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 FREDERIC THOMAS BLANCHARD 
 ENDOWMENT FUND
 
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 OCCASIONAL EPISTLES. 
 
 WRITTEN DURINS A 
 
 JOURNEY FROM LONDON TO BUSRAH, 
 
 IN THE GULF OF PERSIA, 
 IN THE YEARS 1780 AND 1781 = 
 
 To WILLIAM HAYLEY, Esq. 
 
 ByEYLES IRWIN, Esq. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR J.DODSLEY, IN PALL MALL. 
 
 M.DCC.LXXXIII.
 
 £57? 
 
 JTo'cr' 
 
 EPISTLE I. 
 
 FROM VENICE. 
 
 959100
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 SubjeB propofed. — Author s addrefs to his friend. — Venic-e 
 — review of her former great7iefs, compared to her 
 prefent iiifgnifcancy — her affinity with Rome. — Riva/Jhip 
 of the Roman prowefs and moderation. — Eminent men — 
 Moroftni — Arrizzo — Marc Antonio Bragadino — Pa/ma. 
 — League of Cambr ay. -—Policy of the fenate. — Tra?iftion 
 to the probable fate of Venice fome ages hence. — Gaiety 
 of the Venetians. — Elegant fly le of buildings. — Palladio — 
 Sanfovin. — Mufeum of Farfetti. — Conclufion.
 
 EPISTLE I. 
 
 FROM VENICE. 
 
 THE Rnine and Danube pafs'd, the Alps o'ercome, 
 Venice furvey'd-and yet the Traveller dumb ! 
 Not light the labor, to a vacant mind, 
 To fill the {ketch which Addison defign'd : 
 Nor will fuccefs more juftify the aim, 5 
 
 Tho' friendfhip lean on fome eftablifti'd name. 
 
 Yet, while poetic fcenes my fong invite, 
 To thee, my Hayley, I prefume to write ; 
 Hayley, whofe genius bold on Learning's more 
 Has touch'd, like Cook, where Bard ne'er touch'd before ; 
 Whofe Mufe, like Pallas from the Thunderer's brain, 11 
 Xitu'd adult, the faireft of the train. 
 
 B 2 To
 
 ( 4 ) 
 To thee I write, whofe numbers have portray'd 
 The art firft try'd by Corinth's tender maid ; 
 From fcenes where Titian his foft graces caught, 15 
 
 Where Romney ftudied, and where Paulo taught. 
 
 Late as I ftray'd, the healthful breeze to take, 
 Where proud Ca' Dona overhangs the lake, 
 From whofe clear bofom circling iflets rife, 
 Whofe glittering fteeples mingle with the fkies ; 20 
 
 Beyond whofe banks extends the fruitful ground, 
 Which Brenta waters, and the Alps furround ; 
 Wrapt in the fcenes that open'd to my view, 
 To happier times my bufy fancy flew ; 
 And as the contrail to contempt I gave, 25 
 
 Methought a voice low murmur'd from the wave. 
 
 " Venice ! at once thy Genius' pride and fhame ! 
 " Degenerate femblance of thy antient fame ! 
 " Where now contend thofe rivals in the race ? 
 " Have Arts or Arms priority of place ? 30 
 
 " The only veftige of their golden reign 
 il An ufelefs arftnal or mould'ring fane ; 
 " Where Titian's tints, Palladian domes decay, 
 " To time confign'd by fad neglect a prey. 
 
 << 
 
 Nor
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 ci Nor more thy Natives rife in my efteem ; 35 
 
 Peculiar, as thy fite, their manners feem. 
 
 Bred up to forms, efTentials they defpife, 
 
 And only mafk'd, when aping to be wife. 
 
 Born of the wave whence amorous Venus came, 
 
 Thy daughters glow with the contagious flame j 40 
 
 AfTert the empire which their beauty gave, 
 
 And bind the lover an eternal flave. 
 
 Hence manly wifdom has abjur'd the ftate, 
 
 Vigor of thought, and freedom of debate : 
 
 Hence warlike cares to ferious trifles yield, 45 
 
 And Venus drives thy Genius from the field : 
 
 Hence, tho' Ambition waits to reap the mound, 
 
 In melting mufic each alarm is drown'd ; 
 
 And hoftile rumors, that from Auftria fly, 
 
 Strike, like the lute, thine ear, and, ftriking, die." 50 
 
 The city's Guardian fpoke her humbled pride, 
 
 And ceafing, plung'd beneath the filent tide. 
 
 Touch'd at her plaint, I check'd each harflier thought, 
 
 And chang'd my tone as truth and pity taught. 
 
 " Not that with jaundic'd, or with Gothic eye, 55 
 
 " Thy worth o'erlooking, thy defects I fpy ; 
 
 " Not
 
 ( 
 
 (C 
 
 ( 6 ) 
 
 " Not that, with thought profane, I flight the crown, 
 
 <c Which Neptune yielded to thy juft renown. 
 
 u No— beauteous emprefs of th' Italic main ! 
 
 <c Great was thy caufe, and gallant were thy train. 60 
 
 " Drawn here by Freedom from their native land, 
 
 Thine iflands cherifh'd Rome's expiring band ; 
 4 Who, worthy of the fountain whence they fprung, 
 
 Oft on the rear of frighted Othman hung ; 
 " Till of her turban'd tyrants ridding Greece, 65 
 
 " Like Rome, they gave her liberty and peace. 
 " Great as JEmilius, in that hallow'd hour 
 " When wond'ring nations bleft the vidlor's pow'r ; 
 <{ When Glory hail'd him at th' Olympic game, 
 Jt And refcu'd Freedom twin'd his wreath of fame. 70 
 
 " Thefe were the records of thine earlier days, 
 " When Arts confpir'd to fpread the hero's praife : 
 " When to his mem'ry fculptur'd trophies rofe 
 
 To feal his triumphs o'er his country's foes. 
 
 There Palma's pencil for the laurel ftrives, 75 
 
 " And Morofini in his art furvives ! 
 *' There Time beholds the Candian chief with joy, 
 * 4 The fiege fuftain which doubled that of Troy : 
 
 " Beholds 
 
 It
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 Beholds him, happier (till in manhood's pride, 
 Annex Morea to his country's fide. 80 
 
 Arrizzo, glorying in a cruel death, 
 In marble here again reiigns his breath. 
 Sufpended by falfe Muftapha on high, 
 Still brave Antonio may his fate defy : 
 What tho' his body taint the wholefome gale, 85 
 
 Ne'er fhall thy incenfe, Public Virtue ! fail. 
 Yet at his name the Turk aghaft is thrown, 
 Nor dares to challenge Cyprus as his own. 
 Shades of renown ! and Patriots ever dear ! 
 Whofe wayward end awakes the foreign tear, 90 
 
 Permit a ftranger, friendly to your more, 
 T'aiTay the value of no common ore. 
 " Long prov'd thy ftate a barrier to the Turk, 
 And foundeft policy upheld the work. 
 Envy to calm, me trufted to intrigue, 95 
 
 And, artful, broke the force of Cambray's league. 
 This Europe faw, and trembled for her date, 
 When priefts and potentates confpir'd her fate. 
 But vain thofe fears — to Julius fhe apply 'd, 
 And fapp'd the mifchief by tlie Pontiff's pride. 100 
 
 « Tho 5
 
 ( s ) 
 
 " Tho' Venice now with faded fplendor mine, 
 u She mews, like Athens, beauteous in decline : 
 c And ages hence, when crumbling to a wafte, 
 c Her ruins fhall attract the eye of Tafte. 
 c Then, as the traveller roves in thoughtful mood, 105 
 c Where Marco's tower, or San Benetto flood, 
 
 * Here (mall he cry) once throng'd the young and gay, 
 1 Here laugh'd and fung, and charm'd their cares away. 
 4 At mafs or play, unmafk'd or mafk'd the fame, 
 
 * Love all their motive ! pleafure all their aim ! no 
 
 * Yet, in this whirlpool found the Arts a place, 
 
 ' And temples rofe, which antient Rome might grace, 
 
 { Deck'd with the fpoils of many a falling pile, 
 
 c That erft o'erlook'd the Bofphorus or Nile : 
 
 1 Statues, that borrow'd life from Phydias' hand, 115 
 
 4 And palaces, by chafte Palladio plann'd : 
 
 c Models of tafte ! which Attic palms might win, 
 
 { And with Lyfippus clafs a Sanfovin. 
 
 1 Oft have the curious of a diftant foil, 
 
 ' Deriv'd new lights from learn'd Farfetti's toil : 120 
 
 1 Whofe treafures, drawn from mines of claflic earth, 
 
 4 Befpoke a fpirit noble as his birth. 
 
 3 " But
 
 
 ( 9 ) 
 " But humbled now the wonder of her age, 
 " Sad proof of change, and Time's deftructive rage ! 
 Bare thefe canals to Alpine breezes lie ; 125 
 
 Where row'd the (lately barge the fimers ply : 
 " Once more a village — Venice all deplore — 
 " She pioves what Triefte may be, and Tadmor was 
 " before !" 
 Purfuits like thefe engage thy abfent friend, 
 The fenfe they flatter, and the tafte amend. 130 
 
 As the bold merchant leaves his native more, 
 The wealth of unknown regions to explore, 
 The Bard, a bankrupt ! now redeems his time 
 In culling fubjetts from a richer clime, 
 Subjects untouched by wit, and new to rhime. 135 
 
 How wide the footing on which Poets itand, 
 Whofe fway extends o'er Fancy's magic land ! 
 Who, in their hand if Learning's light expire, 
 Relume their tapers at Invention's fire. 
 Lo ! where th' advent'rous train my Hayley leads, J40 
 Tries every courfe, and in each courfe fucceeds : 
 Ev'n here the precepts of his art prevail, 
 And with his praifes teems the weftern gale. 
 
