SECOND.

When o'er the meads with vernal verdure gay
The village children wont at eve to stray,

I pluck'd fresh flow'rets from the grafly ground,
And their green stalks with bending rushes bound;
My wreaths, my nofegays, then my DELIA drest,
Crown'd her fair brow, or bloom'd upon her

breast.

Young as I was, the pleafing thought was mine,
One day, fond boy, that beauty will be thine!

FIRST.

Befide his gate, beneath the lofty tree,

Old THYRSIS' well-known feat I vacant fee;

There, while his prattling offspring round him

play'd,

He oft to please them toys of ofiers made;
That feat his weight fhall never more fuftain,
That offspring round him ne'er shall sport again,

SECOND.

SECOND.

Yon lone church tow'r that overlooks the hills!

The fight my foul full oft with forrow fills:

There DAMON lies;-in prime of youth he died!

A ford unknown, by night he vent'rous tried:
In vain he struggled with the foaming wave;

No friendly arm, alas, was near to fave!

FIRST.

Ceafe, friend! and, homeward as we bend our way, Remark the beauties of the clofing day;

See, tow'rds the weft, the redd'ning Sun declines,

And o'er the fields his level luftre fhines.

SECOND.

How that bright landscape lures the eye to gaze,

Where with his beams the diftant windows blaze!

And the gilt vane, high on the steeple fpire,

Glows in the air—a dazzling spot of fire!

FIRST.

Behind yon hill he now forfakes our fight, And yon tall beeches catch his latest light; The hamlet fmokes in amber wreaths arife;

White mift, like water, on the valley lies.

SECOND.

Where yon chalk cliffs th' horizon eastward bound,

And spreading elms the ancient hall furround,
The moon's bright orb arises from the main,

And Night in filence holds her folemn reign,

ECLOGUE II.

RURAL BUSINESS; or, The AGRICULTURISTS.

MAY

AY's lib'ral hand her fragrant bloom dif-
clos'd,

And herds and flocks on graffy banks repos'd;
Soft Evening gave to eafe the tranquil hour,
And Philomel's wild warblings fill'd the bow'r.
Where near the village rofe the elm-crown'd hill,
And white-leav'd aspins trembled o'er the rill,
Three rural Bards, the village youth among,

The pleafing lore of rural bufinefs fung.

FIRST.

The care of farms we fing-attend the ftrainWhat skill, what toil, fhall beft procure you gain;

How

How different culture different ground requires;

While Wealth rewards whom Industry infpires.

SECOND.

When thy light land on fcorching gravel lies, And to the fpringing blade fupport denies;

Fix on the wintry tilth the frequent fold,

And mend with cooling marl or untried mould.

THIRD.

If thy ftrong loam fuperfluous wet retain, Lead thro' thy fields the fubterraneous drain, And o'er the furface mellowing ftores expand Of fiery lime, or incoherent fand.

FIRST.

In vacant corners, on the hamlet wafte,

The ample dunghill's fteaming heap be plac'd;
There many a month fermenting to remain,

Ere thy flow team difperfe it o'er the plain.

6

SECOND.