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Of thefe 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 lefs pleating, tho' lefs glorious care;
To fave the powder from too rude a gaie,
Nor let th' imprifon'd effences exhale;

To draw fresh colours from the vernal flow'rs;
To fteal from rainbows, ere they drop in fhow'rs,
A brighter wash; to curl their waving hairs,
Afit their blushes, and infpire their airs;
Nay oft, in dreams, invention we bestow,
To change a flounce, or add a furbelow.

This day black omens threat the brighteft fair
That e'er deferv'd a watchful fpirit's care;
Some dire difafter, or by force, or flight;
But what, or where, the fates have wrapt in night.
Whether the nymph fhall 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 mifs a masquerade;
Or lofe her heart, or necklace, at a ball;
Or whether Heaven has doom'd that Shock muft
Hafte then, ye fpirits! to your charge repair:
The flutt'ring fan be Zephyretta's care;
The drops to thee, Brillante, we confign;
And, Momentilla, let the watch be thine;
Do thou, Crifpiffa, tend her fav rite Lock;
Ariel himself shall be the guard of Shock.

[fall.

To fifty chofen Sylphs, of special note, We trust th' important charge, the Petticoat: Oft have we known that feven-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 fharp vengeance foon o'ertake his fins, Be ftopp'd in vials, or transfix'd with pins; Or plung'd in lakes of bitter washes lie, Or wedg'd whole ages in a bodkin's eye: Gums and pomatums fhall his flight reftrain, While clogg'd he beats his filken wings in vain; Or alum ftyptics with contracting pow'r Shrink his thin effence like a fhrivell'd flow'r: Or, as Ixion fix'd, the wretch thall feel The giddy motion of the whirling mill; In fumes of burning chocolate fhall glow, And tremble at the fea that froths below!

He fpoke; the fpirits from the fails defcend; Some, orb in orb, around the nymph extend; Some thrid the mazy ringlets of her hair; Some hang upon the pendants of her ear; With beating hearts the dire event they wait, Anxious, and trembling for the birth of Fate.

CANTO III.

CLOSE by thofe meads, for ever crown'd with flow'rs,

Where Thames with pride furveys his rifing tow'rs, There ftands a structure of majestic frame, [name. Which from the neighb'ring Hampton takes its

Here Britain's ftatefmen oft the fall foredoom
Of foreign tyrants, and of nymphs at home;
Here thou, great Anna! whom three realms obey,
Doft fometimes counsel take, and fometimes tea.
Hither the heroes and the nymphs refort,
To tatte awhile the pleasures of a court;
In various talk th' inftructive hours they pafs'd**,
Who gave the ball, or paid the vifit laft;
One fpeaks the glory of the British Queen,
And one defcribes a charming Indian fcreen;
A third interprets motions, looks, and eyes;
At ev'ry word a reputation dies.

| Snuff, or the fan, fupply each paufe of chat;
With finging, laughing, ogling, and all that.

Meanwhile, declining from the noon of day, The fun obliquely fhoots his burning ray; The hungry judges foon the fentence fign, And wretches hang, that jurymen may dine; The merchant from th' Exchange returns in peace, And the long labours of the toilet ceafe. Belinda now, whom thirft of fame invites, Burns to encounter two advent'rous knights At ombre fingly to decide their doom; And fwells her breaft with conquefts yet to come. Straight the three bands prepare in arms to join, Each band the number of the facred nine. Soon as the fpreads her hand, th' aëtial guard Defcend, and fit on each important card: Firft Ariel perch'd upon a matadore, Then each according to the rank they bore; For Sylphs, yet mindful of their ancient race, Are, as when women, wondrous fond of place.

Behold, four kings in majefty rever'd, With hoary whiskers and a forky beard; And four fair queens whofe hands fuftain a flow'r, Th' expreffive emblem of their fofter pow'r; Four knaves in garbs fuccinct, a trusty band, Caps on their heads, and halberts in their hand; And party-colour'd troops, a fhining train, Drawn forth to combat on the velvet plain.

