Nor tedious was the fearch: for ev'rywhere As nigh great Cuftom's royal tow'rs the knight

Pafs'd thro' th'adjoining hamlets, mote hehear The merry voice of feftival delight Saluting the return of morning bright, With matin revels by the mid-day hours Scarce ended, and again with dewy night In cover'd theatres or leafy bow'rs, [pow'rs. Off'ring her ev'ning vows to pleafure's joyous And ever on the way mote he efpy Men, women, children, a promifcuous throng Of rich, poor, wife and fimple, low and high, By land, by water, paffing aye along With murmurs, antics, mufic, dance, and fong, | To Pleasure's num'rous temples, that befide The glift'ning ftreams, or tufted groves among, To ev'ry idle foot stood open wide,

And ev'ry gay defire with various joys supply'd, For there each earth with diverfe charms to 'move,

The fly enchantrefs fummon'd all her train, Alluring Venus, queen of vagrant Love, The boon companion Bacchus, loud aud vain, And tricking Hermes, god of fraudful gain, Who when blind Fortune throws direct the die, And Phœbus, tuning his foft Lydian strain To wanton motions and the lover's figh, And thought-beguilingshew and masking revelry. Unmeet affociates thefe for noble youth Who to true honor meaneth to afpire, And for the works of virtue, faith, and truth, Would keep his manly faculties entire, The which avizing well, the cautious fire From that foft Siren land of pleafaunce vain, With timely hafte was minded to retire, Or ere the Iweet contagion mote attain [ftain. His fon's unpractis'd heart, yet free from vicious So turning from that beaten road afide,

Thro' many a devious path at length he pac'd, As that experienc'd palmer did him guide, Till to a mountain hoar they came at laft, Whofe high-rais'd brows, with fylvan honors Majeftically frown'd upon the plain, [grac'd, And over all an awful horror caft;

Seem'd as thofe villas gay it did difdain,[train.
Which fpang'd all the vale like Flora's painted
The hill afcended strait, crewhile they came
Toa tall grove,whofe thick-embow'ring fhade,
Impervious to the fun's meridian flame,
Ev'n at mid-noon a dubious twilight made,
Like to that fober light which, difarray'd
Of all its gorgeous robe, with blunted beams
Thro' windows dim with holy acts pourtray'd
Along fome cloifter'd abbey faintly gleams,
Abstracting the rapt thought from vain earth-
mufing themes.

Beneath this high o'erarching canopy
Of cluft'ring oaks, a fylvan colonade,
Aye lift'ning to the native melody

Of birds fweet echoing thro' the lonely fhade,

Overkeft, for overcast.

On to the center of the grove they stray'd; Which in a fpacious circle op'ning round, Within its helt'ring arms fecurely laid, Difclos'd to fudden view a vale profound, With Nature's artlefs finiles and tranquil beauties crown'd.

There, on the bafis of an ancient pile, Whose cross-furmounted fpire o'erlook'd the A venerable matron they erewhile, Ewood, Difcover'd have, befide a murm'ring flood, Reclining in right fad and penfive mood: Retir'd within her own abftracted breast, She feem'd o'er various woes by turns to brood, The which her changing cheer by turns expreft, Now glowing with dildain, with grief now overkeft.

Her thus immers'd in anxious thoughts pro

found,

When as the knight perceiv'd, he nearer drew To weet what bitter bale did her astound, And whence th'occafion of her anguish grew; For that right noble matron well he knew, And many perils huge and labours fore Had for her fake endur'd; her vaffal true, Train'd in her love, and practis'd evermore Her honor to refpect, and reverence her love. . O dearest Drad!' he cry'd, Fair Island 'Queen!

' renown?

Mother of Heroes! Emprefs of the Main ! What means that ftormy brow of troublous 'teen, [ train Sith heav'n-born peace, with all her finiling 'Of fciences and arts adore thy reign With wealth and knowledge, fplendour and [plain! 'Each port how throng'd! how fruitful ev'ry How blithe the country! and how gay the [boon!' While Liberty fecures and heightens ev'ry Awaken'd from her trance of penfive woe By thefe fair flatt'ring words, the rais'd her head, [brow, And bending on the knight her frowning 'Mock'ft thou my forrows, Fairy Son?' fhe faid;

'town!

