Gums and Pomatums fhall his flight restrain,
While clog'd he beats his filken wings in vain;
Or Alum ftyptics with contracting power
Shrink his thin effence like a fhrivel'd flower:
Or, as Ixion fix'd, the wretch fhall feel
The giddy motion of the whirling Mill,
In fumes of burning Chocolate fhall glow,
And tremble at the fea that froths below!
He fpoke; the fpirits from the fails defcend;
Some, orb in orb, around the nymph extend;
Some thrid the mazy ringlets of her hair:
Some hang upon the pendants of her ear;
With beating hearts the dire event they wait,
Anxious, and trembling for the birth of Fate.
LOSE by thofe meads, for ever crown'd with flowers,
Where Thames with pride furveys his rifing towers,
There stands a structure of majestic frame,
Which from the neighboring Hampton takes its name.
Here Britain's ftatefmen oft the fall foredoom
Of foreign Tyrants, and of Nymphs at home;
Here thou, great Anna! whom three realms obey,
Doft fometimes.counfel take-and fometimes tea.
Hither the heroes and the nymphs refort,
To taste a while the pleasures of a Court;
Ver. 1. Clofe by thofe meads,] The first edition con
tinues from this line to ver. 24. of this Canto.
In various talk th' inftructive hours they past,
Who gave the ball, or paid the visit last;
One speaks the glory of the British Queen,
And one defcribes a charming Indian screen;
A third interprets motions, looks, and eyes;
At every word a reputation dies.
Snuff, or the fan, fupply each pause of chat,
With finging, laughing, ogling, and all that.
Meanwhile, declining from the noon of day,
The fun obliquely shoots his burning ray;
The hungry Judges foon the sentence fign,
And wretches hang that Jurymen may dine;
The merchant from th' Exchange returns in peace,
And the long labours of the toilet cease.
Belinda now, whom thirst of fame invites,
Burns to encounter two adventurous Knights,
At Ombre fingly to decide their doom;
And fwells her breaft with conquests yet to come.
Strait the three bands prepare in arms to join,
Each band the number of the facred nine.
Soon as the spreads her hand, th' aërial guard
Defcend, and fit on each important card :
Ver. 11, 12. Originally in the first edition,
In various talk the chearful hours they past,
Of, who was bit, or who capotted last.
Ver. 24. And the long labours of the toilet ceafe.] All that follows of the game at Ombre, was added fince the first edition, till ver. 105. which connected thus:
Sudden the board with cups and spoons is crown'd.
First Ariel perch'd upon a Matadore,
Then each according to the rank they bore;
For Sylphs, yet mindful of their ancient race,
Are, as when women, wondrous fond of place.
Behold, four Kings in majesty rever'd,
With hoary whiskers and a forky beard;
And four fair Queens, whofe hands sustain a flower,
Th" expreffive emblem of their fofter power;
Four Knaves in garbs fuccinct, a trufty band;
Caps on their heads, and halberts in their hand;
And party-colour'd troops, a fhining train,
Drawn forth to combat on the velvet plain.
The skilful Nymph reviews her force with care:
Let Spades be trumps! fhe faid, and trumps they were. Now move to war her fable Matadores,
In fhow like leaders of the fwarthy Moors.
Spadillio firft, unconquerable Lord!
Led off two captive trumps, and swept the board.
As many more Manillio forc'd to yield,
And march'd a victor from the verdant field.
Him Bafto follow'd, but his fate more hard
Gain'd but one trump, and one Plebeian card.
With his broad fabre next, a chief in years,
The hoary Majefty of Spades appears,
Puts forth one manly leg, to fight reveal'd,
The reft, his many-colour'd robe conceal'd.
The rebel Knave, who dares his prince engage,
Proves the juft victim of his royal rage.
Ev'n mighty Pam, that Kings and Queens o'erthrew, And mow'd down armies in the fights of Lu,
Sad chance of war! now deftitute of aid,
Falls undiftinguifh'd by the victor Spade!
Thus far both armies to Belinda yield;
Now to the Baron fate inclines the field.
His warlike Amazon her host invades,
Th' imperial confort of the crown of Spades.
The Club's black tyrant first her victim dy'd,
Spite of his haughty mien, and barbarous pride:
What boots the regal circle on his head,
His giant limbs in state unwieldy spread;
That long behind he trails his pompous robe,
And, of all monarchs, only grafps the globe?
The Baron now his Diamonds pours apace;
Th' embroider'd King who fhews but half his face,
And his refulgent Queen, with powers combin'd,
Of broken troops an easy conquest find.
Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, in wild diforder feen,
With throngs promifcuous ftrow the level green.
Thus when difpers'd a routed army runs,
Of Afia's troops, and Afric's fable fons,
With like confufion different nations fly,
Of various habit, and of various dye,
The pierc'd battalions disunited fall,
In heaps on heaps; one fate o'erwhelms them all.
The Knave of Diamonds tries his wily arts,
And wins (oh fhameful chance!) the Queen of Hearts.
At this, the blood the virgin's cheek forfook,
A livid palenefs spreads o'er all her look;
She fees, and trembles at th' approaching ill,
Just in the jaws of ruin, and Codille.
And now (as oft in some diftemper'd state),
On one nice trick depends the general fate,
An Ace of Hearts steps forth: the King unseen
Lurk'd in her hand, and mourn'd his captive Queen :
He fprings to vengeance with an eager pace,
And falls like thunder on the prostrate Ace.
The Nymph exulting fills with fhouts the sky;
The walls, the woods, and long canals reply.
O thoughtless mortals! ever blind to fate,
Too foon dejected, and too foon elate.
Sudden, these honours fhall be fnatch'd away,
And curs'd for ever this victorious day.
For lo! the board with cups and spoons is crown'd,
The berries crackle, and the mill turns round:
On fhining Altars of Japan they raise
The filver lamp; the fiery fpirits blaze:
From filver spouts the grateful liquors glide,
While China's earth receives the fmoaking tide:
At once they gratify their fcent and tafte,
And frequent cups prolong the rich repast.
Strait hover round the Fair her airy band;
Some, as the fipp'd, the fuming liquor fann'd,
Some o'er her lap their careful plumes display'd,
Trembling, and conscious of the rich brocade.
Coffee (which makes the politician wife,
And fee through all things with his half-shut eyes)
Ver. 105. Sudden the board, &c.] From hence the
first edition continues to ver. 134.
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