Poems on Several Occasions :: :: University of Virginia Library

Thro' yielding Waves the Vessel swiftly flies,
That bears Urania from our eager Eyes;
A Prize more rich than Spain's whole Fleets could boast
From fam'd Peru, or Chili's golden Coast!
Deaf to our Call the Billows waft her o'er,
With Speed obsequious to a distant Shore;
There the glad Natives, on the crouded Strand,
With Wonder see the matchless Stranger land;
Transported Glories in her Features smile,
And a New Dawn of Beauty gilds their Isle.

So from the Sea when Venus rose Serene,
And by the Nymphs and Tritons first was seen,
The watry World beheld, with pleas'd Surprize,
O'er its wide Waste new Tracks of Light arise;
The Winds were hush'd, the Floods forgot to move,
And Nature own'd th'auspicious Queen of Love.

Henceforth no more the Cyprian Isle be nam'd,
Tho' for th'Abode of that bright Goddess fam'd;

lvi

Jamaica's happier Groves, conceal'd so long
Thro' Ages past, are now the Poet's Song.
The Graces there, and Virtues fix their Throne;
Urania makes th'adopted Land her own.

The Muse with her in Thought transported, sees
The opening Scene, the bloomy Plants and Trees,
By brighter Skies rais'd to a nobler Birth,
And Fruits deny'd to Europe's colder Earth.
At her Approach, like Courtiers doubly gay
To grace the Pomp of some lov'd Prince's Day,
The gladden'd Soil in all its Plenty shines,
New spreads its branching Palms, and new adorns its Pines;
With Gifts prepares the shining Guest to meet,
And pours its verdant Off'rings at her Feet.
As in the Fields with Pleasure she appears,
Smiles on the Labourers, and their Labours cheers,
The luscious Canes with sweeter Juices flow,
The Melons ripen, and the Citrons blow,
The Golden Orange takes a richer Dye,
And Slaves forget their Toil, while She is by.
Not Ceres' Self more Blessings could display,
When thro' the Earth she took her wand'ring Way,
Far from her Native Coast, and all around
Diffus'd ripe Harvests thro' the teeming Ground.

lvii

Mean while our drooping Vales deserted mourn,
Till happy Years bring on her wish'd Return;
New Honours then, Urania, shall be thine,
And Britain shall again the World outshine.

So when of late our Sun was veil'd from Sight
In dark Eclipse, and lost in sudden Night,
A shivering Cold each Heart with Horror thrill'd,
The Birds forsook the Skies, the Herds the Field;
But when the conqu'ring Orb, with One bright Ray
Broke thro' the Gloom, and reinthron'd the Day,
The Herds reviv'd, the Birds renew'd their Strains,
Unusual Transports rais'd the chearful Swains,
And Joy returning echo'd thro' the Plains.

MDCCXV.