almoft to the walls of Geneva, where you have only food and fadness. With every poffible advantage from nature, Geneva is the most difagreeable and melancholy city in the world, from whence almost all elegant pleafures are banished. The plodding, fevere genius of the greater part of its joyless inhabitants, and the narrowness of their ideas, which are all commercial, render it difgufting to any liberal ftranger. The tomb of their gloomy mafter, of that fanguinary, perfecuting reformer, John Calvin, is in a churchyard without the walls. There is neither ftone nor marble, nor epitaph, nor infcription. On the bare fod grow only nettles, briars, and thistles. No cowflip, violet, or primrofe, fprings there to pleale the eye, or perfume the air. Pro molli viola, pro purpureo narcisso, Carduus, et fpinis furgit paliurus acutis. The foil near Geneva is extremely fertile, and the air very temperate, although fo I SIR, near the Alps. Thofe called the Glaciers quite dazzle the fight, when the fun gives its direct beams on them. The Rhone foams with impetuofity through the town; but the fuperior beauty of this country is the lake of Geneva fplendidier vitro. The imagination cannot form any thing more picturefque. On the fouth the chefnut groves of Savoy, on the north the vineyards and high cultivated fields of the Pais de Vaud, are reflected in its limpid waters. A greater contrast can fcarcely be imagined than between the natives on each fide this great lake. All the inhabitants of the Pais de Vaud, which is in the canton of Berne, are happy, free, neat, well-cloathed, and at their eafe, while thofe in the Dutchy of Savoy are poor, wretched pealants, cruelly oppressed, ragged, and almost naked, ftriking is the difference under the fame climate, at fo fmall a distance, between the flaves of a defpotic prince, and the free fubjects of a mild republic. LETTER III. FROM DR. SMITH TO MR. BAKER *. Write this chiefly to thanke you for the other hiftorical part of Bt. Cofin's letter to Dr. Gunning, wch you did me the favour to fend me in your letter of the 22 Febr. As to the feveral reflexions you refer to, wch oftentimes happen between intimate friends in their familiar way of writing to one another, without the leaft breach of charity, tho' it may be harpely enough expreffed. I am very content to be wholly ignorant of them, and fully approve of your friend's tendernefs of respect for the memory of Bp. Gunning, of wch I should be equally tender, if thofe papers were in my power. In my last letter, I believe, that in the character I gave of the old Earle of Clarendon, I omitted two or three words through haft and inadvertance, wch I was not fenfible of till after it was fent to the poft-houfe, where I fpeak of his great judgment in matters of civil prudence, having then in my thoughts his accurate knowledge of the lawes of his country, in the frudyes he had been bred, and his upright and dexterous management of the Reale during the time of his being chancellour, as well as his comprehenfive skill in the Arcana Imperii, whilst he managed fo the great truft of being firft and cheife minifter of ftate. It had been happy for the whole nation, if the king, his master, had followed his wife, honeft, and faithfull counfels, and had not facrificed him to the envy and malice of flattering and defigning courtiers, whofe naughty project he oppofed with great courage and zeale, and to the revenge of a luftful woman, who had then to great an influence upon the king: the jointly conspiring in his difgrace and ruine, being very fenfible that they could not vile defignes and purposes, unless he were removed. about their I am now reprinting, in a little booke of mifcellanies, my fhort Differtations, De Velenis Græcæ Ecclefiæ. Hymnis Matutinoet respertina, with large additions, in which I have juft occafion of acknowledging a fecond time the civilityes and advantage of your correfpondence. As foon as it is wrought off at the prefs, I will take care to fend you a copy. I am, Sir, Your most faithfull and humble Servant, T. S. Lond. 15 March 1706-7. See Vol. XXXII. P. 364. SAMUEL SIR, SAMUEL BUTLER, AUTHOR OF HUDIBRAS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE EUROPEAN MAGAZINE. THE following Three Letters are literally copied from the Originals, with all their peculiarities of fpelling in the hand-writing of the Author of Hudibras. They are tranfmitted to you with leave to infert them in your Mifcellany, if you think proper. I I am, &c. LETTER I. DEARE SR. AM very fenfible of the exceedinge great favour I received from you by yor res to Mr. Bernard, wherein you are pleafed to let me know I have the happines to live in yor memorie, then wch nothinge but (that wch came with it) the knowledge of yor health and fafety could have beene