Poems on Several Occasions In which are included, The Toilette and The Fall. By Joseph Thurston ... The Second Edition |
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| THE FALL.
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
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THE FALL.
In FOUR Books.
Ridet hoc, inquam, Venus ipsa; rident
Simplices Nymphæ: ferus & Cupido,
Semper ardentes acuens sagittas
Cote curentâ.
Hor.
Simplices Nymphæ: ferus & Cupido,
Semper ardentes acuens sagittas
Cote curentâ.
Hor.
105
BOOK I.
Nor Wars alarms, nor falling States I sing;
Nor strain with Notes sublime the jarring string:
Patient attend, ye loyal lovers all,
While soft I chant a gallant Lady's Fall.
Nor strain with Notes sublime the jarring string:
Patient attend, ye loyal lovers all,
While soft I chant a gallant Lady's Fall.
106
Thou, kindling Venus, lend thy gentle aid,
Teach thou to win the slowly-yielding maid;
To warm the cold, or tempt the crafty fair:
Attend ye heroes, and ye nymphs beware.
Teach thou to win the slowly-yielding maid;
To warm the cold, or tempt the crafty fair:
Attend ye heroes, and ye nymphs beware.
Now, for three seasons had Florella shin'd
The beauteous bane of more than half our kind:
Did nightly crouds in theatres concur?
They paid the Actor, but the look'd on Her:
Wits spar'd the poet, and Florella prais'd,
And fops, astonish'd into silence, gaz'd.
Each rip'ning fair beheld her glass with shame,
And prudes had fits but at Florella's name.
The beauteous bane of more than half our kind:
Did nightly crouds in theatres concur?
They paid the Actor, but the look'd on Her:
Wits spar'd the poet, and Florella prais'd,
And fops, astonish'd into silence, gaz'd.
Each rip'ning fair beheld her glass with shame,
And prudes had fits but at Florella's name.
Her Voice had charms beyond the force of art,
'Twas nature's music, and it reach'd the heart.
Yet open'd not those beauteous Lips in vain,
Her sense was easy à propos and plain:
The wise their rapture in her meaning found,
And fops expir'd with pleasure at the sound
She knew in love that most important part,
To sound the value of each offer'd heart;
Favours proportion'd to desert to show,
Approve the Man, and smile upon the Beau:
She wish'd her choice where youth and merit meet,
Nor heav'd her gentle bosom to be Great.
How great her charms, with decent pride she knew,
But often sigh'd—how transitory too!
The mind confess'd was stamp'd upon the frame,
Still all that man could wish, and still the same.
'Twas nature's music, and it reach'd the heart.
Yet open'd not those beauteous Lips in vain,
Her sense was easy à propos and plain:
The wise their rapture in her meaning found,
And fops expir'd with pleasure at the sound
She knew in love that most important part,
To sound the value of each offer'd heart;
Favours proportion'd to desert to show,
Approve the Man, and smile upon the Beau:
She wish'd her choice where youth and merit meet,
Nor heav'd her gentle bosom to be Great.
107
But often sigh'd—how transitory too!
The mind confess'd was stamp'd upon the frame,
Still all that man could wish, and still the same.
Thus happy reign'd our more than human fair,
Of earth the wonder, and of heav'n the care;
'Till wayward Jove, for causes yet in fate,
Had doom'd the plunder of a prize so great.
For lo! obedient to his awful call,
The wise, the beauteous, and the mighty fall.
Of earth the wonder, and of heav'n the care;
'Till wayward Jove, for causes yet in fate,
Had doom'd the plunder of a prize so great.
For lo! obedient to his awful call,
The wise, the beauteous, and the mighty fall.
Beauty, alas! thou blessing too refin'd,
Thou curs'd distinction from the common kind!
Why shine those eyes so more than mortal bright?
Why pants that bosom with such heav'nly white?
Those eyes ill-fated but themselves betray;
That bosom pants but to be made a prey.
Thou curs'd distinction from the common kind!
Why shine those eyes so more than mortal bright?
Why pants that bosom with such heav'nly white?
Those eyes ill-fated but themselves betray;
That bosom pants but to be made a prey.
Where on soft banks the tender Violets bloom,
They tempt their downfal by their own perfume.
The Cowslip boasts it's yellow pride in vain,
Cropt by the stragling maid, or churlish swain;
While the rough Grass exerts her spiral blade,
Secure, and frolic in the woodland shade.
Live, Lyce, live in peace, nor aim at more,
Safe in thy wrinkled skin, and forty-four.
They tempt their downfal by their own perfume.
The Cowslip boasts it's yellow pride in vain,
Cropt by the stragling maid, or churlish swain;
While the rough Grass exerts her spiral blade,
Secure, and frolic in the woodland shade.
Live, Lyce, live in peace, nor aim at more,
Safe in thy wrinkled skin, and forty-four.
108
Say, heav'nly muse, for thou alone can'st tell,
By what disast'rous fate Florella fell!
At what expence so fair a gem was bought,
What gods contended, and what heroes fought.
Are minds like her's with human frailty fill'd,
Or (oh!) can angels to temptation yield?
By what disast'rous fate Florella fell!
At what expence so fair a gem was bought,
What gods contended, and what heroes fought.
Are minds like her's with human frailty fill'd,
Or (oh!) can angels to temptation yield?
'Twas at a Ball, to grace a bridal feast,
Where love had warm'd each sympathizing breast,
(Each heart with wine inspir'd and genial food)
Brisk beat the pulse, and nimbly roll'd the blood;
Florella shone the wonder of the rest;
And she who could but imitate, was blest.
Where love had warm'd each sympathizing breast,
(Each heart with wine inspir'd and genial food)
Brisk beat the pulse, and nimbly roll'd the blood;
Florella shone the wonder of the rest;
And she who could but imitate, was blest.
Now sprightly notes the jovial dance prepare,
Each am'rous youth invites his chosen fair;
Florella's eyes secur'd the brightest swain,
A youth, the gentlest of the gentle train.
With conscious smiles the raptur'd nymph survey'd
His trembling sword-knot, and his rich brocade.
Think, wretched fair one, fly the shining foe,
(But who shall judge of happiness below?)
Soon shalt thou curse the idol thou hast made,
His trembling sword-knot, and his rich brocade.
Each am'rous youth invites his chosen fair;
Florella's eyes secur'd the brightest swain,
A youth, the gentlest of the gentle train.
With conscious smiles the raptur'd nymph survey'd
His trembling sword-knot, and his rich brocade.
Think, wretched fair one, fly the shining foe,
(But who shall judge of happiness below?)
Soon shalt thou curse the idol thou hast made,
His trembling sword-knot, and his rich brocade.
109
This matchless Hero, pre-ordain'd to kill,
In foreign regions had acquir'd his skill.
His Sire was wealthy, and of rural race,
Unknown to title, dignity, or place:
Midst herds, and flocks, and swains sincere as those,
An honest, humble, healthy life he chose:
Well would he nourish the disabled Poor,
But scourge the Vagrant from his plenteous door.
His rooms were spacious, lofty, dark and plain,
The home-spun product of Eliza's reign:
Such where (as grand-dames tell) at noon of night
Glides the pale miser's never-resting sprite:
Smit with unwholsome damps, and lazy dew,
Cold gleam'd the mould'ring arches to the view;
O'er his long isles the baleful winds might roam,
Or rush shrill-whistling thro' the shatter'd dome.
High in his hall a huge stag's head was found,
And twelve ill favour'd Cæsars grinn'd around.
In foreign regions had acquir'd his skill.
His Sire was wealthy, and of rural race,
Unknown to title, dignity, or place:
Midst herds, and flocks, and swains sincere as those,
An honest, humble, healthy life he chose:
Well would he nourish the disabled Poor,
But scourge the Vagrant from his plenteous door.
His rooms were spacious, lofty, dark and plain,
The home-spun product of Eliza's reign:
Such where (as grand-dames tell) at noon of night
Glides the pale miser's never-resting sprite:
Smit with unwholsome damps, and lazy dew,
Cold gleam'd the mould'ring arches to the view;
O'er his long isles the baleful winds might roam,
Or rush shrill-whistling thro' the shatter'd dome.
High in his hall a huge stag's head was found,
And twelve ill favour'd Cæsars grinn'd around.
Thus did he live, and thus his substance spare,
Discreet, in prospect of his rising heir;
For him in time he justly hop'd to raise,
The pride and theme of his declining days:
For this with doctrine soft, and lessons mild,
He wisely form'd the yet increasing child.
To men of his domains avail'd it aught,
What Homer painted, or what Tully thought?
He only aim'd his off-spring to advance;
So blest the boy, and sent him into France.
Discreet, in prospect of his rising heir;
For him in time he justly hop'd to raise,
The pride and theme of his declining days:
For this with doctrine soft, and lessons mild,
He wisely form'd the yet increasing child.
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What Homer painted, or what Tully thought?
He only aim'd his off-spring to advance;
So blest the boy, and sent him into France.
Compleat return'd he in each practis'd air;
'Twas Industry in him, 'tis Nature there.
As docil Apes, who human gestures show,
Feel not the passion whence those gestures flow:
So we our tougher nerves distort in vain,
The supple cringe, and foreign grace to gain;
Ill suits our surly sons the spaniel grin,
And tho' with pains the outward man we win,
We want their lighter fire, that prompts within.
