The difcerning reader will eafily perceive that fimplicity is a prevail ing character in the poetry of Cowper, and that his thoughts appear to retain on paper the very order and shape which they affumed at firft in his mind. One confequence of this certainly is that his verfes are unequal, and that many of his lines, if they flood alone, or were fraught with lefs noble matter, could not be confidered as more than profe which had fallen by accident into a metrical form. In fuch cafes Cowper seems never once to have thought of ftopping to correct or improve. He was too powerfully attracted by the ob. jects that lay before him; perhaps alfo he confidered the occafional occurrence of verfes comparatively flat, as advantageous on the whole, and that the remark of Horace,

Opere in longo fas eft obrepere fomnum, implied a precept as well as a permiffion.

Another confequence of Cowper's writing precifely as he thought, is a total dereliction of all method. This might feem at first fight to be the

very thing which he intended; but on a clofer view, he appears fre quently to have formed tome previous plan, from which the fervidnefs of his mind carries him away, and he wanders on through a wildernefs indeed, but, like that of Eden, "a wildernefs of fweets," over which the fancy of his reader delights to follow him. He defcribes this verfatile tura in his own happy manner, in a paffage with which for the prefent I fhall conclude, requefting only the permiffion of my readers to refume this fubject (which I acknowledge to be a favourite one) at fome future opportunity.

After deferibing in a vein of poig

nant humour "the world's time as "time in masquerade”—

His pinions fledg'd

With motley plumes,

tinctured black and red with card fpots, furnished with a dice-box in lie of an hour-glass, and a billiard mace as a fubititute for his feythe; and having touched on the modern education of young miffes, who at the age,

He proceeds,

know

REMARKS

30

THERE are hardly any two vices fo oppofite as not frequently to be found united in the fame character. Soon after the mind is driven to an extreme, it generally rebounds to another, and then alternately indulges in both. Exceffive munificence is on that account fel dom a regular habit; it is generally a temporary convulfion, fucceeded either by a languid peevifhnefs, or a fullen obftinacy. Cowardice is likewife frequently accompanied with rafhnefs, or with a courage, fierce and oftentatious in defiance, timid when called forth to action, but favage and infatible when impelled by defpair. It is in confiftency with the fame law of mind, that immoderate and unreafonable expectation is frequently fucceeded by exceffive fear; intemperance, by a criminal abftinence from the gifts of Providence, and neceffaries of life; and that the benevolent affections, if not properly regulated, are generally found in the company of favage cruelty, or remorfelefs revenge.

Mr Beverly was in his youth diftinguifhed for the progrefs which he made in his ftudies, for the goodness of his heart, and excellence of his understanding. As his parents had no other fon but him, they beftowed much of their time and attention towards forming him to the love and practice of virtue. In his education, reproof and encouragement, indulgence and reftraint, were fo well blended, that he was well qualified to act virtuously in retirement, though he was not fitted to refift feduction, or conduct himself with vigour in a mixed fociety. He was fent to London to finish his education, at a time, when the love of novelty, the defire ef pleafing, and the emotions of friend

fhip are generally moft warm and vivid.

He here found that men were very different from what he had' expected them to be, but, not wishing to confefs a difappointment in the way of pleasure, he repreffed his emotions at the vices which every where attracted his attention. Poffeffed of a great defire of pleafing, and its general concomitant vanity, he was every where favourably received, and obtained that ready admittance into every circle which fuch qualities generally fecure to the young. He was therefore well pleafed with every perfon, and he perceived that every perfon was well pleafed with him; reafoned himself out of his dislike of fome of their actions, either by imputing them to worthy motives, inventing palliations for them, or by fecretly imagining that it was dif honourable in one friend to fee faults. in another.

Having by degrees reconciled himfelf to their vices, he was in a proper ftate to comply with their feductions; and as thefe feductions were accompanied with the appearance of esteem and confidence, and afforded him an opportunity which he had long fought of repaying fome occafional fervices of his new friends, he frequently confented without deliberation, and fometimes without knowing the nature of the request which was made to him. He was always fenfible of his errors afterwards, but as his attention was continually attracted by fomething new, these reflections were of little confequence to him, and rather disturbed him in the pursuit of pleasure, than deterred him from it.

