Then happiest he, whose timely hand To cool Discretion has the helm resign'd;

Enjoys the calm, in sight of land,

From changing tides secure, and trustless wind.

AND wilt thou, Romeo, still maintain That Beauty holds a boundless reign? Soft power, by all confest!

See'st thou the coward and the brave, The free-born Briton and the slave, With equal rapture blest?

The Gods, indulgent to mankind,
The tenderest passions of the mind
With frugal hands dispense;
For faithless I can ne'er believe
That rude untutor❜d hearts perceive
The finer joys of sense.

Mark but the ruthless Indian's soul,
Which no ingenuous thoughts control,
Where pity never dwelt ;

By Beauty, Fancy's loveliest child,
'Mid lorn savannahs waste and wild,
With human feelings melt!

Behold the powerful charm assuage
The hoary lion's lawless rage:
He owns the wanton fire;
And lordly roaming o'er the plain,
Singles the fairest of his train
To feed the loose desire !

But wouldst thou feel a purer flame Than ev'n the warmest wish can frame,

By much too fine to cloy;

Far, far beyond that aching breast, With which the village hind's opprest,

Who idly terms it joy?

Has heaven, indulgent to thy make,
Form'd thee to every sense awake,
Blith hope, or frantic fear?
Can human miseries steal a sigh,
Or from thy soft consenting eye
Can pity draw the tear?

Canst thou with wild Othello glow
In all his maddening jealous woe,
By Love's dark doubts distrest?
With treacherous Jaffier dost thou feel
Th' impending tortures of the wheel,
That wound his guilty breast?

Tell me, can Pindar's lofty strain,
Luxuriant Fancy's fruitful vein,
The noblest thoughts infuse?
Say, do you taste his generous fire,
Or canst thou feelingly expire
To Sappho's plaintive muse?

See'st thou the warmth, the grace divine, That breathes thro' mild Correggio's line, By heaven's peculiar care?

Does Guido wrap thee in delight?

Can Titian's colours charm thy sight?

Or Julio's godlike air?

Say, does thy heart with rapture spring,
When Handel strikes the magic string,
With transport do you hear ?
Or dost thou languish into pain
When soft Correlli's tender strain

Subdues the ravish'd ear?

Canst thou with Freedom's sons rejoice
To hear th' Athenian Patriot's voice,
'Mid tyrants undismay'd?

But fails his bolder fire-O say,

Can Tully charm each sense away,

And baffle reason's aid?

Canst thou, with pity mov'd, bewail
The simple Emma's hapless tale,

And fond believing heart?
Or say, does Eloisa's line,

Where learning, taste, and love combine,

A nobler flame impart ?

The Muse in mild melodious lays
Instruction's awful voice conveys,
And each wild wish disarms;
While picture's arts alone can trace
Each soften'd line, each secret grace,
And add to Beauty's charms.

Should Hope her lenient aid refuse,
Tho' each disastrous day renews
One sadden'd scene of woe;
From pleasing symphony of sound,
When melting notes dissolve around,
Unnumber'd raptures flow.