A VERNAL ODE. Sent to his Grace the Lord Archbishop of CANTERBURY, March 12, 1754. Francis Fawkes Alexander Huber Editor Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
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Oxford This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. T131163 K104099.004 Dodsley, Robert, 1703-1764. A Collection of Poems in Six Volumes. By Several Hands. Vol. IV. London printed by J. Hughs, for R. and J. Dodsley 1763 [1st ed. 1758] pp. 271-272. 6v.: music; 8⁰.

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A VERNAL ODE . Sent to his Grace the Lord Archbishop of CANTERBURY , March 12 , 1754. By FRANCIS FAWKES , A. M. I. BRIGHT God of day , whose genial , power Revives the buried seed , That spreads with foliage every bower , With verdure every mead , Bid all thy vernal breezes fly , Diffusing mildness thro' the sky ; Give the soft season to our drooping plains , Sprinkled with rosy dews , and salutary rains . II . Enough has Winter's hand severe Hurl'd all his terrors round , Chill'd the fair dawning of the year , And whiten'd all the ground : Give but thy vital beams to play , The frozen scenes will melt away ; And , mix in sprightly dance , the blooming Hours Will 'wake the drowsy Spring , and Spring awake the flowers . Let Health , gay daughter of the skies , On Zephyr's wings descend , And scatter pleasures as she flies Where Surry's downs extend ; There HERRING wooes her friendly power , There may she all her roses shower , To heal that shepherd all her balms employ , So will she sooth our fears , and give a nation joy . IV . Ah me ! that Virtue's godlike friends So soon are claim'd by Fate ! Lo ! The Right Honourable Henry Pelham , Esq died on the 6th of March 1754. PELHAM to the grave descends , The bulwark of the state : When will fair Truth his equal find Among the best of human kind ? Long be the fatal day with mourning kept ! AUGUSTUS sigh'd sincere , and all the worthy wept . V. Thy delegate , kind heaven , restore To health , and safely keep ; Let good AUGUSTUS sigh no more , No more the worthy weep : And still upon the royal head The riches of thy blessings shed : Establish'd with his counsellors around , Long be his prosp'rous reign , and all with glory crown'd .