Or serves the champion in forensic war
To flourish and parade with at the bar.
Pleasure herself perhaps suggests a plea,
If int❜rest move thee, to persuade e'en thee;
By ev'ry charm that smiles upon her face,
By joys possess'd, and joys still held in chase,
If dear society be worth a thought,

And if the feast of freedom cloy thee not,
Reflect that these, and all that seems thine own,
Held by the tenure of His will alone,

Like angels in the service of their Lord,
Remain with thee, or leave thee at His word;
That gratitude and temp'rance in our use
Of what He gives, unsparing and profuse,
Secure the favour, and enhance the joy,
That thankless waste and wild abuse destroy.
But above all reflect-how cheap soe'er
Those rights, that millions envy thee, appear,
And, though resolved to risk them, and swim down
The tide of pleasure, heedless of His frown-
That blessings truly sacred, and when given
Mark'd with the signature and stamp of Heaven,
The word of prophecy, those truths divine,
Which make that heaven, if thou desire it, thine,
(Awful alternative! believed, beloved,
Thy glory; and thy shame, if unimproved,)
Are never long vouchsafed, if push'd aside
With cold disgust, or philosophic pride!
And that, judicially withdrawn, disgrace,
Error, and darkness, occupy their place.

A world is up in arms, 14 and thou, a spot
Not quickly found if negligently sought,
Thy soul as ample as thy bounds are small,
Endurest the brunt, and darest defy them all :
And wilt thou join to this bold enterprise
A bolder still, a contest with the skies?
Remember, if He guard thee and secure,
Whoe'er assails thee, thy success is sure;
But if He leave thee, though the skill and power
Of nations, sworn to spoil thee and devour,

Were all collected in thy single arm,

And thou could'st laugh away the fear of harm, That strength would fail, opposed against the push And feeble onset of a pigmy rush.

Say not (and if the thought of such defence Should spring within thy bosom, drive it thence) What nation amongst all my foes is free From crimes as base as any charged on me? Their measure fill'd, they too shall pay the debt, Which God, though long forborne, will not forget; But know that wrath divine, when most severe, Makes justice still the guide of his career, And will not punish, in one mingled crowd, Them without light, and thee without a cloud.

Muse, hang this harp upon yon aged beech, Still murm'ring with the solemn truths I teach; And while at intervals a cold blast sings Through the dry leaves, and pants upon the strings ; My soul shall sigh in secret, and lament A nation scourged, yet tardy to repent. I know the warning song is sung in vain, That few will hear, and fewer heed the strain; But if a sweeter voice, and one design'd A blessing to my country and mankind, Reclaim the wand'ring thousands, and bring home A flock so scatter'd, and so wont to roam, Then place it once again between my knees; The sound of truth will then be sure to please: And truth alone, where'er my life be cast, In scenes of plenty, or the pining waste, Shall be my chosen theme, my glory to the last.

HOPE.

THE original manuscript of this poem received the finishing touches on the 23d of June, 1781. It was found that the plan of the volume sketched in the preceding notice could not be carried into effect. "The season of publication," writes the poet in May, " is just elapsed. The town is going into the country every day, and my book cannot appear till they return; that is to say, not till next winter." Before that time arrived, Cowper had added to his former compositions the new contributions of Hope, and the three succeeding poems. The truths which it is here the object to inculcate are epitomized in the following beautiful lines of Watts,

Vain are the hopes the sons of men

Upon their works have built;

Their hearts by nature are unclean,

Their actions full of guilt.

In its prevailing sentiment, therefore, the composition resembles its predecessor Truth. The two poems, however, are essentially distinct in their modes of treating the same subject. Truth is more didactic, Hope more persuasive; the former explaining the doctrine, the latter illustrating the practice, how man

may nourish and secure

His new-born virtues, and preserve him pure.

The language of Hope, though less impassioned than in Expostulation, is more uniformly elegant than that of any of the preceding pieces; and altogether the composition is a most pleasing one. Its Christianity is pure, and while strictly evangelical, it breathes a spirit of gentleness, and meekness, and peace.