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And in his breast receiv'd th' envenom'd dart,
A tickling pain that pleas'd aimid the smart.
But conscious of her form, with quick distrust,
She saw his sparkling eyes, and fear'd his brutal
Inst:

This to prevent, she wak'd her sleepy crew,
And, rising hasty, took a short adieu.

Then Cymon first his rustic voice essay'd, With proffer'd service to the parting maid, To see her safe; his hand she long denied, But took at length, asham'd of such a guide. So Cymon led her home, and leaving there,

No more would to his country cloves remain But sought his father's house with better mind, Refusing in the farm to be confin'd.

The father wouder'd at the son's return, And knew not whether to rejoice or mourn; But doubtfully receiv'd, expecting still To learn the secret causes of his alter'd will. Nor was he long delay'd: the first request He made, was like his brothers to be dress'd, And, as his birth requir'd, above the rest.

With ease his suit was granted by his sire, Distinguishing his heir by rich attire: His body thus adorn'd, he next design'd With lib'ral arts to cultivate the mind: He sought a tutor of his own accord, And studied lessons he before abhorr'd.

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To Cipseus by his friends his suit he mov'd, Cipseus the father of the fair he lov'd; But he was pre-engaged by former ties, While Cymon was endeavouring to be wise: And Iphigene, oblig'd by former vows, Had given her faith to wed a foreign spouse: Her sire and she to Rhodian Pasimond, Though both repeating, were by promise bound,

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Nor could retract; and thus, as fate decreed,
Though better lov'd, he spoke too late to speed.
The doom was past, the ship already sent
Did all his tardy diligence prevent:
Sigh'd to herself the fair unhappy maid,
While stormy Cymon thus in secret said:
The time is come for Iphigene to find
The miracle she wrought upon my mind:
Her charms have made me man, her ravish'd
love

In rank shall place me with the blest above.
For mine by love, by force she shall be mine;
Or death, if force should fail, shall finish my

design.

Resolv'd he said; and rigg'd with speedy care
A vessel strong, and well equipp'd for war.
The secret ship with chosen friends he stor❜d;
And, bent to die or conquer, went aboard.
Ambush'd he lay behind the Cyprian shore,

Thus the man-child advane'd and learn'd so || Waiting the sail that all his wishes bore;

fast,

That in short time his equals he surpass'd;
His brutal manners from his breast exil'd,
His mien he fashion'd, and his tongue he fil'd;
In ev'ry exercise of all admir'd,

He seem'd, nor only seem'd, but was inspir'd:
Juspir'd by love, whose business is to please;
He rode, he fenc'd, he mov'd with graceful ease;
More fam'd for sense, for courtly carriage more,
Than for his brutal folly known before.

What then of alter'd Cymon shall we say,
But that the fire which chok'd in ashes lay,
A load too heavy for his soul to move,
Was upward blown below, and brush'd away by
love?

Love made an active progress thro' his mind,
The dusky parts he clear'd, the gross refin'd,
The drowsy wak'd; and as he went, impress'd
The maker's image on the human breast.
Thus was the-man amended by desire:
And tho' he lov'd perhaps with too much fire,
His father all his faults with reason scann'd,
And lik'd an error of the better hand :
Excus'd the excess of passion in his mind,
By flames too fierce, perhaps too much refin'd:
So Cymon, since his sire indulg'd his will,
Impetuous lov'd, and would be Cymon still;
Galesus he disown'd, and chose to bear
The name of fool, confirm'd, and bishop'd by
the fair.

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Nor long expected, for the following tide
Sent out the hostile ship and beauteous bride.
To Rhodes the rival bark directly steer'd,
When Cymon sudden at her back appear'd,
And stopt her flight; then, standing on his
prow,

In haughty terms he thus defied the foe :
Or strike your sails at summons, or prepare
To prove the last extremities of war.
Thus warn'd, the Rhodians for the fight
provide ;

Already were the vessels side by side; [bride.
These obstinate to save, and those to seize the
But Cymon soon his crooked grapples cast,'
Which with tenacious hold his foes embrac'd,
And, arm'd with sword and shield, amid the
press he pass'd.

