yet remaining, contain ample proof of their abilities. So bitter were the invectives of the latter bard, that they cost him his life; and the former is said to have been employed by the Queen's agents here, to satirize the principal Irish families, and sow dissensions among them, an unworthy task, to which he prostituted his genius, in an able poem still extant. And here, in conclusion, I cannot but regret, that want of room, and other circumstances, have obliged me to omit not only this, but other excellent poems, originally intended for this publication. Yet I venture to hope, that even the few specimens given, may meet or deserve a favourable reception from the admirer of simple, unaffected nature, and genuine poetical feeling. They will, at least, serve to shew that our neglected bards deserved a better fate than that which they have hitherto experienced; and may, also, perchance, have the effect of stimulating others, to collect and publish their venerable remains, which, if adequately performed, cannot fail to shed a lustre on the literary character of Ireland.
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