Till I espied thee, fair indeed, and tall,
Under a plantain, yet methought less fair,
Less winning soft, less amiably mild,
Than that smooth watery image: back I turned;
Thou following, cry'dst aloud, return, fair Eve;
Whom fly'st thou? whom thou fly'st, of him thou art
His flesh, his bone; to give thee being I lent
Out of my side to thee, nearest my heart,
Substantial life, to have thee by my side
Henceforth an individual solace dear;
Part of my soul, I seek thee, and thee claim,
With that thy gentle hand
Seized mine: I yielded; and from that time see
How beauty is excelled by manly grace,
And wisdom, which alone is truly fair.
EVE'S UNQUIET DREAM.
Now morn, her rosy steps in the eastern clime
Advancing, sow'd the earth with orient pearl,
When Adam waked, so custom'd: for his sleep
Was æry-light, from pure digestion bred,
And temperate vapors bland, which the only sound
Of leaves and fuming rills Aurora's fan,
Lightly dispersed, and the shrill matin song
Of Birds on every bough; so much the more
His wonder was to find unwaken'd Eve
With tresses discomposed, and glowing cheek
As through unquiet rest: he, on his side
Leaning, half raised, with looks of cordial love
Hung over her enamour'd, and beheld
Beauty, which, whether waking or asleep,
Shot forth peculiar graces; then with voice
Mild, as when Zephyrus on Flora breathes,
Her hand soft touching, whisper'd thus: Awake
My fairest, my espoused, my latest found,
Heaven's last, best gift, my ever new delight!
Awake: the morning shines, and the fresh field
Calls us; we lose the prime to mark how spring
Our tended plants, how blows the citron grove
What drops the myrrh, and what the balmy reed,
How Nature paints her colors, how the bee
Sits on the bloom extracting liquid sweets.'
Such whispering waked her, but with startled eye On Adam, whom embracing, thus she spake,
O sole in whom my thoughts find all repose,
My glory, my perfection! glad I see
Thy face and morn return'd; for I this night,
Such night till this I never pass'd, have dream'd,
If dream'd, not, as I oft am wont, of thee,
Works of day past, or morrow's next design;
But of offence and trouble, which my mind
Knew never till this irksome night. Methought
Close at mine ear one call'd me forth to walk
With gentle voice; I thought it thine: it said,
Why sleep'st thou, Eve? now is the pleasant time,
The cool, the silent, save where silence yields
To the night-warbling bird, that now awake
Tunes sweetest his love-labor'd song; now reigns
Full-orb'd the moon, and with more pleasing light
Shadowy sets off the face of things; in vain,
If none regard; heaven wakes with all his eyes,
Whom to behold but thee, Nature's desire?
In whose sight all things joy, with ravishment
Attracted by thy beauty still to gaze.
I rose as at thy call, but found thee not;
To find thee I directed then my walk;
And on, methought, alone I pass'd through ways
That brought me on a sudden to the tree
of interdicted knowledge; fair it seem'd,
Much fairer to my fancy than by day:
And, as I wondering look'd, beside it stood
One shaped and wing'd like one of those from heave
By us oft seen: his dewy locks distill'd
Ambrosia: on that tree he also gazed;
And, O, fair plant, said he, with fruit surcharg'd,
Deigns none to ease thy load, and taste thy sweet,
Nor God, nor man? Is knowledge so despised?
Or envy, or what reserve forbids to taste?
Forbid who will, none shall from me withhold
Longer thy offer'd good; why else set here?
This said, he paused not, but with venturous arm
He pluck'd, he tasted; me damp horror chill'd
At such bold words, vouch'd with a deed so bold:
But he thus, overjoy'd; O fruit divine,
Sweet of thyself, but much more sweet thus cropt,
Forbidden here, it seems, as only fit
For gods, yet able to make gods of men;
And why not gods of men; since good, the more
Communicated, more abundant grows,
The author not impair'd, but honor'd more?
Here, happy creature, fair angelic Eve!
Partake thou also: happy though thou art,
Happier thou may'st be, worthier canst not be:
Taste this, and be henceforth among the gods
Thyself a goddess, not to earth confined,
But sometimes in the air, as we, sometimes
Ascend to heaven, by merit thine, and see
What life the gods live there, and such live thou.
