תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

In vain on filken beds I fought repofe;
And reftlefs oft from purple couches rofe;
Vexatious thought ftill found my flying mind
Nor bound by limits, nor to place confin'd;
Haunted my nights, and terrify'd my days;
Stalk'd thro' my gardens, and purfu'd my ways,
Nor fhut from artful bow'r, nor loft in winding

maze.

Yet take thy bent, my foul; another fenfe Indulge; add mufic to magnificence: Effay, if harmony may grief controll; Or pow'r of found prevail upon the foul. Often our feers and poets have confeft, That mufic's force can tame the furious beaft; Can make the wolf, or foaming boar refrain His rage; the lion drop his crefted mane, Attentive to the fong; the lynx forget His wrath to man, and lick the minstrel's feet. Are we, alas! lefs favage yet than these? Elfe mufic fure may human cares appease.

I spake my purpose; and the chearful choir
Parted their fhares of harmony: the lyre
Soften'd the timbrel's noife: the trumpet's found
Provok'd the Dorian flute (both fweeter found
When mix'd: the fife the viol's notes refin'd,
And ev'ry strength with ev'ry grace was join'd.
Each morn they wak'd me with a sprightly lay:
Of opening heav'n they fung, and gladfome day.
Each evening their repeated skill express'd
Scenes of repofe, and images of rest:

Yet ftill in vain: for music gather'd thought;
But how unequal the effects it brought?

[blocks in formation]

The foft ideas of the chearful note,
Lightly receiv'd, were eafily forgot:
The folemn violence of the, graver found
Know to ftrike deep, and leave a lasting wound.
And now reflecting, I with grief defcry
The fickly luft of the fantastic eye;
How the weak organ is with feeing cloy'd,
Flying ere night what is at noon enjoy'd.
And now (unhappy search of thought!) I found
The fickle ear foon glutted with the found,
Condemn'd eternal changes to pursue,
Tir'd with the last, and eager of the new.

1 bad the virgins and the youth advance,
To temper mufic with the fprightly dance.
In vain! too low the mimic motions feem:
What takes our heart, muft merit our esteem.
Nature, I thought, perform'd too mean a part,
Forming her movements to the rules of art;
And vex'd I found, that the musician's hand
Had o'er the dancer's mind too great.command.

I drank; I lik'd it not: 'twas rage, 'twas noife; An airy fcene of tranfitory joys.

In vain I trusted, that the flowing bowl
Would banish forrow, and enlarge the foul.
To the late revel, and protracted feast
Wild dreams fucceeded, and diforder'd reft;
And as at dawn of morn fair reason's light
Broke thro' the fumes and phantoms of the night;
What had been faid, I ask'd my foul, what done;
How flow'd our mirth, and whence the fource begun ?
Perhaps the jeft that charm'd the sprightly croud,
And made the jovial. table laugh fo loud,

To fome falfe notion ow'd its poor pretence,
To an ambiguous word's perverted fenfe,
To a wild fonnët, or a wanton air,
Offence and torture to the fober ear.

Perhaps, alas! the pleasing stream was brought
From this man's error, from another's fault;
From topics which good-nature would forget,
And prudence mention with the last regret.
Add yet unnumber'd-ills, that lie unfeen
In the pernicious draught; the word obfcene,
Or harth, which once elanc'd must ever fly,
Irrevocable; the too prompt reply,

Seed of fevere diftruft, and fierce debate;
What we should fhun, and what we ought to hate.
Add too the blood impoverish'd, and the course
Of health suppress'd, by wine's continu'd force.

Unhappy man! whom forrow thus and rage
To diff'rent ills alternately engage.

Who drinks, alas! but to forget: nor fees,
That melancholy floth, fevere disease,
Mem'ry confefs'd, and interrupted thought,
Death's harbingers, lie latent in the draught:
And in the flow'rs that wreath the fparkling bowl,
Fell adders hifs, and pois'nous ferpents roll.
Remains there ought untry'd, that may remove
Sickness of mind, and heal the bofom?love,
Love yet remains: indulge his genial fire,
Cherish fair hope, folicit young defire,
And boldly bid thy anxious foul explore
This laft great remedy's mysterious pow'r.
Why therefore hesitates my doubtful breast ?
Why ceafes it one moment to be bleft?

Fly fwift, my friends; my fervants, fly; imploy
Your inftant pains to bring your mafter joy.
Let all my wives and concubines be dreft:
Let them to-night attend the royal feast;
All Ifrael's beauty, all the foreign fair;
The gifts of princes, or the fpoils of war.
Before their monarch they fhall fingly pafs:
And the most worthy fhall obtain the grace.

I faid: the feaft was ferv'd: the bowl was crown'd;
To the king's pleasure went the mirthful round:
The women came: as custom wills, they paft:
On one (O, that diftinguifh'd one!) I caft
The fav'rite glance: O! yet my mind retains
That fond beginning of my infant pains.
Mature the virgin was of Egypt's race:

Grace fhap'd her limbs; and beauty deck'd her face:
Eafy her motion feem'd, ferene her air:

Full, though unzon'd, her bofom rofe; her hair
Unty'd, and ignorant of artful aid,

Adown her fhoulders loosely lay display'd;
And in the jetty curls ten thousand Cupids play'd.
Fix'd on her charms, and pleas'd that I could love,
Aid me my friends, contribute to improve
Your monarch's blifs, I faid; fresh roses bring
To strow my bed; 'till the impov'rifh'd spring
Confefs her want; around my am'rous head
Be dropping myrrhe, and liquid amber fhed,
'Till Arab has no more. From the foft lyre,
Sweet flute, and ten-string'd inftrument require
Sounds of delight: and thou, fair nymph, draw nigh;
Thou in whofe graceful form and potent eye

Thy mafter's joy long fought at length is found;
And as thy brow, let my defires be crown'd;
O fav'rite virgin, that haft warm'd the breaft,
Whofe fov'reign dictates fubjugate the east!

I faid; and fudden from the golden thronet
With a fubmiffive step I hafted down.
The glowing garland from my hair I took;
Love in my heart, obedience in my look;
Prepar❜d to place it on her comely head;
O fav'rite virgin! (yet again I faid)
Receive the honours destin❜d to thy brow;
And O above thy fellows happy thou!
Their duty muft thy fov'reign word obey,
Rife up, my love; my fair one, come away.
What pang, alas! what extacy of smart
Tore up my fenfes, and transfix'd my heart;
When the with modeft fcorn the wreath return'd,
Reclin'd her beauteous neck, and inward mourn'd?
Forc'd by my pride, I my concern suppress'd,
Pretended drowsiness, and wish of rest ;-
And fullen I forfook th' imperfect feast:
Ordering the eunuchs, to whofe proper care
Our eastern grandeur gives th' imprifon'd fair,
To lead her forth to a diftinguish'd bow'r,
Aml bid her drefs the bed, and wait the hour,
Reftlefs I follow'd this obdurate maid,
(Swift are the steps that love and anger tread)
Approach'd her perfon, courted her embrace,
Renew'd my flame, repeated my difgrace
By turns put on the fuppliant, and the lord:
Threaten'd this moment, and the next implor'd ;

« הקודםהמשך »