Or is thy judgment by thy heart misled To deem that certain which thyhopes fuggeft? To deem them full of life and luftihead + Whofe checks in Hebe's vivid tints are 'dreft, [fimiles impreft? And with Joy's carelefs mien and dimpled Thy unfufpe&ting heart how nobly good I know, how fanguine in thy country's caufe, And mark'd thy virtue fingly how it stood Th'affaults of mighty cuftom, which o'erawes The faint and tim'rous mind, and oft with⚫ draws

All the rich stores of science have refign'd To you, that by the craftsman's various toil, The fea-worn mariner, and sweating hind, In peace and affluence maintain'd, the while You for yourselves and then may dress the 'mental foil.

'Bethink you then, my children, of the trust In you repos'd; ne let your heav'n-born ' mind

'Confume in pleasure or inactive rust, But nobly roufe you to the task affign'd, The godlike tafk, to teach and mend mankind!

'Learn that you may inftruct: to virtue lead Yourselves the way; the herd will crowd be'hind,

And gather precepts from each worthy deed: Example is a leffon that all men can read. 'But if (to all or most I do not speak)

• In vain and sensual habits now grown old The ftrong Circaan charm you cannot • break,

Nor reaffume at will your native mould ‡, Yet envy not the ftate you could not hold, And take compaffion on the rifing age; In them redeem your errors manifold, And by due difcipline and nurture sage, In virtue's lore betimes your docile fons engage. You chiefly, who like me in fecret mourn The prevalence of cuftom lewd and vain, And you who, though by the rude torrent • borne

Unwillingly along, you yield with pain To his behefts, and act what you disdain, "Yet nourish in your hearts the gen'rous love Of piety and truth, no more restrain

The manly zeal; but all your finews move The prefent to reclaim, the future race im" prove.

Eftfoons by your joint efforts fhall be quell'd
Yon haughty giant, who fo proudly fways
A fceptre by repute alone upheld,

Who where he cannot dictate ftrait obeys :
Accuftoi'd to conform his flatt'ring phrafe
To numbers and high-plac'd authority
Your party he will join, your maxims praife,
And drawing after all his menial fry,

'Soon teach the gen'ral voice your act to ratify.

Ne for th'atchievement of this great emprize
The want of means or counfel may he dread;
From my twin-daughters fruitful wombs

'fhall rife

;

All, all appear; on me they grateful fimile.
The well-carn'd prize of ev'ry virtuous toil
To me with filial reverence they bring,
And hang fresh trophies o'er my honor'd fpring.
Ah! I remember well yon becchen spray;
There Addifon firft tun'd his polifh'd lay;
'Twas there great Cato's form first met his eye,
In all the pomp of free-born majcity; [awe,
My fon, he cry'd, obferve this mien with
In folemn lines the ftrong refemblance draw;
The piercing notes fhall ftrike cach British ear;
Each British eye fhall drop the patriot tear!
And rous'd to glory by the nervous strain,
Each youth fhall fpurn at flav'ry's abject reign;
Shall guard with Cato's zeal Britannia's laws,
And fpeak, and act, and bleed, in Freedom's
'caufe.'

The hero fpoke; the bard affenting bow'd;
The lav to Liberty and Cato flow'd:
While Echo, as the rov'd the vale along,
Join'd the frong cadence of his Roman fong.

But ah! how Stilnefs flept upon the ground! How mute Attention check'd each rifing found! Scarce ftole a breeze to wave the leafy pray, Scarce trill'd fweet Philomel her softest lay, When Locke walk'd mufing forth Een now I view

Majestic Wildom thron'd upon his brow;
View Candor fimile upon his modest cheek,
And from his eye all Judgment's radiance break.
'Twas here the fage his manly zeal expreft,
Here ftript vain Falfehood of her gaudy veft;
Here Truth's collected beams first fill'd his mind,
Ere long to burst in bleffings on mankind;
Ere long to thew to Reafon's purged eye,
That "Nature's first beft gift was Liberty."
Proud of this wond'rous fon, fublime I stood
(While louder furges fwell'd my rapid flood)
Then, vain as Niobe, exulting cry'd,
Thiffus! roll thy fam'd Athenian tide;
Tho' Plato's eps oft mark'd thy neighb'ing
glade,

Though fair Lyæum lent its awful shade,
Tho' ev'ry Academic green impreft
Its image full on thy reflecting breast,
Yet my pure ftream fhall boast as proud a name,
And Britain's Ifis flow with Attic fame.
Alas! how chang'd! where now that Attic

boaft?

