A thousand piles the dusky horrors gild, And fhoot a fhady luftre o'er the field; Full fifty guards each flaming pile attend, Whofe umber'd arms by fits thick flafhes fend;

Loud neigh the courfers o'er their heaps

of corn,

And ardent warriors wait the rifing morn

As when in ftillness of the filent night,

As when the moon in all her luftre bright,
As when the moon refulgent lamp of night,
O'er heaven's clear azure Sheds her filver light;,
pure fpreads facred

As ftill in air the trembling luftre ftood,

And o'er its golden border shoots a flood;

When no loofe galė disturbs the deep ferene, not a breath

And no dim cloud o'ercafts the folemn fcene;

not.a.

F4

Around

Around her filver throne the planets glow,
And ftars unnumber'd trembling beams beiłow;
Around her throne the vivid planets roll,
And ftars unnumber'd gild the glowing pole:

Clear gleams of light o'er the dark trees are feen,

o'er the dark trees a yellow fheds,

O'er the dark trees a yeilower green they shed,

gleam
verdure

And tip with filver all the mountain heads:

foreft

And tip with filver every mountain's head.
The vallies open, and the forefts rise,

The vales appear, the rocks in prospect rife,
Then fhine the vales, the rocks in prospect rife,
All Nature ftands reveal'd before our eyes;
A ficod of glory bursts from all the fkies.
The confcious fhepherd, joyful at the fight,
Eyes the blue vault, and numbers ev'ry light.
The confcious fwains rejoicing at the fight,

hepherds gazing with delight

Eye

Eye the blue vault, and bless the vivid light.

glorious
ufeful

So many flames before the navy blaze,

proud ilion

And lighten glimmering Xanthus with their rays,
Wide o'er the fields to Troy extend the gleams,
And tip the distant fpires with fainter beams;
The long reflexions of the diftant fires

Gild the high walls, and tremble on the fpires,
Gleam on the walls, and tremble on the fpires;
A thousand fires at diftant ftations bright,
Gild the dark profpect, and difpel the night.

Of thefe fpecimens every man who has cultivated poetry, or who delights to trace the mind from the rudenefs of: its first conceptions to the elegance of its laft, will naturally defire a greater num ber; but most other readers are already

tired, and I am not writing only to poets and philofophers.

The Iliad was published volume by volume, as the tranflation proceeded; the first four books appeared in 1715 The expectation of this work was undoubtedly high, and every man who had connected his name with criticism, or poetry, was defirous of fuck intelli gence as might enable him to talk upon the popular topick. Halifax, who, by having been firft a poet, and then a patron of poetry, had acquired the right of being a judge, was willing to hear fome books while they were yet unpublished. Of this rehearfal Pope afterwards gave the following account *.

* Spence.

"The

"The famous Lord Halifax was ra"ther a pretender to taste than really

poffeffed of it.-When I had finished

"the two or three first books of my "tranflation of the Iliad, that Lord de"fired to have the pleafure of hearing "them read at his houfe.Addifon,. Congreve, and Garth, were there at "the reading. In four or five places, "Lord Halifax ftopt me very civilly,

and with a fpeech each time, much "of the fame kind, I beg your par"don, Mr. Pope; but there is fome

.66

thing in that paffage that does not

quite pleafe me.-Bé fo good as to

"mark the place, and confider it a little

at your leifure.-I'm fure you can

give it a little turn.' I returned from

"Lord