William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Georgian Verse. 1909.
An Ode on Miss Harriet Hanbury, Six Years OldSir Charles Hanbury Williams (17081759)
W
To paint those cheeks of rosy hue?
Why should I search my brains for rhyme,
To sing those eyes of glossy blue?
Thy numerous charms, and various graces:
They only serve to banish pain,
And light up joy in parents’ faces.
Those charms their powerful sway shall find:
Youth shall in crowds before you kneel,
And own your empire o’er mankind.
And thousands court your wish’d-for arms;
My Muse shall stretch her utmost wit,
To sing the victories of your charms.
At least while verse like mine endures,
And future Hanburys shall boast,
Of verse like mine, of charms like yours.
Since scarce another house can show,
A poet, that can sing like me;
A beauty, that can charm like you.