Av'rice, in thee, was the desire of wealth
By rust unperishable or by stealth,
And if the genuine worth of gold depend
On application to its noblest end,
Thine had a value in the scales of Heav'n,
Surpassing all that mine or mint had giv'n.
And, though God made thee of a nature prone
To distribution boundless of thy own,
And still by motives of religious force
Impell'd thee more to that heroick course,
Yet was thy liberality discreet,
Nice in its choice, and of a tempered heat;
And though in act unwearied, secret still,
As in some solitude the summer rill
Refreshes, where it winds, the faded green,
And cheers the drooping flowers, unheard, unseen
Such was thy Charity; no sudden start,
After long sleso of passion in the heart,
But steadfast principle, and, in its kind,
Of close relation to th' eternal mind.
Traced easily to its true source above,
To him, whose works bespeak his nature, Love.
Thy bounties all were Christian, and I make
This record of thee for the Gospel's sake;
That the incredulous themselves may see
Its use and power exemplified in thee.
[A brief fragment of an extensive projected Poem. [May, 1791.]
"I could be well content, allow'd the use Of past experience, and the wisdom glean'd From worn-out follies, now acknowledg'd such,
To recommence life's trial in the hope
Of fewer crrours, on a second proof""
VOL. III.
Thus, while gray evening lull'd the wind, and call'd Fresh odours from the shubb'ry at my side,
Taking my lonely winding walk, I mus'd,
And held accustom'd conference with my heart,
When, from within it, thus a voice replied.
"Couldst thou in truth and art thou taught at length
This wisdom, and but this, from all the past?
Is not the pardon of thy long arrear,
Time wasted, violated laws, abuse
Of talents, judgments, mercies, better far
Than opportunity vouchsaf'd to err
With less excuse, and haply, worse effect?"
I heard, and acquiesced; then to and fro
Oft pacing, as the mariner his deck,
My grav'lly bounds, from self to human kind
I pass'd, and next consider'd- -what is Man?
Knows he his origin? can he ascend
By reminiscence to his earliest date?
Slept he in Adam? and in those from him
Through num'rous generations, till he found
At length his destin'd moment to be born?
Or was he not, till fashion'd in the womb?
Deep myst'ries both! which schoolmen much have toil'd
To unriddle, and have left them myst'ries still.
It is an evil incident to man,
And of the worst, that unexplor'd he leaves
Truths useful and attainable with ease,
To search forbidden deeps, where myst'ry lies
Not to be solv'd, and useless if it might.
Myst'ries are food for angels; they digest
With ease, and find them nutriment; but man,
While yet he dwells below, must stoop to glean
His manna from the ground, or starve and die
THE JUDGMENT OF THE POETS.
Two nymphs, both nearly of an age,
Of num'rous charms possess'd,
A warm dispute once chanc'd to wage,
Whose temper was the best.
The worth of each had been complete
Had both alike been mild.
But one, although her smile was sweet,
Frown'd oftener than she smil'd.
And in her humour, when she frown'd
Would raise her voice and roar,
And shake with fury to the ground
The garland that she wore.
The other was of gentler cast,
From all such frenzy clear,
Her frowns were seldom known to last,
And never prov'd severe.
To poets of renown in song
The nymphs referr'd the cause, Who, strange to tell, all judg'd it wrong, And gave misplaced applause.
They gentle call'd, and kind and soft,
The flippant and the scold,
And though she chang'd her mood so oft,
That failing left untold.
No judges, sure, were e'er so mad,
Or so resolv'd to err
In short, the charms her sister had
They lavish'd all on her.
Then thus the god whom fondly they
Their great inspirer call,
Was heard, one genial summer's day,
To reprimand them all.
"Since thus ye have combin'd," he said, "My favourite nymph to slight, Adorning May, that peevish maid, With June's undoubted right.
"The Minx shall for your folly's sake Still prove herself a shrew,
Shall make your scribbling fingers ache, And pinch your noses blue.
Begun, September, 1791. Finished, March, 1792.j
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