TheProjectGutenbergEBookofSelectPoemsofThomasGray,byThomasGray

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Title:SelectPoemsofThomasGray

Author:ThomasGray

Contributor:RobertCarruthers

Editor:WilliamJ.Rolfe

ReleaseDate:October29,2009[EBook#30357]

Language:English

***STARTOFTHISPROJECTGUTENBERGEBOOKSELECTPOEMSOFTHOMASGRAY***

ProducedbyRonSwanson

SELECTPOEMS

OF

THOMASGRAY.

EDITED,WITHNOTES,

BY

WILLIAMJ.ROLFE,A.M.,

FORMERLYHEADMASTEROFTHEHIGHSCHOOL,CAMBRIDGE,MASS.

WITHENGRAVINGS.

Logo

NEWYORK:HARPER&BROTHERS,PUBLISHERS,

FRANKLINSQUARE.

1883.

EnteredaccordingtoActofCongress,intheyear1876,byHARPER&BROTHERS,

IntheOfficeoftheLibrarianofCongress,atWashington.

PREFACE.

ManyeditionsofGrayhavebeenpublishedinthelastfiftyyears,someofthemveryelegant,andsomeshowingconsiderableeditoriallabor,butnotone,sofarasIamaware,criticallyexacteitherintextorinnotes.NoeditorsinceMathias(A.D.1814)hasgiventhe2dlineoftheElegyasGraywroteandprintedit;whileMathias'smispunctuation of the 123d line has been copied by his successors,almostwithoutexception.Othervariationsfromtheearlyeditionsarementionedinthenotes.

ItisacuriousfactthatthemostaccurateeditionofGray'scollectedpoemsistheeditioprincepsof1768,printedunderhisownsupervision.Thefirsteditionofthe twoPindaric odes,The Progress of Poesy andThe Bard (Strawberry-Hill,1757),was printedwith equal care, and the proofswere probably read by thepoet.Thetextofthepresenteditionhasbeencollated,linebyline,withthatoftheseearly editions, and inno instancehave I adopteda later reading.All theMS.variations,andthevariousreadingsIhavenotedinthemoderneditions,aregiveninthenotes.

Pickering's edition of 1835, edited by Mitford, has been followed blindly innearlyallthemorerecenteditions,anditsmanyerrors(seefoot-notebelowandalso)havebeenfaithfullyreproduced.Evenitsblundersinthe"indenting"ofthelines in thecorresponding stanzasof the twoPindaricodes,whichanycarefulproof-readerought tohavecorrected,havebeencopiedagainandagain—asintheBoston(1853)reprintofPickering,theprettylittleeditionofBickers&Son(London, n. d.), the fac-simile of the latter printed at our University Press,

Cambridge(1866),etc.

Of former editions of Gray, the only one very fully annotated is Mitford's(Pickering,1835),alreadymentioned.Ihavedrawnfreelyfromthat,correctingmanyerrors,andalsofromWakefield'sandMason'seditions,andfromHales'snotes (Longer English Poems, London, 1872) on the Elegy and the Pindaricodes.Toallthismaterialmanyoriginalnotesandillustrationshavebeenadded.

ThefactsconcerningthefirstpublicationoftheElegyarenotgivencorrectlybyanyof theeditors,andeven the"experts"ofNotesandQueries havenotbeenable todisentangle the snarlof conflictingevidence. I amnot sure that Ihavesettledthequestionmyself(seebelowandfoot-note),butIhaveatleastshownthatGray is amore crediblewitness in the case than any of his critics. Theirtestimonyisobviously inconsistentandinconclusive;hemayhaveconfoundedthenamesoftwomagazines,butthatremainstobeproved.1

1Sincewritingtheaboveto-day,Ihavefoundbythemerestchanceinmyownlibraryanotherbitofevidenceinthecase,whichfullyconfirmsmysurmisethattheElegywasprintedinTheMagazineofMagazinesbeforeitappearedintheGrandMagazineofMagazines.Chambers'sBookofDays(vol.ii.p.146),inanarticleon"GrayandhisElegy,"says:

"ItfirstsawthelightinTheMagazineofMagazines,February,1751.Someimaginaryliterarywagismadetoriseinaconvivialassembly,andthusannounceit:'Gentlemen,givemeleavetosoothemyownmelancholy, and amuse you in amost noblemanner,with a full copy of verses by the veryingeniousMr.Gray,ofPeterhouse,Cambridge.Theyare stanzaswritten in a country churchyard.'Thenfollowtheverses.Afewdaysafterwards,Dodsley'seditionappeared,"etc.

Thesameauthoritygives the fourstanzasomittedafter the18th (seebelow)as theyappear in theNorthAmericanReview, except that the first line of the third is "Hark how the sacred calm thatreigns around," a readingwhich I have foundnowhere else.The stanza "There scatteredoft," etc.(seebelow),isgivenasinthereview.Thereadingfurtherbelowmustbealaterone.

I have retained most of the "parallel passages" from the poets given by theeditors,andhaveaddedothers,withoutregardtothecriticswhohavesneeredatthiskindofannotations.WhetherGrayborrowedfromtheothers,ortheothersfrom him, matters little; very likely, in most instances, neither party wasconsciously the borrower. Gray, in his own notes, has acknowledged certaindebtstootherpoets,andprobablythesewereallthathewasawareof.Someofthesehecontractedunwittingly (seewhathesaysofoneof them ina letter toWalpole,quoted in thenoteon theOdeon theSpring,31), and the samemayhavebeentrueofsomeapparentlysimilarcasespointedoutbymoderneditors.Tome, however, the chief interest of these coincidences and resemblances ofthoughtorexpressionisasstudiesinthe"comparativeanatomy"ofpoetry.The

teacherwill find themuseful aspegs tohangquestionsupon,or texts fororalinstruction.The pupil, or the young reader,who finds outwho all these poetswere,whentheylived,whattheywrote,etc.,willhavelearnednosmallamountofEnglishliteraryhistory.Ifhestudiesthequotationsmerelyasillustrationsofstyleandexpression,orasexamplesofthepoeticdictionofvariousperiods,hewillhavelearnedsomelessonsinthehistoryandtheuseofhismother-tongue.

Thewood-cuts,illustrations1,4,5,6,7,9,12,14,17,18,19,20,21,24,and29arefromBirketFoster'sdesigns;illustrations8,10,11,13,15,and16are fromthe graceful drawings of "E. V. B." (the Hon.Mrs. Boyle); the rest are fromvarioussources.

Cambridge,Feb.29,1876.

CONTENTS.

THELIFEOFTHOMASGRAY,BYROBERTCARRUTHERS

STOKE-POGIS,BYWILLIAMHOWITT

ELEGYWRITTENINACOUNTRYCHURCHYARD

MISCELLANEOUSPOEMS

ONTHESPRING

ONTHEDEATHOFAFAVOURITECAT

ONADISTANTPROSPECTOFETONCOLLEGE

THEPROGRESSOFPOESY

THEBARD

HYMNTOADVERSITY

NOTES

APPENDIXTONOTES

INDEX

STOKE-POGISCHURCHSTOKE-POGISCHURCH.

THELIFEOFTHOMASGRAY.

BYROBERTCARRUTHERS.

Thomas Gray, the author of the celebrated Elegy written in a CountryChurchyard, was born in Cornhill, London, December 26, 1716. His father,Philip Gray, an exchange broker and scrivener, was a wealthy and nominallyrespectablecitizen,buthetreatedhisfamilywithbrutalseverityandneglect,andthepoetwasaltogetherindebtedfortheadvantagesofalearnededucationtotheaffectionatecareandindustryofhismother,whosemaidennamewasAntrobus,andwho,inconjunctionwithamaidensister,keptamillineryshop.AbrotherofMrs. Gray was assistant to the Master of Eton, and was also a fellow ofPembrokeCollege,Cambridge.Under his protection the poetwas educated at

Eton, and from thence went to Peterhouse, attending college from 1734 toSeptember, 1738.AtEton he had as contemporariesRichardWest, son of theLordChancellor of Ireland, andHoraceWalpole, son of the triumphantWhigminister,SirRobertWalpole.Westdiedearlyinhis26thyear,buthisgeniusandvirtuesandhissorrowswillforeverliveinthecorrespondenceofhisfriend.Inthespringof1739,GraywasinvitedbyHoraceWalpole toaccompanyhimastravelling companion in a tour throughFrance and Italy.Theymade the usualroute,andGraywroteremarksonallhesawinFlorence,Rome,Naples,etc.Hisobservationsonartsandantiquities,andhissketchesofforeignmanners,evincehis admirable taste, learning, and discrimination. Since Milton, no suchaccomplishedEnglishtravellerhadvisitedthoseclassicshores.Intheirjourneythrough Dauphiny, Gray's attention was strongly arrested by the wild andpicturesque site of the Grande Chartreuse, surrounded by its dense forest ofbeechandfir,itsenormousprecipices,cliffs,andcascades.Hevisiteditasecondtime on his return, and in the album of the mountain convent he wrote hisfamousAlcaicOde.AtReggiothetravellersquarrelledandparted.Walpoletookthe whole blame on himself. He was fond of pleasure and amusements,"intoxicatedbyvanity,indulgence,andtheinsolenceofhissituationasaprimeminister's son"—his own confession—while Gray was studious, of a seriousdisposition,andindependentspirit.Theimmediatecauseoftheruptureissaidtohave been Walpole's clandestinely opening, reading, and resealing a letteraddressedtoGray,inwhichheexpectedtofindaconfirmationofhissuspicionsthatGrayhadbeenwritingunfavourablyofhimtosomefriendsinEngland.Apartial reconciliation was effected about three years afterwards by theinterventionof a lady, andWalpole redeemedhisyouthful errorby a life-longsincere admiration and respect for his friend.FromReggioGrayproceeded toVenice, and thence travelledhomewards, attendedby a laquais de voyage. HearrivedinEnglandinSeptember,1741,havingbeenabsentabouttwoyearsanda half. His father died in November, and it was found that the poet's fortunewouldnotenablehimtoprosecutethestudyofthelaw.HethereforeretiredtoCambridge,andfixedhisresidenceattheuniversity.Therehecontinuedfortheremainder of his life,with the exception of about two years spent inLondon,whenthetreasuresoftheBritishMuseumwerethrownopen.AtCambridgehehadtherangeofnoblelibraries.Hishappinessconsistedinstudy,andheperusedwithcriticalattentiontheGreekandRomanpoets,philosophers,historians,andorators.PlatoandtheAnthologiahereadandannotatedwithgreatcare,asifforpublication.He compiled tables ofGreek chronology, added notes toLinnæusand other naturalists, wrote geographical disquisitions on Strabo; and, besidesbeing familiar with French and Italian literature, was a zealous archæological

student,andprofoundlyversedinarchitecture,botany,painting,andmusic.Inalldepartments of human learning, except mathematics, he was a master. But itfollows that one so studious, so critical, and so fastidious, could not be avoluminouswriter.AfewpoemsincludealltheoriginalcompositionsofGray—thequintessence,asitwere,ofthirtyyearsofceaselessstudyandcontemplation,irradiatedbybrightandfitfulgleamsofinspiration.In1742GraycomposedhisOdetoSpring,hisOdeonaDistantProspectofEtonCollege,andhisOdetoAdversity—productionswhichmostreadersofpoetrycanrepeatfrommemory.Hecommencedadidacticpoem,OntheAllianceofEducationandGovernment,but wrote only about a hundred lines. Every reader must regret that thisphilosophicalpoemisbutafragment.ItisinthestyleandmeasureofDryden,ofwhomGray was an ardent admirer and close student. HisElegy written in aCountryChurchyard was completed and published in 1751. In the form of asixpennybrochure it circulated rapidly, four editions being exhausted the firstyear.Thispopularitysurprisedthepoet.Hesaidsarcasticallythatitwasowingentirelytothesubject,andthatthepublicwouldhavereceiveditaswellifithadbeenwritteninprose.Thesolemnandaffectingnatureofthepoem,applicabletoallranksandclasses,nodoubtaideditssale; itrequiredhighpoeticsensibilityandacultivatedtastetoappreciatetherapidtransitions,thefigurativelanguage,and lyrical magnificence of the odes; but the elegy went home to all hearts;whileitsmusicalharmony,originality,andpathetictrainofsentimentandfeelingrender itoneof themostperfectofEnglishpoems.Novicissitudesof tasteorfashionhaveaffecteditspopularity.Whentheoriginalmanuscriptof thepoemwaslately(1854)offeredforsale,itbroughtthealmostincrediblesumof£131.The two great odes of Gray, The Progress of Poetry and The Bard, werepublishedin1757,andwerebutcoldlyreceived.Hisname,however,stoodhigh,andonthedeathofCibber,thesameyear,hewasofferedthelaureateship,whichhewiselydeclined.Hewasambitious,however,ofobtainingthemorecongenialanddignifiedappointmentofProfessorofModernHistoryin theUniversityofCambridge,whichfellvacantin1762,and,bytheadviceofhisfriends,hemadeapplication toLordBute, butwasunsuccessful.LordButehaddesigned it forthetutorofhisson-in-law,SirJamesLowther.Noonehadheardofthetutor,buttheButeinfluencewasall-prevailing.In1765GraytookajourneyintoScotland,penetrating as far north as Dunkeld and the Pass of Killiecrankie; and hisaccount of his tour, in letters to his friends, is replete with interest and withtouches of his peculiar humour and graphic description. One other poemproceededfromhispen.In1768theProfessorshipofModernHistorywasagainvacant, and the Duke of Grafton bestowed it upon Gray. A sum of £400 perannumwasthusaddedtohisincome;buthishealthwasprecarious—hehadlost

it,hesaid,justwhenhebegantobeeasyinhiscircumstances.Thenominationof the Duke of Grafton to the office of Chancellor of the University enabledGraytoacknowledgethefavourconferredonhimself.Hethoughtitbetterthatgratitudeshouldsing thanexpectation,andhehonouredhisgrace's installationwithanode.Suchoccasionalproductionsareseldomhappy;butGraypreservedhis poetic dignity and select beauty of expression. He made the founders ofCambridge, asMr. Hallam has remarked, "pass before our eyes like shadowsoveramagicglass."Whentheceremonyoftheinstallationwasover,thepoet-professorwentonatourtothelakesofCumberlandandWestmoreland,andfewof the beauties of the lake-country, since so famous, escaped his observation.Thiswastobehislastexcursion.Whileatdinneronedayinthecollege-hallhewasseizedwithanattackofgoutinhisstomach,whichresistedallthepowersofmedicine, and proved fatal in less than a week. He died on the 30th of July,1771, andwas buried, according to his own desire, beside the remains of hismother at Stoke-Pogis, near Slough, in Buckinghamshire, in a beautifulsequesteredvillagechurchyard that is supposed tohave furnished the sceneofhiselegy.1TheliteraryhabitsandpersonalpeculiaritiesofGrayarefamiliartousfromthenumerousrepresentationsandallusionsofhisfriends.Itiseasytofancythe recluse-poet sitting in his college-chambers in the old quadrangle ofPembroke Hall. His windows are ornamented with mignonette and choiceflowersinChinavases,butoutsidemaybediscernedsomeiron-workintendedtobeserviceableasafire-escape,forhehasahorroroffire.Hisfurnitureisneatandselect;hisbooks,ratherforusethanshow,aredisposedaroundhim.Hehasa harpsichord in the room. In the corner of one of the apartments is a trunkcontaininghisdeceasedmother'sdresses,carefullyfoldedupandpreserved.Hisfastidiousness,borderinguponeffeminacy,isvisibleinhisgaitandmanner—inhishandsomefeaturesandsmall,well-dressedperson,especiallywhenhewalksabroadandsinkstheauthorandhardstudentin"thegentlemanwhosometimeswrites for his amusement."Hewrites alwayswith a crow-quill, speaks slowlyand sententiously, and shuns the crew of dissonant college revellers,who callhim "a prig," and seek to annoy him. Long mornings of study, and nightsfeverishfromill-health,arespent in thosechambers;he isoften listlessand inlow spirits; yet his natural temper is not desponding, and he delights inemployment.Hehasalwayssomethingtolearnortocommunicate—somesallyof humour or quiet stroke of satire for his friends and correspondents—somenoteonnaturalhistorytoenterinhisjournal—somepassageofPlatotounfoldandillustrate—somegoldenthoughtofclassicinspirationtoinlayonhispage—someboldimagetotonedown—someversetoretouchandharmonize.Hislifeison thewhole innocentandhappy,andafeelingof thankfulness to theGreat

Giverisbreathedoverall.

1AclaimhasbeenputupforthechurchyardofGranchester,abouttwomilesfromCambridge,thegreat bell ofSt.Mary's serving for the "curfew."ButStoke-Pogis ismore likely to havebeen thespot,ifanyindividuallocalitywereindicated.Thepoetoftenvisitedthevillage,hisauntandmotherresidingthere,andhisauntwasinterredinthechurchyardoftheplace.Gray'sepitaphonhismotherischaracterizednotonlybythetendernesswithwhichhealwaysregardedhermemory,butbyhisstyleandcastofthought.Itrunsthus:"BesideherfriendandsisterheresleeptheremainsofDorothyGray,widow,thecareful,tendermotherofmanychildren,oneofwhomalonehadthemisfortunetosurviveher.ShediedMarch11,1753,aged72."ShehadlivedtoreadtheElegy,whichwasperhapsanamplerecompenseforhermaternalcaresandaffection.Mrs.Gray'swillcommencesinasimilartouchingstrain:"InthenameofGod,amen.ThisisthelastwillanddesireofDorothyGraytohersonThomasGray."[Cunningham'sedit.ofJohnson'sLives.]Theywereallinalltoeachother.Thefather's cruelty and neglect, their straitened circumstances, the sacrifices made by the mother tomaintainhersonattheuniversity,herprideinthetalentsandconductofthatson,andtheincreasinggratitudeandaffectionof the latter,nursed inhisscholasticandcloisteredsolitude—theseformanaffectingbutnoblerecordinthehistoryofgenius.

[OnewouldinferfromtheabovethatMrs.Graywasnot"interred in thechurchyardof theplace,"though the epitaph given immediately after shows that shewas.Gray in hiswill directed that heshouldbelaidbesideherthere.Thepassageinthewillreadsthus:"First,Idodesirethatmybodymay be deposited in the vault,made bymy dearmother in the churchyard of Stoke-Pogeis, nearSloughinBuckinghamshire,byherremains,inacoffinofseasonedoak,neitherlinednorcovered,and(unlessitbeinconvenient)Icouldwishthatoneofmyexecutorsmayseemelaidinthegrave,anddistributeamongsuchhonestandindustriouspoorpersonsinsaidparishashethinksfit,thesumoftenpoundsincharity."—Ed.]

VariouseditionsofthecollectedworksofGrayhavebeenpublished.Thefirst,includingmemoirsofhis lifeandhiscorrespondence,editedbyhis friend, theRev.W.Mason, appeared in 1775. It has been often reprinted, and forms thegroundworkoftheeditionsbyMathias(1814)andMitford(1816).Mr.Mitford,in1843,publishedGray'scorrespondencewiththeRev.NortonNicholls;andin1854 another collection of Gray's letters was published, edited also by Mr.Mitford.Everyscrapofthepoet'sMSS.iseagerlysoughtafter,andeveryyearseemstoaddtohispopularityasapoetandletter-writer.

In1778amonumenttoGraywaserectedinWestminsterAbbeybyMason,withthefollowinginscription:

NomoretheGrecianmuseunrivall'dreigns,ToBritainletthenationshomagepay;ShefeltaHomer'sfireinMilton'sstrains,APindar'sraptureinthelyreofGray.

ThecenotaphafterwardserectedinStokeParkbyMr.Pennisdescribedbelow.

WEST-ENDHOUSEWEST-ENDHOUSE.

STOKE-POGIS.

FROMHOWITT'S"HOMESANDHAUNTSOFTHEBRITISHPOETS."1

1Harper'sedition,vol.i.p.314foll.

It is atStoke-Pogis thatwe seek themost attractivevestigesofGray.Hereheusedtospendhisvacations,notonlywhenayouthatEton,butduringthewholeofhisfuturelife,whilehismotherandhisauntslived.HereitwasthathisOdeonaDistantProspectofEtonCollege,hiscelebratedElegywritteninaCountryChurchyard,andhisLongStorywerenotonlywritten,butweremingledwiththecircumstancesandallthetenderestfeelingsofhisownlife.

Hismother and aunts lived at anold-fashionedhouse in avery retired spot atStoke,calledWest-End.Thishousestoodinahollow,muchscreenedbytrees.Asmall stream ran through the garden, and it is said that Gray used to employhimselfwhenheremuchinthisgarden,andthatmanyofthetreesstillremainingareof his planting.Onone sideof thehouse extended anupland field,whichwasplantedroundsoas togiveacharmingretiredwalk;andat thesummitofthefieldwasraisedanartificialmound,anduponitwasbuiltasortofarcadeorsummer-house,whichgavefullprospectofWindsorandEton.HereGrayusedtodelighttosit;herehewasaccustomedtoreadandwritemuch;andit is justtheplacetoinspiretheOdeonEtonCollege,whichlayinthemidstofitsfine

landscape,beautifullyinview.TheoldhouseinhabitedbyGrayandhismotherhas just been pulled down, and replaced by an Elizabethan mansion by thepresentproprietor,Mr.Penn,ofStokePark,justby.2Thegarden,ofcourse,hasshared in the change, and now stands gay with its fountain and its moderngreenhouse,and,exceptingforsomefinetrees,nolongerremindsyouofGray.The woodland walk still remains round the adjoining field, and the summer-houseonitssummit,thoughnowmuchcrackedbytime,andonlyheldtogetherby iron cramps. The trees are now so lofty that they completely obstruct theview,andshutoutbothEtonandWindsor.

2Thiswaswritten(orpublished,at least) in1846;butMitford, in theLifeofGrayprefixedtothe"Etonedition"ofhisPoems,publishedin1847,says:"Thehouse,whichisnowcalledWest-End,liesinasecludedpartoftheparish,ontheroadtoFulmer.Ithaslatelybeenmuchenlargedandadornedbyitspresentproprietor[Mr.Penn],buttheroomcalled'Gray's'(distinguishedbyasmallbalcony)isstill preserved; and a shadywalk round an adjoiningmeadow,with a summer-houseon the risingland,arestillrememberedasfavouriteplacesfrequentedbythepoet."—Ed.

******

StokePark isaboutacoupleofmiles fromSlough.Thecountry is flat,but itsmonotonyisbrokenupbythenoblecharacteranddispositionofitswoods.Nearthehouse isa fineexpanseofwater,acrosswhich theeye fallson fineviews,particularlytothesouth,ofWindsorCastle,Cooper'sHill,andtheForestWoods.About threehundredyards from thenorth frontof thehouse standsa column,sixty-eightfeethigh,bearingonthetopacolossalstatueofSirEdwardCoke,byRosa. The woods of the park shut out the view of West-End House, Gray'soccasionalresidence,butthespaceisopenfromthemansionacrossthepark,soastotakeintheviewbothofthechurchandofamonumenterectedbythelateMr.PenntoGray.Alightingfromthecarriageatalodge,weentertheparkjustat themonument. This is composed of fine freestone, and consists of a largesarcophagus, supported on a square pedestal, with inscriptions on each side.Threeof themareselectedfromtheOdeonEtonCollegeand theElegy.Theyare:

Hardbyyonwood,nowsmilingasinscorn,Mutteringhiswaywardfancieshewouldrove;Nowdrooping,woeful-wan,likeoneforlorn,Orcraz'dwithcare,orcross'dinhopelesslove.

OnemornImiss'dhimonthecustom'dhill,Alongtheheath,andnearhisfav'ritetree;Anothercame;noryetbesidetherill,Norupthelawn,noratthewoodwashe.

ThesecondisfromtheOde:

Yedistantspires!yeantiquetowers!Thatcrownthewateryglade,WheregratefulSciencestilladoresHerHenry'sholyshade;Andye,thatfromthestatelybrowOfWindsor'sheightsth'expansebelowOfgrove,oflawn,ofmeadsurvey,Whoseturf,whoseshade,whoseflowersamongWandersthehoaryThamesalongHissilver-windingway.

Ah,happyhills!ah,pleasingshade!Ah,fieldsbelov'dinvain!Whereoncemycarelesschildhoodstray'd,Astrangeryettopain!Ifeelthegalesthatfromyeblow,Amomentaryblissbestow.

ThethirdisagainfromtheElegy:

Beneaththoseruggedelms,thatyew-tree'sshade,Whereheavestheturfinmanyamoulderingheap,Eachinhisnarrowcellforeverlaid,Therudeforefathersofthehamletsleep.

Thebreezycallofincense-breathingmorn,Theswallowtwitteringfromthestraw-builtshed,Thecock'sshrillclarionortheechoinghorn,Nomoreshallrousethemfromtheirlowlybed.

Thefourthbearsthisinscription:

ThisMonument,inhonourofTHOMASGRAY,

WaserectedA.D.1799,Amongthescenery

CelebratedbythatgreatLyricandElegiacPoet.Hediedin1771,

AndliesunnotedintheadjoiningChurch-yard,UndertheTomb-stoneonwhichhepiouslyAndpatheticallyrecordedtheintermentOfhisAuntandlamentedMother.

Thismonument is inaneatlykeptgarden-likeenclosure,withawindingwalkapproaching from the shadeof theneighbouring trees.To the right, across thepark,at some littledistance,backedby fine trees, stands the rural littlechurch

andchurchyardwhereGraywrotehisElegy,andwherehelies.Asyouwalkontothis,themansionclosesthedistantviewbetweenthewoodswithfineeffect.The church has often been engraved, and is therefore tolerably familiar to thegeneralreader.Itconsistsoftwobarn-likestructures,withtallroofs,setsidebyside,andthetowerandfinelytaperedspirerisingabovethemat thenorthwestcorner.Thechurchisthicklyhungwithivy,where

"ThemopingowlmaytothemooncomplainOfsuchas,wanderingnearhersecretbower,Molestherancient,solitaryreign."

The structure is as simple and old-fashioned, bothwithout andwithin, as anyvillage church canwell be.No village, however, is to be seen. Stoke consistschiefly of scattered houses, and this is now in the midst of the park. In thechurchyard,

"Beneaththoseruggedelms,thatyew-tree'sshade,Whereheavestheturfinmanyamoulderingheap,Eachinhisnarrowcellforeverlaid,Therudeforefathersofthehamletsleep."

All this is quite literal; and the tomb of the poet himself, near the southeastwindow, completes the impression of the scene. It is a plain brick altar tomb,coveredwithablueslateslab,and,besideshisownashes,containsthoseofhismotherandaunt.OntheslabareinscribedthefollowinglinesbyGrayhimself:"Inthevaultbeneatharedeposited,inhopeofajoyfulresurrection,theremainsofMaryAntrobus.Shediedunmarried,Nov.5,1749,agedsixty-six.Inthesamepiousconfidence,besideherfriendandsister,heresleeptheremainsofDorothyGray,widow;thecareful,tendermotherofmanychildren,ONEofwhomalonehadthemisfortunetosurviveher.Shedied,March11,1753,agedLXXII."

NotestimonyoftheintermentofGrayinthesametombwasinscribedanywheretillMr.Penn, in1799, erected themonument alreadymentioned, andplacedasmallslabinthewall,underthewindow,oppositetothetombitself,recordingthefactofGray'sburialthere.Thewholesceneiswellworthyofasummerday'sstroll,especiallyforsuchas,pentinthemetropolis,knowhowtoenjoythequietfreshnessofthecountryandtheassociationsofpoetryandthepast.

GRAY'SMONUMENT,STOKEPARKGRAY'SMONUMENT,STOKEPARK.

ELEGYWRITTENINACOUNTRYCHURCHYARD.

Thelowingherdwindslowly

ELEGYWRITTENINACOUNTRYCHURCHYARD.

Thecurfewtollstheknellofpartingday,Thelowingherdwindslowlyo'erthelea,Theplowmanhomewardplodshiswearyway,Andleavestheworldtodarknessandtome.

Nowfadestheglimmeringlandscapeonthesight,Andalltheairasolemnstillnessholds,Savewherethebeetlewheelshisdroningflight,Anddrowsytinklingslullthedistantfolds:

5

Nowfadestheglimmeringlandscape

Savethat,fromyonderivy-mantledtower,ThemopingowldoestothemooncomplainOfsuchas,wanderingnearhersecretbower,Molestherancientsolitaryreign.

10

Beneaththoseruggedelms

Beneaththoseruggedelms,thatyew-tree'sshade,Whereheavestheturfinmanyamoulderingheap,Eachinhisnarrowcellforeverlaid,Therudeforefathersofthehamletsleep.

15

Thecock'sshrillclarion

Thebreezycallofincense-breathingmorn,Theswallowtwitteringfromthestraw-builtshed,Thecock'sshrillclarion,ortheechoinghorn,Nomoreshallrousethemfromtheirlowlybed. 20

Orclimbhisknees

Forthemnomoretheblazinghearthshallburn,Orbusyhousewifeplyhereveningcare;Nochildrenruntolisptheirsire'sreturn,Orclimbhiskneestheenviedkisstoshare.

Beneaththeirsturdystroke

Oftdidtheharvesttotheirsickleyield,Theirfurrowoftthestubbornglebehasbroke;Howjocunddidtheydrivetheirteamafield!Howbow'dthewoodsbeneaththeirsturdystroke!

25

Theharvest

LetnotAmbitionmocktheirusefultoil,Theirhomelyjoys,anddestinyobscure;NorGrandeurhearwithadisdainfulsmileTheshortandsimpleannalsofthepoor.

