92 ESSEX. [Lysons (Daniel), The Environs of London. The Section relating to the County of Essex only. London, 1811.] 4to, with 3 plates, plan, and a facsimile, EXTRA- ILLTJSTRATED by the insertion of a series of 28 FINE ORIGINAL WATER-COLOUR DRAWINGS BY JOHN CAWTHORN, 25 engraved Views, and portraits of William I and Sir C. Gascoyne, half brown morocco, top edges gilt, 24. The Water-Colour Drawings are the following, Barking from Ilford, Hainault Forest, Parsloes near Barking, Gae- sham's Hall, Clayhall and Chapel, Stone Hall, Cranbrook, Valentines nr. Ilford, Mausoleum at Highlands, Bifrons nr. Barking, Chigwell Hall, Rolls, the seat of Admiral Harvey, Woolston Hall, Grange Hall, Kings Place Farm, Chigwell Church, Friday Hill, Queen Elizabeth's Lodge, Pimps Hall, Aldersbroke, Forest House, Wall Wood, Leytonstone (two Views), Low Hall, Walthamstow, Higham Hills, Wanstead Church, West Ham Church, Woodford from Clay berry Park. P O E MS, fr / ' B Y T H E REV. MR. C A W T H O R N. LATE MASTER OF TUNBRIDGE SCHOOL. LONDON: Printed by W. W O O D F A L L, at No. 6, in SILVER STREET, WHITE FRIARS And fold by S. BL AD ON, at No. 28, in PATER NOSTER Row. M DDC LXXJ. PREFACE. f ^ H E EDITOR hopes it will be thought a fufficient Apo- -*- logy for inferring the three firft Pieces in this Collection, that they are the Dawnings of Genius, and fhew a turn for Poetry and Sentiment, not unworthy of the Author, at fo early an Age. CONTENTS. Pa paraphrafed t 4 Poverty and Poetry ', # Satire - - -12 Anacreon - -15 Memory of Captain Hughes - 17 The Equality of Human Conditions, a Poetical Dialogue 22 The Birth and Education of Genius > a 7 ale - 36 Abelard to Eloifa - V:- - c ^ Letter to a Clergyman - - . ^ r 22* Regulations of the Pafpons the Source of Human Happinefs : A moral Effay - g r The Lottery^ infcribed to Mifs H - . 93 Lady Jane Grey to Lord Guilford Dudley : An Epijlk 97 Of CONTENTS. Of fafte : An Effay - . IIO Life unhappy, becaufe we ufe it Improperly : A moral Effay 119 PruJJia : A Poem r ~ 129 Nobility : A moral Effay .. ~ 14.1 *fhe lemple of Hymen : A Tale - * X 53 7 he Vanity of Human Enjoyments : An Ethic Epiftk 172 Wit and Learning: An Allegory - 188 A Father s extempore Confolation on the Death of two Daughters, who lived only two Days ~ 209 Ihe Antiquarians : A lale - g 211 A LIST I S T~ o F B S C R I B E R S. A. John Auftin, Efq; Broadford, Kent, Robert Auftin, Efq; Mr. John Aclon, Shire Lane, Mr. Stephen Hooper Aichin, of Southbo- rough. The Rev. Mr. Thomas Baker, Mr. Thomas Baker, Rev. Dr. Barvis, Mrs. Bagnall, Mr. Richard Bathurft, Mr. John Bayles, Mr. John Charles Beard, Mr. Birch, Mr. George Briftow, Rev. Mr. Brett, Mr. Brunfell, Mr. Thomas Bellamy, jun. No. 84. New- gate Street, TtSe Rev. John Brett, M. A. Fellow of Queen's College, Cambridge, Mr. Buckle, Rev. Mr. Brachen, Greenwich, The Rev. Mr. Boyce, Red or of Aftihurft, The Rev. Mr. S. S. Bale, Reftor of Wi- thyam, Mifs Ann Birkin, of Tunbridge, John Children, Efq; Tunbridge, 2 books, George Children, Efq; Middle Temple, 2 books, Mr. Charles Clavey, jun. Mr. Robert Collin?, Mr. Edward Cotton, Alexander Courthorp, Efq; Horfemanden, Rev. Henry Courthorp, Uckfield, Sufiex, Mr. Crowther, 2 Books, The Rev. Mr. Courthorp, of Brenchly, Mrs. Catherine Courthorp. Mr. George Dealtry, 4 books, Mrs. Dudgen, Tunbridge, Mr. Davenport, Eflex Street, London, The Rev. Mr. Chamberlain Davis, of Hartfield, Mrs. Mary Davis, of Tunbridge. E. Mr. Deputy Ellis, Charles Eve, Efq; Hoxton Square, Mr. William Eldridge, of Tunbridge, Mrs. Eldridge, of Tunbridge, Rev. F. K. Rev. Mr. Fayting, 4 books, Mr. Frifquit. G. William Grove, Efq; Coventry, 2 books, Sir Sampfon Gideon, 12 books, Rev. Mr. Goodwin, of the Banks, near Sheffield, 3 books, Mifs Gore, Mrs. Grofe, 2 books, Mr. Grofe, Middle Temple, 4 books, Mr ; John Grofe, 4 books, Mifs Garnault, Mifs Grofe, 2 books, Mr. George Greaves, Little Sheffield, Mr. Jofeph Greene, Mr. Gregg, 2 books, Mr. Thomas Gregg, Mr. Samuel Gordon, 4 books, Mr. William Golding, jun. H. Thomas Harvey, Efq; Tunbridge, 4 books, Mr. John Hart, 2 books, Mr. John Haflfel, Horfemanden, 2 books, Mr. Lacy Hawes, Dr. Hawley, Great Ruflel Street, 2 books, Mr. Hawkefly, of Sheffield, Mr. Arthur Heming, 3 books, Paul Hitch, Efq; Mr. John Hitchcock, Dr. C. R. Hopfon, Thomas Hooker, Efq; Tunbridge, 4 books, Mr. John Hooker, Cheapfide, Mr. Edward Hunt, Mr. Edward Hunt, junior, Mr. Hatley. Mr. Kidney, late mafter of the Skinner's Company, 4 books, Mr. Deputy Kent, 4 ditto, Mr. William Kenton, Rev. Mr. Arnold King, Mr. George Knapp, Mr. John Kendall. L. Mrs. Leake, Mr. Lewis, The Rev. Mr. Latter, of Southborough, The Rev. Mr. Lillington, of Leigh, near Tunbridge, Dr. Lane, of Tunbridge Wells. M. John Mereft, Efq; of Weftminfter Abbey, Mr. Maleverier, Mr. Nathaniel Martin, Mr. Charles Moore, Trinity College, Cambridge, Mr. Samuel Moore, Secretary to the So- ciety of Arts, &c. Mr. William Moore, Mr. George Mann, Gravefend, Mifs Sally Munn, Greenwich, Mr. Thomas Miller, Tunbridge, James Marriot, Efq; Brick wall, SufTex, Richard Moland, bfq; Middle Temple, Mr. Vanderlure Mills, Fellow of St. John's College, Oxford. N. Rev: Mr. Samuel Nicholls, B, D. Mr. Thomas Nixon, 2 copies, M-; O Mr. Olding, at the King's Head at Tun- bridge. P. Denham Skeet, Efq,' Mrs. Ann Smith, of WacThurft, Mr. Robert Simmons, of Hadlow, Mifs Summerton, ofTunbridge, Mr. William Stidolph, of Penmurft, Mr. Smith, Attorney at Law, Lewes. T. Mr. Kenyon Parks, Attorney, Sheffield, Mr. William Perfeit, Mailing, Kent, Mr. Power, 4 books, Rev. Mr. Towers, Matter of Tunbndge Mr. Edward Prentis, of Maidftone, School, Mr. Pogh, 4 ditto, Mr. Taylor, 2 books Mr. Thomas Portis, Mr. Thomas Thornhill, Chriftian de Paflau, Efq; Danifh Conful, 2 Mifs Trout, Love Lane, Eaftcheap, books Mr. Turner, 2 books, Thomas Pcarfon, Efq-, Mr - Thompfon. The Hon. Mrs. Perry, of Pendiurft Place, Mr. John Pope, of Goodhurft. W. R. Mr. Henry Revell, junior, Mr. Francis Rivington, John Roberts, Efq-, Mr. John Royds, 6 books, Mr. John Roberts, King's Arms Yard, Mr. Rohdee, Mr. Daniel Rufiell, 2 Books, Mr. Ifaac Reed, of Sraple's Inn. S. Rev. Mr. Stoddart, Tunbndge, , Mr. Shepherd, Rev. Mr. Smith, of Sheffield, Mifs Spooner, of the Banks, near Sheffield, Mr. Stepple, 2 books, Mr. Robert Smith, 2 ditto, Mr. S. Smith, 2 books, Mrs. Smit'n, 2 ditto, Mrs. Sclater, Tunbridge, Mr. Richard Smith, Mr. William Scoones, Tunbridge, George Waller, Efq-, Boxted Hall, Suffolk, Mr. Ifaac Walker, 2 books, Mr. John Walter, Leadenhall ftreet, Mr. James Wheat, Attorney, Sheffield, 2 books, Mr. Deputy Wilkinfon, 4 books, Mr. Wilfon, Sheffield, Mr. Thomas Woolley, Mr. William Woodgate, Summer Hill, 2 books, Mrs. Mary Woodfall, Mr. Henry Sampfon Woodfall, Mr. William Woodfall, Mr. Henry Woodgate, Shire Lane, Mr. Wintcrton, Mr. Charles Wakefield, of Penlhurft, Mifs Williams, of Penlhurft. Y. Mr. Simeon A. Younge, Sheffield. The *#>* SMLJH! The 1 39th PSALM PARAPHRASED. ^E T A T. 14. DREAD Jehovah ! thy all piercing eyes Explore the motions of this mortal framt, T ^^ s tenement f ^ u ^ : thy ftretching fight Surveys the harmonious principles, that move In beauteous rank and order, to inform ^ This cafk, and animated mafs of clay. Nor are the profpedts of thy wond'rous fight To this terreftial part of man confin'd ; But flioot into his foul, and there difcern The firft materials of unfafliion'd thought, 10 Yet dim and undigefted, till the mind, Big with the tender images, expands, And, fwelling, labours with th' ideal birth, B WHEREE'ER ( 6 ) WHEREE'ER I move thy cares purfuemy feet Attendant. When I drink the dews of fleep, 15 Stretch'd on my downy bed, and there enjoy A fweet forgetfulnefs of all my toils ; Unfeen thy fovereign prefence guards my fleep, Drives all the terrors of my dreams away, Sooths all my foul, and foftens my repofe. 20 BEFORE conception can employ the tongue, And mould the ductile images to found ; Before imagination ftands difplay'd, Thine eye the future eloquence can read, Yet unarray'd with fpeech. Thou, mighty Lord ! 25 Haft moulded man from his congenial duft, And fpoke him into being ; while the clay, Beneath thy forming hand, leap'd forth, infpir'd, And ftarted into life : through ev'ry part, At thy command, the wheels of motion play'd. 30 BUT fuch exalted knowledge leaves below, And drops weak man from its fuperior fphere : 3 In ( 7 ) In vain, with reafon's ballaft, would he try To ftem th' unfathomable deep. His bark O'erfets, and founders in the vaft abyfs. 35 Then whither (hall the rapid fancy run, Though in its full career, to fpeed my flight From thy unbounded prefence ? which, alone, Fills all the regions of extended fpace, Beyond the bounds of Nature. Whither, Lord ! 40 Shall my unrein'd imagination rove To leave behind thy fpirit, and outfly Its influence, which, with brooding wings outfpread, Hatch'd unfledg'd nature from the dark profound ? IF, mounted on my tow'ring thoughts, I climb 45 Into the heav'n of heav'ns ; I there behold The blaze of thy unclouded majefty. In the pure empyrean thee I vie\v High-thron'd above all height thy radiant fhrine Throng' d with the proftrate feraphs, who receive 50 Beatitude paft utterance. If I plunge B 2 Down ( 8. ) Down to the gloomy manfions of the damn'd ; I find thee there, and read thee in the fcenes Of complicated wrath I fee thee clad In all the majefty of darknefs there. 5^ If, on the ruddy morning's purple wings Upborn, with indefatigable courfe^ I feek the glowing borders of the eaft, Where the bright fun, emerging from the deeps > With his fir ft glories gilds the fparklings feas ) 60 And trembles o'er the waves : e'en there thy hand Shall thro' the wat'ry defart guide my courfe,. And o'er the. broken furges- pave my way ^ While on the dreadful whirls I hang fecure> And mock the warring ocean. If, with hopes,, 65 As fond as falfe, the darknefs I expedt To hide and wrap me in its mantling fliade Vain were the thought; for thy unbounded ken Darts thro' the thickning gloom, and pries thro' all The palpable obfcure. Before thine eyes 70 The vaaquifh'd night throws off her dulky fhroud, ; And ( 9 ) And kindles into day. The {hade and light, To man ftill various, but to thee the fame. ON thee is all the ftru&ure of my frame Dependent. Lock'd within the filent womb ne Sleeping I lay, and rip'ning to my birth : Yet, Lord ! thy outftretch'd arm preferv'd me there, Before I mov'd to entity, and trod The verge of being. To thy hallowed name I'll pay due honours : for thy mighty hand 80 Built this corporeal fabrick, when it laid The groundwork of exiflence. Hence I read The wonders of thy art. This frame I view With terror and delight: and, wrapp'd in both, I ftartle at myfelf. My bones, unformed 85 As yet, nor hardning from the vifcous parts, But blended with th* unanimated mafs. Thine eye diftinctly view'd : and, while I lay Within the earth imperfect, nor perceiv'd The firft faint dawn of life, with eafe furvey r d 90 The ( 10 ) The vital glimmerings of the a&ive feed Tuft kindling to exiftence ; and beheld My fubftance fcarce material. In thy book Was the fair model of this ftrudure drawn : Where ev'ry part, in juft connection join'd, o^ Composed and perfected th' harmonious piece, E'er the dim fpeech of being learn'd to ftretch Its ductile form, or entity had known To range and wanton in an ample fpace. How dear, how rooted in my inmoft foul -jco Are all thy counfels, and the various ways Of thy eternal providence ! the fum So boundlefs and immenfe, it leaves behind The low account of numbers, and outflies All that imagination e'er conceiv'd : 105 Lefs num'rous are the fands that croud the fliore ! The barriers of the ocean. When I rife From my foft bed, and fofter joys of fleep, I rife to thee. Yet, lo ! the impious flight The Thy mighty wonders. Shall the fons of vice tio Elude the vengeance of thy wrathful hand, And mock thy lingring thunder, which withholds Its forked terrors from their guilty heads ! Thou great tremendous God I A vaunt, and fly * All ye that thirft for blood for, fwoln with pride, 115 Each haughty wretch blafphemes thy facred name, And bellows his reproaches to affront Thy glorious majefly. Explore my foul, See if a flaw or ftain of fin infects My inmoft thoughts. Then lead me in the way That guides my feet to thine own heav'n and thee. 121 POVERTY POVERTY and POETRY. ' A SATIRE. ' ; JE T A T. 15. J^'baria 3^ | "A WAS fung of old how one Amphion * Could, by his verfes, tame a lion, And, by his ftrange unchanting tunes, Make bears and wolves dance rigadoons : His fongs could call the timber down, 5 And form it into houfe or town. But it is plain now in thefe times, No houfe is rais'd by poets' rhimes. They for themfelves can only rear A few wild caftles in the air. 10 POOR are the brethren of the bays Down from high flrains to ekes and ayes. 3 Th* ( 13 ) The mufes too are virgins yet, And may be, till they portions get. Yet ftill the doating rhimer dreams, j^ And fings of Helicon's bright ftreams. But Helicon, for all his clatter, Yields nothing but infipid water. Yet, ev'n a-thirft, he fweetly fings Of nectar, and elyfian fprings. 20 The grave phyfician, who, by phyfick, Like death, difpatches him that is fick j Purfues a fure and thriving trade : Tho' patients die the dodlor's paid. Licens'd to kill, he gains a palace 2 r For what another mounts a gallows. IN fhady groves the mufes play, And love in flow'ry meads to ftray : Pleas'd with a bleaky barren ground, Where rip'ning fruits are never found. ^ o c B UT . f 4 ) Bur then fome fay you purchafe fame, And gain a never-dying name. Great recompence for real trouble! To be rewarded with a bubble. THUS foldiers who, in many battles, 35 Get bangs, and blows, and god knows what elfe, Are paid with fame, and wooden leg, And gain a pafs with leave to. beg. The The 9 th ODE of ANACREON. A T A T. 15. ^ I ^ HIS rapid flight, through realms above, -*- Whence, whence, tak'ft thou ? O lovely dove I Whence fo much fragrance from thy bill Doft breathe, and from thy wings diftil, Perfuming all the air around ? $ And prithee whither art thou bound ? To Venus once I did belong, Who fold me for a pretty fong : And now my office is, in brief, Anacreon's meflenger in chief. 10 Here from my neck, expofed to view, Depends, thou feed, his billet*doux. He faid, when I fet out, that he, At my return, would fet me free. C 2 But fliould he then difmifs me ftraight, 15 Yet I will ftill upon him wait : For what would it avail, that I O'er mountains and o'er fields {hould fly : And, on thick trees fublimely plac'd, Take daily fome poor wild repaft ? 20 Since now, by fond Anacreon fed, From his own hand I pick my bread : And of that wine delicious fip Which juft before had wet his lip. My thirft then quench'd, my wings I fpread, 25 And hover round my matter's head : And, when with fleep my eyelids clofe, Upon his lyre I perch'd repofe. I've told thee all. Begone I vow Thou mak'ft me prattle like a chough. 30 An An ELEGY To the Memory of Captain HUGHES, a particular Friend of the AUTHOR'S. "T T A I N were the tafk to give the foul to glow. The nerve to kindle, and the verfe to flow ; When the fond mourner, hid from ev'ry eye, Bleeds in the anguifli of too keen a figh : And, loft to glory, loft to all his fire, jj Forgets the port before he grafps the lyre. NATURE ! 'tis thine with manly warmth to mourn Expiring virtue, and the clofing urn ; To teach, dear Seraph ! o'er the good and wife The dirge to murmur, and the buft to rife, 10 Come then, O guiltlefs of the tear of art I Sprung from the fky, and thron'd within the heart ! O come, in all the pomp of grief array 'd, And weep the warrior, whilft I grace the (hade. 'TIS ( 18 ) 7 Tis o'er the bright delufive fcene is o'er, 15 And war's proud vifions mock the foul no more j The laurel fades, th' imperial car retires, All youth enobles, and all worth admires. ALAS ! my Hughes! and mud this mourning verfe Refign thy triumph to attend thy hearfe ! 20 Was it for this that friendship's genial flame Woke all my wiflies from the trance of fame ? Was it for this I left the hallow'd page, Where ev'ry fcience beams of ev'ry age ; On thought's ftrong pinion rang'd the martial fcene 25 From Rome's firft Csefar to the great Eugene : Explor'd th' embattled van, the deep'ning line, Th' enambufh'd Phalanx, and the fpringing mine ; Then, pale with horror, bent the fuppliant knee, And heav'd the figh, and dropp'd the tear for thee ! 