Of ancient race by birth, but nobler yet
In his own worth, and without title great:
The Sanhedrim long time as chief he ruled;
Their reason guided, and their passion cooled :
So dextrous was he in the crown's defence,
So formed to speak a loyal nation's sense,
That as their band was Israel's tribes in small,
So fit was he to represent them all.
Now rasher charioteers the seat ascend,
Whose loose careers his steady skill commend.
They, like the unequal ruler of the day,
Misguide the seasons, and mistake the way,
While he withdrawn, at their mad labour smiles,
And safe enjoys the sabbath of his toils.
Two friends or brothers, with devout intent,
On some far pilgrimage together went.
It happened so that, when the sun went down,
They just arrived by twilight at a town;
That day had been the baiting of a bull,
'Twas at a feast, and every inn so full
That no void room, in chamber, or on ground,
And but one sorry bed was to be found;
And that so little it would hold but one,
Though till this hour they never lay alone.
So they were forced to part; one stayed behind,
His fellow sought what lodging he could find:
At last he found a stall where oxen stood,
And that he rather chose than lie abroad.
'Twas in a farther yard without a door,
But, for his ease, well littered was the floor.
His fellow, who the narrow bed had kept,
Was weary, and without a rocker slept;
Supine's he snored; but in the dead of night
He dreamt his friend appeared before his sight,
Who with a ghastly look and doleful cry,
Said, Help me, brother, or this night I die;
Arise and help, before all help be vain,
Or in an ox's stall I shall be slain.
Roused from his rest, he wakened in a start;
Shivering with horror, and with aching heart;
At length to cure himself by reason tries;
'Tis but a dream, and what are dreams but lies?
So sinking, changed his side, and closed his eyes.
His dream returns; his friend appears again :
The murderers come, now help, or I am slain.
'Twas but a vision still, and visions are but vain.
He dreamt a third: but now his friend appeared
Pale, naked, pierced with wounds, with blood besmeared;
Thrice warned, awake, said he, relief is late,
The deed is done; but thou revenge my fate:
Tardy of aid, unseal thy heavy eyes,
Awake, and with the dawning day arise:
Take to the western gate thy ready way,
For by that passage they my corpse convey:
My corpse is in a tumbril laid, among
The filth and ordure and enclosed with dung:
That cart arrest, and raise a common cry;
For sacred' hunger of my gold I die :
Then showed his grisly wound: and last he drew
A piteous sigh, and took a long adieu.
The frighted friend arose by break of day,
And found the stall where his late fellow lay.
Then of his impious host inquiring more,
Was answered that his guest was gone before:
Muttering, he went, said he, by morning light,
And much complained of his ill rest by night.
This raised suspicion in the pilgrim's mind,
Because all hosts are of an evil kind,
And oft to share the spoils with robbers joined.
His dream confirmed his thought; with troubled look,
Straight to the western gate his way he took;
There, as his dream foretold, a cart he found,
That carried compost forth to dung the ground.
This when the pilgrim saw, he stretched his throat,
And cried out murder, with a yelling note.
My murdered fellow in this cart lies dead,
Vengeance and justice on the villain's head.
Ye magistrates, who sacred law dispense,
On
you I call to punish this offence.
The word thus given, within a little space
The mob came roaring out, and thronged the place.
All in a trice they cast the cart to ground,
And in the dung the murdered body found;
Though breathless, warm, and reeking from the wound.
Good heaven, whose darling attribute we find,
Is boundless grace, and mercy to mankind,
Abhors the cruel; and the deeds of night
By wondrous ways reveals in open light;
19 sacred, here means accursed.
Murder may pass unpunished for a time,
But tardy justice will o'ertake the crime.
And oft a speedier pain the guilty feels:
The hue and cry of heaven pursues him at his heels.
Fresh from the fact, as in the present case,
The criminals are seized upon the place:
Carter and host confronted face to face.
Stiff in denial, as the law appoints,
On engines they distend their tortured joints :
So was confession forced, the offence was known,
And public justice on the offenders done.
VENI CREATOR 20.
CREATOR Spirit, by whose aid
The world's foundations first were laid,
Come, visit every pious mind;
Come, pour thy joys on human kind;
From sin and sorrow set us free,
And make thy temples worthy Thee.
O source of uncreated light,
The Father's promised Paraclete2)!
Thrice holy fount, thrice holy fire,
Our hearts with heavenly love inspire,
Come, and thy sacred unction bring
To sanctify us while we sing.
Plenteous of grace, descend from high,
Rich in thy sevenfold energy!
Thou strength of His Almighty hand,
Whose power does heaven and earth command.
Proceeding Spirit, our defence,
Who dost the gift of tongues dispense,
And crownst thy gifts with eloquence.
Refine and purge our earthly parts;
But, oh inflame and fire our hearts!
Our frailties help, our vice control,
Submit the senses to the soul;
And when rebellious they are grown,
Then lay thine hand, and hold them down.
