SUMMER:

THE SECOND PASTORAL.

OR

A LEXIS.

TO DR. GARTH.

IO

A Shepherd's Boy (he seeks no better name)

Led forth his focks along the silver Thame,
Where dancing sun-beams on the waters play'd,
And verdant alders form’d a quiv’ring shade.
Soft as he mourn'd, the streams forgot to flow, 5
The flocks around a dumb compassion show,
The Naïads wept in ev'ry wat'ry bow'r,
And Jove consented in a silent show'r.

Accept, O GARTH! the Muse's early lays,
That adds this wreath of ivy to thy bays ;
Hear what from love unpractis'd hearts endure,
From love, the sole disease thou canst not cure.

Ye shady beeches, and ye cooling streams,
Defence from Phæbus', not from Cupid's beams,

To VER. 3.] The scene of this pastoral by the river side, suitable to the heat of the season; the time, noon.

VER. 9.] Dr. Samuel Garth, author of the Dispensary, was one of the first friends of our poet, whose acquaintance with him began at fourteen or fifteen. Their friendship continued from the year 1703 to 1718, which was that of his death

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To
you

I
mourn, nor to the deaf I sing,

15 The woods shall answer, and their echo ring. The hills and rocks attend

my

doleful lay,
Why art thou prouder and more hard than they?
The bleating sheep with my complaints agree,
They parch'd with heat, and I inflam'd by thee.
The sultry Sirius burns the thirsty plains,
While in thy heart eternal winter reigns.

Where stray ye, Muses, in what lawn or grove,
While your Alexis pines in hopeless love?
In those fair fields where sacred Isis glides, 25
Or else where Cam his winding vales divides?
As in the crystal spring I view my face,
Fresh rising blushes paint the wat'ry glass;
But since those graces please thy eyes no more,
I shun the fountains which I sought before. 30
Once I was skill'd in ev'ry herb that grew,
And ev'ry plant that drinks the morning dew;
Ah wretched shepherd, what avails thy art,
To cure thy lambs, but not to heal thy heart !
Let other swains attend the rural care,

35 Feed fairer flocks, or richer fleeces sheer : But nigh yon' mountain let me tune my lays, Embrace my love, and bind my brows with bays. That Aute is mine which Colin's tuneful breath Inspir'd when living, and bequeath'd in death : 40

He

VER. 39. Colin) The name taken by Spenser in his Eclogues, where his mistress is celebrated under that of Rosalinda.

He said ; Alexis, take this pipe, the same
That taught the groves my Rosalinda's name :
But now the reeds shall hang on yonder tree,
For ever silent, since despis'd by thee.
Oh! were I made by some transforming pow'r 45
The captive bird that sings within thy bow'r!
Then might my voice thy list’ning ears employ,
And I those kisses he receives enjoy.

And yet my numbers please the rural throng,
Rough Satyrs dance, and Pan applauds the song :
The nymphs, forsaking ev'ry cave and spring, SI
Their early fruit, and milk-white turtles bring!
Each am'rous nymph prefers her gifts in vain,
On you their gifts are all bestow'd again.
For you the swains their fairest flow'rs design, 55
And in one garland all their beauties join ;
Accept the wreath which you deserve alone,
In whom all beauties are compriz'd in one.

See what delights in sylvan scenes appear ! Descending gods have found Elysium here. 60 In woods bright Venus with Adonis stray'd, And chaste Diana haunts the forest-shade. Come, lovely nymph, and bless the silent hours, When swains from sheering seek their nightly bow'rs; When weary reapers quit the sultry field, 65 And crown'd with corn their thanks to Ceres yield.

This

Ver 42. Rosalinda's] This is the lady with whom Spenser fell violently in love, as soon as he left Cambridge and went into the North; it is uncertain into what family, and in what capacity.

rosy dew,

This harmless grove no lurking viper hides,
But in my breast the serpent Love abides.
Here bees from blossoms sip the
But your Alexis knows no sweets but

you. 70
O deign to visit our forsaken seats,
The mossy fountains, and the green retreats!
Where'er you walk, cool gales shall fan the glade,
Trees, where you sit, shall croud into a shade :
Where'er you tread, the blushing flow'rs shall rise,
And all things flourish where you turn your eyes. 76
0! how I long with you to pass my days,
Invoke the Muses, and resound your praise !
Your praise the birds shall chant in ev'ry grove,
And winds shall waft it to the Pow'rs above. 80
But would you sing, and rival Orpheus' strain,
The wond'ring forests soon should dance again,
The moving mountains hear the pow'rful call,
And headlong streams hang list’ning in their fall!

But see, the shepherds shun the 'noon-day heat, The lowing herds to murm’ring brooks retreat, 86 To closer shades the panting flocks remove; Ye Gods! and is there no relief for love ? But soon the sun with milder

descends To the cool ocean, where his journey ends. 90 On me Love's fiercer flames for ever prey, By night he scorches, as he burns by day.

AUTUMN:

THE THIRD PASTORAL. *

OR

HYLAS and ÆGON.

TO MR. WYCHERLEY.

BENEATH the shade a spreading beech displays,

Hylas and Ægon sung their rural lays ; This mourn'd a faithless, that an absent love, And Delia's name and Doris’ fill’d the grove. Ye Mantuan nymphs, your sacred succour bring; 5 Hylas and Ægon's rural lays I sing.

Thou, whom the Nine, with Plautus' wit inspire, The art of Terence, and Menander's fire ; Whose sense instructs us, and whose humour charms, Whose judgment sways us, and whose spirit warms! Oh, skill'd in Nature! see the hearts of swains, Their artless passions, and their tender pains.

Now setting Phoebus shone serenely bright, And feecy clouds were streak'd with purple light ; When tuneful Hylas with melodious moan, 15 Taught rocks to weep, and made the mountains

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