To the Rev. Dr. Freind, on his quitting Westminster School. Stephen Duck Alexander Huber Editor Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Broad Street Oxford OX1 3BG UK
Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive
Taylor Institution Library St Giles' Oxford OX1 3NA UK info@eighteenthcenturypoetry.org https://www.eighteenthcenturypoetry.org/
Oxford This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. T90234 K073280.000 Duck, Stephen, 1705-1756. Poems on several occasions: By Stephen Duck. London printed for the author 1736 pp. 173-175. xl,334,[2]p. ; 4⁰.

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To the Rev. Dr. Freind , on his quitting Westminster School . IF void of Art my languid Verse appears , Forgive , O FREIND , the Bard , who sings in Tears : Rude are the Lays , which only Grief adorns ; And dull the Muses , when APOLLO mourns ; When Science trembles o'er MINERVA's Shrine , To see her fav'rite Priest his Charge resign . Yet why should Grief debase his glorious Name , Or blast the Bays , his Merits justly claim ? No venal View his noble Temper sways ; He quits with Honour , what he kept with Praise . As some wise Leader , in successful Wars , Worn out with Age , and cover'd o'er with Scars , Resigns the Post , he bravely long sustain'd , Crown'd with the Palm , his former Valour gain'd : So thou , paternal Sage ! may'st now repose ; Nor seek new Laurels , to adorn thy Brows ; Review thy Toils , and see what polish'd Peers Honour thy forming Hand , and studious Cares : Let learned CART'RET , elegant of Taste , Confess the Mould , in which his Mind was cast : Let HERVEY's Muse her Tutor's Worth proclaim , And PELHAM's Royal Trust declare thy Fame ; PELHAM , in whose capacious Soul we find The Scholar , Statesman , and the Patriot join'd . Nor shall the tender Plants , which round thee stand , E'er prove ungrateful to the Planter's Hand ; Water'd by Thee , their well-fix'd Roots extend , Their Branches flourish , and the Fruits ascend ; While pleasing Hope with Expectation smiles , To reap the future Product of thy Toils , Intent to see thy Pupils shining forth , Whose Actions soon shall better speak thy Worth ; When in the Train of Senators they come , Refin'd with all the Arts of Greece and Rome ; While , in each Act , their prudent Counsels shew Their Master's Loyalty , and Learning too . Thus have thy Precepts made thy Province shine , And ev'n MINERVA's Athens yield to thine .