To hurl the dart, to ride the car,

To stem the deluges of war,

And snatch from fate a sinking land ;

Trample th' Invader's lofty crest,

And from his grasp the dagger wrest,

And desolating brand:

'Twas this, that raised th' illustrious Line

To match the first in fame!

A thousand years have seen it shine

With unabated flame.

Have seen thy mighty Sires appear
Foremost in Glory's high career,

The pride and pattern of the Brave.
Yet, pure from lust of blood their fire,
And from Ambition's wild desire,
They triumph'd but to save.

The Muse with joy attends their way

2

The vale of peace along ;

There to its Lord the village gay

Renews the grateful song.

I

Yon castle's glittering towers contain

No pit of wo, nor clanking chain,

Nor to the suppliant's wail resound;

Th' unfriended hail their calm recess,

And gladness smiles around.

There to the sympathetick heart
Life's best delights belong,

To mitigate the mourner's smart,
To guard the weak from wrong.
Ye Sons of Luxury, be wise:
Know, happiness for ever flies
The cold and solitary breast;
Then let the social instinct glow,
And learn to feel another's wo,
And in his joy be bless'd.

O yet, ere Pleasure plant her snare

For unsuspecting youth;

Ere Flattery her song prepare

To check the voice of Truth;

O may his country's guardian Power Attend the slumbering Infant's bower, And bright, inspiring dreams impart; To rouse th' hereditary fire,

To kindle each sublime desire,

Exalt, and warm the heart.

Swift to reward a Parent's fears,

A Parent's hopes to crown,

Roll on in peace, ye blooming years,

That rear him to renown;

When in his finish'd form and face
Admiring multitudes shall trace
Each patrimonial charm combined,

The courteous yet majestick mien,
The liberal smile, the look serene,

The great and gentle mind.

Yet, though thou draw a nation's eyes,

And win a nation's love,

Let not thy towering min l despise

The village and the grove.

No slander there shall wound thy fame,

No ruffian take his deadly aim,

No rival weave the secret snare:

For Innocence with angel smile,
Simplicity that knows no guile,
And Love and Peace are there.

When winds the mountain oak assail,

And lay its glories waste,

Content may slumber in the vale,

Unconscious of the blast.

Through scenes of tumult while we roam,

The heart, alas! is ne'er at home,

It hopes in time to roam no more;

The mariner, not vainly brave,

Combats the storm, and rides the wave, To rest at last on shore.

Ye proud, ye selfish, ye severe,

How vain your mask of state!

The good alone have joy sincere,

The good alone are great:

Great, when, amid the vale of peace,

They bid the plaint of sorrow cease,

And hear the voice of artless praise;

As when along the trophy'd plain
Sublime they lead the victor train,
While shouting nations gaze.

TO THE

RIGHT HON. LADY CHARLOTTE GORDON,

DRESSED IN A TARTAN SCOTCH BONNET WITH PLUMES, &c.

WHY, Lady, wilt thou bind thy lovely brow
With the dread semblance of that warlike helm,
That nodding plume, and wreathe of various glow,
That graced the chiefs of Scotia's antient realm ?

Thou knowest that virtue is of power the source,
And all her magick to thy eyes is given;
We own their empire, while we feel their force,
Beaming with the benignity of heaven.

The plumy helmet, and the martial mien,
Might dignify Minerva's awful charms ;
But more resistlefs far th' Idalian queen-
Smiles, graces, gentleness, her only arms.