No. 170 "staked and lost the next presentation at a game at "whist with a clerical fox-hunter.

"I was at last taken notice of by my diocesan. "He had heard of my indefatigable diligence, and 66 recommended me to an eminent publisher, as a proper person to make an index to a very voluminous work. I eagerly undertook the task, with a "view to please so great a man, and finished it in "less than a year and a half. The books were printed on a small letter, and this work did my

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eyes an injury which they will never recover; but "it must be owned, on the other hand, that the book"seller gave me in return a bank note of ten pounds. "An index author seldom acquires reputation. He "is indeed seldom known; but if he happens to be "discovered, the accuracy of his work is, in the opinion of many, a kind of disgrace to him. It "seems to argue a degree of phlegmatic dulness, "and of patient labour, rarely in the power of

genius. It will not therefore be thought wonder"ful that this laborious work produced no other "effects than the injury of my eyes, and the pay"ment of my taylor's bill.

"In this curacy I still continue, without any prospect of change, unless when blindness, occa"sioned by intemperate study, or the infirmities of 66 age, shall oblige me to resign. I am not of a "discontented disposition, nor do I relate my con"dition with a design to criminate others for their "neglect of me. Preferment I never sought by "those methods which the world agrees to be the "best suited to procure it. I have therefore no

right to complain of the want of that which I did "not rightly pursue. My motive for this com "munication is to prevent others from incurring "misery by a too great attachment to objects laud"able in themselves. I can never discountenance 66 an attention to literature. I still love it. I still "venerate those that have excelled in it. But a "sincere regard for many of the most amiable and "useful of my species, induces me to remind them, "that they have a body which requires a great share "of their attention, and that no satisfaction arising ❝from study can ultimately counterbalance the loss ❝of sight, and that long train of nervous diseases "superinduced by unremitted application.

"I mean not to excite your sympathy; nor will "I exaggerate my evils by description. My ap66 pearance has already convinced you that I am the "victim of disease. Nor will you hesitate to be "lieve that the stone, the gout, the hypochondria, "which have worn out my tender frame, were de"rived from an attention unrelieved by the usual "and necessary relaxations.-Had I been wise "enough to have mounted a horse during the in"tervals of reading, and to have entered into "cheerful company at the close of a thoughtful "day, I might have prolonged my favourite enjoy"ments to a happy old age.

"I am philosopher enough to bear with patience "a condition which I cannot alter; yet I sometimes "think, though without the least degree of envy, "that an old school-fellow of mine, of a very dif"ferent turn from myself, is far happier. I remem“ber I used to laugh at him, and think him very

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silly, when, at the time we were at the university "together, he would miss an ingenious lecture for the "sake of a ride, and spend the three shillings with "which I should have bought a book, in the hire of "a horse. It is true, indeed, that he needed not, "and ought not, to have neglected his mental im"provement, because he had many opportunities of "relaxation after the hours of study were elapsed. "Yet, if I judge of his conduct by the apparent "effects of it at present, it appears to me in a less "blameable light than it used to do. He is now at the age of sixty-three, for he was somewhat older than "myself,and retains all the vigour and alertness of à 66 young man. His countenance is hale, his limbs mus"cular, and he reads the service and the newspaper, "the only things he does read, without spectacles.

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"He set out in life as friendless as myself. He "engaged in a curacy in a sporting country. His "love of field-diversions soon introduced him to what "was called the best of company. He possessed the "external graces of behaviour, and at the same time "was deeply skilled in horse-flesh, and had Bracken's farmery by heart. Such merits could not long pass unrewarded. A baronet in the neighbourhood grew fond of him, and introduced him to his "family; one of whom was an only daughter of no "great personal or mental accomplishments. My "friend, however, admired her fortune, and found "no difficulty in obtaining her hand. The living "on which he now resides was part of her portion, "and though of no great value, yet it furnishes him "with a pretty snug sporting-box. He commonly "reads prayers in his boots and spurs, while his

"hunter' stands neighing in the porch till honest "Moses has twanged through his nose the final and "joyful Amen. It is true, my old friend has no "tase, no learning, no refinement, but he has the use "of his eyes, and a never-ceasing flow of spirits; he "can walk as well as ever, possesses an excellent digestion, and plenty to furnish it with constant ❝employment.

"But his example is not to be followed, since he ❝has run into an extreme, more culpable, though "less pernicious to himself than mine is to me. Far

happier and wiser the philosophical Euphranor, "who, with the warmest affection for learning, re"strained it, as he has every other inordinate at"tachment, by the rules of prudence; and by pay

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ing all the attention which nature and reason re"quire to his body and to his mind, has advanced "the condition of both to a high degree of attainable "perfection."

NO. CLXXI. ON THE

MERITS OF COWLEY AS A POET.

THE biographers of our English authors have sometimes fallen into a mistake, which renders the truth of their story suspected. Their accounts are truly panegyrics. The hero of their tales, like the lover in the romance, is adorned with every good quality. Not content to relate facts with impartiality, they extenuate what is culpable, and exaggerate all that can admit of commendation. In truth, they who have exhibited the lives of our authors, have usually been the editors of their works; and either

from a real and natural fondness for those things on which they have bestowed care, or from the less laudable motive of promoting the circulation of a book in which they were interested, have spoken too highly even of those who merit moderate applause. But it is not wonderful if the trader presents his own merchandize as the best in the market-place.

It was the lot of Cowley to be handed down to posterity by a writer who was famous in his day for eloquence. Dr. Spratt probably undertook the office of a biographer, with a design to display his talents in a species of oratory which the Roman rhetoricians called the demonstrative. He discharged it well as an artist, but failed as an accurate historian. By placing Cowley in the first rank of poets, he has in effect degraded him from the subaltern station which he had else preserved unmolested. Dr. Spratt owed much of his fame to the poet who had compared his style to the gentle and majestic current of the Thames; and returned the compliment, perhaps from other motives than those of gratitude; for the higher Cowley was exalted, the greater honour was reflected on those whom he had commended. Of this celebrated bishop of Rochester, Lord Orrery has said, few men have gained a greater character for elegance and correctness, and few men have deserved it less. And of the poet whom he praised, the great Dryden has with diffidence remarked, that somewhat. of the purity of English, somewhat of more equal thoughts, somewhat of sweetness in the numbers; in one word, somewhat of a finer turn and more lyrical verse is yet wanting.