Yonder rude circuit, where th' obtrusive fern
In "sullen vegetation" chills the glance,
A few revolving halcyon months shall turn
To an all-cheering, lucid, gay expanse.
SCOTLAND's GRAND STAPLE there shall glad the sight,
Courting the blanching beams of day's bright orb,
Who'll give enduring lustre to its white,
And ev'ry slight impurity absorb:
There from the loom the costly web be brought,
By Pallas taught in soft festoons to rise;
Which late from Belgia, distant kingdoms sought,
But now 'tis Caledonia grants the prize!
There the rich damask spread its fruit and flowers,
For royal tables, and for halls of state:
There the transparent lawn display its powers,
To soften beauty, and new charms create.
Proud Manchester will here her fame divide,
Her varied works, her fashion, and her taste;
This, bind in snowy vest Horatio's side,
That, flow in graceful folds from Chloe's waist.
The stripe so well dispos'd, the glowing bloom
Which overspreads the whole, shall here be seen:
Go MANCHESTER, and weep thy slighted loom —
Its arts are cherish'd now on PI'TCAIRNE GREEN!
For these, whilst Labour chants her jocund song,
Shall foreign prows be pointed to our shores;
Each rival port our ample harbours throng,
Pouring its tribute, for our native stores.
Thus blest, this village shall some unborn age
Behold a city, grac'd with many a dome;
Of note in commerce, and of arts the stage,
Where taste industrious, ne'er shall want a home.
If here the craving miser heaps his gold,
And frowns upon the shiv'ring needy wretch;
Here shall benevolence her charger hold,
And pity, wide her fost'ring arms outstretch.