HE SHflH HMC59 • >\i v o FROM THE LIBRARY OF REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON. D. D. BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO THE LIBRARY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY ? w &k /*>' DMrtos Section /> iL ;i O . E MS "V M x^n C ^SEVERAL OCCASIONS^ '*? r^) WITH I i COMPOSITION'S. By NATHANIEL EVANS, A. M. Late Missionary (appointed fy the Society for Pro- pacating the Gospel) for 'Gloucester County, in New-Jersey ; and Chaplain to the Lord Vis- count KilmoreYj of the Kingdom of Ireland. PHILADELPHIA: Punted by JOHN DUNLAP, in AJarket-Street, !_ M/DGC. LXXII. 1 C T J H E Author of the following Poems was lorn in the city of Philadelphia, June 8 th, 1742 -, and was fent to the Academy there, foon after it wasfirfi opened, and before the Collegiate part of the Inftitin tion was begun. Having fpent about fix years in Grammar Learning, his parents, who were reputable citizens, defigning him for merchandize, put him Ap- prentice -, butmot finding either his genius or inclination leading him much to that profeffion, he devoted more of his time to the fervice of the Mufes, than to the bufinefs of the Counting- Houfe. Soon after the ex- piration of his apprentice/hip, he accordingly returned to the College, and applied himfelf, with great dili- gence, to theftudy 0/Philofophy and the Sciences, till 'the Commencement, May 30th, 1765; when, en ac- count of his great merit and promifing genius, he was 9 by fpecial Mandate of the Truftees, upon the recom- mendation of the Provoft and Faculty of Profeffors, complimented with a Diploma for the degree cf Matter of Arts •, although he had not taken the pre- vious degree of Bachelor of Arts, on accounj^f the interruption in his courfe of [Indies, during the term of his apprentice/hip. 2 2 Immediate ir [ " ] 1m: Her the Committment he cm- recommendo- :; to the I r propagating the Go ; s a Jit pei tdtobe opened for Git i Up: i Lord Bifbop of L D?\ T e r r i c k , wh o e: . i ffion in I of an ': Le compofed in a Theologica' pen. He returnzd frc::: ^ led at Phi la- 2 6th j 1755. : had for his : addref fed. I upon : ! buPju \ by the gt per, tie ility s, and , of his FplpicCom( I for ihefacred cff.ee, L:d now •: f He 1 ;-\ 1767, I [ v ] than by bis own Congregations ', whom he had not yet id t zv o years ! Soon after bis deaths the papers 'which ccmpofe the following Volume were committed to the cere cf 9fyfef, and the Lady already mentioned, agreeable to fome cf his own I aft directions ; and fo f acred is the truft conjignid by^deceafed friend, that I ficarce knew hired to exatfe my long delay in offering them to the Id; especially after the great encouragement green to the publication, by the numerous and refpeclable lift cf Subfcribers, prefixed to the work. The true ex- cufe will Is the beft, and I am perjuaded, the meft acceptable \ namely\ my want cf lei fur e to f el eel and review the different papers, and the interruption which the work met with, by my being obliged to take a voyage to South-Carolina, during the loft winter. What high and rapturous Ideas cur Author had formed of true poetic Genius, may be in feme meafure conceived from the following Preface, which feems to have been intended fcr his Pieces, and was undoubted- ly written by him, in the ft: or t interval between his I aft dangerous illnefs, end that fatal relapfe, which put an end to his life — This Preface I ft) all give literally as he left it ; fir here the haft variation wculd be criminal. a 2 PREFACE. VI PREFACE. 6i T)OET RT, fays he, has been accounted the moft peculiar of all the liberal arts -, and it is the snly One, in the circle of literature, which a man of common capacity cannot, by meer dint of ccnflant ap- plication, become mafier of. The moft exalted profe writers that ever graced the learned world, have ren- •dered them f elves liable to ridicule in their add relies to the Muses." " The great Cicero* not lefs famous for tht ele- gance of his ftyle, than for his univerfal knowledge^ was a remarkable inftance of the truth of this obfer- vation. And the wonder ceafes, if what a celebrated Critic* fays, be true, to wit That t,o confiitute a Poet, is required " an elevation of foul, that de- pends not oaly on art and ftudy, but mud alfo ee the Gift of Heaven." lfay, if this be the cafe, the 1 iddle is immediately expounded, and we are at no lofs to affign a reafcn, why fane, (comparatively f peak- ing) illiterate men, have been the fublimefl poets of the age they lived in" * Rat in. IT [ vii ] v '••••»♦• • ' T v v v ■ ; 1 -uc L I S O F SUBSCRIBERS. JOHN ALLEN, Efq; Andrew Allen, Efq; Attorney Gen. of Pennfylvania James Allen, Efq; Mr. William Allen, fun. 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By L AU R A. » FLOW to yon Grave approaches StrephonV Bitr-* Why down each Cheek defends the tender Tear ? When, unreclaimd, the Vicious fa!/, we weep', But with the virtuous Dead each Woe Jhould Jleep ; For Heaven ordain d, that Death Jhould boafl his Reign 9 Ere the purgd Soul celejlial Heights can gain. Yet fuch a Train of dawning Virtues join d, To grace, in bright Affemblage, Strephon'j Mind, Our Lofs ive mourn, nor think that fuch alone Are thofe a gracious Saviour deigns to own — That Thought, that cheering Thought, ye ancient Pair, Muft cahn your JVoc, and zuipe the falling Tear ; There s nought befides can mitigate your Grief; No human Hand can minijler Relie f A Son, a darling Son, your Maker gave ! Behold him breathlefs in yon gloomy Grave ! With every Virtue opening fair to View; Lojl to the World — A Seafon UJl to you ! As fome fair Plant in blooming Verdure gay, Refrejh'd with Rain, beneath the folar Ray, Kind [ xxviii ] Kindly unfolds to Jhade its natal Earth, In grateful Tribute for its genial Birth ; 77//, from the North, fome chilling Blajl defends—* Infant, the Plant, beneath its Fury, bends, Struggles awhile, and then — drops quite away To fell Deflruttion a fair blooming Prey. The Parent Soil, left deflate and bare, Shrinks with each Ruffle ofth y inclement Air. Thus fell, ye mournful Pair, your Ages' Prop; Tetjlill Religion gives this cheering Hope, That, wj?en fome Tears have rolled their Cares away, Tour Souls, tranfported to the Realms of Day, Shall join your Strephon, who kept full in Sight Thofe f acred Manfons of eternal Light. A manly, modefl Piety inform d His fearching Spirit, and his Bofom warmed: Blejl with a Judgment, fleady, flrong and clear, That jhumid alike the Giddy and Severe, He fcornd to drag fern Super ftitionV Chain, Or mingle with th y enthufiaftic Train ! JEHOVAH's Jujlice filtd his Soul with Awe, Tet from E MANUE Us Love he learnt to draw That heav'nly Peace, which taught his Soul to fing • His dying Soul Death, zvhere is thy Sting? O Grave, the Viclor ! where is novo thy Boafl ? Come, JESUS, come* i» Thee their Pangs are loft f # # ^ # § DAPHNIS and MENALCAS, PASTORAL E C L O G U E. WRITTEN 1758. SHALL fam'd Arcadia own the tuneful choir, And fair Sicilia boaft the matchlefs lyre ? Shall Gallia's groves refound with heav'nly lays, And Albion's poets claim immortal bays ? And this new world ne'er feel the mufe's fire; No beauties charm us, or no deeds infpire ? O Pennfylvania ! mall no fon of thine Glow with the raptures <§f the facred nine ? B ' Ne'er [ 2 ] Ne'er rouze the foul, by ftrokes of magic kind, Juft war to wage, or humanize mankind ; With fweeteft founds the virgin's foul control, Or in Elyfium wrap the lover's foul ? Fir'd with the thought, I court the Sylvan mufe Her magic influence o'er me to diffufe •, Whilft I afpire to wake the rural reed, And fing of fwains, whofe fnowy lambkins feed On Schuylkill's banks, with fhady walnuts crown'd, And bid the vales with mufic melt around. Soon as the rays that gild the orient dawn, Ting'd the blue hills, and pearPd each dewy lawn, Two fwains arofe and fpread their bleating train O'er the frefh verdure of a flow'ry plain ; Then fought a hill where purple violets bloom'd, And fragrant fcents the downy air perfum'd-, Clofe by whofe fide there ftray'd a murm'ring brook, Where foft reclin'd, each fix'd his oaken crook •, ' When gay Menalcas the long filence broke, And penfive Daphnis, thus returning fpoke. Menalcas, See Nature's fweets profufely round difplay'd, flow'rs paint the lawn, and green bedecks the fhade^ The feather'd choir in carols hail the day, And new-blown hawthorns feel yon heav'nly ray * Pomona [ 3 1 Pomona fpreads her dulcet charms around, And buxom Pan o'erleaps the pregnant ground. All but my Daphnis hail the rifing morn - 9 Each face but his congenial fmiles adorn. When kindly nature thus invites to joy, What irkfome cares can Daphnis' reft deftroy ? Have thy young lambs by wolves devouring bled, Or fome kind brother mingled with the dead ? O fay what grief involves the troubled fwain, That thus he flights the fhepherd and his ftrain ? Daphnis. Nature, 'tis true, exults in vernal bloom, Each grove is mufic, and each field perfume ; The fruitful trees their bloffom'd foliage rear, And jocund fhepherds hail the golden year ; The groves, the vales, the hills and ev'ry lawn, With fprightly echoes wake the blufhing dawn- But lawns, and hills, and vales and groves around, Are nought to Daphnis but an empty found - y The linnet's fongs no more entice my ear, Nor charm the beauties of the fmiling year ; The day's refulgence now delights no more, Nor night's cool fhade expanded to each fhore ! But flnce my friend can fympathize with pain, Know then why this indifference to thy ftrain. B-2 On [ 4 ] On my young lambs no prowling wolves have fed, No brother-fwain is number'd with the dead - 9 But cruel Delia has unfaithful prov'd, And flights the fwain that oft me fwore fhe lov'd. Say then, Menalcas ! has not Daphnis caufe To break all Nature's and all Reafon's laws ; To plunge me headlong from yon mountain's brow, And end my forrows in the waves below. Menalcas. Can lovely Delia e'er unfaithful prove, Or flight the' fwain to whom flie vow'd her love ? The rabid wolves may browfe with harmlefs fheep, And forefl doves with tow'ring eagles keep ; The crabbed thorn with cluttering grapes may bend, And humble willows to proud oaks afcend •, The vales out-top the lofty mountain's brow — But charming Delia cannot break her vow ! Daphnis. Ceafe fhepherd, ceafe ! for now no Delia charms, Nor more fhall Daphnis wanton in her arms ; The fpreading boughs no more fhall guard our love, Nor Delia's name be figur'd in each grove ! For me, my fheep run bleating o'er the plain, While I to woods and flinty rocks complain I Milder [ 5 ] Milder than Delia flinty rocks are grown, For in fad echoes they return my moan •, But haughty Delia fcorns my ardent flame, And bids her fliepherd woo fome humbler dame ! Menalcas. The fportful trouts may leave their wat'ry plains, To dwell in woods, and tune fpontaneous drains •, The warbling linnets may in rivers glide, And dam the billows with the dolphin's pride ; Yon diftant fleers, that drag the heavy plough, May, like the fquirrel, fpring from bough to bough — But heav'nly Delia cannot faithlefs prove, Nor barter for vile gain her promis'd love ! D A P H N I S. The breeze that fhakes the fpangPd dew-drops round, The fwelling floods that burft the meadow's bound, Are not more wav'ringthan the female mind ! Wild as the waves, unliable as the wind ! Menalcas. With gentler manners treat the beauteous race, Nor fay, if one's unfaithful, all are bafe ! Let thy fweet pipe beguile this ill-tim'd woe, While from my reed fpontaneous notes (hall flow. Behold [ 6 ] Behold our flocks are featuring o'er the plain, Proceed wc then to chaunt the Sylvan {train. D A P H n i s. Come, then, Menalcas ! tuneful fhepherd rife, Thy fong mall praife the Sovereign of the fkies ; "Whilft I will join in that exalted theme, Nor more repeat the faithlefs fair-one's name ! jilt iff -jt. ~tf} ^fc. * ODE [ 7 ] ODE to a FRIEND. 1758. I. T T J H Y fo tim'rous, gentle friend ? V V Pri'thee, banifh care and dread; Of harmlefs pleafure, know no end, Till thou'rt number'd with the dead. II. What can keep thee from the grave, If it pleafe th' Almighty pow'r ? What deftroy thee if he'll fave, Or rob thee of the paffing hour ? III. What mould move the pow'r divine, Thee, good mortal," to deftroy ? Then, with me, right-pleafing join, To gild the wingsd time with joy. IV. But not in pleafure's Syren-charms, I mean to lofe the heart : I know that mirth has fad alarms Where wifdom has no part. V. But C 8' f V. But let paffion's eafy gale, Thy bark with rapture fweep, While powerful reafon mall prevail And guide her o'er the deep, VI. Then chearful flow thy tranfient breath, With courage arm thy heart -> Immortal life begins in death, And fmiles at his grim dart. EPISTOLARY C 9 3 EPISTOLARY ODE To a FRIEND. I. LI K E as Lybia's burning fand, Or the parch'd Arabian plain, Which gentle Eurus never fann'd, Wou'd drink th' unfathomable main — - So is the wretch who endlefs craves, And reftlefs pines in ev'ry (late — O place him with the word of flaves, Whether in high or low eftate. . Heap him around with mafiy wealth, High-throne him on the feat of powVj Each gen'rous joy he'll ufe by Health, While want fhall prey on ev'r; hour, Let glitt'ring pomp allure his foul, Or nobler fame his mind dilate ; Thro' complicated plagues he'll roll, And dire vexations (till create. The firft-born mortal upon earth, When round him foiling Nature play'd, With difcontent was void of mirth, Tho' he o'er cv'ry creature fway'd, C II. He C to ] II. He who contented fpends his days — Calm as the clear unruffled ftream, His life in gentle current ftrays, Mild as the maiden's filver dream. Be he born to till the field, Or in war the fword to wield ; if he o'er the midnight oil, Waftes his life in learned toil, Studious to inftruct mankind Where true happinefs to find ; Or if o'er the lawlefs main, He roams in fearch of fordid gain ; Or forts with nobles in proud eafe, Or humble fvvains in cottages ; Be he with content but bled— He's the happy man confeft ! III. Liften, dear Strephon to my fong — O herd not with ambitious flaves, Nor join thou with the vulgar throng — Their joys unliable as the waves. Strephon, thrice bled with fruitful plains, The lover of a fapient theme ; Strephon, whofe fweetly-foothing drains Flow gently as. thy native ftream — O leave E » ] leave the ruthlefs fcenes of war, Unfit art thou for rude alarms, Befide thy gentle * Delaware, Come, Strephon, feek more pleafing charms. Here, while o'er the fertile vallies Thou malt tuneful ftray along, 1 will make repeated fallies, To catch the tranfport of thy fong •, Then mutual joy fhall fwell our foul, Attendant to bright wifdom's ftrain, While we mall quaff the friendly bowl Far from the noify and the vain. * That great river on which Philadelphia ftands. C2 PANEGYRIC [ 12 ] PANEGYRIC ODE TO THE MEMORY of GENERAL WOLFE, SLAIN at the SIEGE of QJJ EBEC. *\^7" H A T theme propitious to the lay ; What gallant hero fhall we choofe, Whofe name the founding chord fhall fway, And fire the glowing mufe ? What chief in Britain's martial train, Has fame with palm victorious crown'd, Whofe deeds upon thj£ embattled plain, Her golden trump fhall ceafelefs found ? 'Tis Wolfe — Beneath the fpacious fky, A hero of fublimer name, The fearchful mufe fhall ne'er defcry To confecrate with deathlefs fame. II. Where great St. Lawrence rolls its awful flood, He, daring, led Britannia's warrior-band, Scal'd its proud banks, and pierc'd the defart wood, That veils the horrors of the hoftile land. Soon C *3 1 Soon Canada confefs'd his warlike might, If on the plain confpicuous he appear'd, Or 'gainft Quebec's afpiring tow'ry height, His thund'ring arm all -dreadfully he rear'd. III. Now lights his vengeance on the daftard foe — So once Pelides, on the Trojan field, (Whilft death flood glaring on his crimfon'd fhield) Fill'd ev'ry trembling Dardan heart with woe. Thick as loud whirlwinds ftrcw the fading leaves, Along th£ autumnal plain, Array'd in arms, he felPd the Gallic chiefs ; A welt'ring breathlefs train. IV. What fhall Britannia's wrath appeafe, Or what reftrain her flaming ire, When foes difturb her facred peace, And with jufl rage her champions fire ? What glorious deeds around thee beam'd, O Wolfe ! on Abram's* purpled plain, When the warm fanguin'd current flream'd Of all the flow'r of Gallia flain ?' * The plains near Quebec, where Wolfe engaged and routed the French, are called Abraham's Plains. Nought [ 14 ] Nought but the trumpet's martial found, The clang of polifh'd arms, The thund'ring (teed that beats the ground, Could fill thy foulwith charms ! The deftin'd hour at length appears, Celeftial victory emits her ray, And rids Britannia of her fears, And echoes round propitious day : The hills around With joy refound, And fpread the golden tidings far ; The trident-bearing god Mounting from his deep abode, To Albion tells the aufpicious war •, Tells how, with ancient valour fraught, Her fons refum'd paternal might ; How the intrepid Townjhend fought, And mighty Wolfe put hods to flight ! VI. But while fuperior to all fear, With his bold ranks the hero drove, O'er heaps of (lain, in full career — A fhaft, commifTion'd from above, Full [ 15 1 Full to his bread with fatal fpced, Took its unerring way, Down fell great Wolfe amidft the dead, And purpled where he lay — " How goes the fight ?" he cries, (For round his head Grim death was fpread And dim'd his rolling eyes.) A gen'rous friend reply'd, " The foes are fled I* " Enough !" he faid, And without groaning dy'd. VII. Such are the chiefs that merit fair renown,' And follow bold where glory leads the way ! Such are the chiefs that grace a monarch's crown, And from the mufe demand th' immortal lay ! Chiefs that from Albion's billow-beaten more, Can rifque the perils of th' Atlantic flood, And dauntlefs ride thro' fields bedew'd with gore, To bathe their youthful arms in Gallic blood ! Proud in the caufe of honour to expire, To ftem the onfet of the hoftiie band -, And dare the deep-mouth'd cannon's thund'rous fire, To crown with joy Britannia's happy land. Tho* 7 J [ 16 3 Tho' JVoJfe mall fliine in flaming arms no more, Now thron'd in blifs above the cloudlefs fkies ; Ceafe, O ye fons of Britain, to deplore, Whilft Brunfajick reigns, yet other Wolfes mail rife! ELEGY TO THE Memory of Theophilus Grew, A. M. Profeflbr of Mathematics in the College of Philadelphia. TI7HY will foft forrow thus o'erwhelm my foul, * * And heart-felt anguifh ev'ry thought control ? To fcenes of woe why will the mufe retire, And cull fad founding accents for the lyre ? What fnade neglected afks the gentle tear, To bathe in grief the long forgotten bier ? 3 Tis Grew defcends unheeded to the grave, With no libation of Caftalia's wave. What [ >7 1 • What tho' the theme tranfcends my artlefs lays, The jmufe (hall fwell her numbers in thy praife : The murm'ring. dreams fhall echo to the found, And groves refponfive fprcad the ftrains around •, Slow winds fliall bear the heavy notes along, And diftant hills return the mournful fong. T' enlarge the foul, and clear the dubious mind, T' unfold celeftial wonders to mankind, To (lamp bright knowledge on thy youthful care, With fweet perfuafion and endearing air, With gentle manners to entice the heart, Was once thy happy and peculiar art. But fnatch'd, alas ! to yon immortal plains, Where glorious angels hymn feraphic drains ; High where yon beamy crbs, refplendent, glow, He drops a tear for this fad world below. But Grew, thy planets downward fhall be hurl'd, And wild confufion fink a guilty world -, E'en time's white fore-lock fhall in chains be bound, • Earth melr to drofs, and Cynthia ceafe her round. Then fhall oblivion blaft the hero's fame, The pomp of monarchs, and the poet's flame •, Then thy good name with matter's fclffliall blend, Forgot the father, hufband, and the friend. D Qn icfc [ i8 ] Quick as the muttle fly all human things, Time wafts us rapid on his fleeting wings ; Soon mall the fwain that tunes this plaintive lyre* Kifs the cold earth, and all his flame expire ; Then may fome mufe, by tender pity mov'd, Moan in foft elegy the youth fhe lov'd. Yet blooming virtue mail triumphant rife, Spurn the dull earth, and gain her native ikies j Then (hall the juft with holy raptures fir'd, With charms tranfported, and with God infpir'd, Strike their gold harps, and wake the lofty chord, In joyful chorus round th' eternal Lord ! Oh ! may mv foul by thy example warm'd, With Virtue's rules, and Virtue's fons be charm'd Regard them tho' they mine in humble ftate, Far from the glitter of the wealthy great. Bleft man, in counfel as in fenfe profound, True to thy trufl, and ever blamelefs found ; Stranger to flrife, a noble mind confeft, No raging difcord harbour'd in thy bread •, Peaceful thou walk'd this wild of " weeds and flow'rs, Where envy hides, and blind fortune fhow'rs •, Where fyftems endlefs frantic zeal infpire, Warm youth they madden, and cold age they fire. Led by no mode, thou followed Nature's laws, And ^rufted in the one unerring caufe ! Thus [ *9 ] Thus pafTd thy footfteps thro' this mazy round Whilft thy wing'd genius foar'd to worlds around - 9 Till grifly death with darknefs clos'd thy eyes, And angels fnatch'd thy fpirit to the fides ! But God is wife — then, to his righteous fway, Submit, my mufe, and ceafe thy plaintive lay. R I D D L E. WRITTEN' 1759. BArricado'd with white bone, Lab'ring under many a groan, Curtain'd in my room with red, And fmoothly laid in crimfon bed \ 'Tis I dnTolve the flony heart, And comfort's balmy joys impart ; 'Tis I can rule the wav'ring croud, Or tame the haughty and the proud -, 'Tis I o'er beauty oft prevail, That queen of life's capricious vale ; 'Tis I can fire the warrior's foul, Or pafiion's giddy voice control ; D 2 Senates [ 20 ] Senates have felt my lordly fway, And kings my magic pow'r obey; 9 1 is I, fo garruloufly gay, That rouze the dames whofe heads are grey ; Gilded o'er with truth and lies, Under many a mixt difguife, I drefs to cheat unpractif'd youth, With falfnood's garb for honefc truth; Xantippe bold, in dead of night, Taught Socrates to own my might! Strange enchantrefs, motely creature, Cddefc prodigy of nature ! As raging billows, now I'm wild, And now as warbling fountains mild; Now religion's laws proclaiming, And now the good and juft defaming-, Now cementing patriotifm, And now in church provoking fchifm. Enough, O mufe ! — kind reafon cries, The man who has this, monfter dies ! Expound my riddle, if you're able, For 'twas this confounded Babel ! ODE t >' ] O D E ON THE PROSPECT of PEACE. 1761 WHEN elemental conflicts rage, And heav'n is wrap'd in tempefts dire, When ftorms with ftorms dread combat wage, And thunders roll astherial fire ; — Returning zephyrs od'rous race, And radiant Sol's all-chearing face, The trembling mortals moil defire. When Eurus charg'd with livid clouds, Scours o'er old ocean's wild domain, And Boreas rends the vefiePs mrouds v And o'er her fwells the raging main j If lighter breezes mould fucceed, And Iris fweet, of varied hue, Lift o'er the main her beamy head, What raptures fill the marine crew ! Thus, [ 22 ] Thus, when Bellona (ruthlefs maid [) Her empire thro' the world has fpread, And death his flag has proud-difplay'd O'er legions that in battle bled ; — If Peace, bedeck'd with olive robe, (Refplendent nymph, fweet gueft of heav'nj Transfufe her balm around the globe, A theme of joy to man is giv'n. Then wake, O mufe ! thy fweeteft lays- Returning peace demands thy praife ; And while the notes in varied cadence found, Eye thou the Theban *Stvan that foars o'er heav'nly ground. In. If thou from Albion's fea-girt fhore, Advent'rous mufe wilt deign to rove, Inclin'd remoteft realms t'explore And foothe the favage foul to love ; Hither wave thy wand'ring pinion, Here be fix'd thy lad dominion, Warbling in f :as grove. Bright-ey'd Euphroiyne ! attend, If genial Peace can aught avail, With all thy graceful charms defcend, And o'er the youthful lyre prevail. * Pindar. f For Pennfjkama. Bounteous [ 23 ] Bounteous Peace with lavifh hand, To ev'ry fhore thy bleflings ftrew, O veil the blood-polluted land, And all thy grateful joys renew. Thy blifsful pregnant reign reftore, And calm the breafts of angry Kings ; Thy horn of Amalthean (lore Ope, and expand thy golden wings-, Till trade fecure her treafure beams, And fcience re-aflumes her fhades -, Till fhepherds quaff untainted flreams, And hinds enjoy their native glades > Till the glad mufes ftrike the lyre, And virtuous focial deeds infpire •, Till the loud drum no more mail bid to arms prepare. Nor brazen trumpets breatlvhorrid din of war. Iiii. Aufpicious pow'r, whofe falutary ray Form'd this new world, and rear'd her infant fame, Extend anew thy mitigating fway, And quell the hero's battle-breathing flame. Ye fragrant myrtles, ope your peaceful bow'rs, And charm the warrior with your pleafing fccnes, Shield him with woodbine's aromatic flow'rs, And for his fopha fpread your velvet greens. For [ 2 4 ] For him the flute mellifluous mall blow In Lydian mufic, founding foft and low, And blooming beauty with attractive art, Shall fweetly melt the tumults of his heart -, The nectar' d bowl with rofy garlands twin'd, Shall waft his forrows to the vagrant wind, While the victorious laurel of renown, In verdant wreaths his manly brows mail crown. Ilr. Tco long has war's terrific train, (The barbed fpear and reeking blade) Made nations rue their chieftains (lain, And fang-uin'd cverv mufe's made. From diftant Volga's rapid floods, To Canada's high-tow'ring woods, Has the deadly cannon bray'd. From where th' effulgent god of day Impearls Arabia's fpicy fields, To where his fetting luftres play — The world to Britifh valor yields. How has bold Clive, with martial toil, O'er India born his conqu'ring lance, For Brunfwick gain'd the diftant foil, And dafh'd th' afpiring hopes of France ? Let Gcree, rich with flaming ore, Heroic Kepfel's acts proclaim, And *'[ *5 ] And Senegal's * Eburnean fhore Refound to future times his name. O'er red Germania's hoftile wafte, Britannia's chiefs have ^conquering Ihone. Brave Elliot's warlike fat^s have grac'd His Monarch's high illuftrious throne \ And Granby's deeds the mufes claim To fwell th' immortal trump of fame. But victory enough has wav'd her glitt'ring wand, With Britifh honors grac'd, o'er ev'ry proftrate land ! IIn. Witnefs ye plains bedew'd with gore, So late ambitious Gallia's boaft, Where howling o'er the defert more, Was feen the genius of the coaft. Thus, leaning on her fhatter'd fpear, She wildly wail'd in deep defpair, Her fall'n tow'rs and vanquifh'd hod— " As Niobe (when Juno's hate Purfu'd to death her tender care) I moan my offspring's haplefs fate, And vex with fighs the paffing air. Not with lefs grief my bofom heaves, Than did the bread of Hector's fire, * Ivory. E W r hen [ 26 ] When (lain were all his Dardan chiefs, And Ilium blaz'd with Grecian fire. For lo ! where heap'd with (laughter'd Gauls, Is Louijburgh a ruin'd pile ! Her bulwarks and ftupendous walls Are whelm'd in dud and ames vile. Imperial Lawrence heaves with woe, Of many a Gallic chief the grave, And as his purple billows flow, To hoary Neptune's coral cave, Tells how my vaunting troops, o'erthrown, Britannia's matchlefs prowefs own ; Tells how Quebec, fo late for martial might re- nown'd, Her rocky ramparts crufh'd, lies fmoaking on the ground. IIiii. What force can Albion's warlike fons difmay, Dauntlefs who mingle in th' embattled plain ? What toils difhearten, or what dangers (lay ? Not rocks, nor deferts, nor the boifterous main ! How torn my laurels, by her Wolffs dread arm ! O'er mountains huge, who chas'd my armed band, Rouz'd the fierce favage, with dire war's alarm, And hurl'd his thunder o'er my carnag'd land ! No more gay trophies (hall emblaze my name, Nor Gallia's realms re-echo with my fame. Loft C 27 ] Loft arc thofe honours which my heroes gain'd, With blood my temples and my domes are ftain'd . But men diredted by a heav'nly hand, 'Tis vain, 'tis mad, 'tis impious to withftand" — She fpoke, and mounting from a lofty height, Weftward fhe wing'd her folitary flight. iiii. Thus has Britannia's glory beam'd Where'er bright Phasbus, from his car, To earth his chearful rays hath ftream'd, Adown the chryftal vault of air. Enough o'er Britain's mining arms, Hath victory difplay'd her charms, Amid the horrid pomp of war — Defcend then, Peace, angelic maid, And fmooth Bellona's haggard brow ; Hafte to diffufe thy healing aid, Where'er implor'd.by fcenes of woe. Henceforth, whoe'er difturbs thy reign, Or ftains the world with human gore, Be they from earth (a gloomy train !) Banifh'd to hell's profoundeft fhore; Where vengeance, on Avernus' lake, Rages with furious Ate bound ; And black rebellion's fetters make, And difcord's hideous murmurs found; E 2 Where [ 28 ] Where envy's noxious fnakes entwine Her temples round, in Gorgon-mood, And bellowing faction rolls fupine Along the flame be-curled flood ! — Hence, then, to that accurfed place, Difturbers of the human race ! And with you bear ambition wild, and felflfh pride, With perfecution foul, and terror by her fide. IIIn. Thus driv'n from earth war's horrid train— O Peace, thou nymph divine, draw near! Here let the mufes fix their reign, And crown with fame each rolling year, Source of joy and genuine pleafure, Queen of quiet, queen of leifure, Hafte thy votaries to chear ! Cherifh'd beneath thy hallow'd rule, Shall Pennfylvania's glory rife ; Her fons, bred up in Virtue's fchool, Shall lift her honors to the fkies — A ftate thrice bleft with lenient fway, Where liberty exalts the mind ; Where plenty bafks the live long day, And pours her treafures unconfin'd. Hither, ye beauteous virgins tend, With Arts and Science by your fide, Whofe [ *9 ] Whofe fkill th' untutor'd morals mend, And to fair honor mankind guide; And with you bring the graces three, To fill the foul with glory's blaze - 9 Whofe charms give charms to pcejy, And confecrate th' immortal lays" Such as when mighty Pindar fung, Thro' the Alphean valli.es rung •, Or fuch as, Meles, by thy lucid fountains flow'd, When bold Mseonides with heav'nly tranfports glow'd. IIIiii. To fuch, may Delaware, majeftic flood, Lend, from his flow'ry banks, a ravifh'd ear-, Such notes as may delight the wife and good, Or faints celeftial may endure to hear ! For if the mufe can aught of time defcry, Such notes (hall found thy cryftal waves along, Thy cities fair with glorious Athens vie, Nor pure Iliiius boaft a nobler fong. On thy fair banks, a Fane to Virtue's name Shall rife — and Juftice light her holy flame. All hail then, Pe aqe ! reftore the golden days, And round the ball diffufe Britannia 9 * praife -, Stretch her wide empire to the world's laft end, Till Kings remoteft to her fceptre bend ! A RURAL [ 3° ] A RURAL ODE, Written by the Author at the Age of Sixteen. I. YE Dryads fair, whofe temples round, Wave wreaths of odoriferous flow'rs ; Lead me your Sylvan fcenes amidft, W T here bloom your rofy- fringed bow'rs. II. Nymph of the wavef , fweet Naiad hear* While thy clear waters banks along, With carelefs fteps, I pleafing ftray, And warble forth my youthful fong. III. Now T the gay rays of orient light, Bedeck the faff ron- man tied morn, And from Fa-vomits' balmy wing, Drops liquid pearl on ev'ry thorn. \ Scene, the banks of Schuylkill, which runs by the weft fide of Philadelphia, and falls into the Delaware a little below the city. IV. The C 3* ] IV. The gilded groves, with verdure clad, Reflect bright Phasbus' golden beams, While his celeftial glories flame, Down the tranflucent purling ftreams. V. From off each daify-painted field, And from the lilly-paved vales, Zephyr collects a rich perfume, And fcents his foft cofmetic gales ; VI. Whofe honied pinions round difpenfe, Hygeia's heav'n-defcended ftore, Chafing each noxious breath away, And fweet'ning every fragrant more. VII. Here keeps his court frefh-bluming health. His brows with blooming garlands bound 5 Here bathes him in fair