Mortal, by Folly ftill beguil'd,
Thou haft not yet outstripp'd the child;
Thou who haft twenty winters feen
(I hardly think thee past fifteen)
To ask if happiness can dwell
With ev'ry dirty imp of hell!
Go to the fchool-boy, he thall preach
What twenty winters cannot teach;
He'll tell thee, from his weekly theme,
That thy purfuit is all a dream;
That blifs ambitious views difowns,
And, felf-dependant, laughs at thrones;
Prefers the inades and lowly feats,
Whither fair Innocence retreats;
So the coy lily of the vale

Shuns eminence, and loves the dale.'

I blush'd; and now we crofs'd the plain,
To find the money-getting train;
Thofe filent, fnug, commercial bands,
With bufy looks and dirty hands.
Amidft thefe thoughtful crowds, the old,
Plac'd all their happinets in gold:
And surely, if there's blifs below,
Thefe hoary heads the secret know.
We journey'd with the plodding crew,
When foon a temple role to view;
A Gothic pile! with mofs o'ergrown;
Strong were the walls, and built with ftone.
Without, a thousand mastiff's wait:
A thoufand bolts fecure the gate.
We fought admiffion long in vain;
For here all favours fell for gain.
The greedy porter yields to gold;
His fee receiv'd, the gates unfold.
Affembl❜d nations here were found,
And view'd the cringing herds around,
Who daily facrific'd to Wealth

Their honor, confcience, peace, and health.
I faw no charms that could engage;
The god appear'd like fordid age,
With hooked nofe, and famifh'd jaws,
But ferpent's eyes, and harpy's claws:
Behind ftood Fear, that reftiefs fprite,
Which haunts the watches of the night;
And viper Care, that ftings fo deep,
Whofe deadly venom murders fleep.

We haften now to Pleafure's bow'rs,
Where the gay tribes fat crown'd with flow'rs:
Here Beauty ev'ry charm difplay'd,
And love inflam'd the yielding maid;
Delicious wine our taste 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 with'd to roam ;
The feraph difapprov'd my stay;
Spread her fair plumes, and wing'd away.
Alas whene'er we talk of blifs,
How prone is man to judge amifs!
See, a long train of ills confpires
To fcourge our uncontroul'd defires ;
Like fummer fwarms, difcafes crowd;
Each bears a crutch, or each a hroud :

Fever, that thirsty fary, 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 Pally, thaking in her chair.

A mangled youth, beneath a fhade,
A melancholy fcene difplay'd:
His nofcle's face and loathfome ftains,
Proclaim'd the poifon in his veins;
He rais'd his eyes, he fmote his breaft,
He wept aloud, and thus addreft:

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 lawless reigns,
Is feiz'd with fear and wild difinay,
When the grim for obftructs his way;
My foul was pierc'd with equal fright,
My tott'ring limbs oppos'd my flight:
I call'd on Virtue, but in vain;
Her abfence quicken'd every pain.
At length the flighted angel heard;
The dear refulgent form appear'd.

Prefumptuous youth!' the faid, and frown'd (My heart-ftrings flutter'd at the found); Who turns to me reluctant ears, '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 Pleafure'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 purfu'd, Perdition, ftripling, had enfu'd; Yes, Aly you ftand upon its brink; 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 friend!hip's ties,
Finds all that's fought for by the wife.
Folly exclaims, and well fhe may,
Because I take her mask 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 tovs;
Her traffic gewgaws, fleeting joys!
An errant juggler in disguise,

Who holds falfe optics to your eyes. But ah how quick the fhadow pafs! "Tho' the bright vitions thro' her glais Charm at a distance; yet, when near, The bafelefs fabrics difappear.

K 2

• Nor

• Nor riches boast intrinsic worth ; Their charms, at beft, fuperior earth: Thefe oft the heav'n-born mind enflave, And make an honest man a knave.' "Wealthi cures my wants!" the mifer cries: Be not deceiv'd, the mifer lyes; 'One want he has, with all his ftore,

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

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

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

My converfe fhall your cares beguile;
The little world within fhall fmile;
And then it scarce imports a jot,
• Whether the great world frowns or not.
And when the closing scenes prevail,
When wealth, ftate, pleasure, all shall fail ;
All that a foolish world admires,
'Or Paffion craves, or Pride infpires;
At that important hour of need,
Virtue fhall prove a friend indeed!
My hands fhall fimooth thy dying bed,
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 fav'rite fon away
To rapture, and eternal day.

§ 217. Vifion. VI. Friendship. FRIENDSHIP! thou foft propitious pow'r! Sweet regent of the focial hour! Sublime thy joys, nor understood But by the virtuous and the good! Cabal and Riot take thy nante, But 'tis a falfe affected claim; In heav'n if love and friendship dwell, Can they affociate e'er with hell?

Thou art the fame thro 'change of times,
Thro' frozen zones and burning climes;
From the equator to the pole,

The fame kind angel thro' the whole:
And fince thy choice is always free,
I blefs thee for thy fmiles on me.
When forrows well the tempeft high,
Thou, a kind port, art always nigh;
For aching hearts a fov'reign cure,
Not foft Nepenthe half fo fure.
And, when returning comforts rife,
Thou the bright fun that gilds our skies.
While there ideas warm'd my breast,
My weary eye-lids stole to reft;

When fancy re-affum'd the theme,
And furnish'd this instructive dream.
I fail'd upon a ftormy fea
(Thoufands embark'd alike with me);
My fkiff was fmall, and weak befide,
Not built, methought, to ftem 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 course 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.

One fide a beauteous tract of ground
Prefents, with living verdure crown'd;
The seasons temp'rate, soft, and mild,
And a kind fun that always smil'd:
Few ftorms moleft the natives here;
Cold is the only ill they fear.
This happy clime and grateful foil,
With plenty crowns the lab'rer's toil.

Here Friendship's happy kingdom grew i
Her realms were small, her fubjects few :
A thousand charms the palace grace ¡
A rock of adamant its bafe.

Tho' thunders roll, and lightnings fly,
This ftructure braves th'inclement fky:
E'en time, which other piles devours,
And mocks the pride of human pow'rs,
Partial to Friendfhip's pile alone,
Cements the joints, and binds the stone;
Ripens the beauties of the place,
And calls to life each latent grace.

Around the throne in order stand
Four Amazons, a trusty band!
Friends ever faithful to advise,
Or to defend when dangers rife.
Here Fortitude, in coat of mail;
There Juftice lifts her golden scale?
Two hardy chiefs, who perfevere,
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 their fight,
And fhines pre-eminently bright.
To view her various thoughts that rife,
She holds a mirror to his 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 heav'n her fpotlefs mind;
When actions wear a dubious face,

Puts the best meaning on the cafe!

She

With cheerful heart they homage paid,
And happiest he who moft obey'd;
While they who fought their own applause,
Promoted most their fov'reign's cause.
The minds of all were fraught with guile;
Their manners diffolute and vile;
And ev'ry tribe, like Pagans, run
To kneel before the rifing fun.

But now fome clam'rous founds arife,
And all the pleafing vifion flies.
Once more I clos'd my eyes to fleep,
And gain'd th'imaginary deep;
Fancy prefided at the helm,

And steer'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.

For Flatt ry view'd thofe fairer plains
With longing eyes, where Friendship 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 the afpir'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 hosts withstood,
And roll'd her formidable flood:
Her current ftrong, and deep, and clear;
No fords were found, no ferrics near.
But as the troops approach the waves,
Their fears fuggeft a thousand graves;
They all retir'd with hafte extreme,
And thudder'd at the dang'rous ftream.

Hypocrify the gulph explores :
She forms a bridge, and joins the fhores.
Thus often aft or fraud prevails,
When military prowess fails :
The troops an eafy paffage find,
And victory follows clofe behind.

Friendship with ardour charg'd her foes,
And now the fight promifcuous grows;
But flattery threw a poifon'd dart,
And piere'd the empress to the heart.
The Virtues all around, were seen
To fall in heaps about the queen.
The tyrant ftripp'd the mang!'d fair;
She wore her fpoils, affum'd her air!
And mounting next the fuffrer's throne,
Claim'd the queen's titles as her own.

Ah, injur'd maid aloud I cry'd;

• Ah, injur'd maid!' the rocks reply'd.
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 Britain's poor degen'rate ifle'

The Amazons, who propp'd the state,
Haply furviv'd the gen'ral fate.

K 3

Justice

Juftice 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 faithless fous 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 fleet fucceeds,
And hence the gen'rous Cornwall + bleeds.
Hence Grenville glorious!-- for the finil'd
On the young hero from a child.

Tho' in high life fuch virtues dwell,
They'll fuit plebeian breafts 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 leiler orbs may pour their light,
Like the mild crefcent of the night.
Tho' pale our beams, and our small sphere,
Still we may thine 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 thine.
I can't difcharge great Hardwicke's
True but my foul may ftill be just :
And tho' I can't the ftate defend,
I'll draw the fword to ferve my friend.

trust —

Two golden virtues are behind,
Of equal import to the mind;
Prudence to point out wifdom's way,
Or to reclaim us when we tray;
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' ev'ry fcene maintain our truft,
Nor e'er be timid or unjuft.

That breaft where Honor builds his throne,
That breaft which virtue calls her own,
Nor Int'reft warps, nor Fear appals,
When Danger frowns, or Lucre calls.
No! the true friend collected ftands,
Fearless his heart and pure his hands:
Let Int'reft plead, let ftorms arife,
He dares be honeft, tho' he dies!

At Porto Bello: