1 -The long-demurring maid, Whose lonely unappropriated sweets Smil'd, like yon knot of cowslips on the cliff, Not to be come at by the willing hand. Another simile, near the end of the poem, where he mentions the aversion even of the good to death, beginning, so have I seen upon a summer's eve, is natural and striking. In Blair, it is difficult to discover any material traces of imitation, or even to conjecture who were his favourites among the poets of his country. His style of composition is his own, and his versification peculiar to himself. He undoubtedly, however, possessed a taste for our elder poets, the ancient wells of English undefiled, from whom he probably learned the energy, character, and truth of composition, and the genuine language of verse; particularly the frequent use of compound epithets, which are the attention of the writers of verse; yet has never been mentioned, till very lately, in any critical work, nor imitated in any poetical composition. The Task" of Cowper, an ingenious and truly original per formance, resembles it only in the singular combination of pathetic description, comic humour, and serious remonstrance. Its popularity, how. ever, must be allowed as an unquestionable authority in its favour; for, by the judgment of the common, unprejudiced, unpedantic reader, the merit of every poetical composi. tion must be ultimately decided. Mr. Pinkerton, the learned and ingenious editor of the "ancient "Scottish poems, &c." was the first who celebrated the merits of Blair, and subjected the Grave to the examination of criticism. ( "I know not," says Mr. Pinkerton," that he wrote any thing "else; but the Grave is worth a "thousand common poems. The language is such as Shakspeare "would have used; yet he no "where imitates Shakspeare, or uses any expression of his. It is "frugal and chaste; yet, upon oc"casion, highly poetical, without any appearance of research. It "is unquestionably the best piece " of blank verse we have, save "those of Milton." Some Account of William Pearce, and of his remarkable and praise. worthy Industry: in a Letter to the Secretary of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts and Munufactures. Sir, To apologize, when pleading in the cause of humanity and industry, would be an insult to the members of a liberal institution; I shall therefore only beg excuse for the style of my narration. I yesterday took a walk of about two miles from this station to satisfy myself respecting a remarkable instance of persevering and indefatigable industry, which I had heard of, and found as follows:-Twelve acres of barren downs had been taken from the common, seven or eight of which were in a high state of cultivation, and the remainder in a very forward state of improvement. In order to vary, as needful, the different kinds of produce, this space was divided into eight different fields, which required seventeen fences, the greater part of which was made with stone, and put together in a masterly manner. But a great part of this industry is hid, for most of the downs being swampy ground, and some very shallow, in order to remove the first inconvenience, the different fields were obliged to be intersected with various drains, which empty themselves into the ditches that have been obliged to be dug round the margin of each field, both for this purpose, and in order to give greater height to the fences. On each side of every bank ditches are dug, and in the gateways bridges are made, able to support a loaded cart, that the water may freely run off. The land produced, in 1803, ten Cornish bushels of barley, nine trusses of hay, two hogsheads of oats, and ten bushels of wheat, besides pasture for cattle. This has been the work of eighteen years time, by one indefatigable man, who began it in the fiftieth year of his age. I have to add, that his dwelling-house and out-buildings, including the turf-walls, of which they are composed, the laying of the rafters, and the thatching, are all executed by himself, though he was only bred to husbandry. His industry is surprising, as, independent of his great labour in procuring manure from a distance, which has required his travelling two hundred miles, he brings coals for different persons, of whom I am one. The distance from me is eleven miles. He has brought coals so far, on my account, eight times since last July, which add 176 miles more. The ground he is improving is the property of sir Christopher Hawkins, and, though labouring under a natural infirmity in the hand, which obliges him to conduct the plough with one hand only, yet he continues indefatigable in his exertions. I am, sir, Your most obedient servant, Lizard signal station, near Sir, I beg to lay before the society for the encouragement of arts, &c. the following narration, hoping that though the extent of my improvements is not great, yet they will not be considered undeserving their notice, as it has been to me a most arduous undertaking, and has required my unceasing and indefatigable labour, and which it still requires. For a part of my manure, which consists of sea sand, I have to go two miles; and my average annual quantity being 50 load, for this one article I must, of course, travel 200 miles, independent of my labour in loading and procuring it. What other labour is unavoidably necessary, needs no comment from me to your society. I chietly rest on my labour, for now upwards of eighteen years, in this particular branch of agriculture, to recommend me to your society, and as having added my mite towards the improvement of waste grounds. The manner of my proceeding I shall endeavour to make as plain as possible, for the information of others. I was induced to this undertaking, from a great love of husbandry, a wish to serve my family, and a desire to employ myself in that part of agriculture, which I thought the most useful to my country, and beneficial to mankind. I still find the same strong propensity in my mind: but my corporeal abilities fail me, being in my sixty-eighth year. If I could have kept a man all this time, I suppose I should have been able to have made four times the improvement I have, as the odds of an additional hand to one, need not be mentioned to your society. But, on the contrary, when I began, and for some years after, this, to me, arduous undertaking, I was obliged to work for others, five days out of the week, to obtain food for myself, a wife, and seven chil dren, viz. six sons and one daugh. ter, the former of which, as soon as able, went into the service of their country, in which two are now employed, and two lost their lives last war. As to property, when I first began this undertaking, I had none, except one mare, and the shilling per day I earned by my labour, at which I used to work hard, in order to finish it as soon as possible; not not to leave off work, but to go to still harder, that of my own undertaking in improvement. The manner I proceeded in clearing the land, which was chiefly swamp, and produced what in general grows on those kind of commons, was as follows-the surface, for the most part, was less than six inches, under which was a bed of loose stones of various sizes, from half a pound to three cwt. or thereabouts, but the latter generally ap. peared above the surface. To clear away these was certainly a work of great trouble; but still it assisted me in another respect, and on this account it was so far an advantage; for, on removing these stones from their natural bed, they were carried to places in which they might be handy to face my banks, the extent and labour of which will be seen by the imperfect, though nearly correct, plan which accompanies this narrative, as I thought it might tend to throw more light on the subject, than my still more imperfect narrative. My method was, first, to enclose in part; to do which, I was obliged to collect materials, that is, turf and stones, as I could procure them; which cost me great labour. After which, when I came to clear away to improve the grounds, the stones, as before-mentioned, did, by being used as I have said, separate my (extreme) enclosures, and divide the grounds into different departments, and assisted me in the two grand objects of clearing the ground and making the banks. As the plan is too small to give it in scale, it may be necessary here to mention, that the banks are between five and six feet high, and four feet broad, as I built them to be durable, and though not exactly so, still very 1 nearly in as straight lines as drawn in the plan, having made them so, because, for a variety of reasons, they are more convenient. For this rea In the spring, as the land became dry, I began to cut up the surface of the ground, exactly the same as turfs for fuel; which, being placed upright, with their upper ends touching, were left in this manner to dry. As soon as this was accomplished, they were placed in piles loosely together, and burnt. I then proceeded to clear, under the surface, the loose stones as mentioned; which on being removed, as before related, I came to a strata of rather light loose clay, (there are some exceptions to this of not so good of bottom), among which, at times, stones were likewise found. son it became necessary, first, to break all this ground up by hand, not being able to use the plough, which, when done to a convenient depth to answer the purposes of tillage, was manured with the beforementioned burnt materials, to which at times something more was added. The corn was then sown, and turned in with the plough, wheat, oats, and barley in succession, with the latter of which, grass seed was sown. It was then suffered to lie fallow for three or four years, at the end of which it was managed by the common methods of ploughing, harrowing, and manuring. This latter requires great labour, for the reasons above-mentioned, before it is brought into a proper state for tillage. After this, a regular succession of different kinds of grain, fit to keep the ground in the best state for cultivation, is carried on. After having improved as much as requized my more immediate attendance, and the produce of which tended tended greatly towards the support of my family, I began to erect a dwelling on the spot, the walls of which are composed of turfs, the roof rafted and thatched by myself; to which has been added, as I was able, barn, stable, cart-house, and other convenient out-houses for my cattle, &c. which at present consist of three horses, and one cow rising five years, two heifers rising three and four years, two steers rising two years, and one yearling. To which may be added, as another part of my small stock, a few bushels of different kinds of grain, and a small quantity of hay, plough, harrow, cart, slide, wheel-barrows, &c. &c. of tools necessary for husbandry. For the more particularly under. standing the extent and nature of my enclosure, with the various kinds of tillage they are applied to at present, I hope the plan I have sent, though imperfect, will be found sufficient. I have effected the whole improve ment by my industry, as, when I Your obedient servant, C. Taylor, esq. These are to certify, that we verily believe the above to be a true statement, most of it coming under our own knowledge, James Kempthorne, R. N. Thomas Humphries, Lieutenant Royal Navy. NATURAL |