have.roll'd:

Bright Cloe! object of my conftant vow,
Wilt thou a while unbend thy ferious brow?
Wilt thou with pleasure hear thy lover's ftrains,
And with one heav'nly fmile o'erpay his pains?
No longer fhall the Nut-brown Maid be old,
Tho' fince her youth three hundred years
At thy defire she shall again be rais'd,
And her reviving charms in lasting verse be prais❜d.
No longer man of woman shall complain,
That he may love, and not be lov'd again;
That we in vain the fickle fex pursue,

Who change the conftant lover for the new.
Whatever has been writ, whatever faid,
Of female paffion feign'd, or faith decay'd,
Henceforth fhall in my verfe refuted stand,
Be faid to winds, or writ upon the fand:
And while my notes to future times proclaim
Unconquer'd love, and ever-during flame,
O, fairest of the fex! be thou my Muse;
Deign on my work thy influence to diffuse;
Let me partake the bleffings I rehearse,
And grant me, Love, the juft reward of verfe.

As Beauty's potent queen, with ev'ry grace,
That once was Emma's, has adorn'd thy face;
And as her Son has to my bofom dealt
That conftant flame which faithful Henry felt;
O let the story with thy life agree,
Let men once more the bright example fee;
What Emma was to him, be thou to me:
Nor send me by thy frown from her I love,
Diftant and fad, a banifh'd man to rove;
But, oh! with pity, long entreated, crown
My pains and hopes; and when thou say'st that one,
Of all mankind, thou lov'ft, oh! think on me alone.

-Where beauteous Ifis, and her husband Thame, With mingled waves for ever flow the fame,

}

}

In

In times of yore an ancient baron liv'd,

Great gifts bestow'd, and great refpect receiv'd..

When dreadful Edward, with successful care,

Led his free Britons to the Gallick war,

This lord had headed his appointed bands,

圃

In firm allegiance to his king's commands,
And (all due honours faithfully discharg'd)
Had brought back his paternal coat, enlarg'd
With a new mark, the witness of his toil,
And no inglorious part of foreign fpoil..

From the loud camp retir'd, and noisy court,
In honourable ease, and rural sport,

The remnant of his days he fafely pafs'd,
Nor found they lagg'd too flow nor flew too fast;
He made his wifh with his eftate comply,
Joyful to live, yet not afraid to die.

One child he had, a daughter, chaste and fair,
His age's comfort, and his fortune's heir;
They call'd her Emma, for the beauteous dame
Who gave the virgin birth had borne the name ;
The name th' indulgent father doubly lov'd,
For in the child the mother's charms improv'd:
Yet, as when little round his knees fhe play'd,
He call'd her oft, in fport, his Nut-brown Maid,
The friends and tenants took the fondling word,
(As ftill they please who imitate their lord ;)
Ufage confirm'd what Fancy had begun,
The mutual terms around the lands were known,
And Emma and the Nut-brown Maid were one.
As with her ftature ftill her charms increas'd,
Thro' all the ifle her beauty was confefs'd.
Oh! what perfections must that virgin fhare,
Who faireft is esteem'd where all are fair!
From diftant fhires repair the noble youth,
- And find report, for once, had leffen'd truth.
By wonder first, and then by paffion mov'd,
They came, they faw, they marvell'd, and they lov'd :

}

By

By publick praises, and by fecret fighs,

Each own'd the gen'ral pow'r of Emma's eyes.
In tilts and tournaments the valiant ftrove,

Y

By glorious deeds, to purchase Emma's love. Y
In gentle verfe the witty told their flame;

And grac'd their choicet fongs with Emma's name.ed
In vain they combated, in vain they writ, dos did vd Lak
Useless their strength, and impotent their witpad tá
Great Venus only muft direct the dart,

1.

Which else will never reach the fair-one's heart, LPA
Spite of th' attempts of force, and foft effects of art:

Great Venus must prefer the happy one;

In Henry's cause her favour must be shown;
And Emma, of mankind, muft love but him alone. in

While these in publick to the castle came,
And by their grandeur justify'd their flame,
More fecret ways the careful Henry takes ;
His fquires, his arms, and equipage forsakes :
In borrow'd name and false attire array'd,
Oft he finds means to fee the beauteous maid.
When Emma hunts, in huntsman's habit drefs'd,
Henry on foot purfues the bounding beast;
In his right-hand his beechen pole he bears,
And graceful at his fide his horn he wears.
Still to the glade, where she has bent her way,
With knowing skill he drives the future prey;
Bids her decline the hill, and fhun the brake,
And fhews the path her feed may fa:eft take:
Directs her fpear to fix the glorious wound;
Pleas'd in his toils to have her triumph crown'd;
And blows her praises in no common found.

A falc'ner Henry is, when Emma hawks;
With her of tarfels and of lures he talks:
Upon his wrift the tow'ring merlin stands,
Practis'd to rise and stoop at her commands ;
3.0

A

} }

}

And

And when fuperior now the bird has flown, .

And headlong brought the tumbling quarry down,
With humble rev'rence he accosts the fair,

And with the honour'd feather decks her hair.
Yet ftill, as from the fportive field fhe goes,
His downcaft eye reveals his inward woes ;
And by his look and forrow is exprefs'd,
A nobler game purfu'd than bird or beast.

A fhepherd now along the plain he roves,
And with his jolly pipe delights the groves.
The neighb'ring fwains around the ftranger throng,
Or to admire, or emulate his fong;

While with soft sorrow he renews his lays,

Nor heedful of their envy nor their praise :
But foon as Emma's eyes adorn the plain,
His notes he raises to a nobler strain ;
With dutiful refpect and ftudious fear,
Left any careless found offend her ear.

A frantick gypsey now, the house he haunts,
And in wild phrases speaks diffembled wants.
With the fond maids in palmistry he deals;
(They tell the fecret firft which he reveals ;)

Says who fhall wed, and who shall be beguil'd;
What groom fhall get, and fquire maintain the child:
But, when bright Emma would her fortune know,
A fofter look unbends his op'ning brow;

With trembling awe he gazes on her eye,
And in foft accents forms the kind reply;

That the fhall prove as fortunate as fair,

And Hymen's choiceft gifts are all referv'd for her.
Now oft had Henry chang'd his fly disguise,
Unmark'd by all but beauteous Emma's eyes;
Oft had found means alone to fee the dame,
And at her feet to breathe his am'rous flame;
And oft the pangs of abfence to remove
By letters, foft interpreters of love:

Till Time and Industry (the mighty two
That bring our wishes nearer to our view)
Made him perceive that the inclining fair
Receiv'd his vows with no reluctant ear;
That Venus had confirm'd her equal reign,
And dealt to Emma's heart a share of Henry's pain.
While Cupid fmil'd, by kind occafion blefs'd;
And, with the fecret kept, the love increas'd;
The am'rous youth frequents the filent groves,
And much he meditates, for much he loves.
He loves, 'tis true, and is belov'd again :
Great are his joys; but will they long remain?
Emma with smiles receives his present flame;
But, fmiling, will fhe ever be the fame!
Beautiful looks are rul'd by fickle minds,
And fummer feas are turn'd by fudden winds:
Another love may gain her eafy youth;

Time changes thought, and flatt'ry conquers truth.
O impotent eftate of human life!

Where hope and fear maintain eternal ftrife;
Where fleeting joy does lafting doubt inspire,

And most we question, what we most defire.
Amongst thy various gifts, great Heav'n, beftow
Our cup of love unmix'd; forbear to throw
Bitter ingredients in; nor pall the draught
With nauseous grief: for our ill-judging thought
Hardly enjoys the pleasurable taste e;

Or deems it not fincere, or fears it cannot laft.
With wishes rais'd, with jealoufies opprefs'd,
(Alternate tyrants of the human breast)
By one great trial he refolves to prove
The faith of woman, and the force of love.
If, fcanning Emma's virtues, he may find

That beauteous frame inclofe a steady mind,

He'll fix his hope of future joy fecure, - "

And live a flave to Hymen's happy pow'r :

3 C 2

But