University of Virginia Library

SONNET I.

To R. Owen Cambridge, Esq;
Cambridge, with whom, my pilot and my guide,
Pleas'd I have travers'd thy Sabrina's flood;
Both where she foams impetuous, soil'd with mud,
And where she peaceful rolls her golden tide;
Never, O never let ambition's pride,
(Too oft pretexed with our Country's good)
And tinsell'd pomp, despis'd when understood,
Or thirst of wealth thee from her banks divide:
Reflect how calmly, like her infant wave,
Flows the clear current of a private life;
See the wide public stream, by tempests toss'd,
Of every changing wind the sport, or slave,
Soil'd with corruption, vex'd with party strife,
Cover'd with wrecks of peace and honor lost.