Infancy, or the management of children a didactic poem, in six books. The sixth edition. To which are added poems not before published. By Hugh Downman |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. | BOOK IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
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 | Infancy, or the management of children |  |
89
BOOK IV.
90
ARGUMENT.
Introduction.—Address to Mr. Codrington.—Subject of the book proposed, viz. cloathing, heat, and cold.—Nature still to be attended to.—Infants not so susceptible of cold as is generally imagined.—Other causes occasioning their first cries.—Might bear even severity of cold tho naked.— Their cloathing to be light and perfectly easy.—Animadversion on different treatment of them, not so necessary now, as when swathing was more in use.—Description of that custom, and its ill effects.—Daughters were confined still longer.—The unnatural attempt to procure them what was called a fine shape, ridiculed.—No part of the body to be loaded.—The head, the legs, and feet to be uncovered.— Cleanliness insisted on.—Regard due to good servants, and nurses.—Excess of heat to be avoided, whether communicated by contact, or by weight of bed-cloaths.—Communicated warmth when particularly useful.—Cold Bath recommended. —Apostrophe to the Springs, Rivers, &c.
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Sweet is the breath of fame, and o'er the soul
Of youth, on fancy's pinions wafted back,
The daring visitor of times unknown,
And future ages, like a spicy breeze
Steals her delicious fragrance; like a breeze
From Zeylon or Sumatra, which enchants
The sailor's heart, tho night involves the coast,
And hides its lovely foliage from his view:
While in his mind he sees the blooming groves,
And haply thinks them fairer than they are.
Of youth, on fancy's pinions wafted back,
The daring visitor of times unknown,
And future ages, like a spicy breeze
Steals her delicious fragrance; like a breeze
From Zeylon or Sumatra, which enchants
The sailor's heart, tho night involves the coast,
And hides its lovely foliage from his view:
While in his mind he sees the blooming groves,
And haply thinks them fairer than they are.
Sweet o'er my bosom stole the breath of fame
In early life, on fancy's pinions borne;
The ideal prospects rose supremely fair,
And in extatic vision I beheld
Perennial bays distinguishing my tomb.
For not unuseful, or of light import
The strains I sung. And tho mid glades obscure
Dwelt the sequester'd muse, from riot far,
From pomp imperious, and the lordly board
Begirt with servile flatterers, yet her breast
By human kindness sway'd, where'er had pierced
The British language, manners, arts, and arms,
Revered the good; and base-born envy dead,
Or vanquisht, or engaged with living worth,
Exulted in the esteem of times to come,
And virtue's mutual friendship unreserved.
In distant continents, where horrid war
Now stains with brother's blood the guilty soil,
In distant islands, mid their nodding palms,
And growing sweets, her eyes survey'd with joy
The willing parent bending o'er her lay.
In early life, on fancy's pinions borne;
The ideal prospects rose supremely fair,
And in extatic vision I beheld
Perennial bays distinguishing my tomb.
For not unuseful, or of light import
92
Dwelt the sequester'd muse, from riot far,
From pomp imperious, and the lordly board
Begirt with servile flatterers, yet her breast
By human kindness sway'd, where'er had pierced
The British language, manners, arts, and arms,
Revered the good; and base-born envy dead,
Or vanquisht, or engaged with living worth,
Exulted in the esteem of times to come,
And virtue's mutual friendship unreserved.
In distant continents, where horrid war
Now stains with brother's blood the guilty soil,
In distant islands, mid their nodding palms,
And growing sweets, her eyes survey'd with joy
The willing parent bending o'er her lay.
Dear to the youthful mind, ye prospects hail!
Ye visions wide-removed! for deep Ye thrill'd,
Fixing, as real, all your traces there.
And, if illusive all, yet riper age
Can scarce believe the flattering scenes untrue,
Or cease the vivid colours to behold
Bright glowing thro the shadowy lapse of years.
Ye visions wide-removed! for deep Ye thrill'd,
Fixing, as real, all your traces there.
And, if illusive all, yet riper age
Can scarce believe the flattering scenes untrue,
Or cease the vivid colours to behold
Bright glowing thro the shadowy lapse of years.
93
Meanwhile, O Codrington! whose generous heart
Blames not the tenor of my partial song;
By whom uncensured flows the self-applause.
Whose temper, mild as an autumnal sky,
No cloud obscures; with feelings warm, yet ruled
By cautious judgment, in whose breast resides
Friendship's pure heaven-descended flame; alive
To all a parent's fondest love; yet both
Under superior reason's nice controul
Directed to their truest end and use!
For thee, and such as thee, an audience small,
In space and number circumscribed, by wealth,
By rank and titles undebased, again
I venture the Pierian spring to seek,
And tread on sacred ground. How difficult
Where, thro the laurel-groves, and myrtle shades,
The verdant alleys, lawns, and rising slopes,
Thick strewn with flowers of every various hue,
Of every various season, elegance,
Coy nymph, unsated wanders, on each scene
With curious eye commenting, from the sweets,
The never-fading blooms, each virid arch,
Selecting meetest garlands, to suspend
Upon the tree of taste, most eminent
In the poetic region, underneath
Whose fragrant shelter, Phœbus and the Nine
In chorus met, attune their happier strains
Of rarest harmony: How difficult,
By health and youth attended, to pursue
The bashful maid, attract her favouring eye,
And woo her to bestow a single wreathe!
Blames not the tenor of my partial song;
By whom uncensured flows the self-applause.
Whose temper, mild as an autumnal sky,
No cloud obscures; with feelings warm, yet ruled
By cautious judgment, in whose breast resides
Friendship's pure heaven-descended flame; alive
To all a parent's fondest love; yet both
Under superior reason's nice controul
Directed to their truest end and use!
