LYRIC P Hold fast the *golden chain let down from hcav'n, 'Twill help your feet and wings ; I feel' its force [gate Draw upwards; fasten'd to the pearly It guides the way unerring: Happy clue Theo' this dark wild! 'Twos wisdom's noblest work, All join'd by pow'r divine, and every link is love. To Mr. T. BRADBURY. Paradise. 1708, 1 YOUNG as I am I quit the stage, Nor will I know th' applauses of the age ; ' Farewel to growing fame. I leave below A life not half worn out with cares, Or agonies, or years; I leave my country all in tears, But heav'n demands me upward,' and I dare to go, Amongstye,friends, divide andshare The remnant of my days, If ye have patience, and can bear A long fatigue of life, and drudge thro' all the race. g Hark, my fair guardian chides my And waves his. golden rod : [stay, " Angel, I come ; lead on the way : And now by-swift degrees I sail aloft thro' azure seas, Now tread the milkyroad : Farewel, ye planets, inyourspheres ; And as the stars are lost, a brighter sky appears. In haste for paradise I stretchthe,pinions of abolder thought. Scarce had I will'd, but I was past Deserts of trackless light and all th' ethereal waste, And to the sacred borders brought ; There on the wings a guard of cherubs lies, Each waves a keen flame as he flies, And well defends the walls from sieges and surprise. S With pleasing rev'rence I behold The pearly portals wide unfold: inter, my soul, and view th' amazing scenes ; Sit fast upon the flying muse, And let thy roving wonder loose O'er all the empyreal plains. Noon stands eternal here: here may thy sight IIrink in the rays of primpgenial light ; Here breathe immortal air joy must beat high in every vein, Pleasure thro' all thy bosom reign; The laws forbid the stranger, pain, And banish every care. 4 See how the bubbling springs of love Beneath the throne arise: * The gospel. OEMS. 265 Thestreamsinerystalchannels move, Around the golden streets they roc", And bless the mansions of the upper 'skies. There a fair grove of knowledge grows, Nor sin nor death infects the fruit. ; Young life hangs fresh on all the boughs, And springs from every root ; Here may thy greedy senses feast While rotary and hehlth attend on ever taste. [stood With the fair prospect charm'd Ì Fearless I feed on the delicious fare, And dririk profuse salvation from the silver flood, Nor can excess be there. 5 In sacred order rang'd along, Saints new -releas'd by death Join the bold seraph's warbling breath, And aid th' immortal song. Each has a voice thattunes his strings To -mighty sounds, and mighty things, Things ofeverlasting weight; Sounds,like the softer viol, sweet, Aud, like the trumpet, strong. Divine attention held my soul, 1-was all ear ! Theo' all my pow'rs the heav'nly s,c -. cents roll : [there ; I long'd and wish'd my Bradbury "Could be but hear these notes, [, said, His tuneful soul would never bear The dull unwinding of life's tedious, thread, But burst the vital chords to reach the happy dead. And now my tongue prepares to join The harmony, and with a noble aim Attempts th' unutterable name, But faints, confounded by the notes. divine : [sought, Again my soul th' unequal honour Again her utmost force she brought, And bow'd beneath the burden of th unwieldy thought. Thrice I essay'd, and fainted thrice ; Th" immortal labour strain'd myteehlra frame, [the dream Broke the bright vision, and dissolve I sunk at once and lost the shies : In vain I sought the scenes of light Rolling abroad my longing eyes, For all around 'em stood my curtains and the night. Strict Religion very rare. 1 I'M borne aloft, and leave the crowd, I sail upon a morning cloud 'Skirted with dawning gold : Mine eyes beneath the opening day Command the globe with wide survey, Where ants in busy millions play, And tug and heave the mould.
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