No More Learning

342. -- To Mrs. Siddons.
Expos'd to scenes where varied pleasure glows,
And all the lures which vice throws for beauty,
'Tis thine to remain, 'midst danger, unhurt,
And, though thou feel'st its influence, prove it vain.
Thus th' asbestos defies the pow'r of fire,
And lies un-injur'd, 'midst its violence;
And, though destructive flames roar around it,
Quits the fierce furnace perfect as before.
But whence canst thou tread with un-injur'd feet
The world's dire path, spread with burning plough-
shares?
Whence can thy heart disdain temptation's pow'r,
While Envy's darts in vain assail thy fame ?
Religion's shelt'ring pinions wave o'er thee;
And^the wreath, that Justice gave, Virtue guards.
Iambics of eight and six syllables alternately; the
first line to rhime with the third--the second, with the
fourth.
343
Ah! what is life? -- The road to death
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? Versification. 137
Through dismay and anguish.
With ev'ry breath we inhale ills,
Along the devious way.
344
The sweet songsters of the grove now
Prepare their matin hymns,
Which, tun'd to love and gratitude,
Declare their maker's pow'r.
345
We still rove together at eve,
To hear the nightingale,
Who chants sweetly the notes of love,
So tremulously clear. . * .
. 346
He clad too and taught the orphan,
Reliev'd the widow's wants,
Brought kind assistance to prisons,
Where captive debtors griev'd.
347
His drear abode is yon hovel,
Which scarcely yields shelter:
He sits beside the road alhday,
Or walks the fields slowly.
348
Round me glows th' Elysian prospect,
O'erspread with vernal hues:
My heart o'erflows with ecstasy,
As I tread these lov'd scenes.
349
But now, plann'd by judgement and taste,
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? 138 Versification.
We find, throughout these scenes,
The works of Art's improving hand
Join'd with ancient splendor.
350. -- The Glow-worm.
Near the stream, or beneath the hedge,
A worm is known to stray,
That shows a lucid beam by night,
Which by day disappears.
351. -- The Antiquary.
He bore a druid's sacred form;
A girdle bound his robes;
In ancient lore he was deep vers'd,
In old, profound customs.
He'd trace old kings, by musty coins,
And know their mien and air.
By face he well knew king Alfred,
Though he'd never seen George.
Iambics of eight and six syllables alternately; the
six-syllable lines to rhime -- the others, not,
352
Could we obtain our present wish>
Should we rest contented ?
That wish might perhaps prove fatal --.
If possess'd, lamented.
353
Come, ye faithful! come triumphant t
Repair to Bethlehem.
Behold the king of angels born :
With pray'r adore the Lord.
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? Versification. 139
JLet the holy host of heav'n now '"
Raise the cheerful chorus:
Ptaise to the Lord in the highest:
Let all nations praise him.
Iambics of eight syllables, with alternate rhime;
i. e. the first line to rhime with the third -- the second,
with the jourth.
354
My soul, stop thy rapid flight here,
Nor depart from the pleasing groves,
Where great Nature first charm'd my sight,
Where first Wisdom inform'd my heart.
? 355
In vain they search'd, to find the wretch,
Whose breast never knew soft pity;
Whose heart ne'er felt a refin'd joy,
But still drew its pleasure from guilt.
356
Why so soon retir'd from the world ? .
Why have you fled to solitude--
Your heart fir'd with friendship and love>
And poetic dreams in your head i
357
Now morning and gentler gales came;
And hope cheer'd our bosoms again ;
We trimm'd our tatter'd sails gaily;
And England's coast appear'd at length.
358
On the Gallic shore soon landed,
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? 140 Versification.
And allow'd to roatn on parole,
Hope once more fill'd my faithful breast
With thoughts of peaceful home and thee.
359
What, though the miser's nairiful hand
Should drain the rich Peruvian mines?
Could these command one single joy,
Or mitigate one moment's pain ?
360
As her rapid thoughts arise, she
Can, in glowing phrase, express each,
With churms, which Nature's self supplies
To all she says, to all she does.
361
The fervid source of light and heat,
Through the western skies descending,
Though veil'd from mortal sight awhile,
Shall rise with golden beam again.
362
In dire amaze, o'er the sad scene,
With courage not her own, she went.
She cast her gaze on many a corpse,
And to many a groan turn'd her ear.
363
When I first began life's journey,
With the load of care unburden'd,
I ran with giant strides, in thought,
To scenes that Fancy painted fair.
My wishes would fly already
To many a great and arduous height.
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? Versification.
Nought was too high, nought too distant,
To tempt my fancy's daring flight.
364. -- To a sleeping Infant.
Seraphic boy, sleep, sleep in peace,
Thou tender pledge of sincere lore!
Thy wretched parents' only joy*
And their only solace here now
Smiling innocence, sleep secure!
May heav'n's sustaining arm be near,
And aid tHee to endure calmly
The evils which here await thee.
365
Honeysuckles and new hay lend
To the breathing vale their fragrance;
While nameless flow'rs blend their odors,
And regale the smell with their sweets.
366
Thy moral grace, thy peerless charms,
Far excel the pow'rs of fiction.
Each beauty decorates thy face:
All the virtues dwell within thee.
. 367
Soft regard, dear, dove-like kindness,
And wit combin'd with loveliness --
At once our reward and our bonds --
Shall make captives of all mankind.
368
Some hapless wretch, a prey to grief,
Oppress'd with more than common woes,
Pines away the night in sorrow,
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? 144 Versification.
Unbless'd by peace, uncheer'd by hope
fair queen of night! I call on thee:
Hear my pray'r, O silver Cynthia!
Unveil to my sight thy radiance,
And to the child of care guide me.
369
Madd'ning with her woe, Lucy now
Tore her garments in frantic rage.
She wildly view'd the sea below,
Then plung'd headlong, no more to rise. . . . .
They pass'd along the wave-worn beach.
Their wand'ring search was vain some time;
At last they saw poor Lucy's corse,
Where on the main it floated loose.
370
When the tempests roar loud and drear,
When the billowy mountains rise high,
And 'gainst the rocky shore, headlong,
The vessel flies, driv'n by the blast,. . . . .
Say, does the seaman's daring mind
Shrink from the angry frown of fate ?
Does he, resign'd to abject fear,
Wait th' impending stroke in silence ?
374. -- The Negro Slave.
With guilty hands, force, ruffian force,
Has torn me away from my joys,
Condemn'd in distant lands to toil,
And doom'd each passing day to weep.
The clanking chain, and sounding whip,
Disturb my rest with horrid din; .
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? Versification.
And dire curses, from profane lips,
Shoot through my breast sudden tenors.
From all I love, far divided,
. From all my heart holds dear, remov'd,
I each day prove death's sharpest pangs,
And shed the fruitless tear, each hour.
372
O'er their flutt'ring bands shall gay Youth
Preside as chief, still attentive
To watch thy nod, bear thy commands,
And execute thy mighty will.
From thy amarantine bow'r, lo!
At his call, their host rushes quick;
And each opposing pow'r shall soon
Fall beneath their conqu'ring legions.
Then, bound in thy silken fetters,
Around thy throne, earth's various tribes
To ground shall bow their heads, captive,
And own thee their sov'reign ruler.
E'en stubborn Mars, enchain'd, subdu'd,
Shall kneel submiss before thy shrine,
Shall rend the wreath gain'd by valour,
And break the deadly steel, sighing.
He'll tear from earth his once-lov'd palm,
Embru'd with tears and gore and gall,
And rear, in its place, the myttle,
Bedew'd by thee with nectar's juice.
His shrill clarion shall no more fire
The warrior train with madd'ning notes,
A tyrant's rav'ning ire to sale,
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? 1 44 Versification.
And drench the plain with kindred blood.
Amid th' embattled throng, himself
Shall tune his lay to the soft lute,
And prolong sweet Lydian measures,
Till frowning Discord hie away.
