And drop by drop, raised circles in the well,
The several rings larger and larger spread,
And by degrees dispersed the fleeting shade."
Narcissus fancied that the nymph upon whom he supposed he had been gazing, was deserting him, and unable to bear the misery which the thought occasioned, he wounded himself in his agony, deeming that life without her would be insupportable. Echo, however resentful she had felt for the scorn with which he had treated her, hovered near his footsteps and witnessed this last infatuation with redoubled sorrow.
"Now hanging o'er the spring his drooping head,
With a sad sigh these dying words he said,
'Ah! boy beloved in vain,' thro' all the plain
Echo resounds, 'Ah! boy beloved in vain!'