66 But love and forrow, find, their words too weak σε "And ne'er fhall forrowing earth to Heaven commend • Over the tablet is his buft in white marble. Mr. Meyer was born at Tubingen, in the dutchy of Wurtem burgh. He came over to England at fourteen years of age, and ftudied under Zincke. His own merit, and the royal patronage, contributed to raise him to the head of his profeffion, as a painter in miniature. On the north wall of the church, are the monuments of Brigadier William Douglas, who died in 1747, in South Beveland (in Holland); and Mary, widow of Colonel Ruffel, who died in 1764. Against the caft wall, is the monument of Dorothy Lady Capel, widow of Henry Lord Capel of Tewkesbury, who died in 1721. Against the fouth wall, is the monument of Elizabeth Countess of Derby, who died in 1717; and lies buried in Weftminster Abbey. In the church-yard, near the school-house door, is the tomb of Tho. mas Gainsborough, Efquire, the celebrated artist, who died Auguft 2, 1788, aged 61. He has no other monument than a grave-ftone, which only mentions the date of his death. His memory will live however in his works, and in the deserved and liberal encomiums beftowed on him in the lectures of the late worthy and much lamented President of the Royal Academy. Mr. Gainfborough never refided at Kew, except on occafional vifits to his fifter. Near the fame spot is the grave of Mr. Meyer, whose monument has been juft defcribed; and that of Mr. Joshua Kirby, clerk of the board of works, an ingenious architect, who published a well known book on perfpective. He died June 20, 1774. In the church-yard, are the tombs alfo of Sir Charles Eyre, Knight, Governor of Fort William, in Bengal, who died in 1729; Thomas Gardiner, Efquire, who died in 1738; Col. Armand de la Baftide, who died in 1744; Thomas Howlet, Efquire, who died in 1759; and others of his family; Peter Forbes, Efquire, who died in 1762; Thomas Robinfon, Efquire, page to three Princes of Wales, who died in 1775; Edward Thomas, Efquire, who died in 1777; Frances, wife of John Larpent, Efquire, who died in 1777; Jane, wife of Captain Lawfon of the Artillery, who died in 1780; Elizabeth, widow of Edward Bearcroft, Efquire, who died in 1780; John Haverfield, Efquire, well known for his taste and fkill as an ornamental gardener, who died in 1781; Philip Delafield, Efquire, who died in 1787; and the Rev. Daniel Bellamy, late minifter of Kew, who died in 1788. He was author of fome Ethic Poems, [properly, a mifcellany called Ethic Amufements] and a Paraphrafe on the Book of Job. < The The church of Kew is in the diocefe of Winchester, and the deanery of Ewell. In the year 1769 it was feparated by act of parliament from Kingston, to which it had been a chapel of eafe, and being united to Petersham, another chapel belonging to the fame church, they were both made one vicarage. In the king's books, St. Anne's chapel on Kew Green is faid to be 51. per annum certified value. The prefent vicar is the Reverend William Fofter, who fucceeded Mr. Bellamy. The parish regifter is of the fame date as the chapel, which was confecrated the 12th of May 1714. The prefent number of houfes is about eighty. Lady Capel left a benefaction of 111. per annum to this parish, for the purpofe of eftablishing a charity-school. Elizabeth Countess of Derby left 10col. to the poor of Brentford and Kew, the moiety belonging to this parish produces 241. per annum. An act of parliament was obtained 30 Geo. II. for building a wooden bridge across the Thames at Kew; it was finished in the year 1759. The prefent bridge, which is of freeftone, was opened in Sept. 1789. It is the private property of Robert Tunstal, Efquire; being built at his expence, as the former was at the expence of his father.' This work is infcribed to the Earl of Orford, from whofe unexhaufted store of anecdote and information, we doubt not, Mr. Lyfons has experienced much agreeable and folid aid. It is farther embellished by 27 plates, of which the portraits that reprefent perfons of confiderable eminence, are now, for the first time, engraved. The others Mr. Lyfons prefumes will be found faithful delineations of what they are intended to represent and we have obferved with pleasure, that the views in general are marked with a small and modeft fignature of S. L. which denotes that they were drawn, and probably etched also, by a near relation of the author, whofe talents, in every branch of defign, are far beyond the ufual reach of dilettanti. Something, perhaps, fhould be faid of the author's ftyle: of this it feems fufficient commendation to obferve, that it is plain and perfpicuous. It is alfo the reviewer's province, though certainly the most irksome and painful part of his duty, to notice defects. But if the arrangement, which we noticed in a preceding page, be not confidered as objectionable, we really have noticed no others of importance. We heartily with Mr. Lyfons fuccefs in his fale of the prefent, and execution of his future volumes. Before, however, we take our leave of him, it is But but an act of juftice to declare, that the two Indexes which he has fubjoined, diftinguish him as a man fincerely anxious to render his undertaking as perfectly convenient and useful as unremitting diligence could make it. ART. XIII. Elegeia Thoma Gray, Græcè Reddita. Small 4to. AS S the cultivation of Greek literature is infinitely important, in its tendency to preferve among us the genuine fources of poetry, hiftory, criticism, and religion; and as no method is more conducive towards the attainment of perfect knowledge in the Greek idiom, than the practice of frequent compofition in that language, the public are obliged to Dr. Norbury for the labour he has bestowed, and the example he has given in producing this verfion of Gray's beautiful Elegy. When