But still his native country lies And a calm conscience crowns the whole: You can't in reason wish for more: COTTON. CHAPTER IV. DESCRIPTIVE PIECES. SECTION I. The pleasures of retirement. 1. HAPPY the man, whose wish and care, A few paternal acres bound: Content to breathe his native air, In his own ground. 2. Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread, Whose flocks supply him with attire ; Whose trees in summer yield him shade, In winter fire. 3. Blest who can unconcern'dly find Quiet by day. 4. Sound sleep by night; study and ease, Together mix'd; sweet recreation, And innocence, which most does please, Thus let me live, unseen, unknown; With meditation: Tell where I lie. POPEL SECTION II. The Sluggard. 1. "Tis the voice of the sluggard; I heard him complain, "You have wak'd me too soon, I must slumber again." As the door on its hinges, so he on his bed, Turns his sides, and his shoulders, and his heavy head. 2. "A little more sleep, and a little more slumber;" Thus he wastes half his days, and his hours without number; And when he gets up, he sits folding his hands, Or walks about saunt'ring, or trifling he stands. 3. I pass'd by his garden, I saw the wild brier, The thorn, and the thistle, grow broader and higher, The clothes that hang on him are turning to rags, And his money still wastes, till he starves, or he begs. 4. I made him a visit, still hoping to find He had ta'en better care for improving his mind: He told me his dreams, talk'd of eating and drinking; But he scarce reads the Bible, and never loves thinking. 5. Said I then to my heart, "Here's a lesson for me; That man's but a picture of what I might be : But thanks to my friends for their care in my breeding, Who taught me betimes to love working and reading.' SECTION III. Creation and Providence. 1. I SING th' almighty power of God, 2. I sing the wisdom that ordain'd The moon shines full at his command, 3. I sing the goodness of the Lord, That fill'd the earth with food: He form'd the creatures with his word And then pronounc'd them good. 4. Lord! how thy wonders are display'd, Where'er I turn mine eye; WATTS. If I survey the ground I tread, 5. There's not a plant or flower below 6. Creatures (as num'rous as they be) There's not a place where we can flee, 7. In Heav'n he shines with beams of love "Tis on his earth I stand or move, And 'tis his air I breathe. 8. His hand is my perpetual guard; He keeps me with his eye; Why should I then forget the Lord, Who is for ever nigh? SECTION IV. A morning in Spring. 1. Lo! the bright, the rosy morning, 2. Nature now in all her beauty, With her gently moving tongue, Echoes through the verdant grove: Swells with harmony and love. 6. Now their vernal dress assuming, Odors now the air perfuming, WATTS. Sweetly swell the gentle breeze. 7. Praise to thee, thou great Creator! Praise be thine from every tongue; Join my soul, with every creature ; Join the universal song. 8. For ten thousand blessings given ; For the richest gifts bestow'd; Sound his praise through earth and heaven; Sound Jehovah's praise aloud ! SECTION V. Heavenly wisdom. 1. How happy is the man who hears And who celestial Wisdom makes 2. For she has treasures greater far And her reward is more secure 3. In her right hand she holds to view, 4. She guides the young with innocence, A crown of glory she bestows 5. According as her labors rise, Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. SECTION VI. The Man of Ross. FAWCETT. LOGAN. 1. RISE, honest muse, and sing the Man of Ross,- Or in proud falls magnificently lost; But clear and artless, pouring through the plain, 2. Whose causeway parts the vale with shady rows? ? Who taught that heaven directed spire to rise? "The Man of Ross," each lisping babe replies. 3. Behold the market place with poor o'erspread! Balk'd are the courts, and contest is no more. What numbers wish, but want the power to do. POPE. 1. WHILE Some in folly's pleasures roll, That friend, which never fails the just, |