The footsteps of simplicity, impress'd Upon the yielding herbage, (so they sing) Then were not all effac'd: then speech profane, And manners profligate, were rarely found; Grant it:-I still must envy them an age That favour'd such a dream; in days like these Impossible, when virtue is so scarce, That to suppose a scene where she presides, No: we are polish'd now! the rural lass, Her head, adorn'd with lappets pinn'd aloft, Too proud for dairy work, or sale of eggs. The town has ting'd the country; and the stain Appears a spot upon a vestal's robe, The worse for what it soils. The fashion runs Down into scenes still rural; but, alas, Scenes rarely grac'd with rural manners now! Time was when, in the pastoral retreat, Th' unguarded door was safe; men did not watch Ev'n day-light has its dangers; and the walk once Of other tenants than melodious birds, Or harmless flocks, is hazardous and bold. Lamented change! to which full many a cause Invet'rate, hopeless of a cure, conspires. The course of human things from good to ill, From ill to worse, is fatal; never fails. Increase of pow'r begets increase of wealth; Wealth luxury, and luxury excess; Excess, the scrofulous and itchy plague Desert their office; and themselves, intent On pleasure, haunt the capital, and thus To all the violence of lawless hands Resign the scenes their presence might protect. Though resident, and witness of the wrong. On the same cushion of habitual sloth. Perhaps timidity restrains his arm; When he should strike he trembles, and sets free, Himself enslav'd by terror of the band, Th' audacious convict, whom he dares not bind. Perhaps, though by profession ghostly pure, He too may have his vice, and sometimes prove Less dainty than becomes his In lucrative concerns. grave outside Examine well His milk-white hand; the palm is hardly cleanBut here and there an ugly smutch appears. Foh! 'twas a bribe that left it: he has touch'd Corruption! Whoso seeks an audit here Propitious, pays his tribute, game or fish, Wild-fowl or ven'son; and his errand speeds. But faster far, and more than all the rest, A noble cause, which none who bears a spark Of public virtue ever wish'd remov'd, Works the deplor'd and mischievous effect. |