No lambs or sheep for victims I'll impart, STREPHON. Me gentle Delia beckons from the plain, Then hid in shades, eludes her eager swain. But feigns a laugh, to see me search around, And by that laugh the willing fair is found. DAPHNIS. The sprightly Sylvia trips along the green, She runs, but hopes she does not unseen; While a kind glance at her pursuer flies, How much at variance are her feet and eyes. STREPHON. O'er golden sands let rich Pactolus flow, And trees weep amber on the banks of Po;1 Blessed Thames's shores the brightest beauties yield, Feed here my lambs, I'll seek no distant field. DAPHNIS. Celestial Venus haunts Idalia's groves; If Windsor shades delight the matchless maid, STREPHON. All nature mourns,' the skies relent in show'rs, Hushed are the birds, and closed the drooping flow'rs; If Delia smile, the flow'rs begin to spring, The skies to brighten, and the birds to sing. DAPHNIS. All nature laughs, the groves are fresh and fair, The sun's mild lustre warms the vital air; If Sylvia smiles, new glories gild the shore, 1 Phaeton's sisters, being at his death changed into poplars, shed tears, which, according to the classical fable, were turned to drops pf amber. 2 Virgil, Ecl, vii. : Aret ager, vitio moriens sitit aeris herba, &c. Phyllidis adventu nostræ nemus imne virebit."-Pope, STREPHON. In spring the fields, in autumn hills I love DAPHNIS. Sylvia's like autumn ripe, yet mild as May, More bright than noon, yet fresh as early day; Ev'n spring displeases, when she shines not here; But blest with her, 'tis spring throughout the year. STREPHON. Say, Daphnis, say, in what glad soil appears, A wondrous tree that sacred monarchs bears;1 Tell me but this, and I'll disclaim the prize, And give the conquest to thy Sylvia's eyes. DAPHNIS. Nay tell me first, in what more happy fields DAMON. Cease to contend, for, Daphnis, I decree The bowl to Strephon, and the lamb to thee. Blest swains, whose nymphs in ev'ry grace excel; Blest nymphs, whose swains those graces sing so well! Now rise, and haste to yonder woodbine bow'rs, A soft retreat from sudden vernal show'rs, The turf with rural dainties shall be crowned, While op'ning blooms diffuse their sweets around. For see, the gath'ring flocks to shelter tend, And from the Pleiads fruitful show'rs descend. 1 An allusion to the royal oak, in which Charles II. had been hid from the pursuit after the battle of Worcester.-Pope. 2 The two riddles are in imitation of those in Virg. Ecl. III.: "Dic quibus in terris inscripti nomina regum Nascantur flores, et Phyllida solus habeto." The thistle is the emblem of Scotland: the fleur-de-lis, or lily of France, SUMMER. THE SECOND PASTORAL; OR, ALEXIS. TO DR. GRATH,1 A SHEPHERD'S boy (he seeks no better name) 995 "The woods shall answer, and their echoes ring.' Where stray ye, muses, in what lawn or grove, 6 1 Dr. Samuel Garth, author of the " Dispensary," was one of the first friends of the author, whose acquaintance with him began at fourteen or fifteen. Their friendship continued from the year 1703 to 1718, which was that of his death.-Pope. 2 The scene of this pastoral is by the river's side; suitable to the heat of the season; the time noon.-Pope. 3 Pope. 'Jupiter et læto descendet plurimus imbri."-Virg. Ecl. VII. 4 "Non canimus surdis, respondent omnia sylvæ."-Virg. Ecl. X. -Pope. Á line from Spencer's" Epithalamion.-Pope. "Quæ nemora, aut qui vos saltus habuere, puellæ. Nam neque Parnassi vobis juga, nam neque Pindi. Virg. Ecl, X, 9, out of Theocr.--Pope. While your Alexis pines in hopeless love? And yet my numbers please the rural throng, Rough satyrs dance, and Pan* applauds the song: The nymphs, forsaking ev'ry cave and spring, Their early fruit, and milk-white turtles bring; Each am'rous nymph prefers her gifts in vain, On you their gifts are all bestowed again. For you the swains the fairest flow'rs design And in one garland all their beauties join; Accept the wreath which you deserve alone, In whom all beauties are comprised in one. 1 Virgil again (Ecl. II.) from the "Cyclops" of Theocritus, Cum placidum ventis staret mare, non ego Daphnim, 2 The name taken by Spencer in his "Eclogues," where his mistress is celebrated under that of Rosalinda.—Pope. 3" Est mihi disparibus septem compacta cicutis. Fistula, Damotas dono mihi quam dedit olim, Et dixit moriens, te nunc habet ist a secundum."--Virg. Ecl. II. 4 Pan was the god of Shepherds. See what delights in sylvan scenes appear! And crowned with corn their thanks to Ceres yield. 1 Virg. Ecl. II.: Ecl. X.. "habitarunt dii quoque sylvas." "Et formosus oves ad flumina pavit Adonis."-Pope. 2 Your praise the tuneful birds to heaven shall bear, And listening wolves grow milder as they hear. So the verses were originally written. But the author, young as he was, soon found the absurdity which Spencer himself overlooked, of introducing wolves into England.-Pope. 3 Virg. Ecl. III.: "Partem aliquam, venti, divum referatis ad aures."-Pope. 4 Virg. Ecl. II. : "Me tamen usit amor, quis enim modus adsit amori?”—Pope, |