Roberts A poetical epistle THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES FREDERIC THOMAS BLANCHARD ENDOWMENT FUND 4fc POETICAL EPISTLE, ON THE ENGLISH POETS, [PRICE ONE SHILLING.], J 2 pI3 ,Y 3 T 8 VI' A >I 3 H 5 O T 8 1 T a O POETICAL EPISTLE, T O CHRISTOPHER ANSTEY, Efq; ON THE ENGLISH POETS, CHIEFLY THOSE, WHO HAVE WRITTEN IN BLANK VERSE. Si fapis, ad numeros exige quidque fuos. LONDON: Printed for J. WILKIE, in St. Paul's Church -Yard; T. PAYNE, at the Mews-Gate; J. WOOD YE R, at Cambridge ; W. FREDERICK, at Bath ; and J. P o T E, at Eton, MkDCC.LXXIII. PR POETICAL EPISTLE TO CHRISTOPHER A N S T E Y, Efq. N O, not in rhyme. I hate that iron chainj Forg'd by the hand of fome rude Goth, which cramps The faireft feather in the Mufe's wing> And pins her to the ground; Shall the quick thought, That darts from world to world, and traverfes ft The 87Q482 * 3 The realms of time, and fpace, all fancy-free, Check'd in his rapid courfe, obey the eall Of fome barbarian, who by found enflav'd, And deaf to manly melody, proclaims, |6J r jrii merit &.. " No farther /halt thou go" ? Pent in his cage The imprifon'd eagle fits, and beats his bars ; His. eye is rais'd to heaven. Tho many a mooa Has feen him pine in fad captivity, Still to the thunderer's throne he longs to bear The bolt of vengeance ; ftill he thirds to dip His daring pinions in the fount of light. it33 B io.mlcl Go, mark the letter'd fons of Gallia's clime, Where critic rules, and cuftom's tyrant law, Have fetter'd the free verfe. On the pall'd ear The drowfy numbers, regularly dull, [ 7 3 Clofe in flow tedious unifom Not fo The bard of Eden ; to the Grecian lyre He tun'd his verfe j he lov'd the genuine mufe. That from the top of Athos circled all ^tt yjn.Bca qj teb i The fertile iflands of the ^Egean deep, Or roam'd o'er fair Ionia's winding fhore* fl'qm /toons Poet of other times, to thee I bow With lowlieft reverence. Oft thou tak'ft my foul, And waftft it by thy potent harmony To that empyreal manfion, where thine ear Caught the foft warblings of a Seraph's harp, What time the nightly vifitant unlock'd ; The gates of heaven, and to thy mental fight Difplay'd celeftial fcenes. She from thy lyre With indignation tore the tinkling bells 3 2 Z 8 3 And tun'd it to fublimeft argument. Sooner the bird, that ufhering in the fpring Strikes the fame notes with one unvarying paufe, Shall vye with Philomel, when fhe purfues Her evening fong thro every winding maze Of melody, than rhyme fhall footh the foul With mufic fweet as thine. With vigilant eye, And cautious ftep, as bearing to be left, Thee Pmups watches, and with tafte refin'd Each precept culling from the Mantuan page, Difdains the Gothic bond. Silurian wines, Ennobled by his foog, no more fhall yield To Setin, or the ftrong Falernian juice, Beverage of Latian chiefs. Next THOMPSON came : He, curious ba^d, examin'd every drop That gliftens on the thorn ; each leaf furvey'd Which [ 9 ] Which Autumn from the ruftling foreft fliakes, And mark'd its {hape, and trac'd in the rude wind Its eddying motion. Nature in his hand A pencil, dip'd in her own colours, plac'd, With which the ever- faithful copyift drew Each feature in proportion juft. Had Art But foften'd the hard lines, and mellowxl down 8 The glaring tints, not Mincio's felf would roll A prouder ftream than Caledonian Tweed. Nor boaft wild Scotia's hills^ and pleafant vales, One bard of freedom only. While the North Turns his broad canvafs, his Siberian fan, Winnowing the noxious air while luxury breathes Delicious odours o'er her treacherous meal ; While labour firings the nerves, and warms the blood ; C While C 10 ] While focial fympathy diffolves the foul In pity, or in love, fhall ARMSTRONG pleafe. 10 \mb Sweet is the found, when down the floping fide "* ^ \aS a Of fome gfeen hill, or on the fcented herb ,nijnti Ifioov aril o3 svri/iocftai gnn ILsnS Steep'd in Aurora's aromatic dews, The full-voicfd choir their emulative notes mtf oittA 3flirn rfirtf 3mo3 f 3oi?H3a Tune to the jocund horn. Whoe'er thou art Whom now on downy couch dull iloth detains^ f rfo 3&I eni. )3 b*nui ^& Hark to the poet's fong. Chafte Dian's bard, 'ftj b'lod bio! tf' Avonian SOMERVILLE, thro many a wood, n n it i iibhd b Down many a craggy iteep, ihall hurry oa Thy glowing fancy. He (hall fhew thee where The amphibious otter, where the wily fox- Hides his profcribed head. Frefh from the chace Oft friall fome hunter o'er full bowls record His. t " ] His verfe, and with the faithful image fir'd Exalt his loud-ton'd voice. The ecchoing hall, Where blaze the roots of elm, or oak, where round Hang all the fhaggy trophies of the field r Shall ring reiponnve to the vocal ftrain* jb objsrnoiB e'aioiuA ni b f ^on aNriteiucap ip.ffo iiorfp b'^iov-llui srlT Come, AKENSIDE, come with thine Attic urn Fill'd from Ilyffus by a Naid's hand. /oi> no won mod W Thy harp was tun'd to freedom : ftrains like thine, ' r ol When Afia's lord bor'd the huge mountain's fide, t boovv - And bridgfd the fea, to battle rous'd the tribes ^cio Of ancient Greece : the fons of Cecrops rai Minerva's aegis ; Lacedsmon pour'd Her hardy veterans from their frug^^p^,.,^ , id 8?biH And Thebes faw Xerxes fhake . thr^'giy^jft^ijfeoi i[ fir ft Tell I I* ] Tell me, O MASON, will thy liberal foul With tame fubmiffion hug the chain, and brook Barbarian bondage ? Shall the Mufe, who led Thy youthful fteps thro' every bofky bourn That ikirts wide Harewood's foreft, and before Thy raptur'd eye rais'd Mona's central oak, Haunt of the Druids old, implore in vain ? Wilt thou not join, and from her gall'd feet Qiake The Northern (hackle ? So to every walk That thro' thy garden weaves its mazy path, To every opening glade, each odorous fhrub That fcents the horizon round, fhall (he conduct Her mufing votary : fo fhall (he unfold Rude nature polifh'd, not fubdued, by art, Scenes, where thy fancy roves ; and all her flowers 3 Stee P <3 J Steep in the living fountains of the fpring, To wreathe a chaplet for her poet's brow. Would I could name thee, GRAY ! but Ode is thine. And plaintive Elegy. Not Pindar ibars On bolder wing But hark ! what means that bell At this ftill hour flow riling on mine ear? It is the voice of death f. Even while I write, Cold icy dew-drops chill thy languid limbs, And life's fhort date is out. From thefe high fpires, Reft to thy cares, and mercy to thy foul ! Return, my Mufe ; thy wild, unfetter'd. ftrains, , a / v Suit not the mournful dirge. Rhyme tunes the pipe Of querulous elegy ; 'tis rhyme confines The lawlefs numbers of the lyric fong. Who fhall deny the quick-retorted found Tofatire, when with this he points her fcorn, Darts her fharp fhaft, and whets her venom'd fang ? Pent in the clofe of fome ftrong period ftands The victim's blafted name : The kindred note Firft ftamps it on the ear ; then oft recalls To memory, what were better wrapt at once In dark oblivion, Still unrivall'd here POPE I '5 POPE thro his rich dominion reigns alone : POPE, whofe immortal ftrains Thames ecchoes yet Thro all his winding banks. He fmooth'd the verfc, Tun'd its foft cadence to the claffic ear, And gave to rhyme the dignity of fong. * As when the chearful bells fome wake proclaim, The village maid loads not her head with gems. Ruby, or diamond, but from every field Culls daffadills, and harebells, fprent with dew, Her lovelieft ornaments, in humble ftile Let Paftoral appear. Let rhyme fupply The majefty of nobler fentimenf, 5 * Boileau, L'Art Poetique. Which. t Itf Which ill might fuit the peafant. GAY felt this ; And banifli'd from his woods Arcadian fwains, And mark'd the manners of the Britim hind, And uncouth dialect. He too could veil In fable's myftic garb the form of truth ; And by his fprightly tale could often draw The tear of laughter even from the dim eye Of churlifri Gravity. Nor be forgot The grotefque mirth of BUTLER'S errant Knight, Nor SWIFT, nor gallant PRIOR. Subjects light, Swoln by heroic phrafe, like fome poor flave, Who, rob'd in royal mantle, ftruts his hour, Betray their bafe original the more. Pardon, my ANSTEY, that I name thee laft, Tho' laft, not leaft in fame. For thee the Mufe Referv'd [ I? ] Referv'd a fecret fpot, unknown before, And fmiled, and bade thee fix thy banner there ; As erft Columbus on his new-found world Difplay'd the Iberian enfign. Graceful lit Thy golden chains, and eafy flows the rhyme Spontaneous. While old Bladud's fceptre guards His medicinal ftream, fhall Simkin raife Loud peals of merriment. Thou too canft foar To nobler heights, and deck the fragrant earth cc Where generous Ruffel lies." With thee, my friend, Oft have I ftray'd from morn to lateft eve, ' And ftoln from balmy fleep the midnight hour * To court the Latian Mufe. Tho' other cares * This alludes to a Latin tranflation of " Gray's Elegy in a Country Church- " yard," written in conjunftion with Mr. Anftey, and printed in 1762. E Tore r i Tore me from that fvveet focial intercourfe, I cannot but remember how I rov'd By Camus, fedgy ftream, and on the pipe, The ruftic pipe *, while yet it breath'd thy lips, Eflay'd alternate ftrains. Accept this verfe, Pledge of remembrance dear, and faithful love. Mff . MOSCH, FINIS. IfJOOt'i'trj f fp'o^d * TOW Ism moil am Publi/hed^ *>j)fi .miwrft-^ki; c8 amBD X 3 V h b ' ll:to *' ^ ^ ^IWw f * 3qig orJlrnpriT POETICAL E S .T AY IN THREE PART nTd ON THE BEING, ATTRIBUTES, and PROVIDENCE O F G O D. PRICE 3 s. 6 d. Each Part may be had feparate. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. flfC'D ID-URL ]g JON2 .dUN 2 1 1ST: Form L9-50m-7,'54 (5990) 444 HVERS LOS ANGELES I ' A OOC PR 3668