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 THE LIBRARY 
 
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 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 tf#J>S /*'/ O 1 ^ 
 
 / 
 
 
 r\ 
 
 TRIFUE 
 
 A COLLECTION OF POEMS,
 
 TRIFLES; 
 
 A COLLECTION OF ORIGINAL POEMS ; 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 HIGH BE*dCM 9 
 
 AN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH; 
 
 jWarftet 2Baj>; 
 
 ELEGIES, ODES, SONGS, $c. 
 
 " Without enliv'ning suns and genial show'rs, 
 " And shelter from the blast, in vain we hope 
 " The tender plant shall rear its blooming head." 
 
 Akenside. 
 
 JPrintrtJ for tye author, 
 BY J. PLUMMER, 11, LITTLE EASTCHEAP. 
 
 181;
 
 PR 
 
 Air 
 
 7 
 
 ADTERTISEMENT. 
 
 THE Author deems an apology for the publication 
 of these "Trifles," unnecessary: their lowly pre- 
 tensions shield them from the shafts of unknown cri- 
 ticism, while the generous encouragement which has 
 anticipated their appearance amongst the Author's 
 friends, forms an ample earnest of their continued in- 
 dulgence. 
 
 857,330
 
 
 REFERENCE. 
 
 1 High Beach, an historical and descriptive Sketch . 1 
 
 2 Stanzas written in a Country Church Yard ... 32 - 
 
 3 Humility recommended 38 
 
 4 On Friendship 42 
 
 5 Elegy on the Death of Two Infants '46 
 
 6 Requiem 49 
 
 7 Lines addressed to a Young Lady 52 
 
 8 The Convict's Appeal 51 
 
 9 Resignation 67 
 
 10 Ode to the Nightingale 70 
 
 11 Dirge 74 
 
 12 Canzonet in imitation of Camoens 76 
 
 13 Song 78 
 
 11 The Wreck 81 
 
 15 Anacreontic 33 
 
 16 Inscription on a Drinking Cup 85 
 
 17 Impromptu at the Tomb of Laura 87 
 
 18 Imitation of Scarron 89 
 
 19 Epigram from Boileau 90 
 
 20 The Cause of Pythagoras pleaded 91 
 
 21 Market Day 93 
 
 22 Washing Day 112
 

 
 TRIFLES. 
 
 AN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 
 
 FROM the lofty wood-crown'd hill, 
 
 Where all is silent all is still, 
 
 Where boundless landscapes ever please, 
 
 Where Nature rests in rural ease ; 
 
 Save when she hears the fountain rill, 
 
 The woodman's stroke, the clatfring mill, 
 
 * The author has subjoined explanatory notes, not from 
 any disrespect to the understanding of his readers, but to 
 elucidate any obscurity in his own delineations. In this 
 sketch he does not pretend to elicit any new historical mat- 
 ter, hut merely to collect in one view the circumstances con- 
 nected with the local scenery, and of course possessing local 
 interest.
 
 TRIFLES. 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 The rushing stream, which lends it force, 
 And murm'ring seeks its wonted course; 
 The bleating flocks, the lowing herds, 
 The distant bells, the vocal birds, 
 And all the concord of sweet sounds, 
 Which thro' the fairy scene abounds; 
 Over the welkin let us ride, 
 On fancy's wildly devious tide, 
 And catch the breezes as they fly, 
 Which living genius may supply, 
 Then with the fair directing gale, 
 Distend Reflection's courting sail; 
 Provided thus, thro' vales we'll stray, 
 Impregnate by the beams of day; 
 Explore the mountains' misty brow, 
 And gather all that they bestow; 
 To where the cottage wcod-fires burn, 
 From busy cities glad return,
 
 TRIFLES. 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 Unenv'ing pity toiling cares, 
 
 Which gather wealth for spendthrift heirs; 
 
 Now dart into the neighb'ring shade, 
 
 Where timid deer of man afraid, 
 
 First fly, then turn to take a view 
 
 Of him before whose steps they flew; 
 
 And now emerging from the wood, 
 
 Imagination finds new food, 
 
 The dress which art o'er Nature throws, 
 
 The gifts which Nature's hand bestows, 
 
 The gleaming spire, the rolling stream, 
 
 The wrecks of pride, ambition's 
 
 And all that ask the poet's thet 
 
 ng stream, - 
 )n's dream, > 
 leme. J 
 
 And here the pensive trav'ler too, 
 Kens objects in his boundless view, 
 (For fancy knows no earthly bound, 
 When Heav'n's bright regions lie beyond;) 
 E 2
 
 TRIFLES. 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 Which on his mind reflective cast 
 An image of long ages past, 
 The changing state of men and things, 
 The fate of nations and of kings, 
 Produc'd by Heav'n's unerring laws, 
 Effects quite foreign to their cause; 
 And yet to check man's rising pride, 
 Extremes are ever close allied. 
 Proud, mortal man! who lords the soil 
 He's doomed to till, with endless toil, 
 Tho' scattered o'er the ample scene, 
 Is in the distance scarcely seen; 
 With insect tribes, confus'd his form, 
 The mighty lord, the dying worm ! 
 Yet who can trace the viewless line, 
 Where intellect and feeling join, 
 Where mind begins, and matter ends, 
 Or how their mutual action blends,
 
 TRIFLES, 
 
 High lieach. 
 
 With what effect the ear and eye 
 To mental faculty apply, 
 How forms of beauty please the sight, 
 And concord tones the ear delight; 
 Reverse tie harmony of these, 
 And quickly mind reversely sees; 
 The blush shame-summoned on the cheek, 
 The smiles which kindling pleasure speak. 
 The starting tear, confessing pviinj 
 All issue of the conscious brain; 
 Y\ hile these organic pow'rs controul, 
 They speak the feelings of the soul. 
 How spacious is the human mind! 
 Within no earthly bounds confin'd, 
 Bright essence of th' immortal soul, 
 Her grasp extends from pole to pule ; 
 To her in real forms appear, 
 'I he distant stars, the blazing sphere; 
 u 3
 
 TRIFLES. 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 She sees perfection thro' the veil, 
 And soars, but earthly clouds prevail, 
 Which rest between the bright abode, 
 The untold glories of her God; 
 Hut death will lift the veil of clay, 
 Then rise my soul, and soar away. 
 
 Stern critics spare the youthful muse, 
 And candour, venial faults excuse; 
 Who can their thoughts or words controul 
 When Nature rushes on the soul, 
 In blooming verdure richly dight, 
 And endless sources of delight: 
 Or should the poet doubly dream, 
 And think he starts the new-born theme, 
 Yet steals a string from foreign lyres, 
 And warms his muse with brighter fire e :
 
 TRIFLES. 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 He reads, be loves the glowing lays 
 
 Of heav'n-taught bards, transcending praise, 
 
 His mind adopts the image fair, 
 
 Which leaves a faithful transcript there: 
 
 Thus form'er, the offspring of his brain, 
 
 May humbly emulate the strain. 
 
 Tho' wide our flight, far off we see, 
 
 Upon the hill the naked tree, 
 
 Which, stript of ev'ry spreading bough, 
 
 Directs the pilgrim to its brow; 
 
 Upon whose sloping forest side, 
 
 The sylvan deities reside, 
 
 Pan tunes his reed, the oaks among, 
 
 And Fauns rouse Echo to the song; 
 
 Where Time has seen old Ocean heave* 
 
 Against its base the swelling wave, 
 
 * The author has adopted a tradition orally extant upon 
 the spot, but docs not vouch for the validity of its origin.
 
 TRIFLES. 
 
 High Heath. 
 
 From copious urns his waters pour, 
 And drive the surge with frightful roar; 
 When Neptune saw the torrents spoil, 
 The bosom of Jiis favour'd isle, 
 He bade old Triton sound his shell, 
 The rolling billows to repel; 
 The sea-green God obey'd his sire, 
 And made the vassal floods retire; 
 The ocean rais'd his angry head, 
 And murm'ring left his stony bed. 
 
 With instinct's keen half-reasaning aid, 
 The cattle seek the quickset shade, 
 To shelter from the driving gales, 
 When either equinox prevails: 
 Wild fantasy appears twice strange, 
 Where hedge rows stretch their winding range,
 
 TRIFLES. 
 
 High B^pch. 
 
 In ev'ry form which science knows, 
 The fields their varying shapes disclose ; 
 In darker lines the bounds appear, 
 When Winter rules the waning year, 
 And o'ev the lap of nature throws 
 Ilej mantle, white with virgin snows: 
 The emblem to the mind conveys 
 A vestige of dark feudal days, 
 When vassal slaves the tyrants feel 
 Who caiVd these limits with their steel, 
 Advent'rous chiefs, with warlike hordes, 
 Repaid with land their conq'ring swords; 
 Expos'd to outward rude alarms, 
 To concentrate their hostile arms, 
 They chose a king, with gen'ral voice, 
 Who own'd and fear'd the parent choice 
 And then the vulture Discord freed, 
 With whom the foul night-ravens feed,
 
 10 TRIFLES. 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 On heaps of mangled victims stood, 
 And drench'd her venom in their blood : 
 Where baron's bold with envious pride, 
 Saw neighb'ring grandeur spreading wide, 
 And gather'd swarming clans from far, 
 To wage th' exterminating war: 
 Contention rock'd their lordly pow'r, 
 Whose vassals watch'd the guarded tow'i', 
 External foes, internal friends 
 Might warp and thwart their hostile ends, 
 Shrinking with dark distrust they stand, 
 And buy fidelity with land; 
 In smaller bounds the vassals see 
 Their blood-stained tenure, held in fee, 
 Enfranehis'd slaves no longer know 
 The power upon whose wreck they grow; 
 Hence all degrees of human kind 
 In mutual dependance find,
 
 TRIFLES. 11 
 
 High lieach. 
 
 An interest in the social weal, 
 Which fetter'd slaves can never feel. 
 In this rude sketch a path we see 
 Which led to glorious liberty; 
 So might we trace the course of things, 
 To times e'en when the poet sings, 
 When commerce, lux'ry in her train, 
 Extends o'er all the earth her reign; 
 Her offspring wealth, producing ease, 
 And all that enervating please; 
 Retir'd ease, with wanton taste, 
 Divides at will the purchas'd waste; 
 lint nobler themes remain unsung 
 To tire and grace the poet's tongue. 
 
 The ancient Lea, yon winding stream.. 
 Which never deck'd the classic theme,
 
 i-2 Trifles. 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 Has seen contending navies ride 
 Upon her flowing silver tide: 
 Hail to the royal, patriot sage, 
 Who form'd Britannia's golden, age, 
 To her old Ocean's empire gave, 
 And taught her sorts to rule the wave; 
 Who frain'd the wholesome, generous laws' 
 The Briton hails with just applause, 
 By which inspir'd, he nobly fights, 
 To guard his dear prescriptive rights: 
 When Alfred saw the banners gleam 
 Of eagled Lochlinfon the stream, 
 
 * " To Alfred we are indebted for tlie foundation of our 
 happy and glorious constitution: the invaluable privilege of 
 a trial by jury; and the bulwark of England, her invincible 
 naval power." 
 
 t Denmark
 
 TRIFLES. 13 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 With vigour prompt, which marks the brave, 
 He turn'd the channel of the wave ; 
 From hostile prows the floods retreat, 
 To swell the infant British fleet;* 
 And hence that splendid power arose 
 Which guards our shores from foreign foes. 
 
