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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 FREDERIC THOMAS BLANCHARD 
 ENDOWMENT FUND
 
 THE 
 
 TEARS OF GENIUS, 
 
 f 
 
 I Price One Shilling and Sixpence. 2
 
 THE 
 
 TEARS OF GENIUS. 
 
 Occafioned by the DEATH of 
 
 Dr, goldsmith. 
 
 B Y 
 
 COURTNEY MEL MOTH. 
 
 LONDON; 
 
 Printed for T. Becket, Corner of the Adelphi, 
 in the Strand, mdcclxxiv.
 
 T O 
 
 Sir JOSHUA REYNOLDS.,,^', 
 
 SIR, 
 
 TH E veneration I bear to the memory of Dodor 
 Goldfmith, has drawn me into the prefent 
 publication ; and the fentiments of affediion to be 
 found in his Dedication of the Deserted Village, 
 have induced me to infcribe tJois Elegy to Sir Jofhua 
 Reynolds ; who will naturally receive with kmdnefs 
 whatever is defigned, as a teftimony of juftice, to a 
 Friend that is no more. 
 
 In contemplating the death of this excellent man, 
 and admirable poet, I have been led to contemplate 
 likewife the fate of others ; for within a very ^qv/ 
 years our literary loffes have been fatally multiplied, 
 and many of the moft valuable members have been 
 fuddenly lopped off from fcience and fociety. In 
 purfuit of this undertaking, where the fame pathetic 
 fubjed: was to be confidered to the end, I refolved 
 to fet out upon an irregular principle, that without 
 enchaining myfelf to any critical uniformity, I might 
 have fcope and latitude for whatever varieties of verfi- 
 fication fhould fall in my way. 
 
 B As
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 As I was to deplore the lofs of different writers,., 
 each of which poflcfled very ftrongly a marking origi- 
 nality, I thought it beft to write a fort of Epitaph 
 upon each : accordingly, the following Verfes are 
 intended as fo many feparate Imitations of. the ftyle 
 and manner of the Authors which they comme- 
 morate. 
 
 That the occafion which produced the Elegy, might • 
 
 not lofe the ftrength of the impreffion, by delay — 
 
 for alas, the traces of forrow for the lofs of the 
 
 learned, are foon worn out by the tumults of life — 
 
 I hurried the compoHtion to the prefs, the moment 
 
 I could withdraw my hand from the manufcript ; the 
 
 whole of which was begun and finillied within a few 
 
 hours after the news reached me, that Dr. Goldfmith 
 was dead. 
 
 But I beg, Sir, you will excufe the length of this 
 Addrefs, and believe me to be 
 
 Your iincere admirer,. 
 
 April 9^K and moft obedient fervant, 
 
 »774. 
 
 Courtney Melmoth.
 
 [ 7 ] 
 
 T HE 
 
 TEARS OF GENIUS. 
 
 ^ I ^ H E village-bell tolls out the note of death, 
 
 And thro' the echoing air, the length'ning found. 
 With dreadful paufe, reverberating deep ; 
 Spreads the fad tydings, o'er fliir Auburn's vale, . 
 There, to enjoy the fcenes her bard had prais'd 
 In all the. fweet iiniplicity of fong, 
 GENIUS, in pilgrim garb, fequefter'd fat, . 
 And herded jocund with the harmlefs fvvains : 
 But w^hen fhe heard the fate-foreboding knell, 
 With ftartled ftep, precipitate and fwift, 
 And look pathetic, full of dire prefage, 
 The church-way walk, befide the neighb'ring green, 
 
 Sorrowing
 
 8 THETEARS 
 
 Sorrowing {Ke fought ; and there, in black array;, 
 
 Borne on the fhoiildcrs of the fvvains he lov'd, 
 
 She faw the boaft of Auburn mov'd along. 
 
 Toucli'd at the view, her pcnfivc breaft fhe ftruckj 
 
 And to the cyprefs, which incumbent hangs 
 
 With leaning flope, and branch irregular, 
 
 O'er the mofs'd pillars of the facred fane, 
 
 The briar-bound graves fhadowing with funeral gloom, 
 
 Forlorn fhe hied ; And there the crowding woe 
 
 (Sweird by the parent) prefs'd on bleeding thought. 
 
 Big ran the drops from her maternal eye, 
 
 Faft broke the bofom-forrow from her heart. 
 
