Whether palladian looms before thee spread
Mæonian gold and nice arachne's thread;
Or dancing dryads, and Diana's maids
Thou join, thyself a Dian; and the glades
Of fair Prochytes and thy native place
Behold thee quiver-arm'd pursue the chase;
Or from thy palace of Dicharcus view
The playful gambols of the nereid-crew.
Nor will thy generous soul the attempt refuse
Of an unbidden and a grateful muse.
For future ages shall rejoice to see
Sannazar's verses pay respect to thee.
If but Apollo and his tuneful nine
Shall waft me smoothly o'er the level brine,
Our names and friendship shall survive decay;-
But Dorylas recites, and we must hear his lay.
Herpylis, of the Euboic sisters one,
Had to Sebethos' watery surface gone;
Herpylis, who as Alcon's pupil shone
Alcon to Phoebus and the muses known.
Her sister too concurring in the thought
Of efforts joint, her working-basket brought.
With locks dishevell'd and her left foot bare
She mutters long, and thus accosts the air:
Construct an altar, roscid lymph obtain,
And hoary wormwood cropp'd on yonder plain.
Him, Him, my magic spells shall scorch and tear,
Who drove a wretched damsel to despair,
Revolve thou wheel, my bands pursue your race,
And whirl o spindle with a hurried pace.
My brazen rhomb hæmonian arts shall try,
Dispel the rains and clear the clouded sky;
Such power it hath, and such its wondrous sway,
It draws the quivering fishes forth to day.
Revolve thou wheel, my, bands pursue your race,
And whirl o spindle with a hurried pace.
This flag which from the swelling ocean came
Is dry'd, and then consumed by rapid flame;
So may his punishment false Mæon meet
And burn to cinders with devouring heat.
Revolve thou wheel, my bands pursue your race
And whirl o spindle with a hurried pace.
Thrice, moss and clawless crabs in fire I placed ; And said, by fire let Mæon's bowels waste.
Revolve thou wheel, my bands pursue your race And whirl o spindle with a hurried pace.
With weeping dewy wet this sponge appears;
Oh sea-grown sponge imbibe my copious tears;
And as thy thirsty pores the drops inhale
Mayst thou ungrateful Mæon's breast assail.
Revolve thou wheel, my bands pursue your race
And whirl o spindle with a hurried pace.
The pumice fattens as the waves subside
That toss'd by winds, convey'd it far and wide;
But how can I, oppress'd by poignant grief,
From empty words and moaning, hope relief?
And all the wrongs by graceless Mæon done
Shall I content repay in words alone?
Revolve thou wheel, my bands pursue your race And whirl o spindle with a hurried pace.
Come forth with jagged sting, thou poisonous ray;
And thou who stoppest the sailing vessel's way
Remora, come; let one base Mæon wound,
And one arrest his footsteps o'er the ground.
Revolve thou wheel, my bands pursue your race
And whirl o spindle with a hurried pace.
A black torpedo's spume and liver choose,
And pound and mix the dose with potent juice;
I shall to-morrow send the dread regale;
He'll drink, and instant find his vigour fail.
Revolve thou wheel, my bands pursue your race
And whirl o spindle with a hurried pace.
As skilful Ægle bids, to pieces tear
In eastern seas matured, the slow sea-hare,
And draw his subtle poison forth; then go
And with it daub the threshold of my foe.
The porch besmear'd shall penetrate his nerves,
And cause a torment that his crime deserves.
Desist o wheel, my bands relax your, race
And turn thou spindle with a gentler pace,
For me, to fragments break a halcyon's nest,
The charm is good to lull the waves to rest;
Perhaps it may compose the tumult of my breast.
Stop now my wheel, my bands suspend your race
And rest o spindle from thy weary pace.
Beneath this rock, by Galatea's side
I sat and view'd the landscape spreading wide,
Capræa's isle, the rocks with Siren's names,
Herculean ruins and vesuvian flames.
Above the waves thy head, o Triton, rear,
And let thy sea-green countenance appear.
To Nereus, Triton may my sufferings tell,
And sound my groans upon his crooked shell;
When words of wo will wake wave-wandering whales,
And rocks shall hear them floating on the gales.
Above the waves, thy head, o Triton, rear,
And let thy sea-green countenance appear.
Here, when I first perceived a lover's flame,
At my request fair Galatea came;
She stretch'd her snowy hand, but not to strike;
And look'd me so; I never saw the like.
Above the waves thy head, o Triton, rear,
And let thy sea-green countenance appear.
Come hither quickly, darling care and see
I've quitted fishers, boat and all, for thee.
Above the waves thy head, o Triton, rear,
And let thy sea-green countenance appear.
Here with intent to please my lovely maid,
The aspiring poplar beautifies its shade:
1 oft embrace it; and with passion blind
* Imprint a thousand kisses on its rind.
I trace thy footsteps o'er the yielding sands,
And dress with flowers whatever touch'd thy hands.
Above the waves thy head, o Triton, rear,
And let thy sea-green countenance appear.
Whom likest thou more than me? if verdant trees
And copses neat and browzing goats can please;
All these are mine; I study song; and mark
My endless verses on the beechen bark.
The beech-tree thrives amidst my sculptur'd wounds,
And forests echo with Manalian sounds.
Above the waves thy head, o Triton, rear,
And let thy sea-green countenance appear.
Or, oh my love, if scenes along the shore,
And wealth of ocean shall delight thee more;
Who better skill'd than I the fish to wound,
With barbed tridents? or with nets surround?.
Above the waves thy head, o Triton, rear,
And let thy sea-green countenance appear.
Could dextrous swimming in my favour plead,
I'd beat the dolphin's and the tunny's speed:
But wherefore boast I? scarcely can I count
My hooks' and nets' and lines' profuse amount.
Liguria's rocks and Gallia's shores survey'd
Confess me master of the angler's trade;
Varus and Arar like respect decree;
As do the monsters of the british sea.
Beneath the waves thy head, o Triton hide,
Thy sea-green face conceal below the tide.
And yet thou shunnest me; hard unyielding fair!
And still I live and breathe my native air;
Accept my presents, or no more thou'lt see
Thy faithful Thelgon bend the supple knee.
Go, giddy girl! thy coquetry may gain
Adventures new with many a simple swain.
Beneath the waves thy head, o Triton hide,
Thy sea-green face conceal below the tide.
This is the general opinion at Albany, and is alluded to by dr. Mitchill, in a letter to the reverend dr. Miller, (Collections of the New-York Historical Society, vol. 1.) where he says, "it is reported that the course of the herrings was more especially on the west side of the river." This fish is not of the same species which abounds at particular seasons in the european seas, as dr. Mitchill has satisfactorily shown. The european herring not only differs in its appearance, but in its manners; it never, like ours, deposites its spawn in the waters of fresh rivers. Catesby seems to have given currency to this mistake, in saying, that all the sea and river fish that he observed in Carolina, differ from those in Europe of the same kind, except pikes, eels, and herrings. Kalm, who was well acquainted with this fish, on the other hand asserts, that what are called herrings in New-York, differ greatly from the european herrings. General Lincoln, in a very interesting letter to dr. Belknap, (History of New Hampshire, vol. 3.) has successfully shown, that the river fish never forsake the waters in which they are spawned, unless some unnatural obstructions are thrown in their way; that when obstructed, they do not seek new sources in which they may lodge their spawn, but that they are so strongly allured to the same route, that they annually return to their natural river, pressing constantly for a passage into their mother pond; that the quiet waters of the lake can alone give that nourishment and protection necessary to the existence of the egg, the preservation of which is indispensable if an extinction of the schull is to be prevented. I have no doubt, therefore, but that the mode in which our herrings ascended the river, is truly stated. The Sebastacook which falls into the Kennebec, is supported by numerous streams which abound with the small river fish, such as alewives, &c. and the inhabitants of that country say, that at the time of the running of these fish, they ascend the streams at distinct periods in succession, and that the schulls ne
|