James Bisset

“ Me thinks I hear dame Prudence, whisp'ring, say,
'Forego thy task, forbear the votive lay;
'A work like thine requires more skill and wit,
'To wiser heads the arduous task submit.'
To what she whispers, freely would I yield,
If any one, besides, would take the field.
Full many, equal to the theme, I find,
But none, to undertake it, seems inclin'd.
Oft have I urg'd, but urg'd, alas! in vain,
None, yet, has dar'd to 'tempt th' advent'rous strain .
The task be mine—If honor, forth, it calls,
That honor on the Arts, and Artists, falls ”