| Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900. |
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| George Bubb Dodington, Lord Melcombe. 1691?–1762 |
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| 443. Shorten Sail |
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| LOVE thy country, wish it well, | |
| Not with too intense a care; | |
| 'Tis enough that, when it fell, | |
| Thou its ruin didst not share. | |
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| Envy's censure, Flattery's praise, | 5 |
| With unmoved indifference view: | |
| Learn to tread Life's dangerous maze | |
| With unerring Virtue's clue. | |
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| Void of strong desire and fear, | |
| Life's wide ocean trust no more; | 10 |
| Strive thy little bark to steer | |
| With the tide, but near the shore. | |
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| Thus prepared, thy shorten'd sail | |
| Shall, whene'er the winds increase, | |
| Seizing each propitious gale, | 15 |
| Waft thee to the port of Peace. | |
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| Keep thy conscience from offence | |
| And tempestuous passions free, | |
| So, when thou art call'd from hence, | |
| Easy shall thy passage be. | 20 |
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| —Easy shall thy passage be, | |
| Cheerful thy allotted stay, | |
| Short the account 'twixt God and thee, | |
| Hope shall meet thee on thy way. | |
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