46. The Maids Soliloquie.
1
You Virgins of the Queen of Lovers,
Come and consult with me a while;
Help me to chase this bird that hovers
About my breast, into exile.
Shew me a way
Whereby I may,
In stead of sighing, take delight to smile.
2
What though he's gone, in wrath departed?
Shall I for ever more lament?
No, I will not be so faint-hearted;
It shall not cause me to repent,
Though he has left
Me, and bereft
Me of his love, yet I have my content:
3
When in his arms I was confined,
A jealous frenzy vext my brain;
And I each moment was enjoined
To feel the sting of Cupids pain:
For then I thought I had been caught,
But now my heart's become mine own again.
4
If it were needful I should marry;
I need not labour for a lad;
But I will rather chuse to tarry,
Lest some should think that I were mad:
For when I wed,
My joyes are fled,
And all my good days will be turn'd to bad.
5
And since his absence greatly eases
Me of my sorrows and my care,
Pray let him wander where he pleases,
And not return till I despair:
The which shall be
When you shall see
Both Towns and Castles builded in the air.