not be improper, in this place, to exhibit the fentiments of a critick in queen Elizabeth's age upon it. "Now there cannot be in a MAKER a fowler fault than to falfifie his accent to ferve his cadence; or, by untrue orthography, to wrench his words to help his rhyme; for it is a fign that fuch a maker is not copious in his own language." However, he feems afterwards to allow the deviation from true fpelling, in fome measure." It is fomewhat more tollerable to help the rhyme by falfe orthographie, than to leave an unpleasant diffonance to the eare, by keeping trewe orthographie and lofing the rime; as for example, it is better to rime dore with reStore, than in his true orthographie which is doore. -Such men were in effect the most part of all your old rimers, and 'fpecially Gower, who, to make up his rime, would for the most part write his terminant fyllable with falfe orthographie; and many times not fticke to put a plaine French word for an English; and fo by your leave do many of our common rimers at this day." Puttenham's Arte of English Poefie, B. 2. c. 8.

We find in many paffages of our author the orthography violated, when the rhyme without fuch an expedient would be very exact; thus BITE, when made to rhyme with delight, is fometimes fpelt BIGHT, as if the eye could be fatisfied in this cafe as well as the ear. Inftances of this fort occur often in Harington's Ariofto, and more particularly of the word faid, which is often occasionally written SED. This practice was continued as far down as the age of Milton. See Lycidas, ver. 128.

"Befides what the grim wolf with privy paw
"Daily devours apace, and nothing SED."

"Said is thus printed SED in the edition of 1645, that it might appear to rhyme, with greater pro

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priety, to the preceding Spread: Later editors, not knowing the fashion of writing said, upon fome occafions, SED, altered it to fed, which utterly deftroyed the fenfe. The fame fpelling is found again in the fame edition, and for the fame reason, in L'Allegro :

"She was pincht and pull'd the SED,

"And he by friers lantern led."

Hughes, not confidering our author's common practice of misfpelling a word for the convenience of his rhyme, makes him guilty of many diffonant rhymes: for that editor, among other examples of his exactness, has reduced Spenfer's text to modern orthography with great accuracy.

It is indeed furprising upon the whole, that Spenfer fhould execute a poem of uncommon length, with so much spirit and ease, laden as he was with fo many fhackles, and embarraffed with fo complicated a BONDAGE OF RIMING. Nor can I recollect, that he has been fo carelefs as to fuffer the fame word to be repeated as a rhyme to itself, in more than four or five inftances; a fault, which if he had more frequently committed, his manifold beauties of verfification would have obliged us to overlook: and which Harington should have avoided more fcrupulously, to compenfate, in fome degree, for the tamenefs and profaick mediocrity of his

numbers.

Notwithstanding our author's frequent and af

c with so much spirit and ease,] The English versification has been much smoothed by Waller; who used to own, that he derived the harmony of his numbers from Fairfax's Taffo, who well-vowelled his lines; though Sandys was a melodious verfifier; and Spenfer has perhaps more variety of mufick than either of them. Jos, WARTON.

fected ufage of obfolete words and phrases, yet it may be affirmed, that his ftyle, in general, has great perfpicuity and facility. It is alfo remarkable, that his lines are feldom broken by tranfpofitions, antithefes, or parentheses. His fenfe and found are equally flowing and uninterrupted. From this fingle confideration, an internal argument arifes, which plainly demonftrates that Britaines Ida is not written by Spenfer. Let the reader judge from the following fpecimen.

"Among the reft, that all the reft excel'd,

"A dainty boy there wonn'd, whofe harmleffe yeares "Now in their freshest budding gently swel'd:

The author of The Arte of English Poefie feems to blame, Spenfer for this. "Our MAKER therefore, at thefe dayes, fhall not follow Piers Plowman, nor Gower, nor Lydgate, nor yet Chaucer; for their language is now out of ufe with us.' B. 3. c. 1. The Faerie Queene was not published when this critick wrote, fo that this cenfure is levelled at the Pastorals, which, however, in another place he commends. "For eglogue and pastoral poesie, Sir Philip Sydney, and Maister Challener, and that other gentleman who wrote the late Shepherds Kalender." B. 1. c. 31. Spenfer had published his Paftorals about ten years before; to which he did not prefix his name. One of Spenfer's contemporary poets has ridiculed the obfolete language of the Faerie Queene, viz. Daniel, in his 52d Sonnet:

"Let others fing of Knights and Palladines,

"In aged accents, and untimely words." T. WARTON. Thefe nice gentlemen are alfo mentioned in Skialetheia, &c. certaine Epigrams & Satyres, Lond. 1598. 12mo. Sat. vi. "No, let's efteeme Opinion as she is,

"Fovles bawble, &c.

"For, in these our times,

"Some of opinions gulls carpe at the rimes

"Of reuerend CHAWCER: other-fome do praise them,
"And vnto heau'n with wonders wings do raise them.
"Some fay the mark is out of GOWERS mouth;
"Others, he's better then a trick of youth.

"Some blame deep SPENCER for his grandam words;
Others protest that in them he records

"His maifter-peece of cunning giuing praise,

And grauity to his profound-prickt layes." TODD.

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"His nimph-like face ne'er felt the nimble fheeres,
"Youth's downie bloffome through his cheeke appeares:
"His lovely limbes (but love he quite difcarded)

Were made for play, (but he no play regarded;) "And fit love to reward, and be with love rewarded. High was his forehead, arch't with filver mould, "(Where never anger churlish wrinkle dighted,) "His auburne lockes hung like darke threds of gold, "That wanton aires (with their faire length incited). "To play among their wanton curles delighted. "His fmiling eyes with fimple truth were ftord, "Ah! how fhould truth in those thiefe eyes be ftord, "Which thousand loves had ftoln, and never once reftord! His cheerfull lookes, and merry face would proove (If eyes the index be where thoughts are read) "A dainty play-fellow for naked Love.

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"Of all the other parts enough &c."

But there are other arguments which prove this poem to be the work of a different hand. It has a vein of pleafing defcription; but is, at the fame time, filled with conceits and witticifms, of which Spenfer has much fewer, than might be expected from the taste of his age. It's manner is like that of Fletcher's Purple land. I fufpect it to have been written in imitation of Shakspeare's Venus and Adonis. The author, whoever he was, certainly lived about the latter end of Elizabeth, or the beginning of James I.

Our author's Paftorals are written in profeffed imitation of Chaucer's ftyle. This he tells us exprefsly in the beginning of Colin Clouts come home again; "The fhepherd's boy, best knowen by that name, "That after TITYRUS firft fung his lay."

The first edition of which was printed in London, for William Leake, 1602, 12mo. T. WARTON.

f Milton, in imitation of our author, ftyles Chaucer TITYRUS, where he hints at Chaucer's having travelled into Italy, Manf. v. 34.

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Quin et in has quondam pervenit TITYRUS oras."
T. WARTON.

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And the tale of the Oak and Brier, in the Eclogue of Februarie, is more peculiarly modelled after Chaucer's manner, and is accordingly thus introduced:

"A tale of truth

"Which I cond of TITYRUS in my youth."

And, in another paftoral, he hints at his having copied Chaucer:

"That Colin hight which well could pipe and fing, "For he of TITYRUS his fong did lere."

In the Paftorals he likewife appears to have attempted an imitation of the Vifions of Pierce Plowman; for after exhorting his Mufe not to contend with Chaucer, he adds, in the Epilogue to the Shep. Cal.

"Nor with the PLOWMAN that the pilgrim playde awhile."

And befides, that his Paftorals might, in every respect, have the air of a work in old English, hẹ has adopted and given them the title of an old book, called the SHEPHEARD'S KALENDER, firft printed by Wynkin de Worde, and reprinted about twenty years before he published thefe Paftorals, viz. in 1559. This is what E, K. means, where he fays in his epiftle prefixed, "He tearmeth it the SHEPHERDS KALENDER, applying an old name to a new work." One of Spenfer's reafons for ufing fo much ancient phrafeology in thefe Paftorals, was undoubtedly the obvious one of cloathing rural characters in the drefs of Dorick fimplicity; but the principal reason is most probably, that which is delivered by his friend and commentator, E, K., "privie to all his defigns:"In myne opinion, it is one efpecial prayfe of many which are due to this poet, that he hath laboured to restore, as to their rightful heritage, fuch good and

who was

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