* Well do you fhew your duty by your hafte, For thou of all my fons art always last;

A child lefs fondled would have fled more fast. Sure 'tis a curfe on mothers, doom'd to mourn, • Where beft they love, the leaft and worst return !' • My dear mamma,' the gentle youth reply'd, And made a low obeifance, cease to chide,

• Nor wound me with your words; for well you know, • Your Zephyr bears a part in all your woe;

How great must be his forrow, then, to learn • That he himself's the cause of your concern! • Nor had I loiter'd thus, had I been free; But the fair Princefs of Felicity

<Entreated me to make fome fhort delay

And afk'd by her, who could refuse to stay? • Surrounded by the damfels of her court, She fought the fhady grove, her lov'd resort:

Fresh rofe the grafs, the flow'rs were mix'd between, •Like rich embroid❜ry on a ground of green;

• And in the midft, protected by the shade,

• A crystal stream in wild meanders play'd;
While on it's banks, the trembling leaves among,
• A thousand little birds in concert fung.

Close by a mount, with fragrant fhrubs o'ergrown,
• On a cool moffy couch fhe laid her down;
Her air, her posture, all confpir'd to please ;
Her head, upon her fnowy arm at ease

• Reclin'd, a ftudy'd carelessness exprefs'd;

Loofe lay her robe, and naked heav'd her breast.
Eager I flew to that delightful place,

And pour'd a fhow'r of kisses on her face;

• Now hover'd o'er her neck, her breaft, her arms,
Like bees o'er flow'rs, and tafted all her charms;
And then her lips, and then her cheeks I try'd,
And fann'd and wanton'd round on every fide.

N

}

"O Zephyr !"

"O Zephyr !" cry'd the fair," thou charming boy, "Thy prefence only can create me joy;

To me thou art beyond expreffion dear,

"Nor can I quit the place while thou art here !”
Excufe my weakness, Madam, when I fwear
Such gentle words, join'd with so foft an air,
• Pronounc'd fo fweetly from a mouth so fair,
Quite ravifh'd all my fenfe; nor did I know
'How long I ftay'd, or when or where to go!
• Meanwhile the damfels debonnair and gay,
Prattled around, and laugh'd the time away:
Thefe, in foft notes, addrefs'd the ravifh'd ear,
And warbled out fo fweet, 'twas heav'n to hear;
And those in rings, beneath the greenwood fhade,
• Danc'd to the melody their fellows made.

6

Some ftudious of themselves, employ'd their care In weaving flow'ry wreathes to deck their hair;. • While others to fome fav'rite plant convey'd 901 Refreshing fhow'rs, and chear'd it's drooping head. A joy fo generál spread through all the place, i • Such fatisfaction dwelt on every face,

The nymphs fo kind, fo lovely look'd the queen,

That never eye

beheld a sweeter scene !?:

Porfenna, like a ftatue fix'd appear'd,

And, rapt in filent wonder, gaz'd and heard:
Much he admir'd the fpeech, the speaker more,"

And dwelt on ev'ry word, and griev'd to find it o'er.
O gentle youth!' he cry'd, proceed to tell,
In what fair country does this princess dwell;
• What region unexplor'd, what hidden coaft,
• Can fo much goodness, so much beauty boast!'
To whom the winged god with gracious look,
Numberless fweets diffufing while he spoke,
Thus answer'd kind: These happy gardens lie
Far hence remov'd, beneath a milder sky;
Their name-the kingdom of Felicity.

}

• Sweet

Sweet scenes of endless blifs, enchanted ground,
A foil for ever fought, but feldom found;

Though in the fearch all human kind in vain

Weary their wits, and wafte their lives in pain..
In diff'rent parties, diff'rent paths they tread,

• As reafon guides them, or as follies lead;
These wrangling for the place they ne'er shall see,
Debating those, if fuch a place there be;
But not the wifeft, nor the beft, can fay
• Where lies the point, or mark the certain way.
Some few, by Fortune favour'd for her sport,
Have fail'd in fight of this delightful port;
In thought already seiz'd the bless'd abodes,
And in their fond delirium rank'd with gods.
Fruitless attempt! all avenues are kept
By dreadful foes, fentry that never flept.

