Of hardy knight he told, of fairy queen,

Of lover wan, by weeping brook reclin'd;
Of wizard old, that spread his nets unseen;
Of damsel fair, to wicked wight resign'd.

Meanwhile, around him hung the shining throng,
So sweetly-various flow'd th' enchanting strain ;
The Fay that bore his laurel wreath along

Was rapt, and stretch'd her eager arm in vain.

Not till the swain's melodious plaint was o'er,
Ceas'd the soft, silent, sympathetic tear;
The syren's warbling from the vocal shore,
Thrill'd with such melting notes th' enraptur'd ear.
Of Milton, it is beautifully said-

"Awhile in converse high the angel guest

Held him; then sweeping o'er the sounding strings, Such strains he pours, as 'mid the climes of rest Thrill the high audience when Urania sings."

The grandeur and universality of Shakespeare's genius, are represented by some noble images : "Graceful he mov'd, and scann'd the waste of air, As his strong arm th' avenging bolt could wield ; Or catch the tempest by the ragged hair,

Or bid an earthquake whelm the blasted field."

Ossian, Dr. Ogilvie thinks equal to Shakespeare: Not distant far another bard was seen,

(The place was varied, but their height the same.)

This opinion he defends in a note, which does credit to his ingenuousness, whatever may be thought

of its critical acumen. "The author is sufficiently aware, that by placing Ossian in so exalted a situation, he will give offence to some very critical and even to some good-natured readers, which last class he would please by any concession in his power.The former will accuse him of presumption, and want of all poetical taste, for placing any British poet on a level with Shakespeare, who has so long and so justly maintained an undisputed pre-eminence: the latter, of partiality to a poet, who (in conformity to the absurd distinction which has prevailed among Britons for some time) must, in a peculiar sense, be deemed his countryman. To the first of these he would observe, that his intention in placing near to each other the two greatest natural geniuses of which any age or country can boast, is not so much to represent them as equally excellent, as, by exhibiting them in one view, to give the reader as just an idea as possible of their separate characters. This remark will in a great measure obviate the objection of partiality, by which, in the present case, he should be sorry that any reader supposed him to be actuated. He gives his own opinion of the merit of Ossian, and is incapable of this illiberal prepossession."

The manner in which the son of Fingal is introduced is strikingly picturesque.

The power of musing to his thoughtful mind

Had lent her eagle pinions.

O'er the main

He hung -The spirit of the hollow wind

Wak'd on his harp the long-lamenting strain.

Loose fell his hoary locks; the fanning air
Sigh'd through the venerable hairs; his head
A crown adorn'd; his swelling chest was bare;
His limbs the warrior's rougher vesture clad.

No film o'ershadowing dimm'd his piercing sight,
Nor felt his vigorous form the waste of time;
But tall and ardent as the sons of light,

On the rude beech, he look'd, he trod sublime.

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The author, at the close of the poem, subjoins an interesting note, in which he mourns the neglect which most of the poets, whom he celebrates, experienced from their countrymen. "Let us not, however," he adds with great candour and good sense, "be so partial as to ascribe this series of unhappy events altogether to ingratitude, or even to the bad taste of a rude and undistinguishing people. Calm reflection will suggest other, and perhaps juster causes, from which these effects may be traced. The talents which form an accomplished writer, and those which qualify a man for rising in life, are in themselves essentially different, and are very seldom united in any one person. Indeed, it is scarcely possible, that this union can take place unless in some uncommon and particular instances. The man of letters is formed in solitude; the man of the world in society. It is evident, that before these can be properly blended, an affluent fortune must concur with native genius, and with a disposition suited to make a moderate use both of solitude and society. Where these advantages do not meet together, the man of letters becomes proud, sullen, reserved, from PART S.]

the inward consciousness of superior merit, joined with little experience of life or manners; and thus the disagreeable companion effaceth the impression which is made by the writer. Diffidence and modesty, which are likewise the attendants of genius, however amiable in themselves, are yet, by no means, calculated to render their possessor opulent. They are shades, indeed, which heighten the graces of merit to the discerning; but they are shades likewise, which conceal it from the giddy and superficial. If we add to these causes, the envy which eminence, in any profession, naturally excites, we shall account, at least in a great measure, for the narrow and contracted circumstances in which men of genius are permitted to live."

The quotations which have been made from Dr. Ogilvie's works, have, it is hoped, sufficed to shew that he was indeed a man of great, though unhappilydirected, talents. Had he been fortunate enough to have hit on some subject of striking interest, it would not now have been necessary to select passages from the immense body of his works, in testimony of his claims upon the applause of the world.

Dr. Ogilvie was one of the few Scotsmen of whom Dr. Johnson entertained a favorable opinion. The sanctity of the character of Ogilvie, the religious tendency of his writings, in some measure abated the fierce antipathy with which the great English critic regarded the nation whose literary efforts have raised them to so high a rank in the intellectual history of mankind. It was to Dr. Ogilvie that the unreasonable Johnson uttered the sarcasm relative to Scotch prospects. When in London, Ogilvie one day, in

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Johnson's company, observed, in speaking of grand scenery, that Scotland had a great many wild prospects. Yes, sir," said Johnson, "I believe you have a great many. Norway, too, has noble wild prospects, and Lapland is remarkable for prodigious noble wild prospects. But, sir, let me tell you, the noblest prospect which a Scotsman ever sees, is the high road that leads him to London." I admit," rejoined Ogilvie, "that the last prospect is a very noble one; but I deny that it is as wild as any of those we have enumerated."

W. B.