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men, for the same reason that country 'squires shoot swallows, for exercise, and because they have nothing else to do: and, in the time of peace and conviviality, he slew two of his best friends, merely to keep his hand in practice. Compared to these heroes, Billy is a perfect saint: and indeed I have often thought that he is too good for a hero; and that a few rapes, and thefts, and murders, would have made a very proper and interesting addition to his character. As to the incidents, I shall merely observe that they are numerous, well-chosen, interesting, and natural. Let me next speak of the moral to be drawn from the poem. Whether the poet, according to Bossu's rule, and Homer's and Æsop's practice, chose the moral first, I cannot pretend to say, though some, who resolve the whole poem into an allegory, favour that opinion. Certain it is, the moral is excellent, the ill effects of inconstancy; and I am sure the fair sex will be obliged to the poet's gallantry. There are also some of what I may call collateral truths to be derived from the poem; such as not to trust too much to prosperity, exemplified in the mirth and downfall of Taylor; and the reward of virtue, in the lady's being made a first lieutenant. I shall conclude with a few remarks on the diction, or, to speak metaphorically, the dress in which the story is clothed. It has all the requisites of a good style; it is concise, perspicuous, simple, and occasionally sublime. The poetry is not of that tumid nature which Pindar uses, but of the graceful simplicity of Homer's verse. The poet has diversified the language by the intermixture of the Doric dialect, in imitation of the Greek tragedians; of this kind are the expressions, vat, vind, diskivered, I be kim, and for to know. But what strikes me most is, the solemn, mournful, and pathetic beauty of the chorus, Tol lol de rol de riddle iddle ido. The A, al, and pɛu, pɛu, of Euripides and Sophocles, the εεεε and oτό το τοι τοτοι of Eschylus, are comparatively frigid and tasteless. Yes; this Tol lol de rol de riddle iddle ido is so exquisitely tender, and so musically melancholy, that I dare affirm, that the mind and ear that are not sensibly af

fected with it, are barbarous, tasteless, and incapable of relishing beauty or harmony. Thus ends my criticism.

FASHION:

A VISION.

SIR,

THE following letter was sent to a young lady, five or six years ago. If it will contribute to entertain the readers of your Magazine, it is much at your service.

"YOUNG as you are, my dear Flora, you cannot but have noticed the eagerness with which questions, relative to civil liberty, have been discussed in every society. To break the shackles of oppression, and assert the native rights of man, is esteemed by many among the noblest efforts of heroic virtue; but vain is the possession of political liberty, if there exists a tyrant of our own creation; who, without law or reason, or even external force, exercises over us the most despotic authority; whose jurisdiction is extended over every part of private and domestic life; controls our pleasures, fashions our garb, cramps our motions, fills our lives with vain cares and restless anxiety. worst slavery is that which we voluntarily impose upon ourselves; and no chains are so cumbrous and gallingɅ as those which we are pleased to wear by way of grace and ornament.-Musing upon this idea, gave rise to the following dream or vision.

The

Methought I was in a country of the strangest and most singular appearance I had ever beheld: the rivers were forced into jet d'eaus, and wasted in artificial water-works; the lakes were fashioned by the hand of art; the roads were sanded with spar and gold dust; the trees all bore the marks of the shears, they were bent and twisted into the most whimsical forms, and connected together by festoons of riband and silk fringe; the wild flowers were transplanted into vases

of fine china, and painted with artificial white and red. The disposition of the ground was full of fancy, but grotesque and unnatural in the highest degree; it was all highly cultivated, and bore the marks of wonderful industry; but among its various productions, I could hardly discern one that was of any use. My attention, however, was soon called off from the s scenes of inanimate life, by the view of the inhabitants, whose form and appearance was so very preposterous, and, indeed, so unlike any thing human, that I fancied myself transported to the country of the Anthropophagi, and men whose heads

do grow beneath their shoulders:

for the heads of many of these people were swelled to an astonishing size, and seemed to be placed in the middle of their bodies; of some, the ears were distended, till they hung upon the shoulders; and of others, the shoulders were raised, till they met the ears: there was not one free from some deformity, or monstrous swelling, in one part or other-either it was before, or behind, or about the hips, or the arms were puffed up to an unusual thickness, or the throat was increased to the same size with the poor objects lately exhibited under the name of the Monstrous Craws; some had no necks-others had necks that reached almost to their waists; the bodies of some were bloated up to such a size, that they could scarcely enter a pair of folding doors; and others had suddenly sprouted up to such a disproportionate height, that they could not sit upright in their loftiest carriages. Many shocked me with the appearance of being nearly cut in two, like a wasp; and I was alarmed at the sight of a few, in whose faces, otherwise very fair and healthy, I discovered an eruption of black spots, which I feared was the fatal sign of some pestilential disorder. The sight of these various and uncouth deformities inspired me with much pity; which, however, was soon changed into disgust, when I perceived, with great surprise, that every one of these unfortunate men and women

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was exceedingly proud of his own peculiar deformity, and endeavoured to attract my notice to it as much as possible. A lady, in particular, who had a swelling under her throat, larger than any goitre in the Valais, and which, I am sure, by its enormous projection, prevented her from seeing the path she walked in, brushed by me with an air of the greatest self-complacency, and asked me if she was not a charming creature?But, by this time, I found myself surrounded by an immense crowd, who were all pressing along in one direction; and I perceived that I was drawn along with them, by an irresistible impulse, which grew stronger every moment I asked, whither we were hurrying, with such eager steps? and was told, that we were going to the court of the queen Fashion, the great Diana, whom all the world worshippeth. I would have retired, but felt myself impelled to go on, though without being sensible of any outward force. When I came to the royal presence, I was astonished at the magnificence I saw around me! The queen was sitting on a throne, elegantly fashioned, in the form of a shell, and inlaid. with gems and mother-of-pearl. It was supported by a camelion, formed of a single emerald. She was dressed in a light robe of changeable silk, which fluttered about her in a profusion of fantastic folds, that imitated the form of clouds, and like them, were continually changing their appearance. In one hand, she held a rouge-box, and in the other, one of those optical glasses, which distort figures in length or in breadth, according to the position in which they are held. At the foot of the throne was displayed a profusion of the richest productions of every quarter of the globe-tributes from land and sea-from every animal and plant -perfumes, sparkling stones, drops of pearl, chains of gold, webs of the finest linen, wreaths of flowers, the produce of art, which vied with the most delicate productions of nature-forests of feathers, waving their brilliant colours in the air, and canopying the throne; -glossy silks, net-work of lace, silvery ermine, soft folds of vegetable wool, rustling paper, and shining

spangles; the whole intermixed with pendants and
streamers, of the gayest tinctured riband. All these,
together, made so brilliant an appearance, that my eyes
were at first dazzled; and it was some time before I re-
covered myself enough to observe the ceremonial of the
court. Near the throne, and its chief supports, stood
the queen's two prime ministers, Caprice on the one
side, and Vanity on the other.Two officers seemed
chiefly busy among the attendants. One of them was
a man, with a pair of shears in his hand, and a goose
by his side,-
-a mysterious emblem, of which I could not
fathom the meaning he sat cross-legged, like the great
Lama of the Tartars he was busily employed in cut-
ting out coats and garments, not, however, like Dorcas,
for the poor-nor, indeed, did they seem intended for any
mortal whatever, so ill were they adapted to the shape of
the human body; some of the garments were extrava-
gantly large, others as preposterously small; of others,
it was difficult to guess to what part of the person they
were meant to be applied. Here were coverings, which
did not cover--ornaments, which disfigured--and defences
against the weather, more slight and delicate than what
they were meant to defend; but all were eagerly caught
up, without distinction, by the crowd of votaries who
were waiting to receive them. The other officer was
dressed in a white succinct linen garment, like a priest
of the lower order. He moved in a cloud of incense,
more highly scented than the breezes of Arabia; he
carried a tuft of the whitest down of the swan in one
hand, and in the other a small iron instrument, heated
red-hot, which he brandished in the air. It was with
infinite concern I beheld the Graces bound at the foot
of the throne, and obliged to officiate, as handmaids,
under the direction of these two officers. I now began
to inquire by what laws this queen governed her sub-
jects, but soon found her administration was that of
the most arbitrary tyrant ever known. Her laws are
exactly the reverse of those of the Medes and Persians;
for they are changed every day, and every hour; and
what makes the matter still more perplexing, they are

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