Thro' the drear might of him that walk'd the waves, How tender is this conclufion! how expreffive of that fupport, which, even under the fevereft afflictions, is to be derived from the confolations of religion! The whole Monody exhibits thofe delicacies of thought and fentiment peculiar to its wonderful author, who took every thing within the grafp of his mighty imagination. His mind was of no common make; this appears from all his productions. But after all, it must be confeffed, that Johnson has treated LYCIDAS with a moft unjustifiable feverity. But Mr. Hayley, in his admirable Life of Milton, has done the poem ample juftice in these words: 66 An animated and benevolent veteran of criticism, Doctor Warton, has confidered a relifh for the Lycidas as a teft of true tafte for poetry, and it certainly is a teft which no lover of Milton will be inclined to difpute; though it muft exclude from the lift of accomplifhed critics that intemperate cenfor of the great poet, who has endeavoured to deftroy the reputation of his celebrated Monody with the most infulting expreffions of farcaftic contempt; expreffions that no reader of a fpirit truly poetical, can perufe without mingled emotions of indignation and of pity! But the charms of Lycidas are of a texture too fine to be annihilated by the breath of derifion, and though Dr. Johnson has de clared declared the poem to be utterly deftitute both of na ture and of art; it will affuredly continue to be admired as long as tenderness, imagination, and barmony, are regarded as genuine fources of poetical delight. The effect of this favourite compofition is exactly fuch as the Poet intended to produce; it firft engages the heart with the fimplicity of just and natural forrow, and then proceeds to elevate the mind with magnificent images, ennobled by affectionate and devotional enthu fiafm. The beauties of this pathetic and fublime Mọ nody, are fufficiently obvious; but the reader, who compares it with a poem on the fame fubject, by Cleveland, once the popular rival of Milton, may derive pleafure from perceiving how infinitely our favourite poet has excelled, on this occafion, an eminent antagonist.' Such is the juft encomium of Mr. Hayley, the words of Bishop Newton are, perhaps, ftill more expreffive: "Of the poems to the Memory of Mr. King, the best of all is MILTON'S LYCIDAS. On fuch fa crifices the Gods themfelves ftrew incenfe, and one would almost with fo to have died, for the fake of having been fo lamented!" AN ALPINE EXCURSION. [From Matthifon's Letters.] Grandelos, June, 29th, 1790. ET me now proceed, my dear friend, to give you a detail of my late mountain rambles. We af cended, on horfeback, to the village of Yvorne, not far from Aigle. The road was at first beautiful, winding among pines and cityfus-trees; the clusters of yellow flowers on the latter, formed a ftriking and charming contrast with the dark green hue of the former, while at intervals, through openings in the bushes, we were enchanted enchanted with a perfpective view of the valley of the Rhone and the wild fnowy hills of the Valais. We continued this afcent for about two hours, when we arrived at a place called The Ruins, a name wholly appropriate to the nature of the spot, fince the road now became almoft perpendicular, and nothing was to be feen on either fide but broken maffes of rocks towering above each other. Scarcely had we paffed this wildernefs, when we were rewarded by arriving upon a plain whence we beheld the whole expanse of the lake of Geneva lying at a great depth immediately below us. We ktopped here for fome time at a Sennhütte, or dairy houfe, where we were very hofpitably entertained by the fimple owner, and found excellent milk. After this refreshment we again proceeded forwards, and towards evening reached our night quarters, which was another Sennhütte, at the foot of two majeftic rocks, one of which has the exact form of a flattened cupola, and is called La Tour de Mayenne. Impreffed with the ardent defire to reach the fummit of this eminence, whence I promised myself a glorious view over the Alps of Savoy, together with a rich harveft of plants, I could not the next morning refift making an attempt to accomplish my with, efpecially as my hoft affured me that the undertaking was neither difficult nor dangerous. Accordingly, furnished with my Linnæus, and a little basket, containing fome wine and a piece of bread, I commenced my excurfion, and arrived at the top of the rock without the least obstruction or accident. The view exceeded my expectations, nor was I disappointed in my promifed botanical acquifitions, and all had been well, "could I have been content to return quietly by the fame commodious path that I had afcended; but unfortunately fome dæmon poffeffed me with the idea that by going round to the eaftern fide of the hill, I might find another track by which to defcend, and thus acquire a farther knowledge of a spot I was defirous of exploring as much as poffi ble. ble. I had certainly never attempted the execution of this plan, had I been aware that the ridge of rocks among v which I hoped to find this path, rose perpendicularly above a horrible precipice. After walking for about half an hour, firft along a valley, and then afcending a hill again, I found myself at the foot of a very fteep rock, up which I climbed with fome difficulty by the aid of bufhes growing out of the clefts, and arrived at a gentle flope, covered with the filene acaulis, as with a purple carpet, where finding myfelf fomewhat fatigued, I fat down to reft, it being then exactly noon. After taking a refreshing repaft from my little basket, I afcended the flope, and as every trace of the foot of man was loft, directed my courfe by the fun and La Tour de Mayenne, which Jay exactly to the east of the Sennhütte where I had left my companion. I have feldom been more difagreeably furprifed than with the change of scene which now prefented itself to my view. Scarcely had I reached, the fummit of the flope, when I faw before me as far' as the eye could reach, a boundless wilderness overfpread with fnow, broken only by vaft chasms or points of rocks, and where, as on the boundaries of a chaos, all vegetable life feemed to die away. Had my ftrength been wholly unimpaired, I could fcarcely have formed fo wild an idea as that of endeavouring to prefs on through these regions of wintery defolation, and now that I was already wearied with my previous exertions, I thought it by far my wifest plan to turn back without delay, and regain, as faft as poffible, the path by which I firft afcended. But when I came back to the rock, I beheld, with fhuddering, the invincible difficulty of getting down a precipice, which in afcending I had fcarcely thought formidable. It is very often the cafe in mountain regions, as you know by experience, that a rock may be afcended with eafe, which could not be defcended again without the moft imminent hazard, Here it was not merely hazard, ous ous to attempt defcending, it was a thing impoffible to be done, fince nothing could fave me from falling down the precipice, but ftepping precifely upon every bufh and fhrub that had affifted my afcent, and this I could by no means be fecure of doing, unless I had had eyes in the foles of my feet. . Tothe right and left frightful abyffes denied me every poffibility of extricating myself from my perilous fituation, confequently no other means remained for my deliverance but to attempt wading through the fnowy wafte, to which alone I was obliged to leave the decifion of my fate. I arrived once more at the flope with the purple carpet, and trod again the borders of the wintery defert, where the loofe fnow made the walking extremely laborious, nor can I find words to describe the difficulties I had to encounter, but they were fo great, that with a lefs degree of natural ftrength I had inevitably funk under them. Often was I forced to defcend into deep chafms filled with fnow, whence I could not climb out again without the utmoft exertion, and at last had, perhaps, not gained above five or fix yards of direct way. My ancle-bones became quite exoriated with repeated falls between broken points of rocks, and my hands were no lefs galled with grappling them, till at length I found myself fo completely exhaufted that I could proceed no farther. It was then half past four. Hitherto I had not loft all hope of emancipation, but as my ftrength was gone, and the defert ftill appeared to ftretch as far before me as at the firft ftep I had taken, my fate feemed now inevitable, and I looked forward to death as my only means of deliverance from fuch a maze of difficulties. I drank my fmall remains of wine, and ate my last piece of bread with as firm a conviction that I had taken my laft meal, as impreffed the noble Spartans at Thermopylæ, and lying down on a rock which had previously ferved me for a table, I almost instantly fell into a profound fleep. The |