None that, in thy domestic snug recess,

To show him in an insect or a flower
He had not made his own with more address, Such microscopic proof of skill and power,
Though some, perhaps, that shock thy feeling As, hid from ages past, God now displays,
mind,

To combat atheists with in modern days;
And better never learned, or left behind.

To spread the earth before him, and commend, And too, that, thus estranged, thou canst obtain With designation of the finger's end, By no kind arts his confidence again;

Its various parts to his attentive note, That here begins with most that long complaint Thus bringing home to him the most remote; Of filial frankness lost, and love grown faint, To teach his heart to glow with generous flame, Which, oft neglected, in life's waning years Caught from the deeds of men of ancient fame: A parent pours into regardless ears.

And, more than all, with commendation due, Like caterpillars, dangling under trees

To set some living worthy in his view, By slender threads, and swinging in the breeze,

Whose fair example may at once inspire Which filthily bewray and sore disgrace

A wish to copy what he must admire. The boughs in which are bred th’ unseemly race; Such knowledge gained betimes, and which apWhile every worm industriously weaves

pears And winds his web about the rivelled leaves;

Though solid, not too weighty for his years, So numerous are the follies, that annoy

Sweet in itself, and not forbidding sport, The mind and heart of every sprightly boy;

When health demands it, of athletic sort, Imaginations noxious and perverse,

Would make him—what some lovely boys have Which admonition can alone disperse.

been, Th' encroaching nuisance asks a faithful hand,

And more than one perhaps that I have seen Patient, affectionate, of high command,

An evidence and reprehension both To check the procreation of a breed

Of the mere shool-boy's lean and tardy growth. Sure to exhaust the plant on which they feed." · Art thou a man professionally tied, 'Tis not enough, that Greek or Roman page, With all thy faculties elsewhere applied, At stated hours, his freakish thoughts engage;

Too busy to intend a meaner care, E'en in his pastimes he requires a friend, Than how tenrich thyself, and next thine heir ; To warn, and teach him safely to unbend; Or art thou (as though rich, perhaps thou art) O'er all his pleasures gently to preside,

But poor in knowledge, having none t' impart: Watch his emotions, and control their tide: Behold that figure, neat, though plainly clad; And levying thus, and with an easy sway, His sprightly mingled with a shade of sad; A tax of profit from his very play,

Not of a nimble tongue, though now and then T' impress a value, not to be erased,

Heard to articulate like other men; On moments squandered else, and running all to No jester, and yet lively in discourse, waste.

His phrase well chosen, clear, and full of force; And seems it nothing in a father's eye, And his address, if not quite French in ease, That unimproved those many moments fly? Not English stiff, but frank, and formed to please; And is he well content his son should find Low in the world, because he scorns its arts; No nourishment to feed his growing mind A man of letters, manners, morals, parts; But conjugated verbs, and nouns declined? Unpatronized, and therefore little known; For such is all the mental food purveyed Wise for himself and his few friends aloneBy public hackneys in the schooling trade; In him thy well appointed proxy, see, Who feed a pupil's intellect with store

Armed for a work too difficult for thee; Of syntax, truly, but with little more;

Prepared by taste, by learning, and true worth, Dismiss their cares, when they dismiss their flock, To form thy son, to strike his genius forth; Machines themselves, and governed by a clock. Beneath thy roof, beneath thine eye, to prove Perhaps a father, blest with any brains, The force of discipline, when backed by love; Would deem it no abuse, or waste of pains, To double all thy pleasure in thy child, T' improve this diet, at no great expense, His mind informed, his morals undefiled. With savoury truth and wholesome common sense; Safe under such a wing, the boy shall show To lead his son, for prospects of delight, No spots contractod among grooms below, To some not steep, though philosophic height, Nor taint his speech with meannesses, designed Thence to exhibit to his wondering eyes By footman Tom for witty and refined. Yon circling worlds, their distance, and their There, in his commerce with the liv'ried herd, size;

Lurks the contagion chiefly to be feared; The moons of Jove, and Saturn's belted ball, For since (so fashion dictates) all, who claim And the harmonious order of them all;

A higher than a mere plebeian fame,

a

Find it expedient, come what mischief may, Or is thine house, though less superb thy rank, To entertain a thief or two in pay,

If not a scene of pleasure, a mere blank, (And they that can afford th' expense of more, And thou at best, and in thy soberest mood, Some half a dozen, and some half a score,) A trifler vain, and empty.of all good; Great cause occurs, to save him from a band Though mercy for thyself thou canst have none, So sure to spoil him, and so near at hand; Hear nature plead, show mercy to thy son. A point secured, if once he be supplied

Saved from his home, where every day brings forth With some such Mentor always at his side. Some mischief fatal to his future worth, Are such men rare ? perhaps they would abound, Find him a better in a distant spot, Were occupation easier to be found,

Within some pious pastor's humble cot, Were education, else so sure to fail,

Where vile example (yours I chiefly mean, Conducted on a manageable scale,

The most seducing, and the oftenest seen,) And schools, that have outlived all just esteem, May never more be stamped upon his breast, Exchanged for the secure domestic scheme.- Nor yet perhaps incurably impressed. But, having found him, be thou duke or earl, Where early rest makes early rising sure, Show thou hast sense enough to prize the pearl, Disease or comes not, or finds easy cure, And, as thou wouldst th’advancement of thine heir Prevented much by diet neat and plain; In all good faculties beneath his care,

Or, if it enter, soon starved out again: Respect, as is but rational and just,

Where all th' attention of his faithful host,
A man deemed worthy of so dear a trust. Discreetly limited to two at most,
Despised by thee, what more can he expect May raise such fruits as shall reward his care,
From youthful folly than the same neglect; And not at last evaporate in air :
A flat and fatal negative obtains

Where, stillness aiding study, and his mind
That instant upon all his future pains; Serene, and to his duties much inclined,
His lessons tire, his mild rebukes offend, Not occupied in day-dreams, as at home,
And all th' instructions of thy son's best friend Of pleasures past, or follies yet to come,
Are a stream choked, or trickling to no end. His virtuous toil may terminate at last
Doom him not then to solitary meals;

In settled habit and decided taste.-
But recollect that he has sense, and feels; But whom do I advise ? the fashion-led,
And that, possessor of a soul refined,

Th' incorrigibly young, the deaf, the dead,
An upright heart, and cultivated mind,

Whom care and cool deliberation suit
His post not mean, his talents not unknown, Not better much than spectacles a brute;
He deems it hard to vegetate alone,

Who, if their sons some slight tuition share,
And, if admitted at thy board he sit,

Deem it of no great moment whose, or where; Account him no just mark for idle wit;

Too proud t' adopt the thoughts of one unknown, Offend not him, whom modesty restrains And much too gay t' have any of their own. From repartee, with jokes that he disdains; But courage, man! -methought the muse replied, Much less transfix his feelings with an oath; Mankind are various, and the world is wide: Nor frown, unless he vanish with the cloth. The ostrich, silliest of the feathered kind, And, trust me, his utility may reach

And formed of God without a parent's mind, To

'o more than he is hired or bound to teach; Commits her eggs incautious to the dust,
Much trash unuttered, and some ills undone, Forgetful that the foot may crush the trust;
Through reverence of the censor of thy son. And, while on public nurseries they rely,
But, if thy table be indeed unclean,

Not knowing, and too oft not caring, why,
Foul with excess, and with discourse obscene, Irrational in what they thus prefer,
And thou a wretch, whom, following her old plan, No few, that would seem wise, resemble her.
The world accounts an honourable man, But all are not alike. Thy warning voice
Because forsooth thy courage has been tried, May here and there prevent erroneous choice;
And stood the test, perhaps, on the wrong side; And some perhaps, who, busy as they are,

