She claim'd the cottage for her own:
To Health a cottage is a throne.

The annals say (to prove her worth)
The Graces solemniz'd her birth.
Garlands of various flow'rs they wrought,
The orchard's blushing pride they brought:
Hence in her face the lily speaks,

And hence the rose which paints her cheeks;
The cherry gave her lips to glow :
Her eyes were debtors to the sloe;
And, to complete the lovely fair,
"Tis said the chesnut stain'd her hair.
The virgin was averse to courts,
But often seen in rural sports:
When in her rosy vest the morn
Walks o'er the dew-bespangled lawn,
The nymph is first to form the race,
Or wind the horn, and lead the chace.
Sudden I heard a shouting train;
Glad acclamations fill'd the plain;
Abundant joy improv'd the scene,
For Health was loud proclaim'd a queen.
Two smiling cherubs grac'd her throne,
(To modern courts, I fear, unknown :)
One was the nymph that loves the light,
Fair Innocence, array'd in white;
With sister Peace in close embrace,
And heaven all opening in her face.
The reign was long, the empire great,
And Virtue minister of state.
In other kingdoms, ev'ry hour,
You hear of Vice preferr'd to power:
Vice was a perfect stranger here;
No knaves engross'd the royal ear;
No fools obtain'd the monarch's grace;
Virtue dispos'd of ev'ry place.
What sickly appetites are ours,
Still varying with the varying hours!
And though from good to bad we range,
"No matter," says the fool,

'tis change."

Her subjects now express'd apace Dissatisfaction in their face;

Some view the state with Envy's eye;

Some were displeas'd, they knew not why;
When Faction, ever bold and vain,
With rigor tax'd their monarch's reign.
Thus, should an angel from above,
Fraught with benevolence and love,
Descend to earth, and here impart
Important truths to mend the heart,
Would not th' instructive guest dispense
With passion, appetite, and sense,
We should his heavenly lore despise,
And send him to his former skies.
A dang'rous hostile pow'r arose

To Health, whose household were her foes :
A harlot's loose attire she wore,
And Luxury the name she bore.
This princess of unbounded sway,
Whom Asia's softer sons obey,
Made war against the queen of Health,
Assisted by the troops of Wealth.

The queen was first to take the field,
Arm'd with her helmet and her shield;

Temper'd with such superior art,
That both were proof to ev'ry dart.
Two warlike chiefs approach'd the green,
And wond'rous fav'rites with the queen ;
Both were of Amazonian race,
Both high in merit and in place.
Here Resolution march'd, whose soul
No fear could shake, no pow'r control;
The heroine wore a Roman vest;

A lion's heart inform'd her breast.

There Prudence shone, whose bosom wrought
With all the various plans of Thought;
"Twas hers to bid the troops engage,
And teach the battle where to rage.

And now the Syren's armies press;
Their van was headed by Excess ;
The mighty wings that form'd the side,
Commanded by that giant Pride;
While Sickness, and her sisters, Pain
And Poverty, the centre gain:
Repentance, with a brow severe,
And Death were station'd in the rear!
Health rang'd her troops with matchless art,
And acted the defensive part:
Her army posted on a hill,
Plainly bespoke superior skill.
Hence were discover'd, through the plain,
The motions of the hostile train:
While Prudence, to prevent surprise,
Oft sallied with her trusty spies;
Explor'd each ambuscade below,
And reconnoitred well the foe.
Afar when Luxury descried
Inferior force by art supplied,

The Syren spake-" Let Fraud prevail,
"Since all my num'rous hosts must fail;
"Henceforth hostilities shall cease;
"I'll send to Health and offer peace."

Straight she dispatch'd, with pow'rs complete, Pleasure, her minister, to treat.

This wicked strumpet topp'd her part,
And sow'd sedition in the heart!
Through ev'ry troop the poison ran ;
All were infected to a man.
The wary generals were won
By Pleasure's wiles, and both undone.
Jove held the troops in high disgrace,
And bade diseases blast the race;
Look'd on the queen with melting eyes,
And snatch'd his darling to the skies,
Who still regards those wiser few,
That dare her dictates to pursue.
For where her stricter law prevails,
Though passion prompts or vice assails,
Long shall they cloudless skies behold,
And their calm sun-set beam with gold.
§ 71. Vision IV. Content.

MAN is deceiv'd by outward show-
"Tis a plain homespun truth I know;
The fraud prevails at ev'ry age,
So says the school-boy and the sage:
Yet still we hug the dear deceit,
And still exclaim against the cheat.

"Content shuns courts, and oftener dwells "With modest worth in rural cells:

But whence this inconsistent part?
Say, moralists, who know the heart:
If you'll this labyrinth pursue,
I'll go before, and find the clue.

I dream'd ('twas on a birth-day night)
A sumptuous palace rose to sight:
The builder had, through ev'ry part,
Observ'd the chastest rules of art;
Raphael and Titian had display'd
All the full force of light and shade:
Around the liveried servants wait;
An aged porter kept the gate.

As I was traversing the hall,
Where Brussels looms adorn'd the wall
(Whose tap'stry shows, without my aid,
A nun is no such useless maid),
A graceful person came in view
(His form, it seems, is known to few);
His dress was unadorn'd with lace,
But charms! a thousand in his face.

"This, Sir, your property?" I cried; "Master and mansion coincide: "Where all, indeed, is truly great, "And proves that bliss may dwell with state: "Pray, Sir, indulge a stranger's claim, "And grant the favor of your name."

"Content!" the lovely form replied; "But think not here that I reside: "Here lives a courtier, base and sly; "An open, honest rustic, I. "Our taste and manners disagree; "His levee boasts no charms for me: "For titles, and the smiles of kings, "To me are cheap, unheeded things. " ("Tis virtue can alone impart "The patent of a ducal heart: "Unless this herald speaks him great, "What shall avail the glare of state?) "Those secret charms are my delight, "Which shine remote from public sight"Passions subdued, desires at rest, "And hence his chaplain shares breast. "There was a time (his grace can tell) "I knew the duke exceeding well; "Knew ev'ry secret of his heart; "In truth, we never were apart: "But when the court became his end, "He turn'd his back upon his friend. "One day I call'd upon his grace, "Just as the duke had got a place : "I thought (but thought amiss, 'tis clear) "I should be welcome to the peer;

my

Yes, welcome to a man in pow'r; "And so I was-for half an hour: "But he grew weary of his guest, "And soon discarded me his breast;

"There's no complaint, though brown the bread, "Or the rude turf sustain the head;

66

Though hard the couch, and coarse the meat, "Still the brown loaf and sleep are sweet.

"Far from the city I reside,

"And a thatch'd cottage all my pride.
"True to my heart, I seldom roam,
"Because I find my joys at home:
"For foreign visits then begin

"When the man feels a void within.
"But though from towns and crowds I fly,
"No humorist, nor cynic, I.
"Amidst sequester'd shades I prize
"The friendships of the good and wise.
"Bid Virtue and her sons attend,
"Virtue will tell thee, I'm her friend;
"Tell thee I'm faithful, constant, kind,
"And meek, and lowly, and resign'd;
"Will say, there's no distinction known,
"Betwixt her household and my own."

AUTHOR.

If these the friendships you pursue,
Your friends, I fear, are very few.
So little company, you say,

Yet fond of home from day to day!
How do you shun Detraction's rod ?
I doubt your neighbours think you odd!

CONTENT.

I commune with myself at night, And ask my heart if all be right: If" Right" replies my faithful breast, I smile, and close my eyes to rest.

AUTHOR.

You seem regardless of the town: Pray, sir, how stand you with the gown?

CONTENT.

The clergy say they love me well; Whether they do, they best can tell : They paint me modest, friendly, wise, And always praise me to the skies: But if conviction's at the heart, Why not a correspondent part? For shall the learned tongue prevail, If actions preach a diff'rent tale? Who'll seek my door, and grace my walls, When neither dean nor prelate calls?

With those my friendships must obtain, Who prize their duty more than gain; Soft flow the hours whene'er we meet, And conscious virtue is our treat; Our harmless breasts no envy know, And hence we fear no secret foe; Our walks Ambition ne'er attends, And hence we ask no pow'rful friends ; We wish the best to church and state, But leave the steerage to the great; Careless who rises or who falls, And never dream of vacant stalls: Much less, by pride or int'rest drawn, Sigh for the mitre and the lawn.

Observe the secrets of my art,
I'll fundamental truths impart;
If you'll my kind advice pursue,
I'll quit my hut, and dwell with you.
The passions are a num'rous crowd,
Imperious, positive, and loud :
Curb these licentious sons of strife:
Hence chiefly rise the storms of life:
If they grow mutinous, and rave,
They are thy masters, thou their slave.
Regard the world with cautious eye,
Nor raise your expectation high:
See that the balanc'd scales be such,
You neither fear nor hope too much :
For disappointment's not the thing;
'Tis pride and passion point the sting;
Life is a sea where storms must rise;
'Tis folly talks of cloudless skies ;
He who contracts his swelling sail,
Eludes the fury of the gale.

