[The Seasons:] SPRING.

[ The Seasons : ] SPRING . COME , gentle SPRING , AETHEREAL MILDNESS , come , And from the bosom of yon dropping cloud , While music wakes around , veil'd in a shower Of shadowing roses , on our plains descend . O HERTFORD , fitted , or to shine in courts , With unaffected grace ; or walk the plain , With INNOCENCE and MEDITATION join'd In soft assemblage , listen to my song , That thy own Season paints ; when NATURE all Is blooming , and benevolent like thee . AND see where surly WINTER passes off , Far to the north , and calls his ruffian blasts ; His blasts obey , and quit the howling hill , The shatter'd forest , and the ravag'd vale : While softer gales succeed , at whose kind touch , Dissolving snows in livid torrents lost , The mountains lift their green heads to the sky . As yet the trembling year is unconfirm'd , And WINTER oft at eve resumes the breeze , Chills the pale morn , and bids his driving sleets Deform the day delightless ; so that scarce The Bittern knows the time , with bill ingulpht To shake the sounding marsh ; or from the shore The Plovers theirs , to scatter o'er the heath , And sing their wild notes to the listening waste . AT last from ARIES rolls the bounteous sun , And the bright BULL receives him . Then no more Th' expansive atmosphere is cramp'd with cold , But full of life , and vivifying soul , Lifts the light clouds sublime , and spreads them thin , Fleecy , and white , o'er all-surrounding heaven . FORTH fly the tepid airs ; and unconfin'd Unbinding earth , the moving softness strays . Joyous th' impatient husbandman perceives Relenting nature , and his lusty steers , Drives from their stalls , to where the well-us'd plow Lies in the furrow loosen'd from the frost . There , unrefusing to the harness'd yoke , They lend their shoulder , and begin their toil , Chear'd by the simple song , and soaring lark . Meanwhile incumbent o'er the shining share The master leans , removes th' obstructing clay , Winds the whole work , and sidelong lays the glebe . WHITE thro' the neighbouring fields the sower stalks With measur'd step , and liberal throws the grain Into the faithful bosom of the Ground . The harrow follows harsh , and shuts the scene . BE gracious , HEAVEN ! for now laborious man Has done his due . Ye fostering breezes , blow ! Ye softening dews , ye tender showers , descend ! And temper all , thou world-reviving sun , Into the perfect year ! Nor , ye who live In luxury and ease , in pomp and pride , Think these lost themes unworthy of your ear . 'Twas such as these the rural MARO sung , To the full ROMAN court , in all its height Of elegance and taste . The sacred plow Employ'd the kings and fathers of mankind , In antient times . And some , with whom compar'd You're but the beings of a summer's day , Have held the scale of justice , shook the lance Of mighty war , then with descending hand , Unus'd to little delicacies , seiz'd The plow , and greatly independant liv'd . YE generous BRITONS , cultivate the plow ! And o'er your hills , and long withdrawing vales , Let AUTUMN spread his treasures to the sun , Luxuriant , and unbounded . As the sea , Far thro' his azure , turbulent extent , Your empire owns , and from a thousand shores Wafts all the pomp of life into your ports ; So with superior boon may your rich soil , Exuberant , nature's better blessings pour O'er every land , the naked nations cloath , And be th' exhaustless granary of a world . NOR thro' the lenient air alone , this change Delicious breathes ; the penetrative sun , His force deep darting to the dark retreat Of vegetation , sets the steaming power At large , to wander o'er the verdant earth , In various hues , but chiefly thee , gay GREEN ! Thou smiling NATURE's universal robe ! United light and shade ! where the sight dwells With growing strength , and ever-new delight ! FROM the moist meadow to the brown-brow'd hill , Led by the breeze , the vivid verdure runs , And swells , and deepens to the cherish'd eye . The hawthorn whitens ; and the juicy groves Put forth their buds , unfolding by degrees , Till the whole leafy forest stands display'd , In full luxuriance , to the sighing gales ; While the deer rustle thro' the twining brake , And the birds sing conceal'd . At once array'd In all the colours of the flushing year , By NATURE's swift and secret-working hand , The garden glows , and fills the liberal air With lavish fragrance ; while the promis'd fruit Lies yet a little embryo , unperceiv'd , Within its crimson folds . Now from the town Buried in smoke , and sleep , and noisom damps , Oft let me wander o'er the dewy fields , Where freshness breathes , and dash the lucid drops From the bent bush , as thro' the fuming maze Of sweet-briar hedges I pursue my walk ; Or taste the smell of dairy ; or ascend Some eminence , AUGUSTA , in thy plains , And see the country far diffus'd around One boundless blush , one white empurpled shower Of mingled blossoms ; where the raptur'd eye Travels from joy to joy , and hid beneath The fair profusion , yellow AUTUMN spies . IF brush'd from RUSSIAN wilds a cutting gale Rise not , and scatter from his foggy wings The bitter mildew , or dry-blowing breathe Untimely frost ; before whose baleful blast , The full-blown SPRING thro' all her foliage shrinks , Into a smutty , wide-dejected waste . For oft engender'd by the hazy north , Myriads on Myriads , insect armies waft Keen in the poison'd breeze ; and wasteful eat Thro' buds , and bark , into the blacken'd Core , Their eager way . A feeble race ! scarce seen , Save by the prying eye ? yet famine waits On their corrosive course , and kills the year . Sometimes o'er cities as they steer their flight , Where rising vapour melts their wings away , Gaz'd by th' astonish'd crowd , the horrid shower Descends . And hence the skilful farmer chaff . And blazing straw before his orchard burns ; Till , all involv'd in smoke , the latent foe From every cranny suffocated falls ; Or onions , steaming hot , beneath his trees