That, like the multitude made faction-mad, Disturb good order, and degrade true worth. O blest seclusion from a jarring world, Which he, thus occupied, enjoys! Retreat Cannot indeed to guilty man restore Lost innocence, or cancel follies past;
But it has peace, and much secures the mind From all assaults of evil; proving still A faithful barrier, not o'erleap'd with ease By vicious Custom, raging uncontroll'd Abroad, and desolating public life. When fierce Temptation, seconded within By traitor Appetite, and arm'd with darts Temper'd in Hell, invades the throbbing breast, To combat may be glorious, and success Perhaps may crown us; but to fly is safe. Had I the choice of sublunary good, What could I wish, that I possess not here? Health, leisure, means t' improve it, friendship, peace, No loose or wanton, though a wand'ring, Muse, And constant occupation without care. Thus blest, I draw a picture of that bliss; Hopeless indeed, that dissipated minds, And profligate abusers of a world Created fair so much in vain for them, Should seek the guiltless joys, that I describe, Allur'd by any report: but sure no less,
That self-condemn'd they must neglect the prize, And what they will not taste must yet approve. What we admire, we praise; and, when we praise, Advance it into notice, that, its worth Acknowledg'd, others may admire it too. I therefore recommend, though at the risk Of popular disgust, yet boldly still, The cause of piety, and sacred truth,
And virtue, and those scenes, which God ordain'd Should best secure them, and promote them most; Scenes that I love, and with regret perceive Forsaken, or through folly not enjoy'd. Pure is the nymph, though lib'ral of her smiles, And chaste, though unconfin'd, whom I extol. Not as the prince in Shushan, when he call'd, Vain-glorious of her charms, his Vashti forth, To grace the full pavilion. His design Was but to boast his own peculiar good, Which all might view with envy, none partake. My charmer is not mine alone; my sweets, And she, that sweetens all my bitters too, Nature, enchanting Nature, in whose form And lineaments divine I trace a hand, That errs not, and find raptures still renew'd, Is free to all men-universal prize. Strange that so fair a creature should yet want Admirers, and be destin'd to divide
With meaner objects ev'n the few she finds! Stripp'd of her ornaments, her leaves and flowers, She loses all her influence. Cities then Attract us, and neglected Nature pines Abandon'd, as unworthy of our love. But are not wholesome airs, though unperfum'd By roses; and clear suns, though scarcely felt; And groves, if unharmonious, yet secure From clamor, and whose very silence charms; To be preferr'd to smoke, to the eclipse, That metropolitan volcanoes make,
What England was, plain, hospitable, kind, And undebauch'd. But we have bid farewell To all the virtues of those better days, And all their honest pleasures. Mansions once Knew their own masters; and laborious hinds, Who had surviv'd the father, serv'd the son. Now the legitimate and rightful lord Is but a transient guest, newly arriv'd, As soon to be supplanted. He, that saw His patrimonial timber cast its leaf,
Sells the last scantling, and transfers the price To some shrewd sharper, ere it buds again. Estates are landscapes, gaz'd upon awhile, Then advertis'd and auctioneer'd away. The country starves, and they, that feed th' o'ercharg'd And surfeited lewd town with her fair dues, By a just judgment strip and starve themselves. The wings, that waft our riches out of sight, Grow on the gamester's elbows, and th' alert And nimble motion of those restless joints, That never tire, soon fans them all away. Improvement, too, the idol of the age, Is fed with many a victim. Lo, he comes! Th' omnipotent magician, Brown, appears! Down falls the venerable pile, th' abode Of our forefathers-a grave whisker'd race, But tasteless. Springs a palace in its stead, But in a distant spot; where more expos'd It may enjoy th' advantage of the north, And aguish east, till time shall have transform'd Those naked acres to a shelt'ring grove. He speaks. The lake in front becomes a lawn; Woods vanish, hills subside, and valleys rise; And streams, as if created for his use, Pursue the track of his directing wand, Sinuous or straight, now rapid and now slow, Now murm'ring soft, now roaring in cascades- Ev'n as he bids! Th' enraptur'd owner smiles. "Tis finish'd, and yet, finish'd as it seems, Still wants a grace, the loveliest it could show, A mine to satisfy th' enormous cost.
