Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, VISIONS IN VERSE: 6. FRIENDSHIP, by NATHANIEL COTTON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

VISIONS IN VERSE: 6. FRIENDSHIP, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Friendship! Thou soft, propitious pow'r!
Last Line: He dares be honest, though he dies.
Subject(s): Friendship


FRIENDSHIP! thou soft, propitious pow'r!
Sweet regent of the social hour!
Sublime thy joys, nor understood
But by the virtuous and the good!
Cabal and Riot take thy name,
But 'tis a false affected claim.
In Heav'n if Love and Friendship dwell,
Can they associate e'er with hell?
Thou art the same through change of times,
Through frozen zones, and burning climes:
From the equator to the pole,
The same kind angel through the whole.
And, since thy choice is always free,
I bless thee for thy smiles on me.
When sorrows swell the tempest high,
Thou, a kind port, art always nigh;
For aching hearts a sovereign cure,
Not soft Nepenthe half so sure!
And when returning comforts rise,
Thou the bright sun that gilds our skies.
While these ideas warm'd my breast,
My weary eye-lids stole to rest:
When Fancy re-assum'd the theme,
And furnish'd this instructive dream.
I sail'd upon a stormy sea,
(Thousands embark'd alike with me)
My skiff was small, and weak beside,
Not built, methought, to stem the tide.
The winds along the surges sweep,
The wrecks lie scatter'd through the deep;
Aloud the foaming billows roar,
Unfriendly rocks forbid the shore.
While all our various course pursue,
A spacious isle salutes our view.
Two queens, with tempers differing wide,
This new-discover'd world divide:
A river parts their proper claim,
And Truth its celebrated name.
One side a beauteous tract of ground
Presents, with living verdure crown'd.
The seasons temperate, soft, and mild,
And a kind sun that always smil'd.
Few storms molest the natives here;
Gold is the only ill they fear.
This happy clime, and grateful soil,
With plenty crowns the labourer's toil.
Here Friendship's happy kingdom grew,
Her realms were small, her subjects few.
A thousand charms the palace grace,
A rock of adamant its base.
Though thunders roll, and lightnings fly,
This structure braves the' inclement sky.
Ev'n Time, which other piles devours,
And mocks the pride of human pow'rs,
Partial to Friendship's pile alone,
Cements the joints, and binds the stone;
Ripens the beauties of the place;
And calls to life each latent grace.
Around the throne, in order stand
Four Amazons, a trusty band;
Friends ever faithful to advise,
Or to defend when dangers rise.
Here Fortitude in coat of mail!
There Justice lifts her golden scale!
Two hardy chiefs! who persevere,
With form erect and brow severe;
Who smile at perils, pains, and death,
And triumph with their latest breath.
Temperance, that comely matron's near,
Guardian of all the Virtues here;
Adorn'd with every blooming grace,
Without one wrinkle in her face.
But Prudence most attracts the sight,
And shines pre-eminently bright.
To view her various thoughts that rise,
She holds a mirror to her eyes;
The mirror, faithful to its charge,
Reflects the virgin's soul in large.
A Virtue with a softer air,
Was handmaid to the regal fair.
This nymph, indulgent, constant, kind,
Derives from Heav'n her spotless mind;
When actions wear a dubious face,
Puts the best meaning on the case;
She spreads her arms and bares her breast,
Takes in the naked and distress'd;
Prefers the hungry orphan's cries,
And from her queen obtains supplies.
The maid, who acts this lovely part,
Grasp'd in her hand a bleeding heart.
Fair Charity! be thou my guest,
And be thy constant couch my breast.
But Virtues of inferior name
Crowd round the throne with equal claim;
In loyalty by none surpass'd,
They hold allegiance to the last.
Not ancient records e'er can show
That one deserted to the foe.
The river's other side display'd
Alternate plots of flowers and shade,
Where poppies shone with various hue,
Where yielding willows plenteous grew;
And Humble plants, by travellers thought
With slow but certain poison fraught.
Beyond these scenes, the eye descried
A powerful realm extended wide,
Whose boundaries from north-east begun,
And stretch'd to meet the south-west sun.
Here Flattery boasts despotic sway,
And basks in all the warmth of day.
Long practis'd in Deception's school,
The tyrant knew the arts to rule;
Elated with the' imperial robe,
She plans the conquest of the globe;
And aided by her servile trains,
Leads kings, and sons of kings, in chains.
Her darling minister is Pride,
(Who ne'er was known to change his side)
A friend to all her interests just,
And active to discharge his trust;
Caress'd alike by high and low,
The idol of the belle and beau:
In every shape he shows his skill,
And forms her subjects to his will;
Enters their houses and their hearts,
And gains his point before he parts.
Sure never minister was known
So zealous for his sovereign's throne!
Three sisters, similar in mien,
Were maids of honour to the queen:
Who farther favours shar'd beside,
As daughters of her statesman Pride.
The first, Conceit, with towering crest,
Who look'd with scorn upon the rest;
Fond of herself, nor less, I deem,
Than duchess in her own esteem.
Next Affectation, fair and young,
With half-form'd accents on her tongue,
Whose antic shapes, and various face,
Distorted every native grace.
Then Vanity, a wanton maid,
Flaunting in Brussels and brocade;
Fantastic, frolicsome, and wild,
With all the trinkets of a child.
The people, loyal to the queen,
Wore their attachment in their mien:
With cheerful heart they homage paid,
And happiest he who most obey'd.
While they, who sought their own applause,
Promoted most their sovereign's cause.
The minds of all were fraught with guile,
Their manners dissolute and vile;
And every tribe, like pagans, run
To kneel before the rising sun.
But now some clamorous sounds arise,
And all the pleasing vision flies.
Once more I clos'd my eyes to sleep,
And gain'd the' imaginary deep;
Fancy presided at the helm,
And steer'd me back to Friendship's realm.
But oh! with horror I relate
The revolutions of her state.
The Trojan chief could hardly more
His Asiatic towers deplore.
For Flattery view'd those fairer plains
With longing eyes, where Friendship reigns,
With envy heard her neighbour's fame,
And often sigh'd to gain the same.
At length, by pride and interest fir'd,
To Friendship's kingdom she aspir'd.
And now commencing open foe,
She plans in thought some mighty blow;
Draws out her forces on the green,
And marches to invade the queen.
The river Truth the hosts withstood,
And roll'd her formidable flood:
Her current strong, and deep, and clear,
No fords were found, no ferries near:
But as the troops approach'd the waves,
Their fears suggest a thousand graves;
They all retir'd with haste extreme,
And shudder'd at the dangerous stream.
Hypocrisy the gulf explores;
She forms a bridge, and joins the shores.
Thus often art or fraud prevails,
When military prowess fails.
The troops an easy passage find,
And Victory follows close behind.
Friendship with ardour charg'd her foes,
And now the fight promiscuous grows;
But Flattery threw a poison'd dart,
And pierc'd the Empress to the heart.
The Virtues all around were seen
To fall in heaps about the queen.
The tyrant stript the mangled fair,
She wore her spoils, assum'd her air;
And mounting next the sufferer's throne,
Claim'd the queen's titles as her own.
'Ah! injur'd maid,' aloud I cried,
'Ah! injur'd maid,' the rocks replied:
But judge my griefs, and share them too,
For the sad tale pertains to you;
Judge, reader, how severe the wound,
When Friendship's foes were mine, I found;
When the sad scene of pride and guile
Was Britain's poor degenerate isle.
The Amazons, who propp'd the state,
Haply surviv'd the general fate.
Justice to Powis-House is fled,
And Yorke sustains her radiant head.
The virtue Fortitude appears
In open day at Ligonier's;
Illustrious heroine of the sky,
Who leads to vanquish or to die!
'Twas she our veterans' breasts inspir'd,
When Belgia's faithless sons retir'd:
For Tournay's treacherous tow'rs can tell
Britannia's children greatly fell.
No partial virtue of the plain!
She rous'd the lions of the main:
Hence Vernon's little fleet succeeds,
And hence the generous Cornwall bleeds;
Hence Grenville glorious!—for she smil'd
On the young hero from a child.
Though in high life such virtues dwell,
They'll suit plebeian breasts as well.
Say, that the mighty and the great
Blaze like meridian suns of state;
Effulgent excellence display,
Like Halifax, in floods of day;
Our lesser orbs may pour their light,
Like the mild crescent of the night.
Though pale our beams, and small our sphere,
Still we may shine serene and clear.
Give to the judge the scarlet gown,
To martial souls the civic crown:
What then? is merit theirs alone?
Have we no worth to call our own?
Shall we not vindicate our part,
In the firm breast, and upright heart?
Reader, these virtues may be thine,
Though in superior light they shine.
I can't discharge great Hardwicke's trust—
True—but my soul may still be just.
And though I can't the state defend,
I'll draw the sword to serve my friend.
Two golden Virtues are behind,
Of equal import to the mind;
Prudence, to point out Wisdom's way,
Or to reclaim us when we stray;
Temperance, to guard the youthful heart,
When Vice and Folly throw the dart;
Each Virtue, let the world agree,
Daily resides with you and me.
And when our souls in friendship join,
We'll deem the social bond divine;
Through every scene maintain our trust,
Nor e'er be timid or unjust.
That breast where Honour builds his throne,
That breast which Virtue calls her own,
Nor interest warps, nor fear appalls,
When danger frowns, or lucre calls.
No! the true friend collected stands,
Fearless his heart, and pure his hands.
Let interest plead, let storms arise,
He dares be honest, though he dies.





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