 And pale Diftrefs, fat fickly on her cheek, 
 
 As thus her plaintive Elegy began. 
 
 And muft my children all expire ? 
 Shall none be left to ftrike the lyre ? 
 Courts Death alone a learned prize ? 
 Falls his fhafts only on the wife ? 
 
 Can
 
 OF GENIUS. 
 
 Can no fit marks on earth be found, 
 From ufelefs thoufands fwarming round ? 
 What crowding cyphers cram the land ! 
 What hofts of vicftims, at command ! 
 Yet fhall th' Ingenious drop alone ? 
 Shall Science grace the tyrant's throne ? 
 Thou murd'rer of the tuneful train ! 
 I charge thee, with my children flain ! 
 
 Scarce has the Sun thrice urQ-'d his annual tour. 
 Since half my race have felt thy barbarous power ; 
 
 Sore haft thou thinn'd each pleafing art, 
 And ftruck a mufe with every dart : 
 
 Bard, after bard, obey'd thy flaughtering call. 
 Till fcarce a poet lives to fing a brother's fall. 
 
 Then let a widow'd mother pay 
 The tribute of a parting lay. 
 
 Tearful,
 
 lo THETEARS 
 
 Tearful, infcribe the monumental ftrain, 
 And fpeak aloud, her feelings, and her pain! 
 
 And firft, farewel to thee, my fon, fhe cried, 
 Thou pride of Auburn's Dale — fweet bard, farewel. 
 
 Lono- for thy fake, the peafants tear fhall flow, 
 And many a virgin-bofom heave with woe, 
 For thee fhall for row fadden all the fcene, 
 And every paftime, perifli on the green ; 
 The fturdy farmer fhall fufpend his tale, 
 The woodman's ballad fhall no more regale, 
 No more fhall Mirth, each ruftic fport infpire, 
 But every frolic, every feat, fhall tire. 
 No more the evening gambol fhall delight, 
 Nor moonfhine revels crown the vacant night, 
 But groupes of villagers (each joy forgot) 
 Shall form, a fad affembly round the cot. 
 Sweet bard, farev^el — and farewel, Auburn's blifs, 
 The bafliful lover, and the yielded kifs ; 
 
 The
 
 O F G E N I U S. II 
 
 The evening warble Philomela made, 
 The echoing foreft, and the whifpering fhadc, 
 The winding brook, the bleat of brute content, 
 And the blithe voice that " whiftled as it went." 
 Thefe fhall no longer charm the plowman's care. 
 But fighs (hall fill, the paufes of defpair. 
 
 Goldsmith adieu ! the " book-learn'd pried" for thee 
 
 Shall now in vain poflefs his feftive glee. 
 
 The oft-heard jefl in vain he fhall reveal. 
 
 For now alas, the jeft he cannot feel. 
 
 But ruddy damfels o'er thy tomb fhall bend, 
 
 And confcious weep for their and virtue's friend : 
 
 The milkmaid fhall rejed: the fhepherd's fong. 
 
 And ceafe to carol as fhe toils along : 
 
 All Auburn fhall bewail the fatal day, 
 
 When from her fields, their pride was fnatch'd away j 
 
 And even the matron of the crcffy lake 
 
 In piteous plight, her palfied head fliall fhake, 
 
 -While
 
 12 THETEARS 
 
 While all adown die furrows of her face 
 Slow fhall the lingering tears each other trace. 
 
 And, Oh my child ! feverer woes remain, 
 To all the houfelefs, and unfhelter'd train : 
 Thy fate fhall fadden many an humble gueft, 
 And heap frefh anguifli on the beggar's breaft. 
 For dear wert thou to all the fons of pain ; 
 To all that wander, forrow, or complain. 
 Dear to the learned, to the fimple dear, 
 For daily bleflings mark'd thy virtuous year ; 
 The rich receiv'd a moral from thy head. 
 And from thy heart the ftrangcr found a bed. 
 Diftrefs came always fmiling from thy door ; 
 For God had made thee agent to the poor ; 
 Had form'd thy feelings on the nobleft plan. 
 To grace at once, the Poet, and the Man. 
 
 Here
 
 O F G E N I U S. 13 
 
 Here Genius paus'd to dry the gathering tear, 
 Which Nature ftarted in her matron eye. 
 She paus'd an inftant, then the ftrain renevv'd. 
 
