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RURAL INSCRIPTIONS.

By the Same,

On a ROOT-HOUSE.

ERE in cool grot, and moffy cell,

Hwe

We rural fays and faeries dwell:

Tho' rarely feen by mortal eye,

When the pale moon, afcending high,

Darts thro' yon' limes her quivering beams,
We frisk it near these crystal streams,

Her beams, reflected from the wave,
Afford the light our revels crave;
The turf, with daifies broider'd o'er,
Exceeds, we wot, the Parian floor ;
Nor yet for artful strains we call,
But liften to the water's fall.

Would you then tafte our tranquil fcene,
Be fure your bofoms be ferene;
Devoid of hate, devoid of ftrife,
Devoid of all that poisons life;
And much it 'vails you, in their place,
To graft the love of human race.

And

And tread with awe these favour'd bow'rs,
Nor wound the shrubs nor bruise the flow'rs;
So may your paths with fweets abound!
So may your couch with reft be crown'd!
But harm betide the wayward fwain,
Who dares our hallow'd haunt profane !

OBERON.

II. In a fhady Valley, near a running Water.

Ο

! Let me haunt this peaceful fhade;

Nor let ambition e'er invade

The tenants of this leafy bow'r,

That fhun her paths, and flight her pow'r.

Hither the plaintive halcyon flies

From focial meads and open skies;

Pleas'd, by this rill, her courfe to steer,
And hide her faphire plumage here.

The trout, bedropt with crimfon ftains,
Forfakes the river's proud domains ;
Forfakes the fun's unwelcome gleam,
To lurk within this humble ftream.

And fure I heard the Naiad fay,

Flow, flow, my ftream! this devious way; "Tho' lovely foft thy murmurs are, Thy waters, lovely cool and fair!

"Flow, gentle stream! nor let the vain
"Thy fmall unfully'd ftores difdain:
"Nor let the penfive fage repine,

"Whofe latent courfe resembles thine."

III. On a small Building in the Gothick Taste.

You that bathe in courtly blyffe!

O tople in fortune's giddye spheare!

Doo not too rashlye deeme ampffe

Of him, that bydes contentid here.

Noz pet disdeigne the ruffet skoale,

Whyche o'er each carelesse lymbe he flyngs:

Roz pet derpde the beechen bowle,

In whyche he quaffs the lympid spryngs.

Fozgpve hpm, if, at eve o2 dawne,

Devoyde of wozidlye carke he stray: Oz, all befyde some flowerye lawne, He waste his inoffensive day.

So may He pardonne fraud and strife,
If such in courtipe haunt he see:

Foz faults there beene in buspe lpfe,

From whyche these peacefull giennes are free.

A Paftoral

YE

E fhepherds fo cheerful and gay,
Whofe flocks never carelessly roam ;
Should Corydon's happen to ftray,
Oh! call the poor wanderers home.
Allow me to muse and to figh,

Nor talk of the change that ye find;
None once was fo watchful as I:

-I have left my dear Phyllis behind.
II.

Now I know what it is, to have strove
With the torture of doubt and defire;
What it is, to admire and to love,

And to leave her we love and admire.
Ah lead forth my flock in the morn,
And the damps of each ev'ning repell;

Alas! I am faint and forlorn :

-I have bade my dear Phyllis farewell.

III. Since

III.

Since Phyllis vouchfaf'd me a look,
I never once dreamt of my vine;
May I lose both my pipe and my crook,
If I knew of a kid that was mine.
I priz'd every hour that went by,
Beyond all that had pleas'd me before;
But now they are past, and I figh;

And I grieve that I priz'd them no more.
IV.

But why do I languish in vain?

Why wander thus pensively here ?
Oh! why did I come from the plain,
Where I fed on the smiles of my dear?

They tell me, my favourite maid,

The pride of that valley, is flown;
Alas! where with her I have stray'd,
I could wander with pleasure, alone.

V.

When forc'd the fair nymph to forego,
What anguish I felt at my heart!
Yet I thought-but it might not be fo-
'Twas with pain that she saw me depart.

She gaz'd, as I flowly withdrew;
My path I could hardly discern;

So fweetly the bade me adieu,

I thought that the bade me return.

VI. The