many other Reflections of that kind, it brought to memory, Adam's Anfwer to Eve, when the enquired a Reason, why the Moon and glittering Stars should shine all Night long, and exhibit fo glorious a fight to the Earth, when a welcome fleep had shut up all Eyes. Book 4. line 661.

Thofe have their Course to finish round the Earth,
By morrow Evening, and from land to land
In order, though to Nations yet unborn,
Miniftring Light, prepar'd they fet and rife;
Left total Darkness should by Night regain
Her old poffeffion, and extinguish Life

In Nature and all things, which thefe foft Fires
Not only enlighten, but with kindly Heat
Of various influence foment and warm,
Temper or nourish, or in part fhed down
Their Stellar Vertue on all kinds that grow
On Earth, made hereby apter to receive
Perfection from the Sun's more potent Ray.
Thefe then, though unbeheld in deep of Night,
Shine not in vain; nor think though Men were

none,

That Heaven would want Spectators, God want Praife;

Millions of fpiritual Creatures walk the Earth Unfeen, both when we wake, and when we fleep: All these with ceafelefs Praife his works bebold Both day and night: How often from the steep

of

Of ecchoing Hill or thicket have we heard
Celeftial Voices to the Midnight air,
Sole, or refponfive to each others Note,
Singing their great Creator: Oft in bands
While they keep watch, or nightly rounding walk,
With heavenly touch of Inftrumental founds
In full harmonick numbers joyn'd, their Songs
Divide the Night, and lift our Thoughts to

Heaven.

Surely thefe fuppofed heavenly Bands of Milton could not afford much finer Mufick than did thefe little Creatures. To be plain, my ravished Soul joyned moft cheerfully with them every Night in ardent and repeated Allelujas to the divine, omnipotent Source of Harmony and Love. Our bleffed Saviour (Luke 12.27.) in addreffing a vaft (innumerable) multitude of People, who had thronged about him, to behold his stupendous Miracles, and to harken to his truly fublime Sermons, does aver, That even Solomon the Magnificent in all his Glory was not fo richly arrayed as a common Lilly of the Eastern Fields. An indelible Truth; for the niceft Art is but a very faint tranfcript or imitation of Nature. Now in my opinion, that wife and mighty Monarch was in his highest elevation of Glory, when he dedicated his beautiful Temple upon Mount Moriah to the great God Jehovah : Nay, and I do farther,

fincerely and from the bottom of my heart, believe, that when the Trumpeters and Singers on that folemn occafion were as one, to make one Sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their Voices with the Trumpets, Cymbals, Harps, Pfalteries, Sackbuts, and other mufical Inftruments, in that holy exercife; They even Then could not excell the Harmony of these little Creatures, with which I was ferenaded every night. It is a faying true in a good measure, that Familiarity begets Contempt of moft things; But this I affirm upon the word of a Chriftian, whofe Religion teaches him open-heartedness, that my Ardour and Zeal to join Voices with them in Allelujas to honour the Divine Effence, was not one fingle jot fallen or abated to the last moment of my stay at Nevis ; though perhaps feveral Perfons by being their whole life time ufed to hear it, as well as for want of a right Education, were far enough from thinking it so very fine; and perhaps too, multitudes of those who never had the opportunity of hearing it, will not credit me; But that I do not regard; For I ever look upon a Multitude as a many-headed Monster that is determined to believe just as it has an inclination to do: Multitudes of Scholars help to compofe this Monster. In fhort, a Hautboy, with a Bafs Viol, and two Violins, would certainly have given them much

more

more fatisfaction; efpecially if they had been bleffed with a set of gay Ladies to fing and dance to the Mufick, I mean a fet of fuch Ladies as Milton hints at in Book 11. line 614.

For that fair Female Troop thou faweft, that feem'd
Of Goddeffes, fo blith, fo fmooth, fo gay,
Yet empty of all Good, wherein confifts
Woman's domeftick Honour and chief Praife;
Bred only and compleated to the tafte
Of lustful Appetence, to fing, to dance,
To dress, and troule the Tongue, and role the eye.

However, I do not much wonder at it; for fome Souls are fo very low and groveling, that they have scarce any relish at all for such refined enjoyments. My worthy Friend, you should have been entertained with a clearer and far more accurate description of this extraordinary and uncommon fort of Mufick, if providence had favoured me with Milton's fublime Genius and flowing Eloquence; but alas! it cannot be. I have heard from Perfons who frequented the Coafts of Malabar and Corromandel in the East-Indies, that there is much the fame Noife in the Nighttime there: And I conjecture it may be the fame too in the delightful Vales of Arabia Felix, whofe fweet and charming Solitudes might probably enough furnish Milton with good hints in his defcription of Paradife.

5 I have fo great a veneration for Milton's Paradife Loft, that I then got by heart Adam and

Eve's Morning Oraison before they set out for
work, and accustomed myself to repeat it with
the highest rapture every Morning as a conclu-
fion to my private Devotion. Book 5. line 152.
Thefe are thy glorious Works, Parent of good,
Almighty, thine this universal Frame,
Thus wondrous fair; thyself how wondrous then!
Unspeakable, who fitt'ft above thefe Heavens
To us invifible, or dimly feen

In these thy lowest Works, yet these declare
Thy goodness beyond thought, and power divine.
Speak ye, who beft can tell, ye Sons of Light,
Angels, for ye behold him, and with Songs
And choral Symphonies, day without night,
Circle his Throne rejoycing, Ye in Heaven.
On Earth joyn all ye Creatures to extol
Him firft, Him laft, Him midft, and without end.
Fairest of ftars, laft in the train of Night,
If better thou belong not to the dawn,

Sure Pledge of Day that crown'
ft the fmiling Morn
With thy bright circlet, praise him in thy fphere
While day arifes, that fweet hour of prime,
Thou Sun, of this great World both eye and foul,
Acknowledge him thy Creator, found his praise
In thy eternal course, both when thou climb'ft,
And when high Noon haft gain'd, and when thou
fall'
ft.

Moon,