Various pieces in verse and prose By the late Nathaniel Cotton. Many of which were never before published. In two volumes |
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An Enigma, inscribed to Miss P.
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 | Various pieces in verse and prose |  |
An Enigma, inscribed to Miss P.
Cloe, I boast celestial date,
Ere time began to roll;
So wide my power, my sceptre spurns
The limits of the pole.
Ere time began to roll;
So wide my power, my sceptre spurns
The limits of the pole.
When from the mystic womb of night,
The Almighty call'd the earth;
I smil'd upon the infant world,
And grac'd the wondrous birth.
The Almighty call'd the earth;
I smil'd upon the infant world,
And grac'd the wondrous birth.
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Thro' the vast realms of boundless space,
I traverse uncontroll'd;
And starry orbs of proudest blaze
Inscribe my name in gold.
I traverse uncontroll'd;
And starry orbs of proudest blaze
Inscribe my name in gold.
There's not a monarch in the north
But bends the suppliant knee;
The haughty sultan waves his power.
And owns superior me.
But bends the suppliant knee;
The haughty sultan waves his power.
And owns superior me.
Both by the savage and the saint
My empire stands confest;
I thaw the ice on Greenland's coast,
And fire the Scythian's breast.
My empire stands confest;
I thaw the ice on Greenland's coast,
And fire the Scythian's breast.
To me the gay aërial tribes
Their glittering plumage owe;
With all the variegated pride
That decks the feather'd beau.
Their glittering plumage owe;
With all the variegated pride
That decks the feather'd beau.
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The meanest reptiles of the land
My bounty too partake;
I paint the insect's trembling wing,
And gild the crested snake.
My bounty too partake;
I paint the insect's trembling wing,
And gild the crested snake.
Survey the nations of the deep,
You'll there my power behold;
My pencil drew the pearly scale,
And sin bedropt with gold.
You'll there my power behold;
My pencil drew the pearly scale,
And sin bedropt with gold.
I give the virgin's lip to glow,
I claim the crimson dye;
Mine is the rose which spreads the cheek,
And mine the brilliant eye.
I claim the crimson dye;
Mine is the rose which spreads the cheek,
And mine the brilliant eye.
Then speak, my fair; for surely thou
My name canst best descry;
Who gave to thee with lavish hands
What thousands I deny.
My name canst best descry;
Who gave to thee with lavish hands
What thousands I deny.
| Various pieces in verse and prose | |