Page:The Poetical Works of Thomas Parnell (1833).djvu/30

xiv Thus pleas'd we hail our W-lm-t's gifts refin'd, So bright his numbers, and so pure his mind. Gentle and good! if greater praise be Or more enduring, it belongs to thee, Accomplish'd W-lm-t!—thy serener eye Unmov'd beholds each tempting pleasure nigh. Far from the fears that softer minds await, With the sweet muse and sounding lyre elate. Oh, eloquent of song! whose dawning ray Now burns and brightens into purer day; Not thine the lover's flower-encircled chain, Long years consum'd at beauty's feet in vain, Delusive hopes, and pleasure's laughing train: Not thine the Teïan blooms, the Lesbian wreath Bedew'd with wine, and rich with beauty's breath, Charms not thine ear the sweet Provençal tale, Nor Arno warbling down the Etrurian vale; Young love in vain his myrtle wand supplies, In vain her spells the soft enchantress tries, Though the bright shaft is wing'd with light from B-g-t's eyes.

We read alternate, and alternate hear Songs that might win attention's choicest ear; Rich with the spoils of all Castalia's dew, And truths that haughty Athens only knew. Those tragic strains, worthy the Delphic shrine, Of Thebes, and Pelops' race, and Troy divine; And not unheard the surge's midnight roar Breaking on the proud solitude, that bore The warrior's wounded cries from Lemnos' rocky shore. Errata