and this possibly led him to speak favourably of, and give satisfaction to, writers with whose productions he might not be entirely satisfied: nor must I allow myself to suppose his desire of obliging was withholden, when he honoured any effort of mine with his approbation: but, my Lord, as there was discrimination in the opinion he gave; as he did not veil indifference for insipid mediocrity of composition under any general expression of cool approval; I allow myself to draw a favourable conclusion from the verdict of one who had the superiority of intellect few would dispute, which he made manifest by a force of eloquence peculiar to himself; whose excellent judgment no one of his friends found cause to distrust, and whose acknowledged candour no enemy had the temerity to deny. (')

With such encouragement, I present my book to your Lordship: the "Account of the Life and Writings of Lope de Vega" (2) has taught me what

(1) ["Mr. Fox's memory seems never to have been oppressed by the number, or distracted by the variety, of the materials which he had gradually accumulated. Never, indeed, will his companions forget the readiness, correctness, and glowing enthusiasm, with which he repeated the noblest passages in the best English, French, and Italian poets, and in the best epic and dramatic writers of antiquity. He read the most celebrated authors of Greece and Rome, not only with exquisite taste, but with philological precision; and the mind which had been employed in balancing the fate of kingdoms, seemed occasionally, like that of Cæsar, when he wrote upon grammatical analogy, to put forth its whole might upon the structure of sentences, the etymology of words, the import of particles, the quantity of syllables, and all the nicer distinctions of those metrical canons, which some of our ingenious countrymen have laid down for the different kinds of verse in the learned languages. Even in these subordinate accomplishments, he was wholly exempt from pedantry. He could amuse without ostentation, while he instructed without arrogance." PARR.] (2) [First published in 1806. A new edition appeared in 1817, to which

I am to expect; I there perceive how your Lordship can write, and am there taught how you can judge of writers my faults, however numerous, I know, will none of them escape through inattention, nor will any merit be lost for want of discernment: my verses are before him who has written elegantly, who has judged with accuracy, and who has given unequivocal proof of abilities in a work of difficulty, a translation of poetry, which few persons in this kingdom are able to read ('), and in the estimation of talents not hitherto justly appreciated. In this

was added" An Account of the Life and Writings of Guillen de Castro." "No name among the Spanish poets," says Mr. Southey, "is so generally known out of its own country as that of Lope de Vega, but it is only the name; and perhaps no author, whose reputation is so widely extended, has been so little read. The good fortune, however, of this phoenix of Spain' has not wholly forsaken him; and he has been as happy now in a biographer, as he was during his life in obtaining the patronage of the great and the favour of the public."

6

(1) ["For about a hundred years, French had been the only literature which obtained any attention in this country. Now and then some worthless production was done into English by a Person of Quality,' and a few sickly dramatists imported stage plots and re-manufactured them for the English market; making of less value, by their bad workmanship, materials which were of little enough value in themselves. But at this time a revival was beginning; it was brought about, not by the appearance of great and original genius, but by awakening the public to the merits of our old writers, and of those of other countries. The former task was effected by Percy and Warton: the latter it was Hayley's fortune to perform. A greater effect was produced upon the rising generation of scholars, by the notes to his Essay on Epic Poetry, than by any other contemporary work, the Relics of Ancient Poetry alone excepted. A most gratifying proof of this was afforded him thirty years after these notes were published, when he received from Lord Holland a present of the Life of Lope de Vega,' and a letter saying, that what Hayley had there written concerning the Araucana, had induced him to learn the Spanish language. And this was followed by an act of substantial kindness on his Lordship's part, in procuring an appointment for one of the author's relations. There are many persons who might make the same acknowledgment as Lord Holland, though few who have pursued the study of that fertile literature with such distinguished success."— -SOUTHEY.]

view, I cannot but feel some apprehension: but I know also, that your Lordship is apprised of the great difficulty of writing well; that you will make much allowance for failures, if not too frequently repeated; and, as you can accurately discern, so you will readily approve, all the better and more happy efforts of one, who places the highest value upon your Lordship's approbation, and who has the honour to be,

MY LORD,

Your Lordship's most faithful

and obliged humble servant,

Muston, Sept. 1307.

GEO. CRABbe.

PREFACE.

[TO POEMS PUBLISHED IN 1807.]

ABOUT twenty-five years since was published a poem called "The Library;" wnich, in no long time, was followed by two others, "The Village," and "The Newspaper :" these, with a few alterations and additions, are here reprinted; and are accompanied by a poem of greater length, and several shorter attempts, now, for the first time, before the public; whose reception of them creates in their author something more than common solicitude, because he conceives that, with the judgment to be formed of these latter productions, upon whatever may be found intrinsically meritorious or defective, there will be united an enquiry into the relative degree of praise or blame which they may be thought to deserve, when compared with the more early attempts of the same writer.

And certainly, were it the principal employment of a man's life to compose verses, it might seem reasonable to expect that he would continue to im

prove as long as he continued to live; though, even then, there is some doubt whether such improvement would follow; and, perhaps, proofs might be adduced to show it would not: "idle trade," is added some superior claims upon his time

66

but when, to this

calling (1)," with and attention, his progress in the art of versification will probably be in proportion neither to the years he has lived, nor even to the attempts he has made.

While composing the first published of these poems (2), the author was honoured with the notice and assisted by the advice of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke: part of it was written in his presence, and the whole submitted to his judgment; receiving, in its progress, the benefit of his correction I hope, therefore, to obtain pardon of the reader, if I eagerly seize the occasion, and, after so long a silence, endeavour to express a grateful sense of the benefits I have received from this gentleman, who was solicitous for my more essential interests, as well as benevolently anxious for my credit as a writer.

I will not enter upon the subject of his extra▸rdinary abilities; it would be vanity, it would be weakness, in me to believe that I could make them better known or more admired than they now are;

(1)

["I left no calling for this idle trade,

No duty broke, no father disobey'd."— POPE.] (2) ["The Library."]