LONDON: IN THE STRAND; BY T. BENSLEY AND SON, BOLT COURT, FLEET STREET. 1816. Oh could my mind, unfolded in my page, Enlighten climes and mould a future age; There as it glowed, with noblest frenzy fraught, Dispense the treasures of exalted thought; To Virtue wake the pulses of the heart, And bid the tear of emulation start! Oh could it still, thro' each succeeding year, My life, my manners, and my name endear; And, when the poet sleeps in silent dust, Still hold communion with the wise and just ! a Yet should this Verse, my leisure's best resource, When thro' the world it steals its secret course, Revive but once a generous wish supprest, Chase but a sigh, or charm a care to rest; In one good deed a fleeting hour employ, Or flush one faded cheek with honest joy; Blest were my lines, tho' limited their sphere, Tho' short their date, as his who traced them here.
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