Miscellaneous Work in Verse and Prose By Mr. Miller: Volume the first |
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AN EPISTLE TO
Godfrey Clarke, Esq; and Miss Pole,
upon their Nuptials.
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 | Miscellaneous Work in Verse and Prose |  |
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AN EPISTLE TO Godfrey Clarke, Esq; and Miss Pole, upon their Nuptials.
Such Youth and Judgment, Wealth and Goodness join'd!
Say, are no Marriages in Heaven design'd?
If not, blest Pair! we must at least agree,
That Love and Fortune both, for once, could see.
Long may you live to grace those Sacred Bands,
By Hearts as close united as by Hands.
Say, are no Marriages in Heaven design'd?
If not, blest Pair! we must at least agree,
That Love and Fortune both, for once, could see.
Long may you live to grace those Sacred Bands,
By Hearts as close united as by Hands.
Of Blessings which the World has best in store,
So fair your Lot I need not wish you more;
But, that in These true Relish you may find,
I wish you Health of Body, Peace of Mind;
Whilst num'rous blooming Branches round you stand,
Obedient to the skilful Parents Hand;
And, early turn'd to all that's Wise and Good;
Be Children of your Virtues as your Blood!
May those you chuse for Friends, be Friends sincere;
For Servants—serve you more thro' Love than Fear.
May ne'er the Thirst of Titles, Pomp or Power,
Those Idols which the Court-bred Crowd adore,
Make you in quest of foreign Honours roam,
True Greatness only's to be found at Home;
Dwells in th' enobled Breast, and does not spring
Or from the Sword, or Deckings of a King.
So fair your Lot I need not wish you more;
But, that in These true Relish you may find,
I wish you Health of Body, Peace of Mind;
Whilst num'rous blooming Branches round you stand,
Obedient to the skilful Parents Hand;
And, early turn'd to all that's Wise and Good;
Be Children of your Virtues as your Blood!
May those you chuse for Friends, be Friends sincere;
For Servants—serve you more thro' Love than Fear.
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Those Idols which the Court-bred Crowd adore,
Make you in quest of foreign Honours roam,
True Greatness only's to be found at Home;
Dwells in th' enobled Breast, and does not spring
Or from the Sword, or Deckings of a King.
In Life's uncertain Sea, where none but find
Some dang'rous Quicksand, or some adverse Wind,
If Storms arise how little it avails
That the proud Mast is deck'd with purple Sails;
The silken Cables, or the silver Oar,
Won't sooner smooth the Surge or gain the Shoar;
The Winds impartial beat, the Lightnings strike
The Royal Bark and Fisher's Hulk alike.
No, 'tis what few—but may YOU always!—find,
'Tis the calm Sunshine of the Halcyon Mind,
That Heart-felt Peace, those Plaudits which accrue
Not from the Goods you have, but Good you do;
'Tis These must light you o'er the trackless Main,
By These the wish'd-for Haven you may gain;
For know, to raise dejected Merit's Head,
A double Lustre round yourselves will shed;
And to relieve the Good-Man's aking Heart,
A seven-fold Transport to your own impart.
Some dang'rous Quicksand, or some adverse Wind,
If Storms arise how little it avails
That the proud Mast is deck'd with purple Sails;
The silken Cables, or the silver Oar,
Won't sooner smooth the Surge or gain the Shoar;
The Winds impartial beat, the Lightnings strike
The Royal Bark and Fisher's Hulk alike.
No, 'tis what few—but may YOU always!—find,
'Tis the calm Sunshine of the Halcyon Mind,
That Heart-felt Peace, those Plaudits which accrue
Not from the Goods you have, but Good you do;
'Tis These must light you o'er the trackless Main,
By These the wish'd-for Haven you may gain;
For know, to raise dejected Merit's Head,
A double Lustre round yourselves will shed;
And to relieve the Good-Man's aking Heart,
A seven-fold Transport to your own impart.
Thus bless'd with all that Wisdom's Wish can reach,
With all that true Philosophy can teach,
With more than e'er in noisy Courts was seen,
Or ever deign'd to light on King or Queen,
To crown the whole you can possess below,
Heav'n grant you still your Happiness may know.
With all that true Philosophy can teach,
With more than e'er in noisy Courts was seen,
Or ever deign'd to light on King or Queen,
To crown the whole you can possess below,
Heav'n grant you still your Happiness may know.
| Miscellaneous Work in Verse and Prose | |