'Those seats, whence long excluded, thou must 'Tis long since Cynthia and her train were there,
That gate, for ever barr'd to thy return:
Wilt thou not then bewail ill-fated love,
Or guardian gods made innocence their care. Vagrants and outlaws shall offend thy view: For such must be my friends, a hideous crew,
And hate a banish'd man, condemn'd in woods to By adverse fortune mix'd in social ill,
Thy rise of fortune did I only wed, From its decline determin'd to recede; Did I but purpose to embark with thee On the smooth surface of a summer's sea; While gentle zephyrs play in prosperous gales, And Fortune's favor fills the swelling sails; But would forsake the ship, and make the shore, When the winds whistle, and the tempests roar? No, Henry, no: one sacred oath has tied Our loves: one destiny our life shall guide; Nor wild nor deep our common way divide.
When from the cave thou risest with the day, To beat the woods, and rouse the bounding prey; The cave with moss and branches I'll adorn, And cheerful sit, to wait my lord's return: And, when thou frequent bring'st the smitten deer, (For seldom, archers say, thy arrows err)
I'll fetch quick fuel from the neighboring wood, And strike the sparkling flint, and dress the food; With humble duty, and officious haste,
I'll cull the furthest mead for thy repast; The choicest herbs I to thy board will bring, And draw thy water from the freshest spring: And, when at night with weary toil opprest, Soft slumbers thou enjoy'st, and wholesome rest, Watchful I'll guard thee, and with midnight prayer Weary the gods to keep thee in their care; And joyous ask, at morn's returning ray,
If thou hast health, and I may bless the day. My thoughts shall fix, my latest wish depend, On thee, guide, guardian, kinsman, father, friend: By all these sacred names be Henry known To Emma's heart; and grateful let him own That she, of all mankind, could love but him alone!
Vainly thou tell'st me, what the woman's care Shall in the wildness of the wood prepare: Thou, ere thou goest, unhappiest of thy kind, Must leave the habit and the sex behind. No longer shall thy comely tresses break In flowing ringlets on thy snowy neck; Or sit behind thy head, an ample round, In graceful braids with various ribbon bound: No longer shall the bodice aptly lac'd, From thy full bosom to thy slender waist, That air and harmony of shape express, Fine by degrees, and beautifully less: Nor shall thy lower garments' artful plait, From thy fair side dependent to thy feet, Arm their chaste beauties with a modest pride, And double every charm they seek to hide. Th' ambrosial plenty of thy shining hair, Cropt off and lost, scarce lower than thy ear Shall stand uncouth: a horseman's coat shall hide Thy taper shape, and comeliness of side: The short trunk-hose shall show thy foot and knee Licentious, and to common eye-sight free: And, with a bolder stride and looser air, Mingled with men, a man thou must appear.
Nor solitude, nor gentle peace of mind, Mistaken maid, shalt thou in forests find:
Train'd to assault, and disciplin'd to kill; Their common loves, a lewd abandon'd pack, The beadle's lash still flagrant on their back: By sloth corrupted, by disorder fed, Made bold by want, and prostitute for bread: With such must Emma hunt the tedious day, Assist their violence, and divide their prey: With such she must return at setting light, Though not partaker, witness of their night. Thy ear, inur'd to charitable sounds And pitying love, must feel the hateful wounds Of jest obscene and vulgar ribaldry, The ill-bred question, and the lewd reply; Brought by long habitude from bad to worse, Must hear the frequent oath, the direful curse, That latest weapon of the wretches' war, And blasphemy, sad comrade of despair.
Now, Emma, now the last reflection make, What thou wouldst follow, what thou must forsake:
By our ill-omen'd stars, and adverse Heaven, No middle object to thy choice is given. Or yield thy virtue, to attain thy love;
Or leave a banish'd man, condemn'd in woods to
O grief of heart! that our unhappy fates Force thee to suffer what thy honor hates: Mix thee amongst the bad; or make thee run Too near the paths which Virtue bids thee shun. Yet with her Henry still let Emma go; With him abhor the vice, but share the woe: And sure my little heart can never err Amidst the worst, if Henry still be there.
Our outward act is prompted from within; And from the sinner's mind proceeds the sin: By her own choice free Virtue is approv'd; Nor by the force of outward objects mov'd. Who has assay'd no danger, gains no praise. In a small isle, amidst the wildest seas, Triumphant Constancy has fix'd her seat: In vain the Syrens sing, the tempests beat: Their flattery she rejects, nor fears their threat.
