A Collection of Miscellany poems and letters Comical and Serious. By Jo. Harvey |
 |
TO The much Honoured, Alexander Campbell, Commissary of the Castle of Edinburgh. |
 | A Collection of Miscellany poems and letters |  |
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TO The much Honoured, Alexander Campbell, Commissary of the Castle of Edinburgh.
Well gen'rous Highland-man! We saw thy Strains,
Soft as the Breezes on Evonian Plains:
Like as the Stream that slakes the Western Roe,
We saw thy pure untainted Numbers flow.
Proud to behold Thee 'midst the Poet-Throng,
The tuneful Nine came crouding to the Song;
Phœbus himself rejoyc'd to see the Swain
Advance Superiour, to adorn the Plain.
Soft were the Sounds, when Campbell touch'd the Lyre,
And deep th'Attention of the listning Quire.
Each charming Cadence of the num'rous Song
Dy'd in th'Applauses of the wond'ring Throng.
Soft as the Breezes on Evonian Plains:
Like as the Stream that slakes the Western Roe,
We saw thy pure untainted Numbers flow.
Proud to behold Thee 'midst the Poet-Throng,
The tuneful Nine came crouding to the Song;
Phœbus himself rejoyc'd to see the Swain
Advance Superiour, to adorn the Plain.
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And deep th'Attention of the listning Quire.
Each charming Cadence of the num'rous Song
Dy'd in th'Applauses of the wond'ring Throng.
Hail, Godlike Man! Whom tuneful Bards of old,
And all the Druids from their Cells foretold.
Bards! Who at first on Thine own Mountains Sung,
When Western Groves with runic Numbers rung.
Proud of their Son! Their airy Forms advance,
And, pois'd on Atoms, to thy Measures dance.
Joyful they see, what they had erst divin'd,
True ancient Strength, with modern Softness joyn'd.
Joyful they see Thy bold inspiring Lays
At once transcend our Envy and our Praise.
And all the Druids from their Cells foretold.
Bards! Who at first on Thine own Mountains Sung,
When Western Groves with runic Numbers rung.
Proud of their Son! Their airy Forms advance,
And, pois'd on Atoms, to thy Measures dance.
Joyful they see, what they had erst divin'd,
True ancient Strength, with modern Softness joyn'd.
Joyful they see Thy bold inspiring Lays
At once transcend our Envy and our Praise.
But tell me how Thou cam'st, Illustrious Swain!
T'observe a lonely Shepherd on the Plain?
The last and meanest of the tuneful Throng,
Poor as his Thoughts, and Artless as his Song;
Obscurely born, where chilling Tempests fly,
And Storms, incessant, sweep a Northern Sky;
In Climes, where Hyperborean Billows roar,
And beat a Bleak inhospitable Shore.—
T'observe a lonely Shepherd on the Plain?
The last and meanest of the tuneful Throng,
Poor as his Thoughts, and Artless as his Song;
Obscurely born, where chilling Tempests fly,
And Storms, incessant, sweep a Northern Sky;
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And beat a Bleak inhospitable Shore.—
'Twas kind thus to regard a lowly Name,
Lost to all Merit, and unknown to Fame;
'Twas kinder still, to Mark him in the Throng,
To own his Numbers, and approve his Song.
Lost to all Merit, and unknown to Fame;
'Twas kinder still, to Mark him in the Throng,
To own his Numbers, and approve his Song.
Hail, Gen'rous Man! Still may Thy ancient Race,
The Camp, the Court, and Plain, unrival'd, Grace.
Behold thy Chief adorn'd with glorious Scars,
And deckt with Laurels brought from foreign Wars.
Blaregnies still resounds the Hero's Fame,
Reveres at once, and trembles at the Name.
Now fair Augusta's Court the Warriour Charms,
And Ilay shines in Arts, as he in Arms.
The Camp, the Court, and Plain, unrival'd, Grace.
Behold thy Chief adorn'd with glorious Scars,
And deckt with Laurels brought from foreign Wars.
Blaregnies still resounds the Hero's Fame,
Reveres at once, and trembles at the Name.
Now fair Augusta's Court the Warriour Charms,
And Ilay shines in Arts, as he in Arms.
A Gen'rous Campbell gives Edina Laws,
Supports the Weak, Asserts the injur'd Cause;
Beneath his Influence, the Poor oppress'd
Smiles in his Wrongs, secure to be redress'd.
Fix'd to the Right, amidst our Jarrs unmov'd,
He's fear'd by all, by all esteem'd and lov'd.
Supports the Weak, Asserts the injur'd Cause;
Beneath his Influence, the Poor oppress'd
Smiles in his Wrongs, secure to be redress'd.
Fix'd to the Right, amidst our Jarrs unmov'd,
He's fear'd by all, by all esteem'd and lov'd.
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Farewell now, Gen'rous Swain, and pray Excuse
These fainter Sallies of a bashful Muse;
So may thy Race still rise to Arts and Arms,
And Thou possess the fair Campbella's Charms.
Campbella! late, the Boast of ev'ry Grove,
Retires now, happy in her Virgin-Love;
Blest in her faithful Swain, she quits the Shades,
And leaves to other Nymphs the lonely Glades.
Her blooming Progeny her Thoughts engage,
Advancing still in Beauty as in Age.
Still may they bloom, and, like their Parents, reign,
The future Pride and Glory of the Plain.
These fainter Sallies of a bashful Muse;
So may thy Race still rise to Arts and Arms,
And Thou possess the fair Campbella's Charms.
Campbella! late, the Boast of ev'ry Grove,
Retires now, happy in her Virgin-Love;
Blest in her faithful Swain, she quits the Shades,
And leaves to other Nymphs the lonely Glades.
Her blooming Progeny her Thoughts engage,
Advancing still in Beauty as in Age.
Still may they bloom, and, like their Parents, reign,
The future Pride and Glory of the Plain.
| A Collection of Miscellany poems and letters | |