Ode to Mr. Wright of Derby. By William Hayley, Esq

Table of contents

- [titlepage]

ODE, &c.

Away! ye sweet, but trivial Forms,

That from the placid pencil rise,

When playful art the landscape warms

With Italy's unclouded skies!

Stay, vanity! nor yet demand

Thy portrait from the painter's hand!

Nor ask thou, indolence, to aid thy dream,

The soft illusion of the mimic stream,

That twinkles to thy sight with Cynthia's trembling beam!

Be thine, my friend, a nobler task!

Beside thy vacant easil see

Guests, who, with claims superior, ask

New miracles of art from thee:

Valour, who mocks unequal strife,

And clemency, whose smile is life!

"Wright! let thy skill (this radiant pair exclaim)

"Give to our view our favorite scene of Fame,

"Where Britain's Genius blaz'd in glory's brightest flame."

Celestial ministers! ye speak

To no dull agent sloth-opprest,

Who coldly hears, in spirit weak,

Heroic virtue's high behest:

Behold! tho' envy strives to foil

The Artist bent on public toil,

Behold! his flames terrific lustre shed;

His naval blaze mounts from it's billowy bed;

And Calpe proudly rears her war-illumin'd head.

In gorgeous pomp for ever shine

Bright monument of Britain's force!

Tho' doom'd to feel her fame decline

In ill-starr'd war's o'erwhelming course,

Tho' Europe's envirous realms unite

To crush her, in unequal fight,

Her genius, deeply stung with generous shame,

On this exulting rock array'd in flame

Equals her ancient feats, and vindicates her name.

How fiercely British valor pours

The deluge of destructive fire,

Which o'er that watery Babel roars,

Bidding the baffled host retire,

And leave their fall'n, to yield their breath

In different pangs of double death!

Ye shall not perish: no! ye hapless brave,

Reckless of peril thro' the fiery wave

See! British mercy steers, each prostrate foe to save.

Ye gallant chiefs, whose deeds proclaim

The genuine hero's feeling soul,

Elliot, and Curtis, with whose name

Honor enrich'd his radiant roll,

Blest is your fate; nor blest alone,

That rescued foes your virtues own,

That Britain triumphs in your filial worth:

Blest in the period of your glory's birth,

When art can bid it live to decorate the earth!

Alas! what deeds, where virtue reign'd,

Have in oblivious darkness died,

When painting, by the Goths enchain'd,

No life-securing tints supplied!

Of all thy powers, enchanting art,

Thou deemest this the dearest part,

To guard the rights of valour, and afford

Surviving lustre to the hero's sword:

For this, heroic Greece thy martial charms ador'd.

Rival of Greece, in arms, in arts,

Tho' deem'd in her declining days,

Britain yet boasts unnumber'd hearts,

Who keenly pant for public praise:

Her battles yet are firmly fought

By Chiefs with Spartan courage fraught:

Her Painters with Athenian zeal unite

To trace the glories of the prosp'rous fight,

And gild th' embattel'd scene with art's immortal light.

Tho' many a hand may well portray

The rushing war's infuriate shock,

Proud Calpe bids thee, Wright, display

The terrors of her blazing rock:

The burning bulks of baffled Spain,

From thee she claims, nor claims in vain,

Thou mighty master of the mimic flame,

Whose peerless pencil, with peculiar aim,

Has form'd of lasting fire the basis of thy fame.

Just in thy praise, thy country's voice

Loudly asserts thy signal power:

In this reward may'st thou rejoice,

In modest labour's silent hour,

Far from those seats, where envious leagues,

And dark cabals, and base intrigues

Exclude meek merit from his proper home;

Where art, whom Royalty forbade to roam,

Against thy talents clos'd her self-dishonor'd dome.

When partial pride, and mean neglect,

The nerves of injur'd genius gall,

What kindly spells of keen effect

His energy of heart recall?

Perchance there is no spell so strong

As friendship's sympathetic song:

By fancy link'd in a fraternal band,

Artist and Bard in sweet alliance stand;

They suffer equal wounds, and mutual aid demand.

Go then, to slighted worth devote

Thy willing verse, my fearless muse!

Haply thy free and friendly note

Some joyous ardor may infuse

In fibres, that severely smart

From potent Envy's poison'd dart:

Thro' Wright's warm breast bid tides of vigor roll,

Guard him from meek depression's chill controul,

And rouse him to exert each sinew of his soul!

FINIS.

ODE TO MR. WRIGHT OF DERBY.

BY WILLIAM HAYLEY, ESQ.

CHICHESTER: PRINTED BY DENNETT JAQUES. M.DCC.LXXXIII.

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Title statement

Ode to Mr. Wright of Derby. By William Hayley, Esq

Hayley, William, 1745-1820.

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ID [ota]

http://ota.ox.ac.uk/id/4655

ID [isbn10]

1106016548

ID [isbn13]

9781106016546

ID [TCP]

K066398.000

ID [BIBNO]

CW3314570853

ID [ECLL]

0849800300

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Source

— Ode to Mr. Wright of Derby. By William Hayley, Esq, Hayley, William, 1745-1820.. 11,[1]p. ; 4⁰. Chichester :: printed by Dennett Jaques,. 1783.. [With a half-title.] [Reproduction of original from the British Library.] [English Short Title Catalog, ESTCT80840.] [Electronic data. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Thomson Gale, 2003. Page image (PNG). Digitized image of the microfilm version produced in Woodbridge, CT by Research Publications, 1982-2002 (later known as Primary Source Microfilm, an imprint of the Gale Group).]

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