 C Warm'd
 
 ( io ) 
 
 Warm'd by the theme, my fpirits mount in flame, 
 
 And emulation wakens at the name : 145 
 
 An emulation which may Bards impel, 
 
 Which loves the merit it would fain excel ; 
 
 Which, if it mifs, as now, its daring end, 
 
 Still joys to grace the triumph of a friend. 
 
 EPISTLE
 
 EPISTLE II. 
 
 FROM LAODICEA. 
 
 c 2
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 Voyage from Venice to the coaft of Syria — Adriatic Gulf — 
 Co aft of Apulia — Epirus — IJle of Corey r a — Coaft of Ar- 
 cadia — Corinth — Mount Parnajfus — Cape Methone — IJle 
 of Cytherea — Shores of Sparta — Crete. — Reflexions on the 
 change in the Archipelago. — Iflands of Milo — Nio — Paros 
 —Naxos — Cos — Rhodes. — Unpleafing piElure of the prefent 
 ftate of Greece. — Cyprus— fatal revolution in the climate^ 
 foil, government^ a?id population, of this ifland. — View of 
 the Syrian coaft — Mount Lebanon — Cities of Tyre — Scan- 
 deroon, Seleucia, Antioch, Laodicea. — Preference due to 
 Britain from a comparifon with thefe countries, — Conclu- 
 sion.
 
 EPISTLE II. 
 
 FROM LAODICEA. 
 
 /^NNCE more the lyre, my Mufe, advent'rous fweep, 
 
 Plac'd on the margin of the Syrian deep : 
 What lands and feas we pafs'd, the ftrains rehearfe— 
 Will Hay ley hear, while Greece adorns the verfe ? 
 
 Down Adria's gulf our bark dire&s her courfe, e 
 
 Storm'd by the wave, and Eurus' wintry force. 
 What time the antients us'd in port to ftay, 
 We fleer where on our right Apulia lay; 
 And fam'd Epirus' adverfe coaft explore, 
 Whence Pyrrhus thunder'd on the Roman more. 10 
 
 Thine ifle, Corcyra ! next attracts our view, 
 Where wife Ulyffes met a warrior's due ; 
 
 Where
 
 ( 14 ) 
 Where the tir'd chief a fweet afylum found, 
 From toils and tempefts fnatch'd to friendly ground. 
 
 Onward our bark the northern breeze impell'd, 15 
 
 Which by Arcadia's coaft her voyage held : 
 That op'ning gulf the narrow ifthmus laves, 
 Where Corinth reign'd the fovereign of the waves. 
 ParnafTus here his forked fummit {hows ; 
 In lieu of laurels bears eternal fnows. 20 
 
 Alpheus now, without a fiction, glides, 
 While not a fwan difports upon his tides. 
 Emblems of change ! which Grecia's pride has croft, 
 Her Freedom fetter'd, and her Genius loft. 
 
 The vernal airs befpeak a fofter clime, 25 
 
 As we approach the themes of antient time. 
 Fill'd with the thought, I feel my breaft expand, 
 And anxious double bleak Methone's ftrand. 
 The fhifting profpects ftill our hours beguile, 
 And now we gaze on Cytherea's ifle. 30 
 
 Birth-place of Venus and of Helen, hail ! 
 Thy praife to reach, what numbers may prevail ? — 
 All hearts acknowledge Cytherea's fway, 
 And Helen ftill inflames in Homer's lay. 
 
 9 Eaftward
 
 ( '5 ) 
 
 Eaflward from hence our profperous courfe we ftcer, 35 
 And with the morn fucceeding lands appear. 
 Black on our left the hilly regions lour, 
 Where Spartan virtue held the reins of pow'r : 
 Or where, in darker times, the fable grew 
 Of Hydras, Centaurs, which the hero flew. 40 
 
 In Lerna's fen, or Pholoe's favage height, 
 Worfe monfters now the ravag'd land affright j 
 Nor lives an Hercules, mankind to right ! 
 Thence to the fouth I turn my fearching eyes, 
 Where, eaflward ftretching, Crete's fteep cliffs arife, 45 
 With Ida and her hundred cities crown'd, 
 But more for Minos and his laws renown'd : 
 Tho' thefe but on hiftoric records ftand, 
 And thofe, in ruins, ftill denote the land. 
 
 What ifles, alternate, on th' horizon crowd — - 50 
 
 Once feats of freedom, now to bondage bow'd ! 
 O ! dire reverfe of ftates and things below, 
 Nor arts, nor arms, exempt mankind from woe : 
 Their boafted knowledge but their fall contrives, 
 And fell defpair their wither'd ftrength furvives. 5 c 
 
 Thus fighs the Mufe in paffing Milo's coaft, 
 And Nio, proud of Homer's urn to boaft : 
 
 Serphos,
 
 { '6 ) 
 
 Serphos, on which the fabled fcene is laid, 
 
 Whence Perfeus refcu'd the devoted maid : 
 
 Paros, whofe marble gave the ifle to fame ; 60 
 
 And Naxos, whence the god of vintage came. 
 
 With fonder joy- me views the Coan coaft, 
 
 Where Med'cine's pride arofe, and Painting's boaft. 
 
 Hail, happy land ! of living fame fecure, 
 
 While Genius is efteem'd and Arts endure. 65 
 
 Her northward courfe our veffel keeps no more, 
 But fleers obliquely to the Rhodian more, 
 Where the ColofTus reared his tow'ring head, 
 And where his fhatter'd frame thegroaning earth o'erfpread: 
 Like him the Turk, too large a realm embrac'd, 70 
 
 One foot on Aria, one on Europe plac'd, 
 Totters at Deftiny's deftruclive call, 
 And ftrong; convuliions indicate his fall. 
 
 Yet rlill fair Grecia bends beneath his yoke, 
 Her regions wafted, and her fpirit broke : 75 
 
 Plenty and Induitry forfake her plains, 
 And Want and Indolence debafe her fwains. 
 All ! all ! her former luftre worn away, 
 Save Mill that Beauty gilds her doling day. 
 
 Heavens !
 
 ( *7 ) 
 Heavens ! at that name I lofe my rifing fpleen, 80 
 
 Lo ! we approach the feat of Beauty's Queen. 
 This day from Rhodes we cleave the Halcyon fea, 
 Next, fallen Cyprus ! gives us fight of thee. 
 Was't not enough to mourn inteftine jars, 
 Drought, famine, fiavery, peftilence, and wars ! 85 
 
 Thy Paphos levell'd, and a wafte thy foil, 
 That now thy daughters prove the tyrant's fpoil ? 
 Hence population rolls a languid tide, 
 While Turkifh walls her injur' d fources hide. 
 Bright Goddefs ! thou, affert thy fex's caufe, 90 
 
 And blaft the rude contemner of thy laws : 
 
 By Beauty tended, let him own thy fires, 
 
 But chill with fcorn his arrogant defires. 
 Soon to the Cyprian fhore we bid adieu, 
 
 And Syria's region rifes to our view. 95 
 
 Majeftic Lebanon his head uprears, 
 
 White with the winter of a thoufand years : 
 
 Tho' fall'n his pride, fome cedars yet remain, 
 
 Protected ftill by David's facred ftrain. 
 
 Line 9. — The gather'd winter of a thoufand years. Pope. 
 
 D Hence
 
 ( i8 ) 
 Hence to the fouth I look, through fancy's eye, ioo 
 
 Neglected, fcorn'd ! — where Tyre's proud relics lie. 
 Ah ! haplefs miftrefs of Phenicia's realms, 
 Thee time afTails, and tyranny o'erwhelms. 
 Thofe walls, which turn'd young Ammon's conqu'ring 
 
 fword, 
 Yield to each fummons of an Arab horde ! 105 
 
 That haven, where a navy rode in ftate, 
 Can fcarcely fhield the fimer from his fate ! 
 Not fo when Dido fled thy hoftile ftrand, 
 To found a city in a kinder land. 
 
 Alas ! we blindly reafon's impulfe try, no 
 
 And Tyre and Carthage but in ruin vie ! 
 
 Now northward bound, the bark her helm obeys — 
 A fudden calm her rapid progrefs flays. 
 Inactive held, we view the diftant fhore, 
 Which takes new forms and changes tints no more. 115 
 Stretch'd in a line, we pierce its utmoft bound, 
 Where moift, unpeopled Scanderoon is found. 
 Warn'd by the wife, we fhun the baleful foil, 
 While down the coafi: our eyes uplifted toil. 
 
 Stupendous 
 
 10
 
 ( 19 ) 
 
 Stupendous ridge! there fenc'd Seleucia lay, 120 
 
 Whence fam'd Orontes, ifTuing, floods the bay. 
 
 Remov'd behind, loft Antioch mourns her fate, 
 
 For thieves a neft, and avarice a bait. 
 
 No more the bowers along the bank we trace, 
 
 Which lent to Daphne her alluring grace. 125 
 
 Murm'ring her fall, Orontes feeks the vale, 
 
 And lofty Cafius fpreads the mournful tale. 
 
 Laodicea's arms our bark invite, 
 
 Goal of her toils, and limit of her flight : 
 
 Confenting Aufter deigns her fails to court, 130 
 
 And gales propitious fpeed her to the port. 
 
 How flits, on waking, the Enthufiaft's dream, 
 Who roams to realize his darling theme ! 
 Deep-read in claffic leaves, he flights the earth, 
 Which giving him, ftill gave not Philip birth : 135 
 
 'Till, undeceiv'd, things take their proper hue. 
 And Greece, he finds, affords a Morad too. 
 Defcriptions foft, which caught his morning hours, 
 Arcadian dells, and Cytherean bow'rs, 
 Athenian fanes, and works immortal ftil'd, 140 
 
 Prefent but ruin, and a painful wild. 
 
 D 2 Laodicea !
 
 ( 20 ) 
 
 Laodicea ! of a modern growth, 
 
 On whom the climate fheds the dews of floth ; 
 
 Whofe walls renown'd a worthlefs town infold, 
 
 As fprings the weed where wav'd the ear of gold : 145 
 
 She yields him nought, his pleafing dream to fave, 
 
 But fome prone column or fepulchral cave : 
 
 'Till tir'd, the voyager his fearch gives o'er, 
 
 And, late chaftis'd, prefers his native fhore. 
 
 Fix'd in this maxim be my Hayley found, 150 
 
 To pay due homage to his native ground. 
 Abroad for fubje&s fhould the Druid rove, 
 Who draws the Mufes to his haunted grove ? 
 Can fabled charms allure, who boafts a Fair, 
 The foul of grace and virtue's darling heir ? 155 
 
 Blefl in his hopes, he views with pitying eye 
 The fweet delufions of a milder fky. 
 Nature herfelf fubmits to chaften'd tafte, 
 And Eartham blooms, while Tempe lies a wafte. 
 Mute are the lyres that charm'd th' i£gean main, 160 
 While Eartham's fhades refound with freedom's (train. 
 O ! oft entreated, be that {train renew'd, 
 By fancy fofter'd, and by praife purfu'd. 
 
 Since
 
 ( 21 ) 
 
 Since Britain glows with liberty divine, 
 
 To rival clailic poefy be thine : 165 
 
 So (hall thy portion of the fpoils of Greece 
 
 Tranfcend the value of her golden fleece; 
 
 As far as wit refpecl: o'er wealth can claim, 
 
 Or Homer foars beyond Atrides' fame I 
 
 EPISTLE
 
 EPISTLE III. 
 
 From COORNA, on the Conflux of the Tigris and Euphrates. 
 
 — — — SA^AJ Ay^ 
 
 Ferdusi. 
 TRANSLATION. 
 
 " Behold yon plain, with blended colors gay, 
 "Whofe charms new rapture to the mind convey. 
 There gardens, groves, and rivulets abound, 
 And favor'd heroes coniecrate the ground. 
 The ground like velvet feems — the rifing gale 
 Flings from the ftream its freflinefs o'er the vale. 
 The ftalk beneath the lily's beauty bends, 
 The dew of fragrance on the fhade defcends. 
 Among the flow'rs the pheafant graceful moves, 
 And warbles Philomel from cyprefs groves. 
 Ah ! from the prefent to the lateft year, 
 May thefe fair banks like Paradife appear !''
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 Invocation. — Situation of Coorna. — Garden of Eden. — Ad~ 
 drefs to Mr. fones the Orieritalift. -PiSlurefque appear- 
 ance of the banks of the Euphrates. — Rums on that river 
 — Babylon — An7ia — Circefum. — The emperor fulian. — 
 Palmyra. — Zenobia a?id 'Longinus \ — Cities ofDamafcus and 
 yerufalem. — Battle of Carrhce. — Death and chara&er of 
 Craffus. — The Tigris. — Retreat of the ten thoufand. — Xe- 
 nophon. — Median wall. — Semiramis. — Cities of Seleucia 
 and Ctefipho?i. — Origin of Bagdad \ and its decline under 
 the Turks. — Perjian authors — Pilpay — Hafez — Ferduf. — 
 Tranftio?i to Britain. — Addrefs to Liberty. — Conclufon.
 
 EPISTLE III. 
 
 FROM COORNA, 
 
 On the Conflux of the TIGRIS and EUPHRATES. 
 
 A/'E Syrian mountains and Chaldean vales! 
 
 Scenes of heroic wars and am'rous tales, 
 Which caught my youth, and charm'd of late mine eye, 
 What Mufe remifs mall pafs your beauties by ? 
 Immortal Genii of Obolla's ftream ! 5 
 
 To Hayley bear a yet fublimer theme : 
 With orient fancy deck the doling fong, 
 Rich as your banks to fpread, and as your waters ftrong. 
 
 Plac'd on the point where Coorna rears her pride, 
 I mark the courfe of each defcending tide. 10 
 
 E Euphrates
 
 ( 26 ) 
 
 Euphrates here his limpid current pours, 
 While turbid Tigris deluges his mores. 
 The fpace between, be antient legends true, 
 Where Adam firft his bluming confbrt knew. 
 Ah feat divine ! fay why thy beauties fail ? 15 
 
 Where the fweet change of thicket, hill, and dale ; 
 Where the clear rills that fed thy flowery plain, 
 Where love and innocence announce their reign ? 
 The fad reverfe befits our parents' crime j 
 Chang'd is the face of nature, chang'd the clime : 20 
 The traveler's eye a naked champain tires, 
 Where pards and lions rage with ravenous fires : 
 T'arreft his courfe where fkulks a faithlefs race, 
 Fell as the prowling favage of the chace : 
 As if the fpot his lavifh hand array'd, 25 
 
 The vengeance of an- injur 'd God difplay'd ! 
 Ere to the Pcream my vent'rous fail I give, 
 By which the Greek and Roman triumphs live, 
 Let me his Mufe invoke, whofe varied tongue 
 Tnfpirits (till what eaftern poets fung, 30 
 
 Line 28. • dum Caefar ad altuirr 
 
 Fulminat Euphratem bello.' — 
 
 Virg. Georg. lib. iv. 
 
 2 And
 
 ( 2 7 ) 
 
 And while the nymphs of Mis thee detain, 
 
 While I, unequal, try thy vivid ftrain ; 
 
 Thou Britifh Hafez ! prompt the magic reed, 
 
 Which hoar Euphrates to thy hand decreed. 
 
 What novel fcenes the verdant banks betray, ZS 
 
 With fcatter'd flocks and tented nations gay ! 
 
 Illufive fight ! which lofes ftrait its charms ; 
 
 With paftoral cares ill Gaits the trade of arms. 
 
 What maiden's heart can truft the fhepherd's fmile, 
 
 Whofe deeds are rapine, and whofe words are guile ? 4° 
 
 The Arab paft — to learning what a field, 
 
 Illuftrious Babylon ! thy ruins yield. 
 
 Devotion here with warmth fublimer glows, 
 
 Where captive Zion breath'd melodious woes. 
 
 His impotence Ambition may be taught, 45 
 
 To view what Amnion to his fenfes brought. 
 
 Of Glory's courfe, lo this the fatal goal ! — 
 
 The victor, who could fortune's will control, 
 
 Found ruin lurking in the feftive bowl. 
 
 But chief this fpot the Lover's fancy feeds, 50 
 
 Where ftill with Py ramus his Thiibe bleeds. 
 
 E 2 Bleft 
 
 I
 
 ( 28 ) 
 
 Bleft be the chance that gave their paflion birth, 
 The error wept, that funk them to the earth. 
 Now to the weft the ftream I upward trace, 
 Where bord'ring culture cheers the defart fpace. 55 
 
 Lo Anna ! bofom'd in her groves and ifles, 
 In fpite of time and gath'ring ruin, fmiles : 
 While loft Circefium on her chalky height 
 Scarce yields a veftige of her antient fite. 
 Thefe knew in later periods Julian's fame ; 60 
 
 Ah, wherefore mark'd with an apoftate's name ? 
 Thefe faw the hero pafs in warlike pride, 
 While hoflile navies fwell'd Euphrates' tide. 
 To conqueft pafs — but to return no more ! 
 Him poefy, philofophy, deplore : 65 
 
 The fcepter'd patriot, who diftinftions wav'd, 
 Lord of himfelf, by Pagan rites enflav'd ; 
 Whom all, but Chriftians, held their common friend, 
 Whofe very errors had a virtuous end : 
 Than PhiHp's fon with purer glory fir'd, 70 
 
 Expiring, to the Theban's praife afpir'd« 
 Leffons fevere ! which home the trav'ller brings, 
 
 To waken nations, and to humble kings. 
 
