We sat for some moments, as still as Apollo's Own table; till sweet, as when breath fills the [follows:Of organs, mild waking, he utter'd what

hollows

"Dear souls with fine eyes (may they never be kiss'd By a fool!) fear no more the mistakes that exist With regard to these footings of yours, and their blue; Fear no more the confusion of false and of true; Strange confusion at any time, seeing its grounds! For who, in his taste, sweet and bitter confounds? And whence rose it? An authoress, once on a time,* Could discover, it seems, no such wonderful crime In the legs of an honest old soul at her party, Who came in his bluestockings, ancient and hearty,(Ben Stillingfleet namely, fine-hearted old codger! A loving old bachelor,-real Sir Roger); But coxcombs (themselves a pedantical crew) Palm'd, in spite, upon her, the old gentleman's blue; And thence, by as clever and handsome transition, Assum'd it of all in like letter'd condition. As nicknames, however, are things we've a dread of In heaven itself, they 're so hard to get rid of,

*The appellation of "Blue-Stockings" is understood to have originated, as here described, in the dress of the excellent old Benjamin Stillingfleet (grandson of the Bishop) as he used to appear at the parties of Mrs. Montagu, in Portman-square. He was jilted by a mistress to whose remembrance he remained faithful; and in spite of a disappointment which he thus deeply felt, remained, to the last, one of the most amiable of men, and entertaining of companions. See his "Literary Life and Select Works," published by Longman, in the year 1811. ." Mr. Stilling fleet," (says a passage quoted in it from Bisset's Life of Burke) "almost always wore blue worsted stockings, and whenever he was absent from Mrs. Montagu's evening parties, as his conversation was very entertaining, the company used to Bay, "We can do nothing without the blue stockings," and by degrees the assemblies were called Blue-Stocking Clubs, and learned bodies Blue Stockings."—Vol. i. p. 237.

K

And as the best way to divert their abuse (If we use them at all) is to give them right use, hereby ordain, that in future the word

Be confined to the masculine, vain, and absurd, And that all real women, ev'n though they may speak Not with Sappho's eyes only, but even her Greek, All the flow'rs of the flock, the true breathers of sweets,

Take their name from the queen of the sylvan retreats ;

From the hue which but now had your eyes fix'd upon The Violet,-charmer of all that light on it. [it,— "No Blue," twill be said, "is the she who so bears her; She's VIOLET:-happy the bosom that wears her."

Here somebody happening to cough where we sat, Phoebus threw up a frown at us none could look at,— An eye of so sudden a flame, and tremendous, I thought he was going to "flare up" and end us; But seeing us all look submissive, he shone With the former mild beams in his hair, and went

on:

"And in truth it depends on yourselves, darling creatures,

Which shade of the hue shall illustrate your natures;
For though ye set out with the right one, nay, though
I myself, as I now do, the blessing bestow,
Yet the stockings themselves, I must tell you, are
fated,

And just as they're worn, will be lov'd or get hated;

Remaining true violet,-glimpses of heaven,-
As long as you're wise, and your tempers are even
But if you grow formal, or fierce, or untrue,
Alas, gentle colour! sweet ankle, adieu!
Thou art chang'd; and Love's self at the changing
looks blue.

Seize the golden occasion then.-You, who already
Are gentle,* remain so; and you, who would steady
Your natures, and mend them, and make out your
call

To be men's best companions, be such, once for all.
And remember, that nobody, woman or man,
Ever charm'd the next ages, since writing began,
Who thought by shrewd dealing sound fame to
arrive at,

Had one face in print, and another in private.

"UNAFFECTEDNESS, GENTLENESS, LOVINGNESS.This

Be your motto. And now give your teacher a kiss.”

He said and the whole house appearing to rise, Rooms and all, in a rapture of love, tow'rds the skies,

He did really, by some divine privilege of his,
Give and take of the dames an ubiquitous kiss ;
Which exalted us all so, and rapt us so far,
We undoubtedly touch'd at some exquisite star;
Very likely the morning-star, Venus's own,
For the odour proclaim'd it some violet zone :
And to prove 'twas no dream, any more than the
bedding

Which Prince Camaralzaman had, or Bedreddin,
I woke, just as they did, at home, about seven,
The moment Miss Landon was saying,

Heaven!"

"Good

*The word "gentle" is here to be understood in its fine old sense as implying, in the inner nature, all which gentle manners ought to imply, and which, when really gentle, they do. Such is the meaning of the word in Chaucer, Spenser and Shakspeare; in Mr. Wordsworth's

"Gentle lady married to the Moor;"

and in the "cor gentile" and "Donna gentil" of the Italians.

MISCELLANEOUS POEMS.

THOUGHTS OF THE AVON,

ON THE 28TH OF SEPTEMBER, 1817.

It is the loveliest day that we have had
This lovely month, sparkling and full of cheer;
The sun has a sharp eye, yet kind and glad;
Colours are doubly bright: all things appear
Strong outlined in the spacious atmosphere;
And through the lofty air the white clouds go,
As on their way to some celestial show.

The banks of Avon must look well to-day;
Autumn is there in all his glory and treasure;
The river must run bright; the ripples play
Their crispest tunes to boats that rock at leisure;
The ladies are abroad with cheeks of pleasure;
And the rich orchards in their sunniest robes
Are pouting thick with all their winy globes.

And why must I be thinking of the pride
Of distant bowers, as if I had no nest
To sing in here, though by the houses' side?
As if I could not in a minute rest

In leafy fields, quiet, and self-possest,
Having, on one side, Hampstead for my looks,
On t'other, London with its wealth of books?