Strike on the innate fpark which lay immers'd,
Thick clogg'd, and almoft quench'd in total night-
On me it fell, and cheer'd my joyless heart.
Unwelcome is the first bright dawn of light
To the dark foul; impatient, fhe rejects,.
And fain would push the heavenly stranger back;
She loaths the cranny which admits the day;
Confus'd, afraid of the intruding gueft;
Disturb'd, unwilling to receive the beam,
Which to herfelf her native darkness fhews.
The effort rude to quench the cheering flame
Was mine, and e'en on Stella could I gaze.
With fullen envy, and admiring pride;
Till, doubly rous'd by Montague, the pair.
Confpire to clear my dull imprifon'd fenfe,
And chase the mists which dimm'd my visual beam.
Oft as I trod my native wilds alone,
Strong gufts of thought would rife, but rife to die ;.
The portals of the swelling foul ne'er op'd
By liberal converse; rude ideas ftrove
Awhile for vent, but found it not, and died ::
Thus ruft the mind's best powers. Yon ftarry orbs, -
Majestic ocean, flowery vales, gay groves,
Eye-wafting lawns, and heaven-attempting hills,
Which bound th' horizon, and which curb the views5
All thofe, with beauteous imagery, awak'd
My ravish'd foul to ecftafy untaught,
To all the tranfport the rapt fenfe can bear;
But all expir'd for want of powers to speak;
All perish'd in the mind as foon as born,
Eras'd more quick than cyphers on the shore,-
O'er which the cruel waves, unheedful, rok..
Such timid rapture as young *Edwin feiz'd,
When his lone footsteps on the fage obtrude,
Whose noble precept charm'd his wond'ring ear;;
Such rapture fill'd † La&tilia's vacant foul,
When the bright moralift, in foftnefs dreft,
Opes all the glories of the mental world,
Deigns to direct the infant thought, to prune:
The budding fentiment, uprear the stalk
Of feeble fancy, bid idea live,
Woo the abstracted spirit from its cares,
And gently guide her to the scenes of peace.
Mine was that balm, and mine the grateful heart,
Which breathes its thanks in rough, but timid strains.
AN ODE TO CHARITY.
AIL CHARITY! thou nymph divine,
Mutual, at whofe benignant shrine
Difcordant nations bow;
Come in thy kindest melting hour,
And with thy heart-dilating pow'r,.
O make this bofom glow...
But "thy fweet visage is too bright
"To hit the fense of human fight,"
Or fhine beneath the fkies:.
Man fondly boasts thy charms to fee,
While the dim veil of fantasy
Beclouds his gazing eyes.
Does Charity regardless stand,
With afpect cold, and close her hand,
At helpless Mis'ry's cry ;
Whilft at fictitious tales of woe,
She bids her floods of forrow flow,
And heaves her throbbing figh?:
When Error lifts his standard high,
She cafts a firm indignant eye,
And frowns with look fevere ; .
Yet while fhe fcorns his lawless reign,
O'er the
poor flaves that hug his chain
She drops the pitying tear..
Softly fhe breathes her gentle fighs,
While the bright dew-drops in her eyes,
Morn's pearly tears are seen ;-
But foon her fympathetic rays
Diffolve them in meridian blaze,
And gild a fky ferene.
Come, pour thy radiance o'er my mind,,
Which yet to half thy charms is blind,
And cold to thine embrace;
✪ shine, with kindest melting mien,
Thro' all the clouds that intervene,
And veil thy heavenly face..
WHY fhould I fix my longing eyes
On fading charms below the skies ;:
While angels, from yon cryftal feats above
Point me to purer joys on high,
Which, ever-blooming, never die,
And stoop with heavenly smiles to court a mortal's love?"
Ah! whilst a pilgrim I remain,
Flesh holds me in its galling chain,
And binds my lighter fpirit's foaring wings;
That pants to leave these scenes below,
This glitt'ring pomp, this fleeting fhow,
And with unclouded face behold celeftial things..
Now in fome happier hour, my mind'
Leaves fublunary toys behind,
Climbs the bright road, and claims her heavenly birth
But while the wings her joyful flight,
Some gilded trifle's dazzling fight
Glides in between, and calls her back to earth.
Bleft fource of harmony divine,
Who bad'ft the light from darkness shine,
And order fpring from wild chaotic gloom;.
Thefe jarring elements control,
And o'er the weary wand'ring foul
Diffufe celeftial peace, and Eden's virgin bloom..
Teach me with trembling joy to ufe
Whate'er thy providence shall choose,
Whate'er on earth thy bounty fhall impart 3
And while life's bufy cares demand
The ceafelefs labours of my hand,
Be thou the reft, the treasure of my heart.
And when the pleasing awful day
Shall bid thefe mortal pow'rs decay,
Diffolve the ftrife, and wipe away my tears;
Then shall the spirit drop her chains,
And fly to learn angelic ftrains,
Where not a jarring note shall found to everlasting years.
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