For wherefoe'er I turn my ravish'd eyes,
Gay gilded fcenes and fhining prospects rife,
Poetic fields incompass me around,

And still I feem to tread on claffic ground;
For here the Muse so oft her harp has ftrung,
That not a mountain rears its head unfung,
Renown'd in verfe each fhady thicket grows,
And ev'ry ftream in heav'nly numbers flows.
How am I pleas'd to fearch the hills and woods
For rifing fprings and celebrated floods !

To view the Nar, tumultuous in his course,
And trace the smooth Clitumnus to his fource,
To fee the Mincio draw his watry store,
Through the long windings of a fruitful fhore,
And hoary Albula's infected tide

O'er the warm bed of fmoking fulphur glide.
Fir'd with a thoufand raptures I furvey
Eridanus through flow'ry meadows ftray,
The king of floods! that rolling o'er the plains
The tow'ring Alps of half their moisture drains,
And proudly fwoln with a whole winter's fnows,
Diftributes wealth and plenty where he flows.
Sometimes, mifguided by the tuneful throng,
I look for ftreams immortaliz'd in song,
That loft in filence and oblivion lie,

(Dumb are their fountains and their channels dry.)

Yet

Pur, per fenno di Muse, ei fon perenni,
Lor mormorio perenne in terfi carmi.
Talora al gentil Tebro io mi ritiro,
Le vote ripe del gran fiume ammiro,
Che privo di poter fuo corfo tragge
D'una grette urna, e fterile forgente ;
Pur fuona ei nelle bocche de poeti,

Sicche 'l miro al Danubio, e al Nil far corno,
Così Mufa immortale in alto il leva.
Tal' era il Boin povera, ignobil fiume,
Che nelle Hiberne valli ofcuro erravá,
E ineffervato in fuoi giri fcherzava.
Quando per veftri verfi, e per la spada
Di Nafsù rinomato, l'onde fue

Levate in alto per mondo rifuonano
Ovunque dello eroe le divin' opre,
Eove andrà fama d'immortal verfo.
Ob l'eftatico mio petto infpirasse
Mufa con un furor fimile al vostro !
Infinite bellezze avria 'l mio verfo,
Cederia di Virgilio a quell'Italia.
Mira quali auree felve attorno ridonmi,
Che della tempeftofa di Britannia
Ifola si ne fchivano la cofta,

O trapiantate, e con penfier guardate
Maledicon la fredda Regione,

E nell' aria del Norte illanguidifcono.
Calor dolor il montante umor ne lievitaz
A nobil gufli, e pin efaltati odori..

Rozze

Yet run for ever by the Mufe's skill,
And in the smooth description murmur ftill.
Sometimes to gentle Tiber I retire,
And the fam'd river's empty fhores admire,
That deftitute of ftrength derives its course
From thrifty urns and an unfruitful fource;
Yet fung so often in poetic lays,

With fcorn the Danube and the Nile furveys;
So high the deathlefs Muse exalts her theme!
Such was the Boyn, a poor inglorious ftream,
That in Hibernian vales obfcurely ftray'd,
And unobferv'd in wild Meanders play'd;
'Till by your lines and Nassau's fword renown'd ;
Its rifing billows through the world refound,
Where-e'er the Hero's godlike acts can pierce,
Or where the fame of an immortal verse.

Oh cou'd the Muse my ravish'd breast inspire With warmth like your's, and raise an equal fire, Unnumber'd beauties in my verse shou'd shine, And Virgil's Italy fhou'd yield to mine!

See how the golden groves around me smile, That shun the coast of Britain's ftormy ifle, Or when transplanted and preferv'd with care, Curfe the cold clime, and starve in northern air. Here kindly warmth their mounting juice ferments To nobler taftes, and more exalted fcents:

Rozze ancor rupi molle mirto menano
Ricco profumo, pefte erbette olezzano.
Portimi un Dio di Baia a i gentil feggi,
O ne verdi ritiri d'Umbria traggami,
Ove i ponenti eternia han refidenza
Tutte ftagioni lor pompa profondono,
Germogli, e frutti, e fiori infieme allegano,
E in gaia confufion fta l'anno tutto.

Glorie immortali in mia mente rivivono,
Combatton nel cuor mio ben mille affetti,
Allorache di Roma l' efaltate
Bellezze giu giacerfi io ne difcuopros.
Magnificenti in moli di ruine.

D' anfiteatro una ftupenda altezza,
Di terror mi riempie, e di diletto,
Che Roma ne fuoi pubblici Spettacoli
Difpopolava, e nazioni intere
Agiatamente in fuo grembo capia.
Paffanvi i ciel colonne afpre d' intaglio,
Di trionfo fuperbi archi là sorgono,
U de prifchi Roman l' immortal opre
Difpiegate alla vifla ognor rinfactiano-
La vile loro tralignata ftirpe.
Qui tutti e fiumi lafcian giu lor piani,
Per aerei condotti in alto corrono.

Sempre a novelle fcene mia vagante
Mufa sì fi ritragge, e muta ammira
L'alto Spettacol d'animate rupi,
Ove mostrò fcalpel tutta fua forma,
Ed in carne addolci fcabrofo faffo.

Ev'n the rough rocks with tender myrtle bloom,
And trodden weeds fend out a rich perfume.
Bear me, fome God, to Baia's gentle feats,
Or cover me in Umbria's green retreats;
Where western gales eternally refide,

And all the feasons lavish all their pride:
Bloffoms, and fruits, and flowers together rife,
And the whole year in gay confufion lies.
Immortal glories in my mind revive,
And in my foul a thousand paffions ftrive,
When Rome's exalted beauties I defcry
Magnificent in piles of ruin lie.

An amphitheatre's amazing height
Here fills my eye with terror and delight,
That on its public shows unpeopled Rome,
And held uncrowded nations in its womb:
Here pillars rough with sculpture pierce the skies:
And here the proud triumphal arches rife,
Where the old Roman deathlefs acts difplay'd,
Their bafe degenerate progeny upbraid:

Whole rivers here forfake the fields below,

And wond'ring at their height through airy channels flow.
Still to new scenes my wand'ring Mufe retires;
And the dumb show of breathing rocks admires;
Where the fmooth chifel all its force has fhown,

And foften'd into flesh the rugged ftone.

In