 | The search after happiness |  |
Scene, a Grove. EUPHELIA, CLEORA, PASTORELLA, LAURINDA.
CLEORA.
Welcome, ye humble vales, ye flow'ry shades,
Ye chrystal fountains, and ye silent glades!
From the gay mis'ry of the thoughtless great,
The walks of folly, the disease of state;
From scenes where daring Guilt triumphant reigns,
Its dark suspicions and its hoard of pains;
Where Pleasure never comes without alloy,
And Art but thinly paints fallacious joy;
Where Languor loads the day; Excess the night,
And dull Satiety succeeds delight;
Where midnight Vices their fell orgies keep,
And guilty Revels scare the phantom Sleep;
Where Dissipation wears the name of Bliss:
From these we fly in search of Happiness.
EUPHELIA.
Not the tir'd Pilgrim, all his dangers past,
When he descries the long-sought shrine at last,
E'er felt a joy so pure as this fair field,
These peaceful shades, and smiling vallies yield;
For, sure, these oaks, which old as Time appear,
Proclaim Urania's lonely dwelling near.
PASTORELLA.
How the description with the scene agrees!
Here lowly thickets, there aspiring trees;
The hazel copse excluding noon-day's beam,
The tufted arbor, the pellucid stream;
The blooming sweet-briar, and the hawthorn shade,
The springing cowslips and the daisy'd mead,
The wild luxuriance of the full-blown fields,
Which Spring prepares, and laughing Summer yields.
EUPHELIA.
Here simple Nature strikes th'enraptur'd eye
With charms, which wealth and art but ill supply;
The genuine graces, which without we find,
Display the beauty of the owner's mind.
LAURINDA.
These deep embow'ring shades conceal the cell
Where sage Urania and her daughters dwell:
Florella too, if right we've heard the tale,
With them resides the lily of the vale.
CLEORA.
But soft! What gentle female form appears,
Which smiles of more than mortal beauty wears?
Is it the Guardian Genius of the grove?
Or some fair Angel from the choirs above?
Enter FLORELLA who speaks.
Whom do I see? Ye beauteous virgins, say,
What chance conducts your steps this lonely way?
Do you pursue some fav'rite lambkin stray'd?
Or do yon alders court you to their shade?
Declare, fair strangers: if aright I deem,
No rustic nymphs of vulgar rank you seem.
CLEORA.
No cooling shades allure our eager sight,
Nor lambkins lost, our searching steps invite.
FLORELLA.
Or is it, haply, yonder branching vine,
Whose trunk the woodbine's fragrant tendrils twine?
Whose spreading height, with purple clusters crown'd,
Attracts the gaze of ev'ry nymph around?
Have these lone regions aught that charm beside
Florella's shades, her flow'rs, her fleecy pride?
EUPHELIA.
Florella! our united thanks receive;
Sole proof of gratitude we have to give:
And since you deign to ask, O courteous Fair,
The motive of our unremitting care,
Know then, 'tis Happiness we would obtain;
That charming prize our ardent wish would gain.
By Fancy's mimic pencil oft pourtray'd,
Still have we woo'd the visionary maid:
The lovely phantom mocks our eager eyes;
And still we chace, and still we miss the prize!
CLEORA.
Long have we search'd throughout this bounteous isle,
With constant ardor and with ceaseless toil:
The various ways of various life we've try'd;
But Peace, sweet Peace, has ever been deny'd.
We've sought in vain thro' ev'ry diff'rent state;
The rich, the poor, the lowly, and the great.
Does she with kings in palaces reside?
Or dwell obscurely, far from pomp and pride?
To learn this truth, we've bid a long adieu
To all the shadows blinded men pursue.
—We seek Urania; her whose virtues fire
Our virgin hearts to be what we admire:
Fair Fame has blazon'd her accomplish'd mind;
The lovely mansion of the Graces join'd:
For tho' with care she shuns the public eye,
Yet worth like hers, unknown can never lie.
LAURINDA.
On such a fair and faultless model form'd,
By Prudence guided, and by Virtue warm'd,
Perhaps Florella can direct our youth,
And point our footsteps to the paths of truth.
FLORELLA.
PASTORELLA.
Her bright perfections charm my list'ning ear!
Elate with hope, we come to seek her here.
Then lead, Florella, to that humble shed
Where Peace resides: from courts and cities fled!
A SONG.
Our earliest hope, our latest care,
O hear our fond request!
Vouchsafe, reluctant Nymph, to tell
On what sweet spot thou lov'st to dwell,
And make us truly blest.
The toils of wealth, ambition's strife,
We long have sought in vain;
The crowded city's noisy din,
And all the busy haunts of men,
Afford but care and pain.
Of calm reflection's silent hour,
Sequester'd dost thou dwell!
Where care and tumult ne'er intrude,
Dost thou reside with Solitude,
Thy humble vot'ries tell?
Our earliest hope, our latest care!
Let us not sue in vain!
O deign to hear our fond request,
Come, take possession of our breast,
And there for ever reign.
[They retire.
CLEORA.
Welcome, ye humble vales, ye flow'ry shades,
Ye chrystal fountains, and ye silent glades!
From the gay mis'ry of the thoughtless great,
The walks of folly, the disease of state;
From scenes where daring Guilt triumphant reigns,
Its dark suspicions and its hoard of pains;
Where Pleasure never comes without alloy,
And Art but thinly paints fallacious joy;
Where Languor loads the day; Excess the night,
And dull Satiety succeeds delight;
Where midnight Vices their fell orgies keep,
And guilty Revels scare the phantom Sleep;
12
From these we fly in search of Happiness.
EUPHELIA.
Not the tir'd Pilgrim, all his dangers past,
When he descries the long-sought shrine at last,
E'er felt a joy so pure as this fair field,
These peaceful shades, and smiling vallies yield;
For, sure, these oaks, which old as Time appear,
Proclaim Urania's lonely dwelling near.
PASTORELLA.
How the description with the scene agrees!
Here lowly thickets, there aspiring trees;
The hazel copse excluding noon-day's beam,
The tufted arbor, the pellucid stream;
The blooming sweet-briar, and the hawthorn shade,
The springing cowslips and the daisy'd mead,
The wild luxuriance of the full-blown fields,
Which Spring prepares, and laughing Summer yields.
EUPHELIA.
Here simple Nature strikes th'enraptur'd eye
With charms, which wealth and art but ill supply;
The genuine graces, which without we find,
Display the beauty of the owner's mind.
13
These deep embow'ring shades conceal the cell
Where sage Urania and her daughters dwell:
Florella too, if right we've heard the tale,
With them resides the lily of the vale.
CLEORA.
But soft! What gentle female form appears,
Which smiles of more than mortal beauty wears?
Is it the Guardian Genius of the grove?
Or some fair Angel from the choirs above?
Enter FLORELLA who speaks.
Whom do I see? Ye beauteous virgins, say,
What chance conducts your steps this lonely way?
Do you pursue some fav'rite lambkin stray'd?
Or do yon alders court you to their shade?
Declare, fair strangers: if aright I deem,
No rustic nymphs of vulgar rank you seem.
CLEORA.
No cooling shades allure our eager sight,
Nor lambkins lost, our searching steps invite.
FLORELLA.
Or is it, haply, yonder branching vine,
Whose trunk the woodbine's fragrant tendrils twine?
14
Attracts the gaze of ev'ry nymph around?
Have these lone regions aught that charm beside
Florella's shades, her flow'rs, her fleecy pride?
EUPHELIA.
Florella! our united thanks receive;
Sole proof of gratitude we have to give:
And since you deign to ask, O courteous Fair,
The motive of our unremitting care,
Know then, 'tis Happiness we would obtain;
That charming prize our ardent wish would gain.
By Fancy's mimic pencil oft pourtray'd,
Still have we woo'd the visionary maid:
The lovely phantom mocks our eager eyes;
And still we chace, and still we miss the prize!
CLEORA.
Long have we search'd throughout this bounteous isle,
With constant ardor and with ceaseless toil:
The various ways of various life we've try'd;
But Peace, sweet Peace, has ever been deny'd.
We've sought in vain thro' ev'ry diff'rent state;
The rich, the poor, the lowly, and the great.
15
Or dwell obscurely, far from pomp and pride?
To learn this truth, we've bid a long adieu
To all the shadows blinded men pursue.
—We seek Urania; her whose virtues fire
Our virgin hearts to be what we admire:
Fair Fame has blazon'd her accomplish'd mind;
The lovely mansion of the Graces join'd:
For tho' with care she shuns the public eye,
Yet worth like hers, unknown can never lie.
LAURINDA.
On such a fair and faultless model form'd,
By Prudence guided, and by Virtue warm'd,
Perhaps Florella can direct our youth,
And point our footsteps to the paths of truth.
FLORELLA.
Ill would it suit my unexperienc'd age
In such important questions to engage.
Young as I am, unskilful to discern,
Nor fit to teach, who yet have much to learn.
But would you with maturer years advise,
And reap the counsel of the truly wise,
The Dame you seek inhabits yonder cell:
In her united, worth and wisdom dwell.
Poor, not dejected; humble, yet not mean;
Cheerful, tho' grave; and lively, tho' serene;
Benevolent, kind, pious, gentle, just;
Reason her guide, and Providence her trust.
If Heav'n, indulgent to her little store,
Adds to that little—but a little more,
With pious praise her grateful heart o'erflows,
And sweetly mitigates the suff'rer's woes.
Her labours for devotion best prepare,
And meek Devotion smooths the brow of care.
In such important questions to engage.
Young as I am, unskilful to discern,
Nor fit to teach, who yet have much to learn.
But would you with maturer years advise,
And reap the counsel of the truly wise,
16
In her united, worth and wisdom dwell.
Poor, not dejected; humble, yet not mean;
Cheerful, tho' grave; and lively, tho' serene;
Benevolent, kind, pious, gentle, just;
Reason her guide, and Providence her trust.
If Heav'n, indulgent to her little store,
Adds to that little—but a little more,
With pious praise her grateful heart o'erflows,
And sweetly mitigates the suff'rer's woes.
Her labours for devotion best prepare,
And meek Devotion smooths the brow of care.
Two lovely daughters make her little state;
The dearest blessings of propitious Fate.
Under her kind protecting wing I live:
She gives to all; for she has much to give,
Since Heav'n has blest her with an ample heart,
That Wisdom's noblest treasures can impart;
But (just in all its dispensations) join'd
A narrow fortune to a noble mind.
The dearest blessings of propitious Fate.
Under her kind protecting wing I live:
She gives to all; for she has much to give,
Since Heav'n has blest her with an ample heart,
That Wisdom's noblest treasures can impart;
But (just in all its dispensations) join'd
A narrow fortune to a noble mind.
PASTORELLA.
Her bright perfections charm my list'ning ear!
Elate with hope, we come to seek her here.
17
Where Peace resides: from courts and cities fled!
A SONG.
I.
O Happiness, celestial Fair,Our earliest hope, our latest care,
O hear our fond request!
Vouchsafe, reluctant Nymph, to tell
On what sweet spot thou lov'st to dwell,
And make us truly blest.
II.
Amidst the walks of public life,The toils of wealth, ambition's strife,
We long have sought in vain;
The crowded city's noisy din,
And all the busy haunts of men,
Afford but care and pain.
III.
Pleas'd with the soft, the soothing pow'rOf calm reflection's silent hour,
18
Where care and tumult ne'er intrude,
Dost thou reside with Solitude,
Thy humble vot'ries tell?
IV.
O Happiness, celestial Fair,Our earliest hope, our latest care!
Let us not sue in vain!
O deign to hear our fond request,
Come, take possession of our breast,
And there for ever reign.
[They retire.
| The search after happiness | |