OH! that the Chemist's magic art Could crystallize this sacred treasure! Long should it glitter near my heart, A secret source of pensive pleasure. The little brilliant, ere it fell, Sweet drop of pure and pearly light! Benign restorer of the soul! Who ever fly'st to bring relief, When first we feel the rude controul Of Love or Pity, Joy or Grief. The sage's and the poet's theme, Thou charm'st in Fancy's idle dream, * That very law which moulds a tear, And bids it trickle from its source, That law preserves the earth a sphere, And guides the planets in their course. * The law of gravitation. Vane, quid affectas faciem mihi ponere, pictor? Et, si vis similem pingere, pinge sonum.-AUSONIUS. ONCE more, Enchantress of the soul, Say, in what distant star to dwell? Perhaps to many a desert shore, Far happier thou! 'twas thine to soar, Thy triumphs who shall dare explore? * Once more that Voice beloved to join, Which taught thee first a flight divine, And nursed thy infant years with many a strain from Heaven! * Mrs. Sheridan's. |