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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 IRVINE 
 
 Gift of 
 THE HONNOLD LIBRARY
 
 ELEGY 
 
 Written in a 
 QmntryCharchyard 
 
 Thomtts 
 Gr&y — 
 
 ^M.CuJdwen Co. 
 New York-"^ Boston.
 
 C9t 
 
 Copyright, igoi 
 By H. M. CaIvDwelIv Co.
 
 Elegy and Other Poems
 
 Introduction 
 
 n^HOMAS GRAY was born in 
 Cornhill, London, December 
 26, 17 16. Philip Gray, the poet's 
 father, a broker and scrivener, was a 
 man of ungovernable temper, whose 
 cruelty to his gentle wife became so 
 unendurable as to lead to a separation. 
 Dorothy Gray, on the other hand, 
 possessed a beautiful character, and 
 it is to her love and industry that 
 Thomas owed his education. Mrs. 
 Gray met the expenses of her son at 
 Eton College by keeping, together 
 with her sister, a millinery shop in 
 London. The poet rewarded her by 
 the m;ost lively gratitude and by devot-
 
 ^ Introduction 
 
 ing himself very assiduously to his 
 studies. From Eton young Gray 
 went to Cambridge, being admitted as 
 a pensioner at Peter-House in his 
 nineteenth year. After four years' 
 residence, the poet left the university 
 in the company of Horace Walpole, 
 whose acquaintance he had formed 
 while there, and made an extended 
 tour of the Continent, returning to 
 England in 1741. Shortly afterward 
 Gray took up his residence again in 
 Cambridge, which he made his home, 
 with the exception of two brief inter- 
 vals, throughout the rest of his life. 
 The events that follow in the biog- 
 raphy of the poet are the quiet happen- 
 ings in the life of a scholar and man 
 of letters : the writing of a poem, the 
 publication of a book, the forr^ation
 
 Introduction ^ 
 
 of a literary friendship, — such are the 
 typical landmarks in these tranquil 
 years. 
 
 In 1742 Gray wrote his "Ode to 
 Spring," " Ode on Eton College," and 
 " Hymns to Adversity," and began 
 the " Elegy in a Country Church- 
 yard," though the latter was not pub- 
 lished until 1751. In 1753 his 
 mother died. Two years later the 
 " Progress of Poesy " and " The 
 Bard " were published, and added to 
 the already great reputation won for 
 the poet by the " Elegy." 
 
 In 1762 Gray declined the laureate- 
 ship, saying shrewdly regarding the 
 matter in a personal letter : " For 
 my part, I would rather be sergeant- 
 trumpeter or pinmaker to the palace; 
 nevertheless, I interest myself a little
 
 •^ Introduction 
 
 in the history of it, and rather wish 
 somebody may accept it that will re- 
 trieve the credit of the thing, if it be 
 retrievable, or ever had any credit. 
 . . . The office itself has always hum- 
 bled the professor hitherto (even in an 
 age when kings were somebody), if he 
 were a poor writer by making him 
 more conspicuous, and if he were a 
 good one by setting him at war with 
 the little fry of his own profession ; 
 for there are poets little enough to 
 envy even a poet laureate." 
 
 A tour of Scotland in 1765 occa- 
 sioned many interesting descriptive 
 letters, which have been, fortunately, 
 preserved. In 1768 Gray, then fifty- 
 two years of age, was appointed pro- 
 fessor of modern history at Cam- 
 bridge. His health, however, never
 
 Introduction ^ 
 
 robust, was now much broken, and he 
 never delivered any lectures. He died 
 on the 30th of July, 1771, and was 
 buried beside his mother at Stoke 
 Pogis. 
 
 Gray was always more or less of a 
 recluse, and frequently the victim of 
 low spirits. He never married. In 
 disposition he was kind, but very re- 
 served J in manners fastidious almost 
 to effeminacy. His moral character 
 was irreproachable ; his erudition sur- 
 passes that of any eminent English 
 poet, with one or two possible excep- 
 tions. His poetry is marked by re- 
 straint, elegance, and precision, and is 
 pervaded by a spirit of gentle contem- 
 plation. 
 
 Popular opinion agrees with the ver- 
 dict of the critics in pronouncing the
 
 ^ Introduction 
 
 " Elegy " to be the poet's masterpiece. 
 Lord Byron wrote regarding it : " Had 
 Gray written nothing but his ' Elegy,' 
 high as he stands, I am not sure that 
 he would not stand higher; it is the 
 corner-stone of his glory. . . . Gray's 
 ' Elegy ' pleased instantly and eter- 
 nally/^ 
 
 ru
 
 Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 ELEGY WRITTEN IN A 
 COUNTRY CHURCHYARD 
 
 The curfew tolls the knell of parting 
 day, 
 The lowing herd winds slowly o'er 
 the lea, 
 The ploughman homeward plods his 
 weary way. 
 And leaves the world to darkness 
 and to me. 
 
 Now fades the glimmering landscape 
 
 on the sight, 
 1* And all the air a solemn stillness 
 holds, 
 
 I
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Save where the beetle wheels his dron- 
 ing flight, 
 And drowsy tinklings lull the distant 
 folds : 
 
 Save that from yonder ivy-mantled 
 tower, 
 The moping owl does to the moon 
 complain 
 Of such as, wand'ring near her secret 
 bower, 
 Molest her ancient solitary reign. 
 
 Beneath those rugged elms, that yew- 
 tree's shade, 
 Where heaves the turf in many a 
 mould'ring heap, 
 Each in his narrow cell for ever laid, 
 The rude forefathers of the hamlet^ 
 sleep.
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 The breezy call of incense-breathing 
 morn, 
 The swallow twitt'ring from the 
 straw-built shed, 
 The cock's shrill clarion, or the echo- 
 ing horn. 
 No more shall rouse them from 
 their lowly bed. 
 
