TRAVELLER. REMOTE, unfriended, melancholy, slow, B Still to my Brother turns, with ceaseless pain, And drags at each remove a lengthening chain. Eternal blessings crown my earliest friend, And round his dwelling guardian saints attend; Bless'd be that spot, where cheerful guests retire, To pause from toil, and trim their evening fire; Bless'd that abode, where want and pain repair, And every stranger finds a ready chair; Bless'd be those feasts, with simple plenty crown'd, Laugh at the jests, or pranks that never fail, Or press the bashful stranger to his food, And learn the luxury of doing good. But me, not destined such delights to share, Some fleeting good, that mocks me with the view; And placed on high, above the storm's career, Look downward, where an hundred realms appear; Lakes, forests, cities, plains, extending wide, The pomp of kings, the shepherd's humbler pride. When thus creation's charms around combine, Amidst the store, should thankless pride repine? Say, should the philosophick mind disdain That good, which makes each humbler bosom vain? Let school-taught pride dissemble all it can, These little things are great to little man; And wiser he, whose sympathetick mind Exults in all the good of all mankind. Ye glittering towns, with wealth and splendour crown'd, Ye fields, where summer spreads profusion round, As some lone miser, visiting his store, Pleased with each good that Heaven to man supplies; Yet oft a sigh prevails, and sorrows fall, Where my worn soul, each wandering hope at rest, But where to find that happiest spot below, Who can direct, when all pretend to know? The shuddering tenant of the frigid zone Boldly proclaims that happiest spot his own; Extols the treasures of his stormy seas, And his long night of revelry and ease: The naked negro, panting at the Line, Boasts of his golden sands, and palmy wine, Basks in the glare, or stems the tepid wave, And thanks his gods for all the good they gave. Such is the patriot's boast, where-e'er we roam, His first, best country, ever is at home. And yet, perhaps, if countries we compare, And estimate the blessings which they share, Though patriots flatter, still shall wisdom find An equal portion dealt to all mankind; As different good, by art or nature given To different nations, makes their blessings even. |