And shows fair Hebe how to lay We have no words of noble birth, As long as heav'n was doom'd to last. To ruin sunk their sound affairs- Some seek the plains, and some the woods, Endows a meeting-house in town; With drugs far-brought, a healthful store! The Muse has learn'd, but will not tell. To try and make afflictions sweeter For there the lamp, by nature giv'n, To auction every thing is sent; And many a splendid prize knock'd down, But all that's most divinely great To preach in prose, or chant in rhyme, And teach the ravish'd world the rules Who lov'd his plate and lov'd his can; From him, by various chances cast, The following short poem, the hasty effusion of Mr. Curran's pen, was produced on this occasion : A party of gentlemen had dined with a friend; in the enjoyment of the table they became rather indulgent, and having continued till a late hour, it was proposed that they, according to their remaining powers, should produce something worthy of so happy a day. Mr. Curran's contribution was given upon the spur of the moment in these verses: TO SLEEP. O Sleep, awhile thy power suspending, I know her by her robe of mourning, Oh! let me hear, with bosom swelling, Of joys that pine, and pangs that last. THE GREEN SPOT THAT BLOOMS ON THE DESERT OF LIFE. 1. O'ER the desert of life where you vainly pursu'd Those phantoms of hope which their promise disown, Have you e'er met some spirit divinely endu❜d, That so kindly could say you don't suffer alone? And however your fate may have smil'd or have frown'd, Will she deign still to share as the friend and the wife? Then make her the pulse of your heart, for you've found The green spot that blooms o'er the desert of life. 2. Does she love to recal the past moments so dear, And the vow was exchang'd and recorded in heav'n? And draw closer the claim of the friend and the wife? Then make her the pulse of your heart, for you've found The green spot that blooms o'er the desert of life. Mr. Curran's parliamentary life is so interwoven with the history of his country, that on it I purpose to subjoin whatever may be most interesting. On principle he became early attached to the Whigs, and to them, through all the undulations of a very varied fortune, he adhered with constancy. His career was not so distinguished in the senate as in the courts of justice. His business in the hall, till the period at which it was interrupted by the occasion before related, was so extensive as to leave him little leisure for the cultivation of politics. His mind consequently was not furnished with all the deep erudition necessary to perfect the practical statesman; but to an intimate acquaintance with the laws and the constitution of his country, he added a great knowledge of all the obliquities of human character, and with the acquired stock of literature, and his facility of public speaking, he marched always in the first ranks of the opposition. |