[eyes;

Of the rude voyage less depriv'd than eas'd;
More tir'd than pain'd, and weaken'd than diseas'd.
For health on age 't is temperance must bestow;
And peace from piety alone can flow;
And all the incense bounteous Jove requires,
Has sweets for him who feeds the sacred fires.-
"Sloth views the towers of Fame with envious
Desirous still, still impotent to rise.
Oft, when resolv'd to gain those blissful towers,
The pensive queen the dire ascent explores,
Comes onward, wafted by the balmy trees,
Some sylvan music, or some scented breeze:
She turns her head, her own gay realm she spies,
And all the short-liv'd resolution dies.
Thus some fond insect's faltering pinions wave,
Clasp'd in its favourite sweets, a lasting slave:
And thus in vain these charming visions please
The wretch of glory, and the slave of ease:
Doom'd ever in ignoble state to pine,
Boast her own scenes, and languish after mine.

"But shun her snares: nor let the world exclaim,
Thy birth, which was thy glory, prov'd thy shame.'
With early hope thine infant actions fir'd,
Let manhood crown what infancy inspir'd.
Let generous toils reward with health thy days,
Prolong thy prime, and eternize thy praise.
The bold exploit that charms th' attesting age, -
To latest times shall generous hearts engage;
And with that myrtle shall thy shrine be crown'd,
With which, alive, thy graceful brows were bound:
Till Time shall bid thy virtues freely bloom,
And raise a temple where it found a tomb.

"Then in their feasts thy name shall Grecians join: Shall pour the sparkling juice to Jove's and thine. Thine, us'd in war, shall raise their native fire; Thine, us'd in peace, their mutual faith inspire. Dulness, perhaps, through want of sight may blame, And Spleen, with odious industry, defame; And that, the honours given, with wonder view, And this, in secret sadness, own them due: Contempt and Envy were by Fate design'd The rival tyrants which divide mankind; Contempt, which none, but who deserve, can bear; While Envy's wounds the smiles of Fame repair. For know, the generous thine exploits shall fire, Thine every friend it suits thee to require, Lov'd by the gods, and, till their seats I show, Lov'd by the good, their images below."

"Cease, lovely maid, fair daughter of the skies! My guide! my queen!" th' ecstatic youth replies. "In thee I trace a form design'd for sway; Which chiefs may court, and kings with pride obey. And, by thy bright immortal friends I swear, Thy fair idea shall no toils impair.

Lead me! O lead me where whole hosts of foes
Thy form depreciate, and thy friends oppose !
Welcome all toils th' unequal Fates decree,
While toils endear thy faithful charge to thee.
Such be my cares, to bind th' oppressive hand,
And crush the fetters of an injur'd land:
To see the monster's noxious life resign'd,
And tyrants quell'd, the monsters of mankind!
Nature shall smile to view the vanquish'd brood,
And none, but Envy, riot unsubdued:
In cloister'd state let selfish sages dwell,
Proud that their heart is narrow as their cell!
And boast their mazy labyrinth of rules,
Far less the friends of Virtue, than the fools:
Yet such in vain thy favouring smiles pretend;
For he is thine, who proves his country's friend.

Thus when my life well-spent the good enjoy,
And the mean envious labour to destroy;
When, strongly lur'd by Fame's contiguous shrine,
I yet devote my choicer vows to thine,

If all my toils thy promis'd favour claim,

O lead thy favourite through the gates of Fame!"
He ceas'd his vows, and, with disdainful air,
He turn'd to blast the late exulting fair:
But vanish'd, fled to some more friendly shore,
The conscious phantom's beauty pleas'd no more:
Convinc'd, her spurious charms of dress and face
Claim'd a quick conquest, or a sure disgrace.
Fantastic power! whose transient charms allur'd,
While Errour's mist the reasoning mind obscur'd:
Not such the victress, Virtue's constant queen,
Endur'd the test of Truth, and dar'd be seen.
Her brightening form and features seem'd to own,
'Twas all her wish, her interest to be known:
And when his longing view the fair declin'd,
Left a full image of her charms behind.

Thus reigns the Moon, with furtive splendour

PERHAPS Some cloud eclips'd the day,
When thus I tun'd my pensive lay:
The ship is launch'd-we catch the gale→
On life's extended ocean sail:
For happiness our course we bend,
Our ardent cry, our general end!
Yet, ah! the scenes which tempt our care
Are like the forms dispers'd in air,
Still dancing near disorder'd eyes;
And weakest his, who best descries!
Yet let me not my birth-right barter,
(For wishing is the poet's charter;
All bards have leave to wish what's wanted,
Though few e'er found their wishes granted;
Extensive field! where poets pride them
In singing all that is denied them.)

"For humble ease, ye powers! I pray;
That plain warm suit for every day!
And pleasure, and brocade, bestow;
To flaunt it-once a month or so.
The first for constant wear we want;
The first, ye powers! for ever grant ;
But constant wear the last bespatters,
And turns the tissue into tatters.

Where'er my vagrant course I bend,
Let me secure one faithful friend.
Let me, in public scenes, request
A friend of wit and taste, well drest:
And, if I must not hope such favour,
A friend of wit and taste, however.

Alas! that Wisdom ever shuns
To congregate her scatter'd sons;
Whose nervous forces well combin'd
Would win the field, and sway mankind.
The fool will squeeze, from morn to night,
To fix his follies full in sight;

The note he strikes, the plume he shows,
Attract whole flights of fops and beaux;
And kindred-fools, who ne'er had known him,
Flock at the sight; caress, and own him;
But ill-starr'd Sense, nor gay nor loud,
Steals soft on tip-toe through the crowd;
Conveys his meagre form between;
And slides, like pervious air, unseen:
Contracts his known tenuity,

As though 't were e'en a crime, to be;
Nor e'en permits his eyes to stray,
And win acquaintance in their way.
In company, so mean his air,
You scarce are conscious he is there :
Till from some nook, like sharpen'd steel,
Occurs his face's thin profile,

Still seeming, from the gazer's eye,
Like Venus, newly bath'd, to fly.
Yet, while reluctant he displays
His real gems before the blaze,
The fool hath, in its centre, plac'd
His tawdry stock of painted paste.
Disus'd to speak, he tries his skill;
Speaks coldly, and succeeds but ill;
His pensive manner, dulness deem'd;
His modesty, reserve esteem'd;
His wit unknown, his learning vain,
He wins not one of all the train.
And those who, mutually known,
In Friendship's fairest list had shone,
Less prone than pebbles to unite,
Retire to shades from public sight;
Grow savage, quit their social nature;
And starve, to study mutual satire.

But friends, and favourites, to chagrin them,
Find counties, countries, seas between them:
Meet once a year, then part, and then,
Retiring, wish to meet again.

Sick of the thought, let me provide
Some human form to grace my side;
At hand, where'er I shape my course;
An useful, pliant, stalking-horse!

No gesture free from some grimace;
No seam, without its share of lace;
But, mark'd with gold or silver either,
Hint where his coat was piec'd together.
His legs be lengthen'd, I advise,
And stockings roll'd abridge his thighs.
What though Vandyck had other rules,
What had Vandyck to do with fools?
Be nothing wanting but his mind :
Before, a solitaire; behind,
A twisted ribbon, like the track
Which Nature gives an ass's back.
Silent as midnight! pity 't were
His wisdom's slender wealth to share!
And, whilst in flocks our fancies stray,
To wish the poor man's lamb away.
This form attracting every eye,
I stroll all unregarded by:
This wards the jokes of every kind,
As an umbrella sun or wind;
Or, like a sponge, absorbs the sallies
And pestilential fumes of malice;

Or, like a splendid shield, is fit
To screen the Templar's random wit;
Or what some gentler cit lets fall,
As wool-packs quash the leaden ball.
Allusions these of weaker force,
And apter still the stalking-horse!
O let me wander all unseen,
Beneath the sanction of his mien !
As lilies soft, as roses fair!
Empty as air-pumps drain'd of air!
With steady eye and pace remark
The speckled flock that haunts the Park ';
Level my pen with wondrous heed
At follies flocking there to feed ;
And, as my satire bursts amain,
See, feather'd foppery strew the plain.
But when I seek my rural grove,
And share the peaceful haunts I love,
Let none of this unhallow'd train
My sweet sequester'd paths profane.
Oft may some polish'd, virtuous friend
To the soft winding vales descend;
And love with me inglorious things,
And scorn with me the pomp of kings;
And check me, when my bosom burns
For statues, paintings, coins, and urns.
For I in Damon's prayer could join,
And Damon's wish might now be mine-
But all dispers'd! the wish, the prayer,
Are driven to mix with common air.

PART THE SECOND.

How happy once was Damon's lot,
While yet romantic scenes were not!
Ere yet he sent his weakly eyes
To plan frail castles in the skies;
Forsaking pleasures cheap and common,
To court a blaze, still flitting from one.
Ah happy Damon! thrice and more,
Had Taste ne'er touch'd thy tranquil shore!
Oh days! when to a girdle tied
The couples jingled at his side;
And Damon swore he would not barter
The sportsman's girdle, for a garter!
Whoever came to kill an hour,
Found easy Damon in their power;
Pure social Nature all his guide,
"Damon had not a grain of pride."

He wish'd not to elude the snares
Which Knavery plans and Craft prepares;
But rather wealth to crown their wiles,
And win their universal smiles:
For who are cheerful, who at ease,
But they who cheat us as they please?
He wink'd at many a gross design,
The new-fallen calf might countermine :
Thus every fool allow'd his merit;
"Yes! Damon had a generous spirit!"
A coxcomb's jest, however vile,
Was sure, at least, of Damon's smile:
That coxcomb ne'er denied him sense;
For why? it prov'd his own pretence:
All own'd, were modesty away,
Damn could shine as much as they.

When wine and folly came in season, Damon ne'er strove to save his reason;

1 St. James's.

Obnoxious to the mad uproar:

A spy upon a hostile shore! 'Twas this his company endear'd: Mirth never came till he appear'd:

And each abrupter period crown'd,

His lodgings-every drawer could show them;
The slave was kick'd who did not know them.
Thus Damon, studious of his ease,
And pleasing all whom mirth could please,
Defied the world, like idle Colley,
To show a softer word than folly.
Since Wisdom's gorgon-shield was known
To stare the gazer into stone;
He chose to trust in Folly's charm,
To keep his breast alive and warın.

At length grave Learning's sober train
Remark'd the trifler with disdain;
The sons of Taste contemn'd his ways,
And rank'd him with the brutes that graze;
While they to nobler heights aspir'd,
And grew belov'd, esteem'd, admir'd.

Hence with our youth, not void of spirit,
His old companions lost their merit :
And every kind well-natur'd sot
Seem'd a dull play, without a plot;
Where every yawning guest agrees,
The willing creature strives to please:
But temper never could amuse;
It barely led us to excuse ;
'T was true, conversing they averr'd,
All they had seen, or felt, or heard:
Talents of weight! for wights like these,
The Law might choose for witnesses:
But sure th' attesting dry narration
Ill suits a judge of conversation.

What were their freedoms? mere excuses
To vent ill-manners, blows, and bruises.
Yet Freedom, gallant Freedom! hailing,
At Form, at Form, incessant railing,
Would they examine each offence,
Its latent cause, its known pretence,
Punctilio ne'er was known to breed them,
So sure as fond prolific Freedom.
Their courage! but a loaded gun;
Machine the wise would wish to shun;
Its guard unsafe, its lock an ill one,
Where accident might fire and kill one.

In short, disgusted out of measure,

Through much contempt, and slender pleasure,
His sense of dignity returns;

His native pride his bosom burns;
He seeks respect-but how to gain it?
Wit, social Mirth, could ne'er obtain it :
And Laughter, where it reigns uncheck'd,
Discards and dissipates respect.
The man who bravely bows, enjoys it;
But shaking hands, at once, destroys it.
Precarious plant, which, fresh and gay,
Shrinks at the touch, and fades away!
Come then, Reserve! yet from thy train
Banish Contempt, and curst Disdain.
Teach me, he cried, thy magic art,
To act the decent distant part:
To husband well my complaisance,
Nor let e'en Wit too far advance;
But choose calm Reason for my theme,
In these her royal realms supreme;
And o'er her charms, with caution shown,
Be still a graceful umbrage thrown;

Boisterous mirth.

With nods, and winks, and smiles profound,
Till, rescued from the crowd beneath,
No more with pain to move or breathe,
I rise with head elate, to share
Salubrious draughts of purer air.
Respect is won by grave pretence,
And silence, surer e'en than sense--
'Tis hence the sacred grandeur springs
Of eastern-and of other kings,
Or whence this awe to Virtue due,
While Virtue's distant as Pern?
The sheathless sword the guard displays.
Which round emits its dazzling rays:
The stately fort, the turrets tall,
Portcullis'd gate, and battled wall,
Less screens the body, than controls,
And wards contempt from royal souls.

The crowns they wear but check the eye,
Before it fondly pierce too nigh;
That dazzled crowds may be employ'd
Around the surface of-the void.
O! 'tis the statesman's craft profound
To scatter his amusements round!
To tempt us from the conscious breast,
Where full-fledg'd crimes enjoy their nest.
Nor awes us every worth reveal'd
So deeply as each vice conceal'd.

The lordly log, dispatch'd of yore, That the frog people might adore, With guards to keep them at a distance, Had reign'd, nor wanted wit's assistance: Nay-had addresses from his nation, In praise of log-administration.

PART THE THIRD.

THE buoyant fires of youth were o'er,
And fame and finery pleas'd no more;
Productive of that general stare,
Which cool reflection ill can bear!
And, crowds commencing mere vexation,
Retirement sent its invitation.

Romantic scenes of pendent hills,
And verdant vales, and falling rills,
And mossy banks, the fields adorn,
Where Damon, simple swain, was born.
The Dryads rear'd a shady grove,
Where such as think, and such as love,
May safely sigh their summer's day;
Or muse their silent hours away.

The Oreads lik'd the climate well; And taught the level plain to swell In verdant mounds, from whence the eye Might all their larger works descry.

The Naiads pour'd their urns around,
From nodding rocks o'er vales profound.
They form'd their streams to please the view,
And bade them wind, as serpents do:
And, having shown them where to stray,
Threw little pebbles in their way.

These Fancy, all-sagacious maid,
Had at their several tasks survey'd :
She saw and smil'd; and oft would lead
Our Damon's foot o'er hill and mead;
There, with descriptive finger, trace
The genuine beauties of the place;
And, when she all its charms had shown,
Prescribe improvements of her own.