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With odors sweet it fills the smiling skies,
The wood-nymphs tend, and th' Idalian queen.
But, in the midst of all its blooming pride,
A sudden blast from Apenninus blows,
Cold with perpetual snows:

The tender blighted plant shrinks up its leaves, and dies.

Arise, O Petrarch, from th' Elysian bowers,

With never-fading myrtles twin'd,
And fragrant with ambrosial flowers,
Where to thy Laura thou again art join'd;
Arise, and hither bring the silver lyre,
Tun'd by thy skilful hand,

To the soft notes of elegant desire,

With which o'er many a land
Was spread the fame of thy disastrous love;
To me resign the vocal shell,
And teach my sorrows to relate
Their melancholy tale so well,
As may ev'n things inanimate,

Rough mountain oaks, and desert rocks, to pity move.

What were, alas! thy woes compar'd to mine? To thee thy mistress in the blissful band

Of Hymen never gave her hand; The joys of wedded love were never thine: In thy domestic care

She never bore a share,

Nor with endearing art

Would heal thy wounded heart

Of every secret grief that fester'd there:

Nor did her fond affection on the bed

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Of sickness watch thee, and thy languid head Was his most righteous will-and be that will

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OLIVER GOLDSMITH.

OLIVER GOLDSMITH, in eminent poet. and i nis- mcommon favor. Although this was a gainful cellaneous writer, was born in 1729, according to year to m. et hongnitess profusion, and a banit me account, at Elphin, according a mother. at of gaming, eft mm ut is close considernaiv in jest Pallas, in the county of Longford, ireland. From in the two succeeding years he supplied the bookhis father, who was a clergyman, he received 1 seilers with 1 Grecian History," and "A History iterary education, and was sent it in early period of the Earth and immated Nature." he 'nst to Suniin College. Thence he was removed as a emedy aken from Bufon. He had anned some medical student to the Cniversity of Edinburgh, other works. but these were cut of was minely Where le continued from 1751 to the beginning of death. In March 1774 he was attacket with the 1754. From the slight tincture of science which symptoms of 1 ow tever. md having taken, upen le seems ‘o lave acquired, t is probable that he is own udgment, m ver-dose of 1 powerti paid little attention to the studies of the place, ma medicine, te sink under the sease, or the remenis necessity for putting Edinburgh to avoid paving ty. md tied on the tenth tav, koni 4th. He was 1 ient, sud o lave been contracted a ellow urted. with inte attendance. n the Tempie student, augurs ont little for his morní character. Church: but a monument has since been mised With these unfavorable beginnings, in the midst of" to his memory, with a Lann insenpuon by Dr penury, he resolved a nduige his eurosity in a Johnson. Visit to the continent of Europe: and after a long Goldsmith was a man of little correctness ther rambie, and various fortunes, he found means to get in his ennduct or his opinions, and is miher adback to England in 1758. For a considerable miret for us gemus and beloved for his bene time he mnoorted umsel by us pen, in an obseure ence, than solidly esteemed. The best part 11 15 situation, when, in 1755, he suddenly blazed ont is character was a warmth of sensimlity which made a poet, in his Traveller, or A Prospect of Sorte im ready to share us purse with the indigent, unt ty." It was at the instigation of Dr. Johnson that in his wrungs rendered um the constant act he enlarged this piece, and finished it for publies of the poor and oppressed. The worst feature was tion: and that eminent critic libernily and justly a malignant envy and enious of successtiti muais, said of it, that there had not been so ine 1 wem which he often displayed in a manner not less ance Pine's ame." It was equally weil received tienious than offensive. He was me of those who y the pubile; and conferred upon Goldsmith a re happier in the use of the pen than the angie; celebrity which introduced him to some of the most is conversation being genernily confused, and not distinguished literary characters of the ume. seidom aosuri: so that the wits with whom he kept company seem rather to have made him heir 10t than to have listened to him as an equal. Yes, perhaps, no writer of his ame was possessed d more te tumor, or was expanie of more 2004dancy in marking the foibles of indivulu's This talent he has displayed in a very amuang manger

The poet cananned to pursue his career, and, m 1766, was published his novel of The Vicar of Wakefieut.” which was received with deserved applause, and has ever since borne a distinguished rank among similar compositions. Some of his most pleasing and mecessful works in prose were given as the world about this time; and he and his in as unfinished poem of Remiration," wrzes respects to the Theatre, by a comedy enntled The as a kind of retort to the jocular attacks made 1000 Good-Natured Man," acted at Covent Garden in him in the Literary Clab. Tader the mask of 1768, which, however, detects ac plot, and igno- Epitaphs, he has given masterly sketches of some rance of dramate effect, rendered not very success the principal members, with a mixture of serous ful. His poetical fame reached as summit in 1770, by the publication of "The Deserted Village,” a delightful piece, which obtained general utmiration, The price offered by the bookseller. amounnng to nearly five shillings a couplet, appeared a Gold- On the whole, his literary fume must be consid smith so enormous, that he at first refused to take ered as rising the highest in the character of 1 pOEL it, hat the sale of the poem convinced him that he for it would be difficut in the compass of English might fairly apornorate to himself that sum out of verse, to find pieces which are read with more the profit. In 1772 he produced another comedy, gratification than his Traveller and his Deserted entitled "She Stoops to Conquer: or. The Matakes Vage. There are, besides, his elegant ballad of of a Night;" and though in character and plot it The Hermit, his stanzas or Woman, and some short made a near approach to farce, yet such were its humorous and miscellaneous pieces, which are comic powers that the audience received is with never without interest.

pruse and good-humored ruilery. It may indeed be said that the latter sometimes verges into artness, which is particularly the case with as deinestion of Garrick.

THE TRAVELLER.

OR, A PROSPECT OF SOCIETY.

REMOTE, unfriended, melancholy, slow,
Or by the lazy Scheld, or wandering Po;
Or onward, where the rude Carinthian boor
Against the houseless stranger shuts the door;
Or where Campania's plain forsaken lies,
A weary waste expanding to the skies;
Where'er I roam, whatever realms to see,
My heart, untravel'd, fondly turns to thee:
Still to my brother turns with ceaseless pain,
And drags at each remove a length'ning chain.
Eternal blessings crown my earliest friend,
And round his dwelling guardian saints attend;
Blest be that spot, where cheerful guests retire
To pause from toil, and trim their ev'ning fire;
Blest that abode, where want and pain repair,
And ev'ry stranger finds a ready chair;
Blest be those feasts with simple plenty crown'd,
Where all the ruddy family around
Laugh at the jests or pranks that never fail,
Or sigh with pity at some mournful tale;
Or press the bashful stranger to his food,
And learn the luxury of doing good.

But me, not destin'd such delights to share,
My prime of life in wand'ring spent and care;
Impell'd with steps unceasing to pursue
Some fleeting good, that mocks me with the view;
That, like the circle bounding earth and skies,
Allures from far, yet, as I follow, flies;
My fortune leads to traverse realms alone,
And find no spot of all the world my own.
Ev'n now, where Alpine solitudes ascend,
sit me down a pensive hour to spend;
And, plac'd on high above the storm's career,
Look downward where an hundred realms appear;
Lakes, forests, cities, plains extending wide,
The pomp of kings, the shepherd's humbler pride.
When thus creation's charms around combine,
Amidst the store, should thankless pride repine?
Say, should the philosophic mind disdain
That good which makes each humbler bosom vain?
Let school-taught pride dissemble all it can,
These little things are great to little man;
And wiser he, whose sympathetic mind
Exults in all the good of all mankind. [crown'd,
Ye glitt'ring towns, with wealth and splendor
Ye fields, where summer spreads profusion round,
Ye lakes, whose vessels catch the busy gale,
Ye bending swains, that dress the flow'ry vale,
For me your tributary stores combine;
Creation's heir, the world, the world is mine.
As some lone miser, visiting his store,
Bends at his treasure, counts, recounts it o'er,
Hoards after hoards his rising raptures fill,
Yet still he sighs, for hoards are wanting still;
Thus to my breast alternate passions rise,
Pleas'd with each good that Heav'n to man supplies;
Yet oft a sigh prevails, and sorrows fall,
To see the hoard of human bliss so small;
And oft I wish, amidst the scene to find
Some spot to real happiness consign'd,

