Of sordid Wealth, nor all the gaudy spoils Those ever-blooming sweets, which from the store His the city's pomp, To charm the enliven'd soul! What though not all Within herself this elegance of love, This fair inspir'd delight: her temper'd powers A A Exalts her daring eye; then mightier far Will be the change, and nobler. Would the forms He meant, he made us to behold and love Whom Nature's works can charm, with God himself FROM AN ODE TO THE HONOURABLE CHARLES TOWNSHEND YE heroes, who of old Did generous England Freedom's throne ordain; To Nassau, great deliverer, wise and bold; I know your perils hard. Your wounds, your painful marches, wintery seas, The day by cowardice and falsehood vex'd, The indignant heart disdaining the reward Which envy hardly grants. But, O renown, Before the sovran mind, "Lo, these," he saith, "lo, these are they From violence and fear asserted human kind." Thus honour'd while the train Of legislators in his presence dwell; The statesman shall the second palm obtain. Let vulgar bards, with undiscerning praise, But wisest heaven what deeds may chiefly move What, save wide blessings, or averted harms? Nor to the imbattled field Shall the achievements of the peaceful gown Of valour, or the songs of conquest yield. While bare of crest he hew'd his fatal way, To heavier dangers did his breast oppose When the proud force of Strafford he controll'd. But what is man at enmity with truth? What were the fruits of Wentworth's copious mind When (blighted all the promise of his youth) The patriot in a tyrant's league had join'd? Let Ireland's loud-lamenting plains, Let Tyne's and Humber's trampled swains, Let menac'd London tell How impious Guile made Wisdom base; How generous zeal to cruel rage gave place; And how unbless'd he liv'd, and how dishonour'd fell. * * * NATHANIEL COTTON was born in 1721;-of the circumstances connected with his birth, parentage, and education, we have no account. He was bred to the profession of physic, and practised at St. Alban's, where he kept a house for the reception of persons afflicted with insanity. Cowper was for some time his patient; and in one of his letters he states, that the asylum was selected for him by his friends, not only because he had some slight acquaintance with the Doctor, but because of his skill as a physician, and "his well-known humanity and sweetness of temper;" his after communications describe Cotton as of exceeding amiability, gentleness, and piety. It was also his fate to attend Dr. Young during his last illness. Dr. Cotton died at St. Alban's, 1788. Dr. Cotton has obtained admission into the collections of English Poetry; his merit has been largely allowed; and his popularity continues. His "Visions in Verse" have passed through several editions; and among his "Miscellanies" are to be found several which have stood the test of time; -it is, however, less to his poetical genius than to the soundness of his advice, the practical piety he inculcates, and the pure and benevolent principles he invariably advocates, that he is indebted for that general regard and esteem which may justly be considered as Fame. Of an upright, amiable, and generous nature, he afforded ample proofs; they are to be found not only in his poetical writings, but in his prose productions; his "Sermons," as the compositions of a layman, are plain, natural, and instructive, and may be perused with advantage by all classes of Christians; they are, indeed, so many "workings out" of a passage contained in one of his letters, written under the pressure of a grievous affliction: "For my own part, I am, and have long been, abundantly persuaded, that no system but that of Christianity is able to sustain the soul amidst all the difficulties and distresses of life. The consolations of philosophy are specious trifles at best: all cold and impotent applications to the bleeding heart!" If we cannot claim for him a very high station among the poets of Great Britain, we are by no means disposed to push him aside from the prominent seat in which public opinion has placed him. If to be useful, in the best sense of the term, is to be great, Dr. Cotton may be classed above men far more richly gifted; and it is a proud and happy thing for a country when the contributions to its store of literature are only such as must tend to elevate its character and improve the social condition of its children. The "Visions in Verse" were expressly written "for the entertainment and instruction of younger minds;" and the object is admirably answered. We are not, however, compelled to limit our praise to the MATTER; there is considerable merit in the MANNER in which Dr. Cotton has conveyed his moral lessons to the old as well as to the young. His poems are distinguished for simplicity of style, and his taste was formed after the best models; he writes always with ease, frequently with grace, and at times with dignity and spirit. We may, indeed, and with strict justice, apply to him a passage from his own lines to Hervey, on his " Meditations:" "Tis thine, bright teacher, to improve the age; When artless piety pervades the whole, It is religion still that makes the man." "The Fire-side" has always been a favourite. If it be tried by a severe test, it will scarcely be considered as possessing much poetic merit. The cause of its popularity is to be accounted for on other grounds. The poem is essentially English; it presents a picture such as no other country in the world can produce-the social quiet and domestic happiness so peculiarly our own. We have reason to know that he painted as he experienced and felt; that, when the partner who had for many years participated in his toils and troubles, and shared in his amusements and joys, was removed from him, and his "fire-side" was comparatively desolate, the hopes and feelings he had cherished in her society were his best consolations during the residue of his journey to that "sanctuary" for which he so earnestly longed, and which he so eloquently describes. In folly's maze advance; From the gay world we'll oft retire Where love our hours employs ; |