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 ye cooling ftreams,
Defence from Phœbus', not from Cupid's beams,
To you I mourn nor to the deaf I fing,

The woods fhall anfwer, and their echo ting.
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 thirty plains,

While in thy heart eternal winter reigns.

Where tray ye Mules, in whar lawn or grove, While your Alexis pines in hopeless love? In thofe fair fields where facred Itis glides, Or else where Cam his winding vales divides?

NOTES.

25

VER. 9. Dr. Samuel Garth, Author of the Dispensary, 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 fhall answer, and their echo ring,) Is a line out of Spenfer's Epithalamion.

evol askpMITATIONS.

VER. 15. nor to the deaf I fing,)

Non canimus furdis, refpondent omnia fylvæ.

Virg.

-VER. 23. Where firay ye Muses, etc.)

Quæ nemora, aut qui vos faltus habuere, puellæ
Naides, indigno cum Gallus amore periret?

Nam neque Parnaffi vobis juga, nam neque Pindi / Ulla moram fecere, neque Aonia Aganippe.

Virg. out of Theocr.

30

As in the crystal fpring I view my face,
Fresh rifing blufhes paint the wat'ty glass;
But fince those graces please thy eyes no more,
I fhun the fountains which I fought before.
Once I was fkill'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:
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:

VER. 27.

VARIATIONS.

Oft in the cryftal spring I caft a view,

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

But fince those graces meet my eyes no more,

I fhun, etc.

35

40

NOTES.

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

IMITATIONS.

VER. 17. Virgil again from de Cyclops of Theocritus,
nuper me in litore 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
Fiftula, Damotas dono mihi quam dedit olim,
Et dixit moriens, Te nunc haber ifta fecundum.

He faid; Alexis, take this pipe, the fame si ni A
That taught the groves my Rofalinda's name: 1257%
But now the reeds fhall hang on yonder tree,
For ever filent, fince defpis'd by thee.d. Haft
Oh! were I made by fome transforming pow'r 9045
The captive bird that fings within thy bow'r! Bra
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 danee, and Pan applauds the song: sɑ
The Nymphs, forfaking ev'ry cave and fpring,
Their early fruit, and milk-withe 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.

Bigla

55

60

See what delights in fylvan fcenes appear! Defcending Gods have found Elylium here. In woods bright Venus with Adonis ftray'd, And chafte Diana haunts the fo foreft fhade. Come, lovely nymph, and blefs the filent hours, When fwains from fheering feek their nightly bow'rs; When weary reapers quit the fultry field, And crown'd with corn their thanks

65

Ceres yield.

$ to be This harmless grove no lurking viper hides,

IMITATIONS.

VER. 60. Defcending Gods have found Elyfum here.)

Habitarunt Di quoque fylvas

Et formofus oves ad flumina pavit Adonis.

ay Virg.

Idem

But in my breaft the ferpent Love abides.
Here bees from blossoms fip the rofy dew,
But your Alexis knows no fweets but you.
Oh deign to vifit our forfaken feats,

70

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 blufhing flow'rs fhall rife,
And all things flourifh where you turn your eyes.
Oh! how I long with you to pass my days,
Invoke the Mufes, and refound your praile!
Your praife 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' ftrain,
The wond'ring forefts foon fhould dance again,
The moving mountains hear the pow'rful call,
And headlong ftreams 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 To clofer fhades the panting flocks remove;

VER. 79 80.

VARIATIONS.

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

So the verses were originally written. But the author, young as he was, foon found the abfurdity which Spenfer himself overlooked, of introducing wolves into England.

IMITATIONS.

VER. 80. And winds fhall waft, etc.)

Partem aliquam, venti, divum referatis ad aures! virg.

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.

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

IMITATIONS.

VER. 88. Ye Gods! etc.)

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