608 



ANNUAL REGISTER, ISCD. 



ptovement of mankind. Variety 

 and originality were the objects of 

 their adoration, to which they sa- 

 crificed without remorse, reason, 

 and common sense. Among those 

 persons were Mr. Day (who from 

 Miss Seward's own account of him, 

 was a capricious wild enthusiast) ; 

 Mr. Edgworth, and Sir Brooke 

 Boothby. — Doctor Darwin promot- 

 edandencouraged theiridle schemes, 

 and gave consequence to their spe- 

 culations, by the reputation of his 

 genius, and the variety of his ta- 

 lents. In this coterie, Miss Seward's 

 early impressions were formed. In 

 the daily habit of hearing new, and 

 ingenious hypotheses, she became 

 enamoured of novelty, and sighed 

 for the meed of fame; in which 

 she was encouraged and flattered 

 by the gallantry of her admirers. 

 Possessed of an active and ductile 

 tnind, and a romantic disposition, 

 she fed with avidity upon the intel- 

 lectual variety thus placed before 

 her. To poetry she had been fond- 

 ly attached from her childhood, and 

 her warm imagination naturally be- 

 came emulous of distinction in her 

 favourite pursuit. But Miss Se- 

 ward's genius was not of a class 

 to strike out new models of poetic 

 excellence; and her natural good 

 taste had been perverted. She was 

 deficient in fertility of invention ; 

 and wanted new and forcible com- 

 binations of thought, to accomplish 

 such a task. All her attempts at 

 originality evaporated in turgid ob- 

 scurity, and pompous inflation. We 

 frequently meet in her poetry with 

 nervous lines, and sometimes with 

 beautiful stanzas ; but neither the 

 pleasing vein of easy flowing verses, 

 nor the more happy inspiration of 

 graceful energy, ever accompany 

 her long. Wc seldom see her 



thoughts clothed in the dignified 

 simplicity of nature, but usually 

 find them loaded with factitious and 

 ill-assorted ornaments. Her prose 

 bears pretty much the same charac- 

 ter with her poetic compositions. 

 They abound in sparkling sen- 

 tences, poetical images, and higli 

 sounding epithets ; but want ar- 

 rangement and precision. It is un-i 

 derstoodthat she has left the whole 

 of her works, as a legacy, to Mr. 

 Scott, the northern poet, with a 

 viewto their publication inacollect- 

 ed edition, with her life and post- 

 humous pieces ; several of which 

 the present writer has heard her 

 name. But of all her works, her 

 epistolary correspondence must be 

 the most desirable. She had all her 

 life an extensive acquaintance, and 

 especially with men of literature. 

 Her talents and disposition peculi- 

 arly fitted her for a species of writ- 

 ing free from the trammels and con- 

 straints of regular composition. It 

 is from this source that the nature 

 of her genius, and the powers of her 

 mind, may be fairly appreciated ; 

 where, although intermixed with 

 much tinsel and alloy, will doubt- 

 less be discovered no common por- 

 tion of sterling metal. In her re- 

 marks upon the writings of her con- 

 temporaries, always a favourite to- 

 pic of communication with her 

 friends, she will be found to display 

 much acute and genuine criticism. 

 Her judgment in the selection of 

 the poetic beauties of others, was 

 for the most part chaste and cor- 

 rect ; qualities which in her own 

 compositions seemed to be sacrific- 

 ed to empty sound and vain show. 

 Had the taste, and exquisite feel- 

 ing, of this lady, been reared and 

 cultivated with care and prudence, 

 it is highly probable that she would 



have 



