Induftrious habits in each bosom reign,
And industry begets a love of gain.

Hence all the good from opulence that fprings,
With all thofe ills fuperfluous treasure brings,
Are here difplay'd. Their much-lov'd wealth imparts
Convenience, plenty, elegance and arts;

But view them clofer, craft and fraud appear,
Ev'n liberty itself is barter'd here.

At gold's fuperior charms all freedom flies,
The needy fell it, and the rich man buys:
A land of Tyrant's and a den of flaves,
Here wretches feek dishonourable graves,
And calmly bent, to fervitude conform,
Dull as their lakes that flumber in the ftorm.

Heav'ns! how unlike their Belgic fires of old Rough, poor, content, ungovernably bold; War in each breast, and freedom on each brow; How much unlike the fons of Britain now!

Fir'd at the found my genius fpreads her wing,
And flies where Britain courts the western fpring;
Where lawns extend that fcorn Arcadian pride,
And brighter ftreams than fam'd Hydafpes glide,
There all around the gentleft breezes ftray,
There gentleft mufic melts on ev'ry fpray;
Creation's mildest charms are there combin'd,
Extremes are only in the master's mind!
Stern o'er each bofom reafon holds her fate
With daring aims irregularly great,
Pride in their port defiance in their eye,
I fee the lords of human kind pass by,

Intent on high defigns, a thoughtful band,

By

forms unfafhion'd fresh from Nature's hand;

Fierce in their native hardiness of soul,

True to imagin'd right, above controul,

While ev'n the peasant boafts these rights to fcan,
And learns to venerate himself as man.

Thine, Freedom, thine the bleffings pictur'd here, Thine are thofe charms that dazzle and endear; Too bleft indeed, were fuch without alloy, But fofter'd ev'n by Freedom ills annoy, That independance Britons prize too high, Keeps man from man, and breaks the focial tie; The felf-dependant lordlings ftand alone, All claims that bind and sweeten life unknown; Here by the bonds of nature feebly held, Minds combat minds, repelling and repell'd. Ferments arife, imprison'd factions roar, Repreft ambition ftruggles round her fhore, Till over-wrought, the general fyftem feels Its motions ftop, or phrenzy fires the wheels.

Nor this the worft. As nature's ties decay, As duty, love, and honour fail to fway, Fictitious bonds, the bonds of wealth and law, Still gather ftrength, and force unwilling awe. Hence all obedience bows to thefe alone, And talents fink, and merit weeps unknown; Till time may come when flript of all her charms, The land of fcholars, and the nurfe of arms, Where noble ftems tranfmit the patriot flame, Where kings have toil'd, and poets wrought for fame, One fink of level avarice fhall lie,

And scholars, foldiers, kings, unhonour'd die.

Yet think not. thus when Freedom's ills I ftate,
I mean to flatter kings, or court the great;
Ye powr's of truth that bid my foul afpire,
Far from my bofom drive the low defire ;
And thou, fair Freedom, taught alike to feel;
The rabble's rage, and tyrant's angry steel;
Thou tranfitory flow'r alike undone
By proud contempt, or favour's foft'ring fun,
Still may thy blooms the changeful clime endure,
I only would reprefs them to fecure:

For juft experience tells, in ev'ry foil,

That thofe who think must govern those that toil:

And all that Freedom's highest aims can reach,
Is but to lay proportion'd loads on each.
Hence, fhould one order difproportion'd grow,
Its double weight must ruin all below.

O then how blind to all that truth requires, Who think it Freedom when a part aspires ! Calm is my foul, nor apt to rife in arms, Except when faft approaching danger warms: But when contending chiefs blockade the throne, Contracting regal pow'r to ftretch their own, When I behold a factious band agree

To call it freedom when themselves are free;
Each wanton judge new penal ftatutes draw,
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law
The wealth of climes, where favage nations roam,
Pillag'd from flaves to purchase flaves at home;
Fear, pity, juftice, indignation ftart,
Tear off referve, and bear my fwelling heart;
Till half a patriot, half a coward grown,
I fly from petty tyrants to the throne.

Yes, brother, curfe with me that baleful hour
When first ambition ftruck at regal pow'r;
And thus polluting honour in its fource,
Gave wealth to fway the mind with double force.
Have we not feen round Britain's peopled fhore,
Her useful fons exchang'd for useless ore?
Seen all her triumphs but deftru&tion haste,
Like flaming tapers bright'ning as they wafte;
Seen Oppulence, her grandeur to maintain,
Lead flern Depopulation in her train,
And over fields where scatter'd hamlet's rofe,
In barren folitary pomp repofe?

Have we not feen at pleasure's lordly call,
The fmiling long-frequented village fall?
Beheld the duteous fon, the fire decay'd,
The modest matron, and the blushing maid,

Fore'd from their homes, a melancholy train,
To traverfe climes beyond the western main;
Where wild Ofwego fpreads her fwamps around,
And Niagara ftuns with thund'ring found?

Ev'n now, perhaps, as there fome pilgrim ftrays Through tangled forefts, and through dang'rous ways; Where beafts with man divided empire claim, And the brown Indian marks with murd'rous aim; There, while above the giddy tempeft flies, And all around diftrefsful yells arise, The penfive exile, bending with his wo, To ftop too fearful, and too faint to go, Cafts a long look where England's glories fhine, And bids his bofom fympathize with mine.

Vain, very vain, my weary fearch to find
That blifs which only centres in the mind:
Why have I ftray'd from pleasure and repofe,
To feek a good each government bestows?
In ev'ry government, though terrors reign,
Though tyrant kings, or tyrant laws reftrain,
How fmall of all that human hearts endure,

That
part which laws or kings can cause or cure.
Still to ourfelves in ev'ry place confign'd,
own felicity we make or find:

Our

With fecret courfe, which no loud ftorms annoy,
Glides the fmooth current of domeftic joy.
The lifted ax, the agonizing wheel,

Luke's iron crown, and Damien's bed of steel,
To men remote from pow'r but rarely known,
Leave reafon, faith, and confcience, all our own.