SOME ADDITIONAL STANZAS то ASTOLFO'S VOYAGE TO THE MOON,, WH IN ARIOSTO. I. HEN now Aftolfo, ftor'd within a vafe, He turn'd his eyes towards another place, Where, closely cork'd, unnumber'd bottles lay. II. Of fineft crystal were thofe bottles made, Yet what was there inclos'd he could not fee: "A wondrous thing it is," the Saint replied, "Subtle and thin, that MAIDENHEAD is hight. "From earth each day in troops they hither come, "And fill each hole and corner of the Moon-; "For they are never eafy while at home, "Nor ever owner thought them gone too foon. V. "When V. "When here arriv'd, they are in bottles pent, For fear they should evaporate again; "And hard it is a prifon to invent, "So volatile a spirit to retain. VI. "Thofe that to young and wanton girls belong "Leap, bounce, and fly, as if they'd burst the "glafs : "But thofe that have below been kept too long "Are spiritlefs, and quite decay`d, alas!” VII. So fpake the Saint, and wonder feiz'd the Knight, VIII.. Virginities, that clofe confin'd he thought In t' other world, he found above the sky; His fifter's and his coufin's there were brought, Which made him fwear, though good St. John was by. IX. But much his wrath increas'd, when he efpied That which was Chloe's once, his miftrefs dear: "Ah, falfe and treacherous fugitive!" he cried, "Little I deem'd that I fhould meet thee here. X. "Did 1 X. "Did not thy owner, when we parted lait, "Promife to keep thee safe for me alone? "Scarce of our abfence three short months are paft, "And thou already from thy post art flown., XI. "Be not enrag'd, replied th' Apostle kind — "Since that this maidenhead is thine by right, "Take it away; and, when thou haft a mind, "Carry it thither whence it took its flight.” XII. "Thanks, Holy Father!" quoth the joyous Knight, "The Moon fhall be no lofer by your grace : "Let me but have the use on 't for a night, I TOA YOUNG LADY. WITH THE TRAGEDY OF VENICE PRESERVED. N tender Otway's moving scenes we find What power the gods have to your fex affign'd: A woman had not propt her sinking state : Vain was her fenate's wisdom, vain its power; But, But, fav'd by Belvidera's charming tears, Still o'er the fubject main her towers the rears, In wretched Jaffier, we with pity view "Hence may we learn, what paffion fain would "That Hymen's bands by prudence fhould be tied. "Venus in vain the wedded pair would crown, "If angry Fortune on their union frown: "Soon will the flattering dreams of joys be o'er, "And cloy'd imagination cheat no more; Then, waking to the sense of lasting pain, "With mutual tears the bridal couch they ftain; And The twelve following lines, with some small variations, have been already printed in "Advice to a "Lady," p. 39; but, as Lord Lyttelton chofe to introduce them here, it was thought more eligible to repeat thefe few lines, than to fupprefs the reft of the poem. N. "And that fond love, which fhould afford relief, ΤΕ EL E G Y. ELL me, my heart, fond flave of hopeless love, Canft thou endure thus calmly to erase The dear, dear image of thy Delia's face? |