Around her filver throne the planets glow,
And fars unnumber'd trembling beams beftow;
Around her throne the vivid planets roll,
And ftars unnumber'd gild the glowing pole:

Clear gleams of light o'er the dark trees are feen,

o'er the dark trees a yellow fheds,

O'er the dark trees a yellower green they shed,

gleam
verdure

And tip with filver all the mountain heads:

foreft

And tip with filver every mountain's head.
The vallies open, and the forests rife,

The vales appear, the rocks in profpect rife,
Then shine the vales, the rocks in profpect rife,
All Nature stands reveal'd before our eyes;
A flood of glory burfts from all the skies.
The confcious fhepherd, joyful at the fight,.
Eyes the blue vault, and numbers ev'ry light.
The confcious fwains rejoicing at, the fight,
thepherds gazing with delight

Eya

Eye the blue vault, and bless the vivid light.

glorious
useful

So many flames before the navy blaze,

proud Ilion

And lighten glimmering Xanthus with their rays,
Wide o'er the fields to Troy extend the gleams,
And tip the distant fpires with fainter beams;
The long reflexions of the distant fires

Gild the high walls, and tremble on the fpires,
Gleam on the walls, and tremble on the spires;
A thousand fires at diftant stations bright,
Gild the dark profpect, and difpel the night.

Of these specimens every man who has cultivated poetry, or who delights~ to trace the mind from the rudenefs of" its first conceptions to the elegance of its laft, will naturally defire a greater number; but most other readers are already

tired, and I am not writing only to

poets and philofophers.

The Iliad was published volume by

:

volume, as the tranflation proceeded; the first four books appeared in 1715. The expectation of this work was undoubtedly high, and every man who had connected his name with criticism, or poetry, was defirous of fuch intelligence as night enable him to talk upon the popular topick. Halifax, who, by having been firft a poet, and then a patron of poetry, had acquired the right of being a judge, was willing to hear fome books while they were yet unpublished. Of this rehearsal Pope afterwards gave the following account *.

* Spence.

"The

"The famous Lord Halifax was ra"ther a pretender to taste than really "poffeffed of it.-When I had finished "the two or three firft books of my "tranflation of the Iliad, that Lord de"fired to have the pleasure of hearing "them read at his houfe.-Addison,

Congreve, and Garth, were there at

"the reading. In four or five places, "Lord Halifax flopt me very civilly, "and with a speech each time, much "of the fame kind, I beg your par "don, Mr. Pope; but there is fome-

66

thing in that paffage that does not

"quite pleafe me.-Be fo good as to “mark the place, and confider it a little "at your leifure.-I'm fure you can "give it a little turn. I returned from

"Lord

"Lord Halifax's with Dr. Garth, in his

"chariot; and, as we were going along,

66

was faying to the Doctor, that my "Lord had laid me under a good deal

of difficulty by fuch loose and general "obfervations; that I had been think

ing over the paffages almoft ever fince, " and could not guefs at what it was "that offended his Lordship in either of "them. Garth laughed heartily at my "embarraffment; faid, I had not been "long enough acquainted with Lord "Halifax to know his way yet; that I "need not puzzle myself about looking thofe places over and over, when

6

"I got home. All you need do (fays

"he) is to leave them juft as they are;

❝ call on Lord Halifax two or three

"months