Exposes , fatal to the frosty tribe : Nor , from their friendly task , the busy bill Of little trooping birds instinctive scares . THESE are not idle philosophick dreams , Full NATURE swarms with life . Th' unfaithful fen In putrid steams emits the livid cloud Of Pestilence . Thro' subterranean Cells , Where searching sun-beams never found a way , Earth animated heaves . The flowery leaf Wants not its soft inhabitants . The stone , Hard as it is , in every winding pore Holds multitudes . But chief the forest-boughs , Which dance unnumber'd to th' inspiring breeze , The downy orchard , and the melting pulp Of mellow fruit the nameless nations feed Of evanescent Insects . Where the pool Stands mantled o'er with green , invisible , Amid the floating verdure millions stray . Each liquid too , whether of acid taste , Potent , or mild , with various forms abounds . Nor is the lucid stream , nor the pure air , Tho' one transparent vacancy they seem , Devoid of theirs . Even animals subsist On animals , in infinite descent ; And all so fine adjusted , that the loss Of the least species would disturb the whole . Stranger than this th' inspective glass confirms And to the curious gives th' amazing scenes Of lessening life ; by WISDOM kindly hid From eye , and ear of man : for if at once The worlds in worlds enclos'd were push'd to light , Seen by his sharpen'd eye , and by his ear Intensely bended heard , from the choice cate , The freshest viands , and the brightest wines , He'd turn abhorrent , and in dead of night , When silence sleeps o'er all , be stun'd with noise . THE North-east spends his rage , and now shut up Within his iron caves , th' effusive South Warms the wide air , and o'er the void of heaven Breaths the big clouds with vernal showers distent . At first a dusky wreath they seem to rise , Scarce staining aether ; but by fast degrees , In heaps on heaps , the doubling vapour sails Along the loaded sky , and mingling thick Sits on th' horizon round a settled gloom . Not such as wintry storms on mortals shed , Oppressing life , but lovely , gentle , kind , And full of every hope , and every joy , The wish of nature . Gradual sinks the breeze Into a perfect calm ; that not a breath Is heard to quiver thro' the closing woods , Or rustling turn the many-twinkling leaves Of aspin tall . Th' uncurling floods , diffus'd In glassy breadth , seem thro' delusive lapse Forgetful of their course . 'Tis silence all , And pleasing expectation . Herds and flocks Drop the dry sprig , and mute-imploring eye The falling verdure . Hush'd in short suspense , The plumy people streak their wings with oil , And wait th' approaching sign to strike at once Into the general choir . Even mountains , vales , And forests seem , expansive , to demand The promis'd sweetness . Man superior walks Amid the glad creation , musing praise , And looking lively gratitude . At last The clouds consign their treasures to the fields , And , softly shaking on the dimply pool Prelusive drops , let all their moisture flow , In large effusion o'er the freshen'd world , 'Tis scarce to patter heard , the stealing shower , By such as wander thro' the forest-walks , Beneath th' umbrageous multitude of leaves . But who can hold the shade , while HEAVEN descends In universal bounty , shedding herbs , And fruits , and flowers , on NATURE's ample lap ? Imagination fir'd prevents their growth , And while the verdant nutriment distills , Beholds the kindling country colour round . THUS all day long the full-distended clouds Indulge their genial stores , and well-shower'd earth Is deep enrich'd with vegetable life ; Till , in the western-sky , the downward sun Looks out illustrious from amidst the flush Of broken clouds , gay-shifting to his beam . The rapid radiance instantaneous strikes Th' illumin'd mountain thro' the forest streams , Shakes on the floods , and in a yellow mist , Far smoaking o'er th' interminable plain , In twinkling myriads lights the dewy gems . Moist , bright , and green , the landskip laughs around . Full swell the woods ; their every musick wakes , Mix'd in wild consort with the warbling brooks Increas'd , th'unnumber'd bleatings of the hills , The hollow lows responsive from the vales , Whence blending all the sweeten'd zephyr springs . Mean time refracted from yon eastern cloud , Bestriding earth , the grand aethereal bow Shoots up immense ! and every hue unfolds , In fair proportion running from the red , To where the violet fades into the sky . Here , mighty NEWTON , the dissolving clouds Are , as they scatter round , thy numerous prism , Untwisting to the philosophic eye The various twine of light , by thee pursu'd Thro' the white mingling maze . Not so the swain , He wondering views the bright enchantment bend , Delightful , o'er the radiant fields , and runs To catch the falling glory ; but amaz'd Beholds th' amusive arch before him fly , Then vanish quite away . Still night succeeds , A soften'd shade , and saturated earth Awaits the morning beam , to give again , Transmuted soon by Nature's chymistry , The blooming blessings of the former day . THEN spring the living herbs , profusely wild , O'er all the deep-green earth , beyond the power Of BOTANIST to number up their tribes ; Whether he steals along the lonely dale In silent search ; or thro' the forest , rank With what the dull incurious weeds account , Bursts his blind way ; or climbs the mountain rock , Fir'd by the nodding verdure of its brow . With such a liberal hand has NATURE flung Their seeds abroad , blown them about in winds , Innumerous mix'd them with the nursing mold , The moistening current , and prolific rain . BUT who their virtues can declare ? Who pierce With vision pure into these secret stores Of life , and health , and joy ? The food of man While yet he liv'd in innocence , and told A length of golden years , unflesh'd in blood , A stranger to the savage arts of life , Death , rapine , carnage , surfeit , and disease , The lord , and not the tyrant of the world . THEN