rather at a loss in defcribing them---and fhall therefore only point out ́ what has been occafionally hinted at, or conjectured, in refpect to their appearance, or modes of life.--

BOURNE,

THE fairies are sportive and gay; the innocent artificers of harmless frauds, and mirthful delufions. Puck's enumeration of the feats of a fairy, is the most agreable recital of their fuppofed gambols. Page 136.

AFTER the confecrated groves were cut down, and the temples demolished, the tales that fprung from thence were still preferved with religious reverence in the minds of the people.

THE poet found himself happily fituated amidst enchantments, ghosts, goblins; every element fuppofed the refidence of a kind of deity: the genius of the mountain, the fpirit of the floods, the oakendued with facred prophecy, made men walk abroad with a fearful apprehenfion,

Of powers unfeen, and mightier far than they.

ON the mountains, and in the woods, ftalked the angry fpectre; and in the gayeft and most pleafing fcenes, even within the cheerful haunts of men, amongst villages and farms,,

Tripp'd the light fairies and the dapper elves..

THE reader will eafily perceive what refources remained for the poet in this vifionary land of ideal forms. The general fcenery of nature, confidered as inanimate, only adorns the defcriptive part of. poetry; but being, according to the Celtic traditions, animated by a kind of intelligences, the bard could better make ufe of them for his moral purpofes. That awe of the immediate prefence of the deity,, which, among the rest of the vulgar, is confined to temples and altars, was here diffused over every ebject. They paffed trembling through the woods, and over the mountain, and by the lakes, inhabited. by these invifible powers; fuch apprehenfions must indeed

Deepen the murmur of the falling floods

And fled a browner horror on the woods;

give fearful accents to every whisper of the animate or inanimate creation, and arm every fhadows with terrors. Page 144.

SHAKESPEARE had fo juft a tafte that he never introduced any preternatural character on the stage, that did not affift in the conduct of the drama. Indeed he had such a prodigious force of talents, he could make every being his fancy created, fubfervient to his defigns. The uncouth ungainly monster,

Caliban

BOURNE, in his Antiquities of the common People, tells us, that "They are always clad in green, and frequent the woods and fields; when they make cakes (which is a work they have been often heard at) they

are

Caliban, is fo fubject to his genius, as to affift in bringing things to the propofed end, and perfection. And the light fairies, weak mafters though they be, even in their wanton gambols, and idle fports, per form great tasks by his fo potent art. Page 162.

SHAKESPEARE, from his low education, had believed and felt all the horrors he painted; for though the universities and inns of court, were in fome degree freed from thefe dreams of fuperftition, the banks of the Avon were then haunted on every fide

There tript with printless foot the elves of bills,
Brooks, caves, and groves; there forcery bedimn'd
The noon-tide fun, call'd forth the mutinous winds,
And 'twixt the green fea, and the azur'd vault
Set roaring war.-

So that Shakespeare can scarce be faid to create a new world in his magic: he went but back to his native country, and only drefs'd their goblins in poetic weeds.

THE EDITORS OF B. AND FLETCHER'S WORKS.

THE good fenfe of Shakespeare, or perhaps the felicity of his genius was admirable; instead of the deep tragic air of Taffo, and his continuance of the paftoral strain even to fatiety, he only made ufe of thefe playful images to enrich his comic fcenes. He faw that paftoral fubjects were unfit to bear a tragic distress. To make up in furprize, what was wanting in paffion, he hath with great judgment adopted the popular system of fairies-which, while it fo naturally supplies the place of the old fylvan theology, gives a wildness to this sort of pastoral painting, which is perfectly inimitable.

HURD'S HORace.

Ir is true another poet, who poffeffed a great part of Shakespeare's genius, and all Johnson's learning, has carried this courtly entertainment (of Mafks) to its laft perfection; but the "Mask at Ludlow Castle," was in fome measure owing to the Fairy scenes of his predeceffor, who chose this province of tradition; not only as moft fuitable to the wildness of his vaft creative imagination, but as the safest for his unlettered mufe to walk in.

are very noify; and when they have done, they are full of mirth and paftime. But generally they dance in moonlight when mortals are afleep, and not capable of feeing them, as may be observed on the fol lowing

THE Fairy land is Shakefpeare's own; he gives characters that never had existence, and describes actions it is impoffible for mortals to fee; yet his defcriptions are fo forcible, that while we know we are deceived by the poet, we almost incline to think, that we are inftructed by the hiftorian.. MORNING HERALD.

Our forefathers looked upon nature with more reverence and horror, before the world was enlightened by learning and philosophy, and loved to astonish themselves with the apprchenfions of witchcraft, prodigies, charms and inchantments. There was not a village in England that had not a ghost in it, the church-yards were all haunted, every large common had a circle of fairies belonging to it,, and there was scarce a fhepherd to be met with who had not feen a spirit..

