Inscription on a Grotto, the Work of Nine Ladies

HERE, shunning idleness at once and praise,

This radiant pile nine rural sisters raise;

The glitt’ring emblem of each spotless dame,

Clear as her soul and shining as her frame;

Beauty which Nature only can impart,

And such a polish as disgraces Art;

But Fate disposed them in this humble sort,

And hid in deserts what would charm a Court.