Where slavery pens her woes? tho' 'tis but there
We learn the weight that mortal life can bear.
The tale might startle still the accustom'd ear,
Still shake the nerve that pumps the pearly tear,
Melt every heart, and thro' the nation gain
Full many a voice to break the barbarous chain.
But why to sympathy for guidance fly?
(Her aid's uncertain, and of scant supply)
While your own self-excited sense affords
A guide more sure, and every sense accords:
Where strong self-interest, join'd with duty, lies,
Where doing right demands no sacrifice,
Where profit, pleasure, life-expanding fame
League their allurements to support the claim,
'Tis safest there th' impleaded cause to trust;
Men well instructed will be always just.

"From slavery then your rising realms to save,
Regard the master, notice not the slave;
Consult alone for freemen, and bestow
Your best, your only cares, to keep them so.
Tyrants are never free: and, small and great,
All masters must be tyrants soon or late e;
So nature works; and oft the lordling knave
Turns out at once a tyrant and a slave,
Struts, cringes, bulliés, begs, as courtiers must,
Makes one a god, another treads in dust,
Fears all alike, and filches whom he can,

But knows no equal, finds no frieud in man.

"Ah! would you not be slaves, with lords and kings Then be not masters, there the danger springs.

The whole crude system that torments this earth,

Of rank, privation, privilege of birth,

False honour, fraud, corruption, civil jars,
The rage of conquest and the curse of wars,
Pandora's total shower, all ills combin'd,

That erst o'erwhelm'd, and still distress mankind,
Box'd up secure in your deliberate hand,
Wait your behest, to fix or fly this land.
N

1805-1806

"Equality

"Equality of rights is nature's plan, And following nature is the march of man. Whene'er he deviates in the least degree, When, free himself, he would be more than free, The baseless column, rear'd to bear his bust, Falls as he mounts, and whelms him in the dust. "See Rome's rude sires, with autocratic gait, Tread down their tyrant and erect their state; Their state secur'd, they deem it wise and brave That every freeman should command a slave; And, flush'd with franchise of his camp and town, Rove thro' the world and hunt the nations down Master and man the same vile spirit gains, Rome chains the world, and wears herself the chains. "Mark modern Europe, with her feudal codes, Serfs, villains, vassals, nobles, kings, and gods, All slaves of different grades, corrupt and curst With high and low, for senseless rank athirst, Wage endless wars; not fighting to be free, But cujum pecus? whose base herd they'll be. "Too much of Europe, here transplanted o'er, Nurs'd feudal feelings on your tented shore, Brought sable serfs from Afric, call'd it gain, And urg'd your sires to forge the tempting chain. But now, the tents o'erturn'd, the war-dogs fled, Now fearless Freedom rears at last her head. Match'd with celestial Peace :-my friends, beware To shade the splendours of so bright a pair; Complete their triumph, fix their firm abode, Purge all privations from your lib'ral code, Restore their souls to men, give earth.repose, And save your sous from slavery, wars, and woes. "Bas'd on its rock of right your empire lies, On walls of wisdom let the fabric rise ; Preserve your principles, their force unfold, Let nations prove them, and let kings behold. EQUALITY, your first and fairest prize;

Then FREE ELECTIONS; then your FEDERAL TIES;

This holy trinity should ever shine

The great compendium of all rights divine,

Creed of all schools, whence youths by millions draw
Their themes of right, their decalogues of law;
Till men shall wonder (in these codes inur'd)
How wars were made, how tyrants were endur'd.
Then shall your works of art superior rise,
Your fruits perfume a larger length of skies,
Canals careering climb your sun-bright hills,
Vein the green slopes, and strew their nurturing rills,
Thro' tunnell'd heights and sundering ridges glide,
Rob the rich west of half Ohio's tide,

Mix your wide climates, all their stores confound,
And plant new ports in every midland mound.
"Your lawless Mississippi, now who slimes,
And floods, and desolates his waste of climes,
Ribb'd with your dykes, his torrent shall restrain,
And ask your leave to travel to the main ;
Won from his wave while rising cantons smile,
Rear their glad nations, and reward their toil.
Thus Nile's proud flood to human hands of yore

Rais'd and resign'd his tide-created shore,

Call'd from his Ethiop hills their hardy swains,
And wav'd their harvests o'er his new-born plains ;-
Earth's richest realm from his tam'd current sprung;
There nascent Science ton'd her infant tongue,
Taught the young arts their tender force to try,
To state the seasons and unfold the sky;
Till o'er the world, extended and refin'd,
They rale the destinies of human kind."

The ninth and tenth books embrace a larger scope than any of the preceding; and they are almost entirely new. The object of Hesper is to expand the mind of Columbus over all the interests of the human race, and gratify his view with scenes of future civilization and improvement; till the political harN 2

mony

mony and felicity of all nations shall be established. With this view he expatiates free over all the moral and material universe, from the birth of nature to the present time; and from the present time through a train of fanciful events, which most readers will rather wish than expect to be realized in favour of his fellow-men. A train of grander ideas, or more philanthropic sentiments, has perhaps seldom appeared in verse; and they close the poem by leaving the mind of the reader, as Hesper is supposed to leave that of the hero, impressed with a mixture of expansion and soothing 'sensations, which, if we suppose them to have been enjoyed by the unfortunate Columbus, must have rewarded him for all his sufferings.

This work, we understand, is to be published in the first style of elegance, and ornamented with twelve engravings by the best artists in this kingdom; among which will be the author's portrait by Sharpe, from an excellent likeness by an American painter.

We shall conclude this article by observing, that after beholding, and even participating in the great scenes which have lately astonished mankind, Mr. Barlow has returned to his native country, deeply impressed with the idea that England is the only free country in Europe.

MR.

MR. HENRY GREATHEAD,

THE INVENTOR OF THE LIFE-BOAT.

Illi robur et æs triplex

Circa pectus erat, qui fragilem truci

Commisit pelago ratem.

HOR.

AMIDST the pressure of our taxes, and the multiplicity of our wars, the occasional rigour of our season, and the enhanced price of all the necessaries of life, there are many things that still reconcile and endear our country to us. In no other portion of Europe are the rights of individuals so well secured, or private property deemed so sacred. Genius here expands the soul, without fear of being controlled, and afterwards reaps the just reward of its exertions, in peace and security. But this is not all; for its efforts, when directed towards proper pursuits, are not unfrequently aided by the hand of beneficence, while they are always sure of receiving that enlivening portion of praise so justly dear to those who deserve it.

Notwithstanding the alarming inroads of dissipation, and the increasing prevalence of a selfish luxury, the public is still eager to hail the dawn of talents, and to challenge useful excellence whenever it is to be found. Many of our public institutions too, are expressly dedicated to this purpose, and the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Sciences, and Manufactures, has been always ready to patronize

works