Page:The Poems of John Dyer (1903).djvu/56

The vigorous frame and lofty heart of man.
Enervate: round whose stern cerulean brows155
White-winged snow, and cloud, and pearly rain,
Frequent attend, with solemn majesty:
Rich queen of Mists and Vapours! these thy sons
With their cool arms compress, and twist their nerves
For deeds of excellence and high renown.160
Thus form'd, our Edwards, Henries, Churchills, Blakes,
Our Lockes, our Newtons, and our Miltons, rose.
See the sun gleams; the living pastures rise,
After the nurture of the fallen shower,
How beautiful! how blue th' ethereal vault!165
How verdurous the lawns! how clear the brooks!
Such noble warlike steeds, such herds of kine,
So sleek, so vast! such spacious flocks of sheep,
Like flakes of gold illumining the green,
What other paradise adorn but thine,170
Britannia! happy if thy sons would know
Their happiness. To these thy naval streams,
Thy frequent towns superb of busy trade,
And ports magnific, add, and stately ships
Innumerous. But whither strays my Muse?175
Pleas'd, like a traveller upon the strand
Arriv'd of bright Augusta, wild he roves,
From deck to deck, thro' groves immense of masts;
'Mong crowds, bales, cars, the wealth of either Ind;
Thro; wharfs, squares, and palaces, and domes,180
In sweet surprise, unable yet to fix
His raptur'd mind, or scan in order'd course
Each object singly, with discoveries new
His native country studious to enrich.
Ye Shepherds! if your labours hope success,185
Be first your purpose to procure a breed
To soil and clime adapted. Every soil