Classic Poem

The Sun was bright, the form unseen,
An Ariel whisper'd, " All is best:
Nor pale thy cheek, nor figure lean,
With a gay spirit thou art bless'd.

" Ascend the hill, and look around;
Compare the lustre and the shade!
Recall the past, that smil'd or frown'd;
With Reason's touch the colours aid!

" The wreath has droop'd, the world is lost,
The nuptial joy has broke its chain;
By Fortune's minions thou art cross'd,
And reft of all her pageant's train.

" 'Tis one impression of the change: —
But other pictures are at hand,
With a bird's freedom thou canst range,
And see the tempest from the land.

" When Fortune hail'd thee, all were friends,
Whose love the gift or feast could buy:
But, when Distress the victim bends,
Averted is the Courtier's eye.

" Suspicion poison'd Fortune's joy,
" They love my purse ," could then be said;
But fear of treason they destroy
Who bind the wound, and lift the head.

" If thou hast virtues that are priz'd
When they are level'd in the shade,
The homage cannot be disguis'd ,
And by no sycophant be paid.

" The cares of life, that passions waste,
Leave all her peaceful charms behind;
They have no elbow-room for taste,
And for the heart no leisure find. "