1750
he composed the _Ode on the Popular Superstitions of the Highlands_,
which was dedicated to the author of _Douglas_, and not printed till
long after the death of Collins, and an _Ode on the Music of the Grecian
Theatre_, which no longer exists, and in which English literature
probably has sustained a severe loss. With this poem his literary career
closes, although he lingered in great misery for nearly nine years. From
Gilbert White, who jotted down some pages of invaluable recollections of
Collins in 1781, and from other friends, we learn that his madness was
occasionally violent, and that he was confined for a time in an asylum
at Oxford. But for the most part he resided at Chichester, suffering
from extreme debility of body when the mind was clear, and incapable of
any regular occupation. Music affected him in a singular manner, and it
is recorded that he was wont to slip out into the cathedral cloisters
during the services, and moan and howl in horrible accordance with the
choir. In this miserable condition he passed out of sight of all his
friends, and in 1756 it was supposed, even by Johnson, that he was dead;
in point of fact, however, his sufferings did not cease until the 12th
of June 1759. No journal or magazine recorded the death of the forgotten
poet, though Goldsmith, only two months before, had begun the laudation
which was soon to become universal.

No English poet so great as Collins has left behind him so small a bulk
of writings. Not more than 1500 lines of his have been handed down to
us, but among these not one is slovenly, and few are poor. His odes are
the most sculpturesque and faultless in the language. They lack fire,
but in charm and precision of diction, exquisite propriety of form, and
lofty poetic suggestion they stand unrivalled. The ode named _The
Passions_ is the most popular; that _To Evening_ is the classical
example of perfect unrhymed verse. In this, and the _Ode to Simplicity_,
one seems to be handling an antique vase of matchless delicacy and
elegance. In his descriptions of nature it is unquestionable that he
owed something to the influence of Thomson. Distinction may be said to
be the crowning grace of the style of Collins; its leading peculiarity
is the incessant personification of some quality of the character. In
the _Ode on Popular Superstitions_ he produced a still nobler work; this
poem, the most considerable in size which has been preserved, contains
passages which ar