vxori sue exec in eodê testamento noïate cōmissa extitit & P eandm admissa in debita forma iuris Reseruat nobis potestate & In cuius rei &c. Dat die Loco Mense et anno dñi supadictis Et ñre tanslac anno terciodecimo.

[257 a.] Nouerint vniusi p presentes &c qd Nos Thomas &c de fidelitate dilecte in xpo filie Agnetis relicte & executricis testamenti et bonoz admïstatricis. Johannis Gower nup defuncti cuius testamēti p nos nup de prerogatiua ñre Cant ecctie pro eo quod idem defunctus nonnulla bona optinuit in diusis dioc ñre Canť puinč dum viuebat et tempore mortis sue fime extitit appbatum et admĭstacio bonorum eiusdem dicte Agneti cōmissa. de & sup admïstacione & confidentes ipam ab vlteriori &c In cuius rei & Dat in Man' io ñro de Lamhith. vijmo, die Mensis Nouembris ao. dñi Mittio. CCCCmo octauo Et ñre tanslač anno terciodecimo.

RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW.

The Writings of Sir Richard Blackmore, Knt.

Of all the English poets, who have suffered under the ridicule and satire of their contemporaries and rivals, no name stands so conspicuously as that of Sir Richard Blackmore, Knt. When Dryden had sufficiently vented his wrath upon him, Pope mangled him afresh; and Swift was always at hand to lend an additional blow. There is, however, a drop of comfort in the bitterest cup; this the poor son of Apollo found in the high praises bestowed on him in his lifetime by Locke and Watts; and after his death, his rusty laurels were cleaned and polished by no less a person than Dr. Johnson. Being, Mr. Editor, not much addicted to wit myself, and not relishing that kind of poetry which falls under the head of imaginative and pathetic, I have found the poems of Sir R. Blackmore more to my taste (though I grant it may be fallible) than those of persons, such as Spenser and Milton, who are much more celebrated, though I consider not much more read. Now, as it is pleasant to a humane and feeling mind to raise the injured and depressed, and as there is something delightful in discovering beauties in an author unknown, or slightly noticed before, I shall take the liberty of extracting a few passages from my favourite, which, I think the most fastidious judgment must approve, and which every candid reader must allow, have too long been buried in an undeserved obscurity. I have been led to these reminiscences, by seeing one of my most select passages lately quoted by Mr. Southey (who, by the bye, inherits a fine portion of Blackmore's genius, though it is a pity he does not write in rhyme and the heroic couplet, as his predecessor did,) in his Life of Watts, and I am delighted to see that the Laureate considers it worthy of quotation, among innumerable fine passages around it. Sir Richard supposes that Queen Elizabeth in the body, is taken into heaven by the angel Gabriel in a chariot (or properly caroch, for chariots were then unknown), that she

and,

May see the triumphs of the blest,

Of future joys, a pleasant earnest taste.

One of the sights with which the Angel entertained the Queen, was—a review before the walls of the New Jerusalem,

Upon a spacious field,

By his superior port and brighter shield,
Distinguish'd, Michael drew in long array
Heaven's bright brigades, that his command obey.
The illustrious cohorts with seraphic grace,
In long review before their general pass;
Immortal youth in their blest faces mild,

How terrible their strength, their looks how mild!

What fatal arms each glorious warrior wears!

How keen their swords! how long and bright their spears!

How awful did the extended front appear!

How dreadful was their deep unmeasurable rear!

The blest were thus employed. These scenes were seen
Before the city, by the wondering Queen."

Mr. Southey justly remarks, that the Queen, who had never seen any review previously, but that of her own troops at Tilbury, must have been much dazzled by this celestial infantry. I must needs extract a few more passages treated with our bard's usual originality of expression in the same poem. The Queen gives an entertainment to the ambassadors of Spain :

"They were regal'd with vast magnificence,
And great profusion, at the Queen's expense;
Panting beneath the weight, strong servants bear,
Prodigious dishes of Britannic fare.

