K L O 



471 



K N A 



K'ap-tock. poetical genius already displayed itself in some pasto- 



'"V"''' rals ; and even at this early period, he conceived the 



design ot' his great epic poem, The Mettia/i. 



In the year 1 745, he commenced the study of divinity 

 at the univiTrity of Jena. But his thoughts werecon- 

 Btantly turne<) towards the great work he had projected, 

 of which he composed the three first cantos in prose. 

 Afterwards, however, he resolved to adopt the versifi- 

 cation of Homer and Virgil as his model ; and having 

 succeeded in bis first attempts, he, at length, determined 

 to execute the whole poem in German hexameters. 



In 17*f>, he removed to Leipsic, where he became 

 acquainted with a number of young men of poetical ta- 

 lent*, who published their essays in an occasional pa- 

 per, called the Bremitche Bet/trage, or " Bremen Contri- 

 bution*." In this piper wcrepublUhed the three first can- 

 tos of Klopstock's Messiah, with a number of his odes ; 

 which were receive-.I with such general approbation, as 

 encouraged him to persevere in his poetical labours. 



He left Leiptic in 1718, and went to reside at Lan- 

 Bcnsalza ; where, in consequence of a disappointment 

 in love, he was, for some time, thrown into a state of 

 mental dejection. About this time he published ten 

 book* of hi* Metiiah, by which his reputation as a poet 

 was completely established. The work, indeed, was 

 hailed with rapture by the lovers of poetry and devo- 

 tion ; the critic* looked upon it aa forming an era in the 

 poetical annals of Germany ; and the author was gene- 

 rally regarded aa the Homer of his native country. 



In 1750, be made a journey into Switzerland, in con- 

 sequence of an invitation from Bodmer to visit him at 

 Zurich. Here he was received with great respect ; and 

 he appear* to have formed a strong attachment to the 

 Country ami it* inhabitant* ; among whom he wo 

 all probability, have spent Uie greater part of hia life, 

 had not Baron BemstorfT, who had conceived a litgh 

 regard for the talents of Klopstock, invited him 

 penhagen, with the assurance of conferring upon him 

 uch a pension aa would make him independent. He 

 accordingly set out for Copenhagen, in the year 17S1 ; 

 and, in pasting through Hamburgh, he became ac- 

 quainted with a young lady, Miss Moller, of amiable 

 qualities and literary accomplishments, whom he soon 

 afterwards married. The congeniality of their disposi- 

 tions seemed to promise much happiness to both ; but 

 Klopstock was very soon deprived of his partner, who 

 diet! in childbed ; anil he lamented her death, and che- 

 rished her memory, to the last hour of his existence. 

 Tf'M**' 1 chiefly at Copenhagen until the year 

 1771; alter which period be remained at Hamburgh, 

 in the capacity of Danish legate, and counsellor of the 

 Margrave of Baden, from whom he enjoyed a pension. 

 He died at Hamburgh in the month of March, 1803, 

 in the 79th year of hi* age. 



The moral character of Klopstock was exceedingly 

 amiable ; and this, no less than his poetical talents, 

 rasjrlr him be regarded with sentiments of veneration 

 by all those who enjoyed his acquaintance. His natu- 

 ral diffidence was so great, that he *eldom felt at his ease 

 in the presence of strangers, especially persons of rank. 

 As a poet, Klopstock has been justly placed among 

 the number of those who hare attained the very first 



1 1 - productions display a fertile imagina- 

 tion and a cultivated taste ; and they abound in sublime 

 1 and pathetic sentiment. The Mtitiah which 

 i to twenty cantos is perhaps too long for a de- 



I poem. There i* in it a paucity of incident, 



which the inspiration of genius finds it difficult to sup- 

 ply ; .and it ouuxx be denied, that the sublimity of his 

 frequently carries the muse of Klopstock 



into the obscure regions of mysticism. His lyrical ef- Knarest* 

 fusions are remarkably spirited ; yet not altogether free rough. 

 from the characteristic defect to which we have allu- '*"V 

 ded. His dramatic pieces are also written with great 

 spirit and force, but are not properly adapted for thea- 

 trical representation. (:) 



KNARESBOROUGH is a town of England, in the 

 West Riding of Yorkshire. It is situated on a rocky 

 eminence on the north-eastern bank of the river Nid, 

 which issues from the bottom of the Craven hills, and 

 flows below precipitous rocks, in a beautiful glen. 

 The town, which is tolerably large and well built, and 

 contains many handsome modern houses, consists of two 

 principal streets, and some smaller ones, along one 

 of which runs the high road through Harrowgate to 

 Boroughbridge ; while along the other street, which 

 crassea it at right angles, runs the road from Ripley to 

 Wetherby. On an abrupt bank, overlooking the river, 

 are the venerable remains of a castle, built by Serlo de 

 Burgh, baron of Tonsburgh in Normandy. It contained 

 nearly two acres and a half within its walls, which 

 were flanked with eleven towers. Part of the princi- 

 pal tower still remains, and seems to have been built 

 about the time of Edward III. It consists of three 

 stairs above xhe keep, or dungeon. The roof of the 

 dungeon is arched with stone, and supported by one 

 round pillar, three feet in diameter. 



The parish church is neither spacious nor elegant. It 

 contains several handsome monuments, particularly of 

 the Slingsby family. There is here a spacious market- 

 place, with a neat cross erected in 1719. Besides a 

 free school-house, built by subscription in 1741, there 

 i* a dissenting chapel, built in 1778 a Quaker's meet- 

 ing-houie, built in 1701 and a good stone bridge over 

 the Nid. The principal manufactures are coarse linens 

 and sheetings ; and a great trade is carried on in corn. 

 \ ery fine liquorice is grown round the town. More 

 than 1000 pieces of linen, each twenty yards long, have 

 ofuii been woven here in a single week. Knaresbo- 

 rongh send* two members to parliament, and is govern, 

 ed by a bailiff, who is also the returning officer at the 

 election. The right of election belongs to the posses- 

 sors of 8 1 burgage holds. 



This town has long been celebrated for its fine medi- 

 cinal spring, and was a place of great resort before 

 Harrowgate and Scarborough came into such repute. 

 The Sicerl Spa, or vitriolic well, discovered in 1620, 

 is situated in Knaresborough forest, about three miles 

 from the town. The Stinking .S/wi, or sulphur well, is 

 very foetid, and is used only for bathing. It changes 

 silvir to the colour of copper. Si. Mango's We U is a 

 cold bath, about four miles distant from the town. 

 The famous Dropping, or Petrifying Writ, is in the 

 long walk on the south-west bank of the Nid, and 

 opposite to the castle. It rises in the declivity of the 

 hill, at the foot of a limestone rock, about forty yards 

 from the bank* of the river; and, after a course of twen- 

 ty yard, it spreads itself on the top of a rock, from which 

 it trickles down in about forty places, creating a musi- 

 cal kind of tinkling. The quantity of water delivered 

 in a minute, is about twenty gallons. The rock, which 

 is covered with plants, flowers, and shrubs, projects in 

 a circular curve from the bottom to the top, so that its 

 brow overhangs its base nearly fifteen feet. It is about 

 SO feet high, 48 long, and from 30 to 48 broad. The 

 ground that receives the water before it forms the well, 

 has l>een converted into a solid rock, through a distance 

 of 24 feet ; and the spring water, in running into the 

 river Nid, has formed a rock some yards long. 



The walk from the Dropping Well to the high 



