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And over fields, where fcatter'd hamlets rofe,
In barren, folitary pomp repofe ;
Have we not feen at pleafure's lordly call,
The fmiling long-frequented village fall?
Beheld the duteous fon, the fire decay'd,
The modeft matron, and the blufhing maid,
Forc'd from their homes, a melancholy train;
To traverse climes beyond the western main;
Where wild Ofwego fpreads her fwamps around
And Niagara ftuns with thund'ring found?
E'en now, perhaps, as there fome pilgrim ftrays
Thro' tangled forefts, and thro' dang'rous ways;
Where beats with man divided empire claim,
And the brown Indian marks with murd❜rous aim
There, while above the giddy tempeft flies,
And all around diftrefsful yells arife,
The penfive exile, bending with his wo,
To ftop too fearful, and too faint to go,
Cafts a long look where England's glories fhine,
And bids his bofom tympathife with mine.
Vain, very vain, my weary fearch to find
That blifs which only centres in the mind!
Why have I ftray'd from pleasure and repofe,
To feek a good each government bestows?
In every government, though terrors reign,
Though tyrant kings, or tyrant laws restrain,
How fmall, of all that human hearts endure,
That part which laws or kings can cause or cure!
Still to ourselves in every place confign'd,

Our own felicity we make or find:

With fecret courfe, which no loud ftorms annoy,
Glides the fmooth current of domestic joy ;.
The lifted axe, the agonizing wheel,
Luke's iron crown, and Damiens' bed of fteel,
To men remote from pow'r but rarely known,
Leave reason, faith, and confcience, all our own.

SECTION VII.

The vanity of human wifhes.

LET obfervation, with extenfive view,
Survey mankind from China to Peru;
Remark, each anxious toil, each eager ftrife,
And watch the bufy fcenes of crowded life a

;

GOLDSMITH.

Then fay how hope and fear, defire and hate,
O'erfpread with fnares the clouded maze of fate,
Where wav'ring man, betray'd by vent'rous pride,
To tread the dreary paths without a guide,
As treach'rous phantoms in the mist delude,
Shuns fancied ills, or chases airy good.

How rarely reafon guides the stubborn choice,
Rules the bold hand, or prompts the suppliant voice:
How nations fink by darling fchemes oppreft,
When vengeance liftens to the fool's request.
Fate wings with every wish th' afflictive dart,
Each gift of nature, and each grace of art;
With fatal heat impetuous courage glows,
With fatal fweetnefs elocution flows;
Impeachment ftops the fpeaker's powerful breath,
And reftlefs fire precipitates on death.

But, fcarce obferv'd, the knowing and the bold
Fall in the gen❜ral maffacre of gold;

Wide wafting peft! that rages unconfin'd,
And crowds with crimes the records of mankind!
For gold his fword the hireling ruffian draws,
For gold the hireling judge diftorts the laws!
Wealth heap'd on wealth, nor truth nor fafety buys;
The dangers gather as the treasures rife.

Let hift'ry tell, where rival kings command,
And dubious title fhakes the madden'd land,
When ftatutes glean the refufe of the fword,
How much more fafe the vaffal than the lord.
Low fculks the hind beneath the
rage of power,
And leaves the wealthy traitor in the Tower.
Untouch'd his cottage, and his flumbers found,
Though confifcation's vultures hover round.
The needy traveller, ferene and gay,
Walks the wild heath, and fings his toil away.
Does envy feize thee? cruth th' upbraiding joy,
Increase his riches, and his peace destroy.
Now fears in dire viciffitude invade

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The ruft'ling brake alarms, and quivering fhade;
Nor light nor darkness brings his pain relief,
One shows the plunder, and one hides the thief.
Yet ftill one general cry the skies affails,
And gain and grandeur load the tainted gales:
Few know the toiling ftatesman's fear or care,
Th' infidious rival, and the gaping heir.

Once more, Democritus, arife on earth, With cheerful wifdom and inftructive mirth; See motley life in modern trappings dreft, And feed with varied fools th' eternal jeft:

Thou who couldft laugh where want enchain'd cap rice,
Toil crush'd conceit, and man was of a piece;
Where wealth unlov'd without a mourner died;
And scarce a fycophant was fed by pride;

Where ne'er was known the form of mock debate,
Or feen a new made mayor's unwieldy ftate;
Where change of favourites made no change of laws,
And fenates heard before they judg'd a caufe:
How wouldst thou shake at Britain's modifh tribe,
Dart the quick taunt, and edge the piercing gibe!
Attentive, truth and nature to defcry,

And pierce each fcene with philofophic eye.
To thee were folemn toys or empty show,
The robes of pleasure and the veils of wo:
All aid the farce, and all thy mirth maintain,
Whofe joys are caufelefs, or whose griefs are vain,
Such was the fcorn that fill'd the fage's mind,
Renew'd at every glance on human kind:
How juft that fcorn ere yet thy voice declare,
Search every ftate, and canvass every prayer.
Unnumber'd fuppliants crowd preferment's gate,
Athirst for wealth, and burning to be great;
. Delufive fortune hears th' inceffant call ;
They mount, they fhine, evaporate, and fall.
On every stage the foes of peace attend,

