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To all the cares of waking clay,
And inconfiftent dreams of day.

$115. Vijon V. Happiness,
YE ductile youths, whofe rifing iun
Hath many circles ftill to run;
Who wifely with the pilot's chart,
To fteer thro' life th' uniteady heart;
And, all the thoughtful voyage paft,
To gain a happy port at lalt:
Attend a Seer's inftructive fong;
For moral truths to dreams belong.

I faw this wondrous Vifion foon,
Long ere my fun had reach'd its noon;
Juft when the rifing beard began
To grace my chin, and call me man.

One night, when balmy flumbers shed
Their peaceful poppies o'er my head,
My fancy led me to explore

A thoufand fcenes unknown before.
I faw a plain extended wide,

And crowds pour'd in from ev'ry fide;
All feem'd to start a diff'rent game,
Yet all declar'd their views the fame:
The chase was Happiness, I found;
But all, alas! enchanted ground.
Indeed, I judg'd it wondrous ftrange,
To fee the giddy numbers range
Thro' roads, which promis'd nought, at best,
But forrow to the human breast.
Methought, if blifs was all their view,
Why did they diff'rent paths purfue?
The waking world has long agreed,
That Bagfhot's not the road to Tweed:
And he who Berwick feeks thro' Staines,
Shall have his labour for his pains.

As Parnell fays*, my bofom wrought
With travail of uneertain thought;
And, as an angel help'd the dean,
My angel chofe to intervene.

The drefs of each was much the fame;
And virtue was my feraph's name.
When thus the angel filence broke;
Her voice was music as the fpoke:

Attend, O man! nor leave my fide,
And fafety fhall thy footsteps guide;
Such truths I'll teach, fuch secrets fhow,
As none but favour'd mortals know.'
She faid-and straight we march'd along
To join Ambition's active throng:
Crowds urg'd on crowds with eager pace,
And happy he who led the race.
Axes and daggers lay unseen
In ambuscade along the green:
While vapours fhed delufive light,
And bubbles mock'd the diftant fight.

We faw a fhining mountain rite,
Whose tow'ring fummit reach'd the skies;
The flopes were steep, and form'd of glass,
Painful and hazardous to pafs:
Courtiers and statefmen led the way;
The faithlefs paths their fteps betray;

This moment feen aloft to foar,
The next to fall, and rife no more.
'Twas here Ambition kept her court,
A phantom of gigantic port:

The fav'rite that fuftain'd her throne
Was Falfehood, by her vizard known;
Next flood Miftruft, with frequent figh,
Disorder'd look, and fquinting eye;
While meagre Envy claim'd a place;
And Jealousy, with jaundic`d face.

But where is Happinefs?' I cried.
My guardian turn'd, and thus replied:
Mortal, by Folly fill beguil'd,
Thou halt not yet outftripp'd the child,
Thou who haft twenty winters feen
(I hardly think thee past fifteen)
To atk if happiness can dwell
With ev'ry dirty imp of hell!
Go to the fchool-boy; he shall preach
What twenty winters cannot teach;
He'll tell thee, from his weekly theme,
That thy purtuit is all a dream;
That blifs ambitious views difowns,
And, felf-dependant, laughs at thrones;
Prefers the fhades, and lowly feats,
'Whither fair Innocence retreats,
So the coy lily of the vale

Shuns eminence, and loves the dale.'
I blush'd; and now we crofs'd the plain
To find the money-getting train;
Thofe filent, fnug, commercial bands,
With bufy looks, and dirty hands.
Amidft thefe thoughtful crowds, the old
Plac'd all their happiness in gold;
And furely, if there's blifs below,
Thefe hoary heads the fecret know.
We journey'd with the plodding crew,
When foon a temple role to view;
A Gothic pile! with mofs o'ergrown;
Strong were the walls, and built with ton
Without, a thousand mastiffs wait;
A thoufand bolts fecure the gate.
We fought admiffion long in vain,
For here all favours fell for gain.
The greedy porter yields to gold;
His fee receiv'd, the gates unfold.
Affembled nations here we found,
And view'd the cringing herds around,
Who daily facrific'd to Wealth
Their honour, confcience, peace, and healt
I faw no charms that could engage;
The god appear'd like fordid age,
With hooked nofe, and famifh'd jaws,
But ferpent's eyes, and harpy's claws:
Behind food Fear, that reftiefs fprite,
Which haunts the watches of the night;
And viper Care, that flings fo deep,
Whofe deadly venom murders fleep.

We haften now to Pleasure's flow'rs,
Where the gay tribes fat crown'd with flow's
Here beauty ev'ry charm display'd,
And love inflam'd the yielding maid;
See the Hermit, page 79.

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For the hariot's falfe embrace, thefs wear an angel's face: By experience taught; for want of thought! who travels Ly bia's plains, the ferte lion lawless reigns, ma tafar and wild dismay, pfe obftructs his way; pared with equal fright, oppos'd my flight;

It, but in vain;
axe quicken'd ev'ry pain.
Agated angel heard;
The feat form appear'd:

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us youth! ine faid, and frown'd angs flutter'd at the found);

tras to me reluctant ears,

Led repeated floods of tears. enters hall for ever laft; 30 retracting what is past: avenging ills to fhun; le card, and you're undone. es gilded baits beware, the Syren's fatal fnare: curs d detefted place; trumpet, and her race. e fofter paths pursu`d, tripling, had enfued: you itand upon its brink! wis too late to think. unwelcome truths I tell, rak my facred leffon well: me whoever lives at ftrife, better friend for life;

who lives in friendship's ties, that's fought for by the wife.

Folly exclaims, and well the may, Because I take her mask away; 'If once I bring her to the fun, The painted harlot is undone. But prize, my child, oh prize my rules, And leave Deception to her fools. Ambition deals in tiníel toys; Her traffic gewgaws, fleeting joys, An errant juggler in difguite, Who holds falle optics to your eyes. But ah! how quick the fhadows pafs! Tho' the bright vifions thro' her glass Charm at a distance! yet, when near, The bafelefs fabrics difappear.

Nor riches boatt intrinfic worth; Their charms, at beft, fuperior earth: Thefe oft the heaven-born mind en flave, And make an honest man a knave.' "Wealth cures my wants!" the mifer cries: Be not deceiv'd-the mifer lies; One want he has, with all his store,

That worst of wants-the want of more." "Take Pleature, Wealth, and Pomp away, "And where is Happinefs?" you say.

'Tis here and may be yours-for, know, I'm all that's Happinefs below

To Vice I leave tumultuous joys; Mine is the still and fofter voice! That whispers peace when storms invade, And mufic through the midnight fhade. Come, then, be mine in ev'ry part, Nor give me lefs than all your heart; When troubles difcompofe your breast, I'll enter there a cheerful guest: My converfe fhall your cares beguile, The little world within fhall fimile. And then it fcarce imports a jot, Whether the great world frowns or not. And when the clofing fcenes prevail, When wealth, itate, pleature, all ihall fail; All that a foolith world admires, Or Paffion craves, or Pride infpires: At that important hour of need, Virtue fhall prove a friend indeed! My hands fhall fmooth thy dying bed, My arms fuitain thy drooping head: And when the painful ftruggle's o'er, And that vain thing, the world, no more; I'll bear my fav'rite fon away

To rapture and eternal day.'

{ 116. Vijon VI. Friendpip
FRIENDSHIP! thou foft propitious pow'r!
Sweet regent of the focial hour!
Sublime thy joys, nor understood
But by the virtuous and the good!
Cabal and Riot take thy name,
But 'tis a fale affected claim;
In heaven if Love and Friendship dwell
Can they alociate e'er with hell?

Thou art the fame thro' change of times,
Thro' frozen zones and burning climes;
From the equator to the pole,

The fame kind angel through the whole :

And,

And, fince thy choice is always free,
I bless thee for thy fmiles on me.

When forrows fwell the tempeft high;
Thou, a kind port, art always nigh;
For aching hearts a fov'reign cure,
Not foft nepenthe half fo fure!
And, when returning comforts rife,
Thou the bright fun that gilds our fkies.
While thefe ideas warm'd my breast,
Wy weary eyelids stole to reft;
When fancy re-affum'd the theme,
And furnith'd this inftructive dream:
1 fail'd upon a formy fea
(Thousands embark'd alike with me);
My fkiff was fmall, and weak befide,
Not built, methought, to stem the tide.
The winds along the furges fweep,
The wrecks lie icatter'd through the deep;
Aloud the foaming billows roar;
Unfriendly rocks forbid the thore.

While all our various courfe pursue,
A fpacious ifle falutes our view:
Two queens with tempers diff'ring wide,
This new-difcover'd world divide:
A river parts their proper claim,
And Truth its celebrated name.

One fide a beauteous tract of ground
Prefents, with living verdure crown'd:
The feafons temp'rate, foft, and mild,
And a kind fun that always fmil'd:
Few ftorms moleft the natives here:
Cold is the only ill they fear.
This happy cline and grateful foil,
With plenty crowns the labourer's toil.

Here Friendship's happy kingdom grew:
Her realms were finall, her fubje&is few:
A thousand charins the palace grace;
A rock of adamant its bafe.

Tho' thunders roll, and lightnings fly.
This ftructure braves th' inclement fky:
E'en time which other piles devours,
And mocks the pride of human pow'rs,
Partial to Friendship's pile alone,
Cements the joints, and binds the tone:
Ripens the beauties of the place,
And calls to life each latent grace.

Around the throne in order ftand,
Four Amazons, a trufty band!
Friends ever faithful to advife,
Or to defend when dangers rife.
Here Fortitude, in coat of mail t
There Juice Hits her golden scale :
Two hardy chiefs, who perfevere,
With form erect, and brow fevere:
Who fmile at perils, pains, and death,
And triumph with their lateft breath,
Temp'rance, that comely matron's near,
Guardian of all the virtue's here:
Adorn'd with ev'ry blooming grace.
Without one wrinkle in her face.

But Prudence most attracts the fight, And fhines pre-eminently bright. To view her various thoughts that rife, She holds a mirror to her eyes; The mirror, faithful to its charge, Reflects the virgin's foul in large.

A Virtue with a fofter air

Was handmaid to the regal fair.

This nymph, indulgent, conftant, kind,
Derives from Heaven her fpotlefs mind;
When actions wear a dubious face,
Puts the beft meaning on the cafe ;
She fpreads her arms, and bares her breast,
Takes in the naked and diftrefs'd;
Prefers the hungry orphan's crics,
And from her queen obtains fupplies.
The maid, who acts this lovely part,
Grafp'd in her hand a bleeding heart.
Fair Charity, be thou my gneft,
And be thy conftant couch my breaft!
But virtues of inferior name
Crowd round the throne with equal claim
In Loyalty by none furpafs'd,

They hold allegiance to the laft.
Not ancient records e'er can how
That one deferted to the foe.

The river's other fide display'd
Alternate plots of flow'rs and thade,
Where poppies fhone with various hue,
Where yielding willows plenteous grew:
And humble plants †, by travlers thought
With flow but certain po.lon fraught.
Beyond thefe fcenes the eye defcried
A pow'rful realm exten led wide;
Whole bound'ries from north-eaft begun,
And ftretch'd to meet the fouth-west fun.
Here Flatt'ry boasts defpotic sway,
And bafks in all the warmth of day.

Long practis'd in Deception's fchool,
The tyrant knew the arts to rule;
Elated with th' imperial robe,
She plans the conqueft of the globe;
And, aided by her fervile trains,
Leads kings, and fons of kings, in chains.
Her darling minifter is Pride

(Who ne'er was known to change his fide),
A friend to all her int'refts juft,
And active to difcharge his trust;
Carefs'd alike by high and low,
The idol of the belle and beau:
In ev'ry fhape he fhews his skill,
And forms her fubjects to his will;
Enters their houfes and their hearts,
And gains his point before he parts,
Sure never minifter was known
So zealous for his fov'reign's throne!
Three fisters, similar in mien,
Were maid of honour to the queen;
Who farther favours shar'd befide,
As daughters of her flitefman, Pride.

Nepenthe is an heb which, being infufed in wine, difpels grief. It is unknown to the moderm fome bekeve it a kind of opium, and others take it for a fpecies of buglof.. Plin. > vi. 21. f. & XXV. 2 The humble plant bends down before the touch, as the fenfitive plant thrins from the touch thy fome to be the low poifon of the Indians.

T

Ty Conceit, with tow'ring crest,
Walt with fcorn upon the rest;
Him, nor lefs, I deem,
Alt in her own efteem.

