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Or virgins vifited by Angel-pow'rs, [flow'rs;
With golden crowns, and wreaths of heav'nly
Hear and believe! thy own importance know,
Nor bound thy narrow views to things below.
Some fecret truths, from learned pride conceal'd,
To maids alone and children are reveal'd:
What tho' no credit doubting wits may give?
The fair and Innocent fhall ftill believe.
Know then, unnumber'd fpirits round thee fly,
The light militia of the lower fky:
Thefe, tho' unfeen, are ever on the wing,
Hang o'er the box, and hover round the ring,
Think what an equipage thou haft in air,
And view with fcorn two pages and a chair.
As now your own, our beings were of old,
And once inclos'd in woman's beauteous mould;
Thence, by a foft tranfition, we repair
From earthly vehicles to thofe of air. [fled,
Think not when woman's tranfient breath is
That all her vanities at once are dead;
Succeeding vanit es she still regards,
And tho' the plays no more, o'erlooks the cards.
Her joy in gilden chariots, when alive,
And love of Ombre, after death furvive;
For when the Fair in all their pride expire,
To their firft elements their fouls retire :
The fprites of fiery Termagants in flame
Mount up, and take a falamander's name.
Soft vielding minds to water glide away,
And fip, with nymphs, their elemental tea.
The graver prude finks downward to a gnome,
In fearch of mifchief ftill on earth to roam.
The light coquettes in fylphs aloft repair,
And fport and flutter in the fields of air.

Know further yet; whoever fair and chafte
Rejects mankind, is by fome fylph embrac'd;
For fpirits, freed from mortal laws, with ease
Affume what fexes and what fhapes they pleafe.
What guards the purity of melting maids
In courtly balls and midnight masquerades,
Safe from the treach'rous fiend the daring fpark,
The glance by day the whifper in the dark,
When kind occafion prompts their warm defires,
When music foftens, and when dancing fires?
Tis but their fylph, the wife Celestials know,
Tho' Honor is the word with men below.[ face,
Some nymphs there are, too confcious of their
For life predeftin'd to the gnomes embrace.
Thefe fwell their profpects and exalt their pride,
When offers are difdain'd, and love deny'd:
Then gay ideas crowd the vacant brain, [train,
While peers and dukes, and all their sweeping
And garters, stars, and coronets, appear,
And in foft founds, your grace falutes their ear.
"Tis thefe that early taint the female foul,
Inftruct the eyes of young coquettes to roll,
Teach infant checks a bidden blush to know,
And little hearts to flutter at a beau.
Oft, when the world imagine women stray,
The fylphs thro' myftic mazes guide their way
Thro' all the giddy circle they pursue,
And old impertinence expel by new.
What tender maid but muft a victim fall
To one man's treat, but for another's ball?

When Florio fpeaks, what virgin could withstand,
If gentle Damon did not fqueeze her hand?
With varying vanities, from ev'ry part,
They shift the moving toy-fhop of their heart;
Where wigs with wigs, with fword-knots sword-
knots strive,

Beaux banith beaux, and coaches coaches drive.
This erring mortals levity may call;
Oh blind to truth! the Sylphs contrive it all.

Of thefe am I, who thy protection claim,
A watchful fprite, and Ariel is my name.
Late as I rang'd the crystal wilds of air,
In the clear mirror of thy ruling ftar,
I faw, alas! fome dread event impend,
Ere to the main this morning fun defcend;
But Heav'n reveals not what, or how, or where:
Warn'd by the Sylph, oh, pious maid, beware!
This to difclofe is all thy guardian can :
Beware of all, but moft beware of man! [long,

He faid; when Shock, who thought she slept too Leap'd up, and wak'd his miftrefs with his tongue. 'Twas then, Belinda, if report say, true, Thy eyes firft open'd on a billet-doux; Wounds, charms, and ardors, were no fooner read,

But all the vifion vanish'd from thy head.

And now, unveil'd, the toilet ftands difplay'd, Each filver vafe in myftic order laid. First rob'd in white, the nymph intent adores, With head uncover'd, the cosmetic pow'rs: A heav'nly image in the glass appears, To that the bends, to that her eyes the rears; Th'inferior pricftefs, at her altar's fide, Trembling, begins the facred rites of pride. Unnumber'd treatures ope at once, and here The various off'rings of the world appear; From cach the nicely culls with curious toil, And decks the Goddefs with the glitt'ring spoil. This cafket India's glowing gems unlocks, And all Arabia breathes from yonder box: The tortoife here and elephant unite, Transform'd to combs, the fpeckl'd andthe white: Here files of pins extend their fhining rows, Puffs, powders, patches, bibles, billet-doux. Now awful beauty puts on all its arms; The fair each moment rifes in her charms, Repairs her fimiles, awakens ev'ry grace, And calls forth all the wonders of her face; Sees by degrees a purer blush arife, And keener lightnings quicken in her eyes. The bufy Sylphs furround their darling care; Thefe fet the head, and thofe divide the hair; Some fold the fleeve, whilft others plait the gown; And Betty's prais'd for labours not her own.

