AN HEROI-COMICAL POEM.

Careless of censure, nor too fond of fame; importance These machines ( determined to Still pleas'd to praise, yet not afraid to blame : raise on a very new and odd foundation, tbe RosiAverse alike, to flatter or offend;

crusian doctrine of spirits. Not free from faults, nor yet too vain to mend, I know how disagrecable it is to make use of

hard words before a lady ; but it is so much the concern of a poet to have his works understood,

and particularly by your sex, that you inust give THE RAPE OF THE LOCK;

me leave to explain two or three difficult terms.

The Rosicrusians are a people I must bring you

acquainted with. The best account I know of WRITTEN IN THE YEAR M DCC XII,

them is in a French book called Le Comte de Nolueram, Belinda, tuos violare capillos ;

Gabalis, which, both in its title and size, is so Sed juvat, hoc precibus me trịbuisse tuis.

like a novel, that many of the fair sex have read Mart.

it for one by mistake. According to those gentle.

men, the four elements are inhabited by spirits Ir appears by the motto, that the following poem which they call Sylphs, Gnomes, Nymphs, and

was written or published at the lady's request : Salananders. The Gnomes, or Demons of Earth, But there are some further circumstances not delight in mischiet'; but the Sylphs, whose habis unworthy relating. Mr. Caryl (a gentleman | tation is in the air, are the best conditioned crea. who was secretary to queen Mary, wife of tures imaginable ; for they say, any mortals say James II. whose fortunes he followed into France, enjoy the most intimate familiarities with these author of the coinedy pf Sir Solomon Single, gentle spirits, upon a condition very easy to all and of several translations in Dryden's Miscel- true adepts, an inviolate preservation of chas!anies) originally proposed the subject to him, tity. in a view of putting an end, hy this piece of As to the following cantos, all the passages of ridicule, to a quarrel that was risen between them are as fabulous as the vision at the beginning, two noble families, those of lord Petre and of or the transforination at the end (except he lovs Mrs. Fermor, on the trifling occasion of his havs of your hair, which I always mention with reveing cut off a lock of her hair. The author sent rence). The human persons are as fictitious as it to the lady, with whom he was acquainted ; the airy ones, and the character of Belinda, as it and she took it so well as too give about copies is now managed, resembles you in nothing but in of it. That first sketch (we learn from one of beauty. his letters) was written in less than a fortnight, If this poem had as many graces as there are in 1711, in two Cantos only; and it was so in your person, or in your mind, yet I could never printed, first, in a Miscellany of Bern. Lintot's, hope it should pass through the world half so unwithout the name of the author : but it was re- censured as you have done. But let its fortune be ceived so well, that he made it more consider- what it will, mine is happy enough, to have given able the next year, by the addition of the ma- me this occasion of assuring you, that I am, with chinery of the Sylphs, and extended it to five the truest esteem, Cantos. We shall give the reader the pleasure

madam, of seeing in what manner these additions were

your most obedient, humble servant, inserted, so as to seem not to be added, but to

A. POPE. grow out of the poem. See Canto l. ver. 19, &c.

THE RAPE OF THE LOCK. This insertion he always esteemed, and justly, the greatest effort of his skill and art as a poet,

What dire offence from amorous causes springa, TO MRS. ARABELLA FERMOR, What mighty contests rise from trivial things,

I sing--this verse to Caryl, Muse! is due: MADAM,

This ev'n Belinda may vouchsafe to view : It will be in vain to deny that I have some regard Slight is the subject, but not so the praise, for this piece, since I dedicate it to you ; yet you If she inspire, and he approve my lays. may bear me witness, it was intended only to di- Say what strange motive, goddess ! could compel xert a few young ladies, who have good sense and A well-bred lord t' assault a gentle belle? good bumour enough to laugh not only at their say what stranger cause, yet unexplor'd, sex's little unguarded follies, but at their own. Could make a gentle belle reject a lord ? But as it was communicated with the air of a In tasks so bold, can little men engage ? 11 secret, it soon found its way into the world. An And in soft bosoms dwells such mighty rage ? imperfect copy having been offered to a book- Sol through white curtains shot a timorous ray, seller, you had the good-nature for my sake to And ope'd those eyes that must eclipse the day: consent to the publication of one more correct. This I was forced to, before I had executed half

VARIATIONS. my design, for the machinery was entirely want

Ver. 11, 12. It was in the first editions, ing to complete it.

