When, to confirm his lofty plea,
In nuptial fort, with bridal gold,
The grave Venetian weds the fea :
Each laughing Mufe derides the vow;
Ev'n Adria fcorns the mock embrace,
To fome lone hermit on the mountain's brow,
Allotted, from his natal hour,
With all her myrtle shores in dow'r.
His breast to admiration prone
Enjoys the fmile upon her face,

Enjoys triumphant every grace,
And finds her more his own.

XI.

Fatigu'd with form's oppreffive laws,
When SOMERSET avoids the Great;
When cloy'd with merited applaufe,
She feeks the rural calm retreat ;
Does the not praise each moffy cell,
And feel the truth my numbers tell?
When deafen'd by the loud acclaim,
Which genius grac'd with rank obtains,
Could she not more delighted hear
Yon throftle chaunt the rising year ?
Could she not spurn the wreaths of fame,

To crop the primrose of the plains?
Does she not sweets in each fair valley find,
Loft to the fons of pow'r, unknown to half mankind ?

XII.

Ah can fhe covet there to fee

The splendid slaves, the reptile race,

That oil the tongue, and bow the knee,
That flight her merit, but adore her place ?
Far happier, if aright I deem,

When from gay throngs, and gilded spires,
To where the lonely halcyons play,

Her philofophick step retires :

While ftudious of the moral theme,

She, to some smooth fequefter'd stream
Likens the fwain's inglorious day;

Pleas'd from the flowery margin to furvey,
How cool, ferene, and clear the current glides away.
XIII.

O blind to truth, to virtue blind,

Who flight the fweetly-penfive mind!

On whofe fair birth the Graces mild,

And every Mufe prophetick fmil'd.
Not that the poet's boafted fire

Should Fame's wide-echoing trumpet fwell;

Or, on the mufick of his lyre

Each future age with rapture dwell;

The vaunted sweet of praise remove,

Yet fhall fuch bofoms claim a part

In all that glads the human heart;

Yet these the spirits, form'd to judge and prove

All nature's charms immenfe, and Heav'n's unbounded love.

3

XIV. And

XIV.

And oh! the transport, most ally'd to song,
In fome fair villa's peaceful bound,
To catch foft hints from Nature's tongue,
And bid Arcadia bloom around :
Whether we fringe the floping hill,
Or fmoothe below the verdant mead;
Whether we break the falling rill,
Or thro' meandering mazes lead;
Or in the horrid bramble's room
Bid careless

groups of roses bloom;

Or let fome shelter'd lake ferene

Reflect flow'rs, woods and spires, and brighten all the scene. XV.

O fweet difpofal of the rural hour!

O beauties never known to cloy!

While worth and genius haunt the favour'd bow'r,

And every gentle breast partakes the joy! While Charity at eve surveys the swain, Enabled by these toils to chear

A train of helpless infants dear,

Speed whistling home across the plain;

Sees vagrant Luxury, her hand-maid grown,

For half her graceless deeds attone,

And hails the bounteous work, and ranks it with her own.

XVI.

Why brand thefe pleasures with the name Of foft, unfocial toils, of indolence and shame ? Search but the garden, or the wood,

Let yon admir'd carnation own,

Not all was meant for raiment, or for food,

Not all for needful ufe alone;

There while the seed of future bloffoms dwell,

'Tis colour'd for the fight, perfum'd to please the smell. XVII.

Why knows the nightingale to fing?
Why flows the pine's nectareous juice ?
Why shines with paint the linnet's wing?
For fuftenance alone? for use?

For prefervation? Every sphere
Shall bid fair Pleafure's rightful claim appear.
And fure there feem, of human kind,
Some born to fhun the folemn ftrife;

Some for amufive tasks defign'd,

To foothe the certain ills of life;
Grace it's lone vales with many a budding rose,
New founts of blifs difclofe,

Call forth refreshing shades, and decorate repose.

XVIII.

From plains and woodlands; from the view

Of rural Nature's blooming face,
Smit with the glare of rank and place,

To courts the fons of Fancy flew ;

Ther

There long had Art ordain'd a rival feat;
There had the lavish'd all her care
To form a scene more dazling fair,
And call'd them from their green retreat
To fhare her proud controul;
Had giv❜n the robe with grace to flow,
Had taught exotick gems to flow;
And emulous of nature's pow'r,
Mimick'd the plume, the leaf, the flow'r;
Chang'd the complexion's native hue,
Moulded each ruftick limb anew,

And warp'd the very foul!
XIX.

Awhile her magick ftrikes the novel eye,
Awhile the faery forms delight;

And now aloof we seem to fly

On purple pinions thro' a purer sky,
Where all is wonderous, all is bright:
Now landed on some spangled fhore
Awhile each dazled maniac roves
By faphire lakes, thro' em'rald groves,
Paternal acres please no more;
Adieu the fimple, the fincere delight

Th' habitual scene of hill and dale,
The rural herds, the vernal gale,
The tangled vetch's purple bloom,
The fragrance of the bean's perfume,
Be theirs alone who cultivate the soil,
And drink the cup

of thirst, and eat the bread of toil,

XX. But