Note 7, page 12, col. 2. "These are my Jewels!" The anecdote here alluded to, is related by Valerius Maximus, lib. iv, c. 4. Note 8, page 12, col. 2. "Suffer these little ones to come to me!" visit Sicily and Greece, when hearing of the troubles in England, he thought it proper to hasten home. Note 13, page 13, col. 1. I began thus far to assent... to an inward prompting which now grew daily upon me, that by labor and In our early Youth, while yet we live only among intent study (which I take to be my portion in this those we love, we love without restraint, and our life), joined with the strong propensity of nature, I hearts overflow in every look, word, and action. But might perhaps leave something, so written, to after when we enter the world and are repulsed by stran- times, as they should not willingly let it die. - MILTON. gers, forgotten by friends, we grow more and more timid in our approaches even to those we love best. How delightful to us then are the little caresses of children! All sincerity, all affection, they fly into our arms; and then, and then only, we feel our first confidence, our first pleasure. Note 9, page 12, col. 2. -he reveres The brow engraven with the Thoughts of Years. This is a law of Nature. Age was anciently synonymous with power; and we may always observe that the old are held in more or less honor as men are more or less virtuous. "Shame," says Homer, "bids the youth beware how he accosts the man of many years." "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of an old man." - Leviticus. Note 14, page 13, col. 1. Love and devotion are said to be nearly allied. Boccaccio fell in love at Naples in the church of St. Lorenzo; as Petrarch had done at Avignon in the church of St. Clair. Note 15, page 13, col. 2. Lovely before, oh, say how lovely now! Is it not true, that the young not only appear to be, but really are, most beautiful in the presence of those they love? It calls forth all their beauty. Note 16, page 13, col. 2. And feeling hearts-touch them but rightly-pour Xenophon has left us a delightful instance of con Among us, says a philosophical historian, and wherever birth and possessions give rank and au- jugal affection. thority, the young and the profligate are seen continu- The king of Armenia not fulfilling his engagement, ally above the old and the worthy: there Age can never Cyrus entered the country, and, having taken him find its due respect. But among many of the ancient and all his family prisoners, ordered them instantly nations it was otherwise; and they reaped the benefit before him. Armenian, said he, you are free; for you of it. "Rien ne maintient plus les mœurs qu'une are now sensible of your error. And what will you extrême subordination des jeunes gens envers les give me, if I restore your wife to you?-All that I am vieillards. Les uns et les autres seront contenus, ceux- able. What, if I restore your children? All that I là par le respect qu'ils auront pour les vieillards, et am able. And you, Tigranes, said he, turning to the ceux-ci par le respect qu'ils auront pour eux-mêmes." MONTESQUIEU. Note 10, page 12, col. 2. son, What would you do, to save your wife from servitude? Now Tigranes was but lately married, and had a great love for his wife. Cyrus, he replied, to save her from servitude, I would willingly lay down my life. Before I went into Germany, I came to Brodegate in Leicestershire, to take my leave of that noble Lady Jane Grey, to whom I was exceeding much beholding. Her parents, the Duke and Duchess, with all the Household, Gentlemen and Gentlewomen, were hunting in the park. I found her in her chamber, reading Phædo Platonis in Greek, and that with as much delight as some Gentlemen would read a merry tale in Boccace. After salutation and duty done, with life for me. Cyropædia, 1. iii. Let each have his own again, said Cyrus; and when he was departed, one spoke of his clemency; and another of his valor; and another of his beauty, and the graces of his person. Upon which, Tigranes asked his wife, if she thought him handsome. Really, said she, I did not look at him. At whom then did you look?-At him who said he would lay down his some other talk, I asked her, why she would lose such Note 11, page 12, col. 2. Dante in his old age was pointed out to Petrarch when a boy; and Dryden to Pope. Who does not wish that Dante and Dryden could have known the value of the homage that was paid them, and foreseen the greatness of their young admirers? Note 17, page 14, col. 2. He goes, and Night comes as it never came! These circumstances, as well as some others that follow, are happily, as far as they regard England, of an ancient date. To us the miseries inflicted by a foreign invader are now known only by description. Many generations have passed away since our countrywomen saw the smoke of an enemy's camp. But the same passions are always at work everywhere, and their effects are always nearly the same; though the circumstances that attend them are infinitely various. Note 