PRELIMINARY NOTES ON LYCIDAS. t Mr. Edward King. THIS poem first appeared in a Cambridge Collection of verfes on the Death of Mr. Edward King, fellow of Chrift's College, printed at Cambridge in a thin quarto, 1638. It confifts of three Greek, nineteen Latin, and thirteen English, poems. The three Greek are written by William Ivefon, John Pots, and Henry More, the great Platonick theologift, and then or foon afterwards a fellow of Chrift's College. The nineteen Latin are by Anonymous, N. Felton, R. Mafon, John Pullen, Jofeph Pearfon, R. Browne, J. B., Charles Mafon, Coke, Stephen Anftie, Jofeph Hoper, R. C., Thomas Farnaby (Mr. King's Schoolmafter, but not the celebrated rhetorician), Henry King (Mr. Edward King's brother), John Hayward (chancellor and canon refidentiary of Lincoln), M. Honeywood who has two copies, William Brearley, Christopher Bainbrigg, and R. Widdrington. The thirteen English, by Henry King abovementioned, J. Beaumont, Anonymous, John Cleveland the Poet, William More, William Hall, Samfon Briggs, Ifaac Olivier, J. H., C. B., K. Brown, T. Norton, and our author JOHN MILTON, whofe Monody, entitled Lycidas, and fubfcribed with his initials only, stands laft in the Collection. J. H.'s copy is infcribed, "To the deceased's virtuous Sifter, the Ladie Margaret Loder." She here appears to have lived near Saint Chad's church at Litchfield, and to have excelled in painting. Cleveland's copy is very witty. But the two concluding lines are hyperboles of wit. "Our teares fhall feem the Irish feas, "We floating Islands, living Hebrides." The contributors were not all of Chrift's College. The Greek and Latin pieces have this title, which indeed ferves for the title to the book," Jufta EDOVARDO KING naufrago ab Amicis mærentibus amoris et μvéias xápiv. Si recte calculum ponas, ubique naufragium eft. Petron. Arb. CANTABRIGIE, Apud Thomam Buck et Rogerum Daniel, celeberrimæ Academiæ typographos. 1638." The English are thus entitled, "Obfequies to the memorie of Mr. Edward King, Anno Dom. 1638. Printed by Th. Buck and R. Daniel, printers to the Vniverfitie of Cambridge. 1638." To the whole is prefixed a profe inscriptive panegyrick on Mr. King, containing fhort notices of his life, family, character, connections, and deplorable catastrophe. This I fufpect to have been composed either by Milton or Henry More, who perhaps were two the most able masters in Latiņity which the college could then produce. Peck examined this first edition of Lycidas, which he bor rowed of Baker the antiquary, very fuperficially. And all that Milton's laft editor, the learned bishop of Bristol, knew about it, is apparently taken from Peck. Peck is of opinion, that Milton's poem is placed last in this Cambridge Collection, on account of his fuppofed quarrel with Chrift's college. A much more probable and obvious reafon may be affigned. Without entering at prefent into the story of Milton's difpute with his college, I fhall only juft obferve, that, when he wrote Lycidas, he had quitted the university about five years, and that he now refided with his father and mother at Horton in Buckinghamshire. He therefore did not write of course on this occafion: he was folicited by those, whom he had left behind at Chrift's college, to affift, and who certainly could never intend to difgrace what they had asked as a favour. In a collection of this fort, the laft is the place of honour. The college here availed itself of Milton's well-known abilities. And if we fuppofe that Milton's compofition was a voluntary contribution of friendship fent from the country, its fuperiour merit could not but meet with due diftinction. Edward King, the fubject of this Monody, was the son of fir John King, knight, fecretary for Ireland, under queen Elizabeth, James the first, and Charles the first. He was failing from Chester to Ireland, on a visit to his friends and relations in that country: Thefe were, his brother fir Robert King, knight; and his fifters, Anne wife of fir George Caulfield, Lord Clermont, and Margaret, abovementioned, wife of fir George Loder, Chief Juftice of Ireland; Edward King, bithop of Elphin, by whom he was baptized; and William Chappel, then Dean of Cashel, and Provoft of Dublin College, who had been his tutor at Christ's college, Cambridge, and was afterwards bishop of Cork and Rofs, and in this Paftoral is probably the fame perfon that is ftyled old Damoetas, v. 36. When, in calm weather, not far from the English coaft, the fhip, a very crazy veffel, a fatal and perfidious bark, ftruck on a rock, and fuddenly funk to the bottom with all that were on board, not one escaping, Aug. 10, 1637. King was now only twenty-five years old. He was perhaps a native of Ireland. At Cambridge, he was diftinguished for his piety, and proficiency in polite literature. He has no inelegant copy of Latin iambicks prefixed to a Latin Comedy called Senile Odium, acted at Queen's College Cambridge, by the youth of that society, and written by P. Haufted, Cantab. 1633. 12mo. From which I select these lines, as containing a judicious fatire on the false taste, and the customary mechanical or unnatural expedients, of the drama that then fubfifted. "Non hic cothurni fanguine infonti rubent, "Nec flagra Megæræ ferrea horrendum intonant; "Venena nulla, præter illa dulcia "Amoris; atque his vim abftulere noxiam "Cafti lepores, innocua feftivitas, "Nativa fuavitas, proba elegantia, &c." He also appears with credit in the Cambridge Publick Verses of his time. He has a copy of Latin iambicks, in the Anthologia on the King's Recovery, Cantab. 1632. 4to. p. 43. Of Latin elegiacks, in the Genethliacum Acad. Cantabrig. Ibid. 1631. 4to. p. 39. Of Latin iambicks in Rex Redux, Ibid. 1633. 4to. p. 14. See alfo EYNMAIA, from Cambridge, Ibid. 1637. 4to. Signat. C. 3. I will not say how far these performances justify Milton's panegyrick on his friend's poetry, v. 9. "Who would not fing for Lycidas? He knew This poem, as appears by the Trinity manufcript, was written in November, 1637, when Milton was not quite twenty-nine old. T. WARTON. years In the Latin poetical paraphrase of Lycidas by William Hog, (the tranflator alfo of Paradife Loft,) dated 1694, there is an English addrefs to the reader; giving a brief account of the fubject of the poem. It is there faid, that "fome escaped in the boat, and great endeavours were used in that great confternation to get Mr. King into the boat, which did not prevail. So he and all with him were drowned, except those only that efcaped in the boat." And yet, in the monumental infcription prefixed to the Collection of Verfes on Mr. King's death, it is related, "Navi in fcopulum allisâ, et rimis ex ictu fatifcente, dum alii vectores vitæ mortalis fruftrà fatagerent, immortalem anhelans, in genua provolutus oranfque, unà cum navigio ab aquis abforptus, animam Deo reddidit." Mr. Warton has mentioned, that, among Archbishop Sancroft's tranfcripts of poetry made by him at Cambridge, now in the Bodleian Library, there is a poem on Mr. King, not in the published collection, written by Mr. Booth of Corpus Chrifti. I have a copy of this tranfcript, which, in point of hyperbolical wit, appears to equal even Cleveland's curious verfes on this occafion. To the poem is fubjoined an Epitaph, " engraved upon the rocks: "Heere lies the love of gentle hearts, "Heere lies Gramar, out of which "Mute fishes learn their parts of speech. "Heere lies Rhetorick all undone, "Which makes the feas more fluent runne. "And heere Philofophy was drown'd, "Which makes the feas farre more profound, &c." It concludes with this quaint couplet: "Thus whilft poore breathing mortalls weepe, "The wit, and mirth, lies in the deepe." Dr. Newton has obferved that Lycidas is with great judgement made of the pastoral kind, as both Mr. King and Milton had been defigned for holy orders and the pastoral care, which gives a peculiar propriety to several paffages in it. TODD. Mount St. Michael, or The Vifion of the guarded Mount, v. 161. The whole of the following paffage in Lycidas, has never yet been explained or understood: "The fable of Bellerus old, "Where the great Vision of the guarded Mount That part of the coaft of Cornwall called the Land's End, with its neighbourhood, is here intended, in which is the promontory of Bellerium, fo named from Bellerus a Cornish giant. And we are told by Camden, that this is the only part of our island that looks directly towards Spain. So alfo Drayton, Polyolb. S. xxiii. vol. iii. p. 1107. "Then Cornwall creepeth out into the westerne maine, And Orofius, "The fecond angle or point of Spain forms a cape, where Brigantia, a city of Galicia, rears a moft lofty watch-tower, of admirable conftruction, in full view of Britain." Hift. L. i. c. ii. fol. v. a. edit. Parif. 1524. fol. Carew fays of this fituation, "Saint Michael's Mount looketh fo aloft, that it brooketh no concurrent." p. 154. ut infr. But what is the meaning of "The great Vision of the guarded Mount ?" And of the line immediately following, "Look homeward, Angel, now, and melt with ruth?" I flatter myself I have difcovered Milton's original and leading idea. Not far from the Land's End in Cornwall, is a moft romantick projection of rock, called Saint Michael's Mount, into a harbour called Mount's-Bay. It gradually rifes from a broad bafis into a very steep and narrow, but craggy, elevation. Towards the fea, the declivity is almoft perpendicular. At low water it is acceffible by land: and not many years ago, it was entirely joined with the prefent fhore, between which and the Mount, |