46 CUNNINGHAM. had denied him the indispensable qualifications to shine, and for which he had long lost a l l relish, h e cheerfully adopted the advice o f his friends, and repaired accord ingly t o the metropolis; but was disappointed i n the pro mised undertaking, b y the bankruptcy o f the principal person concerned i n i t . He soon also discovered that scandal and political altercation had entirely taken u p the attention o f the public, and that unless h e prostituted his abilities t o these objects, h e was unlikely t o meet with success; h e therefore quitted the town with precipitation, and once more returned to his friends i n the north. This was the only effort Cunningham ever made t o emerge from the abject situation i n which youthful imprudence had ori ginally placed him, and where natural apathy and contented indolence had contrived t o keep him. I n a letter t o a friend, h e describes himself i n these strange terms:— “You may remember my last expedition t o London; I think I may b e convinced b y i t I am not calculated for the business you mention. Though I scribble (but a little neither) t o amuse myself, the moment I considered i t a s my duty, i t would cease t o b e a n amusement, and I should o f consequence b e weary o f i t . I am not enter prising, and am tolerably happy i n my present situation.” This passage may b e truly said t o mark the man, a s i t exhibits the most prominent trait i n his character drawn b y himself. I n 1762, h e published “The Contemplatist,” but with less success than his elegy. This i s supposed t o b e the worst o f a l l his productions, and was censured with much ridicule i n the Monthly Review. I t contains little else but glittering and absurd ideas; and had i t been published a t the present day, might have been mistaken for a satire o n those wretched masses o f sickly sensibility with which the press i s teeming, and which the author o f the Baviad and Maeviad has chastised with both justice and humour. About 1765, h e published “Fortune, a n Apologue,” i n which there are many poetical beauties; and i n the course o f the following year, h e collected his poems
