friend wrote to him, that Mr. Hogarth intended foon to publish a political print of The Times, in which Mr. Pitt, Lord Temple, Mr. Churchill, and himself, were held out to the public as objects of ridicule. Mr. Wilkes on this notice remonstrated by two of their common friends to Mr. Hogarth, that fuch a proceeding would not only be unfriendly in the highest degree, but extremely injudicious; for fuch a pencil ought to be univerfal and moral, to speak to all ages, and to all nations, not to be dipt in the dirt of the faction of a day, of an infignificant part of the country, when it might command the admiration of the whole. An anfwer was fent, that neither Mr. Wilkes nor Mr. Churchill were attacked in The Times, though Lord Temple and Mr. Pitt were, and that the print fhould foon appear. A fecond meffage foon after told Mr. Hogarth, that Mr Wilkes fhould never believe it worth his while to take notice of any reflections on himself, but if his friends were attacked, he fhould then think he was wounded in the most fenfible part, and would, as well as he was able, revenge their caufe; adding, that if he thought the North Briton would infert what he fent, he would make an appeal to the public on the very Saturday following the publication of the print. The Times foon after appeared, and on the Saturday following No. 17. of the North Briton, which is a direct attack on the king's jerjeant-painter. If Mr. Wilkes did write that paper, he kept his word better with Mr. Hogarth, than the painter had done with him. It is perhaps worth remarking, that the painter propofed to give a feries of political prints, and that The Times were marked Plate I. No farther progrefs was however made in that defign. The public beheld the firft feeble efforts with execration, and it is faid that the caricaturist was too much hurt by the general opinion of mankind, to poffefs himself afterwards fufficiently for the execution of fuch a work. When Mr. Wilkes was the fecond time brought from the Tower to Westminster-hall, Mr. Hogarth fkulked behind in a corner of the gallery of the Court of Common Pleas, and while the Chief Justice Pratt, with the eloquence and courage of Old Rome, was enforcing the great principles of Magna Charta, and the English Conftitution, while every breaft from him caught the holy flame of liberty, the painter was wholly employed in caricaturing the perfon of the man, while all the rest of his fellow-citizens were animated in his caufe, for they knew it to be their own caufe, that of their country, and of its laws. It was declared to be so a few hours after by the unanimous fentence of the judges of that court, and they were all prefent. The print of Mr. Wilkes was foon after published, drawn from the life by William Hogarth. It must be allowed to be an excellent compound caricatura, or a caricatura of what nature had already caritatured. I know but one fhort apology can be made for this gentleman, or to speak more properly, for the perfon of Mr. Wilkes. It is, that he did not make himself, and that he never was folicitous about the cafe of his foul, as Shakespeare calls it, only fo far as to keep it clean and in health. I never heard that he once hung over the glaffy ftream, like another Narciffus, admiring the image in it, nor that he ever ftole an amorous look at his counterfeit in a fide mirrour. His form, fuch as it is, ought to give him no pain, because it is capable of of giving pleasure to others. I fancy he finds himself tolerably happy in the clay-cottage, to which he is tenant for life, because he has learnt to keep it in good order: While the fhare of health and animal spirits, which heaven has given him, fhall hold out, I can fcarcely imagine he will be one moment peevish about the outfide of fo precarious, fo temporary a habitation, or will even be brought to own, ingenium Galbe male habitat. Monfieur eft mal logé. Mr. Churchill was exafperated at this perfonal attack on his friend. He foon after published the Epistle to William Hogarth, and took for his motto, ut pictura poefis. Mr. Hogarth's revenge against the poet terminated in vamping up an old print of a pug-dog and a bear, which he published under the title of The Bruifer C. Churchill (once the Revd !) in the character of a Ruffian Hercules, &c.' We have reafon to believe that we have here had a very fair and juft recital of the war which was, fo unfortunately for all the parties, kindled between the pencil and the pen. The writer of this article had, in fubftance, the fame relation from the mouth of Mr. Hogarth himself, but a very little while before his death; and the leading facts appeared, from his candid reprefentation, in nearly the fame light as in this account which our Readers have been juft perufing. *Which was, probably, accelerated by this unlucky, we had almoft faid, unnatural event: for Wilkes, Churchill, and Hogarth had been intimate friends and might have continued fuch as long as they lived, had not the demon of politics and party fown difcord among them, and diffolved their union. The Bruciad. An Epic Poem, in Six Books. 