 Thee too, thou favourite of the moral ftrain, 
 
 Pathetic GRAY ; for thee does GENIUS mourn : 
 
 Science and Tafte, thy early fate fhall plain. 
 And Virtue drop a tear into thy urn. 
 
 Oft as Night's curtain clofes on the day, 
 
 And twilight robes the clouds in duikier hue, 
 
 A love-lone vilit to thy tomb I pay. 
 
 While all the parent trembles at the view. 
 
 For how to the unconfcious worm a prey, 
 
 So dear a child as thee can I refign ? 
 Ah, how can GENIUS e'er forget her Gray ? 
 
 Poet of Nature ; all my powers, were thine ! 
 
 D On
 
 14 THETEARS 
 
 On thy bleft name, with melted heart I dwell, 
 
 Some kindred drops, a iofs like thine, demands ; 
 
 Thou, v/ho could once for others, wail fo well, 
 Now take thy tribute from a mother's hands. 
 
 Tho' the grav'd tomb, and cloud afpiring buft 
 
 To Cam's clear margin, call not back thy breath, 
 
 Yet fhall fair Fame immortalize thy duft, 
 
 And GENIUS fnatch thee from the realms of death. 
 
 Oft as I reach the fpot where thou art laid, 
 
 Thou, whofebrip-htfenfe could boaft "celeftialfirej"" 
 
 Thofe hands, I cry, the Mufes fcepter fway'd, 
 " And wak'd to extacy the living lyre." 
 
 One morn I mife'd thee from the favourite tree, 
 
 And anxious fearch'd the brook, the lawn, tkegrovej:. 
 
 Another came, but ah, it was not thee ! 
 Oh the keen tortures of a parent's love 1' 
 
 Next,
 
 O F G E N I U S. I ^ 
 
 Next, thro' the fculptur'd porch I faw thee borne 
 
 In flow proceflion by the fable train, 
 I faw thy corpfe entomb'd beneath the thorn, 
 
 And o'er thy afhes figh'd this funeral ftrain. 
 
 EPITAPH. 
 
 Here low in duft, a fon of Science lies, 
 
 By fame diftinguifhed, and to Genius dear; 
 
 Forgive the fault, ye cynically wife, 
 
 If on his grave the parent fheds a tear. 
 
 Long fhall the Mufes mourn their penfive friend, 
 Long fhall a mother's bofom throb with woe, 
 
 O'er his lov'd tomb the duteous fwains fliall bend, 
 And Albion's daughters long bewail the blow. 
 
 Now fighing, ftopt again the querulous power. 
 
 And ruminated thoughtful — o'er the turf, 
 
 Swell'd into mountains, by the mingled dead, 
 
 She cafl: a ferious eye — and now the Hours, 
 
 Light=.
 
 i6 THETEARS 
 
 The light-wing'd meffengers of hoary Time, 
 Brought on the fable zenith of the night, 
 Cloudlefs, and incompos'd, by gale, or fhower. 
 Save that the Zcphir rifing from the foiith, 
 Ruftled the light leaf of the fpreading beech. 
 Far thro' the ca^rule air, th' illumin'd moon 
 Her faint ray flung upon the fhadowy earth ! 
 Struck by the fcene. Imagination turn'd 
 Refledive, on a lofs ftill more fevere ; 
 A lofs that all the Mufes mourn at once. 
 The cheek of GENIUS ftream'd with warmer tears, 
 Deepen'd the fearching flgh, and throbb'd the heart. 
 As thus, at length the burfting grief found way : 
 
 Child of my heart — thou matchlefs foul of Song 1 
 
 Guide of fair truth, and leading ftar of fame, 
 
 Etljerial in thy talents, as thy mind, 
 
 Wife as all wifdom here below could be, 
 
 Sublimely
 
 OFGENIUS. 17 
 
 Sublimely tuneful, but not more fublime 
 
 Than delicate — nor more refin'd, than good ; 
 
 For Virtue ever brighten'd in thy lay, 
 
 And beam'd frefh graces thro' thy ardent fong ; 
 
 A fong, that dar'd a flight above the fphercs, 
 
 Cseleflially ambitious; Heaven-infpir'd, 
 
 Thy hopes angelic, and thy theme a God !— 
 
 Thou Mufes miracle — thou Nation's pride, 
 
 Whofe worth, yon filver Queen of night proclaim'd, 
 
 When thou her pitying fympathy addrefs'd, 
 
 Whofe vi^ifdom all our fages loudly praife. 
 
