"Exegi monumentum ære perennius,"
crowns his labours at the 487th page with the following "Io triumphe"
lines:--
"Although my Muse flies yet far short of those,
Who perfect Hallelujahs can compose,
Here to affirm I am not now afraid,
What once in part a heathen prophet said,
With slighter warrant, when to end was brought
What he for meaner purposes had wrought;
_The work is finished_, which nor human power,
Nor flames, nor times, nor envy shall devour,
But with devotion to God's praise be sung
As long as Britain speaks her English tongue,
Or shall that Christian saving faith possess,
Which will preserve these Isles in happiness;
And, if conjecture fail not, some, that speak
In other languages, shall notice take
Of what my humble musings have composed,
And, by these helps, be often more disposed
To celebrate His praises in their songs,
To whom all honour and all praise belongs."
How has this fond anticipation been fulfilled? There are not known (says
my authority) to be more than _three_ or _four_ copies in existence of
this indestructible work; and the price in gold which a solitary
specimen can command, is no evidence of anything but its market value.
Had its poetic worth been proportionate, its currency might have been as
common as that of Milton's masterpiece, and its trade price as low as
Paternoster Row could afford a cheap edition of the _Pilgrim's
Progress_.