by
his hand. His education at the college of Winchester, his fame at
Oxford, his associates in London, all were fair preludes to the
production of beautiful poetry. Indeed, he had already produced
beautiful poetry in his Oriental Eclogues, four years before his Odes
appeared. These were, it is admitted, of a different cast from his Odes,
and of a gentleness and chastity of thought and diction, which he
himself was conscious, some years afterwards, did not very well
represent the gorgeousness of eastern composition.

It was a crisis when there was a fair opening for new candidates for the
laurel. The uniformity of Pope's style began already to pall upon the
public ear. Thomson was indolent, and Young eccentric; Gray had not yet
appeared on the stage; and Akenside's metaphysical subject and diffuse
style were not calculated to engross the general taste. Johnson had
taken possession of the field of satire, but there are too many readers
of enthusiastic mind to be satisfied with satire. The pedantry and
uncouthness of Walter Harte had precluded him from ever being a
favourite with the public; Shenstone had not yet risen into fame; and
Lyttelton was engrossed by politics. When, therefore, Collins's Odes
appeared, all speculation would have anticipated that they must have
been successful. But we must recollect that they did not excite the
admiration of Johnson; and that Gray did not read them with that
unqualified approval which his native taste would have inspired. This
singularity must be accounted for by other causes than their want of
merit.

The disappointment of Collins was so keen and deep, that he not only
burned the unsold copies with his own hand, but soon fell into a
melancholy which ended in insanity. Many persons have affected to
comment on this result with an unfeeling ignorance of human nature, and,
more especially, of fervid genius. It is, undoubtedly, highly dangerous
to give the entire reins to imagination; the discipline of a constant
exercise of reason is not only salutary, but necessary. But one can
easily conceive how the indulgence of that state of mind which produced
Collins's Odes could end in an entire overthrow of the intellect, when
embittered by a defect of the principal objects of his worldly ambition.
He is said to have been puffed up by a vanity which prompted him to
expect that all eyes would be upon him, and all voices lifted in his
praise. Such was the conception of a vulgar observer of th