ginary fpeaker, called forth to give a juft and strong reprehen fion to a great political delinquent, was well calculated to renew that intereft, which might perhaps begin to be exhausted. So far as Mr. Grattan is addreffed, we find indeed but little reference to the former publication; but that address concludes at the 148th line, from which place to the end (1. 304) the author proceeds exactly in his prior track. Nor is the attack of Mr. Grattan fo alien to the original plan, that it might not have been interwoven in it: the perfon fuppofed to speak is a great literary character, and one chief part of the rebuke is for violating the claffic haunts of the Mufes, by an odious and unhallowed vifitation.

The author, though he makes Pope the fpeaker on the prefent occafion, does not feem to have propofed to himself to write in ftrict imitation of the style of that poet. In part of Mafon's Monody on the Death of Pope, the imitation was laboured and correct; but this poem preferves the ftyle of the author himself; with perhaps more lines of Pope interwoven or parodied than ufual, though there always have been many. The writer has even ventured in one place to be more correct than Pope, uling Mathefts with the middle fyllable long, according to the Greek origin (anos) though Pope has not fcrupled to Anglicize it into Mathefis. Dunc. iv. 31.

Dr. Duigenan's celebrated Anfwer to Mr. Grattan's Addrefs (noticed Brit. Crit. vol. xii, p. 648) is faid in the Preface to have been the chief caufe of this Poem; connecting the strong reprefentations in that tract, with the circumftance of Mr. Grattan's temporary refidence at Twickenham. The Poem opens in a folemn manner. Some warning voice calls up the fhade of Pope from the tomb, to avenge the profanation of his favourite fcenes. It is not, however, hypercriticism to remark, that "accents murmured" can hardly be "deepfounding." In other refpects the opening lines are good and impreflive.

What accents murmur'd o'er this hallow'd tomb,

Break my repofe, deep-founding through the gloom 2
Would mortal strains immortal fpirits reach,
Or earthly wisdom truth celeftial teach?
Ah! 'tis no holy calm that breathes around;
Some warning voice invites to yonder ground,
Where once with impulfe bold, and manly fire,
I rous'd to notes of war my patriot lyre;
While Thames with every gale, or, bland or ftrong,
Sigh'd through my grotto, and diffus'd my fong.

We should, however, prefer mild to bland. In the next paragraph, the lines 12 and 16 are weak and common; and the couplet,

Sadly

Sadly the fcene I view, how chang'd, how loft,
The ftatefman's refuge once and poet's boaft;

requires certainly "now, fomething contrafted to that," before the fpeaker should proceed from feeing to hearing. The enfuing lines are fpirited, and may perhaps be produced as the fittelt fpecimen of this part of the Poem.

The polish'd Neftor of the claffic fhore,

Mendip, my green domain can guard no more;
Lo, Cambridge droops, who once with tuneful tongue
The gifts of fcience and her wand'rings fung;
With him, whom Themis and the Mufes court,
The learned Warden of the tatter'd fori*.
For their beft talk my Sylphs are all unfit,
While more than Gnomes along the meadows flit.
No more my fabled phantoms haunt the plains,
Where Moloch now, in right of Umbriel reigns.
His bands from their Hibernian Tophet pafs,
And clash the cymbal's visionary brass†;
Or round my groves, fublime on murky wing,
Spells of revolt and revolution fling;
And as they glide, u allow'd vapours fhed
On that falfe fugitive's inglorious head.

The apostrophe that follows is ftriking:

Whence, and what art thou Grattan? has the fhock,
And terror low'ring o'er the fable rock,

Hurl'd thee, aftounded with tumultuous fears

From Ireland's mutter'd curfe, from Ireland's tears?

That Pope fhould borrow a line from Gray may feem extraOrdinary; yet it fhould be recollected, that the fhade of the poet appears to have kept pace with English literature, from the time of his death to the prefent hour. This fuppofition is allowable enough. We give a kind of divinity to unembodied fpirits which authorizes the prefumption that they gain much knowledge with little trouble. Where the fhade recites the doctrines of Mr. Grattan, the introduction is not quite happy; "Hear then thy doctrines

This feems as if it was neceffary to inform Mr. G. of his own doctrines. It might easily have been moulded as a re

*George Harding, Efq. The author wifhed, it is plain, to pay him a compliment, otherwife this couplet is ill-fuited to the folemnity of this part of the fpeech. The fecond line is burlefque. Rev.

+ The imagination of this poet often recurs, with allufion more or lefs direct, to the fublime and wonderful Hymn of Milton on the Nativity. Every reader of a claffical tafte, and poetical fancy, muft feel it with him.

Rev.

proach,

proach, or an interrogation, by which this effect would have been avoided. "Are not thy doctrines thus," &c.-? The

lines beginning,

Go rather and thy wayward measures fill,

Where the young wantons fport on Anna's hill;

have great livelinefs, and much poetical merit; and are replete with ftrong and pointed fatire. When we come to the parody on "Cibberian forehead and Cibberian brain," we enter upon what we confider as the complete continuation of the Purfuits of Literature. But the tranfition is elegant, and well fuited to the fuppofed fpeaker.

Time was, when statesmen high in fame and place,
With proud diftinction my retreat would grace;
Would court my friendship, foothe my aching head,
By ftudy foften'd, and "with books well-bred;"
Fond to unbend they fought familiar ease,

I never flatter'd yet could always please.
Then oft with Minifters would Genius walk :
Oxford and St. John lov'd with Swift to talk
Dorfet with Prior, and with Qub'ry Gay,
And Hallifax with Congreve charm'd the day;
The Mufe her Addifon to Somers join'd,
The nobleft statesman to the pureft mind.
But in thefe dark, forlorn, diftracted days,
Though D'Arcy fmil'd and fofter'd Mafon's lays,
Few friends are found for poetry and wit, &c.

