Of pleasure and variety, dispatch, Is to conduct it to the destin'd inn; As duly as the swallows disappear, And, having dropp'd th' expected bag. pass on The world of wand'ring knights and squires to town. He whistles as he goes, light-hearied sretch, London ingulfs them all! The shark is there, Cold and yet cheerful: messenger of grief And the shark's prey; the spendihrift, and the leech Perhaps to thousands, and of joy to one; That sucks him: there the sycophant, and he To him indiff'rent whether grief or joy. Who, with bareheaded and obsequious bows, Houses in ashes, and the fall of stocks, Begs a warm office, doom'd to a cold gaol Births, deaths, and marriages, epistles wet And groat per diem, if his patron frown. With tears, that trickled down the writer's cheese The levee swarms as if in golden pomp Fast as the periods from his fluent quill, Were character'd on ev'ry statesman's door, Or charg'd with am'rous sighs of absent swa “BATTER'DAND BANKRUPT FORTUNES MENDED HERE." Or nymphs responsive, equally affect These are the charms, that sully and eclipse His horse and him, unconscious of them all The charms of nature. 'Tis the cruel gripe, But O th' important budget! usher'd in That lean, hard-handed Poverty inflicts, With such heart-shaking music, who can say The hope of better things, the chance to win, What are its tidings? have our troops awakd! The wish to shine, the thirst to be amus'd, Or do they still, as if with opium drugz'd, That at the sound of Winter's hoary wing Snore to the murmurs of the Auantic wave! Unpeople all our counties of such herds Is India free? and does she wear her plund Of flutt'ring, loit'ring, cringing, begging, loose, And jewel'd turban with a smile of peace, And wanton vagrants, as make London, vast Or do we grind her still? The grand debate, And boundless as it is, a crowded coop. The popular harangue, the tart reply, O thou, resort and mart of all the Earth, The logic, and the wisdom, and the wit. Chequer'd with all complexions of mankind, And the loud laugh-I long to know them all; And spotted with all crimes; in whom I see I burn to set th' imprison'd wranglers free, Much that I love, and more that I admire, And give them voice and utt'rance once again. And all that I abhor; thou freckled fair, Now stir the fire, and close the shutter tal That pleasest and yet shock'st me, I can laugh, Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round. And I can weep, can hope, and can despond, And while the bubbling and loud hisiog una Feel wrath and pity, when I think on thee! Throws up a steamy column, and the cups Ten righteous would have sav'd a city once, That cheer but not inebriate, wait on each, And thou hast many righteous. Well for thee So let us welcome peaceful ev'ning in. That salt preserves thee; more corrupted else, Not such his ev’ning, who with shining face And therefore more obnoxious, at this hour, Sweats in the crowded theatre, and, squeez'd Than Sodom in her day had pow'r to be, And bor'd with elbow-points through both his se For whom God heard his Abr’ham plead in vain. Out-scolds the ranting actor on the stage : Nor his, who patient stands till his feet throb Of patriots, bursting with heroic rage, Or placemen, all tranquillity and smiles. This folio of four pages, happy work! Which not ev'n critics criticise ; that holds Argument. Inquisitive Attention, while I read. Fast bound in chains of silence, which the fair, The post comes in. The newspaper is read. The Though eloquent themselves, yet fear to break; World contemplated at a distance. Address to What is it, but a map of busy life, Winter. The rural amusements of a winter even-Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns ? ing compared with the fashionable ones. Ad. Here runs the mountainous and craggy ridge, dress to evening. A brown study. Fall of snow That tempts Ambition. On the summit see in the evening. The wagoner. A poor family. The seals of office glitter in his eyes: piece. The rural thief. Public houses. The He climbs, he pants, he grasps them! At bis beca multitude of them censured. The farmer's daugh-Close at his heels, a demagogue ascends, ter: what she was—what she is. The simplicity And with a dextrous jerk soon twists him down of country manners almost lost. Causes of the And wins them, but to lose them in his lum. change. Desertion of the country by the rich. Here rills of oily eloquence in soft Neglect of magistrates. The militia principally Meanders lubricate the course they take; in fault. The new recruit and his transformation. The modest speaker is asham'd and grievid Reflection on bodies corporate. The love of rural T'engross a moment's notice; and yet beg objects natural to all, and never to be totally ex. Begs a propitious ear for his poor thoughts, tinguished. However trivial all that he conceives. Sweet bashfulness! it claims at least this praise ; HARK! 