FLORA AND THALIA. 15 



APRIL. 



Now infant April joins the Spring, 



And views the wat'ry sky ; 

 As youngling linnet tries its wing, 



And fears at first to fly. 

 With timid step she ventures on, 



And hardly dares to smile : 

 Till blossoms open one by one, 



And sunny hours beguile. 



In wanton gambols, like a child. 



She tends her early toils ; 

 And seeks the buds along the wild. 



That blossom while she smiles : 

 Or, laughing on, with nought to chide, 



She races with the hours ; 

 Or sports by Nature's lovely side, 



And fills her lap with flow'rs. 



The shepherd, on his pasture-walks. 



The first fair cowslip finds. 

 Whose tufted flowers, on slender stalks. 



Keep nodding to the winds. 

 And though the thorns withhold the May, 



Their shades the violets bring, 

 Which children stoop for in their play. 



As tokens of the Spring. 



