And the loud laugh—I long to know them all; I burn to set th' imprison'd wranglers free, And give them voice and utt'rance once again. Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast, Out-scolds the ranting actor on the stage: Which not ev'n critics criticise; that holds Inquisitive attention, while I read, Fast bound in chains of silence, which the fair, Though eloquent themselves, yet fear to break; What is it, but a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns? Here runs the mountainous and craggy ridge He climbs, he pants, he grasps them! At his heels, And with a dext'rous jerk soon twists him down, And wins them, but to lose them in his turn. Here rills of oily eloquence in soft Meanders lubricate the course they take; The modest speaker is asham'd and griev'd T'engross a moment's notice, and yet begs, poor thoughts, However trivial all that he conceives. Sweet bashfulness! it claims at least this praise; The dearth of information and good sense Teeth for the toothless, ringlets for the bald, Heav'n, earth, and ocean, plunder'd of their sweets, Nectareous essences, Olympian dews, Sermons, and city feasts, and fav'rite airs, Æthereal journies, submarine exploits, And Katterfelto, with his hair on end At his own wonders, wond'ring for his bread. To 'Tis pleasant through the loop-holes of retreat peep at such a world; to see the stir Of the great Babel, and not feel the crowd; To hear the roar she sends through all her gates. At a safe distance, where the dying sound The tumult, and am still. The sound of war Grieves, but alarms me not. I mourn the pride And av'rice that make man a wolf to man; Hear the faint echo of those brazen throats By which he speaks the language of his heart, And sigh, but never tremble at the sound. He travels and expatiates, as the bee From flow'r to flow'r, so he from land to land; The manners, customs, policy of all Pay contribution to the store he gleans; And spreads the honey of his deep research He travels, and I too. I tread his deck, Ascend his topmast, through his peering eyes Discover countries, with a kindred heart Suffer his woes, and share in his escapes; While fancy, like the finger of a clock, Oh Winter, ruler of th' inverted year, But urg'd by storms along its slipp'ry way, I love thee, all unlovely as thou seem'st, J |