Be still, nor anxious thoughts employ ;
Distrust embitters present joy:
On God for all events depend;

You cannot want when God's your friend.
Weigh well your part, and do your best ;
Leave to your Maker all the rest.

The hand which form'd thee in the womb,
Guides from the cradle to the tomb.
Can the fond mother slight her boy?
Can she forget her prattling joy?
Say then, shall sov'reign love desert
The humble and the honest heart?
Heav'n may not grant thee all thy mind;
Yet say not thou, that Heav'n's unkind.
God is alike both good and wise
In what he grants and what denies :
Perhaps, what Goodness gives to-day,
To-morrow Goodness takes away.

You say, that troubles intervene;
That sorrows darken all the scene.
True and this consequence you see,
The world was ne'er design'd' for thee.
You're like a passenger below,
That stays perhaps a night or so;
But still his native country lies
Beyond the bound'ries of the skies.

Of Heav'n ask virtue, wisdom, health,
But never let thy pray'r be wealth.
If food be thine (though little gold),
And raiment to repel the cold;
Such as may Nature's wants suffice,
Not what from pride and foily rise:
If soft the motions of thy soul,

And a calm conscience crown the whole;
Add but a friend to all this store,
You can't in reason wish for more:
And if kind Heav'n this comfort brings,
"Tis more than Heav'n bestows on kings.
He spake the airy spectre flies,
And straight the sweet illusion dies:
The vision, at the early dawn,
Consign'd me to the thoughtful morn;
To all the cares of waking clay,
And inconsistent dreams of day.

$72. Vision V. Happiness. YE ductile youths, whose rising sun Hath many circles still to run; Who wisely wish the pilot's chart, To steer through life th' unsteady heart; And, all the thoughtful voyage past, To gain a happy port at last : Attend a Seer's instructive song; For moral truths to dreams belong.

I saw this wondrous Vision soon, Long ere my sun had reach'd its noon; Just when the rising beard began To grace my chin, and call me man.

One night, when balmy slumbers shed Their peaceful poppies o'er my head, My fancy led me to explore

;

A thousand scenes unknown before.
I saw a plain extended wide,
And crowds pour'd in from ev'ry side
All seem'd to start a diff'rent game,
Yet all declar'd their views the same:
The chace was Happiness, I found;
But all alas! enchanted ground.

Indeed, I judg'd it wondrous strange,
To see the giddy numbers range
Through roads, which promis'd nought, at best,"
But sorrow to the human breast.
Methought, if bliss was all their view,
Why did they diff'rent paths pursue?
The waking world has long agreed,
That Bagshot's not the road to Tweed;
And he who Berwick seeks through Staines,
Shall have his labor for his pains.

As Parnell says, my bosom wrought
With travail of uncertain thought;
And, as an angel help'd the dean,
My angel chose to intervene.

The dress of each was much the same;
And Virtue was my seraph's name.
When thus the angel silence broke;
Her voice was music as she spoke :

"Attend, O man! nor leave my side,
"And safety shall thy footsteps guide:
"Such truths I'll teach, such secrets show,
"As none but favor'd mortals know."

She said and straight we march'd along
To join Ambition's active throng:
Crowds urg'd on crowds with eager pace,
And happy he who led the race.
Axes and daggers lay unseen
In ambuscade along the green;
While vapors shed delusive light,
And bubbles mock'd the distant sight.

We saw a shining mountain rise,
Whose tow'ring summit reach'd the skies;
The slopes were steep, and form'd of glass,
Painful and hazardous to pass:
Courtiers and statesmen led the way;
The faithless paths their steps betray;
This moment seen aloft to soar,
The next to fall, and rise no more.
"Twas here ambition kept her court,
A phantom of gigantic port:

See the Hermit, page 62.