 Now loftier prows, and wider sea, 
 Consign to peace the hoary Lea, 
 Save swarming craftsmen spreading far, 
 To forge the panoply of war, 
 
 * The Danes suffering a signal defeat at Exeter, fled with 
 the remains of their army into Essex, where they were join- 
 ed by fresh swarms of their marauding countrymen. Alfred 
 reconnoitring their fleet, which lay at anchor in the river Lea 
 conceived it possible to draw off the water, and lay the ships 
 quite dry; his ideas wore instantly put in practice with the 
 utmost success. Such of the ships as could be got off, the 
 Londoners took possession of, the remainder was destroyed.
 
 14 TRIFLES. 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 Which arms Britannia's hand with lire, 
 
 When foes insulting wake her ire.* 
 
 Oh ! why will men forget the tie 
 
 That links them in one family, 
 
 And yield to mad ambition's sway, 
 
 Where vengeance marks her blood-stain'd way ! 
 
 Oh! bid the human slaughter cease, 
 
 And plant thine olive, gentle peace! 
 
 And let it flourish on each shore, 
 
 And nations learn the art no more. 
 
 Cpon the banks the anglers stand, 
 Who lure their prey with skilful hand; 
 The pike veracious gorge the bait, 
 And feel the hidden snare too late; 
 
 * The Royal Powder Mills, and Magazines, and thn Ar 
 moury, extending from Enfield Lock nearly in Holyfield.
 
 TRIFLES. 15 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 Like pleasure's sons who snatch the joy, 
 Which courts indulgence to destroy: 
 Conceal'd beneath the semblance fair, 
 Lurk fell disease corroding care, 
 And all keen sorrow's* tort ring train, 
 Tor pleasure introduces pain ; 
 Tho' beauteous tints the rose adorn, 
 Its bosom hides the pointed thorn. 
 
 Old Time with wanton jealousy, 
 Steals the rich gothic tracery, 
 Which tells a tale of ages gone, 
 And writes a hist'ry on the stone; 
 But yet to make the stealth half fair, 
 Leaves his silvery honours there; 
 So deck'd, yon monumental cross* 
 Records a weeping monarch's loss, 
 
 >\ ui ilium Cross. 
 
 C 2.
 
 16 TRIFLES. 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 A queen whose firm affection rose 
 Beyond all bounds which custom knows:" 
 She courted death, and smil'd at fear, 
 To win a life she held more dear ; 
 lleav'n smil'd upon the pious flame, 
 And Death, confounded, miss'd his aim: 
 
 t Edward the first being wounded in the arm by a poison- 
 ed arrow, during one of the battles in which he signalized 
 himself against the Saracens, was on the verge of dissolution. 
 His queen Eleanor hearing the physicians pronounce his doom, 
 unless the venom was extracted at the expence of the life of 
 some other person, who must suck the poison from the wound, 
 seized the opportunity of her consort being in a deep sleep, 
 to extract the poison, and thus saved his life, miraculously 
 without any injury to herself. After the final defeat of 
 Llewellyn, at a parliament held at Ruthin, it was resolved to 
 unite the two countries, but the Welsh nobles representing 
 to Edward, that their countrymen would never peaceably 
 own the English Sway, he dispatched a messenger for his 
 queen to lie in at Caernarvon, by which artifice he betrayed 
 the Welsh into submission, who afterwards did homage to the 
 prince at Chester Castle, as their sovereign; soon after the 
 queen dying at Grantham, a cross was erected at every stage 
 where the corpse rested on the road to Westminster,
 
 TRIFLES. 17 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 From hence her steps we backward trace, 
 Big with the chains of Gwyneth's race, 
 She sought Caernarvon's lordly tow'r, 
 To legalize her Edward's pow'r, 
 Whose batter'd spear, and dented shield 
 Bespoke him master of the field, 
 Of chivalry the fairest flow'r, 
 Retiring foes confest his powers 
 To him the knights of Chalons field,* 
 A harvest rich, with glory yield, 
 Which, with the triumph of his age, 
 Adorn the proud historic page, 
 
 * On Edward's return from the Holy Land, he was chal- 
 lenged by the Duke of* Burgundy to a grand tournament at 
 Chalons, which challenge he readily accepted. The superior 
 prowess of the English king and his train, completely over- 
 threw the French knights, who, irritated at their disgrace, 
 furiously attacked their English victors, which occasioned 
 considerable bloodshed. This rencounter was called the 
 petty battle of Chalons. 
 
 c3
 
 18 TRIFLES. 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 Save "where the sanguinary stain 
 Bedims the splendour of his reign ; 
 Llewellyn's blood and minstrelsy* 
 Crimson the shrine of policy: 
 Thus reft, the Cambrian hosts subilu'd, 
 Yet scorn'd to own the Saxon blood ; 
 To soothe the soul of ancient pride, 
 Commission'd went his lovely bride, 
 On Menai's shore she bore a son, 
 A native prince to fill the throne ; 
 Thus fell, like all a mortal rears, 
 The fabric of eight hundred years. 
 
 When Europe with mistaken zeal, 
 Announc d a Saviour by her steel, 
 
 * Tradition relates that Edward politically sacrificed nil 
 the Bards who fell into his power; these used to accompany 
 the Britons in their wars, and animate their warriors by sonas 
 reciting the deeds and triumphs of departed heroes.
 
 TRIFLES. 19 
 
 Hiah Beach. 
 
 And made his mild and peaceful laws, 
 
 Subservient to a hostile cause; 
 
 When Valour the enthusiast play'd, 
 
 And plan' d the ravaging crusade ; 
 
 Her banner bore the holy rood, 
 
 Which wav'd o'er scenes of streaming blood l . 
 
 And yet upon this dark'ned view, 
 
 The progress of refinement grew:* 
 
 Contending nations, foes before, 
 
 Join'd arms, and sought the hallow'd shore ; 
 
 Associate princes in the cause, 
 
 Improv'd their manners and their laws, 
 
 * At this period, nt so low an ebb was literature, that even 
 princes and peers could not write or read. If a grant was to 
 be confirmed by deed, a learned man or clerk, was sough*, 
 and with difficulty found, to prepare the instrument, which 
 was then formally marked with the sign of the cross, in token 
 of good faith, a practice still observed by the illiterate, and 
 since .subscribing an article is called siirnins to this <'a\ .
 
 20 TRIFLES. 
 
 N High Beach. 
 
 And gather'd (to refine the age) 
 
 Whate'er escap'd rude vandal rage; 
 
 In mutual confidence they grew, 
 
 And mutual advantage drew, 
 
 Hence commerce op'd her crowded marts, 
 
 Importing knowledge and the arts; 
 
 Enlighten'd thus, the people saw 
 
 And claim'd their rights by Nature's law, 
 
 Tn them the vital power lay, 
 
 Which, thus directed, gain'd the day. 
 
 Lo! hills on hills perspective rise, 
 And stretch their chain to join the skies; 
 In distance seem to reach the goal, 
 Which gilds their tops, and shuts the whole, 
 Between, the tasteless pile of stones 
 Which Harold rear'd, to urn his bones:* 
 
 * " Harold in 1002, dedicated the monastery of Waltham to 
 the honor of a certain holy cross, found, as the legend says,
 
 TRIFLES. 21 
 
 Hisr It Beach. 
 
 Reflection rests upon the fane 
 Where Superstition wont to reign, 
 In midnight glooms and cloisters pale, 
 Deep-forg'd the wonder-working tale, 
 Of mystic cross, which crown'd its brow, 
 And taught blind votaries to bow, 
 To heap the spoils of mitred pride, 
 For which the holy martyrs died : 
 Bold Harry saw with jealous glow, 
 Prelatic influence widely grow, 
 
 by a carpenter somewhere in the west, and brought here, 
 where it continued to possess its miraculous powers, record- 
 ed in a manuscript mentioned by Mr. Morant as in the Cottou 
 Library, Julius D. VI. 2. ' De miraculis crucis in montea- 
 cuto per fabrum invent* tempore Canuti et de ejus deduc- 
 tione ad Waltham.' After the battle of Hastings, Harold's 
 body was here buried together with his two brothers, being 
 with difficulty obtained from the Conqueror, by the inter- 
 cession of his mother, and two of the monks of this abbey. 
 The abbot of Waltham was one of the mitred abbots, and 
 free from all jurisdiction but that of the Bishop of Rome and 
 the king.''
 
 22 TRIFLES. 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 Which cross'd the monarch's fierce desires, 
 And fan'd to rage his lustful fires: 
 With piercing mind he grasp'd the day, 
 Dispell'd the mist, and seized his prey ; 
 Thus rankling passions in his blood, 
 Educ'd for man a sovereign good. 
 
 Beyond, a palace press'd the earth,* 
 Whence party-faction drew her birth, 
 Which, as contending views prevail'd, 
 Expos'd the monarch's faults or veil'd ; 
 Thus warp'd, th' historians of the age, 
 Have cloth'd with doubt the record pag^.T 
 
 * Theobald's, King James I. died at this seat. 
 
 t " No prince so little enterprising and inoffensive, was 
 ever so much exposed to the opposite extremes of calumny 
 and flattery, of satire and panegyric; and ihe factions which.
 
 TRIFLES. 23 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 The hall where grandeur kept her court, 
 Of pomp and pride the gay resort, 
 Where courtiers sooth'd a pedant king, 
 And uvg'd his flight on waxen wing;* 
 He soar'd, and dar'd the mental ray, 
 Eiit melted in the blaze of day: 
 So fell the dome, and like his fame, 
 Left scarce a vestige but the name. 
 
 The rude sign arching o'er the way, 
 Bespeaks the inn where pilgrims stay; 
 
 began in his time still existing, have made his character as 
 much disputed to this day as is commonly that of princes 
 who are our contemporaries." 
 
 * " Quotations, puns, witticisms, superstition, oaths, vanity, 
 prerogative and pedantry, the ingredients of all his sacred 
 Majesty's performances, were the pure produce of his own 
 rapacity, and deserving all the incense offered to such im- 
 mense erudition, by the divines of hit af,e and 'ate flatterer* 
 of his court."- IValpole,
 
 24 TRIFLES. 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 Before the door a wooden seat 
 
 Invites the weary trav'ler's feet, 
 
 Who, musing o'er his ale, may see 
 
 A relique of the sainted tree, 
 
 Where royal Charles a covert chose, 
 
 And found a refuge from his foes; 
 
 So says the legend, (and believ'd, 
 
 For poets love to be deceiv'd ; 
 
 For them young hills to mountains grow, 
 
 And winter's garb, eternal snow; 
 
 Yet should they wish to change the scene, 
 
 Brown forests wear perpetual green; 
 
 For them inverted seasons roll, 
 
 And drive th' equator to the pole.) 
 
 Like Charles, long number'd with the dead, 
 
 Its branching honors all arc fled, 
 
 Save rayless lustre o'er them cast, 
 
 The shade of ancient glories past;
 
 TRIFLES. 25 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 The gaping rustics hear the tale, 
 And crouch before the splendid veil, 
 Which royalty around her throws, 
 And these subdues and dazzles those, 
 Now mingled with the common dead, 
 The gay illusive dream is fled. 
 
