$201. The Library.

BISHOP.

In such lov'd spot (if fortune deign'd to smile),

name:

Calm let me live, and ev'ry care beguile; IL! Contemplation! grave majestic dame, Hold converse with the great of ev'ry time, In thee glad Science greets a parent's The learn'd of ev'ry class-the good of ev'ry [strain, clime. e is each art of speech, each rapt'rous Graces lead, the Virtues fill thy train! om all of evil, life or dreads or knows, cal trifles, and its fancied woes, ad thy votary! pensive, yet serene, some lone seat, thy favorite, hallow'd

There better still, as wiser grow; and there
(Tis just ambition, tho' 'tis hopeless pray')
Still found, like them, on real worth my claim,
And catch their merit to partake their faine.

scene,

[ploy,

re his calm breast may every pow'r ein-
self-born peace and independant joy.
id see! the Library my steps invites ;
tht with true profit and with pure
lights:

de

§ 202. Water.

right apisov vowe Pindar sings,

name,

That simple Water is the best of things, Would Water-poets were the best of bards! But, Oh! that chance is not upon the cards! Vain were th' attempt such logic to apply; My verse would give my arguments the lie.Yet what I can I will:-not be whose lyre, theme of modern praise, and early fame; Leads on th' Aonian mount the sister choir, , statesmen, sages, lov'd, rever'd, ad-(Tho' all the inspiring potions he explore, mir'd, [fr'd, From Water up to Nectar) can do more. m sense enlighten'd, and whom glory From earth's deep womb-for earth their store to my view, still sweet, still great, still suppliesbold,

Thro' countless pores the moist effluvia rise,
Distinct below, where oozing strata shed
Drop after drop; till from their humid bed
Th' emergent vapours steam; and as they go,
Condense, incorporate, extend, and flow.
transport-Thanks, kind Philosophy! whose lore pro-

to a feast, which elegance and love,
nan must relish, and the heart approve.
w awful is the spot!-each honour'd

in pow'r, and active, as of old.
wasteful time! here, here, thy rage is
vain!

!fond boaster! Genius scorns thy reign.
poet here, whom gen'rous
rais'd,

es coeval with the worth he prais'd.
Is exalted gave his breast to glow,
y bade him sympathise with woe;
etly soft he chose the lover's part,
th to satire urg'd his honest heart;
rse still lives, his sentiment still warms,
re still warbles, and his wit still charms.
by the past to form the rising age,
ave historian spreads his ample page;
faithful care preserves the hero's fame,
ins to infamy the traitor's name;
: records bid fair virtue ever live,
are immortal in the life they give.
the firm patriot, on whose winning
tongue
ow-soft dews of mild persuasion hung,
new to lead in spirit, and control
ctile passions, and usurp the soul;
eads, still rules; now lively, now severe,
the purpose, or commands the tear.
the firm friends of science, and of inan,
aught new arts, or open'd nature's plan;
ach improv'd, or drew from both com-
bin'd,

BISHOP.

to the body, vigour to the mind; ade mankind to nobler aims arise, good, more just, more happy, or more wise; deathless, as the bliss their toil procur'd, mem'ry pays the debt-desert cnsur'd.

found

Thus helps me bring my Water above ground!
Henceforth to trace it, little will suffice,
Obvious to common sense, and common eyes.
If in the mental calm of joy serene,
I seek, thro' faney's aid, the Sylvan scene,
There Water meets me, by the pebbled side
Of sedgy-fringed brooks, expanding wide
In dimpled eddies-or with murmurs shri!!.
Running sweet unisons, where responsive till
In cadence meet, impending aspens hail
Heav'n's mildest breath, soft quiv'ring to the
gale.

Too charming visions of intense delight!
Why? whither vanish ye? Her eagle flight
Fancy renews; and full athwart mine eye
Throws an enormous cataract :--from on high,
In awful stillness deep'ning Waters glide,
Een to the rude rock's ridge abrupt, then slide
Pond'rous down, down, the void; and pitch
below
[know
In thunders.-Dash'd to foam, awhile they
No certain current; till again combin'd,
In boiling tides along the waves they wind.
Oh! bear me hence, where Water's force dis-
plays
More useful energy; where classic praise
Adorns the names of chiefs long dead, who
brought
[taught
Thro' channel'd rocks concent'ring streams, and
One aqueduct divided lands to lave,
And hostile realms to rink, one common wäre.

