance bore fome appearance of romance, he foon after gave a humorous 
 account of it in the following copy of verfes, which he entitled " A Long Story." 
 Printed in 1753 with Mr. Bentley's defigns, and repeated in afecond edition, ms. 
 
 This Poem was rejedled by Gray in the Colledion publifhed by himfelf. 
 
[ ] 
 
 P. 83, note 2. — Sir Chriftopher Hatton, promoted by Queen Elizabeth for 
 his graceful perfon and fine dancing. 
 
 P. 89, note 2- — Siyack] The houfekeeper. 
 
 P, 90, note 4. — Squib~\ Groom of the chamber. 
 
 P. 90, note 5. — Groom] The fteward. 
 
 P. 90, note 6. — Macleane] A famous highwayman hanged the week before. 
 
 P. 93, note I. — Left unfinilhed by Gray. With additions by Mafon, 
 diftinguifhed by inverted commas. 
 
 P. 10 1, note I. — See Majon's Memoirs, vol. iii. p. 75. Suppofed to be 
 written about the year 1742, when Gray returned to Cambridge. 
 
 P. 110, note I. — This couplet, which was intended to have been introduced 
 in the Poem on the Alliance of Education and Government, is much too beautiful 
 to be loft. Mafon, vol. iii. p. 114. 
 
 P. Ill, note I. — Thefe were in compliment to Bentley, who drew a fet of 
 defigns for Gray's poems, particularly a head-piece to the " Long Story." 
 
 P. 112, note 2. — The words within the inverted commas were fupplied by 
 Mafon. 
 
 P. 115, note I. — The following Lines by Gray firft appeared in Warton's 
 edition of Pope, vol. i. p. 285. 
 
 P. 117, note I. — Written at the requeft of Mifs Speed, to an old air of 
 Geminiani : — the thought from the French. 
 
 This Song is in this edition printed from the copy as it appears in H. 
 Walpole's Letters to the Countefs of Ailefbury. See his Works, vol. v. p. 561. 
 
 P. 119, note I. — Written at Denton in the Spring of 1766. 
 
 P. 120, note 2.— Thefe initials ftand for " Mungo's, Rigby's, Bradftiaw's." 
 
; [ ] 
 
 P. 121, note I. — Thefe verfes were written a fhort time previous to tiie 
 eledtion of a high-fteward of the Univerfity of Cambridge, for which office the 
 noble lord alluded to (Lord Sandwich) made an adlive canvafs. 
 
 P. 135, note I. — Printed in the Cambridge Colledlion, 1736, fol. 
 
 P. 139, note I. — This copy of verfes was written by defire of the College, 
 in 1737. 
 
 P. 162, note I. — From Le Rime di Meffer Petrarca, p. 208. Parigi, 1838. 
 
 P. 165, note I. — ^nthologia Gr^eca, p. 296. 
 
 P. 165, note 2. — Ibid. p. 314. 
 
 P. 167, note 3. — Ibid. p. 317. 
 
 P. 167, note 4. — Ibid. p. 315. 
 
 P. 167, note 5. — Ibid. p. 323. 
 
 P. 169, note 6. — Ibid. p. 332. Catullianam illam fpirat moUitiem. 
 
 P. 169, note 7. — Ibid. p. 332. " Elegantiffimum hercle fragmentum, quod 
 fic Latine noftro modo adumbravimus." 
 
 P. 171, note 8. — Ibid. p. 354, 
 
 P. 171, note 9. — Ibid. p. 186. 
 
 P. 173, note 10. — Ibid. p. 474. 
 
 P. 173, note II. — Ibid. p. 452. 
 
LETTERS. 
 
 c c 
 
Letter I. 
 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 ERMIT me again to write to you, though I 
 have fo long neglected my duty, and for- 
 give my brevity, when I tell you it is occa- 
 fioned wholly by the hurry I am in to get 
 to a place where I expedl to meet with no other pleafure 
 than the fight of you ; for I am preparing for London in 
 a few days at furtheft. I do not wonder in the leafl: at 
 your frequent blaming my indolence, it ought rather to be 
 called ingratitude, and I am obliged to your goodnefs for 
 foftening fo harfli an appellation. When we meet, it will, 
 however, be my greateft of pleafures to know what you 
 
[ ] 
 
 do, what you read, and how you fpend your time, &c. &c. 
 and to tell you what I do not read, and how I do not, &c. 
 for almofl: all the employment of my hours may be befl: 
 explained by negatives ; take my word and experience 
 upon it, doing nothing is a moft amufing bufinefs; and 
 yet neither fomething nor nothing gives me any pleafure. 
 When you have feen one of my days, you have feen a 
 whole year of my life ; they go round and round like the 
 blind horfe in the mill, only he has the fatisfa6i:ion of 
 fancying he makes a progrefs and gets fome ground ; my 
 eyes are open enough to fee the fame dull profpedt, and 
 to know that having made four-and-twenty fteps more, 
 I fhall be jufl: where I was ; I may, better than moft people, 
 fay my life is but a fpan, were I not afraid left you fhould 
 not believe that a perfon fo fhort-lived could write even fo 
 long a letter as this ; in fhort, I believe I muft not fend 
 you the hiftory of my own time, till I can fend you that 
 alfo of the reformation. However, as the moft undeferving 
 people in the world muft fure have the vanity to wifti 
 fomebody had a regard for them, fo I need not wonder at 
 
/ C ^97 ] 
 
 my own, in being pleafed that you care about me. You 
 need not doubt, therefore, of having a firft row in 
 the front box of my little heart, and I believe you are 
 not in danger of being crowded there ; it is afking you 
 to an old play, indeed, but you will be candid enough 
 to excufe the whole piece for the fake of a few tolerable 
 lines. 
 
 For this little while paft I hav^e been playing with 
 Statins ; we yefterday had a game at quoits together ; you 
 will ealily forgive me for having broke his head, as you 
 have a little pique to him. I fend you my tranflation 
 which I did not engage in becaufe I liked that part of the 
 Poem, nor do I now fend it to you becaufe I think it 
 deferves it, but merely to (how you how I mifpend my 
 days. 
 
 71* "Tti Vpi ^ 
 
[ 198 ] 
 
 P. Papinii Statu Thebaidos Lib. vi. v. 646. 
 
 UNC vocat, emiffo fi quis decernere difco 
 Impiger, et vires velit oftentare fuperbas. 
 It jufTus Pterelas, et aenae lubrica maffie 
 Pondera vix toto curvatus corpore juxta 
 Dejicit : infpedant taciti, expenduntque laborem 
 Inachidae. Mox turba ruunt : duo gentis Achas^e 
 Tres Ephyreiadae, Pifa fatus unus, Acarnan 
 Septimus : et plures agitabat gloria, ni fe 
 Arduus Hippomedon cavea ftimulante tuliffet 
 In medios, lateque ferens fub ped:ore dextro 
 Orbem alium : Hunc potius, juvenes, qui mcEnia 
 
[ 199 ] 
 
 HEN thus the King : — Adraftus. 
 
 " Whoe'er the quoit can wield, 
 And furthefl: fend its weight athwart the field. 
 Let him ftand forth his brawny arm to boaft." 
 Swift at the word, from out the gazing hoft, 
 Young Pterelas with ftrength unequal drew. 
 Labouring, the difc, and to fmall diftance threw. 
 The band around admire the mighty mafs, 
 A flipp'ry weight, and form'd of polifh'd brafs. 
 The love of honour bade two youths advance, 
 Achaians born, to try the glorious chance ; 
 A third arofe, of Acarnania he, 
 Of Pifa one, and three from Ephyre ; 
 Nor more, for now Nefimachus's fon, — [Hippomedon^) 
 By acclamations roufed, came tow'ring on. 
 Another orb upheaved his ftrong right hand. 
 Then thus : " Ye Argive flower, ye warlike band, 
 
[ 200 ] 
 
 Frangere, qui Tyrias dejedlum vaditis arces, 
 Hunc rapite : aft illud cui non jaculabile dextrae 
 Pondus ? Et abreptum nullo conamine jecit 
 In latus. Abfiftunt procul, attonitique fatentur 
 Cedere : vix unus Phlegyas, acerque Meneftheiis 
 (Hos etiatn pudor et magni tenuere parentes) 
 Promifere manum : conceflit cetera pubes 
 Sponte, et adorato rediit ingloria difco. 
 Qualis Biftoniis clypeus Mavortis in arvis 
 Luce mala Pangaea ferit, folemque refulgens 
 Territat, incufsaque Dei grave mugit ab hafta. 
 Pifaeus Phlegyas opus inchoat, et fimul omnes 
 Abftulit in fe oculos exhaufto corpore virtus 
 Promifta : ac primum terra difcumque manumque 
 Afperat ; exculTo mox circum pulvere verfat, 
 Quod latus in digitos, mediae quod certius ulnae 
 Conveniat ; non artis egens : hie femper amori 
 Ludus erat, patriae non tantum ubi laudis obiret 
 Sacra, fed alternis Alpheon utrimque folebat 
 
, [ 201 ] 
 
 Who trufl: your arms fhall rafe the Tyrian towers, 
 And batter Cadmus' walls with flony fhowers, 
 Receive a worthier load ; yon puny ball 
 Let youngfters tofs :" — 
 
 He faid, and fcornful flung th' unheeded weight 
 
 Aloof; the champions, trembling at the fight, 
 
 Prevent difgrace, the palm defpair'd refign ; 
 
 All but two youths th' enormous orb decline, 
 
 Thefe confcious fliame withheld, and pride of noble line. 
 
 As bright and huge the fpacious circle lay. 
 
 With double light it beam'd againft the day : 
 
 So glittering fhows the Thracian Godhead's fhield, 
 
 With fuch a gleam affrights Pangasa's field. 
 
 When blazing 'gainft the fun it fhines from far. 
 
 And, clafh'd, rebellows with the din of war. 
 
 Phlegyas the long-expeded play began, 
 
 Summon'd his ftrength, and call'd forth all the man. 
 
 All eyes were bent on his experienced hand ; 
 
 For oft in Pifa's fports, his native land 
 
 Admired that arm, oft on Alpheus' fhore 
 
 D D 
 
[ 202 ] 
 
 Metiri ripis, et, qua latifUma diftant, 
 Non unquam merfo tranfmittere flumina difco. 
 Ergo operum fidens non protinus horrida campi 
 Jugera, fed coelo dextram metitur, humique 
 PrefTus utroque genu, colledlo fanguine difcum 
 Ipfe fuper fefe rotat, atque in nubila condit. 
 Ille citus fublime petit, fimilifque cadenti 
 Crefcit in adverfum, tandemque exhauftus ab alto 
 Tardior in terram redit, atque immergitur arvis. 
 Sic cadit, attonitis quoties avellitur aftris, 
 Solis opaca foror : procul auxiliantia gentes 
 JEra. crepant, fruftraque timent : at Theflala vidtrix 
 Ridet anhelantes audito carmine bigas. 
 
 ***** 
 
/ [203] 
 
 The pond'rous brafs in exercife he bore ; 
 Where flow'd the wideft ftream he took his ftand ; 
 Sure flew the difc from his unerring hand, 
 Nor ftopp'd till it had cut the further flrand. 
 And now in duft the polifh'd ball he roll'd, 
 Then grafp'd its weight, eluflve of his hold ; 
 Now fitting to his gripe and nervous arm, 
 Sufpends the crowd with expedlation warm ; 
 Nor tempts he yet the plain, but hurl'd upright. 
 Emits the mafs, a prelude of his might ; 
 Firmly he plants each knee, and o'er his head, 
 Colledling all his force, the circle fped ; 
 It towers to cut the clouds ; now through the fkies 
 Sings in its rapid way, and ftrengthens as it flies ; 
 Anon, with flacken'd rage comes quiv'ring down. 
 Heavy and huge, and cleaves the folid ground. 
 
 So from th' afl:onifli'd ftars, her nightly train. 
 The fun's pale fifl:er, drawn by magic ftrain, 
 Deferts precipitant her darken'd fphere : 
 In vain the nations with oflicious fear 
 
[ 204 ] 
 
 ***** 
 
 Tertius Hippomedon valida ad certamina tardos 
 Molitur greffus ; namque ilium corde fub alto 
 Et cafus Phlegyae monet, et fortuna Menefthei. 
 Erigit afTuetum dextrae geftamen, et alte 
 Suftentans, rigidumque latus, fortefque lacertos 
 Confulit, ac vafto contorquet turbine, et ipfe 
 Profequitur : fugit horrendo per inania faltu, 
 Jamque procul meminit dextras, fervatque tenorem 
 Difcus ; nec dubia jundave Menefthea vidum 
 Tranfabiit meta : longe fuper smula figna 
 Confedit, viridefque humeros, et opaca Theatri 
 Culmina, ceu latae tremefecit mole ruinae. 
 
[ 205 ] 
 
 Their cymbals tofs, and founding brafs explore ; 
 Th' iEmonian hag enjoys her dreadful hour, 
 And fmiles malignant on the labouring power. 
 
 Third in the labours of the difc came on, 
 With fturdy ftep and flow, Hippomedon ; 
 Artful and ftrong he poifed the well-known weight 
 By Phlegyas warn'd, and fired by Mneftheus' fate, 
 That to avoid, and this to emulate. 
 His vigorous arm he tried before he flung. 
 Braced all his nerves, and every Anew flrung ; 
 Then, with a tempefli's whirl, and wary eye, 
 Purfued his cafl:, and hurl'd the orb on high ; 
 The orb on high tenacious of its courfe. 
 True to the mighty arm that gave it force. 
 Far overleaps all bound, and joys to fee 
 Its ancient lord fecure of vidlory. 
 The theatre's green height and woody wall 
 Tremble ere it precipitates its fall ; 
 The ponderous mafs finks in the cleaving ground, 
 While vales and woods and echoing hills rebound. 
 
[ 206 ] 
 
 Quale vaporifera faxum Polyphemus ab iEtna 
 Lucis egente manu, tamen in veftigia puppis 
 Auditae, juxtaque inimicum exegit Ulixen. 
 
 ^ 4^ ^ ^ ^ 
 
 Tunc genitus Talao vidori tigrin inanem 
 Ire jubet, fulvo quae circumfufa nitebat 
 Margine, et extremes auro manfueverat ungues. 
 
; [ 207 ] 
 
 As when from ^Etna's fmoking fiimmit broke, 
 The eyelefs Cyclops heaved the craggy rock ; 
 Where Ocean frets beneath the dafhing oar, 
 And parting furges round the veffel roar ; 
 'Twas there he aim'd the meditated harm. 
 And fcarce Ulyffes fcaped his giant arm. 
 A tiger's pride the vidor bore away, 
 With native fpots and artful labour gay, 
 A fhining border round the margin roll'd. 
 And calm'd the terrors of his claws in gold. 
 
 Cambridge, May 8, 1736. 
 
[ 2o8 ] 
 
 Letter II. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 OU muft know that I do not take degrees, 
 and, after this term, £hall have nothing more 
 of college impertinences to undergo, which 
 I truft will be fome pleafure to you, as it is 
 a great one to me. I have endured lectures daily and 
 hourly fince I came laft, fupported by the hopes of being 
 fhortly at full liberty to give myfelf up to my friends and 
 claflical companions, who, poor fouls ! though I fee them 
 fallen into great contempt with moft people here, yet I 
 cannot help flicking to them, and out of a fpirit of obfti- 
 nacy (I think) love them the better for it, and indeed, 
 what can I do elfe ? Muft I plunge into metaphyfics? 
 Alas, I cannot fee in the dark 5 nature has not furnifhed 
 me with the optics of a cat. Muft I pore upon mathe- 
 matics ? Alas, I cannot fee in too much light ; I am no 
 
eagle. It is very poflible that two and two make four, but 
 I would not give four farthings to demonftrate this ever fo 
 clearly; and if thefe be the profits of life, give me the 
 amufements of it. The people I behold all around me, it 
 feems, know all this and more, and yet I do not know one 
 of them who infpires me with any ambition of being like 
 him. Surely it was of this place, now Cambridge, but 
 formerly known by the name of Babylon, that the prophet 
 fpoke when he faid, " the wild beafts of the defert fhall 
 dwell there, and their houfes fhall be full of doleful crea- 
 tures, and owls fliall build there, and fatyrs fhall dance 
 there ; their forts and towers fhall be a den for ever, a joy 
 of wild affes ; there fhall the great owl make her neft, and 
 lay and hatch and gather under her fhadow ; it fhall be a 
 court of dragons ; the fcreech owl alfo fhall reft there, and 
 find for herfelf a place of reft." You fee here is a pretty 
 colledion of defolate animals, which is verified in this town 
 to a tittle, and perhaps it may alfo allude to your habitation, 
 for you know all types may be taken by abundance of 
 handles ; however, I defy your owls to match mine. 
 
 E E 
 
 4 
 
[ 2IO ] 
 
 If the default of your fpirits and nerves be nothing but 
 the efFedt of the hyp, I have no more to fay. We all muft 
 fubmit to that wayward queen ; I too in no fmall degree 
 own her fway, 
 
 I feel her influence while I fpeak her power. 
 
 But if it be a real diftemper, pray take more care of your 
 health, if not for your own at leaft for our fakes, and do 
 not be fo foon weary of this little world : I do not know 
 what refined friendfhips you may have contradled in the 
 other, but pray do not be in a hurry to fee your acquaint- 
 ance above ; among your terreftrial familiars, however, 
 though I fay it, that fhould not fay it, there pofitively is 
 not one that has a greater efteem for you than yours moft 
 {incerely, &c. 
 
 Peterhoufe, December, 1736. 
 
[ 211 ] 
 
 Letter III. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WALPOLE. 
 
 OU can never weary me with the repetition of 
 any thing that makes me fenfible of your 
 kindnefs ; fince that has been the only idea 
 of any focial happinefs that I have almoft 
 ever received, and which (begging your pardon for think- 
 ing fo differently from you in fuch cafes) I would by no 
 means have parted with for an exemption from all the 
 uneafinefs mixed with it : but it would be unjuft to imagine 
 my tafte was any rule for yours ; for which reafon my 
 letters are fliorter and lefs frequent than they would be, 
 had I any materials but myfelf to entertain you with. 
 Love and brown fugar muft be a poor regale for one of 
 your gout, and, alas ! you know I am by trade a grocer. 
 Scandal (if I had any) is a merchandize you do not profefs 
 dealing in ; now and then, indeed, and to oblige a friend, 
 
you may perhaps flip a little out of your pocket, as a 
 decayed gentlewoman would a piece of right mecklin, or 
 a little quantity of run tea, but this only now and then, 
 not to make a practice of it. Monfters appertaining to 
 this climate you have feen already, both wet and dry. So 
 you perceive within how narrow bounds my pen is circum- 
 fcribed, and the whole contents of my fhare in our corref- 
 pondence may be reduced under the two heads of ift, 
 you, 2ndly, I ; the firfl: is, indeed, a fubjeft to expatiate 
 upon, but you might laugh at me for talking about what I 
 do not underftand ; the fecond is fo tiny, fo tirefome, that 
 you fhall hear no more of it, than that it is ever yours. 
 
 Peterhoufe, December 23, 1736. 
 
[ 213 ] 
 
 Letter IV. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 FTER a month's expedation of you, and a 
 fortnight's defpair, at Cambridge, I am come 
 to town, and to better hopes of feeing you. 
 If what you fent me lafl: be the product of 
 your melancholy, what may I not exped: from your more 
 cheerful hours ? For by this time the ill health that you 
 complain of is (I hope) quite departed ; though, if I were 
 felf-interefted, I ought to wifh for the continuance of any 
 thing that could be the occafion of fo much pleafure to 
 me. Low fpirits are my true and faithful companions ; 
 they get up with me, go to bed with me, make journeys 
 and returns as I do; nay, and pay vifits, and will even 
 afFe6t to be jocofe, and force a feeble laugh with me ; but 
 moft commonly we fit alone together, and are the prettiefl: 
 infipid company in the world. However, when you come. 
 
[ 214 ] 
 
 I believe they muft undergo the fate of all humble com- 
 panions, and be difcarded. Would I could turn them to 
 the fame ufe that you have done, and make an Apollo of 
 them. If they could write fuch verfes with me, not hartf- 
 horn, nor fpirit of amber, nor all that furniflies the clofet 
 of an apothecary's widow, fhould perfuade me to part with 
 them : But, while I write to you, I hear the bad news of 
 Lady Walpole's death on Saturday night laft. Forgive 
 me if the thought of what my poor Horace muft feel on 
 that account, obliges me to have done in reminding you 
 that I am yours, &c. 
 
 London, Aug. 22, 1737. 
 
[ ] 
 
 Letter V. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WALPOLE. 
 
 WAS hindered in my laft, and fo could not 
 give you all the trouble I would have done. 
 The defcription of a road, which your coach 
 wheels have fo often honoured, it would be 
 needlefs to give you ; fuffice it that I arrived fafe ' at my 
 Uncle's, who is a great hunter in imagination ; his dogs 
 take up every chair in the houfe, fo I am forced to ftand 
 at this prefent writing ; and though the gout forbids him 
 galloping after them in the field, yet he continues ftill to 
 regale his ears and nofe with their comfortable noife and 
 ftink. He holds me mighty cheap, I perceive, for walk- 
 ing when I fhould ride, and reading when I fhould hunt. 
 My comfort amidft all this is, that I have at the diftance 
 of half a mile, through a green lane, a foreft (the vulgar 
 call it a common) all my own, at leaft as good as fo, for I 
 
[ 2i6 ] 
 
 fpy no human thing in it but myfelf. It is a little chaos 
 of mountains and precipices ; mountains, it is true, that 
 do not afcend much above the clouds, nor are the declivi- 
 ties quite fo amazing as Dover clifF ; but jufl: fuch hills as 
 people who love their necks as well as I do may venture 
 to climb, and crags that give the eye as much pleafure as 
 if they were more dangerous : Both vale and hill are 
 covered with moft venerable beeches, and other very 
 reverend vegetables, that, like moft other ancient people, 
 are always dreaming out their old ftories to the winds. 
 
 And as they bow their hoary tops relate, 
 
 In murm'ring founds, the dark decrees of fate ; 
 
 While vifions, as poetic eyes avow. 
 
 Cling to each leaf, and fwarm on every bough. 
 
 At the foot of one of thefe fquats me I (il penferofo), and 
 there grow to the trunk for a whole morning. The timor- 
 ous hare and fportive fquirrel gambol around me like Adam 
 in Paradife, before he had an Eve ; but I think he did not 
 ufe to read Virgil, as I commonly do there. In this 
 fituation I often converfe with my Horace, aloud too, that 
 
is talk to you, but I do not remember that I ever heard 
 you anfwer me. I beg pardon for taking all the conver- 
 fation to myfelf, but it is entirely your own fault. We 
 have old Mr. Southern at a Gentleman's houfe a little way 
 offy who often comes to fee us ; he is now feventy-feven 
 years old, and has almofl: wholly lofi: his memory ; but is 
 as agreeable as an old man can be, at leaft I perfuade my- 
 felf fo when I look at him, and think of Ifabella and 
 Oroonoko. I fhall be in Town in about three weeks. 
 Adieu. 
 
 September, 1737. 
 
[ 2l8 ] 
 
 Letter VI. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WALPOLE.^ 
 
 SYMPATHIZE with you in the fufferings 
 which you forefee are coming upon you. 
 We are both at prefent, I imagine, in no very 
 agreeable lituation ; for my part I am under 
 the misfortune of having nothing to do, but it is a mif- 
 fortune which, thank my ftars, I can pretty well bear. 
 You are in a confufion of wine, and roaring, and hunting, 
 and tobacco, and, heaven be praifed, you too can pretty 
 well bear it; while our evils are no more I believe we 
 fhall not much repine. I imagine, however, you will 
 rather choofe to converfe with the living dead, that adorn 
 the walls of your apartments, than with the dead living 
 that deck the middles of them ; and prefer a piAure of 
 ftill life to the realities of a noify one, and as I guefs, will 
 imitate what you prefer, and for an hour or two at noon 
 
; [ 219 ] 
 
 will ftick yourfelf up as formal as if you had been fixed in 
 your frame for thefe hundred years, with a pink or rofe in 
 one hand, and a great feal ring on the other. Your name, 
 I aflure you, has been propagated in thefe countries by a 
 convert of yours, one * *, he has brought over his whole 
 family to you ; they were before pretty good Whigs, but 
 now they are abfolute Walpolians. We have hardly any 
 body in the parifh but knows exadly the dimenfions of the 
 hall and faloon at Houghton, and begin to believe that the 
 lanthorn ^ is not fo great a confumer of the fat of the land 
 as difafFeded perfons have faid : For your reputation, we 
 keep to ourfelves your not hunting nor drinking hogan, 
 either of which here would be fufficient to lay your honour 
 in the duft. To-morrow fe'nnight I hope to be in Town, 
 and not long after at Cambridge. I am, &c. 
 
 Burnham, Sept 1737. 
 
[ 220 ] 
 
 Letter VII. 
 MR. WEST TO MR. GRAY. 
 
 ECEIVING no anfwer to my laft letter, 
 which I writ above a month ago, I mufl: 
 own I am a little uneafy. The flight fliadow 
 of you which I had in Town, has only ferved 
 to endear you to me the more. The moments I paft with 
 you made a ftrong impreflion upon me. I fingled you out 
 for a friend, and I would have you know me to be yours, 
 if you deem me worthy. — Alas, Gray, you cannot imagine 
 how miferably my time pafles away. My health, and 
 nerves, and fpirits are, thank my ftars, the very worft, I 
 think in Oxford. Four and twenty hours of pure unal- 
 loyed health together, are as unknown to me as the 
 400,000 characters in the Chinefe vocabulary. One of 
 my complaints has of late been fo over-civil as to viflt me 
 regularly once a month — -jam certus conviva. This is 
 
; [ 221 ] 
 
 a painful nervous head-ach, which perhaps you have fome- 
 times heard me fpeak of before. Give me leave to fay, I 
 find no phyfic comparable to your letters. If, as it is faid 
 in Ecclefiafticus, " Friendfhip be the phyfic of the mind," 
 prefcribe to me, dear Gray, as often and as much as you 
 think proper, I fhall be a moft obedient patient. 
 
 Non ego 
 
 Fidis irafcar medicis, ofFendar amicis. 
 
 I venture here to write you down a Greek epigram,^ 
 which I lately turned into Latin, and hope you will ex- 
 cufe it. 
 
 nosEiAinnoT. 
 
