The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1826-06-14
39oftrp.
IRREGULAR ODE

Poetry.
IRREGULAR ODE
On the Death Of Lord Byron,
BIZ THE REV. c. C. COTTON.
We mourn thy wreck-that mighty mind
Did whirIwind passions whelm,
While wisdom wsver'd, half incn'd
To quit the dangerous helm;
Thou vast an argosy OF cost,
Equipped, enrich'd in vain,
vi godst the work-of men the boast,
Glory thy port, aud doom'd to gain
That splendid haven, only to be lost
Lost. cen when Greece, with conquest blest,
Thy gallant bearing hail'd:
Then signs from yaor's mailed breast,
And tears of beauty fal'd;
Oh hadst thou in the battle died,
Triumphant cen in death,
The patriots, as the poets pride,
While both .lhnerva's twin'd thy wreath,
Then had thy full career malice and fate deied!
What architect, with choice design,
Of Rome or Athens styl'd.
Ere left a monument like thine /!
And all from ruins pil'd
A prouder motto marks thy stone
Than .Archimede's tomb.
He ask'd fulcrum-thou demaudest none
But, reckless of past, present, and to come
Dldst on myself depend, to shake the world
alone!
Thine eye to all extremes and ends
And opposites could turn,
And like the congelated lens,
Gould sparkle, freeze or burn
But in thy minds abyss profound;
As in some limbo vast,
More shapes and monsters lid abound
To set the wondering world aghsst
Than wave worn Noah fed, or starry Tuscan
found.
Nas love thy lay, Cethaera reisn'd
Her car, and ownd the spell!
Was hate thy theme that murky fend
For hotter earth left he'll
The paiac'd crown, the costerd cowl,
Moy'd but thy spleen or mirth;
Thy smile was deadIier than thy scowl
I'm guise unearthy ddst thou roam the earth.
Screen'd in Thalia's mask--.-to drug the tragic
bowl
Lord ofthine own imperial sky,
In virgin g pride of place.
Thou oar'dst where others could not n.y.
And hardly dar'd to gaze
The Condor, thus, his pennond vsne
Ger Cotophaxa Spreads
But. should he ken the prey, or scent the slam,
Nor chilling height, nor burning depth he
breads,
From Andes crystal crag to Lims's suItry plain
Like Lucan's, early was thS tomb
And more than Bion's mournd:
For, still, such lights themselves consume,
The brightest, briefest burn'd;-
But from thy blasting shield recoi'd
Pale Envy's bolt ofIead
She, but to work thy triuInphs, TOLD,
And muttering coward curses, Aed;-
Thee, thine owl strength alone-ike matGhiess
Al;Io-fohd,
we prize thee. that thou didst not fear
What stoutest hearts might rack,
And ddst the diamond genius wear,
That tempts-yet foils-the attack.
We mourn thee, that thou woud'st not ind,
While prisond in thy clay,
Since such there were-some kindred mind, -
For Friendship lasts through life's long dav,
And doth, with surer chain than love Or beauty,
bind
We 6lane thee, that with baleful light
Thou didst astound the world.
And H into chaos H6sita'h ar f IN NJ 49,
Accorded king of ansrch power,
Aud talent misapplied -
That hid the Col in evil hour,
Or show'd him only to derde,
And ger the gifted blaze of thine own brightness
Jour!
Thy fierce volcanic breast, o'ercast, a
With Hrsla's frosty cloak,
All earth with FIRE impure could blast,
And darken heaven with smoke:
Ger ocean, continent, and isle,
The conhsgration ran -
Thou from thy throne Of ice, the while,
Didst the red ruin calmly scan,
Aud tnrnd Apoo's harp--with Nero's CHASTITY
smile
What pow avails that muse of Ere,
Her nothing of a namei
Thy masters hand and matches Tyre,
What have they gsnd but fame
Fame-fancy's child-5y folly fed,
On breath Of meanest things
A phantom, wooed in virtues stead,
That envy to the living brings,
And silent, solemn mockery to the dead
Meier since the deep-toned Theban sung,
Unto the listening Nine,
Hath classic hill or valley rung
With harmony like thine
: WHO now shall wake thy widowed Tyre!
There breathes but one, who dares
To that Herculean task aspire,
But-less than thou--for fame he cares,
And seorns both hope and fesr--ambition and de.
sirel
THE
Matchless Sterling