SWEET Mem'ry, wafted by thy gentle gale,
Oft up the stream of Time I turn my sail
To view the fairy-haunts of long-lost hours,
Blest with far greener shades, far fresher flow'rs.
Ages and climes remote to Thee impart
What charms in Genius, and refines in Art;
Thee, in whose hand the keys of Science dwell,
The pensive portress of her holy cell,
Whose constant vigils chase the chilling damp
Oblivion steals upon her vestal-lamp.
The friends of Reason, and the guides of Youth,
Whose language breath'd the eloquence of Truth;
Whose life, beyond preceptive wisdom, taught
The Great in conduct, and the Pure in thought;
These still exist, by Thee to Fame consign'd,
Still speak and act, the models of mankind.
From Thee sweet Hope her airy colouring draws; And Fancy's flights are subject to thy laws: From Thee that bosom-spring of rapture flows, Which only Virtue, tranquil Virtue, knows.
When Joy's bright sun has shed his evening-ray, And Hope's delusive meteors cease to play; When clouds on clouds the smiling prospect close, Still thro' the gloom thy Star serenely glows:
Like yon fair orb she gilds the brow of night
With the mild magic of reflected light.
The beauteous maid, that bids the world adieu,
Oft of that world will snatch a fond review;
Oft at the shrine neglect her beads to trace
Some social scene, some dear, familiar face,
Forgot when first a father's stern controul
Chas'd the gay visions of her op'ning soul:
And ere, with iron tongue, the vesper-bell
Bursts thro' the cypress-walk, the convent-cell,
Oft will her warm and wayward heart revive
To love and joy still tremblingly alive;
The whisper'd vow, the chaste caress prolong,
Weave the light dance, and swell the choral
With rapt ear drink th' enchanting serenade,
And, as it melts along the moonlight-glade,
To each soft note return as soft a sigh,
And bless the youth that bids her slumbers fly.
But not till Time has calm'd the ruffled breast
Are these fond dreams of happiness confest:
Not till the rushing winds forget to rave
Is heav'n's sweet smile reflected on the wave.
From Guinea's coast pursue the less'ning sail,
And catch the sounds that sadden ev'ry gale.
Tell, if thou canst, the sum of sorrows there;
Mark the fixt gaze, the wild and frenzied glare,
The racks of thought, and freezings of despair!
But pause not then-Beyond the western wave
Go, view the captive barter'd as a slave!
Crush'd till his high, heroic spirit bleeds,
And from his nerveless frame indignantly recedes,
Yet here, ev'n here, with pleasures long resign'd,
Lo! Mem'ry bursts the twilight of the mind:
Her dear delusions sooth his sinking soul,
When the rude scourge assumes its base controul;
And o'er Futurity's blank page diffuse
The full reflection of their vivid hues.
'Tis but to die, and then, to weep no more
Then will he wake on Congo's distant shore;
Beneath his plantain's ancient shade renew
The simple transports that with freedom flew;
Catch the cool breeze that musky Ev'ning blows,
And quaff the palm's rich nectar as it glows:
The oral tale of elder time rehearse,
And chant the rude, traditionary verse
With those, the lov'd companions of his youth,
When life was luxury, and friendship truth.
Ah! why should Virtue dread the frowns of Fate!
Hers what no wealth can win, no power create!
A little world of clear and cloudless day,
Nor wreck'd by storms, nor moulder'd by decay;
A world with Mem'ry's ceaseless sun-shine blest,
The home of Happiness, an honest breast.
But most we mark the wonders of her reign When Sleep has lock'd the senses in her chain. When sober Judgment has his throne resign'd, She smiles away the chaos of the mind; And, as warm Fancy's bright Elysium glows, From Her each image springs, each colour flows. She is the sacred guest! th' immortal friend! Oft seen o'er sleeping Innocence to bend In that dead hour of night to Silence giv❜n, Whisp'ring seraphic visions of her heav'n.
When the blithe son of Savoy, journeying round With humble wares and pipe of merry sound, From his green vale and shelter'd cabin hies, And scales the Alps to visit foreign skies; Tho' far below the forked lightnings play, And at his feet the thunder dies away, Oft, in the saddle rudely rock'd to sleep, While his mule browses on the dizzy steep, With Mem'ry's aid, he sits at home, and sees His children sport beneath their native trees, And bends, to hear their cherub-voices call, O'er the loud fury of the torrent's fall.
But can her smile with gloomy Madness dwell! Say, can she chase the horrors of his cell! Each fiery flight on Frenzy's wing restrain, And mould the coinage of the fever'd brain! Pass but that grate which scarce a gleam supplies, There in the dust the wreck of Genius lies! He, whose arresting hand sublimely wrought Each bold conception in the sphere of thought! Who from the quarried mass, like Phidias, drew Forms ever fair, creations ever new!
But, as he fondly snatch'd the wreath of Fame,
The spectre Poverty unnerv'd his frame.
Cold was her grasp, a with'ring scowl she wore,
And Hope's soft energies were felt no more.
Yet still how sweet the soothings of his art!
From the rude stone what bright ideas start!
E'en now he claims the amaranthine wreath,
With scenes that glow, with images that breathe!
And whence these scenes, these images, declare-
Whence but from Her who triumphs o'er despair!
Awake, arise! with grateful fervor fraught, Go, spring the mine of elevating thought. He who thro' Nature's various walk surveys The good and fair her faultless line portrays; Whose mind, prophan'd by no unhallow'd guest, Culls from the crowd the purest and the best, May range, at will, bright Fancy's golden clime, Or, musing, mount where Science sits sublime, Or wake the spirit of departed Time. Who acts thus wisely, mark the moral Muse! A blooming Eden in his life reviews. So rich the culture, tho' so small the space, Its scanty limits he forgets to trace:
But the fond fool, when ev'ning shades the sky, Turns but to start, and but to sigh! 3 The weary waste, that lengthen'd as he ran, Fades to a blank, and dwindles to a span!
Ah! who can tell the triumphs of the mind, By truth illumin'd, and by taste refin❜d! When Age has quench'd the eye and clos'd the
Still nerv'd for action in her native sphere
Oft will she rise-with searching glance pursue
Some long-lov'd image vanish'd from her view;
Dart thro' the deep recesses of the past
O'er dusky forms in chains of slumber cast;
With giant-grasp fling back the folds of night,
And snatch the faithless fugitive to light.
So thro' the grove th' impatient mother flies,
Each sunless glade, each secret pathway tries
Till the light leaves the truant boy disclose,
Long on the wood-moss stretch'd in sweet repose.
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