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A spark, which upward tends by nature's
force;

A stream diverted from its parent source;
A drop, dissever'd from the boundless sea;
A moment parted from eternity:
A pilgrim, panting for the rest to come;
An exile, anxious for his native home.
Why should I ask my foufeit life to save?
Is heaven unjust, which dooms me to the
grave?

Was I with hope of endless days deceiv'd?
Or of lov'd life am I alone bereav'd?

Let all the great, the rich, the learn'd, the
wise,

Let all the shades of Judah's monarchs rise,
And say, if genius, learning, empire, wealth,
Youth, beauty, virtue, strength, renown or
health,

Has once revers'd th' immutable decree
On Adam pass'd of man's mortality?
What have these eyes ne'er seen the felon

worm

The damask cheek devour, the finish'd
form?

On the pale rose of blasted beauty feed,
And riot on the lip so lately red?
Where are our fathers? Where th' illus-
trious line

Of holy prophets, and of seers divine?
Live they for ever? Do they shun the
grave?

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And silent as his lyre great David lies.
Thou, blest Isaiah! who at God's com-
mand,

Now speak'st repentance to a guilty land,
Must die! as wise and good thou hadst not
been,

As Nebat's son, who taught the land to sin! And shall I then be spar'd? O monstrous pride!

Shall I escape when Solomon has died?

If all the worth of all the saints were vain— Peace, peace, my troubled soul, nor dare complain!

Lord, I submit. Complete thy gracious
will!

For if Thou slay me, I will trust Thee still.
O be my will so swallow'd up in thine,
That I may do THY will in doing mine.

THE SEARCH AFTER HAPPINESS:

A PASTORAL DRAMA FOR YOUNG LADIES.

-To rear the tender thought,

To teach the young idea how to shoot,

To pour the fresh instruction o'er the mind,

To breathe th' enliv'ning spirit, and to fix

The gen'rous purpose in the female breast.-Thomson.,

TO MRS. GWATKIN.

DEAR MADAM,-As the following poem turns chiefly on the danger of delay or error in the important article of education, I know not to whom I can, with more propriety, dedicate it than to you, as the subject it inculcates has been one of the principal objects of your attention in your own family.

Let not the name of dedication alarm you: I am not going to offend you by making your eulogium. Panegyric is only necessary to suspicious characters: Virtue will not accept it; Delicacy will not offer it.

The friendship with which you have honoured me from my childhood, will, I flatter myself, induce you to pardon me for venturing to lay before you this public testimony of my esteem, and to assure you how much I am, dear madam,

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THE object of the following poem, which was written in very early youth, was an earnest wish to furnish a substitute for the improper custom, which then prevailed, of allowing plays, and those not always of the purest kind, to be acted by young ladies in boarding schools. And it has afforded a serious satisfaction to the author to learn that this little poem, and the

preceding sacred dramas, have very frequently been adopted to supply the place of those more dangerous amusements. If it may be still happily instrumental in promoting a regard to Religion and Virtue in the minds of young persons, and afford them an innocent, and perhaps not altogether unuseful, amusement, in the exercise of recitation, the end for which it was originally composed, and the author's utmost wish in its republication, will be fully answered.

PROLOGUE.

SPOKEN BY A YOUNG LADY.

Is these grave scenes, and unembellish'd | Or fail the poet's meaning to imbibe ;
strains,

Where neither sly intrigue nor passion reigns;
How dare we hope an audience will approve
A drama void of wit and free from love?
Where no soft Juliet sighs, and weeps, and
starts,

No fierce Roxana takes by storm your hearts;
No comic ridicule, no tragic swagger,
Not one elopement, not one bowl or dagger!
No husband wrong'd, who trusted and be-
liev'd,

No father cheated, and no friend deceiv'd;
No libertine in glowing strains describ'd,
No lying chambermaid that rake had brib'd:
Nor give we, to reward the rover's life,
The ample portion and the beauteous wife;
Behold, to raise the manners of the ago,
The frequent moral of the scenic page!
And shall we then transplant these noxious

scenes

To private life? to misses in their teens?
The pompous tone, the masculine attire,
The stilts, the buskin, the dramatic fire,
Corrupt the softness of the gentler kind,
And taint the sweetness of the youthful mind.
Ungovern'd passons, jealousy and rage,
But ill become our sex, still less our age;
Whether we learn too well what we describe,

In either case your blame we justly raise,
In either lose, or ought to lose, your praise.
How dull, if tamely flows th' impassion'd

strain!

If well-how bad to be the thing we feign!
To fix the mimic scene upon the heart,
And keep the passion when we quit the part!
Such are the perils the dramatic muse,
In youthful bosoms, threatens to infuse!
Our timid author labours to impart
A less pernicious lesson to the heart;
What though no charm of melody divine,
Smooth her round period, or adorn her line;
Though her unpolish'd page in vain aspires
To emulate the graces she admires:
Though destitute of skill, her sole pretence
But aims at simple truth and common sense;
Yet shall her honest unassuming page
Tell that its author, in a modish age,
Preferr'd plain virtue to the boast of art,
Nor fix'd one dangerous maxim on the heart.
O if, to crown the efforts, she could find
They rooted but one error from one mind:
If in the bosom of ingenuous youth
They stamp'd one useful thought, one lasting
truth;

'Twould be a fairer tribute to her name,
Than loud applauses, or an empty fame.

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Scene-A Grove,

EUPHELIA, CLEORA, PASTORELLA, LAU

RINDA.

Cle. WELCOME, ye humble vales, ye flow'ry shades,

Ye crystal fountains, and ye silent glades! From the gay mis'ry of the thoughtless great,

The walks of folly, the disease of state;
From scenes where daring Guilt triumphant
reigns,

Its dark suspicions and its hoard of pains;
Where Pleasure never comes without alloy,
And Art but thinly paints fallacious joy;
Where Laughter loads the day, Excess the
night,

URANIA, an ancient shepherdess.
SYLVIA, her daughters.

ELIZA, S

FLORELLA, a young shepherdess.

And dull Satiety succeeds Delight;
Where midnight Vices their fell orgies
keep,

And guilty revels scare the phantom Sleep;
Where Dissipation wears the name of Bliss;
From these we fly in search of Happiness.

Euph. Not the tir'd pilgrim all his dan-
gers past,
[last,
When he descries the long sought shrine at
E'er felt a joy so pure as this fair field,
These peaceful shades, and smiling vallies
yield!
[appear,

For, sure, these oaks, which old as Time
Proclaim Urania's lonely dwelling near.

Past, How the description with the scene

agrees! Here lowly thickets, there aspiring trees;

The hazel copse excluding noon-bays beam, The tufted arbor, the pellucid stream; The blooming sweet-briar, and the hawthorn shade,

The springing cowslips, and the daisy'd mead,

Cle. Long have we search'd throughout this bounteous isle,

With constant ardour and with ceaseless toil;

The various ways of various life we've try'd;

The wild luxuriance of the full blown fields, But still the bliss we seek has been deny❜d. Which Spring prepares, and laughing Sum-We've sought in vain through ev'ry diff'rent mer yields.

Euph. Here simple Nature strikes th' enraptur'd eye

With charms, which wealth and art but ill supply;

The genuine graces, which without we find, Display the beauty of the owner's mind. Lau. These embow'ring shades conceal the cell,

Where sage Urania and her daughters dwell:

Florella too, if right we've heard the tale,
With them resides-the lily of the vale.
Cle. But soft! what gentle female form

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state;

The murm'ring poor, the discontented great.

If Peace, and Joy, in palaces reside,
Or in obscurer haunts delight to hide;
If Happiness with worldly pleasures dwell,
Or shrouds her graces in the hermit's
cell:

If Wit, if Science, teach the road to bliss,
Or torpid Dulness find the joys they miss;
To learn this truth, we've bid a long adieu
To all the shadows blinded men pursue.
-We seek Urania; whose sagacious mind
May lead our steps this latent good to find:
Her worth we emulate; her virtues fire
Our ardent hearts to be what we admire:
For though with care she shuns the public

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Whom do I see? ye beauteous virgins say By Prudence guided, and by Virtue warm'd, What chance conducts your steps this lone-Perhaps Florella can direct our youth, ly way? And point our footsteps to the paths of Truth.

Do you pursue some fav'rite lambkin stray'd?

Or do yon alders court you to their shade? Declare, fair strangers! if aright I deem, No rustic nymphs of vulgar rank you seem. Cle. No cooling shades allure our eager sight, [vite. Nor lambkins lost, our searching steps inFlo. Or is it, hap'ly, yonder branching vine,

Whose tendrils round our low roof cottage twine;

Whose spreading height, with purple clusters crown'd,

Attracts the gaze of ev'ry nymph around? Have these lone regions aught that charms beside? [pride. Yours are my shades, my flow'rs, my fleecy Euph. Florella! our united thanks receive,

Sole proof of gratitude we have to give : And since you deign to ask, O courteous

fair!

The motive of our unremitting care: Know then, kind maid, our joint researches tend

To find that sovereign good of life, a friend; From whom the wholesome counsel we may gain,

How our young hearts may happiness obtain.

By Fancy's mimic pencil oft portray'd,
Still have we woo'd the visionary maid:
The lovely phantom, mocks our eager eyes;
And still we chase, and still we miss the
prize!

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VI.

The springs of life shall gently cease, And angels point the way to peace.

Ura. Ye tender objects of maternal love, Ye dearest joys my widow'd heart can

prove;

Come taste the glories of the new-born day,
And grateful homage to its Author pay!
O' ever may this animating sight
Convey instruction while it sheds delight!
Does not that sun, whose cheering beams
impart

Joy's glad emotions to the pure in heart;
Does not that vivid pow'r teach ev'ry mind
To be as warm, benevolent, and kind;
To burn with unremitted ardour still,
Like him to execute their Maker's will?
Then let us, Pow'r Supreme! thy will
adore,

Invoke thy mercies, and proclaim thy pow'r.
Shalt thou these benefits in vain bestow?
Shall we forget the fountain whence they
flow?
[Thee,
Teach us through these to lift our hearts to
And in the gift the bounteous giver see.
To view Thee as thou art, all good and wise,
Nor let thy blessings hide Thee from our

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If you this morn have rais'd your hearts in pray'r?

Say did you rise from the sweet bed of rest, Your God unprais'd, his holy name unblest? Syl. Our hearts with gratitude and rev'rence fraught,

By those pure precepts you have ever taught;

By your example more than precept strong Of pray'r and praise have tun'd their matin song.

Eliz. With ever new delight, we now attend

The counsels of our fond maternal friend.

Enter FLORELLA, with EUPHELIA, CLEO-
RA, PASTORELLA, LAURINDA.
Flo. (aside to the ladies) See how the
goodly dame, with pious art,

Makes each event a lesson to the heart!
Observe the duteous list'ners how they

stand:

Improvement and delight go hand in hand.
Üra. But where 's Florella?
Flor.

Here's the happy she,

No more with this vain world perplex'd, Whom Heav'n most favour'd when it gave Thou shalt prepare me for the next;

her thee.

Ura. But who are these, in whose attrac-| Yet still some cause of wretchedness I tive mien,

So sweetly blended, ev'ry grace is seen?
Speak, my Florella! say the cause why here
These beauteous damsels on our plains ap-
pear?

Flor. Invited hither by Urania's fame,
To seek her friendship, to these shades they

came.

Straying alone at morning's earliest dawn,
I met them wand'ring on the distant lawn.
Their courteous manners soon engag'd my
[prove.
I've brought them here your sage advice to
Ura. Tell me, ye gentle nymphs! the
reason tell,

love :

Which brings such guests to grace my lowly cell? [small, My pow'r of serving, though indeed but Such as it is, you may command it all. Cle. Your counsel, your advice, is all we ask;

And for Urania that's no irksome task. 'Tis Happiness we seek : O deign to tell Where the coy fugitive delights to dwell! Ura. Ah, rather say where you have sought this guest,

This lovely inmate of the virtuous breast? Declare the various methods you've essay'd To court and win the bright celestial maid. But first, though harsh the task, each beauteous fair

Her ruling passion must with truth declare. From evil habits own'd, from faults confess'd,

Alone we trace the secrets of the breast. Euph. Bred in the regal splendours of a

court,

Where pleasures, dress'd in every shape, resort,

I try'd the pow'r of pomp and costly glare, Nor e'er found room for thought, or time for pray'r:

In diff'rent follies ev'ry hour I spent ;

I shunn'd Reflection, yet I sought Content. My hours were shar'd betwixt the park and play,

And music serv'd to waste the tedious day;
Yet softest airs no more with joy I heard,
If any sweeter warbler was preferr'd;
The dance succeeded, and, succeeding,
tir'd,

If some more graceful dancer were admir'd. No sounds but flatt'ry ever sooth'd my ear: Ungentle truths I knew not how to bear. "The anxious day induc'd the sleepless night, And my vex'd spirit never knew delight; Coy Pleasure mock'd me with delusive charms,

Still the thin shadow fled my clasping arms:
Or if some actual joy I seem'd to taste,
Another's pleasure laid my blessings waste:
One truth I prov'd, that lurking Envy hides
In ev'ry heart where Vanity presides,
A fairer face would rob my soul of rest,
And fix a scorpion in my wounded breast.
Or, if my elegance of form prevail'd
And haply her inferior graces fail'd;

found,

Some barbed shaft my shatter'd peace to wound.

Perhaps her gay attire exceeded mineWhen she was finer, how could I be fine? Syl. Pardon my interruption, beauteous maid!

Can truth have prompted what you just have said?

What! can the poor pre-eminence of dress
Ease the pain'd heart, or give it happiness?
Or can you think your robes, though rich
and fine,
Possess intrinsic value more than mine?

Ura. So close our nature is to vice allied, Our very comforts are the source of pride; And dress, so much corruption reigns within,

Is both the consequence and cause of sin.
Cle. Of Happiness unfound I too com-
plain,

Sought in a diff'rent path, but sought in vain!
I sigh'd for fame, I languish'd for renown,
I would be flatter'd, prais'd, admir'd and
known,

On daring wing my mountain spirit soar'd, And Science through her boundless fields explor❜d:

I scorn'd the salique laws of pedant schools, Which chain our genius down by tasteless rules,

I long'd to burst these female bonds, which

held

My sex in awe, by vanity impell'd:
To boast each various faculty of mind,
Thy graces, Pope! with Johnson's learning
join'd:

Like Swift, with strongly pointed ridicule,
To brand the villain, and abash the fool:
To judge with taste, with spirit to compose,
Now mount in epic, now descend to prose;
To join, like Burke, the beauteous and sub-
lime,

Or build, with Milton's art, the lofty rhyme;'

Through Fancy's fields I rang'd; I strove to hit

Melmoth's chaste style, and Prior's easy wit:

Thy classic graces, Mason, to display,
And court the Muse of Elegy with Gray:
I rav'd of Shakspeare's flame and Dryden's
rage,

And ev'ry charm of Otway's melting page.
I talk'd by rote the jargon of the schools,
Of critic laws, and Aristotle's rules;
Of passion, sentiment, and style, and grace.
And unities of action, time, and place.
The daily duties of my life forgot,
To study fiction, incident, and plot :
Howe'er the conduct of my life might err,
Still my dramatic plans were regular.

Ura. Who aims at ev'ry science, socn will find

The field how vast, how limited the mind! Cle. Abstruser studies soon my fancy

caught,

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