ELEGY III. Page 25. Thus silver wharf,—] A river near the scene of battle, in which were slain 35,000 men. ELEGY IV. Page 26. The remains of Netley, or rather Letteley Abbey, the subject of this elegy, are situated in the parish of Hound, on the eastern side of the Southampton river, between the town and Calshot Castle. In the year 1329 king Henry III. founded it as a monastery for Cistercian monks from Beaulieu, and commended it to the patronage of St. Mary and St. Edward. The spot where it stands is almost surrounded with beautiful woods, and its prospects both by land and water, are extensive and delightful. ELEGY V. Page 38. Nor Edward's piety, nor Henry's might, Could ward the all-subduing conqu'ror's blow;] Edward VI. and Henry V. both buried in Westminster Abbey. 40. And her too'd Campbell sad Suadela wails.] Duke of Argyle. ib. Lo! noble Cart'ret's urn! illustrious youth!] The monument of this young nobleman is distinguished by a fine figure of Time, standing on an altar, with a scroll in his hand, containing an elegant copy of sapphic verses, well known and greatly admired. ELEGY VII. Page 47. It has been often said, that Fiction is the most proper field for poetry. If it is always so, the Writer of Pollio acknowledges it is a circumstance against him. This Ode was first suggested, and the ideas contained in it raised, on revisiting the ruins and woods that had been the scene of his early amusements with a deserving brother, who died in his twenty-first year. ELEGY XII. Page 68. The Author of this Elegy was son of a gentleman in the county of Limerick, and possessed a competent estate Having been freed from restraint by the death of his father, and being improperly indulged by his mother, he became guilty of excesses, which were the source of much unhappiness towards the close of his life. His classical education he acquired in the Diocesan School of Limerick, and was in 1751 admitted Fellow Commoner in Trinity College, Dublin. From that university he came over to the Middle Temple for the purpose of studying the law, and died on the 20th of July 1767. -] Small Pox. 69. That fell disease, 70. Or near that pile, where, mouldering in the tomb, The frail remains of once fam'd St. John lie,] Battersea, where lord Bolingbroke lies buried. 70. Thine was Borhame,- -] Borhame, king of all Ireland, totally overthrew the Danes many years before the English entered that kingdom. His family reigned in Munster for some centuries. When Ireland was reduced they accepted the dignity of earls of Thomond. By the death of Henry O'Brien, the last earl, this family became extinct. 71. And freed Eblana's joyful turrets ring.] Eblana was the ancient name of Dublin. ELEGY XIII. Page 80. But who is he that by yon lonely brook, With woods o'erhung, and precipices rude, tarch, was the scene of Brutus's death. ELEGY XIV. Page 85. The Author of this little Poem to the memory of an unhappy Princess, is unwilling to enter into the controversy respecting her guilt or her innocence. Suffice it only to observe, that the following facts may be proved to demonstration: The Letters, which have always been esteemed as the principal proof of Queen Mary's guilt, are forged. Buchanan, on whose authority Thuanus and other historians have condemned her, has falsified several circumstances of her history, and has cited against her public records which never existed, as has been lately proved to demon stration. And, to add no more, the treatment she received from her illustrious Cousin was dictated by a policy truly Machiavelian, a policy which tram. pled on the obligations of Honor, of Humanity, and Morality. Whence it may be inferred, that to express the indignation at the cruel treatment of Mary which history must ever inspire, and to drop a tear over her sufferings, is not unworthy of a Writer who would appear in the cause of Virtue. 89. "While from thy weeping eyes fair Gallia fled, Thy future woes in boding sighs confest!] The unhappy Mary in her infancy was sent to France, to the care of her mother's family, the House of Guise. The French Court was at that time the gayest and most gallant of Europe. Here the Princess of Scotland was educated, with all the distinctions due to her high rank; and, as soon as years would allow, she was married to the Dauphin, afterwards Francis II. On the death of this monarch, which closed a short reign, the politics of the House of Guise required the return of the young Queen to Scotland. She left France with tears and the utmost reluctance! and on her landing in her native kingdom, it was in the month of November, the different appearance of the country awakened all her regret, and affected her with a melancholy, which seemed to forebode her future misfortunes. 90. Amid the gloomy clouds of rolling smoke, The high pil'd city rears her Gothic towers; The stern-brow'd castle, from his lofty rock, Looks scornful down, and fixt defiance lowers.] These circumstances, descriptive of the environs of Holy Rood House, are local. Yet, however dreary the unimproved November view may appear, the connoisseur in gardening will perceive, that plantation, and the other efforts of art, could easily convert the prospect into an agreeable and most romantic summer landscape. 90. Far other spouse now wakes her midnight hour,] Lord Darnly; the handsomest man of his age, but a worthless debauchee of no abilities. ib. Another nuptial couch the Fates prepare,] Her marriage with the Earl of Bothwell; an unprincipled politician of great address. 91. Now thro' the streets a weeping captive borne,] When she was brought prisoner through the streets of Edinburgh, she suffered almost every indignity which an enraged mob could offer. Her person was bedaubed with mire, and her ear insulted with every term of vulgar abuse. Even Buchanan, when he relates these circumstances, seems to drop a tear over them. ib. No female eye her sickly bed to tend!] A fact. ELEGY XV. 98. Yet will I praise you, triflers as ye are, More than those preachers of your fav'rite creed, |