Delicious wine our tafte employs; His crimson bowl exalts our joys. I felt its gen'rous pow'r, and thought The pearl was found that long I fought. Determin'd here to fix my home, I blefs'd the change, nor wifh'd to roam: The feraph difapprov'd my stay; Spread her fair plumes, and wing'd away. Alas! whene'er we talk of blits, How prone is man to judge amifs! Sec, a long train of ills confpires To fcourge our uncontroul'd defires; Like fammer fwarms difcafes crowd, Each bears a crutch, or each a throud: Fever, that thirsty fury, came, With inextinguishable flame; Confumption, fworn ally of Death! Crept flowly on with panting breath; Gout roar'd, and fhew'd his throbbing feet; And Dropfy took the drunkard's feat; Stone brought his tort'ring racks; and near Sat Palfy, thaking in his chair.

A mangled youth, beneath a fhade, A melancholy fcene difplay'd: His nofelefs face, and loathifome stains, Proclaim'd the poifon in his veins; He rais'd his eyes, he fmote his breast, He wept aloud, and thus addrefs'd:

Forbear the harlot's falfe embrace,
Tho' lewdnefs wear an angel's face :
Be wife, by my experience taught;
I die, alas! for want of thought!'
As he who travels Lybia's plains,
Where the fierce lion lawlefs reigns,
Is feiz'd with fear and wild difmay,
When the grim foe obftructs his way;
My foul was pierc'd with equal fright,
My tott'ring limbs opposed my flight:
I call'd on Virtue, but in vain ;
Her abfence quicken'd ev'ry pain.
At length the flighted angel heard;
The dear refulgent form appear'd.

Prefumptuous youth!' fhe faid, and frown'd (My heart-ftrings flutter'd at the found); Who turns to me reluctant ears, f Shall fhed repeated floods of tears. Thefe rivers fhall for ever laft; 'There's no retracting what is paft: Nor think avenging ills to fhun; Play a falfe card, and you 're undone. 'Of Pleasure's gilded baits beware, Nor tempt the Syren's fatal fnare: Forego this curs'd, detefted place; Abhor the ftrumpet, and her race. Had you thofe fofter paths purfued, Perdition, ftripling, had enfued: 'Yes, fly you ftand upon its brink k; To-morrow is too late to think.

Indeed, unwelcome truths I tell, But mark my facred leffon well : With me whoever lives at ftrife, Lofes his better friend for life; With me who lives in friendship's ties, Finds all that's fought for by the wife.

Folly exclaims, and well the may,
Because I take her mafk away;
If once I bring her to the fun,
The painted harlot is undone.
But prize, my child, oh prize my rules,
And leave Deception to her fools.

Ambition deals in tinfel toys;
Her traffic gewgaws, fleeting joys!
An errant juggler in difguife,
Who holds falle optics to your eyes.
But, ah! how quick the shadows pafs!
Tho' the bright vifions thro' her glass
Charm at a diftance; yet, when near,.
The batelets fabrics disappear.

Nor riches boaft intrinfic worth;
Their charms, at beft, fuperior earth:
Thele oft the heaven-born mind enflave,
And make an honeft man a knave.'
"Wealth cures my wants!" the mifer cries:
Be not deceiv'd-the mifer lies;

One want he has, with all his store,

That worst of wants--the want of more." "Take Pleasure, Wealth, and Pomp away, "And where is Happiness" you say.

'Tis here and may be yours-for, know, I'm all that's happinefs below.

To Vice I leave tumultuous joys;
Mine is the ftill and fofter voice,
That whispers peace when ftorms invade,
And mufic through the midnight shade.
Come, then, be mine in ev'ry part,
Nor give me lets than all your heart;
• When troubles difcompofe your breast,
I'll enter there, a cheerful guest :

"

My converfe thall your cares beguile,
The little world within fhall fmile,
And then it fcarce imports a jot,
Whether the great world frowns or not.

