Of the coy chorifters that lodge within, Are prodigal of harmony. The thrush And wood-lark, o'er the kind-contending throng Superior heard, run thro' the sweetest length Of notes; when liftening Philomela deigns To let them joy, and purposes, in thought Elate, to make her night excel their day. The blackbird whistles from the thorny brake; The mellow bulfinch anfwers from the grove: Nor are the linnets, o'er the flowering furze Pour'd out profufely, flent. Join'd to thefe, Innumerous fongfters, in the freshing fhade 605 Of new fprung leaves, their modulations mix Mellifluous: the jay, the rook, the daw, And each harth pipe, difcordant heard alone, Aid the full concert, while the stock-dove breathes A melancholy murmur thro' the whole.
'Tis Love creates the melody, and all This waste of music is the voice of Love; That e'n to birds and beafts the tender arts Of pleafing teaches: hence the gloffy kind Try every winning way inventive love Can dictate, and in courtship to their maths Pour forth their little fouls. First, wide around, With diftant awe, in airy rings they rove, Endeav'ring by a thousand tricks to catch The cunning, confcious, half-averted glance Of their regardless charmer. Should the feem Softening, the leaft approvance to bestow, Their colours burnifh, and, by hope infpir'd, They brifk advance; then on a fudden ftruck, Retire diforder'd; then again approach, In fond rotation fpread the fpotted wing, And shiver every feather with defire.
Connubial leagues agreed, to the deep woods They hafte away, all as their fancy leads, Pleasure, or food, or fecret fafety prompts, That Nature's great command may be obey'd; Nor all the fweet fenfations they perceive Indulg'd in vain. Some to the holly hedge Neftling repair, and to the thicket fome; Some to the rude protection of the thorn Commit their feeble offspring: the cleft tree Offers its kind concealment to a few; Their food its infects, and its mofs their nefts: Others apart, far in the graffy dale
As thus the patient dam affiduous fits, Not to be tempted from her tender task, Or by tarp hunger or by fmooth delight, Tho' the whole loofen'd Spring around her blows,
Her fympathizing lover takes his ftand High on th' opponent bank, and ceafelefs fings The tedions time away; or elfe fupplies
Her place a moment, while the fudden flits 665 To pick the fcanty meal. Th' appointed time. With pious toil fulfill'd; the callow young Warm'd and expanded into perfect life, Their brittle bondage break, and come to light; A helpless family, demanding food 670 With conftant clamour. O what paffions then, What melting fentiments of kindly care, On the new parents feize! away they fly Affectionate, and, undefiring, bear The most delicious morfel to their young, Which equally distributed, again The fearch begins, E'en fo a gentle pair, By Fortune funk, but form'd of generous mould, And charm'd with cares beyond the vulgar
O'er the rough mofs, and o'er the tracklefs wafte
The heath-hen, flutters; pious fraud! to lead The hot-purfuing fpaniel far aftray,
Be not the Mufe afham'd here to bemoan Her brothers of the grove, by tyrant man Inhuman caught, and in the narrow cage From liberty confin'd and boundlefs air." Dull are the pretty flaves, their plumage dull, Ragged, and all its bright'ning luftre loft ; Nor is that fprightly wildnefs in their notes. 705 Which, clear and vig'rous, warbles from the beach.
then, ye Friends of love and love-taught fong,
Spare the foft tribes! this barbarous art forbear! It on your bofom Innocence can win, Mufic engage, or Piety perfuade.