Sec! Gothic licence rage o'er all my coaft!
See! Hydra Faction fpread its impious reign,
Poifon each breaft, and madden ev'ry brain!
Hence frontlefs crowds, that not content to fright
The blushing Cynthia from her throne of light,
Blaft the fair face of day; and madly bold,
To Freedom's foes infernal orgies hold;
To Freedom's foes, ah! fee the goblet crown'd,
Hear plaufive fhouts to Freedom's foes refound;
The horrid notes my refluent waters daunt,
The Echoes groan, the Dryads quit their haunt;
Learning, that once to all diffus'd her beam,
Now fheds, by ftealth, a partial private gleam
In fome lone cloifter's melancholy fhade,
Where a firm few fupport her fickly head,

Defpis'd, infulted, by the barb'rous train Who fcour, like Thracia's moon-ftruck rout, the plain;

Sworn foes, like them, to all the Mufe approves, All Phoebus favours, or Minerva loves.

Are thefe the fons my foft'ring breast must rear,
Grac'd with my name, and nurtur'd by my care?
Muft thete go forth from my maternal hand,
To deal their infults thro' a peaceful land,
And boaft, while Freedom bleeds, and Virtue
groans,

That Ifis taught Rebellion to her fons ?"
Forbid it, Heav'n! and let my rifing waves
Indignant fwell, and whelm the recreant flaves!
In England's caufe their patriot floods employ,
As Xanthus delug'd in the cause of Troy.
Is this deny'd; then point fome fecret way
Where far, far hence these guiltless streams may
ftray;
[Spreads
Some unknown channel lend, where Nature
Inglorious vales and unfrequented meads,
There, where a hind fcarce times his ruftic strain,
Where fcarce a pilgrim treads the pathless plain,
Content I'll flow; forget that e'er my tide
Saw yon majestic structures crown its fide;
Forget that e'er my wrapt attention hung
Or on the fage's or the poet's tongue;
Calm and refign'd, my humbler lot embrace,
And, pleas'd, prefer oblivion to difgrace.

§ 58. The Triumph of Ifis, occafioned by Ifis, an Elegy. T. WARTON.

Quid nihil nefcio quam, proprio cum Tybride,

Romam

Semper in ore geris? Referunt fi vera parentés, Hanc Urbem infano Nullus qui Marte petivit, Letatus violaje redit. Nec Numina fedem Deftituunt.

ON

CLAUDIAN.

N clofing flow'rs when genial gales diffuse The fragrant tribute of refreshing dews; When chants the milk-maid at her balmy pail, And weary reapers whistle o'er the vale, Charm'd by the murmurs of the quiv'ring fhade, O'er Ifis' willow-fringed banks I stray'd; And calmly mufing thro' the twilight way, In penfive mood I fram'd the Doric lay. When lo! from op'ning clouds a golden gleam Pour'd fudden fplendors o'er the shadowy stream; And from the wave arofe its guardian queen, Known by her fweeping ftole of gloffy green; While in the coral crown that bound her brow, Was wove the Delphic laurel's verdant bough.

As the imooth furface of the dimply flood The filver-flipper'd virgin lightly trod, From her loofe hair the dropping dew the prefs'd, And thus mine ear in accents mild addrefs'd :

No more, my fon, the rural reed employ, Nor trill the tinkling ftrain of empty joy; No more thy love-refounding fonnets fuit To notes of paft'ral pipe, or oaten Aute.

For

For hark! high-thron'd on yon majestic walls, To the dear Mufe afflicted Freedom calls: When Freedom calls, and Oxford bids thee fing, Why ftays thy hand to strike the founding ftring While thus, in Freedom's and in Phoebus' fpite, The venal fons of flavish Cam unite;

To shake yon tow'rs when Malice rears her creft, Shall all my fons in filence idly reft?

Still fing, O Cam, your fav'rite freedom's caufe,
Still boaft of Freedom, while you break her laws;
To Pow'r your fongs of gratulation pay;
To courts addrefs foft Flattery's fervile lay;
Who tho' your gentle Mafon's plaintive verfe
Has hung with fweeteft wreaths Mufeus' herfe;
What tho' your vaunted bard's ingenuous woe,
Soft as my ftream, in tuneful numbers flow;
Yet ftrove his Mufe, by fame or envy led,
To tear the laurels from a fifter's head-
Mifguided youth, with rude unclaffic rage-
To blot the beauties of thy whiter page;
A rage that fullies e'en thy guiltlefs lays,
And blafts the vernal bloom of half thy bays.
Let boaft the patrons of her name,
Each fplendid fool of fortune and of fame:
Still of preferment let her fhine the queen,
Prolific parent of each bowing dean:
Be hers each prelate of the pamper'd cheek,
Each courtly chaplain, fanctify'd and fleek:
Still let the drones of her exhauftlefs hive
On rich pluralities fupinely thrive :
Still let her fenates titled flaves revere,
Nor dare to know the patriot from the peer;
No longer charm'd by virtue's lofty song,
Once heard fage Milton's manly tones among,
Where Cam, meand'ring thro' the matted reeds,
With loit'ring wave his groves of laurel feeds.
'Tis ours, my fon, to deal the facred bay,
Where honour calls, and justice points the way;
To wear the well-earn'd wreath that merit brings,
And fnatch a gift beyond the reach of kings.
Scorning and fcorn'd by courts, yon Mufe's bow'r,
Still nor enjoys nor feeks the fimile of pow'r.
Though wakeful Vengeance watch my cryftal
fpring,

