Those fam'd dictators, who subdu'd the globe,
Gave the precedence to the peaceful robe;
The mighty Julius, pleading at the bar,
Was greater, than when, thundering in the war,
He conquer'd nations: 'Tis of more renown
To save a client, than to storm a town.

"How dear to Britain are her darling laws!
What blood has she not lavish'd in their cause!
Kings are like common slaves to slaughter led,
Or wander through the world to beg their bread.
When regal power aspires above the laws,
A private wrong becomes a public cause."

He spoke. The nobles differ, and divide, Some join with Law, and some with Beauty side. Mordaunt, though once her slave, insults the fair, Whose fetters 'twas his pride, in youth, to wear : So Lucifer, revolting, brav'd the power Whom he was wont to worship and implore. Like impions is their rage, who have in chase A new Omnipotence in Grafton's face. But Rochester, undaunted, just, and wise, Asserts the goddess with the charming eyes; And O! may Beauty never want reward For thee, her noble champion, and her guard. Beauty triumphs, and Law submitting lies, The tyrant, tam'd, aloud for mercy cries; Conquest can never fail in radiant Grafton's eyes.

UNSEASONABLY SURPRIZED IN THE EMBRACES OF
HER LORD.

FAIREST Zelinda, cease to chide, or grieve;
Nor blush at joys that only you can give;
Who with bold eyes survey'd those matchless
Is punish'd, seeing in another's arms: [charins
With greedy looks he views cach naked part,
Joy feeds his eyes, but Envy tears his heart.
So caught was Mars, and Mercury aloud
Proclaim'd his grief, that he was not the god;
So to be caught, was every god's desire:
Nor less than Venus, can Zelinda fire.
Forgive him then, thou m re than heavenly fair,
Forgive his rashness, punish'd by despair;
All that we know, which wretched mortals feel
In those sad regions where the tortur'd dwell,
Is, that they see the raptures of the bless'd,
And view the joys which they must never taste.

LADY HYDE 1.

WHEN fam'd Apelles sought to frame
Some image of th' Idalian dame,
To furnish graces for the piece,

He summon'd all the nymphs of Greece;
So many mortals were combin'd
To show how one immortal shin'd.

Had Hyde thus sat by proxy too,
As Venus then was said to do,
Venus herself, and all the train!
Of goddesses had summon'd been;

The painter must have search'd the skies,
To match the lustre of her eyes.
Comparing then, while thus we view
The ancient Venus, and the new;
In her we many mortals see,
As many goddesses in thee.

LADY HYDE

HAVING THE SMALL POX, SOON AFTER THE
RECOVERY OF MRS. MOHUN.

SCARCE Could the general joy for Mohun appear,
But new attempts show other dangers near;
Beauty 's attack'd in her imperial fort,
Where all her Loves and Graces kept their court;
In her chief residence, besieg'd at last,
Laments to see her fairest fields laid waste.

On things immortal, all attempts are vain;
Tyrant Disease, 'tis loss of time and pain;
Glut thy wild rage, and load thee with rich prize
Torn from her cheeks, her fragrant lips, and eyes:
Let her but live; as much vermilion take,
As might an Helen, or a Venus make;

Afterwards countess of Clarendon and Rochester. VOL XL

TO FLAVIA.

WRITTEN ON HER GARDEN IN THE NORTH.

WHAT charm is this, that in the midst of snow,

Of storms, and blasts, the choicest fruits do grow?
Melons on beds of ice are taught to bear,
And strangers to the Sun, yet ripen here;
On frozen ground the sweetest flowers arise,
Unseen by any light, but Flavia's eyes;
Where-e'er she treads, beneath the Charmer's feet
The rose, the jess'mine, and the lilies meet;
Where-e'er she looks, behold some sudden birth
Adorns the trees, and fructifies the earth;
In midst of mouutains, and unfruitful ground,
As rich an Eden as the first is found.

In this new Paradise the goddess reigns
In sovereign state, and mocks the lover's pains;
Beneath those beams that scorch us from her eyes,
Her snowy bosom still unmelted lies;

Love from her lips spreads all his odours round,
But bears on ice, and springs from frozen ground.
So cold the clime that can such wonders bear,
The garden seems an emblem of the fair.

ΤΟ

THE SAME:

HER GARDENS HAVING ESCAPED A FLOOD THAT HAD LAID ALL THE COUNTRY ROUND UNDER WATER. WHAT hands divine have planted and protect, The torrent spares, and deluges respect; So when the waters o'er the world were spread, Covering each oak, and every mountain's head, The chosen patriarch sail'd within his ark, Nor might the waves o'erwhelm the seed bark.

