ders man through the ſeveral ſtages and conditions of life, and has excellent reaſoning upon life and death. On the laſt are theſe lines;
Cure of the miſer’s wiſh, and cowards fear,
Death only ſhews us, what we knew was near.
With courage therefore view the pointed hour;
Dread not death’s anger, but expect its power;
Nor nature’s laws, with fruitleſs ſorrow mourn;
But die, O mortal man! for thou waſt born.
The poet has likewiſe theſe ſimilies on life;
As ſmoke that riſes from the kindling fires
Is ſeen this moment, and the next expires:
As empty clouds by riſing winds are toſt,
Their fleeting forms no ſooner found than loſt:
So vaniſhes our ſtate; ſo paſs our days;
So life but opens now, and now decays;
The cradle, and the tomb, alas! ſo nigh;
To live is ſcarce diſtinguiſhed from to die.
We ſhall conclude this account of Mr. Prior’s life with the following copy of verſes, written on his Death by Robert Ingram, eſq; which is a very ſucceſsful imitation of Mr. Prior’s manner.
1.
Mat. Prior!—(and we muſt ſubmit)
Is at his journey’s end;
In whom the world has loſt a wit,
And I, what’s more, a friend.
2.
Who vainly hopes long here to ſtay,
May ſee with weeping eyes;
Not only nature poſts away,
But e’en good nature dies!