And, lo! their louring knitted brows
The adverse hosts unbend gradual;
Each bosom glows; each heart relents;
Each hails his former foe a friend.
Join'd in Concord's flow'ry bands, now
They shout joyous the sacred name
Of Brother! and, uniting hands,
Proclaim eternal peace on earth.
Iambics of eight syllables; the second and fourth lines
to rhime--the first and third, not.
373
Her visage was pale, her cheek wan;
Yet her languid eye beam'd sweetly.
Her faded form own'd a grace still,
Which might almost vie with beauty.
S? 4
The sky was serene, the sea calm,
And the eastern gale blew gently,
When, seated on a rock, Anna
View'd the Lavinia's less'ning sail.
She thus address'd her pray'r to heav'n:
" Thou, who canst destroy, or canst s$ve,
Guard from each surrounding danger
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? Versification. 145
My little sailor boy much-lov'd. "
Iambics ofJive feet, or ten syllables, with alternate
rhime; i. e. the first line to rhimewith the third -- the
second, with the Jourth.
375
Whither, whither art thou flown, lone wand'rfcr?
To what gloomy dell or sequester'd bow'r ?
Say, dost thou go where sorrow is unknown?
Dost thou dwell where trouble never enters?
376
Through the sky the ev'ning radiance gleams faint:
The sober twilight darkens round dimly:
The shrill bat flits by, in short quick circles;
And along the ground the slow vapor curls.
377
Quench the sacred fire, ye sons of science!
No more awake the vocal shell for fame:
Let sordid gain inspire your stooping souls,
And bid the soaring dreams of Hope farewell.
378
Ye Muses, say, what now avail your gifts,
The poet's fire, and the poet's feelings?
They but teach me to bewail keener pangs:
They but inspire deeper lamentations.
379
Diffusing gladness all around, Spring now
Courts the western breeze with alluring smiles,
Scatters o'er the ground her gayest flowers,
. . N
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? 146 Versification.
And clothes the spreading trees in green foliage.
380
A friend I had: now that friend is no more.
His cold remains lie beneath the marble.
I deplore his loss with bitter anguish,
And often heave a sigh to his inem'ry.
381
But, lo! with crowded sail he comes at last!
See, what eager figures bend o'er the cliff!
And hark, what mingled murmurs swell the gale !
He hears the welcome of a friend, in each.
382
Huge cover'd tables stood in the wide hall,
Crown'd with rich viands, and wines high-flavonr'd
Whatever tasteful food or sprightly juice
Is found on the green bosom of this earth.
383
The rooms were hung with costly tapestry,
Where many a gentle tale was inwoven,
Such as the rural poets sung, of old,
Or of Arcadian or Sicilian vale.
384
Ye guardian spirits, to whom man is dear,
Shield the midnight gloom from frightful visions
Be near, angels of love and of fancy,
And diffuse a bloom o'er the blank of sleep.
385
Man was a rugged wight, the worst of brutes:
He prey'd on his own wretched kind, ruthless:
The strongest still over-ran the weakest:
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? Versification. 147
Mighty robbers sway'd in ev'ry country.
386
Th' inferior demons of the place, alann'd,
Rais'd around rueful shrieks and hideous yells.
Stormy black clouds deform'd the welkin's face;
And a wailing sound was heard from beneath.
387
How vast this wond'rous scene appear'd, how fair,
When hope display'd its op'ning buds at first!
How dull and comfortless, how mean and poor,
Has reason since portr. ay'd this mighty world!
388
Pour thy melting notes on my fainting soul,
Softer than spring's lone minstrel can bestow.
While thy cadence floats through the list'ning air,
The sigh shall cease, the tear forget to flow.
;)89. -- Retirevteut.
On a faithful. >hore, ambition's vessel
Rests in peace here, sweet content ber anchor-
No more is curiosity seen here
Exploring each event with prying eye.
390
The Muses rove o'er the grassy meads here,
Or by yon stream that strays through the valley;
While through the grpve inspiration whispers,
And sportive fancy plays 'mid the foliage.
