ges as miraculous as the miracles they celebrate. I never so
deeply felt the pathetic as in that part,--

"A spring of love gush'd from my heart,
And I bless'd them unaware."

It stung me into high pleasure through sufferings. Lloyd does not like
it; his head is too metaphysical, and your taste too correct,--at least
I must allege something against you both, to excuse my own dotage,--

But you allow some elaborate beauties; you should have extracted 'em.
"The Ancient Marinere" plays more tricks with the mind than that last
poem, which is yet one of the finest written. But I am getting too
dogmatical; and before I degenerate into abuse, I will conclude with
assuring you that I am,

Sincerely yours,

C. LAMB.

[1] The "Lyrical Ballads" of Wordsworth and Coleridge had just appeared.
The volume contained four pieces, including the "Ancient Mariner," by
Coleridge.

XVII.

TO SOUTHEY.

_November_ 28, 1798.

* * * * *
I showed my "Witch" and "Dying Lover" to
Dyer [1] last night; but George could not comprehend
how that could be poetry which did not go
upon ten feet, as George and his predecessors had
taught it to do; so George read me some lectures
on the distinguishing qualities of the Ode, the Epigram,
and the Epic, and went home to illustrate his
doctrine by correcting a proof-sheet of his own
Lyrics, George writes odes where the rhymes, like
fashionable man and wife, keep a comfortable distance
of six or eight lines apart, and calls that "observing
the laws of verse," George tells you, before
he recites, that you must listen with great attention,
or you 'll miss the rhymes. I did so, and found
them pretty exact, George, speaking of the dead
Ossian, exclaimeth, "Dark are the poet's eyes," I
humbly represented to him that his own eyes were
dark, and many a living bard's besides, and recommended
"Clos'd are the poet's eyes." But that
would not do, I found there was an antithesis between
the darkness of his eyes and the splendor of
his genius, and I acquiesced.

Your recipe for a Turk's poison is invaluable and truly Marlowish....
Lloyd objects to "shutting up the womb of his purse" in my Curse (which
for a Christian witch in a Christian country is not too mild, I hope):
do you object? I think there is a strangeness in the idea, as well as
"shaking the poor like snakes from his door," which suits the speaker.
Witches il