IN IMITATION OF A GREEK IDYLLIUM. CELIA and I, the other day, But, oh the change! the winds grow high; Impending tempests charge the sky; The lightning flies, the thunder roars, "Once more, at least, look back," said I, "But when vain doubt and groundless fear Do that dear foolish bosom tear; When the big lip and watery eye Tell me the rising storm is nigh; 'Tis then, thou art yon' angry main, Deform'd by winds, and dash'd by rain; And the poor sailor, that must try Its fury, labours less than I. "Shipwreck'd, in vain to land I make, While Love and Fate still drive me back: Forc'd to doat on thee thy own way, I chide thee first, and then obey. Wretched when from thee, vex'd when nigh, I with thee, or without thee, die." JOHN GAY. some South-sea stock presented to him by secretary Craggs, raised his hopes of fortune at one time to a considerable height; but the loss of the whole of this stock affected him so deeply as to throw him into a dangerous degree of languor, for his recovery from which he made trial of the air of Hampstead. He then wrote a tragedy called "The Captives," which was acted with applause; and in 1726, he composed the work by which he is best known, his JOHN GAY, a well-known poet, was born at or near Barnstaple, in Devonshire, in 1688. After an education at the free-school of Barnstaple, he was sent to London, where he was put apprentice to a silkmercer. A few years of negligent attendance on the duties of such a station procured him a separation by agreement from his master; and he not long afterwards addicted himself to poetical composition, of which the first-fruits were his " Rural Sports," published in 1711, and dedicated to Pope, then first rising" Fables," written professedly for the young Duke to fame. In the following year, Gay, who possessed much sweetness of disposition, but was indolent and improvident, accepted an offer from the Duchess of Monmouth to reside with her as her secretary. He ad leisure enough in this employment to produce n the same year his poem of " Trivia, or the Art of Walking the Streets of London," which proved one of the most entertaining of its class. It was much dmired; and displayed in a striking manner that alent for the description of external objects which eculiarly characterised the author. In 1714, he made his appearance from the press n a singular occasion. Pope and Ambrose Philips ad a dispute about the respective merits of their astorals; upon which, Gay, in order to serve the use of his friend, undertook to compose a set of astorals, in which the manners of the country should ? exhibited in their natural coarseness, with a view proving, by a sort of caricature, the absurdity of hilips's system. The offer was accepted; and ay, who entitled his work "The Shepherd's Teek," went through the usual topics of a set of storals in a parody, which is often extremely morous. But the effect was in one respect difrent from his intended purpose; for his pictures rural life were so extremely natural and amusing, d intermixed with circumstances so beautiful and uching, that his pastorals proved the most popular orks of the kind in the language. This performce was dedicated to Lord Bolingbroke; and at is period Gay seems to have obtained a large share the favour of the Tory party then in power. He s afterwards nominated secretary to the Earl of arendon, in his embassy to the court of Hanover; the death of Queen Anne recalled him from his ation, and he was advised by his friends not to glect the opportunity afforded him to ingratiate self with the new family. He accordingly wrote oetical epistle upon the arrival of the Princess of les, which compliment procured him the honour the attendance of the prince and princess at the ibition of a new dramatic piece. Gay had now many friends, as well among pers of rank, as among his brother-poets; but little yet done to raise him to a state of independence. ubscription to a collection of his poems pubed in 1720, cleared him a thousand pounds; and of Cumberland, and dedicated to him. In the manner of narration there is considerable ease, together with much lively and natural painting, but they will hardly stand in competition with the French fables of La Fontaine. Gay naturally expected a handsome reward for his trouble; but upon the accession of George II. nothing better was offered him than the post of gentleman-usher to the young Princess Louisa, which he regarded rather as an indignity than a favour, and accordingly declined. The time, however, arrived when he had little occasion for the arts of a courtier to acquire a degree of public applause greater than he had hitherto experienced. In 1727, his famous "Beggar's Opera" was acted at Lincolns-inn-fields, after having been refused at Drury-lane. To the plan of burlesquing the Italian operas by songs adapted to the most familiar tunes, he added much political satire derived from his former disappointments; and the result was a composition unique in its kind, of which the success could not with any certainty be foreseen. "It will either (said Congreve) take greatly, or be damned confoundedly." Its fate was for some time in suspense; at length it struck the nerve of public taste, and received unbounded applause. It ran through sixty-three successive representations in the metropolis, and was performed a proportional number of times at all the provincial theatres. Its songs were all learned by heart, and its actors were raised to the summit of theatric fame. This success, indeed, seems to indicate a coarseness in the national taste which could be delighted with the repetition of popular ballad-tunes, as well as a fondness for the delineation of scenes of vice and vulgarity. Gay himself was charged with the mischief's he had thus, perhaps unintentionally, occasioned; and if the Beggar's Opera delighted the stage, it encountered more serious censure in graver places than has been bestowed on almost any other dramatic piece. By making a highwayman the hero, he has incurred the odium of rendering the character of a freebooter an object of popular ambition; and, by furnishing his personages with a plea for their dishonesty drawn from the universal depravity of mankind, he has been accused of sapping the foundations of all social morality. The author wrote a second part of this work, entitled "Polly, but the Lord Cham berlain refused to suffer it to be performed; and though the party in opposition so far encouraged it by their subscriptions that it proved more profitable to him than even the first part, it was a very feeble performance, and has sunk into total neglect. Gay, in the latter part of his life, received the kind patronage of the Duke and Duchess of Queensberry, who took him into their house, and condescended to manage his pecuniary concerns. At this time he employed such intervals of health and spirits as he enjoyed, in writing his " Acis and Galates an opera called " Achilles,” and a "Serenat His death took place in 1732, at the early age a' forty-four, in consequence of an inflammation s the bowels. He was sincerely lamented by s friends; and his memory was honoured by a mossment in Westminster Abbey, and an epitaph in a strain of uncommon sensibility by Pope. Y To hear the Syrens warble in thy song. But I, who ne'er was blest by Fortune's hand, Nor brighten'd ploughshares in paternal land, Long in the noisy town have been immur'd, Respir'd its smoke, and all its cares endur'd; Where news and politics divide mankind, And schemes of state involve th' uneasy mind: Faction embroils the world; and every tongue Is mov'd by flattery, or with scandal hung: Friendship, for sylvan shades, the palace flies, Where all must yield to interest's dearer ties: Each rival Machiavel with envy burns, And honesty forsakes them all by turns; While calumny upon each party's thrown, Which both promote, and both alike disown. Fatigu'd at last, a calm retreat I chose, And sooth'd my harass'd mind with sweet repose, Where fields and shades, and the refreshing clime, Inspire the sylvan song, and prompt my rhyme. My Muse shall rove through flowery meads and plains, And deck with rural sports her native strains; And the same road ambitiously pursue, Frequented by the Mantuan swain and you. 'Tis not that rural sports alone invite, But all the grateful country breathes delight; • This poem received many material corrections from the author, after it was first published. Here blooming Health exerts her gentle reign, When the fresh Spring in all her state is crown'd Now when the height of Heaven bright Phabus I wander o'er the various rural toil, 1 The careful insect 'midst his works I view, Or when the ploughman leaves the task of day Now Night in silent state begins to rise, And twinkling orbs bestrow th' uncloudy skies; Her borrow'd lustre growing Cynthia lends, And on the main a glittering path extends; Millions of worlds hang in the spacious air, Which round their suns their annual circles steer; Sweet contemplation elevates my sense, While I survey the works of Providence. O could the Muse in loftier strains rehearse The glorious Author of the universe, Who reins the winds, gives the vast ocean bounds, And circumscribes the floating worlds their rounds; My soul should overflow in songs of praise, And my Creator's name inspire my lays! As in successive course the seasons roll, So circling pleasures recreate the soul. When genial Spring a living warmth bestows, And o'er the year her verdant mantle throws, No swelling inundation hides the grounds, But crystal currents glide within their bounds; The finny brood their wonted haunts forsake, Float in the sun, and skim along the lake; With frequent leap they range the shallow streams, Their silver coats reflect the dazzling beams. Now let the fisherman his toils prepare, And arm himself with every watery snare; His hooks, his lines, peruse with careful eye, Increase his tackle, and his rod re-tye. When floating clouds their spongy fleeces drain, He sits him down, and ties the treacherous hook; Far up the stream the twisted hair he throws, Which down the murmuring current gently flows; When, if or chance or hunger's powerful sway Directs the roving trout this fatal way, He greedily sucks in the twining bait, You must not every worm promiscuous use, Judgment will tell the proper bait to choose : The worm that draws a long immoderate size, The trout abhors, and the rank morsel flies; And, if too small, the naked fraud's in sight, And fear forbids, while hunger does invite. Those baits will best reward the fisher's pains, Whose polish'd tails a shining yellow stains: Cleanse them from filth, to give a tempting gloss, Cherish the sully'd reptile race with moss; Amid the verdant bed they twine, they toil, And from their bodies wipe their native soil. But when the Sun displays his glorious beams, And shallow rivers flow with silver streams, Then the deceit the scaly breed survey, Bask in the sun, and look into the day: You now a more delusive art must try, And tempt their hunger with the curious fly. To frame the little animal, provide All the gay hues that wait on female pride; Let Nature guide thee! sometimes golden wire The shining bellies of the fly require ; The peacock's plumes thy tackle must not fail, Nor the dear purchase of the sable's tail. Each gaudy bird some slender tribute brings, And lends the growing insect proper wings: Silks of all colours must their aid impart, And every fur promote the fisher's art. So the gay lady, with excessive care, Borrows the pride of land, of sea, and air: [plays, Furs, pearls, and plumes, the glittering thing disDazzles our eyes, and easy hearts betrays. Mark well the various seasons of the year, The scaly shoals float by, and, seiz'd with fear, When a brisk gale against the current blows, |