Ad cœlum ardentia lumina tollens, “Lumina; nam teneras arcebant vincula palmas."
ROM lofty themes, from thoughts that foar'd on
And open'd wondrous fcenes above the sky,
My Mufe defcend: Indulge my fond defire;
With fofter thoughts my melting foul infpire,
And smooth my numbers to a female's praife:
A partial world will liften to my lays,
While Anna reigns, and fets a female name
Unrival'd in the glorious lifts of fame.
Hear, ye fair daughters of this happy land, Whose radiant eyes the vanquish'd world command, 10 Virtue is Beauty: But when charms of mind With elegance of outward form are join'd;
When youth makes such bright objects ftill more bright, And fortune fets them in the strongest light;
'Tis all of heaven that we below may view,
And all, but Adoration, is your due.
Fam'd female virtue did this ifle adorn,
Ere Ormond, or her glorious Queen, was born:
When now Maria's powerful arms prevail'd,
And haughty Dudley's bold ambition fail'd,
The beauteous daughter of great Suffolk's race,
In blooming youth adorn'd with every grace;
Who gain'd a crown by treason not her own,
And innocently fill'd another's throne;
Hurl'd from the fummit of imperial state,
With equal mind sustain’d the stroke of fate.
But how will Guilford, her far dearer part,
With manly reason fortify his heart?
At once the longs, and is afraid, to know:
Now swift she moves, and now advances flow,
To find her lord; and, finding, paffes by,
Silent with fear, nor dares fhe meet his eye;
Left that, unafk'd, in fpeechlefs grief, difclofe
The mournful fecret of his inward woes.
Thus, after fickness, doubtful of her face,
The melancholy virgin fhuns the glass.
At length, with troubled thought, but look ferene, And forrow foften'd by her heavenly mien, She clafps her lord, brave, beautiful, and young, While tender accents melt upon her tongue; Gentle, and fweet, as vernal Zephyr blows, Fanning the lily, or the blooming rofe.
"Grieve not, my lord; a crown indeed is loft; "What far outshines a crown, we still
"A mind compos'd; a mind that can disdain
"A fruitlefs forrow for a loss so vain.
"Nothing is lofs that virtue can improve
"To wealth eternal; and return above;
"Above, where no distinction shall be known
" "Twixt him whom storms have shaken from a throne, 50
"And him, who, basking in the fmiles of fate,
"Shone forth in all the splendor of the great:
"Nor can I find the difference here below;
"I lately was a Queen; I ftill am so,
"While Guilford's Wife: Thee rather I obey,
"Than o'er mankind extend imperial sway.
"When we lie down in fome obfcure retreat,
"Incens'd Maria may her rage forget;
“And I to death my duty will improve,
"And what you miss in empire, add in love—
"Your God-like foul is open'd in your look,
"And I have faintly your great meaning spoke.
“For this alone I'm pleas'd I wore the crown,
"To find with what content we lay it down.
"Heroes may win, but 'tis a heavenly race
"Can quit a throne with a becoming grace."
Thus fpoke the fairest of her fex, and cheer'd
Her drooping lord; whofe boding bofom fear'd
A darker cloud of ills would burft, and shed
Severer vengeance on her guiltless head:
Too juft, alas, the terrors which he felt!
For, lo! a guard!-Forgive him, if he melt-
How fharp her pangs, when fever'd from his fide,
The most fincerely lov'd, and loving bride,
In space confin'd, the Mufe forbears to tell;
Deep was her anguish, but she bore it well.
VOL. I.
His pain was equal, but his virtue less;
He thought in grief there could be no excess.
Penfive he fat, o'ercaft with gloomy care,
And often fondly clasp'd his absent fair;
Now, filent, wander'd through his rooms of state,
And ficken'd at their pomp, and tax'd his fate;
Which thus adorn'd, in all her shining store,
A fplendid wretch, magnificently poor.
Now on the bridal-bed his eyes were caft,
And anguish fed on his enjoyments past;
Each recollected pleasure made him smart,
And every transport stabb'd him to the heart.
That happy moon, which fummon'd to delight,
That moon which shone on his dear nuptial night,
Which faw him fold her yet untafted charms
(Deny'd to princes) in his longing arms;
Now fees the tranfient bleffing fleet away,
Empire and Love! the vifion of a day.
Thus, in the British clime, a fummer-storm
Will oft the smiling face of heaven deform;
The winds with violence at once defcend,
Sweep flowers and fruits, and make the foreft bend
A fudden winter, while the fun is near,
O'ercomes the season, and inverts the year.
But whither is the captive borne away,
The beauteous captive, from the chearful day?
The scene is chang'd indeed; before her eyes
Ill-boding looks and unknown horrors rife :
For pomp and splendor, for her guard and crown, 105 A gloomy dungeon, and a keeper's frown:
Black thoughts each morn invade the Lover's breast, Each night, a ruffian locks the Queen to rest.
Ah mournful change, if judg'd by vulgar minds ! But Suffolk's daughter its advantage finds. Religion's force divine is beft difplay'd In deep desertion of all human aid :
To fuccour in extremes, is her delight,
And chear the heart, when terror strikes the fight.
We, disbelieving our own fenfes, gaze,
And wonder what a mortal's heart can raise
To triumph o'er misfortunes, fmile in grief,
And comfort those who come to bring relief:
We gaze; and as we gaze, wealth, fame, decay,
And all the world's vain glories fade away.
Against her cares she rais'd a dauntless mind,
And with an ardent heart, but most resign'd,
Deep in the dreadful gloom, with pious heat,
Amid the filence of her dark retreat,
Addrefs'd her God-" Almighty Power Divine! 125 ""Tis thine to raise, and to depress, is Thine; "With honour to light up the name unknown, "Or to put out the luftre of a throne.
"In my short span both fortunes I have prov'd, "And though with ill frail nature will be mov'd, 130 « I'll bear it well: (O ftrengthen me to bear!) "And if my piety may claim thy care; "If I remember'd, in youth's giddy heat, "And tumult of a court, a Future State; "O favour, when thy mercy I implore "For one who never guilty fceptre bore! E 2
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