30 WHAT boots it now, that when, with hideous roar, The gath'ring tempeft howl'd from e/ry fhore, 2 Some ( 19) Some pitying angel, vigilant to fave, Spread all his plumes, and {hatch' d thee from the wave ? Preferv'd thee facred from the fell difeafe 35 When the blue plague had fir'd th' autumnal breeze I Ah ! when my hero panted to engage Where all the battle burft in all its rage ; Where dreadful flew the miffive deaths around, And the mad faulchion blufli'd from wound to wound : 40 Was he deny'd the privilege to bleed, Sav'd on the main to fall upon the Tweed ? YE graces ! tell with what addrefs he ftole The lift'ning ear, and opened all the foul. V/hat, tho' rough winter bade his whirlwinds rife, 45 Hid his pale funs, and frown'd along his fkies ; Pour'd the big deluge on the face of day : My Hughes was here to fmile the glooms away, With all the luxuries of found to move The pulfe of glory, or ;the figh of love ; 50 And ( 20 ) And, fpite of winter, laflitude, or pain, Taught life and joy to throb in ev'ry vein. Fancy ! dear artift of the mental pow'r ! Fly, fetch my genius to the focial hour, Give me again his glowing fenfe to ./arm, 55 His fong to warble, and his wit to charm. Alas! alas! how impotently true Th' aerial pencil forms the fcene anew ! E'EN now, when all the vifion beams around, And my ear kindles with th' ideal found 60 Juft as the fmiles, the graces live impreft, And all his image takes up all my breaft Some gloomy phantom brings the awful bier, And the fliort rapture melts into a tear. THUS in the lake's clear chryftal we defcry 65 The bright diffufion of a radiant fky Reflected nature fheds a milder green ; While half her forefts float into the fcene. 2 Ah! Ah! as we gaze the lucklefs zephyr flies, The furface trembles, and the picture dies. O bleft with all that youth can give to pleafe, The form majeftic, and the mien of eafe, Alike empower'd by nature, and by art, To ftorm the rampart, and to win the heart; Correct of manners, delicate of mind, 75 With fpirit humble, and with truth refin'd ; For public life's meridian funfhine made Yet known to ev'ry virtue of the fliade; In war while all the trumps of fame infpire, Each paflion raving, and each wifh on firej 80 At home, without or vanity, or rage ; As fofc as pity, and as cool as age. THESE were thy virtues thefe will ftill be juft, Light all their beams, and blaze upon thy duPc ; While pride, in vain folemnity bequeaths 85 To povv'r her ftatues, and to guilt her wreaths : D Or, Or, warm'd by fadion, impudently flings The price of nations en the urns of kings. The Equality of HUMAN CONDITIONS, A POETICAL DIALOGUE; Spoken at the Annual Vifitation of TUNBRIDGE SCHOOL, 1746, By Mefirs; M and A M HILE airy Belville, guiltlefs of a fchool, w Shines out a French edition of a fool, Studies his learned taylor once a week, But curfes ev'ry fyllable of Greek: I fit, and think o'er all that Sparta fir'd, * That Athens boafted, and that Rome admir'd. Enraptur'd fancy, buried with the theme, Forms ev'ry bright idea to a dream, Paints all the charming pageantry anew; And brings at once each claffic to my view. 10 Now, ( *3 J Now, fondly wild, I thunder in the war, Shake the keen fpear, and mount th' imperial car, With daring Regulus to Carthage run, Or nobly bleed with Brutus in a font Seize, Cafca-like, on Caefar's gorgeous veft, 15 And boldly plant a dagger in his breaft. Now, foftly- breathing all the mufe's fire, I drop the faulchion, and I grafp the lyre ; With Pindar's pinion fkim the bleft abode, Or ftrive to charm Auguftus with an ode. 20 COME then, my Lelius ! come, my joy and pride! Whofe fnendfLip fooths me, while thy precepts guide ; Thou, whofe quick eye has glanc'd thro' ev'ry age, View'd ev'ry fcene, and ftudied ev'ry page ; Teach me, like thee, with ev'ry virtue bleft, 25 To catch each eye, and fteal to ev'ry bread:, To rife to all that in each patriot fhone, And make each hero's happinefs my own. D 2 SAY, f *4 ) SAY, fliall I, with a triumph in my view, Fame's air-drefs'd goddefs thro' each fcene purfue ; 30 Ambitious court her m the pomp of war,, And number ev'ry trophy by a fear? Shall I, with Solon, form the moral plan. And aim to mould a favage to a man ? Or, pleas'd to rival, ev'ry Grecian fage, 3:5 Glean Plato's fenfe and copy Homer's rage? You afk me. Sir! what few would care to give, ; Some grave inftrucKons how you ought to live. You wifh that envied blifsful fcene to find That charms the tafte, and dignifies the mind 40. That nobly mingles ev'ry art to pleafe, And joins the majefty of life to eafe,. HEAR then, my friend !' the dodrine I difclofe,. As true as if difplay'd in pompous profe j A* ( 25 ) As if Locke's facred hand the page had wrote, 45 And ev'ry doctor ftamp'd it with a vote. ALL lots are equal, and all ftates the fame, Alike in merit, tho' unlike in name. In reafon's eye no difPrence lies between Life's noon-day luftres or her milder fcene. 50 'Tis not the plate that dignifies the board, Nor all the titles blazing round a lord. 'Tis not the fplendid plume, th 5 embroider'd vefly The gorgeous fword-knot, or the martial creft, That lends to- life the fmile, the jeft, the glee : 55 Or makes his honour happier than me. WHEN Florio's acres ftretch'd o'er half the land, A gilded chariot roll'd him thro' the ftrand: Reduced at laft with humbler fcenes to mix, He fmoak'd a fpeculative pipe at Dick's. The fame great genius, in or out of pow'r Eafe fmooth'd his brow, and foften'd ev'ry hour:, Taught ( 26 ) Taught him to live as happy in a fhed As when a dutchefs grac'd his nuptial bed. CONTENT'S the port all mortals wifh to hail: 65 She points the compafs, and fhe guides the fail. To her alone our leaky veflels roll Thro' all the feas that rage from pole to pole. What boots it then, when gath'ring ftorms behind Rife black in air, and howl in ev'ry wind, 70 That thy rich fhip a pomp of pride difplay'd Her marts all cedar, and her fails brocade ! Say, canft thou think the tempeft will difcern A filken cable, or a painted ftern ! Hufh the wild tumult that tornados bring, 75 And kindly fpare the yatcht that holds a king ? No, no, my friend ! if (kilful pilots guide, And heav'n aufpicious calms the whirling tide, No winds diftrefs you, and no ftorm deftroys, Whether you fail in gondolas or hoys. 80 M r 27 ) M WHAT, has juft heaven no flight diftinction made. Betwixt a life of funfhine and of {hade ? Muft I, in filence, this wild fyftem own, And think a cottage equal to a throne ? Sure if I did, my friends would foon beftow 85 A few flout cords, and fend me to Monro. YOUR taylor, flcill'd in fafhion's ev'ry grace, 'r4- Decks you in all the pageantry of lace : Lives in a cell, and eats, from week to week, An homely meal of cabbage and ox- cheek. go You walk majeftic in a nobler fcene, Guiltlefs of ev'ry anguifh, but the fpleen : With all the luxury of ftatefmen dine On daily feafts of ortolans and wine. Then tell me, fir ! if this defcription's true, 95 Is not your taylor lefs at eafe than you ? I HARDWJCKEj ( 28 ) HARDWICKE, great patriot! envy'd, lov'd, cared, Mark'd by each eye, and hugg'd to ev'ry bread, Whofe bright example learns us to admire All Cooper's graces, and all Talbot's fire ico Firm to his truft whatever bribes aflail ; Truth guides his fword, and juftice holds his fcale. Say, is not he more happy than the throng . Of beardlefs Templars melting o'er a fong ? Than him, who, buried in a country- town, 105 Engrofies half a folio for a crown ? HEROIC glory in the martial fcene Spfead ev'ry plume to dignify Eugene On Marlbro's helmet fat, in all her pride And proudly frown'd at all the world befide. no And fure, you'd think it a mod fad difgrace, If enfigns liv'd as eafy as his grace. DEAR fir! redrain the prejudice of youth, And calmly liden to the voice of truth, i When ( *9 J When firft th' Almighty fire his work began 115 And fpoke the mingling atoms into man : To all the race with gracious hand was giv'n, One common foreft, and one equal heav'n ; They fhar'd alike this univerfal ball, The fons of freedom, and the lords of all. 120 The poets too this facred truth difplay'd, From cloud-topt Pindus to the Latian (hade. They fung that e'er Pandora, fond of ftrife, Let loofe each embrio-mifery of life, All nature brighten' d in one golden age, 125 Each fire a monarch, and each fon a fage: Eternal bleffings flow'd to all the race, Alike in riches, as alike in place. SUPPOSE then, fir ! that new diftin&ions fince Have plac'd a flave fome leagues below a prince : 1 30 Yet eafe and joy, difpaffion'd reafon owns, As often vifit cottages as thrones. E SEE! ( 30 ) SEE! in yon valley, while the mellowing grain Embrowns the flope, and nods along the plain, A croud of ruftics, doomed to daily toil, 135 Difarm the foreft, or enrich the foil : Not in that elegance of drefs array'd That charm'd Arcadia's hills, and Tempe's fhade ; Where Thyriis, Qielter'd in fome happier grove, The lonely fcene of folitude, and love, 140 His bread all rapture, and his foul on fire, Now wove the garland, and now fwept the lyre. No, 'tis plain Colin, Hobbinol, and Ned, UnfkuTd in numbers as in books unread, Who fcorn the winter's deadly blaft to fhun, 145 But face the ftorm, and drudge thro' ev'ry fun: Then feek the cottage, where the homely bowl Smooths ev'ry brow, and opens ev'ry foul ; Speeds the fame focial warmth from breaft to breaft, And bids them laugh at- Verres, and his creft. 150 WHEN WHEN honed Colin fees the fhining all That gilds the Change, and dignifies Whitehall ; Loft in the fcenes of turbulence and ftrife,. The farce of grandeur, and the pomp of life, He fteals impatient to his native {hade, 155 And longs to grafp his waggon and his fpade : Heedlefs of ev'ry charm, of ev'ry grace, That forms the goddefs in Fitzwalter's face, That lends to Finch her majefty of mien He would not change his Sufan for a queen. 160 BELIEVE me, fir ! diftindtion, pomp, and noife, Corrupt our tempers, as they cloud our joys : And furely, when the focial fpirit's broke A ftar's a gewgaw, and a lord's a joke ; Without thofe robes, thofe gorgeous bagatelles, 165 That deck our nobles, and that charm our belles ; Without a crane-neck'd chariot's fmooth career, Without the wealth of Indus in your ear ; E 2 Without ( 32 ) Without a group of pictures dearly bought. Where Titian's colours vie with Guido's thought; 170 Without the fruits of Spain, the wines of France, Without an opera, and without a dance,. You may live happy, as grave doctors tell, At Rome, at Tunbridge, in a grot, or celL FROM fky to fky th' imperial bird of Jove 175 Spreads his broad wing, and thund'ring grafps his love ; The mighty bull, by genial Zephyr fway'd, Enraptur'd courts his heifer to the fliade ; The feather'd warblers pair on ev'ry fpray, The grove re-echoing with the fprightly lay; 180 While the gay tribe of infects blifsful {hare The joys of love, and people all the air. All, all that in the depths of ocean lie, Graze on the plain, or fkim along the fky, Fondly purfue the end by nature giv'n, 185 Life all their aim, and quiet all their heav'n. 3 ( 33 ) IF then no fongfters grudge the bear his thigh, The hound his noftrii, or the lynx his eye ; Nor feel a pang tho' Afric's fhaggy brood, Majeftic ftalk the monarchs of the wood: 190 Why {hould you think your folitude a tomb, If Pultney has a title and a plumb ? M BUT foft reftrain this turbulence of war r This mimic image of the wordy bar: Left you fhould feem to copy Henly's lore,. Who gravely kills objections by the fcore. BEHOLD that wretch, by ev'ry woe diftrefs'd,. Want in his eye, and horror in his breaft , A thoufand namelefs agonies of pain Rack ev'ry nerve, and burn thro' ev'ry vein 20o He lives to fuffer, and but fpeaks to moan, And numbers every minute by a groan, Is ( 34 ) Is he then happy ? bleft with every joy That glows on Cecil's cheek, or Dorfet's eye ? Shall we proclaim him bleft, without rebuke, 205 And rank a martyr'd beggar with a duke? A BELIEVE me, fir! each mortal has his fear, Each foul an anguifh, and each eye a tear ; Aches, pains, and fevers every breaft afiail, And haunt alike the city and the vale. 210 WHAT tho' in pomp your painted veflels roll, Fraught with the gems that glare from pole to pole, Tho' health aufpicioas gilds your every grace, Nerves the ftrong limb, and bluflies o'er the face ; Tho' grac'd with all that dignity of wit 215 That charm'd in Villars, and now charms in Pitt : Poflefs'd of all the eloquence that hung On Tully's lip, and drops from Murray's tongue ; Tho' all the titles, coronets, and ftars, That ftatefmen aim at, and that Malton bears, 220 3 Enrich ( 35 ) Enrich your Ycutcheon, dignify your creft, Beam on your coach, and blaze upon your bread : Can they forbid the fecret ill to glow, The pang to torture, or the tear to flow ? CONFESS we then that all the ills of life, 225 Difeafes, grief, vexations, follies, ftrife, Without diftindtion every foul perplex, Haunt ev'ry fcene, and prey on all the fex. Yet let us own that every pleafure too That glads the active, and that wings the flow, 230 Alike indulgent to the rich and poor, Glides thro' the land, and knocks at ev'ry door. HEAR then, without the fpecious pride of art, A truth that ftrikes the moral to the heart ; A truth that liv'd in Cato's patriot-breaft, 235 . And bade a dying Socrates be bleft. All, all, but virtue, is a fchool-boy's theme, The air- drefs'd phantom of a virgin's dream : A gilded ( 36 ) A gilded toy, that homebred fools defire, That coxcombs boaft of, and that mobs admire. 140 HER radiant graces every blifs unfold, And turn whate'er fne touches into gold. The BIRTH and EDUCATION of GENIUS. A TALE. T7 E S, Harriet! fay whate'er you can, * 'Tis education makes the man: Whate'er of Genius we inherit, Exalted fenfe, and lively fpirit, Muft all be difciplin'd by rules, 5 And take their colour from the fchools. *TWAS nature gave that cheek to glow, That breaft to rife in hills of fnovv, Thofe ( 37 ) Thofe fweetly-temper'd eyes to fliine Above the fapphires of the mine. '*v But all your more majeftic charms, Where grace prefides, where fpirit warms, That fhape which falls by juft degrees, And flows into the pomp of eafe ; That ftep, whofe motion ieems to fwim, *j That melting harmony of limb, Were form'd by Glover's fkilful glance, At Chelfea, when you learnt to dance. 'Tis fo with man. His talents reft Misfliapen embrios in his breaft ; 2& Till education's eye explores The fleeping intellectual pow'rs, Awakes the dawn of wit and fenfe, And lights them into excellence. On this depends the patriot-flame, 25 The fine ingenuous feel of fame, F The ( 38 ) The manly fpirit, brave, and bold, Sip\:rior to the taint of gold, The dread of infamy, the zeal Of honour, and the public weal, 30 And all thofe virtues which prefage The glories of a rifing age. BUT, leaving all thefe graver things To ftatefmen, moralifts, and kings, Whofe bufinefs 'tis fuch points to fettle 35 Ring and bid Robin bring the kettle. Mean while the mufe, whofe Iportive ftrain Flows like her voluntary vein, And impudently dares afpire To (hare the wreath with Swift and Prior, 40 Shall tell an allegoric tale, Where truth lies hid beneath the veil, ONE April-morn as Phoebus play'd His carols in the delphic (hade, A nymph, ( 39 ) A nymph, call'd Fancy, blithe, and free, 4.5 The fav'rite child of liberty, Heard, as flie rov'd about the plain, The bold enthufiaftic ftrain ; She heard, and, led by warm defire, To know the artift of the lyre, ro Crept foftly to a fweet alcove, Hid in the umbrage of the grove. And, peeping thro' the myrtle, faw A handfome, young, celeftial beau, On nature's fopha ftretch'd along, :;j> i ^e Awaking harmony, and fong, f'.v STRUCK with his fine majeftic mien, As certain to be lov'd as feen, Long e'er the melting air was o'er- She cry'd, in extacy, encore : * 60 And, what a prude will think but odd, Popp'd out, and curtfied to the God. F 2 Phoebus, ( 49 ) Phoebus, gallant, polite, and keen as Each earth-born votary of Venus, Rofe up, and with a graceful air, 65 Addrefs'd the vifionary fair ; Excus'd his morning-difliabille, Qomplain'd of late he had been ill. In fhort, he gaz'd, he bow'd, he figh'd, He fung, he flatter'd, prefs'd, and ly'd, 70* With fuch a witchery of art, That Fancy gave him all her hearty Her catechifm quite forgot, And waited on him to his grot, IN length of time fhe bore a fony 73 As brilliant as his fire the fun. Pure JEther was the vital ray That lighted up his finer clay ; The nymphs, the rofy-finger'd hours, The dryads of the woods and bow'rs, 80 The The graces with their loofen'd zones, The mufes with their harps and crowns, Young zephyrs of the fofteft wing, The loves that wait upon the fpring, Wit with his gay affociate mirth, 85 Attended at the infant's birth, And faid, let Genius be his name, And his the faireft wreath of fame. THE goffips gone, the chriftning o'er, And Genius now 'twixt three and four, 90 Phoebus, according to the rule, Refolv'd to fend his fon to fchool : And, knowing well the tricks of youth, Refign'd him to the matron Truth, Whofe hut, unknown to pride and pelf, was 95 Near his own oracle at Delphos. The rev'rend dame, who found the child A little mifchievous, and wild, 1 Taugnt ( 42 ) Taught him at firft to fpell and read, To fay his prayers, and get his creed 100 Wou'd often tell him of the fky, And what a crime it is to lye. She chid him when he did amifs, When well, flie