875

By hoary Nereus' wrinkled look,
And the Carpathian wisard's hook,
By scaly Triton's winding shell,
And old soothsaying Glaucus' spell,
By Leucothea's lovely hands,
And her son that rules the strands,
By Thetis' tinsel-slipper'd feet,
And the songs of Sirens sweet,
By dead Parthenope's dear tomb,
And fair Ligea's golden comb,
Wherewith she sits on diamond rocks,
Sleeking her soft alluring locks,
By all the nymphs that nightly dance
Upon thy streains with wily glance,
Rise, rise, and heave thy rosy head
From thy coral-paven bed,
And bridle in thy headlong wave,
Till thou our summons answer'd have.

Listen and save.

880

885

SABRINA rises, attended by water-nymphs,

and sings.

890

By the rushy-fringed bank,
Where grows the willow and the osier dank,

My sliding chariot stays,

871 hoary] Virg. org. iv. 392. "Grandævus Nereus.' Newton.

872 Carpathian] “Carpathius vates.' Stat. Ach. i. 136. Val. Flacc. ii. 317.

895

900

Thick set with agate, and the azurn sheen
Of turkis blue, and emerald green,

That in the channel strays;
Whilst from off the waters fleet,
Thus I set my printless feet
O'er the cowslip's velvet head,

That bends not as I tread; Gentle Swain, at thy request

I am here.

Sp. Goddess dear,
We implore thy pow'rful hand
To undo the charmed band
Of true virgin here distrest,
Through the force, and through the wile
Of unblest inchanter vile.

SABR. Shepherd, 'tis my office best
To help insnared chastity :
Brightest Lady, look on me;
Thus I sprinkle on thy breast
Drops that from

my
fountain

pure I have kept of precious cure, Thrice

upon thy finger's tip, Thrice upon thy rubied lip;

905

910

915

893 azurn] Ital. “azzurino.' Todd.

green] On gems in Sabrina's stream.

894

See Cowley's Silva,

P. 46.

n

897 printless] Shakesp. Temp. act v. s. 1. •And ye, that on the sands with printless foot.' Warton.

907 inchanter] Faer. Q. ii. 12, 31. “And her before the vile chaunter sate.' Todd.

Next this marble venom'd seat,
Smear'd with

gums of glutinous heat,
I touch with chaste palms moist and cold :
Now the spell hath lost his hold;
And I must haste ere morning hour
To wait in Amphitrite's bow'r.

920

925

SABRINA descends, and the Lady rises out of her seat.

Sp. Virgin, daughter of Locrine
Sprung of old Anchises' line,
May thy brimmed waves for this
Their full tribute never miss
From a thousand petty rills,
That tumble down the

snowy

hills:
Summer drouth, or singed air
Never scorch thy tresses fair,
Nor wet October's torrent flood
Thy molten crystal fill with mud;
May thy billows roll ashore
The beryl, and the golden ore;
May thy lofty head be crown'd

930

918 moist] “The moone though moist and cold she be.'

Randolph's Poems, p. 49. 924 brimmed] 'brined,' Warburton ; a wrong and tasteless alteration: brimmed' is connected with the two following lines. Lucret. ii. 362,

• Fluminaque illa queunt, summis labentia ripis.' 930 flood] Sylv. Du Bartas, p. 171.

- dirty mudds
Defild the crystal of smooth sliding floods. Dunster.

34

VOL. II.

935

940

945

With many a tow'r and terrace round,
And here and there thy banks upon
With groves

of myrrh and cinnamon.
Come, Lady, while heav’n lends us grace,
Let us fly this cursed place,
Lest the sorcerer us entice
With some other new device.
Not a waste, or needless sound,
Till we come to holier ground;
I shall be your faithful guide
Through this gloomy covert wide,
And not many furlongs thence
Is your Father's residence,
Where this night are met in state
Many a friend to gratulate
His wish'd presence, and beside
All the swains that there abide,
With jigs, and rural dance resort ;
We shall catch them at their sport,
And our sudden coming there
Will double all their mirth and cheer;
Come let us haste, the stars grow high,
But night sits monarch yet in the mid sky.

950

955

The Scene changes, presenting Ludlow town and the

President's castle; then come in country dancers, after them the ATTENDANT SPIRIT, with the Two BROTHERS, and the LADY.

SONG.

960

Sp. Back, Shepherds, back, enough your play, Till next sunshine holiday; Here be without duck or nod Other trippings to be trod Of lighter toes, and such court guise As Mercury did first devise, With the mincing Dryades, On the lawns, and on the leas.

965

This second Song presents them to their Father and

Mother.

970

Noble Lord, and Lady bright,
I have brought ye new delight,
Here behold so goodly grown
Three fair branches of your own;
Heav'n hath timely tried their youth,
Their faith, their patience, and their truth,
And sent them here through hard assays
With a crown of deathless praise,

To triumph in victorious dance
O’er sensual folly, and intemperance.

975

6

960 duck] K. Richard III. act i. sc. 3. •Duck with French nods. Warton.