The Works of the English Poets, from Chaucer to Cowper

Be cheer'd, my daughter, and, these ills forgot,
Think that the gods a happier doom allot.
And though on grief thy thoughts are all employ'd
I no excuse require, with pleasure cloy'd.
Much I lament, that thou so vast a weight
Of woe shouldst share in our disastrous fate.
For, O blest Proserpine and Ceres, know,
(Powers justly dreaded by the perjur'd foe)
That I not more could love thee, if my womb
With thee had teem'd, or had thy virgin-bloom
Alone remain'd a parent's hope to crown:
A truth, Megara, not to thee unknown!
Then think I view thee with no careless eye;
No, though in grief with Niobe I vie :
Grief for a son indulgence sure may gain,
-To me endear'd by ten long months of pain;
And, ere I brought him to the realms of day,
My life by pangs was nearly snatch'd away.
Sent on new toils he to a distant shore
Now roams, and I may ne'er behold him more.
Besides, I lately saw, with wild affright,
A direful vision in the dead of night:
Some great impending ill, if right I deem,
Awaits my sons, from this mysterious dream.
In sleep, methought, my Hercules I spy'd,
His garments, like a labourer, thrown aside,
And, spade in hand, employ'd, with arduous toil,
50 To delve a ditch in some well-cultur'd soil.

And, all too weak the wish'd relief to bring,
Twittering her shrill complaints, on feeble wing
At distance hovers, nor will venture near
The fell destroyer, chill'd with conscious fear;
So I, all frantic, the wide mansion o'er,
Unhappy mother! my lost sons deplore.
O blest, Diana, goddess of the chase,
Tyrant confess'd o'er woman's helpless race,
With my dear sons had thy envenom'd dart
Kindly transfix'd their mother's bleeding heart,
Then my sad parents might, with friendly care,
Have seen one pile our breathless bodies bear,
At once, with many a tear, to every shade
The decent rites of sepulture have paid,
And in one golden urn that sacred earth
Our ashes have receiv'd, which gave us birth.
But Thebes they now inhabit, fam'd for steeds,
Or toilsome till Aonia's fruitful meads:
While to my sorrows no relief is given,
At Tiryns, sacred to the queen of Heaven,
In tears unnumber'd wasting life away,
To joy a stranger, to despair a prey,
But soon my lord will bless my eyes again,
For various labours he must yet sustain
By land and sea, like iron or a rock
Unmov'd, and still superior to the shock:
While like a stream thy sorrows ever flow,
By day, by night, alike dissolv'd in woe.
Of all to me by ties of kindred join'd,
Thou only now canst cheer my anxious mind:
Far from this mansion, though in blood ally'd,
Beyond the pine-clad Isthmus they reside.
Not one remains who can console my grief,
Or to a wretched woman give relief,
Except my sister Pyrrha; all the day
She too bewails her husband snatch'd away,
Thy son Iphiclus: wretched all thy line,
Whether their sire be mortal or divine !?
Fast, while she spoke, th' o'erflowing tears dis-
till'd

Adown her cheeks, and her fair bosom fill'd;
Her sons, her parents rising to her view:
In sad society, Alcmena too

Roll'd the big tear; and from her heaving breast,
In accents sage, her daughter thus addrest:
"Why, hapless parent, should thine eyes o'erflow?
Why should remembrance thus renew thy woe?
Why thus afflict us both? or why once more
Repeat the loss we oft have wept before?
Sure each sad day sufficient sorrows bears;
And none but wretches would recount our cares!

100

But when his task the wish'd success had crown'd,
And his wide fence had girt the vineyard round,
He left his spade fix'd deeply in the plain,
And straight prepar'd to clothe his limbs again;
When, quick as thought, above the trench, behold
Destructive flames, which round the hero roll'd!
From these resistless foes alarm'd he flew,
With footsteps swift; as swiftly they pursue:

Thus St. Matthew, chap. 6. ver. 34. "Sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof."

86. Though in grief with Niobe I vie] For the story of Niobe, see Ovid's Metamorph. book 6, Sce also the notes on the twentieth ode of Ana

creon.

88. Ten months] That is, ten lunar months, St. Augustine explains it thus: Quod dicunter de cem menses pregnantis, novem sunt pleni; sed initium decimi pro toto accipitur.

90. My life by pangs, &c.] The birth of Her, cules was attended with the most excruciating pains to Alcmena, owing to the jealousy and hatred of Juno; from which she was delivered by the address of Galanthis. See Ovid's Metamorph, book 9.

