Neglected Genius A Poem. Illustrating the Untimely And Unfortunate Fate Of Many British Poets; From the Period of Henry the Eighth to the Aera of the Unfortunate Chatterton. Containing Imitations of their Different Styles, &c. &c. By W. H. Ireland |
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Monody
UPON THE DEATH OF THE MOST NOBLE
WILLIAM CAVENDISH,
Late Duke of Devonshire. |
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 | Neglected Genius |  |
ix
Monody UPON THE DEATH OF THE MOST NOBLE WILLIAM CAVENDISH, Late Duke of Devonshire.
INSCRIBED (BY PERMISSION) TO
ELIZABETH, DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE.
O! let me wake the soul-subduing strain,
To breathe my sorrowing bosom's pain;
And pensive melancholy's notes infuse,
To give the mind's inherent anguish scope;
Extinguish'd now sweet soothing Hope,
Sadness, sole tutor of the weeping Muse.
To breathe my sorrowing bosom's pain;
And pensive melancholy's notes infuse,
To give the mind's inherent anguish scope;
Extinguish'd now sweet soothing Hope,
Sadness, sole tutor of the weeping Muse.
x
If virtue's seal, impress'd upon the mind,
Ennobles e'en the lowly hind,
How radiant beams its lustre in the Great!
'Tis then Nobility has tenfold sway;
A sounding name may fade away,
But innate worth for ever holds its state.
Ennobles e'en the lowly hind,
How radiant beams its lustre in the Great!
'Tis then Nobility has tenfold sway;
A sounding name may fade away,
But innate worth for ever holds its state.
Then mourn, my muse! O strike the solemn string,
Wafted on Fame's immortal wing;
From earth to heav'n that spirit now is fled,
In which combin'd these attributes appear'd,
For mental worth to all endear'd;
Its mundane part now slumb'ring with the dead.
Wafted on Fame's immortal wing;
From earth to heav'n that spirit now is fled,
In which combin'd these attributes appear'd,
For mental worth to all endear'd;
Its mundane part now slumb'ring with the dead.
Hail, beamy essence! I in mournful verse,
With conscious diffidence, rehearse
Thy path terrestrial—honour's bright career:
Let me with pathos feeling's soul impart,
Just tribute of an hallowing heart,
That bends with awful reverence o'er thy Bier.
With conscious diffidence, rehearse
Thy path terrestrial—honour's bright career:
Let me with pathos feeling's soul impart,
Just tribute of an hallowing heart,
That bends with awful reverence o'er thy Bier.
xi
O, polish'd marble, thy cold surface shows
The record of her bosom's woes,
The dewy offsprings of a bleeding breast;
Eliza damps this portal of stern Death,
While, with her tears, the muse's breath
Hails him immortal, and for ever bless'd.
The record of her bosom's woes,
The dewy offsprings of a bleeding breast;
Eliza damps this portal of stern Death,
While, with her tears, the muse's breath
Hails him immortal, and for ever bless'd.
Chaste widow'd Mourner, still with tears bedew
That sacred Urn, which can imbue
Thy worldly thoughts, thus kindling mem'ry's glow;
Each retrospective virtue, fadeless beam,
Embalms thy Truth in heav'nly dream,
To soothe the bosom's agonizing woe.
That sacred Urn, which can imbue
Thy worldly thoughts, thus kindling mem'ry's glow;
Each retrospective virtue, fadeless beam,
Embalms thy Truth in heav'nly dream,
To soothe the bosom's agonizing woe.
Yet soft—more poignantly to wake the soul,
And ev'ry pensive thought controul,
Truth shall with energy his worth proclaim;
Here I'll record his philanthropic mind,
Eager to bless all human kind,
Yet modest shrinking from the voice of Fame.
And ev'ry pensive thought controul,
Truth shall with energy his worth proclaim;
Here I'll record his philanthropic mind,
Eager to bless all human kind,
Yet modest shrinking from the voice of Fame.
xii
As Patriot view him shun the courtly crew,
And dauntless ever keep in view
That bright palladium, England's dear renown,
The people's Freedom and the Monarch's good,
Purchas'd with Patriotic blood,
The surest safeguard of the state and crown.