'Twas Industry in him, 'tis Nature there.
As docil Apes, who human gestures show,
Feel not the passion whence those gestures flow:
So we our tougher nerves distort in vain,
The supple cringe, and foreign grace to gain;
Ill suits our surly sons the spaniel grin,
And tho' with pains the outward man we win,
We want their lighter fire, that prompts within.
Thus train'd to charm, Florella he addrest,
And kindled unknown fires within her breast:
Whate'er she spoke, with rapture he approv'd,
And much he flatter'd her; for much he lov'd:
His words, unweigh'd and wild, too plainly show'd
He bore the shaft within, and had the god:
Thrice to reveal his Passion did he try,
And thrice he ended, but with—let me die.
And sure a Statue had he soon become,
For ever Gazing, and for ever Dumb:
But fate, that works by methods unforeseen,
And calls forth great events from causes mean,
Reliev'd his pain; for now the matchless maid
The painted honours of her Fan display'd;
There in full colours had the workman told,
How Danae e'rst receiv'd the heavenly gold;
By Loves attended in a rich alcove,
She lay irriguous with descending Jove;
Her half-shut eyes the pungent joy confess'd,
And the warm rapture panted on her breast.
The youth a-while the wanton Toy survey'd,
Then in these soft'ning sounds addrest the maid.
And kindled unknown fires within her breast:
Whate'er she spoke, with rapture he approv'd,
And much he flatter'd her; for much he lov'd:
His words, unweigh'd and wild, too plainly show'd
He bore the shaft within, and had the god:
Thrice to reveal his Passion did he try,
And thrice he ended, but with—let me die.
And sure a Statue had he soon become,
For ever Gazing, and for ever Dumb:
But fate, that works by methods unforeseen,
And calls forth great events from causes mean,
111
The painted honours of her Fan display'd;
There in full colours had the workman told,
How Danae e'rst receiv'd the heavenly gold;
By Loves attended in a rich alcove,
She lay irriguous with descending Jove;
Her half-shut eyes the pungent joy confess'd,
And the warm rapture panted on her breast.
The youth a-while the wanton Toy survey'd,
Then in these soft'ning sounds addrest the maid.
“Or much I err, and long, with fruitless pain,
“These eyes have ogled foreign climes in vain;
“Or this same Fan, the fairest in the dance,
“Or this same Fan, must surely come from France.
“For fans like this—
“These eyes have ogled foreign climes in vain;
“Or this same Fan, the fairest in the dance,
“Or this same Fan, must surely come from France.
“For fans like this—
“French is the Fan, the smiling Nymph reply'd,
“Yet let not eloquence inflame my pride,
“No choice, no judgment, in myself was shown,
“'Twas fortune's gift, and at a raffle won;
“Propitious Hermes turn'd the lucky throw,
“To him (indulgent pow'r!) the prize I owe;
“Oft at Quadrille he aids my hand unseen,
“Supplies a trump, or guards some widow'd queen:
“He gives the cards to slip, the dice to roll,
“And the long trophies of the doubtful Vole.
“Yet let not eloquence inflame my pride,
“No choice, no judgment, in myself was shown,
“'Twas fortune's gift, and at a raffle won;
“Propitious Hermes turn'd the lucky throw,
“To him (indulgent pow'r!) the prize I owe;
“Oft at Quadrille he aids my hand unseen,
“Supplies a trump, or guards some widow'd queen:
“He gives the cards to slip, the dice to roll,
“And the long trophies of the doubtful Vole.
112
She added not—for now, the morning ray
Alarm'd the dancers with approaching day;
So homeward all return'd by dawning light,
To dream the pleasures of the finish'd night.
Hail sacred Sleep! thou softest gift of Jove,
The friend of all—but most the friend of love!
What visionary joys by thee we share!
Close clasp the kind, or melt the colder fair;
Nor hinder this those tyrants most abhorr'd,
The niggard parent, or the surly lord.
Alarm'd the dancers with approaching day;
So homeward all return'd by dawning light,
To dream the pleasures of the finish'd night.
Hail sacred Sleep! thou softest gift of Jove,
The friend of all—but most the friend of love!
What visionary joys by thee we share!
Close clasp the kind, or melt the colder fair;
Nor hinder this those tyrants most abhorr'd,
The niggard parent, or the surly lord.
But infant love Florella's soul possest,
The kindled symptoms rack'd her gentle breast.
To Phillis first she told her artless tale,
(Red rose the blush, with interchanging pale,
The kindled symptoms rack'd her gentle breast.
To Phillis first she told her artless tale,
(Red rose the blush, with interchanging pale,
Phillis was gentlest of the hand-maid train,
Florella lov'd, and lov'd her not in vain;
With useful knowledge was her bosom fill'd,
Of past tenacious, and in future skill'd:
Right well she knew the candle's mystic light,
With all presages of the fateful night.
How death in sleep denoted, we should try
The sister-sentence of the marriage tye;
The owl's portenteous cry, the cricket's scream,
The lucky number, and the morning dream.
Florella lov'd, and lov'd her not in vain;
With useful knowledge was her bosom fill'd,
Of past tenacious, and in future skill'd:
Right well she knew the candle's mystic light,
With all presages of the fateful night.
How death in sleep denoted, we should try
The sister-sentence of the marriage tye;
The owl's portenteous cry, the cricket's scream,
The lucky number, and the morning dream.
113
“Phillis, at length, the mournful fair begun,
“Thou seest thy mistress helpless and undone;
“I who so long by practis'd pride withstood
“Each gust of gay desire and vernal blood;
“I, whom nor dress nor title could subdue,
“The Count in velvet, or Sir John in blue,
“Submit, convinc'd, to love's resistless dart,
“And feel the restless wanton at my heart.
“Thou seest thy mistress helpless and undone;
“I who so long by practis'd pride withstood
“Each gust of gay desire and vernal blood;
“I, whom nor dress nor title could subdue,
“The Count in velvet, or Sir John in blue,
“Submit, convinc'd, to love's resistless dart,
“And feel the restless wanton at my heart.
“But say, thou partner in my early praise:
“Thou best companion of my whiter days,
“Reflect with candour how I once excell'd,
“Unmov'd what wonders have these eyes beheld!
“View'd the gay court, with all it's peacock train,
“Regardless view'd it, and came home again;
“In the gilt chariot seen his lordship shine,
“Yet wish'd nor both, nor either trifle mine:
“'Tis past. Some pow'r, averse to virgin fame,
“With zeal invidious, blows the latent flame.
“Oh night! for ever sure to claim a tear,
“Oh youth! too lately known; too early dear;
“What talk, what teeth, (ye gods!) what shape and eyes,
“How sweetly smil'd his ever-smooth replies!
“Oh sleep! if thou canst boast (as wretches say)
“O'er human minds a more than mortal sway,
“To my charm'd thoughts convey the lovely swain,
“Urge all the god, and prove thy power to seign:
“In soft security my mind relieve,
“Nor I can suffer so, nor he deceive.
“Thou best companion of my whiter days,
“Reflect with candour how I once excell'd,
“Unmov'd what wonders have these eyes beheld!
“View'd the gay court, with all it's peacock train,
“Regardless view'd it, and came home again;
“In the gilt chariot seen his lordship shine,
“Yet wish'd nor both, nor either trifle mine:
“'Tis past. Some pow'r, averse to virgin fame,
“With zeal invidious, blows the latent flame.
“Oh night! for ever sure to claim a tear,
“Oh youth! too lately known; too early dear;
“What talk, what teeth, (ye gods!) what shape and eyes,
“How sweetly smil'd his ever-smooth replies!
“Oh sleep! if thou canst boast (as wretches say)
“O'er human minds a more than mortal sway,
“To my charm'd thoughts convey the lovely swain,
“Urge all the god, and prove thy power to seign:
114
“Nor I can suffer so, nor he deceive.
So spake the Fair, and strait prepar'd for rest;
(That rare companion of a lover's breast!)
And first, with Phillis' necessary aid,
From the lac'd coif she eas'd her beauteous head;
When o'er her bosom, with untutor'd air,
Luxurious wanton'd the dishevell'd hair;
The full-swol'n ringlets, sportful and unbound,
Diffus'd a balmy fragrance all around.
Next from her sides she took with tender care
Those happy stays which clasp'd Elysium there;
Which closely free her yielding Body press'd,
And forc'd new beauties on the rising breast;
And all the while converse of various kind
Made short their labours, and reliev'd the mind.
(That rare companion of a lover's breast!)
And first, with Phillis' necessary aid,
From the lac'd coif she eas'd her beauteous head;
When o'er her bosom, with untutor'd air,
Luxurious wanton'd the dishevell'd hair;
The full-swol'n ringlets, sportful and unbound,
Diffus'd a balmy fragrance all around.
Next from her sides she took with tender care
Those happy stays which clasp'd Elysium there;
Which closely free her yielding Body press'd,
And forc'd new beauties on the rising breast;
And all the while converse of various kind
Made short their labours, and reliev'd the mind.