Hate dogs their flight, and infult mocks their end.
Love ends with hope the finking ftatesman's door,
Pours in the morning worshipper no more;
For growing names the weekly fcribbler lies,
To growing wealth the dedicator flies;
From ev'ry room defcends the painted face,
That hung the bright palladium of the place;
And, fmok'd in kitchens, or in auctions fold,
To better features yields the frame of gold;
For now no more we trace in ev'ry line
Heroic worth, benevolence divine :
The form diftorted juftifies the fall,
And deteftation rids th' indignant wall.

But will not Britain hear the last appeal,

Sign her foes' doom, or guard her fav'rites' zeal

Thro' freedom's fons no more remonftrance rings,
Degrading nobles, and controlling kings;
Our fupple tribes fupprefs their patriot throats,
And afk no questions but the price of votes ;
With weekly libels and feptennial ale,
Their wish is full to riot and to rail.

In full-blown dignity, fee Wolsey stand,
Law in his voice, and fortune in his hand :
To him the church, the realm, their pow'rs confign,
Through him the rays of regal bounty fhine;
Turn'd by his nod the stream of honour flows,
His fmile alone fecurity beftows;

Still to new heights his restless wishes tow'r :
Claim leads to claim, and pow'r advances pow'r ;
Till conqueft unrefifted ceas'd to please,
And rights fubmitted left him none to feize.
At length his fovereign frowns-the train of ftate
Mark the keen glance, and watch the fign to hate.
Where'er he turns he meets a stranger's eye,
His fuppliants fcorn him, and his followers fly :
Now drops at once the pride of awful state,
The golden canopy, the glitt'ring plate,
The regal palace, the luxurious board,
The liv'ried army, and the menial lord.
With age, with cares, with maladies opprest,
He feeks the refuge of monastic rest.
Grief aids difeafe, remember'd folly ftings,
And his laft fighs reproach the faith of kings.

Speak thou, whofe thoughts at humble peace repine,
Shall Wolfey's wealth, with Wolfey's end be thine?
Or liv't thou now, with fafer pride content,

The wifeft juftice on the banks of Trent?
For why did Wolfey, near the steeps of fate,
On weak foundations raise th' enormous weight?
Why but to fink beneath misfortune's blow,
With louder ruin to the gulfs below?

What gave great Villiers to th' affaffin's knife,
And fix'd difeafe on Harley's clofing life?
What murder'd Wentworth, and what exil'd Hyde,
By kings protected, and to kings ally'd?
What but their wifh, indulg'd in courts to fhine,
And power too great to keep, or to refign?
When firft the college rolls receive his name,
The young enthufiaft quits his eafe for fame;

Refiftless burns the fever of renown,
Caught from the strong contagion of the gown;
O'er Bodley's dome his future labours fpread,
And Bacon's manfion trembles o'er his head.
Are thefe thy views? proceed, illuftrious youth,
And virtue guard thee to the throne of truth!
Yet fhould thy foul indulge the gen'rous heat,
Till captive fcience yields her laft retreat;
Should reafon guide thee with her brightest ray,
And pour on mifty doubt refiftlefs day;
Should no falfe kindness lure to loofe delight,
Nor praise relax, nor difficulty fright:
Should tempting novelty thy cell refrain,
And floth effufe her opiate fumes in vain ;
Should beauty blunt on fops her fatal dart,
Nor claim the triumph of a letter'd heart;
Should no difeafe thy torpid veins invade,
Nor melancholy's phantoms haunt thy fhade;
Yet hope not life from grief or danger free,
Nor think the doom of man revers'd for thee:
Deign on the paffing world to turn thine eyes,
And paufe a while from learning, to be wife;
There mark what ills the fcholar's life affail,
Toil, envy, want, the patton, and the jail.
See nations flowly wife, and meanly just,
To buried merit raife the tardy buft.
If dreams yet flatter, once again attend,
Hear Lydiat's life, and Galileo's end.

Nor deem, when learning her laft prize beftows,
The glitt'ring eminence exempt from foes;
See, when the vulgar 'fcapes, defpis'd or aw'd,
Rebellion's vengeful talons feize on Laud.

From meaner minds, though fmaller fines content,
The plunder'd palace, or fequefter'd rent;
Mark'd out by dang'rous parts he meets the fhock,
And fatal learning leads him to the block :
Around his tomb let art and genius weep,
But hear his death, ye blockheads, hear and fleep.

SECTION VIII.

The vanity of human wifbes continued.

THE feftal blazes, the triumphal fhow, The ravish'd standard, and the captive foe,

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