The poems and songs of William Hamilton of Bangour collated with the ms. volume of his poems, and containing several pieces hitherto unpublished; with illustrative notes, and an account of the life of the author. By James Paterson |
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HORACE, BOOK I., ODE XXIV., IMITATED. |
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 | The poems and songs of William Hamilton of Bangour |  |
HORACE, BOOK I., ODE XXIV., IMITATED.
TO A YOUNG LADY ON THE DEATH OF HER FATHER.
I.
What measure shall affliction know?What bounds be set to such a woe,
That weeps the loss of one so dear!
Come, muse of mourning! haste, ordain
The sacred melancholy strain:
When virtue bids, 'tis impious to forbear.
II.
Thy voice, with powerful blessings fraught,Inspires the solemn, serious thought;
A heav'nly sorrow's healing art,
That, whilst it wounds, amends the heart.
A far more pleasing rapture thine,
When bending over friendship's shrine,
Than mirth's fantastic varied lay,
Deceitful, idle, flutt'ring, vain,
Still shifting betwixt joy and pain,
Where sport the wanton, or where feast the gay.
III.
In dust the good and friendly lies.Must endless slumber seal those eyes?—
Oh! when shall modest Worth again,
Integrity, that knows no stain,
Thy sister, Justice, free from blame,
Kind Truth, no false affected name,
To meet in social union, find
So plain, so upright and so chaste a mind?
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IV.
By many good bewail'd, he's lost;By thee, O beauteous virgin! most.
Thou claim'st, ah pious! ah, in vain!
Thy father from the grave again.
Not on those terms, by dooming heav'n,
His loan of mortal life was giv'n.
The equal lot is cast on all,
Obedient to the universal call.
Ev'n thou, each decent part fulfill'd,
Wife, sister, mother, friend and child,
Must yield to the supreme decree,
And every social virtue weep for thee.
V.
What tho' thou boasts each soul-subduing art,That rules the movements of the human heart;
Tho' thine be every potent charm,
The rage of envy to disarm:
Thus far heav'n grants, the great reward
Of beauty, under virtue's guard:
Yet all in vain ascends thy pious pray'r,
To bid the impartial Pow'r one moment spare;
That Pow'r who chastens whom he dearest loves,
Deaf to the filial sorrows he approves:
Seal'd sacred by th' inviolable fates,
Unlocks no more the adamantine gates,
When once th' etherial breath has wing'd its way,
And left behind its load of mortal clay.
VI.
Severe indeed! yet cease the duteous tear;'Tis nature's voice that calls aloud, “Forbear.”
See, see descending to thy aid,
Patience, fair celestial maid:
She strikes thro' life's dark gloom a bright'ning ray,
And smiles adversity away.
White-handed Hope advances in her train,
Leads to new life, and wakens joy again;
She renders light the weight of human woes,
And teaches to submit when 'tis a crime t' oppose.
| The poems and songs of William Hamilton of Bangour | |