 | Miscellanies in Prose and Verse |  |
92
To LAURA:
ON HER LETTER IN PRAISE OF THE COUNTRY.
Delightful groves, with Laura's presence blest
Well may you smile, who shade so bright a guest!
Well may your roses bloom! your coverts ring,
With all the chorus of harmonious Spring;
And thousand beauties crown the various scene,
Above description, but by Laura's pen.
Well may you smile, who shade so bright a guest!
Well may your roses bloom! your coverts ring,
With all the chorus of harmonious Spring;
And thousand beauties crown the various scene,
Above description, but by Laura's pen.
Perhaps, as Prisca tells, the Fairy-kind,
Pleas'd with so bright a form, so pure a mind,
With heav'nly musick fill the fragrant air,
And warble round the solitary Fair;
In brighter colours the glad vales array,
To court her visits and prolong her stay.
Pleas'd with so bright a form, so pure a mind,
With heav'nly musick fill the fragrant air,
And warble round the solitary Fair;
In brighter colours the glad vales array,
To court her visits and prolong her stay.
Yet, lovely Laura, quit with just disdain
These seats, where solitude and silence reign:
Let dull Severity to deserts fly,
Live unadmir'd, and unlamented die.
A soul like thine with influence unconfin'd,
Should shine a publick light to human-kind;
True goodness in its native form display,
Politely strict, and innocently gay;
By bright example make fair Virtue known,
And aid her slighted beauties with its own.
These seats, where solitude and silence reign:
93
Live unadmir'd, and unlamented die.
A soul like thine with influence unconfin'd,
Should shine a publick light to human-kind;
True goodness in its native form display,
Politely strict, and innocently gay;
By bright example make fair Virtue known,
And aid her slighted beauties with its own.
| Miscellanies in Prose and Verse | |