160 A CRITICAL DISSERTATION 



ornamental than nature;" — now, Falconer, and 

 perhaps Camoens, excepted ; no poet was ever more 

 conversant with ocean than Byron himself; why 

 then has he not in his own sea pieces, had more 

 frequent recourse to such ornament ? It might be 

 because such terms, however appropriate in them* 

 selves, can hardly fail of impairing the general effect. 

 Few are induced to take delight in what they do not 

 understand — except ladies sometimes : and what 

 landsman knows much of such mysteries as a " wea- 

 ther earing," or the ** lee clue garnet." 



But let us see what Falconer himself thought of 

 the matter ; and here it is of consequence to discrim- 

 inate rightly between his somewhat amphibious 

 character — as a seaman and as a poet. As the 

 former^ Falconer is in no wise devoid of a sailor's 

 pride in his art, he invokes the companions of similar 

 toil for his judges; but with confidence of their 

 approval. 



" In practice train'd, and conscious of his power, 

 The muse intrepid, meets the trying hour." 



And yet at other times he is found lamenting that 

 his theme involved him in, 



"The wilderness of rude mechanic lore." 



As a foet he confesses that he has been entangled 

 among such terms hke Daedalus in his Labyrinth, 

 and exults when, Hke him, he has found wings to 

 escape from them. 



The art of the poet, rose superior to those difficul- 

 ties : he appealed, as it were, to the spirit of melan- 

 choly to throw a charm over his rough notes, 

 "And coming events cast tlieir shadows before.'* 



The first knell of death rings on us through the 

 harshest sounds ; the loss of four seamen — washed 

 overboard early in the gale, gives a plaintive interest 

 to the subject; while the escape of Arion, hiYnself 

 engaged in the same perilous duty, affords another 

 notice of his identity with the author. 



One personage of the drama remains — Albert the 

 shipmaster. The celebrated critic above quoted, 



