And then a nobler prize I will resign;
For Sylvia, charming Sylvia shall be thine.

DAMON.

Cease to contend, for, Daphnis, I decree, The bowl to Strephon, and the lamb to thee:

91

Blest Swains, whose Nymphs in ev'ry grace excel; Bleft Nymphs, whose Swains those graces fing fo

well!

96

Now rise, and haste to yonder woodbine bow'rs,
A foft retreat from fudden vernal show'rs;

The turf with rural dainties shall be crown'd,
While op'ning blooms diffuse their sweets around.
For fee! the gath'ring flocks to shelter tend,
And from the Pleiads fruitful show'rs descend.

VARIATIONS.

VER. 99. was originally,

ΙΟΙ

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

IMITATIONS.

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

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

P.

VOL. I.

C

SUM

SUMMER.

THE

SECOND PASTORAL,

OR

ALEXIS.

To Dr. GARTH.

A Shepherd's Boy (he feeks

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.
Soft as he mourn'd, the streams forgot to flow, 5
The flocks around a dumb compassion show,

The

VER.3. The Scene of this Pastoral by the river's fide;

fuitable to the heat of the season; the time noon.

VARIATIONS.

P.

VER: 1, 2, 3, 4. were thus printed in the first edition:
A faithful swain, whom Love had taught to fing,
Bewail'd his fate beside a filver spring;
Where gentle Thames his winding waters leads
Thro' verdant forests, 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.

P.

The Naiads wept in ev'ry watry bow'r,
And Jove consented in a filent show'r.

Accept, OGARTH, the Muse's early lays,
That adds this wreath of Ivy to thy Bays;
Hear what from Love unpractis'd hearts endure,
From Love, the fole disease thou canst not curè.

10

15

Ye shady beeches, and ye cooling streams, Defence from Phœbus', not from Cupid's beams, To you I mourn, nor to the deaf I fing, The woods shall answer, and their echo ring. The hills and rocks attend my doleful lay, 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.

Where stray ye Muses, in what lawn or grove, While your Alexis pines in hopeless love? In those fair fields where sacred Isis glides, Or elfe where Cam his winding vales divides?

C2

25

As

VER.9] Dr. Samuel Garth, Author of the Dispensary, 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 fooll onfwer, and their echo ring,]

Is a line out of Spenfer's Epithalamion.

IMITATIONS.

VER. 8. And Jove confented)

P.

Fupiter et læto descendet plurimus imbri. Virg. P.

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

).

Non canimus fardis, refpondent omnia fylva. Virg. P.

VER. 23. Where stray ye Muses, etc.]

Quæ nemora, aut qui vos faltus habuere, puellæ

Nuïdes,

As in the crystal spring I view my face,
Fresh rifing blushes paint the watry glass ;
But fince those graces please thy eyes no more,
I shun 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 shepherd, what avails thy art,
To cure thy lambs, but not to heal thy heart!

30

35

Let other swains 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

Inspir'd when living, and bequeath'd in death;

40He

VER. 39. Colin] The name taken by Spenser in his Eclogues, where his mistress is celebrated under that of Rosalinda. P.

VER. 27.

VARIATIONS.

Oft in the crystal spring I cast a view,
And equal'd Hylas, if the glass be true;
But fince those graces meet my eyes no more,
I shun, etc.

IMITATIONS.

P.

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

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
Fistula, Damætas dono mihi quam dedit olim,
Et dixit moriens, Te nunc habet ista fecundum.

P.

P.

He faid; Alexis, take this pipe, the fame
That taught the groves my Rosalinda's name:
But now the reeds shall hang on yonder tree,
For ever filent since despis'd by thee.

Oh! were I made by some transforming pow'r 45
The captive bird that fings within thy bow'r!
Then might my voice thy list'ning ears employ,
And I those kisses he receives, enjoy.

And yet my numbers please the rural throng,
Rough Satyrs dance, and Pan applauds the song: 50.
The Nymphs, forsaking 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 design,
And in one garland all their beauties join;
Accept the wreath which you deserve alone,
In whom all beauties are compriz'd in one.

55

60

See what delights in sylvan scenes appear! Descending Gods have found Elysium here. In woods bright Venus with Adonis stray'd, And chaste Diana haunts the forest shade. Come, lovely nymph, and bless the filent hours, When swains from sheering seek their nightly

bow'rs;

When weary reapers quit the sultry field,

65

And crown'd with corn their thanks to Ceres yield,

C3

This

IMITATIONS.

VER. 60. Descending Gods have found Elysium bere.] Habitarunt Di quoque sylvas - Virg. Et formofus oves ad flumina pavit Adonis. Idem. P.