Our floating fleets thro' feas to worlds unknown:
Nor blush the crackling branches to provide
A fewel for our hearths when winter calls,
And wooes us to enjoy their friendly flames.
Beneath the foreft's cool and branching shade
Oft fpring falubrious plants, whofe juices pour'd
Into the wound, abate its burning pain;
Others endow'd with virtues which affuage
The fever's heat, allay its glowing fires,
And fill the tumult boiling in the veins;
The circulating fluids hence derive
A hue more florid, while the nerves acquire
More vigor.---Weak enfeebled nature feels,
With life reftor'd, her languid powers repair'd.
Near to yon rural village I furvey
A grove of stately trees, lefs ftately far
Than the proud tow'ring oak, which yet afford
An object more delightful to the view.
An hour scarce fled tranfported I beheld
On yonder boughs a beauteous boundless glow
Of blooming flowers.---The lovely chearing scene
Charm'd the pleas'd eye, and fwell'd the heart with joy.
But fee, the gaudy fpring has foon refign'd
Her ravish'd beauties, drop'd her fragrant ftores
In autumn's golden lap; her blossoms shine
No longer, while each bending branch is hung
With loaded fruitage. Breathe, ye gentle winds,
Blow foft, ye western gales, in pity guard
The tender offspring from the killing ftorm
Pour'd from the angry north. Oh! teach the
To nurse its juicy progeny, till time
Has mellow'd its rich pulp to the pleas'd taste,
How grateful when diffolving as we eat!
Let the plum hang unruffled on its bough,
And nourish her delicious fruit a while,
Till, ripen'd by the genial fun, her skin
Is finely clouded o'er with gloffy blue.
O! let no rugged fhocks, no furious blast,
Disturb or rock our orchards, richly hung
With yellow treasures, no injurious wind
Precipitate their burden to the ground,
Before the autumn's kindly warmth has giv'n
Their juices a rich flavour, and the fun
Ting'd o'er their blufhing fides with ftreaks of gold.
Claffes of these unnumber'd, their gay rinds,
Burnish'd with various hues, of tafte refin'd,
Furnish our storehoufe now.---Some richly grace
Our morning entertainments, or regale
Our palates 'midft the fultry heats of day.
Some borrow ripenefs from the falling fnow,
While in the midft of winter autumn fmiles;
These load the salver, make a beauteous fhew
Amidft the gay deffert, and give a close
To our luxurious feafts; while others fill
Our vats with foaming juice, matur'd by age,
Which sparkles in the glafs, nor yields the prize,
Now
pure and delicate, to nectar'd wine.
At diftance there fome green enclosures rife,
And feem to dread a vifit from the winds
Blown from the chilling north.---A woody shade,
Or lofty wall, breaks off the rushing storm;
These open to the south their verdant fides ;
Their whole expanfion ftretch to catch the rays
Shot from meridian funs their births to cheer.
One beauteous fpot, fuperior to the rest,
Seems to attract my eye, and lead the muse
Where the green olitory's treasures bloom.
Frugal republic this; how neat, how plain?
Whate'er resembles the proud pomp of kings,
All enfigns of vain royalty that blaze
In princely palaces are banish'd hence,
Ne'er welcom'd in this modeft green abode.
The products of this fruitful spot deride
The glare and dreffes luxury affumes
To garnish out her fons; the garden tribes
Not gay, but neat, in modest habits cloath'd;
Where elegance and nature kindly join,
To plan the rich apartments, which unite
Their beauties, both to please and profit too.
Some artful mafter's hand, with nicest skill
And just arrangement, all this fruitful ground
Has parcel'd out in beds of various hues,
Green intervening allies cut between.
Nor has the florift's care forgot to range
Each family in its distinct abode;
To different claffes different spots affign'd.
Amidft the vaft variety that spread
Their foliage o'er each beauteous bed, we view
No wild confufion---all their dwellings know.
If then man's eye is raptur'd to behold
Their regular arrangement, greater joy
His heart must fure partake whene'er he turns
His thought to count the various gifts that flow
In rich profufion from his garden pour'd
His table to adorn, and grace his board
With guiltless, grateful luxury.---For thee
The parsley with indented leaves adorns
Thy verdant borders, while, for human use,
The celery fhoots out her whitening arms,
And perforates the yielding mould, to add
A luscious tafte to thy rich favoury meals.
For thee th' afparagus with tapering ftems
Lifts its afpiring head; and, to regale
Thy curious taste, an early offering makes
Of the first fruits the fpring's foft feason yields.
Her pulpy juice for thee the melon pours,
Grateful to taste, and potent to allay
The fummer's fultry heats; whose tendrils cling
Faft to each prop that helps her to sustain
Her golden burden. Like embattled files
The beans erect their heads in martial rows,
Stately and firm; while the weak feeble pea,
A tender invalid, is pleas'd to twine
Her infant debile arms around the boughs
Supporting her frail ftem; replenish'd foon
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