The skilful nymph reviews her force with care: Let Spades be trumps! fhe faid, and trumps they

were.

Now move to war her fable matadores,
In fhow like leaders of the fwarthy Moors.
Spadillio firft, unconquerable lord!

Led off two captive trumps, and fwept the board.
As many more Manillio forc'd to yield,
And march'd a victor from the verdant field.
Him Bafto follow'd, but his fate more hard
Gain'd but one trump, and one Plebeian card.
With his broad fabre next, a chief in years,
The hoary Majefty of Spades appears,
Puts forth one manly leg, to fight reveal'd,
The reft his many-colour'd robe conceal'd.
The rebel Knave, who dares his prince engage,
Proves the juft victim of his royal rage. [threw,
E'en mighty Pam, that Kings and Queens o'er-
And now'd down armies in the fights of Loo,
Sad chance of war! now deftitute of aid,
Falls undiftinguish'd by the victor Spade!

VARIATION.

In various talk the cheerful hours they pafs'd, Of, who was bit, or who capotted laft.

Thus

Thus far both armies to Belinda yield; Now to the Baron fate inclines the field. His warlike Amazon her hoft invades, Th'imperial confort of the crown of Spades. The Club's black tyrant first her victim died, Spite of his haughty mien, and barb'rous pride: What boots the regal circle on his head; His giant limbs, in ftate unwieldy spread; That long behind he trails his pompous robe, And, of all monarchs, only grafps the globe?

The Baron now his Diamonds pours apace; Th'embroider'd King who fhews but half his face, And his refulgent Queen, with pow'rs combin'd, Of broken troops an easy conquest find. Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, in wild diforder feen, With throngs promifcuous ftrow the level green. Thus when difpers'd a routed army runs, Of Afia's troops, and Afric's fable fons, With like confufion diff'rent nations fly, Of various habit, and of various dye; The pierc'd battalions difunited fall

In heaps on heaps; one fate o'erwhelms them all.
The Knave of Diamonds tries his wily arts,
And wins (oh shameful chance!) the Queen of
Hearts.

At this, the blood the virgin's cheek forfook;
A livid palenefs fpreads o'er all her look;
She fees, and trembles at th' approaching ill,
Juft in the jaws of ruin, and Codille.
And now (as oft in fome diftemper'd state)
On one nice trick depends the gen'ral fate.
An Ace of Hearts fieps forth: the King, unfeen,
Lurk'd in her hand, and mourn'd his captive
Queen:

He fprings to vengeance with an eager pace,
And falls like thunder on the proftrate Ace.
The Nymph exulting fills with fhouts the sky;
The walls, the woods, and long canals reply.

O thoughtless mortals! ever blind to fate, Too foon dejected, and too foon elate. Sudden thefe honours fhall be fnatch'd away, And curs'd for ever this victorious day. For, lo! the board with cups and fpoons is crown'd, The berries crackle, and the mill turns round: On fhining altars of Japan they raise The filver lamp; the fiery fpirits blaze: From filver spouts the grateful liquors glide, While China's earth receives the fmoking tide: At once they gratify their fcent and taste, And frequent cups prolong the rich repast. Straight hover round the Fair her airy band: Some, as the fipp'd, the fuming liquor fann'd; Some o'er her lap their careful plumes difplay'd, Trembling, and confcious of the rich brocade. Coffee (which makes the politician wife, And fee thro' all things with his half-fhut eyes) Sent up in vapours to the Baron's brain New ftratagems, the radiant Lock to gain. Ah ceafe, rafh youth! defift ere 'tis too late, Fear the juft Gods, and think of Scylla's fate!

Chang'd to a bird, and sent to flit in air,
She dearly pays for Nifus' injur'd hair!

But when to mischief mortals bend their will,
How foon they find fit inftruments of ill!
Just then Clariffa drew, with tempting grace,
A two-edg'd weapon from her fhining cafe:
So Ladies, in romance, affift their Knight,
Prefent the fpear, and arm him for the fight.
He takes the gift with rev'rence, and extends
The little engine on his fingers ends;
This juft behind Belinda's neck he spread,
As o'er the fragrant fteam fhe bends her head **.
Swift to the Lock a thousand Sprites repair,
A thousand wings, by turns, blow back the hair;
And thrice they twitch'd the diamond in her ear;
Thrice fhe look'd back,and thrice the fee drew near.
Juft in that inftant, anxious Ariel fought
The clofe receffes of the Virgin's thought:
As on the nofegay in her breaft reclin'd,
He watch'd th' ideas rifing in her mind,
Sudden he view'd, in fpite of all her art,
An earthly Lover lurking at her heart.
Amaz'd, confus'd, he found his pow'r expir'd;
Resign'd to fate, and with a figh retir'd.

The Peer now fpreads the glitt 'ring forfex wide, T'inclofe the Lock; now joins it to divide. Ev'n then, before the fatal engine clos'd, A wretched Sylph too fondly interpos'd; Fate urg'd the theers, and cut the Sylph in twain, But airy fubftance foon unites again : The meeting points the facred hair diffever From the fair head, for ever, and for ever!

Then flash'd the living lightning from her eyes, And fcreams of horror rend th' affrighted skies. Not louder fhricks to pitying heaven are caft When husbands or when lapdogs breathe their last; Or when rich China veffels, fallen from high, In glitt'ring duft and painted fragments lie!

Let wreaths of triumph now my temples twine,. The Victor cried; the glorious prize is mine! While fish in ftreams, or birds delight in air, Or in a coach and fix the British Fair, As long as Atalantis fhall be read, Or the fmall pillow grace a Lady's bed; While vifits shall be paid on folemn days, When num'rous wax-lights in bright order blaze; While nymphs take treats, or affignations give, So long my honour, name, and praise fhall live! What Time would spare, from Steel receives its And monuments, like men, fubmit to fate! [date, Steel could the labour of the Gods destroy, And strike to duft th' imperial tow'rs of Troy; Steel could the works of mortal pride confound, And hew triumphal arches to the ground. What wonder then, fair Nymph! thy hairs fhould The conq'ring force of unrefifted steel? [feel

CANTO IV.

BUT anxious cares the penfive nymphopprefs'd, And fecret paffions labour'd in her breast.

VARIATION.

As o'er the fragrant steam she bends her head, First he expands the glitt'ring forfex wide T'inclofe the Lock; then joins it to divide

The meeting points the facred hair diffever From the fair head, for ever and for ever

Not

Not youthful kings in battle feiz'd alive,
Not fcornful virgins who their charms furvive,
Not ardent lovers robb'd of all their bliss,
Not ancient ladies when refus'd a kifs,
Not tyrants fierce that unrepenting die,
Not Cynthia when her mantua's pinn'd awry,
E'er felt fuch rage, refentment, and defpair,
As thou, fad Virgin! for thy ravifh'd Hair.
Forthat fad moment, when the Sylphs withdrew,
And Ariel weeping from Belinda flew,
Umbriel, a dusky, melancholy fprite,
As ever fullied the fair face of light,
Down to the central earth, his proper scene,
Repair'd, to fearch the gloomy cave of Spleen.
Swift on his footy pinions flits the Gnome,
And in a vapour reach'd the dismal dome.
No cheerful breeze this fullen region knows;
The dreaded Eaft is all the wind that blows.
Here, in a grotto fhelter'd clofe from air,
And screen'd in shades from day's detefted glare,
She fighs for ever on her penfive bed,
Pain at her fide, and Megrim at her head.
Two handmaids wait the throne; alike in place,
But diffring far in figure and in face.
Here ftood Ill-nature, like an ancient maid,
Her wrinkled form in black and white array'd;
With store of pray'rs for mornings, nights, and

noons,

Her hand is fill'd; her bofom with lampoons.
There Affectation, with a fickly mien,
Shews in her cheek the roses of eighteen;
Practis'd to lifp, and hang the head afide,
Faints into airs, and languifhes with pride;
On the rich quilt finks with becoming woe,
Wrapt in a gown, for sickness, and for fhow.
The fair ones feel such maladies as these,
When each new night-drefs gives a new disease.
A conftant vapour o'er the palace flies,
Strange phantoms rifing as the mifts arise;
Dreadful as hermits dreams in haunted shades,
Or bright as vifions of expiring maids:
Now glaring fiends, and inakes on rolling fpires,
Pale fpectres, gaping tombs, and purple fires;
Now lakes of liquid gold, Elyfian scenes,
And crystal domes, and angels in machines.

Unnumber'd throngs on ev'ry fide are seen
Of bodies chang'd to various forms by Spleen.
Here living tea-pots stand, one arm held out,
One bent; the handle this, and that the spout:
A pipkin there, like Homer's tripod, walks;
Here fighs a jar, and there a goofe-pye talks;
Men prove with child, as pow'rful fancy works;
And maids, turn'd bottles, call aloud for corks.
Safe pafs'd the Gnome thro' this fantastic band,
A branch of healing fpleenwort in his hand:
Then thus addrefs'd the Pow'r :-Hail, wayward
Queen!

Who rule the fex to fifty from fifteen:
Parent of vapours, and of female wit,
Who give th' hyfteric or poetic fit;

On various tempers act, by various ways,
Make fome take phyfic, others fcribble plays;
Who cause the proud their vifits to delay,
And fend the godly in a pet to pray.

A Nymph there is that all thy pow'r difdains,
And thoufands more in equal mirth maintains.
But, oh! if e'er thy Gnome could fpoil a grace,
Or raise a pimple on a beauteous face,
Like citron-waters matrons checks inflame,
Or change complexions at a lofing game;
If e'er with airy horns I planted heads,
Or rumpled petticoats, or tumbled beds,
Or caus'd fufpicion when no foul was rude,
Or difcompos'd the head-drefs of a prude,
Or e'er to coftive lapdog gave difeafe
Which not the tears of brighteft eyes could ease;
Hear me, and touch Belinda with chagrin:
That fingle act gives half the world the spleen.
The Goddess, with a difcontented air,
Seems to reject him, tho' fhe grants his pray'r.
A wondrous bag with both her hands fhe binds,
Like that where once Ulyffes held the winds;
There the collects the force of female lungs,
Sighs, fobs, and paffions, and the war of tongues.
A vial next fhe fills with fainting fears,
Soft forrows, melting griefs, and flowing tears.
The Gnome rejoicing bears her gifts away,
Spreads his black wings, and flowly mounts to day.

Sunk in Thaleftris' arms the Nymph he found,
Her eyes dejected, and her hair unbound.
Full o'er their heads the fwelling bag he rent,
And all the Furies iffued at the vent.
Belinda burns with more than mortal ire,
And fierce Thaleftris fans the rifing fire.
O wretched maid! fhe spread her hands, and cried,
(While Hampton's echoes, wretched maid! re-
Was it for this you took fuch conftant care [plied)
The bodkin, comb, and effence, to prepare?
For this your Locks in paper durance bound,
For this with tort'ring irons wreath'd around?
For this with fillets ftrain'd your tender head,
And bravely bore the double loads of lead!
Gods! fhall the ravisher difplay your hair,
While the fops envy, and the ladies ftaré !
Honour forbid! at whofe unrivall'd fhrine
Eafe, pleasure, virtue, all our fex refign.
Methinks already I your tears furvey,
Already hear the horrid things they fay;
Already fee you a degraded toaft,
And all your honour in a whifper loft!
How fhall I, then, your helpless fame defend
Twill then be infamy to feem your friend!
And fhall this prize, th' ineftimable prize,
Expos'd thro' cryftal to the gazing eyes,
And heighten'd by the diamond's circling rays,
On that rapacious hand for ever blaze?
Sooner fhall grafs in Hyde-park Circus grow,
And wits take lodgings in the found of Bow;
Sooner let earth, air, fea, to chaos fall;

Men, monkeys, lapdogs, parrots, perish all!