Now, unrestrain'd, her Breasts appear'd to view,
And shin'd unsullied as the morning dew;
Smooth as the mountain in December's snow,
Soft as, in Summer's pride, the vale below;
Fair, round and white, the gentle Swells arose,
Then silent fell, and panted to repose;
Apart they rose, and form'd a Virgin plain,
(Sweet space! impervious to the gazing swain;)
Conceal'd from man's unhallow'd ken, and known
To heav'n, it's kindred purity, alone.
And shin'd unsullied as the morning dew;
Smooth as the mountain in December's snow,
Soft as, in Summer's pride, the vale below;
Fair, round and white, the gentle Swells arose,
Then silent fell, and panted to repose;
Apart they rose, and form'd a Virgin plain,
(Sweet space! impervious to the gazing swain;)
Conceal'd from man's unhallow'd ken, and known
To heav'n, it's kindred purity, alone.
115
Now unarray'd appear'd our finish'd Dame,
Save one thin Veil around her gentle frame;
That snow-white Veil which, faithless to it's post,
Is nearest trusted, yet deceives the most.
And now, in bed the beauteous Nymph was laid,
Attendance to the rites while Phillis paid;
Her polish'd limbs she hid with nicest care,
Discreet, and conscious of the lambent air.
Not the green surges of the watry plain,
Which lave love's goddess in her parent main;
Not her own Zone, th' immortal gift of Jove,
More perfect transports in it's heav'n can prove,
Than those fair Sheets which—oh too envy'd place!
Wrapt the warm charmer in their soft embrace.
Save one thin Veil around her gentle frame;
That snow-white Veil which, faithless to it's post,
Is nearest trusted, yet deceives the most.
And now, in bed the beauteous Nymph was laid,
Attendance to the rites while Phillis paid;
Her polish'd limbs she hid with nicest care,
Discreet, and conscious of the lambent air.
Not the green surges of the watry plain,
Which lave love's goddess in her parent main;
Not her own Zone, th' immortal gift of Jove,
More perfect transports in it's heav'n can prove,
Than those fair Sheets which—oh too envy'd place!
Wrapt the warm charmer in their soft embrace.
116
BOOK II.
Now o'er the plains of heav'n's unmeasur'd height
The genial morn diffus'd her chearful light;
To grateful toil arose the healthful swain,
Hail'd the fair East, and sought his humble gain;
While night's polluted sons, a worthless crew,
With faithless steps their homeward path pursue,
Secret to drown the not-returning day,
And sleep the bounty of the gods away:
When Jove all-conscious, where he sits on high
'Mid'st the bright train who crown his subject sky,
With silence heard, with distant awe beheld,
The sacred counsels of his mind reveal'd.
The genial morn diffus'd her chearful light;
To grateful toil arose the healthful swain,
Hail'd the fair East, and sought his humble gain;
While night's polluted sons, a worthless crew,
With faithless steps their homeward path pursue,
Secret to drown the not-returning day,
And sleep the bounty of the gods away:
When Jove all-conscious, where he sits on high
'Mid'st the bright train who crown his subject sky,
With silence heard, with distant awe beheld,
The sacred counsels of his mind reveal'd.
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“Ye guardian Pow'rs, who, ceaseless to bestow,
“Protect the thankless race of man below;
“You whose dread arm maintains successful war,
“While the vain victor climbs th' insulting carr;
“Or You, who wakeful prop the falling throne,
“While statesmen swear the miracle their own;
“A while neglect your charge, and jointly try
“The softest task that e'er employ'd the sky.
“See, yet unrival'd, young Florella reign,
“Toast of the court, and goddess of the plain;
“Her finish'd mind, and faultless form declare
“Our scatter'd attributes united there;
“Sure fate from each a ray immortal stole,
“And molded her the extract of the whole.
“And yet, oh Beauty! thou ill-fated prize,
“Sport of the fool, and tyrant of the wise!
“Too fine thy texture to be fram'd secure;
“Twould pose Omnipotence to stamp thee sure!
“Protect the thankless race of man below;
“You whose dread arm maintains successful war,
“While the vain victor climbs th' insulting carr;
“Or You, who wakeful prop the falling throne,
“While statesmen swear the miracle their own;
“A while neglect your charge, and jointly try
“The softest task that e'er employ'd the sky.
“See, yet unrival'd, young Florella reign,
“Toast of the court, and goddess of the plain;
“Her finish'd mind, and faultless form declare
“Our scatter'd attributes united there;
“Sure fate from each a ray immortal stole,
“And molded her the extract of the whole.
“And yet, oh Beauty! thou ill-fated prize,
“Sport of the fool, and tyrant of the wise!
“Too fine thy texture to be fram'd secure;
“Twould pose Omnipotence to stamp thee sure!
“Know then, Florella loves, unhappy fair!
“So late my pride, my wonder, and my care!
“Fond Sex! I meant them but to urge desire,
“Not feel themselves a passion, but inspire;
“By tears, by smiles, by nameless arts to move;
“But oh! I meant not they should ever love.
“Love was a check, which I from first assign'd
“To Man's unpolish'd force, and brutal mind.
“To cheat herself does the Hyæna cry?
“By her own poison does the Viper die?
“Should fate events so unforeseen ordain,
“Ourself may sleep, and Providence be vain:
“But say; (Th' expecting world our doom attend)
“Yield we the beauteous Victim, or defend?
“So late my pride, my wonder, and my care!
“Fond Sex! I meant them but to urge desire,
“Not feel themselves a passion, but inspire;
“By tears, by smiles, by nameless arts to move;
“But oh! I meant not they should ever love.
“Love was a check, which I from first assign'd
“To Man's unpolish'd force, and brutal mind.
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“By her own poison does the Viper die?
“Should fate events so unforeseen ordain,
“Ourself may sleep, and Providence be vain:
“But say; (Th' expecting world our doom attend)
“Yield we the beauteous Victim, or defend?
So spake the sire; when from the cirque below,
Soft rose the Goddess of the silver Bow:
“My sire, she said, if grateful to thy eyes
“O'er heav'ns pale arch my ev'ning beams arise;
“Or if I grace thy delegated sway,
“O'er realms impervious to the blaze of day;
“From her vain self, and man than her more vain,
“Save thou the first, the fairest of my train:
“Ev'n now soft dreams her balmy slumbers move,
“She sighs, one ceaseless sacrifice to love.
“Thou know'st, oh father, poison to our kind!
“If passion once invade the female mind,
“(Tenacious sex!) in vain would mortal art
“Wrench the warm weapon from the bleeding heart.
“Let now thy own remembrance rise my aid,
“What millions won, forsaken and betray'd!
“To mimic courts beneath our native sky
“(How sure to be convinc'd!) direct thine eye;
“There see what shoals obey your Cupid's call,
“What half-grown hecatombs successive fall!
“By thy own arts, (a blushful tale I tell)
“Thy proper prize, my much-lov'd Io fell;
“In my own shape didst thou Calisto bend,
“And doubly rob me of my form and friend;
“And now (vain gift!) unheeded from afar,
“She dimly shines a prostituted star.
Soft rose the Goddess of the silver Bow:
“My sire, she said, if grateful to thy eyes
“O'er heav'ns pale arch my ev'ning beams arise;
“Or if I grace thy delegated sway,
“O'er realms impervious to the blaze of day;
“From her vain self, and man than her more vain,
“Save thou the first, the fairest of my train:
“Ev'n now soft dreams her balmy slumbers move,
“She sighs, one ceaseless sacrifice to love.
“Thou know'st, oh father, poison to our kind!
“If passion once invade the female mind,
“(Tenacious sex!) in vain would mortal art
“Wrench the warm weapon from the bleeding heart.
“Let now thy own remembrance rise my aid,
“What millions won, forsaken and betray'd!
“To mimic courts beneath our native sky
“(How sure to be convinc'd!) direct thine eye;
“There see what shoals obey your Cupid's call,
“What half-grown hecatombs successive fall!
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“Thy proper prize, my much-lov'd Io fell;
“In my own shape didst thou Calisto bend,
“And doubly rob me of my form and friend;
“And now (vain gift!) unheeded from afar,
“She dimly shines a prostituted star.
“'Tis trifle all—but let thy mercy spare
“This one distinguish'd, one unequall'd fair:
“Yet if, as all must yield to thee and fate,
“She bow submissive to the social state,
“At least let Hymen wait the bridal call,
“Adorn the cheat, and sanctify her fall.
“This one distinguish'd, one unequall'd fair:
“Yet if, as all must yield to thee and fate,
“She bow submissive to the social state,
“At least let Hymen wait the bridal call,
“Adorn the cheat, and sanctify her fall.
She spake; but Venus, blushing heavenly red,
Indignant tost her fair resenting head;
While, from those lips where endless graces dwell,
These gentle accents sweet-succeeding fell.
Indignant tost her fair resenting head;
While, from those lips where endless graces dwell,
These gentle accents sweet-succeeding fell.
“Could fond Conceit, and quaint remonstrance move,
“In vain were Providence, in vain were Jove:
“Why should One nymph, deserter from her kind,
“Evade the frailties of the human mind?
“For man, and man alone, the sex was made,
“His soft incumbrance, and his dear bought aid;
“For him the planets roll, the suns arise,
“The roses brighten, and the virgin sighs.
“And why should Hymen wait the bridal call?
“Is nature error, or to love to fall?
“Hymen! the terror of each earthly dame!
“Curs'd be his feeble torch and and winking flame!
“(Witness our deathless selves!) how hard his chain,
“Which half our synod groan to quit in vain!
“In vain were Providence, in vain were Jove:
“Why should One nymph, deserter from her kind,
“Evade the frailties of the human mind?
“For man, and man alone, the sex was made,
“His soft incumbrance, and his dear bought aid;
“For him the planets roll, the suns arise,
“The roses brighten, and the virgin sighs.
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“Is nature error, or to love to fall?
“Hymen! the terror of each earthly dame!
“Curs'd be his feeble torch and and winking flame!
“(Witness our deathless selves!) how hard his chain,
“Which half our synod groan to quit in vain!
Thus they; when Hebe with officious haste
Girt her fair vest, and minister'd repast:
Down sate the glitt'ring choir in meet array;
For such their antient wont, at noon of day.
Florella now by custom prone to rise,
With one sweet sigh unveil'd her languid eyes;
Not sighs so sweet, where eastern breezes move,
Wake the still ev'ning in Arabia's grove,
When the young winds the fragrant scent exhale,
And crouded odours swell the balmy gale.
Girt her fair vest, and minister'd repast:
Down sate the glitt'ring choir in meet array;
For such their antient wont, at noon of day.
Florella now by custom prone to rise,
With one sweet sigh unveil'd her languid eyes;
Not sighs so sweet, where eastern breezes move,
Wake the still ev'ning in Arabia's grove,
When the young winds the fragrant scent exhale,
And crouded odours swell the balmy gale.
As when the sun from regions far away
Cross the grey lawn directs his level ray;
When half reveal'd he rears his beamy head
From the wide ocean's cooly breathing bed;
So (but that view what mortal strength can bear!)
In gradual beauty rose the melting fair.
Cross the grey lawn directs his level ray;
When half reveal'd he rears his beamy head
From the wide ocean's cooly breathing bed;
So (but that view what mortal strength can bear!)
In gradual beauty rose the melting fair.
Soon as she left her couch, and touch'd the ground,
A gleam of silent joy diffus'd around;
Bright, and more bright, the rich-wrought tap'stry shone,
Inspir'd with lustre to the loom unknown;
Glow'd every thread with animated hue,
And each full form projected to the view.
So where some genius haunts the lonely glade,
A deeper green adorns the sacred shade;
Obedient nature pours her sweets around,
And smiles distinguish'd on the chosen ground.
A gleam of silent joy diffus'd around;
121
Inspir'd with lustre to the loom unknown;
Glow'd every thread with animated hue,
And each full form projected to the view.
So where some genius haunts the lonely glade,
A deeper green adorns the sacred shade;
Obedient nature pours her sweets around,
And smiles distinguish'd on the chosen ground.
But wayward dreams had robb'd Florella's rest,
And naughty visions rack'd her gentle breast;
A wild disorder, and unguarded air,
Flush'd her fair cheeks, and discompos'd her hair.
So, where the sounding North untimely blows,
In balmy ruins curls the silken rose;
It's luscious folds a threefold sweet bestow,
And the ripe colours in the conflict glow.
And naughty visions rack'd her gentle breast;
A wild disorder, and unguarded air,
Flush'd her fair cheeks, and discompos'd her hair.
So, where the sounding North untimely blows,
In balmy ruins curls the silken rose;
It's luscious folds a threefold sweet bestow,
And the ripe colours in the conflict glow.
Yet how, when lock'd in sleep the virgin lies,
Delusive charms should swim before her eyes;
How forms which not exist, but merely seem,
Cause the soft murmur, and extatic dream,
Let sages write; I boast not to divine
(A task unworthy of the tuneful Nine.)
Delusive charms should swim before her eyes;
How forms which not exist, but merely seem,
Cause the soft murmur, and extatic dream,
Let sages write; I boast not to divine
(A task unworthy of the tuneful Nine.)
“Phillis, with sighs began the pensive fair,
“Methought—(but first adjust my rumpled hair)
“Methought I sat within a sable grove,
“Sacred to rites obscene, and lawless love,
“When strait my girdle without human hand
“Unbuckling, faithless loos'd its guardian band;
“Loose flew my robes, as when the flow'rs display
“Their full blown softness to the blaze of day:
“Each rebel pin at once associate fled
“From stays, from gown, from ruffles, and from head;
“From that small train whose fairy ranks uphold
“The cobweb-burden of the mechlin fold,
“To the tough corkin, whose unequall'd strength
“Props the superior plaits enormous length:
“When now the gales, which had at random stray'd,
“On me united their invasion made;
“With lawless licence at discretion press'd,
“Pour'd on my lips, and quiver'd in my breast;
“I shriek'd, and yet methought 'twas not severe,
“A Force too gentle ev'n for Maids to fear:
“I wak'd, uneasy at my peevish scream;
“For silence best becomes the virgin's dream.
“Methought—(but first adjust my rumpled hair)
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“Sacred to rites obscene, and lawless love,
“When strait my girdle without human hand
“Unbuckling, faithless loos'd its guardian band;
“Loose flew my robes, as when the flow'rs display
“Their full blown softness to the blaze of day:
“Each rebel pin at once associate fled
“From stays, from gown, from ruffles, and from head;
“From that small train whose fairy ranks uphold
“The cobweb-burden of the mechlin fold,
“To the tough corkin, whose unequall'd strength
“Props the superior plaits enormous length:
“When now the gales, which had at random stray'd,
“On me united their invasion made;
“With lawless licence at discretion press'd,
“Pour'd on my lips, and quiver'd in my breast;
“I shriek'd, and yet methought 'twas not severe,
“A Force too gentle ev'n for Maids to fear:
“I wak'd, uneasy at my peevish scream;
“For silence best becomes the virgin's dream.
“Quoth Phillis, dreams are whims, and seldom more,
“(I value not a rush Artemidore)
“From different food the different fancies flow,
“Alert, uneasy, phlegmatic, or slow.
“Hence sullen Prudes may in a vision smile,
“Warm with the joys which waking they revile.
“And to the brain as various fumes succeed,
“Rakes marry, Bullies fight, or Critics read:
“Reflect, and you may soon an instance see;
“The nymph who sups upon quadrille and tea,
“In sleep, affected by the cogent streams,
“Of full canals, and falling waters dreams;
“If sullen coffee close the sober night,
“Dark walls, and abby-grates amuse the sight;
“But dreams of most import (if late apply'd)
“In chocolate's productive fumes reside.
“This by the bye—but dreams there are (besure)
“That can the test of prophecy endure:
“Such once was mine—in regions far away,
“Near the fair borders of the silver Tay,
“My father dwelt, a priest of homely kind,
“And worthless—save the merit of the mind.
“To this world's good so little was his view,
“He deem'd it robbery to force his due;
“In vice so little read, he scarce did know
“The various masks that screen'd his ghostly foe,
“So fought a random field, and blindfold dealt the blow.
“A clerk he had, a youth of sprightly mien,
“Whom would I had or gain'd, or never seen.
“Once after sauntring supperless to bed
“It chanc'd I dreamt this clerk of ours was dead;
“Methought they buried him in meet array,
“My father with an hatband led the way;
“A holy book he held expanded wide,
“And ever as he reads, the people cry'd:
“Loud knoll'd the bell, and from the graves around
“The trembling earth return'd a sullen sound.
“Next, by the sad supporters born on high,
“In air slow-sliding mov'd the coffin by;
“Black was the pall as night, and all below
“A snow-white sheet to grace the horrid show.
“The moon shone full, and to my tortur'd brain
“Fantastic gleam'd the visionary train:
“I wak'd, and oh! reverse of equal fate!
“I heard this clerk of ours had married Kate.
“(I value not a rush Artemidore)
“From different food the different fancies flow,
“Alert, uneasy, phlegmatic, or slow.
“Hence sullen Prudes may in a vision smile,
“Warm with the joys which waking they revile.
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“Rakes marry, Bullies fight, or Critics read:
“Reflect, and you may soon an instance see;
“The nymph who sups upon quadrille and tea,
“In sleep, affected by the cogent streams,
“Of full canals, and falling waters dreams;
“If sullen coffee close the sober night,
“Dark walls, and abby-grates amuse the sight;
“But dreams of most import (if late apply'd)
“In chocolate's productive fumes reside.
“This by the bye—but dreams there are (besure)
“That can the test of prophecy endure:
“Such once was mine—in regions far away,
“Near the fair borders of the silver Tay,
“My father dwelt, a priest of homely kind,
“And worthless—save the merit of the mind.
“To this world's good so little was his view,
“He deem'd it robbery to force his due;
“In vice so little read, he scarce did know
“The various masks that screen'd his ghostly foe,
“So fought a random field, and blindfold dealt the blow.
“A clerk he had, a youth of sprightly mien,
“Whom would I had or gain'd, or never seen.
“Once after sauntring supperless to bed
“It chanc'd I dreamt this clerk of ours was dead;
“Methought they buried him in meet array,
“My father with an hatband led the way;
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“And ever as he reads, the people cry'd:
“Loud knoll'd the bell, and from the graves around
“The trembling earth return'd a sullen sound.
“Next, by the sad supporters born on high,
“In air slow-sliding mov'd the coffin by;
“Black was the pall as night, and all below
“A snow-white sheet to grace the horrid show.
“The moon shone full, and to my tortur'd brain
“Fantastic gleam'd the visionary train:
“I wak'd, and oh! reverse of equal fate!
“I heard this clerk of ours had married Kate.
Scarce had she spoke, when at the gate below,
Arriv'd a greeting from the love-sick beau;
In mystic characters his flame he told,
In virgin sheets contain'd, and edg'd with gold;
Bold stood each letter in grotesque array,
Unconscious of the pen's presuming sway;
Nor square, nor round, nor long, nor large, nor small;
For neither did they seem, and yet were all.
So lawless comets strike th' astonish'd eye;
So sure prognosticate a ruin nigh,
Not twelve sleek chaplains could have read the page,
Twelve full-fed chaplains of our modern age;
Yet she at sight the secret meaning knew:
For love, who dictates, will unriddle too.
Arriv'd a greeting from the love-sick beau;
In mystic characters his flame he told,
In virgin sheets contain'd, and edg'd with gold;
Bold stood each letter in grotesque array,
Unconscious of the pen's presuming sway;
Nor square, nor round, nor long, nor large, nor small;
For neither did they seem, and yet were all.
So lawless comets strike th' astonish'd eye;
So sure prognosticate a ruin nigh,
Not twelve sleek chaplains could have read the page,
Twelve full-fed chaplains of our modern age;
Yet she at sight the secret meaning knew:
For love, who dictates, will unriddle too.
125
But now for dress our busy Nymph prepares,
(That curs'd addition to the female snares!)
And strait at once appears in order gay,
Each kind assassin of the languid day:
The fairy shoes to clasp her tender feet,
The snow-white stocking, elegantly neat;
The garter wont it's circling folds to tie
Round the fair surface of the polish'd thigh;
The combs to part, and regulate with care
The rich profusion of her swelling hair;
The soft pomatum, and the patch-box vain,
The pin insidious to the heedless swain;
The ribonds, red, blue, yellow, white, and green;
The glass, amusement of the prude in spleen;
The stays unyielding, and the stiff brocade,
The dog, the cat, the monkey, and the maid.
(That curs'd addition to the female snares!)
And strait at once appears in order gay,
Each kind assassin of the languid day:
The fairy shoes to clasp her tender feet,
The snow-white stocking, elegantly neat;
The garter wont it's circling folds to tie
Round the fair surface of the polish'd thigh;
The combs to part, and regulate with care
The rich profusion of her swelling hair;
The soft pomatum, and the patch-box vain,
The pin insidious to the heedless swain;
The ribonds, red, blue, yellow, white, and green;
The glass, amusement of the prude in spleen;
The stays unyielding, and the stiff brocade,
The dog, the cat, the monkey, and the maid.
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BOOK III.
But deep in thought, and with a careless air,
Our artful Lover fill'd his easy chair:
A huge romance his busy fingers thrum'd,
He mus'd while reading, and while musing hum'd.
Our artful Lover fill'd his easy chair:
A huge romance his busy fingers thrum'd,
He mus'd while reading, and while musing hum'd.
As when a Critic Beau on shifting day,
Steals unsuspected to his favour'd play;
Where, with the glass alike and poet smit,
He stares divided 'twixt himself and wit:
So far'd our hero; in his gentle breast
Florella reign'd despotic, and confess'd;
But still where'er he turn'd his ravish'd eye,
His figure fac'd him in some mirror nigh:
His figure oft, and oft the nymph would yield;
And this, and that, by turns maintain'd the field.
Steals unsuspected to his favour'd play;
Where, with the glass alike and poet smit,
He stares divided 'twixt himself and wit:
127
Florella reign'd despotic, and confess'd;
But still where'er he turn'd his ravish'd eye,
His figure fac'd him in some mirror nigh:
His figure oft, and oft the nymph would yield;
And this, and that, by turns maintain'd the field.
While thus his well-pois'd mind to neither bends,
A ghastly Fantom at his feet ascends;
A Female's aged Form the spectre wore,
And loose and gorgeous was the robe she bore;
Uncouth it sat, and tarnish'd was it's hue,
Soil'd by the magic night's unwholsome dew;
Sunk were the fury's eyes, and visage vile;
She forc'd, but hardly forc'd a harlot-smile;
Then thus began: “And dost thou silent pine,
“While all the labour, all the pain is mine?
“Unactive mortal! think what fame attends
“The curse of Rivals, and the praise of Friends:
“Think what 'twere worth, this virgin prize to gain,
“This boasted pattern of the peevish train!
“Not that bold He a wider praise shall claim,
“Who burnt their temple to erect his fame.
“Be thine this living temple to destroy;
“In pride pursue it, and in flames enjoy;
“Nor hard the task: 'Twas at the midnight noon,
“By the white glimm'ring of the sickly moon,
“When dreary dripping fogs and mists obscene
“Our sacred rites and forceful labours screen,
“From cloyster'd walls where saints their hours improve,
“(The last recess of luxury and love)
“From grass-green arches sacred to the view,
“I brush'd with mystic spells the rancid dew,
“Parent of wanton dreams! and o'er her head,
“All guiltless as she lay, the fateful Philtre shed.
“'Tis noon, and yet my charm it's pow'r maintains,
“Flames o'er her cheeks, and trembles in her veins.
“Haste then, e'er lost in thought, and cooling pride,
“The mantling venom of the god subside.
“She said, and ceas'd. The youth to dress arose,
Thus doubly arm'd with council, and with cloaths.
A ghastly Fantom at his feet ascends;
A Female's aged Form the spectre wore,
And loose and gorgeous was the robe she bore;
Uncouth it sat, and tarnish'd was it's hue,
Soil'd by the magic night's unwholsome dew;
Sunk were the fury's eyes, and visage vile;
She forc'd, but hardly forc'd a harlot-smile;
Then thus began: “And dost thou silent pine,
“While all the labour, all the pain is mine?
“Unactive mortal! think what fame attends
“The curse of Rivals, and the praise of Friends:
“Think what 'twere worth, this virgin prize to gain,
“This boasted pattern of the peevish train!
“Not that bold He a wider praise shall claim,
“Who burnt their temple to erect his fame.
“Be thine this living temple to destroy;
“In pride pursue it, and in flames enjoy;
“Nor hard the task: 'Twas at the midnight noon,
“By the white glimm'ring of the sickly moon,
128
“Our sacred rites and forceful labours screen,
“From cloyster'd walls where saints their hours improve,
“(The last recess of luxury and love)
“From grass-green arches sacred to the view,
“I brush'd with mystic spells the rancid dew,
“Parent of wanton dreams! and o'er her head,
“All guiltless as she lay, the fateful Philtre shed.
“'Tis noon, and yet my charm it's pow'r maintains,
“Flames o'er her cheeks, and trembles in her veins.
“Haste then, e'er lost in thought, and cooling pride,
“The mantling venom of the god subside.
“She said, and ceas'd. The youth to dress arose,
Thus doubly arm'd with council, and with cloaths.
As when some butterfly sets out to play,
Pert with the tepid noon's informing ray;
Secure he wantons on his infant wing,
And spreads the painted trifle to the spring;
On each fair flow'r in pride pretends to rest;
A guiltless, light, imperceptible guest:
So Clodio shone; trip'd instant to his chair,
Inclos'd, his slaves convey'd him to the fair.
Pert with the tepid noon's informing ray;
Secure he wantons on his infant wing,
And spreads the painted trifle to the spring;
On each fair flow'r in pride pretends to rest;
A guiltless, light, imperceptible guest:
So Clodio shone; trip'd instant to his chair,
Inclos'd, his slaves convey'd him to the fair.
Ye guardian Nine, whom watchful heav'n design'd
The soft instructors of the frailer kind,
Smile on my lines, which only aim to show
What to themselves the trifling charmers owe.
Think, think, ye fair, how fame unheeded flies,
The coxcomb's topic, or the ruffian's prize.
With wrinkl'd foreheads for the Vole ye play,
While Virtue (losing card) is smil'd away.
Be that a gift, but to desert alone;
While kept in honest hands, 'tis still your own.
What nymph of spirit would descend so low,
To sigh beneath the mercy of a beau?
Your honour still, as churls their riches use,
With insolence retain, with caution lose.
The soft instructors of the frailer kind,
129
What to themselves the trifling charmers owe.
Think, think, ye fair, how fame unheeded flies,
The coxcomb's topic, or the ruffian's prize.
With wrinkl'd foreheads for the Vole ye play,
While Virtue (losing card) is smil'd away.
Be that a gift, but to desert alone;
While kept in honest hands, 'tis still your own.
What nymph of spirit would descend so low,
To sigh beneath the mercy of a beau?
Your honour still, as churls their riches use,
With insolence retain, with caution lose.
Vertue! thou mimic pow'r, the pedant's dream,
The knave's profession, and the atheist's theme!
By prudence warn'd, thy precepts we revere,
And only idolize, because we fear:
To thee with equal claim and art pretend
The fawning tyrant, and proscribing friend;
While with thy real self (profane to tell!)
The poor, the wretched, and the friendless dwell.
The knave's profession, and the atheist's theme!
By prudence warn'd, thy precepts we revere,
And only idolize, because we fear:
To thee with equal claim and art pretend
The fawning tyrant, and proscribing friend;
While with thy real self (profane to tell!)
The poor, the wretched, and the friendless dwell.
Say heavenly muse, ('tis thine that task to claim)
What shoals of swains address'd our gentle dame.
Florio, the first, a beau of blameless life,
Unstain'd with anger, avarice and strife;
To use his time one jot he never knew;
To make it sparkle was his proper cue.
So doting keepers half their wealth employ
To dress the rampant punk they ne'er enjoy.
Florella view'd his ever-blooming grace,
That more than female softness in his face;
She paus'd, and found by impulse strong within,
A beau and beauty were too near a-kin.
What shoals of swains address'd our gentle dame.
Florio, the first, a beau of blameless life,
Unstain'd with anger, avarice and strife;
130
To make it sparkle was his proper cue.
So doting keepers half their wealth employ
To dress the rampant punk they ne'er enjoy.
Florella view'd his ever-blooming grace,
That more than female softness in his face;
She paus'd, and found by impulse strong within,
A beau and beauty were too near a-kin.
Fabritio next, of life politely ill,
Sustain'd by vice, and justify'd by skill.
To marriage-laws no friend profest was he,
He swore the priests had forg'd them for the fee.
With dice he chas'd the live long night away,
In plenty restless, and in ruin gay.
Let 'squires at taxes, cits at treaties rail,
No state-deductions o'er the Main prevail.
Bold his address, and well conceal'd his art,
(An apt temptation for a female heart!)
Sustain'd by vice, and justify'd by skill.
To marriage-laws no friend profest was he,
He swore the priests had forg'd them for the fee.
With dice he chas'd the live long night away,
In plenty restless, and in ruin gay.
Let 'squires at taxes, cits at treaties rail,
No state-deductions o'er the Main prevail.
Bold his address, and well conceal'd his art,
(An apt temptation for a female heart!)
Next in the rear advanc'd a motly train,
From shop, from court, from commons, and campaign:
But these in vain had urg'd their humble suit,
Had heav'n decreed that Clodio should be mute.
So hapless Troy had long in triumph stood,
And drain'd the braggart Greeks decreasing blood;
But Ocean's grizly pow'r to vengeance flew,
Her heroes blasted, and her tow'rs o'erthrew.
From shop, from court, from commons, and campaign:
But these in vain had urg'd their humble suit,
Had heav'n decreed that Clodio should be mute.
So hapless Troy had long in triumph stood,
And drain'd the braggart Greeks decreasing blood;
131
Her heroes blasted, and her tow'rs o'erthrew.
Florella now, in finish'd splendor drest,
Receiv'd the homage of her fatal guest.
His cloaths shone conquest; but to them he join'd
His Words, the nobler cloathing of the mind;
Like honey sweet they fell—resistless charm!
Like that, the plunder of some noisy swarm;
Yet well transpos'd, and which might quite declare,
They bore no methodizing blockheads care.
As the fleck'd heavens, in summer's ev'ning ray,
Fantastic forms and shapeless clouds display,
Which not united by the stream of light,
Divide attention, and confound the sight:
So spake the youth, successful in his ease;
For form but teaches, liberty will please:
Or regular or not, was one with him:
Love knows no symmetry beyond the limb.
He talk'd of wonders undeclar'd before,
What hazards he had brav'd, what hardships bore.
On each fam'd place full well he could declaim,
Praise all it's beauties, and forget it's name:
Could tell (if noted) for what proper grace,
The mart for women, or the price of lace.
Then he declar'd how all his labours past
Were well rewarded by their fruits at last:
What court was paid him by the wit and beau;
How one to dress aspir'd, and one to know:
Well could he judge of plays; and oft had seen
How humble authors hitch their pieces in,
Expunge, acknowledge, shorten or enlarge,
As the learn'd sages of the scene shall charge:
For bashful poets, better taught than fed,
Give up the labour'd line in hopes of bread.
Receiv'd the homage of her fatal guest.
His cloaths shone conquest; but to them he join'd
His Words, the nobler cloathing of the mind;
Like honey sweet they fell—resistless charm!
Like that, the plunder of some noisy swarm;
Yet well transpos'd, and which might quite declare,
They bore no methodizing blockheads care.
As the fleck'd heavens, in summer's ev'ning ray,
Fantastic forms and shapeless clouds display,
Which not united by the stream of light,
Divide attention, and confound the sight:
So spake the youth, successful in his ease;
For form but teaches, liberty will please:
Or regular or not, was one with him:
Love knows no symmetry beyond the limb.
He talk'd of wonders undeclar'd before,
What hazards he had brav'd, what hardships bore.
On each fam'd place full well he could declaim,
Praise all it's beauties, and forget it's name:
Could tell (if noted) for what proper grace,
The mart for women, or the price of lace.
Then he declar'd how all his labours past
Were well rewarded by their fruits at last:
132
How one to dress aspir'd, and one to know:
Well could he judge of plays; and oft had seen
How humble authors hitch their pieces in,
Expunge, acknowledge, shorten or enlarge,
As the learn'd sages of the scene shall charge:
For bashful poets, better taught than fed,
Give up the labour'd line in hopes of bread.
She heard; Florella heard his tempting tongue:
Such wit, such wonders in a form so young!
Attentive sat she, like some love sick maid
Who steals unheeded to the friendly shade,
And silent list'ning hears as in a dream
The midnight murmur of the falling stream.
She prais'd his tale, and marvell'd much to find
A Beau, the master of so brave a mind:
“How lov'd at home! what wild desires to range!
She said, (but swore not) it was passing strange.
Such wit, such wonders in a form so young!
Attentive sat she, like some love sick maid
Who steals unheeded to the friendly shade,
And silent list'ning hears as in a dream
The midnight murmur of the falling stream.
She prais'd his tale, and marvell'd much to find
A Beau, the master of so brave a mind:
“How lov'd at home! what wild desires to range!
She said, (but swore not) it was passing strange.
The youth with transport view'd his charmer fir'd,
And blest the passion which himself inspir'd:
In her disorder'd form, confus'd and odd,
He saw and hail'd the stimulating god.
Heedless she gaz'd, and reckless of surprize,
Wild flew the glances from her humid eyes.
So, where swift streams their shallow course pursue,
And the shelv'd bottom glimmers to the view,
The heedless fish their fatal banquet try,
Expos'd, and aidful to the angler's eye:
Their sable backs now dart a doubtful gleam;
Now flash their shining scales amidst the stream;
Now down they shoot, precipitately bright,
In one short tract of momentary light:
Watchful He stands, and (savage to relate!)
Admires their beauty, while he plots their fate.
And blest the passion which himself inspir'd:
In her disorder'd form, confus'd and odd,
He saw and hail'd the stimulating god.
Heedless she gaz'd, and reckless of surprize,
Wild flew the glances from her humid eyes.
So, where swift streams their shallow course pursue,
And the shelv'd bottom glimmers to the view,
133
Expos'd, and aidful to the angler's eye:
Their sable backs now dart a doubtful gleam;
Now flash their shining scales amidst the stream;
Now down they shoot, precipitately bright,
In one short tract of momentary light:
Watchful He stands, and (savage to relate!)
Admires their beauty, while he plots their fate.
But Clodio, mindful of the morning sprite,
Seiz'd the white hour, and urg'd his hop'd delight;
For not unwisely does your nurse declare,
“The lucky minute ever wins the fair.
If then some hidden pow'r their fancies move,
Caprice, Digestion, Gallantry, or Love;
Or if the Genius more intensely reigns,
And forceful revels thro' the swelling veins;
Whate'er it be, an easy prey they yield,
And having long maintain'd, betray the field.
Her lips he seiz'd; those lips which e'rst before
The vernal zephyrs had with awe forbore:
The sun alone the soft sensation knew,
Swell'd the ripe blush, and revell'd in their dew.
These once resign'd; what wanted to compleat
The grand, irrevocable, last defeat?
Seiz'd the white hour, and urg'd his hop'd delight;
For not unwisely does your nurse declare,
“The lucky minute ever wins the fair.
If then some hidden pow'r their fancies move,
Caprice, Digestion, Gallantry, or Love;
Or if the Genius more intensely reigns,
And forceful revels thro' the swelling veins;
Whate'er it be, an easy prey they yield,
And having long maintain'd, betray the field.
Her lips he seiz'd; those lips which e'rst before
The vernal zephyrs had with awe forbore:
The sun alone the soft sensation knew,
Swell'd the ripe blush, and revell'd in their dew.
These once resign'd; what wanted to compleat
The grand, irrevocable, last defeat?
134
An aunt Florella had (Urganda call)
Of visage meagre, and of stature tall:
A maiden had she pin'd full forty year,
Yet none could say her wedding-day was near:
True to her parish-church was ever she,
If the bell toll'd, she mov'd by sympathy:
Yet zealous as she was, tis often said,
She rail'd with more devotion than she pray'd:
Sharp was her nose, sagacious to the view,
Twice twenty frosts had pinch'd it black and blue.
