University of Virginia Library

At last, I find where Health her Bow'r has made,
To walk with Wisdom in the social Shade;
Each Sister Virtue in her Train is seen,
Rejoyc'd to wait on sweet Content, their Queen.
Around her Grott unfading Verdure grows;
And Bliss untainted from her Fountain flows;
By Nature call'd she quaffs the Morning Gale,
And sups with Science in the Muse's Vale.
Content and Nature in one Mansion dwell;
And Virtue near them builds her mossy Cell.

Happy the Man who seeks not Pow'r, or Praise,
And with such meek Associates spends his Days;
From Envy safe, and wild Ambition's Sway,
No Camps allure him, and no Courts betray:
From Custom's Snares secure he turns aside,
The Baits of Passion, and the Springs of Pride;
By Prudence taught, he points his mental Ken
Through Wisdom's Glass, and views the Ways of Men,
Who grasp at fleeting Good in each Disguise,
And gaze on Shadows with insatiate Eyes;
With panting Hearts each false Delight pursue,
Through Fancy's Maze, but still neglect the true;
By Pride impell'd, in Fairy Rounds they roam,
To seek that Bliss abroad which lives at home.
Misguided Man! to Passion's Pow'r a Prey;
By Sense deceiv'd, by Judgment led astray;
Thou Tool of Folly! in thy Reason's spight,
Renounce thy Knowledge, and do Nature right.
Did she the splendid Ills of Life impose?
Increase thy Wishes, or create thy Woes?
Did she thy Idol Pride advance on high?
Or lift thy daring Thoughts to scale the Sky?
Did she inchant thee in the mystic Glade
To build on Vapours, and dissect a Shade?
In fierce Opinion's Forge to toil in vain,
And mould the Phantoms of thy forming Brain?
For specter'd Whims which sanguine Fancy rears
Distort the Center, and confound the Spheres?
Did she the Bigot's furious Breast inspire
To spread his frantic Schemes with Sword and Fire?

Of all who breathe in Earth, in Air, or Tides,
Whom Reason governs, or whom Instinct guides,
Thro' Nature's Realms no Wretch like Man is found,
Who spurns her Barriers, and who breaks her Bound;
Still rushing lawless on, his headlong Mind
Leaves native Joy and gentle Peace behind:
He spreads the Snares of Fate in Fashion's Loom,
And, in each deep Refinement, digs his Tomb.

Ye Sons of Folly! hither bend your Eyes,
Compare Conditions, and for once be wise:
Here Art adorns the smiling Groves and Fields;
She rules o'er Nature, and to Nature yields:
With mutual Scepter and successive Sway,
By Turns they govern, and by Turns obey:
Bright Order first, and Truth coeval rose,
To Error still and Discord endless Foes;
Eternal Harmony through Nature sounds,
Gives Brooks their Borders, and gives Worlds their Bounds.
Establish'd Rectitude in all appears;
Instinct the Ant, and Concord moves the Spheres.
Why else should Extasy my Breast o'erflow
When icy Winters frown, or Roses blow?
When raging Storms the Mountain Billows break,
Or gentlest Gales curl o'er the quiv'ring Lake?

Here, Twilight Groves my Ev'ning Fancy woo;
The Rook high cawing, while the Woodquests coo;
The colour'd Cloud enrich'd with golden Dyes,
To crown yon blue-rob'd Hill which props the Skies;
The winding Vale that spreads her mantl'd Bloom,
The Lake that glimmers through the verdant Gloom;
Here, pendant Lawns the limpid Mirrors grace
With blooming Blushes, and with vary'd Face:
Reflected Beauties 'mid the Chrystal Scene,
For ever purple, and for ever green,
The Sense and Judgment at one View delight,
Regale the Fancy, and surprize the Sight.

With Breast elate, I climb the shapely Mound,
An Eden smiling, where a Chaos frown'd;
O'er the grim Rock a flow'ry Mantle thrown,
With daisy'd Verdure decks the craggy Stone
From Quarries rent, which rugged rose, and rude,
By Rigour soften'd, and by Toil subdu'd.
The gentle Slopes so easy here uprise,
As Nature's Hand would human Art disguise.
So, when some awful Sage, whose manly Mind
By Virtue warm'd, and Love of Humankind,
A savage Race in wild Disorders saw;
Of barb'rous Manners fierce, and brutal Law;
With painful Steps, he wins his arduous Way,
By slow Degrees, and bends them to obey;
Till tam'd at last, in social State they stand,
By Reason rul'd, and bless the forming Hand.

