The Poetical Works of Beattie, Blair, and Falconer Part 6

And now the downy cheek and deepen'd voice Gave dignity to Edwin's blooming prime; And walks of wider circuit were his choice, And vales more wild, and mountains more sublime.

One evening, as he framed the careless rhyme, It was his chance to wander far abroad, And o'er a lonely eminence to climb, Which heretofore his foot had never trod; A vale appear'd below, a deep retired abode.

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Thither he hied, enamour'd of the scene; For rocks on rocks piled, as by magic spell, Here scorch'd with lightning, there with ivy green, Fenced from the north and east this savage dell.

Southward a mountain rose with easy swell, Whose long long groves eternal murmur made: And toward the western sun a streamlet fell, Where, through the cliffs, the eye remote survey'd Blue hills, and glittering waves, and skies in gold array'd.

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Along this narrow valley you might see The wild deer sporting on the meadow ground, And, here and there, a solitary tree, Or mossy stone, or rock with woodbine crown'd.

Oft did the cliffs reverberate the sound Of parted fragments tumbling from on high; And from the summit of that craggy mound The perching eagle oft was heard to cry, Or on resounding wings to shoot athwart the sky.

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One cultivated spot there was, that spread Its flowery bosom to the noonday beam, Where many a rosebud rears its blushing head, And herbs for food with future plenty teem.

Soothed by the lulling sound of grove and stream, Romantic visions swarm on Edwin's soul: He minded not the sun's last trembling gleam, Nor heard from far the twilight curfew toll; When slowly on his ear these moving accents stole.

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"Hail, awful scenes, that calm the troubled breast, And woo the weary to profound repose!

Can pa.s.sion's wildest uproar lay to rest, And whisper comfort to the man of woes?

Here Innocence may wander, safe from foes, And Contemplation soar on seraph wings.

O Solitude! the man who thee foregoes, When lucre lures him, or ambition stings, Shall never know the source whence real grandeur springs.

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"Vain man! is grandeur given to gay attire?

Then let the b.u.t.terfly thy pride upbraid: To friends, attendants, armies bought with hire?

It is thy weakness that requires their aid: To palaces, with gold and gems inlaid?

They fear the thief, and tremble in the storm: To hosts, through carnage who to conquest wade?

Behold the victor vanquish'd by the worm!

Behold what deeds of woe the locust can perform!

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"True dignity is his, whose tranquil mind Virtue has raised above the things below; Who, every hope and fear to Heaven resign'd, Shrinks not, though Fortune aim her deadliest blow."

This strain from 'midst the rocks was heard to flow In solemn sounds. Now beam'd the evening star; And from embattled clouds emerging slow, Cynthia came riding on her silver car; And h.o.a.ry mountain-cliffs shone faintly from afar.

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Soon did the solemn voice its theme renew (While Edwin, wrapt in wonder, listening stood): "Ye tools and toys of tyranny, adieu, Scorn'd by the wise, and hated by the good!

Ye only can engage the servile brood Of Levity and l.u.s.t, who all their days, Ashamed of truth and liberty, have woo'd And hugg'd the chain that, glittering on their gaze, Seems to outshine the pomp of Heaven's empyreal blaze

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"Like them, abandon'd to Ambition's sway, I sought for glory in the paths of guile; And fawn'd and smiled, to plunder and betray, Myself betray'd and plunder'd all the while; So gnaw'd the viper the corroding file; But now with pangs of keen remorse, I rue Those years of trouble and debas.e.m.e.nt vile.

Yet why should I this cruel theme pursue?

Fly, fly, detested thoughts, for ever from my view!

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"The gusts of appet.i.te, the clouds of care, And storms of disappointment, all o'erpast, Henceforth no earthly hope with Heaven shall share This heart, where peace serenely shines at last.

And if for me no treasure be ama.s.s'd, And if no future age shall hear my name, I lurk the more secure from fortune's blast, And with more leisure feed this pious flame, Whose rapture far transcends the fairest hopes of fame.

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"The end and the reward of toil is rest.

Be all my prayer for virtue and for peace.

Of wealth and fame, of pomp and power possess'd, Who ever felt his weight of woe decrease?

Ah! what avails the lore of Rome and Greece, The lay heaven-prompted, and harmonious string, The dust of Ophir, or the Tyrian fleece, All that art, fortune, enterprise can bring, If envy, scorn, remorse, or pride the bosom wring?

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"Let Vanity adorn the marble tomb With trophies, rhymes, and 'scutcheons of renown, In the deep dungeon of some Gothic dome, Where night and desolation ever frown.

Mine be the breezy hill that skirts the down, Where a green, gra.s.sy turf is all I crave, With here and there a violet bestrewn, Fast by a brook, or fountain's murmuring wave; And many an evening sun shine sweetly on my grave.

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"And thither let the village swain repair; And, light of heart, the village maiden gay, To deck with flowers her half-dishevell'd hair, And celebrate the merry morn of May.

There let the shepherd's pipe the livelong day Fill all the grove with love's bewitching woe; And when mild Evening comes in mantle gray, Let not the blooming band make haste to go; No ghost, nor spell, my long and last abode shall know.

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"For though I fly to 'scape from Fortune's rage, And bear the scars of envy, spite, and scorn, Yet with mankind no horrid war I wage, Yet with no impious spleen my breast is torn: For virtue lost, and ruin'd man I mourn.

O man! creation's pride, Heaven's darling child, Whom Nature's best, divinest gifts adorn, Why from thy home are truth and joy exiled, And all thy favourite haunts with blood and tears defiled?

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"Along yon glittering sky what glory streams!

What majesty attends Night's lovely queen!

Fair laugh our valleys in the vernal beams; And mountains rise, and oceans roll between, And all conspire to beautify the scene.

But, in the mental world, what chaos drear!

What forms of mournful, loathsome, furious mien!

O when shall that Eternal Morn appear, These dreadful forms to chase, this chaos dark to clear?