ARCADIA.^j^ 361 



'* I lîng the dawn of the morning ; the earlieft 

 *' rays of Juror a, which have arifen on the Gauls, 

 *' the empire of P/ulo ; the blefTmgs of Ceres, and 

 ** the misfortune of the infant ZoirV. Liften to 

 *' my fongs, ye fpirits of the rivers, and repeat 

 ** them to the fpirits of the azure mountains. 



" Ceres came from feeking her daughter Profir- 

 " pine over the face of the whole Earth. She was 

 *' on her return to Sicily, where grateful myriads 

 •* adored her. She traverfed the favage Gauls, 

 ** their tracklefs mountains, their defert valleys, 

 *' and their gloomy fcjrefts, when fhe found her 

 *' progrefs flopped by the waters of Seine^ her own 

 " nymph, transformed into a river. 



*' On the oppofite bank of the Seine, there hap- 

 " pened, at that time, to be a beautiful boy, with 

 *' flaxen hair, named Lois, bathing himfelf in the 

 *' ftream. He took delight to fwim in the tran- 

 " fparent waters, and to run about naked on the 

 *' folitary verdant downs. The moment that he 

 ** perceived a female, he flew to hide himfelf 

 " amidft a tuft of reeds, 



" My lovely child ! cried Ceres to him, with a 

 ** figh ; come to me, my lovely child ! On hearing 

 *' the voice of a woman in difl:refs, Lois left his 

 ** retreat among the reeds. He puts on, with 



" blulhes. 



