A Collection of Original Poems :: :: University of Virginia Library

Th' enchantress Circe from her desart isle,
Where Phoebus never glanc'd a cheering smile,
Saw with regret the vessel proudly bear,
Ulysses false and faithless to her care;
Burst from her chains, the wily hero fled,
Spurning the joys of an immortal bed;
For this her bosom heaves, her eyes o'erflow;
For gods, as well as mortals, suffer woe;
Yet e're he lessens on the watry way,
She with fond notes enforces his delay.

Air.

Let me, love, once more, behold thee,
Let my longing arms enfold thee;
Oh! bless me with a kiss;
Then, since the fates command it, go,
And leave me to my destin'd woe;
For with thee flies my bliss.
Does so much truth deserve disdain?
Can such a passion merit pain?

Recitative.

Deaf to her plaint, the weary'd monarch flies;
While Circe, to her art, for aid applies:
Resolv'd to blot his image from her mind,
Her skilful hands th' appointed victims bind;
She heaps a mighty pile of chosen wood,
And the rais'd altar reeks with purple blood;

Offensive vapours from the earth arise,
Hang in mid-air, and noctuate the skies:
Nay so coercive is her magic spell,
That Pluto feels it, 'midst the pow'rs of hell.

The Incantation.

Sprites, obedient to my art!
Terrify his faithless heart:
Love may, thence, perhaps, arise;
He be taught my heart to prize.

Some to the caves of Ætna fly;
Bid Æolus the winds untye;
Bid Neptune in my cause engage,
Strait bid him loose his foaming rage:

Let others quickly mount above,
And claim the thund'ring aid of Jove;
Around let liquid light'ning play,
And flash intollerable day:

Let darkness shroud the lunar light;
Let spectres mock th'astonish'd sight;
Let desolation revel round;
Be nothing but confusion found.

Horrors these, alass! how poor!
To the distractions I endure;
Faint the resemblance that they wear,
To those, my anxious bosom tear.
Sprites, to my call, obedient rise!
Explore the Seas, the Earth, the Skies.

The Effect.

Such power her Incantations have;
Pale Spectres issue from the grave;
Wing'd on her word, they course the air,
And round her diff'rent orders bear.
From their drear caverns rush the winds;
And Neptune all his rage unbinds:

Quick bursting thunders loudly roll,
From arctic to antarctic pole;
Whole provinces of blasted land
Confess the light'ning's wasteful brand;
A cloud impervious to the sight,
Eclipses Luna's pallid light;

And while around rough tempests howl,
Dismay assails the strongest soul.
Urg'd by the storm, the billows roar,
The shatter'd bark is dash'd on shore;

While horrid clamors eccho'd round,
The sad distracted welkin wound;
The earth from her foundation shakes;
And nature, fearing chaos, quakes.

Recitative.

Useless, alas, is all your power can do!
The god of love is stronger far than you;

Tho' to obey thy all-commanding spell,
Grim Pluto and his legions you compel;
Tho' nature's course thy potent charms can move,
No pow'r on earth can shake the god of Love.

Air.

Love, tenacious of his rights,
Shuts his ear to amorous tales;
With scorn rejects each fond delight,
Where sympathising nature fails:
For freedom sits on Cupid's throne;
And love depends on choice alone.

Riches may the blooming maid
To a loth'd embrace allure;
But by motives false betray'd,
The heart is restless, unsecure:
For freedom sits on Cupid's throne;
And love depends on choice alone.

Beauty would you, then, subdue,
Would you win the hand and heart;
With gentle arts the fair pursue;
Let soft persuasion play its part;
By tender usage fairly won,
Her heart is yours, and yours alone.