And dwells such rage in softest bosoms then, The machinery, madam, is a term invented by the critics, to signify that part which the deities: Ver. 13, &c. stood thus in the first edition :

And lodge such daring souls in little men ? angels, or demons, are made to act in a poem : for the ancient poets are in one respect like many

Sol through white curtains did his beams display, modern ladies ; let an action be never so trivial in

And ope'd those eyes which brighter shone thas itself, they always make it appear of the utmost

they ;

CANTO I.

Now lap-dogs give themselves the rouzing shake, Safe from the treacherous friend, the daring spark, And sleepless lovers, just at twelve, awake: The glance by day, the whisper in the dark, Thrice rung the bell, the slipper knock'd the ground, When kind occasion proinpts their warm desires, And the press'd watch return’d a silver sound. When music softens, and when dancing fires ? Belinda still her downy pillow prest,

19 | 'Tis but their Sylph, the wise celestials know, Her guardian Sylph prolong'd the balmy rest: Though honour is the word with men below. $'Twas he had summon'! to her silent bed

“ Some nymphs there are, too conscious of their The morning dreain that hover'd o'er her head.

face, A youth more glittering than a birth-night beau For life predestin'd to the Gnomes embrace. (That ern in slumber caus'd her cheek to glow) These swell their prospects, and exalt their pride, Secm'd to her car his winning lips to lay,

When offers are disdain'd, and love deny'd: And thus in whispers said, or scom'd to say: Then gay ideas crowd the vacant brain,

“ Fairest of mortals, thou distinguish'd care While peers, and dukes, and all their sweepingtrain, Of thousand bright inhabitants of air!

And garters, stars, and coronets appear, If c'er one vision touch thy infant thought, And in soft sounds, your grace' salutes their ear, Of all the nurse and all the priest have taught ; "l'is these that early taint the female soul, Of airy elves by moonlight shadous seen,

Instruct the eyes of young coquettes to roll, The silver token, and the circled green,

Teach infant cheeks a bidden blush to know, Or virgins visited by angel-powers,

And little hearts to flutter at a beau. With golden crowns and wreaths of heavenly flowers; “ Oft, when the world inagine women stray, Hear, and believe thy own importance know, The Sylphs through mystic mazes guide their way, Nor bound thy narrow views to things below. Through all the giddy eircle they pursue, Some secret truths, from learned pride conceal'd, And old impertinence expel by new. To maids alone and children are reveal'd;

What tender maid but must a victim fall What, though no credit doubting wits may give, To one man's treat, but for another's ball ? The fair and innocent shall still believe.

When Florio speaks, what virgin could withstand, Know then, unnumber'd spirits round thee fly, If gentle Damon did not squeeze her hand ? The light militia of the lower sky:

With varying vanities, from every part, These, though unseen, are ever on the wing, They shift the moving Toy-shop of their heart; Hang o'er the box, and hover round the ring. Where wigs with wigs, with sword-knots sword. 'Think what an equipage thou hast in air,

knots strive, And view with scorn two pages and a chair. Beaux banish beaux, and coaches coaches drive. As now your own, our beings were of old,

This erring mortals, levity may call; And once enclos'd in woman's beauteous mould; Oh, blind to truth! the Sylphs contrive it all. Thence, by a soft transition, we repair

“ Of these am I, who thy protection claim, From earthly vehicles to these of air.

A watchful sprite, and Ariel is my name. Think not, when woman's transient breath is filed, Late, as I rang'd the crystal wilds of air, That all her vanities at once are dead :

In the clear mirror of thy ruling star Succeeding vanities she still regards,

I saw, alas! some dread event impend, And though she plays no more, o’erlooks the cards. Ere to the main this morning sun descend; Her joy in gilded chariots, when alive,

But Heaven reveals not what, or how, or where: And love of ombre, after death survive.

Warn'd by the Sylph, oh pious maid, beware! For when the fair in all their pride expire, This to disclose is all thy guardian can: To their first elements their souls retire :

Beware of all, but most beware of man!” (long, The sprites of fiery termagants in flame

He said; when Shock, who thought she slept too Mount up, and take a Salamander's name. Leap'd up, and wak'd his mistress with his tongue. Soft yielding minds to water glide away,

"Twas then, Belinda, if report say true, And sip, with nynıphs, their elemental tea. Thy eyes first open'd on a billet-doux ; The graver prude sinks downward to a Gnome, Wounds, charms, and ardours were no sooner read, In search of mischief still on Earth to roam. But all the vision vanish'd from thy head. The light coquettes in Sylplıs aloft repair,

And now, unveil?d, the toilet stands display'd, -And sport and futter in the fields of air.

Each silver vase in mystic order laid.
“Know farther yet; whoever fair and chaste First, rob'd in white, the nymph intent adores,
Rejects mankind, is by some Sylph embrac'd: With head uncover'd, the cosmetic powers.
For, spirits, freed from mortal laws, with ease A heavenly image in the glass appears,
Assume what sexes and what shapes they please. To that she bends, to that her eyes she rears;
What guards the purity of melting inaids,

T'h' inferior priestess, at her altar's side,
In courtly balls, and midnight inasquerades, Trennbling, begins the sacred rites of Pride.

Unnumber'd treasures ope at once, and here

The various offerings of the world appear;
VARIATIONS.

l'roin each she nicely culls with curious toil, Shock just had given himself the rouzing shake,

And decks the goddess with the glittering spoil.' And nymphs prepar'd their chocolate to take; This casket India's glowing gems unlocks, Thrice the wrought slipper knock'd against the And all Arabia breathes from yonder box. ground,

The tortoise here and elephant unite, And striking watches the tenth hour resound. Transform'd to combs, the speckled and the white.

Here files of pins extend their shining rows, Ver. 19. Belinda still, &c.} All the verses from Puffs, powders, patches, bibles, billet-doux. hence to the end of this canto were added after. Now awful Beanty puts on all its arms; wards.

The fuir each moment rises in her charms,

CANTO JI.

Repairs her smiles, awakens every grace, Smooth flow the waves, the zephyrs gentle play,
And calls forth all the wonders of her face: Belinda smild, and all the world was gay,
Sees by degrees a purer blush arise,

All but the Sylph-with careful thoughts oppresta
And keener lightnings quicken in her eyes. Th' impending woe sat heavy on his breast.
The busy Sylphs surround their darling care: He summons straight his denizens of air;
These set the head, and those divide the hair ; The lucid squadrons round the sails repair:
Some fold the sleeve, whilst others plait the gown; Soft o'er the shrouds aërial whispers breathe,
And Betty's prais'd for labours not her own. That seem'd but zephyrs to the train beneath

Some to the Sun their insect wings unfold,
Waft on the breeze, or sink in clouds of gold;
Transparent forms, too fine for mortal sigbt,
Their Auid bodies half dissolv'd in light.

Loose to the wind their airy garments flew,
Nor with more glories in th’ ethereal plain, Thin glittering textures of the filmy dew,
The Sun first rises o'er the purpled main,

Dipp'd in the richest tinctures of the skies,
Than, issuing forth, the rival of his beams Where light disports in ever-mingling dyes,
Lanch'd on the bosom of the silver'd Thames. 4 While every beam new transient colours fings,
Fair nymphs and well-dress'd youths around her Colours that change whene'er they wave their wings
But every eye was fix'd on her alone. [shone, Amid the circle on the gilded mast,
On her white breast a sparkling cross she wore, Superior by the head, was Aricl plac'd;
Which Jews might kiss, and infidels adore.

