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From angry Heaven when the keen lightning flies;
When fervent heat diffolves the melting skies,
Thou ftill fhalt be; ftill as thou wert before,
And know no change, when time shall be no more.
O endless thought! divine Eternity!

Th' immortal foul fhares but a part of thee!
For thou wert prefent when our life began,
When the warm duft shot up in breathing man.

Ah! what is life? with ills encompass'd round,
Amidft our hopes, Fate ftrikes the fudden wound;
To-day the statesman of new honour dreams,
To-morrow Death destroys his airy schemes;
Is mouldy treasure in thy cheft confin'd?

Think all that treasure thou must leave behind;
Thy heir with fmiles fhall view thy blazon'd hearse,
And all thy hoards with lavish hand disperse.
Should certain fate th' impending blow delay,
Thy mirth will ficken, and thy bloom decay ;
Then feeble age will all thy nerves difarm,

No more thy blood its straiten'd channels warm.
Who then would wish to ftretch this narrow fpan,
To fuffer life beyond the date of man?

The virtuous foul purfues a nobler aim, And life regards but as a fleeting dream: She longs to wake, and wishes to get free, To launch from earth into Eternity.

For while the boundless theme extends our thought, Ten thousand thousand rolling years are nought.

GAY.

FALSE GREATNESS.

MYLO, forbear to call him bleft
That only boasts a large estate,
Should all the treasures of the West
Meet and confpire to make him great.
I know thy better thoughts, I know
Thy reason can't defcend fo low.

Let a broad ftream with golden fands
Thro' all his meadows roll,

He's but a wretch, with all his lands,
That wears a narrow foul.

He fwells amidft his wealthy ftore,
And proudly poising what he weighs,
In his own fcale he fondly lays
Huge heaps of fhining ore.

He spreads the balance wide to hold
His manors and his farms,

And cheats the beam with loads of gold
He hugs between his arms.

So might the plough-boy climb a tree,
When Cræfus mounts his throne,
And both stand up, and fmile to fee
How long their fhadow's grown.

Alas! how vain their fancies be,
To think that shape their own!

Thus mingled ftill with wealth and state,
Cræfus himself can never know;

His true dimenfions and his weight
Are far inferior to their fhow.

Were I fo tall to reach the pole,

Or grafp the ocean with my span,

I must be meafur'd by my foul:

The mind's the ftandard of the man.

WATTS.

REPUTATION.

AN ALLEGORY.

TO travel far as the wide world extends,
Seeking for objects that deferv'd their care,

Virtue fet forth, with two selected friends,
Talent refin'd, and Reputation fair.

As they went on in their intended round,

Talent spoke first, "My gentle comrades, say, "Where each of you may probably be found, "Should accident divide us on the way.

"If torn (fhe added) from my lov'd allies, "A friendly patronage I hope to find, "Where the fine arts from cultivation rife, "And the fweet Mufe hath harmoniz`d mankind."

Says Virtue, "Did Sincerity appear,

"Or meek-ey'd Charity among the great; "Could I find courtiers from corruption clear, ""Tis among these I'd feek for my retreat.

"Could I find patriots for the public weal
"Affiduous, and without their selfish crews;
"Could I find priests of undiffembled zeal,
"'Tis among these my refidence I'd choose.

"In glitt'ring domes let luxury refide,

"I must be found in fome fequefter'd cell, "Far from the paths of avarice or pride,

"Where home-bred Happiness delights to dwell.",

"Ye may be trac'd, my gentle friends, 'tis true; "But who (fays Reputation) can explore "My flipp'ry steps?-Keep, keep me in your view; "If once I'm loft, you'll never find me more."

CUNNINGHAM.

Maret. The 12 14

INVITATION TO THE FEATHERED
RACE.

WRITTEN AT CLAVERTON, NEAR BATH,

AGAIN the balmy zephyr blows,

Frefn verdure decks the grove; Each bird with vernal rapture glows, And tunes his notes to love.

Ye gentle warblers, hither fly,
And fhun the noon-tide heat;
My fhrubs a cooling fhade fupply,
My groves a fafe retreat.

Here freely hop from spray to spray,
Or weave the moffy neft;

Here rove and fing the live-long day,
At night here fweetly reft,

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