391
Ye sublime hills, that o'er the wild landscape
Frown wild and drear in terrific grandeur,
Thou crystal Tay, that roll'st in mild cadence,
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? 148 Vertification.
I come to sooth here my childish sorrows.
392
Charmer of the anguish'd hour, Patience! come,
Skill'd to beguile each desponding horror.
Sweet but serious pow'r ! come, benignly mild,
And with thy melancholy smile sooth me.
393
The rooks are hush'd to rest in yonder grove,
Within their nests, among the topmost boughs;
The light-wing'd lark has press'd his lowly bed:
The glossy blackbird his song has forgot.
394
The tall tomb uprears its pompous head there,
Spread o'er with praise and with high-sounding verse,
As though the fulsome theme the dead could please,
Or on eternity's vast shore sooth them.
395
Thou hast pow'r, sweet child of fancy, Fiction,
To move each various passion that we know;
Canst bid the brow lour with imag'd sorrows,
Canst make the breast glow with imag'd pleasures.
396
How oft shall we be told, in reason's spite,
(And told it in Britain's lib'ral air too)
By those who hold Afric's sons in bondage,
That they fare better than Scotia's peasants?
897
O Peace ! I resign ali the world for thee;
I fly from all the haunts of men for thee.
O divine maid, 1 ask but this on earth,
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? Versification. 149
To wander with thee, and to die with thee.
398
Where'er they go, obedient Fortune waits:
Th' inconstant elements are kind, for them :
The protidest streams forget to flow, for them ;
And the fav'ring wind springs up at their wish.
S99
I now stand alone on the world's bleak waste :
I am Jeft an unprotected orphan.
The names of kindred are unknown to me;
I'm bereft of each endearing comfort.
400
Gentle villager, pause here a moment :
Forego the thoughts of earthly cares awhile::
Drop one pitying tear, or breathe a soft sigh,
If for others' woe thy bosom e'er ihrobb'd.
401
Days of my youth ! are you flown for ever?
Blest days of ease and innocence, adieu *
Are you gone, dear rustic recreations--
Pastimes of youth, when ev'ry sport could please ?
402. -- May.
No frowning moments dare intrude their gloom :
But from ev'ry spray melody is heard.
The fleecy wand'rers crop their plenteous food,
Or sport away the sunny hours gaily.
403
Affection's glance can pierce the dreary gloom,
That curtains round the unknown land with clouds.
She wails aud sobs o'er thy tomb in anguish;
n3
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? ] 50 Versifieation.
Alas! her moan unheard, her tears unseen.
404
Let busy Scandal, with tongue malignant,
Repeat thy piteous tale <<ith savage joy:
Wrunn by thy sorrows, the feeling soul shall
Bewail thy fate in sympathetic strains.
405
Anxious for his country's weal, some statesman
Perhaps scans the fate of mighty empires.
His lab'ring mind can feel no soft repose,
While he weighs th' important plans in his breast.
406
I strike thy trembling strings once more, my lyre;
But I raise not again thy notes to joy.
Grief flings her hand o'er the chords, distressful,
And oft delays the song, faintly pausing.
407
I beheld a youthful stripling with him :
His mien was modest, and his gait careless;
And he held a half-strung lyre in his hand,
Which he oft struck, between each idle pause.
408
If e'er you chose, sweet pensive jessamine,
To deck an humble spot to fame unknown ;
And thou, fair virgin rose, of modest blush,
If kindred worth and charms claim thy notice ;
Oh! round yon tomb interweave your branches,
And embalm the air with united sweets:
For beauty's bloom, and truth, and innocence--
All that the poet lov'd -- is there buried.
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? Versification. 1 51
409
Sterne! thy poetic pow'rs are dear to all:
We sit and moan near sick Le Fevre's couch;
And, wrung with anguish, drop the piteous tear
For poor Maria, wild, wand'ring, alone.
Nor less thy poignant wit and mirth delights:
The angled fence, the martial bowling-green,
Old Shandy's arguments, are fit emblems
Of ruling passions mast'ring common sense.
410. -- Indolence.
He wish'd sometimes to shake off his stupor,
And break the charm which bound his senses thus,
Awake to deeds of noble enterprise,
And join the busy crowd which buzz'd around.
But still he ever found some vain excuse,
And said, " It will do as well to morrow. " x ,
It came, and fled :--the same unvaried round
He pass'd, nor could repel its numbing poNv'is.
411
That breast, the seat of refin'd sentiment,
Those pow'rs, that could explore ev'ry science,
Are now consigned to Death's unfathoui'd gulf--
Alas ! no more to charm th' admiring world.
What avails now that divine eloquence,
That ou the dubious mind stamp'd conviction. '1
The Savage and sage must resign their life:
Time leaves behind no wreck of human pow'r.
412
What, if the smiles of Fortune play round me,
Or if through the land my name be echo'd?
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? 152 Versification.
What, if a servile train obey my voice,
Or honors, or length of days, stand round me ?
Can these impart one ray of bliss to mind,
Or spread o'er the breast the glow of virtue,
From a love-sick heart remove the anguish,
Lull our fears to rest, or disperse our doubts ?
413
There, too, was he, who siemm'd nobly the tide
Of corruption foul, with breast undaunted;
Who liv'd for his country, and would have died,
Could he, dying, have seen his country blest.
He pitied its woes, and redress'd its wrongs;
Devoted each successive day to it:
But the iron arm of pow'r oppiess'd him,
Strewing o'er his way the thorns of sorrow.
414
Long-lost Peace, hail! divine dove-ey'd maid, hail
See a suppliant vot'ry bend at thy feet:
Oh ! with an eye benign deign to view him :
So dying Hope shall find a friend in thee.
Ah ! turn not away thy angelic ? ace!
If thou'lt be mine, I'll quit this vale no more,
But sit all the live-long day beside thee,
And list to thy rural tale in silence
There may we live, unseen and unsought for,
By Fortune's train, rude, cold, and fantastic;
Nor let the sons of Comus mark the green,
Nor lounging triflers intrude on our hours
If to. our sylvan shed aught be welcome,
Be it the trav'ler who has lost his way,
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? Versification. 153
Who knows not where to rest his anxious head,
Who knows not where to lay his weary limbs.
The second and fourth tines to rhime--the others, not.
415
To chase the clouds of gloom, and sooth my grief,
The beauties of the painted vale ! sought.
I often water'ci the flow'rs with my tears,
And loaded the passing gale with my sighs.
s 416. -- A dying Father, to his Children.
Pious offspring ! go, and restrain those tears.
To regions of eternal bliss I fly :
Heav'u bears my dying pray'rs in your favor:
Take, in this clay-cold kiss, iny last blessing.
Iambics of eight syllables; each paragraph to make
two verses, with rhime.
417
Blest spirit! forgive the mournful rites we keep. --
We weep for ourselves.
418
How soothing sweet nature's music to the troubled
mind ! how retin'd !
419
A swain, unvex'd with all the cares of gain, liv'd
remote from cities.
420
1 never overbear in conversation, with important air.
421
IS or would I invade my neighbour's right by stealth,
with felonious slight.
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? 154 Versification.
422
Frail man is ever prone to err: but gen'rous
minds will own their faults.
423
Sweet to rove the tangled thickets of the grove at this
twilight hour.
424
To enrich her cells, the bee sucks honey from
cowslips' golden bells.
425
The drooping Muse, now dropp'd for news and poli-
tics, lay neglected.
426
And the hands, that plough the soil, shall guard
well the produce of their toil.
427
Then let us kneel here on your hallow'd threshold,
while we seal our vows.
428
The earth keeps her richest, proudest treasures within
her cavern'd deeps.
489
Benumbing frosts, which chill'd fair nature's genial
fire, retire at length.
430
Atrides! my Muse, with daring wing, would fain
sing thy glorious deeds.
431
But the melting notes soon again begin to flow in
slow murmurs.
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