re mantle wrapp'd her head;
Then plunged into her stream with deep despair,
_And her last sobs came bubbling up in air_.

Though the last line is not expressed in the original, it is yet in some
measure implied, and it is in itself so exceedingly beautiful, that the
whole passage can never be too much admired. These are excellencies
indeed; this is truly Mr. Dryden. The power of truth, no doubt, extorted
this confession from the Dr. and notwithstanding many objections may be
brought against this performance of Dryden, yet we believe most of our
poetical readers upon perusing it, will be of the opinion of Pope,
'that, excepting a few human errors, it is the noblest and most spirited
translation in any language.' To whom it may reasonable be asked, has
Virgil been most obliged? to Dr. Trapp who has followed his footsteps in
every line; has shewn you indeed the design, the characters, contexture,
and moral of the poem, that is, has given you Virgil's account of the
actions of AEneas, or to Mr. Dryden, who has not only conveyed the
general ideas of his author, but has conveyed them with the same majesty
and fire, has led you through every battle with trepidation, has soothed
you in the tender scenes, and inchanted you with the flowers of poetry?
Virgil contemplated thro' the medium of Trapp, appears an accurate
writer, and the Aeneid as well conducted fable, but discerned in
Dryden's page, he glows as with fire from heaven, and the Aeneid is a
continued series of whatever is great, elegant, pathetic, and sublime.

We have already observed, in the Life of Dryden, that it is easier to
discern wherein the beauties of poetical composition consist, than to
throw out those beauties. Dr. Trapp, in his Praelectiones Poeticae, has
shewn how much he was master of every species of poetry; that is, how
excellently he understood the structure of a poem; what noble rules he
was capable of laying down, and what excellent materials he could
afford, for building upon such a foundation, a beautiful fabric. There
are few better criticisms in any language, Dryden's dedications and
prefaces excepted, than are contained in these lectures. The mind is
enlarged by them, takes in a wide range of poetical ideas, and is taught
to discover how many amazing requisites are necessary to form a poet. In
his introduction to the first lecture, he takes occasion to state a
comparison between poetry and painting, and shew how small pretensions
the profes