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with the art of the poet : And I believe each of thefe no where 

 appears more eminent than in the Tempeft of Shakcfpear. There 

 in the very firft fcene the attention is arrefted, the paffions in- 

 terefted, the mind hurried into a&ion where {he recognizes nature, 

 and is unable to remain an indifferent fpeflator. A fhip appears 

 at fea in a ftorm. The paffengers are d-ifcovered to be noble ; 

 but diftindtions of rank are loft in danger : The great then feel 

 their dep'endance on the meaneft, and the meaneft become fen- 

 lible of their own importance. Hence it is that the boatfwain 

 dwells with pleafure on the refledion, that " thefe roarers care 

 " not for the name of king " and that pov/er and wifdom are now 

 of no avail. Hence that contemptuous fuperiority with which 

 he replies to the foothing admonitions of Gonzalo, and which 

 muft naturally arife from the confcioufnefs that a monarch's 

 fafety depended upon him. The paffengers, as foon as they 

 have difcarded hope, give vent to all the impatience of defpair. 

 The terror which had firfl feized them now fpreads among the 

 mariners. The defpair becomes general. All is given up for 

 loft. The fhip fplits, and we are for awhile left in a ftate of 

 anxiety and fufpenfe. 



We may obfcrve the diftindive manners of an old man main- 

 tained in the cautions of Gonzalo ; the fatisfadion he takes in 

 the fagacity of his own remarks, and his reliance on their juftice 

 even in the extremity of danger. But I haftcn to a more fignal 

 inftance of Shakefpear's infight into the human mind. The 

 greateft difficulty in the condudt of this drama confifted in re- 

 conciling us to the marvellous, with which the play abounds ; 

 and which 'in the hands of any other poet muft, inftead of raifing 



admiration. 