 If
 
 ( 2 9 ) 
 
 If yet thine eye can bear conviction's ray, 
 
 See yonder fcene its mouldering pomp difplay. 75" 
 
 Monarch ! whate'er thy power, whate'er thy name, 
 
 No feat fuperior can thy empire claim. 
 
 Palmyra ! regent of the fpacious wild, 
 
 Guardian of arts, and Freedom's younger child ! 
 
 Whofe throne auguft Zenobia long porTeft, 80 
 
 Divine Longinus ! in thy counfels bleft j 
 
 She, bow'd at length by Rome's refpiring force, 
 
 The brighteft trophy of Aurelian's courfe, 
 
 Still lifts her columns o'er the fubjecl: wafle, 
 
 To chaften fculpture, and to perfect tafte. 85 
 
 Ill-fated fervant of the tuneful train ! 
 This fcene renews their fympathetic pain. 
 Mid yonder (beds, while Fancy points thy grave, 
 Immortal tears the hallow'd fpot fhall lave. 
 
 Far to the fouth th' irriguous plain retires, 90 
 
 Whence rich Damafcus moots her gilded fpires. 
 Theme of the lover and the merchant's fong, 
 Where Beauty fports, and Commerce lures the throng : 
 Her ftreets the wealth of Hind and Ormus view, 
 And daily caravans the wafte renew. 95: 
 
 Line 94. — f* Oucflione the wealth of Ormus or of Ind." 
 
 Milton Par. Loft, b. ii. J. 2. 
 
 With.
 
 ( 3o ) 
 With weightier purpofe, and lefs jocund train, 
 The pilgrim toils to reach yon votive fane. 
 Him faith confirms to bear the frequent curfe, 
 Th' indignant blow, and taxes on his purfe : 
 Taxes, which Turkifh bigots term divine, 100 
 
 Who bar the Chriftian from his Saviour's fnrine. 
 Such the fad end of pious Frenzy's boaft, 
 When Europe's bigots bled on Alia's coaft : 
 Far different then th' imperious Chriftian came, 
 Glowing with monkifh zeal and promis'd fame ; 105 
 With claims unjuft he fann'd the raging fire, 
 While myriads in the mad crufade expire : 
 While fcenes occur, to fiction that belong, 
 And beft adorn the pomp of Taftb's fong. 
 
 Spread every fail, be every oar apply 'd, no 
 
 To view the triumph of barbaric pride. 
 Lo ! where unnumber'd nations croud the plain, 
 And fainting cohorts fcarce the mock fuftain. 
 Vers'd in thofe wiles which favage hands prepare, 
 The Parthian holds th' invader in the fnare. 115 
 
 In vain the veteran lifts his guardian mield, 
 Rome's flaughter'd legions whiten Carrhs's field. 
 
 And
 
 ( 3' ) 
 
 And did no obfequies the brave await ? 
 
 No column publiiri the Triumvir's fate ? 
 
 Was Hiftory filent ? — Did no partial rhimes 120 
 
 Belie his views, and varnifri o'er his crimes ? 
 
 A caufe To venal yet demands a Mufe, 
 
 And Hiftory paints him in his native hues, 
 
 Tradition fays not how the robber dy'd, 
 
 Unknown th' avenging arm that crufh'd his pride ; 125 
 
 Yet juftice found he, lacrilege to pay, 
 
 His corfe, unhallow'd, finks to dogs a prey. 
 
 To fate his avarice, the Barbarians pour 
 
 Down CrafTus' throat rich dreams of molten ore, 
 
 To quench a third:, unquenchable before. 130 
 
 A fcene like this indignant let us fly, 
 Whofe lavage horrors wound the human eye ; 
 On Fancy's pinions fpeed acrofs the wafte, 
 And Tigris' foft delights-and wonders tarre. 
 Our bark already with the current moves, 135 
 
 Here poplars bend, there breathe the citron-groves : 
 Afpiring cedars wave perpetual green, 
 And parti-color'd moiks adorn the fcene. 
 How dead thefe pictures to the martial throne, 
 Up Tigris' banks who wound their march along ; 140 
 
 O'er
 
 ( 3- ) 
 O'er wilds and mountains held their toilfome way, 
 By hofts aflaulted, and the folar ray : 
 By thirft, by famine, by eternal fnows — 
 Whom heaven and earth united to oppofe. 
 Unconquer'd ftill, the Greeks each peril meet, 145 
 
 Regain their mores, and dignify retreat. 
 Trembling, the Mufe their daring track furveys, 
 And fcarce can Fancy tread the painful maze. 
 From red Cunaxa, ftain'd with Cyrus' blood, 
 They hew a paffage to the Euxine flood. 150 
 
 O'er factious bands fee eloquence prevail ! 
 Now treaties, and now prowefs turn the fcale. 
 Tho' in the work ten thoufand Greeks combine, 
 Accomplifh'd Xenophon ! the palm is thine : 
 The palm, which eloquence and valor give, 155 
 
 And in thy polifh'd periods ftill fhall live. 
 
 What tow'ring rocks the veffel's way impede, 
 And lift the ftream above the bord'ring mead? 
 Nor Nile nor Lawrence boafts a nobler fall, 
 Than Tigris borrows from the Median wall j 160 
 
 Tranfcendent labor of th' AfTyrian dame ! 
 Bold as her mind, and lafting as her fame. 
 
 Seleucia
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 Seleucia hail !— where erft the Caliph's throne, 
 
 Fix'd by an Hermit's voice, unrivall'd fhone : 
 
 Surpafling thee and Ctefiphon in power, 165 
 
 This Phenix fprung by mighty Nimrod's tower. 
 
 Magi of Mithra's fane ! to you I bend — 
 
 Awhile the talifmans of fable lend : 
 
 With topaz am'lets bind your Poet's arm, 
 
 That each compartment of the web may charm, 170 
 
 Where ftoried fcenes are wrought by Fairy fkill, 
 
 And Bagdad fafhion'd by Almanfor's will. 
 
 On Tigris' banks as once the Caliph ftray'd, 
 His great defign by folitude to aid, 
 
 Where, proudly plac'd, might rife his royal feat, 175 
 
 Chance brought his footfteps to a fam'd retreat. 
 In times of yore — fo fays the Persian tale — 
 A Princefs held the fceptre in the vale ; 
 Her flocks, the guiltlefs fubjeds of her reign, 
 Peace her dear wifh, and happinefs her gain. 180 
 
 Devotion's ray her tranquil bofom cheers ; 
 To Pagan Bagh a temple fair fhe rears ; 
 Where grateful vows arofe from Tigris' wave, 
 Whofe name a title to the valley gave. 
 
 F With
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 With changing years had chang'd the temple's lot, 185 
 The idol broken, and the maid forgot : 
 Nor yet its zealous fectaries decline, 
 And Mahomet adopts the Pagan mrine. 
 An aged Hermit to the cell fucceeds, 
 Whofe hand recounts no treafure, but his beads: 190 
 Amid his gifts who prophecy can fum, 
 A mortal — conlcious of events to come ! 
 The barren court him, and the fruitful blefs, 
 Nor envious rumor leffens his fuccefs. 
 
 Soon as Almanfor near the temple drew, 195 
 
 The Seer his perfon and his purpofe knew. 
 " Hail, lord, (he cried) whofe fame the holy found, 
 " Be all thy projects, like the prefent, crown'd. 
 " Fate's hidden volume offers to mine eyes 
 " The favor'd fpot, where Tigris' pride mail rife. 200 
 " Here mall thy hand the Mofleni Mufnud fix, 
 " Dreaded and potent as the throne of Styx ! 
 " Here mall thy tafte the Sculptor's chhTel guide, 
 " And Wit and Learning blend their living tide : 
 " Than Eden's bow'rs thy laurels greener twine, 205 
 cc And heav'nly Houris be excell'd by thine." 
 
 5 He
 
 2IO 
 
 ( 35 ) 
 
 He faid, Almanfor bows to the command, 
 Amd Bagdad's turrets awe the fubjea land. 
 
 As Sol's bright empire is a tranfient day, 
 Which dawns, matures, and quickly fades away, 
 The Caliph's orb revolv'd its deftin'd race, 
 Then vail'd in night the fplendors of its face. 
 It breaks again— but ah, portentous fight i 
 In raylefs majefly and fickend light. 
 Beneath the Othman banner Glory dies ; 215 
 
 Tafte rends her vail, and Induftry his ties : 
 No voice of Trade or Labor cheers the plains, 
 Or none but Poefy, that fings in chains. 
 The only veftige of declining Arts, 
 
 Some lading tokens that the Mufe imparts ; 2 20 
 
 Now in the moral turn of Pilpay's ftile, 
 In Hafez now, on whom the Graces fmile : 
 Or in Ferdufi, on whofe epic ground 
 The lofty Homer of the Eaft is found. 
 
 But fong avails not-nor its magic fway 225 
 
 In defolation can allure my ftay. 
 For climes of induftry I fpread the fail, 
 
 And Bagdad leave to deck a Fairy tale : 
 
 p 2 Leave
 
 ( 36 ) 
 Leave her flill miftrefs of untuneful fhades, 
 Unletter'd Pachas, and fecluded maids : 230- 
 
 Unlike the fortune which her Tigris knows, 
 Who fcatters hope and plenty where he flows. 
 
 Not that her image can the pangs renew, 
 From Britain's borders when thy friend withdrew. 
 Could man periift when trembled Beauty's frame ? 235 
 Could Love endure what lovers weep to name ? 
 Ah I nought that Love or Beauty could infpire, 
 Fond fear, wild doubt, and eloquent defire,. 
 In Reafon's courfe could Duty's call delay, 
 That tore an exile from his home away. 240 
 
 To Friendfhip too his feelings ow'd a part,. 
 And Hayley's image rum'd upon his heart ; 
 Led by the Mufe who wit and tafte beguiles, 
 And but lefs winning than Eliza's fmiles. 
 Nor dumb the patriot paflion in his breaft, 245 
 
 To leave the land fo humbled and diftreft : 
 Her coafts alarm'd with War's terrific din, 
 Her councils weak, and anarchy within : 
 Ripe to convince th' Iberian and the Gaul, 
 That Britain only can by Britain fall. 250 
 
 Perifn
 
 ( 37 ) 
 Perifh the thought — O Liberty forefend 
 Thy Britain hazard the inglorious end ; 
 That fhe thro' civil broils to ruin rufh, 
 She, whom confpirir.g nations fail to crufh. 
 O ! rather give her worlds oppos'd to try, 255 
 
 Combin'd to conquer, or combin'd to die : 
 With thee, bright Goddefs ! to renown afpire, 
 In life poflefs thee, or in death acquire !
 
 N O 
 
 T 
 
 E S.
 
 ( 4' ) 
 
 NOTES 
 
 ON THE 
 
 FIRST EPISTLE. 
 
 I N E 4. " which Addison defignd." 
 
 L 
 
 Alluding to the fketch which he has given us of Venice, in the 
 elegant and claffical travels under his name. 
 
 Line 16. " and where Paulo taught.'' 
 
 The merit of Paul Calliari, called the Veronefe, need not be 
 defcanted on here ; but to the curious anecdotes which Mr. Hayley 
 has given us of the feveral matters, in the notes of his Epiftle to an 
 Eminent Painter, I beg leave to add one, which I picked up at 
 Venice. On the records of the monaftery of St. Georgio Maggiori 
 it appears, that the Monks gave Paul Veronefe but 100 livres, and 
 a butt of wine of 30 livres more, making together about 3/. fter- 
 ling, for his admirable picture of the Marriage of Cana, which 
 hangs up in their refectory. This piece is of an amazing fize, and 
 not only contains above a hundred figures, as big as life, but among 
 the guefts the painter has introduced the principal monarchs and 
 perfonages of his age, not omitting Titian and himfelf. But this 
 fpeaks lefs for its value than the propofal of Lewis XIV. (which 
 has been fince applied falfely to other good paintings) who offered 
 to cover the picture with louisdores ; and if that was infufrkient, to 
 double the fum. Whether the price fell fhort of its worth, or be- 
 
 G ing
 
 42 N O T E S O N 
 
 ing public property^ it could not be difpofed of, the king was difap- 
 pointed. A natural inference however will be drawn from the 
 circumftance, and the prefent value of the piece be greatly height- 
 ened, which in the laft age was held in fuch eflimation. The ori- 
 ginal coft of the picture, and its after fortune, remind us of the 
 fate of Milton's Paradife Loft, which, under-valued and over- 
 looked during the author's life, has alone infured him immortality, 
 and is become the ornament of literature, and the delight of man-' 
 kind. Paul Calliari has a monument and infcription in the church 
 of St. Sebaftian, which is almoft wholly decorated with his paint- 
 ings. 
 
 Line 1 8. " Where proud Cd Dona overhangs the lake" 
 
 The name of a palace on the Fondamento Nuovo. This noble 
 terrace lines the north- weft afped: of Venice ; is much reforted to 
 in fummer by the inhabitants, and commands the beautiful view 
 which the Poem defcribes. 
 
 Line 42. " And bind the lover an eternal Jlave. y> 
 
 This farcafm is founded on the cuftom which the Venetian ladies 
 have eftabliihed of entertaining a cavaliero fervanto. The ties of 
 this enamorato are not lefs binding than thofe of matrimony. His 
 mornings and evenings, at leaft, muft be fpent in attendance on his 
 fair-one ; nor can he be feen in a public place in company with 
 another woman. The obligation, it is true, holds equally on her 
 fide ; fo that they may be faid to purchafe dearly the illicit plea- 
 fures which cuftom allows them.. 
 
 Line 49. " And hojlile rumors, that from Aujlriajfy." 
 
 The weaknefs of the Venetian ftate, and the known difpolition 
 of a very powerful and encroaching neighbor, feem to portend 
 fome unfavorable change, which the powers of Europe may be too 
 much engaged to prevent. 
 
 Line 62*
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE. 43 
 
 Line 62. " Thine iflands cheri/lj'd Rome's expiring band." 
 
 If tradition does not immediately trace the connexion between the 
 two Republics, circumstances manifeflly fuggefl the probability of 
 the fact. It is recorded that a people called the Veniti, dwelling 
 about Padua and the river Po, were obliged, in the fifth century, 
 by the ravages of the barbarian Attila, to take refuge among the 
 duller of fmall iflands at the head of the Adriatic gulf. From 
 the huts of fifhermen, and the little barks that earned them a 
 livelihood, have arifen the (lately palaces, and unbounded com- 
 merce of the city of Venice. But fome authors derive her origin 
 from the Franks, and fome from the Henetians, a nation bordering 
 on Paphlagonia. 
 
 Polybius. Corn.Nep. Livy. Sansov. 
 
 Line 67. " Great as JEmilius, in that hallow d hour." 
 
 In allufion to that celebrated day on which the Roman Procon- 
 ful, P. iEmilius, proclaimed the freedom of Greece to the nations 
 affembled at the Olympic games. 
 
 Line 76. " And Morojini in his art furvhes I" 
 
 Francifco Morofini, the General and afterwards Doge of Venice. 
 His defence of Candia rendered his name immortal. He conquered 
 the Morea from the Turks, A. D. 1683, and had the honor to have- 
 his actions recorded by the pencils of Palma, Titian, &c. in the 
 palace of St. Marco. 
 
 Line 8 1 . Arizzo, glorying in a cruel death." 
 
 Paolo Arizzo, one of the Venetian generals in their wars with 
 the Turks. He was taken prifoner in Negropont by the Sultan 
 Mahomet II, and condemned to be placed between two boards, and 
 fawn afunder alive, by the faithlefs barbarity of that tyrant ; who 
 
 G 2 having
 
 44 
 
 NOTES ON 
 
 having promifed to fpare his head, excufed himfelf by faying, the 
 trunk was not included. 
 
 Line 84. " Still brave Antonio may his fate defy." 
 
 Marco Antonio Bragadino, the gallant defender of the city of 
 Famagoufta againft the whole force of the Ottoman empire, during 
 the memorable fiege wherein the Turks are faid to have loft one 
 hundred thoufand men. He was obliged at length by famine to fur- 
 render, in A. D. 1 57 1, and obtained the honorable conditions that 
 his defence merited; but the Pacha Muftapha, in a perfidious man- 
 ner, broke the capitulation, and vented his inhuman revenge on the 
 brave Bragadino. He was firft put to the moft excruciating tor- 
 tures, and then flayed alive by the tyrant's order, and his fkin 
 fluffed with ftraw, and fufpended on the maft-head of the admiral's 
 galley. With this inglorious trophy he returned to Conftantinople, 
 and fullied even the parade of vi&ory. A baffo-relievo of the (lories 
 of Arizzo and Bragadino is to be found in the arfenal of Venice; 
 and in the church of St. Gio and Paolo, the fkin of Bragadino is 
 enclofed in a marble urn, with his flatue in marble above it. 
 There is alio a monument to that hero in the church of St. Gre- 
 
 gorio. 
 
 Paruta. Morisini. 
 
 Line 95. " Envy to calm,jhe trifled to intrigue, 
 
 And, artful, broke the force of Cambray s league." 
 
 This confederacy, which threatened the very exiftence of the Ve- 
 netian flate, is known to Europe under the name of the league of 
 Cambray. The Emperor Maximilian, Lewis XII, and Ferdinand 
 of Arragon, were the heads of this confpiracy, which was engen- 
 dered and fupported by the artifices of Pope Julius II. Several of 
 the neighboring Italian flates feceded to the league ; and nothing 
 could have faved the Republic from deftrudion, but her finding 
 
 means
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE. 
 
 45 
 
 means to buy off the Pope, by an artful application to the refent- 
 ment, pride, and avarice of the ambitious Pontiff. 
 
 Bembo. Barre. Guicciard. Sansov. 
 
 Line 106. " — — or San Benet to flood." 
 
 The theatre where the ferious opera is performed during the 
 Carnival. 
 
 Line 113. " Deck 'd ivith the fpoils of many a falling pile, 
 'That erjl o'er look d the Bofphorus or Nile." 
 