On public Worth let each Delight attend;
Delight, the Means, but Worth be still the End:
The virtuous Cause shall wise Effects procure;
Who tills the fallow'd Glebe shall feed the Poor;
Shall make the Rustic smile, his Garners groan,
And in his Neighbour's Wealth enjoy his own.

For this, the Fields shall richer Blooms display,
The Groves shall gladden, and the Hills look gay;
For this, the Springs in lucid Lakes shall flow,
The Temples glitter, and the Gardens glow.

Let me amid the Bowers delighted stray,
Or on thy breezy Summits waste the Day,
Wrapt in Elysium, wander through thy Groves,
Which calm Reflection courts, and Fancy loves;
There, in some murm'ring Grott, my Folly lose;
And drink Oblivion with the sacred Muse:
From airy Hopes, and groundless Fears, secure,
Enjoy Existence, or its Ills endure.

O Solitude Divine! where Reason dwells,
No Pride provokes thee, and no Passion swells;
Let me, repos'd in thy serene Embrace,
From human Evils far,—from human Race,
Let me, entranc'd, on thy soft Bosom lie,
And all th'insulting Storms of Life defy:
There, to itself, restore the injur'd Mind;
And be what Nature, and what God design'd.

Let then the Statesmen hatch his gilded Schemes,
And canton Kingdoms in extatic Dreams;
In greedy Visions grasp th'incircl'd Ball,
Whilst butcher'd Millions to his Frenzy fall;
Their Pelf, and Party, let the World pursue;
For what, my Friend, has Reason there to do?
From hostile Storms escap'd, that harass'd Dove
Now seeks her Safety in the silent Grove;
Where you tread Paths by thoughtful Science made,
And court the Muses in the letter'd Shade.
There, at each tow'ring System taught to smile,
Which erring Fancy sounds, or Pride can pile;
There, still on Truth to fix your stedfast Eyes,
And point out Falshood in her gay Disguise;
There, with your Country's Weal your Wishes blend,
To sacred Freedom, and her Cause, a Friend:
By public Virtue warm'd, your Bosom glows,
And only Slaves and Tyrants are your Foes.

But waft, my Muse, to yonder Bow'r thy Strains,
Where Wisdom governs, and where Reason reigns;
Where sweet Content each vital Blessing brings,
And o'er the genial Board extends her Wings;
There, smiling Concord fills her Halcyon Throne,
Of Joys sincere possess'd—to Kings unknown:
Harmonious Hearts her heav'nly Laws obey,
And waiting Angels guide her peaceful Sway.
What pleasing Sounds thus circle through the Gale!
What Sweets extatic o'er my Mind prevail!
Ye Zephyrs hush! O! softly pant the Breeze!
Ye Doves, be dumb, Melinda strikes the Keys!
As near I move, my ravish'd Senses find
Her Music gives the Image of her Mind;
Where tuneful Passions gently rise and fall,
With temper'd Energy, at Reason's Call;
That mental Melody which Art exceeds
Sounds in her Words, and varies in her Deeds:
Connubial Symphony! whose equal Tone
Still in her Consort's Wishes finds her own;
Their circling Joys in mutual Measures move,
And ev'ry added Day those Joys improve.
But see! their Hopes to distant Prospects run,
A blooming Daughter, and a Darling Son;
That growing Bliss which rip'ning Youth endears,
The Pride and Promise of maturer Years;
By Meekness rob'd, her gentle Garb they wear;
For Virtue form'd them with peculiar Care;
To lodge true Worth their op'ning Minds she dress'd,
And filial Duty came the foremost Guest;
Nor came alone; she soon engag'd a Place
For Manly Talents, and for Female Grace:
Then Sense and Wit their fair Apartments fill,
By mild Discretion guided at her Will;
Breeding and Decency came next behind,
And Honour rais'd, and Goodness warm'd the Mind:
Beauty indeed would fain her Place secure,
But Angel-like, she waits at Wisdom's Door.
Can there, on Earth, exist more true Delight?
Or gracious Heav'n an happier Pair unite?
Esteem and Worth, in growing Commerce blend;
And each a Lover lives, and each a Friend.