mitchell-P044_A-5_2_1

RECTO:

May

Welcome, welcome, Joyful May!
Queen of months; Oh [????] my lay.
Cheerful hours, and vernal sun,
Nature aid, dispel her gloom;
Winter’s cold, command depart,
Give the cheer to every heart.

Cold was Aries’ month, and chill,
Valleys, nor forsaken hill,
Echo'd sweet with notes and songs,
Rais’d by nature’s thousand tongues;
But windy blasts, showing hail,
Oft in roaring round prevail’d.

Taurus too, made April strange,
Cloudy, richly, full of change,
Irksome winds, unwholesome breath,
Bainful mists, [distroying?] health,
Frequent rains, and damped air;
Scarse a single day was fair.

But, what change is now perciev'd,
When bright Twins, the sun reciev'd,
Bid the tepid air give way,
Rarefy and cleanse the day?
All is life, and joy, and care,
Every breeze sounds songs of peace.

May

Welcome, welcome, Joyful May!
Queen of months; Oh [????] my lay.
Cheerful hours, and vernal sun,
Nature aid, dispel her gloom;
Winter’s cold, command depart,
Give the cheer to every heart.

Cold was Aries’ month, and chill,
Valleys, nor forsaken hill,
Echo'd sweet with notes and songs,
Rais’d by nature’s thousand tongues;
But windy blasts, showing hail,
Oft in roaring round prevail’d.

Taurus too, made April strange,
Cloudy, richly, full of change,
Irksome winds, unwholesome breath,
Bainful mists, [distroying?] health,
Frequent rains, and damped air;
Scarse a single day was fair.

But, what change is now perciev'd,
When bright Twins, the sun reciev'd,
Bid the tepid air give way,
Rarefy and cleanse the day?
All is life, and joy, and care,
Every breeze sounds songs of peace.