Page:Poems Betham.djvu/28

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14



O yes! they own the wond'rous spell,
And to each form their hands divine
Give, with nice art, the temper'd swell,
The chasten'd touch and faultless line!

Each fiction under their command,
Assumes an air severely true,
And, every vision, wildly grand,
Life's measur'd pace and modest hue.

Reason and fancy, rival powers!
Unite, their Radcliffe to befriend;
To decorate her way with flowers,
The minor graces all attend!


This piece, with the exception of a few lines, has appeared in the Athenæum,