testimonies to which I have generally referr'd:... but I abstain here
from this: and the rather, as I believe Mr. DYER will probably soon
express, in a Publication of his own, his sentiments on this Work; and as
Dr. DRAKE, I know, has been so struck with it as to intend to appropriate
to an investigation of its peculiar merit the concluding part of an
enlarg'd Edition of his LITERARY HOURS.[Footnote: This has been since
excellently perform'd by him. See the APPENDIX.]

The mention already made of the FARMER'S BOY in the NEW LONDON REVIEW and
in the MONTHLY MIRROR I have seen with pleasure. I rejoice in that Fame
which is just to living Merit, and waits not for the Tomb to present the
tardy and then unvalued Wreath: I rejoice in the sense express'd not only
of his Genius, but of his pure, benevolent, amiable Virtue, his
affectionate Veneration to the DEITY, and his good Will to all....
Obscurity and Adversity have not broken; Fame and Prosperity, I am
persuaded, will not corrupt him.

I cannot deny myself the satisfaction of mentioning that, after an absence
of twelve years, the Author of the Farmer's Boy has revisited his native
Plains. That he has seen his Mother in health and spirits: seen her with a
joy to both which even his own most expressive and pathetic language would
imperfectly describe.... Seen other near, affectionate, and belov'd
Relatives: review'd, with the feelings of a truly poetic and benevolent
Mind, the haunts of his youth; the Woods and Vales, the Cot, the Field and
the Tree, which even recollected after so many years and at a distance,
had awaken'd in such a manner the energies of his Heart and Intellect, and
had inspir'd strains which will never cease to be repeated with pleasure
and admiration. That he has been receiv'd at BURY with an emulous desire
of his society; and certainly with the greatest reason. I rejoice that I
at length have been made personally acquainted with him: that I have seen