[Page 70]

On Mr. B—'s Garden.

To Mrs. S—.

Madam,
1 To your Commands I own Obedience due,
2 And fain wou'd paint this fair inchanting View;
3 A Palace, Centre of the Garden, stands,
4 No common Structure rear'd by vulgar Hands;
5 But shews a Master's Skill, a Work complete,
6 And speaks the Founder's Name, and Fortune great.
7 The stately Front commands th'admiring View;
8 Grand its Design, and its Proportion true.
9 No costly Folly, no expensive Waste;
10 Strong, but not heavy; noble, but not vast;
11 Finish'd with Judgment, furnish'd with a Taste.
12 Vain my Attempt to paint the charming Scenes,
13 The Park, the Grove, the Terras, and the Greens;
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14 Fountains, Canals, Cascades from tow'ring Slopes;
15 The grand Variety confound my Hopes:
16 Here Art o'er Nature shews a noble Pride,
17 With Beauty clothes the barren Mountain's Side.
18 The Planter's Skill the nodding Forests show,
19 Where scarce a Shrub was ever known to grow.
20 From Summer's Heat the Hills provide a Shade,
21 In Winter Shelter, when cold Winds invade.
22 Yet what were these but empty, all in vain
23 To ease an aking Heart, or Head in Pain;
24 Did Envy or Ambition rack the Breast,
25 The Day wou'd yield no Joy, the Night no Rest;
26 One Vice indulg'd wou'd cast a Gloom around,
27 Cloud all the Prospect, poison all the Ground.
28 But here true Happiness is understood,
29 The noble manly Joy of doing Good;
30 Here sterling Truth, calm Temperance, and Love
31 Lead from these pleasing Scenes to those above,
32 To nobler Structures built by Hands divine,
33 Where Suns unclouded o'er the Prospect shine;
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34 Where Mildews blast not, nor chill Frosts annoy,
35 No Rains can rot, nor eating Worms destroy.
36 Within these Walls such Happiness resides;
37 Thus Fame reports. — What can they wish besides?
38 The Poor shall bless them, all the Wise shall hail,
39 And Heav'n approve; their Joys can never fail.
40 Late may they peaceful to their Graves descend,
41 And Heav'n to all their Offspring prove a Friend!

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Title (in Source Edition): On Mr. B—'s Garden. To Mrs. S—.
Author: Mary Chandler
Themes:
Genres: heroic couplet; address

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Chandler, Mary, 1687-1745. The Description Of Bath. A Poem. Humbly Inscribed To Her Royal Highness the Princess Amelia. By Mrs. Mary Chandler. The Third Edition. To which are added, Several Poems by the same Author [poems only]. London: Printed for James Leake, Bookseller in Bath, 1736, pp. 70-72. 77p. (ESTC T63103) (Page images digitized from a copy at Princeton University.)

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Typography, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been cautiously modernized. The source of the text is given and all significant editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. This ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.