Sport that wrinkled Care derides,
And Laughter, holding both his sides."

"Make haste, thou cheerful nymph, Euphrosyne, and bring with thee jest, jollity, quips, cranks, wiles, nods, becks, and smilessuch smiles as are seen on the cheek of Hebe, the goddess of youth, the attendant of the gods-such smiles as we see in the dimpled cheeks of beauty. Bring also with you Sport and Laughter, who appears holding his sides, lest they should burst with merriment.-Of these imaginary and allegorical persons, some are at present scarcely to be met with. 10

Quips, were severe jibes that excited. laughter.

Cranks.-Puns, or ludicrous meanings given to phrases.

Becks. Beckonings, such as pass between persons in play.

Wreathed smiles.-The muscles of the face seem to take a circular or curling form when we smile.

In these lines, Jest, Jollity, Quips, &c. &c. are introduced as persons who accompany Mirth, not as qualities of her mind.

I

"Come, and trip it as you go
On the light, fantastic toe,

And in thy right hand lead with thee,
The mountain-nymph, sweet Liberty;
And if I give thee honour due,
Mirth, admit me of thy crew,

To live with her, and live with thee,
In unreproved pleasures free;
To hear the lark begin his flight,
And, singing, startle the dull Night,
From his watch-tower in the skies,
Till the dappled dawn doth rise,
And then to come, in spite of sorrow,
And at my window bid good morrow,
Through the sweetbriar, or the vine,
Or the twisted eglantine.

"Come, O goddess of Mirth, dancing lightly with fanciful steps, and lead the mountain nymph, Liberty, in your right hand, and permit me, who honour you, to accompany you, and to live with that goddess and with you, and to enjoy every blameless pleasure; to hear the lark begin the day, seeming to startle Night from her repose before the dawn of the morning; and then let him come to my window, through the sweet-briar, the vine, or the eglantine, which surround it, as if he meant to wish me good morrow!"

The mountain nymph, sweet Liberty.-Milton calls Liberty a mountain-nymph, because the

inhabitants of mountainous countries have usually been more attached to their liberties, and have preserved them longer, than those who live in towns or in flat countries. The ancient Britons in Wales, the people of Switzerland, and many others, may be pointed out as examples.

Of thy crew,-means, of thy company, or followers.

To live with her, and live with thee.-By her is meant Liberty; and by thee, Mirth.

And, singing, startle the dull night.—This is a beautiful line: the shrill note of the lark is here supposed to waken the night.

Eglantine, is now another name for that species of rose which is usually called sweetbriar. It is probable that formerly the name eglantine belonged to some other species of

rose.

Whilst the cock, with lively din,
Scatters the rear of darkness thin,
And to the stack, or the barn-door,
Stoutly struts his dames before.

"Whilst the crowing cock seems to dispel the darkness as he struts before his hens from their roost to the barn-door or the corn-stack, to pick up food.

Din.-Noise.

At that hour, when the lively crowing of the cock chaces away all the inhabitants of darkness.

7

Popular superstition had formerly a thousand foolish notions, that are now almost forgotten amongst the people, though they still furnish images to poets. The vulgar believed, that there existed fairies, and goblins, and ghosts, which were sometimes to be seen at night, but never in the day-time; and they supposed, that when the cock crew in the morning, all these inhabitants of night were banished.

The rear of darkness,-perhaps means the rear of the troops of thin ghosts, which were abroad in the dark. Ghosts were supposed to be figures, or something that appeared like figures, without solid substance, like mists, which may be faintly seen, but not felt.

"Oft list'ning how the hounds and horn,
Cheerly rouse the slumb'ring morn

From the side of some hoar hill,

Through the high wood echoing shrill;
Sometime walking, not unseen,

By hedge-row elms, on hillocks green,
Right against the eastern gate,

Where the great sun begins his state,
Rob'd in flames, and amber light,

The clouds in thousand liv'ries dight;

While the ploughman, near at hand,
Whistles o'er the furrow'd land, :
And the milkmaid singeth blithe,
And the mower whets his sithe,
And ev'ry shepherd tells his tale,
Under the hawthorn in the dale.

"Often, in the early morning, let me listen to the hounds and huntsmen, who seem to waken the day with their cheerful horns; echoed from the frosty side of some lofty hill, or heard shrilly sounding through the woods. Sometimes may I walk amongst workmen in the fields, by hedge-rows planted with elms, and over green hillocks, towards the east where the glorious sun begins his daily course, robed in amber coloured flame, and attended by clouds adorned with liveries of a thousand beautiful colours. Whilst the ploughman whistles at his work, and the milk-maid sings as she milks, and the cheerful noise of the mower is heard whetting his sithe, and when the shepherd sits under a hawthorn bush, conversing tenderly with some favourite shepherdess."

Oft list'ning, refers to the beginning of the last paragraph, and means; "After the crowing of the cock, let me go abroad, and listen to the hounds and huntsmen." &c. &c.