et, when his accents flow'd,
It seem'd as thunder shook the bursting cloud.

"Beneath the weight of earthly evil bent,
In varied toils and woes thy days were spent;
'Till cold Misfortune, with unceasing lower,
Weigh'd down thy soul, and deaden'd every power,
Reflection's lamp withdrew her guiding ray,
And fail'd to point thee on thy darkling way,
And thy wild soul prepared to launch alone
From Night's dark bosom into worlds unknown:
When, sent by Heaven thy earthly deeds to guide,
And o'er thy term of varied life preside,
I check'd thy course: and Providence by me
Unfolds her secret train of destiny.

"Oh, ignorant! to deem thyself the first
Of mortals with unmingled troubles curs'd!
Thou hast not yet the height of woe attain'd,
Nor every cup of human sorrow drain'd.
Thy path of suffering has been trod alone; }
No following friend, no consort, hast thou known, }
To double all thy sorrows with their own: }
No artful foe has doom'd thy humble name
To public enmity, or public shame;
And last, and worst of all, the pangs of woe
Hell can inflict, or vengeful Heaven bestow,
Relentless Conscience has not shed on thee
Her poison'd darts,--her stings of misery!
Thy virtue shone thro' the dim vale of earth,
And toils and dangers proved thy blameless worth.
For this, my hand its timely aid bestow'd
To draw thee back from error's devious road.

"All, all are equal: Heaven's impartial mind
One bliss, one woe allots to all mankind:
And he whose morn seem'd wrapp'd in cloudy night,
Shall see his evening glow with placid light.
Thro' calm prosperity's serenest sky
The approaching gales of adverse fortune sigh;
And when Affliction whets her keenest dart,
And hurls it, flaming, at the shrinking heart,
Celestial Hope with golden wing attends,
Heals every wound, and every toil befriends:
The horrors vanish; gleams of light divine
Illume the cloud, and thro' its openings shine;
As the bow, herald of ethereal peace,
Smiles thro' the storm, and makes the tempest please.

"To sway the whirlwind, gathering clouds control,
Arrest the sun, or shake with storms the pole,
Heaven gives to none:--nor have the mightiest power
To stop the current of one changeful hour:
Resistless Fate with even course proceeds,
And o