 The traveller who has vifited Venice will enter into this couplet. 
 The flately Gothic church of St. Marco is a compofition of marbles, 
 drawn from every place where the Venetians were victorious. Nor 
 was their plunder referved for the ufe of their churches. The lions 
 at the gate of the arfenal were brought from the port of Athens, 
 named therefrom ; the granite pillars on the place of St. Marco, 
 from Alexandria ; and the inimitable brazen horfes over the door 
 of St. Marco's church, from Conftantinople, at the different periods 
 that theie cities were in the hands of the Venetians. 
 
 Line 118. '* And with Lyfippus clafs a Sanfbvin.'" 
 
 Iachimo Sanfovino, a celebrated architect and fculptor, who 
 lived in the fixteenth century. His chef d'eeuvres in baffo relievo 
 adorn the ducal church of St. Marco ; and as an architect, the 
 Public Library, the Lodge oppofite the gate of the ducal palace, 
 the New Palace on the place of St. Marco, the Seuola della Mife- 
 ricordia, and the churches of St. Francifco della Vigna and St. Ge- 
 rniniano, fpeak more for his excellence than the pen can do. He 
 was buried in the latter church, which would fufficiently record, 
 his memory ; but his fon Francifco Sanfovino, the author of the 
 Hiftory of Venice, the Origin of the Illuflrious Houfes of Italy,, 
 and other efteemed tracts, has infehbed an epitaph to his renowned 
 
 parent.
 
 46 NOTES ON THE FIRST EPISTLE. 
 
 parent. Above the epitaph is the ftatue of the architect, cut by 
 himfelf ; and facing it, that of the hiftorian, his fon. 
 
 Line 120. " Deriv'd neiv lights from karri d Farfetti's toil." 
 
 The collection here alluded to, is perhaps the nobleft in the pof- 
 feiTion of any fubject in any ftate. The ingenious nobleman, now 
 deceafed, forefeeing the difficulty of procuring originals, at great 
 pains and expence employed the firft artifts of his age, to furnifli 
 him with cafts of the moft valuable remains of antiquity. What- 
 ever, therefore, excites the attention of tafle and learning, whatever 
 Rome or Florence can boaft of, is to be found in this mufeum ; 
 which, to the credit of the prefent proprietor, is always eafy of ac- 
 cefs, and particularly to a foreigner. What the agreeable Dr. 
 Moore relates of Prince Ferdinand of Brunfwick, in his Travels, is 
 fomewhat fimilar to this purfuit. The Prince not being in circum- 
 ftances to purchafe original paintings, wifely determined to be 
 matter of what he could compafs, and has accordingly furnifhed 
 his palace with the beft prints of the befl matters. 
 
 Line 127. " Once more a village — Venice all deplore" 
 
 Cafficdorus, fpeaking of the Venetians, about fifty years after their 
 foundation, fays, that they inhabited the iflands of the Adriatic : that 
 they had no other fence againft the waves but hurdles ; no other 
 food but fifh ; no wealth befides their boats ; and no merchandife 
 but fait. 
 
 Cassiod. b.xii. ep. 24. 
 
 NOTES
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 NOTE 
 
 ON THE 
 
 SECOND EPISTLE. 
 
 L 
 
 I N E 1 1. " "Thine ijle, Corcyra, next attracls our view" 
 
 Hod. Corfu.' Pliny, b. iv. c. n, 
 
 Line 18. " Where Corinth reign d the f over eign of the waves'* 
 
 This city was formerly much reforted to, on account of its havens 
 towards the Ionian and i^Egean feas; whence Ovid calls it " Bima- 
 rem Corinthon." Met. v. 407* 
 
 Line 21. " Alpheus now, without afiftion, glides" 
 
 This river was fabled to have funk underground near Pifa in 
 Greece, and running through the fea without mingling its waters, 
 to have rifen with the fountain Arethufa in Syracufe, in Sicily. It 
 falls into the Ionian fea. 
 
 Virg. JEn. b. hi. 1. 694. Ov. Amor. ill. 6. 
 
 Line 28. " And anxious double bleak Met hone 's Jlrand." 
 
 Hod. Cape Modon. Val. Flacc. b. i. 1. 388. 
 
 Line 30. " And now we gaze on Cytherea's ijle" 
 
 Hod. Cerigo. ■ Virg. JEn. b. x. 1. 51. 
 
 10 Line
 
 48 NOTESON 
 
 Line 41. " In Lerna'sfen, or Pholoe sfavage height" 
 
 Veteri fpumavit Lerna veneno. Stat. Theb. b. i. 1. 360. 
 
 — et populum Pholoe mentita biformem. 
 
 Luc. lib. iii. ver. 198. 
 
 Line 56. " Ihusfighs the Mufe in pajing Milo's coaji." 
 
 Olim Melos. 
 
 Line 57. " And Nio, proud of Homer 's urn to boajl." 
 
 Olim Ios — an ifland in the Myrtean fea, where Homer was en- 
 tombed. Plin. b. iv, c. 12. 
 
 Line 58. '* Serphos, on which the fabled fcene is laid" 
 
 Olim Seriphos — a fmall ifland where Polydutus reigned j whofe 
 fair daughter was the reward of Perfeus' heroifm. Thus fays the 
 fable. Origen, fpeaking of this ifland, terms it " Minima & ig- 
 nobilimma infula." 
 
 Line 60. " Paros, whofe marble gave the ijle to fame." 
 
 Paros, m.irmore nobilis. Plin. Hift. Nat. b. iv. c. 12. 
 
 Line 61. ** And Naxos, whence the God of vintage came." 
 
 Bacchata jugis Naxos. Virg. JEn. b. iv. 1. 125. 
 
 Line 63. Where Med'tine's pride arofe, and Painting's boaji." 
 Hod. Stanchio — the native ifle of Hippocrates and Apelles. 
 
 Line 83. " Next, fallen Cyprus ! gives us fight of thee" 
 
 Virg, JEn. b. i. 1. 126. Hor. Od. i. 19. 
 
 Line
 
 THE SECOND EPISTLE. 49 
 
 Line 96. " Majejiic Lebanon bis bead uprears." 
 
 Line 98. " Tbo faWn his pride, fome cedars yet remain." 
 
 " The inhabitants of Lebanon hold thefe cedars in fuch venera- 
 tion, on account of their having been recorded by David and Solo- 
 mon, that they will not fufFer the fix or feven remaining old trees to 
 be destroyed." Man. Tour of the Rev. John Hussey. 
 
 Line 104. '« Tfjofe walls, which turn d young Amnion s conqu ring 
 /word." Q^Cur. iv.— 4. 19. 
 
 Line 107. " Can fcarcely foield the fifoer from his fate !'.' 
 
 '* And they mail deftroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her. 
 towers : I will alio fcrape her duft from her, and make her like the 
 top of a rock. 
 
 It mall be a place for the fpreading of nets in the midft of the 
 fea." Ezeiciel xxvi. 4, 5. 
 
 Line 108. " Not Jo when Dido fed thy hofilefrand." 
 
 Just, xviii. 6. 
 
 Line 117. " Where moif, unpeopled Scanderoon is found." 
 Alfo called Alexandretta. Olim Alexandria.. 
 
 Line 120. " Stupendous ridge ! there, fene'd, Seleucia lay." 
 
 Seleucia Pieria. Plin. v. 21. 
 
 Line 121. " Whence fam d Orontes, iffuing, floods the bay." 
 
 Hod. Aufi. Ov. Met. b. ii. 1. 248. 
 
 Line 122". " Remov'd behind, lojl Antioch mourns her fate." 
 
 Plin. v. 12. 
 
 It is remarked that the difciples of our Lord were firlb called 
 Chriflians at Antioch. 
 
 H Line
 
 5 o NOTESON 
 
 Line 1 24. " No more the bowers along the batik we trace, 
 Which lent to Daphne her alluring grace." 
 
 The charms of this retreat were fuch, as to occaiion the proverb, 
 '* Daphnicis moribus vivere." Eutrop. vi. 11. 
 " Nor that fweet grove, 
 Of Daphne by Orontes." Milton Par. Loft, b. iv. 1. 273. 
 
 Line 127. " And lofty Cafius fpreads the mournful tale." 
 
 Plin. v. 22. 
 
 Line 128. " Laodicea's arms our bark invite." — — Hod. Latichea. 
 
 The catacombs in this neighborhood are as grand and perfect as 
 any remains of that kind now extant. 
 
 Cic. Philip, ix. 2. 
 
 Line 137. " And Greece, he finds, affords a Morad too." 
 
