66
LIFE OF PARNELL.
without difficulty; and such as the authority of Horace has condemned without appeal.
It would be invidious any longer to dwell on the defects of poems for which the author is not answerable, as he did not publish them;[1] and it would be unwise to expect that the mere sweepings of the poet's study should be polished and elaborated
- ↑ P. 3.
I now perceive, I long to sing thy praise,
I now perceive, I long to find my lays.
The following lines are obscure, p. 4.
For this I call, that ancient Time appear,
And bring his rolls to serve in method here,
His rolls which acts, that endless honour claim,
Have rank'd in order for the voice of fame.
P. 18.
——— The visions seem to range,
They seem to flourish, and they seem to change.
P. 25.
As snow's fair feathers fleet to darken sight.
P. 28.
Majestic notion seems decreed to nod.
P. 59.
Why moves the chariot of my son so slow,
Or what affairs retard his coming so?
P. 69.
As painted prospects skip along the green,
From hills to mountains eminently seen.
P. 154.
The foreign agents reach the appointed place,
The Congress opens, and it will be peace.
These examples, hastily taken, are sufficient to prove the obscurity and the flatness of the lines; but from some expressions, I observe that the author had read Dryden with attention, though not with success. A volume of such verses would form no addition to Parnell's fame.
