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He hears, where'er he moves, the dreadful sound; | To warm the traveller numb'd with winter's cold; Check the deep vales, and Check the woods rebound:--

No place remains: he sees the certain fate,
And yields his throne to ruin, and check-mate.

A brighter blush o'erspreads the damsel's cheeks,
And mildly thus the conquer'd stripling speaks:
"A double triumph, Delia, hast thou won,
By Mars protected, and by Venus' son;
The first with conquest crowns thy matchless art,
The second points those eyes at Daphnis' heart."
She smiled; the nymphs and amorous youths arise,
And own, that Beauty gain'd the nobler prize.
Low in their chest the mimic troops were laid,
And peaceful slept the sable hero's shade.*

SOLIMA.

AN ARABIAN ECLOGUE.

"YE maids of Aden! hear a loftier tale
Than e'er was sung in meadow, bower, or dale.
-The smiles of Abelah, and Maia's eyes,
Where beauty plays, and love in slumber lies;
The fragrant hyacinths of Azza's hair,
That wanton with the laughing summer-air;
Love-tinctured cheeks, whence roses seek their
bloom,

And lips, from which the zephyr steals perfume;
Invite no more the wild unpolish'd lay,
But fly like dreams before the morning ray.
Then farewell, love! and farewell, youthful fires!
A nobler warmth my kindled breast inspires.
Far bolder notes the listening woods shall fill ;
Flow smooth, ye rivulets; and, ye gales, be still.
"See yon fair groves that o'er Amana rise,
And with their spicy breath embalm the skies;
Where every breeze sheds incense o'er the vales,
And every shrub the scent of musk exhales!
See through yon opening glade a glittering scene,
Lawns ever gay, and meadows ever green;
Then ask the groves, and ask the vocal bowers,
Who deck'd their spiry tops with blooming flowers,
Taught the blue stream o'er sandy vales to flow,
And the brown wild with liveliest hues to glow?
Fair Solima! the hills and dales will sing;
Fair Solima! the distant echoes ring.t
But not with idle shows of vain delight,
To charm the soul or to beguile the sight;
At noon on banks of pleasure to repose,
Where bloom entwined the lily, pink, and rose ;
Not in proud piles to heap the nightly feast,
Till morn with pearls has deck'd the glowing east;
Ah! not for this she taught those bowers to rise,
And bade all Eden spring before our eyes:
Far other thoughts her heavenly mind employ
(Hence, empty pride! and hence, delusive joy!)
To cheer with sweet repast the fainting guest;
To lull the weary on the couch of rest;

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The young to cherish, to support the old ;
The sad to comfort, and the weak protect;
The poor to shelter, and the lost direct :-
These are her cares, and this her glorious task;
Can Heaven a nobler give, or mortals ask?
Come to these groves, and these life-breathing
glades,

Ye friendless orphans, and ye dowerless maids;
With eager haste your mournful mansions leave,
Ye weak, that tremble; and, ye sick, that grieve:
Here shall soft tents, o'er flowery lawns display'd,
At night defend you, and at noon o'ershade;
Here rosy health the sweets of life will shower,
And new delights beguile each varied hour.
Mourns there a widow, bathed in streaming tears?
Stoops there a sire beneath the weight of years?
Weeps there a maid, in pining sadness left,
Of tender parents and of hope bereft?
To Solima their sorrows they bewail;
To Solima they pour their plaintive tale.
She hears; and, radiant as the star of day,
Through the thick forest gains her easy way;
She asks what cares the joyless train oppress,
What sickness wastes them, or what wants distress,
And, as they mourn, she steals a tender sigh,
Whilst all her soul sits melting in her eye:
Then with a smile the healing balm bestows,
And sheds a tear of pity o'er their woes,
Which, as it drops, some soft-eyed angel bears
Transform'd to pearl, and in his bosom wears.
"When chill'd with fear, the trembling pilgrim

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Live in our notes, and blossom in our lays!
And, like an odorous plant, whose blushing flower
Paints every dale, and sweetens every bower,
Borne to the skies in clouds of soft perfume
For ever flourish, and for ever bloom!
These grateful songs, ye maids and youths, renew,
While fresh blown violets drink the pearly dew;
O'er Azib's banks while love-lorn damsels rove,
And gales of fragrance breathe from Hagar's
grove."

