302 CALLOGRAPHY. 



obedience of our first parents, with its deplorable consequences, and 

 the promised restoration of our race to the Divine favor. Milton's 

 Paradise Regained, relating to the events of our Saviour's life, has 

 less inspiration, and is less admired. Blackmore's poem on the 

 Creation, is elaborate, but tame ; and his Prince Arthur, and King 

 Alfred, are heroic poems of minor note. Ths Leonidas, of Glover, 

 is a respectable production ; but, like the Epigoniad, of Wilkie, has 

 fallen into neglect. The Fingal and Temora, attributed to Ossian, 

 but collected and compiled by Macpherson, may be regarded as an 

 epic poem, relating to the deliverance of Erin from Swaran, king of 

 Lochlin, by Fingal, the father of Ossian. 



Of English lyric poetry, other than psalms and hymns, we would 

 mention Drummond's sonnets, and Habington's poems to Castara, as 

 among the earliest and best. The odes and other poems of Cowley and 

 Waller, we cannot admire. Dryden's Alexander's Feast, an ode for 

 St. Cecilia's Day, is masterly ; and superior to those of Addison, and 

 Congreve, on the same theme. Pope's Messiah, a sacred eclogue, 

 and his Universal Prayer, are noble productions. Collins's Ode on 

 the Passions, is of the first order : and some of Gray's odes, as his 

 Hymn to Adversity, are, we think, superior. T. Warton's ode on 

 the Crusade, and Mason's odes, to Memory, and to Independence, 

 are worthy of praise ; as also Mrs. Barbauld's ode to Remorse. 

 Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads, have found strong admirers ; and 

 Coleridge's Sibylline Leaves, contain many good poems of a lyrical 

 character. Bowles's Sonnets, are also good ; but Burns's Scottish 

 Songs, and Moore's Irish Melodies, are among those collections 

 which have met with the most general favor. Mrs. Hemans's poems 

 belong mostly to this class, and deserve high praise. Of elegiac 

 poetry, we would mention Lord Lyttelton's Monody on the death 

 of his wife ; Shenstone's Elegy on a melancholy event ; and Gray's 

 Elegy, written in a country churchyard ; as models of their kind. 

 Of pastoral poetry, Spenser's Shepherd's Calendar, and Wither's 

 Shepherd's Hunting, are among the oldest specimens of interest. 

 Britfannia's Pastorals, by Browne, are quaint, but original ; Gay's 

 Shepherd's Week, descends to rustic themes and style; but Shen- 

 stone's Pastoral Ballad, is a truly elegant production. Lyttelton's 

 Progress of Love, in four eclogues, is ornate and attractive ; and 

 Allan Ramsay's Gentle Shepherd, is a beautiful picture of Scotch 

 pastoral life. Collins's Oriental Eclogues, finely describe Asiatic 

 pomp; and the City Eclogues, of Lady Montague, assisted by Pope, 

 and Gay, present a striking picture of city life. 



Of English descriptive poetry, Drayton's Poly-olbion, is a minute 

 description of England, with many striking episodes. Phineas 

 Fletcher's Purple Island, is an allegorical description of man, phy- 

 sically and mentally considered. Milton's L' Allegro, and // Pen- 

 seroso, are vivid pictures of cheerfulness and melancholy. Gay's 

 Trivia, or walking in London, and his Rural Sports, like Somer- 

 ville's Chase, and Field Sports, and Savage's Wanderer, are re- 

 spectable poems of this class. Goldsmith's Traveller, and Deserted 

 Village, are peculiarly beautiful; and Pope's Windsor Forest, 

 Dyer's Grongar Hill, Denham's Cooper's Hill, and Roscoe's Mount 



