Thither this desolating hag repairs,

While subtle windings mark her sure approach.The secret sorrow fast'ning on our peace,

The trivial mis'ry laugh'd at and despis'd,

In time's long term may work her mine so sure,
That all the alarmed efforts of our souls,
Unexercis'd and weaken'd by delay,
Lull'd in enervating repose too long,
Shall not prevent the total overthrow.-

Proud of his joys, and sanguine in his hopes,
Full of fresh health, with heart elate and proud,
O'erweening man awhile exults in air,
And wrapt in many a fold of conscious worth,
Scarcely regards the tantalizing ill,
Contemns the seeming casual-calling pang,
Or hugs the fiend that but improves his bliss;
Nay, shou'd the fit of anguish quicker come,
And every dart strike deeper than the last,
In the large fullness of his present joys
And conscious certainty of those to come,
He stills the sense and in the victory smiles-
Deluded man! the pain so long despis'd,
Perhaps esteem'd unworthy of thy note,
May nibble all thy comforts one by one,
Gnaw the strong cordage of thy trusting breast,
Eat slow and sure into thy dear heart's core,
And fret at length, (so close engag'd they lie)
The last fine lash'ng of diminish'd hope,
That scarce dividable, enduring thread,

By unremitting action-quite away.

Of general ills and their disastrous end,
By well-tim'd vigilance uncheck'd—I speak :
But were I bid to brand with direst terms,
The blackest woe entail'd upon our kind,
That tort'ring writhing worm that feeds on life,
And only with the wretched suff'rer dies;
Round Wedlock's bands, behold the serpent twine
Its lengthen'd form, and thro' each secret close,
With marking mischief penetrate and glide :
Wedlock! in whose endearing tender ties,
Young love and nameless extacies shou'd lie.
Ah blessed state! where surely I may say,
1
In many a gordian guarded fold they do,
Beyond the reach and villainy of man,
Or powers of hell to torture or dislodge.

But when Ambition strains the hated band,
Her golden chain when sordid Avarice frames,
Or Sensual Passion forms her slipp'ry knot,
From such a union what but woe can spring!
But well, I deem, that anguish may be borne,
Which long foreseen, is willingly embrac'd :-
But when in silken fetters fram'd by love,
When distant objects lift their sunny heads,
In soft succession to the straining eye,
Entangling as they rise, that seem to court
The eager gazers to assured bliss,

Two tender souls with mutual ardour meet, (And far as either's fond observance can,

Or human penetration may presume,
To take the hidden measure of their minds.)
In all their wishes, all their views the same;
Shou'd there the fiend of anguish lurk unseen,
And when some soft white years have roll'd away,
Her black repulsive face at last intrude,

Say then has Hell, a torture half so dire?

Can mortal fancy figure aught so foul?

That jarring dæmon, Discord, shall untie,

Cut the true knots love took such pains to form,
By gentlest offices cemented close

In the according fore-end of their lives,
Untwine the subtle twistings of the soul,
Unharmonize each movement of the mind,
Confuse and ravel every strained string,
And quite use up, the spare supplies of joy.

Ye Married Ones ! regard the truths I sing;
Deem not secure, because for many a year,
Your joys have felt no change, nor known decay,
That unregarded, therefore they must last ; -
A careless drowsy indolence indulg'd,
May nourish seeds obnoxious to your peace,
Stifled till now, or to your nature's strange,

And suffer'd once to lift their thrifty stems,
Choak in their turn the sweet and tender shoots,

And spread their baneful blighting influence round.—
Oh! 'tis a thought most worthy of your note,

For unfed passion must in time expire

And wou'd you let the cheering blaze go out ? And wou'd you lose the comforts of its beams? That may so easily be kept alive?

A little oil will feed the lambent flame,

--

And little labour trims affection's lamp,
When once 'tis fairly lit, and brightly burns;
But 'tis a flame that asks a tender care;
And once neglected may illume no more!-
Drear darkness then usurps celestial light,
And order fair, to foul confusion yields ;-
Damn'd is that life, as far as mortal thought,
Can of the most assur'd damnation judge,
If e'er the wrangling nonsense of the morn,
Remain unsettled o'er the closing night,
That joyless night that may extend its reign,
Thro' weeks, months, years, into an age of woe;
If e'er the peevish uncomplying fault,

The venial error unrenounc'd, pursued;
The rais'd contention wantonly prolong'd,
Unbounded confidence declining fast,
Transgressions multiplied and unatton'd,
And many a kind attention lost and spurn'd,
Fly to the heart-corrode and rankle there.-
If on the couch, where many a time and oft
Their wishes mingled and their limbs entwin'd,
Bart'ring warm joy in prodigal exchange,
Affected coldness fills the stretch'd embrace-
When constitutional indifference, checks,
And fix'd disgust, avoids the tender'd joy-

7

When two pursuits the sever'd minds engage;
Or both contending for a common cause,
For ever cross and jostle by the way.
Poor wretched sufferers! whosoe'er ye are,
Detain'd by Hymen, tho' by Love enlarg'd,
Hard is your lot, ye cannot break the chain,
And harder still that ye shou'd learn to bear,
Shackles like these that needs must gall ye sore,
And only death can lighten or remove.
Oh! why shou'd human laws, perforce detain
Two fetter'd souls in wrangling durance vile ?
Souls that revoke the voluntary vow,
And all engagements of the heart renounce,
That once were mutually exchang'd and made
Then cancell❜d too, as cordially by both!
Were it not better far to set them free,

Unbind their bands and let them roam at large;
Seek out new partners to restore lost joys,

Or some calm scene to settle into peace ;

Where they may heal, perchance, the bleeding wounds,
Made in affection's lacerated side,

Which link'd compulsion never more can close:

Compulsive ties can no delights renew,

Nor yet reclaim, once fallen from its faith,

The alienated passion of the heart.

Oh! GOD of HEAVEN! whatever curse be mine,
In life's uncertain tenure, short or long,
And well I own I merit some severe,
Withhold aversion from the nuptial bed,