Translations and Poems Written on Several Subjects ::

To Thee, fair Eglington, a humble Swain
This Tribute sends across the distant Main;
In Hopes Thy wondrous Goodness will excuse,
These grateful Off'rings from no Venal Muse:
Tho' mean the Verse, tho' lowly be the Strain,
From Thee her Merit shall the Muse obtain;
Thy kind Acceptance shall new Charms display,
And hide the Errors of her artless Lay.

Not lawless Vice, tho' varnish'd o'er with State,
Not all the licens'd Follies of the Great,
Her Voice could move; — she scorn'd to flatter wrong
Or sooth Injustice with ambitious Song:
But fondly straying thro' the pleasing Groves,
She tun'd her artless Reed to rural Loves;
Beauty alone her Harmony inspir'd,
Subdued her Soul, and all her Numbers fir'd.

If now more arduous Paths she seeks to try,
And turns to nobler Themes her daring Eye;
To Thee fair Patroness, the Verse is due,
So Gratitude directs and points to You,
Whose matchless Virtues fain she would display,
And suppliant thus her willing Homage pay.

But too advent'rous, how shall she set forth
The endless Circle of Thy shining Worth!
Where still succeeding Virtues croud so fast,
That 'tis impossible to name the last;

So is the Fancy in the Prospect lost,
That scarce we know which to distinguish most:
With bright'ning Lustre is Thy Virtue seen,
Assisted by that all-attractive Mien;
While to Thy faultless Form new Charms impart
Th' exalted Graces of Thy blameless Heart:
In every Character of Life You shine,
With lovely Excellence and Worth divine.

So the pleas'd Eye with secret Rapture sees,
Some finish'd Work of Italy or Greece;
O'er the fair Tablature the Fancy strays,
In Wonder lost — and lavishes its Praise;
A thousand Beauties yet remain behind,
That ask a Taste, like Angelo's to find.

With all the Charms that Nature cou'd afford,
With Wit enough to make those Charms ador'd,
From Courts retir'd, more soft Delights You boast
And to the undeserving World are lost;

While all serene (oh may it ever last!)
Life incorrupt and Joys unmix'd You taste,
And with unutterable Transport find
The sacred Calmness of a virtuous Mind;
Behold Your self, by all around You lov'd,
By Earth applauded, and by Heav'n approv'd.

Oh may propitious Heav'n indulge the Care,
Your Love bestows upon your noble Heir,
In manly Grace and Merit may he rise,
And charm each Patriot's Heart, each Virgin's Eyes:
Whate'er of his great Ancestors we read,
May all their Fame the lovely Youth exceed,
Till You behold Your own illustrious Boy,
His Sov'reign's Fav'rite, and his Country's Joy.

And when the Power of Beauty he shall prove,
May happy Fortune crown his well plac'd Love!
Oh may the Nymph like Kennedy be fair:
Her heav'nly Mind, and blooming Graces share;

Thence may a Race of future Heroes spring
To bless their Native Land, and guard their King.

Gently accept what thus the Muse design'd
A weak faint Copy of her Master's Mind
By no false Hopes inspir'd of empty Fame,
More just her Views, more generous was her Aim:
Where high Desert had taught her much to say
She sought this small Acknowledgment to pay,
She hopes for Pardon from her beauteous Theme,
And screens her Numbers with thy sacred Name.

University of Virginia Library

To the Right Honourable, SUSANNA Countess of EGLINGTON,

An EPISTLE.