O'er thefe, but far beyond (a fpacious map
Of hill and valley interpos'd between)
The Oufe, dividing the well-water'd land,
Now glitters in the fun, and now retires,
As bashful, yet impatient to be feen.
Hence the declivity is fharp and fhort, And fuch the re-afcent; between them weeps A little Naïad her impov'rifh'd urn
All fummer long, which winter fills again.
The folded gates would bar my progress now,
But that the Lord of this inclos'd demefne,
Communicative of the good he owns,
Admits me to a fhare: the guiltlefs eye
Commits no wrong, nor waftes what it enjoys.
Refreshing change! where now the blazing fun
By short transition we have loft his glare,
And stepp'd at once into a cooler clime.
Ye fallen avenues! once more I mourn
* See the foregoing note.
Your fate unmerited, once more rejoice
That yet a remnant of your race furvives.
How airy and how light the graceful arch,
Yet awful as the confecrated roof
Re-echoing pious anthems! while beneath
The chequer'd earth feems reftlefs as a flood
Brush'd by the wind. So fportive is the light
Shot through the boughs, it dances as they dance,
Shadow and funshine intermingling quick,
And dark'ning and enlight'ning, as the leaves
Play wanton, ev'ry moment, ev'ry fpot.
And now, with nerves new-brac'd and fpirits chear'd, We tread the wilderness, whofe well-roll'd walks, With curvature of flow and eafy fweep,
Deception innocent-give ample space
To narrow bounds. The grove receives us next;
Between the upright fhafts of whose tall elms
We may difcern the thresher at his task.
Thump after thump, refounds the conftant flail,
That feems to fwing uncertain, and yet falls
Full on the deftin'd ear. Wide flies the chaff;
The rustling ftraw fends up a frequent mift
Of atoms, fparkling in the noon-day beam.
Come hither, ye that prefs your beds of down
And fleep not: fee him fweating o'er his bread
Before he eats it.'Tis the primal curse,
But foften'd into mercy; made the pledge
Of chearful days, and nights without a groan.
By ceaseless action, all that is, subsists.
Conftant rotation of th' unwearied wheel
That nature rides upon, maintains her health,
Her beauty, her fertility. She dreads
An inftant's pause, and lives but while fhe moves,
Its own revolvency upholds the world.
Winds from all quarters agitate the air,
And fit the limpid element for use,
Elfe noxious: oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams,
All feel the fresh'ning impulse, and are cleans'd
By restless undulation; ev'n the oak
Thrives by the rude concuffion of the storm: He seems indeed indignant, and to feel
Th' impreffion of the blast with proud disdaiħ, Frowning as if in his unconscious arm
But the monarch owes
His firm ftability to what he fcorns,
More fixt below, the more difturb'd above.
The law, by which all creatures elfè are bound,
Binds man the lord of all.
No mean advantage from a kindred cause,
From ftrenuous toil his hours of sweetest ease.
The fedentary stretch their lazy length
When custom bids, but no refreshment find,
For none they need: the languid eye, the cheek
Deferted of its bloom, the flaccid, shrunk,
And wither'd muscle, and the vapid foul,
Reproach their owner with that love of rest
To which he forfeits ev'n the rest he loves.
Not fuch th' alert and active.
By its true worth, the comforts it affords,
And theirs alone feems worthy of the name.
Good health, and its affociate in the most,
Good temper; fpirits prompt to undertake,
And not foon spent, though in an arduous task;
The pow'rs of fancy and ftrong thought are theirs ;
itself feems privileg'd in them
Ev'n age
With clear exemption from its own defects.
A sparkling eye beneath a wrinkled front
The vet'ran fhows, and gracing a grey beard
With youthful smiles, defcends toward the grave
Sprightly, and old almost without decay.
Like a coy maiden, ease, when courted most, Fartheft retires-an idol, at whose shrine
Who oft'neft facrifice are favor'd least.
The love of Nature, and the scenes fhe draws,
Is Nature's dictate. Strange! there fhould be found,
Who, felf-imprifon'd in their proud faloons,
Renounce the odors of the open field
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