SOME

ADDITIONAL STANZAS

T O

ASTOLFO'S VOYAGE TO THE MOON,

IN ARI OS TO..

I..

WHEN now Aftolfo, ftor'd within a vafe,

Orlando's wits had fafely brought away ;

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 see :. Wherefore in humble wife the Saint he pray'd, To tell what treasure there conceal'd might be.. III.

A wondrous thing it is," the Saint replied, "Yet undefin'd by any mortal wight; "An airy effence, not to be defcried,

"Subtle and thin, that MAIDENHEAD is hight.

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, For fear they should evaporate again;

“And hard it is a prison to invent,

"So volatile a fpirit to retain..

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 fpiritlefs, and quite decay'd, alas !"

VII.

So fpake the Saint, and wonder feiz'd the Knight,,
As of each veffel he th' infcription read;

For various fecrets there were brought to light;,
Of which report on earth had nothing faid.

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 efpied

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 fafe for me alone? Scarce of our abfence three fhort months are past, "And thou already from thy poft 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 haft 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 use on *t for a night,
"And I'll reftore it to its prefent place."

TOA YOUNG

LADY.

I

WITH THE TRAGEDY OF

VENICE PRESERVED.

N tender Otway's moving scenes we find

What power the gods have to your fex affign'd: Venice was loft, if on the brink of fate

A woman had not propt her finking state:

In the dark danger of that dreadful hour,
Vain was her fenate's wifdom, vain its power;

But,

But, fav'd by Belvidera's charming tears,

Still o'er the fubject main her towers fhe rears,
And ftands a great example to mankind,
With what a boundlefs fway you rule the mind,
Skilful the worft or nobleft ends to ferve,
And strong alike to ruin or preserve.

In wretched Jaffier, we with pity view
A mind, to Honour falfe, to Virtue true,
In the wild form of struggling paffions toft,
Yet faving innocence, though fame was lost;
Greatly forgetting what he ow'd his friend-
His country, which had wrong'd him, to defend.
But the, who urg'd him to that pious deed,
Who knew fo well the patriot's cause to plead,
Whofe conquering love her country's fafety won,
Was, by that fatal love, herself undone.

"Hence may we learn, what paffion fain would
"hide,

That Hymen's bands by prudence should 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 stain ; 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 thefe few lines, than to fupprefs the rest of the poem.

N.

And that fond love, which should afford relief,
"Does but augment the anguish of their grief:
"While both could easier their own forrows bear,
Than the fad knowledge of each other's care.
May all the joys in Love and Fortune's power
Kindly combine to grace your nuptial hour!
On each glad day may plenty fhower delight,
And warmest rapture bless each welcome night!
May Heaven, that gave you Belvidera's charms,
~Deftine fome happier Jaffier to your arms,

Whofe blifs misfortune never may allay,
Whofe fondness never may through care decay;
Whose wealth may place you in the fairest light,
And force each modeft beauty into fight!
So fhall no anxious want your peace destroy,
No tempeft crush the tender buds of joy;
But all your hours in one gay circle move,
Nor Reafon ever difagree with Love!

TE

ELL me, my heart, fond flave of hopeless love,
And doom'd its woes, without its joys, to prove,

Canft thou endure thus calmly to erafe

The dear, dear image of thy Delia's face?
Canft thou exclude that habitant divine,
To place fome meaner idol in her shrine?
O task, for feeble Reafon too fevere !
Oleffon, nought could teach me but despair!