SOME ADDITIONAL STANZAS TO ASTOLFO'S VOYAGE TO THE MOON, W IN ARIOS TO. I. HEN now Aftolfo, ftor'd within a vafe, He turn'd his eyes towards another place, Where, clofely cork'd, unnumber'd bottles lay II. Of finest crystal were those bottles-made, Yet what was there inclos'd he could not fee: To tell what treasure there conceal'd might be "A wondrous thing it is," the Saint replied, "An airy effence, not to be defcried, "Subtle and thin, that MAIDENHEAD is hight. IV... "From earth each day in troops they hither come, "And fill each hole and corner of the Moon; For they are never eafy while at home,, Nor ever owner thought them gone too foon. V. "When V.. "When here arriv'd, they are in bottles pent, VI. "Thofe that to young and wanton girls belong "Leap, bounce, and fly, as if they'd burst the "glafs: "But thofe that have below been kept too long "Are spiritless, and quite decay'd, alas !” VII. So fpake the Saint, and wonder feiz'd the Knight, For various fecrets there were brought to light;, VIII. Virginities, that clofe confin'd he thought In t' other world, he found above the sky ; His fifter's and his coufin's there were brought, Which made him fwear, though good St. John was by. IX. But much his wrath increas'd, when he espied That which was Chloe's once, his mistress dear: "Ah, falfe and treacherous fugitive!" he cried, "Little I deem'd that I fhould meet thee here. X. "Did X. "Did not thy owner, when we parted lait, "Promise to keep thee safe for me alone? "Scarce of our abfence three short months are past, "And thou already from thy post art flown. XI. "Be not enrag'd, replied th' Apostle kind Since that this maidenhead is thine by right, "Take it away; and, when thou hast a mind, "Carry it thither whence it took its flight.” XII. "Thanks, Holy Father!" quoth the joyous Knight, "The Moon fhall be no lofer by your grace : "Let me but have the ufe on 't for a night, TOA YOUNG LADY. WITH THE TRAGEDY OF I' VENICE PRESER VE D. N tender Otway's moving scenes we find What power the gods have to your sex affign'd: A woman had not propt her finking state: But, But, fav'd by Belvidera's charming tears, Still o'er the fubject main her towers she rears, With what a boundless sway you rule the mind, In wretched Jaffier, we with pity view "Hence may we learn, what paffion fain would "That Hymen's bands by prudence fhould be tied. "Venus in vain the wedded pair would crown, "If angry Fortune on their union frown: "Soon will the flattering dreams of joys be o'er, "And cloy'd imagination cheat no more; "Then, waking to the sense of lasting pain, "With mutual tears the bridal couch they ftain; And The twelve following lines, with some small variations, have been already printed in "Advice to a "Lady," p. 39; but, as Lord Lyttelton chofe to introduce them here, it was thought more eligible to repeat these few lines, than to suppress the rest of the poem. NJ "And that fond love, which should afford relief, T ELL me, my heart, fond slave of hopeless love, Canft thou endure thus calmly to erase The dear, dear image of thy Delia's face ? |