Theboastofheraldry,thepompofpower,Andallthatbeauty,allthatwealthe'ergave,Awaitsaliketh'inevitablehour.Thepathsofgloryleadbuttothegrave.

Noryou,yeproud,imputetothesethefault,IfMemoryo'ertheirtombnotrophiesraise;Where,throughthelong-drawnaisleandfrettedvault,Thepealinganthemswellsthenoteofpraise.

Canstoriedurnoranimatedbust

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Backtoitsmansioncallthefleetingbreath?CanHonour'svoiceprovokethesilentdust?OrFlatterysoothethedullcoldearofDeath?

PerhapsinthisneglectedspotislaidSomeheartoncepregnantwithcelestialfire;Hands,thattherodofempiremighthavesway'd,Orwak'dtoecstasythelivinglyre:

ButKnowledgetotheireyesheramplepage,Richwiththespoilsoftime,didne'erunroll;ChillPenuryrepress'dtheirnoblerage,Andfrozethegenialcurrentofthesoul.

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Shepherdscene

FullmanyagemofpurestraysereneThedarkunfathom'dcavesofoceanbear;Fullmanyaflowerisborntoblushunseen,Andwasteitssweetnessonthedesertair.

SomevillageHampden,thatwithdauntlessbreastThelittletyrantofhisfieldswithstood,SomemuteingloriousMiltonheremayrest,SomeCromwell,guiltlessofhiscountry'sblood.

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Churchyardgate

Th'applauseoflisteningsenatestocommand,Thethreatsofpainandruintodespise,Toscatterplentyo'erasmilingland,Andreadtheirhistoryinanation'seyes,

Theirlotforbade:norcircumscrib'daloneTheirgrowingvirtues,buttheircrimesconfin'd;Forbadetowadethroughslaughtertoathrone,Andshutthegatesofmercyonmankind,

Thestrugglingpangsofconscioustruthtohide,Toquenchtheblushesofingenuousshame,OrheaptheshrineofLuxuryandPride

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WithincensekindledattheMuse'sflame.Angels

Farfromthemaddingcrowd'signoblestrife,Theirsoberwishesneverlearn'dtostray;Alongthecoolsequester'dvaleoflifeTheykeptthenoiselesstenoroftheirway.

Yeteventhesebonesfrominsulttoprotect,Somefrailmemorialstillerectednigh,Withuncouthrhymesandshapelesssculpturedeck'd,Imploresthepassingtributeofasigh.

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Thepassingtributeofasigh

Theirname,theiryears,speltbyth'unletter'dMuse,Theplaceoffameandelegysupply;Andmanyaholytextaroundshestrews,Thatteachtherusticmoralisttodie.

Gatheringofangels

Forwho,todumbforgetfulnessaprey,Thispleasinganxiousbeinge'erresign'd,Leftthewarmprecinctsofthecheerfulday,Norcastonelonginglingeringlookbehind?

Onsomefondbreastthepartingsoulrelies,Somepiousdropstheclosingeyerequires;EvenfromthetombthevoiceofNaturecries,Eveninourasheslivetheirwontedfires.

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Onsomefondbreastthepartingsoulrelies

Forthee,who,mindfulofth'unhonour'ddead,Dostintheselinestheirartlesstalerelate,Ifchance,bylonelycontemplationled,Somekindredspiritshallinquirethyfate,

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Tomeetthesunupontheuplandlawn

Haplysomehoary-headedswainmaysay,"OfthaveweseenhimatthepeepofdawnBrushingwithhastystepsthedewsaway,Tomeetthesunupontheuplandlawn. 100

Hislistlesslengthatnoontidewouldhestretch

"Thereatthefootofyondernoddingbeech,Thatwreathesitsoldfantasticrootssohigh,Hislistlesslengthatnoontidewouldhestretch,Andporeuponthebrookthatbabblesby.

"Hardbyyonwood,nowsmilingasinscorn,Mutteringhiswaywardfancieshewouldrove;Nowdrooping,woeful-wan,likeoneforlorn,Orcraz'dwithcare,orcross'dinhopelesslove.

"OnemornImiss'dhimonthecustom'dhill,Alongtheheath,andnearhisfavouritetree;Anothercame;noryetbesidetherill,Norupthelawn,noratthewoodwashe;

"Thenext,withdirgesdueinsadarray,Slowthroughthechurch-waypathwesawhimborne.Approachandread(forthoucanstread)thelayGrav'donthestonebeneathyonagedthorn."

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Slowthroughthechurch-waypathwesawhimborne

THEEPITAPH.

HererestshisheaduponthelapofEarthAyouth,toFortuneandtoFameunknown;FairSciencefrown'dnotonhishumblebirth,AndMelancholymark'dhimforherown.

Largewashisbounty,andhissoulsincere,Heavendidarecompenseaslargelysend;HegavetoMiseryallhehad,atear;Hegain'dfromHeaven('twasallhewish'd)afriend.

Nofartherseekhismeritstodisclose,Ordrawhisfrailtiesfromtheirdreadabode,(Theretheyalikeintremblinghoperepose)ThebosomofhisFatherandhisGod.

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Hererestshishead

MISCELLANEOUSPOEMS.

O'ercanopiestheglade

ONTHESPRING.

Lo!wheretherosy-bosom'dHours,FairVenus'train,appear,Disclosethelong-expectingflowers,Andwakethepurpleyear!TheAtticwarblerpoursherthroat,Responsivetothecuckoo'snote,Theuntaughtharmonyofspring;While,whisperingpleasureastheyfly,CoolZephyrsthro'theclearblueskyTheirgather'dfragrancefling.

Where'ertheoak'sthickbranchesstretchAbroaderbrownershade,Where'ertherudeandmoss-grownbeechO'ercanopiestheglade,Besidesomewater'srushybrinkWithmetheMuseshallsit,andthink(Ateasereclin'dinrusticstate)Howvaintheardourofthecrowd,

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Howlow,howlittlearetheproud,Howindigentthegreat!

StillisthetoilinghandofCare;Thepantingherdsrepose:Yethark,howthro'thepeopledairThebusymurmurglows!Theinsectyouthareonthewing,Eagertotastethehoniedspring,Andfloatamidtheliquidnoon:Somelightlyo'erthecurrentskim,Someshowtheirgayly-gildedtrimQuick-glancingtothesun.

ToContemplation'ssobereyeSuchistheraceofMan;Andtheythatcreep,andtheythatfly,Shallendwheretheybegan.AlikethebusyandthegayButflutterthro'life'slittleday,InFortune'svaryingcoloursdrest:Brush'dbythehandofroughMischance,Orchill'dbyage,theirairydanceTheyleave,industtorest.

MethinksIhearinaccentslowThesportivekindreply:Poormoralist!andwhatartthou?Asolitaryfly!Thyjoysnoglitteringfemalemeets,Nohivehastthouofhoardedsweets,Nopaintedplumagetodisplay:Onhastywingsthyyouthisflown;Thysunisset,thyspringisgone—Wefrolicwhile'tisMay.

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Hiveofbees

Chinesevase

ONTHE

DEATHOFAFAVOURITECAT,

DrownedinaTubofGoldFishes.

'Twasonaloftyvase'sside,WhereChina'sgayestarthaddyedTheazureflowersthatblow;Demurestofthetabbykind,ThepensiveSelima,reclin'd,Gaz'donthelakebelow.

Herconscioustailherjoydeclar'd:Thefairroundface,thesnowybeard,Thevelvetofherpaws,Hercoat,thatwiththetortoisevies,Herearsofjet,andemeraldeyes,Shesaw;andpurr'dapplause.

Stillhadshegaz'd;butmidstthetideTwoangelformswereseentoglide,TheGeniiofthestream:Theirscalyarmour'sTyrianhueThroughrichestpurpletotheviewBetray'dagoldengleam.

Thehaplessnymphwithwondersaw:Awhiskerfirst,andthenaclaw,Withmanyanardentwish,Shestretch'dinvaintoreachtheprize.Whatfemaleheartcangolddespise?WhatCat'saversetofish?

Presumptuousmaid!withlooksintentAgainshestretch'd,againshebent,Norknewthegulfbetween.(MalignantFatesatby,andsmil'd.)Theslipperyvergeherfeetbeguil'd,Shetumbledheadlongin.

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Eighttimesemergingfromtheflood,Shemew'dtoeverywateryGod,Somespeedyaidtosend.NoDolphincame,noNereidstirr'd:NorcruelTom,norSusanheard.Afavouritehasnofriend!

Fromhence,yebeauties,undeceiv'd,Know,onefalsestepisne'erretriev'd,Andbewithcautionbold.NotallthattemptsyourwanderingeyesAndheedlessheartsislawfulprize,Norallthatglistersgold.

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Distantspires

ONADISTANTPROSPECTOFETONCOLLEGE.

Anthrôpos,hikanêprophasiseistodustuchein.—MENANDER.

Yedistantspires,yeantiquetowers,Thatcrownthewateryglade,WheregratefulSciencestilladoresHerHenry'sholyshade;Andye,thatfromthestatelybrowOfWindsor'sheightsth'expansebelow

Ofgrove,oflawn,ofmeadsurvey,Whoseturf,whoseshade,whoseflowersamongWandersthehoaryThamesalongHissilver-windingway:

Ah,happyhills!ah,pleasingshade!Ah,fieldsbelov'dinvain!Whereoncemycarelesschildhoodstray'd,Astrangeryettopain!IfeelthegalesthatfromyeblowAmomentaryblissbestow,As,wavingfreshtheirgladsomewing,Mywearysoultheyseemtosoothe,And,redolentofjoyandyouth,Tobreatheasecondspring.

Say,FatherThames,forthouhastseenFullmanyasprightlyraceDisportingonthymargentgreenThepathsofpleasuretrace;WhoforemostnowdelighttocleaveWithpliantarmthyglassywave?Thecaptivelinnetwhichenthrall?WhatidleprogenysucceedTochasetherollingcircle'sspeed,Orurgetheflyingball?

Whilesome,onearnestbusinessbent,Theirmurmuringlaboursply'GainstgraverhoursthatbringconstraintTosweetenliberty,SomeboldadventurersdisdainThelimitsoftheirlittlereign,Andunknownregionsdaredescry:Stillastheyruntheylookbehind,Theyhearavoiceineverywind,Andsnatchafearfuljoy.

Gayhopeistheirsbyfancyfed,

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Lesspleasingwhenpossest;Thetearforgotassoonasshed,Thesunshineofthebreast:Theirsbuxomhealthofrosyhue,Wildwit,inventionevernew,Andlivelycheerofvigourborn;Thethoughtlessday,theeasynight,Thespiritspure,theslumberslight,Thatflyth'approachofmorn.

Alas!regardlessoftheirdoom,Thelittlevictimsplay;Nosensehavetheyofillstocome,Nocarebeyondto-day:Yetseehowallaround'emwaitTheministersofhumanfate,AndblackMisfortune'sbalefultrain!Ah,showthemwhereinambushstandToseizetheirpreythemurtherousband!Ah,tellthem,theyaremen!

TheseshallthefuryPassionstear,Thevulturesofthemind,DisdainfulAnger,pallidFear,AndShamethatskulksbehind;OrpiningLoveshallwastetheiryouth,OrJealousywithranklingtooth,Thatinlygnawsthesecretheart;AndEnvywan,andfadedCare,Grim-visag'dcomfortlessDespair,AndSorrow'spiercingdart.

Ambitionthisshalltempttorise,Thenwhirlthewretchfromhigh,TobitterScornasacrifice,AndgrinningInfamy.ThestingsofFalsehoodthoseshalltry,AndhardUnkindness'alter'deye,Thatmocksthetearitforc'dtoflow;

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AndkeenRemorsewithblooddefil'd,AndmoodyMadnesslaughingwildAmidseverestwoe.

Lo!inthevaleofyearsbeneathAgrislytroopareseen,ThepainfulfamilyofDeath,Morehideousthantheirqueen:Thisracksthejoints,thisfirestheveins,Thateverylabouringsinewstrains,Thoseinthedeepervitalsrage:Lo!Poverty,tofilltheband,Thatnumbsthesoulwithicyhand,Andslow-consumingAge.

Toeachhissufferings:allaremen,Condemn'daliketogroan;Thetenderforanother'spain,Th'unfeelingforhisown.Yet,ah!whyshouldtheyknowtheirfate,Sincesorrownevercomestoolate,Andhappinesstooswiftlyflies?Thoughtwoulddestroytheirparadise.Nomore;—whereignoranceisbliss,'Tisfollytobewise.

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SEALOFETONCOLLEGESEALOFETONCOLLEGE.

APOLLOCITHAROEDUSAPOLLOCITHAROEDUS.FROMTHEVATICAN.

THEPROGRESSOFPOESY.

APindaricOde.

Phônantasunetoisin:esDetopanhermêneônChatizei.—PINDAR

I.1.

Awake,Æolianlyre,awake,Andgivetoraptureallthytremblingstrings.FromHelicon'sharmoniousspringsAthousandrillstheirmazyprogresstake:Thelaughingflowersthatroundthemblow,Drinklifeandfragranceastheyflow.Nowtherichstreamofmusicwindsalong,Deep,majestic,smooth,andstrong,Thro'verdantvales,andCeres'goldenreign:Nowrollingdownthesteepamain,Headlong,impetuous,seeitpour;Therocksandnoddinggrovesrebellowtotheroar.

I.2.

Oh!Sovereignofthewillingsoul,Parentofsweetandsolemn-breathingairs,Enchantingshell!thesullenCares

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AndfranticPassionshearthysoftcontrol.OnThracia'shillstheLordofWarHascurb'dthefuryofhiscar,Anddropthisthirstylanceatthycommand.PerchingonthesceptredhandOfJove,thymagiclullsthefeather'dkingWithruffledplumesandflaggingwing:Quench'dindarkcloudsofslumberlieTheterrorofhisbeak,andlightningsofhiseye.

I.3.

Theethevoice,thedance,obey,Temper'dtothywarbledlay.O'erIdalia'svelvet-greenTherosy-crownedLovesareseenOnCytherea'sdayWithanticSports,andblue-eyedPleasures,Friskinglightinfrolicmeasures;Nowpursuing,nowretreating,Nowincirclingtroopstheymeet:Tobrisknotesincadencebeating,Glancetheirmany-twinklingfeet.SlowmeltingstrainstheirQueen'sapproachdeclare:Where'ersheturnstheGraceshomagepay.Witharmssublime,thatfloatupontheair,Inglidingstateshewinshereasyway:O'erherwarmcheek,andrisingbosom,moveThebloomofyoungDesireandpurplelightofLove.

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DELPHIANDMOUNTPARNASSUSDELPHIANDMOUNTPARNASSUS.

II.1.

Man'sfeebleracewhatillsawait!Labour,andPenury,theracksofPain,Disease,andSorrow'sweepingtrain,AndDeath,sadrefugefromthestormsofFate!

Thefondcomplaint,mysong,disprove,AndjustifythelawsofJove.Say,hashegiveninvaintheheavenlyMuse?Nightandallhersicklydews,Herspectreswan,andbirdsofbodingcry,Hegivestorangethedrearysky;TilldowntheeasterncliffsafarHyperion'smarchtheyspy,andglitteringshaftsofwar.

II.2.

Inclimesbeyondthesolarroad,Whereshaggyformso'erice-builtmountainsroam,TheMusehasbrokethetwilightgloomTocheertheshiveringnative'sdullabode.Andoft,beneaththeodorousshadeOfChili'sboundlessforestslaid,Shedeignstohearthesavageyouthrepeat,Inloosenumberswildlysweet,Theirfeather-cinctur'dchiefs,andduskyloves.Hertrack,where'ertheGoddessroves,Glorypursue,andgenerousShame,Th'unconquerableMind,andFreedom'sholyflame.

II.3.

Woods,thatwaveo'erDelphi'ssteep,Isles,thatcrownth'Ægeandeep,Fields,thatcoolIlissuslaves,OrwhereMæander'samberwavesInlingeringlabyrinthscreep,Howdoyourtunefulechoeslanguish,Mute,buttothevoiceofanguish!WhereeacholdpoeticmountainInspirationbreath'daround;Everyshadeandhallow'dfountainMurmur'ddeepasolemnsound:

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TillthesadNine,inGreece'sevilhour,LefttheirParnassusfortheLatianplains.AliketheyscornthepompoftyrantPower,AndcowardVice,thatrevelsinherchains.WhenLatiumhadherloftyspiritlost,Theysought,OAlbion!nextthysea-encircledcoast.

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THEAVONANDSTRATFORDCHURCHTHEAVONANDSTRATFORDCHURCH.

III.1.

Farfromthesunandsummergale,InthygreenlapwasNature'sdarlinglaid,Whattime,wherelucidAvonstray'd,TohimthemightymotherdidunveilHerawfulface:thedauntlesschildStretch'dforthhislittlearmsandsmil'd."Thispenciltake(shesaid),whosecoloursclearRichlypaintthevernalyear:Thinetoothesegoldenkeys,immortalBoy!Thiscanunlockthegatesofjoy;Ofhorrorthat,andthrillingfears,Oropethesacredsourceofsympathetictears."

III.2.

NorsecondHe,thatrodesublimeUpontheseraphwingsofEcstasy,Thesecretsofth'abysstospy.Hepass'dtheflamingboundsofplaceandtime:Thelivingthrone,thesapphireblaze,Whereangelstremblewhiletheygaze,Hesaw;but,blastedwithexcessoflight,Clos'dhiseyesinendlessnight.Behold,whereDryden'slesspresumptuouscar,Wideo'erthefieldsofglorybearTwocoursersofetherealrace,Withnecksinthundercloth'd,andlong-resoundingpace.

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III.3.

Hark,hishandsthelyreexplore!Bright-eyedFancyhoveringo'erScattersfromherpictur'durnThoughtsthatbreathe,andwordsthatburn.Butah!'tisheardnomore——Oh!lyredivine,whatdaringspiritWakestheenow?Tho'heinheritNorthepride,noramplepinion,ThattheThebaneaglebear,SailingwithsupremedominionThro'theazuredeepofair,YetoftbeforehisinfanteyeswouldrunSuchformsasglitterintheMuse'srayWithorienthues,unborrow'dofthesun:Yetshallhemount,andkeephisdistantwayBeyondthelimitsofavulgarfate,BeneaththeGoodhowfar—butfarabovetheGreat.

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Thebard

THEBARD.

APindaricOde.

I.1.

"Ruinseizethee,ruthlessKing!Confusiononthybannerswait;Tho'fann'dbyConquest'scrimsonwing,Theymocktheairwithidlestate.Helm,norhauberk'stwistedmail,Nore'enthyvirtues,Tyrant,shallavailTosavethysecretsoulfromnightlyfears,FromCambria'scurse,fromCambria'stears!"Suchwerethesoundsthato'erthecrestedprideOfthefirstEdwardscatter'dwilddismay,AsdownthesteepofSnowdon'sshaggysideHewoundwithtoilsomemarchhislongarray.StoutGlosterstoodaghastinspeechlesstrance:"Toarms!"criedMortimer,andcouch'dhisquiveringlance.

I.2.

OnarockwhosehaughtybrowFrownso'eroldConway'sfoamingflood,Rob'dinthesablegarbofwoe,Withhaggardeyesthepoetstood(Loosehisbeard,andhoaryhairStream'd,likeameteor,tothetroubledair),Andwithamaster'shand,andprophet'sfire,Struckthedeepsorrowsofhislyre."Hark,howeachgiantoak,anddesertcave,Sighstothetorrent'sawfulvoicebeneath!O'erthee,OKing!theirhundredarmstheywave,Revengeontheeinhoarsermurmursbreathe;Vocalnomore,sinceCambria'sfatalday,Tohigh-bornHoel'sharp,orsoftLlewellyn'slay.

I.3.

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"ColdisCadwallo'stongue,Thathush'dthestormymain;BraveUriensleepsuponhiscraggybed;Mountains,yemourninvainModred,whosemagicsongMadehugePlinlimmonbowhiscloud-topthead.OndrearyArvon'sshoretheylie,Smear'dwithgore,andghastlypale:Far,faraloofth'affrightedravenssail;Thefamish'deaglescreams,andpassesby.Dearlostcompanionsofmytunefulart,Dearasthelightthatvisitsthesesadeyes,Dearastheruddydropsthatwarmmyheart,Yediedamidstyourdyingcountry'scries—NomoreIweep.Theydonotsleep.Onyondercliffs,agrislyband,Iseethemsit,theylingeryet,Avengersoftheirnativeland:Withmeindreadfulharmonytheyjoin,Andweavewithbloodyhandsthetissueofthyline.

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II.1.

"Weavethewarp,andweavethewoof,Thewinding-sheetofEdward'srace.Giveampleroom,andvergeenoughThecharactersofhelltotrace.Marktheyear,andmarkthenight,WhenSevernshallreëchowithaffrightTheshrieksofdeaththro'Berkeley'sroofsthatring,Shrieksofanagonizingking!She-wolfofFrance,withunrelentingfangs,Thattear'stthebowelsofthymangledmate,Fromtheebeborn,whoo'erthycountryhangsThescourgeofheaven.Whatterrorsroundhimwait!Amazementinhisvan,withFlightcombin'd,

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AndSorrow'sfadedform,andSolitudebehind.

II.2.

"Mightyvictor,mightylord!Lowonhisfuneralcouchhelies!Nopityingheart,noeye,affordAteartogracehisobsequies.Isthesablewarriorfled?Thysonisgone.Herestsamongthedead.Theswarmthatinthynoontidebeamwereborn?Gonetosalutetherisingmorn.Fairlaughsthemorn,andsoftthezephyrblows,Whileproudlyridingo'ertheazurerealmIngallanttrimthegildedvesselgoes;Youthontheprow,andPleasureatthehelm;Regardlessofthesweepingwhirlwind'ssway,That,hush'dingrimrepose,expectshiseveningprey.

II.3.

"Fillhighthesparklingbowl,Therichrepastprepare;Reftofacrown,heyetmaysharethefeast:ClosebytheregalchairFellThirstandFaminescowlAbalefulsmileupontheirbaffledguest.Heardyethedinofbattlebray,Lancetolance,andhorsetohorse?Longyearsofhavocurgetheirdestinedcourse,Andthro'thekindredsquadronsmowtheirway.YetowersofJulius,London'slastingshame,Withmanyafoulandmidnightmurtherfed,Reverehisconsort'sfaith,hisfather'sfame,Andsparethemeekusurper'sholyhead.Above,below,theroseofsnow,Twin'dwithherblushingfoe,wespread:

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ThebristledboarininfantgoreWallowsbeneaththethornyshade.Now,brothers,bendingo'ertheaccursedloom,Stampweourvengeancedeep,andratifyhisdoom.

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THEBLOODYTOWERTHEBLOODYTOWER.

III.1.

"Edward,lo!tosuddenfate(Weavewethewoof.Thethreadisspun.)Halfofthyheartweconsecrate.(Thewebiswove.Theworkisdone.)Stay,ohstay!northusforlornLeavemeunbless'd,unpitied,heretomourn:Inyonbrighttrack,thatfiresthewesternskies,Theymelt,theyvanishfrommyeyes.Butoh!whatsolemnscenesonSnowdon'sheightDescendingslowtheirglitteringskirtsunroll?Visionsofglory,sparemyachingsight!Yeunbornages,crowdnotonmysoul!Nomoreourlong-lostArthurwebewail.Allhail,yegenuinekings,Britannia'sissue,hail!

III.2.

"GirtwithmanyabaronboldSublimetheirstarryfrontstheyrear;Andgorgeousdames,andstatesmenoldInbeardedmajesty,appear.Inthemidstaformdivine!HereyeproclaimsheroftheBritonline;Herlion-port,herawe-commandingface,Attemper'dsweettovirgin-grace.Whatstringssymphonioustrembleintheair,Whatstrainsofvocaltransportroundherplay!Hearfromthegrave,greatTaliessin,hear;Theybreatheasoultoanimatethyclay.

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BrightRapturecalls,andsoaringasshesings,Wavesintheeyeofheavenhermany-colour'dwings.

III.3.

"TheverseadornagainFierceWar,andfaithfulLove,AndTruthsevere,byfairyFictiondrest.Inbuskin'dmeasuresmovePaleGrief,andpleasingPain,WithHorror,tyrantofthethrobbingbreast.Avoice,asofthecherub-choir,GalesfrombloomingEdenbear;Anddistantwarblingslessenonmyear,Thatlostinlongfuturityexpire.Fondimpiousman,think'stthouyonsanguinecloud,Rais'dbythybreath,hasquench'dtheorbofday?To-morrowherepairsthegoldenflood,Andwarmsthenationswithredoubledray.Enoughforme;withjoyIseeThedifferentdoomourfatesassign.Bethinedespair,andsceptredcare;Totriumph,andtodie,aremine."Hespoke,andheadlongfromthemountain'sheightDeepintheroaringtideheplung'dtoendlessnight.

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QUEENELIZABETHQUEENELIZABETH.

Decoration

HYMNTOADVERSITY.

Zêna——Tonphroneinbrotoushodô-santa,tôipatheimathanThentakuriôsechein.ÆSCHYLUS

DaughterofJove,relentlesspower,Thoutamerofthehumanbreast,WhoseironscourgeandtorturinghourThebadaffright,afflictthebest!Boundinthyadamantinechain,Theproudaretaughttotasteofpain,AndpurpletyrantsvainlygroanWithpangsunfeltbefore,unpitiedandalone.

WhenfirstthysiretosendonearthVirtue,hisdarlingchild,design'd,Totheehegavetheheavenlybirth,Andbadetoformherinfantmind.Sternruggednurse!thyrigidloreWithpatiencemanyayearshebore:Whatsorrowwas,thoubad'stherknow,Andfromherownshelearn'dtomeltatothers'woe.

Scar'datthyfrownterrific,flySelf-pleasingFolly'sidlebrood,WildLaughter,Noise,andthoughtlessJoy,Andleaveusleisuretobegood.Lighttheydisperse,andwiththemgoThesummerfriend,theflatteringfoe;ByvainProsperityreceiv'd,Tohertheyvowtheirtruth,andareagainbeliev'd.

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Wisdominsablegarbarray'd,Immersedinrapturousthoughtprofound,AndMelancholy,silentmaid,Withleadeneyethatlovestheground,Stillonthysolemnstepsattend;WarmCharity,thegeneralfriend,WithJustice,toherselfsevere,AndPity,droppingsoftthesadly-pleasingtear.

Oh!gentlyonthysuppliant'shead,Dreadgoddess,laythychasteninghand!NotinthyGorgonterrorsclad,Notcircledwiththevengefulband(Asbytheimpiousthouartseen),Withthunderingvoiceandthreateningmien,WithscreamingHorror'sfuneralcry,Despair,andfellDisease,andghastlyPoverty:

Thyformbenign,Ogoddess,wear,Thymilderinfluenceimpart;ThyphilosophictrainbethereTosoften,nottowound,myheart.Thegeneroussparkextinctrevive,Teachmetoloveandtoforgive,Exactmyowndefectstoscan,Whatothersaretofeel,andknowmyselfaMan.

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BERKELEYCASTLEBERKELEYCASTLE.

"Marktheyear,andmarkthenight,WhenSevernshallreëchowithaffrightTheshrieksofdeaththro'Berkeley'sroofsthatring,Shrieksofanagonizingking!"

TheBard,53.

NOTES.

LISTOFABBREVIATIONS.

A.S.,Anglo-Saxon.

Arc.,Milton'sArcades.

C.T.,Chaucer'sCanterburyTales.

Cf.(confer),compare.

D.V.,Goldsmith'sDesertedVillage.

Ep.,Epistle,Epode.

Foll.,following.

F.Q.,Spenser'sFaërieQueene.

H.,Haven'sRhetoric(Harper'sedition).

Hales,LongerEnglishPoems,editedbyRev.J.W.Hales(London,1872).

IlPens.,Milton'sIlPenseroso.

L'All.,Milton'sL'Allegro.

Ol.,Pindar'sOlympianOdes.

P.L.,Milton'sParadiseLost.

P.R.,Milton'sParadiseRegained.

S.A.,Milton'sSamsonAgonistes.

Shakes.Gr., Abbott'sShakespearianGrammar (the references are to sections,notpages).

Shep.Kal.,Spenser'sShepherd'sKalendar.

st.,stanza.

Wb.,Webster'sDictionary(lastrevisedquartoedition).

Worc.,Worcester'sDictionary(quartoedition).

Otherabbreviations(namesofbooksintheBible,playsofShakespeare,worksofOvid,Virgil,andHorace,etc.)neednoexplanation.

NOTES.

Originalmanuscript

ELEGYINACOUNTRYCHURCHYARD.

Thispoemwasbegun in theyear1742,butwasnot finisheduntil1750,whenGraysentittoWalpolewithaletter(datedJune12,1750)inwhichhesays:"Ihave been here at Stoke a few days (where I shall continue good part of thesummer),andhavingputanendtoathing,whosebeginningyouhaveseenlongago, I immediatelysend ityou.Youwill, Ihope, lookuponit in the lightofathingwithanend to it:amerit thatmostofmywritingshavewanted,andarelike towant." Itwas shown inmanuscript to someof theauthor's friends, andwaspublishedin1751onlybecauseitwasabouttobeprintedsurreptitiously.

