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Where Jove, fubdu'd by mortal paffion still,
Might change Olympus for a nobler hill.
Happy the man whom this bright court ap-

proves,

His fovereign favours, and his country loves:
Happy next him, who to these shades retires,
Whom nature charms, and whom the mufe in-
spires;

Whom humbler joys of home-felt quiet please,
Succeffive ftudy, exercise, and ease.

He gathers health from herbs the foreft yields,
And of their fragrant phyfic spoils the fields;
With chemic art exalts the mineral powers,
And draws the aromatic fouls of flowers:
Now marks the course of rolling orbs on high;
O'er figur'd worlds now travels with his eye;
Of ancient writ unlocks the learned store,
Confults the dead, and lives past ages o'er :
Or wandering thoughtful on the filent wood,
Attends the duties of the wife and good,
'T' obferve a mean, be to himself a friend,
To follow nature, and regard his end;

240

250

Or looks on heaven with more than mortal eyes,
Bids his free foul expatiate in the skies,
Amid her kindred ftars familiar roam,
Survey the region, and confefs her home!
Such was the life great Scipio once admir'd,
Thus Atticus and Trumbull thus retir'd.

Ye facred nine! that all my foul poffefs,

His drooping fwans on every note expire,'
And on his willows hung each mufe's lyre.

Since fate relentless stopp'd their heavenly voice
No more the forefts ring, or groves rejoice;
Who now shall charm the fhades, where Cowley
ftrung

His living harp, and lofty Denham fung
But hark the groves rejoice, the forest rings!
Are these reviv'd? or is it Granville fings!
'Tis yours, my Lord, to bless our soft retreats,
And call the mufes to their ancient feats;
To paint anew the flowery Sylvan scenes,
To crown the foreft with immortal greens,
Make Windfor hills in lofty numbers rise,
And lift her turrets nearer to the skies;
To fing those honours you deserve to wear,
And add new luftre to her filver ftar.
Here noble Surrey felt the facred rage,
Surrey, the Granville of a former age:
Matchlefs his pen, victorious was his lance,
Bold in the lifts, and graceful in the dance:
In the fame sbades the Cupids tun'd his lyre,
To the fame notes, of love, and foft defire:
Fair Geraldine, bright object of his vow,
Then fill'd the groves, as heavenly Mira now.

280

29

Oh wouldst thou fing what heroes Windfor bore,

What king first breath'd upon her winding fhore,

Whofe raptures fire me, and whose visions blefs, 260 | Or raise old warriors, whofe ador'd remains

Bear me, oh bear me to fequefter'd scenes,
The bowery mazes, and surrounding greens;
To Thames's banks which fragrant breezes fill,
Or where the mufes fport on Cooper's Hill
(On Coopers Hill eternal wreaths shall grow,
While lafts the mountain, or while Thames fhall
flow):

I feem through confecrated walks to rove,
I hear foft mufic die along the grove:
Led by the found, I roam from fhade to fhade,
By god-like poets venerable made :
Here his first lays majestic Denham fung;

270

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300

In weeping vaults her hallow'd earth contains!
With Edward's acts adorn the fhining page,
Stretch his long triumphs down through every age;
Draw monarchs chain'd, and Creffi's glorious field,
The lilies blazing on the regal shield

Then, from her roofs when Verrio's colours fall,
And leave inanimate the naked wall,

Still in thy fong fhould vanquifh'd France appear,
And bleed for ever under Britain's spear.

Let fofter ftrains ill-fated Henry mourn,
And palms eternal flourish round his urn.
Here o'er the martyr-king the marble weeps,

310

| And, fast behind him, once-fear'd Edward fleeps:

VARIATIONS.
Ver. 275.

What fighs, what murmurs, fill'd the vocal fhore!
His tuneful fwans were heard to fing no more.

Ver. 290. her filver ftar.] All the lines that follow were not added to the poem till the year 1710. What immediately followed this, and made the conclufion, were these :

My humble mufe, in unambitious ftrains,
Paints the green forests and the flowery plains;
Where I obfcurely pafs my careless days,
Pleas'd in the filent fhade with empty praise,
Enough for me that to the listening swains
First in these fields I fung the Sylvan ftrains.

Ver. 307. Originally thus in the MS.
When brafs decays, when trophies lie o'erthrown,
And mouldering into duft drops the proud fase.

Whom not th' extended Albion could contain,
From old Belerium to the northern main,
The grave unites; where ev'n the great find rest,
And blended lie th' oppreffor and th' oppreft!