The fav'rite that sustain'd her throne
Was falsehood by her vizard known;
Next stood Mistrust, with frequent sigh,
Disorder'd look, and squinting eye;
While meagre Envy claim'd a place;
And Jealousy, with jaundic'd face.
"But where is Happiness?" I cried.
My guardian turn'd, and thus replied:

Mortal, by Folly still beguil'd,
"Thou hast not yet outstripp'd the child;
"Thou who hast twenty winters seen
"(I hardly think thee past fifteen)
"To ask if happiness can dwell
"With ev'ry dirty imp of hell!
"Go to the school-boy; he shall preach
"What twenty winters cannot teach;
"He'll tell thee, from his weekly theme,
"That thy pursuit is all a dream;
"That bliss ambitious vows disowns,
"And, self-dependent, laughs at thrones;
"Prefers the shades, and lowly seats,
"Whither fair Innocence retreats.
"So the coy lily of the vale

"Shuns eminence, and loves the dale."
I blush'd; and now we cross'd the plain,
To find the money-getting train;
Those silent, snug, commercial bands,
With busy looks, and dirty hands.
Amidst these thoughful crowds, the old
Plac'd all their happiness in gold;
And surely, if there's bliss below,
These hoary heads the secret know.
We journey'd with the plodding crew,
When soon a temple rose to view;
A Gothic pile! with moss o'ergrown;
Strong were the walls, and built with stone;
Without a thousand mastiffs wait;
A thousand bolts secure the gate.
We sought admission long in vain,
For here all favors sell for gain.
The greedy porter yields to gold;
His fee receiv'd, the gates unfold.
Assembled nations here we found,
And view'd the cringing herds around,
Who daily sacrific'd to Wealth

Their honor, conscience, peace, and health,
I saw no charms that could engage;
The god appear'd like sordid age,
With hooked nose, and famish'd jaws,
But serpent's eyes, and harpy's claws:
Behind stood Fear, that restless sprite,
Which haunts the watches of the night;
And viper Care, that stings so deep,
Whose deadly venom murders sleep.

We hasten now to Pleasure's bow'rs,
Where the gay tribes sat crown'd with flow'rs:
Here beauty ev'ry charm display'd,
And love inflam'd the yielding maid;
Delicious wine our taste employs;
His crimson bowl exalts our joys.
I felt its gen'rous pow'r, and thought
The pearl was found that long I sought.
Determin'd here to fix my home,

I bless'd the change, nor wish'd to roam:

The seraph disapprov'd my stay;
Spread her fair plumes, and wing'd away.
Alas! whene'er we talk of bliss,
How prone is man to judge amiss!
See, a long train of ills conspires
To scourge our uncontrol'd desires;
Like summer swarms diseases crowd,
Each bears a crutch, or each a shroud :
Fever, that thirsty fury came,
With inextinguishable flame;
Consumption, sworn ally of Death!
Crept slowly on with panting breath;
Gout roar'd, and show'd his throbbing feet;
And Dropsy took the drunkard's seat;
Stone brought his tort'ring racks: and near
Sat Palsy, shaking in his chair.

A mangled youth, beneath a shade,
A melancholy scene display'd:
His noseless face, and loathsome stains,
Proclaim'd the poison in his veins;
He rais'd his eyes, he smote his breast,
He wept aloud, and thus address'd :

"Forhear the harlot's false embrace, "Though lewdness wear an angel's face : "Be wise, by my experience taught; "I die, alas! for want of thought!"

As he who travels Lybia's plains,
Where the fierce lion lawless reigns,
Is seiz'd with fear and wild dismay,
When the grim foe obstructs his way;
My soul was pierc'd with equal fright,
My tott'ring limbs oppos'd my flight:
I call'd on Virtue, but in vain;
Her absence quicken'd ev'ry pain.
At length the slighted angel heard;
The dear refulgent form appear'd:
"Presumptuous youth!" she said, and frown'd
(My heart-strings flutter'd at the sound);
"Who turns to me reluctant ears,

"Shall shed repeated floods of tears.
"These rivers shall for ever last;
"There's no retracting what is pas :
"Nor think avenging ills to shun;
"Play a false card, and you 're undone.

"Of Pleasure's gilded baits beware,
"Nor tempt the Syren's fatal snare:
"Forego this curs'd detested place;
"Abhor the strumpet, and her race.
"Had you those softer paths pursu'd,
"Perdition, stripling, had ensued:
"Yes, fly-you stand upon its brink!
"To-morrow is too late to think.

"Indeed, unwelcome truths I tell, "But mark my sacred lesson well; "With me whoever lives at strife, "Loses his better friend for life; "With me, who lives in friendship's ties, "Finds all that's sought for by the wise.

Folly exclaims, and well she may, "Because I take her mask away; "If once I bring her to the sun, "The painted harlot is undone.

"But prize, my child, oh prize my rules, "And leave Deception to her fools.