lietrofpect of Domejiic Literature — Poetry. 



611 



tianflation of the Liifiad of Cainoens, 

 however, look liim from it, This, tbe 

 bed effort of his pen, w;is received with 

 kindnefs by tlie public ; and afterwards 

 gained him a friendly reception, when, 

 in days of better fortune, he was taken 

 to Lilbon by Commodore Johnllone. 

 Toward the clofe of life, between the 

 fortune lie obtained by his marriage, and 

 what he had acquired by his voyage to 

 Portugal, he became poirefl'cd of fuch a 

 competence as enabled him to enjoy li- 

 terary leifure and independence, though 

 loflTes and troubles, in a dcjj;ree, Hill pur- 

 fued him. In September, 1788, he com- 

 pofed " Elkdale Braes," tlie kill of his 

 prodaftions ; and died the next month, 

 afterafliort illnefs, at Torrell Hill, near 

 Oxford, in ihe manfion-houfe where Mil- 

 ton married his firll wife, and where he 

 compoled fome part of his Paradife 

 Loft. 



Of Mr. Mickle's Poems, which were 

 never before publillicd, the prefent vo- 

 lume offers five : An Elei;y to the Me- 

 mory of Frederic Prince of Wales; two 

 Odes, on Rlay-day and Viciifitude ; a 

 Fras^ment; and aVerfion of tlieForty-eighth 

 Pfalm: beCde which, there are feven 

 other pieces which have not been intro- 

 duced into any former edition of the 

 author's works. Of thefe laft, one of 

 the bell is Queen Emma, the two open- 

 ing ftanzas of which we here tranfcribe : 



" O'er the hills of Cheviot beaming 



Rofe the filver dawn of May j 

 Hoftile fpcars and helmets gleaming 



Sweli'd along the mountain gray. 



Edwin's vvarliUe liorn refounded 

 Through the winding dales below. 



And fhe echoing hills rebounded 

 The deriance of the foe." 



The merit of Mr. Mickle's former poetry 

 is too well known to require a teftimony 

 liere. 



Among the " Mij'ceUaneous Poetical 

 Tranjlations, hy Mr. Howes," that of 

 the Batrachomyomachia is certainly the 

 beft. The verfe both in this and in the 

 tranllations from Anacreon is extremely 

 neat. 



The " Wild Harp's Murmurs," by Mr. 

 Service, appear to have been written 

 under few advantages, bur, are occafion- 

 ally both hmnonrous and happy. The 

 " Cruelty of l-'ortuiie," is one of the bell 

 pieces in t|je vohime. 



The " Moiiwh/ to the Memory of Mr. 

 Tilt," though anonymous, hefpeaks the 

 pen of au experienced writer ; it is fu.m- 



cd upon a claffical model, and deferves 

 our approbation. 



One or two more poems have appear- 

 ed on the Fight oft' Trafalgar, but none 

 that have a higher claim tn praife than 

 thofe w hlch have been already noticed in 

 a former Supplement. 



Mr. Meyler's " Poetical Amufement 

 on the Journey of Life''' fliews too many 

 marks of halle ; though, at the lame 

 time, we allow that many of his poems 

 are both fweet and fpirited. They are 

 comprehended under four diviljons ; the 

 ferious, the theatric, the epigrammatic, 

 and the mifcellaneous. As a fpecimeii, 

 wc feleiSt the 



Epitaph on a Youth, 

 " Farewel, dear boy— whofe early promifc 



gave 

 Hopes, whicli alas! lie buried in the grave ; 

 Dejr boy, farewell— whole mild engaging 



mien 

 Chtcr'd every heart, and brighten'd every 



fcene ; 

 Dear bov, farewell— till thou that period hail 

 When fpotlefs virtue fhall o'er death prevail. 

 When taking from the buriling grave thy 



flight. 

 Angels conduft thee to the realms of light." 

 " Torrio-Whiggo-Machia" is apolitical 

 fatire, in four cantos, the characters of 

 which are as much in concealment as 

 the author ; though hi« verfe is for the 

 mofl part tolerably fmooth. 



The " Ballads and Lyrical Pieces, by 

 Mr. Walter Scott," not having herc-- 

 tofore made their appearance in a co- 

 letted form, have not met the voice of 

 criticifm. They are trifles, it is true, 

 but with greater merit than trifles ufu- 

 ally polTefs. As a fptcimen of Mr. Scott's 

 beft manner, we quote four llanzas from 

 " Cadyow Caftlc," which contains a re- 

 lation of the murder of the regent Mur- 

 ray : 

 " 15ut who, o'erbuih, o'er ftre.^m, and rock. 



Rides headlong, with reiiitlefs fjieed, 

 Whofe bloody poniard's frantic ftroke 

 Drives to the leap his jaded deed ; 



" Whofe cheek is pale, whofe eye-balls glare 

 As one fome vifion'd fight that faw ; 



Whofe hands are bloody, loufe his hair ? 

 — 'Tis he ! 'tis he ! 'tis Bothwellhaugh ! 



" From gory felle, and reeling fteed, 



Sprung the fierce horfeman with a bound. 

 And, reeking from the recent deed, 



He dalh'd his carbine on the ground. 

 " Sternly he fpoke, ' 'Tis fweet to hear, 



In good greenwood, the bugle blown ; 

 But fwceter to Revenge's ear 



To drink d tyrant's clyiftj groan." 



Tlie 



