Poems, chiefly dramatic and lyric by the Revd. H. Boyd ... containing the following dramatic poems: The Helots, a tragedy, The Temple of Vesta, The Rivals, The Royal Message. Prize Poems, &c. &c |
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF CHARLEMONT, &c.
|
Poems, chiefly dramatic and lyric | ||
640
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF CHARLEMONT, &c.
O thou! in letter'd ease retir'd,
Whose noon of life, the patriots fir'd;
When Eirin's free-born sons thy call obey'd:
What sister of the sacred nine,
(For all the virgin choir is thine,)
Hallows thy musings in Marino's shade?
Whose noon of life, the patriots fir'd;
When Eirin's free-born sons thy call obey'd:
What sister of the sacred nine,
(For all the virgin choir is thine,)
Hallows thy musings in Marino's shade?
I see thee sit, with tranquil eye,
The fair plantation's growth to spy;
Foster'd by thee, on Eirin's favour'd strand,
The nurslings of thine Attic Bower,
By vernal sun and genial shower,
Rais'd to an hopeful height, their boughs expand.
The fair plantation's growth to spy;
Foster'd by thee, on Eirin's favour'd strand,
The nurslings of thine Attic Bower,
By vernal sun and genial shower,
Rais'd to an hopeful height, their boughs expand.
641
Or, dost thou turn the Grecian page,
To mark, how Democratic Rage,
On other shores its fiery track pursu'd;
Till, cautious, from its wild career,
Assembled nations, struck with fear,
Remov'd its fuel, and the pest subdued.
To mark, how Democratic Rage,
On other shores its fiery track pursu'd;
Till, cautious, from its wild career,
Assembled nations, struck with fear,
Remov'd its fuel, and the pest subdued.
Not such thy mild and temper'd ray,
That chac'd the settled gloom away,
When Freedom op'd her eyes on new-born light;
When by the kindling dawn reveal'd,
His peaceful bands emblaz'd the field,
Publish'd the high resolve, and claim'd their right.
That chac'd the settled gloom away,
When Freedom op'd her eyes on new-born light;
When by the kindling dawn reveal'd,
His peaceful bands emblaz'd the field,
Publish'd the high resolve, and claim'd their right.
Full many a meteor's wand'ring light,
Has burn'd along the waste of night,
By vapours kindled, and in vapours lost;
Flashing in ceruscations wild,
Since first your beam, with influence mild,
Rose like a star benign, and bless'd our coast.
Has burn'd along the waste of night,
By vapours kindled, and in vapours lost;
Flashing in ceruscations wild,
Since first your beam, with influence mild,
Rose like a star benign, and bless'd our coast.
Long exil'd from his native shore,
You brought the sleeping pilgrim o'er,
And watch'd his slumbers with parental care.
Your art the magic medium clear'd,
Thro' which his native land appear'd
A somb'rous scene, a prospect of despair!
You brought the sleeping pilgrim o'er,
And watch'd his slumbers with parental care.
Your art the magic medium clear'd,
Thro' which his native land appear'd
A somb'rous scene, a prospect of despair!
642
You taught him soon to recognize,
Her native hills, that kiss'd the skies,
Bosom'd with winding vales, with woods emboss'd
Minerva thus, with heavenly sleight,
Clear'd from thick fogs, the cheated sight
Of sage Ulysses, on his native coast.
Her native hills, that kiss'd the skies,
Bosom'd with winding vales, with woods emboss'd
Minerva thus, with heavenly sleight,
Clear'd from thick fogs, the cheated sight
Of sage Ulysses, on his native coast.
For years, in Wisdom's shrine conceal'd,
Your pious care the stranger held,
(So Judah's patriot hid the royal boy,)
Till, to the plausive bands around,
You call'd him from his shrine profound,
Like a descending native of the sky.
Your pious care the stranger held,
(So Judah's patriot hid the royal boy,)
Till, to the plausive bands around,
You call'd him from his shrine profound,
Like a descending native of the sky.
Thy daring friend
the flag unfurl'd,
High streaming o'er a wond'ring world;
He spoke; and millions caught the sacred flame;
Thus Aaron, by his brother call'd
To Israel's legions long enthrall'd,
With heaven-taught eloquence divulg'd their claim:
High streaming o'er a wond'ring world;
He spoke; and millions caught the sacred flame;
Thus Aaron, by his brother call'd
To Israel's legions long enthrall'd,
With heaven-taught eloquence divulg'd their claim:
O may'st thou keep the public mind
Like thine, to legal claims confin'd,
Like that prime orb, that rules the murm'ring tide,
And checks the sister planets sway,
Which else would give the deluge way,
O'er the pale shores indevastation wide!
Like thine, to legal claims confin'd,
Like that prime orb, that rules the murm'ring tide,
And checks the sister planets sway,
Which else would give the deluge way,
O'er the pale shores indevastation wide!
643
And may the band
that boasts thy name,
Press onward in the paths of fame,
And still new worlds of science own their power.
Long o'er their views may'st thou preside,
Their plans with sapient counsel guide,
And share the well-earn'd wreath's immortal dower!
Press onward in the paths of fame,
And still new worlds of science own their power.
Long o'er their views may'st thou preside,
Their plans with sapient counsel guide,
And share the well-earn'd wreath's immortal dower!
Friend to the muses humblest plea,
Thy genial smile distinguish'd me,
When my rude hand the Tuscan lyre essay'd.
May every social joy combine,
(For every social charm is thine,)
To chear thy leisure in Marino's shade!
Thy genial smile distinguish'd me,
When my rude hand the Tuscan lyre essay'd.
May every social joy combine,
(For every social charm is thine,)
To chear thy leisure in Marino's shade!
Poems, chiefly dramatic and lyric | ||