 For them no more the blazing hearth 
 shall burn, 
 Or busy housewife ply her evening 
 care ; 
 No children run to lisp their sire's return, 
 Or climb his knees the envied kiss 
 to share. 
 
 Oft did the harvest to their sickle 
 yield, 
 Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe 
 has broke : 
 
 3
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 How jocund did they drive their team 
 afield ! 
 How bow'd the woods beneath their 
 sturdy stroke ! 
 
 Let not ambition mock their useful 
 toil, 
 Their homely joys, and destiny 
 obscure ; 
 Nor grandeur hear with a disdainful 
 smile 
 The short and simple annals of the 
 poor. 
 
 The boast of heraldry, the pomp of 
 pow'r^ 
 And all that beauty, all that wealth 
 e'er gave, 
 Await alike th' inevitable hour. 
 
 The paths of glory lead but to the 
 grave. 
 
 4
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 Nor you, ye proud, impute to these 
 the fault, 
 If memory o'er their tomb no 
 trophies raise. 
 Where thro' the long-drawn aisle and 
 fretted vault 
 The pealing anthem swells the note 
 of praise. 
 
 Can storied urn, or animated bust. 
 Back to its mansion call the fleeting 
 breath ? 
 Can honour's voice provoke the silent 
 dust. 
 Or flatt'ry soothe the dull cold ear 
 of death ? 
 
 Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid 
 Some heart once pregnant with celes- 
 tial fire -, 
 
 5
 
 -^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Hands, that the rod of empire might 
 have sway'd, 
 Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre : 
 
 But Knowledge to their eyes her 
 ample page 
 Rich with the spoils of time did 
 ne'er unroll ; 
 Chill penury repress'd their noble 
 rage, 
 And froze the genial current of the 
 soul. 
 
 Full many a gem of purest ray serene 
 The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean 
 bear : 
 Full many a flower is born to blush 
 unseen. 
 And waste its sweetness on the 
 desert air. 
 
 6
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 Some village Hampden, that, with 
 dauntless breast. 
 The little tyrant of his fields with- 
 stood. 
 Some mute inglorious Milton, here may 
 rest. 
 Some Cromwell guiltless of his 
 country's blood. 
 
 Th' applause of list'ning senates to 
 command. 
 The threats of pain and ruin to 
 despise, 
 To scatter plenty o'er a smiling land. 
 And read their history in a nation's 
 eyes, 
 
 Their lot forbade : nor circumscribed 
 alone 
 Their growing virtues, but their 
 crimes confined ; 
 7
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Forbade to wade through slaughter to a 
 throne, 
 And shut the gates of mercy on 
 mankind, 
 
 The struggling pangs of conscious truth 
 to hide, 
 To quench the blushes of ingenuous 
 shame, 
 Or heap the shrine of luxury and pride 
 With incense kindled at the Muse's 
 flame. 
 
 Far from the madding crowd's ignoble 
 strife. 
 Their sober wishes never learn'd to 
 stray •, 
 Along the cool sequester'd vale of life 
 They kept the noiseless tenor of 
 their way.
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 Yet ev'n these bones from insult to 
 protect, 
 Some frail memorial still erected 
 nigh, 
 With uncouth rhymes and shapeless 
 sculpture deck'd. 
 Implores the passing tribute of a 
 sigh. 
 
 Their name, their years, spelt by th' 
 
 unletter'd Muse, 
 
 The place of fame and elegy supply : 
 
 And many a holy text around she 
 
 strews, 
 
 That teach the^rustic moralist to die. 
 
 For who, to dumb forgetfulness a 
 prey. 
 This pleasing anxious being e'er 
 resign'd, 
 
 9
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Left the warm precincts of the cheer- 
 ful day, 
 Nor cast one longing ling'ring look 
 behind ? 
 
 On some fond breast the parting soul 
 relies, 
 Some pious drops the closing eye 
 requires ; 
 E'en from the tomb the voice of nature 
 cries. 
 E'en in our ashes live their wonted 
 fires. 
 
 For thee, who, mindful of th' un- 
 honour'd dead, * 
 Dost in these lines their artless tale 
 relate ; 
 If chance, by lonely contemplation led, 
 Some kindred spirit shall inquire thy 
 fate, —
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 Haply some hoary-headed swain may 
 
 say, 
 " Oft have we seen him at the peep 
 
 of dawn 
 Brushing with hasty step the dews away, 
 To meet the sun upon the upland 
 lawn : 
 
 " There at the foot of yonder nodding 
 beech, 
 That wreathes its old fantastic roots 
 so high. 
 His listless length at noontide would 
 he stretch. 
 And pore upon the brook that bab- 
 bles by. 
 
 " Hard by yon wood, now smiling as 
 in scorn, 
 Mutt'ring his wayward fancies he 
 would rove ; 
 
 II
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Now drooping, woful-wan, like one 
 forlorn, 
 Or crazed with care, or cross'd in 
 hopeless love. 
 
 " One morn I miss'd him on the 
 'customed hill. 
 Along the heath, and near his fav'rite 
 tree; 
 Another came ; nor yet beside the rill. 
 Nor up the lawn, nor at the wood 
 was he : 
 
 " The next, with dirges due In sad array. 
 Slow through the church-way path 
 we saw him borne : — 
 Approach and read (for thou canst 
 read) the lay 
 Graved on the stone beneath yon 
 aged thorn."
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 THE EPITAPH 
 
 Here rests his head upon the lap of 
 earth, 
 A youth, to fortune and to fame 
 unknown : 
 Fair Science frown'd not on his humble 
 birth. 
 And Melancholy mark'd him for her 
 own. 
 
 Large was his bounty, and his soul 
 sincere. 
 Heaven did a recompense as largely 
 send ; 
 He gave to mis'ry (all he had) a tear, 
 He gain'd from heav'n ('twas all he 
 wish'd) a friend. 
 
