 | Poems |  |
Miss WILKINSON.
With grace see young Wilkinson put in her claim,
Tho' chill'd by cold doubts for the honours of Fame;
In the rays of her virgin timidity basking,
Her heart seems to fear what her wishes are asking:
When she warbles her sonnets with rapture and skill,
'Tis an instance where Nature has triumph'd o'er will.
The force of applause has awaken'd that merit,
Which long lay entranc'd by a timorous spirit:
She saw at a distance the stage, and its terrors,
She felt, and acknowledg'd, the strength of her errors.
To impudent habits a foe and a stranger,
The eye of Conception had magnified danger.
Her colloquy justifies Wisdom's defence,
Her notes gently steal on the fetter-bound sense;
To glad and improve like the soft southern breeze,
When he fans the rich vallies, and sports 'mid the trees;
By magic like this, mirthful wonders are wrought,
And ivy-bound Joy is made pregnant by Thought;
Who laughs 'mid her labours, at Anguish with scorn,
And the brisk panting Heart feeds the brood that are born.
Tho' chill'd by cold doubts for the honours of Fame;
In the rays of her virgin timidity basking,
Her heart seems to fear what her wishes are asking:
When she warbles her sonnets with rapture and skill,
'Tis an instance where Nature has triumph'd o'er will.
The force of applause has awaken'd that merit,
Which long lay entranc'd by a timorous spirit:
She saw at a distance the stage, and its terrors,
She felt, and acknowledg'd, the strength of her errors.
To impudent habits a foe and a stranger,
The eye of Conception had magnified danger.
Her colloquy justifies Wisdom's defence,
Her notes gently steal on the fetter-bound sense;
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When he fans the rich vallies, and sports 'mid the trees;
By magic like this, mirthful wonders are wrought,
And ivy-bound Joy is made pregnant by Thought;
Who laughs 'mid her labours, at Anguish with scorn,
And the brisk panting Heart feeds the brood that are born.
May no rude blasts of Censure suppress her meek toil,
And wither the plant as it peeps from the soil;
When the genus is tender, and flow'ret is rare,
The well-skill'd Conductor redoubles his care;
Protects it when Boreas wings a rude gale,
But leaves it to Fate when the Zephyrs prevail.
And wither the plant as it peeps from the soil;
When the genus is tender, and flow'ret is rare,
The well-skill'd Conductor redoubles his care;
Protects it when Boreas wings a rude gale,
But leaves it to Fate when the Zephyrs prevail.
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