Part 7 (2/2)

The Poor Man has his Club: he comes and spends His h.o.a.rded pittance with his chosen friends; Nor this alone,--a monthly dole he pays, To be a.s.sisted when his health decays; Some part his prudence, from the day's supply, For cares and troubles in his age, lays by; The printed rules he guards with painted frame, And shows his children where to read his name; Those simple words his honest nature move, That bond of union tied by laws of love; This is his pride, it gives to his employ New value, to his home another joy; While a religious hope its balm applies For all his fate inflicts, and all his state denies.

Much would it please you, sometimes to explore The peaceful dwellings of our Borough poor: To view a sailor just return'd from sea, His wife beside; a child on either knee, And others crowding near, that none may lose The smallest portions of the welcome news; What dangers pa.s.s'd, ”When seas ran mountains high, When tempest raved, and horrors veil'd the sky; When prudence fail'd, when courage grew dismay'd, When the strong fainted, and the wicked pray'd, - Then in the yawning gulf far down we drove, And gazed upon the billowy mount above; Till up that mountain, swinging with the gale, We view'd the horrors of the watery vale.”

The trembling children look with steadfast eyes, And, panting, sob involuntary sighs: Soft sleep awhile his torpid touch delays, And all is joy and piety and praise.

Masons are ours, Freemasons--but, alas!

To their own bards I leave the mystic cla.s.s; In vain shall one, and not a gifted man, Attempt to sing of this enlightened clan: I know no Word, boast no directing Sign, And not one Token of the race is mine; Whether with Hiram, that wise widow's son, They came from Tyre to royal Solomon, Two pillars raising by their skill profound, Boaz and Jachin through the east renown'd: Whether the sacred Books their rise express, Or books profane, 'tis vain for me guess: It may be lost in date remote and high, They know not what their own antiquity: It may be, too, derived from cause so low, They have no wish their origin to show: If, as Crusaders, they combine to wrest From heathen lords the land they long possess'd; Or were at first some harmless club, who made Their idle meetings solemn by parade; Is but conjecture--for the task unfit, Awe-struck and mute, the puzzling theme I quit: Yet, if such blessings from their Order flow, We should be glad their moral code to know; Trowels of silver are but simple things, And Ap.r.o.ns worthless as their ap.r.o.n-strings; But if indeed you have the skill to teach A social spirit, now beyond our reach; If man's warm pa.s.sions you can guide and bind, And plant the virtues in the wayward mind; If you can wake to Christian love the heart, - In mercy, something of your powers impart.

But, as it seems, we Masons must become To know the Secret, and must then be dumb; And as we venture for uncertain gains, Perhaps the profit is not worth the pains.

When Bruce, that dauntless traveller, thought he stood On Nile's first rise, the fountain of the flood, And drank exulting in the sacred spring, The critics told him it was no such thing; That springs unnumber'd round the country ran, But none could show him where the first began: So might we feel, should we our time bestow, To gain these Secrets and these Signs to know; Might question still if all the truth we found, And firmly stood upon the certain ground; We might our t.i.tle to the Mystery dread, And fear we drank not at the river-head.

Griggs and Gregorians here their meeting hold, Convivial Sects, and Bucks alert and bold; A kind of Masons, but without their sign; The bonds of union--pleasure, song, and wine.

Man, a gregarious creature, loves to fly Where he the trackings of the herd can spy; Still to be one with many he desires, Although it leads him through the thorns and briers.

A few! but few there are, who in the mind Perpetual source of consolation find: The weaker many to the world will come, For comforts seldom to be found from home.

When the faint hands no more a brimmer hold, When flannel-wreaths the useless limbs infold, The breath impeded, and the bosom cold; When half the pillow'd man the palsy chains, And the blood falters in the bloated veins, - Then, as our friends no further aid supply Than hope's cold phrase and courtesy's soft sigh, We should that comfort for ourselves ensure, Which friends could not, if we could friends procure.

Early in life, when we can laugh aloud, There's something pleasant in a social crowd, Who laugh with us--but will such joy remain When we lie struggling on the bed of pain?

When our physician tells us with a sigh, No more on hope and science to rely, Life's staff is useless then; with labouring breath We pray for Hope divine--the staff of Death; - This is a scene which few companions grace, And where the heart's first favourites yield their place.

Here all the aid of man to man must end, Here mounts the soul to her eternal Friend: The tenderest love must here its tie resign, And give th' aspiring heart to love divine.

Men feel their weakness, and to numbers run, Themselves to strengthen, or themselves to shun; But though to this our weakness may be p.r.o.ne, Let's learn to live, for we must die, alone.

LETTER XI.

All the comforts of life in a Tavern are known, 'Tis his home who possesses not one of his own; And to him who has rather too much of that one, 'Tis the house of a friend where he's welcome to run; The instant you enter my door you're my Lord, With whose taste and whose pleasure I'm proud to accord, And the louder you call, and the longer you stay, The more I am happy to serve and obey.

To the house of a friend if you're pleased to retire, You must all things admit, you must all tilings admire; You must pay with observance the price of your treat, You must eat what is praised, and must praise what you eat, But here you may come, and no tax we require, You may loudly condemn what you greatly admire; You may growl at our wishes and pains to excel, And may snarl at the rascals who please you so well.

At your wish we attend, and confess that your speech On the nation's affairs might the minister teach; His views you may blame, and his measures oppose, There's no Tavern-treason--you're under the Rose; Should rebellions arise in your own little state, With me you may safely their consequence wait; To recruit your lost spirits 'tis prudent to come, And to fly to a friend when the devil's at home.

That I've faults is confess'd; but it won't be denied, 'Tis my interest the faults of my neighbours to hide; If I've sometimes lent Scandal occasion to prate, I've often conceal'd what she lov'd to relate; If to Justice's bar some have wander'd from mine, 'Twas because the dull rogues wouldn't stay by their wine; And for brawls at my house, well the poet explains, That men drink shallow draughts, and so madden their brains.

INNS.

A difficult Subject for Poetry--Invocation of the Muse--Description of the princ.i.p.al Inn and those of the first Cla.s.s--The large deserted Tavern--Those of a second Order--Their Company--One of particular Description--A lower kind of Public-Houses; yet distingushed among themselves--Houses on the Quays for Sailors--The Green Man; its Landlord, and the Adventure of his Marriage, &c.

MUCH do I need, and therefore will I ask, A Muse to aid me in my present task; For then with special cause we beg for aid, When of our subject we are most afraid: INNS are this subject--'tis an ill-drawn lot, So, thou who gravely triflest, fail me not; Fail not, but haste, and to my memory bring Scenes yet unsung, which few would choose to sing; Thou mad'st a s.h.i.+lling splendid; thou hast thrown On humble themes the graces all thine own; By thee the Mistress of a Village-school Became a queen enthroned upon her stool; And far beyond the rest thou gav'st to s.h.i.+ne Belinda's Lock--that deathless work was thine.

Come, lend thy cheerful light, and give to please, These seats of revelry, these scenes of ease; Who sings of Inns much danger has to dread, And needs a.s.sistance from the fountain-head.

High in the street, o'erlooking all the place, The rampant Lion shows his kingly face; His ample jaws extend from side to side, His eyes are glaring, and his nostrils wide; In silver s.h.a.g the sovereign form is dress'd, A mane horrific sweeps his ample chest; Elate with pride, he seems t'a.s.sert his reign, And stands the glory of his wide domain.

Yet nothing dreadful to his friends the sight, But sign and pledge of welcome and delight.

To him the n.o.blest guest the town detains Flies for repast, and in his court remains; Him too the crowd with longing looks admire, Sigh for his joys, and modestly retire; Here not a comfort shall to them be lost Who never ask or never feel the cost.

The ample yards on either side contain Buildings where order and distinction reign; - The splendid carriage of the wealthier guest, The ready chaise and driver smartly dress'd; Whiskeys and gigs and curricles are there, And high-fed prancers many a raw-boned pair.

On all without a lordly host sustains The care of empire, and observant reigns; The parting guest beholds him at his side, With pomp obsequious, bending in his pride; Round all the place his eyes all objects meet, Attentive, silent, civil, and discreet.

O'er all within the lady-hostess rules, Her bar she governs, and her kitchen schools; To every guest th' appropriate speech is made, And every duty with distinction paid; Respectful, easy, pleasant, or polite - ”Your honour's servant”--”Mister Smith, good night.”

Next, but not near, yet honour'd through the town, There swing, incongruous pair! the Bear and Crown: That Crown suspended gems and ribands deck, A golden chain hangs o'er that furry neck: Unlike the n.o.bler beast, the Bear is bound, And with the Crown so near him, scowls uncrown'd; Less his dominion, but alert are all Without, within, and ready for the call; Smart lads and light run nimbly here and there, Nor for neglected duties mourns the Bear.

To his retreats, on the Election-day, The losing party found their silent way; There they partook of each consoling good, Like him uncrown'd, like him in sullen mood - Threat'ning, but bound.--Here meet a social kind, Our various clubs for various cause combined; Nor has he pride, but thankful takes as gain The dew-drops shaken from the Lion's mane: A thriving couple here their skill display, And share the profits of no vulgar sway.

Third in our Borough's list appears the sign Of a fair queen--the gracious Caroline; But in decay--each feature in the face Has stain of Time, and token of disgrace.

The storm of winter, and the summer-sun, Have on that form their equal mischief done; The features now are all disfigured seen, And not one charm adorns th' insulted queen.

To this poor face was never paint applied, Th' unseemly work of cruel Time to hide; Here we may rightly such neglect upbraid, Paint on such faces is by prudence laid.

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