September 14, 1769. No. 246.

A Hymn of Praise

To Thee, my GOD, to whom all Praise belong,
To thee I’ll offer up my mattin Song.
Soon as the Birds to thee, their Notes shall raise,
To thee, I’ll offer up my Morning Priase.
The Woods, the Forests, and the verdant Lawn,                                      5
Shall hear me praise Thee, at the earliest Dawn.
Then will I praise thy Goodness, and rehearse,
Thy Mercy to me, in my loftiest Verse.
My Praise, the Winds that fan the gentle Air,
To thee upon their Pinions they shall bear.                                              10
   As SOL ascends, and with his splendent Rays,
He warms the Earth, on them I’ll speed my Praise.
Then to some woody Grove, or Grot retire,
And tune my Soul to thee, with lambent Fire:
Then shall the Forest and the Woodland Trees,                                      15
My Praises bear upon their vocal Breeze:
And whilst retired to the lonely Shade,
I'll sing thy Praises, on the grassy Blade:
The dimpled Streams, and the soft murmuring Rill,
Shall join their Accents; and with Pleasure fill:                                        20
My grateful Soul, with Harmony and Love;
Whilst feather’d Songsters warble thro’ the Grove:
These tuneful Warblers, as they soar on high,
Shall bear my Praises to the lofty Sky.
Thus will I spend my Time, the liv-long Days;                                         25
And please myself, by hymning forth thy Praise.
Then when Eve comes, to Home I will retire,
And chaunt thy Praises on some tuneful Lyre.
The gloomy Night shall witness to thy Praise:
In grateful Songs to thee my Voice I’ll raise.                                           30
Then shall soft Slumbers close my weary Eyes,
And balmy visions please me till I rise.

September 14, 1769. No. 246.

O! Mercy, heaven’s first attribute,
Whose care embraces man and brute!
Behold me, where I shiv’ring stand,
Bid gentle pity stretch her hand
To want and age, disease and pain,                                                         5
That all in one sad object reign;
Still feeling bad, still fearing worse,
Existance is to me a curse:
Yet, how to close this weary eye?
By my own hand I dare not die;                                                             10
And death, the friend of human woes,
Who brings the last and sound repose:
Death does at dreadful distance keep,
And leaves one wretch to wake and weep!

September 21, 1769. No. 247.

TO LESBIA
Imitated from CATALUS 

Heedless of what the World may say,
Ere yet our youthful Years decay,
Let us, my Lesbia, love and live——
Do thou a thousand Kisses give;
Then let me snatch a Hundred more;                                                        5
Then add a Thousand to my Store;
Another Hundred let me take;
A Thousand then for Pity’s Sake:
And these are all I ask of thee;
And all that thou shalt have from me:                                                      10
But if whilst I thy Fragrance sip,
And my Soul hovers o’er thy Lip;
If puzzled with confus’d Delight,
I should not mark to count them right;
Let me, my Lesbia, let me then                                                              15
Begin the pleasing Talk again.

September 28, 1769. No. 248.

The Naked Truth

Were Fortune more civil, and Business more brisk,
My Horse not so phrenzy, or subject to frisk;
Should I chance to set Eye on a pretty young Lass,
Not too fond of dear Self, nor too oft at her Glass;
Not a Foe to good Humour, Diversion and Glee,                                     5
Nor a Slave to her Pleasures, regardless of me;
In Deportment so easy, her Bosom beside
The Mansion of Goodness, unsullied by Pride;
A Lover of Neatness; to Virtue inclin’d;
Of a sweet Disposition and generous Mind;                                           10
A Friend of the Muses, yet no learned Thing,
Or a Wit to provoke me, and killingly sting;
But so friendly, and social, so warm, and so gay,
As to cheer up my Heart, and enliven each Day:
Could I find such a fair one, tho’ Hobby should prance,                         15
And kick up his Heels, or commence a new Dance;
With Whip, Bit and Spur, I'd incessantly trouble,
Till Hobb should leave flouncing and carry us double;
Once mounted together, a Fig for old Care, and all Sorrow,
We’d be happy To-Day, and as happy To-Morrow:                              20
Should Hobby’s dear Burthen too ponderous grow,
Kind Prudence would teach us the Means how to go;
Should Fortune prove trickish, and tumble us o’er,
Ten Thousand, dear Girl, have been serv’d so before:
Take Courage, my Charmer, we’d mount him again,                              25
Ride slowly the Mountains, but gallop the Plain;
Te tit-up, te tit-up, w’ed tilt it along,
And cheer up our Souls, with a Glass and a Song:
What matters it, Sweeten, if others ride single,
With Horses more sprightly, and Purses that jingle;                                 30
At Night, I am sure, at the Inn nigh the Vale,
Though driven by Storms, or a sweet pleasant Gale,
We shall all be but so-so, not a Stiver in Pocket,
Like a Taper burnt out, or a Snuff in the Socket.

September 28, 1769. No. 248.

To Prosperity


By a Lady

Celestial maid! receive this prayer,
     If e’er thy beam divine
Should gild the brow of toiling care,
     And bliss a hut like mine,
Let humble worth, without a fear,                                                             5
     Approach my ready door,
Nor let me ever see a tear,
     Regardless, from the poor!
O bless me with an honest mind,
     Above all selfish ends.                                                                      10
Humanely warm to all mankind,
     And cordial to my friends.
With conscious truth and honour still
     My actions let me guide,
And give no fear but that of ill,                                                               15
     No scorn but that of pride.
Thus form’d, thus happy, let me dare
     On heaven’s dread King to gaze,
Conclude my night in ardent prayer,
     And wake my morn with praise.                                                        20
That hence my soul may hope to prove
     The utmost saints can know,
And share his gracious smile above
     Whose laws we keep below.