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Show [ 36 ] Retiring LrcHEN clitnbs the toptnofl: fl:one, And drinks the aerial folitude alone.350 Bricrht :fhine the fiars unnumber' d o'er her head, b And the cold tnoon-beam gilds her flinty bed ; While round the rifted rocks hoarfe whirlwinds breathe, And dark with thunder fail the clouds 6eneath.- The fieepy path her plighted fwain purfues, 355 And tracks her light fieps o'er the itnprinted dews; Delighted Hymen gives his torch to blaze, Winds round the craggs, and lights the mazy ways; Sheds o'er their fecret vows his influence chafie, And decks with rofes the admiring wafie. High in the front of heaven when Sirius glares, And o'er Britannia fhakes his fiery hairs : Lichen. l. 349· Calcareum. Liver-wort. Clande!line Marriage. This plant is the firll ~hat vegetates on naked rocks, covering them with a kind oftapell:ry, and draws its nounfhment perhaps chiefly from the air; after it perifhes, earth enough is left for other molfes to root themfelves; and after fome ages a foil is produced fufficient for the growth of more fucculent and large vegetables. In this manner perhaps the whole earth has been gradually covered with vegetation, after it was raifed out of the primeval ocean by fubterraneous fires. t 37 J \Vhen no foft fhower defcends, no dew di:llills, I-Ier wave-worn channels dry, and mute her Fills; When droops the :lickening herb, the bloffom fades, 3 6 5 And parch' d earth gapes beneath the withering glades; --With languid fiep fair DYPSACA retreats, " Fall, gentle dews!" the fainting nymph repeats, Seeks the low dell, and in the fultry fuade Invokes in vain the Naiads to her aid.Four fylvan youths in cryflal goblets bear The untafied treafure to the grateful fair ; Pleafed from their hands with modeft grace ihe fips, And the cool wave reflects her coral lips. 370 Dypjacus. I. 367. T eafcl. One female, and four males. There is a cup around every joint of the llem of this plant, which contains from a fpoonful to half a pint of water; and ferves both for the nutriment of the plant in dry feafons, and to prevent infeCl:s from creeping up to devour its feed. See Silene. The Tillandlla, or wild pine, of the W cfl: Indies has every leaf terminated near the rralk with a hollow bucket, which contains from half a pint to a quart of water. Dampier's Voyage to Cam peachy. Dr. Sloane mentions one kind of aloe furnifhed with leaves, which, like the wild pine and Banana, hold water; and thence afford necelfary refrefhment to travellers in hot countries. Nepenthes has a bucket for the fame purpofe at the end of every leaf. Burm. Zeyl. 42. 17. |