 Tov rpnTV TTixl^ovTOi Trip] (ppiap 'AtTTVolvoixra 
 
 "Ei^uXov iJi,op(pcii xw(po> £7r£(r7ra(r«T0. 
 'Eye J' vSxro? tov ttouSx Sii^po^ov npTrxffi [j-XTVp) 
 
 2xi7rT0HA£i/« ^uxg u rivcx. fjioTpxv £p^£». 
 Nu'jOKpaj S' ovx. Ifxlv^viv o vriVjo?, aAX' IttI yovvuy 
 
 M«Tpof jcoijunfifi? TOf |3a6u\ virvov £p^f». 
 
 Perfpicui puerum ludentem in margine rivi ; 
 
 Immerfit vitreae limpidus error aquas : 
 At gelido ut mater moribundum e flumine traxit 
 
 Credula, & amplexu funus inane fovet ; 
 
[ 222 ] 
 
 Paulatim puer in diledlo pedtore, fomno 
 Languidus, asternum lumina compofuit. 
 
 Adieu ! I am going to my tutor's lectures on one 
 PufFendorff, a very jurifprudent author as you fhall read 
 on a fummer's day. Believe me yours, &c. 
 
 Chrift Church, Dec. 2, 1738. 
 
[ 223 ] 
 
 Letter VIII. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 ITER AS mi Favom I abs te demum, nudiuf- 
 tertius credo, accepi plane mellitas, nifi forte 
 qua de aegritudine quadam tua didlum : 
 atque hoc fane mihi habitum eft non paulo 
 acerbius, quod te capitis morbo implicitum effe intellexi ; 
 oh morbum mihi quam odiofum ! qui de induftria id agit, 
 ut ego in fingulos menfes, dii boni, quantis jocunditatibus 
 orbarer ! quam ex animo mihi dolendum eft, quod 
 
 Medio de fonte leporum 
 Surgit amari aliquid. 
 
 Salutem mehercule, nolo, tam parvipendas, atq; amicis 
 tam improbe confulas : quanquam tute fortaffis — aeftuas 
 angufto limite mundi, viamq ; (ut dicitur) affeAas Olympo, 
 nos tamen non efle tam fublimes, utpote qui hifce in for- 
 dibus & faece diutius paululum verfari volumus, reminifcen- 
 
[ 224 ] 
 
 dum eft : illse tuae Mufae, fi te ament modo, derelinqui 
 paulifper non nimis aegre patientur : indulge, amabo te, 
 plufquam foles, corporis exercitationibus : magis te campus 
 habeat, aprico magis te dedas otio, ut ne id ingenium quod 
 tam cultum curas, diligenter nimis dum foves, officiofarum 
 matrum ritu, interimas. Vide quaefo, quam lar^imQ tecum 
 agimus, 
 
 rtS' £7r»9>i'(rw 
 ^oipjAOi^ a. Kcv Traucrncj [xshotivoluv oSvi/oiuv.^ 
 
 fi de his pharmacis non fatis liquet ; funt feftivitates merse, 
 funt facetias & rifus ; quos ego equidem fi adhibere nequeo, 
 tamen ad prscipiendum (ut medicorum fere mos eft) certe 
 fatis fim ; id, quod poetice fub finem epiftolse lufifti, mihi 
 gratiflimum quidem accidit; admodum latine coctum & 
 conditum tetrafticon, graecam tamen illam d(psX/iocv mirifice 
 fapit : tu quod reftat, vide, fodes, hujufce hominis ignoran- 
 tiam ; cum, unde hoc tibi fit depromptum, (ut fatear,) 
 prorfus nefcio : fane ego equidem nihil in capfts reperio 
 quo tibi minima^ partis folutio fiat. Vale, & me ut foles, ama. 
 
 A. D. II, Kalend. Februar. 
 
225 
 
 Letter IX. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 ARBARAS aedes aditure mecum 
 Quas Eris femper fovet inquieta. 
 Lis ubi late fonat, et togatum 
 JE{\ua.t agmen ; 
 
 Dulcius quanto, patulis fub ulmi 
 Hofpitae ramis temere jacentem 
 Sic libris horas, tenuique inertes 
 
 Fallere Musa ? 
 
 Scepe enim curis vagor expedita 
 
 Mente ; dum, blandam meditans Camaenam, 
 
 Vix malo rori, meminive ferse 
 
 Cedere nodi ; 
 
 G G 
 
[ 226 ] 
 
 Et, pedes quo me rapiunt, in omni 
 Colle Parnaflum videor videre 
 Fertilem fylvae, gelidamque in omni 
 
 Fonte Aganippen. 
 
 Rifit et Ver me, facilefque Nymphs 
 Nare captantem, nec ineleganti, 
 Mane quicquid de violis eundo 
 
 Surripit aura : 
 
 Me reclinatum teneram per herbam ; 
 Qua leves curfus aqua cunque ducit, 
 Et moras dulci ftrepitu lapillo 
 
 Nedit in omni. 
 
 Hae novo noftrum fere pedus anno 
 Simplices curae tenuere, coelum 
 Quamdiu fudum explicuit Favoni 
 
 Purior hora : 
 
/ [ 227 ] 
 
 Otia et campos nec adhuc relinquo, 
 Nec magis Phoebo Clyde fidelis; 
 (Ingruant vend licet, et fenefcat 
 
 Mollior asftas.) 
 
 Namque, ceu, laetos hominum labores 
 Prataque et montes recreante curru, 
 Purpura tradlus oriens Eoos 
 
 Veftit, et auro ; 
 
 Sedulus fervo veneratus orbem 
 Prodigum fplendoris ; amoeniori 
 Sive diledam meditatur igne 
 
 Pingere Calpen ; 
 
 Ufque dum, fulgore magis magis jam 
 Languido circum, variata nubes 
 Labitur furtim, viridifque in umbras 
 
 Scena receflit. 
 
[ 228 ] 
 
 O ego felix, vice {i (nec unquam 
 Surgerem rurfus) fimili cadentem 
 Parca me lenis fineret quieto 
 
 Fallere Letho ! 
 
 Multa flagranti radiifque cindo 
 Integris ah ! quam nihil inviderem, 
 Cum Dei ardentes medius quadrigas 
 
 Sentit Olympus. 
 
 Ohe ! amicule nofter, et unde, fodes tu [AisaoTrdTocKToc 
 adeo repente evaflfti ? jam rogitaturum credo. Nefcio 
 hercle, flc plane habet. Quicquid enim nugarum eVi 
 (JXoMq inter ambulandum in palimpfefto fcriptitavi, hifce 
 te maxume impertiri vifum eft, quippe quem probare, quod 
 meum eft, aut certe ignofcere folitum probe novi : bona 
 tua venia fit fi forte videar in fine fubtriftior ; nam rifui 
 jamdudum falutem dixi ; etiam paulo moeftitiae ftudiofiorem 
 fadum fcias, promptumque, Kold/oIq itoCkcLia. ^clk^voiq <rsvsiv 
 mm. 
 
I [ 229 ] 
 
 O lacrymarum fons, tenero facros 
 Ducentium ortus ex animo ; quater 
 Felix ! in imo qui fcatentem 
 Pedlore te, pia Nympha, fenlit. 
 
 Sed de me fatis. Cura ut valeas. 
 
 Jun. I7j8. 
 
[ 230 ] 
 
 Letter X. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WALPOLE. 
 
 Y dear Sir, I fhould fay Mr. Infpedlor General 
 of the Exports and Imports ;^ but that appel- 
 lation would make but an odd figure in 
 conjundlion with the three familiar mono- 
 fyllables above written, for 
 
 Non bene conveniunt nec in una fede morantur 
 Majeftas & amor.'^ 
 
 Which is_, being interpreted. Love does not live at the 
 Cuftom-houfe ; however, by what ftyle, title, or denomi- 
 nation foever you choofe to be dignified or diftinguifhed 
 hereafter, thefe three words will ftick by you like a burr, 
 and you can no more get quit of thefe and your chriftian 
 name than St. Anthony could of his pig. My motions at 
 prefent (which you are pleafed to afk after) are much like 
 thofe of a pendulum or (Dr. Longically fpeaking^) ofcil- 
 
; [ 231 ] 
 
 latory. I fwing from Chapel or Hall home, and from 
 home to Chapel or Hall. All the ftrange incidents that 
 happen in my journeys and returns I lhall be fure to 
 acquaint you with ; the moft wonderful is, that it now 
 rains exceedingly, this has refrefhed the profped:, as 
 the way for the moft part lies between green fields on 
 either hand, terminated with buildings at fome diftance, 
 caftles, I prefume, and of great antiquity. The roads are 
 very good, being, as I fufpe£t, the works of Julius Casfar's 
 army, for they ftill preferve, in many places, the appearance 
 of a pavement in pretty good repair, and, if they were not 
 fo near home, might perhaps be as much admired as the 
 Via Appia ; there are at prefent feveral rivulets to be 
 crofted, and which ferve to enliven the view all around. 
 The country is exceeding fruitful in ravens and fuch black 
 cattle ; but, not to tire you with my travels, I abruptly 
 conclude. Yours, &c. 
 
 Auguft, 1738. 
 
[ 232 ] 
 
 Letter XI. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 AM coming away all fo faft, and leaving be- 
 hind me without the leaft remorfe, all the 
 beauties of Sturbridge Fair. Its white bears 
 may roar, its apes may ring their hands, and 
 crocodiles cry their eyes out, all's one for that ; I fhall not 
 once vifit them, nor fo much as take my leave. The 
 univerfity has publifhed a fevere edid againft fchifmatical 
 congregations, and created half-a-dozen new little proder- 
 lings to fee its orders executed, being under mighty appre- 
 henfions left Henley^ and his gilt tub fhould come to the 
 Fair and feduce their young ones ; but their pains are to 
 fmall purpofe, for lo, after all, he is not coming. 
 
 I am at this inftant in the very agonies of leaving college, 
 and would not wifh the worft of my enemies a worfe 
 fituation. If you knew the duft, the old boxes, the bed- 
 
; [ 233 ] 
 
 fteads, and tutors that are about my ears, you would look 
 upon this letter as a great effort of my refolution and un- 
 concernednefs in the midft of evils. I fill up my paper 
 with a loofe fort of verfion of that fcene in Paftor Fido 
 that begins, Care felve beati. 
 
 Sept. 1738. 
 
 H H 
 
 • 
 
[ 234 ] 
 
 Letter XII. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 Amiens, April i, N. S. 1739. 
 
 S we made but a very fliort journey to-day, 
 and came to our inn early, I fit down to 
 give you feme account of our expedition. 
 On the 29th (according to the ftyle here) we 
 left Dover at twelve at noon, and with a pretty brifk gale, 
 which pleafed every body mighty well, except myfelf, who 
 was extremely fick the whole time ; we reached Calais by 
 five : The weather changed, and it began to fnow hard the 
 minute we got into the harbour, where we took the boat 
 and foon landed. Calais is an exceeding old, but very 
 pretty town, and we hardly faw any thing there that was 
 not fo new and fo different from England, that it furprifed 
 us agreeably. We went the next morning to the great 
 Church, and were at high Mafs (it being Eafter Monday). 
 
I [ 235 ] 
 
 We faw alfo the Convents of the Capuchins, and the Nuns 
 of St. Dominic ; with thefe laft we held much converfation, 
 efpecially with an Englifh Nun, a Mrs. Davis, of whofe 
 work I fent you by the return of the Pacquet, a letter-cafe 
 to remember her by. In the afternoon we took a poft- 
 chaife (it ftill fnowing very hard) for Boulogne, which was 
 only eighteen miles further. This chaife is a ftrange fort 
 of conveyance, of much greater ufe than beauty, refembling 
 an ill-fhaped chariot, only with the door opening before 
 inftead of the fide ; three horfes draw it, one between the 
 fhafts, and the other two on each fide, on one of which 
 the poftillion rides, and drives too : This vehicle will, upon 
 occafion, go fourfcore miles a-day, but Mr. Walpole, being 
 in no hurry, choofes to make eafy journies of it, and they 
 are eafy ones indeed, for the motion is much like that of 
 a fedan ; we go about fix miles an hour, and commonly 
 change horfes at the end of it : It is true they are no very 
 graceful fteeds, but they go well, and through roads which 
 they fay are bad for France, but to me they feem gravel 
 walks and bowling-greens ; in fiiort, it would be the fineft 
 
[ ] 
 
 travelling in the world, were it not for the inns, which are 
 moftly terrible places indeed. But to defcribe our progrefs 
 fomewhat more regularly, we came into Boulogne when 
 it was almoft dark, and went out pretty early on Tuefday 
 morning ; fo that all I can fay about it is, that it is a large, 
 old, fortified town, with more Englifh in it than French. 
 On Tuefday we were to go to Abbeville, feventeen leagues, 
 or fifty-one fhort Englifh miles ; but by the way we dined 
 at Montreuil, much to our hearts' content, on ftinking 
 mutton cutlets, addled eggs, and ditch water. Madame 
 the hoflefs made her appearance in long lappets of bone 
 lace and a fack of linfey-woolfey. We fupped and lodged 
 pretty well at Abbeville, and had time to fee a little of it 
 before we came out this morning. There are feventeen 
 convents in it, out of which we faw the chapels of Minims 
 and the Carmelite Nuns. We are now come further 
 thirty miles to Amiens, the chief city of the province of 
 Picardy. We have feen the cathedral, which is jufl what 
 that of Canterbury muft have been before the Reformation. 
 It is about the fame fize, a huge Gothic building, befet on 
 
I [ 237 ] 
 
 the outfide with thoufands of fmall ftatues, and within 
 adorned with beautiful painted windows, and a vaft number 
 of chapels dreffed out in all their finery of altar-pieces, 
 embroidery, gilding, and marble. Over the high altar are 
 preferved, in a very large wrought fhrine of maffy gold, the 
 relicks of St. Firmin, their patron faint. We went alfo to 
 the chapels of the Jefuits and Urfuline Nuns, the latter of 
 which is very richly adorned. To-morrow we fhall lie at 
 Clermont, and next day reach Paris. The country we 
 have pafled through hitherto has been flat, open, but 
 agreeably diverflfied with villages, fields well-cultivated, 
 and little rivers. On every hillock is a windmill, a crucifix, 
 or a Virgin Mary drefled in flowers, and a farcenet robe ; 
 one fees not many people or carriages on the road ; now 
 and then indeed you meet a ftrolling friar, a countryman 
 with his great muff", or a woman riding aftride on a little 
 afs, with fhort petticoats, and a great head-drefs of blue 
 wool. * * 
 
[ 238 ] 
 
 Letter XIII. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 Paris, April 12, 1739. 
 
 NFIN done me voiei a Paris. Mr. Walpole 
 is gone out to fupper at Lord Conway's, and 
 here I remain alone, though invited too. Do 
 not think I make a merit of writing to you 
 preferably to a good fupper ; for thefe three days we have 
 been here, have ad:ually given me an averfion to eating in 
 general. If hunger be the beft fauce to meat, the French 
 are certainly the worft cooks in the world ; for what tables 
 we have feen have been fo delicately ferved, and fo pro- 
 fufely, that, after rifing from one of them, one imagines it 
 impoffible ever to eat again. And now, if I tell you all I 
 have in my head, you will believe me mad, mais n'importe, 
 courage, allons ! for if I wait till my head grow clear and 
 fettle a little, you may ftay long enough for a letter. Six 
 
J [ 239 ] 
 
 days have we been coming hither, which other people do 
 in two ; they have not been difagreeable ones ; through a 
 fine, open country, admirable roads, and in an eafy con- 
 veyance ; the inns not abfolutely intolerable, and images 
 quite unufual prefenting themfelves on all hands. At 
 Amiens we faw the fine cathedral, and eat pate de perdrix ; 
 paffed through the park of Chantilly by the Duke of 
 Bourbon's palace, which we only beheld as we pafi^ed ; 
 broke down at Lufarche ; ftopt at St. Denis, faw all the 
 beautiful monuments of the Kings of France, and the vafi: 
 treafures of the abbey, rubies, and emeralds as big as fmall 
 eggs, crucifixes, and vows, crowns and reliquaries, of in- 
 eftimable value ; but of all their curiofities the thing the 
 moft to our taftes, and which they indeed do the juftice to 
 efteem the glory of their colledlion, was a vafe of an entire 
 onyx, meafuring at leaft five inches over, three deep, and 
 of great thicknefs. It is at leaft two thoufand years old, 
 the beauty of the ftone and fculpture upon it (reprefenting 
 the myfteries of Bacchus) beyond exprefiion admirable ; we 
 have dreamed of it ever fince. The jolly old Benedidine, 
 
[ ] 
 
 that fhowed us the treafures, had in his youth been ten 
 years a foldier ; he laughed at all the relics, was very full 
 of ftories, and mighty obliging. On Saturday evening we 
 got to Paris, and were driving through the ftreets a long 
 while before we knew where we were. The minute we 
 came, voila Milors Holderneffe, Conway and his brother; 
 all ftayed fupper, and till two o'clock in the morning, for 
 here nobody ever fleeps ; it is not the way : Next day go 
 to dine at my Lord HoldernefTe's, there was the Abbe 
 Prevot, author of the Cleveland, and feveral other pieces 
 much efteemed : The reft were Englifh. At night we 
 went to the Pandore ; a fpedacle literally, for it is nothing 
 but a beautiful piece of machinery of three fcenes. The 
 firft reprefents the chaos, and by degrees the feparation 
 of the elements. The fecond, the temple of Jupiter, the 
 giving of the box to Pandora. The third, the opening of 
 the box, and all the mifchiefs that enfued. An abfurd 
 delign, but executed in the higheft perfedion, and that in 
 one of the fineft theatres in the world ; it is the grande 
 falle des machines in the Palais des Tuileries. Next day 
 
dined at Lord Waldegrave's ; then to the opera. Imagine 
 to yourfelf for the drama four a£ls' entirely unconnected 
 with each other, each founded on fome little hiftory, fkil- 
 fully taken out of an ancient author, e. g. Ovid's Metamor- 
 phofes, &c. and with great addrefs converted into a French 
 piece of gallantry. For inftance, that which I faw, called 
 the Ballet de la Paix, had its firft adl built upon the ftory 
 of Nireus. Homer having faid he was the handfomefl: 
 man of his time, the poet, imagining fuch a one could not 
 want a miftrefs, has given him one. Thefe two come in 
 and fing fentiment in lamentable ftrains, neither air nor 
 recitative ; only, to one's great joy, they are every now and 
 then interrupted by a dance, or (to one's great forrow) by 
 a chorus that borders the ftage from one end to the other, 
 and fcreams, paft all power of fimile to reprefent. The 
 fecond ad was Baucis and Philemon. Baucis is a beautiful 
 young fhepherdefs, and Philemon her fwain. Jupiter falls 
 in love with her, but nothing will prevail upon her ; fo it 
 is all mighty well, and the chorus fing and dance the 
 praifes of Conftancy. The two other a6ls were about 
 
 I I 
 
[ ] 
 
 Iphis and lanthe, and the judgment of Paris. Imagine, 1 
 fay, all this tranfadled by cracked voices, trilling divifions 
 upon two notes and a half, accompanied by an orcheftra of 
 humftrums, and a whole houfe more attentive than if 
 Farinelli fung, and you will almoft have formed a juft 
 notion of the thing. Our aftonifhment at their abfurdity 
 you can never conceive ; we had enough to do to exprefs 
 it by fcreaming an hour louder than the whole dramatis 
 perfonae. We have alfo feen twice the Comedie Fran^oife ; 
 firft, the Mahomet Second, a tragedy that has had a great 
 run of late ; and the thing itfelf does not want its beauties, 
 but the adors are beyond meafure delightful. Made- 
 moifelle Gauflin (M. Voltaire's Zara) has with a charming 
 (though little) perfon the moft pathetic tone of voice, 
 the finefl: expreffion in her face, and mofl: proper adion 
 imaginable. There is alfo a Dufrene, who did the chief 
 character, a handfome man and a prodigious fine ador. 
 The fecond we faw was the Philofophe marie, and here 
 they performed as well in comedy 3 there is a Mademoifelle 
 Quinault, fomewhat in Mrs. Clive's way, and a Monfieur 
 
; [ 243 ] 
 
 Grandval, in the nature of Wilks, who is the genteelefl: 
 thing in the world. There are feveral more would be 
 much admired in England, and many (whom we have not 
 feen) much celebrated here. Great part of our time is 
 fpent in feeing churches and palaces full of fine pidlures, 
 &c. the quarter of which is not yet exhaufted. For my 
 part, I could entertain myfelf this month merely with the 
 common ftreets and the people in them. * * * 
 
[ 244 ] 
 
 Letter XIV. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 Paris, May 22, 1739. 
 
 FTER the little particulars aforefaid I (liould 
 have proceeded to a journal of our tranfac- 
 tions for this week paft, fhould have carried 
 you poft from hence to Verfailles, hurried 
 you through the gardens to Trianon, back again to Paris, 
 fo away to Chantilly. But the fatigue is perhaps more 
 than you can bear, and moreover I think I have reafon to 
 ftomach your laft piece of gravity. Suppofing you were 
 in your fobereft mood, I am forry you fhould think me 
 capable of ever being fo diffipe, fo evapore, as not to be in 
 a condition of relifhing any thing you could fay to me. 
 And now, if you have a mind to make your peace with 
 me, aroufe ye from your megrims and your melancholies, 
 and (for exercife is good for you) throw away your night- 
 
; [ 245 ] 
 
 cap, call for your jack-boots, and fet out with me, laft 
 Saturday evening, for Verfailles — and fo at eight o'clock, 
 paffing through a road fpeckled with vines, and villas, and 
 hares, and partridges, we arrive at the great avenue, flanked 
 on either hand with a double row of trees about half a mile 
 long, and with the palace itfelf to terminate the view; 
 facing which, on each flde of you, is placed a femi-circle 
 of very handfome buildings, which form the ftables. Thefe 
 we will not enter into, becaufe you know we are no 
 jockeys. Well ! and is this the great front of Verfailles ? 
 What a huge heap of littlenefs ! it is compofed, as it were, 
 of three courts, all open to the eye at once, and gradually 
 diminifliing till you come to the royal apartments, which 
 on this flde prefent but half a dozen windows and a bal- 
 cony. This laft is all that can be called a front, for the 
 reft is only great wings. The hue of all this mafs is black, 
 dirty red, and yellow; the firft proceeding from ftone 
 changed by age ; the fecond, from a mixture of brick ; and 
 the laft, from a profuflon of tarniflied gilding. You can- 
 not fee a more difagreeable tout-enfemble ; and, to finifli 
 
[ 246 ] 
 
 the matter, it is all ftuck over in many places with fmall 
 bufts of a tawny hue between every two windows. We 
 pafs through this to go into the garden, and here the cafe 
 is indeed altered ; nothing can be vafter and more mag- 
 nificent than the back front; before it a very fpacious 
 terrace fpreads itfelf, adorned with two large bafons ; thefe 
 are bordered and lined (as moft of the others) with white 
 marble, with handfome ftatues of bronze reclined on their 
 edges. From hence you defcend a huge flight of fteps 
 into a femi-circle formed by woods, that are cut all around 
 into niches, which are filled with beautiful copies of all 
 the famous antique ftatues in white marble. Juft in the 
 midft is the bafon of Latona; fhe and her children are 
 ftanding on the top of a rock in the middle, on the fides 
 of which are the peafants, fome half, fome totally changed 
 into frogs, all which throw out water at her in great plenty. 
 From this place runs on the great alley, which brings you 
 into a complete round, where is the bafon of Apollo, the 
 biggeft in the gardens. He is rifing in his car out of the 
 water, furrounded by nymphs and tritons, all in bronze, 
 
/ [ 247 ] 
 
 and finely executed, and thefe, as they play, raife a perfed 
 ftorm about him ; beyond this is the great canal, a pro- 
 digious long piece of water, that terminates the whole : 
 All this you have at one coup d'oeil in entering the garden, 
 which is truly great. I cannot fay as much of the general 
 tafte of the place: every thing you behold favours too much 
 of art ; all is forced, all is conftrained about you ; ftatues 
 and vafes fowed every where without diftindlion ; fugar 
 loaves and minced pies of yew ; fcrawl work of box, and 
 little fquirting jets-d'eau, befides a great famenefs in the 
 walks, cannot help ftriking one at firft fight, not to mention 
 the filliefl: of labyrinths, and all ^Efop's fables in water; 
 fince thefe were defigned in ufum Delphini only. Here 
 then we walk by moonlight, and hear the ladies and the 
 nightingales fing. Next morning, being Whitfunday, make 
 ready to go to the Inftallation of nine Knights du Saint 
 Efprit, Cambis is one :^ high mafs celebrated with mufic, 
 great crowd, much incenfe. King, Queen, Dauphin, Mef- 
 dames. Cardinals, and Court : Knights arrayed by his 
 Majefty ; reverences before the altar, not bows, but curtfies; 
 
[ 248 ] 
 
 ftiff hams : much tittering among the ladies ; trumpets, 
 kettle-drums and fifes. My dear Weft, I am vaftly de- 
 lighted with Trianon, all of us with Chantilly ; if you 
 would know why, you muft have patience, for I can hold 
 my pen no longer, except to tell you that I faw Britannicus 
 laft night; all the charaders, particularly Agrippina and 
 Nero, done to perfedlion ; to-morrow Phaedra and Hip- 
 politus. We are making you a little bundle of petites 
 pieces; there is nothing in them, but they are ading at 
 prefent ; there are too Crebillon's Letters, and Amufemens 
 fur le langage des Betes, faid to be of one Bougeant, a 
 Jefuit; they are both efteemed, and lately come out. 
 This day fe'nnight we go to Rheims. 
 
[ 249 ] 
 
 Letter XV. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 Rheims, June 21, N. S. 1739. 
 
 E have now been fettled almofl: three weeks 
 in this city, which is more confiderable upon 
 account of its iize and antiquity, than from 
 the number of its inhabitants, or any ad- 
 vantages of commerce. There is little in it worth a 
 ftranger's curiofity, befides the cathedral church, which is 
 a vaft Gothic building of a furprifing beauty and lightnefs, 
 all covered over with a profufion of little ftatues, and 
 other ornaments. It is here the Kings of France are 
 crowned by the Archbifhop of Rheims, who is the firfl: 
 Peer, and the Primate of the kingdom : The holy veffel 
 made ufe of on that occafion, which contains the oil, is 
 kept in the church of St. Nicafius hard by, and is believed 
 to have been brought by an angel from heaven at the 
 
 K K 
 
[250] 
 
 coronation of Clovis, the firft chriftian king. The ftreets 
 in general have but a melancholy afped, the houfes all old ; 
 the public walks run along the fide of a great moat under 
 the ramparts, where one hears a continual croaking of 
 frogs ; the country round about is one great plain covered 
 with vines, which at this time of the year afford no very 
 pleafing profped, as being not above a foot high. What 
 pleafures the place denies to the fight, it makes up to the 
 palate ; fince you have nothing to drink but the beft 
 champaigne in the world, and all fort of provifions equally 
 good. As to other pleafures, there is not that freedom of 
 converfation among the people of fafhion here, that one 
 fees in other parts of France ; for though they are not very 
 numerous in this place, and confequently muft live a good 
 deal together, yet they never come to any great familiarity 
 with one another. As my Lord Conway had fpent a good 
 part of his time among them, his brother, and we with 
 him, were foon introduced into all their affemblies : As foon 
 as you enter, the lady of the houfe prefents each of you a 
 card, and offers you a party at quadrille ; you fit down. 
 
I [ 251 ] 
 
 and play forty deals without intermiflion, excepting one 
 quarter of an hour, when every body rifes to eat of what 
 they call the gouter, which fupplies the place of our tea, and 
 is a fervice of wine, fruits, cream, fweetmeats, crawfifh, and 
 cheefe. People take what they like, and fit down again 
 to play ; after that, they make little parties to go to the 
 walks together, and then all the company retire to their 
 feparate habitations. Very feldom any fuppers or dinners 
 are given ; and this is the manner they live among one 
 another ; not fo much out of any averfion they have to 
 pleafure, as out of a fort of formality they have contraded 
 by not being much frequented by people who have lived at 
 Paris. It is fure they do not hate gaiety any more than the 
 reft of their country-people, and can enter into diverlions, 
 that are once propofed, with a good grace enough : for in- 
 ftance, the other evening we happened to be got together in 
 a company of eighteen people, men and women of the beft 
 fafhion here, at a garden in the town to walk ; when one 
 of the ladies bethought herfelf of afking. Why fhould not we 
 fup here ? Immediately the cloth was laid by the fide of a 
 
[ ] 
 
 fountain under the trees, and a very elegant fupper ferved 
 up ; after which another faid, Come, let us fing ; and 
 diredlly began herfelf : From linging we infenfibly fell to 
 dancing, and finging in a round ; when fomebody men- 
 tioned the violins, and immediately a company of them 
 was ordered : Minuets were begun in the open air, and 
 then came country-dances, which held till four o'clock 
 next morning ; at which hour the gayeft lady there pro- 
 pofed, that fuch as were weary fhould get into their 
 coaches, and the reft of them fhould dance before them 
 with the mufic in the van ; and in this manner we paraded 
 through all the principal ftreets of the city, and waked 
 every body in it. Mr. Walpole had a mind to make a 
 cuftom of the thing, and would have given a ball in the 
 fame manner next week ; but the women did not come 
 into it; fo I believe it will drop, and they will return 
 to their dull cards, and ufual formalities. We are not to 
 ftay above a month longer here, and fhall then go to Dijon, 
 the chief city of Burgundy, a very fplendid and very gay 
 town ; at leaft fuch is the prefent defign. 
 
[ 253 ] 
 
 Letter XVI. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS FATHER. 
 
 Dijon, Friday, Sept. ii, N. S. 1739. 
 
 E have made three fhort days journey of it 
 from Rheims hither, where we arrived the 
 night before laft : The road we have paffed 
 through has been extremely agreeable : it runs 
 through the moft fertile part of Champaigne by the fide of 
 the river Marne, with a chain of hills on each hand at 
 fome diftance, entirely covered with woods and vineyards, 
 and every now and then the ruins of fome old caftle on their 
 tops ; we lay at St. Dizier the firfh night, and at Langres 
 the fecond, and got hither the next evening time enough 
 to have a full view of this city in entering it : It lies in a 
 very extenfive plain covered with vines and corn, and con- 
 fequently is plentifully fupplied with both. I need not 
 tell you that it is the chief city of Burgundy, nor that it is 
 
[ 254 ] 
 
 of great antiquity ; confidering which one fhould imagine 
 it ought to be larger than one finds it. However, what it 
 wants in extent, is made up in beauty and cleanlinefs, and 
 in rich convents and churches, moft of which we have feen. 
 The palace of the States is a magnificent new building, 
 where the Duke of Bourbon is lodged when he comes every 
 three years to hold that aflembly, as governor of the 
 Province. A quarter of a mile out of the town is a 
 famous Abbey of Carthufians, which we are juft returned 
 from feeing. In their chapel are the tombs of the ancient 
 Dukes of Burgundy, that were fo powerful,, till at the 
 death of Charles the Bold, the laft of them, this part of his 
 dominions was united by Lewis XI. to the crown of France. 
 To-morrow we are to pay a vifit to the Abbot of the 
 Ciftercians, who lives a few leagues off, and who ufes to 
 receive all ftrangers with great civility ; his Abbey is one 
 of the richeft in the kingdom ; he keeps open houfe always, 
 and lives with great magnificence. We have feen enough 
 of this town already to make us regret the time we fpent 
 at Rheims ; it is full of people of condition, who feem to 
 
I [ 255 ] 
 
 form a much more agreeable fociety than we found in 
 Champaigne ; but as we fhall ftay here but two or three 
 days longer, it is not worth while to be introduced into 
 their houfes. On Monday or Tuefday we are to fet out 
 for Lyons, which is two days journey diftant, and from 
 thence you fhall hear again from me. 
 
[ ] 
 
 Letter XVII. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 Lyons, Sept. i8, N. S. 1739. 
 
 CAVEZ-VOUS bien, mon cher ami, que je 
 voiis hais, que je vous detefte ? voila des termes 
 un peu forts ; and that will fave me, upon a 
 juft computation, a page of paper and fix 
 drops of ink ; which, if I confined myfelf to reproaches of 
 a more moderate nature, I fhould be obliged to employ in 
 ufing you according to your deferts. What : to let any 
 body refide three months at Rheims, and write but once 
 to them ! Pleafe to confult Tully de Amicit. page 5, line 
 25, and you will find it faid in exprefs terms, " Ad amicum 
 inter Remos relegatum menfe uno quinquies fcriptum efto;" 
 nothing more plain or lefs liable to falfe interpretations. 
 Now becaufe, I fuppofe, it will give you pain to know 
 we are in being, I take this opportunity to tell you that we 
 
; [ 257 ] 
 
 are at the ancient and celebrated Lugdunum, a city fituated 
 upon the confluence of the Rhone^ and Saone (Arar, I 
 fhould fay), two people, who though of tempers extremely 
 unlike, think fit to join hands here, and make a little party 
 to travel to the Mediterranean in company ; the lady comes 
 gliding along through the fruitful plains of Burgundy, 
 incredibili lenitate, ita ut oculis in utram partem fluit 
 judicari non pofTit; the gentleman runs all rough and 
 roaring down from the mountains of Switzerland to meet 
 her; and with all her foft airs fhe likes him never the 
 worfe ; fhe goes through the middle of the city in ftate, 
 and he pafles incog, without the walls, but waits for her a 
 little below. The houfes here are fo high, and the ftreets fo 
 narrow, as would be fufficient to render Lyons the difmalleft 
 place in the world, but the number of people, and the face 
 of commerce diffufed about it, are, at leaft, as fuflicient to 
 make it the livelieft : between thefe two fufficiencies, you 
 will be in doubt what to think of it ; fo we fhall leave the 
 city, and proceed to its environs, which are beautiful 
 beyond expreflion : it is furrounded with mountains, and 
 
 L L 
 
C ] 
 
 thofe mountains all bedropped and befpeckled with houfes, 
 gardens, and plantations of the rich Bourgeois, who have 
 from thence a profped: of the city in the vale below on 
 one hand, on the other the rich plains of the Lyonnois, 
 with the rivers winding among them, and the Alps, with 
 the mountains of Dauphine, to bound the view. All 
 yefterday morning we were bulled in climbing up Mount 
 Fourviere, where the ancient city ftood perched at fuch a 
 height, that nothing but the hopes of gain could certainly 
 ever perfuade their neighbours to pay them a vilit : Here 
 are the ruins of the Emperors' palaces, that refided here, 
 that is to fay, Auguftus and Severus ; they confift in no- 
 thing but great mafles of old wall, that have only their 
 quality to make them refpeded. In a vineyard of the 
 Minims are remains of a theatre ; the Fathers, whom they 
 belong to, hold them in no efteem at all, and would have 
 fhowed us their facrifty and chapel inftead of them : The 
 Urfuline Nuns have in their garden fome Roman baths, 
 but we having the misfortune to be men, and heretics, 
 they did not think proper to admit us. Hard by are eight 
 
/ [ 259 ] 
 
 arches of a moft magnificent aqueduct, faid to be eredled 
 by Antony, when his legions were quartered here : There 
 are many other parts of it difperfed up and down the 
 country, for it brought the water from a river many leagues 
 ofF in La Forez. Here are remains, too, of Agrippa's 
 feven great roads which met at Lyons ; in fome places 
 they lie twelve feet deep in the ground : In fhort, a thou- 
 fand matters that you fhall not know, till you give me a 
 defcription of the Pais de Tombridge, and the effed its 
 waters have upon you. 
 
[ 26o ] 
 
 Letter XVIII. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 Lyons, OA. 13, N. S. 1739. 
 
 T is now almoft five weeks fince I left Dijon, 
 one of the gayeft and moft agreeable little 
 cities of France, for Lyons, its reverfe in all 
 thefe particulars. It is the fecond in the 
 kingdom in bignefs and rank, the ftreets excefiively narrow 
 and nafty ; the houfes immenfely high and large ; (that, for 
 inftance, where we are lodged, has twenty-five rooms on a 
 floor, and that for five ftories ;) it fwarms with inhabitants 
 like Paris itfelf, but chiefly a mercantile people, too much 
 given up to commerce, to think of their own, much lefs of 
 a fl:ranger's diverfions. We have no acquaintance in the 
 town, but fuch Englifli as happen to be pafling through 
 here, in their way to Italy and the fouth, which at prefent 
 happen to be near thirty in number. It is a fortnight fince 
 
/ [ 26l ] 
 
 we fet out from hence upon a little excurfion to Geneva. 
 We took the longeft road, which lies through Savoy, on 
 purpofe to fee a famous monaftery, called the Grande 
 Chartreufe, and had no reafon to think our time loft. 
 After having travelled feven days very flow (for we did not 
 change horfes, it being impoftible for a chaife to go poft 
 in thefe roads) we arrived at a little village, among the 
 mountains of Savoy, called Echelles ; from thence we 
 proceeded on horfes, who are ufed to the way, to the 
 mountain of the Chartreufe : It is fix miles to the top ; 
 the road runs winding up it, commonly not fix feet broad j 
 on one hand is the rock, with woods of pine'^-trees hanging 
 over head ; on the other, a monftrous precipice, almoft 
 perpendicular, at the bottom of which rolls a torrent, that 
 fometimes tumbling among the fragments of ftone that 
 have fallen from on high, and fometimes precipitating 
 itfelf down vaft defcents with a noife like thunder, which, 
 is ftill made greater by the echo from the mountains 
 on each fide, concurs to form one of the moft folemn, 
 the moft romantic, and the moft aftoniftiing fcenes I 
 
[ 262 ] 
 
 ever beheld : Add to this the ftrange views made by the 
 crags and cliffs on the other hand ; the cafcades that in 
 many places throw themfelves from the very fummit down 
 into the vale, and the river below ; and many other par- 
 ticulars impoffible to defcribe ; you will conclude we had 
 no occafion to repent our pains. This place St. Bruno 
 chofe to retire to, and upon its very top founded the afore- 
 faid convent, which is the fuperior of the whole order. 
 When we came there, the two fathers, who are commif- 
 fioned to entertain ftrangers, (for the reft muft neither 
 fpeak one to another, nor to any one elfe,) received us 
 very kindly ; and fet before us a repaft of dried filli, eggs, 
 butter and fruits, all excellent in their kind, and extremely 
 neat. They preffed us to fpend the night there, and to 
 ftay fome days with them ; but this we could not do, fo 
 they led us about their houfe, which is, you muft think, 
 like a little city; for there are lOo fathers, beftdes 300 
 fervants, that make their clothes, grind their corn, prefs 
 their wine, and do every thing among themfelves : The 
 whole is quite orderly and ftmple ; nothing of finery, but 
 
, [ 263 ] 
 
 the wonderful decency, and the ftrange fituation, more 
 than fupply the place of it. In the evening we defcended 
 by the fame way, pafTing through many clouds that were 
 then forming themfelves on the mountain's fide. Next 
 day we continued our journey by Chambery, which, 
 though the chief city of the duchy, and refidence of the 
 king of Sardinia, when he comes into this part of his do- 
 minions, makes but a very mean and infignificant appear- 
 ance ; we lay at Aix, once famous for its hot baths, and 
 the next night at Annecy ; the day after, by noon, we got 
 to Geneva. I have not time to fay anything about it, nor 
 of our folitary journey back again. * * * 
 
[ ] 
 
 Letter XIX. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS FATHER. 
 
 Lyons, Odl. 25, N. S. 1739. 
 
 N my laft I gave you the particulars of our 
 little journey to Geneva : I have only to add, 
 that we flayed about a week, in order to fee 
 Mr. Conway fettled there : I do not wonder 
 fo many Englifh choofe it for their refidence; the city is 
 very fmall, neat, prettily built, and extremely populous; 
 the Rhone runs through the middle of it, and it is fur- 
 rounded with new fortifications, that give it a military 
 compadt air ; which, joined to the happy, lively counten- 
 ances of the inhabitants, and an exa6l difcipline always as 
 ftridly obferved as in time of war, makes the little republic 
 appear a match for a much greater power ; though per- 
 haps Geneva, and all that belongs to it, are not of equal 
 extent with Windfor and its two parks. To one that has 
 
, [ ] 
 
 pafTed through Savoy, as we did, nothing can be more 
 ftriking than the contraft, as foon as he approaches the 
 town. Near the gates of Geneva runs the torrent Arve, 
 which feparates it from the King of Sardinia's dominions ; 
 on the other fide of it lies a country naturally, indeed, fine 
 and fertile ; but you meet with nothing in it but meagre, 
 ragged, bare-footed peafants, with their children, in ex- 
 treme mifery and naftinefs ; and even of thefe no great 
 numbers ; You no fooner have crofled the ftream I have 
 mentioned, but poverty is no more ; not a beggar, hardly 
 a difcontented face to be feen ; numerous and well-drefled 
 people fwarming on the ramparts ; drums beating, foldiers, 
 well clothed and armed, exercifing ; and folks, with bufi- 
 nefs in their looks, hurrying to and fro ; all contribute to 
 make any perfon, who is not blind, fenfible what a difi^er- 
 ence there is between the two governments, that are the 
 caufes of one view and the other. The beautiful lake, at 
 one end of which the town is fituated ; its extent; the 
 feveral ftates that border upon it ; and all its pleafures, are 
 too well known for me to mention them. We failed upon 
 
 M M 
 
[ 266 ] 
 
 it as far as the dominions of Geneva extend, that is, about 
 two leagues and a half on each fide ; and landed at feveral 
 of the little houfes of pleafure, that the inhabitants have 
 built all about it, who received us with much politenefs. 
 The fame night we eat part of a trout, taken in the lake, 
 that weighed thirty-feven pounds ; as great a monfter as it 
 appeared to us, it was efteemed there nothing extraordinary, 
 and they afllired us, it was not uncommon to catch them 
 of fifty pounds; they are dreffed here and fent poft to 
 Paris upon fome great occafions ; nay, even to Madrid, as 
 we were told. The road we returned through was not 
 the fame we came by : We croffed the Rhone at Seyffel, 
 and paffed for three days among the mountains of Bugey, 
 without meeting with any thing new : At lafl we came 
 out into the plains of La BrefTe, and fo to Lyons again. 
 Sir Robert has written to Mr. Walpole, to defire he would 
 go to Italy ; which he has refolved to do ; fo that all the 
 fcheme of fpending the winter in the fouth of France is 
 laid afide, and we are to pafs it in a much finer country. 
 You may imagine I am not forry to have this opportunity 
 
[ ] 
 
 of feeing the place in the world that befl: deferves it : Be- 
 fides as the Pope (who is eighty-eight, and has been lately 
 at the point of death) cannot probably laft a great while, 
 perhaps we may have the fortune to be prefent at the 
 eledion of a new one, when Rome will be in all its glory. 
 Friday next we certainly begin our journey ; in two days 
 we fLall come to the foot of the Alps, and fix more we 
 fhall be in pafiing them. Even here the winter is begun ; 
 what then mufl: it be among thofe vaft fnowy mountains 
 where it is hardly ever fummer? We are, however, as 
 well armed as poffible againft the cold, with mulTs, hoods, 
 and mafks of beaver, fur-boots, and bear-fkins. When we 
 arrive at Turin, we fhall reft after the fatigues of the 
 journey. * * * 
 
[ 268 ] 
 
 Letter XX. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 Turin, Nov. 7, N. S. 1739. 
 
 AM this night arrived here, and have jufi: fet 
 down to reft me after eight days tirefome 
 journey : For the three firft we had the 
 fame road we before palTed through to go to 
 Geneva ; the fourth we turned out of it, and for that day 
 and the next travelled rather among than upon the Alps ; 
 the way commonly running through a deep valley by the 
 iide of the river Arc, which works itfelf a paffage, with 
 great difficulty and a mighty noife, among vafl: quantities 
 of rocks, that have rolled down from the mountain tops. 
 The winter was fo far advanced, as in great meafure to 
 fpoil the beauty of the profped ; however, there was ftill 
 fomewhat fine remaining amidft the favagenefs and horror 
 of the place : The fixth we began to go up feveral of thefe 
 
, [ 269 ] 
 
 mountains ; and as we were pafling one, met with an odd 
 accident enough : Mr. Walpole had a little fat black 
 fpaniel, that he was very fond of, which he fometimes ufed 
 to fet down, and let it run by the chaife fide. We were 
 at that time in a very rough road, not two yards broad at 
 moft ; on one lide was a great wood of pines, and on the 
 other a vaft precipice ; it was noon-day, and the fun fhone 
 bright, when all of a fudden, from the wood-fide (which 
 was as fteep upwards, as the other part was downwards) 
 out rufhed a great wolf, came clofe to the head of the 
 horfes, feized the dog by the throat, and rufhed up the 
 hill again with him in his mouth. This was done in lefs 
 than a quarter of a minute ; we all faw it, and yet the 
 fervants had not time to draw their piftols, or do any thing 
 to fave the dog. If he had not been there, and the crea- 
 ture had thought fit to lay hold of one of the horfes ; 
 chaife, and we, and all muft inevitably have tumbled above 
 fifty fathoms perpendicular down the precipice. The 
 feventh we came to Lanebourg, the laft town in Savoy ; 
 it lies at the foot of the famous mount Cenis, which is fo 
 
[ ] 
 
 fituated as to allow no room for any way but over the very 
 top of it. Here the chaife was forced to be pulled to 
 pieces, and the baggage and that to be carried by mules : 
 We ourfelves were wrapped up in our furs, and feated upon 
 a fort of matted chair without legs, which is carried upon 
 poles in the manner of a bier, and fo begun to afcend by 
 the help of eight men. It was fix miles to the top, where 
 a plain opens itfelf about as many more in breadth, covered 
 perpetually with very deep fnow, and in the midft of that 
 a great lake of unfathomable depth, from whence a river 
 takes its rife, and tumbles over monftrous rocks quite down 
 the other fide of the mountain. The defcent is fix miles 
 more, but infinitely more fteep than the going up ; and 
 here the men perfectly fly down with you, ftepping from 
 ftone to ftone with incredible fwiftnefs in places where 
 none but they could go three paces without falling. The 
 immenfity of the precipices, the roaring of the river and 
 torrents that run into it, the huge crags covered with ice 
 and fnow, and the clouds below you and about you, are 
 objeds it is impoflible to conceive without feeing them ; 
 
/ [ 271 ] 
 
 and though we had heard many ftrange defcriptions of the 
 fcene, none of them at all came up to it. We were but 
 five hours in performing the whole, from which you may 
 judge of the rapidity of the men's motion. We are now 
 got into Piedmont, and flopped a little while at La Fer- 
 riere, a fmall village about three quarters of the way down, 
 but ftill among the clouds, where we began to hear a new 
 language fpoken round about us ; at laft we got quite 
 down, went through the Pas de Sufe, a narrow road among 
 the Alps, defended by two fortreffes, and lay at Boffolens : 
 Next evening through a fine avenue of nine miles in 
 length, as ftraight as a line, we arrived at this city, which, 
 as you know, is the capital of the Principality, and the 
 refidence of the King of Sardinia. * * * We fhall ftay 
 here, I believe, a fortnight, and proceed for Genoa, which 
 is three or four days journey to go poft. I am, &c. 
 
[ 272 ] 
 
 Letter XXI. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 Turin, Nov. 16, N. S. 1739. 
 
 FTER eight days journey through Greenland, 
 we arrived at Turin. You approach it by 
 a handfome avenue of nine miles long, and 
 quite ftraight. The entrance is guarded by 
 certain vigilant dragons, called Douaniers, w^ho mumbled 
 us for fome time. The city is not large, as being a place 
 of ftrength, and confequently confined within its fortifica- 
 tions ; it has many beauties and fome faults ; among the 
 firft are flreets all laid out by the line, regular uniform 
 buildings, fine walks that furround the whole, and in 
 general a good lively clean appearance : But the houfes 
 are of brick plaftered, which is apt to want repairing the 
 windows of oiled paper, which is apt to be torn ; and 
 every thing very flight, which is apt to tumble down. 
 
/ [ 273 ] 
 
 There is an excellent Opera, but it is only in the Carnival : 
 Balls every night, but only in the Carnival : Mafquerades 
 too, but only in the Carnival. This Carnival lafts only 
 from Chriftmas to Lent ; one half of the remaining part 
 of the year is pafTed in remembering the laft, the other in 
 expecting the future Carnival. We cannot well fubfift upon 
 fuch flender diet, no more than upon an execrable Italian 
 Comedy, and a Puppet-Show, called Rapprefentatione 
 d'un' anima dannata, which, I think, are all the prefent 
 diverfions of the place ; except the Marquife de Cavaillac's 
 Converfazione, where one goes to fee people play at 
 Ombre and Taroc, a game with 72 cards all painted with 
 funs, and moons, and devils, and monks. Mr. Walpole 
 has been at court ; the family are at prefent at a country 
 palace, called La Venerie. The palace here in town is 
 the very quinteffence of gilding and looking-glafs ; inlaid 
 floors, carved panels, and painting, wherever they could 
 ftick a brufli. I own, I have not, as yet, anywhere met 
 with thofe grand and Ample works of Art, that are to 
 amaze one, and whofe flght one is to be the better for : 
 
 N N 
 
! 
 
 [ 274 ] 
 
 But thofe of Nature have aftonifhed me beyond expreflion. 
 In our little journey up to the Grande Chartreufe, I do not 
 remember to have gone ten paces without an exclamation, 
 that there wa.s no reftraining : Not a precipice, not a torrent, 
 not a clifF, but is pregnant with religion and poetry. There 
 are certain fcenes that would awe an atheift into belief, 
 without the help of other argument. One need not have 
 a very fantaftic imagination to fee fpirits there at noon-day ; 
 You have death perpetually before your eyes, only fo far 
 removed, as to compofe the mind without frighting it. 
 I am well perfuaded St. Bruno was a man of no common 
 genius, to choofe fuch a fituation for his retirement ; and 
 perhaps fhould have been a difciple of his, had I been born 
 in his time. You may beHeve Abelard and Heloife were 
 not forgot upon this occafion : If I do not miftake, I faw 
 you too every now and then at a diftance along the trees ; 
 il me femble, que j'ai vu ce chien de vifage laquelque part. 
 You feemed to call to me from the other fide of the preci- 
 pice, but the noife of the river below was fo great, that I 
 really could not diftinguifh what you faid ; it feemed to 
 
; [ 275 ] 
 
 have a cadence like verfe. In your next you will be fo 
 good to let me know what it was. The week we have 
 fince pafled among the Alps, has not equalled the fingle 
 day upon that mountain, becaufe the winter was rather too 
 far advanced, and the weather a little foggy. However, 
 it did not want its beauties ; the favage rudenefs of the 
 view is inconceivable without feeing it : I reckoned in 
 one day, thirteen cafcades, the leafl: of which was, I dare 
 fay, one hundred feet in height. I had Livy in the chaife 
 with me, and beheld his " Nives coelo prope immifts, te£ta 
 informia impofitarupibus, pecora jumentaque torridafrigore, 
 homines intonfi & inculti, animalia inanimaque omnia ri- 
 gentia gelu ; omnia confragofa, praeruptaque."^ The crea- 
 tures that inhabit them are, in all refpeds, below humanity ; 
 and moft of them, efpecially women, have the tumidum 
 guttur, which they call gofcia. Mont Cenis, I confefs, 
 carries the permiflion mountains have of being frightful 
 rather too far ; and its horrors were accompanied with too 
 much danger to give one time to reflect upon their 
 beauties. There is a family of the Alpine monfters I have 
 
[ 276 ] 
 
 mentioned, upon its very top, that in the middle of winter 
 calmly lay in their flock of provilions and firing, and fo are 
 buried in their hut for a month or two under the fnow. 
 When we were down it, and got a little way into Pied- 
 mont, we began to find " Apricos quofdam colles, rivofque 
 prope fylvas, & jam humano cultu digniora loca."^ I read 
 Silius Italicus too, for the firft time ; and wilhed for you 
 according to cuftom. We fet out for Genoa in two days 
 time. 
 
[ 277 ] 
 
 Letter XXII. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 Genoa, Nov. 21, 1739. 
 
 HoRRiDOS tradus, Boreasq; linquens 
 Regna Taurini fera, moUiorem 
 Advehor brumam, Genuasq; amantes 
 
 Litora foles. 
 
 T leaft if they do not, they have a very ill 
 tafte : for I never beheld anything more 
 amiable : Only figure to yourfelf a vaft femi- 
 circular bafin, full of fine blue fea, and 
 veflels of all forts and fizes, fome failing out, fome coming 
 in, and others at anchor ; and all round it palaces, and 
 churches peeping over one another's heads, gardens, and 
 marble terraces full of orange and cyprefs trees, foun- 
 tains, and trellis-works covered with vines, which altogether 
 compofe the grandefl: of theatres. This is the firft coup 
 
[ 278 ] 
 
 d'oeil, and is almoft all I am yet able to give you an 
 account of, for we arrived late laft night. To-day was, 
 luckily, a great feftival, and in the morning we reforted to 
 the church of the Madonna delle Vigne, to put up our 
 little orifons ; (I believe I forgot to tell you, that we have 
 been fome time converts to the holy Catholic church ;) we 
 found our Lady richly drefled out, with a crown of dia- 
 monds on her own head, another upon the child's, and a 
 conftellation of wax lights burning before them : Shortly 
 after came the Doge, in his robes of crimfon damafk, and a 
 cap of the fame, followed by the Senate in black. Upon 
 his approach began a fine concert of mufic, and among the 
 reft two eunuchs' voices, that were a perfedl feaft to ears 
 that had heard nothing but French operas for a year. We 
 liftened to this, and breathed nothing but incenfe for two 
 hours. The Doge is a very tall, lean, ftately old figure, 
 called Conftantino Balbi ; and the Senate feem to have been 
 made upon the fame model. They faid their prayers, and 
 heard an abfurd white friar preach, with equal devotion. 
 
