THE MORAL.

THE FLOWER AND THE LEAF;

OR, THE LADY IN THE ARBOUR.

A VISION.

Now turning from the wint'ry signs, the sun His course exalted through the Ram had run, And whirling up the skies, his chariot drove Through Taurus, and the lightsome realms of love;

Where Venus from her orb descends in showers, To glad the ground, and paint the fields with flowers:

When first the tender blades of grass appear, And buds, that yet the blast of Eurus fear, Stand at the door of life, and doubt to clothe the year:

Till gentle heat, and soft repeated rains Make the green blood to dance within their veins:

Then, at their call, imbolden'd out they come, And swell the gems and burst the narrow room; Broader and broader yet, their blooms display, Salute the welcome sun and entertain the day. Then from their breathing souls the sweets repair [air:

To scent the skies, and purge the unwholesome Joy spreads the heart, and, with a genial song, Spring issues out, and leads the jolly months along.

In that sweet season, as in bed I lay, And sought in sleep to pass the night away, I turn'd my weary side, but still in vain, Though full of youthful health, and void of pain: Cares I had none, to keep me from my rest, For love had never enter'd in my breast; I wanted nothing fortune could supply, Nor did she slumber till that hour deny. wonder'd then, but after found it true, Much joy had dried away the balmy dew:

way.

Straight as a line in beauteous order stood
Of oaks unshorn a venerable wood;
Fresh was the grass beneath, and every tree,
At distance planted in a due degree,
Their branching arms in air with equal space
Stretch'd to their neighbours with a long em-
brace:

And the new leaves on every bough were seen,
Some ruddy colour'd, some of lighter green.
The painted birds, companions of the spring,
Hopping from spray to spray, were heard to
sing,

Both eyes and cars receiv'd a like delight,
Enchanting music, and a charming sight.
On Philomel I fix'd my whole desire ;
And listen'd for the queen of all the quire ;
Fain would I hear her heavenly voice to sing;
And wanted yet an omen to the spring.

Attending long in vain, I took the way,
Which through a path, but scarcely printed, lay;
In narrow mazes oft it seem'd to meet,
And look'd as lightly press'd by fairy feet.
Wand'ring I walk'd alone, for still methought
To some strange end so strange a path was
wrought:

At last it led me where an arbour stood,
The sacred receptacle of the wood: [green,
This place unmark'd, though oft I walk'd the
In all my progress I had never seen:
And seiz'd at once with wonder and delight,
Gaz'd all around me, new to the transporting
sight.

"T was bench'd with turf, and goodly to be seen,
The thick young grass arose in fresher green:
The mound was newly made, no sight could
Betwixt the nice partitions of the grass; [pass
The well-united sods so closely lay,
And all around the shades defended it from day
For sycamores with eglantine were spread,
A hedge about the sides, a covering over head,
And so the fragrant brier was wove between,
The sycamore and flowers were mix'd with
That nature seem'd to vary the delight; [green,
And satisfied at once the smell and sight.
The master workman of the bower was known
Through fairy-lands, and built for Oberon;
Who twining leaves with such proportion drew
They rose by measure, and by rule they grew;

No mortal tongue can half the beauty tell;
For none but hands divine could work so well.
Both roof and sides were like a parlour made,
A soft recess, and a cool summer shade:
The hedge was set so thick, no foreign eye
The persons placed within it could espy:
But all that pass'd without with ease was seen,
As if nor fence nor tree was plac'd between.
'T was border'd with a field; and some was
plain

With grass, and some was sow'd with rising grain.

That (now the dew with spangles deck'd the ground)

A sweeter spot of earth was never found.
I look'd and look'd, and still with new delight;
Such joy my soul, such pleasures fill'd my sight:
And the fresh eglantine exhal'd a breath,
Whose odours were of power to raise from
death.

