On The Portrait Of The Son Of J.G. Lambton, Esq., M.P. By Sir Thomas Lawrence, P.R.A.

Beautiful Boy--thy heavenward thoughts     Are pictured in thine eyes,     Thou hast no taint of mortal birth,     Thy communing is not of earth,     Thy holy musings rise:     Like incense kindled from on high,     Ascending to its native sky.     And such a head might once have graced     The infant Samuel, when     Call'd by the favour of his God,     The youthful priest the Temple trod     Beloved of Heaven and men!     The same devotion on his brow     As brightens in thy forehead now.     Or, thou may'st seem to Fancy's eye     One borne by arms Divine;     One, whom on Earth a Saviour bless'd,     And on whose features left impress'd     The Contact's holy sign:     A light, a halo, and a grace,     So pure th' expression of that face.     Or, has the Painter's skill alone     Such grace and glory given?     Clothed thee with attributes which seem     Creations of an angel's dream,     To raise the soul to Heaven?     No, as he found thee, he arrayed,     And Genius taught what God had made!