Shall they (forbid it Fame) shall they
The dictates of vile fear obey!
Shall they, the idols of the town,
To bugbears fancy-form'd bow down?
Shall they, who greatest zeal exprest,
And undertook for all the rest,
Whose matchless courage all admire,
Inglorious from the task retire?
How would the wicked ones rejoice,
And Infidels exalt their voice!

"Perish the thought! though to our eyes
"In all its terrors Hell should rise,

Though thousand ghosts in dread array,
"With glaring eye-balls, cross our way,
"Though Caution trembling stands aloof,
"Still will we on, and dare the proof."
They said, and without farther halt,
Dauntless march'd onward to the vault.
What mortal men, who e'er drew breath,
Shall break into the house of Death
With foot unhallow'd, and from thence
The myst'ries of that state dispense,
Unless they with due rites prepare
Their weaker sense such sights to bear,
And gain permission from the state,
On earth their journal to relate?
Poets themselves, without a crime,
Cannot attempt it e'en in rhyme,
But always, on such grand occasion,
Prepare a solemn invocation,

A

posy for grim Pluto weave,

And in smooth numbers ask his leave.
But why this caution, why prepare
Rites needless now? for thrice in air
The spirit of the night hath sneez❜d,

And thrice hath clapp'd his wings well pleas'd.
Descend then, Truth, and guard my side,
My Muse, my Patroness, and Guide!
Let others at invention aim,

And seek by falsities for fame?
Our story wants not, at this time,
Flounces and furbelows in rhyme;
Relate plain fact; be brief and bold;
And let the Poets, fam'd of old,'
Seek, whilst our artless tale we tell,
In vain to find a PARALLEL:
Silent all three went in, about

All three turn'd silent, and came out.

The

1

The COUNTRY of FAMINE. From the PROPHECY of FAMINE. A Poem. By the same.

AR as the eye could reach, no tree was seen,

FA

Earth clad in russet, scorn'd the lively green.
The plague of locusts they secure defy,

For in three hours a grasshopper must die.
No living thing whate'er its food, feasts there,
But the cameleon, who can feast on air.
No birds, except as birds of passage, flew,
No bee was known to hum, no dove to coo.
No streams as amber smooth, as amber clear,
Were seen to glide, or heard to warble here.
Rebellion's spring, which through the country ran,
Furnish'd, with bitter draughts, the steady clan.
No flow'rs embalm'd the air, but one white rose,
Which, on the tenth of June, by instinct blows,
By instinct blows at morn, and, when the shades
Of drizzly eve prevail, by instinct fades.

The CAVE of FAMINE. From the same Poem.

ONE, and but one poor solitary cave,

Too sparing of her favours, nature gave;
That one alone (hard tax on Scottish pride)
Shelter at once for man and beast supplied.
There snares without entangling briars spread,
And thistles arm'd against th' invader's head,
Stood in close ranks all entrance to oppose,
Thistles now held more precious than the rose.
All creature's, which on nature's earliest plan
Were form'd to loath and to be loath'd by man,
Which ow'd their birth to nastiness and spite,
Deadly to touch, and hateful to the sight,
Creatures, which, when admitted in the ark,
Their saviour shunn'd, and rankled in the dark,
Found place within; marking her noisome road
With poison's trail, here crawl'd the bloated toad;
There webs were spread of more than common size,
And half-starv'd spiders prey'd on half-starv'd flies;
In quest of food, efts strove in vain to crawl:
Slugs, pinch'd with hunger, smear'd the slimy wall;
The cave around with hissing serpents rung,
On the damp roof unhealthy vapour hung,
And FAMINE, by her children always known
As proud as poor, here fix'd her native throne,

ODE

ODE to Duke HUMPHRY.

Imitated from HORACE, Lib. I. Ode 25. Parcius junctas, &c,

VII.

Yon op'ning rose, secure from blight,
Will charm the sense, attract the sight,
And throw its sweets about-

While sapless wood but makes a blaze,
Which boys attend with loud huzzas,
And then in smoke goes out.

Portrait of JOHN, Earl Granville. By the Honourable H. W.

NOMMANDING beauty, smooth'd by cheerful grace,
Sat on the open features of his face:

C%

Bold was his language, rapid, glowing, strong,
And science flow'd spontaneous from his tongue.
A genius seizing systems, slighting rules,
And void of gall, with boundless scorn of fools.
Ambition dealt a flambeau to his hand,
And Bacchus sprinkled fuel on the brand.
His wish to council monarchs, or controul:
His means th' impetuous ardour of his soul:
For, while his views outstript a mortal span,
Nor prudence drew, nor craft pursu'd the plan.
Swift fell the scaffold of his airy pride,
But, slightly built, diffus'd no ruin wide.
Unhurt, undaunted, undisturb'd, he fell,
Could laugh the same, and the same stories tell :
And more a sage than he, who bade await
His revels, till his conquests were complete,
Our jovial statesmen, either sail unfurl'd,

And drank his bottle, though he miss'd the world!

STANZAS to the Right Hon. C. 'T, Esq. By a Friend.

VOL. V.

B

EHOLD that ship in all her pride,

Her bosom swelling to the tide,
Each curious eye delighting:

With colours flying, sails unfurl'd,

From head to stern she'll match the world
For sailing, or for fighting.

Alas, dear Charles, she cheats the sight:
Though all appears so fair and tight,

For sea so trim and ready;
Each breeze will toss her to and fro,
Nor must she dare to face the foe,

Till ballast makes her steady.
Q

EPITAPH

EPITAPH for Mrs. Meyrick, the life of Dr. Richard Meyrick, who died in Child-birth, November, 1741.

B

Written by Dr. TEMPLEMAN.

ENEATH this humble stone now rests inshrin'd,

Alas, what once inclos'd the purest mind!

Yet whilst she leaves us for her kindred skies,
See from th' expiring flame a phoenix rise!
By the same hand, severely kind, was giv’n
To us, a cherub, and a saint to heav'n,

Adieu, bless'd shade; alas, too early fled!
Who knew thee living, but laments thee dead!
A soul so calm, so free from ev'ry stain,
So try'd by torture, and unmov'd by pain!
Without a groan with agonies she strove,
Heav'n wond'ring snatch'd her to the joys above.