But

is sets her beauty in the fairest light, *d shews each grace in full perfection bright; en, as she turns around, from every part, se porcupines, she sends a piercing dart: vain, alas! the fond spectator tries shun the pleasing dangers of the eyes, Parthian-like, she wounds as sure behind th flowing curls, on ivory neck reclin'd. ether her steps the minuet's mazes trace, the slow Louvre's more majestic pace; ether the rigadoon employs her care, prightly jigg displays the nimble fair; ev'ry step new beauties we explore, I worship now what we admir'd before. when Eneas, in the Tyrian grove, Venus met, the charining queen of love, beauteous goddess, whilst unmov'd she To make the finish'd piece completely fine; stood, [wood; When least adorna'd, another steals our hearts, 'd some fair nymph, the guardian of the And rich in native beauties, wants not arts. when she mov'd, at once her heavenly In some are such resistless graces found, mien, queen; That in all dresses they are sure to wound; graceful step, confess'd bright Beauty's Their perfect forms all foreign aids despise, glories o'er her form each moment rise, And gems but borrow lustre from their eyes. all the goddess opens to his eyes. [way; Let the fair nymph, in whose plump check is ow haste, my muse, pursue thy destin'd it dresses best become the dancer say; rules of dress forget not to impart, sson precious to the dancing art.

e soldier's scarlet, glowing from afar,
s that his bloody occupation's war;
st the lawn band, beneath the double chin,
ainly speaks divinity within; [snows,
milk-maid safe through driving rains and
p'd in her cloak, and propp'd on patiens

And now, ye youthful fair, I sing to you,
With pleasing smiles my useful labors view:
For you the silk-worms fiue-wrought-webs
display,

And lab'ring spin their little lives away;
For
you bright gems with radiant colours glow,
Fair as the dies that paint the heavenly bow ;.
For you the sea resigns its pearly store,
And earth unlocks her mines of treasur'd ore;
In vain yet nature thus her gifts bestows,
Unless yourselves with art those gifts dispose.
Yet think not, nymphs, that in the glit'ring
ball,

One form of dress prescrib'd can suit with all;
Que brightest shines when wealth and art
combine

oes;

st the soft belle, immur'd in velvet chair,
but the silken shoe, and trusts her bosom
are.
[warm,

e woolley drab, and English broad-cloth
I well the horseman from the beating

torm;

ad the dancer with too great a weight,
all from every pore the dewy sweat.
r let him his active limbs display
ablet thin, or glossy paduasoy.

unwieldy pride his shoulders press,
ry, light, and easy be his dress;
be his yielding sole, and low his heel,
ill he nimbly bound, and safely wheel.
let not precepts known my verse prolong,
>ts which use will better teach than song;
hy should I the gallant spark command,
clean white gloves to fit his ready hand?
his fob enlivening spirits wear,
ungent salts to raise the fainting fair?
It the sword that dangles at his side,

from its silken bandage be unty'd? should my lays the youthful tribe advise, owy clouds from out their wigs arise? I their partners mourn their laces spoil'd, ining silks with greasy powder soil'd. ed I, sure, bid prudent youths beware, th erected tongues their buckles stare: inted steel shall oft their stocking rend, the approaching petticoat offend.

seeu

A constant blush, be clad in cheerful green;
In such a dress the sportive sea-nymphs go,
So in their grassy beds fresh roses blow:
The lass whose skin is like the hazel brown,
With brighter yellow should o'ercome her own;
While maids grown pale with sickness or

despair,

The sable's mournful dye should chuse to wear:
So the pale moon still shines with purest light,
Cloth'd in the dusky mantle of the night.

aris,

But far from you be all those treach'rous
[hearts;
That wound with painted charms unwary
Dancing's a touchstone that true beauty tries,
Nor suffers charins that nature's hand denies:-
Tho' for a while we may with wonder view
The rosy blush and skin of lovely hue, [glow,
Yet soon the dance will cause the cheeks to
And melt the waxen lips and neck of snow.
So shine the fields in icy fetters bound,
Whilst frozeu gems bespangle all the ground;
Thro' the clear crystal of the glitt'ring snow,
With scarlet dye the blushing hawthorns
glow.

O'er all the plains unnumber'd glories rise,
And a new bright creation charms our eyes,
Tül Zephyr breathes, then all at once decay.
The splendid scenes, their glories fade away;
The fields resign the beauties not their own,
And all their snowy charins run trickling down.

Dare I in such momentous points advise,
I should condemn the hoop's enormous size.
Ofills I speak by long experience found:
Oft have I trod th' unmeasurable round,
And mont'd my shins bruis'd black with

many a wound.

Nor should the tighten'd stays, too straitly laced
In whalebone bondage, gall the slender waist;
Nor waving lappets should the dancing fair,
Nor ruffles edged with dangling fringes wear;
Oft

What daring hand shall e'er attempt to tell
The powers that in this little weapon dwell?
What verse can c'er explain its various parts,
Its numerous uses, motions, charms, and arts?
Its painted folds, that oft extended wide,
Th' afflicted fair one's blubber'd beauties hide,
When secret sorrows her sad bosom fill,
If Strephon is unkind, or Shock is ill:

Its sticks, on which her eyes dejected pore,
And pointing fingers number o'er and o'er,
When the kind virgin burns with secret shame,
Dies to consent, yet fears to own her flame;
Its shake triumphant, its victorious clap,
Its angry flutter, and its wanton tap.

