OME, gentle SPRING, ethereal Mildness, come,
And from the bofom of yon dropping cloud,
While mufic wakes around veil'd in a shower
Of fhadowing rofes, on our plains defcend.
O HARTFORD, fitted or to fhine in courts
With unaffected grace, or walk the plain
With innocence and meditation join'd
In foft affemblage, liften to my fong,
Which thy own Seafon paints; when Nature all
Is blooming and benevolent, like thee.
AND fee where furly WINTER paffes off,
Far to the north, and calls his ruffian blafts:
His blafts obey, and quit the howling hill,
The fhatter'd foreft, and the ravag'd vale;
While fofter gales fucceed, at whofe kind touch, 15 Diffolving fnows in livid torrents loft,
The mountains lift their green heads to the sky.
As yet the trembling year is unconfirm'd,
And WINTER oft at eve resumes the breeze,
Chills the pale morn, and bids his driving fleets
Deform the day delightless: fo that scarce
The bittern knows his time, with bill ingulpht
To shake the founding marsh; or from the shore
The plovers when to scatter o'er the heath,
And fing their wild notes to the listening waste.
Ar laft from Aries rolls the bounteous fun,
And the bright Bull receives him. Then no more
Th' expansive atmosphere is cramp'd with cold;
But, full of life and vivifying soul,
Lifts the light clouds fublime, and fpreads them thin, 30 Fleecy and white, o'er all-furrounding Heaven.
FORTH fly the tepid airs; and unconfin'd, Unbinding earth, the moving foftness strays. Joyous, th' impatient husbandman perceives Relenting Nature, and his lufty fteers
Drives from their stalls, to where the well-us'd plough Lies in the furrow, loosened from the froft.
There, unrefufing to the harness'd yoke,
They lend their fhoulder, and begin their toil,
Chear'd by the fimple fong and foaring lark.
Meanwhile incumbent o'er the shining share
The master leans, removes th' obstructing clay,
Winds the whole work, and fidelong lays the glebe.
WHITE thro' the neighbouring fields the fower stalks, With meafur'd ftep; and liberal throws the grain 45 Into the faithful bofom of the ground:
The harrow follows harfh, and fhuts the fcene.
BE gracious, HEAVEN! for now laborious Man
Has done his part. Ye foftering breezes blow!
Ye fostering dews, ye tender fhowers, defcend!
And temper all, thou world-reviving fun,
Into the perfect year! Nor ye who live
In luxury and eafe, in pomp and pride,
Think these loft themes unworthy of your ear:
Such themes as these the rural MARO fung
To wide-imperial Rome, in the full height
Of elegance and taste, by Greece refin'd.
In antient times, the facred plough employ'd
The kings, and awful fathers of mankind :
And fome, with whom compar'd your infect-tribes 60:
Are but the beings of a fummer's day,
Have held the scale of empire, rul'd the storm
Of mighty war; then, with victorious hand,
Difdaining little delicacies, feiz'd
The plough, and greatly independant fcorn'd
All the vile ftores corruption can bestow.
YE generous BRITONS, venerate the plough!
And o'er your hills, and long withdrawing vales,
Let Autumn fpread his treasures to the fun,
Luxuriant and unbounded! as the fea,
Far thro' his azure turbulent domain,
Your empire owns, and from a thousand shores.
Wafts all the pomp of life into your ports ;
So with fuperior boon may your rich foil,
Exuberant, Nature's better blekings pour
O'er every land, the naked nations cloathe,
And be th' exhauftlefs granary of a world!
NOR only thro' the lenient air this change,
Delicious, breathes; the penetrative fun,
His force deep-darting to the dark retreat
Of vegetation, fets the fteaming power
At large, to wander o'er the vernant earth,
In various hues; but chiefly thee, gay Green!
Thou fmiling Nature's universal robe!
United light and fhade! where the fight dwells
With growing ftrength, and ever-new delight.
FROM the moift meadow to the withered hill,
Led by the breeze, the vivid verdure runs,
And fwells, and deepens, to the cherish'd eye.
The hawthorn whitens; and the juicy groves
Put forth their buds, unfolding by degrees,
Till the whole leafy forest stands display'd,
In full luxuriance, to the fighing gales;
Where the deer ruftle thro' the twining brake,
And the birds fing conceal'd. At once, array'd 95
In all the colours of the flushing year,
By Nature's swift and fecret-working hand,
The garden glows, and fills the liberal air
With lavish fragrance; while the promis'd fruit
Lies yet a little embryo, unperceiv'd,
Within its crimfon folds. Now from the town
Euried in smoke, and fleep, and noisom damps,
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