 | The Works of William Mason |  |
Now wept the Nymphs; witness, ye waving shades!
Witness, ye winding streams! the Nymphs did weep:
The heavenly Goddess too with tears did steep
Her plaintive voice, that echo'd through the glades;
And, “cruel gods,” and “cruel stars,” she cried:
Nor did the shepherds, through the woodlands wide,
On that sad day, or to the pensive brook,
Or silent river, drive their thirsty flocks:
Nor did the wild-goat brouze the shrubby rocks:
And Philomel her custom'd oak forsook:
And roses wan were waved by zephyrs weak,
As Nature's self was sick:
And every lily droop'd its silver head.
Sad sympathy! yet sure his rightful meed,
Who charm'd all nature: well might Nature mourn
Through all her choicest sweets Musæus dead.
Witness, ye winding streams! the Nymphs did weep:
The heavenly Goddess too with tears did steep
Her plaintive voice, that echo'd through the glades;
And, “cruel gods,” and “cruel stars,” she cried:
Nor did the shepherds, through the woodlands wide,
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Or silent river, drive their thirsty flocks:
Nor did the wild-goat brouze the shrubby rocks:
And Philomel her custom'd oak forsook:
And roses wan were waved by zephyrs weak,
As Nature's self was sick:
And every lily droop'd its silver head.
Sad sympathy! yet sure his rightful meed,
Who charm'd all nature: well might Nature mourn
Through all her choicest sweets Musæus dead.
| The Works of William Mason | |