The payntit powne "paysand with plumys gym, To bete thare amouris of thare nychtis bale, The larkis loude releischand in the skyis, Welcum the lord of licht, and lampe of day, » Dove. - Cries. So Chaucer of the nightingale. So the Friar is said to gale, WIFE OF Mounting Ploughs. b Welcum Welcum depaynter of the blomyt medis, The poetical beauties of this specimen will be relished by every reader who is fond of lively touches of fancy, and rural imagery. But the verses will have another merit with those critics who love to contemplate the progress of composition, and to mark the original workings of genuine nature; as they are the effusion of a mind not overlaid by the descriptions of other poets, but operating, by its own force and bias, in the delineation of a vernal landscape, on such objects as really occurred. On this account, they deserve to be better understood : and I have therefore translated them into plain modern English prose. In the mean time, this experiment will serve to prove their native excellence. Divested of poetic numbers and expression, they still retain their poetry; and, to use the comparison of an elegant writer on a like occasion, appear like Ulysses, still a king and conqueror, although disguised like a peasant, and lodged in the cottage of the herdsman Eumaeus. “ Fresh Aurora, the wife of Tithonus, issued from her “ saffron bed, and ivory house. She was cloathed in a robe " of crimson and violet-colour; the cape vermilion, and the “ border purple : she opened the windows of her ample « hall, overspread with roses, and filled with balm, or nard. " At the same time, the crystal gates of heaven were thrown open, to illumine the world. The glittering streamers of “ the orient diffused purple streaks mingled with gold and azure.— The steeds of the sun, in red harness of rubies, “ of colour brown as the berry, lifted their heads above the sea, to glad our hemisphere : the flames burst from their & Restorer. VOL. II. Рp “ nostrils; “ nostrils:- While shortly, apparelled in his luminous array, Phebus, bearing the blazing torch of day, issued “ from his royal palace;, with a golden crown, glorious visage, curled locks bright as the chrysolite or topaz, and “ with a radiance intolerable.-The fiery sparks, bursting “ from his eyes, purged the air, and gilded the new ver“ dure.--The golden vanes of his throne covered the ocean “ with a glittering glance, and the broad.waters were all in a blaze, at the first glimpse of his appearance. It was glorious to see the winds appeased, the sea becalmed, the “ soft season, the serene firmament, the still air, and the beauty of the watery scene. The silver-scaled fishes, on " the gravel, gliding hastily, as it were from the heat or sün, " through clear streams, with fins shining brown as cinna" bar, and chiffel-tails, darted here and there. The new “ lustre, enlightening all the land, beamed on the small “ pebbles on the sides of rivers, and on the strands, which * looked like beryl: while the reflection of the rays played on the banks in variegated gleams; and Flora threw forth « her blooms under the feet of the sun's brilliant horses. “ The bladed foil was embroidered with various hues. Both « wood and forest were darkened with boughs; which, re- fected from the ground, gave a shadowy lustre to the red “ rocks. Towers, turrets, battlements, and high pinnacles, " of churches, castles, and every fair city, seemed to be painted; and, together with every bastion and story, ex pressed their own shape on the plains. The glebe, fearless “ of the northern blasts, spread her broad bosom. -- The “corn-crops, and the new-sprung barley, recloathed the “ earth with a gladsome garment. - The variegated vesture “ of the valley covered the cloven furrow; and the barley" lands were diversified with flowery weeds. The meadow was besprinkled with rivulets: and the fresh moisture of " the dewy night restored the herbage which the cattle had cropped in the day. The blossoms in the blowing garden 66 trusted is trusted their heads to the protection of the young sun. « Rank ivy-leaves overspread the wall of the rampart. The blooming hawthorn cloathed all his thorns in flowers. The budding clusters of the tender grapes hung end-long, by their tendrils, from the trellises. The gems of the trees “ unlocking, expanded themselves into the foliage of Na“ ture's tapestry. There was a soft verdure after balmy " showers. The flowers smiled in various colours on the bending stalks. Some red, &c. Others, watchet, like the “ blue and wavy fea; speckled with red and white; or, bright as gold. The daisy unbraided her little coronet. « The grass stood embattelled, with banewort, &c. The « feeded down flew from the dandelion. Young weeds ap“ peared among the leaves of the strawberries. Gay gilli flowers, &c. The rose buds, putting forth, offered their " red vernal lips to be kissed; and diffused fragrance from the crisp scarlet that surrounded their golden seeds. Lilies, “ with white curling tops, shewed their crests open. The “ odorous vapour moistened the silver webs that hung « from the leaves. The plain was powdered with round dewy pearls. From every bud, scyon, herb, and flower, « bathed in liquid fragrance, the bee fucked sweet honey.“ The swans clamoured amid the rustling reeds; and search" ed all the lakes and gray rivers where to build their nests. " The red bird of the sun lifted his coral crest, crowing « clear among the plants and rutis gent, picking his food sc. from every path, and attended by his wives Toppa and “ Partlet. The painted peacock with gaudy plumes, un“ folded his tail like a bright wheel, inshrouded in his shining feathers, resembling the marks of the hundred eyes of Argus. Among the boughs of the twisted olive, “ the small birds framed their artful nests, or along the " thick hedges, or rejoiced with their merry mates on the " tall oaks. In the secret nook, or in the clear windows of glass, the spider full busily wove her sy net, to ensnare P p 2 o the |