Though Perfecution wave her iron wing,
And, o'er yon fpiry temples as the flies,
• These deftin'd feats be mine,' exulting cries;
Fortune's fair fmiles on Ifis ftill attend:
And, as the dews of gracious heav'n defcend,
Unask'd, unfeen, in ftill but copious fhow'rs,
Her stores on me fpontaneous Bounty pours.
Sce, Science walks with recent chaplets crown'd;
With Fancy's ftrain my fairy fhades refound;
My Mufe divine ftill keeps her custom'd state,
The mien erect, and high majestic gait:
Green, as of old, each oliv'd portal smiles,
And ftill the Graces build my Grecian piles:
My Gothic fpires in ancient glory rife,
And dare with wonted pride to rush into the

fkies.

E'en late when Radcliff's delegated train Aufpicious fhone in Ifis happy plain;

When yon proud * dome, fair learning's ampleft,
Beneath its attic roofs receiv'd the Nine, [fhrine,
Was rapture mute, or ceas'd the glad acclame,
To Radcliffe due, and Ifis' honour'd name?
What free-born crowds adorn'd the festive day,
Nor blush to wear iny tributary bay!
How each brave breast with honest ardors heav'd,
When Sheldon's fane the patriot band receiv'd;
While, as we loudly hail'd the chofen few,
Rome's awful fenate rufh'd upon the view!
O may the day in latest annals thine,
That made a Beaufort and an Harley mine!
That bade them leave the loftier fcene a while,
The pomp of guiltlefs ftate, the patriot toil,
For bleeding Albion's aid the fage defign,
To hold fhort dalliance with the tuneful Nine!"
Then Mufic left her fiver fphere on high,
And bore each strain of triumph from the sky;
Swell'd the loud fong, and to my chiefs around
Pour'd the full peans of mellifluous sound.
My Naiads blythe the dying accents caught,
And lift'ning danc'd beneath their pearly grot
In gentler eddies play'd my confcious wave,
And all my reeds their fofteft whispers gave;
Each lay with brighter green adorn'd my bow'rs,
And breath'd a fresher fragrance on my flow'rs.

But lo! at once the pealing concerts cease,
And crowded theatres are hufh'd in peace.
See, on yon fage how all attentive stand,
To catch his darting eye and waving hand!
Hark! he begins, with all a Tully's art,
To pour the dictates of a Cato's heart!
Skill'd to pronounce what nobleft thoughts infpire,
He blends the speaker's with the patriot's fire;.
Bold to conceive, nor tim'rous to conceal,
What Britons dare to think, he dares to tell.
'Tis his alike the ear and eye to charm,
To win with action, and with sense to warm;
Untaught in flow'ry periods to dispense
The Julling founds of fweet impertinence:
In frowns or fmiles he gains an equal prize,
Nor meanly fears to fall, nor creeps to rife;
Bids happier days to Albion be reftor'd,
Bids ancient Juftice rear her radiant fword;
From me, as from my country, claims applause,
And makes an Oxford's a Britannia's cause.

While arms like thefe my ftedfaft fages wield, While mine is Truth's impenetrable shield; Say, fhall the puny champion fondly dare To wage with force like this scholastic war? Still vainly fcribble on with pert pretence, With all the rage of pedant impotence? Say, fhall I fofter this domeftic pest, This parricide, that wounds a mother's breaft >

Thus in fome gallant fhip, that long has bore Britain's victorious cross from fhore to fhore, By chance beneath her clofe fequefter'd cells. Some low-born worm, a lurking mischief dwells; Eats his blind way, and faps with fecret guile The deep foundations of the floating pile. In vain the foreft lent its statelieft pride, Rear'd her tall mast, and fram'd her knotty fide;