Excerpt from Prose Works of Mrs. Ellis, Vol. 2 of 2 The qualifications of a true poet are, in the first place, natural capacity, and favour able opportunity for receiving impressions; and in the second, ability to arrange, com pare, and select from these impressions. Without the former, he must be deficient in materials for his work; without the latter, he must want the power to make a rational use of any materials whatever. It is the former alone that we can suppose to be wanting in the present day; for though the human mind unquestionably retains the same capabilities it possessed in the last century, it is possible that opportunities for imbibing strong impressions from external nature may not now 'be afforded with the same facility; and that in the present rapid march of intel lect, the muse of poesy may be so hurried out of breath, as not to find time to chant her charmed lays. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.