644 COWPER ON ALEXANDER SELKIRK,

Mf.

VERSES SUPPOSED TO BE WRITTEN BY
ALEXANDER SELKIRK,

DURING HIS SOLITARY ABODE ON THE ISLAND OF JUAN FERNANDAZ

BY WILLIAM COWPER.,.

1 am monarch of all I survey,
My right there is none to dispute ;
From the centre all round to the sea,
Tam lord of the fowl and the brute.
O Solitude! where are the charms
That sages have seen in thy face ?
Better dwell in the midst of alarms,
Than reign in this horrible place.

1 am out of humanity’s reach,
I must finish my journey alone,
Never hear the sweet music of speech —
I start at the sound of my own.
The beasts that roam over the plain
My form with indifference see ;
They are so unacquainted with man,
Their tameness is shocking to me.

Society, friendship, and love,
Divinely bestowed upon man,
Oh, had I the wings of a dove,
How soon would I taste you again |
My sorrows I then might assuage
In the ways of religion and truth,
Might learn from the wisdom of age,
And be cheered by the sallies of youth

Religion! what treasure untold
Resides in that heavenly word!
More precious than silver and gold,
Or all that this Earth can afford.
But the sound of the church-going bell
These valleys and rocks never heard,
Ne’er sighed at the sound of a knell,
Or smiled when a Sabbath appeared.