His purple pinions opening to the Sun,
Her lively looks a sprightly mind disclose, He rais'ā his azure wand, and thus begun:
Quick as her eyes, and as unfix'd as those :

Ye Sylphs and Sylphids, to your chief give ear; Favours to none, to all she siniles extends; Fays, Fairies, Genii, Elves, and Demons, hear! Oft she rejects, but never once offends.

Ye know the spheres, and various tasks assign d Bright as the Sun, her eyes the gazers strike, By laws eternal to th' aërial kind, And, like the Sun, they shine on all alike. Some in the fields of purest ether play, Yet graceful ease, and sweetness void of pride, And bask and whiten in the blaze of day; Might hide her faults, if belles had faults to hide:

Some guide the course of wondering orbs on high, If to her share some female errours fall,

Or roll the planets through the boundless sky; Look on her face, and you'll forget them all.

Some, less refin'd, beneath the Moon's pale light This nymph, to the destruction of mankind,

Pursue the stars that shoot athwart the night,
Nourish'd two locks, which graceful hung behind Or suck the mists in grosser air below,
In equal curls, and well conspir'd to deck

Or dip their pinions in the painted bow,
With shining ringlets the sinooth ivory neck. Or brew fierce tempests on the wintery main,
Love in these labyrinths his slaves detains, Or o'er the glebe distil the kindly rain
And mighty hearts are held in slender chains. Others on earth o'er human race preside,
With hairy springes we the birds betray;

Watch all their ways, and all their actions guide :
Slight lines of hair surprize the finny prey; Of these the chief the care of nations own,
Fair tresses man's imperial race insnare,

And guard with arms divine the British throne. And Beauty draws us with a single hair.

“Our humbler province is to tend the fair, Th’adventuous baron the bright locks admir'd; Not a less pleasing, though less glorious care; He saw, he wish'd, and to the prize aspir'd. • To save the powder from too rude a gale, Resolv'd to win, he meditates the way,

Nor let th' imprison'd essences exhale; By force to ravish, or by fraud betray;

To draw fresh colours from the vernal flowers; For when success a lover's toil attends,

To steal from rainbows, ere they drop in showers, Few ask if fraud or force attain'd his ends.

A brighter wash; to curl their waving hairs, For this, cre Phæbus rose, he had implor'd Assist their blushes, and inspire their ajrs; Propitious Heaven, and every power ador'd; Nay oft, in dreams, invention we bestow, But chiefly Love to Love an altar built,

To change a flounce, or add a furbelow. Of twelve vast French romances, neatly gilt. “This day, black omens threat the brightest fait There lay three garters, half a pair of gloves, That e'er desery'd a watchful spirit's care: And all the trophies of his former loves.

Some dire disaster, or by force, or slight ; With tender billet-doux he lights the pyre, But what, or where, the Fates have wrapp'd in night. And breathes three amorous sighs to raise the fire.

Whether the nymph shall break Diana's law,
Then prostrate falls, and begs with årdent eyes Or some frail China-jar receive a flaw:
Soon to obtain, and long possess the prize: Or stain her honour, or her new brocade;
The powers gave ear, and granted half his prayer; Forget her prayers, or miss a masquerade ;
The rest, the winds dispers'd in empty air. 46 Or lose her heart, or aecklace at a ball;

But now secure the painted vessel glides, Or whether Heaven has doom'd that Shock must falk
The sun-beams trembling on the floating tides: Haste then, ye spirits! to your charge repair:
While melting music steals upon the sky, The Anttering fan be Zephyretta's care;
And soften'd sounds along the waters die;

The drops to thee, Brillante, we consign;
And, Momentilla, let the watch be thine;

Do thou, Crispissa, tend her favourite lock;
Ver. 4. Lanch'd on the bosom.] From hence | Ariel himself shall be the guard of Shock
the poem continues, in the first edition, to ver. “ To fifty chosen Sylphs, of special note,
46.

We trust th' jinportant charge, the petticoat : The rest the winds dispers'd in empty air ; Oft bave we known that seven-fold fence to fail, all after, to the end of this canto, being additional. Though stiff with boops, and arm'd sith ribs of whale

VARIATION.

CANTO III.

Form a strong line about the silver bound,

Soon as she spreads her hand, th' aërial guard And guard the wide circunference around.

Descend, and sit on each important card :
Whatever spirit, careless of his charge,

First Ariel perch'd upon a Matadore,
His post neglects, or leaves the fair at large, Then each according to the rank they bore;
Shall feel sharp vengeance soon o'ertake his sins, For Sylphs, yet mindful of their ancient race,
Be stopp'd in vials, or transfix'd with pins; Are, as when women, wondrous fond of place.
Or plung'd in lakes of bitter washes lie,

Behold, four kings in majesty rever'd,
Or wedg'd whole ages in a bodkin's eye:

With hoary whiskers and a forky beard;
Gums and pomatuins shall his flight restrain, And four fair queens, whose hands sustain a flower,
While clogg'd he beats his silken wings in vain; Th'expressive emblem of their softer power ;
Or alum styptics with contracting power

Four knaves in garbs succinct, a trusty band;
Shrink his thin essence like a shrivel'd flower: Caps on their heads, and halberts in their hand;
Or, as Ixion fix'd, the wretch shall feel

And party-coloured troops, a shining train, The giddy motion of the whirling mill,

Drawn forth to combat on the velvet plain. In fumes of burning chocolate shall glow,

The skilful nymph reviews her force with care:
And tremble at the sea that froths below!"

Let spades be trumps ! she said,and trumps they were
He spoke; the spirits from the sails desconds Now move to war her sable Matadores,
Some, orb in orb, around the nymph extend ; In show like leaders of the swarthy Moors,
Some thrid the mazy ringlets of her hair ;

Spadillie tirst, unconquerable lord !
Some hang upon the pendants of her ear;

I ed off two captive trumps, and swept the board,
With beating hearts the dire event they wait, As many more Manillio forc'd to yield,
Anxious, and trembling for the birth of Fate, And march'd a victor from the verdant field.

Him Basto follow'd, but his fate more hard
Gain'd but one trump, and one plebeian card.

With bis broad sabre next, a chief in years,
Close bythose meads, forever crown'd with flowers,

The hoary Majesty of Spades appears,
Where Thames with pride surveys his rising towers, The rest, his many-colour'd robe conceal'd.

Puts forth one manly leg, to sight reveal'd,
There stands a structure of majestic frame,
Which from the neighbouring Hampton takes its Proves the just victim of his royal rage.

The rebel knave, who dares his prince engage,
name.

Ev'n mighty Pam, that kings and queens o'erg Here Britain's statesmen oft the fall foredoom

threw,
Of foreign tyrants, and of nymphs at home;
Here thou, great Anna! whom three realms obey, Sad chance of war! now destitute of aid,

And mow'd down armies in the fights of Lu,
Dost sometimes counsel take and sometimes tea.
Hither the heroes and the nymphs resort,

Falls undistinguish'd by the victor Spade!

Thus far both armies to Belinda yield i To taste awhile the pleasures of a court;

Now to the baron Fate inclines the field.
In various talk th' instructive hours they past, 11

His warlike Amazon her host invades,
Who gave the ball, or paid the visit last;
One speaks the glory of the British queen,

Th’ imperial consort of the crown of Spades

The Club's black tyrant first her victim dy'd,
And one describes a charming Indian screen ;
A third interprets motions, looks, and eyes;

Spite of his haughty mien, and barbarous pride

What boots the regal circle on his head, At every word a reputation dies.

