Ode to Richard Vernon Sadleir, Esq.

BUSINESS, be gone! Thou vulture, Care,
No more the quivering sinews tear
Of Sadleir's mortal frame!
Full well his firm and active mind,
Has paid the duties that mankind
From sense and virtue claim.

Alas! too well—for mental toil
Our fine machinery will spoil,
As Nature has decreed:
She form'd the powers that raise the soul
Like wheels, that kindle as they roll,
And perish by their speed.

Let health and vigour on the stage
Support the scene, while milder age
Resigns the bustling part:
If flowers the busy path adorn,
Ingratitude there plants her thorn,
Which pierces to the heart.

Oft hast thou seen her poison'd shoot,
Where Hope expected fairest fruit;
Yet still thy bounty flows
Like constant dew that falls on earth,
Although it wakens into birth
The nightshade with the rose.

Thy warmth of heart O still retain!
Nor of Ingratitude complain,
Howe'er her wounds may burn!
Bliss from benevolence must flow;
Angels are blest while they bestow,
Unconscious of return.

And happiness we only find
In those exertions of the mind
That form the ardent friend:
In these it dwells, with these it flies,
As all the comet's splendor dies
Whene'er its motions end.

O let the lustre of thy soul
No more eccentrically roll
Thro' Labour's long career!
O haste, its dangerous course confine,
And let it permanently shine
In Pleasure's milder sphere!

In Friendship's name thy voice invites
Our willing hearts to social rites,
Where Laughter is thy guest:
But, O! these eyes with anguish burn,
And fear their weaken'd orbs to turn
From Nature's verdant vest.

Thy invitation then forbear,
Tho' at thy board, in union rare,
Kind Plenty reigns with Wit:
Thy roof is joyous, but I doubt
That we should find the brilliant rout
For burning eyes unfit.

Thy noisy town and dusty street
Do thou exchange for this retreat,
Whose charms thy songs commend:
On Learning's page forbid to look,
We yet can read that dearer book—
The visage of a friend.