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A POEM, inscribed to the Right Honourable the Earl
of Morton, on his accepting the former Ode, &c.
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 | Poems on several subjects |  |
A POEM, inscribed to the Right Honourable the Earl of Morton, on his accepting the former Ode, &c.
Tho' great Apollo, with the tuneful nine,
Should make old Homer strut in ev'ry line,
In juster accents I could ne'er express
The votive debt of my low thankfulness.
My fond ambition had no higher slight,
Than be a prostrate in your Lordship's sight:
But your acceptance of my homely lays,
Begot new fancy, and provok'd to praise.
Thus Horace his bold and immortal pen,
Did lasting friendship from Mæcenas gain.
His elevated thought and copious style
Did founder critics, and refound their toil.
Should make old Homer strut in ev'ry line,
In juster accents I could ne'er express
The votive debt of my low thankfulness.
My fond ambition had no higher slight,
Than be a prostrate in your Lordship's sight:
But your acceptance of my homely lays,
Begot new fancy, and provok'd to praise.
Thus Horace his bold and immortal pen,
Did lasting friendship from Mæcenas gain.
His elevated thought and copious style
Did founder critics, and refound their toil.
Propitious Fortune! if a pow'r thou art,
Thou still retain'st thy old indulgent heart;
Else shining coin had ne'er compens'd my tone,
Or made Lord Aberdour my great Patron.
Since gratitude that pious quest may claim,
Such lengths of duty, and so great a name,
Her Ladyship shall still inspire my frame.
If e'er my grov'ling reesty rills of sense
Shall fail to glide in easy eloquence,
The lov'd ideas in my breast shall grow,
And in a constant tenor ever flow.
But oh! forbid that high illustrious name
Be less in fancy than it is in fame.
Pardon, my Lord, my mean abortive praise,
While it unguarded o'er your glory strays.
Silence, with all her mighty sinking fund,
Cannot depress or level with the ground
Your glories, num'rous as light atoms, fly
In no low sphere, but path the liquid sky.
Thy bold ancestors stood the dire alarms,
When foes and death did both descend in arms:
Uncommon brav'ry was their lov'd renown,
They courted their country's glory as their own.
Douglas and Bruce will be continued names,
Fresh in the lists of all poetic themes;
Guardians of freedom, to the cause still true,
They brought about what princes could not do.
No Caledonian nymph, how much refin'd,
Can share the virtues of thy consort's mind;
The easy current of her seraph sense,
Her lively flow of winning eloquence;
Besides the wonders of her charming face,
Her softning smiles, and pure majestic grace;
The keener lightnings quickning in her eyes,
Justly detain your love, and tell your prize.
Like thee, those ancient peers, both Maul and Hay,
Whose title stands on banks of oozy Tay,
Did fondly wed the Halyburton line,
And were the parents of a race divine.
Hail, happy pair, whose conjunct life but one,
Makes one life double, and the single none.
Thou still retain'st thy old indulgent heart;
Else shining coin had ne'er compens'd my tone,
Or made Lord Aberdour my great Patron.
8
Such lengths of duty, and so great a name,
Her Ladyship shall still inspire my frame.
If e'er my grov'ling reesty rills of sense
Shall fail to glide in easy eloquence,
The lov'd ideas in my breast shall grow,
And in a constant tenor ever flow.
But oh! forbid that high illustrious name
Be less in fancy than it is in fame.
Pardon, my Lord, my mean abortive praise,
While it unguarded o'er your glory strays.
Silence, with all her mighty sinking fund,
Cannot depress or level with the ground
Your glories, num'rous as light atoms, fly
In no low sphere, but path the liquid sky.
Thy bold ancestors stood the dire alarms,
When foes and death did both descend in arms:
Uncommon brav'ry was their lov'd renown,
They courted their country's glory as their own.
Douglas and Bruce will be continued names,
Fresh in the lists of all poetic themes;
Guardians of freedom, to the cause still true,
They brought about what princes could not do.
No Caledonian nymph, how much refin'd,
Can share the virtues of thy consort's mind;
The easy current of her seraph sense,
Her lively flow of winning eloquence;
Besides the wonders of her charming face,
Her softning smiles, and pure majestic grace;
The keener lightnings quickning in her eyes,
Justly detain your love, and tell your prize.
Like thee, those ancient peers, both Maul and Hay,
Whose title stands on banks of oozy Tay,
Did fondly wed the Halyburton line,
And were the parents of a race divine.
Hail, happy pair, whose conjunct life but one,
Makes one life double, and the single none.
| Poems on several subjects | |