Cluftering innumerable; these behind
His ftern receding, o'er the clouds he views
Ceylon's grey peaks, from whofe volcano's rife
Dark fmoke and ruddy flame, and glaring rocks
Daring in air aloft; around whofe feet
Blue cliffs afcend, and aromatic groves,
In various profpećt; Ceylon also deem'd
The ancient Ophir. Next Bengala's bay,
On the vast globe the deepeft, while the prow
Turns northward to the rich difputed strand
Of Cor'mandel, where traffic grieves to fee
Difcord and avarice invade her realms,
Portending ruinous war, and cries aloud,
Peace, peace, ye blinded Britons, and ye Gauls;
Nation to Nation is a light, a fire,
Enkindling virtue, fciences, and arts:
But cries aloud in vain. Yet wife defence,
Against ambition's wide-deftroying pride,
Madrafs erected, and Saint David's fort,
And those which rife on Ganges' twenty ftreams,
Guarding the woven fleece, Calcutta's tower,
And Maldo's and Patana's: from their holds
The fhining bales our factors deal abroad,
And fee the country's products, in exchange,
Before them heap'd: cotton's transparent webs,
Aloes, and caffia, falutiferous drugs,
Alom, and lacque, and clouded tortoiseshell,
And brilliant diamonds, to decorate
Britannia's blooming Nymphs. For thefe, o'er all
The kingdoms round, our draperies are difpers'd,
O'er Bukor, Cabul, and the Bactrian vales,
And Caffimere, and Atoc, on the stream
Of old Hydafpes, Porus' hardy realm;
And late-difcover'd Tibet, where the fleece,
By art peculiar, is comprefs'd and wrought
To threadless drapery, which, in conic forms,
Of various hues, their gaudy roofs adorns.

The keels which voyage through Molucca's
ftraits,

Amid a cloud of spicy odours, fail,

From Java and Sumatra breath'd, whofe woods
Yield fiery pepper, that deftroys the moth
In woolly veftures: Ternate and Tidore
Give to the feftal board the fragrant clove
And nutmeg, to those narrows bounds confin'd;
While gracious Nature, with unfparing hand,
The needs of life o'er every region pours.

Near those delicious ifles, the beauteous coaft
Of China rears its fummits. Kno: ye not,
Ye fons of trade, that ever-flowery shore,
Thofe azure hills, thofe woods and nodding rocks?
Compare them with the pictures of your chart;
Alike the woods and nodding rocks o'erhang.
Now the tall gloffy towers of porcelane,
And pillar'd pagods shine; rejoic'd they fee
The port of Canton opening to their prows,
And in the winding of the river moor.

Upon the strand they heap their gloffy bales, And works of Birmingham, in brass or steel, And flint, and ponderous lead from deep cells rais'd,

Fit ballaft in the fury of the ftorm,

That tears the fhrouds, and bends the ftubborn

They too from hence receive the strongest thread
Of the green filkworm. Various is the wealth
Of that renown'd and ancient land, fecure
In conftant peace and commerce; till'd to th
height

Of rich fertility; where, thick as stars,
Bright habitations glitter on each hill,
And rock, and fhady dale; ev'n on the waves
Of copious rivers, lakes, and bordering feas,
Rife floating villages; no wonder; when,
In every province, firm and level roads,
And long canals, and navigable streams,
Ever, with eafe, conduct the works of toil
To fure and speedy markets, through the length
Of many a crowded region, many a clime,
To the imperial towers of Cambalu,

Now Pekin, where the fleece is not unknown;
Since Calder's woofs, and thofe of Exe and Frome,
And Yare, and Avon flow, and rapid Trent,
Thither by Ruffic caravans are brought,
Through Scythia's numerous regions, waste and
wild,

Journey immenfe! which, to th' attentive ear,
The Mufe, in faithful notes, shall brief describe.
From the proud mart of Petersburg, ere-while
The watery feat of defolation wide,

Iffue thefe trading caravans, and urge,
Through dazzling fnows, their dreary trackless
road;

By compass steering oft, from week to week,
From month to month; whofe feafons view their

to.ls.

Neva they pafs, and Kefma's gloomy flood,
Volga, and Don, and Oka's torrent prone,
Threatening in vain ; and many a cataract,
In its fall flopt, and bound with bars of ice.

Clofe on the left unnumber'd tracts they view
White with continual froft; and on the right
The Cafpian-lake, and ever-flowery realms,
Though now abhorr'd, behind them turn, the
haunt

Of arbitrary rule, where regions wide
Are deftin'd to the fword; and on each hand
Roads hung with carcafes, or under foot
Thick ftrown; while, in their rough bewilder'd
vales,

The blooming rofe its fragrance breathes in vain,
And filver fountains fall, and nightingales
Attune their notes, where none are left to hear.

Sometimes o'er level ways, on easy fleds,
The generous horfe conveys the fons of trade;
And ever and anon the docile dog;
And now the light rein-deer, with rapid pace,
Skims over icy lakes; now flow they climb
Aloft o'er clouds, and then adown defcend
To hollow vallies, till the eye beholds
The roofs of.Tobel, whofe hill-crowning walls
Shine, 1.ke the rifing moon, through watery mifts:
Tobol, th' abode of thofe unfortunate
Exiles of angry ftate, and thralls of war;
Solemn fraternity! where carl, and prince,
Soldier, and statesman, and uncrested chief,
On the dark level of adverfity,

Converfe familiar; while, amid the cares
And toils for hunger, thirft, and nakedness,
Their little public finiles, and the bright parks
Of trade are kindied: trade arifes oft,

And virtue, from advertity and want:

Be witness, Carthage; witness, ancient Tyre;
And thou, Batavia, daughter of diftrefs.

This, with his hands, which erft the truncheon
held,

The hammer lifts; another bends and weaves
The flexile willow; that the mattoc drives:
All are employ'd; and by their works acquire
Our fleecy vestures. From their tenements,
Pleas'd and refresh'd, proceeds the caravan
Through lively-spreading cultures, pastures green,
And yellow tillages in opening woods:

Thence on, through Narim's wilds, a pathlefs road
They force, with rough entangling thorns perplext;
Land of the lazy Oftiacs, thin dispers'd,
Who, by avoiding, meet the toils they loathe,
Tenfold augmented; miferable tribe,

Void of commercial comforts: who, nor corn,
Nor pulfe, nor oil, nor heart-enlivening wine,
Know to procure; nor fpade, nor fcythe, nor fhare,
Nor focial aid beneath their thorny bed
The ferpent hiffes, while in thickets nigh
Loud howls the hungry wolf. So on they fare,
And pafs by fpacious lakes, begirt with rocks
And azure mountains; and the heights admire
Of white Imaus, whofe fnow-nodding craggs
Frighten the realms beneath, and from their urns
Pour mighty rivers down, th' impetuous ftreams
Of Oby, and Irtis, Jenifca, fwift,
Which ruch upon the northern pole, upheave
Its frozen feas, and lift their hills of ice.

Thefe rugged paths and favage landscapes pafs'd,
A new scene strikes their eyes: among the clouds
Aloft they view, what feems a chain of cliffs,
Nature's proud work; that matchlefs work of art,
The wall of Sina, by Chihoham's power,
In earliest times, erected. Warlike troops
Frequent are feen in haughty march along
Its ridge, a vaft extent, beyond the length
Of many a potent empire; towers and ports,
Three times a thousand, lift thereon their brows
At equal spaces, and in prospect 'round
Cities, and plains, and kingdoms, overlook.

At length the gloony paffage they attain
Of its deep-vaulted gates, whofe opening folds
Conduct at length to Pekin's glittering spires
The deftin'd mart, where joyous they arrive.

Thus are the textures of the fleece convey'd
To Sina's diftant realm, the utmost bound
Of the flat floor of stedfast Earth; for fo
Fabled Antiquity, ere peaceful Trade
Inform'd the opening mind of curious man.

Now to the other hemifphere, my Muse,
A new world found, extend thy daring wing.
Be thou the firft of the harmonious Nine
From high Parnaffus, the unweary'd toils
Of industry and valour, in that world
Triumphant, to reward with tuneful fong.
Happy the voyage, o'er th' Atlantic brine,
By active Raleigh made, and great the joy,
When he difcern'd, above the foamy furge,
A rifing coaft, for future colonies,
Opening her bays, and figuring her capes,
Ev'n from the northern tropic to the pole.
No land gives more employment to the loom,
Or kindlier feeds the indigent; no land
With more variety of wealth rewards

The hand of labour: thither, from the wrongs
Of lawless rule, the free-torn fpirit flies;

Thither Affliction, thither Poverty,
And Arts and Sciences: thrice happy clime,
Which Britain makes th' asylum of mankind!

But joy fuperior far his bolom warms,
Who views thofe fhores in every culture drefs'd;
With habitations gay, and numerous towns,
On hill and valley; and his countrymen
Form'd into various ftates, powerful and rich,
In regions far remote: who from our looms
Take largely for themselves, and for those tribes
Of Indians, ancient tenants of the land,
In amity conjoin'd, of civil l.fe

The comforts taught, and various new defires,
Which kindle arts, and occupy the poor,
And spread Britannia's flocks o'er every dale.

Ye, who the fhuttle caft along the loom, The filk-worm's thread inweaving with the fleece,

Pray for the culture of the Georgian tract,
Nor flight the green Savannahs, and the plains
Of Carolina, where thick woods arise
Of mulberries, and in whose water'd fields
Up-springs the verdant blade of thirsty rice.
Where are the happy regions, which afford
More implements of commerce, and of wealth?
Fertile Virginia, like a vigorous bough,
Which overshades some crystal river, spreads
Her wealthy cultivations wide around,
And, more than many a spacious realm, rewards
The fleecy fhuttle: to her growing marts,
The Iroquefe, Cheroques, and Oubacks, come,
And quit their feathery ornaments uncouth,
For woolly garments; and the cheers of life,
The cheers, but not the vices, learn to tafte.
Blush, Europeans, whom the circling cup
Of Luxury intoxicates; ye routs,

Who, for your crimes, have fled your native land:
And ye voluptuous idle, who in vain,
Seek eafy habitations, void of care:
The fons of nature, with astonishment,
And deteftation, mark your evil deeds
And view, no longer aw'd, your nerveless arms,
Unfit to cultivate Ohio's banks.

See the bold emigrants of Accadie, And Maffachufet, happy in those arts That join the politics of Trade and War, Bearing the palm in either: they appear Better exemplars; and that hardy crew, Who, on the frozen beach of Newfoundland, Hang their white fish amid the parching winds : The kindly fleece, in webs of Duffield woof, Their limbs, benumb'd, enfolds with cheerly warmth,

And frize of Cambria, worn by those, who seek, Through gulphs and dales of Hudson's winding

bay,

vines.

Muft it be ever thus? or may the hand Of mighty Labor drain their gufty lakes, Enlarge the brightening fky, and, peopling, warm The opening vallies, and the yellowing plains? Or rather shall we burst strong Darien's chain, Steer our bold fleets between the cloven rocks, And through the great Pacific every joy Of civil life diffufe? Are not her ifles

His vengeance felt, and fair occafion gave
To fhew humanity and continence,
To Scipio's not inferior. Then was left
No corner of the globe fecure to pride
And violence: although the far-stretch'd coaft
Of Chili, and Peru, and Mexico,
Arm'd in their evil caufe; though fell Disease,
Un'bating Labor, tedious Time, confpir'd,

calm,

Inhabitants, and manners? haply, too,
Peculiar fciences, and other forms

Of trade, and useful products, to exchange
For woolly veftures? 'Tis a tedious course
By the Antarctic circle: nor beyond
Thofe fea-wrapt gardens of the dulcet reed,
Bahama and Caribbee, may be found

Safe mole or harbour, till on Falkland's ifle
The ftandard of Britannia fhall arise.
Proud Buenos Aires, low-couched Paraguay,
And rough Corrientes, mark, with hostile eye,
The labouring veffel: neither may we trust
The dreary naked Patagonian land,

Which darkens in the wind.

No barter for the fleece.