For thee, and such as thee, an audience small,
In space and number circumscribed, by wealth,
By rank and titles undebased, again
I venture the Pierian spring to seek,
And tread on sacred ground. How difficult
Where, thro the laurel-groves, and myrtle shades,
The verdant alleys, lawns, and rising slopes,
Thick strewn with flowers of every various hue,
Of every various season, elegance,
Coy nymph, unsated wanders, on each scene
With curious eye commenting, from the sweets,
The never-fading blooms, each virid arch,
Selecting meetest garlands, to suspend
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In the poetic region, underneath
Whose fragrant shelter, Phœbus and the Nine
In chorus met, attune their happier strains
Of rarest harmony: How difficult,
By health and youth attended, to pursue
The bashful maid, attract her favouring eye,
And woo her to bestow a single wreathe!
Can I then hope, whom sickness long hath drench'd
In her Lethæan dews, with feeble limbs,
And wan complection, from her hands to bear
Those gifts, which unpossest, my lays must creep
Dully monotonous, nor touch the heart,
Nor win the approving mind? Yes witness thou!
Witness my friend! Who know'st the human frame,
Each drug of cordial, each of healing power,
To me in vain administer'd, what toil
I must experience now, the nymph to trace
Through her meand'ring walks! what partial chance
Should she my languid homage not disdain!
In her Lethæan dews, with feeble limbs,
And wan complection, from her hands to bear
Those gifts, which unpossest, my lays must creep
Dully monotonous, nor touch the heart,
Nor win the approving mind? Yes witness thou!
Witness my friend! Who know'st the human frame,
Each drug of cordial, each of healing power,
To me in vain administer'd, what toil
I must experience now, the nymph to trace
Through her meand'ring walks! what partial chance
Should she my languid homage not disdain!
95
Yet, thy inciting voice, the conscious thought
Sprung from the love of kind, which tells me all
Will not be frustrate, nor the darling wish
Of public good be wholly unfulfill'd;
Some loitering rays of that once brighter flame
My soul enkindling, prompt me to a task
Long interrupted: Where in slumbers deep
It rests, to awaken the Didactic Lyre;
With its more solemn notes to mingle tones
(So they to memory fail not to recur)
Oft heard of yore, as toward the lucid fount
I stole, not unforbidden; tones which please
Heighten'd the more by contrast, and engage
Amusive the charm'd ear, till it imbibe
Instruction with delight, till melody
Not the chief object seem, its liquid voice
Yielding to reason's energy divine.
Sprung from the love of kind, which tells me all
Will not be frustrate, nor the darling wish
Of public good be wholly unfulfill'd;
Some loitering rays of that once brighter flame
My soul enkindling, prompt me to a task
Long interrupted: Where in slumbers deep
It rests, to awaken the Didactic Lyre;
With its more solemn notes to mingle tones
(So they to memory fail not to recur)
Oft heard of yore, as toward the lucid fount
I stole, not unforbidden; tones which please
Heighten'd the more by contrast, and engage
Amusive the charm'd ear, till it imbibe
Instruction with delight, till melody
Not the chief object seem, its liquid voice
Yielding to reason's energy divine.
Of cloathing now, of heat, and cold we sing,
Unanimating themes; but which require
The attention of the bard, as not of use
Inferior to the subjects which erewhile
He strove to adorn; nor claiming notice less
From the true bosom of parental love.
Unanimating themes; but which require
The attention of the bard, as not of use
Inferior to the subjects which erewhile
96
From the true bosom of parental love.
Still heed we nature, and her guiding steps
Pursue; nor, tho with moans, and plaintive cries
From his concealment issues to the light
Man's tender progeny, believe, he feels
The external air his undefended frame
Keenly invade. These moans, these cries proceed
From other causes. To his lungs at once,
Expanding their nice substance, rushes in
The forceful air. The circulating blood
Alters its course, thro channels unessay'd
Impell'd, whose first resistance haply claim
Exertions of the labouring heart, quick, strong,
If not convulsive, yet irregular.
Exertions of the lungs themselves, to gain
Their necessary powers, and genial spring.
Add too that oft each muscle, every limb
Strain'd and comprest, scarce bears the gentlest touch,
Sore from the late hard conflict undergone,
And agonies maternal. But to cold,
Know, he is born impassive; or at least
With vital warmth supplied, to render vain
Its most severe assault; beyond the scale
Of heat which stimulates maturer age.
Pursue; nor, tho with moans, and plaintive cries
From his concealment issues to the light
Man's tender progeny, believe, he feels
The external air his undefended frame
Keenly invade. These moans, these cries proceed
From other causes. To his lungs at once,
Expanding their nice substance, rushes in
The forceful air. The circulating blood
Alters its course, thro channels unessay'd
Impell'd, whose first resistance haply claim
Exertions of the labouring heart, quick, strong,
If not convulsive, yet irregular.
Exertions of the lungs themselves, to gain
Their necessary powers, and genial spring.
Add too that oft each muscle, every limb
Strain'd and comprest, scarce bears the gentlest touch,
Sore from the late hard conflict undergone,
And agonies maternal. But to cold,
Know, he is born impassive; or at least
97
Its most severe assault; beyond the scale
Of heat which stimulates maturer age.
He needs not art's assistant hand, or dress
Of studied care. Uncloath'd, in wilder climes,
Like the more hardy natives of the soil,
E'en in the polar regions, he might brave
The freezing atmosphere. Nay, unwithheld
By dubious fears, tho placed indeed beneath
More favouring skies, there are, who from his birth
Plunge the infant stranger in the gelid wave,
Where unappall'd the mother too enjoys
The bath's refreshing coolness. But, nor harsh,
Nor fanciful, we shall not recommend
To thee, more delicate in form and mind,
Daughter of Britain, these examples, drawn
From savage nations, and from tribes remote.
Cloath'd be thy child; so polisht custom wills,
And decent manners: but in airy garb,
Loose, and uncinctured. Thus he shall avoid
The torment of accumulated heat,
Nor from unnatural coercion feel
Distress and anguish. With minuter rules
To croud the page, and dull, or quaint, describe
His vesture, what materials should compose
Each article, and whether by the loop,
Or pin restrain'd, tho as the last may bring
Danger, nay death, the caution which forbids
Its use, above the trivial-seeming cause
Important rises, descants such as these,
Prolixly mean, would argue in the muse
Failure of judgment, no respect to Thee.
Suffice the general maxim; to dilate,
And to the test each consequence reduce,
Be thine. Bright glows the warm maternal soul,
And clear, illumined by a hint alone.
Of studied care. Uncloath'd, in wilder climes,
Like the more hardy natives of the soil,
E'en in the polar regions, he might brave
The freezing atmosphere. Nay, unwithheld
By dubious fears, tho placed indeed beneath
More favouring skies, there are, who from his birth
Plunge the infant stranger in the gelid wave,
Where unappall'd the mother too enjoys
The bath's refreshing coolness. But, nor harsh,
Nor fanciful, we shall not recommend
To thee, more delicate in form and mind,
Daughter of Britain, these examples, drawn
From savage nations, and from tribes remote.
Cloath'd be thy child; so polisht custom wills,
And decent manners: but in airy garb,
Loose, and uncinctured. Thus he shall avoid
The torment of accumulated heat,
Nor from unnatural coercion feel
98
To croud the page, and dull, or quaint, describe
His vesture, what materials should compose
Each article, and whether by the loop,
Or pin restrain'd, tho as the last may bring
Danger, nay death, the caution which forbids
Its use, above the trivial-seeming cause
Important rises, descants such as these,
Prolixly mean, would argue in the muse
Failure of judgment, no respect to Thee.
Suffice the general maxim; to dilate,
And to the test each consequence reduce,
Be thine. Bright glows the warm maternal soul,
And clear, illumined by a hint alone.
Nor flows with that necessity the strain,
As erst it might, when barbarous hands around
The new-born Babe fold over fold inwreath'd
The circling band. Amid the wanton gales
Which luxury breathes, amid the changeful swarms
Which fashion decks in her cameleon hues,
Amid the increasing follies of our age,
And vices not perhaps destructive less
Than those of old, tho softer, milder far,
Link'd with humanity, and taught to charm,
To poison by politeness; justice owns,
While the rough virtues of our ancestors
And manly genius we no more behold:
Our souls revolt from habits which enslaved
Unamiable their minds, and from the sway
Of prejudice, whose galling shackles long
Their vigorous faculties controul'd. This truth
Justice confesses, this, the instructive muse.
As erst it might, when barbarous hands around
The new-born Babe fold over fold inwreath'd
The circling band. Amid the wanton gales
Which luxury breathes, amid the changeful swarms
Which fashion decks in her cameleon hues,
Amid the increasing follies of our age,
And vices not perhaps destructive less
99
Link'd with humanity, and taught to charm,
To poison by politeness; justice owns,
While the rough virtues of our ancestors
And manly genius we no more behold:
Our souls revolt from habits which enslaved
Unamiable their minds, and from the sway
Of prejudice, whose galling shackles long
Their vigorous faculties controul'd. This truth
Justice confesses, this, the instructive muse.
Gladly, O mother! We congratulate
Thy infant, who from life's first dawn enjoys
His birth-right, who the vital air at will
Inhales, nor feels corporeal bonds. With me
Revert thine eyes, and lo! their hapless sons,
How braced and pinion'd, who to extend the reign
Of civil liberty, with ardour toil'd,
Who fought, who bled to extend it. Nor escaped
The race preceding our's. See, where they lye,
True objects of compassion! round them close
Is fixt the painful bandage, not a limb
Can move; sad victims to the erroneous creed
Which holds that nature incompletely acts
And forms defective works, that art may give
The strength by her refused, and perfect thus
The unfinisht system, gasping they recline
In real martyrdom. The shriek is heard,
The groan, the sob expressive, but in vain.
In vain the little captive, as awhile
Released from durance, utters sounds of joy,
Stretches his arms well-pleased, and smiles, and casts
His looks delighted on the cheerful blaze,
Or waving taper. To his fetters soon
Remanded, he in vain attempts to cope
With arbitrary power, each effort tries,
Shews by each deed the abhorrence which he feels,
Adding the emphatic eloquence of tears,
Of inarticulate, but deep distress,
And struggles all-impassion'd to be free.
Thy infant, who from life's first dawn enjoys
His birth-right, who the vital air at will
Inhales, nor feels corporeal bonds. With me
Revert thine eyes, and lo! their hapless sons,
How braced and pinion'd, who to extend the reign
Of civil liberty, with ardour toil'd,
Who fought, who bled to extend it. Nor escaped
The race preceding our's. See, where they lye,
True objects of compassion! round them close
Is fixt the painful bandage, not a limb
Can move; sad victims to the erroneous creed
100
And forms defective works, that art may give
The strength by her refused, and perfect thus
The unfinisht system, gasping they recline
In real martyrdom. The shriek is heard,
The groan, the sob expressive, but in vain.
In vain the little captive, as awhile
Released from durance, utters sounds of joy,
Stretches his arms well-pleased, and smiles, and casts
His looks delighted on the cheerful blaze,
Or waving taper. To his fetters soon
Remanded, he in vain attempts to cope
With arbitrary power, each effort tries,
Shews by each deed the abhorrence which he feels,
Adding the emphatic eloquence of tears,
Of inarticulate, but deep distress,
And struggles all-impassion'd to be free.
With pity and contempt thy soul beholds
This picture. What calamities ensued,
Experience proved; but idiot bigotry
Confess'd them not. The evolving principle
Within, the plastic juice augmenting size,
Thus partially impeded, could not urge
The destined fibres onward, or enlarge
By due accretion e'en the vital cells
Requiring speediest growth. Yet active still,
In disproportion'd manner, to the head
Unseemly bulk they added; or the joints
Distended, and relax'd. Or oft from pain
Shrinking, the child, uconscious but of ease,
Curved by forced attitudes the flexile bones,
Nay the all-supporting spine. The obstructed breath,
The fluids in their circulating course
Unnaturally check'd; the irriguous glands;
The fount whence motion, and sensation spring,
And future intellect, the brain itself,
Disturbed, or with more lasting injury
Impress'd, exclaim'd at this preposterous war,
The war which Step-dame art with nature waged.
