Waked by his warmer ray, the reptile
Came wing'd abroad; by the light air
Lighter, and full of soul.
From every
And secret corner, where they slept
The wintry storms; or rising from their
To higher life; by myriads, forth at once,
Swarming they pour; of all the varied
Their beauty-beaming parent can disclose.
Ten thousand forms! ten thousand different tribes!
People the blaze.
To sunny waters some By fatal instinct fly; where on the
They sportive wheel, or sailing down the stream,
Are snatch'd immediate, by the quick-eyed trout,
Or darting salmon.
Through the greenwood glade Some love to stray; there lodged, amused, and fed,
In the fresh leaf.
Luxurious, others
The meads their choice, and visit every flower,
And every latent herb; and where to wrap,
In what soft beds, their young yet undisclosed,
Employs their tender care.
Some to the house,
The fold, the dairy, hungry, bend their flight;
Sip round the pail, or taste the curdling cheese;
Oft, inadvertent, from the milky stream,
They meet their fate; or, weltering in the bowl,
With powerless wings around them wrapt, expire.
