HAIL and farewell! to parting worth adieu!
Where'er ye roam, propitious vows pursue;
Peace ev'ry varying scene with bounty crown,
And mark your blissful mansion for her own.
There laughing hours shall wing their glad career,
There plenty swell the product of the year,
And ev'ry sun, that warms the western skies,
Sink, with redoubled blessings to arise!
O ever priz'd, regretted, and rever'd,
By ev'ry rarer excellence endear'd.
Severe in Truth, benevolent of heart,
Mirth in your train, and social joys depart:
As some proud bark in orient trim array'd,
Wafts from Arabia's shore the costly trade,
And o'er the flood for many a league exhales
Soft aromatic essence, as she sails,
Thus the fair wreaths around your
Leave as they pass a fragrant track behind;
Pleas'd Isis scents the richness of the gale,
And bids your praise thro' all her shades prevail.
For oft' beneath your hospitable dome
Her sons enjoy'd a more convivial home,
Where mute reserve grew confident and free,
And moody care relented into glee.
There artless childhood with enticing wiles,
Lisp'd the warm welcome, and discours'd in smiles;
Train'd to each liberal art, with courteous ease
The youthful throng, unbidden, strove to please;
Whether they rous'd Cæcilia's vocal peal,
Or skimm❜d the sprightly mazes of the reel,
Or sketch'd with infant hand the bold design,
Each tuneful touch, light step, and faultless line,
An equal grace adorn'd, and early trac❜d
The quick'ning seeds of Genius and of Taste.
Such were the gems-her justly vaunted storeGreat Scipio's daughter, fair Cornelia wore;
Sham'd and eclips'd Rome's envious matrons ey'd
Her sterling wealth, that dimm'd their glittering pride.
Such too-blest guardians of a blooming race, Such are the treasures that already grace
Your life's meridian, and await the close
With a rich balm to sweeten your repose.
Share then, with rev'rence share the precious meed,
To fond parental tenderness decreed:
Just is the meed; your hands that till'd the soil,
Now reap the golden harvest of your toil,
Whose fruits in grateful recompense abound,
And all your earthly Paradise, around
Domestic joys diffuse. Nor lightly weigh
What else the tributary Muses pay
In virtue's score-a strain reserv'd for few-
Hail and farewell! to parting worth adieu!
Mihi mens juvenili ardebat amore
Compellare virum, & dextræ conjungere dextram,
As by the Sun's attractive force control'd,
Some nameless planet in its orbit strays,
And, at immeasurable distance roll'd,
Still feels the quick'ning influence of his rays:
E'en thus my Genius kindled into praise
Of all thy life's eventful scenes unfold,
Steals a faint gleam emitted from their blaze,
Nor thou, thy Bard disdain; nor rashly hold
His zeal presumption-nor his homage spurn,
Howe'er unprivileg'd thy worth to scan,
Worth that adorns the Poet and the Man,
Hereafter doom'd a nobler meed to earn :
But, ah! neglected Cumberland, thy Fame
Can ne'er a thankless Age from infamy reclaim.
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