Poems by the Late Reverend Dr. Thomas Blacklock Together with an Essay on the Education of the Blind. To Which is Prefixed A New Account of the Life and Writings of the Author |
 |
|
DESIDERIUM LUTETIAE;
|
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
 | Poems by the Late Reverend Dr. Thomas Blacklock |  |
85
DESIDERIUM LUTETIAE;
From BUCHANAN, An ALLEGORICAL PASTORAL, In which he regrets his Absence from Paris, Imitated.
While far remote, thy swain, dear Chloe! sighs,
Depriv'd the vital sunshine of thine eyes;
Seven summer heats already warm the plains;
In storms and snow the sev'nth bleak winter reigns:
Yet not seven years revolving sad and slow,
Nor summer's heats, nor winter's storms and snow,
Can to my soul the smallest ease procure,
Or free from Love and Care one tedious hour.
Depriv'd the vital sunshine of thine eyes;
Seven summer heats already warm the plains;
In storms and snow the sev'nth bleak winter reigns:
Yet not seven years revolving sad and slow,
Nor summer's heats, nor winter's storms and snow,
Can to my soul the smallest ease procure,
Or free from Love and Care one tedious hour.
Thee, when from heav'n descend the dews of morn,
To crop the verdant mead when flocks return;
Thee, when the sun has compass'd half his way,
And darts around unsufferable day;
Thee, when the ev'ning, o'er the world display'd,
From rising hills projects a length'ning shade;
Thee still I sing, unweary'd of my theme,
Source of my song, and object of my flame!
Ev'n night, in whose dark bosom nature laid,
Appears one blank, one undistinguish'd shade,
Ev'n night in vain, with all her horrors, tries
To blot thy lovely form from fancy's eyes.
To crop the verdant mead when flocks return;
Thee, when the sun has compass'd half his way,
And darts around unsufferable day;
Thee, when the ev'ning, o'er the world display'd,
From rising hills projects a length'ning shade;
Thee still I sing, unweary'd of my theme,
Source of my song, and object of my flame!
86
Appears one blank, one undistinguish'd shade,
Ev'n night in vain, with all her horrors, tries
To blot thy lovely form from fancy's eyes.
When short-liv'd slumbers, long invok'd, descend,
To sooth each care, and ev'ry sense suspend,
Full to my sight once more thy charms appear;
Once more my ardent vows salute thine ear;
Once more my anxious soul, awake to bliss,
Feels, hears, detains thee in her close embrace:
In flutt'ring, thrilling, glowing transport tost,
Till sense itself in keen delight is lost.
To sooth each care, and ev'ry sense suspend,
Full to my sight once more thy charms appear;
Once more my ardent vows salute thine ear;
Once more my anxious soul, awake to bliss,
Feels, hears, detains thee in her close embrace:
In flutt'ring, thrilling, glowing transport tost,
Till sense itself in keen delight is lost.
From sleep I wake; but, oh! how chang'd the scene!
The charms illusive, and the pleasure vain!
The day returns; but ah! returning day,
When ev'ry grief but mine admits allay,
On these sad eyes its glory darts in vain;
Its light restor'd, restores my soul to pain.
The charms illusive, and the pleasure vain!
The day returns; but ah! returning day,
When ev'ry grief but mine admits allay,
On these sad eyes its glory darts in vain;
Its light restor'd, restores my soul to pain.
The house I fly, impell'd by wild despair,
As if my griefs could only find me there.
Lost to the world, thro' lonely fields I rove;
Vain wish! to fly from destiny and love!
By wayward frenzy's restless impulse led,
Thro' devious wilds, with heedless course, I tread:
The cave remote, the dusky wood explore,
Where human step was ne'er imprest before:
And, with the native accents of despair,
Fatigue the conscious rocks, and desert air.
Kind Echo, faithful to my plaints alone,
Sighs all my sighs, and groans to ev'ry groan.
The streams, familiar to the voice of woe,
Each mournful sound remurmur as they flow.
As if my griefs could only find me there.
Lost to the world, thro' lonely fields I rove;
Vain wish! to fly from destiny and love!
By wayward frenzy's restless impulse led,
Thro' devious wilds, with heedless course, I tread:
The cave remote, the dusky wood explore,
Where human step was ne'er imprest before:
And, with the native accents of despair,
Fatigue the conscious rocks, and desert air.
87
Sighs all my sighs, and groans to ev'ry groan.
The streams, familiar to the voice of woe,
Each mournful sound remurmur as they flow.
Oft on some rock distracted I complain,
Which hangs projected o'er the ruffled main:
Oft view the azure surges as they roll,
And to deaf storms effuse my frantic soul.
“Attend my sorrows, O caerulean tide!
“Ye blue-ey'd nymphs that thro' the billows glide,
“Oh! waft me gently o'er your rough domain;
“Let me at length my darling coast attain:
“Or, if my wishes thus too much implore,
“Shipwreck'd and gasping let me reach the shore.
“While wash'd along the floods I hold my way,
“To ev'ry wind and ev'ry wave a prey,
“Dear hope and love shall bear my struggling frame,
“And unextingush'd keep the vital flame.”
Which hangs projected o'er the ruffled main:
Oft view the azure surges as they roll,
And to deaf storms effuse my frantic soul.
“Attend my sorrows, O caerulean tide!
“Ye blue-ey'd nymphs that thro' the billows glide,
“Oh! waft me gently o'er your rough domain;
“Let me at length my darling coast attain:
“Or, if my wishes thus too much implore,
“Shipwreck'd and gasping let me reach the shore.
“While wash'd along the floods I hold my way,
“To ev'ry wind and ev'ry wave a prey,
“Dear hope and love shall bear my struggling frame,
“And unextingush'd keep the vital flame.”
Oft to the hast'ning zephyrs have I said:
“You, happy gales! shall fan my lovely maid.
“So may no pointed rocks your wings deform;
“So may your speedy journey meet no storm.
“As soft you whisper round my heav'nly fair,
“Play on her breast, or wanton with her hair;
“Faithful to love, the tender message bear,
“And breathe my endless sorrows in her ear.”
“You, happy gales! shall fan my lovely maid.
“So may no pointed rocks your wings deform;
“So may your speedy journey meet no storm.
“As soft you whisper round my heav'nly fair,
“Play on her breast, or wanton with her hair;
“Faithful to love, the tender message bear,
“And breathe my endless sorrows in her ear.”
How oft rough Eurus have I ask'd in vain!
As with swift wings he brush'd the-foamy main:
“Blest wind! who late my distant charmer view'd,
“Say, has her soul no other wish pursu'd!
“With mutual fire, say, does her bosom glow;
“Feels she my wound, and pities she my woe?”
As with swift wings he brush'd the-foamy main:
88
“Say, has her soul no other wish pursu'd!
“With mutual fire, say, does her bosom glow;
“Feels she my wound, and pities she my woe?”
Heedless of all my tears, and all I say,
The winds, with blust'ring fury, wing their way.
A freezing horror, and a chilling pain,
Shoots thro' my heart, and stagnates ev'ry vein.
No rural pleasures yield my soul relief;
No melting shepherd's pipe consoles my grief:
The choral nymphs, that dancing chear the plain,
And Fauns, tho' sweet their song, yet sing in vain.
Deaf to the voice of joy, my tortur'd mind
Can only room for love and anguish find:
By these my soul and all its wishes caught,
Can to no other object yield a thought.
The winds, with blust'ring fury, wing their way.
A freezing horror, and a chilling pain,
Shoots thro' my heart, and stagnates ev'ry vein.
No rural pleasures yield my soul relief;
No melting shepherd's pipe consoles my grief:
The choral nymphs, that dancing chear the plain,
And Fauns, tho' sweet their song, yet sing in vain.
Deaf to the voice of joy, my tortur'd mind
Can only room for love and anguish find:
By these my soul and all its wishes caught,
Can to no other object yield a thought.
