TO A COUNTRY GIRL,
Who expressed a wish to lead a town life.
Sweet Mary, sigh not for the town,
Where vice and folly reign;
Spurn not the humble homespun gown
That suits the rural plain.
In ev'ry street the city's glare
Doth simple hearts betray:
And simple hearts, who wander there,
Are sure to lose their way.
The tradesman plays his wily part,
To take the stranger in:
The profligate displays his art,
The modest maid to win:
He lures her to perdition's brink
By ev'ry treach'rous scheme,
Then leaves the hapless wretch to sink
In pleasure's guilty stream!
The flaunting crowd, that seem so gay,
May please you for a while;
But joy with these doth rarely stay,
Or sweet contentment's smile.
The splendid dome that proudly rears
Its gilded roof on high,
Full oft conceals pale Envy's tears,
And Disappointment's sigh.
There foul Ambition loves to dwell,
False Pride, and lust of Fame,
There Malice and Revenge rebel
Against the good man's name.