 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
To a Lady on her Birth-Day.
Permit me, Madam, gratefully to pay
A Friendly Tribute on this happy Day:
This Day which first your Infant Form disclos'd,
And to the World the darling Child expos'd.
A Friendly Tribute on this happy Day:
This Day which first your Infant Form disclos'd,
And to the World the darling Child expos'd.
Kind Heav'n, my Friend, has with indulgent Care
To the past Reck'ning join'd another Year.
But then, alas! there's an unchanging Doom,
That Ages past must shorten those to come.
To the past Reck'ning join'd another Year.
But then, alas! there's an unchanging Doom,
That Ages past must shorten those to come.
89
O! that a Life so innocent and pure,
Could but, as long as Time it self, endure!
That so, you might a future Race adorn,
And bless a People, that are yet unborn.
Ages to come, by your Example taught,
Should by Degrees be to Perfection brought.
For you of ev'ry Virtue are possest,
That can or should adorn a pious Breast.
Could but, as long as Time it self, endure!
That so, you might a future Race adorn,
And bless a People, that are yet unborn.
Ages to come, by your Example taught,
Should by Degrees be to Perfection brought.
For you of ev'ry Virtue are possest,
That can or should adorn a pious Breast.
But since the Great Creator has thought fit,
That all must to one common Fate submit,
That all things must be transient here below,
And all must once a fatal Period know;
May you possess the largest Count of Years,
Uninterrupted by perplexing Cares;
May all pass smoothly, free and happy on,
Till from the Glass your latest Hour be run.
That all must to one common Fate submit,
That all things must be transient here below,
And all must once a fatal Period know;
May you possess the largest Count of Years,
Uninterrupted by perplexing Cares;
May all pass smoothly, free and happy on,
Till from the Glass your latest Hour be run.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |