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Poem by Anna Seward
Sonnet 47. With lyre Orphean, see a Bard explore
ON MR. SARGENT's DRAMATIC POEM, THE MINE[1].
With lyre Orphean, see a Bard explore
The central caverns of the mornless Night,
Where never Muse perform'd harmonious rite
Till now!—and lo! upon the sparry floor,
Advance, to welcome him, each Sister Power,
Petra, stern Queen, Fossilia, cold and bright,
And call their Gnomes, to marshal in his sight
The gelid incrust, and the veined ore,
And flashing gem.—Then, while his songs pourtray
The mystic virtues gold and gems acquire,
With every charm that mineral scenes display,
Th' imperial Sisters praise the daring Lyre,
And grateful hail its new and powerful lay,
That seats them high amid the Muses' Choir.
1: Petra, and Fossilia, are Personifications of the first and last division of the Fossil Kingdom. The Author of this beautiful Poem supposes the Gnomes to be Spirits of the Mine, performing the behests of Petra and Fossilia, as the Sylphs, Gnomes, Salamanders, &c. appear as Handmaids of the Nymph of Botany in that exquisite sport of Imagination, the Botanic Garden.
Anna Seward
Anna Seward's other poems:
- Sonnet 45. From Possibility's dim chaos sprung
- Sonnet 58. Not the slow Hearse, where nod the sable plumes
- Sonnet 25. Fortunate Vale! exulting Hill! dear Plain!
- Sonnet 59. Lady, each soft effusion of thy mind
- Sonnet 99. Remorseless Winter! in thy iron reign
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