To hail, O, H**, thy natal morn: No gaudy wreath of flowers she weaves, But twines with oak the laurel leaves, Thy cradle to adorn. For not on beds of gaudy flowers Thine ancestors reclined, Where sloth dissolves, and spleen devours All energy of mind. To hurl the dart, to ride the car, To stem the deluges of war, And snatch from fate a sinking land; Trample th' invader's lofty crest, And desolating brand: "Twas this that raised th' illustrious line To match the first in fame! A thousand years have seen it shine Have seen thy mighty sires appear The Muse with joy attends their way The vale of peace along: There to its lord the village gay Yon castle's glittering towers contain No pit of woe, nor clanking chain, 226 ON LORD H••'s BIRTH-DAY. There to the sympathetic heart O yet, ere Pleasure plant her snare Ere Flattery her song prepare O may his country's guardian power Swift to reward a parent's fears, Roll on in peace, ye blooming years, When in his finish'd form and face The great and gentle mind. Yet, though thou draw a nation's eyes, And win a nation's love, Let not thy towering mind despise The village and the grove. No slander there shall wound thy fame, When winds the mountain oak assail, Content may slumber in the vale, Through scenes of tumult while we roam, The heart, alas! is ne'er at home, It hopes in time to roam no more; Ye proud, ye selfish, ye severe, TO THE RIGHT HON. LADY CHARLOTTE GORDON, Dressed in a Tartan Scotch Bonnet, with Plumes, &a WHY, lady, wilt thou bind thy lovely brow Thou knowest that Virtue is of power the source, THE HERMIT. AT the close of the day, when the hamlet is still, Mourn, sweetest complainer, man calls thee to mourn; Now gliding remote, on the verge of the sky, The Moon, half extinguish'd, her crescent displays: But lately I mark'd, when majestic on high She shone, and the planets were lost in her blaze. Roll on, thou fair orb, and with gladness pursue The path that conducts thee to splendour again. But man's faded glory what change shall renew? Ah fool! to exult in a glory so vain! Tis night, and the landscape is lovely no more; I mourn, but, ye woodlands, I mourn not for you; For morn is approaching, your charms to restore, Perfumed with fresh fragrance, and glittering with dew: Nor yet for the ravage of winter I mourn; Kind Nature the embryo blossom will save. But when shall spring visit the mouldering urn! O when shall it dawn on the night of the grave! 'Twas thus, by the glare of false science betray'd, Destruction before me, and sorrow behind. O pity, great Father of Light,' then I cried, Thy creature, who fain would not wander from thee; Lo, humbled in dust, I relinquish my pride: From doubt and from darkness thou only canst free! And darkness and doubt are now flying away, No longer I roam in conjecture forlorn. So breaks on the traveller, faint, and astray, See Truth, Love, and Mercy, in triumph descending, On the cold cheek of Death smiles and roses are blending, And Beauty immortal awakes from the tomb.' |