Which by the intendant in long order placed,
The groaning tables both oppress'd and grac'd.
Here stood a boar, in brawny collars ;-here
Haunches of red, and sides of fallow deer ;-
Here sheep almost entire, and tender fawns,
That spread the hills, or sported on the lawns,
Dispos'd with art, did grace the tables more
Than they the parks adorn'd, or downs before.
The British ox, a more delicious cheer
Than Gallia's partridge, or Ausonia's deer,
In various forms by various artists drest,
Pleas'd all the different palates of the guest.
In wondrous plenty by the Queen's command.—
They had for drink with their luxurious cheer,
Strong bottled ale, and old autumnal beer."

With all this rich repast before them, it is no wonder that the ambassadors are described, as sitting late and unwilling to move. In the meanwhile, the angel Gabriel returns to heaven, and describes the situation of things in England:

"He ceas'd,-the bless'd Redeemer did reply,

Let not the Queen on Roman faith rely;
She must no weight on their alliance lay,
Those who have me betray'd, will her betray;
Let her not fruitless expectations feed,

Will Spain from her inveterate hate recede?
Will ever Rome and Hell give Philip rest,
Till he reform'd Britannia does molest?
Go, Britain's viceroy, let Eliza know
She trusts a broken reed in Philip's vow.
Let her, her army, and her fleet prepare
To meet the Iberian and repel the war.
Fly, Gabriel, fly, and with angelic speed,
On this important embassy proceed."

Gabriel finds the Queen at prayers in her closet, when on his arrival a per

fume arose,

He delivers his message, and departs gracefully. We must now select a few shorter passages, or even single lines, for approbation :

"Noble Hernandes, of undaunted heart,

A man of honour, and in arms expert ;
Who in the siege of Metz did by a ball,
(A musket sent it

*

Lose his left eye, but gain'd a mighty name."

The 'gained a mighty name,' is a fine stroke of genius; our pity is first moved, and then is absorbed in admiration; while the activity of our imagination is vibrating between the loss of the eye,' and the 'gain of the mighty name.'

The General of the Army (Vere) is described as sitting on a horse, which "Did neither wholly go, nor wholly stand."

As the war thickens,

"He rais'd his reeking sword with slaughter red,
And aim'd a blow between the breast and head,
Which did the pipe that breath conveys divide,
And cut the jugulars from side to side,

And had it met the juncture of the bone,

The Spaniard's head had from his shoulders flown.

Cary lay dead, who danc'd with great applause,
And by his aëry feet to fame and honour rose;
So smooth, so strong, so swift did he advance,
That wond'ring seraphs would like Cary dance;
He did excel in genius, skill, and rule,
All Gallia's coast,-Europa's dancing-school."

Again, on this subject,—

"Now were they pleas'd to bring a Queen from France,
One finely bred, and who had learned to dance."

After her victory over the Spaniards, the Queen returns thanks at St. Paul's, and the Archbishop preaches,

"Then Albion's famous Metropolitan,

A very steady, prudent, heavenly man,
Zealous for truth, inflexibly upright,
From his high pulpit show'd celestial light;
Thus the great Primate with his usual force
Of eloquence, began a wise discourse."

After the sermon,

66

Augusta's youth remaining day employ
In various demonstrations of their joy;
Some did in crowds to the fair fields repair,
Where Bedlam's turrets rise amidst the air,
Where learned Tyson's powerful drugs remove
The wild effects of lawless pride and love,

Do the strong influence of the Moon unbind," &c.

They return to dinner, after which the poet Spenser repeats Milton's Paradise Lost:

"Angels and arms he sang, celestial fight,

And dire commotion in the realms of light;
He sang how Satan with ambition seiz'd

In heav'n uneasy," &c.

Satan, in the meanwhile, who is staying at Cowes in the Isle of Wight, siding with the defeated Spaniards, conceives a design of destroying his great enemy Vere,' by disguising himself as a physician, or leech; instead of a spear (which was grown too common)

"He held a phial up, and cried aloud,—
Where is the hated Vere? Vere I demand;
His certain fate I carry in my hand,
This glass contains Britannia's liberty,
This Rome restores, this sets Europa free."

Satan, however, finds his match; for he makes a boast of what he would do, and uses such violent ungentlemanlike language, that he is taken up as a lunatic, and so treated.

66

Satan by his look betrayed,

The symptoms of a craz'd and ruin'd head;

His dangerous speech the Britons could not bear,
But seiz'd and sent him to Laurentio's care;
Laurentio had in medicine upper fame,

But wanted skill this lunatic to tame;

He kept him dark, and shav'd his head in vain,
Tho' Hell alone could ne'er restore his brain."

In the next battle, the Spaniards who had been defeated by arms, put their trust in charms and amulets.

"In silken bags their bodies to defend;

One had Ambrosius' tooth, of wondrous power,
One Dominic's toe, one Bridget's finger wore,―
This had a bone of St. Franciscus' heel,
This kept a wart that grew on Andrew's hand,
Of mighty force great cannon to withstand,
Another's bosom had two precious hairs
Of anchoret Jerome's beard to guard his fears;
Pastrana's guarded bosom did contain
Some powerful filings of St. Peter's chain."

On the English side came in vision :

"Cranmer to England and to Edward dear,
Long reverend garments white as snow he wore ;
This hand a Bible, that a crosier bore;

This martyr's crown did dazzling beams display,

A crown of light condens'd, and solid ponderous day."

The Spaniards put their chief trust in Don Gusman,—

"He did his vast gigantic shoulders rear

Above the host, and tow'ring in the air,
Did a tall walking obelisk* appear."

But notwithstanding his bulk, he is pierced through the loins by Vere,

"And roaring out in pain, back to his army flew.

So when an elephant in Asia bred,

Does at a shouting Indian army's head,
On his vast back in moving castles bear
Sublime destruction, and aërial war."

At this point with propriety the epic poem of Eliza closes. We now turn to the no less celebrated one of Prince Arthur;' but we can only afford room for the smaller flowers of poesy, such as are shut up in the calyx of a couplet. With the general plan of this Epic, doubtless every reader is well acquainted. The following couplet owes its sublimity to the obscure and unbounded:

"Did I once shrink, when showers of poison'd darts,
Dipt in eternal wrath, shot through our hearts.”

* We have this again :

"Like an Egyptian obelisk he look'd,

Or as a lofty brazen pillar stood."

The third book thus commences,

"Up rise the princes, and were soon prepar'd'
To take their way, attended with their guard,
They mount their chariot with majestic grace,
And answer many questions as they pass."

Then we meet with a very bold and striking image, which Longinus would have admired and Eschylus envied,—

"Long sad Britannia groan'd beneath the weight

Of foreign lords, and mourn'd her servile state;
At length, no greater evils left to bear,
She gather'd hope and courage from despair."

The following couplet, opening the 9th book, is pretty and new:
"The springing morn now made a mild essay,

With purple beams to introduce the day."

In the most sublime passages the poet throws in a reflection that tells wonderfully. Speaking of a Coritanian chief, who came from Repandunum (near Dovedale),

66

He rose

Like a rous'd lion from his long repose,

Arm'd and equipp'd with great magnificence,

He mounts his horse-bought at a vast expense."

Satan, who has recovered from his insanity in the last Epic, has managed to get into this, and is at his old tricks again; he is described

"As when a toad squat in a garden spies

The gardener passing by, his bloodshot eyes,
With spite and rage inflam'd darts fire around."

In the 10th book we have a chariot race :

"Scarce could the grooms and charioteers command
The sprightly race, who with a gentle hand

Stroking their backs, their fiery spirit sooth'd,

And then their manes with combs and sponges smooth'd."

A hero's wound is thus healed; the accuracy of the language showing the poet's service to Esculapius:

"Gave him a sovereign drug extended o'er

Soft satin, and applied it to the sore,

Which, ripen'd by the healing mixture, broke,
And gave the poison vent.

*

*

The Princess muttering faintly-Furies! Hell!
Swooning away, as planet-smitten, fell."

Candles are beautifully described, yet without debasing the lines by a common and vulgar phraseology:

"In urns the bees' delicious dews he layd,
Whose kindling wax inventive day display'd."

A due distinction is preserved between animate and inanimate matter :
"So Mona's castles with the impetuous roar
Astonish'd tremble, but the warriors more."

Lastly, a foreign word is naturalized, and beautifully introduced; the poet is speaking of the particles of matter forming the earth:

"And rendezvousing with an adverse course,

Produce an equal poise, with equal force."

It is well known to all readers of Pope, that Martinus Scriblerus, when he wrote on the art of Poetry, selected numerous examples from the Poems of Blackmore, as being a poet of the greatest weight and authority. We will finish our specimen by a few.-' Hear,' says the critic, how the most sublime of beings