Chase from our minds the infernal foe,
And peace, the fruit of love, bestow;
And, lest our feet should step astray,
Protect and guide us in the way.
20" Come, Creator;" the title is
21 Paraclete, a Greek word, signify.
taken from the first two words of the ing "comforter."
Make us eternal truths receive,
And practise all that we believe:
Give us thyself, that we may see
The Father, and the Son, by Thee.
Immortal honour, endless fame,
Attend the Almighty Father's name :
The Saviour Son be glorified,
Who for lost man's redemption died :
And equal adoration be,
Eternal Paraclete, to Thee!
Was born in Dublin A.D. 1679; he was educated in the Irish University, and having taken orders, received the Archdeaconry of Clogher. He was intimate with all the illustrious writers usually termed "the wits of Queen Anne's age.' and was a contributor to the Spectator. He died at Chester, on hia way to Ireland A.D. 1717.
His poems are distinguished by ease, sprightliness and melodious versification, but still more so for their elegant sentiments and pure morality.
FAR in a wild, unknown to public view,
From youth to age a reverend Hermit grew;
The moss his bed, the cave his humble cell,
His food the fruits, his drink the crystal well:
Remote from men, with God he passed his days,
Prayer all his business, all his pleasure praise.
A life so sacred, such serene repose,
Seemed heaven itself, till one suggestion rose;
1 This beautiful poem was founded on an Arabic legend. to which an allusion is made in the Koran. The following summary of the original story is taken from TAYLOR'S History of Mohammedanism.
"Moses, once preaching to the people, displayed so much eloquence, that his audience inquired whether a man existed wiser than himself; to which he replied in the negative. God rebuked him in a vision, and informed him that his servant Kedher was more intelligent, and that he would find him at a place where two seas met, and where a fish that he was directed to carry in
a basket, should disappear. Accompanied by his servant Joshua, Moses travelled to a great distance, and at length reached a spot where the seas of Greece and Persia met! Here the fish unaccountably disappeared, and soon after they met Kedher. Moses requested to be received as his disciple; Kedher replied, Verily, thou canst not bear with me, for how canst thou patiently suffer those things, the knowledge of which thou dost not comprehend?' Мовев promised implicit obedience, and was commanded not to inquire the meaning of any thing that he saw until Kedher explained it voluntarily. To
That Vice should triumph, Virtue Vice obey,
This sprung some doubt of Providence's sway;
His hopes no more a certain prospect boast,
And all the tenor of his soul is lost :
So when a smooth expanse receives imprest
Calm nature's image on its watery breast,
Down bend the banks, the trees depending grow,
And skies beneath with answering colours glow;
But if a stone the gentle sea divide,
Swift ruffling circles curl on every side,
And glimmering fragments of a broken sun,
Banks, trees, and skies, in thick disorder run.
To clear this doubt, to know the world by sight,
To find if books or swains report it right,
(For yet by swains alone the world he knew,
Whose feet came wandering o'er the nightly dew,)
He quits his cell; the pilgrim staff he bore,
And fixed the scallop3 in his hat before;
Then with the sun a rising journey went,
Sedate to think, and watching each event.
The morn was wasted in the pathless grass,
And long and lonesome was the wild to pass;
this Moses agreed, and both set out
upon a journey together; and as they
passed by the sea-shore, they saw a
ship, into which Kedher ascending,
struck out two of her planks with an
axe. Moses inquired the cause, but
being reproached for breach of con-
tract, he apologized, and they con-
tinued their course. Soon after they
met a beautiful youth, whom Kedher
slew. Moses, horror-struck, remon-
strated against the crime, but being
again reminded of his agreement, he
was forced to be silent. After this they
wandered till they were weary and
hungry; they approached the city of
Tarsus: here they asked for food and
shelter, but the inhabitants refused to
receive them. In this city there was
a wall ready to fall down, but Kedher
set it upright, by merely stroking it
with his hand. Upon this, Moses
desiring an explanation, Kedher de-
clared that they should part, but first
condescended to explain his enigma-
tical conduct. The ship belonged to
ten poor brethren, five of whom were
broken down with age, and were sup-
ported by the labour of the other five;
the king of the country had resolved
to seize all the vessels in his domi-
nions, and this was only rescued from
his clutches by being rendered for a
time unserviceable. The boy was the
unbelieving son of believing parents,
who would have been perverted had
he continued to live, but now God had
resolved to supply his place with a
daughter, who should both be a pro-
phetess herself, and the mother of a
prophet that should convert a nation.
Finally, the wall concealed a treasure
belonging to orphans, who were as yet
unable to make use of it; the prophet
had, therefore, secured the wall for its
preservation; and in all his actions he
had been influenced, not by his own
will, but by God's immediate direc-
tions. Moses heard the explanation
with submission, and returned to the
camp of the Israelites with a more
modest opinion of his own abilities."
2 swains, peasants.
3 scallop, the scallop-shell was worn anciently in the hat by pilgrims.
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