No traffic there,

There angry ftorms

Bend their black brows, and, raging, hurl around Their thunders. Ye adventurous mariners,

Be firm; take courage from the brave. 'Twas

there

Perils and conflicts inexpreffible

Anfon, with steady undespairing breast,
Endur'd, when o'er the various globe he chac'd
His country's foes. Faft-gathering tempefts rouz'd
Huge ocean, and involv'd him: all around
Whirlwind, and fnow, and hail, and horror: now,
Rapidly, with the world of waters, down
Defcending to the channels of the deep,
He view'd th' uncover'd bottom of th' abyfs;
And now the stars, upon the loftiest point
Tofs'd of the fky-mix'd furges. Oft the burst
Of loudeft thunder, with the dash of feas,
Tore the wild-flying fails and tumbling mafts;
While flames, thick-flashing in the gloom, reveal'd
Ruins of decks and throuds, and fights of death.
Yet on he far'd, with fortitude his chear,
Gaining, at intervals, flow way beneath
Del Fuego's rugged cliffs, and the white ridge,
Above all height, by opening clouds reveal'd,
Of Montegorda, and inacceffible

Wreck-threatening Staten-lands o'erhanging thore,
Enormous rocks on rocks, in ever-wild
Pofture of falling; as when Pelion, rear'd,

On Offa, and on Offa's tottering head

Woody Olympus, by the angry gods
Precipitate on earth were doom'd to fall.

Though that wide fea, which spreads o'er half the world,

Deny'd all hofpitable land or port;

Where, seasons voyaging, no road he found
To moor, no bottom in th' abyss, whereon
To drop the fastening anchor; though his brave
Companions ceas'd, fubdued by toil extreme;
Though folitary left in Tinian's feas,

Where never was before the dreaded found
Of Britain's thunder heard; his wave-worn bark
Met, fought, the proud Iberian, and o'ercame.
So fare it ever with our country's foes!

Rejoice, ye nations, vindicate the sway
Ordain'd for common happiness. Wide, o'er
The globe terraqueous, let Britannia pour
The fruits of plenty from her copious horn.
What can avail to her, whofe fertile earth
By Ocean's briny waves are circumfcrib'd,
The armed hoft, and murdering fword of war,
And conqueft o'er her neighbours? She ne'er breaks
Her folemn compacts, in the luft of rule:
Studious of arts and trade, fhe ne'er disturbs
The holy peace of ftates. 'Tis her delight
To fold the world with harmony, and spread,
Among the habitations of mankind,

The various wealth of Toil, and what her fleece,
To clothe the naked, and her skilful looms,
Peculiar give. Ye too rejoice, ye fwains;
Increasing commerce shall reward your cares.
A day will come, if not too deep we drink
The cup, which luxury on careless wealth,
Pernicious gift, beftows; a day will come,
When, through new channels failing, we shall clothe
The Californian coaft, and all the realms
That stretch from Anian's ftreights to proud Japan;
And the green ifles, which on the left arife
Upon the glaffy brine, whofe various capes
Not yet are figur'd on the failors chart:
Then every variation fhall be told

Of the magnetic fteel; and currents mark'd.
Which drive the heedlefs veffel from her course.

That portion too of land, a tract immense, Beneath the Antarctic spread, shall then be known, And new plantations on its coast arise.

Then rigid Winter's ice no more shall wound
The only naked animal; but man

branch,

Which from a poplar falls into a loud

Impetuous cataract, though deep immers'd,
Yet re-afcends, and glides, on lake or stream,
Smooth through the vallies; fo his way he won
To the ferene Pacific, flood immenfe,

And rear'd his lofty mafts, and fpread his fails.
Then Paita's walls, in wafting flames involv'd,
VOL. VII.

Th' exulting Muse shall then, in vigor fresh,
Her flight renew. Mean-while, with weary wing,
O'er Ocean's wave returning, the explores
Siluria's flowery vales, her old delight,

The fhepherd's haunts, where the firft fprings arife
Of Britain's happy trade, now spreading wide,
Wide as th' Atlantic and Pacific feas,

Or as air's vital fluid o'er the globe.

T

HE morning's fair, the lufty fun
With ruddy cheek begins to run;
And early birds, that wing the skies,
Sweetly fing to see him rife.

I am refolv'd, this charming day,
In the open field to stray;
And have no roof above my head,

But that where on the gods do tread.
Before the yellow barn I fee

A beautiful variety

Of ftrutting cocks, advancing ftout,
And flirting empty chaff about.

Hens, ducks, and geefe, and all their brood,

And turkeys gobbling for their food;
While ruftics thrash the wealthy floor,
And tempt all to crowd the door.

What a fair face does Nature show?
Augufta, wipe thy dufty brow;
A landskip wide falutes my fight,
Of fhady vales, and mountains bright;
And azure heavens I behold,
And clouds of filver and of gold.
And now into the fields I go,
Where thousand flaming flowers glow;
And every neighbouring hedge I greet,
With honey-fuckles fmelling fweet.
Now o'er the daify meads I ftray,
And meet with, as I pace my way,
Sweetly fhining on the eye,
A rivulet gliding smoothly by ;
Which fhows with what an easy tide
The moments of the happy glide.
Here, finding pleasure after pain,
Sleeping I fee a wearied fwain,
While his full fcrip lics open by,
That does his healthy food fupply.
Happy fwain, fure happier far
Than lofty kings and princes are!
Enjoy sweet fleep, which fhuns the crown,
With all its eafy beds of down.

The fun now shows his noon-tide blaze,
And sheds around me burning rays.
A little onward, and I go
Into the fhade that groves beftow;
And on green mofs I lay me down,
That o'er the root of oak has grown;
Where all is filent, but fome flood
That fweetly murmurs in the wood;
But birds that warble in the fprays,
And charm ev'n Silence with her lays.
Oh powerful Silence, how you reign
In the Poet's busy brain!

His numerous thoughts obey the calls
Of the tuneful water-falls,

Like moles, whene'er the coast is clear,
They rife before thee without fear,
And range in parties here and there.

Some wildly to Parnaffus wing,
And view the fair Caftalian spring;
Where they behold a lonely well,
Where now no tuneful Mufes dwell;

But now and then a flavish hind
Paddling the troubled pool they find.
Some trace the pleasing paths of joy,
Others the blissful scene deftroy;
In thorny tracks of sorrow stray,
And pine for Clio far away.

But ftay Methinks her lays I hear,
So fmooth! fo fweet! fo deep! fo clear!
No, 'tis not her voice I find,
"Tis but the echo stays behind.

Some meditate ambition's brow,
And the black gulph that gapes below:
Some peep in courts, and there they fee
The fneaking tribe of Flattery.
But, ftriking to the ear and eye,
A nimble deer comes bounding by!
When rushing from yon rustling spray,
It made them vanish all away.

I rouze me up, and on I rove.
'Tis more than time to leave the grove.
The fun declines, the evening breeze
Begins to whisper through the trees:
And, as I leave the fylvan gloom,
As to the glare of day I come,
An old man's fmoky neft I fee,
Leaning on an aged tree;

Whose willow walls, and furzy brow,
A little garden sway below.

Through fpreading beds of blooming green,
Matted with herbage sweet, and clean,
A vein of water limps along,

And makes them ever green, and young.
Here he puffs upon his fpade,
And digs up cabbage in the fhade:
His tatter'd rags are fable brown,
His beard and hair are hoary grown :
The dying fap defcends apace,

And leaves a wither'd hand and face.

*

Up Grongar hill I labour now,
And catch at last his bushy brow.
Oh, how fresh, how pure the air!
Let me breathe a little here.
Where am I, Nature? I defcry
Thy magazine before me lie!

Temples!-and towns!-and towers!-and woods
And hills!--and vales!-and fields !—and floods!
Crouding before me, edg'd around
With naked wilds, and barren ground.

See, below, the pleasant dome,
The Poet's pride, the Poet's home,
Which the fun-beams fhine upon,
To the even, from the dawn.
See her woods, where Echo talks,
Her gardens trim, her terras walks,
Her wildernesses, fragrant brakes,
Her gloomy bowers, and shining lakes.
Keep, ye gods, this humble feat,
For ever pleasant, private, neat.

See yonder hill, uprifing steep,
Above the river flow and deep:
It looks from hence a pyramid,
Beneath a verdant forest hid;

On whofe high top there rifes great,
The mighty remnant of a feat,

An old green tower, whofe batter'd brow
Frowns upon the vale below.

*A hill in South Wales.

Look upon that flowery plain,
How the sheep furround their fwain,
How they crowd to hear his ftrain!
All careless with his legs across,
Leaning on a bank of moss,
He spends his empty hours at play,
Which fly as light as down away.

And there behold a bloomy mead,
A filver stream, a willow fhade,
Beneath the fhade of fifher ftand,
Who, with the angle in his hand,
Swings the nibbling fry to land.

In blushes the defcending fun
Kiffes the ftreams, while flow they run;
And yonder hill remoter grows,
Or dusky clouds do interpofe.

The fields are left, the labouring hind
His weary oxen does unbind ;
And vocal mountains, as they low,
Re-echo to the vales below;
The jocund fhepherds piping come,
And drive the herd before them home;
And now begin to light their fires,
Which fend up smoke in curling fpires!
While with light hearts all homeward tend,
To * Abergafney I defcend.

But, Oh! how blefs'd would be the day,
Did I with Clio pace my way,
And not alone and solitary stray.

THE

ENQUIRY,

Ε

While fad is your fhepherd, and Clio away! Tell where have you been, have you met with my love,

On the mountain, or valley, or meadow, or grove ?
Alas-aday, No-Ye are ftray'd, and half dead;
Ye faw not my love, or ye all had been fed.

Oh, Sun, did you see her?-ah! furely you did : 'Mong what willows, or woodbines, or reeds, is the hid?

Ye tall, whiftling pines, that on yonder hill grow,
And o'erlook the beautiful valley below,
Did you fee her a-roving in wood or in brake?
Or bathing her fair limbs in fome filent lake ?

Ye mountains, that look on the vigorous east, And the north, and the fouth, and the wearifom west,

Pray tell where the hides her, you furely do know, And let not her lover pine after her fo.

Oh, had I the wings of an eagle, I'd fly
Along with bright Phoebus all over the sky;
Like an eagle, look down, with my wings wide dif-
play'd,

And dart in my eyes at each whispering shade:
I'd fearch ev'ry tuft in my diligent tour,

I'd unravel the woodbines, and look in each bower,

* The name of a feat belonging to the Author's brother.

How fweet our fenfes you deceive,
When we, a gazing throng, believe!
Here flows the Po!-The Minis there,
Winding about with fedgy hair!
And there the Tyber's yellow flood,
Beneath a thick and gloomy wood!
And there Darius' broken ranks
Upon the Grannic's bloody banks;
Who bravely die, or bafely run
From Philip's all-fubduing fon!"
And there the wounded Porus brought
(The braveft man that ever fought!)
To Alexander's tent, who eyes
His dauntless vifage, as he lies
In death's most painful agonies.
To me reveal thy heavenly art,
To me thy mysteries impart.
As yet I but in verse can paint,
And to th' idea colour faint
What to the open eye you show,
Seeming Nature's living glow!
The beauteous fhapes of objects near!
Or diftant ones confus'd in air!
The golden eve, the blufhing dawn,
Smiling on the lovely lawn!
And pleafing views of chequer'd glades!
And rivers winding through the fhades!
And funny hills!-and pleasant plains!
And groups of merry nymphs and fwains !

Or fome old building, hid with grass,
Rearing fad its ruin'd face;
Whofe columns, frizes, ftatues, lie,
The grief and wonder of the eye!
Or fwift adown a mountain tall:
A foaming cataract's founding fall;
Whofe loud roaring ftuns the ear
Of the wondering traveller!
Or a calm and quiet bay,
And a level fhining fea!

Or furges rough, that froth, and roar,
And, angry, dash the founding shore!
And veffels toft! and billows high!
And lightning flashing from the sky!
Or that which gives me moft delight,
The fair idea (feeming fight!)
Of warrior fierce, with fhining blade!
Or orator, with arms difplay'd!
Tully's engaging air and mien,
Declaiming against Cataline.
Or fierce Achilles towering high
Above his foes, who round him die,

S2

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