the glad morning wak'd the gladden'd race Of uncorrupted men , nor blush'd to see The sluggard sleep beneath her sacred beam . For their light slumbers gently fum'd away , And up they rose as vigorous as the sun , Or to the culture of the willing glebe , Or to the chearful tendance of the flock . Mean time the song went round ; and dance , and sport , Wisdom ; and friendly talk successive stole Their hours away . While in the rosy vale Love breath'd his infant sighs , from anguish free , Replete with bliss , and only wept for joy . Nor yet injurious act , nor surly deed Was known among these happy sons of heaven ; For reason and benevolence were law . Harmonious nature too look'd smiling on . Clean shone the skies , cool'd with eternal gales , And balmy spirit all . The youthful sun Shot his best rays ; and still the gracious clouds Drop'd fatness down ; as o'er the swelling mead The herds and flocks commixing play'd secure . Which when , emergent from the gloomy wood , The glaring lion saw , his horrid heart Was meeken'd , and he join'd his sullen joy . For musick held the whole in perfect peace : Soft sigh'd the flute ; the tender voice was heard , Warbling the joyous heart ; the woodlands round Apply'd their quire ; and winds and waters flow'd In consonance . Such were these prime of days . THIS to the POETS gave the golden age ; When , as they sung in elevated phrase , The sailor-pine had not the nations yet In commerce mix'd ; for every country teem'd With every thing . Spontaneous harvests wav'd , Still in a sea of yellow plenty round . The forest was the vineyard , where untaught To climb , unprun'd and wild , the juicy grape Burst into floods of wine . The knotted oak Shook from his boughs the long transparent streams Of honey , creeping thro' the matted grass , Th' uncultivated thorn a ruddy shower Of fruitage shed , on such as sat below , In blooming ease , and from brown labour free , Save what the copious gathering , grateful gave . The Rivers foam'd with nectar ; or diffuse , Silent , and soft , the milky maze devolv'd . Nor had the spongy , full-expanded fleece , Yet drunk the TYRIAN dye . The stately ram Shone thro' the mead , in native purple clad , Or milder saffron ; and the dancing lamb The vivid crimson to the sun disclos'd . Nothing had power to hurt the savage soul , Yet untransfus'd into the tyger's heart , Burn'd not his bowels , nor his gamesome paw Drove on the fleecy partners of his play : While from the flowery brake the serpent roll'd His fairer spires , and play'd his pointless tongue . BUT now whate'er these gaudy fables meant , And the white minutes which they shadow'd out , Are found no more amid those iron times , Those dregs of life ! in which the human mind Has lost that harmony ineffable , Which warms the soul of happiness ; and all Is off the poise within ; the passions all Have burst their bounds ; and reason half extinct , Or impotent , or else approving , sees The foul disorder . Anger storms at large , Without an equal cause ; and fell revenge Supports the falling rage . Close envy bites With venom'd tooth ; while weak , unmanly fear , Full of frail fancies , loosens every power . Even love itself is bitterness of soul , A pleasing anguish pining at the heart . Hope sickens with extravagance ; and grief , Of life impatient , into madness swells ; Or in dead silence wastes the weeping hours . These , and a thousand mix'd emotions more , From ever-changing views of good and ill , Form'd infinitely various , vex the mind With endless storm . Whence , inly-rankling , grows The selfish thought , a listless inconcern , Cold , and averting from our neighbour's good ; Then dark disgust , and malice , winding wiles , Sneaking deceit , and coward villany : At last deep-rooted hatred , lewd reproach , Convulsive wrath , and thoughtless fury , quick To deeds of vilest aim . Even nature's self Is deem'd , vindictive , to have chang'd her course . HENCE in old time , they say , a deluge came ; When the disparting orb of earth , that arch'd Th' imprison'd deep around , impetuous rush'd , With ruin inconceivable , at once Into the gulph , and o'er the highest hills Wide-dash'd the waves , in undulation vast : 'Till , from the centre to the streaming clouds , A shoreless ocean tumbled round the globe . THE SEASONS since , as hoar TRADITION tells , Have kept their constant chase ; the WINTER keen Pour'd out his waste of snows ; and SUMMER shot His pestilential heats ; great SPRING before Green'd all the year ; and fruits and blossoms blush'd In social sweetness on the self-same bough . Clear was the temperate air ; an even calm Perpetual reign'd , save what the zephyrs bland Breath'd o'er the blue expanse ; for then nor storms Were taught to blow , nor hurricanes to rage ; Sound slept the waters : no sulphureous glooms Swell'd in the sky , and sent the lightning forth : While sickly damps , and cold autumnal fogs , Sat not pernicious on the springs of life . But now , from clear to cloudy , moist to dry , And hot to cold , in restless change revolv'd , Our drooping days are dwindled down to nought , The fleeting shadow of a winter's sun . AND yet the wholesome herb neglected dies In lone obscurity , unpriz'd for food ; Altho' the pure , exhilerating soul Of nutriment , and health , salubrious breathes , By HEAVEN infus'd , along its secret tubes . For , with hot ravine fir'd , ensanguin'd man Is now become the lion of the plain , And worse . The wolf , who from the nightly fold Fierce-drags the bleating prey , ne'er drunk her milk , Nor wore her warming fleece : nor has the steer , At whose strong chest the deadly tyger hangs , E'er plow'd for him . They too are temper'd high , With hunger stung , and wild necessity , Nor lodges pity in their shaggy breasts . But MAN , whom NATURE form'd of milder clay , With every kind emotion in his heart , And taught alone to weep ; while from her lap She pours ten thousand delicacies , herbs , And fruits , as numerous as the drops of rain , And beams that gave