Through all the Story of his Love he ran,
And nought forgot that might increase his pain.
Then with a figh raising his heavy Eyes,
Th' approach of his afflicted Nymph he spies;
Sad as fhe was, fhe loft no ufual Grace,
But as the pass'd seem'd to adorn the place:
Thither the came to take her laft farewel;
Her filent Look did her fad Business tell.
Under a neighb'ring Tree they fat 'em down,
Whose shade had oft preferv'd 'em from the Sun;
Each took the other by the willing hand,
Striving to speak, but could no word command:
With mutual Grief both were fo overcome,
The much they had to fay had made 'em dumb.
There many a time they two had met before,
But met, alas! upon a happier fcore:
Cruel reverfe of Fate, which all the Joys
Their mutual prefence us'd to bring, deftroys.
Sireno faw his Fatal hour draw near,
And wanted ftrength the parting pang to bear;
All drown'd in tears he gaz'd upon the Maid,
And the with equal Grief the Swain survey'd ;
Till his imprifon'd paffion forc'd its way,
And gave him leave faintly at last to say,
SIRENO.
O my Diana! who wou'd have believ'd
That when the fad Sireno moft had griev'd,
Any affliction cou'd have fall'n on me
That wou'd not vanish at the fight of thee?
Thy charming Eyes cou'd all my Clouds difpel;
Let but Diana fmile, and all was well.
Abfent from thee my Soul no joy cou'd know,
And yet, alas! I dye to fee thee now.
Turn, O Sireno! turn away thy Face, While all her flame a blushing Maid betrays; For though my Eyes a fecret pain reveal,
My tongue at least shou'd my fond thoughts conceal:
Yet I wou'd speak, cou'd speaking do me good,
And fince it is to thee, methinks it fhou'd.
O Shepherd think how wretched I fhall be,
When hither I return depriv'd of thee!
When fitting all alone within this fhade,
Which thou fo oft thy tender Choice haft made,
1 read my Name Engrav'd on every bark,
Of our past Love the kind affecting mark ;
Then my despairing Soul to death must fly;
And must thou be content to let me dye?
Why doft thou weep? Alas! thofe Tears are vain,
Since 'tis thy Fault that both of us complain.
By this the Falfhood of thy Vows I know,
For were thy Sorrow true, thou wou'dst not go.
SIRENO.
Ceafe, cruel Nymph, fuch killing Language cease,
And let the poor Sireno dye in peace.
Witness ye Everlasting Powers above,
That never Shepherd bore a truer Love!
With thee I wish 't had been my happy doom,
With thee alone to spend my Life to come;
That we now part is by no fault of mine,
Nor yet, my deareft Shepherdess, of thine;
For as no Faith did ever mine excel,
So never any Nymph deferv'd fo well.
But the great Shepherd, whom we all obey,
'Tis his Command that forces me away;
Whatever he ordains none dare refuse;
I must my Joy, or else my Honour, lose ;
Should I to him deny th' Allegiance due,
Thou might'st to thee think me disloyal too.
No, no, Sireno, now too late I find,
How fond she is that can believe Mankind;
Who fuch Excufes for himself pretends,
Will eas'ly bear the abfence he defends.
A little time, I fear, will quite deface
The thoughts of me, to give another place:
Fool that I was my weakness to betray,
To one not mov'd with all that I can fay.
Go, cruel Man, imbark when e'er you please,
But take this with you as you pass the Seas;
Tho' with the fierceft Winds the Waves fhould roar,
That Tempeft will be lefs than mine on Shore.
SIRENO.
'Tis hard, unjuft fufpicions to abide,
But who can fuch obliging Anger chide?
Fair as thou art, that Charm cou'd never move
My heart to this degree, without thy Love:
For 'tis thy tender fenfe of my fad Fate,
That does my sharpeft, deadly'ft pain create.
Ah fear not, to what place foe'er I go,
That I fhall ever break my facred Vow:
When for another I abandon thee,
May Heav'n, for such a Crime, abandon me.
If ever I my dearest Swain deceive, Or violate the Faith that here I give : When to their Food my hungry Flocks I lead, May the fresh Grafs ftill wither where they tread; And may this River, when I come to drink, Dry up as foon as I approach the brink. Take here this Bracelet of my Virgin hair, And when for me thou can't a minute fpare, Remember this poor pledge was once a part Of her, who with it gave thee all her heart. Where-e'er thou go'ft, may Fortune deal with thee Better than thou, alas! haft dealt with me. Farewel; my Tears will give me leave to fay No more than this, To all the Gods I pray These weeping Eyes may once enjoy thy fight, Before they clofe in Death's eternal Night. SIRENO.
Then let Sireno banish all his fears, Heav'n cannot long refift fuch pious Tears. The Righteous Gods, from whom our paffion came, Will pity (fure) so innocent a Flame;
Reverse the hard Decree for which we mourn,
And let Sireno to his Joys return.
I hall again my Charming Nymph behold,
And never part, but in her Arms grow old:
That hope alone my breaking heart fuftains,
And arms my tortur'd Soul to bear my Pains.
The STORY of LUCRETIA. Out of Ovid de Faftis. Book II. English'd by Mr. Creech.
OW Tarquin the laft King did govern Rome,
Some Towns he won, fome he did fairly beat,
And took the Gavii by a mean deceit ;
For of his three brave Youths his youngest Son,
His Nature fierce, his Manners like his own,
His Father's Child outright, pretends a flight,
And came amidft the Enemies by Night;
They drew their Swords, Come kill me now, he said,
My Father will rejoice to fee me dead:
See how his Rods my tender Entrails tore,
(To prove this true, he had been whipt before)
The men grow mild, they fheath their threatning
Swords,
And view his wounds, and those confirm his words:
Then each man weeps, and each his wrongs refents,
And begs to fide with them, and he confents.
Thus gull'd, the crafty Youth, and once in truft,
The firft occafion fought to be unjust,
And the unthinking Gabii's Town betray,
Confults his Father for the fureft way.
There was a Garden crown'd with fragrant Flowers,
A little Spring ran through the pleasant Bowers,
The foft retreat of Tarquin's thinking hours.
There when the meffage came, he chanc'd to stand,
And lopt the talleft Lillies with his wand:
With that the Messenger return'd, and said,
I faw your Father crop the lofty head
Of each tall Flower, but not one word to you;
Well, fays the Son, I know what I must do ;
And freight the Nobles kill'd; when those were gone,
He foon betray'd the poor defenceless Town.
When lo (a wond'rous fight) a Serpent came,
And fnatcht the Entrails from the dying Flame;
Phoebus advis'd, and thus the Answer ran,
He that fhall kifs (for fo the Fates ordain)
His Mother first, shall be the greatest man.
Then ftreight with eager hafte th' unthinking Crowd
Their Mothers kifs'd, nor understood the God.
But wifer Brutus, who did act the Fool,
Left Tarquin fhould suspect his rifing Soul,
Fell down, as if 't had been a cafual fall,
And kifs'd his Mother Earth before them all.
Now Ardea was befieg'd, the Town was ftrong,
The men refolv'd, and fo the Leaguer long:
And whilft the Enemy did the War delay,
Diffolv'd in Eafe the careless Soldiers lay,
And spent the vacant time in fport and play.
Young Tarquin doth adorn his Noble Feafts,
The Captains treats, and thus bespeaks his Guests;
Whilft we lye lingring in a tedious War,
And far from Conqueft tired out with Care,
How do our Women lead their Lives ar Rome?
And are we thought on by our Wives at home?
Each speaks for his, each fays, I'll swear for mine,
And thus a while they talkt, grown flusht with Wine;
At laft young Collatine ftarts up and cries,
What need of words, come let's believe our Eyes;
Away to Rome, for that's the safest Course :
They all agree, fo each man mounts his Horse.
First to the Court, and there they found no Guard,
No Watchman there, and all the Gates unbarr'd;'
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