 | Poems |  |
Mrs. KEMBLE.
To those who feel bless'd in the gentler desires,
And light their enjoyments at Love's hallow'd fires;
To those adult fancies, where Grief cleaves to live,
And imbibe a delight which her plaints cannot give;
To those who with saint-like compassion survey
The breathing memorial of Beauty's decay;
Let Sympathy's child, pallid Kemble, be brought,
And give mimic sorrow to pliable thought.—
Her face, by soft Pensiveness touch'd and resin'd,
Seems tinted with woe, by the toils of her mind.
So the bust of bright Venus, by Excellence made,
Looks dim and imbrown'd 'neath the willow's sad shade.—
Ah! where is this nymph, who so exquisite play'd?
To what point of the globe has the copyist stray'd,
Who gave rural Stella the heart-wounding moan?
Who made simple Yarico's terrors her own?
That nymph we lament, who could foster the tear,
Whom Honor applauds, and the Virtues revere,
Is now making a circuit thro' half-peopled towns,
And led by harsh Fate 'fore illiterate clowns;
Where in heavenly accents the Passions she wooes,
With a glance of expression that's dear to the muse;
As the crowds half-observant, with apathy gaze,
Unimpress'd by her force, and unskill'd in her lays.—
Thus sweet flowrets decay, in the wilds' ruthless air,
Thus Pilon was known but to madd'ning Despair;
Thus Cunningham wasted his bay-circled deed,
And charm'd rustic worth with his pastoral reed.—
But to soften her wanderings, and calm her meek will,
And nerve her to bear such an aggregate ill,
Fond radiant Genii her labours shall greet,
And Aurora's blythe Fays wipe the dew from her feet;
Young Zephyrs repel each rude blast with their wings;
And Echo redouble the note when she sings.
And light their enjoyments at Love's hallow'd fires;
210
And imbibe a delight which her plaints cannot give;
To those who with saint-like compassion survey
The breathing memorial of Beauty's decay;
Let Sympathy's child, pallid Kemble, be brought,
And give mimic sorrow to pliable thought.—
Her face, by soft Pensiveness touch'd and resin'd,
Seems tinted with woe, by the toils of her mind.
So the bust of bright Venus, by Excellence made,
Looks dim and imbrown'd 'neath the willow's sad shade.—
Ah! where is this nymph, who so exquisite play'd?
To what point of the globe has the copyist stray'd,
Who gave rural Stella the heart-wounding moan?
Who made simple Yarico's terrors her own?
That nymph we lament, who could foster the tear,
Whom Honor applauds, and the Virtues revere,
Is now making a circuit thro' half-peopled towns,
And led by harsh Fate 'fore illiterate clowns;
211
With a glance of expression that's dear to the muse;
As the crowds half-observant, with apathy gaze,
Unimpress'd by her force, and unskill'd in her lays.—
Thus sweet flowrets decay, in the wilds' ruthless air,
Thus Pilon was known but to madd'ning Despair;
Thus Cunningham wasted his bay-circled deed,
And charm'd rustic worth with his pastoral reed.—
But to soften her wanderings, and calm her meek will,
And nerve her to bear such an aggregate ill,
Fond radiant Genii her labours shall greet,
And Aurora's blythe Fays wipe the dew from her feet;
Young Zephyrs repel each rude blast with their wings;
And Echo redouble the note when she sings.
212
She is sentenc'd to Want, by an Emperor's command,
And lives an example that's shewn round the land;
To affright injur'd Merit, from waging big war,
Like the heads that once wither'd on old Temple-Bar;
Or the mummy that keeps famish'd warblers from pilllage:
Or the law-chissel'd stocks which appal the rude village
To deter from rebellion the Drama's proud peers,
By a loss more important than heads or than ears;
A suppression of salary, rank, food and fame,
With the libel of power affix'd to her name.
And lives an example that's shewn round the land;
To affright injur'd Merit, from waging big war,
Like the heads that once wither'd on old Temple-Bar;
Or the mummy that keeps famish'd warblers from pilllage:
Or the law-chissel'd stocks which appal the rude village
To deter from rebellion the Drama's proud peers,
By a loss more important than heads or than ears;
A suppression of salary, rank, food and fame,
With the libel of power affix'd to her name.
As the Ægis once blaz'd with a death-giving ray,
And expell'd mortal Pride 'yond the threshold of Day;
May the shield of her honor extinguish her foes,
And Peace sooth her bosom where-ever she goes.
And expell'd mortal Pride 'yond the threshold of Day;
May the shield of her honor extinguish her foes,
And Peace sooth her bosom where-ever she goes.
| Poems | |