His giant limbs in state unwieldy spread; Snuff, or the fan, supply each pause of chat,

That long behind he trails his pompous robe, With singing, laughing, ogling, and all that.

And, of all monarchs, only grasps the globe? Meanwhile, declining from the noon of day,

The baron now his Diamonds pours apace; The Sun obliquely shoots his burning ray:

Th' embroider'd king who shows but half his face,
The hungry judges soon the sentence sign,

And his refulgent qucen, with powers combin'd,
And wretches hang, that jurymen may dine;
The merchant from th’ Exchange returns in peace; Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, in wild disorder seen,

Of broken troops an easy conquest find.
And the long labours of the toilet cease. 94

With throngs promiscuous strow the level greena Belinda now, whom thirst of fame invites,

Thus when dispers’d a routed army runs, Burns to encounter two adventurous knights,

Of Asia's troops, and Afric's sable sons, At Ombre singly to decide their doom;

With like confusion different nations fly, And swells her breast with conquests yet to come.

Of various habit, and of various dye, Straight the three bands prepare in arıns to join,

The pierc'd rattalions disunited fall, Each band the number of the sacred nine.

In heaps on heaps; one fate o'erwhelms them all.

The Knave of Diamonds tries his wily arts,
VARIATIONS.
Ver. 1. Close by those meads,] The first edi.

And wius (oh shameful chance!) the Queen of

Hearts.
tion continues from this line to ver. 24. of this At this, the blood the virgin's check forsook,
(anto.

A livid paleness spreads o'er all her look;
Ver. 11, 12. Originally in the first edition, She sees, and trembles at th' approaching ill,

In various talk the cheerful hours they past, Just in the jaws of ruin, and Codille.
Of, who was bit, or who capotted last.

And now (as oft in some distemper'd state) Ver. 24. And the long labours of the toilet On one nice trick depends the general fate, cease. All that follows of the game at Ombre, was

An Ace of Hearts steps forth : the king unscen added since the first edition, till ver. 105, which Lurk'd in her hand, and mourn'd his captive queen i connected thus :

He springs to vengeance with an eager pace, Sudden the board with cups and spoons is crown'd. | And falls like thunder on the prostrate Ace.

The nymph exulting fills with shouts the sky; Not louder shrieks to pitying Heaven are cast,
The walls, the woods, and long canals reply. When husbands, or when lap-dogs, breathe their
O thoughtless mortals ! ever blind to fate,

last! Too soon dejected, and too soon elate.

Or when rich China vessels, fall’n from high, Sudden, these honours shall be snatch'd away,103 In glittering dust and painted fragments lie! ‘And curs'd for ever this victorious day.

Let wreaths of triumph now my temples twine For lo! the board with cups and spoons is crown'd, (The victor cry'd), the glorious prize is mine! The berries crackle, and the mill turns round: While fish in streams, or birds delight in air, On shining Altars of Japan they raise

Or in a coach and six the British fair, The silver lamp ; the fiery spirits blaze:

As long as Atalantis shall be read, From silver spouts the grateful liquors glide,

Or the small pillow grace a lady's bed, While China's earth recejves the smoking tide : While visits shall be paid on solemn days, At once they gratify their scent and taste, When numerous wax-lights in bright order blazo, And frequent cups prolong the rich repast. While nymphs take treats, or assignations give, Strait hover round the fair her airy band ;

So long my honour, name, and praise, shall live! Some, as she sipp'd, the fuming liquor fann'd, What time would spare, from steel receives its date, Some o'er her lap their careful plumes display'd, And monuments, like men, submit to Fate, Trembling, and conscious of the rich brocade.

Steel could the labour of the gods destroy, Coffee (which makes the politician wise,

And strike to dust th’ imperial powers of Troy ; And see through all things with his half-shut eyes) Steel could the works of mortal pride confound, Sent up in vapours to the baron's brain

And hew triumphal arches to the ground. New stratagems, the radiant lock to gain.

What wonder then, fair nymph! thy hairs should Ah cease, rash youth ; desist ere 'tis too late, The conquering force of unresisted steel? (feel Fear the just Gods, and think of Scylla's fate ! Chang'd to a bird, and sent to fit in air, She dearly pays for Nisus' injur'd hair ! But when to inischief mortals bend their will,

CANTO IV, How soon they find it instruments of ill!

But anxious cares the pensive nymph oppressid, Just then, Clarissa drew, with tempting grace,

And secret passions labour'd in her breast. A two edg'd weapon from her shining case:

Not youthful kings in battle seiz'd alive, So ladies, in Romance, assist their knight,

Not scornful virgins who their charms survive, Present the spear, and arm him for the fight.

Not ardent lovers robb’d of all their bliss,
He takes the gift with reverence, and extends

Not ancient ladies when refus'd a kiss,
The little engine on his fingers ends;
This just behind Belinda's neck he spread,

Not tyrants fierce that unrepenting die,
As v'er the fragrant steams she bends her head. 134 E'er felt such rage, resentment, and despair,

Not Cynthia when her manteau's pinn'd awry, Swift to the Lock a thousand Sprites repair,

As thou, sad virgin ! for thy ravish'd hair. A thousand wings, by turns, blow back the hair ;

For, that sad moment, when the Sylphs withAnd thrice they twitch'd the diamond in her ear;

And Ariel weeping from Belinda flew, Thrice she look'd back, and thrice the foe drew near.

(drew, 11

Umbriel, a dusky, melancholy sprite, Just in that instant, anxious Ariel sought

As ever sully'd the fair face of light, The close recesses of the virgin's thought ;

Down to the central earth, his proper scene, As on the nosegay in her breast recliud,

Repair'd to search the gloomy cave of Spleen. He watch'd th' ideas rising in her mind,

Suift on his sooty pinions flits the Gnome, Sudden he view'd, in spite of all her art,

And in a vapour reach'd the dismal dome. An earthly lover lurking at her heart.

No cheerful breeze this sullen region knows, Amaz'd, confus’d, he found his power expir’d,

The dreaded east is all the wind that blows. Resign'd to fate, and with a sigh retir’d.

Here in a grotto, shelter'd close from air, The peer now spreads the glittering forfex wide,

And screen’d in shades from day's detested glare, T' enclose the Lock; now joins it, to divide.

She sighs for ever on her pensive bed,
Ev'n then, before the fatal engine clos'd,

Pain at her side, and Megrim at her head.
A wretched Sylph too fondly interpos’d;
Fate urg'd the sheers, and cut the Sylph in twain, But differing far in figure and in face.

Two handmaids wait the throne: alike in placo, (But airy substance soon unites again)

Here stood Ill-nature like an ancient maid, The meeting points the sacred hair dissever

Her wrinkled form in black and white array'd; From the fair head, for ever, and for ever! 154

With store of Then flash'd the living lightning from her eyes,

prayers, for mornings, nights, and

noons, And screams of horrour rend th' affrighted skies.

Her hand is fill'd; her bosom with lampeons.

There Affectation, with a sickly mien,
VARIATIONS,

Shows in her cheek the roses of eighteen,
Ver. 103. Sudden the board, &c.] From hence
the first edition continues to ver. 134.
Ver. 134. In the first edition it was thus :

Ver. 11. For, that sad moment, &c.] All the
As o'er the fragrant stream she bends her head, lines from hence to the 94th verse, describe the
First he expands the glittering forfex wide house of Spleen, and are not in the first edition ;
Tinclose the Lock; then joins it to divide : instead of them followed only these :
The meeting points the sacred hair dissever While her rack'd soul repose and peace requires,
From the fair head, for ever and for ever. Ver. The fierce Thalestris fans the rising fires ;
All that is between was added afterwards. (154, 1 and continued at the 94th verse of this canto.

VARIATIONS.