Next add the sylvan shades, and silent groves,
(Haunt of the Druids) whence the Earth is fed
With copious fuel; whence the sturdy oak,
A prince's refuge once, th' eternal guard
Of England's throne, by sweating peasants fell'd,
Stems the vast main, and bears tremendous war
To distant nations, or with sov'reign sway
Awes the divided world to peace and love.
Why should the Chalybes or Bilboa boast
Their harden'd iron; when our mines produce
As perfect martial ore? Can Tmolus' head
Vie with our saffron odors? or the fleece
Bætic, or finest Tarentine, compare
With Lemster's silken wool? Where shall we find
Men more undaunted, for their country's weal
More prodigal of life? In ancient days

The Roman legions, and great Cæsar, found
Our fathers no mean foes: and Cressy's plains,
And Agincourt, deep-ting'd with blood, confess
What the Silures' vigor unwithstood
Could do in rigid fight; and chiefly what
Brydges' wide-wasting hand, first garter'd knight,
Puissant author of great Chandos' stem,
High Chandos, that transmits paternal worth,
Prudence, and ancient prowess, and renown,
This noble offspring. O thrice-happy peer!
That, blest with hoary vigor, view'st thyself
Fresh blooming in thy generous son; whose lips,
Flowing with nervous eloquence exact,
Charm the wise senate, and attention win
In deepest councils:. Ariconium pleas'd,
Him, as her chosen worthy, first salutes.
Him on th' Iberian, on the Gallic shore,
Him hardy Britons bless; his faithful hand
Conveys new courage from afar, nor more
The general's conduct, than his care avails.

Thee also, glorious branch of Cecil's line,
This country claims; with pride and joy to thee
Thy Alterennis calls: yet she endures
Patient thy absence, since thy prudent choice
Has fix'd thee in the Muses' fairest seat,*
Where Aldricht reigns, and from his endless store
Of universal knowledge still supplies

His noble care: he generous thoughts instils
Of true nobility, their country's love,

(Chief end of life,) and forms their ductile minds To human virtues: by his genius led,

Thou soon in every art pre-eminent
Shalt grace this isle, and rise to Burleigh's fame.

Hail, high-born peer! and thou, great nurse of arts,
And men, from whence conspicuous patriots spring,
Hanmer, and Bromley; thou, to whom with due
Respect Wintonia bows, and joyful owns
Thy mitred offspring; be for ever blest
With like examples, and to future times
Proficuous, such a race of men produce,
As, in the cause of virtue firm, may fix
Her throne inviolate. Hear, ye gods, this vow
From one, the meanest in her numerous train;
Though meanest, not least studious of her praise.
Muse, raise thy voice to Beaufort's spotless fame,
To Beaufort, in a long descent deriv'd
From royal ancestry, of kingly rights
Faithful assertors, in him centering meet
Their glorious virtues, high desert from pride
Disjoin'd, unshaken honor, and contempt
Of strong allurements. O illustrious prince!

* Oxford.

Dr. Aldrich, dean of Christ Church.

O thou of ancient faith! exulting, thee, In her fair list this happy land enrolls. Who can refuse a tributary verse

To Weymouth, firmest friend of slighted worth
In evil days? whose hospitable gate,
Unbarr'd to all, invites a numerous train

Of daily guests; whose board, with plenty crown'd,
Revives the feast-rites old: meanwhile his care
Forgets not the afflicted, but content

In acts of secret goodness, shuns the praise
That sure attends. Permit me, bounteous lord,
To blazon what, though hid, will beauteous shine,
And with thy name to dignify my song.

But who is he, that on the winding stream
Of Vaga first drew vital breath, and now
Approv'd in Anna's secret councils sits,
Weighing the sum of things, with wise forecast
Solicitous of public good? How large

His mind, that comprehends whate'er was known
To old, or present time; yet not elate,
Not conscious of its skill? What praise deserves
His liberal hand, that gathers but to give,
Preventing suit? O not unthankful Muse,
Him lowly reverence, that first deign'd to hear
Thy pipe, and screen'd thee from opprobrious
tongues,

Acknowledge thy own Harley, and his name
Inscribe on every bark; the wounded plants
Will fast increase, faster thy just respect.

Such are our heroes, by their virtues known,
Or skill in peace, and war: of softer mould
The female sex, with sweet attractive airs
Subdue obdurate hearts. The travellers oft,
That view their matchless forms with transient glance
Catch sudden love, and sigh for nymphs unknown,
Smit with the magic of their eyes: nor hath
The dædal hand of Nature only pour'd
Her gifts of outward grace; their innocence
Unfeign'd, and virtue most engaging, free
From pride, or artifice, long joys afford
To th' honest nuptial bed, and in the wane
Of life, rebate the miseries of age.

And is there found a wretch so base of mind,
That woman's powerful beauty dares condemn,
Exactest work of Heaven? He ill deserves
Or love, or pity; friendless let him see
Uneasy, tedious day, despis'd, forlorn,
As stain of human race: but may the man,
That cheerfully recounts the female's praise,
Find equal love, and love's untainted sweets
Enjoy with honor! O, ye gods! might I
Elect my fate, my happiest choice should be
A fair and modest virgin, that invites
With aspect chaste, forbidding loose desire,
Tenderly smiling; in whose heavenly eye
Sits purest love enthron'd: but if the stars
Malignant these my better hopes oppose,
May I, at least, the sacred pleasures know
Of strictest amity; nor ever want
A friend, with whom I mutually may share
Gladness and anguish, by kind intercourse
Of speech and offices. May in my mind,
Indelible, a grateful sense remain

Of favors undeserv'd!-0 thou! from whom
Gladly both rich and low seek aid; most wise
Interpreter of right, whose gracious voice
Breathes equity, and curbs too rigid law
With mild, impartial reason; what returns
Of thanks are due to thy beneficence
Freely vouchsaf'd, when to the gates of Death

I tended prone? if thy indulgent care
Had not preven'd, among unbodied shades
I now had wander'd; and these empty thoughts
Of apples perish'd; but, uprais'd by thee,
I tune my pipe afresh, each night and day,
Thy unexampled goodness to extol
Desirous; but nor night, nor day, suffice
For that great task; the highly-honor'd name
Of Trevor must employ my willing thoughts
Incessant, dwell for ever on my tongue.
Let me be grateful; but let far from me
Be fawning cringe, and false dissembling look,
And servile flattery, that harbors oft
In courts and gilded roofs. Some loose the bands
Of ancient friendship, cancel Nature's laws
For pageantry, and tawdry gewgaws.
Some
Renounce their sires, oppose paternal right
For rule and power; and others realms invade
With specious shows of love. This traitorous wretch
Betrays his sovereign. Others, destitute
Of real zeal, to every altar bend
By lucre sway'd, and act the basest things
To be styl'd honorable: the honest man,
Simple of heart, prefers inglorious want
To ill-got wealth; rather from door to door,
A jocund pilgrim, though distress'd, he'll rove,
Than break his plighted faith; nor fear, nor hope,
Will shock his stedfast soul; rather debarr'd
Each common privilege, cut off from hopes
Of meanest gain, of present goods despoil'd,
He'll bear the marks of infamy contemn'd,
Unpitied; yet his mind, of evil pure,
Supports him, and intention free from fraud.
If no retinue with observant eyes
Attend him, if he can't with purple stain
Of cumbrous vestments, labor'd o'er with gold,
Dazzle the crowd, and set them all agape;
Yet clad in homely weeds, from Envy's darts
Remote he lives, nor knows the nightly pangs
Of conscience, nor with spectres' grisly forms,
Demons, and injur'd souls, at close of day
Annoy'd, sad interrupted slumbers finds;
But (as a child, whose inexperienc'd age
Nor evil purpose fears, nor knows) enjoys
Night's sweet refreshment, humid sleep sincere.
When Chanticleer, with clarion shrill, recalls
The tardy day, he to his labors hies
Gladsome, intent on somewhat that may ease
Unhealthy mortals, and with curious search
Examines all the properties of herbs,
Fossils, and minerals, that th' embowell'd Earth
Displays, if by his industry he can
Benefit human race: or else his thoughts
Are exercis'd with speculations deep

Of good, and just, and meet, and th' wholesome rules
Of temperance, and aught that may improve
The moral life; not sedulous to rail,

Nor with envenom'd tongue to blast the fame
Of harmless men, or secret whispers spread
'Mong faithful friends, to breed distrust and hate.
Studious of virtue, he no life observes,
Except his own; his own employs his cares,
Large subject! that he labors to refine
Daily, nor of his little stock denies
Fit alms to lazers, merciful and meek.

Thus sacred Virgil liv'd from courtly vice, And bates of pompous Rome secure; at court, Still thoughtful of the rural honest life, And how t' improve his grounds, and how himself: Best poet! fit exemplar for the tribe

Of Phoebus, nor less fit Mæonides,
Poor eyeless pilgrim! and, if after these,
If after these another I may name,
Thus tender Spenser liv'd, with mean repast
Content, depress'd by penury, and pin'd

In foreign realm; yet not debas'd his verse
By Fortune's frowns. And had that other bard,*
Oh, had but he, that first ennobled song
With holy rapture, like his Abdiel been;
'Mong many faithless, strictly faithful found;
Unpitied, he should not have wail'd his orbs,
That roll'd in vain to find the piercing ray,
And found no dawn, by dim diffusion veil'd!
But he-however, let the Muse abstain,
Nor blast his fame, from whom she learnt to sing
In much inferior strains, grovelling beneath
Th' Olympian hill, on plains, and vales intent,
Mean follower. There let her rest awhile,
Pleas'd with the fragrant walks, and cool retreat

BOOK II.

O HARCOURT, whom th' ingenuous love of arts
Has carried from thy native soil, beyond
Th' eternal Alpine snows, and now detains
In Italy's waste realms, how long must we
Lament thy absence? whilst in sweet sojourn
Thou view'st the relics of old Rome; or, what
Unrivall'd authors by their presence made
For ever venerable, rural seats,
Tibur, and Tusculum, or Virgil's urn,

Green with immortal bays, which haply thou,
Respecting his great name, dost now approach
With bended knee, and strow with purple flowers.
Unmindful of thy friends, that ill can brook
This long delay. At length, dear youth, return,
Of wit and judgment ripe in blooming years,
And Britain's isle with Latian knowledge grace.
Return, and let thy father's worth excite
Thirst of pre-eminence; see! how the cause
Of widows, and of orphans, he asserts
With winning rhetoric, and well-argu'd law!
Mark well his footsteps, and, like him, deserve
Thy prince's favor, and thy country's love.

Meanwhile (although the Massic grape delights,
Pregnant of racy juice, and Formian hills
Temper thy cups, yet) wilt not thou reject
Thy native liquors: lo! for thee my mill
Now grinds choice apples, and the British vats
O'erflow with generous Cider; far remote
Accept this labor, nor despise the Muse,
That, passing lands and seas, on thee attends.

Thus far of trees: the pleasing task remains, To sing of wines, and Autumn's blest increase. Th' effects of art are shown, yet what avails 'Gainst Heaven? oft, notwithstanding all thy care To help thy plants, when the small fruitery seems Exempt from ills, an oriental blast Disastrous flies, soon as the hind fatigu'd Unyokes his team; the tender freight, unskill'd To bear the hot disease, distemper'd pines In the year's prime: the deadly plague annoys The wide inclosure: think not vainly now To treat thy neighbors with mellifluous cups, Thus disappointed. If the former years Exhibit no supplies, alas! thou must With tasteless water wash thy drouthy throat.

* Milton.

A thousand accidents the farmer's hopes Subvert, or check; uncertain all his toil, Till lusty Autumn's lukewarm days, allay'd With gentle colds, insensibly confirm His ripening labors: Autumn, to the fruits Earth's various lap produces, vigor gives Equal, intenerating milky grain, Berries, and sky-dy'd Plums, and what in coat Rough, or soft-rin'd, or bearded husk, or shell; Fat Olives, and Pistacio's fragrant nut, And the Pine's tasteful apple: Autumn paints Ausonian hills with Grapes; whilst English plains Blush with pomaceous harvests, breathing sweets. O let me now, when the kind early dew Unlocks th' embosom'd odors, walk among The well-rang'd files of trees, whose full-ag'd store Diffuse ambrosial steams, than Myrrh, or Nard, More grateful, or perfuming flowery Bean! Soft whispering airs, and the lark's matin song Then woo to musing, and becalm the mind Perplex'd with irksome thoughts. Thrice-happy time, Best portion of the various year, in which Nature rejoiceth, smiling on her works Lovely, to full perfection wrought! but ah! Short are our joys, and neighboring griefs disturb Our pleasant hours! inclement Winter dwells Contiguous; forthwith frosty blasts deface The blithesome year: trees of their shrivel'd fruits Are widow'd, dreary storms o'er all prevail! Now, now's the time, ere hasty suns forbid To work, disburthen thou thy sapless wood Of its rich progeny; the turgid fruit Abounds with mellow liquor: now exhort Thy hinds to exercise the pointed steel On the hard rock, and give a wheely form To the expected grinder: now prepare Materials for thy mill; a sturdy post Cylindric, to support the grinder's weight Excessive; and a flexile sallow, intrench'd, Rounding, capacious of the juicy hoard. Nor must thou not be mindful of thy press, Long ere the vintage; but with timely care Shave the goat's shaggy beard, lest thou too late In vain shouldst seek a strainer to dispart The husky, terrene dregs, from purer Must. Be cautious next a proper steed to find, Whose prime is past; the vigorous horse disdains Such servile labors, or, if forc'd, forgets His past achievements, and victorious palms. Blind Bayard rather, worn with work, and years, Shall roll th' unwieldy stone; with sober pace He'll tread the circling path till dewy eve, From early day-spring, pleas'd to find his age Declining not unuseful to his lord.

