Or banith'd hence to Paraclete remove, • Wild at the found to solitude 1 fly, Nor this alone-Superior duties claim for with ardours not their own. From scenes like those when Eloisa's soul • And sure when hope with infant hold prepar'd Consenting tafte, indulgent fancy (mil'd; F Severer Severer science join'd the blooming train, • Alas! that letter'd ease, by heaven design'd • Untouch'd, unfway'd by fortune's base controul, • O treacherous moment, short, and insecure ! open front of animated snow, MONTHLY CATALOGUE. P Ο Ε Τ R Y. An Invocation to Melancholy. A Fragment. 4to. THE "HE subject of this performance is capable of high poetical imbellishments, and the author has sometimes succeeded in their delineation. Like Hotspur, he 6 apprehends a world of figures,' but they are not in general properly methodised, nor aca accurately expressed. It is probably the production of a young writer; who appears not defective in genius, but we cannot compliment him on his judgment. The War of Wigs, a Poem, occasioned by a late Event in Wc,4 minster-Hall. 4to. 15. 6. Kearsley. This poem relates the events of a battle, raised without an object, and determined without either victory or defeat. A late commotion in Westminster-hall, from a casual terror, seems to have suggested this wordy war, where ferjeants and barristers contend, with little dignity and less address. Yet the battle gives occasion to the poet to describe the different personages, in smooth and poetic, -- often in pointed and well-appropriated language :--this perhaps is all that we should expect; for, as Mr. Bayes observes, a plot is of little use but to bring in good things.' We shall select the concluding lines as a specimen, • As o'er the troubled deep when tempests rise, And future ages bless the sweet perfume.' liam Pitt, Chancellor of the Exchequer; petitioning for the va. cant Laureatesbip. 4to. 6d. Dilly. The report, whether true or false, that Mr. M lately a candidate for the laureateship, has given rise to this piece of ridicule; the author of which likewise has proved so far unsuccessful as greatly to fail in the imitation of that ingenious gentleman's style and manner. An Epiftle from John Lord Ashburton, in the Shades, to the Right Hon. William Pitt in the Sunshine. 4to. 25. Murray. A political, doggrel, unpoetic production ; in which the author, to supply the want of wit, has been profuse of fcurrility. The Stone Coffin; or, a Nerv Way of making Love. 4to. Cattermoul. The subject of this author's poetry seems to have a sympathetic connection with his genius ; for we never read any thing that deserves more to be buried in oblivion. Poctical n was IS. F 2 Poetical Trifles. By Edward Trap Pilgrim, Esq. Small 8vo. Is, 6d. Debrett. These Trifes are rather calculated to amuse in a new spaper, than for a foundation on which the author's fame may fecurely reít. Some of them are light, easy, and pleafing; others trifting and infipid. Those who write on temporary subjects muit neceffarily confine their praise to the uncertain period of the follies which they celebrate or satirise. Memoirs of Sir Simeon Supple, Member for Rorborough. 8vo. 15.6d. Kearsley. The author has acted injudiciously, by reminding us of the inimitable and unimitated New Bath Guide. Thele Memoirs resemble it; but must be arranged at a great distance from the work of Mr. Anstey : they possess few traits of humour, little knowlege of human nature, and faint sparks only of poetic fire. The two following lianzas, part of the remonstrance of a condemned oak, are the most highly finished lines. • Hold ruthless peasant! hold thy lifted arm, Nor let thy stroke my bleeding rind divide; Nor dare to pierce my venerable fide. The disant vallies spread wild havock o'er ; From yon tall mantion to the winding shore.' Of the other parts, the minister's speech at the levee is by far the best ; and we Mall extract a few lines of it as a fpecimen. “Sir Simeon Supple, I'll always contend, Dear Dear fir, you're a rule for my friends, I declare : How long may it be since you came from the Square ?” The author disclaims any personal allusion; yet we sometimes suspect that he verges towards it. But perhaps the scenes described have been so often acted, that it is not easy to repeat what may not, in some degree, be applied. Elegies and Sonnets. 4to. 35. Cadell. Though we find not any thing peculiarly striking, or indicative of strong original genius in these poems, they are by no means liable to critical censure. The language is pure, easy, and grammatical. We think the Sonnets in general extremely elegant, and shall adduce the following on Love, in vindica. tion of our opinion. • Ah! who can say, to him that fondly loves How ftrangely various every hour appears ? And now in joys is loit, and now in tears ; Despair too soon the flattering scene removes ; Surmises groundless doubts, and jealous fears. Gay smiles the morn, deceitfully serene, And clouds, and sudden darkness intervene, And blast with ruthless ttorms the beauteous scene.' Verses on the Death of Dr. Samuel Johnson. 4to. Is. 6d. Dilly. Dr. Johnson has not been very happy in his paneygyrists : nor is the present author much more successful than his predecessors. He tells us, that “a friend, whose reputation is great in the literary world, and had a better knowlege of the subject than he can pretend to, induced him, with a few additions, to lay them before the public.' His friend must surely be either insincere, or have acquired reputation very undeservedly. We found our opinion chiefly on his permitting the concluding lines of the poem to appear in their present state. • Soon as the mind exerts a wish to stray way, And F 3 |