[sing, Forbear, my muse, th' extensive theme to Nor trust in such a flight thy tender wing; Rather do you in humble lines proclaim, From whence this engine took its form and

stay, rash pair, not yet untaught ad

But

vance,

st hear the muse ere you attempt to dance.
y art directed, o'er the foaming tide
ure from rocks the painted vessels glide;
art the chariot scours the dusty plain, [rein;
rings at the whip, and hears the strait'ning
art our bodies must obedient prove,
er we hope with graceful ease to move.
ong was the dancing art unfix'd and free,
ace lost in error and uncertainty-
precepts did it mind, or rules obey,
ev'ry master taught a diff'rent way:
ice, ere each new-born dance was fully tried,
lovely product, e'en in blooming, dy'd.
o' various hands in wild confusion toss'd,
teps were alter'd, and its beauties lost;
Faillet, the pride of Gallia, rose,
did the dance in characters compose;
lovely grace by certain marks he taught,
every step in lasting volumes wrote:
ce o'er the world this pleasing art shall
spread,

Then, if he finds kind nature's gifts impart
Endowments proper for the dancing art,
If in himself he finds together join'd
An active body and ambitious mind,
In nimble rigadoons he may advance,
Or in the Louvre's slow majestic dance :
If these he fears to reach with easy pace,
Let him the minuet's circling mazes trace:
Is this too hard ?-this too let him forbear,
And to the country-dance confine his care.

Would you in dancing ev'ry fault avoid,
To keep true time be first your thoughts em-
ploy'd;

All other errors they in vain shall mind,
Who in this one important point offend;
For this, when now united hand in hand,
Eager to start the youthful couple stand,
Let them awhile their nimble feet restrain,
And with soft taps beat time to ev'ry strain:
So for the race prepar'd two coursers stand,
And with impatient pawings spurn the sand.

In vain a master shall employ his care,
Where nature once has fix'd a clumsy air;
Rather let such, to country sports confin'd,
Pursue the flying hare, or tim'rous hind:
Nor yet, while I the rural squire despise,
A mien effeminate would I advise;
With equal scorn I would the fop deride,
Nor let him dance-but on the woman's side.

ev'ry dance in ev'ry clime be readlistant masters shall each step be seen, mountains rise, and oceans roar between: ce with her sister arts shall Dancing claim equal right to universal fame;

[arms,

Isaac's Rigadoon shall live as long taphael's painting, or as Virgil's song. ise Nature ever with a prudent hand enses various gifts to ev'ry land, v'ry nation frugally imparts nius fit for some peculiar arts. rade the Dutch incline-the Swiss to c and verse are soft Italia's charms; ania justly glories to have found s unexplor'd, and sail'd the globe around: one will sure presume to rival France, ther she forms or executes the dance; er exalted genius 'tis we owe sprightly Rigadoon and Louvre slow; Borée, and Courant, unpractis'd long, nmortal Minuet, and the smooth Bretagne, all the dances of illustrious fame, from their native country take their name; 1 these let ev'ry ball be first begun, country-dance intre le 'till these are done. ch cautious bard ere he attempts to sing, gently flutt'ring tries his tender wing, if he finds that with uncommon fire muses all his raptur'd soul inspire, nce to heaven he soars in lofty odes, sings alone of heroes and of gods; f he trembling fears a flight so high, hen descends to softer elegy; if in elegy he can't succeed, st'ral he may tune the oaten reed. ould the dancer, ere he tries to move, care his strength, and weight, and genius ›rove;

And you, fair nymphs, avoid with equal care
A stupid dulness, and a coquet air;
Neither with eyes that ever love the ground,.
Asleep, like spinning-tops, run round and
round;

Nor yet with giddy looks, and wanton pride,
Stare all around, and skip from side to side.

True dancing, like true wit, is best express'd
By nature only, to advantage dress'd;
'Tis not a nimible bound, or caper high,
That can pretend to please a curious eye;
Good judges no such tumblers' tricks regard,
Or think them beautiful because they're hard:
'Tis not enough that ev'ry stander-by
No glaring errors in your steps can spy;
The dance and music must so nicely meet,
Each note should seem an echo to your feet;
A nameless grace must in each movement
dwell,

Which words can ne'er express, or precepts tell;
Not to be taught, but ever to be seen
In Flavia's air, and Chioe's easy mien ;
"Tis such an air that makes her thousands fall,
When Fielding dances at a birth-night ball;
Smooth as Camilla she skims o'er the plain,
And flies like her thro' clouds of heroes slain.
Now when the minuet, oft repeated o'er,
(Like all terrestrial joys) can please no more,
And ev'ry nymph, refusing to expand
Her charms, declines the circulating haud,
Then let the jovial country-dance begin,
And the loud fiddles call each straggler in;

Arte cite veloque rates remoque moventur
Arte leves currus.

+.

-Nec audit currus habenas.

Fuillet wrote the Art of Dancing by Characters, in French, since translated by Weaver.

9 D

But