[289] See pp. 170, 171.
[290] Rev. xxi. 5.
[291] Psal. cvii. 20.
[292] 1 Pet. i. 23. See also Heb. iv. 12.
[293] "It is the Spirit that quickeneth." John vi. 63. The union of the Word and the Spirit in imparting spiritual life to the soul is forcibly expressed in the same verse: "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life."
[294] See Lord Teignmouth's Life of Sir William Jones.
[295] Ibid.
[296] Private correspondence.
[297] The editor, once conversing with the late Rev. Andrew Fuller, the well-known secretary of the Serampore Missionary Society, on the subject of Sunday schools in connexion with that noble institution, the British and Foreign Bible Society, the latter observed, "Yes: if the Bible Society had commenced its operations earlier, its usefulness would have been comparatively limited, because the faculty of reading would not have been so generally acquired. Each institution is in the order of Providence:—God first raised up Sunday schools, and children were thereby taught to read; afterwards, when this faculty was obtained, in order that it might not be perverted to wrong ends, God raised up the Bible Society, that the best of all possible books might be put into their hands. Yes, Sir," he added in his emphatic manner, "the wisdom of God is visible in both; they fit each other like hand and glove."
[298] Private correspondence.
[299] The epistle in which he commemorates his friendship for Mr. Hill begins as follows:—
We add the two concluding lines, as descriptive of his person and character.
See Poems.
[300] Ashley Cowper, Esq.
[301] Private correspondence.
[302] The Peterborough family had formerly a mansion and large estate in the parish of Turvey. It is mentioned in Camden's Britannia, so far back as in the time of Henry VIII. There are some marble monuments in the parish church, executed with great magnificence, and in high preservation, recording the heroes of foreign times belonging to that ancient but now extinct race.
[303] The dispute originated respecting the enclosure of the parish; and, as this act was unpopular with the poor, the bundle of quick-thorn was intended to be expressive of their indignant feelings.
[304] The proper name of the place is Tingewick.
[305] Private correspondence.
[306] The narrative of Miss Eliza Cunningham's last illness and happy death.
[307] In the Prolegomena to Villoisson's Iliad it is stated, that Pisistratus, in collecting the works of Homer, was imposed upon by spurious imitations of the Grecian bard's style; and that not suspecting the fraud, he was led to incorporate them as the genuine productions of Homer.
Cowper justly ridicules so extravagant a supposition.
[308] The playful spirit in which the writer adverts to this subject appears to have yielded afterwards to a feeling of indignation; the following lines in his own hand-writing having been found by Dr. Johnson amongst his papers:—
ON THE AUTHOR OF LETTERS ON LITERATURE.
[309] Private correspondence.
[310] His translation of Homer's Iliad.
[311] The following is the passage alluded to:—
Pope's Messiah, line 67, &c.
[312] Cowper was at Westminster school with five brothers of this name. He retained through life the friendship of the estimable character to whom this letter is addressed.
[313] Lewis Bagot, D.D. He was formerly Dean of Christ Church, Oxford; afterwards Bishop of Norwich, and finally Bishop of St. Asaph.
[314] Private correspondence.
[315] Private correspondence.
[316] A public reciter, well known in his day, who delivered his recitations with all the effect of tone, emphasis, and graceful elocution.
[317] John Thornton, Esq.
[318] This interesting relic was bequeathed to Dr. Johnson, and is now in the possession of his family. It was presented to Cowper by Lady Hesketh.
[319] Private correspondence.
[320] The person here alluded to is Dr. Cyril Jackson, dean of Christ Church, Oxford, a man of profound acquirements and of great classical taste. He was formerly preceptor to the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV.
[321] Dr. Kerr was an eminent physician, in great practice, and resident at Northampton.
[322] Private correspondence.
[323] Mr. Bagot had recently sustained the loss of his wife.
[324] Private correspondence.
[325] Mrs. Unwin's daughter.
[326] See Johnson's Life of Pope. The original manuscript copy of Pope's translation is deposited in the British Museum.
The Task, Book 4th.
[328] Lady Hesketh adopted this delicate mode of extending her kindness to the Poet.
[329] Dr. Kerr, of Northampton.
[330] See the verses on Lord Thurlow—
"Round Thurlow's head in early youth," &c. &c.
[331] The Rev. Moses Brown.
"Oh, happy shades," &c. &c.
[333] "Truth is strange, stranger than fiction."
[334] Charles Bagot, the brother of Walter, took the name of Chester on the death of Sir Charles Bagot Chester, and lived at Chicheley, not far from Weston, the seat of Mr. Throckmorton.
[335] He was rector of Blithfield, Staffordshire.
[336] Private correspondence.
[337] Messiah.
[338] Isaiah lxiii. 9.
[339] Matt. xvii. 14-18.
[340] Mark ix. 27.
[341] The lodge at Weston to which Cowper removed in the November following.
[342] This Mr. De Grey has been already mentioned. He rose to the dignity of Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and was finally created Lord Walsingham.
[343] Ashley Cowper and his wife, Lady Hesketh's father and mother.
[344] The club designated by this humorous title, was composed of Westminster men, and included among its members, Bonnell Thornton, Colman, Lloyd, Hill, Bensley, and Cowper. They were accustomed to meet together for the purpose of literary relaxation and amusement.
[345] There are few countries where a thunder-storm presents so sublime and terrific a spectacle as in Switzerland. The writer remembers once witnessing a scene of this kind in the Castle of Chillon, on the banks of the Lake of Geneva. The whole atmosphere seemed to be overcharged with the electric fluid. A stillness, like that of death, prevailed, forming a striking contrast with the tumult of the elements that shortly succeeded. The lightning at length burst forth, in vivid coruscations, like a flame of fire, darting upon the agitated waters; while the rain descended in torrents. Peals of thunder followed, rolling over the wide expanse of the lake, and re-echoing along the whole range of the Alps to the left; and then taking a complete circuit, finally passed over to the Jura, on the opposite side, impressing the mind with indescribable awe and admiration.
[346] Private correspondence.
[347] Private correspondence.
[348] This jeu d'esprit has never been found, notwithstanding the most diligent inquiry.
[349] Exodus, xiii. 21, 22.
[350] Men who are of sufficient celebrity to entitle their letters to the honour of future publication would do well in never omitting to attach a date to them. The neglect of this precaution, on the part of the Rev. Legh Richmond, led to much perplexity.
[351] Cowper was an admirer of Churchill, and is thought to have formed his style on the model of that writer. But he is now no longer "the great Churchill." The causes of his reputation have been the occasion of its decline. His productions are founded on the popular yet evanescent topics of the time, which have ceased to create interest. He who wishes to survive in the memory of future ages must possess, not only the attribute of commanding genius, but be careful to employ it on subjects of abiding importance. His life was characterised by singular imprudence, and by habits of gross vice and intemperance. A preacher by profession, and a rake in practice, he abandoned the church, or rather was compelled to resign its functions. Gifted with a vigorous fancy, and superior powers, he prostituted them to the purposes of political faction, and became the associate and friend of Wilkes. A bankrupt, at length, both in fortune and constitution, he was seized with a fever while paying a visit to Mr. Wilkes, at Boulogne; and terminated his brilliant but guilty career at the early age of thirty-four.
[352] Miss Shuttleworth.
[353] Addison was the first, by his excellent critiques in the Spectator, to excite public attention to a more just sense of the immortal poem of the Paradise Lost. But it was reserved for Johnson (Rambler, Nos. 86, 88, 90, 94) to point out the beauty of Milton's versification. He showed that it was formed, as far as our language admits, upon the best models of Greece and Rome, united to the softness of the Italian, the most mellifluous of all modern poetry. To these examples we may add the name of Spenser, who is distinguished for a most melodious flow of versification. Johnson emphatically remarks, that Milton's "skill in harmony was not less than his invention or his learning." Dr. J. Wharton also observes, that his verses vary, and resound as much, and display as much majesty and energy, as any that can be found in Dryden.
We subjoin the following passages as illustrating the melody of his numbers, the grace and dignity of his style, the correspondence of sound with the sentiment, the easy flow of his verses into one another, and the beauty of his cadences.
THE DESCENT OF THE ANGEL RAPHAEL INTO PARADISE.
Book v.
How sweetly did they float upon the wings
Of silence, through the empty vaulted night;
At every fall, smoothing the raven down
Of darkness, till it smiled.
THE BIRTH OF DEATH.
EVE EATING THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT.
Book ix.
ADAM PARTICIPATING IN THE GREAT TRANSGRESSION.
Book ix.
[354] Private correspondence
[355] See page 135.
[356] Private correspondence.
The Task, Book I.
[358] Lord Cowper.
[359] Rev. xxi. 7; xxii. 12.
[360] Lady Hesketh had placed a young friend of hers under a tutor, who died. She then consigned him to the care of Mr. Unwin, who also departed. Her mind was much afflicted by the singularity of this event, and the above letter is Cowper's reasoning upon it.
[361] Private correspondence.
[362] The Chaplain of John Throckmorton, Esq.
[363] Mrs. Unwin.
[364] Lady Austen.
[365] Private correspondence.
[366] Mr. Rose was the son of Dr. Rose, of Chiswick, who formerly kept a seminary there. He was at this time a young man, distinguished by talent and great amiableness of character, and won the regard and esteem of Cowper. He soon became one of his favourite correspondents.
[367] The peasantry of Scotland do not resemble the same class of men in England, owing to a legal provision made by the Parliament of Scotland, in 1646, whereby a school is established in every parish, for the express purpose of educating the poor. This statute was repealed on the accession of Charles the Second, in 1660, but was finally re-established by the Scottish Parliament, after the Revolution, in 1696. The consequence of this enactment is, that every one, even in the humblest condition of life, is able to read; and most persons are more or less skilled in writing and arithmetic. The moral effects are such, that it has been said, one quarter sessions for the town of Manchester has sent more felons for transportation than all the judges of Scotland consign during a whole year. Why is not a similar enactment made for Ireland, where there is more ignorance and consequently more demoralization, than in any country of equal extent in Europe?
