in
Cooper's Hill, should have made his own cadences so regular and almost
unvaried. Denham's couplets are often irregular, but the effect of the
pauses in the following lines was obviously the result of a fine ear.
The language truly suits the subject:

But his proud head the airy mountain hides
Among the clouds; his shoulders and his sides
A shady mantle clothes; his curled brows
Frown on the gentle stream, which calmly flows,
Whilst winds and storms his lofty forehead beat!

The occasional introduction of such passages should be managed with
great care, but I appeal to any judge of poetry whether he does not feel
the effect intended to be raised by the pauses of the lines just quoted?

He who has not an eye to observe every external appearance that nature
may exhibit in every change of season, and who cannot with a glance
distinguish every diversity of every hue in her variety of beauties,
must so far be deficient in one of the essential qualities of a poet.
Here Pope, from infirmities and from physical causes, was particularly
deficient. When he left his own laurel circus at Twickenham, he was
lifted into his chariot or his barge; and with weak eyes and tottering
strength, it is physically impossible he could be a descriptive bard.
Where description has been introduced among his poems, as far as his
observation could go, he excelled; more could not be expected. It is for
this reason that his Windsor Forest, and his Pastorals, must ever appear
so defective to a lover of nature. In his Windsor Forest he has
description, incident, and history. The descriptive part is too general,
and unappropriate; the incident, or story part, is such as only would
have been adopted by a young man who had just read Ovid; but the
historical part is very judiciously and skilfully blended, and the
conclusion highly animated and poetical: nor can we be insensible to its
more lofty tone of versification.--BOWLES.

Richardson transcribed the various readings of Windsor Forest into his
copy of the quarto of 1717, and added this note:--"Altered from the
first copy of the author's own hand, written out beautifully, as usual,
for the perusal and criticism of his friends." The manuscript in
Richardson's possession did not contain the entire work, but stopped at
ver. 390. On the title-page of the manuscript was a memorandum by Pope,
which says, "This poem was written just after the Pastorals, as appears
by the last verse o