Fierce was the fight; but, hast'ning to his prey,

By force the furious lover freed bis way:
Himself alone dispers'd the Rhodian crew,
The weak disdain'd, the valiant overthrew.
Cheap conquest for his following friends re-
main'd;

He reap'd the field, and they but only glean'd.
His victory confess'd, the foes retreat,
And cast the weapons at the victor's feet,
Whom thus he cheer'd: Ó Rhodian youth, I
fought

For love alone, nor other beauty sought:

Your lives are safe; your vessel I resign;
Yours be your own, restoring what is mine:
In Iphigene 1 claim my rightful due,
Robb'd by my rival, and detain'd by you.
Your Pasimond a lawless bargain drove,
The parent could not sell the daughter's love;
Or, if he could, my love disdains the laws,
And, like a king, by conquest gains his cause;
Where arms take place, all other pleas are vain;
Love taught me force, and force shall love
maintain;

Than stood the lover of his love possest,
Now curs'd the more, the more he had been
blest;

More anxious for her danger than his own,
Death he defies, but would be lost alone.

Sad Iphigene to womanish complaints
Adds pious prayers, and wearies all the saints;
Ev'n if she could, her love she would repent;
But, since she cannot, dreads the punishment:
Her forfeit faith, and Pasimond betray'd,
Are ever present, and her crime upbraid.

You, what by strength you could not keep, She blames herself, nor blames her lover less,

release,

And at an easy ransom buy your peace.

Fear on the conquer'd side soou sign'd th'
accord,

And Iphigene to Cymon was restor`d:
While to his arms the blushing bride he took,
To seeming sadness she compos'd her look;
As if by force subjected to his will,
Tho' pleas'd dissembling, and a woman still.
And (for she wept) he wip'd her falling tears,
And pray'd her to dismiss her empty fears;
For yours I am, he said, and have deserv'd
Your love much better whom so long 1 serv'd,
Than he to whom your formal father tied
Your vows, and sold a slave, not sent a bride.
Thus while he spoke, he seiz'd the willing prey,
As Paris bore the Spartan spouse away.
Faintly she scream'd, and ev'n her eyes con-
fess'd
[tress'd.

She rather would be thought, than was, dis-
Who now exults but Cymon in his mind?
Vain hopes and empty joys of human kind,
Proud of the present, to the future blind!
Secure of fate, while Cymon ploughs the sea,
And steers to Candy with his conquer'd prey,
Scarce the third glass of measur'd hours was
run,

When, like a fiery meteor, sunk the sun,
The promise of a storm; the shifting gales
Forsake by fits, and fill the flagging sails;
Hoarse murmurs of the main from far were
heard,

And night came on, not by degrees prepar'd,
But all at once; at once the winds arise,
The thunders roll, the forky lightning flies.
In vain the master issues out commands,
In vain the trembling sailors ply their hands:
The tempest unforeseen prevents their care,
And from the first they labour in despair.
The iddy ship, betwixt the winds and tides,
Fore'd back, and forwards, in a circle rides,
Stann'd with the diff'rent blows; then shoots,
amain,

Till, counterbuff'd, she stops, and sleeps again,
Not more aghast the proud archangel fell,
Plang'd from the height of heaven to deepest
bell,

Augments her anger as her fears increase;
From her own back the burden would remove
And lays the load on his ungovern'd love,
Which interposing durst, in Heaven's despite,
Invade and violate another's right:
The pow'rs incens'd awhile deferr'd his pain,
And made him master of his vows in vain :
But soon they punish'd his presumptuous
pride;

That for his daring enterprise she died,
Who rather not resisted than complied.

Then, impotent of mind, with alter'd sense She hugg'd th' offender, and forgave the offence.

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The vanquish'd side exults, the victors fear; Not them but theirs, made pris'ners cre they fight,

Despairing conquest, and depriv'd of flight.

The country rings around with loud alarms,
And raw in fields the rude militia swarms;
Mouths without hands, maintain'd at vast ex-
pence,

In peace a charge, in war a weak defence:
Stout once a month they march, a blust'ring||
band;

And ever, but in times of need, at hand;

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Mean time young Pasimond his marriage

press'd,

Ordain'd the nuptial day, prepar'd the feast;
Aud frugally resolv'd (the charge to shan
Which would be double should he wed alone)
To join his brother's bridal with his own.

Lysimachus, oppress'd with mortal grief,
Receiv'd the news, and studied quick relief;
The fatal day approach'd; if force were us'd,
The magistrate his public trust abus'd;
To justice liable, as law requir'd ;
For, when his office ceas'd, his pow'r expir'd:
While pow'r remain'd, the means were in his
hand,

This was the morn when, issuing on the guard,
Drawu up in rank and file they stood prepar'd
Of seeming arms to make a short essay,
Then hasten to be drunk, the business of the Restraining others, yet himself not free,

By force to seize, and then forsake the land.
Betwixt extremes he knew not how to move;
A slave to fame, but more a slave to love:

day.

Made impotent by pow'r, debas'd by dignity.

The cowards would have fled, but that they Both sides he weigh'd; but after much debate,

knew

Themselves so many, and their foes so few :
But, crowding on, the last the first impel;
Till overborne with weight the Cyprians fell.
Cymon enslav'd, who first the war began;
And Iphigene once more is lost and won.
Deep in a dungeon was the captive cast,
Depriv'd of day, and held in fetters fast;
His life was only spar'd at their request,
Whom taken he so nobly had releas'd;
But Iphigenia was the ladies' care,

Each in their turn address'd to treat the fair;
While Pasimond and his the nuptial feast
prepare.

Her secret soul to Cymon was inclin'd,
But she must suffer what her fates assign'd;
So passive is the church of womankind.
What worse to Cymon could his fortune deal,
Roll'd to the lowest spoke of all her wheel?
It rested to dismiss the downward weight,
Or raise him upward to his former height;
The latter pleas'd; and love (concern'd the
most)

Prepar'd th' amends for what by love he lost.

The man prevail'd above the magistrate.

Love never fails to master what he finds,
But works a diff'rent way in diff'rent minds,
The fool enlightens, and the wise he blinds.
This youth proposing to possess and 'scape,
Began in murder, to conclude in rape :
Unprais'd by me, tho' heaven sometimes may
bless

An impious act with undeserv'd success;
The great, it seems, are privileg'd alone
To punish all injustice but their own.
But here I stop, not daring to proceed,
Yet blush to flatter an unrighteous deed;
For crimes are but permitted, not decreed.

Resolv'd on force, his wit the prætor bent
To find the means that might secure th' event;
Nor long he labour'd, for his lucky thought
In captive Cymon found the friend he sought;
Th' example pleas'd; the cause and crime the

same;

An injur'd lover, and a ravish`d dame.
How much he durst he knew by what he dar'd,
The less he had to lose, the less he car'd,
To manage loathsome life when love was the
reward.

The sire of Pasimond had left a son, Though younger, yet for courage early known, Ormisda call'd, to whom, by promise tied, A Rhodian beauty was the destin'd bride; Cassandra was her name, above the rest Renown'd for birth, with fortune amply blest. Lysimachus, who rul'd the Rhodiau state, Was then by choice their annual magistrate; He lov'd Cassandra too with equal fire, But fortune had not favour'd his desire; Cross'd by her friends, by her not disapprov'd, Nor yet preferr'd, or like Ormisda lov'd : So stood th' affair; some little hope remain'd, That, should his rival chance to lose, he gain'd. || 'Twas yours t' improve the talent they be

This pouder'd well, and fix'd on his intent,
In depth of night he for the pris'ner sent;
In secret sent, the public view to shun;
Then, with a sober smile, he thus begun :
The pow'rs above, who bounteously bestow
Their gifts and graces on mankind below,
Yet prove our merit first, nor blindly give
To such as are not worthy to receive;
For valour and for virtue they provide
Their due reward, but first they must be tried:
These fruitful seeds within your mind they
sow'd;
[stow'd:

They gave you to be born of uoble kind,
They gave you love to lighten up your mind,"
Aud purge the grosser parts; they gave you

care

To please, and courage to deserve the fair. Thus far they tried you, and by proof they found

