Gazette Of The United States & Evening Advertiser

For the GAZETTE of the UNITED STATES.
ON THE
PRESIDENT'S BIRTH DAY.
Written by a LADY of Virginia,
February 22, 1794
TIME held the volume of the past,
And o'er each page his sanction cast;
In magic notes proclaim'd the Name
Long hallowed at the font of Fame!
When, lo! array'd in robes of light
Truth shone refulgent to the sight!
Thrice wav'd her wand, new radiance shed,
And Virtue's sacred influence spread,
While thus the tuneful Seraph's Lay,
In Heavenly record of this Day!
Hail! mighty Time! whose empire vast,
Was, is, and shall thro' ages last !
Whose wise, and comprehensive end,
The powers of human thought transcend!
All Nature bending at thy shrine,
Proclaim thy Origin Divine ;
And tho' the dark and mystic veil,
O'er penetration must prevail,
Yet—to Fancy's eye 'tis given;
To glance at once " from earth to heaven'!
And thro' thy various page to scan,
The wond'rous History of Man—
And see! She with new ardour burns,
As to the present Day she turns—
For I well pleas'd each look illume,
And dissipate the envious gloom
By Faction rais'd—Abhorred Fiend!
In vain thy shade has interven'd,
The fleeting mist has pass'd away
And but more brilliant made the Day.
Hail Thou! the universal Friend!
Still shall success thy cares attend,
And tho' thy virtues Heaven sublime
Thou'lt live coeval still with Time !
Belov'd by Age, rever'd by Youth—
Thy Fame immutable as Truth!