Drain'd to the last poor item of his wealth, He sighs, departs, and leaves th' accomplish'd plan, That he has touch'd, retouch'd, many a long day Labor'd, and many a night pursu'd in dreams, Just when it meets his hopes, and proves the Heav'n He wanted, for a wealthier to enjoy ;
And now perhaps the glorious hour is come, When, having no stake left, no pledge t' endear Her int'rests, or that gives her sacred cause A moment's operation on his love,
He burns with most intense and flagrant zeal, To serve his country. Ministerial grace Deals him out money from the public chest; Or if that mine be shut, some private purse Supplies his need with a usurious loan, To be refunded duly, when his vote Well-manag'd shall have earn'd its worthy price. O innocent, compar'd with arts like these, Crape, and cock'd pistol, and the whistling ball Sent through the trav'ller's temples! He that finds One drop of Heaven's sweet mercy in his cup, Can dig, beg, rot, and perish, well content; So he may wrap himself in honest rags At his last gasp; but could not for a world
Whose Stygian throats breathe darkness all day long; Fish up his dirty and dependent bread
And to the stir of Commerce, driving slow, And thund'ring loud, with his ten thousand wheels? They would be, were not madness in the head, And folly in the heart; were England now,
From pools and ditches of the commonwealth, Sordid and sick'ning at his own success. Ambition, av'rice, penury incurr'd
By endless riot, vanity, the lust
Of pleasure and variety, dispatch, As duly as the swallows disappear,
The world of wand'ring knights and squires to town. London ingulfs them all! The shark is there, And the shark's prey; the spendthrift, and the leech That sucks him: there the sycophant, and he Who, with bareheaded and obsequious bows, Begs a warm office, doom'd to a cold gaol And groat per diem, if his patron frown. The levee swarms as if in golden pomp Were character'd on ev'ry statesman's door,
"BATTER'D AND BANKRUPT FORTUNES MENDED HERE.' These are the charms, that sully and eclipse The charms of nature. "Tis the cruel gripe, That lean, hard-handed Poverty inflicts,
The hope of better things, the chance to win, The wish to shine, the thirst to be amus'd, That at the sound of Winter's hoary wing Unpeople all our counties of such herds Of flutt'ring, loit'ring, cringing, begging, loose, And wanton vagrants, as make London, vast And boundless as it is, a crowded coop.
O thou, resort and mart of all the Earth, Chequer'd with all complexions of mankind, And spotted with all crimes; in whom I see Much that I love, and more that I admire, And all that I abhor; thou freckled fair, That pleasest and yet shock'st me, I can laugh, And I can weep, can hope, and can despond, Feel wrath and pity, when I think on thee! Ten righteous would have sav'd a city once, And thou hast many righteous.-Well for thee- That salt preserves thee; more corrupted else, And therefore more obnoxious, at this hour, Than Sodom in her day had pow'r to be, For whom God heard his Abr'ham plead in vain.
Is to conduct it to the destin'd inn; And, having dropp'd th' expected bag, pass on He whistles as he goes, light-hearted wretch, Cold and yet cheerful: messenger of grief Perhaps to thousands, and of joy to some; To him indiff'rent whether grief or joy. Houses in ashes, and the fall of stocks, Births, deaths, and marriages, epistles wet With tears, that trickled down the writer's cheela Fast as the periods from his fluent quill,
Or charg'd with am'rous sighs of absent swa
Or nymphs responsive, equally affect His horse and him, unconscious of them all. But O th' important budget! usher'd in With such heart-shaking music, who can say What are its tidings? have our troops awak'd? Or do they still, as if with opium drugg'd, Snore to the murmurs of the Atlantic wave! Is India free? and does she wear her plum'd And jewel'd turban with a smile of peace. Or do we grind her still? The grand debate, The popular harangue, the tart reply, The logic, and the wisdom, and the wit, And the loud laugh-I long to know them all; I burn to set th' imprison'd wranglers free, And give them voice and utt'rance once again
Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast, Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round. And while the bubbling and loud hissing un Throws up a steamy column, and the cups That cheer but not inebriate, wait on each, So let us welcome peaceful ev'ning in. Not such his ev'ning, who with shining face Sweats in the crowded theatre, and, squeez'd And bor'd with elbow-points through both his sw Out-scolds the ranting actor on the stage: Nor his, who patient stands till his feet throb, And his head thumps, to feed upon the breath Of patriots, bursting with heroic rage, Or placemen, all tranquillity and smiles. This folio of four pages, happy work! Which not ev'n critics criticise; that holds Inquisitive Attention, while I read, Fast bound in chains of silence, which the fur, The post comes in. The newspaper is read. The Though eloquent themselves, yet fear to break: World contemplated at a distance. Address to What is it, but a map of busy life, Winter. The rural amusements of a winter even- Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns? ing compared with the fashionable ones. Ad- Here runs the mountainous and craggy ridge, dress to evening. A brown study. Fall of snow That tempts Ambition. On the summit see in the evening. The wagoner. A poor family. The seals of office glitter in his eyes: piece. The rural thief. Public houses. The He climbs, he pants, he grasps them! At his beels multitude of them censured. The farmer's daugh- Close at his heels, a demagogue ascends, ter: what she was—what she is. The simplicity And with a dextrous jerk soon twists him down, of country manners almost lost. Causes of the And wins them, but to lose them in his turn. change. Desertion of the country by the rich. Here rills of oily eloquence in soft Neglect of magistrates. The militia principally Meanders lubricate the course they take; in fault. The new recruit and his transformation. The modest speaker is asham'd and griev'd Reflection on bodies corporate. The love of rural T' engross a moment's notice; and yet begs, objects natural to all, and never to be totally ex- Begs a propitious ear for his poor thoughts, tinguished. However trivial all that he conceives. Sweet bashfulness! it claims at least this praise; The dearth of information and good sense, That it foretells us, always comes to pass. Cat'racts of declamation thunder here: There forests of no meaning spread the page, In which all comprehension wanders lost; While fields of pleasantry amuse us there With merry descants on a nation's woes. The rest appears a wilderness of strange But gay confusion; roses for the cheeks
HARK! 'tis the twanging horn o'er yonder bridge, That with its wearisome but needful length Bestrides the wintry flood, in which the Moon Sees her unwrinkled face reflected bright;— He comes, the herald of a noisy world, With spatter'd boots, strapp'd waist, and frozen locks; News from all nations lumb'ring at his back. True to his charge, the close-pack'd load behind, Yet careless what he brings, his one concern
And lilies for the brows of faded age, Teeth for the toothless, ringlets for the bald, Heav'n, earth, and ocean, plunder'd of their sweets, Nectareous essences, Olympian dews, Sermons, and city feasts, and fav'rite airs, Ethereal journeys, submarine exploits, And Katerfeito, with his hair on end At his own wonders, wond'ring for his bread. "Tis pleasant through the loop-holes of retreat, To peep at such a world; to see the stir Of the great Babel, and not feel the crowd; To hear the roar she sends through all her gates At a safe distance, where the dying sound Falls a soft murmur on th' uninjur'd ear. Thus sitting, and surveying thus at ease The globe and its concerns, I seem advanc'd To some secure and more than mortal height, That lib'rates and exempts me from them all. It turns submitted to my view, turns round With all its generations; I behold
The tumult, and am still. The sound of war Has lost its terrors ere it reaches me; Grieves, but alarms me not. I mourn the pride And av'rice, that make man a wolf to man; Hear the faint echo of those brazen throats By which he speaks the language of his heart, And sigh, but never tremble at the sound. He travels and expatiates, as the bee From flow'r to flow'r, so he from land to land; The manners, customs, policy, of all Pay contribution to the store he gleans; He sucks intelligence in ev'ry clime, And spreads the honey of his deep research At his return-a rich repast for me. He travels, and I too. I tread his deck, Ascend his topmast, through his peering eyes Discover countries, with a kindred heart Suffer his woes, and share in his escapes; While fancy, like the finger of a clock, Runs the great circuit, and is still at home. O Winter, ruler of th' inverted year, Thy scatter'd hair with sleet like ashes fill'd, Thy breath congeal'd upon thy lips, thy cheeks Fring'd with a beard made white with other snows Than those of age, thy forehead wrapp'd in clouds, A leafless branch thy sceptre, and thy throne A sliding car, indebted to no wheels, But urg'd by storms along its slipp'ry way, I love thee, all unlovely as thou seem'st,
And dreaded as thou art! Thou hold'st the Sun A pris'ner in the yet undawning east, Short'ning his journey between morn and noon, And hurrying him, impatient of his stay, Down to the rosy west; but kindly still Compensating his loss with added hours Of social converse and instructive ease, And gath'ring, at short notice, in one group. The family dispers'd, and fixing thought, Not less dispers'd by daylight and its cares. I crown thee king of intimate delights, Fire-side enjoyments, home-born happiness, And all the comforts that the lowly roof Of undisturb'd Retirement, and the hours Of long uninterrupted ev'ning, know.
No rattling wheels stop short before these gates; No powder'd pert, proficient in the art Of sounding an alarm, assaults these doors Till the street rings; no stationary steeds Cough their own knell, while, heedless of the sound, The silent circle fan themselves, and quake:
But here the needle plies its busy task, The pattern grows, the well-depicted flow'r, Wrought patiently into the snowy lawn, Unfolds its bosom; buds, and leaves, and sprigs, And curling tendrils, gracefully dispos'd, Follow the nimble finger of the fair;
A wreath, that cannot fade, of flow'rs, that blow With most success when all besides decay. The poet's or historian's page by one Made vocal for th' amusement of the rest;
The sprightly lyre, whose treasure of sweet sounds The touch from many a trembling chord shakes out; And the clear voice symphonious, yet distinct, And in the charming strife triumphant still; Beguile the night, and set a keener edge On female industry: the threaded steel Flies swiftly, and unfelt the task proceeds. The volume clos'd, the customary rites Of the last meal commence. A Roman meal; Such as the mistress of the world once found Delicious, when her patriots of high note, Perhaps by moonlight, at their humble doors, And under an old oak's domestic shade, Enjoy'd, spare feast! a radish and an egg. Discourse ensues, not trivial, yet not dull, Nor such as with a frown forbids the play Of fancy, or proscribes the sound of mirth: Nor do we madly, like an impious world, Who deem religion frenzy, and the God, That made them, an intruder on their joys, Start at his awful name, or deem his praise A jarring note. Themes of a graver tone, Exciting oft our gratitude and love, While we retrace with Mem'ry's pointing wand, That calls the past to our exact review,
The dangers we have 'scaped, the broken snare, The disappointed foe, deliv'rance found Unlook'd for, life preserv'd, and peace restor❜d, Fruits of omnipotent eternal love. "O ev'nings worthy of the gods!" exclaim'd The Sabine bard. O ev'nings, I reply, More to be priz'd and coveted than yours, As more illumin'd, and with nobler truths, That I, and mine, and those we love, enjoy. Is Winter hideous in a garb like this? Needs he the tragic fur, the smoke of lamps, The pent-up breath of an unsav'ry throng, To thaw him into feeling; or the smart And snappish dialogue, that flippant wits Call comedy, to prompt him with a smile? The self-complacant actor, when he views (Stealing a sidelong glance at a full house) The slope of faces, from the floor to th' roof (As if one master-spring controll'd them all) Relax'd into a universal grin,
Sees not a count'nance there, that speaks of joy Half so refin'd or so sincere as ours. Cards were superfluous here, with all the tricks That idleness has ever yet contriv'd To fill the void of an unfurnish'd brain, To palliate Dullness, and give Time a shove. Time, as he passes us, has a dove's wing, Unsoil'd, and swift, and of a silken sound; But the World's Time is Time in masquerade! Theirs, should I paint him, has his pinions fledg'd With motley plumes; and, where the peacock shc vs His azure eyes, is tinctur'd black and red With spots quadrangular of diamond form, Ensanguin'd hearts, clubs typical of strife, And spades, the emblem of untimely graves.
What should be, and what was an hour-glass once, Becomes a dice-box, and a billiard mace Well does the work of his destructive scythe. Thus deck'd, he charms a world whom fashion blinds To his true worth, most pleas'd when idle most; Whose only happy are their wasted hours. Ev'n misses, at whose age their mothers wore The backstring and the bib, assume the dress Of womanhood, fit pupils in the school Of card-devoted Time, and night by night Plac'd at some vacant corner of the board, Learn ev'ry trick, and soon play all the game. But truce with censure. Roving as I rove, Where shall I find an end, or how proceed? As he that travels far oft turns aside
To view some rugged rock or mould'ring tow'r, Which seen delights him not; then coming home Describes and prints it, that the world may know How far he went for what was nothing worth; So I, with brush in hand and pallet spread, With colors mix'd for a far diff'rent use, Paint cards and dolls, and ev'ry idle thing, That Fancy finds in her excursive flights.
Come, Ev'ning, once again, season of peace; Return, sweet Ev'ning, and continue long! Methinks I see thee in the streaky west, With matron step slow moving, while the Night Treads on thy sweeping train; one hand employ'd In letting fall the curtain of repose
On bird and beast, the other charg'd for man With sweet oblivion of the cares of day: Not sumptuously adorn'd, not needing aid, Like homely-featur'd Night, of clust'ring gems; A star or two, just twinkling on thy brow, Suffices thee; save that the Moon is thine No less than hers, not worn indeed on high With ostentatious pageantry, but set With modest grandeur in thy purple zone, Resplendent less, but of an ampler round. Come then, and thou shalt find thy vot'ry calm, Or make me so. Composure is thy gift: And, whether I devote thy gentle hours To books, to music, or the poet's toil; To weaving nets for bird-alluring fruit; Or twining silken threads round iv'ry reels,
In the red cinders, while with poring eye I gaz'd, myself creating what I saw. Nor less amus'd have I quiescent watch'd The sooty films, that play upon the bars Pendulous, and foreboding in the view Of superstition, prophesying still, Though still deceiv'd, some stranger's near approd "Tis thus the understanding takes repose In indolent vacuity of thought,
And sleeps and is refresh'd. Meanwhile the face Conceals the mood lethargic with a mask Of deep deliberation, as the man Were task'd to his full strength, absorb'd and let Thus oft reclin'd at ease, I lose an hour At ev'ning, till at length the freezing blast, That sweeps the bolted shutter, summons home The recollected pow'rs, and snapping short The glassy threads, with which the Fancy weath Her brittle toils, restores me to myself. How calm is my recess! and how the frost, Raging abroad, and the rough wind, endear The silence and the warmth enjoy'd within! I saw the woods and fields at close of day A variegated show; the meadows green, Though faded; and the lands, where lately wr The golden harvest, of a mellow brown, Upturn'd so lately by the forceful share. I saw far off the weedy fallows smile With verdure not unprofitable, graz'd By flocks, fast feeding, and selecting each His fav'rite herb; while all the leafless groves, That skirt th' horizon, wore a sable hue, Scarce notic'd in the kindred dusk of eve. To-morrow brings a change, a total change! Which even now, though silently perform'd, And slowly, and by most unfelt, the face Of universal nature undergoes. Fast falls a fleecy show'r: the downy flakes Descending, and with never-ceasing lapse, Softly alighting upon all below, Assimilate all objects. Earth receives Gladly the thick'ning mantle; and the green And tender blade, that fear'd the chilling blast, Escapes unhurt beneath so warm a veil.
In such a world, so thorny, and where none
When they command whom man was born to Finds happiness unblighted, or, if found,
I slight thee not, but make thee welcome still. Just when our drawing-rooms begin to blaze With lights, by clear reflection multiplied From many a mirror, in which he of Gath, Goliath, might have seen his giant bulk Whole without stooping, tow'ring crest and all, My pleasures, too, begin. But me perhaps The glowing hearth may satisfy awhile With faint illumination, that uplifts The shadows to the ceiling, there by fits Dancing uncouthly to the quiv'ring flame. Not undelightful is an hour to me
So spent in parlor twilight: such a gloom Suits well the thoughtful or unthinking mind, The mind contemplative, with some new theme Pregnant, or indispos'd alike to all.
Laugh, ye who boast your more mercurial pow'rs, That never felt a stupor, know no pause, Nor need one; I am conscious, and confess Fearless a soul, that does not always think. Me oft has Fancy ludicrous and wild Sooth'd with a waking dream of houses, tow'rs, Trees, churches, and strange visages, express'd
Without some thistly sorrow at its side; It seems the part of wisdom, and no sin Against the law of love, to measure lots With less distinguish'd than ourselves; that thes We may with patience bear our mod rate ills, And sympathize with others suff'ring more. Ill fares the trav'ller now, and he that stalks In pond'rous boots beside his reeking team. The wain goes heavily, impeded sore By congregated loads adhering close
To the clogg'd wheels; and in its sluggish pace Noiseless appears a moving hill of snow. The toiling steeds expand the nostril wide, While ev'ry breath, by respiration strong Forc'd downward, is consolidated soon Upon their jutting chests. He, form'd to bear The pelting brunt of the tempestuous night, With half-shut eyes, and pucker'd cheeks, and teeth Presented bare against the storm, plods on. One hand secures his hat, save when with both He brandishes his pliant length of whip, Resounding oft, and never heard in vain. O happy! and in my account denied That sensibility of pain, with which
Refinement is endu'd, thrice-happy thou! Thy frame, robust and hardy, feels indeed The piercing cold, but feels it unimpair'd. The learned finger never need explore Thy vig'rous pulse; and the unhealthful east, That breathes the spleen, and searches ev'ry bone Of the infirm, is wholesome air to thee. Thy days roll on exempt from household care; Thy wagon is thy wife; and the poor beasts, That drag the dull companion to and fro, Thine helpless charge, dependent on thy care. Ah treat them kindly! rude as thou appear'st, Yet show that thou hast mercy! which the great, With needless hurry whirl'd from place to place, Humane as they would seem, not always show.
Poor, yet industrious, modest, quiet, neat, Such claim compassion in a night like this, And have a friend in ev'ry feeling heart. Warm'd, while it lasts, by labor, all day long They brave the season, and yet find at eve, Ill clad, and fed but sparely, time to cool. The frugal housewife trembles when she lights Her scanty stock of brushwood, blazing clear, But dying soon, like all terrestrial joys. The few small embers left she nurses well; And, while her infant race, with outspread hands And crowded knees, sit cow'ring o'er the sparks, Retires, content to quake, so they be warm'd. The man feels least, as more inur'd than she To winter, and the current in his veins More briskly mov'd by his severer toil; Yet he too finds his own distress in theirs. The taper soon extinguish'd, which I saw Dangled along at the cold finger's-end
Just when the day declin'd; and the brown loaf Lodg'd on the shelf, half eaten without sauce Of sav'ry cheese, or butter, costlier still; Sleep seems their only refuge: for, alas! Where penury is felt, the thought is chain'd, And sweet colloquial pleasures are but few! With all this thrift they thrive not. All the care, Ingenious Parsimony takes, but just Saves the small inventory, bed, and stool, Skillet, and old carv'd chest, from public sale. They live, and live without extorted alms From grudging hands; but other boast have none, To soothe their honest pride, that scorns to beg, Nor comfort else, but in their mutual love. I praise you much, ye meek and patient pair, For ye are worthy; choosing rather far A dry but independent crust, hard earn'd, And eaten with a sigh, than to endure The rugged frowns and insolent rebuffs Of knaves in office, partial in the work Of distribution; lib'ral of their aid
To clam'rous Importunity in rags,
But oft-times deaf to suppliants, who would blush To wear a tatter'd garb however coarse, Whom famine cannot reconcile to filth: These ask with painful shyness, and, refus'd Because deserving, silently retire! But be ye of good courage! Time itself Shall much befriend you. Time shall give increase; And all your num'rous progeny, well-train'd But helpless, in few years shall find their hands, And labor too. Meanwhile ye shall not want What, conscious of your virtues, we can spare, Nor what a wealthier than ourselves may send. I mean the man, who, when the distant poor Need help, denies them nothing but his name.
But poverty with most, who whimper forth Their long complaints, is self-inflicted woe; The effect of laziness or sottish waste. Now goes the nightly thief prowling abroad For plunder; much solicitous how best He may compensate for a day of sloth, By works of darkness and noctural wrong. Woe to the gard'ner's pale, the farmer's hedge, Plash'd neatly, and secur'd with driven stakes Deep in the loamy bank. Uptorn by strength, Resistless in so bad a cause, but lame To better deeds, he bundles up the spoil, An ass's burden, and, when laden most And heaviest, light of foot steals fast away Nor does the boarded hovel better guard The well-stack'd pile of riven logs and roots From his pernicious force. Nor will he leave Unwrench'd the door, however well secur'd, Where Chanticleer amidst his harem sleeps In unsuspecting pomp. "Twitch'd from the perch, He gives the princely bird, with all his wives, To his voracious bag, struggling in vain, And loudly wond'ring at the sudden change. Nor this to feed his own. "Twere some excuse, Did pity of their suff'rings warp aside His principle, and tempt him into sin For their support, so destitute. But they Neglected pine at home; themselves, as more Expos'd than others, with less scruple made His victims, robb'd of their defenceless all. Cruel is all he does. "Tis quenchless thirst Of ruinous ebriety, than prompts
His ev'ry action, and imbrutes the man. O for a law to noose the villain's neck, Who starves his own; who persecutes the blood He gave them in his children's veins, and hates And wrongs the woman he has sworn to love!
Pass where we may, through city or through town, Village, or hamlet, of this merry land, Though lean and beggar'd, ev'ry twentieth pace Conducts th' unguarded nose to such a whiff Of stale debauch, forth-issuing from the styes That law has licens'd, as makes Temp'rance reel. There sit, involv'd and lost in curling clouds Of Indian fume, and guzzling deep, the boor, The lackey, and the groom: the craftsman there Takes a Lethean leave of all his toil; Smith, cobbler, joiner, he that plies the shears, And he that kneads the dough; all loud alike, All learned, and all drunk! The fiddle screams Plaintive and piteous, as it wept and wail'd Its wasted tones and harmony unheard: Fierce the dispute, whate'er the theme; while she, Fell Discord, arbitress of such debate, Perch'd on the sign-post, holds with even hand Her undecisive scales. In this she lays A weight of ignorance; in that, of pride; And smiles delighted with the eternal poise. Dire is the frequent curse, and its twin sound, The cheek-distending oath, not to be prais'd As ornamental, musical, polite,
Like those which modern senators employ, Whose oath is rhet'ric, and who swear for fame! Behold the schools, in which plebeian minds Once simple are initiated in arts,
Which some may practise with politer grace, But none with readier skill!-Tis here they learn The road, that leads from competence and peace To indigence and rapine; till at last Society, grown weary of the load,
« PreviousContinue » |