The Poetical Works of Anna Seward :: :: University of Virginia Library

The vine-clad hill he lightly scales,
Where tall the frequent poplars rise,
From branch to branch assiduous trails
The pendent clusters rich supplies;
And cautious prunes the weak, the useless shoot,
Engrafting healthier boughs, that promise fruit.—
Then his arms serenely folding,
And the smiling scene beholding,
Marks, as the fertile valley winds away,
His flocks and lowing herds, in ample numbers stray.

294

II.

Then to the warm bank below,
Yellow with the morning-ray,
And sees his shelter'd hives in even row,
And hears their hum mix with the linnet's lay.
Recent from the crystal springs
Many a vessel pure he brings,
In them, from all the waxen cells to drain
The fragrant essence rich of flow'ry dale and plain.

Dacier observes that vines supported on the highest trees produce wines of the most exquisite flavour.