 | The Poetical Works of John Scott |  |
194
ODE X. TO J. PAYNE, ESQ.
ACCOUNTANT-GENERAL OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND.
O friend! to Thee, whose liberal mind
Was form'd with taste for joys refin'd,
For all the extended country yields,
Of azure skies and verdant fields;
For all that Genius' hand displays,—
The Painter's forms, the Poet's lays:—
To Thee, restraint to that dull room,
Where sunshine never breaks the gloom;
To Thee, restraint to that dull lore
Of books, with numbers cypher'd o'er—
How hard the lot! I see with pain,
And wish it oft exchang'd in vain.
Was form'd with taste for joys refin'd,
For all the extended country yields,
Of azure skies and verdant fields;
For all that Genius' hand displays,—
The Painter's forms, the Poet's lays:—
To Thee, restraint to that dull room,
Where sunshine never breaks the gloom;
To Thee, restraint to that dull lore
Of books, with numbers cypher'd o'er—
How hard the lot! I see with pain,
And wish it oft exchang'd in vain.
Yet not for Thee I ask the stores
Which Rapine rends from foreign shores,
Nor those Oppression's power procures
From ills that Poverty endures.
Far happier Thou! thy honest gain
Can life with decency sustain;
For Thee, Content, with thought serene,
Surveys the present changeful scene;
And Piety her view sublime
Extends beyond the realm of Time.
Which Rapine rends from foreign shores,
195
From ills that Poverty endures.
Far happier Thou! thy honest gain
Can life with decency sustain;
For Thee, Content, with thought serene,
Surveys the present changeful scene;
And Piety her view sublime
Extends beyond the realm of Time.
| The Poetical Works of John Scott | |