James Thomson

“ He came, the Bard, a little Druid-Wight,
Of wither'd Aspect; but his Eye was keen,
With Sweetness mix'd. In Russet brown bedight,
As is his Sister of the Copses green,
He crept along, unpromising of Mien.
Gross he who judges so. His Soul was fair,
Bright as the Children of yon Azure sheen,
True Comeliness, which nothing can impair,
Dwells in the Mind: all else is Vanity and Glare.
XXXIV.
Come! (quoth the Knight) a Voice has reach'd mine Ear,
The Demon Indolence threats Overthrow
To all that to Mankind is good and dear:
Come, Philomelus! ”

“ Sir Industry the first calm Moment stole.
"There must, (he cry'd) amid so vast a Shoal,
"Be Some who are not tainted at the Heart,
"Not poison'd quite by this same Villain's Bowl:
"Come then, my Bard, thy heavenly Fire impart;
"Touch Soul with Soul, till forth the latent Spirit start." ”

“ Even feigning Virtue; skilful to unite
With Evil Good, and strew with Pleasure Pain.
But for those Fiends, whom Blood and Broils delight;
Who hurl the Wretch, as if to Hell outright,
Down down black Gulphs, where sullen Waters sleep,
Or hold him clambering all the fearful Night
On beetling Cliffs, or pent in Ruins deep:
They, till due Time should serve, were bid far hence to keep.
XLVII.
Ye Guardian Spirits, to whom Man is dear,
From these foul Demons shield the Midnight Gloom!
Angels of Fancy and of Love, be near,
And o'er the Blank of Sleep diffuse a Bloom! ”

“ Heaps pour'd on Heaps, and yet they slip'd along
In silent Ease: as when beneath the Beam
Of Summer-Moons, the distant Woods among,
Or by some Flood all silver'd with the Gleam,
The soft-embodied Fays through airy Portal stream.
XXI.
By the smooth Demon so it order'd was,
And here his baneful Bounty first began:
Though some there were who would not further pass,
And his alluring Baits suspected han.
The Wise distrust the too fair-spoken Man.
Yet through the Gate they cast a wishful Eye:
Not to move on, perdie, is all they can ”

“ No Dogs, no Babes, no Wives, to stun your Ear;
“No Hammers thump; no horrid Blacksmith sear,
“Ne noisy Tradesman your sweet Slumbers start,
“With Sounds that are a Misery to hear:
“But all is calm, as would delight the Heart
“Of Sybarite of old, all Nature, and all Art.
XV.
“Here nought but Candour reigns, indulgent Ease,
“Good-natur'd Lounging, Sauntering up and down:
“They who are pleas'd themselves must always please;
“On Others' Ways they never squint a Frown,
“Nor heed what haps to Hamlet or in Town. ”

“ A Bard here dwelt, more fat than Bard beseems;
[5] Who void of Envy, Guile, and Lust of Gain,
On Virtue still, and Nature's pleasing Themes,
Pour'd forth his unpremeditated Strain,
The World forsaking with a calm Disdain:
Here laugh'd he careless in his easy Seat,
Here quaff'd encircled with the joyous Train ”

“ Their Oracles break forth mysterious as of old.
LXXI
Here languid Beauty kept her pale-fac'd Court:
Bevies of dainty Dames, of high Degree,
From every Quarter hither made Resort;
Where, from gross mortal Care and Business free,
They lay, pour'd out in Ease and Luxury.
Or should they a vain Shew of Work assume,
Alas! and well-a-day! what can it be?
To knot, to twist, to range the vernal Bloom;
But far is cast the Distaff, Spinning-Wheel, and Loom.
LXXII.
Their only Labour was to kill the Time;
And Labour dire it is, and weary Woe.
They sit, they loll, turn o'er some idle Rhyme ”

“ Of fertile Genius him they nurtur'd well,
In every Science, and in every Art,
By which Mankind the thoughtless Brutes excel,
That can or Use, or Joy, or Grace impart,
Disclosing all the Powers of Head and Heart.
Ne were the goodly Exercises spar'd,
That brace the Nerves, or make the Limbs alert,
And mix elastic Force with Firmness hard:
Was never Knight on Ground mote be with him compar'd. ”

“ “The Best of Men have ever lov'd Repose:
“They hate to mingle in the filthy Fray;
“Where the Soul sowrs, and gradual Rancour grows,
“Imbitter'd more from peevish Day to Day. ”

“ To lose the present, gain the future Age,
Praised to be when you can hear no more,
And much enrich'd with Fame when useless worldly Store.
LIII.
Then would a splendid City rise to View,
With Carts, and Cars, and Coaches roaring all:
Wide-pour'd abroad, behold the prowling Crew;
See! how they dash along from Wall to Wall;
At every Door, hark! how they thundering call. ”

“ The Sick up-rais'd their Heads, and dropp'd their Woes awhile.
LXX.
"O Heaven! (they cry'd) and do we once more see
"Yon blessed Sun, and this green Earth so fair?
"Are we from noisome Damps of Pest-House free?
"And drink our Souls the sweet ethereal Air?
"O Thou! or Knight, or God! who holdest there
"That Fiend, oh keep him in eternal Chains!
"But what for us, the Children of Despair,
"Brought to the Brink of Hell, what Hope remains?
"Repentance does itself but aggravate our Pains." ”

“ "But what avail the largest Gifts of Heaven,
"When sickening Health and Spirits go amiss?
"How tasteless then Whatever can be given?
"Health is the vital Principle of Bliss,
"And Exercise of Health. ”

“ Let Industry inspire
"Into your quicken'd Limbs her buoyant Breath!
"Who does not act is dead; absorpt intire
"In miry Sloth, no Pride no Joy he hath:
"O Leaden-hearted Men, to be in Love with Death! ”

“ Of ancient Bards thou yet shalt sweep the Lyre;
Thou yet shalt tread in Tragic Pall the Stage,
Paint Love's enchanting Woes, the Heroe's Ire,
The Sage's Calm, the Patriot's noble Rage,
Dashing Corruption down through every worthless Age. ”

“ I care not, Fortune, what you me deny:
You cannot rob me of free Nature's Grace;
You cannot shut the Windows of the Sky,
Through which Aurora shews her brightening Face:
You cannot bar my constant Feet to trace
The Woods and Lawns, by living Stream, at Eve:
Let Health my Nerves and finer Fibres brace,
And I their Toys to the great Children leave; ”

“ Push hard up Hill; but as the farthest Steep
“You trust to gain, and put an End to Strife,
“Down thunders back the Stone with mighty Sweep,
“And hurls your Labours to the Valley deep,
“For-ever vain: come, and, withouten Fee,
“I in Oblivion will your Sorrows steep,
“Your Cares, your Toils, will steep you in a Sea
“Of full Delight: O come, ye weary Wights, to me! ”

“ A little, round, fat, oily Man of God,
Was one I chiefly mark'd among the Fry:
He had a roguish Twinkle in his Eye,
And shone all glittering with ungodly Dew,
If a tight Damsel chaunc'd to trippen by; ”

“ The good old Knight enjoy'd well-earn'd Repose.
"Come, come, Sir Knight! thy Children on thee call;
"Come, save us yet, ere Ruin round us close!
"The Demon Indolence thy Toils o'erthrows."
On this the noble Colour stain'd his Cheeks,
Indignant, glowing through the whitening Snows
Of venerable Eld; his Eye full speaks
His ardent Soul, and from his Couch at once he breaks.
XXXII.
"I will, (he cry'd) so help me, God! destroy
"That Villain Archimage!—His Page then strait
He to him call'd, a fiery-footed Boy,
Benempt Dispatch. "My Steed be at the gate;
"My Bard attend ”

“ XXXVIII.
"As God shall judge me, Knight, we must forgive
(The half-enraptur'd Philomelus cry'd)
"The frail good Man deluded here to live,
"And in these Groves his musing Fancy hide.
"Ah, Nought is pure! It cannot be deny'd,
"That Virtue still some Tincture has of Vice,
"And Vice of Virtue. What should then betide,
"But that our Charity be not too nice?
"Come, let us Those we can to real Bliss entice.
XXXIX.
"Ay, sicker, (quoth the Knight) all Flesh is frail,
"To pleasant Sin and joyous Dalliance bent ”

“ Loose Life, unruly Passions, and Diseases pale.
II.
In lowly Dale, fast by a River's Side,
With woody Hill o'er Hill encompass'd round,
A most enchanting Wizard did abide,
Than whom a Fiend more fell is no-where found. ”

“ Plac'd far amid the melancholy Main,
(Whether it be lone Fancy him beguiles; ”

“ O fair Undress, best Dress! it checks no Vein,
But every flowing Limb in Pleasure drowns.
And heightens Ease with Grace. ”

“ Issuing forth, the Knight bestrode his Steed
Of ardent Bay, and on whose Front a Star
Shone blazing bright: Sprung from the generous Breed
That whirl of active Day the rapid Car,
He pranc'd along, disdaining Gate or Bar.
Meantime, the Bard on milk-white Palfrey rode;
An honest sober Beast, that did not mar
His Meditations, but full softly trode:
And much they moraliz'd as thus yfere they yode.
XXXVI.
They talk'd of Virtue, and of Human Bliss.
What else so fit for Man to settle well? ”

“ Of Dreams that wave before the half-shut Eye;
And of gay Castles in the Clouds that pass,
For ever flushing round a Summer-Sky:
There eke the soft Delights, that witchingly
Instil a wanton Sweetness through the Breast,
And the calm of Pleasures always hover'd nigh; ”

“ This Place is but a Shew,
"Whose Charms delude you to the Den of Woe:
"Come, follow me, I will direct you right,
"Where Pleasure's Roses, void of Serpents, grow,
"Sincere as sweet; come, follow this good Knight,
"And you will bless the Day that brought him to your Sight.
LX.
"Some he will lead to Courts, and Some to Camps;
"To Senates Some, and public sage Debates,
"Where, by the solemn Gleam of Midnight-Lamps,
"The World is pois'd, and manag'd mighty States;
"To high Discovery Some, that new-creates
"The Face of Earth; Some to the thriving Mart ”

“ A Bard here dwelt, more fat than Bard beseems; ”

“ Was to behold the Nations all on Fire,
In cruel Broils engag'd, and deadly Strife; ”

“ LI.
"Had unambitious Mortals minded Nought,
"But in loose Joy their Time to wear away;
"Had they alone the Lap of Dalliance sought,
"Pleas'd on her Pillow their dull Heads to lay:
"Rude Nature's State had been our State To-day;
"No Cities e'er their towery Fronts had rais'd,
"No Arts had made us opulent and gay;
"With Brother-Brutes the Human Race had graz'd ”

“ Such were the Twain that off drove this ungodly Fry.
LXXXI.
Even so through Brentford Town, a Town of Mud,
An Herd of brisly Swine is prick'd along;
The filthy Beasts, that never chew the Cud,
Still grunt, and squeak, and sing their troublous Song,
And oft they plunge themselves the Mire among:
But ay the ruthless Driver goads them on,
And ay of barking Dogs the bitter Throng
Makes them renew their unmelodious Moan;
Ne ever find they Rest from their unresting Fone.
F I N I S.
↑ Constantinople ↑ A Gladiator, who made use of a Net, which he threw over his Adversary. ”

“ But still their trembling Ears retain'd
The deep Vibrations of his witching Song; ”

“ Muchel or Mochel⸺much, great.
Nathless⸺nevertheless.
Ne⸺nor.
Needments⸺Necessaries.
Noursling⸺a Nurse, or what is nursed.
Noyance⸺Harm.
Perdie⸺ (Fr. par Dieu) an old Oath.
Prick'd thro' the Forest⸺rode thro' the Forest. ”