18, page 15, col. 1. Note 19, page 15, col. 1. An English breakfast; which may well excite in others what in Rousseau continued through life, un goût vif pour les déjeûnés. C'est le tems de la journée où nous sommes les plus tranquilles, où nous causons le plus à notre aise. The luxuries here mentioned, familiar to us as they now are, were almost unknown before the Revolution. Note 20, page 15, col. 2. Mr. Attorney-General. Yes, a Servant. Lord Chief Justice. Any of your Servants shall assist you in writing anything you please for you. Lord Russel. My Wife is here, my Lord, to do it-State Trials, ii. Note 25, page 15, col. 2. Her glory now, as ever her delight. Epaminondas, after his victory at Leuctra, rejoiced most of all at the pleasure which it would give his father and mother; and who would not have envied them their feelings? Like Hampden struggling in his Country's cause. Zeuxis is said to have drawn his Helen from an assemblage of the most beautiful women; and many a writer of fiction, in forming a life to his mind, has be called the mother of the Gracchi?" recourse to the brightest moments in the lives of others. Cornelia was called at Rome the Mother-in-law of Scipio. "When," said she to her sons, "shall I I may be suspected of having done so here, and of having designed, as it were, from living models; but by making an allusion now and then to those who have really lived, I thought I should give something of interest to the picture, as well as better illustrate my meaning. Note 21, page 15, col. 2. Note 26, page 16, col. 1. Lo, on his back a Son brings in his Sire. An act of filial piety represented on the coins of Catana, a Greek city, some remains of which are still to be seen at the foot of mount Etna. The story is told of two brothers, who in this manner saved both their parents. The place from which they escaped was long called the field of the pious; and public games were annually held there to com Traitor's gate, the water-gate in the Tower of memorate the event. London. Note 22, page 15, col. 2. Then to the place of trial. This very slight sketch of Civil Dissension is taken from our own annals; but, for an obvious reason, not from those of our own Age. Note 27, page 16, col. 2. Oh thou, all-eloquent, whose mighty mind. Cicero. It is remarkable that, among the comforts of Old Age, he has not mentioned those arising from the society of women and children. Perhaps the husband of Terentia and "the father of Marcus felt something on the subject, of which he was willing The persons here immediately alluded to lived more than a hundred years ago, in a reign which Blackstone has justly represented as wicked, san- to spare himself the recollection." guinary, and turbulent; but such times have always afforded the most signal instances of heroic courage and ardent affection. Great reverses, like theirs, lay open the human heart. They occur indeed but seldom; yet all men are liable to them; all, when they occur to others, make them more or less their own; and, were we to describe our condition to an inhabitant of some other planet, could we omit what forms so striking a circumstance in human life? Note 23, page 15, col. 2. and alone. In the reign of William the Third, the law was altered. A prisoner, prosecuted for high treason, may now make his full defence by counsel. Note 24, page 15, col. 2. Like that sweet Saint who sate by Russel's side BEFORE I conclude, I would say something in favor of the old-fashioned triplet, which I have here ventured to use so often. Dryden seems to have delighted in it, and in many of his most admired poems has used it much oftener than I have done, as for instance in the Hind and Panther, and in Theodore and Honoria, where he introduces it three, four, and even five times in succession. If I have erred anywhere in the structure of my verse from a desire to follow yet earlier and higher examples, I rely on the forgiveness of those in whose ear the music of our old versification is still sounding. 1 Pope used to mention this poem as the most correct specimen of Dryden's versification. It was indeed written when he had completely formed his manner, and may be supposed to of metre. Johnson. Lord Russel. May I have somebody to write, to exhibit, negligence excepted, his deliberate and ultimate scheme assist my memory? 27 Point out the green lane rough with fern and flowers; In vain, alas, a village-friend invites EVERY reader turns with pleasure to those passages of Horace, and Pope, and Boileau, which describe how they lived and where they dwelt; and which, being interspersed among their satirical writings, derive a secret and irresistible grace from the Their annual round of glitter and perfume; contrast, and are admirable examples of what in When London hails thee to its splendid mart, Painting is termed repose. Its hives of sweets, and cabinets of art; We have admittance to Horace at all hours. We And, lo, majestic as thy manly song, enjoy the company and conversation at his table; and Flows the full tide of human life along. his suppers, like Plato's, "non solum in præsentia, sed Still must my partial pencil love to dwell etiam postero die jucundæ sunt." But when we look On the home-prospects of my hermit-cell; round as we sit there, we find ourselves in a Sabine The mossy pales that skirt the orchard-green, farm, and not in a Roman villa. His windows have Here hid by shrub-wood, there by glimpses seen; every charm of prospect; but his furniture might have And the brown pathway, that, with careless flow, descended from Cincinnatus; and gems, and pictures, Sinks, and is lost among the trees below. and old marbles, are mentioned by him more than Still must it trace (the flattering tints forgive) once with a seeming indifference. Each fleeting charm that bids the landscape live. His English Imitator thought and felt, perhaps, more Oft o'er the mead, at pleasing distance, pass (1) correctly on the subject; and embellished his garden Browsing the hedge by fits the pannier'd ass; and grotto with great industry and success. But to The idling shepherd-boy, with rude delight, these alone he solicits our notice. On the ornaments Whistling his dog to mark the pebble's flight; of his house he is silent; and he appears to have re- And in her kerchief blue the cottage-maid, served all the minuter touches of his pencil for the With brimming pitcher from the shadowy glade. library, the chapel, and the banqueting-room of Far to the south a mountain-vale retires, Timon. "Le savoir de notre siècle," says Rousseau, Rich in its groves, and glens, and village-spires: "tend beaucoup plus à détruire qu'à édifier. On cen- Its upland-lawns, and cliffs with foliage hung, sure d'un ton de maitre; pour proposer, il en faut Its wizard-stream, nor nameless nor unsung: prendre un autre." And through the various year, the various day, (2) It is the design of this Epistle to illustrate the virtue What scenes of glory burst, and melt away! of True Taste; and to show how little she requires to When April-verdure springs in Grosvenor-square, secure, not only the comforts, but even the elegancies And the furr'd Beauty comes to winter there, of life. True Taste is an excellent Economist. She She bids old Nature mar the plan no more; confines her choice to few objects, and delights in Yet still the seasons circle as before. producing great effects by small means: while False Ah, still as soon the young Aurora plays, Taste is for ever sighing after the new and the rare; Though moons and flambeaux trail their broadest blaze; and reminds us, in her works, of the Scholar of As soon the sky-lark pours his matin-song, Apelles, who, not being able to paint his Helen Though evening lingers at the mask so long. beautiful, determined to make her fine. ARGUMENT. An invitation-The approach to a Villa described-Its situation-Its few apartments-furnished with casts There let her strike with momentary ray, from the Antique, etc. The dining-room-The And lisp of fashions with unmeaning stare. library-A cold-bath-A winter-walk-A summer-walk-The invitation renewed - Conclusion. WHEN, with a Reaumur's skill, thy curious mind Be thine to meditate a humbler flight, Here no state-chambers in long line unfold, Small change of scene, small space his home re- When from his classic dreams the student steals, 1 quires, (3) Who leads a life of satisfied desires. Amid the buzz of crowds, the whirl of wheels, What though no marble breathes, no canvas glows, Alone, in wonder lost, he seems to stand A very stranger in his native land! Soon as the morning-dream my pillow flies, But could thine erring friend so long forget Selected shelves shall claim thy studious hours; There shall thy ranging mind be fed on flowers!! There, while the shaded lamp's mild lustre streams, Read ancient books, or dream inspiring dreams; (7) And, when a sage's bust arrests thee there, (8) Pause, and his features with his thoughts compare. -Ah, most that Art my grateful rapture calls, Which breathes a soul into the silent walls; 2 Which gathers round the Wise of every Tongue, (9) All on whose words departed nations hung; Still prompt to charm with many a converse sweet; Guides in the world, companions in retreat! Though my thatch'd bath no rich Mosaic knows, A limpid spring with unfelt current flows. Emblem of Life! which, still as we survey, Seems motionless, yet ever glides away! The shadowy walls record, with Attic art, The strength and beauty that its waves impart. Here Thetis, bending, with a mother's fears Dips her dear boy, whose pride restrains his tears. There, Venus, rising, shrinks with sweet surprise, As her fair self reflected seems to rise! Far from the joyless glare, the maddening strife, And all the dull impertinence of life, These eye-lids open to the rising ray, And close, when nature bids, at close of day. Here, at the dawn, the kindling landscape glows; There noon-day levees call from faint repose. Here the flush'd wave flings back the parting light; There glimmering lamps anticipate the