The Rolliad Part 16

At mec.u.m raucis, tua dum vestigia l.u.s.tro, Sole sub ardenti resonant arbusta cicadis.

Nonne fuit melius tristes Amyrillidis iras Atque superba pata fastidia? Nonne Menalcan Quamvis ille niger, quamvis tu candidus esses, O formose puer, nimium ne crede colori.

Alba ligustra cadunt, vaccinia nigra leguntur.

Sum tibi despectus; nec qui sim quaeris, Alexi: Quam dives pecoris nivei, quam lactis abundans.

Mille meae Siculis errant in montibus agnae:

Lac mihi non aestate novum, non frigore desit.

Canto, quae solitus, si quando armenta vocabat, Amphion Dircaeus in Acto Aracyntho.

Nec sum ade informis: nuper me in littore vidi, c.u.m placidum ventis staret mare: non ego Daphnim, Judice te, metuam, si nunquam fallat imago.

O tantum libeat mec.u.m tibi sordida rura Atque humilis habitare casas, et figere cervos, Haedorumque gregem viridi compellere hibisco.

Mec.u.m una in Sylois imitabere Pana canendo.

Pan primus calamos cera conjungere plures inst.i.tuit;---------------- ------Pan curat oves, oviumque magistros.

Neu te pniteat calamo trivisse labellum.

Haec eadem ut sciret, quid non faciebat Amyntas?

Est mihi disparibus septem compacta cicutis Fistula, Damaetas dono mihi quam dedit olim, Et dixit moriens: "te nunc habet ista secundum."

Dixit Damaetas: invidit stultus Amyntas.

Praeterea duo-nec tuta mihi valle reperti Capreoli, sparsis etiam nunc pellibus albo, Bina die siccant ovis ubera; quos tibi servo.

Jampridem a me illos abducere Thestylis orat, Et faciet; quoniam sordent tibi munera nostra!

Huc ades, O formose puer. Tibi lilia plenis Ecce ferunt nymphae calathis: tibi candida Nas Pallentis violas, et summa papavera carpens Narcissum et florem jungit bene olentis anethi.

Tum casia, atque aliis intexens suavibus herbis Mollia luteola pingit vaccinia caltha.

Ipse ego cana legam tenera lanugine mala, Castaneasque nuces, mea quas Amaryllis amabat: Addam ceroa pruna; honos erit huic quoque pomo Et vos, O lauri carpam, et te, proxima myrtus Sic positae, quoniam suaves miscetis odores.

Rusticus es, Corydon! nec munera curat Alexis Nec, si muneribus certes, concedat Iolas.

Eheu! quid volui misero mihi? Floribus Austrum Perditus et liquidis immissi fontibus apros.

Quem fugis, ah! demens? habitarunt Di quoque sylvas, Dardaniusque Paris. Pallas, quas condidit, arces Ipsa colat: n.o.bis placeant ante omnia sylvae.

Torva leaena lupum sequitur lupus ipse capellam, Florentem cytasum sequitur lasciva capella; Te Corydon, O Alexi: trahit sua quemque voluptas.

Me tamen urit amor: quis enim modis adsit amori.

Aspice! aratra jugo referunt suspensa juvenci, Et sol crescentis discedens duplicat umbras: Ah! Corydon, Corydon, quae te dementia cepit?

Semiputata tibi frondosa vitis in ulmo est.

Quin tu aliquid saltem, potius quorum indiget usus, Viminibus, mollique paras detexere junco?

Invenies alium, si te hic fastidit, Alexin.

NOTES.

Ver. 29 and 32 allude to a pamphlet on the Irish Propositions, commonly called the Treasury Pamphlet, and universally attributed to Mr. Rose. This work of the Honourable Secretary's was eminently distinguished by a gentleman-like contempt for the pedantry of grammar, and a poetical abhorrence of dull fact.

Ver. 42. For a long account of Sir Richard Hill's harvest-home, and of the G.o.dly hymns and unG.o.dly ballads, sung on the occasion, see the newspapers in Autumn, 1784.

Ver. 49. Justice to the minister obliges us to observe, that he is by no means chargeable with the scandalous illiberality above intimated, of reducing the income of the Secretaries of the Treasury to the miserable pittance of 3000l. a year. This was one of the many infamous acts which to deservedly drew down the hatred of all true friends to their king and country, on those pretended patriots, the Whigs.

Ver. 66. We know not of what forgeries Mr. Rose here boasts.

