MUSAEUS : A MONODY TO THE MEMORY of Mr. POPE . In Imitation of MILTON'S Lycidas . By the Same . SOrrowing I catch the reed , and call the Muse ; If yet a Muse on Britain's plain abide , Since rapt MUSAEUS tun'd his parting strain : With him they liv'd , with him perchance they dy'd . For who e'er since their virgin train espy'd , Or on the banks of Thames , or that mild plain , Where Isis sparkles to the sunny ray ? Or have they deign'd to play , Where Camus winds along his broider'd vale , Feeding each white pink , and each daisie pied , That mingling paint his rushy-fringed side ? Yet ah ! celestial maids , ye are not dead ; Immortal as ye are , ye may not die : And well I ween , ye cannot quite be fled , Ere ye entune his mournful elegy . Stay then awhile , O stay , ye fleeting fair ; Revisit yet , nor hallow'd Hippocrene , Nor Thespia's shade ; till your harmonious teen Be grateful pour'd on some slow-ditted air , Such tribute paid , again ye may repair To what lov'd haunt you whilom did erect ; Whether Lycaeus , or that mountain fair Trim Maenelaus , with piny verdure deck'd . But now it boots you not in these to stray , Or yet Cyllene's hoary shade to chuse , Or where mild Ladon's swelling waters play . Forego each vain excuse , And haste to Thames's shores ; for Thames shall join Our sad society , and passing mourn , Letting cold tears bedew his silver urn . And , when the poet's wither'd grot he laves , His reed-crown'd locks shall shake , his head shall bow , His tide no more in eddies blithe shall rove , But creep soft by with long-drawn murmurs slow . For oft the poet rous'd his charmed waves With martial notes , or lull'd with strains of love . He must not now in brisk meanders flow Gamesome , and kiss the sadly-silent shore , Without the loan of some poetick woe . Can I forget , how erst his osiers made Sad sullen musick , as bleak Eurus fann'd ? Can I forget , how gloom'd yon laureat shade , Ere death remorseless wav'd his ebon wand ? How , midst yon grot , each silver-trickling spring Wander'd the shelly channels all among ; While as the coral roof did softly ring Reponsive to their sweetly-doleful song ? Meanwhile all pale th' expiring poet laid , And sunk his aweful head , While vocal shadows pleasing dreams prolong : For so , his sick'ning spirits to release , They pour'd the balm of visionary peace . First , sent from Cam's fair banks , like Palmer old , Came Tityrus , &c. ] i. e. CHAUCER , a name frequently given him by Spenser . Vide Shep. Cal. Ecl. 2.6.12 . and else where . TITYRUS slow , with head all silver'd o'er , And in his hand an oaken crook he bore , And thus in antique guise short talk did hold . " Grete clerk of Fame' is house , whose excellence " Maie wele befitt thilk place of eminence , " Mickle of wele betide thy houres last , " For mich gode wirkè to me don and past . " For syn the daies whereas my lyre ben strongen , " And deftly many a mery laie I songen , " Old Time , which alle things don maliciously , " Gnawen with rusty tooth continually , " Gnattrid my lines , that they all cancrid ben , " Till at the last thou smoothen 'hem hast again ; " Sithence full semely gliden my rhymes rude , " As , ( if fitteth thilk similitude ) " Whannè shallow brooke yrenneth hobling on , " Ovir rough stones it maken full rough song : " But , them stones removen , this lite rivere " Stealen forth by , making pleasant murmere : " So my sely rhymes , whoso may them note , " Thou maken everichone to ren right sote ; " And in my verse entuneth so fetisely , " That men sayen I make trewe melody , " And speaken every dele to myne honoure , " Mich wele , grete clerk , betide thy parting houre ! " He ceas'd his homely rhyme . When Colin Clout . ] i. e. SPENSER , which name he gives him self throughout his works . COLIN CLOUT , Eliza's shepherd swain , The blithest lad that ever pip'd on plain , Came with his reed soft-warbling on the way , And thrice he bow'd his head with motion mild , And thus his gliding numbers 'gan essay . I. The two first stanzas of this speech , as they relate to Pastoral , are written in the measure which Spenser uses in the first eclogue of the Shepherd's Calendar ; the rest , where he speaks of Fable , are in the stanza of the Faery Queen . " Ah ! luckless swain , alas ! how art thou lorn , " Who once like me could'st frame thy pipe to play " Shepherds devise , and chear the ling'ring morn : " Ne bush , ne breere , but learnt thy roundelay . " Ah plight too sore such worth to equal right ! " Ah worth too high to meet such piteous plight ! II . " But I nought strive , poor Colin , to compare " My Hobbin's , or my Thenot's rustick skill " To thy deft Swains , whose dapper ditties rare " Surpass ought else of quaintest shepherd's quill . " Ev'n Roman Tityrus , that peerless wight , " Mote yield to thee for dainties of delight . III . " Eke when in Fable's flow'ry path you stray'd , " Masking in cunning feints Truth's splendent face ; " Ne Sylph , ne Sylphid , but due tendence paid , " To shield Belinda's lock from felon base , " But all mote nought avail such harm to chase , " Than Una fair 'gan droop her princely mein , " Eke Florimel , and all my Faery race : " Belinda far surpast by beauties sheen , " Belinda , subject meet for such soft lay I ween . IV . " Like as in villag'd troop of birdlings trim , " Where Chanticleer his red crest high doth hold , " And quaking Ducks , that wont in lake to swim , " And Turkeys proud , and Pigeons nothing bold ; " If chance the Peacock doth his plumes unfold " Eftsoons their meaner beauties all decaying , " He glist'neth purple , and he glist'neth gold , " Now with bright green , now blue himself arraying . " Such is thy beauty bright , all other beauties swaying . V. " But why do I descant this toyish rhyme , " And fancies light in simple guise pourtray ? " Listing to chear thee at this rueful time , " While as black Death doth on thy heartstrings prey . " Yet rede aright , and if this friendly lay " Thou nathless judgest all too slight and vain , " Let my well-meaning mend my ill essay : " So may I greet thee with a nobler strain , " When soon we meet for aye , in yon star-sprinkled plain . " Last came a bard of more exalted tread , And Hight Thyrsis ] i. e. MILTON . Lycidas , and the Epita phium Damonis are the only Pastorals we have of Milton's ; in the latter of which , where he laments Car. Deodates under the name of Damon , he calls himself Thyrsis . THYRSIS hight by Dryad , Fawn , or Swain , Whene'er he mingled with the sylvan train ; But seldom that ; for higher thoughts he fed ; For him full oft the heav'nly Muses led To clear Euphrates , and the secret mount , To Araby , and Eden , fragrant climes ; All which the sacred bard would oft recount : And thus in strain , unus'd in grove or shade , To sad MUSAEUS rightful homage paid . " Thrice hail , thou heav'n-taught warbler , last and best " Of all the train ! Poet , in whom conjoin'd " All that to ear , or heart , or head , could yield " Rapture ; harmonious , manly , clear , sublime ! " Accept this gratulation : may it chear " Thy sinking soul ; nor these corporeal ills " Ought daunt thee , or appall . Know , in high heav'n " Fame blooms eternal o'er that spirit divine , " Who builds immortal verse . There thy bold Muse , " Which while on earth could breathe Maeonian fire , " Shall soar seraphick heights ; while to her voice " Ten thousand Hierarchies of angels harp " Symphonious , and with dulcet harmonies " Usher the song rejoicing . I meanwhile , " To sooth thee in these irksome hours of pain , " Approach thy visitant , with mortal laud " To praise thee mortal . First , ( as first beseems ) " For rhyme subdu'd ; rhyme , erst the minstrel rude " Of Chaos , Anarch old : she near his throne " Oft taught the rattling elements to chime " With tenfold din ; till late to earth upborn " On strident wing , what time fair poesie " Emerg'd from Gothick cloud , and faintly shot " Rekindling gleams of lustre . Her the fiend " Oppress'd ; forcing to utter uncouth dirge , " Runick , or Leonine ; and with dire chains " Fetter'd her scarce-fledg'd pinion . I such bonds " Aim'd to destroy , mistaking : bonds like these " 'Twere greater art t' ennoble , and refine . " For this superior part MUSAEUS came : " Thou cam'st , and at thy magick touch the chains " Off dropt , and ( passing strange ! ) soft-wreathed bands " Of flow'rs their place supply'd ! which well the Muse " Might wear for choice , not force ; obstruction none , " But loveliest ornament . Wond'rous this , yet here " The wonder rests not ; various argument " Remains for me , all doubting , where to cull " The primal grace , where countless graces charm . " Various this peaceful scene , this mineral roof ; " This 'semblance meet of coral , ore , and shell ; " These pointed crystals fair , 'mid each obscure " Bright glist'ring ; all these slowly-dripping rills , " That tinkling stray amid the cooly cave . " Yet not this various peaceful scene ; with this " Its mineral roof ; nor this assemblage meet " Of coral , ore , and shell ; nor 'mid th' obscure " These pointed crystals , glist'ring fair ; nor rills , " That straying tinkle thro' the cooly cave ; " Deal charms more various to each raptur'd sense , " Than thy mellifluous lay — " " Cease , friendly swain ; ( MUSAEUS cry'd , and rais'd his aching head ) " All praise is foreign , but of true desert ; " Plays round the head , but comes not to the heart . " Ah ! why recall the toys of thoughtless youth ? " When flow'ry fiction held the place of truth : " When fancy rul'd ; when trill'd each trivial strain , " But idly sweet , and elegantly vain . " O ! in that strain , if all of wit had flow'd , " All musick warbled , and all beauty glow'd ; " Had liveliest nature , happiest art combin'd , " That lent each grace , and this each grace refin'd ; " Alas ! how little were my proudest boast ! " The sweetest trifler of my tribe at most . " To sway the judgment , while he charms the ear ; " To curb mad passion in its wild career ; " To blend with skill , as loftiest themes inspire , " All reason's rigour , and all fancy's fire ; " Be this the poet's praise ; with this uncrown'd , " Wit dies a jest , and poetry a sound . " Come then that honest fame ; whose sober ray " Or gilds the satire , or the moral lay , " Which dawns , tho' thou , rough DONNE ! hew out the line , " But beams , sage HORACE , from each strain of thine . " O ! if , like these , one poet more could brave " The venal statesman , or the titled slave ; " Brand frontless Vice , strip all her stars and strings , " Nor spare her basking in the smile of kings : " Yet stoop to Virtue , tho' the prostrate maid " Lay sadly pale in bleak misfortune's shade : " If grave , yet lively ; rational , yet warm ; " Clear to convince , and eloquent to charm ; " He pour'd , for her lov'd cause , serene along " The purest precept , in the sweetest song : " For her lov'd cause , he trac'd his moral plan , " Yon various region of bewild'ring man ; " Explor'd alike each scene , that frown'd or smil'd , " The flow'ry garden , or the weedy wild ; " Unmov'd by sophistry , unaw'd by name , " No dupe to doctrines , and no fool to fame ; " Led by no system's devious glare astray , " As earth-born meteors glitter to betray : " But all his soul to reason's rule resign'd , " And heav'n's own views fair op'ning on his mind , " Catch'd from bright nature's flame the living ray , " Thro' passion's cloud pour'd in resistless day ; " And this great truth in all its lustre shew'd , " That GOD IS WISE , and ALL CREATION GOOD : " If this his boast , pour here the welcome lays : " Praise less than this , is impotence of praise . " " To pour that praise be mine , " fair VIRTUE cry'd , And shot all radiant , thro' an op'ning cloud . But ah ! my Muse , how will thy voice express Th' immortal strain , harmonious , as it flow'd ? Ill suits immortal strain a dorick dress : And far too high already hast thou soar'd . Enough for thee , that , when the lay was o'er , The goddess clasp'd him to her throbbing breast . But what might that avail ? Blind Fate before Had op'd her shears , to slit his vital thread ; And who may hope gainsay her stern behest ? Then thrice he wav'd the hand , thrice bow'd the head , And sigh'd his soul to rest . Then wept the Nymphs ; witness , ye waving shades ! Witness , ye winding streams ! the Nymphs did weep ; The heav'nly Goddess too with tears did steep Her plaintive voice , that echo'd thro' the glades ; And , " cruel gods , " and " cruel stars , " she cry'd : Nor did the shepherds , thro' the woodlands wide , On that sad day , or to the pensive brook , Or stagnant river , drive their thirsty flocks ; Nor did the wild-goat bronze the steepy rocks ; And Philomel her custom'd oak forsook ; And roses wan were wav'd by zephyrs weak , As Nature's self was sick ; And every lilly droop'd its velvet head ; And groan'd each faded lawn , and leasless grove ; Sad sympathy ! yet sure his rightful meed , Who charm'd all nature : well might Nature mourn Thro' all her sweets ; and flow'r , and lawn , and shade , All vocal grown , all weep MUSAEUS dead . Here end we , Goddess : this your shepherd sang , All as his hands an ivy chaplet wove . O ! make it worthy of the sacred bard , And make it equal to the shepherd's love . Nor thou , MUSAEUS , from thine ear discard , For well I ween thou hear'st my doleful song ; Whether 'mid angel troops , the stars among , From golden harps thou call'st seraphick lays ; Or , anxious for thy dearest Virtue's fare , Thou still art hov'ring o'er her tuneless sphere , And mov'st some hidden spring her weal to raise . Thus the fond swain on dorick oate essay'd , Manhood's prime honours downing on his cheek : Trembling he strove to court the tuneful maid With stripling arts , and dalliance all too weak ; Unseen , unheard , beneath an hawthorn shade . But now dun clouds the welkin 'gan to streak ; And now down-dropt the larks , and ceas'd their strain : They ceas'd , and with them ceas'd the shepherd swain .