night. O come, and, rich in intellectual wealth, Blend thought with exercise, with knowledge health! Long, in this shelter'd scene of letter'd talk, With sober step repeat the pensive walk; Nor scorn, when graver triflings fail to please, The cheap amusements of a mind at ease; Here every care in sweet oblivion cast, And many an idle hour-not idly pass'd. No tuneful echoes, ambush'd at my gate, Catch the blest accents of the wise and great. (11) Vain of its various page, no Album breathes The sigh that Friendship or the Muse bequeaths. Yet some good Genii o'er my hearth preside, Oft the far friend, with secret spell, to guide; And there I trace, when the grey evening lours, A silent chronicle of happier hours! When Christmas revels in a world of snow, To range the murmuring market-place, and view When Spring bursts forth in blossoms through the vale, And her wild music triumphs on the gale, Nor boast, O Choisy! seat of soft delight, 1-apis Matinæ More modoque Grata carpentis thyma- Hor. Posten verò quâm Tyrannio mihi libros disposuit, mens ad dita videtur mens ædibus. Cic. 1 Ingenium, sibi quod vacuas desumsit Athenas, Et studiis annos septem dedit, insenuitque Libris et curis, statuâ taciturnius exit Plerumque Hor. 2 Fallacem circum, vespertinumque pererro Sæpe forum. Hor. 3 Tantôt un livre en main, errant dans les prairies Boileau. To hail our coming. Not a step profane Thus, in this calm recess, so richly fraught Rise, ere the watch-relieving clarions play, agros." Distant views contain the greatest variety both in themselves and in their accidental variations. Note 3, page 21, col. 1. Small change of scene, small space his home requires. Many a great man, in passing through the apartments of his palace, has made the melancholy reflection of the venerable Cosmo: "Questa è troppo gran casa à si poco famiglia."-MACH. Ist. Fior. lib. vii. "Parva, sed apta mihi," was Ariosto's inscription over his door in Ferrara; and who can wish to say more? "I confess," says Cowley, "I love littleness almost in all things. A little convenient estate, a little cheerful house, a little company, and a very little feast."-Essay vi. When Socrates was asked why he had built for himself so small a house, "Small as it is," he replied, "I wish I could fill it with friends." -PHEDRUS, L iii, 9. These indeed are all that a wise man would desire to assemble; "for a crowd is not company, and faces are but a gallery of pictures, and talk but a Caught through St. James's groves a blush of day; (15) tinkling cymbal, where there is no love." 2 Ere its full voice the choral anthem flings If, when this roof shall know thy friend no more, Note 4, page 21, col. 1. From every point a ray of genius flows! By this means, when all nature wears a louring countenance, I withdraw myself into the visionary worlds of art; where I meet with shining landscapes, gilded triumphs, beautiful faces, and all those other objects that fill the mind with gay ideas, etc. ADDISON. It is remarkable that Antony, in his adversity, passed some time in a small but splendid retreat, which he called his Timonium, and from which might originate the idea of the Parisian Boudoir, that favorite apartment, où l'on se retire pour être seul, mais où l'on ne boude point. -STRABO, L. xvii. PLUT. in Vit. Anton. Note 5, page 21, col. 1. Alluding to his celebrated fresco in the Rospigliosi Palace at Rome. Note 6, page 21, col. 1. And still the Few best loved and most revered. The dining-room is dedicated to Conviviality; or, as Cicero somewhere expresses it, Communitati vitæ And, with the swallow, wings the year away!" (16) atque victûs." There we wish most for the society NOTES. Note 1, page 20, col. 2. Oft o'er the mead, at pleasing distance, pass. Cosmo of Medicis took most pleasure in his Apen nine villa, because all that he commanded from its windows was exclusively his own. How unlike the wise Athenian, who, when he had a farm to sell, directed the crier to proclaim, as its best recommendation, that it had a good neighborhood.-PLUT. in Vit. Themist. Note 2, page 20, col. 2. And through the various year, the various day. of our friends; and, perhaps, in their absence, most require their portraits. The moral advantages of this furniture may be illustrated by the pretty story of an Athenian courtesan, " who, in the midst of a riotous banquet with her lovers, accidentally cast her eye on the portrait of a philosopher, that hung opposite to her seat: the happy character of temperance and virtue struck her with so lively an image of her own unworthiness, that she instantly quitted the room; and, retiring home, became ever after an example of temperance, as she had been before of debauchery." Note 7, page 21, col. 1. Read ancient books, or dream inspiring dreams. Horace commends the house, "longos quæ prospicit his library. 1-dapes inemptas. - Hor. 2 Innocuas amo delicias doctamque quietem. Note 8, page 21, col. 1. And, when a sage's bust arrests thee there. Siquidem non solum ex auro argentove, aut certe ex |