The Poetical Works of the late Mrs Mary Robinson including many pieces never before published. In Three Volumes |
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LINES
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 | The Poetical Works of the late Mrs Mary Robinson |  |
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LINES
ON HEARING A GENTLEMAN DECLARE, THAT NO WOMEN WERE SO HANDSOME AS THE ENGLISH.
Beauty, the attribute of heav'n,
In various forms to mortals giv'n,
With magic skill enslaves mankind,
As sportive fancy sways the mind.
Search the wide world—go where you will,
Variety pursues you still:
Capricious nature knows no bound,
Her unexhausted gifts are found
In ev'ry clime, in ev'ry face,
Each has its own peculiar grace.
In various forms to mortals giv'n,
With magic skill enslaves mankind,
As sportive fancy sways the mind.
Search the wide world—go where you will,
Variety pursues you still:
Capricious nature knows no bound,
Her unexhausted gifts are found
In ev'ry clime, in ev'ry face,
Each has its own peculiar grace.
To Gallia's frolic scenes repair,
There reigns the tiny debonnaire;
The mincing step, the slender waist,
The lip with bright vermilion grac'd;
The short pert nose, the pearly teeth,
With the small dimpled chin beneath;
The social converse, gay and free,
The smart bon mot and repartée.
There reigns the tiny debonnaire;
The mincing step, the slender waist,
The lip with bright vermilion grac'd;
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With the small dimpled chin beneath;
The social converse, gay and free,
The smart bon mot and repartée.
Italia boasts the melting fair,
The pointed step, the stately air;
Th' impassion'd look, the languid eye,
The voice of thrilling harmony;
Insidious love, conceal'd in smiles,
That charms, and as it charms, beguiles.
The pointed step, the stately air;
Th' impassion'd look, the languid eye,
The voice of thrilling harmony;
Insidious love, conceal'd in smiles,
That charms, and as it charms, beguiles.
View Grecian maids, whose finish'd forms
Th' admiring sculptor's fancy warms;
There let thy wond'ring eye behold
The softest gems of nature's mould;
The look that Reynolds learnt to trace
From Sheridan's bewitching face.
Th' admiring sculptor's fancy warms;
There let thy wond'ring eye behold
The softest gems of nature's mould;
The look that Reynolds learnt to trace
From Sheridan's bewitching face.
Imperious Turkey's pride is seen
In beauty's rich luxuriant mien;
The dark and sparkling orbs that glow
Beneath a polish front of snow;
The auburn curl, which zephyr blows
About the cheek of glowing rose;
The shorten'd zone, the swelling breast,
With costly gems profusely dress'd,
Reclin'd in softly waving bow'rs,
On painted beds of fragrant flow'rs;
Where od'rous canopies dispense
Arabia's spices to the sense;
Where listless indolence and ease
Proclaim the sov'reign wish—to please.
In beauty's rich luxuriant mien;
The dark and sparkling orbs that glow
Beneath a polish front of snow;
The auburn curl, which zephyr blows
About the cheek of glowing rose;
260
With costly gems profusely dress'd,
Reclin'd in softly waving bow'rs,
On painted beds of fragrant flow'rs;
Where od'rous canopies dispense
Arabia's spices to the sense;
Where listless indolence and ease
Proclaim the sov'reign wish—to please.
'Tis thus capricious fancy shows
How far her frolic empire goes:
On Asia's sands, on Alpine snow,
We trace her steps where'er we go;
The British maid with timid grace,
The tawny Indian's varnish'd face,
The jetty African, the fair
Nurs'd by Europa's softer air,
With various charms delight the mind;
For fancy governs all mankind.
How far her frolic empire goes:
On Asia's sands, on Alpine snow,
We trace her steps where'er we go;
The British maid with timid grace,
The tawny Indian's varnish'd face,
The jetty African, the fair
Nurs'd by Europa's softer air,
With various charms delight the mind;
For fancy governs all mankind.
| The Poetical Works of the late Mrs Mary Robinson | |