WITH eager search to dart the soul,
Curiously vain, from Pole to Pole,
And from the Planets wand'ring spheres
T'extort the number of our years,
And whether all those years shall flow
Serenely smooth, and free from woe,
Or rude Misfortune shall deform
Our life, with one continual storm;
Or if the Scene shall motley be,
Alternate Joy and Misery,
Is a desire which, more or less,
All men must feel, tho' few confess.