_ON A BEE_ Having Stung the Thigh of an Old Maid.
On the annals of fame with Columbus you stand, Who sought the American sh.o.r.e; Advent"rous like him, you explore a new land, Where none ever travell"d before.
_EPIGRAM._
Women were born, so fate declares, To SMOOTH our linen and our cares; And "tis but just, for, by my troth, They"re very apt to RUFFLE both.
ODE TO POESY.
I.
Hail Poesy! celestial maid!
Who loves, reclin"d near purling stream, To rest beneath the beachen shade, "Wrapt in some wild fantastic dream."
Howe"er intent on other cares, Still deign to hear a suppliant"s pray"rs!
Who fain would view thy ample store, And all thy secret haunts explore, Where, as enraptur"d bards have told, Whose eyes have peer"d thy stores among, Gnomes, sylphs, and sprites, their dwelling hold, Till call"d by thee to grace their song; Where fairies, clad in bright attire, Faint lighted by the glow-worm"s fire, Are seen to gambol to the breeze, Which nightly plays amongst the trees; And while, with silent step, their round they pace, The flitting dew-drops gem the consecrated place.
II.
Or, if thou rather chuse to dwell Intent to hear the beating wave, In sparry grot, or rocky cell, Or in the subterraneous cave, Where to relieve perpetual night, Dim lamps emit a feeble light; While bound with necromantic tie, A thousand weeping virgins lie, Who, to enjoy the blaze of day, To view once more the azure sky, And drink the sun"s all-cheering ray, Oft heave the unavailing sigh; Till some advent"rous knight shall dare (Long try"d in tournaments and war) a.s.say to break the magic chain, And give them liberty again; In ruin wide the self-built structure spread, And bid despondency erect her drooping head.
III.
Or, if those scenes delight thee more, Which erst thy Ariosto drew, O teach my muse like his to soar, And ope thy treasures to her view!
For all that captivates the mind, In his aspiring verse we find; Where, wrapt in fancy"s pleasing guise Conceal"d, the useful moral lies; Where chivalry"s proud hosts, array"d In all the dignity of war, Appear, a splendid cavalcade, Adorn"d with many a trophy"d car; Where fair Alcina"s radiant charms, With lawless bliss the bosom warms, Till, in Atlanta"s reverend form, Melissa abrogates the charm; Recals the soul, for n.o.bler deeds design"d, And writes the glowing moral on the mind.
IV.
If such thy votaries of old, Some portion of their fire impart; Then sportive fancy, uncontroll"d, Shall spurn the rigid rules of art:-- But if in vain thy suppliant plead, And if thy mandate has decreed These magic stores conceal"d must lie, Impervious to another"s eye; Still, O celestial maid! display Those tranquil scenes where beauty reigns, And triumphs, with unrivall"d sway, O"er rising hills and flow"ry plains, And streams that, murm"ring as they flow, Might lure the mourner from his woe; Let pointed satire too be mine, Aided by Johnson"s nervous line:-- And mine the pow"r to wake the tender sigh, And call the pearly tear from Pity"s melting eye.
V.
Then lead me near some winding stream, Whose surface, ruffled by the breeze, Reflects chaste Dian"s silver beam, Faintly beheld thro" shadowy trees: Then as I view, with joy serene, The beauties of this tranquil scene: If contrast aid the pow"rs of rhyme, To make the beautiful sublime-- Bid the hoa.r.s.e thunder loudly roar, And driving clouds invest the skies; While swelling torrents round me pour, From rugged rocks their fresh supplies; Which bursting on the plains below, The lightning"s transient flashes shew, Unfolding to th" astonish"d sight A cataract of foaming light.-- Be scenes like these thy suppliant"s award!
And give thine other stores to some more happy bard.
_BEAUTY._ A SONG.
When fascinating beauty smiles, Tho" deem"d a transient flow"r, Vain man, with all his boasted might, Submissive owns its pow"r.
Beauty makes misers quit their gold, And cruelty its rage, And gives the ardent fires of youth To antiquated age.
Th" imposter Mahomet, who knew The sweets and pow"r of love, With ever-blooming beauties fill"d His blissful courts above.
Aright this great observer judg"d That beauty"s promis"d charms, Would lure whole millions to his aid, And bless his conqu"ring arms.
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_UTILE DULCI._
THE NEW-YORK WEEKLY MAGAZINE; or, Miscellaneous Repository.
