TH

HE provinces of Guyenne and Aquitaine having been ceded to Edward III. by treaty, fome courtiers, who had the ear of his heroic fon, then in France, prompted him to lay an unusual tax on thofe countries, contrary to the representations of his more prudent and virtuous friends, who, from the iniquity of it, forefaw its fatal confequences. All ranks flew into a flame at this oppreffive innovation, and the nobility laid their complaints before the king of France, as their original fovereign; and his council, to whom he had referred the affair, were unanimous that a funmons should be drawn up, citing the prince of Wales to appear, and give an account of his proceedings, and fubmit to fuch fentence as fhould be pronounced. Two perfons of fome eminence, one a judge, the other a military knight, were appointed to repair with the fummons to Bourdeaux, where the prince then refided.

The two deputies, on prefenting their credentials to Edward, as he little fufpected the subject of their meffage, met with a very gracious reception; but when they came to afk his permiffion to read to him the inftrument which they brought, he changed colour, yet readily allowed of their requests. This inftrument is too fingular to be omitted in the records of history.

"Charles, by the grace of God,

king of France, to our nephew the prince of Wales and Aquitaine, greeting. Let the feveral prelates, barons, knights, univerfities, communities, and colleges, within the bounds and limits of the country of Gafcony, dwelling and being on the borders of our kingdom, with others of the country and duchy of Aquitaine, be brought before us and our court, to receive recompence for all grievances and undue moleftations, which you, through bad council and fimple information, have intended to impofe on them, whereof we cannot but exprefs aftonishment; wherefore, for the obviating and remedying of these things, we have agreed with them, and do agree, and of our royal majefty and lordship we do command, that you come in perfon to our city of Paris, and hew, and prefent before us in our chamber of 'Peers, for the hearing the aforefaid complaints and grievances by you intended to be impofed on your people, who claim to have them determined in our courts. And of this fail not, as foon as it shall be poflible, after the receipt of thefe letters. In witness whereof, we have put our feal to thefe prefents. Given at Paris the 26th day of the month of January."

It is not to be fuppofed that the prince could hear this without emotion; the Victor of Creffy and Poitiers, whofe military qualities rung through all Europe, would na

6

turally

turally think his being cited to a perfonal appearance, and in fuch terms, a very cavalier procedure. He stood, for fome time, filent, as deeply immersed in thought, cafting now and then a keen look at the French meffengers, and fhaking his head; till breaking filence, he faid to them, "Very well; as or, dered by the king of France, I'll go to Paris, you may depend on it, but it fhall be with a helmet on my head, and fixty thoufand gallant warriors at my heels." The deputies threw themselves at his feet, begging he would excufe the boldnefs of their meffage, as bound to obey the king their mafter. The prince, whofe indignation was now fubfided, affured them he took no thing amifs at their hands, and immediately difmiffed them; however, his mind foon after taking a turn, he asked whether the French king's meffengers had brought a paffport figned by him; and it being anfwered, that they had omitted that precaution, he fent horfemen after

them, under a pretence, not very juft, that they were to be looked on rather as meffengers of the nobility of Guyenne, his fubjects, than envoys from the king. "They fhall not come off fo eafily," faid he; "I'll fpoil their gibes with the duke of Anjou, who has no great love for me, about their ferving me with a fummons in my own palace." The fheriff of Agenois, who was fent after their deputies, came up with them near Agen, and to fave the prince of Wale's honour, told them they were detained on account of a horfe purloined, by their fervants, from the inn they had lodged at the night before. They were carried to the caftle of Agen, and kept in confinement above a twelve-month. "It is with regret, fays a French author, that I relate this inexcufable act of meanness in the heroic Edward. So true is it, that in the moft complete hero, there is ftill fomething of the man."

TAKE of negotiation, a large

handful; fome pounds of political raisins; a fufficient quantity of water from the pacific ocean; an equal portion of English moderation; a quart of the waters of Lethe, of ingratitude, quantum vis; fix pounds of continental measures; infufe

thefe in British blood, and then make a decoction of the whole with affes milk. Set this to fimmer over a hot preliminary fire for fome time, and you will have an admirable fpecific, which may be called the fence of peace.

STUDY

VER

ERSE is an harmonious arrangement of long and fhort fyllables, adapted to different kinds of poetry, and owes its origin entirely to the measured cadence, or mufic, which was used when the first fongs or hymns were recited. This mufic, divided into different parts, required a regular return of the fame measure, and thus every Atrophe, antiftrophe, or flanza, contained the fame number of feet. To know what conftituted the different kinds of rythmical feet among the antients, with refpect to the number and quantity of their fyllables, we have nothing to do but to confult those who have written on grammar and profody: it is the business of a schoolmaster rather than the accomplishment of a man of taste. Various effays have been made in different countries, to compare the characters of antient and modern verfification, and to point out the difference beyond any poffibility of mistake. But they have anade diftin&ions where, in fact, there was no difference, and left the criterion unobferved. They have transferred the name of rhyme to a regular repetition of the fame found at the end of the line, and fet up this vile monotony as the characteristic of modern verfe, in contradiftinction to the feet of the antients, which they pretend, the poetry of modern languages will January, 1763.

not admit. Rhyme, from the Greek word Puuas, is nothing else but number, which was effential to the antient, as well as to the modern verfification. As to the jingle of fimilar founds, tho' it was never ufed by the antients in any regular return in the middle, or at the end of the line, and was by no means deemed effential to the verfification, yet they did not reject it as a blemish, where it occurred, without the appearance of conftraint. We meet with it often in the epithets of Homer,-AfgUps010 Broto-Ava Ardpar Ayausura almoft the whole first ode of Anacreon is what we call rhyme ;-the following line of Virgil has been admired for the fimilitude of found, in the first two words.