them birth : shall he , fair form ! Who wears sweet smiles , and looks erect on heaven , E'er stoop to mingle with the prowling herd , And dip his tongue in blood ? The beast of prey , 'Tis true , deserves the fate in which he deals . Him , from the thicket , let the hardy youth Provoke , and foaming thro' the awakened woods With every nerve pursue . But you , ye flocks , What have ye done ? Ye peaceful people , what , To merit death ? You , who have given us milk In luscious streams , and lent us your own coat Against the winter's cold ? Whose usefulness In living only lies ? And the plain ox , That harmless , honest , guileless animal , In what has he offended ? He , whose toil , Patient and ever-ready ; clothes the land With all the pomp of harvest ; shall he bleed , And wrestling groan beneath the cruel hands Even of the clowns he feeds ? And that perhaps To swell the riot of the gathering feast , Won by his labour ? Thus the feeling heart Would tenderly suggest : but 'tis enough , In this late age , adventurous to have touch'd , Light on the numbers of the SAMIAN sage . High HEAVEN beside forbids the daring strain , Whose wisest will has fix'd us in a state , That must not yet to pure perfection rise . BUT yonder breathing prospect bids the muse Throw all her beauty forth , that daubing all Will be to what I gaze ; for who can paint Like NATURE ? Can IMAGINATION boast , Amid his gay creation , hues like hers ? And can he mix them with that matchless skill , And lay them on so delicately fine , And lose them in each other , as appears In every bud that blows ? If fancy then Unequal fails beneath the lovely task ; Ah what shall language do ? Ah where find words Ting'd with so many colours ? And whose power To life approaching , may perfume my lays With that fine oil , these aromatic gales , Which inexhaustive flow continual round ? YET , tho' successless , will the toil delight . Come then , ye virgins , and ye youths , whose hearts Have felt the raptures of refining love ; Oh come , and while the rosy-footed MAY Steals blushing on , together let us walk The morning dews , and gather in their prime Fresh-blooming flowers , to deck the braided hair , And the white bosom that improves their sweets . SEE , where the winding vale her lavish stores , Irriguous , spreads . See , how the lilly drinks The latent rill , scarce oozing thro' the grass Of growth luxuriant ; or the humid bank Profusely climbs . Turgent , in every pore The gummy moisture shines ; new lustre lends , And feeds the spirit that diffusive round Refreshes ail the dale . Long let us walk , Where the breeze blows from yon extended field Of blossom'd beans : ARABIA cannot boast A fuller gale of joy than , liberal , thence Breathes thro' the sense , and takes the ravish'd soul . Nor is the meadow worthless of our foot , Full of fresh verdure , and unnumber'd flowers , The negligence of NATURE , wide , and wild ; Where undisguis'd by mimic ART , she spreads Unbounded beauty to the boundless eye . 'Tis here that their delicious task the bees , In swarming millions , tend . Around , athwart , This way , and that , the busy nations fly , Cling to the bud , and with inserted tube , Its soul , its sweetness , and its manna suck . The little chymist thus , all-moving HEAVEN Has taught : and oft , of bolder wing , he dares The purple heath , or where the wild-thyme grows , And yellow loads him with the luscious spoil . AT length the finish'd garden to the view Its vistas opens , and its alleys green . Snatch'd thro' the verdant maze , the hurried eye Distracted wanders ; now the bowery walk Of covert close , where scarce a speck of day Falls on the lengthen'd gloom , protracted darts ; Now meets the bending sky , the river now Dimpling along , the breezy-ruffled lake , The forest running round , the rising spire , Th' aethereal mountain , and the distant main . But why so far excursive ? when at hand , Along the blushing borders , dewy-bright , And in yon mingled wilderness of flowers , Fair-handed SPRING unbosoms every grace ; Throws out the snow-drop , and the crocus first , The daily , primrose , violet darkly blue , Dew-bending cowslips , and of nameless dyes Anemonies , auriculas a tribe Peculiar powder'd with a shining sand , Renunculas , and iris many-hued . Then comes the tulip-race , where beauty plays Her gayest freaks : from family diffus'd To family , as flies the father-dust , The varied colours run ; and while they BREAK On the charm'd FLORIST's eye , he curious stands , And new-flush'd glories all ecstatic marks . Nor hyacinths are wanting , nor junquils Of potent fragrance , nor narcissus white , Nor stripe'd carnations , nor enamell'd pinks , And shower'd from every bush the damask-rose . Infinite numbers , delicacies , smells , With hues on hues expression cannot paint , The breath of NATURE , and her endless bloom . HAIL , MIGHTY BEING ! UNIVERSAL SOUL Of heaven and earth ! ESSENTIAL PRESENCE , hail ! To THEE I bend the knee ; to THEE my thoughts Continual climb ; who , with a master-hand , Hast the great whole into perfection touch'd . By THEE , the various vegetative tribes , Wrapt in a filmy net , and clad with leaves , Draw the live aether , and imbibe the dew . By THEE dispos'd into congenial soils , Stands each attractive plant , and sucks , and swells The juicy tide ; a twining mass of tubes . At THY command , the vernal sun awakes The torpid sap , detruded to the root By wintry winds , that now , in fluent dance , And lively fermentation , mounting , spreads All this innumerous-colour'd scene of things . ASCENDING from the vegetable world To higher life , with equal wing ascend , My panting Muse ; and hark , how loud the woods Invite you forth in all your gayest trim . Lend me your song , ye nightingales ! oh pour The mazy-running soul of melody Into my varied verse ! while I deduce , From the first note the hollow cuckoo sings , The symphony of SPRING , and touch a theme Unknown to fame , THE PASSION OF THE GROVES . JUST as the spirit of love