Extols the treasures of his stormy seas,
And his long nights of revelry and ease:
The naked Negro, panting at the Line,
Boasts of his golden sands, and palmy wine,
Basks in the glare or stems the tepid wave,
And thanks his gods for all the good they gave.
Such is the patriot's boast, where'er we roam,
His first, best country, ever is at home.
And yet, perhaps, if countries we compare,
And estimate the blessings which they share,
Though patriots flatter, still shall wisdom find
An equal portion dealt to all mankind :
As diff'rent good, by Art or Nature giv'n
To diff'rent nations, makes their blessings ev'n.
Nature, a mother kind alike to all,
Still grants her bliss at labor's earnest call;
With food as well the peasant is supplied
On Idra's cliff as Arno's shelvy side;
And though the rocky-crested summits frown,
These rocks, by custom, turn to beds of down.
From art more various are the blessings sent;
Wealth, commerce, honor, liberty, content:
Yet these each other's pow'r so strong contest,
That either seems destructive of the rest.
Where wealth and freedom reign, contentment fails,
And honor sinks where commerce long prevails.
Hence every state, to one lov'd blessing prone,
Conforms and models life to that alone:
Each to the favorite happiness attends,
And spurns the plan that aims at other ends;
Till, carried to excess in each domain,
This fav'rite good begets peculiar pain.

But let us try these truths with closer eyes,
And trace them through the prospect as it lies
Here for a while, my proper cares resign'd,
Here let me sit in sorrow for mankind;
Like yon neglected shrub, at random cast,
That shades the steep, and sighs at ev'ry blast.
Far to the right, where Apennine ascends,
Bright as the summer, Italy extends :
Its uplands sloping deck the mountain's side,
Woods over woods in gay theatric pride;
While oft some temple's mould'ring tops between
With memorable grandeur mark the scene.

Could Nature's bounty satisfy the breast,
The sons of Italy were surely blest.
Whatever fruits in diff'rent climes are found,
That proudly rise or humbly court the ground;
Whatever blooms in torrid tracts appear,
Whose bright succession decks the varied year;
Whatever sweets salute the northern sky
With vernal lives, that blossom but to die;
These here disporting own the kindred soil,
Nor ask luxuriance from the planter's toil;
While sea-born gales their gelid wings expand
To winnow fragrance round the smiling land.

But small the bliss that sense alone bestows,
And sensual bliss is all the nation knows.
In florid beauty groves and fields appear,
Man seems the only growth that dwindles here.
Contrasted faults through all his manners reign;
Though poor, luxurious; though submissive, vair
Though grave, yet trifling; zealous, yet untrue;
And ev'n in penance planning sins anew.

Where my worn soul, each wand'ring hope at rest, All evils here contaminate the mind,

May gather bliss, to see my fellows blest.

But where to find that happiest spot below, Who can direct, when all pretend to know? The shudd'ring tenant of the frigid zone Boldly proclaims that happiest spot his own;

That opulence departed leaves behind;
For wealth was theirs; not far remov'd the date,
When commerce proudly flourish'd thro' the state,
At her command the palace learnt to rise,
Again the long-fall'n column sought the skies:

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Here beggar pride defrauds her daily cheer,
To boast one splendid banquet once a year:
The mind still turns where shifting fashion draws,
Nor weighs the solid worth of self-applause.
To men of other minds my fancy flies,
Embosom'd in the deep where Holland lies.
Methinks her patient sons before me stand,
Where the broad ocean leans against the land,
And, sedulous to stop the coming tide,
Lift the tall rampire's artificial pride.
Onward, methinks, and diligently slow,
The firm connected bulwark seems to grow;
Spreads its long arms amidst the wat'ry roar,
Scoops out an empire, and usurps the shore:
While the pent ocean, rising o'er the pile,
Sees an amphibious world beneath him smile:
The slow canal, the yellow-blossom'd vale,
The willow-tufted bank, the gliding sail,
The crowded mart, the cultivated plain,
A new creation rescu'd from his reign.
Thus, while around the wave-subjected soil
Impels the native to repeated toil,
Industrious habits in each bosom reign,
And industry begets a love of gain.
Hence all the good from opulence that springs,
With all those ills superfluous treasure brings,
Are here display'd. Their much-lov'd wealth
imparts

Convenience, plenty, elegance, and arts;
But view them closer, craft and fraud appear,
E'en liberty itself is barter'd here.

At gold's superior charms all freedom flies,
The needy sell it, and the rich man buys;
A land of tyrants, and a den of slaves,
Here wretches seek dishonorable graves,
And, calmly bent, to servitude conform,
Dull as their lakes that slumber in the storm.
Heav'ns! how unlike their Belgic sires of old!
Rough, poor, content, ungovernably bold;
War in each breast, and freedom on each brow;
How much unlike the sons of Britain now!

