Yet can I not persuade me thou art dead, | For when as each thing bad thou hast entomb'd, Then long Eternity shall greet our bliss Oh no! for something in thy face did shine When every thing that is sincerely good With truth, and peace, and love, shall ever shine Resolve me then, oh soul most surely blest, About the supreme throne (If so it be that thou these plaints dost hear ;) Of him, to whose happy-making sight alone, Tell me, bright spirit, where'er thou hoverest, When once our heavenly-guided soul shall climb, Whether above that high first-moving sphere, Then, all this earthy grossness quit, Or in the Elysian Fields, (if such were there;) Attir'd with stars, we shall for ever sit, Oh say me true, if thou wert mortal wight, Triumphing over Death, and Chance, and thee, And why from us so quickly thou didst take thy O Time. AT A • SOLEMN MUSIC. Took up, and in fit place did reinstall ? Or did of late Earth's sons besiege the wall [fled, / Burst nair of Siren | Blest pair of Sirens, pledges of Heaven's joy, Of sheeny Heaven, and thou, some goddess | Sphere-born harmonious sisters, Voice and Verse, Amongst us here below to hide thy nectar'd head? Wed your divine sounds, and mix'd power employ Or wert thou that just maid, who once before Dead things with inbreath'd sense able to pierce; Forsook the hated Earth, 0 tell me sooth, And to our high. rais'd phantasy present And cam'st again to visit us once more ? | That undisturbed song of pure consent, Or wert thou that sweet-smiling youth? | Aye sung before the saphire-colour'd throne To him that sits thereon, With saintly shout, and solemn jubilee; Where the bright Seraphim, in buming row, 10 Their loud up-lifted angel-trumpets blow; good? And the cherubic host, in thousand quires, Or wert thou of the golden-winged host, Touch their immortal barps of golden wires, Who, having clad thyself in human weed, With those just spirits that wear victorious palms, To Earth from thy prefixed seat didst post, Hymns devout and holy psalms And after short abode Ay back with speed, Singing everlastingly : As if to show what creatures Heaven doth breed; | That we on Earth, with undiscording voice, Thereby to set the hearts of men on fire May rightly answer that melodious noise ; To scorn the sordid world, and unto Heaven As once we did, till disproportion'd Sin aspire ? Jari'd against Nature's chime, and with harsh din Broke the fair music that all creatures made But oh! why didst thou not stay here below To their great Lord, whose love their motion To bless us with thy heareu-lov'd innocence, In perfect diapason, whilst they stood (sway'd To slake his wrath whom sin hath made our foe, In first obedience, and their state of good. To turn swift-rushing black Perditiop hence, O, may we soon again renew that song, Or drive away the slaughtering Pestilence, | And keep in tune with Heaven, till God ere long To stand 'twixt us and our deserved smart? To his celestial consort us unite, But thou canst best perform that office where To live with him, and sing in endless morn of thou art. light! AN EPITAPH Ox The That, till the world's last end, shall make thy MARCHIONESS OF WINCHESTER". pame to live. This rich marble doth inter A viscount's daughter, an earl's heir, Besides what her virtues fair chester, a conspicuous loyalist in the reign of Whose spced is but the heavy plummet's pace ; king Charles the first, whose magoificent house And glut thyself with what thy womb devours, or castle of Basing in Hampshire withstood an Which is no more than what is false and vain, obstinate siege of two years against the rebels, And merely mortal dross ; and when taken was levelled to the ground, be. So little is our loss, cause in every window was flourished. Ayme: S, little is thy gain ! Loya ute. Added to her noble birth, SONG More than she could own from earth. ON MAY MORNING. Now the bright Morning-star, Day's harbinger, To house with darkness, and with death. Comes dancing from the east, and leads with Yet had the number of her days her Been as complete as was her praise, The flowery May, who from her green lap throws Nature and Fate had had no strife The yellow cowslip and the pale primrose. In giving limit to her life. Hail, bounteous May, that dost inspire Her high birth, and her graces sweet, Mirth, and youth, and warm desire; Quickly found a lover meet; Woods and groves are of thy dressing, The virgin quire for her request Hill, and dale, doth boast thy blessing. The god that sits at marriage feast ; Thus we salute thee with our early song, And welcome thee, and wish thee long. ORIGINAL VARIOUS Readings Of The ODE AT A Ye might