have fecured him, when known, extenfive fame. He was, however, born to bloom unfeen;' for it seems that his great benevolence would not let him build on another's reputation ; and his unconquerable modefty probably forbad him to raise a ftructure on his own. Our correfpondent muft excufe us from enlarging farther; the zeal and warmth of his praises ftrongly indicate fome little partiality.

The Critical Effays contained in this volume are, I. Coop. er's Hill, by Denham. II. Lycidas, by Milton. III, Windfor Foreft, by Pope. IV. Grongar Hill, by Dyer. V. Ruins of Rome, the fame. VI. Oriental Eclogues, by Collins. VII, Church Yard Elegy, by Gray. VIII. Deferted Village, by Goldfmith. IX. Seafons, by Thomson.

Mr. Scott, in the minutenefs and rigour of his examination, approaches to the inquifitorial ftrictness of Dr. Johnson; and fo fixed is his opinion of its neceffity, that he seems to think little jeu d' efprit, entitled a Criticism on the Elegy in a Country Church-yard,' a ferious performance. This exactness, however, is fometimes mifapplied, and sometimes leads 'him into error. In the first Effay, for instance, on Windfor Foreft, he makes the following obfervation.

The apostrophe to Windfor, is abrupt and aukward; and contains matter which will furely find few advocates for its propriety or elegance. To heighten an object, is generally underftood to augment or increafe it; but meekness certainly cannot be augmented or increafed by majestic grace: the reverse would have been right; majeftic grace may be diminished by meekness. What fubject was defigned by the obfcure and affected appellation, pompous load, feems doubtful; probably it was the cattle "Windfor the next (where Mars and Venus dwells, Beauty with ftrength) above the valley fwells Into my eye, and doth itself prefent

With fuch an easy, and unforc'd afcent,
That no ftupendous precipice denies
Accefs, no horror turns away our eyes:
But fuch a rife as doth at once invite
A pleasure and a reverence from the fight.
Thy mighty mafter's emblem, in whofe face
Sat meeknefs, heighten'd with majestic grace;
Such feems thy gentle height, made only proud
To be the bafis of that pompous load,

Than which a nobler weight no mountain bears,
But Atlas only, which fupports the spheres."

Our author does not perceive that majestic grace' is a corporeal quality, and meekness' a mental one; that either is not inconfiftent with the other. In another place, Mr. Scott would amend the two firft lines of Dyer's Grongar-Hill, in a

manner

manner that does not destroy the principal objection to it, viz. that it is not English.

Silent nymph with curious eye

Who at purple evening lie.'

We certainly ought to read nymphs,' or lyeft.' We are glad, however, to find, from an incorrect firft copy, that this nymph is Silence. Poets, in their infpirations, often think their readers as wife as themselves.

We shall select a paffage, as an inftance of the ftyle of criticism which Mr. Scott has employed. It is taken alfo from the remarks on Windfor Foreft,'

The first fix lines propofe the fubject, and compliment the author's friend, Granville lord Landfdown. They are fucceeded by these:

"The groves of Eden, vanish'd now fo long,
Live in defcription and look green in fong:
Thefe, were my breaft infpir'd with equal ame,
Like them in beauty, fhould be like in fame.
Here bills and vales, the woodland and the plain;
Here earth and water feem to firive again;
Not chaos like together crush'd and bruis'd,
But like the world harmoniously confus'd:
Where order in variety we fee,

And where though all things differ, all agree.'

39

Two paffages in Cooper's Hill, quoted in the foregoing remarks on that piece, are here clofely copied. Profufion of thought feldom fails to create abfurdity. The place that was compared to Eden, furely needed no other comparison to exaggerate its beauty; and to compare it to the world at large, mult certainly produce an anti-climax. That which was like Eden, could not be like chaos; the mention of chaos was, therefore, totally unneceffary; nor is it eafy to conceive how that which was even HARMONIOUSLY confufed, could have ORDER. The thought, however, is not more exceptionable than the expreffion. General meaning may be evident, where precifion of language is wanting. Pope defigned to fay, that if he poffeffed Milton's poetical power, Windfor fhould be as famous as Eden; but he has not faid fo. The groves of Eden are the only object to which the comparative adjective equal can relate; and it is nonfenfe to fay, a flame is equal to a grove. Milton's flame would have been fenfe, and would not have injured the dignity or mufic of the verse. The fifth and fixth lines have a redundance in one part, and a puerile abruptnefs in the other. When bills, vales, &c. had been particularized, it was fuperfluous to comprife them in the term carth. If the poet means to say that here, as in Eden, earth and water feem to contend in affording pleasure," his words are not fufficiently extenfive;carth and water firive again;" a cynical hypercritick would probably

afk,

afk, "when did they ftrive before, and what do they strive for now?" Crufbed and bruifed is a profaifm and a periflology; for what is crushed must of course be bruifed. The general congruity of a number of subjects individually diffimilar, might perhaps have been better pointed out, than by obferving, that' though all things differed, all things agreed. In fhort, the three laft couplets of the quotation are fo faulty, that had they been omitted, the poem would have been improved by the omiffion.'

In this way admired poems are examined: we have hinted, that our author is fometimes miftaken; and we have chofen this part of the Effays to fhow how juft obfervations are fometimes mixed with faults: we shall make no other remark than the distinctions in printing. We own, that when, in fome inftances, he has detected a real fault, we wished to have remained ignorant of it: these splendid errors are worth whole pages of meafured regularity.