more dearely welcome to mee. But I am further obigd to you for yr kinde concernment and care of my good fucciffe, wch indeed Sr I fhall ever believe I owe rather to the good wishes of fuch excellent perfons as yrfelfe then any defert or induftrie of mine owne. I befeech you comend my moft humble fervice to yr noble father; and if you do not thinke yor laft favour mifplacd for bringinge you this trouble, indeed Sr there is noe man livinge to whom the knowledge of yor happinelle (when you fhall pleate to thinke me worthy of it can be more really welcome then to Yor most affectionate Janii 23 For Dr. Luke Ridgley, my moft bonoured friend. On the fame paper is the following: LETTER II. DEARE MADAM, IF you had pleasd to have weighd my words with the affection of my meaninge rather then any other coment, you would have founde it impoffible to put any better fense upon them then that from wch they really proceed; but I fee I have leffe credit with you then you gheffe, or elfe you had rather diftruft your owne cies then believe mee, for I am fure I never gave you other accounte of your brother then they have done; and as my words doe adde nothinge to it, foe yor owne refufall cannot letlen it. But I am forry the fyncere devotion of my affection VOL. XXXIII. JAN. 1798. C. D. fhould be valewd by the ceremone of an expreffion, for I doe not know to what other fin I can impute this laft pennance which I have fuffered in beinge denyd the knowledge of your beinge in towne, untill I had loft all the happineffe of it in yor departure. (Cetera difunt.) LETTER III. DEARE SISTER, I HAVE read your Ire that you fent to my wife in which you defire my advice about breeding of your fon, and long of it, and not only conferr'd with although I have confidered much and my cufen Remish but feverall others of my friends about it, I know not what to fay to you; for not knowing the natural parts and inclination of the youth, I know as little what to propose to you in it. For if he doth not naturally take a delight in his booke, it will be in vain to think by any other meanes to prevay! upon him to do it. And therefore all I can fay to you concerning that, is to put among him to fome Gramar fchool, of which there is no great difference that I could ever observe, especially to thofe who have not extraordinary inclinations of their owne tempers to it, where with little industry they may easily attaine to so much as will ferve them in their ordinary occaffons of bufnes, wch is the common rate of all men's educations, and fometimes more profperous to themselves then it proves to thofe who indeavour to go further. As for your breeding him to the Law, whether he be fit for it or not is much more difficult to determine; for as in all that profeffion there are many hundreds that make no advantage at all for one that dos, fo there is nothing certaine but the expence and danger, where youth being left to itfelf, without fo much as a Tutor or Governor, fhall meet with fo many that make it their trade and bufnes to corrupt, and if they You will not, I suspect, be very forry" The conscious swains, rejoicing in the fight, that we are now come to the clofe of this "Eye the blue vault, and bless the useful wonderful defcription: and I am not fure light." but you will call upon me for a confiderable portion of admiration, which Pope's advocates will claim in his behalf from every reader of tafte, for the magnificent imagery which terminates this beautiful profpect in the following verfe : "A flood of glory burfts from all the skies." This verfe, in fublimity of conception, and grandeur of expreffion, furpatles every thing preceding, and will therefore be thought peculiarly well fuited to the diftinguifhed place, which it here occupies. I am very far from wishing to fully the luftre breaking forth in this admirable line; but I am not quite fure that I fufficiently understand it to comprehend its whole beauty. Whatever of meaning it conveys, appears to me too general and indistinct. The continued flood of glory is furely little confonant to the idea expreffed in the original, where the light is broken into innumerable particles, reprefenting the numerous fires in the Trojan camp. The boundles æther is opened, and to good purpofe; thus opened, it difcovers all the stars. Thus this charming picture is finished; and now the great Matter, with contummate fkill, introduces a folitary ipectator to enjoy its various beauties in filent contemplation. -Γεγηθε δε τε φρενα ποιμην. By this artful management he gives a wonderful pathos to the defcription, and without feeming to intend it, very powerfully affects the feelings of his readers; who become, equally with the thepherd, interested in the scene. Pope has, I think, very much weakened the effect by multiplying