In thus connecting together a series of Songs by a thread of poetical
narrative, my chief object has been to combine Recitation with Music, so
as to enable a greater number of persons to join in the performance, by
enlisting as readers those who may not feel willing or competent to take a
part as singers.
The Island of Zea where the scene is laid was called by the ancients
Ceos, and was the birthplace of Simonides, Bacchylides, and other eminent
persons. An account of its present state may be found in the Travels of
Dr. Clarke, who says, that "it appeared to him to be the best cultivated
of any of the Grecian Isles."--Vol. vi. p. 174.