discern a cypress bud. Solemn Music. There are three draughts or copies of this song: And now with second hope she goes, all in Milton's own hand-writing. There occur And calls Lucina to her throes ; some remarkable expressions in these various But, whether by mischance or blame, readings which Doctor Newton and Mr. Warton Atropos for Lucina came; have not noticed. And with remorseless cruelty Ver. 3. Mire your choice words, and happiest Spoil'd at one both fruit and tree : sounds employ, The bapless babe, before his hirth, Dead things with inbreath'd sense Had burial, yet not laid in earth; able to pierce ; And the languish'd mother's womb And as your equal raptures, temper’d Was not long a living tomb. sweet, So have I seen some tender slip, In high mysterious spousall meet; Sav'd with care from Winter's nip, Snatch us from Earth awhile, The pride of her carnation train, Us of ourselves and nalive woe beguile: Plack'd up by some unheedy swain, And to our high-rays'd phantasie preWho only thought to crop the flower sent New shot up from vernal shower ; That undisturbed song, &c. But the fair blossom bangs the head. Here, in the first draught, it is “ And whilst your Side-ways, as on a dying bed, equal raptures;” in the second, whilst is erased, And those pearls of dew, she wears, and as written over it. In the second draught Prove to be presaging tears, also, the next line was Which the sad Morn had let fall In high mysterious koliespousall meet; On her hastening funeral. but holie is expunged, and happie supplied in the Gentle lady, may thy grave margin; and, in the last of these original lines, Peace and quiet ever have; “ native woes” was originally “ home-bred After this thy travel sore woes." Sweet rest seize thee evermore, Ver. 10. Where the bright Seraphim in tripled That, to give the world increase, row. Shorten'd hast thy own life's lease. Ver. 12. And Cherubim, sweet-reinged squires, Here, beside the sorrowing Then called Heaven's henshmen, which means That thy noble house doth bring, the same; henshman, or henchman, signifying a Here be tears of perfect moan page of honour. See Minsheu, and also Mids. Wept for thee in Helicon ; m. Dr. A. ii. S. ii. And some flowers, and some bays, “I do but beg a little changeling boy For thy herse, to strew the ways, To be my henchman.” Sent thee from the banks of Came, The Queen of Fairies is the speaker. Milton's Devoted to thy virtuous name; curious expressions are in the first draught. Whilst thou, bright saint, high sitst in glory, Ver. 14. With those just spirits that wear the Next her, much like to thee in story, blooming palms, That fair Syrian shepherdess, Hymns devout and sacred psalmes Who, after years of barrenness, Singing everlastingly; The highly favour'd Joseph bore While all the starry rounds and arches To him that serv'd for her before, blue And at her next birth, much like thee, , Resound and echo hallelu: Through pangs fled to felicity, That we on Earth, &c. Far within the bosom bright | Ver. 18. May rightly answere that melodious Of blazing Majesty and Light : noise, There with thee, new welcome saint, By leaving out those harsh ill sounding Like fortunes may ber soul acquajut, j rres With thee there clad in radiant sheen, of clamorous sin that all our music No marchioness, but now a queen. ma ies : And in our lives and in our song | And misty regions of wide air next under, May keepe in tune with Heaven, &c. And hills of snow, and lofts of piled thunder, In the second draught he describes the May tell at length how green-ey'd Neptune harsh discords” of sin by a technical term in raves, Pusic : In Heaven's defiance mustering all his wares; By leaving out these harsh CHROMATIC Then sing of secret things that came to pass jarres When beldam Nature in her cradle was; Such as the wise Demodocus once told While sad Ulysses' soul, and all the rest, In willing chains and sweet captivity. But fie, my wandering Muse, how thou dost stray! To keep in compass of thy predicament : Then quick about thy purpos'd business come, That to the next I may resign my room, Then Ens is represented as father of the Predicae the English thus began.' ments his two sons, whereof the eldest stood for Hail, native Language, that by sinews weak Substance with his canons, which Ens, thus speuk... Didst move my first endeavouring tongue to ing, explains, speak, | Good luck befriend thee, son; for, at thy birth, And mad'st imperfect words with childish trips, The faery ladies danc'd upon the hearth; Half unpronounc'd, slide through my infant Thy drowsy nurse hath sworn she did them spie lips, Come tripping to the room where