TO

DR. AUSTIN,

OF CECIL-STREET, LONDON.

[May 26, 1792.]

AUSTIN! accept a grateful verse from me,
The poet's treasure, no inglorious fee!
Lov'd by the Muses, thy ingenuous mind
Pleasing requital in my verse may find;
Verse oft has dash'd the scythe of time aside,
Immortalizing names which else had died;
And O! could I command the glittering wealth
With which sick kings are glad to purchase health;
Yet, if extensive fame, and sure to live,
Were in the power of verse like mine to give,

I would not recompense his art with less,
Who, giving Mary health, heals my distress:

Friend of my friend !* I love thee, tho' unknown, And boldly call thee, being his, my own.

SONNET,

ADDRESSED TO

WILLIAM HAYLEY, ESQ.

[June 2, 1792.]

HAYLEY-thy tenderness fraternal shown,

In our first interview, delightful guest!
To Mary and me for her dear sake distress'd,
Such as it is has made my heart thy own,
Though heedless now of new engagements grown,
For threescore winters make a wintry breast,
And I had purpos'd ne'er to go in quest
Of Friendship more, except with God alone.
But thou hast won me; nor is God my foe,
Who, ere this last afflictive scene began,

Sent thee to mitigate the dreadful blow,
My brother, by whose sympathy I know

Thy true deserts infallibly to scan,

Not more t' admire the bard than love the man.

CATHARINA :

THE SECOND PART.

On her Marriage to George Courtenay, Esq.

[June, 1792.]

BELIEVE it or not, as you choose,

The doctrine is certainly true, That the future is known to the muse. And poets are oracles too.

I did but express a desire,

To see Catharina at home,

At the side of my friend George's fire,
And lo-she is actually come.

Such prophecy some may despise,

But the wish of a poet and friend

Perhaps is approv'd in the skies,

And therefore attains to its end.
"Twas a wish that flew ardently forth
From a bosom effectually warm'd
With the talents, the graces, and worth
Of the person for whom it was form'd

Maria* would leave us, I know,

To the grief and regret of us all, But less to our grief could we view

Catharina the Queen of the Hall.
And therefore I wish'd as I did,

And therefore this union of hands
Not a whisper was heard to forbid,
But all cry-Amen-to the banns

* Larly Throckmorton.

Since therefore I seem to incur

No danger of wishing in vain, When making good wishes for Her,

I will e'en to my wishes againWith one I have made her a Wife,

And now I will try with another, Which I cannot suppress for my lifeHow soon I can make her a Mother

AN EPITAPH.

[1792.]

HERE lies one who never drew

Blood himself, yet many slew;
Gave the gun its aim, and figure

Made in field, yet ne'er pull'd trigger.

Armed men have gladly made

Him their guide, and him obey'd

At his signified desire,

Would advance, present, and Fire

Stout he was, and large of limb,

Scores have fled at sight of him ;

And to all this fame he rose

Only following his Nose.

Neptune was he call'd, not He
Who controls the boist'rous sea,
But of happier command,
Neptune of the furrow'd land;

And your wonder vain to shorten,
Pointer to Sir John Throckmorton.

EPITAPH ON FOP,

A DOG BELONGING TO LADY THROCKMORTON.

[August, 1792.]

THOUGH Once a puppy, and though Fop by name, Here moulders One whose bones some honour claim No sycophant, although of spaniel race,

And though no hound, a martyr to the chase

Ye squirrels, rabbits, leverets, rejoice,

Your haunts no longer echo to his voice;

This record of his fate exulting view,

He died worn out with vain pursuit of you.
"Yes" the indignant shade of Fop replies
"And worn with vain pursuit, Man also dies."

SONNET

ΤΟ

GEORGE ROMNEY, ESQ.

ON

His picture of me in Crayons, drawn at Eartham in the 61st year of my age, and in the months of August and September, 1792.

[October, 1792.]

ROMNEY, expert infallibly to trace

On chart or canvass, not the form alone And semblance, but, however faintly shown, The mind's impression too on every face-