of this in a peculiar Manner: For, as in Painting, fo I believe, in Poetry, the Country affords the most entertaining Scenes, and moft delightful Profpects. Gaffendus, I remember, tells us, that Pierefkius was a great Lover of Mufick, especially that of Birds; because their artlefs Strains feem to have lefs of Paffion and Violence, but more of a natural Ea finefs, and therefore do the rather befriend Contem-: plation. It is after the fame Manner that Paftoral gives a fweet and gentle Compofure to the Mind; whereas the Ethick and Tragick Poem put the Spi-. rits in too great a Ferment by the Vehemence of their Motions.

To fee a stately, well built Palace ftrikes us, indeed, with Admiration, and fwells the Soul, as it were, with Notions of Grandeur: But when I view a little Country Dwelling, advantagiously fituated. amidst a beautiful Variety of Fields, Woods, and Rivers; I feel an unspeakable Kind of Satisfaction, and cannot forbear wishing, that my good Fortune would place me in fo fweet a Retirement.

When Mr. Pope publifh'd his, he was kinder to the Publick: Befides what we quoted in the Beginning of the first Volume of this Work, he has wrote many Things worthy Notice, and what will be of great Help to future Writers, in this Kind of Poem. The Original of Poetry, fays Mr. Pope, is afcribed to that Age which fucceeded the Creation of the World; and as the Keeping of Flocks, feems to be the first Employment of Mankind, the most antient Sort of Poetry, was probably Paftoral: Tis natural to imagine, that the Leifure of those antient Shepherds requiring fome Diverfion, none was fo proper to that folitary Life, as finging, and that in their Songs, they took Occafion to celebrate their

own

own Felicity: From hence a Poem was invented, and afterwards improv'd to a perfect Image of that happy Time, which, by giving an Emblem of the Virtues of a former Age, might recommend them to the prefent; and fince the Life of Shepherds was attended with more Tranquility than any other rural Employment, the Poets chose to introduce their Perfons, from whom it receiv'd the Name of Paftoral.

If we could copy Nature, it may be useful to take this Confideration along with us, that Paftoral is an Image of what we call the Golden Age.

By this it is plain, that Mr. Pope efteem'd himself a Writer only of that Sort of Paftoral which painted the Golden Age. Mr. Gay, on the contrary, leaves that behind, and gives his Shepherds and Shepherdeffes a Turn altogether modern and natural, for which he artfully and properly prepares the Reader, in a mafterly Manner, affecting Simplicity of Stile, and a Language a little older than what was us'd in his Time. Great Marvel hath it been, fays Mr. Gay, (and that not unworthily) to diverfe worthy Wits, that in this our Ifland of Britain, in all rare Sciences fo greatly abounding, more efpecially in all Kinds of Poefie highly flourishing, no Poet (though otherways of no table Cunning in Roundelays) hath hit on the right fimple Eclogue after the true ancient Guife of Theocritus, before this mine Attempt.

Other Poet travailing in this plain High-way of Paftoral know I none. Yet, certes, fuch it behoveth a Paftoral to be, as Nature in the Country affordeth; and the Manners alfo meetly copied from the ruftical Folk therein. In this alfo my Love to my native Country Britain much pricketh me forward, to describe aright the Manners of our own honeft and labourious Plough-men, in no wife fure more unworthy a British Poet's Imitation, than those of Sicily or ArVOL. II. K

cadie ;

cadie; albeit, not Gallimawtry a

I am, what a Rout and Rabblement of critical been made of late Days by certain young Men of infipid Delicacy, conceruing, I wift not what, golden Age, and other outragious Conceits, to which they would confine Paftoral.

Verily, as little Pleafance receiveth a true homebred Taft, from all the fine finical new-fangled Fooleries of this gay Gothic Garniture, wherewith they fo nicely bedeck their Court Clowns, or clown Courtiers, (for, which to call them rightly, I wot not, as would a prudent Citizen journeying to his Country Farms, fhould he find them occupied by Peo ple of this motley Make, inftead of plain downright hearty cleanly Folk; fuch as be now Tenants to the Burgeffes of this Realme.

