In characters uncouth, and fpelt amifs.
So strong the zeal t' immortalize himself
Beats in the breast of man, that ev'n a few,
Few tranfient years, won from th' abyss abhorr'd
Of blank oblivion, feem a glorious prize,
And even to a clown. Now roves the eye;
And, posted on this fpeculative height,
Exults in its command.
Pours out its fleecy tenants o'er the glebe.
At first, progreffive as a ftream, they seek
The middle field; but, fcatter'd by degrees,
Each to his choice, foon whiten all the land.
There, from the fun-burnt hay-field, homeward creeps
The loaded wain; while, lighten'd of its charge,
The wain that meets it paffes fwiftly by;
The boorish driver leaning o'er his team
Vocif'rous, and impatient of delay.
Nor lefs attractive is the woodland scene,
Diverfified with trees of ev'ry growth,
Alike, yet various. Here the gray
fmooth trunks
Of afh, or lime, or beech, diftinctly shine,
Within the twilight of their distant shades;
There, loft behind a rifing ground, the wood
Seems funk, and fhorten'd to its topmoft boughs.
No tree in all the grove but has its charms,
Though each its hue peculiar; paler fome,
And of a wannish gray; the willow fuch,
And poplar, that with filver lines his leaf,
And afh far-ftretching his umbrageous arm;
Of deeper green the elm; and deeper ftill,
Lord of the woods, the long-furviving oak.
Some gloffy-leav'd, and shining in the fun,
The maple, and the beech of oily nuts
Prolific, and the lime at dewy eve
Diffufing odours: nor unnoted pafs
The fycamore, capricious in attire,
Now green, now tawny, and, ere autumn yet
Have chang❜d the woods, in fcarlet honours bright,
O'er thefe, but far beyond (a fpacious map
Of hill and valley interpos'd between),
The Oufe, dividing the well-water'd land,
Now glitters in the fun, and now retires,
As bafhful, yet impatient to be feen.
Hence the declivity is fharp and fhort,
And fuch the re-afcent; between them weeps
A little naiad her impov'rish'd urn
All fummer long, which winter fills again.
The folded gates would bar my progrefs now,
But that the lord of this enclos'd demefae,
* See the foregoing note,
Communicative of the good he owns,
Admits me to a share; the guiltless eye
Commits no wrong, nor wastes what it enjoys.
Refreshing change! where now the blazing fun?
By fhort tranfition we have loft his glare,
And stepp'd at once into a cooler clime.
Ye fallen avenues! once more I mourn
Your fate unmerited, once more rejoice
That yet a remnant of your race furvives.
How airy and how light the graceful arch,
Yet awful as the confecrated roof
Re-echoing pious anthems! while beneath
The chequer'd earth feems restlefs as a flood
Brufh'd by the wind. So fportive is the light
Shot through the boughs, it dances as they dance,
Shadow and funshine intermingling quick,
And dark'ning and enlight'ning, as the leaves
Play wanton, ev'ry moment, ev'ry fpot.
And now, with nerves new brac'd and spirits cheer'd,
We tread the wilderness, whose well-roll'd walks,
With curvature of flow and eafy fweep-
Deception innocent-give ample fpace
To narrow bounds. The grove receives us next;
Between the upright shafts of whofe tall elms
difcern the thresher at his talk.
Thump after thump refounds the conftant flail,
That feems to fwing uncertain, and yet falls
Full on the deftin'd ear. Wide flies the chaff.
The rustling ftraw fends up a frequent mist
Of atoms, fparkling in the noon-day beam.
Come hither, ye that prefs your beds of down,
And fleep not; fee him sweating o'er his bread
Before he eats it.-Tis the primal curfe,
But foften'd into mercy; made the pledge
Of cheerful days, and nights without a groan.
By ceaseless action all that is fubfifts.
Conftant rotation of th' unwearied wheel
That nature rides upon maintains her health,
Her beauty, her fertility. She dreads
An inftant's paufe, and lives but while she moves.
Its own revolvency upholds the world.
Winds from all quarters agitate the air,
And fit the limpid element for use,
Elfe noxious: oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams,
All feel the fresh'ning impulfe, and are cleans'd
By restless undulation: ev'n the oak
Thrives by the rude concuffion of the storm:
He feems indeed indignant, and to feel
Th' impreffion of the blaft with proud disdain,
Frowning, as if in his unconfcious arm
He held the thunder: but the monarch owes
His firm ftability to what he fcorns-
More fix'd below, the more distur'd above.
The law, by which all creatures else are bound,
Binds man the lord of all.
No mean advantage from a kindred cause,
From ftrenuous toil his hours of sweetest cafe.
The fedentary stretch their lazy length
When custom bids, but no refreshment find,
For none they need: the languid eye, the cheek
Deferted of its bloom, the flaccid, shrunk,
And wither'd muscle, and the vapid foul,
Reproach their owner with that love of rest
To which he forfeits ev'n the rest he loves.
Not fuch th' alert and active. Measure life
By its true worth, the comforts it affords,
And theirs alone feems worthy of the name.
Good health, and, its affociate in most,
Good temper; fpirits prompt to undertake,
And not foon spent, though in an arduous task;
The pow'rs of fancy and strong thought are theirs;
Ev'n age itself feems privileg'd in them,
With clear exemption from its own defects.
A sparkling eye beneath a wrinkled front
The vet'ran fhows, and, gracing a grey beard
|