This picture. What calamities ensued,
Experience proved; but idiot bigotry
Confess'd them not. The evolving principle
Within, the plastic juice augmenting size,
101
The destined fibres onward, or enlarge
By due accretion e'en the vital cells
Requiring speediest growth. Yet active still,
In disproportion'd manner, to the head
Unseemly bulk they added; or the joints
Distended, and relax'd. Or oft from pain
Shrinking, the child, uconscious but of ease,
Curved by forced attitudes the flexile bones,
Nay the all-supporting spine. The obstructed breath,
The fluids in their circulating course
Unnaturally check'd; the irriguous glands;
The fount whence motion, and sensation spring,
And future intellect, the brain itself,
Disturbed, or with more lasting injury
Impress'd, exclaim'd at this preposterous war,
The war which Step-dame art with nature waged.
Call'd by society to tread the paths
Of busy life, from its hard slavery soon
The stronger sex was freed; and ere too late,
Haply by nature's potent air restored,
Could boast a frame of vigour unimpair'd,
And undeformed. But to long sufferings doom'd,
The female race, so will'd perverted taste,
For many a year pined underneath the force
Of this domestic torture. For as erst
The mother strove to assist their infant nerves,
And give to weakness strength: She now assay'd
Her progeny to embellish, and their shape
To mould, as fancied beauty in her eye
Deceptive shone, Heaven! that the human mind
Warp'd by imagination, should believe,
Or e'en suggest it possible, the form,
Whose archetype the Deity himself
Created in his image, could be changed
From it's divine proportion, and receive
By alteration, comeliness and grace!
That round the zone which awkwardly reduced
E'en to an insect ligament the waist,
The blooming loves should sport, enticing charms,
And young attractions! Heaven! that e'er a bard,
(The genuine bard is nature's sacred priest)
Forgetful of his charge, should deck with praise
As fair and lovely, what would strike the soul
Unwarp'd by custom, as a subject fit
For scorn, indignant spleen, or ridicule.
Yet Prior! tho nor taste nor reason blend
Their essence with the verse, while lasts the tongue
Thy numbers help'd to polish, while the powers
Of melody bear sway, the verse shall live,
Beauteous description of a gothic shape.
Of busy life, from its hard slavery soon
The stronger sex was freed; and ere too late,
Haply by nature's potent air restored,
Could boast a frame of vigour unimpair'd,
102
The female race, so will'd perverted taste,
For many a year pined underneath the force
Of this domestic torture. For as erst
The mother strove to assist their infant nerves,
And give to weakness strength: She now assay'd
Her progeny to embellish, and their shape
To mould, as fancied beauty in her eye
Deceptive shone, Heaven! that the human mind
Warp'd by imagination, should believe,
Or e'en suggest it possible, the form,
Whose archetype the Deity himself
Created in his image, could be changed
From it's divine proportion, and receive
By alteration, comeliness and grace!
That round the zone which awkwardly reduced
E'en to an insect ligament the waist,
The blooming loves should sport, enticing charms,
And young attractions! Heaven! that e'er a bard,
(The genuine bard is nature's sacred priest)
Forgetful of his charge, should deck with praise
As fair and lovely, what would strike the soul
Unwarp'd by custom, as a subject fit
103
Yet Prior! tho nor taste nor reason blend
Their essence with the verse, while lasts the tongue
Thy numbers help'd to polish, while the powers
Of melody bear sway, the verse shall live,
Beauteous description of a gothic shape.
Oh! may the manners of thy nut-brown maid,
Her artless truth, simplicity of soul,
Her fondness, and intrepid constancy,
Long in the bosoms of the British fair,
Tho banish'd every other region, dwell,
Delighted inmates! May their eyes still beam
With all her speaking rays, their cheeks endue
Her modest crimson! But may never more
“The boddice aptly laced” their panting hearts
Confine, or mutilate that symmetry
Of limb and figure, whence a Zeuxis' hand
His all-accomplish'd Helen might have form'd,
Or a Praxiteles with happiest art
Sculptured a Venus. Tho meridian day
Behold them drest as potent fashion bids,
Girt with exterior ornaments uncouth,
Trappings disgustful; yet at morn, or eve,
Or when they to the genial bed repair,
Still may they charm the melting eye of love
With elegance and grace, the fabled dames
Of classic soil transcending, native grace,
And elegance unveil'd, which mocks attire.
Her artless truth, simplicity of soul,
Her fondness, and intrepid constancy,
Long in the bosoms of the British fair,
Tho banish'd every other region, dwell,
Delighted inmates! May their eyes still beam
With all her speaking rays, their cheeks endue
Her modest crimson! But may never more
“The boddice aptly laced” their panting hearts
Confine, or mutilate that symmetry
Of limb and figure, whence a Zeuxis' hand
His all-accomplish'd Helen might have form'd,
Or a Praxiteles with happiest art
Sculptured a Venus. Tho meridian day
Behold them drest as potent fashion bids,
Girt with exterior ornaments uncouth,
104
Or when they to the genial bed repair,
Still may they charm the melting eye of love
With elegance and grace, the fabled dames
Of classic soil transcending, native grace,
And elegance unveil'd, which mocks attire.
Return digressive muse! to approach the shore
Of Cyprus, or to breathe the tepid gales
From Achedivias' island wafted round
Is not thy choice; tho Camoens' shade invite,
And Mickle with his glowing spirit fraught,
As each heroic, so each scene of joy
Paint with a master's fire unlimited
By cold translation. Never may our strain
One vague idea raise, which spotless minds
May blush to own, much less insult the glance
Of virgin purity, or harshly wound
The conjugal and chaste maternal ear.
Of Cyprus, or to breathe the tepid gales
From Achedivias' island wafted round
Is not thy choice; tho Camoens' shade invite,
And Mickle with his glowing spirit fraught,
As each heroic, so each scene of joy
Paint with a master's fire unlimited
By cold translation. Never may our strain
One vague idea raise, which spotless minds
May blush to own, much less insult the glance
Of virgin purity, or harshly wound
The conjugal and chaste maternal ear.
