To tell my tale of love I came,
Nor she disdain'd to hear me speak, But sometimes own'd a mutual flame, While night half hid her blushing cheek;
And when above the southern tree,
Orion's starry baldrick shone,
With sweet reproof she chid my stay,
And gently waru'd me to be gone.
But ah! these times are past, and drear
Unlovely prospects greet the eye;
And tho' Orion rises here,
Orion glides unheeded by.
For now ten times thy growing horn,
Has glisten'd on Night's forehead high,
Ten times to full perfection borne,
Thy orb has waned in the sky;
Since far from Delia, far from love,
Far from my native Severn's strand,
Lonely and comfortless I rove,
An Exile in a foreign land;—
Go then, and from this troubled breast
Its vain regrets, its wishes bear,
Go, give thy glories to the west!
Forlorn and sad I tarry here.
EDINBURGH, OCTOBER 22, 1802.
IMITATED BY EDMUND L. SWIFT, ESQ.
Now, now I yield, I yield to love,
Once Cupid me to love persuaded;
My careless mind he could not move,
Nor argument nor reason aided :-
Instant he seiz'd the forceful bow,
To war his golden quiver rattled;
Arm'd cap-a-pie, from top to toe,
With Cupid's might I vainly battled.
The dart he flung :-trembling, I flew ;-
Enrag'd, for emptied was his quiver,
Full on my breast himself he threw,
And pierc'd my heart, and shot my liver.
In vain, alas, the shield I bear,
Nor corslet guards, nor spear avails me: No more of outward arms I care, For ah, within the foe assails me!
FRIENDSHIP! let thy myrtle twine
My flowing locks; and at thy shrine,
While I laud thy power, inspire,
Rule, and animate my lyre.
Thee, by gracious Heaven design'd
To soothe the suff'rings of mankind,
In climes of happiness above,
Virtue bore to gentle Love.
Virtue, in thy early youth,
Nerv'd thy soul with dauntless truth;
And steady vigour to despise
Fortune and her changeful skies.
But Love conferr'd th' engaging air,
That calms the frenzy of despair;
Affections that in secret glow,
And tears that sympathetic flow.
At thy birth th' Angelic choir
Smote with joy th' according lyre;
And th' etherial mansions rung
With the rapture of their song.
Ne'er in Vice's tawdry bower,
Deck'd with many a gorgeous flower;
Where noisy Folly laughs; the while
Squint Suspicion strives to smile;
And Anguish, an envenom'd snake,
Lurks beneath the tangling brake;
And conscious Shame, with barbed dart, Ere long to probe the cancer'd heart; And Infamy, foul imp, at last
To blow th annihilating blast,
And from her harrowing trumpet roar, and honour are no more;
Ne'er in Vice's tawdry bower,
Deck'd with many a gorgeous flower,
Goddess of the soul serene!
Is thy lenient aspect seen.
Yet, with counterfeited bloom,
Cunning would thy form assume;
Would with blandishment and song
Captivate the witless throng.
But should Fortune frown, and leave
Those who homag'd her to grieve,
Scornful, like her, of tears and sighs,
The counterfeit of Friendship flies.
So the clouds of seeming gold
Round the pomp of Phoebus roll'd,
Blaze with his effulgent ray,
And promise to prolong the day:
Vain promise! he declines, and lo!
Frowning in the garb of woe,
The fen-born vapours scowl, and lour
With horror, on the lonely hour.
Ne'er with flatt'ring words and vain
Wilt thou intoxicate the brain;
Nor those who in thy truth confide,
Betray to vanity and pride.
Thy counsels vindicate the soul
From Folly's tyrannous controul:
For Discretion's mystic braid,
With many a figur'd gem inlaid,
And gifted with mysterious force,
To rein Imagination's course,
And Passion's headlong tide arrest,
With graceful cincture binds thy waist.
Thy counsels vindicate the soul
From Folly's tyrannous controul;
Purify Ambition's fire;
Manly purposes inspire;
Till th' ingenuous mind atchieve
Deeds that shall for ever live.
Friendship, let thy myrtle twine
My flowing locks; and at thy shrine,
While I laud thy power, impart
Comfort to my aching heart.
In thine azure robe array'd,
Girt with thy mysterious braid,
With lenient smile and counsel sage,
The sorrows of my soul assuage.
"Alas! what hapless would I say !"
Withhold the splendour of thy ray!
I dare not, in this earthly frame,
Encounter thy meridian flame.
Too strong th' unmitigated light
For a weak mortal's trembling sight.
But rather let thy spirit find,
And influence some congenial mind!
O rather, to some youthful heart,
Thy truth and tenderness impart !
On C's ingenuous soul descend,
And let me hail, and call him Friend!
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