So saying, he drew nigh, and to me held,
Even to my mouth of that same fruit held part
Which he had pluck'd; the pleasant savory smell
So quicken'd appetite, that I, methought,
Could not but taste. Forthwith up to the clouds
With him I flew, and underneath beheld
The earth outstretch'd immense, a prospect wide
And various; wondering at my flight and change
To this high exaltation; suddenly
My guide was gone, and I, methought, sunk down,
And fell asleep; but, O, how glad I waked
To find this but a dream.' Thus Eve her night
Related, and thus Adam answer'd sad:
Best image of myself, and dearer half,
The trouble of thy thoughts this night in sleep
Affects me equally; nor can I like
This uncouth dream, of evil sprung, I fear,
Yet evil whence? in thee can harbor none,
Created pure. But know, that in the soul
Are many lesser faculties, that serve
Reason as chief; among these, Fancy next
Her office holds; of all external things,
Which the five watchful senses represent,
She forms imaginations, aery shapes,
Which reason, joining or disjoining, frames
All what we affirm or what deny, and call
Our knowledge or opinion; then retires
Into her private cell. When nature rests
Oft in her absence mimic Fancy wakes
To imitate her; but misjoining shapes,
Wild work produces oft, and most in dreams;
Ill matching words and deeds long past or late.
Some such resemblances, methinks I find
Of our last evening's talk, in this thy dream,
But with addition strange; yet be not sad.
Evil into the mind of God or man
May come and go, so unapproved, and leave
No spot or blame behind; which gives me hope
That what in sleep thou didst abhor to dream,
Waking thou never wilt consent to do.
Be not dishearten'd then, nor cloud those looks,
That wont to be more cheerful and serene,
Than when fair morning first smiles on the world;
And let us to our fresh employments rise
Among the groves, the fountains, and the flowers, That open now their choicest bosom'd smells, Reserv'd from night, and kept for thee in store.
So cheer'd he his fair spouse, and she was cheer'd; But silently a gentle tear let fall
From either eye, and wiped them with her hair;
Two other precious drops that ready stood
Each in their crystal sluice, he, ere they fell,
Kiss'd, as the gracious signs of sweet remorse
And pious awe, that fear'd to have offended.
So all was clear'd, and to the field they haste.
But first from under shady arborous roof,
Soon as they forth were come to open sight
Of day-spring, and the sun, who, scarce uprisen,
With wheels yet hovering o'er the ocean brim,
Shot parallel to the earth his dewey ray,
Discovering in wide landscape all the east
Of Paradise and Eden's happy plains,
Lowly they bow'd adoring, and began
Their orisons, each morning duly paid
In various style; for neither various style
Nor holy rapture wanted they to praise
Their Maker, in fit strains pronounc'd, or sung
Unmeditated; such prompt eloquence
Flow'd from their lips, in prose or numerous verse;
More tuneable than needed lute or harp
To add more sweetness.
AND said I that my limbs were old,
And said I that my blood was cold,
And that my kindly fire was filed,
And my poor withered heart was dead,
And that I might not sing of love?
How could I to the dearest theme
That ever warmed a minstrel's dream,
So foul, so false a recreant prove!
How could I name love's very name,
Nor wake my heart to notes of flame!
In peace, Love tunes the shepherd's reed;
In war, he mounts the warrior's steed;
In halls, in gay attire is seen;
In hamlet's dances on the green.
Love rules the court, the camp, the grove,
And men below, and saints above;
For love is heaven, and heaven is love.
Essay on Elocution,
Termination of the Essay,
Remarks on reading Prose, Verse, and blank Verse,.
Suggestions to Instructors of the Art of Elocution,
Select Sentences, .
CAUSES OF BAD READING AND SPEAKING.
Too slightly sounding the accented Vowels, ..........
.Dwyer.
Too slightly sounding the unaccented Vowels,......... Ibid.
Wavering pronounciation of the Vowels under the secondary
accent,
The liquid sound of K, C, or G hard, before the Vowels
A and I,...
Not sounding the H where it ought to be sounded, and
Improper pronounciation of the words for, from and by,. Ibid.
Tribute of respect to the Memory of Noah Webster,.... Ibid.
Observations on the pronounciation of certain words
frequently mistaken in reading or speaking, .... Ibid.
When you is to be pronounced like ye, and my like me,. Ibid.
On the pronoun my, .
When of, for, from and by, are to have a long, and when a
short sound,.......
How to pronounce the possessive pronoun thy,........Ibid.
How to pronounce the adjective possessive pronoun,
Improper and indistinct pronounciation of the word, not,. Ibid. 67
Improper pronounciation of the terminating ing,
Improper pronounciation of the word to,.............
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