 No farther seek his merits to disclose. 
 Or draw his frailties from their dread 
 •' abode, 
 
 13
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 (Theie they ahke in trembHng hope 
 repose,) 
 The bosom of his Father and his 
 God. 
 
 M
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 ON THE SPRING 
 
 Lo ! where the rosy-bosom'd Hours, 
 
 Fair Venus' train, appear, 
 Disclose the long-expecting flowers. 
 
 And wake the purple year ! 
 The Attic warbler pours her throat. 
 Responsive to the cuckoo's note, 
 
 The untaught harmony of spring : 
 While, whisp'ring pleasure as they 
 
 fly, 
 
 Cool Zephyrs through the clear blue 
 sky 
 Their gather'd fragrance fling. 
 
 Where'er the oak's thick branches 
 stretch 
 A broader browner shade, 
 15
 
 -^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Where'er the rude and moss-grown 
 beech 
 
 O'er-canopies the glade, 
 Beside some water's rushy brink 
 With me the Muse shall sit, and 
 think 
 
 (At ease reclined in rustic state) 
 How vain the ardour of the crowd, 
 How low, how little are the proud, 
 
 How indigent the great ! 
 
 Still is the toiling hand of Care ; 
 
 The panting herds repose : 
 Yet, hark, how through the peopled 
 air 
 
 The busy murmur glows ! 
 The insect-youth are on the wing. 
 Eager to taste the honeyed spring. 
 
 And float amid the liquid noon : 
 Some lightly o'er the current skim, 
 i6
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ?# 
 
 Some show their gaily-gilded trim 
 Quick-glancing to the sun. 
 
 To Contemplation's sober eye 
 
 Such is the race of Man : 
 And they that creep, and they that fly, 
 
 Shall end where they began. 
 Alike the Busy and the Gay 
 But flutter through life's little day, 
 
 In Fortune's varying colours drest : 
 Brush'd by the hand of rough Mis- 
 chance, 
 Or chill'd by Age, their airy dance 
 
 They leave, in dust to rest. 
 
 Methinks I hear, in accents low, 
 
 The sportive kind reply : 
 Poor moralist ! and what art thou ? 
 
 A solitary fly ! 
 Thy joys no glittering female meets, 
 17
 
 ^ Elegv and Other Poems 
 
 No hive hast thou of hoarded sweets. 
 No painted plumage to display : 
 
 On hastv wings thy vouth is flown ; 
 
 Thv sun is set, thy spring is gone — 
 We frolic while 'tis May. 
 
 i8
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 ON THE DEATH OF A 
 FAVOURITE CAT 
 
 DROWNED IN A TUB OF GOLDFISHES 
 
 'TwAS on a lofty vase's side, 
 Where China's gayest art had dyed 
 
 The azure flowers, that blow ; 
 Demurest of the tabby kind, 
 The pensive Selima, reclined. 
 
 Gazed on the lake below. 
 
 Her conscious tail her joy declared ; 
 The fair round face, the snowy beard. 
 
 The velvet of her paws, 
 Her coat, that with the tortoise vies. 
 Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes, 
 
 She saw ; and purr'd applause. 
 19
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Still had she gazed ; but 'midst the 
 
 tide 
 Two angel forms were seen to glide, 
 
 The Genii of the stream : 
 Their scaly armour's Tyrian hue 
 Through richest purple to the view 
 
 Betray'd a golden gleam. 
 
 The hapless nymph with wonder saw : 
 A whisker first, and then a claw. 
 
 With many an ardent wish, 
 She stretch'd, in vain, to reach the 
 
 prize. 
 What female heart can gold despise ? 
 
 What Cat's averse to fish ? 
 
 Presumptuous maid ! with looks in- 
 tent 
 Again she stretch'd, again she bent, 
 Nor knew the gulf between.
 
 Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 ^ 
 f^x 
 
 (Malignant Fate sat by, and smiled) 
 The slipp'ry verge her feet beguiled, 
 She tumbled headlong in. 
 
 Eight times emerging from the flood, 
 She mew'd to ev'ry wat'ry God, 
 
 Some speedy aid to send. 
 No Dolphin came, no Nereid stirred : 
 Nor cruel Tom, nor Susan heard. 
 
 A fav'rite has no friend ! 
 
 From hence, ye beauties, undeceived. 
 Know, one false step is ne'er retrieved, 
 
 x\nd be with caution bold. 
 Not all that tempts your wandering 
 
 eyes 
 And heedless hearts is lawful prize, 
 
 Nor all, that glisters, gold. 
 
 21
 
 -^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 ON A DISTANT PROSPECT 
 OF ETON COLLEGE 
 
 AvdpojTTOs. iKavTj irpocpaais els rb Sfcrri^xer;'. 
 Menander, Incert. Fragm. ver. 382. ed. Cler. p. 245. 
 
 Ye distant spires, ye antique towers, 
 
 That crown the wat'ry glade. 
 Where grateful Science still adores 
 
 Her Henty's holy shade; 
 And ye, that from the stately brow 
 Of Windsor's heights th' expanse 
 below 
 Of grove, of lawn, of meaa sur- 
 vey, 
 Whose turf, whose shade, whose flow- 
 ers among 
 Wanders the hoary Thames along 
 His silver-winding way : 
 22
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 Ah, happy hills ! ah, pleasing shade ! 
 
 Ah, fields beloved in vain ! 
 Where once my careless childhood 
 stray'd 
 
 A stranger yet to pain ! 
 I feel the gales that from ye blow 
 A momentary bliss bestow. 
 
 As waving fresh their gladsome 
 wing. 
 My weary soul they seem to soothe, 
 And, redolent of joy and youth. 
 
 To breathe a second spring. 
 
 Say, father Thames, for thou hast seen 
 
 Full many a sprightly race 
 Disporting on thy margent green, 
 
 The paths of pleasure trace ; 
 Who foremost now delight to cleave, 
 With pliant arm, thy glassy wave ? 
 
 The captive linnet which enthral ? 
 23
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 What idle progeny succeed 
 To chase the rolling circle's speed. 
 Or urge the flying ball ? 
 
 While some on earnest business bent 
 
 Their murmuring labours ply 
 'Gainst graver hours that bring con- 
 straint 
 
 To sweeten liberty : 
 Some bold adventurers disdain 
 The limits of their little reign, 
 
 And unknown regions dare descry : 
 Still as they run they look behind, 
 They hear a voice in every wind, 
 
 And snatch a fearful joy. 
 
 Gay hope is theirs by fancy fed, 
 Less pleasing when possest ; 
 
 The tear forgot as soon as shed. 
 The sunshine of the breast : 
 24
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 Theirs buxom health, of rosy hue, 
 Wild wit, invention ever new. 
 
 And lively cheer, of vigour born ; 
 The thoughtless day, the easy night. 
 The spirits pure, the slumbers light. 
 
 That fly th' approach of morn. 
 
 Alas ! regardless of their doom, 
 
 The little victims play ; 
 No sense have they of ills to come, 
 
 Nor care beyond to-day : 
 Yet see, how all around 'em wait 
 The ministers of human fate. 
 
 And black Misfortune's baleful 
 train ! 
 Ah, show them where in ambush 
 
 stand. 
 To seize their prey, the murth'rous 
 band ! 
 Ah, tell them, they are men ! 
 25
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 These shall the fury Passions tear, 
 
 The vultures of the mind, 
 Disdainful Anger, pallid Fear, 
 
 And Shame that skulks behind ; 
 Or pining Love shall waste their youth. 
 Or Jealousy, with rankling tooth. 
 
 That inly gnaws the secret heart ; 
 And Envy wan, and faded Care, 
 Grim-visaged comfortless Despair, 
 
 And Sorrow's piercing dart. 
 
 Ambition this shall tempt to rise, 
 
 Then whirl the wretch from high, 
 To bitter Scorn a sacrifice. 
 
 And grinning Infamy. 
 The stings of Falsehood those shall 
 
 try, 
 And hard Unkindness' alter'd eye. 
 That mocks the tear it forced to 
 flow; 
 
 26
 
 >tlegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 And keen Remorse with blood defiled, 
 And moody Madness laughing wild 
 Amid severest woe. 
 
 Lo I in the vale of years beneath 
 
 A grisly troop are seen, 
 The painful family of Death, 
 
 More hideous than their queen : 
 This racks the joints, this fires the 
 
 veins. 
 That every labouring sinew strains. 
 
 Those in the deeper vitals rage : 
 Lo ! Poverty, to fill the band. 
 That numbs the soul with icy hand. 
 
 And slow-consuming Age. 
 
 To each his sufF'rings : all are men, 
 Condemned alike to groan ; 
 
 The tender for another's pain, 
 Th' unfeeling for his own. 
 
 27
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Yet, ah ! why should they know their 
 
 fate, 
 Since sorrow never comes too late. 
 
 And happiness too swiftly flies ? 
 Thought would destroy their paradise. 
 No more ; — where ignorance is bliss, 
 
 'Tis folly to be wise. 
 
 28
 
 Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 ?^ 
 
 HYMN TO ADVERSITY 
 
 — Zijva — 
 
 Tbv <f>pov€Lv B/ioroi>s odd)- 
 aavra. tw irddei fxaduv 
 QivTo. Kvplus exeti'- 
 
 /Esch. Agam. ver. 181. 
 
 Daughter of Jove, relentless power, 
 
 Thou tamer of the human breast, 
 Whose iron scourge and tort'ring hour 
 
 The bad affright, afflict the best ! 
 Bound in thy adamantine chain. 
 The proud are taught to taste of pain, 
 And purple tyrants vainly groan 
 With pangs unfelt before, unpitied and 
 alone. 
 
 When first thy sire to send on earth 
 Virtue, his darling child, designed, 
 29
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 To thee he gave the heav'nly birth, 
 
 And bade to form her infant mind. 
 Stern rugged nurse ! thy rigid lore 
 With patience many a year she bore : 
 What sorrow was, thou bad'st her 
 
 know. 
 And from her own she learn'd to meh 
 
 at others' woe. 
 
 Scared at thy frown terrific, fly 
 
 Self-pleasing Folly's idle brood, 
 Wild Laughter, Noise, and thoughtless 
 
 Joy. 
 
 And leave us leisure to be good. 
 Light they disperse, and with them 
 
 go 
 The summer friend, the flatt'ring foe ; 
 
 By vain Prosperity received. 
 
 To her they vow their truth, and are 
 
 again believed. 
 
 30
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 Wisdom in sable garb array'd, 
 
 Immersed in rapt'rous thought pro- 
 found, 
 And Melancholy, silent maid, 
 
 With leaden eye that loves the 
 ground. 
 Still on thy solemn steps attend : 
 Warm Charity, the gen'ral friend. 
 With Justice, to herself severe. 
 And Pity, dropping soft the sadly pleas- 
 ing tear. 
 
 O, gently on thy suppliant's head, 
 Dread goddess, lay thy chast'ning 
 hand ! 
 Not in thy Gorgon terrors clad. 
 
 Not circled with the vengeful band 
 (As by the impious thou art seen) 
 With thund'ring voice, and threat'ning 
 mien, 
 
 31
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 With screaming Horror's fun'ral cry, 
 Despair, and fell Disease, and ghastly 
 Poverty : 
 
 Thy form benign, O goddess, wear, 
 
 Thy milder influence impart. 
 Thy philosophic train be there 
 
 To soften, not to wound, my heart. 
 The gen'rous spark extinct revive, 
 Teach me to love and to forgive. 
 Exact my own defects to scan, 
 What others are to feel and know 
 myself a Man.
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 THE PROGRESS OF POESY 
 
 A PINDARIC ODE * 
 
 ^cjvdvTa avv€ToT(TLv ' is 
 A^ TO irdv ep/J.rjv^ojv 
 Xarl^ei. 
 
 Pindar. Ol. II. v. 152. 
 
 I. I. 
 
 Awake, /Eolian lyre, awake. 
 And give to rapture all thy trembling 
 
 strings. 
 From Helicon's harmonious springs 
 A thousand rills their mazy progress 
 take : 
 The laughing flowers, that round them 
 blow, 
 
 * Finished in 1754. Printed together with 
 "The Bard, an Ode," August 8, 1757. — MS. 
 
 33
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Drink life and fragrance as they flow. 
 Now the rich stream of music winds 
 
 along, 
 Deep, majestic, smooth, and strong. 
 Thro' verdant vales, and Ceres' golden 
 
 reign. 
 Now rolling down the steep amain. 
 Headlong, impetuous, see it pour ; 
 The rocks and nodding groves rebellow 
 
 to the roar. 
 
 I. 2. 
 
 O Sov'reign of the willing soul. 
 Parent of sweet and solemn-breathing 
 
 airs. 
 Enchanting shell ! the sullen Cares 
 And frantic Passions hear thy soft 
 control. 
 On Thracia's hills the Lord of War 
 Has curb'd the fury of his car, 
 34
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 And dropt his thirsty lance at thy 
 
 command. 
 Perching on the sceptred hand 
 Of Jove, thy magic lulls the featherM 
 
 king 
 With ruffled plumes and flagging wing : 
 Quench'd in dark clouds of slumber 
 
 lie 
 The terrors of his beak, and lightnings 
 
 of his eye. 
 
 I- 3- 
 
 Thee the voice, the dance, obey, 
 Temper'd to thy warbled lay. 
 O'er Idalia's velvet-green 
 The rosy-crowned Loves are seen 
 On Cytherea's day ; 
 With antic Sport, and blue-eyed Pleas- 
 ures, 
 Frisking light in frolic measures ; 
 35
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Now pursuing, now retreating, 
 
 Now in circling troops they meet : 
 To brisk notes in cadence beating, 
 
 Glance their many-twinkling feet. 
 Slow melting strains their Queen's 
 approach declare : 
 Where'er she turns, the Graces 
 homage pay. 
 With arms sublime, that float upon the 
 air, 
 In gliding state she wins her easy 
 way : 
 O'er her warm cheek, and rising bosom, 
 
 move 
 The bloom of young Desire and purple 
 light of Love. 
 
 II. I. 
 
 Man's feeble race what ills await ! 
 
 Labour, and Penury, the racks of Pain, 
 
 36
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 Disease, and Sorrow's weeping train, 
 And Death, sad refuge from the 
 storms of fate ! 
 
 The fond complaint, my song, dis- 
 prove. 
 
 And justify the laws of Jove. 
 
 Say, has he giv'n in vain the heav'nly 
 Muse ? 
 
 Night and all her sickly dews, 
 
 Her spectres wan, and birds of boding 
 cry. 
 
 He gives to range the dreary sky ; 
 
 Till down the eastern cliffs afar 
 
 Hyperion's march they spy, and glitt'- 
 ring shafts of war. 
 
 II. 2. 
 
 In climes beyond the solar road. 
 Where shaggy forms o'er ice-built 
 mountains roam, 
 37
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 The Muse has broke the twilight gloom 
 To cheer the shivering native's dull 
 abode. 
 And oft, beneath the od'rous shade 
 Of Chili's boundless forests laid, 
 She deigns to hear the savage youth 
 
 repeat. 
 In loose numbers wildly sweet, 
 Their feather-cinctured chiefs, and 
 
 dusky loves. 
 Her track, where'er the goddess roves. 
 Glory pursue, and gen'rous Shame, 
 Th' unconquerable Mind, and free- 
 dom's holy flame. 
 
 II. 3. 
 
 Woods, that wave o'er Delphi's steep. 
 Isles, that crown th' ^gean deep. 
 Fields, that cool Ilissus laves. 
 Or where Maeander's amber waves 
 38
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 In lingering lab'rinths creep, 
 
 How do your tuneful echoes lan- 
 guish. 
 Mute, but to the voice of anguish ! 
 Where each old poetic mountain 
 
 Inspiration breathed around ; 
 Ev'ry shade and hallow'd fountain 
 
 Murmur'd deep a solemn sound : 
 Till the sad Nine, in Greece's evil 
 hour. 
 Left their Parnassus for the Latian 
 plains. 
 Alike they scorn the pomp of tyrant 
 Power, 
 And coward Vice, that revels in her 
 chains. 
 When Latium had her lofty spirit 
 
 lost, 
 They sought, O Albion ! next thy sea- 
 encircled coast. 
 39
 
 ^ Klegy and Other Poems 
 
 III. I. 
 
 Far from the sun and summer-gale, 
 In thy green lap was Nature's darling 
 
 laid, 
 What time, where lucid Avon stray'd. 
 
 To him the mighty mother did un- 
 
 Her awful face : the dauntless child 
 Stretch'd forth his little arms and 
 
 smiled. 
 " This pencil take (she said), whose 
 
 colours clear 
 Richly paint the vernal year : 
 Thine too these golden keys, immortal 
 
 Boy! 
 This can unlock the gates of joy; 
 Of horror that, and thrilling fears. 
 Or ope the sacred source of sympa 
 
 thetic tears." 
 
 40
 
 Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 III. 2. 
 
 Nor second He, that rode sublime 
 Upon the seraph-wings of Ecstasy, 
 The secrets of th' abyss to spy. 
 
 He pass'd the flaming bounds of 
 place and time : 
 The living throne, the sapphire 
 
 blaze. 
 Where angels tremble while they 
 
 gaze. 
 He saw ; but, blasted with excess of 
 
 light. 
 Closed his eyes in endless night. 
 Behold, where Dryden's less presump- 
 tuous car 
 Wide o'er the fields of glory bear 
 Two coursers of ethereal race, 
 With necks in thunder clothed, and 
 long-resounding pace. 
 41
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 III. 3. 
 