February11,1751,GraywrotetoWalpolethattheproprietorsof"theMagazineofMagazines"wereabouttopublishhisElegy,andadded,"Ihavebutonebadway left to escape the honour they would inflict upon me; and therefore amobligedtodesireyouwouldmakeDodsleyprintitimmediately(whichmaybedoneinlessthanaweek'stime)fromyourcopy,butwithoutmyname,inwhatform ismostconvenient forhim,butonhisbestpaperandcharacter;hemustcorrectthepresshimself,1andprintitwithoutanyintervalbetweenthestanzas,becausethesenseisinsomeplacescontinuedbeyondthem;andthetitlemustbe—'Elegy,writteninaCountryChurchyard.'Ifhewouldaddalineortwotosayit came into his hands by accident, I should like it better." Walpole did asrequested,andwroteanadvertisement to theeffect thataccidentalonebroughtthepoembeforethepublic,althoughanapologywasunnecessarytoanybuttheauthor.OnwhichGraywrote,"Ithankyouforyouradvertisement,whichsavesmyhonour."

1Dodsley'sproof-readingmusthavebeensomewhatcareless,fortherearemanyerrorsofthepressinthiseditioprinceps.Graywrites toWalpole,underdateof"Ash-Wednesday,Cambridge,1751,"asfollows:"NurseDodsleyhasgivenitapinchortwointhecradle,that(Idoubt)itwillbearthemarksofas longas it lives.Butnomatter:wehaveourselvessufferedunderherhandsbeforenow;andbesides, itwillonly look themorecarelessandbyaccidentas itwere."Again,March3,1751,hewrites:"Idonotexpectanymoreeditions;asIhaveappearedinmoremagazinesthanone.Thechieferrataweresacredforsecret;hiddenforkindred(inspiteofdukesandclassics);and'frowningasinscorn'forsmiling.Ihumblypropose,forthebenefitofMr.Dodsleyandhismatrons,thattakeawake[inline92,whichatfirstread"awakeandfaithfultoherwontedfires"]foraverb,thattheyshouldreadasleep,andallwillbe right."Othererrorswere,"Theirharrowoft thestubbornglebe,""Andread theirdestiny inanation's eyes," "Withuncouth rhymesand shapelessculturedecked,""Slowthroughthechurchwaypass,"andmanyofminorimportance.

AwriterinNotesandQueries,June12,1875,statesthatthepoemfirstappearedin the London Magazine, March, 1751, p. 134, and that "the Magazine ofMagazines"is"agentletermofscornusedbyGraytoindicate"thatperiodical,andnotthenameofanyactualmagazine.ButinthenextnumberofNotesandQueries(June19,1875)Mr.F.Lockerinformsusthathehasinhispossessiona

title-pageoftheGrandMagazineofMagazines,andthepageofthenumberforApril,1751,whichcontainstheElegy.Themagazineissaidtobe"collectedanddigestedbyRogerWoodville,Esq.,"and"publishedbyCooperattheGlobe,inPaterNosterRow."

Gray says nothing in his letters of the appearance of theElegy in theLondonMagazine. The full title of that periodical was "The London Magazine: orGentleman's Monthly Intelligencer." The editor's name was not given; thepublisherwas"R.Baldwin,jun.attheRoseinPater-NosterRow."Thevolumefor1751wasthe20th,andthePreface(writtenatthecloseoftheyear)beginsthus:"AsthetwomostformidableEnemieswehaveeverhad,arenowextinct,wehavegreatReasontoconclude,thatitisonlytheMerit,andrealUsefulnessof our COLLECTION, that hath supported its Sale and Reputation for TwentyYears." A foot-note informs us that the "Enemies" are the "Magazine ofMagazines andGrandMagazine ofMagazines;" from which it would appearthatthereweretwoperiodicalsofsimilarnamepublishedinLondonin1751.2

2MaynottheElegyhavebeenprintedinbothofthese?Wedonotknowhowotherwisetoreconcilethe conflicting statements concerning the "Magazine ofMagazines," as Gray calls it. In the firstplace,Grayappears(fromotherportionsofhislettertoWalpole)tobefamiliarwiththismagazine,andwould not be likely to confound itwith another of similar name. Then, aswe have seen, hewritesearlyinMarchtoWalpolethatthepoemhasbeenprinted"inmoremagazinesthanone."ThiscannotrefertotheGrandMagazineofMagazines,if,asMr.Lockerstates,itwastheAprilnumberofthatperiodicalinwhichthepoemappeared.NorcanitrefertotheLondonMagazine,as it isclearfrom internal evidence that theMarchnumber, containing theElegy,was not issued until early inApril.ItcontainsasummaryofcurrentnewsdowntoSunday,March31,andthepriceofstocksintheLondonmarketforMarch30.TheFebruarynumber, in its"monthlycatalogue"ofnewbooks,records the publication of theElegy byDodsley thus: "AnElegywrote in aChurch-yard, pr. 6d.Dodsley."

If, then, the Elegy did not appear in either the London Magazine or the Grand Magazine ofMagazinesuntilmorethanamonth(inthecaseofthelatter,perhapstwomonths)afterDodsleyhadissuedit,inwhatmagazinewasitthatitdidappearjustbeforeheissuedit?TheN.A.Reviewsaysthat"itwasacloseracebetweentheMagazineandDodsley;buttheformer,havingalittlethestart,cameoutafewdaysahead."Ifso,itmusthavebeentheMarchnumber;ortheFebruaryone, if itwaspublished,liketheLondon,attheendofthemonth.Graycallsit"theMagazineofMagazines,"andweshalltakehiswordforituntilwehavereasonfordoubtingit.Whatelsewasincludedinhis"moremagazinesthanone"wecannotevenguess.

WehavenotbeenabletofindtheMagazineofMagazinesortheGrandMagazineofMagazinesinthelibraries,andknownothingabouteither"ofourownknowledge."TheLondonMagazineisintheHarvardCollegeLibrary,andthestatementsconcerningthatwecanpersonallyvouchfor.

The author's name is not given with the Elegy as printed in the LondonMagazine.Thepoemissandwichedbetweenan"EpiloguetoAlfred,aMasque"

and some coarse rhymes entitled "Strip-Me-Naked, or Royal Gin for ever."There is not even a printer's "rule" or "dash" to separate the title of the latterfrom the last line of the Elegy. The poem is more correctly printed than inDodsley's authorized edition; though, queerly enough, it has "winds" in thesecond line and the parenthesis "(all he had)" in the Epitaph. Of Dodsley'smisprints noted above it has only "Theirharrow oft" and "shapeless culture."These four errors, indeed, are theonlyonesworthnoting, except "Orwake toextasythelivinglyre."

The"MagazineofMagazines"(asthewriterintheNorthAmericanReviewtellsus)printedtheElegywiththeauthor'sname.Theauthorizedthoughanonymousedition was thus briefly noticed by The Monthly Review, the criticalRhadamanthusoftheday:"AnElegyinaCountryChurchyard.4to.Dodsley's.Sevenpages.—Theexcellenceofthislittlepieceamplycompensatesforitswantofquantity."

"Soonafteritspublication,"saysMason,"Iremember,sittingwithMr.GrayinhisCollegeapartment,heexpressedtomehissurpriseattherapidityofitssale.Ireplied:

'Suntlacrymaererum,etmentemmortaliatangunt.'

Hepausedawhile,andtakinghispen,wrotethelineonaprintedcopyofitlyingon his table. 'This,' said he, 'shall be its futuremotto.' 'Pity,' cried I, 'that Dr.Young's Night Thoughts have preoccupied it.' 'So,' replied he, 'indeed it is.'"GrayhimselftellsthestoryofitssuccessonthemarginofthemanuscriptcopyoftheElegypreservedatCambridgeamonghispapers,andreproducedin fac-simile in Mathias's elegant edition of the poet. The following is a carefultranscriptofthememorandum:

"publish'dinFeb:ry,1751.byDodsley:&wentthro'fourEditions;intwomonths;andaf-terwardsafifth6th7th&8th9th&10th&11thprintedalsoin1753

withMrBentley'sDesigns,ofwch

thereisa2dEdition&againbyDodsleyinhisMiscellany,Vol:4th&inaScotchCollectioncall'dtheUnion.translatedintoLatinbyChr:AnsteyEsq,&theRevdMr

Roberts,&publish'din1762;&againinthesameyearbyRob:Lloyd,M:A:"

"OnepeculiarandremarkabletributetothemeritoftheElegy,"saysProfessorHenryReed, "is to be noticed in the great number of translationswhich havebeenmadeofitintovariouslanguages,bothofancientandmodernEurope.ItisthesamekindoftributewhichhasbeenrenderedtoRobinsonCrusoeandtoThePilgrim'sProgress,andisproofofthesameuniversalityofinterest,transcendingthelimitsoflanguageandofrace.TonopoemintheEnglishlanguagehasthesamekindofhomagebeenpaid so abundantly.Ofwhatotherpoem is there apolyglotedition?ItalyandEnglandhavecompetedwith theirpolygloteditionsoftheElegy:Torri's,bearingthetitle,'ElegiadiTomasoGraysopraunCimiterodiCampagna,tradottadall'Ingleseinpiùlingue:Verona,1817;Livorno,1843;'andVanVoorst'sLondonedition."ProfessorReedaddsalistofthetranslations(which, however, is incomplete), including one in Hebrew, seven in Greek,twelveinLatin,thirteeninItalian,fifteeninFrench,sixinGerman,andoneinPortuguese.

"HadGraywrittennothingbuthisElegy,"remarksByron,"highashestands,Iamnotsurethathewouldnotstandhigher;itisthecornerstoneofhisglory."

The tribute paid the poem byGeneralWolfe is familiar to all, butwe cannotrefrain from quoting Lord Mahon's beautiful account of it in his History ofEngland.On thenightofSeptember13th,1759, thenightbefore thebattleonthePlainsofAbraham,WolfewasdescendingtheSt.Lawrencewithapartofhistroops.Thehistoriansays:"Swiftly,butsilently,didtheboatsfalldownwiththe

tide,unobservedbytheenemy'ssentinelsat theirpostsalongtheshore.Ofthesoldiers on board, how eagerlymust every heart have throbbed at the comingconflict!howintentlymusteveryeyehavecontemplatedthedarkoutline,as itlay pencilled upon themidnight sky, and as everymoment it grew closer andclearer, of the hostile heights! Not a word was spoken—not a sound heardbeyond the rippling of the stream.Wolfe alone—thus tradition has told us—repeated in a low tone to the other officers in his boat those beautiful stanzaswithwhichacountrychurchyardinspiredthemuseofGray.Onenobleline,

'Thepathsofgloryleadbuttothegrave,'

must have seemed at such a moment fraught with mournful meaning. At theclose of the recitation Wolfe added, 'Now, gentlemen, I would rather be theauthorofthatpoemthantakeQuebec.'"

Hales,inhisIntroductiontothepoem,remarks:"TheElegyisperhapsthemostwidelyknownpoeminourlanguage.Thereasonofthisextensivepopularityisperhapstobesoughtinthefactthatitexpressesinanexquisitemannerfeelingsand thoughts that are universal. In the current of ideas in the Elegy there isperhaps nothing that is rare, or exceptional, or out of the common way. Themusingsareofthemostrationalandobviouscharacterpossible;itisdifficulttoconceiveofanyonemusingundersimilarcircumstanceswhoshouldnotmuseso;but theyarenot the lessdeepandmovingon thisaccount.Themysteryoflife does not become clearer, or less solemn and awful, for any amount ofcontemplation.Such inevitable, such everlastingquestions as rise on themindwhenonelingersintheprecinctsofDeathcanneverlosetheirfreshness,neverceasetofascinateandtomove.Itiswithsuchquestions,thatwouldhavebeencommonplace longages since if theycouldeverbeso, that theElegydeals. Itdeals with them in no lofty philosophical manner, but in a simple, humble,unpretentiousway,alwayswiththetruestandthebroadesthumanity.Thepoet'sthoughtsturntothepoor;heforgetsthefinetombsinsidethechurch,andthinksonly of the 'mouldering heaps' in the churchyard. Hence the problem thatespeciallysuggestsitselfisthepotentialgreatness,whentheylived,ofthe'rudeforefathers'thatnowlieathisfeet.Hedoesnot,andcannotsolveit,thoughhefindsconsiderationstomitigatethesadnessitmustinspire;butheexpressesitinallitsawfulnessinthemosteffectivelanguageandwiththedeepestfeeling;andhisexpressionofithasbecomealivingpartofourlanguage."

The writer in the North American Review (vol. 96) from whom we haveelsewherequotedsaysof theElegy: "It isupon this thatGray's fameasapoetmustchieflyrest.Bythishewillbeknownforeveraliketotheletteredandtheunlettered.Many,infutureages,whomayneverhaveheardofhisclassicOdes,hisvariouslearning,orhissparklingletters,willreverehimonlyastheauthoroftheElegy. For this he will be enshrined through all time in the hearts of themyriadswhoshallspeakourEnglish tongue.For thishisnamewillbeheld inglad remembrance in the far-off summer isles of the Pacific, and amidst thewasteofpolarsnows.Ifhehadwrittennothingelse,hisplaceasaleadingpoetinourlanguagewouldstillbeassured.Manyhaveasserted,withJohnson,that

he was a mere mechanical poet—one who brought from without, but neverfound within; that the gift of inspiration was not native to him; that hisimaginationwasborrowedfinery,hisfancytinsel,andhisinventiontheworld'swell-wornjewels;thatwhateverinhisversewaspoeticwasnotnew,andwhatwasnewwasnotpoetic; thathewasonlyanunworldlydyspeptic, livingamidmany books, and laboriously delving for a lifetime between musty covers,pickingoutnowand thenanother'sgemsandbitsofore, and fashioning theminto ill-compactedmosaics, which he wrongly called his own. To all this theElegyisasufficientanswer.Itisnotold—itisnotbookish;itisnewandhuman.Books could not make its maker: he was born of the divine breath alone.Consider all the commentators, the scholiasts, the interpreters, the annotators,andotherlikebook-worms,fromAristarchusdowntoDöderlein;andmayitnotbesaidthat,amongthemall,'Necvigetquidquamsimileautsecundum?'

"Graywrotebutlittle,yethewrotethatlittlewell.Hemighthavedonefarmoreforus;thesameistrueofmostmen,evenofthegreatest.Thepossibilitiesofalifearealwaysinadvanceofitsperformance.Butwecannotsaythathislifewasawastedone.EventhislittleElegyaloneshouldgoformuch.For,supposethathe had never written this, but instead had done much else in other ways,accordingtohispowers:thathehadwrittenmanylearnedtreatises;thathehad,with keen criticism, expounded and reconstructedGreek classics; that he had,perchance, sat upon the woolsack, and laid rich offerings at the feet of blindJustice;—takingtheyearstogether,wouldithavebeen,onthewhole,betterforhimorforus?Wouldhehaveaddedsomuchtothesumofhumanhappiness?Hemightthushavemadehimselfapowerforatime,tobedethronedbysomenewusurperintherealmofknowledge;nowheisapowerandajoyforevertocountlessthousands."

Two manuscripts of the Elegy, in Gray's handwriting, still exist. Both werebequeathed by the poet, together with his library, letters, and manymiscellaneouspapers,tohisfriendstheRev.WilliamMasonandtheRev.JamesBrowne, as joint literary executors. Mason bequeathed the entire trust toMr.Stonhewer.Thelatter,inmakinghiswill,dividedthelegacyintotwoparts.Thelarger share went to the Master and Fellows of Pembroke Hall. Among thepapers,whicharestillinthepossessionoftheCollege,wasfoundacopyoftheElegy.Anexcellentfac-simileofthismanuscriptappearsinMathias'seditionofGray,publishedin1814.Inreferringtoithereafterweshalldesignateitas the

"Pembroke"MS.

TheremainingportionofGray'sliterarybequest,includingtheothermanuscriptof theElegy,was leftbyMr.Stonhewer tohis friend,Mr.Bright. In1845Mr.Bright'ssonssoldthecollectionatauction.TheMS.oftheElegywasboughtbyMr.Granville JohnPenn,ofStokePark, foronehundredpounds—thehighestsumthathadeverbeenknowntobepaidforasinglesheetofpaper.In1854thismanuscript cameagain into themarket, andwasknockeddown toMr.RobertCharlesWrightson,ofBirmingham,for£131.Onthe29thofMay,1875,itwasoncemoreofferedforsaleinLondon,andwaspurchasedbySirWilliamFraserfor £230, or about $1150.A photographic reproduction of itwas published inLondonin1862.Forconvenienceweshallrefertoitasthe"Wrightson"MS.

TherecanbelittledoubtthattheWrightsonMS.istheoriginalone,andthatthePembrokeMS. isa faircopymade from itby thepoet.The formercontainsagreater number of alterations, and varies more from the printed text. It bearsinternalevidenceofbeingtheroughdraft,whiletheotherrepresentsalaterstageofthepoem.Wewillgivethevariationsofbothfromthepresentversion.3

3ForthereadingsoftheWrightsonMS.wehavehadtodependonMason,Mitford,andothereditorsofthepoem,andonthearticleintheNorthAmericanReview,alreadyreferredto.ThereadingsofthePembrokeMS.aretakenfromtheengravedfac-simileinMathias'sedition.

Thetwostanzasofwhichafac-simileisgivenabovearefromthePembrokeMS.,butthewood-cuthardlydoesjusticetothefemininedelicacyofthepoet'shandwriting.

TheWrightsonMS.hasinthefirststanza,"Thelowingherdwind slowly,"etc.Seeournoteonthisline,below.

Inthe2dstanza,itreads,"Andnowtheair,"etc.

The5thstanzaisasfollows:

"Foreversleep:thebreezycallofmorn,Orswallowtwitt'ringfromthestraw-builtshed,OrChanticleersoshrill,orechoinghorn,Nomoreshallrousethemfromtheirlowlybed."

In8thstanza,"Theirrusticjoys,"etc.

In10thstanza,thefirsttwolinesread,

"Forgive,yeproud,th'involuntaryfault,Ifmemorytothesenotrophiesraise."

In12thstanza,"Handsthatthereinsofempire,"etc.

In13thstanza,"ChillPenurydepress'd,"etc.

The15thstanzareadsthus:

"SomevillageCato,who,withdauntlessbreast,Thelittletyrantofhisfieldswithstood;SomemuteingloriousTullyheremayrest,SomeCæsarguiltlessofhiscountry'sblood."4

4 TheSaturdayReview for June 19, 1875, has a long article on the changemade byGray in thisstanza,entitled,"ALessonfromGray'sElegy,"fromwhichwecullthefollowingparagraphs:

"Gray, having first of all put down the names of three Romans as illustrations of his meaning,afterwardsdeliberatelystruckthemoutandputthenamesofthreeEnglishmeninstead.Thisisasignofachange in the tasteof theage,achangewithwhichGrayhimselfhadagooddeal todo.Thedeliberate wiping out of the names of Cato, Tully, and Cæsar, to put in the names of Hampden,Milton,andCromwell, seems tous soobviouslyachange for thebetter that thereseems tobenoroomforanydoubtaboutit.It isbynomeanscertainthatGray'sowncontemporarieswouldhavethoughtthematterequallyclear.Wesuspect that tomanypeopleinhisdayitmusthaveseemedadaring novelty to draw illustrations fromEnglish history, especially from parts of English historywhich,itmustberemembered,werethenagreatdealmorerecentthantheyarenow.Tobesure,inchoosing English illustrations, a poet of Gray's time was in rather a hard strait. If he choseillustrations from thecenturyor twobeforehisown time,hecouldonlychoosenameswhichhadhardly got free from the strife of recent politics. If, in a poemof the nature of theElegy, he haddrawnillustrationsfromearliertimesofEnglishhistory,hewouldhavefoundbutfewpeopleinhisdaylikelytounderstandhim....

"ThechangewhichGraymadeinthiswell-knownstanzaisnotonlyanimprovementinaparticularpoem,itisasignofageneralimprovementintaste.Hewrotefirstaccordingtothevicioustasteofanearliertime,andhethenchangeditaccordingtohisownbettertaste.Andofthatbettertastehewasundoubtedlyaprophettoothers.Gray'spoetrymusthavedoneagreatdealtoopenmen'seyestothe fact that theywereEnglishmen,and thaton them,asEnglishmen,English thingshadahigherclaimthanRoman,andthattothemEnglishexamplesoughttobemorespeakingthanRomanones.Butthereisanothersideofthecasenottobeforgotten.ThosewhowouldhaveregrettedthechangefromCato,Tully,andCæsartoHampden,Milton,andCromwell,thosewhoperhapsreallydidthinkthatthebringinginofHampden,Milton,andCromwellwasadegradationofwhattheywouldhavecalledtheMuse,werecertainlynotthosewhohadthetruestknowledgeofCato,Tully,andCæsar.The 'classic' taste fromwhichGray helped to deliver uswas a tastewhich hardly deserves to becalled a taste. Pardonable perhaps in the first heat of the Renaissance, when 'classic' studies andobjectshadthecharmofnovelty,ithadbecomebyhisdayameresillyfashion."

In18thstanza,"Orcrowntheshrine,"etc.

Afterthisstanza,theMS.hasthefollowingfourstanzas,nowomitted:

"ThethoughtlessworldtoMajestymaybow,Exaltthebrave,andidolizesuccess;ButmoretoinnocencetheirsafetyoweThanPow'r,orGenius,e'erconspir'dtobless.

"Andthouwho,mindfuloftheunhonour'dDead,Dostinthesenotestheirartlesstalerelate,BynightandlonelycontemplationledTowanderinthegloomywalksoffate:

"Hark!howthesacredCalm,thatbreathesaround,Bidseveryfiercetumultuouspassioncease;Instillsmallaccentswhisp'ringfromthegroundAgratefulearnestofeternalpeace.

"Nomore,withreasonandthyselfatstrife,Giveanxiouscaresandendlesswishesroom;Butthroughthecoolsequester'dvaleoflifePursuethesilenttenorofthydoom."5

5WefollowMason(ed.1778)inthetextofthesestanzas.TheNorthAmericanReviewhas"PowerandGenius"inthefirst,and"lingerinthelonelywalks"inthesecond.

The second of these stanzas has been remodelled and used as the 24th of thepresentversion.Masonthoughtthattherewasapatheticmelancholyinallfourwhichclaimedpreservation.The thirdheconsideredequal toany in thewholeElegy.The poemwas originally intended to endhere, the introduction of "thehoary-headedswain"beingahappyafter-thought.

Inthe19thstanza,theMS.has"neverlearn'dtostray."

Inthe21ststanza,"fameandepitaph,"etc.

Inthe23dstanza,thelastlinereads,

"Andburiedashesglowwithsocialfires."

"Social" subsequently became "wonted," and other changes were made (seeabove,foot-note)beforethelinetookitspresentform.

The24thstanzareads,

"Ifchancethate'ersomepensiveSpiritmore,Bysympatheticmusingsheredelay'd,Withvain,thoughkindinquiryshallexploreThyonce-lov'dhaunt,thislong-desertedshade."6

6Mitford(Etoned.)gives"sympathizing"inthesecondline,andforthelast,

"Thyeverlovedhaunt—thislongdesertedshade."

Thelatterisobviouslywrong(Graywasincapableofsuchmetre),andtheformerisprobablywrongalso.

Thelastlineofthe25thstanzareads,

"Onthehighbrowofyonderhanginglawn."

Thencomesthefollowingstanza,afterwardsomitted:

"Himhaveweseenthegreenwoodsidealong,Whileo'ertheheathwehied,ourlabourdone,Oftasthewoodlarkpip'dherfarewellsong,Withwistfuleyespursuethesettingsun."7

Masonremarked:"Iratherwonderthatherejectedthisstanza,asitnotonlyhasthe same sort ofDoricdelicacywhich charmsuspeculiarly in this part of thepoem,but also completes the accountofhiswholeday;whereas, this eveningscenebeingomitted,wehaveonlyhismorningwalk,andhisnoontiderepose."

7HerealsowefollowMason;theNorthAmericanReviewreads"ourlaboursdone."

Thefirstlineofthe27thstanzareads,

"Withgesturesquaint,nowsmilingasinscorn."

After the29thstanza, and before the Epitaph, theMS. contains the followingomittedstanza:

"Therescatter'doft,theearliestoftheyear,Byhandsunseenarefrequentvioletsfound;Therobinlovestobuildandwarblethere,Andlittlefootstepslightlyprinttheground."

This—withtwoorthreeverbalchangesonly8—wasinsertedinalltheeditionsupto1753,whenitwasdropped.Theomissionwasnotmadefromanyobjectiontothestanzainitself,butsimplybecauseitwastoolongaparenthesisinthisplace;on theprinciplewhichhestates ina letter toDr.Beattie: "As todescription, Ihavealwaysthoughtthatitmadethemostgracefulornamentofpoetry,butneverought tomake thesubject."Thepartwassacrificedfor thegoodof thewhole.Mason very justly remarked that "the lines, however, are in themselves

exquisitelyfine,anddemandpreservation."

8Seebelow.ThewriterintheNorthAmericanReview isouronlyauthorityfor thestanzaasgivenabove.HeappearstohavehadthephotographicreproductionoftheWrightsonMS.,butwecannotvouchfortheaccuracyofhistranscriptsfromit.

Thefirstlineofthe31ststanzahas"andhisheartsincere."

The32dandlaststanzaisasfollows:

"Nofartherseekhismeritstodisclose,Norseektodrawthemfromtheirdreadabode—(Hisfrailtiesthereintremblinghoperepose);ThebosomofhisFatherandhisGod."9

9TheaboveareallthevariationsfromthepresenttextintheWrightsonMS.whicharenotedbytheauthoritiesonwhomwehavedepended;butwesuspect that thefollowingreadings,mentionedbyMitford as in theMS., belong to thatMS., as they arenot found in the other: in the 7th stanza,"sickles"for"sickle;"in18th,"shrines"for"shrine."Twoothers(instanzas9thand27th)arereferredtoinouraccountofthePembrokeMS.below.

ThePembrokeMS.hasthefollowingvariationsfromthepresentversion:

Inthe1ststanza,"wind"for"winds."

2dstanza,"Ordrowsy,"etc.

5thstanza,"andtheecchoinghorn."

6thstanza,"Norclimbhisknees."

9thstanza,"Awaitsalike."ProbablythisisalsothereadingoftheWrightsonMS.MitfordgivesitasnotedbyMason,anditisretainedbyGrayintheed.of1768.

The10thstanzabegins,

"Forgive,yeProud,th'involuntaryfaultIfMemorytothese,"etc.,

the present readings ("Nor you," "impute to these," and "Mem'ry o'er theirtomb")beinginsertedinthemargin.

The12thstanzahas"reinsofempire,"with"rod"inthemargin.

In the15thstanza, theword"lands"hasbeencrossedout, and"fields"writtenaboveit.

The17thhas"Orshutthegates,"etc.

Inthe21stwehave"fameandepitaphsupply."

The 23d has "And in our ashes glow," the readings "Ev'n" and "live" beinginsertedinthemargin.

The27thstanzahas"wouldherove."WesuspectthatthisisalsothereadingoftheWrightsonMS.,asMitfordsaysitisnotedbyMason.

Inthe28thstanza,thefirstlinereads"fromthecustom'dhill."

In the 29th a word which we cannot make out has been erased, and "aged"substituted.

Before the Epitaph, two asterisks refer to the bottom of the page, where thefollowingstanzaisgiven,withthemarginalnote,"Omittedin1753:"

"Therescatter'doft,theearliestoftheYear,ByHandsunseen,areShow'rsofVioletsfound;TheRed-breastlovestobuild,andwarblethere,AndlittleFootstepslightlyprinttheGround."

Thelasttwolinesofthe31ststanza(seenotebelow)arepointedasfollows:

"HegavetoMis'ryallhehad,aTear,Hegain'dfromHeav'n('twasallhewish'd)aFriend."

Some of the peculiarities of spelling in thisMS. are the following: "Curfeu;""Plowman;" "Tinkleings;" "mopeing;" "ecchoing;" "Huswife;" "Ile" (aisle);"wast" (waste); "village-Hambden;" "Rhimes;" "spell't;" "chearful;" "born"(borne);etc.

Mitford,inhisLifeofGrayprefixedtothe"Eton"editionofhisPoems(editedbyRev.JohnMoultrie,1847),says:"Ipossessmanycuriousvariationsfromtheprintedtext,takenfromacopyofitinhisownhandwriting."Headdsspecimensofthesevariations,afewofwhichdifferfromboththeWrightsonandPembrokeMSS.Wegivetheseinournotesbelow.Seeon12,24,and93.

SeverallocalitieshavecontendedforthehonorofbeingthesceneoftheElegy,butthegeneralsentimenthasalways,andjustly,beeninfavorofStoke-Pogis.Itwas there thatGray began the poem in 1742; and there, aswe have seen, hefinished it in1750. In thatchurchyardhismotherwasburied,and there,athisrequest, his own remains were afterwards laid beside her. The scene is,moreover,inallrespectsinperfectkeepingwiththespiritofthepoem.

AccordingtothecommonCambridgetradition,Granchester,aparishabouttwomilessouthwestoftheUniversity,towhichGraywasinthehabitoftakinghis"constitutional"daily,isthelocalityofthepoem;andthegreatbellofSt.Mary'sis the "curfew"of the first stanza.Another traditionmakesa similar claim forMadingley, some threemiles and a half northwest ofCambridge. Both placeshavechurchyardssuchas theElegydescribes;and this isaboutall thatcanbesaidinfavoroftheirpretensions.ThereisalsoaparishcalledBurnhamBeeches,inBuckinghamshire,whichonewriteratleasthassuggestedasthesceneofthepoem, but for no better reason than thatGray oncewrote a description of theplacetoWalpole,andcasuallymentionedtheexistenceofcertain"beeches,"atthe foot of which he would "squat," and "there grow to the trunk a wholemorning."Gray'sunclehadaseatintheneighborhood,andthepoetoftenvisitedhere,butthespotwasnothallowedtohimbythefondandtenderassociationsthatgatheredaboutStoke.

