A heav'nly image in the glass appears,
To that she bends, to that her eyes the rears;
Th' inferior Priestess, at her altar's fide,
Trembling, begins the sacred rites of Pride.
Unnumber'd treasures ope at once, and here
The various off'rings of the world appear;
From each she nicely culls, with curious toil,
And decks the Goddess with the glitt'ring spoil.
This casket, India's glowing gems unlocks,
And all Arabia breathes from yonder box.
The Tortoise here and Elephant unite,
Transform'd to combs, the speckled and the white.
Here files of pins extend their shining rows,
Puffs, Powders, Patches, Bibles, Billet-doux.
Now awful beauty puts on all its arms;
The fair each moment rises in her charms,
Repairs her smiles, awakens every grace,
And calls forth all the wonders of her face:
Sees by degrees a purer blush arife,
And keener lightnings quicken in her eyes.
The bufy Sylphs furround their darling care,
These set the head, and those divide the hair;
Some fold the fleeve, whilst others plait the gown;
And Betty's prais'd for labours not her own.
• Not with more glories, in th' etherial plain,
The fun first rises o'er the purpled main,
Than, issuing forth, the rival of his beams
Launch'd on the bosom of the filver'd Thames.
Fair Nymphs, and well-dress'd Youths, around her

shore,

Rut ev'ry eye was fix'd on her alone.

On her white breast a sparkling Cross she wore,
Which Jews might kiss, and Infidels adore.
Her lively looks a sprightly mind disclose,
Quick as her eyes, and as unfix'd as those;
Favours to none, to all she smiles extends;
Oft she rejects, but never once offends.
Bright as the fun, her eyes the gazers strike,
And, like the fun, they shine on all alike.
Yet graceful ease, and sweetness void of pride,
Might hide her faults, if Belles had faults to hide :
If to her share some female errors fall,
Look on her face and you'll forget 'em all.

This nymph, to the destruction of mankind,
Nourish'd two Locks which graceful hung behind
In equal curls, and well conspir'd to deck,
With shining ringlets, the smooth iv'ry neck.
Love in these labyrinths his slaves detains,
And mighty hearts are held in slender chains.
With hairy springes we the birds betray,
Slight lines of hair surprize the finny prey,
Fair treffes men's imperial race infnare,
And beauty draws us with a fingle hair.

Th' advent'rous Baron the bright locks admir'd;
He faw, he wifi'd, and to the prize aspir'd.]
Resolv'd to win, he meditates the way,
By force to ravish, or by fraud betray;
For when fuccess a lover's toil attends,
Few ask, if fraud or force attain'd his ends.
For this, 'ere Phœbus rose, he had implor'd

Propitious heav'n, and ev'ry pow'r ador'd;
B 4

But

But chiefly Love to Love an Altar built,
Of twelve vast French Romances, neatly gilt.
There lay three garters, half a pair of gloves,
And all the trophies of his former loves.
With tender billet-doux he lights the pyre,
And breathes three am'rous fighs to raise the fire.
Then proftrate falls, and begs, with ardent eyes,
Soon to obtain, and long possess the prize:
The pow'rs gave ear, and granted half his pray'r,
The rest, the winds dispers'd in empty air.
But now secure the painted vessel glides,
The fun-beams trembling on the floating tides:
While melting music steals upon the sky,
And soften'd founds along the waters die;
Smooth flow the waves, the Zephyrs gently play,
Belinda smil'd, and all the world was gay.
All but the Sylph-with careful thoughts oppreft,
Th' impending woe fat heavy on his breast.
He fummons strait his Denizens of air;
The lucid squadrons round the fails repair :
Soft o'er the shrouds aërial whispers breathe,
'That feem'd but Zephyrs to the train beneath.
Some to the fun their infect-wings unfold,
Waft on the breeze, or sink in clouds of gold;
Transparent forms, too fine for mortal fight,
Their fluid bodies half dissolv'd in light.
Loofe to the wind their airy garments flew,
Thin glitt'ring textures of the filmy dew,
Dip'd in the richett tincture of the skies,
Where light disports in ever-mingling dyes,

While ev'ry beam new tranfient colours flings, Colours that change whene'er they wave their wings. Amid the circle on the gilded mast,

Superior by the head, was Ariel plac'd;

His purple pinions op'ning to the fun,
He rais'd his azure wand, and thus begun.

Ye Sylphs and Sylphids, to your chief give ear,
Fay, Fairies, Genii, Elves, and Dæmons hear!
Ye know the spheres, and various tasks affign'd
By laws eternal to the aërial kind.
Some in the fields of purest æther play,
And bask and whiten in the blaze of day;
Some guide the course of wand'ring orbs on high,
Or roll the planets thro' the boundless sky.
Some, less refin'd, beneath the moon's pale light
Pursue the stars that shoot athwart the night,
Or fuck the mists in grosser air below,
Or dip their pinions in the painted bow,
Or brew fierce tempests on the wintry main,
Or o'er the glebe distil the kindly rain.
Others on earth o'er human race preside,
Watch all their ways, and all their actions guide:
Of these the chief the care of Nations own,
And guard with arms divine the British throne.

Our humbler province is to tend the Fair,
Not a less pleasing, tho' less glorious care;
To save the powder from too rude a gale,
Nor let th' imprison'd essences exhale;
To draw fresh colours from the vernal flow'rs;.

To steal from rainbows ere they drop in show'rs,

A brighter wash; to curl their waving hairs,
Affift their biushes, and inspire their airs;
Nay oft, in dreams, invention we bestow,
To change a Flounce, or add a Furbelow.

This day, black Omens threat the brightest Fair

That e'er deferv'd a watchful spirit's care;
Some dire difafter, or by force, or flight;
But what, or where, the fates have wrap'd in night.
Whether the nymph shall break Diana's law,
Or fome frail China-jar receive a flaw;
Or ftain her honour, or her new brocade;
Forget her pray'rs, or miss a masquerade;
Or lofe her heart or necklace at a ball;
Or whether heav'n has doom'd that Shock must fall.
Haste then, ye spirits! to your charge repair:
The flutt'ring fan be Zephyretta's care;
The drops to thee, Brillante, we consign;
And, Momentilla, let the watch be thine;
Do thou, Crispissa, tend her fav'rite Lock;
Ariel himself shall be the guard of Shock.

To fifty chofen Sylphs, of special note,
We trust th' important charge, the Petticoat:
Oft have we known that seven-fold fence to fail,
Tho' ftiff with hoops, and arm'd with ribs of whale;
Form a strong line about the filver bound,
And guard the wide circumference around.

Whatever spirit, careless of his charge,
His poft neglects, or leaves the fair at large,
Shall feel sharp vengeance foon o'ertake his fins,
Be stop'd in vials, or transfix'd with pins;

Or