Another phænomenon is, that I read it without finding it out all I remember is, that I thought it not at "It is as easy to snatch it from us, as for the light down of these plants "to be blown away by the breath of the Zephyrs. In vain have I recourse to flattering Hope. Each moment increases my distur"bance. He will come no more. Who keeps him at a distance “from me? What duty more sacred than that of calming the in"quietudes of Love! But what do I say? Fly jealous suspicions, injurious to his fidelity g, and formed to extinguish my tenderness. 66 If jealousy grows by the side of Love, it will stifle it, if not pulled up by the roots; it is the Ivy which, by a verdant chain, embraces, but "dries up the trunk which serves for its support h. I know my "Lover too well to doubt of his tenderness. He, like me, has, far "from the pomp of courts, sought the tranquil asylum of the fields. "Touched by the simplicity of my heart, and by my beauty, my "sensual rivals call him in vain to their arms. Shall he be se"duced by the advances of coquetry, which, on the check of the young maid, tarnishes the snow of innocence and the carnation of mo desty, and daubs it with the whiteness of art and the paint of effrontery? What do I say? his contempt for her is perhaps only a 66 66 f For Safety now sits wav'ring on your love, g Like the light down upon the thistle's beard, Avaunt! ye vain delusive fears. h See, Elfrida; Ah see! how round yon branching Elm the Iry Clasps its green chain, and poisons what supports it. Not less injurious to the shoots of Love Is sickly Jealousy. i --To guard Your beauties from the blast of courtly gales. The crimson blush of virgin Modesty, The delicate soft tints of Innocence, There all fly off, and leave no boast behind But well-rang'd, faded features. all English, and did not much like it; and the reason is plain, for the lyric flights and choral flowers suited not "snare for me. Can I be ignorant of the partiality of men, and "the arts they employ to seduce us? Nourished in a contempt "for our Sex, it is not Us, it is their pleasures that they love. "Cruel as they are, they have placed in the rank of the virtues the "barbarous fury of revenge, and the mad love of their country; "but never have they reckoned fidelity among the virtues. With"out remorse they abuse innocence, and often their vanity con"templates our griefs with delight. But no; fly far from me, ye "odious thoughts, my Lover will come! A thousand times have "I experienced it: As soon as I perceive him my agitated mind is calm, "and I often forget the too just cause I have for complaint; for near "him I can only know happiness k. Yet if he is treacherous to me; "if, in the very moment when my love excuses him, he consum"mates the crime of infidelity in another bosom, may all nature "take up arms in revenge! may he perish! What do I say? Ye “Elements, be deaf to my cries! Thou Earth, open not thy profound abyss! let the Monster walk the time prescribed kim on thy splendid surface, let him still commit new crimes, and still cause the tears of "the too credulous maids to flow; and if heaven avenges them and "punishes him, may it at least be at the prayer of some other unfortu66 nate woman." kMy truant heart Forgets each lesson that Resentment taught, And in thy sight knows only to be happy. In the French it is more literal, " Pres de lui je ne scâis qu' etre "heureuse." Till then, ye Elements, rest; and thou, firm Earth, Stalk his due time on thine affrighted surface: Yes, let him still go on, still execute His savage purposes, and daily make More widows weep, as I do. in the least with the circumstances or character of the speaker, as he had contrived it. LETTER XLV. MR. GRAY TO MR. BROWN*. February 17, 1763. YOU will make my best acknowledgments to Mr. Howe; who, not content to rank me in the number of his friends, is so polite as to make excuses for having done me that honour. Here ends this odd instance of plagiarism. When M. Helvetius was in England, a year or two after I had made the discovery of it, I took my measures (as Mr. Gray advised me) to learn how he came by it; and accordingly requested two Noblemen, to whom he was introduced, to ask him some questions concerning it; but I could gain no satisfactory answer. I do not, however, by any means, suppose that the person who cooked up the disjointed parts of my Drama into this strange Fricasee, was M. Helvetius himself; I rather imagine (as I did from the first) that he was imposed upon by some young English traveller, who contrived this expedient in order to pass with him for a Poet. The great Philosopher, it is true, has in this note been proved to be the receiver of Stolen Goods; but out of respect to his numerous fashionable disciples, both abroad and at home, whose credit might suffer with that of their Master, I acquit him of what would only be held criminal at the Old Bailey, that he received these goods knowing them to be stolen. * Now master of Pembroke-Hall. I was not born so far from the sun, as to be ignorant of Count Algarotti's name and reputation; nor am I so far advanced in years, or in philosophy, as not to feel the warmth of his approbation. The Odes in question, as their motto shews, were meant to be vocal to the intelligent alone. How few they were in my own country, Mr. Howe can testify; and yet my ambition was terminated by that small circle. I have good reason to be proud, if my voice has reached the ear and apprehension of a stranger, distinguished as one of the best judges in Europe. I am equally pleased with the just applause he bestows on Mr. Mason; and particularly on his Caractacus, which is the work of a Man: whereas Elfrida is only that of a Boy, a promising boy indeed, and of no common genius: yet this is the popular performance, and the other little known in comparison. Neither Count Algarotti nor Mr. Howe (I believe) have heard of Ossian, the Son of Fingal. If Mr. Howe were not upon the wing, and on his way homewards, I would send it to him in Italy. He would there see that Imagination dwelt many hundred years ago, in all her pomp, on the cold and barren mountains of Scotland. The truth (I believe) is, that, without any respect of climates, she reigns in all nascent societies of men, where the necessities of life force every one to think and act much for himself *. LETTER XLVI. COUNT ALGAROTTI TO MR. GRAY. Pisa, 24 Aprile, 1763. SONO stato lungo tempo in dubbio se un dilettante quale io sono, dovea mandare alcune sue coserelle a un Professore quale è V. S. Illusmo, a un arbitro di ogni poetica eleganza. Nè ci volea meno che l'autorità del valorissimo Sigr. How per persuadermi a ciò fare. V. S. Illmo accolga queste mie coserelle con quella medesima bontà con cui ha voluto accogliere quella lettera che dice pur poco delle tante cose, che fanno sen * One is led to think from this paragraph that the scepticism, which Mr. Gray had expressed before, concerning these works of Ossian, was now entirely removed (p. 163). I know no way of accounting for this (as he had certainly received no stronger evidence of their authenticity) but from the turn of his studies at the time. He had of late much busied himself in Antiquities, and consequently had imbibed too much of the spirit of a profest Antiquarian; now we know, from a thousand instances, that no set of men are more willingly duped than these, especially by any thing that comes to them under the fascinating form of a new dis covery. |