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"And with his blue swoln face before her stand,

"And shudd'ring cold these piteous accents

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The island of St. Kilda is marked by a negative

circumstance highly descriptive,

"Nor ever vernal bee was heard to murmur there.” But notwithstanding these and other striking passages, this Ode is far from possessing the spirit and pathos of the Ode to Fear. Many of these prodigies, woven into a story, would contribute strongly to the effect, but here the Author speaks, and the Author has told us at the setting out that he does not believe them. It is, however, a Poem well worth recovering, and does credit to COLLINS, though it is not one of the few on which his reputation will more particularly rest.

The reader, after thus going through the productions of COLLINS, must have formed his opinion

* The blue swoln face is much superior to the luridus of the Latin Poet.

of the powers of the writer. He will be acknowledged to possess imagination, sweetness, bold and figurative language. His numbers dwell upon the ear, and easily fix themselves in the memory. His vein of sentiment is by turns tender and lofty, always tinged with a degree of melancholy, but not possessing any claim to originality. His originality consists in his manner; in the highly figurative garb in which he clothes abstract ideas; in the felicity of his expressions; and his skill in embodying ideal creations. He had much of the mysticism of Poetry, and sometimes became obscure, by aiming at impressions stronger than he had clear and welldefined ideas to support. Had his life been prolonged, and with life had he enjoyed that ease and health which is necessary for the undisturbed exercise of the faculties, he would probably have risen far above most of his contemporaries. As it was, he did not enjoy much of the public favor;

but posterity has done him justice, and assigned him an honorable rank among those of our Poets

who are more distinguished by excellence than by bulk.

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ORIENTAL

ECLOGUES.

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