I.

COME, blest Spirit! whatsoe'er thou art,

Thou kindling warmth that hover'st round my heart,

Sweet inmate, hail! thou source of sterling joy,

That poverty itself cannot destroy,

Be thou my Muse; and faithful still to me,
Retrace the paths of wild obscurity.

No deeds of arms my humble lines rehearse;

No Alpine wonders thunder through my verse,

Invocation....Simple character of Giles.

The roaring cataract, the snow-topt hill,
Inspiring awe, till breath itself stands still:

Nature's sublimer scenes ne'er charm'd mine eyes,
Nor Science led me through the boundless skies;
From meaner objects far my raptures flow:

O point these raptures! bid my bosom glow!
And lead my soul to ecstacies of praise

For all the blessings of my infant days!

Bear me through regions where gay Fancy dwells;
But mould to Truth's fair form what Memory tells.
Live, trifling incidents, and grace my song,
That to the humblest menial belong:
To him whose drudgery unheeded goes,
His joys unreckon'd as his cares or woes;
Though joys and cares in every path are sown,
And youthful minds have feelings of their own,
Quick springing sorrows, transient as the dew,
Delights from trifles, trifles ever new.

v. 9.

v. 27. Euston in Suffolk, and its neighbourhood, the Scene.

"Twas thus with Giles: meek, fatherless, and poor:

Labour his portion, but he felt no more;
No stripes, no tyranny his steps pursu❜d;
His life was constant, cheerful, servitude:
Strange to the world, he wore a bashful look,
The fields his study, Nature was his book;
And, as revolving SEASONS chang'd the scene
From heat to cold, tempestuous to serene,
Though every change still varied his employ,
Yet each new duty brought its share of joy.

Where noble GRAFTON spreads his rich domains, Round Euston's water'd vale, and sloping plains, Where woods and groves in solemn grandeur rise, Where the kite brooding unmolested flies;

The woodcock and the painted pheasant race,
And sculking Foxes, destin'd for the chase;
There Giles, untaught and unrepining, stray'd
Through every copse, and grove, and winding glade ;

Benevolent character of Giles's Master....Spring begins. · v.45.

There his first thoughts to Nature's charms inclin'd,
That stamps devotion on th' inquiring mind.

A little farm his generous Master till'd,
Who with peculiar grace his station fill'd;
By deeds of hospitality endear'd,

Serv'd from affection, for his worth rever'd;
A happy offspring blest his plenteous board,
His fields were fruitful, and his barns well stor❜d,
And fourscore ewes he fed, a sturdy team,

And lowing kine that graz'd beside the stream:
Unceasing industry he kept in view;

And never lack'd a job for Giles to do.

Fled now the sullen murmurs of the North,

The splendid raiment of the SPRING peeps forth;
Her universal green, and the clear sky,

Delight still more and more the gazing eye.
Wide o'er the fields, in rising moisture strong,
Shoots up the simple flower, or creeps along