Page:Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1918.djvu/586

 TOBIAS GEORGE SMOLLETT

Still on thy banks so gaily green May numerous herds and flocks be seen, And lasses chanting o'er the pail, And shepherds piping in the dale, And ancient faith that knows no guile, And industry embrown'd with toil, And hearts resolved and hands prepared The blessings they enjoy to guard.

��CHRISTOPHER SMART 479 Song to David

^UBLIME invention ever young,
 * Of vast conception, tow'ring tongue

To God th' eternal theme, Notes from yon exaltations caught, Unrivall'd royalty of thought

O'er meaner strains supreme'

His muse, bright angel of his verse, Gives balm for all the thorns that pierce,

For all the pangs that rage , Blest light still gaining on the gloom, The more than Michal of his bloom,

Th' Abishag of his age.

He sang of God the mighty source Of all things the stupendous force

On which all strength depends; From whose right arm, beneath whose eyes, All period, power, and enterprise

Commences, reigns, and ends.

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