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Poems

By the most deservedly Admired Mrs Katherine Philips: The matchless Orinda. To which is added Monsieur Corneille's Pompey & Horace Tragedies. With several other Translations out of French

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A Pastoral of Mons. de Scudery's in the first volume of Almahide, Englished.
 

A Pastoral of Mons. de Scudery's in the first volume of Almahide, Englished.

Slothful deceiver, come away,
With me again the fields survey;
And sleep no more, unless it be
My Fortune thou should'st dream of me.

185

The Sky, from which the Night is fled,
Is painted with a matchless Red,
'Tis day; the morning greets my Eyes:
Thou art my Sun, wilt thou not rise.
Now the black Shadows of the Night
From Heav'n and Earth, are put to Flight:
Come and dispel each lingring shade,
With that Light which thy Eyes have made.
That Planet, which so like thee seems,
In his long and piercing beams,
At once illuminates and Guilds,
All these valleys, and these Fields.
The Winds do rather sigh than blow,
And Rivers murmure as they go,
And all things seem to thee to say,
Rise Fair one, 'tis a Lovely Day.
Come and the liquid Pearls descry,
Which glittering 'mong the flowers lye;
Day finds them wet, when it appears,
And 'tis too often with my Tears.
Hearken, and thou wilt much approve
The Warbling Consort of this Grove;
Compleat the pleasure of our Ears,
Mixing thy harmony with theirs.
Feather'd Musician step aside,
Thy self within these bushes hide,
While my Aminta's Voice affords
Her charming Notes to cloath my words.
Hasten to sing them, then my fair,
And put this proud one to despair,

186

Whose Voice, the Base and Trebles part,
With so marvellous an Art.
Come Philomel, and now make use
Of all, thy practice can produce,
All the harmonious Secrets, thou
Canst try, will do no service now.
Thou must to her this Glory give,
For nothing can thy Fame relieve.
Then e're thou dost the Conquest try,
Chuse to be silent here or dye.
Come my Shepherdess, survey
(While a hundred pipes do play,)
From every Fold, from every Shed,
How the Herds and Flocks are fed.
Hear the pleasing, harmless voice,
Of thy Lambs, now they rejoyce,
While with their bleating notes are mix'd,
Their pretty bounds, and leaps betwixt.
See, see, how from the Thatched Rooms
Of these our artless Cabbins, comes
A Rustick troop of Jolly Swains,
From every side, unto the Plains.
Their Sheep-hooks steel, so bright and clear,
How it shines, both far and near;
A Bag-pipe here, and there a Flute,
With merryer whistles do dispute.
Hear thy flocks, which for thee bleat
In Language Innocent, and sweet;
See here thy Shepherd who attends 'em,
And from the Ravenous Wolf defends 'em.

187

Thy Melampus, him endears,
And leaps, and sports, when he appears,
He complains that thy sloth is such;
And my poor heart does that as much.
Among the rest here's a Ram, we
So white so blith, so merry see,
In all our Flocks, there is not one,
Deserves such praise, as he alone.
On the grass he butts and leaps,
Flatters, and then away he skips;
So gentle, and yet proud is he,
That surely he hath learn'd of thee.
The fairest Garlands we can find,
Unworthy are, his horns to bind;
But Flowers that death can never know,
Are fittest to adorn his Brow.
He is full of modest shame,
And as full of amorous flame;
Astrologers in heaven see,
A Beast less beautiful than he.
I have for thee a Sheep-hook brought,
On which thy Shepherd hard hath wrought,
Here he thy character hath trac'd;
Is it not neatly interlac'd?
To that a Scrip is ty'd for thee,
Which woven is so curiously,
That the Art does the stuff excell,
And Gold it self looks not so well.
Here's in a Cage that he did make,
All the Birds that he could take.
How glorious is their slavery,
If they be not despis'd by thee!