thou didst lie, Driving dumb Silence from the portal door, And, sweetly singing round about thy bed, Where he had'mutely sat two years before : Strew all their blessings on thy sleeping head. Here I salute thee, and thy pardon ask, She heard them give thee this, that thou shouldst That now I use thee in my latter task : still From eyes of mortals walk invisible: Yet there is something that doth force my fear; For once it was my dismal hap to hear A Sibyl old, bow-bent with crooked age, That far events full wisely could presage, And in Time's long and dark prospective glass, I pray thee then deny me not thy aid Foresaw what future days should bring to pass; For this same small-neglect that I have made : “ Your son," said she,(“ nor can you it prevent) Yet every one shall make him underling; Ungratefully shall strive to keep him under; In worth and excellence he shall out-go them, Which deepest spirits and choicest wits desire: Yet, being above them, he shall be below I have some paked thoughts that rove about, them; And loudly knock to have their passage out; From others he shall stand in need of nothing, And, weary of their place, do only stay, Yet on his brothers shall depend for clothing. To find a foe it shall not be his hap, | And Peace shall lull him in her flowery lap; Fly swiftly to this fair assembly's ears; Yet shall he live in strife, and at bis door Yet I had rather, if I were to chuse, Devouring War shall never cease to roar; Yea, it shall be his natural property What power, what force, what mighty spell, if Your learned hands, can loose this Gordian soar knot ?" The next Quantity and Quality spake in prose ; then Relation was called by his name. | Of utmost Tweed, or Oose, or gulphy Den, Then passing through the spheres of watchful fire. | Or Trent, who like some Earth-bom giant, spreads Written 1627. It is hard to say why they did | His thirty arms along the indented meads; not first appear in edition 1645. They were first Or sullen Mole, that runneth underneath ; added, but misplaced in edit. 1673. WARTON. I Or Severn swift, guilty of maiden's death ; Orrocky Avon, or of sedgy Lee, So hung his destiny, never to rot Time numbers motion, yet (without a crime And, like an engine, mov'd with wheel and weight His principles being ceas'd, he ended straight. Rest, that gives all men life, gave him his death, ON THE ADMIRABLE DRAMATIC POET W.SUAKSPEARE.' And too much breathing put him out of breath ; Nor were it contradiction to affirm, What needs my Shakspeare, for his honour'd Too long vacation hasten'd on his term. The labour of an age in piled stones? [bunes, Merely to drive the time away he sicken'd, Or that his hallow'd reliques should be hid Fainted, and died, nor would with ale be quickUnder a star-ypointing pyramid? en'd; (stretchd, Dear son of memory, great heir of fame, “Nay,” quoth he, on his swooning bed outWhat need'st thou such weak witness of thy name? |“ If I mayn't carry, sure I'll ne'er be fetch'd, Thou, in our wonder and astonishment, But vow, though the cross doctors all stood hearHast built thyself a live-long monument. ers, . For whilst, to the shame of slow-endeavouring art, For one carrier nut down to make six bearers. » Thy easy numbers flow; and that each heart Ease was his chief disease ; and, to judge right, Hath, from the leaves of thy unvalued book, He died for heaviness that his cart went light : Those Delphic lines with deep impression took; } His leisure told him that his time was come, Then thou our fancy of itself bereaving, And lack of load made his life burdensome, Dost make us marble with too much conceiving; | That even to his last breath, (there be that say't) And, so sepulcher'd, in such pomp dost lie, As he were press'd to death, he cried, “More That kings, for such a tomb, would wish to die. weight;" But, had his doings lasted as they were, He had been an immortal carrier. Obedient to the Moon he spent his date In course reciprocal, and had his fate Who sickened in the time of his vacancy, being | Link'd to the mutual flowing of the sças, · forbid to go to London, by reason of the plague. Yet (strange to think) his wain was his increase Here lies old Hobson ; Death hath broke bis girt, His letters are deliver'd all and gone, Only remains this superscription. ON THE NEW UNDER THE LONG PARLIAMENT. Because you have thrown off your prelate Lord, And surely Death could never have prevail'd, And with stiff vows renounc'd his Liturgy, Had not his weekly course of carriage fail'd; To seise the widow'd whore Plurality But lately finding him so long at home, . From them whose sin ye envied, not abhorrd; And thinking