DAPHNI S.

All nature laughs, the groves are fresh and fair, The Sun's mild luftre warms the vital air;

If Sylvia smiles, new glories gild the shore,
And vanquifh'd nature seems to charm no more.

STREP HON.

In fpring the fields, in autumn hills I love, At morn the plains, at noon the fhady grove, But Delia always; absent from her fight,

75

Nor plains at morn, nor groves at noon delight. 80 DAPHNI S..

Sylvia's like autumn ripe, yet mild as May, More bright than noon, yet fresh as early day; Ev'n fpring displeases, when she shines not here; But bleft with her, 'tis fpring throughout the year.

STREPHON.

Say, Daphnis, fay, in what glad foil appears, A wond'rous Tree that facred Monarchs bears: Tell me but this, and I'll difclaim the prize, And give the conqueft to thy Sylvia's eyes.

DAPHNI S.

Nay tell me first, in what more happy fields The Thistle fprings, to which the Lilly yields:

88

And

VER. 86. A wondrous Tree that facred Monarchs bears.] An allufion to the Royal Oak, in which Charles II. had been hid from the purfuit after the battle of Worcester. P. IMITATIONS.

VER. GO. The Thistle fprings to which the Lilly yields,] Alludes to the device of the Scots Monarchs, the Thistle, worn by Queen Anne; and to the arms of France, the

1

Fleur

And then a nobler prize I will refign;

For Sylvia, charming Sylvia shall be thine.

DAMON.

91

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

Bleft Nymphs, whofe Swains thofe graces fing fo well!

Now rise, 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 show'rs descend.

VARIATIONS.

VER. 99. was originally,

96

ΙΟΙ

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

IMITATIONS.

Fleur de lys. The two riddles are in imitation of those in Virg. Ecl. iii.

Die quibus in terris infcripti nomina Regum
Nafcantur Flores, & Phyllida folus habeto.

P.

VOL. I

C

SUM.

SUMMER.

THE

SECOND PASTORAL,

A

O R

ALEX I S.

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 fhade. Soft as he mourn'd, the ftreams forgot to flow, The flocks around a dumb compaffion show,

5

The

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

P.

VER: 1, 2, 3, 4. were thus printed in the first 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. P.

VER. 3. Originally thus in the MS.

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

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 difeafe thou canst not curè.

10

15

Ye fhady beeches, and ye cooling ftreams, 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, 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 else 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 fall onfwer, 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 fylvæ. Virg. P.

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

Que nemora, aut qui vos faltus habuere, puellæ

Naïdes,

30

As in the cryftal fpring I view my face,
Fresh rifing blushes paint the watry glass;
But fince those 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 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
Infpir'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.

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

P.

Pindi

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.