TO A BROTHER, ON ENTERING THE ARMY. Isabella Kelly (née Fordyce) 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. T122123 Kelly, Isabella, 1759-1857. Collection of Poems and Fables on Several Occasions. London W. Richardson 1794 pp. 30-33. 72p.

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TO A BROTHER , ON ENTERING THE ARMY . Accept , my Charles , from thy still anxious friend , Some useful counsel by affection pen'd ; To my advice you oft have deference paid , Which bids me hope this last will be obey'd ; Nought but your good could force me to expose The humble talents which I now disclose ; Then , my dear brother , kindly plead excuse For ev'ry error of your sister's muse : First , my young soldier , let me recommend , In life's fair spring to make your God your friend ; That Power you in the bloom of youth engage , Will ne'er desert you in declining age ; In danger's hour he'll prove the truest friend , On him for all you want and wish depend ; Unto your parents every rev'rence pay , " Tis God's command their precepts to obey ; Be duteous , open , tender , and sincere , Support their age , to their advice adhere ! Let strictest justice every action guide , And truth with honor o'er your mind preside ; Be firm in friendship , scorn all mean disguise , Nor suffer mean resentment to arise ; On your superior's favour ne'er presume , Nor , to inferiors , haughtiness assume ; Reprove with firmness , rule with gentle sway ; Thro' love ; not fear , teach soldiers to obey ; Watch o'er yourself , to them be not severe , They then will love you , and your worth revere ; Beware of passion , it unmans the soul , If once indulg'd , it never brooks controul ; Thro' all the varying scenes of this frail state , 'Tis temper shades the colour of our fate . Temp'rance , dear youth , I warmly recommend , In fumes of wine too oft is lost a friend ; Oh ! fly the phrenzy like contempt or scorn , Though mad at night , reflection comes with morn : Duels avoid , if you with honor can , It breaks thro' laws prescrib'd by God and man ; Alas ! too late the deed you may repent , Be warn'd ! the pangs of dire remorse prevent ; Trembling , I charge thee , fatal gaming shun , A dangerous vice that thousands has undone ; It lures the heart with smiles , oh ! sad deceit , And ne'er forsakes till ruin is complete . Never be rul'd by fashion , but by sense , Neither be apt to give or take offence ; Be not ambitious riches to attain , For trust me wealth is not exempt from pain ; Aim at a competence with credit blest , In every point we find the medium best . To wedlock's state I dare but little say , The youthful heart in general takes its way ; I only raise to Hymen's throne my voice , That he may lead you to a happy choice ; Dear as you are , detested be your name , Should e'er you bring the innocent to shame ; E'er stain the honor of a virtuous race , Or bring a helpless female to disgrace ; Scorn to their ruin any aid to lend , For man was born their honor to defend . When we're apart , you on some distant shore , Remember Anna , and these lines read o'er ; They are her counsels , breath'd with love sincere , My only brother ! then to them adhere ; So will your conduct still unclouded shine , Your fame still brighten as your days decline .