 The Sultan Morad IV.. whofe abominable vices were yet glofted 
 over by the extraordinary endowments of his perfon and mind. His 
 levity and impetuofity gave birth to numerous adventures, which 
 the Turks are fond of blending with the marvellous in their ac- 
 counts of this uncommon perfonage. But his horrid cruelties feem 
 chiefly to have originated from his frequent inebriety ; and a ftory 
 which they relate of him at the liege of Bagdad, is perhaps as 
 pofttive a teftimony of the power of mufic, as hiftory or fable can 
 produce. It is thus tranflated from the Ottoman hiftorian, Prince 
 Cantemir : 
 
 " The Pcrfians ftill mourn the cruelty of Morad, who directed 
 that no captive fhould be fpared when Bagdad was ftormed. One 
 perfon, when the officers were going to kill him, defired that he 
 mi^ht ipeak a word to the Soltan before his death. Being brought 
 before him, and afked what he had to fay : " Surfer not (he cried) 
 " moft gracious emperor, that with me, Shah Kuli, the whole art 
 *' of mufic fhould perifh." Being ordered to give a fpecimen of 
 
 this
 
 THE SECOND. EPISTLE. 51 
 
 his {kill, he takes up a Shechdar (called in Arabic Zabur, and in 
 Greek Pfalterio) and with fo much art as well as fweetnefs, both 
 played and fung the tragedy of the taking of Bagdad, intermixed 
 with Morad's praifes, that the Soltan could not refrain from tears 
 all the while he was performing. For this mufician's fake, Morad 
 fet at liberty all who had not been yet maffacred ; and his mufical 
 works became famous in Turkey." This instrument is much like 
 an harp, with fix firings each way, as the word Shechdar denotes. 
 It is faid to have been invented by David ; though few at prefent 
 know how to play well on it. 
 
 Mod. Un. Hift. vol. xii. b. xv. c. 18* 
 
 II 2 NOTES
 
 ( 5* ) 
 
 NOTES 
 
 ON THE 
 
 THIRD EPISTLE. 
 
 L 
 
 INE 5. " Immortal Genii of O.bollds Jlream J" 
 
 Commonly called the Shut Ul Arab, or great river of the Arabs. 
 This was the Pafitigris of the antients, and the Obolla of the Per- 
 fian poets. Jones's Defcrip. of Afia. 
 
 Line 9. " Placd on the point where Coorna rears her pride." 
 
 Olim Apamea — a city built on the conflux of the rivers. Its 
 fituation is ftrong, but quite negle&ed by the Turks. 
 
 D'Anville. 
 
 Line 13. " The /pace between, be antient legends true, 
 Where Adamjirji his bhiflnng confort knew." 
 
 The authority of Milton may render this notion indifputable. 
 It were needlefs to offer evidence in fupport of his learned page. 
 
 " Eden ftretch'd her line 
 From Auran eaftward to the royal towers 
 Of great Seleucia." Par. Loft, b. iv. 1. 210. 
 
 " There was a place 
 Where Tigris at the foot of Paradife." B. ix. 1. 71. 
 
 Line
 
 NOTES ON THE THIRD EPISTLE. w 
 
 Line 33. « y^a Briti/Jj Hafez ! prompt the magic reed." 
 
 The reader will not be at a lofs to fix on the perfon thus charac- 
 terized. The ingenious fpecimens which Mr. Jones has given of 
 Eaftern poetry, muft make the public regret that other purfuits 
 have put a Hop to his profecuting his discoveries on the remoter 
 ihores of literature. 
 
 Line 42. " Illujlrious Babylon ! thy ruins yield." 
 
 The ruins of Babylon are yet pointed out by the Arab on the 
 eaftern bank of the Euphrates, nearly oppofite the prefent town of 
 WUJa j but thefe ruins are probably more modern, though built on 
 the fite of the antient city. Stkab? p . 73 8. 
 
 Line 44. « Where captive Zion breath' d melodious woes." 
 
 ' By the waters of Babylon we fat down and wept, when wc 
 remembered thee, O Sion." Pfalm cxxxyii> 
 
 Line 56. " Lo Anna! bofom'd in her groves and ijles" 
 
 Olim Anatho.— It is worthy of remark, that there is little change 
 in the appearance or government of this place, fince it was vifited 
 by the Emperor Julian, above 1,400 years ago. It is built on each 
 fide of the Euphrates, and on an ifland in the middle of the ftream, 
 and ftill in the hands of an Arabian Emir, under the Pacha of 
 Bagdad. 
 
 Line 58. « While lojl Circejium on her chalky height." 
 
 A frontier town of the Roman empire, fituated on the conflux 
 of the Araxes and Euphrates ; and mentioned in this light in the 
 treaty of peace concluded by Diocletian with the Peiiian King 
 Narfcs - Procop. b. x. 
 
 Li 
 
 me
 
 54 NOTESON 
 
 Line 60. " Thefe knew in later periods "Julian s fame." 
 
 Line 71. " Expiring, to the Thebans praife ajpir'd." 
 
 The defection of this great man from the purelt of all religions,, 
 cannot be defended, though it may be accounted for; and his aver- 
 fion and difcountenance to Christians, fuits not the informed and 
 liberal mind of Julian in other points. It will fuffice to fay, that 
 his life feems to have belied the name of Apoftate, which he brought 
 upon himfelf by his deviation from the faith he was educated in. 
 If the paths of Virtue lead to the temple of Truth, he invariably 
 trod them ; and may charitably be fuppofed to have arrived, by an 
 indirect courfe, at the divine goal. The circumftances of his death 
 are fo fimilar to thofe of Epaminondas, that we mult be rejoiced to 
 find their lives were equally dignified by purfuits that rendered 
 their end immortal. 
 
 Ammian. b. xvi. p. 62. Liban. Orat. xii. p. 2S8,, 
 
 Line 78. " Palmyra I regent of the fpacious wild." 
 
 Line 80. " Whofe throne augiifl Zenobia long pojfeji.'" 
 
 This queen is one of the moll illuftrious women mentioned in 
 hiftory. She derived her pedigree from the Ptolomies of Egypt ; 
 was well verfed in all the branches of polite literature ; underftood 
 thoroughly the Egyptian, Greek, and Latin languages ; and in the 
 knowledge of hiftory, excelled molt men of her time. She had 
 great fhare in the victories gained by her hufband Odenatus over 
 the Perfians, and is faid to have been no lefs courageous than that 
 brave commander, and equally experienced in military affairs. 
 
 Aur. Vit. p. 219. Ant. Un. Hiit. vol. xv. c. 24. 
 
 Line 84. " Still lifts her columns o'er the fubjecl wajle, 
 'To chajlen Sculpture, and to perfecl Ta/le." 
 
 The world are indebted to the ingenious travellers, MefTrs. Wood 
 and Dawkins, for the elegant remains of Palmyra. What was her 
 
 fituation
 
 THE THIRD EPISTLE. $ 5 
 
 fituation in the days of her profperity, may be gathered from the 
 following defcription : 
 
 " Such were once the magnificent abodes, and fuch the noble 
 fepulchres of the Palmyrenians. From what we have faid of both, 
 we may well conclude, that the world never faw a more glorious 
 city. A city, not more remarkable for its {lately buildings, than for 
 the extraordinary perfonages who once flpurifhed in it ; among 
 whom the renowned Zenobia, and the incomparable Longinus, 
 mud for ever be remembered with admiration and regret." 
 
 Ant. Un. Hid. vol. ii. c. 5. Wood's Jour, to Palmyra. 
 
 The deportment of Zenobia after fhe became a prifoner, was 
 quite inconfiitent with her former magnanimity, and in fome de- 
 gree fullied the brightnefs of her character. The love of life 
 adhered fo clofely to her, when all which rendered it of value was 
 gone, that me was induced to give up her fecretary, Longinus, as 
 the author and advifer of the remarkable letter, which provoked the 
 emperor's refentment during the fiege of Palmyra. The revenge 
 which Aurelian took on this occaiion was frill meaner, and more 
 difgraceful than her treachery. Zosimus, 1. i. p. 51. 
 
 Line 97. " 'The pilgrim toils to reach yon votive fane." 
 
 The hardships and dangers of a pilgrimage to Jerufalem, have 
 been defcribed by fo many travellers, that the author need not add 
 any particulars that have occurred within his knowledge, to confirm 
 them. The injuftice of the motives, and the ill confequences 
 which have attended the Crufades, come too home to be difputed 
 by the prefent race of Chriftians in Paleltine. Sandys. 
 
 Line 117. " Rome's Jlaughterd legions whiten Carrheesjield." 
 
 This battle is called by the Latin authors, the battle of Carrha*, 
 becaufe it was fought at a fmall diilance from that city. It was, 
 without difpute, the moil terrible blow, after the battle of Canna, 
 which the Romans ever received. 
 
 Ant. Un. Kill, vol. ii. c. 12. Eutrop. 1. vi. 
 
 7 Line
 
 5 6 NOTESON 
 
 Line 124. " tradition fays not how the robber dy'd." 
 
 Writers leave it in doubt whether Craflus was killed by his own 
 men, to prevent his falling alive into the enemy's hands, or by the 
 Parthians. Liv. I. cvi. Fior. b. iii. c. 2. 
 
