In thee, Rath-farnham, Eden's Bloom revives,
And teeming Nature in thy Valley thrives:
Thy Hills, high rais'd above th' extended Plain,
O'erlook a Continent, command the Main,
Feast the stretch'd Sight with Prospects unconfin'd,
And open endless Pleasures to the Mind:
Here, high with horrid Brows o'erhang the Rocks:
Beneath, lie Lawns out-stretch'd, and fleecy Flocks:
The gloomy Thickets, and the op'ning Glade,
The Arch magnifick, and the clear Cascade,
Whose Chrystal Sheets in dazling Circles play,
Pierc'd with th' Effulgence of the Noon-tide Ray;
Whence vocal Streams o'er Silver Pebbles float,
Whilst dimpling Eddies dance to ev'ry Note.
How gay the Garden, how serene the Bow'r,
Where tranquil Thought enjoys the blissful Hour
Far from the World's tumultuous empty Noise,
Here, virtuous Luxury herself enjoys;
Wak'd by soft Zephyrs, and the purpling Dawn,
Inhales the Breezes o'er the dewy Lawn;
Intent the figur'd Fountain's Form to scan,
Or sketch the Embrio of some nobler Plan;
Genius still brings each grand Idea forth,
And happy Judgment crowns its rising Worth.
Lo! Nature, here, and Art, for ever vie;
And Art the Mind, and Nature charms the Eye:
Prolifick Earth disclaims the genial Skies;
And Chymick Heat the absent Sun supplies,
Exotick Blossoms, Northern Blasts that shun;
Nor own a Parent but the Southern Sun,
'Midst freezing Winds enjoy a sultry Clime,
And flourish fruitful with a Summer's Prime;
Births premature adorn the smiling Glebe,
And Nature wonders at each Foster Babe.
[Excerpt]
Rathfarnham is now a suburb of Dublin.