So sung the youth, whose sweetly-warbled strains
Fair Mena heard, and Saba's spicy plains.
Sooth'd with his lay, the ravish'd air was calm,
The winds scarce whisper'd o'er the waving palm;
The camels bounded o'er the flowery lawn,
Like the swift ostrich, or the sportful fawn;
Their silken bands the listening rose-buds rent,
And twined their blossoms round his vocal tent:
He sung, till on the bank the moonlight slept,
And closing flowers beneath the night-dew wept;

Then ceased, and slumber'd in the lap of rest Till the shrill lark had left his low-built nest. Now hastes the swain to tune his rapturous tales In other meadows, and in other vales.

AN ODE IN IMITATION OF ALCIUS.

Ου λιθοι, εδε ξυλα, υδε

Τεχνη τεκτονων αἱ πόλεις εισιν Αλλ' οπε ποτ' αν ωσιν ΑΝΔΡΕΣ Αὐτος σωζειν ειδότες,

Ενταυθα τείχη και πολεις.

Alc. quoted by Aristides.

WHAT constitutes a state?

Not high-raised battlement or labour'd mound,
Thick wall or moated gate;

Not cities proud with spires and turrets crown'd;
Not bays and broad-arm'd ports,
Where, laughing at the storm, rich navies ride;
Not starr'd and spangled courts,

Where low-brow'd baseness wafts perfume to pride.
NO:-Men, high-minded men,

With powers as far above dull brutes endued
In forest, brake, or den,

As beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude;
Men, who their duties know,

But know their rights, and knowing, dare maintain,
Prevent the long-aim'd blow,

And crush the tyrant while they rend the chain:
These constitute a state;

And sovereign law, that state's collected will,
O'er thrones and globes elate
Sits empress, crowning good, repressing ill :
Smit by her sacred frown

The fiend, discretion, like a vapour sinks,
And e'en th' all dazzling crown

Hides his faint rays, and at her bidding shrinks.
Such was this heaven-loved isle,

Than Lesbos fairer and the Cretan shore!
No more shall freedom smile?

Shall Britons languish, and be men no more?
Since all must life resign,

Those sweet rewards, which decorate the brave, "Tis folly to decline,

And steal inglorious to the silent grave.

Abergavenny, March 31, 1781.

AN ODE IN IMITATION OF CALLIS

TRATUS.

Εν μυρτω κλαδι το ξίφος φορησω,
Ώσπερ Αρμόδιος κ' Αρισογείτων,
Οτε τον τυραννον κτανετων
Ισονομες τ' Αθηνας εποιησάτην.
K. T. λ.

Quod si post Idus illias Martias e Tyrannoctonis quis. piam tale aliquod carmen plebi tradidisset inque Suburram et fori circulos et in ora vulgi intulisset, actum profecto fuisset de partibus deque dominatione Cæsarum; plus mehercule valuisset unum Appodes μedos quam Ciceronis Philippicæ omnes.-Lowth De Sacra Poesi, Præl. 1.

VERDANT myrtle's branchy pride
Shall my biting falchion wreathe ;
Soon shall grace each manly side
Tubes that speak, and points that breathe.

Thus, Harmodius! shone thy blade;
Thus, Aristogiton! thine:

Whose, when BRITAIN sighs for aid,
Whose shall now delay to shine?

Dearest youths, in islands bless'd,
Not, like recreant idlers dead,
You with fleet Pelides rest,
And with godlike Diomed.

Verdant myrtle's branchy pride
Shall my thirsty blade entwine:
Such, Harmodius! deck'd thy side;
Such, Aristogiton! thine.

They the base Hipparchus slew
At the feast of Pallas crown'd:

Gods!-how swift their poniards flew.
How the monster tinged the ground!
Then in Athens all was peace,
Equal laws and liberty:

Nurse of arts, and age of Greece!
People valiant, firm, and free!
Not less glorious was thy deed,
Wentworth! fix'd in virtue's cause;
Not less brilliant be thy meed,
Lenox! friend to equal laws.
High in freedom's temple raised,
See Fitz-Maurice beaming stand,
For collected virtues praised,
Wisdom's voice, and Valour's hand!

Ne'er shall Fate their eyelids close :
They, in blooming regions bless'd,
With Harmodius shall repose:
With Aristogiton rest.

No, bless'd chiefs! a hero's crown
Let th' Athenian patriots claim :
You less fiercely won renown;
You assumed a milder name.

They through blood for glory strove,
You more blissful tidings brings;
They to death a tyrant drove,
You to fame restored a king.

Rise, BRITANNIA! dauntless rise!
Cheer'd with triple harmony,
Monarch good, and nobles wise
People valiant, firm, and free'

THE FIRST NEMEAN ODE OF PINDAR.

CALM breathing-place of Alpheus dead,
Ortygia, graceful branch of Syracuse renown'd,
Young Dina's rosy bed,

Sister of Delos, thee, with sweet, yet lofty, sound
Bursting numbers call, to raise

Of tempest-footed steeds the trophies glorious
(Thus Etnean Jove we praise ;)
While Chromius' car invites, and Nemea's plain,
For noble acts victorious

To weave the encomiastic strain.
From prospering gods the song begins;
Next hails that godlike man and virtue's holy meeds:

This ode is translated word for word with the original; those epithets and phrases only being necessarily added, which are printed in italic letters.

See Argument of the Hymns to Pacriti.

He the flower of greatness wins,

Horror seized the female train,

Whom smiling fortune crowns; and vast heroic Who near Alcmena's genial couch attended:

deeds

Every muse delights to sing.

Now wake to that fair isle the splendid story, Which the great Olympian king,

Jove, gave to Proserpine, and waved his locks Vowing, that, supreme in glory,

Famed for sweet fruits, and nymph-loved rocks,

Sicilia's full nutritious breast

She, from agonizing pain

Yet weak, unsandall'd and unmantled rush'd,
And her loved charge defended,
Whilst he the fiery monsters crush'd.

Swift the Cadmean leaders ran

In brazen mail precipitately bold:
First Amphitryon, dauntless man,

Bared his raised falchion from its sheathing gold,

With tower'd and wealthy cities he would crown. While grinding anguish pierced his fluttering breast; Her the son of Saturn bless'd

With suitors brazen-arm'd for war's renown

By lance and fiery steed; yet oft thy leaves, Olympic olive! bind their hair

In wreathy gold. Great subjects I prepare: But none th' immortal verse deceives.

Oft in the portals was I placed

For private woes most keenly bite
Self-loving man; but soon the heart is light,
With sorrow not its own oppress'd.

Standing in deep amazement wild

With rapturous pleasure mix'd, he saw th' enormous force,

Saw the valour of his child:

Of that guest-loving man, and pour'd the dulcet And fated heralds prompt, as heaven had shaped

strain,

Where becoming dainties graced

His hospitable board; for ne'er with efforts vain Strangers to his mansion came :

And thus the virtuous, when detraction rages,
Quench with liberal streams her flame.

Let each in virtue's path right onward press,
As each his art engages,

And, urged by genius, win success.

Laborious action strength applies,

And wary conduct, sense: the future to foresee
Nature gives to few, the wise.

Agesidamus' son, she frankly gave to thee
Powerful might and wisdom deep.

1 see not in dark cells the hoarded treasure
Grovelling with low care to keep,

But, as wealth flows, to spread it, and to hear
Load fame, with ample measure
Cheering my friends, since hope and fear

Assail disastrous men. The praise
Of Hercules with rapture I embrace
On the heights, which virtues raise,

The rapid legend old his name shall place;
For, when he brook'd no more the cheerless gloom,
And burst into the blaze of day,

The child of Jove with his twin brother lay,
Refulgent from the sacred womb.

Not unobserved the godlike boy

By Juno golden-throned the saffron'd cradle press'd; Straight heaven's queen with furious joy

Bade hideous dragons fleet th' unguarded floor infest: They, the portals opening wide,

Roll'd through the chamber's broad recess tremen

dous,

And in jaws fire-darting tried

The slumbering babe to close. He, starting light,
Rear'd his bold head stupendous,
And first in battle proved his might.

With both resistless hands he clasp'd

Both struggling horrid pests, and clothed their necks with death; They expiring, as he grasp'd,

Pour'd from their throats compress'd, the foul envenom'd breath.

their course,

Wafted round the varied tale:

Then called he from high Jove's contiguous region, Him, whose warnings never fail,

Tiresias blind, who told, in diction sage,

The chief and thronging legion
What fortunes must his boy engage;

What lawless tyrants of the wood,

What serpents he would slay, what monsters of the main,

What proud foe to human good,

The worst of monstrous forms, that holy manhood

stain,

His huge arm to death would dash :

How when heaven's host, o'er Phlegra's champaign hasting,

With embattled giants rash

Vindictive warr'd, his pondrous mace would storm
With dreadful strokes wide-wasting,
And dust their glittering locks deform.

He told; and how in blissful peace
Through cycles infinite of gliding time,
When his mortal task should cease,
Sweet prize of perils hard and toil sublime,
In gorgeous mansions he should hold entranced
Soft Hebe, fresh with blooming grace,
And crown, exalting his majestic race,
The bridal feast near Jove advanced.

A CHINESE ODE, PARAPHRASED.
BEHOLD, where yon blue rivulet glides
Along the laughing dale;

Light reeds bedeck its verdant sides,
And frolic in the gale

So shines our prince! in bright array
The virtues round him wait;
And sweetly smiled th' auspicious day,
That raised him o'er our state.

As pliant hands, in shapes refined,
Rich ivory carve and smooth,
His laws thus mould each ductile mind,
And every passion soothe.

As gems are taught by patient art

In sparkling ranks to beam,

With manners thus he forms the heart,
And spreads a general gleam.

What soft, yet awful dignity!
What meek, yet manly grace!
What sweetness dances in his eye,
And blossoms in his face!

So shines our prince! A sky-born crowd
Of virtues round him blaze:
Ne'er shall oblivion's murky cloud
Obscure his deathless praise.

THE VERBAL TRANSLATION.

BEHOLD yon reach of the river Ki;

Its green reeds how luxuriant! how luxuriant!
Thus is our prince adorn'd with virtues;
As a carver, as a filer of ivory,

As a cutter, as a polisher of gems

O how elate and sagacious! O how dauntless and composed!

How worthy of fame! How worthy of reverence!
We have a prince adorn'd with virtues,
Whom to the end of time we cannot forget."

A TURKISH ODE OF MESIHI.

HEAR! how the nightingales on every spray, Hail, in wild notes, the sweet return of May; -The gale that o'er yon waving almond blows, The verdant bank with silver blossoms strows: The smiling season decks each flowery glade. Be gay too soon the flowers of spring will fade.

+ What gales of fragrance scent the vernal air! Hills, dales, and woods, their loveliest mantles

wear,

Who knows what cares await that fatal day,
When ruder gusts shall banish gentle May?
E'en death, perhaps, our valleys will invade.
Be gay: too soon the flowers of spring will fade.

The tulip now its varied hue displays,
And sheds, like Ahmed's eye, celestial rays.
Ah, nation ever faithful, ever true,
The joys of youth, while May invites, pursue!
Will not these notes your timorous minds persuade?
Be gay too soon the flowers of spring will fade.

IMITATIONS.

"Thou hearest the tale of the nightingale, 'that the vernal season approaches.' The spring has spread a bower of joy in every grove, where the almond tree sheds its silver blossoms. Be cheerful; be full of mirth; for the spring passes soon away: it will not last." "The groves and hills are again adorned with all sorts of flowers; a pavilion of roses, as the seat of pleasure, is raised in the garden. Who knows which of us will be alive when the fair season ends? Be cheer. ful," &c.

"The edge of the bower is filled with the light of Ahmed; among the plants the fortunate tulips represent his companions. Come, O people of Mohammed! this is the season of merriment. Be cheerful," &c.

* The sparkling dew-drops o'er the lilies play,
Like orient pearls, or like the beams of day.
If love and mirth your wanton thoughts engage,
Attend, ye nymphs! a poet's words are sage;
While thus you sit beneath the trembling shade,
Be gay: too soon the flowers of spring will fade.

+ The fresh-blown rose like Zeineb's cheek appears,

When pearls, like dew-drops, glitter in her ears. The charms of youth at once are seen and past: And nature says, "They are too sweet to last." So blooms the rose; and so the blushing maid. Be gay too soon the flowers of spring will fade.

See! yon anemonies their leaves unfold,
With rubies flaming and with living gold.
-While crystal showers from weeping clouds de-
scend,

Enjoy the presence of thy tuneful friend :
Now, while the wines are brought, the sofa's laid,
Be gay too soon the flowers of spring will fade.

The plants no more are dried, the meadows dead,
No more the rose-bud hangs her pensive head:
The shrubs revive in valleys, meads, and bowers,
And every stalk is diadem'd with flowers;
In silken robes each hillock stands array'd.
Be gay too soon the flowers of spring will fade.

|| Clear drops, each morn, impearl the rose's bloom,
And from its leaf the zephyr drinks perfume;
The dewy buds expand their lucid store:
Be this our wealth: ye damsels, ask no more.
Though wise men envy, and though fools upbraid,
Be gay too soon the flowers of spring will fade.

The dew-drops sprinkled, by the musky gale,
Are changed to essence ere they reach the dale.
The mild blue sky a rich pavilion spreads,
Without our labour, o'er our favour'd heads.
Let others toil in war, in arts, or trade ;-
Be gay too soon the flowers of spring will fade.

IMITATIONS.

"Again the dew glitters on the leaves of the lily, like the water of a bright cimeter. The dew-drops fall through the air on the garden of roses. Listen to me, listen to me, if thou desirest to be delighted. Be cheerful," &c.

"The roses and tulips are like the bright cheeks of beautiful maids, in whose ears the pearls hang like drops of dew. Deceive not thyself, by thinking that these charms will have a long duration. Be cheerful," &c.

"Tulips, roses, and anemonies, appear in the gar dens; the showers and the sunbeams, like sharp lancets, tinge the banks with the colour of blood. Spend this day agreeably with thy friends, like a prudent man. Be cheerful," &c.

"The time is passed in which the plants were sick, and the rose-bud hung its thoughtful head on its bosom. The season comes in which mountains and rocks are coloured with tulips. Be cheerful," &c.

"Each morning the clouds shed gems over the rosegarden; the breath of the gale is full of Tartarian musk. Be not neglectful of thy duty through too great a love of the world. Be cheerful," &c.

"The sweetness of the bower has made the air so fragrant, that the dew, before it falls, is changed into rosewater. The sky spreads a pavilion of bright clouds over the garden. Be cheerful," &c.

* Late, gloomy winter chill'd the sullen air,
Till Soliman arose, and all was fair.
Soft in his reign, the notes of love resound,
And pleasure's rosy cup goes freely round.
Here on the bank, which mantling vines o'ershade,
Be gay: too soon the flowers of spring will fade.

+ May this rude lay from age to age remain,
A true memorial of this lovely train.
Come, charming maid! and hear thy poet sing
Thyself the rose, and he the bird of spring;
Love bids him sing, and Love will be obey'd.
Be gay too soon the flowers of spring will fade.

HYMN TO CAMDEO.

THE ARGUMENT.

THE Hindoo god, to whom the following poem is ad. dressed, appears evidently the same with the Grecian Eros and the Roman Cupido; but the Indian description of his person and arms, his family, attendants, and attributes, has new and peculiar beauties.

According to the mythology of Hindoostan, he was the son of Maya, or the general attracting power, and married to Retty, or Affection; and his bosom friend is Bessent or Spring: he is represented as a beautiful

youth, sometimes conversing with his mother and consort, in the midst of his gardens and temples; sometimes riding by moonlight on a parrot or lory, and attended by dancing girls or nymphs, the foremost of whom bears his colours, which are a fish on a red ground. His favourite place of resort is a large tract of country round Agra, and principally the plains of Matra, where Krishen also, and the nine Gopia, who are clearly the Apollo and muses of the Greeks, usually spend the night with music and dance. His bow of sugar-cane, or flowers with a string of bees, and his five arrows, each pointed with an Indian blossom of a heating quality, are allegories equally new and beautiful. He has at least twenty. three names, most of which are introduced in the hymn: that of Cam, or Cama, signifies desire, a sense which it also bears in ancient and modern Persian; and it is possible that the words Dipuc and Cupid, which have the same signification, may have the same origin, since we know that the old Hetruscans, from whom great part of the Roman language and religion was derived, and whose system had a near affinity with that of the Persians and Indians, used to write their lines alternately forwards and backwards, as furrows are made by the plough; and, though the two last letters of Cupido may only be the grammatical termination as in libido and capedo, yet the primary root of cupio is contained in the first three letters. The seventh stanza alludes to the bold attempt of this deity to wound the great god Maha. deo, for which he was punished by a flame consuming

IMITATIONS.

• "Whoever thou art, know that the black gusts of autumn had seized the garden; but the king of the world again appeared, dispensing justice to all: in his reign the happy cupbearer desired and obtained the flowing wine. Be cheerful," &c.

"By these strains I hoped to celebrate this delightful valley: may they be a memorial to its inhabitants, and remind them of this assembly, and these fair maids! Thou art a nightingale with a sweet voice, O Mesihi, when thou walkest with the damsels, whose cheeks are like roses. Be cheerful; be full of mirth; for the spring passes soon away; it will not last!"

his corporeal nature, and reducing him to a mental essence; and hence his chief dominion is over the minds of mortals, or such deities as he is permitted to subdue.

THE HYMN.

WHAT potent god from Agra's orient bowers
Floats through the lucid air, whilst living flowers
With sunny twine the vocal arbours wreath,
And gales enamour'd heavenly fragrance breathe?
Hail, power unknown! for at thy beck
Vales and groves their bosoms deck,
And every laughing blossom dresses
With gems of dew his musky tresses.
I feel, I feel thy genial flame divine,
And hallow thee, and kiss thy shrine.

"Know'st thou not me?" Celestial sounds I hear!

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Know'st thou not me?" Ah, spare a mortal ear!
'Behold"-My swimming eyes entranced I raise,
But O! they sink before th' excessive blaze.
Yes, son of Maya, yes I know
Thy bloomy shafts and cany bow,
Cheeks with youthful glory beaming,
Locks in braids ethereal streaming,
Thy scaly standard, thy mysterious arms,
And all thy pains and all thy charms.

God of each lovely sight, each lovely sound,
Soul-kindling, world-inflaming, stary-crown'd,
Eternal Cama! Or doth Smara bright,
Or proud Ananga give thee more delight?
Whate'er thy seat, whate'er thy name,
Seas, earth, and air, thy reign proclaim:
Wreathy smiles and roseate pleasures
Are thy richest, sweetest treasures.
All animals to thee their tribute bring,
And hail thee universal king

Thy consort mild, Affection ever true,
Graces thy side, her vest of glowing hue;
And in her train twelve blooming girls advance,
Touch golden strings, and knit the mirthful dance.
Thy dreaded implements they bear,
And wave them in the scented air,
Each with pearls her neck adorning,
Brighter than the tears of morning.
Thy crimson ensign, which before them flies,
Decks with new stars the sapphire skies.

God of the flowery shafts and flowery bow,
Delight of all above and all below!
Thy loved companion, constant from his birth,
In heaven clep'd Bessent, and gay Spring on earth,
Weaves thy green robe and flaunting bowers,
And from thy clouds draws balmy showers,
He with fresh arrows fills thy quiver,
(Sweet the gift, and sweet the giver!)
And bids the many-plumed warbling throng
Burst the pent blossoms with their song.

He bends the luscious cane, and twists the string
With bees, how sweet! but ah, how keen their
sting!

He with five flowerets tips thy ruthless darts,
Which through five senses pierce enraptured

hearts:

Strong Chumpa, rich in odorous gold,
Warm Amer, nursed in heavenly mould,
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