CANTO II.

NOT with more glories, in th'ethereal plain The fun first rises o'er the purpled main, Than iffuing forth, the rival of his beams Launch'd on the bofom of the filver Thames. Fair Nymphs, and well-drefs'd youths, around her But ev'ry eye was fix'd on her alone. [fhone; On her white breaft a fparkling crofs fhe wore, Which Jews might kifs, and Infidels adore.

Her lively looks a fprightly mind difclose,
Quick as her eyes, and as unfix'd as thofe :
Favours to none, to all the fmiles extends;
Oft the rejects, but never once offends.
Bright as the fun, her eyes the gazers strike,
And, like the fun, they thine on all alike.
Yet graceful cafe and fweetnefs, void of pride,
Might hide her faults, if Belles had faults to hide :
If to her fhare fome female errors fall,
Look on her face, and you'll forget 'em all.
This Nymph, to the deftruction of mankind,
Nourish'd two Locks, which graceful hung be-
In equal curls, and well confpir'd to deck [hind
With fhining ringlets the fmooth iv'ry neck.
Love in thefe labyrinths his flaves detains,
And mighty hearts are held in flender chains.
With hairy fpringes we the birds betray;
Slight lines of hair furprize the finny prey;
Fair treffes man's imperial race infnare,
And beauty draws us with a fingle hair.
Th'advent'rous Baron the bright locksadmir'd;
He faw, he wifh'd, and to the prize afpir'd.
Refolv'd to win, he meditates the way,
By force to ravish, or by fraud betray;
For when fuccefs a Lover's toil attends,
Few afk, if fraud or force attain'd his ends.
For this, ere Phoebus rofe, he had implor'd
Propitious Heav'n, and ev'ry pow'r ador'd;
But chiefly Love to Love an altar built
Of twelve vaft French Romances, neatly gilt.
There lay three garters, half a pair of gloves;
And all the trophies of his former loves :
With tender billet-doux he lights the pyre,
And breathes three am'rous fighs to raise the fire.
Then proftrate falls, and begs with ardent eyes
Soon to obtain and long poffefs the prize.
The pow'rs gave car, and granted half his pray'r;
The reft the winds difpers'd in empty air.

But now fecure the painted veffel glides, The fun-beams trembling on the floating tides, While melting music steals upon the sky, And foften'd founds along the waters die; Smooth flow the waves, the Zephyrs gently play, Belinda fmil'd, and all the world was gay. All but the Sylph-with careful thoughts oppreft; Th'impending woc fat heavy on his breaft. He fummons trait his Denizens of air; The lucid fquadrons round the fails repair; Soft o'er the fhrouds aërial whifpers breathe, That feem'd but Zephyrs to the train beneath. Some to the fun their infect-wings unfold, Waft on the breeze, or fink in clouds of gold; Tranfparent forms, too fine for mortal fight, Their fluid bodies half diffolv'd in light. Loofe to the wind their airy garments flew, Thin glittring textures of the filmy dew, Dipp'd in the richest tincture of the fkies, Where light difports in ever-mingling dyes; While every beam new tranfient colours flings, Colours that change whene'er they wave their Amid the circle on the gilded maft, [wings. Superior by the head, was Ariel plac'd; His purple pinions op'ning to the fun, He rais'd his azure wand, and thus begun :

Ye Sylphs and Sylphids, to your chief give ear:
Fays, fairies, genii, elves, and dæmons hear!
Ye know the fpheres, and various tasks affign'd
By laws eternal to th'aërial kind.

Some in the fields of pureft æther play,
And bask and whiten in the blaze of day.
Some guide the courfe of wand'ring orbs on high,
Or roll the planets thro' the boundless fky.
Some lefs refin'd, beneath the moon's pale light,
Pursue the ftars that fhoot athwart the night,
Or fuck the mists in groffer air below,
Or dip their pinions in the painted bow,
Or brew fierce tempefts on the wint'ry main,
Or o'er the glebe diftil the kindly rain.
Others, on earth o'er human race prefide,
Watch all their ways, and all their actions guide:
Of these 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 pleafing, tho' lefs glorious care;
To fave the powder from too rude e gale,
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,
Affift 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 brightest 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 honor, or her new brocade; Forget her pray'rs, or mifs a masquerade; Or lofe her heart, or necklace, at a ball; [fall. Or whether Heav'n has doom'd that Shock muft Hafte then, ye fpirits! to your charge repair : The flutt'ring fan by Zephyretta's care; The drops to thee, Brillante, we confign; And, Momentilla, let the watch be thine; Do thou, Chrifpiffa, tend her fav'rite Lock; Ariel himself fhall be the guard of Shock.

To fifty chofen Sylphs of fpecial note, We truft th'important charge, the Petticoat : Oft have we known that fevenfold fence to fail, Tho' ftiff with hoops, and arm'd with ribs of Form a ftrong line about the filver bound, [whale; And guard the wide circumference around.

Whatever fpirit, carelefs 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 eve : Gums and pomatums fhall his flight reftrain, While clogg'd he beats his filken wings in vain; Or allum ftyptics with contracting pow'r Shrink his thin effence like a fhrivell'd flow'r : Or, as Ixion fix'd, the wretch fhall 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,
[tow'rs,
Where Thames with pride furveys his rifing
There ftands aftructure 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,
Dost sometimes counsel take, and fometimes tea.
Hither the heroes and the nymphs refort,
To tafte awhile the pleafure's of a court;
In various talk th’instructive hours they past,
Who gave the ball, or paid the visit 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 brcaft with conquefts yet to come.
Strait the three bands prepare in arms to join,
Each band the number of the facred nine.
Soon as the fpreads her hand th'aërial guard
Defcend, and fit on each important card :
First Ariel, perch'd upon a matadorc;
Then each according to the rank he bore;
For Sylphs, yet mindful of their ancient race,
Are, as when women, wond'rous fond of place.
Behold, four kings in majefty rever'd,
With hoary whifkers and a forky beard;
And four fair queens whofe hands fuftain
flow'r,

;

a

Th'expreflive emblem of their fofter pow'r;
Four knaves in garbs fuccinét, a trufty 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 fkilful nymph reviews her force with care:
Let Spades be trumps! the faid, and trumps they
Now move to war her fable matadores, [were.
In fhow like leaders of the fwarthy Moors.
Spadillo 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-coloured robe conceal'd.
The Rebel Knave, who dares his prince engage,
Proves the just victim of his royal rage. [threw,
E'en mighty Pam, that Kings and Queens o'er-
And mow'd down armies in the fights of Loo,
Sad chance of war! now deftitute of aid,
Falls undiftinguifh'd by the victor Spade!

Thus far both armies to Belinda yield;
Now to the Baron fate inclines the field.
His warlike Amazon her host invades,
Th'imperial confort of the crown of Spades.
The Club's black tyrant first her victim dy'd,
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 eafy conqueft find.
Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, in wild diforder feen,
With throngs promifcuous ftrew 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 fhameful 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 fteps 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. [crown'd,

For lo! the board with cups and fpoons is The berries crackle, and the mill turns round: On fhining altars of japan they raife The filver lamp; the fiery fpirits blaze: From filver fpouts the grateful liquors glide, While China's carth receives the finoking tide: At once they gratify their fcent and tafte, Ad frequent cups prolong the rich repaft. Strait 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 conscious of the rich brocade.

Coffee

Coffee (which makes the politician wife,
And fees 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 fent to flit in air,
She dearly pays for Nifus' injur'd hair!

But when to mifchief mortals bend their will,
How foon they find fit inftruments of ill!
Just then, Clarissa 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,
And o'er the fragrant fteams fhe bends her head.
Swift to the Lock a thousand fprites repair,
A thoufand wings by turns, blow black the hair;
And thrice they twitch'd the diamond in her ear;
Thrice the look'd back, and thrice the foc drew
Juft in that inftant, anxious Ariel fought [near.
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,
Refign'd to fate, and with a figh retir'd. [wide,
The Peer now fpreads the glitt'ring forfex
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 air diffever
From the fair head for ever, and for ever!
Then flash'd the living lightning from her eyes,
And screams of horror rend th'affrighted fkies.
Not louder thricks to pitying heav'n are caft
When husbands, or when lap-dogs, breathe their

laft;

Or when rich China veffels, fall'n from high,
In glittering duft and painted fragments lie!

Let wreaths of triumph now my temples twine
(The Victor cry'd) the glerious 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 fhall 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 praife fhall live!
What Time would fpare, from Steel receives its
date,

And monuments, like men, fubmit to fate!
Steel could the labour of the Gods deftroy,
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. [feel
What wonder then fair Nymph! thy hairs fhould
The conqu'ring force of unrefifted ftcel!

CANTO IV.

BUT anxious cares the penfive nymph oppreft, And fecret paffions labour'd in her breaft. Not youthful kings in battle feiz'd alive, Not fcornful virgins who their charms furvive, Not ardent lovers robb'd of all their blifs, Not ancient ladies when refus'd a kifs, Not tyrants fierce that unrepenting dic, Not Cynthia when her mantua's pinn'd awry, E'er felt fuch rage, refentment, and defpair, As thou, fad Virgin! for thy ravish'd Hair.

For, that fad moment, when the Sylphs withAnd Ariel, weeping, from Belinda flew, [drew, Umbriel, a dusky, melancholy fprite, As ever fully'd the fair face of light, Down to the central earth, his proper feene, Repair'd, to fearch the gloomy cave of Spleen.

Swift on his footy pinions flits the Gnome, And in a vapour reach'd the difinal dome. No cheer'd breeze the fullen region knows; The dreaded Eaft is all the wind that blows. Here, in a grotto, fhelter'd clofe from air, And fereen'd in fhades 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 diff'ring far in figure and in face. Here ftood Ill-nature, like an ancient maid, Her wrinkled form in black and white array'd; With ftore of prayers, for mornings; nights, and

noons,

Her hand is fill'd; her bofom with lampoons.

There Affectation, with a fickly mien, Shows in her check the rofes of eighteen; Practis'd to lifp, and hang the head afide, Faints into airs, and languishes with pride; On the rich quilt finks with becoming woe, Wrapt in a gown for ficknefs and for fhow. The fair ones feel fuch maladies as thefe, When cach new night-drefs gives a new difcafe. A conftant vapour o'er the palace flies; Strange phantoms rifing as the mifts arife; Dreadful as hermits dreams in haunted fhades; Or bright, as vifions of expiring maids. Now glaring fiends, and fnakes on rolling fpires, Pale fpectres, gaping tombs, and purple fires : Now lakes of liquid gold, Elyfian fcenes, And cryftal 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 ftand, one arm held out, One bent; the handle this, and that the fpout: 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 paft 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 po:tic fit;
N 4

On

On various tempers act, by various ways,
Make fome take phyfic, others fcribble plays;
Who caufe 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 Guome could spoil 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 lap-dog gave difcale,
Which not the tears of brighteft eyes could cafe,
Hear me, and touch Belinda with chagrin ;
That fingle act gives half the world the spleen.
The Goddefs, with a difcontented air,
Seems to reject him, tho' fhe grants his pray'r.
A wond'rous 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 the 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 iffu'd at the vent.
Belinda burns with more than mortal ire,
And fierce Thaleftris fans the rifing fire. [cry'd
O wretched maid! the fpread her hands, and
(While Hampton's echoes, wretched maid! re-
ply'd)

Was it for this you took fuch conftant care
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!
Gots fhall the ravifher difplay your hair,
While the fogs envy and the ladies ftare!
Honor forbid at whofe unrival'd shrine
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 honor 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?
booner thall glas in Hyde-park Circus grow,
And wits take lodgings in the found of Bow;
Sooner let earth, air, fea, to Chaos fall;
Men, monkeys, lap-dogs, parrots, perifh all!

She faid; then raging to Sir Plaine repairs, And bids her beau deinand the precious hairs:

(Sir Plume, of amber fnuff-box juftly vain, And the nice conduct of a clouded cane) With carneft eyes and round unthinking face, He first the fnuff-box open'd, then the cafe, And thus broke out" My Lord, why, what the "devil! [" civil! "Z-ds' damn the Lock! 'fore God, you must be "Plague on't! 'tis past a jeft-nay prithee, pox! "Give her the hair"-he fpoke, and rapp'd his

box!

It grieves me much (reply'd the Peer again) Who fpeaks fo well fhould ever speak in vain; But by this Lock, this facred Lock I fwear (Which never more fhall join its parted hair; Which never more its honours shall renew, Clipp'd from the lovely head where late it grew) That while my noftrils draw the vital air, This hand, which won it, fhall for ever wear. He spoke, and speaking, in proud triumph fpread The long contended honors 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 languifhing, half drown'd in tears; On her heav'd bofom hung her drooping head, Which, with a figh, the rais'd; and thus the faid:

For ever curs'd be this detefted day, Which snatch'd my beft, my fav'rite curl away! Happy! ah ten times happy had I been, If Hampton-court thefe eyes had never seen! Yet am not I the first mistaken maid, By love of courts to num'rous ill; betray'd. O had I rather unadmir'd remain'd In fome lone ifle, or distant northern land, Where the gilt chariot never marks the way; Where none learn Ombre, none e'er taste bohea! There kept my charms conceal'd from mortal eye, Like rofes, that in defarts, bloom and die. Whatmov'd my mind withyouthful lords to roam? Oh had I stay'd, and faid my prayers at home! 'Twas this the morning omens feem'd to tell, Thrice from my trembling hand the patch-box The tott'ring China fhook without a wind, [fell; 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 the flighted hairs; My hands fhall rend what ev'n thy rapine spares; Thefe in two fable ringlets taught to break, Once gave new beauties to the fnowy neck; The fifter-lock now fits uncouth, alone, And in its fellow's fate forefecs 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!

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