Furthermore, it is my Purpose, gentle Reader, to fet before thee, as it were, a Picture, or rather lively Landfcape of thy own Country, juft as thou mighteft fee it, dideft thou take a Walk in the Fields at the proper Seafon.

Thou wilt not find my Shepherdeffes idly piping on oaten Reeds, but milking the Kine, tying up the Sheaves, or if the Hogs are aftray driving them to their Styes. My Shepherd gathereth none other Nofegays but what are the Growth of our own Fields, he fleepeth not under Myrtle Shades, but under a Hedge, nor doth he vigilantly defend his Flocks from Wolves, because there are none, as Maifter Spencer well obferveth.

Well is known that fince the Saxon King
Never was Wolf feen, many or fome.
Nor in all Kent nor in Christendom.

For as much, as I have mentioned Maifter Spencer, foothly. I must acknowledge him a Bard of sweetest ... Memorial,.

Memorial. Yet hath his Shepherd's Boy at fometimes raifed his ruftick Reed to Rhimes more rumbling than rural. Diverfe grave Points alfo hath he handled of churchly Matter and Doubts in Religion daily arifing, to great Clerks only appertaining. What liketh me beft are his Names, indeed right fimple and meet for the Country, fuch as Lobbin, Cuddy, Hobbinol, Diggin, and others, fome of which I have made bold to borrow. Moreover, as he call'd his Eclogues, the Shepherd's Calender, and divided the fame into the twelve Months, I have chofen (peradventure not over rafhly) to name mine by the Days of the Week, omitting Sunday or the Sabbath, ours being fuppos'd to be chriftian Shepherds, and to be then at Church Worship. Yet further of many of Maifter Spencer's Eclogues it may be obferv'd; tho' Months they be call'd, of the faid Months therein, nothing is fpecify'd; wherein I have alfo efteem'd him worthy mine Imitation.

And here, much Comfort arifeth in me, from the Hopes, in that I conceive, when thefe Words in the Courfe of tranfitory Things fhall decay, it may fo hap, in meet Time that fome Lover of Simplicity fhall arife, who fhall have the Hardiness to render thefe mine Eclogues into fuch more modern Dialect as fhall be then understood, to which End, Gloffes and Explications of uncouth pastoral Terms are annex'd.

In this Shepherd's Week, or Paftorals for fix Days, Mr. Pope had little Share, he having before declar'd, that Paftorals ought to be an Imitation of the golden Age, yet not entirely to abandon his Friend, he wrote a few Lines for him in the fifth Paftoral, call'd the Dirge; they exprefs the dying Words of Blowzelinda

K 2

Mother;

Mother, quoth fhe, let not the Poultry need, And give the Goose wherewith to raise her Breed, Be these my Sifter's Care and ev'ry Morn Amid the Ducklings let her fcatter Corn ; The fickly Calf that's hous'd, be fure to tend, Feed him with Milk, and from bleak Colds defend. Yet e'er I diefee, Mother, yonder Shelf, There fecretly I've hid my wordly Pelf. Twenty good Shillings in a Rag I laid,

Be ten the Parson's, for my Sermon paid.

The Reft is yours My Spinning-wheel and Rake,
Let Sufan keep for her dear Sifter's Sake;
My new ftraw Hat that's trimly lin❜d with green, i
Let Peggy wear, for fhe's a Damfel clean.
'My leathern Bottle, long in Harvests try'd,
Be Grubbinol's this filver Ring befide:
Three filver Pennies, and a Ninepence bent,
A Token kind, to Bumkinet is fent.

Thus fpoke the Maiden, while her Mother cry'd,
And peaceful, like the harmless Lamb, fhe dy'd..

In this Mr. Pope endeavour'd to imitate the Stile of Mr. Gay, but the laft Line betrays him; his Arcadian Strain, which charmed him in his Youth, al ways was his Song, except as now, he by Force chang'd a Note or two: How different are his Verfes in his fourth Paftoral, to the Memory of Mrs. Tempest:

r.Ye gentle Mufes leave your chrystal Spring, Let Nymphs and Sylvans Cyprefs Garlands bring Ye weeping Loves, the Stream with Myrtles hide, -And break your Bows, as when Adonis dy'd; And with your golden Darts, now ufclefs grown, Infcribe a Verfe on this relenting Stone : "Let