AMONG all the poets of this kind, our English are much the best, by what I have yet seen; whe-ther it be that we abound with more stories of this nature, or that the genius of our country is fitter for this fort of poetry. For the English are naturally fanciful, and very often difpofed by that gloomi-nefs and melancholy of temper, which is fo frequent in our nation, to many wild notions and vifions, to which others are not fo liable..

AMONG the English, Shakespeare has-incomparably excelled all others.. That noble extravagance of fancy, which he had in fo great perfection, thoroughly qualified him to touch this weak fuperftitious part of his reader's imagination; and made him capable of fucceeding, where he had nothing to support him befides the strength of his own genius. There is fomething fo wild and yet fo folemn in the speeches of his ghofts, fairies, witches and the like imaginary perfons, that we cannot forbear thinking them natural, tho' we have no rule by which to judge of them, and must confess, if there are: fuch beings in the world, it looks highly probable they fhould talk and act as he has reprefented them. SPECTATOR, No. 419.

The Tempeft and the Midfummer Night's Dream, are the noblest efforts of that fublime and amazing imagination of Shakespeare, which foars above the bounds of nature, without forfaking fense, or more properly, carries nature along with him beyond her eftablished limits. Fletcher feems particularly to have admired these two plays, and hath wrote two in imitation of them, The Sea Voyage, and The Faithful Shepherdess After him, Sir John Suckling and Milton catched. the brightest fire of their imagination from thefe two plays; which fhines fantastically in The Goblins, but much more nobly and fercnely in The Mafque at Ludlow Caffle..

WARBURTON.

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109)

lowing morn; their dancing places being very diftinguishable. For as they dance hand in hand, and fo make a circle in their dance, fo next day there will be seen rings and circles on the grafs."

MR.

Thrice happy the nation that Shakespeare has charm'd

More happy the bofom his genius has warm'd;

Ye children of nature, of fashion and whim,
He painted you all-all join to praise him.

From highest to loweft, from old to the young,
All ftates and conditions by him have been fung,
All paffions and humours were rais'd by his pen,
He could foar with the eagle and fing with the wren

To praise him, ye fairies and genii repair,
He knew where ye haunted-in earth or in air;
No phantom fo fubtle could glide from his view,
The wings of his fancy were fwifter than you.

GARRICK:

TAKE from that original genius of our own country, the popular belief in his ghofts and hobgob lins, his light fairies and his dapper elves, with other fanciful perfonages of the gothic mythology― and you fap the true foundation of fome of the most beautiful fictions that ever poet's imagination produced.

WOOD'S ESSAY ON HOMER..

Next Shakespeare fat, irregularly great,
And in his hand a magic rod did hold,
Which vifionary beings did create,

And turn the fouleft drofs to pureft gold :
Whatever fpirits rove in earth or air,

Or bad or good, obey his dread command;
To his behefts thefe willingly repair,

Those aw'd by terrors of his magic wand,
The which not all their pow'rs united might withstand..

Befide the bard there stood a beauteous maid,
Whofe glittering appearance dimm'd the eyen ;
Her thin-wrought vefture various tints difplay'd,.
Fancy her name, yfprong of race divine;

Her

MR. Steevens, in a note, on the line of: for the third part of a minute, fays:

"The perfons employed are fairies, to whom the third part of a minute might not be a very short time to do fuch work in. The critick might

Her mantle wimpled low, her filken hair,

Which loose adown her well-turn'd fhoulders ftray'd,
She made a net to catch the wanton air,

Whofe love-fick breezes all around her play'd,
And feem'd in whispers foft to court the heav'nly maid.

And ever and anon fhe wav'd in air,

A fceptre, fraught with all-creative pow'r a
She wav'd it round: Eftfoons there did appear
Spirits and witches, forms unknown before:
Again he lifts her wonder-working wand;
Eftfoons upon the flowry plain were seen
The gay inhabitants of fairie land,

And blithe attendants upon Mab their queen
In myftic circles danc'd along th' enchanted green.

On the other fide stood Nature, goddess fair;

A matron feem'd fhe, and of manners ftaid;
Beauteous her form, majestic was her air,
In loofe attire of pureft white array'd:

A potent rod fhe bore, whofe pow'r was fuch,

(As from her darling's works may well be fhewn)
That often with it's foul-enchanting touch,

She rais'd or joy, or caus'd the deep-felt groan,
And each man's paffions made fubfervient to her own.
LLOYD'S PROGRESS OF ENVY.

See alfo the Tomb of Shakespeare, a poem by Cooper-Ogilvie's Ode to the genius of Shakespearethe Preface to the works of Maffinger-Duff's Critical Obfervations-Shakespeare's Jubilee, a mafque by Carey-The Fairies, an opera-a Fairy Tale in two acts-and a Midfummer Night's Dream, altered