But let not chief the nightingale lament Her ruin'd care, too delicately fram'd
To brook the harsh confinement of the cage. Oft' when, returning with her loaded bill, Th' aftonish'd mother finds a vacant neft, By the hard hand of unrelenting clowns Robb'd, to the ground the vain provifion falls, Her pinions ruffie, and, low-drooping, fcarce Can bear the mourner to the poplar fhade, Where, all abandon'd to despair, the fings Her forrows thro' the night, and on the bough Sole fitting, ftill at every dying fall Takes up again her lamentable ftrain Of winding woe, till, wide around, the woods Sigh to her fong, and with her wail refound. But now the feather'd youth their former bounds,
Ardent, difdain, and, weighing oft their wings, Demand the free poffeffion of the fky. This one glad office more, and then diffolves Parental love at once, now needlef's grown. Unlavifh'd Wisdom never works in vain. 'Tis on fome ev'hing, funny, grateful, mild, When nought but balm is breathing thro' the woods,
Graceful, and crows defiance. In the pond The finely checquer'd duck, before her train, Rows garrulous. The fately-failing fwan Gives out his fnowy plumage to the gale, And, arching proud his neck, with oary feet Bears forward fierce, and guards his offer-ifle, Protective of his young. The turkey nigh, Loud threat'ning, reddens; while the peacock fpreads
His every-colour'd glory to the fun, And fwims in radiant majefty along.
O'er the whole homely feene the cooing dove Flies thick in amorous chace, and wanton rolls The glancing eye, and turns the changeful neck. While thus the gentle tenants of the fhade Indulge their purer loves, the rougher world'
Of brutes below rufh furious into flame And fierce defire. Thro' all his lufty veins The bull, deep-scorch'd, the raging paffion feels ; Of patture tick, and negligent of food, 791 Scarce feen, he wades among the yellow broom, While o'er his ample fides the rambling sprays Luxuriant shoot: or thro' the mazy wood Dejected wanders, nor th' enticing bud Crops, tho' it preffes on his carelefs fenfe: And oft', in jealous maddening fancy wrapt, He feeks the fght; and, idly butting, feigns His rival gor'd in every knotty trunk:
Him fhould he meet, the bellowing war begins Their eyes flash fury: to the hollowed earth, 8or Whence the fand flies, they mutter bloody deeds, And, groaning deep, th' impetuous battle mix ; While the fair heifer, balmy-breathing, near, Stands kindl ng up their rage. The trembling fteed,
With this hot impulfe feiz'd in every nerve, 806 Nor heeds the rein, nor bears the founding thong;
Blows are not felt; but toffing high his head, And by the well-known joy to diftant plains Attracted strong, all wild he burfts away; 810 C'er rocks, and woods, and craggy mountains, flies;
Dancing about, ftill at the giddy verge Their refolution fails; their pinions ftill In loose libration ftretch'd, to truft the void Trembling refufe, till down before them fly The parent-guides, and chide, exhort, command, Or puth them o. Tho' furging air receives Its plumy burden, and their self-taught wings Winnow the waving element. On ground Alighted, bolder up again they lead, Farther and farther on, the lengthening flight, 'Till vanish'd every fear, and every power Rous'd into life and action, light in air Th' acquitted parents fee their foaring race, And, once rejoicing, never know them more. High from the fummit of a craggy cliff, Hung o'er the deep, fuch as amazing frowns On utmott Kilda's fhore, whofe lonely race Refign the fetting fun to Indian world, The royal eagle draws his vigorous young, Strong-pounc'd, and ardent with paternal fire: Now fit to raise a kingdom of their He drives them from his fort, the towering feat, For ages, of his empire, which in peace Unftai'd he holds, while many a league to fea He wings his courfe, and preys in diftant ifles. Should I my fteps turn to the rural feat Whofe lofty elms and venerable oaks
And, neighing, on the aërial fummit takes Th' exciting gale; then steep-defcending cleaves The headlong torrents feaming down the hills, E'en where the madnefs of the Rraiten'd ftream Turns in black eddies round: fuch is the force With which bis frantic heart and finews fwell. Nor undelighted by the boundless Spring Are the broad monsters of the foaming deep; From the deep ooze and gelid cavern rous❜d, 820 They flounce and tumble in unwieldy joy. Dire were the train, and diffonant, to fing The cruel raptures of the favage kind: How, by this flame their native wrath fublim'd, They roam, amid the fury of their heart, The far-refounding wafte, in fiercer bands, And grow their horrid loves: but this the theme
I fing, enraptir'd, to the British fair, Forbids, and leads me to the mountain-brow, Where fits the fhepherd on the graffy turf, Inhaling, healthful, the defcending fun: Around him feeds his many-bleating flock,
Loft in eternal broil; ere yet she grew
To this deep-laid indiffoluble state,
The whole creation round. Contentment walks The funny glade, and feels an inward blifs Spring o'er his mind, beyond the power of kings
To purchase. Pure ferenity apace Induces thought, and contemplation ftill:
By fwift degrees the Love of Nature works, And warms the befom, till at laft sublim'd To rapture and enthufiaftic heat,
We feel the prefent Deity, and tafte The joy of God to fee a happy world! Thefe are the facred feelings of thy heart,
Where Wealth and Commerce lift their golden Thy heart, inform'd by Reason's purer ray,
Thefe arts of love diffufes? What, but God? Infpiring God! who, boundlefs Spirit all, And unremitting Energy, pervades, Adjufts, fuftains, and agitates the whole. He ceafelefs works alone, and yet alone Seems not to work; with fuch perfection fram'd Is this complex ftupendous fcheme of things. 855 But tho' conceal'd to every purer eye Th' informing Author in his works appears, Chief, lovely Spring! in thee, and thy foft scenes,
The fmiling God is feen, while water, earth, And air, atteft his bounty, which exalts The brute creation to this finer thought, And annual melts their undefigning hearts Profufely thus in tenderness and joy.
Still let my fong a nobler note affume, And fing th' infufive force of Spring on Man; 865 When heaven and earth, as if contending, vie To raife his being, and ferene his foul. Can he forbear to join the general smile Of Nature? can fierce paffions vex his breast, While every gale is peace, and every grove 870 Is melody? Hence! from the bounteous walks Of flowing Spring, ye fordid Sons of Earth, Hard and unfeeling of another's woe, Or only lavish to yourselves: away!
But come, ye generous Minds! in whofe wide thought,
Of all his works, creative bounty burns With warmest beam, and on your open front And liberal eye fits, from his dark retreat Inviting modeft Want; nor till invok'd
O Lyttleton, the friend! thy paffions thus And meditations vary, as at large,
Courting the Mufe, thro' Hagley-Park thou
Thy British Temple; there along the dale With woods o'erhung, and fhagg'd with moffy rocks,
Whence on each hand the gushing waters play, And down the rough cafcade white-dathing fall, Or gleam in lengthened vifta thro' the trees, 910 You filent fteal; or fit beneath the fhadé Of folemn oaks, that tuft the fwelling mounts, Thrown graceful round by Nature's carelefs hand,
And penfive liften to the various voice
Of rural peace: the herds, the flocks, the birds, The hollow-whispering breeze, the plaint of rills,
That, purling down amid the twisted roots Which creep around, their dewy murmurs fhake On the footh'd ear. From thefe abstracted, oft' You wander thro' the philofophic world, Where in bright train continual wonders rife, Or to the curious or the pious eye. And oft', conducted by hiftoric truth, You tread the long extent of backward time, Planning, with warm benevolence of mind, 925 And honeft zeal, unwarp'd by party-rage, Britannia's weal, how from the venal gulph To raife her virtue, and her arts revive: Or, turning thence thy view, thefe graver thoughts
The Mufes charm, while with fure tafe refin'd, You draw th' infpiring breath of ancient fong, Till nobly rifes, emulous, thy own. Perhaps thy lov'd Lucinda fares thy walk, With foul to thine attun'd: then Nature all Wears to the lover's eye a book of love, And all the tumult of a guilty world, Tofs'd by ungenerous paffions, finks away. The tender heart is animated peace; And as it pours its copious treasures forth In varied converfe, foftening every theme, You, frequent paufing, turn, and from her eyes,
Where meekened fenfe, and amiable grace, And lively fweetnefs dwell, enraptur'd drink That nameless fpirit of ethereal joy; Unutterable happiness! which Love Alone beftows, and on a favour'd few. Mean time you again the height, from whofe fair brow
The burfting profped fpreads immenfe around, And, fnatch'd o'er hill, and dale, and wood, and lawn,
And verdant field, and dark'ning heath between, And villages embofom'd foft in trees, 951 And fpiry towns by furging columns mark'd Of houfehold fmoke, your eye excurfive roams; Wide stretching from the hall, in whofe kind haunt The hofpitable Genius lingers ftill, 955 To where the broken landscape, by degrees Afcending, roughens into rigid hillls, [clouds O'er which the Cambrian mountains, like far That skirt the blue horizon, dusky rise. Flufh'd by the fpirit of the genial year, Now from the virgin's cheek a fresher bloom Shoots, lefs and lefs, the live carnation round: Her lips blush deeper fweets; the breathes youth;
The fining moisture fwells into her eyes In brighter flow ; her withing bofom heaves With palpitations wild; kind tumults feize Her veins, and all her yielding foul is love. From the keen gaze her lover turns away, Full of the dear ecftatic power, and fick With fighing languishment. Ah then, ye Fair! 970 Be greatly cautious of your fliding hearts; Dare not the infectious figh; the pleading look, Downcaft, and low; in meek fubmiffion dreft, But full of guile; let not the fervent tongue, Prompt to deceive, with adulation fimooth, 975 Gain on your purpos'd will: nor in the bower, Where woodbines flaunt, and rofes fhed a couch, While Evening draws her crimson curtains round, Trust your foft minutes with betraying Man.