Schuylkill's wave, And fports its hills and lawns around •, VIII. Two [ 3* ] VIIL Two virgins mild his train fupport, In fnowy fpotlefs robes array'd, One guides his will to actions pure, And e'er by one his table's fpread 5 . IX. Thefe virgins twain, were ever nam'd, Sweet Temperance, with eye ferene ; And Chastity, whofe heav'nly birth, Was pictur'd in her modeft mein. X. Still, as Aurora onward moves, His fleecy flocks the fhepherd-fwain Drives from their folds, in jovial glee, And whitens all the verdant plain. XI. The fawns, with nimble-footed fpeed, (Fleet as the winged pafling gale) Bound o'er the mountains flow'ry fide, Or fweep the low-defcending vale. XII. In C 33 ] XII. In yonder gay-en amell'd mead, The darling plumes his golden wings, Then tow'ring up the azure height, He mounts fublime, and foaring fings. XIII. The yellow finch, and linnet blue, In mattins wild falute the day, While their fweet fongs, by echo caught, In double-founding notes decay. XIV. A limpid fountain gurgling flows, From 'midft yon ivy-twifted cave ; And lo ! the lovely Chloe cools Her limbs in its tranflucent wave ! XV. Deep in yon old fequeft'red grove, Where the down-dafhing torrents roll, Afcends on fancy's roving wing, The rapture-breathing poet's foul ! XVI. Lo! [ 34 ] XVI. Lo ! foaming o'er the rough cafcade, The lab'ring billows force their way, Then mingling with the fnow-white flood, In curling eddies onward dray ; XVII. While down the frnooth-meandVmg ftream, The mining fifties, fportive, glide ; The perch with filver-glitt'ring fcales, And trout with gold-befprinkled fide. XVIII. Theie are your bleffings, Sylvan maids — The funny hills and ftiady woods, Delightful vallies, pleafant plains, Clear ikies, fweet air, and cryftal floods — XIX. For hills ye have, (tho' loft to fame) That fair as thymy Hybla fhow, And fields that would with Tempe vie, Streams that might with f PaBohis flow. t A river in Lydia, faid to flow en golden fands ; mentioned by Horace, Juvenal, &c. XX. Here [ 35 ] XX. Here could I ever, ever rove, And quit the world's contentious fcenes — - What joy, with innocence and truth, To wrap me in your charming greens ? XXI. But fate and fortune adverfe call, And fnatch me to the bufy throng ! Adieu then, rural fweets, adieu ! And ceafe, thou dear-deluding fong ! ODE to a FRIEND. Quern tu Melpomene^ femel Nafcentem placido famine videris, &c. Hor. I. THRICE bleft is he, whofe placid birth The warbling Mufes hover'd rounds Novice to all the ills-of earth, While wrapt in mufic's Toothing found, F 2 II. If [ 3^ ] II. If ftern Bellona's thund'ring ire, Hurls the proud Monarch from his throne, He whom the facred Nine infpire Shall make each fleeting hour his own. III. Let Gaul with Belgia's arms unite, And haughty Spain refume her rage ; He whom Caitalia's ftreams delight, Shall ev'ry rifing fear afluage. IV. If hoftile favages alarm, And threat'ning warriors fill each plain, Sweet poefy his grief (hall charm, And fportive breezes ileal his pain. V. If grifly death, with terrors crown'd, His heav'n-attender'd foul difmay -, Hark ! he awakes th' enchanting found, And ev'ry fpectre fhrinks away. VI. But [ 37 ] VI. But when refplendent beauty's train Commands the foft accordant lyre •, What tranfports breathe in ev'ry ftrain, And kindle Love's celeftial fire ! VII. Her cheeks he paints as blufhing dawn, Her eyes to dim Apollo's rays, Her breath more balmy thatvlawn When round the orient luftre plays. VIII. Yet if fair Friend/hip's hallow'd flame In his enraptur'd bofom glows, His ftrain ftill rifes with his theme, Each note ftill more divinely flows. IX. Let wretched mifers clafp their ore, And vulgar breads in fenfe delight ; The mufe fhall purer joys explore, And wing a more exalted flight. HYMN [ ss ] HYMN to MAY. I. N'O W had the beam of Titan gay Umer'd in the blifsful May, Scatt'ring from his pearly bed, Frefh dew on ev'ry mountain's head ; Nature mild and debonnair, To thee, fair maid, yields up her care. May, with gentle plaftic hand, Clothes in fiow'ry robe the land •, O'er the vales the cowfilps fpreads, And eglantine beneath the fhades ; Violets blue befringe each fountain, Woodbines lace each fteepy mountain - 9 Hyacinths their fweets diffufe, And the rofe its blufh renews •, With the reft of Flora's train, Decking lowly dale or plain. II. Thro* creation's range, fweet May ! Nature's children own thy fway — Whether in the chryfcal flood, Am'rous, fport the finny brood ; Or C 39 1 Or the featKer'd tribes declare, That they breathe thy genial air, While they warble in each grove Sweeteft notes of artlefs love ; Or their wound the beads proclaim, Smitten with a fiercer flame j Or the paffion higher rife, Sparing none beneath the fkies, But fwaying foft the human mind With feelings of extatic kind — Thro' wide creation's range, fweet May ! All Nature's children own thy fway. III. Oft will I, (e'er Phofphor's * light Quits the glimm'ring fkirts of night) Meet thee in the clover-field, Where thy beauties thou malt yield To my fancy, quick and warm, Lift'ning to the dawn's alarm, Sounded loud by f Chanticleer^ In peals that fharply pierce the ear. And, as Sol his flaming car Urges up the vaulted air, * The Morning Star. f The Cock. Shunning [ 40 ] Shunning quick the fcorching ray, I will to fome covert ftray •, Coolly bow'rs or latent dells, Where light-footed filence dwells, And whifpers to my heav'n-born dream, Fair Schuylkill by thy winding ftream 1 There I'll devote full many an hour, To the ftiil-finger'd Morphean-pow'r, And entertain my thirfty foul With draughts from Fancy's fairy bowl ; Or mount her orb of varied hue, And fcenes of heav'n and earth review. IV. Nor in milder Eve's decline, As the fun forgets to fhine, And flopping down th' aetherial plain, Plunges in the Weftern main, Will I forbear due ftrain to pay To the fong-infpiring May ; But as -J- Hefper 'gins to move Round the radiant court of Jove, (Leading thro' the azure fky All the (tarry progeny, \ The Evening Star. * Emitting C 4i ] Emitting prone their filver light, To re-illume the (hades of night) Then, the dewy lawn along, I'll carol forth my grateful fong, Viewing with tranfported eye The blazing orbs that roll on high, Beaming luftre, bright and clear, O'er the glowing hemiiphere. Thus from the early-blu filing morn t Till the dappled eve's return, Will I, in free unlabour'd lay, Sweetly ling* the charming May ! A N ANACREONTIC ODE. HENCE with forrow, fpleen and care ! Mufe, awake the jocund air ; Wreathe thy brows in myrtle twine, And aflift the gay defign ; Strike the trembling firing with pleafure, Till it found thye enchanting meafure. G Avaunt ! [ 42 ] A vaunt ! thou fiend, pale melancholy ! We are mortals free and jolly, Who delight to lofe the foul, In the joy-infpiring bowl — Fill the foaming chalice high, Till it fpeak with extafy - 9 .With rofy garland crown the wine, And fleep Nepenthe, herb divine, In the bright nsctareous cup, Till it fwallow fadnefs up. Wine can dulled mortals raife, To deeds of glory, deeds of praife ; If the warrior's bread it warms, Quick he burns for glorious arms, And nightly dreams of battles dire, Of giants huge in deel attire > Battlements he, proud, o'erthrows, And rides amidd a thoufand foes. Thus, when Philip's dauntlefs fon, With his drinking bouts had done, He rufh'd a whirlwind on the plain, And mountain'd it with heaps of (lain. If wine infpires the tuneful band, W 7 ho can the glowing drain withdand ? Floods, [ 43 ] Floods of mufic, all divine, Pour along in every line -, And the wild Dithyrambic drain, Rufhes thro' the poet's brain. Alcasus lov'd the purple juice ; Sprightly Flaccus felt its ufe - y And the fweet Anacreon, Warbled beft when half-feas gone. Ivy-crown'd Bacchus hail ! And, o'er my reeling fong prevail ! » S O N G. Extempore. I. TH E fprightly eye, the rofy cheek, The dimpled chin, and look fo meek, The namelefs grace and air ; The ruby lip in fweetnefs dreft, The foftly-fwelling angel bread — All thefe adorn my fair ! II. See ! what nnnumbef'd beauties rove Around each feature of my love, G 2 And [ 44 ] And fire my rapt'rous foul ! Ten thoufand fweets her looks difclofe ; At ev'ry look my bofom glows, And yields to love's control. III. Juft heav'ns ! why gave ye charms like thefe, With ev'ry graceful art to pleafe, To her whom rigid fate, Permits me not my pain to tell, And makes me facred truth conceal From one I wilri my mate. IV. Curfe on the fordid thirft of gold ! When tend'reft pafiions all are fold To win the world's applaufe ; When, for defire, and love, and joy, Low intereft mail our hours employ, And gain th' ignoble caufe. Jt SONG. [ 45 ] To SYLVIA. A SONG, After her recovery from a fit of ficknefs. WH E N at bleak Winter's ftern command, Fair nature's blooming beauties fade, And the fad groves all leaflefs ftand, And wither'd is each pleafing made ; II. No nightingale, or linnet gay, Is heard to wake the fprightly flrain, No turtle pours her love-lorn lay, To footh the foul of am'rous fwain. III. But when the jovial hours appear, That ufher in the vernal breeze, .When young-ey'd fpring bedecks the year, And clothes in verdant robe the trees ; IV. The [ 46 ] IV. The feathcr'd chorifters prepare To fwell the gratulating long, While thro' the foft expanfe of air, Wild Mufic fweetly floats along. V. So when my Sylvia, lovely maid ! Is by the touch of ficknefs pain'd, When on her cheeks the rofes fade, And with pale white her lips are ftain'd ; VI. Oh then ! my heart, opprefTd with woe And inward anguifh, pines away ♦, Nor from my lips does mufic flow, . A ftranger to the warbling lay — VII. But if the charming nymph renews The lively look, and health's foft bloom ; Into my breaft it does infufe New life, and diiFipates my gloom. VIII. Soon [ 47 1 VIII. Soon then I fhatch the willing reed, And foon it founds my Sylvia's name; My wond'ring flocks forget to feed, And liiten while I tell my flame. IX. Again the fmiling fparkling eye Beams luftre o'er her heav'nly face ; Again the cheek of vermil dye Sheds, blufhful round, its wonted grace- Again her heaving breads betray A paffion of fublimer kind ; There all the loves and graces play, And there th' unerring archer * blind. XI. Again I clafp her round, in felifs, And prefs the yielding melting palm ; Again I fteal th' ambrofial kifs From lips (Milling fweeteft balm ! * Cupid. SONG. [ 50 ] A N O D E, Attempted in the Manner ^/"Horace, TO MY INGENIOUS FRIEND, Mr. *THOMAS GODFREY. I. WHILE you, dear To^, arejfcrc/d to roam* In fearch of fortune, far fnSjprome, O'er bogs, o'er feas and mountains ; I too, debar'd the foft retreat Of fhady groves, and murmur fvveet Of filver-prattling fountains, II. Mud * See an account of the Thomas Godfreys, father and fon, in the American Magazine. The above little ode is ad- dreffed to the fori. Mr. Evam and he were intimate in life, and in death not long divided. They poiTeiTed a kind of congenial fpirits, and their fates were not diflimilar. Both courted the . Mufes from their very infancy ; and both were called ffom this world as they were but entering into their Irate of manhood. On Mr. Godfrey's death, Mr. Evans collected and publifhed his pieces in a fmall volume, and f$on afterwards left his vwn pieces to the like friendly care of others. D' [ 51 ] II. Muft mingle with the buttling throng, And bear my load of cares along, Like any other finner : For, where's the ecftafy in this, To loiter in poetic blifs, And go without a dinner ? III. Flaccus, we know, immortal bard ! With mighty kings and ftatefmen far'd, And liv'd m chearful plenty : But now, in thofe degenerate days, The flight reward of empty praife, Scarce one receives in twenty. Well might the Roman fwan, along The pleafing Tiber, pour his fong, When bleft with eafe and quiet ; Oft did he grace Maecenas' board, Who would for him throw by the lord, And in Falernian riot. H 2 V. But, [ 52 ] V. But, deareft Tom ! thefe days are pad, And we are in a climate call: Where few the mufe can relifh ; Where all the doctrine now that's told, Is that a mining heap of gold Alone can man embellilh. VI. Then fince 'tis thus, my honed friend, If you be wife, my drain attend, And counfel fage adhere to •, With me, henceforward, join the crowd, And like the red proclairnjribud, That money is all virtue ! VII. Then may we both, in time, retreat To fome fair villa, fweetly neat, To entertain the mufes ; And then life's noife and trouble leave- Supremely bled, we'll never grieve At what the world refufes. A SONG [ 53 ] SONG To M IR A; ON PARTING. I. CA N my Mira leave her lover ? Two long-ling'ring months to part — World of time ! Thou gentle rover, Where, O where's thy tender heart ? ^; Wilt thou thus thy perfon fever From my eyes and from my arms ? For two tedious months, I never More fhall view thy heav'nly charms ! III. When, in fome fair ftreams meander, Thou thy beauteous looks fhall trace, May fweet echo cry, — " Philander «* Claims, as his, that angel-face." — IV. When [ 54 J IV. When thou tread'ft, in blooming luftre, Some gay meadow's flow'ry fide, And gay youths around thee duller, To behold fair Nature's pride •, V. Then, Oh then, my Mira ! mind thee To beware each fhepherd's art •, Know that heav'n and love defign'd thee Miftrefs of Philander's heart. VI. Then remember each fweet hour That in pleafing pain we've fpent, When Cupid, in triumphant pow'r, Thro' our hearts his arrows fent. VII. Think, how by each other fighing, We confefs'd the mutual flame, Looking, melting, panting, dying — Joy was then too weak a name ! VIII. Think [ 55 1 VIII. Think on thefe, and never yield thee To a heart id's true than mine*.; Then fliall heav'n's bright angels fhield thee, As a being half-divine ! VERSES FOR THE N E W - Y E A R 1762* QTILL as emerges from the womb of time, ^ Each circling year, you claim our humble rhyme ; But where's the mufe whofe fiery numbers bell, Shall rouze heroic ardor in each bread ? To * It is a cufrcm in Philadelphia, for the lads that deliver out the news- papers, to prefent to the cnftomers, on Ne^v-Tears Day, a copy of verfes, reciting forne of the moft fignal occurrences and tranfaclions of the pail year, for which they commonly re- ceive a fmall gratuity. Thefe verfes are generally the compo- fition of fuch young Bards as the printers lads can make intereit. with. Mr. Evans was prevailed upon to write for 1762, 1763. is the principal occurrences of thofe years were the fubjeel of C 56 1 To wing the flight where conquefi leads the way, Tranfcends our fong, and mocks the feeble lay. Such themes fublime beft fuit a rapt'rous lyre, And bards tranfported with poetic fire — Yet when infpir'd with Britain's glorious tame, What bofom glows not with the hallow'd flame ? When angry Gallia pour'd her hoftile train, Intent on plunder, o'er th' Atlantic main -, Strangers to arms, we knew no murd'rous art, Nor crimfon fauichion, nor the pois'nous dart, From earlieft youth, inftru&ed to abhor The deadly engines of deftructive war •, The cannon's found, as dire aflail'd our ears, As Jove's red thunder, when he (hakes the fpheres. Yet to our aid when mighty Brunfwick came, It kindled in each breaft the martial flame •, Undaunted as our warlike troops advance,' To walls, inglorious, fhrink the fons of France •, Their cities ftorm'd, their chiefs in fetters bound, And their proud ramparts levell'd with the ground. O'er of fome of his odes, the repetition of feveral of the fame thoughts became almoil unavoidable. And indeed,thefe New-Years'-Day productions, are to be confidered rather as good-natur'd com- pliances of the Muje, than the true and genuine fruits of her infpi ration. [ 57 3 O'er this new world, thus has Britannia's arms Reftor'd loft peace, and exil'd war's alarms ; Again rich commerce crowns the merchant's toil, And fmiling Ceres paints the pregnant foil. Thus the good fhepherd, when he views from far The deadly wolves befet his fleecy care, Quick to their help his guardian crook he wie'ds, And foon the prowling throng is fcatter'd o'er the fields. * Yet not to us is Britain's care confin'd, Her fame is wafted to remoteft Ltd ; By juftice call'd, her chiefs, with matchlefs fwords, Have humbled mighty Afia's proudefl lords; Far diftant fcenes her martial deeds proclaim, And Pondicherry bows to Britain's name. See the fad chance of all-deftrucYive war- See Lally captiv'd at the victor's car •, Lally, whofe foul the madd'ning furies claim, And curs'd with longings for the voice of fame. So when a tyger, flufh'd with reeking blood, Ramps o'er the plains, and tears the leafy wood, A lion fpies him from his fecret cave, Burfts from his (land, to feize th' infulting flave ; Then hunts him, gen'rous, from the neighb'ring fields* And peace and fafety to the foreft yields. I O'er [ 5§ 3 O'er Eur6pe too, great George's arms prevail, And on its feas his fleets triumphant fail •, Witnefs Belleifle, around whofe wave-worn fhore His navies ride, and his loud cannons roar. Oh ! could we boaft the feeds of epic fong, Immortal Frederick mould the verfe prolong ; The chief mould mine, inclos'd with fields of dead, And guardian-angels hov'ring round his head ; .There, in dread chains, the barb'rous Rufs mould bow, And here, fubmifTive, kneel th' Hungarian foe •, There mould be feen to bend, the fons of Gaul, Here lefTer troops, his enemies, mould fall. Thus a firm rock, begirt with raging waves, Stands the fierce charge, tho' all the tempeft raves ; Now round his fummit dafh the broken tides, And vainly beat his adamantine fides ! But thefe we leave to deck th' hiftoric page, And wake the wonder of a future age. Now let our mufe the Paphian trumpet blow, Beauty's the theme, and melting ftrains fhall flow. See Neptune, mounting with his nereid train, To fmooth the furface of the azure main •, As confcious of his charge, he joys to pleafe The beauteous Charlotte, miftrefs of the feas ! The [ 59 ] The jovial Tailors ply their mining oars, And now they reach fair Albion's white-cliff fhores ; With warbling flutes, and hautboy's pleafing found, They fpread fweet mufic's filver notes around. On Cydnus ftream, fo once array'd was feen Fair Cleopatra, Egypt's beauteous Queen. But here we fix, rejoic'd to fee you bled, And Britain's glory in each clime confeft ! N. B. The New-Year's Verfes for 1763, are omitted, thefub- ftance of them being included in the Poem, entitled, He- roic Stanzas on the fuccefles of 1762, p. 64, be. An O D E, On completing my One and Twentieth Tear of Age. FATHER * of old oblivion, hail! Reftrain thy fwift-revolving glafs ; If foothing verfe can ought avail, To charm thy moments as they pafs. Still fhall I let thee onward glide, To waft me down thy boundlefs tide, And unimprov'd remain my foul, When twenty-one quick fummers from me thou haft ftole ? I 2 Adieu! * Time. uu Adieu ! amufements of my youth, My childhood and my boyifh days ! For virtue, probity, and truth, I quit my fports and frolic lays ! Yet will remembrance bring to view, The years, in playful blifs, that flew, When carelefs of the palling hours, My whittle fweet I blew, or cull'd the mufe's flow'rs ! Then oft in Schuylkill's filver wave, Or Delaware's majettic tide, My limbs, delighted, would I lave, Or thro' the foamy billow^ glide ; Then chafe the plover o'er the brake, Or treach'ry caft along the lake, Pleas'd to delude the finny fry, The perch with glittering fcales, or trout of golden dye. Oft too, as Sol's refplendent ray With ardour beam'd thro' Cancer's fign, Would I the river's margent ftray, Or on its velvet brink recline. Then would Fancy ope her treafures, Pouring on the mind new pleafures, Unlocking all her fairy fcenes Of gay enamell'd groves and fweet Elyfian greens. How [ 6i ] How would fhe then uncurtain fate, And fnatch the foul to yonder Iky, Events unknown to man create, And read conceaPd futurity ? Or, ages old revolving o'er, Their worthies place my eyes before ; Hero or patriot, faint or fage, Or who e'er fmote the lyre with bold poetic rage. Flufh'd with thefe glowing vifions bright, What noble frenzy feiz'd the foul ! Each phantom then of dear delight Would round th/ impafiion'd eye-balls roll \ Then o'er my temples oft the mufe Vouchfaf 'd to fhed nectareous dews ; How would I eye her ivy crown, And pant, in youthful heat, for deathlefs fair renown ? But hence, ye dear delufions all, 'Tis time I tear you from my breafl: ; Methinks ! I hear fweet Reafon call, " Be not with empty dreams pofleft I* Away, ye pleafing (hades away, I brook no-longer fond delay — Reluctant Hill ye from me fly, Your airy forms I fee yet flit before my eye ! But [ 62 ] But come, thou habitant of heav'n ! Infpirer of each gallant deed ; Virtue, bright queen, to whom 'tis given The foul for purer joys to breed ; High-arch'd, o'er yon cerulean plain, Sublimely mines thy facred fane, The graces wait its portals nigh, Which perfect fhall endure thro' vail eternity. Come, and thy gracious. aid impart, Each perifhing purfuit to tame 5 O root out folly from my heart, And thou the full pofTefiion claim. Each roving wifh, each vain defire, purge with thy celeftial fire ; What is the world's, the people's gaze ? Hence with the bubble fame, and idle breath of praife ! Whether, adown the ftream of time, 1 pafs with eafy profp'rous fails ; Or o'er its waves I painful climb, Forlorn and tofs'd by ftormy gales •, Still let me check the wanton breeze, Nor be abforb'd in flothful eafe •, * But ftedfaft fteer, when tempefts rife That rend my fhatter'd bark, or mount it to the fkies. So [ 6 3 ] So come what will, the adverfe fcene, Or fortune's gay alluring fmile, Still fhall I keep my foul ferene, Superior to all fmful guile ; Then, whether Fate's refiftlefs fliears, Shall clip my thread in ripen'd years ; Or, in my Prime, my doom be fpoke, Undaunted (hall I yield, and fearlefs meet the ftroke. HEROIC C 6 4 ] HEROIC STANZAS, On the Succeffes of his Majesty's Arms, and the Greatnefs of the English Nation; 1762. H I. AIL facred mufe ! thou harbinger of fame, To Britain's glory found the lofty rhime ; A pleafing task her greatnefs to proclaim, And ftamp her honours on the page of time. II. For fure, the praifes of her warlike train, To the harmonious deathlefs lyre belong ; For them, fweet Clio, raife the rapt'rous ftrain, And the rich tide of mufic pour along. III. As when the monarchs of the beftial race, Triumphant, rove the fterile Lybian fand; The tyger fierce, and lordly pard they chaie, Nor dare the trembling flocks their rage withftand; IV. Or, as the fovereigns of the briny flood, From more to more, imperial, cleave their way 5 Before them fly the fearful finny brood, And all confefs their wide-extended fway 5 So [ 65 ] So when Britannia lifts her glitt'ring fpear, Her enfigns blazing o'er th' embattl'd field ; Heart-ftruck with awe, and chill'd with inftant fear, Her foes inglorious fly, or trembling yield. VI. Or if fome Blake her navies, vengeful, lead O'er the wide bofom of the (urging wave ; At her red flag, her en'mies, filPd with dread, Shrink to their ports, or find a wat'ry grave, VII. Not Carthage old, for opulence renown'd, Nor Tyre, long noted for her purple dye -, Nor aught that in th 9 hiftoric page is found, With Britain's ifle in wealth and ftrength can vie. VIII. Her's is fair Commerce to earth's diftant end, Whether rich India yields her Ipicy (tore, Or Perjian looms their filken beauties blend, Or mines Peruvian give the glitt'ring ore. K IX. T rue [ 66 ft lH ^» IX. I True to her ports, her num'rous.vefiels bear The coftly freight from each prolific foil ; Soft Perfia's filks, and India's fpice, we mare, And gold Peruvian gain without the toil. X. Well doth Britannia the fair path purfue, Which ancient Rome with glory trod before •> Abroad, each haughty tyrant to fubdue, At home, t'encreafe each happy fubjecYs {tore. XL Won by the valour of her martial bands, Lo ! this new world boafts her aufpicious name •, Scant are the traces the lordly Gaul commands, And lefTcn'd proud Iberia's ample claim. XII. Thro' yon fair ifles that grace the weftern main, Like gems befpangling Neptune's azure veil, Or ftars that deck the blue etherial plain, The feats of Britifh heroes are confer!:. XIII. Struck [ 6 7 ] XIII. Struck with the thought, I feel unufual fire, When Martinico is the glorious theme Heroic deeds heroic fongs infpire, And fill the bard with all the warrior's flame. XIV. See the brave youths, as breathes the trump of war, Tremendous, rufhing on the armed foe ; With mingled fhouts they wield the deadly fpear, And o'er the field the crimfon torrents flow. XV. Th' intrepid chiefs their fiery deeds impel, Where glows the fury of the battle dire, Where fhrill-voic'd clamour lifts her ftunning yell, And ghaftly terror rolls his eyes of fire. XVI. Th' aflonifh'd foes, as Monckton's bands advance, Fly to the hills, or fhrink to dreary caves ; O'er them black horror fhakes his iron lance, And dejolation her dread banner waves. K 2 XVII. So t 63 ] XVII. So when the princely eagles fail the fky, If aught of meaner fowl oppofe their flight, Soon hurled headlong from the realms on high, Vanquifh'd, they feek to hide their heads in night* XVIII. Nor flop we yet the current of our verfe, Still other heroes claim our rapt'rous lays ; Brave Albemarle's exploits, O mufe ! rehearfe, And waft, to diftant times, his well-earn'd praife. XIX. Let youths unborn fay how th' Iberian fled, Before th' Britifh chiefta'n's conqu'ring hoft ; How, o'er the field, Havannah's pride was fpread, And Moro's ramparts levell'd with the dull. XX. Nor bluih, O mufe ! thy chaplet to beftow On him who led th' unhappy fons of Spain -, Be virtue honour'd, or in friend or foe, Or in Britannia's, or Iberia's, train. XXI. Thus [ ^9 ] XXI. Thus fought Rome's champion, Africanus bold, And thus the dauntlefs Hannibal withftood ; Till Latian Ardor, Punic rage, controPd, And drench'd the fields with Carthaginian blood. XXII. Thus mine the acts of George's glorious day, Uluftrious Prince, with early honours crown'd ; Ordain'd by heav'n a matchlefs race to fway, In arms victorious, as in arts renown'd ! XXIII. Give way ye wonders of an ancient date ! Enough have liv'd old CreJJy and Poitiers ; Henry and Edward long have {hone in ftate, And Alfred's name fubdu'd a wafte of years. XXIV. Thefe once o'er Europe fp read their glories wide — But now new worlds our Monarch's fceptre own, And tho' the deep his diftant realms divide, In ev'ry iubjed's heart is fix'd his throne. XXV. Happy [ ?o S XXV. Happy this * Tract of rich productive foil (No more the dwelling of a favage race) Where golden harvefts crown the peafant's toil, And cheerful plenty gladdens ev'ry face. XXVI. But happier flill, if war's fad fcenes were o'er, And widows ceas'd to mourn their hufbands (lain ; When Peace mall fpread her reign from more to more, And orphans for their fires no more complain. XXVII. Then might the Mufcs (fweet celeftial Maids !) In this fair land vouchfafe to fix their feat *, Nor leaving \ Thefpias's ever-pleafing fhades, Would the harmonious Sifters then regret. * America. -j- A city in Bceotia, at the foot of Parnafius. XXVIII. Much [ 7i ] XXVIII. Much boots it us to court their facred lore, To gen'rous deeds to animate the foul, The fage inftruction o'er the mind to pour, And all the giddy paffions to control j XXIX. To brand proud Folly, and bold Vice to fhame, To teach that Wealth is but a tranfient joy, To mew that Honour is the road to fame, And Virtue is true blifs, without alloy. XXX. Such are the maxims which the facred Nine Delight to warble o'er the deathlefs lyre ; Such are the garlands they delight to twine ; Then hither hafte ye foul-exalting Choir N. B. The foregoing verfes feem to have undergone feveral corrections from the Author fince their firft publication ; but the ftanzas that follow in the raanufcript are too much unfinifhed to be added/without making alterations that would not be jufti- fiable. [ 72 3 A N E X E R C I S E; CONTAINING, A DIALOGUE and ODE On OCCASION of the PEACE. Performed at the Public Commencement in the College 0/ Philadelphia, May ljth, 1763. Oh ! ftretch thy reign, fair Peace ! from more to more, 'Till conquer!: ceafe, and flav'ry be no more ; 'Till the freed Indians, in their native groves, Reap their own fruits and woo their fable loves. Pops. Pacatumque reget patriis virtutlbus orb em. VlRG. A DIALOGUE,^. HORATIO, PALEMON, PHILANDER. Horatio. \\T HEN nourifh'd Athens with the Grecian reign, And liv'd her heroes, an illuftrious train ! When [ 73 ] When by her arms each neighboring (late was fway'd And kings an homage to her warriors paid •, E'en then thofe chiefs, with rev'rent awe ador'd The fane of Pallas more than Mars's fword •, (And Latium's lords, who all the world iubdu'd, LowVd their proud * fafces to the learn* d and good]) And with lefs glory in the rolls of fame, Shines ev'ry hero's than each fage's name. Hail bled Ilijfus ! in whofe facred fhade, The mufes warbled and the graces ftray'd ; There the deep Stagirite his pupils taught, And Plato lay intranc'd in heav'nly thought. This joyful day, in miniature hath fhew'd, Scenes that enraptur'd Athens would have view'd ; Science triumphant ! and a land refin'd, Where once rude ign'rance fway'd th' untutor'd mind ; Of uncouth forms no more the dark retreat, Transformed to virtue's and the mufe's feat. L Welcome ! * This paflage alludes to an incident which Pliny informs us of, that when Pompey was about to enter the houfe of Pofido- nius, a man renown'd for his profefiion of philofophy, he for- bad the liclor to ftrike the door, according to cuftom ; and he to whom the eaft and the welt had fubmitted, lowered his fafces to the gate of letters. r 74 i Welcome ! thrice welcome, ye who grace our dome, To Wifdorri *s fchools fo throng'd thefons of Rome \ To fire their youth, and nurfe their rifing tafte ! So the wife Greeks the fair Lyceum grac'd, Come, then, my friends, your notes mellifluous pour, And the foft foul of harmony explore ; With melting drains the happy day prolong, What more enchanting than the charms of fong ? Palem on>' ! Joyous we join thee in the choral lay, To add new tranfports to this blifsful day ; To trace the mufes to their hallow'd fpring, Catch the fweet founds, and as they fire us, fing. The pleafing theme, Philander, (hall be thine, To wake the raptures of th' immortal Nine - 9 Say, in thy bread what fprightly thoughts arife, Illume thy face, and kindle in thine eyes ? Philander. Not with more pleafure o'er the fragrant lawn Sports the fleet hare, or bounds the exulting fawn, When to black florms fucceeds the folar ray, And gilds each beauty of the fmiling day, Than [ IS ] Than my heart gladdens at the dawn of peace, As wrath fubfides, and war's loud tumults ceafe. George gave the word — and bade mankind repofe— • Contending Monarchs blufh'd that they were foes. Old warriors now with rage {hall glow no more, But reap the fields their valour won before. Such is the fubjecl which my foul enjoy'd, In my eyes fparkled, and my thought employ'd. Horatio. Aufpicious theme ! for which fnall be difplay'd Th' richeft chaplets of th' Aonian fhade. How bright the fcene ! unfuliied days ajrife, And golden profpecTs rum before my eyes ! Hail fmiling goddefs in whofe placid mein, Celeftial blifs with every grace is feen ; O'er thy fmooth brow no rugged helmet frowns. An olive wreath thy mining temple crowns. Far malt thou banifh barb'reus ftrife and woe, With purple vengeance to the realms below. Palemon, Stern chiefs no more their crimfon'd blade, (hall wield,. Nor deadly thunders .bellow o'er the field ; L z Satiate [ 76 ] Satiate of war, the battle-breathing deed Peaceful fhall range the grove and verdant mead ; No drum mail animate the foldier's bread, Nor piercing fife aroufe him from his reft ; The trump (brill founding, and the clang of arms, Shall make the plain no more with dire alarms. Ph ILANDER, The ufelefs rampart fhall its drength refign, And o'er the badion fpread the curling vine ; Th' afpiring ivy round old tow'rs fhall dray, And in the trenches harmlefs flocks fhall play ; The cryflal dreams