sketched, are of common occurrence, and offer nothing in themselves to excite great interest in the reader; yet there is surely some pleasure in contemplating the progress of a virtuous and enlightened mind, early withdrawn from public life to the stillness of the academic cloister; and confining its pleasures and prospects within the serenity of a studious retirement. Nor is it, I think, without some feelings of admiration, that we reflect on the history of a life so constantly, and unremittingly, devoted to the pursuit of knowledge, and the general improvement of the mind, for its own sake, and as a final purpose. Motives, which have no honourable connection with literature, are yet often instrumental in increasing it. The desire of wealth, of station, or of rank in a profession, is the constant and common incentive to mental exertion; and is dignified, perhaps not improperly, by the name of honest ambition. Even among those of a nobler nature, the desire of being distinguished in their own, and after-ages, for the endowments of their mind, and the energies of their genius, acts as a perpetual spur towards the increase of their exertions. Much of this feeling does not appear to have existed in the mind of Gray. To him, study seemed to bring all the reward he asked, in its own gratification; and his progress in learning was constant; even in the absence of those quickening motives, which, in almost all cases, are necessary to preserve men, either from weariness in the toil of original composition, or from indolence in the acquisition, and arrangement, of the materials of collected knowledge. That the publications of Gray, however, were so few, is to be attributed, I think, to several causes :-to the natural modesty and reservedness of his disposition; to the situation of life in which he was placed, without any profession or public duty that might lead his thoughts, and studies in a particular direction; to his habit of submitting nothing to publication, without bestowing on it that polish and correctness, which demands long and patient attention, and which indeed seems incompatible with works of any magnitude or num. ber: to the extent and variety of his research; and to the great temptations to read,* in a place which afforded a ready and almost boundless supply of materials to satisfy him in any branch of knowledge; and which would constantly induce him, to make fresh accessions to his information, and to open new channels of inquiry. "I shall be happy (says Mr. Mason in a letter to Dr. Beattie) to know that the remaining books of your Minstrel' are likewise to be published soon. The next best thing, after instructing the world profitably, is to amuse it innocently. England has lost that man (Gray) who, of all others in it, was best qualified for both these purposes; but who, from early chagrin and disappointment, had imbibed a disinclination to employ his talents beyond the sphere of self-satisfaction and improvement." Of Gray's person, his biographer has given no account: and Lord Orford has but just mentioned it. The earliest picture of him, is that which was taken when he was fifteen years of age, by Richardson. It is now in the possession of Mr. Robinson of Cambridge, and by his permission has been engraved for this edition. * Mr. Mason says, that Gray often mentioned to him, that reading was much more agreeable to him than writing. + See Walpoliana, vol. i. p. 95. The other portrait in this volume, was painted by Eckardt, and engraved in the Works of Lord Orford.* It is at StrawberryHill, and the design was taken from the Portrait of a Musician, by Vandyck, at the Duke of Grafton's. This print was intended to be prefixed to Bentley's edition of Gray's Odes, with a motto from Lucan, (x. 296,) "Nec licuit populis, parvum te, Nile, videre :"+ but Gray's extreme repugnance to the proposal, obliged his friends to drop it after the engraving was commenced. The print which Mr. Mason placed before his edition of the Life of Gray in quarto, was from a picture by Wilson, drawn after the death of Gray, from his own and Mr. Mason's recollection; and which is now in the possession of Pembroke-College, by the bequest of Mr. Stonehewer. The engraving, however, has not preserved the character of the countenance, and is, on the whole, an unfavourable likeness. It is from this same picture, I understand, that the print prefixed to Mr. Mathias's edition is taken. To the edition of the Life in octavo, is prefixed a better resemblance, etched by W. Doughty, from a drawing by Mr. Mason: and from this outline, two other portraits have proceeded: one by a Mr. Sharpe of Cambridge; and the other, which is now extremely rare, by the late Mr. Hen * See Walpole's Works, vol. ii. p. 431, 436; and vol. v. p. 352. + Dr. Warton, in his Notes on Pope (vol. i. p. 282), remarks that Fontenelle had applied the very same line to Newton: and he adds " A motto to Mr. Gray's, few, but exquisite poems might be from Lucretius, lib. iv. ver. 181 and 907: "Suavidicis potius quam multis versibus edam, Parvus ut est cycni melior canor shaw, a pupil of Bartolozzi's.* In this latter print, a very correct and spirited likeness is preserved. A portrait of Gray, bearing a resemblance to Mr. Mason's etching, and probably painted by him, I have seen in the library of Lord Harcourt, at Nuneham. The Political opinions of Gray, H. Walpole says he never rightly understood: " sometimes he seemed inclined to the side of authority, and sometimes to that of the people." Mr. Mason has mentioned nothing concerning any singularity in his sentiments about Religion; and there is, I believe, no passage in his published Letters, either to support, or absolutely to oppose, the assertion made on this subject in the Walpoliana. I must confess myself disinclined to believe it, in any degree, upon the authority of a few words, apparently used in conversation, and which afterwards appeared, without proof or comment, in an anonymous publication. The personal friends of Gray, who could have cleared up this point, are, I believe all dead: but I cannot find, that, in the place where he so constantly resided, or among those who have enjoyed the best opportunities of hearing about his opinions, the slightest suspicions existed, which could at all confirm the assertion of Walpole. I shall merely mention, that in a letter to Mr. * Dr. Turner, the Master of Pembroke-Hall, and Dean of Norwich, has two profile shades of Gray, taken with an instrument for that purpose, by a Mr. Mapletoft, formerly a fellow of that college, one of which conveys a strong resemblance. See Walpoliana, vol. i. p. 29. published by Mr. Pinkerton. Ibid. vol. i. p. 95. Mason,* speaking of Rousseau's Lettres de la Montagne,' he says: "It is a weak attempt to separate miracles from the morality of the Gospel; the latter he would think, he believes was sent from God, and the former he very explicitly takes for an imposture." In a letter to H. Walpole, † he gives an account of some manuscript writings of Middleton against Waterland, on the doetrine of the Trinity; but he expresses an approbation of no other part of them than of the style. He tells Dr. Wharton," Though I do not approve the spirit of his (Middleton's) books; methinks 'tis pity the world should lose so rare a thing as a good writer." Whenever Gray writes to his friends on religious subjects, it is with uncommon seriousness, warmth, and piety. Even Walpole calls him a violent enemy of atheists, such as he took Voltaire and Hume to be." His sentiments on Shaftesbury and Bolingbroke are well known: and Mr. Mason§ has very properly pointed out to the attention of his readers, the scorn and contempt with which he invariably mentions the works of those writers who endeavoured to disseminate the baneful doctrines of infidelity. 66 "In conversation, H. Walpole || mentions, that Gray was so circumspect in his usual language, that it seemed unnatural, though * See Mason's Memoirs, vol. iv. p. 95. + See Walpole's Works, vol. v. p. 391. See Mason's Memoirs, vol. iii. p. 124. § See Mason's Memoirs, vol. iv. p. 210: and Walpoliana, vol. i. p. 95. See Walpole's Thoughts on Comedy, p. 332. VOL. I. g 80 |