If ftrong defires thy reafoning powers controul;
If arbitrary paffions fway thy foul;

If pride, if envy, if the luft of gain,
If wild ambition in thy bofom reign,
Alas! thou vaunt'ft thy fober sense in vain.
In these poor Bedlamites thyfelf furvey,
Thyself, less innocently mad than they.

}

A QUESTION TO MISERS.

"RICHES PROFIT NOT IN THE DAY OF WRATH."

ye,

AY whose heads decline with weight of years,
Where hoary time in fnowy pomp appears;
Who wade thro' feas to grafp the idol ore,
And make religion centre in your store;

Will death, proud death, who's ambush'd in our frame,
Aw'd by your pond'rous bags, renounce his claim?
Can meagre mammon's million-making tribe,
Corrupt corruption with a glitt'ring bribe?
Your GOD, alas! how impotent to save,
Or gild the horrors of the gloomy grave;
Where duft confounds in duft the poor and proud.
And ermin'd honors dwindle to a shroud!

THOUGHTS

THOUGHTS ON CONTENTMENT.

[spire

BR

RIGHT fource of blifs! whofe chearing rays inMy tender mufe, and tune the trembling lyre, Accept, benign, this tributary lay, The fole return the grateful mufe can pay ! With thee, the boor who treads th' eternal fnows And dreary wilds of northern Lapland, glows With rapt'rous joys; altho' the fun denies His genial influence, and forfakes the skies, Thy presence can his frozen bofom chear, And make the gloom a pleasing aspect wear: Whilst tastelefs grandeur, and unbounded power, Are void of charms to footh the penfive hour; Though fortune smiles, and fav'rite fons complain, And pleasure tries her varied arts in vain, To chafe intruding cares, if thou deny Thine heavenly aid, not Inda's ftores fupply Our fanfy'd wants; we're poor 'midft heaps of wealth, We starve in plenty, and repine in health.

Tho' fhunning oft the pageantry of state, Thou feek'ft with POVERTY, a calm retreat; And oft beneath the hermit's mofs-grown cell, Far from the busy world delight'st to dwell; Thou canft the rugged path of greatnefs fmooth, Soften diftrefs, or real anguifh foothe. With thee true blifs in every sphere we find, Alike are bleft the HERO or the HIND;

Like joys attend the helm of state or plough,
The MONARCH's crown fits eafy on his brow;
The captive SLAVE forgets his galling pains,
Exults in bondage, and enjoys his chains:
Not fo the wretch deny'd thy chearing rays,
Sullen he mourns the joyless tedious days;
Inceffant ills affault his forming eyes,
And all around imagin'd horrors rife.

As through this life's uncertain course I fteer,
Celestial maid! in every varying sphere
Vouchsafe thine aid; or, if I swiftly glide
Down the smooth ftream, or ftruggling ftem the tide;
If profp'rous gales fhall fill my fwelling fail,
Or adverse winds and raging storms affail
My little BARK, of every wave the sport,
Be then my guide, and teach me to support
With care and modefty the pomp of state,
Or meet, unmov'd, the harsh decrees of fate.

ON JOHN THE BAPTIST,

WHO WAS BEHEADED BY HEROD ANTIPAS.

SUCH

UCH his reward! whose zeal had borne its teft Against the monarch on his harlot's breaft. Firm to his coft, he warn'd th' inceftuous prince, Nor left his crimes a refuge or pretence. Anointed herald of his LORD he came; His GOD Elijah's, and his work the fame. The firft tranflated, and the last remov'd By death to banquet with the GOD they lov❜d! O

ΟΝ

ON A WATCH.

Α'

LL men, like WATCHES, various periods share, From thirty hours unto threescore year: And which more true or good, 'tis hard to say, An horologe of GOLD, or one of CLAY. Falfe and imperfect both alike we find, In THAT the spring's in fault, in THIS the mind: In their mechanic powers both agree, Reason's a balance, wisdom a fusee :

But if in either the main spring should fail
Or over-act, these powers nought avail.
Thus if the will be ftrong, the fabric weak,
The conftitution then of course must break:
Or if the paffions move or high or low,
The animal machine's too fast or flow.
But when its active springs are duly coil'd,
And not an appetite or fenfe is spoil'd;
When all life's movements mutually agree,
And foul with body acts in harmony;

This human trinket then may go as true,
As any fuch like kindred trinkets do.
And when at length each hath run out their chain,
They filent and inactive both remain,

chains}

And with this difference, revive again:
An human hand fhall THOSE awhile restore,
THESE One Almighty, and for evermore.

TO

TO THEOPHILUS AND UPHALAI.

ON THE DAY OF MARRIAGE.

HAI

"AIL! happy pair! 'tis friendship tunes the lay, That joys to fee this kind aufpicious day; This happy morn which crowns that mutual love, Unerring wisdom first ordain'd above.

Say, what inducement taught the breast to move,
The foul to languish, and the heart to love?
What native inftinct, or exterior charms,
Firft rais'd the tumult of love's foft alarms?

'Twas winning piety, and sense conjoin'd,
That spoke the innate beauties of the mind:
Cementing friendship also lent her aid,
And crown'd the happy choice that prudence made.

No bribing wealth, nor bafe defigning art,
Urg'd on to flatter, or impell'd the heart;
Spontaneous efforts fann'd the latent fire,
And grace inherent, fanctify'd defire.

May CANA'S LORD attend your steps below,
And smile propitious as you onward go;
May he indulgent, blefs your future days,
And tune your grateful hearts, to fing his praife!

O 2o

Behold,