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produced. Of how little profit are ye, and how far are you from engaging the "fixed," the steady mind, with all your worthless. pleasures!-Go, Mirth, and fill some idle mind, and crowd fancies that are inclined to you with gaudy images, as numerous as the motes that appear in the beams of the sun, or as numerous as the varying dreams that attend on sleep."

Toys-mean not only the play-things of children, but whatever amuses the mind, at any age.

Bested-comes from stead, which means place; instead, in the place of, bestead, to be of service-in place of something else.

And fancies fond with gaudy shapes possess.Possess sometimes means, as in the New Testament, to subdue under the power of some demon; and here Milton invokes Euphrosyne to fill the foolish mind with demons of the various forms, which delusive Mirth assumes.

As the gay motes that people the sun-beams.When the rays of the sun pass through any opening into a dark room, the light dust, which floats in the atmosphere, becomes visible, and as it is put in motion by the air which rushes into that part of the room, which is heated

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by the sun, the motes *, or small particles of dust, seem to dance in the sun-beams.

The fickle pensioners of Morpheus' train.Morpheus was the god of dreams, which the poet calls his pensioners, because they depend upon him, and fickle, because dreams vary continually, and are seldom steady and uni

form.

But hail, thou goddess sage and holy,
Hail divinest Melancholy,

Whose saintly image is too bright

To hit the sense of human sight,

And therefore to our weaker view

O'erlaid with black, staid Wisdom's hue,
Black, but such as in esteem

Prince Memnon's sister might beseem,

Or that starr'd Ethiop queen that strove
To set her beauties praise above

The sea-nymphs, and their pow'rs offended;
Yet thou art higher far descended,

Thee, bright hair'd Vesta, long of yore,
To solitary Saturn bore,

Whoever observes these motes will see that they consist of various materials; short threads of linen, cotton, silk, and particularly of woollen cloth, are mixed with rounder particles of dust, worn away and formed from different materials-This is certainly not a proper place to analyse dust and motes; but whatever sets the young mind at work to examine common objects cannot be useless.

His daughter she (in Saturn's reign
Such mixture was not held a stain)
Oft in glimmering bow'rs and glades,
He met her, and in secret shades
Of woody Ida's inmost grove,

While yet there was no fear of Jove.”

"But hail, thou holy goddess, Melancholy, whose splendour would dazzle the weak eyes of mortals, were it not covered with a veil and robes of black, which is the favourite colour of Wisdom; not common mourning robes, but of such rich hue as might suit the sister of Memnon, or Cassiope, who offended the sea-nymphs by comparing herself to them in beauty; but thou art descended from higher parentage than either Memnon's sister or Cassiope; for thou art sprung from solitary Saturn, and brighthaired Vesta, in the shades of Ida, before the reign of Jupiter."

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To hit means to suit, or be fit for.

Prince Memnon's sister.-Who this sister of Memnon was, who wore such rich mourning, we are not distinctly informed. Memnon, the son of Tithonus and Aurora, was killed by Achilles, at the siege of Troy

Darkest grain.-Dying in grain is dying the article before it is manufactured; by which the stuff is penetrated through and through with the colour*.

Sable stole. Black robe; Melancholy is represented as having a black stole of Cypress lawn thrown over her other robes; such lawn as is used at funerals. The ancients made statues of their gods of the wood of this name; and formerly Cypress wood was used for coffins, as it is remarkably durable.-Cypress trees were planted in churchyards; and the Cypress in general was an emblem of mourning; it is said by some, that Cypress lawn means such lawn as was made in the island of Cyprus. Wonted state. Accustomed pomp.

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Looks commercing.-Holding commerce, or intercourse with Heaven.

Holy passion.-Passion properly means an effect produced by action; here it means an

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Some colours to be rendered perfect are first reduced into grains, or small, pieces; this gives one meaning, to the expression, dying in grain; but the popular meaning is taken from the idea of the colours passing through the threads of the stuff.

When we look at wood, we perceive the longitudinal course of the fibres; that is to say, their course lengthways, and we call this, the grain of the wood. When we look at stuffs, &c-we see the course of the threads, which we also call the grain.

extraordinary state of the mind, excited by internal feeling to a species of enthusiastic transe or suspension of motion, in which the usual motions of the limbs and features seem suspended.

"And join with thee calm Peace, and Quiet,
Spare Fast that oft with gods doth diet,
And hears the muses in a ring

Aye round about Jove's altar sing,
And add to these retired Leisure,

That in trim gardens takes his pleasure i
But first and chiefest with thee bring
Him that yon soars on golden wing,
Guiding the fiery-wheeled throne,
The cherub Contemplation."

"And as thou approachest, bring with thee Peace, Quiet, and (spare) lean Fast, who, (meaning Fast, or festing) diets or feeds with the gods, and hears the muses sing (aye). always round the altar of Jupiter; and bring also with thee Leisure, freedom from worldly care that delights in ornamented (and perhaps. in ornamenting) gardens; but, above all, bring with thee yonder cherub Contemplation, that mounts on golden wings, guiding the fiery throne.

Spare Fast-is represented as hearing the muses chaunting round the altar of Jupiter

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