"And fawn'd and smil'd, to plunder and betray, "Myself betray'd und plunder'd all the while; "So gnaw'd the viper the corroding file. "But now with pangs of keen remorse I rue "Those years of trouble and debasement vile."Yet why should I this cruel theme pursue? "Fly, fly, detested thoughts, for ever from my view.

"The gusts of appetite, the clouds of care, "And storms of disappointment all o'erpast, [share "Henceforth no earthly hope with Heaven shall "This heart, where peace serenely shines at last. "And if for me no treasure be amass'd, "And if no future age shall hear my name, "I lurk the more secure from fortune's blast, "And with more leisure feed this pious flame, "Whose rapture far transcends the fairest hopes of

fame.

"The end and the reward of toil is rest.

"Be all my prayer for virtue and for peace. "Of wealth and fame, of pomp and power possess'd, "Who ever felt his weight of wo decrease?

"Ah! what avails the lore of Rome and Greece, "The lay heaven-prompted, and harmonious string, "The dust of Ophir, or the Tyrian fleece, "All that art, fortune, enterprise can bring, "If envy, scorn, remorse, or pride, the bosom wring!

"Let vanity adorn the marble tomb

"With trophies, rhymes, and scutcheons of renown,

"In the deep dungeon of some Gothic dome,
"Where night and desolation ever frown.
"Mine be the breezy hill that skirts the down;
"Where a green grassy turf is all I crave,

"With here and there a violet bestrown,

"Fast by a brook, or fountain's murmuring wave; "And many an evening sun shine sweetly on my grave.

"And thither let the village swain repair; "And, light of heart, the village maiden gay, "To deck with flowers her half-dishevell'd hair, "And celebrate the merry morn of May. "There let the shepherd's pipe the live-long day "Fill all the grove with love's bewitching wo: "And when mild Evening comes with mantle gray, "Let not the blooming band make haste to go,→ "No ghost nor spell my long and last abode shall know.

"For though I fly to 'scape from fortune's rage, "And bear the scars of envy, spite, and scorn, "Yet with mankind no horrid war I wage,} "Yet with no impious spleen my breast is torn : "For virtue lost, and ruin'd man, I mourn. "O Man! creation's pride, heaven's darling child, "Whom Nature's best, divinest gifts adorn,

"Why from thy home are truth and joy exil'd, "And all thy favourite haunts with blood and tears defil'd!

Along yon glittering sky what glory streams! "What majesty attends night's lovely queen!

"Fair laugh our valleys in the vernal beams;
"And mountains rise, and oceans roll between,
"And all conspire to beautify the scene,

"But, in the mental world, what chaos drear!
"What forms of mournful, loathsome, furious mien!
"O when shall that Eternal Morn appear,

"These dreadful forms to chase, this chaos dark to clear !

"O Thou, at whose creative smile, yon heaven, "In all the pomp of beauty, life, and light,

"Rose from the abyss; when dark Confusion, driven "Down, down the bottomless profound of night, "Fled, where he ever flies thy piercing sight! "O glance on these sad shades one pitying ray. "To blast the fury of oppressive might,

"Melt the hard heart to love and mercy's sway,

"And cheer the wandering soul, and light him on the way."

Silence ensued and Edwin rais'd his eyes In tears, for grief lay heavy at his heart, "And is it thus in courtly life," he cries, "That man to man acts a betrayer's part? "And dares he thus the gifts of heaven pervert, "Each social instinct and sublime desire !— "Hail, Poverty! if honour, wealth, and art, "If what the great pursue, and learn'd admire, "Thus dissipate and quench the soul's ethereal fire!"

He said, and turn'd away; nor did the Sage
O'erhear, in silent orisons employ'd.

The Youth, his rising sorrow to assuage,
Home as he hied, the evening scene enjoy'd;
For now no cloud obscures the starry void;
The yellow moonlight sleeps on all the hills;
Nor is the mind with starting sounds annoy'd,
A soothing murmur the lone region fills

Of groves, and dying gales, and melancholy rills.

4

But he from day to day more anxious grew, The voice still seem'd to vibrate on his ear, Nor durst he hope the Hermit's tale untrue; For Man he seem'd to love, and Heaven to fear; And none speaks false, where there is none to hear. "Yet can man's gentle heart become so fell! "No more in vain conjecture let me wear "My hours away, but seek the Hermit's cell;" ""Tis he my doubt can clear, perhaps my care dispel."

At early dawn the Youth his journey took,
And many a mountain pass'd, and valley wide,
Then reach the wild; where in a flowery nook,
And seated on a mossy stone, he spied

An ancient man: his harp lay him beside.
A stag sprang from the pasture at his call,
And, kneeling, lick'd the wither'd hand that tied
A wreath of woodbine round his antlers tall,
And hung his lofty neck with many a flow'ret small.

And now the hoary Sage arose, and saw
The wanderer approaching: innocence
Smil'd on his glowing cheek, but modest awe
Depress'd his eye, that fear'd to give offence.

D

"Who art thou, courteous stranger? and from whence?

"Why roam thy steps to this abandoned dale?" "A shepherd-boy," the Youth replied, "far hence "My habitation: hear my artless tale;

"Nor levity nor falsehood shall thine ear assail.

"Late as I roam'd, intent on Nature's charms, "I reach'd at eve this wilderness profound; "And, leaning where yon oak expands her arms, "Heard these rude cliffs thine awful voice rebound; "(For in thy speech I recognise the sound.) "You mourn'd for ruined man, and virtue lost, "And seem'd to feel of keen remorse the wound, "Pondering on former days, by guilt engross'd, "Or in the giddy storm of dissipation toss'd.

"But say, in courtly life can craft be learn'd, "Where knowledge opens and exalts the soul? "Where fortune lavishes her gifts unearn'd, "Can selfishness the liberal heart control? "Is glory there achiev'd by arts as foul "As those which felons, fiends, and furies plan? "Spiders ensnare, snakes poison, tigers prowl; "Love is the godlike attribute of man. "O teach a simple youth this mystery to scan.

"Or else the lamentable strain disclaim,

"And give me back the calm, contented mind; "Which, late exulting, view'd in Nature's frame "Goodness untainted, wisdom unconfin'd,