PREFACE.

THE following poem is not more an effuſion of loyalty, than it is a public con⯑gratulation. The relative happineſs likely to reſult from the union it celebrates, is ſeriouſly and ſolemnly intereſting to every Britiſh ſubject; ſince the equivocal te⯑nure of regal power in other countries, muſt naturally render every additional link to the chain of public ſecurity here, an object of conſiderable magnitude; and, as hereditary right is the ſtrongeſt ſupport of the conſtitution, and the faireſt ornament of the crown, as experience has given us proof upon proof how dangerous to this nation is a doubtful right, every honeſt man muſt of courſe bleſs an event likely to enſure the Engliſh throne to the preſent family.

As to the poem itſelf, it may perhaps be neceſſary to ſay ſomething in expla⯑nation of it; for I am willing to acknowledge, that warmth and fancy ſeldom permit me to conform to mere rule; and that, in general, I have better ſucceeded when my hand has obeyed my conception, than when cold correctneſs has ſhrouded my ideas in a regular arrangement of words.

I call it an ode, as the moſt unexceptionable deſcription I can give it. It is not, however, an ode ſtrictly ſpeaking; for I do not clog myſelf with the dull re⯑gularity of making my STROPHE turn to the left, my ANTISTROPHE to the right, or my EPODE ſing before the altar. It is not lyric, except in the beſt ſenſe of the ac⯑ceptation, that of being written for muſic. Of the dithyrambic, it certainly poſſeſſes the rapture, but not the phrenzy. It is not Pindaric, for though it has flights in plenty, it aims at no ſublimity but that which is the offspring of ſimplicity.

In ſome reſpects it reſembles the epithalamium, but not in all; for that ſpecies of panegyric, generally taken, is purchaſed praiſe, performed in the preſence of the bride and bridegroom, circumſtances that will not be attributed to me or to my poem; for all the world ſhould not buy my commendation; and the work itſelf will ſuf⯑ficiently vouch for me that there is too much of the heart in it to ſavour of ſolicitation.

Its irregularities, however, are its advantages, for they furniſh a bolder ſcope to the imagination, and give additional force and effect to the moſt enchanting of all mediums that ever conveyed pleaſure to the heart. In a word, I have gone for ſtrength without heavineſs, praiſe without adulation, figure without diſtortion; I [ii] have endeavoured to be playful, not ludicrous; bold, not daring; eaſy, not quaint. But the moſt prominent feature in the picture is rapture; to which, perhaps, I may have given a latitude ſomewhat bordering on that extravagance which, on ordinary occaſions, literally taken, might be called hyperbole; but which, upon the preſent occaſion, applied figuratively, is appropriate and in place.

I think I ſhall be allowed ſome credit for the conſtruction of the poem. There is a novelty in commanding the attendance of the muſes and their miſſion to the celeſtials, and the groupe bending from Olympus to behold the landing of the princeſs, would not make an unworthy figure upon canvaſs. The ſalutation of Britannia is intereſting, and her leading the bride in nuptial pomp to the temple of Hymen, ſurrounded by an admiring populace, is ſtill more ſo. Nor can Engliſh⯑men hear unmoved that prophecy of Fame at the concluſion, which I, for one, wiſh with all my ſoul may be literally verified.

As to the muſic itſelf, it is compoſed, not conſtructed; written to the heart, not to the head; I have made melody my outline; and, through the wide range of that field of fancy, I have endeavoured to excite feeling, create intereſt, and convey pleaſure. As to the harmony, no more now, than upon other occaſions, have I any thing abſtruſe; for, though I have plenty of modulation, yet I have taken every poſſible care cautiouſly to avoid an obtruſion of diſcord into the temple of Hymen.

In ſhort, I have written as I felt. I am rejoiced at this event, becauſe I am an Engliſhman; becauſe the true ſecurity of Engliſh freedom, that my father taught me to venerate, that I liberally enjoy, and that will conſtitute the beſt happineſs of my children, will be promoted by it. Therefore, be my ode Lyric, Dithyrambic, or Pindaric; a mixture of all, or a likeneſs of none, it is honeſt and ſincere, and comes warm from the heart. Thus, though I only ſhall have manifeſted my admiration of thoſe who are more immediately concerned, and my gratitude to the public, who are collaterally intereſted, my labour will not have been in vain, for I ſhall have gratified an ardent zeal, and added one ſhout, though but a feeble one, to the wil⯑ling and merited acclamations of a loyal and happy people.