And all thine embryo vastness at a gulp. But Fate thy growth decreed; autumnal rains Beneath thy parent tree mellow'd the soil Design'd thy cradle; and a skipping deer, With pointed hoof dibbling the glebe, prepar'd The soft receptacle, in which, secure,
Thy rudiments should sleep the winter through.
So Fancy dreams. Disprove it, if ye can, Ye reas'ners broad awake, whose busy search Of argument, employ'd too oft amiss, Sifts half the pleasures of short life away!
Thou fell'st mature; and in the loamy clod Swelling with vegetative force instinct Didst burst thine egg, as theirs the fabled Twins, Now stars; two lobes, protruding, pair'd exact; A leaf succeeded, and another leaf, And, all the elements thy puny growth Fost'ring propitious, thou becam'st a twig.
Delight in agitation, yet sustain
The force that agitates, not unimpair'd; But, worn by frequent impulse, to the cause Of their best tone their dissolution owe.
Thought cannot spend itself, comparing still The great and little of thy lot, thy growth From almost nullity into a state
Of matchless grandeur, and declension thence, Slow, into such magnificent decay.
Time was, when, settling on thy leaf, a fly Could stake thee to the root-and time has been When tempests could not. At thy firmest age Thou hadst within thy bole solid contents, That might have ribb'd the sides and plank'd the deck Of some flagg'd admiral; and tortuous arms, The shipwright's darling treasure, didst present To the four-quarter'd winds, robust and bold, Warp'd into tough knee-timber,* many a load! But the ax spar'd thee. In those thriftier days, Oaks fell not, hewn by thousands, to supply
Who liv'd, when thou wast such? O couldst thou The bottomless demands of contest, wag'd
As in Dodona once thy kindred trees Oracular, I would not curious ask
The future, best unknown, but at thy mouth Inquisitive, the less ambiguous past.
By thee I might correct, erroneous oft, The clock of history, facts and events Timing more punctual, unrecorded facts Recov'ring, and misstated setting right- Desp'rate attempt, till trees shall speak again!
For senatorial honors. Thus to Time The task was left to whittle thee away With his sly scythe, whose ever-nibbling edge, Noiseless, an atom, and an atom more, Disjoining from the rest, has, unobserv'd, Achiev'd a labor, which had far and wide, By man perform'd, made all the forest ring.
Embowel'd now, and of thy ancient self Possessing nought, but the scoop'd rind, that seeins An huge throat, calling to the clouds for drink, Which it would give in rivulets to thy root,
Time made thee what thou wast, king of the Thou temptest none, but rather much forbidd'st
And Time hath made thee what thou art-a cave For owls to roost in. Once thy spreading boughs O'erhung the champaign; and the num'rous flocks, That graz'd it, stood beneath that ample cope Uncrowded, yet safe-shelter'd from the storm. No flock frequents thee now. Thou hast outliv'd Thy popularity, and art become
(Unless verse rescue thee awhile) a thing Forgotten, as the foliage of thy youth.
While thus through all the stages thou hast push'd Of treeship-first a seedling, hid in grass; Then twig; then sapling; and, as cent'ry roll'd Slow after century, a giant-bulk
Of girth enormous, with moss-cushion'd root Upheav'd above the soil, and sides emboss'd With prominent wens globose-till at the last The rottenness, which time is charged to inflict On other mighty ones, found also thee.
What exhibitions various hath the world Witness'd of mutability, in all That we account most durable below! Change is the diet on which all subsist, Created changeable, and change at last Destroys them. Skies uncertain now the heat Transmitting cloudless, and the solar beam Now quenching in a boundless sea of clouds- Calm and alternate storm, moisture and drought, Invigorate by turns the springs of life In all that live, plant, animal, and man, And in conclusion mar them. Nature's threads, Fine passing thought, e'en in her coarsest works,
The feller's toil, which thou couldst ill requite. Yet is thy root sincere, sound as the rock, A quarry of stout spurs, and knotted fangs, Which, crook'd into a thousand whimsies, clasp The stubborn soil, and hold thee still erect.
So stands a kingdom, whose foundation yet Fails not, in virtue and in wisdom laid, Though all the superstructure, by the tooth Pulveriz'd of venality, a shell Stands now, and semblance only of itself!
Thine arms have left thee. Winds have rent them off
Long since, and rovers of the forest wild, With bow and shaft, have burnt them. Some have left A splinter'd stump, bleach'd to a snowy white; And some, memorial none, where once they grew. Yet life still lingers in thee, and puts forth Proof not contemptible of what she can, Even where death predominates. The spring Finds thee not less alive to her sweet force, Than yonder upstarts of the neighb'ring wood, So much thy juniors, who their birth receiv'd Half a millennium since the date of thine.
But since, although well qualified by age To teach, no spirit dwells in thee, nor voice May be expected from thee, seated here
Knee-timber is found in the crooked arms of oak, which, by reason of their distortion, are easily adjusted to the angle formed where the deck and the ship's sides meet.
On thy distorted root, with hearers none, Or prompter, save the scene, I will perform, Myself the oracle, and will discourse In my own ear such matter as I may.
One man alone, the father of us all, Drew not his life from woman; never gaz'd, With mute unconsciousness of what he saw, On all around him; learn'd not by degrees, Nor ow'd articulation to his ear; But, moulded by his Maker into man At once, upstood intelligent, survey'd All creatures, with precision understood Their purport, uses, properties, assign'd To each his name significant, and, fill'd With love and wisdom, render'd back to Heaven In praise harmonious the first air he drew. He was excus'd the penalties of dull Minority. No tutor charg'd his hand
With the thought-tracing quill, or task'd his mind With problems. History, not wanted yet, Lean'd on her elbow, watching Time, whose course, Eventful, should supply her with a theme.
THE CAST-AWAY.
OBSCUREST night involv'd the sky; Th' Atlantic billows roar'd, When such a destin'd wretch as I, Wash'd headlong from on board, Of friends, of hope, of all bereft, His floating home for ever left.
No braver chief could Albion boast, Than he, with whom he went, Nor ever ship left Albion's coast, With warmer wishes sent.
He lov'd them both, but both in vain, Nor him beheld, nor her again.
Not long beneath the whelming brine, Expert to swim, he lay: Nor soon he felt his strength decline, Or courage die away;
But wag'd with death a lasting strife, Supported by despair of life.
He shouted; nor his friends had fail'd To check the vessel's course, But so the furious blast prevail'd, That, pitiless, perforce,
They left their outcast mate behind, And scudded still before the wind.
Some succor yet they could afford; And, such as storms allow,
The cask, the coop, the floated cord,
Delay'd not to bestow.
But he, they knew, nor ship nor shore, Whate'er they gave, should visit more.
Nor, cruel as it seem'd, could he
Their haste himself condemn, Aware that flight, in such a sea,
Alone could rescue them; Yet bitter felt it still to die Deserted, and his friends so nigh
He long survives, who lives an hour In ocean, self-upheld:
And so long he, with unspent pow'r,
His destiny repell'd:
And ever as the minutes flew, Entreated help, or cried-"Adieu!"
At length, his transient respite past, His comrades, who before Had heard his voice in ev'ry blast,
Could catch the sound no more. For then, by toil subdued, he drank The stifling wave, and then he sank
No poet wept him; but the page Of narrative sincere,
That tells his name, his worth, his age, Is wet with Anson's tear. And tears by bards or heroes shed Alike immortalize the dead.
I therefore purpose not, or dream, Descanting on his fate, To give the melancholy theme
A more enduring date. But misery still delights to trace Its semblance in another's case.
No voice divine the storm allay'd, No light propitious shone ; When, snatch'd from all effectual aid, We perish'd, each alone:
But I beneath a rougher sea,
And whelm'd in deeper gulfs than he
JAMES BEATTIE was born at Laurencekirk, | Kincardineshire, Scotland, October 25, 1735. He studied at Aberdeen, excelling in the classics, and in 1760 he became Professor of Moral Philosophy there. In that year also he published his first volume, "Original Poems and Translations." In 1765 he published "The Judgment of Paris," and in 1770 an essay on "Truth," which was intended to check the spread of Hume's skepticism. It met with extraordinary favor, and gained its author a pension of £200 from the king. The first part of "The Minstrel"
appeared in 1771, and the second in 1774. The intention was, to complete the poem with a third part. Its design is "to trace the progress of a poetical genius, born in a rude age, from the first dawning of fancy and reason, till that period at which he may be supposed capable of appearing in the world as a minstrel." Beattie published essays on Poetry, Music, etc., in 1776, and several works on moral science, with a dissertation on the slave-trade. He died on August 18, 1803. Sir William Forbes has written his biography.