blefs'd him with a kifs. Her fifter Temp'rance, fage, and quiet, 105 Prelidcd at his meals and diet : She watch'd him with religious care, And fed him with the fimpleft fare; Wou'd never let the urchin eat W- Of pickled pork, or butcher's meat. no But what of aliment earth yields In gardens, orchards, woods, and fields ; Whate'er of vegetable wealth Was cultured by the hand of health, She cropp'd and drefs'd it, as {he knew well, 115 In many a mefs of foup and gruel : And now and then, to cheer .his heart, ^ - Indulged him with a Sunday's tart. Alufty ( 43 ) A lufty peafant chanc'd to dwell Hard by the folitary cell : His name was Labour. E'er the dawn Had broke upon the uplandJawn He hied him to his daily toil, To turn the globe, or mend the foil. With him young Genius oft wou'd go O'er dreary waftes of ice and fnow, With rapture climb the cloud-topt hill, Or wade acrofs the (hallow rill : Or thro' th' entangled wood purfue The footfteps of a ftraggling ewe. 130 By thefe fatigues he got at length Robuftnefs, and athletic ftrength, Spirits as light as flies the gale ;;. - Along the lilly-filver'd vale. The cherub health, of dimple fleek, 135 Sat radiant on his rofy cheek, And gave each nerve's elaftic fpring The vigour of an eaglet's wing* 3 TIME ( 44 ) TIME now had roll'd, with fmooth career, Our hero thro' his feventh year. 140 Tho' in a ruftic cottage bred, The bufy imp had thought and read : He knew th' adventures, one by one, Of Robin Hood and Little John ; Cou'd fing with fpirit, warmth, and grace, 145 The woeful hunt of Chevy Chace; And how St. George, his fiery nag on, DePcroy'd the vaft Egyptian dragon. Chief he admir'd that learned piece Wrote by the fabulift of Greece, 150 Where wifdom fpeaks in crows and cocks, And cunning fneaks into a fox. In fhort, as now his op'ning parts, Ripe for the culture of the arts, Became in ev'ry hour acuter, 155 Apollo look'd out for a tutor: But had a world of pains to find This artift of the human mind. For, ( 45 ) For, in good truth, full many an afs was Among the do&ors of Parnaffus, Who fcarce had fkill enough to teach Old Lilly's elements of fpeech : And knew as much of men and morals As dodtor Rock of ores and corals. At length, with much of thought and care, 165 He found a matter for his heir - y A learned man, adroit to fpeak Pure Latin, and your attic Greek : Well known in all the courts of fame; And Criticifm was his name. 170 BENEATH a tutor keen and fine as Or Ariftotle, or Longinus, Beneath a lynx's eye that faw The flighted literary flaw, Young Genius trod the path of knowledge, 175 And grew the wonder of the college. G Old ( 46 > Old authors were his bofom friends He had them at his fingers-ends Became an acc'rate imitator Of truth, propriety, and n z tUTQ ^$ ^ #^& *^J l8o Difplay'd in every juft remark The ftrong fagacity of Clark ; And pointed out the falfe and true With all the funbeams of Boffu. BUT tho' this critiofage refin'd His pupil's intellectual mind, And gave him all that keen difcerning, Which marks the character of learning : Yet, as he read with much of glee, The trifles of antiquity, 150 And Bently-like would write epiftles, About the origin of whittles ; The fcholar took his matter's trim, And grew identically him: Employ 'd ( 47 ) Employ'd a world of pains to teach us 195 What nation firft invented breeches ; Aflerted that the Roman focks Were broider'd with a pair of clocks ; That Capua ferv'd up with her victuals An oglio of Venafran pickles ; 20cj That Sifygambis drefs'd in blue, And wore her trefles in a queue. epoiji&n oj lea rm/ In fhort, he knew what Paulus Tovius, J .ir< 3$ii*| cin ils miw ( gftr'oH Salmaflus, Graevius, and Gronovius, c^* *U Oif]uO?fil t*'i^/l /i Have faid in fifty folio volumes, 205 jpw CMiri olpi s Printed by Elzevir in columns. APOLLO faw, with pride, and joy, 3i.;:ta j The vaft improvement of his boy ; ^ ^Bfii ttif .ii33nu But yet had more than flight fufpicion, . - ' - ' rfc T m/ That all this load of erudition, ;-. . 210 3 mid *a$f bn' Might overlay his parts at once, b J r unc G 2 He And turn him out a lettered dunceu, is nt f 48 ) He favv the lad had HUM his fenfe With things of little confequence; That tho' he read, with application, 2:15 The wits of every age and nation, And could, with nice precision, reach The boldeft metaphors of fpeech : Yet warp'd too much, in truth's defiance,, From real to fictitious fcience, 220 He was, with all his pride and parts, A mere mechanic in the arts^ That meafures with a rule and fine What nature meant for great and fine. PHOEBUS, who few it right and wife was, 225 To counteract this fatal byas, Took home his fon with mighty hafle, And fent him to the fchool of tafte. This fchool was built by wealth and peace, Some ages fin.ce> in elder Greece, 230 Juft ( 49 ) Juft when the Stagyrite had writ - . His ledures on the pow'rs of wit. Here, flufli'd in all the bloom of youth, Sat beauty in the flirine of truth. Here, all the finer arts were feen, 235 Aflembled round their virgin queen. Here, fculpture on a bolder plan, Enobled marble into man. Here, mufic, with a foul on fire, Impaflion'd, breath *d along the lyre : 243 And here, the painter-mufe difplay'd Diviner forms of light and fliade. BUT, fuch the fate, as Hefiod fings, Of all our fublunary things, When now the Turk, with fword and halters, 245 Had drove religion from her altars, And delug'd with a fea of blood The academic dome and wood ; a Affrighted ( 50 ) Affrighted Tafte, with wings unfurl'd, Took refuge in the weftern world ; 250 And fettled on the Tufcan main, With all the mufes in his train. .1 i~ I IN this calm fcene, where Tafte withdrew, And Science trimm'd her lamp anew ; , . ,?ttfirn ,03m dlttem I Youns; Genius rang; d in every part 2 c c 5 . 7 P tod The vifionary worlds of art, And from their finifh'd forms refin'd His own congenial warmth of mind, And learnt with happy (kill to trace The magic powers of eafe and grace : 260 i | in His ftyle grew delicately fine, His numbers flow'd along his line, Jlis periods manly, full, and ftrong, Had all the harmony of fong. Whene'er his images betray 'd 26 c :>an . 3 Too, ftrong a light, too weak a fliade ; Or Or in the graceful and the grand Confefs'd inelegance of hand, His noble mafter, who cou'd fpy The flighteft fault with half an eye, 270 Set right by one ethereal touch, What feem'd too little or too much ; Till every attitude and air Arofe fupremely full and fair. GENIUS was now among his betters 275 Diftinguifli'd as a man of letters. There wanted ftill, to make him pleaie, The fplendor of addrefs and eafe, The foul enchanting mien and air, Such as we fee in Grofvenor Square, 280 When Lady Charlotte fpeaks and moves, Attended by a fwarm of loves. fi^ r ~ cj .' . . A . GENIUS had got, to fay the truth, A manner aukward and uncouth ; 3 Sure { 5* -) Sure fate of all who love to dwell 285 In wifdom's folitary cell : So much a clown in gait, and laugh, He wanted but a fcrip and ftaff ; And fuch a beard as hung in candles Down to Diogenes's fandals, 290 And planted all his chin thick, To be like him a dirty cynic/ APOLLO, who, to do him right, Was always perfectly polite, ChagrinM to fee his fon and heir 295 Diflionour'd by his gape and flare, Refolv'd to fend him to Verfailles, To learn a minuet of Marfeilles : But Venus, who had deeper reading In all the ^myfteries of breeding, 300 Obferv'd to Phoebus that the name Of fop and Frenchman was the fame. French ( 53 ) French manners were, fhe faid, a thing which Thofe grave mifguided fools, the Englifh, Had, in defpite of common fenfe, Miftook for manly excellence ; By which their nation ftrangely funk is, And half their nobles turn'd to monkies. She thought it better, as the cafe was, To fend young Genius to the graces: Thofe fweet divinities, fhe faid, Wou'd form him in the myrtle fhade ; And teach him more, in half an hour, , fn Than Lewis or his Pompadour. PHOEBUS agreed the graces took 2 15 Their noble pupil from his book, Allow'd him at their fide to rove Along their own domeftic grove, Amidft the found of melting lyres, Soft- wreathing fmiles, and young defires : 3 20 H And, ( 54 ) And when confin'd by winds or fhow'rs, Within their Amaranthine bow'rs, They taught him with addrefs and {kill To fhine at ombre and quadrille ; Or let him read an ode or play To wing the gloomy hour away. GENIUS was charm'd divinely plac'd 'Midft beauty, wit, politenefs, tafte ; And, having every hour before him, The fineft models of decorum, His manners took a fairer ply, Expreffion kindled in his eye ; His gefture, difengag'd, and clean, Set off a fine majeftic mien ; And gave his happy pow'r to pleafe The nobleft elegance of eafe. THUS, by the difcipline of art, Genius (hone out in head and heart. ( 55 ) Form'd from his firft fair bloom of youth, By Temp'rance and her (ifter Truth, 34.0 He knew the fcientific page Of every clime, and every age ; Had learnt with critic -(kill to rein The wildnefs of his native vein : That critic -(kill, tho' cool and chafte, 345 Refin'd beneath the eye of tafte j His uniorbidding mien and air, His aukward gait, his haughty (tare, And every (lain that wit debafes, Were melted off among the graces: 350 And Genius rofe, in form and mind, The firft, the greateft of mankind. H2 ABELARD ABELARD to ELOISA. Argument. Abflard and 1iL\Q\fafoiir;Jacd in the twelfth century : th?y were two of the moft dijiin" guifoed ptrfons of their age in learning and beauty, but for nothing more famous than for their unfortunate pajpon. dfter a long courfe of calamities, they retired each to a fever al con-vent, and confecrated the remainder of their days to religion. It was many years af- ter this feparation that a letter of AbelardV to a friend, which contained the hijlcry of his misfortunes, fell into the hands of Eloifa : this occafioned thofe celebrated letters (out of which the following is partly extracted] which give fo lively a piRure of the Jlruggles of Grace and Nature, Virtue andPaJ/ion. Mr. POPE. A H ! why this boding ftart ? this fudden pain, That wings my pulfe, and {hoots from vein to vein ! What mean, regardlefs of yon midnight bell, Thefe earthborn vifions faddening o'er my cell ! What ftrange diforder prompts thefe thoughts to glow, 5 Thefe fighs to murmur, and thefe tears to flow ? 'Tis (he, 'tis Eloifa's form reftor'd, Once a pure faint, and more than faints ador'd : She conies in all her killing charms confefs'd, Glares thro' the gloom, and pours upon my breaft, 10 Bids ( 57 ) Bids heav'n's bright guard from Paraclete remove, And drags me back to mifery and love. ENJOY thy triumphs, dear illufion ! fee This fad apoftate from his God to thee ; See, at thy call, my guilty warmths return, 15 Flame thro' my blood, and fteal me from my urn. Yet, yet, frail Abelard ! one effort try, Ere the laft lingering fpark of virtue die ; The deadly charming forcerefs controul, And, fpite of nature, tear her from thy foul. 20 LONG has that foul, in thefe unfocial woods, Where anguifh mufes, and where forrow broods, From love's wild vifionary wifhes ftray'd, And fought to lofe thy beauties in the {hade. Faith dropp'd a fmile, devotion lent her fire, 25 Woke the keen pang, and fanctified defire ; Led me enraptur'd to the bled abode, And taught my heart to glow with all its God. But, ( 58 ) But, O ! how weak fair faith and virtue prove When Eloifa melts away in love! 30 When her fond foul, impaflion'd, rapt, unveil 'd, No joy forgotten, and no wifli conceal'd, Flows thro' her pen as infant-foftnefs free, And fiercely fprings in ecftacies to me ! Ye heav'ns! as walking in yon facred fane 35 With every feraph warm in every vein, Juft as remorfe had rous'd an aching figh, And my torn foul hung trembling in my eye, In that kind hour thy fatal letter came, I faw, I gaz'd, I fliiver'd at the name ; 40 The confcious lamps at once forgot to fliine, Prophetic tremors {hook the hallow' d fhrine ; Priefts, cenfers, altars, from thy genius fled, And heav'n itfelf (hut on me while I read. DEAR fmiling mifchief ! art thou ftill the fame, 45 The ftill pale vidtim of too foft a flame ? 2 Warm ( 59 ) Warm as when firft, with more than mortal fhine, Each melting eye -ball mix'd thy foul with mine ? Have not thy tears, for ever taught to flow, The glooms of ab fence, and the pangs of woe, 50 The pomp of facrifice, the whifper'd tale, The dreadful vow yet hov'ring o'er thy veil, Drove this bewitching fondnefs from thy breaft, Curb'd the loofe wifh, and form'd each pulle to reft ? And canft thou ftill, flill bend the fuppliant knee 55 To love's dread ftrine, and weep and figh for me ? Then take me, take me, lock me in thy arms, Spring to my lips, and give me all thy charms. No fly me, fly me, fpread th' impatient fail, Steal the lark's wing, and mount the fwifteft gale ; 60 Skim the laft ocean, freeze beneath the pole, Renounce me, curfe me, root me from thy foul ; Fly, fly, for juftice bares the arm of God, And the grafp'd vengeance only waits his nod. ARE ( 60 ) ARE thefe thy wifhes ? can they thus afpire ? 65 Does phrenzy form them, or does grace infpire ? Can Abelard, in hurricanes of zeal, Betray his heart, and teach thee not to feel ? Teach thy enamour'd fpirit to difown Each human warmth, and chill thee into ftone ? 70 Ah I rather let my tendereft accents move The laft wild accents of unholy love ; On that dear bofom trembling let me lie, Pour out my foul, and in fierce raptures die, Roufe all my paffions, ad: my joys anew ; 75 Farewell, ye cells ! ye martyr'd faints ! adieu : Sleep, confcience ! fleep, each awful thought be drown'd, And feven-fold darknefs veil the fcene around. WHAT means this paufe, this agonizing ftart, This glimpfe of heav'n quick rufhing thro' my heart ? go Methinks I fee a radiant crofs difplay'd A wounded Saviour bleeds along the fhade : Around Around th' expiring God bright angels fly, Swell the loud hymn, and open all the fky, O fave me, fave me, ere the thunders roll, 85 And hell's black caverns fwallow up my foul. RETURN, ye hours! when, guiltlefs of a ftain, My ftrong-plum'd genius throbb'd in every vein, When, warm'd with all th' Egyptian fanes infpir'd, All Athens boafted, and all Rome admir'd ; go My merit in its full meridian flione, Each rival blufhing, and each heart my own. Return, ye fcenes ! Ah, no, from fancy fly, On time's ftretch'd wing, till each idea die, Eternal fly ; fince all that learning gave, 95 Too weak to conquer, and too fond to fave, To love's foft empire every wifli betray'd, And left my laurels with'ring in the fhade. Let me forget that, while deceitful fame Grafp'd her fhrill trump, and fil-Fd it with my name, 100 I Thy r 62 t Thy flronger charms, impower'd by heav'n to move Each faint, each bleft infenfible to love. At once my foul from bright ambition won, I hugg'd the dart, I wiflb'd to be undone ; No more pale fcience durft my thoughts engage, 105: Infipid dullnefs hung on every page ;. The midnight-lamp no more enjoy 'd its blaze, No more my fpirit flew from maze to maze : Thy glances bade philofophy refign Her throne to thee, and every fenfe was thine* i ra BUT what could all the frofts of wifdom do v Oppos'd to beauty, when it melts in you ? Since thefe dark, cheerlefs, folitary caves,, Death- breathing woods, and daily-opening graves, Miflbapen rocks, wild images of woe, ri For ever howling to the deeps below - r Ungenial deferts, where no vernal fhow'r Wakes the green herb> or paints th' unfolding flow'r ; ( *3 ) Th' embrowning glooms thefe holy manfions flied, The night-born horrors brooding o'er my bed, 120 The difmal fcenes black melancholy pours O'er the fad vifions of enanguifli'd hours ; Lean abftinence, wan grief, low thoughted care, Diftradling guilt, and, hell's worft fiend, defpair, Confpire in vain, with all the aids of art, 125 To blot thy dear idea from my heart, DELUSIVE, fightlefs God of warm defire 1 Why would'ft thou wifh to fet a wretch on fire? Why lives thy foft divinity where woe Heaves the pale figh, and anguifli loves to glow ! 