I [ 279 ] 
 
 After this we went to the Annonciata, a church built by 
 the family Lomellini, and belonging to it ; which is, indeed, 
 a mofi: ftately ftrudlure, the infide wholly marble of various 
 kinds, except where gold and painting take its place. 
 From hence to the Palazzo Doria. I fhould make you 
 fick of marble, if I told you how it was lavifhed here upon 
 the porticoes, the baluftrades, and terraces, the loweft of 
 which extends quite to the fea. The infide is by no means 
 anfwerable to the outward magnificence ; the furniture 
 feems to be as old as the founder of the family.^ There 
 great emboffed filver tables tell you, in bas-relief, his vic- 
 tories at fea ; how he entertained the Emperor Charles, 
 and how he refufed the fovereignty of the Commonwealth 
 when it was offered him ; the reft is old-fafliioned velvet 
 chairs, and Gothic tapeftry. The reft of the day has been 
 fpent, much to our hearts' content, in curfing French mufic 
 and architedure, and in finging the praifes of Italy. We 
 find this place fo very fine, that we are in fear of finding 
 nothing finer. We are fallen in love with the Mediter- 
 
[ 2So ] 
 
 ranean fea, and hold your lakes and your rivers in vaft 
 contempt. This is 
 
 The happy country where huge lemons grow," 
 
 as Waller fays ; and I am forry to think of leaving it in a 
 week for Parma, although it be 
 
 The happy country where huge cheefes grow. 
 
[ 28i ] 
 
 Letter XXIII. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 Bologna, Dec. 9, N. S. 1739. 
 
 UR journey hither has taken up much lefs 
 time than I expeded. We left Genoa (a 
 charming place, and one that deferved a 
 longer ftay,) the week before laft ; crofled 
 the mountains, and lay that night at Tortona, the next at 
 St. Giovanni, and the morning after came to Piacenza. 
 That city (though the capital of a Duchy) made fo frippery 
 an appearance, that inftead of fpending fome days there, 
 as had been intended, we only dined, and went on to 
 Parma ; flayed there all the following day, which was 
 pafled in vifiting the famous works of Correggio in the 
 Dome, and other churches. The fine gallery of pidlures, 
 that once belonged to the Dukes of Parma, is no more 
 here ; the King of Naples has carried it all thither, and 
 
 o o 
 
[ 282 ] 
 
 the city had not merit enough to detain us any longer, fo 
 we proceeded through Reggio to Modena ; this, though 
 the refidence of its Duke, is an ill-built melancholy place, 
 all of brick, as are moft of the towns in this part of Lom- 
 bardy : He himfelf lives in a private manner, with very little 
 appearance of a court about him ; he has one of the nobleft 
 colledlions of paintings in the world, which entertained us 
 extremely well the reft of that day and a part of the next ; 
 and in the afternoon we came to Bologna. So now you 
 may wifli us joy of being in the dominions of his Holinefs. 
 This is a populous city, and of great extent : All the ftreets 
 have porticoes on both fides, fuch as furround a part of 
 Covent Garden, a great relief in fummer-time in fuch a 
 climate ; and from one of the principal gates to a church 
 of the Virgin, [where is a wonder-working pidure, at three 
 miles diftance,] runs a corridor of the fame fort, lately 
 finifhed, and indeed a moft extraordinary performance. 
 The churches here are more remarkable for their paintings 
 than architecture, being moftly old ftrudures of brick ; but 
 the palaces are numerous, and fine enough to fupply us 
 
/ [ 283 ] 
 
 with fomewhat worth feeing from morning till night. The 
 country of Lombardy, hitherto, is one of the moft beautiful 
 imaginable ; the roads broad, and exadlly ftraight, and on 
 either hand vaft plantations of trees, chiefly mulberries and 
 olives, and not a tree without a vine twining about it, and 
 fpreading among its branches. This fcene, indeed, which 
 muft be the moft lovely in the world during the proper 
 feafon, is at prefent all deformed by the winter, which here 
 is rigorous enough for the time it lafts ; but one ftill fees 
 the fkeleton of a charming place, and reaps the benefit of 
 its produd, for the fruits and provifions are admirable ; in 
 fhort, you find every thing that luxury can defire in per- 
 fedion. We have now been here a week, and fhall ftay 
 fome little time longer. We are at the foot of the Apen- 
 nine mountains ; it will take up three days to crofs them, 
 and then we fliall come to Florence, where we fhall pafs 
 the Chriftmas. Till then we muft remain in a ftate of 
 ignorance as to what is doing in England, for our letters 
 are to meet us there : If I do not find four or five from 
 you alone, I fhall wonder. 
 
[ ] 
 
 Letter XXIV. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 Florence, Dec. 19, N. S. 1739. 
 
 I E fpent twelve days at Bologna, chiefly (as 
 moft travellers do) in feeing fights; for as 
 we knew no mortal there, and as it is no 
 eafy matter to get admiffion into any Italian 
 houfe, without very particular recommendations, we could 
 fee no company but in public places ; and there are 
 none in that city but the churches. We faw, therefore, 
 churches, palaces, and pidlures from morning to night ; 
 and the 15th of this month fet out for Florence, and 
 began to crofs the Apennine mountains ; we travelled 
 among and upon them all that day, and, as it was but in- 
 difFerent weather, were commonly in the middle of thick 
 clouds, that utterly deprived us of a flght of their beauties : 
 For this vaft chain of hills has its beauties, and all the 
 
I [ 285 ] 
 
 valleys are cultivated ; even the mountains themfelves are 
 many of them fo within a little of their very tops. They 
 are not fo horrid as the Alps, though pretty near as high ; 
 and the whole road is admirably well kept, and paved 
 throughout, which is a length of fourfcore miles, and more : 
 We left the Pope's dominions, and lay that night in thofe 
 of the Grand Duke at Fiorenzuola, a paltry little town, at 
 the foot of Mount Giogo, which is the highefl: of them all. 
 Next morning we went up it ; the poft-houfe is upon its 
 very top, and ufually involved in clouds, or half-buried in 
 the fnow. Indeed there was none of the lafl: at the time 
 we were there, but it was ftill a difmal habitation. The 
 defcent is moft exceffively fteep, and the turnings very 
 fhort and frequent ; however, we performed it without any 
 danger, and in coming down could dimly difcover Florence, 
 and the beautiful plain about it, through the mifts, but 
 enough to convince us, it muft be one of the noblefl: pro- 
 fpedls upon earth in fummer. That afternoon we got 
 thither ; and Mr. Mann,^ the refident, had fent his fervant 
 to meet us at the gates, and condud us to his houfe. He 
 
[ 286 ] 
 
 is the befl: and moft obliging perfon in the world. The 
 next night we were introduced at the Prince of Craon's^ 
 affembly (he has the chief power here in the Grand Duke's 
 abfence). The princefs, and he, were extremely civil to the 
 name of Walpole, fo we were afked to ftay fupper, which 
 is as much as to fay, you may come and fup here whenever 
 you pleafe ; for after the firft invitation this is always un- 
 derftood. We have alfo been at the Countefs Suarez's, a 
 favourite of the late Duke, and one that gives the firft 
 movement to every thing gay that is going forward here. 
 The news is every day expeded from Vienna of the Great 
 Du chefs' s delivery ; if it be a boy, here will be all forts of 
 balls, mafquerades, operas, and illuminations ; if not, we 
 muft wait for the Carnival, when all thofe things come of 
 courfe. In the mean time it is impoflible to want enter- 
 tainment j the famous gallery, alone, is an amufement for 
 months ; we commonly pafs two or three hours every 
 morning in it, and one has perfedl leifure to confider all its 
 beauties. You know it contains many hundred antique 
 ftatues, fuch as the whole world cannot match, befides the 
 
, [ 287 ] 
 
 vafi: colledion of paintings, medals, and precious ftones, fuch 
 as no other prince was ever mafter of ; in fhort, all that 
 the rich and powerful houfe of Medicis has in fo many 
 years got together. And befides this city abounds with fo 
 many palaces and churches, that you can hardly place 
 yourfelf anywhere without having fome fine one in view, 
 or at leaft fome ftatue or fountain, magnificently adorned ; 
 thefe undoubtedly are far more numerous than Genoa can 
 pretend to ; yet, in its general appearance, I cannot think 
 that Florence equals it in beauty. Mr. Walpole is juft 
 come from being prefented to the Eledlrefs Palatine Dow- 
 ager ; fhe is a fifter of the late Great Duke's ; a (lately 
 old lady, that never goes out but to church, and then fhe 
 has guards, and eight horfes to her coach. She received 
 him with much ceremony, ftanding under a huge black 
 canopy, and, after a few minutes talking, fhe afiured him 
 of her good will, and difmified him : She never fees any 
 body but thus in form; and fo £he pafies her life, poor 
 woman ! * * * 
 
[ 288 ] 
 
 Letter XXV. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 Florence, Jan. 15, 1740. 
 
 THINK I have not yet told you how we 
 left that charming place Genoa ; How we 
 crofTed a mountain of green marble, called 
 Buchetto : How we came to Tortona, and 
 waded through the mud to come to Caftel St. Giovanni, 
 and there eat muftard and fugar with a difh of crows' 
 gizzards : Secondly, how we paffed the famous plains ; 
 
 Qua Treble glaucas falices interfecat unda, 
 
 Arvaque Romanis nobilitata malis. 
 Vifus adhuc amnis veteri de clade rubere, 
 
 Et fufpirantes ducere moeftus aquas ; 
 Maurorumque ala, et nigra; increbefcere turmas, 
 
 Et pulfa Aufonidum ripa fonare fuga. 
 
 Nor, thirdly, how we pafTed through Piacenza, Parma, 
 Modena, entered the territories of the Pope ; ftayed twelve 
 
/ [ 289 ] 
 
 days at Bologna ; crofled the Appennines, and afterwards 
 arrived at Florence. None of thefe things have I told 
 you, nor do I intend to tell you, till you afk me fome 
 queftions concerning them. No not even of Florence 
 itfelf, except that it is as fine as poflible, and has every 
 thing in it that can blefs the eyes. But, before I enter 
 into particulars, you muft make your peace both with me 
 and the Venus de Medicis, who, let me tell you, is highly 
 and juftly offended at you for not inquiring, long before 
 this, concerning her fymmetry and proportions. * * * 
 
[ 290 ] 
 
 Letter XXVI. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WHARTON. 
 
 Propofals for Printing by Subfcripfion, in 
 
 THIS LARGE LETTER, 
 THE TRAVELS OF T. G. Gent. 
 
 WHICH WILL CONSIST OF THE FOLLOWING PARTICULARS. 
 
 Chap. I. 
 
 HE Author arrives at Dover ; his converfation 
 with the Mayor of that Corporation. Sets 
 out in the pacquet boat : grows very fick ; 
 the Author fpews ; a very minute account 
 of all the circumftances thereof. His arrival at Calais ; 
 how the inhabitants of that country fpeak French, and 
 are faid to be all Papifhes ; the Author's reflections 
 thereupon. 
 
[ 291 ] 
 
 II. 
 
 How they feed him with foupe, and what foupe is. 
 How he meets with a capucin, and what a capucin is. 
 How they fhut him up in a poft-chaife and fend him to 
 Paris 'y he goes wondering along during lix days ; and how 
 there are trees and houfes juft as in England. Arrives at 
 Paris without knowing it. 
 
 III. 
 
 Full account of the river Seine, and of the various ani- 
 mals and plants its borders produce. Defcription of the 
 little creature called an Abbe, its parts, and their ufes ; 
 with the reafons why they will not live in England, and 
 the methods that have been ufed to propagate them there. 
 A cut of the infide of a nunnery ; its ftrudlure wonderfully 
 adapted to the ufe of the animals that inhabit it; a fhort 
 account of them, how they propagate without the help of 
 a male : and how they eat up their own young ones, like 
 cats and rabbits : fuppofed to have both fexes in them- 
 felves like a fnail. Difledion of a Duchefs, with copper- 
 plates, very curious. 
 
[ 292 ] 
 
 IV. 
 
 Goes to the opera : grand orcheftra of humftrums, bag- 
 pipes, falt-boxes, tabors and pipes. Anatomy of a French 
 ear, fhowing the formation of it to be entirely different 
 from that of an EnglifK one ; and that founds have a 
 diredlly contrary effed: upon one and the other. Farinelli, 
 at Paris, faid to have a fine manner, but no voice. Grand 
 ballet, in which there is no feeing the dance for petticoats. 
 Old women with flowers and jewels ftuck in the curls of 
 their grey hair. Red-heeled fhoes and roll-ups innumer- 
 able ; hoops and panniers immeafurable, paint unfpeakable. 
 Tables, wherein is calculated, with the utmoft exailnefs, 
 the feveral degrees of red, now in ufe, from the rifing 
 bluflies of an Advocate's wife, to the flaming crimfon of a 
 princefs of the Blood j done by a limner in great vogue. 
 
 V. 
 
 The author takes unto him a taylour ; his charader. 
 How he covers him with filk and fringe, and widens his 
 figure with buckram, a yard on each fide. Waifl:coat and 
 
I [ 293 ] 
 
 breeches fo ftrait, he can neither breathe nor walk. How 
 the barber curls him en bequille, and a la negligee, and 
 ties a vaft folitaire about his neck. How the milliner 
 lengthens his ruffles to his fingers' ends, and flicks his two 
 arms into a mufF. How he cannot ftir ; and how they cut 
 him in proportion to his clothes. 
 
 VI. 
 
 He is carried to Verfailles, defpifes it infinitely. A dif- 
 fertation upon tafte. Goes to an Inftallation in the Chapel 
 Royal ; enter the King and fifty fiddlers folus : kettle- 
 drums and trumpets ; queens and dauphins ; princefies and 
 cardinals ; incenfe and the mafs ; old knights making 
 curtfies ; Holy Ghofts and fiery tongues. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Goes into the country to Rheims, in Champagne, ftays 
 there three months ; what he did there (he mufl: beg the 
 reader's pardon but) he has really forgot. 
 
[ ] 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Proceeds to Lyons, vaftnefs of that city. Can't fee the 
 ftreets for houfes. How rich it is, and how much it ftinks. 
 Poem upon the confluence of the Rhone and the Saone, 
 by a friend of the Author's ; very pretty. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Makes a journey into Savoy, and in his way vifits the 
 Grande Chartreufe : he is fet afide upon a mule's back, 
 and begins to climb up the mountains : rocks and torrents 
 beneath, pine trees and fnows above : horrors and terrors 
 on all fides. The Author dies of the fright. 
 
 X. 
 
 He goes to Geneva. His mortal antipathy to a prefby- 
 terian, and the cure for it. Returns to Lyons ; gets a 
 furfeit with eating ortolans and lampreys ; is advifed to go 
 into Italy for the benefit of the air. 
 
[ 295 ] 
 
 XI. 
 
 Sets out the latter end of November to crofs the Alps. 
 He is devoured by a wolf : and how it is to be devoured 
 by a wolf : the feventh day he comes to the foot of Mount 
 Cenis. How he is wrap'd up in bear-fkins and beaver- 
 ikins ; boots on his legs ; caps on his head : muffs on his 
 hands, and taffety over his eyes. He is placed on a bier 
 and is carried to heaven by the favages blind-fold. How 
 he lights among a certain fat nation called Clouds : how 
 
 they are always in a fweat, and never fpeak but they 
 
 how they flock about him, and think him very odd for 
 not doing fo too. He falls plump into Italy. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Arrives at Turin : goes to Genoa, and from thence to 
 Placentia; croffes the river Tribia, The ghoft of Han- 
 nibal appears to him, and what it and he fay upon the 
 occafion. Locked out of Parma on a cold winter's night ; 
 the Author, by an ingenious ftratagem, gains admittance. 
 
[ 296 ] 
 
 Defpifes that city, and proceeds through Reggio to Modena. 
 How the Duke and Duchefs lie over their own ftables, and 
 go every night to a vile Italian Comedy ; defpifes them 
 and it, and proceeds to Bologna. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Enters into the dominions of the Pope o'Rome. Meets 
 the devil, and what he fays on the occafion. Very pub- 
 lick and fcandalous doings between the vine and the elm 
 trees, and how the olive trees are fhocked thereupon. 
 Author longs for Bologna faufages and hams, and how he 
 grows as fat as an hog. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Obfervations on antiquities. The Author proves that 
 Bologna was the ancient Tarentum ; that the battle of 
 Salamis, contrary to the vulgar opinion, was fought by 
 land, and that not far from Ravenna; that the Romans 
 were a colony of the Jews ; and that Eneas was the fame 
 with Ehud. 
 
[ 297 ] 
 
 XV. 
 
 Arrival at Florence. Is of opinion that the Venus of 
 Medicis is a modern performance, and that a very indif- 
 ferent one, and much inferior to the K. Charles at Charing- 
 crofs. Account of the city and manners of the inhabi- 
 tants. A learned DifTertation on the true fituation of 
 Gomorrah. 
 
 And here will end the firfl: part of thefe inftrudlive and 
 entertaining voyages. The Subfcribers are to pay twenty 
 guineas, nineteen down, and the remainder upon delivery 
 of the book. N. B. A few are printed on the fofteft 
 royal brown paper, for the ufe of the curious. 
 
 My Dear, Dear Wharton, 
 
 (Which is a dear more than I give any body elfe. It is 
 very odd to begin with a parentheiis, but) You may think 
 me a beaft not having fooner wrote to you, and to be fure 
 a beaft I am. Now, when one owns it, I don't fee what 
 
[ 298 ] 
 
 you have left to fay. I take this opportunity to inform 
 # you (an opportunity I have had every v^eek this twelve- 
 
 month) that I am arrived fafe at Calais, and am at prefent 
 at — Florence, a city in Italy, in I don't know how many 
 degrees of N. latitude. Under the line I am fure it is not, 
 for I am at this inftant expiring with cold. You muft 
 know, that not being certain what circumftances of my 
 hiftory would particularly fuit your curiofity, and knowing 
 that all I had to fay to you would overflow the narrow 
 limits of many a good quire of paper, I have taken this 
 method of laying before you the contents, that you may 
 pitch upon what you pleafe, and give me your orders 
 accordingly to expatiate thereupon : for I conclude you 
 will write to me : won't you ? oh ! yes, when you know 
 that in a week I fet out for Rome, and that the Pope is 
 dead, and that I fhall be (I fhould fay, God willing; and 
 if nothing extraordinary intervene ; and if I am alive and 
 well ; and in all human probability) at the coronation of 
 a new one. Now, as you have no other correfpondent 
 there, and as if you do not, I certainly fliall not write 
 
/ [ 299 ] 
 
 again, (obferve my impudence,) I take it to be your interefl: 
 to fend me a vafl: letter, full of all forts of news and politics, 
 and fuch other ingredients, as to you fhall feem convenient 
 with all decent expedition, only do not be too fevere upon 
 the Pretender ; and if you like my ftyle, pray fay fo. This 
 is a la Fran^oife ; and if you think it a little too foolifh, 
 and impertinent, you fhall be treated alia Tofcana with a 
 thoufand Signoria Illuftriflimas, in the mean time I have 
 the honour to remain Your lofing frind tell deth, 
 
 T. Gray. 
 
 Florence, March 12, N. S. 1740. 
 
 P. S. This is a I'Angloife. I don't know where you are ; 
 if at Cambridge pray let me know all, how, and about it : 
 and if my old friends, Thomfon or Clarke, fall in your 
 way, fay I am extremely theirs. But if you are in town, 
 I entreat you to make my befl: compliments to Mrs. 
 Wharton. Adieu. Yours, fincerely, a fecond time. 
 
[ 300 ] 
 
 Letter XXVII. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 Florence, March 19, 1740. 
 
 JHE Pope' is at laft dead, and we are to fet 
 out for Rome on Monday next. The con- 
 clave is ftill fitting there, and likely to con- 
 tinue fo fome time longer, as the two French 
 Cardinals are but juft arrived, and the German ones are 
 ftill expelled. It agrees mighty ill with thofe that remain 
 inclofed : Ottoboni is already dead of an apoplexy ; Altieri 
 and feveral others are faid to be dying, or very bad : Yet 
 it is not expedted to break up till after Eafter. We fhall 
 lie at Sienna the firfl: night, fpend a day there, and in two 
 more get to Rome. One begins to fee in this country the 
 firft promifes of an Italian fpring, clear unclouded fkies, 
 and warm funs, fuch as are not often felt in England ; yet, 
 for your fake, I hope at prefent you have your proportion 
 
; [ 30I ] 
 
 of them, and that all your frofts, and fnows, and fhort 
 breaths are, by this time, utterly vaniflied. I have nothing 
 new or particular to inform you of ; and, if you fee things 
 at home go on much in their old courfe, you muft not 
 imagine them more various abroad. The diverlions of a 
 Florentine Lent are compofed of a fermon in the morning, 
 full of hell and the devil; a dinner at noon, full of fifh 
 and meagre diet; and in the evening, what is called a 
 Converfazione, a fort of afTembly at the principal people's 
 houfes, full of I cannot tell what : Beiides this, there is 
 twice a week a very grand concert. * * * 
 
[ 302 ] 
 
 Letter XXVIII. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 Rome, April 2, N. S. 1740. 
 
 '^^^^HIS is the third day fince we came to Rome, 
 but the firft hour I have had to write to you 
 
 in. The journey from Florence coft us four 
 days, one of which was fpent at Sienna, an 
 agreeable, clean, old city, of no great magnificence or 
 extent; but in a fine fituation, and good air. What it 
 has mofl: confiderable is its cathedral, a huge pile of marble, 
 black and white laid alternately, and laboured with a 
 gothic nicenefs and delicacy in the old-fafhioned way. 
 Within too are fome paintings and fculpture of confiderable 
 hands. The fight of this, and fome collections that were 
 fhewed us in private houfes, were a fufficient employment 
 for the little time we were to pafs there : and the next 
 morning we fet forward on our journey through a country 
 
/ [303] 
 
 very oddly compofed ; for fome miles you have a continual 
 fcene of little mountains cultivated from top to bottom with 
 rows of olive-trees, or elfe elms, each of which has its vine 
 twining about it, and mixing with the branches ; and corn 
 fown between all the ranks. This diverfified with numer- 
 ous fmall houfes and convents, makes the moft agreeable 
 profpe(5l in the world : But, all of a fudden, it alters to 
 black barren hills, as far as the eye can reach, that feem 
 never to have been capable of culture, and are as ugly as 
 ufelefs. Such is the country for fome time before one 
 comes to Mount Radicofani, a terrible black hill, on the 
 top of which we were to lodge that night. It is very high, 
 and difficult of afcent ; and at the foot of it we were much 
 embarraffed by the fall of one of the poor horfes that drew 
 us. This accident obliged another chaife, which was 
 coming down, to ftop alfo ; and out of it peeped a figure 
 in a red cloak, with a handkerchief tied round its head, 
 which, by its voice and mien, feemed a fat old woman : 
 but upon its getting out, appeared to be Senefino, who 
 was returning from Naples to Sienna, the place of his birth 
 
[ 304 ] 
 
 and reftdence. On the highefl: part of the mountain is an 
 old fortrefs, and near it a houfe built by one of the Grand 
 Dukes for a hunting-feat, but now converted into an inn ; 
 It is the fhell of a large fabric, but fuch an infide, fuch 
 chambers, and accommodations, that your cellar is a palace 
 in comparifon ; and your cat fups and lies much better 
 than we did ; for, it being a faint's eve, there was nothing 
 but eggs. We devoured our meagre fare ; and, after 
 flopping up the windows with the quilts, were obliged to 
 lie upon the flraw beds in our clothes. Such are the con- 
 veniences in a road, that is, as it were, the great thorough- 
 fare of all the world. Jufl: on the other Ude of this 
 mountain, at Ponte-Centino, one enters the patrimony of 
 the church ; a moft delicious country, but thinly inhabited. 
 That night brought us to Viterbo, a city of a more lively 
 appearance than any we had lately met with ; the houfes 
 have glafs windows, which is not very ufual here; and 
 moft of the ftreets are terminated by a handfome fountain. 
 Here we had the pleafure of breaking our fafi: on the leg 
 of an old hare and fome broiled crows. Next morning. 
 
I [ 305 ] 
 
 in defcending Mount Viterbo, we firft difcovered (though 
 at near thirty miles diftance) the cupola of St. Peter's, and 
 a little after began to enter on an old Roman pavement, 
 with now and then a ruined tower, or a fepulchre on each 
 hand. We now had a clear view of the city, though not 
 to the beft advantage, as coming along a plain quite upon 
 a level with it ; however it appeared very vaft, and fur- 
 rounded with magnificent villas and gardens. We foon 
 after croffed the Tiber, a river that ancient Rome made 
 more confiderable than any merit of its own could have 
 done : However, it is not contemptibly fmall, but a good 
 handfome ftream ; very deep, yet fomewhat of a muddy 
 complexion. The firft entrance of Rome is prodigioufly 
 ftriking. It is by a noble gate, defigned by Michael 
 Angelo, and adorned with ftatues ; this brings you into a 
 large fquare, in the midft of which is a vaft obelifk of 
 granite, and in front you have at one view two churches 
 of a handfome architedture, and fo much alike that they 
 are called the twins ; with three ftreets, the middlemoft of 
 which is one of the longeft in Rome. As high as my 
 
 R R 
 
[ 3o6 ] 
 
 expectation was raifed, I confefs, the magnificence of this 
 city infinitely furpaffes it. You cannot pafs along a ftreet 
 but you have views of fome palace, or church, or fquare, 
 or fountain, the mofl: pid:urefque and noble one can ima- 
 gine. We have not yet fet about confidering its beauties, 
 ancient and modern, with attention ; but have already 
 taken a flight tranfient view of fome of the moft remark- 
 able. St. Peter's I faw the day after we arrived, and was 
 flruck dumb with wonder. I there faw the Cardinal 
 d'Auvergne, one of the French ones, who upon coming 
 off his journey, immediately repaired hither to offer up his 
 vows at the high altar, and went diredly into the Con- 
 clave ; the doors of which we faw opened to him, and all 
 the other immured Cardinals came thither to receive him. 
 Upon his entrance they were clofed again diredly. It is 
 fuppofed they will not come to an agreement about a 
 Pope till after Eafter, though the confinement is very dif- 
 agreeable. I have hardly philofophy enough to fee the 
 infinity of fine things, that are here daily in the power of 
 any body that has money, without regretting the want of 
 
; [307] 
 
 it ; but cuftom has the power of making things eafy to one. 
 I have not yet feen his majefty of Great- Britain, &c. though 
 I have the two boys in the gardens of the Villa Borghefe, 
 where they go a-fhooting almoft every day ; it was at a 
 diftance, indeed, for we did not choofe to meet them, as 
 you may imagine. This letter (like all thofe the Englifh 
 fend or receive) will pafs through the hands of that family, 
 before it comes to thofe it was intended for. They do it 
 more honour than it deferves ; and all they will learn from 
 thence will be, that I defire you to give my duty to my 
 father, and wherever elfe it is due, and that I am, &c. 
 
