He bow'd, and archly smiled at what he said, Civil but sly:- "And is old Dibble dead?"

Yes! he is gone: and we are going all;

Like flowers we wither, and like leaves we fall ;—(1)
Here, with an infant, joyful sponsors come,
Then bear the new-made Christian to its home;
A few short years and we behold him stand,
To ask a blessing, with his bride in hand:
A few, still seeming shorter, and we hear
His widow weeping at her husband's bier:—
Thus, as the months succeed, shall infants take
Their names; thus parents shall the child forsake;
Thus brides again and bridegrooms blithe shall kneel,
By love or law compell'd their vows to seal,
Ere I again, or one like me, explore

These simple Annals of the VILLAGE POOR. (*)

(1) ["Like leaves on trees the race of man is found,

Now green in youth, now withering on the ground," &c.

POPE'S Homer.]

(2) ["On the whole, the Parish Register deserves very superior commendation, as well for the flow of verse and for the language, which is manly and powerful, equally remote from vicious ornament, and the still more disgusting cant of idiot simplicity, as for the sterling poetry, and original powers of thought, of which it contains unquestionable proofs. One remark we add with pleasure, as prophetic of a still higher degree of excellence which the author may hereafter attain: his later productions are, in every respect, better and more perfect than those by which he first became known as a poet."— Monthly Review, 1807.

"The characteristic of Crabbe is force, and truth of description, joined for the most part to great selection and condensation of expression; that kind of strength and originality which we meet with in Cowper, and that sort of diction and versification which we admire in Goldsmith. If he can be said to have imitated the manner of any author, it is Goldsmith; and yet his general train of thinking, and his views of society, are so extremely opposite, that, when 'The Village' was first published, it was commonly considered as an antidote, or answer, to the more captivating representations of the Deserted Village.' Compared with this celebrated author, he will be found to have more vigour and less delicacy; and, while he must be ad

mitted to be inferior in the fine finish, and uniform beauty of his composition, we cannot help considering him as superior, both in the variety and the truth of his pictures. Instead of that uniform tint of pensive tenderness which overspreads the whole poetry of Goldsmith, we find in Mr. Crabbe many gleams of gaiety and humour. Though his habitual views of life are more gloomy than those of his rival, his poetical temperament seems more cheerful; and when the occasions of sorrow and rebuke are gone by, he can collect himself for sarcastic pleasantries, or unbend in innocent playfulness.... We part from him with regret; but we hope to meet him again. If his muse, to be sure, is prolific only once in twenty-two years, we can scarcely expect to live long enough to pass our judgment on his progeny; but we trust, that a larger portion of public favour than has hitherto been dealt to him, will encourage him to greater efforts; and that he will soon appear again among the worthy supporters of the old poetical establishment."-JEFFREY, 1807.

"There be, who say, in these enlighten'd days,

That splendid lies are all the Poet's praise;
That strain'd invention, ever on the wing,
Alone impels the modern bard to sing:

'Tis true, that all who rhyme - nay, all who write,
Shrink from that fatal word to genius-trite;
Yet Truth sometimes will lend her noblest fires,
And decorate the verse herself inspires:
This fact, in Virtue's name, let CRABBE attest;
Though Nature's sternest painter, yet the best."—

BYRON, 1808.]

THE

BIRTH OF FLATTERY. (')

(1) [See antè, p. 20.]

The Subject-Poverty and Cunning described - When united, a jarring Couple-Mutual Reproof- The Wife consoled by a Dream-Birth of a Daughter - Description and Prediction of Envy - How to be rendered ineffectual, explained in a Vision - Simulation foretells the future Success and Triumphs of Flattery Her Power over various Characters and different Minds; over certain Classes of Men; over Envy himself Her successful Art of softening the Evils of Life; of changing Characters; of meliorating Prospects, and affixing Value to Possessions, Pictures, &c. Conclusion.