XLVIII. "In the deep windings of the grove, no more "The hag obscene, and grisly phantom dwell; "Nor in the fall of mountain-stream, or roar "Of winds, is heard the angry spirit's yell; "No wizard mutters the tremendous spell, "Nor sinks convulsive in prophetic swoon; "Nor bids the noise of drums and trumpets swell, "To ease of fancied pangs the labouring moon, "Or chace the shade that blots the blazing orb of noon. XLIX. "Many a long-lingering year, in lonely isle, "Stun'd with th' eternal turbulence of waves, "Lo, with dim eyes, that never learn'd to smile, "And trembling hands, the famish'd native craves "Of Heaven his wretched fare: shivering in caves, "Or scorch'd on rocks, he pines from day to day; "But Science gives the word; and lo, he braves "The surge and tempest, lighted by her ray, "And to a happier land wafts merrily away. L. "And even where Nature loads the teeming plain "With the full pomp of vegetable store, "Her bounty, unimproved, is deadly bane: "Dark woods and rankling wilds, from shore to shore, "Stretch their enormous gloom; which to explore "Even Fancy trembles, in her sprightliest mood; "For there each eyeball gleams with lust of gore, "Nestles each murderous and each monstrous brood, Plague lurks in every shade, and steams from every flood. LI. "'Twas from Philosophy man learn'd to tame "The soil by plenty to intemperance fed. Lo, from the echoing ax, and thundering flame, "Poison and plague and yelling rage are fled. "The waters, bursting from their slimy bed, 46 Bring health and melody to every vale : "And, from the breezy main, and mountain's head, "Ceres and Flora, to the sunny dale, "To fan their glowing charms, invite the fluttering gale. system of the universe ;....in banishing superstition ;....in pro moting navigation, agriculture, medicine, and moral and political science :....from Stanza XLVI. to Stanza LVI. LII. "What dire necessities on every hand "Our art, our strength, our fortitude require! "A while, and turn aside Death's level'd dart, "And brace the nerves once more, and cheer the heart, "And yet a few soft nights and balmy days impart. LIII. "Nor less to regulate man's moral frame 66 "Where cares molest not, discord melts away "In harmony, and the pure passions prove "How sweet the words of truth breathed from the lips of Love. LIV. "What cannot Art and Industry perform, "When Science plans the progress of their toil ! They smile at penury, disease, and storm; "And oceans from their mighty mounds recoil. "When tyrants scourge, or demagogues embroil "A land, or when the rabble's headlong rage "Order transforms to anarchy and spoil, "Deep-versed in man the philosophic Sage "Prepares with lenient hand their phrenzy to assuage. LV. "'Tis he alone, whose comprehensive mind, "From situation, temper, soil, and clime "Explored, a nation's various powers can bind "And various orders, in one Form sublime "Of policy, that, midst the wrecks of time, "Secure shall lift its head on high, nor fear "Th' assault of foreign or domestic crime, "While public faith, and public love sincere, "And Industry and Law maintain their sway severe.” LVI. Enraptured by the Hermit's strain, the Youth Nor love of Novelty alone inspires, And the long hours of Toil and Solitude to charm. But she, who set on fire his infant heart, And all his dreams and all his wanderings shared LIX. Of late, with cumbersome, though pompous show, Tempers his rage: he owns her charm divine, And clears th' ambiguous phrase, and lops th' unwieldly line. * General ideas of excellence, the immediate archetypes of sublime imitation, both in painting and in poetry. See Aristotle's Poetics, and the Discourses of Sir Joshua Reynolds. LX. Fain would I sing (much yet unsung remains) When the great Shepherd of the Mantuan plains* Fain would I sing, what transport storm'd his soul, Homer raised high to heaven the loud, th' impetuous song. And how his lyre, though rude her first essays, I fain would sing-but ah! I strive in vain. And, mix'd with shrieks of woe, the knells of death resound. Adieu, ye lays, that Fancy's flowers adorn, LXIII. Art thou, my GREGORY, forever fled? And am I left to unavailing wo? When fortune's storms assail this weary head, Ah, now for comfort whither shall I go? No more thy soothing voice my anguish cheers; My hopes to cherish, and allay my fears. 'Tis meet that I should mourn: flow forth afresh my tears. * Virgil. + This excellent person died suddenly, on the 10th of February, 1773. The conclusion of this poem was written a few days after. The Hermit. (BY THE AUTHOR OF THE MINSTREL.) Ат T the close of the day, when the hamlet is still, And mortals the sweets of forgetfulness prove, When nought but the torrent is heard on the hill, And nought but the nightingale's song in the grove : 'Twas thus, by the cave of a mountain afar, While his harp rung symphonious, a Hermit began; No more with himself or with nature at war, He thought as a Sage, though he felt as a man, "Ah why, all abandon'd to darkness and wo, Why, lone Philomela, that languishing fall? "For Spring shall return, and a lover bestow, "And Sorrow no longer thy bosom inthral. "But, if pity inspire thee, renew the sad lay, "Mourn, sweetest complainer, man calls thee mourn ; "O soothe him, whose pleasures like thine pass away: "Full quickly they pass-but they never return, "Now gliding remote, on the verge of the sky, "The Moon half extinguish'd her crescent displays : "But lately I mark'd, when majestic on high "She shone, and the planets were lost in her blaze. "Roll on thou fair orb, and with gladness pursue "The path that conducts thee to splendor again. "But Man's faded glory what change shall renew! "Ah fool to exult in a glory so vain! |