"Twas thus the sire ordained, the Power obeyed, And worked and wondered at the work he made, The fairest, softest, sweetest form beneath, Now made to seem, now more than seem, to breathe."

The power-Vulcan.
Beneath-upon earth.

Now made to seem to breathe, now made not only to seem, but actually to breathe.

"AsVulcan ends, the cheerful queen of charms,
Clasped the new panting creature in her arms,
From this embrace a fine complexion spread,
Where mingled whiteness glow'd with softer red,
Then in a kiss, she breathed her various arts,
Of trifling prettily, with wounded hearts;
A mind for love, but still a changing mind,
The lisp affected, and the glance design'd,
The sweet confusing blush, the secret wink,
The gentle swimming walk, the courteous sink,
The stare for strangeness fit, for scorn the frown
For decent yielding, looks declining down,

Gay smiles to comfort, April showers to move, And all the nature, all the art of love.”

After Vulcan had breathed life into the newly formed creature, woman, each of the gods and goddesses are supposed to endow, or make her possessed of some agreeable or useful quality. Venus the queen of Beauty breathes into her with a kiss, fine complexion and all the arts of coquetry, with which silly women endeavour to attract the notice of more silly men.-April showers, mean tears that pass away suddenly, and that seem as the fair one smiles through her tears to be like the light showers of April, through which the sunbeams

appear.

"Gold sceptered Juno next exalts the fair, Her touch endows her with imperious air,

Self-valuing fancy, highly crested pride,.
Strong sovereign will, with some desire to chide,
For which an eloquence that aims to vex
With native tropes of anger, arms the sex."

Gold sceptered Juno-As queen of heaven, Juno is represented as holding a sceptre, but I do not know that she is any where in Homer called gold sceptered.

Highly crested pride.-Pride is called highly crested, because crests, which are properly plumes of feathers, are the usual ornaments of monarchs and warriors, and the height of such plumes may be supposed to be increased in proportion to the vanity of the wearer.

Some desire to chide.-The word some is here ironical-the author means to say a strong desire to chide.

Native tropes. A trope is a change

of a word from its original and literal signification—native means, born with a person―meaning that certain women seem to be supplied by nature with proper terms for scolding.

These lines are certainly very severe upon the female sex, but they can relate only to the lower classes of society, education it is to be hoped from prevents the passion of anger breaking out in unseemly expressions in the higher classes.

Arms the sex. The poet represents women as armed with words, as they are too feeble to defend themselves in any other manner against the insults of the stronger sex.

"Minerva, skilful Goddess, trained the maid
To twirl the spindle by the twisting thread,
To fix the loom, instruct the reeds to part,
Cross the long weft, and close the web with art;

A useful gift, but what profuse expence,
What world of fashions takes its rise from thence."

To twirl the spindle.-Formerly the spinning was performed by whirling a spindle from time to time with one hand, while the thread was twisted with the other, and wound round the distaff. Spinning wheels were not invented as early as looms,-which last are mentioned frequently in the old testament, and in Homer.

A useful gift. The poet is obliged to acknowledge the utility of the arts of spinning and weaving, women's work; but to carry on his satire, he adds, that these arts have produced all the folly and all the expence of ever changing fashion.

"Young Hermes next, a close contriving god, Her brows encircled with his serpent rod,