To the Earl of Dorset and Middlesex, upon his Marriage with the Lady Mary Compton

Of all men His is the most pleasing Life,
That Heav'n has favour'd with a Vertuous Wife;
She loves him with a chast, but cheerful Flame,
And in all changes still will be the same;
She brings him home Content, and shuts out strife,
Content, the Cordial that does lengthen Life:
This Fate, my Lord, is yours, 'tis you have found
This Miracle, with true perfection Crown'd:
Her Youth's adorn'd in Nature's freshest Charms,
Her Youth she brings, unsully'd, to your Arms:
Nor is Heav'n only to her Person kind,
She is as nobly furnish't in her mind:
Good Natur'd, Pious, Affable to all,
Meek as the Turtle Dove that has no Gall,
And free from Pride as Eve before the Fall:
Ah had she been in her first Mother's room,
Sure Paradise had not been lost so soon!
But as the Treasure's vast which you possess,
'Tis your own Right, your Merit claims no less.
You to whom Nature kindly does impart
All that can please the Eye, or charm the Heart.
Shou'd our Apollo his pretensions quit
Of being sacred President of Wit,
With th' Acclamations of the general Voice,
You wou'd succeed, at least, you'd be the Poets Choice.
To judge of Poesie some make pretence,
Damn what does please, and praise what gives offence,
But all your approbation stamps goes currant off for sense.
Yet though your Judgment we so much admire,
Your Charity does lift our wonder higher!
'Tis not for nought propitious Heav'n does bless
All that you undertake with such success:
Ev'n that rough Sea where most Adventurers fail,
That Bay of Biscay that tears every Sail,
Has favour'd you with an Auspicious Gale,
And brought you safe to the delightsome shore,
The golden Worlds of Love's eternal store,
Where unconcern'd you sit, and daily see
The Wrecks of Marriage, from the danger free
For where the sacred Ty of Love does join
With that of Marriage, there the Knot's divine;
There Life like an untroubl'd stream does flow,
No murmuring sound or perturbation know,
But, Crown'd with daily Blessings, glides away
With an almost insensible decay.