The grain entrusted in a grateful ground;
But still the great experiment remain'd,
They suffer'd you to lose the prize you gain'd,
That you might learn the gift was theirs alone;
And, when restor'd, to them the blessing own.
Restor❜d it soon will be; the means prepar'd,
The difficulty smooth', the danger shar'd;
Be but yourself, the care to me resign,
Then Iphigene is yours, Cassandra mine.
Your rival Pasimond pursues your life;
Impatient to revenge his ravish'd wife;
But yet not his; to-morrow is behind,
And love our fortunes in oue band has join'd;
Two brothers are our foes; Ormisda mine,
As much declar'd as Pasimoud is thine;
To-morrow must their common vows be tied;
With love to friend, and fortune for our
guide,

[bride

Let both resolve to die, or each redeem a Right I have none, nor hast thou much to plead;

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'Tis force, when done, must justify the deed;
Our task perform'd, we next prepare for flight;
And let the losers talk in vain of right:
We with the fair will sail before the wind;
If they are griev'd, I leave the laws behind.
Speak thy resolves; if now thy courage droop,||
Despair in prison, and abandon hope:
But if thou dar'st in arms thy love regain
(For liberty without thy love were vain)
Then second my design to seize the prey,
Or lead to second rape, for well thou know'st

the way.

Said Cymou, overjoy'd, Do thou propose The means to fight, and only shew the foes: For from the first, when love had fir'd my mind,

Resolv'd I left the care of life behind.

To this the bold Lysimachus replied:
Let heaven be neuter, and the sword decide;
The spousals are prepar'd, already play
The minstrels, and provoke the tardy day :
By this the brides are wak'd, their grooms
are dress'd;

All Rhodes is summon'd to the nuptial feast,
All but myself, the sole unbidden guest.
Unbidden though I am, I will be there;
And, join'd by thee, intend to joy the fair.
Now hear the rest; when day resigns the
light,

And cheerful torches gild the jolly night,
Be ready at my call; my chosen few

With arms administer'd shall aid thy crew.
Then, ent'ring unexpected, will we seize
Our destin'd prey, from men dissolv'd in ease,
By wine disabled, unprepar'd for fight;
And, hastening to the seas, suborn our flight:
The seas are ours, for I command the fort;
A ship well maun'd expects us in the port.
If they, or if their friends, the prize contest,
Death shall attend the man who dares resist.

It pleas'd; the prisoner to his hold retir'd;'
His troop with equal emulation fir'd,
All fix'd to fight, and all their wonted work
requir'd.

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The sun arose; the streets were throng'd

around,

The palace open'd, and the posts were crown'd. The double bridegroom at the door attends Th' expected spouse, and entertains the friends; [invoke They meet, they lead to church, the priests The pow'rs, and feed the flames with fragrant smoke.

This done, they feast, and at the close of) night

By kindled torches vary their delight; These lead the lively dance, and those the

brimming bowls invite.

Now at th'appointed place and hour assign'd, With souls resolved the ravishers were join'd; Three bands are form'd; the first is sent be

fore

To favour the retreat, and guard the shore;
The second at the palace gate is plac'd,
And up the lofty stairs ascend the last ;
A peaceful troop they seem with shining vests,
But coats of mail beneath secure their breasts.

Dauntless they enter, Cymon at their head, And find the feast renew'd, the table spread; Sweet voices, mix'd with instrumental sounds, Ascend the vaulted roof, the vaulted roof re

bounds.

When, like the harpies rushing through the hall,

The sudden troop appears, the tables fall, Their smoking load is on the pavement

thrown;

Each ravisher prepares to seize his own;
The brides, invaded with a rude embrace,
Shriek out for aid, confusion fills the place.
Quick to redeem the prey their plighted lords
Advance, the palace gleams with shining
swords. /

But late is all defence, and succour vain ;
The rape is made, the ravishers remain ;
Two sturdy slaves were only sent before
To bear the purchas'd prize in safety to the
shore ›

The troop retires, the lovers close the rear,
With forward faces not confessing fear;

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