105.

behold

Destructive flames --] those flames in which this hero was afterwards These were probably intended to be emblems of consumed on Mount Oeta. See Ovid's Metas

33. Then my sad parents, &c.] Megara was the daughter of Creon, king of Thebes, a city of Boeotia. It may not be improper to remark, that Moschus, contrary to the common opinion, supposes the parents of Megara to have been living when Hercules slew his children; whereas Euripides and Seneca assure us, that Lycus, a Theban exile, murdered Creon and his sons, to ob-morph. book 9. tain the crown; and that Hercules did not kill his children, till he had punished Lycus.

Longepierre.

108.

--as swiftly they pursue] This circumstance of the flames pursuing Hercu les is very similar to a passage in the Iliad, book 42. Tiryns] A city of Peloponnesus near Ar-21, where the rivers Simois and Scamander unite, gos, where Hercules dwelt; and from thence was styled "the Tiryntbian hero."

59. Thy son Iphiclus] Iphiclus was the son of Amphitryon and Alemena, and the twin-brother of Hercules.

71. Sure each sąd day sufficient sorrow bears]

pursue, and attack Achilles with all their waves:
Now here, now there, he turns on every side,
And winds his course before the following tide;
The waves flow after, wheresoe'er he wheels,
And gather fast, and murmur at his heels.

Pope.

While, like a shield, the spade now serves to guard

His half-scorch'd body, and the fire to ward. 110 At length Iphiclus, running to his aid, (Such was my vision) by his feet betray'd, Before he reach'd him, fell, with headlong force, And there, unable to resume his course, Lay stiff and prostrate; like a feeble sage, Who, falling to the ground through helpless age, There fix'd remains, till by some stranger rear'd, Pitying his hoary hairs, and silver beard: So on the plain was brave 1pbiclus thrown. To see my sons unaided and alone, Fast flow'd my tears, till morn with roseate ray Dispell'd my slumbers, and restor'd the day.

120

"Such were the visions of this night of dread! Far from our house, on curs'd Eurystheus' head These omens turn! be my presages true, And him, O Fate, with vengeauce just pursue!"

As when the winds, ascending by degrees,
First move the whitening surface of the seas,
The billows float in order to the shore,
The wave behind rolls on the wave before;
Till, with the growing storm, the deeps arise,
Foam o'er the rocks, and thunder to the skies.
Pope.

8. whistle through the bending trees, &c.] In the original it is, wirus aon, the pine-tree sings. Thus Theocritus, Idyll. 1. ver. 1. — a wirus μελίσδεται.

that pine-tree's boughs, by yonder spring, In pleasing murmurs mix, and sweetly sing. Creech,

The dancing Faun fair Lyda charms;
As Echo Pan's soft bosom warms,
So for the Faun sweet Echo burns;
Thus all, inconstant in their turns,
Both fondly woo, are fondly woo'd,
Pursue, and are themselves pursued.
As much as all slight those that woo,
So those that slight are slighted too:
Thus rages, by capricious Fate,
Alternate love, alternate hate.
Ye scornful nymphs and swains, I tell
This truth to you; pray, mark it well;
If to your lovers kind you prove,
You'll gain the hearts of those you love.

CROSS PURPOSES.

Tom loves Mary passing well,
But Mary she loves Harry;
While Harry sighs for bonny Bell,
And finds his love miscarry.
For bonny Bell for Thomas burns,
While Thomas slights her passion:
So very freakish are the turns

Of human inclination!

As much as Mary Thomas grieves,
Proud Hal despises Mary,
And all the flouts that Bell receives

From Tom, she vents on Harry. Thus all by turns are woo'd and woo,

No turtles can be truer ;
Each loves the object they pursue,

But hates the kind pursuer.
Mol gave Hal a wreath of flowers,
Which he, in amorous folly,
Consign'd to Bell, and in few hours
It came again to Molly.
If one of all the four has frown'd,

You ne'er saw people glummer;
But if one smiles, it catches round,

And all are in good humour.

Then, lovers, hence this lesson learn, Throughout the British nation, How much 'tis every one's concern To smile a reformation:

And still through life this rule pursue, Whatever objects strike you,

Be kind to them that fancy you,

That those you love may like you.

Lovers, farewell; revenge has reach'd my scorn; IdyH. VI. The following modern ballad is close-Thus warn'd, be wise, and love for love return.

ly copied from this idylliu

Dryden,

IDYLLIUM VII.

TO THE EVENING STAR.
HAIL, golden star! of ray serene,
Thou fav'rite of the Cyprian queen,
O Hesper! glory of the night,
Diffusing through the gloom delight;
Whose beams all other stars outshine,
As much as silver Cynthia thine;

O guide me, speeding o'er the plain,
To him I love, my shepherd-swain;
He keeps the mirthful feast, and soon
Dark shades will cloud the splendid Moon. 10
Of lambs I never robb'd the fold,
Nor the lone traveller of gold:
Love is my crime: O lend thy ray
To guide a lover on her way!
May the bright star of Venus prove
The gentle harbinger of love!

IDYLLIUM VIII. ALPHEUS.

FROM Pisa, where the sea his flood receives, Alpheus, olive-crown'd, the gift of leaves,

Idyil. VII. This idyllium has given occasion to the following ode to Cynthia, by a lady of Huntingdon; which must be allowed to have surpassed the original :

Sister of Phoebus, gentle queen, Of aspect mild, and ray serene, Whose friendly beams by night appear, The lonely traveller to cheer! Attractive power! whose mighty sway The ocean's swelling waves obey, And, mounting upward, seem to raise A liquid altar to thy praise; Thee wither'd hags, at midnight hour, Invoke to their infernal bower: But I to no such horrid rite, Sweet queen, implore thy sacred light, Nor seek, while all but lovers sleep, To rob the miser's treasur'd heap; Thy kindly beams alone impart, To find the youth who stole my heart, And guide me, from thy silver throne, To steal his heart, or find my own! 3. Glory of the night] Thus Homer, Iliad, book 22, speaking of the same star:

As radiant Hesper shines with keener light, Far-beaming o'er the silver host of night.

Pope.

EUNICA; OR, THE HERDSMAN, WHEN lately I offer'd Eunica to kiss, She fleer'd, and she flouted, and took it amiss; "Begone, you great booby, she cry'd with a frown, Do you think that I long for your kisses, you clown?

The sparks of the city my favours esteem→
You never shall kiss me, no, not in a dream.
How pleasing your look! and how gently you play!
How soft is your voice! and what fine things you
say!

So neat is your beard, and so comely your hair!
And your lips, to be sure, are a delicate pair. 10
But on your dear person I never shall doat;
So pray keep your distance-you smell like a
goat."

Thus spoke the proud hussey, and view'd me all

round

[ground; With an eye of disdain, and thrice spit on the Then mimick'd my voice with satyrical sneer, And sent me away with a flea in my ear. My blood quickly boil'd, in a violent pique, And, red as a rose, passion glow'd on my cheek; For it vex'd me, that thus in derision she jeer'd My looks, and my voice, and my hair, and my beard.

And my eyes, like Minerva's, were azure and
My lips sweet as cream, and from them would flow
Words sweeter than honey, and softer than snow.
My songs are enchanting; nor aught can exceed
The tunes of my pipe, or the notes of my reed. 30
The girls of the country, if they had their wills,
Would kiss me, and press me to stay on the hills'

Hither, 'tis said, Alpheus, from his source
In Elis' realms, directs his watry course;
Beneath the main he takes his secret way,
And mounts with Arethusa's streams to day.

Pitt.

sacred dust] Moschus calls the dust sacred, because the Olympic games, which conIdyll. VIII. The story of Alpheus and Arethu-stituted no small part of the religion of the ansa is related at large by Ovid, in his Metamorph. book 5. Virgil also mentions it in his Eneid,

book 3.

Sicanio prætenta sinu jacet insula contra
Plen:myrium undosum; nomen dixere priores
Ortygiam. Alpheum fama est huc, Elidis amnem,
Occultas egisse vias subter mare; qui nunc
Ore, Arethusa, tuo Siculis confunditur nudis.
An isle, once call'd Ortygia, fronts the sides
Of rough Plemmyrium, and Sicanian tides.

cients, were celebrated at Elis, from whence Alpheus flowed.

Idyll. IX. This idyllium, though commonly inserted in the works of Theocritus, has, by Daniel Heinsius and other critics, been adjudged to Mosanother idyllium, of which Moschus is supposed chus; and therefore is here translated. There is to have been the author, containing a dialogue between Daphnis and a shepherdess; but that is thought too loose to be here inserted. The curi ous reader may see it translated by Dryden.

For they say that I'm fair; but this minx of the

town

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The Works of the English Poets, from Chaucer to Cowper, Zväzok 20