THE PROGRESS OF POESY. I. AWAKE, Folian lyre, awake, And give to rapture all thy trembling strings. A thousand rills their mazy progress take; Through verdant vales, and Ceres' golden reign: O'er her warm cheek, and rising bosom, move II. Man's feeble race what ills await 7, And Death, sad refuge from the storms of Fate! Say, has he given in vain the heavenly Muse? Her spectres wan, and birds of boding cry, The rocks, and nodding groves, rebellow to the roar. Till down the eastern cliffs afar 8 Oh! sovereign of the willing soul 2, Parent of sweet and solemn-breathing airs, And frantic passions, hear thy soft control: And dropp'd his thirsty lance at thy command: Of Jove, thy magic lulls the feather'd king The terrour of his beak, and lightning of his eye. Thee the voice, the dance, obey 4, The rosy-crowned Loves are seen, With antic sports and blue-ey'd pleasures, Glance their many-twinkling feets. Slow melting strains their queen's approach declare: I Awake, my glory: awake, lute and harp. David's Psalms. Pindar styles his own poetry with its musical accompaniments, Αἰοληὶς μολπὴν Αἰόλιδες χορδεὶ, Αἰολίδων ινοαὶ a. Folian song, Eolian strings, the breath of the Eolian flute. [war. Hyperion's march they spy, and glittering shafts of Cowley. The subject and simile, as usual with Pindar, are united. The various sources of poetry, which gives remotest and most uncivilized nations: its con9 Extensive influence of poetic genius over the life and lustre to all its touches, are here described;nection with liberty, and the virtues that naturally its quiet majestic progress enriching every subject (otherwise dry and barren) with a pomp of diction and luxuriant harmony of numbers; and its more rapid and irresistible course, when swoln and hurried away by the conflict of tumultuous passions. 2 Power of harmony to calm the turbulent sallies of the soul. The thoughts are borrowed from the first Pythian of Pindar. 3 This is a faint imitation of some incomparable lines in the same ode. 4 Power of harmony to produce all the graces of motion in the body. 5. Μαρμαρυγάς θηεῖτο ποδων θαύμαζε δὲ θυμώ. Homer, Od. . attend on it. [See the Erse, Norwegian, and Welsh Virgil. Petrarch. Canzon 2. Progress of poetry from Greece to Italy, and from Italy to England. Chaucer was not unacThe earl of Surrey, and sir Thomas Wyatt, had quainted with the writings of Dante, or of Petrarch. travelled in Italy, and had formed their taste there; Spenser imitated the Italian writers; Milton improved on them: but this school expired soon after the Restoration, and a new one arose on the French model, which has subsisted ever since. Where each old poetic mountain And coward Vice, that revels in her chains. They sought, oh Albion! next thy sea-encircled coast. III. Far from the Sun and summer-gale, In thy green lap was Nature's darling 12 laid, To him the mighty mother did unveil Her awful face: the dauntless child Stretch'd forth his little arms, and smil'd. "This pencil take," she said, "whose colours clear Richly paint the vernal year: Thine too these golden keys, immortal boy! This can unlock the gates of Joy; Of Horrour that, and thrilling fears, Or ope the sacred source of sympathetic tears. Nor second he 13, that rode sublime Upon the seraph-wings of Ecstasy, He pass'd the flaming bounds of place and time 14: Clos'd his eyes in endless night 16. Behold, where Dryden's less presumptuous car, Two courses of ethereal race 17, Nor the pride, nor ample pinion, Yet oft before his infant eyes would run Beneath the good how far-but far above the great. THE BARD. A PINDARIC ODE. ADVERTISEMENT. THE following Ode is founded on a tradition current in Wales, that Edward the First, when he compleated the conquest of that country, ordered all the Bards, that fell into his hands, to be put to death. I. "RUIN seize thee, ruthless king! With necks in thunder cloth'd 18, and long-re- To save thy secret soul from nightly fears, From Cambria's curse, from Cambria's tears!" Cecilia's day: for Cowley (who had his merit) yet wanted judgment, style, and harmony, for such a task. That of Pope is not worthy of so great a man. Mr. Mason, indeed, of late days, has touched the true chords, and with a masterly hand, in some of his choruses-above all, in the last of Caractacus. Hark! heard ye not yon footstep dread? &c. 21. Διὸς πρὸρε ὄρνιχα θεῖον. Olymp. 2. Pindar compares himself to that bird, and his enemies to ravens that croak and clamour in vain below, while pursues its flight, regardless of their noise. 15 For the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels-And above the firmament, that was over their heads, was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire-stone.-This was the ap-it pearance of the glory of the Lord. Ezekiel i. 20, 26, 28. 16 Οφθαλμῶν μὲν ἄμερσε· δίδει δ' ἡδεῖαν ἐπιδὴν. Hom. Odys. 17 Meant to express the stately march and sounding energy of Dryden's rhymes. 18 Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? Job. 19 Words, that weep, and tears, that speak. Cowley. 20 We have had, in our language, no other odes of the sublime kind, than that of Dryden on St. Mocking the air with colours idly spread. 2 The hauberk was a texture of steel ringlets, or rings interwoven, forming a coat of mail, that sat close to the body, and adapted itself to every motion. 3 The crested adder's pride. Dryden's Indian Queen. 4 Snowdon was a name given by the Saxons to that mountainous tract, which the Welsh themselves call Craigian-eryri: it included all the highlands of Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire, as Stout Glo'sters stood aghast in speechless trance: To arms! cried Mortimer, and couch'd his quivering lance. On a rock, whose haughty brow Frowns o'er old Conway's foaming flood, "Hark, how each giant-oak, and desert cave, To high-born Hoel's harp, or soft Llewellyn's lay. "Cold is Cadwallo's tongue, That hush'd the stormy main; Modred, whose magic song Made huge Plinlimmon bow his cloud-top'd head. 10 The famish'd eagle 1o screams, and passes by. far east as the river Conway. R. Hygden, speaking of the castle of Conway, built by king Edward the First, says, "Ad ortum amnis Conway ad clivum montis Erery;" and Matthew of Westminster, (ad ann. 1283,) "Apud Aberconway ad pedes montis Snowdoniæ fecit erigi castrum forte." s Gilbert de Clare, surnamed the Red, earl of Gloucester and Hertford, son-in-law to king Edward. 6 Edmond de Mortimer, lord of Wigmore. They both were lords-marchers, whose lands lay on the borders of Wales, and probably accompanied the king in his expedition. The image was taken from the well-known picture of Raphael, representing the Supreme Being in the vision of Ezekiel: there are two of these paintings, (both believed original) one at Florence, the other at Paris. 8 Shone, like a meteor, streaming to the wind. Milton's Paradise Lost." 9 The shores of Caernarvonshire opposite to the isle of Anglesey. 10 Camden and others observe, that eagles used annually to build their aerie among the rocks of Snowdon, which from thence (as some think) were named by the Welsh Craigian-eryri, or the crags of the eagles. At this day (I am told) the highest point of Snowdon is called The Eagle's Nest. That bird is certainly no stranger to this island, as the Scots, and the people of Cumberland, Westmoreland, &c. can testify: it even has built its nest in the Peak of Derbyshire. See Willoughby's Ornithol. Published by Ray. As dear to me as are the ruddy drops, No more I weep. They do not sleep. I see them sit, they linger yet, Avengers of their native land: With me in dreadful harmony they join, And weave with bloody hands the tissue of thy line 12. II. "Weave the warp, and weave the woof, "Mighty Victor, mighty Lord, Low on his funeral couch he lies 16! Is the sable warrior 17 fled? Thy son is gone. He rests among the dead. Fair laughs the Morn 18, and soft the Zephyr blows, prey. "Fill high the sparkling bowl, The rich repast prepare: Reft of a crown, he yet may share the feast 19: Close by the regal chair Fell Thirst and Famine scowl A baleful smile upon their baffled guest. 12 See the Norwegian Ode, that follows. 13 Edward the Second, cruelly butchered in Berkley castle. 14 Isabel of France, Edward the Second's adulterous queen. 15 Triumphs of Edward the Third in France. 16 Death of that king, abandoned by his children, and even robbed in his last moments by his courtiers and his mistress. 17 Edward the Black Prince, dead sometime before his father. 18 Magnificence of Richard the Second's reign. See Froissard, and other contemporary writers. 19 Richard the Second (as we are told by archbishop Scroop and the confederate lords in their manifesto, by Thomas of Walsingham, and all the older writers) was starved to death. The story of his assassination by Sir Piers of Exon, is of much later date. Heard ye the din of battle bray 20, Twin'd with her blushing foe we spread: Now, brothers, bending o'er th' accursed loom, III. “ ، Edward, lo! to sudden fate (Weave we the woof. The thread is spun.) Leave me unbless'd, unpitied, here to mourn: In yon bright track, that fires the western skies, They melt, they vanish from my eyes. But oh what solemn scenes on Snowdon's height Descending slow their glittering skirts unroll? Visions of glory, spare my aching sight Ye unborn ages, crowd not on my soul ! No more our long-lost Arthur 28 we bewail. Fond impious man, think'st thou, yon sanguine And warms the nations with redoubled ray. The different doom our Fates assign. All-hail, ye genuine kings 29; Britannia's issue, hail! To triumph, and to die, are mine.” "Girt with many a baron bold Sublime their starry fronts they rear; And gorgeous dames and statesmen old, In bearded majesty, appear. 20 Ruinous civil wars of York and Lancaster. 21 Henry the Sixth, George duke of Clarence, Edward the Fifth, Richard duke of York, &c. believed to be murdered secretly in the tower of London. The oldest part of that structure is vulgarly attributed to Julius Cæsar. 22 Margaret of Anjou, a woman of heroic spirit, who struggled hard to save her husband and her crown. 