Poems on Several Occasions :: :: University of Virginia Library

As in the moral World we, wond'ring, see
Such diff'rent Stations, yet such just Degree;
Which all contribute wisely to sustain
The mutual Intercourse, and social Chain,
Whose Links in regular Gradation fall,
Whilst all on one, and each depends on all:

Wise Nature, thus, proportions her Degrees,
From Shrubs to Cedars, and from Brooks to Seas;
As princely Dignities, exalted, rise,
So lofty Mountains meet the bending Skies;
Inferior Honours hold inferior State,
As lesser Hills upon those Mountains wait;
Things great and small, if small and great there be,
In Contrast stand; tho' opposite, agree;
The thund'ring Tempest, and the rolling Whale,
The Bee that murmurs in the Morning Gale,
All, all, one aptest Harmony combine,
And speak the Author of their Frame, Divine!
Hence, various Seasons various Beauties bring,
The naked Winter, as the liv'ry'd Spring;
Hence diff'rent Objects charm th'expanded Soul,
And lift her Thoughts to one stupendous Whole!
Ten thousand Pleasures on my Senses pour;
The craggy Precipice, the blooming Bow'r,
The winding Rivulet, the flow'ry Vale,
The Grove that quivers in the fragrant Gale,
The glad'ning Vista, the extended View,
The Hills invellop'd in yon azure Blue.

Here, fair Eblana fills the wond'ring Eye,
Her stately Pillars prop th'incumbent Sky;
Herself a Queen majestically great;
A thousand Villas at her Levee wait;
A thousand Palaces her Pomps increase,
With Grecian Grandeur, and with Roman Grace;
Her op'ning Arms are socially display'd,
Inviting Commerce, and embracing Trade:

A floating Forest on her Bosom rides,
The daily Tribute of her swelling Tides;
Exulting Plenty warms her vig'rous Veins;
And Health and Peace are her's;—for Stanhope reigns.

There eastward shines, fair Emblem of his Pow'r,
Aloft, rever'd, great Atticus his Bow'r;
Tho' high in Place, yet easy to ascend,
Whose Shades give Shelter, and whose Courts defend;
Sublime Retreat! where Wisdom finds Repose,
To weigh the Widow's Wrongs, and Orphan's Woes;
Where easy Grandeur from the World withdraws;
And Goodness tempers Lenity with Laws.

Yon distant Groves: warm Gratitude compels
To sing the Shades where letter'd Lelius dwells;
To Justice dear, to Mercy still inclin'd,
Esteem'd by Virtue, lov'd by all Mankind:
Whose Soul is Equity, whose Voice is Law,
Whose Words give Rapture, and whose Presence Awe;
Whose Judgment triumphs in the fairest Light,
And shines distinguish'd in a Nation's Sight;
Whose Wit enlivens ev'ry social Scene,
The best accomplish'd, and the most humane:
Forgive me, Lelius, that I once offend
My Patron, Guide, and let me add, my Friend.

From hence, my Muse, thy roving Eyes reclaim,
Contract thy Subject, and pursue thy Theme.
To yonder stately Pile direct thy Flight,
Whose Form looks lovely, and whose Parts delight;

Whose rich Embellishments true Taste display,
So dress'd Sophronia in her youthful Day,
When, like the golden Flow'r in Summer's Pride,
She shone, her Sister blooming at her Side;
Till from the Crowd she pensive fled, to mourn
Her lov'd Eliza sleeping in her Urn,
And o'er her Tomb reclin'd, the live-long Day,
Forgets she e'er was fair, or e'er was gay.
There Pomp and Decency together reign,
Discreetly temper'd in the justest Mean:
Here Hospitality, by Prudence crown'd,
Deals her unerring Bounty all around.
In thee, Rath-farnham, Eden's Bloom revives,
And teeming Nature in thy Valley thrives:
Thy Hills, high rais'd above th'extended Plain,
O'erlook a Continent, command the Main,
Feast the stretch'd Sight with Prospects unconfin'd,
And open endless Pleasures to the Mind:
Here, high with horrid Brows o'erhang the Rocks:
Beneath, lie Lawns out-stretch'd, and fleecy Flocks:
The gloomy Thickets, and the op'ning Glade,
The Arch magnific, and the clear Cascade,
Whose Chrystal Sheets in dazling Circles play,
Pierc'd with th'Effulgence of the Noon-tide Ray;
Whence vocal Streams o'er Silver Pebbles float,
Whilst dimpling Eddies dance to ev'ry Note.
How gay the Garden, how serene the Bow'r,
Where tranquil Thought enjoys the blissful Hour!
Far from the World's tumultuous empty Noise,
Here, virtuous Luxury herself enjoys;
Wak'd by soft Zephyrs, and the purpling Dawn,
Inhales the Breezes o'er the dewy Lawn;

Intent the figur'd Fountain's Form to scan,
Or sketch the Embrio of some nobler Plan;
Genius still brings each grand Idea forth,
And happy Judgment crowns its rising Worth.
Lo! Nature, here, and Art for ever vie;
And Art the Mind, and Nature charms the Eye:
Prolisic Earth disclaims the genial Skies;
And Chymic Heat the absent Sun supplies,
Exotic Blossoms, Northern Blasts that shun,
Nor own a Parent but the Southern Sun,
'Midst freezing Winds enjoy a sultry Clime,
And flourish fruitful with a Summer's Prime;
Births premature adorn the smiling Glebe,
And Nature wonders at each Foster Babe.
Enchanting Scene! here Paliser retires;
Here, sacred Science all his Soul inspires;
The Scene with Pleasure and Surprize we scan,
And ev'ry thing admire; but most the Man.

Dublin.

Lord Chancellor.

Mr. Baron Mountney.