26
ODE V.
To strain the tuneful poize within,
And disarrange the sweet machine,
Thou, Goddess, with a master-hand
Dost each attemper'd key command,
Refine the soft and swell the strong,
Till all is concord, all is song.
Fair guardian of domestic life,
Best banisher of homebred strife,
Nor sullen lip, nor taunting eye
Deform the scene where thou art by:
No sick'ning husband damns the hour
Which bound his joys to female pow'r;
No pining mother weeps the cares
That parents waste on hopeless heirs:
Th' officious daughters pleas'd attend;
The brother rises to the friend:
By thee their board with flow'rs is crown'd,
By thee with songs their walks resound,
By thee their sprightly mornings shine,
And evening-hours in peace decline.
Behold
