GRATITUDE
.
A
PASTORAL
.
MENALCAS
,
COLIN
.
MENALCAS
.
FRiend
COLIN
!
well
o'ertook
.
I
have
of
late
Observ'd
thy
chearful
Mien
,
and
airy
Gait
:
Say
,
what
auspicious
Change
,
since
t'other
Day
,
When
by
thy
lonely
Cot
I
took
my
Way
?
Sorrow
and
Sadness
then
o'erspread
thy
Brows
,
And
ev'ry
Look
did
gloomy
Cares
disclose
:
Now
Joys
diffusive
in
thy
Aspect
rise
,
And
Mirth
and
Gladness
sparkle
in
thy
Eyes
.
COLIN
.
WHERE
hast
thou
liv'd
,
MENALCAS
,
not
to
know
,
Whose
gen'rous
Bounty
has
remov'd
my
Woe
?
I
thought
,
the
gracious
CAROLINA's
Name
,
Ere
this
,
had
fill'd
the
sounding
Trump
of
Fame
.
MENALCAS
.
THAT
gracious
Name
the
World
is
bound
to
bless
;
All
grateful
Swains
her
gen'rous
Deeds
confess
:
But
,
COLIN
,
say
,
has
she
remov'd
thy
Care
?
I'm
happy
,
when
thy
Happiness
I
hear
.
COLIN
.
O
You
,
MENALCAS
,
know
my
abject
Birth
,
Born
in
a
Cot
,
and
bred
to
till
the
Earth
;
On
rigid
Worldlings
always
doom'd
to
wait
,
Forc'd
at
their
frugal
Hands
my
Bread
to
get
:
But
when
my
Wants
to
CAROLINE
were
known
,
She
bless'd
me
with
a
Pasture
of
my
own
.
This
makes
new
Pleasures
in
my
Bosom
glow
;
These
joyful
Looks
I
to
her
Bounty
owe
.
MENALCAS
.
AND
may
kind
Heav'n
reward
that
gracious
QUEEN
,
Who
to
thy
Wants
has
so
propitious
been
!
Yet
,
tho'
her
Bounty
has
thy
Wants
supply'd
,
Let
not
her
Bounty
e'er
exalt
thy
Pride
;
But
keep
an
humble
Mind
,
a
grateful
Heart
;
Her
Favours
far
exceed
thy
own
Desert
:
Heav'n
mov'd
the
Goodness
of
the
Royal
Dame
;
And
Heav'n
and
She
thy
Gratitude
must
claim
.
COLIN
.
WHEN
me
she
first
into
her
Favour
took
,
I
cut
this
oaken
Staff
,
(
'tis
now
my
Crook
)
And
grav'd
her
Royal
Bounty
in
the
Rind
;
But
grav'd
it
deeper
in
my
grateful
Mind
:
The
Letters
in
the
Staff
may
wear
away
;
Those
written
in
my
Soul
shall
ne'er
decay
.
MENALCAS
.
SO
may
thy
little
Flock
increase
their
Tale
;
So
may
thy
Field
of
Pasture
never
fail
;
May
Heav'n
and
She
,
in
just
Proportion
,
still
Or
smile
,
or
frown
,
as
thou
art
good
,
or
ill
.
COLIN
.
MAY
hungry
Foxes
kill
my
tender
Lambs
,
May
pois'nous
Serpents
suck
their
bleating
Dams
;
And
may
my
Cows
distended
Udders
fail
,
Elude
my
Hopes
,
and
never
fill
the
Pail
;
In
short
,
(
to
make
my
Curse
the
more
complete
,
Tho'
'tis
the
only
Thing
I
dread
and
hate
)
May
Heav'n
and
Heav'nly
CAROLINE
remove
Their
Smiles
,
if
COLIN
e'er
ungrateful
prove
.
MENALCAS
.
THY
Thanks
and
Pray'rs
her
gen'rous
Soul
will
please
;
A
Tribute
justly
due
,
and
paid
with
Ease
:
Sometimes
a
Song
perhaps
she
may
require
;
And
thou
to
sing
but
lately
didst
aspire
;
When
in
an
abject
,
low
,
laborious
State
,
Sunk
deep
in
Cares
,
and
press'd
beneath
their
Weight
;
Then
(
so
,
at
least
,
'tis
said
among
our
Swains
)
In
Sonnets
COLIN
charm'd
away
his
Pains
:
Much
sooner
now
thou
may'st
a
Song
rehearse
,
Whene'er
she
condescends
to
hear
thy
Verse
.
COLIN
.
O
Friend
!
too
well
you
know
,
my
simple
Strains
Are
far
inferior
to
each
rural
Swain's
:
Yet
,
since
Great
CAROLINA
thinks
no
Scorn
,
To
patronize
a
Shepherd
meanly
born
;
Henceforth
I'll
strive
to
raise
my
Voice
sublime
,
And
with
her
Royal
Name
adorn
my
Rhyme
;
I'll
on
each
verdant
Mountain
sing
her
Praise
,
And
vocal
Groves
shall
echo
to
my
Lays
;
To
ev'ry
Swain
her
Godlike
Worth
proclaim
,
Nor
ever
drop
the
pleasing
glorious
Theme
.
MENALCAS
.
THEN
,
since
we're
met
,
where
friendly
Branches
spread
,
And
trembling
Leaves
diffuse
a
cooling
Shade
;
Since
,
on
the
Sprays
,
the
Thrush
and
Finch
rejoice
,
Invoke
thy
Muse
,
and
tune
thy
rural
Voice
.
COLIN
.
ANOTHER
Day
my
rural
Voice
I'll
raise
,
Another
Day
the
Muse
shall
tune
her
Lays
:
But
now
,
alas
!
such
crowding
Joys
I
find
,
No
Words
can
speak
the
Transports
of
my
Mind
.
Would
PHOEBUS
warm
me
with
poetic
Fire
,
Or
would
the
Mantuan
Muse
my
Tongue
inspire
;
As
Great
ELIZA
shone
in
SPENCER's
Line
,
The
Greater
CAROLINA
should
in
mine
;
Then
would
I
emulate
the
tuneful
Throng
,
And
with
her
glorious
Name
immortalize
my
Song
.