University of Virginia Library

Let ardent Heroes seek Renown in Arms,
Pant after Fame, and rush to war's Alarms;
To shining Palaces let Fools resort,
And Dunces cringe to be esteem'd at Court:
Mine be the Pleasures of a rural Life;
From Noise remote and Ignorant of Strife:
Far from the painted Belle, and white-glov'd Beau,
The lawless Masquerade and mid-night Shoe,
From Ladies Lapdogs, Courtiers, Garters, Stars,
Fops, Fidlers, Tyrants, Emperors, and Czars.

Full in the Centre of some shady Grove,
By Nature form'd for Solitude and Love:
On Banks array'd with ever blooming Flowers;
Near beauteous Landskapes, or by roseate Bowers;
My neat but simple Mansions I would raise,
Unlike the sumptuous Domes of modern Days:
Devoid of Pomp, with rural Plainness form'd,
With Savage Game, and glossy Shells adorn'd.
No costly Furniture should grace my Hall,
But curling Vines ascend alone the Wall,
Whose pliant Branches should luxuriant twine,
While purple Clusters swell'd with suture Wine:
To flack my Thirst a liquid Lapse distill,
From craggy Rocks, and spread a limpid Rill.
Along my Mansion spiry Firrs should grow,
And gloomy Yews extend the shady Row:
The Cedars flourish and the Poplars rise
Sublimely tall, and shoot into the Skies:
Among the Leaves refreshing Zephyrs play,
And crouding Trees exclude the noon-tide Ray;
Whereon the Birds their downy Nests should form,
Securely shelter'd from the batt'ring Storm;
And to melodious Notes their Choir apply,
Soon as Aurora flush'd along the Sky:
While all along the enchanting Music rings,
And every vocal Grove responsive sings.

No Trumpets there with martial Clangor sound,
No prostrate Heroes strew the crimson'd Ground;
No Groves of Lances glitter in the Air,
Nor thund'ring Drums provoke the sanguine War:
But white rob'd Peace and universal Love,
Smile in the Field, and brighten every Grove.
There all the Beauties of the circling Year,
In Native ornamental Pride appear,
Gay rosy bosom'd Spring and April show'rs
Wake from the Womb of Earth the rising Flowers:
In deeper Verdure Summer cloathes the Plain,
And Autumn bends beneath the golden Grain:
The Trees weap Amber and the whispering Gales
Breeze o'er the Lawn, or murmur thro' the Vales.

The flow'ry Tribes in gay Confusion bloom,
Profuse of Sweets, and fragrant with Perfume.
On Blossoms Blossoms, Fruits on Fruits arise,
And varied Prospects glad the wond'ring Eyes.
In these fair Seats I'd pass the joyous Day,
Where Meadows flourish, and where Fields look gay;
From Bliss to Bliss with endless Pleasures rove,
Seek crystal Streams, or haunt the vernal Grove,
Woods, Fountains, Lakes, the fertile Fields, or Shades,
Aerial Mountains, or subjacent Glades.

There, from the polish'd Fetters of the Great,
Triumphal Piles, and gilded Rooms of State;
Prince, Ministers, and sychophantic Knaves,
Illustrious Villains, and illustrious Slaves!
From all the vain Formality of Fools,
And odious Task of arbitrary Rules,
The ruffling Cares which the vex'd Soul annoy,
The Wealth the Rich possess, but not enjoy;
The visionary Bliss the World can lend,
Th' insidious Foe, and false designing Friend;
I'd live retired, contented, and serene,
Forgot, unknown, unenvied, and unseen.

Yet not a real Hermitage I'd choose,
Nor wish to live from all the World recluse:
But with a Friend sometimes unbend the Soul
In social Converse o'er the sprightly Bowl.
With cheerful W****, serene and wisely gay,
I'd often pass the dancing Hours away,
Dear A**** too, should grace my rural Seat,
Forever welcome to the green Retreat.
Next round my Board should candid S**** appear,
Of Manners gentle, and a Friend sincere;
With these three Friends, beneath a spreading Shade,
Where silver Fountains murmur thro' the Glade;
Or in cool Grotts, perfum'd with native Flowers,
In harmless Mirth I'd spend the circling Hours;
Or gravely talk, or innocently sing.