23 Henry the Fifth. 24 Henry the Sixth, very near being canonized. The line of Lancaster had no right of inheritance to the crown. 25 The white and red roses, devices of York and Lancaster. 26 The silver-boar was the badge of Richard the Third; whence he was usually known in his own time by the name of The Boar. 27 Eleanor of Castile died a few years after the conquest of Wales. The heroic proof she gave of her affection for her lord is well known. The monuments of his regret, and sorrow for the loss of her, are still to be seen at Northampton, Geddington, Waltham, and other places. 28 It was the common belief of the Welsh nation, that king Arthur was still alive in Fairy-land, and should return again to reign over Britain. 29 Both Merlin and Taliessin had prophesied, that the Welsh should regain their sovereignty over this island; which seemed to be accomplished in the house of Tudor. ance of Sictryg with the Silken Beard, who was then making war on his father-in-law Brian, king of Dublin: the earl and all his forces were cut to pieces; and Sictryg was in danger of a total defeat; but the enemy had a greater loss, by the death of Brian, their king, who fell in the action. On Christmas-day, (the day of the battle) a native of Caithness, in Scotland, saw at a distance, a number of persons on horseback, riding full speed towards a hill, and seeming to enter into it. Curiosity led him to follow them, till, looking through an opening in the rocks, he saw twelve gigantic figures, resembling women: they were all employed about a loom; and as they wove, they sung the following dreadful song; which when they had finished, they tore the web into twelve pieces, and (each taking her portion) galloped six to the north, and as many to the south. THE FATAL SISTERS'. AN ODE. Now the storm begins to lour, (Haste, the loom of Hell prepare,) Iron-sleet 3 of arrowy shower Hurtles + in the darken'd air. Glittering lances are the loom, Where the dusky warp we strain, Weaving many a soldier's doom, Orkney's woe, and Randver's bane. See the griesly texture grow, ('Tis of human entrails made) And the weights that play below, Each a gasping warrior's head. Shafts for shuttles, dipt in gore, Shoot the trembling cords along; Sword, that once a monarch bore, Keep the tissue close and strong. In the introduction to it he meant to have produced some specimens of the style that reigned in ancient times among the neighbouring nations, or those who had subdued the greater part of this island, and were our progenitors; the following three imitations made a part of them. He has long since dropped his design, especially after he had heard that it was already in the hands of a person well qualified to do it justice, both by his taste, and his researches into antiquity. 2 The Valkyriur were female divinities, servants of Odin (or Woden) in the Gothic mythology. Their name signifies choosers of the slain. They were mounted on swift horses, with drawn swords in their hands; and in the throng of battle selected such as were destined to slaughter, and conducted them to Valkaila, the hall of Odin, or paradise of the brave; where they attended the banquet, and served the departed heroes with horns of mead and ale. How quick they wheel'd; and flying, behind them shot Sharp sleet of arrowy shower Milton's Paradise Regained. • The noise of battle hurtled in the air. Shakspeare's Julius Cæsar. Mista black, terrific maid, Ere the ruddy Sun be set, Pikes must shiver, javelins sing, Blade with clattering buckler meet, Hauberk crash, and helmet ring. (Weave the crimson web of war) Let us go, and let us fly, Where our friends the conflict share, Where they triumph, where they die. As the paths of Fate we tread, Wading through th' ensanguin'd field: Gondula, and Geira, spread O'er the youthful king your shield. We the reins to Slaughter give, Ours to kill, and ours to spare: Spite of danger he shall live. (Weave the crimson web of war) They, whom once the desert-beach Pent within its bleak domain, Soon their ample sway shall stretch O'er the plenty of the plain. Low the dauntless earl is laid, Gor'd with many a gaping wound: Fate demands a nobler head; Soon a king shall bite the ground. Long his loss shall Eirin weep, Ne'er again his likeness see; Long her strains in sorrow steep, Strains of immortality! Horrour covers all the heath, Clouds of carnage blot the Sun. Sisters, weave the web of death; Sisters, cease, the work is done. Hail the task, and hail the hands! Songs of joy and triumph sing! Joy to the victorious bands: Triumph to the younger king. Mortal, thou that hear'st the tale, Learn the tenour of our song. Scotland, through each winding vale Far and wide the notes prolong. Sisters, hence, with spurs of speed: Each her thundering falchion wield; Each bestride her sable steed. Hurry, hurry to the field. THE DESCENT OF ODIN. AN ODE. [FROM THE NORSE-tongue.] IN BARTHOLINUS, DE CAUSIS CONTEMNENDE MORTIS; HAFNIE, 1689, QUARTO. Upreis Odinn allda gauir, &c. UPROSE the King of Men with speed, |