BANWELL HILL;

A LAY OF THE SEVERN SEA.

PREFACE.[1]

The estimation of a Poem of this nature must depend, first, on its
arrangement, plan, and disposition; secondly, on the judgment,
propriety, and feeling with which--in just and proper succession
and relief--picture, pathos, moral and religious reflections,
historical notices, or affecting incidents, are interwoven. The
reader will, in the next place, attend to the versification, or
music, in which the thoughts are conveyed. Shakspeare and Milton
are the great masters of the verse I have adopted. But who can be
heard after them? The reader, however, will at least find no
specimens of sonorous harmony ending with such significant words as
"of," "and," "if," "but," _etc_ of which we have had lately some
splendid examples. I would therefore only request of him to
observe, that when such passages occur in this poem as "vanishing,"
"hush!" _etc._ it was from design, and not from want of ear.[2]

An intermixture of images and characters from common life might be
thought, at first sight, out of keeping with the higher tone of
general colouring; but the interspersion of the comic, provided the
due mock-heroic stateliness be kept up in the language, has often
the effect of light and shade, as will be apparent on looking at
Cowper's exquisite "Task," although he has often "offended against
taste." The only difficulty is happily to steer "from grave to
gay."

So far respecting the plan, the execution, the versification, and
style. As to the sentiments conveyed in this poem, and in the
notes, I must explicitly declare, that when I am convinced, as a
clergyman and a magistrate, that there has been an increase of
crime, owing, among other causes, to the system pursued by some
"nominal Christians," who _will not_ preach "these three" (faith,
hope, and charity) according to the order of St Paul, but keep two
of these graces, and the greatest of all, out of sight, upon any
human plea or pretension; when they do _not_ preach, "Add to your
faith virtue;" when they will _not_ preach, Christ died for the
sins of "the _world_, and not for _ours_ only;" when, from any
pleas of their own, or persuaded by any sophistry or faction, they
become, most emphatically, "dumb dogs" to the sublime and