Page:Poetical sketches reprint (1868).djvu/54

36 And thou, Mercurius, that with winged bow

Dost mount aloft into the yielding sky,

And thro' Heaven's halls thy airy flight dost throw,

Entering with holy feet to where on high

Jove weighs the counsel of futurity;

Then, laden with eternal fate, dost go

Down, like a falling star, from autumn sky,

And o'er the surface of the silent deep dost fly:

If thou arrivest at the sandy shore

Where nought but envious hissing adders dwell,

Thy golden rod, thrown on the dusty floor,

Can charm to harmony with potent spell;

Such is sweet Eloquence, that does dispel

Envy and Hate, that thirst for human gore;

And cause in sweet society to dwell

Vile savage minds that lurk in lonely cell.

O Mercury, assist my labouring sense

That round the circle of the world would fly,

As the wing'd eagle scorns the towery fence

Of Alpine hills round his high aëry,

And searches thro' the corners of the sky,