 | The triumph of music |  |
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CANTO IV.
“No! no!—It must not be—not yet! not yet!”(The sad recluse replied, with fond regret:)
“I am not worthy, with paternal arms,
Yet to infold thy sweetly filial charms;
But hourly blessings, to a countless store,
Daily on thee I will not cease to pour,
Fervid, tho' absent! and my soul shall pray,
That lenient time may bring a blissful day,
When, my just vow accomplish'd, I may deem
My heart grown worthy of thy fond esteem;
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And forfeited delights restor'd in thee:
Thou lovely ward! whose welfare to secure
Ceaseless I supplicate the powers most pure.
Thou, whose defence my spirit, not remiss,
Embraces, as a pledge of future bliss.
O do not hate me! if I here disclose
Faults, that thy tender mind could ne'er suppose,
Faults of past time! for which new hopes I own,
A length of penance may at last atone!
Know then, that I a daughter once possest,
Whom had my heart, with nature's zeal, carest,
I might not now, in scenes of mental strife,
Feel the cold pangs of desolated life:
But let Venusia pity, if she can,
The pride, and the perversity of man!—
Madd'ning with loss of that heroic boy,
Whom Heaven, in anger, doom'd me to destroy,
His infant sister (O detested pride!
Offspring of folly! and to guilt allied!)
This little innocent (O base neglect!
Of one, who had no mother to protect!)
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Sent to a distant mercenary nurse;
There, after lingering months of speechless breath,
With none to watch her life, or mourn her death,
My outcast daughter perish'd; while my mind,
Absorb'd in selfish sorrow, base, and blind!
Hardly lamented that young orphan's fate.
To just compunction I awak'd too late;
But O! if haply by contrition won,
A slighted daughter, and a slaughter'd son!
Heaven yet may pardon to my blinded soul;
If penance well-achiev'd, with soft controul,
May to domestic joys my heart restore;
If conscience tell me, expiation's o'er;
If I may foster, in this vale of tears,
Unseen, Venusia, two completed years;
If that blest period come, my rescued mind
In her, my sweet adopted child! may find
Its lost felicity.—To sorrow dear
This interim let sacred music cheer!
But O my tenderest of friends! beware!
The awful terrors of contrition spare!
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To conquer scruples, in a mind too weak!
Be thou in patience, as in charms, sublime!
And leave to Heaven its own appointed time!”
This, and much more, in letters, that proclaim
No trifling conflict in the writer's frame,
The kind Manfredi to Venusia said:
His wish was awful; and his words obey'd.
Lucilio, who had once, in grief intense,
That threaten'd life, and life's prime lustre, sense!
To his own mind, by constant prayer convey'd
Mild resignation's medicinal aid,
Now tried the spirit of his friend to heal
By tuneful orisons, and temp'rate zeal.
Venusia, whose pure mind, in sweet accord
With all the virtues of her generous lord,
As her chief study, the blest art pursued
Of less'ning evil, and promoting good,
Sustain'd her part, in every sacred rite.
She, kindly active as life-cheering light,
Drew from Manfredi, by her modest praise,
A soothing series of his mournful lays.
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To form in Pity's Shrine devotion's book;
In which she treasur'd, and was glad to blend
The hallow'd rhymes of each poetic friend:
Manfredi, Theodore, Lucilio there
Her hand united in melodious prayer:
Nor did she shrink herself; but kindly deck'd
The social page that friendship may respect,
With verse, in which simplicity exprest
The feelings of her own angelic breast.
Mild youth, and tenderness! for whom I write,
Your praise my wish, my purpose your delight!
Ye will not murmur if my story pause,
While, justly zealous in devotion's cause,
I from the volume of Venusia steal
Some pages, which may wake your early zeal:
Blest, if her tender piety imparts
Its own pure spirit to congenial hearts!
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THE VOLUME OF VENUSIA.
SONNET.
Almighty source of intellectual peace!
On whom all powers, all faculties depend,
Thou, meek affliction's never failing friend!
Command all conflicts in my heart to cease!
There charity preside! there faith encrease!
There hope, whose visions of delight attend
Youth's vivid morn, and age's virtuous end,
Sound thy sweet prelude to the soul's release!
On whom all powers, all faculties depend,
Thou, meek affliction's never failing friend!
Command all conflicts in my heart to cease!
There charity preside! there faith encrease!
There hope, whose visions of delight attend
Youth's vivid morn, and age's virtuous end,
Sound thy sweet prelude to the soul's release!
Whether that blest enlargement shall arrive
Rapid, by fate's impenetrable plan,
Or slow, if nature must with anguish strive,
Still may my mind, to love and truth alive,
With the mild warmth, which suits departing man,
Fill with beneficence this mortal span!
Rapid, by fate's impenetrable plan,
Or slow, if nature must with anguish strive,
Still may my mind, to love and truth alive,
With the mild warmth, which suits departing man,
Fill with beneficence this mortal span!
Manfredi.
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SONNET.
Departed angels in whose love I found
The sweetest antidote for every care,
Where now, in losing your mild lustre, where
Shall dreary age, declining to the ground,
Whom ills, and troubles, a deep host! surround,
Find aught to soothe, and teach the heart to bear
This rough impoverish'd earth, and life's cold air.
Whose orb of comfort is in darkness drown'd!
The sweetest antidote for every care,
Where now, in losing your mild lustre, where
Shall dreary age, declining to the ground,
Whom ills, and troubles, a deep host! surround,
Find aught to soothe, and teach the heart to bear
This rough impoverish'd earth, and life's cold air.
Whose orb of comfort is in darkness drown'd!
No! not to shadows, but to starry fire,
Guides of my spirit! your pure virtues turn;
I see their renovated radiance burn:
They brighten, in the breath of that blest quire,
Who, thro' the blaze of glory's vital urn,
Lead you to Heaven's remunerating sire.
Guides of my spirit! your pure virtues turn;
I see their renovated radiance burn:
They brighten, in the breath of that blest quire,
Who, thro' the blaze of glory's vital urn,
Lead you to Heaven's remunerating sire.
Manfredi.
SONNET.
ANGEL of mercy! whose terrestrial task
Is to set free the clay-encumber'd soul,
O when firm faith is panting for the goal,
And longs in truth's unclouded sun to bask,
Tir'd of the world, a vain tumultuous mask!
Teach me with thee to soar, above the pole,
Safe from degrading terror's dark controul,
And glad to gain, what I devoutly ask!
Is to set free the clay-encumber'd soul,
O when firm faith is panting for the goal,
And longs in truth's unclouded sun to bask,
Tir'd of the world, a vain tumultuous mask!
Teach me with thee to soar, above the pole,
Safe from degrading terror's dark controul,
And glad to gain, what I devoutly ask!
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With just intelligence of good, and ill,
With fond attachment to a Saviour's law,
Teach me the pangs of parting life to still!
Let me, with filial love and tender awe,
The solemn mandate of my God fulfill,
True to his word! and zealous for his will!
With fond attachment to a Saviour's law,
Teach me the pangs of parting life to still!
Let me, with filial love and tender awe,
The solemn mandate of my God fulfill,
True to his word! and zealous for his will!
Manfredi.
SONNET.
ENLIV'NING truth, most luminously sweet!
“Within us is the kingdom of our God”
What! can this form of clay, the valley's clod!
In its dark bosom yield a mansion meet
For Heaven's blest lord?—When evil powers retreat,
Expell'd by discipline's celestial rod,
Pure, as the starry path by angels trod,
The rescued heart he owns his hallow'd seat
“Within us is the kingdom of our God”
What! can this form of clay, the valley's clod!
In its dark bosom yield a mansion meet
For Heaven's blest lord?—When evil powers retreat,
Expell'd by discipline's celestial rod,
Pure, as the starry path by angels trod,
The rescued heart he owns his hallow'd seat
Protector of affliction! gracious sire!
Guide thou my social and my secret hour!
And let thy presence all my thoughts inspire,
To thee submitting every fond desire!
Make my clear mind, howe'er my lot may lower,
A temple worthy of thy guardian power!
Guide thou my social and my secret hour!
And let thy presence all my thoughts inspire,
To thee submitting every fond desire!
Make my clear mind, howe'er my lot may lower,
A temple worthy of thy guardian power!
Theodore.
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SONNET.
THIS blooming world is but a thorny bower;
Where treacherous sweets, and latent stings abound,
Where ills in ambush, every path surround;
Health, beauty, opulence, and mental power
Shrink, in an instant, like a shrivell'd flower.
How sinks the heart, in sorrow's gulph profound,
When hope's gay visions are in vapours drown'd,
And friendship fails us in the trying hour!
Where treacherous sweets, and latent stings abound,
Where ills in ambush, every path surround;
Health, beauty, opulence, and mental power
Shrink, in an instant, like a shrivell'd flower.
How sinks the heart, in sorrow's gulph profound,
When hope's gay visions are in vapours drown'd,
And friendship fails us in the trying hour!
Yet all the troubles, that on mortals wait,
Dark as they are, new scenes of light portend,
Teaching the soul to triumph over fate,
And rise, from deep depression more elate;
Our chasten'd thoughts, as they to Heaven ascend,
Find, but in God, the never-failing friend.
Dark as they are, new scenes of light portend,
Teaching the soul to triumph over fate,
And rise, from deep depression more elate;
Our chasten'd thoughts, as they to Heaven ascend,
Find, but in God, the never-failing friend.
Theodore.
HYMN.
TO wand'ring man thou gracious guide!
Redeemer of his race!
Grant me the comfort to confide
In thy protecting grace!
Redeemer of his race!
Grant me the comfort to confide
In thy protecting grace!
In word, in act, with fondest awe
Thy herald may I be!
And O inspire my voice, to draw
New worshippers to thee!
Thy herald may I be!
And O inspire my voice, to draw
New worshippers to thee!
Lucilio.
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HYMN TO HARMONY.
DAUGHTER of Heaven! whose countless dower
Treasures, more rich than gold, endear;
Celestial Harmony! whose power
Exalts the soul to rapture's sphere!
If, from my youth attach'd to thee.
I pay thee homage fond, and free,
Thy cordial votary reward
With skill to touch, thy soul-commanding chord,
The conqueror of grief, and joy's creative lord!
Treasures, more rich than gold, endear;
Celestial Harmony! whose power
Exalts the soul to rapture's sphere!
If, from my youth attach'd to thee.
I pay thee homage fond, and free,
Thy cordial votary reward
With skill to touch, thy soul-commanding chord,
The conqueror of grief, and joy's creative lord!
Fair sovereign of sublimest sway!
I hail'd thee not with sordid aim,
To make thy gifts, for which I pray,
My servile guides to wealth, or fame;
Of those dear gifts a nobler use
May to thy glory more conduce;
For Heaven is pleas'd, when thy bright power
Dispels the cloud of earth, too apt to lower
On every human mind, in life's precarious hour!
I hail'd thee not with sordid aim,
To make thy gifts, for which I pray,
My servile guides to wealth, or fame;
Of those dear gifts a nobler use
May to thy glory more conduce;
For Heaven is pleas'd, when thy bright power
Dispels the cloud of earth, too apt to lower
On every human mind, in life's precarious hour!
In these sweet scenes, where lingering grief
From virtue's bosom tries to steal
Of her prerogatives the chief,
Her own beneficence to feel!
By Harmony's benignant charm,
May I the ruthless fiend disarm!
Avaunt! destroy thy shadowy snare,
While truth informs thy rescued prey, despair!
Humanity's firm friend is Heaven's immediate care.
From virtue's bosom tries to steal
Of her prerogatives the chief,
Her own beneficence to feel!
By Harmony's benignant charm,
May I the ruthless fiend disarm!
Avaunt! destroy thy shadowy snare,
While truth informs thy rescued prey, despair!
Humanity's firm friend is Heaven's immediate care.
Lucilio.
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HYMN.
THOU, who dost to all assign
Blessings, rarely understood;
Let unenvied gifts be mine!
God of goodness! make me good!
Blessings, rarely understood;
Let unenvied gifts be mine!
God of goodness! make me good!
Be my zeal not zeal severe!
Vain grimace in folly's hood!
But to all, within my sphere,
Love! thy minister of good!
Vain grimace in folly's hood!
But to all, within my sphere,
Love! thy minister of good!
Venusia.
SONNET.
YE powers, most kind to man's autumnal day!
When his frail form is like the yellow leaf,
When time on talents plays the subtle thief,
And fretful fancies make the mind their prey;
Devotion! and tranquility! display
Your heavenly right to give repose to grief!
To health enjoyment! to disease relief!
Safety to strength! and mildness to decay!
When his frail form is like the yellow leaf,
When time on talents plays the subtle thief,
And fretful fancies make the mind their prey;
Devotion! and tranquility! display
Your heavenly right to give repose to grief!
To health enjoyment! to disease relief!
Safety to strength! and mildness to decay!
In this calm scene, for meditation plann'd,
Friends of all seasons! in the last be mine!
Here, while your marble forms, my Lares! stand
From moral sculpture's life-bestowing hand,
Here let your lustre, in my conduct, shine!
Grace my retreat! and soften my deline!
Friends of all seasons! in the last be mine!
Here, while your marble forms, my Lares! stand
From moral sculpture's life-bestowing hand,
Here let your lustre, in my conduct, shine!
Grace my retreat! and soften my deline!
Manfredi
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SONNET.
YE souls of those I lov'd! whose happier flight
Has reach'd, so early, scenes of bliss supreme,
Where virtue basks in bright perfection's beam,
Still look upon me from your realms of light!
And guide my desolated heart aright
Thro' all the darkness of this troubled dream,
Call'd human life! “perplex'd in the extreme,”
While hope's gay phantoms sink in sudden night.
Has reach'd, so early, scenes of bliss supreme,
Where virtue basks in bright perfection's beam,
Still look upon me from your realms of light!
And guide my desolated heart aright
Thro' all the darkness of this troubled dream,
Call'd human life! “perplex'd in the extreme,”
While hope's gay phantoms sink in sudden night.
Send me, sweet peace! thy olive and thy dove,
Now that descending to its kindred dust
My frame declines!—In earthly joys I trust
No longer; but implore the blest above
On that prime friend to fix my hallow'd love,
Whose word inspirits, and rewards the just!
Now that descending to its kindred dust
My frame declines!—In earthly joys I trust
No longer; but implore the blest above
On that prime friend to fix my hallow'd love,
Whose word inspirits, and rewards the just!
Manfredi.
SONNET.
TO thee, Redeemer of a ruin'd race!
Grateful to thee, thou best of guides! I bend,
Infirmity's support! and sorrow's friend!
Still in these deep afflictions, that efface
Joy's vital beam, and hope's all-chearing trace,
I trust thy mercy will my mind defend
From the worst ills, that o'er weak age impend,
Distrust! and apathy the heart's disgrace!
Grateful to thee, thou best of guides! I bend,
Infirmity's support! and sorrow's friend!
Still in these deep afflictions, that efface
Joy's vital beam, and hope's all-chearing trace,
I trust thy mercy will my mind defend
From the worst ills, that o'er weak age impend,
Distrust! and apathy the heart's disgrace!
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Tho' long immers'd in grief's severest gloom,
Whose gather'd clouds o'er all my prospect roll,
I am requir'd, by Heaven's supreme controul,
To yield my darling to an early tomb,
Still let thy word, my darken'd life illume!
And quiet anguish sanctify my soul!
Whose gather'd clouds o'er all my prospect roll,
I am requir'd, by Heaven's supreme controul,
To yield my darling to an early tomb,
Still let thy word, my darken'd life illume!
And quiet anguish sanctify my soul!
Manfredi.
SONNET.
SUBLIME serenity in mortal form!
From whose mild aspect fiercest demons fled!
Whose voice dispell'd disease, and wak'd the dead!
While round my heart, with rich affections warm,
The flying serpents of affliction swarm,
Teach me, meek power! with tranquil grace, to tread
My troubled path! and, tho' its darkness spread,
Smile unappall'd upon the rushing storm!
From whose mild aspect fiercest demons fled!
Whose voice dispell'd disease, and wak'd the dead!
While round my heart, with rich affections warm,
The flying serpents of affliction swarm,
Teach me, meek power! with tranquil grace, to tread
My troubled path! and, tho' its darkness spread,
Smile unappall'd upon the rushing storm!
Whatever load the hand of fate may lay
Upon my feeling heart, the plaintive song
Of sinking nature may to grief convey
This comfort; “age has not to suffer long.”
So may it, lord! thy fortitude display!
Calm by thy counsel! in thy succour strong!
Upon my feeling heart, the plaintive song
Of sinking nature may to grief convey
This comfort; “age has not to suffer long.”
So may it, lord! thy fortitude display!
Calm by thy counsel! in thy succour strong!
Manfredi.
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SONNET.
IS there an art, to make our eve of life
Cheerful, and radiant as the rosy morn
When dewy diamonds decorate the thorn?
When every sound's a spirit-stirring fife,
That calls to joyous sport, or glorious strife;
When, from the rising beams of fancy born,
Enchanting colours every scene adorn,
And bliss seems granted in a blooming wife.
Cheerful, and radiant as the rosy morn
When dewy diamonds decorate the thorn?
When every sound's a spirit-stirring fife,
That calls to joyous sport, or glorious strife;
When, from the rising beams of fancy born,
Enchanting colours every scene adorn,
And bliss seems granted in a blooming wife.
Yes! there's an art, not difficult, but sure,
To make our eve of life the morn excell:
Whence was the morn so rich? from hope's bright spell:
Let age on heavenly ground fix hope secure,
Ground given by God, that must like him endure!
Then, in sweet light, the hoary sage may dwell.
To make our eve of life the morn excell:
Whence was the morn so rich? from hope's bright spell:
Let age on heavenly ground fix hope secure,
Ground given by God, that must like him endure!
Then, in sweet light, the hoary sage may dwell.
Theodore.
SONNET.
PEACE and content to his improving mind,
Whoe'er, assail'd by unexampled cares,
Indulges not complaint! but mildly bears
The Heaven-inflicted weight, consol'd to find
That providence, in stern correction kind,
Strikes like a parent!—He in contrite prayers,
Each dangerous lapse of thoughtless life repairs,
And lives unmurmuring, or dies resign'd.
Whoe'er, assail'd by unexampled cares,
Indulges not complaint! but mildly bears
The Heaven-inflicted weight, consol'd to find
That providence, in stern correction kind,
Strikes like a parent!—He in contrite prayers,
Each dangerous lapse of thoughtless life repairs,
And lives unmurmuring, or dies resign'd.
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Pleas'd o'er the world's now disenchanted wood
To cast reflection's undeluded eyes,
He warns the wanderer aright to prize
Its dazzling lures, so rarely understood!
And, rend'ring others from his wisdom wise,
Turns partial ill to universal good.
To cast reflection's undeluded eyes,
He warns the wanderer aright to prize
Its dazzling lures, so rarely understood!
And, rend'ring others from his wisdom wise,
Turns partial ill to universal good.
Theodore.
SONNET.
BLEST be the temper radiant and refined
Which soothes the rigour of an adverse lot,
When indignation, turbulently hot
Subsides to juster feelings, mild, and kind!
When perfect charity to all mankind
Dispels resentment, whose sharp stings forgot,
The lighten'd heart grows clear from every blot,
And heavenly peace irradiates all the mind.
Which soothes the rigour of an adverse lot,
When indignation, turbulently hot
Subsides to juster feelings, mild, and kind!
When perfect charity to all mankind
Dispels resentment, whose sharp stings forgot,
The lighten'd heart grows clear from every blot,
And heavenly peace irradiates all the mind.
Such be the tenor of my temperate age!
While from a spot sequester'd, and serene,
I see the elders of the world engage
In turmoils, that deform their final scene,
With selfish fear, and avaricious rage,
Preposterous desires, and fretful spleen.
While from a spot sequester'd, and serene,
I see the elders of the world engage
In turmoils, that deform their final scene,
With selfish fear, and avaricious rage,
Preposterous desires, and fretful spleen.
Manfredi.
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SONNET.
THE wond'rous chances of this earthly scene
Amaze, confound, and harrass tender thought;
The lot of man, with various misery fraught,
Wounds the soft bosom; and a proud chagrin,
Form'd of humane regret, and moral spleen,
Vexes the spirit; till, with meekness sought,
The peace of Heaven is found, where God has taught
The unmurm'ring soul to rest on him, serene.
Amaze, confound, and harrass tender thought;
The lot of man, with various misery fraught,
Wounds the soft bosom; and a proud chagrin,
Form'd of humane regret, and moral spleen,
Vexes the spirit; till, with meekness sought,
The peace of Heaven is found, where God has taught
The unmurm'ring soul to rest on him, serene.
Teacher divine! tis thine alone to show,
How mortal weakness into strength may turn:
Aid me, thy willing votary! to learn,
How in all strife to foil our evil foe!
And grant, however dim life's lamp may burn,
My heart with love, and gratitude to glow!
How mortal weakness into strength may turn:
Aid me, thy willing votary! to learn,
How in all strife to foil our evil foe!
And grant, however dim life's lamp may burn,
My heart with love, and gratitude to glow!
Lucilio.
SONNET.
BLEST sensibility! thou gift benign!
Infus'd by nature in the poet's frame!
Fair particle of rich Promethean flame!
The sacred fire! round whose soft light, the Nine
Move to sweet music, from their fav'rite shrine,
The heart of genius!—They, with vestal aim,
Feed thy pure blaze, and all its charms proclaim,
Its heavenly source, and destiny divine.
Infus'd by nature in the poet's frame!
Fair particle of rich Promethean flame!
The sacred fire! round whose soft light, the Nine
Move to sweet music, from their fav'rite shrine,
The heart of genius!—They, with vestal aim,
Feed thy pure blaze, and all its charms proclaim,
Its heavenly source, and destiny divine.
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They, when presumptuous pity, rash, and blind,
Laments thy influence, with blame not slight,
As life's insidious foe, tho' seeming kind;
They vindicate thy empire o'er the mind,
Thou tender guardian in this vale of night!
Whose sighs are comfort, and whose tears delight!
Laments thy influence, with blame not slight,
As life's insidious foe, tho' seeming kind;
They vindicate thy empire o'er the mind,
Thou tender guardian in this vale of night!
Whose sighs are comfort, and whose tears delight!
Venusia.
HYMN.
WHEN human sufferings wound my eyes,
My soothing hope be this,
That pain may prove, howe'er it rise,
An harbinger of bliss
My soothing hope be this,
That pain may prove, howe'er it rise,
An harbinger of bliss
Else, in weak nature's wide domain,
Where misery is so rife,
Could mercy's God himself sustain
The sight of mortal life?
Where misery is so rife,
Could mercy's God himself sustain
The sight of mortal life?
Lucilio.
HYMN.
HOW spirits act on human minds,
When free from earth they fly,
Is a research, that only blinds
The strongest mental eye:
When free from earth they fly,
Is a research, that only blinds
The strongest mental eye:
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But oft in fond devotion's hour,
I seem their aid to see;
Father of spirits! may their power
Be ever kind to me!
I seem their aid to see;
Father of spirits! may their power
Be ever kind to me!
Venusia.
HYMN.
DELIGHTS there are, that suit with age,
And mine be such alone!
To keep, in duty firm and sage,
The mind upon her throne;
And mine be such alone!
To keep, in duty firm and sage,
The mind upon her throne;
Tumultuous passions to subdue,
To banish worldly care,
And seem, while friends in Heaven we view,
Almost an inmate there.
To banish worldly care,
And seem, while friends in Heaven we view,
Almost an inmate there.
Theodore.
HYMN.
GOD! who hast form'd the human heart,
Work of stupendous skill!
To which its friends, and foes impart
Extremes of good, and ill:
Work of stupendous skill!
To which its friends, and foes impart
Extremes of good, and ill:
Safe in celestial aid alone
I deem the heart I bear;
And such imploring, to thy throne
Address my cordial prayer.
I deem the heart I bear;
And such imploring, to thy throne
Address my cordial prayer.
Venusia.
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HYMN.
YE dear, and honour'd dead, with whom
I pass my visionary days;
Enamour'd of the sacred tomb,
Where bright the lamps of virtue blaze!
I pass my visionary days;
Enamour'd of the sacred tomb,
Where bright the lamps of virtue blaze!
On me, ye gentle spirits, smile,
While I discharge affection's trust!
And all my pangs of grief beguile
With zealous duty to your dust.
While I discharge affection's trust!
And all my pangs of grief beguile
With zealous duty to your dust.
Manfredi.
SONNET.
HENCE wordly passions! hence! for ever fly
The purer precincts of my mournful breast.
There quiet and devotion, doubly blest,
In union dwell! and each a dear ally
To sacred sorrow! she with influence high
In that clear shrine, its sovereign! shall rest;
And shelter'd, like an eagle on her nest,
Still look to Heaven, and meditate the sky.
The purer precincts of my mournful breast.
There quiet and devotion, doubly blest,
In union dwell! and each a dear ally
To sacred sorrow! she with influence high
In that clear shrine, its sovereign! shall rest;
And shelter'd, like an eagle on her nest,
Still look to Heaven, and meditate the sky.
Me, with thy truest votaries, enroll
Celestial sorrow; in a bright decoy
I might have strayed without thee, lost in joy,
Dup'd by the visions, time and chance destroy!
Wandering from God! who by thy just controul
Back to its native climate calls the soul.
Celestial sorrow; in a bright decoy
I might have strayed without thee, lost in joy,
Dup'd by the visions, time and chance destroy!
Wandering from God! who by thy just controul
Back to its native climate calls the soul.
Manfredi.
94
SONNET.
ALL-GUIDING Heaven! that on my aged head
Hast pour'd afflictions, of no common kind,
Still grant me such serenity of mind,
As most enables man, when hope is fled
To make calamity herself (his dread!)
Act as his useful friend: the spell unbin'd
Of bright delusion, that strikes reason blind!
And round the heart a purer radiance shed!
Hast pour'd afflictions, of no common kind,
Still grant me such serenity of mind,
As most enables man, when hope is fled
To make calamity herself (his dread!)
Act as his useful friend: the spell unbin'd
Of bright delusion, that strikes reason blind!
And round the heart a purer radiance shed!
As steel, in the minute magnetic rod,
From the dark stone a wond'rous virtue drew;
And over dreariest wilds, by error trod,
Guides the tir'd wand'rer; so, my soul, may you
Touch'd by such grief as makes the spirit true,
Faithful, however shaken! point to God!
From the dark stone a wond'rous virtue drew;
And over dreariest wilds, by error trod,
Guides the tir'd wand'rer; so, my soul, may you
Touch'd by such grief as makes the spirit true,
Faithful, however shaken! point to God!
Manfredi.
SONNET.
FAREWELL to all the vanities of earth!
To turbulent desires a last farewell!
Henceforth, retir'd devotion! let me dwell
Far from the festive scenes of idle mirth!
Far from ambition's splendour, little worth!
Close in the precincts of thy peaceful cell!
Ye dear deceas'd! be you, who lov'd me well
The guardian Lares of my tranquil hearth!
To turbulent desires a last farewell!
Henceforth, retir'd devotion! let me dwell
Far from the festive scenes of idle mirth!
Far from ambition's splendour, little worth!
Close in the precincts of thy peaceful cell!
Ye dear deceas'd! be you, who lov'd me well
The guardian Lares of my tranquil hearth!
95
The noise and pageantry of life can yield
Nothing to fill the mind, or touch the breast,
So medicinal to a heart opprest,
As, in the shadow of religion's shield,
To meditate on friends, in sainted rest,
And with their Manes rove round memory's field,
Nothing to fill the mind, or touch the breast,
So medicinal to a heart opprest,
As, in the shadow of religion's shield,
To meditate on friends, in sainted rest,
And with their Manes rove round memory's field,
Manfredi.
HYMN.
THE weak and lonely, God! their guide!
Thy sure protection share;
The helpless, shunn'd by mortal pride,
Are thy peculiar care:
Thy sure protection share;
The helpless, shunn'd by mortal pride,
Are thy peculiar care:
In grateful thoughts for all thy aid
The best of arms they wield;
And prove, in dangers undismay'd,
Thy providence their shield!
The best of arms they wield;
And prove, in dangers undismay'd,
Thy providence their shield!
Venusia.
HYMN.
LORD! who hast call'd, with sovereign power,
The heart thy real throne
May I perceive thee every hour
Establish'd in my own!
The heart thy real throne
May I perceive thee every hour
Establish'd in my own!
Unstain'd, like glory's vital ray,
In scenes by seraphs trod,
Make thou the temple, day by day,
More worthy of the God!
In scenes by seraphs trod,
Make thou the temple, day by day,
More worthy of the God!
Venusia.
96
HYMN.
LORD! whose beneficence divine
Joys to exalt, what sin deprav'd!
Beneath thy guard, in duty's line
Preserve my spirit unenslav'd!
Joys to exalt, what sin deprav'd!
Beneath thy guard, in duty's line
Preserve my spirit unenslav'd!
Be it the glory of my heart.
To live by thy protection free!
And to the wandering mind impart
The best of knowledge, knowing thee!
To live by thy protection free!
And to the wandering mind impart
The best of knowledge, knowing thee!
Lucilio.
HYMN.
SOURCE of all kind, all potent thought!
Thou God of goodness, and of power!
In thee my soul, by trouble taught,
Shall trust, as in protection's tower.
Thou God of goodness, and of power!
In thee my soul, by trouble taught,
Shall trust, as in protection's tower.
The surest friend, the safest guard,
In thy sweet mercy may I see!
And solitude itself regard
As blessed intercourse with thee!
In thy sweet mercy may I see!
And solitude itself regard
As blessed intercourse with thee!
Manfredi.
HYMN.
LORD! in whose hand are life and death,
So let me live, so let me die,
That love may grace my vital breath
And faith and hope my final sigh!
So let me live, so let me die,
That love may grace my vital breath
And faith and hope my final sigh!
Venusia.
97
HYMN.
WHATE'ER may prove my earthly date,
Be mine pure nature's simple part!
To live, with tender truth elate,
A blessing to a kindred heart!
Be mine pure nature's simple part!
To live, with tender truth elate,
A blessing to a kindred heart!
Venusia.
SONNET.
UNSEEN associate! whose mild voice I seem,
In all my tender reveries, to hear,
Heard ever with delight! and ever dear!
That voice alone, in sorrow's waking dream,
Could soothe my anguish, in its fierce extreme,
Since, in thy loss, I lose the friend sincere
Whose social smile, and sympathetic tear
Form'd of my darken'd hours the vital beam.
In all my tender reveries, to hear,
Heard ever with delight! and ever dear!
That voice alone, in sorrow's waking dream,
Could soothe my anguish, in its fierce extreme,
Since, in thy loss, I lose the friend sincere
Whose social smile, and sympathetic tear
Form'd of my darken'd hours the vital beam.
Tho' now my life has lost the light of day,
However grief may desolate my mind,
Still on thy virtues let my spirit rest,
Tho' hope's gay towers are sunk in drear decay!
Still I perceive thee, in my heart enshrin'd,
Its guardian idol, and its favourite guest.
However grief may desolate my mind,
Still on thy virtues let my spirit rest,
Tho' hope's gay towers are sunk in drear decay!
Still I perceive thee, in my heart enshrin'd,
Its guardian idol, and its favourite guest.
Manfredi.
98
SONNET.
ACKNOWLEDG'D Son of Heaven's approving sire!
Whose hallow'd triumph over evil powers
Restor'd the prospect of those blissful bowers,
That human frailty lost! to that blest quire,
Who, with sweet harmony of soul, aspire
In troubled life's probationary hours
From torture's thorn to pluck immortal flowers,
And purify the heart with heavenly fire!
Whose hallow'd triumph over evil powers
Restor'd the prospect of those blissful bowers,
That human frailty lost! to that blest quire,
Who, with sweet harmony of soul, aspire
In troubled life's probationary hours
From torture's thorn to pluck immortal flowers,
And purify the heart with heavenly fire!
Gentlest of guides! whose form, in nature's vest,
To man a model of perfection gave!
Whose word, an antidote to every pest!
Revives the sorrowful, and frees the slave!
O teach my spirit, howsoe'er distrest,
To walk unsinking on affliction's wave!
To man a model of perfection gave!
Whose word, an antidote to every pest!
Revives the sorrowful, and frees the slave!
O teach my spirit, howsoe'er distrest,
To walk unsinking on affliction's wave!
Manfredi.
SONNET.
OF the rich legacies the dying leave
Remembrance of their virtue is the best:
How opulent am I in this bequest,
Which I from you my buried friends receive!
Nor force, nor fraud, can e'er my heart bereave
Of this, my noblest wealth! the miser's chest
To this is poor: this, hoarded, and carest,
Irradiates life, forbidding grief to grieve.
Remembrance of their virtue is the best:
How opulent am I in this bequest,
Which I from you my buried friends receive!
Nor force, nor fraud, can e'er my heart bereave
Of this, my noblest wealth! the miser's chest
To this is poor: this, hoarded, and carest,
Irradiates life, forbidding grief to grieve.
99
God's kindest gift! I prize it as I ought;
And bless him, that I hold it justly dear;
Review'd in daily, and in nightly thought,
I find it still with endless value fraught;
Still inexhaustible, tho' lavish'd here,
And still to be enjoyed, in truth's eternal sphere.
And bless him, that I hold it justly dear;
Review'd in daily, and in nightly thought,
I find it still with endless value fraught;
Still inexhaustible, tho' lavish'd here,
And still to be enjoyed, in truth's eternal sphere.
Manfredi.
HYMN.
THE busy mind, in due devotion nurst,
By anxious forecast gains habitual power,
E'en at a wish, the bands of sleep to burst,
And rise to action at the stated hour.
By anxious forecast gains habitual power,
E'en at a wish, the bands of sleep to burst,
And rise to action at the stated hour.
Aid me my God! in this dark-world of pride,
To make my spirit bend to power above!
And thro' the remnant of my days to glide,
True to thy law! and glowing with thy love!
To make my spirit bend to power above!
And thro' the remnant of my days to glide,
True to thy law! and glowing with thy love!
Lucilio.
HYMN.
THE hearts, that have not God within
Like restless quick-sands roll;
And feel of fluctuating sin
The turbulent controul.
Like restless quick-sands roll;
And feel of fluctuating sin
The turbulent controul.
In bosoms, where the Saviour reigns,
Peace forms her hallow'd shrine;
And, thro' the roughest hour, maintains
Serenity divine.
Peace forms her hallow'd shrine;
And, thro' the roughest hour, maintains
Serenity divine.
Theodore.
100
HYMN.
MY God! the wounded mind's relief!
Grief first attach'd my heart to thee;
But let not time, dispelling grief,
From thy dear service set me free!
Grief first attach'd my heart to thee;
But let not time, dispelling grief,
From thy dear service set me free!
To serve thee, with consummate truth,
Is grace divine to mortals given;
Tis to enjoy, in age, or youth,
An earnest of thy promis'd Heaven.
Is grace divine to mortals given;
Tis to enjoy, in age, or youth,
An earnest of thy promis'd Heaven.
Lucilio.
SONNET.
WISELY from man his maker has witheld
Freedom of option, or to live, or die;
Else, quick to quarrel with a cloudy sky,
The human spirit, by caprice impell'd,
Or lur'd by fiends, who 'gainst their God rebell'd,
Would spurn existence, Heaven's rich gift belie,
And from the slander'd charms of nature fly,
Leagued with her foes, by virtue to be quell'd.
Freedom of option, or to live, or die;
Else, quick to quarrel with a cloudy sky,
The human spirit, by caprice impell'd,
Or lur'd by fiends, who 'gainst their God rebell'd,
Would spurn existence, Heaven's rich gift belie,
And from the slander'd charms of nature fly,
Leagued with her foes, by virtue to be quell'd.
In changeful scenes, mortality's domain!
Let piety prepare the mind elate
Bliss to enjoy, or sorrow to sustain,
Firm as her sightless bard, whose heavenly strain
May reconcile the soul to lingering fate!
“They also serve, who only stand, and wait.”
Let piety prepare the mind elate
Bliss to enjoy, or sorrow to sustain,
Firm as her sightless bard, whose heavenly strain
May reconcile the soul to lingering fate!
“They also serve, who only stand, and wait.”
Theodore.
101
SONNET.
DEVOUT composer of the stormy breast!
Heaven-gazing gratitude! I own thy power;
Friend of all seasons, and of every hour!
Thy active spirit, howsoe'er opprest,
Finds, in tempestuous woe, some point of rest,
Where, like a bird, within its guarded bower,
Thou hailst, with native harmony, (thy dower!)
The gleam of distant light, that gilds thy nest.
Heaven-gazing gratitude! I own thy power;
Friend of all seasons, and of every hour!
Thy active spirit, howsoe'er opprest,
Finds, in tempestuous woe, some point of rest,
Where, like a bird, within its guarded bower,
Thou hailst, with native harmony, (thy dower!)
The gleam of distant light, that gilds thy nest.
For all of good, that trouble may possess,
And for each gift, that yields the heart relief,
The great disposer of my lot I bless;
E'en for these lays, so simple, and so brief!
For they are soothing to my pangs of grief;
Oh might they soothe all similar distress!
And for each gift, that yields the heart relief,
The great disposer of my lot I bless;
E'en for these lays, so simple, and so brief!
For they are soothing to my pangs of grief;
Oh might they soothe all similar distress!
Manfredi.
The End of Venusia's Volume.
102
(Such was the name of good Manfredi's seat)
Thus music, friendship and devotion strove
To chace all trouble from the tranquil grove:
Yet, in this scene, that bounteous nature blest,
Where peace and privacy delight to rest,
Love fails to shield his vot'ries, even here,
From vain inquietude, and anxious fear.
Tho' Theodore, in visitation kind,
Sometimes reliev'd his solitary mind,
Manfredi, shrouded in unsocial gloom,
Seems but the breathing tenant of a tomb;
And the dark clouds, that round his spirit roll,
Diffuse their shadow o'er Venusia's soul.
One evening, aided by Lucilio's arms,
She reach'd a vale of most romantic charms;
She paus'd, where, issuing from a mossy cell,
The gurgling waters sought a grassy dell:
There, of a graceful shape, and tender hue,
O'ershadowing a lake, a willow grew,
Whose pensile branches from the bank descend,
As thirsting for the stream, to which they bend:
103
Even the heat of a declining sun.
Lucilio prais'd the scene, to rapture warm'd
By scenes, for love and contemplation form'd;
Sudden he heard his lovely partner sigh;
He saw quick anguish in her moisten'd eye:
Her tears gush'd forth:—“Forgive,” she said, “these tears!
Perchance they spring from visionary fears;
Forgive, my generous lord! the signs you see,
I want the firmness, I should learn from thee;
The death of that kind aunt, whose fost'ring praise
Was constant sunshine to my childish days,
Dread of my father, and Manfredi's grief
O'er-load my heart, tho' love is its relief,
Its duty, and its pride!”—Lucilio prest
The mournful beauty to his glowing breast
And chacing from her eyes the swelling tear,
O'er-power'd her self-reproach with praise sincere.
His praise was, to her mind, like heavenly streams
Of inspiration, in a prophet's dreams;
She sat, absorb'd, in tender thought awhile,
Then sung her feelings, with a plaintive smile.
104
SONG.
In blooming scenes, where fragrance lives,
How kind is nature! yet how coy!
To none, but tranquil hearts, she gives,
The garden's pure, ambrosial joy.
How kind is nature! yet how coy!
To none, but tranquil hearts, she gives,
The garden's pure, ambrosial joy.
So her choice flowers their charms withold,
From the fierce eye of burning day;
But to still night their sweets unfold,
And with her peaceful zephyrs play.
Blest in her talents, in her love more blest,
From the fierce eye of burning day;
But to still night their sweets unfold,
And with her peaceful zephyrs play.
Lucilio deem'd the jewel, he possest,
Above all price; and, in sequester'd life,
Soothing his mournful friend, and duteous wife,
He chiefly hop'd to shield their tender health,
From melancholy's dark, invasive stealth,
Since love and virtue (tho' a heavenly pair)
May vainly struggle, in her subtle snare.
That his fine art had wond'rous power he knew;
But from experience he perceiv'd it true,
That its delights, too eagerly pursued,
Strengthen the foe, he hop'd to have subdued.
105
By nature dictated, with kindness fraught,
That much avail'd him in his friendly hope.—
O lovely childhood! under Heaven's wide cope,
There is no sight, of such benignant grace
The gathering clouds of mental gloom to chace,
As thy sweet gambols, in a female form,
Radiant with innocence, with pleasure warm,
And rich in charms, that every moment rise
From speaking limbs, and heart-expressing eyes.
The sprightly Marcellina, soon convey'd
By watchful Theodore's continual aid,
At kind Lucilio's provident request,
Seem'd of the secret scene an angel-guest.
This playful child had influence so sweet,
In Buon-Retiro's unfrequented seat,
With pleasure might the sylvan muses tell,
How light she bounded thro' each lonely dell;
How she, enamour'd of the sculptur'd fawn,
Soon gain'd a living favourite of the lawn,
Fed from her hand, and, in a silken string,
Taught, by her pipe, to kneel, to dance, to spring!
106
How sad Manfredi, thro' his lattice, smil'd,
And view'd, unseen, the sportive girl below,
Day after day, forgetful of his woe;
This, and much more of Marcellina's power
With mirth to chequer the sequester'd hour,
The poet, fond of childhood, might rehearse;
But Venice calls, and claims his moral verse.
END OF THE FOURTH CANTO.
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