"Behold the glooms difperfe, the rofy morn
"Smiles in the Eaft with eye-lids opening fair,
"But not fo fair as thine; O I could fold Thee,

My young Almighty, my Creator-Babe,

For ever in thefe arms! For ever dwell

"Upon thy lovely form with gazing joy,
"And every pulfe thould beat feraphic love!
"Around my feat fhould crouding cherubs come
"With swift ambition, zealous to attend
"Their prince, and form a heaven below the fky.

"Forbear, Chariffa, O forbear the thought
"Of female-fondness, and forgive the man
"That interrupts fuch melting harmony !"
Thus Mitio; and awakes her nobler powers
To pay just worship to the facred King,
Jefus, the God; nor with devotion pure
Mix the careffes of her fofter fex ;

(Vain blandishment!) "Come, turn thine eyes afide "From Bethlehem, and climb up the doleful steep "Of bloody Calvary, where naked fculls

"Pave the fad road, and fright the traveller. "Can my Beloved bear to trace the feet

"Of her Redeemer panting up the hill

"Hard burden'd? Can thy heart attend his cross?
"Nail'd to the cruel wood, he groans, he dies,
"For thee he dies. Beneath thy fins and mine
"(Horrible load!) the finful Saviour groans,
"And in fierce anguish of his foul expires.
"Adoring angels pry with bending head

66

Searching the deep contrivance, and admire "This infinite defign. Here peace is made "'Twixt God the Sovereign, and the rebel man: "Here Satan overthrown with all his hofts "In fecond ruin rages and defpairs;

Malice itfelf defpairs. The captive prey

Long held in flavery hopes a fweet release, "And Adam's ruin'd offspring fhall revive "Thus ranfom'd from the greedy jaws of death."

The fair difciple heard; her passions move
Harmonious to the great difcourfe, and breathe
Refin'd devotion: while new finiles of love
Repay her teacher. Both with bended knees
Read o'er the covenant of eternal life

Brought down to men; seal'd by the facred Three
In heaven; and feal'd on earth with God's own blood.
Here they unite their names again, and sign
Thofe peaceful articles. (Hail, bleft co-heirs
Celestial! Ye fhall grow to manly age,
And, fpite of earth and hell, in season due
Poffefs the fair inheritance above.)
With joyous admiration they furvey
The gospel treasures infinite, unseen
By mortal eye, by mortal ear unheard,
And unconceiv'd by thought: Riches divine
And honours which the Almighty Father God
Pour'd with immenfe profufion on his Son,
High treasurer of heaven. The Son bestows
The life, the love, the bleffing, and the joy

On

On bankrupt mortals who believe and love

His name.

"Then, my Chariffa, all is thine. "And thine, my Mitio, the fair faint replies.

"Life, death, the world below, and worlds on high,
“And place, and time, are ours; and things to come,
"And paft, and prefent; for our intereft stands
"Firm in our myftic head, the title fure.

"'Tis for our health and fweet refreshment, (while
"We fojourn ftrangers here) the fruitful earth
"Bears plenteous; and revolving feafons ftill
"Dress her vaft globe in various ornament.
"For us this chearful fun and chearful light
"Diurnal shine. This blue expanfe of sky
"Hangs a rich canopy above our heads,
"Covering our flumbers, all with starry gold

Inwrought, when night alternates her return.
"For us time wears his wings out: Nature keeps
"Her wheels in motion: and her fabrick ftands.
"Glories beyond our ken of mortal fight
"Are now preparing, and a mansion fair
"Awaits us, where the faints unbody'd live.

Spirits releas'd from clay, and purg'd from fin : "Thither our hearts with moft inceffant with

Panting afpire; when fhall that dearest hour "Shine and releafe us hence, and bear us high, "Bear us at once unfever'd to our better home?"

O bleft connubial ftate! O happy pair,

Envy'd by yet unfociated fouls

Who feek their faithful twins! Your pleafures rife

Sweet as the morn, advancing as the day,
Fervent as glorious noon, ferenely calm
As fummer-evenings. The vile fons of earth
Groveling in duft with all their noisy jars
Reftlefs, fhall interrupt your joys no more
Than barking animals affright the moon
Sublime, and riding in her midnight way.
Friendship and love shall undiftinguith'd reign
O'er all your paffions with unrival'd sway
Mutual and everlafting: Friendship knows
No property in good, but all things common
That each poffeffes, as the light or air

In which we breathe and live: There's not one thought
Can lurk in clofe referve, no barriers fix'd,

But every paffage open as the day

To one another's breaft, and inmoft mind.
Thus by communion your delight fhall grow,

Thus ftreams of mingled blifs fwell higher as they flow,
Thus angels mix their flames, and more divinely glow.)

SH

The THIRD PART: Or

The ACCOUNT balanced.

HOULD fovereign love before me stand,
With all his train of pomp and state,

And bid the daring Muse relate

His comforts and his cares;
Mitio, I would not aik the fand
For metaphors t' exprefs their weight,
Nor borrow numbers from the stars.

Thy

Thy cares and comforts, fovereign Love,
Vaftly out-weigh the find below,
And to a larger audit grow

Than all the stars above.

Thy mighty loffes and thy gains
Are their own mutual measures;
Only the man that knows thy pains
Can reckon up thy pleasures.

Say, Damon, fay, how bright the scene,

Damon is half-divinely bleft,

Leaning his head on his Florella's breaft,

Without a jealous thought, or buty care between :
Then the fweet paffions mix and share;
Florella tells thee all her heart,

Nor can thy foul's remoteft part

Conceal a thought or with from the beloved fair.
Say, what a pitch thy pleafures fly,

When friendship all-fincere grows up to ecftacy,
Nor felf contracts the blifs, nor vice pollutes the joy.
While thy dear offspring round thee fit,

Or fporting innocently at thy feet

Thy kindest thoughts engage:

Those little images of thee,

What pretty toys of youth they be,

And growing props of age!

But fhort is earthly blifs! The changing wind
Blows from the fickly South, and brings

Malignant fevers on its fultry wings,

Relentless death fits clofe behind: