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Become as gentle as a glove,
And kiss and coo like any dove.
In short, the woman should be his,
That is, upon condition-viz.
That he, the lover, after tasting
What one would wish were everlasting,
Should, in return for such enjoyment,
Supply the fiend with fresh employment:
"That's all," quoth Pug; "my poor request
Is, only, never to have rest.

You thought, 'tis like, with reason too,
That I should have been serv'd, not you:
But what? upon my friend impose!
No-though a devil, none of those.
Your business then, pray understand me,
Is nothing more but to command me.
Of one thing only let me warn ye;
Which somewhat nearly may concern ye:
As soon as e'er one work is done,
Straight name a new one; and so on:
Let each to other quick succeed,
Or else you know how 'tis agreed-
For if, through any hums or haws,
There haps an intervening pause,
In which, for want of fresh commands,
Your slave obsequious idle stands,
Nor soul nor body ever more

Shall serve the nymph whom you adore;
But both be laid at Satan's feet,
To be dispos'd as he thinks meet."

At once the lover all approves;
For who can hesitate that loves?
And thus he argues in his thought:
Why, after all, I venture nought;
What mystery is in commanding?
Does that require much understanding?
Indeed, wer't my part to obey,
He'd go the better of the lay:
But he must do what I think fit-
Pshaw, pshaw, young Belzebub is bit."

Thus pleas'd in mind, he calls a chair,
Adjusts, and combs, and courts the fair:
The spell takes place, and all goes right,
And happy he employs the night
In sweet embraces, balmy kisses,
And riots in the bliss of blisses.

66

O joy," cried he, "that has no equal!"
But hold-no raptures-mark the sequel.
For now. when near the morning's dawn,
The youth began as 'twere to yawn;
His eyes a silky slumber seiz'd,

Or would have done, if Pug had pleas'd:
But that officious demon near,
Now buzz'd for business in his ear:
In haste, he names a thousand things;
The goblin plies his wicker wings,
And in a trice returns to ask
Another and another task.
Now palaces are built and towers,
The work of ages in few hours.
Then storms are in an instant rais'd,
Which the next moment are appeas'd.
Now showers of gold and gems are rain'd,
As if each India had been drain'd:
And he, in one astonish'd view,
Sees both Golconda and Peru.

These things, and stranger things than these,
Were done with equal speed and ease.
And now to Rome poor Pug he'll send;
And Pug soon reach'd his journey's end,

VOL. X.

And soon return'd with such a pack
Of bulls and pardons at his back,
That now, the squire (who had some hope
In holy water and the pope)

Was out of heart, and at a stand
What next to wish, and what command;
Invention flags, his brain grows muddy,
And black despair succeeds brown study.
In this distress the woeful youth
Acquaints the nymph with all the truth,
Begging her counsel, for whose sake
Both soul and body were at stake.
"And is this all?" replies the fair:
Let me alone to cure this care.
When next your demon shall appear,
Pray give him-look, what I hold here,
And bid him labour, soon or late,
To lay these ringlets lank and straight."
Then, something scarcely to be seen,
Her finger and her thumb between
She held, and sweetly smiling, cry'd,
"Your goblin's skill shall now be try'd."

She said; and gave-what shall I call
That thing so shining, crisp, and small,
Which round his finger strove to twine?
A tendril of the Cyprian vine?
Or sprig from Cytherea's grove;
Shade of the labyrinth of love?
With awe, he now takes from her hand
That fleece-like flower of fairy land:
Less precious, whilom, was the fleece
Which drew the Argonauts from Greece;
Or that, which modern ages see
The spur and prize of chivalry,
Whose curls of kindred texture grace
Heroes and kings of Spanish race.

The spark prepar'd, and Pug at hand, He issues, thus, his strict command: "This line, thus curve and thus orbicular, Render direct, and perpendicular;

But so direct, that in no sort

It ever may in rings retort.

See me no more till this be done:

Hence, to thy task-avaunt, be gone."
Away the fiend like lightning flies,
And all his wit to work applies:
Anvils and presses he employs,

And dins whole Hell with hammering noise.
In vain he to no terms can bring
One twirl of that reluctant thing;
Th' elastic fibre mocks his pains,
And its first spiral form retains.
New stratagems the sprite contrives,
And down the depths of sea he dives:
"This sprunt, its pertness sure will lose,
When laid," said he, "to soak in ooze."
Poor foolish fiend! he little knew
Whence Venus and her garden grew.
Old Ocean, with paternal waves
The child of his own bed receives;
Which oft as dipt new force exerts,
And in more vigorous curls reverts.
So when to earth Alcides flung
The huge Antæus, whence he sprung,
From every fall fresh strength he gain'd,
And with new life the fight maintain'd.
The baffled goblin grows perplex'd,
Nor knows what slight to practise next &-
The more he tries, the more he fails;
Nor charm, nor art, nor force avails,

X

But all concur his shame to show, And more exasperate the foe.

And now he pensive turns and sad,
And looks like melancholic mad.
He rolls bis eyes now off, now on
That wonderful phenomenon.
Sometimes he twists and twirls it round,
Then, pausing, meditates profound:
No end he sees of his surprise,
Nor what it should be can devise:
For never was yet wool or feather,
That could stand buff against all weather;
And unrelax'd, like this, resist

Both wind and rain, and snow and mist.
What stuff, or whence, or how 'twas made,
What spinster which could spin such thread,
He nothing knew; but, to his cost,
Knew all his fame and labour lost.
Subdued, abash'd, he gave it o'er;
'Tis said, he blush'd; 'tis sure, he swore
Not all the wiles that Hell could hatch
Could conquer that superb Mustach.
Defeated thus, thus discontent,
Back to the man the demon went :

"I grant," quoth he, "our contract null,
And give you a discharge in full.
But tell me now, in name of wonder,
(Since I so candidly knock under)
What is this thing? Where could it grow?
Pray take it-'tis in statu quo.
Much good may't do you; for my part,
I wash my hands of 't from my heart."

"In truth, sir Goblin, or sir Fairy,"
Replies the lad, "you're too soon weary.
What, leave this trifling task undone !
And think'st thou this the only one?
Alas! were this subdued, thou'dst find
Millions of more such still behind;
Which might employ, ev'n to eternity,
Both you and all your whole fraternity."

THE

PEASANT IN SEARCH OF HIS HEIFER.

A TALE AFTER M. DE LA FONTAINE

Ir so befell: a silly swain
Had sought his heifer long in vain ;
For wanton she had frisking stray'd,
And left the lawn, to seek the shade.
Around the plain he rolls his eyes,
Then to the wood in haste he hies;
Where, singling out the fairest tree,
He climbs, in hopes to hear or see.

Anon, there chanc'd that way to pass
A jolly lad and buxom lass:
The place was apt, the pastime pleasant;
Occasion with her forelock present;
The girl agog, the gallant ready;
So lightly down he lays my lady.
But so she turn'd, or so was laid,
That she some certain charms display'd,
Which with such wonder struck his sight
(With wonder, much; more, with delight)
That loud he cry'd in rapture, “What?
"What see I, gods! What sce I not!"
But nothing nam'd; from whence 'tis guess'd,
"Twas more than well could be express'd.

The clown aloft, who lent an ear, Straight stops him short in mid career And louder cry'd, "Ho! honest friend, That of thy seeing seest no end; Dost see the heifer that I seek? If dost, pray be so kind to speak."

HOMER'S HYMN TO VENUS. SING, Muse, the force and all-informing fire Of Cyprian Venus, goddess of desire: Her charms th' immortal minds of gods can move, And tame the stubborn race of men to love. The wilder herds, and ravenous beasts of prey, Her influence feel, and own her kindly sway. Thro' pathless air, and boundless ocean's space, She rules the feather'd kind and finny race; Whole nature on her sole support depends, And far as life exists, her care extends.

Of all the numerous host of gods above,
But three are found inflexible to love.
Blue-ey'd Minerva free preserves her heart,
A virgin unbeguil'd by Cupid's art;
In shining arm the martial maid delights,
O'er war presides, and well-disputed fights;
With thirst of fame she first the hero fir'd,
And first the skill of useful arts inspir'd;
Taught artists first the carving tool to wield,
Chariots with brass to arm, and form the fenceful
shield:

She first taught modest maids in early bloom,
To shun the lazy life, and spin, or ply the loom.
Diana next the Paphian queen defies,

Her smiling arts and proffer'd friendship flies:
She loves, with well-mouth'd hounds and cheerful

horn,

Or silver sounding voice, to wake the Morn,
To wound the mountain boar, or rouse the wood-
land deer;

To draw the bow, or dart the pointed spear.
Sometimes, of gloomy groves she likes the shades,
And there of virgin-nymphs the chort's leads;
And sometimes seeks the town, and leaves the
And loves society where virtue reigns. [plains,

The third celestial power averse to love

Is virgin Vesta, dear to mighty Jove;
Whom Neptune sought to wed, and Phœbus woo'd;
And both with fruitless labour long pursu'd.