And when the clofing fcenes prevail, When wealth, ftate, pleafure, all thall fail; All that a foolish world admires,

Or Paffion craves, or Pride infpires:

་

At that important hour of need,
Virtue shall prove a friend indeed!
My hands fhall fmooth thy dying bed,

6

My arms fuftain thy drooping head:
And when the painful ftruggle 's o'er,
And that vain thing, the world, no more;
I'll bear my favite fon away

To

rapture and eternal day.'

I fail'd upon a ftormy fea (Thoufands embark'd alike with me); My skiff was fmall, and weak befide, Not built, methought, to stem the tide. The winds along the furges fweep, The wrecks lie fcatter'd thro' the deep; Aloud the foaming billows roar; Unfriendly rocks forbid the fhore.

While all our various courfe pursue, A fpacious ifle falutes our view: Two queens, with tempers diff'ring wide, This new-difcover'd world divide; A river parts their proper claim, And truth its celebrated name.

Around the throne in order stand
Four Amazons, a trufty band!
Friends ever faithful to advife,
Or to defend when dangers rise.
Here Fortitude, in coat of mail;
There Juftice lifts her golden fcale:
Two hardy chiefs, who persevere,
With form erect, and brow fevere;
Who fmile at perils, pains, and death,
And triumph with their latest breath.

Temp'rance, that comely matron, 's near,
Guardian of all the virtues here;
Adorn'd with ev'ry blooming grace,
Without one wrinkle in her face.

But Prudence most attracts the fight,
And fhines pre-eminently bright.
To view her various thoughts that rife,
She holds a mirror to her eyes;
The mirror, faithful to its charge,
Reflects the virgin's foul in large.

A Virtue with a fofter air
Was handmaid to the regal fair.
This nymph, indulgent, conftant, kind,
Derives from Heaven her fpotlefs mind;
When actions wear a dubious face,
Puts the bcft meaning on the cafe;
She fpreads her arms, and bares her breast,
Takes in the naked and diftrefs'd;
Prefers the hungry orphan's cries,
And from her queen obtains fupplies.
The maid, who acts this lovely part.
Grafp'd in her hand a bleeding heart.
Fair Charity, be thou my guett,
And be thy conftant couch my breaft!
But Virtues of inferior name

Crowd round the throne with equal claim;
In loyalty by none furpafs'd,
They hold allegiance to the laft.
Not ancient records e'er can fhow
That one deferted to the foe.

The river's other fide difplay'd Alternate plots of flow'rs and fhade,. Where poppies fhone with various hue, Where yielding willows plenteous grew; And humble plants †, by travllers thought With flow but certain poifon fraught. Beyond thefe fcenes the eye defcried A pow'rful realm extended wide; Whofe bound'ries from north-caft begun, And ftretch'd to meet the fouth-weft fun. Here Flatt'ry boafts defpotic fway, And basks in all the warmth of day.

Long practis'd in Deception's school,
The tyrant knew the arts to rule;
Elated with th' imperial robe,
She plans the conqueft of the globe;
And, aided by her fervile trains,
Leads kings, and fons of kings, in chains.
Her darling minifter is Paide

(Who ne'er was known to change his fide),
A friend to all her int'refts juft,
And active to discharge his truft;
Carefs'd alike by high and low,
The idol of the belle and beau:
In ev'ry fhape he fhews his skill,
And forms her fubjects to his will;
Enters their houfes and their hearts,
And gains his point before he parts.
Sure never minifter was known
So zealous for his fov reign's throne!

Three fifters, fimilar in mien,
Were maids of honour to the queen;
Who farther favours fhar'd befide,
As daughters of her statesman, Pride.

The firft, Conceit, with tow'ring crest,
Who look'd with fcorn upon the reft;
Fond of herself, nor lefs, I deem,
Than duchefs in her own efteem.

Next Affectation, fair and young, With half-form'd accents on her tongue; Whofe antic fhapes, and various face, Distorted ev'ry native grace.

Then Vanity, a wanton maid, Flaunting in bruffels and brocade; Fant iltic, frolicfome, and wild, With all the trinkets of a child.