Afstation, fair and young, Bethara'd accents on her tongue; hapes, and various face,

my native grace. The Verity, a wanton maid,

gruels and brocade; raclome, and wild, takets of a child.

The mos, juyal to the queen,

tachment in their mien;
theart they homage paid,
en he who moit obey'd;

who fought their own applause,
at their lov'reign's caule.
* were fraught with guile;
nes diffolate and vile;

se, like Pagans, run
re the ring fun.

Le Cam'rous founds arise,
ag vilion nies.
class'd my eyes to fleep,

imaginary deep;
the helm,

***ack to Friendship's realm.
**Morror I relate

arts of be: ftate;
It could hardly more

a deplore.

www thofe fairer plains
35, where Friendtlip reigns:
er neighbour's fame,
gain the fame,
and int'reit fir'd,
om fe afpir'd.

case ag open foe,
tome mighty blow;
e on the green,

Sade the queen
tre hofts withilood,
Bandable flood:

ad deep, and clear; ** tudd, no ferries near, 0773 upp oach'd the waves, catheuland graves;

**d with hatte extreme,
- at the dang`rous stream.
the culpt explores;
age, and joins the shores,
er fraud prevails,
prowats falls:

ay pallage find,

As clote behind.

th ardour charg`d her foes, at promiscuous grows; Brew a bullon'd dart, #steempiets to the heart. .......le ound were teen

ps about the queen.

AP no Belio.

The tyrant ftripp'd the mangled fair;
She wore her fpoils, affum'd her air;
And, mounting next the fufferer's throne,
Claim'd the queen's titles as her own.

Ah, injur'd maid!' aloud I cried;
Ah, injur'd maid!' the rocks replied.
But judge my griefs, and fhare them too,
For the fad tale pertains to you:
Judge, reader, how fevere the wound,
When Friendship's foes were mine, I found;
When the fad fcene of pride and guile
Was Britain's poor degen'rate ifle!

The Amazons, who propp'd the state,
Haply furvey'd the gen'ral fate.
Juftice to Powis Houfe is fled,
And Yorke fuftains her radiant head,
The virtue, Fortitude, appears
In open day at Ligonier's;
Illuftrious heroine of the tky,
Who leads to vanquish or to die!
'Twas the our vet rans breafts infpir'd,
When Belgia's faithlefs fons retir'd:
For Tournay's treach'rous tow`rs can tell
Britannia's children greatly fell.

No partial Virtue of the plain!

She rous'd the lions of the main ;
Hence Vernon's little fleet fucceeds
And hence the gen'rous Cornwall bleeds +.
Hence Grenville glorious !—for she smil'd
On the young hero from a child.

Tho' in high life fuch virtues dwell,
The 'Il fuit plebeian breafts as well.
Say, that the mighty and the great
Blaze, like meridian funs of state;
Effulgent excellence display,
Like Hallifax, in floods of day;
Our leffer orbs may pour their light,
Like the mild crefcent of the night.
Tho' pale our beams, and fmall our fphere,
Still we may fhine ferene and clear.

Give to the judge the fcarlet gown;
To martial fouls the civic crown:
What then? Is merit their's alone?
Have we no worth to call our own?
Shall we not vindicate our part
In the firm breast and upright heart?
Reader, thefe virtues may be thine,
Tho' in fuperior life they fhine.

I can't difcharge great Hardwicke's truft;
True-but my foul may ftill be just;
And tho' I can't the ftate defend,
I'll draw the fword to ferve my friend,
Two golden virtues are behind,
Of equal import to the mind;
Prudence, to point out Wisdom's way,
Or to reclaim us when we ftray;
Temp'rance, to guard the youthful heart,
When Vice and Folly throw the dart:
Each virtue, let the world agree,
Daily refides with you and me,
And when our fouls in friendship join,
We'll deem the focial bond divine;

+ Died in a late engagement with the French fleet.

nged the combined fleets of France and Spain.

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Thro' ev'ry fcene maintain our truk,
Nor e'er be timid or unjust.

That breast, where Honour builds his throne,
That breaft, which Virtue calls her own,
Nor Int'reit warps, nor Fear appals,
When Danger frowns, or Lucre calls.
No! the true friend collected stands,
Fearless his heart, and pure his hands:
Let Int'reft plead, let storms arife,
He dares be honeft, tho' he dies!

§ 117. Vision VII. Marriage. Infcribed to Mifs

FAIREST, this Vision is thy due;
I form'd th' inftructive plan for you.
Slight not the rules of thoughful age;
Your welfare actuates every page;
But ponder well my facred theme,
And tremble while you read my dream.
Thefe awful words, till death do part,'
May well alarm the youthful heart :
No after-thought when once a wife,
The die is caft, and caft for life;
Yet thousands venture ev'ry day.
As fome bafe paffion leads the way.
Pert Sylvia talks of wedlock fcenes,
Tho' hardly enter'd on her teens;
Smiles on her whining fpark, and hears
The fugar'd fpeech with raptur'd ears;
Impatient of a parent's rule,

She leaves her fire, and weds a fool.
Want enters at the guardlefs door,
And Love is fled, to come no more.

Some few they are of fordid mould,
Who barter youth and bloom for gold,
Careless with what or whom they mate;
Their ruling paffion 's all for ftate,
But Hymen, gen'rous, juft, and kind,
Abhors the mercenary mind;
Such rebels groan beneath his rod;
For Hymen 's a vindictive god:

Be joyless ev'ry night,' he faid;
And barren be their nuptial bed!'
Attend, my fair, to wisdom's voice;
A better fate fhall crown thy choice.
A married life; to fpeak the best,
Is all a lottery confeft:

Yet, if my fair one will be wife,
I will infure my girl a prize.
Tho' not a prize to match thy worth:
Perhaps thy equal 's not on earth!

'Tis an important point, to know
There's no perfection here below.
Man 's an odd compound, after all;
And ever has been fince the fall.
Say, that he loves you from his foul,
Still man is proud, nor brooks controul;
And tho' a flave in love's foft school,
In wedlock claims his right to rule.
The beft, in fhort has faults about him;
If few thofe faults, you must not flout him.
With fome, indeed, you can't difpenfe,
As want of temper and of fente:

For when the fun deferts the fkies,
And the dull winter evenings rife,
Then for a husband's focial pow'r
To form the calm, converfive hour;
The treasures of thy breaft explore,
From that rich mine to draw the ore:
Fondly each gen'rous thought refine,
And give thy native gold to fhine;
Shew thee, as really thou art,
Tho' fair, yet fairer still at heart.

Say, when life's purple bloffoms fade,
As foon they muft, thou charming maid!
When in thy cheek the rofes die,
And fickness clouds that brilliant eye;
Say, when or age or pains invade,
And those dear limbs fhall call for aid;
If thou art fetter'd to a fool,

Shall not his tranfient palior cool?
And, when thy health and beauty end,
Shall thy weak mate perfist a friend?
But to a man of fenfe, my dear,
E'en then thou lovely shalt appear;
He 'll fhare the griefs that wound thy hea
And, weeping, claim the larger part:
Tho' age impairs that beauteous face,
He 'll prize the pearl beyond its cafe.
In wedlock when the fexes meet,
Friendship is only then complete.

Blefs'd itate! where fouls each other dr
Where love is liberty and law!'
The choiceft bleffing found below,
That man can with, or Heaven bestow!
Trust me, thefe raptures are divine,
For lovely Chloe once was mine!
Nor fear the varnish of my style;
Tho' poet, I'm eftrang'd to guile.
Ah me! my faithful lips impart
The genuine language of my heart!

When bards extol their patrons high, Perhaps 'tis gold extorts the lie; Perhaps the poor reward of breadBut who burns incenfe to the dead? He, whom a fond affection draws, Careless of cenfure or applaufe; Whose foul is upright and fincere, With nought to with and nought to fear. Now to my vifionary scheme Attend, and profit by my dream. Amidit the flumbers of the night, A ftately temple rofe to fight; And ancient as the human race, If Nature's purposes you trace: This fane, by all the wife rever'd, To wedlock's pow'rful god was rear'd. Hard by I faw a graceful fage, His locks were frofted o'er by age; His garb was plain, his mind ferene, And wifdom dignified his mien. With curious fearch his name I fought, And found 'twas Hymen's fav'rite, Thoug Apace the giddy crowds advance, And a lewd fatyr led the dance.

I griev'd to fee whole thousands run, For oh! what thoufands were undone!

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