IMPROMPTU
TO
Mr. MEYER.
On his sending the Author, from the Continent, two
Prints, representing The Coronation of Voltaire,
and Rousseau's Arrival in Elysium.
1784.
I
The Song that shakes the festive roof,
When mirth and music's liveliest notes ascend,
Is not more pleasing than the proof
Of kind remembrance from an absent friend.
II
Then guess the pleasure that we share,
And thus, dear Meyer, accept the thanks we owe,
While we behold the crown'd Voltaire,
And see Elysium hail our lov'd Rousseau!
III
May all the honour, all the joy,
Known by each genius in thy gift portray'd,
Be thine, without the dull alloy
That ting'd their golden days with dusky shade!
IV
As lively as the gay Voltaire,
With his keen pen may thy fine pencil strive!
May'st thou as long delight the fair,
And triumph, like the Bard, at eighty-five!
V
As tender as the warm Rousseau,
Like him thy happier thoughts on nature fix!
But 'midst thy prospering children know
A true Elysium—on this side the Styx!