now his journey's end was come, Dare ye for this adjure the civil sword And that he had ta'en up his latest inn, To force our consciences that Christ set frce, In the kind office of a chamberlin And ride us with a classic hierarchy Show'd him his room where be must lodge that Taught ve by mere A. S. and Rotherford ? night, Men, whose life, learning, faith, and pure Pull'd off bis boots, and took away the light: intent, If any ask for him, it shall be sed, Would bave been held in high esteem with “ Hobson has supt, and's newly gone to bed." Paul, By shallow Edwards and Scotch what d'ye call : But we do hope to find out all your tricks, Your plots and packing worse than those of Hfre lieth one, who did most truly prove Trent, That he could never dic while he could move ; That so the Parliament Birch, and from him doctor Newton, asserts, that this copy of verses was written in the twenty shops-gate-street,where his figure in fresco, with second year of Milton's age, and printed with the an inscription, was lately to be seen. Peck, at Poems of Shakspeare at London in 1640. It first the end of his Memoirs of Cromwell, has printedappeared among other recommendatory verses, Hobson's will, which is dated at the close of the prefixed to the folio edition of Shakspeare's year 1630. He died Jan. 1, 1630, while the plays in 1632. But without Milton's name or pra | plague was in London. This piece was written initials. This therefore is the first of Milton's that year. The proverb, to which Hobson's caprice, pieces that was published. founded perhaps on good sense, gave rise, needs Hobson's inn at London was the Bull in Bi. | not to be repeated. VOL. VII, May, with their wholesome and preventive shears, And kings be born of thee, whose dreadful Clip your phylacteries, though bauk your ears, might From DANTE. Not thy conversion, but those rich domains That the first wealthy pope receiv'd of thee: or CONSCIENCE. From DANTE. Ver. 2. the vacant whore Plurality. Founded in chaste and humble poverty, 'Gainst them that rais'd thee dost thou lift thy Ver. 12. By hairc-brain'd Edwards. horn, Shallow is in the margin ; and the pen is drawn Impudent whore, where hast thou plac'd thy hope! through hare-bruin'd. In thy adulterers, or thy ill-got wcalth ? Ver. 17. Crop ye as close as marginal P- s | Another Constantine comes not in haste). eares. * From ARIOSTO. Then pass'd he to a flowery mountain green, Which once smelt sweet, now stinks as odiously : That Constantine to good Sylvester gavet, From HORACE. Wuat slender youth, belew'd with liquid odours, Whom do we count a good man? Whom but be Courts thee on roses in some pleasant cave, Who keeps the laws and statutes of the senate, Who judges in great suits and controversies, Whose witness and opinion wins the cause? But his own house, and the whole neighhour On faith and changed gods complain, and seas hood, Sees his foul inside through his whited skins. From EURIPIDES. This is true liberty, when freeborn men, Having to advise the public, may speak free; To whoin thou untried seem'st fair! Me, in my Which he who can, and will, deserves high vow'd praise : Picture, the sacred wall declares to have hung | Who neither can, nor will, may hold his peace; My dank and dropping weeds What can be a juster in a state than this? From HORACE1. -- Langhing, to teach the truth? BRUTUS thus addresses DIANA in the country of | What hinders? As some teachers give to boys LEOGECIA. | Junkets aud knacks, that they may learn apace. Goddess of shades, and huntress, who at will Walk'si on the rowling spheres, and through the From Milton's Hist. Engl. Pr. W. vol. i. deep; p. 7. edit. 1698. These fragments of translaOn thy tbird reign, the Earth, look now, and tell tion were collected from Milton's Prose-Works, What land, what seat of rest, thou bidst me seek, a From Of Reformation in England. Pr. W. Wbat certain seat, where I may worship thee | vol. i. p. 10. For aye, with temples vow'd and virgin quires. 3 From Of Reformation, &c. Pr. W. fol. i. To whom, sleeping before the altar, Diana answers 4 From Of Reformation, &c. Pr. W. vol i. in a vision the same night, p. 10. s From Tetrachordon, Pr. W. vol. i 239. Brutus, far to the west, in the ocean wide, 6 Milton's Motto to his Areopagiica,, A Beyond the realm of Gaul, a land there lies, speech for the liberty of unlincensed Printing, Sea-girt it lies, where giants dwelt of uld; &c. Prose W. vol. i. 141. Now void, it fits thy people : thither bend 7 Sat. i. i. 24. Thy course ; there shalt thou find a lasting seat ; & From Apol. Smectymn. Pr. W. vol. i. 116. There to thy sons another Troy shall rise, |