Viewing page 18 of 21

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

474
The Royal AMRICAN MAGAZINE,

The thirst of glory burns each youthful breast.
In virtue's cause, the muse im-plores for grace,
These blooming sons of Neptune's royal race ;
Cerulaen youths ! Your joining as seut declare,
Virtue to rev'rence, more than mortal fair,
A crown of glory, which the muse will twine, 
Immortal trophy ! Rochfort shall b-thine !
Thiune too OGreaves! for virtue's offspring share, 
Celestial friendship and the muse's care.
Yours is the song, and your's the honest praise,
Lo ! Rochfort smiles, and Greaves approves my lays.
BOSTON, October 30th, 1774.

{line}

The ANSWER.
CELESTIAl muse! su limest of the nine,
Affift my song, and dictate every line :
Inspire me once, nor with imper-fect lays,
To sing this great, this lovely virgins praise :
But yet, alas ! what tribute can I bring,
WH-TL-Y but smiles, whilst I thus faintly sing,
Behold with reverence, and with joy adore ;
The lovely daughter of the Affrie shore,
Where every grace, and every virtue join, 
That kindles friendship and makes love divine ;
In hue as dif'rent as in souls above ;
The rest of mortals who in vain have strove,
Th'immortal wreathe, the muse's gift to share,
Which heav'n referv'd for this angelic fair.
Bleft be the guilded shore, the happy land,
Where spring and autumn gent-ly hand in hand ;
O'er shady forests that scarce know a bound, 
In vivid laze alternately dance round :
Where cancers torrid heat the soul inspires ;
With strains divine and true poetic fires ;
(Far from the reach of Hudson's chilly bay)
Where cheerful pl[[?]]cebus makes all nature gay ;
Where sweet refreshing breezes gently fan ;
The flow'ry path, the every ver-dent lawn,
The angels grottos, and the soft retreats ;
" At once the lover and thee muse's seats."
Where nature taught, (tho' strange it is to tell,)
Her flowing pencil Europe to excell.
Britania's glory long hath fill'd the skies;
Whilst other nations, tho' with envious eyes,
Have view'd her growing great-nes, and the rules ;
That's long been taught in her untainted schools;
Where great Sir Isaac ! whose immortal name;
Still shines the brightest on the seat of fame ;
By ways and methods never known before;
The sacred depth of nature did explore :
And like a God, on philosophic wings ;
Rode

For DECEMBER, 1774 475

Rode with the planets thro' their circling rings: [eye,
Surveying nature with a curious
And viewing other systems in the sky [poetic lays,
Where nature's bard with true 
The pristine state of paradise displays, [ry rare
And with a genius that's but ve-
Describes the first the only hap-py pair [reign'd,
That in terrestial mansions ever 
View'd happiness now lost, and not regain'd. [Gods,
Unravele'd all the battles of the
And view'd old night below the antipodes.
On his imperious throne, with awful sway,
Commanding regions yet un-known to day,
Or where those lofty bards have dwelt so long,
That ravith'd Europe with their heavenly song 
But know this blessful clime, this happey land,
That all the neighboring nati-ons did command ;
Whose royal navy neptunes waves did sweep,
Reign'd Prince alone, and sov'reign of the deep :
No more can boast, but of the power to kill,
By force of arms, or diabolic skill.
For softer strains we quickly must repair
To Wheatly's song, for Wheatly is the fair ;
That has the art, which art could ne'ar acquire :
To dress each sentence with se-raphic fire. 
Her wondrons virtues I could ne'er express!
To paint her charms, would only make them less. 
December 2d.1774.

WINTER
A pastoral BALLAD.

WHEN the trees are all bear, not a leaf to be seen,
And the meadows their beauty have lost ,
When nature's disrob'd of her mantle of green,
And the streams are fast bound with the frost.
While the peasant inactive stands shivering with cold
As bleak the winds northerly blow ;
And the innocent flocks run for ease to the fold
With their fleeces besprinkled with snow.
In the yard, where the cattle are fodder'd with straw.
And they send forth their breath like stream :
And the neat-looking dairy maid sees she must thaw
Flakes of ice that she finds in the cream.
When the lads and the lasses for company join'd,
In a croud round the embers are met ;
Talk of fairies and witches that ride on the wind,
And of ghosts, till they're all in a sweat.
Heav'n grant in this season it may be my lot,
With a nymph whom I love and admire ;
While the icicles hang from the eves of my cot,
I may hither in safety retire !
Where in neatness and quiet- and free from surprize
We may live and no hardships endure ;
Nor feel any turbulent passions arise,
But such as each other may cure.
EQUALITY. 

Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-05-12 12:33:05