capable of enjoying mental intercourſe, and have a reliſh for the ideal tranſports, as well as thoſe of a leſs elevated nature. It was ſome conſiderable time after his marriage, that he wrote to her a very tender Ode, under the name of Delia, full of the warmeſt ſentiments of connubial friendſhip and affection. The following lines in it may appear remarkable, as it pleaſed Heaven to diſpoſe events, in a manner ſo agreeable to the wiſhes expreſſed in them,
So long may thy inſpiring page,
And bright example bleſs the riſing age;
Long in thy charming priſon mayſt thou ſtay,
Late, very late, aſcend the well-known way,
And add new glories to the realms of day!
At leaſt Heav’n will not ſure, this prayer deny;
Short be my life’s uncertain date,
And earlier long than thine, the deſtin’d hour of fate!
When e’er it comes, may’ſt thou be by,
Support my ſinking frame, and teach me how to die;
Baniſh deſponding nature’s gloom,
Make me to hope a gentle doom,
And fix me all on joys to come.
With ſwimming eyes I’ll gaze upon thy charms,
And claſp thee dying in my fainting arms;
Then gently leaning on thy breaſt;
Sink in ſoft ſlumbers to eternal reſt.
The ghaſtly form ſhall have a pleaſing air,
And all things ſmile, while Heav’n and thou art there.
This part of the Ode which we have quoted, contains the moſt tender breathings of affection, and has as much delicacy and ſoftneſs in it, as we remember ever to have ſeen in poetry.
