But ah! by constant heed I know, And should my future lot be cast My Mary ! With much resemblance of the past, Thy worn out heart will break at last, My Mary ! THE CAST-AWAY. OBSCUREST night involv'd the sky, No braver chief could Albion boast Nor ever ship left Albion's coast, He lov'd them both, but both in vain, Nor him beheld, nor her again. Not long beneath the 'whelming brine, Expert to swim, he lay; Nor soon he felt his strength decline, Or courage die away; But wag'd with death a lasting strife, He shouted; nor his friends had fail'd To check the vessel's course, But so the furious blast prevail'd, That, pitiless perforce, They left their out-cast mate behind,. And scudded still before the wind. Some succour yet they could afford ;: The cask, the coop, the floated cord But he (they new) nor ship, nor shore,. Nor, cruel as it seem'd, could he, Yet bitter felt it still to die Deserted, and his friends so nigh. He long survives, who lives an hour- And so long he, with unspent power, And ever, as the minutes flew, Entreated help, or cried-"Adieu!" At length, his transient respite past, 244 ON ASHLEY COWPER, ESQ. Had heard his voice in every blast, Could catch the sound no more. No poet wept him; but the page That tells his name, his worth, his age, And tears, by bards or heroes shed, I therefore purpose not, or dream, But misery still delights to trace. No voice divine the storm allay'd, We perish'd each alone; But I beneath a rougher sea, And 'whelm'd in deeper gulfs than he. LINES Composed for a memorial of ASHLEY COWPER, Esq. immediately after his death, by his Nephew WILLIAM of WESTON. FAREWELL! endued with all that could engage All hearts to love thee, both in youth and age! In prime of life, for sprightliness enroll'd Marble may flatter, and, lest this should seem AN ENGLISH VERSIFICATION OF A THOUGHT THAT POPPED INTO MY HEAD ABOUT TWO MONTHS SINCE. SWEET stream! that winds thro' yonder glade Apt embelm of a virtuous maid, Silent and chaste, she steals along, Far from the world's gay, busy throng; With gentle, yet prevailing force, Intent upon her destin'd course : And heaven reflected in her face. ON THE SHORTNESS OF HUMAN LIFE SUNS that set, and Moons that wane, Rise and are restor❜d again. 246 EPITAPH ON DR. JOHNSON. Stars, that orient day subdues, Night at her return renews. Herbs and flowers, the beauteous birth. Of the genial womb of earth, From the winter's cruel breath. EPITAPH ON DR. JOHNSON. HERE Johnson lies-a sage by all allow'd, By fame on earth-by glory in the skies!! TO A YOUNG LADY, ON HER HOW many between east and west: Disgrace their parent earth. |