sandy) lay over these woods that blackened in the blaze. Over that part of the woods, which lay immediately under the intenser light, a brassy mist floated. The Trees on the Ramparts, and the People moving to and fro between them, were cut or divided into equal segments of deep shade and brassy light. Had the Trees, and the bodies of the Men and Women, been divided into equal segments by a rule or pair of Compasses, the portions could not have been more regular. All else was obscure. It was a fairy scene! and to encrease its romantic character, among the moving objects thus divided into alternate shade and brightness, was a beautiful Child dressed with the elegant simplicity of an English child, riding on a stately Goat, the saddle, bridle, and other accoutrements of which were in a high degree costly and splendid. Before I quit the subject of Hamburg, let me say, that I remained a day or two longer than I otherwise should have done, in order to be present at the feast of St. Michael, the Patron Saint of Hamburg, expecting to see the civic pomp of this commercial Republic. I was however disappointed, There were no processions, two or three sermons were preached to two or three old Women in two or three Churches, and St. Michael and his patronage wished elsewhere by the higher classes, all places of entertainment, Theatre, &c. being shut up on this day. In Hamburg, there seems to be no religion at all: in Lubec it is confined to the Women. The Men seem determined to be divorced from their wives in the other world, if they cannot in this. You will not easily conceive a more singular sight, than is presented by the vast aisle of the principal Church at Lubee seen from the Organ-loft: for being filled with female Servants and Persons in the same class of life, and all their caps having gold and silver cauls, it appears like a rich pavement of gold and silver.

I will conclude this Letter with the mere transcription of notes, which my Friend B took of his conversations with Klopstock, during the interviews that took place' after my departure. On these I shall make but one remark at present, and that will appear a presumptuous one; namely, that Klopstock's remarks on the venerable Sage of Koenigsburg are to my own knowledge injurious and mistaken; and so far is it from being true, that his system is now given up, that throughout the Universities of Germany there is not a single Professor, who is not either a

Kantean, or a disciple of Fichte whose system is built on the Kantean, and presupposes it's truth; or lastly who, though an antagonist of Kant as to his theoretical work, has not embraced wholly or in part his moral system, and adopts part of his nomenclature. "Klopstock having wished to see the Calvary of Cumberland, and asked what, was thought of it in England, I went to Remnant's (the English Bookseller) where I procured the Analytical Review, in which is contained the review of Cumberland's Calvary. I remembered to have read there some specimens of a blank verse translation of the Messiah. I had mentioned this to Klopstock, and he had a great desire to see them. I walked over to his house and put the bookinto his hands. On adverting to his own Poem, he told me he began the Messiah when he was seventeen: he devoted three entire years to the plan without composing a single line. He was greatly at a loss in what manner to execute his work. There were no successful specimens of, versification in the German language before this time. The first three cantos he wrote in a species of measured or numerous prose. This, though done with much labour and some success, was far from satisfying him. He had composed hexameters both Latin and Greek as a school exercise, and there had been also in the German language attempts in that style of versification. These were only of very moderate merit-One day he was struck with the idea of what could be done in this way-he kept his room a whole day, even went without his dinner, and found that in the evening be had written twenty three hexameters, versifying a part of what he had before written in prose. From that time, pleased with his efforts, he composed no more in prose. To-day he informed me that he had finishhis plan before he read Milton. He was enchanted to see an Author who before him had trod the same path. This is a contradiction of what he said before. He did not wish to speak of his poem to any one till it was finished: but some of his Friends who had seen what he had finished, tormented him till he had consented to publish a few books in a journal. He was then I believe very young,.. about twenty five. The rest was printed at different periods, four books at a time. The reception given to the first specimens was highly flattering. He was nearly thir ty years in finishing the whole Poem, but of these thirty years not more than two were employed in the composi

tion. He only composed in favourable moments; besides he had other occupations. He values himself upon the plan of his Odes, and accuses the modern lyrical Writers of gross deficiency in this respect. I laid the same accusation against Horace: he would not hear of it--but waived the discussion. He called Rousseau's Ode to Fortune a moral Dissertation, in Stanzas. I spoke of Dryden's St. Cecilia; but he did not seem familiar with our Writers. He wished to know the distinctions between our dramatic and epic blank verse. He recommended me to read his Herman before I read either the Messiah or the Odes. He flattered himself that some time or other his dramatic poems would be known in England. He had not heard of Cowper. He thought that Voss in his translation of the Iliad had done violence to the idiom of the Germans, and had sacrificed it to the Greek, not remembering sufficiently that each language has it's particular spirit and genius. He said Lessing was the first of their dramatic Writers. I complained of Nathan as tedi ous. He said there was not enough of action in it; but that Lessing was the most chaste of their Writers. He spoke favourably of Goethe; but said that his "Sorrows of Werter" was his best work, better than any of his Dramas: he preferred the first written to the rest of Goethe's Dramas. Schiller's "Robbers" he found so extravagant, that he could not read it. I spoke of the scene of the setting sun. He did not know it. He said Schiller could not live. He thought Don Carlos the best of his Dramas; but said that the plot was inextricable-It was evident, he knew little of Schiller's Works: indeed he said, he could not read them. Burgher he said was a true Poet, and would live; that Schiller, on the contrary, must soon be forgotten; that he gave himself up to the imitation of Shakespeare, who often was extravagant, but that Schiller was ten thousand times more so. He spoke very slight. ingly of Kotzebue, as an immoral Author in the first place, and next as deficient in power. At Vienna, said he, they are transported with him; but we do not reckon the people of Vienna either the wisest or the wittiest People of Germany. He said Wieland was a charming Author and a sovereign Master of his own language: that in this respect Goethe could not be compared to him, or indeed could any body else. He said that his fault was to be fertile to exuberance. I told him the Oberon had just