'tis the twanging horn o'er yonder bridge, The dearth of information and good sense, That with its wearisome but needful length That it foretells us, always comes to pass. Bestrides the wintry flood, in which the Moon Catracts of declamation thunder here: Sees her unwrinkled face reflected bright; There forests of no meaning spread the page He comes, the herald of a noisy world, In which all comprehension wanders lost; With spatter'd boots, strapp'd waist, and frozen locks ; While fields of pleasantry amuse us there News from all nations lumb'ring at his back. With merry descants on a nation's woes. True to his charge, the close-pack'd load behind, The rest appears a wilderness of strange Yet careless what he brings, his one concern But gay confusion; roses for the cheeks And lilies for the brows of faded age, | But here the needle plies its busy task, Teeth for the toothless, ringlets for the bald, The pattern grows, the well-depicted flow'r, Heav'n, earth, and ocean, plunder'd of their sweets, Wrought patiently into the snowy lawn, Nectareous essences, Olympian dews, Unfolds its bosom; buds, and leaves, and sprigs, Sermons, and city feasts, and fav’rite airs, And curling tendrils, gracefully dispos'd, Ethereal journeys, submarine exploits, Follow the nimble finger of the fair; And Katerfeito, with his hair on end A wreath, that cannot fade, of flow'rs, that blow At his own wonders, wond'ring for his bread. With most success when all besides decay. "Tis pleasant through the loop-holes of retreat, The poet's or historian's page by one To peep at such a world ; to see the stir Made vocal for th' amusement of the rest; Of the great Babel, and not feel the crowd ; The sprightly lyre, whose treasure of sweet sounds To hear the roar she sends through all her gates | The touch from many a trembling chord shakes out; At a safe distance, where the dying sound | And the clear voice symphonious, yet distinct, Falls a soft murmur on th' uninjur'd ear. And in the charming strise triumphant still; Beguile the night, and set a keener edge of the last meal commence. A Roman meal; With all its generations; I behold Such as the mistress of the world once found Perhaps by moonlight, at their humble doors, of fancy, or proscribes the sound of mirth: He travels and expatiates, as the bee Nor do we madly, like an impious world, From flow'r to flow'r, so he from land to land; Who deem religion frenzy, and the God, The manners, customs, policy, of all That made them, an intruder on their joys, Pay contribution to the store he gleans ; Start at his awful name, or deem his praise A jarring note. Themes of a graver tone, While we retrace with Mem'ry's pointing wand, He travels, and I too. I tread his deck, Thai calls the past to our exact review, Ascend his topmast, through his peering eyes The dangers we have 'scaped, the broken snare, Discover countries, with a kindred heart The disappointed foe, deliv'rance found Suffer his woes, and share in his escapes ; Unlook'd for, life preserv'd, and peace restor'd, While fancy, like the finger of a clock, Fruits of omnipotent eternal love. The Sabine bard. O ev'nings, I reply, I Needs he the tragic fur. the smoke of lamps The pent-up breath of an unsav'ry throng, But urg'd by storms along its slipp'ry way, To thaw him into feeling; or the smart I love thee, all unlovely as thou seem'st, And snappish dialogue, that flippant wits And dreaded as thou art! Thou hold'st the Sun Call comedy, to prompt him with a smile? A pris'ner in the yet undawning east, The self-complacant actor, when be views Short'ning his journey between morn and noon, (Stealing a sidelong glance at a full house) And hurrying him, impatient of his stay, The slope of faces, from the floor to th' roof Down to the rosy west; but kindly still (As if one master-spring controllid them all) Compensating his loss with added hours Relax'd into a universal grin, Of social converse and instructive ease, Sees not a count'nance there, that speaks of joy And gath'ring, at short notice, in one group, Half so refin’d or so sincere as ours. The family dispers'd, and fixing thought, Cards were superfluous here, with all the tricks Not less dispers'd by daylight and its cares. That idleness has ever yet contriv'd I crown thee king of intimate delights, To fill the void of an unfurnish'd brain, Fire-side enjoyments, home-born happiness, To palliate Dullness, and give Time a shove. And all the comforis that the lowly roof Time, as he passes us, has a dove's wing, Of undisturb'd Retirement, and the hours Unsoil'd, and swift, and of a silken sound; Of long uninterrupted ev’ning, know. But the World's Time is Time in masquerade! No rattling wheels stop short before these gates; Theirs, should I paint him, has his pinions fledg'd No powder'd pert, proficient in the art With motley plumes; and, where the peacock she is Of sounding an alarm, assaults these doors His azure eyes, is tinctur'd black and red Till the street rings; no stationary steeds With spots quadrangular of diamond form, Cough their own knell, while, heedless of the sound, Ensanguin'd hearts, clubs typical of strife, The silent circle fan themselves, and quake : And spades, the emblem of untimely graves. What should be, and what was an hour-glass once, In the red cinders, while with poring eye I gaz'd, myself creating what I saw. Of superstition, prophesying still, In indolent vacuity of thought, Of card-devoted Time, and night by night And sleeps and is refresh'd. Meanwhile the face Plac'd at some vacant corner of the board, Conceals the mood lethargic with a mask Were task'd to his full strength, absorb'd and le Where shall I find an end, or how proceed ? Thus oft reclin'd at ease, I lose an hour As he that travels far oft turns aside At ev'ning, till at length the freezing blast, To view some rugged rock or mould'ring tow'r, | That sweeps the bolted shutter, summons hone Which seen delights him not; then coming home The recollected pow'rs, and snapping short Describes and prints it, that the world may know The glassy threads, with which the Fancy weara How far he went for what was nothing worth; Her brittle toils, restores me to myself. So I, with brush in hand and pallet spread, How calm is my recess! and how the frost, With colors mix'd for a far diff'rent use, Raging abroad, and the rough wind, endear Paint cards and dolls, and ev'ry idle thing, The silence and the warmth enjoy'd within! That Fancy finds in her excursive flights. I saw the woods and fields at close of day Come, Ev'ning, once again, season of peace; A variegated show; the meadows gretti, Return, sweet Ev'ning, and continue long! Though faded; and the lands, where lately wn2 Methinks I see thee in the streaky west, The golden harvesi, of a mellow brown, With verdure not unprofitable, graz'd His fav’rite herb; while all the leatless grores, Not sumptuously adorn'd, not needing aid, That skirt th' horizon, wore a sable hue, Like homely-featur'd Night, of elust'ring gems; Scarce notic'd in the kindred dusk of eve. A star or two, just twinkling on thy brow, To-morrow brings a change, a total change! Suffices thee; save that the Moon is thine Which even now, though silently performnd, No less than hers, not worn indeed on high And slowly, and by most unieli, the face With ostentatious pageantry, but set Of universal nature undergoes. With modest grandeur in thy purple zone, Fast falls a fleecy show'r: the downy flakes Resplendent less, but of an ampler round. Descending, and with never-ceasing lapse, Assimilate all objects. Earth receives Gladly the thick ning manile ; and the green To books, to music, or the poet's toil ; And iender blade, that feard the chilling blast, To weaving nets for bird-alluring fruit; Escapes unhurt beneath so warm a reil. Or iwining silken threads round iv'ry reels, In such a world, so thorny, and where done When they command whom man was born to Finds happiness unblighted, or, if found, please; Without some thistly sorrow at its side; I slight thee not, but make thee welcome still. It seems the part of wisdom, and no sin Just when our drawing-rooms begin to blaze Against the law of love, to measure lots With lights, by clear reflection multiplied With less distinguish'd than ourselves; that the From many a mirror, in which he of Gath, We may with patience bear our mod'rate ius, Goliath, might have seen his giant bulk And sympathize with others suff'ring more. Whole without stooping, tow'ring crest and