AH! who can tell how hard it is to climb The steep where Fame's proud temple shines afar; Ah! who can tell how many a soul sublime Has felt the influence of malignant star, And waged with Fortune an eternal war; Check'd by the scoff of Pride, by Envy's frown, And Poverty's unconquerable bar,
In life's low vale remote has pined alone, Then dropt into the grave, unpitied and un- known!
And yet the languor of inglorious days, Not equally oppressive is to all; Him who ne'er listen'd to the voice of praise, The silence of neglect can ne'er appal. There are who, deaf to mad Ambition's call, Would shrink to hear th' obstreperous trump of Fame;
Supremely blest, if to their portion fall Health, competence, and peace. Nor higher aim Had he whose simple tale these artless lines proclaim.
The rolls of fame I will not now explore; Nor need I here describe, in learned lay, How forth the Minstrel far'd in days of yore, Right glad of heart, though homely in array; His waving locks and beard all hoary grey: While from his bending shoulder, decent hung His harp, the sole companion of his way, Which to the whistling wind responsive rung, And ever as he went some merry lay he sung. Fret not thyself, thou glittering child of pride, That a poor villager inspires my strain; With thee let Pageantry and Power abide: The gentle Muses haunt the sylvan reign; Where through wild groves at eve the lonely swain Enraptur'd roams, to gaze on Nature's charms. They hate the sensual, and scorn the vain, The parasite their influence never warms, Nor him whose sordid soul the love of gold alarms.
Though richest hues the peacock's plume adorn, Yet horror screams from his discordant throat. Rise, sons of harmony, and hail the morn, While warbling larks on russet pinions float:
Or seek at noon the woodland scene remote, Where the grey linnets carol from the hill. Oh let them ne'er, with artificial note, To please a tyrant, strain the little bill, But sing what Heaven inspires, and wander where they will.
Liberal, not lavish, is kind Nature's hand; Nor was perfection made for man below. Good counteracting ill, and gladness woe. Yet all her schemes with nicest art are plann'd, With gold and gems if Chilian mountains glow; If bleak and barren Scotia's hills arise; There plague and poison, lust and rapine grow; Here peaceful are the vales, and pure the skies, And freedom fires the soul, and sparkles in the
Then grieve not, thou to whom th' indulgent Muse Vouchsafes a portion of celestial fire: Nor blame the partial Fates, if they refuse Th' imperial banquet, and the rich attire. Know thine own worth, and reverence the lyre. Wilt thou debase the heart which God refin'd? No; let thy heaven-taught soul to heaven aspire, To fancy, freedom, harmony, resign'd; Ambition's grovelling crew for ever left behind. Canst thou forego the pure ethereal soul In each fine sense so exquisitely keen, On the dull couch of luxury to loll, Stung with disease, and stupefied with spleen, Fain to implore the aid of flattery's screen, Even from thyself thy loathsome heart to hide, (The mansion then no more of joy serene,) Where fear, distrust, malevolence, abide, And impotent desire, and disappointed pride? Oh how canst thou renounce the boundless store Of charms which Nature to her votary yields! The warbling woodland, the resounding shore, The pomp of groves, and garniture of fields; All that the genial ray of morning gilds, And all that echoes to the song of even, All that the mountain's sheltering bosom shields, And all the dread magnificence of heaven, Oh how canst thou renounce, and hope to be for- given?