Make faered Charles's tomb for ever known (Obfcure the place, and uninferib'd the ftone); 320 Oh fact accurs'd! what tears has Albion fhed! Heavens, what new wounds! and how her old have bled!

She faw her fons with purple deaths expire,
Her facred dome volv'd in rolling fire,
A dreadful series of inteftine wars,
Inglorious triumphs, and dishonest scars.

At length great Anna faid, "Let difcord ceafe!"
She faid, the world obey'd, and all was peace!
In that bleft moment from his oozy bed
Old father Thames advanc'd his reverend head.
His treffes dropp'd with dews, and o'er the ftream
His shining horns diffus'd a golden gleam :
Grav'd on his urn appear'd the moon, that guides
His fwelling waters, and alternate tides;
The figur'd ftreams in waves of filver roll'd,
And on their banks Augusta rose in gold;
Around his throne the fea-born brothers stood
Who fwell with tributary urns his flood!
First the fam'd authors of this ancient name,
The winding Ifis, and the fruitful Thame :
The Kennet swift, for filver eels renown'd;
The Loddon flow, with verdant alders crown'd;
Cole, whose dark streams his flowery islands lave;
And chalky Wey, that rolls a milky wave:
The blue, tranfparent Vandalis appears;
The gulfy Lee his fedgy treffes rears;
And fullen Mole, that hides his diving flood;
And filent Darent, ftain'd with Danish blood.

340

High in the midft, upon his urn reclin'd, (His fea-green mantle waving with the wind) 350 The god appear'd: he turn'd his azure eyes Where Windfor-domes and pompous turrets rife ;

VARIATIONS.

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Ver. 321. Originally thus in the MS. O fact accurs'd! oh facrilegious brood, Sworn to rebellion, principled in blood! Since that dire morn, what tears has Albion fhed: Gods what new wounds, &c.

Ver. 327. Thus in the MS.

Till Anna rofe, and bade the furies ceafe;
Let there be peace-she said, and all was peace.

Between verfe 330 and 331, originally stood thefe lines:

From fhore to fhore exulting fhouts he heard,
O'er all his banks a lambient light appear'd;
With fparkling flames heaven's glowing concave
fhone,

Fictitious stars, and glories not her own.
He faw, and gently rofe above the stream;
His fhining horns diffufe a golden gleam:
With pearl and gold his towery front was drest,
The tributes of the diftant caft and weft.

Then bow'd, and fpoke; the winds forget to roar,
And the hufh'd waves glide foftly to the shore.
Hail, facred peace! hail, long-expected days,
That Thames's glory to the itars shall raife!
Though Tiber's streams immortal Rome behold,
Though foaming Hermus fwells with tides of gold,
From heaven itself the feven-fold Nilus flows,
And harvests on a hundred realms beflows; 360
These now no more fhall be the mufes' themes,
Loft in my fame, as in the fea their streams.
Let Volga's banks with iron fquadrons shine,
And groves of lances glitter on the Rhine;
Let barbarous Ganges arm a fervite train:
Be mine the bleflings of a peaceful reign.
No more my fons fhall die with British blood,
Red Iber's fands, or Ifter's foaming flood:
Safe on my fhore each unmolested swain
Shall tend the flocks, or reap the bearded grain; 370
The fhady empire fhall retain no trace
Of war or blood, but in the Sylvan chace;
The trumpet fleep, while cheerful horns are blown,
And arms employ'd on birds and beafts alone.
Behold th' afcending villas on my fide,
Project long fhadows o'er the crystal tide.
Behold! Augufta's glittering fpires increase,
And temples rife, the beauteous works of peace.
I fee, I fee, where two fair cities bend
Their ample bow, a new 'Whitehall ascend! 380
There mighty nations fhall inquire their doom,
The world's great oracle in times to come;
There kings fhall fue, and fuppliant states be seen
Once more to bend before a British queen.

Thy trees, fair Windfor! now fhall leave their
woods,

391

And half thy forefts rufh into thy floods;
Bear Britain's thunder, and her cross difplay,
To the bright regions of the rifing day:
Tempt icy feas, where scarce the waters roll,
Where clearer flames glow round the frozen pole;
Or under fouthern fkies exalt their fails,
Led by new ftars, and borne by spicy gales!
For me the balm shall bleed, and amber flow,
The coral redden, and the ruby glow,
The pearly fhell its lucid globe unfold,
And Phoebus warm the ripening ore to gold.
The time thall come, when free as feas or wind
Unbounded Thames fhall flow for all mankind,
Whole nations enter with each fwelling tide,
And feas but join the regions they divide;

VARIATIONS.