8vo. 4 s. in Boards. Dodfley. 1769. WE E are told by the Editor of this Poem, in a preface, that it was originally compofed by a gentleman who with furprising power of genius was perhaps one of the best claffic scholars of the age he lived in.' But, to our great regret, and probably to that of our Readers, we learn immediately afterwards, that it has undergone a transformation, both in its poetical and political language. If furprizing genius and learning could not fave this poem from transformation, they can but little recommend. it, now it is transformed. The Editor fays that the transformation was rendered neceffary by the Author's having confined his obfervations to the narrow boundaries and prejudices of the land of his nativity;' but if this is a good objection against the Bruciad, it is a better against the Iliad, and Mr. Pope, instead of tranflating, fhould have transformed it. What this poem was originally, we cannot tell, but if it had marks of surprising genius, the old things are entirely done away, and all things are become new." The The Editor has dedicated his transformation to Archibald Douglas of Douglas, Efq; An ingenious poem,' fays he, has lain forty years in obfcurity, waiting, as it would feem, for that happy era when the two most renowned names of antiquity, Stuart and Douglas, uniting in one perfonage, might, by an aufpicious patronage, invite her to unveil, with greater fplendour, her fo long neglected beauties.' The Reader will probably be furprised to find a poem invited to unveil her beauties, and Stuart and Douglas celebrated as the most renowned names of antiquity; but to furprise, is not less the province of the poet than to elevate. The first thing that offends an English ear, in this poem, is the conftruction of the rhime upon the Scotch pronunciation, e always rhiming to a, as theme and name, fcenes and firains: but paffing over this, it would perhaps be no very difficult task to bring examples of every rule laid down in the art of finking in poetry from the first book of this performance. A true genius in the profound" will vulgarize an idea by a fingle word," Thus our bard invokes Phoebus to be prefent, while He fings the hero fweating on the plains.' thus profoundly expreffing the arduous labour of the hero, by a well-known effect of violent exercife, efpecially in hot weather; and fummer has always been the fighting feafon in northern countries. The fecond paragraph begins with a fine inftance of the Macrology, or Pleonasm, • In former ages, and in ancient reigns." In these former ages, fays the poet, when ferne's plains were marked with unpolifhed ftrength, then old Caledonia dared her rivals, and a renowned prince fwayed the Albanian fceptre: by the various names Ierne, Caledonia, and Albania, the Author means Scotland; and by using them all in the space of ten verfes, the conftruction of which we have preferved, the Author seems to have carried the art of confounding as far as it can go. In the next fentence he has fo managed his images, as to give us no images at all; another inftance of his skill in the profound: he tells us, that this Albanian, lernian, Caledonian prince refign'd his fate. It is no ealy matter to conceive how a man can difengage himself from his fate, either by refignation or any other method: and the Reader would probably have been greatly puzzled to find the Author's meaning, as well as his image, if he had not explained it in a note, by which it appears that refigning his fate means the fame as breaking his neck; we have fometimes heard death expreffed by the periphrafis refigning to fate, that is, refigning or giving up life, but to ufe life and fate as fynonimous terms, is peculiar to the transformer of the Bruciad. The The following exhibits an inftance of the Jargon, another beautiful figure of the Bathos: 'Unjoin'd, then Britons fought in various parts, By various names, and yet more varying hearts! Here we find Britons fighting by varying hearts, and branches of a tree, jarring, contending, and working each other out from the flock. Another example of this figure