Poems on Several Occasions With Anne Boleyn to King Henry VIII. An Epistle. By Mrs. Elizabeth Tollet. The Second Edition |
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The Complaint of Damon.
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 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
The Complaint of Damon.
Pastorum Musam ------
Sad
Damon's and Alphesibeus' Muse,
At whose Complaint the Herds their Food refuse;
The spotted Pards their Song attentive hear,
And flowing Waves their wonted Course forbear:
I sing the mournful Swain, and his ill-fated Care.
The Shades of Night were scarce dispell'd by Day,
The Morning Dew still on the Herbage lay;
Against a slender Olive Damon lean'd,
And thus of Nisa's Perjuries complain'd:
Rise, Lucifer! bring on the rosy Morn;
And hear my last Complaints for Nisa's scorn:
Gods! I invoke you with my latest breath,
Tho' vain my Pray'rs, tho' unreveng'd my Death.
Begin, my Muse! begin with me to sute
Mænalian Numbers to the breathing Flute.
Fair Mænalus has Pines and vocal Groves,
Where Eccho still repeats the Shepherds Loves:
There Pan himself, to sooth his love-sick Mind,
The idle Reeds in gradual Order join'd.
Begin—
At whose Complaint the Herds their Food refuse;
The spotted Pards their Song attentive hear,
And flowing Waves their wonted Course forbear:
I sing the mournful Swain, and his ill-fated Care.
The Shades of Night were scarce dispell'd by Day,
The Morning Dew still on the Herbage lay;
Against a slender Olive Damon lean'd,
And thus of Nisa's Perjuries complain'd:
Rise, Lucifer! bring on the rosy Morn;
And hear my last Complaints for Nisa's scorn:
16
Tho' vain my Pray'rs, tho' unreveng'd my Death.
Begin, my Muse! begin with me to sute
Mænalian Numbers to the breathing Flute.
Fair Mænalus has Pines and vocal Groves,
Where Eccho still repeats the Shepherds Loves:
There Pan himself, to sooth his love-sick Mind,
The idle Reeds in gradual Order join'd.
Begin—
Mopsus weds Nisa: What shall Lovers fear
When this unequal Match forbids Despair?
Now Gryphons join with Mares; and Time shall bring
The Hound and Doe together to the Spring.
Blest Mopsus haste! the nuptial Torch prepare,
And to thy Home conduct the willing Fair.
Thy Nuts among the sportive Children throw;
Hesper for thee descends from Oeta's Brow,
Begin—
When this unequal Match forbids Despair?
Now Gryphons join with Mares; and Time shall bring
The Hound and Doe together to the Spring.
Blest Mopsus haste! the nuptial Torch prepare,
And to thy Home conduct the willing Fair.
Thy Nuts among the sportive Children throw;
Hesper for thee descends from Oeta's Brow,
Begin—
O worthy Choice! For this with nice Disdain
Didst thou refuse the Love of ev'ry Swain?
For this didst thou my Pipe and Lamb-kins scorn,
My shaggy Eye-brows, and my Beard unshorn?
Think'st thou the Gods neglect a Lover's Pray'r?
Or wretched Mortals plac'd beneath their Care?
Begin—
Didst thou refuse the Love of ev'ry Swain?
For this didst thou my Pipe and Lamb-kins scorn,
My shaggy Eye-brows, and my Beard unshorn?
Think'st thou the Gods neglect a Lover's Pray'r?
Or wretched Mortals plac'd beneath their Care?
Begin—
Your early Charms in youthful Bloom I found,
You came to gather Apples in our Ground:
And still your Choice I to the fairest led,
Humid with pearly Dew, and streak'd with glowing Red.
I then the thirteenth Summer did attain:
Scarce cou'd my Arms the lowest Branches gain:
Lost in my fatal Error, ah! how soon
I saw and perish'd, lov'd and was undone!
Begin—
You came to gather Apples in our Ground:
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Humid with pearly Dew, and streak'd with glowing Red.
I then the thirteenth Summer did attain:
Scarce cou'd my Arms the lowest Branches gain:
Lost in my fatal Error, ah! how soon
I saw and perish'd, lov'd and was undone!
Begin—
I know thee, Love! I know thy savage Race,
Nurs'd in the Lybian Wastes, or Wilds of Thrace:
No Marks of Tenderness in thee we find,
Which might pronounce thee sprung of human-kind.
Begin—
Nurs'd in the Lybian Wastes, or Wilds of Thrace:
No Marks of Tenderness in thee we find,
Which might pronounce thee sprung of human-kind.
Begin—
The Rage of flighted Love thy Hands embru'd,
Inhuman Mother! in thy Infant's Blood:
Which was more cruel? Cruel Mother thou!
More cruel Love, who taught to strike the Blow;
Begin—
Inhuman Mother! in thy Infant's Blood:
Which was more cruel? Cruel Mother thou!
More cruel Love, who taught to strike the Blow;
Begin—
The Wolf from the pursuing Lamb shall haste;
And stubborn Oaks with golden Fruit be grac'd:
The yellow Daffadil on Alders grow;
From humble Brakes transparent Amber flow.
Owls vye with Swans; and let the rudest Swain
His jarring Notes compare to Orpheus' Strain:
Commanding Savages, like him, in Woods,
Or, like Arion, Dolphins on the Floods.
Begin—
And stubborn Oaks with golden Fruit be grac'd:
The yellow Daffadil on Alders grow;
From humble Brakes transparent Amber flow.
Owls vye with Swans; and let the rudest Swain
His jarring Notes compare to Orpheus' Strain:
Commanding Savages, like him, in Woods,
Or, like Arion, Dolphins on the Floods.
Begin—
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Or let th' incroaching Sea the Land invade:
Adieu, ye Woods! and flourish green your Shade!
A Rock there is, from whose impendent Steep,
Desp'rate I'll plunge into the foaming Deep:
Unfaithful Maid! this mournful Verse receive;
The last your dying Lover e'er shall give.
Forbear, my Muse! no longer shalt thou sute
Mænalian Numbers to the breathing Flute.
Adieu, ye Woods! and flourish green your Shade!
A Rock there is, from whose impendent Steep,
Desp'rate I'll plunge into the foaming Deep:
Unfaithful Maid! this mournful Verse receive;
The last your dying Lover e'er shall give.
Forbear, my Muse! no longer shalt thou sute
Mænalian Numbers to the breathing Flute.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |