Then his pale image feem'd t' invade his room, Gaz'd him to stone, and warn'd him to the tomb. While thunders roll, and nimbly lightnings play, And the storm wings his fpotted foul away.

A blaft more bounteous ne'er did heaven command

To fcatter bleffings o'er the British land.
Not that more kind, which dafh'd the pride of
Spain,

And whirl d her crush'd Armada round the main;
Not thofe more kind, which guide our floating

towers,

Waft gums and gold, and made far India ours :
That only kinder, which to Britain's fhere
Did mitres, crowns, and Stuart's race restore,
Renew'd the church, revers'd the kingdom's
doom,

And brought with Charles an Anna yet to come.

O Clarke, to whom a Stuart trufts her reign O'er Albion's flects, and delegates the main ; Dear, as the faith thy loyal heart hath fworn, Tranfmit this piece to ages yet unborn. This fight fhall damp the raging ruffian's breast, The poifon fpill, and half-drawn fword arreft: To foft compaffion ftubborn traitors bend, And, one deftroy'd, a thousand kings defend.

The numerous beafts that range the rural chace,
The huntfman's chofen fcenes, his friendly stars,
The laws and glory of the fylvan wars,
I first in British verfe prefume to raise
A venturous rival of the Roman praise.
Let me, chafte Queen of Woods, thy aid obtain,
Bring here thy light-foot nymphs, and fprightly
train:

If oft, 'er lawns, thy care prevents the day
To roufe the foe, and prefs the bounding prey,
Woo thine own Phœbus in the task to join,
And grant me genius for the bold defign.

In this foft fhade, O footh the warrior's fire,
And fit his bow-ftring to the trembling lyre;
And teach, while thus their arms and arts we fing,
The groves to echo, and the vales to ring.

*

Thy care be firft the various gifts to trace, The minds and genius of the latrant race. la powers diftin&t the different clans excel, In fight, or swiftness, or fagacious smell; By wiles ungenerous fome furprize the prey, And fome by courage win the doubtful day. Seeft thou the gaze-hound! how with glance fe

vere

From the close herd he marks the deftin'd deer!

How every nerve the greyhound's ftretch displays,
The hare preventing in her airy maze;
The luckless prey how treacherous tumblers gain,
And dauntless wolf-dogs fhake the lion's mane;
Q'er all, the blood-hound boafts fuperior skill,
To fcent, to view, to turn, and boldly kill!
His fellows' vain alarms rejects with scorn,
True to the master's voice, and learned horn.
His noftrills oft, if ancient fame king true,
Trace the fly felon through the tainted dew;
Once fnuff'd, he follows with unalter'd aim,
Nor odours lure him from the chofen game;
Deep-mouth'd he thunders, and inflam'd he views,
Springs on relentlefs, and to death pursues.

Some hounds of manners vile (nor lefs we find
Of fops in hounds, than in the reasoning kind)
Puffed with conceit run gladding o'er the plain,
And from the fcent divert the wifer train;
For the foe's footsteps fondly fnuff their own,
And mar the mufic with their fenfelefs tone;
Start at the startling prey, or rustling wind,
And, hot at first, inglorious lag behind.
A fauntering tribe! may fuch my foes difgrace!
Give me, ye gods, to breed the nobler race.
Nor grieve thou to attend, while truths unknown
I fing, and make Athenian arts our own.
Doft thou in hounds aspire to deathless fame?
Learn well their lineage and their ancient stem.
Each tribe with joy old ruftic heralds trace,
And fing the chofen worthies of their race;
How his fire's features in the fon were spy'd,
When Die was made the vigorous Ringwood's
bride.

Lefs fure thick lips the fate of Austria doom,
Or eagle noses rul'd almighty Rome.

