WARD, LOCK, & CO., WARWICK HOUSE,

280. L. 344.

IF thou indeed derive thy light from Heaven,
Then, to the measure of that heaven-born light,
Shine, Poet in thy place, and be content,-
The stars pre-eminent in magnitude,

And they that from the zenith dart their beams,

(Visible though they be to half the earth,

Though half a sphere be conscious of their brightness)

Are yet of no diviner origin,

No purer essence, than the one that burns,

Like an untended watch-fire, on the ridge

Of some dark mountain; or than those which seem

Humbly to hang, like twinkling winter lamps

Among the branches of the leafless trees;

All are the undying offspring of one Sire:
Then, to the measure of the light vouchsafed,
Shine, Poet! in thy place, and be content.

POEMS FOUNDED ON THE AFFECTIONS

56 Lament of Mary Queen of Scots, on the
Eve of a New Year