is sent abroad , Warm thro' the vital air , and on their hearts Harmonious seizes , the gay troops begin , In gallant thought , to plume the painted wing ; And try again the long-forgotten strain , At first faint-warbled . But no sooner grows The soft infusion prevalent , and wide , Than , all alive , at once their joy o'erflows In musick unconfin'd . Up-springs the lark , Shrill-voiced , and loud , the messenger of morn ; E'er yet the shadows fly , he mounted sings Amid the dawning clouds , and from their haunts Calls up the tuneful nations . Every copse Thick-wove , and tree irregular , and bush Bending with dewy moisture , o'er the heads Of the coy quiristers 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 listening PHILOMELA deigns To let them joy , and purposes , in thought Elate , to make her night excel their day . The black-bird whistles from the thorny brake ; The mellow bull-finch answers from the grove : Nor are the linnets , o'er the flowering furze Pour'd out profusely , silent . Join'd to these Thousands beside , thick as the covering leaves They warble under , or the nitid hues That speck them o'er , their modulations mix Mellifluous . The jay , the rook , the daw , And each harsh pipe , discordant heard alone , Here aid the consort : while the stock-dove breathes A melancholy murmur thro' the whole . 'TIS love creates their gaiety , and all This waste of musick is the voice of love ; Which even to birds , and beasts , the tender arts Of pleasing teaches . Hence the glossy kind Try every winning way inventive love Can dictate , and in fluttering courtship pour Their little souls before her . Wide around , Respectful , first in airy rings they rove , Endeavouring by a thousand tricks to catch The cunning , conscious , half-averted glance Of their regardless charmer . Should she seem Softening the least approvance to bestow , Their colours burnish , and by hope inspir'd They brisk advance ; then on a sudden struck Retire disorder'd ; then again approach ; And throwing out the last efforts of love , In fond rotation spread the spotted wing , And shiver every feather with desire . CONNUBIAL leagues agreed , to the deep woods They haste away , each as their fancy leads , Pleasure , or food , or secret safety prompts ; That NATURE's great command may be obey'd , Nor all the sweet sensations they perceive Indulg'd in vain . Some to the holly-hedge Nestling repair , and to the thicket some ; Some to the rude protection of the thorn Resolve to trust their young . The clested tree Offers its kind concealment to a few , Their food its insects , and its moss their nests . Others apart far in the grassy dale Their humble texture weave . But most delight In unfrequented glooms , or shaggy banks , Steep , and divided by a babbling brook , Whose murmurs sooth them all the live-long day , When for a season fix'd . Among the roots Of hazel , pendant o'er the plaintive stream , They frame the first foundation of their domes , Dry sprigs of trees , in artful manner laid , And bound with clay together . Now 'tis nought But hurry hurry thro' the busy air , Beat by unnumber'd wings . The swallow sweeps The slimy pool , to build his hanging house Ingeniously intent . Oft from the back Of herds and flocks a thousand tugging bills Pluck hair , and wool ; and oft , when unobserv'd , Steal from the barn the straw ; till soft , and warm , Clean , and compleat , their habitation grows . As thus the patient dam assiduous sits , Not to be tempted from her tender task , Or by sharp hunger , or by smooth delight , Tho' the whole loosen'd Spring around her blows , Her sympathizing lover takes his stand High on th'opponent bank , and ceaseless sings The tedious time away ; or else supplies Her place a moment , while she sudden flits To pick the scanty 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 With constant clamour . Oh what passions then , What melting sentiments of kindly care Seize the new parents' hearts ? Away they fly Affectionate , and undesiring bear The most delicious morsel to their young , Which equally distributed , again The search begins . So pitiful , and poor , A gentle pair on providential HEAVEN Cast , as they weeping eye their clamant train , Check their own appetites , and give them all . NOR is the courage of the fearful kind , Nor is their cunning less , should some rude foot Their woody haunts molest ; stealthy aside Into the centre of a neighbouring bush They drop , and whirring thence alarm'd , deceive The rambling school-boy . Hence around the head Of traveller , the white-wing'd plover wheels Her sounding flight , and then directly on In long excursion skims the level lawn , To tempt you from her nest . The wild-duck hence O'er the rough moss , and o'er the trackless waste The heath-hen flutters , as if hurt , to lead The hot pursuing spaniel far astray . BE not the muse asham'd , here to bemoan Her brothers of the grove , by tyrant man Inhuman caught , and in the narrow cage From liberty confin'd , and boundless air . Dull are the pretty slaves , their plumage dull , Ragged , and all its brightning lustre lost ; Nor is that luscious wildness in their notes That warbles from the beech . Oh then desist , Ye friends of harmony ! this barbarous art Forbear , if innocence and musick can Win on your hearts , or piety persuade . 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' astonish'd mother finds a vacant nest , By the hard hand of unrelenting clowns Robb'd , to the ground the vain provision falls ; Her pinions ruffle , and low-drooping scarce Can bear the mourner to the poplar shade ; Where , all abandon'd to despair , she sings Her sorrows thro' the night ; and , on the bough Sad-sitting , still at every dying fall Takes up again her lamentable strain Of winding woe , till wide around the woods Sigh with her song , and with her wail resound . AND now the feather'd youth their former bounds Ardent disdain , and weighing oft their wings , Demand the free possession of the sky . But this glad office more , and then dissolves Parental love at once ; for needless grown , Unlavish WISDOM never works in vain . 'Tis on some evening , sunny , grateful , mild , When nought but balm is breathing thro' the woods , With yellow lustre bright , that the new tribes Visit the spacious heavens , and look abroad On NATURE's common , far as they can see , Or wing , their range , and pasture . O'er the boughs Dancing about , still at the giddy verge Their resolution fails ; their pinions still , In loose libration stretch'd , the void abrupt Trembling refuse : till down before them fly The parent-guides , and chide , exhort , command , Or push them off . The surging air receives The plumy burden ; and their self-taught wings Winnow the waving element . On ground Alighted , bolder up again they lead Farther and farther on the lengthning flight ; Till vanish'd every fear , and every power Rouz'd into life , and action in the void Th' exoner'd parents see their soaring race , And once rejoicing never know them more . HIGH from the summit of a craggy cliff , Hung o'er the green sea , grudging at its base , The royal eagle draws his young , resolv'd To try them at the sun . Strong-pounc'd , and bright As burnish'd day , they up the blue sky wind , Leaving dull sight below , and with fix'd gaze Drink in their native noon : the father-king Claps his glad pinions , and approves the birth . AND should I wander to the rural fear , Whose aged oaks , and venerable gloom , Invite the noisy rook ; with pleasure there , I might the various polity survey Of the mixt houshold kind . The careful hen Calls all her chirping family around , Fed , and defended by the fearless cock , Whose breast with ardour flames , as on he walks Graceful , and crows defiance . In the pond , The finely-checker'd duck , before her train , Rows garrulous . The stately-sailing swan Gives out his snowy plumage to the gale , And , arching proud his neck , with oary feet Bears forward fierce , and beats you from the bank , Protective of his young . The turkey nigh , Loud-threatning , reddens ; while the peacock spreads His every-colour'd glory to the sun , And swims in floating majesty along . O'er the whole homely scene , 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 shade Indulge their purer loves , the rougher world Of brutes below , rush furious into flame , And fierce desire . Thro' all his lusty veins The bull , deep-scorch'd , receives the raging fire . Of pasture sick , and negligent of food , Scarce seen , he wades among the yellow broom , While o'er his brawny back the rambling sprays Luxuriant shoot ; or thro' the mazy wood Dejected wanders , nor th' inticing bud Crops , tho' it presses on his careless sense : For , wrapt in mad imagination , he Roars for the fight , and idly butting , feigns A rival gor'd in every knotty trunk . Such should he meet , the bellowing war begins ; Their eyes flash fury ; to the hollow'd earth , Whence the sand flies , they mutter bloody deeds , And groaning vast th' impetuous battle mix : While the fair heifer , redolent , in view Stands kindling up their rage . The trembling steed , With this hot impulse seiz'd in every nerve , Nor hears the rein , nor heeds the sounding whip ; Blows are not felt ; but tossing high his head , And by the well-known joy , to distant plains Attracted strong , all wild , he bursts away ; O'er rocks , and woods , and craggy mountains flies , And neighing , on the aerial summit takes Th' informing gale ; then steep-descending , cleaves The headlong torrents foaming down the hills , Even where the madness of the straiten'd streams Turns in black eddies round : Such is the force With which his frantick heart , and sinews swell . NOR , undelighted by the boundless SPRING , Are the broad monsters of the boiling deep : From the deep ooze , and gelid cavern rous'd , They flounce , and tumble in unwieldy joy . Dire were the strain , and dissonant , to sing The cruel raptures of the savage kind : How the red lioness , her whelps forgot Amid the thoughtless fury of her heart ; The lank rapacious wolf ; th' unshapely bear ; The spotted tyger , fellest of the fell ; And all the terrors of the LIBYAN swain , By this new flame their native wrath sublim'd , Roam the resounding waste in fiercer bands , And growl their horrid loves . But this the theme I sing , transported , to the BRITISH fair , Forbids , and leads me to the mountain-brow , Where sits the shepherd on the grassy turf , Inhaling , healthful , the descending sun . Around him feeds his many-bleating flock Of various cadence ; and his sportive lambs , This way , and that , convolv'd in friskful glee , Their little frolicks play . And now the race Invites them forth ; when swift the signal given , They start away , and sweep the massy mound That runs around the hill ; the rampart once Of iron war , in ancient barbarous times , When disunited BRITAIN ever bled , Lost in eternal broil ; e'er yet she grew To this deep-laid , indissoluble state , Where WEALTH and COMMERCE lift their golden head , And o'er our Labours , LIBERTY and LAW Illustrious watch , the wonder of a world ! WHAT is this MIGHTY BREATH , ye curious say , Which , in a language rather felt than heard , Instructs the fowls of heaven ; and thro' their breasts These arts of love diffuses ? What , but GOD ? Inspiring GOD ! who boundless spirit all , And unremitted energy pervades , Adjusts , sustains , and agitates the whole . He ceaseless works alone , and yet alone Seems not to work , with such perfection fram'd Is this complex , amazing scheme of things . But tho' conceal'd , to every purer eye Th' informing author in his work appears ; His grandeur in the heavens : the sun , and moon , Whether that fires the day , or falling , this Pours out a lucid softness o'er the night , Are but a beam from him . The glittering stars , By the deep ear of meditation heard , Still in their midnight watches sing of him . He nods a calm . The tempest blows his wrath , Roots up the forest and o'erturns the main . The thunder is his voice ; and the red flash His speedy sword of justice . At his touch The mountains flame . He takes the solid earth , And rocks the nations . Nor in these alone , In every common instance GOD is seen ; And to the man who casts his mental eye Abroad unnotic'd wonders rise . But chief In thee , boon SPRING , and in thy softer scenes , The SMILING GOD appears ; while water , earth , And air attest his bounty , which instils Into the brutes this temporary thought , And annual melts their undesigning hearts Profusely thus in tenderness , and joy . STILL let my song a nobler note assume , And sing th' infusive force of SPRING on man ; When heaven and earth , as if contending , vie To raise his being , and serene his soul , Can he forbear to smile with NATURE ? Can The stormy passions in his bosom rowl , While every gale is peace , and every grove Is melody ? Hence , from the bounteous walks Of flowing SPRING , ye sordid sons of earth , Hard , and unfeeling , of another's woe , Or only lavish to yourselves ; away . But come , ye generous breasts , in whose wide thought , Of all his works , CREATIVE BOUNTY , most , Divinely burns ; and on your open front , And liberal eye , sits , from his dark retreat Inviting modest want . Nor only fair , And easy of approach ; your active search Leaves no cold wintry corner unexplor'd , Like silent-working HEAVEN , surprizing oft The lonely heart with unexpected good . For you the roving spirit of the wind Blows SPRING abroad ; for you the teaming clouds Descend in buxom plenty o'er the world ; And the sun spreads his genial blaze for you , Ye flower of human race ! In these green days , Sad-pining sickness lifts her languid head ; Life flows afresh ; and young-ey'd health exalts The whole creation round . Contentment walks The sunny glade , and feels an inward bliss Spring o'er his mind , beyond the power of kings To purchase . Pure serenity apace Induces thought , and contemplation still . By small degrees the love of nature works , And warms the bosom ; till at last arriv'd To rapture , and enthusiastic heat , We feel the present DEITY , and taste The joy of GOD , to see a happy world . 'TIS HARMONY , that world-attuning power , By which all beings are adjusted , each To all around , impelling , and impell'd , In endless circulation , that inspires This universal smile . Thus the glad skies , The wide rejoycing earth , the woods , the streams , With every LIFE they hold , down to the flower That paints the lowly vale , or insect-wing Wav'd o'er the shepherd's slumber , touch the mind To nature tun'd , with a light-flying hand , Invisible ; quick-urging , thro' the nerves , The glittering spirits in a flood of day . HENCE from the virgin's check , a fresher bloom Shoots , less and less , the live carnation round ; Her lips blush deeper sweets ; she breathes of youth ; The shining moisture swells into her eyes , In brighter flow ; her wishing bosom heaves With palpitations wild ; kind tumults seize Her veins , and all her yielding soul is love . From the keen gaze her lover turns away , Full of the dear ecstatic power , and sick With sighing languishment . Ah then , ye fair ! Be greatly cautious of your sliding hearts ; Dare not th' infectious sigh ; the pleading eye , In meek submission drest , deject , and low , But full of tempting guile . Let not the tongue , Prompt to deceive , with adulation smooth , Gain on your purpos'd wills . Nor in the bower , Where woodbines flaunt , and roses shed a couch , While evening draws her crimson curtains round , Trust your soft minutes with betraying man . AND let th' aspiring youth beware of love , Of the smooth glance beware ; for 'tis too late , When on his heart the torrent softness pours . Then wisdom prostrate lies ; and fading fame Dissolves in air away : while the fond soul Is wrapt in dreams of ecstacy , and bliss ; Still paints th' illusive form ; the kindling grace ; Th' inticing smile ; the modest-seeming eye , Beneath whose beauteous beams , belying heaven , Lurk searchless cunning , cruelty , and death : And still , false-warbling in his cheated ear , Her syren voice , enchanting , draws him on , To guileful shores , and meads of fatal joy . EVEN present in the very lap of love Inglorious laid ; while musick flows around , Perfumes , and oils , and wine , and wanton hours , Amid the roses fierce Repentance rears Her snaky crest : a quick returning twinge Shoots thro' the conscious heart ; where honour still , And great design against th' oppressive load Of luxury , by fits , impatient heave . BUT absent , what fantastick pangs arrous'd , Rage in each thought , by restless musing fed , Chill the warm cheek , and blast the bloom of life ? Neglected fortune flies ; and sliding swift , Prone into ruin , fall his scorn'd affairs . 'Tis nought but gloom around . The darken'd sun Loses his light . The rosy-bosom'd SPRING To weeping fancy pines ; and yon bright arch Of heaven , low-bends into a dusky vault . All nature fades extinct ; and she alone Heard , felt , and seen , possesses every thought , Fills every sense , and pants in every vein . Books are but formal dulness , tedious Friends , And sad amid the social band he sits , Lonely and inattentive . From the tongue Th' unfinish'd period falls : while , borne away On swelling thought , his wafted spirit flies To the vain bosom of his distant fair ; And leaves the semblance of a lover , fix'd In melancholy site , with head declin'd , And love-dejected eyes . Sudden he starts , Shook from his tender trance , and restless runs To glimmering shades , and sympathetick glooms , Where the dun umbrage o'er the falling stream Romantic hangs ; there thro' the pensive dusk Strays , in heart-thrilling meditation lost , Indulging all to love : or on the bank Thrown , amid drooping lillies , swells the breeze With sighs unceasing , and the brook with tears . Thus in soft anguish he consumes the day , Nor quits his deep retirement , till the moon Peeps thro' the chambers of the fleecy east , Enlighten'd by degrees , and in her train Leads on the gentle hours ; then forth he walks , Beneath the trembling languish of her beams , With soften'd soul , and wooes the bird of eve To mingle woes with his : or while the world , And all the sons of care , lie hush'd in sleep , Associates with the midnight shadows drear ; And , sighing to the lonely taper , pours His idly-tortur'd heart into the page , Meant for the moving messenger of love ; Where rapture burns on rapture , every line With rising frenzy fir'd . But if on bed Delirious flung , sleep from his pillow flies . All night he tosses , nor the balmy power In any posture finds ; till the grey morn Lifts her pale lustre on the paler wretch , Exanimate by love : and then perhaps Exhausted nature sinks a while to rest , Still interrupted by distracted dreams , That o'er the sick imagination rise , And in black colours paint the mimick scene . Oft with th' enchantress of his soul he talks ; Sometimes in crouds distress'd ; or if retir'd To secret-winding , flower-enwoven bowers , Far from the dull impertinence of man , Just as he , credulous , his thousand cares Begins to lose in blind oblivious love , Snatch'd from her yielded hand , he knows not how , Thro' forests huge , and long untravel'd heaths With desolation brown , he wanders waste , In night and tempest wrapt ; or shrinks aghast , Back , from the bending precipice ; or wades The turbid stream below , and strives to reach The farther shore ; where succourless , and sad , Wild as a Bacchanal she spreads her arms , But strives in vain , borne by th' outragious flood To distance down , he rides the ridgy wave , Or whelm'd beneath the boiling eddy sinks . Then a weak , wailing lamentable cry Is heard , and all in tears he wakes , again To tread the circle of revolving woe . These are the charming agonies of love , Whose misery delights . But thro' the heart Should jealousy its venom once diffuse , 'Tis then delightful misery no more , But agony unmix'd , incessant rage , Corroding every thought , and blasting all Love's paradise . Ye fairy prospects then Ye beds of roses , and ye bowers of joy , Farewell ! Ye gleamings of departing peace , Shine out your last ! the yellow tinging plague Internal vision taints , and in a night Of livid gloom imagination wraps . Ay then instead of love-enliven'd cheeks , Of funny features , and of ardent eyes With flowing raptures bright , dark looks succeed , Suffus'd , and glaring with untender fire , A clouded aspect , and a burning cheek , Where the whole poison'd soul , malignant , sits , And frightens love away . Ten thousand fears Invented wild , ten thousand frantick views Of horrid rivals , hanging on the charms For which he melts in fondness , eat him up With fervent anguish , and consuming pine . In vain reproaches lend their idle aid , Deceitful pride , and resolution frail , Giving a moment's ease . Reflection pours , Afresh , her beauties on his busy thought , Her first endearments , twining round the soul , With all the witchcraft of ensnaring love . Strait the fierce storm involves his mind anew , Flames thro' the nerves , and boils along the veins ; While anxious doubt distracts the tortur'd heart ; For even the sad assurance of his fears Were peace to what he feels . Thus the warm youth , Whom love deludes into his thorny wilds , Thro' flowery-tempting paths , or leads a life Of feaver'd rapture , or of cruel care ; His brightest aims extinguish'd all , and all His lively moments running down to waste . BUT happy they ! the happiest of their kind ! Whom gentler stars unite , and in one fate Their hearts , their fortunes , and their beings blend . 'Tis not the coarser tie of human laws , Unnatural oft , and foreign to the mind , That binds their peace , but harmony itself , Attuning all their passions into love ; Where friendship full-exerts his softest power , Perfect esteem enliven'd by desire Ineffable , and sympathy of soul , Thought meeting thought , and will preventing will , With boundless confidence ; for nought but love Can answer love , and render bliss secure . Let him , ungenerous , who , alone intent To bless himself , from sordid parents buys The loathing virgin , in eternal care , Well-merited , consume his nights and days : Let barbarous nations , whose inhuman love Is wild desire , fierce as the suns they feel ; Let eastern tyrants from the light of heaven Seclude their bosom-slaves , meanly possess'd Of a meer , lifeless , violated form : While those whom love cements , in holy faith , And equal transport , free as nature , live , Disdaining fear ; for what's the world to them , Its pomp , its pleasure , and its nonsense all ! Who in each other clasp whatever fair High fancy forms , and lavish hearts can wish , Something than beauty dearer , should 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 a smiling Offspring rises round , And mingles both their graces . By degrees , The human blossom blows ; and every day , Soft as it rolls along , shews some new charm , The father's lustre , and the mother's bloom . Then infant reason grows apace , and calls For the kind hand of an assiduous care : Delightful task ! to rear the tender thought , To teach the young idea how to shoot , To pour the fresh instruction o'er the mind , To breathe th' inspiring spirit , and to plant The generous purpose in the glowing breast . Oh speak the joy ! you whom the sudden tear Surprizes often , while you look around , And nothing strikes your eye but sights of bliss , All various nature pressing on the heart , Obedient fortune , and approving HEAVEN . These are the blessings of diviner love ; And thus their moments fly . The seasons thus , As ceaseleless round a jarring world they roll , Still find them happy ; and consenting SPRING Sheds her own rosy garland on their head : Till evening comes at last , cool , gentle , calm ; When after the long vernal day of life , Enamour'd more , as soul approaches soul , Together , down they sink in social sleep . FINIS .