For thee alone these little charms I drest: Condemn'd them, or absolv'd them by thy test. In comely figure rang'd my jewels shone, Or negligently plac'd for thee alone: For thee again they shall be laid aside; The woman, Henry, shall put off her pride For thee: my clothes, my sex, exchang'd for thee, I'll mingle with the people's wretched lee: O line extreme of human infamy!
Wanting the scissars, with these hands I'll tear (If that obstructs my flight) this load of hair. Black soot, or yellow walnut, shall disgrace This little red and white of Emma's face. These nails with scratches shall deform my breast, Lest by my look or color be express'd
The mark of aught high-born, or ever better dress'd. Yet in this commerce, under this disguise, Let me be grateful still to Henry's eyes; Lost to the world, let me to him be known: My fate I can absolve, if he shall own
That, leaving all mankind, I love but him alone.
O wildest thoughts of an abandon'd mind! Name, habit, parents, woman, left behind, Ev'n honor dubious, thou preferr'st to go Wild to the woods with me: said Emma so? Or did I dream what Emma never said? O guilty error! and O wretched maid! Whose roving fancy would resolve the same With him, who next should tempt her easy fame; And blow with empty words the susceptible flame. Now why should doubtful terms thy mind perplex? Confess thy frailty, and avow the sex: No longer loose desire for constant love
Why shouldst thou weep? let Nature judge our
I saw thee young and fair; pursued the chase Of Youth and Beauty: I another saw Fairer and younger: yielding to the law Of our all-ruling mother, I pursued More youth, more beauty: blest vicissitude! My active heart still keeps its pristine flame; The object alter'd, the desire the same.
This younger, fairer, pleads her rightful charms; With present power compels me to her arms. And much I fear, from my subjected mind, (If Beauty's force to constant love can bind,) That years may roll, ere in her turn the maid Shall weep the fury of my love decay'd;
Mistake: but say, 'tis man with whom thou long'st And weeping follow me, as thou dost now,
With idle clamors of a broken vow.
Nor can the wildness of thy wishes err So wide, to hope that thou may'st live with her. Are there not poisons, racks, and flames, and Love, well thou know'st, no partnership allows:
swords, That Emma thus must die by Henry's words? Yet what could swords or poison, racks or flame, But mangle and disjoint this brittle frame! More fatal Henry's words; they murder Emma's fame. And fall these sayings from that gentle tongue, Where civil speech and soft persuasion hung; Whose artful sweetness and harmonious strain, Courting my grace, yet courting it in vain, Call'd sighs, and tears, and wishes, to its aid; And, whilst it Henry's glowing flame convey'd, Still blam'd the coldness of the Nut-brown Maid? Let envious Jealousy and canker'd Spite
Produce my actions to severest light, And tax my open day, or secret night. Did e'er my tongue speak my unguarded heart The least inclin'd to play the wanton's part? Did e'er my eye one inward thought reveal, Which angels might not hear, and virgins tell? And hast thou, Henry, in my conduct known One fault, but that which I must never own, That I, of all mankind, have lov'd but thee alone?
Vainly thou talk'st of loving me alone: Each man is man; and all our sex is one. False are our words, and fickle is our mind: Nor in Love's ritual can we ever find Vows made to last, or promises to bind.
By Nature prompted, and for empire made, Alike by strength or cunning we invade: When, arm'd with rage, we march against the foe, We lift the battle-ax and draw the bow: When, fir'd with passion, we attack the fair, Delusive sighs and brittle vows we bear; Our falsehood and our arms have equal use; As they our conquest or delight produce. The foolish heart thou gav'st, again receive, The only boon departing love can give. To be less wretched, be no longer true;
Cupid averse rejects divided vows: Then, from thy foolish heart, vain maid, remove An useless sorrow, and an ill-starr'd love And leave me, with the fair, at large in wooas to
Are we in life through one great error led? Is each man perjur'd, and each nymph betray'd? Of the superior sex art thou the worst? Am I of mine the most completely curst? Yet let me go with thee; and going prove, From what I will endure, how much I love.
