Dear Kitty! would you know}
The cause of all this woe,
It is not hard to guess;
Whatever does constrain
Turns pleasure into pain;
'Tis choice alone can bless.

When both no more are free, Insipid I must be,

And you lose all your charms; My smother'd passion dies, And even your bright eyes Necessity disarms.

Then let us love, my fair!
But unconstrain'd as air
Each join a willing heart;
Let free-born souls disdain
To wear a tyrant's chain,
And act a nobler part.

FABLE XII,

THE TWO SPRINGS.

Erat longe mea quidem sententia

Qui imperium credat gravius esse aut stabilius

Vi quod fit, quam illud quod amicitia adjungitur.

TER.

Two sister Springs, from the same parent hill,

Born on the same propitious day,

Thro' the cleft rock distil;

Adown the rev'rend mountain's side

Thro' groves of myrtle glide,

Or thro' the violet beds obliquely stray.
The laurel, each proud victor's crown,
From them receives her high renown;
From them the curling vine

Her clusters big with racy wine;

To them her oil the peaceful olive owes,

And her vermilion blush the rose:

The gracious streams in smooth meanders flow,

To ev'ry thirsty root dispense

Their kindly cooling influence,

And Paradise adorns the mountain's brow.

But, oh! the sad effect of pride!

These happy twins at last divide.
"Sister," exclaims th' ambitious Spring,
"What profit do these labours bring?

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"Always to give, and never to enjoy,
"A fruitless and a mean employ!
"Stay here inglorious if you please,

"And loiter out a life of indolence and ease:
"Go, humble drudge, each thistle rear,

"And nurse each shrub, your daily care,

"While, pouring down from this my lofty source, "I deluge all the plain,

"No dams shall stop my course,

"And rocks oppose in vain.

"See where my foaming billows flow,

"Above the hills my waves aspire,

"The shepherds and their flocks retire,

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"And tallest cedars as they pass in sign of homage bow. "To me each tributary spring

"Its supplemental stores shall bring;

"With me the rivers shall unite,

"The lakes beneath my banners fight,

"Till the proud Danube and the Rhine

"Shall own their fame eclips'd by mine;

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"Both gods and men shall dread my wat'ry sway,

"Nor these in cities safe, nor in their temples they."

Away the haughty boaster flew,

Scarce bade her sister stream a cool adieu:

Her waves grow turbulent and bold,

Not gently murm'ring as of old,

But roughly dash against the shore,

And toss their spumy heads, and proudly roar.
The careful farmer with surprise

Sees the tumultuous torrent rise;

With busy looks the rustic band appear

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To guard their growing hopes, the promise of the year.

All hands unite; with dams they bound

The rash rebellious stream around;

In vain she foams, in vain she raves,
In vain she curls her feeble waves;
Besieg'd at last on ev'ry side,

Her source exhausted and her channel dry'd,
(Such is the fate of impotence and pride!)
A shallow pond she stands confin'd,
The refuge of the croaking kind.
Rushes and sags, an inbred foe,

Choke up the muddy pool below;

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The tyrant sun on high

Exacts his usual subsidy;

And the poor pittance that remains

Each gaping cranny drains.

Too late the fool repents her haughty boast,

A nameless nothing in oblivion lost.

Her sister Spring benevolent and kind,
With joy sees all around her blest,

The good she does into her gen'rous mind
Returns again with interest.

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The farmer oft invokes her aid

When Sirius nips the tender blade;

Her streams a sure elixir bring,

Gay plenty decks the fields, and a perpetual spring.
Where'er the gard❜ner smooths her easy way

Her ductile streams obey.
Courteous she visits ev'ry bed,
Narcissus rears his drooping head
By her diffusive bounty fed.
Reviv'd from her indulgent urn,
Sad Hyacinth forgets to mourn;
Rich in the blessings she bestows,
All nature smiles where'er she flows.
Enamour'd with a nymph so fair,
See where the river gods appear.
A nymph so eminently good,
The joy of all the neighbourhood;
They clasp her in their liquid arms,
And riot in th' abundance of her charms.

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90

[join'd,

Like old Alpheus fond, their wanton streams they

Like Arethusa she, as lovely and as kind.

Now swell'd into a mighty flood,
Her channel deep and wide,
Still she persists in doing good,
Her bounty flows with ev'ry tide.
A thousand riv'lets in her train
With fertile waves enrich the plain:

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