6 Poehy. [Chap. XX. 



de Kordeiiflyclit^ count Oxenstierna, Kellgren, 

 Leopold, Lidner, Torild, and several others, whose 

 writings abundantly testify, that the Swedish lan- 

 guage, notwithstanding its former defects, is ca- 

 pable of exhibiting, under the hand of a master, 

 all that harmony, tenderness, and force, which, 

 when united, render the productions of the poet 

 so interesting. The labours of Kellgren, in parti- 

 cular, for a number of years past, to polish and 

 refine the versification of his country, are said to 

 have been eminently si]%essful, and highly ho- 

 iiourable to his character *. 



The poetry of Russia is almost wholly the 

 growth of the eighteenth century. Cantemir, Ilin- 

 L^ki, Frediatofski, and a few others, adventured in 

 this new field at a very early period of the cen- 

 tury ; but they were rather rhymers than poets. 

 The first respectable jDoet in the Russian language 

 Was Lomonozof, who wrote about the middle of 

 the century. His compositions are principally of 

 the lyric kind, which, for originality, energy of lan- 

 guage, and sublimity of sentiment, deserve much 

 praise. He was followed in this career of improve- 

 ment by Sumorokof, who is represented as the 

 founder of the Russian drama, and one of the most 

 successful refiners of the poetic language of his 

 country. To these succeeded a number of poets, 

 who all contributed something to improve the ver- 

 sification of this language ; among the most distin- 

 guished of whom arc Kheraskof and Karamsin. 

 The Jlossiada of the former, as it has been greatly 

 admired by the author's countrymen, so its ap- 



* See Catteau's Fzetv of Sivedm, and Acerbi's Travels. 



