 | A collection of original poems and translations |  |
65
To I. D. Esq.
Swallowfield Place, March 25, 1740.
Dear absent Master of this sweet Domain,Attend a while, 'tis Friendship breaths the Strain;
This bids the Heart midst Ease and Plenty moan,
And makes Joy tasteless when confin'd to one.
The Morn, 'tis true, can no where fairer rise,
No Zephyrs softer fan the Evn'ing Skies,
Spring has no sweeter Task than to improve
Yon flow'ry Level, and that sprouting Grove;
The warbling Birds send Peace to ev'ry Ear,
And the Streams murmur rest to ev'ry Care.
Yet this my Lot, thus ev'ry Sense employ'd,
Sighing I find each Pleasure unenjoy'd;
True Joy from Friends made blest alone can rise,
For Bliss, if uncommunicated, dies.
66
Whose copious Bounty's ever-flowing Stream
Gives Joy to ev'ry Heart, that's to thee known,
And makes the Gladness of a Croud thy own.
Come then, my Friend, and grant me to receive
Joys which Society alone can give.
How I exult when as thy Tread I hear?
Attendant, Valgius' Voice salutes my Ear!
See him his honest, ample Face display,
Broad as the Moon, and chearful as the Day.
Mirth and her Train, his Slaves he brings along,
Gay Gambols, Revelry, and wanton Song,
Nor needs the Aid of the inspiring Bowl
To warm his Fancy, or disclose his Soul,
Which always op'ning in his Face we scan
Claiming a Friend where'er he meets a Man.
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With Aspect mild when Gallus greets my Eyes,
And challenges from this thy new Abode
The Hospitality he once bestow'd;
When Leominster Sheep, long from the Butcher kept,
Their Master's Bounty, and our Hunger wept;
And as on Pinsley's Sunny Banks we lay,
The Cyder Tons ran unperceiv'd away.
Here, as in Greek and Roman Times, we find
The pious Priest and tuneful Poet join'd;
His Verses what good Men should be declare,
And his whole Life informs us what they are,
Prudently gay, and chearfully severe.
Who can but feel the Joy that Friendship gives,
When Paulus' honest Hand his Hand receives?
Blest Man! to whom he deigns that Pledge impart,
Unfailing Servant to a valiant Heart!
Whose Warmth whenever Justice bids is shown,
In a Friend's Cause, still warmer than his own.
But oh! forgive the Muse, if droops her Wing,
If e'en to thee she can but faintly sing,
While the dear Pleasures Friendship e'er has shown,
Are now but from a past Enjoyment known.
Th'imperfect Joy remembrance gives my Breast,
Is that in thee and—I once was blest,
Blest in thy gen'rous Friendship what I feel,
Thy Soul, from whence it springs, forbids me tell.
And thy Experience knows what Fate denies,
While—for Health to distant Scarbrough flies;
For often has he fix'd thy list'ning Ear,
With sprightly Wit, or Argument severe,
In his Wit Dignity, his Learning Ease,
T'instruct his Business, his Delight to please.
When Paulus' honest Hand his Hand receives?
Blest Man! to whom he deigns that Pledge impart,
Unfailing Servant to a valiant Heart!
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In a Friend's Cause, still warmer than his own.
But oh! forgive the Muse, if droops her Wing,
If e'en to thee she can but faintly sing,
While the dear Pleasures Friendship e'er has shown,
Are now but from a past Enjoyment known.
Th'imperfect Joy remembrance gives my Breast,
Is that in thee and—I once was blest,
Blest in thy gen'rous Friendship what I feel,
Thy Soul, from whence it springs, forbids me tell.
And thy Experience knows what Fate denies,
While—for Health to distant Scarbrough flies;
For often has he fix'd thy list'ning Ear,
With sprightly Wit, or Argument severe,
In his Wit Dignity, his Learning Ease,
T'instruct his Business, his Delight to please.
Come then, nor farther a Friend's Woes prolong,
Whose Grief sincere you find from this sad Song.
Whose Grief sincere you find from this sad Song.
| A collection of original poems and translations | |