The boy was mounted; and they had not got
Much farther on, before another knot,
Just as the ass was pacing by, pad, pad,
Cried, "O! that lazy looby of a lad!
How unconcernedly the gaping brute
Lets his poor aged father walk a-foot !"
Down came the son, on hearing this account,
And begg'd and pray'd, and made his father mount: 'Till a third party, on a farther stretch,
"See! see!" exclaim'd, "that old hard-hearted wretch!
How like a justice there he sits, or squire,
While the poor lad keeps wading thro' the mire."
Stop," cried the lad, still deeper vex'd in mind, "Stop! father, stop! let me get up behind."
This done, they thought they certainly should please,
Escape reproaches, and be both at ease;
For having tried each practicable way,
What could be left for jokers now to say?
Still disappointed by succeeding tone,
"Hark ye, you fellows! Is that ass your own? Get off; for shame! or one of you at least,
You both deserve to carry the poor beast,
Ready to drop down upon the road
With such a huge unconscionable load."
On this they both dismounted; and some say
Contrived to carry, like a truss of hay,
The ass between 'em; prints, they add, are seen,
With man and lad, slinging the ass between!
Others omit that fancy in the print,
As overstraining an ingenious hint.
The copy that we follow, says, the man
Rubb'd down the ass, and took to his first plan;
Walk'd to the fair, and sold him, got his price,
And gave his son this pertinent advice:
"Let talkers talk: stick thou to what is best;
To think of pleasing all is but a jest."
Wrapt in the blaze of bright surrounding flame,
From Paran's lofty brow the Almighty came :
All heav'n with terror view'd his rising frown,
His dazzling eyes with living splendour shone;
Blazed the blue arch, th' eternal portals glow!
Each rocking mountain bow'd and groan'd below!
A troop of ghastly phantoms strode before,
Blue blasting Plague, and War that floats in gore;
Loud Fury, roaring with tumultuous cries,
And Frantic Pain, that tears her burning eyes:
Revenge, that boils like some tumultuous flood;
Grief that consumes, and Rage that weeps in blood.
On Judah's broad domain he cast his view;
His eyes all radiant, piercing as he flew !
Then mark'd its bound, and at one stern command,
Th' affrighted nations shook, and swept them from the land.
Then heav'n-bred terror seized on every soul,
And rock'd the labouring earth from pole to pole :
Creation totter'd at the dreadful sound;
Groan'd all the hills! and burst the solid ground!
The sweeping winds each tow'ring mountain bear
Full on their wings and whirl them in the air;
On Cushan's tents he aim'd a fearful blow,
And Midian trembled at th' Almighty foe.
He call'd the deep:- its tumbling waves obey;
Th' astonished floods roll back to make him way!
Whence rose his ire? Did ere the flood displease
Its God? or raged his fury on the seas?
When Israel's wondering host Jehovah led,
Why shrunk the backward rivers to their head?
Why roar'd the ocean from its inmost caves?
What arm repress'd and froze the boiling waves?
O'er its broad bosom heaven's ETERNAL rode,
The waves divide before th' advancing God!
In heaps the cleaving billows lay o'erthrown,
He stopp'd their course and touch'd them into stone.
Lo! where he comes !--descending from afar,
In all the pomp of desolating war!
His cloudy brow with frowning vengeance lours,
And bursting round the forky thunder roars.
See, his red arm unsheaths the shining spear;
The glittering blade hangs naked in the air!
It rends the rock :-from all its gushing veins
A swelling deluge bursts and pours along the plains.
Hark! he commands :-obedient to his will
The pale moon quakes;-th' arrested Sun stands still;
Earth hears and shakes, devouring tempests rise,
Thick clouds and whirlwinds blacken all the skies;
Tremble the poles !-in wild confusion thrown,
Sink the steep hills-
-th' eternal mountains groan.
I ask'd an aged man, a man of cares,
Wrinkled and curved and white with hoary hairs;
"Time is the warp of life," he said; "Oh tell
The young, the gay, the fair, to weave it well!"
I ask'd the ancient, venerable dead,
Sages who wrote and warriors who bled;-
From the cold grave a hollow murmur flow'd—
"Time sow'd the seed we reap in this abode !"
I ask'd a dying sinner ere the tide
Of life had left his veins-
"Time!" he replied,
and he died.
"I've lost it! oh the treasure!
I ask'd the golden sun and silver spheres,
Those bright Chronometers of days and years:
They answered, "Time is but a meteor glare,—
And bade us for eternity prepare."
I ask'd the seasons in their annual round,
Which beautify or desolate the ground;
And they replied (no oracle more wise)
""Tis folly's blank and wisdom's highest prize."
I ask'd a spirit lost-but oh! the shriek
That pierced my soul! I shudder while I speak :
It cried, "a particle, a speck, a mite
Of endless years, duration infinite.”
Of things inanimate my dial I
Consulted and it made me this reply ;
"Time is the season fair of living well,
The path of glory or the path of Hell."
I ask'd my Bible, and methinks it said,
Time is the present hour; the past is fled :
Live, live to day! to-morrow never yet
On any human being rose or set.
I ask'd old Father Time himself at last,
But in a moment he flew swiftly past,
His chariot was a cloud, the viewless wind
His noiseless steeds, which left no trace behind.
I ask'd the mighty Angel who shall stand
One foot on Sea, and one on solid land :
By heavens!" he cried, "I swear the mystery's o'er. Time was," he cried, "but Time SHALL BE no more."
It is supposed that War was anciently proclaimed in Britain by messengers in different directions through the land, each bearing a bent bow; and that Peace was in like manner announced by a bow unstrung, and therefore straight.
There was heard the sound of the coming foe,
There was sent thro' Britain a bended bow,
And a voice was pour'd on the free winds far,
As the land rose up at the sign of war.
Heard ye not the battle horn?
Reaper! leave thy golden corn!
Leave it for the birds of Heaven,
Swords must flash and shields be riven !
Leave it for the winds to shed-
Arm! ere Britain's turf grows red!"
And the reaper arm'd like a foeman's son,
And the bended bow and the voice pass'd on.
"Hunter! leave the mountain chase,
Take the falchion from its place!
Let the wolf go free to day,
Leave him for a nobler prey!
Let the deer ungall'd sweep by
Arm thee! Britain's foes are nigh!"
And the hunter arm'd ere his chase was done,
And the bended bow and the voice pass'd on.
"Chieftain! quit the joyous feast,
Stay not 'till the song hath ceased!
Though the mead be foaming bright,
Though the fires give ruddy light,
Leave the hearth and leave the hall-
Arm thee! Britain's foe must fall."
And the Chieftain arm'd and the horn was blown,
And the bended bow and the voice pass'd on.
"Prince! thy father's deeds are told,
In the bower and in the hold!
Where the goatherd's lay is sung,
Where the minstrel's harp is strung!
-Foes are on thy native sea-
Give our bards a tale of thee !"
And the Prince came arm'd like a leader's son,
And the bended bow and the voice pass'd on.
"Mother! stay thou not thy boy!
He must learn the battle's joy;
Sister! bring the sword and spear,
Give thy brother words of cheer!
Maiden bid thy lover part,
Britain calls the strong in heart ꞌ ”
And the bended bow and the voice pass'd on,
And the bards made song for a battle won.
|