Good shape to various kinds old bards confine,
Some praife the Greek, and fome the Roman line;
And dogs to beauty make as differing claims,
As Albion's nymphs, and India's jetty dames.
Immenfe to name their lands, to mark their

bounds,

And paint the thousand families of hounds:
First count the fands, the drops where oceans flow,
Or Gauls by Marlborough fent to fhades below.
The task be mine, to teach Britannia's fwains,
My much-lov'd country, and my native plains.

Such be the dog, I charge, thou mean'st to train,
His back is crooked, and his belly plain,
Of fillet ftretch'd, and huge of haunch behind,
A tapering tail, that nimbly cuts the wind;
Trufs-thigh'd, ftraight-ham'd, and fox-like form`d
his paw,

Large-leg'd, dry-fol'd, and of protended claw.
Hia flat, wide noftrils fnuff the favory fteam,
And from his eyes he shoots pernicious gleam;
Middling his head, and prone to earth his view,
With ears and cheft that dash the morning dew:
He best to stem the flood, to leap the bound,
And charm the Dryads with his voice profound;
To pay large tribute to his weary lord,
And crown the fylvan here's plenteous board.

The matron bitch whofe womb fhall beft produce
The hopes and fortunes of th' illuftrious house,
Deriv'd from noble, but from foreign feed,
For various nature loaths incestuous breed,

is like the fire throughout. Nor yet displease Large flanks, and ribs, to give the teemer ease.

In Spring fet loose thy pairs. Then all things

prove

The ftings of pleasure, and the pangs of love:
Ethereal Jove then glads, with genial showers,
Earth's mighty womb, and ftrews her lap with
flowers.

Hence juices mount, and buds, embolden'd, try
More kindly breezes, and a fofter sky:
Kind Venus revels. Hark! on every bough
In lulling ftrains the feather'd warblers woo.
Fell tigers foften in th' infectious flames,

And lions, fawning, court their brinded dames:
Great Love pervades the deep; to please his mate,
The whale, in gambols, moves his monstrous
weight,

Heav'd by his wayward mirth, old Ocean roars, And featter'd navies bulge on diftant fhores.

All Nature fmiles; come now, nor fear, my love,

To taste the odours of the woodbine grove,
To pass the evening glooms in harmless play,
And, fweetly fwearing, languifh life away.
An altar, bound with recent flowers, I rear
To thee, beft feason of the various year;
All hail! fuch days in beauteous order ran,
So fwift, fo fweet, when firft the world began,
In Eden's bowers, when man's great fire affign'd
The names and natures of the brutal kind.
The lamb and lion friendly walk'd their round,
And hares, undaunted, lick'd the fondling hound;
Wondrous to tell! but when, with lucklefs hand,
Our daring mother broke the fole command,
Then want and envy brought their meagre train,
Then wrath came down, and death had leave to
reign:

Hence foxes earth'd, and wolves abhor'd the day,
And hungry churls enfnar'd the nightly prey;
Rude arts at firft; but witty want refin'd
The huntfman's wiles, and famine form'd the

mind.

Bold Nimrod firft the lion's trophies wore,
The panther bound, and lanc'd the bristling boar;
He taught to turn the hare, to bay the deer,
And wheel the courfer in his mid career:
Ah! had he there reftrain'd his tyrant hand!

1 et me, ye powers, an humbler wreath demand.
No pomps l'afk, which crowns and fceptres yield,
Nor dangerous laurels in the dufty field;
Faft by the forefl, and the limpid spring,
Give me the warfare of the woods to fing,
To breed my whelps, and healthful prefs the game,
A mean, inglorious, but a guiltless name.

And now thy female bears in ample womb
The bane of hares, and triumphs yet to come.
No fport, I ween, nor blast of sprightly horn,
Should tempt me then to hurt the whelps unborn.
Unlock'd, in covers let her freely run,
To range thy courts, and bask before the fun;
Near thy full table let the favourite fland,
Strok'd by thy fon's, or blooming daughter's hand.
Carefs, indulge, by arts the matron bribe,
T'improve her breed, and teem a vigorous tribe.

M

THE FATAL CURIOSITY.