fh-all flow without a dain, The groves bloom fpotlefs, and each flow'ry plain; Countries opprefs'd by war's dedruclive rage, Again revive to blefs a milder age-, In the fame fields where groves of lances rofe, The furrow'd grain fhall golden ranks compofe. Horatio. Oh hade fair peace ! begin thy pleafing reign j Come, with each lovely virtue in thy train •, Then pure Religion's precepts fhall prevail, Impartial judice poize her balanc'd fcale ; Bright liberty fhall wanton in the breeze, Innox ! ?uspleafijre, philofophic eafe, Heart- [ 77 ] Heart-cheering mirth, and plenty ever gay, With rofy joy mall tend thy gentle fway ! P A L E M N. Hade then, O hade, thy foft'ning pow'r renew, Blefs ev'ry clime, the old world and the new! In friendly league, unite each diftant fhorei And bid mankind with anger burn no more. Commerce fhall then expand without control. Where coafts extend, or fartheft oceans roll ; Thefe fpacious realms their treafures fhall unfold, And Albion's fhores fhall blaze with Indian gold. Philander. Hail ! happy Britain, in a Sovereign bleft, Who deems in Kings a virtuous name the beft ; Guardian of right and facred liberty, Rome's glorious Numa fnall be feen in thee ; Beneath thy fmile fair Science fhall increafe, And form one reign of Learning and of Peace. E'en we who now attempt the mufe's fhell, Great George's kind * munificence can tell, Tho* # Alluding to his Majesty's granting and fubfcribing fo gracioufly to the Brief 'for the eftablifhment of the Colleges of Philadelphia and New-York. [ 73 J Tho* far remov'd from his illuflrious throne, Yet have thefe walls his regal bounty known. Thus univerfal mines the god of day, Each land enlight'ning with his genial ray. Horatio. Enough, my friends ! — ye fweeter numbers flowi And let the deep ton'd fwelling organ blow; Ye tuneful quire, your dulcet warblings join, And foothth' attentive foul with harmony divine. ODE, WRITTEN by PAUL JACKSON, A.M. i. SMILING Pleafure's feftive band Swift defcends to blefs our land, Sweet Content, and Joy, and Love, Happy offsprings from above ! No more fell difcord calls aloud to war, Her crimfon banners flaming from afar. Ckoru S* [ 79 3 Chorus. Bled ara^ hail ! with thee fhall ceafe Of war the wailing train •, On thee attendant, white rob'd peace In triumph comes again. II. Where the grim favage devadation fpread, And drench'd in gore his execrable hand; Where prowling wolves late wander'd o'er the dead, And repoffefs'd the defolated land ; There beauteous villages and cheerful farms Now variegate the far extended plain •, And there the fwain, fecure from future harms, Delighted, views his fields and waving grain. Chorus. Bled alas ! the hope how vain ! To hear thy future more enripen'd (train ; When fancy's fire with judgment had combin'd To guide each effort of th' enraptur'd mind. Yet are thofe youthful glowing lays of thine The emanations of a foul divine ; Who heard thee fino- but felt fweet mufic's dart In thrilling tranfports pierce his captiv'd heart ? Whether foft melting airs attun'd thy fong, Or pleas'd to pour the thundring verfe along, Still nobly great, true offspring of the Nine, Alas ! how blafted in thy glorious prime ! So when firfl opes the eye-lids of the morn, A radiant purple does the heav'ns adorn, Frefh fmiling glory ftreaks the fkies around, And gaily filvers each enamel'd mound, Till fome black ftorm o'erclouds the aether fair, And all its beauties vanifn into air. Stranger, who e'er thou art, by fortune's hand Toft on the baleful Carolinian flrand, Oh ! if thou feeft perchance the Poet's grave, The facred fpot with tears of forrow lave ; Oh ! made it, made it with ne'er-fading bays. Hallow'dS the place where gentle Godfrey lays. (So may no fudden dart from death's dread bow Far from the friends thou lovTt e'er lay thee low) m A There t 107 3 There may the weeping morn its tribute brings And angels fhield it with their golden wing, Till the kit trump fhall burft the womb of night, And the purg'd atoms to their foul unite ! O&ober 1, 1763. i Pa TO [ io8 | t d BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Esq; L. L. D. Occafioned by hearing him play on the Harmonica. IN grateful wonder loft, long had we view'd Each gen'rous aft thy patriot-foul purfu'd j Our Little State refounds thy juft applaufe, And, pleas'd, from thee new fame and honour draws -> In thee thofe various virtues are combin'd, That form the true pre-eminence of mind. What wonder ftruck us when we did furvey The lambent lightnings innocently play, And down thy * rods beheld the dreaded fire In a fvvift flame defcend and then expire ; While the red thunders, roaring loud around, Burft the black clouds, and harmlefs fmite the ground, * Alluding to his noble difcovery of the ufe of Pointed Rods of metal for faying houfes from damage by lightning. Bleft [ io 9 ] Bleft ufe of art ! apply'd to ferve mankind, The noble province of the fapient mind ! For this the foul's bed faculties were giv'n, To trace great nature's laws from earth to heav'n ! Yet not thefe themes alone thy thoughts com- mand, Each (ofter fcience owns thy foftering hand ; Aided by thee, Urania's heav'nly art, 'With finer raptures charms the feeling heart ; Th' Harmonica fhalljoin the facred choir, Frefh tranfports kindle, and new joys infpire Hark ! the foft warblings, founding fmooth and clear, Strike with celeflial ravifhment the ear, Conveying inward, as they fweetly roll, A tide of melting mufic to the foul ; And fure if aught of mortal-moving drain, Can touch with joy the high angelic train, *Tis this enchanting inftrument of thine, Which fpeaks in accents more than half divine I On no On the jEOLIAN HARP. SWEET Zephyr leave th' enamel'd plain, And hither wave thy gentle wing j Would'ft thou out-rival Orpheus' drain, O hafte and touch this trembling firing. The balmy-breathing power obeys, 'Tis his my (tenderer/* to claim •, He comes, and o'er its bofom plays, And rapture wakes the (lender frame ! The tender, melting notes of love, The foul in foothing murmurs ileal -, Low as the languor-breathing dove, That, lonefome, coos her plaintive tale. Hark ! what founds of pleafing pain, Deep as fome bleeding lovers lay, Sad as the cygnet's moving flrain, When on the more me dies away. A nobler gale now fweeps the wire, The hollow frame refponfive rings, Loud as when angels ftrike the lyre, Sweet as the heav'nlv chorus fings. And [ III ] And hark ! the numbers roll along, Majeftically fmooth and clear, Like Philomel's enchanting fong, The notes mellifluous pierce the ear. Thus as the varying accents flow, Each paffion feels th' accordant r ound TIL lifts the foul, that finks it low, We feem to tread on fairy ground. xxxx x -< An [ »* ] An EPISTLE to MIR A. HO W flow to him who feels the fmart of love Time's leaden hours to fweet pofTefiion move ! His wing'd defires out-ftrip each tardy morn ; Eager he cries — long-wim'd for day be born, When to my heart foft vows mall Mira tie, And love's own laws the prieft mall fanclify ! Dull lingering days revolve, and nights fucceed, And (till on love's fond dreams I haplefs feed. The throbs of pafiion, and the heart-felt pain, The hope far diftant, and the longing vain ; The figh unfeigned, the bofom's troublous fwell — - Ah ! what are thefe ? — fay lovers, ye can tell ! What fhall divide the pair whom love hath join'd, And heaven hath form'd with fympathy of mind ? Shall grov'ling fortune bafely interpofe, To part thofe hearts where mutual pafiion glows ? Forbid it love ! - For raiment, houfe and food, Thefe brows fhall be with honed fvveat bedew'd. Early each morn I'll wake the cherub healthy And cheerful induftry's bed prize is wealth $ We'll L "3 1 We'll bound our wimes in a temp'rate round, Yet fhall our table be with plenty crown'd ; No friend, nor ftranger, will we fend away Without a meal, and glafs, difcreetly gay - 9 Neat elegance fhall deck our little (lore, And fair ceconomy fhall keep the door ; How fhall the proud with wonder then behold Our blifsful lives without a hoard of gold ! Oh then ! my Mira, love-infpiring fair, Who with thy fwain fhould then in blifs compare ? Not only that thy beauty's pleafmg charms Shall fire my panting foul with love's alarms ; Nor that thy cheek which fhames the peach's bloom, And ruby lips that breathe divine perfume, Enchant me ail ; nor yet thy fpotlek bread, Which gently heaves, can make me wholly bleft. 'Tis that thy manners, void of guile and art, Speak the internal goodnefs of thy heart -, >Tis that thy fweetnefs heightens ev'ry grace, And dove-like innocence adorns thy face. 'Tis that thy foul is warm'd with virtue's fire, Merit can love, and real worth admire ! Can view a coxcomb's tinfel and defpife, And fenfe, without a * figure, truly prize. * But to the world no bugbear is fo great, As want of figure and a fmall eftate. Tope. Q^ Can C "4 1 Can with thy lover feel unfeign'd defire, And own that paflion which thy charms infpire. Nor blufh at thefe, thou deareft, lovely maid ; Thefe fhall attract, when beauty's bloom fhall fade ; When all the radiance of thy form mail die, Thefe, withfrefh luftre, fhall thy age fupply ; Enhance our love when fprightly youth is pad, Improve with years, and all our lives fhall lad, *A. /R .-••'••. /f\s\ AN [ »5 3 % A N ORATION O N SCIENCE. Spoken at a Performance of Solemn Music and Oratory, in the Hall of the College 0/ Phila- delphia. IN Wifdom's lore the tender mind to frame, The youthful bread to fire with virtue's flame, The thoughts to raife, the paffions to control, And plant each godlike purpofe in the foul ; To Science this illuftrious field's aflign'd, To beam the rays of knowledge o'er mankind ; For this were plan'd the noble laws of art, T J unfold the embrio powers of the heart ; To guide each movement to its native goal, Andfcan the fyftems of this mighty whole ! Q^2 ' Heav'n L !I& J Heav'n has on man the reafoning gift beftow'd, And in his bread fublime ideas fow'd ; But as it fares with rich luxuriant land, When left to chance, nor tilPd by culture's hand, For fragrant flowers the rankling weeds arife, Poifon the plains and all their charms difguife ♦, So when the thoughts are in a lawlefs (late, Which in the mind's fair garden vegetate, Soon (hall intentions foul pollute the bread, Like noxious weeds that flow'ry lawns infeft. Not more diftinguim'd in creation's chain Is man, by reafon, o'er the beftial train, Than man from man, by education made, When native fenfe by Science is array'd, When ev'ry faculty matur'd by (kill, Obeys the dictates of the fapient will ; Then, led by Science^ fancy wings her flight Round the wide world, or to the realms of light, Extracting wifdom from each fcene below, Or (baring 'mid the radiant planets glow ; Where, wonder (truck ! — (he finds their fparkling rays, But bright reflections from the folar blaze ! And views with (teady eye thofe wandering (tars, That fright the world with prodigies and wars ! By [ "7 3 By Science youthful minds are taught to know, What to their God, their Country, Friends, they owe ; Life's glorious fcope, and whence it firft began, What iprings direct the Microcofm, Man ; What bids a favage like a fage to mine, Or makes an * Attila an f Antonine ; All that ennobles man's exalted race, All that Religion, Virtue, Truth, embrace ! 'Tis her's with loftier feelings to infpire, And fit a mortal for the heavenly choir ! * The tyrannical King of the Hunns. f Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, equally fam'd for his cle- mency and phijofophy. &3 VERSES, C MS ] VERSES, ADDRESSED TO THE TRUSTEES of the C o l l e g e and Academy O F PHILADELPHIA.' Written and pronounced as an Exercife at the Public Commencement, May 30, 1765, on taking the De- gree of M. A. in f aid College. ^HP w A s nob]y donc ! the Mufe ' s fcat t0 -*■ raife In this fair land, and earn immortal praife ! To civilize our firft fam'd fires began, •'Twas yours to profecute the glorious plan ; They peopled deitrts with unwearied toil, Eftablifh'd laws and till'd the fruitful foil ; 'Twas yours to call in each refining art, T' improve the manners and exalt the heart ; To train the rifing race in wifdom's lore, And teach them virtue's iummit to explore. What land than this can choicer bleflings claim, Where facred liberty has fixt her name •, Where [ "9 ] Where o'er each field gay Plenty fpreads her flcre, Free as yon * river laves the winding fhore ; Where active Trade pours forth her jovial train O'er the green boibm of the boundleis main - 3 Where honeil Industry's bright tools relbund, And Peace her olive fcepter waves around ? Tofuch a ftatefair Science to convey, And beam afar the philofophic day ; To make our native treafur.es doubly bled, Was fure a fcheme to (ire each worthy bread ; Was fit for gen'rous patriots to purfue, Was fit for learning's patrons and for you ! As from ihe eafl yon orb firft darts his ray O'er heav'ns blue vault, and weft ward bends hi$ way, So Science in the orient climes begun, And, like bright Sol, a weftern circuit run ; From eaflern realms to Greece was learning brought, What e'er Pythagoras or Cadmus taught ; Her form illuflrious Athens did illume, And rais'd the genius of imperial Rome ; From Latium's plains me fought Britannia's fhore, And bid her barb'rous fons be rude no more ; * The Delaware, Fierce [ 120 ] Fierce nations roam'd around the rugged ifle, Till Science on its fields began to fmile •, Fair Cam and Ifis heard no mufe's drains, Their fhades were trod by wolves and fiercer Danes, Till with the Arts AuguflaS grandeur rofe, And her loud thunder fhook the deep's rcpofe. Juft fo, in time (if right the Mufe defcries) Shall this wide realm with tow ry cities rife ; The fpacious Delaware, thro' future fong, Shall roll in deathlefs majefty along ; Each grove and mountain mall be facred made, As now is Cooper's hill and Windfor's fhade. Flufh'd with the thought I'm borne td ages hence, The mufe-wrought vifion rufhes on my fenfe. Methinks Messiah's enfign I behold In the deep gloom of yonder {hades unroll'd, And hear the Gofpel's filver clarion found, Roufing with heav'nly drains the heathen round ; Methinks I hear the nations fhout aloud, And to the glory-beaming dandard crowd ; New infpirations make each trembling frame, The Pak.aclete pours forth the lambent flame, In renovating dreams on ev'ry foul, While through their breads celedial tranfports roll. Stupendous [ 121 ] Stupendous change ! mcthinks th' effects appear ; In the dark region facred temples rear Their lofty heads ; fair cities ftrike my fight, And heav'n-taught Science fpreads a dazzling light O'er the rough fcene, where error's court was found, And red-ey'd (laughter crimfon'd all the ground. O hafte, bleft days ! till ignorance flee the ball, And the bright rays of knowledge lighten all, Till in yon wild new feats of Science rife, And fuch as you the arts mail patronize ! For this your names fhall fvvell the trump of fame, And ages yet unborn your worth proclaim. R EPITAPH, [ 122 ] EPITAPH, In MEMORY of Mrs. MARGARET R O B I N S N, WIFE OF C a p t. JAMES ROBINSON, Who died March 22, 1765, and was buried in St. Catharine's Church, London. THOU, who within thefe hailow'd walls (halt move, Know that this (lone was fix'd by gen'rous love ; A hufband's fondeft hopes beneath it re(V, A wife, in whom fair virtue flood confeft -, In whom fweet love, and mild compaiTion join'd, With each foft grace that decks the female mind ; A wife who never gave her hufband pain, But when pale death had rank'd her with the flain ! What focthing joys her goodnefs did impart, Ah ! read them in her partner's broken heart ! Think, in his grief, thou feed her virtues rife, And pity's ftreams mall foon o'erflow thine eyes ! To C 123 ] To C L A R I N D A. May 20, 1768. I. QOFT breathing o'er the velvet green, Is felt the heart-reviving gale ; Gay Spring unfolds the blooming (bene, The budding grove and fcented vale. II. The orchard's fweets, the garden's flowers, The brook that babbles thro' the plain, The bladed lawns and blofTom'd bowers, The wild notes of