Some, when the press, by utmost vigor screw'd, Has drain'd the pulpous mass, regale their swine With the dry refuse; thou, more wise, shalt steep Thy husks in water, and again employ The ponderous engine. Water will imbibe The small remains of spirit, and acquire A vinous flavor; this the peasants blithe Will quaff, and whistle, as thy tinkling team They drive, and sing of Fusca's radiant eyes, Pleas'd with the medley draught. Nor shalt thou now Reject the apple-cheese, though quite exhaust: Even now 'twill cherish, and improve the roots Of sickly plants; new vigor hence convey'd Will yield an harvest of unusual growth. Such profit springs from husks discreetly us'd! The tender apples, from their parents rent

By stormy shocks, must not neglected lie,
The prey of worms: a frugal man I knew,
Rich in one barren acre, which, subdued
By endless culture, with sufficient Must
His casks replenish'd yearly: he no more
Desir'd, nor wanted; diligent to learn
The various seasons, and by skill repel
Invading pests, successful in his cares,
Till the damp Libyan wind, with tempests arm'd
Outrageous, bluster'd horrible amidst

His Cider-grove: o'erturn'd by furious blasts,
The sightly ranks fall prostrate, and around
Their fruitage scatter'd, from the genial boughs
Stript immature: yet did he not repine,
Nor curse his stars: but prudent, his fallen heaps
Collecting, cherish'd with the tepid wreaths
Of tedded grass, and the Sun's mellowing beams
Rivall'd with artful heats, and thence procur'd
A costly liquor, by improving time,
Equall'd with what the happiest vintage bears.

But this I warn thee, and shall always warn,
No heterogeneous mixtures use, as some
With wat'ry turnips have debas'd their wines,
Too frugal; nor let the crude humors dance
In heated brass, steaming with fire intense;
Although Devonia much commends the use
Of strength'ning Vulcan: with their native strength
Thy wines sufficient, other aid refuse;
And, when th' allotted orb of time's complete,
Are more commended than the labor'd drinks.

Nor let thy avarice tempt thee to withdraw The priest's appointed share; with cheerful heart The tenth of thy increase bestow, and own Heaven's bounteous goodness, that will sure repay Thy grateful duty: this neglected, fear Signal vengeance, such as overtook A miser, that unjustly once withheld The clergy's due: relying on himself, His fields he tended, with successless care, Early and late, when or unwish'd-for rain Descended, or unseasonable frosts Curb'd his increasing hopes; or, when around The clouds dropt fatness, in the middle sky The dew suspended staid, and left unmoist His execrable glebe: recording this, Be just, and wise, and tremble to transgress.

Learn now the promise of the coming year, To know, that by no flattering signs abus'd, Thou wisely may'st provide: the various Moon Prophetic, and attendant stars, explain

| Each rising dawn; ere icy crusts surmount
The current stream, the heavenly orbs serene
Twinkle with trembling rays, and Cynthia glows
With light unsullied: now the fowler, warn'd
By these good omens, with swift early steps [glades
Treads the crimp earth, ranging through fields and
Offensive to the birds; sulphureous death
Checks their mid flight, and heedless while they strain
Their tuneful throats, the towering, heavy lead
O'ertakes their speed; they leave their little lives
Above the clouds, precipitant to Earth.

The woodcock's early visit, and abode Of long continuance in our temperate clime, Foretell a liberal harvest; he of times Intelligent, the harsh Hyperborean ice Shuns for our equal winters; when our suns Cleave the chill'd soil, he backward wings his way To Scandinavian frozen summers, meet For his numb'd blood. But nothing profits more Than frequent snows: O, may'st thou often see