UCH had I heard of fair Francelia's name, The lavish praises of the babler, Fame : I thought them fuch, and went prepar'd to pry, And trace the charmer, with a critic's eye. Refoly'd to find fome fault, before unspy'd, And disappointed, if but fatisfy'd.

Love pire'd the vaffal heart, that durft rebel, And, where a judge was meant, a victim fell: On thofe dear eyes, with fweet perdition gay, Igaz'd, at once, my pride and foul away All o'er I felt the lufcious poifon run, And, in a look, the hafty conquest won.

Thus the fond moth around the taper plays, And sports and flutters near the treacherous blaze; Ravifh'd with joy, he wings his eager flight, Nor dreams of ruin in fo clear a light; He tempts his fate, and courts a glorious doom, A bright destruction, and a fhining tomb.

ΤΟ

TO A LADY;

His life in fruitful death renews his date, And kind deftr &tion but prolongs his fate:

I AVISH of wit, and hold appear the lines.

Where Clau lian's genius in the Phoenix
fhines:

A thousand ways each brilliant point is turn'd,
And the gay poem, like its theme, adorn'd:
A tale more range ne'er grac'd the poet's art,
Nor e'er did fiion play fo wild a part.

Fach fabled charm in matchlefs Celia meets,
The heavenly colours, and ambrofil fweets;
Her virgin hofom chafer fires fupplies,
And beams more piercing guard her kindred eyes.
O'er wing wit th' imagin'd wonder drew,
But fertile ancy ne'er can reach the true.

Now buds your youth your cheeks their bloom
difclofe,

Th' untainted lily, and unfolding rofe;
Eafe in your mien, and fweetnefs in your face,
You speak a Syren. and you move a Grace;
Nor time fhall urge thefe beauties to de ay.
While virtue gives, what years hall feal away:
The fair, whofe youth can boaft the worth of age,
In age fhall with the charms of youth engage;
In every change ftill lovely, ftill the fame,
A fairer Phoenix in a purer flame.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOENIX.

FROM CLAUDIAN.

N utmost ocean lies a lovely fle,

IN

Where fpring ftill blooms, and greens for ever
fmile,

Which fees the fun put on his first array,
And hears his panting fteeds bring on the day;
When, from the decp, they rush with rapid force,
And whirl aloft to run their glorious courfe;
When first appear the ruddy freaks of light,
And glimmering beams difpel the parting night.

In thefe foft fhades, unpreft by human feet,
The happy Phoenix keeps his balmy feat,
Far from the world disjoin'd; he reigns alone,
Alike the empire, and its king unknown.

A god-like bird, whofe endless round of years
Out-lafts the ftars, and tires the circling fpheres;
Not us'd like vulgar birds to eat his fill,
Or drink the crystal of the murmuring rill;
But fed with warmth from Titan's purer ray,
And flak'd by freams which eastern feas convey;
Still he renews his life in thefe abodes,
Contemns the power of fate, and mates the gods.
His fiery eyes fhoot forth a glittering ray,
And round his head ten thousand glories play;
High on his creft, a far celeftial bright
Divides the darknefs with its piercing light;
His legs are ftain'd with purple's lively dye,
His azure wings the fleeting winds out-fly;
Soft plumes of chearful blue his limbs infold,
Eurich'd with fpangles, and bedropt with guld.
Begot by none himself, begetting none,
Sire of himself he is, and of himself the fon;

And on the funeral pile begin to live
For when a thou and times the fummer fun
His bending race has on the zodiac run,
And when as oft the vernal figns have rol'd,
As oft the wintery brought the numbing cold;
Then drops the bird, worn out with aged cares,
And bends beneath the mighty load of years.

So falls the fately pine, that prou ly grew, The fhade and glory of the mountain's brow. When pierc'd by blafts and spouting clouds o'erSpread,

It, flowly finking, nods its tottering head,
Part dies by winds, and part by fickly rains,
And wafting age destroys the poor remains.

Then as the fi ver mpref of the night, O'er-clouded, glimmers in a fainter light, So, froz'n with age, and fhut from light's fupplies in lazy rounds fearce roll his feeble eyes, And thofe fleet wings, for ftrength and speed renown'd,

Scarce rear th' inactive lumber from the ground

Myfterious arts a fecond time create
The bird, prophetic of approaching fate.
Pil'd on a heap Sabean herbs he lays,
Farch'd by his fire the fun's intensest rays;
The pile defin'd to form his funeral fcene
He wraps in colours of a fragrant green,
And bids his fpicy heap at once become
A grave deftructive, and a teeming womb.
On the rich bed the dying wonder lies,
Imploring Phebus with perfuafive cries,
To dart upon him in collected rays,
And new-create him in a deadly blaze.

The god beholds the fuppliant from afar,
And flops the progrefs of his heavenly car.

thou fays he, whom harmless fires fhall

burn

"Thy age the flame to fecond youth fhall turn, "An infant's cradle is thy funeral u n. "Thou, on whom heaven hath fix'd th' ambigu ous doom

To live by ruin, and by death to bloom, "Thy life, thy ftrength, thy lovely form renew, "And with froth beauties doubly charm the view.'

Thus fpeaking, 'mi ift the aromatic bed
A golden beam he toffes from his head;
Swift as defire, the fhining ruin flies,
And ftraight devours the willing facrifice,
Who haftes to perith in the fertile fire,
Sink into ftrength, and into life expire.

In flames the circling odours mount on high,
Perfume the air, and glitter in the fky,
The moon and fiars, amaz'd, retard their flight,
And nature artles at the doubtful fight;
For, whilft the pregnant urn with fury glows,
The goddefs labours with a mother's throes,
Yet joys to cherith, in the friendly flames,
The nobleft product of the flii fhe claims.

Th' enlivening duft its head begins to rear, And on the athes fprouting plumes appear.

In the dead bird reviving vigour reigns,
And life returning revels in his veins:
A new-born Phoenix ftarting from the flame,
Obtain at once a fon's, and father's name;
And the great change of double life difplays,
In the fhort moment of one transient blaze.

On his new pinions to the Nile he bends,
And to the gods his parent urn commends,
To Egypt bearing, with majestic pride,
The balmy neft, where first he liv'd and dy'd.
Birds of all kinds admire th' unufual fight,
And grace the triumph of his infant flight;
In crowds unnumber'd round their chief they fly,
Opprefs the air, and cloud the spacious sky;
Nor dares the fierceft of the winged race
Obftruct his journey through th' ethereal space;
The hawk and eagle ufelefs wars forbear,
Forego their courage, and consent to fear;
The feather'd nations humble homage bring,
And bless the gaudy flight of their ambrofial king.
Lefs glittering pomp does Parthia's monarch
yield,

Commanding legions to the dufty field;
Though sparkling jewels on his helm abound,
And royal gold his awful head furround;
Though rich embroidery paint his purple veft,
And his fteed bound in coitly trappings dreft,
Pleas'd in the battle's dreadful van to ride,
In graceful grandeur, and imperial pride.

Fam'd for the worship of the fun, there ftands
A facred fane in Egypt's fruitful lands,
Hewn from the Theban mountain's rocky womb
An hundred columns rear the marble dome;
Hither, 'tis faid, he brings the precious load,
A grateful offering to the beamy god:
Upon whofe altar's confecrated blaze
The feeds and relicks of himfelf he lays,
Whence flaming incenfe makes the temple fhine,
And the glad altars breathe perfumes divine.
The wafted fmell to far Pelufium flies,
To chear old Oceau, and enrich the skies,
With neclar's fweets to make the nations fmile,
And fcent the feven-fold channels of the Nile.

Thrice happy Phoenix! heaven's peculiar care Has made thyself thyfelf's furviving heir; By death thy deathlefs vigour is fupply'd, Which finks to run all the world befide; Thy age, not thee, affifting Phœbus burns, And vital flames light up thy funeral urns. Whate'er events have been, thy eyes furvey, And thou art fixt, while ages roll away; Thou faw'ft when raging Ocean burst his bed,

VERSES TO MRS. LOWTHER ON HER MARRIAGE.

FROM MENAGE.

THE greateft fwain that treads th' Arcadian

grove,

Our fhepherds envy, and our virgins love,
His charming nymph, his fofter fair obtains,
The bright Diana of our flowery plains;
Me, 'midst the graceful, of fuperior grace,
And the the lovelieft of the lovelieft race

Thy fruitful influence, guardian Juno, fhed,
Raife thence, their future joy, a fmiling heir,
And crown the pleatures of the genial bed:
Brave as the father, as the mother fair.
Well may'st thou fhower thy choiceft gifts on
thofe,

Who boldly rival thy moft hated foes;
The vigorous bridegroom with Alcides vies,
And the fair bride has Cytherea's eyes.

TO A LADY;

WITH A PRESENT OF FLOWERS.

TH

HE fragant painting of our flowery fields,
The choiceft ftores that youthful fummer
yields,

Strephon to fair Elifa hath convey'd,
The fwceteft garland to the fweetest maid.
O cheer the flowers, my fair, and let them reft
On the Elyfium of thy fnowy breast,
And there regale the finell, and charm the view,
With richer odours, and a lovelier hue.
Learn hence, nor fear a flatterer in the flower,
Thy form divine, and beauty's matchless power:
Faint, near thy cheeks, the bright carnation glows,
And thy ripe lips out-blufh the opening rofe:
The lily's fnow betrays lefs pure a light,
Loft in thy bofom s more unfullied white;
And wreaths, of jafmine fhed perfumes, beneath
Th' ambrofial incenfe of thy balmy breath.

Ten thousand beauties grace the rival pair, How fair the chaplet, and the nymph how fair! But ah too foon these fleeting charms decay, The fading luftre of one haftening day.

This night fhall fee the gaudy wreath decline, The roles wither, and the lilies pine.

The garlands fate to thine fhall be apply'd, And what advance thy form, fhall check thy pride:

Be wife, my fair, the present hour improve,
Let joy be now, and now a waste of love;
Each drooping bloom fhall plead thy jutt excufe,

foread;

When the rash youth inflam'd the high abodes,
Scorch'd up the skies, and fear'd the deathlefs gods.
When nature ceafes, thou shalt ftill remain,
Nor fecond Chaos bound thy endle's reign;
Fate's tyrant laws thy happier lot fhall brave,
Baffle deftruction, and elude the grave.

VOL. V.

For Cupid taught the artift hand its grace,
And Venus wanton'd in the mimic face.

Now he laments a look fo falsely fair,
And almost damns what yet refembles her;
Now he devours it, with his longing eyes;
Now iated, from the lovely phantom flies,
Yet burns to look again, yet looks again, and
dies.

Her ivory neck his lips prefume to kifs,
And his Hold hand the fwelling bofom prefs;
The fwain drinks in deep draughts of vain defire,
Melts without heat, and burns in fancy'd fire.

Strange power of paint! thou nice creator art!
What love infpires, may life itself impart.
Struck with like wounds of old, Pygmalion pray'd,

And hugg d to life his artificial maid;

Clafp,new Pygmalion, clafpthe feeming charms,) Perhaps cv'n now th' enlivening image warms, Deftin'd to crown thy joys, and revel in thy

arms:

Thy arms, which fhall with fire fo fierce invade, 1 hat she at once shall be, and cease to be a maid.

PART OF THE FOURTH BOOK

OF LUCAN.

Cæfar, having refolved to give battle to Petreis and Afranius, Pompey's lieutenants in Spain, encamped near the enemy in the fame field. The behaviour of the foldiers, at their fecing and knowing one another, is the fubject of the following verfes.

THE

WHEIR ancient friends, as now they nearer
drew,

Prepar'd for fight, the wondering foldiers knew ;
Brother, with brother in unnatural ftrife,
And the fon arm'd against the father's life:
Curit civil war! then conscience firft was felt,
And the tough veteran's heart began to melt.
Fix'd in dun.b forrow all at once they stand,
Then wave, a pledge of peace, the guiltless hand;
To veat ten thoufand ftruggling paffions move,
The flings of nature and the pangs of love.
All order broken, wide their arms they throw,
And run, with tranfport, to the longing foe:
Here the long-lift acquaintance neighbours claim,
There an old friend recalls his comrade's na e,
Youths, who in arts beneath one tutor grew,
Rome rent in twain, and k ́ndred hofls they view.
Tears wet their impious arms, a fond relief,
And kiffes broke by fobs, the words of grief;
Though yet no blood was fpilt, each anxious mind
With horror thinks on what his rage defign d.
Ah!
generous youths, w thus, with fruitless pain,
Beat ye tholchreafts? why guth those eyes in vain?
Why blame ye heaven, and charge your guilt on
fate?

Why dread the tyrant, whom yourselves make great?

Bids he the trumpet found? the trumpet flight.
Bids he the ftandards move? refuse the fight.

Your generals, left by you, will love agai
A fon and father, when they're private men.
Kind Concord, heavenly born! whofe blissful
reign

Holds this vaft globe in one furrounding chain,
Whofe laws the jarring elements control.
And knit each atom clofe from pole to pole;
Soul of the world! and love's eternal fpring!
This lucky hour, thy aid fair goddess bring!
This lucky hour, ere aggravated crimes
Heap guilt on guilt, and doubly ftain the times.
No veil henceforth for fin, for pardon none;
They know their duty, now their friends are
known.

Vain with! from blood fhort must the respite be,

New crimes, by love inhanc'd, this night shall fee :

Such is the will of fate, and fuch the hard decree.-
'Twas peace. From either camp, now void of
fear,

The foldiers mingling chearful feafts prepare:
On the green fod the friendly bowls were crown'd,
And hafty banquets pil'd upon the ground:
Around the fire they talk; one fhews his fcars,
One tells what chance first led him to the wars;
Their ftories o'er the tedious night prevail,
And the mute circles liften to the tale;
They own they fought, but fwear they ne'er
could hate,

Deny their guilt, and lay the blame on fate;
Their love revives, to make them guiltier grow,
A fhort-liv'd bleffing, but to heighten woe.

The jealous general thought his legions fold.
When to Petreius firft the news was told,
Swift with the guards, his head-ftrong fury drew,
From out his camp he drives the hoftile crew;
Cuts clafping friends afunder with his fword,
And ftains with blood each hofpitable board.
Then thus his wrath breaks out. • Oh! lok
to fame!

Oh! falfe to Pompey, and the Roman name!
Can ye not conquer, ye degenerate bands?

Oh! die at least; 'tis all that Rome demands. What! while ye own, while ye can wield the (word,

A rebel standard, and ufurping lord?
Shall he be fued to take you into place
Amongst his flaves, and grant you equal grace?
What? fhall my life be begg'd? inglorious

thought!

And life abhorr'd, on fuch conditions bought!
The toils we bear, my friends, are not for life,
Too mean a prize in fuch a dreadful ftrife;
But peace would lead to fervitude and shame,
A fair amusement, and a specious name.
Never had man explor'd the iron ore,
Mark'd out the trench, or rais'd the lofty tower,
Ne'er had the fteed in harness fought the plain,
Or fleets encounter'd on th' unftable main;
Were life, were breath, with f me to be compar'd
Or peace to glorious liberty preferr'd.
By guilty oaths the hoftile army bound,
Holds fait its impious faith, and ftands is ground;
Are you perfidious, who efpoufe the laws,
And traitors only in a righteous cause ?