Perhaps he may mean the paper relative to his interview with Mr. Gibbon and Mr. Reynolds, so opportunely found in an obscure drawer of Mr. Pitt's bureau. See the Parliamentary debates of 1785.

Ver. 71. Alludes to a couplet in the LYARS, which was written before the present Eclogue.

Ver. 78. The _Reply to the Treasury Pamphlet_ was answered, not by Mr. Rote himself, but by Mr. George Chalmers.

Ver. 88. The following digression on his Majesty's love of the fine arts, though it be somewhat long, will carry its apology with it in the truth and beauty of the panegyric. The judicious reader will observe that the style is more elevated, like the subject, and for this the poet may plead both the example and precept of his favourite Virgil.

--------sylvae sint Consule dignae.

Ver. 91 and 92. Since the death of Ramsay, Sir Joshua Reynolds is _nominally_ painter to the king, though his Majesty sits only to Mr. West.

Ver. 93. This line affords a striking instance of our Poet's dexterity in the use of his cla.s.sical learning. He here translates a single phrase from Horace.

_Judicium subtile_ videndis artibus illud.

When he could not possibly apply what concludes,

Btum in cra.s.so jurares aeere natum.

Ver. 95. Our most gracious Sovereign's comparative estimate of Messrs.

Whitehead and Warton, is here happily elucidated, from a circ.u.mstance highly honourable to his Majesty's taste; that, whereas he thought the former worthy of two places, he has given the latter only the worst of the two. Mr. Fauquier is made Secretary and Register to the order of the Bath, in the room of the deceased Laureat.

Ver. 107. We suspect the whole of this pa.s.sage in praise of his Majesty, has been retouched by Mr. Warton, as this line, or something very like it, occurs in his "Triumphs of Isis," a spirited poem, which is omitted, we know not why, in his publication of his works.

Ver. 149. Our readers, we trust, have already admired the several additions which our poet has made to the ideas of his great original.

He has here given an equal proof of his judgment in a slight omission.

When he converted Amyntas into Lord Uxbridge, with what striking propriety did he sink upon us the epithet of _stultus_, or _foolish_; for surely we cannot suppose that to be conveyed above in the term of _simple_ peer.

Ver. 156. In the ma.n.u.script we find two lines which were struck out; possibly because our poet supposed they touched on a topic of praise, not likely ta be very prevalent with Mr. PITT, notwithstanding what we have lately heard of his "Atlantean shoulders." They are as follows:

Yet strong beyond the promise of their years, Each in one night would drain two grenadiers.

Ver. 181. The orders of the Board of Controul, relative to the debts of the Nabob of Arcot, certainly _appear_ diametrically opposite to Mr. Dundas's Reports, and to an express clause of Mr. Pitt's bill.

Our author, however, like Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas, roundly a.s.serts the consistency of the whole.

Ver. 189. This unfortunate slip of the Honourable Secretary's const.i.tutional logic happened in a debate on the Irish Propositions.

Among the many wild chimeras of faction on that memorable occasion, one objection was, that the produce of the French West-Indian Islands might be legally smuggled through Ireland into this country. To which Mr. Rose replied, "That we might repeal all our acts in perfect security, because the French King had lately issued an arret which would prevent this smuggling."

Ver. 216. We flattered ourselves that this line might have enabled us to ascertain the precise time when this eclogue was written. We were, however, disappointed, as on examining the file of Morning Posts for 1784, we could not find a single week in which Mr. FOX is absolutely without some attack or other. We suppose therefore our author here speaks with the allowed lat.i.tude of poetry.

THE LYARS.

ARGUMENT.

This Eclogue is princ.i.p.ally an Imitation of the third Bucolic of Virgil, which, as is observed by Dr. Joseph Warton, the Brother of our incomparable Laureat, is of that Species called Amba, where the Characters introduced contend in alternate Verse; the second always endeavouring to surpa.s.s the first Speaker in an equal number of Lines, As this was in point of Time the first of our Author's Pastoral Attempts, he has taken rather more Lat.i.tude than he afterwards allowed himself in the rest, and has interspersed one or two occasional Imitations from other Eclogues of the Roman Poet.

In Downing-street, the breakfast duly set, As BANKS and PRETTYMAN one morn were met, A strife arising who could best supply, In urgent cases, a convenient lie; His skill superior each essay'd to prove 5 In verse alternate--which the Muses love!