 Sages of fcience, by deep thought made fage, 
 Whofe Virtue, Immortality rewards, 
 Whofe GENIUS, fcorning narrow human ken, 
 And the pent limits of this pigmy world, 
 (Where in a circle circumfcrib'd by fate. 
 The mole-ey'd mortal dimly gazes round, 
 
 And boafts his deep fagacity of fight •, 
 
 E Important
 
 i8 THE TEARS 
 
 Important emmet — pride-elated mite, 
 
 Infinite atom — momentary worm — ) 
 
 Superior foars to fcencs behind the cloud, 
 
 Oh YOUNG — thou day-bright poet of the nightj. 
 
 Accept fincere the genuine plaint of woe 
 
 Maternal — ftruck immediate from the heart ; 
 
 An heart that labours deep with various grief ! 
 
 And thou, Oh Cynthia — thou who lent thine aid 
 
 Cferulian ; and fhed thy influence round, 
 
 Chearing the darknefs of thy Poet's fate ; 
 
 A fate envelop'd deep in Fortune's gloom, 
 
 Dark beyond all the horrors of the night. 
 
 When intercepting clouds repel thy rays, 
 
 And not a gleam foftens the black opaque. 
 
 Dark beyond common v/oes — death — dark diRrefs, 
 
 Ebon of foul, more fabled than the Styx, 
 
 As once his anp-uiih, thou with influence bland 
 
 Benign didPc feel — now kindly feel for me ; 
 
 For
 
 OF GENIUS. 19 
 
 For me — fad relid of a proftrate race,— 
 Partake a wretched parent's foul-heav'd throb^ 
 A parent reft of every filial joy. 
 And fmote by death's moft defolating dart"» 
 Beneath thy fober, fublunary fhine, 
 (Tremulous, tender, melancholy — foftj 
 Suited to foothe the folitary woe,) 
 Beneath thy fliine — ne'er did a greater Bard, 
 Latian, Athenian, or in Briton born. 
 Pour on the ear of night a lovelier fongj 
 Ne'er didll thou patronize a nobler lays 
 Nor hear a ftrain more penfivcly divine. 
 
 Fair in diflrefs, and queruloufly fweet j 
 
 Oh ! how the Poet breath'd at every paufe ! 
 
 Oh ! how the Godhead dignified each line ! 
 
 Oh ! how the intrepid Chrifiian crown'd the whole !. 
 
 'Twas not the courtly period of the day, 
 
 Form'd to entrap the complimented fool, 
 
 'Twas
 
 ^o THETEARS 
 
 'Twas not the airy, faflnonable page, ' ' 
 
 Politely pert, and musically dull, 
 
 The fing-fong nothing of fome moon-ftruck elf ; 
 
 'Twas Genius fpoke the language of the foul, 
 
 A language, lofty, elegant and ftrong j 
 
 Pathos of fenfe, and energy of found. 
 
 Beyond the common flight of modern fong, 
 
 Beyond the tinfel of the rhimeing tribe, 
 
 Which for the fiimfy Sonnet cull the flowers 
 
 Parnaflian (fcarce deferving to be cropt, 
 
 The ftinted fcyons of the mountain's foot) 
 
 To deck their May-day garland of an hour. 
 
 Beyond the foar of fentimental fools 
 
 That delicately weave the web of wit, 
 
 And fpin the filken moral from the brain, 
 
 Induftrioufly idle — cobweb-thin, 
 
 The tender texture of a vacant fkull. 
 
 And unfubftantial, as the fairy fcene, 
 
 Form'd
 
 O F G E N I U S. 21 
 
 Form'd by the frolicks of the fallen fnow— 
 
 Far above fuch, thy vigorous Genius foar'dj 
 
 Genius cherubic — near allied to Heaven, 
 
 Of heavenly themes ambitious — Oh my Son ] 
 
 Oh, what a ftroke upon the feeling heart ! 
 
 Oh what a fall to Britain, and to me ! 
 
 And rifes then my forrow into guilt, 
 
 Verges my fondnefs on impiety, 
 
 Reafon, religion, duty, all forgot ? 
 
 I almoft mingle blufhes with my woe, 
 
 Confufion flings her crimfon in my cheek, 
 
 And colouring Confcience dyes a deeper red ! 
 
 Fall, did I fay ? — fay rather what a rife, 
 
 A rife high-bounding to his nativ^e fkies. 
 
 How great ! how vafl: ! how glorious ! how profound ! 
 
 To us how vital — to Jmnfelf how fair ? 
 
 He wifh'd for Heav'n, and Heav'n has heard his prayer. 
 
 F Then
 
 22 THETEARS 
 
 Then let me hail his beatific fhade — 
 
 The well-rewarded fpirit bower'd in blifs !— 
 
 Yet Nature, feeble Nature, clinging to the chords, 
 
 And prefling hard upon the tender ftrings, 
 
 That move the finer feeUngs in our frame, 
 
 With arbitrary rage, demands her claim. 
 
 And ufurer-like exads the parent-figh. 
 
 Spite of the exultations I fliould feel, 
 
 The hymn of triumph, and the peal of praife, 
 
 The tender tyrant tugs about my Breaft, 
 
 Strikes on each pulfe, and fluices every vein — 
 
 Ah rebel nerves, be fiill — or if too hard, 
 
 The thoughts of lofing him the moft ador'd. 
 
 Bears on thy weaker fenfe — indulge a paufe. 
 
 From Nature — Paflion — Torture and Thyfelf. 
 
 Oh, turn my foul from the diftradling theme, 
 
 Probe not the agonizing wound too deep. 
 
 Search not the fore with too minute an eye. 
 
 But from his dear idea, turn away !
 
 OF GENIUS. 23 
 
 She turn'd — £he ftopt — but found no fweet relief; 
 The cormorant monfter of the gorging grave, 
 Had multiplied her woe — ftill ran her thoughts 
 On fome lov'd child, which yet remain'd unfung ; 
 Another and another to her mind 
 Rofe terrible — and ftarting, thus fhe cried. 
 While Grief in every feature wrote Defpair : 
 
 And fhall I pafs thee o'er, thou gentle fpirit ? — 
 Was there ought in thy propenfions — or in thy way of 
 journeying through the windings of this fad world? — 
 Was there ought unfilial in thy feelings ? — ought un- 
 deferving or forbidding, that fhould incline me to 
 
 overlook thee ? Ah ; No — no — Truft me, gentle 
 
 YORICK, I more than lov'd thee — There was a cour-r 
 tefy in thy demeanor — a milky and humane tempera- 
 ture about thy pulfes — and a compaffion in the turn 
 of thy mind — however excurfive — however retrograde 
 — however digreflive — that awaken the moft tender 
 recolledion — A recolledlion which hurries the blood 
 into the moft affediionate extremities. — Gracious God, 
 what a throb was there ! — As I live — and as I love 
 thee — and by the foul of thy venerable relation, the 
 
 tear&
 
 24 
 
 THE TEARS 
 
 tears are bathing my eye-laflies, while I am talking 
 of thee — And coiild'ft thou — (Oh that Death fhould 
 have made it ncceffary to cry Alas ! in a parentheiis) — 
 could' ft thou, YORICK, at this moment, lay thy hand 
 upon my heart — the violence of the motion about the 
 center, would confefs the mother — and the tumult of 
 the veflels, together with the rebounds of the pulfation, 
 might afTure thee, how thou art rank'd in my eftima- 
 tion — Eftimation ! — hear me, Yorick, there is an- 
 other Alas for thee — Thou can' ft not hear — Genius 
 has much to fay of thee — Thou wert nothing elfe — 
 Thy heart, and head, and every delicate appendage, 
 were the conftant champions of all the Charities — all 
 the Civilities. — Thou had'ft not indeed any parade — 
 any oftenftbility — or religious prudery about thee — 
 but yet haft thou done more to the caufe of Virtue, 
 than if thou hadft gone fcowling through life. — In 
 all thy excurftons — and whimftcal meanders — Sensi- 
 bility took thee by the hand — by the heart I might 
 have faid — and made thee acceftible to every tender 
 intreaty — every foft petition found its way into thy 
 pocket — the thing was irreflftable — Pity feconded the 
 requeft. Sympathy thirded it — and if thou haply hadft 
 nothing to beftow — why it was an hard cafe, and 
 would coft thee a tear — a drop of difappointment — an 
 elixir to the forrowing foul — a treafure riling from the 
 
 fulnefs
 
 O F G E N I U S. 25 
 
 fulnefs of a rich heart, and it was given without 
 grudging — fo would it had it been chryflal. — I ho- 
 noured thy fentiments, and I venerate thy memory — 
 thou \vould'fl: not fuffer a nettle to grow upon the 
 grave of an enemy — nor fhall Genius ever fufFer a weed 
 to grow upon thine. — Peace — peace to thy fhade. — 
 
 Once more, the matron ceas'd the mournful lay, 
 
 But the frefh anguifh foon affail'd her heart ; 
 Still call'd the populous tomb for her lament, 
 And bad her prove vicifTitude of woe. 
 
 As thus fhe fighing, fpoke : 
 
 And now, my lov'd Shenftone, for Thee, 
 
 Thou pride of the paftoral ftrain j 
 Thou faireft refemblance of me. 
 
 Dear, elegant Bard of the plain. 
 
 For thee, will I pour the fad lay. 
 
 That fhall echo the thickets among ; 
 
 And weep as I mufe on the day. 
 
 That robb'd the poor fwains of thy fong. 
 
 G Full
 
 ^ 
 
 26 THETEARS 
 
 Full gentle, and fweet, was the note 
 That flow'd from his delicate heart, 
 
 Simplicity, fmil'd as he wrote. 
 
 And Nature was polifh'd by art. 
 
 But now as I look o'er thy bowers. 
 
 As each flirub, and each ftream, I furvey, 
 
 Difafter invades the foft flowers : 
 
 For — oh — their lov'd mafter's away. 
 
 Ah, how fhould the woodlands be fair. 
 Ah, how the cool grottoes be gay ? 
 
 The groves, murmur death, and defpair. 
 The rofes all droop and decay ; 
 
 Full well may they forrow and fade— 
 
 The dear fhepherd that rear'd them is gone. 
 
 And well may the birds leave the fliade — 
 For their loves and their labours are flown. 
 
 Then
 
 O F G E N I U S. 27 
 
 Then unfeen let the Eglantine blow, 
 
 Unheeded the Hyacynth lye, 
 Unheard let the rivulets flow, . 
 
 Let the Primrofes flourifli and die, 
 
 For the Swain who fliould crop them is gone !— 
 He fung — and all Nature admir'd ; 
 
 He fpoke — and all hearts were his own ; 
 He fell — and all pity expir'd. — 
 
 Scarce had flie finifh'd her difafterous fong. 
 When thus again lamenting, £he began — 
 
 I. 
 
 And oh (fhe cried with frantic grief) 
 
 Who now fhall bring relief, 
 Or where the cordial £hall I find, 
 To foothe a mother's mind. 
 Since Lyttelton is dead ? 
 Well may ye hang the head. 
 And prefs your graffy bed. 
 Ye confcious forefts, and ye waving groves, 
 
 For never fhall ye fee your Mafter more : 
 To other fcenss the stherial Spirit rov^es. 
 
 And tir'd of Hagley, feeks a fairer fhore.
 
 28 T H E T E A R S 
 
 II. 
 
 The Mufcs liften'd, to his poliili'd ftrain, 
 
 And every wondering fvvain, 
 With pride, came thronging to his ruftic bower, 
 
 Ihe Dryads ovvn'd his power. 
 But when he wail'd his lovely Lucy, dead, 
 And his melodious forrow told. 
 
 The fliepherds lean'd to hear. 
 
 The lilvans dropt a tear, 
 Then all in wild diforder fled. 
 
 Rapt in the deepeft fhades recefs, 
 
 They mourn'd their gentle Lord's diftrefs. 
 And join'd his prayers for Lucy — but in vain. 
 
 III. 
 
 And art thou gone, my venerable Son, 
 
 Who fliar'd with Genius the exalted throne I 
 Pride of my age, and pillar of my care ! — 
 Mute is thy tuneful voice — " O lofs beyond repair." 
 
 Ah Lyttelton, for thee, 
 The true tear long {hall bathe this hoary breaft, 
 Eor there thy worth, and talents live imprefk — 
 JEngrav'd by Sympathy., 
 
 Oh!
 
 y 
 
 O F G E N I U S. 29 
 
 Oh ! fall feverely felt, 
 To make a parent melt, 
 The tender breaft to tear ; 
 And wake defpair : 
 And fcarce a child the mighty grief to fhare ^ 
 
 IV. 
 
 How fhall I paint the glories of his mind, if 
 
 Benevolent, . and kind, Si 
 
 His reafon ftrong, and elegantly clear, ^ 
 
 To every virtue dear ! 
 
 Beyond the pride of pedant rules, 
 
 And maxims of the fchoolsy 
 His Genius knew the plealing art. 
 
 To fteal upon the heart : 
 To touch the finer pafTions of the mind, 
 And give the fterling moral to mankind. 
 
 V. 
 
 He was the very glory of my race, 
 
 Even in the vale of life, in reafon's bloom,. 
 Adorn'd with every learned grace, 
 
 H Amidil
 
 30 THETEARS 
 
 Amidft the flioiits of power and praife, 
 For many a year he wore the bays ; 
 
 Till tyrant Death 
 Stopt his much-honour'd breath, 
 And fwept the laurel'd Hero to the tomb. 
 
 So when fome oak, that long fupreme hath ftood. 
 
 The (lately monarch of the imperial wood, 
 
 Whofe arms fuperior fhed a verdure round, 
 
 And fhadow'd wide beneath, the umbrageous ground, 
 
 Long time we view its top impierce the fkies. 
 
 Its broad leaf flourifli, and its branches rife. 
 
 Long time we gaze upon the glowing fight. 
 
 And eye with wonder its majeftic height 
 
 Till time, impatient for its deflin'd prey. 
 
 Full at the root direds the blow, 
 And down it drops below ; 
 The mighty ruin, of the groaning plain. 
 
 Nor, in lamenting the havock, which Death hath 
 triumphantly made (continued Genius) in the letter'd 
 generation, can Hawkesworth, be forgotten: A 
 name which is particularly endear'd to me, by the 
 affedlion which its owner bore to virtue and to fcience. 
 
 Every
 
 OF GENIUS. 
 
 31 
 
 Every ftroke of his pen, correfponding with every 
 idea of his mind, however playful, or however pa- 
 thetic, always terminated in the moft iifeful know- 
 ledge : that knowledge which might regulate tho 
 condudl of life, or afford tranquillity and quietude at 
 the hour of expiration. The ardour which uniformly 
 animated his endeavours, gave conflant vigour to his 
 thought, adlivity to his powers, and dignity to his 
 fentiment : Nor did his excellence arife fo much from 
 the ambition which panted after fame, and aim'd at 
 popularity — which appeal'd to the acclamations of the 
 mob, or fought the diftindlions of this world ; as from 
 the hearty hope of contributing, in whatever degree, 
 to the inveftigation of truth, the amendment of man- 
 ners, and the redlitude of the mind. Of thofe who have 
 acquir'd a literary immortality, there are few who could 
 difpute with my Hawk es worth, ftrength of fenfe, 
 or elevation of expreffion ; and flill fewer have given to 
 the world fo valuable, or fo copious a fund of virtuous 
 entertainment. Amidft all the efforts of his intellect, 
 whether his inftrudlions were prepared in the drefs 
 of hiftory — or convey'd in the vehicle of fabulous 
 narration — whether they affum'd the graver ffyle of 
 argumentative profundity, or whether tliey adopted 
 the ftill deeper refearches of philofophical raciocination; 
 — their conftant greatnefs of defign was equally appa- 
 rent?
 
 32 . THE TEARS of GENIUS. 
 
 rent^ and the promotion of virtue was always ftrongly 
 mark'd in the hyiguage of the writer. My dear, my re- 
 gretted Hawkes WORTH, was indeed never long fcduc'd 
 by any temptations, or abftradled by any fcientific 
 ' allurements, from thofe views which are alone of in- 
 trinfic importance, and whrch he well knew, would 
 retain that importance, when all, ^that now flutters to 
 the fancy, plays upon the pafHons, and fafcinates the 
 heart, fhall confefs their inflgnificance, and fly like the 
 atom, that is driven before the tempeft. 
 
 Here interrupting broke upon her plaint 
 The peering mcrn^— the dun-difcolour'd clouds, 
 Difperfing fafl:, unveil the fleecy- white : 
 Fair dawns the new-born-day ; and o'er the {ky 
 The ruddy crimfon, and the heaven-dipt blue, 
 Mix'd with the fainter yellow's ftreaky gold, • 
 Chequering the air in rich variety, 
 Fortell the Sun's uprife — from his broad beam, 
 .(Too garifK for the melancholy mind) 
 ' GENl'uS withdrew, and clos'd her tender lay. 
 
 THE END.
 
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