In fields of light, I ride, I ride, Upon the gust-winds back, And, when I mark the eventide, Or gathering of the rack; Like spirit of a pleasant dream, I mount upon a sunset beam, And hie me in a flashing stride, The dark to dash aside,

DARK

In caverns 'neath the vasty deep, Where sea-snakes in the wreck may creep, And feed upon man's bone; Or in the ruins of the past. Where thoughts that are not used are cast, And whirlwind, and the earthquake groan In pity, there, there, am I— A withered thought—that cannot die.

LIGHT

But I was born within a light That kindled in the womb. And I can never feel the night When all around is gloom; For joy looked pleased upon my birth, And cast a ray e'en on the earth; And fairies spun it in a ring, With a feather from their wing, And called it hope—a charm for tears, And chained it to their silken ears.

DARK

And I was formed within a light That kindled in the womb of night, Of loathsome withered weeds— And fate looked on and fanned the flame, But freed me from the touch of blame, Of all my evil deeds. Enchantress waited on my birth, And bade the hypochondriac walk the earth.

BOTH, RECITATIVE

Together, together, yet, O yet we dwell, A glimpse of heaven in hell A glimpse of heaven in hell Which plays, which plays, like lightning on the tempest gloom, Or life within a catacomb, Or life within a catacomb, Pointing the many passions' mood To strange but universal good.

DR. JOHNSON

(To the Editor of the Mirror.)

The correspondent who furnished you with the article on "Dr. Johnson's Residence in Bolt Court," has fallen into several anachronisms, to which, I beg leave to call your attention.

He says, "here the unfortunate Savage has held his intellectual noctes, and enlivened the old moralist with his mad philosophy." If you refer to any biographical account of Johnson, you will find, his residence in Bolt Court did not commence till nearly twenty years after the death of Savage. Johnson had no settled habitation till after that event, and they were both frequently obliged to perambulate the streets, for whole nights, for want of money to pay for a lodging; and instead of Johnson being an old moralist at this time, he was but thirty-three when his friend died, Savage being about forty-four.

Your correspondent has given a graphic description of our great lexicographer and his two associates, Savage and Boswell, all three of whom, he says, met at Johnson's house in Bolt Court, and discussed subjects of polite literature; whereas his acquaintance with Boswell began only in 1763, and Savage died in Bristol, in 1742. The work Johnson wrote, at the time of compiling the Dictionary, was the "Rambler," and not the "Guardian," as your correspondent asserts. The latter was the joint production of Addison and Steele.

The principal events of the Doctor's life are well known; and it is interesting and not uninstructive to contemplate this master-spirit struggling with the vicissitudes of fortune, and depending frequently for his next meal, on the resources of his genius, till his merit became known. View him and his cotemporary, Garrick, travelling to London together, mere adventurers, with many plans in their heads, and very little money in their pockets; we see them both rising to the pinnacle of fame; one the majestic teacher of moral virtue, and the other delighting by the versatility of his histrionic powers. Go one step further. They are consigned to the tomb, and these men, whom friendship had united whilst living, death has not divided. Near Shakspeare's monument, in Westminster Abbey, they lie interred side by side. Of Garrick it has been said, "that the gaiety of nations was eclipsed at his death," and of Johnson we may truly say he has given "ardour to virtue and confidence to truth."

HEN. B

ON GOOD AND EVIL DAYS

(For the Mirror.)

Notwithstanding the ridicule which in later ages has been deservedly thrown on the idea of good and evil days, it is certain, that from time immemorial, the most celebrated nations of antiquity, the Chaldeans, the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans, adopted, and placed implicit faith in this superstitious notion, which is still prevalent in all parts of the east. According to Plutarch, the kings of Egypt never transacted business on the third day of the week, and abstained even from food till the evening; because on that day, Typhon, who was considered by them the cause of every evil, was born. The seventeenth day of the month was also deemed unfortunate, as on that day Osiris died. The Greeks, too, had their unlucky days, which they denominated αποφρασες [Greek: apophrases]. The Thursday was generally considered by the Athenians of so unlucky an import, that the assemblies of the people, which happened to fall on that day, were always deferred. Hesiod enumerated the days when it might be proper to commence certain undertakings, and those when it was necessary to abstain from every employment; among the latter, he mentions the fifth of every month, when the Infernal Furies were supposed to bestride the earth. Virgil has the same idea:—

Quintam fuge—pallidus Orcus Eumenidesque satae: tum partu terra nefando, Coeumque, lapetumque creat, saevumque Typhaea, Et conjuratos coelum rescindere fratres.

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The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 13, No. 370, May 16, 1829

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LIGHT AND DARK GENII

LIGHT

DARK

LIGHT

DARK

BOTH, RECITATIVE

DR. JOHNSON

HEN. B

ON GOOD AND EVIL DAYS

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