1.Thecurfew.Halesremarks:"Itisagreatmistaketosupposethattheringingofthecurfewwas,atitsinstitution,amarkofNormanoppression.IfsuchacustomwasunknownbeforetheConquest,itonlyshowsthattheoldEnglishpolicewaslesswell-regulatedthanthatofmanypartsoftheContinent,andhowmuchthesuperiorcivilizationoftheNorman-Frenchwasneeded.Fireswerethecurseofthe timber-built towns of the Middle Ages: 'Solae pestes Londoniae suntstultorumimmodicapotatioet frequens incendium' (Fitzstephen).Theenforcedextinction of domestic lights at an appointed signal was designed to be asafeguardagainstthem."

Wartonwantedtohavethislineread

"Thecurfewtolls!—theknellofpartingday."

ItissufficienttosaythatGray,asthemanuscriptshows,didnotwantittoreadso,andthatwemuchpreferhiswaytoWarton's.

Mitfordsaysthattollis"nottheappropriateverb,"asthecurfewwasrung,nottolled.We presume that depended, to some extent, on the fancy of the ringer.Milton(IlPens.76)speaksofthecurfewas

"Swingingslowwithsullenroar."

GrayhimselfquoteshereDante,Purgat.8:

—"squilladilontanoChepaia'lgiornopianger,chesimuore;"

and we cannot refrain from adding, for the benefit of those unfamiliar withItalian,Longfellow'sexquisitetranslation:

—"fromfarawayabellThatseemethtodeplorethedyingday."

Mitfordquotes(incorrectly,asoften)Dryden,Prol.toTroilusandCressida,22:

"Thattollstheknellfortheirdepartedsense."

Onparting=departing,cf.Shakes.Cor.v.6:"WhenIpartedhence;"Goldsmith,D.V.171:"Besidethebedwherepartinglifewaslaid,"etc.

2.Thelowingherdwind,etc.Wind,andnotwinds,isthereadingoftheMS.(seefac-simile of this stanza above) and of all the early editions—that of 1768,Mason's, Wakefield's, Mathias's, etc.—but we find no note of the fact inMitford'soranyotherofthemorerecenteditions,whichhavesubstitutedwinds.Whether the change was made as an amendment or accidentally, we do notknow;10buttheoriginalreadingseemstousbyfarthebetterone.Thepoetdoesnotrefertotheherdasanaggregate,buttotheanimalsthatcomposeit.Hesees,not it, but "them on their winding way." The ordinary reading mars both themeaningandthemelodyoftheline.

10Verylikelythelatter,aswehaveseenthatwindsappearsintheunauthorizedversionoftheLondonMagazine(March,1751),whereitmaybeamisprint,liketheothersnotedabove.

Wemay remark here that the edition of 1768—the editio princeps of the collected Poems—wasissuedunderGray'sownsupervision,andisprintedwithremarkableaccuracy.Wehavedetectedonlyoneindubitableerrorofthetypeintheentirevolume.Certainpeculiaritiesofspellingwereprobably

intentional,aswefindthelikeinthefac-similesofthepoet'smanuscripts.ThemanyquotationsfromGreek,Latin, and Italian are correctly given (according to the received texts of the time), and thereferences to authorities, so far aswehaveverified them, are equally exact.Thebook throughoutbearsthemarksofGray'sscholarlyandcriticalhabits,andwemaybesurethatthepoemsappearinpreciselytheformwhichhemeanttheyshouldretain.Indoubtfulcases,therefore,wehavegenerallyfollowedthisedition.Mason's(thesecondedition:York,1778)isalsocarefullyeditedandprinted,anditsreadingsseldomvaryfromGray's.AllofMitford'sthatwehaveexaminedswarmwitherrors,especiallyinthenotes.Pickering's(1835),editedbyMitford,isperhapstheworstofall.TheBostoned. (Little, Brown, & Co., 1853) is a pretty careful reproduction of Pickering's, with all itsinaccuracies.

3.ThecriticoftheN.A.Reviewpointsoutthatthisline"isquitepeculiarinitspossible transformations.We havemade," he adds, "twenty different versionspreservingtherhythm,thegeneralsentimentandtherhymingword.Anyoneofthese variations might be, not inappropriately, substituted for the originalreading."

LukequotesSpenser,F.Q.vi.7,39:"Andnowshewasupponthewearyway."

6.Airisofcoursetheobject,notthesubjectoftheverb.

7.Savewherethebeetle,etc.Cf.Collins,OdetoEvening:

"Nowairishush'd,savewheretheweak-eyedbatWithshortshrillshriekflitsbyonleathernwing,OrwherethebeetlewindsHissmallbutsullenhorn,Asoftherises'midstthetwilightpath,Againstthepilgrimborneinheedlesshum."

andMacbeth,iii.2:

"ErethebathathflownHiscloister'dflight;eretoblackHecate'ssummonsTheshard-bornebeetle,withhisdrowsyhums,Hathrungnight'syawningpeal,"etc.

10.Themopingowl.Mitford quotesOvid,Met. v. 550: "Ignavus bubo, dirummortalibusomen;"Thomson,Winter,114:

"AssiduousinhisbowerthewailingowlPlieshissadsong;"

andMallet,Excursion:

"thewailingowlScreamssolitarytothemournfulmoon."

12. Her ancient solitary reign. Cf. Virgil, Geo. iii. 476: "desertaque regnapastorum."AMS. variation of this linementionedbyMitford is, "Molest andpryintoherancientreign."

13."Ashestandsinthechurchyard,hethinksonlyofthepoorerpeople,becausethebetter-to-dolayinterredinsidethechurch.Tennyson(InMem.x.)speaksofresting

'beneaththecloversodThattakesthesunshineandtherains,OrwherethekneelinghamletdrainsThechaliceofthegrapesofGod.'

InGray'stime,andlongbefore,andsometimeafterit,theformerresting-placewas for thepoor, the latter for the rich. Itwas so in the first instance, for tworeasons:(i.)theinteriorofthechurchwasregardedasofgreatsanctity,andallwhocouldsoughtaplaceinit,themostdearlycovetedspotbeingnearthehighaltar; (ii.) when elaborate tombs were the fashion, they were built inside thechurch for the sake of security, 'gay tombs' being liable to be 'robb'd' (see thefuneraldirge inWebster'sWhiteDevil).As these two considerations graduallyceasedtohavepower,andotherconsiderationsofanoppositetendencybegantoprevail, the inside of the church became comparatively deserted, exceptwhenancestralreasonsgavenochoice"(Hales).

17.Cf.Milton,Arcades,56:"theodorousbreathofmorn;"P.L.ix.192:

"NowwhenassacredlightbegantodawnInEdenonthehumidflowersthatbreath'dTheirmorningincense,"etc.

18.Hesiod([Greek:Erg.]568)callstheswallow[Greek:orthogoêchelidôn.]Cf.Virgil,Æn.viii.455:

"Evandrumexhumilitectoluxsuscitatalma,Etmatutinivolucrumsubculminecantus."

19.Thecock'sshrillclarion.Cf.Philips,Cyder,i.753:

"Whenchanticleerwithclarionshrillrecalls

Thetardyday;"

Milton,P.L.vii.443:

"Thecrestedcock,whoseclarionsoundsThesilenthours;"

Hamlet,i.1:

"Thecockthatisthetrumpettothemorn;"

Quarles,ArgalusandParthenia:

"Isleptnottilltheearlybugle-hornOfchaunticlerehadsummon'dinthemorn;"

andThomasKyd,England'sParnassus:

"Thecheerfulcock,thesadnight'strumpeter,Waytingupontherisingofthesunne;Thewanderingswallowwithherbrokensong,"etc.

20.Their lowly bed.Wakefield remarks: "Some readers, keeping in mind the'narrowcell'above,havemistakenthe'lowlybed'inthisverseforthegrave—amostpuerileandridiculousblunder;"andMitfordsays:"Heretheepithet'lowly,'asappliedto 'bed,'occasionssomeambiguityastowhetherthepoetmeantthebedonwhichtheysleep,orthegraveinwhichtheyarelaid,whichinpoetryiscalleda'lowlybed.'Ofcoursetheformerisdesigned;butMr.Lloyd,inhisLatintranslation,mistookitforthelatter."

21.Cf.Lucretius,iii.894:

"Jamjamnondomusaccipiettelaeta,nequeuxorOptimaneedulcesoccurrentosculanatiPraeripereettacitapectusdulcedinetangent;"

andHorace,Epod.ii.39:

"QuodsipudicamulierinpartemjuvetDomumatquedulcesliberos*******SacrumvetustisexstruatlignisfocumLassisubadventumviri,"etc.

MitfordquotesThomson,Winter,311:

"InvainforhimtheofficiouswifepreparesThefirefair-blazing,andthevestmentwarm;Invainhislittlechildren,peepingoutIntotheminglingstorm,demandtheirsireWithtearsofartlessinnocence."

WakefieldcitesTheIdler,103:"Therearefewthings,notpurelyevil,ofwhichwecansaywithoutsomeemotionofuneasiness,thisisthelast."

22.Plyhereveningcare.Mitfordsays,"Toplyacareisanexpressionthatisnotproper toour language, andwasprobably formed for the rhyme share."Halesremarks: "This is probably the kind of phrase which led Wordsworth topronouncethelanguageoftheElegyunintelligible.Comparehisown

'AndsheIcherishedturnedherwheelBesideanEnglishfire.'"

23.Nochildrenrun,etc.HalesquotesBurns,Cotter'sSaturdayNight,21:

"Th'expectantwee-things,toddlin,stacherthroughTomeettheirDad,wi'flichterinnoisean'glee."

24.AmongMitford'sMS.variationswefind"comingkiss."WakefieldcomparesVirgil,Geo.ii.523:

"Intereadulcespendentcircumosculanati;"

andMitfordaddsfromDryden,

"Whoselittlearmsaboutthylegsarecast,Andclimbingforakisspreventtheirmother'shaste."

Cf.Thomson,Liberty,iii.171:

"Hislittlechildrenclimbingforakiss."

26.Thestubbornglebe.Cf.Gay,Fables,ii.15:

"'Tisminetotamethestubbornglebe."

Broke=broken, as often in poetry, especially in the Elizabethan writers. See

Abbott,Shakes.Gr.343.

27.Drive their team afield. Cf. Lycidas, 27: "We drove afield;" and Dryden,Virgil'sEcl.ii.38:"Withmetodriveafield."

28.Theirsturdystroke.Cf.Spenser,Shep.Kal.Feb.:

"Buttotherootebenthissturdystroake,Andmademanywoundsinthewast[wasted]Oake;"

andDryden,Geo.iii.639:

"Labourhimwithmanyasturdystroke."

30.AsMitfordremarks,obscureandpoormake"averyimperfectrhyme;"andthesamemightbesaidoftoilandsmile.

33.MitfordsuggeststhatGrayhadinmindtheseversesfromhisfriendWest'sMonodyonQueenCaroline:

"Ah,me!whatbootsusallourboastedpower,Ourgoldentreasure,andourpurplestate;Theycannotwardtheinevitablehour,Norstaythefearfulviolenceoffate."

HurdcomparesCowley:

"Beauty,andstrength,andwit,andwealth,andpower,Havetheirshortflourishinghour;Andlovetoseethemselves,andsmile,Andjoyintheirpre-eminenceawhile:EvensointhesamelandPoorweeds,richcorn,gayflowerstogetherstand;Alas!Deathmowsdownallwithanimpartialhand."

35.Awaits.Thereadingoftheed.of1768,asofthePembroke(andprobablytheother)MS.Houristhesubject,nottheobject,oftheverb.

36.Hayley,intheLifeofCrashaw,BiographiaBritannica,saysthatthislineis"literally translated from the Latin prose of Bartholinus in his DanishAntiquities."

39. Fretted. The fret is, strictly, an ornament used in classical architecture,

formedbysmallfilletsintersectingeachotheratrightangles.Parker(GlossaryofArchitecture)derivesthewordfromtheLatinfretum,astrait;andHalesfromferrum, iron, through the Italian ferrata, an iron grating. It ismore likely (seeStratmannandWb.)fromtheA.S.frætu,anornament.

Cf.Hamlet,ii.2:

"Thismajesticalrooffrettedwithgoldenfire;"

andCymbeline,ii.4:

"Theroofo'thechamberWithgoldencherubinsisfretted."

40.Thepealinganthem.Cf.IlPenseroso,161:

"ThereletthepealingorganblowTothefull-voicedquirebelow,Inservicehigh,andanthemclear,"etc.

41.Storiedurn.Cf. IlPens.159:"storiedwindowsrichlydight."Onanimatedbust, cf. Pope,Temple of Fame, 73: "Heroes in animatedmarble frown;" andVirgil,Æn.vi.847:"spirantiaaera."

43.Provoke.Mitfordconsidersthisuseoftheword"unusuallybold,tosaytheleast." It is simply the etymologicalmeaning, to call forth (Latin,provocare).SeeWb.Cf.Pope,Ode:

"Butwhenourcountry'scauseprovokestoarms."

44.Dullcoldear.Cf.Shakes.Hen.VIII.iii.2:"Andsleepindull,coldmarble."

46.Pregnantwithcelestial fire.ThisphrasehasbeencopiedbyCowper inhisBoadicea, which is said (see notes of "Globe" ed.) to have beenwritten afterreadingHume'sHistory,in1780:

"Suchthebard'spropheticwords,Pregnantwithcelestialfire,BendingashesweptthechordsOfhissweetbutawfullyre."

47.MitfordquotesOvid,Ep.v.86:

"Suntmihiquaspossintsceptradeceremanus."

48.Livinglyre.Cf.Cowley:

"Beginthesong,andstrikethelivinglyre;"

andPope,WindsorForest,281:

"WhonowshallcharmtheshadeswhereCowleystrungHislivingharp,andloftyDenhamsung?"

50.Cf.Browne,ReligioMedici:"Richwiththespoilsofnature."

51."Rageisoftenusedinthepost-Elizabethanwritersofthe17thcentury,andinthe18thcenturywriters,forinspiration,enthusiasm"(Hales).Cf.Cowley:

"Whobroughtgreenpoesytoherperfectage,Andmadethatartwhichwasarage?"

andTickell,Prol.:

"Howhardthetask!Howrarethegodlikerage!"

Cf.alsotheuseoftheLatinrabiesforthe"divineafflatus,"asinÆneid,vi.49.

53.Fullmanyagem, etc.Cf.BishopHall,Contemplations: "There ismany arichstonelaidupinthebowellsoftheearth,manyafairpearleinthebosomeofthesea,thatneverwasseene,nornevershallbee."

Purestrayserene.AsHalesremarks,thisisafavouritearrangementofepithetswith Milton. Cf. Hymn on Nativity: "flower-inwoven tresses torn;" Comus:"beckoning shadows dire;" "every alley green," etc.;L'Allegro: "nativewood-noteswild;"Lycidas:"sadoccasiondear;""blestkingdomsmeek,"etc.

55.Fullmanyaflower,etc.Cf.Pope,RapeoftheLock,iv.158:

"Likerosesthatindesertsbloomanddie."

MitfordcitesChamberlayne,Pharonida,ii.4:

"LikebeauteousflowerswhichvainlywastetheirscentOfodoursinunhaunteddeserts;"

andYoung,Univ.Pass.sat.v.:

"Indistantwilds,byhumaneyesunseen,Sherearsherflowers,andspreadshervelvetgreen;Puregurglingrillsthelonelydeserttrace,Andwastetheirmusiconthesavagerace;"

andPhilip,Thule:

"Likewoodlandflowers,whichpaintthedesertglades,Andwastetheirsweetsinunfrequentedshades."

HalesquotesWaller's

"Go,lovelyrose,Tellherthat'syoungAndshunstohavehergracesspied,ThathadstthousprungIndesertswherenomenabideThoumusthaveuncommendeddied."

Ondesertair,cf.Macbeth,iv.3:"Thatwouldbehowl'doutinthedesertair."

57.Itwasin1636thatJohnHampden,ofBuckinghamshire(acousinofOliverCromwell), refused to pay the ship-money tax which Charles I. was levyingwithouttheauthorityofParliament.

58.Littletyrant.Cf.Thomson,Winter:

"Withopenfreedomlittletyrantsraged."

Theartistswhohaveillustratedthispassage(see,forinstance,FavouriteEnglishPoems,p.305,andHarper'sMonthly,vol.vii.p.3)appeartounderstand"little"asequivalenttojuvenile.Ifthathadbeenthemeaning,thepoetwouldhaveusedsomeotherphrasethan"ofhisfields,"or"hislands,"ashefirstwroteit.

59.Somemute ingloriousMilton.Cf.Phillips, preface toTheatrumPoetarum:"EventheverynamesofsomewhohavingperhapsbeencomparabletoHomerforheroicpoesy,ortoEuripidesfortragedy,yetneverthelesssleepingloriousinthecrowdoftheforgottenvulgar."

60.SomeCromwell, etc.Hales remarks: "Theprejudice againstCromwellwasextremely strong throughout the 18th century, even amongst themore liberal-minded. That cloud of 'detractions rude,' ofwhichMilton speaks in his noblesonnet toour 'chiefofmen'as inhisowndayenveloping thegreat republicanleader,stilllaythickandheavyoverhim.Hiswisestatesmanship,hisunceasingearnestness,hishigh-mindedpurpose,werenotyetseen."

AfterthisstanzaThomasEdwards,theauthoroftheCanonsofCriticism,wouldaddthefollowing,tosupplywhathedeemedadefectinthepoem:

"Somelovelyfair,whoseunaffectedcharmsShonewithattractiontoherselfalone;Whosebeautymighthavebless'damonarch'sarms,Whosevirtuecastalustreonathrone.

"Thathumblebeautywarm'danhonestheart,Andcheer'dthelaboursofafaithfulspouse;Thatvirtueform'dforeverydecentpartThehealthfuloffspringthatadorn'dtheirhouse."

Edwardswasanablecritic,butitisevidentthathewasnopoet.

63.MitfordquotesTickell:

"Toscatterblessingso'ertheBritishland;"

andMrs.Behn:

"Isscatteringplentyoveralltheland."

66.Theirgrowingvirtues.Thatis,thegrowthoftheirvirtues.

67.Towadethroughslaughter,etc.Cf.Pope,Temp.ofFame,347:

"Andswamtoempirethroughthepurpleflood."

68.Cf.Shakes.Hen.V.iii.3:

"Thegatesofmercyshallbeallshutup."

70.Toquenchtheblushes,etc.Cf.Shakes.W.T.iv.3:

"Come,quenchyourblushes,andpresentyourself."

73.Farfromthemaddingcrowd's,etc.RogersquotesDrummond:

"Farfromthemaddingworldling'shoarsediscords."

Mitford points out "the ambiguity of this couplet,which indeed gives a senseexactlycontrarytothatintended;toavoidwhichonemustbreakthegrammaticalconstruction."Thepoet'smeaningis,however,clearenough.

75.WakefieldquotesPope,EpitaphonFenton:

"Foetoloudpraise,andfriendtolearnedease,

Contentwithscienceinthevaleofpeace."

77.Thesebones."Thebonesofthese.SoisisoftenusedinLatin,especiallybyLivy, as in v. 22: 'Ea sola pecunia,' the money derived from that sale, etc."(Hales).

84.Thatteach.Mitfordcensuresteachasungrammatical;butitmaybejustifiedasa"constructionaccordingtosense."

85.Halesremarks:"AtthefirstglanceitmightseemthattodumbForgetfulnessa prey was in apposition towho, and the meaning was, 'Who that now liesforgotten,' etc.; in which case the second line of the stanza must be closelyconnectedwiththefourth;forthequestionofthepassageisnot'Whoeverdied?'but 'Who ever died without wishing to be remembered?' But in this way ofinterpreting this difficult stanza (i.) there is comparatively little force in theappositionalphrase,and(ii.)thereisacertainawkwardnessindeferringsolongtheclause(virtuallyadverbalthoughapparentlycoördinate)inwhich,ashasjustbeennoticed,thepointofthequestionreallylies.Perhapsthereforeitisbettertotake the phrase to dumbForgetfulness a prey as in fact the completion of thepredicateresign'd,andinterpretthus:Whoeverresignedthislifeofhiswithallits pleasures and all its pains to be utterly ignored and forgotten?=who ever,when resigning it, reconciled himself to its being forgotten? In this case thesecondhalfofthestanzaechoesthethoughtofthefirsthalf."

We give the note in full, and leave the reader to take his choice of the twointerpretations. For ourself, we incline to the first rather than the second.WeprefertotaketodumbForgetfulnessapreyasappositionalandproleptic,andnotasthegrammaticalcomplementofresigned:Who,yieldinghimselfupapreytodumbForgetfulness,everresignedthis lifewithoutcastingalonging, lingeringlookbehind?

90. Pious is used in the sense of the Latin pius. Ovid has "piae lacrimae."MitfordquotesPope,ElegyonanUnfortunateLady,49:

"Nofriend'scomplaint,nokinddomestictearPleas'dthypaleghost,orgrac'dthymournfulbier;Byforeignhandsthydyingeyeswereclos'd."

"In this stanza," says Hales, "he answers in an exquisite manner the twoquestions,or rather theonequestion twice repeated,of theprecedingstanza....

Whathewould say is that everyonewhile a sparkof life yet remains in himyearns for some kindly loving remembrance; nay, even after the spark isquenched,evenwhenallisdustandashes,thatyearningmuststillbefelt."

91, 92.Mitford paraphrases the couplet thus: "The voice of Nature still criesfrom the tomb in the language of the epitaph inscribed upon it, which stillendeavours to connectuswith the living; the firesof formeraffectionare stillalivebeneathourashes."

Cf.Chaucer,C.T.3880:

"Yetinourashencoldisfireyreken."

GrayhimselfquotesPetrarch,Sonnet169:

"Ch'iveggionelpensier,dolcemiofuoco,Freddaunalinguaeduebegliocchichiusi,Rimanerdopponoipiendifaville,"

translatedbyNottasfollows:

"These,mysweetfair,sowarnspropheticthought,Clos'dthybrighteye,andmutethypoet'stongue,E'enafterdeathshallstillwithsparksbefraught,"

the "these"meaning his love and his songs concerning it.Gray translated thissonnetintoLatinelegiacs,thelastlinebeingrendered,

"Ardebitqueurnamultafavillamea."

93.OnaMS.variationofthisstanzagivenbyMitford,seeabove,footnote.

95.Chanceisvirtuallyanadverbhere=perchance.

98.Thepeepofdawn.MitfordquotesComus,138:

"Eretheblabbingeasternscout,Thenicemorn,ontheIndiansteepFromhercabin'dloop-holepeep."

99.Cf.Milton,P.L.v.428:

"thoughfromofftheboughseachmorn

Webrushmellifluousdews;"

andArcades,50:

"Andfromtheboughsbrushofftheevildew."

WakefieldquotesThomson,Spring,103:

"Oftletmewandero'erthedewyfields,Wherefreshnessbreathes,anddashthetremblingdropsFromthebentbrush,asthroughtheverdantmazeOfsweetbrierhedgesIpursuemywalk."

100.Uplandlawn.Cf.Milton,Lycidas,25:

"Erethehighlawnsappear'dUndertheopeningeyelidsofthemorn."

In L'Allegro, 92, we have "upland hamlets," where Hales thinks"upland=country,asopposedtotown."Headds,"GrayinhisElegyseemstousethe word loosely for 'on the higher ground;' perhaps he took it fromMilton,without quite understanding inwhat senseMilton uses it."We doubtwhetherHalesunderstandsMiltonhere. It is true thatupland used tomeancountry, asuplandersmeant countrymen, and uplandish countrified (seeNares andWb.),but the other meaning is older than Milton (see Halliwell'sDict. of ArchaicWords), and Johnson, Keightley, and others are probably right in considering"upland hamlets" an instance of it. Masson, in his recent edition of Milton(1875),explainsthe"uplandhamlets"as"littlevillagesamongtheslopes,awayfromtheriver-meadowsandthehay-making."

101.AsMitfordremarks,beechandstretchformanimperfectrhyme.

102.LukequotesSpenser,RuinesofRome,st.28:

"Shewingherwreathedrootesandnakedarmes."

103.His listless length.Hales comparesKingLear, i. 4: "If youwillmeasureyour lubber's length again, tarry."Cf. alsoBrittain's Ida (formerly ascribed toSpenser,butrejectedbythebesteditors),iii.2:

"Hergoodlylengthstretchtonalilly-bed."

104.Cf.Thomson,Spring,644:"dividedbyababblingbrook;"andHorace,Od.iii.13,15:

"undeloquacesLymphaedesiliunttuae."

WakefieldquotesAsYouLikeIt,ii.1:

"AshelayalongUnderanoakwhoseantiquerootpeepsoutUponthebrookthatbrawlsalongthisroad."

105.Smilingasinscorn.Cf.Shakes.Pass.Pilgrim,14:

"Yetatmypartingsweetlydidshesmile,Inscornorfriendship,nillIconstruewhether."

andSkelton,Prol.toB.ofC.:

"SmylyngehalfinscorneAtourfoly."

107.Woeful-wan.Mitfordsays:"Woeful-wanisnotalegitimatecompound,andmustbedividedintotwoseparatewords,forsuchtheyare,whenreleasedfromthehandcuffsofthehyphen."Thehyphenisnotintheeditionof1768,andweshouldomititifitwerenotfoundinthePembrokeMS.

WakefieldquotesSpenser,Shep.Kal.Jan.:

"Forpaleandwannehewas(alasthewhile!)Mayseemehelovd,orelssomecarehetooke."

108."Hopelessishereusedinaprolepticoranticipatoryway"(Hales).

109.Custom'd isGray'sword,not 'custom'd,asusuallyprinted.SeeeitherWb.orWorc.s.v.Cf.Milton,Ep.Damonis:"Simulassuetaseditquesubulmo."

114.Churchwaypath.Cf.Shakes.M.N.D.v.2:

"Nowitisthetimeofnight,Thatthegravesallgapingwide,EveryoneletsforthhisspriteInthechurchwaypathstoglide."

115.Forthoucanstread.The"hoary-headedswain"ofcoursecouldnotread.

116.Grav'd.Theoldformoftheparticipleisgraven,butgravedisalsoingooduse.Theoldpreteritegroveisobsolete.

117.Thelapofearth.Cf.Spenser,F.Q.v.7,9:

"ForotherbedsthePrieststhereusednone,ButontheirmotherEarthsdearelapdidlie;"

andMilton,P.L.x.777:

"Howgladwouldlaymedown,Asinmymother'slap!"

Lucretius (i. 291) has "gremium matris terrai." Mitford adds the patheticsentenceofPliny,Hist.Nat.ii.63:"Namterranovissimecomplexagremiojamareliquanaturaabnegatos,tummaxime,utmater,operit."

123.Hegavetomiseryallhehad,atear.ThisisthepointingofthelineintheMSS. and in all the early editions except that of Mathias, who seems to beresponsible for the change (adopted by the recent editors, almost withoutexception)to,

"HegavetoMisery(allhehad)atear."

Thisaltersthemeaning,marstherhythm,andspoilsthesentiment.Ifonedoesnot see the difference at once, it would be useless to try tomake him see it.Mitford,whooughttohaveknownbetter,notonlythrustsintheparenthesis,butquotesthisfromPope'sHomerasanillustrationofit:

"Hisfame('tisallthedeadcanhave)shalllive."

126. Mitford says that Or in this line should be Nor. Yes, if "draw" is animperative,like"seek;"no,ifit isaninfinitive,inthesameconstructionas"todisclose."That the latterwas the construction the poet had inmind is evidentfromtheformofthestanzaintheWrightsonMS.,where"seek"isrepeated:

"Nofartherseekhismeritstodisclose,Norseektodrawthemfromtheirdreadabode."

127. In tremblinghope.GrayquotesPetrarch,Sonnet 104: "paventosa speme."

Cf.Lucan,Pharsalia,vii.297:"Spetrepido;"Mallet,FuneralHymn,473:

"Withtremblingtendernessofhopeandfear;"

andBeaumont,Psyche,xv.314:

"Dividedheretwixttremblinghopeandfear."

Hooker (Eccl. Pol. i.) defines hope as "a trembling expectation of things farremoved."

Springscene

ODEONTHESPRING.

Theoriginalmanuscripttitleofthisodewas"Noontide."ItwasfirstprintedinDodsley'sCollection,vol.ii.p.271,underthetitleof"Ode."

1.Therosy-bosom'dHours.Cf.Milton,Comus,984:"TheGracesandtherosy-bosom'dHours;"andThomson,Spring,1007:

"Therosy-bosom'dSpringToweepingFancypines."

TheHoræ,orhours,accordingto theHomeric idea,were thegoddessesof theseasons,thecourseofwhichwassymbolicallyrepresentedby"thedanceoftheHours."Theywere often described, in connectionwith theGraces,Hebe, andAphrodite,asaccompanyingwiththeirdancingthesongsoftheMusesandthe

lyreofApollo.Longafter the timeofHomertheycontinuedtoberegardedasthegiversoftheseasons,especiallyspringandautumn,or"Natureinherbloomand hermaturity."At first therewere only twoHoræ, Thallo (or Spring) andKarpo(orAutumn);butlaterthenumberwasthree,likethatoftheGraces.Inarttheyarerepresentedasbloomingmaidens,bearingtheproductsoftheseasons.