130 Fly to the mead, the daify-painted vale, Breathe in its fweets, and melt along the gale ; Fly where gay fcenes luxurious youths employ, Where ev'ry moment fteals the wing of joy : There may 'ft thou fee, low proftrate at thy throne, 1.35 Devoted flaves, and vidlims all thy own ; I 2 Each Each village- fwain the turf-built fhrine hall raife,. And kings command whole hecatombs to blaze. O memory ! ingenious to revive Each fleeting hour, and teach the paft to live, i^or Witnefs what conflicts this frail bofom tore ! What griefs I fuffer'd ! and what pangs I bore L How long I ftruggled , labour'd, drove to fave An heart that panted to be ftill a flave 1 When youth, warmth^ rapture, fpirit,, lore and flame, 14.5 Seiz'd every fenfe, and burnt thro' all my frame ; From youth, warmth, rapture, to thefe wilds I fled, My food the herbage, and the rock my bed. There, while thefe venerable cloifters rife O'er the bleak furge, and gain upon the ikies,, 1.50 My wounded foul indulg'd the tear to flow O'er all her fad viciffitudes of woe ^ Profufe of life, and yet afraid to die, Guilt in my heart, and horror in my eye, with* With ceafelefs pray T rs, the whole artill'ry giv'n 155 To win the mercies of offended heav'n, Each hill, made vocal, echoed all around, While my torn breaft knock'd bleeding on the ground- Yet, yet, alas ! though all my moments fly, Stain' d by a tear, and darken'd in a figh, 160 Tho' meagre fails have on my cheeks difplay'd The dufk of death, and funk me to a {hade, Spite of myfelf the ftill-empoifoning dart Shoots thro' my blood, and drinks up all my heart r My vows and wi&es wildly difagree, 165; And grace itfelf miftakes my God for thee^ ATHWART the glooms that wrap the mid nigh t-flcy: My Eloifa fteals upon my eye; For ever rifes in the folar ray A phantom brighter than the blaze of day. 270 Where e'er I go, the vifionary gueft Pants on my lip, or finks upon my breaft.; ' Unfolds* ( 66 ) Unfolds her fweets, and, throbbing to deftroy, Winds round my heart in luxury of joy ; While loud Hofannas {hake the fhrines around 175 I hear her fofter accents in the found ; Her idol-beauties on each altar glare, And heav'n much-injured has but half my pray'r : No tears can drive her hence, no pangs controul, For ev'ry object brings her to my fouL 180 LAST night, reclining on yon airy fteep, My bufy eyes hung brooding o'er the deep ; The breathlefs whirlwinds flept in ev'ry cave, And the foft moon- beam danc'd from wave to wave ; Each former blifs in this bright mirror feen, 1 85 With all my glories, dawn'd upon the fcene, Recall'd the dear aufpicious hour anew When my fond foul to Eloifa flew: When, with keen fpeechlefs agonies oppreft, Thy frantic lover fnatch'd thee to his breaft, 190 Gaz'd ( 67 ) Gaz'd on thy blumes, arm'd with ev'ry grace,. And faw the goddefs beaming in thy face; Saw thy wild, trembling, ardent wiflies move Each pulfe to rapture, and each glance to love. But, lo! the winds defcend, the billows roaiv 195 Foam ta the clouds, and burft upon the fhore,, Vaft peals of thunder o'er the ocean roll, The flame-wing' d lightning gleams from pole to pole.. At once the pleafing images withdrew, And more than horrors crouded on my view ^ 200 Thy uncle's form, in all his ire array'd, Serenely dreadful, fialk'd along the fhade ; Pierc'd by his fword I funk upon the ground^ The fpectre ghaftly fmil'd upon the wound ; A group of black infernals round me hung y . 205 And tofs'd my infamy from tongue to tongue* DETESTED wretch ! how impotent thy age ! How weak thy malice ! and how kind thy rage ! Spite ( 68 ) Spite of thyfelf, inhuman as thou art, Thy murdering hand has left me all my heart ; no Left me each tender, fond affe&ion warm, A nerve to tremble, and an eye to charm. No, cruel, cruel, exquifite in ill ! Thou thought'ft it dull barbarity to kill ; My death had robb'd loft vengeance of her toil, 2 1 5 And fcarcely warpi'd a Scythian to a fmile : Sublimer furies taught thy foul to glow With all their favage myfteries of woe ; Taught thy unfeeling poniard to deftroy The powers of nature, and the fource of joy ; 220 To ftretch me on the racks of vain deflre, Each paffion throbbing, and each wifli oh fire ; Mad to enjoy, unable to be bleft, Fiends in my veins, and hell within my bread. AID me, fair faith! affift me, grace divine! 225 Ye martyrs! blefs me, and, ye faints I refine, Ye ( 69 ) Ye facred groves ! ye heav'n-devoted walls ! Where folly fickens, and where virtue calls ; Ye vows ! ye altars ! from this bofom tear * Voluptuous love, and leave no anguifh there: 2^0 Oblivion ! be thy blackeft plume difplay'd O'er all my griefs, and hide me in the {hade ; And thou, too fondly idohVd ! attend While awful reafon whifpers in the friend ; Friend, did I fay ? immortals ! what a name ! 235 Can dull, cold friend fhip own fo wild a flame ? No ; let thy lover, whofe enkindling eye Shot all his foul between thee and the fky, Whofe warmths bewitch'd thee, whofe imhallow'd fong CalFd thy rapt ear to die upon his tongue, 240 Now ftrcngly rouze, while heav'n his zeal infpires, Diviner tranfports, and more holy fires ; Calm all thy paffions, all thy peace reftore, And teach that fnowy breaft to heave no more. K TORN ( 70 ) TORN from the world, within dark cells immur'd, 245 By angels guarded, and by vows fecur'd, To all that once awoke thy fondnefs dead, And hope, pale forrow's laft fad refuge, fled ; Why wilt thou weep, and figh, and melt in vain, Brood o'er falfe joys, and hug th' ideal chain? 250 Say, canft thou wifli that madly wild to fly From yen bright portal opening in the flcy, Thy Abelard fhould bid his God adieu, Pant at thy feet, and tafte thy charms anew ? Ye heav'ns ! if, to this tender bofom woo'd, 255 Thy mere idea harrows up my blood ; If one faint glimpfe of Eloife can move The fierceft, wildeft agonies of love ; What fliall I be, when, dazzling as the light, Thy whole effulgence flows upon my fight? 260 Look on thyfelf, confider who thou art, And learn to be an abbefs in thy heart ; See, while devotion's ever melting ftrain Pours the loud organ thro' the trembling fane, ft Yon ( 7' ) Yon pious maids each earthly wifli difown, 265 Kifs the dread crofs, and croud upon the throne : O let thy foul the facred charge attend, Their warmths infpirit, and their virtues mend : Teach every breaft from every hymn to fteal The cherub's meeknefs, and the feraph's zeal ; 270 To rife to rapture, to diflblve away In dreams of heav'n, and lead thyfelf the way ; Till all the glories of the bleft abode. Blaze on the fcene, and every thought is God. While thus thy exemplary cares prevail, 275 And make each veftal fpotlefs as her veil, Th' eternal fpirit o'er thy cell fhall move In the foft image of the myftic dove ; The longeft gleams of heavenly comfort bring, Peace in his fmile, and healing on his wing ; 280 At once remove affliction from thy breaft, Melt o'er thy foul, and hufh her pangs to reft. K 2 O THAT ( 7* ) O THAT my foul, from love's curft bondage free, Could catch the tranfports that I urge to thee I that fome angel's more than magic art 285 Would kindly tear the hermit from his heart ! Extinguifli every guilty fenfe, and leave No pulfe to riot, and no figh to heave. Vain, fruitlefs wifh ! fiill, ftill, the vig'rous flame Burfts, like an earthquake, thro' my fhatter'd frame ; 290 Spite of the joys that truth and virtue prove 1 feel but thee, and breathe not but to love ; Repent in vain, fcarce wifh to be forgiven, Thy form my idol, and thy charms my heav'n. Yet, yet, my fair 1 thy nobler efforts try, 295 Lift me from earth and give me to the fky ; Let my loft foul thy brighter virtues feel, Warm'd with thy hopes, and wing'd with all thy zeaL And when, low-bending at the hallow'd fhrine, Thy contrite heart fliall Abelard refign; 300 When ( 73 ) When pitying heav'n, impatient to forgive, Unbars the gates of light and bids thee live ; Seize on th' aufpicious moment ere it flee, And afk the fame immortal boon for me. THEN when thefe black terrific feenes are o'er, 305 And rebel nature chills the foul no more ; When on thy cheek th' expiring rofes fade, And thy laft luftres darken in the fliade ; When arm'd with quick varieties of pain, Or creeping dully flow from vein to vein, 310 Pale death (hall fet my kindred-fpirit free, And thefe dead orbs forget to doat on thee; Some pious friend, whofe wild affections glow Like ours in fad fimilitude of woe, Shall drop one tender, fympathizing tear, 315 Prepare the garland, and adorn the bier ; Our lifelefs reliques in one tomb enflirine, And teach thy genial duft to mix with mine. 2 MEANWHILE, ( 74 ) MEANWHILE, divinely purg'd from every ftain, Our adive fouls fhall climb th* ethereal plain, 320 To each bright cherub's purity afpire, Catch all his zeal, and pant with all his fire ; There, where no face the glooms of anguifli wears, No uncle murders, and no paffion tears, Enjoy with heav'n eternity of reft, 225 For ever bleffing, and for ever bleft. . A LETTER ' ( 75 ) A LETTER to a CLERGYMAN, Occafioned by a Report of his Patron's being made one of the Lords Commiflioners of the GREAT SEAL, 1756* T F fame, dear Mun ! the truth reveals, Your friend, the baron, has the feals, With two compeers, his reverend brothers, > Willes and Sir Eardly are the others. JUSTICE, who long had feen imprefb j- Her faireft image on his breaft, Plac'd him her fubftitute, to awe The nation on her bench of law ! And now, to make her work complete, Has thron'd him on her mercy-feat. jijj - JQ I'LL hold you, Mun! an honeft guinea > &i That peft, ambition's bufy in you j You ( 76 ;) You mind no more your little crops, Nor ever afk the price of hops ; Nor grieve about fuch idle things 15 As half the trumps, and all the kings : But, bleft each night with objects brighter, Behold a vifionary mitre ; And fee the verger near you ftand Majeftic with his lilver wand. 20 WELL if, as matters now foretel it, It is your fate to be a prelate ; Tho', loth to lofe the comic flrain, The fong, and evVy mirthful vein, Which oft have made me full of glee, 25 And kept my fpirits up till three : Yet, fond to fee, when pray'rs begin, E d, thy heteroclite chin, With all that venerable bufli on, Repofing on a velvet cufluon ; ( 77 ) I would the man of humour quit, And think the bifhop worth the wit. BUT, hark you 3 L r ! as you mean To be a bifhop, or a dean, And muft, of courfe, look grave, and big, 35 I'd have you get a better wig : You know full well when, cheek by jole, We waited on his grace at Knowl ; Tho' that trim artift, barber Jackfon, Spent a whole hour about your caxon, 40 With irons hot, and fingers plaftic, To make it look ecclefiaftic: With all his pains, and combs, and care, He fcarce cou'd curl a /Ingle hair, i tnJ T 'i ! O o?sn *ul^ '^i "*' ' f >f '^T *v-*7 IT wou'd be right too, let me tell you, 45 To buy a gown of new prunella ; And bid your maid, the art who knows, Repair your caffock at the elbows. L LORD! ( 78 ) LORD ! what a fudden alteration, Will wait on your exalted ftation ! 50 Cawthorn, too proud a prince to flatter, Who calls thee nought but Mun and L r ; Will now put on a fofter mien, And learn to lifp - out Mr. Dean ; Or, if you're made a mitred peer, 55 Humbly intreat your grace's ear. IWi w POOR Adams too, will funk, and ftare, And trembling fteal behind your chair V* Or elfe, with holy zeal addreffing, Drop on his knees, and afk your bleffing. 60 AND now, my worthy friend ! ere yet We read it in the next Gazette, That Tuefday laft a royal writ Was fent by Secretary Pitt, To all and (angular the flails 6r Prebendal in the church of Paul's, Commanding ( 79 ) Commanding them to choofe and name A bifliop of unfpotted fame ; And warmly recommending thee As prelate of the vacant fee : y O It will not be amifs to know Before-hand what you have to do. ;*^*fioHii tW oiul FIRST, as you'll want a grave divine To wait upon you when you dine, To guard your kitchen from diforders 75 And fchool the youths who come for orders ; Take not an academic faplin, But, for your life, make S n chaplain. He's tall, and folemn, foft and fleek, Well read in Latin, and in Greek ; 80 A proper man to tell the clerum About Eufebius, and St. Jerom : And wou'd as foon a fiend embrace as Give up a jot of Athanafius, L 2 THEN, THEN, as to what a bifliop fleeces, 85 In procurations, fines, and leafes, And hoarding up a world of pelf, You'll want no fteward but yourfelf : For, faith ! your lordfhip has great fkill in The virtues of a fplendid fliilling ; 90 And know, as well as Child and Hoare,* That two and two will make up four. * Two Bankers. THE THE REGULATION of the PASSIONS, THE SOURCE OF HUMAN HAPPINESS. ;H * A MORAL ESSAY. Dunque ne I* Ufo per cut fur concejje L* impieghi il fogglo Duce, e h governi : Et a fuo Senno or tepide, or ardenti, Le faccia : et or k ajfretti, et or k allenti. T A S S O. E S, yes, dear ftoic ! hide it as you can, The fphere of pleafure is the fphere of man : This warms our wifhes, animates our toil, And forms alike a Newton, or an Hoyle ; Gives all the foul to all the foul regards, 5 Whether fhe deal in planets, or in cards. IN every human breaft there lives enfhrin'd Some atom pregnant with th' ethereal mind, Some Seme plaftic pow'r, fome intelleftual ray, Some genial fun-beam from the fource of day ; 10 Something that, warm and reftlefs to afpire, Works the young heart, and fets the foul on fire, And bids us all our inborn pow'rs employ To catch the phantom of ideal joy. Were it not fo, the foul, all dead and loft, 15 Like the tall cliff beneath th' impaffive froft, Form'd for no end, and impotent to pleafe, Wou'd lie inactive on the couch of eafe; And, heedlefs of proud fame's immortal lay, Sleep all her dull divinity away 20 AND yet, let but a zephyr's breath begin To ftir the latent excellence within Wak'd in that moment's elemental ftrife, Impaflion'd genius feels the breath of life ; Th' expanding heart delights to leap and glow, 25 The pulfe to kindle, and the tear to flow : Strong Strong and more ftrong the light celeftial (Lines, Each thought ennobles, and each fenfe refines, Till all the foul, full op'ning to the flame, Exalts to virtue what fhe felt for fame. 30 Hence, juft as nature points the kindred fire, One plies the pencil, one awakes the lyre j This, with an Halley's luxury of foul, Call's the wild needle back upon the pole, Maps half the winds, and gives the fail to fly 35 In ev'ry ocean of the artic ffey ; While he whofe vaft capacious mind explores All nature's fcene~, and nature's God adores, Skilled in each drug the varying world provides, All earth embofoms, and all ocean hides ; 40 Expels, like Heberden, the young difeafe,. And foftens anguifli to the fmile of eafe, THE paflions then all human virtue give, Fill up the foul, and lend her ftrength to live. To To them we owe fair truth's unfpotted page, 45 The gen'rous patriot, and the moral fage ; The hand that forms the geometric line, The eye that pierces thro' th' unbowell'd mine, The tongue that thunders eloquence along, And the fine ear that melts it into fong. 50 AND yet thefe paffions which, on nature's plan, Call out the hero while they form the man, Warp'd from the facred line that nature gave, | As meanly ruin as they nobly fave. Th' ethereal foul that heav'n itfelf infpires 55 With all its virtues, and with all its fires, Led by thefe fyrens to fome wild extreme, Sets in a vapour when it ought to beam ; Like a Dutch fun that in th' autumnal fky Looks thro' a fog, and rifes but to die. 60 But he whofe adive, unencumbered mind Leaves this low earth, and all its mifts behind, 3 Fond Fond in a pure unclouded fky to glow, Like the bright orb that rifes on the Po, O'er half the globe with fteady fplendor fliines, 6c And ripens virtues as it ripens mines. ""fVvt '-.. ; /, j-. ,' ty WHOEVER thinks, muft fee that man was made To face the ftorm, not languifli in the fhade : Adtion's his fphere, and, for that fphere defign'd, Eternal pleafures open on his mind. 70 For this, fair hope leads on th' impaflion'd foul Thro' life's wild labyrinths to her diftant goal : Paints in each dream, to fan the genial flame, The pomp of riches, and the pride of fame ; Or fondly gives reflection's cooler eye 75 A glance, an image of a future fky. YET tho' kind heav'n points out th' unerring road, That leads thro' nature up to blifs and God ; Spite of that God, and all his voice divine, Speaks in the heart, or teaches from the fhrine, 80 M Man, r 86 ) Man, feebly vain, and impotently wife, Difdains the manna fent him from the ikies ; Taftelefs of all that virtue gives to pleafe, For thought too adive, and too mad for eafe, From wiih to wifh in life's mad vortex toft, 85 For ever ftruggling, and for ever loft ; He fcorns religion tho' her feraphs call, And lives in rapture, or not lives at all. .uru'tf airi no mtflp bti^hii-'i LsrraiS AND now, let loofe to all our hopes and fears, As pride infpirits, or ambition tears, 90 From ev'ry tie, from ev'ry duty freed, Without a balance, and without a creed, Dead ev'ry fenfe, each particle divine, And all the man embruted in the fwine ; Thefe drench in luxury's ambrofial bowl, 95 Reafon's laft fpark, and drain off all the foul, Thofe for vain wealth fly on from pole to pole, Where winds can waft them, and where feas can roll. While ( 87 ) While others, wearied with the farce of pow'r, Or mad with riot in the midnight hour, 100 With Spain's proud monarch to a cell retire, Or Nero like, fet half the globe on fire. STRETCH'D on high tow'ring Dover's fandy bed, Without a coffin, and without a head ; A dirty fail-cloth o'er his body thrown, 105 By marks of mifery almoft unknown, Without a friend to pity, or to fave, Without a dirge to confecrate the grave, Great Suffolk lies he who for years had fhone, England's fixth Henry 1 neareft to thy throne. no What boots it now, that lift'ning fenates hung All ear, all rapture on his angel-tongue? Ah ! what avails th' enormous blaze between His dawn of glory, and his clofing fcene ! When haughty France his heav'n-born pow'rs ador'd, 115 And Anjou's princefs (heath'd Britannia's fword I M 2 Aflc Afk ye what bold confpiracy oppreft A chief fo honour'd, and a chief fo bleft ? Why, luft of power that wreck'd his rifing fame On court's vain fhallows, and the gulph of fhame : 1 20 A Glo'fter's murder, and a nation's wrongs, Call'd loud for vengeance with ten thoufand tongues; And haften'd death, on Albion's chalky ftrand, To end the exile by a pirate's hand. PLEASURE, my friend ! on this fide folly lies ; 1 25 It may be vig'rous, but it muft be wife : And when our organs once that end attain, Each ftep beyond it is a ftep to pain. For afk the man whofe appetites purfue Each loofe Roxana of the ftew, 130 Who cannot eat till luxury refine His tafte, and teach him how to dine ; Who cannot drink till Spain's rich vintage flow, Mix'd with the coolnefs of December's fnow : Afk Afk him, if all thofe e&afies that move 13 r The pulfe of rapture, and the rage of love, When wine, wit, woman, all their pow'rs employ, And ev'ry fenfe is loft in ev'ry joy, E'er fill'd his heart, and beam'd upon his breaft Content's full funfhine, with the calm of reft ? 14.0 No virtue only gives fair peace to fhine, And health, O facred temperance ! is thine. Hence the poor peafant, whofe laborious fpade, Rids the rough crag of half its heath and fhade, Feels in the quiet of his genial nights 14.5 A blifs more genuine than the club at White's : And has in full exchange for fame and wealth Herculean vigour, and eternal health. OF blooming genius, judgement, wit, poflefs'd, By poets envied, and by peers carefs'd ; 150 By royal mercy fav'd from legal doom, With royal favour crown'd for years to come, O had'ft ( 90 ) O hadft thou, Savage! known thy lot to prize, And facred held fair friendship's gen'rous ties ; Hadft thou, fincere to wifdom, virtue, truth, 155 Curb'd the wild Tallies of impetuous youth ; Had but thy life been equal to thy lays, In vain had envy drove to blaft thy bays, In vain thy mother's unrelenting pride Had ftrove to pufli thee helplefs from her fide; 160 Fair competence had lent her genial dow'r, And fmiling peace adorn'd thy evening-hour : True pleafure would have led thee to her ftirine, And every friend to merit had been thine. Blefs'd with the choiceft boon that heav'n can give, 165 V. Thou then hadft learnt with dignity to live, The fcorn of wealth, the threats of want to brave, Nor fought from prifon a refuge in the grave. . .j AH{ f-*&3$ -h'JMnj ^303 TH' immortal Rembrant all his pictures made Soft as their union into light and fhade: 170 Whene'er { 9' ) Whene'er his colours wore too bright an air, A kindred fhadow took off all the glare ; Whene'er that fhadow, carelefsly embrown'd, Stole on the tints, and breath'd a gloom around, Th' attentive artift threw a warmer dye, Or call'd a glory from a pi&ur'd fky ; Till both th* oppofing powers mix'd in one, Cool as the night, and brilliant as the fun. PASSIONS, like colours, have their ftrength and eafe, Thofe too infipid, and too gaudy thefe: 180 Some on the heart, like Spagnoletti's, throw Fictitious horrors, and a weight of woe ; Some, like Albano's, catch from ev'ry ray Too ftrong a funfhirie, and too rich a day ; Others, with Carlo's Magdalens, require 185 A quicker fpirit, and a touch of fire, Or want, perhaps, tho' of celeftial race, Corregio's foftnefs, and a Guido's grace, 3 WOU'DST ( 93 ) WOU'DST thou then reach what Rembrant's genius knew, And live the model that his pencil drew, 190 Form all thy life with all his warmth divine, Great as his plan, and faultlefs as his line ; Let all thy paflions, like his colours, play, Strong without harfhnefs, without glaring gay : Contraft them, curb them, ipread them, or confine, 19 r Ennoble thefe, and thofe forbid to fhine ; With cooler (hades ambition's fire allay, And mildly melt the pomp of pride away; Her rainbow-robe from vanity remove, And foften malice with. the fmile of love ; 200 Bid o'er revenge the charities prevail, Nor let a grace be feen without a vail : So {halt thou live as heav'n itfelf defign'd, Each pulfe congenial with th' informing mind, Each a&ion ftation'd in its proper place, 205 Each virtue blooming with its native grace, E^ich paffion vig'rous to its juft degree, And the fair whole a perfeft fymmetry. .. The ( 93 ) The LOTTERY. Infcribed to Mifs H . AWTHORN had once a mind to fix His carcafe in a coach and fix, And live, if his eftate wou'd bear it, On turtle, ortolans, and claret: For this he went, at fortune's call, 5 To wait upon her at Guildhall ; That is, like many other thick wits, He bought a fcore of Lottery Tickets, And faw them rife in dreadful ranks Converted to a fcore of blanks. 10 AMAZ'D, and vex'd to find his fcheme Delufive as a midnight dream, He curs'd the goddefs o'er and o'er, Call'd her a mercenary whore, N Swore ( 94 ) Swore that her dull capricious fenfe r Was always dup'd by impudence, That men of wit were but her tools, And all her favours were for fools. HE {aid, and, with an angry gripe, Snatch'd up his fpeculative pipe ; 20 And, that he might his grief allay* : > t :-irj) Read half a page in Seneca. WHEN, lo ! a phantom, tall, and thin,. Knock'd at the door, and enter'd in : She wore a partycolour'd robe, 25 And feem'd to tread upon a globe Whilk'd round the room with haughty air^ And tofs'd into an elbow chair. Then, with a bold terrific look, Which made the dodor drop his book, 30 Addrefs'd him thus, " Thou wicked varlet f Art not aflaam'd to call me harlot ? Why, ( 95 ) Why, what's thy confequence and parts. Thy {kill in letters, or in arts, That I, poor Fortune ! muft be le&ur'd, 3 * Kick'd, bully'd, curs'd, abus'd, and he&or'd ; Becaufe, forfooth, A fever roaft thee, Thou'rt not fo wealthy as Da Cofta ? HOWEVER, as thou haft fome virtues, And know'ft my fav'rite Tom Curteis, 4.0 I'll point thee out a way to be Almoft as rich a man as he. SEND to the bank this day and buy Ten Tickets in the Lottery ; And bid your honeft friend, the broker,, 45 Endorfe the name of M H ; The facred numbers then confign Devoutly to the fair one's fhrine : That is, in humbler rhetoric, Prefent them by your footman Dick, 50 N 2 '*; And p 96 ) And teli her, in a billet-doux, " My dear thefe Tickets are for you, " An offering from an heart that's fplit " Afunder by your fenfe and wit, c< Yet has the grace, to tell you true, ^5 " To keep its own dear ends in view, r i . * k* His every beauty, and his every grace ; And force that foul with patience to refign All the dear ties that bound her faft to thine. ALAS I vain effort of mifguided zeal I 95 What pow'r can force affliction not to feel ? What faint forbid this throbbing breaft to glow, This figh to murmur, and this tear to flow ? Still honeft nature lives her anguifli o'er, Still the fond woman bleeds at every pore. 100 Ahl ( "3 ) Ah ! when my foul, all panting to afpire, Each fenfe enraptur'd, and each wifli on fire, On all the wings of heav'n-born virtue flies To yon bright funfhine, yon unclouded fkies; Spite of the joys that heav'n and blifs impart, ioe A fofter image heaves within my heart ; Impaffions nature in the fprings of life, And calls the feraph back into the wife, YET fay, my Guilford I fay, why wilt thou move Thefe idle visions of defpairing love? no Why wilt thou ftill, with every grace and art, Spread thro' my veins, and kindle in my heart? O let my foul far other tranfports feel, Wing'd with thy hopes, and warm'd with all thy zeal. And thou, in yon imperial heav'n enflirin'd, 1 1 5 Eternal effluence of th' eternal ipind ! . O grace divine ! on this frail bofom ray One gleam of comfort from the fource of day. O 2 She She comes, and all my opening breaft infpires With holy ardors, and feraphic fires : 1 20 Rapt, and fublime, my kindling wiflies roll, A brighter funfhine breaks upon my foul ; Strong, and more ftrong the light celeftial fhines, Each thought ennobles, and each fenfe refines : Each human pang, each human b!ifs retires, 125 All earth-born wifhes, and all low defires ; The pomps of empire, grandeur, wealth decay, And all the world's vain phantoms fade away. RISE, ye fad fcenes ! ye black ideas ! rife, Rife, and difpute the empire of the flues : 130 Ye horrors ! come, and o'er my fenfes throw Terrific vifions, and a pomp of woe ; Call up the fcaffold in its dread parade, Bid the knell eccho thro' the midnight fliade ; Full in my fight the robe funereal wave, 135 Swell the loud dirge, and open all my grave : Yet Yet (hall my foul, all confcious of her God, Refign'd, and fainted for the bleft abode, The laft fad horrors of her exit eye, Without a tremor, and without a figh. AH, no while heav'n fhall leave one pulfe of life I ftill am woman, and am ftill a wife; My hov'ring foul, tho' rais'd to heav'n by pray'r, Still bends to earth, and finds one forrow there : There, there, alas ! the voice of nature calls, A nation trembles, and a huiband falls. O ! wou'd to heav'n, I cou'd, like Zeno boaft, A breaft of marble, and a foul of froft, Calm as old Chaos e'er his waves begun To know a zephyr, or to feel a fun. Romantic wifli ! for O, ye pow'rs divine ! Was ever mifery, ever grief, like mine ? For ever round me glares a tragic fcene, And now the woman bleeds, and now the queen : Now, Now, back to Edward's recent grave conveyed, 155 Talk with fond phrenzy to his fpotlefs fhade ; Now wildly image all his filler's rage, The baleful fury of the rifing age, Behold her fanguinary banners fly Loofe to the breezes of a Britifli fky ; 160 See England's genius quit th' imperial dome To Spain's proud tyrant, and the flaves of Rome ; See all the land the laft fad horrors feel Of cruel creeds, and vifionary zeal. Mad bigotry her ev'ry fon infpires, . j5^ Breathes all her plagues, and blows up all her fires, Points the keen falchion, waves th' avenging rod, And murders virtue in the name of God. MAY he, who firft the light of heav'n difplay'd, The deer Redeemer of a world in fLade, 170 He v ho to man the blifs of Angels gave, \Vho bled to triumph, and who died to fave, Beam .( 10 7 ) Beam all his gofpel, facred and divine, On ev'ry bofom, and on ev'ry fhrine, Relieve th' expiring eye, and gafping breath, 175 And refcue nature from the arm of death. AND now refign'd, my bofom lighter grows, And hope foft beaming brightens all my woes. Hark ! or delulion charms, a Seraph fings, And choirs to waft us fpread their filver wings, 1 80 Th' immortals call, heav'n opens at the found, And glories blaze, and mercy ftreams around. Away e'er nature wake her pangs anew, Friend, father, lover, hufband, faint, adieu ! Yet when thy fpirit, taught from earth to fly, 185 Spreads her full plume, and gains upon the fky, One moment paufe till thefe dead orbs refign Their laft faint beam, and fpeed my foul to thine : Then, while the prieft, in hallow'd robes array 'd, Pays the laft honours to each parting fhade, IQO While While o'er our aflies weeps th' attending train, And the fad requiem flows along the fane, Our kindred fouls {hall wing th 1 ethereal way, From earth and anguifh. to the fource of day,- To all the blifs of all the fkies afpire, 195 And add new raptures to th' angelic choir. AND, O ! if ought we knew, or left behind, Can wake one image in the fainted mind, If yet a friend, a parent, child, can move Departed fpirits to a fehfe of love, 200 Still flinll our fouls a kind connection feel With England's fenate, and with England's weal : And drive from all its fhores, with watchful care, The flame of difcord, and the rage of war. PERHAPS, when thefe fad fcenes of blood are o'er, 205 And Rome's proud tyrant awes the foul no more ; When anguifh throws off all the veils of art, Bears all her wounds, and opens all her heart, 3 Our Our haplefs loves fliall grace th' hiftoric page, And charm the nations of a future age. 213 Perhaps fome bard, whofe tears have learn t to flow For injur'd nature, and to feel for woe, Shall tell the tender melancholy tale To the foft zephyrs of the weftern vale : Fair truth fliall blefs him, virtue guard his caufe, 215 And every widow'd matron weep applaufe. r.. ,. .-,.= ;, w ,v,-v---,---v ; ^-.-.a Of Of TASTE. AN ESSAY. ^IJ T ELL tho' our paflions riot, fret, and rave, Wild and capricious as the wind and wave, One common folly, fay whate'er we can, Has fix'd at laft the mercury of man ; And rules, as facred as his father's creed, 5 O'er every native of the Thames, and Tweed. ASK ye what pow'r it is that dares to claim So vaft an empire, and fo wide a fame ? What God unfhrin'd in all the ages paft ? I'll tell you, friend ! in one fLort word 'tis Tafte ; ID Tafte that, without or head, or ear, or heart, One gift of nature, or one grace of art, Ennobles riches, fanctifaes expence, And takes the place of fpirit, worth, and fenfe. ( I" ) In elder time, e'er yet our fathers knew 15 Rome's idle arts, or panted for Virtu, Or fat whole nights Italian fongs to hear, Without a genius, and without an ear ; Exalted fenfe, to warmer climes unknown, And manly wit was nature's, and our own. 20 But when our virtues, warp'd by wealth, and peace, Began to {lumber in the lap of eafe, When Charles return'd to his paternal reign, With more than fifty taylors in his train, We felt for Tafte for then obliging France 25 Taught the rough Briton how to drefs, and dance : Politely told him all were brutes, and fools, But the gay coxcombs of her happier fchools ; That all perfection in her language lay, And the beft author was her own Rablais. 30 Hence, by fome ftrange malignity of fate, We take our fafhions from the land we hate ; Still flaves to her, howe'er her Tafte inclines, We wear her ribbands, and we drink her wines ; P 2 Eat ( 112 ) Hat as he eats, no matter which or what, 35 A roafted lobfter, or a roafted cat ; And fill our houfes with an hungry train >iiV Of more than half the fcoundrels of the Seine. TIMS was, a wealthy Englishman would join A rich plumb-pudding to a fat firloin ; 40 Or bake a pafty, whofe enormous wall, Took up almoft the area of his hall : But now, as art improves, and life refines, The daemon Tafte attends him when he dines,. i Serves on his board an elegant regale, 45 Where three ftew'd mufhrooms flank a larded quail ; Where infant turkeys, half a month refign'd To the foft breathings of a fouthern wind, And fmother'd in a rich ragout of fnails, Outftink a lenten fupper at Verfailles. 50 Is there a faint that would not laugh to fee The good man pidling with his fricaflee ; Forc'd ( "3 ) Forc'd by the luxury of tafte to drain A flafk of poifon, which he calls champagne ! While he, poorideot! tho' he dare not fpeak, 55 Pines all the while for porter, and ox-cheek. SURE 'tis enough to ftarve for pomp and fliow, To drink, and curfe the clarets of Bourdeaux : Yet fuch our humour, fuch our fkill to hit Excefs of folly through excefs of wit, 60 We plant the garden, and we build the feat, Juft as abfurdly as we drink and eat. For is there ought that nature's hand has fown To bloom and ripen in her hotteft zone? Is there a fhrub which, ere its verdures blow, 65 A(ks all the funs that beam upon the Po? Is there a flowret whofe vermilion hue Can only catch its beauty in Peru ? Is there a portal, colonnade, or dome, The pride of Naples, or the boaft of Rome ? 70 We ( 4 ) We raife it here, in ftorms of wind and hail, On the bleak bofom of a funlefs vale ; Carelefs alike of climate, foil, and place, The caft of nature, and the fmiles of grace. HENCE all our ftucco'd walls, Mofaic floors, 75 Palladian windows, and Venetian doors, Our Gothic fronts, whofe Attic wings unfold Fluted pilafters tipp'd with leaves of gold, Our mafiy cielings, grac'd with gay feftoons, The weeping marbles of our damp falons, 80 Lawns fring'd with citrons, amaranthine bow'rs, Expiring myrtles, and unop'ning flow'rs. Hence the good Scotfman bids th' anana blow In rocks of cryftal, or in Alps of fnow ; On Orcus* fteep extends his wide arcade, 85 And kills his fcanty funfhine in a {hade. ONE might expecl: a fandity of ftyle, Auguft and manly in an holy pile, And ( "5 ) And think an architect extremely odd To build a playhoufe for the church of God: 90 Yet half our churches, fuch the mode that reigns, Are Roman theatres, or Grecian fanes ; Where broad arch'd windows to the eye convey The keen diffufion of too ftrong a day ; Where, in the luxury of wanton pride, 95 Corinthian columns languifti fide by {ide, Clos'd by an altar, exquifitely fine, Loofe and lafcivious as a Cyprian fhrine. OF late, tis true, quite fick of Rome, and Greece, We fetch our models from the wife Chinefe : 100 European artifts are too cool, and chafte, For Mand'rin only is the man of tafte ; WLofe bolder genius, fondly wild to fee His grove a foreft, and his pond a fea, Breaks out and, whimfically great, defigns 105 Without the fhackles or of rules, or lines : Form'd ( "6 ) Forrn'd on his plans, our farms and feats begin To match the boafted villas of Pekin. On every hill a fpire-crown'd temple fwells, Hung round with ferpents, and a fringe of bells : no Junks and balons along our waters fail, With each a guilded cockboat at his tail ; Our choice exotics to the breeze exhale, Within th' inclofure of a zigzag rail ; In Tartar huts our cows and horfes lie, 115 Our hogs are fatted in an Indian ftye, On ev'ry fhelf a Jofs divinely flares, Nymphs laid on chintzes fprawl upon our chairs ; While o'er our cabinets Confucius nods, 'Midft Porcelain elephants, and China gods. 120 PEACE to all fuch but you whofe chafter fires True greatnefs kindles, and true fenfe infpires, Or ere you lay a ftone, or plant a (hade, Bend the proud arch, or roll the broad cafcade, 3 Ere ( "7 ) Ere all your wealth in mean profufion wafte, 125 Examine nature with the eye of Tafte : Mark where fhe fpreads the lawn, or pours the rill^ Falls in the vale, or breaks upon the hill ; Plan as fhe plans, and where her genius calls, There fink your grottos, and there raife your walls. 130 Without this Tafte, beneath whofe magic wand Truth and correctnefs guide the artift's hand, Woods, lakes, and palaces are idle things, The fliame of nations, and the blufli of kings. Expence, and Vanbrugh, vanity, and {how, 13 e May build a Blenheim, but not make a Stowe. BUT what is Tafte, you afk, this heav'n-born fire We all pretend to, and we all admire ? Is it a cafual grace ? or lucky hit ? Or the cool effort of reflecting wit ? 140 Has it no law but mere mifguided will ? No juft criterion fix'd to good and ill ? ( n8 ) It has true Tafte, when delicately fine, Is the pure funfhine of a foul divine, The full perfection of each mental pow'r 145 'Tis fenfe, 'tis nature, and 'tis fomething more. Twin-born with Genius of one common bed, One parent bore them, and one mafter bred. It gives the lyre with happier founds to flow, With purer bluflies bids fair beauty glow, 150 From Raphael's pencil calls a nobler line, And warms, Corregio ! every touch of thine. AND yet, tho' fprung from one paternal flame, Genius and Tafte are different as their name : Genius, all funbeam, where he throws a fmile 155 Impregnates nature fafter than the Nile ; Wild, and impetuous, high as heav'n afpires, All fcience animates, all virtue fires, Creates ideal worlds, and there convenes Aerial forms, and vifionary fcenes. 160 But ( "9 ) But Tafte corrects, by one ethereal touch, What feems too little, and what feems too much, Marks the fine point where each confenting part Slides into beauty with the eafe of art ; This bids to rife, and that with grace to fall, 165 And bounds, unites, refines, and heightens all. LlFE UNHAPPY, BECAUSE WE USE IT IMPROPERLY. A MORAL ESSAY. IT OWN it, Belmour ! fay whate'er we can, ** The lot of forrow feems the lot of man ; Affli&ion feeds with all her keeneft rage On youth's fair bloflbms, and the fruits of age: And wraps alike beneath her harpy wings 5 The cells of peafants, and the courts of kings. 2 YET ( 120 ) YET fure unjuftly we afcribe to fate Thole ills, thofe mifchiefs, we ourfelves create, Vainly lament that all the joys we know Are more than numbered by the pangs of woe ; I O And yet thofe joys in mean profufion wafte, Without reflexion y and without a tafte ; Carelefs of all that virtue gives to pleafe, For thought too a6Hve, and too mad for cafe, We give each appetite too loofe a rein, 15 Pufli ev'ry pleafure to the verge of pain, Impetuous follow where the paflions call. And live in rapture, or not live at all. HENCE half the plagues that fill with pain and ftrife, Each fofter moment of domeftic life, 20 The palfied hand, the vifionary brain, Th' infected fluid, and the torpid vein, The ruin'd appetite that loathing flights The richeft oglio of the cook at Whitens, 3. The The aching impotence of loofe defire, 2? A nervelefs body with a foul on fire, Th' eternal blufti that lights the cheek of fhamc For wafted riches, and unheeded fame, Unhallow'd reveries, low thoughted cares, The wifh that riots, and the pang that tears, 30 Each awful tear that weeps the night away, Each heartfelt figh of each reflecting day, All that around the lowering eye of fpleen Throws the pale phantom, and terrific fcene, Or, direr ftill, calls from th' abyfs below 25 Defpair's dread genius to the couch of woe, Where, loft to health, and hope's all cheering ray, As the dead eye-ball to the orb of day, Pale riot bleeds for all his mad expence In each rack'd organ, or acuter fenfe ; 40 Where fad remorfe beholds in every fhade The murder'd friend, or violated maid ; And, flung to madnefs in his inmoft foul, Grafps the keen dagger, or empoifon'd bowl* IMPIOUS r 122 ) IMPIOUS it were to think th' eternal mind 45 Is but the fcourge and tyrant of mankind. Sure he who gives us funfhine, dew, and fliow'r, The vine ambrofial, and the blooming flow'r, Whofe own bright image lives on man impreft Meant that that being ftiou'd be wife and bleft, 50 And taught each inftincl: in his heart enfhrin'd To feel for blifs, to fearch it, and to find. BUT where's this blifs, you afk, this heav'n-born fire We all pretend to, and we all admire ? Breathes it in Ceylon's aromatic ifle ? 55 Flows it along the waters of the Nile ? Lives it in India's animated mold, In rocks of cryftal, or in veins of gold ? Not there alone, but, boundlefs, unconfin'd, Spreads thro all life, and flows to all mankind ; 60 Waits on the winds that blow, the waves that roll, And warms alike th' Equator and the Pole. For For as kind nature thro' the globe infpires Her parent warmths, and elemental fires, Forms the bright gem in earth's unfathom'd caves, 65 Bids the rich coral blufti beneath the waves, And with the fame prolific virtue glows In the rough bramble, as the damafk role : So, in the union of her moral plan, The ray of blifs fhines on from man to man, 70 Whether in purples, or in {kins array'd, He wields the fcepter, or he plies the fpade, Slaves on the Ganges, triumphs on the Rhone, Hides in a cell, or beams upon a throne. IN vain the man whofe foul ambition fires, 75 Whom birth ennobles, and whom wealth infpires, Infifts that happinefs for courts was made, And laughs at every genius of the fhade. As much miftakes the fage who fain wou'd prove Fair pleafure lives but in his grot and grove. 80 Each Each fcene of life, or open, or confin'd, Alike congenial to its kindred mind, Alike ordain'd by heav'n to charm or pleafe, The man of fpirit, and the man of eafe ; Jufl as our tafte is better or is worfe, 85 Becomes a blefling, or becomes a curfe. When luft and envy fhare the foul by turns, When fear unnerves her, or mad vengeance burns, When luxury brutes her in the wanton bow'r, And guilt's black phantoms haunt her midnight hour, 90 Not all the wealth each warmer fun provides, All earth embofoms, and all ocean hides, Not all the pomps that round proud greatnefs fhine, When fuppliant nations bow before her fhrine, Can eafe the heart, or ray upon the breaft 95 Content's full funfhine, and the calm of reft. No all the blifs that nature feels, or knows, Of heartfelt rapture, or of cool repofe, Howe'er improv'd by wifdom, and by art, Lives in ourfelves, and beams but from the heart, 100 \ Quite ( "5 ) Quite independent of thofe alien things, Applauding fenates, and the fmiles of kings, Of empty purfes, or of wealthy bags, A robe of ermines, or a coat in rags. CONCLUDE we then that heav'ns fupreme decree 105 Gives eafe and joy to monarchs and to me ; Yet, fuch the fate of all that man obtains, Our pleafures muft be purchas'd by our pains, <*" f; 1 io osiql nl And coft us every hour fome fmall expence, A little labour, and a little fen fe. no That heav'n-born blifs, that foul-illumin'djoy, Which madmen fquander, and which fools deftroy, To half the nations of the globe unknown, ^IIIJT-JH Jiff >iV*JWJI fcqu; 2CJCIJ Dfil Reflecting wifdom makes it all her own ; . Coolly explores, in every fcene and fphere, 1 1 5 What nature wants, what life inherits there, What lenient arts can teach the foul to know A purer rapture, and a fofter woe, R What r 126 ) What melt her idle vanities away, And make to-morrow happier than to-day. 120 Without this cheap, this ceconomic art, This cool philofophy of head and heart ; A peer's proud bofom, rack'd by pangs and cares, Feels not the fplendor of the ftar he wears : With it the wretch whom want has forc'd to dwell * ,*12$ In the laft corner of her cheerlefs cell, In fpite of hunger, labour, cold, difeafe, Lies, laughs, and {lumbers on the couch of eafe. A coxcomb once in Handel's parlour found A Grecian lyre, and try'd to make it found ; j 30 O'er the fine flops his awkward fift he flings, And rudely prefles on th* elaftic firings : Awaken'd difcord fhrieks, and fcolds, and raves, Wild as the diffonance of winds and waves, Loud as a Wapping mob at midnight bawls, 135 Harfli as ten chariots rolling round St. Paul's, 3 And And hoarfer far than all th' ecftatic race Whofe drunken orgies ftunn'd the wilds of Thrace. FRIEND ! quoth the fage, that fine machine contains Exacler numbers, and diviner ftrains, 140 Strains fuch as once could build the Theban wall, And flop the mountain torrent in its fall : But yet, to wake them, rouze them, and infpire, Afks a fine finger, and a touch of fire, A feeling foul whofe all expreffive pow"rs 145 Can copy nature as {he finks or foars ; And, juft alike to paffion, time, and place, Refine correclnefs into eafe and grace. He faid and, flying o'er each quiv'ring wire, Spread his light hand, and fwept it on the lyre. 150 Quick to his touch the lyre began to glow, The found to kindle, and the air to flow, Deep as the murmurs of the falling floods, Sweet as the warbles of the vocal woods : R 2 The The lift'ning pafllons hear, and fink, and rife, 155 As the rich harmony or fwells, or dies ; The pulfe of avarice forgets to move, A purer rapture fills the breaft of love ; Devotion lifts to heav'n a holier eye, And bleeding pity heaves a fofter figh. 1 60 LIFE has its eaie, amufement, joy, and fire, Hid in itfelf, as mufic in the lyre; And, like the lyre, will all its pow'rs impart When touch'd and manag'd by the hand of art : But half mankind, like Handel's fool, deftroy, 165 Thro' rage and ignorance, the ftrain of joy, Irregularly will their paffions roll Thro' nature's- fineft inftrument, the foul : While men of fenfe, with Handel's happier (kill, Correct the tafte, and harmonize the will, 170 Teach their affections like his notes to flow, Not rais'd too high, nor ever funk too low j s Till Till every virtue, meafur'd and refin'd, As fits the concert of the mafter-mind, Melts in its kindred founds, and pours along Th* according mufic of the moral fong. p R u s s i A. A POEM* A WAKE, Voltaire ! with warmth, with rapture raife Th' applauding Pcean, and the fong of praife : Again thy Fred'ric mounts the vidlor's car, Again he thunders in the front of war ; Back to the defart flies the routed Gaul, Rich eflences in china vafes^ And ( 162 ) And rife on life's exalted fcene With all the fplendor of a queen. SHE fpoke, and in a trice poffeft 165 The empire of the female bread : And .now the vifionary maids Difdain'd their Shepherds, and their (hades j In every dream with rapture faw Three footmen, and a gilt landau, 170 Affum'd a fine majeftic air, And learnt to ogle, fwim, and ftare. No longer beam'd the modeft eye, No longer heav'd the melting figh. Negleded love, vvhofe blunted dart 175 Scarce once a year could wound a heart, Hung up his quiver on a yew, And, fighing, from the world withdrew. HOWEVER, as the wheel of life Subfifted ftill in man and wife, 180 Th* f 163 ) Th' aforefaid fiends, for reafons good, Coupled the fexes as they cou'd. For inftance Women made for thrones Were match'd with ideots, fots, and drones ; And wits were every day difgrac'd 185 By honeys without fenfe, or tafte: Gay libertines of fixty-five, With fcarce a tingle limb alive, Had young coquettes juft in their teens, As wanton as Circaffia's queens ; 190 And youths, whofe years were fcarce a fcore, Were pair'd with nymphs of fixty-four. Matters, in fhort, were fo contrived, The men were moft divinely wiv'd ; The women too, to grace their houfes, 195 Were bleft with moft accomplifli'd fpoufes. IN two fliort months, perhaps in one, Both fexes found themfelves undone, And ( 16+ ) And came in crouds, with each an halter, 200 To hang poor Hymen on his altar. The God, tho' arm'd but with his torch, Intrepid met them in the porch : And, while they hedor, brawl, and bully, Harangu'd them with the eafe of Tully, " GOOD folks ! fay he, it gives me pain 205 To hear you murmer, and complain, When every barber in the town Knows that the fault is all your own. Seduc'd by fhow, mnled by wealth, Regardlefsof your peace, and health, 210 Panting for feathers, whims, and fafhions, You left plain nature's genuine pafiions, And gave up all your real joys, As Indians fell their gold for toys. You, madam! who was pleafed to fix 215 Your wiflies on a coach and fix, Obtain'd Obtain'd your end, and now you find Your hufband ought to ride behind ; You might have had, without offence, A man of fpirit, foul, and fenfe, 22O Wou'd you have ftoop'd to take the air In a plain chariot and a pair. You too, my venerable fage ! Had you refleded on your age, Wou'd fcarce have took, to be undone, 22 r A fprightly girl of twenty-one. Your lady/hip difdain'd to hear Of any hufband but a peer ; Was pleas' d your angel-form to barter For a blue ribbon, and a garter : 230 And now, magnificently great, You feel the wretchednefs of ftate ; Neglected, injured, fpurn'd, and poor, The vi&im of an opera whore. Your neighbour there, the wealthy cit,' 235 Lke you is miferably bit : Y Too ( 166 ) Too proud to drag the nuptial chain With the grave nymphs of Fofter-lane, He married, fuch his fatal aim was, A lady Charlotte from St. James's : 240 And now fupports, by fcores, and dozens, His very honourable coufins, And entertains, with wine and cards, Half the gay colonels of the guards. Away, ye triflersf bear, endure 245 Afflictions which ye cannot cure i At leaft with decency conceal The pangs your follies make you feel,, In hopes that fome obliging fever Will eafe you of your dears for ever.'* 250 THE crowd difmifs'd the God began To mufe upon a better plan : He faw that things grew worfe and worfe, That marriage was become a curfe ; * And If 167 ) And therefore thought it juft and wife was 255 To redify this fatal byas, And in a taftelefs world excite Due rev'rence for his holy rite. Full of his fcheme he went one day To a lone cottage in a {haw, 260- Where dwelt a nymph of ftrong and flirewd fenfe Known by the name of Gammer Prudence, Whom Hymen, with a bow and bufs, Addrefs'd moft eloquently thus. " GOODY! I'veorder'd Love to go 365 This evening to the world below ; Pie travels in a coach and fjparrows, With a new fet of bows and arrows : But yet the rogue's fo much a child, So very whimfical, and wild, 270 His head has fuch ftrange fancies in it, I cannot truft him half a minute. Y i Were ( '68 ) Were I to let the little wanton Rove as he lifts thro' every canton,. Without a cheeky without a rein, 275 The world would be undone again We foon fhou'd fee the lawns and groves Quite fill'd with zephyrs, fighs, and cloves,. With am'rous ditties, fairy dances,. Such as we read of in romances ; 280 Where princes haunt the lonely rocks, And dutchefles are feeding flocks* Go then, my venerable dame I And qualify his idle flame-, InftrudT: thofe hearts his arrows hit, 285 To paufe, and have a little wit : Bid them reflect, amidft their heat,, 'Tis necefiary Love fliould eat ^ That in his moft ecftatic billing He poflibly may want a {hilling, 290 Perfuade them> ere they firft engage, To ftudy temper, rank, and age, To ( 169 ) To march beneath my holy banners. Congenial in their taftes and manners, Completing juft as heav'n defign'd, 295 An union both of fex and mind. j r* C* ft ' HE faid- he prefs'd the matron piaij Benevolent of heart obey'd, Forfook her folitary grove, And, waiting in the train of love, 300 Watch'd with the fober eye of truth The workings of mifguided youth : And when the heart began to figh, To melt, to heave, to bleed, to die, She whifper'd many a wife remark 305 With all the dignity of Clark She hop'd the ladies, in their choice : Would liften to her awful voice: She begg'd the men, while yet their lives Were free from fevers, plagues, and wives^ 310 Ere Ere yet the chariot was befpoke, To paufe before they took the yoke. In fhort, when Cupid's lucky darts Had pierc'd a pair of kindred hearts, And Goody Prudence lik'd the houfes, 315 Eftates, and minds of both the fpoufcs, And found, exact to form and law, The fettlement without a flaw, She frankly gave them leave to wed., And fanclifled the nuptial bed. 320 TH' event was fuch, the God became Succefsful in his trade, and fame ; For both the parties, on their marriage, Improv'd in temper, fenfe, and carriage ; Fair friend/hip ray'd on either breaft 325 The funfhine of content, and reft ; Studious each other's will to pleafe, And blefs'd with affluence and eafe, Without Without vexation, words or ftrife, They calmly walk'd the road of life; 330 And, happy in their fondeft joys, Left a fine group of girls and boys, Reflecting, lively, cool, and fage, To fliine upon a future age. THE iO.Ai-57/ THE Vanity of Human Enjoyments. AN ETHIC EPISTLE, To the Right Hon. GEORGE LYTTLETON, Efq; One of the Lords of His Majefty's Treafury, 1749. T Grant it, Lyttleton ! that eafe, or joy, ** Forms ev'ry wifli that glows beneath the fky ; That when, 'mid nature's elemental ftrife, Th' Almighty fpoke the Chaos into life, He meant that man of ev'ry good pofleft, 5 Shou'd, like his Seraphs, live but to be bleft. YET, fpite of heav'n, and heav'n's fupreme decree^ We fondly wander, truth ! from blifs, and thec ; 2 Taftelefs ( 173 ) Taftelefs of all that virtue gives to pleafe, For thought too a6Hve, and too mad for eafe ; 10 Of feeling exquifite, alive all o'er, With ev'ry paffion wing'd at ev'ry pore, To each foft breeze, or vig'rous blaft refign'd, That fweeps the ocean, of the human mind, We flip our anchors, fpread the impatient fail, 15 Ply all our oars, and drive before the gale-. HENCE, as opinion wakes our hopes or fears, As pride infpirits, or as anger tears, Thefe on the wings of moonftruck madnefs fly To catch the meteors of ambition's fky ; 20 Thofe, in pale wifdom's humbler garb array 'd, Court the foft genius of the myrtle fhade ; While others, as the plaftic atoms pour More brilliant vifions on each killing hour, From fcepter'd life, and all its pomps retire^ 25 Or fet, like Phaeton, the world on fire. Z OFT ( 174 ) OFT the fame man, in one revolving fun, Is all he aims at, all he longs to fhun, Each gay delufion fhares his breaft by turns, With av'rice chills him, or with grandeur burns : 30 To-day the gilded fhrines of honour move, To-morrow yields his ev'ry pulfe to love ; Now mad for vvifdom, now for wit, and fport, . This hour at Oxford, and the next at court : Then, all for purity, he bids adieu 35 To each loofe goddefs of the midnight flew, Enraptur'd hangs o'er Sherlock's labour'd page, Drinks all his fenfe, and glows with all his rage, Till fome enormous crimes, unknown before, From Rome imported, or the Cafpian fliore^ 4.0 Nurs'd by thy hand, great Heidegger ! attend,, And fink him to a mohock, or a fiend. In one fhort fpace thus wanton, fober, grave, A friend to virtue, yet to vice a flave, From wifh to wifti in life's mad vortex toft > 4,5 For ever ftruggling, yet for ever loft,, The ( '75 ) The fickle wand'rer lives in ev'ry fcene, A Clark, a Charters, or an Aretine. THERE are, 'tis true, Plebeian fouls array 'd In one thick cruft of apathy, and (hade, 50 Whofe dull fenforiums feel not once an age A fpirit brighten, or a paffion rage. As the fwift arrow flams the viewlefs wind, No path indented, and no mark behind, So thefe, without or infamy, or praife, 55 Tread the dull circle of a length of days, To fome poor fepulchre in filence glide, And fcarcely tell us that they li/d, or died. PEACE to all fuch but he whofe warm defires Or genius kindles, or ambition fires> 60 Who, like a comet, fweeps th' aerial void Of wit and fame, too fine to be enjoy'd : For him the mufe fhall wake her ev'ry art, Exhibit truth, and open all the heart, Z 2 Difplay ( 17* ) Difplay th' unnumber'd ills that hourly wait 65 The cells of wifdom, or the rooms of ftate : Then, as o'er life's unfolding fcenes we fly, Bid all his widies pant but for the fky. ' HEROIC glory in the martial fcene, From Rome's firft Casfar to the great Eugene, 70 Has long engrofs'd the poet's heav'n-born flame, And pour'd her triumphs thro* the trump of fame: She mounts the neighing fteed, th' imperial car, Grafps the pale fpear, and rufhes to the war ; Beneath her fleps earth's trembling orb recedes, 75 A Poitiers thunders, and a Crefly bleeds ; The battle raves around her fabre flow Terrific pleafures, and a pomp of woe, Pomps ever loft in peace, and but ador'd When half a nation fmokes upon her fword. 80 FLY then, ye Genii ! from the tumult fly, To all that opens in a rural flcy : 3 There, ( '77 ) There, as the vale, the grove, the zephyrs pour Each purer rapture on the guiltlefs hour, From ev'ry flirub content's foft foliage glean ; 8 or Whitehall, 2ao O paufe left virtue ev'ry guard refign, And the fad fate of Ripperda be thine. THIS glorious wretch, indulged at once to move A nation's wonder, and a monarch's love, Bleft with each charm politer courts admire, 205 The grace to foften, and the foul to fire, Forfook his native bogs with proud difdain, And, tho' a Dutchman, rofe the pride of Spain* A a 2 This This hour the pageant waves th' imperial rod, All Philip's empire trembling at his nod ; 2iQ The next difgrac'd he flies to Britain's ifle, And courts the funfliine. of a Walpole's fmile: Unheard, , defpis'd, to fouthern climes he fleers, And fliines again at Salle, and Algiers, Bids pale Morocco all his fchemes adore > 315 And pours her thunder on th' Hefperian fliore ; All nature's ties, all virtue's creeds belied, Each church abandon'd, and each God denied, Without a friend, a fepulchre to fhield His carcafs from the vultures of the field, 22$ He dies, of all ambition's fons the worft, By Afric hated, and by Europe curft. " HE earns his fate who will for phantoms toil,*' Exclaims the goddefs of the mirthful fmile, From wild ambition, with her every care, r ,225 The fcenes of grandeur, and the pomps of war, From C 185 ) From all a court's proud pageantry admires. All fcience wifhes, and all glory fires, Fly to my arms, from fame, from anguifh free, And tafle a luxury of blifs with me. 230 For me the genial fpring, the vernal fhow'r, Wake the bright verdure, and th' unfolding flow'r ; Arabia's fweets in all my moments fly, The zephyr's plumage, and the wing of joy, Each richer viand that the air provides, 235 That earth unbofoms, or that ocean hides, All that can nature's finer organs move, The pow'rs of mufic, arid the folds of love, To my keen fenfes are indulgent giv'n, In one wild extafy of life and heav'n. 240 YET, yet, dear youth ! the fair enchantrefs fhun, To yield a moment is to be undone : All Etna's poifons mingle with her breath. The feeds of ficknefs, and the gales of death, She ( 186 ) She aims to ruin, lives but to beguile, 245 And all hell's horrors brood beneath her fmile. 'Tis thus, my Lyttleton I that men purfue Each varied mode of pleafure but the true, To ev'ry vice, each luxury a prey, That murders blifs, and hurries life away : 250 Their headftrong paffions after phantoms run, And ftill miftake a meteor for a fun. YET hear, ye wand'rers I hear, while we impart , A light that flieds fair peace on ev'ry heart ; Which > Ariftides ! beam'd on thy exile, 255 And made a Regulus 'mid tortures fmilc, VIRTUE, immortal virtue I born to pleafe, The child of heaven, and the fource of eafe, Bids ev'ry blifs on human life attend, To ev'ry rank a kind, a faithful friend J 260 In (pints Infpirits nature 'midft the fcenes of toil, Smooths languor's cheek, and bids fell want recoil, Shines from the mitre with unfullied rays, Glares on the creft, and gives the ftar to blaze, Supports diftinclion, fpreads ambition's wings, 265 Forms faints of queens, and demigods of kings ; O'er grief, oppreffion, envy, fcorn prevails, And makes a cottage greater than Verfailles. WIT WIT AND LEARNING. AN ALLEGORY. \\7 H O E V E R looks on life will fee How ftrangely mortals difagree ; This reprobates what that approves, And Tom diflikes what Harry loves ; The foldier's witty on the failor, 3 The barber drolls upon the taylor, And he who makes the nation's wills, Laughs at the dodlor and his pills. YET this antipathy we find Not to the fons of earth confin'd ; 10 Each fchool-boy fees, with half an eye, The quarrels of the Pagan fky : For all the poets fairly tell us That gods themfelves are proud and jealous, a And And will, like mortals, fwear, and heftor, 15 When mellow'd with a cup of nedar. BUT waving thefe, and fuch like fancies, We meet with in the Greek romances, Say, fhall th' hiftoric mufe retail A little allegoric tale ? 2O Nor ftole from Plato's myftic tome, nor , . ' . . >, ' ' ,*i i_ 1. *rr- * Tranflated from the verfe of Homer, But copied, in a modern age, From nature, and her faireft page. OLYMPIAN Jove, whofe idle trade is 25 Employ'd too much among the ladies, Tho' not of manners mighty chafte, Was certainly a god of tafte, Would often to his feafts admit A deity, whofe name was WIT ; 30 And, to amufc the more difcerning, Would afk the company of LEARNING. B b LEARNING LEARNING was born, as all agree, Of Truth's half-fifter, Memory, A nymph who rounded in her fliape 'was 35 By that great artift Efculapius. EUPHROSINE, the younger grace, Matchlefs in feature, mien, and face, Who, like the beauties of thefe late days* Was fond, of operas, and cantatas, 40 Would often to a grot retire To liften to Apollo's lyre : And thence became, fo Ovid writ, A mother to the god of Wit. WIT was a ftrange unlucky child, 45 Exceeding fly, and very wild ; Too volatile for truth, or law, He minded but his top, or taw ; And, ere he reach'd the age of fix, Had play'd a thoufand waggifh tricks 50 He He drill'd a hole in Vulcan's kettles, He ftrew'd Minerva's bed with nettles, Climb'd up the folar car to ride in't, / Broke off a prong from Neptune's trident, Stole Amphitrite's fav'rite fea-knot, $$ And urin'd in Aftrea's tea-pot. -i LEARNING, a lad of fober mien, And half a pedant at fifteen, Had early thrown away his corals To ftudy nature, and her morals ; 60 Was always, let who would oppofe it, Faft by Minerva in her clofet : And, while gay Wit, as black as foot all, Was kicking up and down a foot-ball, Learning, with philofophic eye, 65 Rang'd ev'ry corner of the fky, Spent many a play-day to unriddle The mufic of Apollo's fiddle ; B b 2 And, And, if he ever chanc'd to meet His uncle Merc'ry in the ftreet, 70 Or on his flight, th' audacious brat Stopp'd him to afk of this or that : As how the moon was evanefcent, Was now an orb, and now a crefcent ? Why of the graces each undreft was ? 75 Why Pallas never wore a ceftus ? Why Ceres reign'd o'er corn and fallads? And why the Mufes dealt in ballads ? WITH thefe difcordant taftes and manners, And lifted under different banners, 80 Learning and wit, as fays the fable, Appear'd at Jove's imperial table, And threw out all their force and fire Obedient to th' ethereal fire. WIT ( 193 ) WIT, with his fly fatyric vein, 8 r Was always fure to entertain : He rallied with a tongue as keen, As Rab'lais, or the "Irifh dean ; And told his tale with fuch a grace, With fuch an eye, and fuch a face, 90 As made the nedar flow each cup o'er, And fet the Synod in an uproar. LEARNING had not the {kill to hit < .. s c-w jJflJ,.* l He then, with majefty, began 105 To talk of letters, and of man; Correct, fententious, cool, fevere, He gain'd upon the attentive ear, Charm'd all the Gods, but Wit, and Gomus, And that abuiive cynic, Momus*^^-; no IN length of time, as oft the cafe is, In many fubl unary places, Thefe demigods with jealous eye Began to look a little fliy ; And oft, to wound each other's bread, 115 Let off a keen farcaftic jeft. Learning, with many a ftroke, wou'd hit The pert vivacity of Wit : And Wit threw all his keeneft fatire On Learning's flow, pedantic nature. 120 4 IT ( 195 ) IT happened once when Jove had made A feaft in Ida's holy fhade, And all the Gods, whofe heads could bear it, Had emptied each a flafk of claret ; Wit, who from his celeftial liquor x 2 - Wagg'd his free tongue a little quicker, Began, with many a bitter feoff, To play his brother Learning off; Afk'd him if yet his pains and care Had learnt to make the circle fquare ? i^o If all his vifionary ravings Cou'd weave brocade from walnut fliavings ? If his mechanic flull cou'd catch Perpetual motion in a watch ? Or forge a pendulum endued 13 ^ With power to tell the longitude ? LEARNING had much ado to fit, And hear the petulance of Wit : A ghaftly ( 196 ) A ghaftly palenefs fpread his look, His nerves with quick convulsions fliook ? 140 At length, in accents, loud, and high, Vefuvius flaming in his eye, He burft, " And dar'ft thou, wayward chit f Thou ideot God of ideot Wit ! Untaught as yet to know thy letters, 145 Affront, thou infolcnt I thy betters ? Here, puppy ! with this penny get A hornbook, or ah alphabet ; And fee if that licentious eye Can tell a great A from an I ? 150 Throw but another jeft on me I'll lay thee, mifcreant ! on my knee, And print fuch welks thy naked feat on As never truant felt at Eaton. WIT, with refentment raving wild, 155 Thus call'd an ideot and a child, Without ( '97 ) Without preambles, or excufes, Seiz'd upon Mercury's caduceus, And with fuch force the weapon throws It flatted half his rival's nofe. t 5 o While he, Minefva's boaft, and care, Pluck'd a large bodkin from her hair, And aim'd the fleely pointed dart With fuch dexterity of art That, had not beauty's lovely queen, 165 Fair Venus, fpread her fan between, And taught the flying death to fix Guiltlefs among the iv'ry flicks, Wit's future triumphs had been o'er, And Europe heard his name no more. 170 JOVE, who had no fupreme delight in Domeftic brawls, or civil fighting, Since firft he heard the nuptial tune flow So fweetly from the tongue of Juno, C c Vex'd Vex'd that thefe two illiberal guefts 175 Should dare to violate his feafts, In a tremendous fit of choler, Seiz'd both their worfhips by the collar, And, minding not their meek fubmitting, Kick'd them from Ida down to Britain. 180 POOR Learning had the luck to fall Plump in the area of Clare-hall, Juft as old Wilcox, from a flope, Was gazing thro' his telefcope, To find a comet whofe bright tail .is 185 Eccentric from the time of Thales, Pleas'd with his fcientific look He fent him firft to Sam the cook : And having filFd his empty belly With mutton-broth, and meagre Jelly, 190 Gave him a robe of fleek prunella, And very wifely made him fellow. WIT, ( 199 ) WIT, as his deftiny decrees, Dropp'd in the court of Common-Picas, Upon a trufs of briefs and bills, 19 r And took the fliape of juftice Willes : But foon obferving round the columns Reports in half a thoufand volumes ; And, finding all thofe earth-worm fouls Who hold th' exchequer, or the rolls, 200 He left the law, and all its drudges, With curfes, to my lords the judges, Call'd for a coach, and went to dwell At Robin Dodfley's in Pall-MalL 'TWAS right for now where-e'er he came 20$ He bufied all the tongues of fame, Was welcome to the feftal board, And had his footman, and his lord : Would often vifit in a chair The noble Stanhope in May-fair; 210 C c 2 Or f Or dine, when bufinefe would permit, With that great ftatefman William Pitt. "Tis faid too he was fometimes feen On G- s vifionary fcene : But G , who prefers a guinea To all the eloquence of Pliny, Obferving this unlucky railer Was neither mechanift, nor taylor, That half the audience of the day Came not to hear, but fee, a play, 220 That many a fquire, and many a cit, Were pleas'd with any thing but Wit ; Shut out, with much indecent rage, The genius of the comic ftage, And open'd his theatric inn 225 To Scaramouch, and Harlequin. LEARNING would fometimes drop his gown, And take a winter-jaunt to town ; Oft en ( 201 ) Often calPd in at Hitch's fhop, And din'd at Dolly's on a chop : 230 On Thurfday met the grave refort Of fpider merchants in Crane-court, To rack a cockle, or to fee The nice difTection of a flea ; But having never chanc'd to wear 235 A bag-wig or a folitaire, And dreffing in a kerfey, thicker Than that which cloaths a Cornifh vicar. He feldom had the luck to eat In Berkeley-fquafe, or Grofvenor-ftreet. 