Nor sullen discontent, nor anxious care,
E'en though brought thither, could inhabit
there:

But thence they fled as from their mortal foe;
For this sweet place could only pleasure know.
Thus as I mus'd I cast aside my eye,
And saw a medlar-tree was planted nigh.
The spreading branches made a goodly show,
And full of opening blooms was every bough:
A goldfinch there I saw with gaudy pride
Of painted plumes, that hopp'd from side to
side,

Still pecking as she pass'd; and still she drew The sweets from every flower, and suck'd the dew:

Suffic'd at length, she warbled in her throat,
And tun'd her voice to many a merry note,
But indistinct, and neither sweet nor clear,
Yet such as sooth'd my soul, and pleas'd my ear.
Her short performance was no sooner tried,
When she I sought, the nightingale, replied:
So sweet, so shrill, so variously she sung,
That the grove echoed, and the valleys rung:
And I so ravish'd with her heavenly note,
I stood entranc'd, and had no room for thought,
But all o'erpower'd with ecstasy of bliss,
Was in a pleasing dream of paradise;
At length walk'd, and looking round the bower,
Search'd every tree, and pry'd on every flower,
If any where by chance I might espy
The rural poet of the melody:

For still methought she sung not far away:
At last I found her on a laurel spray.
Close by my side she sat, and fair in sight,
Full in a line, against her opposite;

Where stood with eglantine the laurel twin'd;
And both their native sweets were well con-

join'd.

On the green bank I sat, and listen'd long; (Sitting was more convenient for the song;) Nor till her lay was ended could I move, But wish'd to dwell for ever in the grove. Only methought the time too swiftly pass'd, And every note I fear'd would be the last. My sight, and smell, and hearing were employ'd, And all three senses in full gust enjoy'd. And what alone did all the rest surpass, The sweet possession of the fairy place; Single, and conscious to my self alone Of pleasures to the excluded world unknown: Pleasures which no where else were to be found,

And all Elysium in a spot of ground.

Thus while I sat intent to see and hear, And drew perfumes of more than vital air, All suddenly I heard the approaching sound Of vocal music on the enchanted ground: A host of saints it seem'd, so full the quire; As if the bless'd above did all conspire To join their voices, and neglect the lyre. At length there issued from the grove behind A fair assembly of the female kind: A train less fair, as ancient fathers tell, Seduc'd the sons of heaven to rebel. I pass their form, and every charming grace, Less than an angel would their worth debase; But their attire, like liveries of a kind, All rich and rare, is fresh within my mind. In velvet, white as snow, the troop was gown'd, The seams with sparkling emeralds set around: Their hoods and sleeves the same; and purfled

o'er

Of laurel some, of woodbine many more;
And wreaths of agnus castus others bore;
These last, who with those virgin crowns were
Appear'd in higher honour than the rest. [drest,
They danc'd around: but in the midst was seen
A lady of a more majestic mien;
By stature, and by beauty, mark'd their sove-
reign queen.

On the green bank I sat, and listen'd long; (Sitting was more convenient for the song ;) A deviation from the original, arising from the want of a rhyme, or his habitual carelessness. The original lines are

--for as for mine entent,
The birdis song was more convenient,
And more pleasant to me by many fold
Than mete or drink, or any other thing.

She in the midst began with sober grace; Her servants' eyes were fix'd upon her face, And as she mov'd or turn'd, her motions view'd, Her measures kept, and step by step pursu'd. Methought she trod the ground with greater grace,

With more of godhead shining in her face;
And as ir. beauty she surpass'd the quire.
So, nobler than the rest, was her attire.
A crown of ruddy gold enclos'd her brow,
Plain without pomp, and rich without a show:
A branch of agnus castus in her hand
She bore aloft (her sceptre of command);
Admir'd, ador'd by all the circling crowd,
For wheresoe'er she turn'd her face, they bow'd:
And as she danc'd, a roundelay she sung,
In honour of the laurel, ever young:
She rais'd her voice on high, and sung so clear,
The fawns came scudding from the groves to
hear :

And all the bending forest lent an ear.
At every close she made, the attending throng
Replied, and bore the burden of the song :
So just, so small, yet in so sweet a note,
It seem'd the music melted in the throat.
Thus dancing on, and singing as they danc'd,
They to the middle of the mead advanc'd,
Till round my arbour a new ring they made,
And footed it about the secret shade.
O'erjoy'd to see the jolly troop so near,
But somewhat aw'd, I shook with holy fear;
Yet not so much, but that I noted well
Who did the most in song or dance excel.

Not long I had observ'd, when from afar
I heard a sudden symphony of war;
The neighing coursers, and the soldiers' cry,
And sounding trumps that seem'd to tear the
I saw soon after this, behind the grove [sky:
From whence the ladies did in order move,
Come issuing out in arms a warrior train,
That like a deluge pour'd upon the plain;
On barbed steeds they rode in proud array,
Thick as the college of the bees in May,
When swarming o'er the dusky fields they fly
New to the flowers, and intercept the sky.
So fierce they drove, their coursers were so fleet,
That the turf trembled underneath their feet.

To tell their costly furniture were long, The summer's day would end before the song; To purchase but the tenth of all their store, Would make the mighty Persian monarch poor, Yet what I can, I will; before the rest The trumpets issu'd in white mantles dress'd: A numerous troop, and all their heads around With chaplets green of cerrial-oak were crown'd; And at each trumpet was a banner bound, Which waving in the wind display'd at large Their master's coat of arms, and knightly charge.

Broad were the banners, and of snowy hue,
A purer web the silkworm never drew.
The chief about their necks the scutcheons
wore,

With orient pearls and jewels powder'd o'er,
Broad were their collars too, and every one
Was set about with many a costly stone.
Next these, of kings at arms a goodly train
In proud array came prancing o'er the plain
Their cloaks were cloth of silver mix'd with
gold,

And garlands green around their temples roll'd:
Rich crowns were on their royal scutcheons
plac'd,
[grac'd:
With sapphires, diamonds, and with rubies
And as the trumpets their appearance made,
So these in habits were alike array'd;
But with a pace more sober, and more slow;
And twenty, rank in rank, they rode a-row.
The pursuivants came next, in number more ;
And like the heralds each his scutcheon bore
Clad in white velvet all their troop they led,
With each an oaken chaplet on his head.

Nine royal knights in equal rank succeed,
Each warrior mounted on a fiery steed;
In golden armour glorious to behold;
The rivets of their arms were nail'd with gold.
Their surcoats of white ermine fur were made,
With cloth of gold between that cast a glitter-
ing shade.

The trappings of their steeds were of the same;
The golden fringe e'en set the ground on flame,
And drew a precious trail: a crown divine
Of laurel did about their temples twine

Three henchmen were for every knight as-
sign'd,

All in rich livery clad, and of a kind;
White velvet, but unshorn, for cloaks they wore,
And each within his hand a truncheon bore,
The foremost held a helm of rare device;
A prince's ransom would not pay the price.
The second bore the buckler of his knight,
The third of cornel-wood a spear upright,
Headed with piercing steel, and polish'd bright.
Like to their lords their equipage was seen,
And all their foreheads crown'd with garlands
[shield,

green.

And after these came, arm'd with spear and A host so great, as cover'd all the field: And all their foreheads, like the knights before, With laurels evergreen were shaded o'er, Or oak or other leaves of lasting kind, [wind Tenacious of the stem, and firm against the Some in their hands, beside the lance and shield,

The boughs of woodbine or of hawthorn held, Or branches for their mystic emblems took Of palm, of laurel, or of cerrial-oak.

