Page:The works of Anna Laetitia Barbauld volume 1.djvu/275

Rh Thus, when the fervid Passions cool, And Judgement, late, begins to rule; When Reason mounts her throne serene, And social Friendship gilds the scene; When man, of ripened powers possest, Broods o'er the treasures of his breast; Exults, in conscious worth elate, Lord of himself—almost of fate; Then, then declines the' unsteady flame, Disease, slow mining, saps the frame; Cold damps of age around are shed, That chill the heart, and cloud the head. The failing spirits prompt no more, The curtain drops, life's day is o'er.