Straight mine eye hath caught new pleasures, Where the nibbling flocks do stray; Of herbs, and other country messes, And then in haste her bower she leaves, To many a youth, and many a maid, and horns; the mower is whetting his scythe to begin his work; the milk-maid, whose business is of course at daybreak, comes abroad singing; the shepherd opens his fold, and takes the tale of his sheep, to see if any were lost in the night. Now for shepherds to tell tales, or to sing, is a circumstance trite, common, and general, and belonging only to ileal shepherds; nor do I know that such shepherds tell tales or sing more in the morning than at any other part of the day. A shepherd taking the tale of his theep which are just unfolded, is a new image, correspondent and appropriate, beautifully descriptive of a period of time, is founded in fact, and is more pleasing as more natural.-WARTON. pide for pied. 77. Towers and battlements. This was the great mansion-house in Milton's early days, before the old fashioned architecture had given way to modern arts and improvements. Turrets and battlements were conspicuous marks of the numerous new buildings of the reign of King Henry, VIII., and of some rather more ancient many of which yet remained in their original state, unchanged and undecayed. Where only a little is seen, more is left to the imagination. These sympteins of an old palace, especially when thus dis posed, have a greater effect than a discovery of larger parts, and even a full display of the whole edifice. The em bosomed battlements, and the spreading top of the tall grove, on which they reflect a reciprocal charm, still further interest the fancy, from the novelty of combination; while just enough of the towering structure is shown to make an accompaniment to the tuf.cd expanse of venerable verdure, and to compose a picturesque association. With respect to their rural residence, there was a coyres in our Gothic ancestors: mern seats are seldom so deeply ambushed,-they disclose all their glories at once, and never excite expectation by en cealment. by gradual approaches, and by inter rupted appearances.-T. WARTON. With stories told of many a feat, And, stretch'd out all the chimney's length, And crop-full out of doors he flings, Ere the first cock his matin rings. 105 110 Thus done the tales, to bed they creep, Where throngs of knights and barons bold, 115 120 125 130 102. Fiery Mab. See Shakspeare, Rom. and Juliet, Act I.. sc. iv. This bewitch ing fancy sketch of Queen Mah is quoted in "Compendium of English Literature," p. 139. 103. He was pinch'd. He and she are persons of the company assembled to spend the evening after a country wake at a rural junket.-T. WARTON. 104. Friar's lantern is the Jack-o'-lantorn, which led people in the night into marshes and waters. Milton gives the philosophy of this superstition, "Para dise Lost." (ix. 634-642.) In the midst of a solemn and learned enarration, his strong imagination could not resist a romantic tradition consecrated by popular credulity.-T. WARTON, 105. Druiging goblin. This goblin is Robin Goodfellow. His cream-bowl was earned, and he paid the punctuality of those by whom it was duly placed for his refection, by the service of threshing with his invisible fairy flail, in one night, and before the dawn of day, a quantity of corn in the barn, which could not have been threshed in so short a time by ten labourers. He then returns into the house, fatigued with his task; and, overcharged with his reward of the creambowl, throws himself before the fire, and, stretched along the whole breadth of the fire-place, basks till the morning.-T. WARTON. 117. Tower'd cities, &c. Then, that is, at night. The poet returns from his digression, perhaps disproportionately prolix, concerning the feats of fairies and goblins, which protract the conversation over the spicy bowl of a village-supper, to enumerate other pleasures or amusements of the night or evening. Then is, in this line. a repetition of the first "Then," line 100. Afterwards, we have another "Then," with the same sense and reference, line 131. Here, too, is a transition from mirth in the country to mirth in the city.-T. WARTON. 120. Triumphs: Shows, masks, revels. Or sweetest Shakspeare, Fancy's child, And ever, against eating cares, Such as the meeting soul may pierce, That Orpheus' self may heave his head Of heap'd Elysian flowers, and hear These delights, if thou canst give, 142. The melting voice, &c. Milton's meaning is not, that the senses are enchained or amazed by music; but that, as the voice of the singer runs through 'he manifold mazes or intricacies of sound, all the chains are untwisted 135 140 145 150 which imprison and entangle the hidden soul, the essence or perfection of har mony. In common sense, let music be made to show all, even her most hidden powers.-T. WARTON. IL PENSEROSO. (THE THOUGHTFUL, OR PENSIVE MAN.) HENCE, vain deluding Joys, The brood of Folly without father bred! Or fill the fixed mind with all your toys! And fancies fond with gaudy shapes possess, As the gay motes that people the sun-beams; The fickle pensioners of Morpheus' train. Whose saintly visage is too bright O'erlaid with black, staid Wisdom's hue; Prince Memnon's sister might beseem, The Sea-Nymphs, and their powers offended: Thee bright-hair'd Vesta, long of yore, To solitary Saturn bore; His daughter she; in Saturn's reign, Such mixture was not held a stain: Oft in glimmering bowers and glades Whilst yet there was no fear of Jove. and tran-ported Cassiope into heaven, where she became a constellation. Hence she is called “that starr'd Ethicp queen.” T. WARTON. 10. Fickle: Transitory, perpetually | Andromeda, of whom he was enamoured, shifting. Pensioners: train, attendants. 18. Memnon's sister: that is, an Ethiopian princess, or sable beauty. Memnon, King of Ethiopia, and an auxiliary of the Trojans, was slain by Achilles. 19. That starr'd Ethiop queen. Cassiope, as we learn from Apollodorus, was the wife of Cepheus, King of Ethiopia. She bosted herself to be more beautiful than the Nereids, and challenged them o a trial, who, in revenge, persuaded eptune to send a prodigious whale into Ethiopia. To appease them, she was directed to expose her daughter An romeda to the monster; but Perseus delivered 25. His daughter she. The meaning of Milton's allegory is, that Melancholy is the daughter of Genius, which is typified by the bright-hair'd" goddess of the eternal fire. Saturn, the father, is the god of saturnine dispositions, of pensive and gloomy minds.-T. WARTON. 30. Before Saturn was driven from his ancient kingdom by his son Jupiter, nursed on mount Ida. Come, pensive Nun, devout and pure, With a sad leaden downward cast Thou fix them on the earth as fast: 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. That in trim gardens takes his pleasure: And the mute Silence hist along, In her sweetest, saddest plight, Sweet bird, that shunn'st the noise of folly, Thee, chauntress, oft, the woods among, I woo, to hear thy even-song; And, missing thee, I walk unseen 35. Cyprus lawn, a veil of a thin, transparent texture. 36. Decent: Not exposed, covered. 54. Cherub Contemplation. By contemplation, is here meant that stretch of thought, by which the mind ascends to the first good. first perfect, and first fair; and is therefore very properly said to "soar on golden wing, guiding the fiery wheeled throne;" that is, to take a high and glorious flight, carrying bright ideas of Deity along with it. But the whole imagery alludes to the cherubic forms that conveyed the fiery-wheeled car in Ezekiel, x. 2. See also Milton himself, "Paradise Lost," (vi. 750:) so that nothing can be greater or juster than this idea of “divine Contemplation.”—HURD. 55. Mute Silence. I always admired this and the seventeen following lines with excessive delight. There is a spell in it, which goes far beyond mere description: it is the very perfection of ideal and picturesque and contemplative poetry.--BRYDGES. |