For she, severely chaste, rejected both,
And bound her purpose with a solemn oath,

A virgin life inviolate to lead;

She swore, and Jove assenting, bow'd his head.
But since her rigid choice the joys deny'd
Of nuptial rites, and blessings of a bride,
The bounteous Jove with gifts that want supply'd
High on a throne she sits amidst the skies,
And first is fed with fumes of sacrifice;
For holy rites to Vesta first are paid,
And on her altar first-fruit offerings laid;
So Jove ordain'd in honour of the maid.

These are the powers above, and only these,
Whom Love and Cytherea's art displease;
Of other beings, none in Earth or skies
Her force resists, or influence denies.
With ease her charms the thunderer can bind,
And captivate with love th' almighty mind:
Ev'n he, whose dread commands the gods obey,
Submits to her, and owns superior sway.

Enslav'd to mortal beauties by her power,
He oft descends, his creatures to adore,
While, to conceal the theft from Juno's eyes,
Some well-dissembled shape the god belies.
Juno, his wife and sister, both in place
And beauty first among th' ethereal race;
Whom, all transcending, in superior worth,
Wise Saturn got, and Cybele brought forth:
And Jove, by never-erring counsel sway'd,
The partner of his bed and empire made.

But Jove, at length, with just resentment fir'd,
The laughing queen herself with love inspir'd.
Swift through her veins the sweet contagion ran,
And kindled in her breast desire of mortal man;
That she, like other deities, might prove
The pains and pleasures of inferior love;
And not insultingly the gods deride,
Whose sons were human by the mother's side:
Thus, Jove ordain'd, she now for man should burn,
And bring forth mortal offspring in her turn.

Amongst the springs which flow from Ida's head,
His lowing herds the young Anchises fed;
Whose godlike form and face the smiling queen
Beheld, and lov'd to madness, soon as seen:
To Cyprus straight the wounded goddess flies,
Where Paphian temples in her honour rise,
And altars smoke with daily sacrifice.
Soon as arriv'd, she to her shrine repair'd,
Where entering quick, the shining gates she barr'd:
The ready Graces wait, her baths prepare,
And oint with fragrant oils her flowing hair,
Her flowing hair around her shoulders spreads,
And all adown ambrosial odour sheds.
Last, in transparent robes her limbs they fold,
Enrich'd with ornaments of purest gold;
And, thus attir'd, her chariot she ascends,
And, Cyprus left, her flight to Troy she bends.

On Ida she alights, then seeks the seat,
Which lov'd Anchises chose for his retreat;
And ever as she walk'd through lawn or wood,
Promiscuous herds of beasts admiring stood;
Some humbly follow, while some fawning meet,
And lick the ground, and crouch beneath her feet.
Dogs, lions, wolves, and bears, their eyes unite,
And the swift panther stops to gaze with fix'd de-

light.

For every glance she gives soft fire imparts,
Enkindling sweet desire in savage hearts.
Inflam'd with love, all single out their mates,
And to their shady dens each pair retreats.

Meantime the tent she spies so much desir'd,
Where her Anchises was alone retir'd;
Withdrawn from all his friends and fellow-swains,
Who fed their flocks beneath, and sought the

plains;

In pleasing solitude the youth she found,
Intent upon his lyre's harmonious sound.
Before his eyes Jove's beauteous daughter stood,
In form and dress, a huntress of the wood;
For, had he seen the goddess undisguis'd.
The youth with awe and fear had been surpris'd.
Fix'd he beheld her, and with joy admir'd
To see a nymph so bright, and so attir'd:
For from her flowing robe a lustre spread,
As if with radiant flames she were array'd;
Her hair in part disclos'd, and part conceal'd,
In ringlets fell, or was with jewels held :
With various gold and gems her neck was grac'd,
And orient pearls heav'd on her panting breast;

Bright as the Moon she shone, with silent light,
And charin'd his sense with wonder and delight.

Thus, while Anchises gaz'd, through every vein
A thrilling joy he felt, and pleasing pain:
At length he spake-" All hail, celestial fair!
Who humbly dost to visit Earth repair.
Whoe'er thon art, descended from above,
Latona, Cynthia, or the queen of Love;
All hail! all honour shall to thee be paid:
Or art thou Themis1? or the blue-ey'd maid??
Or art thou fairest of the Graces three,
Who with the gods share immortality?

Or else, some nymph, the guardian of these woods,
These caves, these fruitful hills, or crystal floods?
Whoe'er thou art, in some conspicuous field,
I to thy honour will an altar build,
Where holy offerings I'll each hour prepare,
O prove but thou propitious to my prayer!
Grant me, among the Trojan race to prove
A patriot worthy of my country's love;
Bless'd in myself, I beg I next may be
Bless'd in my children and posterity.
Happy in health, long let me see the Sun,
And, lov'd by all, late may my days be done."
He said-Jove's beauteous daughter thus reply'd-
"Delight of human kind, thy sex's pride!
Honour'd Anchises, you behold in me
No goddess bless'd with immortality;
But mortal I, of mortal mother came,
Otreus my father, (you have heard the name)
Who rules the fair extent of Phrygia's lands,
And all her towns and fortresses commands.
When yet an infant, I to Troy was brought,
There was I nurs'd, and there your language taughts
Then wonder not, if, thus instructed young,
I, like my own, can speak the Trojan tongue.
In me, one of Diana's nymphs behold;
Why thus arriv'd, I shall the cause unfold.
As late our sports we practis'd on the plain,
I and my fellow-nymphs of Cynthia's train,
Dancing in chorus, and with garlands crown'd,
And by admiring crowds encompass'd round,
Lo! hovering o'er my head I saw the god
Who Argus slew, and bears the golden rod;
Sudden he seiz'd, then bore me from their sight
Cutting through liquid air his rapid flight :
O'er many states and peopled towns we pass'd,
O'er hills and vallies, and o'er deserts waste;
O'er barren moors, and o'er unwholesome fens,
And woods where beasts inhabit dreadful dens.
Through all which pathless way our speed was
We stopt not once the face of Earth to touch.
Meantime he told me, while through air we fled,
That Jove ordain'd I should Anchises wed,
And with illustrious offspring bless his bed.
This said, and, pointing to me your abode,
To Heaven again up-soar'd the swift-wing'd god:
Thus, of necessity, to you I come,
Unknown, and lost, far from my native home.
But I conjure you, by the throne of Jove,
By all that's dear to you, by all you love,
By your good parents, (for no bad could e'er
Produce a son so graceful, good, and fair)
That you no wiles employ to win my heart,
But let me hence an untouch'd maid depart;
Inviolate and guiltless of your bed,
Let me be to your house and mother led.

such,

The goddess of equity and right. 2 Pallas

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Me to your father and your brothers show,
And our alliance first let them allow:
Let me be known, and my condition own'd,
And no unequal match I may be found.
Equality to them my birth may claim,
Worthy a daughter's or a sister's name,
Though for your wife of too inferior fame.
Next, let ambassadors to Phrygia haste,
To tell my father of my fortunes past,
And ease my mother in that anxious state
Of doubts and fears, which cares for me create.
They, in return, shall presents bring from thence
Of rich attire, and sums of gold immense:
You, in peculiar, shall with gifts be grac'd,
In price and beauty far above the rest.
This done, perform the rites of nuptial love,
Grateful to men below, and gods above."
She said, and from her eyes shot subtle fires,
Which to his heart insinuate desires.
Resistless love invading thus his breast,
The panting youth the smiling queen address'd
"Since mortal you, of mortal mother came,
And Otreus, you report, your father's name;
And since th' immortal Hermes, from above,
To execute the dread commands of Jove,
Your wondrous beauties hither has convey'd,
A nuptial life with me henceforth to lead :
Know, now, that neither gods nor men have pow'r
One minute to defer the happy hour;
This instant will I seize upon thy charms,
Mix with thy soul, and melt within thy arms:
Though Phobus, arm'd with his unerring dart,
Stood ready to transfix my panting heart;
Though Death, though Hell, in consequence attend,
Thou shalt with me the genial bed ascend."

He said, and sudden snatch'd her beauteous hand;
The goddess smil'd, nor did th' attempt withstand:
But fix'd her eyes upon the hero's bed,
Where soft and silken coverlets were spread,
And over all a counterpane was plac'd,
Thick sown with furs of many a savage beast,
Of bears and lions, heretofore his spoil;
And still remain'd the trophies of his toil.

Now to ascend the bed they both prepare, And he with eager haste disrobes the fair.

Her sparkling necklace first he laid aside; Her bracelets next, and braided hair untied: And now, his busy hand her zone unbrac'd, Which girt her radiant robe around her waist; Her radiant robe, at last, aside was thrown, Whose rosy hue with dazzling lustre shone.

The queen of love the youth thus disarray'd, And on a chair of gold her vestments laid. Anchises now (so Jove and Fate ordain'd) The sweet extreme of ecstasy attain'd; And, mortal he, was like th' immortals bless'd, Not conscious of the goddess he possess'd.

But when the swains their flocks and herds had

And, from the flowery fields returning, led
Their sheep to fold, and oxen to the shed;
In soft and pleasing chains of sleep profound,
The wary goddess her Anchises bound:
Then gently rising from his side and bed,
In all her bright attire her limbs array'd.

[fed,

And now her fair-crown'd head aloft she rears, Nor more a mortal, but herself appears: Her face refulgent, and majestie mien, Confess'd the goddess, love's and beauty's queen. Then thus aloud she calls" Anchises, awake! Thy fond repose and lethargy forsake:

Look on the nymph who late from Phrygia came Behold me well-say, if I seem the same."

At her first call the chains of sleep were broke, And, starting from his bed, Anchises woke : But when he Venus view'd without disguise, Her shining neck beheld, and radiant eyes; Awed and abash'd, he turn'd his head aside, Attempting with his robe his face to hide. Confus'd with wonder, and with fear oppress'd, In winged words he thus the queen address'd→→ "When first, O goddess, I thy form beheld, Whose charms so far humanity excell'd; To thy celestial pow'r my vows I paid, And with humility implor'd thy aid: But thou, for secret cause to me unknown, Didst thy divine immortal state disown. But now, I beg thee, by the filial love Due to thy father, ægis-bearing Jove, Compassion on my human state to show; Nor let me lead a life infirm below: Defend me from the woes which mortals wait, Nor let me share of men the common fate : Since never man with length of days was blest, Who, in delights of love, a deity possess'd."

To him Jove's beauteous daughter thus reply'd
"Be bold, Anchises; in my love confide:
Nor me, nor other god, thou need'st to fear,
For thou to all the heav'nly race art dear.
Know, from our loves, thou shalt a son obtain,
Who over all the realm of Troy shall reign;
From whom a race of monarchs shall descend,
And whose posterity shall know no end.
To him thou shalt the name Æneas give,
As one, for whose conception I must grieve,
Oft as I think he to exist began
From my conjunction with a mortal man.

"But Troy, of all the habitable Earth,
To a superior race of men gives birth;
Producing heroes of th' ethereal kind,
And next resembling gods in form and mind.

"From thence great Jove to azure skies conTo live with gods, the lovely Ganymede. [vey'd Where, by th' immortals honour'd (strange to say!) The youth enjoys a bless'd eternity.

In bowls of gold he ruddy nectar pours,
And Jove regales in his unbended hours.
Long did the king his sire, his absence mourn,
Doubtful by whom, or where, the boy was borne:
Till Jove, at length, in pity of his grief,
Dispatch'd Argicides to his relief;
And more, with gifts to pacify his mind,
He sent him horses of a deathless kind,
Whose feet outstript, in speed, the rapid wind;
Charging withal swift Hermes to relate
The youth's advancement to a heav'nly state;
Where all his hours are past in circling joy,
Which age can ne'er decay, nor Death destroy.
Now, when this embassy the king receives,
No more for absent Ganymede he grieves;
The pleasing news his aged heart revives,
And with delight his swift-heel'd steeds he drive
"But when the gold-enthron'd Aurora made
Tithonus partner of her rosy bed,
(Tithonus too was of the Trojan line,
Resembling gods in face and form divine)
For him she straight the Thunderer address'd,
That with perpetual life he might be bless'd:
Jove heard her pray'r, and granted her request,
But ah! how rash was she, how indiscreet!
The most material blessing to omit;

