Dyer.

The soothest shepherd of the flow'ry vale:
This is no vulgar scene; no palace-roof
„Was e'er so lotty, nor so nobly rife
, Their polish'd pillars as these aged oaks,
„ Which o'er our Fleecy wealth and harmless

sports
Thus have expanded wide their í helt"ring arms
„Thrice told an hundred fummers, sweet Con-

tent „Ye gentle Shepherds! pillow us at night.“

„Yes, tuneful Damon, for our cares are short, Rising and falling with the cheerful day.“ Colin reply d; „ and pleasing weariness „Soon our unaching heads to sleep inclines. „Is it in cities fo? where, poets tell, „The cries of sorrow fadden all the streets, „And the diseases of intemp'rate wealth. Alas! that

any

ills from wealth should rise! „May the sweet nightingale on yonder spray, May this clear stream, these lawns, those snowwhi

te lambs Which with a pretty innocence of look „Skip on the green, and race in little troops; „May that great lamp which sinks behind the hills „And streams around variety of lights, ,, Recall them erring! this is Damon's wil h.“

a

„Huge Breaden's *) ftony summit once

I climb'd ,, After a kidling: Damon, what a scene ! What various vie vis unnumber'd spread beneath! „Woods, tow'rs, vales, caves, dells, cliffs and tor

rent floods „And here and there, between the spiry, rocks,

The broad Aat sea. Far nobler profpeets these „Than gardens black with smoke in dusty towns „Where stenchy, vapours often blot the lun: , Yet, Aying from his quiet, thither crowds

*) Breaden, a hill on the borders of Montgomeryshire.'

L_Iyr.

Each greedy wretch for tardy. rising wealth
Which comes too late, that courts the taste in vaint;
Or nauseates with distempers. Yes, ye Rich! !
„ Still, still be rich, if thus ye fashion life;
And piping, careless, filly shepherds we,
We filly shepherds, all intent to feed
„Our fnowy flocks, and wind the sleeky Fleece.“

»

9

„Deem not, however, our occupation mean,"
Damon reply d, while the supreme accounts
Well of the faithful shepherd, rank'd alike.
With king and priest: they also shepherds are;
For lo tho All-lecing styles them, to remind
Elated man, forgetful of his charge:“

„But haste, begin the rites: see purple Eve
„Stretches her Shadows: all ye Nymphs and

Swains,
Hither assemble! Pleas'd with honours due,
„Sabrina, guardian of the crystal flood,
,,Shall bless our cares, when she by moonlight

clear
,,Skims o'er the dales, and eyes our sleeping

folds;
„Or in hoar caves around Plynlynimon's brow,
Where precious minerals dart their purple

gleams
„Among her filters she reclines; the lov'd
„Vaga, profuse of graces, Ryddol rough,
,,Blithe Yftwith, and Clevedoc, *) fwilt of foot;
„And mingles various feeds of How'rs and herbs,

In the divided torrents, cre they burst
„ Thro' the dark clouds, and down the mountain

roll.
„Nor taint-worm shall infect the yeaning herds,

*) Vaga, 'Ryddol, Yfiwith, and Clevedoc,' rivers, the

springs of which rise in the fides of Plynlyn

„Nor penny-grass, nor fpearwort's pois'nous

leaf."

Dyer.

He faid: with light fantastic toe the nymphs
Thither asembled, thither every fwains,
And o'er the dimpled stream a thousand flow'ys,
Pale lilies, roses, violets, and pinks,
Mix'd with the greens of burnet, mint, and thy:

1

me,

And trefoil, sprinkled with their sportive arms.

Such custom holds along th' irriguous vales
From Wreakin's brow to rocky Dolvoryn *)
Sabrina's early haunt, ere yet she fled
The search of Guendolen, her stepdame proud,
With envious hate enrag'd. The jolly cheer,
Spread on a mofly bank, untouch'd abides
Till cease the rites; and now the mosly bank
Is gaily circled, and the jolly cheer
Dispers’d in copious measure: early fruits
And those of frugal ftore, in husk or rind;
Steep'd grain, and curdled milk with dulcet

cream
Soft temper'd, in full merriment they quaff,
And cast about their gibes; and some apace
Whistle to roundelays; their little ones
Look on delighted; while the mountain - woods
And winding vallies with the various notes
Of pipe, sheep, kine, and birds, and liquid

brooks,

*) Dolvoryn, a ruinous castle in Montgomeryshire, on the

Ar mit rong.

Armstrong,

Dr. John ruftrong war ein einsichtvoller und gefchickter Arzt, der zu Anfange dieses Jahrhunderts im Stirchspiel Castleton geboren wurde, und im J. 1779 in London starb. Sein erstes Lehrgedidit, The Oeconomy of Love hatte zu viel freie Stellen, die er in einer umgeänderten Slusgabe vom J. 1768 größtentheils wegließ ; indeß fand er doch dieß Gedicht einer Aufnahme in die Sammlung seiner winigen Schriften nicht würdig, die er im J. 1770 unter dem Titel, Miscella-, nies, in zwei Bånden herausgab. An der Spike dieser Sammlung steht sein besseres, und von Seiten bes Inhalts sowohl als der Ausführung überaus schäßbares Lehrgedicht: The Art of preserving Health, in vier Hüchern, iporin Vor: schriften der Lebensordnung in vierfacher Rücksicht, auf Luft, Nahrung, Bewegung und Gemüthszustand, ertheilt werden. Zur Probe gebe ich hier nur eine kurze Stelle des leşten Buchs, weil das ganze Gedicht neulich im zweiten Bande von Hrn. Benzler's Poetical Library, einer sehr ems pfehlungswerthen Sammlung der besten englischen didakti. schen und beschreibenden Gedichte abgedruckt ist. - - Vergl. Durd's Briefe, Ch. II. Br. 15.

THE ART OF PRESERVING HEALTH,

B. IV. V. 220–303.

How to live happiest; how avoid the pains,
The disappointments, and disgusts of those,
Who would in pleasure all their hours employ,
The precepts here of a divine old man
I could recite. Tho' old, he still retain'd
His manly sense, and energy of mind.
Virtuous and wise he was, but not severe;
He still remember'd that he once was young i
His easy, prelence check'd no decent joy.
Him even the diffolute admir'd; for he