ESTA L.
From Ovid de Faftis, Lib. III. Eleg. 1.
Blanda quies vielis furtim fubrepit ocellis, &c.
S the FAIR VESTAL to the Fountain came,
(Let none be startled at a Veftal's Name)
Tir'd with the Walk, fhe laid her down to Rest,
And to the Winds expos'd her glowing Breaft,
To take the Freshness of the Morning-Air,
And gather'd in a Knot her flowing Hair;
While thus fhe rested, on her Arm reclin'd,
The hoary Willows waving with the Wind,
And Feather'd CHOIRS that warbled in the Shade,
And purling Streams, that thro' the Meadows ftray'd,
In drowsy Murmurs lull'd the gentle Maid.
The God of War beheld the Virgin lie,
The Gop beheld Her with a LOVER's Eye;
And by fo tempting an Occafion prefs'd,
The Beauteous MAID, whom He beheld, poffefs'd:
Conceiving as she flept, Her fruitful Womb
Swell'd with The FOUNDER of Immortal ROME.
EPISTLE from a Gentleman in DENMARK, to his Friend in ENGLAND.
ROM frozen CLIMES, and endless TRACTS of
SNOW,
From STREAM S that Northern Winds forbid to flow;
What Prefent fhall the Mufe to BRITAIN bring;
Or how, fo near the POLE, attempt to fing?
The hoary Winter here conceals from Sight,
All pleafing Objects that to Verfe invite.
The Hills and Dales, and the delightful Woods, -
The flow'ry Plains, and Silver-ftreaming Floods,
By SNOW difguis'd, in bright Confufion lye,
And with one dazling Waste fatigue the Eye.
No gentle breathing Breeze prepares the SPRING,
No Birds within the Defart Region Sing..
The Ships unmov'd, the boist'rous Winds defy,
While rattling Chariots o'er the OCEAN fly.
The vaft Leviathan wants room to play,
And spout his Waters in the Face of Day.
The starving Wolves along the Main SEA prowl,
And to the MOON in Icy Valleys howl.
For many a fhining League the level MAIN
Here fpreads it felf into a glaffy PLAIN:
There folid Billows of enormous Size,
Alps of great Ice, in wild diforder rife.
And yet but lately have I feen ev'n Here,
The Winter in a lovely DRESS appear.
E're yet the Clouds let fall the treafur'd SNow,
Or Winds began through hazy Skies to blow.
At Ev'ning a keen Eastern Wind arose,
And the defcending Rain unfully'd froze.
Soon as the filent Shades of Night withdrew,
The ruddy MOR N difclos'd at once to View
The Face of Nature in a rich Difguife,
And brighten'd ev'ry Object to my Eyes:
For ev'ry Shrub, and ev'ry Blade of Grafs,
And ev'ry pointed Thorn, feem'd wrought in Glafs.
In Pearls and Rubies rich the Hawthorns fhow,
While throw the ICE the Crimson Berries glow.
The thick-fprung Reeds the watry Marshes yield,
Seem polish'd Lances in a hoftile Field.
The Stag in limpid Currents, with Surprize,
Sees Chryftal Branches on his Forehead rife.
The spreading Oak, the Beech, and tow'ring Pine,
Glaz'd over in the freezing ÆTHER fhine.
The frighted Birds the rattling Branches fhun,
That wave and glitter in the distant SUN.
When, if a fudden Guft of Wind arise,
The brittle Foreft into Atoms flies:
The crackling Wood beneath the Tempeft bends,
And in a spangled Show'r the Prospect ends.
Or if a Southern Gale the Region warm,
And by degrees unbind the wintry Charm,
The Traveller a miry Country fees,
And journeys fad beneath the dropping Trees.
Like fome deluded Peafant Merlin leads
Thro' fragrant Bow'rs, and thro' delicious Meads;
While here inchanted Gardens to him rise,
And airy Fabricks there attract his Eyes,
His wand'ring Feet the Magick Paths pursue,
And while he thinks the fair Illusion true,
The trackless Scenes difperfe in fluid Air,
And Woods, and Wilds, and thorny Ways appear:
A tedious Road, the weary Wretch returns,
And, as he goes, in tranfient Vision mourns.
WHEN with a Bridegroom's Guft I kifs,
And prefs CLARINDA to my Breaft;
Her balmy Lips enhance my Blifs,
And JOVE himself's not half so blest.
But when the Nymph withdraws her Charms,
And Envy calls away the Fair;
1, who had Heav'n within my Arms,
Am loft at once in deep Defpair.
IMITATION of HORACE,
BOOK I. ODE 8.
Lydia dic mihi per omnes, &c.
AY GLYCERA, why thus in fhameful Ease
You make young VARUS lofe his better Days? Why does he now thofe Hours, he valued, pafs Dangling with you, or looking in the Glass?
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