but fuch was his modeft diffidence, he would never fuffer them to be published. I have already mentioned, that when merely a boy of fixteen, juft entered at Oxford, he wrote his excellent poem, "The Progrefs of Difcontent." But what fhall we fay of the beautiful poem "The Pleasures of Melancholy?" written alfo at that age. E'en in his early years he fought The fweeteft Mufe to celebrate his fame; Witnefs his "Melancholy's plaintive "ftrains, "His ruin'd abbeys, mofs-grown piles, "His darkfome pines, his cavern'd "cliffs, "And cold Siberia's unrejoicing wilds, "Where pines the banish'd lord." [The four laft lines are from the above beautiful poem.] Even Envy must acknowledge, that from a boy of fixteen, it must be an extraordinary effort of fancy, expreffion, and verfification, to produce fuch a poem, Very ftriking marks must be perceived of a strong and uncommon genius; and of a mind at that early age ftored with poetical images and fimilitudes, and with has alfo given us fpecimens of various compofition; witnefs his admirable panegyric on Oxford, and his "Newmarket," a fatire, with others of the fame caft: and others of a more serious turn are excellent alfo; as his fine verfes to Sir Joshua Reynolds, on the window at New College, Oxford; his admirable Ode to Suicide; and many others; particularly a very fine one on the Approach of Summer, and an excellent copy of verfes on the late king's death, addreffed to Mr. Pitt (the late lord Chatham) beginning with "So ftream the forrows that embalm "the brave." See the laft edition of Mr. W.'s. poems. In all it will be found, that his mind was full of poetical and beautiful images. The Encoenia, and public Collection of Verfes of the Univerfity of Oxford upon their Majefties' Marriage, and the Birth of the Prince of Wales, and other loyal fubjects, were never in fuch efteem, either for elegy or congratulation, as when Mr. Warton contributed to them; and I remember at that time it was natural to turn chiefly to his performances in the above work. His Latin poems are written with much claffic purity, elegance, and fimplicity. OF MR. WARTON'S PROSE WRITINGS, As a profe-writer, whoever will examine Mr. Warton's style, will find that he is entitled to a place amongst the pureft and moft correct writers of the English language. His periods are full and eafy; his ftyle familiar, but never coarfe; on grave fubjects not oftentatious; on light occafions not trifling. He has no haríanefs of diction: his fancy was ftored with fuch a variety of images, as well as cogency of argument, that it cannot be faid he was unprovided with matter, or that his fancy lan guifhed in penury of ideas: witness his excellent effay on the "Fairy Queen" of Spenfer, and his edition of "Mil ton's Poems, with notes, critical, ex planatory, planatory, and other illuftrations."- body, feem to fuggeft the means of But Mr. Warton's chef d'oeuvre in their own gratification; and even long profe was his "Hiftory of English before experience, fome anticipation or Poetry, from the clofe of the eleventh, pre-conception of the pleafure that atto the commencement of the eighteenth tends that gratification. In the appecentury; to which is prefixed, Two tite for fex, which frequently, I am difDiffertations on the Origin of Roman- pofed to believe almoft always, comes tic Fiction in Europe, and a Differta- a long time before the age of puberty, tion on the Gefta Romanorum." this is perfectly and diftinctly evident. The appetite for food fuggefts to the new-born infant the operation of fucking, the only means by which it can poffibly gratify that appetite. It is continually fucking. It fucks whatever is prefented to its mouth. It fucks even when there is nothing presented to its mouth, and fome anticipation or pre-conception of the pleasure which it is to enjoy in fucking, feems to make it delight in putting its mouth into the shape and configuration by which it alone can enjoy that pleasure. But as (at prefent) I will not farther encroach on the limits of your valuable Mifcellany, I will referve for another opportunity an account of the above work, and of Mr. Warton's other works in profe; which you will be fo good to infert as occafion offers, and which will oblige many of your conftant readers. Feb. 17, 1796. Remarks on the Senfe of Smelling. (By the late Dr. Adam Smith.) O any of our other fenfes antecedently to obfervation, and experience, inftinctively fuggeft to us fome conception of the folid and refifting fubftances, which excite their refpective fenfations; though thefe fenfations bear no fort of refemblance to thofe fubftances? The fenfe of tafting certainly does not. Before we can feel the fenfation, the folid and refifting fubftance which excites it must be preffed against the organs of tafte. and muft confequently be perceived by them. Antecedently to obfervation and experience, there fore, the fenfe of tafting can never be faid inftinctively to fuggeft fome conception of that fubftance. It may perhaps be otherwife with the fenfe of fmelling. The young of all fuckling animals (of the mammalia of Linnæus,) whether they are born with fight or without it, yet as foon as they come into the world apply to the nipple of the mother in order to fuck. In doing this they are evidently directed by the fmell. The fmell appears either to excite the appetite for the proper food, or at leaft to direct the new-born animal to the place where that food is to be found. It may perhaps do both the one and the other. But all the appetites which take their origin from a certain ftate of the There are other appetites in which the most unexperienced imagination produces a fimilar effect upon the organs which nature has provided for their gratification. The fmell, too, may very probably fuggeft fome even tolerably diftinct perception of the tafte of the food to which it directs. The refpective objects of our different external fenfes feem, indeed, the greater part of them, to bear no fort of refemblance to one another. Colour bears no fort of refemblance to folidity, nor to heat, nor to cold, nor to found, nor to smell, nor to tafte. To this general rule, howe ver, there feems to be one, and perhaps but one exception. The fenfations of fmell and tafte feem evidently to bear fome fort of refemblance to one another; fmell appears to have been given to us by Nature, as the director of tafte. It announces, as it were, before trial, what is likely to be the tafte of the food which is fet before us. Though perceived by a different organ, it feems in many cafes to be but a weaker fenfation, nearly of the fame kind with that of the tafte, which that announces. It is very natural to fuppofe, therefore, that the smell may fuggeft to the infant fome tolerably diftinct pre-conception of the taste of the food which it announces, and may, even before experience make its mouth, as we fay, water for that food. Ddz NEW |