[368] Dr. Currie.
[369] The national air of "Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled," is familiar to every one.
[370] He died in 1796.
[371] This is said to be a portrait of his own father's domestic piety.
[372] A Latin romance, once celebrated. Barclay was the author of two celebrated Latin romances; the first entitled Euphormio, a political, satirical work, chiefly levelled against the Jesuits, and dedicated to James I. His Argenis is a political allegory, descriptive of the state of Europe, and especially of France, during the League. Sir Walter Scott alludes to the Euphormio in his notes on Marmion, canto 3rd.
[373] With Mr., afterwards Sir John Throckmorton, the Editor had not the opportunity of being acquainted; but he would fail in rendering what is due to departed worth, if he did not record the high sense which he entertained of the virtues of his brother, Sir George Throckmorton. To the polished manners of the gentleman he united the accomplishments of the scholar and the man of taste and refinement; while the attention paid to the wants, the comforts, and instruction of the poor, in which another participated with equal promptness and delight, has left behind a memorial that will not soon be forgotten.
[374] T. Giffard, Esq., is the person here intended, for whom the verses were composed, inserted in a separate part of this volume.
[375] Savary's travels in Egypt and the Levant, from 1776 to 1780.—They have acquired sufficient popularity to be translated into most of the European languages. He died in 1788.
Baron de Tott's memoirs.—The severe reflections in which this writer indulged against the Turkish government, and his imprudent exposure of its political weakness, subjected him to a series of hardships and imprisonment, which seem almost to exceed the bounds of credibility.
Sir John Fenn's Letters—Written by various members of the Paston family, during the historical period of the wars between the two houses of York and Lancaster. He died in 1794.
Henri de Lorraine, Duc de Guise.—This celebrated character was the great opponent of the Huguenots, and founder of the League in the time of Henry III. of France. He was assassinated at Blois, at the instigation, it is said, of his sovereign, to whom his influence had become formidable.
[376] Private correspondence.
[377] This letter was addressed to Mr. Newton, on the writer's recovery from an attack of his grievous constitutional malady, which lasted eight months.
[378] Private correspondence.
[379] The living of Olney had become vacant by the death of the Rev. Moses Brown, and an attempt was made to secure it for the Rev. Mr. Postlethwaite, the curate. Mr. Bean was ultimately appointed.
[380] The appellation which Sir Thomas Hesketh used to give him in jest, when he was of the Temple.
[381] See Burnet's Theory of the Earth, in which book, as well as by other writers, the formation of mountains is attributed to the agency of the great deluge. The deposit of marine shells is alleged as favouring this hypothesis.
[382] We introduce one stanza from these verses:—
[383] (Henry Mackenzie.) This popular writer first became known as the author of "The Man of Feeling," which was published in 1771, and of other works of a similar character. He afterwards became a member of a literary society, established at Edinburgh, in 1778, under the title of the Mirror Club. Here originated the Mirror and Lounger, periodical essays written after the manner of the Spectator, of which he was the editor and principal contributor. He died in 1831.
[384] In a periodical called "The Lounger."
[385] The author was Lord Bagot.
[386] Ashley Cowper, Esq.
[387] He belonged to what was formerly known by the name of the Della Crusca School, at Florence, whose writings were characterised by an affectation of style and sentiment, which obtained its admirers in this country. The indignant muse of Gifford, in his well-known Baviad and Mæviad, at length vindicated the cause of sound taste and judgment; and such was the effect of his caustic satire, that this spurious and corrupt style rapidly disappeared.
[388] The poet's wish is so expressive of the poet's taste, and there is so beautiful a turn in these complimentary verses, that we cannot resist the pleasure of inserting them.
THE POET'S NEW YEAR'S GIFT TO MRS. THROCKMORTON.
[389] The discovery of vaccination, since the above period, has entitled the name of Jenner to rank among the benefactors of mankind.
[390] The verses on the new year.
[391] The celebrated caricaturist.
[392] Private correspondence.
[393] Formerly Vicar of Olney, and also one of the Librarians of the British Museum
[394] Mr. Postlethwaite.
[395] This letter proves how much the sensitive mind of Cowper was liable to be ruffled by external incidents. Life presents too many real sources of anxiety, to justify us in adding those which are imaginary and of our own creation.
[396] Private correspondence.
[397] We insert Pope's translation, as being the most familiar to the reader.
Pope's Version
[398] For the gratification of those who are not in possession of this poem, we insert the following extract:—
We add one more passage, as it contains an animated appeal against the injustice of this nefarious traffic.
See Mrs. More's Poem, entitled The Slave Trade.