[plied;

Neglecting, or not thinking to provide,
That length of days might be with strength sup-
And, to her lover's endless life, engage
An endless youth, incapable of age.
But hear what fate befell this heav'nly fair,
In gold enthron'd, the brightest child of air.
Tithonus, while of pleasing youth possess'd,
Is by Aurora with delight caress'd;
Dear to her arms, he in her court resides, [tides.
Beyond the verge of earth, and ocean's utmost
"But when she saw grey hairs begin to spread,
Deform his beard, and disadorn his head,
The goddess cold in her embraces grew,
His arms declin'd, and from his bed withdrew;
Yet still a kind of nursing care she show'd,
And food ambrosial, and rich clothes, bestow'd:
But when of age he felt the sad extreme,
And ev'ry nerve was shrunk, and limb was lame,
Lock'd in a room her useless spouse she left,
Of youth, of vigour, and of voice, bereft.
On terms like these, I never can desire
Thou shouldst to immortality aspire.

"Couldst thou, indeed, as now thou art, remain,
Thy strength, thy beauty, and thy youth, retain,
Couldst thou for ever thus my husband prove,
I might live happy in thy endless love;
Nor should I e'er have cause to dread the day,
When I must mourn thy loss and life's decay.
But thou, alas! too soon and sure must bend
Beneath the woes which painful age attend;
Inexorable age! whose wretched state
All mortals dread, and all immortals hate.

"Now, know, I also must my portion share,
And for thy sake reproach and shame must bear.
For I, who heretofore in chains of love
Could captivate the minds of gods above,
And force them, by my all-subduing charms,
To sigh and languish in a woman's arms:
Must now no more that pow'r superior boast,
Nor tax with weakness the celestial host;
Since I myself this dear amends have made,
And am, at last, by my own arts betray'd.

"Erring, like them, with appetite deprav'd,
This hour, by thee, I have a son conceiv'd;
Whom, hid beneath my zone, I must conceal,
Till time his being and my shame reveal. [adorn,
"Him shall the nymphs, who these fair woods
In their deep bosoms nurse, as soon as born;

They nor of mortal nor immortal seed
Are said to spring, yet on ambrosia feed,
And long they live, and oft in chorus join
With gods and goddesses in dance divine.
These the Sileni court; these Hermes loves,
And their embraces seeks in shady groves.
Their origin and birth these nymphs deduce
From common parent Earth's prolific juice;
With lofty firs which grace the mountain's brow,
Or ample-spreading oaks, at once they grow;
All have their trees allotted to their care,
Whose growth, duration, and decrease, they share.
But holy are these groves by inortals held,
And therefore by the ax are never fell'd.
But when the fate of some fair tree draws nigh,
It first appears to droop, and then grows dry;
The bark to crack and perish next is seen,
And last the boughs it sheds, no longer green:
And thus the nymphs expire by like degrees,
And live and die coeval with their trees.

"These gentle nymphs, by my persuasion won,
Shall in their sweet recesses nurse my son;
And when his cheeks with youth's first blushes
glow,

To thee the sacred maids the boy shall show.
"More to instruct thee, when five years shall
end,

I will again to visit thee descend,

Bringing thy beauteous son to charm thy sight,
Whose godlike form shall fill thee with delight;
Him will I leave thenceforward to thy care,
And will that with him thou to Troy repair:
There, if inquiry shall be made, to know
To whom thou dost so bright an offspring owe;
Be sure, thou nothing of the truth detect,
But ready answer make, as I direct.
Say, of a Sylvan nymph the fair youth came,
And Calycopis call his mother's name.
For shouldst thou boast the truth, and madly own
That thou in bliss hadst Cytherea known,
Jove would his anger pour upon thy head,
And with avenging thunder strike thee dead.
Now all is told thee, and just caution giv'n,
Be secret thou, and dread the wrath of Heav'n."
She said, and sudden soar'd above his sight,
Cutting through liquid air her heav'nward flight
All hail, bright Cyprian queen! thee first I praise,
Then to some other pow'r transfer my lays.

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