And tracks her light step o'er th' imprinted dews,
Delighted Hymen gives his torch to blaze,
Winds round the craggs, and lights the mazy ways;


[_Lichen_. l. 349. Calcareum. Liver-wort. Clandestine Marriage. This
plant is the first that vegetates on naked rocks, covering them with a
kind of tapestry, and draws its nourishment perhaps chiefly from the
air; after it perishes, earth enough is left for other mosses to root
themselves; and after some ages a soil is produced sufficient for the
growth of more succulent and large vegetables. In this manner perhaps
the whole earth has been gradually covered with vegetation, after it was
raised out of the primeval ocean by subterraneous fires.]


Sheds o'er their _secret_ vows his influence chaste,
360 And decks with roses the admiring waste.

High in the front of heaven when Sirius glares,
And o'er Britannia shakes his fiery hairs;
When no soft shower descends, no dew distills,
Her wave-worn channels dry, and mute her rills;
365 When droops the sickening herb, the blossom fades,
And parch'd earth gapes beneath the withering glades.
--With languid step fair DYPSACA retreats;
"Fall gentle dews!" the fainting nymph repeats;
Seeks the low dell, and in the sultry shade
370 Invokes in vain the Naiads to her aid.--