The Baron now his Diamonds pours apace;
Th'embroider'd King who fhows but half his face,
And his refulgent Queen, with pow'rs combin'd,
Of broken troops an eafy conqueft find.
Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, in wild disorder 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 dif-united 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 paleness spreads o'er all her look ;
She fees, and trembles at th' approaching ill,
Juft in the jaws of ruin, and Codille.
And now, (as oft' in fome diftemper'd State)
On one nice Trick depends the gen'ral fate.
An Ace of Hearts fteps forth: The King unfeen
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 proftrate Ace.
The nymph exulting fills with fhouts the fky;
The walls, the woods, and long canals reply.
Oh thoughtless mortals! ever blind to fate,
Too foon dejected, and too foon elate.
Sudden, these honours fhall be snatch'd away,
And curs'd for ever this victorious day.
For lo! the board with cups and spoons is crown'd, 105
The berries crackle, and the mill turns round;
On fhining Altars of Japan they raise
The filver lamp; the fiery spirits blaze:
From filver spouts the grateful liquors glide,
While China's earth receives the fmoaking tyde:
At once they gratify their scent and taste,
And frequent cups prolong the rich repafte.
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 difplay'd,
Trembling, and confcious of the rich brocade.
Coffee, (which makes the politician wise,
And fee thro' all things with his half-shut eyes)
Sent up in vapours to the Baron's brain
New ftratagems, the radiant Lock to gain.
Ah cease, rafh youth! defift e'er 'tis too late,
Fear the juft Gods, and think of* Scylla's Fate!
Chang'd to a bird, and fent to flit in air,
She dearly pays for Nifus' injur'd hair!
But when to mischief mortals bend their will,
How foon they find fit inftruments of ill?
Just then, Clariffa drew with tempting grace
A two-edg'd weapon from her fhining case;
So Ladies in Romance affift their Knight,
Present the spear, and arm him for the fight.
He takes the gift with rev'rence, and extends
The little engine on his finger's ends;
This juft behind Belinda's neck he spread,
As o'er the fragrant fteams fhe bends her head.
Swift to the Lock a thousand Sprites repair,
A thousand wings, by turns, blow back the hair;
And thrice they twitch'd the diamond in her ear;
Thrice she look'd back, and thrice the foe drew near. Just in that inftant, anxious Ariel fought
The close receffes of the Virgin's thought;
As on the nofegay in her breaft reclin'd,
He watch'd th' Ideas rifing in her mind,
Sudden he view'd, in fpite of all her art,
An earthly Lover lurking at her heart.
Amaz'd, confus'd, he found his pow'r expir'd,
Refign'd to fate, and with a figh retir'd.
The Peer now spreads the glitt'ring Forfex wide,
T'inclose the Lock; now joins it, to divide.
Ev'n then, before the fatal engine clos'd,
A wretched Sylph too fondly interpos'd;
Fate urg'd the sheers, and cut the Sylph in twain,
(* But airy substance soon unites again)
The meeting points the facred hair diffever
From the fair head, for ever, and for ever!
Then flash'd the living lightning from her eyes, 155 And screams of horror rend th' affrighted skies.
See Milton, lib. 6. of Satan cut afunder by the Angel Michael.
Not louder fhrieks to pitying heav'n are cast,
When husbands or when lapdogs breathe their last ;
Or when rich China veffels fall'n from high,
In glitt'ring dust, and painted fragments lie!
Let wreaths of triumph now my temples twine,
(The Victor cry'd) the glorious Prize is mine!
While fish in ftreams, or birds delight in air,
Or in a Coach and fix the British Fair,
As long as Atalantis shall be read,
Or the small pillow grace a Lady's bed,
While vifits fhall be paid on folemn days,
When num'rous wax-lights in bright order blaze,
While nymphs take treats, or affignations give,"
So long my honour, name, and praise fhall live! 176
What Time wou'd fpare, from Steel receives its date,
And monuments, like men, fubmit to fate!
Steel could the labour of the Gods destroy,
And ftrike to duft th' imperial tow'rs of Troy
Steel could the works of mortal pride confound,
And hew triumphal arches to the ground.
What wonder then, fair nymph! thy hairs fhou'd feel The conqu'ring force of unrefifted fteel?
UT anxious cares the penfive nymph opprefs'd,
And fecret paffions labour'd in her breast.
Not youthful kings in battle feiz'd alive,
Not scornful virgins who their charms furvive,
Not ardent lovers robb'd of all their bliss,
Not ancient ladies when refus'd a kifs,
Not tyrants fierce that unrepenting die,
Not Cynthia when her manteau's pinn'd awry,
E'er felt fuch rage, refentment and despair,
As thou, fad Virgin! for thy ravish'd Hair.
For, that fad moment, when the Sylphs withdrew,
And Ariel weeping from Belinda flew,
Umbriel, a dusky, melancholy fprite,
As ever fully'd the fair face of light,
Down to the central earth, his proper
Repair'd to search the gloomy Cave of Spleen.
Swift on his footy pinions flits the Gnome,
And in a vapour reach'd the dismal dome.
VER. 1. Virg. Æn. 4. At regina gravi, Sc.
VOL. I.
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