400

Ver. 363. Originally thus in the MS. Let Venice boaft her towers amidst the main, Where the rough Adrian fwells and roars in vain: Here not a town, but fpacious realm fhall have A fure foundation on the rolling wave.

Ver. 385, &c. were originally thus in the MS. Now fhall our fleets the bloody crofs difplay To the rich regions of the rifing day, Or those green ifles, where headlong Titan steeps His hifling axle in th' Atlantic deeps: Tempt icy feas, &c.

Earth's diftant ends our glory fhall behold,
And the new world launch forth to feek the old.
Then fhips of uncouth form shall stem the tide,
And feather'd people crowd my wealthy fide,
And naked youths and painted chiefs admire,
Our fpeech, our colour, and our strange attire!
Oh, stretch thy reign, fair peace! from fhore to shore,
Till conqueft cease, and slavery be no more;
Till the freed Indians in their native groves
Reap their own fruits, and woo their fable loves;
Peru once more a race of kings behold, 411
And other Mexicos be roof'd with gold.
Exil'd by thee from earth to deepest hell,
In brazen bonds shall barbarous difcord dwell:
Gigantic pride, pale terror, gloomy care,
And mad ambition, shall attend her there :
There purple vengeance bath'd in gore retires,
Her weapons blunted, and extinct her fires :

There hateful envy her own fnakes shall feel,
And perfecution mourn her broken wheel: 420
There faction roar, rebellion bite her chain,
And gasping furies thirst for blood in vain.

Here ceafe thy flight, nor with unhallow'd lays

Touch the fair fame of Albion's golden days:
The thoughts of gods let Granville's verfe recite,
And bring the fcenes of opening fate to light:
My humble muse, in unambitious strains,
Paints the green forefts and the flowery plains,
Where peace descending bids her olive spring,
And scatters bleffings from her dove-like wing.
Ev'n I more sweetly pafs my careless days,
Pleas'd in the filent fhade with empty praise ;
Enough for me, that to the liftening fwains
First in these fields I fung the Sylvan strains.

431

O DE S.

ODE FOR MUSIC ON ST. CECILIA'S DAY.

I.

DESCEND, ye nine! defcend, and fing;
The breathing inftruments inspire;
Wake into voice each filent ftring,
And sweep the founding lyre!

In a fadly-pleafing ftrain

Let the warbling lute complain;
Let the loud trumpet found,
Till the roofs all around
The fhrill echoes rebound:
While, in more lengthen'd notes and flow,
The deep, majestic, folemn organs blow,

Hark! the numbers foft and clear
Gently fteal upon the ear;

Now louder, and yet louder rife,

And fill with spreading founds the skies; Exulting in triumph now fwell the bold notes, In broken air trembling, the wild mufic floats; Till, by degrees, remote and small, The ftrains decay,

And melt away, In a dying, dying fall.

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By mufic, minds an equal temper know,
Nor fwell too high, nor fink too low.
If in the breast tumultuous joys arise,
Mufic her foft, affuafive voice applies;

Or when the foul is prefs'd with cares,
Exalts her in enlivening airs.
Warriors the fires with animated founds;
Pours balm into the bleeding lover's wounds;
Melancholy lifts her head,
Morpheus roufes from his bed,
Sloth unfolds her arms and wakes,
Liftening envy drops her snakes;
Inteftine war no more our paffions wage,
And giddy factions hear away their rage.

111.

But when our country's cause provokes to arms,
How martial mufic every bofom warms!
So when the first bold veffel dar'd the feas,
High on the ftern the Thracian rais'd his ftrain,
While Argo faw her kindred trees
Defcend from Pelion to the main.

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Mufic the fierceft grief can charm,
And fate's fevereft rage difarm:
Mufic can foften pain to ease,

And make despair and madness please:
Our joys below it can imprové,

And antedate the blifs above.
This the divine Cecilia found,

And to her Maker's praise confin'd the found. When the full organ joins the tuneful quire, Th' immortal powers incline their ear; Borne on the fwelling notes our fouls aspire, While folemn airs improve the facred fire;

And angels lean from heaven to hear. Of Orpheus now no more let poets tell, To bright Cecilia greater power is given: His numbers rais'd a fhade from hell, Her's lift the foul to heaven.

TWO CHORUSES

TO THE TRAGEDY OF BRUTUS.

Altered from Shakspeare by the Duke of Buckingham; at whofe defire these two Chorufes were compofed, to fupply as many, wanting in his play. They were fet many years afterwards by the famous Bononcini, and performed at Buckingham-house.

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