Though thou hadst never grace enough to prove Yet make their progeny their dearest care,
That any thing but vice could win thy love;- (Whose hearts will ache, once told what ills may
Or hast thou a polite, card-playing wife,

reach
Chained to the routs that she frequents for life; Their offspring, left upon so wild a beach,)
Who, just when industry begins to snore, Will need no stress of arguinent t' enforce
Flies, winged with joy, to some coach-crowded door, Th'expedience of a less advent'rous course :
And thrice in every winter throngs thine own The rest will slight thy counsel, or condemn;
With half the chariots and sedans in town, But they have human feelings, turn to them.
Thyself meanwhile e'en shifting as thou mayst : To you then, tenants of life's middle state,
Not very sober though, nor very chaste; Securely placed between the small and great,

a

Whose character, yet undebauched, retains Thou canst not! Nature, pulling at thine heart Two thirds of all the virtue that remains, Condemns th' unfatherly, th' imprudent part. Who, wise yourselves, desire your son should learn Thou wouldst not, deaf to Nature's tenderest plea, Your wisdom and your ways—to you I turn,

Turn him adrift upon a rolling sea, Look round you on a world perversely blind; Nor say, Go thither, conscious that there lay See what contempt is fallen on human kind; A brood of asps, or quicksands in his way; See wealth abused, and dignities misplaced, Then, only governed by the self-same rule Great titles, offices, and trusts disgraced, Of natural pity, send him not to school. Long lines of ancestry, renowned of old, No-guard him better. Is he not thine own, Their noble qualities all quenched and cold; Thyself in miniature, thy flesh, thy bone ? See Bedlam's closeted and hand-cuffed charge And hop'st thou not ('tis every father's hope) Sur passed in frenzy by the mad at large; That, since thy strength must with thy years elope, See great commanders making war a trade, And thou wilt need some comfort, to assuage Great lawyers, lawyers without study made; Health's last farewell, a staff of thine old age, Churchmen, in whose esteem their best employ That then, in recompense of all thy cares, Is odious, and their wages all their joy, Thy child shall show respect to thy gray hairs, Who, far enough from furnishing their shelves Befriend thee, of all other friends bereft, With Gospel lore, turn infidels themselves; And give thy life its only cordial left ? See womanhood despised, and manhood shamed Aware then how much danger intervenes, With infamy too nauseous to be named, To compass that good end, forecast the means. Fops at all corners, lady-like in mien,

His heart, now passive, yields to thy command, Civeted fellows, smelt ere they are seen, Secure it thine, its key is in thine hand. Else coarse and rude in manners, and their tongue If thou desert thy charge, and throw it wide, On fire with curses, and with nonsense hung, Nor heed what guests there enter and abide, Now flushed with drunkenness, now with whore- Complain not if attachments lewd and base dom pale,

Supplant thee in it, and usurp thy place. Their breath a sample of last night's regale; But, if thou guard its sacred chambers sure See volunteers in all the vilest arts,

From vicious inmates, and delights impure, Men well endowed, of honourable parts,

Either his gratitude shall hold him fast, Designed by Nature wise, but self-made fools; And keep him warm and filial to the last; All these, and more like these, were bred at Or, if he prove unkind (as who can say schools:

But, being man, and therefore frail, he may ?) And if it chance, as sometimes chance it will, One comfort yet shall cheer thine aged heart, That though school-bred, the boy be virtuous still, Howe'er he slight thee, thou hast done thy part. Such rare exceptions, shining in the dark, Oh, barbarous! wouldst thou with a Gothic hand, Prove, rather than impeach, the just remark: Pull down the schools—what!-all the schools i' As here and there a twinkling star descried,

th' land; Serves but to show how black is all beside. Or throw them up to livery-nags and grooms, Now look on him, whose very voice in tone Or turn them into shops and auction-rooms ? Just echoes thine, whose features are thine own, A captious question, sir (and yours is one,) And stroke his polished cheek of purest red, Deserves an answer similar, or none. And lay thine hand upon his flaxen head, Wouldst thou, possessor of a flock, employ And say, My boy, th’ unwelcome hour is come, (Apprised that he is such) a careless boy, When thou, transplanted from thy genial home, And feed him well, and give him handsome pay Must find a colder soil and bleaker air,

Merely to sleep, and let him run astray? And trust for safety to a stranger's care; Survey our schools and colleges, and see What character, what turn thou wilt assume A sight not much unlike my simile. From constant converse with I know not whom; From education, as the leading cause, Who there will court thy friendship, with what The public character its colour draws; views,

