The Naiads wept in ev'ry watry bow'r,
And Jove confented in a filent show'r.
Accept, O'GARTH, the Mufe's early lays,
That adds this wreath of Ivy to thy Bays;
Hear what from Love unpractis'd hearts endure,
From Love, the fole disease thou canst not cure.

10

15

Ye fhady beeches, and ye cooling ftreams, Defence from Phoebus', not from Cupid's beams, To you I mourn, nor to the deaf I fing, The woods fhall anfwer, and their echo ring. The hills and rocks attend my doleful lay, Why art thou prouder and more hard than they? The bleating fheep with my complaints agree, They parch'd with heat, and I inflam'd by thee. 20 The fultry Sirius burns the thirsty plains,

While in thy heart eternal winter reigns.

Where ftray ye Mufes, in what lawn or grove, While your Alexis pines in hopeless love? In those fair fields where facred Ifis glides, Or elfe where Cam his winding vales divides?

C 2

25

As

VER. 9] Dr. Samuel Garth, Author of the Difpenfary, was one of the first friends of the Author, whose acquaintance with him began at fourteen or fifteen. Their friendship continued from the year 1703 to 718, which was that of his death. P.

VER. 16. The woods fhall answer, and their echo ring,】 Is a line out of Spenfer's Epithalamion. P.

IMITATIONS.

VER. 8. And Jove confented]

Jupiter et lato defcendet plurimus imbri. Virg. P. VER. 15. nor to the deaf Ifing,]

Non canimus fardis, refpondent omnia lv. Virg. P.

VER. 23. Where fray ye Mufes, etc.]

Que nemora, aut qui vos faltus habuere, puellæ

Naïdes,

30

As in the crystal spring I view my face,
Fresh rising blushes paint the watry glass;
But fince thofe graces please thy eyes no more,
I shun the fountains which I fought before.
Once I was skill'd in ev'ry herb that grew,
And ev'ry plant that drinks the morning dew;
Ah wretched fhepherd, what avails thy art,
To cure thy lambs, but not to heal thy heart!
Let other fwains attend the rural care,
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 flute is mine which Colin's tuneful breath
Inspir'd when living, and bequeath'd in death ;

35

40

He

VER. 39. Colin] The name taken by Spenfer in his Eclogues, where his mistress is celebrated under that of Rofalinda. P.

VER. 27.

VARIATIONS.

Oft in the crystal spring I caft a view,
And equal'd Hylas, if the glafs be true;
But fince thofe graces meet my eyes no more,
I fhun, etc.

IMITATIONS.

P.

Naïdes, indigno cum Gallus amore periret?
Nam neque Parnaffi vabis juga, nam neque Pindi
Ulla moram fecere, neque Aonia Aganippe.

Virg. out of Theocr.

P.

VER. 27. Virgil again from the Cyclops of Theocritus,

nuper me in littore vidi

Cum placidum ventis ftaret mare, non ego Daphnim,
Judice te, metuam, fi nunquam fallat imago.
VER. 40. bequeath'd in death; etc.] Virg. Ecl. ii.
Eft mihi difparibus feptem compacta cicutis
Fifula, Damætas dono mihi quam dedit olim,
Et dixit moriens, Te nunc habet ifta fecundum.

P.

P.

He faid; Alexis, take this pipe, the same
That taught the groves my Rosalinda's name:
But now the reeds fhall hang on yonder tree,
For ever filent fince defpis'd by thee.

Oh! were I made by fome transforming pow'r 45
The captive bird that fings within thy bow'r!
Then might my voice thy lift'ning ears employ,
And I thofe kiffes he receives, enjoy.

And yet my numbers please the rural throng,
Rough Satyrs dance, and Pan applauds the fong: 50
The Nymphs, forfaking ev'ry cave and spring,
Their early fruit, and milk-white turtles bring;
Each am'rous nymph prefers her gifts in vain,
On you their gifts are all beftow'd again.
For you the fwains the fairest flow'rs defign,
And in one garland all their beauties join;
Accept the wreath which you deserve alone,
In whom all beauties are compriz'd in one.

55

60

See what delights in fylvan scenes appear! Defcending Gods have found Elyfium here. In woods bright Venus with Adonis ftray'd, And chafte Diana haunts the foreft fhade. Come, lovely nymph, and blefs the filent hours, When fwains from sheering feek their nightly

bow'rs;

When weary reapers quit the fultry field,

65

And crown'd with corn their thanks to Ceres yield,

C 3

This

IMITATIONS.

VER. 60. Defcending Gods have found Elyfium here.]

Virg.

Habitarunt Di quoque fylvas
Et formofus oves ad flumina pavit Adonis. Idem. P.

70

This harmless grove no lurking viper hides,
But in my breast the serpent Love abides.
Here bees from bloffoms fip the rofy dew,
But your Alexis knows no fweets but you.
Oh deign to vifit our forsaken seats,
The mofly fountains, and the green retreats!
Where'er you walk, cool gales fhall fan the glade,
Trees, where you fit, fhall croud into a fhade:
Where'er you tread, the blushing flow'rs fhall rife,
And all things flourish where you turn your eyes.
Oh! how I long with you to pafs my days,
Invoke the Muses, and refound your praise !
Your praise the birds fhall chant in ev'ry grove,
And winds fhall waft it to the pow'rs above.
But would you fing, and rival Orpheus' strain,
The wond'ring forests soon should dance again,
The moving mountains hear the pow'rful call,
And headlong streams hang lift'ning in their fall!

80

But fee, the fhepherds fhun the noon-day heat, The lowing herds to murm'ring brooks retreat, 86 T..

VER. 79, So.

VARIATIONS.

Your praife the tuneful birds to heav'n fhall bear,
And lift'ning wolves grow milder as they hear.

So the verfes were originally written. But the author, young as he was, foon found the abfurdity which Spenser himfelf overlooked, of introducing wolves into England. P.

IMITATIONS.

VER. 80. And winds shall waft, etc.]

Partem aliquam, venti, divum referatis ad aures!

Virg. P.

To closer fhades the panting flocks remove;
Ye Gods! and is there nc relief for Love?
But foon the fun with milder rays defcends
To the cool ocean, where his journey ends:
On me love's fiercer flames for ever prey,
By night he scorches, as he burns by day.

VARIATIONS.

VER. 91. Me love inflames, nor will his fires allay. P.

IMITATIONS.

VER. 88. Ye Gods, etc.]

Me tamen urit amor, quis enim modus adfit amori?

Idem. P.