2.FairVenus'train.TheHoursadornedAphrodite(Venus)assherosefromthesea, and are often associated with her by Homer, Hesiod, and other classicalwriters. Wakefield remarks: "Venus is here employed, in conformity to themythologyoftheGreeks,asthesourceofcreationandbeauty."

3.Long-expecting.Waiting long for the spring. Sometimes incorrectly printed"long-expected."Cf.Dryden,AstræaRedux,132:"Toflowers that in itswombexpectinglie."

4.Thepurpleyear.Cf.thePervigiliumVeneris,13:"Ipsagemmispurpurantempingit annum floribus;" Pope,Pastorals, i. 28: "And lavish Nature paints thepurpleyear;"andMallet,Zephyr:"Galesthatwakethepurpleyear."

5.TheAtticwarbler.Thenightingale, called "theAtticbird," eitherbecause itwassocommoninAttica,orfromtheoldlegendthatPhilomela(or,assomesay,Procne), the daughter of a king ofAttica,was changed into a nightingale.Cf.Milton'sdescriptionofAthens(P.R.iv.245):

"wheretheAtticbirdTrillsherthick-warblednotesthesummerlong."

Cf.Ovid,Hal.110:"Atticaavisvernasubtempestatequeratus;"andPropertius,ii.16,6:"Atticavolucris."

Poursherthroatisametonymy.H.p.85.Cf.Pope,EssayonMan,iii.33:"Isitfortheethelinnetpoursherthroat?"

6,7.Cf.Thomson,Spring,577:

"Fromthefirstnotethehollowcuckoosings,Thesymphonyofspring."

9,10.Cf.Milton,Comus,989:

"Andwestwindswithmuskywing

AboutthecedarnalleysflingNardandcassia'sbalmysmells."

12.Cf.Milton,P.L.iv.245:"Wheretheunpierc'dshadeImbrown'dthenoontidebowers;" Pope,Eloisa, 170: "And breathes a browner horror on the woods;"Thomson,Castleof Indolence, i.38:"OrAutumn'svariedshades imbrownthewalls."

According toRuskin(ModernPainters, vol. iii. p. 241,Amer. ed.) there is nobrown in nature. After remarking that Dante "does not acknowledge theexistenceof thecolourofbrown at all," hegoeson to say: "Butoneday, justwhen Iwaspuzzlingmyselfabout this, Ihappened tobesittingbyoneofourbestlivingmoderncolourists,watchinghimathiswork,whenhesaid,suddenlyand by mere accident, after we had been talking about other things, 'Do youknow I have found that there is no brown in nature?What we call brown isalwaysavarietyeitheroforangeorpurple.Itnevercanberepresentedbyumber,unlessalteredbycontrast.' It iscurioushowfar thesignificanceof thisremarkextends,howexquisitelyitillustratesandconfirmsthemediævalsenseofhue,"etc.

14.O'ercanopiestheglade.GrayhimselfquotesShakes.M.N.D.ii.1:"Abanko'ercanopiedwithlusciouswoodbine."1Cf.Fletcher,PurpleIsland,i.5,30:"Thebeechshallyieldacool,safecanopy;"andMilton,Comus,543:"abank,Withivycanopied."

1Thereadingofthefolioof1623is:

"Iknowabankewherethewildetimeblowes,WhereOxslipsandthenoddingVioletgrowes,Quiteouer-cannopedwithlusciouswoodbine."

Dyceandsomeothermoderneditorsread,

"Quiteovercanopiedwithlushwoodbine."

15.Rushybrink.Cf.Comus,890:"Bytherushy-fringedbank."

19,20.Theselines,asfirstprinted,read:

"Howlow,howindigenttheproud!Howlittlearethegreat!"

22. The panting herds. Cf. Pope, Past. ii. 87: "To closer shades the pantingflocksremove."

23.Thepeopledair.Cf.Walton,C.A.:"Nowthewing'dpeopleoftheskyshallsing;" Beaumont, Psyche: "Every tree empeopled was with birds of softestthroats."

24.Thebusymurmur.Cf.Milton,P.R.iv.248:"bees'industriousmurmur."

25.Theinsectyouth.PerhapssuggestedbyalineinGreen'sHermitage,quotedin a letter ofGray toWalpole: "Frommaggot-youth through change of state,"etc.Seeon31below.

26.Thehoniedspring.Cf.Milton,IlPens.142:"thebeewithhoniedthigh;"andLyc.140:"thehoniedshowers."

"Therehasoflatearisen,"saysJohnsoninhisLifeofGray,"apracticeofgivingtoadjectivesderivedfromsubstantivestheterminationofparticiples,suchastheculturedplain,thedaisiedbank;but Iamsorry tosee in the linesofascholarlikeGraythehoniedspring."But,aswehaveseen,honied is found inMilton;andShakespearealsousesitinHen.V.i.1:"honey'dsentences."MellitusisusedbyCicero,Horace, andCatullus. The editor of anEnglish dictionary, asLordGrenville has remarked, ought to know "that the ready conversion of oursubstancesintoverbs,participles,andparticipialadjectivesisoftheveryessenceofourtongue,derivedfromitsSaxonorigin,andamainsourceofitsenergyandrichness."

27. The liquid noon. Gray quotes Virgil, Geo. iv. 59: "Nare per aestatemliquidam."

30.Quick-glancingtothesun.GrayquotesMilton,P.L.vii.405:

"Sportingwithquickglance,Showtothesuntheirwavedcoatsdroptwithgold."

31.GrayherequotesGreen,Grotto:"Whileinsectsfromthethresholdpreach."InalettertoWalpole,hesays:"Isendyouabitofathingfortworeasons:first,becauseitisofoneofyourfavourites,Mr.M.Green;andnext,becauseIwoulddo justice. The thought on whichmy secondOde turns [this Ode, afterwardsplaced first byGray] ismanifestly stole from hence; not that I knew it at the

time,buthavingseenthismanyyearsbefore,tobesureitimprinteditselfonmymemory, and, forgetting the Author, I took it for my own." Then comes thequotationfromGreen'sGrotto.Thepassagereferringtotheinsectsisasfollows:

"Tothemind'sear,andinwardsight,Theresilencespeaks,andshadegiveslight:Whileinsectsfromthethresholdpreach,Andmindsdispos'dtomusingteach;Proudofstronglimbsandpaintedhues,Theyperishbytheslightestbruise;OrmaladiesbegunwithinDestroymoreslowlife'sfrailmachine:Frommaggot-youth,thro'changeofstate,Theyfeellikeustheturnsoffate:Someborntocreephaveliv'dtofly,Andchang'dearth'scellsfordwellingshigh:Andsomethatdidtheirsixwingskeep,Beforetheydied,beenforc'dtocreep.Theypolitics,likeours,profess;Thegreaterpreyupontheless.Somestrainonfoothugeloadstobring,Sometoilincessantonthewing:NorfromtheirvigorousschemesdesistTilldeath;andthentheyarenevermist.Somefrolick,toil,marry,increase,Aresickandwell,havewarandpeace;Andbrokewithageinhalfaday,Yieldtosuccessors,andaway."

47.Paintedplumage.Cf. Pope,WindsorForest, 118: "His paintedwings; andMilton,P.L.vii.433:

"FrombranchtobranchthesmallerbirdswithsongSolacedthewoods,andspreadtheirpaintedwings."

See also Virgil, Geo. iii. 243, and Æn. iv. 525: "pictaeque volucres;" andPhædrus,Fab.iii.18:"pictisqueplumis."

Butterfly

ODEONTHEDEATHOFAFAVOURITECAT.

This ode first appeared in Dodsley's Collection, vol. ii. p. 274, with somevariationsnoticedbelow.Walpole,afterthedeathofGray,placedthechinavaseonapedestalatStrawberryHill,withafewlinesoftheodeforaninscription.

InalettertoWalpole,datedMarch1,1747,Grayreferstothesubjectoftheodeinthefollowingjocosestrain:"Asoneoughttobeparticularlycarefultoavoidblunders in a complimentof condolence, itwouldbea sensible satisfaction tome(beforeItestifymysorrow,andthesincerepartItakeinyourmisfortune)toknowforcertainwhoitisIlament.IknewZaraandSelima(Selima,wasit?orFatima?),orratherIknewthembothtogether;forIcannotjustlysaywhichwaswhich.ThenastoyourhandsomeCat,thenameyoudistinguishherby,Iamnoless at a loss, aswell knowingone'shandsomecat is always the cat one likesbest; or if one be alive and the other dead, it is usually the latter that is thehandsomest.Besides,ifthepointwereneversoclear,Ihopeyoudonotthinkmesoill-bredorsoimprudentastoforfeitallmyinterestinthesurvivor;ohno!Iwouldratherseemtomistake,andimaginetobesureitmustbethetabbyonethathadmetwith thissadaccident.Till thisaffair isa littlebetterdetermined,youwillexcusemeifIdonotbegintocry,

Tempusinanepeto,requiemspatiumquedoloris.

"...Heighho! I feel (asyou tobe surehavedone longsince) that Ihaveverylittletosay,atleastinprose.Somebodywillbethebetterforit;Idonotmeanyou,butyourCat,feuëMademoiselleSelime,whomIamabouttoimmortalizefor one week or fortnight, as follows: [the Ode follows, which we need notreprinthere].

"There'sapoemforyou,itisrathertoolongforanEpitaph."

2.Cf.LadyM.W.Montagu,TownEclogues:

"Wherethetalljarerectsitsstatelypride,

WithanticshapesinChina'sazuredyed."

3.The azure flowers that blow. Johnson andWakefield find faultwith this asredundant, but it is no more so than poetic usage allows. In the Progress ofPoesy, i. 1,we have again: "The laughing flowers that round themblow."Cf.Comus,992:

"IristherewithhumidbowWaterstheodorousbanksthatblowFlowersofmoremingledhueThanherpurfledscarfcanshew."

4.Tabby.For thederivationof thiswordfromtheFrench tabis,akindofsilk,seeWb.Inthefirsted.the5thlineprecededthe4th.

6.Thelake.Inthemock-heroicveinthatrunsthroughthewholepoem.

11. Jet. This word comes, through the French, from Gagai, a town in Lycia,wherethemineralwasfirstobtained.

14. Two angel forms. In the first ed. "two beauteous forms," which Mitfordprefers to thepresent reading,"as the imagesofangelandgenii interferewitheachother,andbringdifferentassociationstothemind."

16.Tyrianhue.Explainedbythe"purple"innextline;anallusiontothefamousTyriandyeoftheancients.Cf.Pope,WindsorForest,142:"withfinsofTyriandye."

17.Cf.Virgil,Geo.iv.274:

"Aureusipse;sedinfoliis,quaeplurimacircumFunduntur,violaesublucetpurpuranigrae."

SeealsoPope,WindsorForest,332:"Hisshininghornsdiffus'dagoldenglow;"TempleofFame,253:"Andlucidambercastsagoldengleam."

24. In the 1st ed. "What cat's a foe to fish?" and in the next line, "with eyesintent."

31.Eighttimes.Alludingtotheproverbial"ninelives"ofthecat.

34.No dolphin came. An allusion to the story of Arion, who when thrown

overboardbythesailorsforthesakeofhiswealthwasbornesafelytolandbyadolphin.

NoNereidstirr'd.Cf.Milton,Lycidas,50:

"Wherewereye,Nymphs,whentheremorselessdeepClosedo'ertheheadofyourlov'dLycidas?"

35,36.Thereadingof1sted.is,

"NorcruelTomnorHarryheard.Whatfavouritehasafriend?"

40.The1sted.has"Notallthatstrikes,"etc.

42.Norallthatglistersgold.AfavouriteproverbwiththeoldEnglishpoets.Cf.Chaucer,C.T.16430:

"ButallthingwhichthatshinethasthegoldNeisnogold,asIhaveherdittold;"

Spenser,F.Q.ii.8,14:

"Yetgoldallisnot,thatdothgoldenseeme;"

Shakes.M.ofV.ii.7:

"Allthatglistersisnotgold;Oftenhaveyouheardthattold;"

Dryden,HindandPanther:

"All,astheysay,thatglittersisnotgold."

Otherexamplesmightbegiven.Glisten isnot found inShakes.orMilton,butbothuseglister several times.SeeW.T. iii. 2;Rich. II. iii. 3;T. A. ii. 1, etc.;Lycidas,79;Comus,219;P.L.iii.550;iv.645,653,etc.

ETONCOLLEGEETONCOLLEGE.

ODEONADISTANTPROSPECTOFETONCOLLEGE.

This, as Mason informs us, was the first English1 production of Gray's thatappeared in print. It was published, in folio, in 1747; and appeared again inDodsley'sCollection,vol.ii.p.267,withoutthenameoftheauthor.

1 A Latin poem by him, a "Hymeneal" on the Prince of Wales's Marriage, had appeared in theCambridgeCollectionin1736.

Hazlitt(LecturesonEnglishPoets)saysofthisOde:"Itismoremechanicalandcommonplace[thantheElegy];butittouchesoncertainstringsabouttheheart,that vibrate in unison with it to our latest breath. No one ever passes by

Windsor's 'stately heights,' or sees the distant spires of Eton College below,without thinking of Gray. He deserves that we should think of him; for hethought of others, and turned a trembling, ever-watchful ear to 'the still sadmusicofhumanity.'"

The writer in the North American Review (vol. xcvi.), after referring to thepublication of this Ode, which, "according to the custom of the time, wasjudiciouslyswathedinfolio,"adds:

"About this timeGray's portraitwas painted, atWalpole's request; and on thepaperwhich he is represented as holding,Walpolewrote the title of theOde,withalinefromLucan:

'Neclicuitpopulisparvumte,Nile,videre.'

Thepoemmetwithverylittleattentionuntilitwasrepublishedin1751,withafewotherofhisOdes.Gray,inspeakingofittoWalpole,inconnectionwiththeOde to Spring, merely says that to him 'the latter seems not worse than theformer.' But the former has always been the greater favourite—perhaps morefrom the matter than the manner. It is the expression of the memories, thethoughts, and the feelingswhich arise unbidden in themindof theman as helooks once more on the scenes of his boyhood. He feels a new youth in thepresenceof thoseold joys.But theold friendsarenot there.Generationshavecome and gone, and an unknown race now frolic in boyish glee. His sad,propheticeyecannothelplookingintothefuture,andcomparingthesecarelessjoyswiththeinevitableillsoflife.Alreadyheseesthefurypassionsinwaitfortheir littlevictims.Theyseempresent tohim, likeverydemons.Our languagecontains no finer, more graphic personifications than these almost tangibleshapes. Spenser ismore circumstantial, Collinsmore vehement, but neither ismore real.Though but outlines inminiature, they are as distinct asDutch art.Every epithet is a lifelike picture; not a word could be changed withoutdestroying the tone of the whole. At last the musing poet asks himself, Cuibono? Why thus borrow trouble from the future?Why summon so soon thecominglocusts,topoisonbeforetheirtimethegladwatersofyouth?

'Yetah!whyshouldtheyknowtheirfate,Sincesorrownevercomestoolate.Andhappinesstooquicklyflies?Thoughtwoulddestroytheirparadise.Nomore;—whereignoranceisbliss,'Tisfollytobewise.'

Sofeelingandthewantoffeelingcometogetherforonceinthemoral.ThegayRomansatirist—theapostleofindifferentism—reachesthesamegoal,thoughhehastravelledadifferentroad.ToThaliarchushesays:

'Quidsitfuturumcras,fugequaerere:etQuemForsdierumcumquedabit,lucroAppone.'

The same easy-going philosophy of life forms the key-note of the Ode toLeuconoë:

'Carpediem,quamminimumcredulapostero;'

ofthattoQuinctiusHirpinus:

'QuidaeternisminoremConsiliisanimumfatigas?'

ofthattoPompeiusGrosphus:

'Laetusinpraesensanimus,quodultraest,Oderitcurare.'

Andsowithmanyothers.'Takenothoughtofthemorrow.'"

WakefieldtranslatestheGreekmotto,"Manisanabundantsubjectofcalamity."

2.That crown the watery glade. Cf. Pope,Windsor Forest, 128: "And lonelywoodcockshauntthewateryglade."

4.Her Henry's holy shade. Henry the Sixth, founder of the college. Cf. TheBard, ii.3:"themeekusurper'sholyhead;"Shakes.Rich.III.v.1:"HolyKingHenry;" Id. iv.4: "WhenholyHarrydied."Theking, thoughnevercanonized,wasregardedasasaint.

5.Andye.Ye"towers;"thatis,ofWindsorCastle.Cf.Thomson,Summer,1412:

"AndnowtowhereMajesticWindsorliftshisprincelybrow."

8.Whose turf,whoseshade,whose flowersamong. "That is, the turfofwhoselawn,theshadeofwhosegroves, the flowersofwhosemead"(Wakefield).Cf.Hamlet,iii.1:"Thecourtier's,soldier's,scholar'seye,tongue,sword."

In Anglo-Saxon and Early English prepositions were often placed after theirobjects. In theElizabethan period the transposition of theweaker prepositionswasnotallowed,exceptinthecompoundswhereto,herewith,etc.(cf.theLatinquocum,secum),but the longerformswerestill, thoughrarely, transposed(seeShakes.Gr.203);andinmorerecentwritersthislatterlicenseisextremelyrare.Even the use of the preposition after the relative,whichwas very common inShakespeare'sday,isnowavoided,exceptincolloquialstyle.

9.ThehoaryThames. The river-god is pictured in the old classic fashion.Cf.Milton,Lycidas,103:"NextCamus,reverendsire,wentfootingslow."SeealsoquotationfromDrydeninnoteon21below.

THERIVER-GODTIBERTHERIVER-GODTIBER.

10.Hissilver-windingway.Cf.Thomson,Summer,1425:"ThematchlessvaleofThames,Fair-windingup,"etc.

12.Ah, fields belov'd in vain! Mitford remarks that this expression has beenconsideredobscure,andaddsthefollowingexplanation:"Thepoemiswritteninthe character of one who contemplates this life as a scene of misfortune andsorrow, fromwhose fatal power the brief sunshineof youth is supposed to beexempt. The fields are beloved as the scene of youthful pleasures, and asaffordingthepromiseofhappinesstocome;butthispromiseneverwasfulfilled.Fate,whichdoomsmantomisery,soonovercloudedtheseopeningprospectsofdelight.That is invainbelovedwhichdoesnot realize theexpectations itheldout. No fruit but that of disappointment has followed the blossoms of athoughtlesshope."

13.Whereoncemycarelesschildhoodstray'd.WakefieldcitesThomson,Winter,6:

"withfrequentfootPleas'dhaveI,inmycheerfulmornoflife,Whennurs'dbycarelessSolitudeIliv'd,AndsungofNaturewithunceasingjoy,Pleas'dhaveIwander'd,"etc.

15. That from ye blow. In Early English ye is nominative, you accusative(objective).This distinction, though observed in our version of theBible,wasdisregardedbyElizabethanwriters(Shakes.Gr.236),asithasoccasionallybeenbythepoetseventoourownday.Cf.Shakes.Hen.VIII.iii.1:"Themoreshamefor ye; holy men I thought ye;" Milton,Comus, 216: "I see ye visibly," etc.Dryden,inacoupletquotedbyGuest,usesbothformsinthesameline:

"Whatgainyoubyforbiddingittoteaseye?Itnowcanneithertroubleyounorpleaseye."

19.GrayquotesDryden,FableonPythag.Syst.:"Andbeestheirhoneyredolentofspring."

21.Say,fatherThames,etc.ThisinvocationistakenfromGreen'sGrotto:

"Say,fatherThames,whosegentlepaceGivesleavetoview,whatbeautiesgraceYourflowerybanks,ifyouhaveseen."

Cf.Dryden,AnnusMirabilis,st.232:"OldfatherThamesraiseduphisreverendhead."

Dr.Johnson,inhishypercriticalcommentsonthisOde,says:"HissupplicationtoFatherThames,totellhimwhodrivesthehooportossestheball, isuselessandpuerile.FatherThameshasnobettermeansofknowing thanhimself."TowhichMitford replies by asking, "Arewe by this rule to judge the followingpassageinthetwentiethchapterofRasselas?'Astheyweresittingtogether,theprincess cast her eyeson the river that flowedbeforeher: "Answer," said she,"greatFatherofWaters,thouthatrollestthyfloodsthrougheightynations,totheinvocationofthedaughterofthynativeking.Tellme,ifthouwaterest,throughallthycourse,asinglehabitationfromwhichthoudostnothearthemurmursofcomplaint."'"

23.Margentgreen.Cf.Comus,232:"ByslowMæander'smargentgreen."

24.Cf.Pope,EssayonMan,iii.233:"ToVirtue,inthepathsofPleasure,trod."

26. Thy glassy wave. Cf. Comus, 861: "Under the glassy, cool, translucentwave."

27.The captive linnet. The adjective is redundant and "proleptic," as the birdmustbe"enthralled"beforeitcanbecalled"captive."

28.IntheMS.thislinereads,"Tochasethehoop'sillusivespeed,"whichseemstousbetterthantherevisedforminthetext.

30.Cf.Pope,Dunciad,iv.592:"Thesenatoratcricketurgetheball."

37.Cf.Cowley,OdetoHobbes,iv.7:"Tillunknownregionsitdescries."

40.Afearfuljoy.WakefieldquotesMatt.xxviii.8andPsalmsii.11.Cf.Virgil,Æn.i.513:

"ObstupuitsimulipsesimulperculsusAchatesLaetitiaquemetuque."

SeealsoLear,v.3:"'Twixttwoextremesofpassion,joyandgrief."

44.Cf.Pope,Eloisa,209:"Eternalsunshineofthespotlessmind;"andEssayonMan,iv.168:"Thesoul'scalmsunshine,andtheheartfeltjoy."

45.Buxom.Usedhere in itsmodern sense. It originallymeant pliant, flexible,yielding(fromA.S.búgan,tobow);then,gay,frolicsome,lively;andatlastitbecame associatedwith the "cheerful comeliness" of vigorous health.Chaucerhas "buxom to ther lawe," andSpenser (State of Ireland), "more tractable andbuxome to his government." Cf. also F. Q. i. 11, 37: "the buxome aire;" anexpressionwhichMiltonusestwice(P.L.ii.842,v.270).InL'Allegro,24:"Sobuxom, blithe, and debonaire;" the only other instance in which he uses theword, itmeanssprightlyor"free"(as in"Comethougoddess, fairandfree,"afewlinesbefore).Cf.Shakes.Pericles,i.prologue:

"Sobuxom,blithe,andfullofface,Asheavenhadlentherallhisgrace."

The word occurs nowhere else in Shakes. exceptHen. V. iii. 6: "Of buxomvalour;"thatis,livelyvalour.

Dr.Johnsonappearstohavehadinmindtheoriginalmeaningofbuxom inhiscommentonthispassage:"Hisepithetbuxomhealthisnotelegant;heseemsnottounderstandtheword."

47. Lively cheer. Cf. Spenser, Shep. Kal. Apr.: "In either cheeke depeinctenlivelychere;"Milton,Ps.lxxxiv.27:"Withjoyandgladsomecheer."

49.WakefieldquotesMilton,P.L.v.3:

"WhenAdamwak'd,socustom'd;forhissleepWasairylight,frompuredigestionbred,Andtemperatevapoursbland."

51.Regardlessoftheirdoom.Collins,inthefirstmanuscriptofhisOdeon theDeathofCol.Ross,has

"E'ennow,regardfulofhisdoom,ApplaudingHonourhauntshistomb."2

2Mitfordgivesthefirstlineas"E'ennow,regardlessofhisdoom;"andjustbelow,onverse61,hemakes the line fromPope read, "The fury Passions from that flood began."We have verified hisquotationsasfaraspossible,andhavecorrectedscoresoferrorsinthem.Quitelikelytherearesomeerrorsinthosewehavenotbeenabletoverify.

55.Yetsee,etc.MitfordcitesBroome,OdeonMelancholy:

"Whileroundsternministersoffate,PainandDiseaseandSorrow,wait;"

andOtway,Alcibiades, v. 2: "Then enter, ye grimministers of fate." See alsoProgressofPoesy,ii.1:"Man'sfeeblerace,"etc.

59.Murtherous.Theobsoletespellingofmurderous,stillusedinGray'stime.

61.ThefuryPassions.Thepassions,fierceandcruelasthemythicalFuries.Cf.Pope,EssayonMan,iii.167:"ThefuryPassionsfromthatbloodbegan."

66.MitfordquotesSpenser,F.Q.:

"ButgnawingJealousyoutoftheirsight,Sittingalone,hisbitterlipsdidbite."

68. Wakefield quotes Milton, Sonnet to Mr. Lawes: "With praise enough forEnvytolookwan."

69.Grim-visag'd,comfortlessDespair.Cf.Shakes.Rich.III.i.1:"Grim-visag'dWar;"andC.ofE.v.1:"grimandcomfortlessDespair."

76.Unkindness'alteredeye."Anungracefulelision"ofthepossessiveinflection,asMasoncallsit.Cf.Dryden,HindandPanther, iii.:"AffectedKindnesswithanalter'dface."

79.GrayquotesDryden,Pal.andArc.:"Madnesslaughinginhisirefulmood."Cf. Shakes. Hen. VI. iv. 2: "But rather moody mad;" and iii. 1: "Moodydiscontentedfury."

81.Thevaleofyears.Cf.Othello,iii.3:"Declin'dIntothevaleofyears."

82.Grisly.Nottobeconfoundedwithgrizzly.SeeWb.

83.Thepainful familyofdeath.Cf.Pope,EssayonMan, ii. 118: "Hate,Fear,andGrief, the familyofPain;"andDryden,Stateof Innocence,v.1:"WithallthenumerousfamilyofDeath."Onthewholepassagecf.Milton,P.L.xi.477-493.SeealsoVirgil,Æn.vi.275.

86.Thatevery labouringsinewstrains.Anexampleof the"correspondenceofsoundwithsense."AsPopesays(EssayonCriticism,371),

"Thelinetoolabours,andthewordsmoveslow."

90. Slow-consuming Age. Cf. Shenstone, Love and Honour: "His slow-consumingfires."

95.AsWakefieldremarks,wemeetwiththesamethoughtinComus,359:

"Peace,brother,benotover-exquisiteTocastthefashionofuncertainevils;Forgranttheybeso,whiletheyrestunknownWhatneedamanforestallhisdateofgrief,Andruntomeetwhathewouldmostavoid?"

97.Happinesstooswiftlyflies.PerhapsareminiscenceofVirgil,Geo.iii.66:

"OptimaquaequediesmiserismortalibusaeviPrimafugit."

98.Thought would destroy their paradise.Wakefield quotes Sophocles,Ajax,554:[Greek:Entôiphroneingarmêdenhêdistosbios]("Absenceofthoughtisprimefelicity").

99.Cf.Prior,Ep.toMontague,st.9:

"Fromignoranceourcomfortflows,Theonlywretchedarethewise."

andDavenant,JustItalian:"Sinceknowledgeisbutsorrow'sspy,itisnotsafetoknow."

WINDSORCASTLEWINDSORCASTLE,FROMTHEENDOFTHELONGWALK.

HOMERENTHRONEDHOMERENTHRONED.

THEPROGRESSOFPOESY.

ThisOde,aswelearnfromoneofGray'sletterstoWalpole,wasfinished,withtheexceptionofa few lines, in1755. Itwasnotpublisheduntil1757,when itappeared with The Bard in a quarto volume, which was the first issue ofWalpole'spressatStrawberryHill.InoneofhislettersWalpolewrites:"Isendyoutwocopiesofaveryhonourableopeningofmypress—twoamazingodesofMr.Gray.TheyareGreek, theyarePindaric, theyare sublime, consequently Ifearalittleobscure;thesecondparticularly,bytheconfinementofthemeasureandthenatureofpropheticvision,ismysterious.Icouldnotpersuadehimtoaddmorenotes."InanotherletterWalpolesays:"IfoundGrayintownlastweek;hehadbroughthistwoodestobeprinted.IsnatchedthemoutofDodsley'shands,andtheyaretobethefirst-fruitsofmypress."Thetitle-pageofthevolumeisas

follows:

ODESBY

MR.GRAY.[Greek:PHÔNANTASUNETOISI]—PINDAR,Olymp,II.

PRINTEDATSTRAWBERRY-HILL,forR.andJ.DODSLEYinPall-Mall.

MDCCLVII.

BothOdeswere coldly received at first. "Evenmy friends,"writesGray, in alettertoHurd,Aug.25,1757,"tellmetheydonotsucceed,andwritememovingtopicsofconsolationonthathead.Inshort,IhaveheardofnobodybutanActor[Garrick] and a Doctor of Divinity [Warburton] that profess their esteem forthem.Ohyes,aLadyofquality(afriendofMason's)whoisagreatreader.SheknewtherewasacomplimenttoDryden,butneversuspectedtherewasanythingsaid aboutShakespeareorMilton, till itwas explained toher, andwishes thatthere had been titles prefixed to tellwhat theywere about."1 In a letter toDr.Wharton,datedAug.17,1757,he says: "Ihearwearenot at all popular.Thegreat objection is obscurity, nobodyknowswhatwewould be at.Oneman (aPeer) I have been told of, that thinks the last stanza of the 2dOde relates toCharlestheFirstandOliverCromwell;inshort,the[Greek:Sunetoi]appeartobestillfewerthanevenIexpected."AwriterintheCriticalReviewthoughtthat"Æolianlyre"meanttheÆolianharp.ColemantheelderandRobertLloydwroteparodies entitled Odes to Obscurity and Oblivion. Gray finally had to addexplanatorynotes,thoughheintimatesthathisreadersoughtnottohaveneededthem.2

1ForsterremarksthatGraymighthaveaddedtotheadmirersoftheOdes"thepoormonthlycriticofTheDunciad"—Oliver Goldsmith, then beginning his London career as a bookseller's hack. In areviewof theOdes in theLondonMonthlyReview forSept.,1757,aftercitingcertainpassagesofThe Bard, he says that they "will give as much pleasure to those who relish this species ofcompositionasanythingthathashithertoappearedinourlanguage,theodesofDrydenhimselfnotexcepted."