Digressive muse return! our proper theme
Is man's first helpless state, our tuneful aid
The ingenuous parent claims. Resolved to bless
Thy child with ease and freedom, taught to shun
By the dire act of swathing, all constraint
So baneful, let no part escape thy care.
Nor load the head; nor till he walk abroad,
At least till firmly he can press the ground,
Cover the legs or feet. Some precepts here
To cloathing unattached, or slightly link'd,
We mean to inculcate. Need I then to thee,
O mother, whom the soul refined alone
Can prompt to inspect my numbers, recommend
The Virtues' dear correlative, (as they
The mental frame, so the corporeal, she
Adorning, rendering pure) the decent maid,
Unsullied cleanliness, with her full oft
Thy charge to visit? Not that to her shrine
E'en from thy tender years thou hast not paid
Sincerest worship. But my words believe,
Strict watchfulness the menial train require,
And if, unheedful to their trust, they slight
The grave rebuke, dismiss them from thy doors.
Not their's the nicer sense inspiring thee,
Those principles and habits now intwined
In union with thy nature. Nor is their's
The babe, who smarting from their sloth, with nerves
Keenly alive, by the corrosive sting
Of acrimony pierced, tormented shrieks,
Or moans incessant. Neither scorn as vain,
The dictates which succeed, from reason learn'd.
Is man's first helpless state, our tuneful aid
The ingenuous parent claims. Resolved to bless
105
By the dire act of swathing, all constraint
So baneful, let no part escape thy care.
Nor load the head; nor till he walk abroad,
At least till firmly he can press the ground,
Cover the legs or feet. Some precepts here
To cloathing unattached, or slightly link'd,
We mean to inculcate. Need I then to thee,
O mother, whom the soul refined alone
Can prompt to inspect my numbers, recommend
The Virtues' dear correlative, (as they
The mental frame, so the corporeal, she
Adorning, rendering pure) the decent maid,
Unsullied cleanliness, with her full oft
Thy charge to visit? Not that to her shrine
E'en from thy tender years thou hast not paid
Sincerest worship. But my words believe,
Strict watchfulness the menial train require,
And if, unheedful to their trust, they slight
The grave rebuke, dismiss them from thy doors.
Not their's the nicer sense inspiring thee,
Those principles and habits now intwined
In union with thy nature. Nor is their's
106
Keenly alive, by the corrosive sting
Of acrimony pierced, tormented shrieks,
Or moans incessant. Neither scorn as vain,
The dictates which succeed, from reason learn'd.
Banish the softer couch; let not thy child
Recline on down; his pliant bones but now
From cartilage emerging, on the bed
Which yields beneath his weight may haply gain,
Thus frequently recumbent, a deformed
And twisted aspect, by chirurgic skill
For ever irreclaimable. Nor less
Such accident to avoid, with cautious eye
The attendant mark, who bears him in her arms,
And let her oft his posture shift, oft change
From right to left, altern. A careless tribe,
Purchased by interest only, is the race
To servitude accustomed; trust not them.
Trust thy own judgment, let thy ruling mind
Govern each act of their's. Yet neither here,
Nor elsewhere, mean we in a general blame
To involve them all. Some from attachment serve,
And to constrictive duty add the tye
Of willing love. Such as a treasure prize.
A countless treasure. Say, by one of these
Is thy child foster'd? smoothe for her the brow,
The tone of high command; let all her days
Roll on illumed by kindness and esteem;
Think her thy fellow labourer and thy friend;
Alleviate every future ill of life,
And, if thou can'st, remove them. Ne'er may she
Who with maternal prudence, and the warmth
Of zeal affectionate, hath lent her aid
To form thy children, to support, to raise
From perilous estate to strength and health,
Feel the distressful sting of poverty,
Or, if the means are not withheld, in thee
Want a protector. But, if more than this,
Her bosom hath the nutriment supplied
Which thine refused, still more may she demand,
And thou in justice grant the liberal boon.
Recline on down; his pliant bones but now
From cartilage emerging, on the bed
Which yields beneath his weight may haply gain,
Thus frequently recumbent, a deformed
And twisted aspect, by chirurgic skill
For ever irreclaimable. Nor less
Such accident to avoid, with cautious eye
The attendant mark, who bears him in her arms,
And let her oft his posture shift, oft change
From right to left, altern. A careless tribe,
Purchased by interest only, is the race
To servitude accustomed; trust not them.
Trust thy own judgment, let thy ruling mind
Govern each act of their's. Yet neither here,
Nor elsewhere, mean we in a general blame
To involve them all. Some from attachment serve,
107
Of willing love. Such as a treasure prize.
A countless treasure. Say, by one of these
Is thy child foster'd? smoothe for her the brow,
The tone of high command; let all her days
Roll on illumed by kindness and esteem;
Think her thy fellow labourer and thy friend;
Alleviate every future ill of life,
And, if thou can'st, remove them. Ne'er may she
Who with maternal prudence, and the warmth
Of zeal affectionate, hath lent her aid
To form thy children, to support, to raise
From perilous estate to strength and health,
Feel the distressful sting of poverty,
Or, if the means are not withheld, in thee
Want a protector. But, if more than this,
Her bosom hath the nutriment supplied
Which thine refused, still more may she demand,
And thou in justice grant the liberal boon.
And Oh! Ingenuous Youth! whose blood now flusht
With yet unsatiated desire, quick beats
In every pulse, to mix in active life
Intent, or climb where science points the way!
Oh Virgin! Who with beauty deckt, and gay
In unperverted innocence, around
Survey'st thy homagers, yet covetest
One faithful heart alone. Oh! recollect
Her assiduity, her diligence,
And tender care, to which thou owest the frame
Able to cope with business, or sustain
The toil, which knowledge asks, to gather in
Her wide-spread harvest. That attentive zeal,
To which thou owest the comeliness of shape,
Those beauties which from every eye attract
The applausive glance, and every breast inspire
With love or admiration. Recollect
Not frigidly, or faintly, like the crew
Who every pleasure centre in themselves;
Not with weak indecisive apathy;
But with a bounteous and expanded soul,
Estranged from self, replete with gratitude.
With yet unsatiated desire, quick beats
In every pulse, to mix in active life
108
Oh Virgin! Who with beauty deckt, and gay
In unperverted innocence, around
Survey'st thy homagers, yet covetest
One faithful heart alone. Oh! recollect
Her assiduity, her diligence,
And tender care, to which thou owest the frame
Able to cope with business, or sustain
The toil, which knowledge asks, to gather in
Her wide-spread harvest. That attentive zeal,
To which thou owest the comeliness of shape,
Those beauties which from every eye attract
The applausive glance, and every breast inspire
With love or admiration. Recollect
Not frigidly, or faintly, like the crew
Who every pleasure centre in themselves;
Not with weak indecisive apathy;
But with a bounteous and expanded soul,
Estranged from self, replete with gratitude.
Because the winged nations fondly brood
Over their unfledg'd young; because we view
Where'er reclined, her new-born offspring press
Close to the parent quadruped; because
By instinct irresistible impell'd
The mother longs to embrace her infant charge,
And hide it in her bosom; while thro wilds,
Or o'er the desart mountain as she roves,
The savage still her clinging babe sustains:
Some, this communicated warmth affirm
Is needful; and that man's else-drooping race
Requires the genial contact. Mindless they,
How far from nature's simpleness diverge
Our steps, our every action. Were the child
Unclad by day, unshelter'd thro the night,
We should not hesitate to recommend
What otherwise we smile at, or perchance
Hold but of dubious consequence. Our lays
Have taught what cold his system can repell
First into light immerging: And if cloath'd
As custom bids, he from himself will gain
This added warmth, condensed, and on himself
Recoiling. Better thus, than haply sunk
Beneath the load which our nocturnal rest
Demands, to feel the intense phlogistic heat
Of temporary fever, or to melt
In copious steam away. Much better thus,
Than by the mother or the nurse oppress'd
In heavy sleep, to frustrate all the schemes
Parental love had formed; or placed within
Some ancient hireling's bed, instead of warmth
From generous blood, and balmy breath supplied,
To warm the shrivell'd dotard. But, if laid
From thee remote, or in the couch with thine
Conjoin'd, why should'st thou not examine well
And frequently his lodgment? so inform'd,
Thou can'st not fail, O mother! to perceive
What suits his constitution, what to add,
What to subtract; doubtless thy native sense
Beyond my strains will teach thee, that when rules
Fierce Sirius, lighter vestments will suffice,
Than when Aquarius opes his full-fraught urn,
And winter arm'd with piercing frost, defies
The unwarlike sun. Thy prudent soul will know
His limbs in health, blest with the temperate mean,
Nor heat nor cold betray. Yet truth forbids
To slight exceptions which are often found
Eluding justest rules. Should some disease
Attack the child, and anguish writhe his frame,
To shivering pain thy near approach may give
Solace and ease, nay as it were, foment,
Assuage, and lull the smart; or should he pine
With more than common weakness, from his birth
Afflicted, blasted, or untimely born
With nerves imperfect, as the exotic flower
Thrives not, but when included from the winds,
Its fibres by the sun's concenter'd rays
Are duly irritated, he may want
Thy vital stimulating heat. But soon
E'en then attempt increase of strength to give
By other means; and seek at first the bath
Of moderate temperature; by slow degrees
Proceeding, till his habit can support
The powerful shock which colder lymph imparts.
Over their unfledg'd young; because we view
Where'er reclined, her new-born offspring press
109
By instinct irresistible impell'd
The mother longs to embrace her infant charge,
And hide it in her bosom; while thro wilds,
Or o'er the desart mountain as she roves,
The savage still her clinging babe sustains:
Some, this communicated warmth affirm
Is needful; and that man's else-drooping race
Requires the genial contact. Mindless they,
How far from nature's simpleness diverge
Our steps, our every action. Were the child
Unclad by day, unshelter'd thro the night,
We should not hesitate to recommend
What otherwise we smile at, or perchance
Hold but of dubious consequence. Our lays
Have taught what cold his system can repell
First into light immerging: And if cloath'd
As custom bids, he from himself will gain
This added warmth, condensed, and on himself
Recoiling. Better thus, than haply sunk
Beneath the load which our nocturnal rest
Demands, to feel the intense phlogistic heat
Of temporary fever, or to melt
110
Than by the mother or the nurse oppress'd
In heavy sleep, to frustrate all the schemes
Parental love had formed; or placed within
Some ancient hireling's bed, instead of warmth
From generous blood, and balmy breath supplied,
To warm the shrivell'd dotard. But, if laid
From thee remote, or in the couch with thine
Conjoin'd, why should'st thou not examine well
And frequently his lodgment? so inform'd,
Thou can'st not fail, O mother! to perceive
What suits his constitution, what to add,
What to subtract; doubtless thy native sense
Beyond my strains will teach thee, that when rules
Fierce Sirius, lighter vestments will suffice,
Than when Aquarius opes his full-fraught urn,
And winter arm'd with piercing frost, defies
The unwarlike sun. Thy prudent soul will know
His limbs in health, blest with the temperate mean,
Nor heat nor cold betray. Yet truth forbids
To slight exceptions which are often found
Eluding justest rules. Should some disease
Attack the child, and anguish writhe his frame,
111
Solace and ease, nay as it were, foment,
Assuage, and lull the smart; or should he pine
With more than common weakness, from his birth
Afflicted, blasted, or untimely born
With nerves imperfect, as the exotic flower
Thrives not, but when included from the winds,
Its fibres by the sun's concenter'd rays
Are duly irritated, he may want
Thy vital stimulating heat. But soon
E'en then attempt increase of strength to give
By other means; and seek at first the bath
Of moderate temperature; by slow degrees
Proceeding, till his habit can support
The powerful shock which colder lymph imparts.
