Waking he started from the ground in hafte,
And faw the beauteous choir around him plac'd ;
Then, fummoning his fenfes, ran to meet
The queen, and laid him humbly at her feet.
Deign, lovely princess, to behold, faid he,
One, who has travers'd all the world to fee
Thofe charms, and worship thy divinity:
Accept thy flave, and with a gracious fmile
Excufe his rafhnefs, and reward his toil.
Stood motionless the fair with mute furprize,
And read him over with admiring eyes;
And while she stedfast gaz'd, a pleasing smart
Ran thrilling thro' her veins, and reach'd her heart.
Each limb fhe fcann'd, confider'd ev'ry grace,
And fagely judg'd him of the phoenix' race.
An animal like this she ne'er had known,
And thence concluded there could be but one;
The creature too had all the phoenix' air;
None but the phoenix cou'd appear so fair.
The more she look'd, the more she thought it true,
And call'd him by that name, to fhew she knew.

O handsome phoenix, for that fuch you are
We know; your beauty does your breed declare;
And I with forrow own thro' all
my coaft
No other bird can fuch perfection boast;
For Nature form'd you fingle and alone:
Alas! what pity 'tis there is but one !--

}

Were

Were there a queen fo fortunate to fhew
An aviary of charming birds like you,
What envy wou'd her happiness create
In all, who saw the glories of her state!
The prince laugh'd inwardly, furpriz❜d to find
So ftrange a speech, fo innocent a mind.
The compliment indeed did fome offence
To reason, and a little wrong'd her fenfe;
He cou'd not let it pass, but told his name,
And what he was, and whence, and why he came ;
And hinted other things of high concern
For him to mention, and for her to learn;
And she 'ad a piercing wit, of wond'rous reach
To comprehend whatever he cou'd teach.
Thus hand in hand they to the palace walk,
Pleas'd and inftructed with each other's talk.
Here, fhou'd I tell the furniture's expence,
And all the structure's vaft magnificence,
Describe the walls of fhining faphire made,
With emerald and pearl the floors inlaid,
And how the vaulted canopies unfold

A mimic heav'n, and flame with gems and gold;
Or how Felicity regales her gueft,

The wit, the mirth, the mufic, and the feaft;

And on each part bestow the praises due,
'Twould tire the writer, and the reader too.
My amorous tale a fofter path pursues :
Love and the happy pair demand my Mufe.

O cou'd

O cou'd her art in equal terms exprefs

The lives they lead, the pleafures they poffefs!
Fortune had ne'er fo plenteously before

Beftow'd her gifts, nor can fhe lavish more.
"Tis heav'n itself, 'tis ecstacy of bliss,
Uninterrupted joy, untir'd excess;

Mirth following mirth the moments dance away;
Love claims the night, and friendship rules the day.

Their tender care no cold indiff'rence knows;

No jealoufies disturb their sweet repose;
No fickness, no decay; but youthful grace,
And conftant beauty fhines in either face.
Benumming age may mortal charms invade,
Flow'rs of a day that do but bloom and fade;
Far diff'rent here, on them it only blows
The lilly's white, and fpreads the blushing rose;
No conqueft o'er those radiant eyes can boast;
They like the stars fhine brighter in its froft;
Nor fear its rigour, nor its rule obey;

All feafons are the fame, and ev'ry month is May.
Alas! how vain is happiness below!

Man foon or late muft have his fhare of woe;
Slight are his joys, and fleeting as the wind;

His griefs wound home, and leave a fting behind.
His lot diftinguifh'd from the brute appears
Lefs certain by his laughter than his tears;
For ignorance too oft our pleasure breeds,
But forrow from the reas'ning foul proceeds.

If

If man on earth in endless blifs cou'd be,
The boon, young prince, had been beftow'd on thee.
Bright fhone thy ftars, thy Fortune flourish'd fair,
And feem'd fecure beyond the reach of care,

And fo might still have been, but anxious thought
'Has dafh'd thy cup, and thou must tafte the draught,
It fo befel, as on a certain day

This happy couple toy'd their time away,

He afk'd how many charming hours were flown,
Since on her flave her heav'n of beauty fhone.
Should I confult my heart, cried he, the rate
Were small, a week wou'd be the utmost date:
But when my mind reflects on actions past,
And counts its joys, time must have fied more fast.
Perhaps I might have faid, three months are gone.
Three months! replied the fair, three months alone!
Know that three hundred years have roll'd away,
Since at my feet the lovely phoenix lay.
Three hundred years! re-echo'd' back the prince,
A whole three hundred years compleated fince
I landed here! O! whither then are flown
My dearest friends, my fubjects, and my throne?
How ftrange, alas! how alter'd shal! I find
Each earthly thing, each scene I left behind!
Who knows me now? on whom shall I depend
To gain my rights? where fhall I find a friend?
My crown perhaps may grace a foreign line,
A race of kings, that know not me nor mine;

2

Who

Who reigns may wish my death, his fubjects treat
My claim with fcorn, and call their prince a cheat.
Oh had my life been ended as begun!

My deftin'd stage, my race of glory run,

I fhou'd have died well pleas'd; my honour'd name
Had liv'd, had flourish'd in the list of fame;
Reflecting now my mind with horror fees
The fad furvey, a fcene of fhameful ease,"
The odious blot, the scandal of my race,
Scarce known, and only mention'd with disgrace.
The fair beheld him with impatient eye,
And red with anger made this warm reply.
Ungrateful man! is this the kind return

My love deferves; and can you thus with scorn
Reject what once you priz'd, what once you swore
Surpass'd all charms, and made ev'n glory poor?
What gifts have I beftow'd, what favours fhewn!
Made you partaker of my bed and throne;
Three centuries preferv'd in youthful prime,
Safe from the rage of death, and injuries of time.
Weak arguments! for glory reigns above

The feeble ties of gratitude and love.

I

urge them not, nor wou'd request your stay; The phantom glory calls, and I obey;

All other virtues are regardless quite,
Sunk and abforb'd in that fuperior light.

Go then, barbarian, to thy realms return,
And fhew thyself unworthy my concern;

Go,