188

A Garland too for thee hath staid;
And 'tis of Fairest Flowers made:
Aurora had this offering kept,
And for its loss hath newly wept.
A lovely Fawn he brings along,
Nimble, as thy self, and young,
And greater presents he would bring,
But that a Shepherd is no King.
Come away my Lovely bliss,
To such divertisement as this,
And bring none to these Lovely places,
But onely Venus, and the Graces.
Whatever company were nigh,
Would tedious be; when thou art by;
Venus and Fortune would to me
Be troublesome, if I had thee.
She comes! from far, the Lovely Maid
Is by her shining charms betray'd:
See how the Flowers sprout up, to meet
A Noble ruine from her feet.
How Sprightly, and how Fair is she!
How much undone then must I be?
My torment is, I know, severe,
But who can think on't when she's near?
My heart leaps up within my breast,
And sinks again with Joy opprest;
But in her sight to yield my breath,
Would be an acceptable Death.
Come then, and in this shade, be sure,
That thy fair Skin shall be secure;
For else the Sun would wrong, I fear,
The Colours which do flourish there.

189

His Flaming steeds do climb so fast,
While they to our Horizon hast,
That by this time his Radiant Coach,
Does to his highest house approach.
His fiercer Rays in heat, and length,
Begin to rob us of our strength;
Directly on the Earth they dart,
And all the shadows are grown short.
This Valley hath a private seat,
Which is a cool, and moist retreat,
Where the angry Planet which we spy,
Can ne're invade us with his Eye.
Behold this fresh and florid Grass,
Where never yet a foot did pass,
A Carpet spreads for us to sit,
And to thy Beauty offers it.
This delicate apartment is
Roof'd o're with Aged stooping Trees,
Whose verdant shadow does secure
This Place a native furniture.
The Courts of Naiades are such,
In shades like these, ador'd so much,
Where thousand Fountains round about,
Perpetually gush water out.
How finely this thick moss doth look,
Which limits this transparent brook;
Whose sportful wave does swell, and spread,
And is on flags and rushes shed!
Within this liquid Chrystal, see
The cause of all my Misery,
And judge by that, (fair Murtheress)
If I could love thy beauty less.

190

Thy either Eye does Rays dispence
Of modesty and Innocence;
And with thy seriousness, we find
The gladness of an Infant joyn'd.
Thy frowns delight, though they torment,
From thy looks Life and Death is sent;
And thy whole air does on us throw
Arrows, which cureless wounds bestow.
The stature of a Mountain Pine,
Is crooked, when compar'd to thine:
Which does thy sex to envy move,
As much as it does ours to love.
From thy dividing lips do flye,
Those pointed shafts that make us dye:
Nor have our Gardens e're a Rose,
That to thy cheeks we dare oppose.
When by a happy liberty,
We may thy lovely bosom see,
The whitest Curds, nor falling Snow,
Can any such complexion show.
Thyme and Majoram, whose scent,
Of all perfumes, most Innocent,
Less Fragrancy than thy breath have,
Which all our senses does enslave.
Even when thou scornest, thou can'st please,
And make us love our own disease.
The blushes that our cherrys wear,
Do hardly to thy lips come near.
When upon the smoother Plains,
Thou to dance wilt take the pains,
No Hind, when she employs her feet,
Is half so graceful, or so fleet.

191

Of thy garments fair and white,
The neatness gives us most delight,
And I had rather them behold,
Then clothes embroidered with Gold.
I nothing in the World can see
So rare as unadorned thee,
Who art (as it must be confess'd)
Not by thy clothes, but Beauty dress'd.
Thy Lovely hair thou up hast ty'd,
And in an unwrought Veil dost hide;
In the mean time thy single Face,
All other beauties does disgrace.
Yes, yes, thy negligence alone,
Does more than all their care hath done:
The Nymphs, in all their pompous dress,
Do entertain my fancy less.
A Nosegay all thy Jewel is,
And all thy Art consists in this;
And what from this pure Spring does pass
Is all thy paint, and all thy Glass.
Adored beauty, here may we
Our selves in lovely glasses see:
Come then, I pray thee, let us look,
I in thy Eyes, thou in the Brook.
Within this faithful Mirrour see
The obiect which hath conquer'd me,
Which though the stream does well impart,
'Tis better form'd here in my heart.
In th' entertainment of thy Mind,
When 'tis to pensiveness inclin'd,
Count if thou canst these Flowers, and thou
The sum of my desires wilt know.

192

Observe these Turtles, kind and true,
Hearken how frequently they woo:
They faithful Lovers are, and who
That sees thee, would not be so too?
Of them my fair Aminta learn,
At length to grant me thy concern;
Follow what thou in them do'st see,
And thou wilt soon be kind to me.
Those mighty Bulls are worth thy sight,
Who on the plains so stoutly fight;
Fiercely each others brow they hit,
Where Beauty does with anger meet.
Love is the quarrel they maintain,
As 't was the reason of their pain.
So would thy faithful Shepherd do,
If he should meet his Rival too.
Thy Shepherd, fair, and cruel one,
In all these Villages is known:
Such is his Fathers herd and flock,
The Plain is cover'd with the stock.
He the convenient'st pastures knows,
And where the wholsom water flows;
Knows where the coolest shadows are,
And well hath learn'd a Shepherds care.
Astrology he studies too,
As much as Shepherds ought to do;
Nay Magick nothing hath so dim,
That can be long conceal'd from him.
When any do these Secrets dread,
He for himself hath this to plead;
That he by them such herbs can pick,
As cure his sheep when they are sick.

193

He can foresee the coming storm,
Nor Hail, nor Clouds, can do him harm,
And from their injuries can keep,
Safely enough his Lambs and Sheep.
He knows the season of the year,
When Shepherds think it fit to shear
Such inoffensive sheep as these,
And strip them of their Silver fleece.
He knows the scorching time of day,
When he must lead his flock away
To Valleys which are cool and near,
To chew the Cud, and rest them there.
He dares the Fiercest Wolves engage,
When 't is their hunger makes them rage;
The frighted dogs, when they retire,
He with new courage can inspire.
He sings and dances passing well,
And does in wrestling too excel,
Yes fair Maid, and few that know him,
But these advantages allow him.
At our Feast, he gets the Praise,
For his enchanting Roundelayes,
And on his head have oftenest been
The Garlands, and the Prizes seen.
When the Skrip, and Crook he quits,
And free from all disturbance sits,
He can make the Bag-pipes swell,
And Oaten Reeds his passion tell.
When his flame does him excite,
In amorous songs to do thee right,
He makes the Verses which he uses,
And borrows none of other Muses.

194

He neglects his own affairs,
To serve thee with greater cares,
And many Shepherdesses would
Deprive thee of him if they could.
Of Alceste he could tell
And Silvia's Eye, thou know'st it well:
But as his modesty is great,
He blushes if he them repeat.
When in the Chrystal stream he looks,
If there be any truth in Brooks,
He finds, thy scorn can never be
Excus'd by his deformity.
His Passion is so high for thee,
As 'twill admit no new degree.
Why wilt not thou his love requite,
Since Kindness gives so much delight?
Aminta hearkned all this while,
Then with a dext'rous, charming smile,
Against her will, she let him see,
That she would change his destiny.
I promise nothing, then said she,
With an obliging air, and free;
But I think, if you will try,
The Wolves are crueller than I.
When my Sheep unhealthy are,
I have compassion, I have care;
Nor pains, nor journeys then I grudge,
By which you may my Nature judge.
When any of them goes astray,
All the hamlets near us may
Perceive me, all in grief and fear,
Run and search it every where.

195

And when I happen once to find;
The object, of my troubled mind,
As soon as ever it I spy,
O! how over-joy'd am I!
I flatter her, and I caress,
And let her ruffle all my dress;
The vagabond I kindly treat,
And Mint and Thyme, I make her eat.
When my Sparrow does me quit,
My throbbing heart makes after it;
And nothing can relief afford,
For my fair inconstant bird.
When my Dog hath me displeas'd,
I am presently appeas'd;
And a tear is in my Eye,
If I have but made him cry.
I never could a hatred keep,
But to the Wolf that kills my sheep:
Gentle and kind, and soft I am,
And just as harmless as a Lamb.
Dispel thy fear, cease thy complaint,
O Shepherd timerous, and faint!
For I'me a Mistress very good,
If you'l but serve me as you should.
Words of a favourable strain,
(Cry'd out that now transported swain,)
Which do in thy Leontius fate,
So glad and swift a change create.
But look about, for now I mark
The fields already growing dark,
And with those shadows cover'd all,
Which from the neighbouring Mountains fall.

196

The winged Quire on every tree
By Caroling melodiously,
Do the declining Sun pursue,
With their last homage, and adieu.
From the next Cottages, I here
Voices well known unto my Ear,
They are of our Domesticks who
Do pipe, and hollow for us too.
The Flocks and Heards do homwards go,
I hear them hither bleat and low,
Thy Eyes which mine so much admire,
Tell me 'tis time we should retire.
Go then destroying, fair one go,
Since I perceive it must be so,
Sleep sweetly all the night, but be,
At least, so kind to dream of me.