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 elfe where Cam his winding vales divides? As in the crystal spring I view my face, Fresh rifing blushes paint the wat'ry glass; But fince those graces please thy eyes no more, I fhun the fountains which I fought before. F 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:

5

VER.

VARIATIONS.

R. 27.

Oft in the crystal spring I cast a view,

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

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

LE

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.

Virg. out of Theocr.
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.

25

39

35

TAN

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: 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 fpring, Their early fruit, and milk-white turtles bring! Each am'rous nymph prefers her gifts in vain, On you their gifts are all beflow'd again. For you the fwains the fairest flow'rs defign, And in one garland all their beauties join;

NOTES.

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.

55

Accept the wreath which you deserve alone,
In whom all beauties are compriz'd in one.

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 fheering feek their nightly
bow'rs;

IMITATIONS.

VAR. 60. Defcending Gods have found Elyfium here.]
Habitarunt Dî quoque fylvas Virg.

Et formofus oves ad flumina pavit Adonis. Idem.

65

When weary reapers quit the fultry field,
And crown'd with corn their thanks to Ceres yield.
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 forfaken seats,
The moly fountains, and the green retreats!
Where'er you walk, cool gales fhall fan the glade,
Trees, where you fit, fhall croud into a shade:
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 pass my days,
Invoke the Muses, and refound your praise!

G

60

70

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 forefts foon should dance again,
The moving mountains hear the pow`rful call,
And headlong streams hang lift'ning in their fall!

But fee, the fhepherds thun the noon-day heat,
The lowing herds to murm'ring brooks retreat, 86
To closer fhades the panting flocks remove;
Ye Gods! and is there no 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 fcorches, as he burns by day.

VARIATIONS.

80

90

VER. 79 80.

Your praise the tuneful birds to heav'n fhall bear, And lift'ning wolves grow milder as they hear. So the veríes were originally written. But the author, young as he was, foon found the abfurdity which Spenfer himself over-looked, of introducing wolves into England.

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

IMITATIONS.

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

Partem aliquam, venti, divûm referatis ad aures! Virg. VER. 88. Ye Geds! etc.]

Me tamen urit amor, quis enim modus adfit amori? Idem.

AUTUM N.

THE

THIRD PASTORAL,

OR

HYLAS and E GO N.

To Mr. WyCHERLEY.

B

ENEATH the fhade a fpreading Beech displays,
Hylas and Ægon fung their rural lays;
This mourn'd a faithlefs, that an abfent Love,
And Delia's name and Doris' fill'd the Grove.

Ye Mantuan nymphs, your facred fuccour bring; 5
Hylas and gon's rural lays I fing.

Thou, whom the Nine with Plautus' wit inspire,
The art of Terence, and Menander's fire;

NOTES.

This Paftoral confifts of two parts, like the viiith of Virgil: The Scene, a Hill; the Time at Sun fet.

VER. 7. Thou, whom the Nine,] Mr. Wycherley, a famous author of Comedies; of which the most celebrated were the Plain-Dealer and Country-Wife. He was a writer of infinite