University of Virginia Library

THE DISTAFF:

AN EPISTLE. FROM THEOCRITUS.

Friend to the woof, each thrifty matron's care,
O thou, the azure-ey'd Minerva's meed,
Thy poet's charge, to Nileus' towers repair,
Where Cytherea's fane is bower'd in reed!
Thither we ask fair winds to waft us o'er,
That Nicias, by the sweet-ton'd Graces blest,
(Their hallow'd offspring) may with letter'd lore
And friendly converse charm his welcome guest.
Thee, Distaff, thee, of polisht ivory fram'd
I bear, meet present to his lovely wife:
So shall her frugal industry be fam'd,
The genuine model of domestic life;
Whilst her fine vests shall manly limbs adorn,
The flowing garment, or the robe succinct;
While o'er her water'd webs by females worn
Floats the rich lustre of the shadowy tinct.
The fleece's treasure, each revolving year,
Twice the shorn mother of the lamb supplies;
For her who holds each toil—each science dear,
That gains the stamp of merit from the wise.
Nor would I bear thee, Distaff, to the dome,
Where dissipation reigns, and idle mirth;
Thee, who, amidst Sicilia's pasture-bloom,
Tracest to Archias' city-walls thy birth.
A happier mansion be thy lot to gain,
Where lives my friend, whose health-restoring aid
Lulls with salubrious balms the throbs of pain,
And guards Miletus' sons from Pluto's shade.
Thus shall thy fair possessor rise in fame,
By thee recall to mind her tuneful guest;
And many a-one, that marks thee, shall exclaim,
‘Tho' but a trivial favour be possest,
‘'Tis for the giver's sake the gift we boast,
‘And what a friend bestows we value most!’