תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

Thus once an Animalcule prov'd,

When Man, a patron to the bays;
This patron was in Greece belov'd;
Yet fame was faithless to his praise.

In Rome, this Animalcule grew

Mæcenas, whom the classics rate!
Among the Gauls, it prov'd Richlieu,
In learning, power, and bounty great.

In Britain, Halifax it rose ;

(By Halifax, bloom'd Congreve's strains) And now it rediminish'd glows,

To glide through godlike Rutland's veins.

A plague there is, too many know;

Too seldom perfect cures befal it: The Muse may term it beauty's foe;

In physic, the small-pox we call it.

From Turks we learn this plague to' assuage,
They, by admitting, turn its course:

Their kiss will tame the tumor's rage;
By yielding, they o'ercome the force.

Thus Rutland did its touch invite,

While, watchful in the ambient air,
This little, guardian, subtle sprite,
Did with the poison in repair.

The' infection from the heart it clears;
The' infection, now dilated thin,

In pearly pimples but appears,

Expell'd upon the surface skin.

And now, it mouldering, wastes away:

'Tis gone!-doom'd to return no more! Our Animalcule keeps its stay,

And must new labyrinths explore.

And now the Noble's thoughts are seen, t Unmark'd, it views his heart's desires! It now reflects what it has been,

And, rapturous, at his change admires

Its pristine virtues, kept, combine,
To be again in Rutland known;
But they, immers'd, no longer shine,
Nor equal, nor increase his own.

VOL. XIX.

AN APOLOGY TO BRILLANTE,

FOR HAVING LONG OMITTED WRITING IN VERSE,

In imitation of a certain mimic of Anacreon.

Can I matchless charms recite ?
Source of ever-springing light!
Could I count the vernal flow'rs,
Count in endless time the hours;
Count the countless stars above,
Count the captive hearts of Love;
Paint the torture of his fire,
Paint the pangs those eyes inspire!
(Pleasing torture, thus to shine,
Purified by fires like thine!)

Then I'd strike the sounding string!

Then I'd thy perfection sing.

Mystic world!-Thou something more! Wonder of the' Almighty's store!

Nature's depths we oft descry,

Oft they're pierc'd by learning's eye;
Thou, if thought on thee would gain,
Prov'st (like heaven) enquiry vain.
Charms unequall'd we pursue!
Charms in shining throngs we view!
Number'd then could nature's be,

Nature's self were poor to thee.

TO THE EXCELLENT

MIRANDA,

CONSORT OF AARON HILL, ESQ. ON READING HER
POEMS.

EACH Softening charm of Clio's smiling song,
Montague's soul, which shines divinely strong,
These blend, with graceful ease, to form thy rhyme,
Tender, yet chaste; sweet-sounding, yet sublime;
Wisdom and wit have made thy works their care,
Each passion glows, refin'd by precept, there:
To fair Miranda's form each grace is kind;
The Muses and the Virtues tune thy mind.

THE

GENTLEMAN.

ADDRESSED TO JOHN JOLIFFE, ESQ.

A DECENT mien, an elegance of dress,
Words, which, at ease, each winning grace express;
A life, where love, by wisdom polish'd, shines,
Where wisdom's self again, by love, refines;
Where we to chance for friendship never trust,
Nor ever dread from sudden whim disgust;
The social manners and the heart humane;
A nature ever great and never vain ;
A wit, that no licentious pertness knows;
The sense, that unassuming candour shows :

Reason, by narrow principles uncheck'd,
Slave to no party, bigot to no sect;

Knowledge of various life, of learning too; [ensue :
Thence taste; thence truth, which will from taste
Unwilling censure, though a judgment clear;
A smile indulgent, and that smile sincere ;
An humble, though an elevated mind;
A pride, its pleasure but to serve mankind :
If these esteem and admiration raise ;

Give true delight, and gain unflattering praise,
In one wish'd view, the' accomplish'd man we see;
These graces all are thine, and thou art he.

*

*

CHARACTER

OF

THE REV. JAMES FOSTER.

FROM Codex hear, ye' ecclesiastic men,

This pastoral charge to Webster, Stebbing, Venn;
Attend ye emblems of your P―'s mind!
Mark faith, mark hope, mark charity, defin'd;
On terms, whence no ideas ye can draw,

Pin well your faith, and then pronounce it law;
First wealth, a crosier next, your hope enflame;
And next church-power-a power o'er conscience,
In modes of worship right of choice deny; [claim;
Say, to convert, all means are fair—add, why?

« הקודםהמשך »