legy 76

Ode to Hope 81

Pygmaeo-gerano-machia: The Battle of the Pigmies and Cranes 89

Epistle to the Hon. C. B. 101

The Hares: A Fable 105

Epitaph: being Part of an Inscription for a Monument,
to be erected by a Gentleman to the Memory
of his Lady 118

Ode on Lord H***'s Birth-Day 119

To the Right Hon. Lady Charlotte Gordon, dressed in
a Tartan Scotch Bonnet, with Plumes, &c. 125

The Hermit 127

Ode to Peace 130

Triumph of Melancholy 139

PREFACE TO THE MINSTREL.

The design was, to trace the progress of a Poetical Genius, born in a
rude age, from the first dawning of fancy and reason, till that period
at which he may be supposed capable of appearing in the world as a
MINSTREL, that is, as an itinerant Poet and Musician;--a character,
which, according to the notions of our fore-fathers, was not only
respectable, but sacred.

I have endeavoured to imitate SPENSER in the measure of his verse, and
in the harmony, simplicity, and variety, of his composition. Antique
expressions I have avoided; admitting, however, some old words, where
they seemed to suit the subject; but I hope none will be found that
are now obsolete, or in any degree unintelligible to a reader of
English poetry.

To those, who may be disposed to ask, what could induce me to write in
so difficult a measure, I can only answer, that it pleases my ear, and
seems, from its Gothic structure and original, to bear some relation
to the subject and spirit of the Poem. It admits both of simplicity
and magnificence of sound and of language, beyond any other stanza
that I am acquainted with. It allows the sententiousness of the
couplet, as well as the more complex modulation of blank verse. What
some critics have remarked, of its uniformity growing at last tiresome
to the ear, will be found to hold true, only when the poetry is faulty
in other respects.

THE
MINSTREL;