For, though the feem'd to listen more
To all he spoke, than e'er before,

He found her thoughts would absent range,
Yet guefs'd not whence could fpring the change.
And first he modeftly conjectures

His pupil might be tir'd with lectures;
Which help'd to mortify his pride,

Yet gave him not the heart to chide:
But, in a mild dejected strain,

At last he ventur'd to complain;

Said, fhe fhou'd be no longer teaz'd;
Might have her freedom when the pleas'd;
Was now convinc'd he acted wrong
To hide her from the world fo long,
And in dull ftudies to engage
One of her tender fex and age;
That ev'ry nymph with envy own'd,
How the might shine in the Grande-monde,
And ev'ry fhepherd was undone

To fee her cloister'd like a nun.

This was a vifionary scheme:

He wak'd, and found it but a dream;
A project far above his skill;

For nature must be nature ftill.

If he was bolder than became

A fcholar to a courtly dame,

She might excufe a man of letters ;
Thus tutors often treat their betters;
And, fince his talk offenfive grew,

He came to take his laft adieu.

Vanela,

Vaneffa, fill'd with just disdain,
Would ftill her dignity maintain,
Inftructed from her early years
To fcorn the art of female tears.
Had he employ'd his time fo long
To teach her what was right and wrong,
Yet could fuch notions entertain,
That all his lectures were in vain ?
She own'd the wandering of her thoughts
But he must answer for her faults.
She well remember'd, to her coft,
That all his leffons were not loft.
Two maxims fhe could ftill produce,
And fad experience taught their ufe :
That virtue, pleas'd by being fhown,
Knows nothing which it dares not own,
Can make us without fear disclofe
Our inmoft fecrets to our foes;

That common forms were not design'd
Directors to a noble mind.

Now, faid the nymph, I'll let you fee

My actions with

your rules

agree;

That I can vulgar forms defpife,
And have no fecrets to disguise.

I knew, by what you faid and writ,
How dang'rous things were men of wit ;
You cautioned me against their charms,
But never gave me equal arms;
Your leffons found the weakest part;

Aim'd at the head, but reach'd the heart.

Cadenys felt within him rife

Shame, difappointment, guilt, furprise.
He knew no how to reconcile
Such language with her ufual flile:
And yet her words were fo expreft,
He could not hope the fpoke in jeft.
His thoughts had wholly been confin'd
To form and cultivate her mind.
He hardly knew, till he was told,
Whether the nymph were young or old;
Had met her in a public place
Without diftinguishing her face:
Much lefs could his declining age
Vaneffa's earlieft thoughts engage;
And, if her youth indiff'rence met,
His perfon must contempt beget:
Or, grant her paffion be fincere,
How fhall his innocence be clear?
Appearances were all fo ftrong,

The world must think him in the wrong;
Would fay, he made a treach'rous ufe
Of wit, to flatter and feduce:

The town would fwear he had betray'd,
By magic fpells, the harmless maid:
And ev'ry beau would have his jokes,
That fcholars were like other folks;
That, when Platonic flights were over,
The tutor turn'd a mortal lover.
So tender of the young and fair!
It fhew'd a true paternal care-

Five

Five thoufand guineas in her purse!
The doctor might have fancy'd worse.
Hardly, at length, he filence broke,
And faulter'd ev'ry word he spoke;
Interpreting her complaifance,
Juft as a man fans confequence.
She rally'd well, he always knew:
Her manner now was fomething new ;
And what she spoke was in an air
As ferious as a tragic player.
But those who aim at ridicule
Should fix upon fome certain rule,
Which fairly hints they are in jeft,
Elfe he must enter his proteft:
For, let a man be ne'er fo wife,
He may be caught with fober lyes;
A fcience which he never taught,
And, to be free, was dearly bought;
For, take it in its proper light,
'Tis just what coxcombs call a Bite.
But, not to dwell on things minute,
Vanessa finish'd the difpute,
Brought weighty arguments to prove
That reason was her guide in love.
She thought he had himself defcrib'd,
His doctrines when the firft imbib'd:
What he had planted, now was grown;
His virtues fhe might.call her own;
As he approves, as he dislikes,
Love or contempt her fancy strikes..

Self-love, in nature rooted faft,

Attends us firft, and leaves us laft:
Why the likes him, admire not her;
She loves herself, and that's the matter.
How was her tutor want to praise
The genius's of ancient days!

(Those authors he so oft had nam'd,
For learning, wit, and wifdom fam'd)
Was ftruck with love, esteem, and awe,
For perfons whom he never faw.
Suppofe Cadenus flourish'd then,
He must adore fuch god-like men.
If one fort volume could comprize
All that was witty, learn'd, and wife,
How would it be efteem'd, and read,
Although the writer long were dead!
If fuch an author were alive,

How all would for his friendship frive,
And come in crowds to fee his face!
And this fhe takes to be her cafe.
Cadenus anfwers ev'ry end,

The book, the author, and the friend:

'I he utmost her defires will reach,

Is but to learn what he can teach:
His converfe is a system fit
Alone to fill up all her wit;
While ev'ry paffion of her mind

In him is center'd and confin'd.
Love can with speech infpire a mute,
And taught Vaneffa to difpute.