240 'TWAS written in the book of fate .iy r Thefe rivals fhould each other hate, No wonder then that each proud imp was As wayward here as on Olympus. Wit look'd on Learning, as he grew great, 545 Juft as a felon looks on Newgate : 4 While ( 202 ) While Learning, who could never hide -O His haughty academic pride, Had fuch a keen contempt for Wit He call'd him nothing but the chit; 250 And, if he met him at noon-day, Would turn his face another way. HOWEVER on fome feftal nights By chance they both dropp'd in at White's With learned lords, and noble bards, 2jj Who had no appetite for cards, And could decide whene'er they met Momentous truths without a bett. Wit with vivacity of tongue Firft led th' admiring ear along, 260 His fancy adtive, wild, and free as Conception when flic breeds ideas, Flew o'er each undifcover'd part Of nature, and the worlds of art, And And brought, with fuch a nice decorum 265 A group of images before him, So genuine, yet fo uncommon, With fuch a glow of tints upon 'em, That all was fpirit, force, and fenfe, Loofe as the zone of negligence, 37* Simple as truth's fair handmaid nature, And deadly as the fting of fatire. Deje&ed Learning fat opprefs'd ; Around him flew the taunt and jeft : Whatever juft remarks he made, 175 Or to demonftrate, or perfuade, Wit, by fome fly malicious comment, Took off, or routed in a moment. However, when a paufe appear'd, And fober reafon could be hear'd, 280 He then in all his thunder rifes, Strips off his rival's thin difguifes, Shews where his mifconceiving fenfe Led to a groundlefs confequeijce, Miftook ( 304 ) Miftook an error for a wonder, 285 A demonftration for a blunder, Or, having a delufive fcent got, Affirm'd the very thing he meant not. YET after all, fince mirth and drinking Are priz'd above fedater thinking, 290 Tho' Learning got a world of praife, And added fplendor to his bays, Their lord {Lips frighten'd at th' expence Of lift'ning to exalted fenfe, And deeming that the taint of knowledge 195 Would make the coffee-houfe a college, Determin'd in a full committee That man's great end was to be witty : And therefore order'd, every foul, Wit fhou'd be enter'd on the roll, 300 And be allow'd, to raife his vein, A weekly prefent of champaigne : That That if proud Learning fliould prefumc To fet his foot within the room, Arthur fhould fliew him to the door, 305 And bid the pedant come no more. LEARNING thus kick'd from ev'ry palace, And left a vicflim to the gallows, Began to fee that (kill in letters Would ne'er advance him with his betters; 310 That tho' he led them thro' the dark With all the lights of Locke, and Clarke, And made his heart, and head, and eyes ach With reading nature, and Sir Ifaac, Yet all that wifdom could not be ^ 1 5 Priz'd like a lively repartee : He therefore, in a gloomy fit, Refolv'd to fet up for a Wit, But found, alas ! howe'er he dreft her, That fcience was a wretched jefter ; 3 20 D d That ( 206 ) That tho' he jok'd from moon to moon He made a very dull buffoon ; For all his jocular narrations Smelt of his algebra equations, And came upon the tortur'd ear 325 Stiff as the periods of Dacier. Wit, too, whofe excellence and merit Was meer vivacity of fpirit, Obferving that your graver folk Had little value for a joke, 330 Wou'd needs, in nature^s bold defiance, Mount the tremendous chair of fcience r And dar'd to argue pro and con As gravely as the grave Sorbonne ; But wanting all that fine difcerning 335 Which marks the character of Learning, And all the elemental rules Of erudition, and the fchools, The gay profeffor oft miftook Alike his queftion and his book ; 340 Dropp'd Dropp'd a conundrum out of feafon, And jefled when he ought to reafon. THUS on the world's wild billows toft, And half their moments idly loft, Tir'd of applaufe, and fick of ftrife, 2 45 They each refolv'd to take a wife. Learning who often went to fee Lady Anne Bentinck at her tea, Met there a maid as fair as chafte, In life's full bloom, whofe name was Tafte. 350 'Twas then his heart began to move With the firft tender throb of love, And often heav'd, it knew not why, With fomething fofter than a figh ; He gaz'd, he blufh'd, he courted, preft, 355 And was at length completely bleft : For fhe, who had not learnt to doat On folly in a fcarlet ^coat, Dd 2 To ( 208 ) To Learning's blifsful anns refign'd Her graceful form, and lovely mind, 360 Wit too, when paft the fire of youth,. Was married to the veftal, Truth,, A nymph whofe awful air and mien Difplay'd the beauty, and the queen.. TRADITION tells us Hymen fwore 565 That, till this bright aufpicious hour, There never in his holy houfe was So fine a group of noble fpoufes ; For both the bridegrooms, on their marriage, Improv'd in temper, fenfe, and carriage, 370 Learning, his charming wife to pieafe, Affum'd her elegance and eafe ; And Wit, to humour Truth, agreed To paufe, to doubt, reflect, and read; In fliort they led delicious lives, jycj Belov'd, and honour'd by their wives ^ And, And, happy in their nuptial duties^ Each had a progeny of beauties, Matchlefs in feature, form, and parts, Diftinguifh'd by the name of Arts. 380 FATHER'S extempore CONSOLATION ON THE DEATH OF Two DAUGHTERS, who lived only Two Days. LE T vulgar fouls endure the body's chain, Till life's dull current ebbs in ev'ry vein, Dream out a tedious age ere, wide difplay"d, Death's blackeft pinion wraps them in the fhade. THESE happy infants, early taught to fhun 5 All that the world admires beneath the fun, Scorn'd f 210 ) Scorn'd the weak bands mortality cou'd tie, And fled impatient to their native fky. . DEAR precious babes! Alas! when, fondly wild, A mother's heart hung melting o'er her child, 10 When my charm'd eye a flood of joy exprefs'd. And all the father kindled in my breaft, A fudden palenefs feiz'd each guiltlefs face, And death, tho' fmiling, crept o'er ev'ry grace. NATURE! becalm heave not th' impaflion'd figh, 15 Nor teach one tear to tremble in my eye, A few unfgotted moments pafs'd between Their dawn of being, and their clofing fcene : And fure no nobler, blefling can be giv'n When one fhort anguifli is the price of heav'n. 20 The : The ANTIQUARIANS. A T A L E. OME Antiquarians, grave, and Joyaf, Incorporate by charter royal, Laft winter, on a Thurfday night, were Met in full fenate at the Mitre. The prefident, like Mr. Mayor^ 5 Majeftic took the elbow chair, And gravely fat in due decorum With a fine gilded mace before him. Upon the table were difplay'd A Britifli knife without a blade, 10 A comb of Anglo Saxon feal, A patent with king Alfred's feal, Two rufted mutilated prongs, Suppos'd to be St. Dunftan's tongs, With With which he, as the ftory goes, 15 Once took the devil by the nofe. AWHILE they talked of antient modes, Of manufcripts, and gothic codes, Of Roman altars, camps, and urns, Of Caledonian fhields, and churns, 20 Whether the druid flipt, or broke The mifletoe upon the oak ? If Hedor's fpear was made of afla ? Or Agamemnon wore a fafh ? If Cleopatra drefs'd in blue, 25 And wore her trefles in a queue ? AT length a dean who underftood All that had pafs'd before the flood, And could in half a minute ftiew ye A pedigree as high as Noah, 30 Got up, and with a folemn air (Firft humbly bowing to the chair) 4 If ( "3 ) cc If ought, fays he, deferves a name Immortal as the roll of fame, This venerable group of fages 35 Shall flourifli in the lateft ages, And wear an Amaranthine crown When kings and empires are unknown. Perhaps e'en I, whofe humbler knowledge Ranks me the loweft of your college, 40 May catch from your meridian day At leaft a tranfitory ray : For I, like you, thro' ev'ry clime, Have trac'd the ftep of hoary Time, And gather'd up his facred fpoils 45 With more than half a cent'ry's toils* Whatever virtue, deed, or name, Antiquity has left to fame. In every age, and every zone, In cop; T, marble, Wood, or ftone, $Q In vafes, fiow'r-pots, lamps, and fconcesj Intaglios, cameos, gems, and bronzes : E e Thefe Thefe eyes have read thro' many a cruft Of lacker, varnifli, greafe, and duft ; And now, as glory fondly draws 55 My foul to win your juft applaufe, I here exhibit to your view A medal farely worth Peru, Found, as tradition fays, at Rome, Near the quirinal catacomb. 60 HE faid, and from a purfe of fatin, Wrapp'd in a leaf of monkifli Latin, And taught by many a clafp to join, Drew out a dirty copper coin. Still as pale midnight when fhe throws 65 On heav'n and earth a deep repofe ^ Loft in a trance too big to fpeak, The fynod ey'd the fine antique, Examin'd ev'ry point, and part, With all the critic fkill of art, 70 Rung. Rung it alternate on the ground In hopes to know it by the found ; Applied the tongue's acuter fenfe To tafte its genuine excellence, And with an animated guft jr Lick'd up the confecrated ruft : Nor yet content with what the eye By its own fun-beams cou'd defcry, To ev'ry corner of the brafs They clapp'd a microfcopic glafs, 80 And view'd in raptures o'er and o'er The ruins of the learned ore, PYTHAGORAS, the learned fage, As you may read in Pliny's page, With much of thought, and pains, and care, 85 Found the proportions of a fquare, Which threw him in fuch frantic fits As almoft robb'd him of his wits, Ee 2 And ( 216 ) And made him, awful as his name was, Run naked thro' the ftreets of Samos. go With the fame fpirits dodor Romans, A keen civilian of the Commons, Fond as Pythagoras to claim The wreath of literary fame, Sprung in a phrenzy from his place gr Acrofs the table and the mace, And fwore by Varro's fhade that he Conceived the medal to a T. It rings, fays he, fo pure, and chafte, And has fo claffical a tafte, 100 That we may fix its native home Securely in imperial Rome. That rafcal, Time, whofe hand purloins From fcience half her kings and coins, Has eat, you fee, one half the tale, 105 And hid the other in a veil : But if, thro' cankers, ruft, and fetters, Misfhapen forms, and broken letters, The The critic's eye may dare to trace An evanefcent name, and face, no This injur'd medal will appear, As midday funfhine, bright, and clear. The female figure on a throne Of ruftic work in Tibur' ftone ; Without a fandal, zone, or boddice, uc Is liberty's immortal goddefs ; Whofe facred fingers feem to hold A taper wand, perhaps of gold, Which has, if I miftake not, on it The Pileus, or Roman bonnet : i 2$ By this the medallift would mean To paint that fine domeftic fcene, When the firft Brutus nobly gave. His freedom to the worthy flave. WHEN a fpe&ator's got the jaundice, 125 Each object, or by fea, or land, is 3 Difcolour'd Difcolour'd by a yellow hue, Tho' naturally red, or blue. This was the cafe with Tquire Thynne, A barrifter of Lincoln's Inn, 130 Who never lov'd to think or fpeak Of any thing but antient Greek. In all difputes his facred guide was The very venerable Suidas : And tho' he never deign'd to look 135 In Salkeld, Littleton, or Coke, And liv'd a ftranger to the fees And practice of the Common Pleas ; He ftudied with fuch warmth, and awe, The volumes of Athenian law, 140 That Solon's felf not better knew The legiflative plan he drew : Nor cou'd Demofthenes withftand The rhet'ric of his wig, and band ; When, full of zeal, and Ariftotle, 145 And fluttered by a fecond bottle, He He taught the orator to fpeak His periods in correcler Greek. METHINKS, quoth he, this little piece Is certainly a child of Greece: jr O Th' JErugo has a tinge of blue Exactly of the attic hue ; And, if the tafte's acuter feel, May judge of medals as of veal, I'll take my oath the mould and ruft 15^ Are made of attic dew, and duft. Critics may talk, and rave, and foam, Of Brutus, and imperial Rome ; But Rome, in all her pomp, and blifs, Ne'er ftruck fo fine a coin as this. 160 Befides, tho' Time, as is his way, Has eat th' infcription quite away, My eye can trace, divinely true, In this dark curve a little Mu : And ( 220 ) And here, you fee, there feems to lie 165 The ruins of a Doric Xi. Perhaps, as Athens thought, and writ With all the powers of ftyle, and witj The nymph upon a couch of mallows Was meant to reprefent a Pallas: i?O And the baton upon the ore Is but the olive-branch fhe bore. HE faid-^-but Swinton, full of fire$ Aflerted that it came .from Tyre, A moft divine antique he thought it* 173 And with an empire wou'd have bought it He fwore the head in full profile was Undoubtedly the head of Belus ; And the reverfe, tho' hid in {hade, Appear'd a young Sidonian maid, i8o Whofe trefles^ bufkins, fhape, and mien^ Mark'd her for Dido at fixteen; Perhaps ( 321 ) Perhaps the very year when fhe was Firft married to the rich Sichzeus. The rod, as he cou'd make it clear, 185 Was nothing but a hunting-fpear, Which all the Tyrian ladies bore To guard them when they chac'd the boar. A learned friend, he cou'd confide on, Who liv'd full thirty years at Sidon, 190 Once fhew'd him, 'midft the feals and rings Of more than thirty Syrian kings, A copper piece, in fhape, and fize, Exadly that before their eyes, On which, in high relief, was feen 195 The image of a Tyrian queen : Which made him think this other dame A true Phenician, and the fame. The next, a critic, grave, and big, Hid in a moft enormous wig, 200 Ff Who ( 222 ) Who in his manner, mien, and fhape was A genuine fon of Efculapius, Wondered that men of fuch difcerning In all th' abftrufer parts of learning Cou'd err, thro* want of wit, or grace, So ftrangely in fo plain a cafe. IT came, fays he, or I will be whipt, From Memphis in the lower Egypt. Soon as the Nile's prolific flood Has fill'd the plains with flime and mud, All Egypt in a moment fwarms With myriads of abortive worms, Whofe appetites wou'd foon devour Each cabbage, artichoke, and flow'r, Did not fome birds, with active zeal, Eat up whole millions at a meal, And check the peft while yet the year Is ripening into ftalk, and ear. ( 223 ) This bleffing, vifibly divine, ,Is finely pourtrayed on the coin ; For hear this line, fo faint and weak, Is certainly a bill, or beak; Which bill, or beak, upon my word, In Hieroglyphics means a bird, The very bird whofe num'rous tribe is 225 Diftinguiflied by the name of Ibis. Befides, the figure with the wand, Mark'd by a fiftrum in her hand, Appears, the moment fhe is feen, An Ifis, Egypt's boafted queen., fc^l 1 Sir, I'm as fure, as if my eye Had feen the artift cut the die, That thefe two curves, which wave, and float thus, Are but the tendrils of the Lotus, ,.; ., . -,^, , Which, as Herodotus has {aid, Th* Egyptians always eat for bread. Ff 2 HE HE fpoke, and heard, without a paufe, The riling murmur of applaufc ; The voice of admiration rung On ev'ry ear from ev'ry tongue ^ 240 Aftonifli'd at the lucky hit They ftar'd, they deify 'd his wit. BUT, ah ! what arts by fate are tried To vex, and humble human pride ! To pull down poets from Parnaflus, 245 And turn grave do&ors into afTes ! For whilft the band their voices raife To celebrate the Sage's praife, And echo thro' the houfe convey 'd Their paeans loud to man and maid ; 25 o Tom, a pert waiter, fmart, and clever, A droit pretence who wanted never, Curious to fee what caus'd this rout, And what the doctors were about,, Slyly Slyly ftepp'd in to fnuff the candles, 255 And afk whate'er they pleas'd to want elfe. Soon as the Synod he came near Loud diflbnance affail'd his ear, Strange mingled founds, in pompous ftyle, Of Ifis, Ibis, Lotus, Nile : 260 And foon in Roman's hand he fpies The coin, the caufe of all their noife. Quick to his fide he flies amain, And peeps, and muffs, and peeps again. And tho' antiques he had no {kill in, 265 He knew a fixpence from a {hilling ; And, fpite of ruft, or rub, cou'd trace On humble brafs Britannia's face. Soon her fair image he defcries, And, big with laughter, and furprize, 270 He burfl " And is this group of learning So {hort of fenfe, and plain difcerning, That a mere halfpenny can be To them a curiofity ? 3 tf If this is your beft proof of fcience 375 With wifdom Tom claims no alliance : Content with nature's artlefs knowledge He fcorns alike both fchool and college." MORE had he faid but, lo! around A ftorm in ev'ry face he found: 280 On Roman's brow black thunders hung, And whirlwinds rufli'd from Swinton's tongue j Thynne lightning flafli'd from ev'ry pore, And reafon's voice was heard no more. THE tempeftey'd, Tom fpeeds his flight, 285 And, fneering, bids 'em all good night : Convinc'd that pedantry's allies May be too learned to be wife. THE END, The following NEW BOOKS are lately publifhed, and may be had of W. Wood/all, in White Fryars, and S. Bladon, in Pater Nofter Row. 1. SHAKESPEARE'S Works, 8 Vols. 8vo. with a Preface and Notes, critical and explanatory. By SAMUEL JOHNSON. 2. A new Edition, elegantly printed in 8 large Volumes, 8vo. adorned with a Head by Hogarth, of the Works of HENRY FIELDING, Efq; wiih an Eflay on the Life and Genius of the Author. By ARTHUR MURPHY, Efq; N.B. An elegant Edition of the above in four Volumes, Royal Quarto, Price 5!. 55. and another Edition in 12 Volumes, 12010. Price il. i6s. dlfo tb* following Articles ^ feme for the Entertainment of Gentle- wen ', and other S) principally dejigned for the Ufe of Schools. 1. BOAD'S Spelling Book. 2. CHESELDEN'S Anatomy, 8vo. 3. CLARK.T/S Cordery. 4. DYCHE'S Dictionary, 8vo. 5. JEsop Naturalized. 6. Grand Tour, 4 Vols. iamo. 7. HANWAY'S Travels, 2 Vols. 410. 8. Hiftory of England, Q^ and A. I2mo. g. Rome, Q^ and A. I2mo. 10 . Greece, C^. and A. 11. LINDE on the Scurvy, 8vo. 12. MACBRIDE'S EfTays, 8vo 13. SHAKESPEARE illuttrated, 3 Vols. In thePrefs, and fpeedily will le pullijhed, A new correa, and compleat Edition of CHAMBERS's DICTIONARY, with the Articles of the SUPPLEMENT, properly inferted in their due Order, in the Body of the Work. An elegant and correa Edition of BOYLE's WORKS, in 5 Volumes, Quarto. N B. All the Plays and Farces, written and afted of late Years, may be had of S. B L A D O N, in Pater Nofter Row. ERRATA TYPOGRAPHICA. Sparkling: for fparkling, page 8, line 60. Speech for Speck, p. 10, 1. 97. Globe for glebe, p. 43, 1. 124. J5