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179
VERSES,
On Female Inconstancy.
(Inscribed to the American Beauty.)
Some have presum'd to roam the Cretan maze,
When Reason only gave their Wit a clew;
Or sweep the oozy bed of Persia's seas,
And Hope ne'er bade the labourers adieu.
When Reason only gave their Wit a clew;
Or sweep the oozy bed of Persia's seas,
And Hope ne'er bade the labourers adieu.
But none, except by Desperation fir'd,
Have e'er relied on their restricted skill,
To gain those heights, Ambition oft desir'd,
And trace the windings of the female will.
Have e'er relied on their restricted skill,
To gain those heights, Ambition oft desir'd,
And trace the windings of the female will.
In that frail origin of nameless deeds,
That seat of Gladness, and that womb of Woe;
The mental Olive's choak'd by noisome weeds,
And Worth and Vanity in union grow.
That seat of Gladness, and that womb of Woe;
The mental Olive's choak'd by noisome weeds,
And Worth and Vanity in union grow.
There wish meets wish, and sighs succeed to sighs,
Till each the other mutually annoys;
Their kindred Passions wrestle as they rise,
And what the Judgment claims, the heart destroys.
Till each the other mutually annoys;
Their kindred Passions wrestle as they rise,
And what the Judgment claims, the heart destroys.
All-pitying Fate, who gave our race to Care,
And touch'd with pestilence the human breath;
Correct the system, make them wise as fair,
And let our heaven antecede our death.
And touch'd with pestilence the human breath;
Correct the system, make them wise as fair,
And let our heaven antecede our death.
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