The people, loyal to the queen, Wore their attachment in their mien: With cheerful heart they homage paid, And happiest he who moft obey'd; While they who fought their own applauft, Promoted moft their fov reign's caufe. The minds of all were fraught with guile; Their manners diffolute and vile; And ev'ry tribe, like Pagans, run To kneel before the rising fun.

But now fome clam'rous founds arife, And all the pleafing vifion flies.

Once more I clos'd my eyes to cep, And gain'd th' imaginary deep; Fancy prefided at the helm, And itcer'd me back to Friendship's realm. But, oh! with horror I relate

The revolutions of her state;

The Trojan chief could hardly more
His Afiatic tow`rs deplore.

The tyrant ftripp'd the mangled fair;
She wore her fpoils, affum'd her air;
And, mounting next the fufferer's throne,
Claim'd the queen's titles as her own.

For Flatt'ry view'd thofe fairer plains With longing eves, where Friendfhip reigns; With envy heard her neighbour's fame, And often figh'd to gain the fame. At length, by pride and int'reft fir'd, To Friendship's kingdom she aspir'd.

;

And, now commencing open foe,
She plans in thought fome mighty blow
Draws out her forces on the green,
And marches to invade the queen.

The river Truth the hofts withstood,
And roll'd her formidable flood:
Her curient strong, and deep, and clear;
No fords were found, no ferries near,
But as the troops approach'd the waves,
Their fears fuggeft a thousand graves;
They all retir'd with hafte extreme,
And fhudder'd at the dang'rous stream.

Hypocrify the gulph explores;
She forms a bridge, and joins the fhores.
Thus often art or fraud prevails,
When military prowefs fails :
The troops an caly paffage fird,
And victory follows clofe behind.

Friendship with ardour charg'd her foes,
And now the fight promifcuous grows;
But Flatt'ry threw a poifon'd dart,
And pierc'd the empress to the heart.
The Virtues all around were feen
To fall in heaps about the queen.

Ah, injur'd maid!' aloud I cried;
Ah, injur'd maid!' the rocks replied.
But judge my griefs, and fhare them too,
For the fad tale pertains to you :
Judge, reader, how fevere the wound,
When Friendship's foes were mine, I found;
When the fad fcene of pride and guile
Was Eritain's poor degen'rate ifle!

The Amazons, who propp'd the ftate,
Haply furviv'd the gen'ral fate.
Juice to Powis Houfe is fled,
And Yorke fuftains her radiant head.
The virtue, Fortitude, appears
In open day at Ligonier's;
Illuftrious heroine of the fky,
Who leads to vanquish or to die!
'Twas the our vet'rans' breafts infpir'd,
When Belgia's faithlefs fons retir'd:
For Tournay's treach'rous tow'rs can tell
Britannia's children greatly fell.

No partial Virtue of the plain! She rous'd the lions of the main: Hence Vernon's little flect fucceeds, And hence the gen'rous Cornwall bleeds 4. Hence Grenville glorious !-for the fmil'd On the young hero from a child.

Tho' in high life fuch virtues dwell, They'll fuit plebeian breasts as well. Say, that the mighty and the great Blaze, like meridian funs of ftate; Effulgent excellence difplay, Like Hallifax, in floods of day; Our leffer orbs may pour their light, Like the mild crefcent of the night. Tho' pale our beams, and fmall our sphere, Still we may fhine ferene and clear.

Give to the judge the fcarlet gown; To martial fouls the civic crown: What then? Is merit theirs alone? Have we no worth to call our own? Shall we not vindicate our part In the firm breaft and upright heart? Reader, thefe virtues may be thine, Tho' in fuperior life they fhine. I can't difcharge great Hardwicke's truft; True but my foul may ftill be juft: And tho' I can 't the ftate defend, I'll draw the fword to ferve my friend. Two golden virtues are behind, Of equal import to the mind; Prudence, to point out Wisdom's way, Or to reclaim us when we ftray; Temp'rance, to guard the youthful heart, When Vice and Folly throw the dart: Each virtue, let the world agree, Daily refides with you and me. And, when our fouls in friendship join,, We'll deem the focial bond divine;

Thro

he fpied,

The fige, when thefe mad troops
In pity flew to join their fide:
The difcoacerted pairs began
To rail against him to a man;
Yow'd they were strangers to his name,
Nor krew from whence the dotard came.
But mark the fequel-for this truth
Highly concerns impetuous youth.
Long ere the honey-moon could wane,
Perdition feiz'd on ev'ry twain;
At ev'ry houfe, and all day long,
Repentance plied her fcorpion thong :
Difguft was there with frowning mien,
And ev'ry wayward child of fpleen.

Hymen approach'd his awful fane,
Attended by a num'rous train.
Love, with cach foft and nameless grace,
Was firft in favour and in place:
Then came the god, with folemn gait,
Whofe ev'ry word was big with fate;
His hand a flaming taper bere,
That facred fymbol, fam'd of yore.
Virtue, adorn'd with ev'ry charm,
Suftain'd the god's incumbent arm;
Beauty improv'd the glowing fcene
With all the rofes of eighteen.
Youth led the gaily smiling fair;
His purple pinions wav'd in air;
Wealth, a clofe hunks, walk'd hobbling nigh,
With vulture-claw and eagle-eye,
Who threefcore years had feen, or more
('Tis faid his coat had feen a fcore):
Proud was the wretch, tho' clad in rags,
Prefuming much upon his bags.

A female next her arts difplay'd; Poets alone can paint the maid: Truft me, Hogarth (tho' great thy fame),. Twould pofe thy fkill to draw the fame; And yet thy mimic pow'r is more Than ever painter's was before. Now the was fair as cygnet's down, Now as Mat Prior's Emma brown; And, changing as the changing flow'r, Her drefs the varied ev'ry hour. 'Twas Fancy, child-you know the fair, Who pins your gown, and fets your hair. Lo! the god mounts his throne of state, And fits the arbiter of fate: His head, with radiant glories dreft, Gently reclin'd on Virtue's breast. Love took his ftation on the right: His quiver beam'd with golden light: Beauty ufurp'd the fecond place, Ambitious of diftinguish'd grace; She claim'd this ceremonial joy, Because related to the boy; Said it was hers to point his dart, And fpeed its paffage to the heart; While on the god's inferior hand Fancy and Wealth obtain'd their stand.

And now the hallow'd rites proceed, And now a thousand heart-ftrings bleed. I faw a blooming, trembling bride, A toothless lover join'd her fide;

The injur'd heart difdains the choice.

Wealth ftraight replied, that Love was blind, And talk'd at random of the mind:

That killing eyes, and bleeding hearts,
And all th' artillery of darts,
Were long ago exploded fancics,
And laugh'd at even in romances.
Poets indeed ftyle love a treat,
Perhaps for want of better meat:
And love might be delicious fare,
Could we, like poets, live on air.
But grant that angels feaft on love
(Thofe purer eilences above),
Yet Albion's fons, he understood,
Preferr'd a more fubftantial food.
Thus while with gibes he drefs'd his caufe,
His grey admirers hemm'd applaufe.
With feeming conqueft pert and proud,
Wealth fhook his fides, and chuckled loud;
When Fortune, to reftrain his pride,
And fond to favour Love befide,
Op'ning the mifer's tape-tied veft,
Difclos'd the cares which ftung his breaft:
Wealth ftood abafh'd at his difgrace,
Apd a deep crimson flufh'd his face.

Love fweetly fimper'd at the fight;
His gay adherents laugh'd outright.
The god, tho' grave his temper, fmil'd;
For Hymen dearly priz'd the child.
But he who triumphs o'er his brother,
In turn is laugh'd at by another.
Such cruel fcores we often find
Repaid the criminal in kind:
For Poverty, that famifh'd fiend!
Ambitious of a wealthy friend,
Advanc'd into the mifer's place,
And ftar'd the ftripling in the face;

Whofe