With the exception of thefe changes, and the correction of one or two printer's blunders in the pages where they occur, the poems are "one and indivifible." The laft paragraph of the original preface is cancelled; and, as it feems to glance at the confanguinity and love of Laon and Cythna, I will copy it: "In the perfonal conduct of my Hero and Heroine, there is one circumftance which was intended to startle the reader from the trance of ordinary life. It was my object to break through the cruft of thofe outworn opinions on which established inftitutions depend. have appealed therefore to the most univerfal of all feelings, and have endeavoured to strengthen the moral fenfe, by forbidding it to waste its energies in feeking to avoid actions which are only crimes of convention. It is because there is fo great a multitude of artificial vices, that there are fo few real virtues. Thofe feelings alone which are benevolent or malevolent, are esfentially good or bad. The circumftance of which I fpeak, was introduced, however, merely to accuftom men to that charity and toleration which the exhibition of a practice widely differing from their own, has a tendency to promote. Nothing indeed can be more mifchievous, than many actions innocent in themselves, which might bring down upon individuals the bigoted contempt and rage of the multitude." The article in the Quarterly of which I have spoken may be found in the number for April, 1819. Both titles of the poem ftand at the head of the paper, which is a rare fpecimen of evangelical pity and hatred; the only allufion in it to Laon and Cythna's being originally brother and fifter, is toward the clofe, where the poet is faid to recommend inceft-an enigmatical circumftance to the readers of The Revolt of Ilam. Shelley thought Southey the author of the article, but he was mistaken it was written by the Rev. H. H. Milman, a voluminous rhymefter, called by courtesy a poet. Ollier, the publisher, was a friend of "The fentiments connected with and characteristic of this circumftance, have no perfonal reference to the Writer." i THESE rites men owe to thee O God, which in the heauens art, Reuerence, honor, glory, prayfe, and prayer from the heart. The gratious Prince a father is, where fubiectes liue in awe, The good regarding with rewards, the lewde with fcourge of lawe. The fubiect true vnto his Prince, this homage heere doth owe, A faithfull heart, a feare through loue, an inward Zeale in fhowe. The reuerent Iudge frō doming right, whom no regard may straine, Muft Ariftotles blames forfake, loue, hate, and priuate gaine. · Th' inferiour fort must reu'rence giue, vnto the higher power, Obay, and liften to their lore, let fortune laugh, or lowre. Thefe fpeciall vertues from a freend, ftill fhould or do proceede, Aduife, affiftance, faithfull loue, and conftancy in neede. The Landlord should so let his land, Parents. Obedience of Children. Office of Mayfters. All Tennants flaues, and bondmen were, of youre records do fhew, Though now not fo, yet to their Lords, they Zeale and fealtie owe. The neighborhood of the neighbor good, this neighbor doth claime Good still for good, in casuall harme, a charitable blame. The Wife man sayeth the child is fpilt, where parents spare the rod, But cherishment with chaftment ioyne, and see, they honor God. You children that long life do feeke, vnto Gods lawe giue eare, Honor Parents, fuftaine their age, that for your youth did care. You that a faithfull feruant feeke, regard this charge as lawe, His wages pay, his feruice aske, and keepe him still in awe. Sometime the Romaines by their lawe their feruant lewde might flay, And by all lawes the maifters will the feruant muft obay. Fresh youth, whofe iudgement is but greene, aboue each other vice, Forfake these three vndoing euils, women, wine, and dice. These properties (regard them well) to you faire maydes belong, A bashfull grace, a modeft eye, ioynd with a filent, toong. You that haue wealth, think others want, & thus impart your store, Lend,giue,releeue,as neede requires, for to fuftayne the poore. You that are poore, abafe your thoughts, for naught agreeth worfe Than this foule fault, a prowde conceipt, ioynd with a beggers purse. In euery trade an honest gaine well gotten good men hight, And God will furely bleffe the hand, mous. admitted work is an erótic poem. As he was then not incapable of paffion; and a young poet befides, his fuicide, for what we know to the contrary, may have been prompted by love. His miftrefs, we may believe, cared for Nobody, and Nobody cared for her; and if the narrative fays nothing of his children, it is doubtless fort good reafons: if any exifted, they were Nobody's children-in fact, and perhaps in law, Nullius fili. His work was pofthumous, of course.. No publisher would admit that he was Nobody's friend, and publifhed Nobody's works; and, on the other hand, as the character of the work reflects no credit on, the, author, it may have been published by Nobody's enemy. Nobody, being dead, could throw no light on this fubject; and is there anybody now able to give more definite information? THOUGH the reader of the foregoing title. has heard from his infancy a great deal of work accredited to Nobody, it was never of a literary kind, his place in that depart ment being filled by that prolific author the wonder of his boyhood-Mr. AnonyWe give notice, therefore, at the outfet, that we propofe to tell all that is known of the genuine Mr. Nobody-once a more impalpable perfonage than Pope Joan or Prefter John, but now discovered Those who sneer at the painful labors of and felf-confeffed; and we quote as author- the bibliographer, because they refcue from ity the Dictionnaire Hiftorique, ou Biogra- a merited oblivion the ufelefs works of inphie Univerfelle Claffique, par M. le Général Beauvais et par un Société de Gens de fignificant authors, may certainly believe Lettres, revue et augmenté, pour la partie bibliographique, par M. Barbier (Paris, 1826, thick 8vo), where the narrative, literally tranflated, is as follows: 66 Nobody (C***), a young poet, born in the environs of Beauvais in 1766: he is only known as the author of a piece of erotic verfe, entitled La Meffe de Gnide, Paris, year z of the Republic (1793), in 24m0, of 35 pages. He killed himself with a pistol-shot, in 1787, at Paris." the mania to have reached its climax when it feeks to record all that can be learned of the erotic poem of Nobody. But the gen uine bibliographer finds his reward in the. labor itself, and draws his own moral from the ftory. If Nobody is an entity, what are we all? And certainly the moft neglected young poet of the day may cherish fresh hopes of fame, from the career of our hero.; for it is an obvious reflection, that' anybody may hope for a partial immortality where a Nobody has not entirely failed: From this accurate though fomewhat and while time tends to deftroy the works meagre history, Nobody appears to have and words of the wifeft, and bury every died on attaining manhood, an age when, body in a common oblivion, fome future Bifor moft readers, the belief in his existence ographie Univerfelle may place our young has long ago departed. The works com- poet with the other Nobodies, all in their monly attributed to Nobody are fuch as proper alphabetical pofition, where their no other body is willing to avow, and this chance for an immortality coeval with the opinion feems to be as juft as it is general; Dictionnaire will be as good as that of anyfor when he announces himself, his only body else. 1 A FEW SENTENCES ABOUT BOOKS, Selected from Wit's Academy, 1635. "As thofe precious ftones are more to be efteemed, which not onely doe delight the eyes with a variety of colours, and the more with a fweet scent, but are alfo effectuall for medicine; fo those bookes are most to be regarded, which have not only the exornations of fpeech, but alfoe doe free the minde from vices by wholefome pre cepts." "As they that are wife, doe not forthwith drinke of every fountaine, becaufe fome bring health, fome bring a feemely countenance, and others bring destruction; so it is not fafe to read every booke, because as out of fome thou maist fucke a good dispofition of minde, fo out of others, luft: out of others ambition is drawn." "As that worke is most laudable wherein the arte commendeth the matter, the matter commendeth the arte; fo that is the best booke, wherein the profitableneffe of the argument commendeth the eloquence, and the eloquence of the author commendeth the argument." "As gold is tryed by the touch, fo good bookes by their worth." "As in sweete oyles, ointment and wines; fo in bookes, antiquity doth adde estimation and price." "Bees abftaine from withered flowers; fo we should abstaine from corrupt, vicious, and obfcene bookes." "As in meates we doe not onely looke for pleafantneffe, but for wholesomenefs; fo in hearing and reading of authors." "As we fee ourselves in other men's eyes; fo in other men's writings wee may fee what becometh us, and what becometh us not.' "As a field too much dunged becometh parched, but if it have no compoft, it waxeth barren; fo by moderate reading the wit groweth and is brought to good liking, for the mind is no leffe fatted by reading, than the ground by manuring." "As meate eaten greedily, hath neither profit nor pleasure; fo authors read over too haftily." "As little bees from every place bring home that which is profitable; fo a student doth except from every author that which fuits his purpose." "Bees out of divers flowers draw divers juices, but they temper and digeft them by their own vertue, otherwife they would make no hony; fo all authors are to be turned over, and what thou readeft is to be transposed to thine own use." "One tall tree is not wondered at where the whole wood mounteth aloft; fo one fentence is not marked, where all the whole booke is full of wisdom." "Out of herbs and plants the best things are to bee extracted; fo the best sayings are to be gathered out of authors." NUMBER OF THE CHILDREN OF JOHN ROGERS, THE MARTYR. In a rare work by Thomas Mall, one of the ejected ministers, entitled, The History of the Martyrs epitomized, A Cloud of Witnefes, or the Sufferers Mirrour, etc. (vol. ii. p. 127, Boston edition, 1747), I find the following remark in relation to the number of the children of John Rogers, the martyr: "His Wife and Children being eleven in number (ten that could go and one Sucking at the Breaft) met him by the Way; but this Sight, grevious indeed to Flesh and Blood, could nothing E. K., JR., Boston. move him.' Meffrs. PHILES & Co. have ready for the press, and are now taking fubfcriptions for, a reprint of The Paradife of Dayntie Devifes. The text of this edition is taken from the reprint of 1810, edited by Sir Edgerton Brydges. The biographical notes have been prepared expreffly for this edition, ufing Brydges as a bafis, but incorporating much information that has been brought to light since his edition was iffued. This edition will be printed in small quarto, in the best ftyle of art, upon India paper, and is limited to 500 copies, as follows: 400 on small paper, at $2.00 each. At thefe prices, copies will be furnished to fubfcribers only; and as foon as they are fupplied, the prices will be raised to $2.50 for the small-paper copies, and $5.00 for the large-paper copies. Meffrs, Philes & Co. propofe to make this reprint of The Paradife of Dayntie Devifes the first volume of a series of reprints of scarce collections of old English poetry. The next volume in the feries will be "ENGLAND'S HELICON." |