Графични страници
PDF файл
ePub

The boaft of Heraldry, the pomp of pow'r,

And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gare,
Await alike th' inevitable hour,

The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

Nor you, ye proud, impute to thefe the fault,
If Mem'ry o'er their tombs no trophies raise,
Where through the long drawn ifle, and fretted vault,
The pealing anthem fwells the note of praife.

Can ftoried urn, or animated buft,

Back to its manfion call the fleeting breath?
Can Honour's voice provoke the filent duft,
Or Flatt'ry footh the dull cold ear of Death?

Perhaps in this neglected fpot is laid
Some heart once pregnant with celeftial fire;
Hands, that the rod of empire might have sway'd,
Or wak'd to ecftafy the living lyre.

But knowledge to their eyes her ample page,
Rich with the spoils of time, did ne'er unroll;
Chill Penury reprefs'd their noble rage,
And froze the genial current of the foul.

Full many a gem of pureft ray ferene
The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flow'r is born to bluth unfeen,
And waste its fweetness on the defert air.

Some village Hampden, that with dauntless breaft
The little tyrant of his fields withstood;
Some mute inglorious Milton here may reft,
Some Cromwell guiltlefs of his country's blood.

Th'

Th' applause of lift'ning fenates to command,
The threats of pain and ruin to despise,

To fcatter plenty o'er a smiling land,
And read their history in a nation's eyes,

Their lot forbade: nor circumfcrib'd alone
Their growing virtues, but their crimes confin'd;.
Forbade to wade through flaughter to a throne,
And fhut the gates of mercy on mankind;

The ftruggling pangs of confcious truth to hide,
To quench the blushes of ingenuous fhame,
Or heap the shrine of Luxury and Pride
With incenfe kindled at the Mufe's flame.

Far from the madding crowd's ignoble ftrife,
Their fober wishes never learn'd to stray;
Along the cool fequefter'd vale of life
They kept the noiseless tenour of their way.

Yet ev❜n these bones from infult to protect,
Some frail memorial ftill erected nigh,

With uncouth rhymes and fhapelefs fculpture deck'd, Implores the paffing tribute of a figh.

Their names, their years, fpelt by th' unletter'd Mufe,
The place of fame and elegy fupply ;

And many a holy text around the firews,
That teach the ruftic moralift to die.

For who, to dumb forgetfulnefs a prey,
This pleafing anxious being e'er refign'd,
Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day,
Nor caft one longing, ling'ring look behind?

On fome fond breast the parting foul relies,
Some pious drops the clofing eye requires ;
Ev'n from the tomb the voice of Nature cries,
Ev'n in our afhes live their wonted fires.

For thee, who, mindful of th' unhonour'd dead,
Doft in thefe lines their artlefs tale relate;
If chance, by lonely Contemplation led,
Some kindred spirit fhall inquire thy fate,

Haply fome hoary-headed fwain may fay,
⚫ Oft have we feen him at the peep of dawn,
· Brufhing with hafty fteps the dew away,
• To meet the fun upon the upland lawn.

There at the foot of yonder nodding beech,
• That wreathes its old fantaftic roots fo high,
His liftless length at noontide would heftretch,
And pore upon the brook that bubbles by.

• Hard by yon wood now smiling as in fcorn,
• Mutt'ring his wayward fancies he would rove;
• Now drooping, woful wan, like one forlorn,
• Or craz'd with care, or crofs'd in hopeless love.

[ocr errors]

One morn I miss'd him on th' accuftom'd hill,

Along the heath, and near his fav'rite tree;

• Another came, nor yet befide the rill,

Nor up the lawn, nor at the wood was he;

The next, with dirges due, in fad array,

• Slow through the churchway path we faw him borne. Approach and read (for thou can't read) the lay,

[ocr errors]

• Grav'd on the one beneath yon aged thorn.'

THE

THE EPITAPH.

HERE refts his head upon the lap of Earth
A Youth to Fortune and to Fame unknown:
Fair Science frown'd not on his humble birth,
And Melancholy mark'd him for her own.

Large was his bounty, and his foul fincere,
Heav'n did a recompenfe as largely fend:
He gave to Mis'ry all he bad, a tear,

He gain'd from Heav'n ('twas all he wish'd) a friend.

No farther feek his merits to difclofe,

Or draw his frailties from their dread abode;

(There they alike in trembling hope repofe) The bofom of his Father and bis God.

CHAP. XI.

WARRINGTON ACADEMY.

MARK where its fimple front yon mansion rears,
The nursery of men for future years!

Here callow chiefs and embryo ftatesmen lie,
And unfledg'd poets fhort excurfions try;
While Merfey's gentle current, which too long
By fame neglected, and unknown to song,
Between his rufhy banks (no poet's theme)
Had crept inglorious, like a vulgar stream,
Reflects th' afcending feats with confcious pride,
And dares to emulate a claffic tide.

Soft mulic breathes along each op'ning fhade,
And fooths the dashing of his rough cascade.
With myftic lines his fands are figur'd o'er,
And circles trae'd upon the letter'd shore.
Beneath his willows rove th' inquiring youth,
And court the fair majestic form of truth.

GRAY

Here Nature opens all her fecret fprings,
And Heav'n-born Science plumes her eagle wings;
Too long had bigot Rage, with malice fwell'd,
Crush'd her ftrong pinions, and her flight withheld;
Too long to check her ardent progrefs ftrove:
So writhes the ferpent round the bird of Jove,
Hangs on her flight, reftrains her tow'ring wing,
Twifts its dark folds, and points its venom'd sting,
Yet ftill, if aught aright the Mufe divine,
Her rifing pride fhall mock the vain defign;
On founding pinions yet aloft fhall foar,

And through the azure deep untravell'd paths explore.
Where Science fmiles, the Mufes join the train,
And gentleft arts and pureft manners reign.

Ye generous Youth, who love this ftudious fhade,
How rich a field is to your hopes display'd!
Knowledge to you unlocks the claffic page,
And virtue bloffoms for a better age.

O, golden days! O, bright unvalued hours!
What blifs (did ye but know that blifs) were yours
With richeft ftores your glowing bofoms fraught,
Perception quick, and luxury of thought;
The high defigns that heave the labouring foul,
Panting for fame, impatient of control;
And fond enthusiastic thought, that feeds
On pictur'd tales of vaft heroic deeds;
And quick affections, kindling into flame
At virtue's or their country's honour'd name ;
And fpirits light, to ev'ry joy in tune;
And friendship, ardent as a fummer's noon;
And generous fcorn of vice's venal tribe;
And proud difdain of intereft's fordid bribe;
And confcious honour's quick inftin&tive fenfe;
And fmiles unforc'd; and easy confidence;

And

« ПредишнаНапред »