VARIATION.

While her rack'd foul repofe and peace requires, The fierce Thalestris fans the rifing fires.

She

She faid; then raging to Sir Plume repairs, And bids her beau demand the precious hairs (Sir Plume of amber fnuff-box juttly vain, And the nice conduct of a clouded canc): With earnest eyes, and round unthinking face, He first the inuff-box open'd, then the cafe, And thus broke out-" My Lord, why, what the "devil! ["be civil! "Z-ds! damn the Lock! 'fore Gad, you muft "Plague on't! 'tis paft a jeft-nay, prithee, pox! "Give her the hair !"-he spoke, and rapp'd his

box.

It grieves me much (replied the Peer again) Who fpeaks fo well thould ever speak in vain; But by this Lock, this facred Lock, I swear (Which never more fhall join its parted hair; Which never more its honours fhall renew, Clipp'd from the lovely head where late it grew), That while my noftrils draw the vital air, This hand, which won it, thall for ever wear. He fpoke, and fpeaking in proud triumph fpread The long-contended honours of her head. But Umbriel, hateful Gnome! forbears not fo; He breaks the vial whence the forrows flow. Then, fee! the nymph in beauteous grief appears, Her eyes half-languithing, half-drown'd in tears; On her heav'd bolom hung her drooping head, Which with a figh fhe rais'd, and thus the faid: For ever curs'd be this detefted day, Which fnatch'd my beft, my fav'rite curl away! Happy, ah ten times happy, had I been, If Hampton-Court thefe eyes had never feen! Yet am not I the first miftaken maid By love of courts to num'rous ills betray'd. Oh had I rather unadmir'd remain'd In fome lone ifle, or diftant northern land; Where the gilt chariot never marks the way, Where none learn Ombre, none e'er tafte bohea! There kept my charms conceal'd from mortal eye, Like roles that in defarts bloom and die. What mov'd my mind with youthful lords to roam? O had I ftay'd, and faid my pray'rs at home! 'Twas this the morning omens feem'd to tell: Thrice from my trembling hand the patch-box fell; The tott'ring China fhook without a wind; Nay Poll fat mute, and Shock was moft unkind! A Sylph too warn'd me of the threats of Fate In myftic vifions, now believ'd too late! See the poor remnants of thefe flighted hairs! My hands fhall rend what ev'n thy rapine fpares: Thefe, in two fable ringlets taught to break, Once gave new beauties to the fnowy neck; The filter lock now fits uncouth, alone, And in its fellow's fate forefees its own; Uncurl'd it hangs, the fatal fheers demands, And tempts once more thy facrilegious hands. Oh hadft thou, cruel! been content to feize Hairs lefs in fight, or any hairs but these !

CANTO V.

SHE faid the pitying audience meit in tears; Put Fate and Jove had stopp'd the Baron's cars. Jn vain Thaleftris with reproach affails; For who can move when fair Belinda fails?

Not half fo fix'd the Trojan could remain,
While Anna begg'd and Dido rag'd in vain.
Then grave Clariffa graceful wav'd her fan;
Silence enfued, and thus the nymph began:

Say, why are beauties prais'd and honour'd moft,
The wife man's patlion, and the vain man's toast
Why dork'd with all that land and fea afford,
Why angels call'd, and angel-like ador'd? [beaux,
Why round our coaches crowd the white-glov'd
Why bows the fide-box from its inmost rows?
How vain are all these glories, all our pains,
Unlefs good fenfe preferve what beauty gains:
That men may fay, when we the front-box
grace,
Behold the first in virtue as in face!
Oh! if to dance all night, and drefs all day,
Charm'd the fmall-pox, or chas'd old age away,
Who would not fcorn what housewife's cares
produce,

Or who would learn one earthly thing of ufe?
To patch, nay ogle, might become a faint;
Nor could it fure be fuch a fin to paint.
But fince, alas! frail beauty muft decay;
Curl'd or uncurl'd, fince locks will turn to grey;
Since painted, or not painted, all thall fade;
And the who fcorns a man muft die a maid;
What then remains, but well our pow'r to use,
And keep good-humour still, whate'er we lose?
And trust me, dear! good-humour can prevail,
When airs, and flights, and fcreams, and fcolding
fail.

Beauties in vain their pretty eyes may
roll;
Charms ftrike the fight, but merit wins the foul.
So fpoke the dame, but no applaufe enfued;
Belinda frown'd, Thaleftris call'd her Prude.
To arms, to arms! the fierce Virago cries,
And fwift as lightning to the combat flies.
All fide in parties, and begin th' attack :·
Fans clap, filks ruftle, and tough whalebonescrack;
Heroes and heroines fhouts confus'dly rife,
And bafs and treble voices ftrike the fkies.
No common weapons in their hands are found;
Like Gods they fight, nor dread a mortal wound.

So when bold Homer makes the Gods engage,
And heavenly breafts with human paffions rage,
'Gainft Pallas, Mars; Latona, Hermes arms;
And all Olympus rings with loud alarms;
Jove's thunder roars, heaven trembles all around,
Blue Neptune ftorms, the bellowing deeps refound:
Earth fhakes her nodding tow'rs, the ground gives
And the pale ghosts start at the flafh of day! [way,
Triumphant Umbriel on a fconce's height
Clapp'd his glad wings, and fat to view the fight:
Propt on their bodkin fpears, the fprites furvey
The growing combat, or affift the fray.

While thro' the prefs enrag'd Thaleftris flies, And fcatters deaths around from both her eyes, A beau and witling perifh'd in the throng; One died in metaphor, and one in fong. "O cruel nymph! a living death I bear,” Cried Dapperwit, and funk befide his chair. A mournful glance Sir Fopling upwards caft; "Thofe eyes are made fo killing!”—was his last. Thus on Mæander's flow'ry margin lies Th' expiring Swan, and as he fings he dies.

When bold Sir Plume had drawn Clariffa down, Chloe ftepp'd in, and kill'd him with a frown; She fmil'd to fee the doughty hero flain; But, at her fmile, the beau reviv'd again.

Now Jove fufpends his golden fcales in air, Weighs the men's wits against the lady's hair; The doubtful beam long nods from fide to fide; At length the wits mount up, the hairs fubfide.

See fierce 'Belinda on the Baron flies, With more than ufual lightning in her eyes: Nor fear'd the chief th' unequal fight to try, Who fought no more than on his foe to die. But this bold lord, with manly strength endued, Site with one finger and a thumb fuodued: Juft where the breath of life his noftrils drew, A charge of fauff the wily virgin threw; The Gnomes direct, to ev'ry atom just, The pungent grains of titillating duft. Sudden with farting tears each eye o'erflows, And the high dome re-echoes to his nose.

Now mect thy fate, incens'd Belinda cried, And drew a deadly bodkin from her fide (The fame, his ancient perfonage to deck, Her great-great-grandfire wore about his neck, In three feal rings; which, after melted down, Form'd a vaft buckle for his widow's gown: Her infant grandame's whiftle next it grew, The bells the jingled, and the whistle blew ; Then in a bodkin grac'd her mother's hairs, Which long the wore, and now Belinda wears). Boaft not my fall, he cried, infulting foe! Thou by fome other fhalt be laid as low: Nor think, to die dejects my lofty mind; All that I dread is leaving you behind! Rather than fo, ah let me ftill furvive, And burn in Cupid's flames-but burn alive. Reftore the Lock! fhe cries; and all around Reftore the Lock! the vaulted roofs rebound. Not fierce Othello in fo loud a strain Roar'd for the handkerchief that caus'd his pain. But fee how oft ambitious aims are crofs'd, And chiefs contend till all the prize is loft! The Lock, obtain'd with guilt, and kept with pain, In ev'ry place is fought, but fought in vain: With fuch a prize no mortal mutt be bleft, So Heaven decrees! with Heaven who can conteft? Some thought it mounted to the Lunar fphere, Since all things loft on earth are treafur'd there. There heroes wits are kept in pond'rous vales, And beaux in fnuff-boxes and tweezer-cafes. There broken vows and death-bed alms are found, And lovers hearts with ends of ribband bound; The courtier's promifes, and fick man's pray'rs, The fmiles of harlots, and the tears of heirs, Cages for gnats, and chains to yoke a flea, Dried butterflies, and tomes of cafuistry.