Lycisca, skilful with her lyre to move
Each tender wish, and melt the soul to love:
Melaenis too, with ev'ry sweetness crown'd,
By nature form'd with ev'ry glance to wound:
With emulation both my love pursue,
And both, with winning arts, my passion woo.
The freshest bloom of youth their cheeks display;
Their eyes are arm'd with beauty's keenest ray;
Av'rice itself might count their fleecy store,
(A prize beyond its wish!) and pant no more.
Each tender wish, and melt the soul to love:
Melaenis too, with ev'ry sweetness crown'd,
By nature form'd with ev'ry glance to wound:
With emulation both my love pursue,
And both, with winning arts, my passion woo.
The freshest bloom of youth their cheeks display;
Their eyes are arm'd with beauty's keenest ray;
Av'rice itself might count their fleecy store,
(A prize beyond its wish!) and pant no more.
89
Me oft their dow'rs each gen'rous sire has told,
An hundred playful younglings from the fold,
Each with its dam; their mothers promise more,
And oft, and long, with secret gifts, implore.
Me nor an hundred playful younglings move,
Each with its dam; nor wealth can bribe my love;
Nor all the griefs th' imploring mothers show;
Nor all the secret gifts they would bestow;
Nor all the tender things the nymphs can say;
Nor all the soft desires the nymphs betray.
An hundred playful younglings from the fold,
Each with its dam; their mothers promise more,
And oft, and long, with secret gifts, implore.
Me nor an hundred playful younglings move,
Each with its dam; nor wealth can bribe my love;
Nor all the griefs th' imploring mothers show;
Nor all the secret gifts they would bestow;
Nor all the tender things the nymphs can say;
Nor all the soft desires the nymphs betray.
As winter to the spring in beauty yields,
Languor to health, and rocks to verdant fields;
As the fair virgin's cheek, with rosy dye
Blushing delight, with lightning arm'd her eye,
Beyond her mother's faded form appears,
Mark'd with the wrinkles and the snow of years;
As beauteous Tweed, and wealth-importing Thames
Flow each the envy of their country's streams:
So, loveliest of her sex, my heav'nly maid
Appears, and all their fainter glories fade.
Languor to health, and rocks to verdant fields;
As the fair virgin's cheek, with rosy dye
Blushing delight, with lightning arm'd her eye,
Beyond her mother's faded form appears,
Mark'd with the wrinkles and the snow of years;
As beauteous Tweed, and wealth-importing Thames
Flow each the envy of their country's streams:
So, loveliest of her sex, my heav'nly maid
Appears, and all their fainter glories fade.
Melaenis, whom love's soft enchantments arm,
Replete with charms, and conscious of each charm,
Oft on the glassy stream, with raptur'd eyes,
Surveys her form in mimic sweetness rise;
Oft, as the waters pleas'd reflect her face,
Adjusts her locks, and heightens ev'ry grace:
Oft thus she tries, with all her tuneful art,
To reach the soft accesses of my heart.
“Unhappy swain, whose wishes fondly stray,
“To slow-consuming fruitless fires a prey!
“Say, will those sighs and tears for ever flow
“In hopeless torment, and determin'd woe?
“Our fields, by nature's bounty blest, as thine,
“The mellow apple yield, and purple vine;
“Those too thou lov'st; their free enjoyment share,
“Nor plant vain tedious hopes, and reap despair.”
Replete with charms, and conscious of each charm,
Oft on the glassy stream, with raptur'd eyes,
Surveys her form in mimic sweetness rise;
Oft, as the waters pleas'd reflect her face,
Adjusts her locks, and heightens ev'ry grace:
Oft thus she tries, with all her tuneful art,
To reach the soft accesses of my heart.
90
“To slow-consuming fruitless fires a prey!
“Say, will those sighs and tears for ever flow
“In hopeless torment, and determin'd woe?
“Our fields, by nature's bounty blest, as thine,
“The mellow apple yield, and purple vine;
“Those too thou lov'st; their free enjoyment share,
“Nor plant vain tedious hopes, and reap despair.”
