Thus earthquakes, rumbling with a thund'ring found,
Shake the firm world, and rend the cleaving ground;
Rocks, hills, and groves, are tofs'd into the sky,
And in one mighty ruin nations die.

See, thro' th' incumber'd air the pond'rous bomb
Bears magazines of death within it's womb!
The glowing orb difplays a blazing train,

And darts bright horror thro' th' ethereal plain;
It mounts tempeft'ous, and with hideous found
Wheels down the heav'ns and thunders o'er the ground!
Th' imprifon'd deaths rufh dreadful in a blaze,
And mow a thousand lives a thousand ways;

Earth floats with blood, while fpreading flames arife
From palaces and domes, and kindle half the skies.
Thus terribly in air the comets roll,

And shoot malignant gleams from pole to pole:
'Tween worlds and worlds they move, and from their hair
Shake the blue plague, the peftilence, and war.

But who is he who stern beftrides the plain,
Who drives triumphant o'er huge hills of flain,
Serene, while engines from the hostile tower
Rain from their brazen mouths an iron shower;
While turbid fiery smoke obscures the day,
Hews thro' the deathful breach his defp'rate way?
Sure Jove, defcending, joins the martial toil!
Or is it Marlb'rough, or the great Argyle?

Thus, when the Grecians, furious to destroy,
Levell'd the ftructures of imperial Troy,
Here angry Neptune hurl'd his vengeful mace,
There Jove o'erturn'd it from it's inmost base;
Tho' brave, yet vanquish'd, fhe confefs'd the odds;
Her fons were heroes, but they fought with gods.
Ah! what new horrors rife! in deep array
The fquadrons form; aloft the standards play;
The captains draw the fword; on ev'ry brow
Determin'd Valour lours, the trumpets blow.

See,

See, the brave Briton delves the cavern'd ground
Thro' the hard entrails of the ftubborn mound,
And, undifmay'd by death, the foe invades
Thro' dreadful horrors of infernal shades!
In vain the wall's broad bafe deep-rooted lies!
In vain an hundred turrets threat the skies!
Lo! while at eafe the bands immur'd repose,
Nor, careless, dream of fubterranean foes,
Like the Cadmean hoft, embattled fwarms
Start from the earth, and clash their founding arms;
And, pouring war and flaughter from beneath,
Wrap towers, walls, men, in fire, in blood, in death!
So fome fam'd torrent dives within the caves
Of op'ning earth, ingulf'd with all his waves:
High o'er the latent ftream the shepherd feeds
His wand'ring flock, and tunes the sprightly reeds;
Till from fome rifted chafm the billows rife,
And foaming burst tumultuous to the skies;
Then roaring dreadful o'er the delug'd plain,
Sweep herds and hinds in thunder to the main.

Bear me, ye friendly pow'rs! to gentler fcenes,
To fhady bowers and never-fading greens;
Where the thrill trumpet never founds alarms,
Nor martial din is heard, nor clafh of arms.
Hail, ye foft feats! ye limpid springs and floods!
Ye flow'ry meads! ye vales and maży woods!
Ye limpid floods! that ever murm'ring flow,
Ye verdant meads! where flow'rs eternal blow,
Ye fhady vales! where zephyrs ever play,
Ye woods! where little warblers tune their lay.

Here grant me, Heav'n, to end my peaceful days,
And steal myself from life by flow decays;
Draw health from food the temp'rate garden yields,
From fruit or herb, the bounty of the fields;

Nor let the loaded table groan beneath

Slain animals, the horrid feaft of death:

With age unknown, to pain or forrow blefs'd,
To the dark grave retiring, as to rest;
While gently with one figh this mortal frame
Diffolving, turns to ashes, whence it came;
While my freed foul departs without a groan,
And joyful wings her flight to worlds unknown.
Ye gloomy grots! ye awful folemn cells!
Where holy thoughtful Contemplation dwells,
Guard me from splendid cares and tiresome state,
That pompous mifery of being great!
Happy if by the wife and learn'd belov'd,
But happiest above all, if self-approv'd!
Content with ease, ambitious to despise
Illuftrious vanity and glorious vice!

Come thou, chafte maid! here ever let me stray,
While the calm hours fteal unperceiv'd away;

Here court the Muses, while the fun on high
Flames in the vault of heaven and fires the fky;
Or while the night's dark wings this globe furround,
And the pale moon begins her folemn round,
Bid my free foul to ftarry orbs repair,

Thofe radiant worlds that float in ambient air,
And with a regular confufion ftray
Oblique, direct, along th' aërial way;
Or when Aurora from her golden bowers
Exhales the fragrance of the balmy flowers,
Reclin'd in filence on a moffy bed,

Confult the learned volumes of the dead;

Fall'n realms and empires in description view,

Live o'er paft times, and build whole worlds anew ;

Or from the bursting tombs in fancy raise

The fons of Fame who liv'd in ancient days.
And, lo! with haughty ftalk the warrior treads!
Stern legiflators, frowning, lift their heads!

I fee proud victors in triumphal cars,

Chiefs, kings, and heroes, feam'd with glorious fears!

Or

Or liften till the raptur'd foul takes wings,
While Plato reafons, or while Homer fings.

Charm me, ye facred leaves! with loftier themes,
With op'ning heavens, and angels rob'd in flames.

Ye restless paffions! while I read be aw’d:
Hail, ye mysterious oracles of God!

Here I behold how infant Time began,
How the duft mov'd and quicken'd into man;
Here thro' the flow'ry walks of Eden rove,
Court the foft breeze or range the spicy grove;
There tread on hallow'd ground where angels trod,
And rev'rend patriarchs talk as friends with God;
Or hear the voice to flumb'ring prophets giv❜n,
Or gaze on visions from the throne of heav'n.

But nobler yet, far nobler fcenes advance!
Why leap the mountains? why the forefts dance?
Why flashes glory from the golden spheres?
Rejoice, O earth! a God, a God appears!
A God! a God!' defcending angels fing;
And mighty feraphs fhout, Behold your King!'
Hail, virgin-born! lift, lift, ye blind! your eyes;
Sing, O ye dumb! and, O ye dead! arise;
Tremble, ye gates of hell! in noblest strains
Tell it aloud, ye heav'ns! the Saviour reigns!
Thus lonely thoughtful may I run the race
Of tranfient life in no unufual eafe!

Enjoy each hour; nor, as it fleets away,
Think life too fhort, and yet too long the day;
Of right obfervant, while the foul attends

find

Each duty, and makes Heav'n and angels friends.
And thou, fair Peace! from the wild floods of war
Come, dove-like, and thy blooming olive bear.
Tell me, ye victors! what strange charms ye
In conqueft, that destruction of mankind?
Unenvy'd may your laurels ever grow,
That never flourish but in human woe;
3 A 2

If

If never earth the wreathe triumphal bears,
Till drench'd in heroes blood, or orphans tears!

Let Ganges from afar to flaughter train
His fable warriors on th' embattled plain;
Let Volga's fons in iron squadrons rise,
And pour in millions from her frozen skies;
Thou, gentle Thames! flow thou in peaceful ftreams;
Bid thy bold fons restrain their martial flames :

In thy own laurels fhade, great Marlb'rough! ftay,
There charm the thoughts of conquer'd worlds away.
Guardian of England! born to fcourge her foes,
Speak, and thy word gives half the world repofe.
Sink down, ye hills! eternal rocks fubfide!
Vanish, ye forts! thou, ocean! drain thy tide;
We fafety boaft defended by thy fame

And armies in the terror of thy name!

Now fix o'er Anna's throne thy victor blade;

War, be thou chain'd! ye ftreams of blood, be ftay'd!
Tho' wild Ambition her juft vengeance feels,

She wars to fave, and where she ftrikes fhe heals.
¿ So Pallas with her javelin fmote the ground,

And peaceful olives flourish'd from the wound.

THE CHARGE OF CYRUS THE GREAT.

BY RICHARD ONELY, M. A.

WHAT means this awful fight? why round me fhine

WH

Those radiant glories, and that form divine?

See! where commission'd with some dread command,

How fternly waves yon vifionary hand!

Near and more near it beckons, Cyrus, rise;

The gods remand thee to thy native skies.'