 | Poems |  |
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BIRTH-DAY ODES.
TO MY SON AT SCHOOL,
AGED 13, JUNE 11.
OF thee, dear boy, the muse shall sing,
With joy she strikes the tuneful string,
To hail thy natal hour;
And O may lasting be the joy,
Nor, as the man succeeds the boy,
The fruit disgrace the flower!
With joy she strikes the tuneful string,
To hail thy natal hour;
And O may lasting be the joy,
Nor, as the man succeeds the boy,
The fruit disgrace the flower!
Still warm and tender be thy heart,
To honour true, devoid of art,
The wisdom of the weak;
Still gen'rous, feeling, and sincere,
Give misery the melting tear,
And joy the glowing cheek.
To honour true, devoid of art,
The wisdom of the weak;
Still gen'rous, feeling, and sincere,
Give misery the melting tear,
And joy the glowing cheek.
The gliding years move swiftly on,
And thy third lustre almost gone,
New cares appear in view,
Behold the world's eventful stage;
Where talents in a riper age
Must future hopes pursue.
And thy third lustre almost gone,
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Behold the world's eventful stage;
Where talents in a riper age
Must future hopes pursue.
But he who excellence attains,
Toils up the steep, the summit gains,
Nor shrinks from burning skies,
Nor loiters in the midway shade,
But climbs with firm and steady tread
Where rocks successive rise.
Toils up the steep, the summit gains,
Nor shrinks from burning skies,
Nor loiters in the midway shade,
But climbs with firm and steady tread
Where rocks successive rise.
Till now thou hast but wander'd wild
A giddy, thoughtless, playful child,
In sport around the base;
'Tis time to try the mountain's side,
And search with manly, honest pride
A more distinguish'd place.
A giddy, thoughtless, playful child,
In sport around the base;
'Tis time to try the mountain's side,
And search with manly, honest pride
A more distinguish'd place.
Court then the muse, her magic pow'r
Can shorten many a ling'ring hour
Through life's uneven way;
While science, by those laws divine
Which guide to truth's eternal shrine,
Shall clear thy mental day.
Can shorten many a ling'ring hour
Through life's uneven way;
While science, by those laws divine
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Shall clear thy mental day.
Go on, dear boy! 'tis virtue leads;
He that determines half succeeds,
Nor obstacles can move:
Seek useful knowledge, honest fame,
Do honour to an honour'd name,
And well thy race approve.
He that determines half succeeds,
Nor obstacles can move:
Seek useful knowledge, honest fame,
Do honour to an honour'd name,
And well thy race approve.
O think! what joy my heart shall know,
How bright th' expiring lamp shall glow,
When quiv'ring o'er the tomb,
If, in the ev'ning of my days,
I live to hear thy well-earn'd praise,
And see thy honours bloom.
How bright th' expiring lamp shall glow,
When quiv'ring o'er the tomb,
If, in the ev'ning of my days,
I live to hear thy well-earn'd praise,
And see thy honours bloom.
If life's decline should be so bless'd,
How satisfy'd shall sink to rest
Thy mother and thy friend;
For well the Grecian sage defin'd
The happiest lot of human kind,
So fortunate an end.
How satisfy'd shall sink to rest
Thy mother and thy friend;
For well the Grecian sage defin'd
The happiest lot of human kind,
So fortunate an end.
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TO THE SAME,
AGED 15, AT CAMBRIDGE.
NOW twice the spring, with flowrets gay,
Hath 'broider'd o'er her mantle green,
And twice the merry month of May
With hawthorn deck'd the vernal scene,
Since I in tuneful numbers hail'd the morn
When thou, my heart's dear boy, in happy hour wast born.
Hath 'broider'd o'er her mantle green,
And twice the merry month of May
With hawthorn deck'd the vernal scene,
Since I in tuneful numbers hail'd the morn
When thou, my heart's dear boy, in happy hour wast born.
Nor had I miss'd the annual song,
When June return'd with roses crown'd;
But rising sorrow check'd my tongue,
And cloudy care hung low'ring round,
While in the gloomy shades of threat'ning death
I watch'd thy flutt'ring pulse, and fear'd thy parting breath.
When June return'd with roses crown'd;
But rising sorrow check'd my tongue,
And cloudy care hung low'ring round,
While in the gloomy shades of threat'ning death
I watch'd thy flutt'ring pulse, and fear'd thy parting breath.
How exquisite the anxious woe,
The agonizing bitter grief,
Maternal love alone can know,
'Midst glimm'ring hopes of slow relief;
The cruel kindness of the healing art,
And those dim joyless smiles which rend the bursting heart!
The agonizing bitter grief,
Maternal love alone can know,
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The cruel kindness of the healing art,
And those dim joyless smiles which rend the bursting heart!
Dear be those cares, to mem'ry dear,
Which sav'd thee from an early grave;
And ever bless'd the genial year,
The milder sky, the briny-wave,
The healthful gale, which fading life restores,
Where the smooth swelling tide laves Hampton's happy shores.
Which sav'd thee from an early grave;
And ever bless'd the genial year,
The milder sky, the briny-wave,
The healthful gale, which fading life restores,
Where the smooth swelling tide laves Hampton's happy shores.
Nor sav'd in vain: O still pursue
The path where truth unerring leads,
Where reason early may subdue
The wild desires which fancy feeds;
Circean charms, that with a magic force
Impel the feeble mind through youth's insensate course.
The path where truth unerring leads,
Where reason early may subdue
The wild desires which fancy feeds;
Circean charms, that with a magic force
Impel the feeble mind through youth's insensate course.
Go on, dear boy, exert each pow'r
On time's rich treasures to improve;
And may the slowly ripening hour,
Pass'd in the academic grove,
Strength to thy mind with ancient lore impart,
And judgment firm to guide a warm and feeling heart.
On time's rich treasures to improve;
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Pass'd in the academic grove,
Strength to thy mind with ancient lore impart,
And judgment firm to guide a warm and feeling heart.
TO THE SAME,
AGED 23, A LIEUTENANT IN THE ARMY, THEN WITH HIS REGIMENT IN CORSICA, 1795.
O THOU so dear! whose wand'ring star
Leaves sad maternal love to mourn,
Now chain'd to fierce Bellona's car,
Say, does no thought of home return?
Of me, beneath a sky so dark and drear,
Where fortune drives the storm, and sorrow clouds the year?
Leaves sad maternal love to mourn,
Now chain'd to fierce Bellona's car,
Say, does no thought of home return?
Of me, beneath a sky so dark and drear,
Where fortune drives the storm, and sorrow clouds the year?
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But rising from the stroke of fate,
I seize the long neglected lyre;
Warm at my heart new hopes dilate,
For thee new wishes they inspire;
The sullen weeds of woe I cast away,
And sweep the sounding chords to hail thy natal day.
I seize the long neglected lyre;
Warm at my heart new hopes dilate,
For thee new wishes they inspire;
The sullen weeds of woe I cast away,
And sweep the sounding chords to hail thy natal day.
Thy boyish years to manhood brought,
Bless'd be the harvest's happy time!
And O, may firm collected thought
With judgment mark thy ripen'd prime!
May fair desert, with smiling fortune, crown
Thy long succeeding years with honour and renown.
Bless'd be the harvest's happy time!
And O, may firm collected thought
With judgment mark thy ripen'd prime!
May fair desert, with smiling fortune, crown
Thy long succeeding years with honour and renown.
If with obscurity to dwell
Be mine in unfrequented bow'rs,
While fancy tunes her airy shell,
While friendship gilds the quiet hours,
Content may well her peaceful calm impart,
And soft affections still twine round my throbbing heart.
Be mine in unfrequented bow'rs,
While fancy tunes her airy shell,
While friendship gilds the quiet hours,
Content may well her peaceful calm impart,
And soft affections still twine round my throbbing heart.
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While thou, dear object of my care,
Must still the busy world explore,
May thou its smiles propitious share,
Till the gay pageant charms no more;
Then when existence verges to its close,
In friendship, filial love, and tranquil hope repose.
Must still the busy world explore,
May thou its smiles propitious share,
Till the gay pageant charms no more;
Then when existence verges to its close,
In friendship, filial love, and tranquil hope repose.
TO THE SAME,
AGED 26, A CAPTAIN OF INFANTRY IN PORTUGAL, 1798.
THOUGH fancy and her airy train
From sad experience fly away,
The heart's affections still remain,
And hail with joy this welcome day.
From sad experience fly away,
The heart's affections still remain,
And hail with joy this welcome day.
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Again with roses newly blown
I crown the long neglected lyre,
I strike the chords for thee alone,
And tender thoughts the strains inspire.
I crown the long neglected lyre,
I strike the chords for thee alone,
And tender thoughts the strains inspire.
Through boyish days, a giddy youth,
I watch'd thy course with anxious eyes,
Have mark'd thy honour, virtue, truth,
Grow with thy growth, to manhood rise.
I watch'd thy course with anxious eyes,
Have mark'd thy honour, virtue, truth,
Grow with thy growth, to manhood rise.
And now may ev'ry future year
The promise of the past fulfil,
While to my heart for ever dear,
From absence, distance, dearer still.
The promise of the past fulfil,
While to my heart for ever dear,
From absence, distance, dearer still.
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