Classic Poem

ADDRESSED TO THE LATE MRS WILLIAM SPORT, EDINBURGH: — SPRING 1779.

Daughter of Exercise and calm Content,
By Temperance nourish'd in the shady vale,
Where Dian's nymphs resort with bows unbent,
To taste the freshness of the morning gale;
Divine H YGEIA , turn thy steps again,
Nor let the plaintive Muse implore in vain!

Oh, coy disdainful maid, in native charms array'd,
Beyond the needless pageantry of art,
Time was, thy radiant smile could every care beguile,
And shed sweet influence o'er my drooping heart.
Why, goddess, have thy lovely eyes
Their azure beams withdrawn?
Dost thou my artless prayer despise?
When oft at morning dawn
I lift pure hands from guilt and interest free,
And humbly seek for friendship, peace, and thee!

Return, inconstant fair, while thro' the soften'd air
Mild zephyrs waft the balmy breath of spring,
And budding woods with early music ring.
Ah! what avails their bloom, or all the soft perfume
Yon dewy violet banks exhale to me,
While thro' the birchen grove, with lingering steps I rove,
And vainly trace thy wonted haunts for thee!

*****

Yet while in Clutha's winding vale
Light floating on the western gale,
Thy spirit cheers my friend,
To thee shall grateful songs arise,
To thee the rural sacrifice
In fragrant fumes ascend.

And where Edina's turrets rise,
Tho' smoky wreaths obscure the skies,
And vapours taint the air,
Thy soft ambrosial pinions spread
O'er lov'd A STERIA'S drooping head,
And soothe the languid fair.

And see, to wooe thee down, she quits the noisy town,
In quest of thee she seeks the breezy shore;
On Ocean's stormy breast, thou oft art found to rest,
His green-hair'd nymphs thy wat'ry haunts explore.
And when with trembling hope she laves,
Oh shed thy influence o'er the waves,
Her bloom restore, her health renew;
There let her hail thy form divine,
Emerging from the foamy brine,
Like V ENUS on the dazzled view!