Page images
PDF
EPUB

And foul defects, that wou'd escape the sight,
Start from the piece, and take a stronger light.
Her chesnut hair in careless rings around
Her temples wav'd, with pinks and jes'mine
crown'd,

The prince laugh'd inwardly, surpris'd to

find

So strange a speech, so innocent a mind.
The compliment indeed did some offence
To reason, and a little wrong'd her sense;
He could not let it pass, but told his name,
And what he was, and whence, and why he

came,

And gather'd in a silken cord behind,
Curl'd to the waist, and floated in the wind;
O'er these a veil of yellow gauze she wore,
With amaranths and gold embroider'd o'er.
Her snowy neck half naked to the view
Gracefully fell; a robe of purple hue
Hung loosely o'er her slender shape, and tried
To shade those beauties, that it could not hide.
The damsels of her train with mirth and song
Frolick behind, and laugh and sport along.
The birds proclaim their queen from every tree,
The beasts run frisking thro' the groves to see;
The loves, the pleasures, and the graces meet
In antic rounds, and dance before her feet.
By whatever fancy led, it chanc'd that day
They thro' the secret valley took their way,
And to the crystal grot advancing, spied
The prince extended by the fountain's side.
He look'd as by some skilful hand express'd
Apollo's youthful form retir'd to rest,
When with the chace fatigu'd he quits the wood
For Pindus' vale, and Aganippe's flood;
There sleeps secure, his careless limbs display'd
At ease, encircled by the laurel shade;
Beneath his head his sheaf of arrows lie,
His bow unbent, hangs negligently by: [grace,Tis heaven itself, 'tis exstacy of bliss,
The slumb'ring prince might boast an equal
So turn'd his limbs, so beautiful his face.
Waking he started from the ground in haste,
And saw the beauteous choir around him plac'd;
Then summoning his senses, ran to meet
The

And hinted other things of high concern
For him to mention, and for her to learn;
And she 'ad a piercing wit, of wondrous reach
To comprehend whatever he could teach.
Thus hand in hand they to the palace walk,
Pleas'd and instructed with each other's talk.
Here shou'd I tell the furniture's expence,
And all the structure's vast magnificence,
Describe the walls of shining sapphire made,
With emerald and pearl the floors inlaid,
And how the vaulted canopies unfold
A mimic heaven, and flame with gems and gold;
Or how Felicity regales her guest,
The wit, the mirth, the music, and the feast;
And on each part bestow the praises due,
Twou'd tire the writer, and the reader too.
My amorous tale a softer path pursues;
Love and the happy pair demand my muse.

queen, and laid him humbly at her feet.
Deign, lovely princess, to behold, said he,
One who has travell'd all the world to see
Those charms, and worship thy divinity:
Accept thy slave, and with a gracious smile,
Excuse his rashness, and reward his toil.
stood motionless the fair with mute surprise,
And read him over with admiring eyes;
And while she gaz d a pleasing smart [heart.
Ran thrilling thro' her veins and reach'd her
Each limb she scann'd, consider'd ev'ry grace,
And sagely judged him of the phoenix race.
An animal like this she ne'er had known,
And thence concluded there could be but one;
The creature too had all the phoenix air,
None but the phoenix could appear so fair.
The more she look'd, the more she thought
[knew.
And call'd him by that name, to shew she
O handsome phoenix, for that such you are
Weknow; your beauty does your breed declare,
And I with sorrow own thro' all my coast
No other bird can such perfection boast;
For nature form'd you single and alone;
Alas! what pity 'tis there is but one!
Were there a queen so fortunate to shew
An aviary of charming birds like you,
What envy would her happiness create
In all, who saw the gloric of her state!

true,

it

O cou'd her art in equal terms express
The lives they lead, the pleasures they possess!
Fortune had ne'er so plenteously before
Bestow'd her gifts, nor can she lavish more.

Uninterrupted joy, untir'd excess !

Mirth following mirth, the moments dance

away;

Love claims the night, and Friendship rules
the day.

Their tender care no cold indifference knows;
No jealousies disturb their sweet repose;
No sickness, no decay; but youthful grace
And constant beauty shines in either face.
Benumbing age may mortal charms invade,
Flow'rs of a day that do but bloom and fade;
Far different here, on them it only blows
The lily's white, and spreads the blushing

rose.

No conquest o'er those radiant eyes can boast,
They, like the stars, shine brighter in its frost;
Nor fear its rigour, nor its rule obey;
All seasons are the same, and ev'ry month is
Mav.

Alas! how vain is happiness bolow!
Man soon or late must have his share of woe:
Slight are his joys, and fleeting as the wind;
His griefs wound home, and leave a sting be

hind;

His lot distinguish'd from the brute appears
Less certain by his laughter than his tears;
For ignorance too oft our pleasure breeds,
But sorrow from the reasoning soul proeceds.
If man on earth in endless bliss cou'd be,
The boon, young prince, had been bestow'd
on thee;

Bright shone thy stars, thy fortune flourish'd
fair,

And seem'd secure beyond the reach of care;

And

And so might still have been, but anxious
thought

Has dash'd thy cup, and thou must taste the
draught.

It so befel, as on a certain day
This happy couple toy'd their time away,
He ask'd how many charming hours had flown
Since on her slave her heav'n of beauty shone.
Should I consult my heart, cried he, the rate
Were small, a week wou'd be the utmost date:
But when my mind reflects on actions past,
And counts its joys, time must have fled more
Perhaps I might have said three months are
[gone:
Three months! replied the fair, three months
alone?

fast.

Know that three hundred years have roll'd away,
Since at my feet the lovely phoenix lay.
Three hundred years! re-echo'd back the prince,
A whole three hundred years completed since
I landed here! O! whither then are flown
My dearest friends, my subjects, and my throne?
How strange, alas! how alter'd shall I find
Each earthly thing, each scene I left behind!
Who knows me now? on whom shall I depend?
To gain my rights, where shall I find a friend?
My crown perhaps may grace a foreign line,
A race of kings that know not me or mine;
Who reigns may wish my death, his subjects
My claims with scorn, and call their prince
[cheat.
O had my life been ended as begun!
My destin'd stage, my race of glory run,
I shou'd have died well pleas'd, my honour'd

treat

name

a

Had liv'd, had flourish'd in the list of fame.
Reflecting now, my mind with horror sees
The sad survey, a scene of shameful ease,
The odious blot, the scandal of my race
Scarce known, and only mention'd with dis-

grace.

The fair beheld him with impatient eye,
And red with anger made this warm reply
Ungrateful man! is this the kind return
My love deserves? and can you thus with scorn
Reject what once you priz'd; what once you

swore

Surpass'd all charms, and made e'en glory poor?
What gifts have I bestow'd, what favours

shewn!

Made you partaker of my bed and throne;
Three centuries preserv'd in youthful prime,
Safe from the rage of death, and injuries of time:
Weak arguments! for glory reigns above
The feeble ties of gratitude and love.

I

urge them not, nor wou'd request your stay,
The phantom glory calls, and I obey;
All other virtues are regardless quite,
Sunk and absorb'd in that superior light.
Go then, barbarian, to thy realms return;
And shew thyself unworthy my concern;
Go tell the world, your tender heart cou'd give
Death to the princess by whose care you live.
At this a deadly pale her cheeks o'erspread,
Cold trembling seiz'd her limbs, her spirits fled;

Book IV.

Shé sunk into his arms: the prince was mov'd,
He sigh'd, he wish'd he could forget hit
Felt all her griefs, for still he greatly lov'd.
throne,

Confine his thoughts, and live for her alone;
Was fix'd within, and wrankled at his heart;
But glory shot him deep, the venom'd dart
He could not hide its wounds, but pin'd away
Like a sick flow'r, and langaish'd in decay.

Felicity was griev'd, and cou'd not bar
She told him with a look of cold disdain,
A scene so chang'd, a sight of so much e
He might depart at will; a milder air
And seeming ease, as women well cau fe,
Wou'd mend his health; he was no prisner
there;

She kept him not, and wish'd he ne'er might
[find
Which once he lov'd, and where he still mut
Cause to regret the place he left behind;

Own

He had at least some little pleasure known.

If these prophetic words a while destroy
His peace, the former balance is in joy.
To quit the place, the rest let heav'n dispose.
He thank'd her for her kind concern, but chest
For fate, on mischiefs bent, perverts the wall,
And first infatuates whom it means to kili.

In gay attire, ting'd with a thousand dyes,
Aurora now, not, as she wont to rise,
Clad in a dusky veil bedew'd with tears.
But sober-sad, in solemn state appears,
Thick mantling clouds beneath her chan
A faded wreath hangs drooping from her heal
spread,
The sick'ning sun emits a feeble ray,
Half drown'd in fogs, and struggling intod
Some black event the threat'ning skies fore
Porsenna rose to take his last farewell.
An armour by the Lemnian artist wrought,
A curious vest the mournful princess bron
A shining lance with secret virtue stor`d,
Caparisons and gems of wond'rous price,
And of resistless force a magic sword;
But chief she gave, and what he most wo
And loaded him with gifts and good advice.

need

The fleetest of her stud, a flying steed.

(Such was the courser's name) with speec
The swift Grifippo, said th' afflicted fair,
shall bear,

And place you safely in your native air,
Ravage the field, and turn the doubtful fig-
Assist against the foe with matchless migh
With care, protect you till the danger cease,
But this, I warn, beware, whate er shall lay
Your trust in war, your ornament in peace
To intercept your course, or tempt your sta
Quit not your saddle, nor your speed abate,
Till safely landed at your palace gate.
On this alone depends your weal or woe;
He in the softest terms repaid her love,
Such is the will of fate, and so the gods foreshew
And vow'd nor age nor absence should remove
His constant faith,and sure she could not blag e
A short divorce due to his injur'd fame.

The

The debt discharg'd, then should her soldier Thro' all the world in vain for ages sought, But fate has doom'd thee now, and thou art caught.

come

[hopie; Gay from the field, and flush'd with conquest, With equal ardour her affection meet, And lay his laurels at his mistress' feet. He ceas'd, and sighing took a kind adieu; Then urg'd his steed; the fierce Grifippo flew With rapid force, outstripp'd the lagging wind, And left the blissful shores, and weeping fair behind;

Now o'er the seas pursu'd his airy flight, Now scour'd the plains, and climb'd_the mountain's height. [run Thus driving on at speed, the prince had Near half his course, when, with the settingsun As thro' a lonely lane he chanc'd to ride, With rocks and bushes fenc'd on either side, le spied a waggon full of wings, that lay Broke and o'erturn'd across ths narrow way: he helpless driver on the dirty road ay struggling, crush'd beneath th' incumbent ever in human shape was seen before [load. wight so pale, so feeble, and so poor. omparisons of age would do him wrong, or Nestor's self if plac'd by him were young, is limbs were naked all, and worn so thin, bebones seem'd starting thro' the parchment skin. [weak, is eyes half drown'd in rheum, his accents ald was his head, and furrow'd was his cheek. The conscious steed stopt short in deadly fright, [flight; nd back recoiling stretch'd his wings for henthus the wretch with supplicatingtone, id rueful face, began his piteous moan, id, as he spake, the tears ran trickling down.

gentle youth, if pity e'er inclin'd ly soul to generous deeds, if e'er thy mind as touch'd with soft distress, extend thy care save an old man's life, and case the load I bear.

may propitious heav'n your journey speed, olong your days, and all your vows succeed. dov'd with the pray 'r the kind Porsenna staid, 10 nobly minded to refuse his aid, ad, prudence yielding to superior grief, apt from his steed, and ran to his relief; amov'd the weight, and gave the pris'ner breath,

st choak'd and gasping on the verge of death. ten reach'd his hand, when lightly with bound

legrizly spectre, vaulting from the ground, iz'd him with sudden gripe; th' astonish'd prince. [fence. ood horror-struck, and thoughtless of deO King of Russia! with a thund'ring sound ellow'd the ghastly fiend, at length thou 'rt found;

ceive the ruler of mankind, and know, ly name is Time, thy ever dreaded foe. These feet are founder'd,and the wings you see Worn to the pinions in pursuit of thee;

Then round his neck his arms he nimbly cast, And seiz'd him by the throat, and grasp'd him fast;

Till forc'd at length the soul forsook its seat, And the pale breathless corse fell bleeding at

his feet.

Scarce had the cursed spoiler left his prey, When, so it chanc'd, young Zephyr pass'd that way;

Too late his presence to assist his friend,
A sad, but helpless witness of his end.
He chafes, and fans, and strives in vain to cure
His streaming wounds; the work was done too

sure.

Now lightly with a soft embrace uprears
The lifeless load, and bathes it in his tears;
Then to the blissful seats with speed conveys,
And graceful on the mossy carpet lays,
With decent care, close by the fountain's side
Where first the princess had her phoenix spied.
There with sweet flowers his lovely limbs he
strew'd,
[stow'd.
And gave a parting kiss, and sighs and tears be
To that sad solitude the weeping dame,
Wild with her loss, and swoln with sorrow,
came;
[mourn
There was she wont to vent her griefs, and
Those dear delights that must no more return.
Thither that morn with more than usual care
She sped, but, what joy to find him there!
As just arriv'd, and weary with the way,
Retir'd to soft repose her hero lay.
Now near approaching she began to creep
With careful steps, loth to disturb his sleep;
Till quite o'ercome with tenderness she flew,
And round his neck her arms in transport threw.
But when she found him dead, no tongue can
tell

(fell.

The pangs she felt; she shriek'd, and swooning
Waking, with loud laments she pierc'd the skies,
And fill'd th' affrighted forest with her cries.
That fatal hour the palace gates she barr'd,
And fix'd around the coast a stronger guard;
Now rare appearing, and at distance seen,
With crowds of black misfortunes plac'd be-
tween,

Mischiefs of every kind, corroding, care,
And fears, and jealousies, and dark despair:
a And since that day (the wretched world must
[known)
These mournful truths by sad experience
No mortal e'er enjoy'd that happy clime,
And every thing on earth submits to Time.

own

SONNETS, BY SMITH. $130. To the Moon. QUEEN of the silver bow! by thy pale beam, Alone and pensive, I delight to tray, And watch thy shadow trembling in the stream, Or mark the floating clouds that cross thy way. And

And while I gaze, thy mild and placid light Sheds a soft calm upon my troubled breast; And oft I think, fair planet of the night! That in thy orb the wretched may have rest; The sufferers of the earth perhaps may go,

Releas'd by death to thy benignant sphere; And the sad children of despair and woe

Forget, in thee, their cup of sorrow here. O! that I soon may reach thy world serene, Poor wearied pilgrim-in this toiling scene!

§ 131. On the Departure of the Nightingale. SWEET poet of the woods—a long adieu!

Farewel, soft minstrel of the early year! Ah! 'twill be long ere thou shalt sing anew, And pour thy music on the night's dull ear. Whether on spring thy wandering flights await, Or whether silent in our groves you dwell, The pensive muse shall own thee for her mate, And still protect the song she loves so well. With cautious step the love-lorn youth shall glide [nest, Thro' the lone brake that shades thy mossy And shepherd girls from eyes profane shall hide The gentle bird, who sings of pity best: For still thy voice shall soft affections move, And still be dear to sorrow, and to love!

$132. Written at the Close of Spring. THE garlands fade that Spring so lately wove, Each simple flow'r which she had nurs'd in dew,

Anemonies, that spangled every grove,
The primrose wan, and hare-bell mildly blue.
No more shall violets linger in the dell,

Or purple orchis variegate the plain,
Till Spring again shall call forth every bell,
And dress with humid hands her wreaths
again.-

Ah! poor humanity! so frail, so fair,
Are the fond visions of thy early day,
Till tyrant passion and corrosive care

Bid all thy fairy colours fade away! Another May new buds and flow'rs shall bring; Ah! why has happiness-no second Spring?

§ 133. Should the lone Wanderer. SHOULD the lone wanderer, fainting on his

way,

Rest for a moment of the sultry hours, And tho' his path thro' thorns and roughness lay,

Pluck the wild rose, or woodbine's gadding flow'rs; [tree, Weaving gay wreaths, beneath some sheltering The sense of sorrow he awhile may lose;

[blocks in formation]

And veil'd in clouds, with pale uncertain light

Hangs o'er the waters of the restless main In deep depression sunk, th' enfeebled mand Will to the deaf, cold elements complain, To sullen surges and the viewless wind, And tell th' embosom'd grief, however, Tho' no repose on thy dark breast I find, I still enjoy thee, cheerless as thou art; For in thy quiet gloom th`exhausted hear: calm, tho' wretched; hopeless, yet resign'd: While to the winds and waves its sorrows given, May reach-tho' lost on earth-the ear of He

Is

ven!

$135. To Tranquillity. IN this tumultuous sphere, for thee unfit, How seldom art thou found-Tranquill Unless 'tis when with mild and downcaste By the low cradles thou delight'st to sit Of sleeping infants, watching the soft bra

And bidding the sweet slumberers easy b Or sometimes hanging o'er the bed of death, Where the poor languid sufferer hopes to ac beauteous sister of the halcyon peace!

I sure shall find thee in that heavenly sc Where care and anguish shall their powers sign;

Where hope alike and vain regret shall ceas And Memory, lost in happiness serene, Repeat no more-that misery has been mine

[blocks in formation]

prest,

So have I sought thy flow'rs, fair Poesy! To gaze with envy on their gloomy rest. So charm'd my way with Friendship and

the Muse.

But darker now grows life's unhappy day, Dark with new clouds of evil yet to come: Her pencil sickening Fancy throws away,

And weary Hope reclines upon the tomb;

$137. Written at Penshurst, in Autumn 1765 YE E tow'rs sublime, deserted now and drer Ye woods, deep sighing to the hollow bla, The musing wanderer loves to linger near, While history points to all your glories past And

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors]

Now, while the demons of despair and death
Ride on the blast, and urge the howling storm!
I see him rise the whitening waves above,
Lo! by the lightning's momentary blaze,
No longer such as when in happier days
He gave th' enchanted hours-to me and love:
Such as when daring the enchafed sea,
And courting dangerous toil, he often said,
That every peril, one soft smile from me,
One sigh of speechless tenderness, o'erpaid:
But dead, disfigur'd, while between the roar

DARK gathering clouds involve the threat-Of the loud waves his accents pierce mine ear,

ening skies,

The sea heaves conscious of th' impending 'gloom,

Deep hollow murmurs from the cliffs arise;
They come the Spirits of the Tempest come!
0!
may such terrors mark th' approaching
'night
[plore!
As reign'd on that these streaming eyes de-
Flash, ye red fires of heaven, with fatal light,
And with conflicting winds, ye waters, roar!
Loud and more loud, ye foaming billows,
'burst!

Ye warring elements, more fiercely rave!
Till the wide waves o'erwhelm the spot ac-

'curst

Where ruthless Avarice finds a quiet grave!" hus with clasp'd hands, wild looks, and streaming hair, [speech, hile shrieks of horror broke her trembling wretched maid, the victim of despair, irrey'd the threatening storm and desert beach. hen to the tomb where now the father slept hose rugged nature bad her sorrows flow, antic she turn'd-and beat her breast and voking vengeance on the dust below. [wept, 0! rising there above cach humble heap, on cypher'd stones his name and wealth relate,

Who gave his son, remorseless, to the deep, While I, his living victim, curse my fate.

[ocr errors]

·

And seem to say-Ah, wretch! delay no more,
But come, unhappy mourner―meet me here.
Yet, powerful fancy, bid the phantom stay,
Still let me hear him!-Tis already past;
Along the waves his shadow glides away,
I lose his voice amid the deafening blast.
Ah! wild illusion, born of frantic pain!
He hears not, comes not from his watery bed;
My tears, my anguish, my despair are vain,
Th' insatiate ocean gives not up its dead.
Tis not his voice! Hark! the deep thunders
'roll;

Upheaves the ground; the rocky barriers fail; Approach, ye horrors that delight my soul, The ocean hears-th'embodied waters come, Despair, and Death, and Desolation, hail!" Rise o'er the land, and with resistless sweep Tear from its base the proud aggressor's tomb, And bear the injur'd to eternal sleep!

§ 139. Elegy to Pity. ANON. HAIL, lovely Pow'r! whose bosom heaves the sigh,

When Fancy paints the scene of deep distress; Whose tears spontaneous crystallize the eye, When rigid Fate denies the pow'r to bless. Not all the sweets Arabia's gales convey From flow'ry meads, can with that sigh com

pare:

my lost love! no tomb is plac'd for thee,Not dew-drops glittering in the morning ray, That may to strangers' eyes thy worth impart; Thou hast no grave but in the stormy sea, And no memorial but this breaking heart. Forth to the world a widow'd wanderer

'driven,

pour to winds and waves th' unheeded tear; Try with rain effort to submit to heaven, And fruitless call on him "who cannot "hear."

O might I fondly clasp him once again,
While o'er my head th' infuriate billows pour,
Forget in death this agonizing pain,
And feel his father's cruelty no more!
Part, raging waters! part, and shew beneath,
In your dread caves, his pale and mangled

⚫ form;

Seem near so beauteous as that falling tear. Devoid of fear, the fawns around thee play; Emblem of peace, the dove before thee flies; No blood-stain'd traces mark thy blameless

way,

Beneath thy feet no hapless insect dies. Come, lovely nymph! and range the mead with

me,

To spring the partridge from the guileful for, From secret snares the struggling bird to free, And when the air with heat meridian glows, And stop the hand uprais'd to give the blow. And nature droops beneath the conquering gleam,

Let us, slow wandering where the current flows,

Save sinking flies that float along the stream.

« PreviousContinue »