ON READING THE LATE DR. DARWIN'S "TEMPLE OF NATURE."
WHEN quench'd th' etherial spark, whose subtile glow
Bids through the veins life's crimson fluid flow,
And man, imperial man, resigns his breath,
As o'er his eyelids swim the shades of death;
What cheering prospects this transition brings,
In florid strains the Muse of Darwin sings.
Ye on whose cheeks youth's rosy hue appears,
And ye whose temples wear the snow of years,
Whether your hearts some friend's decease bemoan,
Or, wiser still, anticipate your own;
Discard each unavailing sigh and tear;
The polish'd bard awhile attentive hear,
And learn what bliss the future may supply,
When mouldering in the grave your bodies lie!
From seeming evils, know what blessings flow;
What myriads life to man's destruction owe!
How quickly from the cold insensate clay
Shall countless beings struggle into day :
On earth's green bosom vegetate or creep,
Or airy fields on silken pennons sweep!
Forth from the grave, where beauty breathless lies,
Th' unconscious fair a blooming flower may rise;
With native grace, once more some fopling fire,
To give that incense, late her heart's desire!
Tints brighter than the rainbow's hues disclose;
More grateful fragrance than the blushing rose;
Nay e'en allow'd love's thrilling joys to share,
May to some anther, buoyant through the air,
With sweet reluctance yield her opening charms,
"And clasp the floating lover in her arms.”
The beau who flutter'd through life's transient day,
Proud and enamour'd of his rich array,
A peacock turn'd, may hope to strut around,
Or march, a diamond beetle, on the ground!
There too, the pampered epicure may hope
To give his darling passion ample scope;
In insect shape to taste of fresh delight,
And gorge at will his ravenous appetite!
Freed from those galling fetters, whose controul
Oft check'd th' ascendant dictates of his soul,
The lewd, an earthworm, or a snail, may prove
The bliss lascivious of a double love;
Or else a sparrow cleave the ambient air,
And pleasures envy'd oft enraptured share!
E'en thou, Sir Florio, of aurelian fame,
Freed from the exuviæ of the human frame,
Few years elaps'd, may'st on unwearied wing,
In air an Emperor of Morocco spring;
And there disporting wheel with matchless grace, While future knights the brilliant monarch chase! Or if such transformations fate deny,
Perhaps those forms of godlike dignity,
(Let no false fears the tender mind appal !)
May lizards, scorpions, toads, or serpents crawl!
While reminiscence lost, as Poets deem
Of those who sip oblivious Lethe's stream,
No more in memory's faithful glass they scan
The pleasures, prospects, of the former man!
Are these the sole rewards th' Omniscient mind
For man's majestic race in death design'd?
Must our fine frames, of workmanship divine,
That minds of wond'rous faculties enshrine,
The ruin'd fate of time-struck fabrics share,
That weeds may shoot and reptiles nestle there?
Can sage Philosophy, whose piercing eyes
Explore the secrets of the earth and skies,
Nought else impart, to chase those clouds away
That round the cemetery's precincts play?
Must we for these all future prospects give,
And nobler man expire, that worms may live?
No! From yon realms, where day eternal beams
To chase these clouds, a ray celestial streams!
He at whose bidding, from chaotic night,
This wide-extended system sprung to light,
With whom all might, all knowledge dwells, hath
That soon shall man, though numbered with the dead,
His pristine form, with nobler powers, resume,
And burst the barriers of the cheerless tomb !
Secure in God's omnipotence and truth,
The Christian hopes, in never failing youth,
Before his high empyreal throne to stand,
And trace the works of his creative hand;
His boundless wisdom, mercy, might, explore;
And, lost in wonder, reverence and adore!
There too, he fondly hopes to join the train
Of friends departed-ne'er to part again!
With them unmingled pleasures to enjoy,
No time can lessen, no event destroy.
How mean, compar'd with joys like these, how vain,
The fine spun theories of the poet's brain!
Still boast, Philosophy! thy prospects drear:
With such the bosoms of thy votaries cheer;
Give them to trace their fate 'midst changing forms
"Of brother-emmetts and of sister-worms;"
Be mine the boon, by thee, Religion! giv'n;
THY hopes of future life, and endless bliss in
Heav'n!
ON A VISIT TO A FORMER PLACE OF RESIDENCE.
ONCE more, lone APEDALE, I survey
Thy heath-clad banks, and hillocks gray;
Yon mansion near the road, where late
Devoid of ostentatious state,
The train of social virtues dwelt;
And where, life's growing cares unfelt,
Endearments friendly, converse mild,
And jocund mirth, my hours beguil❜d;
While, (since alas! how seldom found!)
Peace and Contentment hovering round
Their influence shed;-the purling rill,
The winding brook, the neighbouring mill;-
Scenes that in Fancy's colours drawn,
I priz❜d above the fairest lawn;
And though a barren wild they seem'd,
Scarce less than an Elysium deem'd!
Now from this lonely spot remov'd
The friends, so long, so dearly lov'd,
In vain I cast my eyes around
In search of beauties erewhile found!
The charms that fir'd my soul are fled;—
Hoarse murmurs o'er its pebbly bed
The turbid brook; with harsher sound
The neighbouring mill revolves around;
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