Designed by F.Wheatley R.A.

Engraved by 4.Smith A.

His lovely daughter, lovelier in her tears,
The fond companion of his helpless years,
Silent went next; neglectful of her charms,
And left a lover's for her father's

Published December 1800 by FJ Du Roveray, London.

arms.

The Deserted Village.

ASTIR, LENOX AND

TILJKA FOUNDATIONE

1

At ev'ry draught more large and large they grow,
A bloated mass of rank unwieldy woe;

Till, sapp'd their strength, and ev'ry part unsound,
Down, down they sink, and spread a ruin round.
E'en now the devastation is begun,

And half the bus'ness of destruction done;

E'en now, methinks, as pond'ring here I stand,
I see the rural virtues leave the land.

Down where yon anch'ring vessel spreads the sail,
That idly waiting flaps with ev'ry gale,
Downward they move, a melancholy band,

Pass from the shore, and darken all the strand.

Contented toil, and hospitable care,

And kind connubial tenderness, are there;

And piety, with wishes plac'd above,

And steady loyalty, and faithful love.

And thou, sweet Poetry, thou loveliest maid,

Still first to fly where sensual joys invade;

Unfit, in these degen'rate times of shame,

To catch the heart, or strike for honest fame;
Dear charming nymph, neglected and decried,
My shame in crowds, my solitary pride;

Thou source of all my bliss, and all my woe,
That found'st me poor at first, and keep'st me so;
Thou guide, by which the nobler arts excel,
Thou nurse of ev'ry virtue, fare thee well!
Farewell, and O! where'er thy voice be tried,
On Torno's cliffs, or Pambamarca's side,.
Whether where equinoctial fervours glow,
Or winter wraps the polar world in snow,
Still let thy voice, prevailing over time,
Redress the rigours of th' inclement clime;
Aid slighted truth with thy persuasive strain;
Teach erring man to spurn the rage of gain;
Teach him that states of native strength possest,
Though very poor, may still be very blest;

That trade's proud empire hastes to swift decay,
As ocean sweeps the labour'd mole away;
While self-dependent pow'r can time defy,
As rocks resist the billows and the sky.

THE

HAUNCH OF VENISON.

A

POETICAL EPISTLE,

ΤΟ

LORD CLARE.

FIRST PRINTED IN THE YEAR 1765,