In every page I fee new landscapes rife,
And all Hefperia opens to my eyes,
I wander o'er the various rural toil,
And know the nature of each different foil :
This waving field is gilded o'er with corn,
That spreading trees with blufhing fruit adorn :
Here I furvey the purple vintage grow,
Climb round the poles, and rife in graceful row:
Now I behold the fteed curvet and bound,
And paw with restless hoof the smoking ground:
The dewlap'd bull now chafes along the plain,
While burning love ferments in every vein ;
His well-arm'd front against his rival aims,
And by the dint of war his mistress claims :
The careful infect 'midft his works I view,
Now from the flowers exhauft the fragrant dew;
With golden treasures load his little thighs,
And fteer his diftant journey through the skies;
Some against hoftile drones the hive defend;
Others with fweets the waxen cells diftend:
Each in the toil his deftin'd office bears,
And in the little bulk a mighty foul appears.
Or when the ploughman leaves the task of day, And trudging homeward whistles on the way; When the big-udder'd cows with patience ftand, Waiting the ftroakings of the damfel's hand; No warbling cheers the woods; the feather'd choir, 95 To court kind flumbers, to the sprays retire; When no rude gale disturbs the sleeping trees, Nor afpen leaves confefs the gentlest breeze ;
Engag'd in thought, to Neptune's bounds I stray,
To take my farewell of the parting day;
Far in the deep the fun his glory hides,
A ftreak of gold the fea and fky divides:
The purple clouds their amber linings show,
And edg'd with flame rolls every wave below:
Here pensive I behold the fading light,
And o'er the diftant billow lofe my fight.
Now Night in filent state begins to rise,
And twinkling orbs bestrow th' uncloudy skies;
Her borrow'd luftre growing Cynthia lends,
And on the main a glittering path extends ;
Millions of worlds hang in the fpacious air,
Which round their funs their annual circles fteer;
Sweet contemplation elevates my fenfe,
While I furvey the works of Providence.
O could the Mufe in loftier ftrains rehearse
The glorious Author of the universe,
Who reins the winds, gives the vaft ocean bounds,
And circumfcribes the floating worlds their rounds;
My foul fhould overflow in fongs of praife,
And my Creator's name infpire my lays !
As in fucceffive courfe the feasons roll,
So circling pleasures recreate the foul.
When genial Spring a living warmth bestows,
And o'er the year her verdant mantle throws,
No fwelling inundation hides the grounds,
But crystal currents glide within their bounds;
The finny brood their wonted haunts forfake,
Float in the fun, and fkim along the lake,
With frequent leap they range the fhallow ftreams,
Their filver coats reflect the dazzling beams.
Now let the fisherman his toils prepare,
And arm himself with every watery snare;
His hooks, his lines, perufe with careful eye,
Encrcafe his tackle, and his rod re-tye.
When floating clouds their spongy fleeces drain, 135
Troubling the ftreams with swift descending rain;
And waters, tumbling down the mountain's fide,
Bear the loofe foil into the fwelling tide;
Then, foon as vernal gales begin to rife,
And drive the liquid burthen through the skies,
The fisher to the neighbouring current speeds,
Whofe rapid furface purls unknown to weeds:
Upon a rifing border of the brook
He fits him down, and ties the treacherous hook;
Now expectation chears his eager thought,
His bofom glows with treasures yet uncaught,
Before his eyes a banquet seems to stand,
Where every guest applauds his skilful hand.
Far up the ftream the twisted hair he throws, Which down the murmuring current gently flows; 150 When, if or chance or hunger's powerful sway
Directs the roving trout this fatal way,
He greedily fucks-in the twining bait,
And tugs and nibbles the fallacious meat:
Now, happy fisherman, now twitch the line!
How thy rod bends! behold, the prize is thine!
Caft on the bank, he dies with gasping pains,
And trickling blood his filver mail diftains.
You must not every worm promifcuous use ;
Judgement will tell the proper bait to chufe:
The worm that draws a long immoderate size
The trout abhors, and the rank morfel flies;
And, if too small, the naked fraud 's in fight,
And fear forbids, while hunger does invite.
Thofe baits will beft reward the fisher's pains,
Whofe polifh'd tails a fhining yellow ftains:
Cleanse them from filth, to give a tempting gloss,
Cherish the fully'd reptile race with moss;
Amid the verdant bed they twine, they toil,
And from their bodies wipe their native foil.
But, when the fun displays his glorious beams,
And fhallow rivers flow with filver ftreams,
Then the deceit the fcaly breed furvey,
Bafk in the fun, and look into the day :-
You now a more delufive art must try,
And tempt
their hunger with the curious fly.
To frame the little animal, provide
All the gay hues that wait on female pride :
Let nature guide thee; fometimes golden wire
The fhining bellies of the fly require ;
The peacock's plumes thy tackle must not fail,
Nor the dear purchase of the fable's tail.
Each gaudy bird some slender tribute brings,
And lends the growing infect proper wings t
Silks of all colours must their aid impart,
And every fur promote the fisher's art.
So the gay lady, with expensive care,
Borrows the pride of land, of fea, and air;
Furs, pearls, and plumes, the glittering thing difplays,
Dazzles our eyes, and easy hearts betrays.
Mark well the various seasons of the year,
How the fucceeding infect race appear;
In this revolving moon one colour reigns,
Which in the next the fickle trout difdains.
Oft' have I feen a skilful angler try
The various colours of the treacherous fly;
When he with fruitless pain hath skimm'd the brook,
And the coy fish rejects the skipping hook,
He shakes the boughs that on the margin grow,
Which o'er the ftream a waving foreft throw;
When if an infect fall (his certain guide),
He gently takes him from the whirling tide;
Examines well his form with curious eyes,
His gaudy veft, his wings, his horns, and fize;
Then round his hook the chofen fur he winds,
And on the back a speckled feather binds,
So just the colours fhine through every part,
That Nature feems again to live in Art.
Let not thy wary step advance too near,
While all thy hope hangs on a fingle hair;
The new-form'd infect on the water moves,
The fpeckled trout the curious fnare approves ;
Upon the curling furface let it glide,
With natural motion from thy hand fupply'd,
Against the stream now gently let it play,
Now in the rapid eddy roll away.
The fcaly fhoals float by, and, feiz'd with fear,
Behold their fellows toft in thinner air;
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