all, Il fares the trav’ller now, and he that stalks My pleasures, too, begin. But me perhaps In pond'rous boots beside his reeking team. The glowing hearth may satisfy a while The wain goes heavily, impeded sore With faint illumination, that uplifts By congregated loads adhering close The shadows to the ceiling, there by fits To the clogg'd wheels; and in its sluggish face Dancing uncouthly to the quiv'ring flame. Noiseless appears a moving hill of snow. Not undelightful is an hour to me The toiling steeds expand the nosiril wide, So spent in parlor twilight: such a gloom While ev'ry breath, by respiration strong Suits well the thoughtful or unthinking mind, Forc'd downward, is consolidated soon The mind contemplative, with some new theme Upon their jutting chesis. He, form'd to bear Pregnant, or indispos'd alike to all. The pelting brunt of the tempestuous night, Laugh, ye who boast your more mercurial pow'rs, With half-shut eyes, and pucker'd cheeks, and teeth That never felt a stupor, know no pause, Presented bare against the storm, plods on. Nor need one; I am conscious, and confess One hand secures his hat, save when with boch Fearless a soul, that does not always think. He brandishes his pliant length of whip, Me oft bas Fancy ludicrous and wild Resounding oft, and never heard in vain. Sooth'd with a waking dream of houses, tow'rs, O happy! and in my account denied Trees, churches, and strange visages, express'd | That sensibility of pain, with which Refinement is endu'd, thrice-happy thou! But poverty with most, who whimper forth Thy frame, robust and hardy, feels indeed Their long complaints, is self-inflicted woe; The piercing cold, but feels it unimpair’d. |The effect of laziness or sottish waste. The learned finger never need explore Now goes the nightly thief prowling abroad By works of darkness and noctural wrong. Thy days roll on exempt from household care ; Woe to the gard'ner's pale, the farmer's hedge, Thy wagon is thy wife; and the poor beasts, Plash'd neatly, and secur'd with driven stakes That drag the dull companion to and fro, Deep in the loamy bank. Uptorn by strength, Thine helpless charge, dependent on thy care. Resistless in so bad a cause, but lame Ah treat them kindly! rude as thou appearst, |To better deeds, he bundles up the spoil, Yet show that thou hast mercy! which the great, An ass's burden, and, when laden most With needless hurry whirl'd from place to place, And heaviest, light of foot steals fast away Humane as they would seem, not always show. Nor does the boarded hovel better guard Poor, yet industrious, modest, quiet, neat, The well-stack'd pile of riven logs and roots Such claim compassion in a night like this, From his pernicious force. Nor will he leave And have a friend in ev'ry feeling heart. Unwrench'd the door, however well secur'd, Warm’d, while it lasts, by labor, all day long Where Chanticleer amidst his harem sleeps They brave the season, and yet find at eve, In unsuspecting pomp. "Twitch'd from the perch, Ill clad, and fed but sparely, time to cool. He gives the princely bird, with all his wives, The frugal housewife trembles when she lights To his voracious bag, struggling in vain Her scanty stock of brushwood, blazing clear, And loudly wond'ring at the sudden change. But dying soon, like all terrestrial joys. Nor this to feed his own. "Twere some excuse, The few small embers left she nurses well ; Did pity of their sufl'rings warp aside And, while her infant race, with outspread hands His principle, and tempt him into sin And crowded knees, sit cow'ring o'er the sparks, For their support, so destitule. But they Retires, content to quake, so they be warm'd. Neglected pine at home; themselves, as more The man feels least, as more inur'd than she Expos'd than others, with less scruple made To winter, and the current in his veins His victims, robbid of their defenceless all. More briskly mov'd by his severer toil; Cruel is all he does. "Tis quenchless thirst Yet he too finds his own distress in theirs. Of ruinous ebriety, than prompts The taper soon extinguish'd, which I saw His ev'ry action, and imbrutes the man. Dangled along at the cold finger's-end O for a law to noose the villain's neck, Just when the day declin'd ; and the brown loaf Who starres his own; who persecutes the blood Lodg'd on the shelf, half eaten without sauce He gave them in his children's veins, and hates Of sav'ry cheese, or butter, costlier still; And