O'er the pale corfe we faw him gently bend; Heart-chill'd with grief-" My thread, he cry'd, is fpun!

If heaven had meant I fhould my life extend,

Heaven had preferv'd my life's fupport, my fon. Snatch'd in thy prime! alas, the stroke were mild, Had my frail form obey'd the fate's decree!

Bleft were my lot, O Cynthio! O my child!

Had heaven fo pleas'd, and I had dy'd for thee." Five fleepless nights he stem'd this tide of woes; Five irksome funs he faw, through tears, forlorn! On his pale corfe the fixth fad morning rofe;

From yonder dome the mournful bier was borne. 'Twas on thofe downs, by Roman hosts annoy'd, Fought our bold fathers; ruftic, unrefin'd! Freedom's plain fons, in martial cares employ'd!

They ting'd their bodies, but unmask'd their mind. 'Twas there, in happier times, this virtuous race, Of milder merit, fix'd their calm retreat;

War's deadly crimson had forfook the place,
And freedom fondly lov'd the chofen feat.
No wild ambition fir'd their tranquil breast,

To fwell with empty founds a spotless name;
If foftering skies, the fun, the fhower were bleft,
Their bounty fpread; their fields extent the fame.
Thofe fields, profufe of raiment, food, and fire,
They fcorn'd to leffen, careless to extend;

Bade luxury to lavish courts afpire,

And avarice to city-breafts defcend.

None,

None, to a virgin's mind, prefer'd her dower;
To fire with vicious hopes a modest heir:
The fire, in place of titles, wealth, or power,
Affign'd him virtue; and his lot was fair.
They spoke of fortune, as fome doubtful dame,
That fway'd the natives of a diftant sphere;
From lucre's vagrant fons had learnt her fame,
But never with'd to place her banners here.
Here youth's free fpirit, innocently gay,

Enjoy'd the most that innocence can give,
Thofe wholesome sweets that border virtue's way;
Thofe cooling fruits, that we may taste and live.
Their board no strange ambiguous viand bore;
From their own ftreams their choicer fare they drew,
To lure the fcaly glutton to the shore,

The fole deceit their artless bofom knew!

Sincere themselves, ah too fecure to find

The common bofom, like their own, fincere! 'Tis its own guilt alarms the jealous mind; 'Tis her own poifon bids the viper fear.

Sketch'd on the lattice of th' adjacent fane,

Their fuppliant bufts implore the reader's prayer; Ah gentle fouls! enjoy your blissful reign,

And let frail mortals claim your guardian care. For fure, to blissful realms the fouls are flown, That never flatter'd, injur'd, cenfur'd, ftrove; The friends of fcience! mufic, all their own;

Mufic the voice of virtue and of love!

The

The journeying peafant, through the fecret fhade,
Heard their foft lyres engage his liftening ear;
And haply deem'd fome courteous angel play'd;
No angel play'd-but might with transport hear.
For thefe the founds that chafe unholy ftrife!

Solve envy's charm, ambition's wretch release!
Raife him to fpurn the radiant ills of life:

To pity pomp, to be content with peace.
Farewel, pure fpirits! vain the praise we give,
The praise you fought from lips angelic flows;
Farewel! the virtues which deferve to live,
Deferve an ampler blifs than life bestows.
Laft of his race, Palemon, now no more
The modeft merit of his line display'd;
Then pious Hugh Vigornia's mitre wore-
Soft fleep the duft of each deferving shade!

ELE GY XVI.

He fuggefts the advantages of birth to a perfon of merit, and the folly of a fupercilioufnefs that is built upon that fole foundation.

HEN genius grac'd with lineal fplendor glows,
When title fhines with ambient virtues crown'd,

Like fome fair almond's flowery pomp it shews;
The pride, the perfume of the regions round.

Then

Then learn, ye fair! to soften splendor's ray ;

Endure the swain, the youth of low degree;
Let meekness join`d its temperate beam difplay;
'Tis the mild verdure that endears the tree.
Pity the fandal'd fwain, the fhepherd's boy;
He fighs to brighten a neglected name;
Foe to the dull appulse of vulgar joy,

He mourns his lot; he wishes, merits fame.
In vain to groves and pathless vales we fly;

Ambition there the bowery haunt invades ; Fame's awful rays fatigue the courtier's eye,

But gleam ftill lovely through the checquer'd fhades. Vainly, to guard from love's unequal chain, Has fortune rear'd us in the rural grove; Should ****'s eyes illume the defart plain, Ev'n I may wonder, and ev'n I must love. Nor unregarded fighs the lowly hind;

Though you contemn, the gods respect his vow;
Vindictive rage awaits the fcornful mind,
And vengeance, too fevere! the gods allow.
On Sarum's plain I met a wandering fair;

The look of forrow, lovely still she bore:
Loofe flow'd the foft redundance of her hair,
And, on her brow, a flowery wreath she wore.
Oft ftooping as she ftray'd, fhe cull'd the pride
Of every plain; fhe pillag'd every grove!
The fading chaplet daily the fupply'd,

And still her hand fome various garland wove.

Erro

Erroneous fancy fhap'd her wild attire;

From Bethlem's walls the poor lymphatic stray'd; Seem'd with her air her accent to confpire,

When, as wild fancy taught her, thus fhe faid:
"Hear me, dear youth! oh hear an hapless maid,
Sprung from the fcepter'd line of ancient kings!
Scorn'd by the world, I ask thy tender aid;
Thy gentle voice fhall whisper kinder things..
The world is frantic-fly the race profane-
Nor I, nor you, fhall its compaffion move;
Come friendly let us wander, and complain,

And tell me, shepherd! haft thou seen my love
My love is young-but other loves are young;
And other loves are fair, and fo is mine;
An air divine difclofes whence he sprung;
He is my love, who boasts that air divine..
No vulgar Damon robs me of my reft,
Ianthe liftens to no vulgar vow;

A prince, from gods defcended, fires her breaft;
A brilliant crown distinguishes his brow.

What, fhall I ftain the glories of my race?

More clear, more lovely bright than Hefper's beam? The porcelain pure with vulgar dirt debase? Or mix with puddle the pellucid stream?

See through these veins the fapphire current shine! 'Twas Jove's own nectar gave th' etherial hue: Can bafe plebeian forms contend with mine! Difplay the lovely white, or match the blue?

The