And dauntless ever keep in view
That bright palladium, England's dear renown,
The people's Freedom and the Monarch's good,
Purchas'd with Patriotic blood,
The surest safeguard of the state and crown.
Or now behold his glowing soul extend,
To shine the polish'd social friend;
His country's matchless Prince his worth rever'd;
Gigantic Fox, true Freedom's darling child,
By kindred excellence beguil'd,
To lasting amity the temple rear'd.
To shine the polish'd social friend;
His country's matchless Prince his worth rever'd;
Gigantic Fox, true Freedom's darling child,
By kindred excellence beguil'd,
To lasting amity the temple rear'd.
As Critic chaste, his judgment could explore
The beauties of poetic lore,
Or classic strains mellifluent infuse;
Yet glowing genius and expanded sense
Were crown'd with innate diffidence,
The sure attendant of a genuine muse.
The beauties of poetic lore,
Or classic strains mellifluent infuse;
Yet glowing genius and expanded sense
Were crown'd with innate diffidence,
The sure attendant of a genuine muse.
xiii
Thus ev'ry excellence one bosom own'd,
And bright perfection thus enthron'd
The conscious spirit; dignified, erect,
Majestic mov'd through life's revolving scene,
While truth illum'd its course serene,
Join'd with beneficence and intellect.
And bright perfection thus enthron'd
The conscious spirit; dignified, erect,
Majestic mov'd through life's revolving scene,
While truth illum'd its course serene,
Join'd with beneficence and intellect.
Such were the attributes, and such the fame,
O, Cavendish! that grac'd thy name;
Virtues sublime, which nothing can restore:
To mis'ry's thrill attuning thus my lyre,
Though humble the poetic fire,
That blazons worth which can return no more.
O, Cavendish! that grac'd thy name;
Virtues sublime, which nothing can restore:
To mis'ry's thrill attuning thus my lyre,
Though humble the poetic fire,
That blazons worth which can return no more.
Hail then, memorial of perfection flown,
To share a bright celestial throne;
All hail! thou Mausoleum of the Just:
My anguish'd thoughts I'll register with sighs,
While tear-drops, gushing from mine eyes,
Proclaim my reverence for the hallow'd Dust.
To share a bright celestial throne;
All hail! thou Mausoleum of the Just:
My anguish'd thoughts I'll register with sighs,
While tear-drops, gushing from mine eyes,
Proclaim my reverence for the hallow'd Dust.
xiv
Yet hold, presumption;—what are griefs like mine,
Pour'd forth at death's recording shrine,
Compar'd with those that swell the moaning gale?
The widow's sacred sorrows now ascend,
While heav'nly choirs angelic blend
Their tones melodious with the plaintive tale.
Pour'd forth at death's recording shrine,
Compar'd with those that swell the moaning gale?
The widow's sacred sorrows now ascend,
While heav'nly choirs angelic blend
Their tones melodious with the plaintive tale.
Mute be my sorrows; I with reverence greet
This rapt'rous flow of incense sweet;
An off'ring worthy pure seraphic love:
Hark! now I hear combin'd the filial strain,
Acutely wafting forth its pain
To that all Righteous Sire in realms above.
This rapt'rous flow of incense sweet;
An off'ring worthy pure seraphic love:
Hark! now I hear combin'd the filial strain,
Acutely wafting forth its pain
To that all Righteous Sire in realms above.
Farewell, cold Urn! ennobled Dust, adieu!
Farewell the dark and shadowing yew,
With cypress crown'd! I'll mourn afar Fate's doom;
The palm of Grief Eliza's soul has won,
With him who lives, the Phœnix' Son:
Such griefs, great Cavendish, embalm thy Tomb.
Farewell the dark and shadowing yew,
With cypress crown'd! I'll mourn afar Fate's doom;
The palm of Grief Eliza's soul has won,
With him who lives, the Phœnix' Son:
Such griefs, great Cavendish, embalm thy Tomb.
| Neglected Genius | |