Classic Poem

Ye Books! inspirers of my lay,
To you the tribute due I pay;
Far from the croud's distracting noise,
With you I taste unmingled joys.
'Tis yours with sprightly mirth to chear,
Or wake the sympathetic tear,
Each varied feeling to impart,
And soothe, or animate the heart.
Attentive, while your page I trace,
Time passes with unheeded pace;
Charm'd by your fascinating pow'r,
I read till midnight's silent hour;
And, while the tribe of mortals sleep,
With you delightful vigils keep.
You found at first my fortune low,
And still perhaps may keep it so;
But, if 'tis any bliss to live,
From you that blessing I derive.