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And then a nobler prize I will resign;

For Sylvia, charming Sylvia, fhall be thine.

DAMON.

Ceafe to contend; for, Daphnis, I decree, The bowl to Strephon, and the lamb to thee. Bleft Swains, whofe Nymphs in every grace excell; 95 Bleft Nymphs, whofe Swains those graces fing so well! Now rife, and haste to yonder woodbine bowers, A foft retreat from fudden vernal showers; The turf with rural dainties fhall be crown'd, While opening blooms diffuse their sweets around. For fee! the gathering flocks to shelter tend, And from the Pleiads fruitful showers defcend.

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

100

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A Shepherd's Boy (he feeks no better name)

Led forth his flocks along the filver Thame,
Where dancing fun-beams on the waters play'd,
And verdant alders form'd a quivering shade.
Soft as he mourn'd, the ftreams forgot to flow,
The flocks around a dumb compassion show,
The Naiads wept in every watery bower,
And Jove confented in a filent shower.
Accept, O Garth, the Mufe's early lays,
That adds this wreath of ivy to thy bays;

VARIATIONS.

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 befide a filver fpring;
Where gentle Thames his winding waters leads
Thro' verdant forefts, and thro' flowery 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.

ΤΟ

Hear

:

Hear what from Love unpractis'd hearts endure,
From Love, the fole disease thou canst not cure.

Ye fhady beeches, and ye cooling ftreams,
Defence from Phœbus', not from Cupid's beams,
To you I mourn, nor to the deaf I fing,
The woods fhall 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.
The fultry Sirius burns the thirsty plains,
While in thy heart eternal winter reigns.
Where ftray ye, Muses, in what lawn or grove,
While your Alexis pines in hopeless love?
In those fair fields where facred Ifis glides,
Or elfe where Cam his winding vales divides?
As in the crystal spring I view my face,
Fresh rising blushes paint the watery glass;
But fince thofe graces please thy eyes no more,
I fhun the fountains which I fought before.
Once I was skill'd in every herb that grew,
And every plant that drinks the morning dew;
Ah, wretched fhepherd, what avails thy art,
To cure thy lambs, but not to heal thy heart!

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Ver. 27.

VARIATIONS.

Oft in the crystal spring I caft a view,
And equal'd Hylas, if the glafs be true;
But fince thofe graces meet my eyes no more,
I fhun, &c.

Let

Let other fwains attend the rural care,

Feed fairer flocks, or richer fleeces fheer:
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
Infpir'd when living, and bequeath'd in death:
He faid; Alexis, take this pipe, the fame
That taught the groves my Rofalinda's name :
But now the reeds fhall hang on yonder tree,
For ever filent, fince defpis'd by thee.

O! were I made by fome transforming power
The captive bird that fings within thy bower!
Then might my voice thy liftening ears employ,
And I thofe kiffes he receives enjoy.

35

40

45

And yet my numbers please the rural throng, Rough Satyrs dance, and Pan applauds the song: 50 The Nymphs, forfaking every cave and spring, Their early fruit and milk-white turtles bring! Each amorous nymph prefers her gifts in vain, On you their gifts are all bestow'd again,

For

you the fwains the fairest flowers 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.

See what delights in fylvan fcenes appear! Defcending Gods have found Elyfium here. In woods bright Venus with Adonis ftray'd, And chafte Diana haunts the forest shade.

55

Come, lovely nymph, and bless the filent hours,
When fwains from theering feek their nightly bowers;

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60

When

When weary reapers quit the fultry field,

And crown'd with corn their thanks to Ceres yield.
This harmless grove no lurking viper hides,
But in my breast the ferpent Love abides.
Here bees from bloffoms fip the rofy dew,
But your Alexis knows no fweets but you.
Oh deign to visit our forfaken feats,

65

70

80

The moffy fountains, and the green retreats !
Where'er you walk, cool gales shall fan the glade,
Trees, where you fit, fhall croud into a fhade:
Where'er you tread, the blushing flowers fhall rise, 75
And all things flourish where you turn your eyes.
Oh! how I long with you to pass my days,
Invoke the Muses, and refound your praise!
Your praise the birds shall chant in every grove,
And winds fhall waft it to the powers above.
But would you fing, and rival Orpheus' strain,
The wondering forests foon should dance again,
The moving mountains hear the powerful call,
And headlong ftreams hang listening in their fall!
But fee, the shepherds fhun the noon-day heat,
The lowing herds to murmuring brooks retreat,
To closer shades the panting flocks remove;
Ye gods! and is there no relief for Love?

85

Ver. 79, 80.

VARIATION.

But

Your praife the tuneful birds to heaven shall bear, And listening wolves grow milder as they hear. So the verses were originally written: But the author, young as he was, foon found the abfurdity, which Spenfer himself overlooked, of introducing wolves into Eng

land.

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