This potent beauty, this triumphant fair This happy object of our different care, Her let me follow; her let me attend A servant (she may scorn the name of friend). What she demands, incessant I'll prepare : I'll weave her garlands; and I'll plait her hair: My busy diligence shall deck her board, (For there at least I may approach my lord,) And, when her Henry's softer hours advise His servant's absence, with dejected eyes Far I'll recede, and sighs forbid to rise.
Yet, when increasing grief brings slow disease, And ebbing life, on terms severe as these, Will have its little lamp no longer fed; When Henry's mistress shows him Emma dead; Rescue my poor remains from vile neglect, With virgin honors let my hearse be deckt, And decent emblem; and at least persuade This happy nymph, that Emma may be laid Where thou, dear author of my death, where she, With frequent eye my sepulchre may see. The nymph amidst her joys may haply breathe One pious sigh, reflecting on my death, And the sad fate which she may one day prove, Who hopes from Henry's vows eternal love. And thou forsworn, thou cruel, as thou art, If Emma's image ever touch'd thy heart;
What strives to fly thee, why shouldst thou pursue? Thou sure must give one thought, and drop one tear
Forget the present flame, indulge a new; Single the loveliest of the amorous youth:
Ask for his vow; but hope not for his truth. The next man (and the next thou shalt believe) Will pawn his gods, intending to deceive; Will kneel, implore, persist, o'ercome, and leave. Hence let thy Cupid aim his arrows right; Be wise and false, shun trouble, seek delight: Change thou the first, nor wait thy lover's flight.
To her, whom love abandon'd to despair; To her, who, dying, on the wounded stone Bid it in lasting characters be known. That, of mankind, she lov'd but thee alone.
Hear, solemn Jove; and conscious Venus, hear; And thou, bright maid, believe me whilst I swear,
No time, no change, no future flame, shall move The well-plac'd basis of my lasting love. O powerful virtue! O victorious fair! At least, excuse a trial too severe; Receive the triumph, and forget the war.
No banish'd man, condemn'd in woods to rove, Entreats thy pardon, and implores thy love: No perjur'd knight desires to quit thy arras, Fairest collection of thy sex's charms, Crown of my love, and honor of my youth! Henry, thy Henry, with eternal truth, As thou may'st wish, shall all his life employ, And found his glory in his Emma's joy.
In me behold the potent Edgar's heir, Illustrious earl: him terrible in war Let Loyre confess, for she has felt his sword, And trembling fled before the British lord. Him great in peace and wealth fair Deva knows; For she amidst his spacious meadows flows; Inclines her urn upon his fatten'd lands;
Nor happiness can I, nor misery feel, From any turn of her fantastic wheel: Friendship's great laws, and Love's superior powers, Must mark the color of my future hours. From the events which thy commands create, I must my blessings or my sorrows date; And Henry's will must dictate Emma's fate.
Yet, while with close delight and inward pride (Which from the world my careful soul shall hide) I see thee, lord and end of my desire, Exalted high as virtue can require;
With power invested, and with pleasure cheer'd; Sought by the good, by the oppressor fear'd; Loaded and blest with all the affluent store, Which human vows at smoking shrines implore; Grateful and humble grant me to employ My life subservient only to thy joy;
And at my death to bless thy kindness shown To her, who of mankind could love but thee alone.
WHILE thus the constant pair alternate said,
And sees his numerous herds imprint her sands. And thou, my fair, my dove, shalt raise thy Joyful above them and around them play'd
To greatness next to empire: shalt be brought With solemn pomp to my paternal seat; Where peace and plenty on thy word shall, wait. Music and song shall wake the marriage-day; And, whilst the priests accuse the bride's delay, Myrtles and roses shall obstruct her way.
Friendship shall still thy evening feasts adorn; And blooming Peace shall ever bless thy morn. Succeeding years their happy race shall run, And Age, unheeded, by delight come on: While yet superior Love shall mock his power: And when old Time shall turn the fated hour, Which only can our well-tied knot unfold, What rests of both, one sepulchre shall hold.
Hence then for ever from my Emma's breast, (That heaven of softness, and that seat of rest,) Ye doubts and fears, and all that know to move Tormenting grief, and all that trouble love,
Angels and sportive Loves, a numerous crowd; Smiling they clapt their wings, and low they bow'd. They tumbled all their little quivers o'er, To choose propitious shafts, a precious store; That, when their god should take his future darts, To strike (however rarely) constant hearts, His happy skill might proper arms employ, All tipt with pleasure, and all wing'd with joy: And those, they vow'd, whose lives should imitate These lovers' constancy, should share their fate.
The queen of beauty stopt her bridled doves; Approv'd the little labor of the Loves; Was proud and pleas'd the mutual vow to hear; And to the triumph call'd the god of war: Soon as she calls, the god is always near.
"Now, Mars," she said, "let Fame exalt her voice:
Nor let thy conquests only be her choice: But, when she sings great Edward from the field
Scatter'd by winds recede, and wild in forests rove. Return'd, the hostile spear and captive shield
O day, the fairest sure that ever rose! Period and end of anxious Emma's woes! Sire of her joy, and source of her delight; O! wing'd with pleasure, take thy happy flight, And give each future morn a tincture of thy white. Yet tell thy votary, potent queen of love, Henry, my Henry, will he never rove? Will he be ever kind, and just, and good? And is there yet no mistress in the wood? None, none there is; the thought was rash and vain; A false idea, and a fancied pain.
Doubt shall for ever quit my strengthen'd heart, And anxious jealousy's corroding smart; Nor other inmate shall inhabit there,
But soft Belief, young Joy, and pleasing Care. Hence let the tides of plenty ebb and flow, And Fortune's various gale unheeded blow. If at my feet the suppliant goddess stands, And sheds her treasure with unwearied hands; Her present favor cautious I'll embrace, And not unthankful use the proffer'd grace: If she reclaims the temporary boon, And tries her pinions, fluttering to be gone; Secure of mind, I'll obviate her intent,
And unconcern'd return the goods she lent.
In Concord's temple hung, and Gallia taught to yield;
And when as prudent Saturn shall complete The years design'd to perfect Britain's state, The swift-wing'd power shall take her trump again, To sing her favorite Anna's wondrous reign; To recollect unwearied Marlborough's toils, Old Rufus' hall unequal to his spoils; The British soldier from his high command Glorious, and Gaul thrice vanquish'd by his hand: Let her, at least, perform what I desire; With second breath the vocal brass inspire; And tell the nations, in no vulgar strain,
What wars I manage, and what wreaths I gain. And, when thy tumults and thy fights are past; And when thy laurels at my feet are cast; Faithful may'st thou, like British Henry, prove : And, Emma-like, let me return thy love.
"Renown'd for truth, let all thy sons appear; And constant beauty shall reward their care." Mars smil'd, and bow'd: the Cyprian deity Turn'd to the glorious ruler of the sky; "And thou," she smiling said, "great god of days And verse, behold my deed, and sing my praise; As on the British earth, my favorite isle, Thy gentle rays and kindest influence smile, Through all her laughing fields and verdant groves, Proclaim with joy these memorable loves.
The eyes might have conspir'd her ruin, And she not known what they were doing. Foolish it had been, and unkind, That they should see, and she be blind.
From every annual course let one great day
To celebrated sports and floral play
Be set aside; and, in the softest lays
MATTHEW* met Richard,t when or where From story is not mighty clear: Of many knotty points they spoke, And pro and con by turns they took. Rats half the manuscript have eat: Dire hunger! which we still regret. O! may they ne'er again digest The horrors of so sad a feast! Yet less our grief, if what remains, Dear Jacob, by thy care and pains Shall be to future times convey'd. It thus begins: Here Matthew said, "Alma in verse, in prose the Mind, By Aristotle's pen defin'd, Throughout the body, squat or tall, Is, bonâ fide, all in all.
And yet, slap-dash, is all again In every sinew, nerve, and vein: Runs here and there, like Hamlet's ghost; While everywhere she rules the roast.
"This system, Richard, we are told, The men of Oxford firmly hold. The Cambridge wits, you know, deny With ipse dixit to comply.
They say, (for in good truth they speak With small respect of that old Greek,) That, putting all his words together, "Tis three blue beans in one blue bladder.
"Alma, they strenuously maintain, Sits cock-horse on her throne, the brain; And from that seat of thought dispenses Her sovereign pleasure to the senses. Two optic nerves, they say, she ties, Like spectacles, across the eyes; By which the spirits bring her word, Whene'er the balls are fix'd or stirr'd, How quick at park and play they strike; The duke they court; the toast they like; And at St. James's turn their grace From former friends, now out of place.
