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A MORNING PIECE, OR, AN HYMN for the HAY-MAKERS.

ODE I.

Quinetiam Gallum noctem explaudentibus alis
Auroram clarâ consuetum voce vocare.
LUCRET.
1 BRISK chaunticleer his mattins had begun,
2 And broke the silence of the night,
3 And thrice he call'd aloud the tardy sun,
4 And thrice he hail'd the dawn's ambiguous light;
5 Back to their graves the fear-begotten phantoms run.
6 Strong Labour got up with his pipe in his mouth,
7 And stoutly strode over the dale,
8 He lent new perfumes to the breath of the south,
9 On his back hung his wallet and flail.
10 Behind him came Health from her cottage of thatch,
11 Where never physician had lifted the latch.
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12 First of the village Colin was awake,
13 And thus he sung, reclining on his rake.
14 Now the rural graces three
15 Dance beneath yon maple tree;
16 First the vestal Virtue, known
17 By her adamantine zone;
18 Next to her in rosy pride,
19 Sweet Society, the bride;
20 Last Honesty, full seemly drest
21 In her cleanly home-spun vest.
22 The abby bells in wak'ning rounds
23 The warning peal have giv'n;
24 And pious Gratitude resounds
25 Her morning hymn to heav'n.
26 All nature wakes — the birds unlock their throats,
27 And mock the shepherd's rustic notes.
28 All alive o'er the lawn,
29 Full glad of the dawn,
30 The little lambkins play,
31 Sylvia and Sol arise, — and all is day —
32 Come, my mates, let us work,
33 And all hands to the fork,
34 While the Sun shines, our Hay-cocks to make,
35 So fine is the Day,
36 And so fragrant the Hay,
37 That the Meadow's as blithe as the Wake.
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38 Our voices let's raise
39 In Phoebus's praise,
40 Inspir'd by so glorious a theme,
41 Our musical words
42 Shall be join'd by the birds,
43 And we'll dance to the tune of the stream.

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Title (in Source Edition): A MORNING PIECE, OR, AN HYMN for the HAY-MAKERS. ODE I.
Author: Christopher Smart
Themes: nature
Genres: ode

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Source edition

Smart, Christopher, 1722-1771. Poems on several occasions: By Christopher Smart, A. M. Fellow of Pembroke-Hall, Cambridge. London: printed for the author, by W. Strahan; and sold by J. Newbery, at the Bible and Sun, in St. Paul’s Church-Yard, MDCCLII., 1752, pp. []-9. [16],230p.,plates; 4⁰. (ESTC T42626; OTA K041581.000) (Page images digitized from microfilm of a copy in the Bodleian Library [2799 d 134].)

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The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

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