The Poetical Works Of James Grainger ... With Memoirs Of His Life And Writings, By Robert Anderson ... And An Index Of The Linnean Names Of Plants, &c. By William Wright |
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HYMN TO CHEERFULNESS. |
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 | The Poetical Works Of James Grainger |  |
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HYMN TO CHEERFULNESS.
I
O Cheerfulness! celestial queen!Of sparkling eye and rosy mien;
Whether in bower or hall,
Where coyly wanton Beauty wounds,
And Music breathes impassion'd sounds,
Thou smil'st, to thee I call!
II
Though Love my cup of pleasure sours,And stops the too, too lagging hours;
If thou, heart-easing Fair!
Once deign to grace my lonely roof,
Pale-fac'd Dejection keeps aloof,
And Sorrow melts to air.
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III
In vain the Bacchanalian crew,Thee would with wine and roses woo,
To grace their orgies wild;
Where laughs Debauch, where Riot rings,
Thou fliest the rout on equal wings,
Thee, Health and Virtue's child.
IV
Let shy Suspicion seek the glade,Of social intercourse afraid,
Enwrapt in double gloom;
Let Cacodæmons rule the skies,
At every step see terrors rise,
And yell his dismal doom.
V
Though sunny Afric own'd my sway,And in my shores Potosi lay,
Each craving wish supply'd;
Unless thou com'st, Euphrosyne!
And bring'st thy nurse, Content, with thee,
'Twere irksome all beside.
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VI
In vain I importune the Nine,Around my brow their wreaths to twine,
To strike the Tean lyre:
My blood without thee dully flows,
Nor fit nor just my judgment knows,
My fancy feels no fire.
VII
Regret and mopish Bodings fly,Enlivening Queen! when thou art by,
Chagrin nor dares to stay;
Rash Suicide lets fall the bowl,
Thou light'st the day-star in the soul,
With Hope's perennial ray.
VIII
In vain foul Vice assumes thy mien,Alone fair Virtue smiles serene,
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The thorns that goad the villain's breast,
The secret dread that breaks his rest,
Belie the visor'd face.
IX
Let dire eccentric comets glare,Let fire-ey'd plagues infest the air,
Let earthquakes rock the ground;
No sunk Despondency repines,
No Cavil taxes God's designs,
Where thou, Divine! art by!
X
Blithe Hope, in amice green array'd,And meek-ey'd Peace that woos the glade,
Thy genuine offspring are:
Thou paint'st with ruddier streaks the dawn,
Thou tint'st with brighter bredes the lawn,
And fairer mak'st the fair.
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XI
For, if not fabulous my lore,Thou art the magic zone she wore,
She, Queen of wreathed smiles!
By thee she fix'd in every heart
The pleasurably-painful dart,
From thee she stole her wiles.
XII
If with thy sweetly-winning rayThou gild'st the close of life's decay,
Old age has power to charm;
Without thee, Goddess debonnaire!
Not youth, not breathing youth, is fair,
No gazer's breast can warm.
XIII
Wherever, Queen, thou deign'st to go,Fruits hang, flowers bud, clear streamlets flow,
The echoing banks between:
Mild vernal airs around thee throng,
And all is sun, and all is song,
And all fair freshening green.
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XIV
Staid Pleasures in thy presence wait,Superior thou to frowns of Fate,
To fretful Hymen's chains;
Thou art Religion's genuine look,
Thou art Philanthropy's rebuke,
That wins while it restrains.
XV
Thou art the Patriot's heart-felt meed;When Freedom lives and tyrants bleed,
Thy smiles his toils repay;
Where bloody Superstition reigns,
And dooms the Good to deathful pains,
Thou art the Martyr's stay.
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XVI
O Cheerfulness! thy steady beamBy far outshines Mirth's transient gleam,
Mirth, Mourning's firm ally!
Rash apish Folly is his guide;
Wisdom is ever at thy side,
And chaste Hilarity.
XVII
Alas! I court thy smiles in vain,Love throbs with keener, fonder pain,
While Memory paints the past:
Yet, Cheerfulness! I'd not forego
This pleasing anxious sense of woe,
For all the joys thou hast!
| The Poetical Works Of James Grainger | |