Of visage meagre, and of stature tall:
A maiden had she pin'd full forty year,
Yet none could say her wedding-day was near:
True to her parish-church was ever she,
If the bell toll'd, she mov'd by sympathy:
Yet zealous as she was, tis often said,
She rail'd with more devotion than she pray'd:
Sharp was her nose, sagacious to the view,
Twice twenty frosts had pinch'd it black and blue.
This finish'd form, as to such uses doom'd,
The virgin goddess of the bow assum'd,
And hast'ning strait her interrupting aid,
Dash'd the bold lover, and reliev'd the maid.
Amaz'd he rose, defrauded of his prey,
Short'ning with direful oaths his homeward way;
Such oaths, as beaux in mood unmeaning swear,
When they, or rail at, or address the fair.
So screams a parrot in his splendid cage,
If hunger force, or Miss provoke his rage;
With half-form'd voice invokes the gods to ill,
Scant in his pow'r, but prodigal of will.
The virgin goddess of the bow assum'd,
And hast'ning strait her interrupting aid,
Dash'd the bold lover, and reliev'd the maid.
Amaz'd he rose, defrauded of his prey,
Short'ning with direful oaths his homeward way;
Such oaths, as beaux in mood unmeaning swear,
When they, or rail at, or address the fair.
So screams a parrot in his splendid cage,
If hunger force, or Miss provoke his rage;
With half-form'd voice invokes the gods to ill,
Scant in his pow'r, but prodigal of will.
135
BOOK IV.
But
Jove, yet anxious to preserve the fair,
Rouz'd the whole god to aid, and urg'd it there:
Full on the nymph, just panting with suprize,
Benign he fix'd his ever-wakeful eyes:
Those eyes which view with undetermin'd ken
The pigmy toils of momentary men;
How vain-recording monuments decay,
A mould'ring tribute to the waste of day;
What short liv'd dates our goodliest schemes attend,
How late projected, and how soon to end!
For swift succeeding in eternal light,
Unnumber'd ages flow before his sight:
From these he turn'd, and on the Fair intent
Still hop'd to mitigate, if not prevent.
Rouz'd the whole god to aid, and urg'd it there:
Full on the nymph, just panting with suprize,
Benign he fix'd his ever-wakeful eyes:
Those eyes which view with undetermin'd ken
The pigmy toils of momentary men;
How vain-recording monuments decay,
A mould'ring tribute to the waste of day;
136
How late projected, and how soon to end!
For swift succeeding in eternal light,
Unnumber'd ages flow before his sight:
From these he turn'd, and on the Fair intent
Still hop'd to mitigate, if not prevent.
But first he deem'd his purpose was of weight,
To search the annals of unerring fate:
Volume mysterious! in whose sacred page
Stands the long past, and distant-rising age;
There shines each hero, register'd in sight,
From haughty Nimrod to La Mancha's knight.
Each beauty's name adorns it's ample store,
From wholesome Venus, to the suburb whore.
Here might you read some future empire's doom,
If fate can rear the load—perhaps a Rome:
There the short date of some assuming toast;
Who made her teeth, and what her eye brows cost.
To search the annals of unerring fate:
Volume mysterious! in whose sacred page
Stands the long past, and distant-rising age;
There shines each hero, register'd in sight,
From haughty Nimrod to La Mancha's knight.
Each beauty's name adorns it's ample store,
From wholesome Venus, to the suburb whore.
Here might you read some future empire's doom,
If fate can rear the load—perhaps a Rome:
There the short date of some assuming toast;
Who made her teeth, and what her eye brows cost.
The poet's lot was there, (that gift divine!)
Which happier dunces envy while they dine:
Here was the critic's surly curse; and here
The smiling sanction of the white-tooth'd peer;
At large was drawn, with how, and where, and when,
Each great vicissitude of purse, and pen;
How first on bulks the new-born labours lie
Wet from the press, and tempting to the eye;
How last to pies prefer'd, conclude their reign,
A fate the humble Author sought in vain.
Which happier dunces envy while they dine:
Here was the critic's surly curse; and here
The smiling sanction of the white-tooth'd peer;
At large was drawn, with how, and where, and when,
Each great vicissitude of purse, and pen;
How first on bulks the new-born labours lie
Wet from the press, and tempting to the eye;
137
A fate the humble Author sought in vain.
To this the god refer'd: The Direful Three
Turn the huge leaves, and seek the dark decree:
Attendant thunders burst around his head,
And by the lightning's livid glare he read.
Each muffl'd God (as custom was) withdrew,
And Jove himself stood silent at the view.
But Dian, patroness of virgin fame,
In secret thus reproach'd the Cyprian dame.
“Yet shall thy Coward Arts at will ensnare
“The brave, the wise, the virtuous, and the fair?
“Is human weakness (fie!) a rival, fit
“For the long prospect of cœlestial wit?
“Yet count thy boasted trophies; count, and see
“More triumph due to nature than to thee:
“Our sex was form'd for yielding, pity, fear,
“Frail at the best, and ev'n imperfect here.
“Half moulded to your hands, (ignoble prey!)
“Your Infant Mischief, and yourself, betray;
“For ruin born was woman from the first,
“Soft to be won, and constant to be curst.
“Love in it's purest shape, it's gradual state,
“Amounts to victory, contempt, and hate;
“Tho' few so true to it's degrees are found,
“But join the wide extreams, and skip the midmost bound.
“This dart—but Jove's impassive orders bar
“The noisy nothing of a female war;
“This dart, by which the rash Orion fell,
“What yet I meditate, should better tell.
Turn the huge leaves, and seek the dark decree:
Attendant thunders burst around his head,
And by the lightning's livid glare he read.
Each muffl'd God (as custom was) withdrew,
And Jove himself stood silent at the view.
But Dian, patroness of virgin fame,
In secret thus reproach'd the Cyprian dame.
“Yet shall thy Coward Arts at will ensnare
“The brave, the wise, the virtuous, and the fair?
“Is human weakness (fie!) a rival, fit
“For the long prospect of cœlestial wit?
“Yet count thy boasted trophies; count, and see
“More triumph due to nature than to thee:
“Our sex was form'd for yielding, pity, fear,
“Frail at the best, and ev'n imperfect here.
“Half moulded to your hands, (ignoble prey!)
“Your Infant Mischief, and yourself, betray;
“For ruin born was woman from the first,
“Soft to be won, and constant to be curst.
“Love in it's purest shape, it's gradual state,
“Amounts to victory, contempt, and hate;
“Tho' few so true to it's degrees are found,
“But join the wide extreams, and skip the midmost bound.
138
“The noisy nothing of a female war;
“This dart, by which the rash Orion fell,
“What yet I meditate, should better tell.
Thus said the fair incens'd: while thus she said,
The glitt'ring crescent trembled on her head.
But fraudful Venus, with accustom'd wile,
Soon calm'd her rage, and answer'd with a smile,
“Art thou, is Venus, then so little known,
“That I should tremble at a sister's frown?
“Hence; let the woodland herd thy fierceness fear,
“There strain the bow, and give to sing the spear.
“Why here this strife? their hands let Hymen join,
“Allow'd by thee, the management be mine.
“Thence shall a race arise, whose patriot art
“To utmost Thule shall the Mode impart;
“Thence gilt machines o'er Zembla's ice shall roll,
“And brilliants flame around the freezing pole:
“The powder'd Hottentot his miss shall boast,
“And Cannibals no more devour, but toast.
‘All this the fruit of my proposal see;
‘A change to wonder at, and worthy me!
The glitt'ring crescent trembled on her head.
But fraudful Venus, with accustom'd wile,
Soon calm'd her rage, and answer'd with a smile,
“Art thou, is Venus, then so little known,
“That I should tremble at a sister's frown?
“Hence; let the woodland herd thy fierceness fear,
“There strain the bow, and give to sing the spear.
“Why here this strife? their hands let Hymen join,
“Allow'd by thee, the management be mine.
“Thence shall a race arise, whose patriot art
“To utmost Thule shall the Mode impart;
“Thence gilt machines o'er Zembla's ice shall roll,
“And brilliants flame around the freezing pole:
“The powder'd Hottentot his miss shall boast,
“And Cannibals no more devour, but toast.
‘All this the fruit of my proposal see;
‘A change to wonder at, and worthy me!
Thus sooth'd the beauteous cheat, with smother'd spleen;
And quash'd the purpose of the sylvan queen.
This from above—but now 'tis fit we know
What fate attends the lab'ring scheme below.
And quash'd the purpose of the sylvan queen.
139
What fate attends the lab'ring scheme below.
On Phillis Clodio cast an artful eye,
Resolv'd by bribes the yielding sex to try.
Love he had offer'd first; but love was vain
To one, who never ruin'd but for gain:
For he must coin his Cupid out, 'tis said,
Who means to win the gentle chambermaid.
A grass green purse with fifty guineas stor'd
He took, and thus addrest the shining hoard:
“So may thy pow'r (if yet it can) increase,
“Supream disposer of debate, and peace!
“O'er hood-wink'd justice so may'st thou prevail
“Crush her frail sword, and fondly fabled seales
“So may'st thou gild the dunce; so shun the wit;
“So screen the lewdness of the wadling cit;
“May birth right blockheads still unrival'd shine,
“While shirtless sages at the fight repine;
“As by thy ever undisputed charms,
“Florella fall the victim to my arms.
