I must come before some one
from whose sentence there is no appeal; and such a one is he who has
developed the theory of poetry as well as its practice, and both in
such a way as to claim a place in the memory of a thousand years to
come.
"My aim, sir, is to push out into the open world, and for this I trust
not poetry alone--that might launch the vessel, but could not bear her
on; sensible and scientific prose, bold and vigorous efforts in my
walk in life, would give a farther title to the notice of the world;
and then again poetry ought to brighten and crown that name with
glory; but nothing of all this can be ever begun without means, and as
I don't possess these, I must in every shape strive to gain them.
Surely, in this day, when there is not a _writing_ poet worth a
sixpence, the field must be open, if a better man can step forward.
"What I send you is the Prefatory Scene of a much longer subject, in
which I have striven to develop strong passions and weak principles
struggling with a high imagination and acute feelings, till, as youth
hardens towards age, evil deeds and short enjoyments end in mental
misery and bodily ruin. Now, to send you the whole of this would be a
mock upon your patience; what you see, does not even pretend to be
more than the description of an imaginative child.
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