C

The charming Flavia is no less, we find,
The favourite of Heaven, than of mankind;
The gods, like rivals, imitate our care,
And vie with mortals to oblige the fair;
These favours thus bestow'd on her alone,
Are but the homage which they send her down.
O Flavia! may thy virtue from above
Be crown'd with blessings, endless as my love.

ΤΟ

MY FRIEND DR. GARTH.

IN HIS SICKNESS.

MACHAON sick, in every face we find
His danger is the danger of mankind;
Whose art protecting, Nature could expire
But by a deluge, or the general fire.

More lives he saves, than perish in our wars,
And faster than a plague destroys, repairs.
The hold carouser, and advent'rous dame,
Nor fear the fever, nor refuse the flame;
Safe in his skill, from all restraints set free,
But conscious shame, remorse, or piety.

Sire of all arts, defend thy darling son; O! save the man whose life 's so much our own! On whom, like Atlas, the whole world's reclin'd, And by restoring Garth, mankind. preserve

The poet, with a pencil less confin'd,
Shall paint her virtues, and describe her mind,
Unlock the shrine, and to the sight unfold
The secret gems, and all the inward gold.
Two only patterns do the Muses name,
Of perfect beauty, but of guilty fame;
A Venus and an Helen have been seen,
Both perjur'd wives, the goddess and the queen :
In this, the third, are reconcil'd at last
Those jarring attributes of fair and chaste,
With graces that attract, but not ensnare,
Divinely good, as she's divinely fair;
With beauty, not affected, vain, nor proud;
With greatness, easy, affable, and good:
Others, by guilty artifice, and arts

Of promis'd kindness, practise on our hearts,
With expectation blow the passion up;
She fans the fire, without one gale of hope,
Like the chaste Moon, she shines to all mankind,
But to Endymion is her love confin'd.
What cruel destiny on Beauty waits,
When on one face depend so many fates!
Oblig'd by honour to relieve but one,
Unhappy men by thousands are undone.

TO MY DEAR KINSMAN,

CHARLES LORD LANSDOWNE,

UPON THE BOMBARDMENT OF

THE TOWN OF GRANVILLE IN NORMANDY

BY THE ENGLISH FLEET.

THO' built by gods, consum'd by hostile flame,
Troy bury'd lies, yet lives the Trojan naine;
And so shall thine, though with these walls were lost

All the records our ancestors could boast.
For Latium conquer'd, and for Turnus slain,
Eneas lives, though not one stone remain
Where he arose: nor art thou less renown'd
For thy loud triumphs on Hungarian ground.
Those arms,
2 which for nine centuries had brav'd
The wrath of Time, on antique stone engrav'd,
Now torn by mortars, stand yet undefac'd
On nobler trophies, by thy valour rais'd:
Safe on thy eagle's 3 wings they soar above
The rage of war, or thunder to remove,
Borne by the bird of Cæsar, and of Jove.

LADY HYDE,

SITTING AT SIR GODFREY KNELLER'S
FOR HER PICTURE.

WHILE
HILE Kneller, with inimitable art,
Attempts that face whose print 's on every heart,

1 Apollo, god of poetry and physic.

ΤΟ

MRS. GRANVILLE,

OF WOTTON IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE;
AFTERWARDS LADY CONWAY.

LOVE, like a tyrant whom no laws constrain,
Now for some ages kept the world in pain;
Beauty by vast destructions got renown,
And lovers only by their rage were known.
But Granville, more auspicious to mankind,
Conqu'ring the heart, as much instructs the mind;
Blest in the fate of her victorious eyes,
Seeing, we love; and hearing, we grow wise:
So Rome for wisdom, as for conquest fam'd,
Improv'd with arts, whom she by arms had tam'd.
Above the clouds is plac'd this glorious light,
Nothing lies hid from her enquiring sight;
Athens and Rome for arts restor❜d rejoice,
Their language takes new music from her voice;
Learning and Love, in the same seat we find,
So bright her eyes, and so adorn'd her mind.
Long had Minerva govern'd in the skies,
But now descends, confest to human eyes;
Behold in Granville that inspiring queen,
Whom learned Athens so ador'd unseen.

ΤΟ

MRS. AFRA BEHN. Two warrior chiefs 4 the voice of Fame divide, Who best deserv'd, not Plutarch could decide: Behold two mightier conquerors appear, Some for your wit, some for your eyes declare; Debates arise, which captivates us most, And none can tell the charm by which he's lost. The bow and quiver does Diana bear;

on one of the gates of the town.

