Some act upon this prudent plan,
Say little and hear all you can-"
Safe policy, but hateful-
So barren sands imbibe the show'r,
But render neither fruit nor flow'r
Unpleasant and ungrateful.
The man I trust, if shy to me,
Shall find me as reserv'd as he,
No subterfuge or pleading
Shall win my confidence again,
I will by no means entertain
A spy on my proceeding.
These samples-for, alas! at last
These are but samples and a taste
Of evils yet unmention'd-
May prove the task a task indeed,
In which 'tis much if we succeed
However well-intention'd.
Pursue the search, and you will find
Good sense and knowledge of mankind
To be at least expedient,
And after summing all the rest,
Religion ruling in the breast
A principal ingredient.
The noblest friendship ever shown
The Saviour's history makes known,
Though some have turn'd and turn'd it,
And whether being craz'd or blind,
Or seeking with a bias'd mind,
Have not, it seems, discern'd it.
Oh Friendship! if my soul forego
Thy dear delights while here below;
To mortify and grieve me,
May I myself at last appear
Unworthy, base, and insincere,
Or may my friend deceive me!
[From The MAID of LOCHLIN, and other POEMS, by WM. RICHARDSON, A. M. PROFESSOR of HUMANITY in the UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW.]
Softly, very softly blow,
Gales the woody wild that sweep!
Gently, very gently flow,
Surges of the adjoining deep!
May no din, nor tumult rude,
On this lone recess intrude!
And now beneath the moon-light ray,
The languid gale slow panting dies away:
With ebbing pause, and hollow groan, the wave
Murmurs expiring in a distant cave.
"And now, while not a vagrant sound
Strays on hill or dale around,
Gentle Sleep! on downy wing,
Thy opiate essences and balsams bring:
From thy plumes of dusky hue
Softly shake the fragrant dew;
And to Edwald's ravish'd sense
Thy mildest influence dispense.
"Anon, with animated bloom,
In youthful glow let Fancy come:
And, bright with many an orient gem,
Let a blazing diadem
Press her auburn locks, that flow
O'er a bosom white as snow:
And let her gorgeous vesture, hem'd with gold,
A thousand hues in mingling flowers unfold.
"O, at this solemn, silent hour,
May she wave her rod of power;
And to Edwald's mental eyes
Bid domestic scenes arise!
High let the castle's banner'd brow
In vision guard the furrow'd vale below;
Where in slow state, to meet th' Hibernian deep,
Sabrina's mighty waters sweep.
Flowing from the Cambrian wire,
Let Music's melting voice conspire
With Love's soft accent, while he seems,
Rapt in the transport of ecstatic dreams,
Again to tread, and with endearment sweet,
His hospitable threshold greet.
"O while around his thrilling knees
The blooming pledges of our love he sees,
Gushing from the well-spring clear
Of pure affection, let th' ingenuous tear
Quench the wild lightning of his ardent eye;
And every vengeful wish within him die.
"Gentle dreams! with lenient charm,
Th' impatience of his soul disarm;
With kindly influence assuage
The tumult of vindictive rage:
O let no form of injury intrude
On the soft calm of his forgiving mood;
But let him wake to peace of mind restor❜d;
And sheathe the fury of his fiery sword!"
ELEGIAC VERSES on the PROSPECT of leaving BRITAIN.
Written at ETON COLLEGE.
* A picturesque valley in the most southern district of Perthshire, from which issues the river Forth, called in the Gaelic language, which is still spoken there, Avendow, or Black-river, in allusion, perhaps, to the colour it receives from an extensive morass, through which it passes in its way to Stirling, and the Lothians.
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