2Inafoot-notehesays:"WhentheauthorfirstpublishedthisandthefollowingOde,hewasadvised,even by his friends, to subjoin some few explanatory notes; but had too much respect for theunderstandingofhisreaderstotakethatliberty."

InalettertoBeattie,datedFeb.1,1768,referringtotheneweditionofhispoems,hesays:"Astothenotes,Idoitoutofspite,becausethepublicdidnotunderstandthetwoOdes(whichIhavecalledPindaric), though thefirstwasnotverydark,and thesecondalluded toa fewcommonfacts tobefoundinanysixpennyhistoryofEngland,bywayofquestionandanswer,fortheuseofchildren."

And in a letter toWalpole, Feb. 25, 1768, he says he has added "certain littleNotes, partly fromjustice(toacknowledgethedebtwhereIhadborrowedanything),partlyfromilltemper,justtotellthegentlereaderthatEdwardI.wasnotOliverCromwell,norQueenElizabeththeWitchofEndor."

Mr.Fox,afterwardsLordHolland,saidthat"iftheBardrecitedhisOdeonlyoncetoEdward,hewassurehecouldnotunderstand it."When thiswas told toGray,hesaid, "Ifhehad recited it twentytimes,Edwardwouldnothavebeenabitwiser;butthatwasnoreasonwhyMr.Foxshouldnot."

"ThemetreoftheseOdesisconstructedonGreekmodels.Itisnotuniformbutsymmetrical. The nine stanzas of each ode form three groups. A slightexamination will show that the 1st, 4th, and 7th stanzas are exactly inter-correspondent;sothe2d,5th,and8th;andsotheremainingthree.ThetechnicalGreek names for these three parts were [Greek: strophê] (strophe), [Greek:antistrophê](antistrophe),and[Greek:epôdos](epodos)—theTurn,theCounter-turn,andtheAfter-song—namesderivedfromthetheatre;theTurndenotingthemovementoftheChorusfromonesideofthe[Greek:orchêstra](orchestra),orDance-stage,totheother,theCounter-turnthereversemovement,theAfter-songsomethingsungaftertwosuchmovements.OdesthusconstructedwerecalledbytheGreeksEpodic.Congreve is said tohavebeen the firstwhosoconstructedEnglishodes.Thissystemcannotbesaidtohaveprosperedwithus.PerhapsnoEnglish earwould instinctively recognize that correspondence between distantpartswhich is thesecretof it.CertainlyverymanyreadersofTheProgress ofPoesyarewhollyunconsciousofanysuchharmony"(Hales).

ALCÆUSANDSAPPHOALCÆUSANDSAPPHO.FROMAPAINTINGONAVASE.

1.Awake,Æolianlyre.TheblunderoftheCriticalReviewerswhosupposedthe"harpofÆolus"tobemeantledGraytoinsertthisnote:"Pindarstyleshisownpoetrywithitsmusicalaccompaniments,[Greek:Aiolismolpê,Aiolideschordai,Aiolidôn pnoai aulôn],Æolian song,Æolian strings, the breath of theÆolianflute."

Cf.Cowley,OdeofDavid: "Awake,awake,my lyre!"GrayhimselfquotesPs.lvii.8.ThefirstreadingofthelineintheMS.was,"Awake,mylyre:myglory,wake."Grayalsoaddsthefollowingnote:"Thesubjectandsimile,asusualwithPindar,areunited.Thevarioussourcesofpoetry,whichgiveslifeandlustretoall it touches, are here described; its quiet majestic progress enriching everysubject(otherwisedryandbarren)withapompofdictionandluxuriantharmony

ofnumbers;anditsmorerapidandirresistiblecourse,whenswollenandhurriedawaybytheconflictoftumultuouspassions."

2.Andgivetorapture.ThefirstreadingoftheMS.was"givetotransport."

3.Helicon'sharmonioussprings.InthemountainrangeofHelicon,inBoeotia,there were two fountains sacred to the Muses, Aganippe and Hippocrene, ofwhichtheformerwasthemorefamous.

7.Cf.Pope,Hor.Epist.ii.2,171:

"Pourthefulltideofeloquencealong,Serenelypure,andyetdivinelystrong;"

andOdeonSt.Cecilia'sDay,11:

"Thedeep,majestic,solemnorgansblow;"

alsoThomson,Liberty,ii.257:

"Inthyfulllanguagespeakingmightythings,Likeacleartorrentclose,orelsediffus'dAbroadmajesticstream,androllingonThroughallthewindingharmonyofsound."

9.Cf.Shenstone,Inscr.:"Verdantvalesandfountainsbright;"alsoVirgil,Geo.i.96:"FlavaCeres;"andHomer,Il.v.499:[Greek:xanthêDêmêtêr].

10.Rolling.Spelled"rowling"inthe1standotherearlyeditions.

Amain.Cf.Lycidas,111:"Thegoldenopes,theironshutsamain;"P.L. ii.165:"whenwefledamain,"etc.AlsoShakes.Temp.iv.1:"Herpeacocksflyamain,"etc. The word means literally with main (which we still use in "might andmain"), that is,with forceor strength.Cf.Horace,Od. iv.2,8: "ImmensusqueruitprofundoPindarusore."

11.ThefirstMS.readingwas,"Withtorrentraptureseeitpour."

12.Cf.Dryden,Virgil'sGeo.i.:"Androcksthebellowingvoiceofboilingseasresound;"Pope,Iliad:"Rocksrebellowtotheroar."

13."Powerofharmonytocalmtheturbulentsalliesofthesoul.Thethoughtsare

borrowedfromthefirstPythianofPindar"(Gray).

14. Solemn-breathing airs. Cf. Comus, 555: "a soft and solemn-breathingsound."

15.Enchanting shell. That is, lyre; alluding to the myth of the origin of theinstrument,whichMercurywassaid tohavemadefromtheshellofa tortoise.Cf.Collins,Passions,3:"ThePassionsoft,tohearhershell,"etc.

17.OnThracia'shills.ThracewasoneofthechiefseatsoftheworshipofMars.Cf.Ovid,ArsAm.ii.588:"MarsThracenoccupat."SeealsoVirgil,Æn.iii.35,etc.

19.Histhirstylance.Cf.Spenser,F.Q.i.5,15:"histhristy[thirsty]blade."

20. Gray says, "This is a weak imitation of some beautiful lines in the sameode;"thatis, in"thefirstPythianofPindar,"referredtointhenoteon13.Thepassageisanaddresstothelyre,andistranslatedbyWakefieldthus:

"OnJove'simperialrodthekingofbirdsDropsdownhisflaggingwings;thythrillingsoundsSoothehisfiercebeak,andpourasablecloudOfslumberonhiseyelids:upheliftsHisflexileback,shotbythypiercingdarts.Marssmoothshisruggedbrow,andnervelessdropsHislance,relentingatthechoralsong."

21.Thefeather'dking.Cf.Shakes.PhoenixandTurtle:

"Everyfowloftyrantwing,Savetheeagle,feather'dking."

23.Darkclouds.ThefirstreadingofMS.was"blackclouds."

24.Theterror.Thisisthereadingofthefirsted.andalsoofthatof1768.Mostofthemoderneds.have"terrors."

25."Powerofharmonytoproduceallthegracesofmotioninthebody"(Gray).

26.Temper'd.Modulated,"set."Cf.Lycidas,33:"Temperedtotheoatenflute;"Fletcher,PurpleIsland:"Temperingtheirsweetestnotesuntothylay,"etc.

27.O'erIdalia'svelvet-green.IdaliaappearstobeusedforIdalium,whichwasatowninCyprus,andafavouriteseatofVenus,whowassometimescalledIdalia.Pope likewise uses Idalia for the place, in his First Pastoral, 65: "CelestialVenushauntsIdalia'sgroves."

Dr. Johnson finds fault with velvet-green, apparently supposing it to be acompoundofGray'sownmaking.ButYounghadusedit inhisLoveofFame:"She rears her flowers, and spreads her velvet-green." It is also among theexpressionsofPopewhichareridiculedintheAlexandriad.

29.Cytherea was a name of Venus, derived from Cythera, an island in theÆgeanSea,oneof the favourite residencesofAphrodite,orVenus.Cf.Virgil,Æn.i.680:"superaltaCytheraAutsuperIdalium,sacratasede,"etc.

30.Withantic Sports.This is the readingof the 1st ed. and also of the ed. of1768.Someeds.have"sport."

Anticisthesamewordasantique.Theassociationbetweenwhatisoldorold-fashionedandwhatisodd,fantastic,orgrotesqueisobviousenough.Cf.Milton,IlPens.158:"Withantickpillarsmassy-proof."InS.A.1325heusesthewordasanoun:"Jugglersanddancers,anticks,mummers,mimicks."Shakes.makesitaverbinA.andC.ii.7:"thewilddisguisehathalmostAntick'dusall."

31.Cf.Thomson,Spring,835:"InfriskfulgleeTheirfrolicsplay."

32,33.Cf.Virgil,Æn.v.580foll.

35. Gray quotes Homer, Od. ix. 265: [Greek: marmarugas thêeito podônthaumaze de thumôi]. Cf. Catullus's "fulgentem plantam." See also Thomson,Spring,158:"themany-twinklingleavesOfaspintall."

36.Slow-meltingstrains,etc.Cf.apoembyBartonBooth,publishedin1733:

"Nowtoaslowandmeltingairshemoves,Solikeinair,inshape,inmien,ShepassesforthePaphianqueen;TheGracesallaroundherplay,Thewonderinggazersdieaway;Whetherhereasybodybend,Orherfairbosomheavewithsighs;Whetherhergracefularmsextend,Orgentlyfall,orslowlyrise;

Orreturningoradvancing,Swimminground,orsidelongglancing,Strangeforceofmotionthatsubduesthesoul."

37.Cf.Dryden,FlowerandLeaf,191:"Forwheresoe'ersheturn'dherface,theybow'd."

39.Cf.Virgil,Æn. i. 405: "Incessu patuit dea."The godswere represented asglidingorsailingalongwithoutmovingtheirfeet.

41.Purplelightoflove.Cf.Virgil,Æn.i.590:"lumenquejuventaePurpureum."GrayquotesPhrynichus,apudAthenæum:

lampeid'epiporphyreêisipareiêisiphôserôtos.

SeealsoDryden,Brit.Red.133:"andherownpurplelight."

42. "Tocompensate the real and imaginary ills of life, theMusewasgiven tomankindbythesameProvidencethatsendsthedaybyitscheerfulpresencetodispelthegloomandterrorsofthenight"(Gray).

43foll.SeeonEtonColl.83.Cf.Horace,Od.i.3,29-33.

46.Fondcomplaint.Foolishcomplaint.Cf.Shakes.M.ofV.iii.3:

"Idowonder,Thounaughtygaoler,thatthouartsofondTocomeabroadwithhimathisrequest;"

Milton, S. A. 812: "fond and reasonless," etc. This appears to be the originalmeaningoftheword.InWiclif'sBible.1Cor.i.27,wehave"thethingisthatbenfonnydoftheworld."InTwelfthNight,ii.2,thewordisusedasaverb=dote:

"AndI,poormonster,fondasmuchonhim,Asshe,mistaken,seemstodoteonme."

49.HurdquotesCowley:

"Nightandheruglysubjectsthoudostfright,AndSleep,thelazyowlofnight;Asham'dandfearfultoappear,Theyscreentheirhorridshapeswiththeblackhemisphere."

Wakefield cites Milton,Hymn on Nativity, 233 foll.: "The flocking shadowspale,"etc.SeealsoP.R.iv.419-431.

50.Birdsofbodingcry.Cf.Green'sGrotto:"newsthebodingnight-birdstell."

52.GrayreferstoCowley,Brutus:

"Onewouldhavethought'thadheardthemorningcrow,Orseenherwell-appointedstar.Comemarchinguptheeasternhillafar."

Thefollowingvariationson52and53arefoundintheMS.:

TillfierceHyperionfromafarPoursontheirscatter'drear,|Hurlsat"flying"|hisglitteringshaftsofwar."o'er"scatter'd"|"""shadowy"|Till""""fromfarHyperionhurlsaroundhis,etc.

TheaccentofHyperionisproperlyonthepenult,whichislonginquantity,buttheEnglishpoets,withrareexceptions,havethrownitbackupontheantepenult.ItisthusinthesixinstancesinwhichShakes.usestheword:e.g.Hamlet,iii.4:"Hyperion'scurls;thefrontofJovehimself."TheworddoesnotoccurinMilton.ItiscorrectlyaccentedbyDrummond(ofHawthornden),Wand.Muses:

"ThatHyperionfarbeyondhisbedDothseeourlionsramp,ourrosesspread;"

byWest,Pindar'sOl.viii.22:

"ThenHyperion'sson,purefountofday,Didtohischildrenthestrangetalereveal;"

alsobyAkenside,andbytheauthoroftheoldplayFuimusTroes(A.D.1633):

"Blow,gentleAfricus,PlayonourpoopswhenHyperion'ssonShallcouchinwest."

HyperionwasaTitan,thefatherofHelios(theSun),Selene(theMoon),andEos(the Dawn). He was represented with the attributes of beauty and splendor

afterwardsascribedtoApollo.His"glitteringshafts"areofcoursethesunbeams,the"lucidateladiei"ofLucretius.Cf.averybeautifuldescriptionofthedawninLowell'sAboveandBelow:

"'TisfromtheseheightsaloneyoureyesTheadvancingspearsofdaycansee,Whicho'ertheeasternhill-topsrise,Tobreakyourlongcaptivity."

WemayquotealsohisVisionofSirLaunfal:

"ItseemedthedarkcastlehadgatheredallThoseshaftsthefiercesunhadshotoveritswallInhissiegeofthreehundredsummerslong,"etc.

54.Gray'snotehereisasfollows:"Extensiveinfluenceofpoeticgeniusovertheremotestandmostuncivilizednations;itsconnectionwithlibertyandthevirtuesthatnaturallyattendonit.[SeetheErse,Norwegian,andWelshfragments; theLaplandandAmericansongs.]"HealsoquotesVirgil,Æn.vi.796:"Extraannisolisquevias,"andPetrarch,Canz.2:"Tuttalontanadalcamindelsole."Cf.alsoDryden,Thren. August. 353: "Out of the solar walk and Heaven's highway;"Ann.Mirab.st.160:"Beyondtheyear,andoutofHeaven'shighway;"Brit.Red.:"Beyond thesunnywalksandcirclingyear;"alsoPope,EssayonMan, i.102:"Farasthesolarwalkandmilkyway."

56.Twilightgloom.WakefieldquotesMilton,HymnonNativ.188:"Thenymphsintwilightshadeoftangledthicketsmourn."

57.Wakefieldsays,"Italmostchillsonetoreadthisverse."TheMS.variationsare"buriednative's"and"chillabode."

60.Repeat[theirchiefs,etc.].Singofthemagainandagain.

61.Inloosenumbers,etc.Cf.Milton,L'All.133:

"OrsweetestShakespeare,Fancy'schild,Warblehisnativewood-noteswild;"

andHorace,Od.iv.2,11:

"numerisqueferturLegesolutis."

62.Theirfeather-cinctur'dchiefs.Cf.P.L.ix.1115:

"SuchoflateColumbusfoundtheAmerican,sogirtWithfeather'dcincture."

64.Glorypursue.WakefieldremarksthatthisuseofapluralverbafterthefirstofaseriesofsubjectsisinPindar'smanner.WartoncomparesHomer,Il.v.774:

hêchirhoasSimoeissumballetonêdeSkamandros.

Dugald Stewart (Philos. of HumanMind) says: "I cannot help remarking theeffect of the solemn and uniform flow of verse in this exquisite stanza, inretarding the pronunciation of the reader, so as to arrest his attention to everysuccessivepicture,tillithastimetoproduceitsproperimpression."

65.Freedom's holy flame. Cf.Akenside,Pleas. of Imag. i. 468: "Love's holyflame."

THEVALEOFTEMPETHEVALEOFTEMPE.

66."ProgressofPoetryfromGreecetoItaly,andfromItalytoEngland.Chaucerwas not unacquainted with the writings of Dante or of Petrarch. The Earl ofSurreyandSirThomasWyatthadtravelledinItaly,andformedtheirtastethere;Spenser imitated the Italianwriters;Milton improvedon them:but this schoolexpired soon after theRestoration, and anewone aroseon theFrenchmodel,whichhassubsistedeversince"(Gray).

Delphi'ssteep.Cf.Milton,HymnonNativ.178:"thesteepofDelphos;"P.L. i.517: "theDelphian cliff." Both Shakes. andMilton prefer themediæval formDelphostothemoreusualDelphi.DelphiwasatthefootofthesouthernuplandsofParnassuswhichend"inaprecipitouscliff,2000feethigh,risingtoadoublepeaknamed thePhædriades, from theirglitteringappearanceas they faced theraysofthesun"(Smith'sAnc.Geog.).

67.Isles,etc.Cf.Byron:

"TheislesofGreece,theislesofGreece!WhereburningSappholovedandsung,"etc.

68. Ilissus.This river, risingon thenorthernslopeofHymettus, flows throughtheeastsideofAthens.

69.Mæander's amber waves. Cf. Milton, P. L. iii. 359: "Rolls o'er Elysianflowers her amber stream;" P. R. iii. 288: "There Susa by Choaspes, amberstream." See also Virgil,Geo. iii. 520: "Purior electro campum petit amnis."Callimachus(Cer.29)has[Greek:alektrinonhudôr].

70.Ovid,Met.viii.162,describestheMæanderthus:

"NonsecusacliquidisPhrygiisMaeandrosinarvisLudit,etambiguolapsurefluitquefluitque."

Cf.alsoVirgil'sdescriptionoftheMincius(Geo.iii.15):

—"tardisingensubiflexibuserratMincius."

"The first great metropolis of Hellenic intellectual life was Miletus on theMæander.Thales,Anaximander,Anaximines,Cadmus,Hecatæus,etc.,wereallMilesians"(Hales).

71foll.Cf.Milton,HymnonNativ.181:

"Thelonelymountainso'er,Andtheresoundingshore,Avoiceofweepingheardandloudlament;Fromhauntedspringanddale,Edgedwithpoplarpale,ThepartingGeniusiswithsighingsent:"etc.

75.Hallowedfountain.Cf.Virgil,Ecl.i.53:"fontessacros."

76.TheMS.has"Murmur'dacelestialsound."

80.Vicethatrevelsinherchains.InhisOdeforMusic,6,Grayhas"Servitudethathugsherchain."

81.HalesquotesCollins,OdetoSimplicity:

"WhileRomecouldnoneesteemButVirtue'spatriottheme,Youlov'dherhills,andledherlaureateband;

ButstaidtosingaloneToonedistinguish'dthrone,Andturn'dthyface,andfledheralter'dland."

84.Nature'sdarling."Shakespeare"(Gray).Cf.Cleveland,Poems:

"HerelieswithinthisstonyshadeNature'sdarling;whomshemadeHerfairestmodel,herbriefstory,Inhimheapingallherglory."

Ongreenlap,cf.Milton,SongonMayMorning:

"ThefloweryMay,whofromhergreenlapthrowsTheyellowcowslipandthepaleprimrose."

85.LucidAvon.Cf.Seneca,Thyest.129:"gelidofluminelucidusAlpheos."

86.Themightymother.Thatis,Nature.Pope,intheDunciad,i.1,usesthesameexpressioninasatiricalway:

"TheMightyMother,andherSon,whobringsTheSmithfieldMusestotheearofkings,Ising."

SeealsoDryden,Georgics,i.466:

"Onthegreenturfthycarelesslimbsdisplay,Andcelebratethemightymother'sday."

87. The dauntless child. Cf. Horace, Od. iii. 4, 20: "non sine dis animosusinfans."WakefieldquotesVirgil,Ecl.iv.60:"Incipe,parvepuer,risucognoscerematrem." Mitford points out that the identical expression occurs in Sandys'stranslationofOvid,Met.iv.515:

"thechildStretch'dforthitslittlearms,andonhimsmil'd."

SeealsoCatullus,InNupt.Jun.etManl.216:

"TorquatusvoloparvulusMatrisegremiosuaePorrigenstenerasmanus,Dulcerideat."

91.Thesegoldenkeys.Cf.Young,Resig.:

"Nature,whichfavourstothefewAllartbeyondimparts,TohimpresentedathisbirthThekeyofhumanhearts."

WakefieldcitesComus,12:

"Yetsometherebe,thatwithduestepsaspireTolaytheirhandsuponthatgoldenkeyThatopesthepalaceofeternity."

SeealsoLycidas,110:

"Twomassykeysheboreofmetalstwain;Thegoldenopes,theironshutsamain."

93.Ofhorror.AMS.variationis"Ofterror."

94.Or ope the sacred source. In a letter toDr.Wharton, Sept. 7, 1757,Graymentions, among other criticisms upon this ode, that "Dr. Akenside criticisesopeningasourcewithakey."But,asMitfordremarks,AkensidehimselfinhisOdeonLyricPoetryhas,"WhileIsolateunlock thypurersprings,"andinhisPleasuresofImagination,"Iunlockthespringsofancientwisdom."

95.Norsecondhe,etc."Milton"(Gray).

96,97.Cf.Milton,P.L.vii.12:

"Upledbythee,IntotheheavenofheavensIhavepresumed,Anearthlyguest,anddrawnempyrealair."

98.Theflamingbounds,etc.GrayquotesLucretius,i.74:"Flammantiamoeniamundi." Cf. also Horace, Epist. i. 14, 9: "amat spatiis obstantia rumpereclaustra."

99.GrayquotesEzekiel i. 20, 26, 28.See alsoMilton,At a SolemnMusic, 7:"Ayesungbeforethesapphire-colour'dthrone;"IlPens.53:"thefiery-wheeledthrone;"P.L.vi.758:

"Whereonasapphirethrone,inlaidwithpure

Amber,andcoloursoftheshoweryarch;"

andid.vi.771:

"Heonthewingsofcherubrodesublime,Onthecrystallinesky,insapphirethroned."

101.Blastedwithexcessoflight.Cf.P.L. iii.380:"Darkwithexcessivebrightthyskirtsappear."

102. Cf. Virgil,Æn. x. 746: "in aeternam clauduntur lumina noctem," whichDryden translates, "And closed her lids at last in endless night." Gray quotesHomer,Od.viii.64:

Ophthalmônmenamerses,didoud'hêdeianaoidên.

103.Gray,accordingtoMason,"admiredDrydenalmostbeyondbounds."3

3 In a journey through Scotland in 1765, Gray became acquainted with Beattie, to whom hecommendedthestudyofDryden,adding that"if therewasanyexcellence inhisownnumbers,hehadlearneditwhollyfromthegreatpoet."

105. "Meant to express the stately march and sounding energy of Dryden'srhymes"(Gray).Cf.Pope,Imit.ofHor.Ep.ii.1,267:

"Wallerwassmooth:butDrydentaughttojoinThevaryingverse,thefull-resoundingline,Thelongmajesticmarch,andenergydivine."

106.GrayquotesJobxxxix.19:"Hastthouclothedhisneckwiththunder?"

108.Bright-eyed.TheMS.has"full-plumed."

110.GrayquotesCowley,Prophet:"Wordsthatweep,andtearsthatspeak."

DugaldStewartremarksuponthisline:"IhavesometimesthoughtthatGrayhadinviewthetwodifferenteffectsofwordsalreadydescribed;theeffectofsomein awakening the powers of conception and imagination; and that of others inexcitingassociatedemotions."

111."WehavehadinourlanguagenootherodesofthesublimekindthanthatofDryden on St. Cecilia's Day; for Cowley (who had his merit) yet wanted

judgment,style,andharmony,forsuchatask.ThatofPopeisnotworthyofsogreataman.Mr.Mason, indeed,of latedays,hastouchedthetruechords,andwith a masterly hand, in some of his choruses; above all in the last ofCaractacus:

'Hark!heardyenotyonfootstepdread!'etc."(Gray).

113.Wakestheenow.Cf.Elegy,48:"Orwak'dtoecstasythelivinglyre."

115. "[Greek: Dios pros ornicha theion]. Olymp. ii. 159. Pindar compareshimself to thatbird, andhis enemies to ravens that croakandclamour invainbelow,whileitpursuesitsflight,regardlessoftheirnoise"(Gray).

Cf.Spenser,F.Q.v.4,42:

"LiketoanEagle,inhiskinglyprideSoringthroughhiswideEmpireoftheaire,Toweatherhisbrodesailes."

Cowley,inhistranslationofHorace,Od. iv.2,callsPindar"theThebanswan"("Dircaeumcycnum"):

"Lo!howtheobsequiouswindandswellingairTheThebanSwandoesupwardbear."

117.Azuredeepofair.Cf.Euripides,Med. 1294: [Greek: es aitheros bathos];and Lucretius, ii. 151: "Aëris in magnum fertur mare." Cowley has "Rowthroughthetracklessoceanofair;"andShakes.(T.ofA.iv.2),"thisseaofair."

118,119.TheMS.reads:

"Yetwhentheyfirstwereopen'donthedayBeforehisvisionaryeyeswouldrun."

D. Stewart (Philos. of Human Mind) remarks that "Gray, in describing theinfantinereveriesofpoeticalgenius,has fixedwithexquisite judgmenton thatclassofourconceptionswhicharederivedfromvisibleobjects."

120.Withorienthues.Cf.Milton,P.L.i.546:"withorientcolourswaving."

122.TheMS.has"Yetnevercanhefearavulgarfate."

123.Cf.K.Philips:"Stillshew'dhowmuchthegoodoutshonethegreat."

Weappend,asacuriosityofcriticism,Dr.Johnson'scommentsonthisode,from

hisLivesofthePoets.TheLifeofGrayhasbeencalled"theworstintheseries,"andperhapsthisistheworstpartofit:4

"Myprocesshasnowbroughtmetothewonderful'WonderofWonders,'thetwoSisterOdes,bywhich,thougheithervulgarignoranceorcommon-senseatfirstuniversallyrejectedthem,manyhavebeensincepersuadedtothinkthemselvesdelighted.Iamoneofthosethatarewillingtobepleased,andthereforewouldgladlyfindthemeaningofthefirststanzaof'TheProgressofPoetry.'

"Gray seems in his rapture to confound the images of spreading sound andrunning water. A 'stream of music' may be allowed; but where does 'music,'however 'smoothand strong,' afterhavingvisited the 'verdantvales, rolldownthesteepamain,' soas that 'rocksandnoddinggroves rebellow to the roar?' Ifthisbe saidofmusic, it isnonsense; if it be saidofwater, it isnothing to thepurpose.

"The second stanza, exhibiting Mars's car and Jove's eagle, is unworthy offurthernotice.Criticismdisdainstochaseaschoolboytohiscommonplaces.

"Tothethirditmaylikewisebeobjectedthatitisdrawnfrommythology,thoughsuch asmay bemore easily assimilated to real life. Idalia's 'velvet-green' hassomethingofcant.AnepithetormetaphordrawnfromNatureennoblesArt;anepithetormetaphordrawnfromArtdegradesNature.Grayistoofondofwordsarbitrarily compounded. 'Many-twinkling' was formerly censured as notanalogical;wemaysay'many-spotted,'butscarcely'many-spotting.'Thisstanza,however,hassomethingpleasing.

"Of the second ternary of stanzas, the first endeavours to tell something, andwouldhave told it, had it notbeen crossedbyHyperion; the seconddescribeswell enough the universal prevalence of poetry; but I am afraid that theconclusionwill not arise from thepremises.Thecavernsof theNorth and theplains ofChili are not the residences of 'Glory andgenerousShame.'But thatPoetryandVirtuegoalwaystogetherisanopinionsopleasingthatIcanforgivehimwhoresolvestothinkittrue.

"The third stanza sounds big with 'Delphi,' and 'Ægean,' and 'Ilissus,' and'Mæander,' andwith 'hallowed fountains,' and 'solemnsound;'but inallGray'sodesthereisakindofcumbroussplendourwhichwewishaway.Hispositionisat lastfalse: in the timeofDanteandPetrarch,fromwhomwederiveourfirst

schoolofpoetry,Italywasoverrunby'tyrantpower'and'cowardvice;'norwasourstatemuchbetterwhenwefirstborrowedtheItalianarts.

"Ofthethirdternary,thefirstgivesamythologicalbirthofShakespeare.Whatissaidofthatmightygeniusistrue;butitisnotsaidhappily:therealeffectsofthispoetical power are put out of sight by the pompofmachinery.Where truth issufficient tofill themind,fictionisworsethanuseless; thecounterfeitdebasesthegenuine.

"His account of Milton's blindness, if we suppose it caused by study in theformation of his poem, a supposition surely allowable, is poetically true andhappilyimagined.ButthecarofDryden,withhistwocoursers,hasnothinginitpeculiar;itisacarinwhichanyotherridermaybeplaced."

