Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900.
George Bubb Dodington, Lord Melcombe. 1691?1762443. Shorten Sail
LOVE thy country, wish it well, | |
Not with too intense a care; | |
‘Tis enough that, when it fell, | |
Thou its ruin didst not share. | |
Envy’s censure, Flattery’s praise, | 5 |
With unmoved indifference view: | |
Learn to tread Life’s dangerous maze | |
With unerring Virtue’s clue. | |
Void of strong desire and fear, | |
Life’s wide ocean trust no more; | 10 |
Strive thy little bark to steer | |
With the tide, but near the shore. | |
Thus prepared, thy shorten’d sail | |
Shall, whene’er the winds increase, | |
Seizing each propitious gale, | 15 |
Waft thee to the port of Peace. | |
Keep thy conscience from offence | |
And tempestuous passions free, | |
So, when thou art call’d from hence, | |
Easy shall thy passage be. | 20 |
—Easy shall thy passage be, | |
Cheerful thy allotted stay, | |
Short the account ‘twixt God and thee, | |
Hope shall meet thee on thy way. |