In the Effay on Gray's Elegy, Mr. Scott has propofed alterations in the arrangement of stanzas, and in fome of the lines: their length prevents us from felecting any, but in general they destroy the force of the language, and of the delufion, by introducing an unnatural regularity. Mr. Scott has shown that Gray has followed a plan; but we have often had occafion to observe how delufive the task is, to adapt a plan to the defigns of another. If Gray. had one, we think it not the leaft of his merits, that he has concealed it fo carefully.

We fhall felect another paffage, on the fubject of Lycidas; becaufe, in our review of Mr. Warton's edition, we observed, that it probably was not the effufion of real grief,

• When our above mentioned ingenious critick thinks that Lycidas cannot be confidered as an effufion of real grief, he feems to have mistaken the nature of the poem. There is an anxiety from apprehenfion of lofing a beloved object; and there is a grief immediately fubfequent to its actual lofs, which cannot be expreffed but in the fhorteft and fimpleft manner. There is a grief toftened by time, which can recapitulate past pleasures in all their minutia of circumftance and fituation, and can felect fuch images as are proper to the kind of compofition, wherein it chufes to convey itfelf. It was no fudden impetuş of paffion, but this mellowed forrow, that effufed the verfes now under confideration.'

This comes very near our position. Mellowed grief, however it may have delighted in reflecting on former scenes, would not have turned either to the woods or paftures, for its perfonages. The following is not a correct answer.

Cowley speaks of Hervey (the author refers to Johnson's remark), in propria perfona, Milton is pro tempore a ruitic poet;

one

1

one therefore must naturally draw his images from the bufinefs of the ftudy, and the other from the bufinefs of the field. It feems not very easy to discover what idea of tenderness is excited by Cowley, the collegian, in his mention of, the literary occupations of his fellow-ftudent, which is not alfo excited by Milton, the fuppofed fhepherd, in his mention of the rural occupations of his field companion. Whatever there is of pathos in either, refults from the recollection of friendship terminated by death.'

There is no diftin&t idea of tenderness in either, when abfolutely confidered; but the intereft is entirely derived from the ufual occupation of those we loved. In the one cafe it is a natural, in the other an artificial reflection; and real grief cannot defcend to refinements.

We must now leave Mr. Scott, whofe manes we wish not to disturb by the freedom of our remarks. His Essays are not without merit, in the mode of criticism which he has pursued. Some peculiar words and phrases do not produce a pleafing effect; but, on the whole, this volume may be read by an ardent young poet with advantage.

A Hiftory of the late Siege of Gibraltar. By John Drinkwater,
Captain of the late Seventy-Second Regiment. 4to. l. 75. in
Boards. Johnfon.

THE

HE late fiege of Gibraltar is one of the most memorable occurrences in the hiftory of military atchievements, and will continue to reflect luftre on the British arms to the remoteft pofterity. A faithful and particular account of it, therefore, cannot fail of proving acceptable to all who are interested in the glory of their country. But public utility, as well as the spirit of national honour, contributes to render a narrative of this celebrated tranfaction an object of general concern. The vigorous efforts of the enemy, and the glorious exertions of the befieged, will both be transmitted by this hiftory; and future governors may thence learn the means of oppofing, as well as of ascertaining, the probable iffue of any fimilar attempt.

This work begins with the hiftory of Gibraltar, and a defcription of the garrifon; but as thefe fubjects have been treated by other writers, especially by colonel James, a few years ago, we fhall commence our account of the present hiftory with the state of the garrifon in June 1779, when all intercourse was stopped between the fortress of Gibraltar and the Spaniards. It appears that at this time, the number of troops in Gibraltar amounted to five thousand three hundred and eighty-two men. The objects now to be confidered were,

how to procure conftant fupplies of provifion from Barbary, and in what manner the correspondence between England and Gibraltar fhould be conducted. On the fixteenth of July the enemy blocked up the port with a squadron of men of war, which anchored in the bay of Algeziras, where being judiciously arranged, and keeping a vigilant look-out, the garrifon became closely blockaded.

On the twenty-fixth, the enemy began to form a camp on the plain below St. Roch, about three miles from the garrifon. Fifty tents were pitched, and a detachment of cavalry and infantry foon after took poffeffion of the ground. Here they were daily reinforced with additional regiments; and large parties were conftantly employed in landing ordnance and military ftores. In confequence of thefe preparations all the horses, except those belonging to field and ftaff officers, were ordered to be turned out of the garrison, unless the owners, on inspection, had a thousand pounds of feed for each horse; and to enforce this order by example, the governor directed one of his own horfes to be fhot.

Towards the middle of August, the blockade became more strict and severe: the army was in force before the place, and their plan seemed to be, to reduce Gibraltar by famine. Their fquadron, under admiral Barcelo, who commanded in the bay, could prevent fuccours being thrown into the garrifon by neutral veffels; whilft their grand fleet, united with that of France, would be fuperior to any which Great Britain could equip, in her then embarraffed fituation. Every circumstance confidered, the author informs us that this fcheme was fpecious; and that, had not the garrifon fortunately received fome fupplies in April 1779, the troops must have been reduced to the greatest distress, and might probably have been in imminent danger, before the miniftry could dispatch a fleet to their relief. The fituation of the troops was every day becoming more critical: only forty head of cattle were now in the place; and from the vigilance of the enemy, there was little profpect of occafional fupplies from Barbary. The inhabitants of Gibraltar had been warned in time to provide against the calamities which now impended. The standing orders of the garrifon fpecified, that every inhabitant, even in time of peace, fhould have in ftore fix months provifions; yet by far the greater number had neglected this precaution. On this account, the most of thofe unfortunate people were now compelled to feek for fubfiftence by quitting the place.

Still the enemy continued landing ftores on the beach, and covered carts were conftantly going from Point Mala to the laboratory-tents, fuppofed to be laden with fhot. In the end

of