WITH

TO THE READER.

ITH the hope, in fome measure, to improve, or innocently amufe, my readers; were the motives which led me to offer the following Effays to your perufal; for fame is a flippery, uncertain baggage, in whom I am not willing to repofe much confidence.

among

My verfification of Mr. Hervey's Meditations the Tombs was finifhed before I had reached the nineteenth year of my age. It was my particular study to adhere as closely as practicable to the words of the original; and where I have found myself under the neceffity of departing from that rule, for the fake of the metre, I fear I fhall forfeit your approbation. I am fenfible that many of my lines, perhaps all, are rough and frigid; and it is poffible that I could have rendered them more harmonious, by frequent revisals and alterations; but might I not, in that cafe, deviate fo far from Mr. Hervey's expreffions, as to be not only a more indifferent imitator, but a merely fuperficial poetafter and is it not infinitely more eligible to enjoy a feeble, though unerring ray, which uniformly guides us to a great and durable light,

:

than to look for direction in our path from a glit. tering, momentary meteor, which fuddenly attracts our notice, but in an inftant vanishes to fhine no more?—I have feveral times, it may be much too often, made ufe of the monofyllables do, did, doth, &c. but I must beg leave to obferve, that verbs are too confequential in the formation of either profaic or poetical compositions ; and too neceffary for the prefervation of found fenfe, and grammatical accuracy, to be rafhly excluded from that place which propriety of fpeech requires they fhould retain and I will take the liberty of hinting, that the equally often repetition of the conjunction and, or any other word in the English language, might produce fensations in us alike harsh and difgufting. Probably it may be objected, that regular poetry preferibes the total rejection of triplets. I do confefs I think Alexandrines wholly inadmiffible, as being affected. and unnatural; but, in a poem of confiderable length, I certainly do look upon triplets to be juftifiable, as, according to my notion of them, "they relieve the reader from a tedious, unpleasant monotony, when judiciously introduced; but whether or no I have confined myself within the bounds of methodical exactness in that refpect, I muft'entirely fubmit to your generous and candid decifion,

Four beautiful lines of Mr. Pope's Elegy on the Death of an unfortunate Lady, I have preferved, because I could not conveniently omit them; but as I had not the unpardonable effrontcry of making any change in them; fo neither had I the audacity of falfely arrogating them to myself. But fome perfon may be tempted to exclaim with indignation, Have we not Mr. Hervey's Works in their native elegance of drefs? Why, then, fhould any part of them be impofed upon us, when only clad in rags? To this humiliating expoftulation I reply by another question, Have we not alfo the holy fcriptures, the plain, infallible guides to falvation, laid open before us? and do we not fland in need of inceffant exhortations to accept of, and turn to our everlasting advantage, thofe treasures of ineflimable felicity? That portion of Mr. Hervey's valuable productions which I have prefumed to exhibit in a new fhape, is confeffedly of the highest importance, and claims our molt ferious confideration. Daily experience demonftrates that we are all the mortal fons of fai len Adam.--Infancy, youth, vigorous manhood, and infirm old age, are alike expofed to the refiftless and unrelenting fhafts of death. The grifly tyrant pays no refpect to the bloom of beauty, the parade of wealth, or the haughty difplay

of

power; but levels in the duft of indifcriminate and impartial equality, the mighty potentate, and the defpicable flave. Here we have no abiding place, but are rapidly approaching to that ftate, either happy or miferable, which must be our lot to all eternity! How unfpeakably interesting is it, then, to have always in our view any warnings which may flimulate us, in this our fhort and probationary exiftence, to prepare for admiffion into the glorious, incomprehenfible joys of immortality? Perhaps the novelty of the matter may induce my fellow creatures to caft an eye over my verfification of the Meditations among the Tombs ; but let me earnestly befeech them not to stop here: let me intreat them in the warmeft manner, to compare it minutely with the original; which cannot fail of ultimately bringing with it a reward, amply compenfating for a talk which, at first,

may be irkfome and forbidding. On every exam. ination, let my inferior performance fuffer under the correcting hand of criticifm; yet I fhall be abundantly repaid by the comfortable supposition, that the folemn employment will be productive of the most falutary benefits to all thofe who may permit themfelves deliberately to engage in it. Cheerfully fhall, I defcend to the lowest fep of literary reputation, fhould I, as it were by furprife,

become an humble inftrument in the hands of PROVIDENCE, of perfuading even a fingle individual among the race of mankind, to choofe "the one thing needful;" to wean his affections from a vain, tranfitory world; and endeavour, fincerely and heartily, "to make his calling and election fure," by "fonumbering his days as to apply his heart unto wifdom."

For our Saviour's Sermon on the Mount, I fhall offer no other apology, than to express my regret at not being able to do more juftice to words uttered immediately by the mouth of God himself. The elegant fimplicity of the difcourfe in the original; the benevolence of the doctrines it contains; and the dignity of the Divine Preacher; are circumftances which have always made the most senfible impreffions on my mind; and will, I trust, prove fome excufe for my having ventured to lay before you, though in an infinitely meaner garb, a fubject of such eminently confpicuous excellence and perfection. The fucceeding portions of scripture confifts of very ftriking, and highly awful extracts; on which account, infinitely rather than for any value I lay upon my verlification of them, I fervently hope they will be feriously perufed, and meditated upon, by all thofe into whofe hands they may chance to fall. Old gold is faid to acquire purity from its age.-Long contracted friend.