On the great stage of London, we daily behold
The drama of life-the young and the old,
The great and the good, or the wicked extreme,
And the learned in law, such vice to reclaim,
The honest good man, or the knave quite complete,
The rich and the poor alternately meet.
In the young we perceive great progress of mind,
With knowledge and taste, and talent refin'd,
Yet contentment and happiness is not attain'd,
Though much ornamental science is gain'd;
Some pleasure expected is always in view,
The present with that has nothing to do;
But if virtue prevails, divine is her sway,
This the envoy from heaven, and can never decay;
In darkness her radiant light shall appear
To animate hope and dissipate fear;
If she is our guardian, true comfort is given,
While she teaches the heart its petition to heaven.
By faith in the gospel she shows us the road
To mansions prepared by the goodness of God,
For the many in London, who daily proceed
With virtue and patience, in word and in deed,
We hope eight in ten may walk on the ground
Where real integrity daily is found;
Yet mingled, perhaps, with much imperfection,
Let us only be candid, with serious reflection
On the times that are past, which history records,
And the virtues at present, true comfort affords,
That mankind make progress, and gain estimation
By knowledge and truth and good occupation,
Example excites, and habit has power
To improve him each day, each month, and each hour,
The world is now not youthful or new,
Most important is time, with great objects in view.
A letter from the Rev. John Ewart, to his Son, Dr. John Ewart, M.D. at Bath.-He had written to his Father that he was growing fat. He soon after went to India*.
I'm afraid your lethargic condition
Is a proof you indulge in too frequent repletion,
That you eat, drink, and sleep, in too frequent rotation,
That fasting and watching are not your vocation,
An evil so great, so productive of ill,
I feel strongly impelled my advice to instil;
But first I premise I intend to be brief,
Lest your case prove too bad to admit of relief:
How precarious, alas! is the good we enjoy,
Since the coin we thought sterling contains such alloy,
That a youth of your talents and medical fame,
Whose ancestors, too, had distinguish'd their name,
And heraldry likewise, so well ascertain'd,
No plebeian blood its annals had stain'd,
That he (and I speak it with fear and dismay)
His exit should make in too vulgar a way,
Like that of some youth of mushroom descent,
Whose death would be only a trivial event:
Forbid it! ye powers! who defend and preside
O'er urns and their relics with laudable pride;
Your 'scutcheon I beg you will fully survey,
And mark well what heraldry ought to convey.
* This cheerful humourous letter was received with great pleasure by Dr. Ewart, from his dear father. He went to India as Inspector-General of Hospitals there, appointed by the late Lord Melville.
You may tell me of Lords, and Masters of Arts,
Whose refinement in eating discovered their parts;
But Pandora (whose box was a system of physic,
With diseases that's nervous, or chronic, or phthsic),
Is ever at war with the epicure corps ;
And to these, with profusion she deals out her store.
Her fevers pleuretic, her dropsy and gout,
Full often their taper of life has put out,
With fatal consumption, and catarrh that's hectic,
And no less severe, the dread apoplectic!
No, I love you too well to allow you to take
Your passage across the Stygian lake ;
No, I wish you to die the death of a sage,
Distinguish'd by virtue, wisdom, and age:
And temperance is the foundation of health,
Superior to all the indulgence of wealth.
Eat little, drink less; nor to Morpheus submit,
Whose votaries are ever at variance with wit;
Much exercise take in the town, or the vale,
Where the goddess of health still floats in the gale;
Without her all objects of life are in vain,
Each mental pursuit she'll assist you to gain.
Her regimen really is proper for you,
And now, my dear doctor, adieu and adieu!
P.S. Let temperance reign in this world of care,
And the head and the heart will never despair.
J. EWART.
OFT do we see the human heart
In search of thy important art;
And we have heard in every age
Thou wert the object of the sage :
Yet, finally, all the wisdom we gain,
King Solomon said, " was wholly in vain."
But certainly he his wisdom forgot,
When of wives he procur'd such a wonderful lot;
And to Egypt he sent for a princess to come,
Which shew'd that he was not contented at home.
That the head is important, we all must assert,
But happiness greatly depends on the heart:
Let principles sound, your mansion preside
With good common sense, and temper your guide;
No dark views of heaven your mind must engage,
No intolerant zeal, no fanatical rage;
By piety pure, your heart will arise,
And humble, yet firm, will reach to the skies;
With omnipotent wisdom, and goodness in view,
Your mind will be calm and your wants will be few.
Acknowledge each comfort of health and of peace,
And compel discontent and murmurs to cease;
When death is near, and fears invade,
Let faith and Christian hope give aid.
How beautiful is morning light!
To those who pass the weary night
In pain, or sickness, grief, or care,
In
every prospect, nothing fair.
'Tis then a cordial quite divine
To see the sun begin to shine.
It leads the mind to contemplation,
And every wholesome meditation.
Even in December's early hour
The mind will gain some cheerful power,
When sad and anxious all the night,
Heavn's mercy shews the morning light.
O cheerful hope, thou gift divine,
Early or late, O still be mine;
Let each sad heart feel all thy power,
And seek thee in the morning hour.
If cares torment, and pains annoy,
And life seems void of every joy.
Then rise, and rouze, thy sombre mind,
Some virtuous employment to find,
Or walk within, if not without,
Try to exert and move about;
Reflect on many mercies given,
And raise your heart with thanks to heaven:
The God of all, unkind to none,
To all some good in life has shewn.
In truth, if vice prevails at night,
Virtue appears with morning light;
She prompts, suggests, and leads the way
To Christian duties through the day.
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