"Without these aids, to be more serious, Her power, they hold, had been precarious:
"Wise Nature likewise, they suppose, Has drawn two conduits down our nose: Could Alma else with judgment tell When cabbage stinks, or roses smell ? Or who would ask for her opinion Between an oyster and an onion? For from most bodies, Dick, you know, Some little bits ask leave to flow; And, as through these canals they roll, Bring up a sample of the whole; Like footmen running before coaches, To tell the inn what lord approaches.
"By nerves about our palate plac'd, She likewise judges of the taste. Else (dismal thought!) our warlike men Might drink thick port for fine champagne; And our ill-judging wives and daughters Mistake small-beer for citron-waters.
"Hence, too, that she might better hear, She sets a drum at either ear: And, loud or gentle, harsh or sweet, Are but th' alarums which they beat.
"Last, to enjoy her sense of feeling, (A thing she much delights to deal in,) A thousand little nerves she sends Quite to our toes and fingers' ends; And these, in gratitude, again Return their spirits to the brain; In which their figure being printed, (As just before, I think, I hinted,) Alma, inform'd, can try the case, As she had been upon the place.
"Thus, while the judge gives different journeys To country counsel and attorneys, He on the bench in quiet sits, Deciding, as they bring the writs. The pope thus prays and sleeps at Rome, And very seldom stirs from home: Yet, sending forth his holy spies, And having heard what they advise, He rules the church's blest dominions, And sets men's faith by his opinions.
"The scholars of the Stagyrite, Who for the old opinion fight, Would make their modern friends confess The difference but from more to less. The Mind, say they, while you sustain To hold her station in the brain; You grant, at least, she is extended: Ergo the whole dispute is ended. For, till to-morrow should you plead, From form and structure to the head, The Mind as visibly is seen Extended through the whole machine. Why should all honor then be ta'en From lower parts to load the brain. When other limbs, we plainly see, Each in his way as brisk as he? For music, grant the head receive it, It is the artist's hand that gave it, And, though the skull may wear the laurel The soldier's arm sustains the quarrel. Besides, the nostrils, ears, and eyes, Are not his parts, but his allies; Ev'n what you hear the tongue proclaim Comes ab origine from them.
Still to their size he aim'd his skill: Else, pr'ythee, who would pay his bill? "Next, Dick, if Chance herself should vary, Observe, how matters would miscarry: Across your eyes, friend, place your shoes; Your spectacles upon your toes: Then you and Memmius shall agree How nicely men would walk, or see.
"But Wisdom, peevish and cross-grain'd, Must be oppos'd, to be sustain'd; And still your knowledge will increase, As you make other people's less. In arms and science 'tis the same; Our rival's hurts create our fame. At Faubert's, if disputes arise Among the champions for the prize, To prove who gave the fairer butt, John shows the chalk on Robert's coat. So, for the honor of your book,
It tells where other folks mistook: And, as their notions you confound, Those you invent get farther ground. "The commentators on old Ari- stotle ('tis urg'd) in judgment vary: They to their own conceits have brought The image of his general thought; Just as the melancholic eye Sees fleets and armies in the sky; And to the poor apprentice' ear The bells sound, Whittington, lord-mayor.' The conjurer thus explains his scheme; Thus spirits walk, and prophets dream; North Britons thus have second-sight; And Germans, free from gun-shot, fight.
"Theodoret and Origen, And fifty other learned men, Attest, that, if their comments find The traces of their master's mind, Alma can ne'er decay nor die: This flatly t' other sect deny; Simplicius, Theophrast, Durand, Great names, but hard in verse to stand. They wonder men should have mistook The tenets of their master's book,
And hold, that Alma yields her breath, O'ercome by age, and seiz'd by death. Now which were wise? and which were fools? Poor Alma sits between two stools:
The more she reads, the more perplext; The comment ruining the text: Now fears, now hopes, her doubtful fate: But, Richard, let her look to that- Whilst we our own affairs pursue.
"These different systems, old or new, A man with half an eye may see, Were only form'd to disagree. Now, to bring things to fair conclusion, And save much Christian ink's effusion, Let me propose an healing scheme, And sail along the middle stream; For, Dick, if we could reconcile
Old Aristotle with Gassendus, How many would admire our toil! And yet how few would comprehend us! "Here, Richard, let my scheme commence;
Oh! may my words be lost in sense! While pleas'd Thalia deigns to write The slips and bounds of Alma's flight. "My simple system shall suppose That Alma enters at the toes;
« PreviousContinue » |