Me oft Lycisca, in the festive train,
Views as she lightly bounds along the plain:
Straight, with dissembled scorn, away she flies;
Yet still on me obliquely turns her eyes:
While, to the music of her trembling strings,
Amidst the dance sweet warbling, thus she sings:
“No tears the just revenge of heav'n can move;
“Heav'n's just revenge will punish slighted love.
“I've seen a huntsman, active as the morn,
“Salute her earliest blush with sounding horn;
“Pursue the bounding stag with op'ning cries,
“And slight the timid hare, his easy prize:
“Then, with the setting sun, his hounds restrain;
“Nor bounding stag, nor timid hare obtain.
“I've seen the sportsman latent nets display,
“To catch the feather'd warblers of the spray;
“Despise the finch that flutter'd round in air,
“And court the sweeter linnet to his snare:
“Yet weary, cold, successless, leave the plain;
“Nor painted finch, nor sweeter linnet, gain.
“I've seen a youth the polish'd pipe admire,
“And scorn the simple reed the swains inspire:
“The simple reed yet chears each tuneful swain;
“While still unblest the scorner pines in vain.
“Thus righteous heav'n chastises wanton pride,
“And bids intemp'rate insolence subside.”
Views as she lightly bounds along the plain:
Straight, with dissembled scorn, away she flies;
Yet still on me obliquely turns her eyes:
While, to the music of her trembling strings,
Amidst the dance sweet warbling, thus she sings:
“No tears the just revenge of heav'n can move;
“Heav'n's just revenge will punish slighted love.
“I've seen a huntsman, active as the morn,
“Salute her earliest blush with sounding horn;
“Pursue the bounding stag with op'ning cries,
“And slight the timid hare, his easy prize:
“Then, with the setting sun, his hounds restrain;
“Nor bounding stag, nor timid hare obtain.
“I've seen the sportsman latent nets display,
“To catch the feather'd warblers of the spray;
“Despise the finch that flutter'd round in air,
“And court the sweeter linnet to his snare:
“Yet weary, cold, successless, leave the plain;
“Nor painted finch, nor sweeter linnet, gain.
91
“And scorn the simple reed the swains inspire:
“The simple reed yet chears each tuneful swain;
“While still unblest the scorner pines in vain.
“Thus righteous heav'n chastises wanton pride,
“And bids intemp'rate insolence subside.”
Thus breathe the am'rous nymphs their fruitless pain,
In ears impervious to the softest strain.
But first with trembling lambs the wolf shall graze;
First hawks with linnets join in social lays;
First shall the tiger's sanguine thirst expire,
And tim'rous fawns the lion fierce admire;
Ere, with her lute Lycisca taught to charm,
This destin'd heart ere soft Melaenis warm.
First shall the finny nation leave the flood,
Shadows the hills, and birds the vocal wood;
The winds shall cease to breathe, the streams to flow;
Ere my desires another object know.
This infant bosom, yet in love untaught,
From Chloe first the pleasing ardour caught:
Chloe shall still its faithful empire claim,
Its first ambition, and its latest aim!
Till ev'ry wish and ev'ry hope be o'er,
And life and love inspire my frame no more.
In ears impervious to the softest strain.
But first with trembling lambs the wolf shall graze;
First hawks with linnets join in social lays;
First shall the tiger's sanguine thirst expire,
And tim'rous fawns the lion fierce admire;
Ere, with her lute Lycisca taught to charm,
This destin'd heart ere soft Melaenis warm.
First shall the finny nation leave the flood,
Shadows the hills, and birds the vocal wood;
The winds shall cease to breathe, the streams to flow;
Ere my desires another object know.
This infant bosom, yet in love untaught,
From Chloe first the pleasing ardour caught:
Chloe shall still its faithful empire claim,
Its first ambition, and its latest aim!
Till ev'ry wish and ev'ry hope be o'er,
And life and love inspire my frame no more.
| Poems by the Late Reverend Dr. Thomas Blacklock | |