He foon obferved, that the attention paid him by his companions gradually diminified, but this had

little effect upon him. It was a thought too painful and humiliating to be long endured, and therefore produced no permanent impreffion on his mind. An alarming fermon almoft drove him to defpair. The characteristics of his youth, however, which were the causes of his exceffive love of pleasure, foon refumed their influence, and for a long time after. wards produced an inconfiftency of conduct for which even his moft intimate friends could not account. Last week he fought a duel with one of his old companions, by whom he imagined himfelf infulted, in which duel he received a wound, which carried him off this morning. In his laft moments, he prefented me with a paper which, upon perufal, I prefume will not be unacceptable to fome of my readers. After lamenting bitterly the inconfiftencies which marked his character, and imputing them to the influence of keen remorfe, without fevere repentance, he goes on thus:

it

"Excefs in every vice, ftrength. ens the paffions in general, and weakens the power of refifting or reftraining them. By being addicted to any vice in a great degree, a wide door is opened for the entrance of every other vice; the influence of every paffion over the character, is confirmed; and confcience is generally fatisfied for the time with a change of conduct, however remote may be from a genuine repentance, and a thorough reformation. When the paffions are violent, confcience is rarely free from their infection; whea there is a tumult in the foul, it is difficult to diftinguifh right from wrong; and when any vice is ingrafted into our nature by habit, we feldom comply with the dictates of confcience against it, till fhe forces us to do fo. Every change of conduct (being thus defective in principle, and owing merely to an extremity of vice to which confcience can

not be reconciled, or to a delicacy of confcience which fhrinks from the fmalleft appearance of open wickednefs,) feldom extends farther than the appearance of actions, and is fill feldomer complete or permanent. This is perhaps the caufe that fo few who begin ill, end well, and that when excefs in vice has once become habitual, every change of conduct is generally from one extreme to another.

"There are few vicious habits fo ftrong as thofe which are maintained in the midst of a perpetual internal ftruggle. This may in fome degree arife from the difficulty of difcovering one's ruling paffion, in fuch a fate of mind, but the principal caufe feems to be the tendency, which we all have to relax in the reformation of our character, or behaviour, when we imagine that we have done any thing meritorious in this refpe&t. One who has made ever fo little reformation upon his life, is apt to neglect the principle of his actions, imagiaing that his conduct is in general better than it was before. If he pays no attention to the predominant inclination of his mind, or the principal feature in his character, at the very time of reformation, he feldom thinks of attending to it afterwards. Perhaps he indulges, even more freely in it, after the heat of his refolutions is over, from a confúfed idea that he is doing right, because he imagines himfelf a better man than he once was, and is perhaps viewed in the fame light by others.

"It often happens that the greater difference there is betwixt any two vices, the greater aliance and fimi, larity fubfts between the general principles from which they both proceed; nay, they often arife from the fame principle. Vanity may, perhaps be confidered as the ultimate caufe of all thefe oppofitions of character, from which they are feldom feparated, and by which they are in general de

termined

termined according to the depreffion or elevation of the mind. To juftify this affertion, it is only neceffary to obferve, that the character of fuch perfons is in general very confiftent, as long as it is admired; unless fome violent depreffion of mind, or a natural activity and restlefsnefs, induce them to change their conduct; but when the popular opinion leaves them, their character becomes lefs confiftent, and their refolutions lefs fteady.

"It is probable that it requires a certain degree of experience of the ways of men, and the common accidents of life, to avoid entirely fuch inconfiftencies of character. The love of admiration which every man feels, more or less, at his entrance into the world, and the continual novelty of thofe fcenes which then prefent themselves to his attention, keep the fancy perpetually roving, the mind perpetually unftable, and the character perpetually inconfiftent and wavering. It is not, perhaps, till the world becomes familiar to a man, till the different appearances which it prefents to his view affume fome uniform complexion, and ceafe to furprife by their novelty, that the character becomes fufpended in its proper medium, free from all exceffes either of one paffion or another.

"It frequently happens, that the character which any perfon affumes is very different from his real character; and that one is influenced to a certain line of conduct, diftinct from that to which his inclination leads

him, and to which he continually reverts, by affociating it with an idea of excellence. Thus people, whom nature and inclination would other wife have united, are frequently at variance from a falfe notion of ho

nour.

"Inconfiftences of moral character may therefore arife in some degree from an oppofition between one's natural difpofition, and certain other difpofitions, or apparent virtues for which he has contracted a liking from certain circumftances in his fituation, or occurrences in his life.

"These remarks have more and more convinced me, that the Spirit of God is the only fource of all that is good in man. The above obfervations point out fome of the circumftances which may pervert or obliterate our best and fleadieft refolutions, the numberless caufes which tend to deftroy the fincerity of repentance, and the neceffity there is for divine affiftance in order to conduct properly every step of repentance and reformation. The thoughts which this view of the subject has fuggefted to me, and the excellent inftructions of the worthy Mr Burchell, the clergyman who fat by me in my laft illuefs, have, I hope, directed me to the only atonement for fin, and the only foundation of the Chriftian's hope. I now die in peace, trusting that I have taken hold of the righteoufnefs of Chrift, and am accepted by God through him.”

E. S.

we are

tainments