 Line 126. " Yet jujlice found he, facrilege to pay,. 
 His corfe unhalkw d" 
 
 The plundering the temple of Jerufalem was not the only facri- 
 lege that CrafTus was guilty of. He robbed, in like manner,, all 
 the temples of Syria, appropriating to his own ufe their rich orna- 
 ments and furniture. The temple of the Syrian goddefs, named 
 Atargetis, at Hieropolis, which fome writers call Bambyces, others 
 EdeiTa, and the Syrians Magog, was famous all over the Eaft, on 
 account of the immenfe treafures laid up there, as being the col- 
 lection of many years. Thefe the avaricious Proconful feized ; 
 and, left any of the rich vafes and ornaments mould be embezzled, 
 he fpent a great deal of his time in feeing the money counted, and 
 the gold and filver veflels weighed before him. In fhort, there 
 was not any means of amafling money, how unjuft and opprefiivs 
 foever, which he did not ufe ; as if he had been fent, not to govern 
 but plunder the provinces. Ant. Un. Hift. vol. ii. c. 12. Strabo, 
 b. xvi. p. 748. Plin. b. v. c. 23. 
 
 Line 129. " Down Craffus throat rich fir earns of molten ore." 
 
 Flor. b. iii. c. 2. Dio. Cass. b. xii 
 
 Line 139. '* How dead thefe pictures to the martial throng, 
 Up 'Tigris' ba?iks who wound their march along." 
 
 Line 153. " Tho in the work ten thoufand Greeks combine, 
 Accomplifl: d Xenophon ! the palm is thine." 
 
 The retreat of the ten thoufand Greeks, is a tran faction too ce- 
 lebrated in hiftory to be unknown to the reader; but it may not 
 
 be
 
 THE THIRD EPISTLE. 57 
 
 be unufeful to bring the outlines into one point of view, to recall 
 the value of the picture to his memory. 
 
 This retreat was a march of 2,325 miles, the longed: we read of 
 in hidory, through the territories of a powerful and victorious 
 enemy, and under all imaginable dangers and difficulties. It is 
 fortunate for the world, that a long and memorable feries of ex- 
 ploits, achieved by an army of 10,000 men, and under the conduct 
 of one of the wifed and complete!! generals of antiquity, has been 
 tranfmitted to poflerity by his own inimitable pen. 
 
 After the battle of Cunaxa, and the death of Cyrus, in whofe 
 behalf the Greeks had engaged in the expedition againft: Artaxerxes, 
 their camp was plundered, themfelves in a victorious enemy's 
 country, and at a vafl diftance from their own, and every moment 
 expecting to feel the fevered effects of the king's refentment. It 
 was in this extreme difficulty that Xenophon began to give thofe 
 iignal proofs of his bravery, fagacity, and eloquence, by which he 
 not only infpired the defponding Greeks with frefh courage, but 
 perfuaded their remaining chiefs to refolve on this noble, though 
 arduous and dangerous retreat ; and, after the death of Clearchus, 
 to appoint him their general. What dill enhances his merit on 
 this occafion is, that he had never borne any command or commif- 
 fion before ; and was, as is commonly fuppofed, under thirty years 
 of age when he was raifed to that dignity. 
 
 From Cunaxa the Greeks retreated through the Median wall to 
 Sitace. Here they paffed the Tigris by a bridge of boats, and 
 coafted that river for fome time. Their route lay through Seleucia 
 (now Bagdad) and the Median defarts, to Coene. Here they croffed 
 the Zabatus, which falls into the Tigris, and arrived at Mefpila, 
 where they determined to quit the river, and force their way. over 
 the Carduchian mountains. Continually harraffed by the enemy, 
 and dripped of their baggage, the Greeks at length gained the head 
 of the Euphrates. Hence they continued their courfe to the 
 Araxes, and paffing through the territories of the Chalybeans, or 
 Georgians, came to Colchis, on the Euxine fea. We fhall here 
 
 I leave
 
 5 8 NOTESON 
 
 leave them, as they have arrived at the goal which they had fo ar- 
 dently panted for, and now began to feparate, and to purfue their 
 way homewards by different routes. 
 
 Ant. Un. Hill. vol. vii. b. ii. Xenoph. Diod.Sio 
 
 Line 159. " Nor Nik nor Lawrence boajls a nobler fall, 
 Than Tigris borrows from the Median wall." 
 
 The river St. Lawrence in North America, which contains the 
 ftupendous cataract of Niagara. As to the wall of Semiramis, de- 
 fcribed in hiftory as running from the Fuphrates to the Tigris, there 
 are at prefent no traces of it, except the maffive mafonry which 
 croiTes the Tigris at Tekrid, and interrupts the navigation of the 
 river, can be confidered as a fragment of that noble work. The 
 folidity of this mafonry, its fituation, and apparent obftruction to 
 the channel, feem to countenance a conjecture, which cannot be 
 decided by the imperfect annals of the country. The Tigris above 
 Bagdad is navigated by a raft, formed of reeds, and buoyed up by 
 bladders. When this raft arrives at Tekrid, the mariners take it out 
 of the water, and launch it r gain below the wall ; which could 
 not be done with a lefs fimple velTel of equal fize, unattended with 
 considerable trouble and expence. 
 
 Line 163. " Seleucia hail! — where erjl the Caliph's throne." 
 
 Line 165. " SurpaJJing thee and Cte/iphon in power, 
 
 This Phenixfprung by mighty Nimrod's tower." 
 
 The general opinion that Bagdad is built near the fpot where 
 Seleucia and Ctefiphon formerly flood, is adopted by historians and 
 modern travellers. A lofty and antient tower, which ftands in the 
 plain to the weflward of Bagdad, and ferved as a land-mark to us, 
 is commonly known by the name of Nimrod's Tower. 
 
 Mod. Un. Hift. vol, ii. c. 2. Ives's Voyages. 
 
 a Line
 
 THE THIRD EPISTLE. 59 
 
 Line 173. " On Tigris' banks as once the Caliph fray d, 
 His great de/ign." 
 
 The ftory of the Caliph Almanfor, or, in Arabic, Al Manfur, re- 
 lative to the building of Bagdad, is told nearly in the fame manner 
 by different writers. Though the Orientals are fond of introdu- 
 cing the marvellous even into their hiftorical page, and this tale of 
 the Hermit is agreeable to their fuperftitious turn, it might have 
 happened in a more enlightened age and country. 
 
 Greg. Abul. Farai. Geograph. Perf. apud D'Herbel. 
 Biblioth. Orient, in art. Bagd. 
 
 Line 193. " The barren court him, and the fruitful blefs." 
 
 This picture of a Mahometan Santo will not appear forced or 
 unnatural to thofe who have read the Travels of Tournefort, Nie- 
 buhr, &c. But a more ftriking anecdote than I have elfewhere 
 met with of thefe impoftors, was related to me at Aleppo, as hav- 
 ing fallen within the knowledge of the prefent Britifli conful. 
 
 A naked Santo came one day to the door of a merchant of Aleppo. 
 His bufinefs was to demand charity ; but the miftrefs of the houfe 
 obferving him through a window, took the occafion of her hufband's 
 abfence to beckon him to enter her apartment. Accuflomed to 
 thefe invitations, he was not flow in obeying the fign, and in fatif- 
 fying the amorous defires of the lady. He retired from the confe- 
 rence without fufpicion •, but fuch were the uncommon attractions 
 of the fair ftranger, that he returned the next day to partake of 
 the forbidden banquet. He knocked boldly at the gate ; but, as 
 chance directed, it was opened by the hufband, whofe perfon was 
 known to him. There was now no refource but in the fuper- 
 ftition of the Turks ; and with the effrontery that marks his feci:, 
 he afked the merchant for his wife ! The novelty of the queftion 
 in the Eaft, the character of thefe religious, and the diflurbed ftate 
 into which his paffions had thrown him, all confpired to favor the 
 Santo's defigns. A ftrange whim immediately pofleft the merchant. 
 
 He
 
 ■-S- 
 
 
 6o NOTES ON THE THIRD EPISTLE. 
 
 He perfuaded himfelf that the Santo had been infpired to demand 
 his wife -, and, like a good Muffulman, holding it impious to refift 
 the decrees of fate, he readily fought the lady to difpofe her for the 
 vifit. This, it feems, proved a lefs difficult tafk than his fimpli- 
 city had apprehended. The honeft man brought them together, 
 and while the happy pair were laughing at his credulity, he was 
 bleffing himfelf for the favorable compliance of his wife, and feed- 
 ing his imagination with the probable iffue of an embrace that had 
 been fanclified by the Prophet. 
 
 Line 201. " Here Jhall thy hand the Mojlem Mufniid — " 
 The Oriental appellation for a throne. 
 
 Line 211. " The Caliph's orb revolv'd its dcjlind race" 
 Line 213. " It breaks again." 
 
 Line 215. " Beneath the Othman banner Glory dies" 
 
 The deftruclion of the Caliphate by the Turks, forms a memo- 
 rable aera in hiftory. The vifible decline of arts, induftry, and 
 population, throughout the Grand Signior's dominions, is the me- 
 lancholy reflexion of every traveller. 
 
 TOURNEFORT. PoCOCKE. CHANDLER. 
 
 Line 221. " Now in the moral turn of Pilpay's fiile, 
 In Hafez now, on whom the Graces fmile : 
 Or in Ferdufi" 
 
 The curious reader may find a full account of the various works 
 and merits of thefe Poets, in an hiftory of the Perfian language, 
 annexed by the learned Mr. Jones to his Life of Nader Shaw. From 
 this fource the motto to this Epiftle was taken, the original poem 
 being very fcarce in India. 
 
 FINIS, 
 
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