Behold the rosy finger'd Morning dawn,
In Saffron rob'd, and blushing o'er the Lawn;
Reflected from the Clouds, a radiant Stream,
Tips with ætherial Dew the Mountain's Brim,
Th' unfording Roses, and the op'ning Flowers,
Imbibe the Dew, and strew the varied Bowers,
Diffuse nectareous Sweets around, and glow
With all the Colours of the show'ry Bow,
Th' industrious Bees their balmy Toils renew,
Buzz o'er the Field, and sip the rosy Dew.

But yonder comes th' illustrious God of Day,
Invests the East, and gilds the ætherial Way:
The Groves rejoice, the feather'd Nations sing,
Echo the Mountains and the Vallies ring.
Hail Orb! array'd with Majesty and Fire,
That bids each sable Shade of Night retire!
Fountain of Light, with burning Glory crown'd,
Darting a Deluge of Effulgence round!
Wak'd by thy genial and prolific Ray,
Nature resumes her Verdure and looks Gay:
Fresh blooms the Rose, the drooping Plants revive,
The Groves reflourish, and the Forests live.
If thou so fair with delegated Light,
That all Heaven's Splendors vanish at thy Sight,
With what Effulgence must the Ocean glow!
From which thy borrow'd Beams incessant slow!
Th' exhaustless Source whose single Smile supplies,
Th' unnumber'd Orbs that gild the spangled Skies.

Oft would I view, in Admiration lost,
Heaven's sumptuous Canopy and starry Host,
With level'd Tube and astronomic Eve
Pursue the Planets whirling through the Sky:
Immensurable Vault! where Thunders roll,
And forky Lightning darts from Pole to Pole.
Say, railing Infidel! canst thou survey
Yon Globe of Fire, that gives the golden Day,
Th' harmonious structure of this vast Machine,
And not confess its Architect divine?
Then go, vain Wretch! tho' deathless be thy Soul,
Go swell the Riot, and exhaust the Bowl,
Plunge into Vice, Humanity resign,
Go fill the Sty and bristle into Swine!

None but a power Omnipotent and Wife
Could frame this Earth, or spread the boundless Skies:
He made the whole; at his Omnific call
From formless Chaos rose this spacious Ball,
And one Almighty God is seen in all.
By him our Cup is crown'd, our Table spread
With luscious Wine and Life sustaining Bread.
What countless Wonders, does the Earth contain,
What countless Wonders the unfathom'd Main!
Bedrop't with Gold, there scaly Nations shine,
Haunt coral Groves, or lash the foaming Brine,
Jehovah's glorious Blaze all Nature round,
In Heav'n, on Earth, and in the Deeps profound:
Ambitious of his Name, the Warblers sing,
And praise their Maker, while they hail the Spring:
The Zephyrs breathe it, and the Thunders roar,
While Surge to Surge, and Shore resounds the Shore.
But Man, endowed with an immortal Mind,
His Maker's Image, and for Heav'n design'd!
To loftier Notes his raptur'd Voice should rise,
And chant sublimer Hymns to his Creator's Praise.

When rising Phœbus ushers in the Morn,
And golden Beams the impurpled Skies adorn—
Thy Name, O God! should tremble on my Tongue,
'Till ev'ry Grove prov'd vocal to my Song:
Delightful Task! with dawning Light to sing
Triumphant Hymns to Heaven's eternal King.

Father of Light! exhaustless Source of Good!
Supreme, eternal, self existing God!
Before the beamy Sun dispers'd a Ray,
Flam'd in the azure Vault, and gave the Day;
Before the glimm'ring Moon, with borrow'd Light,
Shone Queen amid the silver Host of Night,
High in the Heaven's, thou reign'd superior Lord,
By suppliant Angels worship'd and ador'd.
With the celestial Choir then let me join
In chearful Praises to the Power divine,
To sing thy Praise, do thou, O God, inspire
A mortal Breath with more than mortal Fire,
In dreadful Majesty thou sit'st enthron'd,
With Light encircl'd, and with Glory crown'd;
Thro' all Infinitude extends thy Reign,
For thee, nor Heaven, nor Heaven of Heavens contain;
But tho' thy Throne is fix'd above the Sky,
Thy Omnipresence fills Immensity.
Saints rob'd in White, to thee their Anthems bring,
And radiant Martyrs Hallelujahs sing:
Heaven's universal Hosts their Voices raise
In one eternal Chorus to thy Praise;
And round thy awful Throne, with one accord;
Sing holy, holy, holy is the Lord.
At thy creative Voice from ancient Night
Sprang smiling Beauty and yon Worlds of Light:
Thou spak'st, the planetary Chorus roll'd,
And all the Expanse was starr'd with beamy Gold;
Let there be Light, said God, Light instant shone,
And from the Orient burst the golden Sun;
Heaven's gazing Hierarchies, with glad Surprise,
Saw the first Morn invest the recent Skies,
And straight th' exulting Troops thy Throne surround,
With thousand, thousand Harps of heav'nly Sound;
Thrones, Powers, Dominions (ever shining Trains!)
Shouted thy Praises in triumphant Strains:
Great are thy Works, they sing, and all around,
Great are thy Works, th' echoing Heav'ns resound.
Th' effulgent Sun, insufferably Bright,
Is but a Beam of thy o'erflowing Light;
The Tempest is thy Breath; the Thunder hurl'd,
Tremendous roars thy Vengeance o'er the World;
Thou bow'st the Heav'ns; the smoking Mountains nod:
Rocks fall to Dust, and Nature owns her God;
Pale Tyrants shrink, the Atheist stands aghast,
And impious Kings, in horror, breathe their last.
To this great God, alternately I'd pay
The evening Anthem, and the morning Lay.

For sov'reign Gold I never would repine,
Nor wish the glittering Dust of Monarchs mine.
What tho' high Columns heave into the Skies,
Gay Cielings shine and vaulted Arches rise,
Tho' fretted Gold the sculptur'd Roof adorn,
The Rubies redden and the Taper burn;
Or what, alas, avails the gay Attire,
To wretched Man, who breathes but to expire!
Oft as the vilest Riches are bestow'd,
To shew their Meanness in the sight of God.

My Eyes no dazzling Vestments should behold
With Gems instarr'd, and stiff with woven Gold:
But the tall Ram his downy Fleece afford,
To cloathe in modest Garb, his frugal Lord.
Thus the great Father of Mankind was dreast,
When shaggy Hides compos'd his flowing Vest;
Doom'd to the cumb'rous Load for his Offence,
When Cloaths supply'd the want of Innocence;
But now his Sons (forgetful whence they came)
Glitter in Gems, and glory in their Shame.

By love directed I would choose a Wife,
T' improve my Bliss, and ease the load of Life.
Hail Wedlock! hail inviolable Tye!
Perpetual Fountain of domestic Joy!
Love, Friendship, Honor, Truth, and pure Delight,
Harmonious mingle in the Nuptial rite.
In Eden first the holy State began,
When perfect Innocence distinguish'd Man:
The human Pair th' almighty Pontiff led,
Gray as the Morning, to the bridal Bed:
A dread Solemnity th' Espousals grac'd,
Angels the Witnesses and God the Priest!
All Earth exulted on the nuptial Hour,
And voluntary Roses deck'd the Bow'r;
The joyous Birds on every blossom'd Spray,
Sung Hymeneans to the important Day,
While Philomela swell'd the spousal Song,
And Paradise with gratulation Rung.

Relate, inspiring Muse! where shall I find,
A blooming Virgin with an Angel Mind;
Unblemish'd as the white rob'd virgin Choir
That fed, O Rome, thy consecrated Fire?
By Reason, and ambitious to be Good,
Averse to Vice, and zealous for her God.
Relate in what bless'd Region can I find,
Such bright Perfections in a Female Mind?
What Phœnix Woman breathes the vital Air,
So greatly Good, and so divinely Fair?
Sure not the gay and fashionable Train,
Licentious, Proud, Immoral and Profane;
Who spend their golden Hours in antic Dress,
Malicious Whispers, and inglorious Ease.
So round the Board a shining Train appears,
In rosy Beauty, and in Prime of Years!
This hates a Flounce, and this approves,
This shews the Trophies of her former Loves;
Polly avers that Sylva, drest in Green,
When last at Church the gaudy Nymph was seen,
Cloe condemns her Optics and lay,
'Twas azure Sattin interstreak'd with Grey;
Lucy, invested with judicial Pow'r,
Awards 'twas neither—and the Strife is o'er.
Then Parrots, Lap-Dogs, Monkies, Squirrels, Beaux,
Fans, Ribbands, Tuckers, Patches, Furbeloes,
In quick Succession thro' their Fancies run,
And Dance incessant on the slippant Tongue;
And when fatigu'd with every other Sport,
The Belles prepare to grace the sacred Court,
They marshall all their Forces in Array,
To kill with Glances, and destroy in Play.
Two skilful Maids with reverential Fear,
In wanton Wreathes collect their silken Hair;
Two paint their Cheeks, and round their Temples pour,
The fragrant Unguent, and the ambrosial Flower;
One pulls the Shape creating stays, and one
Encircles round their Waist the golden Zone
Not with more Toil t'improve immortal Charms,
Strove Juno, Venus, and the Queen of Arms,
When Priam's Son adjudg'd the golden Prize,
To the resistless Beauty of the Skies.
At length equip'd in Love's enticing Arms,
With all that Glitters and with all that Charms,
Th' idle Goddesses to Church repair,
Peep thro' their Fans and mutter o'er a Pray'r,
Or listen to the Organ's pompous Sound,
Or eye the gilded Images around:
Or deeply studied in Coquettish rules,
Aim wily Glances at unthinking Fools;
Or shew the silly Hand with graceful Air,
Or wound the Fopling with a lock of Hair,
And when the hated Discipline is o'er,
And Misses tortur'd with Repent no more,
They mount the pictur'd Coach, and to the Play,
The celebrated Idols hie away.

Not so the Lass that should my Joys improve,
With solid Friendship and connubial Love:
A native Bloom, with intermingl'd White,
Should set her Features in a pleasing Light;
Like Helen, flushing with unrival'd Charms,
When raptur'd Paris darted in her Arms.
But what, alas! avails a ruby Cheek,
A downy Bosom, or a snowy Neck;
Charms ill supply the want of Innocence,
Nor Beauty forms intrinsic Excellence:
But in her Breast let moral Beauties shine,
Supernal Grace and purity Divine:
Sublime her Reason, and her native Wit,
Unstrain'd with Pedantry and low Conceit:
Her Fancy lively, and her Judgment free,
From female Prejudice, and Bigotry:
Averse to idle Pomp, and outward Show,
The flattering Coxcomb, and Fantastic Beau,
The Fop's Impertinence, she should despise,
Tho' sorely wounded by her radiant Eyes:
But pay due Rev'rence to the exalted Mind,
By Learning polish'd, and by Wit refin'd,
Who all her Virtues without Guile commends,
And all her Faults as freely reprehends.
Soft Hymen's rites her Passions should approve,
And in her Bosom glow the Flames of Love:
To me her Soul, by sacred Friendship, turn,
And I, for her, with equal Friendship burn:
In ev'ry Stage of Life afford Relief,
Partake my Joys, and sympathize my Grief:
Unshaken walk in Virtue's peaceful Road,
Nor bribe her Reason to pursue the Mode:
Mild as the Saint, whose Errors are forgiv'n,
Calm as a Vestal, and compos'd as Heav'n.
This be the Partner, this the lovely Wife,
That should embellish, and prolong my Life;
A Nymph! who might a second Fall inspire,
And fill a glowing Cherub with Desire!
With her I'd spend the pleasurable Day,
While fleeting Minutes gayly Dance away:
With her I'd walk, delighted, over the Green,
Thro' ev'ry blooming Mead, and rural Scene,
Or sit in open Fields damask'd with Flowers,
Or where cool Shades imbrown the noon tide Bowers,
Imparadis'd within my eager Arms,
I'd reign the happy Monarch of her Charms.
Oft on her panting Bosom would I lay,
And, in dissolving Raptures, melt away;
Then lull'd, by Nightingales, to balmy Rest,
My blooming Fair should slumber at my Breast:
And when decripid Age (frail Mortals doom!)
Should bend my wither'd Body to the Tomb,
No warbling Syren should retard my flight
To heavenly Mansions of unclouded Light.
Tho' Death with his Imperial horrors Crown'd,
Terrific grin'd, and formidably frown'd,
Offences pardon'd, and remitted Sin,
Should form a calm Serenity within;
Blessing my natal, and my mortal Hour
My Soul committed to the external Power)
Inexorable Death should smile, for I,
Who know to Live, would never fear to Die.