C 308 ] 
 
 Letter XXIX. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 Rome, April 15, 1740. Good-Friday. 
 
 ^"^^^O-DAY I am jufl: come from paying my 
 adoration at St. Peter's to three extraordinary 
 relics, which are expofed to public view 
 only on thefe two days in the whole year, 
 at which time all the confraternities in the city come 
 in proceflion to fee them. It was fomething extremely 
 novel to fee that vaft church, and the moft magnificent 
 in the world, undoubtedly, illuminated (for it was night) 
 by thoufands of little cryftal lamps, difpofed in the 
 figure of a huge crofs at the high altar, and feeming 
 to hang alone in the air. All the light proceeded from 
 this, and had the moft fingular effedt imaginable as one 
 entered the great door. Soon after came one after another, 
 I believe, thirty proceflions, all dreffed in linen frocks, and 
 girt with a cord, their heads covered with a cowl all over, 
 
; [309] 
 
 only two holes to fee through left. Some of them were 
 all black, others red, others white, others party-coloured ; 
 thefe were continually coming and going with their tapers 
 and crucifixes before them ; and to each company, as they 
 arrived and knelt before the great altar, were fhown from 
 a balcony at a great height, the three wonders, which are, 
 you muft know, the head of the fpear which wounded 
 Chrifl: ; St. Veronica's handkerchief, with the miraculous 
 imprefTion of his face upon it; and a piece of the true 
 crofs, on the fight of which the people thump their breafts, 
 and kifs the pavement with vaft devotion. The tragical 
 part of the ceremony is half a dozen wretched creatures, 
 who with their faces covered, but naked to the waift, are 
 in a fide chapel difciplining themfelves with fcourges full 
 of iron prickles ; but really in earneft, as our eyes can 
 teftify, which faw their backs and arms fo raw we fhould 
 have taken it for a red fatin doublet torn, and fhewing the 
 fkin through, had we not been convinced of the contrary 
 by the blood which was plentifully fprinkled about them. 
 It is late ; I give you joy of Port-Bello, and many other 
 things, which I hope are all true. * * * 
 
[ 3IO ] 
 
 Letter XXX. 
 MR. WALPOLE TO MR. WEST. 
 
 Rome, April i6, N. S. 1740. 
 
 'LL tell you, Weft, becaufe one is amongft 
 new things, you think one can always write 
 new things. When I firft came abroad 
 every thing ftruck me, and I wrote its hif- 
 tory ; but now I am grown fo ufed to be furprifed, that I 
 don't perceive any flutter in myfelf when I meet with any 
 novelties ; curioflty and aftonifhment wear off, and the 
 next thing is, to fancy that other people know as much of 
 places as one's felf; or, at leaft, one does not remember 
 that they do not. It appears to me as odd to write to you 
 of St. Peter's, as it would do to write to you of Weft- 
 minfter Abbey. Befldes, as one looks at churches, &c. 
 with a book of travels in one's hand, and fees every thing 
 particularized there, it would appear tranfcribing to write 
 
/ [ 311 ] 
 
 upon the fame fubjeds. I know you will hate me for 
 this declaration; I remember how ill I ufed to take it 
 when any body ferved me fo that was travelling. Well, I 
 will tell you fomething if you will love me : you have feen 
 prints of the ruins of the temple of Minerva Medica ; you 
 fhall only hear its fituation, and then figure what a villa 
 might be laid out there. 
 
 'Tis in the middle of a garden ; at a little diftance are 
 two fubterraneous grottos, which were the burial-places of 
 the liberti of Auguftus. There are all the niches and 
 covers of the urns with the infcriptions remaining : and in 
 one, very confiderable remains of an ancient ftucco ceiling, 
 with paintings in grotefque. 
 
 Some of the walks would terminate upon the Caftellum 
 Aquae Martian, St. John Lateran, and St^ Maria Maggiore, 
 befides other churches : the walls of the garden would be 
 two aquedudls, and the entrance through one of the old 
 gates of Rome. This glorious fpot is negledled, and only 
 ferves for a fmall vineyard and kitchen garden. 
 
 I am very glad that I fee Rome while it yet exifts ; be- 
 
[ 312 ] 
 
 fore a great number of years are elapfed, I queftion whether 
 it will be worth feeing. Between the ignorance and poverty 
 of the prefent Romans, every thing is negleded and falling 
 to decay ; the villas are entirely out of repair, and the 
 palaces fo ill kept, that half the pictures are fpoiled by 
 damp. 
 
 At the villa Ludovifi is a large oracular head of red 
 marble, colofTal, and with vaft foramina for the eyes and 
 mouth : the man that fhewed the palace faid it was un 
 ritratto della famiglia. The Cardinal Corfini has fo 
 thoroughly pufhed on the mifery of Rome by impoverifh- 
 ing it, that there is no money but paper to be feen. He 
 is reckoned to have amafled three millions of crowns. You 
 may judge of the affluence the nobility live in, when I 
 affure you that what the chief princes allow for their own 
 eating is a teftoon a-day (eighteen-pence) ; there are fome 
 extend their expenfe to five pauls, or half-a-crown. 
 Cardinal Albani is called extravagant for laying out ten 
 pauls for his dinner and fupper. You may imagine they 
 never have any entertainments : fo far from it, they never 
 
/ [ 313 ] 
 
 have any company. The Princeffes and Duchefles, par- 
 ticularly, lead the difmallefl: of lives. Being the pofterity 
 of Popes, though of worfe families than the ancient no- 
 bility, they expert greater refpedt than my ladies the 
 Countefles and Marquifes will pay them ; confequently 
 they confort not, but mope in a vaft palace with two 
 miferable tapers, and two or three Monfignori, whom they 
 are forced to court and humour, that they may not be 
 entirely deferted. Sundays they do iffue forth in a vaft 
 unwieldy coach to the Corfo. 
 
 In fhort, child, after fun-fet one pafles one's time here 
 very ill ; and if I did not wifh for you in the mornings, it 
 would be no compliment to tell you that I do in the even- 
 ing. Lord ! how many Englifli I could change for you, 
 and yet buy you wondrous cheap ! and then French and 
 Germans I could fling into the bargain by dozens. Nations 
 fwarm here. You will have a great fat French Cardinal, 
 garniflied with thirty Abbes, roll into the area of St. 
 Peter's, gape, turn fhort, and talk of the Chapel of Ver- 
 failles. I heard one of them fay t'other day, he had been 
 
 8 S 
 
[ 314 ] 
 
 at the Capitale, One afked of courfe how he liked it — 
 Ah ! il y a ajfez de belles chofes. 
 
 Tell Aflieton I have received his letter ; and vv^ill write 
 next pofl: ; but I am in a violent hurry and have no more 
 time; fo Gray finifhes this delicately. 
 
 Not fo delicate ; nor, indeed, would his confcience 
 fuffer him to write to you, till he received de vos nouvelles, 
 if he had not the tail of another perfon's letter to ufe by 
 way of evafion. I fha'n't defcribe, as being in the only 
 place in the world that deferves it, which may feem an 
 odd reafon — but they fay as how it's fulfome, and every 
 body does it, (and, I fuppofe, every body fays the fame 
 thing,) elfe I fhould tell you a vaft deal about the Colifeum, 
 and the Conclave, and the Capitol, and thefe matters. 
 A-propos du Colifee, if you don't know what it is, the 
 Prince Borghefe will be very capable of giving you fome 
 account of it, who told an Englifhman that afked what it 
 was built for, — " They fay 'twas for Chriftians to fight 
 tigers in." 
 
, [ 315 ] 
 
 We are jufl: come from adoring a great piece of the true 
 crofs, St. Longinus's fpear, and St. Veronica's handkerchief ; 
 all which have been this evening expofed to view in 
 St. Peter's. In the fame place, and on the fame occalion, 
 laft night, Walpole faw a poor creature, naked to the 
 waift, difcipline himfelf with a fcourge filled with iron 
 prickles, till he had made himfelf a raw doublet, that he 
 took for red fatin torn, and fhowing the fkin through. 
 I fhould tell you that he fainted away three times at the 
 fight, and I twice and a half at the repetition of it. All 
 this performed by the light of a vaft fiery crofs, compofed 
 of hundreds of little cryftal lamps, which appear through 
 the great altar under the grand tribuna, as if hanging by 
 itfelf in the air. 
 
 All the confraternities of the city refort thither in folemn 
 proceflion, habited in linen frocks, girt with a cord, and 
 their heads covered with a cowl all over, that has only two 
 holes before to fee through. Some of thefe are all black, 
 others parti-coloured and white ; and with thefe mafque- 
 raders that vaft church is filled, who are feen thumping 
 
[ 3i6 ] 
 
 their breaft, and kiffing the pavement with extreme de- 
 votion. But methinks I am defcribing — 'tis an ill habit, 
 but this, like every thing elfe, will wear off. We have 
 fent you our compliments by a friend of yours, and corref- 
 pondent in a corner, who feems a very agreeable man ; 
 one Mr. Williams : I am forry he ftaid fo little a while in 
 Rome. I forget Porto Bello all this while ; pray let us 
 know where it is, and whether you or Afheton had any 
 hand in the taking of it. Duty to the Admiral. — Adieu ! 
 Ever yours, 
 
 T. Gray. 
 
[ 317 ] 
 
 Letter XXXI. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 Tivoli, May 20, 1740. 
 
 HIS day being in the palace of his Highnefs 
 the Duke of Modena, he laid his moft ferene 
 commands upon me to write to Mr. Weft, 
 and faid he thought it for his glory, that I 
 fliould draw up an inventory of all his moft ferene poflef- 
 ftons for the faid Weft's perufal. — Imprimis, a houfe, being 
 in circumference a quarter of a mile, two feet and an inch ; 
 the faid houfe containing the following particulars, to wit, 
 a great room. Item, another great room ; item, a bigger 
 room ; item, another room ; item, a vaft room ; item, a 
 fixth of the fame ; a feventh ditto ; an eighth as before ; 
 a ninth as abovefaid ; a tenth (fee No. i .) ; item, ten more 
 fuch, befides twenty befides, which, not to be too par- 
 ticular, we fhall pafs over. The faid rooms contain nine 
 
[ 3i8 ] 
 
 chairs, two tables, five ftools and a cricket. From whence 
 we fhall proceed to the garden, containing two millions of 
 fuperfine laurel hedges, a clump of cyprefs trees, and half 
 the river Teverone. Finis. — Dame Nature defired me to 
 put in a lift of her little goods and chattels, and, as they 
 were fmall, to be very minute about them. She has built 
 here three or four little mountains, and laid them out in 
 an irregular femi-circle; from certain others behind, at a 
 greater diftance, fhe has drawn a canal, into which fhe has 
 put a little river of hers, called Anio ; fhe has cut a huge 
 cleft between the two innermoft of her four hills, and 
 there fhe has left it to its own difpofal ; which fhe has no 
 fooner done, but, like a heedlefs chit, it tumbles headlong 
 down a declivity fifty feet perpendicular, breaks itfelf all 
 to fhatters, and is converted into a fhower of rain, where 
 the fun forms many a bow, red, green, blue, and yellow. 
 To get out of our metaphors without any further trouble, 
 it is the moft noble fight in the world. The weight of 
 that quantity of waters, and the force they fall with, have 
 worn the rocks they throw themfelves among into a thou- 
 
/ [ 319 ] 
 
 fand irregular crags, and to a vaft depth. In this channel 
 it goes boiling along with a mighty noife till it comes to 
 another fteep, where you fee it a fecond time come roaring 
 down (but Rrd you mufl: walk two miles farther) a greater 
 height than before, but not with that quantity of waters ; 
 for by this time it has divided itfelf, being crofled and 
 oppofed by the rocks, into four feveral ftreams, each of 
 which, in emulation of the great one, will tumble down 
 too ; and it does tumble down, but not from an equally 
 elevated place ; fo that you have at one view all thefe 
 cafcades intermixed with groves of olive and little woods, 
 the mountains rifing behind them, and on the top of one 
 (that which forms the extremity of one of the half-circle's 
 horns) is feated the town itfelf. At the very extremity of 
 that extremity, on the brink of the precipice, ftands the 
 Sibyl's temple, the remains of a little rotunda, furrounded 
 with its portico, above half of whofe beautiful Corinthian 
 pillars are ftill ftanding and entire ; all this on one hand. 
 On the other, the open Campagna of Rome, here and 
 there a little caftle on a hillock, and the city itfelf on the 
 
[ 320 ] 
 
 very brink of the horizon, indiftindly feen (being 1 8 miles 
 off) except the dome of St. Peter's ; which, if you look 
 out of your window, wherever you are, I fuppofe, you can 
 fee. I did not tell you that a little below the firft fall, on 
 the fide of the rock, and hanging over that torrent, are 
 little ruins which they fhew you for Horace's houfe, a 
 curious fituation to obferve the 
 
 Prasceps Anio, & Tiburni lucus, & uda 
 Mobilibus pomaria rivis." 
 
 Maecenas did not care for fuch a noife, it feems, and built 
 him a houfe (which they alfo carry one to fee) fo fituated 
 that it fees nothing at all of the matter, and for any thing 
 he knew there might be no fuch river in the world. 
 Horace had another houfe on the other fide of the 
 Teverone, oppofite to M^cenas's ; and they told us there 
 was a bridge of communication, by which " andava il 
 detto Signor per traftullarfi coll ifteffo Orazio." In 
 coming hither we croffed the Aquae Albulae, a vile little 
 brook that ftinks like a fury, and they fay it has flunk fo 
 thefe thoufand years. I forgot the Pifcina of Quintilius 
 
/ [ 321 ] 
 
 Varus, where he ufed to keep certain little fiflies. This is 
 very entire, and there is a piece of the aquedud: that 
 fupplied it too ; in the garden below is old Rome, built in 
 little, jufl: as it was, they fay. There are feven temples in 
 it, and no houfes at all ; They fay there were none. 
 
 May 21. 
 
 We have had the pleafure of going twelve miles out of 
 our way to Paleftrina. It has rained all day as if heaven 
 and us were coming together. See my honefty, I do not 
 mention a fy liable of the temple of Fortune, becaufe I 
 really did not fee it; which, I think, is pretty well for an 
 old traveller. So we returned along the Via Prseneftina, 
 faw the Lacus Gabinus and Regillus, where, you know, 
 Caftor and Pollux appeared upon a certain occafion. And 
 many a good old tomb we left on each hand, and many 
 an aquedu6l. 
 
 Dumb are whofe fountains, and their channels dry. 
 
 There are, indeed, two whole modern ones, works of 
 Popes, that run about thirty miles a-piece in length ; one 
 
[ 322 ] 
 
 of them conveys ftill the famous Aqua Virgo to Rome, 
 and adds vaft beauty to the profpedt. So we came to 
 Rome again, where waited for us a fplendidiflimo regalo 
 of letters ; in one of which came You, with your huge 
 characters and wide intervals, ftaring. I would have you 
 to know, I expedt you fhould take a handfome crow-quill 
 when you write to me, and not leave room for a pin's 
 point in four fides of a fLeet of royal. Do you but find 
 matter, I will find fpedlacles. 
 
 I have more time than I thought, and I will employ it 
 in telling you about a ball that we were at the other 
 evening. Figure to yourfelf a Roman villa ; all its little 
 apartments thrown open, and lighted up to the beft ad- 
 vantage. At the upper end of the gallery, a fine concert, 
 in which La Diamantina, a famous virtuofa, played on 
 the violin divinely, and fung angelically ; Giovannino and 
 Pafqualini (great names in mufical ftory) alfo performed 
 miraculoufly. On each fide were ranged all the fecular 
 grand monde of Rome, the Ambafladors, Princefi^es, and 
 all that. Among the reft II Serenifiimo Pretendente (as 
 
/ [ 323 ] 
 
 the Mantova gazette calls him) difplayed his rueful length 
 of perfon, with his two young ones, and all his miniftry 
 around him. " Poi nacque un graziofo ballo," where the 
 world danced, and I fat in a corner regaling myfelf with 
 iced fruits, and other pleafant rinfrefcatives. 
 
[ 324 ] 
 
 Letter XXXII. . 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 Rome, May, 1740. 
 
 ATER rofarum, cui teners vigent 
 Aura Favoni, cui Venus it comes 
 Lafciva, Nympharum choreis 
 Et volucrum celebrata cantu ! 
 Die, non inertem fallere qua diem 
 Amat fub umbra, feu finit aureum 
 Dormire pledlrum, feu retentat 
 Pierio Zephyrinus antro 
 Furore dulci plenus, et immemor 
 Reptantis inter frigora Tufculi 
 Umbrofa, vel coUes amici 
 Palladias fuperantis Albas. 
 
/ [ 325 ] 
 
 Diledla Fauno, et capripedum choris 
 Pineta, teftor vos, Anio minax 
 Quscunque per clivos volutus 
 Prascipiti tremefecit amne, 
 Illius altum Tibur, et iEfulas 
 AudilTe fylvas nomen amabiles, 
 Illius et gratas Latinis 
 
 Naifin ingeminaffe rupes ; 
 Nam me Latincc Naides uvida 
 Videre ripa, qua niveas levi 
 Tam faspe lavit rore plumas 
 Dulce canens Venufinus ales ; 
 Mirum ! canenti conticuit nemus, 
 Sacrique fontes, et retinent adhuc 
 (Sic Mufa juflit) faxa molles 
 Dodla modos, veterefque lauri. 
 Mirare nec tu me citharae rudem 
 Claudis laborantem numeris : loca 
 Amoena, jucundumque ver in- 
 compofitum docuere carmen ; 
 
[ 326 ] 
 
 Hasrent fub omni nam folio nigri 
 Phoebea luci (credite) fomnia, 
 Argutiufque et lympha et aurae 
 Nefcio quid folito loquuntur. 
 
 I am to-day jufl: returned from Alba, a good deal 
 fatigued ; for you know the Appian is fomewhat tire- 
 fome. We dined at Pompey's ; he indeed was gone for a 
 few days to his Tufculan, but, by the care of his Villicus, 
 we made an admirable meal. We had the dugs of a 
 pregnant fow, a peacock, a difh of thrufhes, a noble fcarus 
 jufl: frefh from the Tyrrhene, and fome conchylia of the 
 Lake with garum fauce : For my part I never eat better at 
 Lucullus's table. We drank half-a-dozen cyathi a-piece 
 of ancient Alban to Pholoe's health ; and, after bathing, 
 and playing an hour at ball, we mounted our efledum 
 again, and proceeded up the mount to the temple. The 
 priefts there entertained us with an account of a wonderful 
 fhower of birds' eggs, that had fallen two days before, 
 which had no fooner touched the ground, but they were 
 
/ [ 327 ] 
 
 converted into gudgeons ; as alfo that the night paft, a 
 dreadful voice had been heard out of the Adytum, w^hich 
 fpoke Greek during a full half-hour, but nobody under- 
 ftood it. But quitting my Romanities, to your great joy 
 and mine, let me tell you in plain Englifh, that we come 
 from Albano. The prefent town lies within the inclofure 
 of Pompey's Villa in ruins. The Appian way runs through 
 it, by the fide of which, a little farther, is a large old 
 tomb, with five pyramids upon it, which the learned fup- 
 pofe to be the burying-place of the family, becaufe they 
 do not know whofe it can be elfe. But the vulgar affure 
 you it is the fepulchre of the Curiatii, and by that name 
 (fuch is their power) it goes. One drives to Caftel 
 Gondolfo, a houfe of the Pope's, fituated on the top of 
 one of the Collinette, that forms a brim to the balin, com- 
 monly called the Alban lake. It is feven miles round ; 
 and diredly oppofite to you, on the other fide, rifes the 
 Mons Albanus, much taller than the reft, along whofe fide 
 are ftill difcoverable (not to common eyes) certain little 
 ruins of the old Alba Longa. They had need be very 
 
[ 328 ] 
 
 little, as having been nothing but ruins ever fince the days 
 of Tullus Hoftilius. On its top is a houfe of the Conftable 
 Colonna's, where ftood the temple of Jupiter Latialis. 
 At the foot of the hill Gondolfo, are the famous outlets of 
 the lake, built with hewn ftone, a mile and a half under 
 ground. Livy, you know, amply informs us of the foolifh 
 occafion of this expence, and gives me this opportunity of 
 difplaying all my erudition, that I may appear confiderable 
 in your eyes. This is the profpeil from one window of 
 the palace. From another you have the whole Campagna, 
 the City, Antium, and the Tyrrhene fea (twelve miles 
 diftant) fo diftinguifhable, that you may fee the veflels 
 failing upon it. All this is charming. Mr. Walpole fays, 
 our memory fees more than our eyes in this country. 
 Which is extremely true ; fince, for realities, Windfor, or 
 Richmond Hill, is infinitely preferable to Albano or 
 Frefcati. I am now at home, and going to the window 
 to tell you it is the moft beautiful of Italian nights, which, 
 in truth, are but juft begun (fo backward has the fpring 
 been here, and every where elfe, they fay). There is a 
 
/ [ 329 ] 
 
 moon ! there are ftars for you I Do not you hear the 
 fountain ? Do not you fmell the orange flowers ? That 
 building yonder is the convent of S. Ifldore ; and that 
 eminence, with the cyprefs trees and pines upon it, the top 
 of M. Quirinal. This is all true, and yet my profpedt is not 
 two hundred yards in length. We fend you fome Roman 
 infcriptions to entertain you. The firfl: two are modern, 
 tranfcribed from the Vatican library by Mr. Walpole. 
 
 Pontifices olim quern fundavere priores, 
 
 Prascipua Sixtus perficit arte tholum ;^ 
 Et Sixti tantum fe gloria tollit in altum. 
 
 Quantum fe Sixti nobile tollit opus : 
 Magnus honos magni fundamina ponere templi, 
 
 Sed finem casptis ponere major honos. 
 Saxa agit Amphion, Thebana ut masnia condat : 
 
 Sixtus & immenfas pondera molis agit.^ 
 Saxa trahunt ambo longe diverfa : fed arte 
 
 Hffic trahit Amphion ; Sixtus & arte trahit. 
 At tantum exfuperat Dircasum Amphiona Sixtus, 
 
 Quantum hie exfuperat caetera faxa lapis. 
 
 Mine is ancient, and I think not lefs curious. It is 
 exadly tranfcribed from a fepulchral marble at the villa 
 Giuftiniani. I put flops to it, when I underftand it. 
 
 u u 
 
[ 330 ] 
 
 Dis Manibus 
 
 Claudia^, Piftes 
 
 Primus Conjugi 
 
 Optumae, Sandae, 
 
 Et Piae, Benemeritate. 
 Non aequos, Parcae, ftatuiftis ftamina vitas. 
 Tarn bene compofitos potulftis fede tenere. 
 Amifla eft conjux. cur ego & ipfe moror? 
 Si • bella * efle • mi • ifte • mea • vivere • debuit • 
 Triftia contigerunt qui amifsa conjuge vivo. 
 Nil eft tam miferum, quam totam perdere vitam. 
 Nec vita enafci dura peregiftis crudelia penfa, forores, 
 Ruptaque deficiunt in primo munere fufi. 
 O nimis injuftae ter denos dare munus in annos, 
 Deceptus • grautus • fatum • fic * preflit • egeftas * 
 Dum vitam tulero. Primus Piftes lugea conjugium. 
 
[ 331 ] 
 
 Letter XXXIII. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 Naples, June 17, 1740. 
 
 UR journey hither was through the moft 
 beautiful part of the fineft country in the 
 world ; and every fpot of it on fome account 
 or other, famous for thefe three thoufand 
 years paft. The feafon has hitherto been juft as warm as 
 one would wifh it ; no unwholefome airs, or violent heats, 
 yet heard of : The people call it a backward year, and are 
 in pain about their corn, wine, and oil ; but we, who are 
 neither corn, wine, nor oil, find it very agreeable. Our 
 road was through Velletri, Cifterna, Terracina, Capua, and 
 Averfa, and fo to Naples. The minute one leaves his 
 Holinefs's dominions, the face of things begins to change 
 from wide uncultivated plains to olive groves and well- 
 tilled fields of corn, intermixed with ranks of elms, every 
 
[ 332 ] 
 
 one of which has its vine twining about it, and hanging in 
 feftoons between the rows from one tree to another. The 
 great old fig-trees, the oranges in full bloom, and myrtles 
 in every hedge, make one of the delightfulleft fcenes you 
 can conceive ; befides that, the roads are wide, well-kept, 
 and full of paffengers, a fight I have not beheld this long 
 time. My wonder ftill increafed upon entering the city, 
 which I think for number of people, outdoes both Paris 
 and London. The ftreets are one continued market, and 
 thronged with populace fo much that a coach can hardly 
 pafs. The common fort are a jolly lively kind of animals, 
 more induftrious than Italians ufually are ; they work till 
 evening ; then take their lute or guitar (for they all play) 
 and walk about the city, or upon the fea-fhore with it, to 
 enjoy the frefco. One fees their little brown children 
 jumping about ftark-naked, and the bigger ones dancing 
 with caftanets, while others play on the cymbal to them. 
 Your maps will fhow you the fituation of Naples ; it is on 
 the mofl: lovely bay in the world, and one of the calmefl 
 feas ; It has many other beauties befides thofe of nature. 
 
