THE LADIES OF THE LAKE.
[Normanston, 1785.]
Shall I, who oft have woo’d the Muse
For gentle Ladies’ sake,
So fair a theme as this refuse—
The Ladies of the Lake?
Hail, happy pair! ’tis yours to share
Life’s elegance and ease:
The bliss of wealth without the care,
The will and power to please—
To please, but not alone our eyes,
Nor yet alone our mind; 10
Your taste, your goodness, charm the wise—
Your manners all mankind.
The pleasant scenes that round you glow,
Like caskets fraught with gold,
Though beauteous in themselves, yet owe
Their worth to what they hold.
Trees may be found, and lakes, as fair;
Fresh lawns, and gardens green;
But where again the Sister-pair
Who animate the scene? 20
Where sense of that superior kind,
Without man’s haughty air?
And where, without the trifling mind,
The softness of the fair?
Folly, with wealth, may idly raise
Her hopes to shine like you,
And humble flattery sound her praise,
Till she believes it true;
But wealth no more can give that grace
To souls of meaner kind, 30
Than summer’s fiery sun can chase
Their darkness from the blind.
But drop, you’ll say, the useless pen!
Reluctant, I obey;
Yet let me take it once again,
If not to praise, to pray:
That you, with partial grace, may deign
This poor attempt to take,
And I may oft behold again
The Ladies of the Lake. 40