'Tis general nature, in thy art and mine, Among feveral fubjects pointed out as proper for the pencil, he inftances the Maria of Sterne, which paffage, at the fame time that it does justice to the merit of that admirable painter of manners, contains a cenfure, on which occafion he inferts the following note, in which every fober chafte judgment must heartily concur, "There probably never was a more ftriking inftance of mifapplication of talents than in him (Sterne): with fuperior powers for the pathos, he chose to descend to ribaldry, that affronted the tafte, and corrupted the morals of the public. What pity that the gold had not not been separated from the drofs, and the latter configned to an oblivion it fo richly merits." He pays the following compliment to the memory Mr. Mortimer. of my ingenious friend O! where is he, whose thought fuch grandeur gave When rang'd in arms along their Thames's ftrand, The volume is clofed with a few Sonnets, and other copies of verfes written on temporary subjects, fome of which are of a very early date (1766) and one dated as far back as 1756. The public gave a very favourable reception to this collection, of which a candid and liberal account was exhibited by by the critics of the Monthly Review, But the writer of this article in the Critical Review entered upon the examination of our author's poems with a petulance of illiberal humour, highly reprehenfible in a literary cenfor, whose duty it is to deliver his fentiments with impartiality, but who certainly debases his own confequence, by the introduction of trifling witticisms and ill-placed raillery. The remarks on Scott's book were prefaced by the Critical Reviewer with the following words: "These poems were written by a Quaker, a circumstance rather extraordinary in the world of letters; rhyming being a fin, which gentlemen of that fraternity are seldom guilty of: Mr. Scott is, notwithstanding, strongly attached to it." Speaking of the plates, with which the volume is decorated, the Reviewer adds, "To fay the truth, there is a profufion of ornament and finery about this book, not quite fuitable to the plainnefs and fimplicity of the Barclean fyftem; but Mr. Scott is fond of the muses, and wishes, we fuppofe, like Capt. Macheath, to fee his ladies well dreffed." Mr. Scott, juftly offended at this indecent treatment, and little accustomed to disguise his fentiments, was induced, with inconfiderate warmth, to publish a letter addreffed, TO THE AUTHORS OF THE CRITICAL REVIEW, in which he expoftulated with them on their conduct, and defended his own poetry. This letter produced a second article in the next Review, and to this Scott replied again, by a letter inserted in one of the papers, which clofed this unpleasant conteft, in which he had engaged contrary to the opinion of his friends, who would, furely, rather have wished that he had adopted the judgment of his friend Dr. Johnson on a review of the altercation between Dryden and Settle. "The writer, who thinks his work form ed ed for duration, mistakes his intereft when he mentions his enemies. He degrades his own dignity, by fhewing that he was affected by their cenfures, and gives lasting importance to names, which, left to themselves, would vanish from remembrance.*" From the time of Mr. Scott's fecond marriage till his death, he feems to have enjoyed a life of great tranquillity; gratified with the elegant and unblameable pleasures refulting from a well-cultivated mind; and poffeffed of a wife, whose difpofition infured to him a perpetual fource of domeftic peace. He mentions her with unaffected tenderness in his Poem of AMWELL, and addreffes a copy of verses to her, written in the fame year, and inserted in his poetical works twelve years after his marriage. Our author, who poffeffed a very confiderable portion of critical acumen, had Dr. Johnfon's LIFE OF DRYDEN. minutely |