man to re-assume the reins of government, and the Imperial purple. He rejected the temptation with a smile of pity, calmly observing, " that if he could shew Maximian the cabbages which he had planted with his own hands at Salona, he should no longer be urged to relinquish the enjoyment of happiness

for the pursuit of power."

GIBBON, ii. 175.

NOTE q. P. 27, 1. 9.

Say, when ambitious CHARLES renounc'd a throne

When the emperor Charles V had executed his memorable resolution, and had set out for the monastery of St. Justus, he stopped a few days at Ghent, says his historian, to indulge that tender and pleasant melancholy, which arises in the mind. of every man in the decline of life, on visiting the

place of his nativity, and viewing the scenes and

objects familiar to him in his early youth.

ROBERTSON'S Hist. iv. 256.

NOTE г. P. 29, 1. 1.

Then did his horse the homeward track descry. The memory of the horse forms the groundwork of a pleasing little romance of the twelfth century, entitled, "Lai du Palefroi vair." See Fabliaux ou Contes du XII et du XIII Siecle. iv. 195.

Ariosto likewise introduces it in a passage full of truth and nature. When Bayardo meets Angelica

in the forest,

Va mansueto a la Donzella,

Ch'in Albracca il servìa già di sua mano.

ORLANDO FURIOSO, canto i. 75.

NOTE s. P. 30, 1. 13.

Sweet bird! thy truth shall HARLEM's walls attest.

During the siege of Harlem, when that city was reduced to the last extremity, and on the point of opening its gates to a base and barbarous enemy, a design was formed to relieve it; and the intelligence was conveyed to the citizens by a letter which was

tied under the wing of a pigeon.

THUANUS, lib. lv. c. 5.

The same messenger was employed at the siege of Mutina, as we are informed by the elder Pliny.

Hist. Nat. x. 37.

NOTE t. P. 31, 1. 6.

Hark! the bee, &c.

This little animal, from the extreme convexity

of her eye, cannot see many inches before her.

83

NOTES

ON THE SECOND PART.

NOTE u. Page 40, 1. 9.

These still exist, &c.

THERE is a future Existence even in this world;

an Existence in the hearts and minds of those who

shall live after us.

It is in reserve for every man,

however obscure; and his portion, if he be diligent, must be equal to his desires. For in whose remembrance can we wish to hold a place, but such as know, and are known by us? These are within the sphere of our influence, and among these and their descendants we may live evermore.

It is a state of rewards and punishments; and like that revealed to us in the Gospel, has the happiest influence on our lives. The latter excites us to gain the favor of God; the former to gain the love and esteem of wise and good men; and both conduce to the same end; for in framing our conceptions of the Deity, we only ascribe to him exalted

degrees of Wisdom and Goodness.

NOTE X. P. 46, 1. 13.

Yet still how sweet the soothings of his art!

The astronomer chalking his figures on the wall, in Hogarth's view of Bedlam, is an admirable

exemplification of this idea.

See the RAKE'S PROGRESS, plate 8.