網頁圖片
PDF
ePub 版

Thrown, amid drooping lilies, fwells the breeze
With fighs unceasing, and the brook with tears.
Thus in foft anguifh he confumes the day,
Nor quits his deep retirement, till the moon
Peeps through the chambers of the fleecy east,
Enlighten'd by degrees, and in her train
Leads on the gentle hours; then forth he walks,
Beneath the trembling languish of her beam,
With foften'd foul, and wooes the bird of eve
To mingle woes with his or while the world
And all the fons of Care lie hufh'd in fleep,
Affociates with the midnight shadows drear;
And, fighing to the lonely taper, pours
His idly-tortur'd heart into the page,
Meant for the moving meffenger of love;
Where rapture burns on rapture, every line
With rifing frenzy fir'd. But if on bed

Delirious flung, fleep from his pillow flies.
All night he toffes, nor the balmy power
In any pofture finds; till the grey morn
Lifts her pale luftre on the paler wretch,
Exanimate by love; and then perhaps
Exhaufted Nature finks a while to reft,
Still interrupted by distracted dreams,
That o'er the fick imagination rife,

And in black colours paint the mimic scene.
Oft with th' enchantress of his foul he talks;
Sometimes in crowds diftrefs'd; or if retir'd
To fecret winding flower-enwoven bowers,
Far from the dull impertinence of Man,

1030

1035

1040

1045

1050

1055

Juft

Juft as he, credulous, his endless cares

Begins to lose in blind oblivious love,

Snatch'd from her yielded hand, he knows not how,
Through forefts huge, and long untravel'd heaths
With defolation brown, he wanders waste,
In night and tempeft wrapt; or shrinks aghast,
Back, from the bending precipice; or wades
The turbid ftream below, and ftrives to reach
The farther fhore; where fuccourlefs, and fad,
She with extended arms his aid implores;
But strives in vain : borne by th' outrageous flood
To distance down, he rides the ridgy wave,

Or whelm❜d beneath the boiling eddy finks.
These are the charming agonies of love,
Whofe mifery delights. But through the heart
Should jealoufy its venom once diffuse,

'Tis then delightful mifery no more,
But agony unmix'd, inceffant gall,
Corroding every thought, and blasting all
Love's paradife. Ye fairy profpects, then,
Ye beds of rofes, and ye bowers of joy,
Farewel! Ye gleamings of departed peace,

1065

1079

1075

Shine out your laft! The yellow-tinging plague So Internal vifion taints, and in a night

Of livid gloom imagination wraps.

Ah, then instead of love-enliven'd cheeks,

Of funny features, and of ardent eyes

With flowing rapture bright, dark looks fucceed, 1085

Suffus'd and glaring with untender fire;

A clouded afpect, and a burning cheek,

[blocks in formation]

1090

1095

Where the whole poifon'd foul, malignant, fits,
And frightens love away. Ten thousand fears
Invented wild, ten thoufand frantic views
Of horrid rivals, hanging on the charms
For which he melts in fondnefs, eat him up
With fervent anguish, and confuming rage.
In vain reproaches lend their idle aid,
Deceitful pride, and refolution frail,
Giving falfe peace a moment. Fancy pours,
Afresh, her beauties on his busy thought,
Her firft endearments twining round the foul,
With all the witchcraft of enfnaring love.
Straight the fierce storm involves his mind anew,
Flames through the nerves, and boils along the veins ;
While anxious doubt diftracts the tortur'd heart :
For ev'n the fad affurance of his fears

1100

1105

Were ease to what he feels. Thus the warm youth,
Whom Love deludes into his thorny wilds,
Through flowery-tempting paths, or leads a life
Of fever'd rapture, or of cruel care;

His brightest flames extinguish'd all, and all
His lively moments running down to waste.

[ocr errors]

But happy they! the happiest of their kind!
Whom gentler ftars unite, and in one fate
Their hearts, their fortunes, and their beings blend.
Tis not the coarfer tie of human laws,
Unnatural oft, and foreign to the mind,

[merged small][ocr errors]

Attuning all their paffions into love;
Where friendship full-exerts her fofteft power,

Perfect

Perfect esteem enliven❜d by desire

Ineffable, and fympathy of foul;

1125

Thought meeting thought, and will preventing will,
With boundless confidence: for nought but love
Can anfwer love, and render blifs fecure.
Let him, ungenerous, who, alone intent
To bless himfelf, from fordid parents buys
The loathing virgin, in eternal care,
Well-merited, confume his nights and days:
Let barbarous nations, whofe inhuman love
Is wild defire, fierce as the funs they feel;
Let eastern tyrants, from the light of heaven
Seclude their bofom-flaves, meanly poffefs'd
Of a mere, lifelefs, violated form:

While those whom love cements in holy faith,
And equal tranfport, free as Nature live,
Difdaining fear. What is the world to them,
Its pomp, its pleasure, and its nonsense all!
Who in each other clafp whatever fair
High fancy forms, and lavish hearts can wish;
Something than beauty dearer, fhould they look
Or on the mind, or mind-illumin'd face;
Truth, goodness, honour, harmony, and love,
The richest bounty of indulgent Heaven.
Meantime a smiling offspring rifes round,
And mingles both their graces. By degrees,
The human bloffom blows; and every day,
Soft as it rolls along, fhews fome new charm,
The father's luftre, and the mother's bloom.
Then infant reafon grows apace, and calls

1130

1135

1140

1145

For

For the kind hand of an affiduous care.
Delightful task! to rear the tender thought,
To teach the young idea how to shoot,
Το pour the fresh inftruction o'er the mind,
To breathe th' enlivening fpirit, and to fix
The generous purpofe in the glowing breaft.
Oh, speak the joy! ye, whom the fudden tear
Surprizes often, while you look around,

And nothing strikes your eye but fights of blifs,
All various Nature preffing on the heart:
An elegant fufficiency, content,
Retirement, rural quiet, friendship, books,
Eafe and alternate labour, ufeful life,
Progreffive virtue, and approving Heaven.
These are the matchlefs joys of virtuous love;
And thus their moments fly. The Seasons thus,
As ceaseless round a jarring world they roll,
Still find them happy; and confenting Spring
Sheds her own rofy garland on their heads :
Till evening comes at laft, ferene and mild;
When, after the long vernal day of life,
Enamour'd more, as more remembrance fwells
With many a proof of recollected love,
Together down they fink in focial sleep;
Together freed, their gentle spirits fly

To scenes where love and blifs immortal reign.

1150

1155

1160

1165

1170

SUMMER.

« 上一頁繼續 »