been translated into English. He asked me, if I was not delighted with the Poem. I answered, that I thought the Story began to flag about the seventh or eighth book; and observed that it was unworthy of a man of genius to make the interest of a long poem turn entirely upon animal gratification. He seemed at first disposed to excuse this by saying, that there are different subjects for poetry, and that Poets are not willing to be restricted in their choice. I answered, that I thought the passion of Love as well suited to the purposes of Poetry as any other passion; but that it was a cheap way of pleasing to fix the attention of the Reader through a long poem on the mere appetite. Well! but, said he, you see, that such Poems please every body. I answered, that it was the province of a great Poet to raise People up to his own level, not to descend to their's. He agreed, and confessed, that on no account whatsoever would he have written a work like the Oberon. He spoke in raptures of Wieland's style, and pointed out the passage where Retzia is delivered of her Child, as exquisitely beautiful. I said that I did not perceive any very striking pasages; but that I made allow ance for the imperfections of a Translation. Of the thefts of Wieland he said, they were so exquisitely managed, that the greatest writers might be proud to steal as he did. He considered the books and fables of old Romance Writers in the light of the ancient mythology, as a sort of common property, from which a man was free to take whatever he could make a good use of. An Englishman had presented him with the Odes of Collins, which he had read with pleasure. He knew little or nothing of Gray except his Essay in the Church-yard. He complained of the Fool in Lear. I observed, that he seemed to give a terrible wildness to the distress; but still he complained. He asked whether it was not allowed, that Pope had written rhyme poetry with more skill than any of our Writers.→ I said, I preferred Dryden, because his couplets had greater variety in their movement. He thought my reason a good one; but asked whether the rhyme of Pope were not more exact. This question I understood as applying to the final terminations, and observed to him that I be lieved it was the case; but that I thought it was easy to excuse some inaccuracy in the final sounds, if the general sweep of the verse was superior. I told him that we were not so exact with regard to the final endings of lines

as the French. He did not seem to know that we made no distinction between masculine and feminine (i. e. single or double,) rhymes: at least he put inquiries to me on this subject. He seemed to think, that no language could ever be so far formed as that it might not be enriched by idioms borrowed from another tongue. I said this was a very dangerous practice; and added that I thought Milton had often injured both his prose and verse by taking this liberty too frequently. I recommended to him the prose works of Dryden as models of pure and native English. I was treading upon tender ground, as I have reason to suppose that he has himself liberally indulged in the practice.

The same day I dined at Mr. Klopstocks, where I had the pleasure of a third interview with the Poet. We talked principally about indifferent things. I asked him what he thought of Kant. He said that his reputation was much on the decline in Germany. That for his own part he was not surprized to find it so, as the Works of Kant were to him utterly incomprehensible-that he had often been pestered by the Kanteans; but was rarely in the practice of arguing with them. His custom was to produce the book, open it and point to a passage, and beg they would explain it. This they ordinarily attempted to do by substituting their own ideas. I do not want, I say, an explanation of your own ideas, but of the passage which is before us. In this way I generally bring the dispute to an immediate conclusion. He spoke of Wolfe as the first Metaphysician they had in Germany. Wolfe had followers; but they could hardly be called a sect, and luckily till the appearance of Kant, about fifteen years ago, Germany had not been pestered by any sect of Philosophers whatsoever; but that each man had separately pur sued his enquiries uncontrolled by the dogmas of a Master. Kant had appeared ambitious to be the founder of a Sect, that he had succeeded: but that the Germans were now coming to their senses again. That Nicolai and Engel had in different ways contributed to disenchant the Nation; but above all the incomprehensibility of the Philosopher and his philosophy. He seem pleased to hear, that as yet Kant's doctrines had not met with many Admirers in England-did not doubt but that we had too much wisdom to be duped by a Writer who set at defiance the common sense and common understandings of Men.