To bless some _single_ district and no more;
But thou must minister to thousand wants,
Of cities, countries, islands, continents:
Hence _central_ be thy station--thus thy town,
Must make each port around the coast her own.

Let bright invention rove where no one awes,
Unfetter'd by dull, narrow, civic laws,
Which shut out commerce, ingenuity.
Where bloated pride, in sullen majesty,
And drowsy pomp sits notionally great,
While she on every stranger shuts her gate.

Let ingenuity here keep her seat,
For works minute, or works immensely great,
We to thy native sons the gift impart,
Of bright invention, and of matchless art,
Skill'd to devise, to reason, to compute,
Quick to suggest, and prompt to execute;
What some have but conceiv'd, do thou amend,
Mature and perfect, to some noble end.

Let fertile genius' bright, inventive powers,
In all their vigorous energy be yours.

Let savage nations who thy stores behold,
Give Britain in return, their useless gold,
Their gems, their pearls, their diamonds impart,
And boast the change, and prize the gift of art.

Thus shall thy polish'd wares of choicer worth,
Gain all that's rare, from ev'ry clime on earth.

Thy skill superior let our monarchs own,
And deem thee _a bright jewel in their crown_.

OBSERVATIONS

Made during an Excursion

_To Wednesbury in Staffordshire, distant eight miles, on the road to
Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury_.

You proceed down Snowhill, and having passed the one mile stone, there
are a few trees close to the road side, and opposite to them there
is an extensive view over Barr-beacon, and the adjacent country,
including the lofty trees in Aston park; over whose tops, the elegant
spire of that church is seen. In descending the hill, when you have
passed the buildings, the eye is delighted, on the right hand, with
an extensive view over Hunter's nursery grounds, and on the left is
Hockley abbey: this building was erected upon a piece of waste, boggy
land, about the 1779, by Mr. Richard Ford, an ingenious mechanic of
Birmingham, who, among other things, invented a one-wheel carriage,
which he constructed entirely of iron; and for his ingenuity in the
formation of that vehicle, the society of arts presented him with
their gold medal. As he employed a number of hands, several of whom
expended nine or ten shillings each week at the alehouse, it occurred
to him, who was not given to