II. But fure to foreign climes we need not range, But fpare, O Time, whate'er of mental grace, Whate'er of fancy's ray, or friendship's flame is mine. III. So I, obfequious to Truth's dread command, Shall here without reluctance change my lay, And fmite the Gothic lyre with harsher hand; Now when I leave that flowery path for aye Of childhood, where I fported many a-day, Warbling and fauntering carelefly along; Where every face was innocent and gay, Each vale romantick, tuneful every tongue, Sweet, wild, and artless all, as Edwin's infant fong. IV. Perish the lore that deadens young defire' Is the foft tenor of my fong no more. Edwin, though loved of Heaven, must not aspire To blifs, which mortals never new before. On trembling wings let youthful fancy foar, Nor always haunt the funny realms of joy ; But now and then the fhades of life explore; Though many a found and fight of woe annoy. And many a qualm of care his rifing hopes destroy. V. Vigour from toil, from trouble patience grows. And from the formy promontory tower, And tofs their giant arms amid the fkies, While each affailing blast encrease of strength fupplies. VI. And now the downy cheek and deepen'd voice Which heretofore his foot had never trode; VII. Thither he hied, enamour'd of the fcene; For rocks on rocks piled, as by magic fpell, Here fcorch'd with lightning, there with ivy green, Fenced from the north and caft this favage dell; Southward a mountain rofe with easy fwell, Whofe long long groves éternal murmur made; And towards the western fun a ftreamlet fell, Where, through the cliffs, the eye, remote, furvey'd Blue hills, and glittering waves, and skies in gold array'd. VIII. Along this narrow valley you might fee The wild deer fporting on the meadow ground, Or moffy stone, or rock with woodbine crown'd. IX. One cultivated spot there was, that spread Where many a rofe-bud rears its blushing head, X. Hail, awful fcenes that calm the troubled breast, And woo the weary to profound repofe; Can paffion's wildest uproar lay to reft, And whifper comfort to the man of woes! Here Innocence may wander fafe from foes, And Contemplation foar on feraph wings. O Solitude, the man who thee foregoes, When lucre lures him, or ambition ftings, Shall never know the fource whence real grandeur fprings. XI. Vain man, is grandeur given to gay attire? • Behold, what deeds of woe the locufts can perform! XII. True dignity is his, whofe tranquil mind This ftrain from amidit the rocks was heard to flow In folemn founds. Now beam'd the evening ftar; And from embattled clouds emerging flow Cynthia came riding on her filver car; And hoary mountain-cliffs fhone faintly from afar. XIII. Soon did the folemn voice its theme renew; Of Levity and Luft, who, all their days, And hug'd the chain, that glittering on their gaze Seems to outfhine the pomp of heaven's empyreal • blaze. XIV. • Like them, abandon'd to Ambition's fway, I fought for glory in the paths of guile; : And fawn'd and fmil'd to plunder and betray, Myself betray'd and plunder'd all the while So gnaw'd the viper the corroding file. But now with pangs of keen remorfe I rue Thofe years of trouble and debafement vile.Yet why fhould I this cruel theme pursue! Fly, fy, detefted thoughts, for ever from my view. XV. The gufts of appetite, the clouds of care, Henceforth no earthly hope with heaven fhall fhare And if for me no treasure be amafs'd, I lurk the more fecure from fortune's blast, And with more leifure feed this pious flame, Whole rapture far tranfcends the fairest hopes of fame. XVI. The end and the reward of toil is reft. Be all my prayer for virtue and for peace. Of wealth and fame, of pomp and power poffefs'd, 'Who ever felt his weight of woe decrease! Ah! what avails the love of Rome and Greece, The lay heaven-prompted, and harmonious firing, The duft of Ophir, or Tyrean fleece, All that art, fortune, enterprize can bring, If envy, fcorn, remorfe, or pride the bofom wring! XVII. Let Vanity adorn the marble tomb With trophies, rhymes, and fcutcheons of renown, In the deep dungeon of fome Gothic dome, Where night and defolation ever frown. • Mine be the breezy hill that skirts the down: Where a green graffy turff is all I crave, With here and there a violet beftrown, Faft by a brook, or fountain's murmuring wave; And many an evening fun fhine fweetly on my grave. XVIII. And thither let the village fwain repair; And, light of heart, the village maiden gay, To deck with flowers her half-difhevel'd hair, And celebrate the merry morn of May. There let the fhepherd's pipe the live long day Fill all the grove with loves bewitching wo; And when mild evening comes with mantle grey, Let not the blooming band make hafte to go; No ghost nor fpell my long and last abode fhall know. XIX. For though I fly to escape from Fortune's rage, O Man, creation's pride, heaven's darling child, • Whom nature's beft divineft gifts adorn, ، Why from thy home are truth and joy exiled, And all thy favourite haunts with blood and tears • defiled! |