But so diffusive is the tyrant reign
Of fashion; such our table's proud excess;
Such is our love of cards, time's murderers,
Keen agitators of the gentlest breasts,
(Which ought to be the gentlest,) such those hours,
Those midnight hours, corrodent of the bloom
Which else would decorate the female cheek,
And animate the lips which now are pale:
Such the destructive arts, when beauty fades,
Its meretricious semblance to display,
The lifeless white, and never-varying blush;
Detected by the curious eye, which hates
The fraud, and painted Cytheræa scorns:
Such are our matrons, such, except the few,
Who nobly singular, behold, and smile
At folly's deeds absurd, that all who spring
From them, may well partake the feeble nerve,
And vapid blood, in which more faintly glows
The living principle; and what for some
We erst prescribed, we now prescribe to all,
To all their children; neither do we think
Even to them the song may flow in vain;
For should caprice applaud, who oft usurps
The throne of sense, and guides the public taste,
In her wild fit round merit's brow the wreathe
Intwining, which for folly she design'd,
They too may cast a glance across the page
Which fashion bids them read. Know then ye fair,
Whom tho my heart approves not, I behold
With truest pity; know, the unhappy babes
Whom you have toil'd unceasing to produce
Fragile and delicate, a word of your's
Perhaps may rescue from impending fate.
Oh! issue your commands! great is the power
Of cold: yourselves no doubt have often sought
In fervid summer its benign effects
In the salt deep, whence braced you might endure
The winter's hard campaign. And hence new tone
Your offspring shall derive, their stamina
In some degree corrected, while the force
Of nervous influence more intensely thrills
The arterial frame, and the lax muscle swells.
Of fashion; such our table's proud excess;
Such is our love of cards, time's murderers,
Keen agitators of the gentlest breasts,
(Which ought to be the gentlest,) such those hours,
Those midnight hours, corrodent of the bloom
Which else would decorate the female cheek,
112
Such the destructive arts, when beauty fades,
Its meretricious semblance to display,
The lifeless white, and never-varying blush;
Detected by the curious eye, which hates
The fraud, and painted Cytheræa scorns:
Such are our matrons, such, except the few,
Who nobly singular, behold, and smile
At folly's deeds absurd, that all who spring
From them, may well partake the feeble nerve,
And vapid blood, in which more faintly glows
The living principle; and what for some
We erst prescribed, we now prescribe to all,
To all their children; neither do we think
Even to them the song may flow in vain;
For should caprice applaud, who oft usurps
The throne of sense, and guides the public taste,
In her wild fit round merit's brow the wreathe
Intwining, which for folly she design'd,
They too may cast a glance across the page
Which fashion bids them read. Know then ye fair,
Whom tho my heart approves not, I behold
With truest pity; know, the unhappy babes
113
Fragile and delicate, a word of your's
Perhaps may rescue from impending fate.
Oh! issue your commands! great is the power
Of cold: yourselves no doubt have often sought
In fervid summer its benign effects
In the salt deep, whence braced you might endure
The winter's hard campaign. And hence new tone
Your offspring shall derive, their stamina
In some degree corrected, while the force
Of nervous influence more intensely thrills
The arterial frame, and the lax muscle swells.
Ye Frigid Springs! wherever first appear
Your bubbling sources, underneath the grot,
Or pendent shade. Ye ever-living streams!
Where'er you wind pellucid thro the vales
Your pastoral mazes, or o'er rocks abrupt
Hurl down your dashing foam. Ye rivers wide!
Where'er in proud procession to the main
Your copious tribute rolls: to you my song
Should grateful rise—Ye Naiads! who direct
Each scatter'd rill, ere in coactive strength
They flow exuberant; to your praise attuned
Should sound the note melodious, and your names
Would I, ye nymphs recount, and joyful paint
Your attributes and virtues—But your priest,
Your favourite Akenside, his hallow'd lays
Hath not in vain effused, with pious voice
Hymning your benefits; and all around
Your sacred haunts hath cast a magic spell,
Forbidding each profaner foot, the groves,
The caves, the dells obscure where you sojourn,
And your chaste bosoms shelter from the fire
Of scorching Phœbus, wantonly to approach,
Or rudely violate. Nor shall my feet
Profanely tread your dark-embowering shades,
Nor shall my roving eye with curious search
Your deep recesses pierce. Yet, O Ye Springs!
Ye Streams! Ye Rivers clear! And thou, by whom
They all are fed, to whom they all return,
Exhaustless Ocean! with the general song
Which choral nature pours, my voice shall join
Though undistinguish'd; and with all that creep,
Or run, or fly, or vegetate, shall own
Your fructifying, life-preserving power.
Your power, which Thales, which the Man of Thebes
Contemplating, affirm'd to listening Greece,
That water all transcends, unrivall'd, best,
The sole, prolific element of things.
Your bubbling sources, underneath the grot,
Or pendent shade. Ye ever-living streams!
Where'er you wind pellucid thro the vales
Your pastoral mazes, or o'er rocks abrupt
Hurl down your dashing foam. Ye rivers wide!
Where'er in proud procession to the main
Your copious tribute rolls: to you my song
Should grateful rise—Ye Naiads! who direct
Each scatter'd rill, ere in coactive strength
114
Should sound the note melodious, and your names
Would I, ye nymphs recount, and joyful paint
Your attributes and virtues—But your priest,
Your favourite Akenside, his hallow'd lays
Hath not in vain effused, with pious voice
Hymning your benefits; and all around
Your sacred haunts hath cast a magic spell,
Forbidding each profaner foot, the groves,
The caves, the dells obscure where you sojourn,
And your chaste bosoms shelter from the fire
Of scorching Phœbus, wantonly to approach,
Or rudely violate. Nor shall my feet
Profanely tread your dark-embowering shades,
Nor shall my roving eye with curious search
Your deep recesses pierce. Yet, O Ye Springs!
Ye Streams! Ye Rivers clear! And thou, by whom
They all are fed, to whom they all return,
Exhaustless Ocean! with the general song
Which choral nature pours, my voice shall join
Though undistinguish'd; and with all that creep,
Or run, or fly, or vegetate, shall own
Your fructifying, life-preserving power.
115
Contemplating, affirm'd to listening Greece,
That water all transcends, unrivall'd, best,
The sole, prolific element of things.
Whether your moisture cloathe the exulting meads
With herbage, or slow-deluging the plain,
You fertilize the soil, while millions view
The prospect with delight, sure pledge of wealth,
Of copious-teeming harvests. Whether soft
And gentle your refreshing dews descend,
Absorbed by each inhalant leaf and flower.
Whether your rains entangle as they fall
The electric fluid, and with vital strength
Each seed inform, each fainting plant supply,
Whether you offer to the thirsty lip
Delicious draughts; or to the languid frame
Of sickness your invigorating waves
Wherein to bathe, and feel the tonic force
Of cold at every trial brace the limbs,
The heart, the brain re-act at every shock,
Till, all their pristine energy restored,
The fibres move responsive to their sway,
And the once loitering blood propell'd anew
Warm thro its channels to the surface flows.
You, mid the general song which Nature pours,
My grateful strains shall praise. For, not unread
In Pœon's hallow'd lore, not uninform'd
By chemic art, your healing qualities
I too may boast to know; and whence derived,
From earths, or salts, or mineral particles,
Combined, suspended by attraction's laws,
Or held in union by aerial chains,
And crown'd with sprightly Gas. Hence, led by hope,
By reason led, I drank with eager lip
At those salubrious springs which make renown'd
Our British Baiæ; but the obstructing cause
Of ill, or relaxation faint remain'd;
Such mischief waits on sedentary hours,
And studious midnight thought. Hence now the shores
Of hoary Neptune, hence the sounding caves
I seek, and turn to the refreshing breeze
My pallid face, inhaling, as I sit,
The briny spray; or mark the rising sun
Beyond the vast expanse diffusing wide
His glorious beams, and at his orient light
Dip in the fluid element; nor breathe
To either power unheeded orisons.
With herbage, or slow-deluging the plain,
You fertilize the soil, while millions view
The prospect with delight, sure pledge of wealth,
Of copious-teeming harvests. Whether soft
And gentle your refreshing dews descend,
Absorbed by each inhalant leaf and flower.
Whether your rains entangle as they fall
The electric fluid, and with vital strength
Each seed inform, each fainting plant supply,
Whether you offer to the thirsty lip
Delicious draughts; or to the languid frame
Of sickness your invigorating waves
Wherein to bathe, and feel the tonic force
Of cold at every trial brace the limbs,
The heart, the brain re-act at every shock,
Till, all their pristine energy restored,
The fibres move responsive to their sway,
116
Warm thro its channels to the surface flows.
You, mid the general song which Nature pours,
My grateful strains shall praise. For, not unread
In Pœon's hallow'd lore, not uninform'd
By chemic art, your healing qualities
I too may boast to know; and whence derived,
From earths, or salts, or mineral particles,
Combined, suspended by attraction's laws,
Or held in union by aerial chains,
And crown'd with sprightly Gas. Hence, led by hope,
By reason led, I drank with eager lip
At those salubrious springs which make renown'd
Our British Baiæ; but the obstructing cause
Of ill, or relaxation faint remain'd;
Such mischief waits on sedentary hours,
And studious midnight thought. Hence now the shores
Of hoary Neptune, hence the sounding caves
I seek, and turn to the refreshing breeze
My pallid face, inhaling, as I sit,
The briny spray; or mark the rising sun
Beyond the vast expanse diffusing wide
His glorious beams, and at his orient light
117
To either power unheeded orisons.
Surely, not duped by fancy, I perceive
At times, as struggling to be free, the trace
Of long-forgotten feelings? And my limbs
More firmly press the beach! And toward the flood
I move, unaided by ministrant hands.
At times, as struggling to be free, the trace
Of long-forgotten feelings? And my limbs
More firmly press the beach! And toward the flood
I move, unaided by ministrant hands.
O Dawlish! though unclassic be thy name,
By every muse unsung, should from thy tide,
To keen poetic eyes alone reveal'd,
(From the cerulean bosom of the deep
As Aphrodite rose of old) appear
Health's blooming goddess, and benignant smile
On her true votary; not Cythera's fane,
Not Eryx, nor the laurel boughs which waved
On Delos erst; Apollo's natal soil,
However warm enthusiastic youth
Dwelt on those seats enamour'd, shall to me
Be half so dear. To thee will I consign
Often the timid virgin, to thy pure
Incircling waves; to thee will I consign
The feeble matron, or the Child on whom
Thou may'st bestow a second happier birth
From weakness into strength. And should I view
Unfetter'd, with the sound firm-judging mind,
Imagination too return, array'd
In her once-glowing vest, to thee my lyre
Shall oft be tuned, and to thy Nereids green,
Long, long unnoticed in their haunts retired.
Nor will I cease to prize thy lovely strand,
Thy towering cliffs, nor the small babbling brook
Whose shallow current laves thy thistled vale.
By every muse unsung, should from thy tide,
To keen poetic eyes alone reveal'd,
(From the cerulean bosom of the deep
As Aphrodite rose of old) appear
Health's blooming goddess, and benignant smile
On her true votary; not Cythera's fane,
Not Eryx, nor the laurel boughs which waved
On Delos erst; Apollo's natal soil,
However warm enthusiastic youth
Dwelt on those seats enamour'd, shall to me
Be half so dear. To thee will I consign
Often the timid virgin, to thy pure
Incircling waves; to thee will I consign
118
Thou may'st bestow a second happier birth
From weakness into strength. And should I view
Unfetter'd, with the sound firm-judging mind,
Imagination too return, array'd
In her once-glowing vest, to thee my lyre
Shall oft be tuned, and to thy Nereids green,
Long, long unnoticed in their haunts retired.
Nor will I cease to prize thy lovely strand,
Thy towering cliffs, nor the small babbling brook
Whose shallow current laves thy thistled vale.
END OF THE FOURTH BOOK.
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