But truft the Mufe-the faw it upward rife,
Tho' mark'd by none but quick poetic eyes :
So Rome's great founder to the heavens with-
drew,

To Proculus alone confefs'd in view.
A fudden star, it fhot thro' liquid air,
And drew behind a radiant trail of hair.
Not Berenice's Locks first rofe fo bright,
The heavens befpangling with dishevell'd light.

The Sylphs behold it kindling as it flies,
And pleas'd purfue its progrefs thro' the skies.
This the Beau-monde fhall from the Mall fur-
And hail with mufic its propitious ray; [vey,
This the bleft Lover fhall for Venus take,
And fend up vows from Rofamonda's lake.
This Partridge foon fhall view in cloudlefs skies,
When next he looks thro' Galilæo's eyes;
And hence th' egregious wizard fhall foredoom
The fate of Louis, and the fall of Rome..

Then ceafe, bright Nymph! to mourn thy ravish'd hair,

Which adds new glory to the fhining sphere!
Not all the treffes that fair head can boast,
Shall draw fuch envy as the Lock you lost.
For, after all the murders of your eye,
When, after millions flain, yourself shall die;
When those fair funs fhall fet, as fet they muft,
And all thofe treffes fhall be laid in duft;
This Lock the Mufe fhall confecrate to fame,
And 'midst the stars inscribe Belinda's name.

$9. Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady. POP.E.

WHAT beck'ning ghoft, along the moonlight fhade,

Invites my fteps, and points to yonder glade ?
'Tis the but why that bleeding bofom gor'd
Why dimly gleams the vifionary fword?
Oh ever beauteous, ever friendly! tell,
Is it in heaven a crime to love too well?
To bear too tender or too firm a heart,
To act a lover's or a Roman's part?
Is there no bright reverfion in the fky
For those who greatly think, or bravely die?

Why bade ye elfe, ye pow'rs! her foul aspire
Above the vulgar flight of low defire?
Ambition firft fprung from your bleft abodes,
The glorious fault of angels and of gods !
Thence to their images on earth it flows,
And in the breafts of kings and heroes glows.
Moft fouls, 'tis true, but peep out once an age,
Dull fullen pris'ners in the body's cage;
Dim lights of life, that burn a length of years,
Ufelefs, unfeen, as lamps in fepulchres;
Like caftern kings, a lazy ftate they keep,
And, close confin'd in their own palace, fleep.
From thefe perhaps (ere Nature bade her die)
Fate fnatch her early to the pitying sky.
As into air the purer fpirits flow,
And fep'rate from their kindred dregs below,
So flew the foul to its congenial place,
Nor left one virtue to redeem her race.

But thou, falfe guardian of a charge too good, Thou mean deferter of thy brother's blood! See on thefe ruby lips the trembling breath, Thefe checks, now fading at the blaft of death; Cold is that breaft which warm'd the world before, And thofe love-darting eyes must roll no more. Thus, if eternal Juftice rules the ball, Thus fhall your wives and thus your children fall: On all the fine a fudden vengeance waits, And frequent hearfes fhall befiege your gates; There paifengers fhall ftand; and, pointing, fay (While the long fun'rals blacken all the way),

Lof

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