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Horace in London

Consisting of imitations of the first two books of the odes of Horace. By the authors of the rejected addresses, or the new theatrum poetarum [Horace and James Smith]

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29

ODE V. THE JILT.

Quis multa gracilis te puer in rosâ.

Say, Lucy, what enamour'd spark
Now sports thee through the gazing Park
In new barouche or tandem;
And, as infatuation leads,
Permits his reason and his steeds
To run their course at random?
Fond youth, those braids of ebon hair,
Which to a face already fair
Impart a lustre fairer;
Those locks which now invite to love,
Soon unconfin'd and false shall prove,
And changeful as the wearer.

30

Unpractised in a woman's guile,
Thou think'st, perchance, her halcyon smile
Portends unruffled quiet:
That, ever charming, fond and mild,
No wanton thoughts, or passions wild,
Within her soul can riot.
Alas! how often shalt thou mourn,
(If nymphs like her, so soon forsworn,
Be worth a moment's trouble,)
How quickly own, with sad surprise,
The paradise that bless'd thine eyes
Was painted on a bubble.
In her accommodating creed
A lord will always supersede
A commoner's embraces:
His lordship's love contents the fair,
Until enabled to ensnare
A nobler prize—his Grace's!

31

Unhappy are the youths who gaze,
Who feel her beauty's maddening blaze,
And trust to what she utters!
For me, by sad experience wise,
At rosy cheeks or sparkling eyes,
My heart no longer flutters.
Chamber'd in Albany, I view
On every side a jovial crew
Of Benedictine neighbours.
I sip my coffee, read the news,
I own no mistress but the muse,
And she repays my labours.
And should some brat her love bespeak,
(Though illegitimate and weak
As these unpolish'd verses;)
A father's joys shall still be mine,
Without the fear of parish fine,
Bills, beadles, quacks, or nurses.