And let th' afpiring youth beware of love; 980 Of the fmooth glance beware: for 'tis too late, When on his heart the torrent-foftnefs pours : Then wisdom proftrate lies, and fading fame Diffolves in air away : while the fond foul, Wrapt in gay vifions of unreal blifs, Still paints th' illufive form; the kindling grace, Th' enticing fmile, the modeft-feeming eye, Beneath whofe beauteous beams, belying Heaven, Lurk fearchlefs cunning, cruelty, and death: And fitill falfe-warbling in his cheated ear, Her firen voice, enchanting, draws him on To guileful fhores, and meads of fatal joy. E'en prefent, in the very lap of Love Inglorious laid, while mufic flows around, Perfumes, and oils, and wine, and wanton hours, Amid the rofes fierce Repentance rears 996 Her snaky crest: a quick-returning pang Shoots thro' the confcious heart, where honour ftill,
And great defign, against the oppressive load Of luxury, by fits, impatient heave.
But abfent, what fantastic woes arous'd Rage in each thought, by reftiefs muting ted, Chill the warm cheek, and blaft the bloom of life? Neglected Fortune flies, and fliding swift, Prone into ruin fall his fcorn'd affairs. 'Tis nought but gloom around; the darken'd fun Lofes his light; the rofy-bofom'd Spring To weeping, Fancy pines, and you' bright arch, Contracted, bends into a dufky vault. All Nature fades extin&, and he alone
Heard, felt, and feen, poffeffes every thought, Fills every fenfe, and pants in every vein. Books are but formal dulnefs, tedious friends; And fad amid the focial band he fits,
Lonely, and unattentive. From his tongue 1015 Th' unfinish'd period falls: while borne away On fwelling thought his wafted spirit flies To the vain bofom of his diftant fair, And leaves the femblance of a lower fix'd In melancholy fite, with head declin❜d, | And love-dejected eyes. Sudden he ftarts, Shook from his tender trance, and reftlefs runs To gliminering fhades and fympathetic glooms, Where the dun umbrage er the falling ftream, Romantic, hangs; there thro' the penfive dufl Strays, in heart-thrilling meditation loit ; Indulging all to love; or on the bank Thrown, amid drooping lilies, fwells the breeze With fighs unceasing, and the brook with tears. | Thus in foft anguith he confumes the day, Nor quits his deep retirement till the moon Peeps thro' the chambers of the fleecy eaft, Enlightened by degrees, and in her train Leads on the gentle Hours; then forth he walks, Beneath the trembling languish of her beam, 1035 With foftened foul, and woos the bird of eve To mingle woes with his ; or, while the world, And all the fons of Care, lie hufh'd in fleep, Affociates with the midnight shadows drear, And, fighing to the lonely taper, pours His idly-tortur'd heart into the page Meant for the moving meffenger of love, Where rapture burns on rapture, every line With rifing frenzy fir'd: but if on bed Delirious flung, fleep from his pillow flies: 1045 All night he toffes, nor the balmy power In any pofture finds; till the grey Morn Lifts her pale luftre on the paler wretch, Exanimate by love; and then, perhaps,
Thro' forefts huge, and long-untravell'd heaths, With defolation brown, he wanders wafte, 1062 In night and tempest wrapt, or shrinks, agbaft, Back from the bending precipice, or wades The turbid ftream below, and frives to reach The farther fhore, where, fuccourlefs and fad, She with extended arms his aid implores, But ftrives in vain; borne by the outrageous flood To diftance down, he rides the ridgy wave, Or whelm'd beneath the boiling eddy finks. 1070 Thefe are the charming agonies of love, Whofe mifery delights. But thro' the heart Should Jealoufy its venom once diffufe, 'Tis then delightful mifery no more,
But agony unmix'd, inceffant gall, Corroding every thought, and blafting al Love's Paradife. Ye fairy Profpects, then, Ye Beds of Rofes, and ye Bowers of Joy, Farewell! ye Gleamings of departed Peace, Shine out your laft! the yellow-tinging plague Internal vifion taints, and in a night Of livid gloom imagination wraps. Ah, then! inftead of love-enlivened cheeks, Of funny features, and of ardent eyes, With flowing rapture bright, dark looks fucceed, Suffus'd, and glaring with untender fire ; 1086 A clouded afpect, and a burning cheek, Where the whole poifon'd foul malignant fits, And frightens Love away. Ten thousand fears Invented wild, ten thousand frantic views Of horrid rivals, hanging on the charms For which he melts in fondnefs, eat him up With fervent anguish and confuming rage. In vain reproaches lend their idle aid, Deceitful pride, and refolution frail, Giving falfe peace a moment. Fancy pours Afreth her beauties on his busy thought, Her first endearments twining round the foul, With all the witchcraft of enfuaring love. 1099 Straight the fierce ftorm involves his mind anew, Flames thro' the nerves, and boils along the veins,
Can anfwer love, and render blifs fecure. Let him, ungenerous, who, alone intent To blefs himself, from fordid parents buys The loathing virgin, in eternal care, Well-merited, confume his nights and days; Let barbarous nations, whose inhuman love Is wild defire, fierce as the funs they feel; Let eaftern tyrants from the light of heaven Seclude their bofom-flaves, meanly poffefs'd Of a mere lifelefs, violated form, While thofe whom love cements in holy faith And equal tranfport, free as Nature live, Difdaining fear. What is the world to them, Its pomp, its pleasure, and its nonfenfe all! 1135 Who in each other clafp whatever fair
High fancy forms, and lavish hearts càn wish? Something than beauty dearer, fhould they look Or on the mind, or mind-illumin'd face; Truth, goodness, honour, harmony, and love, The richest bounty of indulgent Heaven. Mean time, afmiling offspring rifes round, And mingles both their graces. By degrees The human bloffom blows, and every day, Soft as it rolls along, fhews fome new charm, The father's luftre, and the mother's bloom. 1146 Then infant Reafon grows apace, and calls For the kind hand of an affiduous care. Delightful task to rear the tender thought, To teach the young idea how to shoot, To pour the fresh inftruction o'er the mind, To breathe th' enliv'ning fpirit, and to fix The generous purpofe in the glowing breast. Oh fpeak the joy! ye whom the fudden tear Surprises often, while ye look around, And nothing ftrikes your eye but fights of blife, All-various Nature preffing on the heart: An elegant fufficiency, content, Retirement, rural quiet, friendship, books, Eafe and alternate labour, useful life, Progreffive virtue, and approving Heaven. Thefe are the matchlefs joys of virtuous love, And thus their moments fly. The Seafons thus, As ceafelefs round a jarring world they roll, Still find them happy, and confenting Spring Sheds her own rofy garland on their heads: 1166 Till evening comes at laft, ferene and mild, When, after the long vernal day of life, Enamour'd more, as more remembrance fwells With many a proof of recollected love, Together down they fink in focial sleep; Together freed, their gentle fpirits fly To fcenes where love and blifs immortal reign.
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