the feather'd train — III. In vain their matchlefs charms unite, Poetic rapture to diffufe -, 1 view them with a calm delight, But uninfpir'd remains the mufe. IV. Too dull I grow to fport in rhime, No rapt'rous warmth elates my foul 5 No more the mufe's hill I climb, Nor in bright fancy's chariot roll. R 2 V. The [ 124 ] V. The glories of the vernal year, The luflre of the female form, Could once awake the fprightly air, And all my foul with tranfport warm. VI. But, now transform'd to hermit grave, Thefe radiant profpecls languid feem, I haunt no more the flow'ry cave, Nor loll afide the plaintive ftream. VII. Th' enchanting pow'r of verfe no more In fweet Elyfium wraps my heart ; O'er heaps of mufty profe I pore, Forgetful of the Mufe's art. VIII. What then can re-illume my bread, And light the long neglected fire, When Nature's landfcape gaily dreft, Can fcarce a glowing thought infpire ? IX. When [ f*S ] IX. When e'en Clarinda's winning charms, But half excites the fprightly ftrain ; Tho' form'd to raife love's foft alarms, And rank'd in beauty's lucid train. X. Yet though thefe flatt'ring themes no more, Allure the moral bard to flray, Still mail the Mufe a theme explore, Deferving of her choiceft lay. XL Good-nature fhall new firing the lyre, Which marks Cl a rind a for her own ; Clarinda's Beauty all admire, I praife her for this charm alone. THE [ "6 ] THE MORNING INVITATION, To Two T U N G LADIESat the Gloucester Spring. SE QU ESTER'D from the city's noife, Its tumults and fantaftic joys, •Fair nymphs and fwains retire, Where Delaware's far rolling tide, Majeftic winds by Glo'fter's fide, Whofe fnades new joys infpire. II. There innocence and mirth refort, And round its banks the graces fport, Young love, delight and joy ; Bright blufhing health unlocks his fprings, Each grove around its fragrance flings, With fweets that never cloy. III. Soon as from out the orient main, The fun afcends th' etherial plain, Bepcarling [ W 1 Bepearling ev'ry lawn •, Wild warbling wood-notes float around, While echo doubles ev'ry found, To hail the gladfome dawn. IV. Now Celia with thy Cloe rife, Ye fair unlock thofe radiant eyes, Nor more the pillow prefs ; Now rife and tafte of vernal blifs, Romantic dreams and deep difmifs, New joys your fenfe fnall blefs. V. Whether along the velvet green, Adorning all the fylvan fcene, The fair incline to ftray -, Where lofty trees o'erihade the wave, And Zephyrs leave their fecret cave, Along the dreams to play. VI. There lovely views the * river crown, Woods, meadows, (hips, yon f fpiry town, Where wit and beauty reign •, Where Cloe and fair Celia's charms, Fill many a youth with love's alarms, Sweet pleafure, mix'd with pain. * Delaware. f Philadelphia. VII. Or [ 128 ] VII. Or whether o'er the fields ye trip, At yon falubrious J fount to fip, Immur'd in darkfome fhade ; Around whofe fides || magnolias' bloom, Whofe filver blofibms deck the gloom, And fcent the fpicy glade. VIII. Thefe are Aurora's rural fweets Frelh dew-drops, flowers and green retreats, Perfume the balmy air ; Rife then and greet the netf-born day, Rife, fair ones, join the linnet's lay, And Nature's pleafures (hare. IX. So mail gay health your cheeks adorn, With blufhes fweeter than the morn, And freili as early day •, And then, that Glo'fter is the place, To add to beauty's brighter!: grace, The world around fliall fay. % The chalybeate fpring near Gloucefter. !| The laurel-leaved tulip tree. This beautiful tree is one of the greateft ornaments of the American woods, of which it is a native. FRAGMENTS, [ "9 3 v j_.; : ," './..: jljLJ ; Lo^a-J ;..- ; . I L A.-J &, -f..<£ FRAGMENTS, AND Unfinished POEMS. SL ..:~eoooooeo»eooe0cec9oocoMooo9;seee«eococo—i"-so«a9OoaeeoeoMoeo3oes9oooo3cooeoee3ooo3— •— ^ft O n T I M E. OT I M E ! dill urging to eternity, In thy deep womb the world's vail actions lie— Thy hours ftill whirl us on in full career, Day following day, and year fucceeding year ; Old moments ending as the new ones rife — For thy firft child, Succejfwn, never dies ; But all things human own thy fov'reign pow'r, Juft live and die — a thoufand in an hour. Kings, empires, thrones and nations fade away, And others ftill fucceed as they decay ; S • Fair [ 'go ] Fair peace and horrid war (till rule by turns, With love and rage the world, alternate, burns *, And thus the fame rotation fhall be feen, Till confummation fhuts this earthly fcene ! What then avails t* invoke the facred Nine, Or humbly bend us at the Mufe's fhrine, When we, together with our loftieft rhime, Shrink to oblivion, at one blah: of Time i INTRODUCTION TO A NIGH T - P I E C E. HUSH'D was the air, the howling winds were (till, And icy fetters bound each filver rill ; Old Night her raven mantle caft around, And Spectres rofe from confecrated ground •, The [ If* ] The full orb'd moon a pallid lnftre fhed, And o'er each fcene a livelier horror fpread. 'Twas then afide the frozen Delaware, (To the bleak north, her bofom, heaving, bare) Revolving various troubles in her mind, Fair Pennfylvania's genius fad reclin'd, Her olive crown, fcarce cleans'd from reeking gore, She dafh'd, indignant, on the flinty more •, Then, forrowful, fhe turn'd her briny eyes. To where her Capital's proud turrets rife. Thus, as fhe refted on a bank of fnow, Breathing deep fighs, and loft in fpeechlefs woe ; Sudden, a folemn murmur fill'd the air, And rous'd the Goddefs from her trance of care.— •*"'•• •••"*-. /v >*\ /s/ w AA S 2 A S E A- C ^ ] A SEA-PIECE. I. WH A T folemn awe pervades my wond'ring ' foul, While o'er the deep I caft my (training eye ? Around me, waves on waves, ftupendous roll, And, mounting, feem to meet the bending fky. II. Whether the rofy-fringed dawn I view, Purpling the golden eaft with infant light, While the red fun yet drinks the falling dew, And diffipates the lazy fhades of night -, III. Or whether, mounted in his glitt'ring car, He darts meridian fplendor o'er the main ; Or finking fofter down the weftern air, He clothes with crimfon clouds th' etherial plain -, IV. The L J 33 ] IV. The heavens and ocean (till my vifion bound, Nor other object fave what they difpenfe -, Within the vaft circumference is found, To charm the heart, or roufe the eager fenfe. V. Yet ftill the man, by Nature's grandeur fir'd, Whom Heav'n's inimitable works can pleafe ; Will feel his foul with gen'rous thoughts infpir'd, Struck with the pow'r that form'd thofe awful fea-s. VI. How fweet the morn, when zephyrs round us fweep, And in the eaft, with blufhing beauty gay, Bright Sol emerging from the pearly deep, Leads on, in dazzling majefty the day ? VII. The orient billow.s feem one living blaze ; The grey mills rife, with amber fkirted o'er, And float afar before the folar rays, Collecting, in their march the Ihowery (lore. VIII. Along t '34 3 VIII. Along the boundlefs aether, light, they fail* Remoteft regions feel their kindly aid ; Or, on the hills they break, or lowly vale Refrefh, and fructify the thirfty glade. IX. Then, in meand'ring ftreams, they prattling glide, Wat'ring the green favannahs in their courfe ; And fwell the river's oft revolving tide, And mingle, foaming, with their native fource. X. Oft when, in filent calm, the noon-day beam Reflects its glory down heav'n's azure deep, Through the clear waves, refplendent dolphins gleam, And whales, enormous, gambol round the deep. XL Oft in this wat'ry region fifh are-found, Refembling animals of earthly form ; Here, in black droves, the nimble * fea-hogs bound, Omen to mariners of coming ftorm.— - * Porpoifc. TO [ <35 ] T O MELANCHOLY. COME, thou Queen of penfive air, In thy fable, footed car, By two mournful turtles drawn — Let me meet thee on yon lawn, With decent veftments wrapt around, And thy brows with cyprefs bound ! Quickly come, thou fober dame, And thy mufing Poet claim. Bear me, where thou lov'ft to rove, In the deep, dark, folemn grove ; Where, on banks of velvet green, Peace, with Silence, ftill is feen ; And Leifure, at the fultry noon, On flowry carpet flings him down There, fweet Queen ! Til fing thy pleafures In euthufiaftic meafures, And found thy praife thro' the lone vale, Refponfive to the hollow gale ; The murm'ring rills mall ipread it round, And grottoes the wild notes rebound. Beginning r 136 ] Beginning of a POEM, O N T H E Passion ^Resurrection ^/CHRIST. NO W came the hour, th' important hour, When Heav'n's eternal S o n, (Who deign'd the flefhly form to wear, And all our fins and troubles bear) His facred blood for man muft pour, By Satan's wiles undone. O Thou I all-hallow'd Spirit, hear ! Infpirer of the prophets old, Who tun'd the royal David's ear, When thro' his bread fweet tranfports roll'd ; TIiouParaclete divine, o'er-rule my humble lyre? And touch a mortal bread with thy celedial fire ; For all in vain We wake the drain, Our gratitude to prove And ling Messiah's love, Unlefs thy holy flame our frozen hearts infpire. — - ***** * * A N [ !37 1 A N INVOCATION, For the Return of Spring •, March 17th, 1760. I. YE fouthern gales, that fan Peruvian groves, With gentle am'rous wing, Awhile fufpend your tender loves, And chide the lok'rer fpring ! O gently chide th' unkind delay, That keeps the fifmph fo long away From northern climes, whofe drooping fwains Long to hail her on their frozen plains. II. Where'er the ling'ring maid you find, By dream or vocal grove, Around her waift foft ofiers bind That fhe may ceafe to rove, Then fwiftly ply your rapid wing, The captive fair-one hither bring, That all our fields in renovated charms may fmile, And flow'rs unnumher'd deck the loofen'd foil. T HI. All [ J S3 ] III. &11 nature mourns thee, blooming fair — No more the ftreams delight ; No more embroider'd vales appear, To check the wand'ring fight. E'en Phaebus darts a fickly ray, And pours a dull dejected day, Refufing to difpenfe his fplendid beams To loofe the frozen glebe, and thaw the icy dreams. IV. Yet fad Canadia's fons, with dread, Still court the wintry gloom •, For froft and fnow on them mbre pleafure fried, Than thy enliv'ning bloom ! With eyes aghaft, they view the plain Portending thy approaching reign, And wifh St. Lawrence ftreams may never flow, But, bound in icy chains, repel their conquering foe. • V. Not fuch the prayer of vet'ran bands Whom Wolfe to glory led, Beneath whofe gallant warlike hands, The pride of Gallia bled, With t 139 3 With ardent wifli for Spring's return, And martial rage, their bofoms burn * Impatient once again the foe. to meet, And, in one well-fought field, their labours to complete 1 *#*# O N SOLITUDE. HAIL Solitude ! thou friend to virtue, hail \ To me thy bliisful prefence eft reveal, Left worldly fcenes my foolifh heart enfnare, And all my hopes of blifs be loft in air ! The nobleft heroes e'er the fun furvey'd, With joy approach'd thy venerable fliade ; And far from wifhing for the toys of ftatc Or mean arnufements of the vulgar great* Poflefs'd their minds in philofophic eafe, Till nature ftVd a period to their days ; Then void of fear, each anxious thought fuppreft, They gain'd, with joy, the land of endlefs reft. When Cynthia, peerlefs regent of the night, Afcends her polifh'd car divinely bright , T 2 Often [ HO ] Often, with care oppreft, I penfive ftray, Where Schuylkill winds his folitary way ; Eeneath fome mountain's wild romantic brow, iWhofe pendent cliffs alarm the flood below, I lay me down — t'indulge the folemn hour, And yield myfelf to contemplation's pow'r; I feel the goddefs roufe my flumb'ring foul, And all my vain and wand'ring thoughts control; Ifeem to breathe on confecrated ground, And wifclom fpeaks in ev'ry object round ; Each lcene delights — the breeze that gently roves, In hollow murmurs thro' th' illumin'd groves, The moon-light dancing down the trembling ftream a Or darting thro' the trees with fainter gleam — Thefe and a thoufand charms, alternate rife, To wake fweet mufing^ and to feaft the eyes ! And hark! from yon tall mountain's cloud- wrapt brow, What notes majeftic hither feem to flow ! Angelic voices, lutes melodious, join, To praife the maker of this frame divine — With voice diftinct, they fay, or feem to fay, " Who gave yon glorious orbs their bright array ? " What careful hand their golden lamps fupplies, R Or marks their courfes thro' yon azure Ikies ? " What [ Hi 3 ct What wond'rous pow'r, amid the pathlefs plain, 4 * Prevents confufion in their fparkling train ? " 'Tis God alone" — the heavenly chorus fings— " 'Tis God alone" — the wide empyrean rings— If heavenly hofts with fuch devotion burn, What equal honours can frail man return ? Yet, wake my foul, prepare the grateful lay, In emulation of thofe fons of day ; Whofe glorious bands, unfeen by mortal eye, Vifit this earth, or hover in the fky ; For faints expiring, tune the fiiver lyre, And thro' their doubting fouls fweet confidence infpire. Hail! all-Jmproving (acred folitude I Thou beft companion of the wife and good ! Why fhould vain man from thy bleft prefeace run, And dWfelf-converfe^ with fuch caution, fhun ? Can fenfual pleafures fo o'erwhelm the mind As not to leave one trace of thought behind ? Alas ! they can — and hence, that ftrange delight In all that's wicked, empty, vain and light. Thy faithful mirror no falfe charms bellows, But, in juft colours, each affection lhows If [ 142 ] If pure the mind, new tranfports feize the breaft, And give a foretafte of celeftial reft ; But if foul vice fhould in the glafs appear, The confcious heart is fill'd with black defpair**** END of the FRAGMENTS. *£* Since infer ting the foregoing Fragments, which were intended to complete this fmall volume -, the following pieces of the Author have been communis cated^ by a friend in whofe hands they lay> frnce they were atfirft written. P ORPHEUS [ 143 ] ORPHEUS AND E U R Y D I C E, ORPHEUS, of old, as poets tell, Took a fantaftic trip to hell, To feek his Wife — as wifely guefiing, She mud be there, fince fhe was miffing. Downward he journey'd, wond'rous gay, And, like a lark, fang - all the way •, The reafon was, or they bely'd him, His yoke-fellow was not befide him. "Whole grottoes, as he pafs'd along, Danc'd to the mufic of his fong. So have I feen, upon the plains, A fiddler captivate the fv And make them caper to hi: To Pluto's court at laft he came, Where the god fat enthron'd in flame, And afk'd if his loft love was there, Eurydice, his darling fair ? The fiends, wh$ lift'ning round him flood, At the odd queftion laugh'd aloud — " This e plains, "J : \vains, J- lis {bains. J L 144 J " This muft fome mortal madman be, M We fiends are happier far than he." But mufic's founds o'er hell prevail; Mod mournfully he tells his tale, Sooths with foft arts the monarch's pain, And gets his bargain back again — " Thy pray'rs are heard," grim Pluto cries, " On this condition take thy prize — " Turn not thine eyes upon the fair, " If once thou tum'ft, fhe flies in air.** In am'rous chat they climb th' afcent, Orpheus*, as order'd, foremoft went •, (Tho' when two lovers downwards fleer, The man, as fit, falls in the rear.) Soon the fond fool -f turns back his head, Afibon in air his fpoufe was fled. If 'twas defign'd, 'twas wond'rous well ; But, if by chance, more lucky ftill. Happy the man, all mult agree, Who once from wedlock's hoofe gets free ; But he who from it twice is freed, Has molt prodigious luck indeed ! An * — Namqus banc delerat Proferphia legem. t H?u> vittufque am mi, refpexit. SeeViRG. GfiOR.6, IV. line $$6, gcc. where this ftoryis 'beautifully told. [ 145 J An ODE. WRITTEN at G ME PARK. I. HOW breathes the morn her incenfe round, And fweetens cv'ry fylvan fcene ? Wild warblings thro' the groves refound, And op'ning flow'rs bedeck the green, II. Bright o'er the hills the f©lar ray Its gaily trembling radiance fpreads, Pleas'd on the glafiy fount to play, And pearl the dew-befp angled meads, III. How fwect this hour the fields to rove, When Nature fheds her charms profufe; Or hide me in th' embow'ring grove, And court the thought-infpiring Mufe ? U IV. What L 146 ] IV. What joy, afide the plaintive fount, DifTolv'd in pleafing thought, to (tray* And fwift on Fancy's wing to mount, And tread the bright ethereal way ? V. Thus mufing o'er the charming plains, (Where G — me the juft and good retires.. Where Laura breathes her tender (trains, Whom ev'ry graceful mufe infpires) VI. Young Damon pour'd his artlefs lay, Beam'd from imagination's light, When fudden from the realms of day, A form of glory (truck his fight. VII. Wifdomh grave matron, from the ikies, Before the trembling youth appear'd, (Tho' feen but by poetic eyes) And thus to fpeak the dame was heard. VIII. Wouldft [ 147 ] VIII. Would'ft thou, O youth, thefe fcenes enjoy > The folemn grove and fragrant lawn, And pleafure tafte without alloy, Wake jolly Health at early dawn. IX. Banifh Ambition from thy breaft, And fordid-minded Avarice fly ; Nor let pale Spleen thy eafe infeft, Nor gloomy Sorrow cloud thine eye. X. Thy heart an off 'ring nobly yield At Virtue's high exalted fhrine \ Thy foul let Resolution fhield, And e'er to dove-ey'd Peace incline. XL Let Cheerfulnefs, with placid mein, Hold a firm empire o'er thy heart, And fweet Content fhall ceafelefs .reign, And never-ending blifs impart. U 2 XII. Then L M« J XII. Then fhall th' immortal Nine unfold What fweets the fylvan fcenes can givej In heav'n thy name fliall be enroll'd, And others learn like thee to live. ®®®®®®»®®®®®®®®«®®®®®®®®» Some Lines o»/ of M r. P O P E ' s ELOISE to ABELARD. " IT ^ W na PPy ls tne Wamelefs veftal's lot r A JL The world forgetting, by the world cc forgot ; ec Eternal fun -fhine of the fpotlefs mind; 9 Each prayer accepted and each wifti refign'd \ * c Labour and reft, that equal periods keep \ ■ " Obedient {lumbers, that can wake and weep ; 4i Defires compos'd, affections ever even ; " Tears that delight, and fighs that waft to " heaven. " Grace mines around her with fereneft beams, " And whifpVing angels prompt her golden " For [ J 49 3 " For her the fpoufe prepares the bridal ring* " For her white virgins hymeneals ling •, " For her th' unfading rofe of Eden blooms, " And wings of feraphs fhed divine perfumes ; " To founds of heav'nly harps fhe dies away, " And melts in vifions of eternal day. >•$$• PARODY On the foregoing Lines, by a Lady, ajfuming the Name of L A U R A. HO W happy is the country Parfon's lot ? Forgetting Bi/hops, as by them forgot ; Tranquil of fpirit, with an eafy mind, To all his Veftry's votes he fits refign'd : Of manners gentle, and of temper even, He jogs his flocks, with eafy pace, to heaven. In Greek and Latin, pious books he keeps ; And, while his Clerk fings pfalms, he — foundly fleeps. His L 150 J His garden fronts the fun's fweet orient beams, And fat church-wardens prompt his golden dreams. The earlieft fruit, in his fair orchard, blooms j And cleanly pipes pour out tobacco's fumes. From ruftic bridegroom oft he takes the ring •, And hears the milk-maid plaintive ballads fing. Back-gammon cheats whole winter nights away, And Pilgrim's Progrefs helps a rainy day. JV. B. The foregoing Parody occafioned the following epiftolary conteft, and poetical Raillery, between our Author and Laura. An EPISTLE To LAURA, on her PARODY. I Lately faw, no matter where, A parody, by Laura fair •, In which, beyond difpute, 'tis clear, She means her country friend to jeer; For, well fhe knows, her pleafing lays, (Whether they banter me or praife, Whatever merry mood they tat Are welcome for their author's fake, ^olacco [ i5i 1 Tobacc-o vile, I never fmoak, (Tho' Laura loves her friend to joke) Nor leave my flock all in the lurch, By being lullaby'd in church i But, change the word from clerk to prieft. Perhaps I lull my fheep to reft. As for the table of Buck-gammon, 'Tis far beyond the reach of Damon ; »Bur, place right gammon on a table, And then to play a knife — I'm able. " Hew happy is my lot? you fay, Becaufe from Bijhops far away ! Happy I am, I'll not deny, But then it is when you are nigh ; Or gently rufhes o'er my mind Th' idea of the nymph refin'd; In whom each grace and virtue meet 3 That render woman k : nd complete; The fenfe, the tafle, the lovely mien Of Stella, pride, of Patrick** Bean. O Laura ! when I think of this* And call you friend — ':is greater blift, Than [ *5* ] Than all the " fat church-wardens fcbemes" Which rarely " prompt my golden dreams j" Yet, if the happinefs, fair maid, That fooths me in the filent fhade, Should, in your eye, appear too great, Come, take it all — and fhare my fate ! LAURA 's ANSWER. AURA to "Damon health doth fend. And thus falutes hevfaucy friend. . Becaufe you would exert your wit, You take the cap ne'er made to fit ^ And then your fprighly verfe difplay, To prove me out in every way — But I'll proceed, nor care one farthing-, Nor fhall you make me fue for pardon, Nor once recant what I afTerted, Tho' from my pen in hade it flirted. Truly, becaufe you do inherit Some portion of the Dean's queer fpirit, You [ '53 ] You want to prove, in wondrous hafte. That Laura too has Stella's tafte -, As if it muft dire&ly follow, Since you are favour'd by Apollo, That he his choiceft gifts muft fend, To ev'ry fcribbling female friend. I thank you, fir — you're wond'rous kind ! But think me not fo vain or blind, As to believe the pretty things, Your mule, with eafe, at Laura flings. 5 Tis true, the moments I beguil'd, And at a country par/on fmil'd ; Unhappy me! who ne'er could dream, That you fhould think yourfelf the theme ; Unlefs my mufe, thro' rank ill-nature, Had turn'd what follows into fatyr — " A manner frank and debonnair, " A heart that's open and fincere, 46 Plain fenfe, itrip'd of pedantic rules, " And formal precepts, hatch'd in fchools ; " Firm honefty without parade, " Simplicity in truth array'd ; IC A fprightly vein of humour too, ^ Known only by a favour'd few." X • Had [ 154 ] Had Maaam Mufe\ in fpleen or fpight, Plac'd all thofe graces in a light, To make us laugh, more than admire — Then Damon might have taken fire, And laid, — *tis pcift difpute and cle-ar 9 I meant my country friend to jeer. Yet, e'er I clofe — allow me time, But juft to add another rhyme. Since I efteem your bins fo great, In pennance you will chufe a mate, And tell me — " I may (hare yourlFate I" The fcheme is good, I muft confefs, If you have blifs, to make it lefs ! Yet take a hint, before refolv'd, And in the dragging chain involv'd. While youthful joys around you fhine, Hade not to bend at Hymen's fhrine ; Let friendfhip, gen'rous friendlhip, be The bond to fetter you and me, Veftal, Platonic — what you will, So virtue reigns with freedom ftill. But if, in matrimonial noofe, You muft be bound — and have a fpoufe , The faithful rib that heav'n (hall fend, I'll fondly greet, and call her friend***: ! To [ *55 1 To L A U R A, In R E P L Y t o t h e A B O V E. LAURA, for once excufe, I pray, The pertnefs of a rural lay - y And I will ne'er again c fiend, Or need the name of 'fancy friend ; Stella, (for now I fee it clearly, Who loves a little mifthief dearly) Refolv'd to carry a gay farce on, Told me I was the country parfon, Defcribed in your melodius (train •, To which I now return again. I, like my namefake, without * guile, Thought in my turn that I might finite, So feis'd my pen, in a brifk lally, Determin'd to pay off the tally •, And, in a fit of -zvarm regard, Dropt a few words — quite cjf my guard \ For which I Laura's mercy crave, And (hall remain her humble Have She's pleas'd to fay, that " I inherit, " Some portion of t^e Dean's queer fpirit" If aught in me was ever feen, Refembling Patrick's boafted Dean j X 2 It * Nathaniel. [ IS* ] It was his faults, I fear — rank pride, Which, for my life, *I cannot hide, And one lefs vain than Swift — or me, Might e'en both proud and fancy be, When fuch fine things of him are faid By Laura, the harmonious maid; Yet Hill her compliments, I fear, Are only fent her friend to jeer. Or fngar o'er a little [mart And clofethe bleedings of a heart — Thus, without caufe, when children cry, And put their finger in their eye, Kind mamma gives them aught that's handy, Cakes, marmalade, or fugar- candy. Fair Laura hints — the hint I take, And honour for its miftrefs' fake — Yet when great Cupid is inclin'd, To fix his empire o'er my mind, Afdken cord, no " dragging chain," Shall lead me to his facred fane -, For none, 1 trull, mall e'er difcover, In me auglr: like the whimp'ring lover - y The fauk'ring voice, the fjgh of care, The languid look, the dying air. When abject thus behaves the mufe, May I kind Laura's fricndfliip lofc, That [ *57 3 That friendfhip which I dearer hold, Than filver heaps or mining gold. And now, farewell ! — may ev'ry hour •Frem happineis on Laura pour — Whether in facred wedlock jcin'd, Or to the Veftal Hate inclin'd ; May conftant joys before her rife, Till, for low earth, me gains the fkies ! VERSES O N THREE LADIES, Who filled up* Les Bouts Rimez and defacd the Author to decide which was heft* WHEN the f wife of old Jove, with the child of his \ brain, And his % daughter fo fair, attack'd theycung Twain ; Pctor Peris was fadly bewilder'd to find, To which of the fair-ones his heart was inclin'd •, Till * Filling up blank rbimes is often a trial of Hull among the trench ; that is, the rhimes, or final words of the different line*, are given, and the remainder is to be filled up fo aSToir.akcfenfe and £cciry. t Juno. i Pallas. § Yeses. Till at length, from his quiver, a mifchievous fhaft, Little Cupid produc'd — at which the boy laugh'd — Then gave it to Venus, who ftraight let it fly, And fudden as light'ning reach'd Paris's eye ; For the queen of fweet fmiles the fhepherd then fighs, And yields to bright Venus the laurel and prize. Thus Damon was fmitten with rapture and joy When your conteft, fair ladies, his thoughts did employ. The praife of Madona vermilion'd his face With blufhes — for want of that virtue and grace. Which her good-natur'd pen could fo eafily paint, Tho' the portrait was bright and original taint. Next Laura, accomplifli'd in head and in heart, Fair daughter of Clio produc'd her fweet art, Apollo himfelf, I fancy, with zeal, Would wiih to imprint the poetical feal. The third tuneful lady that makes up the choir, Entranc'd my poor brain, and my heart fet on fire — - Ah, Clara ! I fear the arrow of Cu', Inftead of the mufe's foft weapon you drew ; Or why throughmy bread do fuch ecftacies roll, And the throbs of fweet pafnon beat high in my foul. In [ 159 3 In the name of Apollo ', a fprig of green bays I grant to each lady for her witty lays. ANSWER by LAURA, One of the three LADIES above mentioned, I. l?~r\ I S true that Paris was a beau 3 -*■ But yet was not polite ; For he on Ida's top could fhow To two bright nymphs a flight. ir. Three fair ones begg'd him to decide Which was the greateft beauty — He might have footh'd each lady's pride And yet have done his duty. III. To one he might have given Jhdpe y And piercing eyes to t'other ; Then had he made a good efcape, And fav'da mighty pother. IV, Minerva [ 1S0 ] IV. Minerva then had dwelt in peace, And Juno, without paflion, Have caus'd a ten years war to ceafe, And fav'd old Priam's nation. V. Young Damon, in a like difpute, Took care to fhun a quarrel ; He try'd each lady's tafle to fuit, And gave to each the laurel. VI. Had one alone obtain'd the bays, And wit's bright prize have borne, The other two, throughout their days, The willow muft have worn. CjP * ?v\ /*!% ?&\ cup *Q> qj» pafr.cn over rea- fon, L 8 ] fon, and vanity over wifdom. We are too apt to be hurried "away into the flowery avenues of plea- fure, to yield up the will to defire, regardlefs of the confequeiices, and impatient of control. The eminent Apoftle of the Gentiles, leaves us this account of his conflict with the world •, * " I tC delight" (fays he) " in the law of God, after " the inward man. But I fee another law in my " members, warring againft the law of my mind, " and bringing me into captivity to the law of " fin, which is in my members " which a great -j- genius of our nation thus paraphrafes ; " For " that which my inward man is delighted with, " that which with fatisfaction my mind would c '* make its rule, is the law of God. But I fee in " my members another principle of action equiva- •* lent to a law, directly waging war againft that " law which my mind would follow, leading me Ct captive into an unwilling fubjection to the con- ct ilant inclination and impulfe of my carnal appe- •* tite, which, as fteadily as if it were a law, carries " me to fin." This then is not a particular cafe, but what all mankind is liable to, for the mind would ferve the law cf Gcd ; but the fiefh the law of fin. * Rem. vii. 22, 23. I Locke. [ 9 ] Which law of fin, as the Apoftle c&prefies It, is the inherent propenfity of our fallen natures to grati- fy the- violent calls of animal defire. And what St. John means in -the text by loving the world, no doubt, is the delight we take in indulging this de- praved inclination, fo as to make the grofs and vici- ous pleafures of fenfe the prime object of our pur- fuits ; inllead of endeavouring to fubdue our bodies 2nd perfect our minds in the fpirit of religion and folid virtue. A perfon then may be faid to love the world, according to the meaning of the text, when his mind is under the influence and guidance of his animal paflions •, when thofe paffions are fo far in- dulged as to occafion confufion and uoroar in his foul, to breed diforder and irregularity in fociety, and to alienate his affections from the love of di- vine and moral excellencies \ when his conduct is fwayed by corrupt cuftoms •, when he looks upon the enjoyments of this world as his chief good, and his ideas of happinefs are confined within its fcanty orb; when, to gain its applaufe, he barters his conference, neglects the great duties incumbent lim as a rational agent, and banifhes the facred is of religion and virtue from his heart. Ne- • ely, he may be faid to love the world, when * B 'he lie does not prefer Almighty God as the firft and grand object of his thoughts •, when he does not efteem his favour as the higheft felicity, endeavour to live as in his prefence, devote himfelf to his fervice and ftrive to imitate, as far as the frailty of human nature will admit, his adorable perfections. Further, by the love of the world we are to under- fland making an immoderate ufe of God's benefits, attaching our minds folely to earthly pleafures, following the errors and evil courfes of lawlefs and abandoned men, giving way to low groveling thoughts, nor wifhing to enjoy the more refined and manly pleafure which flows from a virtuous courfe of action. Such being the love of the world, we cannot wonder at its being condemned by the good Apo- flle in the text -, and it is a very vain thing for thofe who are connected with the world in the light -we have reprefented, to expect any benefit from our Saviour's fufferings, or hope to be faved, in time of need, by only calling on his name. For it is written, that * cc every one that nameth the name " of Chrift depart from iniquity." And the blef- fed Jefus hath folemnly afiured us, that f " not " every one that faith unto him, Lord, Lord, lhall * 2 Tim. ii. 19. f Mattk.vii. 21. " enter [ I* 3 * enter into the kingdom of heaven ; *but he that " doth the will of his Father which is in heaven." Some there are, who think that not loving the world confifts in banifhing themfelves from hu- man fociety, and that turning their backs on their fellow-creatures is turning their backs on the world ; and therefore fly to deferts and cloyfters in purfuit of virtue and to avoid vice. But far otherwife is the prayer of our divine Mailer, when he recommended his difciples to the care of his heavenly Father. * " I pray not," fays he " that " thou fhouldft take them out of the world, " but that thou fhouldft keep them from the " evil." For the world is the grand theatre on which all virtuous actions muft be performed, and the merit of our performance refts in not quitting the ftage, and yet avoiding the evil. For what field have we to call forth the duties of Chriftianity in, if it is not among our brethren ? By ex- tending our love and charity among our fellow- creatures, by acts of devotion, jullice, mercy, and living up to the dictates of truth and right reafon, is the beft method of mowing our love to God, and the genuine path that the Gofpel has * John xvii. 15. * B 2 pointed [ * ] pointed cut. But this it is impoffible to do with- out mingling with mankind; and although we may meet with fome whofe behaviour and manners may give us a pain too big to be utter'd, yet we are not to turn our backs on the world for any fuch reafon. Does not the eternal Majefty of heaven, the infinite fountain of all excellence and perfection, bear .with our weakneffes and fol- lies from day to day ? and mail we lack patience then with one another, when even the bed of us are fuch frail, infirm creatures, as to be unable to enter into heaven without the imputation of a better righteoufnefs than our own ? 'Tis our duty to war againfl vicious habits, to endeavour, with the aids of God's Grace, after an upright and blamelefs conduct, and to convince the world, by the force of example, that our religion is more than a name, and that we are really in love with the beauty of holinefs. By the love of the world, as mentioned by the Apoftle in the text, it is very manifeft that he means the love of fin •, or, fuffering our fouls to yield (in St. Paul's phrafe) to the " law of fin-," that is, debauching our reafon, and converting the talents of the mind from their proper office, the perfecting us for heaven, to be the (laves of our [ IJ ] our appetites, to v/arp the judgment and blind the underftanding, to call corruption pleafure, and madnefs joy v But it would be very injurious to the facrcd text as well as highly abfurd in its confequences, to fuppofe that St. John here means by not loving the world, to treat with contempt the good things of this life. For to what purpofes were the mercies of God fo plen- tifully ftrew'd over the vaft and beautiful theatre of Nature, if they were not for us to ufe, and fober- ly and thankfully enjoy ? Nay, {o eminently glo- rious is the frame of this vifible world, that it compelled many fenfible Heathens, who were led only by natural light, loudly to acknowledge that fo wonderful a fyftem could alone be effected by the power, wifdom and goodnefs of an infinite intelligence •, and is therefore fit for the admi- ration of man, as a reaibning creature, and one of the chief fources to deduce the mod exalted ideas of his Almighty Creator. What is condemned and forbidden in the text is our making the bV $figs of this life the principal object of our purlutts lb as to make us unmindful of the fnortnefs of our duration in this world, and that awful eternity into which we fhall foon be tranflated ; fo as to injure our bodies and debafe the nobler faculties of the foul, to unfit us for the various offices which our [ 14 3 our connexions require of us, and give the mind a difreiifh for the rational pleafures of religion, and for thofe high and important meditations, which as men and chriftians it becomes us fre- quently to be engaged in. * " For this world is " God's fchool, where immortal fpirits clothed " with flefh are trained and bred up for eter- " nky." And it behoves us to be exceeding thankful to Almighty God that he has cautioned and commanded us againfl an immoderate defire after worldly enjoyments. For we mail find it our intereft if we look no further than this life to make a fober ufe of its refrefhments. For difeafes of the body, with lofs of reputation^ ruin of families, the total deftruction of commu-*. nities, and above all the horrors of an evil confci- ence, attend our eagerly purfuing the inordinate calls of vice. Were we born for no other purpofe than to eat, drink and play, we might indeed drive who mould roll foremoft in the gay circle of pleafure, and only wifh to beat the intoxicating round of licentioufnefs. But to other ends were we called into this life, and for far higher exercifes were the faculties of the foul given to us than to * Tillotson, Serm. XXIII. be C 15 3 . be the minifters of iniquity. That illuftrious Per- fonage who came down from heaven for our falva- tion, has fet us, and all his followers, an excellent example of all thofe virtues and amiable qualities which it is our duty to pracYife during our (lay in this world. The love and charity, which, like another celeftial glory, fhed a luftre around him, the univerfal philanthropy which he breathed, fhould kindle in our breafts the warmed benevo- lence for all that bear the human fhape ; and the public-fpiritednefs of his actions fhould infpire us with that generous principle which directs every thought and deed to God's glory, and the public good. He whofe foul is fet upon temporal pleafures and purfuits, will rarely find leifure for any fecret communion with the Father of Spirits, or feel any inclination to enjoy fo bleffed a privilege. For the human mind is fo formed as to be inca- pable of following the bent of two differing paf- fions together. Or according to the language of fcripture, " we cannot ferve God and Mammen" If we are in love with the world, our thoughts will altogether be engaged in mean, felfifh views. Earthly happinefs will be the fole mark we fhall aim at, and whatever may interfere with, or throw a check [ i6 ] check upon fcch a career, will be ever difguflful in our eyes. How can thofe paflions, which are abforbed in carnal purfuits, be elevated with the flame of divine love ? And how can that heart, which is coiled up in the narrow circle of felf- jQve,diftend with the true fpirit of chriftian charity I The pleafure which arifes from the enjoyment of the good things of this world, though taken in moderation, is of fo fleeting and pcfiOiable a na- ture, as to give but.a momentary fatisfaclion, and yields no matter for comfortable reflection in time of need. Could we call, from their manfions of clay, the votaries of fenfuality, the votaries of wealth, and the votaries of ambition, that have bullied on the ftage of this world for thefe four thoufand years pail — — what account, think ye, would they give of their former favourite pur- fuits ? I imagine, they would tell us, that the re- flection on the time pad, on thefe unprofitable "fc hemes gave them but a poor confolation in the eternal world ; that they now reflect with ib- vercign contempt and abhorrence on what they once were fo greatly enamoured- of ; that the high debauch, the dhTolute frolic, the hoard of yellow dirr, the magnificent edifice, the fplendid retinue, the nobility of blood, and the fepplaiife of ['73- of the work], would appear to them unfubftari tial, as the Poet happily expreffes it, as " the tc bafelefs fabrick of a vifion." But far other- wife are the pleafures of religion and virtue ; they are of an undecaying nature ; a fonsperen- nis % a perpetual fource of genuine comfort flow- ing in the breaft of every chriftian. They mail live with him beyond the grave, and fhall endure when this earthly globe mail be wrapt in flames, when yon heavens fhall vanifh away, and the fun and moon fhall difTolve. Nay, % they fhall exift, when time mail be loft in eternity, when nrtp heavens fhall roll and a new earth fhall bloom, * wherein right coufnefs fhall dwell for ever and ever. # The love of the world is a fubjecl no way fufceptible of novelty, and what every one can fpeak largely upon. And yet how rare and diffi- cult is it for us to take the matter rightly to heart. We make no fcruple of acknowledging that all the enjoyments under the fun are vain and unfub- ftantial. And yet vain and empty as they are, How hard do we find it to abftract ourfelves from them ? In fome ferious moments, perhaps, our fouls, difgufled with fome disappointment, or un- * 2 Pet. iii. 15. * C pleafing ' [ is ] pleating occurrence, aflame an air of dignity, and effect to defpife the lower pleafures, the glittering gewgaws and the painted baubles of life. But, alas ! how foon do we fall from thefe (tout rcfolu- tions, and fufier ourfelves to be enfnared with the next flattering temptation ? Thus do we continue through life, ftill meeting with fome new difap- pointment, and yet dill giving way to the next temptation that comes in our way. That activc principle that ftirs within our breads muft have fome object on which to employ its bufy and enlarged powers ; and could we but once fix it on its proper aim, how glorious would be its purfuits ! Could we but once convince ourfelves of the nothing- nefs of all earthly blifs ; could we but once fee that the pleafures of this life, are like the glories of a painted cloud, beautiful at a diftance, but, up- on a near approach, nothing but a fun-gilt va- pour : were this the cafe, I fay, our fouls would loon begin to fearch out for fome more fubftantial happineis, and would quickly fix on that high a nd glorious fource of all that is lovely, fair and good ; where it would perceive fuch irrefiftible excellency, fuch tranfcendent glory and divine beauty, as would fwectly furprize and captivate all the powers of the foul. And how greatly are we biefled in having cur fouls fo confiituted as to be [ '9 ] able to enjoy fo exalted a pleafure ! to be capable of discovering, admiring and loving the excellen- cies and perfections of the invifible God, and of imitating, though in great weaknefs, all his moral attributes ! to be capable of pleafures far fuperior to thofe of knk, arifing from the purfuit of what is excellent, and the practice of what is right ! to be capable of receiving the higheft Satisfaction from the performance of acts of devotion, juftice, mer- cy and chanty •, and, above all, to be capable of the fublimeft pleafure from the reflection, that he that doth the will of God in this world, fhall abide for ever in uninterrupted blifs in the world to come ! Surely, then, . the man who Scrioufly reflects on the value of hfe immortal foul, on the dignity of its nature, and the defig-n of his cominc into the world, will never be endaved to corruptible and Sublunary joys. He will ufe the things of this life as though he did not ufe them ; and though his body may Sometimes even wifh to rebel agairflf his mind, yet he will never Suffer his nobler part to be Satisfied with any happineSs beneath that everlafling beatitude which the Sovereign of Hea- ven alone can beftow. To this encf he will be continually endeavouring to wean himfeif from a too fond attachment to thfdelights of this life ; * C 2 to to fubdue thofe impetuous pafiions, which like iome mighty torrent are apt to bear down all the powers of the mind, if not timely controled -, to prepare himfelf by frequent contemplation on a Spiritual life, for that pure etherial kingdom where no corruption can dwell. And happy, thrice happy ! the highly favoured chriftian ! who has the co- operating Grace of the Divine Spirit to aid him in the arduous enterprize of perfecting himfelf 1 If we take a brief view of the condition of a perfon who has been altogether devoted to this world, and one who, having made ajuit eftimate of human life, has given up his mind to the pre- cepts of ChrinV I imagine we mail make no hefi- tation in determining which character we would wifli to poffeis. — Eehold the man of the world tinder the hand of adverfity, and he is the image of unhappinefs. Trembling and irrefolute, he ads to look for confolation in his own bofom, "its proper refidence. — The gay ideas of pleafure flit like the vanishing wind before his view. Are the inexorable arrows of death pointed at his heart ? alas ! ten thoufand dreary forms affright his imagination, and ftiffen every pore with hor_ rof ! Defpairing to look forward, and dreading to think on what has palVd, he feels a certain fearful ng for cf judgment, and a fcry indxgn& alf€ [ 21 ] already burning in his bofom. A reproaching conference {lares him in the face, and the re- ward of an ill-fpent life is intolerable to his thoughts. — But not fo the man who has fecured his happinefs on the glorious terms .of the Gefpel, whofc falvation is fealed with the redeeming Hoed cf the Lar,il\ and who has endeavoured to practife thofe graces and virtues which adorned his god- like Mailer, while here on earth. Having long inured his foul to the thoughts of a more perfect existence and glorious immortality, when thefe elementary bodies fhall mingle with their conge- nial dull, he feels no anxiety at the thoughts of leaving this tranfitory life ; and often willies to cafl off the fin-worn tabernacle that detains his foul from mounting to that throne, where my- riads, of glorified fpirits are continually pouring forth their immortal fongs to the praife and ho- nour of the Supreme and All-creating Lord ! — h the good man oppreiTed with afriiction and at- tacked by adverfity, is he purfued by perfect;: is he on the torturing rack, or bent beneath the mercilefs hand of the executioner P is he c mitted to the flames, limb by limb, and whole body tumbling into dhTolution r tl rnony of a good confeience, and an im: confidence in tbc victorious Son cf God fhall ipeak peace oul, and Hke a h^venly hand lire. I 22 1 ft: etched forth from the clouds, mall fupport hini through all. extremes, mail rob death of its iting? and the grave of its victory. Who would not then drive to poflfefs fo heroic and manly a fpirit ? Who would be enflaved to the paltry pleafures of fenfe, when the joys of angels are at his acceptance, when the delights of virtue are io fuperior to all others, and fo na- turally fitted for the exalted powers of the foul ? 7s it fo trifling an advantage to difarm death of its awful terrors ? to rife triumphant over the grave ? to be- diftinguifhed in God's courts with a crown of glory, and to enjoy the raptures of the .bleft through the boundlefs ages of futurity ? If the thoughts of meeting- with lome celebrated philofophers and poets in a future ftate could make a wife heathen anticipate its joys •, how great, think ye, muft be the christian's exulta- tion, when he reflects, according to St. Paul's fub- iime defcription, that he fhall be tranflated from this life into * " the city of the living God, the hea- " venly Jerufalem, and to an innumerable compa- " ny of angels, and to the general aflembly and t4 chwrch of the fir ft- born, which are written in " heaven, and to God the judge of all,, and to jefus w the ::ic Ji;:. tor of the new covenant." lebrewE ::ii. 22, 23, 24. Knowing c 2 3 ^ Knowing, therefore, that the world pafifeth away, and the lufb thereof, but he that doth the will of God abideth for ever ; who Wou\d be (o far attached to this unliable ftate' as to rifle his everlafting happinefs on its account ? If we con- fider the great and glorious Being we have to anfwer to •, what it is to appear at his awful tri- bunal, to give an account of our conduct -, that: it is he who fhall diftribute rewards and punifh- ments for the deeds done in the fiefh ; that* " if any man have not the fpirit of Chrift he is " none of his ;" and that the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, long-fuffering, gentlenefs, good- nefs, faith, meeknefs, temperance ; I fay, if we duly confider thefe things, they are enough to animate us with a becoming fenfe of religion and virtue, and to difengage us from the fafcinating delights of fenfe. Moreover, when we are afiured that * " the day of the Lord will come as a thief " in the night, in the which the heavens fhall-pafs " away with a great noife, arfd the elements mall " melt with fervent heat, the earth alfo, and " the works that are therein* fhall be burnt " up • feeing that all thefe things fhall be diflbi- " veel, what manner of perfons ought ye to be, in " all holy converfation and godlineis r* f " Finally, " brethren, whatfoever things are irue^ whatfo- • v - 2 Pet. iii. io, II. f Philip. IV. o. ever t =4 ] iC ever things are honejl, whatfoever thin; :c w hatfoevcr things are pure> whatfoever things are \ ^lovely, whatfoever things are of 'gecdrcport ; if