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To Mrs. EMMA CHILD, Daughter of the Honourable Sir Richard Child, of Wanted, Baronet, and Knight of the Shire for the County of Essex.

To Mrs. SUSANNA CHILD,

To Mrs. ANNE CHILD,

Daughters of the Honourable Sir Cefar Child, of Woodford-Bridge, Baronet.

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To Mrs. ELIZABETH HILLERSDON, Daughter of William Hillerfdon, Efq, Knight of the Shite for the County of Bedford.

To Mrs. ELIZABETH GODFREY. Daughter of Peter Godfrey, Efa, Member of Parlament for the City of London."

To Mrs. ANNE PERRY,

Daughter of Mr. Richard Perry, of London, Mer; chant.

To Mrs. ANNE MILNER,

Daughter of the late Mr. Ifaac Milper, of London, Merchant.

To Mrs. ELIZABETH LINGARD, Daughter of John Lingard, Efq; one of the Judges of the Sheriffs-Court.

To Mrs. JUDITH BUTLER,

Daughter of Mr. James Butler, of Camberwell, Merchant.

Young Ladies,

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Ntruction and Delight being the chief End of Poetry, I believe the following Collection will be judged no improper Prefent. The Virgin Mufe Ries therefore to you, Ladies, begging the Protection of your Virtue and Innocence; which,

if you fhall be pleased to grant; being fo Armed, She may fecurely appear abroad. For, what Armour can be brighter or ftronger than Virtue? or what fafer than Innocence?

I fhall not undertake to reprefent fo great a Variety of Graces and Accomplishments that are now fhining, and increafing in you, I refer my felf to the ingenious Pen of your Favourite Mufe,in the foltowing Copy; which I hope will be taken for no Compliment, but a Prophetick Defcription of each of your Growing Virtues.

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May you fo daily improve in every Good and Commendable Qualification, that, if each Contend ing Mufe of the Nine fhould fingle out her Lady to employ their feveral Excellencies on, they may make choice of your Virtues for their Subject, and your Perfons for their Seat and Refidence:

I am, LADIES,

Your most humble Servant,

James Greenwood.

* The Virgin, P. I.

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PREFACE.

Shall make no Apologies for the following Under taking, and if it be found feful and Entertaining, it will need nome. A Book of this kind has certainly been wanted, fince you will harelly find any Collection of Poems, that you can prudently put into the Hands of the Youth of either Sex: For you will meet with fomething that is either Shocking to Good Manners, Difficult to be Understood, or very Trifling and Silly. I have therefore had great Regard to introduce nothing here, but what is ftrictly Modeft, and truly Poetical; and as for the difficult Places, they are made very eafe and intelligible, by the Help of Notes, and a Large Index, explaining every hard Word. I have endeavoured to make it a compleat Book for the Teaching to Read Poetry: The Poems confifting of Verses of different Meafures, you have all the chief forts of English Verification. Two Objections are likely to be started: The one is, That fome things may feem Soft and Youthful. As to that, the Poems are designed for Youth, whofe Age naturally requires what is Chearful and Pleafant, and must have Entertainments and Amulements given them in their own way, provided they be Innocent, and Mannerly. For, after all, (det Perfons,

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Perfons, who have forgot that they were Young, fay what they will to the contrary) there are a great many Allowances to be made to young People, purely becaufe they are Young; and if I was to have inferted nothing here but what is very Grave, they would foon dislike this innocent Food, and apply themselves to worfe Diet. The other Objection, likely to be made, is, That I have put in feveral Poems of Mr. Milton's, which fome will fancy to be above the Capacity of the younger Reader. But, as I have ordered Matters with a View to every Age and Capacity, so there will be nothing (the Index being confulted) but what will become very plain to one Age or other. For as there is a variety of Poetical Dishes, let every one chufe, or let it be chofen for him, what Difh is like to fit easiest with him. As to the Poems in this Collection that were never published before, as namely, that in Page the Sift, being the Translation of Mr. Cowley's Epitaph on himself, it was done by Mr. Sellwood, of Cambridge. That in Page the 95th, Written in a Lady's Waller; and that against Scandal, Page 104, were given by an ingenious Friend, who will not fuffer his Name to be known, not that he need be ashamed of them; but the Reafon, I bclieve, is, because he is fome Years older now than when he made them. The Love Verses, and that on a Lady's killing her Lap-Dog, were inferted at the Request of a Friend of the Author's, with an Injunction to conceal his Name. In the Love Verfes there are feveral Turns that declare a true Poetical Genius, and therefore ftand not in need of any Recommenda tion. If I find that what I have here done, meets with the Approbation of the Sober and Judicious, it will encourage me to prefent the Reader with a Set of Reading-Books, beginning even with the first Ele

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