occurs in the next page, where an old woman is reprefented as lying funk in diftrefs, like piles inruin upon a moffy bed. • Beneath her ills old Caledonia groans- We find foon after a hero, who tries to go to fleep by intense thinking: The thoughtful hero here revolving lay, And tries in flumbers to forget the day. Heroes certainly fhould do nothing like common mortals, and what common mortal would try to fleep by thinking? The fame unfortunate old woman, whom we have just left like a pile in ruins upon a moffy bed, we now difcover, by a new mixture of metaphors to be over-run with blood and ravage: She was then faid to be funk in diftrefs, it is now faid that Sunk beneath her ills' she fills the eternal manfion with ftriking cries; and where indeed is the wonder that an old woman over-run with ravage should utter a ftriking cry? The Author, in the course of his work, celebrates many ancient families of Scotland, and among others that of Graham, which he writes Græme, because, he fays, it looks fmoother in poetry. This perhaps is the firft inftance of melody referred to the eye. The action of this poem is faid to be founded upon hiftorical fact, to commence during the invafion of Scotland by Henry I. of England, with the battle of Methuen, which, according to Buchanan, was fought on the 18th of July 1313, and ends with the decifive battle of Bannockburn, the laft atchievement of Robert Bruce, which happened on the 21ft of July 1314. In the firft book Caledonia laments the ravages and defolation which the suffered from the invafion of her enemies: the Supreme Being, compaffionating her diftrefs, fends Ariel, fuppofed to be the tutelar angel of Scotland, to a youth who, we are told in a note, was Sir William Wallace, with orders to arm his foul to fave the state. Ariel finds Sir William Wallage at Alectum, fince called Π Dundee, who just then applied himself to thinking that he might go to fleep; his expedient fucceeded, and being asleep, or, as the poet expreffes it, flumber having invested his limbs, Ariel appears to him in the fhape of Fergus, the first King of Scotland. Why Ariel took this fhape is not eafy to guess; Wallace could not be fuppofed to know Fergus, who had been long dead, and therefore any other shape would have done as well. The vision only excited him to take up arms in defence of his country, and accordingly we find him in arms early the next morning: fome Scottish chiefs, having factious views, or wanting spirit, remained inactive, or went out to the enemy, but he was joined among others by the earls of Lennox, Cumbernald, and the lord of Bute, who with their forces affemble near Falkirk. Here they are addreffed by the daring leader of the Grampian train;' but who he is does not appear. This leader calls upon his countrymen to behold, among other ftrange fights, their virgins ravifhed, and their fires pin'd in fetters: all feem willing to redress these grievances by the fword, but a quarrel arifing about the command, Wallace, who had been inspired by an angel at the command of God, with a refolution to deliver his country, or as the poet expreffes it, call'd by Heav'n, to ma'nage Heav'n's defigns,' deferts the common caufe with ten thousand men; Cumbernald deferts with as many more; and the Lord of Bute, with the remaining ten thousand under his command, engages and repreffes the whole force of England. The enemy however rallies under Bruce, the father of the hero of the poem, who had taken arms against his country, and Anthony Biek bifhop of Durham: Bute is again attacked by 40,000 men, and Wallace, the heav'n infpired hero, notwithtanding the preffing inftances of his officers, ftands by, and fees him and his men cut to pieces. The poet himself thus pleads for the noble Bute, 6 O fend the god-like Græme (and fave thy vow) Or fend the faithful Boyd to his rescue.' Such eloquence who could have withstood! Wallace, whose fate it was not to hear it, calls upon his men to see the carnage which he would not fuffer them to prevent, and complaining of the very treachery he had practifed, leads them to the charge, though it could now only give the enemy an opportunity of multiplying the flain, and rendering their victory more important. His party was accordingly routed, Græme was flain, and Wallace being wounded, faved himself by flight. In the fecond book, Bruce and Wallace have a converfation, with a river between them, in which Bruce, who took part with England upon a supposition that Wallace afpired to the Scottish crown, is convinced of his mistake. Wallace declares his refoREV. Nov. 1769. Сс lution |