Summer Woodlands

He courteous bade us on soft beds recline,
Of lentesch and young branches of the vine;
Poplars and elms above their foliage spread,
Lent a cool shade, and waved the breezy head.
Below, a stream, from the nymph's sacred cave,
In free meanders led its murmuring wave;
In the warm sunbeams, verdant shrubs among,
Shrill grasshoppers renew'd their plaintive song;
At distance far, conceal'd in shades alone,
The nightingale pour'd forth her tuneful moan:
The lark, the goldfinch, warbled lays of love,
And sweetly pensive coo'd the turtle-dove;
While honey-bees, for ever on the wing,
Humm'd round the flowers, and sipp'd the silver spring:
The rich, ripe season gratified the sense
With summer's sweets and autumns redolence.
Apples and pears lay strew'd in heaps around,
And the plum's loaded branches kiss'd the ground.