 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
On Oriana's Marriage.
Address'd to herself.
Kindly receive, and candidly excuse,
The fond Intrusion of a friendly Muse,
Who comes, unlook'd for, to your Nuptial Feast,
Yet hopes, unbid, to be a welcome Guest.
The fond Intrusion of a friendly Muse,
Who comes, unlook'd for, to your Nuptial Feast,
Yet hopes, unbid, to be a welcome Guest.
To fair Aminda first this Debt I paid,
A grateful Tribute to the charming Maid.
With no less Pleasure now I sing your Praise,
And thus present my well-intended Lays.
This Day, which gives you to a Husband's Arms,
Gives him a lasting Title to your Charms.
Each Lover, now, must gaze with vain Desire,
In vain your Air, your Shape, your Face admire.
Cease, ye fond Swains, the am'rous Chase give o'er,
Your pleasing Flatt'ries now will move no more:
Your Hopes are vanish'd, all extinguish'd quite,
Her Beauties are become another's Right!
And happy He, that with prevailing Art
Could gain a Conquest o'er her Virgin Heart.
So well I know her lovely Form and Mind,
He must be bless'd, since Oriana's kind.
Mighty and endless must the Transport be,
Where Beauty, Wit, Good-humour, all agree
With spotless Virtue, to augment the Joy,
And make it pure, without the least Alloy.
A grateful Tribute to the charming Maid.
With no less Pleasure now I sing your Praise,
And thus present my well-intended Lays.
108
Gives him a lasting Title to your Charms.
Each Lover, now, must gaze with vain Desire,
In vain your Air, your Shape, your Face admire.
Cease, ye fond Swains, the am'rous Chase give o'er,
Your pleasing Flatt'ries now will move no more:
Your Hopes are vanish'd, all extinguish'd quite,
Her Beauties are become another's Right!
And happy He, that with prevailing Art
Could gain a Conquest o'er her Virgin Heart.
So well I know her lovely Form and Mind,
He must be bless'd, since Oriana's kind.
Mighty and endless must the Transport be,
Where Beauty, Wit, Good-humour, all agree
With spotless Virtue, to augment the Joy,
And make it pure, without the least Alloy.
109
Wit's pointed Charms in various Talents lie,
And Beauty is the Blessing of the Eye.
But Virtue is a Ray of heav'nly Grace,
Which makes the Mind shine brighter than the Face;
This Ornament of Souls, divinely fair,
With an unfading Lustre, triumphs there.
And Beauty is the Blessing of the Eye.
But Virtue is a Ray of heav'nly Grace,
Which makes the Mind shine brighter than the Face;
This Ornament of Souls, divinely fair,
With an unfading Lustre, triumphs there.
Methinks, I see the joyful Bridegroom drest,
A Tide of Pleasure flowing in his Breast:
Well may his Bosom beat with secret Pride,
Made the rich Owner of so sweet a Bride.
A Tide of Pleasure flowing in his Breast:
Well may his Bosom beat with secret Pride,
Made the rich Owner of so sweet a Bride.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |