"Sad Dido's love, and Venus' wand'ring fon, "The Latians vanquish'd, and Lavinia won: "And fill the world with Britain's endless fame," *To Tit'rus then he gave the facred flute, And bade his fons their blushing brides falute; Till mountains echo'd, and till valleys rung. IMITATIONS. *The good old man leaped from his throne, and, after he had embraced him, prefented him to his daughter, which caufed a general acclamation. * While thus with mirth they tun'd the nuptial strain, A youth, too late, was haft'ning o'er the plain, Clad in a flowing vest of azure hue; Blue were his fandals, and his girdle blue ; A flave, ill-drefs'd and mean, behind him bore The lobster with his fable armour bold, The tasteful mullet deck'd with scales of gold, IMITATIONS. * While they were in the midst of their joy, they were furprised with a very odd appearance. A perfon, in a blue mantle, crowned with fedges and rufhes, ftepped into the midst of the ring. He had an angling-rod in his hand, a pannier upon his back, and a poor meagre wretch in wet clothes carried fome oyfters before him. Being asked, whence he came, and what NOTE. See Sannazaro, Ongaro, Phineas Fletcher, and other writers of pifcatory eclogues. he Among them fhells of many a tint appear, *The heart of Venus, and her pearly ear, And scallops, by the wand'ring pilgrim worn, Thus was the stranger clad, and thus he fung; IMITATIONS. he was, he told them he was come to invite Amaryllis from the plains to the fea-fhore; that his fubitance confifted in feacalves; and that he was acquainted with the Nereids and Naiads."Art thou acquainted with the Naiads? faid Menal cas, to them fhalt thou return." The fhepherds immediately hoifted him up as an enemy to Arcadia, and plunged him in the river, where he funk, and was never heard of fince. NOTE. Fexus's heart and Venus's ear are the names of two very beautiful shells. "There shall thy line the scaly fhoals betray, "To them, Menalcas faid, thy numbers pour; *He fought the poplar'd banks of winding Po, But shun'd the meads where Ladon's waters Aow. NOTE. * This alludes to the Latin compofitions of Sannazarius, which have great merit in their kind. Ere * Ere through nine radiant figns the flaming fun Both o'er the vales of sweet Arcadia reign'd, 1 IMITATIONS. Amyntas and Amaryllis lived a long and happy life, and governed the vales of Arcadia. Their generation was very longlived, there having been but four defcents in above two thoufand years. His heir was called Theocritus, who left his dominions to Virgil. Virgil left his to his fon Spenfer, and Spenfer was fucceeded by his eldeft-born Philips. |