giving, the most joyful of all holy effufions, yet addreffed to a Being without paffions, is confined to a few modes, and is to be felt rather than expreffed. Repentance, trembling in the prefence of the Judge, is not at leisure for cadences and epithets. Supplication of man to man may diffuse itself through many topicks of perfuafion; but fupplication to God can only cry for mercy. Of fentiments purely religious, it will be found that the moft fimple expreffion is the moft fublime. Poetry lofes its luftre and its power, because it is applied to the decoration of fomething more excellent than itself. All that verfe can do is to help the memory, and delight the ear, and for thefe purposes it may be very useful; but it fupplies nothing to the mind. The ideas of Chriftian Theology are too fimple for eloquence, too facred for fiction, and too majestick for ornament; to recommend them by tropes and figures, is to magnify by a concave mirror the fidereal hemisphere. As much of Waller's reputation was owed to the foftness and smoothness of his Numbers; it is proper to confider those minute particulars to which a verfifyer must attend. He certainly very much excelled in smoothnefs most of the writers who were living when his poetry commenced. The poets of Elizabeth had attained an art of modulation, which was afterwards neglected or forgotten. Fairfax was acknowledged by him as his model and he might have studied with advantage the poem of Davies, which, though merely philofophical, yet feldom leaves the ear ungratified. But ; But he was rather smooth than strong; of the full refounding line, which Pope attributes to Dryden, he has given very few examples. The critical decifion has given the praise of ftrength to Denham, and sweetness to Waller. His excellence of verfification has fome abatements. He uses the expletive do very frequently; and though he used to see it almost univerfally ejected, was not more careful to avoid it in his last compofitions than in his first. Praise had given him confidence; and finding the world fatisfied, he fatisfied himself. His rhymes are fometimes weak words: fo is found to make the rhyme twice in ten lines, and occurs often as a rhyme through his book. His double rhymes, in heroick verie, have been cenfured by Mrs. Phillips, who was his rival in the tranflation of Corneille's Pompey; and more faults might be found, were not the enquiry below attention. He fometimes ufes the obfolete termination of verbs, as waxeth, affecteth; and fometimes retains the final fyllable of the preterite, as amazed, fuppofed; of which I know not whether it is not to the detriment of our language that we have totally rejected them. Of triplets he is fparing; but he did not wholly forbear them: of an Alexandrine he has given no example. The general character of his poetry is elegance and gaiety. He is never pathetick, and very rarely fublime. He feems neither to have had a mind much elevated by nature, nor amplified by learning. His thoughts are such as a liberal converfation and large acquaintance with life would easily supply. They had how ever, then perhaps, that grace of novelty, which they are now often fuppofed to want by those who, having already found them in later books, do not know or enquire who produced them first. This treatment is unjuft. Let not the original author lose by his imi tators. Praise however fhould be due before it is given. The author of Waller's Life afcribes to him the first practice, of what Erythræus and fome late critics call Alliteration, of ufing in the fame verfe many words beginning with the fame letter. But this knack, whatever be its value, was fo frequent among our early writers, that Gascoign, a writer of the fixteenth century, warns the young poet against affecting it; and Shakespeare in the Midsummer Night's Dream is fuppofed to ridicule it. He borrows too many of his fentiments and illuftrations from the old Mythology, for which it is vain to plead the example of the ancient poets: the deities which they introduced fo frequently, were confidered as realities, fo far as to be received by the imagination, whatever sober reafon might even then determine. But of thefe images time has tarnifhed the fplendor. A fiction, not only detected but defpifed, can never afford a folid bafis to any pofition, though fometimes it may furnish a tranfient allufion, or flight illustration. No modern monarch can be much exalted by hearing that, as Hercules had had his club, he has his navy. But of the praise of Waller, though much may be taken away, much will remain; for it cannot be denied that he added fomething to our our elegance of diction, and fomething to our propriety of thought; and to him may be applied what Taffo faid, with equal spirit and juftice, of himself and Guarini, when, having perufed the Paftor Fido, he cried out, " If he "had not read Aminta, he had not excelled " it." AS Waller profeffed himself to have learned the art of verfification from Fairfax, it has been thought proper to subjoin a specimen of his work, which, after Mr. Hoole's tranflation, will perhaps not be foon reprinted. By knowing the state in which Waller found our poetry, the reader may judge how much he improved it. I. Erminiaes fteed (this while) his mistreffe bore Through forrefts thicke among the fhadie treene, Her feeble hand the bridle raines forlore, Of her strong foes, that chas'd her through the plaine, And still purfu'd, but still purfu'd in vaine. 2. Like as the wearie hounds at last retire, Windleffe, displeased, from the fruitleffe chace, When the flie beast Tapisht in bush and brire, No art nor paines can rowse out of his place: K 2 The The Christian knights fo full of shame and ire Returned backe, with faint and wearie pace; Yet ftill the fearefull Dame fled, fwift as winde, Nor euer staid, nor euer lookt behinde. 3. Through thicke and thinne, all night, all day, The driued, Withouten comfort, companie or guide, Her plaints and tears with euery thought reuiued, She heard and faw her greefes, but nought befide. But when the funne his burning chariot diued In Thetis waue, and wearie teame vntide, On Iordans fandie banks her course fhe ftaid, At last, there downe fhe light, and downe fhe laid. 4. Her tears, her drinke; her food, her forrowings, This was her diet that vuhappie night: 5. The birds awakte her with their morning fong, Their warbling muficke pearft her tender eare, The murmuring brookes and whistling windes among The |