KC 1880

HARVARD COLLEGE LIDHARY

FROM THE ESTATE OF LAWRENCE J. HENDERSON

MAY 19, 1942

THE

PROGRESS of LOVE.

ΙΝ

Four E CLOGUE S.

UNCERTAINTY. ECLOGUE I.

To Mr. POPE.

OPE, to whofe reed beneath the beechen shade,

The Nymphs of Thames a pleas'd attention paid;
While yet thy Mufe, content with humbler praife,
Warbled in Windfor's grove her sylvan lays ;
Though now fublimely borne on Homer's wing,
Of glorious wars, and godlike chiefs fhe fing:
Wilt thou with me re-vifit once again

The crystal fountain, and the flow'ry plain?

VOL. II.

A

Wilt

Wilt thou, indulgent, hear my verfe relate
The various changes of a lover's ftate;
And while each turn of paffion I purfue,
Afk thy own heart if what I tell be true?

To the green margin of a lonely wood,,
Whofe pendent fhades o'erlook'd a filver flood,
Young Damon came, unknowing where he ftray'd,

Full of the image of his beauteous maid:

His flock far off, unfed, untended lay,
To every favage a defencelefs prey;

No fenfe of int'reft could their mafter move,

And every care feem'd trifling now but Love.

Awhile in penfive filence he remain'd,

But though his voice was mute, his looks complain'd;
At length the thoughts within his bofom pent,-
Forc'd his unwilling tongue to give them vent.

Ye Nymphs, he cry'd, ye Dryads, who fo long
Have favour'd Damon, and infpir'd his fong;
For whom, retir'd, I fhun the gay reforts
Of fportful cities, and of pompous courts;
In vain I bid the reftlefs world adieu,
To feek tranquillity and peace with you.
Though wild Ambition and destructive Rage
No Factions here can form, no wars can wage;
Though Envy frowns not on your humble fhades,
Nor Calumny your innocence invades,

Yet cruel Love, that troubler of the breast,

Too often violates your boafted reft ;

With inbred ftorms difturbs your calm retreat,
And taints with bitterness each rural fweet.

Ah luckless day! when firft with fond furprize
On Delia's face I fix'd my eager eyes;
Then in wild tumults all my foul was toft,
Then reason, liberty, at once were lost :

And every wish, and thought, and care was gone,
But what my heart employ'd on her alone.
Then too fhe fmil'd: can fmiles our peace deftroy,
Thofe lovely Children of Content and Joy ?
How can foft pleasure and tormenting woe,
From the fame fpring at the fame moment flow?
Unhappy boy, thefe vain enquiries cease,

Thought could not guard, nor will restore thy peace:
Indulge the frenzy that thou must endure,

chain.

And footh the pain thou know'ft not how to cure.
Come, flatt'ring Memory, and tell my heart
How kind fhe was, and with what pleafing art
She ftrove its fondeft wishes to obtain,
Confirm her pow'r, and fafter hind my
If on the green we danc'd, a mirthful band,
To me alone she gave her willing hand;
Her partial tafte, if e'er I touch'd the lyre,
Still in my fong found fomething to admire.

By none but her my crook with flow'rs was crown'd,
By none but her my brows with ivy bound:
The world that Damon was her choice believ'd,
The world, alas! like Damon was deceiv'd.

When laft I saw her, and declar'd my fire,
In words as foft as paffion could infpire,
Coldly fhe heard, and full of scorn withdrew,
Without one pitying glance, one sweet adieu.
The frighted hind, who fees his ripen'd'corn
Up from the roots by fudden tempest torn,
Whofe faireft hopes deftroy'd and blafted lie,
Feels not fo keen a pang of grief as I.
Ah! how have I deferv'd, inhuman maid,
To have my faithful service thus repay'd?
Were all the marks of kindness I receiv'd,
But dreams of joy, that charm'd me and deceiv'd ?
Or did you only nurse my growing love,
That with more pain I might your hatred prove?
Sure guilty treachery no place could find
In fuch a gentle, fuch a gen'rous mind:

A maid brought up the woods and wilds among,
Could ne'er have learnt the art of courts fo young:
No; let me rather think her anger feign'd,
Still let me hope my Delia may be gain'd;
'Twas only modefty that feem'd difdain,'
And her heart fuffer'd when she gave me pain.

Pleas'd with this flatt'ring thought, the love-fick boy
Felt the faint dawnings of a doubtful joy;
Back to his flock more chearful he return'd,
When now the fetting fun lefs fiercely burn'd;
Blue vapours rofe along the mazy rills,
And light's laft blushes ting'd the diftant hills.

4

HOPE.