 Here rural landscapes brighter glow, 
 With all that wealth and art bestow ; 
 The cottage ornee, farm complete, 
 The green alcove, the rustic seat, 
 Where civic souls forget their toils, 
 And quit the world with all its broils ; 
 Where Justice doffs her solemn air, 
 And smiling fills the elbow chair; 
 The ancient, crippled poor receives, 
 First hears their tale, and then relieves; 
 
 D
 
 26 TRIFLES. 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 Where tir'd statesmen taste the weal 
 Created by their patriot zeal : 
 Oh ! could my muse, in equal lays, 
 Record his well-earn'd, deathless praise, 
 Unshrinking from his earliest youth, 
 With mental energy and truth, 
 Who kept the helm till danger o'er, 
 Then died triumphant nobly poor. 
 
 Now mark the rising, furrow'd land, 
 Where ploughman with perspective hand, 
 (Unconscious that his humble part) 
 Pourtrays the zenith of the art; 
 The ridges equidistant lie, 
 Yet less'ning to the passing eye; 
 The wearied sight confounded feels, 
 Distracted with the circling wheels:
 
 TRIFLES. 27 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 Contrasted with the fallows grey, 
 The daisied meadows look more gay, 1 
 And fields of poppy-mingled wheat, 
 Where laughing plenty holds her seat; 
 There let Ceres oft appear, 
 Protectress of the rip'ning ear, 
 And smiling hold Amalthea's horn, 
 Her temples crown'd with wreaths of corn, 
 And bring with her the nut-brown ale, 
 O'er which the reapers love the tale 
 Of goblin grey, or fairy elves, 
 Till almost startled at themselves: 
 Or let me hear the jocund din, 
 Which hails the welcome harvest in; 
 Meanwhile let youthful vigour steal 
 To snatch the joys which lovers feel, 
 Behind the haystack's friendly shade, 
 And press the rosy, willing maid, 
 D 2
 
 28 TRIFLES. 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 ** ' 
 
 Then pour into her list'ning ear, 
 The anxious hope, the hopeful fear, 
 Till smiles invite the thrilling kiss, 
 Which drowns anxiety in bliss. 
 
 Alas ! Arcadian days are gone, 
 Of which the ancient poets sung ; 
 And nymphs and swains so perfect drew, 
 (Now like Silenus and his crew) 
 A golden dream, an empty name, 
 I Intutor'd Nature's aye the same ; 
 Yet let the Fiction still inspire, 
 It suits the subject to the lyre. 
 
 Now fly to fancy's utmost bound, 
 And catch the sweetly whisper'd sound. 
 Wherein celestial forms admire 
 The beauties which their harps inspire;
 
 TRIFLES. 2i) 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 Then sketch a form of earthly grace, 
 And all your soft emotions trace, 
 Where kindling beauty dares the skies, 
 The sylphid form, the melting eyes, 
 Eclips'd with all their high pretence, 
 In radiant beams of brighter sense, 
 With all that culture can bestow, 
 To form and bless a heav'n below : 
 Oh ! had you felt the sweet controul, 
 How quick she touch'd the yielding soul, 
 By innate taste, which studied art, 
 With all her rules, could ne'er impart. 
 She wak'd the lyre's sweetest tone, 
 And drew the chords with grace her own. 
 In tears that from their fountains broke, 
 She Alt the language which she spoke, 
 D 3
 
 30 TRIFLES. 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 By softer hearts where feeling's found, 
 Is read the meaning in the sound ; 
 When angels bend with ravish'd ears, 
 And tempted, quit their silver spheres, 
 Should mortal hopes her charms inspire, 
 Check the vain worship yet admire. 
 
 Call home your thoughts, but p'rhaps they're 
 Where angels bear the living throne [flown 
 
 Of Nature's GOD, whose bounteous hand 
 Dispenses blessings o'er the land ; 
 On Contemplation's wings they soar, 
 Where Seraphs tremble and adore, 
 And catch Devotion's ardent flame, 
 Rest still my soul, in this sweet frame, 
 Till death shall bid the spirit soar, 
 Imprison'd in the flesh no more ;
 
 TRIFLES. SI 
 
 High Beach. 
 
 There may'st thou ever, ever dwell, 
 Till time shall ring my passing knell, 
 Which will the welcome summons be, 
 To dwell for aye my GOD with thee.
 
 S'2 TRIFLES. 
 
 Stanzas in a Country Church Yard. 
 
 )tmm> 
 
 WRITTEN IN A COUNTRY CHURCH YARI>, 
 
 THE purple glow of day begins to fade, 
 And hears its requiem in the vesper bell. 
 
 The deeper silence of the sacred shade, 
 Re-echoes to the soul the solemn knell. 
 
 While o'er the hallow'd ground we living tread, 
 Soft let us pause, and from each friendly tomb 
 
 That shrouds the ashes of the mouldering dead, 
 Receive the awful presage of our doom.
 
 TRIFLES. 33 
 
 Stanzas in a Country Church Yard. 
 
 Mark whore yon' proud mausoleum lifts its urn; 
 
 Boasting the wealth its tenant once possest; 
 Pride rears the pile, with fatal pride we burn, 
 
 Unthinking we are fragile at the best. 
 
 When stretch'd upon the icy bed of death, 
 And all the vital functions vibrate slow, 
 
 .Can sordid gold arrest the fleeting breath, 
 Or bid the crimson tide again to flow? 
 
 Within the precincts of the Holy Fane, 
 
 The presence-temple of the King of Kings, 
 
 (Where deep humility our hearts should rein, 
 Where angels veil their faces in their wings;) 
 
 Ancestral honours, titles, place and povv'r, 
 In long array, excite the rising sigh! 
 
 Where are they? forfeit to the fatal hour, 
 And prostrate underneath this marble lie.
 
 34 TRIFLES. 
 
 Stanzas in a Country Church Yard. 
 
 Vain man! swift gliding down the ebbing stream 
 Of earth-born joy, which like a vapour flies, 
 
 Writes o'er the ashes of his sires, their dreams, 
 Their state inherits, dreams, and also dies. 
 
 Beneath this simple stone, the good man sleeps; 
 
 Its best adornment tells "here lies the just;'' 
 Each heart, each eye, his honor'd mein'ry weeps, 
 
 And kindred seraphs watch the sacred dust. 
 
 His life display'd the course his precepts taught, 
 Within the line prescrib'd he ever trod ; 
 
 With holy zeal his master's battles fought, 
 And triumphs at the footstool of his GOD. 
 
 Vers'd in the page of universal lore, 
 
 The sage beholds its downward progress grow; 
 Ransacks and culls the philosophic store, 
 
 But all his science yields to Death's fell blon
 
 TRIFLES. 35 
 
 Stanzas in a Covntry Church Yard. 
 
 E'en Beauty, deck'd with ev'ry winning charm, 
 To draw and fix the wide admiring crowd ; 
 
 No more awakes the tender, soft alarm, 
 
 The earth her mantle, and her robe the shroud* 
 
 Sweet are the blushing beauties of the rose, 
 Sweet are the odours which around it fly, . 
 
 Cheer'd by the influence of the sun it glows, 
 But winter comes, its beauties fade and die. 
 
 See where the strong man writhes beneath the dart, 
 While groans convulsive bursting from his breast, 
 
 Confess the anguish of his tortur'd heart, 
 Reluctant dragg'd to stand the awful test. 
 
 The heaving sod with twisted osiers bound, 
 Point out the mansions of the humbler dead, 
 
 To dust return'd, the young, the gay around 
 Their ample lesson to the living spread.
 
 86 TRIFLES. 
 
 Stanzas in a Country Church Yard. 
 
 Thus have we seen an unrelenting blast, 
 
 Commission'd with destruction from on high, 
 
 Tear up the tenants of the forest vast, 
 And all in undistinguish'd ruin lie. 
 
 Since then one gen'ral never-failing doom, 
 Consigns us to the cold and darksome grave; 
 
 With eager wishes soar beyond the tomb, 
 And mercy seek of him who died to save. 
 
 Oh ! may we ever tread " the narrow way," 
 Till life's dim setting star no more shall burn, 
 
 Then shall we hail with joy approaching day, 
 And leave this sweet memorial on our urn. 
 
 EPITAPH. 
 Here sleeps his dust by feelings once adorn'd, 
 
 Just, pious, humble, friendly and sincere, 
 In each relation all the angel dawn'd, 
 
 Which angels saw, and mov'd him to their sphere.
 
 TRIFLES. 37 
 
 Stanzas in a Country Church Yard. 
 
 With ev'ry virtue glowing in his soul, 
 
 Resign'd, the gloomy vale of tears he trod; 
 
 Onward he press'd towards the promis'd goal, 
 The presence of his Maker and his GOD. 
 
 Tho' mould'ring here the earthly casket lies, 
 Whence soaring up the tenant spirit fled ; 
 
 Rob'd with etherial splendour it shall rise, 
 And quit the gloomy mansions of the dead, 
 
 L'j ! where, with well-turn'd imitative art, 
 The sculptor's chisel to these cherubs gave. 
 
 A striking emblem of their chosen part, 
 To hold a lasting vigil o'er his grave,
 
 38 TRIFLES. 
 
 Humility Recommended. 
 
 ffJumtlttj) iiecommentretr. 
 
 YE great, to whom the venal knee is bow'd, 
 
 Who court the incense of the servile crowd; 
 
 Their idol worship is not paid to you, 
 
 Your rank, or wealth, these votaries pursue; 
 
 Let dire misfortune once your state assail, 
 
 Retiring sycophants soon drop the veil, 
 
 Whirl'd from your height, the grinning scorner's jest, 
 
 You'd find your level by this honest test: 
 
 Awake from pride, pride was not made for dust, 
 
 (Except the conscious feelings of the just;)
 
 TRIFLES. 89 
 
 Humility Recommended. 
 
 Does wealth extended influence impart? 
 Extend the kindly feelings of your heart; 
 Does rank exalt? let merit gild your crest; 
 If sense adorns, humility's the test ; 
 Should Science polish, all her labours speak, 
 How soon the fragile springs of life may break, 
 How slight a tenure being does retain, 
 A breath might sever, or a hair sustain ; 
 Through all His works, you trace that GOD who first 
 Enliven'd chaos, and can crush to dust: 
 In Beauty's mould your earthly clay is cast? 
 The rarest flow'rs first feel th' ungenial blast ; 
 If neither grace, reflect upon your doom, 
 'Ere long you'll swell the victims of the tomb; 
 Walk humbly then, and act the virtuous part, 
 This p'rhaps may gain the incense of the heart, 
 And will an influence secure on high, 
 No wealth can purchase, and no rank supply. 
 E 2
 
 40 TRIFLES. 
 
 Humility Recommended. 
 
 And you distrest, who weep a humbler fate, 
 Your GOD has nVd the barriers of your state, 
 To His high ordinance yourself resign, 
 His sov'reign pow'r is dar'd, when you repine ; 
 His will creates, or suffers earthly pow'r, 
 Then let obedience mark your transient hour; 
 Let not superior influence be denied, 
 For often independence covers pride; 
 Vain pride ! the pregnant source of ev'ry ill, 
 Which man has ruin'd, and which sinks him still; 
 In all your griefs, let this sweet hope prevail, 
 Eternal Justice holds the equal scale, 
 Which weighs the merits of the great and small, 
 Alike important, rich and poor, and all ; 
 Which rates the sterling value of the heart, 
 Where ample riches, ample means impart; 
 Where starving poor, a sad inversion feel; 
 Self-love denies^ or mis'ry tempts to steal;
 
 TRIFLES. 41 
 
 Humility Recommended. 
 
 The wealthy share their affluence with the poor, 
 Or wretches suffer 'till their pangs are o'er; 
 Degrees of reason, psssions diff'ring still 
 To guide or warp the undetermin'd will, 
 In one grand estimate time will reveal, 
 Omniscience judge, then humbly let us kneel, 
 In trembling hope that glorious day abide 
 When Virtue shall survive the wreck of pride. 
 
 K 3
 
 42 TRIFLES. 
 
 On Friendship. 
 
 u ifrien&sijtp* 
 
 AWAKE my lyre! thy trembling lays, 
 To fix the visionary base, 
 
 Whence friendship seems to spring; 
 Tell, who each selfish thought dismiss, 
 Whose gen'rous feelings scatter bliss, 
 
 Or blunt misfortune's sting. 
 
 Who seek the bed where grief and pain. 
 
 Bind nature with a fest'ring chain, 
 And half the anguish spare ; 
 
 When brighter scenes their cares employ. 
 
 Divide the gay, enliv'ning joy, 
 Yet feel a jrreater share.
 
 TRIFLES. 43 
 
 On Friendship. 
 
 Those know the value of a friend, 
 Whose just pursuits together blend, 
 
 While Heav'n inspires with breath ; 
 Whose kindred souls in union fly, 
 To seek a mansion in the sky, , 
 
 Unsever'd e'en in death. 
 
 Not those whom vulture passion tears, 
 Associate in pleasure's snares, 
 
 Who grasp her sting and die; 
 While Virtue's sons can smile serene, 
 And view beyond this earthly scene, 
 
 A prospect of the sky. 
 
 Sot him whom sordid interests bind, 
 Within the silken tie confin'd, 
 
 The holy contract keeps; 
 Distrust profession's doubtful wile, 
 Which basks in Fortune's sunny smile, 
 
 And tlies when mis'ry weeps.
 
 44 TRIFLES. 
 
 On Friendship. 
 
 Contrasted wishes seek their own, 
 And bear no rival near the throne, 
 
 Where self alone is seen; 
 Hard flints as well might taste the joys, 
 Collision mutually destroys, 
 
 And kindles fire between. 
 
 These prostitute the flame divine, 
 Displace their idol from its shrine, 
 
 The temple's soon decay'd ; 
 Like dreams which image real bliss, 
 And taunt the lover with a kiss, 
 
 The shadow of a shade. 
 
 When wine and youth their warmth impart, 
 A morbid flush pervades the heart, 
 
 Which mocks the purer zeal; 
 So fervent heat ignites the ore, 
 But soon the transient glow is o'er, 
 
 Quick gelid to the feel ;
 
 TRIFLES. 45 
 
 On Friendship. 
 
 Just emblem of Life's shadowy dream, 
 But built on mutual esteem, 
 
 Will stem affliction's wave; 
 Repel keen sorrow's cutting blast, 
 And when the storms of life are past, 
 
 Sweet blossom o'er the grave.
 
 46 TRIFLES. 
 
 Elegy on the Death of Two Infants. 
 
 ON THE DEATH OF TWO INFANTS. 
 
 " Of such is the Kingdom of God." 
 
 Mark, chap. 10, verse 14, 
 
 WHILE Death's dread shaft aloof from manhood flies, 
 These infant treasures press the ruthless bier; 
 
 Should Nature fail to weep her sever'd ties, 
 Or check the hallow'd tribute of a tear'?
 
 TRIFLES. 47 
 
 Elegy on the Death of Two Itifants. 
 
 True to the inborn feelings of the heart, 
 
 Grief's tide will rush, nor does Religion blame, 
 
 Her dictates chasten, not condemn the part, [came. 
 And yield to Heav'n the gems from whence they 
 
 For who that saw reluctant Nature's throes, 
 Could weeping pity's holy balm restrain, 
 
 Could see unmov'd the dying trembler's woes, 
 Or cease to feel with corresponding pain? 
 
 The uprais'd look, the mute imploring eye 
 
 Which ask'd for aid, when earthly hope had fled, 
 
 The spirit's herald, Nature's parting sigh, 
 Demand the pious tribute to the dead. 
 
 The anguish'd throbbings of a mother's love, 
 And blighted wishes of an anient sire, 
 
 The cold unfeeling moralist repro\e, 
 
 And bid scorn's language on his lips expire.
 
 46 Trifles. 
 
 Elegy on the Death of Two Infants. 
 
 The first, the bright prerogative of Heav'n, 
 Sweet mercy, tempers all its high decrees, 
 
 To man, her earthly likeness pity gi\'n, 
 Adopts and half relieves the pain she sees. 
 
 While sanction'd thus, our tears the loss deplore. 
 At Heav'n's high footstool bent be ev'ry knee, 
 
 With deep humility our GOD adore, 
 And weep, yet venerate, his just decree* 
 
 Yet rather should we triumph in their flight. 
 
 From earthly scenes, where sin and pain corrode 
 
 Unstain'd by guilt, remov'd to endless light, 
 The glory of the ever-living GOD. 
 
 There rob'd in light, they bear a circling crown, 
 Adorn'd with rays reflected from I lis seat, 
 
 In the bright Presence cast their trophies down, 
 And plead the mourner's cause before His feet.
 
 TRIFLES. 49 
 
 > Elegy on the Death of Tiro Infants. Requiem. 
 
 Or veil'd in air their lucid spirits rove, 
 
 By Heav'n permitted, or design'd to screen 
 
 The dearest objects of their earthly love, 
 
 And watch their wayward footsteps, tho' unseen. 
 
 By seraphs hush'd, releas'd from ev'ry pain, 
 
 Borne on the beams of light they wing their way; 
 
 Creative fancy hears the silver strain, 
 
 Aud prone affection joins the solemn lay. 
 
 REQUIEM. 
 
 AIR. 
 
 Angels breathe your softest strains, 
 To soothe the dying cherubs pains. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Hush! babies, hush! vain struggles cease, 
 Surrounding angels whisper peace; 
 p
 
 50 TRIFLES. 
 
 Requiem. 
 
 Hark ! now they softly, sweetly sing, 
 Come, ye beloved of our King. 
 
 AIR. 
 
 Sister tenants of the skies, 
 See the infant seraphs rise. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Sweet babies yield your parting breath, 
 And fearless pass the vale of death; 
 The passage to this brighter shore, 
 Where, earth-born pain can vex no more. 
 Shout! angels, shout! they come, they come! 
 Welcome your kindred spirits home. 
 
 AIR. 
 
 Angels swell your highest strains, 
 Lo! they reach our azure plains.
 
 TRIFLES. 51 
 
 Requiem. 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Hail! lovely spirits, seraphs hail! 
 Ye who o'er sin and death prevail; 
 Eseap'd from shades of darkest night, 
 Welcome to realms of endless light; 
 Bright glory calls, hail ! spirits, hail ! 
 Enter within the radiant veil. 
 
 F 2
 
 52 TRIFLES. 
 
 Lines addressed to a Young Lady. 
 
 S ixiti 
 
 ADDRESSED TO A YOUNG LADY, 
 
 MARIA ! I have ever found 
 A virtuons life with gladness crown'd; 
 Reflection brightens all the past, 
 Inspires and cheers us to the last, 
 And soothes th' irrevocable doom, 
 Low bending all unto the tomb; 
 And this tempestuous voyage o'er, 
 Kindly transports us to that shore,,
 
 TRIFLES, 5* 
 
 Lines addressed to a Young Lady. 
 
 Encircled with its ambient shade, , 
 That realm whose splendour ne'er shall fade. 
 How can my tongue its brightness tell, 
 Or how a mortal voice reveal 
 Yon shining paths, by angels trod, 
 Devoting all their pow'rs to GOD : 
 Oh ! may thy virtues brightly shine, 
 Nought else can make these glories thine. 
 
 f !i
 
 64 TRIFLES. 
 
 The Convict's Appeal. 
 
 &!)* titottirirt'd appeal 
 
 " Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.' 
 
 Matthew, chap. v. verse 
 
 FROM these deep solitudes and a^wful ceils, 
 
 Where stein vindictive Justice only dwells, 
 
 Where no atonements angry laws appease, 
 
 Unlike the milder tone of Heav'n's decrees, 
 
 My soul gives utt'rance to her bleeding woes, 
 
 And probes the wounds which Death alone must close
 
 TRIFLES. 55 
 
 The Convict's Appeal. 
 
 The past regrets, with unrelenting pain, 
 
 Where, hope extinguish'd, ne'er can cheer again, 
 
 Attendant horrors on the present wait, 
 
 In dark conjectures on a future state: 
 
 Dragg'd by your arm before th' eternal bar, 
 
 In youth rebellious, and while passions war, 
 
 I feel my guilt, I bend and kiss the rod, 
 
 That arms the hand of an offended GOD; 
 
 Quick conscience startled, wakes her kindred fears, 
 
 Which quench the ray of mercy that appears; 
 
 Thus urg'd, to you I make this last appeal, 
 
 \nd, may Ileav'n grant, 'twill reach your hearts to feel. 
 
 From GOD alone the vital essence came, 
 To GOD alone belongs th' ethereal frame; 
 Bethink, ye ministers of laws severe, 
 Before Hi-, judgment seat you must appear,
 
 i>6 TRIFLES. 
 
 Tlw Convict's Appeal. 
 
 And when the awful record is unroll'd, 
 May want that mercy which you now with-hold ; 
 Oh ! tell me where in all the sacred page, 
 One word is found to justify your rage ? 
 From whence the high commission you assume, 
 To seal with mortal lips, a mortal's doom?* 
 Madly vain pleas from sophistry you draw, 
 That man's united voice creates the law ; 
 And having made the law, when he offends, 
 The fatal sentence on himself depends: 
 Point out that law, and I will urge no more, 
 Whose lib'ral tenor owns consenting poor; 
 Granted that rank and wealth are not prefer 'd, 
 But ev'ry lowly being's voice is heard; 
 
 * James, chap. iv. verse 12. There is one lawgiver who is 
 able to save and to destroy ; who art thou that judgest ano- 
 ther?
 
 TRIFLES. 57: 
 
 The Convict's Appeal. 
 
 Granted that pow'r does not some laws ordain, 
 Lest her own luxury should sutler pain ; ' 
 What right 1ms man his Maker's gifts to spurn, 
 And bid the spark he kindled, cease to burn? 
 By these your pleas at once is justified 
 And urg'd, the dreadful, impions suicide. 
 
 The very sentence which confirms my fate> 
 To these my sad complainings lends its weight: 
 What feelings can an earthly judge controul, 
 With solemn pray 'r to GOD to spare the soul; 
 To Heav'n's high court the sound accusing flies,. 
 Which asks for. mercy that itself denies; 
 Where justice forms the pillar of His throne, [own. 4 
 That sentence lives which p'rhaps may prove your 
 
 * St. Matthew, chap. vii. verse 1 & 2. Judge not, that ye 
 t)C nut judged ; for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall
 
 58 TRIFLES. 
 
 The Convict's Appeal, 
 
 " Forgive thy creature, Lord, as he forgives," 
 This equal spirit in his precepts lives; 
 In your next orisons omit a pray'r, 
 Which Heav'n receives, and puts on record there. 
 
 Religion's holy influence sheds a halm; 
 Her sacred oracles my tremblings calm; 
 Sweet mercy shines throughout th' inspir'd lore,. 
 And truths on record prove the bounteous store ; 
 There we behold the GOD incarnate bleed 
 And die for those who did the fatal deed : 
 The dying thief, impal'd within His view, 
 Besought His mercv, and he felt it too ;_* 
 
 be judged. James, chap. ii. verse 13. For he shall have 
 judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy, and 
 mercy rejoiceth against judgment. 
 
 * St. Luke, chap, xxiii. verse 43. And Jesus said unto 
 him, verily, I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in 
 paradise.
 
 TUIFLES. 59 
 
 The Convict's Appeal. 
 
 Thro' Ileavn's glad regions louder triumphs roll, 
 And hail the bright accession of a soul;* 
 The theme exulting, angel tongues employs, 
 And crowns beatitude with higher joys; 
 The soul redeem'd become the honor'd guest, t 
 A pledge of sovereign love adorns the feast: * 
 And ; mortal man his kind betray, 
 
 When Heav'n directs and leads the milder waj ! 
 Shall angels triumphs to His footstool rise, 
 And speak the joy which hails their living p 
 
 * >t. Luke, chap, xv. verse 7. I say unto you that joy 
 shall he ii 1 av ;: iver one sinner that rcpenterh, more than 
 over Kinelj and nine just persons which need no repent- 
 ance. 
 
 * St. Luke, chap, xv, verse 22, 22, 24. Rut the father I 
 to servants brinir forth the best robe, and put k on him, 
 
 : ' ' . i on his ft- 1 t, anil ink ir 
 
 I '.V , !l fatted calf and kill it, and let us cat and be in th . 
 ft ' '..'- \ . i a.- dead, and k a . he was lost, an i 
 
 : .
 
 m TRIFLES. 
 
 The Convict's Appeal. 
 
 Shall GOD himself the bright example give, 
 And die for sinners that themselves might live! 
 And yet shall man with frail, unhallow'd breath. 
 Consign his fellow to the shades of death, 
 All unappointed, and, for ought we know, 
 His fate to bear interminable woe. 
 
 The stars of affluence at your birth arose, 
 And high advantages to you disclose, 
 By these your mind enlarg'd, your sense refin'd, 
 You trace the source of ill in human kind, 
 The springs of action, nay, but search your own, 
 Your heart will tell you I am not alone ; 
 You learn corruption, ever since the fall, 
 Has been the dark inheritance of all; 
 You know wild passion's uncorrected rage, 
 Where knowledge never op'd th' instructive page:
 
 TRIFLES. 01 
 
 The Convict's Appeal. 
 
 Too oft' have venial culprits hardly dy'd, 
 For breaking laws they knew not, not defy'd ; 
 That poverty has ample stores of grief, 
 And tortur'd nature seeks of course relief, 
 Expos'd to want, ten thousand snares entice, 
 And veil with gradual stealth the monster Vice; 
 From these remov'd, from you temptation flies, 
 And yet for these, your hapless brother dies. 
 
 For me, alas ! I drew a feigned bill, 
 When need hard struggled with reluctant will; 
 My hope, too sanguine, to the tempter leans, 
 That pregnant fortune would produce the means ; 
 But here deceiv'd, expos'd before the time, 
 No single being feels th' intended crime. 
 Oh! if the terrors of my soul you knew, 
 The pangs of conscience but perhaps you do, 
 G
 
 6-2 TRIFLES. 
 
 The Convict's Appeal. 
 
 Sure pity in your yielding breast would plead, 
 Strict Justice weigh, and then forgive the deed. 
 
 Brighthonor's offspring, sanction'd, struggling pride, 
 Which seeks the rags of poverty to hide, 
 Lest indolence or vice should be suppos'd 
 To draw that fate which o'er my head has clos'dj 
 To shield from pain the partner of my life, 
 My kindest friend, my poor dependant wife ; 
 The lisping voice which wakes a father's care, 
 And asks for bread where there is none to share, 
 The beaming smile, the dawning infant grace, 
 Which speak incipient genius in the face, 
 Which plead for culture, and direct a dart 
 That tears a passage to a parent's heart ; 
 Alas ! to me the equal means deny'd, 
 The father kindled while the subject dy'd,
 
 TRIFLES. t>3 
 
 j i " , * ... - . . i ~ 
 
 The ConvicVs Appeal. 
 
 For these, I clar'd to do the fatal deed, 
 For which, alas ! their hapless sire must bleed ; 
 And not on me alone descends the blame, 
 These too must bear ignominy and shame, 
 Dire want, with all her dark attendant train, 
 With tyrant fangs will o'er their beings reign. 
 
 Inverted policy your judgment rules, 
 
 Thus reason speaks, and thus her ancient schools :* 
 
 The dreadful penalties the crime exceed, 
 
 When starving culprits thro' their hunger bleed: 
 
 Say what the utmost ill that could arise 
 
 From guilt for which your hapless victim dies ? 
 i 
 
 * Exodus, chap. xxi. verse 23,24, 2,3. But if any mischief 
 follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for 
 tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound 
 for wound, stripe for stripe. 
 
 G 2
 
 64 TRIFLES. 
 
 The Convict's Appeal. 
 
 Sonie empty gaude, some lux'ry unsupply'd, 
 
 Which wealth demands to soothe her pamper'd pride: 
 
 E'en poverty, its sad effects might pain, 
 
 And snatch the morsels which her sons sustain ; 
 
 Strip the poor wretch to pay the just demand, 
 
 Till all is gone, yet stay your fatal hand, 
 
 Enslave his body, yet set free his soul, 
 
 And endless blessings o'er your head shall roll. 
 
 No greater suff'rings dark assassins feel, 
 Whose hands remorseless lift the reeking steel, 
 From whom affrighted Nature back recoils, 
 And dooms the wretch to his own murd'rous toils:* 
 When vicious folly sees that blood is spilt, 
 In all the intermediate shades of guilt, 
 
 * Genesis, chap. ix. verse 6. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, 
 by man shall his blood be shed.
 
 TRIFLES. 65 
 
 The Convict's Appeal. 
 
 The disproportion'd penalty in time, 
 Confounds the just distinction. of the, crime; . 
 The rushing tide of sin destroys the mound, 
 And breaks the bar which moral feeling bound: 
 Thus fatal laws, the fatal deeds produce, 
 Which only make the dreadful code of use. 
 
 Think not that just restrictive laws I spurn* 
 Where vice prevails, and lawless passions burn : 
 But why to poor offenders is deny'd 
 The sinner's hope? At least it should be try'd; 
 Why draw too hard the cords well meant to bpd 
 In social order, all the human kind? 
 The groaning ligatures condemn the strain, 
 And bursting, prove the needless torture vain; 
 The rod with which correction purg'd the land, 
 Is turn'd a scorpion in Oppression's hand: 
 G 3
 
 TRIFLES. 
 
 The Convict's Appeal. 
 
 Which stings to death the lowly and the mean, 
 While darker vice in higher ranks is seen; 
 The law for general protection made, 
 Has left its office, and the tyrant play'd; 
 Contracted policy has flx'd her throne, 
 Where temper'd Justice should preside alone. 
 
 This vain appeal no mercy gains for me, 
 Teach me O GOD ! to fix my hopes on Thee, 
 Then shall my relict wife find aid above, 
 My infant orphans all a father's love: 
 Then, when this anguish'd heart its throbs shall cease, 
 The ministers of Heav'n will whisper peace; 
 Then shall forgiveness dry my closing eyes, 
 And joys eternal from my suff'rings rise.
 
 TRIFLES. G7 
 
 Resignation. 
 
 %e*'ignattmu 
 
 WHEN sorrows cloud the ardent ray, 
 Which flush'd the scenes of vernal day, 
 
 And hope no longer chears ; 
 When time with unrelenting rage, 
 Imprints upon the brow of age, 
 
 The silver test of years. 
 
 Tho' these a bitter pang impart, 
 
 They break the spell which chains the heart, 
 
 To this dark vale of tears ; 
 \nd urge th' enfranchis'd soul to rise, 
 To endless joys, in cloudless skies, 
 Beyond these gloomy spheres.
 
 69 TRIFLES. 
 
 Resignation. 
 
 Should keen regrets o'ershade the past, 
 And swifter wing the hours that haste, 
 
 To close this scene of care ; 
 To hail the welcome, contrite sigh, 
 Angels commission'd, quit the sky, 
 
 And waft the incense there. 
 
 If disappointments hope deride, 
 And set the scheme of bliss aside, 
 
 That flatters and beguiles ; 
 Could man his futile wishes trace, 
 The frowns which shadow Mercy's face, 
 
 Would kindle into smiles. 
 
 Or doubts arise beyond the tomb, 
 Let reason's voice dispel the gloom, 
 
 Which baseless still must prove; 
 Form'd and supported by his hand, 
 We creatures, living records stand, 
 
 Of everlasting love.
 
 TRIFLES. 69 
 
 Resignation. 
 
 If friends unkind with fortune fly, 
 Forgetful of each ancient tie, 
 
 While on life's sea we roam; 
 Though wintry storms tempestuous roar, . 
 They cast us on a friendlier shore, 
 
 And bear our spirits home. 
 
 The softer joys that love imparts, 
 
 Are snares which bind our captive hearts, 
 
 And steal our thoughts from God ; 
 Fond Nature sorrows o'er their grave, 
 But mercy takes what mercy gave, 
 
 And points the heav'nly road. 
 
 Then cease to grasp the transient joys, 
 Whose brightest charms a breath destroys, 
 
 Nor wants unreal forge : 
 View with the eye of faith your GOD ; 
 Acknowledge mercy in his rod, 
 
 And kiss the wholesome scourge.
 
 *0 TRIFLES* 
 
 Ode to the Nightingale. 
 
 tie 
 
 TO THE NIGHTINGALE, 
 
 iBIAIL! heav'nly minstrel, Philomela, hail! 
 
 Thou sweetest songster of the woodland throng; 
 Thine hallow'd sorrows o'er their lays prevail, 
 
 Sweet bird of melancholy, love and song. 
 
 Thy melody which erst so sweetly stole, 
 In dying softness on th' enraptur'd ear, 
 
 Again shall hush to peace the troubled soul, 
 And sweeten sorrow with the falling tear,
 
 TRIFLES. n 
 
 Ode to the Nightingale. 
 
 Again thy varied numbers fill the grove, 
 
 Upon the bosom of soft silence roll, 
 In melting sweetness tune the heart to love, 
 
 To fervid rapture wake the feeling soul. 
 
 Again, in yonder close embower'd shade, 
 
 To love and thee an altar shall arise, 
 Where oft I've wandered with my lovely maid* 
 
 And read her soul in her expressive eyes. 
 
 In trembling wantonness the moort-beains pale, 
 Kiss'd the inconstant foliage of the trees, 
 
 Which spread their canopy o'er hill and dale, 
 Scarce ruffled by the gentle western breeze. 
 
 The murm'ring brooks their pebbled channels lav'd, 
 Deep freighted odours on the air arose; 
 
 Around, the fragrance lazy zephyrs wav'd, 
 Suck'd from the spicy bosom of the rose.
 
 72 TRIFLES. 
 
 Ode to the Nightingale. 
 