Here, fell Detraction darts her pois'nous breath-
Fraught with a thousand ftings, and scatters death;

Sharp-fighted Envy there maintains her poft,

And flakes her flaming brand, and ftalks around the coaft.

Thefe on the helpless bark their fury pour,

Plunge in the waves, or dash against the shore;

1

• Teach wretched mortals they were doom'd to mourn, And ne'er muft reft but in the filent urn!

But fay, young monarch, for what name you bear, • Your mien, your drefs, your perfon, all declare ; And though I feldom fan the frozen North,

Yet I have heard of brave Porfenna's worth.

My brother Boreas through the world has flown,
Swelling his breath to fpread forth your renown;
Say, would you chufe to vifit this retreat,
And view the world where all these wonders meet?
• Wish you some friend o'er that tempeftuous fea
To bear you fafe! Behold that friend in me.
My active wings fhall all their force employ,
And nimbly waft you to the realms of joy;

As once, to gratify the god of love,
I bore fair Pfyche to the Cyprian grove ;
Or as Jove's bird, defcending from on high,
Snatch'd the young Trojan trembling to the sky,
There perfect blifs thou may'ft for ever share,
'Scap'd from the bufy world, and all it's care;
There, in the lovely princefs, thou shalt find

A mistress ever blooming, ever kind!'

All extafy, on air Porfenna trod,

And to his bofom ftrain'd the little god;

With grateful fentiments his heart o'erflow'd,
And in the warmest words millions of thanks bestow'd.
When Eolus, in furly humour, broke

Their ftrict embrace, and thus abruptly spoke.

Enough of compliment; I hate the sport

Of meanless words: this is no human court, • Where plain and honeft are difcarded quite, For the more modifh title of polite; • Where, in soft speeches, hypocrites impart The venom'd ills that lurk beneath the heart; • In friendship's holy guife their guilt improve, And kindly kill with specious fhew of love.

For us-my fubjects are not us'd to wait,

And waste their hours, to hear a mortal prate;

They must abroad before the rifing fun,

And hie 'em to the feas! there's mifchief to be done.
Excufe my plainnefs, Sir; but business ftands;
• And we have forms and shipwrecks on our hands!'
He ended frowning; and the noisy rout,

Each to his feveral cell went puffing out:
But Zephyr, far more courteous than the reft,
To his own bow'r convey'd the royal gueft;
There on a bed of rofes, neatly laid,
Beneath the fragrance of a myrtle shade,
His limbs to needful reft the prince apply'd,
His fweet companion flumb'ring by his fide.

2

BOOK

No

воок II.

fooner in her filver chariot rofe

The ruddy morn, than, fated with repose,
The prince addrefs'd his hoft; the god awoke,
And leaping from his couch, thus kindly spoke :
☛ This early call, my lord, that chides my stay,
Requires my thanks, and I with joy obey.
Like you, I long to reach the blissful coaft,
Hate the flow night, and mourn the moments loft.
The bright Rofinda, lovelieft of the fair
That croud the princefs' court, demands my care;
? E'en now, with fears and jealoufies o'erborne,
Upbraids, and calls me cruel and forsworn.
What sweet rewards on all my toils attend,
Serving at once my mistress and my friend!
f Juft to my love, and to my duty too,

Well paid in her, well pleas'd in pleasing you !'
This faid, he led him to the cavern gate,

And clafp'd him in his arms, and poiz'd his weight;
Then balancing his body here and there,

Stretch'd forth his agile wings, and launch'd in air,
Swift as the fiery meteor from on high

Shoots to it's goal, and gleams athwart the sky.
Here with quick fan his lab'ring pinions play
There glide at eafe along the liquid way;
Now lightly skim the plain with even flight;
Now proudly foar above the mountain's height.
Spiteful Detraction, whofe envenom'd hate
Sports with the fuff'rings of the good and great,
Spares not our prince; but, with opprobrious fneer,
Arraigns him of the heincus fin of fear;

That he, fo try?d in arms, whofe very name

Infus'd a fecret panick where it came;

E'en