"No more of this unmeaning rage,
"But hear, my friends, the words of age.

"When by the winds of autumn driven
"The scatter'd clouds fly cross the heaven,
"Oft have we, from some mountain's head,'
"Beheld th' alternate light and shade

"Sweep the long vale. Here hovering lowers "The shadowy cloud; there downwards pours, "Streaming direct, a flood of day,

"Which from the view flies swift away; "It flies, while other shades advance,

"And other streaks of sunshine glance. "Thus chequer'd is the life below

"With gleams of joy, and clouds of wo. "Then hope not, while we journey on,

"Still to be basking in the sun:

"Nor fear, though now in shades ye mourn,

"That sunshine will no more return.

"If, by your terrors overcome,

"Ye fly before th' approaching gloom,
"The rapid clouds your flight pursue,
"And darkness still o'ercasts your view.

"Who longs to reach the radiant plain "Must onward urge his course amain ; "For doubly swift the shadow flies, "When 'gainst the gale the pilgrim plies. "At least be firm, and undismay'd "Maintain your ground! the fleeting shade "Erelong spontaneous glides away,

"And gives you back th' enlivening ray. "Lo, while I speak, our danger past! "No more the shrill horn's angry blast "Howls in our ear; the savage roar "Of war and murder is no more. "Then snatch the moment fate allows, "Nor think of past or future woes." He spoke; and hope revives; the lake That instant one and all forsake,

In sweet amusement to employ

The

present sprightly hour of joy.

Now from the western mountain's brow

Compass'd with clouds of various glow,
The sun a broader orb displays,

And shoots aslope his ruddy rays.

The lawn assumes a fresher green,
And dew-drops spangle all the scene.
The balmy zephyr breathes along,
The shepherd sings his tender song,
With all their lays the groves resound,
And falling waters murmur round.
Discord and care were put to flight,
And all was peace, and calm delight.

EPITAPH:

BEING PART OF AN INSCRIPTION FOR A MONUMENT TO BE ERECTED BY A GENTLEMAN TO

THE MEMORY OF HIS LADY.

FAREWELL, my best-beloved; whose heavenly mind

Genius with virtue, strength with softness join'd;

Devotion, undebased by pride or art,

With meek simplicity, and joy of heart;

Though sprightly, gentle; though polite, sincere ;

And only of thyself a judge severe;
Unblamed, unequal'd in each sphere of life,

The tenderest Daughter, Sister, Parent, Wife.

In thee their Patroness th' afflicted lost;
Thy friends, their pattern, ornament, and boast;
And I-but ah, can words my loss declare,
Or paint th' extremes of transport and despair!
O Thou, beyond what verse or speech can tell,
My guide, my friend, my best-beloved, farewell!

ODE

ON LORD H**'s BIRTH-DAY.

A MUSE, unskill'd in venal praise,
Unstain'd with flattery's art;

Who loves simplicity of lays
Breathed ardent from the heart
While gratitude and joy inspire,
Resumes the long-unpractised lyre,.

To hail, O H**, thy Natal Morn:
No gaudy wreathe of flower's she weaves,

But twines with oak the laurel leaves,

Thy cradle to adorn.

For not on beds of gaudy flowers

Thine ancestors reclined,

Where Sloth dissolves, and Spleen devours