The loves of hero and leander :: :: University of Virginia Library

Love met me lately all alone,
And bad me, in a threat'ning tone;
‘Away, Anacreon, let us try,
‘Who can run faster, you or I.’
Tho' nought, that day, his dang'rous hand
Arm'd but an Hyacinthian wand,
Yet to dispute his pow'r afraid,
Love with reluctance I obey'd.
So thro' the streams and o'er the vales,
And up the hills, and down the dales,
We ran. When from a woody brake
Out sprang a fiery-venom'd snake;

And stung me (as I thought) to death:
For strait my soul, in deadly fright,
As with her last-expiring breath,
Flut'ring up-rose to take her flight.
Cupid, un-hop'd-for succour brings;
And gently fans me with his wings,
And mildly warns: “Thus caution'd, prove,
“Hence-forth, more tractable to love!