The perjur'd youth unfurls his treach'rous fails,
And their white bofoms catch the fwelling gales.
Be ftill, ye winds, fhe cries, ftay, Thefeus, ftay;
But faithless Thefeus hears no more than they.
All defp'rate, to fome craggy cliff the flies,
And spreads a well-known fignal in the skies;
His lefs'ning veffel plows the foamy main,"
She fighs, fhe calls, fhe waves the fign in vain.
Paint Dido there amidst her laft diftrefs,
Pale cheeks and blood-fhot eyes her grief exprefs:
Deep in her breaft the reeking fword is drown'd;
And gufhing blood freams purple from the wound:
Her fifter Anna hov'ring o'er her ftands,
Accufes heaven with lifted eyes and hands,
Upbraids the Trojan with repeated cries,
And mixes curfes with her broken fighs.
View this, ye maids; and then each fwain believe;
They're Trojans all, and vow but to deceive.
Here draw O Enone in the lonely grove,
Where Paris first betray'd her into love
Let wither'd garlands hang on ev'ry bough,
Which the falfe youth wove for OEnone's brow,
The garlands lofe their fweets, their pride is fhed,
And like their odours all his vows are fled;:
On her fair arm her penfive head the lays,
And Xanthus' waves with mournful look furveys;
That flood which witness'd his inconftant flame,
When thus he fwore, and won the yielding dame :
Thefe ftreams fhall fooner to their fountain move,
Than I forget my dear OEnone's love.
Roll back, ye ftreams, back to your fountain run,
Paris is falfe, Enone is undone.
Ah wretched maid! think how the moments flew,
Ere you the pangs of this curs'd paffion knew,
When groves could please, and when you lov'd the plain,
Without the presence of your perjur'd swain.
Thus may the nymph, whene'er fhe fpreads the fan,
In his true colours view perfidious man,
Pleas'd with her virgin ftate in forests rove,
And never trust the dang'rous hopes of love.
The Goddess ended, merry Momus rofe,
With fmiles and grins he waggish glances throws,
Then with a noify laugh forestalls his joke,
Mirth flashes from his eyes while thus he spoke. 130
Rather let heav'nly deeds be painted there,
And by your own examples teach the fair.
Let chafte Diana on the piece be seen,
And the bright crefcent own the Cynthiản Queen ;*
On Latmos' top fee young Endymion lies
Feign'd fleep hath clos'd the bloomy lover's eyes,
See, to his foft embraces how the fteals,
And on his lips her warm careffes' feals;
No more her hand the glitt'ring jav'lin holds,
But round his neck her eager arms she folds.
Why are our fecrets by our blushes fhown?
Virgins are virgins ftill while 'tis unknown.
- Here let her on fome flow'ry bank be laid,
Where meeting beeches weave a graceful shade,"
Her naked bofom wanton treffes
grace,
And glowing expectation paints her face,
O'er her fair limbs a thin loofe veil is spread,
Stand off, ye fhepherds; fear Acton's head;
Let vig'rous Pan th' unguarded minute seize,
And in a fhaggy goat the virgin please.
Why are our fecrets by our blushes shown?
Virgins are virgins ftill-while 'tis unknown.
There with juft warmth Aurora's paffion trace,
Let spreading crimson ftain her virgin face;
See Cephalus her wanton airs despise,
While the provokes him with defiring eyes;
To raise his paffion she displays her charms,
His modeft hand upon her bofom warms ;
Nor looks, nor pray'rs, nor force his heart perfuade,
But with difdain he quits the rofie maid.
Here let diffolving Lada grace the toy,
Warm cheeks and heaving breafts reveal her joy;
Beneath the preffing fwan fhe pants for air,
While with his flutt'ring wings he fans the fair,
There let all-conquering gold exert its pow'r,
And foften Danae in a glitt'ring fhow'r.
Would you warn beauty not to cherish pride,
Nor vainly in the treach'rous bloom confide,
On the machine the fage Minerva place,
With lineaments of wisdom mark her face;
See, where the lies near fome tranfparent flood,
And with her pipe chears the refounding wood:
Her image in the floating glafs fhe fpies,
Her bloated cheeks, worn lips, and shrivell'd eyes ;
She breaks the guiltless pipe, and with difdain
Its fhatter'd ruins flings upon the plain,
With the loud reed no more her cheek shall swell,
What, fpoil her face! no. Warbling ftrains farewell.
Shall arts-fhall fciences employ the fair?
Thofe trifles are beneath Minerva's care.
From Venus let her learn the marry'd life,
And all the virtuous duties of a wife.
Here on a couch extend the Cyprian dame,
Let her eye sparkle with the glowing flame;
The God of war within her clinging arms,
Sinks on her lips, and kindles all her charms.
Paint limping Vulcan with a husband's care,
And let his brow the cuckold's honours wear;
Beneath the net the captive lovers place,
Their limbs entangled in a close embrace.
Let these amours adorn the new machine,
And female nature on the piece be seen ;
So fhall the fair, as long as fans fhall laft,
Learn from your bright examples to be chafte.
HUS Momus fpoke. When fage Minerva rofe,
From her fweet lips fmooth elocution flows,
Her skilful hand an iv'ry pallet grac'd,
Where shining colours were in order plac'd.
As Gods are blefs'd with a fuperior skill,
And, fwift as mortal thought, perform their will,
Straight fhe proposes, by her art divine,
To bid the paint exprefs her great defign.
Th' affembled Pow'rs confent. She now began,
And her creating pencil ftain'd the fan.
O'er the fair field, trees fpread, and rivers flow,
Tow'rs rear their heads, and distant mountains grow;
Life seems to move within the glowing veins,
And in each face fome lively paffion reigns.
Thus have I seen woods, hills, and dales appear, 15
Flocks graze the plains, birds wing the filent air
In darken'd rooms, where light can only pass
Through the fmall circle of a convex glass ;
On the white sheet the moving figures rife,
The forest waves, clouds float along the skies.
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