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DAMON.

Cease to contend, for, Daphnis, I decree, The bowl to Strephon, and the lamb to thee: Bleft Swains, whofe Nymphs in ev'ry grace excel; Bleft Nymphs, whofe Swains thofe graces fing fo

well! 96 Now rife, and hafte to yonder woodbine bow'rs, A foft retreat from fudden vernal show'rs; The turf with rural dainties fhall be crown'd, While op'ning blooms diffuse their sweets around. For fee! the gath'ring flocks to fhelter tend, And from the Pleiads fruitful fhow'rs defcend.

VARIATIONS.

VER. 99. was originally,

The turf with country dainties shall be spread,
And trees with twining branches fhade your head.

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To Dr. GARTH.

Shepherd's Boy (he feeks no better name) Led forth his flocks along the filver Thame, Where dancing fun-beams on the waters play'd, And verdant alders form'd a quiv'ring shade.

VARIATIONS.

VER. 1, 2, 3, 4. were thus printed in the firft edition:
A faithful fwain, whom Love had taught to fing,
Bewail'd his fate befide a filver spring;

Where gentle Thames his winding waters leads
Thro' verdant forefts, and thro' flow'ry meads.

VER. 3. Originally thus in the MS.

There to the winds he plain'd his hapless love,
And Amaryllis fill'd the vocal grove.

NOTES.

VER. 3. The Scene of this Paftoral by the river's fide; fuitable to the heat of the season; the time noon.

Soft as he mourn'd, the ftreams forgot to flow,
The flocks around a dumb compaffion fhow,
The Naïds wept in ev'ry wat'ry 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 difeafe thou canst not cure.
Ye fhady beeches, and yẻ cooling streams,
Defence from Phoebus', not from Cupid's beams,
Το 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,

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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. 20
The fultry Sirius burns the thirsty plains,

While in thy heart eternal winter reigns.

NOTES.

VER. 9. Dr. Samuel Garth, Author of the Difpenfary, was one of the first friends of the Author, whofe acquaintance with him began at fourteen or fifteen. Their friendship continued from the year 1703 to 1718, which was that of his death.

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

IMITATIONS.

VER. 8. And Jove confented]

Jupiter et læto defcendet plurimus imbri. Virg. VER. 15. nor to the deaf I fing,]

Non canimus furdis, refpondent omnia fylvæ. Virg.

Where ftray ye Muses, in what lawn or grove, While your Alexis pines in hopeless love? In those fair fields where facred Ifis glides, Or else where Cam his winding vales divides ? As in the crystal fpring I view my face, Fresh rifing blushes paint the wat'ry glass; But fince thofe graces please thy eyes no more, I fhun 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 fheer:

VER. 27.

VARIATIONS.

Oft in the crystal spring I caft a view,

And equal'd Hylas, if the glass be true;

But fince thofe graces meet my eyes no more,
I fhun, etc.

IMITATIONS.

VER. 23. Where fray ye Muses, etc ]

Quæ nemora, aut qui vos faltus habuere, puellæ
Naïdes, indigno cum Gallus amore periret?
Nam neque Parnaffi vobis juga, nam neque Pindi
Ulla moram fecere, neque Aonia Aganippe.

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Virg. out of Theocr.

25

39

EIAN

VER. 27. Virgil again from the Cyclops of Theocritus,
nuper me in litore vidi,

Cum placidum ventis ftaret mare; non ego Daphnim,
Judice te, metuam, fi nunquam fallat imago,

35

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
Infpir'd when living, and bequeath'd in death: 40
He faid, Alexis, take this pipe, the fame
That taught the groves my Rofalinda's name :
But now the reeds shall hang on yonder tree,
For ever filent, fince despis'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 bestow'd again.
For you the fwains the fairest flow'rs defign,
And in one garland all their beauties join;

NOTES.

55

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

IMITATIONS.

VER. 40. bequeath'd in death; etc.] Virg. Ecl. ii.
Eft mihi difparibus feptem compacta cicutis
Fiftula, Damætas dono mihi quam dedit olim,
Et dixit moriens, Te nunc habet ifta fecundum.

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