 | Monody On The Right Honourable Charles James Fox |  |
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MONODY ON THE RIGHT HONOURABLE CHARLES JAMES FOX.
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And heaving breast, slow, from your Patriot's grave,
You hither turn,—in hopes some strain to hear
May soothe your sufferings,—some melodĭous lay,
Fit to embalm his memŏry, and record
His worth unequall'd,—ah! that hope forego;
For I have nought but sorrow to return
To your mute sorrows: I must echo back
(In place of Eulogies of lofty strain)
Sighs to your sighs, and to your tears repay
Tears all as fruitless: I, with you, can bend
Prone o'er the earth, whose cold—cold breast inurns
Nature's chief pride;—the intellectual boast—
The grace—the glory of a widow'd age;
But can, alas! no more. Or if, amid
My frequent heaving sobs, the struggling voice,
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And the big heart unburthen,—can that voice
(By sorrow thus untun'd) e'er reach those notes
Of highest rapture, whose accordant swell
Should sound the Patrĭot's, sound the Statesman's praise,
—The Sage—the Orator—the all-inspir'd,
And all-inspiring, comprehensive mind!
Ah no! (for me unstrung) the Epic Lyre
Passes to other hands. Not mine to wake
The sounding strings—that, with responsive swell,
Should ring,—re-echŏing to thy matchless praise,
Thrice-honour'd Fox!—Yet, may thy loftier Fame
Claim its full record from a heart as warm,—
A soul as conscious of thy worth sincere
And energy benignant!—from a hand
More skill'd—more free to dwell on evĕry chord
May vibrate to thy glory! I, the while,
Will, o'er the plaintive Lute, in humbler strains,
Dwell on thy Moral Worth:—thy social praise,
In the calm walks of Friendship;—in the scenes
Of still retirement,—where each milder grace
(That from the heart's warm fountain, undefil'd,
Drinks its pure nurture) blossoms into life!—
My humbler verse (the Statesman's praise foregone)
Shall hail the Man!—the social heart shall hail,
Benignant and urbane!—a dearer theme,
And less obnoxious to the partial taint
Of prejudice and passion!
Passes to other hands. Not mine to wake
The sounding strings—that, with responsive swell,
Should ring,—re-echŏing to thy matchless praise,
Thrice-honour'd Fox!—Yet, may thy loftier Fame
Claim its full record from a heart as warm,—
A soul as conscious of thy worth sincere
And energy benignant!—from a hand
More skill'd—more free to dwell on evĕry chord
May vibrate to thy glory! I, the while,
Will, o'er the plaintive Lute, in humbler strains,
Dwell on thy Moral Worth:—thy social praise,
In the calm walks of Friendship;—in the scenes
Of still retirement,—where each milder grace
(That from the heart's warm fountain, undefil'd,
Drinks its pure nurture) blossoms into life!—
My humbler verse (the Statesman's praise foregone)
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Benignant and urbane!—a dearer theme,
And less obnoxious to the partial taint
Of prejudice and passion!
Here, O Fox!
Thy praise resounds unquestion'd:—Here the crest
Of Envy shrinks, in impotence, abash'd,
And all her snakes are stingless. To this theme,
In full accordance, evĕry ear shall bend,
And evĕry bosom vibrate: nor, while yet
Remembĕrance in the vital seat remains
Of one who knew thy virtues, e'er shall cease
The cordial retrospection. Oft the Friend,
In bursting agony of soul, shall sob,
Tear-choak'd, thy praises;—the Companion gay
Of thy unbending hours,—oft as the cup
You wont to pledge, shall take thĕ accustom'd round,
Shall pause in musing sadness;—they who mark'd,
At casŭal distance, or with passing glance,
Chance led, thy artless manners,—thy mild port
And affable demeanour, shall respond
The grateful theme; and evĕn thy bitterest foe—
(For who thro public scenes and life's turmoil
Can walk, with conscious energy erect,
Foeless or unrevil'd?)—thy bittĕrest foe
Shall join with friends and strangers, here, to own
Thy praise unrivall'd:—to thy grave shall press,
Amid the throng promiscūous;—and, if
He hath a heart, (remembĕring what thou wert—
To friend how ardent! and to foe how mild!—
How like a rock, in all the fix'd regards
Of gratitude and kindness; but to wrongs
How unretentive!—flexible and soft
As yielding childhood, that impression takes
But as a passing shadow!)—even he,
Shall all his rankling enmities resign,
And weep—he e'er was hostile.
