94 Thy lovely lays here mayft thou freely boaft: But I, unhappy man! whom cruel fate, And angry Gods pursue from coast to coast, Can no where find, to shroud my luckless pate. HOBBIN O L. Then if by me thou lift advised be, Forfake the foil, that fo doth thee bewitch: Leave me thofe hills, where harbroughnis to fee, Nor holly-bush, nor brere, nor winding ditch; And to the dales refort, where fhepherds rich, And fruitful flocks been every where to fee: Here no night-ravens lodge, more black than pitch, Nor elvish ghofts, nor ghaftly owls do flee. But friendly fairies met with many graces, And light-foot nymphs can chace the ling'ring night, With heydeguies, and trimly trodden traces; Whilft fifters nine, which dwell on Parnafs' hight, Do make them mufic, for their more delight; And Pan himself to kifs their chryftal faces, Will pipe and daunce, when Phabe shineth bright: Such peerless pleasures have we in thefe places. COLIN. And I, whilft youth, and courfe of careless years, In fuch delights did joy amongst my peers : Tho couth I fing of love and tune my pipe Tho would I feek for queen-apples unripe, Dight gawdy girlonds, was my common trade, HOBBINO L. Colin, to hear thy rhimes and roundelays, And taught the birds, which in the lower spring Soon as thy oaten pipe began to found, Their ivory lutes and tamburins forgo: But when they came, where thou thy skill didft fhow, COLIN. Of mufes, Hobbinol, I cor no skill, But piping low, in fhade of lowly grove, I play to please myself, albeit ill. Nought weigh I, who my fong doth praise or blame, Ne ftrive to win renown, or pafs the reft: With fhepherds fits not follow flying fame, But feed his flocks in fields, where falls him best. The God of fhepherds, Tityrus is dead, Well couth he wail his woes, and lightly flake The flames, which love within his heart had bred, And tell us merry tales, to keep us wake, The while our sheep about us safely fed. Now dead he is, and lieth wrapt in lead, (O why should death on him fuch outrage show! And all his paffing skill with him is fled, The fame whereof doth daily greater grow. But if on me fome little drops would flow Of that the spring was in his learned hed, I foon would learn these woods to wail my woe, And teach the trees their trickling tears to shed. Then should my plaints, caus'd of discourtesee, As meffengers of this my painful plight, Fly to my love, wherever that the be. And pierce her heart with point of worthy wight; As the deferves, that wrought fo deadly spight. And thou, Menalcas, that by treachery Didft underfong my lafs to wax fo light, Should'ft well be known for fuch thy villiany. But fince I am not, as I wish I were, Ye gentle fhepherds, which your flocks do feed, Whether on hills or dales, or other where, Bear witness all of this fo wicked deed: And tell the lass, whose flower is woxe a weed, And faultlefs faith is turn'd to faithless feere, That she the trueft fhepherd's heart made bleed, That lives on earth, and loved her moft dear. HOBBINO L. O! careful Colin, I lament thy case, Thy tears would make the hardest flint to flow! Ah! faithlefs Rofalind, and void of grace, That are the root of all this rueful woe! But now is time, I guess, homeward to go: Then rife, ye blessed flocks, and home apace, Left night with stealing steps do you foreflo, And wet your tender lambs, that by you trace. By the following eclogue the reader will perceive that Mr. Philips has, in imitation of Spencer, preferved in his Paftorals many antiquated words, which, tho' they are discarded from polite converfation, may naturally be fuppofed ftill to have place among the fhepherds, and other rufticks in the country. We have made choice of his fe cond eclogue, because it is brought home to his own bufinefs, and contains a complaint against those who had spoken ill of him and his writings. Is it not Colinet I lonesome fee Leaning with folded arms against the tree? Though blithe their notes, not fo my wayward fate; THE NOT. Small caufe, I ween, has lufty youth to plain; F But tell me then; it may relieve thy woe, COLINE T. Idly 'twill waste thee, Thenot, the whole day, Should'ft thou give ear to all my grief can say. Thine ewes will wander; and the heedlefs lambs, In loud complaints, require their abfent dams. THEN O т. See Lightfoot; he shall tend them close: and I, 'Tween whiles, a-crofs the plain will glance mine eye. COLINE T. Where to begin I know not, where to end. Does there one fmiling hour my youth attend? Though few my days, as well my follies show, Yet are those days all clouded o'er with woe: No happy gleam of fun-fhine doth appear, My low'ring ky, and wint'ry months to cheer. My piteous plight in yonder naked tree, Which bears the thunder-fcar, too plain I fee: Quite deftitute it ftands of fhelter kind, The mark of ftorms, and fport of every wind: The riven trunk feels not th' approach of spring; Nor birds among the leafless branches fing: No more, beneath thy fhade, shall shepherd's throng With jocund tale, or pipe, or pleafing fong. Ill-fated tree! and more ill-fated I! From thee, from me, alike.the shepherds fly. THEN Oт. Sure thou in hapless hour of time waft born, When blightning mildews fpoil the rifing corn, Or blafting winds o'er bloffom'd hedge-rows pafs, To kill the promis'd fruits, and fcorch the grafs, Or when the moon, by wizard charm'd, foreshows, Blood-ftain'd in foul eclipfe, impending woes. Untimely born, ill luck betides thee ftill. COLINE T. And can there, Thenot, be a greater ill? |