Thus marching to the trumpet's lofty sound,
Drawn in two lines adverse they wheel'd around,
And in the middle meadow took their ground.
Among themselves the turney they divide,
In equal squadrons rang'd on either side.
Then turn'd their horses' heads, and man to
man,

And steed to steed oppos'd, the justs began.
They lightly set their lances in the rest,
And, at the sign, against each other press'd:
They met. I sitting at my ease beheld
The mix'd events, and fortunes of the field.
Some broke their spears, some tumbled horse

and man,

And round the field the lighten'd coursers ran.
An hour and more, like tides, in equal sway
They rush'd, and won by turns, and lost the day:
At length the nine (who still together held)
Their fainting foes to shameful flight compell'd,
And with resistless force o'erran the field.
Thus, to their fame, when finish'd was the fight,
The victors from their lofty steeds alight:
Like them dismounted all the warlike train,
And two by two proceeded o'er the plain:
Till to the fair assembly they advanc'd,
Who near the secret arbour sung and danc'd.
The ladies left their measures at the sight,
To meet the chiefs returning from the fight,
And each with open arms embrac'd her chosen
knight.

Amid the plain a spreading laurel stood,
The grace and ornament of all the wood:
That pleasing shade they sought, a soft retreat
From sudden April showers, a shelter from the
heat:

Her leafy arms with such extent were spread,,
So near the clouds was her aspiring head,
That hosts of birds, that wing the liquid air,
Perch'd in the boughs, had nightly lodging there:
And flocks of sheep beneath the shade from far
Might hear the rattling hail, and wintry war;
From heaven's inclemency here found retreat,
Enjoy'd the cool, and shunn'd the scorching
heat:

A hundred knights might there at ease abide;
And every knight a lady by his side:
The trunk itself such odours did bequeath,
That a Moluccan breeze to these was common
breath.

The lords and ladies here approaching, paid
Their homage, with a low obeisance made;
And seem'd to vencrate the sacred shade.
These rites perform'd, their pleasures they

pursue.

With songs of love, and mix with measures

new;

Around the holy tree their dance they frame, And every champion leads his chosen dame.

I cast my sight upon the farther field, And a fresh object of delight beheld: For from the region of the West I heard New music sound, and a new troop appear'd; Of knights and ladies mix'd, a jolly band, But all on foot they march'd, and hand in hand,

The ladies dress'd in rich symars were seen
Of Florence satin, flower'd with white and green,
And for a shade betwixt the bloomy gridelin.
The borders of their petticoats below
Were guarded thick with rubies on a row ;
And every damsel wcre upon her head
Of flowers a garland blended white and red.
Attir'd in mantles all the knights were seen,
That gratified the view with cheerful green:
Their chaplets of their ladies' colours were,
Compos'd of white and red, to shade their shin
ing hair.

Before the merry troop the minstrels play'd;
All in their masters' liveries were array'd,
And clad in green, and on their temples wore
The chaplets white and red their ladies bore.
Their instruments were various in their kind,
Some for the bow, and some for breathing wind
The sawtry, pipe, and hautboy's noisy band,
And the soft lute trembling beneath the touching
hand.

A tuft of daises on a flowery lay

They saw, and thitherward they bent their way To this both knights and dames their homage made,

And due obeisance to the daisy paid.
And then the band of flutes began to play,
To which a lady sung a virelay:
And still at every close she would repeat
The burden of the song, The daisy is so sweet
The daisy is so sweet, when she begun,
The troop of knights and dames continu'd on,
The consort and the voice so charm'd my ear,
And sooth'd my soul, that it was heaven to hear

But soon their pleasure pass'd: at noon of day The sun with sultry beams began to play : Not Sirius shoots a fiercer flame from high, When with his poisonous breath he blasts the sky:

[fled,)

Then droop'd the fading flow'rs, (their beauty And clos'd their sickly eyes, and hung the head And rivell'd up with heat,lay dying in their bed. The ladies gasp'd, and scarcely could respire The breath they drew, no longer air, but fire; The fainty knights were scorch'd; and knew

not where

To run for shelter, for no shade was near;
And after this the gathering clouds amain
Pour'd down a storm of rattling hail and rain:
And lightning flash'd betwixt: the field and
flowers,

Burnt up before, were buried in the showers.

