Sce, to their seats they hye with merry glee, And in beseenly order sitten there, All but the wight of bum y-galled; he Abhorrett bench, and stool, and form, and chair (hair); (This hand in mouth y-fixed, that rends his And eke with snubs profound, and heaving
Convulsions intermitting! does declare
His grievous wrong, his dame's unjust behest, Andscornsheroffer'd love, and shuns to be caress'd.
His face besprent with liquid crystal shines; His blooming face, that seemsa purple flow'r, Which low to earth his drooping head decines, All smear'd and sullied by a vernal show'r Oh the hard bosoms of despotic pow'r!
All, all but she, the author of his shame, All, all but she, regret this mournful hour : Yet hence the youth, and hence the flow'r shall claim, [fame.
If so, I deem aright, transcending worth and Behind some door in melancholy thought, Mindless of food, he, dreary caitiff! pines; Ne for his fellows joyaunce careth onght, But to the wind all merriment resigns, And deems it shame if he to peace inclines; And many a sullen look askaunce is sent, Which for his dame's annoyance he designs; And still the more to pleasure him she's bent, The more doth he, perverse, her 'haviour past
And many a poet quit th' Aönian field:
And, sour'd by age, profound heshall appear, As he who now, with 'sdainful fury thrill'd, Surveys mine work, and levels manya sucer, And furls his wrinkly front, and cries, What stuff is here!" But now Dan Phœbus gains the middle sky,
And liberty unbars the prison-door; And like a rushing torrent out they fly,
And now the grassy cirque han cover'd o'er With boist'rous revel-rout and wild uproar. A thousand ways in wanton rings they run, Heaven shield their short liv'd pastimes, I im
For well may Freedom, erst so dearly won, Appear to British elf more gladsome than the sun. Enjoy, poor imps! enjoy your sportive trade, Andchasegayflies, and cull the fairest flow'rs, For when my bones in grass green sods arelaid, For never may ye taste more careless hours In knightly castles, or in ladies' bow'rs.
() vain, to seek delight in earthly things! But most in courts, where proud Ambition
Deluded wight! who weens fair peace can spring
Beneath the pompous dome of kesar or of king. See in each sprite some various bent appear!
These rudely carol most incondite lay; Those saunt'ring on the green, with jocund leer, Salute the stranger passing on his way: Some builden fragile tenements of clay;
Some to thestanding lake their courses hend, With pebbles sinooth, at duck and drake to
Thilk to the huxter's sav'ry cottage tend, Inpastykingsand queens th'allotted mite to spend. Here, as each season yields a different store, Each season's stores in order ranged been; Apples with cabbage net y-cover'd o'er, Gallingfullsoreth' unmonied wight, are seen; And gooseb'rie, clad in liv'ry red or green : And here of lovely dye the Cath'rine pear; Fine pear! as lovely for thy juice I ween;
O may no wight c'er pennyless come there, Lest, smit with ardent love, he pine with hope
Admir'd Salopia! that with venial pride Eyesherbrightformin Severn'sambientwave, Fam'd for her loyal cares in perils tried; Herdaughterslovely, and her striplings brave: Amidst the rest, may flow'rs adorn his grave Whose art did first these dulcet cates display! A motive fair to Learning's imps he gave,
Who cheerless o'er her darkling region stray, Till Reason's morn arise, and light them on their way.
§96. Oriental Eclogues. By Mr. COLLINS.
Selim; or the Shepherd's Moral. Scene, a Valley, near Bagdat. - Time, the Morning.
YE Persian maids, attend your Poet's lays, And hear how shepherds pass their golden ' days.
• Notallare blest, whom Fortune's hand sustains • With wealth in courts, nor all that haunt the
• Well may your hearts believe the truths I tell; • 'Tis virtue inakes the bliss, where'er wedwell.
Thus Selim sung, by sacred Truth inspir'd; Nor praise but such as Truth bestow'd, desir'd: Wise in himself, his meaning songs convey'd Informing morals to the shepherd maid;
Or taught the swains that surest bliss to find, What groves nor streams bestow, a virtuous mind. When sweet and blushing, like a virgin bride, The radiant morn resum'd her orient pride; When wanton gales along the vallies play, Breatheoneachflow'r, and bear their sweets away; By Tygris' wandering waves he sat, and sung, This useful lesson for the fair and young :
Lost to our fields, for so the fates ordain, The dear deserters shall return again. Come thou, whose thoughts as limpid springs
To lead the train, sweet Modesty, appear: • Here make thy court amidst our rural scene, Andshepherdgirlsshall own thee for theirqueen, With thee be Chastity, of all afraid, Distrusting all, a wise suspicious maid; But man the most-not more the mountain doe 'Holds the swift falcon for her deadly foe. Cold is her breast, like flow'rs that drink thedew"; A silken veil conceals her from the view. No wild desires amidst thy train be known, But Faith, whose heart is fix'd on one alone: Desponding Meekness, with her down-casteyes, • And friendly Pity, full of tender sighs; And Love the last. By these your hearts approve; These are the virtues that must lead to love.' Thus sung the swain; and antient legends say, The maids of Bagdat verified the lay: Dear to the plains, the Virtues came along; The shepherds lov'd, and Selim bless'd his song.
ECLOQUE II.
Hassan; or the Camel-Driver.
Scene, the Desert. -- Time, Mid-day. IN silent horror o'er the boundless waste, The driver Hassan with his camels pass'd: One cruse of water on his back he bore, And his light scrip contain'd a scanty store;
• Ye Persian dames,' he said, 'to you belong • (Well may they please) the morals of my song: • No fairer maids, I trust, than you are found, Grac'd with softarts, the peopled world around! * 'The morn that lights you to your loves supplies A fan of painted feathers in his hand, • Each gentler ray, delicious to your eyes; To guard his shaded face from scorching sand,
• For you those flow'rs her fragrant hands bestow. And yours the love that kings delight to know. • Yet think not these, all beauteous as they are, The best kind blessings Heaven cangrantthefair: • Who trust alone in beauty's feeble ray, • Boast but the worth Balsora's pearls display! • Drawn from the deep, we own thesurface bright: But, dark within, they drink no lustrous light. * Such are the maids, and such the charms they • By sense unaided, or to virtue lost. [boast, Self-flatt'ring sex! your hearts believe in vain That Love shall blind, when once he fires the < Or hope a lover by your faults to win, [swain; • As spots on ermine beautify the skin : • Who seeks secure to rule, be first her care • Each softer virtue that adorns the fair;
< Fach tender passion man delights to find The lov'd perfection of a female mind!
The sultry sun had gain'd the middle sky, And not a tree, and not an herb, was nigh: The beasts with pain their dusty way pursue, Shrill roar'd the winds, and dreary was the view, With desperate sorrow wild, th' affrighted man Thrice sigh'd, thrice struck his breast, and this
Sad was the hour, and luckless was the day, When first from Schiraz' walls I bent my way!
Ah! little thought I of the blasting wind, The thirst or pinching hunger that I find! Bethink thee, Hassan, whereshall thirstassuage, • When fails this cruse, his unrelenting rage? cious load resign; • Soon shall this scrip its precious Then what but tears and hunger shall bethine Ye mute companions of my toils, that beat In all my griefs a more than equal share!
* The Gulf of that name, famous for the pearlfishery.
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Here, where no springs in murmurs break away, • Or moss-crown'd fountains mitigate the day, In vain ye hope the green delights to know, Which plains more blest, or verdant vales bestow:
Here rocks alone, and tasteless sands are found, And faint and sickly winds for ever howl around. • Sad was the hour, and luckless was the day, • When first from Schiraz' walls I bent my 'way!
Curst be the gold and silver which persuade • Weak men to follow far-fatiguing trade! The lily Peace outshines the silver store, And life is dearer than the golden ore : Yet money tempts us o'er the desert brown, To ev'ry distant mart and wealthy town. Full oft we tempt the land, and oft the sea; And are we only yet repaid by thee? Ah! why this ruin so attractive made ? Or why, fond man, so easily betray'd? Why heed we not, while mad we haste along, The gentle voice of Peace, or Pleasure's song? Or wherefore think the flow'ry mountain's side, The fountain's murmurs, and the valley's pride; Why think we these less pleasing to behold Than dreary deserts, if they lead to gold ?
Sad was the hour, and luckless was the day, When first from Schiraz' walls I bent my 'way!
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ECLOGUE III.
Abra; or, the Georgian Sultana.
Scene, a Forest. -- Time, the Evening.
IN Georgia's land, where Tefflis' tow'rs are seen In distant view along the level green : While evening dews enrich the glitt'ring glade, And the tall forests cast a longer shade; What time 'tis sweet o'er fields of rice to stray, Or scent the breathing maize at setting day; Amidst the maids of Zagen's peaceful grove Emyra sung the pleasing cares of love.
Of Abra first began the tender strain, Who led her youth with flocks upon the plain; At morn she came, those willing flocks to lead,
O cease, my fears! - all frantic as I go, When thought.creates unnumber'd scenes of Where lilies rear them in the wat'ry mead :
What if the lion in his rage I meet! 'Oft in the dust I view his printed fect:
From early dawn the live-long hours she told, Till late at silent eve she penn'd the fold. Deep in the grove, beneath the secret shade, A various wreath of od'rous flowers she inade. Gay|motley'dpinksandsweet jonquils she chose, * The violet blue, that on the moss-bank grows; All sweet to sense, the flaunting rose was there: The finish'd chaplet well adorn'd her hair.
'And, fearful! oft, when day's declining light Yields her pale empire to the mourner Night, By hunger rous'd, he scours the groaning plain, Gaunt wolves and sullen tigers in his train;
* Before them Death, with shrieks, directs their
Fills the wild yell, and leads them to their prey. Sad was the hour, and luckless was the day, • When first from Schiraz' walls I bent my
At that dead hour the silent asp shall creep, If aught of rest I find upon my sleep: Or some swoln serpent twist his scales around, And wake to anguish with a burning wound. Thrice happy they, the wise, contented poor: From lust of wealth, and dread of death secure! Oft as she went she backward turn'd her view,
They tewipt no deserts, and no griefs they find; Peacerules the day, where reason rules the mind. Sad was the hour, and luckless was the day, • When first from Schiraz' walls I took my way!
O hapless youth! for she thy love hath won, The tender Kara, will be most undone! 'Big swell'd my heart, and own'd the pow'rful maid,
When fast she dropp'd her tears and thus
Great Abbas chane'd that fated morn to stray, By love conducted from the chace away: Among the vocal vales he heard her song, And sought the valesand echoing groves among. At length he found, and woo'd the rural maid, She knew the monarch, and with fear obey'd. • Be ev'ry youth like royal Abbas mov'd, And ev'ry Georgian maid like Abra lov'd! The royal lover bore her from the plain; Yet still her crook and bleating flock remain : And bade that crook and bleating flock adieu. Fair, happy maid! to other scenes remove; To richer scenes of golden pow'r and love! Go, leave the simple pipe, and shepherd's strain; With love delight thee, and with Abbas reign: • Be ev'ry youth like royal Abbas mov'd,
And ev'ry Georgian maid like Abra lov'd'. Yet, midst the blaze of courts, she fix'd her love On the cool fountain, or the shady grove; Still, with the shepherd's innocence, her mind To the sweet vale and flow'ry inead inclin'd
• That these flowers are found in very great abundance in some of the provinces of Persia, see the Medern History of the ingenious Mr. Salmon.
Andoftas Springrenew'd the plains with flow'rs, Far fly the swains, like us, in deep despair; Breath'd his soft gales, and led the fragrant hours, And leave to ruffian bands their fleecy care. With sure return she sought the sylvan scene, The breezy mountains, and the forests green. Her maids around her inov'd, a duteous band! Each bore a crook all-roral in her hand:
Some simple lay of flocks and herds they sung; With joy the mountain and the forest rung.
Be ev'ry youth like royal Abbas movd, • And ev'ry Georgian maid like Abra lov'd!" And oft the royal lover left the care And thorns of state, attendant on the Fair; Oft to the shades and low-roof'd cots retir'd, Or sought the vale where first his heart was fir'd: A russet mantle, like a swain, he wore;
And thought of crowns and busy courts no more. Be ev'ry youth like royal Abbas mov'd, “ And ev'ry Georgian maid like Abra lov'd! Blest was the life that royal Abbas ted: Sweet was his love, and innocent his bed. What if in wealth the noble maid excel; The simple shepherd-girl can love as well. Let those who rule on Persia's jewell'd throne Be fam'd for love, and gentlest love alone; Or wreathe, like Abbas, full of fair renown, The lover's myrtle with the warrior's crown. O happy days!' the maids around her say; O haste, profuse of blessings, haste away! • Be ev'ry youth like royal Abbas mov'd, And ev'ry Georgian inaid like Abra lov'd!"
Agib and Secander; or, the Fugitives. Scene, a Mountain, in Circassia. -- Time, Midnight. IN fair Circassia, where, to love inclin'd, Each swain was blest, for ev'ry maid was kind; At that still hour when awful midnight reigns, And none but wretches
Unhappy land! whoseblessingstemptthesword; In vain, unheard, thou call'st thy Persian lord! In vain thou court him, helpless, to thine aid, To shield the shepherd, and protect the maid! Far off, in thoughtless indolence resign'd, Soft dreams of love and pleasure sooth his mind: Midst fair Sultanas lost in idle joy, No wars alarm him, and no fears annoy.
Yet these green hills, in summer's sultry heat, Have lent the monarch oft a cool retreat. Sweet to the sight is Zabra's flow'ry plain, And once by maids and shepherds lov'd in vain ! No more the virgius shall delight to rove By Sargis' banks, Or Irwan's shady grove; On Tarkie's mountain catch the cooling gale, Or breathe the sweets of Aly's flow'ry vale ; Fair srenes! but ah! no more with peacepossest, With case alluring, and, with plenty blest. No more the shepherds' whit'ning tents appear, Nor the kind products of a bounteous year ; No more the date, with snowy blossoms crown'd, But Ruin spreads her baleful fires around.
In vain Circassia boasts her spicy groves, For ever fam'd for pure and happy loves:
In vain she boasts her fairest of the fair; Their eyes' blue languish, and their golden hair, nust send; Those eyes in tears their fruitless grief Those harters thar scruel hand shall rend
Circassia's ruin, and the waste of war; haunt the twilight plains,
What time the moon had hung her lamp on high; And pass'd in radiance thro' the cloudless sky; Sad o'er the dews two brother shepherds fled, Where 'wild'ring fear and desp'rate sorrow led: Fast as they press'd their flight, behind them lay Wide ravag'd plains, and valleys stole away. Along the mountain's bending side they ran; Till, faint and weak, Secander thus began:
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Ye Georgian swains, that piteous learn from [fat Some weightier arms than crooks and statis To shield your harvest, and defend your fair: The Turk and Tartar like designs pursue, Fix'd to destroy, and stedfast to undo. Wild as his land, in native deserts bred, By lust incited, or by malice led, The villain Arab, as he prowls for prey, Oft marks with blood and wasting flames the way Yet none so cruel as the Tartar foe, To death inur'd, and nurs'd in scenes of woe.
He said; when loud along the vale was heard A shriller shriek, and nearer fires appeard: The affrighted shepherds, thro' the dews of night. Wideo'erthemoon-light hills renew'd their flight
To Juniper's Magpie, or Town Hall, repairs; This caitiff eyes your steps aloof; and oft Where, mindful of the nymph whose wantoneye Transfix'd his soul, and kindled amorous flames, Chloe or Phillis, he each circling glass Wishes her health, and joy, and equal love. Meanwhile he smokes, and laughs at merry tale, Or pun ambiguous, or conundrum quaint. Bat I, whom griping penury surrounds, And hunger, sure attendant upon want, With scanty offals, and small acid tiff, (Wretched repast!) my meagre corse sustain : Then solitary walk, or doze at home
Lies perdue in a nook or gloomy cave, Prompt to enchant some inadvertent wretch With his unhallow'd touch. So (poets sing). Grimalkin, to domestic vermiu sworn An everlasting foe, with watchful eye Lies nightly brooding o'er a chinky gap; Protending her full claws, to thoughtless mice
In garret vile, and with a warming puff Regale chill'd fingers; or, from tube as black As winter chimney, or well-polish'd jet, Exhale mundungus, ill perfuming scent; Not blacker tube, nor of a shorter size, Smokes Cambro-Briton (vers'd in pedigree, Sprung from Cadwallader and Arthur, kings, Full famous in romantic tale) when he O'er many a craggy hill and barren cliff, Upon a cargo of fam'd Cestrian cheese, High overshadowing rides, with a desigu To rend his wares, or at th' Arvonian mart, Or Maridunum, or the antient town Yclep'd Brechinia, or where Vaga's stream Encircles Ariconiam, fruitful soil ! Whenceflow nectareous wines, that well may vie With Massic, Setin, or renown'd Falern.