Fir'd at the sound, my genius spreads her wing,
And flies where Britain courts the western spring;
Where lawns extend that scorn Arcadian pride,
And brighter streams than fam'd Hydaspis glide;
There all around the gentlest breezes stray,
There gentle music melts on every spray;
Creation's mildest charms are there combin'd,
Extremes are only in the master's mind;
Stern o'er each bosom reason holds her state,
With daring aims irregularly great;
Pride in their port, defiance in their eye,
I see the lords of human-kind pass by;
Intent on high designs, a thoughtful band,
By forms unfashion'd, fresh from Nature's hand,
Fierce in their native hardiness of soul,
True to imagin'd right, above control;
While e'en the peasant boasts these rights to scan,
And learns to venerate himself as man.

Thine, Freedom, thine the blessings pictur'd here,

Thine are those charms that dazzle and endear;
Too blest indeed were such without alloy;
But foster'd e'en by freedom, ills annoy;
That independence Britons prize too high,
Keeps man from man, and breaks the social tie;
The self-dependent lordlings stand alone,
All claims that bind and sweeten life unknown;
Here, by the bonds of nature feebly held,
Minds combat minds, repelling and repell'd;

Ferments arise, imprison'd factions roar, Represt ambition struggles round her shore; Till over-wrought, the general system feels Its motions stop, or frenzy fire the wheels.

Nor this the worst. As nature's ties decay, As duty, love, and honor, fail to sway, Fictitious bonds, the bonds of wealth and law, Still gather strength, and force unwilling awe. llence all obedience bows to these alone, And talent sinks, and merit weeps unknown; Till time may come, when, stript of all her charms, The land of scholars, and the nurse of arms, Where noble stems transmit the patriot flame, Where kings have toil'd, and poets wrote for fame, One sink of level avarice shall lie,

And scholars, soldiers, kings, unhonor'd die.

Yet think not, thus when freedom's ills I state,
I mean to flatter kings, or court the great:
Ye pow'rs of truth, that hid my soul aspire,
Far from my bosom drive the low desire!
And thou, fair Freedom, taught alike to feel
The rabble's rage, the tyrant's angry steel;
Thou transitory flow'r, alike undone

By proud contempt, or favor's fost'ring sun;
Still may thy blooms the changeful clime endure
I only would repress them to secure;
For just experience tells, in ev'ry soil,
That those who think must govern those that toil
And all that freedom's highest aims can reach
Is but to lay proportion'd loads on each.
Hence, should one order disproportion'd grow,
Its double weight must ruin all below.

Oh then how blind to all that truth requires,
Who think it freedom when a part aspires!
Calm is my soul, nor apt to rise in arms,
Except when fast-approaching danger warms:
But when contending chiefs blockade the throne,
Contracting regal pow'r to stretch their own;
When I behold a factious band agree

To call it freedom when themselves are free;
Each wanton judge new penal statutes draw,
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law;
The wealth of climes, where savage nations roam
Pillag'd from slaves to purchase slaves at home;
Fear, pity, justice, indignation, start,
Tear off reserve, and bare my swelling heart;
Till, half a patriot, half a coward grown,

I fly from petty tyrants to the throne.
Yes, brother, curse with me that baleful hour,
When first ambition struck at regal pow'r;
And thus, polluting honor in its source,
Gave wealth to sway the mind with double force.
Have we not seen, round Britain's peopled shore,
Her useful sons exchang'd for useless ore?
Seen all her triumphs but destruction haste,
Like flaring tapers bright'ning as they waste?
Seen Opulence, her grandeur to maintain,
Lead stern Depopulation in her train,
And over fields where scatter'd hamlets rose,
In barren solitary pomp repose?
Have we not seen, at Pleasure's lordly call,
The smiling long-frequented village fall?
Beheld the duteous son, the sire decay'd,
The modest matron, and the blushing maid,
Forc'd from their homes, a melancholy train,
To traverse climes beyond the western main,
Where wild Oswego spreads her swamps around.
And Niagara stuns with thund'ring sound?

E'en now, perhaps, as there some pilgrim strays Thro' tangled forests, and thro' dangerous ways;

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