3 He was created a count of the Empire, the family arms to be borne for ever upon the breast of the imperialspread eagle,

Poets such emblems to their gods assign, Hearts bleeding by the dart and pen be thine.

4 Alexander and Cæsar.

THE DESERTION.

Now fly, Discretion, to my aid,

See haughty Myra, fair and bright, In all the pomp of Love array'd;

Ah! how I tremble at the sight! She comes, she comes-before her all Mankind does prostrate fall. Love, a destroyer fierce and young, Advent'rous, terrible, and strong, Cruel and rash, delighting still to vex,

Sparing nor age nor sex, Commands in chief; well fortify'd he lies, And from her lips, her cheeks and eyes, All opposition he defies.

Reason, Love's old inveterate foe,
Scarce ever reconcil'd till now,

Reason assists her too.

A wise commander he, for council fit;
But nice and coy, nor has been seen to sit
In modern synod, nor appear'd of late
In courts, nor camps, nor in affairs of state;
Reason proclaims them all his foes,
Who such resistless charms oppose.
My very bosom friends make war
Within my breast, and in her interests are;
Esteem and Judgment with strong Fancy join
To court, and call the fair invader in;
My darling favourite Inclination too,
All, all conspiring with the foe.

Ah! whither shall I fly to hide

My weakness from the conqu'ror's pride?
Now, now, Discretion, be my guide.
But see, this mighty Archimedes too,
Surrenders now.

Presuming longer to resist,
His very name
Discretion must disclaim;

Folly and Madness only would persist.

Nor Venus, nor Diana will we name;

Myra is Venus and Diana too,

All that was feign'd of them, apply'd to her, is true;
Then sing, my Muse, let Myra be our theme.
As when the shepherds would a garland make,
They search with care the fragrant meadows
round,

Plucking but here and there, and only take
The choicest flow'rs with which some nymph is
crown'd:

In framing Myra so divinely fair,
Nature has taken the same care;
All that is lovely, noble, good, we see,
All, beauteous Myra, all bound up in thee.
Where Myra is, there is the queen of Love,
Th' Arcadian pastures, and th' Idalian grove.
Let Myra dance, so charming is her mien,
In every movement every grace is seen;
Let Myra sing, the notes so sweetly wound,
The Syrens would be silent at the sound.
Place me on mountains of eternal snow,
Where all is ice, all winter winds that blow;
Or cast me underneath the burning line,
Where everlasting Sun does shine;
Where all is scorch'd-whatever you decree,
Ye gods! Wherever I shall be,

Myra shall still be lov'd, and still ador'd by me.

SONG.

TO MYRA.

I.

WHY, cruel creature, why so bent

To vex a tender heart?

To gold and title you relent,
Love throws in vain his dart.

II.

Let glittering fools in courts be great;
For pay, let armies move;
Beauty should have no other bait
But gentle vows, and love.

III.

If on those endless charms you lay
The value that's their due,
Kings are themselves too poor to pay,
A thousand worlds too few.

IV.

But if a passion without vice,

Without disguise or art,

Ah Myra if true love's your price, Behold it in my heart.

IN PRAISE OF

MYRA.

TUNE, tune thy lyre, begin my Muse,

What nymph, what queen, what goddess wilt thou

choose?

Whose praises sing? What charmer's name Transmit immortal down to Fame? Strike, strike thy strings, let Echo take the sound, And bear it far, to all the mountains round; Pindus again shall hear, again rejoice, And Hemus too, as when th' enchanting voice Of tuneful Orpheus charm'd the grove, Taught oaks to dance, and made the cedars move.

MYRA SINGING.

THE Syrens, once deluded, vainly charm'd,
Ty'd to the mast, Ulysses sail'd unharm'd;
Had Myra's voice entic'd his listening ear,
The Greek had stopt, and would have dy'd to hear.
When Myra sings, we seek th' enchanting sound,
And bless the notes that do so sweetly wound.
What music needs must dwell upon that tongue,
Whose speech is tuneful as another's song!

Such harmony such wit! a face so fair!
So many pointed arrows who can bear?
Who from her wit, or from her beauty flies,
If with her voice she overtakes him, dies.
Like soldiers so in battle we succeed,
One peril 'scaping, by another bleed;
In vain the dart, or glittering sword we shun,
Condemn'd to perish by the slaught'ring gun.

MYRA.

AT A REVIEW OF THE GUARDS IN HYDE-PARK.

LET meaner beauties conquer singly still,
But haughty Myra will by thousands kill;
Through armed ranks triumphantly she drives,
And with one glance commands a thousand lives:
The trembling heroes, nor resist, nor fly,
But at the head of all their squadrons die.

ΤΟ

MVRA.

NATURE, indulgent, provident and kind,
In all things that excel, some use design'd;
The radiant Sun, of every heavenly light
The first, (did Myra not dispute that right)
Sends from above ten thousand blessings down;
Nor is he set so high for show alone,
His beams reviving with auspicious fire,
Freely we all enjoy what all admire :
The Moon and stars, those faithful guides of night,
Are plac'd to help, not entertain the sight:
Plants, fruits, and flowers the fertile fields produce,
Not for vain ornament, but wholesome use;
Health they restore, and nourishment they give,
We see with pleasure, but we taste to live.

Then think not, Myra, that thy form was meant
More to create desire, than to content;
Would the just Gods so many charms provide
Only to gratify a mortal's pride?

Would they have form'd thee so above thy sex,
Only to play the tyrant, and to vex?
'Tis impious pleasure to delight in harm,

And Beauty should be kind, as well as charm.

THE

PROGRESS OF BEAUTY.

THE God of day descending from above,
Mixt with the sea, and got the queen of Love.
Beauty, that fires the world, 'twas fit should rise
From him alone who lights the stars and skies.
In Cyprus long, by men and gods obey'd,
'The lover's toil she gratefully repaid,
Promiscuous blessings to her slaves assign'd,
And taught the world that Beauty should be kind.
Learn by this pattern, all ye fair, to charm,
Bright be your beams, but without scorching warm.
Helen was next from Greece to Phrygia brought,
With much expense of blood and empire sought:
Beauty and Love the noblest cause afford,
That can try valour, or employ the sword.
Not men alone incited by her charms,

But Heaven's concern'd, and all the gods take arms.

The happy Trojan gloriously possest,
Enjoys the damne, and leaves to Fate the rest.
Your cold reflections, moralists, forbear,
His title's best who best can please the fair.
And now the gods, in pity to the cares,
The fierce desires, distractions, and despairs
Of tortur'd men, while Beauty was confin'd,
Resolv'd to multiply the charming kind.
Greece was the land where this bright race begun,
And saw a thousand rivals to the Sun.
Hence follow'd arts, while each employ'd his care
In new productions to delight the fair:
To bright Aspasia Socrates retir'd,

His wisdom grew but as his love inspir'd;
Those rocks and oaks, which such emotions felt,
Were cruel maids whom Orpheus taught to melt;
Music, and songs, and every way to move

The ravish'd heart, were seeds and plants of love.
The gods, entic'd by so divine a birth,
Descend from Heaven to this new heaven on Earth;
Thy wit, O Mercury, 's no defence from Love;
Nor Mars, thy target; nor thy thunder, Jove.
The mad immortals in a thousand shapes,

Range the wide globe; some yield, some suffer
Invaded, or deceiv'd, not one escapes. [rapes,

The wife, though a bright goddess, thus gives place
To mortal concubines of fresh embrace;
By such examples were we taught to see
The life and soul of Love, is sweet variety.

In those first times, ere charming womankind
Reform'd their pleasures, polishing the mind,
Rude were their revels, and obscene their joys,
The broils of drunkards, and the lust of boys;
Phoebus laments for Hyacinthus dead,
And Juno, jealous, storms at Ganymed.
Return, my Muse, and close that odious scene,
Nor stain, thy verse with images unclean;
Of Beauty sing, her shining progress view,
From cline to clime the dazzling light pursue,
Tell how the goddess spread, and how in empire

grew.

Let others govern, or defend the state,
Plead at the bar, or manage a debate,
In lofty arts and sciences excel,

Or in proud domes employ their boasted skill,
To marble and to brass such features give,
The metal and the stone may seem to live;
Describe the stars, and planetary way,
And trace the footsteps of Eternal Day:
Be this, my Muse, thy pleasure and thy care,
A slave to Beauty, to record the fair.
Still wand'ring in love's sweet delicious maze,
To sing the triumphs of some heavenly face,
Of lovely dames, who with a smile or frown
Subdue the proud, the suppliant lover crown.
From Venus down to Myra bring thy song,
To thee alone such tender tasks belong.

From Greece to Afric, Beauty takes her flight,
And ripens with her near approach to light:
Frown not, ye fair, to hear of swarthy dames,
With radiant eyes, that take unerring aims;
Beauty to no complexion is confin'd,
Is of all colours, and by none defin'd;
Jewels that shine, in gold or silver set,
As precious and as sparkling are in jet.
Here Cleopatra, with a liberal heart,
Bounteous of love, improv'd the joy with art,
The first who gave recruited slaves to know
That the rich pearl was of more use than show,

1