Thy praise resounds unquestion'd:—Here the crest
Of Envy shrinks, in impotence, abash'd,
And all her snakes are stingless. To this theme,
In full accordance, evĕry ear shall bend,
And evĕry bosom vibrate: nor, while yet
Remembĕrance in the vital seat remains
Of one who knew thy virtues, e'er shall cease
The cordial retrospection. Oft the Friend,
In bursting agony of soul, shall sob,
Tear-choak'd, thy praises;—the Companion gay
Of thy unbending hours,—oft as the cup
You wont to pledge, shall take thĕ accustom'd round,
Shall pause in musing sadness;—they who mark'd,
At casŭal distance, or with passing glance,
Chance led, thy artless manners,—thy mild port
And affable demeanour, shall respond
The grateful theme; and evĕn thy bitterest foe—
(For who thro public scenes and life's turmoil
Can walk, with conscious energy erect,
Foeless or unrevil'd?)—thy bittĕrest foe
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Thy praise unrivall'd:—to thy grave shall press,
Amid the throng promiscūous;—and, if
He hath a heart, (remembĕring what thou wert—
To friend how ardent! and to foe how mild!—
How like a rock, in all the fix'd regards
Of gratitude and kindness; but to wrongs
How unretentive!—flexible and soft
As yielding childhood, that impression takes
But as a passing shadow!)—even he,
Shall all his rankling enmities resign,
And weep—he e'er was hostile.
And O thou!—
(Could earth once more re-claim thee!)—even thou
—Spirit of fire! that, in eccentric course,
Rov'd thro each sphere of science!—o'er-illum'd
With Heavĕn's too ardent flame!—intemperate
Of genĭus, as of Passion!—even thou,
Soul-kindling Burke! hadst thou beheld this day,
Had melted to remembĕrance; and, with voice
All eloquent of sorrow, had confess'd,—
With pride, the Pupil; with despair, the friend.
Yes, such the boundless sympathy shall swell,
(Could earth once more re-claim thee!)—even thou
—Spirit of fire! that, in eccentric course,
Rov'd thro each sphere of science!—o'er-illum'd
With Heavĕn's too ardent flame!—intemperate
Of genĭus, as of Passion!—even thou,
Soul-kindling Burke! hadst thou beheld this day,
Had melted to remembĕrance; and, with voice
All eloquent of sorrow, had confess'd,—
With pride, the Pupil; with despair, the friend.
Thy solemn Dirge—O honour'd! O rever'd
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Transcending o'er my praise, lamented Fox!—
Virtues—that, thro the tenour of thy Life
Have flow'd unmingled,—save by such alloy,
As from the untam'd energies of youth
Too frequent spring:—taints of o'er-vigŏrous sap;
That, in the vernal season, burst, too oft,
The swelling rind, and take a canker in,
That hastens (immature) thĕ autumnal fall.
And such, perhaps, thy penance!—Hence, perhaps,
So soon we mourn thee lost.—The sentient nerve,
First by the error, the contrition next
O'erstrain'd and harrass'd, yielded, ere its hour,
To Time's sure inroad; and Affection mourns,—
Of half her hopes defrauded.
So soon we mourn thee lost.—The sentient nerve,
First by the error, the contrition next
O'erstrain'd and harrass'd, yielded, ere its hour,
To Time's sure inroad; and Affection mourns,—
Of half her hopes defrauded.
Yet—to us,
If, from thĕ o'erwhelming flood and heedless tide
Of youthful ebullition, thus remain
Lasting regret;—yet, not to thee remains
Opprobrĭum's lasting taint:—how well redeem'd!—
When, in maturer years, and in the hour
Of sharp corrosive trial, full appear'd,
In Truth's clear mirror, the reflected scene
Of Folly's wild career. Resurgent, then,
With what elastic energy, upsprung
Thy buoyant mind! and how sublimely soar'd!
Beyond example, constant in resolve:
Reforming and atoning.
If, from thĕ o'erwhelming flood and heedless tide
Of youthful ebullition, thus remain
Lasting regret;—yet, not to thee remains
Opprobrĭum's lasting taint:—how well redeem'd!—
When, in maturer years, and in the hour
Of sharp corrosive trial, full appear'd,
In Truth's clear mirror, the reflected scene
Of Folly's wild career. Resurgent, then,
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Thy buoyant mind! and how sublimely soar'd!
Beyond example, constant in resolve:
Reforming and atoning.
Nor in vain,
For thine, or Nature's glory, came the hour
Of such afflictive trial:—blest in this—
That 'twas thy favŏuring destiny to prove
Friendship no empty name;—to blend with hearts
True to themselves in thee: whose justice prov'd
Them not unworthy of the age—the clime
Thy manly worth adorn'd!—Ah doubly blest—
There (where 'tis dearest to the soul, to find
A faithful friend)—to find such friend thy own,—
Evĕn where the settled Prudence of the world
Would least have sought; and, the rich treasure prov'd,
Tŏ have turn'd thy frailty to an act of grace
And soar'd to Justice, where no Custom bound.
But cease, my heaving bosom!—check the strain,
For thine, or Nature's glory, came the hour
Of such afflictive trial:—blest in this—
That 'twas thy favŏuring destiny to prove
Friendship no empty name;—to blend with hearts
True to themselves in thee: whose justice prov'd
Them not unworthy of the age—the clime
Thy manly worth adorn'd!—Ah doubly blest—
There (where 'tis dearest to the soul, to find
A faithful friend)—to find such friend thy own,—
Evĕn where the settled Prudence of the world
Would least have sought; and, the rich treasure prov'd,
Tŏ have turn'd thy frailty to an act of grace
And soar'd to Justice, where no Custom bound.
Inadequate and faint! that vainly seeks
Tŏ enumerate his virtues;—to reveal
The heart—the soul, that nobly soar'd above
The vulgar limits of Tradition's rule—
Expansive and sublime. Let, those who knew,
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His bosom's confidence,—the cordial flow
Of his attractive converse;—who have seen
His eye, expressive of thĕ awaken'd heart,
Beaming in all its fulness;—Let them pour
From the abundant treasŭry of their griefs
The copious eulogy; in ample Lay,
His ampler heart delinĕate; and record
What the swoln breast has treasur'd. Chiefly thou—
By either Muse, inspir'd!—by friendship more;
O Sheridan! indulge the mournful theme
That claims thy flowing verse. Thou, skill'd alike,
To pour the stream of Heliconĭan song,
Inspiring; or the not less raptŭrous tide
Of soul-exciting eloquence!—O seize,
Once more the Lyre; and call, from evĕry eye,
The Tear's full torrent!—wake in evĕry heart
The glow of admiration:—the strong throb
Of emulous regret,—that what, it mourns,
Pants to resemble. In some deathless Lay
Sound—sound his praises! that the world may hear,
And consecrate thy friendship and his worth.
We, sad, the while, will, o'er his hallow'd urn,
Pour our full sorrows; and full oft invoke
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From sire to son (while generations last)
Transmit his memōry:—for, oh! if e'er
Virtue was sacred held,—if excellence
Of heart and head,—if large capacious soul,—
If libĕral Feelings join'd with Thought profound,
And Eloquence with Wisdom's strength sustain'd;
—If Knowledge wedded to Simplicity,—
The Maiden's meekness, with the Sage's lore;—
If these, can claim our revĕrence, and command
A lasting admiration,—then; as long
As record lives,—as Memŏry loves to dwell
On past example, Fox, in evĕry heart
Shall find a Cenotaph: His image there
Shall live, inscrib'd with characters of truth;
And Time (while Time shall last) preserve the Name
—To Albion, and to social Virtue dear.
FINIS.
| Monody On The Right Honourable Charles James Fox | |