Ore Arethufa, tuo, ficulis confunditur undis,

Rythmus, or number, is certainly effential to verfe, whether in the dead or living languages; and the real difference between the two, is this. The number in antient verfe relates to the feet, and in modern poetry to the fyllables: for to affert that modern poetry has no feet, is a ridiculous abfurdity. The feet that principally enter into the compofition of Greek and Latin verfes, are either of two or three fyllables: thofe of two fyllables are either both long as the fpondee; or C

both

both short as the pyrrhic; or one fhort and the other long, as the iambic, or one long and the other fhort, as the trochee. Thofe of three fyllables, are the dactyl of one long, and two fhort fyllables; the anapest of two fhort and one long; the tribrachium of three fhort; and the moloffus, of three long.

From the different combinations of these feet, restricted to certain numbers, the antients formed their different kinds of verfes, fuch as the hexameter or heroic, diftinguished by fix feet dactyls and fpondees, the fifth being always a dactyl, and the laft a spondee : . g.

They had likewife the iambic of three forts, the diameter, the trimeter, and the tetrameter, and all the different kinds of lyric verse 1pecified in the odes of Sappho, Alceus, Anacreon, and Horace. Each of thefe was diftinguished by the number, as well as by the fpecies of their feet; fo that they were doubly restricted. Now, all the feet of the antient poetry are still found in the verfification of living languages; for as cadence was regulated by the ear, it was impoffible for a man to write melodious verfe, without naturally falling into the ufe of antient feet, though, perhaps, he neither knows their measure nor denomination. Thus, Spencer,

Shakespear, Milton, Dryden, Pope, and all our poets, abound with dactyls, fpondees, trochees, anapefts, &c. which they use indifcriminately in all kinds of compofition, whether tragic, epic, pastoral, or ode, having in this particular, greatly the advantage of the an-tients, who were restricted to particular kinds of feet, in particular kinds of verfe. If we then are confined with the fetters of what is called rhyme, they were restricted to particular fpecies of feet; fo that the advantages and disadvantages are pretty equally ballanced: But, indeed, the English are more free in this particular, than any other modern nation. They not only ufe blank verfe in tragedy, and the epic, but even in lyric poetry. Milton's tranflation of Horace's ode to Pyrrha, is univerfally known, and

generally admired, in our opinion, much above its merit.-There is an ode extant, without rhyme, addreffed to Evening, by the late Mr. Collins, much more beautiful ; and Mr. Warton, with fome others, have happily fucceeded in divers occafional pieces that are free of this restraint: but the number, in all of thefe, depends upon the fyllables, and not upon the feet, which are unlimited. It is generally fuppofed that the genius of the English language will not admit of Greek or Latin meafure: but this, we apprehend, is a mistake owing to the prejudice of education. It is impoflible that the fame measure, compofed of the fame times, fhould have a good effect upon the ear, in one language, and a bad effect in another. The truth is, we have been accustomed from our infancy, to the numbers of English poetry,

and the very found and fignification of the words, difpofes the ear to receive them in a certain manner; fo that its disappointment must be attended with a disagreeable sensation. In imbibing the first Rudiments of education, we acquire, as it were, another ear for the numbers of Greek and Latin poetry; and this being referved entirely for the founds and fignifications of the words that conftitute those dead languages, will not easily accomodate itself to the founds of our vernacular tongue, tho' conveyed in the fame time and measure. In a word, Latin and Greek have annexed to them the ideas of the antient measure, from which they are not easily disjoined. But, we will venture to say, this difficulty might be furmounted by an effort of attention and a little practice; and in that cafe we should, in time, be as well pleafed with English, as with Latin hexameters. Sir Philip Sidney is faid to have mifcarried in his effays; but his mifcarriage was no more than that of failing in an attempt to introduce a new fashion. The failure was not owing to any defect or imperfection in the scheme; but to the want of tafte, to the irrefolution and ignorance of the public. Without all doubt, the antient measure, fo different from that of modern poetry, must have appeared remarkably uncouth to people in general, who were ignorant of the claffics; and nothing but the countenance and perfeverance of the learned, could reconcile them to the alteration. We have seen several late fpecimens of English hexameters and fapphics, fo happily compofed, that by attach

ing them to the idea of antient measure, we found them in all refpects as melodious and agreeable to the ear, as the works of Virgil and Anacreon, or Horace.

Though the number of fyllables diftinguishes the nature of the Englifh verfe from that of the Greek and Latin, it conflitutes neither harmony, grace, nor expreffion. Thefe muft depend upon the choice of words, the feat of the accent, the paufe, and the cadence. The accent, or tone, is understood to be an elevation, or finking of the voice in reciting the paufe is a reft that divides the verse into two parts, each of them called an hemiftich. The paufe and accent, in English poetry, vary occafionally, according to the meaning of the words; fo that the hemeftich does not always confift of an equal number of fyllables, and this variety is agreeable, as it prevents a dull repetition of regulai ftops, like thofe in the French verification, every line of which is divided by a paufe exactly in the middle. The cadence comprehends that poetical ftile which animates every line, that propriety which gives strength and expreffion, that numerofity which renders the veile fmooth, flowing and harmonious, that fignificancy which marks the paffions, and in many cafes, make the found an echo to the fenfe. The Greek and Latin languages, in being copious and ductile, are fufceptible of a vaft variety of cadences, which the living languages will not admit: but we have not room to exhibit examples: a reader of any ear will judge for himself. We hall only mention a