Though wakeful Vengeance watch my chryftal
Though Perfecution wave her iron wing,
And, o'er yon fpiry temples as fhe flies, "Thefe deftin'd feats be mine" exulting cries; Fortune's fair fmiles on Ifis' ftill attend:
And, as the dews of gracious heaven defcend 70
Unafk'd, unfeen, in ftill but copious fhow'rs,
Her ftores on me fpontaneous Bounty pours.
See, Science walks with recent chaplets crown'd;
With fancy's ftrain my fairy fhades refound;
My Mufe divine ftill keeps her custom'd state, 75
The mien erect, and high majestic gait :
Green as of old each oliv'd portal fmiles,
And ftill the Graces build my Grecian piles:
My Gothic fpires in ancient glory rife,
And dare with wonted pride to rush into the skies. 80
E'en late when Radcliffe's delegated train
Aufpicious fhone in Ifis' happy plain;
When yon proud * dome, fair Learning's ampleft
Beneath its attic roofs receiv'd the Nine;
Was Rapture mute, or ceas'd the glad acclame, 85
To Radcliffe due, and Ifis' honour'd name?
What free-born crouds adorn'd the feftive day,
Nor blush'd to wear my tributary bay!
How each brave breast with honeft ardors heav'd,
When Sheldon's fane the patriot band receiv'd; 90
While, as we loudly hail'd the chofen few,
Rome's awful fenate rush'd upon the view!
O may the day in latest annals shine,
That made a Beaufort and an Harley mine:
That bade them leave the loftier scene awhile, 95
The pomp of guiltless ftate, the patriot toil,
For bleeding Albion's aid the fage design,
'To hold fhort dalliance with the tuneful Nine.
Then Mufic left her filver sphere on high,
And bore each ftrain of triumph from the sky; 100
Swell'd the loud song, and to my chiefs around
Pour'd the full peans of mellifluous found.
My Naiads blythe the dying accents caught,
And liftening danc'd beneath their pearly grot:
In gentler eddies play'd my conscious wave, 105
And all my reeds their fofteft whispers gave;
Each lay with brighter green adorn'd my bowers,
And breath'd a fresher fragrance on my flowers.
But lo! at once the pealing concerts cease,
And crouded theatres are hush'd in peace.
See, on yon Sage how all attentive stand,
To catch his darting eye and waving hand.
Hark! he begins, with all a Tully's art
To pour the dictates of a Cato's heart.
Skill'd to pronounce what nobleft thoughts infpire,
He blends the speaker's with the patriot's fire;
Bold to conceive, nor timorous to conceal,
What Britons dare to think, he dares to tell.
* Dr. W. King, principal of St. Mary Hall,
"Tis his alike the ear and eye to charm,
To win with action, and with sense to warm; 120
Untaught in flowery periods to dispense
The lulling founds of fweet impertinence :
In frowns or fmiles he gains an equal prize,
Nor meanly fears to fall, nor creeps to rife;
Bids happier days to Albion be reftor'd,
Bids ancient Juftice rear her radiant sword;
From me, as from my country, claims applaufe,
And makes an Oxford's, a Britannia's caufe.
While arms like these my stedfast sages wield, While mine is Truth's impenetrable shield; 130 Say, fhall the Puny Champion fondly dare
To' wage with force like this fcholaftic war?
Still vainly fcribble on with pert pretence,
With all the rage of pedant impotence?
Say, fhall I fofter this domeftic peft,
This parricide, that wounds a mother's breast?
Thus in fome gallant fhip, that long has bore
Britain's victorious cross from fhore to fhore,
By chance, beneath her clofe fequefter'd cells
Some low-born worm, a lurkingmischief,dwells; 140
Eats his blind way, and faps with secret guile
The deep foundations of the floating pile.
In vain the foreft lent its statelieft pride,
Rear'd her tall maft, and fram'd her knotty fide;
The martial thunder's rage in vain she stood, 145
With every conflict of the ftormy flood;
More fure the reptile's little arts devour,
Than wars, or waves, or Eurus' wintry power.
Ye fretted pinnacles, ye fanes sublime,
Ye towers that wear the moffy veft of time! 150
Ye maffy piles of old munificence,
At once the pride of learning and defence;
Ye cloisters pale, that lengthening to the fight,
To contemplation, step by step, invite ;
[159
Ye high arch'd walks, where oft the whispers clear
Of harps unfeen have swept the poet's ear;
Ye temples dim, where pious duty pays.
Her holy hymns of ever-echoing praise ;
Lo! your lov'd Ifis, from the bordering vale,
With all a mother's fondness bids you hail! 160
Hail, Oxford, hail! of all that's good and great,
Of all that's fair, the guardian and the seat;
Nurfe of each brave purfuit, each generous aim,
By truth exalted to the throne of fame!
Like Greece in science and in liberty,
As Athens learn'd, as Lacedemon free!
Ev'n now, confeft to my adoring eyes,
In awful ranks thy gifted fons arife.
Tuning to knightly tale his British reeds,
Thy genuine bards immortal Chaucer leads: 170
His hoary head o'erlooks the gazing quire,
And beams on all around celeftial fire.
With graceful step see Addison advance,
The sweetest child of Attic elegance:
See Chillingworth the depths of Doubt explore, 175
And Selden ope the rolls of ancient lore:
To all but his belov'd embrace deny'd,
See Locke lead Reafon, his majestic bride:
See Hammond pierce religion's golden mine,
And spread the treasur'd stores of Truth divine, 180
All who to Albion gave the arts of peace,
And beft the labours plann'd of letter'd ease ;
Who taught with truth, or with perfuafion mov'd;
Who footh'd with numbers, or with fenfe improv'd
Who rang'd the powers of reafon, or refin'd, 185
All that adorn'd or humanis'd the mind;
Each priest of health, that mix'd the balmy bowl,
To rear frail man, and stay the fleeting foul;
All crowd around, and echoing to the fky,
Hail, Oxford, hail! with filial transport cry. 19r
And fee yon fapient train! with liberal aim,
'Twas theirs new plans of liberty to frame;
And on the Gothic gloom of flavish sway
To shed the dawn of intellectual day.
With mild debate each mufing feature glows, 195 And well-weigh'd counfels mark their meaning brows.
"Lo! thefe the leaders of thy patriot line,"
A Raleigh, Hamden, and a Somers shine.
These from thy fource the bold contagion caught,
Their future fons the great example taught: 200
While in each youth, th' hereditary flame
Still blazes, unextinguifh'd and the fame!
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