These charms shall work thy soul's eternal health, And love, and gentleness, and joy, impart, But these thou must renounce, if lust of wealth E'er win its way to thy corrupted heart:
JAMES BEATTIE was born at Laurencekirk, | Kincardineshire, Scotland, October 25, 1735. He studied at Aberdeen, excelling in the classics, and in 1760 he became Professor of Moral Philosophy there. In that year also he published his first volume, "Original Poems and Translations." In 1765 he published "The Judgment of Paris," and in 1770 an essay on "Truth," which was intended to check the spread of Hume's skepticism. It met with extraordinary favor, and gained its author a pension of £200 from the king. The first part of "The Minstrel "
АH! who can tell how hard it is to climb The steep where Fame's proud temple shines afar; Ah! who can tell how many a soul sublime Has felt the influence of malignant star, And waged with Fortune an eternal war; Check'd by the scoff of Pride, by Envy's frown, And Poverty's unconquerable bar,
In life's low vale remote has pined alone, Then dropt into the grave, unpitied and un- known!
And yet the languor of inglorious days, Not equally oppressive is to all; Him who ne'er listen'd to the voice of praise, The silence of neglect can ne'er appal. There are who, deaf to mad Ambition's call, Would shrink to hear th' obstreperous trump of Fame;
Supremely blest, if to their portion fall Health, competence, and peace. Nor higher aim Had he whose simple tale these artless lines proclaim.
The rolls of fame I will not now explore; Nor need I here describe, in learned lay, How forth the Minstrel far'd in days of yore, Right glad of heart, though homely in array; His waving locks and beard all hoary grey: While from his bending shoulder, decent hung His harp, the sole companion of his way, Which to the whistling wind responsive rung, And ever as he went some merry lay he sung. Fret not thyself, thou glittering child of pride, That a poor villager inspires my strain; With thee let Pageantry and Power abide: The gentle Muses haunt the sylvan reign; Where through wild groves at eve the lonely swain Enraptur'd roams, to gaze on Nature's charms. They hate the sensual, and scorn the vain, The parasite their influence never warms, Nor him whose sordid soul the love of gold alarms. Though richest hues the peacock's plume adorn, Yet horror screams from his discordant throat. Rise, sons of harmony, and hail the morn, While warbling larks on russet pinions float:
appeared in 1771, and the second in 1774. The intention was, to complete the poem with a third part. Its design is "to trace the progress of a poetical genius, born in a rude age, from the first dawning of fancy and reason, till that period at which he may be supposed capable of appearing in the world as a minstrel." Beattie published essays on Poetry, Music, etc., in 1776, and several works on moral science, with a dissertation on the slave-trade. He died on August 18, 1803. Sir William Forbes has written his biography.
Or seek at noon the woodland scene remote, Where the grey linnets carol from the hill. Oh let them ne'er, with artificial note, To please a tyrant, strain the little bill, But sing what Heaven inspires, and wander where they will.
Liberal, not lavish, is kind Nature's hand; Nor was perfection made for man below. Yet all her schemes with nicest art are plann'd, Good counteracting ill, and gladness woe. With gold and gems if Chilian mountains glow; If bleak and barren Scotia's hills arise; There plague and poison, lust and rapine grow; Here peaceful are the vales, and pure the skies, And freedom fires the soul, and sparkles in the eyes.
Then grieve not, thou to whom th' indulgent Muse Vouchsafes a portion of celestial fire: Nor blame the partial Fates, if they refuse Th' imperial banquet, and the rich attire. Know thine own worth, and reverence the lyre. Wilt thou debase the heart which God refin'd? No; let thy heaven-taught soul to heaven aspire, To fancy, freedom, harmony, resign'd; Ambition's grovelling crew for ever left behind. Canst thou forego the pure ethereal soul In each fine sense so exquisitely keen, On the dull couch of luxury to loll, Stung with disease, and stupefied with spleen, Fain to implore the aid of flattery's screen, Even from thyself thy loathsome heart to hide, (The mansion then no more of joy serene,) Where fear, distrust, malevolence, abide, And impotent desire, and disappointed pride? Oh how canst thou renounce the boundless store Of charms which Nature to her votary yields! The warbling woodland, the resounding shore, The pomp of groves, and garniture of fields; All that the genial ray of morning gilds, And all that echoes to the song of even, All that the mountain's sheltering bosom shields, And all the dread magnificence of heaven,
Oh how canst thou renounce, and hope to be forgiven?
These charms shall work thy soul's eternal health, And love, and gentleness, and joy, impart, But these thou must renounce, if lust of wealth E'er win its way to thy corrupted heart:
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