wrongs the woman he has sworn to love! Sleep seems their only refuge: for, alas ! | Pass where we may, through city or through town, Where penury is felt, the thought is chain'd, Village, or hamlet, of this merry land, And sweet colloquial pleasures are but few ! Though lean and beggar'd, ev'ry twentieth pace With all this thrift they thrive not. All the care, Conducts th' unguarded nose to such a whiff Ingenious Parsimony takes, but just Of stale debauch, forth-issuing from the styes Saves the small inventory, bed, and stool, That law has licens'd, as makes Temp'rance reel. Skillet, and old carv'd chest, from public sale. There sit, involv'd and lost in curling clouds They live, and live without extorted alms of Indian fume, and guzzling deep, the boor, From grudging hands; but other boast have none, The lackey, and the groom : the craftsman there To soothe their honest pride, that scorns to beg, Takes a Lethean leave of all his toil ; Nor comfort else, but in their mutual love. Smith, cobbler, joiner, he that plies the shears, I praise you much, ye meek and patient pair, And he that kneads the dough; all loud alike, For ve are worthy; choosing rather far All learned, and all drunk! The fiddle screams A dry but independent crust, hard earn'd, Plaintive and piteons, as it wept and wailid And eaten with a sigh, than to endure Its wasted tones and harmony unheard : The rugged frowns and insolent rebuffs Fierce the dispute, whate'er the theme; while she, of knaves in office, partial in the work Fell Discord, arbitress of such debate, Of distribution ; lib'ral of their aid Perch'd on the sign-post, holds with even hand To clam'rous Importunity in rags, Her undecisive scales. In this she lays But oft-umes deaf to suppliants, who would blush A weight of ignorance; in that, of pride; To wear a tatter'd garb however coarse, And smiles delighted with the eternal poise. Whom famine cannot reconcile to filth: Dire is the frequent curse, and its twin sound, These ask with painful shyness, and, refus'd The cheek-distending oath, not to be prais'd Because deserving, silently retire ! As ornamental, musical, polite, But be ye of good courage! Time itself Like those which modern senators employ, Shall much befriend you. Time shall give increase; Whose oath is rhet'ric, and who swear for fame! And all your num'rous progeny, well-train'd Behold the schools, in which plebeian minds But helpless, in few years shall find their hands, Once simple are initiated in arts, And labor too. Meanwhile ye shall not want Which some may practise with politer grace, What, conscious of your virtues, we can spare, But none with readier skill 'Tis here they lear Nor what a wealthier than ourselves may send. The road, that leads from competence and peace I mean the man, who, when the distant poor To indigence and rapine ; till at last Need help, denies them nothing but his name. Society, grown weary of the load, Shakes her encumber'd lap, and casts them out. And the first larum of the cock's shrill throat But censure profits little : vain th' attempt May prove a trumpet, summoning your ear To advertise in verse a public pest, To horrid sounds of hostile feet within. That, like the filth with which the peasant feeds Ev'n daylight has its dangers; and the walk His hungry acres, stinks, and is of use. Through pathless wastes and woods, unconscious 'Th' Excise is fatten'd with the rich result Of other tenants than melodious birds, Of all this riot; and ten thousand casks, Or harmless flocks, is hazardous and bold. For ever dribbling out their base contents, Lamented change! to which full mauy a carte Touch'd by the Midas finger of the state, Invet'rate, hopeless of a cure, conspires. Bleed gold for ministers to sport away. The course of human things from good o ill. Drink, and be mad, then ; 'tis your country bids! From ill to wore, is fatal, never fails Gloriously drunk, obey th' important call! Increase of pow'r begets increase of wealth; Her cause demands th' assistance of your throats; Wealth, luxury; and luxury, excess; Ye all can swallow, and she asks no more. Excess, the scrofulous and itchy plague, Would I had fallin upon those happier days, That seizes first the opulent, descends That poets celebrate ; those golden times, To the next rank contagious, and in time And those Arcadian scenes, that Maro sings, Taints downward all the graduated scale And Sidney, warbler of poetic prose. Of order, from the chariot to