4 Sir James Mackintosh well says of Johnson's criticisms: "Wherever understanding alone issufficient for poetical criticism, the decisions of Johnson are generally right. But the beauties ofpoetrymustbefeltbeforetheircausesareinvestigated.Thereisapoeticalsensibility,whichintheprogressof themindbecomesasdistinctapowerasamusicalearorapicturesqueeye.Withoutaconsiderabledegreeofthissensibility,itisasvainforamanofthegreatestunderstandingtospeakofthe higher beauties of poetry as it is for a blindman to speak of colours. To adopt the warmestsentimentsofpoetry,torealizeitsboldestimagery,toyieldtoeveryimpulseofenthusiasm,tosubmittotheillusionsoffancy,toretirewiththepoetintohisidealworlds,weredispositionswhollyforeignfromtheworldlysagacityandsternshrewdnessofJohnson.Asinhisjudgmentoflifeandcharacter,soinhiscriticismonpoetry,hewasasortofFree-thinker.Hesuspectedtherefinedofaffectation,herejectedtheenthusiasticasabsurd,andhetookitforgrantedthatthemysteriouswasunintelligible.HecameintotheworldwhentheschoolofDrydenandPopegavethelawtoEnglishpoetry.Inthatschoolhehadhimselflearnedtobealoftyandvigorousdeclaimerinharmoniousverse;beyondthatschool his unforced admiration perhaps scarcely soared; and his highest effort of criticism wasaccordinglythenoblepanegyriconDryden."

W. H. Prescott, the historian, also remarks that Johnson, as a critic, "was certainly deficient insensibilitytothemoredelicate,theminorbeautiesofpoeticsentiment.Heanalyzesverseinthecold-bloodedspiritofachemist,untilall thearomawhichconstituteditsprincipalcharmescapesinthedecomposition.Bythiskindofprocess,someofthefinestfanciesoftheMuse,theloftydithyrambicsofGray,theetherealeffusionsofCollins,andofMiltontoo,arerenderedsufficientlyvapid."

PINDARPINDAR.

EDWARDIEDWARDI.

THEBARD.

"ThisodeisfoundedonatraditioncurrentinWalesthatEdwardtheFirst,whenhecompletedtheconquestofthatcountry,orderedallthebardsthatfellintohishandstobeputtodeath"(Gray).

Theoriginalargumentoftheode,asGrayhadsetitdowninhiscommonplace-book,was as follows: "The armyofEdward I., as theymarch through a deepvalley,andapproachMountSnowdon,aresuddenlystoppedbytheappearanceofavenerablefigureseatedonthesummitofaninaccessiblerock,who,withavoicemorethanhuman,reproachesthekingwithallthedesolationandmiserywhichhehadbrought onhis country; foretells themisfortunesof theNormanrace,andwithpropheticspiritdeclaresthatallhiscrueltyshallneverextinguishthe noble ardour of poetic genius in this island; and that men shall never bewanting to celebrate truevirtue andvalour in immortal strains, to exposeviceand infamous pleasure, and boldly censure tyranny and oppression. His songended, heprecipitates himself from themountain, and is swallowedupby theriverthatrollsatitsfeet."

Mitford,inhis"EssayonthePoetryofGray,"saysofthisOde:"ThetendencyofTheBard is to show the retributive justice that follows an act of tyranny andwickedness;todenounceonEdward,inhispersonandhisprogeny,theeffectofthecrimehehadcommittedinthemassacreofthebards;toconvincehimthatneitherhispowernor situation could savehim from thenatural andnecessaryconsequences of his guilt; that not even the virtueswhich he possessed couldatonefortheviceswithwhichtheywereaccompanied:

'Helmnorhauberk'stwistedmail,Nore'enthyvirtues,tyrant,shallavail.'

Thisistherealtendencyofthepoem;andwellworthyitwasofbeingadornedandheightenedbysuchaprofusionofsplendidimagesandbeautifulmachinery.Wemustalsoobservehowmuchthismoralfeelingincreasesasweapproachtheclose;howthepoemrisesindignity;andbywhatafinegradationthesolemnityof thesubjectascends.TheBardcommencedhis songwith feelingsof sorrowforhisdepartedbrethrenandhisdesolatecountry.Thisdespondence,however,has givenway to emotions of a nobler andmore exalted nature.What can bemoremagnificentthanthevisionwhichopensbeforehimtodisplaythetriumphof justice and the finalgloryofhis cause?And itmaybe added,what canbemoreforcibleoremphaticthanthelanguageinwhichitisconveyed?

'Butoh!whatsolemnscenesonSnowdon'sheight,Descendingslowtheirglitteringskirtsunroll?Visionsofglory,sparemyachingsight!Yeunbornages,crowdnotonmysoul!'

ThefineapostrophetotheshadeofTaliessincompletesthepictureofexultation:

'Hearfromthegrave,greatTaliessin,hear;Theybreatheasoultoanimatethyclay.'

The triumph of justice, therefore, is now complete. The vanquished has risensuperiortohisconqueror,andthereaderclosesthepoemwithfeelingsofcontentandsatisfaction.HehasseentheBardupliftedbothbyadivineenergyandbythenaturalsuperiorityofvirtue;andtheconquerorhasshrunkintoacreatureofhatredandabhorrence:

'Bethinedespair,andsceptredcare;Totriumph,andtodie,aremine.'"

Withregardtotheobscurityofthepoem,thesamewriterremarksthat"itissuchonly as of necessity arises from the plan and conduct of a prophecy." "In thepropheticpoem,"headds,"onepointofhistoryaloneistold,andtherestistobeacquired previously by the reader; as in the contemplation of an historicalpicture,whichcommandsonlyonemomentoftime,ourmemorymustsupplyuswith the necessary links of knowledge; and that point of time selected by thepaintermustbeillustratedbythespectator'sknowledgeofthepastorfuture,ofthecauseortheconsequences."

He refers, for corroboration of this opinion, to Dr. Campbell, who in his"PhilosophyofRhetoric,"says:"Iknownostyletowhichdarknessofacertain

sort is more suited than to the prophetical: many reasons might be assignedwhichrenderitimproperthatprophecyshouldbeperfectlyunderstoodbeforeitbe accomplished. Besides, we are certain that a prediction may be very darkbefore the accomplishment, and yet so plain afterwards as scarcely to admit adoubtinregardtotheeventssuggested.Itdoesnotbelongtocriticstogivelawstoprophets,nordoes it fallwithin theconfinesof anyhumanart to laydownrulesforaspeciesofcompositionsofaraboveart.Thusfar,however,wemaywarrantablyobserve,thatwhenthepropheticstyleisimitatedinpoetry,thepieceought, as much as possible, to possess the character above mentioned. Thischaracter, inmyopinion, ispossessed inaveryeminentdegreebyMr.Gray'sodecalledTheBard.ItisalldarknesstoonewhoknowsnothingoftheEnglishhistory posterior to the reign of Edward the First, and all light to onewho isacquaintedwiththathistory.Butthisisakindofwritingwhosepeculiaritiescanscarcelybeconsideredasexceptionsfromordinaryrules."

Farther on in the same essay,Mitford remarks: "The skill ofGray is, I think,eminently shown in the superior distinctnesswithwhich he hasmarked thoseparts of his prophecies which are speedily to be accomplished; and in thegradationsbywhich,ashedescends,hehasinsensiblymeltedthemoreremoteintothedeeperanddeepershadowingsofgenerallanguage.ThefirstprophecyisthefateofEdwardtheSecond.InthattheBardhaspointedouttheverynightinwhichheistobedestroyed;hasnamedtheriverthatflowedaroundhisprison,andthecastlethatwasthesceneofhissufferings:

'Bethinedespair,andsceptredcare;WhenSevernshallre-echowithaffrightTheshrieksofdeaththro'Berkeley'sroofsthatring,Shrieksofanagonizingking.'

Howdifferent is the imagerywhenRichard theSecond is described; andhowindistinctlyistheluxuriousmonarchmarkedoutintheformofthemorning,andhiscountryinthefigureofthevessel!

'Theswarmthatinthynoontidebeamwereborn?Gonetosalutetherisingmorn.Fairlaughsthemorn,'etc.

The last prophecy is that of the civilwars, andof thedeathof the twoyoungprinces.Noplace,nonameisnownoted:andallisseenthroughthedimnessoffigurativeexpression:

'Above,below,theroseofsnow,Twin'dwithherblushingfoe,wespread:ThebristledboarininfantgoreWallowsbeneaththethornyshade.'"

Halesremarks:"ItisperhapsscarcelynownecessarytosaythatthetraditiononwhichTheBardisfoundediswhollygroundless.EdwardI.neverdidmassacreWelsh bards. Their name is legion in the beginning of the 14th century.MissWilliams,thelatesthistorianofWales,doesnotevenmentiontheoldstory."1

1TheSaturdayReview,forJune19,1875,inthearticlefromwhichwehaveelsewherequoted(seeabove,foot-note),referstothispointasfollows:

"GraywasoneofthefirstwriterstoshowthatearlierpartsofEnglishhistorywerenotonlyworthattendingto,butwerecapableofpoetictreatment.WecanalmostforgivehimfordressingupinhissplendidverseafoulandbaselesscalumnyagainstEdwardtheFirst,whenwerememberthattomostofGray'scontemporariesEdwardtheFirstmusthaveseemedapersonalmostmythical,abenightedPopish savage, ofwhom therewas very little to know, and that little hardlyworth knowing.OurfeelingtowardsGrayinthismatterismuchthesameasourfeelingtowardsMitfordinthematterofGreek history.We are angrywithMitford formisrepresentingDemosthenes and a crowdof otherAthenian worthies, but we do not forget that he was the first to deal with Demosthenes and hisfellows,neitherasmerenamesnorasdemi-gods,butasreallivingmenlikeourselves.Itwasapityto misrepresent Demosthenes, but even the misrepresentation was something; it showed thatDemosthenescouldbemadethesubjectofhumanfeelingonewayoranother.ItisunpleasanttoheartheKingwhosepraiseitwasthat

'Veloxestadveniam,advindictamtardus,'

spokenofas'ruthless,'andtherestofit.ButGrayatleastfeltthatEdwardwasarealman,whiletomostofhis contemporarieshe couldhavebeen littlemore than 'the figureof anoldGothicking,'suchasSirRogerdeCoverleylookedwhenhesatinEdward'sownchair."

1.Agoodexampleofalliteration.

2.Cf.Shakes.K.John,iv.2:"andvastconfusionwaits."

4.GrayquotesK.John,v.1:"Mockingtheairwithcoloursidlyspread."

5."Thehauberkwasa textureofsteel ringlets,or rings interwoven, formingacoat of mail that sat close to the body, and adapted itself to every motion"(Gray).

Cf.RobertofGloucester:"Withhelmandhauberk;"andDryden,Pal.andArc.iii.603:"Hauberksandhelmsarehewedwithmanyawound."

7.Nightly.Nocturnal,asofteninpoetry.Cf.IlPens.84,etc.

9.Thecrestedpride.GrayquotesDryden, IndianQueen: "The crested adder'spride."

11."SnowdonwasanamegivenbytheSaxonstothatmountainoustractwhichthe Welsh themselves call Craigian-eryri: it included all the highlands ofCaernarvonshireandMerionethshire,asfareastastheriverConway.R.Hygden,speaking of the castle of Conway, built by King Edward the First, says: 'AdortumamnisConwayadclivummontisErery;'andMatthewofWestminster(adann.1283),'ApudAberconwayadpedesmontisSnowdoniaefeciterigicastrumforte'"(Gray).

Itwasinthespringof1283thatEnglishtroopsat lastforcedtheirwayamongthedefilesofSnowdon.Llewellynhadpreservedthosepassesandheightsintactuntil his death in the precedingDecember. The surrender ofDolbadern in theAprilfollowingthatdispiritingeventopenedawayfortheinvader;andWilliamdeBeauchamp,EarlofWarwick,atonceadvancedbyit(Hales).

Theepithetshaggyishighlyappropriate,asLeland(Itin.)saysthatgreatwoodsclothedthemountaininhistime.Cf.Dyer,RuinsofRome:

"asBritannia'soaksOnMerlin'smount,orSnowdon'sruggedsides,Standintheclouds."

SeealsoLycidas,54:"NorontheshaggytopofMonahigh;"andP.L.vi.645:"theshaggytops."

13.StoutGloster. "GilbertdeClare,surnamed theRed,EarlofGloucesterandHereford, son-in-law toKingEdward" (Gray).Hehad, in1282,conducted thewarinSouthWales;andafteroverthrowingtheenemynearLlandeiloFawr,hadreinforcedthekinginthenorthwest.

14.Mortimer."EdmonddeMortimer,LordofWigmore"(Gray).Itwasbyoneofhisknights,namedAdamdeFrancton,thatLlewellyn,notatfirstknowntobehe,wasslainnearPontOrewyn(Hales).

Onquiveringlance,cf.Virgil,Æn.xii.94:"hastamquassatquetrementem."

15.On a rockwhose haughty brow. Cf.Daniel,CivilWars: "A huge aspiringrock,whosesurlybrow."

Therock isprobablymeantforPenmaen-mawr,thenorthernterminationoftheSnowdonrange.Itisamassofrock,1545feethigh,afewmilesfromthemouthof theConway, thevalleyofwhich itoverlooks.Towards thesea itpresentsarugged and almost perpendicular front. On its summit is Braich-y-Dinas, anancientfortifiedpost,regardedasthestrongestholdoftheBritonsinthedistrictofSnowdon.Here thereducedbandsof theWelsharmywerestationedduringthenegotiationbetween theirprinceLlewellynandEdward I.Within the innerenclosureisanever-failingwellofpurewater.Therockisnowpiercedwithatunnel1890feetlongfortheChesterandHolyheadrailway.

17.Rob'dinthesablegarbofwoe.ItwouldappearthatWhartonhadcriticisedthisline,forinalettertohim,datedAug.21,1757,Graywrites:"Youmayalterthat'Robedinthesable,'etc.,almostinyourownwords,thus,

'Withfurypale,andpalewithwoe,SecureofFate,thePoetstood,'etc.

Thoughhaggard, which conveys to you the idea of awitch, is indeed only ametaphortakenfromanunreclaimedhawk,whichiscalledahaggard,andlookswild and farouche, and jealous of its liberty." Gray seems to have afterwardsreturnedtohisfirst(andwethinkbetter)reading.

19."The imagewas takenfromawell-knownpictureofRaphael, representingthe SupremeBeing in the vision of Ezekiel. There are two of these paintings(both believed originals), one at Florence, the other in the Duke of Orleans'scollectionatParis"(Gray).

20.Likeameteor.GrayquotesP.L. i.537:"Shone likeameteorstreaming tothewind."

21,22.Wakefieldremarks:"Thisispoeticallanguageinperfection;andbreathesthe sublime spirit of Hebrew poetry, which delights in this grand rhetoricalsubstitution."

23.Desertcaves.Cf.Lycidas,39:"Thewoodsanddesertcaves."

26.Hoarsermurmurs.Thatis,perhaps,withcontinuallyincreasinghoarseness,

hoarser and hoarser; or it may mean with unwonted hoarseness, like thecomparativesometimesinLatin(Hales).

28.Hoeliscalledhigh-born,beingthesonofOwenGwynedd,princeofNorthWales, by Finnog, an Irish damsel.Hewas one of his father's generals in hiswars against theEnglish, Flemings, andNormans, in SouthWales; andwas afamousbard,ashispoemsthatareextanttestify.

Soft Llewellyn's lay. "The lay celebrating the mild Llewellyn," says Hales,thoughheafterwardsremarksthat,"lookingatthecontext,itwouldbebettertotakeLlewellynhereforabard."ManybardscelebratedthewarlikeprowessandprincelyqualitiesofLlewellyn.ApoembyEinionthesonofGuigancallshim"atender-hearted prince;" and another, by Llywarch Brydydd y Moch, says:"Llewellyn, though in battle he killed with fury, though he burned like anoutrageousfire,yetwasamildprincewhenthemead-hornsweredistributed."InanodebyLlygardGwrheisalsocalled"Llewellynthemild."

29.CadwalloandUrienwerebardsofwhosesongsnothinghasbeenpreserved.Taliessin(see121below)dedicatedmanypoemstothelatter,andwroteanelegyonhisdeath:hewasslainbytreacheryintheyear560.

30.Thathush'dthestormymain.Cf.Shakes.M.N.D.ii.2:

"Utteringsuchdulcetandharmoniousbreath,Thattherudeseagrewcivilathersong."

33.Modred. This name is not found in the lists of the old bards. ItmayhavebeenborrowedfromtheArthurianlegends;or,asMitfordsuggests,itmayreferto "the famous Myrddin ab Morvyn, called Merlyn the Wild, a disciple ofTaliessin,theformofthenamebeingchangedforthesakeofeuphony."

34.Plinlimmon.Oneof theloftiestof theWelshmountains,being2463feet inheight. It is really agroupofmountains, threeofwhich towerhigh above theothers,andoneachof these isacarnedd,orpileofstones.Thehighestof thethree is further divided into two peaks, and on these, as well as on anotherprominent part of the same height, are other piles of stones. These five piles,accordingtothecommontradition,markthegravesofslainwarriors,andserveas memorials of their exploits; but some believe that they were intended aslandmarks or military signals, and that from them the mountain was calledPump-lumon orPum-lumon, "the five beacons"—a name somehow corrupted

intoPlinlimmon.Five rivers take their rise in the recessesofPlinlimmon—theWye,theSevern,theRheidol,theLlyfnant,andtheClywedog.

35. Arvon's shore. "The shores of Caernarvonshire, opposite the isle ofAnglesey"(Gray).Caernarvon,orCaerynArvon,meansthecampinArvon.

38. "Camden and others observe that eagles used annually to build their aerieamongtherocksofSnowdon,whichfromthence(assomethink)werenamedbytheWelshCraigian-eryri,orthecragsoftheeagles.Atthisday(Iamtold)thehighest point of Snowdon is called theEagle'sNest. That bird is certainly nostranger to this island, as the Scots, and the people of Cumberland,Westmoreland, etc., can testify; it even has built its nest in the peak ofDerbyshire[seeWilloughby'sOrnithology,publishedbyRay]"(Gray).

40.Dearasthelight.Cf.Virgil,Æn.iv.31:"Olucemagisdilectasorori."

41.Dearastheruddydrops.GrayquotesShakes.J.C.ii.1:

"AsdeartomeasaretheruddydropsThatvisitmysadheart."

Cf.alsoOtway,VenicePreserved:

"Dearasthevitalwarmththatfeedsmylife,Dearastheseeyesthatweepinfondnesso'erthee."

42.WakefieldquotesPope:"Andgreatlyfallingwithafallenstate;"andDryden:"Andcouldstnotfallbutwiththycountry'sfate."

44.Grisly.SeeonEtonColl.82.Cf.Lycidas,52:

"thesteepWhereyouroldbards,thefamousDruids,lie."

48. "See theNorwegianode that follows" (Gray).Thisode (TheFatalSisters,translatedfromtheNorse)describestheValkyriur,"thechoosersoftheslain,"orwarlikeFatesof theGothicmythology, asweaving thedestiniesof thosewhoweredoomedtoperishinbattle.Itbeginsthus:

"Nowthestormbeginstolower(Haste,theloomofhellprepare),Ironsleetofarrowyshower

Hurtlesinthedarken'dair.

"Glitteringlancesaretheloom,Wheretheduskywarpwestrain,Weavingmanyasoldier'sdoom,Orkney'swoe,andRandver'sbane.

******

"Shaftsforshuttles,diptingore,Shootthetremblingcordsalong;Swords,thatonceamonarchbore,Keepthetissuecloseandstrong.

******

"(Weavethecrimsonwebofwar)Letusgo,andletusfly,Whereourfriendstheconflictshare,Wheretheytriumph,wheretheydie."

51.Cf.Dryden,Sebastian,i.1:

"Ihaveasoulthat,likeanampleshield,Cantakeinall,andvergeenoughformore."

55."EdwardtheSecond,cruellybutcheredinBerkeleyCastle"(Gray).The1sted.andthatof1768have"roofs;"themoderneds."roof."

BerkeleyCastle is on the southeast side of the town ofBerkeley, on a heightcommandingafineviewoftheSevernandthesurroundingcountry,andisinastate of perfect preservation. It is said to have been founded by Roger deBerkeleysoonafter theNormanConquest.About theyear1150itwasgrantedbyHenryII.toRobertFitzhardinge,GovernorofBristol,whostrengthenedandenlarged it. On the right of the great staircase leading to the keep, andapproachedbyagallery,istheroominwhichitissupposedthatEdwardII.wasmurdered, Sept. 21, 1327. The king, during his captivity here, composed adolorouspoem,ofwhichthefollowingisanextract:

"MosteblessedJesu,Rooteofallvertue,GraunteImaythesue,Inallhumylyte,Senthouforourgood,Lystetoshedethyblood,Anstretchetheupontherood,Forouriniquyte.

Ithebeseche,Mostholsomeleche,ThatthouwyltsecheFormesuchgrace,ThatwhenmybodyvyleMysouleshallexyleThoubryngeinshortwyleItinresteandpeace."

Walpole,whovisitedtheplacein1774,says:"Theroomshownforthemurderof Edward II., and the shrieks of an agonizing king, I verily believe to begenuine.It isadismalchamber,almostat thetopofthehouse,quitedetached,and tobe approachedonlyby akindof foot-bridge, and from that descends alarge flight of steps, that terminates on strong gates; exactly a situation for acorpsdegarde."

56.Cf.Hume'sdescription:"Thescreamswithwhich theagonizingkingfilledthecastle."

57. She-wolf of France. "Isabel of France, Edward the Second's adulterousqueen"(Gray).Cf.Shakes.3Hen.VI.i.4:"She-wolfofFrance,butworsethanwolvesofFrance;"andreadthecontext.

60."TriumphsofEdwardtheThirdinFrance"(Gray).

61.Cf.Cowley:"Ruinbehindhimstalks,andemptydesolation;"andOldham,OdetoHomer:

"Where'erhedoeshisdreadfulstandardbear,Horrorstalksinthevan,andslaughterintherear."

63.ForvictortheMS.has"conqueror;"alsoinnextline"the"forhis;andin65,"what...what"forno...no.

64."Deathofthatking,abandonedbyhischildren,andevenrobbedinhislastmomentsbyhiscourtiersandhismistress"(Gray).

67."EdwardtheBlackPrince,deadsometimebeforehisfather"(Gray).

69.TheMS.has"hover'd in thynoontide ray,"and in thenext line"the risingday."

InAgrippina,afragmentofatragedy,publishedamongtheposthumouspoemsofGray,wehavethesamefigure:

"aroundtheecallThegildedswarmthatwantonsinthesunshineOfthyfullfavour."

71. "Magnificence of Richard the Second's reign. See Froissard and othercontemporarywriters"(Gray).

Forthislineandtheremainderofthestanza,theMS.hasthefollowing:

"MirrorsofSaxontruthandloyalty,Yourhelpless,old,expiringmasterview!Theyhearnot:scarcereligiondoessupplyHermutter'drequiems,andherholydew.Yetthou,proudboy,fromPomfret'swallsshaltsendAsigh,andenvyoftthyhappygrandsire'send."

Onthepassageasitstands,cf.Shakes.M.ofV.ii.6:

"Howlikeayounger,oraprodigal,Thescarfedbarkputsfromhernativebay,"etc.

AlsoSpenser,VisionsofWorld'sVanitie,ix:

"LookingfarfoorthintotheOceanwide,Agoodlyshipwithbannersbravelydight,Andflaginhertop-gallant,IespideThroughthemaineseamakinghermerryflight.Faireblewthewindeintoherbosomeright;Andth'heavenslookedlovelyallthewhileThatshedidseemetodaunce,asindelight,Andatherownefelicitiedidsmile,"etc.;

andagain,VisionsofPetrarch,ii.:

"After,atseaatallshipdidappeare,Madeallofhebenandwhiteyvorie;Thesailesofgolde,ofsilkethetacklewere:Mildewasthewinde,calmeseem'dtheseatobee,Theskieeachwheredidshowfullbrightandfaire:Withrichtreasuresthisgayshipfraightedwas:Butsuddenstormedidsoturmoyletheaire,Andtumbledupthesea,thatshe(alas)Strakeonarock,thatunderwaterlay,

Andperishedpastallrecoverie."

SeealsoMilton,S.A.710foll.

72.Theazurerealm.Cf.Virgil,Ciris,483:"CaeruleopollensconjunxNeptuniaregno."

73.Notethealliteration.Cf.Dryden,AnnusMirab.st.151:

"ThegoodlyLondon,inhergallanttrim,Thephoenix-daughterofthevanish'dold,Likearichbridedoestotheoceanswim,Andonhershadowridesinfloatinggold."

75. Sweeping whirlwind's sway. Cf. the posthumous fragment by Gray onEducation and Government, 48: "And where the deluge burst with sweepysway."TheexpressionisfromDryden,whousesitrepeatedly;asinGeo.i.483:"Androllingonwardswithasweepysway;"Ov.Met.:"Rushingonwardswithasweepysway;"Æn.vii.:"Thebranchesbendbeneaththeirsweepysway,"etc.

76.That hush'd in grim repose, etc. Cf. Dryden, Sigismonda and Guiscardo,242:

"So,likealionthatunheededlay,Dissemblingsleep,andwatchfultobetray,Withinwardragehemeditateshisprey;"

andAbsalomandAchitophel,447:

"Andlikealion,slumberingintheway,Orsleepdissembling,whilehewaitshisprey."

77. "Richard the Second (as we are told by Archbishop Scroop and theconfederate Lords in their manifesto, by Thomas ofWalsingham, and all theolderwriters)wasstarvedtodeath.ThestoryofhisassassinationbySirPiersofExonisofmuchlaterdate"(Gray).

79.Reftofacrown.WakefieldquotesMallet'sballadofWilliamandMargaret:

"SuchistherobethatkingsmustwearWhendeathhasrefttheircrown."

82.Abalefulsmile.TheMS.has"Asmileofhorroron."Cf.Milton,P.L.ii.846:"Grinn'dhorribleaghastlysmile."

THETRAITOR'SGATEOFTHETOWERTHETRAITOR'SGATEOFTHETOWER.

83."RuinouswarsofYorkandLancaster" (Gray).Cf.P.L.vi.209: "Armsonarmourclashingbrayed."

84.Cf.Shakes.1Hen.IV.iv.1:"HarrytoHarryshall,hothorsetohorse;"andMassinger,MaidofHonour:"Mantoman,andhorsetohorse."

87."HenrytheSixth,GeorgeDukeofClarence,EdwardtheFifth,RichardDukeof York, etc., believed to be murdered secretly in the Tower of London. Theoldestpartof that structure isvulgarlyattributed to JuliusCæsar" (Gray).TheMS.has"Grimtowers."

88.Murther.Seeonmurthorous.

89.Hisconsort. "Margaret ofAnjou, awomanof heroic spirit,who struggledhardtosaveherhusbandandhercrown"(Gray).

Hisfather."HenrytheFifth"(Gray).

HENRYVHENRYV.

90.Themeekusurper."HenrytheSixth,verynearbeingcanonized.ThelineofLancasterhadnorightofinheritancetothecrown"(Gray).SeeonEtonColl.4.TheMS.has"hallow'dhead."

91. The rose of snow, etc. "The white and red roses, devices of York andLancaster"(Gray).

Cf.Shakes.1Hen.VI.ii.4:

"No,Plantagenet,'Tisnotforshame,butanger,thatthycheeksBlushforpureshame,tocounterfeitourroses."

93.The bristled boar. "The silver boar was the badge of Richard the Third;

whencehewasusuallyknowninhisowntimebythenameoftheBoar"(Gray).Scott(notestoLayofLastMinstrel)says:"Thecrestorbearingofawarriorwasoften used as a nom de guerre. Thus Richard III. acquired his well-knownepithet,'theBoarofYork.'"Cf.Shakes.Rich.III.iv.5:"thismostbloodyboar;"v.2:"Thewretched,bloody,andusurpingboar,"etc.

98.Seeon48above.

99.Halfofthyheart."EleanorofCastilediedafewyearsaftertheconquestofWales.Theheroicproof shegaveofher affection forher lord iswellknown.2Themonumentsofhisregretandsorrowforthelossofher3arestilltobeseenatNorthampton,Geddington,Waltham,andotherplaces"(Gray).Cf.Horace,Od.i.3,8:"animaedimidiummeae."

2SeeTennyson,DreamofFairWomen:

"OrherwhoknewthatLovecanvanquishDeath,Whokneeling,withonearmaboutherking,Drewforththepoisonwithherbalmybreath,Sweetasnewbudsinspring."

3Grayreferstothe"Eleanorcrosses,"erectedattheplaceswherethefuneralprocessionhaltedeachnight on the journey from Hardby, in Nottinghamshire (near Lincoln), where the queen died, toWestminster. Of the thirteen (or, as some say, fifteen) crosses only three now remain—atNorthampton,Geddington,andWaltham.TheoneatCharingCrossinLondonhasbeenreplacedbya fac-simile of the original. These monuments were all exquisite works of Gothic art, fittingmemorialsoflachèreReine,"thebelovedofallEngland,"asWalsinghamcallsher.

101.Nor thus forlorn. In MS. "nor here forlorn;" in next line, "Leave yourdespairingCaradoctomourn;" in103,"yonblackclouds;" in104,"Theysink,theyvanish;"in105,"Butoh!whatscenesofheavenonSnowdon'sheight;"in106,"theirgoldenskirts."

107.Cf.Dryden,StateofInnocence,iv.1:"Theirgloryshootsuponmyachingsight."

109."Itwas thecommonbeliefof theWelshnation thatKingArthurwasstillaliveinFairyland,andwouldreturnagaintoreignoverBritain"(Gray).

IntheMS.thislineandthenextreadthus:

"FromCambria'sthousandhillsathousandstrainsTriumphanttellaloud,anotherArthurreigns."

110. "BothMerlin and Taliessin had prophesied that theWelsh should regaintheirsovereigntyoverthisisland;whichseemedtobeaccomplishedinthehouseofTudor"(Gray).

111.Many a baron bold. Cf. L'Allegro, 119: "throngs of knights and baronsbold."

ThereadingintheMS.is,

"Youthfulknights,andbaronsbold,Withdazzlinghelm,andhorrentspear."

112.Theirstarryfronts.Cf.Milton,OdeonthePassion,18:"Hisstarryfront;"Statius,Theb.613:"Heu!ubisidereivultus."

115.Aformdivine.Elizabeth.WakefieldquotesSpenser'seulogyof thequeen,Shep.Kal.Apr.:

"Tellme,haveyeseeneherangelickface,LikePhoebefayre?Herheavenlyhaveour,herprincelygrace,Canyouwellcompare?TheRedderosemedledwiththeWhiteyfere,Ineithercheekedepeinctenlivelychere;Hermodesteye,HerMajestie,Wherehaveyouseenethelikebutthere?"

117."Speed,relatinganaudiencegivenbyQueenElizabethtoPaulDzialinski,ambassadorofPoland,says:'Andthusshe,lion-likerising,dauntedthemalapertorator no less with her stately port and majestical deporture, than with thetartnesseofherprinceliecheckes'"(Gray).TheMS.reads"Alion-port,anawe-commandingface."

121."Taliessin,chiefofthebards,flourishedinthesixthcentury.Hisworksarestillpreserved,andhismemoryheldinhighvenerationamonghiscountrymen"(Gray).

As Hales remarks, there is no authority for connecting him with Arthur, asTennysondoesinhisHolyGrail.

123.Cf.Congreve,OdetoLordGodolphin:"Andsoarswithrapturewhileshe

sings."

124.Theeyeofheaven.WakefieldquotesSpenser,F.Q.1.3.4,

"Herangel'sfaceAsthegreateyeofheavenshinedbright."

Cf.Shakes.Rich.II.iii.2:"thesearchingeyeofheaven."

Many-colour'dwings.Cf.Shakes.Temp.iv.1:"Hail,many-colour'dmessenger;"andMilton,P.L.iii.642:

"WingsheworeOfmanyacolour'dplumesprinkledwithgold."

126.GrayquotesSpenser,F.Q.Proeme,9:

"Fiercewarresandfaithfullovesshallmoralizemysong."

128."Shakespeare" (Gray).Cf. IlPenseroso,102:"thebuskin'dstage;" that is,thetragicstage.

129.Pleasing pain. Cf. Spenser,F.Q. vi. 9, 10: "sweet pleasing payne;" andDryden,Virg.Ecl.iii.171:"Pleasingpainsoflove."

131."Milton"(Gray).

133."ThesuccessionofpoetsafterMilton'stime"(Gray).

135.Fond.Foolish.SeeonProg.ofPoesy,46.

Onthecouplet,cf.Dekker,Ifthisbenotagoodplay,etc.:

"Thinkestthou,baselord,BecausethegloriousSunbehindblackcloudsHasawhilehidhisbeams,he'sdarken'dforever,Eclips'dnevermoretoshine?"

137.Cf.Lycidas,169:"Andyetanonrepairshisdroopinghead;"andFletcher,PurpleIsland,vi.64:"Sosoonrepairsherlight,treblinghernew-bornraies."

141.Mitford remarks that there isapassage (whichhemisquotes,asusual) inthe Thebaid of Statius (iii. 81) similar to this, describing a bard who hadsurvivedhiscompanions:

"SedjamnudaveratensemMagnanimusvates,etnunctrucisoratyranni,Nuncferrumadspectans:'NunquamtibisanguinishujusJuserit,autmagnoferiesimperditaTydeoPectora;vadoequidemexsultansetereptaquefataInsequor,etcomitesferorexpectatusadumbras;TeSuperis,fratrique.'EtjammediaorsaloquentisAbstuleratplenumcapulolatus."

Cf.alsoapassageinPindar(Olymp. i.184),whichGrayseemstohavehadinmind:

EiêsetetoutonHupsouchrononpatein,emeTetossadenikaphoroisHomilein,k.t.l.

143.Cf.Virgil,Ecl.viii.59:

"PraecepsaëriispeculademontisinundasDeferar;extremumhocmunusmorientishabeto."

AswehavegivenJohnson'scriticismonTheProgressofPoesy,weappendhiscommentsonthis"SisterOde:"

"'The Bard' appears, at the first view, to be, as Algarotti and others haveremarked,animitationoftheprophecyofNereus.Algarottithinksitsuperiortoitsoriginal;and,ifpreferencedependsonlyontheimageryandanimationofthetwo poems, his judgment is right. There is in 'The Bard' more force, morethought,andmorevariety.But tocopy is less than to invent,and thecopyhasbeen unhappily produced at a wrong time. The fiction of Horace was to theRomans credible; but its revival disgusts uswith apparent and unconquerablefalsehood.Incredulusodi.

"Toselectasingularevent,andswellittoagiant'sbulkbyfabulousappendagesofspectresandpredictions,haslittledifficulty;forhethatforsakestheprobablemayalwaysfindthemarvellous.Andithaslittleuse;weareaffectedonlyaswebelieve;weareimprovedonlyaswefindsomethingtobeimitatedordeclined.Idonotseethat'TheBard'promotesanytruth,moralorpolitical.

"Hisstanzasaretoolong,especiallyhisepodes;theodeisfinishedbeforetheearhas learned itsmeasures,andconsequentlybefore itcan receivepleasure fromtheirconsonanceandrecurrence.

"Of the first stanza the abrupt beginning has been celebrated; but technicalbeauties cangivepraiseonly to the inventor. It is in thepowerof anyman torushabruptlyuponhissubject,thathasreadtheballadof'JohnnyArmstrong,'

'IsthereeveramaninallScotland—'

"The initial resemblances,or alliterations, 'ruin, ruthless,helmorhauberk,' arebelowthegrandeurofapoemthatendeavoursatsublimity.

"In the secondstanza theBard iswell described; but in the thirdwe have the

puerilities of obsoletemythology.Whenwe are told that 'Cadwallo hush'd thestormymain,'andthat'ModredmadehugePlinlimmonbowhiscloud-topthead,'attentionrecoilsfromtherepetitionofatalethat,evenwhenitwasfirstheard,washeardwithscorn.

"Theweavingofthewinding-sheetheborrowed,asheowns,fromtheNorthernBards;buttheirtexture,however,wasveryproperlytheworkoffemalepowers,as the act of spinning the thread of life is anothermythology.Theft is alwaysdangerous;Grayhasmadeweaversofslaughteredbardsbyafictionoutrageousandincongruous.Theyarethencalleduponto'Weavethewarp,andweavethewoof,' perhapswith no great propriety; for it is by crossing thewoofwith thewarp thatmenweavetheweborpiece;andthefirst linewasdearlyboughtbythe admission of its wretched correspondent, 'Give ample room and vergeenough.'Hehas,however,nootherlineasbad.

"Thethirdstanzaofthesecondternaryiscommended,Ithink,beyonditsmerit.The personification is indistinct. Thirst and Hunger are not alike; and theirfeatures, tomake the imageryperfect, shouldhavebeendiscriminated.Wearetold, in the same stanza, how 'towers are fed.' But I will no longer look forparticularfaults;yet let itbeobservedthat theodemighthavebeenconcludedwith an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had, withoutexpenseofthought."

YetowersofJulius,London'slastingshame!"YetowersofJulius,London'slastingshame!"

HEADOFOLYMPIANJOVEHEADOFOLYMPIANJOVE.

HYMNTOADVERSITY.

This poem first appeared in Dodsley's Collection, vol. iv., together with the"Elegy in a Country Churchyard." In Mason's and Wakefield's editions it iscalledan"Ode,"butthetitlegivenbytheauthorisasabove.

ThemottofromÆschylusisnotinDodsley,butappearsinthefirsteditionofthepoems (1768) in the form given in the text. The best modern editions ofÆschylus have the reading, [Greek: ton (some, tôi) pathei mathos]. KecktranslatesthepassageintoGermanthus:

"IhnderunszurSinnigkeitleitet,ihnderfestdenSatzStellet,'LehredurchdasLeid.'"

PlumptreputsitintoEnglishasfollows:

"Yea,Zeus,wholeadethmeninwisdom'sway,AndfixethfastthelawWisdombypaintogain."

Cf.Mrs.Browning'sVisionofPoets:

"Knowledgebysufferingentereth,Andlifeisperfectedbydeath."

1.Mitfordremarks:"[Greek:Atê],whomaybecalledthegoddessofAdversity,issaidbyHomertobethedaughterofJupiter(Il.[Greek:t.]91:[Greek:presbaDiosthugatêrAtê,hêpantasaatai).Perhaps,however,GrayonlyalludedtothepassageofÆschyluswhichhequoted,andwhichdescribesAfflictionassentbyJupiterforthebenefitofman."Thelatteristhemoreprobableexplanation.

2.MitfordquotesPope,Dunciad, i. 163: "Thenhe: 'Great tamer of all humanart.'"

3.Torturinghour.Cf.Milton,P.L.ii.90:

"Thevassalsofhisanger,whenthescourgeInexorable,andthetorturinghour,Callsustopenance."

5. Adamantine chains. Wakefield quotes Æschylus, Prom. Vinct. vi.: [Greek:Adamantinôn desmôn en arrêktois pedais]. Cf. Milton, P. L. i. 48: "Inadamantine chains and penal fire;" and Pope, Messiah, 47: "In adamantinechainsshallDeathbebound."

7.Purpletyrants.Cf.Pope,TwoChorusestoTragedyofBrutus:"Tillsomenewtyrant lifts his purple hand."Wakefield citesHorace,Od. i. 35, 12: "Purpureimetuunttyranni."

8.Withpangsunfeltbefore.Cf.Milton,P.L.ii.703:"Strangehorrorseizethee,andpangsunfeltbefore."

9-12.Cf.Bacon,Essays,v.(ed.1625):"Certainly,VertueislikepretiousOdours,most fragrant when they are incensed [that is, burned], or crushed:1 ForProsperitydothbestdiscoverVice;2ButAdversitydothbestdiscoverVertue."

1SoinhisApophthegms,253,Baconsays:"Mr.Bettenhamsaid:thatvirtuousmenwerelikesomeherbsandspices,thatgivenottheirsweetsmelltilltheybebrokenorcrushed."

2Cf.Shakespeare,JuliusCæsar,ii.1:"Itisthebrightdaythatbringsforththeadder."

Cf.alsoThomson:

"IfMisfortunecomes,shebringsalongThebravestvirtues.AndsomanygreatIllustriousspiritshaveconvers'dwithwoe,Haveinherschoolbeentaught,asareenoughToconsecratedistress,andmakeambitionE'enwishthefrownbeyondthesmileoffortune."

16.Cf.Virgil,Æn.i.630:"Nonignaramali,miserissuccurreredisco."

18.Folly'sidlebrood.Cf.theopeninglinesofIlPenseroso:

"Hence,vaindeludingJoys,ThebroodofFolly,withoutfatherbred!"

20.MitfordquotesOldham,Ode: "And know I have not yet the leisure to begood."

22.Thesummerfriend.Cf.Geo.Herbert,Temple:"likesummerfriends,fliesofestatesandsunshine;"Quarles,Sion'sElegies,xix.:"Ah,summerfriendshipwiththe summer ends;"Massinger,Maid of Honour: "O summer friendship." SeealsoShakespeare,T.ofA.iii.6:

"2d Lord. The swallow follows not summer more willing than we yourlordship.

"Timon [aside].Normorewillingly leaveswinter; such summer-birds aremen;"

andT.andC.iii.3:

"Formen,likebutterflies,Shewnottheirmealywingsbuttothesummer."

MitfordsuggeststhatGrayhadinmindHorace,Od.i.35,25:

"AtvulgusinfidumetmeretrixretroPerjuracedit;diffugiuntcadisCumfaecesiccatisamiciFerrejugumpariterdolosi."

25.Insablegarb.Cf.Milton,IlPens.16:"O'erlaidwithblack,staidWisdom'shue."

28.Withleadeneye.EvidentlysuggestedbyMilton'sdescriptionofMelancholy,IlPens.43:

"Thyraptsoulsittinginthineeyes;There,heldinholypassionstill,Forgetthyselftomarble,tillWithasadleadendownwardcastThoufixthemontheearthasfast."

Mitford cites Sidney,Astrophel andStella, song 7: "So leaden eyes;"Dryden,Cymon and Iphigenia, 57: "And stupid eyes that ever lov'd the ground;"Shakespeare,Pericles,i.2:"Thesadcompanion,dull-eyedMelancholy;"andL.L.L.iv.3:"Inleadencontemplation."Cf.alsoTheBard,69,70.

31.Toherselfsevere.Cf.Carew:

"Toservantskind,tofriendshipdear,Tonothingbutherselfsevere;"

and Dryden: "Forgiving others, to himself severe;" and Waller: "The Muses'friend,untohimselfsevere."Mitfordquotesseveralothersimilarpassages.

32. The sadly pleasing tear. Rogers cites Dryden's "sadly pleasing thought"(Virgil'sÆn. x.); and Mitford compares Thomson's "lenient, not unpleasingtear."

35.Gorgonterrors.Cf.Milton,P.L.ii.611:"MedusawithGorgonianterror."

36-40.Cf.OdeonEtonCollege,55-70and81-90.

45-48.Cf.Shakespeare,AsYouLikeIt,ii.1:

"thesearecounsellorsThatfeelinglypersuademewhatIam.Sweetaretheusesofadversity,Which,likethetoad,uglyandvenomous,Wearsyetapreciousjewelinhishead;"

andMallet:

"Whohathnotknownill-fortune,neverknewHimself,orhisownvirtue."

Guizot, in his Cromwell, says: "The effect of supreme and irrevocablemisfortuneistoelevatethosesoulswhichitdoesnotdepriveofallvirtue;"andSir Philip Sidney remarks: "A noble heart, like the sun, showeth its greatestcountenanceinitslowestestate."

Headlong,impetuous,seeitpour"Nowrollingdownthesteepamain,Headlong,impetuous,seeitpour;Therocksandnoddinggrovesrebellowtotheroar."

TheProgressofPoesy,10.

APPENDIXTONOTES.

Just as this book is going to press we have received The Quarterly Review(London)forJanuary,1876,whichcontainsaninterestingpaperon"WordsworthandGray."After quotingWordsworth's remark that "Graywas at the head ofthose poets who, by their reasonings, have attempted to widen the space ofseparation between prose and metrical composition, and was, more than anyotherman,curiouslyelaborateintheconstructionofhisownpoeticdiction,"thereviewerremarks:

"Theindictment,then,broughtbyWordsworthagainstGrayistwofold.Gray,itseems, had in the first place a false conception of the nature of poetry; and,secondly,afalsestandardofpoeticaldiction.Tobeginwiththefirstcount,Gray,wearetold,soughttowidenthespaceofseparationbetwixtproseandmetricalcomposition.Whatthischargeamountstoweshallseehereafter.Meantime,didWordsworth think that between prose and poetry there was any line ofdemarcationatall?InthePreface[tothe"LyricalBallads"]fromwhichwehavequotedweread:

"'There neither is nor can be any essential difference between the language ofproseandmetricalcomposition.WearefondoftracingtheresemblancebetweenPoetry andPainting, and accordinglywe call them sisters; butwhere shallwefind bonds of connection sufficiently strong to typify the connection betwixtproseandmetricalcomposition?'

"Now this question admits of a very definite answer.Take the Iliad ofHomerand a proposition of Euclid. Is it conceivable that the latter could have beenexpressedatall inmetre,ortheformerexpressedhalfsowell inprose?Ifnot,whatisthereason?Isitnotplainthatthepoemcontainsapredominantelementof imaginationand feelingwhich is absolutelyexcluded from theproposition?

Andin thesamewayitmaybeshownthatwheneveramanexpresseshimselfproperlyinmetre,thesubject-matterofhiscompositionbelongstoimaginationorfeeling;wheneverhewritesinprosehissubjectbelongstoor(iftheprosebefiction)intimatelyresemblesmatteroffact.Wemaydecidethenwithcertaintythat thesphereofpoetry lies in Imagination,and that the larger theamountofjustlibertytheImaginationenjoys,thebetterwillbethepoetryitproduces.Butthenafurtherquestionarises,andthisisthekeyofthewholeposition,Howfardoes this libertyextend?IsImaginationabsolute,supreme,anduncontrolled initsownsphere,or is itunder theguidanceandgovernmentof reason?That itsdominion isnotuniversal isobvious,butof its influenceweareallconscious,andthereisnoexaggerationintheeloquentwordsofPascal:

"'Thismightypower,theperpetualantagonistofreason,whichdelightstoshowits ascendency by bringing her under its control and dominion, has created asecondnatureinman.Ithasitsjoysanditssorrows;itshealth,itssickness;itswealth,itspoverty;itcompelsreason,inspiteofherself,tobelieve,todoubt,todeny; it suspends the exercise of the senses, and imparts to them again anartificialacuteness;ithasitsfolliesanditswisdom;andthemostperversethingofallisthatitfillsitsvotarieswithacomplacencymorefullandcompleteeventhanthatwhichreasoncansupply.'

"If such be the force of Imagination in active life, how absolute must be itsdominion in poetry!And absolute it is, ifwe are to believeWordsworth,whodefines poetry to be 'the spontaneous overflow of powerful emotion.' Thisdefinitioncoincideswellwithmodernnotionsonthenatureoftheart.Buthowdifferent is the view if we turn from theory to practice! It would surely be aseriousmistaketodescribethenoblestpoems,likethe'Æneid'or'ParadiseLost,'astheproductofmerespontaneousemotion.Andeveninlyricverse,towhichitmaybe saidWordsworth is specially alluding,we find the greatest poets, likePindar and Simonides, composing their odes for set occasions like the publicgames, in honour of persons with whom they were but little acquainted, and(mostsignificantfactofall)intheexpectationofreceivingliberalrewards.Weneednot say that such considerationsdetract nothing from thegeniusof thesegreat poets; but they prove very conclusively that poetry is not whatWordsworth'sdefinitionasserts,andwhatinthesedaysitistoooftenassumedtobe,themeregushofunconsciousinspiration.ThedefinitionofWordsworthmayperhapssuitshortlyrics,suchashewashimselfinthehabitofcomposing,butitwouldbefataltotheclaimsofpoetrytorankamongthehigherarts,foritwouldexcludethatqualitywhich, inpoetryasinallart, is trulysovereign,Invention.

Thepoet,nolessthanthemechanicalinventor,excelsbytheexerciseofreason,byhisknowledgeof the requiredeffect,hispowerofadaptingmeans toends,and his skill in availing himself of circumstances.Consider for amoment theexternal difficulties which restrict the poet's liberty, and require the mostvigorouseffortsofreasontosubduethem.Tobeginwith,inordertosecurethehappyresultpromisedbyHorace,

'CuilectapotentereritresNecfacundiadeserethuncneclucidusordo,'

hehastotaketheexactmeasureofhisownpowers.Howmanyapoethasfailedforwantofjudgmentbytrespassingonasubjectandstyleforwhichhisgeniusisunfitted!Again,heisconfrontedbythemostobviousdifficultiesoflanguageandmetre,whichlimithisfreedomtoadegreeunknowntotheprose-writer.Andbeyond this, if hewishes to be read—and a poemwithout readers is nomorethanamusicalinstrumentwithoutamusician—hehastoconsiderthecharacterof his audience. He must have all the instinct of an orator, all the intuitiveknowledgeoftheworld,aswellasallthepracticalresource,whicharerequiredto gain command over the hearts of men, and to subdue, by the charms ofeloquence,theirpassions,theirprejudices,andtheirjudgment.Toachievesuchresults somethingmore is required than 'thespontaneousoverflowofpowerfulfeeling.'

"How farWordsworth's ownpoetry illustrates his principleswe shall considerpresently; meantime his definition helps us to understand what he meant byGray's fault of widening the space of separation betwixt prose and metricalcomposition.NeitherinrespectofthequantitynorthequalityofhisversecouldGray's manner of composition be described as spontaneous. Compared withWordsworth'snumerousvolumesofpoetry,theslendervolumethatcontainsthepoetry of Gray looks meagre indeed; yet almost every poem in this smallcollectionisaconsideredworkofart.Tobeginwith'TheBard.'Fewreaders,wesuppose,would rise from this odewithout a sense of its poetical 'effect.' Thedetails may be thought to require too much attention; the allusions, from thenature of the subject, are, no doubt, difficult; but a feeling of loftiness, ofharmony,ofproportion,remainsinthemindatthecloseofthepoem,whichisnotlikelytopassaway.How,then,wasthiseffectproduced?Firstofallweseethat Gray had selected a good subject; his raw materials, so to speak, werepoetical. The imagination, unembarrassed by common associations, breathesfreelyinitsownregion,andisinstinctivelyelevatedasitmovesamongthegreat

events of the past, dwelling on the misfortunes of monarchs, the rise ofdynasties,andthesplendoursofliterature.But,inthesecondplace,whenhehaschosenhis subject, it is thepartof thepoet to impress thegreat ideasderivedfrom it on the feelings and thememory by the distinctness of the form underwhich he presents it; and here poetical invention first begins towork. By theimaginative fiction of 'TheBard,'Gray is enabled to cast thewhole course ofEnglishhistoryintotheformofaprophecy,andtoexcitethepatrioticfeelingsofthe reader, as Virgil roused the pride of his own countrymen by Anchises'forecastofthegrandeurofRome.Finally,whenthemaindesignofthepoemisthus conceived, observe with what art all the different parts are made toemphasize the beauty of the general conception;withwhat dramatic proprietythecalamitiesof theconqueringPlantagenet areprophesiedbyhisvanquishedfoe;whileontheotherhand,theliterarygloriesoftheTudorElizabethawakenthetriumphofthepatriotandthepoet;howmartialandspiritedistheopeningofthepoem!howloftyandenthusiasticitsclose!PerhapsthereisnoEnglishlyricwhich,animatedbyequalfervour,displayssomucharchitecturalgeniusas'TheBard.'

"Take,again,the'OdeontheProspectofEtonCollege.'Asubjectbetteradaptedfar the indulgence of personal feeling, or for those sentimental confidencesbetween the readerand thepoet, inwhich themodernmusesomuchdelights,couldnotbe imagined.Butwhatdowefind?Thethemeis treatedin themostgeneralmanner.Thoughemphasizingtheironyofhisreflectionbythebeautifultouchofmemoryinthesecondstanza,thepoetspeaksthroughoutasamoralistor spectator; from first to last he seems to lose all thought of himself incontemplatingthetragediesheforeseesforothers;thesubjectisinfacthandledwith the most skilful rhetoric, and every stanza is made to strengthen andelaborate the leading thought. In the 'Progress of Poesy,' though the generalconstructiveeffectisperhapsinferiorto'TheBard,'weseethesameevidenceofcareful preconsideration, while the course of the poem is particularlydistinguished by the beauty of the transitions.Of the form of the 'Elegy' it issuperfluous to speak; a poem so dignified and yet so tender, appealsimmediately,andwillcontinue toappeal, to theheartofeveryEnglishman,solongasthecareofpubliclibertyandloveofthesoilmaintaintheirholdinthiscountry.Inthispoem,asindeedinall thatGrayeverwrote,wefindithisfirstprincipletopreferhissubjecttohimself;heneverforgotthatwhilehewasamanhewas also an artist, and he knew that the function of artwas notmerely toindulgenature,buttodignifyandrefineit.

"Yet, in spite of his love of form, there is nothing frigid or statuesque in thegenius of Gray. A vein of deep melancholy, evidently constitutional, runsthrough his poetry, and, considering how little he produced, the number ofpersonalallusionsinhisversesisundoubtedlylarge.Butheisentirelyfreefromthat egotismwhichwe have had frequent occasion to blame as the prevailingviceofmodernpoetry.Forwhereasthemodernpoetthrustshisprivatefeelingsinto prominence, and finds a luxury in the confession of his sorrows, Gray'sreferencestohimselfareintroducedonpublicgrounds,or,inotherwords,withaviewtopoeticaleffect.He,likeourownbards,is'condemnedtogroan,'butfordifferentreasons—

'Thetenderforanother'spain,Theunfeelingforhisown.'

"Wehavealreadyremarkedonthepubliccharacterofthe'OdeonEtonCollege;'butthesecondstanzaofthispoemisapureexpressionofindividualfeeling:

'Ah,happyhills!ah,pleasingshade!Ah,fieldsbelov'dinvain!Whereoncemycarelesschildhoodplay'd,Astrangeryettopain!IfeelthegalesthatfromyeblowAmomentaryblissbestow,Aswavingfreshtheirgladsomewing,Mywearysoultheyseemtosoothe,And,redolentofjoyandyouth,Tobreatheasecondspring.'

Everyonewillperceivetheartwhichenforcesthetruthofthegeneralreflectionsthat follow by the personal experience of the speaker.Again, the 'Progress ofPoesy' closes with a personal allusion which, as it is a climax, might, if ill-managed,haveappearedarrogant,butwhichis,infact,amasterpieceoforatory.AfterconfessinghisowninferioritytoPindar,thepoetproceeds:

'YetoftbeforehisinfanteyeswouldrunSuchformsasglitterintheMuse'sray,Withorienthues,unborrow'dofthesun;Yetshallhemount,andkeephisdistantway,Beyondthelimitsofavulgarfate,BeneaththeGoodhowfar—butfarabovetheGreat!'

There is something very noble in the elevated manner in which the self-complacent triumph of genius, expressed by so many poets from Ennius

downwards,isatoncejustifiedandchastenedbythereflectionintheselines.Wesee in them that thepoetalludes tohimself in the thirdperson,andhe repeatsthisstyleinthe'Elegy,'where,afterthefourthline,thefirstpersonalpronounisneveragainused.Howjustandbeautifulistheturnwhere,aftercontemplatingthegenerallotofthelowlysocietyheiscelebrating,heproceedstoidentifyhisownfatewiththeirs:

'Forthee,who,mindfulofth'unhonour'ddead,Dostintheselinestheirartlesstalerelate,If,chance,bylonelycontemplationled,Somekindredspiritshallinquirethyfate,

'Haplysomehoary-headedswainmaysay,'etc.

"The twogreatcharacteristicsofGray'spoetry thatwehavenoticed—hisself-suppressionandhissenseofformanddignity—arebestdescribedbytheword'classical.'WhatweparticularlyadmireinthegreatauthorsofGreeceandRomeis their public spirit. Their writings are full of patriotism, good-breeding, andcommon-sense, and have that happy mixture of art and nature which is onlyacquired by men who have learned from liberty how to discipline individualinstinctsbysocialrefinement.Theirstyleismasculine,clear,andmoderate;theyseem,asitwere,nevertolosethesenseofbeingbeforeanaudience,and,likeorators who know that they are always exposed to the judgment of theirintellectualequals,theyaimatputtingintelligiblethoughtsintothemostnaturaland forciblewords. Precisely the same qualities are observable in all the bestEnglish writers of the eighteenth century. Addison, Pope, and Goldsmith areperhapsthemostshiningexamples,buttherestare'classical'inthesensewhichwehave just indicated;andwecanhardlybewrong inascribing thiscommonrhetoricalinstincttotheintimateconnectionbetweenthemenofthoughtandthemenofaction,whichexistedbothinthefreestatesofantiquity,andinEnglandundertheruleofthearistocracy.Withtheadvanceoftheeighteenthcenturytheinstinct in English literature seems to grow weaker; the style of our authorsbecomesmoreformalandconstrained,andsymptomsof thatdislikeofsocietyencouragedby thephilosophyofRousseaumore frequentlybetray themselves.As thepoetryofCowper shows less social instinct than that ofGray, soGrayhimself is inferior in this respect toPopeandGoldsmith.Buthis stylehas thesameloftypublicspiritthatdistinguisheshisfavouritemodels,andnoworthierformcouldbeimaginedtoexpresstheardourexcitedintheheartofapatrioticpoetbytherisingfortunesofhisnativecountry.Wefeelthatitisineverywayfittingthattheauthorofthe'Elegy'shouldhavebeenthefavouriteofWolfeand

thecountrymanofChatham."

CLIO,THEMUSEOFHISTORYCLIO,THEMUSEOFHISTORY.

INDEXOFWORDSEXPLAINED.

Æolian

afield

amain

antic

Arvon

Atticwarbler

Berkeley

boar(ofRichardIII.)

broke(=broken)

buskined

buxom

Cadwallo

Caernarvon

captive(proleptic)

chance(adverb)

cheer

churchway

curfew

customed

Cytherea

Delphi

fond(=foolish),seealso

fretted

glister

Gloster

Gorgon

graved

grisly,seealso

grove(=graved)

haggard

hauberk

Helicon

Hoel

honied

Horæ

Hyperion

Idalia

Ilissus

jet

leaden(eye)

lion-port

little(=petty)

Llewellyn

long-expecting

Mæander

margent

Modred

Mortimer

murther

murtherous

nightly(=nocturnal)

parting(=departing)

pious(=pius)

Plinlimmon

provoke(=provocare)

purple,seealso,seealso

rage

repair

repeat

rose(ofsnow)

rushy

shaggy

shell(=lyre)

slow-consuming

Snowdon

solemn-breathing

summerfriend

tabby

Taliessin

tempered

Thracia

Tyrian

upland

Urien

velvet-green

woeful-wan

ye(accusative)

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