At three infulting strides she stalk'd the town, And, like contagion, ftruck the loyal down. Down fell the winnow'd wheat; but mounted high,

234

The whirlwind bore the chaff, and hid the sky.
Here black rebellion fhooting from below,
(As earth's gigantic brood* by moments grow)
And here the fons of God are petrified with

woe:

An apoplex of grief: fo low were driven
The faints, as hardly to defend their heaven. 240
As, when pent vapours run their hollow round,
Earthquakes, which are convulfions of the
ground,

Break bellowing forth, and no confinement brook,

Till the third fettles what the former fhook ; Such heavings had our fouls; till, flow and late, Our life with his return'd, and faith prevail'd on fate.

246

By prayers the mighty bleffing was implor'd,
To prayers was granted, and by prayers reftor❜d.
So ere the Shunamite + a fon conceiv'd,
The prophet promis'd, and the wife believ❜d. 250
A fon was fent, the fon fo much defir'd ;
But foon upon the mother's knees expir❜d.

Thofe giants are feigned to have grown fifteen ells every day. Original edition.

+ In 2 Kings iv. Original edition.

The troubled Seer approach'd the mournful door,

Ran, pray'd, and fent his pastoral staff before, Then ftretch'd his limbs upon the child, and mourn'd,

255

"Till warmth, and breath, and a new foul return'd.

Thus mercy ftretches out her hand, and faves Defponding Peter finking in the waves.

As when a fudden ftorm of hail and rain Beats to the ground the yet unbearded grain, 260 Think not the hopes of harveft are deftroy'd On the flat field, and on the naked void; The light, unloaded stem, from tempest freed, Will raise the youthful honours of his head; And, foon reftor'd by native vigour, bear The timely product of the bounteous year.

265

Nor yet conclude all fiery trials paft:
For Heaven will exercife us to the laft;
Sometimes will check us in our full career,
With doubtful bleffings, and with mingled

fear;
That, ftill depending on his daily grace,
His every mercy for an alms may pass,
With fparing hands will diet us to good;
Preventing furfeits of our pamper'd blood.

Ver. 273.

270

will diet us to good;] Many ftriking examples of the strange inequalities, and of the mixture of good and bad, that appear in our author's works, may be given from

So feeds the mother-bird her craving young 275 With little morfels, and delays them long.

True, this last bleffing was a royal feast; But, where's the wedding-garment on the guest? Our manners, as religion were a dream,

Are fuch as teach the nations to blafpheme. 280
In lufts we wallow, and with pride we fwell,
And injuries with injuries repel ;

Prompt to revenge, not daring to forgive,
Our lives unteach the doctrine we believe.
Thus Ifrael finn'd, impenitently hard,
And vainly thought the present ark * their
guard;

285

But when the haughty Philiftines appear, They fled, abandon'd to their foes and fear; Their God was abfent, though his ark was there.

this poem. I hope I may be pardoned for pointing out fome fingular paffages, in which may be found his elegancies and vulgarifins, his flights and defcents, his reafonings and fallacies, his juft panegyric and fordid adulation, and his piety and profanenefs. See from verfe 20 to 40, verfe 53, verfe 65, verse 69, verfe 80, (in allufion to the ftory of Conftantine's cross, now given up as fabulous by ail candid hiftorians. See Fabricius, Bib. Gr. v. 6.) verfe 100, verfe 126, fix elegant lines; verfe 111, grofs flattery; and alfo verfe 136, verfe 190, verse 196, verse 230, four fine lines, but difgraced by verse 233; verse 210, grofs flattery; verfe 296, eight beautiful lines; as alfo verfe 256 to verfe 269; verfe 290, flattery; and verse 292, profane; verse 300 to verfe 310, very elegant; verfe 323, vulgar allufion; verse 329, almoft burlesque; verfe 331, and what follows of Ariftides, verfe 336, very naufeous adulation.

Dr. J. WARTON.

1 Sam. iv. 10. Original edition.

Ah! left our crimes fhould fnatch this pledge

away,

290

And make our joys the bleffings of a day!
For we have finn'd him hence, and that he lives,
God to his promise, not our practice gives.
Our crimes would foon weigh down the guilty
scale,

But James, and Mary, and the Church pre

vail.

*

Nor Amalek can rout the chofen bands, 296 While Hur and Aaron hold

up Mofes' hands. By living well, let us fecure his days, Moderate in hopes, and humble in our ways. No force the free-born fpirit can constrain, But charity, and great examples gain. Forgiveness is our thanks for fuch a day, "Tis god-like God in his own coin to pay.

But you, propitious queen, tranflated here, From your mild heaven, to rule our rugged sphere,

305

Beyond the funny walks, and circling year:
You, who your native climate have bereft
Of all the virtues, and the vices left;
Whom piety and beauty make their boast,
Though beautiful is well in pious lost ;
So loft, as ftar-light is diffolv'd away,
And melts into the brightnefs of the day;

Exod. xvii. 8. Original edition.

310

Or gold about the regal diadem,
Loft to improve the luftre of the gem.

What can we add to your triumphant day? 315
Let the great gift the beauteous giver pay.
For fhould our thanks awake the rifing fun,
And lengthen, as his latest shadows run,
That, tho' the longest day, would foon, too
foon be done.

Let angels' voices with their harps confpire, 320
But keep the aufpicious infant from the quire;
Late let him fing above, and let us know
No fweeter mufic than his cries below.

Nor can I wish to you, great monarch, more
Than fuch an annual income to your ftore; 325
The day which gave this Unit, did not shine
For a lefs omen, than to fill the Trine.
After a Prince, an Admiral beget;
The Royal Sovereign wants an anchor yet.
Our ifle has younger titles ftill in store,
And when the exhausted land can yield no

more,

330

Your line can force them from a foreign fhore. The name of Great your martial mind will fuit ;

But juftice is your darling attribute:

Ver. 313.

Derrick has royal.

the regal diadem,] Original edition.

TODD.

Ver. 319. That, tho' the longest day, would foon, too foon be done.] This is the punctuation of the original edition. TODD.