Thus, while my joyless minutes tedious flow, With looks demure, and silent pace, a Dun, Horrible monster! hated by Gods and men, To my aërial citadel ascends.:
With vocal heel thrice thund'ring at my gate, With hideous accent thrice he calls; I know The voice ill-boding, and the solemn sound. What should I do? or whither turn? Amaz'd, Confounded, to the dark recess I fly
Of wood-hole; straight my bristling hairs erect Thro'sudden fear; a chilly sweat bedews My shudd'ring limhs, and (wonderful to tell!) My tongue forgets her faculty of speech; So horrible he seems! His faded brow
Entrench'd with many a frown, and conic beard, And spreading band, admir'd by modern saints, Disastrous acts fore bode; in his right hand Long scrolls of paper solemnly he waves, With characters and figures dire inscrib'd, Grievous to mortal eyes (ye gods, avert Such plagues from righteous men!). Behindhim Another monster not unlike himself, Sullen of aspect, by the vulgar call'd A Catchpole, whose polluted hands the gods With force incredible, and magic charms, Erst have endued; if he his ample palm Should haply on ill-fated shoulder lay Of debtor straight his body, to the touch Obsequious (as whilom knights were wont), To some enchanted castle is convey'd, Where gates impregnable, and coercive chains, In durance strict detain him! till, in forın Of money, Pallas sets the captive free.
Beware ye debtors! when ye walk beware, Be circumspect: oft with insidious ken
Sure ruin. So her disembowell'd. web Arachne in a hall or kitchen spreads, Obvious to vagrant flies: she secret stands Within her woven cell; the humming prey, Regardless of their fate, rush on the toils Inextricable, nor will aught avail
Their arts, or arms, or shapes of lovely hue; The wasp insidious, and the buzzing drone,
butterfly, proud of expanded
Distinct with gold, entangled in her sua
snares, Useless resistance make with eager strides, She tow'ring flies to her expected spoils; Then with envenom'd jaws the vital blood Drinks of reluctant foes, and to her cave Their bulky carcases triumphanit drags.
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So pass my days. But when nocturnal shades This world envelop, and th' inclement air Persuades men to repel benumbing frosts With pleasant wines, and crackling blaze of wood; Me, lonely sitting, nor the glimmering light Of make-weight candle, nor the joyous talk Of loving friends, delights; distress'd, forlorn, Amidst the horrors of the tedious night, Darkling I sigh, and feed with dismal thoughts My anxious mind; or sometimes mournful verse Indite, and sing of groves and myrtle shades, Or desp'rate lady near a purling stream, Or lover pendant on a willow-tree. Meanwhile I labor with eternal drought, And restless wish, and rave; my parched throat Finds no relicf, nor heavy eyes repose: But if a slumber haply does invade My weary limbs, my fancy 's still awake, Thoughtful of drink, and eager, in a dream, Tipples imaginary pots of ale,
In vain awake, I find the settled thirst Still gnawing, and the pleasant phantom curse; Thus do I live, from pleasure quite debarr'd, Nor-taste the fruits that the sun's génial rays Mature-john-apple, nor the downy peach, Nor walnut in rough furrow'd coat secure, Nor medlar fruit delicious in decay. Afflictions great! yet greater still remain : My galligaskins, that have long withstood The winter's fury, and encroaching frosts, By time subdued (what will not time subdue ?) A horrid chasm disclose, with orifice Wide, discontinuous; at which the winds, Eurus and Auster, and the dreadful force Of Boreas, that congeals the Cronian waves, l'umultuous enter with dire chilling blasts, Portending agues. Thus a well-fraught ship, Long sail'd secure, or thro' th' Ægean deep, Or the Ionian, till cruising near The Lilybean shore, with hideous crush On Scylla or Charybdis (dang'rous rocks)
* Two noted alehouses in Oxford, 1700.
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