Resolv'd by bribes the yielding sex to try.
Love he had offer'd first; but love was vain
To one, who never ruin'd but for gain:
For he must coin his Cupid out, 'tis said,
Who means to win the gentle chambermaid.
A grass green purse with fifty guineas stor'd
He took, and thus addrest the shining hoard:
“So may thy pow'r (if yet it can) increase,
“Supream disposer of debate, and peace!
“O'er hood-wink'd justice so may'st thou prevail
“Crush her frail sword, and fondly fabled seales
“So may'st thou gild the dunce; so shun the wit;
“So screen the lewdness of the wadling cit;
“May birth right blockheads still unrival'd shine,
“While shirtless sages at the fight repine;
“As by thy ever undisputed charms,
“Florella fall the victim to my arms.
He said, and sought the dame. The dame he found,
With needles, rags and lace encompass'd round;
O'er her fair neck the skein was careless flung;
In silver chains her pond'rous scissars hung;
Of solid brass the thimble which she bore,
No fall could bruise it, and no point explore;
True to her work, and meriting of food,
She stoop'd, and sung, The children in the wood.
The youth began. “Oh thou, whose guardian care
“Surrounds (an angel's task) that matchless fair;
“Whose eyes uncheck'd that dazling form behold,
“Whose hands adorn it, and whose arms enfold;
“How oft to thee alone, and sacred night,
“That shiv'ring whiteness stands confess'd in sight!
“How sport those polish'd limbs in wanton play,
“As frisk the lambkins, when the wolf's away!
“Distracting thought! My secret purpose hear,
“And judge me only as I act, sincere;
“Thou know'st my wishes; on my faith depend;
“Receive this gold, and pledge thy self my friend;
“Nor think, should her resentment on thee fall,
“To lose her favour were to lose thy all.
“Say in his love some surly clown succeed,
“Hatch'd by his doting sire to save the breed;
“Drag'd up to shun the town, and taught that here
“No woman can be safe, or friend sincere;
“With head sage-shaking who recounts you tales
“Of russians, whores, pimps, pick-pockets, and jails;
“Nods jealousy, and shews against all rule
“One beam of wit bestow'd upon a fool;
“What would he think of thee! thy sprightly air
“Would soon alarm the booby husband's care.
“Thou must no more—He said, and show'd the gold
In evil hour. She sigh'd; she took; she told.
Thus leagu'd they fraudful; while the destin'd Fair
Smil'd heav'nly on, nor dreamt the fatal snare.
Rise, rise ye shades for direful death renown'd,
Rear your pale heads, and cleave the bursting ground;
Drench'd with the bloody cup, Cethegus, rise,
And view a perfidy shall blast thy eyes;
No more, oh Sinon, boast thy childish joy
In the red ruins of believing Troy;
For what were Troy's, or Rome's descendant walls?
Lo! Phillis falters, and Florella falls.
With needles, rags and lace encompass'd round;
O'er her fair neck the skein was careless flung;
In silver chains her pond'rous scissars hung;
140
No fall could bruise it, and no point explore;
True to her work, and meriting of food,
She stoop'd, and sung, The children in the wood.
The youth began. “Oh thou, whose guardian care
“Surrounds (an angel's task) that matchless fair;
“Whose eyes uncheck'd that dazling form behold,
“Whose hands adorn it, and whose arms enfold;
“How oft to thee alone, and sacred night,
“That shiv'ring whiteness stands confess'd in sight!
“How sport those polish'd limbs in wanton play,
“As frisk the lambkins, when the wolf's away!
“Distracting thought! My secret purpose hear,
“And judge me only as I act, sincere;
“Thou know'st my wishes; on my faith depend;
“Receive this gold, and pledge thy self my friend;
“Nor think, should her resentment on thee fall,
“To lose her favour were to lose thy all.
“Say in his love some surly clown succeed,
“Hatch'd by his doting sire to save the breed;
“Drag'd up to shun the town, and taught that here
“No woman can be safe, or friend sincere;
“With head sage-shaking who recounts you tales
“Of russians, whores, pimps, pick-pockets, and jails;
“Nods jealousy, and shews against all rule
“One beam of wit bestow'd upon a fool;
141
“Would soon alarm the booby husband's care.
“Thou must no more—He said, and show'd the gold
In evil hour. She sigh'd; she took; she told.
Thus leagu'd they fraudful; while the destin'd Fair
Smil'd heav'nly on, nor dreamt the fatal snare.
Rise, rise ye shades for direful death renown'd,
Rear your pale heads, and cleave the bursting ground;
Drench'd with the bloody cup, Cethegus, rise,
And view a perfidy shall blast thy eyes;
No more, oh Sinon, boast thy childish joy
In the red ruins of believing Troy;
For what were Troy's, or Rome's descendant walls?
Lo! Phillis falters, and Florella falls.
This was their curst intent. At noon of night,
When sleep, they hop'd, would seal Florella's sight;
By close admittance at a signal made,
Ev'n to her bed the youth should be convey'd;
With ruffian steps profane her spotless floor,
And tread the paths inviolate before.
When sleep, they hop'd, would seal Florella's sight;
By close admittance at a signal made,
Ev'n to her bed the youth should be convey'd;
With ruffian steps profane her spotless floor,
And tread the paths inviolate before.
Oh Sleep! if conscious of thy gentle sway,
A twofold tribute to thy rites I pay;
If e'er I sought thy aid my mind to free;
Turn'd from the mid-day sun, and courted thee:
Or if in dreams thou ever wer't my friend;
Didst e'er in gay poetic fumes ascend,
Compleat a thought yet formless in the brain,
Or tag the rhyme I labour'd at in vain;
If now thy praise I sing, protection own,
In numbers worthy of thy self alone,
Fly from Florella: see thy prouder care!
See scepter'd wretches pine thy chains to bear:
Go hush the nodding bench, or (task more hard)
The courted beauty, and rehearsing bard.
A twofold tribute to thy rites I pay;
If e'er I sought thy aid my mind to free;
Turn'd from the mid-day sun, and courted thee:
142
Didst e'er in gay poetic fumes ascend,
Compleat a thought yet formless in the brain,
Or tag the rhyme I labour'd at in vain;
If now thy praise I sing, protection own,
In numbers worthy of thy self alone,
Fly from Florella: see thy prouder care!
See scepter'd wretches pine thy chains to bear:
Go hush the nodding bench, or (task more hard)
The courted beauty, and rehearsing bard.
Now night involv'd the world. Of deepest dye
Black clouds close-meeting veil'd the cheerful sky;
From her pale orb the conscious moon withdrew,
And sick'ning planets shun'd the human view;
The stars affrighted fled; save those alone
Who joyous shine o'er ruin like their own;
That graceless train, whom, er'st abandon'd, Jove
Plac'd there, the monuments of lawless love;
They doubly sparkled o'er Florella lost:
As prudes will flutter round a falling toast.
Black clouds close-meeting veil'd the cheerful sky;
From her pale orb the conscious moon withdrew,
And sick'ning planets shun'd the human view;
The stars affrighted fled; save those alone
Who joyous shine o'er ruin like their own;
That graceless train, whom, er'st abandon'd, Jove
Plac'd there, the monuments of lawless love;
They doubly sparkled o'er Florella lost:
As prudes will flutter round a falling toast.
Ye mystic Nine, o'er worlds unnumber'd spread,
The hero's wages, and the poet's bread!
May reams incessant on your altars blaze
Of songs, if songs delight; if plays, of plays;
Forewarn'd retire: your aid I here disclaim,
And self-protected at the laurel aim.
The hero's wages, and the poet's bread!
May reams incessant on your altars blaze
Of songs, if songs delight; if plays, of plays;
143
And self-protected at the laurel aim.
Florella now did sleep, and slept as sound,
As wretches in the lake of Lethe drown'd.
So sound she slept, one might almost have swore,
That never maiden slept so sound before;
It not beseemeth me, a bard, to say
In what expressive attitude she lay;
Yet was the sight (howe'er the tale be shrunk)
At least an invitation for a Monk:
One hand so daisy-white her head did bear,
And t'other too was busy'd—(wot you where?)
Had she but talk'd in sleep, as some folks do,
She might have mutter'd marvels not a few.
As wretches in the lake of Lethe drown'd.
So sound she slept, one might almost have swore,
That never maiden slept so sound before;
It not beseemeth me, a bard, to say
In what expressive attitude she lay;
Yet was the sight (howe'er the tale be shrunk)
At least an invitation for a Monk:
One hand so daisy-white her head did bear,
And t'other too was busy'd—(wot you where?)
Had she but talk'd in sleep, as some folks do,
She might have mutter'd marvels not a few.
The destin'd youth approach'd. With fruitless aid,
Her guardian gods a while prolong'd the maid.
Untouch'd of mortals rang the Toilette bell,
(Ye present credit, and ye future tell)
But Fate at last prevail'd—I can no more;—
And conscious Phillis bar'd the guilty door.
Her guardian gods a while prolong'd the maid.
Untouch'd of mortals rang the Toilette bell,
(Ye present credit, and ye future tell)
But Fate at last prevail'd—I can no more;—
And conscious Phillis bar'd the guilty door.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |