[Page 254]

To Mrs. Barber.

By the Same.

New-Year's-Day, 1733.

1 See, the bright Sun renews his annual Course,
2 Each Beam re-tinges, and revives its Force,
3 By Years uninjur'd; so may'st thou remain,
4 Not Time from thee, but thou from Time may'st gain:
5 O might the Fates thy vital Thread prolong,
6 And make thy Life immortal, as thy Song!
7 Less Lustre waits the God, when he refines
8 The rip'ning Metal in Peruvian Mines;
9 Brightens the Crystal with transparent Day,
10 Or points the Di'mond with its sparkling Ray;
[Page 255]
11 Than when, delighted, he thy Soul inspires,
12 Informs thy Judgment, and thy Fancy fires;
13 Assists thee striking out some bold Design,
14 And breathes immortal Honours on each Line:
15 In common as His Rays on all descend,
16 So You the Great delight, the Poor befriend:
17 As Heat productive His bright Beams bestow,
18 So, warm with Life, your pow'rful Numbers flow:
19 As He from Clouds bursts forth divinely bright,
20 So Envy sets You in a fairer Light:
21 Yet, tho' thus far Similitude we see,
22 One Thing disturbs the wond'rous Harmony;
23 With faded Light the Winter Sun appears,
24 Whilst You shine brighter in Decline of Years.

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Title (in Source Edition): To Mrs. Barber. New-Year's-Day, 1733.
Author: Constantine Barber
Themes: age; parents; children
Genres: heroic couplet; panegyric
References: DMI 11642

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Source edition

Barber, Mary, ca. 1690-1757. Poems on Several Occasions [poems only]. London: Printed for C. Rivington, at the Bible and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard, 1734, pp. 254-255. xlviii,283,[7]p.; 8⁰. (ESTC T42622; DMI 519; Foxon p. 45) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [Harding C 3644].)

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