the fhepherds to an indefinite number, and not confining himself to the one only whom he found in the original. A fimilar defertion, or rather perversion of the text, equally injurious to the fenie of his author, has been noticed before in more inftances than one. When the fwains in general are said to rejoice; or, as Pope has paraphrafed the fentence, "rejoicing in the fight to Eye the blue vault, and blefs the ufeful light;" the swains must be supposed in general to be in the fields, engaged together in their various employments, as by day; fhepherd is mentioned, watching his whereas at this time only one folitary Rock. There is an elegant remark of great delicacy on this pallage in a note by the French Poet before mentioned, with which I know you will be much pleafed, I will therefore tranfcribe it, and conclude:-" La voila bien cette douce fenfibilitè d'Homere, que je ne cefferai jamais de vanter a l'egal de toutes fes autres qualites les plus brilliantes. Le Berger Solitaire c'est peutetre Homere lui-meme qui, dans le calme quelque montagne, joui du fpectacle end'une nuit tranquille, aura, du haut de doux rayons de la lune. chanteur de la nature, eclairée par les (He should rather base faid the flars.) Quelle eft l'ame fenfible qui n'a pas fouri a l'aspect d'un tableau fi charmant ? Ce n'eft pas l'homme agité par les paffions; ce n'ett pas le turbulent citadin, que ce fpectacle fait fourire; c'est le Berger Solitaire, qui dans les loisirs d'une douce retraite, négligeant les plaifirs factices, fe livre avec transport aux plaifirs fimple de la reflans, q'elle ne ceffe de lui préfenter.” nature, et f'amufe a les tableaux intéAdieu, O. P. C. racteristic traits, of the perfon whofe life he defcribes; which the Hiftorian cannot do without a diminution of that dignity which should breathe in his narration, and is required to fupport his page. Biography has an irrefiftible charm which takes poffeffion of the imagination by bringing before it the moft pleafing images. It developes the paffions of the human heart, comes home to men's bofoms, exhibits the fallibility of our nature, and (if I may use the expreffion) reconciles us to ourselves. In Plutarch's Lives we find, to cite the words of Heinfius, compendium eruditionis, prudentiae thefaurum; an epitome of learning, and a treasury of prudence. Plutarch certainly poffeffed a nice difcrimination of character, and was a very fit arbiter of things. His volumes are adapted to every itation of life, and every diverfity of age. They deliver rules for conduct, and precepts for action; they are not lefs adapted to inftruct the Legiflator, than to inform the Schoolboy. Plutarch is not dazzled by the glare of action, but contemplates his characters in folitude and retirement. He gives us a faithful picture of human nature, and as Rouffeau has obferved with much felicity of expreffion, be reprejents mankind in their night-gowns and Juppers. Suetonius has produced a work of Biography, which is not without great information. He does not abound with the deep remarks or the fagacious reafoning of Tacitus, but the accuracy with which his facts are recorded enables us to eftablish cur reflections upon the basis of truth. His lives, however, are principally a recital of luft and debauchery; a picture of icenes that difgrace and villity nature; a defcription of actions that the foul of man recoils at. Our own countrymen have given us feveral biographical works, which will afford an inexhauftible fource of pleasure and inftruction. It belongs to the Biographer to enliven his narrative with well-felected anecdote, and to footh the fancy with the images of domestic life. Johnson, in his life of Milton, not only defcribes the public actions, but watches the modes of itudy, the progrefs of the componitions of that fublime Poet, and views him in his habits of domestic privacy. "Being driven from all public ftations (fays the Biographer), Milton is yet too great not to be traced by curiofity to his retirement, where he has been found by Mr. Richardfon, the fondeft of his admirers, fitting before his door, in a grey coat of coarfe cloth, in warm fultry weather, to enjoy the fresh air; and jo, as well as in his own room, receiving the vifits of people of diftinguished parts, as well as quality. "According to another account (continues Johnfon) he was feen in a small boufe, neatly enough dreffed in black clothes, fitting in a room hung with rufty green; pale but not cadaverous, with cbalk-flones in bis hands. He faid, that if it were not for the gout, bis blindness would be tolerable. Such minute circumftances as these in the life of so great a man as Milton, are admitted with propriety, as every thing that can be told us of him will be liftened to with rapture; and I am of the opinion of the Profeffor, who once informed his pupils that he felt a gratification in knowing even that Milton fattened his fhoes with latchets. Thofe Authors who become their own Biographers prefent the world with a very agreeable performance in the literary hiftory of their itudies and compofitions. It has been obferved that every man's life is of importance to himself, and it might be added, that if he has talents he may make the defcription of it both pleating and inftructive to others. What delight do we derive from the hiftory which Rouffeau, Franklin, Gibbons, and many other men, eminent for their intellectual endowments, have left us of themfelves. With what avidity is every page read that contains the recital of their own actions. This example of fell biography, if I may use the exprefion, has now been fhewn us by the moft diftinguished characters of the Republic of Literature; and will, I hope, be imitated by the many fhining geniules, whole productions do to much honour to the prefent age. If a Southey, a Hayley, a Scot, and many others whom I could cite as men whofe conceptions glance from heaven to earth, from earth to beaven, were to live over their years again, and depict in faithful colours the tenour of their lives, what a fource of intellectual pleasure would they open to pofterity. I fhall now make a tranfition to the fubject of fpeaking of one's felf, or the frequent ufe of the pronoun EGO. Egotin in writing, fay the Critics, fhould be avoided, and this rule Homer never tranfgrefies, who is not found to speak of himself; yet no perfon would confider the There are no paffages in Paradife Loft that enchain the mind more powerfully than thofe extrinfick ones which relate to Milton himfelf. We never regret being drawn away from the main fubject to hear the Poet bewail his own fate, he does it with fuch heart-moving pity! At the beginning of the Third Book he defcants fo pathetically upon his own blindnefs, that the man who can read it without emotion had better read no more; he cannot poffefs any acquaintance with fympathy or feeling. He opens the Book with an addrefs to Light, which, after fome retrofpection, he thus beautifully addreffes: "Day, or the fweet approach of Ev'n or Mora, "Or fight of vernal bloom; or Summer's rofe, "Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine; "But cloud inftead, and ever during dark "Surrounds me; from the chearful ways of men "Cut off. and, for the book of knowledge fair, "Prefented with an univerfal blank "Of Nature's works." The fame praife might be given to the other digreffions in which the Poet bewails his privation of night: they take falt hold upon the mind. Pope is frequently found to chaunt his own actions, but his egotism is fo lively that none would with it away. No veries flow late to himself. How grateful are the more mellinuously than thofe which refollowing: "As yet a child, nor yet a fool to fame, "I lip'd in numbers, for the numbers came.” In a word, to return to the primary fubject of my Ellay, there is no writing more congenial with the general talle of mankind than Biography; and of thofe Authors, I will further obferve, whom neither hiftory nor tradition has fupplied us with an account of, there is no part of their works that will be read with fuch eager curiofity as where they indulge in Egotifin, and peak of themiulves. (It was not in our power to alter the Title of this Correfpondent's laft Favour, the Jheet being already worked off. He will be pleajed to give himself no trouble about Potage.) SIR, TO THE EDITOR OF THE EUROPEAN MAGAZINE. IN a former letter I fent you fome Remarks on the Simoniacal Method of obtaining Ecclefiaftical Preferments, which is now fo commonly practifed; I have at prefent a few obfervations to offer on the conduct of thefe Patrons who All that, which was entrusted to them to be freely given, for the encouragement of piety and learning. The foundation of what I fhall advance on this fubject is, that a Patron who fells the Prefentation to a Benefice, fells that to which he himself hath no right. I do not mean to affert that he hath not a power to fell, because, as I hinted in my laft letter, the Courts of Law will defend him in fo doing; but that (however paradoxical it may found) he hath no kind of right, either reafonable, equitable, or I think legal, to the thing or property fo fold. For what does the corrupt purchafer buy? Is it the duty of reading prayers, and preaching in a particular Church, together with that of visiting and relieving the fick, and all the other laborious cifices that attend a confcientious difcharge of the clerical function? -Certainly not the tithes and other emoluments are undoubtedly the only obje&is which regulate the price in the contemplation of both buyer and feller. Το |