I.

Spirit of Spencer, from thy fairy wild,
Inspire, while glowing with unusual flame,
I cull each flow'r, by W INTER undefil'd,
And teach the woodland Echo, S TERLING'S name.
S TERLING , whose wand can break old D ULLNESS ' spell,
With pow'rs of verse, the rugged carle assail,
Lead the wrapt Thought to Inspirations cell,
And finish Chivalry's heroic tale,
Where, whilom C HAUCER'S self, and T HOU , sweet
Sprite did'st fail!

II.

Whether the sonnet, feelingly he weaves,
Collecting all the secret flow'rs of rhime,
Or, bursting thro' a bow'r of laurel-leaves,
Snatches of Epic pomp the trump sublime,
The Muse admires — — Long may his sapient hand,
Melodious, strike the full-responsive chord,
Long may he seize the sweets of F AIRY -L AND ;
And all the bliss poetic plains afford, — —
Long may he melt the eye, and reign the bosom's lord!