AUTUMN:

THE

THIRD PASTORAL,

OR,

HYLAS and ÆGON.

B

To Mr. WY CHERLEY.

Eneath the fhade a fpreading Beech displays,

Hylas and Ægon fung their rural lays;

This mourn'd a faithlefs, that an abfent Love,
And Delia's name and Doris' fill'd the Grove.

Ye Mantuan nymphs, your facred fuccour bring; 5
Hylas and gon's rural lays I fing.

Thou, whom the Nine, with Plautus' wit infpire The art of Terence, and Menander's fire;

REMARKS.

This Paftoral confifts of two parts, like the viiith of Virgil: The Scene, a Hill; the Time at Sun-fet.

P.

VER. 7. Thou, whom the Nine,] Mr. Wycherley, a famous author of Comedies; of which the most celebrated were the Plain-Dealer and Country-Wife. He was a writer of infinite fpirit, fatire, and wit. The only objection made to him was that he had too much. However, he was followed in the fame way by Mr. Congreve; tho' with a little more correctness.

P.

VER. 8. The art of Terence, and Menander's fire ;] This

Whofe fenfe inftructs us, and whofe humour charms,
Whofe judgment fways us, and whose spirit warms!
Oh, skill'd in Nature! fee the hearts of Swains,

Their artless paffions, and their tender pains.
Now fetting Phoebus fhone ferenely bright,
And fleecy clouds were ftreak'd with purple light;
When tuneful Hylas with melodious moan,

II

15

Taught rocks to weep and made the mountains groan.
Go, gentle gales, and bear my fighs away!
To Delia's ear the tender notes convey.

As fome fad Turtle his loft love deplores,

And with deep murmurs fills the founding fhores; 20
Thus, far from Delia, to the winds I mourn,
Alike unheard, unpity'd, and forlorn.

REMARKS.

line alludes to that famous character given of Terence, by Cæfar:

Tu quoque, tu in fummis, é dimidiate Menander,
Poneris, et merito, puri fermonis amator :

Lenibus atque utinam fcriptis adjuncta foret vis
Comica.

So that the judicious critic fees he should have faid-with Menander's fire. For what the Poet meant, was, that his friend had join'd to Terence's art, what Cæfar thought wanting in Terence, namely the vis comica of Menander. Befides,-and Menander's fire, is making that the Characteriftic of Menander which was not. He was diftinguished for having art and comic spirit in conjunction, and Terence having only the firft part, is called the half of Menander.

VER. 9. Whofe fenfe inftructs us,] He was always very careful in his encomiums not to fall into ridicule, the trap which weak and proftitute flatterers rarely escape. For, fenfe, he would willingly have said, moral; propriety required it. But this dramatic poet's moral was remarkably faulty. His plays are all fhamefully profligate both in the Dialogue and Action.

Go, gentle gales, and bear my fighs along!
For her, the feather'd quires neglect their fong:-
For her, the limes their pleafing fhades deny;

For her the lilies hang their heads and die.
Ye flow'rs that droop, forfaken by the spring,
Ye birds that, left by fummer, cease to fing,
Ye trees that fade when autumn-heats remove,
Say, is not abfence death to those who love?
Go gentle gales, and bear my fighs away!
Curs'd be the fields that cause my Delia's ftay;
Fade ev'ry bloffom, wither ev'ry tree,

25

30

Die ev'ry flow'r, and perifh all, but fhe.

What have I faid? where'er my Delia flies,
Let fpring attend, and fudden flow'rs arife;
Let op'ning rofes knotted oaks adorn,
And liquid amber drop from ev'ry thorn.

Go, gentle gales, and bear my fighs along!

35

The birds fhall cease to tune their ev'ning fong, 40
The winds to breathe, the waving woods to move,
And streams to murmur, e'er I cease to love.
Not bubbling fountains to the thirsty swain,
Not balmy fleep to lab'rers faint with pain,
Not fhow'rs to larks, or fun-fhine to the bee,
Are half fo charming as thy fight to me.

VER. 37.

IMITATIONS.

Aurea dura

Mala ferant quercus; narciffo floreat alnus,
Pinguia corticibus fudent electra myricæ.

VER. 43. etc.]

45

Virg. Ecl. viii. P.

Quale fopor feffis in gramine, quale per æftum

Dulcis aquæ faliente fitim reftinguere rivo. Ecl. v. P、

50

Go, gentle gales, and bear my fighs away! Come, Delia, come; ah, why this long delay ? Thro' rocks and caves the name of Delia founds, Delia, each cave and echoing rock rebounds. Ye pow'rs, what pleafing phrenzy fooths my mind! Do lovers dream, or is my Delia kind? She comes, my Delia comes!-Now ceafe my lay, And cease, ye gales, to bear my fighs away!

Next Ægon fung, while Windfor groves admir'd; Rehearse, ye Mufes, what yourselves inspir❜d. Refound, ye hills, refound my mournful strain ! Of perjur❜d Doris, dying I complain :

Here where the mountains, lefs'ning as they rife,
Lofe the low vales, and fteal into the skies;
While lab'ring oxen, spent with toil and heat,
In their loose traces from the field retreat :
While curling fmoaks from village-tops are seen,
And the fleet shades glide o'er the dusky green.

56

60

Refound, ye hills, refound my mournful lay! 65 Beneath yon' poplar oft we paft the day: Oft' on the rind I carv'd her am'rous vows, While fhe with garlands hung the bending boughs;

VARIATIONS.
VER. 48. Originally thus in the MS,

With him thro' Libya's burning plains I'll go,
On Alpine mountains tread th' eternal fnow;
Yet feel no heat but what our loves impart,
And dread no coldness but in Thyrfis' heart.

IMITATIONS.

VER. 52. An qui amant, ipfi fibi fomnia fingunt ?

Id. viii. P.

The garlands fade, the vows are worn away;
So dies her love, and fo my hopes decay.

70

75

Refound, ye hills, refound my mournful strain ! Now bright Arcturus glads the teeming grain, Now golden fruits on loaded branches fhine, And grateful clusters fwell with floods of wine; Now blufhing berries paint the yellow grove; Juft Gods! fhall all things yield returns but love? Refound, ye hills, refound my mournful lay! The fhepherd's cry, "Thy flocks are left a preyAh! what avails it me, the flocks to keep, Who loft my heart while I preferv'd my sheep. Pan came, and afk'd, what magic caus'd my smart, Or what ill eyes malignant glances dart ? What eyes but hers, alas, have pow'r to move! And is there magic but what dwells in love!

80

84

Refound, ye hills, refound my mournful strains! I'll fly from fhepherds, flocks, and flow'ry plains. From fhepherds, flocks, and plains, I may remove, Forfake mankind, and all the world—but love! I know thee, Love! on foreign mountains bred, Wolves gave thee fuck, and favage tigers fed.

REMARK S.

90

VER. 74. And grateful clusters, etc.] The scene in Windfor foreft; fo this image not fo exact.

IMITATIONS.

VER. 82. Or what ill eyes]

Nefcio quis teneros oculus mihi fascinat agnos. P. VER. 89. Nunc fcio quid fit Amor: duris in cotibus illum, etc. P.