Te-he, cry'd Ladies; Clerke not spake:
Miss star'd; and gray Ducke crieth Quaake.
"O Moder, Moder, (quoth the daughter)
"Be thilke fame thing Maids longer a'ter?
"Bette is to pyne on coals and chalke,
"Then trust on Mon, whofe yerde can talke.”

25

NOTES.

VER. 25. Bette is to pyne] A grofs and dull caricature of the father of English poetry, and very unworthy of our author at any age.

II.

SPENSER.

HE that was unacquainted with Spenser, and was to form his ideas of the turn and manner of his genius from this piece, would undoubtedly fuppofe that he abounded in filthy images, and excelled in defcribing the lower fcenes of life. But the characteristics of this sweet and allegorical poet are not only strong and circumftantial imagery, but tender and pathetic feeling, a moft melodious flow of verfification, and a certain pleafing melancholy in his fentiments, the conftant companion of an elegant tafte, that casts a delicacy and grace over all his compofitions. To imitate Spenser on a fubject that does not partake of the pathos, is not giving a true representation of him; for he seems to be more awake and alive to all the softnesses of nature than almost any writer I can recollect. There is an affemblage of difgufting and difagreeable founds in the following ftanza of Pope, which one is almost tempted to think, if it were poffible, had been contrived as a contrast, or rather as a burlesque, of a moft exquifite ftanza in the Fairy Queen:

"The fnappifh cur (the paffengers annoy)
Clofe at my heel with yelping treble flies;

The whimp'ring girl, and hoarser-screaming boy,
Join to the yelping treble fhrilling cries;
The fcolding Quean to louder notes doth rife,
And her full pipes thofe fhrilling cries confound;
To her full pipes the grunting hog replies;
The grunting hogs alarm the neighbours round,
And curs, girls, boys, in the deep bafe are drown'd."

The very turn of these numbers bears the clofeft resemblance with the following, which are of themselves a complete concert of the moft delicious mufic:

"The joyous birds fhrouded in cheerful shade,
Their notes unto the voice attempred fweet;

T 3

Th'

Th' angelical, foft trembling voices made
To th' inftruments divine refpondance meet;
The filver-founding inftruments did meet
With the base murmure of the water's fall;
The waters fall with difference discreet, :
Now foft, now loud unto the wind did call,
The gentle warbling wind low answered to all."
Book ii. cant. 12. f. 71.

These images, one would have thought, were peculiarly calculated to have ftruck the fancy of our young imitator with so much admiration, as not to have fuffered him to make a kind of travelty of them.

The next stanza of Fope represents fome allegorical figures, of which his original was fo fond:

"Hard by a fty, beneath a roof of thatch,
Dwelt Obloquy, who in her early days
Baskets of fish at Billingsgate did watch,
Cod, whiting, oyster, mackrel, sprat, or plaice;

There learn'd she speech from tongues that never cease.
Slander befide her, like a Magpie, chatters,

With Envy, (fpitting Cat) dread foe to peace;
Like a curs'd Cur, Malice before her clatters

And vexing ev'ry wight, tears cloaths and all to tatters."

But these perfonages of Obloquy, Slander, Envy, and Malice, are not marked with any distinct attributes; they are not those living figures, whofe attitudes and behaviour Spencer has minutely drawn with fo much clearness and truth, that we behold them with our eyes as plainly as we do on the cieling of the banquetting-house. For, in truth, the pencil of Spenfer is as powerful as that of Rubens, his brother allegorist; which two artists resembled each other in many respects; but Spenser had more grace, and was as warm a colourist.

אן

II.

SPENSER.

THE ALLEY.

I.

IN ev'ry Town, where Thamis rolls his Tyde,
A narrow Pass there is, with Houses low;
Where ever and anon, the Stream is ey'd,
And many a Boat foft fliding to and fro.
There oft are heard the notes of Infant Woe,
The short thick Sob, loud Scream, and fhriller Squall:
How can ye, Mothers, vex your Children fo?
Some play, fome eat, fome cack against the wall,
And as they crouchen low, for bread and butter call.

5

II.

And on the broken pavement, here and there,
Doth many a stinking sprat and herring lie;
A brandy and tobacco shop is near,
And hens, and dogs, and hogs are feeding by;
And here a failor's jacket hangs to dry.
At ev'ry door are fun-burnt matrons seen,
Mending old nets to catch the fcaly fry;
Now finging fhrill, and fcolding eft between ;
Scolds answer foul-mouth'd feolds; bad neighbour-

hood I ween.

T 4

15

The

III.

The fnappifh cur (the paffengers annoy)
Close at my heel with yelping treble flies;
The whimp'ring girl, and hoarfer-screaming boy,
Join to the yelping treble fhrilling cries;
The fcolding Quean to louder notes doth rise,
And her full pipes thofe fhrilling cries confound ;
To her full pipes the grunting hog replies;
The grunting hogs alarm the neighbours round,
And curs, girls, boys, and fcolds, in the deep base
are drown'd.

25

20

IV.
Hard by a Sty, beneath a roof of thatch,
Dwelt Obloquy, who in her early days
Baskets of fish at Billingfgate did watch,
Cod, whiting, oyster, mackrel, fprat, or plaice:

There learn'd she speech from tongues that never cease.
Slander befide her, like a Magpie, chatters,

With Envy, (fpitting Cat) dread foe to peace;
Like a curs'd Cur, Malice before her clatters, 35
And vexing ev'ry wight, tears clothes and all to tatters.

V.

Her dugs were mark'd by ev'ry Collier's hand,
Her mouth was black as bull-dogs at the ftall:

30

She

NOTES.

VER. 30. Bafkets of fifb] How different from those enchanting imitations of Spenfer, The Caftle of Indolence and the Minstrel!