At every draught more large and large they grow,
A bloated mass of rank unwieldy woe-

Till sapp'd their strength, and every part unsound,
Down, down they sink, and spread a ruin round.
Even now the devastation is begun,

And half the business of destruction done;

Even now, methinks, as pondering here I stand,

I see the rural virtues leave the land:

Down, where yon anchoring vessel spreads the sail,
That idly waiting flaps with every gale,

Downward they move-a melancholy band-

Pass from the shore, and darken all the strand ;
Contented toil, and hospitable care,

And kind connubial tenderness are there

And piety with wishes plac'd above,

And steady loyalty, and faithful love.

And thou, sweet poetry! thou loveliest maid,
Still first to fly where sensual joys invade,
Unfit in these degenerate times of shame
To catch the heart, or strike for honest fame-
Dear charming nymph, neglected and decried,
My shame in crowds, my solitary pride—
Thou source of all my bliss, and all my woe,

That found'st me poor at first and keep'st me so

400

410

Thou guide by which the nobler arts excel, Thou nurse of every virtue-fare thee well. Farewell! and oh! where'er thy voice be tried, On Tornea's cliffs or Pambamarca's side,

420

Whether where equinoctial fervours glow
Or winter wraps the polar world in snow,
Still let thy voice, prevailing over time,
Redress the rigours of the inclement clime.
Aid slighted truth: with thy persuasive strain
Teach erring man to spurn the rage of gain;
Teach him, that states of native strength possess'd
Though very poor, may still be very bless'd;
That trade's proud empire hastes to swift decay,
As ocean sweeps the labour'd mole away—
While self-dependent power can time defy,

As rocks resist the billows and the sky.

430

LYRICAL AND

MISCELLANEOUS POEMS.