[Page 107]

AN INVITATION TO THE FEATHERED RACE, MDCCLXIII.

WRITTEN AT CLAVERTON, NEAR BATH.

BY THE REV. MR. GRAVES.
1 AGAIN the balmy Zephyr blows,
2 Fresh verdure decks the grove,
3 Each bird with vernal rapture glows,
4 And tunes his notes to love.
5 Ye gentle warblers, hither fly,
6 And shun the noon-tide heat;
7 My shrubs a cooling shade supply,
8 My groves a safe retreat.
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9 Here freely hop from spray to spray,
10 Or weave the mossy nest;
11 Here rove and sing the live-long day,
12 At night here sweetly rest.
13 Amidst this cool translucent rill,
14 That trickles down the glade,
15 Here bathe your plumes, here drink your fill,
16 And revel in the shade.
17 No schoolboy rude, to mischief prone,
18 E'er shews his ruddy face,
19 Or twangs his bow, or hurls a stone
20 In this sequestered place.
21 Hither the vocal Thrush repairs,
22 Secure the Linnet sings,
23 The Goldfinch dreads no slimy snares,
24 To clog her painted wings.
25 Sad Philomel! ah quit thy haunt,
26 Yon distant woods
x Warley Woods.
among,
27 And round my friendly grotto chaunt
28 Thy sweetly-plaintive song.
29 Let not the harmless Red-breast fear,
30 Domestic bird, to come
31 And seek a sure asylum here,
32 With one that loves his home.
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33 My trees for you, ye artless tribe,
34 Shall store of fruit preserve;
35 Oh let me thus your friendship bribe!
36 Come feed without reserve.
37 For you these cherries I protect,
38 To you these plums belong;
39 Sweet is the fruit that you have pick'd,
40 But sweeter far your song.
41 Let then this league betwixt us made,
42 Our mutual interests guard,
43 Mine be the gift of fruit and shade,
44 Your songs be my reward.

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Title (in Source Edition): AN INVITATION TO THE FEATHERED RACE, MDCCLXIII. WRITTEN AT CLAVERTON, NEAR BATH.
Author: Richard Graves
Themes: animals; music
Genres: address
References: DMI 32565

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Pearch, G. A collection of poems in four volumes. By several hands. Vol. III. [The second edition]. London: printed for G. Pearch, 1770, pp. 107-109. 4v. ; 8⁰. (ESTC T116245; DMI 1136; OTA K093079.003) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [(OC) 280 o.790].)

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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.