Page:The lives of the poets of Great Britain and Ireland to the time of Dean Swift - Volume 4.djvu/78

The dread rebuke, the frighted waves obey,
They fled, confus’d, along th’ appointed way,
Impetuous ruſhing to the place decreed,
Climb the ſteep hill, and ſweep the humble mead:
And now reluctant in their bounds ſubſide;
Th’ eternal bounds reſtrain the raging tide:
Yet ſtill tumultuous with inceſſant roar,
It ſhakes the caverns, and aſſaults the ſhore.
By him, from mountains, cloth’d in livid ſnow,
Thro’ verdant vales, the mazy fountains flow.
Here the wild horſe, unconſcious of the rain,
That revels boundleſs, o’er the wide champaign,
Imbibes the ſilver ſtream, with heat oppreſt
To cool the fervour of his glowing breaſt.
Here verdant boughs adorn’d with ſummer’s pride.
Spread their broad ſhadows o’er the ſilver tide:
While, gently perching on the leafy ſpray,
Each feather’d ſongſter tunes his various lay:
And while thy praiſe, they ſymphonize around,
Creation ecchoes to the grateful ſound.
Wide o’er the heav’ns, the various bow he bends.
Its tincture brightens, and its arch extends:
At the glad ſign, aërial conduits flow,
The hills relent, the meads rejoice below:
By genial fervour, and prolific rain,
Gay vegetation cloaths the fertile plain:
Nature profuſely good, with bliſs o’er-flows,
And ſtill ſhe’s pregnant, tho’ ſhe ſtill beſtows:
Here verdant paſtures, far extended lie,
And yield the grazing herd a rich ſupply!
Luxuriant waving in the wanton air,
Here golden grain rewards the peaſant’s care!
Here vines mature, in purple cluſters glow,
And heav’n above, diffuſes heav’n below!
Erect and tall, here mountain cedars riſe,
High o’er the clouds, and emulate the ſkies!

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