THE lapse of time and rivers is the same, Both speed their journey with a restless stream; The silent pace with which they steal away No wealth can bribe, no prayers persuade to stay; Alike irrevocable both when past, And a wide ocean swallows both at last. Though each resemble each in every part, A difference strikes at length the musing heart; Streams never flow in vain; where streams abound, How laughs the land with various plenty crown'd! But time, that should enrich the nobler mind, Neglected, leaves a dreary waste behind.
ADDRESSED TO A YOUNG LADY.
SWEET stream that winds through yonder glade, Apt emblem of a virtuous maid- Silent and chaste she steals along, Far from the world's gay busy throng, With gentle yet prevailing force, Intent upon her destined course; Graceful and useful all she does, Blessing and blest where'er she goes. Pure-bosom'd as that watery glass, And heaven reflected in her face.
SUPPOSED TO BE WRITTEN BY ALEXANDER SELKIRK, DURING HIS SOLITARY ABODE IN THE ISLAND OF JUAN FERNANDEZ.
1 I AM monarch of all I survey,
My right there is none to dispute; From the centre all round to the sea, I am lord of the fowl and the brute. O Solitude! where are the charms That sages have seen in thy face ? Better dwell in the midst of alarms, Than reign in this horrible place.
2 I am out of humanity's reach,
I must finish my journey alone, Never hear the sweet music of speech- I start at the sound of my own. The beasts that roam over the plain My form with indifference see; They are so unacquainted with man, Their tameness is shocking to me.
3 Society, friendship, and love, Divinely bestow'd upon man, Oh, had I the wings of a dove, How soon would I taste you again! My sorrows I then might assuage In the ways of religion and truth, Might learn from the wisdom of age, And be cheer'd by the sallies of youth.
4 Religion! what treasure untold Resides in that heavenly word! More precious than silver and gold, Or all that this earth can afford. But the sound of the church-going bell These valleys and rocks never heard, Ne'er sigh'd at the sound of a knell,
Or smiled when a Sabbath appear'd.
5 Ye winds, that have made me your sport, Convey to this desolate shore Some cordial endearing report
Of a land I shall visit no more! My friends, do they now and then send A wish or a thought after me? O tell me I yet have a friend, Though a friend I am never to see!
6 How fleet is a glance of the mind Compared with the speed of its flight! The tempest itself lags behind, And the swift-winged arrows of light. When I think of my own native land, In a moment I seem to be there; But alas! recollection at hand Soon hurries me back to despair.
7 But the sea-fowl has gone to her nest, The beast has laid down in his lair; Even here is a season of rest, And I to my cabin repair. There is mercy in every place, And mercy, encouraging thought! Gives even affliction a grace, And reconciles man to his lot.
ON OBSERVING SOME NAMES OF LITTLE NOTE
RECORDED IN THE BIOGRAPHIA BRITANNICA.
OH, fond attempt to give a deathless lot To names ignoble, born to be forgot! In vain recorded in historic page, They court the notice of a future age: Those twinkling tiny lustres of the land Drop one by one from Fame's neglecting hand; Lethean gulfs receive them as they fall, And dark oblivion soon absorbs them all.
So when a child, as playful children use, Has burnt to tinder a stale last year's news, The flame extinct, he views the roving fire- There goes my lady, and there goes the squire ; There goes the parson, oh! illustrious spark, And there, scarce less illustrious, goes the clerk !
PROMOTION OF EDWARD THURLOW, ESQ.
TO THE LORD HIGH CHANCELLORSHIP OF ENGLAND.
1 ROUND Thurlow's head in early youth, And in his sportive days, Fair Science pour'd the light of truth, And Genius shed his rays.
2 See! with united wonder, cried The experienced and the sage, Ambition in a boy supplied With all the skill of age !
3 Discernment, eloquence, and grace, Proclaim him born to sway The balance in the highest place, And bear the palm away.
4 The praise bestow'd was just and wise; He sprang impetuous forth, Secure of conquest, where the prize Attends superior worth.
5 So the best courser on the plain, Ere yet he starts, is known, And does but at the goal obtain What all had deem'd his own.
1 COME, Peace of mind, delightful guest! Return, and make thy downy nest Once more in this sad heart : Nor riches I nor power pursue, Nor hold forbidden joys in view; We therefore need not part.
2 Where wilt thou dwell, if not with me, From Avarice and Ambition free, And Pleasure's fatal wiles ? For whom, alas! dost thou prepare The sweets that I was wont to share, The banquet of thy smiles ?
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