/ [ 333 ] 
 
 We have fpent two days in vifiting the remarkable places 
 in the country round it, fuch as the bay of Baise, and its 
 remains of antiquity ; the lake Avernus, and the Solfatara, 
 Charon's grotto, &c. We have been in the Sibyl's cave and 
 many other ftrange holes under ground (I only name them 
 becaufe you may confult Sandy's travels) ; but the ftrangeft 
 hole I ever vi^as in, has been to-day at a place called 
 Portici, where his Sicilian Majefty has a country-feat. 
 About a year ago, as they were digging, they difcovered 
 fome parts of ancient buildings above thirty feet deep in 
 the ground : Curiofity led them on, and they have been 
 digging ever fince ; the pafTage they have made, with all 
 its turnings and windings, is now more than a mile long. 
 As you walk you fee parts of an amphitheatre, many 
 houfes adorned with marble columns, and incrufted with 
 the fame ; the front of a temple, feveral arched vaults of 
 rooms painted in frefco. Some pieces of painting have 
 been taken out from hence finer than any thing of the 
 kind before difcovered, and with thefe the king has adorned 
 his palace ; alfo a number of flatues, medals, and gems ; 
 
[ 334 ] 
 
 and more are dug out every day. This is known to be 
 a Roman town, that in the emperor Titus's time was over- 
 whelmed by a furious eruption of Mount Vefuvius, which 
 is hard by. The wood and beams remain fo perfect that 
 you may fee the grain ! but burnt to a coal, and dropping 
 into duft upon the leafi: touch. We were to-day at the 
 foot of that mountain, which at prefent fmokes only a 
 little, where we faw the materials that fed the ftream of 
 fire, which about four years fince ran down its fide. We 
 have but a few days longer to ftay here ; too little in 
 confcience for fuch a place. -5^ * * 
 
[ 335 ] 
 
 Letter XXXIV. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS FATHER. 
 
 Florence, July 16, 1740. 
 
 T my return to this city, the day before 
 yefterday, I had the pleafure of finding 
 yours dated June the 9th. The period of 
 our voyages, at leaft towards the South, is 
 come as you wifh. We have been at Naples, fpent nine 
 or ten days there, and returned to Rome, where finding 
 no likelihood of a Pope yet thefe three months, and quite 
 wearied with the formal affemblies and little fociety of 
 that great city, Mr. Walpole determined to return hither 
 to fpend the fummer, where he imagines he fhall pafs his 
 time more agreeably than in the tedious expedtation of 
 what, when it happens, will only be a great fhow. For 
 my own part, I give up the thoughts of all that with but 
 little regret ; but the city itfelf I do not part with fo eafily, 
 
[ 336 ] 
 
 which alone has amiifements for whole years. However, 
 I have pafled through all that moft people do, both ancient 
 and modern ; what that is you may fee better than I can 
 tell you, in a thoufand books. The Conclave we left in 
 greater uncertainty than ever ; the more than ordinary 
 liberty they enjoy there, and the unufual coolnefs of the 
 feafon, makes the confinement lefs difagreeable to them 
 than common, and confequently maintains them in their 
 irrefolution. There have been very high words, one or 
 two (it is faid) have come even to blows; two more are 
 dead within this laft month, Cenci and Portia ; the latter 
 died diftraded : and we left another (Altieri) at the ex- 
 tremity : Yet nobody dreams of an election till the latter 
 end of September. All this gives great fcandal to all good 
 catholics, and every body talks very freely on the fubjedl. 
 The Pretender (whom you defire an account of) I have 
 had frequent opportunities of feeing at church, at the corfo, 
 and other places; but more particularly, and that for a 
 whole night, at a great ball given by Count Patrizii to the 
 Prince and Princefs Craon, (who were come to Rome at 
 
/ C 337 ] 
 
 that time, that he might receive from the hands of the 
 Emperor's minifter there, the order of the golden fleece) 
 at which he and his two fons were prefent. They are 
 good fine boys, efpecially the younger, who has the more 
 fpirit of the two, and both danced inceflantly all night 
 long. For him, he is a thin ill-made man, extremely tall 
 and awkward, of a moft unpromifing countenance, a good 
 deal refembling King James the Second, and has extremely 
 the air and look of an idiot, particularly when he laughs 
 or prays. The firfl: he does not often, the latter continually. 
 He lives private enough with his little court about him, 
 confifting of Lord Dunbar, who manages every thing, and 
 two or three of the Prefton Scotch Lords, who would be 
 very glad to make their peace at home. 
 
 We happened to be at Naples on Corpus Chrifti Day, 
 the greatefl: feaft in the year, fo had an opportunity of 
 feeing their Sicilian Majefties to advantage. The King 
 walked in the grand proceflion, and the Queen (being big 
 with child) fat in a balcony. He followed the HofI: to 
 the Church of St. Clara, where high mafs was celebrated 
 
 X X 
 
[ 338 ] 
 
 to a glorious concert of mufic. They are as ugly a little 
 pair as one can fee : fhe a pale girl marked with the fmall- 
 pox ; and he a brown boy with a thin face, a huge nofe, 
 and as ungain as poflible. 
 
 We are fettled here with Mr. Mann in a charming 
 apartment ; the river Arno runs under our windows, which 
 we can fi£h out of. The fky is fo ferene, and the air fo 
 temperate, that one continues in the open air all night long 
 in a flight nightgown without any danger ; and the marble 
 bridge is the refort of every body, where they hear mufic, 
 eat iced fruits, and fup by moonlight ; though as yet (the 
 feafon being extremely backward every where) thefe amufe- 
 ments are not begun. You fee we are now coming north- 
 ward again, though in no great hafte ; the Venetian and 
 Milanefe territories, and either Germany or the South of 
 France, (according to the turn the war may take,) are all 
 that remain for us, that we have not yet feen ; as to 
 Loretto, and that part of Italy, we have given over all 
 thoughts of it. 
 
[ 339 ] 
 
 Letter XXXV. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 Florence, July 16, 1740. 
 
 OU do yourfelf and me juftice, in imagining 
 that you merit, and that I am capable of 
 fincerity. I have not a thought, or even a 
 weaknefsj I delire to conceal from you ; and 
 confequently on my fide deferve to be treated with the 
 fame opennefs of heart. My vanity perhaps might make 
 me more referved towards you, if you were one of the 
 heroic race, fuperior to all human failings ; but as mutual 
 wants are the ties of general fociety, fo are mutual weak- 
 nefles of private friendfhips, fuppofing them mixt with 
 fome proportion of good qualities ; for where one may not 
 fometimes blame, one does not much care ever to praife. 
 All this has the air of an introdu6lion defigned to foften a 
 very harfh reproof that is to follow; but it is no fuch matter: 
 
[ 340 ] 
 
 I only meant to afk, Why did you change your lodging ? 
 Was the air bad, or the fituation melancholy ? If fo, you ^ 
 are quite in the right. Only, is it not putting yourfelf a 
 little out of the way of a people, with whom it feems 
 neceflary to keep up fome fort of intercourfe and conver- 
 fation, though but little for your pleafure or entertainment, 
 (yet there are, I believe, fuch among them as might give 
 you both,) at leafl: for your information in that ftudy, 
 which, when I left you, you thought of applying to ? for 
 that there is a certain ftudy neceflary to be followed, if we 
 mean to be of any ufe in the world, I take for granted ; 
 difagreeable enough (as mofl: neceflities are) but, I am 
 afraid, unavoidable. Into how many branches thefe ftudies 
 are divided in England, every body knows ; and between 
 that which you and I had pitched upon and the other two, 
 it was impoflible to balance long. Examples fhew one 
 that it is not abfolutely neceflary to be a blockhead to 
 fucceed in this profeflion. The labour is long, and the 
 elements dry and unentertaining ; nor was ever any body 
 (efpecially thofe that afterwards made a figure in it) amufed 
 
/ [ 341 ] 
 
 or even not difgufted in the beginning ; yet upon a further 
 acquaintance, there is furely matter for curiofity and 
 refledion. It is ftrange if, among all that huge mafs of 
 words, there be not fomewhat intermixed for thought. 
 Laws have been the refult of long deliberation, and that 
 not of dull men, but the contrary ; and have fo clofe a 
 connection with hiftory, nay, with philofophy itfelf, that 
 they mufi: partake a little of what they are related to fo 
 nearly. Befides, tell me, have you ever made the attempt ? 
 Was not you frighted merely with the diftant profpedl ? 
 Had the Gothic charader and bulkinefs of thofe volumes 
 (a tenth part of which perhaps it will be no further necef- 
 fary to confult, than as one does a didionary) no ill effed: 
 upon your eye ? Are you fure, if Coke had been printed 
 by Elzevir, and bound in twenty neat pocket volumes, 
 inftead of one folio, you fhould never have taken him for 
 an hour, as you would a Tully, or drank your tea over 
 him ? I know how great an obftacle ill fpirits are to 
 refolution. Do you really think, if you rid ten miles every 
 morning, in a week's time you fhould not entertain much 
 
[ 342 ] 
 
 ftronger hopes of the Chancellorlliip, and think it a much 
 more probable thing than you do at prefent? The ad- 
 vantages you mention are not nothing ; our inclinations 
 are more than we imagine in our own power; reafon and 
 refolution determine them, and fupport under many diffi- 
 culties. To me there hardly appears to be any medium 
 between a public life and a private one ; he who prefers 
 the firft, mufl: put himfelf in a way of being ferviceable to 
 the reft of mankind, if he has a mind to be of any confe- 
 quence among them : Nay, he muft not refufe being in a 
 certain degree even dependent upon fome men who are fo 
 already. If he has the good fortune to light on fuch as 
 will make no ill ufe of his humility, there is no fhame in 
 this : If not, his ambition ought to give place to a reafon- 
 able pride, and he fhould apply to the cultivation of his 
 own mind thofe abilities which he has not been permitted 
 to ufe for others' fervice. Such a private happinefs (fup- 
 pofing a fmall competence of fortune) is almoft always in 
 every one's power, and the proper enjoyment of age, as the 
 other is the employment of youth. You are yet young, 
 
/ [ 343 ] 
 
 have fome advantages and opportunities, and an undoubted 
 capacity, w^hich you have never yet put to the trial. Set 
 apart a fev^^ hours, fee how the firfl: year will agree with 
 you, at the end of it you are ftill the mafter ; if you change 
 your mind, you will only have got the knowledge of a 
 little fomewhat that can do no hurt, or give you caufe of 
 repentance. If your inclination be not fixed upon any 
 thing elfe, it is a fymptom that you are not abfolutely 
 determined againfl: this, and warns you not to miftake mere 
 indolence for inability. I am fenfible there is nothing 
 flronger againfl: what I would perfuade you to, than my 
 own pradlice ; which may make you imagine I think not 
 as I fpeak. Alas ! it is not fo ; but I do not a6l what 
 I think, and I had rather be the objed of your pity, 
 than you fhould be that of mine; and be afTured, the 
 advantage that I may receive from it, does not diminifh 
 my concern in hearing you want fomebody to converfe 
 with freely, whofe advice might be of more weight, and 
 always at hand. We have fome time fince come to the 
 fouthern period of our voyages ; we fpent about nine days 
 
[ 344 ] 
 
 at Naples. It is the largeft and mofi: populous city, as its 
 environs are the moft delicioufly fertile country, of all Italy. 
 We failed in the bay of Baias, fweated in the Solfatara, and 
 died in the grotto del Cane, as all ftrangers do ; faw the 
 Corpus Chrifti proceflion, and the King and the Queen, 
 and the city underground, (which is a wonder I referve to 
 tell you of another time,) and fo returned to Rome for 
 another fortnight ; left it (left Rome !) and came hither for 
 the fummer. You have feen an Epiftle to Mr. Afhton,'^ 
 that feems to me to be full of fpirit and thought, and a 
 good deal of poetic fire. I would know your opinion. 
 Now I talk of verfes, Mr. Walpole and I have frequently 
 wondered you fhould never mention a certain imitation of 
 Spenfer, publifhed laft year by a namefake^ of yours, with 
 which we are all enraptured and enmarvailed. 
 
[ 345 ] 
 
 Letter XXXVI. 
 
 MR. WALPOLE AND MR. GRAY TO 
 MR. WEST. 
 
 Dear West, Florence, July 31, 1740, N. S. 
 
 HAVE advifed with the moft noteable anti- 
 quarians of this city, on the meaning of 
 Thur gut Luetis ; I can get no fatisfadory 
 interpretation. In my own opinion 'tis 
 Welfh. I don't love offering conjedures on a language 
 in which I have hitherto made little proficiency, but I will 
 truft you with my explication. You know the famous 
 Aglaughlan, mother of Cadwalladhor, was renowned for 
 her conjugal virtues, and grief on the death of her royal 
 fpoufe. I conclude this medal was ftruck in her regency, 
 by her exprefs order, to the memory of her Lord, and that 
 the infcription, Thur gut Luetis^ means no more than her 
 dear Llewis^ or Llewellin. 
 
 Y Y 
 
[ 346 ] 
 
 In return for your coins I fend you two or three of 
 different kinds. The firfl: is a money of one of the 
 kings of Naples ; the device a horfe ; the motto, Equitas 
 regni. This curious pun is on a coin in the Great Duke's 
 colledion, and by great chance I have met with a fecond. 
 Another is a fatirical medal ftruck on Lewis XIV. ; 'tis a 
 bomb, covered with flower-de-luces, burfting, the motto, 
 Se iffijjimo. The lafl:, and almoft the only one I ever faw 
 with a text well applied, is a German medal, with a 
 rebellious town befleged and blocked up ; the infcription, 
 This kind is not expelled but by fajling. 
 
 Now I mention medals, have they yet ftruck the in- 
 tended one on the taking Porto Bello ? Admiral Vernon 
 will fhine in our medallic hiftory. We have juft received 
 the news of the bombarding Carthagena, and the taking 
 Chagre. We are in great expedlation of fome important 
 victory obtained by the fquadron under Sir John Norris : 
 we are told the Duke is to be of the expedition ; is it true ? 
 All the letters too talk of France's fuddenly declaring war ; 
 I hope they will defer it for a feafon, or one fliall be 
 
/ [ 347 ] 
 
 obliged to come through Germany. The Conclave ftill 
 fubfiifts, and the divifions ftill increafe ; it was very near 
 feparating laft week, but by breaking into two Popes ; they 
 were on the dawn of a fchifm. Aldovrandi had thirty- 
 three voices for three days, but could not procure the 
 requilite two more ; the Camerlingo having engaged his 
 fadion to Hgn a proteftation againfl: him, and each party 
 were inclined to eled. 
 
 I don't know whether one fliould wifh for a fchifm or 
 not; it might probably rekindle the zeal for the church 
 in the powers of Europe, which has been fo far decaying. 
 On Wednefday we exped: a third fhe-meteor. Thofe 
 
 learned luminaries the ladies P and W are to be 
 
 joined by the lady M W M . You have not 
 
 been witnefs to the rhapfody of myftic nonfenfe which 
 thefe two fair ones debate inceflantly, and confequently 
 cannot figure what muft be the iffue of this triple alliance ; 
 we have fome idea of it. Only figure the coalition of 
 prudery, debauchery, fentiment, hiftory, Greek, Latin, 
 French, Italian, and metaphyfics; all except the fecond 
 
[ 348 ] 
 
 underftood by halves, by quarters, or not at all. You fhall 
 have the journals of this notable academy. Adieu, my 
 dear Weft. Yours ever, 
 
 HoR. Walpole. 
 
 Though far unworthy to enter into fo learned and political 
 a correfpondence, I am employed pour barbouiller une 
 page de fept pouces et demie en hauteur, et cinq en 
 largeur ; and to inform you that we are at Florence, a 
 city of Italy, and the capital of Tufcany ; the latitude I 
 cannot juftly tell, but it is governed by a Prince called 
 Great Duke ; an excellent place to employ all one's animal 
 fenfations in, but utterly contrary to one's rational powers. 
 I have ftruck a medal upon myfelf : the device is thus, O, 
 and the motto NihiliJJlmo^ which I take in the moft concife 
 manner to contain a full account of my perfon, fentiments, 
 occupations, and late glorious fuccefles. If you choofe to 
 be annihilated too, you cannot do better than undertake 
 this journey. Here you fhall get up at twelve o'clock, 
 breakfaft till three, dine till five, fleep till fix, drink cooling 
 
/ [ 349 ] 
 
 liquors till eight, go to the bridge till ten, fup till two, and 
 fo fleep till twelve again. 
 
 Lahore fefli venimus ad larem noftrum 
 Defideratoque acquiefcimus ledto : 
 Hoc eft, quod unum eft, pro laboribus tantis. 
 O quid folutis eft beatius curis ? 
 
 We fhall never come home again ; a univerfal war is juft 
 upon the point of breaking out; all out-lets will be lliut 
 up. I fhall be fecure in my nothingnefs, while you that 
 will be fo abfurd as to exift, will envy me. You don't 
 tell me what proficiency you make in the noble fcience of 
 defence. Don't you ftart ftill at the found of a gun ? 
 Have you learned to fay Ha ! ha ! and is your neck clothed 
 with thunder ? Are your whifkers of a tolerable length ? 
 And have you got drunk yet with brandy and gunpowder ? 
 Adieu, noble Captain ! 
 
 T. Gray. 
 
[ 350 ] 
 
 Letter XXXVII. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 Florence, Aug. 21, N. S. 1740. 
 
 ,T is fome time fince I have had the pleafure 
 of writing to you, having been upon a little 
 excurfion crofs the mountains to Bologna. 
 We fet out from hence at fun-fet, pafled the 
 Appennines by moon-light, travelling inceffantly till we 
 came to Bologna at four in the afternoon next day. There 
 we fpent a week agreeably enough, and returned as we 
 came. The day before yefterday arrived the news of a 
 Pope ; and I have the mortification of being within four 
 days journey of Rome, and not feeing his coronation, the 
 heats being violent, and the infedious air now at its height. 
 We had an inftance, the other day, that it is not only 
 fancy. Two country fellows, ftrong men, and ufed to the 
 
/ [ 351 ] 
 
 country about Rome, having occafion to come from thence 
 hither, and travelling on foot, as common w^ith them, one 
 died fuddenly on the road ; the other got hither, but 
 extremely weak, and in a manner ftupid ; he was carried 
 to the hofpital, but died in two days. So, between fear 
 and lazinefs, we remain here, and muft be fatisfied with 
 the accounts other people give us of the matter. The 
 new Pope is called Benedict XIV. being created Cardinal 
 by Benedid XIII. the laft Pope but one. His name is 
 Lambertini, a noble Bolognefe, and Archbifliop of that 
 city. When I was firfl: there I remember to have feen 
 him two or three times ; he is a fhort, fat man, about 
 fixty-five years of age, of a hearty, merry countenance, 
 and likely to live fome years. He bears a good charader 
 for generoHty, affability, and other virtues ; and, they fay, 
 wants neither knowledge nor capacity. The worfl: fide of 
 him is, that he has a nephew or two ; befides a certain 
 young favourite, called Melara, who is faid to have had, 
 for fome time, the arbitrary difpofal of his purfe and 
 family. He is reported to have made a little fpeech to 
 
[ 352 ] 
 
 the Cardinals in the Conclave, while they were undeter- 
 mined about an eledion, as follows : " Moft eminent 
 Lords, here are three Bolognefe of different characSters, but 
 all equally proper for the Popedom. If it be your pleafures 
 to pitch upon a Saint, there is Cardinal Gotti ; if upon a 
 Politician, there is Aldrovandi; if upon a Booby, here 
 am I." The Italian is much more expreflive, and, indeed, 
 not to be tranflated ; wherefore, if you meet with any 
 body that underftands it, you may fhow them what he 
 faid in the language he fpoke it. " Emin'^""' Sigr'. Ci 
 fiamo tre, diverfi si, ma tutti idonei al Papato. Si vi 
 piace un Santo, c' e I'Gotti ; fe volete una tefta fcaltra, e 
 Politica, c' e I'Aldrovandi ; fe un Coglione, ecco mi ! " 
 Cardinal Cofcia is reftored to his liberty, and, it is faid, 
 will be to all his benefices. Corfini (the late Pope's 
 nephew) as he has had no hand in this eledion, it is hoped, 
 will be called to account for all his villanous pradices. 
 The Pretender, they fay, has refigned all his pretenfions to 
 his eldeft boy, and will accept of the Grand Chancellor- 
 fhip, which is thirty thoufand crowns a-year ; the penfion 
 
/ [ 353 ] 
 
 he has at prefent is only twenty thoufand. I do not 
 affirm the truth of this article ; becaufe, if he does, it is 
 necelTary he fhould take the ecclefiaftical habit, and it will 
 found mighty odd to be called his Majefty the Chancellor. 
 So ends my Gazette. 
 
[ 354 ] 
 
 Letter XXXVIII. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 Florence, Sept. 25, N. S. 1740. 
 
 HAT I fend you now, as long as it is, is but 
 a piece of a poem. It has the advantage of 
 all fragments, to need neither introdudion 
 nor conclufion : Befides, if you do not like it, 
 it is but imagining that which went before, and came after, 
 to be infinitely better. Look in Sandy's Travels for the 
 hiftory of Monte Barbaro, and Monte Nuovo. 
 
 " Weft of Cicero's villa ftands the eminent Gaurus, a 
 " ftony and defolate mountain, in which there are diverfe 
 " obfcure caverns, choked almoft with earth, where many 
 " have confumed much fruitlefs induftry in fearching for 
 " treafure. The famous Lucrine Lake extended formerly 
 " from Avernus to the aforefaid Gaurus : But is now no 
 
I [ 355 ] 
 
 other than a little fedgy plafh, choked up by the horrible 
 and aftonifhing eruption of the new mountain : whereof, 
 as oft as I think, I am eafy to credit whatfoever is 
 wonderful. For who here knows not, or who elfewhere 
 will believe, that a mountain fhould arife, (partly out of 
 a lake and partly out of the fea,) in one day and a night, 
 unto fuch a height as to contend in altitude with the 
 high mountains adjoining ? In the year of our Lord 
 1538, on the 29th of September, when for certain days 
 foregoing the country hereabout was fo vexed with per- 
 petual earthquakes, as no one houfe was left fo entire as 
 not to expeft an immediate ruin ; after that the fea had 
 retired two hundred paces from the fhore, (leaving 
 abundance of fifh, and fprings of frefh water rifing in 
 the bottom,) this mountain vifibly afcended about the 
 fecond hour of the night, with an hideous roaring, 
 horribly vomiting ftones and fuch ftore of cinders as 
 overwhelmed all the building thereabout, and the falu- 
 brious baths of Tripergula, for fo many ages celebrated ; 
 confumed the vines to afhes, killing birds and beafts : the 
 
[ 356 ] 
 
 " fearful inhabitants of Puzzol flying through the dark 
 " with their wives and children ; naked, defiled, crying 
 " out, and detefting their calamities. Manifold mifchiefs 
 " have they fuffered by the barbarous, yet none like this 
 
 " which Nature inflidled. This new mountain, when 
 
 " newly raifed, had a number of ifiues ; at fome of them 
 " fmoking and fometimes flaming; at others difgorging 
 " rivulets of hot waters ; keeping within a terrible rum- 
 " bling; and many miferably perifhed that ventured to 
 " defcend into the hollownefs above. But that hollow on 
 " the top is at prefent an orchard, and the mountain 
 " throughout is bereft of its terrors." — Sandy's Travels^ 
 book iv. pages 275, 277, and 278. 
 
 Nec procul infelix fe tollit in aethera Gaurus, 
 Profpiciens vitreum lugenti vertice pontum : 
 Triftior ille diu, et veteri defuetus oliva 
 Gaurus, pampineaeque, eheu I jam nefcius umbrae ; 
 Horrendi tam faeva premit vicinia montis, 
 Attonitumque urget latus, exuritque ferentem. 
 
/ C 357 ] 
 
 Nam fama eft olim, media dum rura lilebant 
 Nodte, Deo vida, et molli perfufa quiete, 
 Infremuifte aquor ponti, auditamque per omnes 
 Late tellurem furdum immugire cavernas : 
 Quo fonitu nemora alta tremunt : tremit excita tuto 
 Parthenopasa finu, flammantifque ora Vefevi. 
 At fubito fe aperire folum, vaftofque receftus 
 Pandere fub pedibus, nigraque voragine fauces ; 
 Tum piceas cinerum glomerare fub aethere nubes 
 Vorticibus rapidis, ardentique imbre procellam. 
 Praecipites fugere ferse, perque avia longe 
 Sylvarum fugit paftor, juga per deferta, 
 Ah, mifer ! increpitans faspe alta voce per umbram 
 Nequicquam natos, creditque audire fequentes. 
 Atque ille excelfo rupis de vertice folus 
 Refpedlans notafque domos, et dulcia regna, 
 Nil ufquam videt infelix praeter mare trifti 
 Lumine percuflum, et pallentes fulphure campos 
 Fumumque, flammafque, rotataque turbine faxa. 
 
 Quin ubi detonuit fragor, et lux reddita coelo 5 
 
[ 358 ] 
 
 M^eftos confluere agricolas, pafTuque videres 
 Tandem iterum timido deferta requirere teda : 
 Sperantes, fi forte oculis, fi forte darentur 
 Uxorum cineres, miferorumve ofTa parentum 
 (Tenuia, fed tanti faltem folatia ludlus) 
 Una colligere et jufta componere in urna. 
 Uxorum nufquam cineres, nufquam ofla parentum 
 (Spem miferam !) affuetofve Lares, aut rura videbunt. 
 Quippe ubi planities campi diffufa jacebat ; 
 Mons novus : ille fupercilium, frontemque favilla 
 Incanum oftentans, ambuftis cautibus, aequor 
 Subjedum, ftragemque fuam, masfta arva, minaci 
 Defpicit imperio, foloque in littore regnat. 
 
 Hinc infame loci nomen, multofque per annos 
 Immemor antiquae laudis, nefcire labores 
 Vomeris, et nullo tellus revirefcere cultu. 
 Non avium colles, non carmine matutino 
 Paftorum refonare ; adeo undique dirus habebat 
 Informes late horror agros faltufque vacantes. 
 Saspius et longe detorquens navita proram 
 
/ [ 359 ] 
 
 Monftrabat digito littus, faevaeque revolvens 
 Funera narrabat nodis, veteremque ruinam. 
 
 Montis adhuc facies manet hirta atque afpera faxis : 
 Sed furor extindus jamdudum, et flamma quievit, 
 Quae nafcenti aderat ; feu forte bituminis atri 
 Defluxere olim rivi, atque effoeta lacuna 
 Pabula fufficere ardori, virefque recufat ; 
 Sive in vifceribus meditans incendia jam nunc 
 (Horrendum) arcanis glomerat genti effe futurae 
 Exitio, fparfos tacitufque recolligit ignes. 
 
 Raro per clivos baud fecius ordine vidi 
 Canefcentem oleam : longum poft tempus amidi 
 Vite virent tumuli ; patriamque revifere gaudens 
 Bacchus in affuetis tenerum caput exerit arvis 
 Vix tandem, infidoque audet fe credere ccelo. 
 
 There was a certain little ode fet out from Rome in a 
 letter of recommendation to you, but poflibly fell into the 
 enemies' hands, for I never heard of its arrival. It is a 
 little impertinent to enquire after its w^elfare ; but you. 
 
[ 36o ] 
 
 that are a father, will excufe a parent's foolifli fondnefs. 
 LafI: poft I received a very diminutive letter : It made 
 excufes for its unentertainingnefs, very little to the purpofe ; 
 fince it aflured me, very ftrongly, of your efteem, which is 
 to me the thing; all the reft appear but as the petits 
 agremens, the garnifhing of the difh. P. Bougeant, in his 
 Langage des Betes, fancies that your birds, who continually 
 repeat the fame note, fay only in plain terms, " Je vous 
 aime, ma chere ; ma chere, je vous aime and that thofe 
 of greater genius indeed, with various trills, run divifions 
 upon the fubjedl; but that the fond^ from whence it all 
 proceeds, is " toujours je vous aime." Now you may, as 
 you find yourfelf dull or in humour, either take me for a 
 chaffinch or nightingale ; fing your plain fong, or {how 
 your fkill in mufic, but in the bottom let there be, toujours 
 de I'amitie. 
 
 As to what you call my ferious letter ; be affiared, that 
 your future ftate is to me entirely indifferent. Do not be 
 angry, but hear me ; I mean with refped to myfelf. For 
 whether you be at the top of Fame, or entirely unknown 
 
, [ 36i ] 
 
 to mankind ; at the Council-table, or at Dick's coffee- 
 houfe ; fick and fimple, or well and wife ; whatever alter- 
 ation mere accident works in you, (fuppofing it utterly 
 impoffible for it to make any change in your fincerity and 
 
 honefty, fince thefe are conditions fine qua non) I do not 
 fee any likelihood of my not being yours ever. 
 
[ 362 ] 
 
 Letter XXXIX. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS FATHER. 
 
 Florence, 061, 9, 1740. 
 
 ^HE beginning of next fpring is the time de- 
 termined for our return at furtheft ; pofTibly 
 it may be before that time. How the interim 
 will be employed, or what route we fhall 
 take is not fo certain. If we remain friends with France, 
 upon leaving this country we fhall crofs over to Venice, 
 and fo return through the cities north of the Po to Genoa ; 
 from thence take a felucca to Marfeilles, and come back 
 through Paris. If the contrary fall out, which feems not 
 unlikely, we mufl: take the Milanefe, and thofe parts of 
 Italy, in our way to Venice ; from thence pafs through 
 the Tirol into Germany, and come home by the Low- 
 Countries. As for Florence, it has been gayer than ordi- 
 nary for this laft month, being one round of balls and 
 
/ [ 363 ] 
 
 entertainments, occafioned by the arrival of a great 
 Milanefe Lady ; for the only thing the Italians fhine in, is 
 their reception of ftrangers. At fuch times every thing is 
 magnificence : The more remarkable, as in their ordinary 
 courfe of life they are parfimonious, even to a degree of 
 naftinefs. I faw in one of the vafteft palaces in Rome 
 (that of Prince Pamfilio) the apartment which he himfelf 
 inhabited, a bed that moft fervants in England would dif- 
 dain to lie in, and furniture much like that of a foph at 
 Cambridge, for convenience and neatnefs. This man is 
 worth 30,000/. fterling a year. As for eating, there are 
 not two Cardinals in Rome that allow more than fix paoli, 
 which is three fhillings a day, for the expence of their 
 table : and you may imagine they are ftill lefs extravagant 
 here than there. But when they receive a vifit from any 
 friend, their houfes and perfons are fet out to the greateft 
 advantage, and appear in all their fplendour ; it is, indeed, 
 from a motive of vanity, and with the hopes of having it 
 repaid them with intereft, whenever they have occafion to 
 return the vifit. I call vifits going from one city of Italy 
 
[ 36+ ] 
 
 to another ; for it is not fo among acquaintance of the 
 fame place on common occafions. The new Pope has 
 retrenched the charges of his own table to a fequin (ten 
 fhillings) a meal. The applaufe which all he fays and does 
 meets with, is enough to encourage him really to deferve 
 fame. They fay he is an able and honeft man ; he is 
 reckoned a wit too. The other day, when the Senator of 
 Rome came to wait upon him, at the firft compliments he 
 made him, the Pope pulled off his cap : His Mafter of the 
 Ceremonies, who flood by his fide, touched him foftly, as 
 to warn him that fuch a condefcendon was too great in 
 him, and out of all manner of rule : Upon which he 
 turned to him and faid, " Oh 1 I cry you mercy, good 
 Mafler, it is true, I am but a Novice of a Pope ; I have 
 not yet fo much as learned ill manners." * * * 
 
[ 365 ] 
 
 Letter XL. 
 MR. GRAY TO HIS FATHER. 
 
 Florence, Jan. 12, 1741. 
 
 E ftill continue conftant at Florence, at pre- 
 fent one of the dulleft cities in Italy. Though 
 it is the middle of the Carnival there are no 
 public diverfions ; nor is mafquerading per- 
 mitted as yet. The Emperor's obfequies are to be cele- 
 brated publicly the i6th of this month; and after that, it 
 is imagined every thing will go on in its ufual courfe. In 
 the mean time, to employ the minds of the populace, the 
 Government has thought fit to bring into the city in a 
 folemn manner, and at a great expence, a famous ftatue of 
 the Virgin called the Madonna delF Impruneta, from the 
 place of her refidence, which is upon a mountain feven 
 miles off. It never has been pradifed but at times of 
 public calamity ; and was done at prefent to avert the ill 
 
[ 366 ] 
 
 effeds of a late great inundation, which it was feared might 
 caufe fome epidemical diftemper. It was introduced a 
 fortnight ago in proceflion, attended by the Council of 
 Regency, the Senate, the Nobility, and all the Religious 
 Orders, on foot and bare-headed, and fo carried to the 
 great church, where it was frequented by an infinite con- 
 courfe of people from all the country round. Among the 
 reft I paid my devotions almoft every day, and faw num- 
 bers of people poflefTed with the devil who were brought 
 to be exorcifed. It was indeed in the evening, and the 
 church-doors were always fhut before the ceremonies were 
 finifhed, fo that I could not be eye-witnefs of the event ; 
 but that they were all cured is certain, for one never heard 
 any more of them the next morning. I am to-night juft 
 returned from feeing our Lady make her exit with the 
 fame folemnities fhe entered. The fhow had a finer effedt 
 than before ; for it was dark ; and every body (even thofe 
 of the mob that could afford it) bore a white wax flambeau. 
 I believe there were at leaft five thoufand of them, and the 
 march was near three hours in pafiing before the window. 
 
, [ 367 ] 
 
 The fubje^l of all this devotion is fuppofed to be a large 
 Tile with a rude figure in bas-relief upon it. I fay fup- 
 pofed, becaufe fince the time it was found (for it was found 
 in the earth in ploughing) only two people have feen it ; 
 the one was, by good luck, a faint ; the other was ftruck 
 blind for his prefumption. Ever fince fhe has been 
 covered with feven veils ; neverthelefs, thofe who approach 
 her tabernacle caft their eyes down, for fear they fhould 
 fpy her through all her veils. Such is the hiftory, as I had 
 it from the Lady of the houfe where I ftood to fee her 
 pafs ; with many other circumftances ; all which fhe 
 firmly believes, and ten thoufand befides. 
 
 We fhall go to Venice in about fix weeks, or fooner. 
 A number of German troops are upon their march into 
 this State, in cafe the King of Naples thinks proper to 
 attack it. It is certain he has afked the Pope's leave for 
 his troops to pafs through his country. The Tufcans in 
 general are much difcontented, and foolifh enough to wifh 
 for a Spanifh government, or any rather than this. ^ 
 
[ 368 ] 
 
 Letter XLI. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 Florence, April 21, 1741. 
 
 KNOW not what degree of fatisfadlion it will 
 give you to be told that we fhall fet out 
 from hence the 24th of this month, and not 
 ftop above a fortnight at any place in our 
 way. This I feel, that you are the principal pleafure I 
 have to hope for in my own country. Try at leafi: to 
 make me imagine myfelf not indifferent to you ; for I muft 
 own I have the vanity of defiring to be efteemed by fome- 
 body, and would choofe that fomebody fhould be one 
 whom I efteem as much as I do you. As I am recom- 
 mending myfelf to your love, methinks I ought to fend 
 you my pidture (for I am no more what I was, fome 
 circumftances excepted, which I hope I need not particu- 
 larize to you) ; you muft add then, to your former idea, 
 
; [ 369 ] 
 
 two years of age, a reafonable quantity of dullnefs, a great 
 deal of filence, and fomething that rather refembles, than 
 is, thinking ; a confufed notion of many ftrange and fine 
 things that have fwum before my eyes for fome time, a 
 want of love for general fociety, indeed an inability to it. 
 On the good fide you may add a fenfibility for what others 
 feel, and indulgence for their faults and weaknefifes, a love 
 of truth, and deteftation of every thing elfe. Then you 
 are to dedud: a little impertinence, a little laughter, a great 
 deal of pride, and fome fpirits. Thefe are all the altera- 
 tions I know of, you perhaps may find more. Think not 
 that I have been obliged for this reformation of manners 
 to reafon or reflexion, but to a feverer fchool-miftrefs, 
 Experience. One has little merit in learning her lefi!bns, 
 for one cannot well help it ; but they are more ufeful than 
 others, and imprint themfelves in the very heart, I find 
 I have been haranguing in the ftyle of the Son of Sirach, 
 fo fhall finifii here, and tell you that our route is fettled as 
 follows : Firft to Bologna for a few days, to hear the 
 Vifcontina fing ; next to Reggio, where is a Fair. Now, 
 
 3 B 
 
[ 370 ] 
 
 you muft know, a Fair here is not a place where one eats 
 gingerbread or rides upon hobby -horfes ; here are no 
 mulical clocks, nor tall Leicefterfhire women ; one has 
 nothing but mafquing, gaming, and iinging. If you love 
 operas, there will be the moft fplendid in Italy, four tip- 
 top voices, a new theatre, the Duke and Duchefs in all 
 their pomps and vanities. Does not this found magnificent ? 
 Yet is the city of Reggio but one ftep above Old Brentford. 
 Well ; next to Venice by the 1 1 th of May, there to fee 
 the old Doge wed the Adriatic Whore. Then to Verona, 
 fo to Milan, fo to Marfeilles, fo to Lyons, fo to Paris, fo to 
 Weft, &c. in faecula fasculorum. Amen. 
 
 Eleven months, at different times, have I paffed at 
 Florence ; and yet (God help me) know not either people 
 or language. Yet the place and the charming profpedts 
 demand a poetical farewell, and here it is. 
 
 * * Oh Faefulae amoena 
 Frigoribus juga, nec nimium fpirantibus auris ! 
 Alma quibus Tufci Pallas decus Apennini 
 
/ [ 371 ] 
 
 EfTe dedit, glaucaque fua canefcere fylva ! 
 Non ego vos pofthac Arni de valle videbo 
 Porticibus circum, et candenti cin6la corona 
 Villarum longe nitido confurgere dorfo, 
 Antiquamve JEdem^ et veteres praeferre Cupreflus 
 Mirabor, tedifque fuper pendentia te£ta. 
 
 I will fend you, too, a pretty little Sonnet of a Sig' 
 Abbate Buondelmonte, with my imitation of it. 
 
 Spesso Amor fotto la forma 
 D'amifta ride, e s'afconde : 
 Poi fi mifchia, e fi confonde 
 Con lo fdegno, e col rancor. 
 In Pietade ei fi trasforma; 
 Par traftullo, e par difpetto ; 
 Ma nel fuo diverfo afpetto 
 Sempr* egli, e F ifteflb Amor. 
 
 LusiT amicitiae interdum velatus amicElu, 
 Et bene compolita vefte fefellit Amor. 
 
[ 372 ] 
 
 Mox irx affumpfit cultus, faciemque minantem, 
 Inque odium verfus, verfus et in lacrymas ; 
 
 Ludentem fuge, nec lacrymanti, aut crede furenti ; 
 Idem eft diflimili femper in ore Deus. 
 
 Here comes a letter from you. — I muft defer giving my 
 opinion of Paufanias till I can fee the whole, and only have 
 faid what I did in obedience to your commands. I have 
 fpoken with fuch freedom on this head, that it feems but 
 juft you fliould have your revenge ; and therefore I fend 
 you the beginning not of an Epic Poem, but of a Meta- 
 phyfic one. Poems and Metaphyfics (fay you, with your 
 fpe^tacles on) are inconfiftent things. A metaphyseal 
 poem is a contradiction in terms. It is true, but I will go 
 on. It is Latin too to increafe the abfurdity. It will, I 
 fuppofe, put you in mind of the man who wrote a treatife 
 of Canon Law in Hexameters. Pray help me to the 
 defcription of a mixt mode, and a little Epifode about 
 Space. 
 
[ 373 ] 
 
 Letter XLII. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 TRUST to the country, and that eafy indo- 
 lence you fay you enjoy there, to reftore you 
 your health and fpirits ; and doubt not but, 
 when the fun grows warm enough to tempt 
 you from your firefide, you will (like all other things) be 
 the better for his influence. He is my old friend, and an 
 excellent nurfe, I aflure you. Had it not been for him, 
 life had often been to me intolerable. Pray do not ima- 
 gine that Tacitus, of all authors in the world, can be 
 tedious. An annalift, you know, is by no means mafter 
 of his fubjed ; and I think one may venture to fay, that if 
 thofe Pannonian affairs are tedious in his hands, in an- 
 other's they would have been infupportable. However, 
 fear not, they will foon be over, and he will make ample 
 amends. A man, who could join the brilliant of wit and 
 
[ 374 ] 
 
 concife fententioufnefs peculiar to that age, with the truth 
 and gravity of better times, and the deep refledlion and 
 good fenfe of the beft moderns, cannot choofe but have 
 fomething to ftrike you. Yet w^hat I admire in him above 
 all this, is his deteftation of tyranny, and the high fpirit of 
 liberty that every now and then breaks out, as it were, 
 whether he would or no. I remember a fentence in his 
 Agricola that (concife as it is) I always admired for faying 
 much in a little compafs. He fpeaks of Domitian, who 
 upon feeing the laft will of that General, where he had 
 made him Coheir with his Wife and Daughter, " Satis con- 
 ftabat laetatum eum, velut honore, judicioque : tarn casca 
 & corrupta mens affiduis adulationibus erat, ut nefciret a 
 bono patre non fcribi haeredem, nifi malum principem." 
 
 As to the Dunciad, it is greatly admired : the Genii of 
 Operas and Schools, with their attendants, the pleas of the 
 Virtuofos and Florifts, and the yawn of dulnefs in the end, 
 are as fine as any thing he has written. The Metaphy- 
 ficians' part is to me the worft; and here and there a few 
 ill-expreffed lines, and fome hardly intelligible. 
 
/ [ 375 ] 
 
 I take the liberty of fending you a long fpeech of 
 Agrippina ; much too long, but I could be glad you would 
 retrench it. Aceronia, you may remember, had been 
 giving quiet counfels. I fancy, if it ever be finiflied, it 
 will be in the nature of Nat. Lee's Bedlam Tragedy, which 
 had twenty-five adts and fome odd fcenes. 
 
 ACT I, Scene I. 
 Agrippina. Aceronia. 
 Agrippina. 
 
 IS well, begone ! your errand is perform'd, 
 
 \_Sfeaks as to Anicetus entering. 
 The meffage needs no comment. Tell your mafter. 
 His mother fhall obey him. Say you faw her 
 Yielding due reverence to his high command : 
 Alone, unguarded and without a lidor, 
 As fits the daughter of Germanicus. 
 Say, file retired to Antium ; there to tend 
 
[ 376 ] 
 
 Her houfefhold cares, a woman's beft employment. 
 
 What if you add, how fhe turn'd pale and trembled : 
 
 You think, you fpied a tear ftand in her eye, 
 
 And would have dropp'd, but that her pride reftrain'd it ? 
 
 (Go ! you can paint it well) 'twill profit you, 
 
 And pleafe the ftripling. Yet 'twould dafh his joy 
 
 To hear the fpirit of Britannicus 
 
 Yet walks on earth : at leaft there are who know 
 
 Without a fpell to raife, and bid it fire 
 
 A thoufand haughty hearts, unufed to fhake 
 
 When a boy frowns, nor to be lured with fmiles 
 
 To tafte of hollow kindnefs, or partake 
 
 His hofpitable board : they are aware 
 
 Of th' unpledged bowl, they love not aconite. 
 
 AcERONIA. 
 
 He's gone : and much I hope thefe walls alone 
 And the mute air are privy to your paflion. 
 Forgive your fervant's fears, who fees the danger 
 Which fierce refentment cannot fail to raife 
 In haughty youth, and irritated power. 
 
/ [ 377 ] 
 
 Agrippina. 
 
 And dofl: thou talk to me, to me of danger, 
 Of haughty youth and irritated power, 
 To her that gave it being, her that arm'd 
 This painted Jove, and taught his novice hand 
 To aim the forked bolt; while he ftood trembling, 
 Scared at the found, and dazzled with its brightnefs ? 
 
 'Tis like thou haft forgot, when yet a ftranger 
 To adoration, to the grateful fteam 
 Of flatt'ry's incenfe, and obfequious vows 
 From voluntary realms, a puny boy, 
 Deck'd with no other luftre, than the blood 
 Of Agrippina's race, he lived unknown 
 To fame or fortune ; haply eyed at diftance 
 Some edilefhip, ambitious of the power 
 To judge of weights and meafures ; fcarcely dared 
 On expedation's ftrongeft wing to foar 
 High as the confulate, that empty fhade 
 Of long-forgotten liberty : when I 
 Oped his young eye to bear the blaze of greatnefs ; 
 
 3 c 
 
C 378 ] 
 
 Show'd him where empire tower'd, and bade him ftrike 
 
 The noble quarry. Gods ! then was the time 
 
 To fhrink from danger ; fear might then have worn 
 
 The mafk of prudence ; but a heart Hke mine, 
 
 A heart that glows with the pure Julian fire, 
 
 If bright ambition from her craggy feat 
 
 Difplay the radiant prize, will mount undaunted, 
 
 Gain the rough heights, and grafp the dangerous honour. 
 
 ACERONIA. 
 
 Through various life I have purfued your fteps, 
 Have feen your foul, and wonder'd at its daring : 
 Hence rife my fears. Nor am I yet to learn 
 How vaft the debt of gratitude which Nero 
 To fuch a mother owes ; the world, you gave him. 
 Suffices not to pay the obligation. 
 
 I well remember too (for I was prefent) 
 When in a fecret and dead hour of night. 
 Due facrifice perform'd with barb'rous rites 
 Of mutter'd charms, and folemn invocation, 
 You made the Magi call the dreadful powers, 
 
/ [ 379 ] 
 
 That read futurity, to know the fate 
 
 Impending o'er your fon : their anfwer was, 
 
 If the fon reign, the mother perifhes. 
 
 Perifli (you cried) the mother ! reign the fon ! 
 
 He reigns, the reft is heav'n's ; who oft has bade, 
 
 Ev'n when its will feem'd wrote in lines of blood, 
 
 Th' unthought event difclofe a whiter meaning. 
 
 Think too how oft in weak and fickly minds 
 
 The fweets of kindnefs laviftily indulged 
 
 Rankle to gall ; and benefits too great 
 
 To be repaid, fit heavy on the foul 
 
 As unrequited wrongs. The willing homage 
 
 Of proftrate Rome, the fenate's joint applaufe, 
 
 The riches of the earth, the train of pleafures 
 
 That wait on youth, and arbitrary fway : 
 
 Thefe were your gift, and with them you beftow'd 
 
 The very power he has to be ungrateful. 
 
 Agrippina. 
 
 ^ Thus ever grave and undifturb'd refledlion . 
 Pours its cool dictates in the madding ear 
 
[ 38o ] 
 
 Of rage, and thinks to quench the fire it feels not. 
 Say 'ft thou I muft be cautious, muft be filent, 
 And tremble at the phantom I have raifed ? 
 Carry to him thy timid counfels. He 
 Perchance may heed 'em : tell him too, that one 
 Who had fuch liberal power to give, may ftill 
 With equal power refume that gift, and raife 
 A tempefl: that fhall fhake her own creation 
 To its original atoms — tell me ! fay 
 This mighty emperor, this dreaded hero. 
 Has he beheld the glittering front of war ? 
 Knows his foft ear the trumpet's thrilling voice, 
 And outcry of the battle ? Have his limbs 
 Sweat under iron harnefs ? Is he not 
 The filken fon of dalliance, nurfed in eafe 
 And pleafure's flow'ry lap ? — Rubellius lives, 
 And Sylla has his friends, though fchool'd by fear 
 To bow the fupple knee, and court the times 
 With fhows of fair obeifance ; and a call 
 Like mine, might ferve belike to wake pretenfions 
 
/ [ 38i ] 
 
 Drowfier than theirs, who boaft the genuine blood 
 Of our imperial houfe. 
 
 ACERONIA. 
 
 Did I not wifh to check this dangerous paffion, 
 I might remind my miftrefs that her nod 
 Can roufe eight hardy legions, wont to ftem 
 With ftubborn nerves the tide, and face the rigour 
 Of bleak Germania's fnows. Four, not lefs brave. 
 That in Armenia quell the Parthian force 
 Under the warlike Corbulo, by you 
 Mark'd for their leader : thefe, by ties confirm'd, 
 Of old refpedl and gratitude, are yours. 
 Surely the Mafians too, and thofe of Egypt, 
 Have not forgot your lire : the eye of Rome, 
 And the Praetorian camp, have long revered 
 With cuftom'd awe, the daughter, lifter, wife, 
 And mother of their C^fars. 
 
 Agrippina. 
 
 Ha I by Juno, 
 It bears a noble femblance. On this bafe 
 
[ 382 ] 
 
 My great revenge £hall rife ; or fay we found 
 The trump of liberty ; there will not want, 
 Even in the fervile fenate, ears to own 
 Her fpirit-ftirring voice ; Soranus there, 
 And Caflius ; Vetus too, and Thrafea, 
 Minds of the antique call:, rough, ftubborn fouls, 
 That ftruggle with the yoke. How fhall the fpark 
 Unquenchable, that glows within their breafts. 
 Blaze into freedom, when the idle herd 
 (Slaves from the womb, created but to jflare. 
 And bellow in the Circus) yet will ftart, 
 And fhake 'em at the name of liberty, 
 Stung by a fenfelefs word, a vain tradition. 
 As there were magic in it ? Wrinkled beldams 
 Teach it their grandchildren, as fomewhat rare 
 That anciently appear'd, but when, extends 
 Beyond their chronicle — oh ! 'tis a caufe 
 To arm the hand of childhood, and rebrace 
 The flacken'd finews of time-wearied age. 
 Yes, we may meet, ungrateful boy, we may ! 
 
/ C 383 ] 
 
 Again the buried Genius of old Rome 
 
 Shall from the duft uprear his reverend head, 
 
 Roufed by the fhout of millions : there before 
 
 His high tribunal thou and I appear. 
 
 Let majefty lit on thy awful brow, 
 
 And lighten from thy eye : around thee call 
 
 The gilded fwarm that wantons in the funfhine 
 
 Of thy full favour ; Seneca be there 
 
 In gorgeous phrafe of labour'd eloquence 
 
 To drefs thy plea, and Burrhus ftrengthen it 
 
 With his plain foldier's oath, and honefl: feeming. 
 
 Againft thee, liberty and Agrippina : 
 
 The world, the prize ; and fair befall the vigors. 
 
 But foft ! why do I wafte the fruitlefs hours 
 In threats unexecuted ? Hafte thee, fly 
 Thefe hated walls that feem to mock my fhame, 
 And cafl: me forth in duty to their lord. 
 
 ACERONIA. 
 
 'Tis time to go, the fun is high advanced, 
 And, ere mid-day, Nero will come to Bais. 
 
[ 384 ] 
 
 Agrippina. 
 
 My thought aches at him ; not the bafiH/k 
 More deadly to the fight, than is to me 
 The cool injurious eye of frozen kindnefs. 
 I will not meet its poifon. Let him feel 
 Before he fees me. 
 
 ACERONIA. 
 
 Why then flays my fovereign, 
 Where he fo foon may — 
 
 Agrippina. 
 Yes, I will be gone, 
 But not to Antium — all fhall be confefs'd, 
 Whate'er the frivolous tongue of giddy fame 
 Has fpread among the crowd ; things, that but whifper'd 
 Have arch'd the hearer's brow, and riveted 
 His eyes in fearful extafy : no matter 
 What; fo't be ftrange and dreadful. — Sorceries, 
 Aflaflinations, poifonings — the deeper 
 My guilt, the blacker his ingratitude. 
 
 And you, ye manes of ambition's vidims. 
 
/ [ 385 ] 
 
 Enfhrined Claudius, with the pitied ghofts 
 Of the Syllani, doom'd to early death, 
 (Ye unavailing horrors, fruitlefs crimes !) 
 If from the realms of night my voice ye hear. 
 In lieu of penitence, and vain remorfe, 
 Accept my vengeance. Though by me ye bled. 
 He was the caufe. My love, my fears for him. 
 Dried the foft fprings of pity in my heart. 
 And froze them up with deadly cruelty. 
 Yet if your injured fhades demand my fate. 
 If murder cries for murder, blood for blood. 
 Let me not fall alone ; but crufh his pride. 
 And fink the traitor in his mother's ruin. 
 
 xeunt. 
 
 Scene II. Otho, Popp^a. 
 Otho. 
 
 Thus far we're fafe. Thanks to the rofy queen 
 Of amorous thefts : and had her wanton fon 
 
 3 D 
 
[ 386 ] 
 
 Lent us his wings, we could not have beguiled 
 With more elufive fpeed the dazzled iight 
 Of wakeful jealoufy. Be gay fecurely ; 
 Difpel, my fair, with fmiles, the tim'rous cloud 
 That hangs on thy clear brow. So Helen look'd. 
 So her white neck reclined, fo was fhe borne 
 By the young Trojan to his gilded bark 
 With fond reludance, yielding modefty. 
 And oft reverted eye, as if fhe knew not 
 
 Whether fhe fear'd, or wifh'd to be purfued. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
[ 387 ] 
 
 Letter XLIII. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 London, April, Thurfday. 
 
 OU are the firft who ever made a Mufe of a 
 Cough ; to me it feems a much more eafy tafk 
 to verfify in one's fleep, (that indeed you were 
 of old famous for,) than for want of it. Not 
 the wakeful nightingale (when fhe had a cough) ever fung 
 fo fweetly. I give you thanks for your warble, and wi£h 
 you could fing yourfelf to reft. Thefe wicked remains of 
 your illnefs will fure give way to warm weather and gentle 
 exercife ; which I hope you will not omit as the feafon 
 advances. Whatever low fpirits and indolence, the effedl 
 of them, may advife to the contrary, I pray you add five 
 fteps to your walk daily for my fake ; by the help of which, 
 in a month's time, I propofe to fet you on horfeback. 
 I talked of the Dunciad as concluding you had feen it ; 
 
[ 3«« ] 
 
 if you have not, do you choofe I £hould get and fend it 
 you ? I have myfelf, upon your recommendation, been 
 reading Jofeph Andrews. The incidents are ill laid and 
 without invention ; but the charadlers have a great deal of 
 nature, which always pleafes even in her loweft fhapes. 
 Parfon Adams is perfedly well ; fo is Mrs. Slipflop, and 
 the ftory of Wilfon ; and throughout he fhows himfelf 
 well read in Stage-Coaches, Country Squires, Inns, and 
 Inns of Court. His reflexions upon high people and low 
 people, and mifles and mafters, are very good. However 
 the exaltednefs of fome minds (or rather as I fhrewdly 
 fufpedl their inflpidity and want of feeling or obfervation) 
 may make them infenflble to thefe light things, (I mean 
 fuch as charadierize and paint nature,) yet furely they are 
 as weighty and much more ufeful than your grave dif- 
 courfes upon the mind, the paflions, and what not. Now 
 as the paradifaical pleafures of the Mahometans conlift in 
 playing upon the flute and lying with Houris, be mine to 
 read eternal new romances of Marivaux and Crebillon. 
 You are very good in giving yourfelf the trouble to read 
 
/ C 389 ] 
 
 and find fault with my long harangues. Your freedom 
 (as you call it) has fo little need of apologies, that I fhould 
 fcarce excufe your treating me any otherwife ; which, 
 whatever compliment it might be to my vanity, would be 
 making a very ill one to my underftanding. As to matter 
 of ftyle, I have this to fay : The language of the age is 
 never the language of poetry ; except among the French, 
 whofe verfe, where the thought or image does not fupport 
 it, differs in nothing from profe. Our poetry, on the 
 contrary, has a language peculiar to itfelf ; to which almoft 
 every one, that has written, has added fomething by en- 
 riching it with foreign idioms and derivatives : Nay 
 fometimes words of their own compofition or invention. 
 Shakefpear and Milton have been great creators this 
 way ; and no one more licentious than Pope or Dry den, 
 who perpetually borrow expreflions from the former. Let 
 me give you fome inftances from Dryden, whom every 
 
 body reckons a great mafter of our poetical tongue. 
 
 Full of mufeful mopeings — unlike the trim of love — a plea- 
 fant beverage — a roundelay of love — flood filent in his 
 
[ 390 ] 
 
 mood — with knots and knares deformed — his ireful mood — 
 in proud array — his boon was granted — and difarray and 
 fhameful rout — wayward but wife — -furbijhed for the field 
 — the foiled dodderd oaks — dijherited — fmouldering flames 
 — retchlefs of laws — crones old and ugly — the beldam at his 
 
 fide — the grandam-hag — villanize his Father's fame. 
 
 But they are infinite : And our language not being a 
 fettled thing (like the French) has an undoubted right to 
 words of an hundred years old, provided antiquity have 
 not rendered them unintelligible. In truth, Shakefpear's 
 language is one of his principal beauties ; and he has no 
 lefs advantage over your Addifons and Rowes in this, than 
 in thofe other great excellences you mention. Every word 
 in him is a pid:ure. Pray put me the following lines 
 into the tongue of our modern Dramatics : 
 
 But I, that am not fhaped for fportive tricks. 
 Nor made to court an amorous looking-glafs : 
 I, that am rudely ftampt, and want love's majefty 
 To ftrut before a wanton ambling nymph : 
 I, that am curtail'd of this fair proportion. 
 Cheated of feature by diflembling nature, 
 
' [ 391 ] 
 
 Deform'd, unfinifh'd, fent before my time 
 
 Into this breathing world, fcarce half made up — 
 
 And what follows. To me they appear untranflatable ; 
 and if this be the cafe, our language is greatly degenerated. 
 However, the affectation of imitating Shakefpear may 
 doubtlefs be carried too far ; and is no fort of excufe for 
 fentiments ill-fuited, or fpeeches ill-timed, which I believe 
 is a little the cafe with me. I guefs the moft faulty ex- 
 preflions may be thefe — -filken fon of dalliance — drowfier 
 pretenfions — wrinkled beldams — arched the hearer's brow 
 and riveted his eyes in fearful extafee. Thefe are eafily 
 altered or omitted : and indeed if the thoughts be wrong 
 or fuperfluous, there is nothing eafier than to leave out the 
 whole. The firfl: ten or twelve lines are, I believe, the 
 beft ; and as for the reft, I was betrayed into a good deal 
 of it by Tacitus ; only what he has faid in five words, I 
 imagine I have faid in fifty lines. Such is the misfortune 
 of imitating the inimitable. Now, if you are of my opinion, 
 una litura may do the bufinefs better than a dozen ; and 
 you need not fear unravelling my web. I am a fort of 
 
[ 392 ] 
 
 fpider ; and have little elfe to do but fpin it over again, or 
 creep to fome other place and fpin there. Alas ! for one 
 who has nothing to do but amufe himfelf, I believe my 
 amufements are as little amufing as moft folks'. But 
 no matter ; it makes the hours pafs ; and is better than 
 sv dfAoc^ia, Kou (x,[/.ov(7ia, mjix^ii^voLi.. Adieu. 
 
[ 393 ] 
 
 Letter XLIV. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 London, April, 1742. 
 
 SHOULD not have failed to anfwer your 
 letter immediately, but I went out of town 
 for a little while, which hindered me. Its 
 length (befides the pleafure naturally accom- 
 panying a long letter from you) affords me a new one, 
 when I think it is a fymptom of the recovery of your 
 health, and flatter myfelf that your bodily ftrength returns 
 in proportion. Pray do not forget to mention the progrefs 
 you make continually. As to Agrippina, I begin to be of 
 your opinion ; and find myfelf (as women are of their 
 children) lefs enamoured of my productions the older they 
 grow. She is laid up to fleep till next fummer; fo bid 
 her good night. I think you have tranllated Tacitus very 
 
 3 E 
 
[ 394 ] 
 
 juftly, that is, freely ; and accommodated his thoughts 
 to the turn and genius of our language ; which, though 
 I commend your judgment, is no commendation of the 
 Englifli tongue, which is too diffufe, and daily grows more 
 and more enervate. One fhall never be more fenfible of 
 this, than in turning an Author like Tacitus. I have been 
 trying it in fome parts of Thucydides (who has a little 
 
 UOD mihi fi tantum, Maecenas, fata dediffent, 
 Ut pofTem heroas ducere in arma manus : 
 Non ego Titanas canerem, non OfTan Olympo 
 
 Impofitum, ut coelo Pelion effet iter : 
 Non veteres Thebas, nec Pergama nomen Homeri, 
 
 Xerxis et imperio bina coifTe vada : 
 Regnave prima Remi, aut animos Carthaginis altas, 
 
 Cimbrorumque minas, et benefa6ta Marl. 
 Bellaque refque tui memorarem Caefaris ; et tu 
 Caefare fub magno cura fecunda fores. 
 
/ [ 395 ] 
 
 refemblance of him in his concifenefs) and endeavoured to 
 do it clofely, but found it produced mere nonfenfe. If 
 you have any inclination to fee what figure Tacitus makes 
 in Italian, I have a Tufcan tranflation of Davanzati, much 
 efteemed in Italy ; and will fend you the fame fpeech you 
 fent me ; that is, if you care for it. In the mean time 
 accept of Propertius. 
 
 ET would the tyrant Love permit me raife 
 My feeble voice, to found the vidlor's praife, 
 To paint the hero's toil, the ranks of war. 
 The laurell'd triumph, and the fculptured car; 
 No giant race, no tumult of the fkies. 
 No mountain- ftrudiures in my verfe fhould rife. 
 Nor tale of Thebes, nor Ilium there fhould be. 
 Nor how the Perfian trod the indignant fea ; 
 Not Marius' Cimbrian wreaths would I relate, 
 Nor lofty Carthage ftruggling with her fate. 
 Here fhould Auguftus great in arms appear. 
 And thou, Maecenas, be my fecond care ; 
 
[ 396 ] . 
 
 Nam quoties Mutinam, aut civilia bufta Philippos, 
 
 Aut canerem Siculas clallica bella fugas : 
 Everfofqiie focos antiquae gentis Etrufcae, 
 
 Et Ptolemaseae litora capta Phari : 
 Aut canerem ^gyptum, et Nilum, cum tradus in urbem 
 
 Septem captivis debilis ibat aquis : 
 Aut regum auratis circumdata colla catenis, 
 
 Adliaque in facra currere roftra via : 
 Te mea Mufa illis Temper contexeret armis, 
 
 Et fumta, et poUta pace fidele caput. 
 Thefeus infernis, fuperis teftatur Achilles, 
 
 Hie Ixioniden, ille Menoetiaden. 
 Sed neque Phlegrceos Jovis, Enceladique tumultus 
 
 Intonet angufto pedore Callimachus : 
 Nec mea conveniunt duro prcecordia verfu 
 
 Ccefaris in Phrygios condere nomen avos. 
 Navita de ventis, de tauris narrat arator, 
 
 Enumerat miles vulnera, paftor oves. 
 Nos contra angufto verfamus proelia ledto. 
 
 Qua pote quifque, in ea conterat arte diem. 
 
/ [ 397 ] 
 
 Here Mutina from flames and famine free, 
 
 And there the enfanguined wave of Sicily, 
 
 And fcepter'd Alexandria's captive fhore. 
 
 And fad Philippi, red with Roman gore : 
 
 Then, while the vaulted fkies loud los rend. 
 
 In golden chains fhould loaded monarchs bend. 
 
 And hoary Nile with penflve afpeft feem 
 
 To mourn the glories of his fevenfold ftream. 
 
 While prows, that late in fierce encounter met, 
 
 Move through the facred way and vainly threat. 
 
 Thee too the Mufe fhould confecrate to fame. 
 
 And with her garlands weave thy ever-faithful name. 
 
 But nor Callimachus' enervate ftrain 
 May tell of Jove, and Phlegra's blafted plain ; 
 Nor I with unaccuftom'd vigour trace 
 Back to its fource divine the Julian race. 
 Sailors to tell of winds and feas delight. 
 The fhepherd of his flocks, the foldier of the fight. 
 A milder warfare I in verfe difplay ; 
 Each in his proper art fhould wafte the day : 
 
[ 398 ] 
 
 Laus in amore mori : laus altera, fi datur uno 
 
 PofTe frui, fruar O folus amore meo. 
 His faltem ut tenear jam jfinibus ; aut, mihi fi quis 
 
 Venerit alter amor, acrius ut moriar. 
 Si memini, folet ilia leves culpare puellas, 
 
 Et totam ex Helena non probat Iliada. 
 Seu mihi fint tangenda noverc^ pocula Phsdrae, 
 
 Pocula privigno non nocitura fuo : 
 Seu mihi Circaso pereundum gramine, five 
 
 Colchis lolciacis urat ahena focis ; 
 Una meos quoniam praedata eft foemina fenfus. 
 
 Ex hac ducentur funera noftra domo. 
 Omnes humanos fanat medicina dolores, 
 
 Solus amor morbi non amat artificem. 
 Tarda Philodietse fanavit crura Machaon, 
 
 Phcenicis Chiron lumina Philly rides. 
 
/ [ 399 ] 
 
 Nor thou my gentle calling difapprove, 
 To die is glorious in the bed of Love. 
 
 Happy the youth, and not unknown to fame, 
 Whofe heart has never felt a fecond flame. 
 Oh, might that envied happinefs be mine ! 
 To Cynthia all my wifhes I confine; 
 Or if, alas ! it be my fate to try 
 Another love, the quicker let me die : 
 But fhe, the miftrefs of my faithful breaft, 
 Has oft the charms of conftancy confeft. 
 Condemns her fickle fex's fond miftake, 
 And hates the tale of Troy for Helen's fake. 
 Me from myfelf the foft enchantrefs ftole ; 
 Ah ! let her ever my defires control. 
 Or if I fall the vidim of her fcorn. 
 From her loved door may my pale corfe be borne. 
 The power of herbs can other harms remove. 
 And find a cure for every ill, but love. 
 The Lemnian's hurt Machaon could repair. 
 Heal the flow chief, and fend again to war ; 
 
[ 400 ] 
 
 Et deus exftincSum Creflis Epidaurius herbis 
 
 Reftituit patriis Androgeona focis. 
 Myfus et ^monia juvenis qua cufpide viilnus 
 
 Senferat, hac ipfa cufpide fenfit opem. 
 Hoc fi quis vitium poterit mihi demere, folus 
 
 Tantaleae poterit tradere poma manu. 
 Dolia virgineis idem ille repleverit urnis, 
 
 Ne tenera affidua colla graventur aqua- 
 Idem Caucafia folvet de rupe Promethei 
 
 Brachia, et a medio pedlore pellet avem. 
 Non hic herba valet : non hic nodurna Cytaeis : 
 
 Non Perimedea gramina co6ta manu. 
 Quippe ubi nec caufas, nec apertos cernimus i6lus, 
 
 Unde tamen veniant tot mala, caeca via eft. 
 Non eget hic medicis, non ledis mollibus asger : 
 
 Huic nullum cceli tempus, et aura nocet. 
 Ambulat, et fubito mirantur funus amici. 
 
 Sic eft incautum quicquid habetur amor. 
 Quandocunque igitur vitam mea fata repofcent, 
 
 Et breve in exiguo marmore nomen ere : 
 
[ 40I ] 
 
 To Chiron Phoenix owed his long-loft fight, 
 And Phoebus' fon recall'd Androgeon to the light. 
 Here arts are vain, e'en magic here muft fail, 
 The powerful mixture and the midnight fpell ; 
 The hand that can my captive heart releafe. 
 And to this bofom give its wonted peace, 
 May the long thirft of Tantalus allay, 
 Or drive the infernal vulture from his prey. 
 For ills unfeen what remedy is found ? 
 Or who can probe the undifcover'd wound ? 
 The bed avails not, nor the leech's care. 
 Nor changing fkies can hurt, nor fultry air. 
 'Tis hard th' elufive fymptoms to explore : 
 To-day the lover walks, to-morrow is no more ; 
 A train of mourning friends attend his pall. 
 And wonder at the fudden funeral. 
 
 When then the fates that breath they gave fhall claim, 
 And the fhort marble but preferve a name, 
 A little verfe my all that fhall remain ; 
 Thy pafling courfer's flacken'd fpeed reftrain ; 
 
 3 F 
 
[ 402 ] 
 
 Maecenas noftrae fpes invidiofa juventas, 
 Et vitae, et morti gloria jufta meae ; 
 
 Si te forte meo ducet via proxima bufto, 
 Effeda cselatis iifte Britanna jugis, 
 
 Taliaque inlacrymans mutae jace verba favillae 
 Huic mifero fatum dura puella fuit. 
 
/ [403] 
 
 (Thou envied honour of thy poet's days, 
 Of all our youth the ambition and the praife !) 
 Then to my quiet urn awhile draw near, 
 And fay, while o'er that place you drop the tear. 
 Love and the fair were of his youth the pride ; 
 He lived, while (he was kind ; and when fhe frown'd, he 
 died. 
 
[ 404 ] 
 
 Letter XLV. 
 MR. GRAY TO MR. WEST. 
 
 London, May 27, 1742. 
 
 INE, you are to know, is a white Melancholy, 
 or rather Leucocholy for the moft part ; 
 which, though it feldom laughs or dances, 
 nor ever amounts to what one calls Joy or 
 Pleafure, yet is a good eafy fort of a ftate, and 9a ne laifTe 
 que de s'amufer. The only fault of it is infipidity ; which 
 is apt now and then to give a fort of Ennui, which makes 
 one form certain little wiflies that fignify nothing. But 
 there is another fort, black indeed, which I have now and 
 then felt, that has fomewhat in it like Tertullian's rule of 
 faith. Credo quia impoflibile eft ; for it believes, nay, is 
 fure of every thing that is unlikely, fo it be but frightful ; 
 and on the other hand excludes and fhuts its eyes to the 
 moft poflible hopes, and every thing that is pleafurable ; 
 
/ [405] 
 
 from this the Lord deliver us ! for none but he and fun- 
 fhiny weather can do it. In hopes of enjoying this kind 
 of weather, I am going into the country for a few weeks, 
 but fhall be never the nearer any fociety ; fo, if you have 
 any charity, you will continue to write. My life is like 
 Harry the Fourth's fupper of Hens,^ " Poulets a la broche, 
 Poulets en Ragout, Poulets en Hachis, Poulets en Frica- 
 fees." Reading here, Reading there ; nothing but books 
 with different fauces. Do not let me lofe my defert then ; 
 for though that be Reading too, yet it has a very different 
 flavour. The May feems to be come fince your invitation ; 
 and I propofe to bafk in her beams and drefs me in her 
 rofes. 
 
 Et Caput in verna femper habere rosa.*^ 
 
 I fhall fee Mr. * * and his Wife, nay, and his Child 
 too, for he has got a Boy. Is it not odd to conflder one's 
 Cotemporaries in the grave light of Hufband and Father ? 
 There is my Lords * * and * * *, they are Statefmen : 
 Do not you remember them dirty boys playing at cricket ? 
 As for me, I am never a bit the older, nor the bigger, nor 
 
[ 4o6 ] 
 
 the wifer than I was then : No, not for having been beyond 
 fea. Pray how are you ? 
 
 I fend you an infcription for a wood joining to a park 
 of mine ; (it is on the confines of Mount Cithoeron, on the 
 left hand as you go to Thebes,) you know I am no friend 
 to hunters, and hate to be difturbed by their noife. 
 
 'A^OfJLSVOg TTOXv^YjpO]/ SXYjfSoXoV OCXCTOC OLV OLd d 0(,Q ^ 
 
 Toic ^sivocg Tsy.svYj Xsitts, xwocys, 
 
 Here follows alfo the beginning of an Heroic Epiftle ; 
 but you mufl: give me leave to tell my own ftory firft, be- 
 caufe Hiftorians differ. Maffmiffa was the fon of Gala 
 King of the Maffyli ; and, when very young, at the head of 
 his father's army, gave a moft fignal overthrow to Syphax, 
 King of the Mafaefylians, then an ally of the Romans. 
 Soon after Afdrubal, fon of Gifgo the Carthaginian General, 
 gave the beautiful Sophonifba, his daughter, in marriage to 
 
/ [407] 
 
 the young prince. But this marriage was not confummated 
 on account of MaflinifTa's being obliged to haften into 
 Spain, there to command his father's troops, who were 
 auxiliaries of the Carthaginians. Their afFairs at this time 
 began to be in a bad condition ; and they thought it might 
 be greatly for their intereft, if they could bring over Syphax 
 to themfelves. This in time they actually effeded ; and 
 to ftrengthen their new alliance, commanded Afdrubal to 
 give his daughter to Syphax. (It is probable their ingra- 
 titude to Maffiniffa arofe from the great change of affairs, 
 which had happened among the Maffylians during his 
 abfence j for his father and uncle were dead, and a diftant 
 relation of the royal family had ufurped the throne.) 
 Sophonifba was accordingly married to Syphax ; and Maf- 
 finiffa, enraged at the affront, became a friend to the 
 Romans. They drove the Carthaginians before them out 
 of Spain, and carried the war into Africa, defeated Syphax, 
 and took him prifoner ; upon which Cirtha (his capital) 
 opened her gates to Laelius and Mafliniffa. The reft of 
 the affair, the marriage, and the fending of poifon, every 
 
[ 4o8 ] 
 
 body knows. This is partly taken from Livy, and partly 
 from Appian. 
 
 Egregium accipio promifli Munus amoris, 
 
 Inque manu mortem, jam fruitura, fero : 
 Atque utinam citius mandafles, luce vel una ; 
 
 Tranfieram Stygios non inhonefta lacus. 
 Vidloris nec pafla toros, nova nupta, mariti, 
 
 Nec fueram faftus, Roma fuperba, tuos. 
 Scilicet hxc partem tibi, MafinilTa, triumphi 
 
 Detradam, hxc pompae jura minora fuae 
 Imputatj atque uxor quod non tua prefla catenis, 
 
 Objeda et faevas plaulibus orbis eo : 
 Quin tu pro tantis cepifti praemia fad:is, 
 
 Magnum Romance pignus amicitiae ! 
 Scipiadae excufes, oro, fi, tardius utar 
 
 Munere. Non nimium vivere, crede, velim. 
 Parva mora eft, breve fed tempus mea fama requirit : 
 
 Detinet haec animam cura fuprema meam. 
 Quae patriae prodefte meae Regina ferebar. 
 
[ 409 ] 
 
 Inter Elifasas gloria prima nurus, 
 Ne videar flammae nimis indulfifTe fecundae, 
 
 Vel nimis hoftiles extimuifTe manus. 
 Fortunam atque annos liceat revocare priores, 
 
 Gaudiaque heu ! quantis noftra repenfa, malis ! 
 Primitiafne tuas meminifti atque arma Syphacis 
 
 Fufa, et per Tyrias duAa trophaea vias ? 
 (Laudis at antiquae forfan meminiffe pigebit, 
 
 Quodque decus quondam caufa ruboris erit.) 
 Tempus ego certe memini, Felicia Poenis 
 
 Quo te non puduit folvere vota deis ; 
 Moeniaque intrantem vidi : longo agmine duxit 
 
 Turba falutantum, purpureique patres. 
 Foeminea ante omnes longe admiratur euntem 
 
 Haeret et afpedtu tota caterva tuo. 
 Jam flexi, regale decus, per colla capilli, 
 
 Jam decet ardenti fufcus in ore color ! 
 Commendat frontis generofa modeftia formam, 
 
 Seque cupit laudi furripuiffe fuae. 
 Prima genas tenui fignat vix flore juventas, 
 
 3 G 
 
[ 4IO ] 
 
 Et dextrae foli credimus effe virum. 
 Dum faciles gradiens oculos per fingula jadas, 
 
 (Sen rexit cafus lumina, five Venus) 
 In me (vel certe vifum eft) converfa morari 
 
 Senfi ; virgineus perculit ora pudor. 
 Nefcio quid vultum molle fpirare tuendo, 
 
 Credideramque tuos lentius ire pedes. 
 Quaerebam, juxta sequalis fi dignior eftet, 
 
 Quae poterat vifus detinuifle tuos : 
 Nulla fuit circum aequalis quae dignior eflet, 
 
 Afteruitque decus confcia forma fuum. 
 Pompas finis erat. Tota vix node quievi, 
 
 Sin premat invitas lumina vida fopor, 
 Somnus habet pompas, eademque recurfat imago 
 
 Atque iterum hefterno munere vidor ades. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
NOTES TO THE LETTERS. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 Page 215, note i. 
 T Burnham, in Buckinghamfhire. 
 
 P. 218, note 2. — At this time with his father at Houghton. 
 Mr, Gray writes from the fame place he did before, from 
 his Uncle's houfe in Buckinghamfhire. — Majon. 
 
 P. 219, note 3. — A lanthorn for eighteen candles, of copper-gilt, hung 
 in the hall at Houghton. It became a favourite obje6t of Tory fatire at the 
 time ; fee the Craft/man. This lanthorn was afterwards fold to the Earl of 
 Chefterfield. See Walpole's IVorks, vol. ii. p. 263 ; and Letters to H. Mann, 
 vol. ii. p. 368. 
 
 P. 221, note 4. — Of Pofidippus. Vide Anthologia, H. Stephan. p. 220. 
 Mr. Gray, in his MS. notes to this edition of the Anthologia, inferts this tranf- 
 lation, and adds " Defcriptio pulcherrima & quas tenuem ilium grascorum 
 fpiritum mirifice fapit ;" and in conclufion, Pofidippus inter principes Antho- 
 logiae poetas emicat, Ptolemasi Philadelphi feculo vixit." — MaJon. 
 
 P. 224, note 5. — Horn. II. A. v. 191. 
 
 P. 230, note 6. — Mr. Walpole was juft named to that poft, which he 
 exchanged foon after for that of Ufher of the Exchequer. — MaJon. 
 
[ 414 ] 
 
 P. 230, note 7. — Ovidii Met. II. v. 846-7. 
 
 P. 230, note 8. — Dr. Long, the Mafter of Pembroke Hall, at this time 
 read ledlures in experimental philofophy. — Mqfon. 
 
 P. 232, note 9. — Orator Henley. 
 
 P. 241, note I. — The French opera has only three adls, but often a pro- 
 logue on a different fubjed, which (as Mr. Walpole informs me, who faw it at 
 the fame time) was the cafe in this very reprefentation. — Mafon. 
 
 P. 247, note 2. — The Comte de Cambis was lately returned from his 
 embaffy in England. — Mqfon. 
 
 P. 257, note 3. — See WalpoWs Memoirs^ pp. 414-18. From Pitt's 
 Speech, comparing Fox and the Duke of Newcaftle to the Rhone and Saone. 
 
 P. 261, note 4. — Not fine trees, but beech and firs. 
 
 P. 275, note 5. — See Livii Hift. lib. xxi. cap, xxxii. 
 
 P. 276, note 6. — See Livii Hijl. lib. xxi. cap. xxxvii. 
 
 P. 279, note 7. — The famous Andrea Doria. 
 
 P. 285, note 8. — Now Sir Horace Mann, and Envoy Extraordinary at the 
 fame court. — Mqfon. 
 
 P. 286, note 9. — See WalfoWs Letters to H. Mann, vol. ii. p. 283, 1. cxcviii. 
 
 P. 300, note I. — Clement the Twelfth. 
 
 P. 329, note 2. — Sixtus V. built the dome of St. Peter's. — Mqfon. St. 
 Peter's was begun by Nicholas V. in 1450 ; the Cupola was completed in 1590 ; 
 in 1612-14, the Church and Vellibule were finifhed : in 1667 Colonnade. 
 Up to 1694 it is computed that forty-feven millions of Scudi, upwards of ten 
 million and a half fterling, have been expended upon it. 
 
[ 415 ] 
 
 P, 329, note 3. — He raifed the obelifk in the great area. 
 
 P. 344, note 4. — The reader will find this in Dodfley's Mifcellany, and alfo 
 amongft Mr. Walpole's Fugitive Pieces. — Mqfon. 
 
 P. 344, note 5. — Gilbert Weft, Efq. This poem, " On the abufe of 
 Travelling," is alfo in Dodfley's Mifcellany. — Mqfon. 
 
 P. 379, note 6. — In Gray's MS. Agrippina's was one continued fpeech from 
 this line to the end of the fcene. Mr. Mafon informs us, that he has altered it 
 to the ftate in which it now ftands. 
 
 P. 405, note 7. — Francis the Firft's Supper of Hens, v. Boccaccio. — Rogers. 
 
 P. 405, note 8. — Propert. iii. iii. 44. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
CHISWICK press: PRINTED BY WHITTINGHAM AND WILKINS, 
 
 TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE.