 | Poems |  |
Mrs. KENNEDY.
See diffident Kennedy, gliding along,
Who's endear'd to each breast by the force of her song;
For 'tis her voice alone that so aptly can fit
The Gallery, Boxes, and critic-cramm'd Pit;—
If it sometimes should fail to entrance cognoscenti,
It ravishes Britons—nineteen out of twenty;
'Tis a tenor so sheath'd with all Art can desire,
Cecilia might envy, and Gretry admire.—
She touches the ballads of love-lorn despair,
With accents denoting a mind worn with Care:
But no sick'ning cantabiles clog the essay,
Or mar the intent of her pastoral lay:
When Nature and Knowledge are thus counteracted,
'Tis not Skill ably manag'd, but Science distracted.
Who's endear'd to each breast by the force of her song;
205
The Gallery, Boxes, and critic-cramm'd Pit;—
If it sometimes should fail to entrance cognoscenti,
It ravishes Britons—nineteen out of twenty;
'Tis a tenor so sheath'd with all Art can desire,
Cecilia might envy, and Gretry admire.—
She touches the ballads of love-lorn despair,
With accents denoting a mind worn with Care:
But no sick'ning cantabiles clog the essay,
Or mar the intent of her pastoral lay:
When Nature and Knowledge are thus counteracted,
'Tis not Skill ably manag'd, but Science distracted.
Is there one but laments that she e'er would assume
The habit of man, or the masculine plume?
Such an act lays the first corner-stone of Neglect,
And wounds that Attraction which feeds our respect:
If, to vitiate appetites, trash gives delight,
The daughters of Decency shrink from the sight;
And depend on't that scene, tho' applause it beguiles,
Can ne'er be prais'd long, if not bless'd by their smiles.
Like the Chancellor's seal, which gives value to paper,
They raise that to worth which before was mere vapour;
And her name will be scoff'd if she wants such prudentials,
Like a weak plenipo who's forgot his credentials;
They are passports to Fame, which insure her civility,
E'en if Nature restricts the fair claimant's ability:
Lo! the Sight turns aside, as the Sight ever ought,
And tells what she's mark'd as offensive to Thought;
But tells it with sighs that most eloquent prove,
She arraigns a mild nymph she's accustom'd to love;
And vast must that worth be which thousands can warm,
Yet wanting the aid—of the delicate charm.
The habit of man, or the masculine plume?
Such an act lays the first corner-stone of Neglect,
And wounds that Attraction which feeds our respect:
If, to vitiate appetites, trash gives delight,
The daughters of Decency shrink from the sight;
206
Can ne'er be prais'd long, if not bless'd by their smiles.
Like the Chancellor's seal, which gives value to paper,
They raise that to worth which before was mere vapour;
And her name will be scoff'd if she wants such prudentials,
Like a weak plenipo who's forgot his credentials;
They are passports to Fame, which insure her civility,
E'en if Nature restricts the fair claimant's ability:
Lo! the Sight turns aside, as the Sight ever ought,
And tells what she's mark'd as offensive to Thought;
But tells it with sighs that most eloquent prove,
She arraigns a mild nymph she's accustom'd to love;
And vast must that worth be which thousands can warm,
Yet wanting the aid—of the delicate charm.
How potent that delicate charm moves each sense,
Of the hero created for Beauty's defence!
It steals o'er his manhood, and plays with his peace,
And bids in sweet tones the fierce attributes cease;
Tho' apparent too weak any conquest to claim,
It wounds the heart deep, when it takes the least aim;
It agitates nerves with a rapture-born fear,
Which brac'd the broad target, and brandish'd the spear.
Of the hero created for Beauty's defence!
It steals o'er his manhood, and plays with his peace,
And bids in sweet tones the fierce attributes cease;
Tho' apparent too weak any conquest to claim,
It wounds the heart deep, when it takes the least aim;
It agitates nerves with a rapture-born fear,
Which brac'd the broad target, and brandish'd the spear.
| Poems | |