Fowle's New Hampshire Gazette And General Advertiser

HOME

WHERE'ER I go, where'er I roam;
I find no spot like NATIVE home:
A hope, a wish that's undefined,
To humble home secures my mind:
Though lowly quite, domestic too,
Each transport there was full, was true.
The humble mansion, free from pride,
Where peace and rural gods reside,
Where calm content, that heav'nly guest,
Ennobler of the human breast,
Was ever wont to cheer my days,
To soothe, to soften, and to please.
The straw-clad cottage, rural wain,
The wood-land scene, the op'ning plain,
The turf crown'd bank, the noisy mill,
The falling stream, the ceaseless rill,
The nodding steep with hazles crown'd,
The bending boughs with nuts embrown'd,
The gabbling geese, the whistling clown,
The laugh of bliss, of true renown,
The rose lip'd virgin breathing warm
Delight, suffus'd with every charm,
The scene of mirth, the village train
Commence their gambols o'er the plain.
These joys in early days were mine
I wish-- But why should man repine
Ye Gods! give monarchs what ye please.
Give me but HOME and rural ease
Give gold to every sordid soul,
But keep me from its mean controul;
Give me a mod'rate share of health,
With peace, a friend, some books, and wealth:
These bound my wishes--Speak, ye great,
If this be pride, or pomp, or state!