loved Ruth-" one of our next kinfamen." Often, and with equal fuccefs, fhe went after this into the field, and continued there to earn a very comfortable living for herself and her friend, even to the clofe of the harveft. In the mean time, the paffion of Boaz had made a very pathetic progrefs, and the refult of it was, that he became the honourable lover of our fair gleaner, and renewed his acquaintance with his relation Naomi, to whom he made, we are told, various prefents. Boaz and Ruth were foon united, and, as a convincing inftance of the harmony in which the family lived together, we find, highly to the gratification of every elegant heart, that when Ruth prefented to Boaz a child-her first-born-Naomi,-after all the perils of her past life, re-enjoyed the sweets of privacy and peace : peace: "for she took the babe, "and laid it in her bofom, and 'became "nurfe unto it:" And I must not forget to add, that this very child, whofe name was Obed, was the grandfather of the famous David, to whofe pen, the Pfalms are are attributed; which, both as pieces of fcripture and of writing, are totally unrivalled in point of energy and fublimity, by any compofition that hath yet been, or that probably ever will be, produced in human language. Undoubtedly our English Virgil, the author of the Seasons, took from this story the hint of his epifode of Palemon and Lavinia but, beautiful as that epifode may be, I by no means think he hath improved the prefent fubject. Indeed, it is not easy to improve any of the facred narratives, nor was Mr. Thomfon a poet of fimplicity. He hath, however, followed the original pretty clofely, efpecially in the principal incidents: yet Palemon is a poor copy of Boaz, and Lavinia is lefs captivating than Ruth, But I fhall quote Mr. Thomfon's poetical paraphrafe-for it is little more-that the reader may compare it with the ori ginal. The lovely young Lavinia once had friends; Like the gay birds that fung them to repofe, Still on the ground dejected, darting all Sat fair-proportion'd on her polish'd limbs, ` Thoughtless Thoughtless of beauty, fhe was beauty's felf, And breathes its balmy fragrance o'er the wild ;: "What pity! that fo delicate a form, "By beauty kindled where enlivening fenfe "And more than vulgar goodness seem to dwell, "Should be devoted to the rude embrace "Of fome indecent clown! She looks, methinks, "Of old Acafto's line; and to my mind "Recalls that patron of my happy life, "From whom my liberal fortune took its rife ; "Now to the dust gone down-; his houses, lands, "And once fair-fpreading family, diffolv'd. ""Tis faid that in some lone obscure retreat, 66 Urg'd by remembrance fad, and decent pride, "Far from thofe fcenes which knew their better days, "His aged widow and his daughter live, "Whom yet my fruitless fearch could never find. Romantic with! would this the daughter were!" When, ftri&t enquiring, from herself he found The mingled paffions that furpriz'd his heart, "And |