 Hark, his hands the lyre explore ! 
 Bright-eyed Fancy, hov'ring o'er. 
 Scatters from her pictured urn 
 Thoughts that breathe, and words that 
 
 burn. 
 But ah ! 'tis heard no more — 
 O lyre divine ! what daring spirit 
 Wakes thee now ? Though he 
 inherit 
 Nor the pride, nor ample pinion, 
 
 That the Theban eagle bear, 
 Sailing with supreme dominion 
 
 Through the azure deep of air : 
 Yet oft before his infant eyes would 
 run 
 Such forms as glitter in the Muse's 
 ray, 
 
 42
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 With orient hues, unborrow'd of the 
 
 sun : 
 Yet shall he mount, and keep his 
 
 distant way 
 Beyond the limits of a vulgar fate. 
 Beneath the Good how far, — but far 
 
 above the Great. 
 
 43
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 THE BARD 
 
 A PINDARIC ODE 
 I. I. 
 
 " Ruin seize thee, ruthless King ! 
 Confusion on thy banners wait ; 
 Though fann'd by Conquest's crimson 
 wing, 
 They mock the air with idle state. 
 Helm, nor hauberk's twisted mail. 
 Nor e'en thy virtues, Tyrant, shall avail 
 To save thy secret soul from nightly 
 
 fears, 
 From Cambria's curse, from Cam- 
 bria's tears ! " 
 Such were the sounds that o'er the 
 crested pride 
 Of the first Edward scattered wild 
 dismay, 
 
 44
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 As down the steep of Snowdon's shaggy 
 side 
 He wound with toilsome march his 
 long array. 
 
 Stout Glo'ster stood aghast in speech- 
 less trance : 
 
 " To arms ! " cried Mortimer, and 
 couch'd his quiv'ring lance. 
 
 I. 2. 
 
 On a rock whose haughty brow, 
 Frowns o'er cold Conway's foaming 
 flood, 
 Robed in the sable garb of woe, 
 With haggard eyes the poet stood j 
 (Loose his beard, and hoary hair 
 Stream'd, like a meteor, to the troubled 
 
 air) 
 And with a master's hand, and proph- 
 et's fire, 
 
 • 45
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Struck the deep sorrows of his lyre. 
 
 " Hark, how each giant-oak, and des- 
 ert cave. 
 Sighs to the torrent's awful voice 
 beneath ! 
 
 O'er thee, O King ! their hundred 
 arms they wave, 
 Revenge on thee in hoarser mur- 
 murs breathe ; 
 
 Vocal no more, since Cambria's fatal 
 day, 
 
 To high-born Hoel's harp, or soft 
 Llewellyn's lay. 
 
 " Cold is Cadwallo's tongue, 
 
 That hush'd the stormy main : 
 Brave Urien sleeps upon his craggy bed : 
 Mountains, ye mourn in vain 
 Modred, whose magic song 
 46
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 Made huge Plinlimmon bow his cloud- 
 topt head. 
 On dreary Arvon's shore they lie, 
 Smear'd with gore, and ghastly pale : 
 Far, far aloof th' affrighted ravens 
 sail; 
 The famish'd eagle screams, and 
 passes by. 
 Dear lost companions of my tuneful 
 art. 
 Dear as the light that visits these 
 sad eyes, 
 Dear as the ruddy drops that warm 
 my heart. 
 Ye died amidst your dying country's 
 cries — 
 No more I weep. They do not sleep. 
 
 On yonder cliffs, a grisly band, 
 I see them sit, they linger yet, 
 Avengers of their native land : 
 47
 
 ■^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 With me in dreadful harmony they 
 join, 
 
 And weave with bloody hands the tis- 
 sue of thy line. 
 
 II. I. 
 
 " Weave the warp, and weave the 
 
 woof, 
 The winding-sheet of Edward's race. 
 
 Give ample room, and verge enough 
 The characters of hell to trace. 
 Mark the year, and mark the 
 
 night, 
 When Severn shall re-echo with af- 
 fright 
 The shrieks of death, through Berk- 
 ley's roof that ring. 
 Shrieks of an agonising king ! 
 
 She-wolf of France, with unrelent- 
 ing fangs,
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 That tear'st the bowels of thy mangled 
 
 mate, 
 From thee be born, who o'er thy 
 
 country hangs 
 The scourge of heav'n. What terrors 
 
 round him wait ! 
 Amazement in his van, with flight 
 
 combined, 
 And sorrow's faded form, and solitude 
 
 behind. 
 
 II. 2. 
 
 " Mighty victor, mighty lord ! 
 Low on his funeral couch he lies ! 
 No pitying heart, no eye, afford 
 A tear to grace his obsequies. 
 
 Is the sable warrior fled ? 
 Thy son is gone. He rests among the 
 
 dead. 
 The swarm, that in thy noontide beam 
 were born ? 
 
 49
 
 -^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Gone to salute the rising morn. 
 
 Fair laughs the morn, and soft the 
 
 zephyr blows, 
 While proudly riding o'er the azure 
 
 realm 
 In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes ; 
 Youth on the prow, and Pleasure at 
 
 the helm ; 
 Regardless of the sweeping whirlwind's 
 
 sway, 
 That, hush'd in grim repose, expects 
 
 his ev'ning prey. 
 
 II. 3. 
 
 " Fill high the sparkling bowl, 
 The rich repast prepare ; 
 
 Reft of a crown, he yet may share 
 the feast : 
 Close by the regal chair 
 50
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ?# 
 
 Fell Thirst and Famine scowl 
 A baleful smile upon their baffled 
 guest. 
 Heard ye the din of battle bray, 
 
 Lance to lance, and horse to horse ? 
 Long years of havoc urged their 
 destined course. 
 And thro' the kindred .squadrons mow 
 their way. 
 Ye towers of Julius, London's last- 
 ing shame, 
 With many a foul and midnight mur- 
 der fed. 
 Revere his consort's faith, his 
 father's fame. 
 And spare the meek usurper's holy 
 
 head. 
 Above, below, the rose of snow. 
 
 Twined with her blushing foe, we 
 spread : 
 
 51
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 The bristled boar in infant-gore 
 
 Wallows beneath the thorny shade. 
 
 Now, brothers, bending o'er the ac- 
 cursed loom. 
 
 Stamp we our vengeance deep, and 
 ratify his doom. 
 
 III. I. 
 
 " Edward, lo ! to sudden fate 
 (Weave we the woof. The thread is 
 spun.) 
 Half of thy heart we consecrate. 
 (The web is wove. The work is 
 
 done.) 
 Stay, O stay ! nor thus forlorn 
 Leave me unbless'd, unpitied, here to 
 
 mourn : 
 In yon bright track, that fires the 
 
 western skies. 
 They melt, they vanish from my eyes. 
 52
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 But oh ! what solemn scenes on Snow- 
 don's height 
 Descending slow their glittering 
 skirts unroll ? 
 
 Visions of glory, spare my aching 
 sight ! 
 Ye unborn ages, crowd not on my 
 soul ! 
 
 No more our long-lost Arthur we be- 
 wail. 
 
 All hail, ye genuine kings, Britannia's 
 issue, hail ! 
 
 III. 2. 
 
 " Girt with many a baron bold 
 Sublime their starry fronts they rear ; 
 And gorgeous dames, and statesmen 
 old 
 In bearded majesty, appear. 
 In the midst a form divine ! 
 53
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Her eye proclaims her of the Briton- 
 line ; 
 Her lion-port, her awe-commanding face, 
 Attemper'd sweet to virgin-grace. 
 What strings symphonious tremble in 
 
 the air, 
 What strains of vocal transport 
 
 round her play ! 
 Hear from the grave, great Taliessin, 
 
 hear; 
 They breathe a soul to animate thy 
 
 clay. 
 Bright Rapture calls, and soaring as 
 
 she sings, 
 Waves in the eye of heav*n her many- 
 
 colour'd wings. 
 
 III. 3. 
 
 " The verse adorn again 
 Fierce war, and faithful love, 
 54
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 And truth severe, by fairy fiction drest. 
 
 In buskin'd measures move 
 Pale grief, and pleasing pain, 
 With horror, tyrant of the throbbing 
 breast. 
 A voice, as of the cherub-choir. 
 Gales from blooming Eden bear; 
 And distant warblings lessen on my 
 ear. 
 That lost in long futurity expire. 
 Fond impious man, think'st thou yon 
 sanguine cloud. 
 Raised by thy breath, has quench'd 
 the orb of day ? 
 To-morrow he repairs the golden 
 flood, 
 And warms the nations with re- 
 doubled ray. 
 Enough for me ; with joy I see 
 
 The difF'rent doom our fates assign. 
 55
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Be thine despair, and sceptred care ; 
 
 To triumph, and to die, are mine." 
 He spoke, and headlong from the 
 
 mountain's height 
 Deep in the roaring tide he plunged to 
 endless night. 
 
 56
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 :ff? 
 
 SONNET 
 
 ON THE DEATH OF MR. RICHARD 
 
 WEST 
 
 In vain to me the smihng mornings 
 shine, 
 And redd'ning Phoebus lifts his 
 golden fire ; 
 The birds in vain their amorous descant 
 join, 
 Or cheerful fields resume their green 
 attire : 
 These ears, alas ! for other notes repine, 
 A different object do these eyes 
 require : 
 My lonely anguish melts no heart but 
 mine; 
 And in my breast the imperfect joys 
 expire. 
 
 57
 
 -^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Yet morning smiles the busy race to 
 cheer, 
 And new-born pleasure brings to 
 happier men : 
 The fields to all their wonted tribute 
 bearj 
 To warm their little loves the birds 
 complain : 
 I 'fruitless mourn to him that cannot 
 hear, 
 And weep the more, because I weep 
 in vain. 
 
 58
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 EPITAPH 
 
 ON MRS. JANE CLERKE 
 
 Lo ! where this silent marble weeps, 
 A friend, a wife, a mother sleeps : 
 A heart, within whose sacred cell 
 The peaceful virtues loved to dwell. 
 Affection warm, and faith sincere. 
 And soft humanity were there. 
 In agony, in death resign'd, 
 She felt the wound she left behind. 
 Her infant image, here below, 
 Sits smiling on a father's woe : 
 Whom what awaits, while yet he strays 
 Along the lonely vale of days ? 
 A pang, to secret sorrow dear ; 
 A sigh ; an unavailing tear ; 
 Till Time shall every grief remove. 
 With life, with memory, and with love. 
 59
 
 -^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 ODE 
 
 ON THE PLEASURE ARISING FROM 
 VICISSITUDE 
 
 Now the golden morn aloft 
 
 Waves her dew-bespangled wing, 
 With vermeil cheek and whisper soft 
 
 She woos the tardy spring : 
 Till April starts, and calls around 
 The sleeping fragance from the ground ; 
 And lightly o'er the living scene 
 Scatters his freshest, tenderest green. 
 
 New-born flocks, in rustic dance, 
 Frisking ply their feeble feet ; 
 
 Forgetful of their wintry trance, 
 The birds his presence greet : 
 
 But chief, the skylark warbles high 
 
 His trembling thrilling ecstasy ; 
 60
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 And, lessening from the dazzled sight, 
 Melts into air and liquid light. 
 
 Rise, my soul I on wings of fire. 
 
 Rise the rapt'rous choir among i 
 Hark ! 'tis nature strikes the lyre, 
 
 And leads the gen'ral song : 
 Warm let the lyric transport flow. 
 Warm as the ray that bids it glow ; 
 And animates the vernal grove 
 With health, with harmony, and love. 
 
 Yesterday the sullen year 
 
 Saw the snowy whirlwind fly ; 
 Mute was the music of the air. 
 The herd stood drooping by : 
 Their raptures now that wildly flow, 
 No yesterday nor morrow know ; 
 'Tis man alone that joy descries 
 With forward and reverted eyes. 
 6i
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Smiles on past misfortune's brow- 
 Soft reflection's hand can trace ; 
 And o'er the cheek of sorrow throw 
 
 A melancholy grace; 
 While hope prolongs our happier hour, 
 Or deepest shades, that dimly lower 
 And blacken round our weary way, 
 Gilds with a gleam of distant day. 
 
 Still, where rosy pleasure leads. 
 
 See a kindred grief pursue ; 
 Behind the steps that misery treads, 
 
 Approaching comfort view : 
 The hues of bliss more brightly glow, 
 Chastised by sabler tints of woe ; 
 And blended form, with artful strife, 
 The strength and harmony of life. 
 
 See the wretch, that long has tost 
 On the thorny bed of pain, 
 62
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 At length repair his vigour lost, 
 And breathe and walk again : 
 The meanest floweret of the vale, 
 The simplest note that swells the gale, 
 The common sun, the air, the skies, 
 To him are opening paradise. 
 
 Humble quiet builds her cell. 
 
 Near the source whence pleasure 
 
 flows ; 
 She eyes the clear crystalline well. 
 
 And tastes it as it goes. 
 "While" far below the "madding" 
 
 crowd 
 " Rush headlong to the dangerous flood," 
 Where broad and turbulent it sweeps, 
 " And " perish in the boundless deeps. 
 
 Mark where indolence and pride, 
 " Soothed by flattery's tinkling sound," 
 63
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 Go, softly rolling, side by side, 
 Their dull but daily round : 
 " To these, if Hebe's self should bring 
 The purest cup from pleasure's spring. 
 Say, can they taste the flavour high 
 Of sober, simple, genuine joy ? 
 
 " Mark ambition's march sublime 
 Up to power's meridian height ; 
 While paled-eyed envy sees him climb. 
 
 And sickens at the sight. 
 Phantoms of danger, death, and dread 
 Float hourly round ambition's head ; 
 While spleen, within his rival's breast. 
 Sits brooding on her scorpion nest. 
 
 " Happier he, the peasant, far. 
 
 From the pangs of passion free. 
 That breathes the keen yet wholesome 
 air 
 Of rugged penury. 
 64
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 He, when his morning task is done, 
 Can slumber in the noontide sun ; 
 And hie him home, at evening's close, 
 To sweet repast, and calm repose. 
 
 " He, unconscious whence the bliss, 
 
 Feels, and owns in carols rude. 
 That all the circling joys are his. 
 
 Of dear Vicissitude. 
 From toil he wins his spirits light. 
 From busy day the peaceful night ; 
 Rich, from the very want of wealth, 
 In heaven's best treasures, peace and 
 health." 
 
 65
 
 -^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 STANZAS TO MR. BENTLEY 
 
 A FRAGMENT 
 
 In silent gaze the tuneful choir among, 
 
 Half pleased, half blushing, let the 
 
 Muse admire, 
 
 While Bentley leads her sister-art along. 
 
 And bids the pencil answer to the 
 
 lyre. 
 
 See, in their course, each transitory 
 thought 
 Fix'd by his touch a lasting essence 
 take ; 
 Each dream, in fancy's airy colouring 
 wrought. 
 To local symmetry and life awake ! 
 66
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ^ 
 
 The tardy rhymes that used to linger 
 on, 
 To censure cold, and negligent of 
 fame, 
 In swifter measures animated run. 
 And catch a lustre from his genuine 
 flame. 
 
 Ah ! could they catch his strength, his 
 
 easy grace. 
 
 His quick creation, his unerring line ; 
 
 The energy of Pope they might efface. 
 
 And Dryden's harmony submit to 
 
 mine. 
 
 But not to one in this benighted age 
 
 Is that diviner inspiration giv'n. 
 That burns in Shakespeare's or in Mil- 
 ton's page. 
 The pomp and prodigality of heav'n. 
 67
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 As when conspiring in the diamond's 
 blaze, 
 The meaner gems that singly charm 
 the sight, 
 Together dart their intermingled rays. 
 And dazzle with a luxury of light. 
 
 Enough for me, if to some feeling 
 breast 
 My lines a secret sympathy " im- 
 part; " 
 And as their pleasing influence " flows 
 confest," 
 A sigh of soft reflection " heaves the 
 heart." 
 
 68
 
 Elegy and Other Poems ?# 
 
 SKETCH OF HIS OWN CHAR- 
 ACTER 
 
 WRITTEN IN 1 761, AND FOUND IN 
 ONE OF HIS POCKET - BOOKS 
 
 Too poor for a bribe, and too proud to 
 
 importune, 
 He had not the method of making a 
 
 fortune : 
 Could love, and could hate, so was 
 
 thought somewhat odd ; 
 No very great wit, he believed in a 
 
 God: 
 A post or a pension he did not desire, 
 But left church and state to Charles 
 
 Townshend and Squire. 
 
 69
 
 ^ Elegy and Other Poems 
 
 SONG 
 
 Thyrsis, when we parted, swore 
 Ere the spring he would return — 
 
 Ah ! what means yon violet flower, 
 And the bud that decks the thorn ? 
 
 'Twas the lark that upward sprung ! 
 
 *Twas the nightingale that sung ! 
 
 Idle notes J untimely green ! 
 
 Why this unavailing haste ? 
 Western gales and skies serene 
 
 Speak not always winter past. 
 Cease, my doubts, my fears to move, 
 Spare the honour of my love. 
 
 THE END 
 
 70
 
 I
 
 ii 
 
 "x
 
 DEC 11 1997 
 
 DATE DUE 

 
 ,iJC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 B 000 017 979 6