Though we have allowed the prompt intuition of departed fpirits, we muft add, that, in the fubfequent enumeration of perfons and events completely recent, and even prefent, we rather too much lofe fight of the perfonage fuppofed to fpeak. This might have been prevented, without much contrivance, by occafional recurrence to the paft ftate of things, and comparison of the two. Yet the poetry and the fatire deserve commendation; and though the notes are fometimes redundant, in point of quantity, they are generally important in matter. The note on Mr. Godwin and his Mary is particularly worthy of attention; and the ftrong teftimony to the merit of Dr. Vincent, and his most learned tranflation of the Voyage of Nearchus, is to be ranked with those paffages which do moft honour to the writer of the Pursuits of Literature. The allufion towards the clofe of the poem, to the great vic-. tory of Nelfon, has no fmall fhare of force and merit; notwithstanding a small exception at the outfet, that the thunder's rear fhould rather be heard than felt.

But

But now I feel th' avenging thunder roar
In British terror* on the dufky fhore;
The Bog Serbonian yawns for Gallia's doom,
And Pompey points to Bonaparte's tomb!
There as in mournful pomp, o'er Egypt's woes,
Th' embodied majefty of Nilus rofe,

In founds of awful comfort NELSON fpoke,
And the Palm wav'd obei fance to the Oak;
Firm, yet ferenet, the Christian Victor rode

And on his flag infcrib'd, THE WILL OF GOD!

We are forry to find a writer, ftudious in general of claffical propriety in his English ftyle, ufe in one of his notes the affected modernism of Jembrous (p. 51); but it may ferve to how how contagious thefe impertinencies are, when even a careful writer fometimes falls under the infection.

We are not among the number of those who are anxious to conjecture the author of this and the preceding productions: but after much confideration of his writings, we feel ourfelves authorized to give our general opinion of his character. He appears to us a man of acute difcernment and found judgment; a poet, perhaps, rather by love of the art, and much acquaintance with it, than by the original defignation of nature; but of a tafte that has led him not only to study, but to infufe into his mind, the best models. He writes with a fpirit that naturally arrefts attention; and though he is occafionally feduced into faults, by an ambition of novelty or of fublimity, he atones for thofe lapfes by many beauties. His cenfures have been occafionally hafty and inconfid rate; and though, on better advice, he has fometimes filently retracted them, it would have been more honourable not to have had the occafions for retracting. By fome juft, fome wanton, and fome too fevere attacks, he has raised a host of enemies, who are eager to depreciate his powers; but after all they can fubtract from the amount, he will fill retain enough to rife far above the greater of his affailants. For his engaging poetry, eloquence, and learning, fo ftrongly on the fide of good order and good principles, he de ferves a gratitude from us, and from his country, which outweighs inferior confiderations; and fixes him, in the eye of the public, as a molt ufeful, and, in many points of view, an admirable defender of the ftate.

part

"British terror" is not quite judicious, Rey.

+ There is hardly oppofition enough between firm and ferene, to juftify yet. Bold might do better. Rev.

ART.

ART. III. Sermons, on practical Subjects. By the late W. Enfield, D. D. Prepared for the Prejs by himself. To which are prefixed, Memoirs of the Author, by J. Aickin, M. D. Three Volumes. 8vo. l. 1s. Johnfon. 1798.

THE writer of thefe Sermons is well known to the public by feveral works, more particularly by his book entitled "The Speaker," by his "Biographical Sermons," and his very able and inftructive Abridgment of Brucker's Hiftory of Phifofophy. During almost the whole of his life, he appears to have been engaged in various literary labours, more particu larly fuch as were connected with his profeffion, as a Diffenting Minifter; and not long before his death, he affociated himself with Dr. Aikin, in a plan to publifh a New General Biographical Dictionary. Their defign was interrupted by the death of Dr. Enfield, after a fhort illness*, Nov. 3, 1797, in the fifty-feventh year of his age.

To thefe Sermons is prefixed a biographical account of their author, by Dr. Aikin. It is drawn up in a very pleasing man

with Dr. A.'s ufual elegance of style, and does great credit to his friendship for Dr. Enfield. The whole detail of circumstances contributes to place the character of his friend in the molt amiable, and, we may add, no doubt, the mot just point of view.

The following paffages more immediately ferve to illustrate the private, as well as public character of Dr. E. During the time that he was tutor at Warrington,

"His efforts were faithfully joined, with thofe of his colleagues, to fupport its credit, and to remedy evils as they occurred. His diligence was exemplary; his fervices as a public and private tutor were numerous and valuable; his attention to difcipline was, at least, uninterrupted; but it may be acknowledged that the arduous poft of domeftic fuperintendant, and enforcer of the laws, was not that for which he was best calculated. So fenfible, indeed, was he of his deficiency in this refpect, and fo much did he find his tranquillity injured by the fcenes to which he was expofed, that he made a very ferious attempt to free himself from the burden, by refigning this part of his charge; and it was only after the failure of various applications by the trustees to engage a fucceffor, that he suffered himself to be perfuaded to retain it." Vol. i, p. ix.

As a preacher," his manner of delivery was grave and impressive, affecting rather a tenor of uniform dignity than a variety of expreffion, for which his voice was not well calculated. It was entirely free from what is called tone, and though not highly animated, was by na means dull, and never carelefs or indifferent:" Vol. i, p. xiii.

But a firft volume has lately appeared.

As