The ladies and the knights, no shelter nigh,
Bare to the weather and the wintry sky,
Were dropping wet, disconsolate, and wan,
And through their thin array receiv'd the rain;
While those in white, protected by the tree,
Saw pass in vain the assault, and stood from
danger free,

But as compassion mov'd their gentle minds, When ceas'd the storm, and silent were the winds,

Displeas'd at what, not suffering, they had seen,
They went to cheer the faction of the green:
The queen in white array, before her band,
Saluting, took her rival by the hand; [grace,
So did the knights and dames, with courtly
And with behaviour sweet their foes embraced.
Then thus the queen with laurel on her brow,
Fair sister, I have suffer'd in your wo;
Nor shall be wanting aught within my power
For your relief in my refreshing bower.
That other answer'd with a lowly look,
And soon the gracious invitation took;
For ill at ease both she and all her train
The scorching sun had borne, and beating rain.
Like courtesy was us'd by all in white, [knight.
Each dame a dame receiv'd, and every knight a
The laurel champions with their swords invade
The neighbouring forests, where the justs were
made,

And serewood from the rotten hedges took,
And seeds of latent fire from flints provoke :
A cheerful blaze arose, and by the fire
They warm'd their frozen feet, and dried their
wet attire.

Refresh'd with heat, the ladies sought around
For virtuous herbs, which, gather'd from the
ground,
[made,
They squeez'd the juice, and cooling ointment
Which on their sun-burnt cheeks, and their
chapt skins they laid: [them eat,
Then sought green salads, which they bade
A sovereign remedy for inward heat.

The lady of the Leaf ordain'd a feast, And made the lady of the Flower her guest; When lo, a bower ascended on the plain, With sudden seats ordain'd, and large for either train.

This bower was near my pleasant arbour plac'd, That I could hear and see whatever pass'd: The ladies sat with each a knight between, Distinguish'd by their colours, white and green; The vanquish'd party with the victors join'd, Nor wanted sweet discourse, the banquet of the

mind.

Mean time the minstrels play'd on either side,
Vain of their art, and for the mastery vied:
The sweet contention lasted for an hour,
And reach'd my secret arbour from the bower.

The sun was set; and Vesper, tc supply His absent beams, had lighted up the sky. When Philomel, officious all the day To sing the service of the ensuing May, Fled from her laurel shade,and wing'd her flight Directly to the queen array'd in white : And hopping sat familiar on her hand, A new musician, and increas'd the band.

The goldfinch, who, to shun the scalding heat, Had chang'd the medlar for a safer seat, And hid in bushes 'scap'd the bitter shower, Now perch'd upon the lady of the Flower; And either songster holding out their throats, And folding up their wings,renew'd their notes, As if all day, preluding to the fight, They only had rehears'd, to sing by night. The banquet ended, and the battle done, They danc'd by starlight and the friendly moon: And when they were to part, the laureat queen Supplied with steeds the lady of the green, Her and her train conducting on the way, The moon to follow, and avoid the day.

This when I saw, inquisitive to know The secret moral of the mystic show, I started from my shade, in hopes to find Some nymph to satisfy my longing mind: And as my fair adventure fell, I found A lady all in white, with laurel crown'd, Who clos'd the rear, and softly pac'd along. Repeating to herself the former song. With due respect my body I inclin❜d, As to some being of superior kind, And made my court according to the day, Wishing her queen and her a happy May. Great thanks, my daughter, with a gracious bow, She said; and I, who much desired to know Of whence she was, yet fearful how to break My tnind, adventur'd humbly thus to speak : Madam, might I presume, and not offend, So may the stars and shining moon attend Your nightly sports, as you vouchsafe to tell, What nymphs they were who mortal forms excel, [so well. And what the knights who fought in listed fields To this the dane replied: Fair daughter

know,

That what you saw was all a fairy show:
And all those airy shapes you now behold
Were human bodies once, and cloth'd with
earthly mould,

Our souls, not yet prepar'd for upper light,
Till doomsday wander in the shades of night;
This only holyday of all the year,
We privileg'd in sunshine may appear:
With songs and dance we celebrate the day,
And with due honours usher in the May.
At other times we reign by night alone,
And posting through the skies pursue the moon: