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TRUTH.

SAY! will no white-rob'd son of light,
Swift-darting from his heav'nly height,
Here deign to take his hallow'd stand;
Here wave his amber locks; unfold
His pinions cloth'd with downy gold;
Here, fmiling, ftretch his tutelary wand?
And you, ye hoft of faints, for ye have known
Each dreary path in life's perplexing maze,
Tho now ye circle yon eternal throne
With harpings high of inexpreffive praise,
Will not your train defcend in radiant state,
To break with mercy's beam this gath'ring cloud
of fate?

'Tis filence all: No fon of light
Darts swiftly from his height:

No train of radiant faints defcend. "Mortals, in vain ye hope to find, "If guilt, if fraud has ftain'd your mind, "Or faint to hear, or angel to defend." So TRUTH proclaims. I hear the facred found Burft from the center of her burning throne: Where aye he fits with ftar-wreath'd luftre crown'd,

A bright fun clafps her adamantine zone.

So TRUTH proclaims: her awful voice I hear: With many a folemn pause it slowly meets my ear: "Attend, ye fons of men; attend, and fay, "Does not enough of my refulgent ray

"Break thro' the veil of your mortality? "Say! does not REASON in this form defcry "Unnumber'd, nameless glories, that furpafs "The angel's floating pomp, the feraph's glowing grace?

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"Shall then your earth-born daughters vie "With me? Shall fhe, whofe brightest eye

"But emulates the di'mond's blaze, "Whofe cheeks but mock the peach's bloom, "Whofe breath the hyacinth's perfume,

"Whofe melting voice the warbling wood"lark's lays;

"Shall fhe be deem'd my rival? Shall a form "Of elemental dross, of mould'ring clay,

“Vie with these charms empyreal? the poor 66 worm,

"Shall prove her conteft vain. Life's little day
"Shall pafs, and she is gone: while I appear
"Flush'd with the bloom of youth, through heav'n's
"eternal year.

"Know, mortals, know, ere firft ye fprung,
"Ere firft thefe orbs in ether hung,
"I fhone amid the heav'nly throng;
"Thefe eyes, beheld creation's day,
"This voice, began the choral lay,

"And taught archangels, their triumphant fong.
"Pleas'd I furvey'd bright nature's gradual birth,
"Saw infant light with kindling luftre fpread,
"Soft vernal fragrance clothe the flow'ring earth,
"And ocean heave on its extended bed;

"Saw the tall pine afpiring pierce the sky, "The tawny lion stalk, the rapid eagle fly. "Laft, man arofe, erect in youthful grace, "Heav'n's hallow'd image ftamp'd upon his face, "And, as he rofe, the high beheft was giv'n," That I alone, of all the hoft of heav'n,

'Should reign protectrefs of the godlike youth :* "Thus the Almighty spake: he spake, and call'd

"me TRUTH.

THE MAIDEN's PETITION.

TOO plain, dear youth, these tell-tale eyes,
My heart your own declare;

But for heav'n's fake let it fuffice

You reign triumphant there.

Forbear your utmoft power to try,
Nor further urge your sway;
Prefs not for what I must deny,
For fear I fhould obey.

Could all your arts fuccefsful prove,
Would you a maid undo,
Whofe greatest failing is her love,
And that her love for you?

Say, would you ufe that very pow'r
You from her fondnefs claim,
To ruin in one fatal hour

A life of spotless fame ?
Refolve not then to do an ill,
Becaufe perhaps you may,
But rather ufe your utmoft fkill
To fave me, than betray.

Be you yourself my virtue's guard:
Defend, and not pursue,
Since 'tis a tafk for me too hard,
To ftrive with love and you.

UNFADING BEAUTY.

HE that loves a rofy cheek,
Or coral lip admires,

Or from ftar-like eyes doth feek
Fuel to maintain his fires;
As old time makes thefe decay,
So his flames muft wafte away.

But a smooth and stedfast mind,
Gentle thoughts and calm defires,
Hearts with equal love combin'd,
Kindle never-dying fires :
Where these are not, I defpife
Lovely cheeks, or lips, or eyes.

WINTER.

"TIS done! dread WINTER fpreads his latest glooms,

And reigns tremendous o'er the conquer'd year.
How dead the vegetable kingdom lies!

How dumb the tuneful! Horror wide extends
His defolate domain. Behold, fond man!
See here thy pictur'd life; pass fome few years,
Thy flow'ring SPRING, thy SUMMER'S ardent
ftrength,

Thy fober AUTUMN fading into age,

And pale concluding WINTER comes at last,
And huts the scene. Ah! whither now are fled
Thofe dreams of GREATNESS? thofe unfolid hopes
Of HAPPINESS? thofe longings after FAME?
Those reftlefs cares? thofe bufy buftling days?
Thofe gay-fpent, feftive nights? thofe veering
thoughts,

Loft between good and ill, that shar'd thy life?
All now are vanish'd! VIRTUE fole furvives,
Immortal never-failing friend of man,

His guide to HAPPINESS on high. And fee!
'Tis come, the glorious morn! the fecond birth
Of heav'n and earth! awak'ning nature hears
The new-creating word, and starts to life,
In ev'ry heighten'd form, from pain and death
For ever free. The great eternal scheme,
Involving all, and in a perfect wHOLE
Uniting, as the profpect wider spreads,
To reafon's eye refin'd clears up apace.
Ye vainly wife! ye blind prefumptuous! now,
Confounded in the duft, adore that pow'r,
And wifdom, oft arraign'd: fee now the caufe,
Why unaffuming WORTH in fecret liv'd,
And dy'd, neglected: why the good man's share
In life was gall and bitterness of foul:
Why the lone widow and her orphans pin'd
In ftarving folitude; while LUXURY,

In palaces, lay ftraining her low thought,

To form unreal wants: why heav'n-born TRUth,
And MODERATION fair, wore the red marks
Of SUPERSTITION's fcourge: why licens'd PAIN,
That cruel fpoiler, that embofom'd foe,
Imbitter'd all our blifs. Ye good diftreft!
Ye noble few! who here unbending stand
Beneath life's preffure, yet bear up awhile,
And what your bounded view, which only faw
A little part, deem'd evil, is no more:
The ftorms of wint'ry time will quickly pass,
And one unbounded SPRING encircle all.

HEALTH AND FREEDOM.

A FRAGMENT.

FAIR morn afcends: foft zephyr's wing
O'er hill and vale renews the fpring:
Where, fown profufely, herb and flow'r,
Of balmy fmell, of healing pow'r,
Their fouls in fragrant dews exhale,
And breathe freth life in ev'ry gale.
Here, fpreads a green expanfe of plains,
Where, fweetly penfive, filence reigns;
And then, at utmost ftretch of eye,
A mountain fades into the sky:
While winding round, diffus'd and deep,
A river rolls with founding fweep.
Of human art no traces near,

I feem alone with nature here!

Here are thy walks, O facred HEALTH!
The monarch's blifs, the beggar's wealth,
The feafoning of all good below!
The fov'reign friend in joy or woe!
O thou, molt courted, moft defpis'd,
And but in absence duly priz'd:
Pow'r of the foft and rofy face!
The vivid pulfe, the vermil grace,

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