Let Celfus for that enterprize prepare,
His conduct to the fhades fhall be my care.
Aghaft the heroes stood diffolved in fear,
A form fo heavenly bright they could not bear;
Celfus, alone unmov'd, the fight beheld,
The reft in pale confufion left the field.
So when the pygmies, marfbal'd on the plains,
Wage puny war against th' invading cranes
The puppets to their bodkin fpears repair,
And icatter'd feathers flutter in the air;
But, when the bold imperial bird of Jove
Stoops on his founding pinions from above,
Among the brakes the fairy nation crowds,
And the Strimonian fquadron fecks the clouds.
And now the Delegate prepares to go
And view the wonders of the realms below;
Then takes Amomum for the golden bough.
Thrice did the goddefs with her facred wand
The pavement ftrike; and straight at her command
The willing furface opens, and defcries
A deep defcent that leads to nether skies.
Hygeia to the filent region tends;
And with his heavenly guide the charge defcends.
Thus Numa, when to hallow'd caves retir'd,
Was by Ageria guarded and infpir'd.
Within the chambers of the globe they spy
The beds where fleeping vegetables lie,
Till the glad fummons of a genial ray
Unbinds the globe, and calls them out to day.
Hence Pancies trick themselves in various hue,
And hence Jonquils derive their fragrant dew;
Hence the Carnation and the bashful Rose
Ther virgin blushes to the morn disclose ;
Hence the chafte Lily rifes to the light,
Unveils her fnowy breafts, and charms the fight;
Herce arbours are with twining greens array'd,
Toblige complaining lovers with their shade;
Autlence on Daphne's laurel'd forehead grow
Inmortal wreaths for Phoebus and Nafau.
The infects here their lingering trance survive: Burb'd they feem'd, and doubtful if alive. winter's fury hither they repair,
An. fray for milder fkies and fofter air.
Iwn to these cells obfcener reptiles creep,
hateful Nutes and painted Lizards fleep. are fhivering fnakes the fummer folstice wait; ri their painted folds, and flide in state. here their new form the numb'd Erucæ hide Ter numerous feet, in flender bandage ty’d: as the kindling ear begins to rife, Tupftart race their native clod despise, proud of painted wings attempt the skies. w thofe profounder regions they explore, te metals ripen in vaft cakes of ore. ,fuilen to the fight, at large is fpread
el unweildy mafs of lumpifh lead.
Ze, glimmering in their dawning beds, are feen 75 gt afpiring feeds of sprightly tin.
The copper sparkles next in ruddy streaks;
And in the gloom betrays its glowing checks.
The filver then, with bright and burnish'd grace,
Youth and a blooming luftre in its face,
To th' arms of those more yielding metals flies,
And in the folds of their embraces lies.
So close they.cling, so stubbornly retire;
Their love's more violent than the chemift's fire.
Near these the Delegate with wonder fpies
"Where floods of living filver ferpentife;
Where richest metals their bright looks put on,
And golden ftreams through amber channels run;
Where light's gay god defcends, to ripen gems,
And lend a luftre brighter than his beams.
Here he obferves the fubterranean cells,
Where wanton nature fports in idle fhells.
Some helicoeids, fome conical appear :
Thefe, mitres emulate; thofe turbans are.
Here marcafites in various figure wait,
To ripen to a true metallic ftate :
Till drops that from impending rocks defcend
Their fubftance petrify, and progrefs end.
Nigh, livid feas of kindled fulphur flow,
And, whilft enrag'd, their fiery furges glow,
* Convulfions in the labouring mountains rise,
And hurl their melted vitals to the skies.
He views with horror next the noisy cave,
Where with hoarfe dins imprison'd tempefts rave;
Where clamorous hurricanes attempt their flight, 105
Or, whirling in tumultuous eddies, fight.
The warring winds unmov'd Hygeia heard,
Brav'd their loud jars, but much for Celfus fear'd.
Andromeda fo, whilft her hero fought,
Shook for his danger, but her own forgot.
And now the goddess with her charge defcends, Where scarce one chearful glimpfe their fteps befriends. Here his forfaken feat old Chaos keeps ;
And, undisturb'd by form, in filence fleeps;
A grifly wight, and hideous to the
An aukward lump of fhapelefs anarchy.
With fordid age his features are defac'd ;
His lands unpeopled, and his countries wafte.
To these dark realins much learned lumber creeps,
There copious Morton fafe in filence fleeps;
Where mushroom libels in oblivion lie,
And, foon as born, like other monsters, die.
Upon a couch of jet, in these abodes,
Dull Night, his melancholy confort, nods.
No ways and means their cabinet employ;
But their dark hours they wafte in barren joy.
Nigh this recefs, with terror, they furvey
Where Death maintains his dread tyrannic fway.
In the close covert of a cyprefs grove,
Where goblins frifk, and airy spectres rove,
Yawns a dark cave, with awful horror wide,
And there the Monarch's triumphs are defcry'd;
Confus'd, and wildly huddled to the eye,
The beggar's pouch and prince's purple lie;
Dim lamps with fickly rays fcarce feem to glow;
Sighs heave in mournful moans, and tears o'erflow;"
Reftlefs Anxiety, forlorn Despair,
And all the faded family of Care;
Old mouldering urns, racks, daggers, and diftrefs,
Make up the frightful horror of the place.
Within its dreadful jaws thofe furies wait,
Which execute the harsh decrees of Fate.
Febris is firft: the hag relentless hears
The virgin's fighs, and fees the infant's tears.
In her parch'd eye-balls fiery meteors reign;
And restless ferments revel in each vein.
Then Hydrops next appears amongst the throng;
Bloated, and big, fhe flowly fails along,
But, like a mifer, in excess the 's poor,
And pines for thirst amidst her watery store.
Now loathfome Lepra, that offenfive spright,
With foul eruptions ftain'd, offends the fight;
Still deaf to Beauty's foft perfuading power;
Nor can bright Hebe's charms her bloom fecure.
Whilft meagre Pthifis gives a filent blow,
Her ftrokes are fure, but her advances flow:
No loud alarms, nor fierce affaults, are shown;
She starves the fortress first, then takes the town.
Behind flood crowds of much inferior name,
Too numerous to repeat, too foul to name;
The vaffals of their monarch's tyranny,
Who, at his nod, on fatal errands fly.
Now Celfus, with his glorious guide, invades
The filent region of the fleeting fhades ;
Where rocks and rueful deferts are defcry'd,
And fullen Styx rolls down his lazy tide;
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