The Botanic Garden Volume I Part 11

"Where were ye, NYMPHS! in those disasterous hours, Which wrap'd in flames AUGUSTA'S sinking towers?

415 Why did ye linger in your wells and groves, When sad WOODMASON mourn'd her infant loves?

When thy fair Daughters with unheeded screams, Ill-fated MOLESWORTH! call'd the loitering streams?-- The trembling Nymph on bloodless fingers hung 420 Eyes from the tottering wall the distant throng, With ceaseless shrieks her sleeping friends alarms, Drops with singed hair into her lover's arms.-- The illumin'd Mother seeks with footsteps fleet, Where hangs the safe balcony o'er the street, 425 Wrap'd in her sheet her youngest hope suspends, And panting lowers it to her tiptoe friends; Again she hurries on affection's wings, And now a third, and now a fourth, she brings; Safe all her babes, she smooths her horrent brow, 430 And bursts through bickering flames, unscorch'd, below.

So, by her Son arraign'd, with feet unshod O'er burning bars indignant Emma trod.

[Footnote: _Woodmason, Molesworth_. l. 416. The histories of these unfortunate families may be seen in the Annual Register, or in the Gentleman's Magazine.]

"E'en on the day when Youth with Beauty wed, The flames surprized them in their nuptial bed;-- 435 Seen at the opening sash with bosom bare, With wringing hands, and dark dishevel'd hair, The blushing Beauty with disorder'd charms Round her fond lover winds her ivory arms; Beat, as they clasp, their throbbing hearts with fear, 440 And many a kiss is mix'd with many a tear;-- Ah me! in vain the labouring engines pour Round their pale limbs the ineffectual shower!-- --Then crash'd the floor, while shrinking crouds retire, And Love and Virtue sunk amid the fire!-- 445 With piercing screams afflicted strangers mourn, And their white ashes mingle in their urn.

XII. "PELLUCID FORMS! whose crystal bosoms show The shine of welfare, or the shade of woe; Who with soft lips salute returning Spring, 450 And hail the Zephyr quivering on his wing; Or watch, untired, the wintery clouds, and share With streaming eyes my vegetable care; Go, shove the dim mist from the mountain's brow, Chase the white fog, which floods the vale below; 455 Melt the thick snows, that linger on the lands, And catch the hailstones in your little hands; Guard the coy blossom from the pelting shower, And dash the rimy spangles from the bower; From each chill leaf the silvery drops repel, 460 And close the timorous floret's golden bell.

[_Shove the dim mist_. l. 453. See note on l. 20 of this Canto.]

[_Catch the hail-stones_. l. 456. See note on l. 15 of this Canto.]

[_From each chill leaf_. l. 459. The upper side of the leaf is the organ of vegetable respiration, as explained in the additional notes, No.

x.x.xVII, hence the leaf is liable to injury from much moisture on this surface, and is destroyed by being smeared with oil, in these respects resembling the lungs of animals or the spiracula of insects. To prevent these injuries some leaves repel the dew-drops from their upper surfaces as those of cabbages; other vegetables close the upper surfaces of their leaves together in the night or in wet weather, as the sensitive plant; others only hang their leaves downwards so as to shoot the wet from them, as kidney-beans, and many trees. See note on l. 18 of this Canto.]

[_Golden bell_. l. 460. There are muscles placed about the footstalks of the leaves or leaflets of many plants, for the purpose of closing their upper surfaces together, or of bending them down so as to shoot off the showers or dew-drops, as mentioned in the preceeding note. The claws of the petals or of the divisions of the calyx of many flowers are furnished in a similar manner with muscles, which are exerted to open or close the corol and calyx of the flower as in tragopogon, anemone. This action of opening and closing the leaves or flowers does not appear to be produced simply by _irritation_ on the muscles themselves, but by the connection of those muscles with a _sensitive_ sensorium or brain existing in each individual bud or flower. 1st. Because many flowers close from the defect of stimulus, not by the excess of it, as by darkness, which is the absence of the stimulus of light; or by cold, which is the absence of the stimulus of heat. Now the defect of heat, or the absence of food, or of drink, affects our _sensations_, which had been previously accustomed to a greater quant.i.ty of them; but a muscle cannot be said to be stimulated into action by a defect of stimulus. 2.

Because the muscles around the footstalks of the subdivisions of the leaves of the sensitive plant are exerted when any injury is offered to the other extremity of the leaf, and some of the stamens of the flowers of the cla.s.s Syngenesia contract themselves when others are irritated.

See note on Chondrilla, Vol. II. of this work.

From this circ.u.mstance the contraction of the muscles of vegetables seems to depend on a disagreeable _sensation_ in some distant part, and not on the _irritation_ of the muscles themselves. Thus when a particle of dust stimulates the ball of the eye, the eye-lids are instantly closed, and when too much light pains the retina, the muscles of the iris contract its aperture, and this not by any connection or consent of the nerves of those parts, but as an effort to prevent or to remove a disagreeable sensation, which evinces that vegetables are endued with sensation, or that each bud has a common sensorium, and is furnished with a brain or a central place where its nerves were connected.]

"So should young SYMPATHY, in female form, Climb the tall rock, spectatress of the storm; Life's sinking wrecks with secret sighs deplore, And bleed for others' woes, Herself on sh.o.r.e; 465 To friendless Virtue, gasping on the strand, Bare her warm heart, her virgin arms expand, Charm with kind looks, with tender accents cheer, And pour the sweet consolatory tear; Grief's cureless wounds with lenient balms a.s.swage, 470 Or prop with firmer staff the steps of Age; The lifted arm of mute Despair arrest, And s.n.a.t.c.h the dagger pointed to his breast; Or lull to slumber Envy's haggard mien, And rob her quiver'd shafts with hand unseen.

475 --Sound, NYMPHS OF HELICON! the trump of Fame, And teach Hibernian echoes JONES'S name; Bind round her polish'd brow the civic bay, And drag the fair Philanthropist to day.-- So from secluded springs, and secret caves, 480 Her Liffy pours his bright meandering waves, Cools the parch'd vale, the sultry mead divides, And towns and temples star his shadowy sides.

[_Jones's name_. l. 476. A young lady who devotes a great part of an ample fortune to well chosen acts of secret charity.]

XIII. "CALL YOUR light legions, tread the swampy heath, Pierce with sharp spades the tremulous peat beneath; 485 With colters bright the rushy sward bisect, And in new veins the gushing rills direct;-- So flowers shall rise in purple light array'd, And blossom'd orchards stretch their silver shade; Admiring glebes their amber ears unfold, 490 And Labour sleep amid the waving gold.

"Thus when young HERCULES with firm disdain Braved the soft smiles of Pleasure's harlot train; To valiant toils his forceful limbs a.s.sign'd, And gave to Virtue all his mighty mind, 495 Fierce ACHELOUS rush'd from mountain-caves, O'er sad Etolia pour'd his wasteful waves, O'er lowing vales and bleating pastures roll'd, Swept her red vineyards, and her glebes of gold, Mined all her towns, uptore her rooted woods, 500 And Famine danced upon the shining floods.

The youthful Hero seized his curled crest, And dash'd with lifted club the watery Pest; With waving arm the billowy tumult quell'd, And to his course the bellowing Fiend repell'd.

[_Fierce Achelous_. l. 495. The river Achelous deluged Etolia, by one of its branches or arms, which in the antient languages are called horns, and produced famine throughout a great tract of country, this was represented in hieroglyphic emblems by the winding course of a serpent and the roaring of a bull with large horns. Hercules, or the emblem of strength, strangled the serpent, and tore off one horn from the bull; that is, he stopped and turned the course of one arm of the river, and restored plenty to the country. Whence the antient emblem of the horn of plenty. Dict. par M. Danet.]

505 "Then to a Snake the finny Demon turn'd His lengthen'd form, with scales of silver burn'd; Lash'd with restless sweep his dragon-train, And shot meandering o'er the affrighted plain.

The Hero-G.o.d, with giant fingers clasp'd 510 Firm round his neck, the hissing monster grasp'd; With starting eyes, wide throat, and gaping teeth, Curl his redundant folds, and writhe in death.

"And now a Bull, amid the flying throng The grisly Demon foam'd, and roar'd along; 515 With silver hoofs the flowery meadows spurn'd, Roll'd his red eye, his threatening antlers turn'd.

Dragg'd down to earth, the Warrior's victor-hands Press'd his deep dewlap on the imprinted sands; Then with quick bound his bended knee he fix'd 520 High on his neck, the branching horns betwixt, Strain'd his strong arms, his sinewy shoulders bent, And from his curled brow the twisted terror rent.

--Pleased Fawns and Nymphs with dancing step applaud, And hang their chaplets round the resting G.o.d; 525 Link their soft hands, and rear with pausing toil The golden trophy on the furrow'd soil; Fill with ripe fruits, with wreathed flowers adorn, And give to PLENTY her prolific horn.

[_Dragg'd down to earth_. l. 517. Described from an antique gem.]

XIV. "On Spring's fair lap, CERULEAN SISTERS! pour 530 From airy urns the sun-illumined shower, Feed with the dulcet drops my tender broods, Mellifluous flowers, and aromatic buds; Hang from each bending gra.s.s and horrent thorn The tremulous pearl, that glitters to the morn; 535 Or where cold dews their secret channels lave, And Earth's dark chambers hide the stagnant wave, O, pierce, YE NYMPHS! her marble veins, and lead Her gushing fountains to the thirsty mead; Wide o'er the shining vales, and trickling hills 540 Spread the bright treasure in a thousand rills.

So shall my peopled realms of Leaf and Flower Exult, inebriate with the genial shower; Dip their long tresses from the mossy brink, With tufted roots the gla.s.sy currents drink; 545 Shade your cool mansions from meridian beams, And view their waving honours in your streams.

[_Spread the bright treasure_. l. 540. The practice of flooding lands long in use in China has been but lately introduced into this country.

Besides the supplying water to the herbage in dryer seasons, it seems to defend it from frost in the early part of the year, and thus doubly advances the vegetation. The waters which rise from springs pa.s.sing through marl or limestone are replete with calcareous earth, and when thrown over mora.s.ses they deposit this earth and incrust or consolidate the mora.s.s. This kind of earth is deposited in great quant.i.ty from the springs at Matlock bath, and supplies the soft porous limestone of which the houses and walls are there constructed; and has formed the whole bank for near a mile on that side of the Derwent on which they stand.

The water of many springs contains much azotic gas, or phlogistic air, besides carbonic gas, or fixed air, as that of Buxton and Bath; this being set at liberty may more readily contribute to the production of nitre by means of the putrescent matters which it is exposed to by being spread upon the surface of the land; in the same manner as frequently turning over heaps of manure facilitates the nitrous process by imprisoning atmospheric air in the interstices of the putrescent materials. Water arising by land-floods brings along with it much of the most soluble parts of the manure from the higher lands to the lower ones. River-water in its clear state and those springs which are called soft are less beneficial for the purpose of watering lands, as they contain less earthy or saline matter; and water from dissolving snow from its slow solution brings but little earth along with it, as may be seen by the comparative clearness of the water of snow-floods.]

"Thus where the veins their confluent branches bend, And milky eddies with the purple blend; The Chyle's white trunk, diverging from its source, 550 Seeks through the vital ma.s.s its shining course; O'er each red cell, and tissued membrane spreads In living net-work all its branching threads; Maze within maze its tortuous path pursues, Winds into glands, inextricable clues; 555 Steals through the stomach's velvet sides, and sips The silver surges with a thousand lips; Fills each fine pore, pervades each slender hair, And drinks salubrious dew-drops from the air.

"Thus when to kneel in Mecca's awful gloom, 560 Or press with pious kiss Medina's tomb, League after league, through many a lingering day, Steer the swart Caravans their sultry way; O'er sandy wastes on gasping camels toil, Or print with pilgrim-steps the burning soil; 565 If from lone rocks a sparkling rill descend, O'er the green brink the kneeling nations bend, Bathe the parch'd lip, and cool the feverish tongue, And the clear lake reflects the mingled throng."

The G.o.ddess paused,--the listening bands awhile 570 Still seem to hear, and dwell upon her smile; Then with soft murmur sweep in lucid trains Down the green slopes, and o'er the pebbly plains, To each bright stream on silver sandals glide, Reflective fountain, and tumultuous tide.

575 So shoot the Spider-broods at breezy dawn Their glittering net-work o'er the autumnal lawn; From blade to blade connect with cordage fine The unbending gra.s.s, and live along the line; Or bathe unwet their oily forms, and dwell 580 With feet repulsive on the dimpling well.

So when the North congeals his watery ma.s.s, Piles high his snows, and floors his seas with gla.s.s; While many a Month, unknown to warmer rays, Marks its slow chronicle by lunar days; 585 Stout youths and ruddy damsels, sportive train, Leave the white soil, and rush upon the main; From isle to isle the moon-bright squadrons stray, And win in easy curves their graceful way; On step alternate borne, with balance nice 590 Hang o'er the gliding steel, and hiss along the ice.

_Argument of the Fourth Canto._

Address to the Sylphs. I. Trade-winds. Monsoons. N.E. and S.W. winds.

Land and sea breezes. Irregular winds. 9. II. Production of vital air from oxygene and light. The marriage of Cupid and Psyche. 25. III. 1.

Syroc. Simoom. Tornado. 63. 2. Fog. Contagion. Story of Thyrsis and Aegle. Love and Death. 79. IV. 1. Barometer. Air-pump. 127. 2. Air- balloon of Mongulfier. Death of Rozier. Icarus. 143. V. Discoveries of Dr. Priestley. Evolutions and combinations of pure air. Rape of Proserpine. 165. VI. Sea-balloons, or houses constructed to move under the sea. Death of Mr. Day. Of Mr. Spalding. Of Captain Pierce and his Daughters. 195. VII. Sylphs of music. Cecelia singing. Cupid with a lyre riding upon a lion. 233. VIII. Destruction of Senacherib's army by a pestilential wind. Shadow of Death. 263. IX. 1. Wish to possess the secret of changing the course of the winds. 305. 2. Monster devouring air subdued by Mr. Kirwan. 321. X. 1. Seeds suspended in their pods.

Stars discovered by Mr. Herschel. Destruction and resuscitation of all things. 351. 2. Seeds within seeds, and bulbs within bulbs. Picture on the retina of the eye. Concentric strata of the earth. The great seed.

381. 3. The root, pith, lobes, plume, calyx, coral, sap, blood, leaves respire and absorb light. The crocodile in its egg. 409. XI. Opening of the flower. The petals, style, anthers, prolific dust. Trans.m.u.tation of the silkworm. 441. XII. 1. Leaf-buds changed into flower-buds by wounding the bark, or strangulating a part of the branch. 461. 2.

Ingrafting. Aaron's rod pullulates. 477. XIII. 1. Insects on trees.

Humming-bird alarmed by the spider-like apearance of Cyprepedia. 491. 2.

Diseases of vegetables. Scratch on unnealed gla.s.s. 511. XIV. 1. Tender flowers. Amaryllis, fritillary, erythrina, mimosa, cerea. 523. 2. Vines.

Oranges. Diana's trees. Kew garden. The royal family. 541. XV. Offering to Hygeia. 587. Departure of the G.o.ddess. 629.

THE ECONOMY OF VEGETATION.

CANTO IV.