High in the flood her azure dome ascends,
270 The crystal arch on crystal columns bends;
Roof'd with translucent shell the turrets blaze,
And far in ocean dart their colour'd rays;
O'er the white floor successive shadows move,
As rise and break the ruffled waves above.--
275 Around the nymph her mermaid-trains repair,
And weave with orient pearl her radiant hair;
With rapid fins she cleaves the watery way,
Shoots like a diver meteor up to day;
Sounds a loud conch, convokes a scaly band,
280 Her sea-born lovers, and ascends the strand.

E'en round the pole the flames of Love aspire,
And icy bosoms feel the _secret_ fire!--
Cradled in snow and fann'd by arctic air
Shines, gentle BAROMETZ! thy golden hair;
285 Rooted in earth each cloven hoof descends,
And round and round her flexile neck she bends;
Crops the grey coral moss, and hoary thyme,
Or laps with rosy tongue the melting rime;
Eyes with mute tenderness her distant dam,
290 Or seems to bleat, a _Vegetable Lamb_.


[_Barometz_. l. 284. Polypodium Barometz. Tartarian Lamb. Clandestine
Marriage. This species of Fern is a native of China, with a decumbent
root, thick, and every where covered with the most soft and dense wool,
intensely yellow. Lin. Spec. Plant.