The Poetical Works Of James Grainger ... With Memoirs Of His Life And Writings, By Robert Anderson ... And An Index Of The Linnean Names Of Plants, &c. By William Wright |
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 | The Poetical Works Of James Grainger |  |
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ELEGY II.TO THE SAME.
------ Mutat via longa puellas
Quantus in exiguo tempore perit amor.
Proper.
Quantus in exiguo tempore perit amor.
Proper.
I
'Tis done!—at last the mighty struggle's o'er,I tear thee, perjur'd trait'ress, from my heart;
Between us rise new Alps, new Oceans roar,
I feel not now the slightest pang to part.
II
The nuptial bed ten thousand fiends prepare,The nuptial torch ten thousand furies light;
Your every day be rack'd with heart-felt care,
My shade, my injur'd shade, your dreams affright.
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III
Was it for this, when Chloe sought my hand,Chloe the wealthy, virtuous, and the fair,
That I refus'd to tie the nuptial band,
That I denied my friends' united pray'r?
IV
When sickness dimm'd your radiant eyes of late,And wept your parents,—wept your friends around,
My skill (Love gave it virtue) baffled fate;
Vain shriek'd the owl, and vain the house-dog howl'd.
V
Did you not clasp me to your panting heart,When the rough Boatswain bade me haste away?
And must, (you cried with tears) and must we part?
My first, sole lov'd, my Damon! stop one day!
VI
What most we wish, how easy we believe!I long had known, esteem'd, ador'd the maid:
Fool!—did not Delia thus her love deceive,
Though for his safety to the Gods she pray'd.
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VII
Yet simple Truth her manners seem'd to guide,Yet Constancy was still her favourite theme;
Gold's slavish martyrs, Gods, how she'd deride!
How choose with me a cottage and a stream!
VIII
And yet to leave me for illiberal gain,Ere on your cheeks my parting kiss was dry!
Ere thrice the Moon had swell'd her subject main!
Ere I beheld your myrtles, Italy!
IX
The wretch's name, eternal curses blast,Who first disclos'd to man the bright decoy;
And, O accurs'd be he, who first amass'd
The gold that robs the lover of his joy.
X
Yet since in vain the Wealthy never sigh,Since Love and Beauty are the prize of Gain,
To hoard up wealth, all ways, all means, I'll try,
All means are sacred, if I gold obtain.
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XI
Ah me, since Rosalind's another's prize,Since she has basely left unwealthy me,
Her heart or treasure I alike despise,
From both alike with just abhorrence flee.
XII
And can I coolly thus my love resign?Impassive see her in another's arms?
If vows can bind her heart, her all is mine,
That, that, ye Gods, my frigid bosom warms.
XIII
Come, Expedition, hoist the loosen'd sail;And come, Red Vengeance, bare the fatal steel;
Ye Gods she injur'd, give a prosperous gale;
The least remorse my bosom cannot feel.
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XIV
What! could I see her breathless corse, unmov'd?See deathful darkness veil her beauteous eyes?
Eyes that beyond my soul so late I lov'd,
And in my heart no soft compunctions rise?
XV
All-powerful Gods, the bloody deed avert!Where late Love triumph'd, Vengeance cannot dwell!
The deed was foreign to my soften'd heart!
Still, still, I feel, poor Damon loves too well.
XVI
Beneath yon myrtle's soft entwining shade,Behold two lovers, exquisitely blest!
Each swain, but me, enjoys his plighted maid!
Each brow, but mine, in cheerful smiles is dress'd!
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XVII
Yet, yet, may endless blessings crown her head!May Fortune still on all her actions smile!
A numerous offspring grace her genial bed,
As Rosalinda fair, without her guile!
XVIII
While I outcast, an exile and forlorn,In some more distant clime shall pour my sighs,
My fate, too merciless, for ever mourn,
Till welcome Death seal up my wearied eyes.
| The Poetical Works Of James Grainger | |