we begin to read with attention the Greek compofitions of modern writers, we are inclined to believe, that, from the boundless extent of the Greek language, the infinite variety of its combinations, and the great diverfity of fignifications in which the fame words are used in different authors, it is much eafier to pronounce pofitively that a phrafe adopted by a modern may be right, than to affert, that no example of its ufage can be adduced from the best claffics. For, in the first place, the most eminent critics on approved authors frequently contradict each other, and bring inftances to justify what has been boldly condemned, as either corrupt text, or folecifm. Then again, it is to be prefumed, that in general the modern compofer does not hazard any expreffion, till he has found authorities, which the critic, perhaps, cannot immediately recollect. It is difficult to determine which of the two has the harder province, the writer who produces Greek originals, or he who tranflates from English into Greek. It muft, however, be allowed, that to each the task is arduous, and, therefore, to each fhould be given due indulgence. With this difpofition we come to examine the poem now before us and in candour we conceive, that the learned and ingenious tranflator will not think us fevere, if we point out what to us may appear not quite accurate. The mixture of dialects feems to deftroy the fimplicity of character in the ftyle of the tranflation Κεκμακώς, Ποτναν Σαλαναν, Αγγελέοντι, Δρέψοντι, Φιλαματ', Μενοντι, Θαλεύντι, Ηνθ', Αματι, are Doric either in flexion or pronunciation; yet the dialect which more generally prevails through the poem is Ionic. Of Of course we do not forget, that a variety of flexions occurs in Homer, whofe poems were recited before the Greek lanhad branched out into four diftinct dialects: nor need we guage be reminded, that the Ionic and Doric dialects are very commonly found together in the choral odes of the Greek tragedies. Still, however, in a work, which pretends not in the fmalleft degree to the ufages retained from high antiquity in the choral odes, and which is written many ages after a difcrimination of dialects has taken place, we apprehend it would have been more proper and correct, if the peculiarities of one dialect only had been preserved. In v. 12. might not voxhew have been more appofite than Tapaoow, to exprefs the interruption of night and filence? In v. 109. the laft fyllable of nag is made long is not this contrary to practice? That the final vowel of one word may be made long before the initial of another, we are not unmindင် ful: but we are at a lofs to juftify the making of ap in iuag, long, except, indeed, by the cæfura. The typographical errors are in v. 23. αςγελέοντι for αγγελε οντι ν. 59. Μιλτνως for Μίλτωνος, V. 75. χθαμαλασις for χθαμαλαις, ν. 86. άμε for όμω, ν. 89. Ψυχn for Ψυχη, ν. 97. αμειψετ' for αμείψετ' v. 110. pe for jew (as we imagine) v. 115. yug for yag, v. 116. inavdus for ακανθας, ν. 119. αμεπτυσε for απέπτυσε, V. 126. νοκτος for νυκτος. We now proceed to the pleasanter part of our province, and fhall briefly mention fome beauties and well adopted paffages in this tranflation. In v. 3. the epithet Suononov applied to Toda well expreffes the flow and heavy ftep, with which "the plowman homeward plods "his weary way." Sophocles has dugno λv Toda. Philoct. 291. In v. 8. the epithet avoy is judicioufly chofen from Homer, to intimate the tinkling, yet dull noife of the fleep's-bell. Homer has Kogues d'aux avov aützv. Il. xii. 160. δ' αμα αυον αυτευνα V. 16. Adopted from Mofchus Ατερμονα νηγξετον ύπνον. Epitaph. Bion. 105. Who, in this place, forgets that charming line of Theocritus, where a fleep far different is wifhed? Εύδετ' εμα βρεφεα γλυκερον και εγερσιμον ὕπνον. V. 31. Σοβαρον γελόωσα. Idyll. 24 Και σοβαρου μ' εγέλαξεν in the Βυκολικός, which is commonly attributed to Theocritus, but fhould be given to Mofchus. Γ. 52. Κρυμος κατέπηξε δυσαης 50, έρχεται αχλαινοισι δυσαία κρυμον αγέσα. Callim. iii. 115. Ουλον χειμα φεξην, νιφετον, κρυμως τε, φόβευμαι. Bion. Idyll. vii. Brunck. Ed. Such accommodations of claffical expreffions to fubjects of modern poetry, we think highly commendable: they show extenfive reading, retentive memory, and facility of genius. Stanzas twenty-fecond and twenty-third may fuffice as fpecimens of the tranflator's merit : Τις δ' έτω ληθη δεδμημενος, αγνώμων τε, Ειωθος τ' ἔτι πυς ανακαιέται ἐν σποδῷ αὐτῇ. Before we finally take leave of this claffical effort, we must, in justice to our readers and ourselves, remark one oversight not of a dubious nature, but certain and undeniable. It is in the quantity of σμίλακος, which, in ver. 13, is ufed with the firt fyllable fhort, in contradiction to all authority. The following beautiful Anapafts of Ariftophanes will at once exemplify the quantity of the word, and gratify the reader of taste. Αλλ' εις Ακαδημίαν κατιων, ὑπὸ ταις μορίαις αποθρέξεις, Nubes. 1001. Whether it be read σμίλακος oι μιλακος is indifferent, as they are only various forms of the fame word. Kufter reads the latter, but Brunck contends for the former, which has also the fupport of MSS. This blemith fhould, of courfe, be removed, if the poem be ever revifed. It is no small commendation of the charming original, that it fuggefts fo frequently to claffical readers the wish to exprefs it in the ancient languages. It has received feveral elegant Latin verfions, already publilhed; and one which, if we miftake not, may yet be expected, more elegant though more literal than any of the former. It is probable that the present will not be the last Greek verfion, fince there is yet an obvious temptation to scholars to try the further effect of the fentiments in the elegiac measure of that language. BRIT. CRIT. VOL. I. JUNE 1793. ART. |