of the image in the laft line, cannot be expreffed by the Painter; he can have no advantage from a fucceffion of ideas. If, in fubjects that are in common to the Poet and Painter, the latter be limited; fo again, there are many, from which he is totally excluded. In this view, I fhall continue, as I began, to mark the advantages peculiar to poetry. In each of these two laft examples, the image furprifes by the de-, gree of its beauty. But, there are others which owe their effect, as I have faid, to a happiness in the circumstances. Of this, we have, I think, an example in that beautiful fcence, in the Tempeft, between Ferdinand and Miranda.

Mir. Do you love me?

Ferd. O heav'n, O earth, bear witness to this

found,

And

'And crown what I profefs with kind event, If I fpeak true; if hollowly, invert

What best is boaded me, to mischief! I Beyond all limit of what else in the world, Do love, prize, honour you.

Mir.

To weep at what I'm glad of.

I am a fool

TEARS of gladnefs are not uncommon ; but, Miranda, from her particular education, could have no knowledge of the paffions in their extremes; she is therefore surprised at this apparent confufion in their symptoms: her surprise is a spring to ours

THIS leads us, you fee, to an effential point in the pathetic, namely, when a fentiment springs with a peculiar happiness from the character and the occafion.

Thus

Thus the Poet

The Heats and Minutes of affairs are watch'd,

And the nice Points of Time are met, and fnatch'd.

As thefe lines were written in praise of Fletcher, I fhall give you an example of the thing described, from his Maid's Tragedy-Melantius, on his arrival at Court, hears that his friend Amintor was that morning married. He knew that he was contracted to Afpafia; but did not know that she had been deserted by him: in this instant Afpafia comes across him

Melantius.

Hail, maid and wife

Thou fair Aspasia! may the holy knot That thou haft ty'd to day, last 'till the hand

Of age undo it! may'st thou bring a race Unto Amintor, that may fill the world Succeffively with foldiers Afp. My hard fortunes

Deferve not fcorn; for I was never proud, When they were good

WHEN we know that Afpafia thought herself infulted by the brother of her happy rival, this fentiment becomes fo affecting, that our hearts melt, and our eyes fill in the inftant.

THE uniformity in our feelings on fimilar motives, though it be the ground-work of the pathetic, yet, at the fame time, it naturally produces in us an indifference to all fuch indications of paffion as are obvious and general.

THE

THE business therefore of the Poet, is to give some unexpected advantage to these general feelings; either, by a happiness in the incidents from which they spring; or some peculiarity in the fituation and character of the person affected: of this we have a complete example, when the Daughters of Lear press hard upon him to reduce the number of his Knights

(For now I fpy a danger) I intreat you

To bring but five and twenty; to no more

Will I give place or notice

Lear. I gave you all.

THE ingratitude of a daughter, who owed every thing to a father's generosity, might