the plow. Nymphs were Dianas then, and swains had hearts, The rich, and they that have an arm to check That felt their virtues : Innocence, it seems, The license of the lowest in degree, From courts dismiss'd, found shelter in the groves; Desert their office ; and themselves, inteni The footsteps of Simplicity, impress'd On pleasure, baunt the capital, and thus Upon the yielding herbage, (so they sing,) To all the violence of lawless hands Then were not all effac'd : then speech profane, Resign the scenes their presence might protect And manners proligate, were rarely found, | Authority herself not seldom sleeps, Observ'd as prodigies, and soon reclaim'd. Though resident, and witness of the wrong Vain wish! those days were never: airy dreams | The plump convivial parson often bears Sat for the picture: and the poet's hand, | The magisterial sword in vain, and lays Imparting substance to an empty shade, His rey'rence and his worship both to rest Impos'd a gay delirium for a truth. On the same cushion of habitual sloth. Grant it: I still must envy them an age, Perhaps timidity restrains his arm; That favor d such a dream; in days like these When he should strike he trembles, and set free Impossible, when Virtue is so scarce, Himself enslav'd by terror of the band, That to suppose a scene where she presides, Th' audacious convict, whom he dares not bind. Is tramontane, and stumbles all belief. Perhaps, though by profession ghostly pure, No: we are polish'd now. The rural lass, He too may have his vice, and someumes prore Whom once her virgin modesty and grace, Less dainty than becomes his grave outside Her artless manners, and her neat attire, In lucrative concerns. Examine well So dignified, that she was hardly less His milk-white hand; the palm is hardly cleanThan the fair shepherdess of old romance, But here and there an ugly smutch appears. Is seen no more. The character is lost! Foh! 'twas a bribe that left it: be has touct Her head, adorn'd with lappets pinn'd aloft, Corruption. Whoso seeks an audii here And ribands streaming gay, superbly rais'd, Propitious, pays his tribuie, game or fish, And magnified beyond all human size, Wild-fowl or ven'son; and his errand speeds. Indebted to some smart wig-weaver's hand But faster far, and more than all the resi For more than half the tresses it sustains ; A noble cause, which none, who bears as an Her elbows ruffled, and her tott'ring form Of public virtue, ever wish'd remov'd, Il-propp'd upon French heels ; she might be deem'd Works the deplor'd and mischievous effect. (But that the basket dangling on her arm "Tis universal soldiership has stabb'd Interpreis her more truly) of a rank The heart of merit in the meaner class. Too proud for dairy work, or sale of eggs. Arms, through the vanity and brainless rage Expect her soon with footboy at her heels, Of those that bear them, in whatever cause, No longer blusbing for her awkward load, Seem most at variance with all moral good, Her train and her umbrella all her care! And incompatible with serious thought The town has ting'd the country ; and the stain The clown, the child of Nature, without guile. Appears a spot upon a vestal's robe, Blest with an infant's ignorance of all The worse for what it soils. The fashion runs But his own simple pleasures : now and then Down into scenes still rural; but, alas! A wrestling.match, a fool-race, or a fair; Scenes rarely grac'd with rural manners now! Is balloted, and trembles at the news : Time was when in the pastoral retreat Sheepish he doffs his hat, and mumbling swean Th' unguarded door was safe ; men did not watch | A Bible-oath to be whate'er they please, To invade another's right, or guard their own. To do he knows not what. The task perform d, Then sleep was undisturb’d by fear, unscar'd | That instant he becomes the sergeant's care, By drunken howling; and the chilling tale His pupil, and his torment, and his jesi. Of midnight murder was a wonder heard His awkward gait, his introverted toes, With doubtful credit, told to frighten babes. Bent knees, round shoulders, and dejected look But farewell now to unsuspicious nights, Procure him many a curse. By slow degrees And slumbers unalarm'd! Now, ere you sleep, Unapt to learn, and form'd of stubborn stuti, See that your polish'd arms be prim'd with care, He yet by slow degrees puts off himsell, And drop the night-bolt ;-ruffians are abroad; Grows conscious of a change, and likes li well: |