+Vol. II.+] +Wednesday, December 14, 1796.+ [+No. 76.+
_From CAMILLA, or a Picture of Youth--just publishing by the EDITOR, are extracted the following striking observations on the superiority of mental accomplishments to personal attractions:--_
"Indeed, Sir--and pray believe me, I do not mean to repine I have not the beauty of Indiana; I know and have always heard her loveliness is beyond all comparison. I have no more, therefore, thought of envying it, than of envying the brightness of the sun. I knew, too, I bore no compet.i.tion with my sisters; but I never dreamt of compet.i.tion. I knew I was not handsome, but I supposed many people besides not handsome, and that I should pa.s.s with the rest; and I concluded the world to be full of people who had been sufferers as well as myself, by disease or accident. These have been occasionally my pa.s.sing thoughts; but the subject never seized my mind; I never reflected upon it at all, till abuse, without provocation, all at once opened my eyes, and shewed me to myself! Bear with me, then, my father, in this first dawn of terrible conviction! Many have been unfortunate---but none unfortunate like me!
Many have met with evils---but who with an acc.u.mulation like mine!"
Mr. Tyrold, extremely affected, embraced her with the utmost tenderness: "My dear, deserving, excellent child," he cried, "what would I not endure, what sacrifice not make, to soothe this cruel disturbance, till time and your own understanding can exert their powers?" Then, while straining her to his breast with the fondest parental commiseration; the tears, with which his eyes were overflowing, bedewed her cheeks.
Eugenia felt them, and sinking to the ground, pressed his knees. "O my father," she cried, "a tear from your revered eyes afflicts me more than all else! Let me not draw forth another, lest I should become not only unhappy, but guilty. Dry them up, my dearest father; let me kiss them away."
"Tell me, then, my poor girl, you will struggle against this ineffectual sorrow! Tell me you will a.s.sert that fort.i.tude which only waits for your exertion; and tell me you will forgive the misjudging compa.s.sion which feared to impress you earlier with pain!"
"I will do all, every thing you desire! my injustice is subdued! my complaints shall be hushed! you have conquered me, my beloved father!
Your indulgence, your lenity shall take place of every hardship, and leave me nothing but filial affection!"
Seizing this grateful moment, he then required of her to relinquish her melancholy scheme of seclusion from the world: "The shyness and the fears which gave birth to it," said he, "will but grow upon you if listened to; and they are not worthy the courage I would instil into your bosom---the courage, my Eugenia, of virtue---the courage to pa.s.s by, as if unheard, the insolence of the hard-hearted, and ignorance of the vulgar. Happiness is in your power, though beauty is not; and on that to set too high a value would be pardonable only in a weak and frivolous mind; since, whatever is the involuntary admiration with which it meets, every estimable quality and accomplishment is attainable without it: and though, which I cannot deny, its immediate influence is universal, yet in every compet.i.tion and in every decision of esteem, the superior, the elegant, the better part of mankind give their suffrages to merit alone. And you, in particular, will find yourself, through life, rather the more than the less valued, by every mind capable of justice and compa.s.sion, for misfortunes which no guilt has incurred."
Observing her now to be softened, though not absolutely consoled, he rang the bell, and begged the servant, who answered it, to request his brother would order the coach immediately, as he was obliged to return home; "And you, my love," said he, "shall accompany me; it will be the least exertion you can make in first breaking through your averseness to quit the house."
Eugenia would not resist; but her compliance was evidently repugnant to her inclination; and in going to the gla.s.s to put on her hat, she turned aside from it in shuddering, and hid her face with both her hands.
"My dearest child," cried Mr. Tyrold, wrapping her again in his arms, "this strong susceptibility will soon wear away; but you cannot be too speedy nor too firm in resisting it. The omission of what never was in our power cannot cause remorse, and the bewailing what never can become in our power cannot afford comfort. Imagine but what would have been the fate of Indiana, had your situations been reversed, and had she, who can never acquire your capacity, and therefore never attain your knowledge, lost that beauty which is her all; but which to you, even if retained, could have been but a secondary gift. How short will be the reign of that all! how useless in sickness! how unavailing in solitude! how inadequate to long life! how forgotten, or repiningly remembered in old age! You will live to feel pity for all you covet and admire; to grow sensible to a lot more lastingly happy in your own acquirements and powers; and to exclaim, with contrition and wonder, time was when I would have changed with the poor mind-dependent Indiana!"