Thence the prevailing manners take their cast, And, artless as thou art, whom thou wilt choose; Extravagant or sober, loose or chaste. Though much depends on what thy choice shall be, And, though I would not advertise them yet, Is all chance-medley, and unknown to me, Nor write on each- This building to be let, Canst thou, the tear just trembling on thy lids, Unless the world were all prepared t’. embrace And while the dreadful risk foreseen forbids, A plan well worthy to supply their place; Free too, and under no constraining force, Yet

, backward as they are, and long have been, Unless the sway of custom warp thy course, To cultivate and keep the morals clean, Lay such a stake upon the losing side,

(Forgive the crime) I wish them, I confess, Merely to gratify so blind a guide ?

Or better managed, or encouraged less.

n

Miscellaneous Poems.

Thou art not voice alone, but hast beside

Where rises, and where sets the day, Both heart and head; and couldst with music Whate'er they boast of rich and gay, sweet

Contribute to the gorgeous plan, Of Attic phrase and senatorial tone,

Proud to advance it all they can. Like thy renowned forefathers, far and wide

This plumage neither dashing shower, Thy fame diffuse, praised not for utterance meet Nor blasts that shake the dripping bower, Of others' speech, but magic of thy own. Shall drench again or discompose,

But, screened from every storm that blows,

It boasts a splendour ever new,
LINES

Safe with protecting Montagu.

To the same patroness resort,
ADDRESSED TO DR. DARWIN,

Secure of favour at her court,
Author of the " Botanic Garden."

Strong Genius, from whose forge of thought

Forms rise, to quick perfection wrought, Two Poets* (poets, by report,

Which, though new-born, with vigour move, Not oft so well agree,)

Like Pallas springing armed from Jovem
Sweet Harmonist of Flora's court!

Imagination scattering round
Conspire to honour Thee.

Wild roses over furrowed ground,

Which Labour of his frown beguile,
They best can judge a poet's worth,
Who oft themselves have known

And teach Philosophy a smile-
The pangs of a poetic birth

Wit flashing on Religion's side, · By labours of their own.

Whose fires, to sacred Truth applied,

The gem, though luminous before,
We therefore, pleased, extol thy song,

Obtrudes on human notice more,
Though various yet complete,

Like sunbeams on the golden height
Rich in embellishment, as strong

Of some tall temple playing bright-
And learned as 'tis sweet.

Well-tutored Learning, from his books

Dismissed with grave, not haughty, looks.
No envy mingles with our praise,

Their order on his shelves exact,
Though, could our hearts repine

Not more harmonious or compact
At any poet's happier lays,

Than that, to which he keeps confined
They would—they must at thine.

The various treasures of his mind
But we in mutual bondage knit

All these to Montagu's repair,

Ambitious of a shelter there.
Of friendship's closest tie,
Can gáze on even Darwin's wit

There Genius, Learning, Fancy, Wit,
With an unjaundiced eye;

Their ruffled plumage calm refit,

(For stormy troubles loudest roar And deem the Bard, whoe'er he be,

Around their flight who highest soar)
And howsoever known,

And in her eye, and by her aid,
Who would not twine a wreath for Thee, Shine safe without a fear to fade.
Unworthy of his own.

She thus maintains divided sway
With yon bright regent of the day;
The plume and poet both, we know,
Their lustre to his influence owe;

And she the works of Phæbus aiding,
MRS. MONTAGU'S FEATHER-HANGINGS. Both poet saves and plume from fading.
The birds put off their every hue,
To dress a room for Montagu.

VERSES
The Peacock sends his heavenly dyes,
His rainbows and his starry eyes;

Supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk, during his

solitary abode in the island of Juan Fernandez. The Pheasant plumes, which round infold

I am monarch of all I survey, His mantling neck with downy gold;

My right there is none to dispute ; The Cock his arched tail's azure show;

From the centre all round to the sea, And, 'river-blanched, the Swan his snow.

I am lord of the fowl and the brute. All tribes beside of Indian name,

O solitude! where are the charms That glossy shine, or vivid flame,

That sages have seen in thy face?

Better dwell in the midst of alarms, Alluding to the poem by Mr. Hayley, which accompanied these lines,

Than reign in this horrible place.

ON.

3