Poems on Several Occasions ... To which is added, the Plague of Wealth, Occasion'd By the Author's receiving fifty Pounds from his Excellency the Lord Carteret, for the foremention'd Ode. With several Poems not in the Dublin Edition. By Matthew Pilkington. Revised by the Reverend Dr. Swift |
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The GIRDLE.
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| XXXIV. |
 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
The GIRDLE.
I
In Slumber sweet as Venus layWithin a fragrant Myrtle Grove,
Where odour-breathing Zephyrs play,
There wily Cupid chanc'd to rove.
II
Surpriz'd, he sees the Goddess thereAlone, and calmly lull'd to Rest,
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Soft-waving o'er her snowy Breast.
III
This Love-creating Zone, he cries,Shall now diviner Cart'ret grace,
Shall give new Lustre to her Eyes,
And spread new Beauty o'er her Face.
IV
The Girdle seiz'd, and Cupid flown,From Sleep arose the Queen of Love,
She miss'd her Beauty-giving Zone,
And sought it, anxious, thro' the Grove.
V
This Loss will all my Charms destroy,She cries, and O I fear—, my Son
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Hath all his Parent's Pow'r undone.
VI
To search him out, she speeds awayFrom Place to Place, with eager Haste,
And spies him, full of Mirth and Play,
At beauteous Cart'ret's Toilet plac'd.
VII
The Fair, such Charms possess'd beforeAs ne'er in mortal Form were seen,
The Girdle adds a thousand more,
By which she rivals Beauty's Queen.
VIII
In Cart'ret's Face such Graces smil'd,The Goddess looks away her Rage,
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To show Perfection to the Age.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |