With double meanings, neat and handy, On faults of books, he ne'er set eyes on. Then, lest religion he should need, For these free times of gospel light, Alike his poignant wit displays Musters each veteran jest to aid, Cries out 't is shame, past all abiding, * STERNE'S Tristram Shandy was then in the highest vogue, and in the zenith of its transitory reputation. With mimic drollery of grimace, Who, friendly to the coxcomb race, Did not religion and the priest While various thus their doom appears, CHARACTER OF MCFINGAL.* WHEN Yankees, skill'd in martial rule, His high descent our heralds trace His fathers flourish'd in the Highlands Of Scotia's fog-benighted island; From "McFingal." LORD PERCY commanded the party that was first opposed by the Americans at Lexington. This allusion to the family renown of Chevy-Chace arose from the precipitate manner of his quitting the field of battle, and returning to Boston. [head Of these the first, in ancient days, Straight fell in love with-at first sight; Rebellion from the northern regions, With BUTE and MANSFIELD swore allegiance, For these our squire, among the valiant'st, Nor less avail'd his optic sleight, This prophecy, like some of the prayers of Homer's heroes, was but half accomplished. The Hanoverians, &c., indeed came over, and much were they feasted with blood; but the hanging of the rebels and the dividing their estates remain unfulfilled. This, however, cannot be the fault of the hero, but rather the British minister, who left off the war before the work was completed. Feasted with blood his Scottish clan, Thus stored with intellectual riches, The town, our hero's scene of action, Had long been torn by feuds of faction; And as each party's strength prevails, It turn'd up different heads or tails; With constant rattling, in a trice Show'd various sides, as oft as dice: As that famed weaver, wife to Ulysses, By night each day's work pick'd in pieces; And though she stoutly did bestir her, Its finishing was ne'er the nearer : So did this town, with steadfast zeal, Weave cobwebs for the public weal; Which when completed, or before, A second vote in pieces tore. They met, made speeches full long-winded, And turn'd all Whig committees out. Still following, as the squire should please, EXTREME HUMANITY.* THUS GAGE's arms did fortune bless From "McFingal." Sent troops to that ill-omen'd place Why, 'twas the very thing that scared him. Given up your arms, it must have ended; Take the first shot you sent them greeting, And fearful, if they stay'd for sport, THE DECAYED COQUETTE.* To slander all her sex impromptu, * From the "Progress of Dulness." TIMOTHY DWIGHT. [Born 1752. Died 1817.] TIMOTHY DWIGHT, D. D., LL. D., was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, on the fourteenth of May, 1752. His father was a merchant, of excellent character and liberal education; and his mother, a daughter of the great JONATHAN EDWARDS, was one of the noblest matrons of her time, distinguished not less for her maternal solicitude, ardent temperament, and patriotism, than for the intellectual qualities which made so illustrious the name of the New England metaphysician. She early perceived the indications of superior genius in her son; and we are told by his biographers that under her direction he became familiar with the rudiments of the Latin language before he was six years old, and at the same early period laid the foundation of his remarkable knowledge of history, geography, and the kindred departments of learning. When thirteen years old he entered Yale College. His previous unremitted attention to study had impaired his health, and he made little progress during the first two years of his residence at New Haven; but his subsequent intense and uninterrupted application enabled him to graduate in 1769, the first scholar in the institution. Immediately after obtaining the degree of bachelor of arts, he opened a grammar-school in New Haven, in which he continued two years, at the end of which time he was elected a tutor in his alma mater. Yale College was established in the year 1700 by several Congregational clergymen, and had, before the period at which DWIGHT returned to it, become generally unpopular, in consequence of the alleged illiberality of the trustees towards other denominations of Christians. At this time two of the tutors had resigned, leaving in office Mr. JOSEPH HOWE, a man of erudition and liberal sentiments, and DWIGHT and JOHN TRUMBULL were chosen in their places. The regeneration of the seminary now commenced; the study of belles lettres was successfully introduced; its character rapidly rose, and so popular did DWIGHT become with the students, that when, at the age of twenty-five, he resigned his office, they drew up and almost unanimously signed a petition to the corporation that he might be elected to the presidency. He, however, interfered and prevented the formal presentation of the application. In 1771, DWIGHT commenced writing the "Conquest of Canaan," an "epic poem in eleven books," which he finished in 1774, before he was twentythree years of age. The subject probably was not the most fortunate that could have been chosen, but a poet with passion and a brilliant imagination, by attempting to paint the manners of the time and the natural characteristics of the oriental world, might have treated it more successfully. DWIGHT "endeavoured to represent such manners as are removed from the peculiarities of any age or country, and might belong to the amiable and virtuous of any period; elevated without design, refined without ceremony, elegant without fashion, and agreeable because they are ornamented with sincerity, dignity, and religion;" his poem therefore has no distinctive features, and with very slight changes would answer as well for any other land or period as for Judea at the time of its conquest by JOSHUA. Its versification is harmonious, but monotonous, and the work is free from all the extravagances of expression and sentiment which so frequently lessen the worth of poetry by youthful and inexperienced writers. Some of the passages which I have quoted from the "Conquest of Canaan" are doubtless equal to any American poetry produced at this period. In 1777, the classes in Yale College were separated on account of the war, and, in the month of May, DWIGHT repaired with a number of students to Weathersfield, in Connecticut, where he remained until the autumn, when, having been licensed to preach as a Congregational minister, he joined the army as a chaplain. In this office he won much regard by his professional industry and eloquence, and at the same time exerted considerable influence by writing patriotic songs, which became popular throughout New England. The death of his father, in 1778, induced him to resign his situation in the army, and return to Northampton, to assist his mother to support and educate her family. He remained there five years, labouring on a farm, preaching, and superintending a school, and was in that period twice elected a member of the Legislature of Massachusetts. Declining offers of political advancement, he was, in 1783, ordained a minister in the parish of Greenfield, in Connecticut, where he remained twelve years, discharging his pastoral duties in a manner that was perfectly satisfactory to his people, and taking charge of an academy, established by himself, which soon become the most popular school of the kind that had ever existed in America. The " Conquest of Canaan," although finished ten years before, was not printed until the spring of 1785. It was followed by "Greenfield Hill," a descriptive, historical, and didactic poem, which was published in 1794. This work is divided into seven parts, entitled "The Prospect," "The Flourishing Village," "The Burning of Fairfield," "The Destruction of the Pequods," "The Clergyman's Advice to the Villagers," "The Farmer's Advice to the Villagers," and "The Vision, or Prospect of the Future Happiness of America." It contains some pleasing pictures of rural life, but added little to the author's reputation as a poet. The " Triumph of Infidelity," a satire educed by the appearance of a work defending the doctrines of the Universalists, was DWIGHT's next attempt at poetry. It was published anonymously, and the writer's fame would not have been less, had its authorship never been made known. On the death of Dr. STYLES, in 1795, Mr. DWIGHT was elected to the presidency of Yale College. The seminary at the time was in a disordered condition, and suffering from pecuniary embarrassments; but the reputation of the new president as a teacher soon brought around him a very large number of students, and it rapidly rose in the public favour. New professorships were established, the library and philosophical apparatus extended, and the course of study and the system of government changed. Besides acting as president, Dr. DWIGHT was the stated preacher, the professor of theology, and the teacher of the senior class for nearly twenty-one years, during which time the college maintained a place among the first institutions of learning in America. Dr. DWIGHT died at his residence in New Haven, on the eleventh of January, 1817, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. The following catalogue of his works is probably nearly perfect. "America, a Poem," in the style of Pope's "Windsor Forest," 1772; "The History, Eloquence, and Poetry of the Bible," 1772; «The Conquest of Canaan, a Poem," 1785; "An Election Sermon," 1791; "The Genuineness and Authenticity of the New Testament," 1793; "Greenfield Hill, a Poem," 1794; "The Triumph of Infidelity," a satire, and "Two Discourses on the Nature and Danger of Infidel Philosophy," 1797; The Duty of Americans in the Present Crisis," 1798; "Discourse on the Character of Washington," 1800; "Discourse on some Events in the last Century," 1801; "Sermon on the Death of E. G. Marsh," 1804; "Sermon on Duelling," 1805; "Sermon at the Theological Seminary, Andover," 1808; "Sermon at the Ordination of E. Pearson," 1808; "Sermon on the Death of Governor Trumbull," 1809; "A Charity Sermon," 1810; "Sermon at the Ordination of N. W. Taylor," 1812; two "Fast Sermons," 1812; "Sermon before the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions," 1813; "Remarks on the Review of Inchiquin's Letters," 1815; Observations on Language," and an "Essay on Light," 1816; "Theology explained and defended, in a Series of Sermons," delivered before the theological class in Yale College, and published after Dr. DwIGHT's death, in four large octavo volumes; "Travels in New England and New York," giving an account of excursions during spring and autumn college vacations, for several years, published after the author's death, in four volumes. As a poet President DWIGHT was little inferior to any of his contemporaries in America; but it was not on his poetry that his claims to the respect of mankind were based. As an instructor probably he was never surpassed in this country, and as a theologian he had no equal among the men of his time. An eloquent preacher, with a handsome person, an expressive countenance, polished and affable manners, brilliant conversational abilities, and vast stores of learning,-it was almost impossible that he should fail of success in any effort, and least of all in the administration of the important office which he so long and so honourably filled. When he died, the country was bereaved of a great and good man. |