death of Daphne affords a new image, and the perfonification has a fine effect.

"The balmy zephyrs, filent fince her death,
"Lament the ceafing of a sweeter breath *."

The fame may be faid of the following beautiful couplet in this pastoral.

"No more the mounting larks, while Daphne fings,

"Shall life'ning in mid-air fufpend their wings."

The image of the birds liftening with their wings fufpended in mid-air, is ftriking; and I truft, new t.

"Our critic having thus fet out with denying our poet the merit of invention, he immediately makes a kind of digreffion in praise of Theocritus; whom he very frequently ftiles the father and model of this enchanting kind of compofition. Theocritus, he observes, derived many

The four lines which precede thefe, are incomparably fine; but I know not whether they may not be confidered as imitations of those beautiful paftoral images in Eve's Speech to Adam; which are thus recapitulated :

"But neither breath of morn, when the afcends
"With charm of earlieft birds," &c.

The two lines however which immediately follow,

"No more the birds fhall imitate her lays,
"Or hush'd with wonder, hearken from the sprays,"

do but convey the fame image, a little diverfified.
D

advan

advantages from the climate in which he lived and wrote. "The poet," fays he, "described what he faw and felt, and had no need to have recourse to those artificial affemblages of pleafing objects, which are not to be found in nature. The figs and honey which he affigns* as a reward to a victorious fhepherd, were in themselves exquifite, and are therefore affigned with great propriety."

With due deference to our critic, however, these remarks do not appear to be well founded. The figs and honey of Sicily, however exquifrte in themselves, were common to the intrabitants and whoever is acquainted with the nature of the human appetites, will allow that things in general eftimation, are not always valued because they are in themselves exquifite, but because they are fcarce and rare. If they are common, they in fome degree lofe their value, and confequently any other reward, though less exquifite in itself, is most likely to become the object of defire. Any other premium than figs and honey, might therefore, in Sicily, have been affigned with greater propriety, and would have difplayed more invention in the Sicilian bard.

A poet is not confined to his own country for images. He may range throughout the univerfe, and is not always, as Addison remarks, ftrictly bound by the laws of nature; much less

* Idyll. 1. v. 146.

reftrained

reftrained in his defcriptions to the produce of particular climes. He may impregnate every foil with what feed beft fuits his purpose: he may make the fpicy gales of Arabia, diffufe their fragrance over fcentless and fterile wilds he may bring the garden of the Hefperides from its native Africa, and make the golden fruit ripen in the moft untoward clime. The following cenfure, therefore, will probably be thought too nice and captious. "Complaints," fays he, "of immoderate heat, and withes to be conveyed to cooling caverns, when uttered by the inhabitants of Greece, have a decorum and confiftency which they totally lose in the character of a Britifh fhepherd."

That fuch caufes of complaint will more frcquently occur in the Grecian climate, is unqueftionable; but is it neceffary to make a complaint of this kind confiftent, that every day fhould be a dog-day? The Britifh fhepherd might very confiftently describe what he often felt, though not fo frequently as the Grecian; and we have days in England, which might make even a Grecian faint.

He admits, however, that Mr. POPE was fenfible of the importance of adapting images to the scene of action; which he inftances in the tranflation of the following line:

"Audit Eurotas, juffitque edifcere lauros."

Here our poet, as the critic candidly obferves, has dropped the laurels appropriated to Eurotas,

as he is fpeaking of the river Thames; and has rendered it

"Thames heard the numbers as he flow'd along, "And bade his willows learn the moving fong

Our critic objects that "a mixture of British and Grecian ideas, may be juftly deemed a blemish in the PASTORALS of POPE: and propriety," he adds, "is certain to be violated when he couples Pactolus with the Thames," &c. How far fuch a violation is to be imputed to our poet, let the lines from the mouth of the fhepherd fpeak for themselves.

"O'er golden fands let rich Pactolus flow, "And trees weep amber on the banks of Po; Bleft Thames's fhores the brightest beauties "yield †,

66

"Feed here, my lambs, I'll feek no diftant field.”

*The author of the Elements of Criticifm, objects to this defcriptive perfonification, as deftitute of resemblance to any thing real. "Admitting," fays he, "that a river gently flowing, may be imagined a fenfible being liftening to a fong; I cannot enter into the conceit of the river's ordering his laurels to learn the fong: here all refemblance to any thing real is loft. This, however," he concludes, "is copied literally by one of our greatest poets."

It must indeed be confeffed, that this fiction of the imagination, is, in the foregoing inftance, used rather licentioufly. But the critic is miftaken in faying, that our author has copied the original literally; fince, as above obferved, he has very judiciously changed the image, though he has given full fcope to the fiction.

The third line of this ftanza, is very far from being smooth and harmonious. The genitive cafe hangs upon the tongue, and befide, cccafions a very difagreeable hifling.

What

What the critic means by coupling Pactolus with Thames, it is not eafy to conjecture. They ftand evidently contradiftinguished: and furely the poet might draw a contraft from Greece, without being chargeable with a faulty mixture of British and Grecian ideas.

Ever partial to his favourite Sicilian, the critic prefers his imagery to Mr. POPE's in the following inftance, "A fhepherd," fays he, "in Theocritus, wifhes with much tenderness and elegance, both which muft fuffer in a literal tranflation," Would I could become a murmuring bee, fly into your grotto, and be permitted to creep among the leaves of ivy and fern, that compose the chaplet which adorns your head." POPE, he obferves, has thus altered this image:

"Oh! were I made by fome transforming pow'r "The captive bird that fings within thy bow'r! "Then might my voice thy lift'ning ears employ, "And I thofe kiffes he receives, enjoy."

"On three accounts," he concludes, "the foregoing image is preferable to the latter. For the pastoral wildnefs, delicacy, and uncommonnefs of the thought."

It is fomewhat ftrange that the critic fhould applaud the Greek image for the uncommonnefs of the thought: fince it is the perfection of paf