Speed along! speed along! while the midnight still lours;
The spirits of darkness will chase him in scorn,
Who dreads our wild howl, and the shriek of our horn,
Thus yelling and belling they sweep on the wind,
The dread of the pious and reverent mind:
But all who roam gladly in forests, by night,
This conflict of spirits will strangely delight."

J.M.

Oxford, March 13.

* * * * *

ON AUTHORS AND BOOKS, NO. VI.

In the union of scholarship, polished manners, and amiability of
character, we have had few men to surpass the reverend Joseph Spence.
His career was suitable to his deserts. He was fortunate in his
connections, fortunate in his appointments, and fortunate in his share
of fame.

His fame, however, is somewhat diminished. His _Essay on the Odyssey_,
which procured him the friendship of Pope, has ceased to be in
request; his _Polymetis_, once the ornament of every choice library,
has been superseded by the publications of Millin and Smith; his poems
are only to be met with in the collections of Dodsley and Nichols. If
we now dwell with pleasure on his name, it is chiefly as a recorder
of the sayings of others--it is on account of his assiduity in making
_notes!_ I allude to the volume entitled _Anecdotes, observations,