 The wild wood-minstrels told their love fraught tales, 
 Faint echo warbled back the fainter sound ; 
 
 Tun'd to the sighings of the gentle gales, 
 
 And thrilling langour reign'd luxuriant round. 
 
 In native elegance of soul array'd, 
 
 Belinda came, in angel form enshrin'd, 
 
 Heav'n smil'd exulting on the lovely maid, 
 And stampt its image on her spotless mind. 
 
 Unshackled by the gross restraints of art, 
 Each blush reveal'd her innocence and truth; 
 
 Each chasteu'd wish was utter'd from her heart, 
 In all the warm sincerity of youth. 
 
 To pensive Luna, then thy sorrows rose, 
 The plaintive wail soft floated on the air; 
 
 From her sweet cheek emotion chac'd the rose, 
 And dew'd the lily with the falling tear.
 
 TRIFLES. 
 
 Ode to the Nightingale. 
 
 I saw, with rapture saw the precious stream, 
 And with my lips the balmy treasure stole; 
 
 She heard, with smiles she heard my fervent theme, 
 I clasp'd, I press'd her to my panting soul! 
 
 Hail! Philomela, heav'nly minstrel, hail! 
 To thee, the ofFrings of my muse belong; 
 
 With thee, be vocal ev'ry hill and dale, 
 Sweet bird of melancholy, love and song. 
 
 H
 
 74 TRIFLES. 
 
 Dirge. 
 
 BiVQt* 
 
 INTENDED AS AN ACCOMPANIMENT TO HAYDN'S 
 SLOW MOVEMENT. 
 
 IN this dark night of sorrow, 
 
 Oppress'd with bitter grief, 
 My soul awaits the morrow, 
 
 To bring some sweet relief; 
 No soothing balsam given, 
 
 To heal my wounded breast ; 
 Yet mercy dwells in heav'n, 
 
 To give the trembler rest.
 
 TRIFLES. 75 
 
 Dirge. 
 
 Still, still, with bleeding anguish, 
 
 I bear my silent pain, 
 Beneath my woes still languish, 
 
 And drop these tears in vain; 
 These deep sighs unavailing, 
 
 Exhaust my fleeting breath; 
 I see kind angels waiting, 
 
 To seal my eyes in death. 
 
 My dim sight slowly fading, 
 
 Earth's objects disappear ; 
 New thoughts my soul pervading, 
 
 Bespeak the angels near: 
 Hark! hark! I hear their voices, 
 
 Which sweetly whisper peace, 
 The day-star brightly rises, 
 
 And now my sorrows cease. 
 
 H 2
 
 76 TRIFLES. 
 
 Canzonet. 
 
 1&Htt}0Mt 
 
 IN IMITATION OF CAMOENS. 
 
 WHEN mould'ring in the silent tomb, 
 
 Thy wretched lover lies, 
 Devoted to an early doom, 
 
 A victim to thine eyes. 
 
 Then let each prouder feeling wave 
 
 Its empire in thy breast; 
 Then let a tear bedew his grave, 
 
 'Twill give his spirit rest.
 
 TRIFLES. 77 
 
 Canzonet. 
 
 He who for love of thee could die, 
 Asks then to be forgiv'n; 
 
 Asks too the incense of one sigh, 
 Twill waft his soul to Heav'n. 
 
 H 3
 
 78 TRIFLES. 
 
 Song. 
 
 (Note. The Author lays claim to the two last Stanzas oulj .) 
 
 IN my cottage near a wood, 
 
 Love and Rosa still are mine ; 
 Rosa, ever fair and good, 
 
 Charm me with those smiles of thine : 
 Rosa, partner of my life, 
 
 Thee, alone my heart shall prize; 
 Thee, the tender friend and wife; 
 
 Ah! too swift life's current flies,
 
 TRIFLES, 7 
 
 Sotig. 
 
 Linger yet, ye moments stay, 
 
 Why so rapid is your wing? 
 Whither would you haste awayi 
 
 Stay, and hear my Rosa sing: 
 Love and youth still bless my cot; 
 
 Fortune's frowns are for our good ; 
 May we live, by pride forgot, 
 
 In our cottage near a wood. 
 
 Earth-born joys must quickly flee, 
 
 Wintry age will chasten love, 
 Rosa, this to thee and me, 
 
 The value of our cot shall prove; 
 In that scene of vernal day, 
 
 Mem'ry gilds our hastening doom. 
 Conscious virtue lends a ray, 
 
 To cheer the passage to the tomb,
 
 80 TRIFLES. 
 
 Song. 
 
 The rose-bud foster'd by thy care, 
 
 Sheds its blossoms, droops and dies, 
 So thy beauties, lovely fair, 
 
 Soon must cease to charm these eyes 
 Still our souls in union see, 
 
 Freed by death from earth's alarms; 
 Then to Heav'n I'll soar with thee, 
 
 Tenant of thine angel arms.
 
 TRIFLES. 81 
 
 The Wreck. 
 
 m* * 
 
 FROM Anna's fond embrace Ben tore, 
 And left her sinking on the strand, 
 
 The rolling waves the vessel bore 
 Away from Albion's happy land. 
 
 The less'ning shore recedes from view, 
 Fair Anna's form was dimly seen; 
 
 Before the gale the vessel flew, 
 And cut the foaming liquid greeu.
 
 82 TRIFLES. 
 
 The Wreck. 
 
 But soon the flatt'ring breeze was o'er, 
 The low'ring scud bedims the skies ; 
 
 Around the ship rude billows roar, 
 As in the hollow trough she tries. 
 
 Beneath her lee, the land appears, 
 Despair assails their gallant hearts; 
 
 Vainly the skilful helmsman steers, 
 
 She drifts, she strikes, and now she parts ! 
 
 The dashing waves all aid repel, 
 
 What tho' each arm was stretch'd to save, 
 
 In vain and terrible to tell, 
 
 Each seaman found a wat'ry grave. 
 
 Dash'd on the rocks, Ben bleeding lies, 
 Poor Anna saw with sad despair, 
 
 To Heav'n she rais'd her streaming eyes, 
 And fainting, join'd his spirit there.
 
 TRIFLES. 83 
 
 Anaci'eontic. 
 
 Stoacveontic* 
 
 WHEN Love and Hymen join d their hands, 
 To weave our silken nuptial bands, 
 On the blissful nuptial morning, 
 Blushes sweet my love adorning; 
 Fair Hymen saw the vivid glow, 
 Contrasted by the neighb'ring snow; 
 Alarm'd, he views his mystic veil,* 
 Absorb'd in brighter beams, turn pale, 
 
 * Hymen was represented with a flame colour'd veil in his 
 left hand, emblematic of a virgin's blush.
 
 84 TRIFLES. 
 
 Anacreontic. 
 
 And form'd the furtive deep design, 
 To snatch a ray of light divine; 
 His torch illum'd, young Cupid came, 
 And wanton'd o'er the lambent flame, 
 Startled, I tried to seize the boy, 
 Flutt'ring o'er his burning toy, 
 When springing with a sudden bound, 
 He dropt his quiver on the ground ; 
 My laughing fair one seiz'd the prize, 
 Which ever since has arm'd her eyes ; 
 Long may their sparkling orbits move. 
 Full of fire and full of love.
 
 TRIFLES. 85 
 
 Inscription on a Drinking Cup formed from a Human Scull. 
 
 Un&nptuw on a 33rtnfttns up, 
 
 FORMED FROM A HUMAN SCULL. 
 
 WHERE is the wit that sparkling now no more, 
 Was wont to set the tables in a roar? 
 Mute are the lips with sober wisdom fraught, 
 That all the stores of human science taught; 
 No more the chrystal fountains trickling flow, 
 Whose dewy gems reliev'd their parent woe; 
 Fled are the rosy charms by all ador'd, 
 Which grac'd your homage and which grac'd the board: 
 i
 
 80 TRIFLES, 
 
 Inscription on a Drinking Cup formed from a Human Scull, 
 
 And yet like nature, which by ruin lives, 
 
 I claim the honors that my office gives, 
 
 I hold the purple draughts of mantling wine, 
 
 Which wit create, and all her flights refine ; 
 
 No higher wisdom sages ever fir'd, 
 
 Who quaff" my streams and feel themselves inspir'd ; 
 
 Not all the woes which sentimentals please, 
 
 Could shed such sweet delicious drops as these; 
 
 By these inspir'd, my blushing votaries glow, 
 
 And deeper roses on their features grow, 
 
 Exhaust the pledge, my hollow circle drain, 
 
 I stand an emblem of my poet's brain.
 
 TRIFLES. 87 
 
 Impromptu. 
 
 Umpromptu 
 
 By the Emperor Francis I. on visiting the Tomb of Petrarch't 
 
 Laura, in the Church of the Cordeliers at Avignon, 
 
 imitated from the French.* 
 
 WITHIN this narrow tomb inurn'd, unseen, 
 Lies the fam'd rival of th' Idalian queen, 
 
 * En petit lien rompris vous pourrez voir, 
 Ce que comprends bcaucoup par renominei 
 Plume, labeur, la langue et le devoir, 
 Furent vaincus par l'aimant de rainier ; 
 Oh, jrentille amie, etant tant estiinee 
 Qui te pourra loner qu'en se taisant, 
 Oar la parole er toujours reprimce, 
 Uuand le sujot surmonte le disaut. 
 
 I 2
 
 88 TRIFLES. 
 
 Impromptu. 
 
 Whose charms the flights of language might reprove, 
 
 Exhausting e'en the eloquence of love : 
 
 Oh ! beauty rare, if Petrarch's silver lyre, 
 
 Soft breathing strains of pure Castalian fire, 
 
 Was all untun'd to reach the lofty goal, 
 
 And sing the sweet impression on his soul: 
 
 Fancy, the poet's labours must adorn, 
 
 And dream the picture which can ne'er be drawn,
 
 TRIFLES. 93 
 
 The Cause of Pythagoras pleaded. 
 
 Such magic powers his tenets fire, 
 Beneath the breathings of your lyre, 
 That could the ancient sage revive, 
 You'd be the dearest friends alive. 
 
 A husband who has all his life, 
 Been pester'd with a scolding wife, 
 May turn the tables with a meal 
 Of roasted, metamorphosed veal. 
 
 " My dearest love, pray let me go," 
 " I tell you," says Avaro, " No;" 
 Now then, sir, shines our system's glory, 
 She spites Avaro, and eats Dory. 
 
 Here city sinners at the Bear, 
 Besiege a turtle-fed Lord May'r, 
 Who (Master Pythag) to commode, 
 Is turn'd to hot beef a-la-mode.
 
 94 TRIFLES. 
 
 The Cause of Pythagoras pleaded. 
 
 Clarinda always blithe and gay, 
 'Till Colin stole her heart away, 
 Is now resolv'd to play her part, 
 For see he smokes a roasted heart. 
 
 Ned too has only chang'd his shape, 
 From puppy to a a coxcomb ape; 
 Indeed I don't lament my brother, 
 lie may as well be one as t'other. 
 
 Cheer up, friend Py', don't be dismay'd, 
 There's no cause yet to be afraid ; 
 While you have such a foe, depend 
 Your system ne'er will want a friend.
 
 TRIFLES. j)3 
 
 Market Day; Departure from Home. 
 
 iWarftrt ap* 
 
 " Non solum interfuit his rebus, sed etiam praefuit." Cic 
 
 JSOON us the laughing morn exalts her head, 
 And throws young Day-light on old Thrasher's bed, 
 The bustling housewife with domestic care, 
 Quick hastes her good man's breakfast to prepare ; 
 Whilst he in well-air'd shirt and cloaths more smart, 
 Puts the old gelding Blackbird to his cart: 
 A living cargo forms the well-pois'd load, 
 Smack goes the whip, and Thrasher takes the road ;
 
 Mi TRIFLES. 
 
 Market Day ; Journey to the Town. 
 
 Singing and whistling thro' the mud lie steers, 
 
 Alike nor nothing recks nor nothing fears, 
 
 'Till spying old dame Partlet on before, 
 
 With pregnant basket, fill'd' with pantry store, 
 
 *' Good-morrow, dame," he calls, she humbly begs 
 
 He'll let her ride to save her ancient legs ; 
 
 Up mounts the dame, slow scrambling o'er the wheels, 
 
 Again the farmer's lash poor Blackbird feels, 
 
 Who prone to creeping, makes a sudden start, 
 
 Which lasts while Blackbird feels the stinging smart ; 
 
 The pain subsides, he takes his wonted pace, 
 
 And leaves to younger heels the swifter race; 
 
 Thus side by side, on jog the rustic pair, 
 
 And talk profound beguiles the distance there; 
 
 This blames the rising price of butcher's meat, 
 
 While that laments the falling state of wheat; 
 
 So diff'ring purposes our views compel, 
 
 That seeks to purchase and this wants to sell,
 
 TRIFLES. 97 
 
 Market Day ; The Arrival. 
 
 Poor ministerial flanks they harshly goad, 
 Which, all unconscious, bear the weighty load ; 
 House rent and taxes to the account set down, 
 Which ample subject brings them to the town. 
 
 Lo ! where in skin unknown in days of yore, 
 The grim Bed Lion guards the ale-house door, 
 Or stretching o'er the street in equal guise, 
 The fierce Green Dragon meets the pilgrim's eyes, 
 And grinning horrible, appear to say, 
 " There's danger here, so trav'ler do not stay; 
 ' Behold the Angel on the other side, 
 " Beneath his wings 'twere safer to abide." 
 
 The farmer stops (nor needs the curbing rein, 
 For well the gelding knows the house again) 
 Unloads his cart, the dame, her eggs and all, 
 And puts old Blackbird in the neighb'ring stall; 
 
 K
 
 OB TRIFLES. 
 
 Market Day ; Description of the Inn. 
 
 The parlo lr snug, with nicely sanded ground, 
 
 And leathern chairs, brass-studded, plac'd around, 
 
 Old Thrasher enters, anxious to peruse 
 
 ' The County Chronicle,' or ' Weekly News ;' 
 
 Forth from his pocket draws the shagreen case, 
 
 And polish'd spectacles his temples grace ; 
 
 With ardent feelings reads the foe retires, 
 
 Before the mighty roar of British iires, 
 
 Or cons uncertain prophecies that peace 
 
 Shall bid, with olive sceptre, discord cease ; 
 
 Learns what strange fashions and what crimes prevail, 
 
 And drowns his thirst in draughts of home-brew'd ale, 
 
 For oft' in distant towns full well I ween, 
 
 Nor Meux' nor Whitbread's best entire is seen; 
 
 Here will we pause to take a chearful glass, 
 
 And mark the changing objects as they pass.
 
 TRIFLES. 99 
 
 Market Day; The Market begins. The Squire. 
 
 Gigs, carts and horsemen rattling drive along, 
 Calves, sheep and oxen swell the gath'ring throng, 
 The tinkling bells renew the merry chime, 
 Each heart responsive beats in equal time ; 
 But, hark! the rolling of those chariot wheels, 
 Disturbs with rumbling noise their tuneful peals; 
 Behold to whom mine host his homage pays, 
 The wealthy squire, with his prancing bays ; 
 Strange that without a hope to gain a friend, 
 The world to wealth and rank so lowly bend; 
 Yet hold, nor Nature lash with wanton hand, 
 The landlord's licence is at his command! 
 Crack goes the whip, his back we gladly see, 
 And thus again resume our reverie. 
 
 Deep loaded, o'er the springing pathworn gra?s, 
 Comes tripping Roger's blooming village lass; 
 K 2
 
 100 TRIFLES. 
 
 Market Day ; A Village Beauty. A sublime Apostrophe. 
 
 Dame Nature in no niggard hour unrol'd 
 This finish'd model from those plastic mould ; 
 The swelling round proportion of those charms, 
 Which grace this Cynosure each bosom warms, 
 Rob'd in the garb of health, the blushing guise 
 Adds two-fold lustre to her sparkling eyes, 
 Untan'd by airs which civic beauties spoil, 
 The living rose-buds speak their native soil. 
 
 Hail! matchless beauty, heav'nly beauty, hail! 
 Thy winning charms o'er ev'ry pow'r prevail; 
 Thou beauteous gem of bright seraphic ray, 
 Which angels decks, and scarce less bright than they : 
 But not to thee alone the meed I give, 
 For mind can make each fading beauty live; 
 Come then, ye sister spells, immortal be, 
 And aye enchanted, I will dwell with thee..
 
 TRiFLES. ioi 
 
 Market Day ; The Attorney. 
 
 Haply her favour'd lover she espies, 
 Soft pleasure kindles in her speaking eyes ; 
 Promptly he flies to ease the heavy load, 
 And help her o'er the stile which bars the road ; 
 Love's herald wooes those lips that shame the rose. 
 The ardent kiss with mutual rapture glows. 
 
 Hard by the stile, amidst the shelt'ring trees, 
 A mansion stands, the seat of wealth and ease; 
 The fruit of " six and eight-pence" often made 
 By upright dealings in an honest trade; 
 For spite of all that rhyming cynics sing, 
 An honest lawyer's no uncommon thing; 
 Big with the fate of debtor, haply poor, 
 An anxious tradesman seeks " the office door." 
 The clerk conducts him to the legal chief, 
 Who cons with wrinkled brow the prolix brief, 
 K 3
 
 102 TRIFLES. 
 
 Market Day ; Tlie Schoolmaster. 
 
 Midst piles of tape-ty'd parchment, half conceal'd 
 
 " The aforesaid" honest lawyer, stands reveal'd, 
 
 For law unrival'd in the county stands, 
 
 And holds the title deeds of half its lands; 
 
 And why? With manners turn'd to win the heart, 
 
 His practice advocates the honest part; 
 
 For while his lips the laws profound dispense, 
 
 He's rul'd by open candour and good sense ; 
 
 His trusting clients to his judgment bend, 
 
 And where they seek the lawyer rind a friend. 
 
 Extend your view to yonder poplar shade, 
 There dwells, by hope (like many more) betray'd, 
 A wight condemn'd to geometric lines, 
 Deep fluxions, logarithms, tangents, sines; 
 With him, young Philo's half-reluctant seek 
 The feast of Li,tin, and the flow of Greek;
 
 TRIFLES. 103 
 
 Market Day ; The Schoolmaster. 
 
 For who, to dumb forgetfulness a prey, 
 
 Quits the warm precincts of the dinner tray, 
 
 With fabled Gods on fancied cates to dine, 
 
 And sip Pierian springs in lieu of wine; 
 
 No where the pudding's circled form delights, 
 
 And hungry lips to taste it's sweets invites, 
 
 There, willing knives the radius promptly trace, 
 
 And ample sections smoke before each face; 
 
 Unpractis'd he, by soul-debasing art 
 
 To blight the germing feelings of the heart, 
 
 Consign young Honor to an early grave, 
 
 And form the future tyrant or the slave; 
 
 T' inure the youthful mind to bear disgrace, 
 
 And sap the throne of virtue at its base; 
 
 No youthful culprit trembles at his nod, 
 
 Who tries conviction whilst he spares the rod; 
 
 By gentler means he gains his purpos'd end, 
 
 Nor breaks the spirit which he fain would bend;
 
 104 TRIFLES. 
 
 Market Day ; Description of the Town and Market Place. 
 
 Thus fed, thus taught, alternately they find, 
 That feasts the body, while this feeds the mind. 
 
 In ample row and eke in dight array, 
 With studied care the shops their wealth display ; 
 Here rival tradesmen spread their vary'd store, 
 To suit all wants and catch the useful ore : 
 There, new-born fashions point the cyprian dart. 
 With brighter charms to fix the stricken heart; 
 Full many a gaude of colours bright and clear, 
 In tempting windows, tastefully appear; 
 Full many a damsel gapes with longing eyes, 
 &nd wastes her breath in unavailing sighs. 
 
 Yon' oaken posts rude-carv'd, of roughest mould; 
 The sloping penthouse solidly uphold, 
 'Yclept the market house, where traders keen 
 Their wares deposite, and where eke I wee,
 
 TRIFLES. 105 
 
 Market Day ; Market Place. A Simile. 
 
 Large stores of mutton, joints of titled beef, 
 
 Surpass the energies of bas-relief, 
 
 Eggs, butter, carrots, greens and luscious fruit, 
 
 The hungry stomach's vivid taste salute, 
 
 E'en Priam's self, might view the scene with joy. 
 
 And stock his pantry for the siege of Troy; 
 
 Within the precincts of this deft exchange, 
 
 Long rows of crock'ry spread their tempting range; 
 
 Rich Cathay's unperspective clays abound, 
 
 And W r edgcwood's wares bestrew the cover'd ground; 
 
 Far distant friends well met with honest grace, 
 
 Exchange their greetings in the market place; 
 
 To busy hum of folks engag'd in trade, 
 
 Pigs, geese and turkies lend their vocal aid. 
 
 So when poor Noah the whelming floods invest, 
 His ark was cram'd with ev'ry howling beast,
 
 loa TRIFLES. 
 
 Market Day; The Alarm. Atutlier Simile. 
 
 Birds whistled, women talk'd, and children ery'd, 
 And glad was Noah to see the waves subside, 
 
 The sultry dog-star rages in the sky, 
 Its baleful vapours round the welkin fly, 
 The race canine their potent influence feels, 
 Which wings (like Mercuries) their brains and heels, 
 Forth from the kennel's snug and warm retreat, 
 They scour, deep-howling, through the echoing street, 
 The dreadful sound the throng assembled hears, 
 Loud cries of " mad dog," wake their sleeping fears, 
 With heedless steps they rush, impell'd by dread, 
 The wares of Stafford groan beneath their tread: 
 Unheeding, still they rush, for nothing stay, 
 When, lo! the wheelwright's timber bars the way. 
 
 Thus fly a dog-scar'd flock of timid sheep, 
 And rush impetuous down the hilly steep,
 
 TRIFLES. 107 
 
 Market Day ; An Invocation. The Catastrophe. 
 
 The scamp'ring leaders ring their pendant bells, 
 Nor stop till some broad ditch their flight repels. 
 
 Oh! thou divine Melpomene inspire 
 My vocal shell with living tragic fire, 
 In glowing numbers teach me how to tell 
 The dread disasters which whilom befel. 
 
 The dire obstruction first old Thrasher feels, 
 Who stumbling, trips the neighb'ring landlord's heels; 
 The reeling parson, heaving piteous sighs, 
 With publicans and sinners prostrate lies; 
 On this firm base the phalanx press their weight, 
 Men, maids and matrons meet one common fate, 
 Prone in the mud they roll ; from ears to eyes, 
 Besmear'd with cloudy honors, lo ! they rise ! 
 Shoes, hats and pattens, cloaks and bonnets round, 
 With tatter'd fragments veil the covei'd ground,
 
 108 TRIFLES. 
 
 Market Day ;-A necessary digression. Simile upon Simile, 
 
 The wig which erst adorn'd the parson's pate, 
 Now amply shields the face of smiling Kate, [down, 
 While Kate's straw bonnet trimm'd with cygnet's 
 Inversely strives to shield his ample crown. 
 
 Yet stay, forgive the laughter-loving muse, 
 Her sportive sallies, she would fain excuse, 
 And bids her pen the living portrait write, 
 Where genius, truth and learning all unite; 
 Oft yielding hearts his picture's brighter drawn, 
 Who simplifies the truths his words adorn, 
 Enlarg'd conviction from his precepts flows, 
 Because his practice all the Christian shews, 
 This tribute paid to merit justly due, 
 We cry you mercy and our tale pursue. 
 
 So have we seen an empty tott'ring barn, 
 Whose ruin, quitting rats prophetic warn,
 
 TRIFLES. 100 
 
 Market Day ; Dinner Time, with a suitable Invocation. 
 
 With hideous crash come tumbling from on high, 
 Bricks, tiles and lime in heaps of rubbish lie; 
 Thus too we've seen, when other mortals sleep, 
 The pale-fac'd nightman sacred vigils keep, 
 His incense smoke on Cloacina's shrine, 
 And lambent ordure on his person shine. 
 
 The dog escapes the throng with springing bound, 
 O'erleaps the timber barrier on the ground, 
 A crowd of peasants swift pursuing flies, 
 O'crtakes the rabid beast, which wounded, dies. 
 
 The clock strikes one, the well-known fatal hour. 
 When beef and pudding try their 'witching pow'r, 
 Vwful to duck and peas, and apple tart, 
 \ml all the sweets of culinary art; 
 DEATH lends his aid to spread Oe reeking board, 
 \nd feather'd vassals own their feudal lord, 
 I,
 
 110 TRIFLES. 
 
 Market Day; Dinner Time. 
 
 Teach me, ye muses, so to shape my verse, 
 Like your own bard whose glowing strains rehearse, 
 How Hector 'mongst the Greeks made dreadful work, 
 And cut and hack'd about him like a Turk. 
 
 In stalk the farmers to the dining room, 
 And feast their noses with the sweet perfume, 
 'Till seated, then begins the dreadful fray, 
 Knives, forks and jostling elbows work away ; 
 Hewn limbs and fleshlcss bones confess their toils, 
 And swelling heaps of slaughter'd victim's spoils; 
 Pareh'd with the rage of panting toil extreme, 
 They quench their thirst in Lusitania's stream ; 
 Round with the bottle goes the sample wheat, 
 And thrifty chapmen for the bargain treat : 
 Far other viands humbler stomachs please, 
 Where pocket knives divide the roll and cheese,
 
 TRIFLES. Ill 
 
 Market Day ; The return Home. 
 
 The smoky tap whore hungry higglers dine, 
 And quaff strong beer instead of foreign wine. 
 At length the hill call'd in, the rcck'ning paid, 
 The landlord's bow and all arrangements made, 
 Each guest resumes his coat, his hat and whip, 
 And, with his treatment plcas'd, soon quits the SHIP. 
 
 Old Blackbird now, with ever-willing heart, 
 Resumes his wonted station in the eai't, 
 ^ liile Thrasher loads his lighter homeward freight, 
 Tea, sugo.r, pipes, et coetera add their weight, 
 Tiie gelding hears the farmer's well-known " gee," 
 And leaves the town to silence and to me. 
 
 I. 1
 
 112 TRIFLES. 
 
 Washing Day. 
 
 9taf)tng 33aj>, 
 
 OH! thou majestic nymph with sable stole, 
 And cypress crown, enthron'd beneath the yew, 
 Whose ebon sceptre marks extended rule 
 O'er universal woe, thy vot'ry hear, 
 And animate his strains with equal fire, 
 To sing the horrors of the " Washing Day." 
 
 Thrice hath old Saturn, with insatiate jaws, 
 Engulph'd his offspring in the dread abyss,
 
 TRIFLES. 113 
 
 Washing Day. 
 
 Three fated Hebdomads; thrice hath llecat, 
 Her triform'd phases chang'd since the last wash, 
 And now the quick revolving period come, 
 Excites the terrors which my theme inspire. 
 
 Anon, the drowsy clock tolls four! the knell 
 Which murders sleep, awakes the drowsy guard 
 Who snores his nightly vigil in his box : 
 Straitway he hies, and with responsive sounds, 
 Loud thunders at the door, to rouse the maid, 
 His promis'd meed a pint of Barclay's beer; 
 Rock'd in the cradle of the leaden God, 
 She dreams of sweet-hearts, and of wedding rings, 
 Anon she sees the church, but starting wakes, 
 The air-built fabric falls, and out she rolls. 
 
 Then quick descending downwards from the sky, 
 
 The high empyrean 'ma'h whose vaulted arch, 
 l 3
 
 114 TRIFLES. 
 
 Washing Day. 
 
 In eether high,corruscant planets blaze, 
 
 And lend their fires -to find the tinder-box; 
 
 Her torch illum'd, she opes the portal wide, 
 
 And hails with joy her welcome fair ally ; 
 
 Whose mighty toils erewhile with mop and broom, 
 
 Heap'd high the spoils on Cloacina's shrine, 
 
 Snatch'd from the surface of the dirty floor; 
 
 Whose uplift' arm destroy'd Arachne's toils, 
 
 ?t free her captives, drove the hideous wretch 
 
 To waste her venom in her murky den ; 
 
 Clad like chaste Pallas in her arm'd attire, 
 
 Her hand th' impenetrable iF.gis bears 
 
 Ungorgonis'd, and nam'd a leathern bib ; 
 
 Aloft on patten rings she stands sublime, 
 
 And dares the influence of the wash-house stone?. 
 
 Thus well caparison'd she takes the field, 
 But first with fervent zeal, she sips the balm,
 
 TRIFLES. 115 
 
 Washing Dun. 
 
 (Transcending all the draughts of Gammede,) 
 That sphincter of the brain a glass of gin. 
 Pursue the noble task, ye matchless pair, 
 With humeral and metacarpal strain, 
 And all your foes, dirt, grease and stains subdue. 
 
 But see, where crown'd with light ineffable, 
 Aurora's rosy touch unlocks the east, 
 And gales propitious follow in her train; 
 Gay smiles reflected by the vernal morn, 
 On universal Nature's bosom glow, 
 And clothe with joy the lovely female face, 
 Sweet reigning empress of the human heart: 
 But, hark! bleak Eurus howls and drives the snov\, 
 In fleecy show'rs o'er the new blaneh'd cloaths, 
 Hevers'd the scene, with corresponding frown, 
 The angel form, a woman stands confest: 
 Flap' Auster and Zephyrus join their breath
 
 110 TRIFLES. 
 
 Washing Day. 
 
 In one united stream ; then farewell hope, 
 The darken' d atmosphere portending rain, 
 With denser bosom driving down repels 
 The smoky volumes black as Erebus, 
 Which mock the toilsome labours of the day. 
 
 Poor isolated man, creation's lord ! 
 Tho' arm'd with patience of Chalybeate proof 
 Or adamantine strength, looks blank at best ; 
 For him no bliss domestic this day brings : 
 The parlour hearth unswept, repels his feet, 
 Which crush to dust the unbitumen'd coals; 
 The lire diminish'd to the second bar, 
 Burns freezing; or perchance the loaded horse 
 Guards with its outspread arms, the chearful blaze, 
 Access denying, like the dragon watch 
 Which kept the Hesperides golden fruit ; 
 Short monosyllables harsh supercede,
 
 TRIFLES. 117 
 
 Washing Day. 
 
 The fond expressions of conjugal love ; 
 In vain he hopes on luxuries to dine, 
 Doom'd to the wonted fare of washing day ; 
 A shoulder sever'd from the reeking sheep, 
 Embrown'd by Fornax in her heated forge, 
 With slic'd potatoes, forms the holocaust, 
 Which feeds the altar of his household Gods. 
 
 In vain his patriarchal bosom yearns, 
 ?" ttt his children round the table spread, 
 Condemn'd to viands cold, or bread and cheese 
 Beneath the inspection of the master's eye, 
 Whose care instructs their young ideas to shoot; 
 
 Delightful task! to teach the A B C, 
 Progressing slowly thence to A B, ab; 
 And all the sounds which in sweet concord roll 
 Their devious course, to Agauippe's stream.
 
 118 TRIFLES. 
 
 Washing Day. 
 
 Spurn not the solid philosophic base, 
 Which leads thro' sound to high ennobled sense, 
 Which bears the superstructure of the mind, 
 Whose silent operations are exprcst 
 By occult influence, on the vocal frame, 
 Untold, unknown! then how sublime that art, 
 Which by the aid of simple characters, 
 Opens the living volume of the brain, 
 Nearly associates far distant friends, 
 And social renders e'en the silent dead; 
 Hence too, immortal Newton upward soar'd, 
 To view the kingdoms of the starry world ; 
 Higher Milton rose, he pass'd ihe barrier skies, 
 And reach'd the plains of uncreated light; 
 Too great for mortal pow'rs, the refulgence 
 Disdaining a corporeal medium, 
 His visual organs sear'd, but threw its beams 
 In brighter glow, on his immortal mind.
 
 TRIFLES. no 
 
 Washing Day. 
 
 Now night draws on and spreads a dusky pall, 
 To shroud the reliques of departed day ; 
 Upon her black bas'd throne pale Luna sits 
 In silver majesty, and sheds her beams 
 Of mildest lustre, o'er this hemisphere: 
 Innumerable stars around her sweep 
 Their flaming orbits, whose vast axes rest 
 On steadfast nature's high eternal laws; 
 While these in lesser fires confess her reign, 
 Beneath the witching influence of her sway, 
 The poet's rapt' imagination soars 
 Upon the dragon wings of ecstacy, 
 The glow-worm emulates the regent light, 
 The weird sisters brew their potent spells, 
 Pale ghosts unshriv'n burst their cincture shrouds, 
 And yell their sorrows in sepulchral tones, 
 In hideous concert with the screaming owl: 
 Vvauut, ye gristly spectres ! Xaiada
 
 120 ' ''.TRIFLES: %- , 
 
 Mashing Day. 
 
 Hath sped her toils, and mop'd the wash-house dry, 
 Revers'd the tubs, and earn'd her eighteen pence ; 
 Invigorated with a drop more halm, 
 To meet her fond expectant mate she wends. 
 
 Tir'd with the labours of the dreadful day, 
 A yawning chasm deep as Acheron, 
 Reveals the oesophagus of the maid, 
 And mistress too, but that I am forbid 
 To trample on prerogative, which marks 
 The reign of petticoat So readers gape, 
 When dull-brain'd poets write Forgive the bar ' 
 Who trembling, sickens at th' expected frown, 
 Calm all his fears and animate his hopes ; 
 Till his rapt' soul anticipating bays, 
 On sounding pinions wings a higher flight; 
 But hold, lest Lethe's stream oblivious, 
 should form perchance a fatal " washing daw" 
 FINIS.
 
 This book is DUE on the last 
 date stamped below 
 
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