Father’s address to his children, in imitation of Cowper.
Banbury, J. G. Rusher.
No date is given, nor are the names of the authors mentioned, and although Miss Taylor’s poem is printed in full no acknowledgment is made to her, whilst the preface states that “the following tender little poems, imitating the style of one of Cowper’s, cannot be too widely circulated.” It would certainly appear that Miss Taylor’s “My Mother” had served as the model for imitation, rather than any poem by Cowper. There are ten poems in all, four addressed to My Father, three to My Mother, one to My Sister, one to My Brother, and one entitled, The Father’s Address to his Children. The preface contains these quaint remarks:—
“Were something like the following committed to the memory of children, and the care of their parents employed to cultivate an early acquaintance with the virtues inculcated in these little pieces, it might be of infinite service to them in checking a refractory disposition; or, by a line or verse running in their minds, melting down a disobedient will into the most cheerful and ready compliance to a parent’s wish. And what a delightful task for an enlightened mother, when the shades of evening collect her young family round the fire, to treasure these precepts in their tender minds! Methinks I see her interesting audience, seated on their little stools, and leaning on their elbows, attentively listening, while a Mary or a Maria, a Henry or a William, to show their proficiency, repeat the verses they have learnt; or sprightly interrupting the reciter by an appeal to the mother if he be not wrong.”
My Father.
Who, when my eyes first saw the light,
Upon me fix’t his eager sight,
And bless’d me with unfeign’d delight?
My Father.