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He made his wifh with his eftate comply,
Joyful to live, yet not afraid to die.

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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) Úsage 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 still her charms increas'd, Thro' all the ifle her beauty was confefs'd. Oh! what perfections muft that virgin fhare, Who faireft is efteem'd where all are fair? Fro diftant fhires repair the noble youth, And find report for once had leffen'd truth. By wonder firft, and then by paffion mov'd, They came, they faw, they marvell'd, and they lov'd. By public praises and by fecret fighs, Each own'd the general pow'r of Emma's In tilts and tournaments the valiant ftrove By glorious deeds to purchase Emma's love. In gentle verse the witty told their flame, And grac'd their choiceft fongs with Emma's name. In vain they combated, in vain they writ, Ufeless their ftrength, and impotent their wit: Great Venus only must direct the dart,

eyes.

Which elfe will never reach the fair one's heart,
Spite of th' attempt of force and foft effects of art:
Great Venus muft prefer the happy one;
In Henry's cause her favour must be shown,
And Emma, of mankind, must love but him alone.
While thefe in public to the caftle came,
And by their grandeur juftified their flame,

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More fecret ways the careful Henry takes;
His fquires, his arms, and equipage forfakes.
In borrow'd name and falfe attire array'd,
Oft he finds means to fee the beauteous maid.
When Emma hunts, in huntsman's habit dreft,
Henry on foot purfues the bounding beast;
In his right hand his beachen pole he bears,
And graceful at his fide his horn he wears.
Still to the glade where the 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 fteed may safest take;
Directs her fpear to fix the glorious wound.
Pleas'd in his toil, to have her triumphs 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 rife and stoop at her commands :
And when fuperior now the bird has flown,
And headlong brought the tumbling quarry down,
With humble rev'rence he accofts the fair,
And with the honour'd feather decks her hair.
Yet ftill as from the sportive field fhe goes,
His downcaft eye reveals his inward woes;
And by his look and forrow is expreft'
A nobler game purfu'd than bird or beaft.

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A fhepherd now along the plain he roves, And with his jolly pipe delights the groves. The neighb'ring fwains around the stranger throng, Or to admire or emulate his fong; While with foft forrow he renews his lays, Nor heedful of their envy nor their praise : But foon as Emma's eyes adorn the plain, His notes he raifes to a nobler strain. With dutiful refpect and studious fear, Left any carelefs found offend her ear.

A frantic gyply now the house he haunts, And in wild phrafes fpeaks diffembled wants. With the fond maids in pal niftry he deals; They tell the fecret firft which he reveals:

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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 for une know,
A fofter look unbends his opening brow:
With trembling awe he gazes on her eye,
And in foft accents forms the kind reply.
That she 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 difguife,
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 fhare of Henry's pain.
While Cupid fmil'd, by kind occafion blefs'd, 155
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 fmiles receives his prefent flame,
But, fmiling, will fhe ever be the fame ?
Beautiful looks are rul'd by fickle minds,
And fummer feas are turn'd by sudden winds :
Another love may gain her eafy youth;

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Time changes thought, and flatt'ry conquers truth.

O impotent eftate of human life!

Where hope and fear maintain eternal strife;
Where fleeting joy does lafting doubt inspire,
And moft we queftion what we most defire.
Amongst thy various gifts, great heav'n, bestow
Our cup of love unmix'd; forbear to throw
Bitter ingredients in, nor pall the draught
With nauseous grief; for our ill-judging thought

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Hardly enjoys the pleasurable taste,

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Or deems it not fincere, or fears it cannot last.
With wifhes rais'd, with jealoufies oppreft,
(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 enclose a steady mind,
He'll fix his hope, of future joy fecure,
And live a flave to Hymen's happy pow'r;
But if the fair one, as he fears, is frail,
If pois'd aright in reafon's equal scale,
Light fly her merits, and her faults prevail,
His mind he vows to free from am'rous care,
The latent mifchief from his heart to tear,
Refume his azure arms, and fhine again in war.
South of the caftle, in a verdant glade,
A fpreading beech extends her friendly fhade;
Here oft the nymph his breathing vows had heard;
Here oft her filence had her heart declar'd.
As active fpring awak'd her infant buds,
And genial life inform'd the verdant woods,
Henry in knots involving Emma's name,
Had half exprefs'd and half conceal'd his flame
Upon this tree; and as the tender mark

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Grew with the year, and widen'd with the bark, 200
Venus had heard the virgin's foft addrefs,

That, as the wound, the paffion might increase.
As potent Nature fhed her kindly fhow'rs,
And deck'd the various mead with opening flow'rs,
Upon this tree the nymph's obliging care
Had left a frequent wreath for Henry's hair,
Which as with gay delight the lover found,
Pleas'd with his conqueft, with her prefent crown'd,
Glorious thro' all the plains he oft had gone,
And to each fwain the mystic honour shown,
The gift ftill prais'd, the giver ftill unknown.
His fecret note the troubled Henry writes;
To the known tree the lovely maid invites;

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